INSURGENCY MORE THAN QUADRUPLED IN A YEAR
"... The Pentagon... estimates that the number of Iraqi insurgents has quadrupled from some 5,000 in November, 2003, to 20,000 today, while the deputy commander of the coalition forces in Iraq, British Mar. Gen. Andrew Graham, has said he thinks the number is at least twice that many, from 40,000 to 50,000."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0930-04.htm
Thursday, September 30, 2004
AN AMERICAN IN BAGHDAD
"... I am house bound. I leave when I have a very good reason to and a scheduled interview. I avoid going to people's homes and never walk in the streets. I can't go grocery shopping any more, can't eat in restaurants, can't strike a conversation with strangers, can't look for stories, can't drive in any thing but a full armored car, can't go to scenes of breaking news stories, can't be stuck in traffic, can't speak English outside, can't take a road trip, can't say I'm an American, can't linger at checkpoints, can't be curious about what people are saying, doing, feeling. And can't and can't. There has been one too many close calls, including a car bomb so near our house that it blew out all the windows. So now my most pressing concern every day is not to write a kick-ass story but to stay alive and make sure our Iraqi employees stay alive. In Baghdad I am a security personnel first, a reporter second..."
-- A Wall Street Journal reporter in Baghdad
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0930-15.htm
WHY VOTE?
"... I asked a 28-year-old engineer if he and his family would participate in the Iraqi elections since it was the first time Iraqis could to some degree elect a leadership. His response summed it all: "Go and vote and risk being blown into pieces or followed by the insurgents and murdered for cooperating with the Americans? For what? To practice democracy? Are you joking?"
-- A Wall Street Journal reporter in Baghdad
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0930-15.htm
"... I am house bound. I leave when I have a very good reason to and a scheduled interview. I avoid going to people's homes and never walk in the streets. I can't go grocery shopping any more, can't eat in restaurants, can't strike a conversation with strangers, can't look for stories, can't drive in any thing but a full armored car, can't go to scenes of breaking news stories, can't be stuck in traffic, can't speak English outside, can't take a road trip, can't say I'm an American, can't linger at checkpoints, can't be curious about what people are saying, doing, feeling. And can't and can't. There has been one too many close calls, including a car bomb so near our house that it blew out all the windows. So now my most pressing concern every day is not to write a kick-ass story but to stay alive and make sure our Iraqi employees stay alive. In Baghdad I am a security personnel first, a reporter second..."
-- A Wall Street Journal reporter in Baghdad
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0930-15.htm
WHY VOTE?
"... I asked a 28-year-old engineer if he and his family would participate in the Iraqi elections since it was the first time Iraqis could to some degree elect a leadership. His response summed it all: "Go and vote and risk being blown into pieces or followed by the insurgents and murdered for cooperating with the Americans? For what? To practice democracy? Are you joking?"
-- A Wall Street Journal reporter in Baghdad
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0930-15.htm
EISENHOWER TO VOTE FOR KERRY
"With the current administration’s decision to invade Iraq unilaterally, however, I changed my voter registration to independent, and barring some utterly unforeseen development, I intend to vote for the Democratic Presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry. The fact is that today’s “Republican” Party is one with which I am totally unfamiliar."
-- John Eisenhower, son of President Dwight Eisenhower
http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=44657
REAGAN TO VOTE FOR KERRY
"... I'll support any viable candidate who can defeat Bush."
-- Ron Reagan, son of President Ronald Reagan
http://www.alternet.org/election04/2004/07/002171.html
"With the current administration’s decision to invade Iraq unilaterally, however, I changed my voter registration to independent, and barring some utterly unforeseen development, I intend to vote for the Democratic Presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry. The fact is that today’s “Republican” Party is one with which I am totally unfamiliar."
-- John Eisenhower, son of President Dwight Eisenhower
http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=44657
REAGAN TO VOTE FOR KERRY
"... I'll support any viable candidate who can defeat Bush."
-- Ron Reagan, son of President Ronald Reagan
http://www.alternet.org/election04/2004/07/002171.html
OUT WITH THE BAD NEWS
"... USAID said this week that it will restrict distribution of reports by contractor Kroll Security International showing that the number of daily attacks by insurgents in Iraq has increased.... A day after The Washington Post published a front-page story saying that "the Kroll reports suggest a broad and intensifying campaign of insurgent violence," a USAID official (said) "This is the last Kroll report... the information will now be "restricted to those who need it for security planning in Iraq."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60725-2004Sep29.html
IN WITH THE GOOD NEWS
"Rumsfeld's office has sent commanders of U.S. military facilities a five-page memorandum titled "Guidance to Commanders"... (saying that the Pentagon) is sponsoring a group of Iraqi Americans and former officials from the Coalition Provisional Authority to speak at military bases. The memo says the presentations are "designed to be uplifting accounts with good news messages." Rumsfeld's office, which will pay for the tour, recommends that the installations seek local news coverage, noting that "these events and presentations are positive public relations opportunities."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60725-2004Sep29.html
BUSH AND ALLAWI SPEAK AS ONE
"White House spokesman Scott McClellan, asked Tuesday about similarities between Bush's statements about Iraq and Allawi's speech to Congress last week, said he did not know of any help U.S. officials gave with the speech.... But administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the prime minister was coached and aided by... Dan Senor, former spokesman for the CPA who has more recently represented the Bush campaign in media appearances. Senor, who has denied writing the speech, sent Allawi recommended phrases. He also helped Allawi rehearse in New York last week, officials said..."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60725-2004Sep29.html
"... USAID said this week that it will restrict distribution of reports by contractor Kroll Security International showing that the number of daily attacks by insurgents in Iraq has increased.... A day after The Washington Post published a front-page story saying that "the Kroll reports suggest a broad and intensifying campaign of insurgent violence," a USAID official (said) "This is the last Kroll report... the information will now be "restricted to those who need it for security planning in Iraq."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60725-2004Sep29.html
IN WITH THE GOOD NEWS
"Rumsfeld's office has sent commanders of U.S. military facilities a five-page memorandum titled "Guidance to Commanders"... (saying that the Pentagon) is sponsoring a group of Iraqi Americans and former officials from the Coalition Provisional Authority to speak at military bases. The memo says the presentations are "designed to be uplifting accounts with good news messages." Rumsfeld's office, which will pay for the tour, recommends that the installations seek local news coverage, noting that "these events and presentations are positive public relations opportunities."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60725-2004Sep29.html
BUSH AND ALLAWI SPEAK AS ONE
"White House spokesman Scott McClellan, asked Tuesday about similarities between Bush's statements about Iraq and Allawi's speech to Congress last week, said he did not know of any help U.S. officials gave with the speech.... But administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the prime minister was coached and aided by... Dan Senor, former spokesman for the CPA who has more recently represented the Bush campaign in media appearances. Senor, who has denied writing the speech, sent Allawi recommended phrases. He also helped Allawi rehearse in New York last week, officials said..."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60725-2004Sep29.html
STRYKER TOO HEAVY
"The Army's new medium-weight armored vehicler -- now in use in Iraq -- weighs so much that it curtails the range of C-130 military cargo aircraft that carry it and under certain conditions make it impossible for the planes to take off... (also the Stryker was) too vulnerable to enemy fire... (so even heavier) New armor is being issued to the vehicles to protect them against rocket-propelled grenades, which have been a major danger to U.S. forces in Iraq. "
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63730-2004Aug13.html
"The Army's new medium-weight armored vehicler -- now in use in Iraq -- weighs so much that it curtails the range of C-130 military cargo aircraft that carry it and under certain conditions make it impossible for the planes to take off... (also the Stryker was) too vulnerable to enemy fire... (so even heavier) New armor is being issued to the vehicles to protect them against rocket-propelled grenades, which have been a major danger to U.S. forces in Iraq. "
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63730-2004Aug13.html
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
U.S. MILITARY SAYS INSURGENTS ARE MOSTLY IRAQIS
"... according to top U.S. military officers in Iraq... loyalists of Saddam Hussein's regime — who have swelled their ranks in recent months as ordinary Iraqis bristle at the U.S. military presence in Iraq — represent the far greater threat... the insurgents' ranks have been bolstered by Iraqis who grew disillusioned with the U.S. failure to deliver basic services, jobs and reconstruction projects..."
"They say these guys are flowing across [the border] and fomenting all this violence. We don't think so," said a senior military official in Baghdad. "What's the main threat? It's internal." "People try to turn this into the mujahedin, jihad war. It's not that," said another U.S. intelligence official. "How many foreign fighters have been captured and processed? Very few."
http://www.latimes.com/news/yahoo/la-fg-insurgent28sep28,1,4640585.story
"... according to top U.S. military officers in Iraq... loyalists of Saddam Hussein's regime — who have swelled their ranks in recent months as ordinary Iraqis bristle at the U.S. military presence in Iraq — represent the far greater threat... the insurgents' ranks have been bolstered by Iraqis who grew disillusioned with the U.S. failure to deliver basic services, jobs and reconstruction projects..."
"They say these guys are flowing across [the border] and fomenting all this violence. We don't think so," said a senior military official in Baghdad. "What's the main threat? It's internal." "People try to turn this into the mujahedin, jihad war. It's not that," said another U.S. intelligence official. "How many foreign fighters have been captured and processed? Very few."
http://www.latimes.com/news/yahoo/la-fg-insurgent28sep28,1,4640585.story
BUYING THE ELECTION
"Time Magazine reports that the Bush administration had had a plan to use the Central Intelligence Agency to funnel money to candidates it favored in the forthcoming Iraqi elections... this sort of behavior by the Bush administration fatally undermines the ideal of democracy in the Middle East. If Muslims think that "democracy" is a stalking horse for CIA control of their country, then they will flee the system..."
Juan Cole, Informed Comment, Tuesday, September 28, 2004
http://www.juancole.com/
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101041004-702122,00.html
NO SUNNI CANDIDATES?
"... The pre-picked slates of candidates for the January elections will run on a handful of party tickets...
- 2 Kurdish ones
- Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress
- Allawi's Iraqi National Accord
- The Shiite al-Da`wa
- The Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
I don't know for whom the Sunni Arabs are supposed to vote if these are the choices..."
Juan Cole, Informed Comment, Tuesday, September 28, 2004
http://www.juancole.com/
"Time Magazine reports that the Bush administration had had a plan to use the Central Intelligence Agency to funnel money to candidates it favored in the forthcoming Iraqi elections... this sort of behavior by the Bush administration fatally undermines the ideal of democracy in the Middle East. If Muslims think that "democracy" is a stalking horse for CIA control of their country, then they will flee the system..."
Juan Cole, Informed Comment, Tuesday, September 28, 2004
http://www.juancole.com/
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101041004-702122,00.html
NO SUNNI CANDIDATES?
"... The pre-picked slates of candidates for the January elections will run on a handful of party tickets...
- 2 Kurdish ones
- Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress
- Allawi's Iraqi National Accord
- The Shiite al-Da`wa
- The Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
I don't know for whom the Sunni Arabs are supposed to vote if these are the choices..."
Juan Cole, Informed Comment, Tuesday, September 28, 2004
http://www.juancole.com/
Monday, September 27, 2004
BORROWING $4 BILLION EACH DAY MAY UNDERMINE THE DOLLAR
"... The rapidly ballooning expense of the Iraq war is increasing budget deficits... intensifying a gathering U.S. fiscal crisis of growing debt, now financed by foreign capital... the United States last year borrowed from abroad at an unprecedented rate of $4 billion a day. Asian, European and Middle Eastern lenders are buying what they see as dollar assets. But if the dollar's value keeps declining, as it has by 30 percent over 2002 and 2003, foreign investors will need higher returns by way of interest rate increases. Or they might move to another currency; the euro, for instance, holds the potential eventually to replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency..."
http://www.iht.com/articles/540572.html
"... The rapidly ballooning expense of the Iraq war is increasing budget deficits... intensifying a gathering U.S. fiscal crisis of growing debt, now financed by foreign capital... the United States last year borrowed from abroad at an unprecedented rate of $4 billion a day. Asian, European and Middle Eastern lenders are buying what they see as dollar assets. But if the dollar's value keeps declining, as it has by 30 percent over 2002 and 2003, foreign investors will need higher returns by way of interest rate increases. Or they might move to another currency; the euro, for instance, holds the potential eventually to replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency..."
http://www.iht.com/articles/540572.html
SOME REASONS TO GET OUT OF IRAQ
1) The Human Costs Keep Increasing
2) Iraqis Aren't Better Off
3) The War Is Bankrupting America
4) Halliburton's War Profiteering
5) The "International Coalition" Is Fleeing
6) Recruitment for Al Qaeda Has Accelerated
7) The War Is Draining First Responders From Our Communities
8) Torture at Abu Ghraib
9) Many Americans Oppose the War
10) No "Sovereignty" Has Been Transferred
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20041011&s=leaver
1) The Human Costs Keep Increasing
2) Iraqis Aren't Better Off
3) The War Is Bankrupting America
4) Halliburton's War Profiteering
5) The "International Coalition" Is Fleeing
6) Recruitment for Al Qaeda Has Accelerated
7) The War Is Draining First Responders From Our Communities
8) Torture at Abu Ghraib
9) Many Americans Oppose the War
10) No "Sovereignty" Has Been Transferred
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20041011&s=leaver
Sunday, September 26, 2004
REAGAN FAULTS BUSH FOR ATTACKING IRAQ
"...The war in Iraq, and the Bush administration’s attitude after September 11, are viewed by Reagan as “terrible”.... “September 11 was a huge opportunity for the Bush administration... They turned it into a situation where they could attack Saddam, who had nothing to do with September 11..."
http://www.sundayherald.com/45046
"...The war in Iraq, and the Bush administration’s attitude after September 11, are viewed by Reagan as “terrible”.... “September 11 was a huge opportunity for the Bush administration... They turned it into a situation where they could attack Saddam, who had nothing to do with September 11..."
http://www.sundayherald.com/45046
HOSTAGE TAKING
"...It appears that local criminal gangs do the actual kidnapping. The hostages are then sold up the chain to larger militant outfits, which use the hostages as pawns and bargaining chips. Foreign hostages apparently carry a higher price tag. Many of the abductions in Iraq have been attributed to al-Zarqawi or to "groups with links to al-Zarqawi". This could be because a large number of gangs might be supplying his group with hostages - hence the many groups with "links to al-Zarqawi".
"... The taking of hostages is proving more useful in generating terror than even suicide bombings. Suicide bombings have been regarded as a low-cost, high-yield "smart weapon" in a militant group's armory. Hostage-taking is smarter. It allows for very specific targeting... But indiscriminate choice of victims and excessive use along with grisly decapitation of victims could undermine international support for the Iraqi cause. "
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FI25Ak01.html
"...It appears that local criminal gangs do the actual kidnapping. The hostages are then sold up the chain to larger militant outfits, which use the hostages as pawns and bargaining chips. Foreign hostages apparently carry a higher price tag. Many of the abductions in Iraq have been attributed to al-Zarqawi or to "groups with links to al-Zarqawi". This could be because a large number of gangs might be supplying his group with hostages - hence the many groups with "links to al-Zarqawi".
"... The taking of hostages is proving more useful in generating terror than even suicide bombings. Suicide bombings have been regarded as a low-cost, high-yield "smart weapon" in a militant group's armory. Hostage-taking is smarter. It allows for very specific targeting... But indiscriminate choice of victims and excessive use along with grisly decapitation of victims could undermine international support for the Iraqi cause. "
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FI25Ak01.html
OIL PRODUCTION SAME AS LAST OCTOBER
"... the Iraqi oil complex (has) problems. These include years of poor oil-reservoir management; corrosion problems at various oil facilities; deterioration of water-injection facilities; lack of spare parts, materials, equipment, etc; damage to oil storage and pumping facilities; and more... But sabotage by the insurgents has made a bad situation much worse. Despite thousands of guards, the pipelines have been steadily attacked since the beginning of the US-led invasion... Data released by the US Army Corps of Engineers show that crude production in May dropped to 1.95mb/d and exports are down to 0.86mb/d, the lowest level since last October..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FI24Ak01.html
"... the Iraqi oil complex (has) problems. These include years of poor oil-reservoir management; corrosion problems at various oil facilities; deterioration of water-injection facilities; lack of spare parts, materials, equipment, etc; damage to oil storage and pumping facilities; and more... But sabotage by the insurgents has made a bad situation much worse. Despite thousands of guards, the pipelines have been steadily attacked since the beginning of the US-led invasion... Data released by the US Army Corps of Engineers show that crude production in May dropped to 1.95mb/d and exports are down to 0.86mb/d, the lowest level since last October..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FI24Ak01.html
AN IRAQI'S THOUGHTS ON BAGHDAD
"... Baghdad, the city of peace and love, the city of science and literature, doesn't exist anymore.
Baghdad, where everybody is proud, where everybody can smile, is no longer there!
An ugly occupation, millions of unemployed people, economic crises, looong lines to get fuel for your car, suffocating traffic jam, killing, looting, hijacking and explosions, that is what Baghdad is all about today.
When you walk in the street, you look behind your shoulder, you are afraid to be kidnapped, or killed by thieves, or by the occupation army, by mistake as usual, or get a bullet from no where, but still when i walk i remember the words of our national anthem:
"My homeland, my homeland, we will restore your great glory"
... and i let my tears go down."
-- blog of Khalid Jarrar, "Secrets in Baghdad", Wednesday, September 22, 2004
http://secretsinbaghdad.blogspot.com/
"... Baghdad, the city of peace and love, the city of science and literature, doesn't exist anymore.
Baghdad, where everybody is proud, where everybody can smile, is no longer there!
An ugly occupation, millions of unemployed people, economic crises, looong lines to get fuel for your car, suffocating traffic jam, killing, looting, hijacking and explosions, that is what Baghdad is all about today.
When you walk in the street, you look behind your shoulder, you are afraid to be kidnapped, or killed by thieves, or by the occupation army, by mistake as usual, or get a bullet from no where, but still when i walk i remember the words of our national anthem:
"My homeland, my homeland, we will restore your great glory"
... and i let my tears go down."
-- blog of Khalid Jarrar, "Secrets in Baghdad", Wednesday, September 22, 2004
http://secretsinbaghdad.blogspot.com/
ELECTION: WHAT PARTIES, WHAT CANDIDATES, WHAT AGENDAS?
"... It has been said that the election will be held in about three month from now in Iraq... but is it going to happen and if so where is it?... we don't know which parties are going to be nominated or submitted. Where are these parties? Who are their nominees? What are their programmes? The Iraqis would like to know the parties and their representatives as well as their agenda for the future!! None of these important questions answered... even the party of Iyad Alawi the interim PM has no clear agenda of what to do in all aspects like security, army, Police, health, education, reconstruction, trials of the criminals, and other important social and outside problems..."
-- Hammorabi's blog, Sunday, September 26, 2004
http://hammorabi.blogspot.com/
"... It has been said that the election will be held in about three month from now in Iraq... but is it going to happen and if so where is it?... we don't know which parties are going to be nominated or submitted. Where are these parties? Who are their nominees? What are their programmes? The Iraqis would like to know the parties and their representatives as well as their agenda for the future!! None of these important questions answered... even the party of Iyad Alawi the interim PM has no clear agenda of what to do in all aspects like security, army, Police, health, education, reconstruction, trials of the criminals, and other important social and outside problems..."
-- Hammorabi's blog, Sunday, September 26, 2004
http://hammorabi.blogspot.com/
Saturday, September 25, 2004
IRAQ MINISTRY SAYS U.S. IS KILLING TWICE AS MANY IRAQIS AS THE INSURGENTS ARE KILLING
"... U.S. and multinational forces and Iraqi police are killing twice as many Iraqis - most of them civilians - as attacks by insurgents, according to statistics compiled by the Iraqi Health Ministry... Iraqi officials said the statistics proved that U.S. airstrikes intended for insurgents also were killing large numbers of innocent civilians... "
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/iraq/9753603.htm
"... U.S. and multinational forces and Iraqi police are killing twice as many Iraqis - most of them civilians - as attacks by insurgents, according to statistics compiled by the Iraqi Health Ministry... Iraqi officials said the statistics proved that U.S. airstrikes intended for insurgents also were killing large numbers of innocent civilians... "
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/iraq/9753603.htm
U.S. ATTACK ON FALLUJAH - SANITIZED PHOTOS FOR AMERICANS?
"...The U.S. military said the Fallujah strikes targeted a meeting point in the center of the city for fighters loyal to... Zarqawi. Dr. Dhiya al-Jumaili of Fallujah General Hospital said at least eight people were killed and 15 wounded, including women and children..."
Photo in New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq.html?hp
"... Dr. Suheib Mahmud at Falluja's general hospital said that civilians had been killed... "We have received seven dead, including a woman and three children, and 11 wounded."
Photo in Al Jazeera
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=4837
"...The U.S. military said the Fallujah strikes targeted a meeting point in the center of the city for fighters loyal to... Zarqawi. Dr. Dhiya al-Jumaili of Fallujah General Hospital said at least eight people were killed and 15 wounded, including women and children..."
Photo in New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq.html?hp
"... Dr. Suheib Mahmud at Falluja's general hospital said that civilians had been killed... "We have received seven dead, including a woman and three children, and 11 wounded."
Photo in Al Jazeera
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=4837
DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN STATE AND DEFENSE DEPTS ON ELECTIONS
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage ppearing before a Congressional committee:
"... we're going to have an election... that has to be open to all citizens... That's why I think we're going to have these elections in all parts of the country."
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld appearing before the Senate:
"... it might not be possible to conduct voting in some places targeted by militants. "So you have an election that's not quite perfect. Is it better than not having an election? You bet."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3688690.stm
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage ppearing before a Congressional committee:
"... we're going to have an election... that has to be open to all citizens... That's why I think we're going to have these elections in all parts of the country."
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld appearing before the Senate:
"... it might not be possible to conduct voting in some places targeted by militants. "So you have an election that's not quite perfect. Is it better than not having an election? You bet."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3688690.stm
Friday, September 24, 2004
FOUR MORE YEARS OF WAR?
"... In his first major speech on Iraq, Kerry presented a plan “to bring all our troops home within the next four years... It is now John Kerry’s campaign promise: four more years of war in Iraq..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0921-15.htm
OR MAYBE OUT NEXT SUMMER?
"... Kerry has laid out four steps in his exit plan: Repair alliances, train Iraqi security forces, improve reconstruction, and ensure elections. And then, “we could begin to withdraw US forces starting next summer... Kerry’s position is that he sets dates for bringing American troops home, regardless of whether or not US strategic goals are achieved.”
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=51898&d=24&m=9&y=2004
OR MAYBE NEVER OUT?
"... Bush’s exist strategy... envisages the US... staying in Iraq until a freely elected Iraqi government asks it to leave.... it makes the withdrawal... conditional on the establishment of a democratic system that will not breed terrorism..."
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=51898&d=24&m=9&y=2004
BIPARTISON DOGMA FOR ENDLESS WAR
"... the Bush administration’s National Security Strategy . It says that there is only one “single sustainable model for national success: freedom, democracy, and free enterprise. … These values of freedom are right and true for every person, in every society.” The U.S. will use its “unparalleled military strength” to make sure that “all nations and all societies can choose for themselves” to live the way we live. It’s our way or the highway of doom. That’s not merely the official Bush dogma. It’s bipartisan dogma. No leading Democrat has yet challenged it..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0921-15.htm
"... In his first major speech on Iraq, Kerry presented a plan “to bring all our troops home within the next four years... It is now John Kerry’s campaign promise: four more years of war in Iraq..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0921-15.htm
OR MAYBE OUT NEXT SUMMER?
"... Kerry has laid out four steps in his exit plan: Repair alliances, train Iraqi security forces, improve reconstruction, and ensure elections. And then, “we could begin to withdraw US forces starting next summer... Kerry’s position is that he sets dates for bringing American troops home, regardless of whether or not US strategic goals are achieved.”
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=51898&d=24&m=9&y=2004
OR MAYBE NEVER OUT?
"... Bush’s exist strategy... envisages the US... staying in Iraq until a freely elected Iraqi government asks it to leave.... it makes the withdrawal... conditional on the establishment of a democratic system that will not breed terrorism..."
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=51898&d=24&m=9&y=2004
BIPARTISON DOGMA FOR ENDLESS WAR
"... the Bush administration’s National Security Strategy . It says that there is only one “single sustainable model for national success: freedom, democracy, and free enterprise. … These values of freedom are right and true for every person, in every society.” The U.S. will use its “unparalleled military strength” to make sure that “all nations and all societies can choose for themselves” to live the way we live. It’s our way or the highway of doom. That’s not merely the official Bush dogma. It’s bipartisan dogma. No leading Democrat has yet challenged it..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0921-15.htm
IRAQ HAS COME A LONG WAY IN A YEAR
"... Autumn (2003)... was awash in “rebuilding Iraq” trade shows, in Washington, London, Madrid, and Amman. The Economist described Iraq under Bremer as “a capitalist dream,” and a flurry of new consulting firms were launched promising to help companies get access to the Iraqi market, their boards of directors stacked with well-connected Republicans. The most prominent was New Bridge Strategies, started by Joe Allbaugh, former Bush-Cheney campaign manager. “Getting the rights to distribute Procter & Gamble products can be a gold mine,” one of the company’s partners enthused. “One well-stocked 7-Eleven could knock out thirty Iraqi stores; a Wal-Mart could take over the country.” Soon there were rumors that a McDonald’s would be opening up in downtown Baghdad, funding was almost in place for a Starwood luxury hotel, and General Motors was planning to build an auto plant. On the financial side, HSBC would have branches all over the country, Citigroup was preparing to offer substantial loans guaranteed against future sales of Iraqi oil, and the bell was going to ring on a New York-style stock exchange in Baghdad any day..."
-- Naomi Klein in "Baghdad Year Zero", Harpers Magazine, September 24, 2004
http://harpers.org/
"... Autumn (2003)... was awash in “rebuilding Iraq” trade shows, in Washington, London, Madrid, and Amman. The Economist described Iraq under Bremer as “a capitalist dream,” and a flurry of new consulting firms were launched promising to help companies get access to the Iraqi market, their boards of directors stacked with well-connected Republicans. The most prominent was New Bridge Strategies, started by Joe Allbaugh, former Bush-Cheney campaign manager. “Getting the rights to distribute Procter & Gamble products can be a gold mine,” one of the company’s partners enthused. “One well-stocked 7-Eleven could knock out thirty Iraqi stores; a Wal-Mart could take over the country.” Soon there were rumors that a McDonald’s would be opening up in downtown Baghdad, funding was almost in place for a Starwood luxury hotel, and General Motors was planning to build an auto plant. On the financial side, HSBC would have branches all over the country, Citigroup was preparing to offer substantial loans guaranteed against future sales of Iraqi oil, and the bell was going to ring on a New York-style stock exchange in Baghdad any day..."
-- Naomi Klein in "Baghdad Year Zero", Harpers Magazine, September 24, 2004
http://harpers.org/
"DEMOCRACY-BUILDING" IN IRAQ HAS SET BACK DEMOCRATIC REFORM IN IRAN
"... The Bush administration hoped that regime change in Iraq would stimulate democratic change throughout the Middle East but, in fact, the opposite is taking place... the incredible violence and instability that accompanied the American "democracy-building" project in Iraq... has slowed calls for reform in Iran... even to be associated with the U.S. agenda of democratic transformation in the Middle East means the end of legitimacy for many... (reform) groups... the level of instability in Iraq is an unacceptable cost to pay for political reform..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-semati24sep24,1,2690766.story
"... The Bush administration hoped that regime change in Iraq would stimulate democratic change throughout the Middle East but, in fact, the opposite is taking place... the incredible violence and instability that accompanied the American "democracy-building" project in Iraq... has slowed calls for reform in Iran... even to be associated with the U.S. agenda of democratic transformation in the Middle East means the end of legitimacy for many... (reform) groups... the level of instability in Iraq is an unacceptable cost to pay for political reform..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-semati24sep24,1,2690766.story
IRAQ BETTER OFF TODAY
"Allawi described the situation in Iraq after the war as "a country emerging finally from dark ages of violence, aggression, corruption and greed.... "Today we are better off..."
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/09/23/allawi.transcript/
"Hepatitis spreads in 2 Iraqi districts... Collapse of water and sewage systems in the country is probably at the root of the illnesses.... The problem is the whole infrastructure... no major intervention has been done in this last one and a half years to repair the problem..."
http://www.iht.com/bin/print.php?file=540294.html
"A year and a half after its "liberation", Iraq appears to be coming apart at the seams... The deplorable security situation in Iraq has resulted in the loss of more than 300 lives in the past week alone -- in the capital Baghdad, as well as elsewhere in Iraq... Such violence has made it almost impossible for Arabs and foreigners to come to Iraq to take part in re-building the war-torn country..."
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/709/re4.htm
"Allawi described the situation in Iraq after the war as "a country emerging finally from dark ages of violence, aggression, corruption and greed.... "Today we are better off..."
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/09/23/allawi.transcript/
"Hepatitis spreads in 2 Iraqi districts... Collapse of water and sewage systems in the country is probably at the root of the illnesses.... The problem is the whole infrastructure... no major intervention has been done in this last one and a half years to repair the problem..."
http://www.iht.com/bin/print.php?file=540294.html
"A year and a half after its "liberation", Iraq appears to be coming apart at the seams... The deplorable security situation in Iraq has resulted in the loss of more than 300 lives in the past week alone -- in the capital Baghdad, as well as elsewhere in Iraq... Such violence has made it almost impossible for Arabs and foreigners to come to Iraq to take part in re-building the war-torn country..."
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/709/re4.htm
WHAT IS ZARQAWI'S GROUP?
"... although some sources describe the Zarqawi group, and Tawhid & Jihad, as separate entities, internet postings and video footage suggest that Zarqawi is in charge (of both)... He has (also) been linked with both al-Qaeda and the Ansar al-Islam movement in northern Iraq... The ideology of Al-Tawhid wa al-Jihad, whose name means Unity and Jihad, seems to be similar to that of al-Qaeda, but with a focus on Iraq. An extremist, fundamentalist Sunni group, it sees itself as engaged in a struggle against American "crusaders... They perceive the invasion of Iraq as a step towards a Greater Israel, and reject Shia Muslims as "al-Rafidah" or rejectionists. They view the Kurds as enemies, partly because of their alleged links with Jewish interests..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3677658.stm
"... although some sources describe the Zarqawi group, and Tawhid & Jihad, as separate entities, internet postings and video footage suggest that Zarqawi is in charge (of both)... He has (also) been linked with both al-Qaeda and the Ansar al-Islam movement in northern Iraq... The ideology of Al-Tawhid wa al-Jihad, whose name means Unity and Jihad, seems to be similar to that of al-Qaeda, but with a focus on Iraq. An extremist, fundamentalist Sunni group, it sees itself as engaged in a struggle against American "crusaders... They perceive the invasion of Iraq as a step towards a Greater Israel, and reject Shia Muslims as "al-Rafidah" or rejectionists. They view the Kurds as enemies, partly because of their alleged links with Jewish interests..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3677658.stm
MUST FIGHT TERRORISTS IN IRAQ OR THEY COME HERE
"If we stop fighting the terrorists in Iraq, they would be free to plot and plan attacks elsewhere, in America and other free nations."
- President Bush after Allawi's visit to Congress, Sep 2004.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3685340.stm
"If we stop fighting the terrorists in Iraq, they would be free to plot and plan attacks elsewhere, in America and other free nations."
- President Bush after Allawi's visit to Congress, Sep 2004.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3685340.stm
BUSH AUTOBIOGRAPHY COMMENTS
"My inclination was to support the government and the war until proven wrong, and that only came later, as I realized we could not explain the mission, had no exit strategy, and did not seem to be fighting to win."
-- George W. Bush, in his autobiography, "A Charge to Keep: My Journey to the White House"
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/24/opinion/24herbert.html?ex=1097001960&ei=1&en=3c9af3e82180db19
"My inclination was to support the government and the war until proven wrong, and that only came later, as I realized we could not explain the mission, had no exit strategy, and did not seem to be fighting to win."
-- George W. Bush, in his autobiography, "A Charge to Keep: My Journey to the White House"
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/24/opinion/24herbert.html?ex=1097001960&ei=1&en=3c9af3e82180db19
Thursday, September 23, 2004
PARTIES GROUPING TO LIMIT SHIITES
"... Sistani... is said to be worried that a "consensus list" of candidates... comprised largely of exiles... from the larger political parties would artificially limit the power of the Shiites... Those parties (would) form a single ticket for the elections, thus limiting the choices of voters and smothering smaller political parties. (Sistani) is so upset about the prospect that the Shiites might be underrepresented that he is prepared to withdraw his support for the elections... "If he sees that what this is leading to is unfair and unfree elections, then he will not take part in it. He will declare the elections to be illegitimate..."
www.nytimes.com/2004/09/23/international/middleeast/23sistani.html?hp
"... Sistani... is said to be worried that a "consensus list" of candidates... comprised largely of exiles... from the larger political parties would artificially limit the power of the Shiites... Those parties (would) form a single ticket for the elections, thus limiting the choices of voters and smothering smaller political parties. (Sistani) is so upset about the prospect that the Shiites might be underrepresented that he is prepared to withdraw his support for the elections... "If he sees that what this is leading to is unfair and unfree elections, then he will not take part in it. He will declare the elections to be illegitimate..."
www.nytimes.com/2004/09/23/international/middleeast/23sistani.html?hp
IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATH ESTIMATES (September 22, 2004)
"... rights groups say the occupying powers have failed in a duty to catalogue the deaths, giving the impression that ordinary Iraqis' lives are worth less than those of soldiers. Unofficial estimates of the civilian toll vary wildly, from at least 10,000 to more than 37,000..."
UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw's estimate: >10,000
Brookings Institute estimate: 10-27,000
People's Kifah estimate: >37,000
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3672298.stm
"... rights groups say the occupying powers have failed in a duty to catalogue the deaths, giving the impression that ordinary Iraqis' lives are worth less than those of soldiers. Unofficial estimates of the civilian toll vary wildly, from at least 10,000 to more than 37,000..."
UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw's estimate: >10,000
Brookings Institute estimate: 10-27,000
People's Kifah estimate: >37,000
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3672298.stm
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
IRAQ ATTACK A DIVINE INSPIRATION
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Abu Mazen... said that, when they met in Aqaba, President Bush had told him this: "God inspired me to hit al Qaeda, and so I hit it. And I had the inspiration to hit Saddam, and so I hit him. Now I am determined to solve the Middle East problem if you help. Otherwise the elections will come and I will be wrapped up with them."
Washington Post, June 27, 2003
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A37944-2003Jun26?language=printer
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Abu Mazen... said that, when they met in Aqaba, President Bush had told him this: "God inspired me to hit al Qaeda, and so I hit it. And I had the inspiration to hit Saddam, and so I hit him. Now I am determined to solve the Middle East problem if you help. Otherwise the elections will come and I will be wrapped up with them."
Washington Post, June 27, 2003
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A37944-2003Jun26?language=printer
DOUBTS OVER "PARTIAL ELECTIONS"
"Iraqi leaders and officials are getting jittery over the now partial elections proposed for January next year... Some Iraqi and international human rights groups say they are not happy with the decision but can understand it as long as the government does not claim the elections are fair..."
http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=25565
"Iraqi leaders and officials are getting jittery over the now partial elections proposed for January next year... Some Iraqi and international human rights groups say they are not happy with the decision but can understand it as long as the government does not claim the elections are fair..."
http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=25565
POLAND SURVEY: WITHDRAW, MISTAKE
"... a Polish survey showed that sixty percent of Poles support an immediate pullout of the country's troops from Iraq, while more than 70 percent believe that their government made a mistake in sending forces there. Poland now has a 2,400-strong contingent in central Iraq."
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=4922
"... a Polish survey showed that sixty percent of Poles support an immediate pullout of the country's troops from Iraq, while more than 70 percent believe that their government made a mistake in sending forces there. Poland now has a 2,400-strong contingent in central Iraq."
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=4922
ELECTION PROBLEMS
"In less than four and a half months now Iraq's 25 million or so people should have taken part in a nationwide vote. But we don't even know what the exact population of Iraq is. There's been no census done, there's no electoral register... whole swathes of the country are outside the control of either the Americans or the interim Iraqi government... Six days ago, 50 people... were blown up in central Baghdad... queuing up hoping to find work. Imagine what insurgents might do to crowds of would-be voters. The UN Secretary General has said he doesn't see how credible elections can be held unless the security situation improves...."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3672986.stm
"In less than four and a half months now Iraq's 25 million or so people should have taken part in a nationwide vote. But we don't even know what the exact population of Iraq is. There's been no census done, there's no electoral register... whole swathes of the country are outside the control of either the Americans or the interim Iraqi government... Six days ago, 50 people... were blown up in central Baghdad... queuing up hoping to find work. Imagine what insurgents might do to crowds of would-be voters. The UN Secretary General has said he doesn't see how credible elections can be held unless the security situation improves...."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3672986.stm
OUR LICENSE TO ATTACK ANY COUNTRY
"...National Security Strategy (NSS) of September 2002... was in effect revised to lower the bars to aggression. The need to establish ties to terror was quietly dropped. More significant... Bush and colleagues declared the right to resort to force even if a country does not have WMD or even programs to develop them. It is sufficient that it have the "intent and ability" to do so... The official doctrine, then, is that anyone is subject to overwhelming attack..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/FI22Aa02.html
"...National Security Strategy (NSS) of September 2002... was in effect revised to lower the bars to aggression. The need to establish ties to terror was quietly dropped. More significant... Bush and colleagues declared the right to resort to force even if a country does not have WMD or even programs to develop them. It is sufficient that it have the "intent and ability" to do so... The official doctrine, then, is that anyone is subject to overwhelming attack..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/FI22Aa02.html
CIVIL WAR OR NOT?
"... after the disclosure of a secret CIA report that provided a pessimistic future for Iraq by the end of 2005, with the worst scenario being a civil war... Condoleezza Rice claimed that the report was an attempt to look at the big picture. "That is no evidence that the Iraqis are falling into civil war. Quite the opposite. Kurds and Shia and Sunnis are working together to build a new Iraq," Rice said. .."
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=4983
"... I don't think (the Sunnis)... want elections, which would bring the Shiites and Kurds to power. I think they want the Americans gone so as to find a way to regain Sunni Arab supremacy in the country... So, even if the Iraqi public rises up and gets rid of the Americans, thereafter they are likely to turn on one another unless the Sunni Arabs can throw up leaders that can deal with the new situation in which they are a minority. They haven't given good evidence of an ability to do that as yet."
- Juan Cole, Informed Comment, Tuesday, September 21, 2004
http://www.juancole.com/ere
"... after the disclosure of a secret CIA report that provided a pessimistic future for Iraq by the end of 2005, with the worst scenario being a civil war... Condoleezza Rice claimed that the report was an attempt to look at the big picture. "That is no evidence that the Iraqis are falling into civil war. Quite the opposite. Kurds and Shia and Sunnis are working together to build a new Iraq," Rice said. .."
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=4983
"... I don't think (the Sunnis)... want elections, which would bring the Shiites and Kurds to power. I think they want the Americans gone so as to find a way to regain Sunni Arab supremacy in the country... So, even if the Iraqi public rises up and gets rid of the Americans, thereafter they are likely to turn on one another unless the Sunni Arabs can throw up leaders that can deal with the new situation in which they are a minority. They haven't given good evidence of an ability to do that as yet."
- Juan Cole, Informed Comment, Tuesday, September 21, 2004
http://www.juancole.com/ere
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
OPENING A NEW FRONT IN IRAN
"The United States plans to sell Israel $319 million worth of air-launched bombs, including 500 "bunker busters" able to penetrate Iran's underground nuclear facilities, Israeli security sources said..."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=ZDU4H5EZDH5AWCRBAEOCFEY?type=topNews&storyID=6290467§ion=news
"The United States plans to sell Israel $319 million worth of air-launched bombs, including 500 "bunker busters" able to penetrate Iran's underground nuclear facilities, Israeli security sources said..."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=ZDU4H5EZDH5AWCRBAEOCFEY?type=topNews&storyID=6290467§ion=news
KILLING WOMEN AND CHILDREN - NOT OUR THING
"... US troops expressed feelings of guilt over killing Iraqis in a war they believe is unjust. "We shouldn't be here," said one Marine infantryman bluntly. "There was no reason for invading this country in the first place. We just came here and [angered people] and killed a lot of innocent people," said the marine, who has seen regular combat in Ramadi. "I don't enjoy killing women and children, it's not my thing..."
http://search.csmonitor.com/search_content/0921/p02s02-usmi.html
"... US troops expressed feelings of guilt over killing Iraqis in a war they believe is unjust. "We shouldn't be here," said one Marine infantryman bluntly. "There was no reason for invading this country in the first place. We just came here and [angered people] and killed a lot of innocent people," said the marine, who has seen regular combat in Ramadi. "I don't enjoy killing women and children, it's not my thing..."
http://search.csmonitor.com/search_content/0921/p02s02-usmi.html
THE IRAQI ARMY
"... There are only six Iraqi army battalions in service, each with about 700 soldiers, three of which are deployed in Najaf. Six more battalions are supposed to be trained by the end of October. By the end of January, U.S. officials hope to have 27 trained and deployed Iraqi battalions..."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36905-2004Sep20_2.html
"... There are only six Iraqi army battalions in service, each with about 700 soldiers, three of which are deployed in Najaf. Six more battalions are supposed to be trained by the end of October. By the end of January, U.S. officials hope to have 27 trained and deployed Iraqi battalions..."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36905-2004Sep20_2.html
BUSH CALLED RECRUITER FOR AL QUAEDA
"The British ambassador to Rome... accused President George W Bush of being the "best recruiting sergeant" for al-Qa'eda..."
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=LELTB42YITUULQFIQMFSM54AVCBQ0JVC?xml=/news/2004/09/21/wenvoy21.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/09/21/ixnewstop.html
"The British ambassador to Rome... accused President George W Bush of being the "best recruiting sergeant" for al-Qa'eda..."
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=LELTB42YITUULQFIQMFSM54AVCBQ0JVC?xml=/news/2004/09/21/wenvoy21.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/09/21/ixnewstop.html
Monday, September 20, 2004
LEGALITY OF IRAQ WAR
• The invasion was launched without official sanction, let alone encouragement, from the United Nations. Thus it has not been waged in accordance with accepted standards of international law.
• The invasion was launched, and the occupation has continued, without an official declaration of war by the U.S. Congress. Thus it has not been waged in accordance with accepted standards of U.S. constitutional law.
http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/index.php?ntid=10489
• The invasion was launched without official sanction, let alone encouragement, from the United Nations. Thus it has not been waged in accordance with accepted standards of international law.
• The invasion was launched, and the occupation has continued, without an official declaration of war by the U.S. Congress. Thus it has not been waged in accordance with accepted standards of U.S. constitutional law.
http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/index.php?ntid=10489
TEN YEARS OF GUERRILLA WAR
"... the conflict in Iraq... resembles a classic guerrilla war with US forces now involved in counterinsurgency... history suggests that it could take as long as a decade to defeat them.... "Guerrilla warfare is the most underrated and the most successful form of warfare in human history. It is a defensive type of war against a foreign invader. If the guerrillas don't lose, they win. The objective is to wait out your opponent until he goes home."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0920/p01s01-woiq.html
"... the conflict in Iraq... resembles a classic guerrilla war with US forces now involved in counterinsurgency... history suggests that it could take as long as a decade to defeat them.... "Guerrilla warfare is the most underrated and the most successful form of warfare in human history. It is a defensive type of war against a foreign invader. If the guerrillas don't lose, they win. The objective is to wait out your opponent until he goes home."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0920/p01s01-woiq.html
Sunday, September 19, 2004
WILL THE U.S. CAUSE ITSELF TO BE EXPELLED?
"... it is entirely possible that the Iraqis will mount a nationwide urban revolutionary movement aimed at expelling the US. At that point the US military will be faced with a choice of committing massacres... or leaving... tthe tactic of using helicopter gunships and warplane bombardment of civilian neighborhoods as key tactics in fighting urban guerrillas.... hastens the day when the Iraqi public comes out into the streets in the hundreds of thousands and begins the revolution for Iraqi independence..."
Informed Comment, September 20, 2004
http://www.juancole.com/
"... it is entirely possible that the Iraqis will mount a nationwide urban revolutionary movement aimed at expelling the US. At that point the US military will be faced with a choice of committing massacres... or leaving... tthe tactic of using helicopter gunships and warplane bombardment of civilian neighborhoods as key tactics in fighting urban guerrillas.... hastens the day when the Iraqi public comes out into the streets in the hundreds of thousands and begins the revolution for Iraqi independence..."
Informed Comment, September 20, 2004
http://www.juancole.com/
FLAWED INVESTIGATION OF PATRIOT MISSILE FRIENDLY-FIRE ACCIDENTS
"... a Patriot air defense battery... shot down a British Tornado fighter... more disturbing is the way the investigation was performed... (the) report cited the failure of the Tornado to properly identify itself as a "friendly aircraft" due to problems with its Identification Friend or Foe system... (and) appeared to be an approaching hostile Iraqi missile."
"... (However) the "threatening" target that was first detected by the Patriot battery was in fact a "ghost" created by errant radio signals... the launched Patriot interceptor did not see the false ghost target but instead locked onto the Tornado... Within one week of the tragic Patriot shootdown of the Tornado a US Navy F-18 pilot was killed by a Patriot over Karbala, Iraq, and a US Air Force F-16 had to fire in self-defense on another Patriot unit that was about to attack. It is clear that the flawed and automated artificial intelligence in the Patriot units played a critical role in each of these two other incidents..."
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/09/19/friendly_fire_shootdown?mode=PF
"... a Patriot air defense battery... shot down a British Tornado fighter... more disturbing is the way the investigation was performed... (the) report cited the failure of the Tornado to properly identify itself as a "friendly aircraft" due to problems with its Identification Friend or Foe system... (and) appeared to be an approaching hostile Iraqi missile."
"... (However) the "threatening" target that was first detected by the Patriot battery was in fact a "ghost" created by errant radio signals... the launched Patriot interceptor did not see the false ghost target but instead locked onto the Tornado... Within one week of the tragic Patriot shootdown of the Tornado a US Navy F-18 pilot was killed by a Patriot over Karbala, Iraq, and a US Air Force F-16 had to fire in self-defense on another Patriot unit that was about to attack. It is clear that the flawed and automated artificial intelligence in the Patriot units played a critical role in each of these two other incidents..."
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/09/19/friendly_fire_shootdown?mode=PF
USED TO LEAVE BASES FREELY
"... There was a time when U.S. soldiers could leave their bases freely in non-armored Humvees and interact with the people they'd traveled thousands of miles to protect..."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/9682088.htm
"... There was a time when U.S. soldiers could leave their bases freely in non-armored Humvees and interact with the people they'd traveled thousands of miles to protect..."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/9682088.htm
INFORMATION ON THE PROPOSED DRAFT
"Universal National Service Act of 2003"
H. R. 163
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 7, 2003
Mr. RANGEL (for himself, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. STARK, and Mr. ABERCROMBIE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services:
To provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.
http://www.theorator.com/bills108/hr163.html
http://thomas.loc.gov/
S. 89
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 7, 2003
Mr. HOLLINGS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services:
To provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.
http://www.hslda.org/Legislation/National/2003/S89/default.asp
http://thomas.loc.gov/
AN ANONYMOUS RUMOR
"....information on the draft resolutions being proposed very secretly. It will be a universal male, female draft from 18 to 26. No college deferments. The bills are in Congress and they have been quietly filling the Selective Service jobs around the country. This is set to be in place by March of course after the election. The bills are HR163 and S89. There is a phone # 202-224-3121 and 2 web sites. www.house.gov and www.senate.gov. Also you could contact your rep or senator. My biggest complaint is that this is not in the public for discussion and debate. By the time people know about it, it will be fact."
INFO ON THE SNOPES URBAN LEGEND SITE
"...the Selective Service maintains that the timing of ads to fill draft board positions was coincidental, part of a process of filling expired board positions that has been underway for several years... There is as yet no definitive answer to the question of whether or not the U.S. will reinstitute a draft."
http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/draft.asp
AND THE STATEMENT FROM SELECTIVE SERVICE
"Notwithstanding recent stories in the news media and on the Internet, Selective Service is not getting ready to conduct a draft for the U.S. Armed Forces -- either with a special skills or regular draft. Rather, the Agency remains prepared to manage a draft if and when the President and the Congress so direct. This responsibility has been ongoing since 1980 and is nothing new. Further, both the President and the Secretary of Defense have stated on more than one occasion that there is no need for a draft for the War on Terrorism or any likely contingency, such as Iraq. Additionally, the Congress has not acted on any proposed legislation to reinstate a draft. Therefore, Selective Service continues to refine its plans to be prepared as is required by law, and to register young men who are ages 18 through 25. "
http://www.sss.gov/
"Universal National Service Act of 2003"
H. R. 163
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 7, 2003
Mr. RANGEL (for himself, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. STARK, and Mr. ABERCROMBIE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services:
To provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.
http://www.theorator.com/bills108/hr163.html
http://thomas.loc.gov/
S. 89
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 7, 2003
Mr. HOLLINGS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services:
To provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.
http://www.hslda.org/Legislation/National/2003/S89/default.asp
http://thomas.loc.gov/
AN ANONYMOUS RUMOR
"....information on the draft resolutions being proposed very secretly. It will be a universal male, female draft from 18 to 26. No college deferments. The bills are in Congress and they have been quietly filling the Selective Service jobs around the country. This is set to be in place by March of course after the election. The bills are HR163 and S89. There is a phone # 202-224-3121 and 2 web sites. www.house.gov and www.senate.gov. Also you could contact your rep or senator. My biggest complaint is that this is not in the public for discussion and debate. By the time people know about it, it will be fact."
INFO ON THE SNOPES URBAN LEGEND SITE
"...the Selective Service maintains that the timing of ads to fill draft board positions was coincidental, part of a process of filling expired board positions that has been underway for several years... There is as yet no definitive answer to the question of whether or not the U.S. will reinstitute a draft."
http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/draft.asp
AND THE STATEMENT FROM SELECTIVE SERVICE
"Notwithstanding recent stories in the news media and on the Internet, Selective Service is not getting ready to conduct a draft for the U.S. Armed Forces -- either with a special skills or regular draft. Rather, the Agency remains prepared to manage a draft if and when the President and the Congress so direct. This responsibility has been ongoing since 1980 and is nothing new. Further, both the President and the Secretary of Defense have stated on more than one occasion that there is no need for a draft for the War on Terrorism or any likely contingency, such as Iraq. Additionally, the Congress has not acted on any proposed legislation to reinstate a draft. Therefore, Selective Service continues to refine its plans to be prepared as is required by law, and to register young men who are ages 18 through 25. "
http://www.sss.gov/
AN ARAB VIEW OF KERRY
"... Kerry does not have solutions. All he came up with is a plan to involve the allies in bearing the burden of the war, in matters of expenses and training, and to accelerate the habilitation of the Iraqi forces in order for them to control the situation. Who said that the allies would accept to put their hands in fire in order to take out the burnt American chestnut?"
"... Kerry is more swinging in his Iraqi policy than the pendulum of a wall clock.... Prior to the war on Iraq (in Senate session of 9/10/2002) he warned about Americans going to war alone by saying: "If we go into it alone without reason, we risk inflaming an entire region, breeding a new generation of terrorists, a new cadre of anti-American zealots, and we will be less secure, not more secure, at the end of the day, even with Saddam Hussein disarmed."
"... These wise words were erased by time; Kerry said two weeks ago that if he knew when he voted for going to war, what he knows now, he would still have taken the same decision (to go to war)."
http://english.daralhayat.com/opinion/OPED/09-2004/Article-20040918-1219784a-c0a8-01ed-0029-df8a5797a7c9/story.html
"... Kerry does not have solutions. All he came up with is a plan to involve the allies in bearing the burden of the war, in matters of expenses and training, and to accelerate the habilitation of the Iraqi forces in order for them to control the situation. Who said that the allies would accept to put their hands in fire in order to take out the burnt American chestnut?"
"... Kerry is more swinging in his Iraqi policy than the pendulum of a wall clock.... Prior to the war on Iraq (in Senate session of 9/10/2002) he warned about Americans going to war alone by saying: "If we go into it alone without reason, we risk inflaming an entire region, breeding a new generation of terrorists, a new cadre of anti-American zealots, and we will be less secure, not more secure, at the end of the day, even with Saddam Hussein disarmed."
"... These wise words were erased by time; Kerry said two weeks ago that if he knew when he voted for going to war, what he knows now, he would still have taken the same decision (to go to war)."
http://english.daralhayat.com/opinion/OPED/09-2004/Article-20040918-1219784a-c0a8-01ed-0029-df8a5797a7c9/story.html
Saturday, September 18, 2004
HONEST ELECTION UNDER OCCUPATION IMPOSSIBLE
"... Sheik Abdul Satar Abdul Jabbar, a member of the association, which represents about 3,000 Sunni mosques in the region, said "As long as we are under military occupation, honest elections are impossible. "People will not come out to vote in this environment. If the election goes forward anyway, the body that will be elected will not represent the country."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/19/international/middleeast/19strategy.html?pagewanted=2&hp
"... Sheik Abdul Satar Abdul Jabbar, a member of the association, which represents about 3,000 Sunni mosques in the region, said "As long as we are under military occupation, honest elections are impossible. "People will not come out to vote in this environment. If the election goes forward anyway, the body that will be elected will not represent the country."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/19/international/middleeast/19strategy.html?pagewanted=2&hp
BRITAIN'S STEPS ON WAY TO WAR
Jan 29, 2002 President Bush signals Iraq is next in State of the Union address.
March 8 Cabinet Office Secret UK Eyes Only options paper warns war would be illegal and no certainty of what would come after.
March 14 Sir David Manning, Mr Blair's foreign policy adviser, says Mr Bush appears not to know how to make war legal or what would happen "on the morning after".
March 18 Sir Christopher Meyer, UK Ambassador to US, briefs Paul Wolfowitz, US Deputy Defence Secretary, on "the need to wrongfoot Saddam".
March 22 Peter Ricketts, Foreign Office policy director, says attacking Iraq "looks like a grudge match between Bush and Saddam".
March 25 Jack Straw, Foreign Secretary, says legal advice is that "fresh mandate needed" to make war legal.
Sept 25 Government releases dossier on Iraq weapons.
Nov 8 UN Resolution 1441 condemns Iraq breach of ceasefire obligations.
March 17, 2003 US and UK give up attempt to obtain fresh mandate. Mr Bush issues ultimatum to Iraq giving Saddam 48 hours to leave.
March 20 War begins.
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=DIBGK2CCGWQM3QFIQMFSNAGAVCBQ0JVC?xml=/news/2004/09/18/nwar218.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/09/18/ixnewstop.html
Jan 29, 2002 President Bush signals Iraq is next in State of the Union address.
March 8 Cabinet Office Secret UK Eyes Only options paper warns war would be illegal and no certainty of what would come after.
March 14 Sir David Manning, Mr Blair's foreign policy adviser, says Mr Bush appears not to know how to make war legal or what would happen "on the morning after".
March 18 Sir Christopher Meyer, UK Ambassador to US, briefs Paul Wolfowitz, US Deputy Defence Secretary, on "the need to wrongfoot Saddam".
March 22 Peter Ricketts, Foreign Office policy director, says attacking Iraq "looks like a grudge match between Bush and Saddam".
March 25 Jack Straw, Foreign Secretary, says legal advice is that "fresh mandate needed" to make war legal.
Sept 25 Government releases dossier on Iraq weapons.
Nov 8 UN Resolution 1441 condemns Iraq breach of ceasefire obligations.
March 17, 2003 US and UK give up attempt to obtain fresh mandate. Mr Bush issues ultimatum to Iraq giving Saddam 48 hours to leave.
March 20 War begins.
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=DIBGK2CCGWQM3QFIQMFSNAGAVCBQ0JVC?xml=/news/2004/09/18/nwar218.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/09/18/ixnewstop.html
ILLEGAL FOR U.S. TO DETERMINE HOW UN RESOLUTION 1441 WOULD BE ENFORCED.
A member of the military emailed me:
" ... Though violation of UN resolutions was not cited as the primary reason by our government to go to war, it reason was enough for me to support it."
Perhaps he had not read the resolution that applied. Here are two sites with the text of UN Resolution 1441 as passed on 8 November 2002:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2412837.stm
http://www.un.int/usa/sres-iraq.htm
The preamble in fact begins by saying that the resolution is "reaffirming the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq."
Article 3 asks Iraq to "begin to comply with its disarmament obligations".
Article 13 says that the "Council has repeatedly warned Iraq that it will face serious consequences as a result of its continued violations of its obligations."
So, the US took it upon itself to interpret and administer the "serious consequences. The consequences became a pre-emptive attack and occupation of Iraq in order to disarm and change the regime. In years to come, the attack and occupation of Iraq may be judged as overstepping, unnecessary and unjustified by international law. The UN says the attack was "illegal":
"UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, in an internview on 16 Sep 2004, said that Resolution 1441... warned Iraq that there would be "serious consequences" if it did not comply with UN demands over its suspected weapons programmes. Mr Annan said it should have been left to the UN Security Council, in a second resolution, to determine what those consequences were. Annan said that the attack on Iraq "was not in conformity with the UN Charter. From our point of view, from the charter point of view, it was illegal."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3661976.stm
A member of the military emailed me:
" ... Though violation of UN resolutions was not cited as the primary reason by our government to go to war, it reason was enough for me to support it."
Perhaps he had not read the resolution that applied. Here are two sites with the text of UN Resolution 1441 as passed on 8 November 2002:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2412837.stm
http://www.un.int/usa/sres-iraq.htm
The preamble in fact begins by saying that the resolution is "reaffirming the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq."
Article 3 asks Iraq to "begin to comply with its disarmament obligations".
Article 13 says that the "Council has repeatedly warned Iraq that it will face serious consequences as a result of its continued violations of its obligations."
So, the US took it upon itself to interpret and administer the "serious consequences. The consequences became a pre-emptive attack and occupation of Iraq in order to disarm and change the regime. In years to come, the attack and occupation of Iraq may be judged as overstepping, unnecessary and unjustified by international law. The UN says the attack was "illegal":
"UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, in an internview on 16 Sep 2004, said that Resolution 1441... warned Iraq that there would be "serious consequences" if it did not comply with UN demands over its suspected weapons programmes. Mr Annan said it should have been left to the UN Security Council, in a second resolution, to determine what those consequences were. Annan said that the attack on Iraq "was not in conformity with the UN Charter. From our point of view, from the charter point of view, it was illegal."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3661976.stm
FINAL REPORT OF IRAQ SURVEY GROUP: NO WMD
"The comprehensive 15-month search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has concluded that the only chemical or biological agents... were small quantities of poisons, most likely for use in assassinations... (with) no evidence of a capability of making weapons..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1307448,00.html
"... the long-awaited final report of the Iraq Survey Group concludes there were no weapons of mass destruction in the country at the time of the US-UK invasion... the team of weapons inspectors sent in by Washington and London at the end of the war to comb Iraq will find... there were no stockpiles..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1301382,00.html
"The comprehensive 15-month search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has concluded that the only chemical or biological agents... were small quantities of poisons, most likely for use in assassinations... (with) no evidence of a capability of making weapons..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1307448,00.html
"... the long-awaited final report of the Iraq Survey Group concludes there were no weapons of mass destruction in the country at the time of the US-UK invasion... the team of weapons inspectors sent in by Washington and London at the end of the war to comb Iraq will find... there were no stockpiles..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1301382,00.html
IRAQI OIL WORKERS HELP BLOW UP PIPELINES
"... The success of the bombings and the expansion of targets (indicate) that the insurgents have inside help. Some of Iraq's 55,000 oil technicians and engineers who are disenchanted with the U.S. occupation may be providing instruction. "A significant number are supplying information and intelligence to the various insurgents to blow up facilities... to bring down a government that they see as collaborators..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-pipeline18sep18,1,7134530.story?coll=la-home-headlines
"... The success of the bombings and the expansion of targets (indicate) that the insurgents have inside help. Some of Iraq's 55,000 oil technicians and engineers who are disenchanted with the U.S. occupation may be providing instruction. "A significant number are supplying information and intelligence to the various insurgents to blow up facilities... to bring down a government that they see as collaborators..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-pipeline18sep18,1,7134530.story?coll=la-home-headlines
U.S. TAXPAYERS TO PAY FOR BILLIONS IN LOST OIL REVENUE
"... industry analysts expect Iraq to bring in far less oil revenue than the $15 billion previously projected for the year. As a result, U.S. taxpayers may be forced to make up for shortages in revenue that Pentagon officials once promised would cover much of the reconstruction costs..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-pipeline18sep18,1,7134530.story?coll=la-home-headlines
"... industry analysts expect Iraq to bring in far less oil revenue than the $15 billion previously projected for the year. As a result, U.S. taxpayers may be forced to make up for shortages in revenue that Pentagon officials once promised would cover much of the reconstruction costs..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-pipeline18sep18,1,7134530.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Friday, September 17, 2004
TURKEY WARNS U.S. TO STOP ASSAULT ON TALAFAR
"US and Iraqi forces allow civilians to return to the mainly ethnic Turkmen northern city of Talafar, after Turkey threatens to stop co-operating with the US over Iraq unless an assault there ends..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3657232.stm
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul warned that if the US did not cease its attacks on Tal Afar... Ankara might withdraw its support to the US in Iraq... "what is being done there is harming the civilian population, that it is wrong, and that if it continues, Turkey's cooperation on issues regarding Iraq will come to a total stop." He added, "... If necessary, we will not hesitate to do what has to be done."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FI18Ak02.html
"US and Iraqi forces allow civilians to return to the mainly ethnic Turkmen northern city of Talafar, after Turkey threatens to stop co-operating with the US over Iraq unless an assault there ends..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3657232.stm
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul warned that if the US did not cease its attacks on Tal Afar... Ankara might withdraw its support to the US in Iraq... "what is being done there is harming the civilian population, that it is wrong, and that if it continues, Turkey's cooperation on issues regarding Iraq will come to a total stop." He added, "... If necessary, we will not hesitate to do what has to be done."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FI18Ak02.html
HEADLINES PESSIMISTIC ABOUT WAR
Wall Street Journal: ”Rebel Attacks Reveal New Cooperation: Officials Fear Recent Rise in Baghdad Violence Stems from Growing Coordination”.
Baltimore Sun: ”In Iraq, Chance for Credible Vote is Slipping Away”.
Philadelphia Inquirer: ”Outlook: The Growing Insurgency Could Doom U.S. Plans for Iraq, Analysts Say”.
Washington Post: ”U.S. Plans to Divert Iraq Money: Attacks Prompt Request to Move Reconstruction Funds to Security Forces”.
USA Today: ”Insurgents in Iraq Appear More Powerful Than Ever”.
New York Times: ”U.S. Intelligence Shows Pessimism on Iraq's Future: Civil War Called Possible -- Tone Differs from Public Statements”.
Newsweek Magazine: ”It's Worse Than You Think”.
”The bottom line is, at this moment we are losing the war”, Col Andrew Bacevich (ret.) of Boston University told USA Today Thursday. ”That doesn't mean it is lost, but we are losing, and as an observer it is difficult for me to see that either the civilian leadership or the military leadership has any plausible idea on how to turn this around”.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0917-01.htm
Wall Street Journal: ”Rebel Attacks Reveal New Cooperation: Officials Fear Recent Rise in Baghdad Violence Stems from Growing Coordination”.
Baltimore Sun: ”In Iraq, Chance for Credible Vote is Slipping Away”.
Philadelphia Inquirer: ”Outlook: The Growing Insurgency Could Doom U.S. Plans for Iraq, Analysts Say”.
Washington Post: ”U.S. Plans to Divert Iraq Money: Attacks Prompt Request to Move Reconstruction Funds to Security Forces”.
USA Today: ”Insurgents in Iraq Appear More Powerful Than Ever”.
New York Times: ”U.S. Intelligence Shows Pessimism on Iraq's Future: Civil War Called Possible -- Tone Differs from Public Statements”.
Newsweek Magazine: ”It's Worse Than You Think”.
”The bottom line is, at this moment we are losing the war”, Col Andrew Bacevich (ret.) of Boston University told USA Today Thursday. ”That doesn't mean it is lost, but we are losing, and as an observer it is difficult for me to see that either the civilian leadership or the military leadership has any plausible idea on how to turn this around”.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0917-01.htm
TERROR "WAR" DOES NOT MEET DEFINITION
If the word ''war'' is used to describe the horrific American Civil War AND the current struggle against terrorists (to say nothing of the ''war on drugs,'' the ''war on pollution,'' etc.), then the word has lost all meaning. Moreover, ''terrorism'' is an abstraction, while terrorists are specific people and specific organizations. ''War on terror'' is useful only to persuade the American people that Bush is a wartime president and to justify the foolish and now dangerous war in Iraq.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/greeley/cst-edt-greel17.html
If the word ''war'' is used to describe the horrific American Civil War AND the current struggle against terrorists (to say nothing of the ''war on drugs,'' the ''war on pollution,'' etc.), then the word has lost all meaning. Moreover, ''terrorism'' is an abstraction, while terrorists are specific people and specific organizations. ''War on terror'' is useful only to persuade the American people that Bush is a wartime president and to justify the foolish and now dangerous war in Iraq.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/greeley/cst-edt-greel17.html
AIR RAIDS HIT CIVILIANS
"U.S. forces launched several air raids overnight on the village of Zoba, 10 miles Fallujah, demolishing 13 houses... "The bodies of 30 people killed in Zoba were brought to Fallujah general hospital as well as 40 wounded," Doctor Ahmed Khalil said. He affirmed that most of the victims were women and children... According to the Health Ministry, U.S. assaults in and around Falluja had killed at least 44 people. Reuters television images showed bloodied bodies, many of which were women and children, on hospital beds."
http://www.aj-review.com/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_ID=4839
"U.S. forces launched several air raids overnight on the village of Zoba, 10 miles Fallujah, demolishing 13 houses... "The bodies of 30 people killed in Zoba were brought to Fallujah general hospital as well as 40 wounded," Doctor Ahmed Khalil said. He affirmed that most of the victims were women and children... According to the Health Ministry, U.S. assaults in and around Falluja had killed at least 44 people. Reuters television images showed bloodied bodies, many of which were women and children, on hospital beds."
http://www.aj-review.com/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_ID=4839
Thursday, September 16, 2004
MILITARY EVACUATION FIGURES
Named Dead: 977 (Aug 2004)
Dead (kin not notified yet): 35
Battle Wounded: 6,987
Non-battle Wounded: 4,416
Disease: 7,347
Total Evacuated from Iraq: 15,346
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_casualties.htm
NOT ALL CASUALTIES COUNTED
"Nearly 17,000 service members medically evacuated from Iraq and Afghanistan are absent from public Pentagon casualty reports... The Pentagon said most don't fit the definition of casualties, but a veterans' advocate said they should all be counted... In addition to those evacuations, 32,684 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan now out of the military sought medical attention from the Department of Veterans Affairs by July 22, according to VA reports..."
http://about.upi.com/exclusive/UPI-20040915-021124-6165R
Named Dead: 977 (Aug 2004)
Dead (kin not notified yet): 35
Battle Wounded: 6,987
Non-battle Wounded: 4,416
Disease: 7,347
Total Evacuated from Iraq: 15,346
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_casualties.htm
NOT ALL CASUALTIES COUNTED
"Nearly 17,000 service members medically evacuated from Iraq and Afghanistan are absent from public Pentagon casualty reports... The Pentagon said most don't fit the definition of casualties, but a veterans' advocate said they should all be counted... In addition to those evacuations, 32,684 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan now out of the military sought medical attention from the Department of Veterans Affairs by July 22, according to VA reports..."
http://about.upi.com/exclusive/UPI-20040915-021124-6165R
BUSH: AMERICA WILL STAY THE COURSE, FINISH THE JOB
"... we must stay the course because the end result is in our nation's interest. A secure and free Iraq is an historic opportunity to change the world and make America more secure. A free Iraq in the midst of the Middle East will have incredible change..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/14/politics/14BTEX.html?ex=1095480000&en=890be0ba5c7b096e&ei=5070&pagewanted=print&position=
"When America says we'll do something," the president declared, "we are going to do it -- and finish the job."
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/2004/06/iraq-040618-afps01.htm
"Most senior US military officers now believe the war on Iraq has turned into a disaster on an unprecedented scale... Bush's war is already lost. Retired general William Odom, former head of the National Security Agency (said): "Bush hasn't found the WMD. Al-Qaida, it's worse, he's lost on that front. That he's going to achieve a democracy there? That goal is lost, too. It's lost." He adds: "Right now, the course we're on, we're achieving Bin Laden's ends.... This is far graver than Vietnam."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1305360,00.html
"... we must stay the course because the end result is in our nation's interest. A secure and free Iraq is an historic opportunity to change the world and make America more secure. A free Iraq in the midst of the Middle East will have incredible change..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/14/politics/14BTEX.html?ex=1095480000&en=890be0ba5c7b096e&ei=5070&pagewanted=print&position=
"When America says we'll do something," the president declared, "we are going to do it -- and finish the job."
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/2004/06/iraq-040618-afps01.htm
"Most senior US military officers now believe the war on Iraq has turned into a disaster on an unprecedented scale... Bush's war is already lost. Retired general William Odom, former head of the National Security Agency (said): "Bush hasn't found the WMD. Al-Qaida, it's worse, he's lost on that front. That he's going to achieve a democracy there? That goal is lost, too. It's lost." He adds: "Right now, the course we're on, we're achieving Bin Laden's ends.... This is far graver than Vietnam."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1305360,00.html
WHY OUR ARAB FRIENDS THINK WE INVADED IRAQ
"... the University of Maryland... published one survey in July that tested opinions in six Arab countries whose governments are among Washington's closest allies in the region. Asked by interviewers to identify Washington's motives in invading Iraq, the top four explanations... by... 3,000 respondents... named ”weakening” or ”dominating” Muslims or the Muslim world, ”controlling oil”, and ”protecting Israel”.
http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=25437
"... the University of Maryland... published one survey in July that tested opinions in six Arab countries whose governments are among Washington's closest allies in the region. Asked by interviewers to identify Washington's motives in invading Iraq, the top four explanations... by... 3,000 respondents... named ”weakening” or ”dominating” Muslims or the Muslim world, ”controlling oil”, and ”protecting Israel”.
http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=25437
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
UN SAYS IRAQ INVASION ILLEGAL
Sep 16: The web pages of the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times and Chicago Tribune do not show this story.
"The United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has told the BBC the US-led invasion of Iraq was an illegal act that contravened the UN charter. "From our point of view and the [UN] charter point of view it was illegal."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3661134.stm
"The United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was illegal because it has breached the UN charter..."
http://www.aj-review.com/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_ID=4824
"... Questioned repeatedly whether he considered the war illegal, Annan said, "Yes, if you wish. I have indicated it was not in conformity with the U.N. Charter from our point of view, from the charter point of view, it was illegal."... Annan made a similar comment on March 10, 2003 during a news conference in The Hague, Netherlands, shortly before the invasion. He said that if the United States took military action without Security Council approval "it would not be in conformity with the Charter."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=RMS5DKDYAUIY2CRBAEZSFFA?type=topNews&storyID=6248462
Sep 16: The web pages of the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times and Chicago Tribune do not show this story.
"The United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has told the BBC the US-led invasion of Iraq was an illegal act that contravened the UN charter. "From our point of view and the [UN] charter point of view it was illegal."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3661134.stm
"The United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was illegal because it has breached the UN charter..."
http://www.aj-review.com/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_ID=4824
"... Questioned repeatedly whether he considered the war illegal, Annan said, "Yes, if you wish. I have indicated it was not in conformity with the U.N. Charter from our point of view, from the charter point of view, it was illegal."... Annan made a similar comment on March 10, 2003 during a news conference in The Hague, Netherlands, shortly before the invasion. He said that if the United States took military action without Security Council approval "it would not be in conformity with the Charter."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=RMS5DKDYAUIY2CRBAEZSFFA?type=topNews&storyID=6248462
AFTER THE HELICOPTER ATTACK
"... U.S. soldiers set up a roadblock at a major intersection. An angry American soldier hollered at an Iraqi officer not to let any go through... then a convoy of American armored vehicles came through, an armored tow truck pulling the still blazing Bradley fighting vehicle over the intersection, spreading oily residue in its wake. Some of the passengers blocked at the intersection got out of their cars to cheer..."
"Further south on the road into the city from Kuwait and southern Iraq, a long convoy of U.S. military trucks carted in new armored vehicles, Iraq’s most depressing import... Two Apache helicopters guard the convoy of from the sky, scanning the perennially peaceful, upper-class neighborhood nearby for any sign of an ambush..."
http://www.guerrillanews.com/human_rights/doc5251.html
HELICOPTER FIRES ON CROWD, KILLS CHILDREN AND TV REPORTER DOING LIVE BROADCAST
"... A US armoured vehicle caught fire and its four crew members were evacuated with minor injuries... (then) a US helicopter gunship opened fire with missiles and machine-guns at a crowd swarming around the vehicle who were cheering and throwing stones. At least 12 people were killed... Two children and a journalist for an Arabic TV news channel, al-Arabiyya, were among those killed... The US military said the tank was destroyed from the air "to prevent looting and harm to the Iraqi people.."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3648786.stm
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=11235
"I am a journalist. I'm dying, I'm dying," screamed Mazen al-Tumeizi, a correspondent for the Arabic television channel al-Arabiya, after shrapnel from a rocket fired by an American helicopter interrupted his live broadcast and slammed into his back."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=561021
A witness's story (long):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1303827,00.html
"... U.S. soldiers set up a roadblock at a major intersection. An angry American soldier hollered at an Iraqi officer not to let any go through... then a convoy of American armored vehicles came through, an armored tow truck pulling the still blazing Bradley fighting vehicle over the intersection, spreading oily residue in its wake. Some of the passengers blocked at the intersection got out of their cars to cheer..."
"Further south on the road into the city from Kuwait and southern Iraq, a long convoy of U.S. military trucks carted in new armored vehicles, Iraq’s most depressing import... Two Apache helicopters guard the convoy of from the sky, scanning the perennially peaceful, upper-class neighborhood nearby for any sign of an ambush..."
http://www.guerrillanews.com/human_rights/doc5251.html
HELICOPTER FIRES ON CROWD, KILLS CHILDREN AND TV REPORTER DOING LIVE BROADCAST
"... A US armoured vehicle caught fire and its four crew members were evacuated with minor injuries... (then) a US helicopter gunship opened fire with missiles and machine-guns at a crowd swarming around the vehicle who were cheering and throwing stones. At least 12 people were killed... Two children and a journalist for an Arabic TV news channel, al-Arabiyya, were among those killed... The US military said the tank was destroyed from the air "to prevent looting and harm to the Iraqi people.."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3648786.stm
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=11235
"I am a journalist. I'm dying, I'm dying," screamed Mazen al-Tumeizi, a correspondent for the Arabic television channel al-Arabiya, after shrapnel from a rocket fired by an American helicopter interrupted his live broadcast and slammed into his back."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=561021
A witness's story (long):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1303827,00.html
U.S. IS TOO LATE TO CONTROL CHAOS
"... the violence increasingly appears to threaten nationwide elections planned for January... Many experts on Iraq say the best that can be hoped for now is continued chaos that falls short of a civil war... one senior administration official deeply engaged in Iraq policy said... "We've finally got our act together, but it's probably too late," ... (he) spoke only on the condition of anonymity because he's more pessimistic than the administration's official line on Iraq...."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/9663509.htm
"... the violence increasingly appears to threaten nationwide elections planned for January... Many experts on Iraq say the best that can be hoped for now is continued chaos that falls short of a civil war... one senior administration official deeply engaged in Iraq policy said... "We've finally got our act together, but it's probably too late," ... (he) spoke only on the condition of anonymity because he's more pessimistic than the administration's official line on Iraq...."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/9663509.htm
COST OF WAR - WHICH SPENDING MAKES US SAFER?
"... the Iraq war has cost $144.4 billion -- all in the name of making us safer.... Look at what other safety-ensuring things it could buy... Which spending actually makes us safer?"
http://www.readythinkvote.com/vote_iraq_2.html
"... the Iraq war has cost $144.4 billion -- all in the name of making us safer.... Look at what other safety-ensuring things it could buy... Which spending actually makes us safer?"
http://www.readythinkvote.com/vote_iraq_2.html
ENDLESS RESISTANCE
"It doesn't matter how many we kill, they'll always keep coming back. They've all got cousins, brothers. They have an endless supply."
- Pfc. Mario Rutigliano, Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Tall Afar, Iraq
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21671-2004Sep14.html
"It doesn't matter how many we kill, they'll always keep coming back. They've all got cousins, brothers. They have an endless supply."
- Pfc. Mario Rutigliano, Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Tall Afar, Iraq
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21671-2004Sep14.html
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
FUNDAMENTALIST CHRTISTIANITY AND IRAQ
"... sending cannon fodder to die in heathen Babylon is a good thing because a spreading Middle East war will hasten the Apocalypse: whereupon the scapulae of the faithful will sprout wings lofting them into Bliss Eternal while infidels will be consumed in the fiery furnace..."
- Counterpunch, September 14, 2004
http://www.counterpunch.org/
"... sending cannon fodder to die in heathen Babylon is a good thing because a spreading Middle East war will hasten the Apocalypse: whereupon the scapulae of the faithful will sprout wings lofting them into Bliss Eternal while infidels will be consumed in the fiery furnace..."
- Counterpunch, September 14, 2004
http://www.counterpunch.org/
IRAQ ELECTION DATE
"Elections will take place in Iraq as planned by next January, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said... "We realise they might not be pretty, but they will be held."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=11296
"I presume the election will be delayed," says the Iraqi Interior Ministry's chief spokesman, Sabah Kadhim. A senior Iraqi official sees no chance of January elections: "I'm convinced that it's not going to happen. It's just not realistic. How is it going to happen?" "The Americans have created a series of fictional dates and events in order to delude themselves," says Ghassan Atiyya, director of the independent Iraq Foundation for Development and Democracy, who recently met with Allawi and American representatives to discuss the January agenda. "Badly prepared elections, rather than healing wounds, will open them."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5973272/site/newsweek
"Elections will take place in Iraq as planned by next January, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said... "We realise they might not be pretty, but they will be held."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=11296
"I presume the election will be delayed," says the Iraqi Interior Ministry's chief spokesman, Sabah Kadhim. A senior Iraqi official sees no chance of January elections: "I'm convinced that it's not going to happen. It's just not realistic. How is it going to happen?" "The Americans have created a series of fictional dates and events in order to delude themselves," says Ghassan Atiyya, director of the independent Iraq Foundation for Development and Democracy, who recently met with Allawi and American representatives to discuss the January agenda. "Badly prepared elections, rather than healing wounds, will open them."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5973272/site/newsweek
FREE FOOD IN IRAQ
"... Iraq remains in some ways the world's ultimate welfare state... nearly every Iraqi family gets, regardless of income and no matter whose guns rule the local streets, the central government's monthly gift of free food... Importing and distributing the goods eats up $3.8 billion a year, or close to one-fifth of the national budget... corruption in the procurement process is legendary... "The officials who run this are thieves," Salah, the shopkeeper, said. "They import good quality food, sell it and then give bad quality food to the people."
http://www.iht.com/articles/538630.html
"... Iraq remains in some ways the world's ultimate welfare state... nearly every Iraqi family gets, regardless of income and no matter whose guns rule the local streets, the central government's monthly gift of free food... Importing and distributing the goods eats up $3.8 billion a year, or close to one-fifth of the national budget... corruption in the procurement process is legendary... "The officials who run this are thieves," Salah, the shopkeeper, said. "They import good quality food, sell it and then give bad quality food to the people."
http://www.iht.com/articles/538630.html
Monday, September 13, 2004
WHERE WERE THOSE 9/11 HIJACKERS FROM?
85% of Arabs Think Israel or USA Carried Out 9/11 --
"Al-Arabyiah TV on the 11th Sep 2004 broadcasted a live programme... The question of the programme was "Do you think that there are organizations other than Al-Qaeda responsible for the 11 Sep 2001 attacks in NY?!" More than 85% of the callers voted for YES! Less than 15% voted for no! Those who said yes think that Israel, the Zionists, and the USA are the ones that carried out the NY attacks in 2001..."
Hammorabi Blog, Monday, September 13, 2004
http://hammorabi.blogspot.com/
45% of Americans Think Iraq Responsible For 9/11 --
"... A New York Times/CBS poll (in March 2003) shows that 45 percent of Americans believe Mr. Hussein was "personally involved" in Sept. 11..."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0314/p02s01-woiq.html
85% of Arabs Think Israel or USA Carried Out 9/11 --
"Al-Arabyiah TV on the 11th Sep 2004 broadcasted a live programme... The question of the programme was "Do you think that there are organizations other than Al-Qaeda responsible for the 11 Sep 2001 attacks in NY?!" More than 85% of the callers voted for YES! Less than 15% voted for no! Those who said yes think that Israel, the Zionists, and the USA are the ones that carried out the NY attacks in 2001..."
Hammorabi Blog, Monday, September 13, 2004
http://hammorabi.blogspot.com/
45% of Americans Think Iraq Responsible For 9/11 --
"... A New York Times/CBS poll (in March 2003) shows that 45 percent of Americans believe Mr. Hussein was "personally involved" in Sept. 11..."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0314/p02s01-woiq.html
U.S. HAS SPENT ONLY $700 MILLION OUT OF $18.4 BILLION FOR IRAQ WATER AND POWER, NOW DIVERTS $3.4 BILLION TO SECURITY
"Last month, Washington reallocated $3.4bn of the $18.4bn it has set aside to rebuild Iraq's water and power networks towards measures aimed at improving security... The interim Iraqi government has said it needs the $3.4bn to restore water and power supplies... the US has spent just $700m - a small fraction of the available sum - on reconstruction projects so far this year... Persistent electricity blackouts and water shortages more than a year after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime have exacerbated Iraqi resentment towards the US-led coalition forces...."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3652058.stm
"Last month, Washington reallocated $3.4bn of the $18.4bn it has set aside to rebuild Iraq's water and power networks towards measures aimed at improving security... The interim Iraqi government has said it needs the $3.4bn to restore water and power supplies... the US has spent just $700m - a small fraction of the available sum - on reconstruction projects so far this year... Persistent electricity blackouts and water shortages more than a year after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime have exacerbated Iraqi resentment towards the US-led coalition forces...."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3652058.stm
MAJOR OFFENSIVE AGAINST CITIES AFTER U.S. ELECTION
"Coalition holds off efforts to take rebel-run cities... US says Iraqi forces are not ready to launch major attacks... American presidential politics are also preventing a major offensive now... Iraqi officials agree that their forces are not yet up to the task, they also say the Americans are reluctant to undertake any offensive before the Nov. 2 presidential election - and especially any offensive that would almost certainly entail heavy civilian and US military losses..."
http://csmonitor.com/2004/0913/p01s04-woiq.html
"Coalition holds off efforts to take rebel-run cities... US says Iraqi forces are not ready to launch major attacks... American presidential politics are also preventing a major offensive now... Iraqi officials agree that their forces are not yet up to the task, they also say the Americans are reluctant to undertake any offensive before the Nov. 2 presidential election - and especially any offensive that would almost certainly entail heavy civilian and US military losses..."
http://csmonitor.com/2004/0913/p01s04-woiq.html
VIETNAMESE GENERALS ON IRAQ
"Americans, rich and powerful, have still not come to terms with their defeat at the hands of smaller, poorer people... The wounds of the Vietnam War still remain among Americans, in particular given the current circumstances of the war in Iraq."
- General Hoang Minh Thao, historian of the Vietnamese army.
"The Vietnam War has become again a burning topic in particular since the invasion of Iraq. It has touched the hearts of generations of Americans."
- General Trinh Dinh Thang, war veteran.
"Casting doubts on each other's war records is a manoeuvre which is not honourable but is often used in presidential elections in the United States."
- General Le Huu Duc, one of the masterminds behind the North Vietnamese capture of Saigon.
hhttp://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0913-22.htmere
"Americans, rich and powerful, have still not come to terms with their defeat at the hands of smaller, poorer people... The wounds of the Vietnam War still remain among Americans, in particular given the current circumstances of the war in Iraq."
- General Hoang Minh Thao, historian of the Vietnamese army.
"The Vietnam War has become again a burning topic in particular since the invasion of Iraq. It has touched the hearts of generations of Americans."
- General Trinh Dinh Thang, war veteran.
"Casting doubts on each other's war records is a manoeuvre which is not honourable but is often used in presidential elections in the United States."
- General Le Huu Duc, one of the masterminds behind the North Vietnamese capture of Saigon.
hhttp://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0913-22.htmere
INTERVIEW WITH AN INSURGENT GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE
"... When I heard that the Americans were coming to liberate Iraq I was very happy... (but) they bomb the mosques, they kill a huge number of people... we are under occupation. There is no greater shame than to see your country being occupied... we realised we had to act... most of our money comes from local people who support what we do but can't fight themselves..."
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5014045-102275,00.html
"... When I heard that the Americans were coming to liberate Iraq I was very happy... (but) they bomb the mosques, they kill a huge number of people... we are under occupation. There is no greater shame than to see your country being occupied... we realised we had to act... most of our money comes from local people who support what we do but can't fight themselves..."
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5014045-102275,00.html
WHO WANTS DEMOCRACY?
"... we are not going to turn Iraq into a model democracy. The Sunnis don't want democracy. The Shiites don't want a democracy. The Kurds don't want a democracy. The Saudis do not want a new democracy as a neighbor. Nor do the Kuwaitis. Nor do the Syrians..." (And probably not the Iranians, either.)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2004/09/13/hsorensen.DTL
"... we are not going to turn Iraq into a model democracy. The Sunnis don't want democracy. The Shiites don't want a democracy. The Kurds don't want a democracy. The Saudis do not want a new democracy as a neighbor. Nor do the Kuwaitis. Nor do the Syrians..." (And probably not the Iranians, either.)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2004/09/13/hsorensen.DTL
Sunday, September 12, 2004
"PRECISION" STRIKE IN FALLUJAH
"At least 15 people were killed and 20 wounded in a US air and ground assault on... Fallujah... "So far we received 15 bodies. Among them is an ambulance driver and two nurses, plus five wounded who were in the ambulance when it was attacked"... An AFP correspondent saw 15 bodies laid out for burial as furious grief-stricken relatives gathered..."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=11239
"In Fallujah... warplanes pounded the city in a relentless series of night-time raids, killing 12 Iraqis, including five children and two women, a doctor said... an AFP correspondent saw locals drag five bodies out of the rubble and children helped retrieve pieces of flesh. Witnesses said the family who lived in the house was sleeping on the roof when the missile struck, blowing their bodies to smithereens..."
"... The Marine Corps said the latest raid was a "precision strike" on a hideout used by militants... "Three Zarqawi associates were reported to be in the area, no other individuals were present at the time of the strike," a statement said..."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=11214
"At least 15 people were killed and 20 wounded in a US air and ground assault on... Fallujah... "So far we received 15 bodies. Among them is an ambulance driver and two nurses, plus five wounded who were in the ambulance when it was attacked"... An AFP correspondent saw 15 bodies laid out for burial as furious grief-stricken relatives gathered..."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=11239
"In Fallujah... warplanes pounded the city in a relentless series of night-time raids, killing 12 Iraqis, including five children and two women, a doctor said... an AFP correspondent saw locals drag five bodies out of the rubble and children helped retrieve pieces of flesh. Witnesses said the family who lived in the house was sleeping on the roof when the missile struck, blowing their bodies to smithereens..."
"... The Marine Corps said the latest raid was a "precision strike" on a hideout used by militants... "Three Zarqawi associates were reported to be in the area, no other individuals were present at the time of the strike," a statement said..."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=11214
Friday, September 10, 2004
AL QAEDA IS WINNING WITH BUSH
"War on terror" is a meaningless myth: you can't combat a supple attack machine like al-Qaeda with shock and awe. What should have been a long, meticulous police operation was turned by Bush... into an illegal, preemptive attack on a nation that had nothing to do with terror..."
"And now al-Qaeda, in its delocalized mutation, is thriving around the world... Al-Qaeda is... the "global" head plus the "local" heads. "Global" al-Qaeda includes groups of multinational operatives striking in the US... "Local" al-Qaeda on the other hand strike in their native countries against Western targets: these are all part of the big al-Qaeda franchising... Al-Qaeda... waits for no one... Al-Qaeda subscribes to no political strategy, other than the strategy of total opportunism... al-Qaeda, from a business point of view, is a major success: three years after September 11, it is a global brand and a global movement... Bin Laden is laughing: Bush's crusade has legitimized an obscure sect as a worldwide symbol of political revolt. How could bin Laden not vote for Bush? "
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FI11Ak03.html
"War on terror" is a meaningless myth: you can't combat a supple attack machine like al-Qaeda with shock and awe. What should have been a long, meticulous police operation was turned by Bush... into an illegal, preemptive attack on a nation that had nothing to do with terror..."
"And now al-Qaeda, in its delocalized mutation, is thriving around the world... Al-Qaeda is... the "global" head plus the "local" heads. "Global" al-Qaeda includes groups of multinational operatives striking in the US... "Local" al-Qaeda on the other hand strike in their native countries against Western targets: these are all part of the big al-Qaeda franchising... Al-Qaeda... waits for no one... Al-Qaeda subscribes to no political strategy, other than the strategy of total opportunism... al-Qaeda, from a business point of view, is a major success: three years after September 11, it is a global brand and a global movement... Bin Laden is laughing: Bush's crusade has legitimized an obscure sect as a worldwide symbol of political revolt. How could bin Laden not vote for Bush? "
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FI11Ak03.html
MORE AREAS CONTROLLED BY REBELS THAN A YEAR AGO
"Armed groups and foreign terrorists have established new camps in central Iraq as government forces attack rebels in the north and south, officials say... new armed groups (are) organizing themselves in parts of the country earlier thought safe... The reports follow an admission by US Central Command chief General John Abizaid that more areas in Iraq are under rebel control today than there were last year..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FI11Ak02.html
"Armed groups and foreign terrorists have established new camps in central Iraq as government forces attack rebels in the north and south, officials say... new armed groups (are) organizing themselves in parts of the country earlier thought safe... The reports follow an admission by US Central Command chief General John Abizaid that more areas in Iraq are under rebel control today than there were last year..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FI11Ak02.html
TURKEY SAYS US AIR STRIKES KILLED ETHNIC TURKS
"Turkey is urging the US to bring its operations in the north Iraq town of Talafar to a swift end, saying ethnic Turkmen have died in air strikes... "We have asked the US authorities to stop the offensive in Talafar as soon as possible," the ministry said in a statement. The Turkish government has also called on the US to avoid using "excessive force"...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3645070.stm
"Turkey is urging the US to bring its operations in the north Iraq town of Talafar to a swift end, saying ethnic Turkmen have died in air strikes... "We have asked the US authorities to stop the offensive in Talafar as soon as possible," the ministry said in a statement. The Turkish government has also called on the US to avoid using "excessive force"...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3645070.stm
DIFFERENCE IN REPORTING
The right-wing sites report this part of the al Qaeda video:
"The defeat of America in Iraq and Afghanistan has become a matter of time..."
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/9/9/204526.shtml
While omitting this part:
"... "They will no longer be safe while their government does not stop committing its crimes against Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=11222
The right-wing sites report this part of the al Qaeda video:
"The defeat of America in Iraq and Afghanistan has become a matter of time..."
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/9/9/204526.shtml
While omitting this part:
"... "They will no longer be safe while their government does not stop committing its crimes against Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=11222
Thursday, September 09, 2004
AL QAEDA VIDEO
"Bin Laden's spiritual adviser said... the era of security for the US had gone, and Americans would not enjoy it again if their government did not stop what he called its crimes against Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine... America's defeat in Iraq and Afghanistan has become a matter of time..."
Ayman al-Zawahri in a video aired on Arabic TV station al-Jazeera
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3642910.stm
"Bin Laden's spiritual adviser said... the era of security for the US had gone, and Americans would not enjoy it again if their government did not stop what he called its crimes against Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine... America's defeat in Iraq and Afghanistan has become a matter of time..."
Ayman al-Zawahri in a video aired on Arabic TV station al-Jazeera
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3642910.stm
REPORT FROM NAJAF
"Dr. Haidar... said that the number of CIVILIANS killed is 950, and another 1570 were injured... Haidar used to work in the main hospital in Najaf before the U.S Army closed it some months ago... Two of his cousins were killed during the fights, one of them is a mother of two children, and the other the father of five. Both of them were at their homes. Dr. Haider can be reached at his email haiderrabee@hotmail.com"
Raed Jarrar, the Baghdad Blogger, 4 Sep 2004
http://raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com/
"Dr. Haidar... said that the number of CIVILIANS killed is 950, and another 1570 were injured... Haidar used to work in the main hospital in Najaf before the U.S Army closed it some months ago... Two of his cousins were killed during the fights, one of them is a mother of two children, and the other the father of five. Both of them were at their homes. Dr. Haider can be reached at his email haiderrabee@hotmail.com"
Raed Jarrar, the Baghdad Blogger, 4 Sep 2004
http://raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com/
VENGEANCE ON THOSE WHO HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH 9/11
"While America mourns the deaths of more than 1,000 of its sons and daughters in the Iraq campaign, far more Iraqis have died... private estimates range from 10,000 to 30,000 killed across the nation. At Sheik Omar Clinic, a big book records 10,363 violent deaths in Baghdad and nearby towns alone..."
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQI_DEATHS?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=customwire.htm
"While America mourns the deaths of more than 1,000 of its sons and daughters in the Iraq campaign, far more Iraqis have died... private estimates range from 10,000 to 30,000 killed across the nation. At Sheik Omar Clinic, a big book records 10,363 violent deaths in Baghdad and nearby towns alone..."
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQI_DEATHS?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=customwire.htm
IRAQI NATIONAL RESISTANCE VS. INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM
"We're not engaged in a war on terrorism, (which is) a war against a tactic. We're (also) not concerned here with all terrorist groups. There are many terrorist organizations around the world that the U.S. government is not actively fighting. The enemy (actually) consists of about 100,000 members of about 14 jihadist groups, loosely linked to al Qaeda and representing "a virulent strain of Islam." This strain is a violence-embracing form of the Sunni fundamentalist movement known as Wahabism..."
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/09/08/MNG378LCOR1.DTL
"We're not engaged in a war on terrorism, (which is) a war against a tactic. We're (also) not concerned here with all terrorist groups. There are many terrorist organizations around the world that the U.S. government is not actively fighting. The enemy (actually) consists of about 100,000 members of about 14 jihadist groups, loosely linked to al Qaeda and representing "a virulent strain of Islam." This strain is a violence-embracing form of the Sunni fundamentalist movement known as Wahabism..."
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/09/08/MNG378LCOR1.DTL
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
U.S. NEOCONS HAVE DIFFERENT APPROACH FOR CHECHNYA THAN FOR IRAQ
"... The Washington neocons' commitment to the war on terror evaporates in Chechnya, whose cause they have made their own... the same people in Washington who demand the deployment of overwhelming military force against the US's so-called terrorist enemies (Iraq) also insist that Russia capitulate to hers (Chechnya)..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1299318,00.html
"... The Washington neocons' commitment to the war on terror evaporates in Chechnya, whose cause they have made their own... the same people in Washington who demand the deployment of overwhelming military force against the US's so-called terrorist enemies (Iraq) also insist that Russia capitulate to hers (Chechnya)..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1299318,00.html
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Al-JAZEERA BANNED FOR NOT SUPPORTING OCCUPATION
"Iraqi security officers stormed al-Jazeera's Baghdad offices and sealed the newsroom with red wax... The raid followed a decision by the prime minister, Ayad Allawi, to close the station temporarily in August because of its apparent failure to support the US occupation. Officials said al-Jazeera had now been shut indefinitely because it had ignored the original ban..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1297865,00.html
"Iraqi security officers stormed al-Jazeera's Baghdad offices and sealed the newsroom with red wax... The raid followed a decision by the prime minister, Ayad Allawi, to close the station temporarily in August because of its apparent failure to support the US occupation. Officials said al-Jazeera had now been shut indefinitely because it had ignored the original ban..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1297865,00.html
NO REAL ENEMY IN IRAQ, SO NO VICTORY POSSIBLE
"... There is the single most troubling aspect of the war in Iraq. We launched it against the wicked Saddam Hussein, yet the majority of so-called "insurgents" against whom our forces are arrayed hated Hussein more than we did. We are killing people by the thousands who threaten absolutely nothing of ours."
"The boys in the Iraqi resistance are not terrorists. They are not Ba'athists. They are not jihadists - or they weren't until we gave them reason to be. Whatever the justifications for the invasion of Iraq were a year and a half ago, why are we in this war today? And as President Bush might ask, how in the world do we "win" it?... the final truth about this war is that there is no real enemy (although we are creating enemies by the legion). There will be no victory."
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=104F6D2C8D6FBA65&p_docnum=2
"... There is the single most troubling aspect of the war in Iraq. We launched it against the wicked Saddam Hussein, yet the majority of so-called "insurgents" against whom our forces are arrayed hated Hussein more than we did. We are killing people by the thousands who threaten absolutely nothing of ours."
"The boys in the Iraqi resistance are not terrorists. They are not Ba'athists. They are not jihadists - or they weren't until we gave them reason to be. Whatever the justifications for the invasion of Iraq were a year and a half ago, why are we in this war today? And as President Bush might ask, how in the world do we "win" it?... the final truth about this war is that there is no real enemy (although we are creating enemies by the legion). There will be no victory."
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=104F6D2C8D6FBA65&p_docnum=2
IRAQ ELECTION PREVIEW?
"Fears are growing that the numbers of people registered to vote in Afghanistan's presidential elections simply do not add up... the number registered already exceeds the estimated total of eligible voters for the whole country..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3600742.stm
"... At a press conference on 11 August Karzai said, "If Afghans have two registration cards and if they would like to vote twice—well, welcome! This is an exercise in democracy. Let them exercise it twice." US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who was also at the event, made no comment."
http://www.e-ariana.com/ariana/eariana.nsf/allDocs/BB9604893BBBE47887256EFB004906BB?OpenDocument
"Fears are growing that the numbers of people registered to vote in Afghanistan's presidential elections simply do not add up... the number registered already exceeds the estimated total of eligible voters for the whole country..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3600742.stm
"... At a press conference on 11 August Karzai said, "If Afghans have two registration cards and if they would like to vote twice—well, welcome! This is an exercise in democracy. Let them exercise it twice." US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who was also at the event, made no comment."
http://www.e-ariana.com/ariana/eariana.nsf/allDocs/BB9604893BBBE47887256EFB004906BB?OpenDocument
CIVIL WAR MOSTLY LIKELY OUTCOME
"... the prestigious British Royal Institute of International Affairs (known as Chatham House) issued a report saying a major civil war that would destablize the entire Middle East region is the mostly likely outcome for Iraq if current conditions continue..."
http://search.csmonitor.com/2004/0906/dailyUpdate.html?s=ent2
"... the prestigious British Royal Institute of International Affairs (known as Chatham House) issued a report saying a major civil war that would destablize the entire Middle East region is the mostly likely outcome for Iraq if current conditions continue..."
http://search.csmonitor.com/2004/0906/dailyUpdate.html?s=ent2
Sunday, September 05, 2004
OCCUPATION A MARCH TOWARD PEACE AND PROSPERITY
After ten years of occupation, killing 100,000 people, and leveling the capital city, a military occupation by 100,000 soldiers has not been able to pacify a tiny country with a population of 800,000. The Islamics still want their own country:
"... a series of attacks that in 10 days have left some 500 people dead, was inescapable evidence of an ugly truth that broke through the... assertions on... television and in the rest of the official media that life (in Chechnya)... is a daily march toward peace and prosperity..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/05/international/europe/05russia.html
"... While Mr. Putin attributed the... attacks to... international terror against Russia, there is little question that the source and ideological inspiration for them stems from the grinding conflict in Chechnya, a mostly Muslim republic the size of Connecticut that has bristled under Russian rule for centuries..."
http://nytimes.com/2004/09/06/international/europe/06plot.html?pagewanted=2&hp
After ten years of occupation, killing 100,000 people, and leveling the capital city, a military occupation by 100,000 soldiers has not been able to pacify a tiny country with a population of 800,000. The Islamics still want their own country:
"... a series of attacks that in 10 days have left some 500 people dead, was inescapable evidence of an ugly truth that broke through the... assertions on... television and in the rest of the official media that life (in Chechnya)... is a daily march toward peace and prosperity..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/05/international/europe/05russia.html
"... While Mr. Putin attributed the... attacks to... international terror against Russia, there is little question that the source and ideological inspiration for them stems from the grinding conflict in Chechnya, a mostly Muslim republic the size of Connecticut that has bristled under Russian rule for centuries..."
http://nytimes.com/2004/09/06/international/europe/06plot.html?pagewanted=2&hp
Saturday, September 04, 2004
IRAQ MENTIONED MOST FREQUENTLY BY ADMIMISTRATION
Number of Bush administration public statements on National security issued between 20 January 2001 and 10 September 2001 that mentioned al-Qa'ida = 1.
Number of Bush administration public statements on National security and defence in the same period that mentioned Iraq or Saddam Hussein = 104 .
Number of times Bush mentioned Osama bin Laden in his three State of the Union addresses = 0.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=557746
Number of Bush administration public statements on National security issued between 20 January 2001 and 10 September 2001 that mentioned al-Qa'ida = 1.
Number of Bush administration public statements on National security and defence in the same period that mentioned Iraq or Saddam Hussein = 104 .
Number of times Bush mentioned Osama bin Laden in his three State of the Union addresses = 0.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=557746
Friday, September 03, 2004
BUSH'S GIFT TO FUNDAMENTALISTS
"... (the Administration thought) they were merely dealing with terrorists or criminals. They were actually dealing with terrorism and crime in the service of nationalism and religion, which is entirely different... In invading Iraq, the Bush administration made a gift of Iraqi nationalism to the Islamic fundamentalists. Without nationalism, the fundamentalist cause is weak..."
http://www.iht.com/articles/537175.html
"... (the Administration thought) they were merely dealing with terrorists or criminals. They were actually dealing with terrorism and crime in the service of nationalism and religion, which is entirely different... In invading Iraq, the Bush administration made a gift of Iraqi nationalism to the Islamic fundamentalists. Without nationalism, the fundamentalist cause is weak..."
http://www.iht.com/articles/537175.html
GOD'S GIFTS
"... In his acceptance speech, Bush... fully embraced the war in Iraq: "America is called to lead the cause of freedom in the new century... Freedom is not America's gift to the world. It is the Almighty God's gift." Earlier, New York Governor George Pataki described Bush as the Supreme Being's gift to the United States..."
http://www.thenation.com/capitalgames/index.mhtml?bid=3&pid=1779
"... In his acceptance speech, Bush... fully embraced the war in Iraq: "America is called to lead the cause of freedom in the new century... Freedom is not America's gift to the world. It is the Almighty God's gift." Earlier, New York Governor George Pataki described Bush as the Supreme Being's gift to the United States..."
http://www.thenation.com/capitalgames/index.mhtml?bid=3&pid=1779
IRAQ A STAGE FOR DEMONSTRATION OF BUSH'S DETERMINATION
"At this convention, you don't hear much about... Iraq the country. You hear constantly about Iraq the symbol, the demonstration of American resolve, the place that will be a beacon of democracy throughout the Middle East and the Muslim world. Speakers repeatedly invoke Iraq as a stage set for President Bush's determination..."
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/david_sarasohn/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1094126283322350.xml
"At this convention, you don't hear much about... Iraq the country. You hear constantly about Iraq the symbol, the demonstration of American resolve, the place that will be a beacon of democracy throughout the Middle East and the Muslim world. Speakers repeatedly invoke Iraq as a stage set for President Bush's determination..."
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/david_sarasohn/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1094126283322350.xml
IRAQ OIL EXPORTS DOWN, IMPORTS UP
"... attacks last month... left Iraqi oil exports at their lowest point in a year... It is a situation that has left Iraqi oil officials straining to meet domestic energy needs while ensuring there are enough exports to bring in much-needed hard currency.... Iraq has been largely able to meet domestic needs by importing oil from neighboring countries.."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FI03Ak02.html
"... attacks last month... left Iraqi oil exports at their lowest point in a year... It is a situation that has left Iraqi oil officials straining to meet domestic energy needs while ensuring there are enough exports to bring in much-needed hard currency.... Iraq has been largely able to meet domestic needs by importing oil from neighboring countries.."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FI03Ak02.html
Thursday, September 02, 2004
IRAQI SECURITY FORCE - ONLY 3,000 TRAINED
"(The U.S.) has been struggling to create a 40,000-strong military force to take over security... But according to Brigadier General James Schwitters, who is part of the U.S. command responsible for training Iraq's new army, only 3,000 of the soldiers could be regarded as having been militarily trained, as of early August... attrition rates have also been high, with trained soldiers deserting the military to join insurgencies..."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0902-24.htm
"(The U.S.) has been struggling to create a 40,000-strong military force to take over security... But according to Brigadier General James Schwitters, who is part of the U.S. command responsible for training Iraq's new army, only 3,000 of the soldiers could be regarded as having been militarily trained, as of early August... attrition rates have also been high, with trained soldiers deserting the military to join insurgencies..."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0902-24.htm
IRAQ IS NO LONGER NEWS
"... Iraq... is disappearing from the front pages in the United States... since Iraqis assumed control of their own affairs... the story has been morphing from a "war" to yet another peacekeeping mission involving American soldiers, like Afghanistan.
And because in this post-11 September world, Americans expect their troops to be patrolling in places they couldn't find on a map, peacekeeping is not news any more..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3898161.stm
"... Iraq... is disappearing from the front pages in the United States... since Iraqis assumed control of their own affairs... the story has been morphing from a "war" to yet another peacekeeping mission involving American soldiers, like Afghanistan.
And because in this post-11 September world, Americans expect their troops to be patrolling in places they couldn't find on a map, peacekeeping is not news any more..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3898161.stm