Ms. Ivins: Just wanted to say that I’m a fan of your writing and your no-bullshit attitude on the issues, and have admired your writings for quite some time.

As for what to do about the horrific mess we’ve created in Iraq, I can only say that, yep, we need to get our troops, both public and private contractors, the Hell out of there ASAP. We also need to admit to ourselves that we were wrong, criminally so, in invading that country, and to make restitution through whatever form of reparations that would be acceptable to the Iraqi people.

Next, we need, either in our own courts, or through the International Criminal Court, to prosecute and convict all those, high, middling and low, who created, authorised and implemented atrocities against Iraqi civilians during the occupation, and sentence them to terms of either long or life imprisonment, depending on the offences that can be proven in a court of law, and with no possibility of parole, period.

There is so much more I could say on this, and other related subjects, but, am no expert on the Middle East and many of the various aspects of international, military and human rights laws, so I won’t. Besides, why bore others with long-winded lectures, eh??? I do that enough, anyway.

Keep up the good work, and thank you for writing.

U.S. out of Iraq? Yes.

We need to APOLOGIZE to them as well. Only then will the world start to heal.

Of course, neither of those things are going to happen.

Some Republicans are still saying that we should never have gotten out of Vietnam! (Like the DNC chairman on CNN today.)

Too many Americans are Christ-o-Fascists and truly believe in the superiority of “The West” and it’s “right” to rule and to “convert” the rest of the world.

We are screwed.

Molly, you hit the point exactly. This Administration may or may not have “said” that 9/11 was ordered by Saddam (if they did then I suspect someone will find it very soon) but they sure as hell implied it.

With the Democratic House that we are about to elect in November we need an immediate impeachement trial.  That should be H.R. 1 next Congress.  We know there is absolutely Zero chance of getting a 2/3 majority in the Senate to remove the Figurehead in Chief so we have no worries about a Cheney Presidency. But the debate generated will guarantee a Democratic White House and Senate in 2008.  Unless, of course, John McCain pulls together a group of Republicans to stab Junior in the back, then all bets are off.

Of course, you’re right, Molly. But the simple fact is that we are going to have to deal with the political situation at home before a plan can be usefully applied to Iraq. There is no way, in the present political situation in Washington, to come at the problem. Bush doesn’t understand that he has no plan, Congress is waffling and flip-flopping like a dying hard-head catfish, the media is AWOL, and the populace is largely unaware of the danger. Once people wake up and begin to truly appreciate the disaster that has been dubyas govt, there will be a clear path out of this horrendous mess. And not just Iraq, but jobs and the environment and progress in science and society.

Impeach the C student who doesn’t read books…

ps: real men don’t steal elections.

(Thank you dear Molly for this great piece of truth telling from the present; I am adding to it my own piece of truth telling from more distant past, yet closely related to the terrible presnt we are living.)
==============================================

This Day in History: August 25
By Fadel Abdallah

On August 25,1992, the (Christian) Serbian army began shelling the National Library in Sarajevo, on purpose. Over a million books and more than a hundred thousand manuscripts were deliberately destroyed.
Three months earlier, the same army had attacked the Oriental Institute in that city, with its magnificent collection of Islamic and Jewish manuscripts, and over five thousand of these were burned. Well, for some Christian entities, even libraries are strategic military targets; something that speaks volumes against the so-called enlightenment of Western Christianity visa-a-vi Islam.
The savage attacks at the Sarajevan libraries of memories, by the (Christian) Serbian Army, took place for the same reasons that led to the burning of untold numbers of Arabic and Hebrew books in 16th century (Christian) Spain and to the destruction or mutilation of a large number of the memory palaces of Muslim Spain.
This Inquisition against Muslims and Jews and their books, took place only a couple of hundred years after the last (Christian) Crusades against the Muslims ended, leaving on their heals untold massacres and savagery whose wrath even the Middle Eastern Christians were not saved. Another badge of honor for Western Christianity! 
The Libraries Inquisition of 1992 at Sarajevo fell ironically on the five-hundredth anniversary of the capitulation of the last Muslim kingdom of Granada, in 1492, and the expulsion and Inquisition against Muslims and Jews. Was it a coincidence or a deliberate timing? Only the Almighty God knows!
However, a handful of treasures were saved from the terrible destruction of 1992 at Sarajevo. Among the most precious of the surviving items was a famous manuscript called the Sarajevo Haggadah; a famous Jewish prayer book recited during Passover, in remembrance of the Exodus. The story of the survival of this manuscript speaks volumes for the nobility of Muslims in times of crises. Threre is in it a lesson for moderate Jews who should remember that Muslims deserve better than what they’ve been getting at the hands of political Zionism.
This gorgeously illuminated manuscript dates to the late thirteen or early fourteen centuries. The book’s first rescue from the bonfires of oblivion when it was taken out of Spain in the Exodus of 1492 by Sephardic Jews, who then settled in the Islamic Ottoman empire. There the Haggadah was cherished and protected for nearly five hundred years. But then the precious book had to be rescued a second time during World War II. It was well known in intellectual circles that a certain Muslim curator in the library in Sarajevo had saved that Sephardic Haggadah from the atrocities of another savage (Christian) group, known more conveniently for Christians as Nazis.
Some seven years after the book has been saved, on May 2, 1999, the New York Times ran a remarkable piece of true history. The story tells about one woman, out of the thousands of Albanian Muslims who were herded out of Kosovo in early April of 1999, who was able to take with her a document she could not read, but felt it was an important historical one. For her, that document had special sentimental value because her father had once received and had cherished greatly. 
On the other side of the Macedonian border, after a harrowing trip, the woman thought to show her precious paper to the members of the local Jewish community, a group involved in the relief efforts for the Kosovars. She took the document to them because she knew it was Hebrew, and she sensed it might well be the key to some story worth translating at that trying moment. It turned out that the document was the commendation her father had received from the Israeli government for saving not only the Sarajevo Haggadah, but saving many Jews from the (Christian) Nazis. The Muslim librarian, who was a hero in book circles for having rescued that token of hundreds of years of Muslim tolerance from the depredation of twentieth century (Christian) barbarism, had also hidden fellow Sarajevans, Jews, in his apartment during World War II.
The moral of this true story should be clear for living decent Christians and Jews who refuse to take part in their governments’ atrocities against Muslims. I purposely highlighted the word Christian by putting it in parenthesis for two reasons: firstly, because all these atrocities I touched upon are hard historical facts about states that professed Christianity, at least nominally. Secondly, because I wanted to imagine the reaction of good Christians about the atrocities committed in the name of their religion, not just by a bunch of small extreme fringe groups, but by policy of the states that committed these crimes throughout history against the followers of the other two Abrahamic Faiths, Judaism and Islam.
As the news of the alleged Muslim terrorist plot in England surfaced, I was greatly pained by the words of evil (Christian) George Bush who used the expression “fascist Muslims” as a blanket statement. Though some Muslim organizations protested this statement and demanded an apology, he insisted on “standing the course” of his “crusade campaign” against Islam and Muslims. Iraq is the latest charitable act coming from the twenty-first century (Christian) neo-Nazis and Inquisition soldiers who have a leader claiming God talks to him.
My final question here is intended only for people of reason, “Is there a moral equivalent between these horrific historical acts by official states professing Christianity, and the small fringe groups of Muslims committing targeted “terrorist acts” against those they perceive have wronged them?” Much of the future of humanity depends on how honestly or dishonestly we answer this question.

•This Day in History: August 25
by Fadel Abdallah

On August 25,1992, the (Christian) Serbian army began shelling the National Library in Sarajevo, on purpose. Over a million books and more than a hundred thousand manuscripts were deliberately destroyed.

Three months earlier, the same army had attacked the Oriental Institute in that city, with its magnificent collection of Islamic and Jewish manuscripts, and over five thousand of these were burned. Well, for some Christian entities, even libraries are strategic military targets; something that speaks volumes against the so-called enlightenment of Western Christianity vis a vis Islam.

The savage attacks at the Sarajevan libraries of memories, by the (Christian) Serbian Army, took place for the same reasons that led to the burning of untold numbers of Arabic and Hebrew books in 16th century (Christian) Spain and to the destruction or mutilation of a large number of the memory palaces of Muslim Spain.

This Inquisition against Muslims and Jews and their books, took place only a couple of hundred years after the last (Christian) Crusades against the Muslims ended, leaving on their heals untold massacres and savagery whose wrath even the Middle Eastern Christians were not saved. Another badge of honor for Western Christianity!

The Libraries Inquisition of 1992 at Sarajevo fell ironically on the five-hundredth anniversary of the capitulation of the last Muslim kingdom of Granada, in 1492, and the expulsion and Inquisition against Muslims and Jews. Was it a coincidence or a deliberate timing? Only the Almighty God knows!
However, a handful of treasures were saved from the terrible destruction of 1992 at Sarajevo. Among the most precious of the surviving items was a famous manuscript called the Sarajevo Haggadah; a famous Jewish prayer book recited during Passover, in remembrance of the Exodus. The story of the survival of this manuscript speaks volumes for the nobility of Muslims in times of crises. Threre is in it a lesson for moderate Jews who should remember that Muslims deserve better than what they’ve been getting at the hands of political Zionism.

This gorgeously illuminated manuscript dates to the late thirteen or early fourteen centuries. The book’s first rescue from the bonfires of oblivion when it was taken out of Spain in the Exodus of 1492 by Sephardic Jews, who then settled in the Islamic Ottoman empire. There the Haggadah was cherished and protected for nearly five hundred years. But then the precious book had to be rescued a second time during World War II. It was well known in intellectual circles that a certain Muslim curator in the library in Sarajevo had saved that Sephardic Haggadah from the atrocities of another savage (Christian) group, known more conveniently for Christians as Nazis.

Some seven years after the book has been saved, on May 2, 1999, the New York Times ran a remarkable piece of true history. The story tells about one woman, out of the thousands of Albanian Muslims who were herded out of Kosovo in early April of 1999, who was able to take with her a document she could not read, but felt it was an important historical one. For her, that document had special sentimental value because her father had once received and had cherished greatly.

On the other side of the Macedonian border, after a harrowing trip, the woman thought to show her precious paper to the members of the local Jewish community, a group involved in the relief efforts for the Kosovars. She took the document to them because she knew it was Hebrew, and she sensed it might well be the key to some story worth translating at that trying moment.

It turned out that the document was the commendation her father had received from the Israeli government for saving not only the Sarajevo Haggadah, but saving many Jews from the (Christian) Nazis. The Muslim librarian, who was a hero in book circles for having rescued that token of hundreds of years of Muslim tolerance from the depredation of twentieth century (Christian) barbarism, had also hidden fellow Sarajevans, Jews, in his apartment during World War II.

The moral of this true story should be clear for living decent Christians and Jews who refuse to take part in their governments’ atrocities against Muslims. I purposely highlighted the word Christian by putting it in parenthesis for two reasons: firstly, because all these atrocities I touched upon are hard historical facts about states that professed Christianity, at least nominally. Secondly, because I wanted to imagine the reaction of good Christians about the atrocities committed in the name of their religion, not just by a bunch of small extreme fringe groups, but by policy of the states that committed these crimes throughout history against the followers of the other two Abrahamic Faiths, Judaism and Islam.

As the news of the most recent alleged Muslim terrorist plot in England surfaced, I was greatly pained by the words of evil (Christian) George Bush who used the expression “fascist Muslims” as a blanket statement. Though some Muslim organizations protested this statement and demanded an apology, he insisted on “standing the course” of his “crusade campaign” against Islam and Muslims. Iraq is the latest charitable act coming from the twenty-first century (Christian) neo-Nazis and Inquisition soldiers who have a leader claiming God talks to him.

My final question here is intended only for people of reason, “Is there a moral equivalent between these horrific historical acts by official states professing Christianity, and the small fringe groups of Muslims committing targeted “terrorist acts” against those they perceive have wronged them?” Much of the future of humanity depends on how honestly or dishonestly we answer this question.

Let the Truth Telling begin indeed!
The liars can no longer keep track of the lies they have told.
Hoopa!
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse!

Molly,
If you haven’t seen it, read James Fallows’ cover piece in the September issue of The Atlantic. There are a lot of that unideological debate you are craving.
W/Respects,
Margi

Its past time that we start to fight terrorists, who are in 50 or 60 countries with better police work and intelligence. Please stop these fools before they invade Iran. Then someone in congress might ask Bush to define “The war on terror.”

Dear Molly - I am one of your loyal fans, but I’m so sick and tired of IRAQ - I’m from South Louisiana and have loads of friends and family in New Orleans who have lost EVERYTHING from KATRINA.  FORGET IRAQ - GET OUR TROOPS OUT AND LET THE SOBS KILL THEMSELVES.  Get help to the people in New Orleans who for years have paid taxes to our stupid FEDERAL GOVERNMENT and insurance premiums to the CORRUPT INSURANCE COMPANIES WHO ARE NOT PAYING OFF ON THE CLAIMS and for God’s sake - SAVE OUR OWN PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING IN A THIRD WORLD CONDITION in New Orleans, Louisiana.  I’M MAD AS HELL AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANY MORE.  George Bush should have never been PRESIDENT - he’s too STUPID and his gang of merry corrupt idiots should be impeached.  Joyce Enderle

Molly, again you nail it down, concisely and unambiguously.  The only word never uttered by a single voice in media, or either political party, is LIAR.  Now, days after W, almost inadvertently, admitted Iraq/Saddam had NUTHIN to do with 9/11 and ‘noone in his administration’ ever tied the 9/11 attacks on our soil to Iraq, the time was as ripe as it could ever be to call him a liar.  It is on tape, for goodness sake!  Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld - mushroom clouds, meeting with Atta and Saddam in Prague, yellow-cake, WMD known to be ‘south, north, east of Tikrit, ad nauseum!  Why the hell is it out of bounds to quote that crap right back into bush’s smug, irritated, sanctimonious, mendacious mug?  ‘Stay the course’?  To where?  For what?  This schmuck doesn’t know what strategery is, let alone how to employ it coherently.  Anyone with even the slightest bit of education must see our ‘uniter/divider’ as a boneheaded bogus befuddled bumbler.  It ain’t just his syntax, his ‘Mugs McGuiness’(an Eastside Kids reference I’m sure dates me!)destruction of the English language, his ill-mannered boorish behaviour as our representative overseas - stuffing his mealy mouth while crudely cursing to his goomba English Tony and manhandling Germany’s Ms. Merckel into cringing, startled horror - although that much alone would suffice to treat him with all duly due disrespect.  There is nothing to bow down to there but mucho plenty to deserve a good old fashioned hard knock off his misgotten presidential perch, swift-kicked back to Crawford/Kennybunkport/Saudi Arabia or wherever there’s a safe house to protect “His Buffoonery” and keep America from his ever instigating another war or sending another human being into the not-so-sweet hereafter long before their time. His lies deserve to be outed publicly.  His lies cost thousands of lives.  His lies are draining our treasury.  His lies are infringing on our civil rights. His lies will continue to further denegrate our reputation and put our nation in peril from the terrorism he instigates every time he invokes his power unchallenged.  Four letters - one little word - LIAR.  It fits! Please let someone break the silence and scream it out loud! The dikes will break and Americans will shout it out of their windows and finally feel relief and see the end of the fear-induced coma-like state we’ve been intimidated into by a sleazy, snake-oil, Elmer Gantry-lite bs artist LIAR!

embrace him

I say bravo for Molly!  The truth telling just isn’t an asset of the GW administration and I seriously doubt that it ever will be.  Sad, sad, sad, but true, true, true.

GW it seems, believed he could go into Iraq, nab his prey [and perhaps some oil] along the way, and be free and clear of it all within a year and a day.  The guy thought it would amount to a simple song and dance; like a short lived romance.

It is astounding that so little research was applied to this invasion; that it was embarked upon as one would go blindfolded down a routeless path.  It is amazing that GW and his colleagues were utterly uninformed about the Iraqi psyche, their alleigeance to Allah, their god as demanded by Jehova.  Every war being fought between the Iraqi factions is a holy war!

That old country had news for GW and all of it was/is dark, deadly and grim.  I understand that GW has coined a new phrase, Islamo Facists, for the Itaqi extremists.  [Actually, it had to have come from our boy, Rove.  In reality, GW isn’t smart enough to have come up with it.] It is a phrase, however, that is perfectly fitting.

Truth?  The truth is that our troops should have been pulled from Iraq yesterday, lock, stock and barrel.  Why?  Our troops are going to be desperately needed on their own soil.  The hard, cold fact is that GW has succeeded in making our country the prime, prized target of the Islamo facists and we are primarily UNprotected.

Now is the time to think about the tomorrows for our nation.  The urgency could not be more dire for the Islamo facists will not stop until our country is destroyed.  This is the mind set as taught in their Koran; their duty as directed by Allah and demanded by Jehova.

Bush, Cheney, et al will never “tell the truth”. Not in their genes. They are abusers, and will lie even to themselves that what they did is justified, that they made a noble effort. They’re old-school robber barons, but without even the moral compunction that made their predecessors in the late 19th century donate much of their fortunes to charitable causes, in an effeort-I think- to assuage any guilt for their exploitative and hurtful business practices. The Bushes and Cheneys of this world do not give any quarter to truth, justice or perceived weakeness. They are predators.

Prehaps the most telling moment was when bush was asked what Iraq had to do with 9/11 and he answered in the most racist of ways by saying, “… people IN THAT PART OF THE WORLD ...”.

So, because Iraq happens to be in the Middle East, along with Saudi Arabia and Eygpt, where most of the hi-jackers came from, invading Iraq was some how justified?

This pathetic punk of a man should be called down by every reporter every chance that they can get. Which, judging from the current group of so-called reporters and bush’s president for avoiding any form of non-scripted news conferences is highly unlikely.

I think a debate is the obvious place to start. But how long do you debate? I got a plan - fairly radical at that - certainly not something anyone in the Bush administration would consider. Still, someone debate me, quick.

For me, America has a hard time saying we lost. But that is the key, we lost. We make it public. We leave Iraq like we lost. Retreat. Heads down. Give the Iraqi’s the victory. Give them something to be proud of. They expelled the oppressors. Just like the Lebanese considered the cease fire a victory over the Israelis.

Then you flood all the money that used to be spent on weapons on making something that will improve the quality of life for people. And do it through the U.N. and make the U.S. recuse itself from any security coucil decisions except in tiebreaks. Actually build hospitals, schools, electricity, water, road ways, etc. Expell all the contractors too. Out-source everything and no more no bid, under the table contracts. America pays for the mess. Non-americans and non-american companies do the work (or at least have the U.N. develop a criteria for permissible contractors).

And for that matter, it would probably be good to reorganize the government and the laws so that it is less “privitized”. This country doesn’t need a pro-corporate government. It’s people are willing to kill themselves. Most people with a substantial and enjoyable life will not cling to radical beliefs and definitely not kill themselves, regardless of religion.

Then, hold people accountable in independent courts. Soldiers too but mainly upper level decision people. American “moral superiority” couldn’t buy jack right now.

And perhaps following the NPT would help alieviate some tentions too in the general region. Same could be said for Israel.

And that is really only the beginning.

Dear Molly,

How about if we let Royal stay in the country and , instead, smuggle Rove out with a fake passport?

One of your Many Fans,
Barbara

Many people have stated that Bush et al are reponsible for the ongoing rift between Sunnis and Shias - I agree. It just seems surreal that this conflict keeps going on and on. We have the best equipped forces in the world - what is going on here. Bush perpetuates the problem because he is building his “legacy” of war presidente. He is a loser,a liar and a thief.  We need to get out of Iraq NOW.

always depend on Molly to see, know and speak the truth…

The questions I would like asked are:
We have destroyed Iraq.  How can we make reparation to its citizens?  How can we help them to a better future?  How can we make sure the criminals who committed this terrible crime face justice?  We smashed these people’s lives to bits - that’s our responsibility and we should do something about it.  And I don’t mean the seemingly all-purpose US response - send in people with guns and threaten to kill anything moving (also deployed in New Orleans, as I recall).  What happened to our “values”?

Thank you David Rothmiller. We so rarely get to see these real people un demonized. Thank you.

Molly,

You are always so right-on in your assessment of the truth.  I wonder, does anyone remember the Vietnam war?  I recall there was much to-do about “how could we get out of this mess with honor?” Well, the truth is we can’t.  There is no honor in making a mistake, be it reactionary or for the best of intentions.  A mistake is just a mistake and we need to get over it.

I do remember that after the fall of Saigon, we didn’t really hear of a blood-bath.  Not that it didn’t happen, I’m sure.  Vietnam survived and prospers today in spite of all efforts to save them from Communism.  There was a slogan back then too, “the domino effect”.  Too many of our young people died because they believed in this clever slogan. 

I suppose that we are destined to repeat our mistakes because we fail to recall our history.  I just hope there won’t be another black granite wall that we have to see our brother’s and sister’s names on to remind us again.

1. Vengeance is not the point.

2. There is no one chosen people.

3. Treat everyone the way you’d like to be treated.

4. Wisdom is alive in every culture.

5. Cultivate the fair witness.

Dear Molly,

Thank you for your article.  Your writing is always interesting and though-provoking.  I think the troops should leave Iraq as soon as possible.  Even if victory would be proclaimed tomorrow, I feel that it would only be a hollow victory; too many lives have been lost already for this war to be a “success.” If the U.S. left, of course, we should still provide advice, money, etc.  We do not have to leave them high and dry.  It is important to help get Iraq back to its pre-war condition (as much as that is possible).  We do not know for sure if our leaving will lead to the domino-effect predicted for post-Vietnam or not.  Credible sources indicate that our presence there at this time is detrimental to Iraq, or at best, not helping the situation. 

If we leave now, President Bush said we would sacrifice our future security.  But he can’t promise “security” no matter how many years the U.S. remains in Iraq.  Security is not a tangible commodity.  Too many real lives are being lost for this unsubstantiatable “security.”

At the time of our leaving, we will have to be ready to accept any and all consequences that occur.  I feel that we can hardly be less safe than we are at the present time, with the present status quo.  Utimately, both Iraq and America can be better off.  Most Iraqis want us to leave, and the majority of Americans do also. 

It would be taking a chance to leave now, with much left undone.  However, it appears to be in the best interests of BOTH countries to do so.  Of course, we do not know all the ramifications.  We will have to take our lumps.  This administration predicts dire consequences if we leave.  I dare to predict that lives will be saved.

The TRUTH: More US and Iraqi deaths, maiming and mayhem unless WE LEAVE NQW! What “more truth” do YOU NEED?

When is a good time to get out of Iraq?  We should look at this war and any war as domestic violence in this our world home. Nobody wins in domestic violence, people just get killed and maimed and the house is destroyed.  The best time to stop it is yesterday, certainly today.  Wars and domestic violence are ugly, wrong and stupid.  There is nothing glorious; that’s just crap.

Troops out now with sufficient money and resources made available for rebuilding as deemed necessary by the Iraqi people. As for our president’s “concern” that if our troops withdraw there’ll be a bloodbath in Iraq? He should have thought of that before he took us into a war that’s already taken the lives of more than one hundred thousand Iraqis. His claim now that he cares about what might happen to the people of Iraq when American troops cut and run is about as credulous as a statement from Adolf Hitler would have been that he couldn’t close down Auschwitz for fear of what might happen to its Jewish inmates. 

So what’ll happen in Iraq when our troops pull out?  We best trust the Iraqi people, that’s what.

Sounds like a good idea, but the impetus needed to make it happen can only come from the American voter. All Democrats up for election in ‘06 should take up Lamont’s brilliant (in my view) cry to the electorate of Connecticut, “Stay the course - that’s not a winning strategy in Iraq and it’s not a winning strategy for America.” The operative word is “winning” - something Americans love to do, losing being what they hate to do, which is why “cut and run” seen as what losers do and “stay the course” seen as something losers don’t do have so much impact.

re: IRAQ AND YOU or THE OCCUPATION TO END ALL OCCUPATIONS

ok here’s what the Bush Admin should have done:

1) send in a few hundred thousand more troops to protect the country after its liberation and to keep order

2) send in ten thousand or more psychologists and psychiatrists tp help the people of Iraq understand the trama they went through and solve it

3) send in a few hundred thousand people to rebuild the place

4) send in enough people to effectively run schools to explain to kids and adults what and how a republic works.

5) then, after ten or fifteen years let the Iraqi people try it on their own.  We really should have two genertions grown up under the new system, but one would have done wonders for Iraq and the region.

6) Never two to occupy or Liberate a country unless you are willing to go all the way as listed above.  All elese fails.

Thank you Molly for your input.
I love to read your stuff.
Anyway I only have this to say
The TRUTH will always present itself… Always.
We all know what the TRUTH is here. We know in our hearts. Why does everyone think they have to wait around for these LOSERS & LIERS to confirm it for us???? It won’t happen. They lied to much, and once “they” start lying like that the lies just get bigger and bigger........ we all know this. We know the truth, we don’t need some news idiot to tell us what it is, we already know.
The Truth doesn’t make a sound.
It is up to us, ourselves to take the blinders off
and take a step back, and take a good hard look around you. Once you do this, You will see the Truth, you can’t miss it. It all starts w/ you.
It is hard to do. we have ALL OF US, been taught NOT to do this. I promise you, it is not an easy thing to do. But when/ If you do, I will tell you right now, you will feel very small, and at the same time a very big part of something much greater than we could evewr imagine. Its a knowing. I cant explain it. either you know it, feel it in your heart or you dont. Stop giving your Energy to “them”, redirect it, into something more constructive. This world NEEDS people like all of you. We need to understand that we are all a part of EVERYTHING.
when something happens across the world we will feel it whether we are aware of it or not. we are all connected. Once you take that small step, you will start to see things more clearly I promise you. “they” are powerless w/out us. They are nothing without us. So stop feeding into thier Lies. What comes around goes around, this is a Universal law. Remember who you are.
All of you, be at peace, Dont worry.
The TRUTH will present itself, It always does.

The Iraqis want us out. That is all we should have to know.

Is it possible that our presence in Iraq has become completely irrelevant? A good place to start may be to ask what we are doing there right now. My impression is that the American troops are in a holding pattern with no particular goal other than to stay alive long enough to be able to come home in one piece. From what I have read about the civil war in Iraq is the Iraqi are more focused on killing each other than killing the Americans and though that may be a blow to the American ego and propensity to think we are the focus of all other nations it may just be our presence has become less important than it was when the war began.

Recently Turkey and Iran have been shelling Northern Iraq because the Kurds have become a threat to them. It is clear that what we began is now spreading beyond the borders of Iraq and threatens the stability of the entire area. Occupations rarely seem to work in the favor of the occupiers and in the end usually winds up being far more costly than any imagined profits in money or goods the occupiers envisioned.

As far as I can tell the damage is already done. We may have to wake up to the fact that our imagined power and sphere of influence is just not what we thought it was in that it is beyond our resources and ability to actually undo the damage. Certainly as long as Bush is in power we don’t have the caliber of leadership that is capable of stabilizing Iraq much less bring our vaunted democracy building to fruition. Not that democracy has ever really been the goal.

And of course since Bush is president the whole thing becomes extremely complicated because the whole question of what we are doing there in the first place is so highly suspect that to even contemplate that this administration is even thinking about doing the right thing becomes laughable.

So since we are stuck with Bush for a couple more years the Mid East will continue to burn because Bush has no intention of recalling the troops as long as he is in office. And by the time his term is up I suspect that our only option will be to get what is left of our troops out of Iraq as quickly as possible, that is if there are any troops left.

Molly’s concerns are addressed in the TomDispatch piece by Michael Schwartz 7 Facts You Might Not Know About The Iraq War.

http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=114108

Re: Comment #19507 by Bukko in Australia on 8/22 at 7:50 am

Bukko writes, “Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld have created chaos with no chance of repair.”

The first part is right on, the second, “with no chance of repair”, is worthy of debate.

Why I would agree with Bukko is that the Bush Administration sees the Neocon - Rapturist - Zionist (NRZ) strategy as the end and employs military means to achieve it—which will lead us to Armageddon.

On the other hand, if we determined that peace in the Middle East was the goal, then we could repair the situation.

So, Bukko wins the debate, because the NRZ’s want dominance, not peace, and they will be in control past the point of no return ... if it hasn’t been reached already.

1. Vengeance is not the point.

2. There is no one chosen people.

3. Treat everyone the way you’d like to be treated.

During these trying times, it may help to keep these things in mind:

 Resistance to principle is directly proportional
to the inverse of rational elegance.
 Politics exists between our wants and desires,
our unending needs, wallets and ires.
 They’ve got us thinking it’s all about I, when
really it’s about our children, do or die.
 Because the sand is red, white & blue doesn’t
mean we should stick our head in it.
 Watching drumbeat news and politicians then
believing you are informed is like farting into the
wind and believing you are a meteorologist.

An Exit Strategy from Iraq

First.  Full employment for Iraqis. In a traditional culture, in order for a man to participate in society, marry and own a house, he must have a job.  This administration has hired U.S. Corporations to do much of the reconstruction.  These companies have been hiring people from Louisiana and Bangladesh to run the equipment and do the labor in Iraq.  Considering the appearance of Saddam’s palaces there must be some people in Iraq who are capable of doing these jobs.  Men need to be employed in order for security to exist.

Second.  Establish a double audited trust fund for Iraqis to draw from with a beginning balance of say $25 Billion.  The fund would be audited by the General Accounting Office in the United States and an international agency such as the U.N., the IMF or the World Bank.

These funds would be available to build and operate schools, clinics, hospitals, public infrastructure in Iraq for the benefit of Iraqis living in Iraq.  The organization applying for funds would be allowed to apply for more funds when they comply with and pass the audit for their previous contract.

Funds should also be set aside as grants for small businesses.  Requiring full audits, of course. There is an important point of law in Islam.  The Koran forbids making money on money. In other words, the Koran forbids interest (U.S. banks feint at the thought).  One of the problems of integrating Muslims into British culture has been that they, Muslims, cannot accept traditional housing loans.  They cannot pay interest.  So Great Britain has created special lending institutions that charge the buyer the full price of the house (in the U.S. that would be cost plus interest) at the date of purchase and then a portion of that is paid each month until the full amount is paid off.  This is of course semantics to us, however, these are the laws according to their culture.  Customs that will not change in the short term.  So if we want small Iraqi businesses to get up and running quickly it will be necessary to make grants available and create a bureaucracy to see that the businesses are legitimate.  Considering the money currently being defrauded by U.S. Corporations we can’t lose much more giving it to Iraqi’s.

Third.  The U.S. Military moves to secure the borders.  As it leaves, it sweeps for weapons to the best of its ability, either blowing caches up or capturing them and removing them.  The vacuum they leave behind is filled with Iraqi police and military.  This might draw insurgents out of the city centers in pursuit of the U.S. where they could be destroyed in the open, but, that is probably wishful thinking at this point.

The scary part.  It is now apparent that certain factions within the Bush administration had been planning to overthrow Saddam Hussein for at least three years prior to the invasion of Iraq and they have been prosecuting the war for three more years.  Our government has spent more than $125 Billion in these three years.  And this is as good as they can do with the best, most highly trained military to ever walk the face of the earth?  Scary indeed.

I was recently on the documentary film crew accompanying a mission to meet with members of the Iraqi Parliament in Amman, Jordan (where many of them live for security purposes) while in recess.

The Delegation of Peace activists included Cindy Sheehan, Tom Hayden, Col. Ann Wright, Sargeant Geoffrey Millard, Medea Benjamin, Father Louis Vitale, Gael Murphy, Diane Wilson, congressional candidate Jeeni Criscenzo - each in their own right should be GOOGLED to learn about their dedicated work for peace.

Two days of meetings were held with members representing almost every faction of Iraq’s government (excluding the Kurdish faction, who expressed no interest). Most revealing were the leaders of the Sunni and Shia coalitions, longtime friends, each married to a woman of opposite religious background. They explained something we have heard before - the supposed rift between Shia and Sunni is contrived and belies generations of intermarrying and coexistence. The reason for the ongoing crisis is that it is being caused by “outside” influences. What these influences are - is left unclear. Speculation about the hired “death squads” and constant bombings is left to those who believe the CIA or Iranian - or Israeli - money funds these thugs.
Both sides agreed the killers are not religiously inspired, but financially.

All parties represented in the meetings agreed that the first step toward bringing peace to Iraq is the immediate, orderly, withdrawl of the occupation forces. This goes against the Iraqi prime minster’s claims to
the Western press that they want the U.S. to stay for a longer time.

No mention of “insurgent” forces was made. Instead, the term “resistance fighters” was used, implying of course that no end to their cause will occur until the occupation ends. The refusal of permanent military bases built in Iraq was adamant from all sides.

A most surprising fact explained was that currently, there are no meters installed on the pipelines to tankers along the coast. Each day untold thousands of gallons of oil are being exported without accounting. This fact
alone brings into question the real reason for the war and Halliburton’s generous contracts.

The state of hospitals, often without electricity, without medications, without skilled surgeons (many escaped or were targeted by death squads), has left countless to die unnecessarily - not accounted for in “war
casualty” numbers.

Next to be heard in the meetings were men tortured in the camps at Abu Graib and elsewhere. One is currently fighting through the courts to have Titan and Blackwater (two independent military contractors) held responsible for his loss of civil rights and subsequent sexual/physical abuse. Currently laws in Iraq do not pertain to these contracted organizations. They operate outside of the international laws that should regulate their doings. Instead, as has been the case, they can torture for information or kill for pleasure and not be liable for prosecution.

The details of the testimony were gruesome and tragic. Sadism was authorized and carried out. There is currently no system of redress for war crimes of this nature. These men came to the meetings to tell their stories in the hope of being heard, in the hope that some governing authority will address this crime, in the hope that it will end.

After two days of meetings, members of the delegation committed to taking back to the U.S. their findings with the intention of having members of congress open a direct line of communication with the Iraqi parliament.

Our next destination was Syria.  As Americans in Damascus, we were told by many Syrians they support Hezbollah and were willing to enter the fight against Israel. They expressed anger towards Bush and Condaleeza Rice for making this war against Arabs. We, in turn, assured them that most Americans do not support Bush’s policies and want him out of office. This was met with warm appreciation.

Medea Benjamin, Diane Wilson, Gael Murphey and Judith LeBlanc stayed only a day before venturing on into Lebanon, as the Israeli military shelled the border. They arrived safely, but exhausted into Beirut and set to work pitching in to support Red Cross efforts. Read their reports on the Code Pink website: codepink4peace.org

Our time in Damascus was dedicated to filming the efforts of the remaining delegation there as they met with relief organizations attending to the needs of the Lebanese refugees.

Thankfully the story has a positive ending, with a ceasfire declared and most of the refugees making the journey back home, if home still existed.

David Rothmiller
trick dog films

Bush continues to enjoy the full complacency of most of the military brass.  None wants to be in charge of a craven retreat.  The American public’s support for the war may be sagging, but neither will it reward those whom talk radio rightists decry as “cut and run.” The challenge: how to do this by some other name.

Not long after the 2006 US elections, Bush will announce that some Iranian provocation requires a “state of emergency” in Iraq, disolve the impotent Green Zone parliament, and annoit a telegenic Iraqi nominally to lead a massive “Iraqi” crackdown on turbaned “islamofascists” (the political clergy) but using US firepower.  US forces would then hand the keys to Baghdad to this “Saddam lite” sometime in 2008.  The US will provide him air support, but draw down most of its troops by January, 2009.  All pray that Mr. Murphy doesn’t set out to prove his famous law.

The time has not come for the worldwide televised Truth and Reconciliation hearings to begin, but we should be considering by what criterion, by what standards of integrity and ethics, we select those who will preside, and the guiding principles.

Such as:

1. Vengeance is not the point.

2. There is no one chosen people.

3…

Here’s an argument for immediate withdrawal: America has lost the war.

The occupation, to be exact. Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld have created chaos with no chance of repair. We have turned Iraq from a place where it was Saddam against everyone to an anarchic killing field where it’s everyone against everyone else.

And God help the troops if they should ever turn en masse against American forces. Even 135,000 well-armed soldiers will have a hard time against a mob of millions of armed men, because everything U.S. troops need will have to be trucked in through a gauntlet of gunfire. As Molly put it a couple of columns ago, we could lose an entire effing army.

There’s nothing the U.S. can do to avoid defeat. Delay it, yes, but they’ve lost the battle. It’s only a matter of how many more people get killed before it’s over. And the consequences of the inevitable are terrible. The Mideast is going to crumble into disorder, oil delivery is going to be disrupted, hatred will run rampant. Time to batten the hatches and prepare for the hell-storm. And the longer we put it off, the worse the impact will be.

Those people supporting withdrawal have been the most honest and the most accurate. For example, Reagan’s national security advisor, William Odom, has called for immediate withdrawal from Iraq in an article titled: “Cut and Run? You Bet.” You can read his article here....

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3430

Molly, thanks again for getting to the heart of the matter, but I think the focus should be placed on the other comment Bush made when asked what Iraq had to do with the 9/11 attack.  He responded..."nothing." Forget the rest of that obfuscation about Saddam ordering or not ordering an attack.  Just take Bushie’s comment at face value.  What did Saddam have to do with 9/11?  “Nothing.”

I was opposed to the Iraq invasion. But getting out may be more difficult than leaving Vietnam, where finally the funding was cut; we cynically decided it wasn’t strategically important anyway, despite the dominoe theories and loss of credibility; and we left them on the balls of their asses lurching at helicopter skids.
Iraq looked to be an easy client state, an immense strategic prize. We’re spending billions there on an embassy and military bases. Leaders of both parties say it would be irresponsible to just leave. Our leaving now or later depends on the degree of humiliation and expense we are willing to endure.

Dear Molly:
They lie.  Of course they lie.  Truth isn’t important.  Only what they think in their head, only what concotions get brewed in their bunker-like mentality, seem to be “real” to them.  So why—why, indeed?—would anyone expect anything else from them?  It was convenient to lie about Iraq being connected to Al Queda.  Bush’s head is so muddled that he probably believes it; Rove likes twisting people’s heads; so does Cheney.  By this time they may believe we went to war to stop Al Queda in Iraq.  But my point is: Who cares?  It’s not true and truth IS NOT IMPORTANT TO REPUBLICANS at this point in time. The media by and large aren’t journalists, or keepers of the “truth” flame; they by and large sell advertising and entertain; they have no discipline or sensitivity or even any reason to ask hard questions.  Why, oh why, do people always seem to expect it?  It’s playing the victim, and that seems to be the role they’ve assigned for yourselves.  When they get over it, and strike back to reclaim the electorate by asking the hard questions and not dumbing down statements like “Bush lied today”, or “Bush made wildly conflicting statements today” or “Bush didn’t answer the question he was asked.” When this begins to happen, when influential people say, Stop the madness, they won’t be victims any more. See the Washington Post yesterday for how gingerly Eugene Robinson treats the garbage that came out of Bush’s mouth instead of ripping it to the shreds it deserves.

At least you spelled my name correctly.

Oh, for God’s sake! The Bushitters don’t even want to fix the water and electricity in Iraq and have no plan involving the creation of any independent government in Iraq.

If you want the truth-telling to begin, you have to start with oil and why we have to steal it. Once we all understand that we’re in Iraq for the next fifty years, or as long as her oil lasts, then you can start your debate and decide how many deaths a day are acceptable in light of our need for oil reserves to back our currency.

I don’t think that debate is going to take place however, because FIRST we have to admit to coveting, lying, stealing, and murdering, an admission which doesn’t seem likely here in reality land.

Dear Molly,

Your article makes a lot of sense as does most of the stuff you write. I can’t believe we’re stuck with that dangerous loser of a President. It makes me extra mad because I’m from Texas and he claims he’s from Texas and he’s not. He’s a spoiled little rich snot from the Eastern Establishment. I hear he’s even scared of horses.

I say we move our troops back to Kuwait and Northern Iraq and see what happens. We also need to get the CIA out of Iraq. They have they own scams that need to stop. Sometimes I wonder if the CIA works for us or someone else.

I think our nut job President wants to rekindle the centuries old war between the Sunnis and Shias. At first it seemed accidental, now it seems deliberate. Bush has surrounded himseld with morally bankrupt advisors: Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, Rice, the whole crew. How can these weasels claim to be Christains? I see them as just a bunch or rich thugs who moved to Texas because Texas tolerates rich thugs more than other states.

I love your articles. I would like to send you some of my “evolutionary” posters.

Alan Folsom
in Tucson/from El Paso