Clipmarks | masbury's 'iraq' clips

Iraqi man: I wish McCain had Iraqis tell about surge

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:34:33 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "Sami Rasouli is an ... Iraqi American who grew up in Najaf. He left Iraq in the late 1970s, eventually moving to the United States, and became a US citizen. In November 2004, nearly thirty years after leaving Iraq, Sami returned home to help rebuild his country."

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

As you and the audience, the viewers, and many Iraqis still remember, Mr. Biden, when he introduced the bill to the Congress last year to partition Iraq, now he came back on the ticket. So that was not a surprise for me, at least, because the surge has accomplished one of its objectives, that Iraq is ready to be partitioned, by expelling or displacing more than five million Iraqis within the country and outside of the country.

And most of those displaced people are Sunni, and they lived in the capital, the jewel of Mesopotamia, Baghdad, which is now a very depressed city, isolated by walls. Communities are segregated, and they have no way to move freely, unless they have their own badges from this community and another community. And the division is based on their background ethnically or religiously. It’s too bad for an Iraqi.

I wish yesterday Mr. McCain invited an average Iraqi family to attend and talk about the effect of the surge and the military operation

on Iraqi lives.

Tags: iraq, surge, mccain

Will Media ask Palin the tough questions?

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 06:23:21 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: What are her views on Iraq? She has expressed concern that we were there just for oil control, and that we had no clear plan - in contrast with McCain.
When will she be back in Alaska for her Monegan investigation deposition? The investigation is to be completed by October 31 - will it happen on schedule, or be delayed past election day by her campaigning?

Clip Source: talkingpointsmemo.com

1. As recently as 2006, Gov. Palin said she hadn't focused enough on Iraq to have a view on the surge. Just two weeks ago she told Philip Gourevitch that she wasn't sure we had a clear plan for what we were doing in Iraq and expressed concern that our real reason for being their might be to control oil supplies. Those comments may reflect a healthy skepticism about what we're doing in Iraq. But they put her in pretty sharp contrast to Sen. McCain's views. So what are her views and positions on Iraq?

2. The investigator appointed to probe Palin's firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan began trying to schedule a deposition with her last week. The investigator, Steve Branchflower, is charged with finishing his investigation by October 31st, which means he must depose Palin sometime over the next 8 weeks, presumably much sooner than later. So is she currently in contact with Branchflower, will she be returning to Alaska for the deposition, and when?

Tags: palin

McCain on Palin and Obama

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 06:11:16 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Be honest, now.

Clip Source: talkingpointsmemo.com

When asked about criticisms of Sarah Palin's readiness to serve as president, McCain responded: "If they want to go down that route, in all candor, she has far, far more experience than Senator Obama does."

Set aside the bravado. Can McCain possibly believe that? And if he does, what are we supposed to think of his own fitness to serve? Sen. Obama is certainly new on the national scene. But he's serving his fourth year in the US senate. He's run a successful national primary campaign. He's deeply versed on all the relevant policy issues. Palin has been the governor of one of the smallest states in the country (by pop.) for 18 months. As recently as 2006, she said she hadn't focused enough on Iraq to have an opinion one way or another about the surge. Even now, her off-hand comments about Iraq are completely at odds with Sen. McCain's.

it says a lot about McCain that he says it.

Tags: mccain, palin, obama

Maliki: No specific deadline, no agreement

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:58:12 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Bush spokesman disagrees

Clip Source: www.mcclatchydc.com

Maliki demands 'specifc deadline' for U.S. troop pullout

BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki said Monday there would be no security agreement between the United States and Iraq without an unconditional timetable for withdrawal — a direct challenge to the Bush administration, which insists that the timing for troop departure would be based on conditions on the ground.

"No pact or an agreement should be set without being based on full sovereignty, national common interests, and no foreign soldier should remain on Iraqi land, and there should be a specific deadline and it should not be open," Maliki told a meeting of tribal Sheikhs in Baghdad.

Maliki said that the United States and Iraq had agreed

on a fixed date, which is the end of 2011, to end any foreign presence on Iraqi soil

But the White House disputed Maliki's statement

"Any decisions on troops will be based on conditions on the ground in Iraq," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said

Tags: iraq

History of Western Civilization lost in Iraq

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:56:18 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "It was there, in what the Greeks called Mesopotamia, that life as we know it today began: there people first began to speculate on philosophy and religion, developed concepts of international trade, made ideas of beauty into tangible forms, and, above all developed the skill of writing." And US invaders stood by and watched as irreplaceable world history was hauled off by unarmed looters.

Clip Source: www.tomdispatch.com

The Past Destroyed: Five Years Later

On April 11, 12, 13, and 14, 2003, the United States Army and United States Marine Corps disgraced themselves and the country they represent in Baghdad, Iraq's capital city. Having invaded Iraq and accepted the status of a military occupying power, they sat in their tanks and Humvees, watching as unarmed civilians looted the Iraqi National Museum and burned down the Iraqi National Library and Archives as well as the Library of Korans of the Ministry of Religious Endowments. Their behavior was in violation of their orders, international law, and the civilized values of the United States. Far from apologizing for these atrocities or attempting to make amends, the United States government has in the past five years added insult to injury.

In 1258 AD the Mongols descended on Baghdad and pillaged its magnificent libraries

The world has never forgotten that medieval act of barbarism, just as it will never forget what the U.S. military unleashed

in 2003

Tags: war, iraq

"War in Iraq has become a total disaster"

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:46:01 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "a devastated population in an obliterated nation lacking in the most essential supplies and services; a nation where death continues on a shopping spree"

Clip Source: sage

'The seemingly endless war in Iraq has become a total disaster

4,000 U.S. soldiers have been lost in battle and tens of thousands injured. In excess of one million Iraqi civilians are dead due to civil strife unleashed by the invasion

U.S. Treasury is drained and the steep decline in respect for the United States around the world is just beginning to manifest

The United States political establishment responds with collective denial on a scale that's incomprehensible

Republican presidential candidate John McCain who makes the bizarre claim that U.S. is "surrendering" with victory in clear sight. McCain touts the surge without noting that 4.0 million Iraqis are "displaced from their homes."

ten percent of Iraq's population is either dead or injured and there are 5.0 million Iraqi orphans

pathological view

claims the "surge' is a success in the context of a devastated population in an obliterated nation lacking in the most essential supplies and services

death continues on a shopping spree

Tags: iraq, war

Bushco wrote war pitch BEFORE knowing intel

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:39:28 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: National Security Archive reports the Bush-Cheney White paper "justifying" the invasion was developed a full three months in advance of the intelligence data and analysis that should have served as the basis for that justification; then doctored NIE report to agree with their own White Paper. Only imminent threat mentioned was the possibility of Iraqi terrorism in USA if Saddam regime was threatened - but Bushco deleted it before giving the report to Congress.

Clip Source: www.opednews.com

the Bush-Cheney White paper "justifying" the invasion was developed a full three months in advance of the intelligence data and analysis that should have served as the basis for that justification. The National Security Archive summed it up succinctly:

"The U.S. intelligence community buckled sooner in 2002 than previously reported to Bush administration pressure for data justifying an invasion of Iraq,

"The documents suggest that the public relations push for war came before the intelligence analysis, which then conformed to public positions taken by Pentagon and White House officials. For example, a July 2002 draft of the "White Paper" ultimately issued by the CIA in October 2002 actually pre-dated the National Intelligence Estimate that the paper purportedly summarized, but which Congress did not insist on until September 2002." National Security Archive in "Scoop' Independent News, August 24, 2008.

4.0 million Iraqis are "displaced

ten percent of Iraq

dead or injured

5.0 million

orphan

Tags: bush, war, iraq

Why McCain is more dangerous than Bush

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:06:43 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Caught up in his fear that a military failure would encourage America's enemies, McCain can see no alternative to military victory, no matter what the cost.

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

During the hottest days of the Cold War, Gen. Thomas Power headed the Strategic Air Command, whose nuclear-armed B-52s were meant to deter the Soviet Union. General Power, like many of the Air Force brass at the time, believed that nuclear war with the Soviets was inevitable. He thought the United States would do better to fight that war sooner rather than later and believed we could emerge victorious. "At the end of the war," he argued in 1960, "if there are two Americans and one Russian, we win!"

Counter-insurgency and nuclear obliteration are poles apart, I know. But McCain's insistence on "winning in Iraq," remaining there "until Iraq is secure," and "bomb-bomb-bombing Iran" reveal the same mindset that made General Power so dangerous. Caught up in his fear that a military failure would encourage America's enemies, McCain can see no alternative to military victory, no matter what the cost. This

could prove extremely self-destructive in a commander in chief.

Tags: mccain, politics

Foreign policy experts: Get US out of Iraq.

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:41:16 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Annual survey of experts from left and right.

Clip Source: thinkprogress.org

REPORT: 69 percent of foreign policy experts favor redeployment from Iraq.

Today, the Center for American Progress and Foreign Policy released their annual “Terrorism Index,” a survey of more than 100 U.S. foreign policy experts, conservatives and liberals alike, on developments in international affairs. Some highlights:

– 80 percent say that the U.S. has focused too much on the war in Iraq and not enough on Afghanistan.

– 69 percent recommend that the majority of U.S. forces in Iraq be redeployed in the next 18 months, up one percent from last year.

– Zero percent say Iraq is most likely to become the next al Qaeda stronghold; 51 percent say Pakistan will be.

– 81 percent say U.S. policy towards Iran has negatively impacted national security.

Tags: war, iraq

Sunnis, armed by US, disarmed by Iraq govt

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:28:40 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Awakening Councils, who fought al-Qaida, not trusted by Shi'ite govt.

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

BAGHDAD — The Shiite-led government is cracking down on U.S.-backed Sunni Arab fighters in one of Iraq's most turbulent regions, arresting some leaders, disarming dozens of men and banning them from manning checkpoints except alongside official security forces.

The moves in Diyala province reflect mixed views on a movement that began in 2007 among Sunni tribes in western Iraq who revolted against al-Qaida in Iraq and joined the Americans in the fight against the terrorist network.

U.S. officials credit the rise of such groups, known variously as Awakening Councils, Sons of Iraq and Popular Committees, with helping rout al-Qaida.

But Iraq's government is suspicious of such groups, fearing their decision to break with the insurgency was a short-term tactic to gain U.S. money and support. The government fears they will eventually turn their guns against Iraq's majority Shiites.

America has spent

$200 million on salaries, equipment and training for the fighters, which now number nearly 100,000

Tags: iraq

War and foreign policy [truly outstanding!]

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:33:37 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: The best lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan are not about Bush failures, nor about a need to change the military, but rather about the nature of foreign policy; challenges the shibboleths of left and right. Andrew Bacevich, professor of history and international relations at Boston University, retired from the US Army with the rank of colonel. This piece is adapted from his new book, The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism.

Clip Source: www.atimes.com

The four lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan boil down to this: Events have exposed as illusory American pretensions to having mastered war. Even today, war is hardly more subject to human control than the tides or the weather. Simply trying harder - investing ever larger sums in even more advanced technology, devising novel techniques, or even improving the quality of American generalship - will not enable the United States to evade that reality.

the problem lies less with the army

than with the requirements that we have imposed on our soldiers

America doesn't need a bigger army. It needs a smaller - that is, more modest - foreign policy, one that assigns soldiers missions that are consistent with their capabilities. Modesty implies giving up on the illusions of grandeur to which the end of the Cold War and then 9/11 gave rise. It also means reining in the imperial presidents who expect the army to make good on those illusions

Tags: foreign policy, war

16 things McCain supports and formerly opposed

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 03:04:23 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Perhaps you can think of more.

Clip Source: am1090.wordpress.com

He’s also FOR Off shore drilling, after being against it for 26 YEARS.

He was Against Torture, now he’s for it.

Against Warrantless Wiretapping now he’s for it

Against Tax Cuts then for tax cuts, then against tax cuts and now is FOR RAISING FICA taxes

Against Privitizing Social Security and now he’s FOR it

FOR protecting Abortion Rights now he’s against it

Against storing Nuclear Waste at Yucca Mountain now he’s for it

Against engaging in diplomacy with Hamas now he’s for it.

Against diplomacy in Syria now he’s for it.

Against going after Al Qaeda in Pakistan now he’s for it.

Against talking to Iran and now he’s for it.

Against talking to North Korea and now he’s for it

For Liberman-Warner to curb Global Warming now he’s Against it.

Thought we were on the RIGHT COURSE in Iraq in 2004 now says he’s always been against Rumsfelds strategy in Iraq.

For Affirmative Action until he was against it

For the troops until he voted

against

R&R at home after a one year deployment and Senator Webb’s GI Bill.

Tags: mccain, politics

"Could we bring in nuclear material... pretend [it's] Iraqi?"

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 03:31:22 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Wow! Along the lines of the forged letter claiming WMD were in Iraq: Former Marine Intel specialist and chief weapons inspector for the UN in Iraq Scott Ritter, tells a story from a trusted Iraqi insider about an interrogation shortly after the US invasion. Spirited into the Green Zone, "Mohammed" is interviewed by a Army LTC identified only as "Dave."

Clip Source: www.truthdig.com

The final line of questioning focused on weapons of mass destruction. Dave was on his feet, pacing before Mohammed, before turning to him and asking straight out, “Where are the weapons of mass destruction?” Mohammed, who had intimate knowledge of certain aspects of the Iraqi WMD effort, replied straight back: “There are no WMD in Iraq.”

Dave continued pacing back and forth in front of Mohammed. “My president,” he said, “is in trouble. Can you help him?”

Mohammed was taken aback by the question. “Excuse me?” he asked. “Could you repeat yourself?”

Dave sat down next to the Iraqi. “George Bush is in trouble. Our people did not find any WMD in Iraq. Can you help us?”

Mohammed looked back at Dave. “How?”

“Can we prepare something for that? We could bring in some nuclear material from the former Soviet Union, and pretend they are Iraqi.”

Mohammed, stunned by the unexpected nature of the request, indicated that such a ploy could be easily uncovered by forensic examination

Stacey will show you out

Tags: intel, iraq, wmd, impeachment

House Judiciary to probe Suskind allegations

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 03:03:00 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Including the following:

Clip Source: sage

· The origin of the allegedly forged document that formed the basis for Bush's 2003 State of the Union assertion that Iraq sought yellowcake uranium from Niger;

· The role of this document in creating the false impression that 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta had a working relationship with Iraq;

· The relationship between this document and other reported examples of the Bush Administration considering other deceptive schemes to justify or provoke war with Iraq, such as the reported consideration of painting a U.S. aircraft with UN colors in order to provoke Iraq into military confrontation;

· Allegations that the Bush Administration deliberately ignored information from Iraq's chief intelligence officer that Iraq possessed no WMDs;

· The payment of $5 million to Iraq's chief intelligence officer and his secret settlement in Jordan, beyond the reach of investigators;

· The September 2007 detainment and interrogation of Mr. Suskind's research assistant, Greg Jackson, by federal agents

Tags: suskind, conyers, politics, news

General: Timeline is most secure Iraq strategy

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 04:15:46 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "Brigadier Gen. Sean McFarland…credited the ‘growing concern that the U.S. would leave Iraq and leave the Sunnis defenseless against Al-Qaeda and Iranian-supported militias …’ as the main reason for the turn around in Al Anbar"

Clip Source: thinkprogress.org

A newly updated report from the Center for American Progress, entitled “How to Redeploy,” demonstrates that refusing to set a date for withdrawal risks endangering the gains of the last year and a half. As the report notes, the recent declines in violence are “due in large part to the emergence of Sunni ‘awakening’ groups and Sons of Iraq militias,” who cooperated as a result of their belief in the fall of 2006 that the U.S. would soon be withdrawing:

Brigadier Gen. Sean McFarland…credited the ‘growing concern that the U.S. would leave Iraq and leave the Sunnis defenseless against Al-Qaeda and Iranian-supported militias …’ as the main reason for the turn around in Al Anbar.

We would argue now — more than ever — it’s important to set a date, because this is the one thing that all of the factions in Iraq agree on and we need to bring them together. […]

if the…people

think the United States will be there indefinitely, they will no longer cooperate with us.

[Video]

Tags: iraq, war on terror