Clipmarks | arifsali's 'iraq' clips

A Call to Action for Iraqi Civilians Lost in the misplaced War on Terror

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:22:06 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

US military forces are engaged in two major conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and participate in several more around the world in the Global War on Terror. All too often, no matter how careful the planning, civilians are hurt by bullets and bombs. What happens to them when the battle is over?

More often than not, they are left to try and pick up the pieces of their lives alone. Some have lost loved ones. Some no longer have a home. Others have been injured and can no longer provide for their families. They all deserve recognition and help.

Join us in asking our next president to support three important policies that will make a major difference in the lives of civilians living in war zones, current and future: [click here to read our three action points]

Sign this petition now and we’ll hand deliver it to the new Administration as they shape their policies in the first 100 days!

Tags: war, united states, iraq

Al-Qaeda in US invaded Iraq: Women cannot buy cucumbers!

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:19:06 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: You know what you can potentially do with cucumbers, don't you?

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Al-Qa'eda is losing support in Iraq because of a brutal crackdown on activities it regards as un-Islamic - including women buying cucumbers.

Besides the terrible killings inflicted by the fanatics on those who refuse to pledge allegiance to them, Al-Qa'eda has lost credibility for enforcing a series of rules imposing their way of thought on the most mundane aspects of everyday life.

They include a ban on women buying suggestively-shaped vegetables, according to one tribal leader in the western province of Anbar.

Sheikh Hameed al-Hayyes, a Sunni elder, told Reuters: "They even killed female goats because their private parts were not covered and their tails were pointed upward, which they said was haram.

"They regarded the cucumber as male and tomato as female. Women were not allowed to buy cucumbers, only men."

Tags: al qaeda, humor, iraq, united states

How Tenet Betrayed the CIA on WMD in Iraq

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 06:15:59 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Habbush explained to the British official that Saddam tried to maintain the impression that he did have such weapons in order to impress Iran.

Suskind writes that the head of MI6, Richard Dearlove, flew to Washington to present details of the Habbush report to Tenet, who then briefed National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. Soon after that, the CIA informed the British that the Bush administration was not interested in keeping the Habbush channel open, according to Suskind’s account.

Clip Source: www.ipsnews.net

Journalist Ron Suskind’s revelation that Saddam Hussein’s intelligence chief was a prewar intelligence source reporting to the British that Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction (WMD) adds yet another dimension to the systematic effort by then Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director George Tenet to quash any evidence -- no matter how credible -- that conflicted with the George W. Bush administration’s propaganda line that Saddam was actively pursuing a nuclear weapons programme.

According to Suskind’s new book, ‘The Way of the World’, Iraqi Director of Intelligence Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti had been passing on sensitive intelligence to the UK’s MI6 intelligence service for more than a year before the U.S invasion. In early 2003, Suskind writes, Habbush told MI6 official Michael Shipster in Jordan that Saddam had ended his nuclear programme in 1991 and his biological weapons programme in 1996.

Tags: iraq, bush administration

Jolie-Pitt Foundation donates $1M to Iraqi kids

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:41:07 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.usatoday.com

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's love for children is by no means limited to their own: The couple has donated $1 million to help kids affected by the war in Iraq, the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict announced Wednesday.

The organization will distribute the donation, made through the couple's Jolie-Pitt Foundation, to four organizations working on behalf of children who have lost parents, homes and schools in Iraq. Children in the U.S. who have lost parents in the conflict will also benefit.

"These educational support programs for children of conflict are the best way to help them heal," said Jolie in a written statement from Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, which she co-chairs.

"We hope to encourage others to give to these great organizations," Pitt added in the statement.

Tags: iraq, children

BBC uncovers lost Iraq billions

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:31:59 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A BBC investigation estimates that around $23bn (£11.75bn) may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq.

For the first time, the extent to which some private contractors have profited from the conflict and rebuilding has been researched by the BBC's Panorama using US and Iraqi government sources.

A US gagging order is preventing discussion of the allegations.

The order applies to 70 court cases against some of the top US companies.

While George Bush remains in the White House, it is unlikely the gagging orders will be lifted.

To date, no major US contractor faces trial for fraud or mismanagement in Iraq.

Tags: iraq, united states, bbc

Destruction of Iraq's past

Wed, 21 May 2008 03:10:11 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.presstv.ir

Director of the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute Museum says the US presence in Iraq is destroying the country's keys to its past.

"The destruction of Iraq's past has the potential of being one of the longest-lasting legacies of the US presence in Iraq," Geoff Emberling said.

An exhibit on the pillaging of Iraq's heritage titled "Catastrophe!" is currently running at the Chicago museum, along with seminars from Iraqi experts and delivered to US troops deploying in the region, The Christian Science Monitor reported.

Qais Hussein Rashid, director of research and antiquities excavations for Iraq's Board of Antiquities and Heritage, also says that "the looting of ancient sites is an old problem, of course, but this phenomenon has accelerated since the invasion of Iraq and the general insecurity that has left so many sites with no protection."

"We feel we are losing many of the keys to our past and the many pieces that together make up our heritage," the Iraqi official added.

Tags: iraq, united states

Soldier Refuses Tour, Citing "Stomach-Churning Horrors"

Fri, 16 May 2008 23:47:54 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.ipsnews.net

A U.S. Army soldier who served as a military journalist in Afghanistan, Japan, Europe and the Philippines announced Thursday his intent to refuse orders to deploy to Iraq.

"As an Army journalist whose job it was to collect and filter service members' stories, I heard many stomach-churning testimonies of the horrors of the crimes taking place in Iraq," said Sergeant Matthis Chiroux, 24, in an announcement under the rotunda of the House of Representative's Cannon Office Building.

"For fear of retaliation from the military, I failed to report these crimes, but never again will I allow fear to silence me. Never again will I fail to stand," he said.

Chirioux said he's aware he will likely face prosecution for refusing the deployment, but said, "I choose to remain in the United States to defend myself from charges brought by the Army if they are willing to pursue them. I refuse to participate in the occupation of Iraq."

Tags: iraq, soldiers

Iraqi Blogs

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 20:55:35 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Iraqi bloggers at home and abroad

Several of the Iraqi bloggers featured in previous roundups have left the country.

Here's a snapshot of some of those still writing from inside Iraq - and some of those who have left.

neurotic-iraqi-wife.blogspot.com

Neurotic Iraqi Wife is an Iraqi-British woman living and working in the Green Zone.

nabilsblog.blogspot.com

Nabil is 19. He left Baghdad and arrived in Jordan last month.

livesstrong.blogspot.com

Sunshine is a 15-year-old girl in Mosul, northern Iraq.

astarfrommosul.blogspot.com

"Aunt Najma" is also in Mosul. She is 19 and has sailed through her first year university exams.

last-of-iraqis.blogspot.com

Mohammed is a 25-year-old dentist in Baghdad.

twentyfourstepstoliberty.blogspot.com

Twentyfourstepstoliberty is a young Iraqi man studying journalism in Berkeley, California.

Tags: iraq, blogs

Memory and Machiavelli

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 20:39:43 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: blog.beliefnet.com

Ms. Jacoby has taken up the virtuous but frustrating cause of improving public education and striving for an informed electorate. Let's hope that Barack Obama represents a trend in that direction. The right wing, as represented by Karl Rove, stands for the opposite trend. In their playbook, manipulating the public through fear and capitalizing on ignorance not only works, but is justified because it works. That is, any question of morality and ethics is beside the point, as Machiavelli long ago informed his prince. Ms. Jacoby asserts that lack of historical memory is one of the most serious symptoms of what she calls American unreason. Instead of remembering that Iraq had no suicide bombers until the U.S. invaded, or that the war was entirely unjustified in the first place, the public can be fed a slogan '-- "the surge is working" -- and the past evaporates.

Tags: iraq

Violations of 'Islamic teachings' take deadly toll on Iraqi women

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 15:35:48 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

The images in the Basra police file are nauseating: Page after page of women killed in brutal fashion -- some strangled to death, their faces disfigured; others beheaded. All bear signs of torture.

The women are killed, police say, because they failed to wear a headscarf or because they ignored other "rules" that secretive fundamentalist groups want to enforce.

"Fear, fear is always there," says 30-year-old Safana, an artist and university professor. "We don't know who to be afraid of. Maybe it's a friend or a student you teach. There is no break, no security. I don't know who to be afraid of."

Her fear is justified. Iraq's second-largest city, Basra, is a stronghold of conservative Shia groups. As many as 133 women were killed in Basra last year -- 79 for violation of "Islamic teachings" and 47 for so-called honor killings,

Tags: women, iraq

Over one million Iraqis killed by war

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:21:15 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.opinion.co.uk

Further survey work undertaken by ORB, in association with its research partner IIACSS, confirms our earlier estimate that over 1,000,000 Iraqi citizens have died as a result of the conflict which started in 2003.

Following responses to ORB’s earlier work, which was based on survey work undertaken in primarily urban locations, we have conducted almost 600 additional interviews in rural communities. By and large the results are in line with the ‘urban results’ and we now estimate that the death toll between March 2003 and August 2007 is likely to have been of the order of 1,033,000. If one takes into account the margin of error associated with survey data of this nature then the estimated range is between 946,000 and 1,120,000.

Further information about the research, our calculations, questionnaire wording and data tables is available by clicking on the links below. Also available is an article providing background on IIACSS and its founding director Dr. Munqith Dagher.

Tags: iraq, death, war, united states

Radical Christian Missionaries in Iraq

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:27:11 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Youtube video at the source.

Clip Source: uk.youtube.com

While innocent people are getting killed everyday in Iraq Christian missionaries are trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.

Tags: video, iraq

Norway rated most peaceful nation

Wed, 30 May 2007 18:52:41 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A study has ranked Norway as the most peaceful country and Iraq as the least in a survey of 121 countries.

The Global Peace Index, compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, looked at 24 factors to determine how peaceful each country was.

It places the US at 96th on the list and the UK at 49th, while New Zealand ranks second and Japan fifth.

The authors say it is the first attempt to produce such a wide-ranging league table of how peaceful countries are.

Factors examined by the authors include levels of violence and organised crime within the country and military expenditure.

The survey has been backed by the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former US President Jimmy Carter and US economist Joseph Stiglitz, who are all Nobel prize laureates.

It is also supported by Queen Noor of Jordan.

Tags: study, norway, peace, country, iraq

Fatal errors in planning for postwar Iraq: British Defence Secretary

Wed, 02 May 2007 22:36:10 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: politics.guardian.co.uk

A catalogue of errors over planning for Iraq after the invasion, and an inability to influence key figures in the US administration, led to anarchy in Iraq from which the country has not recovered, the British defence secretary during the invasion admits today.

In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Geoff Hoon reveals that Britain disagreed with the US administration over two key decisions in May 2003, two months after the invasion - to disband Iraq's army and "de-Ba'athify" its civil service. Mr Hoon also said he and other senior ministers completely underestimated the role and influence of the vice-president, Dick Cheney.

"Sometimes ... Tony had made his point with the president, and I'd made my point with Don [Rumsfeld] and Jack [Straw] had made his point with Colin [Powell] and the decision actually came out of a completely different place. And you think: what did we miss? I think we missed Cheney."

Tags: iraq, iraq war, britain, united states, politics, war

COST OF WAR

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 01:38:36 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Above is a live counter, you have to click on the source to see.

Clip Source: costofwar.com

Below is a running total of the U.S. taxpayer cost of the Iraq War. The number is based on Congressional appropriations.

The War in Iraq Costs

$419,159,458,462

See the cost in your community

Or compare to the cost of:

PRE-SCHOOL
KIDS' HEALTH
COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS
PUBLIC HOUSING
PUBLIC EDUCATION

Tags: iraq, united states, iraq war, politics, finance