Clipmarks | Kore7's 'war' clips

Bush regrets his image as a war monger

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:45:27 GMT

clipped by: Shugi
clipper's remarks: His "image"?

President Bush regrets his legacy as man who wanted war

President Bush has admitted to The Times that his gun-slinging rhetoric made the world believe that he was a “guy really anxious for war” in Iraq. He said that his aim now was to leave his successor a legacy of international diplomacy for tackling Iran.

Phrases such as “bring them on” or “dead or alive”, he said, “indicated to people that I was, you know, not a man of peace”. He said that he found it very painful “to put youngsters in harm’s way”. He added: “I try to meet with as many of the families as I can. And I have an obligation to comfort and console as best as I possibly can. I also have an obligation to make sure that those lives were not lost in vain.”

Tags: politics

A Tragic Legacy

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 19:01:48 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks:

And the president who vowed to lead the war for freedom and democracy has made torture, rendition, abductions, lawless detentions of even our own citizens, secret "black site" prisons, Abu Ghraib dog leashes, and orange Guantánamo jumpsuits the strange, new symbols of America around the world.

New essay by Glenn Greenwald on the future legacy of America's reaction to 9/11.

Clip Source: www.salon.com

A tragic legacy

How a good vs. evil mentality destroyed the Bush presidency.

One who believes himself to be leading a supreme war against Evil on behalf of Good will be incapable of understanding any claims that he himself is acting immorally.

These principles illuminate a central, and tragic, paradox at the heart of the Bush presidency.

The president who vowed to lead America in a moral crusade to win hearts and minds around the world has so inflamed anti-American sentiment that America's moral standing in the world is at an all-time low.

The president who vowed to undertake a war in defense of American values and freedoms has presided over such radical departures from the defining values and liberties of this country that many Americans find their country and its government unrecognizable.

Tags: bush, legacy, 9/11, terrorism, iraq, war, liberty, torture, guantanamo, history

How Did Soviet-Style Torture Become ‘Interrogation’?

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 01:37:48 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: A Senate investigation is underway, but many of the details are surfacing already.

His question is only underscored by a 1956 article, “Communist Interrogation,” in The Annals of Neurology and Psychiatry, recently turned up by the Intelligence Science Board, which advises the spy agencies....[T]he article shows that methods embraced after 2001 were once considered torture that would produce false information.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

HOW did the United States, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, come to adopt interrogation techniques copied from the Soviet Union and other cold war adversaries?

Investigators for the Senate Armed Services Committee are examining how the methods, long used to train Americans for what they may face as prisoners of war, became the basis for American interrogations.

In 2002, the C.I.A. and the Pentagon became concerned that standard questioning was inadequate for suspected terrorists and turned to a military training program called Survival, Evasion, Reconnaissance and Escape, or SERE.

Many SERE veterans were appalled at the “reverse engineering” of their methods, said Charles A. Morgan III, a Yale psychiatrist who has worked closely with SERE trainers for a decade.

“How did something used as an example of what an unethical government would do become something we do?” he asked.

Tags: torture, intelligence, interrogation, senate, investigation, soviet, sere, cia, war, bush administration

Iraq’s Curse: A Thirst for Final, Crushing Victory

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 00:45:41 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: A bloodthirsty sectarian war centuries in the making has only just begun. It's going to get much worse before it gets better.

Caught in the middle of the civil war are the Americans. To Iraq’s factions, they are the weakest of all the armed groups in one crucial respect: their will is ebbing and their time here is limited. That leaves Iraqis more motivated than ever to cling to their weapons, preparing for what many see as an inevitable plunge into the abyss.

“Everyone — the Sunni, the Shia — is playing the waiting game,” an Iraqi leader told me over dinner at his home in the Green Zone. “They’re waiting out the Americans. Everyone is using time against you.”

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

PERHAPS no fact is more revealing about Iraq’s history than this: The Iraqis have a word that means to utterly defeat and humiliate someone by dragging his corpse through the streets.

The word is “sahel,” and it helps explain much of what I have seen in three and a half years of covering the war.

It is a word unique to Iraq, my friend Razzaq explained over tea one afternoon on my final tour. Throughout Iraq’s history, he said, power has changed hands only through extreme violence, when a leader was vanquished absolutely, and his destruction was put on display for all to see.

But in this war, the moment of sahel has been elusive. No faction — not the Shiite Arabs or Sunni Arabs or Kurds — has been able to secure absolute power, and that has only sharpened the hunger for it.

Listen to Iraqis engaged in the fight, and you realize they are far from exhausted by the war. Many say this is only the beginning.

Tags: iraq, war, civil war, sahel, violence, middle east, muslim, religion, extremism

Mark Twain's "The War Prayer"

Mon, 28 May 2007 20:47:48 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: In 1904, disgusted by the aftermath of the Spanish-American War and the subsequent Philippine-American War, Mark Twain wrote a short anti-war prose poem called "The War Prayer." His family begged him not to publish it, his friends advised him to bury it, and his publisher rejected it, thinking it too inflammatory for the times. Twain agreed, but instructed that it be published after his death, saying famously:

None but the dead are permitted to tell the truth.

"The War Prayer" was eventually published after World War I, when its message was more in tune with the times. Now, Washington Monthly's publisher, Markos Kounalakis, who was affected by Twain's words when he covered the war in Yugoslavia in the early 90s, has made "The War Prayer" into a short video for release this Memorial Day weekend. It features stunning illustrations by Akis Dimitrakopoulos and is narrated by Peter Coyote, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Erik Bauersfeld.

*

Clip Source: youtube.com

The War Prayer Pt. 1

[Video]

Clip Source: youtube.com

The War Prayer Pt. 2

[Video]

Tags: mark twain, war, anti-war, prayer, god, nationalism, patriotism, animation, video, literature

JFK, 1963, on peace

Sat, 12 May 2007 19:45:20 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: JFK's commencement address at American University in 1963, after the Cuban missile crisis. In it he remarks on Soviet propaganda claims that the U.S. is planning a "preventative war" -- which he describes as outlandish -- and declares, "The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war."

Clip Source: www.pbs.org

American University Speech
June 10, 1963

What kind of peace do I mean and what kind of a peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war, not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace -- the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living -- and the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and build a better life for their children -- not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women -- not merely peace in our time but peace in all time.

First: Examine our attitude towards peace itself. Too many of us think it is impossible. Too many think it is unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable -- that mankind is doomed -- that we are gripped by forces we cannot control.

The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war.

Tags: politics, history, primary_source, war, peace, inspiration, post:tumblr

Re-Thinking The War

Wed, 09 May 2007 17:58:26 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: Here's looking forward to a time when clips on America's reputation are more fitting for the nation we aspire to be.

When the next major terrorist attack comes, the question will simply be how much liberty Americans have left. That is a victory al Qaeda could not have achieved by force of arms. It is something they have achieved with our witting and conscious help.

Clip Source: andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com

This is why the Iraq war, so far, must be seen as a huge al Qaeda propaganda victory. Their narrative is that Muslims are under siege by an evil, imperialist, infidel army that tortures and abuses Muslims at will. Before Iraq, this was an absurdity. After Iraq, less so. Iraq has helped sustain al Qaeda's narrative with imagery and violence that will always stain the image of America in the Middle East. Yes, the paranoia of the Arab street would have invented such atrocities even if they didn't exist. But they did exist and continue to exist. The images of Abu Ghraib did not shock Iraqis used to far worse horrors under Saddam. But they did help educate Arabs and Muslims across the world into believing the very worst about U.S. intentions. Because this war is a war of ideas and ideals, this matters a huge amount. Our one massive advantage - that we are a free and decent civilization - has been fatally blurred.

Tags: america, us, war, iraq, al qaeda, abu ghraib, liberty, torture, foreign policy, terrorism

Lebanon War Probe Accuses Olmert of 'Severe Failure'

Tue, 01 May 2007 02:43:20 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: The first part of the official, government-appointed report is in and already the results are scathing. This is what the face of governmental accountability looks like. Better late than never, America will go through the same process of political introspection and repair as it goes forward. The inevitability of accountability is what allows a true democracy to survive almost anything.

"Some of the declared goals of the war were not clear and could not be achieved, and in part were not achievable by the authorized modes of military action," the report said.

Clip Source: haaretz.com

The prime minister, the report said, "bears supreme and comprehensive responsibility for the decisions of 'his' government and the operations of the army."

"The prime minister made up his mind hastily, despite the fact that no detailed military plan was submitted to him and without asking for one," the report said. "He made his decision without systematic consultation with others, especially outside the IDF, despite not having experience in external-political and military affairs."

Olmert was also censured for failing to "adapt his plans once it became clear that the assumptions and expectations of Israel's actions were not realistic and were not materializing."

"All of these," the report said, "add up to a serious failure in exercising judgment, responsibility and prudence."

Tags: lebanon, israel, olmert, war, probe, winograd, military, accountability, politics, government

The AK-47: Weapon Of Mass Destruction

Sat, 02 Dec 2006 20:38:48 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: Historical overview of the cheap, mass-produced assault rifle that would permanently change the balance of power in conflicts the world over. By Larry Kahaner, the author of AK-47: The Weapon That Changed the Face of War:

Now 85, tiny, feeble, nearly deaf, his right hand losing control because of tremors, Kalashnikov is often haunted by the killing machine he has bestowed upon the world. "I wish I had invented a lawnmower," he told the Guardian in 2002.

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Weapon Of Mass Destruction

By Larry Kahaner

Sunday, November 26, 2006; Page B01

The AK-47 has become the world's most prolific and effective combat weapon, a device so cheap and simple that it can be bought in many countries for less than the cost of a live chicken. Depicted on the flag and currency of several countries, waved by guerrillas and rebels everywhere, the AK is responsible for about a quarter-million deaths every year. It is the firearm of choice for at least 50 legitimate standing armies and countless fighting forces from Africa and the Middle East to Central America and Los Angeles. It has become a cultural icon, its signature form -- that banana-shaped magazine -- defining in our consciousness the contours of a deadly weapon.

This week, the U.S. military's presence in Iraq will surpass the length of time that American forces were engaged in World War II. And the AK-47 will forever link the two conflicts. The story of the gun itself, from inspiration in Bryansk to bloody insurgency in Iraq, is also the story of the transformation of modern warfare. The AK blew away old battlefield calculations of military superiority, of tactics and strategy, of who could be a soldier, of whose technology would triumph.

Tags: soldier, ak-47, gun, rifle, firearm, assault rifle, kalashnikov, war, warfare, combat, weapons, weapon, history, politics, geurilla, soviet, russia, communists, infantry, automatic

TNR Magazine "Deepy Regrets" Supporting the War

Sun, 19 Nov 2006 01:24:54 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks:

The New Republic deeply regrets its early support for this war....

Clip Source: www.tnr.com

Obligations

by the Editors
Post date 11.16.06 | Issue date 11.27.06

This magazine has long advocated deploying U.S. power to halt the mass slaughter of innocents. Saddam Hussein distinguished himself at the mass slaughter of innocents: About this, there can be no dispute. Yet, in this case, we supported an invasion that has led to the same savage result. Without an occupying power--and, perhaps, with one--Iraq could soon witness refugee crises, the sectarian mêlée spilling into neighboring countries, Al Qaeda bases sprouting across the Sunni Triangle, and massacres still greater than those that have already transpired.

At this point, it seems almost beside the point to say this: The New Republic deeply regrets its early support for this war. The past three years have complicated our idealism and reminded us of the limits of American power and our own wisdom. But, as we pore over the lessons of this misadventure, we do not conclude that our past misjudgments warrant a rush into the cold arms of "realism." Realism, yes; but not "realism." American power may not be capable of transforming ancient cultures or deep hatreds, but that fact does not absolve us of the duty to conduct a foreign policy that takes its moral obligations seriously. As we attempt to undo the damage from a war that we never should have started, our moral obligations will not vanish, and neither will our strategic needs.

Tags: tnr, the new republic, republic, magazine, usa, realism, reality, war, iraq, editors, editorial, foreign policy

Rumsfeld Stepping Down!

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 18:06:47 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: Bush is announcing Rumsfeld's resignation on TV right now.

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

GOP officials: Rumsfeld stepping down

BREAKING NEWS

Updated: 1 minute ago

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, a key target of Iraq war critics, is stepping down, Republican officials said on Wednesday.

Former CIA Director Robert Gates will replace him, Republican officials said.

Earlier today, a spokesman for Rumsfeld said he'd given no indication that he would step down in the wake of Democratic election gains. The spokesman said Rumsfeld would work with Congress on Iraq but added that the focus on stabilizing the country will remain the same.

This breaking news story will be updated.

Tags: rumsfeld, donald rumsfeld, resignation, bush administration, iraq, war, pentagon, defense, secretary, politics

American Conservative Magazine: GOP Must Go

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 15:05:26 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks:

There may be little Americans can do to atone for this presidency, which will stain our country’s reputation for a long time. But the process of recovering our good name must begin somewhere, and the logical place is in the voting booth this Nov. 7. If we are fortunate, we can produce a result that is seen—in Washington, in Peoria, and in world capitals from Prague to Kuala Lumpur—as a repudiation of George W. Bush and the war of aggression he launched against Iraq.

Clip Source: www.amconmag.com

November 20, 2006 Issue

GOP Must Go

It should surprise few readers that we think a vote that is seen—in America and the world at large—as a decisive “No” vote on the Bush presidency is the best outcome. We need not dwell on George W. Bush’s failed effort to jam a poorly disguised amnesty for illegal aliens through Congress or the assaults on the Constitution carried out under the pretext of fighting terrorism or his administration’s endorsement of torture. Faced on Sept. 11, 2001 with a great challenge, President Bush made little effort to understand who had attacked us and why—thus ignoring the prerequisite for crafting an effective response. He seemingly did not want to find out, and he had staffed his national-security team with people who either did not want to know or were committed to a prefabricated answer.

As a consequence, he rushed America into a war against Iraq, a war we are now losing and cannot win, one that has done far more to strengthen Islamist terrorists than anything they could possibly have done for themselves. Bush’s decision to seize Iraq will almost surely leave behind a broken state divided into warring ethnic enclaves, with hundreds of thousands killed and maimed and thousands more thirsting for revenge against the country that crossed the ocean to attack them. The invasion failed at every level: if securing Israel was part of the administration’s calculation—as the record suggests it was for several of his top aides—the result is also clear: the strengthening of Iran’s hand in the Persian Gulf, with a reach up to Israel’s northern border, and the elimination of the most powerful Arab state that might stem Iranian regional hegemony.

The war will continue as long as Bush is in office, for no other reason than the feckless president can’t face the embarrassment of admitting defeat. The chain of events is not complete: Bush, having learned little from his mistakes, may yet seek to embroil America in new wars against Iran and Syria.

Tags: american, conservative, conservatives, gop, bush, bush administration, war, iraq, policy, washington, election, campaign, midterm, vote, voters, referendum, principles, conservatism

Who's Planning to Vote for Whom

Sat, 04 Nov 2006 23:32:43 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks:

Fifty percent of independent voters, a closely watched segment of the electorate in such polarized times, said they intended to vote for the Democratic candidate, versus 23 who said they would vote for a Republican.

Clip Source: graphics8.nytimes.com

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 — A substantial majority of Americans expect Democrats to reduce or end American military involvement in Iraq if they win control of Congress next Tuesday and say Republicans will maintain or increase troop levels to try to win the war if they hold on to power on Capitol Hill, according to the final New York Times/CBS News poll before the midterm election.

The poll showed that 29 percent of Americans approve of the way President Bush is managing the war, matching the lowest mark of his presidency. Nearly 70 percent said Mr. Bush did not have a plan to end the war, and 80 percent said Mr. Bush’s latest effort to rally public support for the conflict amounted to a change in language but not policy.

The poll underlined the extent to which the war has framed the midterm elections. Americans cited Iraq as the most important issue affecting their vote, and majorities of Republicans and Democrats said they wanted a change in approach. Twenty percent said they thought the United States was winning in Iraq, down from a high this year of 36 percent in January.

Even beyond the war, the Times/CBS News poll, like most other polls this fall, contained worrisome indicators for Republicans as they go into the final days of a campaign in which many are bracing for a loss of seats in both the House and the Senate.

Tags: vote, voting, votes, election, midterm, congress, house, usa, america, republicans, democrats, independents, demographics, poll, survey, nytimes

Army Times: "Time for Rumsfeld to go"

Sat, 04 Nov 2006 04:18:12 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks:

Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops, with Congress and with the public at large. His strategy has failed, and his ability to lead is compromised. And although the blame for our failures in Iraq rests with the secretary, it will be the troops who bear its brunt.

Clip Source: sfgate.com

An editorial scheduled to appear on Monday in Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times, calls for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

The papers are sold to American servicemen and women. They are published by the Military Times Media Group, which is a subsidiary of Gannett Co., Inc.

Here is the text of the editorial, an advance copy of which we received this afternoon.

Time for Rumsfeld to go

"So long as our government requires the backing of an aroused and informed public opinion ... it is necessary to tell the hard bruising truth."

That statement was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Marguerite Higgins more than a half-century ago during the Korean War.

But until recently, the "hard bruising" truth about the Iraq war has been difficult to come by from leaders in Washington. One rosy reassurance after another has been handed down by President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: "mission accomplished," the insurgency is "in its last throes," and "back off," we know what we're doing, are a few choice examples.

Military leaders generally toed the line, although a few retired generals eventually spoke out from the safety of the sidelines, inciting criticism equally from anti-war types, who thought they should have spoken out while still in uniform, and pro-war foes, who thought the generals should have kept their critiques behind closed doors.

Now, however, a new chorus of criticism is beginning to resonate. Active-duty military leaders are starting to voice misgivings about the war's planning, execution and dimming prospects for success.

Tags: rumsfeld, donald rumsfeld, army, air force, navy, marines, military, usa, resign, resignation, failure, war, iraq, generals, strategy

Confessions of Evil

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 15:14:16 GMT

clipped by: Oldude59
clipper's remarks: Some look to the terrorist and call them evil. Others say it the liberal press that are evil. This guy has the right idea - he starts by looking in the mirror. Where do you look?

Clip Source: www.jeteye.com

I support the Bush gang because I feel good about them, because I resonate with their personalities. They are totally bad-ass! They are ruthless and merciless and don't fight fairly. They will use any means to obliterate anyone who stands in their way, and I feel great about being a part of that. The conquest of Iraq is justified merely by the fact that it feels good to crush an opponent with overwhelming force. If this adventure ends with the USA being destroyed in a war, I will simply change sides and sympathize with the new dominators -- even if they are dominating "me."

Evil is often called "irrational," but this is not precise. It's true that no news executive could counter the above arguments in a reasonable dialogue. It's true that all the arguments for the US conquest of Iraq could be reduced to nonsense, lies, hypocrisy, or pointless attacks on the imperfections of the anti-war crowd. It's true that evil people will never engage in an honest open-ended discussion of their positions, but will only mouth their talking points and avoid your questions by any means, including, if necessary, murder. But this is not irrationality. It's deception, and self-deception. The lies are a cover for a value system that could explain itself with perfect rationality, but for some reason does not. It would sound something like this:

I learned this way of thinking as a child, when I was initiated into this tough world by people just like Bush or Rumsfeld, and I'm grateful. They taught me that it feels bad to empathize with the weak and the losers -- even (or especially) when "I" am losing. It's best to not dwell on it, and instead focus my full sympathies behind whoever is kicking ass at the moment. That’s the "I" that can't lose!

Tags: political, evil, iraq war, republican