Since U.S. troops first set foot in Afghanistan in 2001, the Defense Department has gone to significant lengths to control and suppress information about the human cost of war.
It banned photographers on U.S. military bases from covering the arrival of caskets containing the remains of soldiers killed overseas.
It paid Iraqi journalists to write positive accounts of the U.S. war effort. It invited U.S. journalists to "embed" with military units but required them to submit their stories to the military for pre-publication review; according to some reports, the policy was meant to co-opt the embedded journalists and make independent and objective reporting more difficult.
It has erased journalists' footage of civilian deaths in Afghanistan . And it has refused to disclose statistics on civilian casualties. "We don't do body counts,"
01 October, 2007
China smarter than US
The low-key ceremony that marked the launch of China Investment Corp. this weekend could reflect the cautious manner in which Beijing intends to unleash the largest fund in history onto the world's financial markets.
China Investment Corp. is tasked with diversifying and maximising returns on part of the country's huge forex reserves, topping 1.3 trillion dollars and growing by the second.
It is estimated that about 70 percent of this enormous amount is placed in US dollar assets, including Treasury bonds that are as low-yield as they are safe.
The worst thing China could do for the US would be to sweep into, say, the world energy markets and make a series of high-profile acquisitions of oil companies or gas fields. The US tries to conquer oil reserves by military force while the Chinese will just buy them. Who is smarter?
.
China Investment Corp. is tasked with diversifying and maximising returns on part of the country's huge forex reserves, topping 1.3 trillion dollars and growing by the second.
It is estimated that about 70 percent of this enormous amount is placed in US dollar assets, including Treasury bonds that are as low-yield as they are safe.
The worst thing China could do for the US would be to sweep into, say, the world energy markets and make a series of high-profile acquisitions of oil companies or gas fields. The US tries to conquer oil reserves by military force while the Chinese will just buy them. Who is smarter?
.
war on terror a fraud
The fraudulence of the "War on Terror," however, is clearly revealed in the pattern of subsequent facts:
In Afghanistan the state was overthrown instead of apprehending the terrorist. Offers by the Taliban to surrender Osama bin Laden were ignored, and he remains at large to this day.
In Iraq, when the United States invaded, there were no al Qaeda terrorists at all.
Both states have been supplied with puppet governments, and both are dotted with permanent U.S. military bases in strategic proximity to their hydrocarbon assets.
The U.S. embassy nearing completion in Baghdad is comprised of 21 multistory buildings on 104 acres of land. It will house 5,500 diplomats, staff and families. It is ten times larger than any other U.S. embassy in the world, but we have yet to be told why.
A 2006 National Intelligence Estimate shows the war in Iraq has exacerbated, not diminished, the threat of terrorism since 9/11. If the "War on Terror" is not a deception, it is a disastrously counterproductive.
Today two American and two British oil companies are poised to claim immense profits from 81 percent of Iraq's undeveloped crude oil reserves. They cannot proceed, however, until the Iraqi Parliament enacts a statute known as the "hydrocarbon framework law."
The features of postwar oil policy so heavily favoring the oil companies were crafted by the Bush administration State Department in 2002, a year before the invasion.
Drafting of the law itself was begun during Paul Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority, with the invited participation of a number of major oil companies. The law was written in English and translated into Arabic only when it was due for Iraqi approval.
President Bush made passage of the hydrocarbon law a mandatory "benchmark" when he announced the troop surge in January of 2007.
When it took office, the Bush administration brushed aside warnings about al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. Their anxiety to attack both Afghanistan and Iraq was based on other factors.
In Afghanistan the state was overthrown instead of apprehending the terrorist. Offers by the Taliban to surrender Osama bin Laden were ignored, and he remains at large to this day.
In Iraq, when the United States invaded, there were no al Qaeda terrorists at all.
Both states have been supplied with puppet governments, and both are dotted with permanent U.S. military bases in strategic proximity to their hydrocarbon assets.
The U.S. embassy nearing completion in Baghdad is comprised of 21 multistory buildings on 104 acres of land. It will house 5,500 diplomats, staff and families. It is ten times larger than any other U.S. embassy in the world, but we have yet to be told why.
A 2006 National Intelligence Estimate shows the war in Iraq has exacerbated, not diminished, the threat of terrorism since 9/11. If the "War on Terror" is not a deception, it is a disastrously counterproductive.
Today two American and two British oil companies are poised to claim immense profits from 81 percent of Iraq's undeveloped crude oil reserves. They cannot proceed, however, until the Iraqi Parliament enacts a statute known as the "hydrocarbon framework law."
The features of postwar oil policy so heavily favoring the oil companies were crafted by the Bush administration State Department in 2002, a year before the invasion.
Drafting of the law itself was begun during Paul Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority, with the invited participation of a number of major oil companies. The law was written in English and translated into Arabic only when it was due for Iraqi approval.
President Bush made passage of the hydrocarbon law a mandatory "benchmark" when he announced the troop surge in January of 2007.
When it took office, the Bush administration brushed aside warnings about al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. Their anxiety to attack both Afghanistan and Iraq was based on other factors.
democrats cave on 20 year war
Yesterday, Democratic Senators Hillary Clinton (NY), Chuck Schumer (NY), Bob Menendez (NJ), Barbara Mikulski (MD), and Ben Cardin (MD) all voted in favor of the "Kyl-Lieberman Iran Amendment."
This piece of legislation actually encourages the practitioner of cowboy diplomacy, George W. Bush, to be even more belligerent in his foreign policy.
The Kyl-Lieberman Amendment passed by a vote of 76 to 22. Chris Dodd and Joe Biden voted against it, and Barack Obama missed the vote.
This piece of legislation actually encourages the practitioner of cowboy diplomacy, George W. Bush, to be even more belligerent in his foreign policy.
The Kyl-Lieberman Amendment passed by a vote of 76 to 22. Chris Dodd and Joe Biden voted against it, and Barack Obama missed the vote.
another republican wants war
John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, told Tory delegates today that efforts by the UK and the EU to negotiate with Iran had failed and that he saw no alternative to a pre-emptive strike on suspected nuclear facilities in the country.
Giuliani advisor wants US in 20 year war
One of the founding fathers of neoconservatism has privately urged President George W Bush to bomb.
Norman Podhoretz, an intellectual guru of the neoconservative movement who has joined Rudolph Giuliani’s 2008 presidential campaign as a senior foreign policy adviser, held an unpublicised meeting with Bush late last spring at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York.
“I urged Bush to take action against the Iranian nuclear facilities and explained why I thought there was no alternative,” said Podhoretz, 77, in an interview with The Sunday Times.
Norman Podhoretz, an intellectual guru of the neoconservative movement who has joined Rudolph Giuliani’s 2008 presidential campaign as a senior foreign policy adviser, held an unpublicised meeting with Bush late last spring at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York.
“I urged Bush to take action against the Iranian nuclear facilities and explained why I thought there was no alternative,” said Podhoretz, 77, in an interview with The Sunday Times.
hidden costs of war on Iraq
More than in past wars, many wounded troops are coming home alive from the Middle East, a triumph for military medicine. But they often return hobbled by prolonged physical and mental injuries from homemade bombs and the anxiety of fighting a hidden enemy along blurred battle lines.
These troops are just starting to seek help in large numbers, more than 185,000 so far. The cost of their benefits is already testing resources set aside by government and threatening the future of these wounded veterans for decades to come, say economists and veterans' groups.
These troops are just starting to seek help in large numbers, more than 185,000 so far. The cost of their benefits is already testing resources set aside by government and threatening the future of these wounded veterans for decades to come, say economists and veterans' groups.
downside of 20 year war
There can be little doubt that if attacked, Iran will respond as it has promised: by bombarding us with the rockets it is preparing for this precise purpose. That will not endanger Israel`s existence, but it will not be pleasant either.
If the American attack turns into a long war of attrition, and if the American public comes to see it as a disaster (as is happening right now with the Iraqi adventure), some will surely put the blame on Israel and our republicans.
It is no secret that the Pro-Israel lobby and its allies - the (mostly Jewish) neo-cons and the Christian Zionists - are pushing America into this war, just as they pushed it into Iraq.
For Israeli policy, the hoped-for gains of this war may turn into giant losses - not only for Israel, but also for the American Jewish community.
If the American attack turns into a long war of attrition, and if the American public comes to see it as a disaster (as is happening right now with the Iraqi adventure), some will surely put the blame on Israel and our republicans.
It is no secret that the Pro-Israel lobby and its allies - the (mostly Jewish) neo-cons and the Christian Zionists - are pushing America into this war, just as they pushed it into Iraq.
For Israeli policy, the hoped-for gains of this war may turn into giant losses - not only for Israel, but also for the American Jewish community.
republicans want 20 year war
In a series of public statements in recent months, President Bush and members of his Administration have redefined the war in Iraq, to an increasing degree, as a strategic battle between the United States and Iran.
“They’re moving everybody to the Iran desk,” one recently retired C.I.A. official said. “They’re dragging in a lot of analysts and ramping up everything. It’s just like the fall of 2002”—the months before the invasion of Iraq, when the Iraqi Operations Group became the most important in the agency. He added, “The guys now running the Iranian program have limited direct experience with Iran. In the event of an attack, how will the Iranians react? They will react, and the Administration has not thought it all the way through.”
Iran would likely react to an American attack “by intensifying the conflict in Iraq and also in Afghanistan, their neighbors, and that could draw in Pakistan. We will be stuck in a regional war for twenty years.”
“They’re moving everybody to the Iran desk,” one recently retired C.I.A. official said. “They’re dragging in a lot of analysts and ramping up everything. It’s just like the fall of 2002”—the months before the invasion of Iraq, when the Iraqi Operations Group became the most important in the agency. He added, “The guys now running the Iranian program have limited direct experience with Iran. In the event of an attack, how will the Iranians react? They will react, and the Administration has not thought it all the way through.”
Iran would likely react to an American attack “by intensifying the conflict in Iraq and also in Afghanistan, their neighbors, and that could draw in Pakistan. We will be stuck in a regional war for twenty years.”
30 September, 2007
hidden costs of republican wars
Wounded troops are coming home alive from the Middle East. They often return hobbled by prolonged physical and mental injuries from homemade bombs and the unremitting anxiety of fighting a hidden enemy along blurred battle lines. Treatment, recovery and retraining often can't be assured quickly or cheaply.
These troops are just starting to seek help in large numbers, more than 185,000 so far. But the cost of their benefits is already testing resources set aside by government and threatening the future of these wounded veterans for decades to come, say economists and veterans' groups.
Of 1.4 million U.S. forces deployed for Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 185,000 have sought care from the VA _ a number that could easily top 700,000 eventually, predicts one academic analysis. The VA has already treated more than 52,000 for PTSD symptoms alone.
Economic forecasts for the federal costs of caring for injured veterans returning from the Middle East, range as high as $700 billion for the VA. That would rival the cost of fighting the Iraq war. In recent years, the VA has repeatedly run out of money to care for sick veterans and has had to ask for billions more before the next budget.
These troops are just starting to seek help in large numbers, more than 185,000 so far. But the cost of their benefits is already testing resources set aside by government and threatening the future of these wounded veterans for decades to come, say economists and veterans' groups.
Of 1.4 million U.S. forces deployed for Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 185,000 have sought care from the VA _ a number that could easily top 700,000 eventually, predicts one academic analysis. The VA has already treated more than 52,000 for PTSD symptoms alone.
Economic forecasts for the federal costs of caring for injured veterans returning from the Middle East, range as high as $700 billion for the VA. That would rival the cost of fighting the Iraq war. In recent years, the VA has repeatedly run out of money to care for sick veterans and has had to ask for billions more before the next budget.
republicans on children's health
The spectacle Tuesday of 151 House Republicans voting in lock step with the White House against expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was one of the more remarkable sights of the year. Rarely do you see so many politicians putting their careers in jeopardy.
SCHIP has been one of the most successful health-care measures created in the past decade. It was started in 1997 with support from both parties. SCHIP in the past 10 years financed insurance for roughly 6.6 million youngsters a year. The money was distributed through the states, which were given considerable flexibility in designing their programs. The insurance came from private companies, at rates negotiated by the states.
Hundreds of organizations -- grass-roots groups ranging from AARP to United Way of America and the national YMCA -- have called on Bush to sign the bill. America's Health Insurance Plans, the largest insurance lobbying group, endorsed the program.
SCHIP has been one of the most successful health-care measures created in the past decade. It was started in 1997 with support from both parties. SCHIP in the past 10 years financed insurance for roughly 6.6 million youngsters a year. The money was distributed through the states, which were given considerable flexibility in designing their programs. The insurance came from private companies, at rates negotiated by the states.
Hundreds of organizations -- grass-roots groups ranging from AARP to United Way of America and the national YMCA -- have called on Bush to sign the bill. America's Health Insurance Plans, the largest insurance lobbying group, endorsed the program.
cheney,Iraq, Iran
This week yet another video of Dick "Five Deferments" Cheney surfaced from the early nineties, again articulating his views as to why trying to occupy Iraq would be lead to nothing but a disastrous quagmire.
And yet this is the same man who not only lied the country into doing just that once he seized power himself, but is still the most aggressive force in the White House pushing for an even more monumental debacle in Iran.
And yet this is the same man who not only lied the country into doing just that once he seized power himself, but is still the most aggressive force in the White House pushing for an even more monumental debacle in Iran.
29 September, 2007
Iraqi oil
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Friday a U.S. Senate resolution calling for the creation of separate Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish federal regions in Iraq would be a disaster for his country.
He wants to control it all, with us dying while helping him do it.
Do you suppose their oil reserves has something to do with it.
He wants to control it all, with us dying while helping him do it.
Do you suppose their oil reserves has something to do with it.
license to kill in Iraq
Snipers superiors in Iraq have sought less restrictive rules of engagement — to legalize the combat killing of anyone who made a soldier “feel threatened,” for example, instead of showing hostile intent or actions.
update Iraq
US forces carried out an air strike early on Friday, killing at least 10 people, including women and children, in a building in a mainly Sunni area of Baghdad, Iraqi officials said.
"According to Iraqi police, the bodies of five adult women and four children were taken to a local hospital in Musayyib," the statement said. Those killed were mainly relatives including the children aged one, two, four and five years old.
This is continuing in our name. God help us.
"According to Iraqi police, the bodies of five adult women and four children were taken to a local hospital in Musayyib," the statement said. Those killed were mainly relatives including the children aged one, two, four and five years old.
This is continuing in our name. God help us.
28 September, 2007
Blackwater Prince a republican Bushie
Blackwater,private security company involved in a Baghdad shootout last weekend, operated under State Department authority that exempted the company from U.S. military regulations governing other security firms, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials and industry representatives.
Blackwater is untouchable, protected by State Department officials who defended the company at every turn. Blackwater USA in Iraq, has received $678 million in State Department contracts since 2003.
The confrontation between the Iraqi government and Blackwater, based in Moyock, N.C., has illuminated the uneven and largely dysfunctional regulatory system intended to govern tens of thousands of hired guns operating in Iraq.
Erik Prince runs Blackwater and also happens to be a Michigan native who has roots in a Holland automotive supplier fortune, and has republican political connections (he was an intern in the elder George Bush's White House). There you have it, another republican and Bush crony.
Blackwater is untouchable, protected by State Department officials who defended the company at every turn. Blackwater USA in Iraq, has received $678 million in State Department contracts since 2003.
The confrontation between the Iraqi government and Blackwater, based in Moyock, N.C., has illuminated the uneven and largely dysfunctional regulatory system intended to govern tens of thousands of hired guns operating in Iraq.
Erik Prince runs Blackwater and also happens to be a Michigan native who has roots in a Holland automotive supplier fortune, and has republican political connections (he was an intern in the elder George Bush's White House). There you have it, another republican and Bush crony.
27 September, 2007
winning Iraqi hearts and minds?
Blackwater’s behavior is increasingly stoking resentment among Iraqis and is proving counterproductive to American efforts to gain support for its military efforts in Iraq.
“They’re repeat offenders, and yet they continue to prosper in Iraq,” said Representative Jan Schakowsky. “It’s really affecting attitudes toward the United States when you have these cowboy guys out there. These guys represent the U.S. to them and there are no rules of the game for them.”
“They’re repeat offenders, and yet they continue to prosper in Iraq,” said Representative Jan Schakowsky. “It’s really affecting attitudes toward the United States when you have these cowboy guys out there. These guys represent the U.S. to them and there are no rules of the game for them.”
war on Iran not necessary
Gen. John P. Abizaid, who retired this year as senior American commander in the Middle East, said that while the United States must do all it can to prevent Iran from going nuclear, the world could live with a nuclear Iran and could contain it, contrary to the neocon republican line.
Also, “This constant drumbeat of war is not helpful, and it’s not useful,” said Adm. William J. Fallon, the current senior American commander in the region. Republicans are always saying they rely on the military judgment which is just another lie.
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Also, “This constant drumbeat of war is not helpful, and it’s not useful,” said Adm. William J. Fallon, the current senior American commander in the region. Republicans are always saying they rely on the military judgment which is just another lie.
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26 September, 2007
Blackwater mercenaries
It was the moment the war turned: On March 31, 2004, four Americans (Blackwater mercenaries) were ambushed and burned near their jeeps by an angry mob in the Sunni stronghold of Falluja. Their charred corpses were hung from a bridge over the Euphrates River.
The ensuing slaughter by U.S. troops would fuel the fierce Iraqi resistance that haunts occupation forces to this day. But these men were neither American military nor civilians. They were highly trained private soldiers sent to Iraq by a secretive mercenary company (Blackwater) based in the wilderness of North Carolina.
The ensuing slaughter by U.S. troops would fuel the fierce Iraqi resistance that haunts occupation forces to this day. But these men were neither American military nor civilians. They were highly trained private soldiers sent to Iraq by a secretive mercenary company (Blackwater) based in the wilderness of North Carolina.
justification for another war
In case you thought it was just an aberrant moment of lunacy last week when Lieberman pressed General Petraeus for an attack on Iran, just before the weekend he and Republican Senator Kyl introduced an amendment to the defense bill to authorize exactly that:
(3) that it should be the policy of the United States to combat, contain, and roll back the violent activities and destabilizing influence inside Iraq of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, its foreign facilitators such as Lebanese Hezbollah, and its indigenous Iraqi proxies;
(4) to support the prudent and calibrated use of all instruments of United States national power in Iraq, including diplomatic, economic, intelligence, and military instruments, in support of the policy described in paragraph (3) with respect to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies.
(3) that it should be the policy of the United States to combat, contain, and roll back the violent activities and destabilizing influence inside Iraq of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, its foreign facilitators such as Lebanese Hezbollah, and its indigenous Iraqi proxies;
(4) to support the prudent and calibrated use of all instruments of United States national power in Iraq, including diplomatic, economic, intelligence, and military instruments, in support of the policy described in paragraph (3) with respect to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies.
25 September, 2007
US Death in Iraq continues
US Deaths By Month:
January through December
2003 0 0 65 74 37 30 48 35 31 44 82 40
2004 47 20 52 135 80 42 54 66 80 64 137 72
2005 107 58 35 52 80 78 54 85 49 96 84 68
2006 62 55 31 76 69 61 43 65 72 106 70 112
2007 83 81 81 104 126 101 79 84 58(thru Sept)
TOTAL 3799 as admitted
January through December
2003 0 0 65 74 37 30 48 35 31 44 82 40
2004 47 20 52 135 80 42 54 66 80 64 137 72
2005 107 58 35 52 80 78 54 85 49 96 84 68
2006 62 55 31 76 69 61 43 65 72 106 70 112
2007 83 81 81 104 126 101 79 84 58(thru Sept)
TOTAL 3799 as admitted
22 September, 2007
behind the war on Iraq?
read today:
"Now, we have the destruction of Iraq, a nation that was no proven threat to the United States, but was then considered to be Israel’s most serious antagonist. U.S. government neoconservative republicans, many of whom have shown excessive loyalty to Israel, were instrumental in promoting the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In effect, the U.S. fought, and is still fighting, Israel’s battles.
What is a predictable scenario in the near future? We have, as one outcome of the Iraq occupation, the accusations that Iran and Syria, two other serious antagonists to Israel, are threats to world peace."
"Now, we have the destruction of Iraq, a nation that was no proven threat to the United States, but was then considered to be Israel’s most serious antagonist. U.S. government neoconservative republicans, many of whom have shown excessive loyalty to Israel, were instrumental in promoting the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In effect, the U.S. fought, and is still fighting, Israel’s battles.
What is a predictable scenario in the near future? We have, as one outcome of the Iraq occupation, the accusations that Iran and Syria, two other serious antagonists to Israel, are threats to world peace."
Republican Blackwater
Blackwater USA, a Moyock, N.C.-based company, has been implicated in six other incidents over the past seven months, including a Feb. 7 shooting outside Iraqi state television in Baghdad in which three building guards were fatally shot.
Other incidents include: a Sept. 9 shooting in front of Baghdad's municipal government building that killed five people and wounded 10; a Sept. 12 shooting that wounded five on the capital's Palestine Street; a Feb. 4 shooting near the Foreign Ministry, in which Iraqi journalist Hana al-Ameedi died; a May shooting near the Interior Ministry that claimed the life of a passer-by and a Feb. 14 incident in which Blackwater employees allegedly smashed windshields by throwing bottles of ice water at cars.
These six cases support the case against Blackwater, because they show that it has a criminal record. However, Blackwater contractors (mercenaries) enjoy immunity from law in Iraq and in our country, and are accountable to no one. Some day they will be coming for you and me. This is what these Republicans are doing to our country.
Other incidents include: a Sept. 9 shooting in front of Baghdad's municipal government building that killed five people and wounded 10; a Sept. 12 shooting that wounded five on the capital's Palestine Street; a Feb. 4 shooting near the Foreign Ministry, in which Iraqi journalist Hana al-Ameedi died; a May shooting near the Interior Ministry that claimed the life of a passer-by and a Feb. 14 incident in which Blackwater employees allegedly smashed windshields by throwing bottles of ice water at cars.
These six cases support the case against Blackwater, because they show that it has a criminal record. However, Blackwater contractors (mercenaries) enjoy immunity from law in Iraq and in our country, and are accountable to no one. Some day they will be coming for you and me. This is what these Republicans are doing to our country.
21 September, 2007
evil in Iraq
The moral vacuum of Iraq—where Blackwater USA guards can kill 10 or 20 Iraqis on a whim and never be prosecuted for it—did not happen by accident. It is yet another example of something the Bush administration could have prevented with the right measures but simply did not bother about as it rushed into invading and occupying another country.
Two days before he left Iraq for good, L. Paul Bremer III, the Coalition Provisional Authority administrator, signed a blanket order immunizing all Americans, because, as one of his former top aides told me, “we wanted to make sure our military, civilians and contractors(mercenaries) were protected from Iraqi law.”
Blackwater operatives have long been known to be cowboys who act as if they are free to commit homicide as they please, And they do. Blackwater is seen by Iraqis as the face of a malignant occupation. Morality begins when people take responsibility for their actions. But no one in this Republican administration has taken responsibility for one disaster after another in Iraq.
Two days before he left Iraq for good, L. Paul Bremer III, the Coalition Provisional Authority administrator, signed a blanket order immunizing all Americans, because, as one of his former top aides told me, “we wanted to make sure our military, civilians and contractors(mercenaries) were protected from Iraqi law.”
Blackwater operatives have long been known to be cowboys who act as if they are free to commit homicide as they please, And they do. Blackwater is seen by Iraqis as the face of a malignant occupation. Morality begins when people take responsibility for their actions. But no one in this Republican administration has taken responsibility for one disaster after another in Iraq.
cost of Iraq war
This is one of the historic moments when Americans have to decide whether our country will be a republic, or continue to function as an empire. Our failure to make that fundamental decision today will ensure future imperial wars and occupations.
If the Russians or Chinese came into America tomorrow with their troops and over 150,000 mercenaries to take over our country, brutalize our wives and children and take over our lives, wouldn't you fight back? Of course we would. That is what the Iraqis are doing.
During an eight-hour working day, U.S. tax dollars spent in the battle zones of Iraq total $112 million. These figures are extrapolated from a report by the Congressional Research Service (CSR), a bipartisan agency which provides research and analysis for the U.S. Congress. It put the war's average cost in 2007 at around $10 billion a month, this is serious money.
The dollar dropped to record lows through the $1.40 level against the euro on Thursday as the US currency continued its slide following the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates earlier in the week
If the Russians or Chinese came into America tomorrow with their troops and over 150,000 mercenaries to take over our country, brutalize our wives and children and take over our lives, wouldn't you fight back? Of course we would. That is what the Iraqis are doing.
During an eight-hour working day, U.S. tax dollars spent in the battle zones of Iraq total $112 million. These figures are extrapolated from a report by the Congressional Research Service (CSR), a bipartisan agency which provides research and analysis for the U.S. Congress. It put the war's average cost in 2007 at around $10 billion a month, this is serious money.
The dollar dropped to record lows through the $1.40 level against the euro on Thursday as the US currency continued its slide following the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates earlier in the week
20 September, 2007
update war on Iraq
Why is "Operation Iraqi Freedom" dependent upon killer mercenaries. Why the "democratically elected government" of "liberated" Iraq does not explicitly have the legal power to expel Blackwater USA from its land or hold any of the 50,000 private contractor troops that the U.S. government has brought to Iraq accountable for their deadly actions.
Also, the U.S. National Guard has been strained by multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and faces equipment shortfalls totaling tens of billions of dollars, the Guard's top general said on Wednesday.
When historians look back on the past week in Washington, I suspect they will see it as a seminal moment. It was the moment when the president and his party recommitted themselves to an indefinite, decades-long Iraq occupation, and when the Iraq war was formally handed over to the next president, with forces near the maxed-out 2006 level
Also, the U.S. National Guard has been strained by multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and faces equipment shortfalls totaling tens of billions of dollars, the Guard's top general said on Wednesday.
When historians look back on the past week in Washington, I suspect they will see it as a seminal moment. It was the moment when the president and his party recommitted themselves to an indefinite, decades-long Iraq occupation, and when the Iraq war was formally handed over to the next president, with forces near the maxed-out 2006 level
18 September, 2007
continuing republican scam
When the President launched the "surge" in January, he told us that its purpose was to provide Iraqi leaders with the time to make that political progress. But now, nine months into the surge, the President's own advisers tell us that Iraq's leaders have not, and are not likely to do so. Meanwhile, thousands of brave Americans remain in the crossfire of another country's civil war.
It's no surprise that these neocon Republicans are changing the surge objectives, moving the goal posts back to keep us in this Iraqi civil war, and willing to drawdown troops levels to what they were before the surge just in time for the elections. They have been changing objectives, etc. all along.
It's no surprise that these neocon Republicans are changing the surge objectives, moving the goal posts back to keep us in this Iraqi civil war, and willing to drawdown troops levels to what they were before the surge just in time for the elections. They have been changing objectives, etc. all along.
Eight civilians were killed and 13 were wounded when contractors believed to be working for Blackwater USA opened fire on civilians Sunday in the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Mansour in western Baghdad.
American officials refused to discuss Iraqi casualties, nor would they confirm that Blackwater personnel were involved. They also refused to explain the legal authority under which Blackwater operates in Iraq or say whether the company was complying with the order.
The incident drew attention to one of the controversial American practices of the war - the use of heavily armed private security contractors who Iraqis complain operate beyond the law.
In April, the Defense Department said about 129,000 contractors of many nationalities were operating in Iraq - nearly as many as the entire U.S. military force before this year's troop buildup
Blackwater, a secretive North Carolina-based company run by a former Navy SEAL, is among the biggest and best known security firms, with an estimated 1,000 employees in Iraq and at least $800 million in government contracts.
American officials refused to discuss Iraqi casualties, nor would they confirm that Blackwater personnel were involved. They also refused to explain the legal authority under which Blackwater operates in Iraq or say whether the company was complying with the order.
The incident drew attention to one of the controversial American practices of the war - the use of heavily armed private security contractors who Iraqis complain operate beyond the law.
In April, the Defense Department said about 129,000 contractors of many nationalities were operating in Iraq - nearly as many as the entire U.S. military force before this year's troop buildup
Blackwater, a secretive North Carolina-based company run by a former Navy SEAL, is among the biggest and best known security firms, with an estimated 1,000 employees in Iraq and at least $800 million in government contracts.
17 September, 2007
truth about Iraq
While more than two million Iraqis have fled to other countries, another two million have been displaced internally. According to the Global Policy Forum, a group that monitors international developments:
Access to safe drinking water is a problem in much of the country. (The World Health Organization was asked to help with a recent outbreak of cholera in parts of Kurdistan that is believed to have been caused by polluted water.) Sanitation facilities are routinely crippled by violence and sabotage. The economy, like the country's infrastructure, is in shambles.
We shouldn't be so cavalier. Based on all available evidence, it seems unreasonable to believe that fewer than 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed thus far. Many very serious scholars believe the total is much higher.
The effect on children of the carnage, the dislocations and the deteriorating quality of daily life has been profound. Conditions in Iraq were dire for children even before the war. One in eight died before the age of 5, many from the effects of malnutrition, polluted water and unsanitary conditions.
These are just a few of the things you won't hear much about from the American officials in Washington who profess to care so deeply about the people of Iraq.
Access to safe drinking water is a problem in much of the country. (The World Health Organization was asked to help with a recent outbreak of cholera in parts of Kurdistan that is believed to have been caused by polluted water.) Sanitation facilities are routinely crippled by violence and sabotage. The economy, like the country's infrastructure, is in shambles.
We shouldn't be so cavalier. Based on all available evidence, it seems unreasonable to believe that fewer than 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed thus far. Many very serious scholars believe the total is much higher.
The effect on children of the carnage, the dislocations and the deteriorating quality of daily life has been profound. Conditions in Iraq were dire for children even before the war. One in eight died before the age of 5, many from the effects of malnutrition, polluted water and unsanitary conditions.
These are just a few of the things you won't hear much about from the American officials in Washington who profess to care so deeply about the people of Iraq.
reason for war on Iraq
Just days into the job, President Bush created the Cheney energy task force with the stated aim of developing “a national energy policy designed to help the private sector.” Typically, Cheney has been able to keep secret its deliberations and even the names of its members.
A Freedom of Information Act lawsuit forced the Commerce Department to turn over task force documents, including a map of Iraqi oilfields, pipelines, refineries, terminals, and potential areas for exploration; a Pentagon chart “Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts;” and another chart detailing Iraqi oil and gas projects—all dated March 2001.
Greenspan finally confirms it saying "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.”
A Freedom of Information Act lawsuit forced the Commerce Department to turn over task force documents, including a map of Iraqi oilfields, pipelines, refineries, terminals, and potential areas for exploration; a Pentagon chart “Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts;” and another chart detailing Iraqi oil and gas projects—all dated March 2001.
Greenspan finally confirms it saying "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.”
Bush, Hunt, oil
Greenspan, who was the country's top voice on monetary policy at the time Bush decided to go to war in Iraq, has refrained from extensive public comment on it until now, but he made the striking comment in a new memoir out today that "the Iraq War is largely about oil." The rest of the story is that Bush's buddy, Ray Hunt, of the Texas Oil comapny and others could get control of oil contracts.
mercenary "progress" in Iraq?
A U.S. State Department motorcade came under attack in Baghdad on Sunday, prompting security contractors(mercenaries) guarding the convoy to open fire in the streets. At least nine civilians were killed, according to Iraqi officials.
A Washington Post employee in the area at the time of the shooting witnessed security company (mercenary) helicopters firing into the streets near Nisoor Square in Mansour. Witnesses said they saw dead and wounded people on the pavement.
The Iraqi government will investigate the incident and "probably will withdraw the authority for this security company in Baghdad," said Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, an Interior Ministry spokesman.
"The security company contractors opened fire randomly on the civilians," he said. "We consider this act a crime."
Did you know that we have over 180,000 mercenaries in Iraq that are accountable to neither Iraqi or US law.
A Washington Post employee in the area at the time of the shooting witnessed security company (mercenary) helicopters firing into the streets near Nisoor Square in Mansour. Witnesses said they saw dead and wounded people on the pavement.
The Iraqi government will investigate the incident and "probably will withdraw the authority for this security company in Baghdad," said Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, an Interior Ministry spokesman.
"The security company contractors opened fire randomly on the civilians," he said. "We consider this act a crime."
Did you know that we have over 180,000 mercenaries in Iraq that are accountable to neither Iraqi or US law.
Neocons,children,money
Rumsfeld is apparently trying to resurrect himself. Rumsfeld became wealthy during a 24-year business career between stints in government. A family foundation, set up in 1985 by him and his wife, Joyce, is now valued at about $20 million and makes charitable contributions to dozens of groups a year.
They become multi-millionaires and their children don't fight wars which separates them from the rest of us.
They become multi-millionaires and their children don't fight wars which separates them from the rest of us.
Petraeus lies on Iraq
A week ago today, Gen. David H. Petraeus started his rounds on Capitol Hill, reporting that security in Iraq was improving to the point that a small number of troops could begin coming home by year's end.
But 10 days ago, his commanders in Baghdad began advertising for private contractors to work in combat-supply warehouses on U.S. bases throughout Iraq because half the soldiers who had been working in the warehouses were needed for patrols, combat and protection of U.S. forces.
But 10 days ago, his commanders in Baghdad began advertising for private contractors to work in combat-supply warehouses on U.S. bases throughout Iraq because half the soldiers who had been working in the warehouses were needed for patrols, combat and protection of U.S. forces.
16 September, 2007
Oil, Iraq, Republicans
Without elaborating, Greenspan writes, "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil." Bush and his republican Bushies and Cheney are all into oil investments. For motive, follow the money.
republicans per Greenspan
Greenspan accuses the Republicans who presided over the party's majority in the House until last year of being too eager to tolerate excessive federal spending in exchange for political opportunity. The Republicans, he says, deserved to lose control of the Senate and House in last year's elections. "The Republicans in Congress lost their way," Greenspan writes. "They swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither."
15 September, 2007
more republican lies on Iraq
Mr. Bush’s claim that things were going so well in Iraq that he could “accept” his generals’ recommendation for a “drawdown” of forces was a carnival barker’s come-on.
The Army cannot sustain the 30,000 extra troops Mr. Bush sent to Iraq beyond mid-2008 without serious damage to its fighting ability. From the start, the president said that the increase would be temporary. That’s why he called it a “surge.”
Before he spoke, Iraq’s brutal reality had debunked the claims of political and military success made by Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the ambassador in Baghdad. First, The Times reported that the only sliver of political progress — a tortuous compromise on sharing oil revenues —was evaporating.
Then came news of the assassination of the Anbar tribal leader whose decision to fight alongside the Americans was cited by Mr. Bush as proof that the war’s tide was turning — even though it had nothing to do with the increase in forces.
The Army cannot sustain the 30,000 extra troops Mr. Bush sent to Iraq beyond mid-2008 without serious damage to its fighting ability. From the start, the president said that the increase would be temporary. That’s why he called it a “surge.”
Before he spoke, Iraq’s brutal reality had debunked the claims of political and military success made by Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the ambassador in Baghdad. First, The Times reported that the only sliver of political progress — a tortuous compromise on sharing oil revenues —was evaporating.
Then came news of the assassination of the Anbar tribal leader whose decision to fight alongside the Americans was cited by Mr. Bush as proof that the war’s tide was turning — even though it had nothing to do with the increase in forces.
how they treat our wounded
After nearly three years as an outpatient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Staff Sgt. John Daniel Shannon had begun the wrenching process of turning himself into a civilian.
If you want to read how these republicans treat our wounded, google "John Daniel Shannon."
If you want to read how these republicans treat our wounded, google "John Daniel Shannon."
14 September, 2007
reasons for Iraq War
Check out the big oil deal between the Kurds and Ray Hunt, a Bushie, AND the connection between Haliburton and Cheney. Then you will know the REAL reasons for the War on Iraq
neocon nukes?
The forthcoming September 14 U.S. Air Force report will likely describe the B-52 incident as an "error" and an "isolated incident" as foreshadowed in the September 6 Press Statement.
This will create some difficulty in exposing the actual role played by Cheney and any other government figures that supported him. There will be a need for continued public awareness of the true events behind the B-52 incident in order to expose the actual role of Mr. Cheney.
Only in that way can Cheney be held accountable for his actions, and other government figures that supported his neo-conservative agenda be exposed. Regardless of whether Cheney's role as the prime architect of the B-52 incident is exposed to the public, the official backlash against his covert operation should force his resignation.
In either case, a very dangerous public official would be removed from a powerful position of influence. More importantly, the world has been spared a devastating nuclear war by courageous American airmen who revealed the true contents of an otherwise routine B-52 landing at Barksdale, AFB headed for a covert nuclear mission to the Middle East.
This will create some difficulty in exposing the actual role played by Cheney and any other government figures that supported him. There will be a need for continued public awareness of the true events behind the B-52 incident in order to expose the actual role of Mr. Cheney.
Only in that way can Cheney be held accountable for his actions, and other government figures that supported his neo-conservative agenda be exposed. Regardless of whether Cheney's role as the prime architect of the B-52 incident is exposed to the public, the official backlash against his covert operation should force his resignation.
In either case, a very dangerous public official would be removed from a powerful position of influence. More importantly, the world has been spared a devastating nuclear war by courageous American airmen who revealed the true contents of an otherwise routine B-52 landing at Barksdale, AFB headed for a covert nuclear mission to the Middle East.
13 September, 2007
reason for war on Iraq
It may have been the military that invaded but, with Iraq completely dismantled, the reconstruction was to be the preserve of US corporations ... Thus was born 'disaster capitalism', where oil companies profit from a broken country and private security firms grow rich on political chaos
Iraq another view
In an interview with The Associated Press, retired Army Gen. John Abizaid, retired in May after nearly four years as the top officer at U.S. Central Command, the U.S. needs to draw down forces in Iraq so the Iraqis can take control of their own affairs.
Abizaid was considered a straight shooter during his time as CentCom chief. In July 2003, he was the first high-ranking officer to say publicly the war in Iraq had become a guerrilla war — a development that then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and others had refused to acknowledge.
Abizaid was considered a straight shooter during his time as CentCom chief. In July 2003, he was the first high-ranking officer to say publicly the war in Iraq had become a guerrilla war — a development that then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and others had refused to acknowledge.
Bush/Caesar
Bush decided long ago the U.S. Constitution is nothing but a "G**damn piece of paper," and is obsessed with exercising empirical control over every facet of government, over the people -- over the entire world. Bush is Caesar, his visions put Plato to shame, and when he weeps, his head is on God's shoulder.
shifting the blame to Petraeus
When we listen to General Petraeus, we hear the generals of Vietnam assuring us that they are winning. Generals are not independent thinkers. They serve the political goals of the administration. We can't expect independent, honest assessments of the situation.
The Republicans are trying to make the war on Iraq as a Petraeus War, to shift the blame. He follows policy, he doesn't make policy.
The Republicans are trying to make the war on Iraq as a Petraeus War, to shift the blame. He follows policy, he doesn't make policy.
10 September, 2007
Petraeus massages the data
Petraeus will claim a 75% reduction of violence since the surge started and will use multiple cherry-picked statistics to spin the White House's case. How did they cook the books?
For starters, they changed the definition of violence:
The Los Angeles Times reports that people killed in car bombings don't count.¹
The Washington Post reports that victims shot in the face don't count.²
The Center for Strategic and International Studies reports that Shi'a vs. Shi'a and Sunni vs. Sunni violence doesn't count.³
For starters, they changed the definition of violence:
The Los Angeles Times reports that people killed in car bombings don't count.¹
The Washington Post reports that victims shot in the face don't count.²
The Center for Strategic and International Studies reports that Shi'a vs. Shi'a and Sunni vs. Sunni violence doesn't count.³
just trust them?
Beginning in October 2007 the Department of Homeland Security will open a new office called the National Applications Office (NAO) charged with civil/domestic intelligence gathering.
This new division of Homeland Security was conceived entirely by the Executive Branch, with no Congressional input, and will serve as a clearinghouse for requests to access the data provided by military spy satellites, with a resolution of inches, to view the territorial United States.
Some form of "just trust us", was the operative phrase. How, exactly, has this worked, so far? We now know that governmental spies have violated constitutional safeguards in the recent past.
This new division of Homeland Security was conceived entirely by the Executive Branch, with no Congressional input, and will serve as a clearinghouse for requests to access the data provided by military spy satellites, with a resolution of inches, to view the territorial United States.
Some form of "just trust us", was the operative phrase. How, exactly, has this worked, so far? We now know that governmental spies have violated constitutional safeguards in the recent past.
strategy of fear
How the republicans use fear:
Fear will allow more liberties to be taken away. Not only will there be justification for the troops to remain in Iraq, as planned, but there will be justification for another war – Iran. The options are in the air – the nuclear armed B-52 bombers, all that is needed is a panicked populace. There was never a link between al-Qaeda and Iraq. With persistent lies, this White House committed genocide in Iraq. With the same lies, they are planning genocide next door.
Fear will allow more liberties to be taken away. Not only will there be justification for the troops to remain in Iraq, as planned, but there will be justification for another war – Iran. The options are in the air – the nuclear armed B-52 bombers, all that is needed is a panicked populace. There was never a link between al-Qaeda and Iraq. With persistent lies, this White House committed genocide in Iraq. With the same lies, they are planning genocide next door.
09 September, 2007
Thompson, lawyer and lobbyist
Asked about Republican candidate for President Mr. Fred Thompson’s participation in the Libya case, James Kreindler, a lawyer who represents 130 of the victims’ families, said: “Pan Am 103 was really an attack on the United States, so while some families understood the concept that everyone deserves a defense, a number were offended and angered that American lawyers were willing to earn fees by doing anything to help this pariah nation or the two bombing suspects.”
Iraq and Vietnam comparison
In the not too distant future, the violence in Iraq will begin to decline. The reason is one side will become the dominant force. Thus there will be fewer and fewer targets to engage. Bush will then point to the decline in violence saying that his surge is working.
It has been said if the US withdraws there will be a bloodbath. To some degree this is correct. ( Currently 1,000 plus dying evey week ) However, in all the civil wars recorded in history, eventually one side comes up on top.
Nothing has been learned from Vietnam. Those old enough remember the claims, If North Vietnam is victorious a domino effect will result and all of South East Asia will fall into Communist hands.
Well, you know the outcome. Currently American business concerns are tripping over their shoe laces to do business with the victorious North Vietnamese
It has been said if the US withdraws there will be a bloodbath. To some degree this is correct. ( Currently 1,000 plus dying evey week ) However, in all the civil wars recorded in history, eventually one side comes up on top.
Nothing has been learned from Vietnam. Those old enough remember the claims, If North Vietnam is victorious a domino effect will result and all of South East Asia will fall into Communist hands.
Well, you know the outcome. Currently American business concerns are tripping over their shoe laces to do business with the victorious North Vietnamese
republican party-line generals
It should come as no surprise that the Bush administration's newest military-man-of-substance-turned- political lapdog, General Petraeus, maintains that the situation in Iraq is not only salvageable, but actually improving, due to the "surge" of U.S. combat troops into Iraq over the past year. All the president and his collection of GI Joe hand-puppets ask for is more time, more money and more troops.
more republican lies
Bush lied to us on May 1, 2003, on the aircraft carrier with the sign "Mission Accomplished"in the war on Iraq. We all remember that. What we don't remember is he also did it with the war on the Taliban/Al Qaeda as shown below.
On June 24, 2003, President Bush declared al-Qaeda's leadership largely defunct. At a Camp David summit, Bush praised Pakistan's Gen. Pervez Musharraf, crediting his country with apprehending more than 500 members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
"Thanks to President Musharraf's leadership, on the al-Qaeda front we've dismantled the chief operators," Bush said. Although bin Laden was still at large, his lieutenants were "no longer a threat to the United States or Pakistan," Bush added.
On June 24, 2003, President Bush declared al-Qaeda's leadership largely defunct. At a Camp David summit, Bush praised Pakistan's Gen. Pervez Musharraf, crediting his country with apprehending more than 500 members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
"Thanks to President Musharraf's leadership, on the al-Qaeda front we've dismantled the chief operators," Bush said. Although bin Laden was still at large, his lieutenants were "no longer a threat to the United States or Pakistan," Bush added.
08 September, 2007
Bushies and the Nazis
Speaking of guilt by communications with people in my previous post check this out:
Newly-uncovered government documents in The National Archives and Library of Congress reveal that Prescott Bush, the grandfather of President George W. Bush, served as a business partner of and U.S. banking operative for the financial architect of the Nazi war machine from 1926 until 1942, when Congress took aggressive action against Bush and his “enemy national” partners.
The documents also show that Bush and his colleagues, according to reports from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and FBI, tried to conceal their financial alliance with German industrialist Fritz Thyssen, a steel and coal baron who, beginning in the mid-1920s, personally funded Adolf Hitler’s rise to power by the subversion of democratic principle and German law.
Furthermore, the declassified records demonstrate that Bush and his associates, who included E. Roland Harriman, younger brother of American icon W. Averell Harriman, and George Herbert Walker, President Bush’s maternal great-grandfather, continued their dealings with the German industrial baron for nearly eight months after the U.S. entered the war.
There is a long pattern of Bush family war profiteering that continues today via George H.W. Bush’s intimate relationship with the Saudi royal family and the bin Ladens, conducted via the super-secret Carlyle Group, whose senior advisers include former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III.
Newly-uncovered government documents in The National Archives and Library of Congress reveal that Prescott Bush, the grandfather of President George W. Bush, served as a business partner of and U.S. banking operative for the financial architect of the Nazi war machine from 1926 until 1942, when Congress took aggressive action against Bush and his “enemy national” partners.
The documents also show that Bush and his colleagues, according to reports from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and FBI, tried to conceal their financial alliance with German industrialist Fritz Thyssen, a steel and coal baron who, beginning in the mid-1920s, personally funded Adolf Hitler’s rise to power by the subversion of democratic principle and German law.
Furthermore, the declassified records demonstrate that Bush and his associates, who included E. Roland Harriman, younger brother of American icon W. Averell Harriman, and George Herbert Walker, President Bush’s maternal great-grandfather, continued their dealings with the German industrial baron for nearly eight months after the U.S. entered the war.
There is a long pattern of Bush family war profiteering that continues today via George H.W. Bush’s intimate relationship with the Saudi royal family and the bin Ladens, conducted via the super-secret Carlyle Group, whose senior advisers include former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III.
spying on Americans
The F.B.I. cast a much wider net in its terrorism investigations than it has previously acknowledged by relying on telecommunications companies to analyze phone-call and e-mail patterns of the associates of Americans.
The National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency have explored using link analysis to trace patterns of communications sometimes two, three or four people removed from the original targets.
Such link analysis is misused to establish tenuous links to people who have no real connection to terrorism but may be drawn into an investigation nonetheless.
The National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency have explored using link analysis to trace patterns of communications sometimes two, three or four people removed from the original targets.
Such link analysis is misused to establish tenuous links to people who have no real connection to terrorism but may be drawn into an investigation nonetheless.
05 September, 2007
republican fascism
The freedom to travel of more than 100,000 Americans placed on “watch” and “no fly” lists is being restricted by the Bush-Cheney regime.
Citizens who have done no more than criticize the president are being banned from airline flights, harassed at airports’, strip searched, roughed up and even imprisoned.
Making it more difficult for people out of favor with the state to travel back and forth across borders is a classic part of the fascist playbook,” author Wolf said.
She noticed starting in 2002 that “almost every time I sought to board a domestic airline flight, I was called aside by the Transportation Security Administration(TSA) and given a more thorough search.”
During one preboarding search, a TSA agent told her “You’re on the list” and Wolf learned it is not a list of suspected terrorists but of journalists, academics, activists, and politicians “who have criticized the White House.”
Citizens who have done no more than criticize the president are being banned from airline flights, harassed at airports’, strip searched, roughed up and even imprisoned.
Making it more difficult for people out of favor with the state to travel back and forth across borders is a classic part of the fascist playbook,” author Wolf said.
She noticed starting in 2002 that “almost every time I sought to board a domestic airline flight, I was called aside by the Transportation Security Administration(TSA) and given a more thorough search.”
During one preboarding search, a TSA agent told her “You’re on the list” and Wolf learned it is not a list of suspected terrorists but of journalists, academics, activists, and politicians “who have criticized the White House.”
more republican lies
In July the Florida Republican state representative Bob Allen was caught offering to pay a black undercover cop $20 so that he could perform oral sex on him in a park. Allen's defence? Blow jobs and cash are to black males what kryptonite is to Superman - the only known means of depleting their superhuman strength. "There was a pretty stocky black guy," he explained to the arresting officer. "And there was nothing but other black guys around in the park." Fearing he "was about to be a statistic", he claimed he would have said anything just to get away. Allen had indeed become a statistic - yet another desperate conservative politician mangling logic to explain his hypocrisy.
Last week it was the turn of the Idaho senator Larry Craig, who in June was caught propositioning an undercover officer in the toilets of Minneapolis airport. Two months later he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct without consulting his lawyer. Then Craig, who finally resigned over the weekend, claimed that he framed himself. "I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously," he explained. "In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty." If he's telling the truth now he's a perjurer; if he was telling the truth then, he's a gay man who legislates against gay people
Last week it was the turn of the Idaho senator Larry Craig, who in June was caught propositioning an undercover officer in the toilets of Minneapolis airport. Two months later he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct without consulting his lawyer. Then Craig, who finally resigned over the weekend, claimed that he framed himself. "I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously," he explained. "In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty." If he's telling the truth now he's a perjurer; if he was telling the truth then, he's a gay man who legislates against gay people
04 September, 2007
republicans lying again
Lest anyone think this was merely a random rhetorical spasm, outgoing White House political czar Karl Rove wrote an article in the conservative National Review last week that included this passage: "If the outcome [in Iraq] is like what happened in Vietnam after America abandoned our allies and the region descended into chaos, violence and danger, history's judgment will be harsh. History will see President Bush as right, and the opponents of his policy as mistaken -- as George McGovern was in his time."
What?
For the record, the illegal U.S. bombing of Cambodia destabilized that country and boosted the Khmer Rouge, who eventually took power and exterminated those "millions" in the "killing fields." The monstrous Khmer Rouge regime was finally ousted by . . . none other than the communists who took power in Vietnam after the American withdrawal. Oh, and it was Richard Nixon who negotiated and began the U.S. pullout. Gerald Ford presided over the fall of Saigon. Both of them were Republicans, as I recall.
What?
For the record, the illegal U.S. bombing of Cambodia destabilized that country and boosted the Khmer Rouge, who eventually took power and exterminated those "millions" in the "killing fields." The monstrous Khmer Rouge regime was finally ousted by . . . none other than the communists who took power in Vietnam after the American withdrawal. Oh, and it was Richard Nixon who negotiated and began the U.S. pullout. Gerald Ford presided over the fall of Saigon. Both of them were Republicans, as I recall.
further republican lies on Iraq
Add faked photos to the list of lies told by the BushCheney Administration before its invasion of Iraq.
In a town hall meeting in Bloomsburg, Pa. this week, Rep. Paul Kanjorski, a 12-term congressman, said that shortly before Congress was scheduled to vote on authorizing military force against Iraq, top officials of the CIA showed select members of Congress three photographs it alleged were Iraqi Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), better known as drones. Kanjorski said he was told that the drones were capable of carrying nuclear, biological, or chemical agents, and could strike 1,000 miles inland of east coast or west coast cities.
Kanjorski said he and four or five other congressmen in the room were told UAVs could be on freighters headed to the U.S. Both secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and President Bush wandered into and out of the briefing room, Kanjorski said.
Kanjorski said it was the second time he was called to the White House for a briefing. He had opposed giving the President the powers to go to war, and said that he hadn't changed his mind after a first meeting. Until he saw the pictures, Kanjorski said, "I hadn't thought that Iraq was a threat." That second meeting changed everything. After he left that meeting, said Kanjorski, he was willing to give the President the authorization he wanted since the drones "represented an imminent danger."
Kanjorski said he went to see Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), a retired Marine colonel. Murtha, said Kanjorski, "turned white" when told about the drones; Murtha, a former intelligence officer, believed that such information was classified.
Several years later, Kanjorski said he learned that the pictures were "a god-damned lie," apparently taken by CIA photographers in the desert in the southwest of the U.S. The drone story itself had already been disproved, although not many major media carried that story.
In a town hall meeting in Bloomsburg, Pa. this week, Rep. Paul Kanjorski, a 12-term congressman, said that shortly before Congress was scheduled to vote on authorizing military force against Iraq, top officials of the CIA showed select members of Congress three photographs it alleged were Iraqi Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), better known as drones. Kanjorski said he was told that the drones were capable of carrying nuclear, biological, or chemical agents, and could strike 1,000 miles inland of east coast or west coast cities.
Kanjorski said he and four or five other congressmen in the room were told UAVs could be on freighters headed to the U.S. Both secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and President Bush wandered into and out of the briefing room, Kanjorski said.
Kanjorski said it was the second time he was called to the White House for a briefing. He had opposed giving the President the powers to go to war, and said that he hadn't changed his mind after a first meeting. Until he saw the pictures, Kanjorski said, "I hadn't thought that Iraq was a threat." That second meeting changed everything. After he left that meeting, said Kanjorski, he was willing to give the President the authorization he wanted since the drones "represented an imminent danger."
Kanjorski said he went to see Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), a retired Marine colonel. Murtha, said Kanjorski, "turned white" when told about the drones; Murtha, a former intelligence officer, believed that such information was classified.
Several years later, Kanjorski said he learned that the pictures were "a god-damned lie," apparently taken by CIA photographers in the desert in the southwest of the U.S. The drone story itself had already been disproved, although not many major media carried that story.
02 September, 2007
more republican hypocrisy
Dont believe that the republicans wen they say they are hard on their own people. There were clear political distinctions at play in the way Republicans responded to the two situations.
Were Mr. Vitter, on the prostitue list, to resign, his successor would be chosen by Louisiana’s Democratic governor, while in Idaho, Republicans had the comfort of knowing that Mr. Craig’s successor would be a republican chosen by a Republican, Gov. C. L. Otter.
Were Mr. Vitter, on the prostitue list, to resign, his successor would be chosen by Louisiana’s Democratic governor, while in Idaho, Republicans had the comfort of knowing that Mr. Craig’s successor would be a republican chosen by a Republican, Gov. C. L. Otter.
more on republican wars
read today: The media is silent, Congress is absent, and Americans are distracted as George W. Bush openly prepares aggression against Iran. US Navy aircraft carrier strike forces are deployed off Iran.
US Air Force jets and missile systems are deployed in bases in countries bordering or near to Iran. US B-2 stealth bombers have been refitted to carry 30,000 pound “bunker buster” bombs. The US government is financing terrorist and separatist groups within Iran. US Special Forces teams are conducting terrorist operations inside Iran.
Bush has discarded habeas corpus and the Geneva Conventions, justified torture and secret trials, damned critics as anti-American, and is responsible, according to Information Clearing House, for over one million deaths of Iraqi civilians, which puts Bush high on the list of mass murderers of all time. The vast majority of “kills” by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan are civilians.
Bush has declared himself to be the “decider.” The “decider” decides whether Americans have any rights under the Constitution and whether Iran has any rights under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. As the “decider” has decided that Iran has no such rights, the “decider” decides whether to attack Iran. No one else has any say about it.
US Air Force jets and missile systems are deployed in bases in countries bordering or near to Iran. US B-2 stealth bombers have been refitted to carry 30,000 pound “bunker buster” bombs. The US government is financing terrorist and separatist groups within Iran. US Special Forces teams are conducting terrorist operations inside Iran.
Bush has discarded habeas corpus and the Geneva Conventions, justified torture and secret trials, damned critics as anti-American, and is responsible, according to Information Clearing House, for over one million deaths of Iraqi civilians, which puts Bush high on the list of mass murderers of all time. The vast majority of “kills” by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan are civilians.
Bush has declared himself to be the “decider.” The “decider” decides whether Americans have any rights under the Constitution and whether Iran has any rights under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. As the “decider” has decided that Iran has no such rights, the “decider” decides whether to attack Iran. No one else has any say about it.
30 August, 2007
no justice with torture
Nearly four centuries since the English abolished the Star Chamber, notorious for welcoming evidence obtained by “the rack and screw,” U.S. actions are pushing law back to those times.
Whether statements made under coercion are ultimately used to exonerate the guilty (as many fear in the case of Pearl’s killer) or convict the innocent (as we hope won’t happen to those at Guantanamo Bay), there is little hope of doing justice under the law while allowing the illegality of torture to infect case after case.
Whether statements made under coercion are ultimately used to exonerate the guilty (as many fear in the case of Pearl’s killer) or convict the innocent (as we hope won’t happen to those at Guantanamo Bay), there is little hope of doing justice under the law while allowing the illegality of torture to infect case after case.
where is Congress?
Who is pushing for attacks on Iran? Israel and its lobby. Vice President Cheney. Sen. Joe Lieberman, who has been calling for air strikes on Al Quds camps for months. The republican War Party is facing lasting disgrace for having lied the country into an unnecessary war, and for having assured the American people it would be a "cakewalk."
U.S. strikes would be an act of war, rallying the Iranians behind the failing regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and igniting a long war the end of which we cannot see and the troops for which we do not have. Republcans are ignoring powerful arguments against a new war.
Iran and the United States would both pay a hellish price, and Iran at least seems to recognize it. Both the Iraqi and Afghan governments say Iran is behaving as a good neighbor. There is evidence Tehran's nuclear program is faltering, or being curbed. Iran is said to be making concessions to U.N. inspectors.
If there is a rush to war here, it is not on the part of Iran. As Bush is preparing for war on Iran, if he has not already decided on war, where is Congress, which alone has the constitutional power to authorize a war? Or has it given Bush and Cheney another blank check?
U.S. strikes would be an act of war, rallying the Iranians behind the failing regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and igniting a long war the end of which we cannot see and the troops for which we do not have. Republcans are ignoring powerful arguments against a new war.
Iran and the United States would both pay a hellish price, and Iran at least seems to recognize it. Both the Iraqi and Afghan governments say Iran is behaving as a good neighbor. There is evidence Tehran's nuclear program is faltering, or being curbed. Iran is said to be making concessions to U.N. inspectors.
If there is a rush to war here, it is not on the part of Iran. As Bush is preparing for war on Iran, if he has not already decided on war, where is Congress, which alone has the constitutional power to authorize a war? Or has it given Bush and Cheney another blank check?
republican say one thing do another
Once again, the republican party that embraces a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and blocks laws that would stop discrimination against homosexuals finds itself with a loyal foot soldier who votes one way and allegedly acts another.
Mr. Craig voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. He voted for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in 2004. Last year, he supported an Idaho constitutional amendment that prohibits gay marriage and civil unions.
Mr. Craig is yet another willing accomplice in the machinery of intolerance that has stunted the lives of many gay men and lesbians.
Mr. Craig voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. He voted for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in 2004. Last year, he supported an Idaho constitutional amendment that prohibits gay marriage and civil unions.
Mr. Craig is yet another willing accomplice in the machinery of intolerance that has stunted the lives of many gay men and lesbians.
28 August, 2007
more republican hypocrisy
Republican Sen. Larry E. Craig, Idaho, pleaded guilty earlier this month to misdemeanor disorderly-conduct charges stemming from his June arrest by an undercover police officer in a men's restroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
The undercover officer was monitoring the restroom on June 11. A few minutes after noon, Craig entered and sat in the stall next to him. Craig began tapping his right foot, touched his right foot to the left foot of the officer and brushed his hand beneath the partition between them. He was then arrested. His actions are common to those soliciting sex in restrooms.
In 2006, a gay activist said he had spoken with men who had sexual encounters with Craig, including in the restrooms at Union Station. At the time, Craig's office told the Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash., that the allegations were "completely ridiculous."
The conservative senator has supported an amendment to the Constitution banning same-sex marriage and voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in the 1990s. Craig, who served in the National Guard, has also spoken out against homosexuals serving in the military.
The undercover officer was monitoring the restroom on June 11. A few minutes after noon, Craig entered and sat in the stall next to him. Craig began tapping his right foot, touched his right foot to the left foot of the officer and brushed his hand beneath the partition between them. He was then arrested. His actions are common to those soliciting sex in restrooms.
In 2006, a gay activist said he had spoken with men who had sexual encounters with Craig, including in the restrooms at Union Station. At the time, Craig's office told the Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash., that the allegations were "completely ridiculous."
The conservative senator has supported an amendment to the Constitution banning same-sex marriage and voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in the 1990s. Craig, who served in the National Guard, has also spoken out against homosexuals serving in the military.
27 August, 2007
reject republican neo-cons
On October 11, 2000 George W. Bush said, "I don't think our troops ought to be used for what's called nation-building. I think our troops ought to be used to fight and win wars." Just one example of republicans saying one thing and doing another.
Our forces swept through Iraq and entered Baghdad in a combat crouch and there we stopped, as the neocons wanted us to, spending soldiers’ lives to build a democracy in Iraq.
Solution, fire the neocon republican republicans and reject their theories.
Our forces swept through Iraq and entered Baghdad in a combat crouch and there we stopped, as the neocons wanted us to, spending soldiers’ lives to build a democracy in Iraq.
Solution, fire the neocon republican republicans and reject their theories.
no end in sight
"No End In Sight" examines the manner in which the principal errors of U.S. policy – the use of insufficient troop levels, allowing the looting of Baghdad, the purging of professionals from the Iraqi government, and the disbanding of the Iraqi military – largely created the insurgency and chaos that engulf Iraq today.
How did a group of men with little or no military experience, knowledge of the Arab world or personal experience in Iraq come to make such flagrantly debilitating decisions?
"No End In Sight" dissects the people, issues and facts behind the Bush Administration’s decisions and their consequences on the ground to provide a powerful look into how arrogance and ignorance turned a military victory into a seemingly endless and deepening nightmare of a war.
How did a group of men with little or no military experience, knowledge of the Arab world or personal experience in Iraq come to make such flagrantly debilitating decisions?
"No End In Sight" dissects the people, issues and facts behind the Bush Administration’s decisions and their consequences on the ground to provide a powerful look into how arrogance and ignorance turned a military victory into a seemingly endless and deepening nightmare of a war.
republicans wrong on Iraq
The danger now is that the longer the Iraq War goes on, the more skilled the new generations of jihadists will become. They're getting re-educated, The first generation of Al Qaeda came through the [Afghan] camps. The second generation are those who've logged on [to Islamist Web sites].
The danger now, says Arquilla, is that the longer the Iraq War goes on, the more skilled the new generations of jihadists will become. "They're getting re-educated," he says. "The first generation of Al Qaeda came through the [Afghan] camps. The second generation are those who've logged on [to Islamist Web sites]. The next generation will be those who have come through the crucible of Iraq. Eventually, their level of skill is going to be greater than the skill of the original generation."
The next generation will be those who have come through the crucible of Iraq. Eventually, their level of skill is going to be greater than the skill of the original generation."
The danger now, says Arquilla, is that the longer the Iraq War goes on, the more skilled the new generations of jihadists will become. "They're getting re-educated," he says. "The first generation of Al Qaeda came through the [Afghan] camps. The second generation are those who've logged on [to Islamist Web sites]. The next generation will be those who have come through the crucible of Iraq. Eventually, their level of skill is going to be greater than the skill of the original generation."
The next generation will be those who have come through the crucible of Iraq. Eventually, their level of skill is going to be greater than the skill of the original generation."
war on Iraq
The Iraq War has proved to be a black hole for the Americans, devouring men and matériel and absorbing the attention of the brass in Washington. The American military, understandably, puts a high priority on "force protection," but as a practical matter that means staying behind armor and barricades.
An ends-justifying-the-means rationale led to foolish and ultimately unsuccessful assassination plots and other dirty tricks that disgraced and demoralized the CIA. When you kill one person it's a multiplication factor. It demands that all the male relatives join the fight.
When you kill one person it's a multiplication factor. It demands that all the male relatives join the fight."
An ends-justifying-the-means rationale led to foolish and ultimately unsuccessful assassination plots and other dirty tricks that disgraced and demoralized the CIA. When you kill one person it's a multiplication factor. It demands that all the male relatives join the fight.
When you kill one person it's a multiplication factor. It demands that all the male relatives join the fight."
25 August, 2007
update Iraq
Iraq's vice president said Friday his Sunni political party will not return to its Cabinet positions unless their demands are met.
Three secularist ministers who were already boycotting meetings of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's cabinet will formally quit the government, their bloc said on Friday
The number of Iraqis fleeing their homes has soared since the American troop increase began in February, according to data from two humanitarian groups, accelerating the partition of the country into sectarian enclaves.
Three secularist ministers who were already boycotting meetings of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's cabinet will formally quit the government, their bloc said on Friday
The number of Iraqis fleeing their homes has soared since the American troop increase began in February, according to data from two humanitarian groups, accelerating the partition of the country into sectarian enclaves.
republicans need war to win elections
No pullout from Iraq while I’m president, declares George W. Bush.
On to Iran, declares Vice President Cheney. Israel is a “peace-seeking state” that needs $30 billion of US taxpayers’ money for war, declares State Department official Nicholas Burns.
The Bush regime says it is going to designate part of Iran’s military--the Revolutionary Guards--a terrorist organization, whose bases and facilities Bush intends to bomb along with Iran’s nuclear energy sites. Three US aircraft carrier strike forces are deployed off Iran. B-2 Stealth Bombers are being fitted to carry 30,000 pound “bunker-buster” bombs to use against hardened sites. Politicized US generals try to justify attacking Iran.
Meanwhile in America, while more money is poured into more war, condemned bridges collapse killing Americans who trusted their government to provide safe infrastructure. Devastated residents of New Orleans remain unaided. Financial difficulties deepen for more Americans as falling home prices and jobs lost to offshoring push more Americans into desperate straits. The US dollar continues to fall as the government’s war debts build up abroad.
On to Iran, declares Vice President Cheney. Israel is a “peace-seeking state” that needs $30 billion of US taxpayers’ money for war, declares State Department official Nicholas Burns.
The Bush regime says it is going to designate part of Iran’s military--the Revolutionary Guards--a terrorist organization, whose bases and facilities Bush intends to bomb along with Iran’s nuclear energy sites. Three US aircraft carrier strike forces are deployed off Iran. B-2 Stealth Bombers are being fitted to carry 30,000 pound “bunker-buster” bombs to use against hardened sites. Politicized US generals try to justify attacking Iran.
Meanwhile in America, while more money is poured into more war, condemned bridges collapse killing Americans who trusted their government to provide safe infrastructure. Devastated residents of New Orleans remain unaided. Financial difficulties deepen for more Americans as falling home prices and jobs lost to offshoring push more Americans into desperate straits. The US dollar continues to fall as the government’s war debts build up abroad.
23 August, 2007
republican war update
The number of U.S. Military Personnel sacrificed (officially acknowledged) in America's Republican war on Iraq is now 3722 in over five years, plus over 1000 contractors(mercenaries) and over a million Iraquis.
republicans creating a mercenary army
The big bonuses are creating a mercenary military in the US. The republicans no longer can count on loyal patriotic troops when they pay $20,000 for young poor kids to enlist in the Army.
To them, it's all about the money.
To them, it's all about the money.
republicans lying again
For months now, many re[ib;ocam conservatives have been fundamentally positioning themselves for the post-war era, readying the arguments that will blame the failure of the venture in Iraq on its opponents rather than its architects.
That Bush himself is switching from denying any analogy to Vietnam to now chosing to make the same case is the clearest reflection of the reality that the president knows perfectly well that the war is unwinnable, and blame-shifting now the best hope for saving his historical legacy.
These republicans are good at saying one thing one month and saying just the opposite the next.
That Bush himself is switching from denying any analogy to Vietnam to now chosing to make the same case is the clearest reflection of the reality that the president knows perfectly well that the war is unwinnable, and blame-shifting now the best hope for saving his historical legacy.
These republicans are good at saying one thing one month and saying just the opposite the next.
20 August, 2007
republican pretenders
Giuliani has issued some of his first pronouncements on foreign policy. The most dangerous would-be world leader is a man who doesn't seem to know how much he doesn't know. J
Judging from his foreign affairs article, the breadth and depth of his cluelessness are vast and disturbing, and is pretty much like the other republican contenders.
Judging from his foreign affairs article, the breadth and depth of his cluelessness are vast and disturbing, and is pretty much like the other republican contenders.
how they create dictatorships
Ask yourself: Would a government that has lied us into Iraq and is working to lie us into an attack on Iran shrink from staging terrorist attacks in order to remove opposition to its agenda? Bush already ignores public opinion and laws he doesn't like. His secret spying network is in place.
He has politicized all levels of government, appointing cronies who are loyal to him rather than competent officials. Has he been setting the groundwork for dictatorship?
Adolf Hitler, who never achieved majority support in a German election, used the Reichstag fire to fan hysteria and push through the Enabling Act, which made him dictator. Determined tyrants never require majority support in order to overthrow democratic constitutions. They declare "national emergencies." A series of staged or permitted terrorist attacks would accomplish that.
He has politicized all levels of government, appointing cronies who are loyal to him rather than competent officials. Has he been setting the groundwork for dictatorship?
Adolf Hitler, who never achieved majority support in a German election, used the Reichstag fire to fan hysteria and push through the Enabling Act, which made him dictator. Determined tyrants never require majority support in order to overthrow democratic constitutions. They declare "national emergencies." A series of staged or permitted terrorist attacks would accomplish that.
lone republican
Paul Craig Roberts is a Republican who served as undersecretary of the treasury under Ronald Reagan and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal's editorial page, so he's no kook or Commie. He warns, "Unless Congress immediately impeaches Bush and Cheney, a year from now the United States could be a dictatorial police state at war with Iran."
more republican law and order
With habeas corpus a thing of the past, with arrest and detention without charge permitted, with torture and spying without court oversight all the rage, with prosecutors free to tape conversations between lawyers and their clients, and with the judicial branch now infested by rightwing judges who would have been at home in courtrooms of the Soviet Union or Hitler's Germany, for all they seem to care about common law tradition, the only real thing holding the line against absolute tyranny in the U.S. has been the jury.
republican law and order
Rove directed Federal Assets for GOP gains. His efforts to promote the President and his allies was unprecedented in its reach and in one case that has been uncovered, overtly violated the Hatch Act.
17 August, 2007
spying on us
Granted new power to spy inside the U.S., the Bush administration may be doing more than eavesdropping on phone calls -- it could be watching your every move.
torture
A British resident, Omar Deghayes, detained at Guantánamo Bay as an alleged terrorist, reports that he has suffered years of torture, sexual abuse and death threats. Last week, Omar’s family released a dossier documenting his terrible ordeal, which he dictated to a lawyer visiting the United States-run military prison.
Deghayes, a lawyer, aged 37 and married with a five-year-old son, has been incarcerated at Guantánamo Bay for years with four other British residents.
Deghayes, a lawyer, aged 37 and married with a five-year-old son, has been incarcerated at Guantánamo Bay for years with four other British residents.
army suicides
Army soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new military report.
our "republican guard"
The unprecedented attempt to label Iran’s 125,000-strong Republican Guard as a “specially designated global terrorist” group — is, as the congressman says “nothing more than an attempt to deceive Americans into yet another war — this time with Iran.” Mabe it's our "republican guard" that is a terrorist guard.
15 August, 2007
dirty republican politics
The whispering campaigns always seemed to spring up. That Ann Richards, Bush's gubernatorial opponent in Texas, was a lesbian. That John McCain had fathered a black child out of wedlock. And the worst - that a Democratic state supreme court judge in Alabama who worked with troubled youths was a pedophile.
And finally, the attacks on the patriotism of those who opposed Bush's post-9/11 initiatives. Including war heroes, like former Georgia Democratic senator Max Cleland, who left three limbs in Vietnam. Rove, of draft age during the war, managed not to go. Yes, politics is a rough sport, and yes, Democrats do skeezy things too. But Rove is part of a generation of Republican consultants, along with the late Lee Atwater, that plumbed new depths.
The end result? His president is at 31% and will go down in history as a failure. The country is in worse shape, majorities of Americans believe, than it's been in quite a while. The Middle East is a powder keg. Terrorism is on the rise.
There is, though, a silver lining: Rove may have indeed played a part in bringing about a political realignment. It just won't be the one he had in mind.
And finally, the attacks on the patriotism of those who opposed Bush's post-9/11 initiatives. Including war heroes, like former Georgia Democratic senator Max Cleland, who left three limbs in Vietnam. Rove, of draft age during the war, managed not to go. Yes, politics is a rough sport, and yes, Democrats do skeezy things too. But Rove is part of a generation of Republican consultants, along with the late Lee Atwater, that plumbed new depths.
The end result? His president is at 31% and will go down in history as a failure. The country is in worse shape, majorities of Americans believe, than it's been in quite a while. The Middle East is a powder keg. Terrorism is on the rise.
There is, though, a silver lining: Rove may have indeed played a part in bringing about a political realignment. It just won't be the one he had in mind.
Republicans-hear this
Hamid Karzai, hand-picked by Washington to pose as president of the broken country of Afghanistan, says his government has "very, very good, very, very close relations [and] will continue to have good relations with Iran." He declares on CNN, "So far, Iran has been a helper" in fighting terrorism
winning hearts and minds
U.S. occupation forces also attacked Baghdad's Shi'ite slum of Sadr City targeting "militants" they said are linked to Iran. Relatives said a 5-year-old girl was among four killed in the raid
prosperity for the rich
Multinational corporations sell our jobs to the lowest overseas bidders. The credit industry preys on our poor. The for-profit healthcare system is the leading cause of bankruptcy while hospitals dump indigent patients on skid row. Our country's infrastructure is breaking down from New Orleans levees to Minnesota bridges even as we are mired in a war that drowns us in debt and advances only the interests of big oil and arms merchants.
arrogant elitest Rove
In explaining the timing of his pending resignation, Karl Rove told the Wall Street Journal, "I'm not going to stay or leave based on whether it pleases the mob."
He means you and me, the people. Another arrogant elitest reublican who casts the voices of the people as a mob. Why am I not surprised.
He means you and me, the people. Another arrogant elitest reublican who casts the voices of the people as a mob. Why am I not surprised.
13 August, 2007
Iraq war strategy
How to defeat IED's? One step is to get soldiers out of the vehicles that have too often become their fiery coffins. "What does barreling down a highway at 45mph, peering through a dust-covered windshield, actually accomplish?" asked a retired general who declined to be quoted by name criticizing his former military colleagues.
religion and hatred
The Israelis are in Palestine against God's will. He threw them out in 70 AD. The Israelis rejected Christ, therefore they are by definition "antichrist". They work against Christianity furiously, every day.
According to the Qur'an: "Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah. Those who follow him are merciful to one another, but ruthless to unbelievers" Sura 48:29.
"Kill the Mushrikun (unbelievers) wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and lie in wait for them in each and every ambush..." Sura 9:5. Also see Sura 9:29
Religion breeds hate.
According to the Qur'an: "Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah. Those who follow him are merciful to one another, but ruthless to unbelievers" Sura 48:29.
"Kill the Mushrikun (unbelievers) wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and lie in wait for them in each and every ambush..." Sura 9:5. Also see Sura 9:29
Religion breeds hate.
follow the money
For four years, the no-bid contract awarded to Halliburton, Cheney's company, has been a magnet for controversy. The deal allowed the company to become the government's leading contractor in Iraq, and questions were raised over why it received the contract without competition. Then came the questions about money, which mounted as the tab soared into the billions.
Along the way Congress, pundits and bloggers galore focused on the use of the contract, known as Restore Iraqi Oil, or RIO I, to import oil into Iraq. This part of the deal particularly angered Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and other Democrats. In a July 2004 report, they asserted that Halliburton fees "increased the costs to the government by $167 million, an increase of over 90%."
Now comes an audit from the Government Accountability Office about RIO I and some $221 million in questionable costs -- questions raised by the venerable Defense Contract Audit Agency. Almost 80 percent of the questioned costs related to the import of fuel into Iraq.
Along the way Congress, pundits and bloggers galore focused on the use of the contract, known as Restore Iraqi Oil, or RIO I, to import oil into Iraq. This part of the deal particularly angered Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and other Democrats. In a July 2004 report, they asserted that Halliburton fees "increased the costs to the government by $167 million, an increase of over 90%."
Now comes an audit from the Government Accountability Office about RIO I and some $221 million in questionable costs -- questions raised by the venerable Defense Contract Audit Agency. Almost 80 percent of the questioned costs related to the import of fuel into Iraq.
trapped by republicans
The number Of Iraqis slaughtered Since the U.S. invaded Iraq is now 1,000,985, the number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (officially acknowledged) in America's War On Iraq is 3689, and
the war on Iraq costs now total $451,503,677,145. Republicans have trapped us in Iraq and we can't get out.
the war on Iraq costs now total $451,503,677,145. Republicans have trapped us in Iraq and we can't get out.
10 August, 2007
Iraq, a republican war
Al-Qaeda in Iraq is neither the largest nor the deadliest opponent. U.S. commanders say foreign fighters working with the predominantly Iraqi group are rare. Commanders estimate that there are as few al-Qaeda members, whose activities are mostly restricted to financing attacks in the area.
Iraq is divided into sectors representing different levels of threat, from different kinds of enemies.
"Any group you work with can turn on you," said a tribal liaison, noting that even Iraqi police units have attacked U.S.troops. "That is part of the operating cost."
"We are in the land of the blood feuds," said the liaison to tribes in the area. "It's very difficult to tell a tribal fight from a sectarian fight because interests are pretty mixed. You can't just put up a fence. Our basic mission here is to drive around and get blown up."
And we cannot get out of there because 70 percent of Repubicans STILL support Bush's war on Iraq.
Iraq is divided into sectors representing different levels of threat, from different kinds of enemies.
"Any group you work with can turn on you," said a tribal liaison, noting that even Iraqi police units have attacked U.S.troops. "That is part of the operating cost."
"We are in the land of the blood feuds," said the liaison to tribes in the area. "It's very difficult to tell a tribal fight from a sectarian fight because interests are pretty mixed. You can't just put up a fence. Our basic mission here is to drive around and get blown up."
And we cannot get out of there because 70 percent of Repubicans STILL support Bush's war on Iraq.
mercenaries
More than 1,000 civilian contractors have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion more than four years ago, according to Labor Department records made available Tuesday
Iraq
A senior British commander in southern Afghanistan said in recent weeks that he had asked that American Special Forces leave his area of operations because the high level of civilian casualties they had caused was making it difficult to win over local people
09 August, 2007
our war on Iraq
The U.S. military said about 30 suspected militants were killed in raids in Baghdad's Shi'ite slum of Sadr City. Hospital sources said 13 more people were killed while police put the toll at 11, including women and children.
mad as hell
The notion that America is a government of laws, not men. It's "palpable nonsense of the highest order," he said. Government enacting laws is composed of necon republicans, who connive, misinterpret and pretty much operate ad libitum discharging their duties as they see fit for their own self-interest. We are "mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore."
over there, over here?
'They' are 'over there', where we must meet them with courage and conviction, lest 'they' come 'over here' once again, and do us real harm. This myth has served its purpose well enough - we are occupying Iraq and soon will Iran.
terrorism
During a week of mayhem in Iraq, in which terrorists have rightly been condemned for targeting schoolchildren, it is sobering to recall that this week is also the 62nd anniversary of a U.S. attack that deliberately took the lives of thousands of children on their way to school in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
republican idiocy
The war in Iraq is about to get worse -- much worse. It will sputter and stagger forward until the mission collapses. This will be sudden.
The security of the Green Zone, our imperial city, will be increasingly breached. Command and control will disintegrate. And we will back out of Iraq humiliated and defeated. Thank you republicans.
The security of the Green Zone, our imperial city, will be increasingly breached. Command and control will disintegrate. And we will back out of Iraq humiliated and defeated. Thank you republicans.
real threat
Early this morning China let the idiots in Washington, and on Wall Street, know that it has them by the short hairs. Two senior spokesmen for the Chinese government observed that China's considerable holdings of US dollars and Treasury bonds "contributes a great deal to maintaining the position of the dollar as a reserve currency."
traitor/infidel
Write on my gravestone: "Infidel, Traitor." --infidel to every church that compromises with wrong; traitor to every government that oppresses the people
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