The tired assertion that America "supports democracy" in the Middle East
is increasingly transparent. It was false 50 years ago, when we
supported and funded the hated Shah of Iran to prevent nationalization
of Iranian oil, and it’s false today when we back an unelected military
dictator in Pakistan- just to name two examples.
28 February, 2007
neocons plot more war
Iranians have a vivid memory of 1953, whether they witnessed it or it was passed down to them. It was the year when they fell victim to the first CIA-backed coup which destroyed their democracy. A coup which emboldened America to embark on many more such operations leaving behind it a trail of blood, tears and destruction while making a full circle – back to Iran.
In 2006, the US sold $11 billion arms to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE which control some 45 percent of world oil reserves, with the Pentagon notifying Congress of possible arms sales to Saudi Arabia -- the biggest spender of the six -- totaling well over nine billion dollars.
The Bush Administration, bowing to AIPAC and taking advice from the AEI and other neo-cons is setting the stage to attack Iran by planning and sending more carriers to the Persian Gulf in preparation for war.
Dick Cheney wasted no time in announcing the inevitable with a nudge and a wink to the arms dealers that they can make a killing out of this one - the oil-rich, Al-Qaeda supporters are in a spending mood. Iran’s history is going to be repeated
In 2006, the US sold $11 billion arms to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE which control some 45 percent of world oil reserves, with the Pentagon notifying Congress of possible arms sales to Saudi Arabia -- the biggest spender of the six -- totaling well over nine billion dollars.
The Bush Administration, bowing to AIPAC and taking advice from the AEI and other neo-cons is setting the stage to attack Iran by planning and sending more carriers to the Persian Gulf in preparation for war.
Dick Cheney wasted no time in announcing the inevitable with a nudge and a wink to the arms dealers that they can make a killing out of this one - the oil-rich, Al-Qaeda supporters are in a spending mood. Iran’s history is going to be repeated
Bush laying same groundwork for more war
Bush's January 10th televised address on Iraq: he spoke about the threat to Iraq supposedly posed by Iran.
In his January 10 address, he said Iran is seeking nuclear weapons in order to dominate the Middle East to the detriment of our friends in the region(Israel and Saudi Arabia -- a goal that it simply cannot be allowed to achieve.
On January 23, after years of describing Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda as the greatest threats to U.S. interests in the Middle East, he now introduced a new menace: the resurgent Shia branch of Islam led by Iran.
In his January 10 address, he said Iran is seeking nuclear weapons in order to dominate the Middle East to the detriment of our friends in the region(Israel and Saudi Arabia -- a goal that it simply cannot be allowed to achieve.
On January 23, after years of describing Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda as the greatest threats to U.S. interests in the Middle East, he now introduced a new menace: the resurgent Shia branch of Islam led by Iran.
are we terroists?
America is secretly funding militant ethnic separatist terroist groups in Iran in an attempt to pile pressure on the Islamic regime to give up its nuclear program. Funding for their separatist causes comes directly from the CIA's classified budget but is now "no great secret", according to one former high-ranking CIA official in Washington who spoke anonymously to The Sunday Telegraph.
These terroist assassination incidents have been carried out by the Kurds in the west, the Azeris in the north-west, the Ahwazi Arabs in the south-west, and the Baluchis in the south-east. Non-Persians make up nearly 40 per cent of Iran's 69 million population, with around 16 million Azeris, seven million Kurds, five million Ahwazis and one million Baluchis. Most Baluchis live over the border in Pakistan.
Fred Burton, a former US state department counter-terrorism agent said: "The latest attacks inside Iran fall in line with US efforts to supply and train Iran's ethnic minorities to destabilise the Iranian regime.
These terroist assassination incidents have been carried out by the Kurds in the west, the Azeris in the north-west, the Ahwazi Arabs in the south-west, and the Baluchis in the south-east. Non-Persians make up nearly 40 per cent of Iran's 69 million population, with around 16 million Azeris, seven million Kurds, five million Ahwazis and one million Baluchis. Most Baluchis live over the border in Pakistan.
Fred Burton, a former US state department counter-terrorism agent said: "The latest attacks inside Iran fall in line with US efforts to supply and train Iran's ethnic minorities to destabilise the Iranian regime.
restore moral authority
A Common Sense Agenda for the 110th Congress to restore our moral authority in the world:
(1) Restore Habeas Corpus (2) Stop Renditions to Torture (3) Abolish Secret Prisons (4) Hold Abusers Accountable (5) Hold Fair Trials (6) Prohibit Abusive Interrogations (7) Close Guantánamo Bay (8) Respect the Laws of War (9) Protect Victims of Persecution From Being Defined As Terrorists (10) End Indefinite Detention Without Charge
Human Rights Watch
The group, Human Rights Watch, is asking President Bush to disclose the fates of all terror suspects held since 2001, including at least 16 it believes have been locked up in secret CIA facilities.
Human Rights Watch said the U.S. may have transferred the detainees to other countries that are cooperating with the CIA. The group worries that the detainees could have been returned to their home countries, including Syria, Algeria, Egypt or Libya, where torture is common.
In a letter to Bush on Monday, Joanne Mariner, director of Human Rights Watch's terrorism and counterterrorism program, said her organization recognizes some terror suspects may have committed crimes that merit incarceration. Yet "the decision to imprison such persons must be taken in accordance with legal processes," she said.
Rather than vanishing, they should be charged with crimes, she said.
Human Rights Watch said the U.S. may have transferred the detainees to other countries that are cooperating with the CIA. The group worries that the detainees could have been returned to their home countries, including Syria, Algeria, Egypt or Libya, where torture is common.
In a letter to Bush on Monday, Joanne Mariner, director of Human Rights Watch's terrorism and counterterrorism program, said her organization recognizes some terror suspects may have committed crimes that merit incarceration. Yet "the decision to imprison such persons must be taken in accordance with legal processes," she said.
Rather than vanishing, they should be charged with crimes, she said.
grounds to prosecute?
Have we become the monsters we claim to be fighting?
In the week before his arrival, Jabour said, Pakistani intelligence officers had beaten, abused and burned him at a jailhouse in Lahore, where he was arrested. There two female American interrogators also questioned him and told him he would be rich if he cooperated and would vanish for life if he refused. He said he was later blindfolded and driven four hours north to the villa in a wealthy residential neighborhood.
The house in Islamabad, which U.S. intelligence officials say was jointly run by the CIA and Pakistani intelligence, had been outfitted with jail cells. When Jabour arrived, he saw as many as 20 other detainees, including the 16-year-old son of an Egyptian sheik, who had been captured in Pakistan. Dozens of suspects swept up in the years after Sept. 11, 2001, have been through the house, according to accounts by former prisoners and U.S. intelligence officials with knowledge of the facility.
Jabour spent five weeks there, chained to a wall and prevented from sleeping more than a few hours at a time. He said he was beaten nightly by Pakistani guards after hours of questions from U.S. interrogators. Then he and others were whisked off to CIA-run sites. Some sites were in Eastern Europe; Jabour went to one in Afghanistan. Interrogators -- whom he described as Americans in their late 20s and early 30s -- told Jabour he would never see his three children again.
Human Rights Watch has identified 38 people who may have been held by the CIA and remain unaccounted for. Intelligence officials told The Post that the number of detainees held in such facilities over nearly five years remains classified but is higher than 60. Their whereabouts have not been publicly disclosed.
Jabour said he was often naked during his first three months at the Afghan site, which he spent in a concrete cell furnished with two blankets and a bucket. The lights were kept on 24 hours a day, as were two cameras and a microphone inside the cell. Sometimes loud music blasted through speakers in the cells. The rest of the time, the low buzz of white noise whizzed in the background, possibly to muffle any communication by prisoners through cell walls.
Daily interrogations were conducted by a variety of Americans. Over two years, Jabour said he encountered about 45 interrogators, plus medical staff and psychologists. He was threatened with physical abuse.
He was chained up and left for hours in painful positions more than 20 times and deprived of sleep for long periods. Sometimes he would have one hand chained to a section of his cell wall, making it impossible to stand or sit.
The Jordanians called the International Committee for the Red Cross, which sent a representative to interview Jabour and to contact his family. He remained in Jordanian custody for six weeks, was interrogated and was then handed over to Israel's security services.
The Israeli government dropped the case and transferred Jabour to Gaza. Prison guards drove him to the Erez border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip where his parents awaited.
"The practice of disappearing people -- keeping them in secret detention without any legal process -- is fundamentally illegal under international law," said Joanne Mariner, director of the terrorism program at Human Rights Watch in New York. "The kind of physical mistreatment Jabour described is also illegal." Mariner interviewed Jabour separately as part of the organization's investigation.
In the week before his arrival, Jabour said, Pakistani intelligence officers had beaten, abused and burned him at a jailhouse in Lahore, where he was arrested. There two female American interrogators also questioned him and told him he would be rich if he cooperated and would vanish for life if he refused. He said he was later blindfolded and driven four hours north to the villa in a wealthy residential neighborhood.
The house in Islamabad, which U.S. intelligence officials say was jointly run by the CIA and Pakistani intelligence, had been outfitted with jail cells. When Jabour arrived, he saw as many as 20 other detainees, including the 16-year-old son of an Egyptian sheik, who had been captured in Pakistan. Dozens of suspects swept up in the years after Sept. 11, 2001, have been through the house, according to accounts by former prisoners and U.S. intelligence officials with knowledge of the facility.
Jabour spent five weeks there, chained to a wall and prevented from sleeping more than a few hours at a time. He said he was beaten nightly by Pakistani guards after hours of questions from U.S. interrogators. Then he and others were whisked off to CIA-run sites. Some sites were in Eastern Europe; Jabour went to one in Afghanistan. Interrogators -- whom he described as Americans in their late 20s and early 30s -- told Jabour he would never see his three children again.
Human Rights Watch has identified 38 people who may have been held by the CIA and remain unaccounted for. Intelligence officials told The Post that the number of detainees held in such facilities over nearly five years remains classified but is higher than 60. Their whereabouts have not been publicly disclosed.
Jabour said he was often naked during his first three months at the Afghan site, which he spent in a concrete cell furnished with two blankets and a bucket. The lights were kept on 24 hours a day, as were two cameras and a microphone inside the cell. Sometimes loud music blasted through speakers in the cells. The rest of the time, the low buzz of white noise whizzed in the background, possibly to muffle any communication by prisoners through cell walls.
Daily interrogations were conducted by a variety of Americans. Over two years, Jabour said he encountered about 45 interrogators, plus medical staff and psychologists. He was threatened with physical abuse.
He was chained up and left for hours in painful positions more than 20 times and deprived of sleep for long periods. Sometimes he would have one hand chained to a section of his cell wall, making it impossible to stand or sit.
The Jordanians called the International Committee for the Red Cross, which sent a representative to interview Jabour and to contact his family. He remained in Jordanian custody for six weeks, was interrogated and was then handed over to Israel's security services.
The Israeli government dropped the case and transferred Jabour to Gaza. Prison guards drove him to the Erez border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip where his parents awaited.
"The practice of disappearing people -- keeping them in secret detention without any legal process -- is fundamentally illegal under international law," said Joanne Mariner, director of the terrorism program at Human Rights Watch in New York. "The kind of physical mistreatment Jabour described is also illegal." Mariner interviewed Jabour separately as part of the organization's investigation.
republicans reward the liars
GOP-donor Sam Fox contributed $50,000 to fund the infamous Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads that smeared Kerry's Vietnam War record in the 2004 presidential campaign is being given a position as ambassadorship to Belgium. Republicans continue to reward the liars.
torturers?
Major General Geoffry D. Miller, the former Commanding General of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility and one of the more significant members of the US command structure involved in the Abu Ghraib detention and interrogation abuse allegations, has invoked his right to refuse to answer questions under Article 31 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Miller's decision came shortly after Col. Thomas M. Pappas, the commanding officer at Abu Ghraib, accepted immunity from prosecution this week and was ordered to testify at upcoming courts-martial. Pappas, a military intelligence officer, could be asked to detail high-level policies relating to the treatment of detainees .
Eugene R. Fidell, a Washington expert in military law, said that Miller's decision is "consistent with his being concerned that he may have some exposure to worry about." Fidell added: "It's very unusual for senior officers to invoke their Article 31 rights. The culture in the military tends to encourage cooperation rather than the opposite."
Miller's decision came shortly after Col. Thomas M. Pappas, the commanding officer at Abu Ghraib, accepted immunity from prosecution this week and was ordered to testify at upcoming courts-martial. Pappas, a military intelligence officer, could be asked to detail high-level policies relating to the treatment of detainees .
Eugene R. Fidell, a Washington expert in military law, said that Miller's decision is "consistent with his being concerned that he may have some exposure to worry about." Fidell added: "It's very unusual for senior officers to invoke their Article 31 rights. The culture in the military tends to encourage cooperation rather than the opposite."
27 February, 2007
the Fox agenda
The Fox slogan "we report, you decide" is a lie.
Rupert Murdoch discusses the rise of the Internet and digital media, but tells us he used News Corp. to manipulate the news. Asked if his News Corp. managed to shape the agenda on the war in Iraq, Murdoch said: "No, I don't think so. We tried." Asked by Rose for further comment, he said: "We basically supported the Bush policy in the Middle East. Well excuse me, but a news organization is supposed to report—–— the news, not support an agenda.
Murdoch's media( Fox News, etc) have done more to cheapen American values and drive the country toward fascist ways of thinking than anything since the McCarthy period in the 1950s. The airwaves belong to the public, and this man only licenses them. When will the public take them back and use them for purposes of which Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Franklin would have approved?
If you are watching is Fox News, you are being propagandized, with the neocon Republican agenda, as admitted by the owner Murdoch.
Rupert Murdoch discusses the rise of the Internet and digital media, but tells us he used News Corp. to manipulate the news. Asked if his News Corp. managed to shape the agenda on the war in Iraq, Murdoch said: "No, I don't think so. We tried." Asked by Rose for further comment, he said: "We basically supported the Bush policy in the Middle East. Well excuse me, but a news organization is supposed to report—–
Murdoch's media( Fox News, etc) have done more to cheapen American values and drive the country toward fascist ways of thinking than anything since the McCarthy period in the 1950s. The airwaves belong to the public, and this man only licenses them. When will the public take them back and use them for purposes of which Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Franklin would have approved?
If you are watching is Fox News, you are being propagandized, with the neocon Republican agenda, as admitted by the owner Murdoch.
26 February, 2007
Iraq continues
Admitted----------3155 dead, 32,544(as of Feb 3) wounded, not including "contractors" and innocents in Iraq, and on and on it continues.
21 February, 2007
Libby trial shows deception
Why was the White House so nervous in the summer of 2003 about the CIA's reporting by Wilson on alleged Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from Niger to build a nuclear bomb?
The Libby trial record suggests a simple answer: The White House was worried that the CIA would reveal that it had been pressured in 2002 and early 2003 to support administration claims about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, AND, that in the Niger case, the CIA had tried hard to resist this pressure.
The machinations of Cheney, Libby and others were an attempt to weave an alternative narrative. That is why the White House was so nervous in the summer of 2003 about the CIA's reporting on alleged Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from Niger to build a nuclear bomb?
The Libby trial record suggests a simple answer: The White House was worried that the CIA would reveal that it had been pressured in 2002 and early 2003 to support administration claims about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, AND, that in the Niger case, the CIA had tried hard to resist this pressure.
The machinations of Cheney, Libby and others were an attempt to weave an alternative narrative. That is why the White House was so nervous in the summer of 2003 about the CIA's reporting on alleged Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from Niger to build a nuclear bomb?
not in my name
Concerns escalated last month, when Vice President Cheney and CIA Director Porter J. Goss asked Congress to exempt CIA employees from legislation already endorsed by 90 senators that would bar cruel and degrading treatment of any prisoner in U.S. custody. It is illegal for the government to hold prisoners in such isolation in secret prisons in the United States, which is why the CIA placed them overseas.
It is estimated that more than 100 suspected terrorists have been sent by the CIA into the covert system, according to current and former U.S. intelligence officials and foreign sources and does not does not include prisoners picked up in Iraq. Kept in dark, sometimes underground cells, they have no recognized legal rights, and no one outside the CIA is allowed to talk with them. They are not even allowed to see daylight.
In November 2002 at the "black site" code named the Salt Pit in Afghanistan, a CIA case officer ordered guards to strip naked a young detainee, chain him to the concrete floor and leave him there overnight without blankets. He froze to death, according to four U.S. government officials. The CIA officer has not been charged. Of course not, this is what your country, the USA, has become under these republicans.
It is estimated that more than 100 suspected terrorists have been sent by the CIA into the covert system, according to current and former U.S. intelligence officials and foreign sources and does not does not include prisoners picked up in Iraq. Kept in dark, sometimes underground cells, they have no recognized legal rights, and no one outside the CIA is allowed to talk with them. They are not even allowed to see daylight.
In November 2002 at the "black site" code named the Salt Pit in Afghanistan, a CIA case officer ordered guards to strip naked a young detainee, chain him to the concrete floor and leave him there overnight without blankets. He froze to death, according to four U.S. government officials. The CIA officer has not been charged. Of course not, this is what your country, the USA, has become under these republicans.
Iraq
Admitted----------3145 sacrificed, 32,544 wounded, not including "contractors" and innocents in Iraq, and on and on it continues. British are drawing down their troops.
where the money goes
Mega-contractors such as Halliburton and Bechtel supply the government with brawn. But the biggest, most powerful of the "body shops"—SAIC, which employs 44,000 people and took in $8 billion last year—sells brainpower, including a lot of the "expertise" behind the Iraq war.
Consider this mind-twisting equation from a well-researched article in the current issue of "Vanity Fair" magazine: Private federal contractors now "absorb the taxes paid by everyone in America with incomes under $100,000."
Consider this mind-twisting equation from a well-researched article in the current issue of "Vanity Fair" magazine: Private federal contractors now "absorb the taxes paid by everyone in America with incomes under $100,000."
evangelical money
Last month, the US-based International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) said it donated some $37 million in aid to Israel and the Jewish people in 2006 – $20 million of which were given during last summer’s war with Hizbullah.
The IFCJ channels millions of dollars to Israel every year, the sum total of donations by evangelical Christians who believe that the return of the Jewish people to Israel signals the coming of "the last days," fulfilling a prophecy they say will hasten the "second coming."
The IFCJ channels millions of dollars to Israel every year, the sum total of donations by evangelical Christians who believe that the return of the Jewish people to Israel signals the coming of "the last days," fulfilling a prophecy they say will hasten the "second coming."
20 February, 2007
the obvious
Nearly half of the U.S. military fatalities in Iraq have come from towns where fewer than 25,000 people live, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. One in five hailed from hometowns of less than 5,000.
Many of the hometowns of the war dead aren't just small, they're poor. The AP analysis found that nearly three quarters of those killed in Iraq came from towns where the per capita income was below the national average. More than half came from towns where the percentage of people living in poverty topped the national average. The obvious is obvious.
Many of the hometowns of the war dead aren't just small, they're poor. The AP analysis found that nearly three quarters of those killed in Iraq came from towns where the per capita income was below the national average. More than half came from towns where the percentage of people living in poverty topped the national average. The obvious is obvious.
nice people?
The government's perjury case against Libby will go to the jury this week after a trial that exposed the vice president's large behind-the-scenes involvement in seeking to discredit Joseph C. Wilson IV, a former ambassador who accused Cheney and other administration officials of twisting intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war. He destroyed the wife's career as retribution. Nice people, aren't they.
19 February, 2007
lies vs. common sense and logic
Libby didn't lie to investigators, he was just so darn busy with pressing national security matters that he kept forgetting the chummy chats about Plame he'd had with NBC's Tim Russert and Time magazine's Matt Cooper — not to mention his two-hour lunch on the same subject with Judith Miller (late of the New York Times).
In the run-up to the Iraq war, President Bush was so busy with pressing national security matters that he completely forgot to ask any questions about the gaping holes in the intelligence presented to him.
Condoleezza Rice was so busy with pressing national security matters that she forgot to take false information about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction out of Bush's 2003 State of the Union address, even though the CIA told her that it was false.
Dick Cheney was so busy with pressing national security matters (water-boarding prisoners; shooting small animals) that he totally forgot you're not supposed to pressure people to come up with bogus intelligence in the first place.
Defies logic and common sense. Lies always do.
In the run-up to the Iraq war, President Bush was so busy with pressing national security matters that he completely forgot to ask any questions about the gaping holes in the intelligence presented to him.
Condoleezza Rice was so busy with pressing national security matters that she forgot to take false information about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction out of Bush's 2003 State of the Union address, even though the CIA told her that it was false.
Dick Cheney was so busy with pressing national security matters (water-boarding prisoners; shooting small animals) that he totally forgot you're not supposed to pressure people to come up with bogus intelligence in the first place.
Defies logic and common sense. Lies always do.
on religion
So many innocent people are dying again in the name of God. Included are the Catholic-Protestant conflict, how the Jews have suffered, how some Christians justified slavery, the Crusades, the fighting between Shiite and Sunni Muslims, and the killing between Muslims and Christians.
Should RED LETTER CHRISTIANS who follow Jesus be part of any church that unleashes its clergy to preach that particular individuals or faith groups are to be killed or damned? That is the question.
Should RED LETTER CHRISTIANS who follow Jesus be part of any church that unleashes its clergy to preach that particular individuals or faith groups are to be killed or damned? That is the question.
18 February, 2007
republican charges are hogwash
The Democrats are not completely running roughshod over Republicans, as the GOP did to the Democrats when they controlled Congress.
While they did not allow amendments on the Iraq debate, the Democrats gave every member of the chamber five minutes to speak on the resolution -- an unprecedented amount of debate on a nonbinding resolution, according to Thomas E. Mann, a scholar at Brookings Institution.
He said that is more than the Republicans offered Democrats when the GOP passed a resolution last spring supporting the war in Iraq.
While they did not allow amendments on the Iraq debate, the Democrats gave every member of the chamber five minutes to speak on the resolution -- an unprecedented amount of debate on a nonbinding resolution, according to Thomas E. Mann, a scholar at Brookings Institution.
He said that is more than the Republicans offered Democrats when the GOP passed a resolution last spring supporting the war in Iraq.
common sense and new strategy
Myths that are invoked to try to sell the president’s new war aims:
We must continue the war to prevent the terrible aftermath that will occur if our forces are withdrawn soon. Reflect on the double-think of this formulation. We are now fighting to prevent what our invasion made inevitable
We must continue the war to prevent Iran’s influence from growing in Iraq. This is another absurd notion. One of the president’s initial war aims, the creation of a democracy in Iraq, ensured increased Iranian influence, both in Iraq and the region. Electoral democracy, predictably, would put Shiite groups in power.
We must prevent the emergence of a new haven for al-Qaeda in Iraq. But it was the U.S. invasion that opened Iraq’s doors to al-Qaeda. The longer U.S. forces have remained there, the stronger al-Qaeda has become.
We must continue to fight in order to "support the troops." Lawmakers proclaim in grave tones a litany of problems in Iraq sufficient to justify a rapid pullout. Then they reject that logical conclusion, insisting we cannot do so because we must support the troops.
First is to recognize that fighting on now simply prolongs our losses and blocks the way to a new strategy.
Second, we must recognize that the United States alone cannot stabilize the Middle East.
Third, we must acknowledge that most of our policies are actually destabilizing the region. Spreading democracy, using sticks to try to prevent nuclear proliferation, threatening "regime change," using the hysterical rhetoric of the "global war on terrorism" — all undermine the stability we so desperately need in the Middle East.
Fourth, we must redefine our purpose. It must be a stable region, not primarily a democratic Iraq. We must redirect our military operations so they enhance rather than undermine stability. We can write off the war as a "tactical draw" and make "regional stability" our measure of "victory."
That single step would dramatically realign the opposing forces in the region, where most states want stability.
Realigning our diplomacy and military capabilities to achieve order will hugely reduce the numbers of our enemies and gain us new and important allies.
This cannot happen, however, until our forces are moving out of Iraq. Why should Iran negotiate to relieve our pain as long as we are increasing its influence in Iraq and beyond? Withdrawal will awaken most leaders in the region to their own need for U.S.-led diplomacy to stabilize their neighborhood.
We must continue the war to prevent the terrible aftermath that will occur if our forces are withdrawn soon. Reflect on the double-think of this formulation. We are now fighting to prevent what our invasion made inevitable
We must continue the war to prevent Iran’s influence from growing in Iraq. This is another absurd notion. One of the president’s initial war aims, the creation of a democracy in Iraq, ensured increased Iranian influence, both in Iraq and the region. Electoral democracy, predictably, would put Shiite groups in power.
We must prevent the emergence of a new haven for al-Qaeda in Iraq. But it was the U.S. invasion that opened Iraq’s doors to al-Qaeda. The longer U.S. forces have remained there, the stronger al-Qaeda has become.
We must continue to fight in order to "support the troops." Lawmakers proclaim in grave tones a litany of problems in Iraq sufficient to justify a rapid pullout. Then they reject that logical conclusion, insisting we cannot do so because we must support the troops.
First is to recognize that fighting on now simply prolongs our losses and blocks the way to a new strategy.
Second, we must recognize that the United States alone cannot stabilize the Middle East.
Third, we must acknowledge that most of our policies are actually destabilizing the region. Spreading democracy, using sticks to try to prevent nuclear proliferation, threatening "regime change," using the hysterical rhetoric of the "global war on terrorism" — all undermine the stability we so desperately need in the Middle East.
Fourth, we must redefine our purpose. It must be a stable region, not primarily a democratic Iraq. We must redirect our military operations so they enhance rather than undermine stability. We can write off the war as a "tactical draw" and make "regional stability" our measure of "victory."
That single step would dramatically realign the opposing forces in the region, where most states want stability.
Realigning our diplomacy and military capabilities to achieve order will hugely reduce the numbers of our enemies and gain us new and important allies.
This cannot happen, however, until our forces are moving out of Iraq. Why should Iran negotiate to relieve our pain as long as we are increasing its influence in Iraq and beyond? Withdrawal will awaken most leaders in the region to their own need for U.S.-led diplomacy to stabilize their neighborhood.
more Iraqi reality
Today however, the dangers present in the day to day lives of the Iraqi population are just as deadly and even more sinister. Death comes from everywhere now. It lurks around every corner of the cities throughout the country. The US trained and equipped Iraqi police now represent the greatest perceived threat to the Iraqi population at large, second only to the criminals and militias.
The elements of society which the Iraqis should look to for protection and order are the very same who are murdering and torturing Iraqi citizens every single day in Iraq. Trained and Equipped by the US Military, themselves unaware of the social, tribal and religious forces working in the lives of every single member of the Iraqi Police and Army.
The former Minister of Interior, Jabr, today the Iraq Minister of Finance who lived in Iran for over twenty years during Saddams rule, reportedly formed the Shia death squads, now famous for their murder and brutality against Iraqi citizens, Sunni and Shia alike, still not accountable for his alleged deeds. No government official willing to speak against him.
Fear reigns in Iraq. It seems that today in Iraq, the only solution to just about any problem is death.
The elements of society which the Iraqis should look to for protection and order are the very same who are murdering and torturing Iraqi citizens every single day in Iraq. Trained and Equipped by the US Military, themselves unaware of the social, tribal and religious forces working in the lives of every single member of the Iraqi Police and Army.
The former Minister of Interior, Jabr, today the Iraq Minister of Finance who lived in Iran for over twenty years during Saddams rule, reportedly formed the Shia death squads, now famous for their murder and brutality against Iraqi citizens, Sunni and Shia alike, still not accountable for his alleged deeds. No government official willing to speak against him.
Fear reigns in Iraq. It seems that today in Iraq, the only solution to just about any problem is death.
Iraqi reality
To expect any Iraqi leader who can hold his country together to be pro-American, or to share American goals, is to abandon common sense. It took the United States more than a century to get over its hostility toward British occupation. (In 1914, a majority of the public favored supporting Germany against Britain.)
Every month of the U.S. occupation, polls have recorded Iraqis’ rising animosity toward the United States. Even supporters of an American military presence say that it is acceptable temporarily and only to prevent either of the warring sides in Iraq from winning.
Today the Iraqi government survives only because its senior members and their families live within the heavily guarded Green Zone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and military command.
Every month of the U.S. occupation, polls have recorded Iraqis’ rising animosity toward the United States. Even supporters of an American military presence say that it is acceptable temporarily and only to prevent either of the warring sides in Iraq from winning.
Today the Iraqi government survives only because its senior members and their families live within the heavily guarded Green Zone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and military command.
17 February, 2007
only talking points
Here's another measure of how much trouble President Bush is in politically: Even once-loyal Republican activists are complaining that Bush's senior advisers, including political architect Karl Rove, don't want to listen to their ideas about changing policy in Iraq.
"They just get mad when we bring it up, so we leave it alone," says a prominent conservative who talks regularly to White House officials. The result is that even GOP insiders are losing faith in Bush's Iraq policies, including the "surge"(called reinforcements by republican debaters) of 21,500 troops.
The Bush team's main goal is to get everyone in GOP circles to repeat the White House talking points to the media, according to several GOP activists.
"They just get mad when we bring it up, so we leave it alone," says a prominent conservative who talks regularly to White House officials. The result is that even GOP insiders are losing faith in Bush's Iraq policies, including the "surge"(called reinforcements by republican debaters) of 21,500 troops.
The Bush team's main goal is to get everyone in GOP circles to repeat the White House talking points to the media, according to several GOP activists.
The Democratic Plan
THE DEMOCRATIC (yes the correct word is democratic) PLAN
Democrat Pelosi is apparently backing key provisions already floated by Murtha, including 1. requirements that troops be given at least a year's rest between combat deployments, 2.special training in urban warfare and counterinsurgency,3. safety equipment that the military has struggled to provide AND 4. Murtha's plan to eliminate funding for the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, where a prisoner-abuse scandal badly tarnished the U.S. image in the region and the world.
She also strongly endorsed binding legislation requiring Bush to seek congressional authorization before any military strike on Iran. Let's see these neocon republicans debate the "Democratic Plan."
Democrat Pelosi is apparently backing key provisions already floated by Murtha, including 1. requirements that troops be given at least a year's rest between combat deployments, 2.special training in urban warfare and counterinsurgency,3. safety equipment that the military has struggled to provide AND 4. Murtha's plan to eliminate funding for the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, where a prisoner-abuse scandal badly tarnished the U.S. image in the region and the world.
She also strongly endorsed binding legislation requiring Bush to seek congressional authorization before any military strike on Iran. Let's see these neocon republicans debate the "Democratic Plan."
their money trumps our peace
"Money trumps peace"(Bush said it) is the fundamental reason for the invasions and subsequent gory and violent occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.
In Richard Behan’s excellent article: "From Iraq to Afghanistan, Connecting the Dots with Oil:" he brilliantly follows the history of the oil-money trail in these countries that are one, rich in oil, and two, well placed for the transportation and delivery of oil.
Neither Iraq nor Afghanistan, or their leaders or governments had anything to do with 9-11, but they were in the way of oil and other industries that profit from oil, so they had to go.
Money trumped peace in those countries and they are destroyed and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, Afghanis and Americans have been slaughtered because they were blocking American imperialistic profiteering.
In Richard Behan’s excellent article: "From Iraq to Afghanistan, Connecting the Dots with Oil:" he brilliantly follows the history of the oil-money trail in these countries that are one, rich in oil, and two, well placed for the transportation and delivery of oil.
Neither Iraq nor Afghanistan, or their leaders or governments had anything to do with 9-11, but they were in the way of oil and other industries that profit from oil, so they had to go.
Money trumped peace in those countries and they are destroyed and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, Afghanis and Americans have been slaughtered because they were blocking American imperialistic profiteering.
change nuclear law
For the past two years, the U.S. has been conducting secret operations inside Iran, employing Special Forces units operating out of
Afghanistan, while Pentagon-supported dissidents have been carrying out armed raids into Iran?s predominantly Arab provinces.
American military operations for a major conventional war with Iran could be implemented any day. They extend far beyond targeting suspect WMD facilities and will enable President Bush to destroy Iran's military, political and economic infrastructure overnight using
conventional weapons.
Under "CONPLAN 8022? (Contingency Plan 8022), the Omaha-based command center is now commissioned to strike anywhere in the world within minutes of detecting a target deemed a threat to the United States’ national security. And the projected attack against Iran-which could well include nuclear as well as conventional weapons-will be planned, launched and coordinated by StratCom.
Congress is on notice. The expanded role for nuclear weapons logically calls for a change in the decision-making process on when nuclear weapons should be used, at least in cases where no extreme urgency exists. Under current law, the President has sole full authority to order their use, Congress has no say.
Afghanistan, while Pentagon-supported dissidents have been carrying out armed raids into Iran?s predominantly Arab provinces.
American military operations for a major conventional war with Iran could be implemented any day. They extend far beyond targeting suspect WMD facilities and will enable President Bush to destroy Iran's military, political and economic infrastructure overnight using
conventional weapons.
Under "CONPLAN 8022? (Contingency Plan 8022), the Omaha-based command center is now commissioned to strike anywhere in the world within minutes of detecting a target deemed a threat to the United States’ national security. And the projected attack against Iran-which could well include nuclear as well as conventional weapons-will be planned, launched and coordinated by StratCom.
Congress is on notice. The expanded role for nuclear weapons logically calls for a change in the decision-making process on when nuclear weapons should be used, at least in cases where no extreme urgency exists. Under current law, the President has sole full authority to order their use, Congress has no say.
16 February, 2007
manipulation to widen Iraq War???
Controversy over a possible missed U.S. opportunity for rapprochement with Iran grew on Wednesday as former aide accused Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice of misleading Congress on the issue.
Flynt Leverett, who worked on the National Security Council when it was headed by Rice, said a proposal vetted by Tehran's most senior leaders was sent to the United States in May 2003 and was akin to the 1972 U.S. opening to China.
Speaking at a conference on Capitol Hill, Leverett said he was confident it was seen by Rice and then-Secretary of State Colin Powell but "the administration rejected the overture."Leverett said Powell, in a conversation about the Iranian proposal, told him he "couldn't sell it at the White House."
According to a copy of the proposal posted on The Washington Post Web site and cited by Leverett, it contains considerable detail about approaching issues of central interest to the United States and Iran. This included an end to Iran's support for anti-Israel militants and acceptance of Israel's right to exist.
Flynt Leverett, who worked on the National Security Council when it was headed by Rice, said a proposal vetted by Tehran's most senior leaders was sent to the United States in May 2003 and was akin to the 1972 U.S. opening to China.
Speaking at a conference on Capitol Hill, Leverett said he was confident it was seen by Rice and then-Secretary of State Colin Powell but "the administration rejected the overture."Leverett said Powell, in a conversation about the Iranian proposal, told him he "couldn't sell it at the White House."
According to a copy of the proposal posted on The Washington Post Web site and cited by Leverett, it contains considerable detail about approaching issues of central interest to the United States and Iran. This included an end to Iran's support for anti-Israel militants and acceptance of Israel's right to exist.
the moral of the story
Jewish communal leaders focus most of their current lobbying efforts on pressing the United States to take a tough line against Iran and its nuclear program. If the US attacks Iran, they will be accused of driving America into a war with the government in Tehran. It is common knowledge that Israel has nukes and you don't hear anything about that in our media.
The moral of the story is, if you don’t have a nuke, we’ll threaten to attack you. If you do have a nuke, we’ll leave you alone. In fact, we’ll probably subsidize you. What makes us think Iran does not understand this?
The moral of the story is, if you don’t have a nuke, we’ll threaten to attack you. If you do have a nuke, we’ll leave you alone. In fact, we’ll probably subsidize you. What makes us think Iran does not understand this?
15 February, 2007
update Iraq
Admitted----------3132 dead, 32,544 wounded, not including "contractors" and innocents in Iraq, and on and on it continues.
14 February, 2007
Republicans not about what is right
Republicans knew they had a weak hand to play as the House began its three-day debate on Iraq and whether to support Bush's 20,000-troop "surge."
"The debate should not be about the surge or its details," Republican Reps. Peter Hoekstra (Mich.) and John Shadegg (Ariz.) wrote to colleagues in a letter intercepted by Democrats.
"This debate should not even be about the Iraq war to date, mistakes that have been made, or whether we can, or cannot, win militarily. If we let Democrats force us into a debate on the surge or the current situation in Iraq, we lose."
So these Republicans will conduct an Iraq debate without talking about Iraq. How sad. AND, with Republicans its about winning the debate not about what is right. NOW THAT IS SOME ADMISSION.
"The debate should not be about the surge or its details," Republican Reps. Peter Hoekstra (Mich.) and John Shadegg (Ariz.) wrote to colleagues in a letter intercepted by Democrats.
"This debate should not even be about the Iraq war to date, mistakes that have been made, or whether we can, or cannot, win militarily. If we let Democrats force us into a debate on the surge or the current situation in Iraq, we lose."
So these Republicans will conduct an Iraq debate without talking about Iraq. How sad. AND, with Republicans its about winning the debate not about what is right. NOW THAT IS SOME ADMISSION.
13 February, 2007
hope is not a strategy
The business of protecting our nation’s precious freedom can not be the result of a process that throws resources at a problem in the often vain hope that divine providence will intervene. Hope is not a strategy. Once the bullets and shrapnel start flying around, it’s a bit too late to decide that we got it wrong.
12 February, 2007
closest admission of guilt
A Defense Department Inspector General's has concluded that a Pentagon policy office, with the approval of Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, produced "alternative intelligence assessments on Iraq and Al Qaida relations" that were "inconsistent" with the intelligence community's consensus view in the lead-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Intelligence provided by former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas J. Feith to buttress the White House case for invading Iraq included "reporting of dubious quality or reliability" that supported the political views of senior administration officials rather than the conclusions of the intelligence community, according to a report by the Pentagon's inspector general....
Intelligence provided by former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas J. Feith to buttress the White House case for invading Iraq included "reporting of dubious quality or reliability" that supported the political views of senior administration officials rather than the conclusions of the intelligence community, according to a report by the Pentagon's inspector general....
11 February, 2007
Iraq update
Iraq Stats
U.S. confirmed sacrificed By The DoD: 3105
Reported pending DoD Confirmation: 18
Total 3123
U.S. confirmed sacrificed By The DoD: 3105
Reported pending DoD Confirmation: 18
Total 3123
where did the money go?
No Republican on new Chairman Waxman's (Democrat) Committee on Government Reformmn (now giving long overdue oversight). or the distinguished panel assembled to testify — had any idea how billions of dollars in reconstruction funds were ultimately spent in Iraq
Shipped to Iraq by the ton on C-130 cargo planes laden with bricks of U.S. tender, the funding in question, held in the Development Fund for Iraq and totaling some $8.8 billion, was doled out and is unaccounted for.
Waxman raised another, more ominous possibility — that reconstruction funding may have wound up in the hands of insurgents and other militant factions..
Shipped to Iraq by the ton on C-130 cargo planes laden with bricks of U.S. tender, the funding in question, held in the Development Fund for Iraq and totaling some $8.8 billion, was doled out and is unaccounted for.
Waxman raised another, more ominous possibility — that reconstruction funding may have wound up in the hands of insurgents and other militant factions..
so don't believe me
So you don't believe me when I say these Republicans want a war on Iran.
As far back as August 2005,in the American Conservative magazine, former CIA official Philip Giraldi warned: "In Washington it is hardly a secret that the same people in and around the administration who brought you Iraq are preparing to do the same for Iran" -- possibly involving an "unprovoked nuclear attack" on that country.
A contingency plan was, he stated, being drawn up in the Pentagon, "acting under instructions from Vice President Dick Cheney's office.
As far back as August 2005,in the American Conservative magazine, former CIA official Philip Giraldi warned: "In Washington it is hardly a secret that the same people in and around the administration who brought you Iraq are preparing to do the same for Iran" -- possibly involving an "unprovoked nuclear attack" on that country.
A contingency plan was, he stated, being drawn up in the Pentagon, "acting under instructions from Vice President Dick Cheney's office.
republicans want war on Iran
Republican administration pushing for war with Iran:
At least one former White House official contends that some Bush advisers secretly want an excuse to attack Iran. "They intend to be as provocative as possible and make the Iranians do something [America] would be forced to retaliate for," says Hillary Mann, the administration's former National Security Council director for Iran and Persian Gulf Affairs.
At least one former White House official contends that some Bush advisers secretly want an excuse to attack Iran. "They intend to be as provocative as possible and make the Iranians do something [America] would be forced to retaliate for," says Hillary Mann, the administration's former National Security Council director for Iran and Persian Gulf Affairs.
10 February, 2007
manipulated Iraq intelligence
Intelligence provided by former undersecretary of defense Douglas J.
Feith to buttress the White House case for invading Iraq included
"reporting of dubious quality or reliability" that supported the
political views of senior administration officials rather than the
conclusions of the intelligence community, according to a new report by the Pentagon's inspector general.
Feith to buttress the White House case for invading Iraq included
"reporting of dubious quality or reliability" that supported the
political views of senior administration officials rather than the
conclusions of the intelligence community, according to a new report by the Pentagon's inspector general.
update Iraq
The number of U.S. Military Personnel sacrificed (officially acknowledged) in America's War On Iraq is 3,115 dead and 40,889 wounded, not counting civilians and "contractors."
A partial list of companies who have lost "contractors" follows:
National Response Corp. of Long Island
KBR (subsidiary of Halliburton)
DynCorp International
Blackwater Security Consultants
Titan National Security Solutions
Cochise Consultancy, Inc.
Granite Services, Inc. (subsidiary of General Electric)
Readiness Mgmt. Svcs. (subsid. of Johnson Controls)
Custer Battles
Halliburton
Ultra Services.Irex Corp.
EOD Technology, Inc.
American Services Center
Proactive Communications Inc
Environmental Chemical Corp. Int'l
United Defense Industries
SEI Group, Inc.
Gulf Services Co.
CLI USA
Special Operations Consulting-Security Management Group Inc
California-based construction
Edinburgh Risk Inc.
CTU Consulting
USA Environmental Inc.
Triple Canopy, Inc.
Kroll Incorporated (subcontractor for DynCorp)
MPRI
Falcon Security
The Sandi Group
Aegis Defence Services
SOC-SMG
MPRI
A partial list of companies who have lost "contractors" follows:
National Response Corp. of Long Island
KBR (subsidiary of Halliburton)
DynCorp International
Blackwater Security Consultants
Titan National Security Solutions
Cochise Consultancy, Inc.
Granite Services, Inc. (subsidiary of General Electric)
Readiness Mgmt. Svcs. (subsid. of Johnson Controls)
Custer Battles
Halliburton
Ultra Services.Irex Corp.
EOD Technology, Inc.
American Services Center
Proactive Communications Inc
Environmental Chemical Corp. Int'l
United Defense Industries
SEI Group, Inc.
Gulf Services Co.
CLI USA
Special Operations Consulting-Security Management Group Inc
California-based construction
Edinburgh Risk Inc.
CTU Consulting
USA Environmental Inc.
Triple Canopy, Inc.
Kroll Incorporated (subcontractor for DynCorp)
MPRI
Falcon Security
The Sandi Group
Aegis Defence Services
SOC-SMG
MPRI
07 February, 2007
Libby trial revelations
The last of eight hours of audiotapes filled the courtroom in U.S. District Court here with Libby's calm voice for a third consecutive day, revealing two key points to the jury.
The tapes demonstrate the specific gaps between Libby's version of events and those of government officials and journalists who already have testified at his trial.
They also provide an insider's view of the eagerness at the highest levels of the White House to reach out to the press to discredit Wilson who had revealed that the president had misled the public about the reasons for the war.
The tapes demonstrate the specific gaps between Libby's version of events and those of government officials and journalists who already have testified at his trial.
They also provide an insider's view of the eagerness at the highest levels of the White House to reach out to the press to discredit Wilson who had revealed that the president had misled the public about the reasons for the war.
understatement of the year
Among particular complaints in the Military, the officers cited a request from the office of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that military personnel temporarily fill more than one-third of 350 new State Department jobs in Iraq that are to be created under the new strategy.
At one level, the conflict is a cultural clash between a military that has ordered hundreds of thousands of troops to Iraq in the last four years, and a Foreign Service that offers incentives for civilians to work in war zones but cannot compel diplomats to accept hardship assignments to places like Iraq.
State Department officials say they are using both incentives and subtler pressures to induce employees to go to Iraq. But from the standpoint of personal security, taking those jobs — many of them, by definition, outside the relative safety of the Green Zone — is widely seen as an unattractive career option. Now that must be the understatement of the year.
At one level, the conflict is a cultural clash between a military that has ordered hundreds of thousands of troops to Iraq in the last four years, and a Foreign Service that offers incentives for civilians to work in war zones but cannot compel diplomats to accept hardship assignments to places like Iraq.
State Department officials say they are using both incentives and subtler pressures to induce employees to go to Iraq. But from the standpoint of personal security, taking those jobs — many of them, by definition, outside the relative safety of the Green Zone — is widely seen as an unattractive career option. Now that must be the understatement of the year.
my strategy for Iraq
An alternative, sane option for the US in Iraq: It is to withdraw to the borders, Kurdistan or distant bases within Iraq and allow the war to sort itself out. Only then will real power-brokers emerge able to make a real deal; only then will the future of the deserts and cities of Iraq find a new political settlement.
The only thing preventing this from occurring is president Bush's pride and stupidity. But Iraq and America have each suffered both signature characteristics of George W. Bush for longer than either deserves. It's long past time to cut our losses and acknowledge reality.
Would this lead to a regional war? It's perfectly possible. But it could also lead to the powers of the region actually acting in rational ways to achieve a new and more stable balance of power.
The culture of dependency on U.S. security guarantees has not helped Muslim moderation or Middle East peace over the last two decades. Such dependency gave us al Qaeda and 9/11. Slowly weaning the Saudis and Egyptians off such dependency could be a healthy move.
Already, the Saudis, in the wake of U.S. withdrawal, are countering Iranian influence in the region with far more skill and sophistication than the Bush administration ever could. The U.S can still be a major player from the margins - just not the regional hegemon in the center.
This is the silver lining of Iraq's disintegration. It could help rearrange the region to a more stable balance of power. It could do so by a brutal regional war; or by a slow, intermittently violent process of terror, diplomacy and strategic positioning.
Either way, the less the U.S. is directly involved in one side or another, the more options we retain for the future. Is disengagement a defeat. But it is defeat in a war we have already lost. It could mean a gain in a war that is only just beginning. It could mean victory in the end, whatever victory at this point can be understood to mean.
The only thing preventing this from occurring is president Bush's pride and stupidity. But Iraq and America have each suffered both signature characteristics of George W. Bush for longer than either deserves. It's long past time to cut our losses and acknowledge reality.
Would this lead to a regional war? It's perfectly possible. But it could also lead to the powers of the region actually acting in rational ways to achieve a new and more stable balance of power.
The culture of dependency on U.S. security guarantees has not helped Muslim moderation or Middle East peace over the last two decades. Such dependency gave us al Qaeda and 9/11. Slowly weaning the Saudis and Egyptians off such dependency could be a healthy move.
Already, the Saudis, in the wake of U.S. withdrawal, are countering Iranian influence in the region with far more skill and sophistication than the Bush administration ever could. The U.S can still be a major player from the margins - just not the regional hegemon in the center.
This is the silver lining of Iraq's disintegration. It could help rearrange the region to a more stable balance of power. It could do so by a brutal regional war; or by a slow, intermittently violent process of terror, diplomacy and strategic positioning.
Either way, the less the U.S. is directly involved in one side or another, the more options we retain for the future. Is disengagement a defeat. But it is defeat in a war we have already lost. It could mean a gain in a war that is only just beginning. It could mean victory in the end, whatever victory at this point can be understood to mean.
neocon strategies
The neocon ideologues have neutralized all attempts exerted by powerful political figures who attempted to alter the White House policies, ‘Baker, Carter, former military commanders of US forces in Iraq, etc.,’ and have established a new pro-war apparatus, civilian and military, to expand the theatre of the battle of Iraq to include all the countries of the region.
One may say, therefore, that the war on Iraq has ushered the beginning of a new Christian- Zionist Crusade on the Middle-East using two strategies.
The neocons have only two years to achieve their objectives and this God given Ayatolla threat, if managed properly, may bring about a possible Shia versus Sunni war of attrition, that might lead to a chaotic middle-east most favorable for US/Israel long planned hegemony.
Additional military assets have been introduced, 21500 more combat soldiers--a total of up to 45,000 troops, a second Aircraft Carrier Strike Groups, Patriot Missile Defense Systems, Naval Mine Clearing equipment and expanded intelligence. Now, the assets required to orchestrate the forthcoming battle are in place as planned, and all that is needed is a spark at a critical point of time to ignite multiple civil wars-in-waiting.
Military Strategy: Formal invasion "Iraq" and informal war "War on Terror". If we do not kill them in their countries they will come to kill us here.
Cultural Strategy: "Clash of civilization". The cultural differences are irreconcilable and the two cultures are heading to point of confrontation. Presenting Middle-Eastern people as fanatics and blaming their religion "Islam" as the source of their irrational behavior.
There has to be a plan "B". A Grand Plan that should prove that he, as a commander in Chief, was right all along. This Grand Plan would be the product of the collective thinking of President Bush and his neocons. who are mostly Zionists.
One may say, therefore, that the war on Iraq has ushered the beginning of a new Christian- Zionist Crusade on the Middle-East using two strategies.
The neocons have only two years to achieve their objectives and this God given Ayatolla threat, if managed properly, may bring about a possible Shia versus Sunni war of attrition, that might lead to a chaotic middle-east most favorable for US/Israel long planned hegemony.
Additional military assets have been introduced, 21500 more combat soldiers--a total of up to 45,000 troops, a second Aircraft Carrier Strike Groups, Patriot Missile Defense Systems, Naval Mine Clearing equipment and expanded intelligence. Now, the assets required to orchestrate the forthcoming battle are in place as planned, and all that is needed is a spark at a critical point of time to ignite multiple civil wars-in-waiting.
Military Strategy: Formal invasion "Iraq" and informal war "War on Terror". If we do not kill them in their countries they will come to kill us here.
Cultural Strategy: "Clash of civilization". The cultural differences are irreconcilable and the two cultures are heading to point of confrontation. Presenting Middle-Eastern people as fanatics and blaming their religion "Islam" as the source of their irrational behavior.
There has to be a plan "B". A Grand Plan that should prove that he, as a commander in Chief, was right all along. This Grand Plan would be the product of the collective thinking of President Bush and his neocons. who are mostly Zionists.
who are the nuclear war criminals?
The World is at the crossroads of the most serious crisis in modern history. The US has embarked on a military adventure, "a long war", which threatens the future of humanity. At no point since the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945, has humanity been closer to the unthinkable, a nuclear holocaust which could potentially spread, in terms of radioactive fallout, over a large part of the Middle East.
There is mounting evidence that the Bush Administration, in liaison with Israel and NATO, is planning the launching of a nuclear war against Iran, ironically, in retaliation for Tehran's supposed and maybe nonexistent nuclear weapons program. The US-Israeli military operation is said to be in "an advanced state of readiness". If such a plan were to be launched, the war would escalate and eventually engulf the entire Middle-East Central Asian region.
The war could extend beyond the region, as some analysts have suggested, ultimately leading us into a World War III scenario. The US-led naval deployment (involving a massive deployment of military hardware) is taking place in two distinct theaters: the Persian Gulf and the Eastern Mediterranean.
The militarization of the Eastern Mediterranean is broadly under the jurisdiction of NATO in liaison with Israel. Directed against Syria, it is conducted under the façade of a UN "peace-keeping" mission. In this context, the Israeli led war on Lebanon last summer, which was conducive to countless atrocities and the destruction of an entire country, must be viewed as a stage of the broader US sponsored military road-map.
Who are the nuclear war criminals? Grounds for impeachment?
There is mounting evidence that the Bush Administration, in liaison with Israel and NATO, is planning the launching of a nuclear war against Iran, ironically, in retaliation for Tehran's supposed and maybe nonexistent nuclear weapons program. The US-Israeli military operation is said to be in "an advanced state of readiness". If such a plan were to be launched, the war would escalate and eventually engulf the entire Middle-East Central Asian region.
The war could extend beyond the region, as some analysts have suggested, ultimately leading us into a World War III scenario. The US-led naval deployment (involving a massive deployment of military hardware) is taking place in two distinct theaters: the Persian Gulf and the Eastern Mediterranean.
The militarization of the Eastern Mediterranean is broadly under the jurisdiction of NATO in liaison with Israel. Directed against Syria, it is conducted under the façade of a UN "peace-keeping" mission. In this context, the Israeli led war on Lebanon last summer, which was conducive to countless atrocities and the destruction of an entire country, must be viewed as a stage of the broader US sponsored military road-map.
Who are the nuclear war criminals? Grounds for impeachment?
06 February, 2007
Ivins --coincidence?
We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell. Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous. Make our troops know we're for them and trying to get them out of there. Hit the streets to protest Bush's proposed surge. . . . We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, "Stop it, now!"
And if Republicans want to continue to rubber-stamp this administration's idiotic "plans" and go against the will of the people, they should be thrown out as soon as possible, to join their recent colleagues.
This is the last article from Molly Ivins . Coincidence??
And if Republicans want to continue to rubber-stamp this administration's idiotic "plans" and go against the will of the people, they should be thrown out as soon as possible, to join their recent colleagues.
This is the last article from Molly Ivins . Coincidence??
republicans destroying medicare
This Republican administration is proposing to slash medical care for the poor, children and the elderly to meet the soaring cost of the Iraq war. Remember this the next time you have the opportunity to vote, if they don't take that away as well.
shame on republicans
WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 — Republicans on Monday blocked Senate debate on a bipartisan resolution opposing President Bush’s troop buildup in Iraq, leaving in doubt whether the Senate would render a judgment on what lawmakers of both parties described as the paramount issue of the day.
The procedural vote, which divided mostly along party lines, left the Democratic leadership 11 votes short of the 60 needed to begin debate on the bipartisan resolution. Forty-seven Democrats and two Republicans voted to open debate on the resolution; 45 Republicans and one independent were opposed
The procedural vote, which divided mostly along party lines, left the Democratic leadership 11 votes short of the 60 needed to begin debate on the bipartisan resolution. Forty-seven Democrats and two Republicans voted to open debate on the resolution; 45 Republicans and one independent were opposed
hypocrisy and hypocrits
Three months later, one of four ministers who oversaw three weeks of intensive counseling for the Rev. Ted Haggard said the disgraced minister emerged convinced that he is "completely heterosexual."
They advised him to move. Ware said. "It's hard to heal in Colorado Springs right now. It's like an open wound. He needs to get somewhere he can get the wound healed." (means go somewhere where they don't know your past).
Now that is the height of hypocrisy on two counts. 1. He said he had struggled with this "affliction" all his life, and three weeks later he is "completely heterosexual" RUBBISH, AND 2. "heal the wound" language portrays him as some kind of victim. These people are the ultimate hypocrits.
They advised him to move. Ware said. "It's hard to heal in Colorado Springs right now. It's like an open wound. He needs to get somewhere he can get the wound healed." (means go somewhere where they don't know your past).
Now that is the height of hypocrisy on two counts. 1. He said he had struggled with this "affliction" all his life, and three weeks later he is "completely heterosexual" RUBBISH, AND 2. "heal the wound" language portrays him as some kind of victim. These people are the ultimate hypocrits.
update Iraq
Number Of Iraqi Civilians Slaughtered In America's War on Iraq is now estimated to be around 655,000 +.
The number of U.S. Military Personnel sacrificed (officially admitted to) in America'sWar on Iraq now totals 3,099 and counting , not including U.S. mercenaries and other civilians.
The number of U.S. Military Personnel sacrificed (officially admitted to) in America'sWar on Iraq now totals 3,099 and counting , not including U.S. mercenaries and other civilians.
04 February, 2007
don't let neocons lie
The new National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, of which the key-judgments summary was released to the public Friday Feb 2, is that Iran and Syria are not nearly the enablers of violence they've been made out to be.
The real menace is sectarian strife, which has Shiites controlling an "illegitimate and incompetent" government and Sunnis unwilling to accept their minority status. Don't let the republican neocons lie.
The real menace is sectarian strife, which has Shiites controlling an "illegitimate and incompetent" government and Sunnis unwilling to accept their minority status. Don't let the republican neocons lie.
grounds for impeachment
At some point you have to face the facts: the Bush administration was:
wrong about those WMD weapons,
wrong about the number of troops required,
wrong about Sadaam buying uranium in Africa,
wrong about Al Queda relationship with Sadaam,
wrong about removing Sadaam which instantly made Iran stronger,
wrong about an Iraqui "nuclear program",
wrong about where the supposed nuclear weapons were stored,
wrong about their refusal to quell rioting early,
wrong about gutting of the Iraqi army and police force,
wrong about refusing to kill or capture al Sadr in 2003,
wrong to tell the generals not speak of the coming insurgency,
wrong to stubbornly refuse to give generals the troops they needed to win,
wrong to make the "Mission Accomplished" declaration,
wrong for the VP to claim that the insurgency was in its death throes,
and wrong to push a surge plan that the president’s top generals opposed.
Grounds for impeachment?
wrong about those WMD weapons,
wrong about the number of troops required,
wrong about Sadaam buying uranium in Africa,
wrong about Al Queda relationship with Sadaam,
wrong about removing Sadaam which instantly made Iran stronger,
wrong about an Iraqui "nuclear program",
wrong about where the supposed nuclear weapons were stored,
wrong about their refusal to quell rioting early,
wrong about gutting of the Iraqi army and police force,
wrong about refusing to kill or capture al Sadr in 2003,
wrong to tell the generals not speak of the coming insurgency,
wrong to stubbornly refuse to give generals the troops they needed to win,
wrong to make the "Mission Accomplished" declaration,
wrong for the VP to claim that the insurgency was in its death throes,
and wrong to push a surge plan that the president’s top generals opposed.
Grounds for impeachment?
grounds for impeachment?
Nearly 2 million Iraqis -- about 8 percent of the prewar population -- have embarked on a desperate migration, mostly to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. The refugees include large numbers of doctors, academics and other professionals vital for Iraq's recovery. Another 1.7 million have been forced to move to safer towns and villages inside Iraq,
Feeding the bitterness of exile is a sense that outside forces created their plight. Many Iraqis here view the U.S.-led invasion that ousted President Saddam Hussein as the root of their woes.
"We were promised a kind of heaven on earth," said Rabab Haider, who fled Baghdad last year. "But we've been given a real hell."
A majority of Iraqis, almost all of Iraq's neighbors and the American pople want our troops out. Only these Republicans who are controlled by the neocons and the big oil company executives insist that we remain. Grounds for impeachment?
Feeding the bitterness of exile is a sense that outside forces created their plight. Many Iraqis here view the U.S.-led invasion that ousted President Saddam Hussein as the root of their woes.
"We were promised a kind of heaven on earth," said Rabab Haider, who fled Baghdad last year. "But we've been given a real hell."
A majority of Iraqis, almost all of Iraq's neighbors and the American pople want our troops out. Only these Republicans who are controlled by the neocons and the big oil company executives insist that we remain. Grounds for impeachment?
conservatives
Bush will ask Congress for close to three-quarters of a trillion dollars in defense spending on Monday, including $245 billion to cover the cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
If approved by Congress, the new war spending would bring the overall cost of fighting to about $745 billion since the Sept. 11, 2001, -- adjusting for inflation, that is more than was spent on the Vietnam War. What are these conservatives conserving other than their own wealth?
If approved by Congress, the new war spending would bring the overall cost of fighting to about $745 billion since the Sept. 11, 2001, -- adjusting for inflation, that is more than was spent on the Vietnam War. What are these conservatives conserving other than their own wealth?
03 February, 2007
one mission Bush accomplished
Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, condemned Bush in harsh language yesterday. "Mr. President," he said, "the majority of Americans who oppose you in Iraq are not the ones emboldening the enemy. That's the one mission you have accomplished."
manipulating the wounded numbers
Statistics on a Pentagon Web site have been reorganized in a way that lowers the published totals of American nonfatal casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan.
On Monday, the bottom line of the Defense Department's Web page on casualties in Iraq listed a total of 47,657 ``nonmortal casualties.'' By Tuesday, the same page no longer showed a total for nonmortal casualties. The bottom line is now ``total - medical air transported,'' and the figure is 31,493.
The new total excludes 16,164 soldiers who were wounded but did not require medical air transport.
Paul Sullivan, director of research and analysis of Veterans for America, said the changes actually meant that the Pentagon was trying to conceal the rising toll of injuries and illness.
Sullivan, formerly a project manager at the VA, also said the department was not prepared to provide the health care that returning veterans would need for mental and physical disabilities.
On Monday, the bottom line of the Defense Department's Web page on casualties in Iraq listed a total of 47,657 ``nonmortal casualties.'' By Tuesday, the same page no longer showed a total for nonmortal casualties. The bottom line is now ``total - medical air transported,'' and the figure is 31,493.
The new total excludes 16,164 soldiers who were wounded but did not require medical air transport.
Paul Sullivan, director of research and analysis of Veterans for America, said the changes actually meant that the Pentagon was trying to conceal the rising toll of injuries and illness.
Sullivan, formerly a project manager at the VA, also said the department was not prepared to provide the health care that returning veterans would need for mental and physical disabilities.
02 February, 2007
cheney has won
Cheney has given us the answer, in his own words. He and his pals have indeed accomplished their objectives in Iraq. They have indeed achieved their objectives. A troubled violent oil-rich region has become America’s own troubled, violent and oil-rich region.
Our military provocation has birthed a multifaceted insurgency that can be manipulated directly, or used indirectly, to support any number of new government programs and policies, foreign and domestic.
Want a war with Iran? It’s easy to justify, with "Iran. Need to pump up the dollar, or to ensure we can still print and borrow at will? The situation in Iraq allows them to justify it.
Cheney is right. He became Vice President in an age where American industry and agriculture can no longer compete hands down, where financial centers are decentralizing. He and his pals, dinosaurs all, could not to adapt to the new world, and instead sought to alter it to their well-established tastes.
Our military provocation has birthed a multifaceted insurgency that can be manipulated directly, or used indirectly, to support any number of new government programs and policies, foreign and domestic.
Want a war with Iran? It’s easy to justify, with "Iran. Need to pump up the dollar, or to ensure we can still print and borrow at will? The situation in Iraq allows them to justify it.
Cheney is right. He became Vice President in an age where American industry and agriculture can no longer compete hands down, where financial centers are decentralizing. He and his pals, dinosaurs all, could not to adapt to the new world, and instead sought to alter it to their well-established tastes.
right wing media
If I were Tim Russert I'd be as hopping mad. First, Dick Cheney's office tried to scapegoat him in the Plamegate scandal and then Cheney's staff wanted to book the VP on Meet the Press specifically because they found it easy to "control the message" on Russert's show. That is also true to a lesser extent with other mainstreat "Media."
The same is undoubtedly true with Fox "News", which is essentially a propaganda arm of the Bush administration. The problem is only half a problem of the exploitation of media by the Bush team - the other half of the problem is that so many fools tune in and watch it as if it is serious news and commentary.
The same is undoubtedly true with Fox "News", which is essentially a propaganda arm of the Bush administration. The problem is only half a problem of the exploitation of media by the Bush team - the other half of the problem is that so many fools tune in and watch it as if it is serious news and commentary.
fundamentalism and Jesus
The exponential growth of the Cristo-fascist movement in the past six years is yet another symptom of empire and a society in the throes of collapse. Whether or not one embraces Christianity or any religion, for that matter, it is instructive to engage in reality-checking the actual teachings of Jesus in the New Testament, and specifically, the gospels and other sacred writings which were excluded from the bible in the fourth century for political and socio-economic reasons in order to streamline Constantine’s hierarchical, imperial, Christian regime—the world’s first but not last, Christian theocracy.
grounds for impeachment?
Iran is not the problem with the Iraqi resistance movement, which is commanded and staffed by Sunni Arab military officers and Baathists. Nuclear experts agree that an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would only slow down its efforts, not end them, and moreover, would encourage the country to redouble its efforts to get the Bomb and achieve the kind of protection against future attack that countries with the bomb have.
Iran is the second largest oil producing country in the world, and it borders the entire eastern shore of the Persian Gulf, through which a third of the world's oil passes every year. If it was attacked, all of Iran's oil, and most of the oil produced by Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, would be taken out of circulation indefinitely.
Oil prices would soar way past $100/barrel, and maybe past $200 a barrel, causing a U.S. and a global depression. Good for the oil cartels and the Carlyle Group and the Bushes and the Cheneys.
An attack on Iran would be an international crime under the Nuremberg Charter, which calls the invasion of a country that doesn't pose an immediate threat a "Crime Against Peace."
But even aside from such matters, anyone with a lick of sense knows that it would be crazy to go into another even larger war while the American military is completely tied down in two other desperate situations. Grounds for impeachment?
Iran is the second largest oil producing country in the world, and it borders the entire eastern shore of the Persian Gulf, through which a third of the world's oil passes every year. If it was attacked, all of Iran's oil, and most of the oil produced by Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, would be taken out of circulation indefinitely.
Oil prices would soar way past $100/barrel, and maybe past $200 a barrel, causing a U.S. and a global depression. Good for the oil cartels and the Carlyle Group and the Bushes and the Cheneys.
An attack on Iran would be an international crime under the Nuremberg Charter, which calls the invasion of a country that doesn't pose an immediate threat a "Crime Against Peace."
But even aside from such matters, anyone with a lick of sense knows that it would be crazy to go into another even larger war while the American military is completely tied down in two other desperate situations. Grounds for impeachment?
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