Clipmarks | invictus's 'war' clips

Bush hails 'major shift' in Iraq

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:05:04 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Huh, "major shift"? Sounds very intriguing.

President George W Bush has declared a "major strategic shift" in Iraq following the US troop surge.

He said the US now held the initiative and was looking to deliver a "crippling blow" to al-Qaeda in the country.

US troop levels in Iraq are now due to be reduced by about 20,000 by July, but Mr Bush said after that, the "drawdown" process would be frozen.

Then, he said, senior commander General David Petraeus would have "all the time he needs" to assess the next step.

Gen Petraeus had called for a 45-day "period of consolidation and evaluation" after July, before any more troops left.

Tags: iraq, war, united states, george bush

Fixing Iraq's window

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:12:04 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.truthdig.com

Tags: iraq, war, cartoons

Iraq denounces Turkish offensive

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 18:18:27 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Turkey says it is defending itself from rebel attacks

The Iraqi government has denounced a Turkish incursion into northern Iraq in some of the strongest terms heard since the operation began last week.

In a statement, the Iraqi cabinet expressed its "rejection and condemnation" of the operation.

It called on Ankara to withdraw its troops immediately.

Snow was impeding operations, Turkey's military said, as fighting entered a fifth day and was said to be close to a rebel base in the Zap valley.

The Turkish military says it has killed 153 rebels and lost 19 soldiers since the cross-border attack began on Thursday night.

The rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) say they have killed 81 soldiers. Neither report can be independently verified.

Clashes are also reported to be continuing in the mountainous area of Hakurk.

Tags: turkey, iraq, kurds, pkk, war

Russia pledges support to Serbia

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:09:09 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Looks like Kosovo crisis gonna deepen soon. The likelihood of a new "war in Europe" is already being discussed by analysts. That's why Russia's position as a "key actor" seems very important at the moment.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Russia has emerged as Serbia's strongest ally

The man tipped to become the next Russian president has vowed his country will "stick to" its support for Serbia in opposing Kosovo's independence.

Deputy PM Dmitry Medvedev was in Belgrade for talks with Serb President Boris Tadic and PM Vojislav Kostunica.

Although its focus is mainly economic, the visit is seen as a sign of support for Serbia's view on Kosovo, the BBC's Bethany Bell in Belgrade says.

Kosovo's declaration of independence sparked protests in Serbia last week.

"We proceed from the assumption that Serbia is a united country, whose jurisdiction covers the whole of its territory, and we shall stick to this principled stand," Mr Medvedev said during his meeting with Mr Kostunica, Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported.

Mr Medvedev's comments, and the timing of his visit, will be seen as evidence that Russia's foreign policy is unlikely to change once serving President Vladimir Putin steps down.

Tags: kosovo, balkans, serbia, russia, europe, war

The "Out-of-control" Military Machine

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 03:02:04 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks:

Citizens must fight the militarism that's choking our democracy. Given the power and money of the military lobby, we're not likely to get any encouragement from either party or any presidential candidates, at least not at first. But we can force the issue into the dialogue and remember who listened and who didn't. Call it politics for the long run, the politics of hope with a sharper edge.

Clip Source: www.thenation.com

Americans are worried about the impending recession and the Wall Street crisis, as well as the exhilarating and unpredictable presidential contest. But another threatening force is bearing down on the nation: our out-of-control military machine. The ever-voracious Pentagon is using this fragile moment as cover for seizing an even greater share of the nation's dwindling resources--trillions more in federal indebtedness to fight a phantom "war on terror." In constant dollars, next year's proposed military budget will be the largest since World War II--around $700 billion.

Tags: military, economy, united states, war, recession

"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

Iraq's Kurdish leader snubs Rice

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 23:16:31 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Turkish troops have been massed on the Iraqi border

The head of Iraq's Kurdish regional government has refused to meet the US secretary of state because of the US position on Turkish cross-border raids.

Massoud Barzani had been scheduled to meet Condoleezza Rice in Baghdad, but withdrew "as a sign of protest" after several villages were bombed on Sunday.

The air strikes on alleged positions of PKK separatist rebels were followed by an incursion by 300 troops on Tuesday.

They moved 3km (1.9 miles) over Iraq's border, but later reportedly withdrew.

The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, has said almost 2,000 people in northern Iraq have fled their homes in recent days as a result of the Turkish operations.

Speaking to reporters in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, the prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Nechirvan Barzani, said its president had refused to meet Ms Rice because of Washington's tolerance of the recent Turkish raids.

Tags: iraq, turkey, kurds, pkk, united states, war, condoleezza rice, middle east

Iraq complains about Turkey bombing

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:27:34 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: No opposing voices here. Cheerful Turkish media behaves like "the voice of the military".

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Iraq's parliament on Monday condemned the bombing of suspected Kurdish rebel bases by Turkish jets — an attack that seemed to carry tacit U.S. approval — and denounced the raid as an outrageous violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

As many as 50 Turkish fighter jets were involved in the airstrikes Sunday in the Qandil mountains of northern Iraq in the biggest attack against Turkish Kurd rebels in years, Turkish media said. An Iraqi official said the planes attacked several villages, killing one woman. The rebels said two civilians and five rebels died.

"We condemn this outrageous attack on Iraq's sovereignty," Iraq's parliament said in a statement.

Turkey said the attack was aimed at rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and that U.S. intelligence had been used in the bombing. The PKK has battled for autonomy for southeastern Turkey for more than two decades and uses strongholds in northern Iraq for cross-border strikes.

Tags: turkey, iraq, pkk, kurds, militarism, war

America, America!

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:23:10 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: See the video clip at the source

Clip Source: mrzine.monthlyreview.org

Directed by KP Sasi and based on Kamaan Singh Dhami's anti-war song "American War Paar Da! (Check Out the American War!)," the 4-minute music video is a satirical but severe indictment of America's role in escalating world conflict. Originally written following the post-9/11 bombing of Afghanistan by the USA, and developed to address the occupation of Iraq, the song comments on various aspects of the American empire -- its stockpile of nuclear bombs, its cozy relation with fanatical and dictatorial regimes, and in fact, the very notion of American peace and liberty.

The song is set to the tune of the popular Sinhalese song "Surangini" and has English lyrics and a catchy chorus in Tamil. Dancing sometimes on Bush's shoulder, sometimes on the roof of Washington's White House, and sometimes in a colourful parade of children protesting against war, dancer Malavika Tara Mohanan embodies the indomitable spirit of resistance and satire.

Tags: music, united states, politics, satire, war

Turkey sends more troops to Iraq border

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 22:23:32 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Dozens of Turkish military vehicles streamed toward the Iraqi border with heavy artillery and ammunition Monday after Kurdish guerrillas killed a dozen soldiers and claimed to have captured eight in an intensifying crisis threatening to spill into Iraq.

Arab nations joined the U.S. and Europe in urging Turkey's government not to attack suspected guerrilla bases in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, while Turkish citizens rallied across the country demanding action against the rebels.

Iraq's president claimed the guerrillas would announce a cease-fire. But the rebels denied that, saying a cease-fire they declared in June was still in place.

With tensions worsening, the Turkish foreign minister said his government was pursuing a diplomatic solution to halt rebel operations out of havens in Iraq, but warned that it wanted to see results soon if an escalation in military action was to be avoided.

Tags: turkey, pkk, kurds, northern iraq, war, iraq

Turkey, Iraq in 'Kurd rebel deal'

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 23:17:13 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

PKK has been labelled a terrorist group by Turkey, the US and the EU

Turkey and Iraq have agreed on a deal to allow Turkish forces to cross into Iraq to pursue Kurdish rebels, media reports say.

A security accord would be signed on Thursday, an Iraqi official confirmed.

A deal was hammered out in talks between Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad Bolani and his Turkish counterpart Besir Atalay in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

Iraqi and Turkish officials confirmed the agreement would be signed on Thursday, but would not elaborate on the details.

Tags: turkey, iraq, kurds, pkk, war

1759: From the Warpath to the Plains of Abraham

Fri, 18 May 2007 22:40:49 GMT

clipped by: gingembre
clipper's remarks: From the teaching guide: "The National Battlefields Commission, in collaboration with the Virtual Museum of Canada, is presenting 1759: From the Warpath to the Plains of Abraham, a new recreational/instructional virtual reality challenge. This exciting interactive adventure sends out net surfers to the year 1759 to let them relive, alongside the French, British, Canadians and Amerindians, the ups and downs of a fight to the finish for the conquest of America, an outstanding episode of the country’s military history. "

This is a remarkable and fun way to learn some very important history pertaining to Canada, France, England, and the Amerindians, during a time when the French and British battled for control of America. Explore the site in either English or French!

Clip Source: 1759.ccbn-nbc.gc.ca

Tags: history, education, war, military, america, canada, england, france, amerindians

Is Bush Iraq-ing Iran?

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 19:45:45 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Pham Binh from MRZine writes in his latest article:

The Bush administration's goal is to roll back and contain Iran's influence in the Middle East. Military encirclement, saber-rattling, veiled threats, diplomatic isolation, provocations, and economic pressure are all means to this end.

So if regime change is not the aim, is war with Iran on the agenda?

Yes. The very success of the Bush administration's aggressive rollback and contain policy is what might lead to war. This requires some explanation.

Clip Source: mrzine.monthlyreview.org

U.N. sanctions. Talk of military action. Two aircraft carriers moved into the Persian Gulf. F-16s deployed to bases in Turkey. A public relations offensive to terrorize Americans into thinking a nuclear 9/11 is around the corner.

It's déjà vu all over again.

Is the Bush administration Iraq-ing Iran? Are they so stupid, arrogant, and insane that they would start another unwinnable war in the Middle East midway through the first one? Are they dusting off the pre-war script for Iraq, crossing out the Q's, and inserting N's instead?

So what is the politics of the increasing conflict between Washington and Tehran? What are the Bush administration's political goals? The goals become evident when we examine the means used to achieve them.

Tags: iran, middle east, usa, war

'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

King's Prophetic Vision

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 17:52:14 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: The Nation's editor Katrina vanden Heuvel, writes about Martin Luther King Jr's world vision.

Clip Source: www.thenation.com

Remembering Dr. King

Katrina vanden Heuvel

One of the great moral figures of our country, Martin Luther King Jr. was a correspondent for The Nation in the 1960s filing annual dispatches for the magazine on the state of civil rights until his murder in 1968.

In 1967, Dr. King traveled to Los Angeles under the auspices of The Nation and The Nation Institute to give the speech that would align the armies of the Civil Rights Movement with the rapidly expanding national protest against the Vietnam War. It was at this event where Dr. King came out, courageously, eloquently and unequivocally, for the first time, against US military involvement in Southeast Asia.

Today we are once again mired in an intractable and monstrous war overseas. In his speech at The Nation event, several weeks before his famous Riverside Church address in April, 1967, ("Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break the Silence") Dr. King painted a picture of a society 40 years ago that looks remarkably, starkly like the one we live in today. It is a moment to remember Dr. King's words about the broader casualties of war--casualties that go beyond the carnage of battle to the devastating costs of war at home. Casualties that include damage to social justice and racial equality and impose unbearable cost to free speech and dissent.

Forty years later, we are once again, as Dr. King said, "in an unthinkable position morally and politically..." Who of sane mind can look out over the current landscape in America and breathe easily? A rogue President is intent on escalating a war in the face of opposition by the people, the Congress and even most of his military.

Tags: martin luther king jr, politics, world, united states, war, rights