Clipmarks | ratilfar's 'war' clips

The Hidden Cost of War

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:35:35 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

[Video]

RESOURCES: The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict; War At Any Price? The Total Economic Costs of the War Beyond the Federal Budget. By the Joint Economic Committee; threetrilliondollarwar.org.

Damascus Bombing Payback from Radical Sunnis

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:13:24 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Bet you most people didn't know that this even happened.

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

BEIRUT -- When Syria deployed thousands of soldiers along its frontier with northern Lebanon this month, some here feared that the Syrians were preparing to retake a country their military had dominated until it was pushed out in 2005.

But now, after a bombing Saturday that was the deadliest in Syria since 1986, analysts are wondering whether the troops were defensive, meant to stop an imminent attack from Lebanon-based Sunni Muslim militants inspired by Al Qaeda and sometimes trained in Iraq.

"The handwriting has been on the wall for a while," Sami Moubayed, a political analyst in Damascus, the Syrian capital, said Sunday. "There have been signs of trouble coming in from Iraq or Lebanon."

The car bombing killed 17 people and injured 14 in a crowded residential neighborhood on the outskirts of Damascus. The area is near an intelligence office and along the route to an important Shiite Muslim shrine.

Clip Source: www.juancole.com

[Video]

Tags: war, war on terror, syria, terrorism, iraq, bombing

Pakistani Troops, Tribesmen Again Fire On US Helicopters

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:32:55 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — Pakistani troops and tribesmen opened fire on two U.S. helicopters that crossed into the country from neighboring Afghanistan, intelligence officials said Monday.

The helicopters did not return fire and re-entered Afghan airspace without landing, the officials said.

A spate of suspected U.S. missile strikes into Pakistan's border region and a raid by U.S. commandos said to have killed 15 people have angered and embarrassed Pakistani leaders while signaling Washington's impatience with Pakistani efforts to clear out militant havens.

During a recent speech to Parliament, newly elected President Asif Ali Zardari, who is considered U.S.-friendly, warned that no country would be allowed to violate Pakistan's sovereignty in the name of the war on terror.

A Pakistani military spokesman said last week that troops had orders to open fire in case of another cross-border raid by foreign troops.

Tags: afghanistan, pakistan, war, war on terror, incursions, attack

The rising cost of the Iraq 'surge'

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 21:53:40 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Cont....

In other words, the big-name journalists don’t want a discussion about the decision to illegally invade Iraq under false pretenses in 2003 (presumably because they almost all were cheering the invasion on), but instead they want the debate to center entirely on their latest false assumption, that the “surge” has virtually won the war.

In reality, the “surge” of about 30,000 additional troops sent to Iraq appears to have been only one factor and – according to military officials interviewed for Bob Woodward’s new book, The War Within – possibly a secondary one in explaining the drop-off in the violence that had made Iraq a living hell.

Clip Source: www.aljazeera.com

Since Jan. 10, 2007, when George W. Bush announced his troop “surge,” more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers have died in the Iraq War – about a quarter of the total war dead – but now an even higher cost may loom ahead, the indefinite continuation of the conflict under President John McCain.

Despite strong evidence to the contrary, it has become established conventional wisdom among mainstream Washington journalists that the “surge” was the singular reason for the recent decline in Iraq’s violence. It’s also agreed that McCain deserves great credit for pushing the “surge” idea early.

Barack Obama has been repeatedly chastised – even badgered – for opposing the “surge.” His attempts to refocus the debate more broadly on the wisdom of invading Iraq in the first place are rudely rejected by Big Media interviewers.

Tags: iraq, surge, myth, cost, news, politics, media, obama, mccain

Bolivia- Massacre At Pando: 14 Dead By Fascist Militia

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 00:57:58 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Here we go again. Murder across the Rubicon.

Clip Source: tenpercent.wordpress.com

Abiding in Bolivia and Inca Kola News are doing great work reporting on the Bolivian secessionist coup. Between them they report that an ambush in Pando “massacre of El Porvenir”, the assault by gun toting autonomistas on pro-government campesino marchers. As they also note the whorehouse shenanigans and secret meeting should of been covered by the media as it was a lead in to what is happening now, then bang goes the gas pipeline and the expulsion of the US coup plotter/Ambassador and the fascists attacked. Inca Kola translates survivor testimony, right now this is what Bush is supporting being done in Bolivia-

“The road was blocked with trucks from the Prefecture, and there they started to shoot at us. Those that escaped towards the river were chased and were killed at the water’s edge. Some of the survivors that arrived at the Riberalta hospital were (immediately) murdered,” said one of the survivors.

[Video]

Tags: south america, latin america, empire, bolivia, us, rebellion, war, war crimes

I bet President Bush doesn't know what the Bush Doctrine is either

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:08:16 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar

Clip Source: patriotboy.blogspot.com

So Sarah Palin doesn't know what the "Bush Doctrine" is. You don't really have to understand the central doctrine driving our current foreign policy to be qualified to be vice president; you just have to be willing to kick some ass. Sure the Bush Doctrine, which says that pre-emptive war is justified in some cases, was our excuse for invading Iraq and our justification for a potential attack on Iran, but Gov. Palin doesn't need an excuse. She needs an apocalypse to usher in Our Lord Jesus' second coming.

So forget about "Bush Doctrine" segment of her interview with Charlie Gibson. The important part is where she talks about going to war with Russia. That’s our apocalypse. It’s a shame she wasn’t president a month ago, because we’d be ass deep in apocalypse right now, with a possibility of having Christ stop by for Christmas.

Clip Source: patriotboy.blogspot.com

[Video]

Tags: palin, bush, docrine, rapture, war, apocalypse, good, show

Secret Battle Plan From Republican Playbook Revealed

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:26:31 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar

Clip Source: patriotboy.blogspot.com

The Global War On Community Organizers Begins At Home!

Taking a page from American history, the Republican Party has leaked its plans to defeat their dreaded enemy: Community Organizers. Using tactics perfected during the War of Secession, the Grand Old Party hopes to not only defeat Community Organizers but also move on to its ultimate target: everyone who makes less than $250,000 per year. It will be a hard battle, but one that they will not miss watching from a safe distance, preferably on a wide screen TV.

Image from here. Additional graphic editing provided by Barry Shapiro. Original idea by mjs.

Tags: gop, culture war, battle plans, parody, truth

Captain Blackadder - How did this war start ?

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:54:53 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Same as every war, for some very stupid and greedy reason.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: blackadder, comedy, fun, funny, true, uk, empire, ww1, youtube, video

Dept. of You Can't Make This $#!& Up! Cheney Edition

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:51:22 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Should have added that the world is only big enough for one Empire at a time, hey Dick!

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

TBILISI, Georgia — Demonstrating Washington's support for war-ravaged Georgia, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney condemned Russia for what he called an "illegitimate, unilateral attempt" to redraw this U.S. ally's borders by force.

Speaking during a closely watched trip to this strategic South Caucasus nation, Cheney also said the United States was "fully committed" to Georgian efforts to join NATO.

"Georgia will be in our alliance," Cheney told reporters while standing alongside Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.

One of the U.S. administration's most hawkish figures and a longtime critic of Russia, Cheney was visiting Georgia and two other ex-Soviet republics _ Azerbaijan and Ukraine _ that are nervous about Moscow's intentions.

"America will do its duty to work with the governments of Georgia and our other friends and allies to protect our common interests and to uphold our values," Cheney said in the joint appearance with Saakashvili.

Tags: richard bruce cheney, war, international law, criminal, war criminal, georgia, empire, russia

Rise of the Empire

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:47:20 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Looks familiar, don't it?

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: video, empire, youtube, war, iraq, bush, gop, cops

Al Qaida has free movement in Pakistan, top official concedes

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:43:56 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: War on Terror? FAIL!

Clip Source: www.mcclatchydc.com

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's top security official Monday admitted that al Qaida's leadership moved freely in and out of the country and vowed that "no mercy" would be shown to extremists based in its tribal territory that borders Afghanistan.

In the past, Pakistan has been heavily criticized for rejecting evidence that al Qaida was largely based in the country and for denying that the tribal territory was used as a safe haven for Afghan insurgents.

Rehman Malik, the interior ministry chief, revealed that al Qaida deputy leader Ayman al Zawahiri and his wife had been in Mohmand, part of the tribal area. Most of time, Malik said Zawahiri was mainly in Afghanistan's Kunar and Paktia provinces.

"We certainly had traced him (Zawahiri) at one place, but we missed the chance. So he's moving in Mohmand and, of course, sometimes in Kunar, mostly in Kunar and Paktia," Malik told reporters in Islamabad.

Tags: war, terror, terrorism, pakistan, politics, asia, india

Palin: Iraq is a war for oil

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:15:00 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Well color me surprised!

Clip Source: thinkprogress.org

In a recent BusinessWeek interview, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) admitted that she believes the Iraq war was fought because of oil:

We are a nation at war and in many [ways] the reasons for war are fights over energy sources, which is nonsensical when you consider that domestically we have the supplies ready to go.

In May, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) also said that he plans to “eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East that will prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East.” He later backtracked from his comments, denying that he meant to imply that the Iraq war was fought over oil.

UpdateIn June, Palin told Glenn Beck, "The average Alaskan says again we recognize these reserves being ready to be tapped. … We're ready to contribute more to the U.S. in terms of resources that can lead to a safer nation; and I say this while our nation is at war, while we're fighting, in some sense, over energy supplies."

Tags: palin, gop, war, iraq, oil, empire

An American adventurer's death in El Salvador

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 12:24:10 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

Photos: Joe Sanderson: a life in...

PERQUIN, EL SALVADOR -- Joe Sanderson left his Midwestern hometown in his 20s with a backpack, a notepad and a dream of being a writer.

Starting in the mid-1960s, he crossed the Pacific on a freighter, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and kept going, for two decades in all, traipsing across more than 60 countries. Everywhere he went, he kept a diary and wrote to Mom and Dad back home in Urbana, Ill.

Shortly after arriving in this Central American country in 1979, Sanderson pulled off his most audacious feat yet: He joined a guerrilla army.

Joe Sanderson is one of two Americans known to have fought and died with the guerrillas of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, the leftist rebels whose war against El Salvador's U.S.-backed military junta was one of the last conflicts of the Cold War.

Rescued from the battlefield by a rebel historian, Sanderson's 330-page diary and other writings lay neglected and unread for decades.

Tags: war, adventure, el salvador, 80s, history

Does McCain want to reinstate the draft?

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:07:52 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Yeah, that would be a great idea. I nominate all those yellow elephants/young republicans to go first. And this time, no deferements. Everybody goes, nobody stays, if you f*@!, I'll kill ya myself! Now who wants to live forever!

Clip Source: www.crooksandliars.com

I know John McCain oftentimes doesn’t speak for the McCain campaign, but someone in the press ought follow up on this immediately.

Download | Play Download | Play (h/t Heather)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: If we don’t reenact the draft I don’t think we will have anyone to chase Bin Laden to the gates of hell.

MCCAIN: Ma’am let me say that I don’t disagree with anything you said, and thank you …

Here’s what McCain said when asked about the draft in June:

“I don’t know what would make a draft happen unless we were in an all-out World War III.”

It’s certainly possible McCain had a senior moment and didn’t realize he was essentially agreeing with the woman about needing to bring back the draft. But what if he does genuinely agree with her? Shouldn’t we have the know the answer to that question?

Tags: war, irag, draft, mccain, forerver

War on Terror boardgame branded criminal by police

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:47:38 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Idiotic police. Sounds like a great game.

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

It may not be fun for all the family – well, not in the same way as Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit or Mousetrap, say. The themes of empire building and terrorist-style attacks on opponents would probably provoke an outbreak of spluttering over the Christmas sherry.

It is rare, however, for a board game to be seized by the police. This week that distinction befell War on Terror: The Boardgame; a set was confiscated from climate protesters in Kent.

Following a series of raids on the climate change camp near Kingsnorth power station, officers displayed an array of supposed weapons snatched from demonstrators: knives, chisels, bolt cutters, a throwing star – and a copy of the satirical game, which lampoons Washington's "war on terror".

For the game's creators, Andrew Sheerin and Andy Tompkins, web designers from Cambridge, the inclusion of their toy was a shock.

Tags: uk, police, idiots, war on terror, boardgame, fun for the whole family

Clipmarks | ratilfar's 'war' clips

The Hidden Cost of War

Damascus Bombing Payback from Radical Sunnis

Pakistani Troops, Tribesmen Again Fire On US Helicopters

The rising cost of the Iraq 'surge'

Bolivia- Massacre At Pando: 14 Dead By Fascist Militia

I bet President Bush doesn't know what the Bush Doctrine is either

Secret Battle Plan From Republican Playbook Revealed

Captain Blackadder - How did this war start ?

Dept. of You Can't Make This $#!& Up! Cheney Edition

Rise of the Empire

Al Qaida has free movement in Pakistan, top official concedes

Palin: Iraq is a war for oil

An American adventurer's death in El Salvador

Photos: Joe Sanderson: a life in...

Does McCain want to reinstate the draft?

War on Terror boardgame branded criminal by police