Clipmarks | reimers's 'iraq' clips

"I got other things to do."...

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:26:00 GMT

clipped by: reimers

"In response to a question about how the White House settled on a troop surge of five brigades after the military leadership in Washington had reluctantly said it could provide two, Bush said: 'Okay, I don't know this. I'm not in these meetings, you'll be happy to hear, because I got other things to do.' . . .

"Meanwhile, Woodward reports that Casey, the president's commanding general in Iraq from 2004 to 2007, came to believe that Bush did not understand the nature of the Iraq war, that the president focused too much on body counts as a measure of progress.

"'Casey had long concluded that one big problem with the war was the president himself,' Woodward writes. 'He later told a colleague in private that he had the impression that Bush reflected the "radical wing of the Republican Party that kept saying, 'Kill the bastards! Kill the bastards! And you'll succeed.' " '

NYT Rejects McCain's Editorial

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:14:32 GMT

clipped by: reimers
clipper's remarks: Shipley continues: 'It would be terrific to have an article from Senator McCain that mirrors Senator Obama's piece. To that end, the article would have to articulate, in concrete terms, how Senator McCain defines victory in Iraq.'

Follow link for McCain's rejected op-ed

Clip Source: drudgereport.com

An editorial written by Republican presidential hopeful McCain has been rejected by the NEW YORK TIMES -- less than a week after the paper published an essay written by Obama, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

The paper's decision to refuse McCain's direct rebuttal to Obama's 'My Plan for Iraq' has ignited explosive charges of media bias in top Republican circles.

'It would be terrific to have an article from Senator McCain that mirrors Senator Obama's piece,' NYT Op-Ed editor David Shipley explained in an email late Friday to McCain's staff. 'I'm not going to be able to accept this piece as currently written.'

Shipley, who is on vacation this week, explained his decision not to run the editorial.

'The Obama piece worked for me because it offered new information (it appeared before his speech); while Senator Obama discussed Senator McCain, he also went into detail about his own plans.'

BBC uncovers lost Iraq billions

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:22:39 GMT

clipped by: reimers
clipper's remarks: "It may well turn out to be the largest war profiteering in history."

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A BBC investigation estimates that around $23bn (£11.75bn) may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq.

For the first time, the extent to which some private contractors have profited from the conflict and rebuilding has been researched by the BBC's Panorama using US and Iraqi government sources.

A US gagging order is preventing discussion of the allegations.

The order applies to 70 court cases against some of the top US companies.

War profiteering

While George Bush remains in the White House, it is unlikely the gagging orders will be lifted.

To date, no major US contractor faces trial for fraud or mismanagement in Iraq.

The president's Democrat opponents are keeping up the pressure over war profiteering in Iraq.

Henry Waxman who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said: "The money that's gone into waste, fraud and abuse under these contracts is just so outrageous, its egregious.

BBC uncovers lost Iraq billions pt.2

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:24:42 GMT

clipped by: reimers
clipper's remarks: Mr Shalaan was sentenced to two jail terms but he fled the country.

He said he was innocent and that it was all a plot against him by pro-Iranian MPs in the government.

There is an Interpol arrest out for him but he is on the run - using a private jet to move around the globe.

He stills owns commercial properties in the Marble Arch area of London.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

In the run-up to the invasion one of the most senior officials in charge of procurement in the Pentagon objected to a contract potentially worth seven billion that was given to Halliburton, a Texan company, which used to be run by Dick Cheney before he became vice-president.

Unusually only Halliburton got to bid - and won.

Missing billions

The search for the missing billions also led the programme to a house in Acton in West London where Hazem Shalaan lived until he was appointed to the new Iraqi government as minister of defence in 2004.

He and his associates siphoned an estimated $1.2 billion out of the ministry.

They bought old military equipment from Poland but claimed for top class weapons.

Meanwhile they diverted money into their own accounts.

Judge Radhi al-Radhi of Iraq's Commission for Public Integrity investigated.

He said: "I believe these people are criminals.

"They failed to rebuild the Ministry of Defence , and as a result the violence and the bloodshed went on and on

Bush warns of Iraq disaster

Wed, 14 May 2008 21:30:03 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: www.politico.com

President Bush warned in an interview Tuesday that the Democratic presidential candidates' plans to withdraw abruptly from Iraq could "eventually lead to another attack on the United States" and would "embolden" terrorists.

In a White House interview with Politico and Yahoo News — a president's first for an online audience — Bush said his doomsday scenario for a premature withdrawal “of course is that extremists throughout the Middle East would be emboldened, which would eventually lead to another attack on the United States."

"The United States pulling out of Iraq or pulling out of the Middle East or not maintaining a forward presence would send all kinds of signals throughout the Middle East," he said in the Roosevelt Room. "And it would shake everybody's nerves, and it would embolden the very same people that we're trying to defeat.

For the first time, Bush revealed a personal way in which he has tried to acknowledge the sacrifice of soldiers and their families.

AMERICAN SOLDIERS ENTHUSIASTIC FOR OBAMA PRESIDENCY

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:08:36 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

Surprising Political Endorsements By U.S. Troops

ABC's Martha Raddatz asked American soldiers in Iraq what issues are most important to them when looking at the presidential candidates.

Though the military is not supposed to engage in partisan political activity, these soldiers spoke out about their personal endorsements, and their opinions are likely to matter. In 2004, 73 percent of the U.S. military voted for a presidential candidate, and officials believe it may be even higher this time around.

PFC Jeremy Slate said he supported Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., because of his stated intention to pull out of Iraq right away.

"That would be nice," Slate said, "I'd like to be home, yea."

SFC Patricia Keller also expressed support for Obama, citing his representation for change.

Spc. Patrick Nicholls from Eggawam, Mass., pointed out that many soldiers on the frontlines frequently think about their families back home.

"We think about how our families are doing back home. That's a major concern,

Some Republicans Emerge To Endorse Obama

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:50:37 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: www.nysun.com

Call them the Obamacans: They are against continuing the Iraq war and reject what they see as Mr. Bush’s unconstitutional buildup of executive power. While the conservative Republican base rejected Senator McCain in the early primaries for his push for bipartisan campaign finance regulation and amnesty for illegal immigrants, the Arizona senator’s hawkish support for the Iraq war has alienated what was once his national constituency, anti-Bush Republicans.

The Obamacans include a former senator of Rhode Island, Lincoln Chafee; a former senior Justice Department official under President Reagan and senior legal adviser to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, Douglas Kmiec, and a granddaughter of President Eisenhower, Susan Eisenhower.

Iraq and torture gatecrash Oscars party

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:33:13 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: drudgereport.com

Clip Source: www.breitbart.com

Documentaries about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are set to take center stage at the Academy Awards on Sunday, giving Oscar guests a grim reminder of the uncertain world beyond the red carpet.

Two of the five films nominated in the best documentary category deal directly with the conflict in Iraq, while a third centers around the horrific torture of an Afghan prisoner at a US military base.

Ironically, the nomination of the documentaries comes five years after film-maker Michael Moore was jeered at the Kodak Theatre when he used his acceptance speech to criticize the US-led invasion of Iraq.

"The Academy has nominated three anti-war films: the thing that I was booed off the stage for is now being honored," said Moore. "Times have changed."

Moore is also amongst the nominees on Sunday for his lacerating look at the US healthcare system "Sicko."

Gang-Rape Cover-Up by U.S., Halliburton/KBR

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 21:28:52 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

A Houston, Texas woman says she was gang-raped by Halliburton/KBR coworkers in Baghdad, and the company and the U.S. government are covering up the incident.

Jamie Leigh Jones, now 22, says that after she was raped by multiple men at a KBR camp in the Green Zone, the company put her under guard in a shipping container with a bed and warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she'd be out of a job.

"Don't plan on working back in Iraq. There won't be a position here, and there won't be a position in Houston," Jones says she was told.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court against Halliburton and its then-subsidiary KBR, Jones says she was held in the shipping container for at least 24 hours without food or water by KBR, which posted armed security guards outside her door, who would not let her leave.

Tags: iraq, halliburton, rape, krb, cover-up

Happy Xmas, your war is over!

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 03:21:37 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: www.thesun.co.uk

GORDON Brown yesterday delivered a stirring festive message to Our Boys in Iraq: “Happy Christmas – war is over.”

The PM was cheered as he praised UK troops and revealed combat operations in Basra will end “within two weeks”.

Iraqi forces will take over as the 4,500-strong British force switches from front-line duties to a training role.

By early next year, our contingent in Southern Iraq will be cut to 2,500 – and may be withdrawn completely in March.

The PM broke the good news in a flying visit to Iraq.

He landed at the Army’ s base at Basra airport in darkness in an RAF Hercules transporter plane.

Minutes later he spoke to Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki.

He then gave a rousing speech to 300 squaddies after shaking hands with them all.

To warm applause, he told them the region – the last under British control in Iraq – would be handed back to the Iraqis in a fortnight.

He said: “The Prime Minister of Iraq has asked me to pass on his thanks to you for helping to rebuild the democracy of Iraq.

Tags: uk, iraq war, christmas

How to Drive a Hummer in Iraq

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 23:49:28 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: vids.myspace.com

[Video]

Tags: iraq, hummer

Christians, Muslims erect cross in Baghdad

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 23:03:15 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: blogs.knoxnews.com

Michael Yon emails: "I photographed men and women, both Christians and Muslims, placing a cross atop the St. John's Church in Baghdad. They had taken the cross from storage and a man washed it before carrying it up to the dome. A Muslim man had invited the American soldiers from 'Chosen' Company 2-12 Cavalry to the church, where I videotaped as Muslims and Christians worked and rejoiced at the reopening of St John's, an occasion all viewed as a sign of hope. The Iraqis asked me to convey a message of thanks to the American people. 'Thank you, thank you,' the people were saying. One man said, 'Thank you for peace.' Another man, a Muslim, said 'All the people, all the people in Iraq, Muslim and Christian, is brother.' The men and women were holding bells, and for the first time in memory freedom rang over the ravaged land between two rivers.

Tags: iraq, baghdad, cross, muslim, christian