Clipmarks | Iraq war Clips

The Violent Left - In Quotes

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:50:42 GMT

clipped by: ColoradoRight
clipper's remarks: One of the more unintentionally humorous experiences of the campaign season to people in the know is the liberal meme, pushed incessantly by the Obama campaign's surrogates in the mainstream media, that McCain/Palin crowds are vicious, angry mobs, based on one person here or there, yelling something mildly offensive.

Clip Source: rightwingnews.com

"If I had my way, I would see Katherine Harris and Ken Blackwell strapped down to electric chairs and lit up like Christmas trees. The better to light the way for American Democracy and American Freedom!" -- Democratic Talk Radio's Stephen Crockett

"Real freedom will come when [U.S.] soldiers in Iraq turn their guns on their superiors." -- Warren County Community College adjunct English professor, John Daly

"Let the people see what war is like. This isn't an Xbox game. There are real repercussions to Bush's folly. That said, I feel nothing over the death of merceneries. They aren't in Iraq because of orders, or because they are there trying to help the people make Iraq a better place. They are there to wage war for profit. Screw them." -- Markos Moulitsas Zuniga on the four Americans who were murdered by terrorists and then had their corpses desecrated in Fallujah, Iraq

Tags: left, progressive, violence, anger, hate

troops have trouble voting

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:54:35 GMT

clipped by: rvnurse2b
clipper's remarks: what a mess... I wonder who they would vote for?

Clip Source: www.onenewsnow.com

Conservative columnist and political analyst John Fund believes two-thirds of the military personnel serving overseas will not be able to vote this presidential election because of bureaucratic red tape.

Recently The Associated Press reported that during the 2006 midterm elections, only 30 percent of the overseas military votes were counted, according to data from the Pew Center on the States and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the latter of which monitors election problems. The article said many ballots arrived late, some were not filled out properly, some were mailed to the wrong location, and some -- for whatever reason -- were not mailed back at all. It also added states and local election districts that have competing, and sometimes confounding, rules governing overseas ballots are contributing to the confusion.

Tags: obama, mcain, republican, democrats, election, law, war, iraq

Friendly fire in Iraq -- and a coverup

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 04:20:55 GMT

clipped by: cptenaud
clipper's remarks: Will have to go to the source to see the video.

For those who never saw a war. This will give you a pretty good idea of its insanity.

Clip Source: www.salon.com

Friendly fire in Iraq -- and a coverup The Army says no, but a graphic video and eyewitness testimony indicate that a U.S. tank killed two American soldiers. The mother of one soldier demands answers.

Video: Friendly fire attack in Iraq Helmet-cam video from Ramadi, Iraq, where Pfc. Albert Nelson was allegedly killed by an American tank, and an interview with the soldier's mother.

Tags: the, real, war

McCain Transition Chief Aided Saddam in Lobbying Effort

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 04:18:24 GMT

clipped by: zizzy
clipper's remarks: His dealings on behalf of the deceased Iraqi leader stand in stark contrast to the views his current employer held at the time.

John McCain strongly supported the 1991 military action against Iraq, and as recently as Sunday described Saddam Hussein as a one-time menace to the region who had "stated categorically that he would acquire weapons of mass destruction, and he would use them wherever he could."

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

William Timmons, the Washington lobbyist who John McCain has named to head his presidential transition team, aided an influence effort on behalf of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to ease international sanctions against his regime

two lobbyists who Timmons worked closely with over a five year period on the lobbying campaign later either pleaded guilty to or were convicted of federal criminal charges that they had acted as unregistered agents of Saddam Hussein's government

During the same period beginning in 1992, Timmons worked closely with the two lobbyists, Samir Vincent and Tongsun Park, on a previously unreported prospective deal with the Iraqis in which they hoped to be awarded a contract to purchase and resell Iraqi oil. Timmons, Vincent, and Park stood to share at least $45 million if the business deal went through.

Timmons' activities occurred in the years following the first Gulf War, when Washington considered Iraq to be a rogue enemy state and a sponsor of terrorism

4th Gitmo Prosecutor Resigns

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 03:29:31 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Claims government withholds evidence that might prove detainees' innocence.

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

WASHINGTON -- Darrel J. Vandeveld was in despair. The hard-nosed lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, a self-described conformist praised by his superiors for his bravery in Iraq, had lost faith in the Guantanamo Bay war crimes tribunals in which he was a prosecutor.

the devout Catholic -- working away from home -- contacted a priest online.

Vandeveld is at least the fourth prosecutor to resign under protest

"I am beginning to have grave misgivings about what I am doing, and what we are doing as a country. . . .

he said the U.S. government was not providing defense lawyers with the evidence it had against their clients

enemy combatants were more likely to be wrongly convicted without that evidence, Vandeveld testified that he went from being a "true believer to someone who felt truly deceived"

The system

was so dysfunctional that it deprived "the accused of basic due process and subject[ed] the well-intentioned prosecutor to claims of ethical misconduct."

Tags: gitmo

As Iraqi Refugees Return, So Does Ethnic Cleansing

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:35:31 GMT

clipped by: Wisco
clipper's remarks: So much for the "the surge worked" triumphalism. Still, as the single-issue media focuses on the election, don't look for stories like this to go very far. Bush and McCain and the rest of the pro-war pols will be able to repeat their lie with almost complete impunity.

Clip Source: www.mcclatchydc.com

Many Iraqi families have returned to their old homes in peace, but a disturbing trend already is emerging: They're being targeted and attacked, and in some cases killed, for trying to go home. Some have been threatened. Others have found explosives tied to their front doors. Some have had their homes blown up.

Corinne Reilly / MCT

A young girl and her brother have lived in an abandoned building in Karrada for five years. | View larger image

The trend, along with an uptick in sectarian and ethnic violence in northern Iraq and growing tensions among rival Shiite factions in the south, is a worrisome development for American political and military leaders who're increasingly eager to declare victory in Iraq so more U.S. troops can be sent to Afghanistan.

Sectarian cleansing has helped to reduce the violence in Iraq to a four-year low, but the small number of returnees who've been targeted so far could be a warning that the violence could return, too.

Tags: news

McCain Transition Chief Was Lobbyist for Saddam Hussein

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:30:31 GMT

clipped by: Jorjor
clipper's remarks: This isn't just "palling around terrorists"; this is being in the employ of, and taking money from, someone who was declared our enemy.

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

The two lobbyists who Timmons worked closely with over a five year period on the lobbying campaign later either pleaded guilty to or were convicted of federal criminal charges that they had acted as unregistered agents of Saddam Hussein's government.

Timmons' activities occurred in the years following the first Gulf War, when Washington considered Iraq to be a rogue enemy state and a sponsor of terrorism.

Tags: politics, election, mccain, terrorists, lobbyists

What is the American Presidential Election About?

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:54:48 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: Is this BBC analysis on the right lines? Do climate change and 'the war on terrorism' figure? Will the election be decided on policy differences?

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The state of the economy was the central issue in the US election campaign even before crisis hit Wall Street.

According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll on 19-22 September, 50% of registered voters now say the state of the economy is the single most important issue in determining how they will vote.

Meanwhile, the war in Iraq has faded away as a vote-determining factor. Just 9% now rate it the key issue,

The other key domestic issue for most voters is healthcare

Two issues have dropped way down the agenda:

• Immigration has not been the subject of a major debate, as both presidential contenders have moderate views on the subject.

• Abortion and other social issues.

Tags: american presidential election

Christians flee Mosul after violence

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:18:13 GMT

clipped by: tommy2balmy
clipper's remarks: Since the US-led invasion of 2003 more than 200 Christians have been killed across Iraq and a string of churches attacked, with the violence intensifying in recent weeks, particularly in the north.

Hundreds of thousands of Sunnis and Shiites have also died in sectarian violence since Saddam Hussein's ouster.

Around 800,000 Christians lived in Iraq at the time of the US-led invasion, but the number has since shrunk by around a third as the faithful have fled the country.

Clip Source: www.dailystar.com.lb

MOSUL, Iraq: More Christian families have quit their homes in Mosul, a local official said on Monday, as the UN voiced concern at the community's plight in the northern Iraqi city.

The violence that began late last month has provoked the exodus of over 1,000 Christian families since Friday, although the numbers of those leaving had started to drop since the police reinforcements arrived on Sunday, according to the head of Mosul's bureau of displaced people, Jaweat Ismael.

Another 109 families quit the city Sunday and Monday, he said, although there was "no new wave of displacements."

"These acts are aimed to fuel tensions and exacerbate instability at a critical time," he said in a statement.

Iraq's 275-member Parliament passed a controversial law last month that will allow provincial elections to go ahead in early January, but crucially it struck a clause that would have reserved seats on local councils for Christians.

Tags: iraq, christians in iraq, war on terror, mosul

Gas Prices Down, Still Higher Than Last Year

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:05:17 GMT

clipped by: blueridge
clipper's remarks: This data is thru Oct. 6. Gas prices today are down even more, almost to 3.00 per gallon, but still higher than a year ago. The price average last year at this time was 2.77.

Prices were 1.29 pre-Iraq war in 2002.

Note the crude stock chart shows that while monthly prices are falling monthly crude supply has remained about the same, busting the "supply is the problem" propaganda.

Clip Source: tonto.eia.doe.gov

Retail Prices (Cents Per Gallon)

This Week In Petroleum

U.S. Average Gasoline Price Falls Below $3.50
The U.S. average price for regular gasoline plunged 14.8 cents to slip below $3.50 for the first time since April 14. Prices have now fallen for three weeks in a row, bringing the average to 348.4 cents per gallon, but are 71.4 cents above a year ago.

Tags: gas prices, oil, crude stock, economy

Iraqi oil up for sale

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:20:23 GMT

clipped by: boozich
clipper's remarks: If the conspiracy theory that western oil companies egged on U.S. and British governments to invade Iraq were true, the plan could backfire on them and benefit rivals in Asia instead, he said, adding: “It is possible the American Army has provided the economic stability that will encourage Malaysian, Chinese and other Asian companies to become involved.”

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

The Iraqi government is to sell the rights to recover 40 billion barrels of oil in the biggest ever sale of reserves.

BP, Shell and ExxonMobil are all expected to attend a meeting

It is the first time since the 2003 US-led invasion that the contracts have been released.

The sale is likely to spark debate over whether the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was part of a "war for oil" that has now delivered strategic Iraqi reserves into the hands of western multinationals.

Iraq sits on more than 115 billion barrels of oil,

Clip Source: www.thehindu.com

Two smaller agreements have already been signed with Shell and the China National Petroleum Corporation

“Currently it is unclear which party in Iraq is authorised to award a contract and at the same time to deliver its side of the bargain,” he said, adding: “Any contract with an independent oil company will be subjected to opposition and possible revision after pressure by resource nationalists.”

GOP: The Party of Fear

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:08:37 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar

Clip Source: dneiwert.blogspot.com

The other day Digby picked up on Michael Froomkin report about a flyer being distributed in Florida that says:

Republicans have proven they will never retreat under pressure from terrorists or the nations who harbor them.

While Democrats have called for surrender in the fight against Al-Qaeda in Iraq, they have also pledged to meet unconditionally with dictators and tyrants.

Keep America Safe. Vote Republican.

I've been rereading Rick Perlstein's Nixonland, which explores in colorful detail how masterful The Trickster was in conducting precisely just such a divisive, culture-war campaign. In his day, it was all about appealing to white voters fearful about Negro rioters and depraved hippies and conspiring commies. The precise objects of fear have altered slightly -- now it's simply black "criminals" and dirty-hippie liberals and bloodthirsty terrorists -- but the basic outline is the same.

Tags: fear, gop, election, history, nothing new, same old

on how america usually come together

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:01:45 GMT

clipped by: planbtech

Clip Source: www.eandppub.com

I am a 65 year old white woman and have voted in every election since I was of age to do so. I have seen some rotten campaigns in my time but McCain's campaign has taken on a whole new meaning of hatefulness.

People in this country are known to be a people that come together during bad times. We have this economic crisis, the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan to worry about. We have nuclear weapons being harvested and the price of gas out of sight. We have hundreds of people being thrown out of their homes, vehicles repossessed, business shutting down or moving oversea's.

And now we have the McCain/Palin ticket running the nastiest, fear-mongoring, lying and working their crowds into pitbull frenzies. This is totally disgraceful and I will never look at John McCain the same again. I feel only distain for him.

Posted by: CarolO | October 12, 2008 at 03:18 PM

The Stratotanker: A flying piece of history endures

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:13:47 GMT

clipped by: LisbethJ
clipper's remarks: They dont make things to last anymore.....

Clip Source: www.npr.org

The Stratotanker: A Flying Piece Of History Endures

Morning Edition, October 13, 2008 · More than 50 years after its first flight, the KC-135 tanker is the workhorse of the U.S. Air Force, a flying gas station that loiters over the skies of Iraq and Afghanistan every day. And it will keep flying for at least 30 more years — there isn't even a contract for a replacement.

The plane entered service in 1957, when President Eisenhower was just starting his second term. With the Cold War heating up, armed B-52 bombers idled on runways, ready at a moment's notice to fly over the North Pole to strike the Soviet Union.

But the B-52, an eight-engine gas guzzler, couldn't carry enough fuel for a round-trip mission.

Enter the KC-135 Stratotanker, a jet-age filling station in the sky. The B-52 is still flying missions — and so is the Stratotanker, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It refuels bombers, fighters, cargo planes — even other tankers.

Flying A Piece Of History

Tags: stratotanker, flying, history, gas, air force

The Great Iraqi Oil Auction for the Spoils of War

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:40:43 GMT

clipped by: blueridge
clipper's remarks: 'Hey bidder, bidder'..40 billion barrels of oil on the auction block and access to 40 percent of Iraqi oil reserves.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Iraqi government fuels 'war for oil' theories by putting reserves up for biggest ever sale

· BP, Shell and Exxon in meeting with minister
· Unprecedented 40bn barrels up for grabs

The biggest ever sale of oil assets will take place today, when the Iraqi government puts 40bn barrels of recoverable reserves up for offer in London.

BP, Shell and ExxonMobil are all expected to attend a meeting at the Park Lane Hotel in Mayfair with the Iraqi oil minister, Hussein al-Shahristani.

Access is being given to eight fields, representing about 40% of the Middle Eastern nation's reserves, at a time when the country remains under occupation by US and British forces.

Two smaller agreements have already been signed with Shell and the China National Petroleum Corporation, but today's sale will ignite arguments over whether the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was a "war for oil" that is now to be consummated by western multinationals seizing control of strategic Iraqi reserves.

Tags: iraq war, oil, neoconservatives, bush