"Q Sir, are you convinced, personally?
"THE PRESIDENT: There's no indication whatsoever, after reviews by the White House staff, that anybody did anything improper."
That's a far cry from saying: I am personally convinced there was no political pressure. Bush didn't deny that there was political pressure or that he was aware of it. All he denied was the existence of any "indication" that anyone did anything he considers "improper."
Much like "torture", which he refuses to define, the president didn't say what he means by "improper" or "indication" yesterday.
Among the many lessons of the Scooter Libby trial is this one: That when the White House issues squirrelly statements under fire, the most cynical interpretations may well be the closest to the truth.
So there's really no longer any excuse for letting President Bush get away with carefully parsed denials, hairsplitting and non-answers.
22 March, 2007
neocon republican justice
The leader of the Justice Department team that prosecuted a landmark lawsuit against tobacco companies said yesterday that Bush administration political appointees repeatedly ordered her to take steps that weakened the government's racketeering case.
Sharon Y. Eubanks said Bush loyalists in Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales's office began micromanaging the team's strategy in the final weeks of the 2005 trial, to the detriment of the government's claim that the industry had conspired to lie to U.S. smokers.
"The political people were pushing the buttons and ordering us to say what we said," Eubanks said. "And because of that, we failed to zealously represent the interests of the American public."
"Political interference is happening at Justice across the department," she said. "When decisions are made now in the Bush attorney general's office, politics is the primary consideration. . . . The rule of law goes out the window."
The most stressful moment, Eubanks said, came when the three republican appointees ordered her to read word for word a closing argument they had rewritten. The statement explained the validity of seeking a $10 billion penalty. "I couldn't even look at the judge," she said.
Sharon Y. Eubanks said Bush loyalists in Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales's office began micromanaging the team's strategy in the final weeks of the 2005 trial, to the detriment of the government's claim that the industry had conspired to lie to U.S. smokers.
"The political people were pushing the buttons and ordering us to say what we said," Eubanks said. "And because of that, we failed to zealously represent the interests of the American public."
"Political interference is happening at Justice across the department," she said. "When decisions are made now in the Bush attorney general's office, politics is the primary consideration. . . . The rule of law goes out the window."
The most stressful moment, Eubanks said, came when the three republican appointees ordered her to read word for word a closing argument they had rewritten. The statement explained the validity of seeking a $10 billion penalty. "I couldn't even look at the judge," she said.
20 March, 2007
Iraq blunders
TOP 10 NEOCON REPUBLICAN BLUNDERS IN IRAQ
10. Refusing to fire Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld when his incompetence and maliciousness became apparent in the growing guerrilla war and the Abu Ghraib torture scandal.
9. Declining to intervene in the collapsed economy or help put Iraqi state industries back on a good footing, on the grounds that the "market" would magically produce prosperity effortlessly.
8. Invading and destroying the Sunni Arab city of Fallujah in November, 2004, thus pushing the Sunni Arabs into the arms of the insurgency in protest and ensuring that they would boycott the January, 2005, parliamentary elections, a boycott that excluded them from power and from a significant voice in crafting the new constitution, which they then rejected.
7. Suddenly announcing that the US would "kill or capture" young nationalist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in spring, 2004, throwing the country into massive turmoil for months.
6. Replying to Baathist guerrilla provocations with harsh search and destroy missions that humiliated and angered ever more Sunni Arab clans, driving them to support or join the budding guerrilla movement.
5. Putting vengeful Shiites in charge of a Debaathification Commission that fired tens of thousands of mostly Sunni Arab state employees simply for having belonged to the Baath Party, leaving large numbers of Sunnis penniless and without hope of employment.
4. Dissolving the Iraqi Army in May, 2003, and sending 400,000 men home, unemployed, resentful and heavily armed.
3. Allowing widespread looting after the fall of Saddam Hussein on April 9, 2003, on the grounds that "stuff happens," "democracy is messy," and "how many vases can they have?"-- and thus signalling that there would be no serious attempt to provide law and order in American Iraq.
2. Plotting to install corrupt financier, notorious liar, and shady operator Ahmad Chalabi as the soft dictator of Iraq, and refusing to plan for a post-war administration of the country because that might forestall Chalabi's coronation.
1. Invading Iraq.
10. Refusing to fire Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld when his incompetence and maliciousness became apparent in the growing guerrilla war and the Abu Ghraib torture scandal.
9. Declining to intervene in the collapsed economy or help put Iraqi state industries back on a good footing, on the grounds that the "market" would magically produce prosperity effortlessly.
8. Invading and destroying the Sunni Arab city of Fallujah in November, 2004, thus pushing the Sunni Arabs into the arms of the insurgency in protest and ensuring that they would boycott the January, 2005, parliamentary elections, a boycott that excluded them from power and from a significant voice in crafting the new constitution, which they then rejected.
7. Suddenly announcing that the US would "kill or capture" young nationalist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in spring, 2004, throwing the country into massive turmoil for months.
6. Replying to Baathist guerrilla provocations with harsh search and destroy missions that humiliated and angered ever more Sunni Arab clans, driving them to support or join the budding guerrilla movement.
5. Putting vengeful Shiites in charge of a Debaathification Commission that fired tens of thousands of mostly Sunni Arab state employees simply for having belonged to the Baath Party, leaving large numbers of Sunnis penniless and without hope of employment.
4. Dissolving the Iraqi Army in May, 2003, and sending 400,000 men home, unemployed, resentful and heavily armed.
3. Allowing widespread looting after the fall of Saddam Hussein on April 9, 2003, on the grounds that "stuff happens," "democracy is messy," and "how many vases can they have?"-- and thus signalling that there would be no serious attempt to provide law and order in American Iraq.
2. Plotting to install corrupt financier, notorious liar, and shady operator Ahmad Chalabi as the soft dictator of Iraq, and refusing to plan for a post-war administration of the country because that might forestall Chalabi's coronation.
1. Invading Iraq.
Betrayed
If you want to know what these neocon republicans are doing and have done to Iraquis and how they have and are bungling the war, read the article in the New Yorker Magazine titled "Betrayed, The Iraqis who trusted America the most." It will turn your stomich if you care about people.
19 March, 2007
more lies
The U.S. attorney in San Diego notified the Justice Department of search warrants in a Republican bribery scandal last May 10, one day before the attorney general's chief of staff warned the White House of a "real problem" with her, a Democratic senator said yesterday.
Lam "sent a notice to the Justice Department saying that there would be two search warrants" in a criminal investigation of defense contractor Brent R. Wilkes and Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, who had just quit as the CIA's top administrator amid questions about his ties to disgraced former GOP congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham.
The next day, May 11, D. Kyle Sampson, then chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, sent an e-mail message to William Kelley in the White House counsel's office saying that Lam should be removed as quickly as possible, according to documents turned over to Congress last week.
And these neocon republicans are denying politics was the cause--defies logic and common sense.
Lam "sent a notice to the Justice Department saying that there would be two search warrants" in a criminal investigation of defense contractor Brent R. Wilkes and Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, who had just quit as the CIA's top administrator amid questions about his ties to disgraced former GOP congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham.
The next day, May 11, D. Kyle Sampson, then chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, sent an e-mail message to William Kelley in the White House counsel's office saying that Lam should be removed as quickly as possible, according to documents turned over to Congress last week.
And these neocon republicans are denying politics was the cause--defies logic and common sense.
update Iraq
Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged)In America'sWar On Iraq 3,218 and counting
15 March, 2007
pray it's not too late
The neocon republicans like Mr Cheney are discredited and facing various congressional investigations. They are badly damaged by the Libby trial, which exposed their ruthless mania and use of lies to justify a war gone wrong.
But the larger factor in their demise is that their neo-conservative hypotheses have been falsified by events. Invading Iraq did not catalyse a new Middle East; isolating North Korea advanced its nuclear programme, and high-handed unilateralism has reduced American power.
At the outset of his presidency, Mr Bush thought himself lucky to have a number two who did not aspire to his job. We hope he now grasps the hazard of lending so much power to Cheney and to the neocon republicans with no incentive to test their views in the political marketplace. We hope it is not too late to repair the damage they have done to our country.
But the larger factor in their demise is that their neo-conservative hypotheses have been falsified by events. Invading Iraq did not catalyse a new Middle East; isolating North Korea advanced its nuclear programme, and high-handed unilateralism has reduced American power.
At the outset of his presidency, Mr Bush thought himself lucky to have a number two who did not aspire to his job. We hope he now grasps the hazard of lending so much power to Cheney and to the neocon republicans with no incentive to test their views in the political marketplace. We hope it is not too late to repair the damage they have done to our country.
liars all
The inconsistencies between Justice's positions and the documents are numerous. On Feb. 23, for example, a Justice legislative affairs aide wrote to Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) that the department "was not aware of Karl Rove playing any role in the decision to appoint Mr. Griffin."
But internal Justice e-mails show that "getting him appointed is important" to Rove and was closely monitored by political aides in the White House.
Last week, senior Justice official William E. Moschella told a House Judiciary subcommittee that the White House was not consulted on the firings until the end of the process. But the documents released this week show that the plan began more than two years ago at the White House counsel's office,
Schumer argued this week that Sampson "may well have obstructed justice" by not disclosing his communications to Congress and other senior Justice officials, who had said for weeks that the White House had only a limited role in the removals.
"There has been misleading statement after misleading statement, and these have been deliberately misleading statements," Schumer said yesterday.
But internal Justice e-mails show that "getting him appointed is important" to Rove and was closely monitored by political aides in the White House.
Last week, senior Justice official William E. Moschella told a House Judiciary subcommittee that the White House was not consulted on the firings until the end of the process. But the documents released this week show that the plan began more than two years ago at the White House counsel's office,
Schumer argued this week that Sampson "may well have obstructed justice" by not disclosing his communications to Congress and other senior Justice officials, who had said for weeks that the White House had only a limited role in the removals.
"There has been misleading statement after misleading statement, and these have been deliberately misleading statements," Schumer said yesterday.
14 March, 2007
impeachment?
It is true that second-term mass firings are unheard of. More importantly, this was not a mass firing -- it was a politically motivated hit job directed to certain AGs who conducted corruption investigations that involved -- hold your nose -- GOP leaders.
They also refused to bring bullshit cases regarding voter "fraud," a largely false issue used by republican partisans who are seeking to discourage the poor and minorities from voting.
Gonzales has been involved in some of the worst scandals of Bush's Presidency -- illegal wiretapping, torture guidelines, flouting of Geneva Convention rules, now making our justice system political, all reasons Gonzales must go, and the real culprits, Bush and Cheney, must go with him. Impeachment?
They also refused to bring bullshit cases regarding voter "fraud," a largely false issue used by republican partisans who are seeking to discourage the poor and minorities from voting.
Gonzales has been involved in some of the worst scandals of Bush's Presidency -- illegal wiretapping, torture guidelines, flouting of Geneva Convention rules, now making our justice system political, all reasons Gonzales must go, and the real culprits, Bush and Cheney, must go with him. Impeachment?
all liars
I'm-accountable-but-I-didn't-know-anything news conference yesterday, Gonzales said he knew the White House had suggested canning all 93 U.S. attorneys, rejected that idea and then left things to his chief of staff. "I was not involved in seeing any memos, was not involved in any discussions about what was going on," he said. "That's basically what I knew as the attorney general."
Translation: "I'm going to tell you I'm responsible, because that's what they tell me I have to say. But of course I'm not. It's all Kyle Sampson's fault. I'm hoping that if I say I'm accountable often enough, no one will actually hold me accountable."
Ousting a group of top federal prosecutors isn't some minor, inconsequential act. It's the sort of thing that a responsible attorney general would be deeply immersed in. Gonzales's depiction of his own marginality is the most damning evidence of his unfitness for the job. They are all LIARS.
Translation: "I'm going to tell you I'm responsible, because that's what they tell me I have to say. But of course I'm not. It's all Kyle Sampson's fault. I'm hoping that if I say I'm accountable often enough, no one will actually hold me accountable."
Ousting a group of top federal prosecutors isn't some minor, inconsequential act. It's the sort of thing that a responsible attorney general would be deeply immersed in. Gonzales's depiction of his own marginality is the most damning evidence of his unfitness for the job. They are all LIARS.
13 March, 2007
exile possibility?
Halliburton is trading Texas for the Persian Gulf, relocating its corporate headquarters from Houston to Dubai which will give them additional tax breaks. We've all been wondering where Cheney would seek exile after a well-deserved impeachment for lying us into Iraq?
Halliburton insulting us?
Over the weekend, the company known as Halliburton announced that its chief executive, Dave Lesar, would move to a new corporate headquarters in Dubai to focus on business in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia. Halliburton received more than 90 percent of its Pentagon contracts in 2006.
The announcement sparked warnings from members of Congress, who suspected that the company once run by Vice President Cheney was trying to trim its tax bill and remove itself from the limelight here, where it has come under fire about the way it obtained and executed government contracts, especially those connected to troubled reconstruction projects in Iraq.
It's an example of corporate greed at its worst. This is an insult to the U.S. soldiers and taxpayers who paid the tab for their no-bid contracts and endured their overcharges for all these years. At the same time they'll be avoiding U.S. taxes, I'm sure they won't stop insisting on taking their profits in cold, hard U.S. cash." Remember, over $9 million dollars are unaccounted for in Iraq. Nice, isn't it.
The announcement sparked warnings from members of Congress, who suspected that the company once run by Vice President Cheney was trying to trim its tax bill and remove itself from the limelight here, where it has come under fire about the way it obtained and executed government contracts, especially those connected to troubled reconstruction projects in Iraq.
It's an example of corporate greed at its worst. This is an insult to the U.S. soldiers and taxpayers who paid the tab for their no-bid contracts and endured their overcharges for all these years. At the same time they'll be avoiding U.S. taxes, I'm sure they won't stop insisting on taking their profits in cold, hard U.S. cash." Remember, over $9 million dollars are unaccounted for in Iraq. Nice, isn't it.
more dirty every day
Seven U.S. attorneys were fired on Dec. 7, and another was fired months earlier, with little explanation from the Justice Department. Several former prosecutors have since alleged intimidation, including improper telephone calls from GOP lawmakers or their aides, and have alleged threats of retaliation by a Justice Department official.
While it is unclear whether the documents will answer Congress's questions, they show that the White House and other administration officials were more closely involved in the dismissals, and at a much earlier date, than they have previously acknowledged.
I recommend that the Department of Justice and the Office of the Counsel to the President work together to seek the replacement of a limited number of U.S. Attorneys," Sampson wrote to Harriet Miers in January 2006.Now she has resigned from the White House. You remember her, she was rejected primarily by the Republican Senators for the Supreme Court. Another fall guy(lady).
The documents also provide new details about the case of Griffin, a former Rove aide and Republican National Committee researcher who was named interim U.S. attorney in Little Rock in December.
E-mails show that Justice officials discussed bypassing the two Democratic senators in Arkansas, who normally would have had input into the appointment, as early as last August. By mid-December, Sampson was suggesting that Gonzales exercise his newfound appointment authority to put Griffin in place until the end of Bush's term.
Karl Rove had an early conversation with Miers about the idea of firing all chief prosecutors and did not think it was wise. Aha, the dirty hands of Rove, and Bush didn't know anything. "Ya, right!
The neocon republicans get more dirty every day.
.
While it is unclear whether the documents will answer Congress's questions, they show that the White House and other administration officials were more closely involved in the dismissals, and at a much earlier date, than they have previously acknowledged.
I recommend that the Department of Justice and the Office of the Counsel to the President work together to seek the replacement of a limited number of U.S. Attorneys," Sampson wrote to Harriet Miers in January 2006.Now she has resigned from the White House. You remember her, she was rejected primarily by the Republican Senators for the Supreme Court. Another fall guy(lady).
The documents also provide new details about the case of Griffin, a former Rove aide and Republican National Committee researcher who was named interim U.S. attorney in Little Rock in December.
E-mails show that Justice officials discussed bypassing the two Democratic senators in Arkansas, who normally would have had input into the appointment, as early as last August. By mid-December, Sampson was suggesting that Gonzales exercise his newfound appointment authority to put Griffin in place until the end of Bush's term.
Karl Rove had an early conversation with Miers about the idea of firing all chief prosecutors and did not think it was wise. Aha, the dirty hands of Rove, and Bush didn't know anything. "Ya, right!
The neocon republicans get more dirty every day.
.
12 March, 2007
more to come
When HBO produced an acclaimed (and apolitical) documentary last year about military medics’ remarkable efforts to save lives in Iraq, "Baghdad ER," Army brass at the last minute boycotted planned promotional screenings in Washington and at Fort Campbell, Ky. In a memo, Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley warned that the film, though made with Army cooperation, could endanger veterans’ health by provoking symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
The General Kiley who was so busy policing an HBO movie for its potential health hazards is the same one who did not correct the horrific real-life conditions on his watch at Walter Reed. After the Post exposé was published, he tried to spin it by boasting that most of the medical center’s rooms "were actually perfectly O.K." and scapegoating "soldiers leaving food in their rooms" for the mice and cockroach infestations.
That this guy is still surgeon general of the Army — or was as of Friday — makes you wonder what he, like Mr. Libby, has on his superiors.
The General Kiley who was so busy policing an HBO movie for its potential health hazards is the same one who did not correct the horrific real-life conditions on his watch at Walter Reed. After the Post exposé was published, he tried to spin it by boasting that most of the medical center’s rooms "were actually perfectly O.K." and scapegoating "soldiers leaving food in their rooms" for the mice and cockroach infestations.
That this guy is still surgeon general of the Army — or was as of Friday — makes you wonder what he, like Mr. Libby, has on his superiors.
update Iraq
They have admitted to 3190 sacrificed (McCain's word) but who knows with so many lies and such deceit.
10 March, 2007
longterm cost est. $2.5 trillion
At the beginning of this year, the Pentagon was putting out a figure of roughly 23,000 wounded, but the VA was quietly saying that more than 50,000 had, in fact, been wounded.
Matters did not rest there. Despite its independence from the Pentagon, the VA is run by Robert James Nicholson, a former Republican Party chairman and Bush's loyal political appointee. Following it coming to light that the VA was admitting more wounded than was the Pentagaon- on 10 January, to be precise - the number of wounded listed on the VA website dropped from 50,508 to 21,649. The Bush administration had, once again, turned reality on its head to concur with its claims.
"The whole thing is scary," one observor said. "I have never been conspiracy-minded, but watching them change the numbers on the VA website - it's extraordinary."
So far, more than 200,000 veterans from the current Iraq or Afghanistan wars have been treated at VA centers. Twenty per cent of those brought home are suffering from serious brain or spinal injuries, or the severing of more than one limb, and a further 20 per cent from amputations, blindness or deafness, severe burns, or other dire conditions.
Furthermore, every person injured on active duty is going to be a long-term cost of the war now estimated to be over $2.5 trillion.
Matters did not rest there. Despite its independence from the Pentagon, the VA is run by Robert James Nicholson, a former Republican Party chairman and Bush's loyal political appointee. Following it coming to light that the VA was admitting more wounded than was the Pentagaon- on 10 January, to be precise - the number of wounded listed on the VA website dropped from 50,508 to 21,649. The Bush administration had, once again, turned reality on its head to concur with its claims.
"The whole thing is scary," one observor said. "I have never been conspiracy-minded, but watching them change the numbers on the VA website - it's extraordinary."
So far, more than 200,000 veterans from the current Iraq or Afghanistan wars have been treated at VA centers. Twenty per cent of those brought home are suffering from serious brain or spinal injuries, or the severing of more than one limb, and a further 20 per cent from amputations, blindness or deafness, severe burns, or other dire conditions.
Furthermore, every person injured on active duty is going to be a long-term cost of the war now estimated to be over $2.5 trillion.
we have been shocked and awed
In six years, the neocon republican administration achieved the near-impossible. It made the US a pariah state alienating the whole Muslim world and vast numbers more everywhere including growing numbers at home with George Bush's approval rating at numbers approaching the lowest ever for a US president.
Its policies of permanent war on the world, repression at home, entrenched corruption, worship of wealth and privilege, and indifference to human needs and the people he was elected to serve already destroyed any notion the country is a model democratic state or that Bush and his neocon fanatics should be governing it.
Their imperial arrogance accelerated the country's fading global hegemony well advanced since the 1970s and likely irreversible. They buried the nation's influence and dominance in Iraq's smoldering sands and Afghanistan's rubble that are now both graveyards for US ambitions in those regions and beyond.
If the they attack Iran, all bets are off on what's to come. The echoes of Waterloo could turn George Bush's Middle East adventurism into his inadvertent Samson option by expanding the Iraq conflict to a regional one with impossible to predict consequences that won't be good for Western interests and especially US ones.
It will inflame the region and produce a tsunami of Shia rage and solidarity enough to inflame and unite the whole Muslim world in fierce opposition to America, its culture and people. It may irrevocably transform the region making it unwelcome for decades or longer to anything Western.
There are none more dangerous than these neocons republicans who are so unpopular but remain in control of our country.
Its policies of permanent war on the world, repression at home, entrenched corruption, worship of wealth and privilege, and indifference to human needs and the people he was elected to serve already destroyed any notion the country is a model democratic state or that Bush and his neocon fanatics should be governing it.
Their imperial arrogance accelerated the country's fading global hegemony well advanced since the 1970s and likely irreversible. They buried the nation's influence and dominance in Iraq's smoldering sands and Afghanistan's rubble that are now both graveyards for US ambitions in those regions and beyond.
If the they attack Iran, all bets are off on what's to come. The echoes of Waterloo could turn George Bush's Middle East adventurism into his inadvertent Samson option by expanding the Iraq conflict to a regional one with impossible to predict consequences that won't be good for Western interests and especially US ones.
It will inflame the region and produce a tsunami of Shia rage and solidarity enough to inflame and unite the whole Muslim world in fierce opposition to America, its culture and people. It may irrevocably transform the region making it unwelcome for decades or longer to anything Western.
There are none more dangerous than these neocons republicans who are so unpopular but remain in control of our country.
mess we have created
The mess we have created:
This administration seems to be getting ready to make -- at a much more significant, escalated level -- the same mistake we made in Iran that we made in Iraq. If Iraq has been a disaster, this would be multiple times Iraq. The extent to which this could be the horror of the twenty-first century is hard to exaggerate.
Even in the best-case scenario, the disaster we're seeing now is nothing compared to the disaster that we'll see after we leave. The real issue here is American interest: The longer we stay, the more people we get killed. I don't think the longer we stay, the better we make Iraq. Probably the reverse.
People are talking about a reconciliation process, but Iraqi Shias don't want to compromise with the Sunnis. They don't have to. There's going to be a genocide of Sunnis in Baghdad. The Shia have the numbers to do it; they can absorb all the Sunni car bombs it takes. The Americans aren't capable of stopping it; they can't tell a Sunni from a Shia. The best you can hope for is that it doesn't spill into the neighboring countries.
Whatever else happens, our country's international standing has been frittered away by these neocon republicans who don't have the foggiest understanding of how the hell the world works. America has been conducting an experiment for the past six years, trying to validate the proposition that it really doesn't make any difference who you elect president. Now we know the result of that experiment.. If a they are stupid, it makes a big difference.
This administration seems to be getting ready to make -- at a much more significant, escalated level -- the same mistake we made in Iran that we made in Iraq. If Iraq has been a disaster, this would be multiple times Iraq. The extent to which this could be the horror of the twenty-first century is hard to exaggerate.
Even in the best-case scenario, the disaster we're seeing now is nothing compared to the disaster that we'll see after we leave. The real issue here is American interest: The longer we stay, the more people we get killed. I don't think the longer we stay, the better we make Iraq. Probably the reverse.
People are talking about a reconciliation process, but Iraqi Shias don't want to compromise with the Sunnis. They don't have to. There's going to be a genocide of Sunnis in Baghdad. The Shia have the numbers to do it; they can absorb all the Sunni car bombs it takes. The Americans aren't capable of stopping it; they can't tell a Sunni from a Shia. The best you can hope for is that it doesn't spill into the neighboring countries.
Whatever else happens, our country's international standing has been frittered away by these neocon republicans who don't have the foggiest understanding of how the hell the world works. America has been conducting an experiment for the past six years, trying to validate the proposition that it really doesn't make any difference who you elect president. Now we know the result of that experiment.. If a they are stupid, it makes a big difference.
09 March, 2007
should not be tax exempt
Among the leading GOP contenders, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani favors abortion rights and domestic partnerships for gays and has a messy marital history. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's Mormon faith and shifting positions on social issues have raised eyebrows of Christian fundamentalists.
And Arizona Sen. John McCain, whose loss to Bush in 2000 was helped along by the coalition after he called TV preachers Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell "agents of intolerance," is viewed skeptically by many religious conservatives.
Even by its own admission, the coalition, which was founded by Robertson and which for years served as a key ally for conservative candidates, faces a changed landscape. Scads of other conservative Christian organizations concerned with many of the same issues, with opposition to abortion and gay marriage at the top of the list, now vie for candidate attention and may offer endorsements.
With no overarching conservative Christian group anointing a candidate, this season's GOP primary process is "much more open, much more decentralized and, frankly, much more complicated," said John Green, a senior fellow at the Pew Institute's Forum on Religion and Public Life.
Robertson launched the coalition as he ran for the White House in 1988. While his candidacy for the Republican nomination faltered, religious conservatives were emboldened to demand a greater voice in the GOP. Led by its charismatic and politically shrewd executive director, Ralph Reed, the coalition gained influence in the early 1990s.
After Reed stepped down in 1997 to court Christian conservative voters for Bush's 2000 campaign, that influence began to wane. In 2001, Robertson severed ties with the coalition to concentrate on his ministry. Randall Balmer, a religion and politics expert at Barnard College, said that when Reed left the coalition, "they lost their best strategist."
Add to that a whiff of impropriety stemming from Reed's ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and it shows that once-powerful Christian conservative personalities "are not the kind of moral avatars that they claim to be," Balmer said. "The religious right is simply collapsing beneath its own weight."
Money also has been a problem. Records show the coalition had $17,498 in cash and $1.7 million in debt at the end of 2005 after raising $2.3 million. A year earlier, it had $150,921 in cash and debt of $2.2 million, with only $1.1 million donated. Theses groups ought to be declared a political party and donations should NOT be tax exempt.
And Arizona Sen. John McCain, whose loss to Bush in 2000 was helped along by the coalition after he called TV preachers Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell "agents of intolerance," is viewed skeptically by many religious conservatives.
Even by its own admission, the coalition, which was founded by Robertson and which for years served as a key ally for conservative candidates, faces a changed landscape. Scads of other conservative Christian organizations concerned with many of the same issues, with opposition to abortion and gay marriage at the top of the list, now vie for candidate attention and may offer endorsements.
With no overarching conservative Christian group anointing a candidate, this season's GOP primary process is "much more open, much more decentralized and, frankly, much more complicated," said John Green, a senior fellow at the Pew Institute's Forum on Religion and Public Life.
Robertson launched the coalition as he ran for the White House in 1988. While his candidacy for the Republican nomination faltered, religious conservatives were emboldened to demand a greater voice in the GOP. Led by its charismatic and politically shrewd executive director, Ralph Reed, the coalition gained influence in the early 1990s.
After Reed stepped down in 1997 to court Christian conservative voters for Bush's 2000 campaign, that influence began to wane. In 2001, Robertson severed ties with the coalition to concentrate on his ministry. Randall Balmer, a religion and politics expert at Barnard College, said that when Reed left the coalition, "they lost their best strategist."
Add to that a whiff of impropriety stemming from Reed's ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and it shows that once-powerful Christian conservative personalities "are not the kind of moral avatars that they claim to be," Balmer said. "The religious right is simply collapsing beneath its own weight."
Money also has been a problem. Records show the coalition had $17,498 in cash and $1.7 million in debt at the end of 2005 after raising $2.3 million. A year earlier, it had $150,921 in cash and debt of $2.2 million, with only $1.1 million donated. Theses groups ought to be declared a political party and donations should NOT be tax exempt.
07 March, 2007
neocon republicans lied us into war
Could it be that Cheney feared that if the country knew it was his inquiry that led to the Africa trip then he, the president’s right-hand man, could be expected to have gotten a full report on the trip’s findings.
In that case, Cheney would have known a year ahead of time that there was no deal by Saddam Hussein to buy uranium yellowcake in Niger.
He should therefore have kept the president from making that assertion in his 2003 State of the Union that "British intelligence" reported a Saddam effort to buy uranium from Africa.
That assertion of a nuclear threat from Iraq is what tilted this country toward war.
In that case, Cheney would have known a year ahead of time that there was no deal by Saddam Hussein to buy uranium yellowcake in Niger.
He should therefore have kept the president from making that assertion in his 2003 State of the Union that "British intelligence" reported a Saddam effort to buy uranium from Africa.
That assertion of a nuclear threat from Iraq is what tilted this country toward war.
lies and liars
The charges against Mr. Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former top aide and alter ego, have unfolded over the last two years as an overwrought Washington opera, rich with White House intrigue, insider journalism and the polarized politics and lies justifying the Iraq war. Let’s add it up.
Prosecutors played a tape of Mr. Libby testifying to a grand jury that Mr. Cheney had asked Bush to declassify an intelligence report selectively so he, Mr. Libby, could leak it to sympathetic reporters
Nine conversations about Wilson’s wife with eight different people. Mr. Libby claimed to remember none of them. He had a motive to lie, and the motive to lie matched up exactly with the lie. That’s where your common sense kicks in. What's the big deal. They have been lying since they took office.
Prosecutors played a tape of Mr. Libby testifying to a grand jury that Mr. Cheney had asked Bush to declassify an intelligence report selectively so he, Mr. Libby, could leak it to sympathetic reporters
Nine conversations about Wilson’s wife with eight different people. Mr. Libby claimed to remember none of them. He had a motive to lie, and the motive to lie matched up exactly with the lie. That’s where your common sense kicks in. What's the big deal. They have been lying since they took office.
sacrificed up in Iraq
Admitted----------3185(up 16 in 3 days) sacrificed and 32,544 wounded,(hasn't changed in a week--I don't believe it) not including "contractors" and innocents in Iraq.
06 March, 2007
tax exempt organizations
Mr. Haggard resigned as president of the 30-million-member National Association of Evangelicals in November 2006 and was removed as senior pastor of the New Life megachurch after a former male prostitute said that he had had a three-year sexual relationship with Mr. Haggard and had helped him obtain methamphetamines.
In the wake of a scandal involving its founding pastor, the Rev. Ted Haggard, the New Life Church in Colorado Springs has been forced to lay off 44 of its 350 workers to offset a sharp drop in donations.
Apparently, their revenue for 2006 was approximately almost $16 million, WHICH WAS FEDERALLY TAX EXEMPT, and at least some of which went to fincancing their political agenda. We need to audit these exempt organizations.
In the wake of a scandal involving its founding pastor, the Rev. Ted Haggard, the New Life Church in Colorado Springs has been forced to lay off 44 of its 350 workers to offset a sharp drop in donations.
Apparently, their revenue for 2006 was approximately almost $16 million, WHICH WAS FEDERALLY TAX EXEMPT, and at least some of which went to fincancing their political agenda. We need to audit these exempt organizations.
05 March, 2007
more lies
From Fort Dix in New Jersey: "Scare tactics are used against soldiers who will write sworn statement to assist fellow soldiers for their medical needs."
From Fort Campbell in Kentucky: "There were yellow signs on the door stating our barracks had asbestos."
Sandy Karen was horrified when her 21-year-old son was discharged from the Naval Medical Center in San Diego a few months ago and told to report to the outpatient barracks, only to find the room swarming with fruit flies, trash overflowing and a syringe on the table.
"The staff sergeant says, 'Here are your linens' to my son, who can't even stand up," said Karen, of Brookeville, Md. "This kid has an open wound, and I'm going to put him in a room with fruit flies?" She took her son to a hotel instead.
Stories of neglect and substandard care have flooded in from soldiers, their family members, veterans, doctors and nurses working inside the system. They describe depressing living conditions for outpatients at other military bases around the country
Sgt. William A. Jones had recently written to his Arizona senators complaining about abuse at the VA hospital in Phoenix. He had written to the president before that. "Not one person has taken the time to respond in any manner," Jones said in an e-mail. (Isn't McCain a senator from Arizona)
AND where has the AMERICAN LEGION been? Too busy parroting the neocon republican agenda, that's where!
On top of all that, America was told by these neocon republicans who have controlled everything for the past 5 years that the wounded were being taken care of. They even lied about that.
From Fort Campbell in Kentucky: "There were yellow signs on the door stating our barracks had asbestos."
Sandy Karen was horrified when her 21-year-old son was discharged from the Naval Medical Center in San Diego a few months ago and told to report to the outpatient barracks, only to find the room swarming with fruit flies, trash overflowing and a syringe on the table.
"The staff sergeant says, 'Here are your linens' to my son, who can't even stand up," said Karen, of Brookeville, Md. "This kid has an open wound, and I'm going to put him in a room with fruit flies?" She took her son to a hotel instead.
Stories of neglect and substandard care have flooded in from soldiers, their family members, veterans, doctors and nurses working inside the system. They describe depressing living conditions for outpatients at other military bases around the country
Sgt. William A. Jones had recently written to his Arizona senators complaining about abuse at the VA hospital in Phoenix. He had written to the president before that. "Not one person has taken the time to respond in any manner," Jones said in an e-mail. (Isn't McCain a senator from Arizona)
AND where has the AMERICAN LEGION been? Too busy parroting the neocon republican agenda, that's where!
On top of all that, America was told by these neocon republicans who have controlled everything for the past 5 years that the wounded were being taken care of. They even lied about that.
Iraq escalation only
During a White House meeting last week, a group of governors asked President Bush and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about their backup plan for Iraq. What would the administration do if its new strategy didn't work?
The conclusion they took away, the governors later said, was that there is no Plan B. These neocon republicans cannot admit that they were and are wrong ,so, this is the same old escalation with no alternatives. How nice.
The conclusion they took away, the governors later said, was that there is no Plan B. These neocon republicans cannot admit that they were and are wrong ,so, this is the same old escalation with no alternatives. How nice.
04 March, 2007
killing innocent women and children
merican troops opened fire on a highway filled with civilian cars and bystanders today, American and Afghan officials said, in an incident that the Americans said left 16 civilians dead and 24 wounded as they fled the scene of a suicide car bombing in eastern Afghanistan. One American was also wounded.
And there were differences in some of the accounts of the incident, with the Americans saying that the civilians were caught in crossfire between the troops and militants, and Afghan witnesses and some authorities blaming the Americans for indiscriminately shooting at civilian vehicles in anger after the explosion.
Yet some of the wounded interviewed in the hospital by news agencies said the only shooting came from the American troops. A hospital official, who asked not to be named, said all the wounded were suffering from bullet wounds and not shrapnel from the bomb explosion.
"They were firing everywhere, and they even opened fire on 14 to 15 vehicles passing on the highway," said Tur Gul, 38, who was standing on the roadside by a gas station and was shot twice in his right hand. "They opened fire on everybody, the ones inside the vehicles and the ones on foot."
Some of the wounded interviewed by The Associated Press said the soldiers opened fire indiscriminately on passing cars and pedestrians on the busy main road.
"When we parked our vehicle, when they passed us, they opened fire on our vehicle," said 15-year-old Mohammad Ishaq, who was hit by two bullets, in his left arm and his right ear. "It was a convoy of three American Humvees. All three Humvees were firing around."
And there were differences in some of the accounts of the incident, with the Americans saying that the civilians were caught in crossfire between the troops and militants, and Afghan witnesses and some authorities blaming the Americans for indiscriminately shooting at civilian vehicles in anger after the explosion.
Yet some of the wounded interviewed in the hospital by news agencies said the only shooting came from the American troops. A hospital official, who asked not to be named, said all the wounded were suffering from bullet wounds and not shrapnel from the bomb explosion.
"They were firing everywhere, and they even opened fire on 14 to 15 vehicles passing on the highway," said Tur Gul, 38, who was standing on the roadside by a gas station and was shot twice in his right hand. "They opened fire on everybody, the ones inside the vehicles and the ones on foot."
Some of the wounded interviewed by The Associated Press said the soldiers opened fire indiscriminately on passing cars and pedestrians on the busy main road.
"When we parked our vehicle, when they passed us, they opened fire on our vehicle," said 15-year-old Mohammad Ishaq, who was hit by two bullets, in his left arm and his right ear. "It was a convoy of three American Humvees. All three Humvees were firing around."
more republican lies
Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.) had previously declined to comment in detail, but told the Associated Press that he had "no idea" who had contacted Federal Attorney David Iglesias, who is one of eight federal attorneys who have been fired, one just to make room for one of Karl Rove’s cronies.
After Congress is investigating and issued subpoenas, Domenici admits that he did call to “inquire” about the status of an ongoing corruption probe of Democrats, saying he regretted the call but claims "never pressured him nor threatened him in any way."
After Congress is investigating and issued subpoenas, Domenici admits that he did call to “inquire” about the status of an ongoing corruption probe of Democrats, saying he regretted the call but claims "never pressured him nor threatened him in any way."
who controls the USA
Today's America is no democracy -- it's a degenerating tyranny, disfigured by its military-industrial-governmental cancer. Our people are increasingly ashamed and terrified of their government, and rightly so, because we have no control over it, and it's become a deceitful monstrous danger to us and to the health of the planet.
under control of the few elite
Imperial Rome had its elite praetorian guard to protect and serve its emperors. The CIA here works the same way as a private army for the President that in the end will go his way as it did producing phony intelligence the Bush administration used to justify war with Iraq. It has secret units and mercenaries operating in countries around the world including Iran AND it's not alone.
Last year the Pentagon took a super-secret spy unit at Fort Belvoir, Va., from the Army and put it under direct control of the Pentagon. The unit, code–named Task Force Orange and now under the Pentagon specializes in infiltrating foreign countries, tailing people and intercepting communications. Operatives have dug up fiber-optic telephone lines overseas and attached a listening device for the National Security Agency.
The task force features veteran warriors, intelligence officers and technical wizards who use electronic devices in innovative ways. It maintains its own fleet of airplanes at a Washington-area
Last year the Pentagon took a super-secret spy unit at Fort Belvoir, Va., from the Army and put it under direct control of the Pentagon. The unit, code–named Task Force Orange and now under the Pentagon specializes in infiltrating foreign countries, tailing people and intercepting communications. Operatives have dug up fiber-optic telephone lines overseas and attached a listening device for the National Security Agency.
The task force features veteran warriors, intelligence officers and technical wizards who use electronic devices in innovative ways. It maintains its own fleet of airplanes at a Washington-area
failure in Iraq
Baghdad's mayor lashed out at the United States yesterday – for spending huge sums on projects to collect rubbish and plant trees while his devastated war-torn city struggles without electricity. The city is not expected to have a proper electricity supply for another six years at least. At a meeting in the city's Green Zone the mayor, Sabir al-Isawi, interrupted US officials in the middle of a presentation to key Iraqi officials, to say these schemes are "not what the people want".
why Iran?
Consider the correlation of forces behind a new war.
Israel wants Iran attacked yesterday. The neocon republicans need a new war to make America forget the disaster that they wrought in Iraq. Democratic candidates must be seen as hawkish as Giuliani and McCain. And the deadline for Iran to comply with UN Security Council directives to halt its enrichment of uranium is Feb. 23. What then is holding us back from war?
It is the realization, even on the part of the noisiest republican hawks, that war on Iran could precipitate a disaster worse than defeat in Iraq. A Shia uprising against U.S. troops could turn the Green Zone into Dien Bien Phu. Attacks on tankers and pipelines could send oil to $200 a barrel. America would have no international support and would receive virtually universal condemnation.
And like the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, bombing Iran could unite Iranians behind their rulers. Shia insurgencies could be ignited against Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. Hezbollah could bring down the Lebanese government and attack Americans in the Middle East and perhaps here in the United States.
And what would an attack accomplish besides setting back an Iranian nuclear-enrichment program that by most reports is a bust?
What is the threat? Iran has no missiles that can reach us, no atom bombs.
Though the Mullahs have been in power 27 years, they have yet to launch their first war. The war they fought was in self-defense. They can no more want a Sunni-Shia regional war than we, for they would be in the isolated minority. They want the Taliban kept out of Kabul and Iraq to remain united under a Shia.
I believe the real reason is: If Bush goes home with Iran’s nuclear program not shut down, his legacy will be Iraq and a failed presidency. The Bush Doctrine—no nukes in rogue states—will have been defied by Pyongyang and Tehran.
Israel wants Iran attacked yesterday. The neocon republicans need a new war to make America forget the disaster that they wrought in Iraq. Democratic candidates must be seen as hawkish as Giuliani and McCain. And the deadline for Iran to comply with UN Security Council directives to halt its enrichment of uranium is Feb. 23. What then is holding us back from war?
It is the realization, even on the part of the noisiest republican hawks, that war on Iran could precipitate a disaster worse than defeat in Iraq. A Shia uprising against U.S. troops could turn the Green Zone into Dien Bien Phu. Attacks on tankers and pipelines could send oil to $200 a barrel. America would have no international support and would receive virtually universal condemnation.
And like the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, bombing Iran could unite Iranians behind their rulers. Shia insurgencies could be ignited against Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. Hezbollah could bring down the Lebanese government and attack Americans in the Middle East and perhaps here in the United States.
And what would an attack accomplish besides setting back an Iranian nuclear-enrichment program that by most reports is a bust?
What is the threat? Iran has no missiles that can reach us, no atom bombs.
Though the Mullahs have been in power 27 years, they have yet to launch their first war. The war they fought was in self-defense. They can no more want a Sunni-Shia regional war than we, for they would be in the isolated minority. They want the Taliban kept out of Kabul and Iraq to remain united under a Shia.
I believe the real reason is: If Bush goes home with Iran’s nuclear program not shut down, his legacy will be Iraq and a failed presidency. The Bush Doctrine—no nukes in rogue states—will have been defied by Pyongyang and Tehran.
03 March, 2007
neocon republican war
Admitted----------3169 sacrificed, 32,544 wounded, not including "contractors" and innocents in Iraq. British are drawing down their troops from Iraq but our neocon republicans are not only escalating but are wanting more war by talking regime change in Iran if they can't talk the Iraelis into doing it for us.
veterans vs the neocons
The Bush-Cheney regime is America’s first Neoconservative Republican regime. In a few short years, they have destroyed the Bill of Rights, the Separation of Powers, the Geneva Conventions, and the remains of America’s moral reputation in the world, AND the humane treatment of our veterans.
Our Armed Forces are stretched too thin so they are using our citizen soldiers that are not as well trained or equiped thus putting them in the short term and us in the long term at greater risk.
I don't know about you, but I am outraged at the treatment of our wounded veterans, not just at Walter Reed. All I heard for five years is " I am the Commander-in Chief, "I am the Decider"." Now he says, " Let me help fix it" like it is someone else's fault.
Pray that God shows us the way to get these people out of our government and return it to the will of the people.
Our Armed Forces are stretched too thin so they are using our citizen soldiers that are not as well trained or equiped thus putting them in the short term and us in the long term at greater risk.
I don't know about you, but I am outraged at the treatment of our wounded veterans, not just at Walter Reed. All I heard for five years is " I am the Commander-in Chief, "I am the Decider"." Now he says, " Let me help fix it" like it is someone else's fault.
Pray that God shows us the way to get these people out of our government and return it to the will of the people.
01 March, 2007
grounds for impeachment?
Are the below grounds to Impeach George Bush and Dick Cheney?
1. Violating the United Nations Charter by launching an illegal "War of Aggression" against Iraq without cause, using fraud to sell the war to Congress and the public, misusing government funds to begin bombing without Congressional authorization, and subjecting our military personnel to unnecessary harm, debilitating injuries, and deaths.
2. Violating U.S. and international law by authorizing the torture of thousands of captives, resulting in dozens of deaths, and keeping prisoners hidden from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
3. Violating the Constitution by arbitrarily detaining Americans, legal residents, and non-Americans, without due process, without charge, and without access to counsel.
4. Violating the Geneva Conventions by targeting civilians, journalists, hospitals, and ambulances, and using illegal weapons, including white phosphorous, depleted uranium, and a new type of napalm.
5. Violating U.S. law and the Constitution through widespread wiretapping of the phone calls and emails of Americans without a warrant.
6. Violating the Constitution by using "signing statements" to defy hundreds of laws passed by Congress.
7. Violating U.S. and state law by obstructing honest elections in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006.
8. Violating U.S. law by using paid propaganda and disinformation, selectively and misleadingly leaking classified information, and exposing the identity of a covert CIA operative working on sensitive WMD proliferation for political retribution.
9. Subverting the Constitution and abusing Presidential power by asserting a "Unitary Executive Theory" giving unlimited powers to the President, by obstructing efforts by Congress and the Courts to review and restrict Presidential actions, and by promoting and signing legislation negating the Bill of Rights and the Writ of Habeas Corpus.
10. Gross negligence in failing to assist New Orleans residents after Hurricane Katrina, and ignoring urgent warnings of an Al Qaeda attack prior to Sept. 11, 2001.
1. Violating the United Nations Charter by launching an illegal "War of Aggression" against Iraq without cause, using fraud to sell the war to Congress and the public, misusing government funds to begin bombing without Congressional authorization, and subjecting our military personnel to unnecessary harm, debilitating injuries, and deaths.
2. Violating U.S. and international law by authorizing the torture of thousands of captives, resulting in dozens of deaths, and keeping prisoners hidden from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
3. Violating the Constitution by arbitrarily detaining Americans, legal residents, and non-Americans, without due process, without charge, and without access to counsel.
4. Violating the Geneva Conventions by targeting civilians, journalists, hospitals, and ambulances, and using illegal weapons, including white phosphorous, depleted uranium, and a new type of napalm.
5. Violating U.S. law and the Constitution through widespread wiretapping of the phone calls and emails of Americans without a warrant.
6. Violating the Constitution by using "signing statements" to defy hundreds of laws passed by Congress.
7. Violating U.S. and state law by obstructing honest elections in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006.
8. Violating U.S. law by using paid propaganda and disinformation, selectively and misleadingly leaking classified information, and exposing the identity of a covert CIA operative working on sensitive WMD proliferation for political retribution.
9. Subverting the Constitution and abusing Presidential power by asserting a "Unitary Executive Theory" giving unlimited powers to the President, by obstructing efforts by Congress and the Courts to review and restrict Presidential actions, and by promoting and signing legislation negating the Bill of Rights and the Writ of Habeas Corpus.
10. Gross negligence in failing to assist New Orleans residents after Hurricane Katrina, and ignoring urgent warnings of an Al Qaeda attack prior to Sept. 11, 2001.
Republican tainted justice
David C. Iglesias, departing U.S. attorney in New Mexico, who said that two members of Congress attempted to pressure him to speed up a probe of Democrats just before the November elections, was fired after more than five years in office. He said he received the calls in October and believes that complaints from the lawmakers may have led the Justice Department to fire him late last year.
Iglesias produced statistics showing that his office's immigration prosecutions had risen more than 78 percent during his tenure and said the office prosecuted record numbers of narcotics and firearms cases as well.
Iglesias was among seven U.S. attorneys notified by phone on Dec. 7 that they were being fired without explanation. An eighth prosecutor, in Little Rock, also was removed in December, to make room for a former aide to presidential adviser Karl Rove.
In addition to Iglesias's probe of Democrats, fired prosecutors in Arizona, Nevada and California were conducting corruption probes involving Republicans at the time of their dismissals.
Democratic-controlled House and Senate judiciary committees announced that they would issue subpoenas for testimony from Iglesias and other fired prosecutors if necessary.
Iglesias produced statistics showing that his office's immigration prosecutions had risen more than 78 percent during his tenure and said the office prosecuted record numbers of narcotics and firearms cases as well.
Iglesias was among seven U.S. attorneys notified by phone on Dec. 7 that they were being fired without explanation. An eighth prosecutor, in Little Rock, also was removed in December, to make room for a former aide to presidential adviser Karl Rove.
In addition to Iglesias's probe of Democrats, fired prosecutors in Arizona, Nevada and California were conducting corruption probes involving Republicans at the time of their dismissals.
Democratic-controlled House and Senate judiciary committees announced that they would issue subpoenas for testimony from Iglesias and other fired prosecutors if necessary.
28 February, 2007
who are we really supporting?
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.
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.
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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