Clipmarks | invictus's 'iraq war' clips

My Five Year Old Kid vs. Their Five Year Old War

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:27:04 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks:

"I do not want to tell my kid when she's ten: this war has been going all of your life. I don't want to tell her that next year! I want to tell her, yes, there was a war for the first five years of your life, but then people had had enough! They knew voting for a fake anti-war candidate wasn't going to end the war, they knew watching TV and bitching about it wasn't going to end the war, and they finally voted with their feet. I want to tell my kid that on the fifth anniversary of the war, people said, ENOUGH! And hit the streets in San Francisco and in over forty other cities around the country, and reinvigorated an anti-war movement that brought the war to an end."

Clip Source: mrzine.monthlyreview.org

Y'all remember five years ago? Were any of you on the streets with Direct Action to Stop the War (DASW) in downtown San Francisco five years ago?

I wasn't. I was not on the streets because I had a brand-new baby who needed to eat every two hours, so I couldn't risk arrest. I spent the day volunteering in the legal office, taking calls from folks in the streets.

That baby is five years old now.

This war has been going on for almost her entire life.

And it's not just Iraq that is suffering. Iraq Vets Against the War said, "For every bomb dropped on Baghdad, a bomb explodes on the Gulf Coast." And they're right; all the resources used for the war are resources stolen from communities. Where are those trillions coming from? From schools, from publicly-funded health care, from basic infrastructure and human needs. What could our communities do with 2.8 trillion dollars?

Tags: iraq war, war costs, humanity, dasw, anti-war

"What We Are Seeing Is the Fall of America"

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 22:40:20 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Harold Bloom speaks...

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Harold Bloom, Yale literature professor and cultural critic, is one of America's most prominent and provocative intellectuals.

Speaking at his home in New Haven where he is recovering from a recent health scare, a pale and weak Bloom seems to have symbolically embodied what he calls the "poor state of the nation."

"I am 77 years old and I have never seen this country in such a bad state. It is madness. What we are seeing is the fall of the Roman Empire, only now it is the fall of America, the glory of our Empire. This war is what Parthia was to Rome.

"We have caused a monstrous mess. We don't even count killed Iraqis. God knows how many Iraqi women, children and men have been killed by our accidental shootings, which we are such experts at, or by other Iraqis. No, 'Benito Bush' (Bloom's pet name for President George Bush) deserves, if we had a functioning civil law in the world, to be condemned for crimes against humanity. Bush is ultimately responsible for this war," Bloom says

Tags: iraq war, united states, middle east, chaos, war

Iraqi probe implicates Blackwater

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 02:39:09 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

BAGHDAD - The official Iraqi investigation into the Blackwater shooting last month recommends that the security guards face trial in Iraqi courts and that the company compensate the victims, an Iraqi government minister told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The three-member panel, led by Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi, determined that Blackwater guards sprayed western Baghdad's Nisoor Square with gunfire Sept. 16 without provocation, Minister of State for National Security Sherwan al-Waili told AP.

The panel also found that 13 Iraqis were killed, not 11 as earlier disclosed, according to al-Waili told AP.

A parallel but unofficial investigation by seven members of the Interior Ministry found that 17 Iraqis were killed and 24 wounded, a member of the Interior Ministry panel said on condition that he not be identified because the findings were not public. He said its recommendations were nearly identical to those issued by the al-Obeidi investigative team.

Tags: iraq war, blackwater, murder

White House Intensifying Plans to Attack Iran

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 13:53:41 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

In his latest article in the New Yorker magazine, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reports there has been a significant increase in the tempo of planning for war with Iran inside the Bush administration. Hersh says the White House recently requested the Joint Chiefs of Staff redraw longstanding plans for a possible attack. Hersh also reports the Bush administration's rationale for bombing Iran has shifted from Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program to Iran's role in Iraq.

The Bush administration is approaching its last year in the White House. As the clock ticks towards 2008, speculation grows over whether President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney will indeed launch a widely feared attack on Iran.

Tags: iran, iraq war, united states, bush administration, seymour hersh

$190 billion more, for the wars

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 23:08:40 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked Congress Wednesday to approve nearly $190 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2008, increasing initial projections by more than a third.

A group of anti-war protesters in the hearing room cheered at several points during Byrd's speech, including when the West Virginia Democrat asked Gates whether America was more secure "as a result of this massive, astronomical investment."

"I believe the answer is crystal clear. We are not!" Byrd said.

Democrats say they plan to use the spending request as leverage to bring troops home, although they lack a veto-proof majority to do so.

To date, Congress has appropriated about $450 billion for the war in Iraq, and $127 billion for Afghanistan.

Tags: iraq war, robert gates, congress, democrats, budget, war expenses

The War on Terror Is the Leading Cause of Terrorism

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 18:39:28 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks:

It's official: A new report shows that the U.S. has made the world more dangerous -- not just for Americans, but for everyone.

By Kim Sengupta and Patrick Cockburn, from The Independent

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Innocent people across the world are now paying the price of the "Iraq effect," with the loss of hundreds of lives directly linked to the invasion and occupation by American and British forces.

An authoritative U.S. study of terrorist attacks after the invasion in 2003 contradicts the repeated denials of George Bush and Tony Blair that the war is not to blame for an upsurge in fundamentalist violence worldwide. The research is said to be the first to attempt to measure the "Iraq effect" on global terrorism.

It found that the number killed in jihadist attacks around the world has risen dramatically since the Iraq war began in March 2003. The study compared the period between 11 September 2001 and the invasion of Iraq with the period since the invasion. The count -- excluding the Arab-Israel conflict -- shows the number of deaths due to terrorism rose from 729 to 5,420. As well as strikes in Europe, attacks have also increased in Chechnya and Kashmir since the invasion.

Tags: war on terror, iraq war, jihad, terror, bush administration

Iraq on My Mind

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 16:46:05 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.zmag.org

Iraq on My Mind

by Dahr Jamail

Having spent a fair amount of time in occupied Iraq, I now find living in the United States nothing short of a schizophrenic experience. Life in Iraq was traumatizing. It was impossible to be there and not be affected by apocalyptic levels of violence and suffering, unimaginable in this country.

Here, for most Americans, you can choose to ignore what our government is doing in Iraq. It's as simple as choosing to go to a website other than this one.

The longer the occupation of Iraq continues, the more conscious I grow of the disparity, the utter disjuncture, between our two worlds.

In Iraq things have grown exponentially worse since then. Recently, the World Health Organization announced that 70% of Iraqis do not have access to clean water and 80% "lack effective sanitation."

I have a checking account with money in it; 54% of Iraqis now live on less than $1 a day.

Tags: iraq war, united states

US House votes for troop pullout

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 01:05:05 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

US House votes for troop pullout

Some Republicans have broken ranks with the President on Iraq

The United States House of Representatives has voted in favour of pulling most combat troops out of Iraq by April next year.

The legislation calls for the Pentagon to begin withdrawing combat troops within four months.

The vote comes despite President George W Bush's threat to veto any timetable.

Correspondents say the House of Representatives, controlled by the Democrats, is hoping to pressure the Senate to approve a similar timeline.

It is the third time this year the House has voted to end US military involvement in Iraq.

Two previous efforts either failed in the Senate or were vetoed by President Bush.

Tags: iraq war, united states, withdrawal

US Iraq chief warns of long war

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 01:17:35 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

US Iraq chief warns of long war

Gen Petraeus took over as head of US forces in Iraq in January

Petraeus interview

The head of US forces in Iraq, Lt Gen David Petraeus, has told the BBC that fighting the insurgency is a "long term endeavour" which could take decades.

Speaking to the BBC's John Simpson in Baquba, Gen Petraeus said there was evidence that the recent troops surge was producing gains on the ground.

But he warned that US forces were engaged in a "tough fight" which will get "harder before it gets easier".

His comments come as US calls for a rapid troop withdrawal gather strength.

Tags: iraq war, usa, armed forces, david petraeus, withdrawal

'Virtual Iraq' Helps Shocked Soldiers

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 19:56:19 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Iraq War veterans who returned home and showed the signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, are being treated with a "virtual war sim". Looks like they finally find a use of those psychopatologic bloody video games. I wonder if there is also a therapy for the dickheads who talk like a warmonger, play that idiotic war simulations in their homes (without having an idea of what war really is), defending Neocon strategies, championing Iraq War, so showing "pre-traumatic behaviour disorder". Rob Woolard from AFP reports:

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

Feb. 20, 2007 — Traumatized U.S. soldiers are being treated for post-war psychological disorders by going out on patrol in a computer-generated "virtual Iraq," experts told a conference.

Skip Rizzo, a psychologist at the University of Southern California, has helped create a program that simulates life in the war zone for Iraq veterans suffering from conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The ground-breaking treatment allows soldiers to experience the sights, sounds and even the smells of a war-zone, courtesy of wrap-around goggles linked to a startlingly realistic virtual world.

The idea is to re-introduce veterans to the experiences that have inflicted mental scars until gradually they are no longer haunted by the memories, a long-established therapeutic technique known as "exposure therapy."

Tags: iraq war, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychology, war, video games, veterans

Iraq Is Not Vietnam. It is Stalingrad

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 17:57:29 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.leanleft.com

Iraq Is Not Vietnam. It is Stalingrad

Iraq is George W. Bush’s Stalingrad: one theater out of many in a larger conflict that comes to define, erroneously, the totality of the conflict for the political leadership. Fortunately for the world, Hitler fixated on taking and holding Stalingrad and it cost him one quarter o more of his Eastern forces. It would be a tragedy if Bush’s and the conservatives movement’s fixation on Iraq and Iran were to allow Al Qaeda to emerge stronger from 9/11 than they were before. Unfortunately, that is precisely what is happening. And no amount of “will” can change that.

Tags: iraq war, bush administration, al qaeda

Scrambling to Frame Iran

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 22:40:54 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks:

Indeed, the Bush administration's sudden focus on Iran's role in Iraq may simply be an effort to provoke an Iranian reaction that could then become an excuse for war. Whatever the reason, the motivation for blaming Iran must be pretty strong, given how much effort the U.S. government is putting into promoting such weak evidence.

Clip Source: www.antiwar.com

Scrambling to Frame Iran

by Stephen Zunes

Faced with growing public opposition to the U.S. war in Iraq, the Bush administration has been desperately trying to divert attention to Iran. Washington has gone so far as to make a series of dubious and unfounded charges that blame the Iranian government for the difficulties facing American forces fighting the Iraqi insurgency.

Despite the absence of any credible reports of Iranian involvement in attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq, President George W. Bush last month formally authorized U.S. forces to "kill or capture" suspected Iranian agents in Iraq. "It makes sense that if somebody's trying to harm our troops, or stop us from achieving our goal," Bush said , "that we will stop them." It is unclear how U.S. occupation forces will be able to consistently discern the many thousands of ordinary Iranians who come to Iraq on business or for religious pilgrimages from these alleged agents they are authorized to kill. But the U.S. authorization does appear to effectively grant a license to assassinate Iranian officials who serve in various diplomatic functions. Heavily armed American forces have already seized several Iranian diplomats over strong protests of both the Iranian and Iraqi governments.

Tags: iran, iraq war, united states, bush administration

If Not Now, When?

Sat, 13 Jan 2007 14:58:25 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: "Could the rest of our nation deal with everyone in 10 major cities killed and every person in 12 states wounded, if 216,000 doctors had left the U.S. in the last three years, and just last year 3,000 doctors were kidnapped and 800 killed; with our roads, schools, and housing falling apart; with three times as many people out of work as during the Great Depression; with unknown horrors to come from depleted uranium?"

Clip Source: mrzine.monthlyreview.org

If Not Now, When?

Passing the grim marker of 3,000 U.S. troops killed in Iraq briefly focused Americans' attention on the war. But we live in a big country with lots of malls.

To be sure, the death of 3,000 soldiers is tragic and sickening, yet we are a nation of over 300 million and most families have not lost a loved one. Even with some 32,000 G.I.'s requiring medical evacuation for wounds, most Americans still do not personally know a casualty of this war.

But what if our fellow citizens were killed and wounded at the same rate as people in Iraq? Here's the math.

Last fall, the British medical journal Lancet published a study done by researchers from Johns Hopkins University estimating that the midrange number of Iraqis dead "as a consequence of the war" was about 2.5 percent of that country's population, or roughly 655,000 people. Over 90% of those died from violence.

Comparable casualties in our country would mean that every person in Atlanta, Denver, Boston, Seattle, Milwaukee, Fort Worth, Baltimore, San Francisco, Dallas and Philadelphia would be dead. Every. Single. Person.

And we are just now getting serious about cutting off money for this war?

Besides that unimaginable death toll, every person in Vermont, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada, Kansas, Mississippi, Iowa, Oregon, South Carolina, and Colorado would be wounded. Every. Single. Person.

Would that be the point we stopped politely asking our Congress members to please end the war and began taking over their offices in every state in the union?

And what if, in nightmare America, when you turned on the tap, you got a thin stream of sick water; there was no reliable electricity to cool the desert heat or preserve food; no proper hospitals or rehab services to help the wounded become productive members of society once again?

Tags: iraq war, united states

Blame for Iraq Extends Far Beyond the GOP

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 18:02:42 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Blame for Iraq Extends Far Beyond the GOP

It's dangerous to allow history to be written that it was "the Republicans" who got us into Iraq -- a lot of America's mushy moderate media and political establishment thought the invasion was a great idea at the time.

Tags: iraq war, elections, gop, media, political establishment, united states, politics

Rumsfeld: No one anticipated insurgency's strength

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:19:24 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Rumsfeld: No one anticipated insurgency's strength

(CNN) -- Donald Rumsfeld's Iraqi war plan worked beautifully for three weeks. U.S. troops quickly deposed Saddam Hussein and captured Baghdad with a relatively small force and with lightning speed.

But with Iraq on the verge of civil war three years later, the secretary of defense now admits that no one was well-prepared for what would happen after major combat ended.

Tags: donald rumsfeld, iraq war