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Iraqis Finally Unite—Against the U.S.Posted on Apr 10, 2007
You have to hand it to Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., for having the chutzpah to cite the fiercely anti-American rally that dominated the anniversary of Iraq’s fourth year of U.S. occupation as evidence that the troop “surge” is working. As opposed to Lieberman, who continues to act as Bush’s overeager lap dog, his masters in the White House knew better than to celebrate at this depressing moment. After a weekend in which 10 U.S. soldiers were killed—four more were killed on Monday, bringing the total to 45 already in April—and the citizens of once bustling Baghdad cowered in their homes under a U.S.-imposed round-the-clock curfew, President Bush had the good sense for once to say not a word about the glorious “liberation” of Iraq. Instead, as Dana Milbank noted in The Washington Post, the president never mentioned Iraq in a 24-minute speech he gave on the happier subject of illegal immigration, nor did any of his top aides touch on the topic. The White House website ignored Iraq entirely under the heading “LATEST NEWS,” instead featuring Clifford the Big Red Dog’s romp at the South Lawn’s annual Easter egg hunt. Meanwhile, back in liberated Iraq, the anniversary of Saddam Hussein’s overthrow was marked by only one sign of public response: In the Shiite holy city of Najaf, hundreds of thousands gathered to burn American flags and otherwise denounce the United States. “Yes! Yes! Iraq. No! No! America,” chanted demonstrators organized by cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, reported the BBC. “We were liberated from Saddam. Now we need to be liberated again. Stop the suffering. Americans leave now.” What part of “leave now” doesn’t Lieberman get? Speaking of the rally called by Sadr to blast the Americans as Iraq’s “archenemy” and to demand “that the occupiers withdraw from our land,” Lieberman surreally sought to find a silver lining of support for U.S. policy: “[Sadr] is not calling for a resurgence of sectarian conflict. He’s striking a nationalist chord. He’s acknowledging that the surge is working,” he said. Ugh. What tortured logic. Ponder that sentence for the sheer mendacity of its optimism, which conveniently ignores the fact that the nationalist chord is a stridently anti-American one. Yes, there were Sunni clerics in the Najaf march and Sadr’s followers heeded his call to wrap themselves, literally, in the Iraqi flag while shunning sectarian slogans—but what united them was the demand to end the U.S. occupation, which Lieberman so fervently supports. Advertisement What irony: The final refuge of the scoundrels who sold us on this war, Lieberman included, was that although it could not be justified by claims that Saddam had WMD or an alliance with al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden, the invasion would implant American ideals of democracy on Iraqi soil. What is being implanted instead is a virulent anti-American and anti-Israeli nationalism, Sadr’s current cause, competing with a smoldering sectarian civil war, which this multitasking demagogue has also fueled. Yet, spinning like a top, Sen. Lieberman desperately finds solace in a resurgent Iraqi nationalism based on hatred of the United States. It is true that Sadr has consistently opposed the breakup of Iraq into three ethnicity-based entities, but it is scant comfort that this son of a famed Shiite cleric killed by Saddam Hussein should now, in a sentiment that a recent ABC News poll shows is shared by a majority of his countrymen, consider Iraq’s self-proclaimed liberators as evil occupiers. Indeed, the legacy of Bush’s invasion is that the tired anti-U.S. nationalism of Saddam, never endorsed by the Shiite majority, now has a virulent energy that it never previously possessed. The only alternative to this Iraqi nationalism is not the democratic and pro-Israel fantasy of the neoconservatives like Lieberman who talked our clueless president into this irresponsible folly, but rather the subjection of Iraq to a Shiite militancy allied with Iran. Sadr, who is rumored to be living these days in Iran, seems torn between those two futures, perhaps positioning himself to benefit no matter which path proves more popular. Colin Powell was only partially right when he warned before the U.S. invasion, “If you break it, you own it.” What he didn’t add is that the locals will hate you for it, and try to kill you every day until you give it back.
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By cann4ing, October 6, 2007 at 7:17 pm Link to this comment
Jack, Ron Paul is the best the Republicans have to offer, but Dennis Kucinich is the best either party has to offer.
Report thisBy Douglas Chalmers, October 6, 2007 at 4:41 pm Link to this comment
#71585 by jack on 5/21 at 6:24 pm: “...Google Ron Paul…. manipulated the outcome…. ONLY TRUE AMERICANS LIKE RON PAUL CAN STOP THE PEOPLE WHO REALLY RUN OUR COUNTRY….”
No, jack, ONLY TRUE AMERICANS… CAN STOP THE PEOPLE WHO REALLY RUN OUR COUNTRY…!!!
Report thisBy M Onger, October 6, 2007 at 1:28 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
OIF - Oil & Israel Forever
The ultimate gallows humor of the neocons
Report thisBy jack, May 21, 2007 at 6:24 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Google Ron Paul. He is the only one telling the truth. The six corporations that control our media are doing everything to stop him.
He won the Republican debate and Fox News manipulated the outcome.
ONLY TRUE AMERICANS LIKE RON PAUL CAN STOP THE PEOPLE WHO REALLY RUN OUR COUNTRY.
Report thisBy Linus, May 21, 2007 at 2:58 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Americans are going stead fastly creating an Empire like Brits,Germans,Dutch,French,Italians,Romans to name a few but have not learned that ALL Empire crumble within few years.
Report thisAmerican Empire will go the same way too.
Americans do not understand DEMOCRACY and will never work in the ARAB world.
Muslims are uneducated people and thus have many wives (Polygamy) andtreat women like unhuman.
Women have NO rights in ISLAM and ALL Muslims are fanatics.
By blog dog, April 16, 2007 at 8:32 pm Link to this comment
#64436 by jack on 4/16 at 6:13 pm
(Unregistered commenter) “... just how much horror the Likud Party causes all over the world.”
******* hard to say who calls the shots - plenty of documentation on CIA/MI-6/Mossad collaboration on numerous black-ops/psy-ops - running pseudo-gangs like al Qeuda, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, et al; death squads, bomb squads, kidnappings, you name it - the Samara Mosque wasnt just hit by a car bomb, it was demolished with charges sunken into the dome, by drilling numerous holes - not a home-grown operation.
What we do know is that the global finance oligarchs are the puppet masters; moreover, we know they hold no allegiance to any nation, the governments of which are at their beckon call - Likud is as much their useful tool as is the GOP and the Dems for that matter - in geo-politics very little is what it seems - unfortunately, many so-called progressive voices work too much in fear of their tentative positions to address the grotesque distortions wreaked by false flag terror; e.g. Chomsky, Zinn, Goodman, Moore, et al - their mantra: blow back all the way, which, sad to say, supports the regimes they hate us for whatever mantra that always leads back to the lessons of 911.
This is exactly why the left gatekeepers (cited above) must abandon blow back and embrace 911 Truth - the myth must be exposed - their paychecks be damned - otherwise the madmen win. They win by failing all democratic states through their 100-year global war of terror - a war based on…you guessed it: blow back, of course…they hate us for whatever…fill in the blank; to the glib David Letterman, joking in 2002 about the Taliban, the easy insert was cable TV, naturally…Letterman, a cable guy if there ever was…then the pathetic sod celebrated Gulliani - scoop and dump point man for the Ground Zero illegal clean up/cover up of the biggest crime scene since The Trail of Tears - litle Davies show should be stormed by dying Ground Zero workers - 70% now ill - many gone, many more terminal - Support 911 Truth - bring the real criminals to justice - vindicate the victims.
Report thisBy jack, April 16, 2007 at 6:13 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Until Americans realize that Israel totally controls our country, then all of the protests, rallys and other operations such as non-binding resolutions will not have any effect on what is going on.
Just google any trouble spot in the world and add the name “Israel” and you will see just how much horror the Likud Party causes all over the world.
They think they are helping Israel but they are actually hurting Israel and worse, hurting America.
But Americans are too uneducated and uninformed to know how bad we are being had.
Report thisBy blog dog, April 13, 2007 at 4:30 pm Link to this comment
#63847 by 6-pack Joe on 4/13 at 12:43 pm
(3 comments total) you must be high on something when you said flew state-of-the-art jumbo jets like fighter pilots and defeated the most advanced military defense system of all time Like fighter pilots??? Defeted our defense system??? You have a skewed sense of reality there boy.—- Have you ever posted a senseable blog or are they all like this?
********* relative height notwithstanding…it aint Duff beer…bring it on, Joe - looks like youre testing the moderators parameters;>
...as for fighter pilots, you wont get a fight here, but here are some details for the others: the WTC attack planes came in from hundreds of miles out on manual, both right on target targets each less than 220 feet wide. AA77 circled the Pentagon descending at over 5000/min. (the final 1000 in 10 sec.) didnt ground out and didnt overshoot precision flying by any standard, and this flying by Hani Hanjour?!?! who couldnt get checked out on a Cessna 172 just days before…
So, Joe, if you want to pick a fight with someone over this, do it with these guys: http://pilotsfor911truth.org/
********* as for getting back on message, considering some are irritated about that: of course the people of Iraq want their country back and they want Negropontes Death Squads, MI-6 Bomb Squads and Mossads kidnappers OUT ASAP! If this lot of thugs came to Texas, wouldnt you?
Report thisBy Kol Klink, April 13, 2007 at 4:26 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
To Vanjejo:
You are absolutely correct. Our current administration in colusion with the Israelis have many schemes to cheat the Muslims out of their oil.
One of their first schemes was to conquer Afganistan and build a pipe line from the Caspian Basin thru Afganistan to a port in Southern Pakistan. I feel sure that you are aware of how well that scheme is working out.
Pipelines, by their very nature, are very difficult to secure. Without the cooperation of the local population and some rule of law pipelines are impossible to secure. It did not take long for Bushco to figure out that they would have to pay off so many local war lords in the various countries and tribal regions that a pipeline passed through that it would not be profitable venture.
The governments of Iraq, Saudia Arabia, Syria, Iran, Kuwait, the UAE, and all other oil producers in the mid east are well aware of the schemes of the US and Isreal. These counties will continue to stymie any efforts to steal their oil. The chess game will continue untill we and/or Israel are bankrupt or decide to negotiate and pay a fair price for mid east oil.
Report thisBy 6-pack Joe, April 13, 2007 at 4:11 pm Link to this comment
Well said Rodney.
Report thisBy Rodney, April 13, 2007 at 2:24 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Joe Liberman is the closet thing to having a menber of Knesset or Israeli Parlarment serving in the U S Senate. Only the interests to Jews and the Israeli government is lobbied upon and voted on by Joe Liberman. He is better than a spy because he can actually effect policy for another countires interest that is not in the interest of the country he is suppose to represent. America needs to call Joe Liberman as to where his loyalty and patroitism really lie.
Report thisBy vanjejo, April 13, 2007 at 12:58 pm Link to this comment
Mr Sings “ramblings” are quite thought provoking -
did you really read it? I think our foreign affairs - under this type of government are VERY relevent. You HAVE to wonder about our current imperialistic movements; in CO-ordination with the British whom will nevery deny their history of “liberation” by war and overthrow. WE - are a product of the distaste that it emits. Cast offs, peasants tired of “rulership”. A defeated culture that was warred and starved off their own land - our Irish - on and on.
So - back to the British. And Israel. and other irrelevent issues?. hypothetical conspiracy ~ (which in the days of the new memodemic has proven conclusive about 80% of the time)
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Plans to build a pipeline to siphon oil from newly conquered Iraq to Israel are being discussed between Washington, Tel Aviv and potential future government figures in Baghdad.
The plan envisages the reconstruction of an old pipeline, inactive since the end of the British mandate in Palestine in 1948, when the flow from Iraq’s northern oilfields to Palestine was re-directed to Syria.
Now, its resurrection would transform economic power in the region, bringing revenue to the new US-dominated Iraq, cutting out Syria and solving Israel’s energy crisis at a stroke.
Plans to build a pipeline to siphon oil from newly conquered Iraq to Israel are being discussed between Washington, Tel Aviv and potential future government figures in Baghdad.
The plan envisages the reconstruction of an old pipeline, inactive since the end of the British mandate in Palestine in 1948, when the flow from Iraq’s northern oilfields to Palestine was re-directed to Syria.
The plan was promoted by the now Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and the pipeline was to be built by the Bechtel company, which the Bush administration last week awarded a multi-billion dollar contract for the reconstruction of Iraq.
The memorandum has been quietly renewed every five years, with special legislation attached whereby the US stocks a strategic oil reserve for Israel even if it entailed domestic shortages - at a cost of $3 billion (£1.9bn) in 2002 to US taxpayers.
This bill would be slashed by a new pipeline, which would have the added advantage of giving the US reliable access to Gulf oil other than from Saudi Arabia.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,940250,00.html
Report thisBy 6-pack Joe, April 13, 2007 at 12:43 pm Link to this comment
Blog Dog, you must be high on something when you said ” flew state-of-the-art jumbo jets like fighter pilots and defeated the most advanced military defense system of all time” Like fighter pilots??? Defeted our defense system??? You have a skewed sense of reality there boy.—- Have you ever posted a senseable blog or are they all like this?
Report thisBy blog dog, April 13, 2007 at 11:04 am Link to this comment
#63750 by 6-pack Joe on 4/13 at 5:27 am
(2 comments total)
1. censorship exactly what you get in the MSM.
2. 911 conspiracy crap that would be the official conspiracy theory…the one where a rag-tag band of 19 religious fanatics (partial to lap-dances by the way) flew state-of-the-art jumbo jets like fighter pilots and defeated the most advanced military defense system of all time.
3. takes away from any serious discussion of relevant topics whats relevant is that the regime cites the lessons of 911 as its excuse for every new aggression and for every termination of civil liberties…begging the question: in that case, why not release all evidence pertinent to it?
4. need another Duff beer! agreed, at risk of redundancy: knock yourself out!
Report thisBy 6-pack Joe, April 13, 2007 at 5:27 am Link to this comment
What is really needed here is some censorship in the form of a moderator. All this 911 conspiracy crap and Mr. Sing’s rambling about god-knows-what takes away from any serious discussion of relevant topics. I need another Duff beer!
Report thisBy Kol Klink, April 13, 2007 at 5:19 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Let us waste more time gnashing our teeth about 911, that will do a lot toward cleaning up the current fiasco in Iraq. 911 is JFK all over again, it will be investigated ad infinum but no one will ever be convicted or do any time for the crime. 911 was a black swan and the perps covered their tracks fairly well. What they failed to cover up our intelligence agencies will cover by continuing to release bits and pieces of disinformation over many years. Its SOP.
Report thisYesterday, April 12 2007, three very important events occured in Iraq. The suicide bombing inside the green zone and inside the cafeteria where the Iraqi elected officials eat.
A big firefight in Basra between the Brits and an insurgent malitia force (give it a name).
The bombing and destruction of one of the main bridges in Baghdad crossing the Tigris river.
Can anyone out there connect these dots?
Now that our forces in Iraq are tired and ticked off about extended tours and multiple tours and our equipment is worn out or destroyed the insurgents are going to begin the real push to get us out of their country. They will cause the puppet government of Iraq to collapse. They will cut our ground supply lines into Baghdad and into Iraq near Basra by any means at their disposal. When they blow bridges and cut roads they force us to rely on more helicopters that are relatively easy targets when they pull out their best air to ground weapons. Al Sadr’s decision to turn the Shia loose on us was what the rally in Najaf was all about. The insurgents have plans, goals and objectives, these are all things that we lack unless you consider the ‘surge’ a plan. Now we can sit back and watch - or if you happen to be in Iraq I would reccomend that you hide and watch.
By Jon, April 12, 2007 at 9:47 pm Link to this comment
Hopefully, the third time is the charm. I tried posting this three times, a good memory exercise, I guess. Comment#63667 by Ernest Canning was one of the best I have seen about 9/11. It just makes sense. The parallels he draws between Hitler and the Nazis using the Reichstag fire to push through their policies and agenda, and Bush and the Congress’ Blitzkrieg of legislation, particularly the Patriot and Military Commisions Act following 9/11 is erie. I always was amazed how quickly and unanamously such sweeping legislation got through congress. They had to strike while the iron was hot, lest our fear give way to logic and reason, that perhaps, we may not agree with their preemtive “foward leaning” vision of corporate world domination.
Report thisBy blog dog, April 12, 2007 at 6:17 pm Link to this comment
The Reichstag Fire may have been a gratuitous opportunity, analogous to 911, however the staged attack against a German radio station in Gleiwitz was the actual pretext to invade Poland a well-documented classic false flag provocation.
As for details of the 911 scenario, it’s no more clearly laid out than in Webster G. Tarpley’s “911 Synthetic Terror - Made in USA,” where he identifies the authors as a shadow gang, working in service to an elite clique of finance oligarchs a gang that spans the intelligence agencies at the highest levels with links probably to MI-6 and Mossad.
On 09/11/01 they not only execute a spectacularly horrific provocation, bring down WTC7 (housing thousands of documents pertinent to ongoing investigations into trillions in Wall Street and Pentagon fraud), take out the Pentagon offices (where accounting pertinent to the very same investigations is also going on), but they also target Bush (e.g. Angel is next) and force his capitulation to their demands.
Before 911 Bush is an unwitting useful fool…after, a witting useful tool. Ergo: the shadow gang pulls off a hat-trick and within days US Special Forces are occupying bases in former Soviet Satellites in the Caspian Basin (right on Russias southern border) a move that barely whispers through the MSM.
Report thisBy avatar singh, April 12, 2007 at 6:02 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
still so relevant about the real intentions of the briitsh in instigating usa to attack iraq.
year—1997
Irak is right in demanding ouster of anglo-saxon spies from hollowed Iraki’s soil.In name of uno, and before that leage of friends ,and now Amnesty International, this heyena country called england has installed a lot bof speis all over World and has virtually hijacked Americans to do their domestic and foreign policies for furtherance of british (england’s ) interest than even American ‘s interest.
These days for last few years a lot of Kurdish refugees(who by the way are more aryans than all the europeans combined-though it is irrelevant here)are escaping from Turkey because of Turkish pressure. But nobody has ever stopped Turkey from having her air space nor has anyone bobed them. and why should anyone?Who has given right to a handfull of countries to be a policeman? Could they dare demand such thing at time of so called cold war? Every december,ever since gulf war there is a show of bullying tactics by anglo-saxons in middle east. There is really no ground but excuse is created because this race feels uplifted when others are insultated. Also there is a low cost exercise in bullying any other nation by military postures. Why should Iraq not have weapons as he desires?in 1981, when the israelis had bombed the iraqui nuclear reacto(a few days before going critical) it was britain)govt, and british media) who had vwhemently opposed Israeli daring action and did a lot of anti-jewish propaganda. Atleast Begin had a reason to fear from the arab enemy of israel. even in ‘82 Lebanon war it was britain which was most vociferous in criticizing Isreali militay action at the same time minimizing the Isreali Airforce’s achievement in destroying Bacca’s valley missiles through high tech method.In fact What americans did in gulf war was what Isreali had achieved way back in ‘82 in Lebanon war and America obtained that military know-how from Israelis after Lebanon war. But gulf war is justifiable on basis of military superirity but not Lebanon war. In fact when an american general said that america learned a lot from Israelis’ achievement then the american defense minister Winnberg said that itAmerica learned not from Israeli but from British. Ofcourse we all know that Wnnberg was (awarded sir) more of anbritish defense minister than american one. He was pro-british and anti-jewish (and antirussian and all others aswell). In fact in lebanon war the american foreign secratary was changed because the british did not like Hague’s attitude. This much britain exercises influence in american affairs. Now having installed all the stooges in Arab world britain has discarded her sham veil of Arabists and openly insults(through america ofcouse because on own britain is not even a fourh grade power)the arab world.Talking about the stooge, have you wondered why these days even Yeltsin’s bad health no longer makes any headline news in anglosaxon world?Before any cold that Yeltsin had was niticed and still before that any peon from Russia had a headline news ’ material. The reaon is simple. Britain has installed in Russia not only a mad man likes yelstin but also a second line of stooge successor to him. After Yelstin usefullness is over then he will be replaced by those second line of british stooge who at the moment are already controlling Russia and destroying her everyday. Democracy ,as understood today, basically means any system which gives free hand to britain to exploit other races. If their is one example of what an evil this so called capitalism is and what a saviour communism(britain does not dislike communism, she dislikes other’s prosperity and independence whether it comes from communism, nationalism or what ever)is: this ruinous example of Russia is the real lesson. China is right to hold on to her nationalistic pursuit. It really is a war between anglo-saxons and the rest of the world. It is a race war.
Report thisBy YIKES, April 12, 2007 at 5:40 pm Link to this comment
Liberman is at least seen for what he is. What is scary is knowing that there are many others just like him, but not being able to put a name to each.
Report thisAs for Joe, vote him out and put him back in the closet where he belongs.
As for the oil war, we have to get out now. You and I know that, but how do we get our government to do it?
As for 9/11, the evidence has been sealed until 2008. No one will be able to prove anything without that evidence. So we wait. I have always admired Lee Hamilton. He caused the evidence to be sealed. It is my hope that after we examine the evidence, I still have respect for Lee.
By cann4ing, April 12, 2007 at 5:35 pm Link to this comment
Re comment #63465 by 911truthdotorg. On Feb. 27, 1933 Marinus van der Lubbe, an irregularly employed Dutch mason and anarchist set fire to the German Reichstag. Caught in the act, van der Lubbe was promptly questioned by Rudolf Diels, the non-Nazi head of the Prussian political police, who determined the fire was the work of a lone, crazed individual. With the Reichstag’s main chamber still in flames, Diels was summoned to meet with Goring, Hitler and a group of leading Nazis who had gathered on a Reichstag balcony. Diels tried to explain his conclusions but Hitler and Goring would not hear of it. They insisted it was part of a Communist uprising.
While some speculated that the Nazis were complicit, there is consensus amongst most historians that Diels’s conclusion that van der Lubbe was a lone, crazed arsonist was accurate. But, as noted by Richard J. Evans in “The Coming of the Third Reich,” the absense of complicity did not prevent the Nazis from seizing the moment to press for a decree that suspended key articles of the Weimar constitution, “particularly those governing freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly and association. It allowed for police to detain people in protective custody indefinitely and without a court order, in strict contrast to previous laws, which had set strict time limes before judicial intervention occurred.” [Sound similar to the USA/PATRIOT Act and the Military Commissions Act?] In seeking the approval of his non-Nazi, conservative colleagues, Hitler said: “The psychologically correct moment for the confrontation has now arrived.”
The point: You seem so bent on establishing 9/11 complicity as the Bush administration’s “original sin” that you have lost sight of the fact that irrespective of the “possibility” of pre-9/11 complicity, the unassailable feature is that, like the Nazis before them, the Orwellian sociopaths inside the Bush administration saw in 9/11 “the pscyhologically correct moment” to advance the neoconservative agenda of the PNAC. Thus we find that even as the buildings were still smoldering, Rumsfeld and Bush tell Richard Clarke that they want to find away to blame Iraq for the event. We find the unleashing of an Orwellian “war on terror” as a cover for a fundamental change in the very structure of our constitutional democracy in favor of a dictatorial “Unitary Executive.”
Report thisBy blog dog, April 12, 2007 at 4:04 pm Link to this comment
#63615 by Boomer on 4/12 at 2:50 pm
(1 comments total) - ” What did we expect from a country populated by psychopaths and cowards?”
*****that’s what it looks like when subjected to The Salvador Option: death squad assassinations, agit-prop bombings and pseudo-gang provocations a mission to fail the state beyond all recognition as a political entity a goal to leave all survivors so desperate they will take any form of “peacekeeping” the hegemons offer.
Report thisBy euni84, April 12, 2007 at 3:52 pm Link to this comment
Continuing with this war as it is being fought now would be foolish. The irony is, how do we bring peace to a country that we are declaring war on? As seen by the recent protests and escalation of attacks, American presence is not wanted; they want to rule their country on their own. The US needs to join together with the rest of the world leaders in figuring out a multilateral and economically sound way of ending terrorism and Mid-East tensions. One of the most effective ways is to end global poverty. We need to redirect our funds to programs that will work to combat the conditions that foster extremism.
To really get at the root of terrorism, global poverty needs to be addressed. Our leaders should not abandon Iraq, but rather support its growth and the growth of other undeveloped countries by funding the UN Millennium Development Goals. According to the Borgen Project, just 0.16% of out federal budget is spent on poverty reduction while $340 billion has been spent on the war.
Report thisBy taro, April 12, 2007 at 3:27 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
The UNITED States is far from being united and will continue to be divided as long as the war drags on. But there is not a major division between those who support poverty reduction and those who don’t in our country. Most people want global poverty eliminated… and I would like to see America unite- in the fight against poverty. The Millennium Development Goals were established seven years ago, which united 191 world leaders in NYC- the largest gathering of leaders ever assembled- agreeing to a time frame for ending the worlds top global concerns to cut global poverty in half by 2015 and eliminate it completely by 2025. It is time to bring attention to these goals and to unite in this way rather than continue being a divided nation.
Report thisBy Leeaulman, April 12, 2007 at 3:17 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Invasions and attempted occupations of Afganistan and British-formulated Iraq ,over many generations have proved to result in abject failure.Apparently NO ONE even associated with this administration had an understanding of historical ramifications of disrupting the tribal and sectarian nature of these peoples.Over many generations ,distrust and overt hatred toward westerners(British,Americans) and The former Soviet Union,is not going to magically vanish because of some temporary well meaning.They know we will leave and leave them to there own means again
Report thisBy Boomer, April 12, 2007 at 2:50 pm Link to this comment
People get the government they deserve and now we know that Saddam was richly deserved. What did we expect from a country populated by psychopaths and cowards? Looks like the Third World is on it’s own from now on (it’s about time).
Report thisBy Brook, April 12, 2007 at 2:18 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Why didn’t libs tells us out loud what they obviously believe: that this was a bad idea because these primitive, tribal barbarians will never be capable of managing a modern, civilized society and Saddam was exactly what these subhuman savages deserved and all they were capable of.
Why would we have expected it to turn out any differently that Clinton’s foray into Yugoslavia (I thought we weren’t supposed to get involved in civil wars)?
Report thisBy Send Lieberman back to Israel for GOOD!, April 12, 2007 at 12:19 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Sen. Joe Lieberman,
Report thisI-Conn….return him to Israel forever. He isn’t wanted in CT either. More and more citizens want him out of office and out of CT.
Inductive ~ Deductive LOGIC
By blog dog, April 12, 2007 at 12:07 pm Link to this comment
#63347 by SamSnedegar on 4/11 at 11:20 am
(Truthdig Member since 04/5/2007, 1 comments) - 1. its always about oil. 2. Bush is a moron.
********Indeed, but needs clarification: 1. Its about the petro dollar 2. Bush is a puppet the coup happened in 2 stages: 1) 2000 stolen election 2) 911 false flag provocation where the POTUS really was targeted and stood down in the face of a real military coup detat, lead by a gang of shadow thugs from whom hes taken orders daily since it happened e.g. Angle is next.
Further clarification: The strategy is much broader and long term than most imagine (e.g. The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives by Zbigniew Brzezinski & The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order by Samuel P. Huntington). This is all understood in DC, Wall Street, City of London and Tel Aviv, but there is a growing schism among the finance oligarchy (ruling elite) - some are really scared the shadow gangs plan to nuke Iran will backfire i.e. speed the collapse of the petro dollar.
This is the discussion that needs to be advanced. It must reach those readily sending, in patriotic fervor, their loved ones to serve these Machiavellian machinations (an outrageously horrific geopolitical meat-grinder) - they must be alerted to the lethal cynicism in how they are being abused.
Report thisBy John, April 12, 2007 at 9:44 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Let’s get this straight. Is Lieberman a lap-dog or a neo-conservative puppet master? Can’t have it both ways.
Report thisBy 6-pack Joe, April 12, 2007 at 4:41 am Link to this comment
Joe Lieberman is for (first) Joe Lieberman, (second) Israel, (and lastly) Conn. & the U.S. He may dispute the order by saying Israel comes first but he lies so much who knows. Liberman embodies all that is bad in politicians, has no shame and this last statment is typical. He takes his marching orders from Israel and votes every policy Israel pushes (killing more neighbors is good, more land, etc.). He will do his best to have us (the puppets) waste our solders lives and our resources engaging in a war with Iran as that is another enemy of the Zionist. Israel, “that shit of a little country”, will get us into WW3 yet while Nero Bush, deep in his cranial fog is gleeful anticipating the Raptures.
Report thisBy Chris, April 12, 2007 at 1:22 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
The article should read, “Democrats Finally Unite—Against U.S.”
Report thisBy 911truthdotorg, April 11, 2007 at 8:46 pm Link to this comment
Ernest…
I was waiting for someone to get on my case about this. I don’t mean to insult anyone or this forum…believe me.
I’m just trying to get the word out….to try and get people who might have no clue about this to open their eyes and minds. I’m amazed at how many people still have no idea that three buildings collapsed that day: WTC7. Why? Because the media didn’t report it.
In case you haven’t noticed, but 9/11 is THE
foundation for *everything* that these criminals in the White House have done for the last 6 years…and I absolutely believe they made it happen to accomplish their agenda. They’re still linking Iraq with 9/11 for God’s sake!!
I absolutely agree there are other issues facing this country, but again, 9/11 is most likely the foundation for those also. Think about it.
They never let us forget that we live in a “post 9/11 world” do they.
If 9/11 was a fraud, as I and millions of others believe it was, then everything they’ve done after it “to keep us safe” is a fraud as well.
Destroying the Constitution, our rights, privacy, the Real ID, Patriot and Military Commissions Acts, the media being subverted to follow the government line out of fear of being called “unpatriotic” or insane, torture, Iraq, the slow destruction of our military…the entire so-called war on terror, you name it, if proven false, would make everything they’ve done null and void and bush exposed for a fraud like the Wizard of Oz.!
That’s why I bring it up all the time.
Report thisIt *IS* the issue.
By DennisD, April 11, 2007 at 6:29 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
That’s just Joe Lie-berman looking in the fun house mirror again and coming up with isn’t it great that they can tell us how much they hate us. He actually spouted a Bu$hism and didn’t even know it. Connecticut
Report thisyou’re officially off my Christmas card list, anyone that could vote this fraud back into office probably can’t even read.
By Hugh E. Scott, April 11, 2007 at 4:18 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Why is Iraqi outrage against our troops a surprise?
Im not an expert on the Middle East, but I do have good common sense. And it didnt compute in my brain four years ago that the way to win hearts and minds in Iraq was by breaking into Baghdad homes, terrifying women and children with M16s, shouting orders in pidgin Arabic, hauling away traditional weapons like the AK-47 along with blindfolded relatives suspected of being Baath Party loyalists, whom we financed in the war against Iran.
How angry would you get if Iraqi soldiers in a white pickup truck stopped in front of your house tonight, broke down your door, aimed AK-47s at your family, confiscated your shotgun, and demanded to know in broken English if you were a Republican?
Would not such treatment make you want to retaliate with pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails? God, I hope so. If not, the American Revolution was fought in vain.
Hugh E. Scott, Vietnam vet and editor of http://www.King-George.biz—the only website with hardcopy proof of White House corruption.
Report thisBy cann4ing, April 11, 2007 at 3:55 pm Link to this comment
re comment #63402 by 911truthdotorg. You have made your point, repeatedly!
While I have yet to see hard evidence to establish official complicity, I certainly agree that there is sufficient evidence to warrant a complete and unfettered investigation so that America and the world will learn, to the extent feasible, the full truth of what occurred on that fateful day—irrespective of where that investigation may lead.
My problem is that, no matter what the subject matter of a Truthdig article, be it the conglomerated media issues raised in Ms. Goodman’s recent piece, Mr. Scheer’s present piece on a united Iraqi opposition to our illegal occupation, your response is “always” the same—“investigate 9/11.” It reminds me of the early years of the current cabal when dubya’s answer to every political question was to “cut taxes.”
I do not, for a minute, seek to denigrate the need for the truth about such a seminal event. But surely you recognize that there are “other” issues facing this nation and that a 9/11 investigation is not going to be the beat all, end all solution to all of those other issues.
It would be refreshing if, on perhaps a rare occasion, you could add something to the discussion that actually relates to the issue raised in an article without resorting to the, “why aren’t you investigating 9/11” mantra.
Report thisBy Hugh E. Scott, April 11, 2007 at 3:54 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Why does anyone except Bush Kool-Aid sippers pay attention to Love-Me Lieberman?
This is the same guy who, in 2002, chaired the White House Committee for the Liberation of Iraq (CLI) that was established that year by Bruce Jackson, a director of the neocon paperwork organization, Project for a New American Century (PNAC).
A rightwing hawk in liberal clothing, Joe rubbed elbows at CLI meetings with PNAC members Jeane Kirkpatrick, Robert Kagan, Newt Gingrich, Richard Perle, William Kristol and James Woolsey.
Lieberman has less credibility about Iraq than Don Imus does when addressing civility in radio broadcasting.
Hugh E. Scott, editor of http://www.King-George.biz—the only website with hardcopy proof of White House corruption.
Report thisBy 911truthdotorg, April 11, 2007 at 3:00 pm Link to this comment
Wow! The chimp was right about something after all!!
He IS a UNITER!!!
Demand a new, true 9/11 Investigation.
Google video: 9/11 Press for Truth
Report thisBy Tony Christini, April 11, 2007 at 1:53 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
The Pangloss Score, by Stan D. Garde:
Top twenty reasons the US should further invade and occupy the entire Middle East (western Asia)
The inhabitants of the lands are tired of their massive oil burden and would like to have it taken off their hands.
The Air Force needs fuel to drop its bombs to get its fuel.
Americans are thirsty for the crude.
King George aka, President Powerdrunk decrees it.
The US troops love spending the best years of their lives getting blown up, blowing up.
No one in their Right mind can imagine Baghdad without a US flag planted smack in the middle of it.
Or Tehran, etc.
In the immortal words of New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman in his 1999 book The Lexus and the Olive Tree: McDonalds cannot flourish [in the Middle East or anywhere else presumably] without McDonnell Douglas, the designer of the U.S. Air Force F-15. And the hidden fist that keeps the world safe for Silicon Valleys technologies to flourish is called the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.
In the immortal words of Clintons Albright on another occasion: Whats the point of having a superb military if we cant use it?
In the immortal words of former President George H. W. Bush: What we say goes.
As Dr. Pangloss says, If you truly want the best of all possible worlds, you have to bomb for it.
[etc ]
http://apragmaticpolicy.wordpress.com/2007/04/06/tropetopia-xiii-the-pangloss-score-ii-the-us-conquest-of-the-middle-east/
Report thisBy Douglas Chalmers, April 11, 2007 at 12:15 pm Link to this comment
The first gulf war, then the second gulf war (supposedly “operation Iraqi freedom”) ..... the USA NEVER did have a legitimate reason for being there. After the fall of Saddam, they then didn’t have a legitimate reason to stay!
We (that is, Iraq and the rest of the world) have seen all the reasons and all the denials. Moving on to Iran or elsewhere is NOT a legitimate goal either. There is no valid reason for the US to remain in West Asia (the “middle East” to some).
That leaves Israel, the only state in the region which DOES HAVE WMD’s. The game now is for Israel to launch a nuclear strike against Iran as part of a desperate attempt to keep the US in the region for its own defence.
Report thisBy Quy Tran, April 11, 2007 at 11:20 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
The image of ambassador John Dean with U.S. flag on his head escaping from Cambodia over 30 years ago re-appeared in my mind. Sorry, very sorry !
Report thisBy SamSnedegar, April 11, 2007 at 11:20 am Link to this comment
The surge worked fine . . . it’s point was not to “win” any war; we’ve already done that. If we hadn’t won, we wouldn’t be occupying Iraq now, would we? No, the surge was to put crack airborne troops in place on pipelines and oilfields, and relieve them from having to hang out in Baghdad shooting up innocent people and taking fire from insurgents.
There is no mystery about it: if you leave Iraq, you leave the oil, and that is not acceptable to the Bushitter gang of thugs.
As to Leavingsman and Israel, you hit the nail on the head with Joey the traitor; he is for Israel and not for the USA if their interests diverge, but we needed them to keep Lebanon softened up for when we go there with our pipelines to the Med.
Maybe you will understand it better if you just do one thing: substitute “oil” for “Iraq” when you talk about our little “war,” and you can readily see that “winning” is owning or controlling the oil, that democracy is the last thought, that Israel really makes no difference to any but the apacees like Leavingsman, and you see that we LOSE if we leave the oil behind and go somewhere, anywhere else.
Keep two things in mind however:
1. it’s always about oil.
Report this2. Bush is a moron.
By Robert Baruch, April 11, 2007 at 10:46 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Only someone with an I.Q. below “43” could not have seen this coming. The Shiite and Sunni factions have been at each others throats for the past 1,400 years. Only the “decider-in-chief” could have brought these bitter enemies together in a massive display of outrage against a common enemy.
So, now the liberated Iraqis have the “freedom” to paint targets on the backs of what they perceive to be brutal and sadistic occupation troops.
God Bless America
Report thisBy Valley, April 11, 2007 at 9:51 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
It is really no wonder that Iraq’s in the tens of thousands areprotesting our presence in Iraq, labeling it an occupation. We’ve acted as there were only one solution to the terrorism problem, war. It has become increasingly clear, however, as we approach another year of war and wasted lives, that our efforts have not eliminated terrorists, ie the attack on Algiers. Our military presence and lack of attention to helping people out of poverty fuels the anti-American flames abroad and in Iraq. If we were to address terrorism at its roots, poverty; it would be possible to reduce the number of lives lost, save money, and live up to the reputation of world leader.
Report thisBy Roy Eidelson, April 11, 2007 at 9:45 am Link to this comment
The Bush administration promoted the misguided and destructive war in Iraq by targeting five core concerns that often govern our lives—concerns about vulnerability, injustice, distrust, superiority, and helplessness. Looking ahead, the continued occupation of Iraq—or an attack on Iran—will likely be sold to us in much the same way. I examine these warmongering appeals—and how to counter them—in a new online video entitled Resisting the Drums of War available for viewing at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81UKnb5zJbM
Report thisBy cann4ing, April 11, 2007 at 9:44 am Link to this comment
Re comment #63312 by Sylvia Barksdale Morovitz. I concur in everything you said, except your suggestion that Mr. Lieberman is in “left field.” Lieberman’s place is in right field, straddling the fould line.
Report thisBy Sylvia Barksdale Morovitz, April 11, 2007 at 8:41 am Link to this comment
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Robert Scher’s column points directly to the reason Bush went to war Against Iraq. Americans have been so confused, so brainwashed, with all the lies that put us there; now we know the answer. Lieberman’s interpretation of Iraq’s massive demonstration against our fourth year occupation of their country is so far out in left field thst it’s almost sad. Indeed, his interest lies with Israel, as does Bush’s. Nothing else makes sense. This war; unjust, immoral and insane is not worth one drop of our troop’s blood. As the Iraqi’s would have it, they should be withdrawn immediately. Keeping them there and having them killed amounts to one thing, murder! So, Bush got his prey, Hussein. Perhaps he intended to steal the country’s oil reserves. When all else failed, he claimed that keeping our presence there would democratize Iraq; impose his own ideologies upon a nation of people who have been Islamic extremists since time immemorable. This is another crock of bull and he knows it. The reason he insists on occupation of an innocent country is Israel, so clearly seen through by Lieberman’s statements. If the leadership of our country is so concerned about the safety of Israel, it should offer tham refuge in our own country. Holy land? All land is holy! If they refuse, they we should cut tham loose. America cannot police the world. Israel has cost us untold misery and immeasurable resources. It is time that they made a move from the hornet’s nest they insist is theirs or pay the consequences.
Report thisBy PeaceRant, April 11, 2007 at 8:33 am Link to this comment
Lieberman’s spin on the Najaf demonstration is outrageous indeed. But the real winner of this week’s baseless-optimism-as-strategy award has to be the US commander in the region, Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, who reported the crowd numbered “5,000 to 7,000.”
Report thisBy cann4ing, April 11, 2007 at 8:26 am Link to this comment
We are living in the world of George Orwell’s “1984.” An imperial war aggression, designed to seize control of a strategic nation with the second largest oil reserve in the Middle East is first labeled “Operation Iraqi Liberation,” then renamed “Operation Iraqi Freedom” when one of the sociopathic neocons notices the acronym, “O.I.L.” A sham plebicite on a new Iraqi “constitution” few Iraqis had seen prior to the vote is described as “democracy”—a constitution re-written at the eleventh hour by a U.S. Ambassador and a handful of Iraqi puppets so as to make the Bremer edicts that privatized Iraq’s economy, placing it in the hands of multi-national corporations, who were immunized from compliance with Iraqi law. An escalation of a violent repression by occupation forces is described as a “surge.” And now the unity of the Iraqi opposition, a unity made possible by the devastation wrought by the “surge,” is cited by Senator Lieberman as “success.”
During the recent brutal bombing of Lebanon, at the time the Bush administration was refusing to call for a cease fire, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora quoted Tacitus of ancient Rome: “They created desolation and call it peace.”
Report thisBy Ed., April 11, 2007 at 8:04 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
E.Stuart is right on the money.
Report thisBy Outraged, April 11, 2007 at 8:01 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Once again proof that George W. is a “uniter” and not a “divider”. First he “united” the world against us, then he “united” Americans against himself and his regime and now he’s “united” the Iraqis.
Way to go George! We’ll be sure to call you up if there’s some errant country out there who doesn’t hate us yet. Until then George, could you take up knitting or something? Oh yeah, be nice with those needles…
Report thisBy John Earl, April 11, 2007 at 7:48 am Link to this comment
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Actually we “broke” Iraq during the ill-conceived sanctions after the first Gulf War. The sanctions caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, while Saddam and Co. lived the high life. Saddam used the sanctions to consolidate power against the outside world. They were partly intended to cause his over-throw. The “regime change” strategy embraced by Bill Clinton, et al. was brought to full fruition by George W. Bush. The only catch is that when this is all sorted out the ultimate regime change may not be to the liking of the West.
Report thisBy Kol Klink, April 11, 2007 at 6:53 am Link to this comment
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Noticeably absent from US ‘main stream media’ reporting of the Najaf demonstration against the American presence in Iraq were the members of the Iraqi Army that joined the march. This fact was reported on Juan Cole’s highly regarded and much visited ‘Informed Comment’ website. So Liberman thinks that its a good sign that even the Iraqi Army is taking part in a march to demand that America leave Iraq? He must be supping at the same cool aid trough that McCain frequents. Yep, we are standing up the Iraqi Army and Police so that we can stand down!
Report thisAl Sadr has remained steadfast in his call for Iraqi unity and realizes that a break up of Iraq can only weaken his country and possibly lead to another failed state in the Muslim world. Al Sadr has also continued to remain aloof from Iran and does not want undue Iranian influence in Iraq. Unlike Sistani, Al Sadr did not flee to Iran during the Iraq/Iran war and I dont believe that he is in Iran now. In other words, he is a real Iraqi nationalist. His stance has put him at risk of life not only from the US, which would like to see a break up of Iraq, but other Shia insurgent groups such as SCIRI, and the Badr Corps, fighting, or waiting to fight, in Iraq. The only thing that Lieberman had correct is that Al Sadr is ‘striking a nationalist cord’ but Liebermans spin was childish blather. Perhaps we should give Lieberman a nick name. Can we just call him Lie and drop the berman?
What else did the MSM leave out of their coverage of the Najaf march? Well, they conviently did not mention that Al Sadr called for the Iraqi Army and the Iraqi Police to stop aiding the American Military in Iraq and for all Iraqis that are currently helping Americans in any way to stop their assistance.
I feel sure that I am not alone among Americans that would like to hear a clear presentation by our president of exactly what our goals in Iraq are and what exactly a victory would look like. Bush is now as tied to this war as LBJ was to Viet Nam. It is defining his presidency and like Johnson before him he is in a position where he cant win but he cant lose. Like Johnson before him he will not do the honorable thing and withdraw but he will continue to squander our troops and our treasury in a failed attempt to subjugate a people that will not be subjugated. Bush is a scoundrel that has wrapped himself in our flag and the christian religion in order to obscure his real goal. The oil of Iraq.
By Steve Hammons, April 11, 2007 at 6:18 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
The deceptions and covert manipulations surrounding the invasion and occupation of Iraq are so complex that it is difficult to understand which of the horrors of the current situation were planned and which were the result of terrible mistakes.
Some might even feel that the chaos and bloodshed in Iraq is good, because it creates a reason for US forces to stay there ... which may have been the plan all along.
These kinds of questions are looked at in:
“‘Mistakes’ or ‘plans’ in Iraq, War on Terror?”
PopulistAmerica.com
February 12, 2007
http://www.populistamerica.com/mistakes_or_plans_in_iraq_war_on_terror
Report thisBy Dr. Knowitall, PhD, PhD, April 11, 2007 at 5:20 am Link to this comment
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When I said that history will judge Bush a hero, even I didn’t anticipate that this tangled web would right itself in this way. Too bad, Robert. You’ve inadvertently given Bush his out: “This is how we planned it. Gawd Bless theeze United States uv Imurika!!”
Report thisBy E. Stuart, April 11, 2007 at 4:34 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Joe Liberman (I-Conn) is not Bush’s lap dog, he, as a faithful Jew tows Israels line and I suspect orders. Israel wants Iraq destroyed as she was the greatest threat against the Jewish state before the war. What Israel wants is always what Joe Lieberman wants and Conn. and the United States comes a distant second. Now Iran is a threat to Israel and guess who is pushing Bust to attack. If Liberman and Bush could have their way we would be at war with Iran today.
Report thisBy writeon, April 11, 2007 at 2:19 am Link to this comment
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It’s hard not to feel a deep sense of foreboding about where the United States in going in Iraq. Is america really going to follow the other great empires and fool itself into destruction? What I mean by this, is, the incredible danger present when ruling elites actually begin to believe their national myth. It’s far worse than cynicism or ordinary lying, because doesn’t cynicism imply a form of pragmatism and rational intelligence at work?
But the profound danger is when the leaders of a country or empire start to believe in illusions and delusions, and our willing to pour vast resources into fruitless conflicts and wars, not based on a calm and rational debate about one’s interests, but plunge ahead regardless and reckless in the name of ideology and faith.
The kind of historic mistakes the United States is embarked on have happened before, to other countries and empires. The United States is not unique in this respect, only perhaps uniquely ignorant and arrogant in almost wilfully refusing to learn even the most basic lessons from the fate of other “super-powers” that over-reached themselves and squandered their wealth and power.
Is there any hope then to avert disaster? Yes, the fact that the majority of the american people have seen through the great imperial lie already and are against the current suicidal course. But do the people really have an impact on policy anymore? Does democracy still function in reality? Is american democracy more than a ritual? Is a mass revolt what’s required? Are we really only one more terrotist attack away from tyranny? All the peices are in place for tyranny. The laws, the men and the resources are waiting. We’re going to need action, hope and probably luck, to get through the coming years. One thing seems clear though. Averting an attack on Iran is a real test for american democracy. An attack on Iran, and all that could lead to, is really the United States crossing the rubicon.
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