Clipmarks | Iraq Clips

ExxonMobil Wins War For Oil In Iraq!

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:28:25 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: Bidding war that is...for oil!

BAGHDAD: An ExxonMobil-led consortium has beaten rival Russian, French and Chinese groups to bag initial rights to develop Iraq’s West Qurna field, the Oil Ministry said, adding momentum to Iraq’s bid to unlock its oil riches. With reserves of 8.7 billion barrels, West Qurna is among the prized Iraqi fields eyed by Western oil majors as they face flat or lower output at home and stiff competition from Chinese and Indian oil companies in bidding for oilfields elsewhere.

“The consortium led by ExxonMobil, which includes Shell, won the contract to develop West Qurna Phase One oilfield,” Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said.

The initial deal was signed in Baghdad on Thursday but needs Cabinet approval before it can be finalized.

The 20-year contract is part of a raft of deals Iraq is close to formalizing in a bid to catapult itself to the world’s third largest oil producer after decades of war and economic decline.

This is a supergiant field

Texas military shooter a Muslim convert

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:52:37 GMT

clipped by: infidel70
clipper's remarks: As a group of soldiers were preparing to be deployed to Iraq from Fort Hood in a special commissioning ceremony today, the officer opened fire killing 12 follow soldiers and injuring 32 others. A local police officer who was on contract with the military to provide law enforcement at the base shot and killed the suspect. At least 2 others involved in the shooting have been apprehended. It is unclear as to the level of involvement of the 2 or whether or not other suspects are at large.

Clip Source: www.examiner.com

Although most responsible news outlets are withholding the name of the deceased shooter in the Fort Hood military base massacre in Texas, we can confirm that he was a military officer, an Army Major from Virginia, who had converted to Islam.

Sources state that the officer was to be deployed to the Iraq War and was extremely upset about it.

It is unclear as to any direct connection between the deceased suspect and Al Qaeda. We do know, however, that radical Muslims will often recruit military personnel not only for conversion to Islam but for carrying out acts of terrorism against the U.S. military...from within.

The objective is to infiltrate military bases and the ranks of the armed forces for the specific purpose of 'taking them out from within.'

Always a reliable source when it comes to Islamic terrorism, Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs, is providing continually updated information.

Poppy seller told to undergo risk assessment

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:55:05 GMT

clipped by: drgreenfingers

Clip Source: www.ananova.com

Poppy seller told to undergo risk assessment

An army veteran was told to stop selling poppies at a Portsmouth shopping centre unless he agreed to undergo a 'risk assessment'.

Jean Reno, who fought in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq, was selling the poppies at Gunwharf Quays, in Portsmouth, when he was stopped by a security guard.

The 36 year-old was asked if he had permission to sell the plastic flowers, reports the Daily Telegraph.

When he refused to fill in a permission slip, which included a risk assessment, the guard asked him to leave the premises.

Mr Reno, from Southsea, Hants, raised more than £1,500 by selling poppies at the same venue last year.

He said: "I didn't require a risk assessment when I was sent to Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Afghanistan, or Iraq. But I require one to stand on Gunwharf Quays property to sell poppies. I'm utterly disgusted."

'The Axis of Idiots' - note from a Retired Marine

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:58:09 GMT

clipped by: billpar
clipper's remarks: You want to run from Iraq and abandon the Iraqis to murderers just as you did to the Vietnamese. Iraq, like Vietnam, is another war that you were for, before you were against it.
John Murtha, you said our military was broken. You said we can't win militarily in Iraq. You accused United States Marines of cold-blooded murder without proof and said we should redeploy to Okinawa. Okinawa, John? And the Democrats call you their military expert! Are you sure you didn't suffer a traumatic brain injury while you were off building your war hero resume? You're a sad, pitiable, corrupt and washed up politician. You're not a Marine, sir. You wouldn't amount to a good pimple on a real Marine's butt. You're a phony and a disgrace. Run away, John.

Clip Source: us.mc1100.mail.yahoo.com

'The Axis of Idiots'

Jimmy Carter, you are the father of the Islamic Nazi movement. You threw the Shah under the bus, welcomed the Ayatollah home, and then lacked the spine to confront the terrorists when they took our embassy and our people hostage. You're the runner-in-chief.

Bill Clinton, you played ring around the Lewinsky while the terrorists were at war with us. You got us into a fight with them in Somalia and then you ran from it. Your weak-willed responses to the USS Cole and the First Trade Center Bombing and Our Embassy Bombings emboldened the killers. Each time you failed to respond adequately, they grew bolder, until 9/11/2001.

John Kerry, dishonesty is your most prominent attribute. You lied about American Soldiers
in Vietnam. Your military service, like your life, is more fiction than fact. You've accused our military of terrorizing women and children in Iraq. You called Iraq the wrong war, wrong place, wrong time, the same words you used to describe Vietnam.. You're a fake

Tags: politics

The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:20:25 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: The next day, Dennis said goodbye to Nubs, but he didn't forget about the dog. He began mentioning Nubs in emails he wrote to friends and family back home. "I found a dog in the desert," Dennis wrote in an email in October 2007. "I call him Nubs. We clicked right away. He flips on his back and makes me rub his stomach."

"Every couple of weeks, we'd go back to the border fort and I'd see Nubs every time," says Dennis. "Each time, he followed us around a little more." And every time the men rumbled away in their Humvees, Nubs would run after them.
On one trip to the border fort in December 2007, Dennis found Nubs was badly wounded in his left side where he'd been stabbed with a screwdriver. "The wound was infected and full of pus," Dennis recalls. "We pulled out our battle kits and poured antiseptic on his wound and force fed him some antibiotics wrapped in peanut butter."
That night, Nubs was in so much pain that he refused food and water and slept standing up.

Clip Source: www.pawnation.com

When Maj. Brian Dennis of the United States Marine Corps met a wild stray dog with shorn ears while serving in Iraq, he had no idea of the bond they would form, leading to seismic changes in both their lives. "The general theme of the story of Nubs is that if you're kind to someone, they'll never forget you -- whether it be person or animal,

In October 2007, Dennis and his team of 11 men were in Iraq patrolling the Syrian border. One day, as his team arrived at a border fort, they encountered a pack of stray dogs

"We all got out of the Humvee and I started working when this dog came running up," recalls Dennis. "I said, 'Hey buddy' and bent down to pet him." Dennis noticed the dog's ears had been cut. "I said, 'You got little nubs for ears.'" The name stuck. The dog whose ears had been shorn off as a puppy by an Iraqi soldier (to make the dog "look tougher," Dennis says) became known as Nubs.

At night, Nubs accompanied the men on night patrols

Matt Damon in 'Green Zone', Movie With Message About Iraq War

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:58:35 GMT

clipped by: blueridge
clipper's remarks: "Bourne Goes to Iraq" or Loyal Army officer finds out truth and the real enemy which changes his mission against the "powers that be". Note in the clipmark from Wiki the producer intends this to be not merely entertainment but relevant commentary:

"Film shouldn't be disenfranchised from the national conversation. It is never too soon for cinema to engage with events that shape our lives.

Perhaps this is like Clooney and Damon in Syriana in that respect.

Allegedly based upon this book here., which has some real interesting "reviews" worth considering.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Green Zone is an upcoming thriller film written by Brian Helgeland and directed by Paul Greengrass. The film is based on the 2006 book Imperial Life in the Emerald City by journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran which is based in Green Zone, Baghdad. It stars Matt Damon, Amy Ryan, Greg Kinnear, and Brendan Gleeson. Production began in January 2008 in Spain and moved on to Morocco. The film is scheduled to be released on March 12, 2010.

ast

Matt Damon portrays Roy Miller,^[2] a warrant officer who helps a senior CIA officer in the search for weapons of mass destruction.^[1]

Greengrass said of the project's contemporary relevance, "Film shouldn't be disenfranchised from the national conversation. It is never too soon for cinema to engage with events that shape our lives."^[15]

Tags: movies, green zone, iraq, iraq war, wmd, intelligence, propaganda

The Obama Work-Out

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:53:28 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: War-weary Obama manages a decision … more golf! Boston Herald:

WASHINGTON - President Obama has outperformed former President George Bush in a key area - he’s hit the links as many times in nine months as Bush did in nearly three years, political Web sites reported.

Politico, a political news and gossip site, and the Chicago Tribune’s The Swamp, reported that CBS’ Mark Knoller - who documents presidential statistics - Tweeted Sunday, “Today - Obama ties Pres. Bush in the number of rounds of golf played in office: 24. Took Bush 2 yrs & 10 months.”

The Swamp noted that after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Bush quit golf, saying, “I don’t want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander-in-chief playing golf . . . I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal . . . ”

Come on, guys. Iraq was different. That was Bush’s war. Afghanistan? That’s Bush’s other war!

http://www.julescrittenden.com/2009/10/27/golf-for-we-not-for-thee/

Clip Source: www.julescrittenden.com

This really is a new era of hope and change, when the president looks better, more relaxed after taking office than he did before. What’s his secret? Drudge: High-stress basketball, rigorous gym workouts. And lots of golf! It’s that simple. Here’s the best part: It’s taxpayer funded and helps you avoid responsibility! (Important: Avoid straining yourself on weighty war-strategy decisions. No heavy lifting on top agenda items.)

Sounds like the president’s been following my advice on how to Live Forever, Or Die Trying. He could stand to focus more on being Fit for Combat, but I dunno about you, I’m inspired. I probably should do some bills, balance the checkbook this morning, but screw it, I’m going running! Get with the program. You can be presidentially studly for the holidays, too!

Tags: barry the studly

Military suicides fuel worry that military personnel too strained for Afghanistan surgern

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:17:04 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Wonder what it takes for this to matter enough to foreign policy leaders.

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Military Suicides Fuel Worry That Army Is Strained

The Army's top generals worry that surging tens of thousands more troops into Afghanistan could increase the strain felt by many military personnel after years of repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Read the whole story: Wall Street Journal

Tags: military

U.S. Army Sending First Buddhist Chaplain to Iraq

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:43:03 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

All Army chaplains wear the same uniform, and all of them answer to the same calling: to provide comfort and to relieve the suffering of American soldiers.

But one chaplain stands out from the crowd. Thomas Dyer is the first and only Buddhist chaplain in the history of the U.S. Army.

Although his faith is grounded in pacifism, the 43-year-old Dyer says war has become a necessary part of peace.

"My teacher has concluded that without the military, without civil protection, the world would enter into a very dark place very quickly," Dyer told Fox News. "There aren't that many caves to run to, there aren't that many mountains to go to anymore. And if we don't have protection, we suffer greatly."

A former Baptist preacher, Dyer found his new faith a few years ago through the practice of intense meditation. Born in Nashville, Tenn., he says his Christian background gives him an advantage in meeting the demands of a military with diverse spiritual needs.

Tags: army, military, buddhism, iraq, religion, belief

Cheney Caught in Plame Game? 72 Times "Can't Recall"

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:15:21 GMT

clipped by: blueridge
clipper's remarks: Liar with selective memory--Remember this was about the vindictive and illegal outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame for Ambassador (and her husband) Joe Wilson's NY Times editorial article contradicting the lies of "yellow cake" uranium from Niger to Saddam Hussein to "prove" WMD and launch a war.

Among the most basic questions for Cheney in the Plame probe: How did Libby find out that the wife of Bush administration war critic Joseph Wilson worked at the CIA?

Libby's own handwritten notes suggest Libby found out from Cheney. When Libby discovered Cheney's reference to Plame and the CIA in his notes - notes that Libby knew he would soon have to turn over to the FBI - the chief of staff went to the vice president

Transcripts plus more from CREW's lawsuit here.

Clip Source: dailymail.com

Cheney FBI interview: 72 instances of can't recall

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald famously declared in the Valerie Plame affair that "there is a cloud over the vice president." Last week's release of an FBI interview summary of Dick Cheney's answers in the criminal investigation underscores why Fitzgerald felt that way.

On 72 occasions, according to the 28-page FBI summary, Cheney equivocated to the FBI during his lengthy May 2004 interview, saying he could not be certain in his answers to questions about matters large and small in the Plame controversy.

The Cheney interview reflects a team of prosecutors and FBI agents trying to find out whether the leaks of Plame's CIA identity were orchestrated at the highest level of the White House and carried out by, among others, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's chief of staff.

Tags: cheney, scooter libby, iraq, valerie plame, joe wilson, cia, wmd

Nubs - The Dog Saved by a Marine in Iraq

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:46:30 GMT

clipped by: Solara
clipper's remarks: A great story to warm your hearts about a dog from the streets of Iraq who was determined to be rescued.

Clip Source: 4petsonline.com

Nubs- The Dog Saved by a Marine in Iraq

Nubs has to be one of the luckiest dogs in the world, saved from the Iraq battlefront by a Marine pilot, Maj. Brian Dennis who rescued the dog from the streets of Iraq, where Nubs was being used for fighting. His ears had been cut off close to his skull (hence his name).

The story of their friendship and Nubs’ eventual transition from dog of war to laid-back California pet is so extraordinary Dennis ended up writing a children’s book about it. The book, “Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle,” was just published by Little, Brown Young Readers.

The German shepherd-border collie mix that was rescued in Iraq and nursed back to health by Maj. Brian Dennis and fellow Marines, arrived safely in San Diego to begin a new life last Friday.

Tags: nubs, dog saved by marine, dog saved from iraq, nubs the dog

I've been betrayed by this Government, says Iraq War hero who won George Cross

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:59:39 GMT

clipped by: foxyarse
clipper's remarks: He said that when he received his George Cross, ‘the Queen told me she had not presented a GC for “such a long time” and that it was “a privilege” to give it to me’.

Now 25, he tells the MAIL ON SUNDAY with typical bravery how his pride was soon eclipsed by anger at the Government's mistreatment of the Armed Forces and why he took the drastic step of quitting army life earlier this year...

Read more: http://www.mailonsunday.ie/news/article-1224283/Ive-betrayed-Government-says-Iraq-War-hero-won-George-Cross-works-centre.html#ixzz0VeDJEqdd

Clip Source: www.mailonsunday.ie

I've been betrayed by this Government, says Iraq War hero who won George Cross but now works in a call centre

The youngest soldier to win the George Cross has criticised Gordon Brown for ‘betraying’ the Armed Forces and revealed he now works in a call centre, selling insurance.

‘My medal says I am a hero of the Iraqi conflict, a man of extraordinary valour and strength of character,’ says Chris Finney. ‘But now I work in a call centre. My life has gone from one extreme to the other.’

At 18, Mr Finney won Britain’s highest civil accolade for rescuing a wounded comrade from a burning Scimitar armoured reconnaissance vehicle, despite being shot in the leg.

They were victims of US ‘friendly fire’ that killed comrade Matty Hull during the Iraq invasion in 2003. If the action had involved the enemy, Mr Finney would have won the Victoria Cross.

Tags: i've been betrayed by this government, says iraq war hero who won george cross

He's not in Iraq...50 second video that will warm your heart

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:16:55 GMT

clipped by: clip-on-tie
clipper's remarks: The video pretty much speaks for itself. Heartwarming

And for those moron clippers like beanz who are calling us Americans "terrorists," - YOU CAN BITE ME. It's one thing being willfully stupid, it's another when you're just a nasty liar.

So suck on that.

Clip Source: www.neatorama.com

[Video]

Tags: this will make you cry, american heroes, america rocks, father and daughter, love, sacrifice, america haters can suck it

Real men don't read D.C. pundits

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:32:42 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Even worse than Krauthammer's column today, though, was David Brooks in the New York Times. Partly it's because Brooks likes to pretend to be open-minded and reasonable, while spouting neocon talking points, and occasionally liberals get pulled in by him. But today was trademark lazy ideological Brooks. As Glenn Greenwald notes, unbelievably he bragged about "doing what journalists are supposed to do" -- which he defined as talking to a handful of anonymous pro-war sources, who uniformly criticized Obama's inaction to date on McCrystal's troop request.

That's some brave shit. Not quite David Rohde brave, but hey, he made the calls! If it was unanimous, that means he didn't call retired Marine Matthew Hoh, who resigned from a civilian post in Afghanistan this week because he said we can't win, and our presense is only fueling the insurgency. Hoh told the Washington Post's Karen de Young he's "not some peacenik, pot-smoking hippie who wants everyone to be in love" and that he believes

Clip Source: www.salon.com

He had a lot to complain about, and conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer has had enough. In Friday's Washington Post he called Obama a whiner:

Is there anything he hasn't blamed George W. Bush for? The economy, global warming, the credit crisis, Middle East stalemate, the deficit, anti-Americanism abroad -- everything but swine flu.

Again, coming from the neocon Iraq war boosters who countenanced the abandonment of the Afghan war to fight a pointless war in Iraq, the criticism is galling. And the idea that the president may have been "dithering" when he went to visit the war dead at Dover Air Force Base this week is offensive. Obama knows what he has to do this week, and it's a good thing he took the time to let the mortal implications of his decisions sink in.

Tags: afghanista, obama, neocons, pundints, always, wrong, 100%, of, the, time

Charles Krauthammer: The Three Envelopes

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:12:00 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: I suppose, explain away his own, well, yearlong drift on Afghanistan.

This compulsion to attack his predecessor is as stale as it is unseemly. Obama was elected a year ago. He became commander in chief two months later. He then solemnly announced his own "comprehensive new strategy" for Afghanistan seven months ago.

Obama is obviously unhappy with the path he himself chose in March. Fine. He has every right -- indeed duty -- to reconsider. But what Obama is reacting to is the failure of his own strategy.

There is nothing new here. The history of both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars is a considered readjustment of policies that have failed. In each war, quick initial low-casualty campaigns toppled enemy governments. In the subsequent occupation stage, two policy choices presented themselves: the light or heavy "footprint."

In both Iraq and Afghanistan, we initially chose the light footprint.

[...]This was the considered judgment of our commanders at the time,

Clip Source: townhall.com

WASHINGTON -- Old Soviet joke:

Moscow, 1953. Stalin calls in Khrushchev.

"Niki, I'm dying. Don't have much to leave you. Just three envelopes. Open them, one at a time, when you get into big trouble."

A few years later, first crisis. Khrushchev opens envelope 1: "Blame everything on me. Uncle Joe."

A few years later, a really big crisis. Opens envelope 2: "Blame everything on me. Again. Good luck, Uncle Joe."

Third crisis. Opens envelope 3: "Prepare three envelopes."

In the Barack Obama version, there are 50 or so such blame-Bush free passes before the gig is up. By my calculation, Obama has already burned through a good 49. Is there anything he hasn't blamed George W. Bush for? The economy, global warming, the credit crisis, Middle East stalemate, the deficit, anti-Americanism abroad -- everything but swine flu.

It's as if Obama's presidency hasn't really started. He's still taking inventory of the Bush years. Just this Monday, he referred to "long years of drift" in Afghanistan in order to,

Tags: 0bama, afghanistan, general mcchrystals plan, troop reinforcement