Clipmarks | kmcolo's 'iraq war' clips

Blackwater: The Christian Right's Private Army

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:45:52 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo
clipper's remarks: The shock troops of Armageddon

You could not miss Erik Prince this week. The founder and top gun of Blackwater usually keeps a low media profile. But there he was all over the place, in a carefully orchestrated campaign to put the best face on a bad situation.

General Petraeus himself has been guarded by private contractors in Iraq.

it sends a message that the United States military is essentially a subservient player to a corporate army in Iraq.

When Hillary Clinton's husband was in the White House, he was an aggressive supporter of the privatization of the war machine.

what I think is more interesting is Erik Prince's connection to radical religious right organizations.

I believe that Erik Prince is an ideological foot soldier. And I do believe that he's a Christian supremacist.

I believe that these men do have an agenda that very closely reflects adherence to a sort of Crusader doctrine.

Tags: moyers, podcast, christian conservatives, military

Iraq War Commentary: The Calm of Failure

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:58:13 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo

Clip Source: www.mcclatchydc.com

Four and a half years after this president ordered the invasion of Iraq in a gross act of arrogance and ignorance based on faulty, bogus and politically twisted intelligence — and after repeatedly changing the rationales and objectives of the war as each has failed in turn — we’re going to continue this war because George W. Bush is incapable of admitting that he was wrong, wrong, wrong.

When our president talks of peace returning to the streets of Baghdad, he mistakes the silence of empty, abandoned homes and sectarian cleansing for progress. He confuses the segregation of Shia and Sunni, each in their own ghettos behind tall concrete walls, for progress. More than 3 million Iraqis have been driven from their homes and neighborhoods into exile, internal or external, and this he calls success.

Tags: iraq war, bush administration

Military Coup Planned for Iraq?

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 19:09:48 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo

Clip Source: www.juancole.com

A rumor is circulating among well-connected and formerly high-level Iraqi bureaucrats in exile in places like Damascus that a military coup is being prepared for Iraq. I received the following from a reliable, knowledgeable contact. There is no certitude that this plan can or will be implemented. That it is being discussed at high levels seems highly likely.

"There is serious talk of a military commission (majlis `askari) to take over the government. The parties would be banned from holding positions, and all the ministers would be technocrats, so to speak. . . [The writer indicates that attempts have been made to recruit cabinet members from the ranks of expatriate technocrats.]

The six-member board or commission would be composed on non-political former military personnel who are presently not part of the government OR the military establishment, such as it is in Iraq at the moment. It is said that the Americans are supporting this behind the scenes.

Tags: iraq, iraq war

Iraq Cost = 2.68 Googles

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 12:14:29 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo
clipper's remarks: The Bush administration should have been forced to pay for this war in a way that was consistent with their ideology. On the financial markets. It long ago would have been rendered just another failed Bush business. But we are forced to continue to pay for his psychological issues with his dad.

Clip Source: finance.yahoo.com

GOOGLE (NasdaqGS)

Last Trade:

524.98

Market Cap:

163.56B

Clip Source: costofwar.com

The War in Iraq Costs

$437,002,827,097

Tags: iraq, google

GOP: Ron Paul 'embarrassing'

Thu, 17 May 2007 16:08:25 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo

Clip Source: electioncentral.tpmcafe.com

GOP Chairs Want Less Candidates At Debates — And Definitely Less Ron Paul
The Hotline reports that several Republican state chairs are hoping to cut out the lesser Presidential candidates from future debates — and one chair from a large state specifically cited Ron Paul, calling his behavior "embarrassing."

Clip Source: www.ronpaul2008.com

The war in Iraq was sold to us with false information. The area is more dangerous now than when we entered it. We destroyed a regime hated by our direct enemies, the jihadists, and created thousands of new recruits for them.

Privacy and Personal Liberty
The biggest threat to your privacy is the government. We must drastically limit the ability of government to collect and store data regarding citizens’ personal matters. (more...)

Property Rights and Eminent Domain
We must stop special interests from violating property rights and literally driving families from their homes, farms and ranches. (more...)

Tags: politics, election2008, gop, republicans

'You Got A Problem With Democracy?'

Tue, 08 May 2007 16:24:11 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo

Clip Source: www.talkingpointsmemo.com

[Video]

Tags: politics, war, iraq

Will the Republican Party Survive Bush?

Thu, 03 May 2007 18:22:36 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo
clipper's remarks: A question asked by none other than the godfather of the modern American conservative movement, William F. Buckley Jr.

Clip Source: article.nationalreview.com

The political problem of the Bush administration is grave, possibly beyond the point of rescue.

Meanwhile, George Tenet, former head of the CIA, has just published a book which seems to demonstrate that there was one part ignorance, one part bullheadedness, in the high-level discussions before war became policy.

It is simply untrue that we are making decisive progress in Iraq.

How can the Republican party, headed by a president determined on a war he can’t see an end to, attract the support of a majority of the voters?

There are grounds for wondering whether the Republican party will survive this dilemma.

Tags: republican, politics, conservatives

Losing the War

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 13:34:30 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo
clipper's remarks: “Fighting Al Qaeda involves a security side and an ideological side. The security side is successful, but the other side of combating Al Qaeda is ideological and it is not successful.”

al Qaeda's goal here is fairly clear. The present world power structure is largely built on the backs of a U.S./Saudi agreement of sorts wrt oil and investments. The weakest link is in Saudi Arabia (closer to the radicalized population) and that weakness is now being exploited. They believe if they take the present Saudi government down then they bring the U.S. down with it. Energy independence never looked so good (and the war in Iraq never looked so stupid).

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, April 27 — Saudi security officials said Friday that they had broken up a vast terrorist ring, arresting 172 men who planned to blow up oil installations, attack public officials and military posts, and storm a prison to free terrorist suspects.

Officials said that the suspects had trained abroad, in Somalia, Afghanistan and especially Iraq. The chaos in Iraq has fueled radical ideology among the region’s youth, while providing an environment for militants to train

Some suspects had begun training to use weapons and others had been sent abroad to learn to pilot aircraft, though the authorities did not say what, specifically, the pilot training was intended for.

“We have never actually said we have reached an end,” General Turki said in an interview. “We always confirm that security forces’ efforts are not enough. Not unless you really tackle the ideology that is inspiring these people in order to be involved in these activities.”

Tags: saudi arabia, al qaeda, war on terror, iraq

Brzezinski: Presidents & U.S. Foreign Policy

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 12:59:34 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo
clipper's remarks: "The next 20 months will be crucial"
I'm not a praying man, but I might start.

Clip Source: www.npr.org

Washington has squandered its first chance at global leadership, says Brzezinski, who was national security adviser under President Jimmy Carter.

Brzezinski tells Robert Siegel that George H.W. Bush merits a B, while Bill Clinton receives a C and the current president, George W. Bush, an F.

There is still opportunity for America to regain its prestige, Brzezinki says, but he warns that the next 20 months will be crucial. If the U.S. war in Iraq worsens and if it expands to Iran, then Brzezinski warns the era of American global pre-eminence in the world will prove to be historically very short.

Tags: politics, washington, foreign policy

Is Israel Falling Apart?

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 12:24:35 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo
clipper's remarks: This passes for analysis? That a nation has political corruption is hardly the basis on which to come to the conclusion that it is falling apart. Take a closer look and you see at the problems are being policed, prosecuted, and rooted out by the system. Now take a look at what is happening in the U.S. (U.S. attorney scandal, Iraq war, New Orleans) and you can begin to worry about us.

Clip Source: hnn.us

Foreign observers of Israel tend to focus so intently on the dangers the country faces from its Arab neighbours that they have largely missed an astonishing story that has been accelerating over the past few months: that of the Jewish state’s possible move toward internal collapse.

There certainly has never been such a deep crisis of leadership in the country that touts itself as the only democracy in the Middle East.

Tags: israel

2002 Barack Obama Interview: Against Iraq War

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 13:43:09 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo
clipper's remarks: Obama in an 2002 interview comes out against the Iraq war.

Though I would say his thinking is not exceptional (no insult, just that any educated person can think on the fly and sound cogent) he stands in such contrast to the current resident of the White House as to sound like a savior.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: obama, election2008, iraq war

Video: Interview With Christian Priest in Bagdad

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 12:44:54 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo
clipper's remarks: "I don't think the West represents Christianity... They represent Capitalism..."

Clip Source: aliveinbaghdad.org

After the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Christians have felt themselves increasingly under attack. During Saddam Hussein’s time, brutal acts were carried out against all Iraqis, but Saddam only permitted atrocities at his whim.

Without the security of Saddam’s strong central state and intelligence apparatus, sectarian, religious, and ethnic in-fighting has sprung up in much of Iraq. The Christian community, already small and isolated, primarily in Northern Iraq and Baghdad, has grown even more worried. They have faced a surge of attacks targeting them, attempting to push them from the country.

These attacks have been all too successful, today Iraq’s Christian community is almost entirely devastated. Most of them have fled to Jordan and Syria, many seeking a path to safety amongst other Christians in the West.

This has also led to the devastation of two of Iraq’s oldest idigenous communities, the Assyrians and Chaldeans, who are both primarily Christian communities now.

Tags: iraq, iraq war, baghdad, religion, christian

Bush: Et tu soldiers?

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 16:41:55 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo

Clip Source: www.tpmmuckraker.com

Despite its incompetence and failures, there was one thing that the administration was always good at: the staged event. But, in a sign of how far their fortunes have sunk, they can't even do that right any more.

The president's handlers did all they could to make it go well. Soldiers were prevented from speaking to reporters in order "to ensure that there would be no discordant notes," as the Post puts it. Bush even made an effort to appear low-key, a tactic, according to his aides, designed "to reflect the serious situation." But, still, it didn't go well.

Soldiers being soldiers, those who met the commander in chief Thursday saluted smartly and applauded politely. But it was hardly the boisterous, rock-star reception Bush typically gets at military bases. During his lunchtime speech, the soldiers were attentive but quiet. Not counting the introduction of dignitaries, Bush was interrupted by applause just three times in 30 minutes -- once when he talked about a previous Medal of Honor winner from Fort Benning, again when he pledged to win in Iraq and finally when he repeated his intention to expand the Army.

Note: Despite the fact that The New York Times and LA Times observed the same restrained reaction, the AP went with the headline: "Bush cheered at Fort Benning."

Tags: bush, iraq war, military, iraq, war

Can Democrats overcome old habits?

Sat, 23 Dec 2006 20:52:57 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo
clipper's remarks: My current feeling on the Democrats is running 50:50 on their ability to distance themselves from the corporations and their pockets. There needs to be some deep electoral reform for that to happen though. In my opinion one of the first things that should happen is free airtime (TV & Radio) since the big bucks are often taken in for that purpose alone.

Clip Source: www.salon.com

But in the current political environment, the opportunity to rebuild a governing majority of the center-left could evaporate without being realized. National opinion remains angry, apprehensive and volatile. Having turned sharply against George W. Bush within months after his second inauguration -- initially reacting to Social Security privatization, then to the Katrina disaster, and finally to the failure of the war in Iraq and the stunning pageant of corruption on Capitol Hill -- disappointed voters could just as easily discard the Democrats in 2007. If the newly empowered opposition fails to honor its commitments, that is exactly what will happen.

Many if not most Americans have repeatedly expressed an underlying doubt that either party can still serve the public interest. Those feelings are especially prevalent among the independent voters whose support was critical to the recent Democratic victory. To dispel such cynicism and fulfill the expectations raised by their anticorruption campaign, the new Democratic congressional leaders must quickly deliver real government accountability as well as substantial reorganization of their own institutions. While voters may understand that major changes in healthcare, education and environmental stewardship will be difficult to enact under this administration, they will not have much patience for any evasion on reform of Congress.

Whether Democrats can overcome the old habits that have often made them inarticulate and inert, however, remains to be seen. To put it kindly, the signs are mixed.

Tags: politics

Bush v. Reality

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 00:23:38 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo

Clip Source: talkingpointsmemo.com

Last week, we discovered that the Bush administration was refusing to declassify data on violence in Iraq. Soon after that the Pentagon released a report which cut the data in its own ways but didn't provide raw numbers. Unfortunately, the violence is so bad there's no way to hide it. Still, we know that numbers showing the real levels of violence in Iraq aren't available.

It made us wonder: how many times has the administration attempted to suppress government studies, statistics or other forms of once-public information that don't jibe with its policy? We put out the call -- and readers responded.

We've tallied over 20 examples so far from the past six years, and we'll likely break two dozen by the end of the day. Suggestions keep coming in. In areas as diverse as unemployment, health, climate change and the Iraq war, the administration has defunded, classified, or otherwise killed the release of facts that run contrary to its endorsed policies.

Do you know of others? Let us know.

Tags: bush administration