Clipmarks | sahara's 'war' clips

Whose Iraq Predictions Have Come True?

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:42:58 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: The American people deserve better. Being asked to endorse such a farce is beyond insulting. Clearly, the rosy predictions of the neoconservatives from before the war are not coming true. Far from it! With a straight face, one official estimated the TOTAL cost of reconstruction in Iraq would be just $1.7 billion. Turns out that we spend more than that in ONE WEEK. Our friends are not pitching in to cover the cost. Expenses are not being covered by oil from a grateful and liberated Iraqi people. Rather, big corporate interests are benefiting, the price of oil has more than quadrupled, and the American economy is on its knees and sinking fast.
No one predicted the exact course of this war before it started. But to continue to listen to the foreign policy advice of those that were the MOST off-base will only lead to more foreign policy disasters.

Clip Source: www.antiwar.com

On Sept. 10, 2002, I asked 35 questions regarding war with Iraq. The war resolution passed on Oct. 16, 2002. Now today, as some of my colleagues try to reestablish credentials regarding spending restraint, I want to call attention to my 18th question from six years ago:

"Are we willing to bear the economic burden of a $100 billion war against Iraq, with oil prices expected to skyrocket and further rattle an already shaky American economy? How about an estimated 30-year occupation of Iraq that some have deemed necessary to 'build democracy' there?"

Many scoffed at my "radical" predictions at the time, regarding them as hyperbole. Six years later, I am forced to admit that I was wrong. My "radical" predictions were in fact, not "radical" enough

Bridges in this country are crumbling, along with our economy, while some howl about earmarks. Earmarks are a drop in the bucket compared to war and occupation

Yes, I was wrong about Iraq. I knew it would be bad. I didn't know it would be this bad.

Tags: iraq, war, economy

An Anti-Imperialist Foreign Policy

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:48:08 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: The nation is now governed by powerful interests who have purchased their position of control. It is in their interests to keep people afraid and angry at some foreign enemy. Even better for them is a worldwide, never-ending war on terror. This is the perfect war for the military-industrial -congressional complex. The people are beginning to wake up to the disastrous effects of the current policies. Ultimately, as the dollar declines in value, other countries and investors who have been buying U.S. debt instruments will discontinue their purchases. At that point, the government will not be able to keep the printing presses going to continue to finance this enormous military machine. All empires eventually collapse because of the high cost of maintaining an empire by force. "The budget should be balanced. Public debt should be reduced. The arrogance of officialdom should be tempered, and assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed, lest Rome become bankrupt." - Cicero

Clip Source: blog.puppetgov.com

Clip Source: www.populistamerica.com

The words that best described the nation's original foreign policy and the policy that should be pursued now were spoken by Thomas Jefferson during his first Inaugural Address in 1801: "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none."

Unfortunately, this is not the policy that has been followed in the last century.

Ever since the proponents of surrogate power took over the country, the government has grown in excess of constitutional boundaries on all levels. The nation is now involved militarily all over the world. Defense spending, added to all of the unconstitutional domestic programs, has bankrupt the country and made its people much more fearful and vulnerable to attacks.

As Douglas MacArthur said many decades ago, "Our country is now geared to an arms economy bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war, hysteria, and an incessant propaganda of fear."

The problem is the fear-mongering of those who benefit from war and the threat of war.

Tags: politics, foreign policy

Iraq War Veteran Tossed Out of RNC for Disagreeing

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:50:54 GMT

clipped by: sahara

Clip Source: img179.imageshack.us

Clip Source: www.prospect.org

INTERVIEW WITH MCCAIN HECKLER ADAM KOKESH.

Kokesh, a passionate Ron Paul supporter, is 26 and a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. He served in Fallujah in 2004, grew up in Santa Fe, and currently lives in Washington, D.C. He has a website.

At the beginning of McCain's speech, Kokesh held up a sign reading, "McCain Votes Against Vets" and yelled, "Ask him why he votes against vets!" I followed as Kokesh was escorted out of the Excel Center by security, handcuffed by local police, and then briefly questioned while security debated whether or not the Secret Service would get involved. They did not. He was then escorted off the premises and allowed to go free. I interviewed him just outside the security gates, where he was greeted happily by antiwar protesters.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

Adam Kokesh's speech (Revolution March)

[Video]

Tags: liberty, war

More War?

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 22:46:09 GMT

clipped by: sahara

Clip Source: www.debka.com

A Dutch AIVD Secret Service ultra-secret operation underway in Iran in recent years has been halted and an agent recalled in view of “impending US plans to attack Iran,” within weeks, writes Joost de Haas, known for his good intelligence contacts, in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

America's largest unmanned aerial vehicle

The AIVD operation aimed to infiltrate and sabotage the weapons [and nuclear] industry in the Islamic Republic.

According to intelligence sources in the Netherlands, the US [or Israel] was expected to make a decision within weeks to attack nuclear plants with unmanned aircraft

According to DEBKAfile’s sources, the expectation disclosed by the Dutch newspaper would explain the fresh spate of threats from Iran.

Thursday, Aug. 28, Iranian sources told the London-based Arabic al Quds that Tehran had recently transferred to Hizballah new long-range rockets capable of hitting every inch of Israeli soil with great accuracy.

to be fired if Israel or the United States attacked

Tags: war, peace, israel, iran, us, russia, china

U.S. Marines/Iraq War Veterans at DNC

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:11:12 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: What have you done for your country lately?

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: protest, politics, war, military

War is a Racket

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:44:50 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: Wars are really a continuous stream of coordinated acts of terrorism, related to money and power instigated by the people who will benefit from the war and its expected end result. War is an instrument to expand economic power by destroying the national institutions and intelligent people of the victimized nation.

Clip Source: www.rense.com

US General Smedley Butler wrote in his 1935 classic, "War Is a Racket": "I helped make Mexico safe for American oil interests in 1914," "I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested." Butler acknowledged that he'd spent most of his thirty-three years in the Marines as "a high class muscle man for Big Business, Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism[ts]."

Tags: war

Love Letters From World War II Found In Waste Bin

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:17:06 GMT

clipped by: sahara

Clip Source: cbs4denver.com

Dozens of love letters from a World War II sailor were found in a thrift store trash can, and now a local historian is trying to locate the couple who exchanged the messages decades ago

A worker at the thrift shop run by AnimalSave, an animal rescue charity, pulled a shoebox full of letters from a waste bin.

"I'm always going through the trash because we throw away good stuff," Vicki Landucci said. "I saw this box of letters there."

At one point, more than six decades ago, they were the most important thing in the world to two people. The letters are all from Claude Dawson to his wife, Nadine, about his experiences in the South Pacific, and of course, about how much he missed her.

"They were so vivid, it was like being there," said Susan Raub.

Raud gave the letters to a local historian, but he has not yet been able to track down Claud or Nadine, or their family members

Video

Tags: love

"You Furnish the Pictures and I'll Furnish the War"

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:12:09 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: Both repeatedly called for armed intervention, then later, all-out war.
The atrocities General Weyler committed in Cuba were massively hyped and sensationalized in the US newspapers, then engaged in a practice known as "yellow journalism". The two kingpins of the press at the time were William R. Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, who were embroiled in a vicious circulation war, in which Hearst even "stole" Pulitzer's most popular writers by convincing them to defect through promises of money and positions. Hearst's major publication was the New York Journal and Pulitzer's publication was the New York World. In order to grow their circulations, both men were willing to go so far as to make up stories.
The Spanish-American War was not the height of Hearst's power. Afterwards, he continued to grow his media empire for several decades, and even successfully ran for a seat in Congress. Hearst was the rough basis for the wealthy journalist-baron in Orson Welles' Citizen Kane.

Clip Source: www.u-s-history.com

"Yellow press" was a term applied to the popular, frankly imperialistic newspapers of New York City, circa 1890s. Today, "yellow journalism" refers to lurid publications that emphasize the sensational side of news stories

In the 1890s, a bitter circulation war erupted between Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal. In an spiraling contest of outrageous journalism, the newspapers used all means to attract readers—heavy doses of murder and sex, banner headlines and colored supplements

Pulitzer introduced the first comic strip, The Yellow Kid, drawn by Richard Outcault. The character became immensely popular and inspired the name for the sensationalist press of the era

Both Hearst and Pulitzer played leading roles in molding American public opinion about the conflict between Spain and its Cuban colony

The papers reported Spanish atrocities in exaggerated detail, but neglected to mention Cuban misdeeds

Tags: newspapers, media, msm, propaganda

Spanish-American War

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:02:28 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: The U.S. government was also moved by the heavy losses of American investment in Cuba caused by the guerrilla warfare, an appreciation of the strategic importance of the island to Central America and a projected isthmian canal there, and a growing sense of U.S. power in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere. There was an unspoken threat of intervention. This grew sharper after the insurgents, refusing a Spanish offer of partial autonomy, determined to fight for full freedom.

The warfare that commenced was short and very one-sided.
Peace was arranged by the Treaty of Paris signed Dec. 10, 1898 (ratified by the U.S. Senate, Feb. 6, 1899). The Spanish Empire was practically dissolved. Cuba was freed, but under U.S. tutelage by terms of the Platt Amendment (see under Platt, Orville), with Spain assuming the Cuban debt. Puerto Rico and Guam were ceded to the United States as indemnity, and the Philippines were surrendered to the United States for a payment of $20 million.

Clip Source: plus.aol.com

Spanish-American War, 1898, brief conflict between Spain and the United States arising out of Spanish policies in Cuba. It was, to a large degree, brought about by the efforts of U.S. expansionists

Causes of the War

Demands by Cuban patriots for independence from Spanish rule made U.S. intervention in Cuba a paramount issue in the relations between the United States and Spain from the 1870s to 1898. Sympathy for the Cuban insurgents ran high in America, especially after the savage Ten Years War (1868–78) and the unsuccessful revolt of 1895. After efforts to quell guerrilla activity had failed, the Spanish military commander, Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau, instituted the reconcentrado, or concentration camp, system in 1896; Cuba's rural population was forcibly confined to centrally located garrison towns, where thousands died from disease, starvation, and exposure

Weyler's actions brought the rebels many new American sympathizers

These prorebel feelings were inflamed by the U.S. yellow press

Tags: war

My "WTF??!!" of the Day

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:07:16 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: Released in 2001.

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Ghost Recon begins in April 16, 2008, with civil unrest in Russia. Ultra-nationalists have seized power in Moscow, with plans to rebuild the Iron Curtain

Their first step is clandestine support of rebel factions in Georgia and the Baltic States. This storyline foreshadows the 2008 South Ossetia War.

During the first few missions of the game, the Ghosts battle South Ossetian

rebel forces from the north of Georgia, who are harassing the legitimate government and its allies

The Russian government complains to the United Nations that the Americans have interfered in their affairs, and eventually they send in their army to aid the rebels

The U.S. cannot hope to stop the Russian Army from invading Georgia, so the Ghosts slow down the invading forces so that their allies can evacuate

The Georgian government, Great Britain, Germany, and the U.S. all protest the Russian invasion, but Moscow ignores them

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

The official insignia of The Ghosts

Tags: war, games

South Ossetia and Georgia Photos

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:35:11 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: Go to the main source, the pictures here do not do them justice, also the tags for each photo are below them, too many words to clip.

Clip Source: www.boston.com

On Thursday, August 7th, Georgian armed forces entered into the breakaway region of South Ossetia to assert Georgian governance of the region - a de facto (yet largely unrecognized) independent republic that has support from neighboring Russia. Russia responded on August 8th by sending its own military into Georgia - not only into region of South Ossetia - but also into the nearby breakaway republic of Abkhazia and deeper into Georgia itself. Many Airstrikes and ground skirmishes have taken place since, with several parties calling for a cease-fire, but no agreement as yet. Those paying the highest price for the war are the South Ossetian civilians, which may have suffered (depending on who is reporting) between 100 and 2,000 deaths to date.

Tags: war

McCain Says Russia is "Regressing"

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 23:47:56 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: Welcome back to the cold war! If only it were as simple as that, it is more likely going to be "welcome to World War 3" !!!!!!

Clip Source: www.russiatoday.ru

McCain: Russia is ‘regressing’: Republican John McCain has condemned Russia's policies, saying that while some of China's actions are regrettable, he doesn't think the country is regressing the way Russia is.

Israel using aid to recruit spies, says report: Israeli secret police are recruiting Palestinian informers by threatening to bar sick people from receiving medical assistance, an Israeli human rights organisation claims.

Russia/Georgia War~America's Role

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 23:44:47 GMT

clipped by: sahara

Clip Source: www.russiatoday.ru

American says U.S. and Georgia to answer for violence in South Ossetia: Joe Mestas, American citizen living in South Ossetia, who witnessed everything that happening in the region, talked to RT and blamed U.S. and Georgian leaders for the outbreak of violence.

Georgia is guilty of genocide - Medvedev: President Dmitry Medvedev has described Georgia's actions in the conflict zone as genocide. He has ordered Russian prosecutors to collect evidence of the crimes committed there.

Shelled city is living hell: Thousands of South Ossetians are trapped in the ruins of a city almost destroyed by Georgian missiles. The remaining residents of Tskhinvali are huddled in cellars beneath bombed-out buildings. They are struggling to survive - without water, food or electricity.

August 10, 2008, 15:27

US partly to blame – ex Georgian FM

August 10, 2008, 2:15

Ossetians and Abkhazians protest near US embassy in Moscow

August 10, 2008, 0:48

Tags: war

Rosenberg Trial (Cold War History)

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:31:54 GMT

clipped by: sahara

Clip Source: www.gwu.edu

For Immediate Release:
July 22, 2008

Court Agrees to Release of Most Rosenberg Grand Jury Materials, Orders Government to Determine Status of Additional Witnesses

Washington D.C., July 22, 2008 - After hearing arguments today, a federal court in New York decided that the government must release most of the sealed grand jury records from the 1951 indictment of alleged Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. In response to a petition filed by the National Security Archive and others, the government conceded in a June filing that the Rosenberg case is of “significant historical importance”

In a brief filed last week, petitioners argued that David Greenglass’ testimony should be released, despite the fact that Greenglass did not consent, because he has waived his privacy interest by discussing the case with numerous historians and journalists and has admitted to giving false testimony about the role of Ethel Rosenberg in the alleged spy ring.

important chapter of Cold War history.

Tags: spies, usa, cold war

A "Die-In" Protest at Pelosi's House

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:34:47 GMT

clipped by: sahara

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

KRON 4 News caught this symbolic die-in protest in front of Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco residence. Anti-War protesters demonstrate against US lead-up to a war with Iran and Nancy Pelosi's support for Bush admininstration policies and tactics.

Tags: war, protest