The REAL News in Iraq. - A letter from a soldier at the front.

It Ain't Necessarily So.

Date: Tue, 01 Jul 2003, 11:09:09 GMT

Hey Guys, sorry it's been so long since I've sent anything but a quick note to you individually. However things have been pretty hectic since the end of hostilities and the start of the real war. Despite what the assholes in the press like to say over and over:



1) We did expect some armed resistance from the Ba'ath Party and Feydaheen;
2) It isn't any worse than expected;
3) Things are getting better each day, and
4) The morale of the troops is A-1, except for the normal bitching and griping.



My brief love affair with the press, especially the guys who had the cajones to be embedded with the troops during the fighting, is probably over, especially since we are back being criticized by the same Roland Headly types that used to hang around the Palestine Hotel drinking Baghdad Bob's whiskey and parroting his ridiculous B.S.



I'm in Baghdad now, since SpOpComm 5 relocated here from Qatar. It looks, sounds and smells about the same but at least you can get Maker's Mark at the local OC. We came up in mid-June to help set up operation Scorpion and Sidewinder. It represents a major (and long overdue) shift in tactics. Instead of being sitting ducks for the ragheads we now are going after the worthless pieces of fecal matter.



I'm no longer baby-sitting the pukes from CNN and the canned hams from the networks, but have a combat mission coordinating a bunch of A teams, seeking, finding and rooting out the mostly non-Iraqis that are well-armed, well-paid (in U.S. dollars) and always waiting to wail for the press and then shoot some GI in the back in the midst of a crowd.



The only reason the GIs are pissed (not demoralized) is that they cannot touch, must less waste, those taunting bags of gas that scream in their faces and riot on cue when they spot a camera man from ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN or NBC. If they did, then they know the next nightly news will be about how chaotic things are and how much the Iraqi people hate us.



Some do. But the vast majority don't and more and more see that the GIs don't start anything, are by-and-large friendly, and very compassionate, especially to kids and old people. I saw a bunch of 19 year-olds from the 82nd Airborne not return fire coming from a mosque until they got a group of elderly civilians out of harm's way. So did the Iraqis.



A bunch of bad guys used a group of women and children as human shields. The GIs surrounded them and negotiated their surrender fifteen hours later and when they discovered a three year-old girl had been injured by the big tough guys throwing her down a flight of stairs, the GIs called in a MedVac helicopter to take her and her mother to the nearest field hospital. The Iraqis watched it all, and there hasn't been a problem in that neighborhood since. How many such stories, and there are hundreds of them, ever get reported in the fair and balanced press? You know, nada.



The civilians who have figured it out faster than anyone are the local teenagers. They watch the GIs and try to talk to them and ask questions about America and Now wear wrap-around sunglasses, GAP T-shirts, Dockers (or even better Levis with the red tags) and Nikes (or Egyptian knock-offs, but with the "swoosh") and love to listen to AFN when the GIs play it on their radios.



They participate less and less in the demonstrations and help keep us informed when a wannabe bad-ass shows up in the neighborhood.



The younger kids are going back to school again, don't have to listen to some mullah rant about the Koran ten hours a day, and they get a hot meal.



They see the same GIs who man the corner checkpoint, helping clear the playground, install new swingsets and create soccer fields. I watched a bunch of kids playing baseball in one playground, under the supervision of a couple of GIs from Oklahoma. They weren't very good but were having fun, probably more than most Little Leaguers



The place is still a mess but most of it has been for years. But the Hospitals are open and are in the process of being brought into the 21st Century. The MOs and visiting surgeons from home are teaching their docs new techniques and One American pharmaceutical company (you know, the kind that all the hippies like to scream about as greedy) donated enough medicine to stock 45 hospital pharmacies for a year.



Safe water is more available. Electricity has been restored to pre-war levels but saboteurs keep cutting the lines. And The old Ba'ath big shots are upset because they can't get fuel for their private generators. One actually complained to General McKeirnan, who told him it was a rough world.



The MPs are screening the 80,000 Iraqi police force and rehabbing the ones that weren't goons, shake-down artists or torturers like they did in East Berlin, Kosovo and Afghanistan.



There are dual patrols of Iraqi cops and U.S./U.K./Polish MPs now in most of the larger cities. Basra has 3.5 million inhabitants.
Mosul is a city of 2 million.
Kirkuk has 1 million.
How many and hundreds of other small towns have not had riots or shootings? The vast majority.



The six U.K. cops were killed in a small Shiite town by the ex-cops they were re-habbing. According to a Royal Marine colonel I talked to, the town now has about twenty permanent vacancies in its police force.

Mick, he's a big potato eater from Belfast named Huggins and knows how to handle terrorists after twenty years fighting with the IRA. He sends his regards and says he'd love to have you here. Thinks you'd make a great police chief, even though the cops would be more frightened of you than the local hoods (then he laughed)

I heard one doofus on MSNBC the other night talk about how "nearly 60" GIs have been killed since 01 May. The truth is that 21 GIs have been killed in combat, mostly from ambush, from 01 May through 30 June, Another 29 have been killed by accidents or other causes (two drowned while swimming in the Tigris).

The MSNBC idiot is the same jerk who reported on the air that "dozens of GIs" were badly burned when two RPGs hit a truck belonging to an Engineer Battalion that was parked by a construction site. The truck was hit and burned, three GIs received minor injuries (including the driver who burnt his hand) and three warriors of Allah were promptly sent to enjoy their 72 slave girls in Paradise. Hell of a way to get laid.

A mosque in that shithole Fallujah blew up this morning while the local imam, a creep named Fahlil (who was one of the biggest local loudmouths that frequently appeared on CNN) was helping a Syrian Hamas member teach eight teenagers how to make belt bombs. Right away the local Feyhadeen propaganda group started wailing that the Americans hit it with a TOW missile (If they had there wouldn't have been any mosque left!) and the usual suspects took to the streets for CNN and BBC. One fool was dragging around a piece of tin with blood on it, claiming it was part of the missile.



The cameras rolled and the idiot started repeating his story, then one of my guys asked him in Arabic where he had left the rag he usually wore around his face that made him look like a girl. He was a local leader of the Feyhadeen. We took the clown in custody and were asked rather indignantly by the twit from BBC if we were trying to shut up "the poor man who had seen his mosque and friends blown up." I told the airy-fairy who the raghead was and if he knew Arabic (which he obviously didn't) he'd know he was a Palestinian. I suggested we take him down to the local jail and we'd lock him and his cameraman in a cell with the "poor man" and they could interview him until we took him to headquarters. They declined the invitation. Guess what played on the Bullshit Broadcasting System that evening? Did the Americans blow up a mosque? See the poor man who is still in a state of shock over losing his mosque and relatives? Yep. Our friend the Palestinian.



Our search and destroy missions are largely at night, free of reporters and generally terrifying to those brave warriors of Allah.



The only thing that frightens them more is hearing the word "Gitmo". The word is out that a trip to Guantanimo Bay is not a Caribbean vacation and they usually start squealing like the little mice they are, when an interrogator mentions "Gitmo".



No wonder the International Red Cross, the National Council of Churches and the French keep protesting about the place. They know it has proven to be very effective in keeping several hundred real fanatical psychopaths in check and very frankly would rather see them cut loose to go kill some more GIs or innocent Americans, just to make W. look bad.



We have about 200 really bad guys in custody now and probably will park them in the desert behind a triple roll of razor wire, backed up by a couple of Bradleys pointed their way, if they decide to riot. Maybe a few will get to Gitmo but most are human garbage that wouldn't take on your five-year old grandson face-to-face. The more we go after them and not vice-versa I think we will see the sniper attacks go down. Yeah, they'll get lucky now and then, but it's showtime, fellows.



Our first objective is to get the die-hards off the street (or make them too scared to come out in them) and destroy their caches of weapons (we have collected more than 227,000 A-47s and that is only the tip of the iceburg; Curly bought nearly a million of them from our pal Vladimir), then cut off their money supply, mostly from Syria and Lebanon. We must continue to get public services up and running, so the local families can get water, sewage and garbage service; electricity, public transportation; oil fields and refineries working and a dinar that won't halve in value every month.



It's going to be a long haul (remember it took 10-15 years in Japan and West Germany) but if we don't stick with it, nobody else will, and we'll have some other looney running the place again.



This place has greater potential than Saudi Arabia (bunch of goat-herders who struck black gold) or Iran (weird dudes who can't run a rug bazaar much less a major country).



I keep telling myself even the Democrats can't be that self-destructive. But then I look at the current line-up. The cream of the crap. If that lying bitch ever gets elected we're really in trouble. By we, I mean the whole world. She'll slide just plain Bill in as the Secretary-General of the U.N. and then the whole world will be trying to take our great country ... the greatest ever (and that's coming from an ex-Canuck) ... down and civilization with it.



Armageddon, here we come. Remember, it's located on the outskirts of Jerusalem.



Enough of that cheery speculation. The good news is that General Schoonmaker is going to appointed ChiefArmy and the old man is coming to Tampa to run the SpOps desk at CentComm. He's tops and will be getting his second star.

To me it means that SpOps will be more predominant in future operations and after 18 years as a GB maybe I'll have a shot at a bird-level combat command.



The old man asked me to come to MacDill and be his ACS but I told him after I spent four months changing the diapers of the media types, I wanted to go back to action. Hence, my current gig.



As the movie quoted old General Patton, "God help me, I love it." I do. Nothing more satisfying than working with the BEST damn soldiers in the world, flushing real human poop down the drain and giving some folks a chance at trying freedom for a change.



They may learn to like it and then my great-great-grandson won't have to worry about some maniac trying to destroy the planet.



My tour is over at the end of August, and I plan to return to Tampa, brief the old man, then head to San Rafael and see my two sweethearts. I'd like to visit my parents in Toronto and my brother in London, before taking on a trip across the country. Just like any other family. It will charge my batteries before I end up back in some other interesting and challenging location. I hope to see most of you and ask for some advice, not support. I know I've had that all along. Thanks.



Now about that Maker's Mark.

God Bless America

Mark.



P.S. A couple of you asked me about Curly and his two sons, Dumb and Dumber. I still think we got him and one son, but the slugs may have gotten away. If they are alive, I can't believe they are hanging around here. Even Curly isn't that stupid ... then again. He might be in Syria or Lebanon. If he is, he's too moronic to keep quiet, then we'll get him. I promise.


posted by Frodgie at 9:42 PM

 

Bush Nominee for Navy Secretary May Have Killed Self

All indications are it could be suicide, but we're not going to reach that conclusion until the investigation is over," District Attorney Scot Key of Alamogordo said.

McMillan, who was 67, was nominated as Navy secretary by President Bush in May.

He died around lunch time Thursday and his body was found at his southern New Mexico ranch by two employees, said Roswell Mayor Bill Owen, a family spokesman and longtime McMillan employee. The 55,000-acre Three Rivers ranch is on the edge of the White Sands Missile Range (search).

McMillan had run Permian Exploration Corp. (search) in Roswell, chaired Bush's New Mexico presidential campaign in 2000 and served as an assistant defense secretary under the first President Bush.

Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Steve Pearce, both New Mexico Republicans, issued statements mourning McMillan's death.


posted by Frodgie at 1:15 PM

 

Bush Suckers the Democrats

KARL ROVE is a genius. No--Rove probably gets more credit than he deserves for political smarts, and the president gets too little, so let's rephrase that: George W. Bush is a genius.

Almost two weeks ago, the president ordered his White House staff to bollix up its explanation of that now-infamous 16-word "uranium from Africa" sentence in his State of the Union address. As instructed, and with the rhetorical ear and political touch for which they have become justly renowned, assorted senior administration officials, named and unnamed, proceeded to unleash all manner of contradictory statements. The West Wing stood by the president's claim. Or it didn't. Or the relevant intelligence reports had come from Britain and were faulty. Or hadn't and weren't. Smelling blood, just as they'd been meant to, first the media--and then the Democratic party--dove into the resulting "scandal" head first and fully clothed.

Belatedly, but sometime soon, the divers are going to figure out that they've been lured into a great big ocean--with no way back to shore. Because the more one learns about this Niger brouhaha that White House spokesmen have worked so hard to generate, the less substance there seems to be in it. As we say, George W. Bush is a genius.

In its October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate, the CIA concluded that Saddam Hussein remained "intent on acquiring" nuclear weapons; that actual development of an Iraqi nuclear weapon would be but several months to a year away if Saddam could acquire sufficient fissile material; and that Baghdad had, in fact, already begun "vigorously trying to procure" such stuff, uranium ore and yellowcake, either of which would speed Saddam along.

This then-secret CIA report was filed one month after the British government had announced a similar judgment in public. Subsequently, a variety of American officials echoed this claim in public statements between October and January, in the context of repeated expressions of concern about Iraq's "continuing, and in some areas expanding," chemical, biological, nuclear, and missile programs, as the CIA put it in its October estimate.


posted by Frodgie at 1:06 PM

 

Sons' Bodies May Have 20 Bullet Wounds(Not Enough)

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military showed reporters the bodies of Odai and Qusai Hussein on Friday and said each body contained more than 20 bullet wounds. The faces had been partly reconstructed to appear as lifelike as possible.

The display of the bodies, seen by an Associated Press reporter, came after still photographs released Thursday failed to convince many Iraqi civilians the brothers were really dead.

Odai's beard had been trimmed to the length he had worn it in life. Qusai's beard was shaved off and he had only a mustache - his trademark. The faces appeared waxy and heavily made up.

Morticians removed a large gash that had cut across the middle of Odai's face. Odai's abdomen had been riddled with bullets, and the torsos of both brothers bore large Y-shaped incisions.

Autopsy incisions were also visible on Odai's left leg, where doctors removed an 8-inch long bar that had been inserted after a 1996 assassination attempt. A piece of leg bone taken out with the bar was wrapped in plastic and lying next to his body on the gurney.

Each brother also had multiple scrapes, abrasions and burns. Odai was believed to have died from a head injury caused by a blunt object. Qusai had two bullet wounds to his head, in and just behind his right ear, doctors and medical officials said. They said they did not think the wounds were self-inflicted.

U.S. officials who handled the corpses said the brothers were made to look as lifelike as possible, a standard military procedure for all bodies.

But the reconstruction was significant because of the doubt about the still photographs, in which the brothers' faces were obscured by heavy beards, blood and gashes.


posted by Frodgie at 12:17 PM

 

Reuters Sees Touched Up Bodies of Saddam Sons

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces in Iraq partly rebuilt the faces of two bodies shown to journalists on Friday in an effort to convince Iraqis that the battle-scarred corpses were those of Saddam Hussein's widely feared sons.

I was one of 15 journalists shown into an air-conditioned, khaki tent at Baghdad airport to view the corpses. They did look like the brothers, who U.S. troops said they killed during a siege on Tuesday.

Arabic networks al-Jazeera, Abu Dhabi Television and other broadcasters began showing the bodies identified as Uday and Qusay, laid out at the makeshift airport morgue.

A U.S. military official said "facial reconstruction" was used to repair wounds, particularly to the face of the elder son Uday, which had disfigured the bodies shown originally to the public in photographs taken by soldiers after the battle.

An uncharacteristic beard on the body of Qusay, seen in those U.S. pictures, had been shaved off, leaving a mustache.

Inside the tent, U.S. officials said it was standard practice to use morticians putty to prepare bodies for viewing and was not intended to fool the Iraqi people.

But while it may be common in the United States, the move is unheard of in the Arab world. That could affect Washington's efforts to quash Iraqi conspiracy theories that the bodies are not in fact those of the once powerful and hated sons of Saddam, who is believed to be still in hiding in Iraq.


posted by Frodgie at 11:28 AM

 

UPDATE: US Forces Catch Members Of Saddam Security Detail

(Adds details, and more comments from U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Odierno)

WASHINGTON (AP)--Acting on a tip from an Iraqi informant, U.S. troops raided
a house south of Tikrit on Thursday and captured five to 10 people believed to
be members of Saddam Hussein's personal security detail, a senior U.S. general
said Friday.
U.S. forces also have talked to one of Saddam's wives in efforts to track down
the former Iraqi leader, Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno said.
Odierno said it was too early to say whether the suspected bodyguards in U.S.
custody had been with Saddam since the fall of Baghdad in April. Their capture
shows the U.S. is making progress in the hunt for Saddam since killing his two
sons on Tuesday, he said.
"We continue to tighten the noose," said Odierno, commander of the Army's 4th
Infantry Division. He spoke to reporters at the Pentagon via a two-way video hookup
from Tikrit.
Tikrit is Saddam's hometown and a source of continuing support for his deposed
regime.
Attacks on U.S. forces in the area have dropped by half in the past month, Odierno
said. The Americans have rounded up more than 1,000 Saddam supporters and seized
huge amounts of explosives, ammunition and weapons, he said.
Although there are fewer attacks, some are becoming more sophisticated, including
using improvised bombs, Odierno said. In another Thursday night raid based on an
Iraqi tip, troops found a weapons cache including 45,000 sticks of dynamite and
11 assembled bombs, Odierno said.
The general said his 27,000 soldiers are preparing for the possibility of attacks
with car bombs or suicide bombers. Anti-American forces are increasingly shifting
their attacks to Iraqis working with U.S. troops, Odierno said.
"They are going after softer targets, because they know they're ineffective against
military targets," he said. "We see this as a desperation move."
Attacking Iraqis is backfiring and prompting more citizens to offer the U.S.
helpful information, Odierno said.
The deaths Tuesday of Saddam's sons, Odai and Qusai, haven't changed the number
or type of attacks on Odierno's forces, he said. But the killings have prompted
more tips from Iraqis such as the ones that led to Saddam's bodyguards and the
weapons cache, Odierno said.
"We've shown them no one of the old regime is going to survive," Odierno said.

Troops of the 4th Infantry Division have been told they probably will stay in
Iraq for a year, Odierno said.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
07-25-03 1118ET- - 11 18 AM EDT 07-25-03
posted by Frodgie at 11:26 AM

 

Test tube babies, 25 years later

(CNN) -- When Louise Brown was born on July 25, 1978, in England, she was the world's first test tube baby, the result of a now-common procedure called in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Considered a pioneering fertility treatment 25 years ago, IVF has now been responsible for an estimated 114,000 babies born in the United States alone, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

"It's hard to look back and remember how surprising and shocking that was -- that human beings can actually be made outside the body," said Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist with the University of Pennsylvania.

IVF is a procedure that involves retrieving the eggs from the mother and mixing them in the lab with sperm from the father. The resulting embryo is then placed back into the mother's uterus to develop normally until delivery. IVF is usually the treatment of choice for a woman with blocked or absent fallopian tubes, through which the egg travels from the ovary to the uterus.


posted by Frodgie at 9:54 AM

 

Saddam: In His Own Words

MUCH OF THE RECENT political controversy about the existence in Iraq of a nuclear program (and WMD) has focused only on the narrow issue of the alleged attempts by Iraq to acquire uranium from the small African country of Niger. Ignored in the debate have been Saddam Hussein's public statements on the subject. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) in Washington, D.C. has documented several of these statements in three separate dispatches between November 2001 and June 2003. All of these dispatches are widely circulated and can easily be accessed through memri.org

MEMRI's special dispatch of November 8, 2001 carried news from the Iraqi daily Babil about Saddam's meeting with the heads of the Iraqi Nuclear Energy Authority (NEA) and the defense establishment. It quotes Babil:

President and leader Saddam Hussein met with Dr. Fadhel al-Janabi, chairman of Iraq's Nuclear Energy Authority, and a select group of outstanding researchers and engineers from among the warriors of the NEA and the military industry. . . . His excellency told those present and the Iraqi people: "When the human mind has a . . . great objective, it will not be sidetracked from its goal."

Reporting on another such meeting, apparently held on January 11, 2002, the Iraqi news agency wrote: "President Saddam Hussein commended Iraqi NEA warriors on their achievement which fill the hearts of the Iraqis with faith and pride." The use of the term "warriors" to characterize those who worked at NEA may suggest they were not engaged in peaceful pursuits. At the meeting, al-Janabi told Saddam: "As time goes on, your sons, the mujahedeen [warriors] become more determined and energetic, not only to overcome difficulties, but also to invent new and advanced ways to accomplish their work."

These, and subsequent meetings, were reported primarily in the daily Babil which was owned by Saddam's son Uday. Given the strict control over the press during the Saddam regime, no news item, whether fact or fiction, and, especially, no item about Saddam himself, would be reported in the press without the approval of the regime.


ON May 7, 2002 the Iraqi government daily Al-Thawra carried a report on another meeting between Saddam and the head of NEA. At the meeting, Dr. al-Janabi submitted to Saddam a report on "the achievements created by the brains in the Atomic Energy Authority for servicing the objectives of the Great Iraq."

A few days later, Babil reported on still another meeting of Saddam, al-Janabi, and "a select group of researchers and engineers" from the NEA and the military industry. According to the report, al-Janabi assured Saddam of the group's commitment to make "quick progress and comprehensive development in ten years." He added that the achievements of the organization would serve as "a symbol for the nation and humanity as a whole." This meeting was followed by another one in which al-Janabi was quoted promising Saddam "a commitment to work day and night to add new advanced technical components" toward constructing "a towering Iraq."


posted by Frodgie at 9:47 AM

 

Jesse, Liberia and Blood Diamonds

With the Congressional Black Caucus clamoring for President George W. Bush to dispatch U.S. troops to Liberia, after having voted almost unanimously against the U.S. war in Iraq, the president and his national-security team are weighing the costs of joining a multinational peacekeeping force in a nation that has ripped through several of them during the last decade. One thing neither Bush nor the Congressional Black Caucus is talking about publicly, however, is how Liberia began this latest phase of its spiraling descent into chaos.

And for good reason. The current crisis was in part the creation of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a Democratic Party activist who claims to champion the rights of Africans to self-governance. As special envoy for democracy and human rights in Africa, starting in October 1997, Jackson was President Bill Clinton's point man for Africa. It was Jackson who spearheaded Clinton's 10-day African safari in March 1998, at a cost to taxpayers of $42.8 million. And it was Jackson who legitimated Liberian strongman Charles Taylor and his protégé, the machete-wielding militia leader in neighboring Sierra Leone, Cpl. Foday Sankoh. Without Jackson's active intervention, both leaders were headed toward international isolation and sanction. Thanks to Jackson, both retained power to murder another day.
posted by Frodgie at 9:41 AM

 

Here is more Democrat Malarky

President Bush was warned in a more specific way than previously known about intelligence suggesting that al Qaeda terrorists were seeking to attack the United States, a report on the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks indicated yesterday. Separately, the report cited one CIA memo that concluded there was "incontrovertible evidence" that Saudi individuals provided financial assistance to al Qaeda operatives in the United States.

These revelations are not the subject of the congressional report's narratives or findings, but are among the nuggets embedded in a story focused largely on the mid-level workings of the CIA, FBI and U.S. military.

Two intriguing -- and politically volatile -- questions surrounding the Sept. 11 plot have been how personally engaged Bush and his predecessor were in counterterrorism before the attacks, and what role some Saudi officials may have played in sustaining the 19 terrorists who commandeered four airplanes and flew three of them into the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

To varying degrees, the answers remain a mystery, despite an unprecedented seven-month effort by a joint House and Senate panel to fully understand how a group of Arab terrorists could have pulled off such a scheme. The CIA refused to permit publication of information potentially implicating Saudi officials on national security grounds, arguing that disclosure could upset relations with a key U.S. ally. Lawmakers complained it was merely to avoid embarrassment.


posted by Frodgie at 9:38 AM

 

Journalists See Saddam's Sons' Bodies

I've been shown the bodies and they do appear to be those of Uday and Qusay," Reuters correspondent Andrew Marshall said from the makeshift U.S. military morgue at Baghdad International Airport.

On Thursday, Iraqis debated the validity of the grisly photos. Uday and Qusay were killed in a Tuesday raid on a house in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul (search), and pathologists who examined the bodies said each sustained more than 20 bullet wounds.

The photographs were released Thursday and were widely viewed on television around the world, including Iraq. Some locals complained the photographs did not show the sons' full bodies.

Most newspapers in the capital, Baghdad, did not publish Friday, the traditional day of prayer and rest in the Islamic world. Al Ray Al-Am did run a story about the pictures, but did not show them, opting instead to show an older color photo of Uday, the eldest son, wearing an Arab headdress, his faced crossed out with a red "X."

The photos, however, seemed to have had little effect on Iraqi opinions.

"This is a U.S. ploy to try to break the spirit of the resistance," said Jassim al-Robai, a computer engineer eating at a restaurant in Baghdad.

After seeing the images, Al-Robai said he wasn't convinced that the brothers were killed.


posted by Frodgie at 9:36 AM

 

Pentagon Leaders Warn of Dangers for U.S. in Liberia

WASHINGTON, July 24 — Two days after Secretary of State Colin L. Powell called for the speedy deployment of troops to Liberia, the top two American military officers warned today of significant dangers facing United States military involvement there and called for a clear mission and a strategy for its successful end before any troops are sent.

The anarchy and violence in Liberia, they predicted, would not yield to a quick solution.

"It's not a pretty situation," Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during his reconfirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It's not going to give way to any instant fix. Whatever the fix is going to be is going to have to be a long-term fix."

Two days ago, Mr. Powell acknowledged his frustration with the slow pace of the administration so far, telling The Washington Times that "we do have an interest in making sure that West Africa doesn't simply come apart."

Pentagon officials and military officers have for several weeks described the complexities — and dangers — of American involvement in trying to separate warring factions in Liberia, which was founded in 1847 by freed American slaves. But the comments today by General Myers and Gen. Peter Pace of the Marine Corps, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs, were the most sobering public analysis to date of the risks.

"It is potentially a very dangerous situation," said General Pace, who was appearing for his own reconfirmation hearing. "If we're asked to do something militarily, we need to make sure we do it with the proper numbers of troops and that we be prepared for the eventualities of having to take military action."


posted by Frodgie at 9:33 AM

 

Dead as a Doornail

posted by Frodgie at 12:23 PM

 

Saddam sons killed in loo

From BRIAN FLYNN in New York
and BOB GRAHAM in Mosul, Iraq

EVIL Uday and Qusay Hussein were blasted to Hell by US troops as they cowered in a grubby toilet, it was revealed last night.

The bloodthirsty brothers were gunned down after a TOW missile slammed into the reinforced concrete villa where they had been tracked down in Mosul, Northern Iraq.

When the shooting stopped, their charred, bullet-riddled bodies were found slumped in the filthy loo, the Pentagon said.

The body of Uday’s bodyguard lay with them. It is believed Qusay’s 14-year-old son Mustafa was the last to fall in the five-hour shoot-out.

He was sprayed with bullets as US troops stormed the first floor stronghold. His body was in a pool of blood in a bedroom next to the corpse-strewn bathroom.



posted by Frodgie at 11:47 AM

 

U.S. to Release Photos of Saddam's Sons

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States hopes to convince skeptical Iraqis that two of Saddam Hussein's sons are dead by releasing photographs of their bodies, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld says.

Pentagon officials said Thursday morning the photos would be released in Baghdad within hours.

Some Iraqis have called on U.S. authorities to prove that Odai and Qusai Hussein were killed in a shootout with American forces in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Tuesday. U.S. officials debated whether to release the photos, likely to be gruesome because of the way the two men were killed.

"The disbelief runs very deep, and it goes to the level almost of paranoia," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said Wednesday on PBS' "NewsHour With Jim Lehrer" program. "One of the great effects of yesterday for Iraqis is to demonstrate our seriousness."

Rumsfeld, speaking with reporters on Capitol Hill after briefing members of Congress, said he had not decided when the photos would be released. But he said it would be "soon."


posted by Frodgie at 10:36 AM

 

Race Card....Again.....the Reverend

Isn't it fascinating how the same people who so strongly opposed U.S. intervention in Iraq want the exact same thing to happen in Liberia? The charade took a hilarious turn today when Jesse "Shakedown" Jackson piped up.

The Bush administration's reluctance to send more troops to the West African nation proves that race remains "a significant factor," Jackson grumbled.

"We are turning our backs on Liberia," the recent appeasement activist said. "Liberia remains a killing field on the back burner."

posted by Frodgie at 10:32 AM

 

What Would Democrats Have Done?

Since national Democrats have literally no agenda on which to base their upcoming presidential and congressional campaigns, they continue to carp at President Bush. While it is important to defend Bush against these specious charges, it is also time to take the offensive.

How would things be different today if Al Gore's henchmen had succeeded in hijacking the election? How will they be different if one of the nine Democratic candidates or Hillary unseats Bush in 2004?

Well, it's impossible to be sure what they would have done and would do in the future, but we can make reasonable assumptions based on positions they have already taken.

At every step, with a few brief, cosmetic exceptions, they've impeded, if not outright opposed, President Bush's efforts in the War on Terror. Based on their public statements we have a right to assume they very likely would have chosen the following courses of action and inaction (unless, of course, you prefer to believe they didn't mean what they said and were only criticizing Bush for the sake of scoring partisan politic points). They likely would have:


approached Afghanistan and its Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorist camps with extreme trepidation, based on their stated fears that we were headed for a Vietnam-like quagmire. To be honest, I can't imagine that Al Gore or any of these other Democratic presidential aspirants would have acted decisively in Afghanistan. A few volleys of cruise missiles and a lot of lectern-thumping speeches, perhaps, but definitive action against Afghanistan truly is hard to imagine.
posted by Frodgie at 10:31 AM

 

Report Reveals Lapses Before 9/11 Attacks

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the CIA failed to act on intelligence it had about hijackers, the FBI was unable to track al-Qaida in the United States, and key National Security Agency communications intercepts never were circulated, a congressional investigation has concluded.

But even had these and many other failures not occurred, no evidence surfaced in the probe by the House and Senate intelligence committees to show that the government could have prevented the attacks that killed more than 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

A 900-page declassified version of the report being released Thursday was expected to provide fresh details of the Sept. 11 plot and government failures but no "smoking guns." Excerpts of the report were provided to The Associated Press before its official release.

"A lot went wrong," Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, said Thursday on NBC's "Today" show.

"If there had been a sharing of a lot of information at the right time between the CIA, FBI, NSA and so forth, maybe things would have been different leading up to Sept. 11, but there's no smoking gun," he said.


posted by Frodgie at 10:29 AM

 

Vigil outside slain councilman's home

NEW YORK (CNN) -- About 150 people gathered outside the Brooklyn home of murdered Councilman James E. Davis Wednesday evening, a few hours after he was gunned down inside City Hall.

Davis was slain by his political rival, Othniel Askew, on the balcony of the city council chamber, authorities said. Askew was gunned down by a police officer in the chamber. (Full story)

At Davis' home, a banner announcing the September 9 Democratic primary, which Davis had been running in, was strung between two posts on either side of the door. In front of the entrance, mourners had placed flowers, wreathes and candles.

Some in the crowd chanted: "Love yourself. Stop the violence."

"Who do we love?" a woman in the crowd shouted. "James E. Davis!" the crowd, many of them children, responded.

Rev. Dr. Peter Bramble, whose St. Mark Episcopalian Church was across the street, described Davis as a great force. Davis, a 41-year-old former police officer, was known as a crusader against urban violence. (Davis profile)

In 1990, Davis founded a non-profit organization called "LOVE YOURSELF" Stop the Violence. The group is dedicated to halting gun crime, teen pregnancy and drug use.

posted by Frodgie at 10:19 AM

 

Three U.S. soldiers killed in Iraqi ambush

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Three U.S. soldiers were killed early Thursday in northern Iraq when small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades ambushed their convoy, according to the U.S. military.

The soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division were traveling into Qayyarah, a town about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Mosul, when they were attacked about 2:30 a.m. (6:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday), military officials said.

Soldiers secured the ambush site and found two rocket-propelled grenades and an AK-47 assault rifle, according to U.S. Central Command.

Also Thursday, U.S. military officials said they had no information about eyewitness reports that two Iraqis were killed in Baghdad near a U.S. military checkpoint.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat in Iraq on May 1, 42 U.S. troops have died from hostile fire, including Thursday's fatalities. Another 57 have died in accidents and what the Pentagon calls "nonhostile" incidents.

A total of 237 U.S. military personnel have been killed since the war in Iraq began in March. (Interactive: U.S. deaths as of July 21)

On Wednesday, two U.S. soldiers were killed and nine wounded in separate attacks when their convoys hit explosive devices, according to the U.S. military.

Wednesday's attacks took place near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, and Ramadi, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) west of Baghdad.

Mosul also was the site of a fierce firefight Tuesday that killed Uday and Qusay Hussein, sons of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Soldiers from the 101st Airborne were among those participating in the assault.

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of ground forces in Iraq, said that the killings of Saddam's sons would deal a blow to guerrillas who have been attacking U.S. forces in the country. (Saddam sons killed, Gallery: Timeline of the attack)

But L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. civil administrator of Iraq, admitted there was a risk of revenge attacks by Saddam loyalists.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Wednesday that the Pentagon will release photographs of the dead bodies soon to convince a skeptical Iraqi population that the brothers were killed. (Full story)


posted by Frodgie at 10:15 AM

 

Shooting reported in N.Y. City Hall

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A gunman opened fire from a balcony in the City Council chamber at New York's City Hall Wednesday, shooting a man multiple times before being shot himself, witnesses told CNN.

Two people were carried out on stretchers.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was inside his office in the City Hall building when the shooting occurred, and is unharmed, said his press secretary, Edward Skyler.


posted by Frodgie at 3:15 PM

 

GUNSHOTS AT NYC CITY HALL!!!!! 2 POLICE OFFICERS SHOT AT NYC CITY HALL

Posted on 07/23/2003 11:19 AM PDT by Hillary's Lovely Legs


Reporters diving for cover at City Hall.

Shots are coming from second floor.



posted by Frodgie at 3:03 PM

 

Synthetic fuel Golfs

15 July 2003: A fleet of 25 Volkswagen Golf cars is currently driving around Berlin fuelled by 'Shell Gas to Liquids', a unique synthetic fuel derived from natural gas.

The fuel offers a similar emissions performance to compressed natural gas (CNG) at a lower cost. It can be used in today's car engines with the existing storage and fuel distribution system, and can be mixed with regular diesel.

Tests carried out by Volkswagen show that many Euro-3 diesel cars operating on this synthetic natural gas based fuel would, without any modifications, meet the stringent Euro-4 emission limits, while Euro-4 car emissions can be lowered even further.

The trial is part of a joint research and development programme looking at the development of new road vehicle technologies and fuels, aiming to achieve both sustainability and affordability.

The crystal clear fuel is virtually free of sulphur and aromatics and can deliver significant emissions benefits.

posted by Frodgie at 2:32 PM

 

This guy is a total FeeFonking Moron

The U.S. acted illegally when its soldiers attacked and killed Uday and Qusay Hussein, a leading Democratic congressman complained on Tuesday, before mocking the military maneuver that succeeded in eliminating the brutal duo.

"We have a law on the books that the United States should not be assassinating anybody," Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., told Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes."

"We tried to assassinate Castro and we paid dearly for it," Rangel contended. "And when you personalize the war and you say you're killing someone's kids, then they, in turn, think they can kill somebody."

When an incredulous Sean Hannity expressed dismay at Rangel's comments, the Harlem Democrat shot back: "How can you get so much satisfaction that two bums have been killed? We got bums all over the world and some in the United States."

Then Rangel mocked the U.S. military's success in killing the two Hussein heirs, saying, "I personally don't get any satisfaction that it takes 200,000 troops, 250,000 troops, to knock off two bums."







posted by Frodgie at 1:18 PM

 

Bush: Saddam's 'regime is gone'

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush said Wednesday that the deaths of Saddam Hussein's oldest sons in a U.S. military raid was a sign that "the former regime is gone and will not be coming back."

"Yesterday in the city of Mosul," Bush said during a brief statement in the White House Rose Garden, "the careers of two of the regime's chief henchmen came to an end. Saddam Hussein's sons were responsible for the torture, maiming and murder of countless Iraqis.

"Now, more than ever, all Iraqis can know that the former regime is gone and will not be coming back."

Bush was accompanied at the event by Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Myers, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the U.S. civil administrator for Iraq, L. Paul Bremer. None of the participants took questions from reporters.

Earlier Wednesday in Baghdad, the commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq described the operation that killed Uday and Qusay Hussein, an assault that started with a stairway gunbattle in a Mosul house and ended with the firing of almost a dozen missiles.

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, detailing the Tuesday operation blow-by-blow at a news conference, said the staged attack included an antitank platoon. The U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division and Special Operations Forces were also brought into play.

Iraqi police had a role in setting up a cordon around the area of the house in which Saddam Hussein's sons were said to be hiding, Sanchez said. (Map)


posted by Frodgie at 1:01 PM

 

U.S.: Hussein brothers assault included TOW missiles

U.S. officer: Informant to get $30 million reward

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq on Wednesday said the assault that killed Uday and Qusay Hussein on Tuesday in Mosul was a staged operation that opened with grenade launchers and ended with the firing of almost a dozen missiles.

Ground forces, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said, included an anti-tank platoon as members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division and Special Operations Forces were brought into play.

U.S. Air Force personnel were on standby, as helicopters were deployed in the opening phase of the attack, which secured the ground floor of the building in Mosul, he said. (Map)

Iraqi police participated, Sanchez said, by setting up a cordon around the area of the assault. U.S. forces made two attempts to enter the large villa in Mosul before they were successful in quelling the resistance they encountered.


posted by Frodgie at 10:08 AM

 

A Soldier's View from the Iraqi Front

JINSA Editorial Note: Mindful of the time it took American occupation forces to begin to straighten out Germany and Japan (civilians starved to death in the winter of 1946 in Berlin and the Marshall Plan wasn't operative until '48), we have been reluctant to criticize post-war Iraq. Also, we aren't there and are skeptical of the media that is there, so we haven't said much about the day-to-day operations. Receiving this via a JINSA Flag & General Officers Trip participant who vouches for its authenticity, we thought we would show you what real soldiers think. (We excerpted from a longer letter and cleaned up the language a little bit.) It reinforces our basic belief that what we are doing in Iraq is the beginning of a better life for the people there, and that our soldiers are a terrific advertisement for America.

Things have been pretty hectic since the end of hostilities and the start of the real war. Despite what the press like to say:

1) We did expect some armed resistance from the Ba'ath Party and Fedayeen;

2) It isn't any worse than expected;

3) Things are getting better each day; and

4) The morale of the troops is A-1, except for the normal b****ing and griping.


posted by Frodgie at 10:05 AM

 

Politicizing the War

REMEMBER WHEN Democrats warned President Bush against “politicizing” the war in Iraq?

It all seems like such a long time ago now, easily a year, an eternity by political standards. It was nonsense at the time, of course, as Democrats were all too eager to politicize the war themselves. At the time, they concocted a strange position: They were for the war in theory, just against it in application. They supported every roadblock that stood in the way of Saddam Hussein’s deposal—e.g., a UN mandate, “more time” for inspectors, etc.—all to strike a delicate political balance between the left-wing die-hards who vote in their primaries and the mainstream that votes in general elections.

But now the politicization has reach absurdist heights, with Democrats agonizing about 16 words in a speech that were not only truthful, but also inconsequential. The party’s bizarre post-war posture is, in many respects, like its pre-war version. Democratic congressional leaders and presidential candidates who nominally supported the war back then still do now, albeit with postwar caveats to replace the prewar ones that no longer apply. Once again, the goal is to appease the anti-war base without alienating America’s pro-war majority—a tenuous position, to say the least.


The official Democratic line is now: We still support the war, but oppose the Bush Administration’s case for it. Or, to quote Massachusetts Senator and presidential aspirant John Kerry, “I have no question about the decision I made” to support the war, but he has grown so skeptical that “(i)t’s not just the 16 words, it’s all of our intelligence” building up to the war that he now doubts. (See Terry Neal’s fine Washington Post write-up, The Contortions of the Pro-War Democrats.)


posted by Frodgie at 10:03 AM

 

Unscrambling Liberia

There is only one reason to refuse intervention in Liberia. It isn't a bad reason, but isolationism — the presumptive rule against going into a foreign country — looks squat and provincial and uncaring in such a situation as Liberia's. And then there is the question of military resources. The critics have been playing hard the line that our entry into Iraq has depleted our resources. That's true, and one response to that is to urge a bigger military. But to do that runs up against the general Democratic disposition to downplay the military. The Democratic critics are up in arms over the projected budget deficit and, in their censure, speak repeatedly about the $4 billion per month that we are spending to maintain the military operation in Iraq. They do not dwell on the $3-plus billion per month envisioned by the prescription-drug bill. But they race quickly to the tax cut, bemoaning the lost revenue when most it hurts, which is in election season.

There is a creeping incoherence in the Democrats' general line, and the Liberian emergency will turn a floodlight on it. We have no national interest in Liberia. It is not alleged that, hidden there, are weapons of mass destruction, or storehouses for al Qaeda. The deployment of eighteen mutilated bodies outside our embassy is understandably seen as a desperate cry for help. But note, that help would be to provide shelter against one more African faction that, like so many others in recent years, is prepared to kill wholesale in order to steal wholesale and to exercise power. Moreover, the embattled chief is a murderous tyrant who President Bush exhorted to leave office many corpses ago.

One surmises that Bush et al. are waiting for very hard international pressure to move into Liberia before consenting to do so. We are stung by the denial of peacekeeping troops in Iraq. India arrested a planned deployment of several thousand soldiers there. New Delhi pleads that only if the U.N. passes a resolution endorsing the U.S. presence in Iraq will India feel conscientiously permitted to participate. And the administration, while unwilling to say in as many words that it underestimated the troops that would be necessary to restore order in Iraq and initiate democracy there, scrambles for manpower.

posted by Frodgie at 10:00 AM

 

Friend: Evidence of Kobe's Alleged Assault Was Visible

Luke Bray declined to be more specific out of respect for his friend and her family.

"There is visible evidence of what happened," he said.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Kim Andree declined comment on Bray's statement. Neither prosecutor Mark Hurlbert (search) nor Bryant's attorneys returned telephone messages seeking comment.

Hurlbert has said he believes he has enough physical evidence and testimony to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The 24-year-old Bryant was charged with sexually assaulting the concierge at an exclusive mountain resort last month. He said that the sex was consensual and that he only committed adultery.

The Los Angeles Lakers (search) star is free on bail pending an Aug. 6 hearing.

A judge has sealed most documents, including the arrest affidavit, details of the physical evidence and other information. The Denver Post, the Los Angeles Times, NBC and the Vail Daily have asked that the court release some of the material.


posted by Frodgie at 9:57 AM

 

Dental Records Confirm Deaths of Saddam's Sons

"Yesterday was a landmark day for the people and for the future of Iraq," Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez told reporters in Baghdad.

For Uday, dental records matched 90 percent -- a 100 percent match could not be made because of injuries sustained in Tuesday's Mosul (search) attack, in which the brothers were killed. The dental match for Qusay was 100 percent, Sanchez said.

"Autopsies will follow, but we have no doubt we have the bodies of Uday and Qusay," he said. "The Saddam Hussein regime will never come back to power."

Sanchez also announced that the coalition has nabbed No. 11 on the U.S. military's most-wanted list, Barzan Abd Al-Chafur Sulayman Majud Al-Tikiriti (search), a commander of Saddam's Republican Guard.

As the U.S. military detailed how Tuesday's raid in Mosul was carried out, the news was tempered by the announcement that two more U.S. soldiers had been killed and eight others wounded in separate attacks.

The deaths brought to 155 the number of American soldiers killed since the war began March 20, surpassing by eight the death toll in the 1991 Gulf War.


posted by Frodgie at 9:56 AM

 

Eiffel Tower is Burning

Officials said they were not sure whether anyone was on the top level, where the fire appeared to have erupted.


The company that operates the Eiffel Tower confirmed the fire but gave no details as to its origin and had no information about whether anyone may have been injured in the blaze, which appeared to be limited to a top floor of the monument.


The 1,069-foot iron-laced tower draws 6 million visitors a year, making it the world's most popular paying tourist attraction.


The tower was built by Gustav Eiffel for the 1889 World's Fair.


The tower has six levels; tourists can visit the three lowest levels; the fire appeared to be one level above those accessible to tourists.





posted by Frodgie at 2:08 PM

 

'Seized'

Saddam Hussein's two sons may have been captured or killed in a shoot-out in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, reports say.

There was a "pretty decent chance" Uday and Qusay were inside a villa raided by US troops, an official said.


Local residents say the pair have been hiding in the town.

Four people are believed to have been killed when the villa was stormed.

Lieutenant Colonel William Bishop, of the 101st Airborne Division, said:

"This morning we went to the building and surrounded it, and detained several high-interest personalities."


posted by Frodgie at 12:04 PM

 

Pentagon: Firefight may have involved Hussein sons

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. troops are investigating whether Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay were among those killed or captured during a firefight with American troops in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, Pentagon officials told CNN.

A U.S. official told CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr that no people were captured at the house raided in Mosul, and that four people were killed. Further details were expected shortly.

Meanwhile, a U.S. soldier was killed Tuesday and another was wounded in a convoy ambush north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

The soldiers, assigned to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, were traveling on a road between Balad and Ramadi when a rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire hit their vehicle around 9 a.m. (1 a.m. EDT), according to a statement from the military.

Later, south of the capital, a Red Cross worker was killed in an Iraqi ambush, Red Cross officials said.

A day earlier, attackers killed another U.S. soldier and wounded four others in northeast Baghdad. An Iraqi interpreter also was killed as an explosive device was placed on a crash barrier and set off by remote when two 1st Armored Division vehicles drove by, U.S. military officials said.


posted by Frodgie at 11:43 AM

 

U.S. Soldiers Capture Key Saddam Allies

BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. soldiers stormed a house in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul (search) Tuesday, killing one Iraqi and seizing key allies of Saddam Hussein (search) who were hiding inside, an American officer at the scene said.

The Associated Press reported that the house, a large villa, belonged to Saddam's cousin, and that it was burned to the ground after a loud gunbattle.

The military, reporting communications problems, said it had no information on the incident.

An APTV cameraman said residents of Mosul, 280 miles north of Baghdad, claimed the American soldiers were searching for Saddam's sons, Qusai and Udai

posted by Frodgie at 10:50 AM

 

Troops Ready for Change in Guard

U.S. Soldiers Hope to Transfer Security Duties to Iraqis Soon

BAGHDAD, July 21 -- A bomb, tossed at midday from a passing car, exploded in the dirt outside a branch of the al-Rasheed Bank last Wednesday, killing a young Iraqi boy and shattering the leg of a U.S. soldier on guard duty at the bank.

The wounded soldier, Spec. Adam Zaremba, comes from a unit of soldiers trained to fire howitzers. But for several weeks they have essentially been bank security guards, like many U.S. troops who are standing guard outside hundreds of hospitals, power plants, shopping malls and other civilian sites across Iraq.

Pfc. Thomas Poorbaugh, who was manning a .50-caliber machine gun atop an armored personnel carrier still pockmarked from the bombing, kept an eye on passing traffic and summed up the job: "We're sitting ducks here, pretty much."

Of the 39 U.S. soldiers killed in attacks in Iraq since May 1, at least six were on guard duty at "fixed sites," and at least five were directing traffic or manning checkpoints. Military commanders and soldiers on the ground say that those duties have been unavoidable given the looting and insecurity in postwar Iraq.

But now, top U.S. commanders, including Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, head of the U.S. Central Command, want to give those jobs back to Iraqis, freeing American soldiers for different operations and taking them off a duty that has left them especially vulnerable.


posted by Frodgie at 9:46 AM

 

Lies about Iraqi Nukes

On December 16, 1998, Bill Clinton informed the nation that he had ordered military action against Iraq. No less than three times Clinton referred to Iraq's nuclear arms or nuclear program.

Example 1: "Earlier today, I ordered America's armed forces to strike military and security targets in Iraq. They are joined by British forces. Their mission is to attack Iraq's nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors."

Example 2: "Saddam Hussein must not be allowed to threaten his neighbors or the world with nuclear arms, poison gas, or biological weapons."

Example 3: "And so we had to act and act now. Let me explain why. First, without a strong inspection system, Iraq would be free to retain and begin to rebuild its chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons programs in months, not years."

Notice that in the first example, Clinton speaks of attacking Iraq's nuclear program, which obviously requires the known existence — indeed, the location — of such a program. And in the third example, Clinton warns of an imminent threat Iraq could reconstitute, among other things, its nuclear-weapons program, thereby alleging its existence.

Now, on what basis did Clinton conclude that Saddam Hussein had a nuclear weapon, a nuclear-weapons program, or the ability to reconstitute such a program in months? Well, let's look at certain key public statements and representations by Clinton himself and his top people.

Fact 1: On September 3, 1998, Clinton reported to Congress on "Iraq's non-compliance with U.N. Security Council resolutions." In the section of the report labeled "Nuclear Weapons," Clinton's report stated:

In an interim report to the UNSC July 29, the IAEA ["International Atomic Energy Agency"] said that Iraq had provided no new information regarding outstanding issues and concerns. The IAEA said while it has a 'technically coherent picture' of Iraq's nuclear program, Iraq has never been fully transparent and its lack of transparency compounds remaining uncertainties. The IAEA noted Iraq claims to have no further documentation on such issues as weapons design engineering drawings, experimental data, and drawings received from foreign sources in connection with Iraq's centrifuge enrichment program. The IAEA also reported that Iraq was 'unsuccessful' in its efforts to locate verifiable documentation of the abandonment of the nuclear program....

Thus, Clinton's own report to Congress, during the lead up to military action against Iraq, contained no substantive information about Iraq's "nuclear arms" or "nuclear weapons program." Instead, it emphasized the near total lack of insight into such matters.

Fact 2: On September 9, 1998, in response to the United Nations Security Council's vote to suspend Iraqi sanction reviews, Clinton issued a short statement which said, in part:

... The Security Council has made crystal clear that the burden remains on Iraq to declare and destroy all its nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and the missiles to deliver them.

But Iraq did not "declare" its "nuclear weapons." In fact, there's no evidence Iraq actually had "nuclear weapons," per se, as opposed to certain materials or parts that might be used to build such weapons. Clinton's statement regarding Iraq's "nuclear weapons" was utterly false.

Fact 3: During Mike McCurry's September 30, 1998, press briefing, McCurry contradicted Clinton's September 9 statement. McCurry stated, in part:

... [W]e are aware of the allegations that Iraq retained weapons-related components, but we can't confirm the specific allegation that they have acquired those devices. There's little doubt that they have sought nuclear capability. That's been one of our long-standing concerns and one of the reasons why we have insisted on support for the international efforts by the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor and to investigate suspected activities in Iraq. It's why we've supported UNSCOM, as well, for similar and related issues.

Iraq's current refusal to allow inspections by both the IAEA and UNSCOM ... is totally unacceptable. We continue to believe that there is a lot more to know about Iraq's nuclear program. We've sought clarification before we're willing to consider what kind of final punctuation mark you can place on efforts by Iraq to acquire nuclear related technology.

So, McCurry made clear that the Clinton administration could not confirm that Iraq had actually acquired "devices" for producing nuclear weapons, or even the extent to which Iraq was attempting to acquire "nuclear-related technology."

Fact 4: At a September 30, 1998, State Department press briefing, Secretary of State Madeline Albright's spokesman, James Foley, was asked about Iraq's nuclear capabilities.

Question: "I was just asking about the Iraqi progress towards nuclear weapons. There [are] two reports in the past two years, apparently, that the United States has been told that Iraq is building atomic bombs, at least the nuclear shells, the nuclear weapons without the atomic cores. Can you comment on that?

Mr. Foley: "Well, I'm not aware that the United States has been told any such thing. But what I can say in response to your question and the articles is that we are aware of allegations that Iraq retained weapons-related components, but we cannot confirm these allegations. ...

... In terms of the allegation itself, again, it's not something we can confirm; it's important, though, to understand the potential ramifications. Having several components of a warhead does not mean that one necessarily has a usable nuclear weapon. In this regard the IAEA, we're told, feels confident, that Iraq does not have sufficient fissile material or the ability to produce that material for a weapon.

Again, this really underscores our concern about the lack of intrusive UNSCOM and IAEA inspections. The limited ongoing monitoring program can help deter obvious Iraqi attempts to rebuild the WMD capability during this period, but we are very concerned, obviously, about the longer run."

Foley, therefore, could not even confirm that Iraq retained nuclear weapons-related components. And Foley emphasized that without U.N. inspections, the Clinton administration did not and would not have insight into nuclear-related issues involving Iraq.

Consequently, on December 16, 1998, when Clinton told the nation that he ordered military strikes against Iraq to, among other things, attack its nuclear program, to prevent Saddam Hussein from threatening the world with nuclear arms, and to stop Hussein from rebuilding his nuclear weapons program in a matter of months, he had no basis for these assertions. They were utterly false. Moreover, I could find no statements from Secretary of State Albright endorsing Clinton's characterization of Iraq's nuclear capabilities.

When you contrast Clinton's unequivocal yet insupportable arguments about Iraq's nuclear program with the qualified yet accurate 16-words President George Bush used in his January 28, 2003, State of the Union Address to describe Iraq's effort to secure uranium, the liberal bias of the mainstream media in giving a continuing voice to Democratic charges becomes obvious. The Democrats are, and will remain, unsatisfied with any response provided by the Bush administration. Such is their political strategy. As if to highlight the point, Democratic-party advertisements accusing the president of lying already began appearing on television last week.

And President Bush's chief accuser is a long-serving, little-known liberal partisan from Michigan, Senator Carl Levin. Levin charges that "[t]he uranium issue is not just about sixteen words. It is about the conscious decisions that were made, apparently by the NSC and concurred in by the CIA, to create a false impression" to help President Bush justify war with Iraq. Although Levin is chairman of no committee, he's now conducting his own "investigation."

But Levin never questioned Clinton's assertions about Iraq's nuclear arms, nuclear program, or imminent nuclear threat. He didn't accuse Clinton of manipulating intelligence as a cover to attack Iraq. He didn't demand hearings and investigations. In fact, back then, Levin himself played fast and loose with the facts.

On October 9, 1998, in a speech on the Senate floor, Levin stated, in part:

With respect to Iraq's history, the Security Council noted Iraq's threat during the Gulf War to use chemical weapons in violation of its treaty obligations, Iraq's prior use of chemical weapons, Iraq's use of ballistic missiles in unprovoked attacks, and reports that Iraq attempted to acquire materials for a nuclear weapons program contrary to its treaty obligations.

But as described above, in 1998 the U.N.'s IAEA, McCurry, and Foley had no evidence that Iraq was attempting to acquire materials for nuclear weapons, which is why they all decried the lack of U.N. inspectors in Iraq. Clinton's report to Congress, which Levin would have seen, provided no evidence. In other words, Levin, like Clinton, and many other Democrats, did, in fact, mislead the American people.

Don't expect the mainstream media to notice, however. They're too busy regurgitating the Democrats' talking points.

posted by Frodgie at 9:31 AM

 

Approaching imperial overstretch

The news from Iraq is not good. Each day brings new attacks on U.S. troops. As many Americans have now died since Saddam's statue fell from its Baghdad pedestal as perished in the war.

Gen. John Abizaid, who replaced Tommy Franks, has contradicted Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld to declare that Iraqis are now engaged in a "classical guerrilla-type campaign against us."

Franks thought the U.S. Army would be in Iraq two to four years at least. Gen. Barry McCaffrey predicts five to 10 years to pacify and democratize the country. Rumsfeld says the cost of occupying and rebuilding Iraq is now $4 billion a month.

Yet, it is hard to recall a 20th-century guerrilla war that did not last longer or cost more than projected. And lest we forget, most of these wars were lost. The French lost in Indochina and Algeria, the Americans in Vietnam, the Israelis in Lebanon.

Western nations prevailed when they aligned themselves with nationalists and were able to deny guerrillas a privileged sanctuary in a neighboring country. Thus, the Brits prevailed in Malaya, and Americans aided the Greeks in defeating communist rebels and Filipinos in defeating the Huks.


posted by Frodgie at 9:22 AM

 

Liberian government claims rising death toll

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — Desperate Liberians foraged for food and water during a lull in fighting downtown Tuesday, while serious fighting raged in the port area as a battle for the country's war-ravaged capital showed no sign of abating.
The day after a thunderous barrage of shells rained down on the city, Defense Minister Daniel Chea said the death toll Monday was well over 600 people. There was no way to independently confirm the figure and aid groups and hospitals have put the number of dead above 90, but say they expect the number to rise.

Chea told reporters that Tuesday's fighting was focused in the port area of Monrovia. The rebels made another attempt to take control of two bridges leading from the port to the downtown area, but soldiers held them off.

Tuesday's clashes followed some of the bloodiest fighting since rebels launched their third assault on Monrovia in the past two months.

On Monday, mortar barrages tore apart Liberia's capital, and Marines at a U.S. Embassy compound evacuated foreign aid workers and journalists in helicopters.

posted by Frodgie at 9:15 AM

 

A Sad Day on Earth, But Rejoicing in Heaven...ADF Founder Dr. Bill Bright Goes Home to be with the Lord…

It was Christmas Eve 2002 at the Sears house. The phone rang and I went to answer it. On the other end was the warm and friendly voice of my dear friend and brother, Dr. Bill Bright.

Dr. Bright, after a “Merry Christmas greeting,” told me that he had just finished reading an advance manuscript of the book that I co-wrote with Craig Osten of our ADF team on the threat posed by the homosexual agenda to religious freedom. He had nothing but words of encouragement for us, remarking that “this book needs to get in front of millions.” He promised to do everything he could while he was still on this earth to help spread the word about our book. And, most importantly, he ended our phone call by praying for us, that the Lord would provide a hedge of protection around ADF and that the book would reap much for the Kingdom.

Dr. Bright was a mentor, a second spiritual “father” to me, and most of all, a dear, dear friend. He was a man who demanded justice for God’s people and was a driving force behind the creation and growth of the Alliance Defense Fund.

That is why it is with a great deal of sadness that I must announce the news of Dr. Bright’s passing on July 19th at the age of 81 after a two-year struggle with pulmonary fibrosis. It makes me weep when I realize that I will no longer have phone calls that greet me as Bill always did, “in the excellent name of Christ,” ask about the well-being of Paula and family, and then provide me with direction on how ADF can act in a significant way for the Kingdom.


posted by Frodgie at 9:12 AM

 

Body of ex-Isles No. 1 pick found in Alps

REGINA, Saskatchewan (AP) -- The body of a former NHL first-round draft pick who disappeared in Austria almost 14 years ago has been found frozen in the Alps.

Duncan MacPherson, who was selected 20th overall by the New York Islanders in 1984, was last seen on Aug. 9, 1989, while snowboarding on the Stubaier Glacier.

The body was discovered late last week by an employee operating a snow-grooming machine at a summer ski resort in Neustift, near the Italian border.

MacPherson's parents were scheduled to leave for Austria on Tuesday.

"We feel very sad," said Lynda MacPherson, who was notified about the discovery Friday by a friend from Innsbruck who met the couple during the first of their seven visits to Austria in search of their son.

The family was contacted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Austrian officials over the weekend.


posted by Frodgie at 9:10 AM

 

New attack leaves U.S. soldier dead

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- In the latest in an almost-daily series of attacks against American forces in Iraq, a U.S. soldier was killed Tuesday and another wounded in a convoy ambush north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

The soldiers, assigned to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, were traveling on a road between Balad and Ramadi when a rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire hit their vehicle around 9 a.m. (1 a.m. EDT), according to a statement from the military.

The ambush came a day after attackers killed another U.S. soldier and wounded four others in northeast Baghdad. An Iraqi interpreter also was killed as an explosive device was placed on a crash barrier and set off by remote when two 1st Armored Division vehicles drove by, U.S. military officials said.

Both vehicles burst into flames, and some nearby Iraqis rushed to help save the troops, cutting their seat belts and pulling them out.

Helicopters took three wounded soldiers to Army hospitals, and a fourth one "is considered a walking wounded," said Lt. Alex Kasarda of the 1st Armored Division.

Commenting on the string of attacks from his ranch in Texas, President Bush said, "This extension of hostilities is really a part of the war to liberate Iraq.

"There are people in Iraq who hate the thought of freedom; there are Saddam [Hussein] apologists who want to try and stay in power through terrorist activities. ... We're patient, we're strong, we're resolute, and we will see this matter through."


posted by Frodgie at 9:06 AM

 

Armstrong Crashes, Then Crushes His Rivals

LUZ-ARDIDEN, France (Reuters) - Lance Armstrong wrote one of the most sensational chapters of the Tour de France legend when he won a heart-stopping 15th stage in Luz-Ardiden despite crashing on Monday's final climb.

The Texan, bidding for a record-equaling fifth Tour victory, was attacked and briefly dropped by German rival Jan Ullrich on the classic Tourmalet pass and then fell on the ascent to the finish, but still found the strength to win his first stage this year.

"After the crash, I had a big rush of adrenaline. I told myself 'Come on Lance, you must win the Tour today,"' said Armstrong, who increased his lead from 15 seconds to 1:07.

The defending champion had just counter-attacked behind Basque rider Iban Mayo when he appeared to get a spectator's bag snagged in his brake lever, bringing himself and Mayo crashing to the ground.

"I think it was a spectator's bag. But it was also my fault for riding too close to the right side of the road," he explained.

Moments after his fall Armstrong nearly came to grief again when his foot slipped out of a cleat, but from then on he took the stage by storm, surging clear of his rivals.

posted by Frodgie at 9:02 AM

 

Report: FBI Informant Knew 9/11 Hijackers

WASHINGTON - An FBI informant knew two of the Sept. 11 hijackers but never suspected they were terrorists, according to a congressional report that nonetheless concludes no single piece of information could have prevented the attacks.

The unidentified informant was with Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi in San Diego during the summer of 2000, although the nature of their relationship was unclear.

Almihdhar and Alhazmi recently had been linked by U.S. intelligence officials to possible terrorist activity, but that information apparently had not been shared with the FBI, the report said. Nothing the two men said or did in the presence of the informant aroused suspicion.

Almihdhar and Alhazmi were aboard American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon. The informant also may have been introduced to Hani Hanjour, who U.S. officials believe piloted that hijacked plane.


posted by Frodgie at 9:01 AM

 

4,500 U.S. Troops Might Head to Liberia

WASHINGTON - Some 4,500 more American sailors and Marines have been ordered to position themselves closer to Liberia to be ready for possible duty in the embattled West African nation, officials said Monday.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld signed a deployment order over the weekend sending a three-ship amphibious ready group from its position off the Horn of Africa into the Mediterranean Sea, defense officials said. That would put the group in a position to get to the west coast of Africa faster, if needed for an evacuation of Americans, peacekeeping or some other mission.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in the Liberian capital of Monrovia was hit by mortar fire Monday, and U.S. officials in Washington said a number of building in the complex had been hit by gunfire, though they believe the embassy itself is not a target.

With the weekend deployment order, it would take the amphibious group several days to get into the Mediterranean, where it would await further orders, Pentagon officials said. From there, it would take seven to 10 days to get to Liberia, if ordered to do so, officials said.

There are 2,000 Marines and 2,500 sailors in the group, led by the USS Iwo Jima, which has been in the Horn of Africa region as part of the global war on terrorism.

Some 200 Americans already have been sent to Liberia and nearby countries since African nations and the United Nations asked for U.S. help.


posted by Frodgie at 2:29 PM

 

At war for freedom

The former Director of the CIA says that America should make no apology for its robust response in the "war on terrorism". And if that makes other states nervous, so much the better

James Woolsey
Sunday July 20, 2003

America and the western world are at war with 'fascist' Middle East governments and totalitarian Islamists. The freedoms we stand for are loathed and our vulnerable systems under attack. Liberty and security will be in conflict as we line up behind the new march of democracy.
This is about the war we are in, whom it is with, how we have to fight it inside our own countries and how we have to fight it abroad. The war is, essentially, similar to the Cold War. This is the origin of the phrase World War IV, which Professor Eliot Cohen came up with in America shortly after September 11 2001, to characterise the parallels between this war and what he called World War III - the Cold War.

Those parallels are: that it will last a very long time - decades; that it will sporadically involve the use of military force, as did the Cold War in Korea for example; but that an important component would be ideological. I would add that, just as we eventually won the Cold War - and when I say 'we' here, I always mean Britain, the United States, the democracies, our allies - it was in no small measure because, while containing the Soviet Union and its allies militarily and with nuclear deterrence, we undermined their ideology.

We undermined it over a long period by convincing the Lech Walesas, the Vaclav Havels, the Andrei Sakharovs, the Solidarities, that this was not a clash of civilisations, not even a clash of countries, but a war of freedom against tyranny, and that we were on their side.

To exactly the same degree, we will surely be successful in this long war if we convince the hundreds of millions of reasonable and decent Muslims around the world who do not want to be terrorists, who do not want to live in dictatorships, that we are on their side and they on ours.

Fascists and Islamists

There are really three movements in the Middle East that are essentially at war with the west, with modernity, with western Europe and the United States and our allies. They are, first of all, the fascists, a term that I use advisedly because the Arab nationalist movements of Syria - until recently Iraq and Syria - and Libya and other such groups in the Middle East are effectively modelled on the fascist parties of the 1920s and 1930s. They are structured like them, and are similarly anti-semitic. They are fascists and there is no reason to mince words.

The other two movements are both Islamist, and I use that term to denote precisely totalitarian movements masquerading as portions of a religion. The mullahs in Tehran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and those with him, and Al Qaeda and its supporters - one on the Shi'a side of the Islamic divide and the other on the Sunni side - are effectively totalitarian movements disguised as religions, in much the same way that Tomás Torquemada and the Dominicans around him who operated the Spanish Inquisition were a totalitarian movement in the guise of a portion of Christianity.

The Islamists on the Shi'a side of the divide, in Tehran, are massively unpopular in their own country. Even according to their official public opinion polls, a substantial majority of Iranians would like to have dealings with the US and, whenever given an opportunity to vote, have supported reformist candidates and President Mohammad Khatami.

posted by Frodgie at 9:50 AM

 

Oct. Report Said Defeated Hussein Would Be Threat

Last fall, the administration repeatedly warned in public of the danger that an unprovoked Iraqi President Saddam Hussein might give chemical or biological weapons to terrorists.

"Iraq could decide on any given day to provide a biological or chemical weapon to a terrorist group or individual terrorists," President Bush said in Cincinnati on Oct. 7. "Alliance with terrorists could allow the Iraqi regime to attack America without leaving any fingerprints."

But declassified portions of a still-secret National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) released Friday by the White House show that at the time of the president's speech the U.S. intelligence community judged that possibility to be unlikely. In fact, the NIE, which began circulating Oct. 2, shows the intelligence services were much more worried that Hussein might give weapons to al Qaeda terrorists if he were facing death or capture and his government was collapsing after a military attack by the United States.

"Saddam, if sufficiently desperate, might decide that only an organization such as al Qaeda, . . . already engaged in a life-or-death struggle against the United States, could perpetrate the type of terrorist attack that he would hope to conduct," one key judgment of the estimate said.

It went on to say that Hussein might decide to take the "extreme step" of assisting al Qaeda in a terrorist attack against the United States if it "would be his last chance to exact vengeance by taking a large number of victims with him."

The declassified sections of the NIE were offered by the White House to rebut allegations that the administration had twisted prewar intelligence on Iraq's nuclear weapons program. The result, however, could be to raise more questions about whether the administration misrepresented the judgments of the intelligence services on another basis for going to war: the threat posed by Hussein as a source of weapons for terrorists.



posted by Frodgie at 9:33 AM

 

180 years old? Experts debate limit of aging

SAN FRANCISCO, California (Reuters) -- Fancy living another 100 years or more? Some experts said on Saturday that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last decades beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.

"I think we are knocking at the door of immortality," said Michael Zey, a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. "I think by 2075 we will see it and that's a conservative estimate."

Zey spoke on the sidelines of the annual conference of the World Future Society, a group that ponders how the future will look across many different aspects of society.

In a presentation at the meeting in San Francisco, Donald Louria, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in manipulating cells and genes as well as nanotechnology make it likely humans will live in the future beyond what has been possible in the past.

posted by Frodgie at 9:08 AM

 

Where's Carl Levin?

During his January 28, 2003, State of the Union address, President Bush said, among other things, that "the British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." The other day, the White House retracted this statement, acknowledging that the information was based on forged documents.

Meanwhile, the BBC reported yesterday that "The British Government...says that, when it drew up its dossier [of intelligence evidence against Iraq], it had not even seen the documents later shown to be forged."

[Prime Minister Tony] Blair told a committee of MPs on Tuesday that the evidence about the Niger link "did not come from these so-called forged documents. They came from separate intelligence." The allegations, he said, were not "fantasy." He pointed out that in the 1980s, Iraq had bought uranium from Niger.

So, it's not even clear if the information President Bush used is inaccurate, even though the source of the information used by the White House — the forged documents — has been discredited.

Of course, whenever a president is badly served by his advisers it's a concern. But in this case, the criticism is overblown and has more to do with political opportunism than anything else. For weeks, congressional Democrats, led by Carl Levin, have been claiming that the president manipulated intelligence information to mislead the American people about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and the threat they posed to the U.S. And Levin, among others, has now embraced this one-sentence from the January 28 State of the Union speech as some kind of smoking gun.

posted by Frodgie at 9:06 AM

 

CIA saw Iraq nuclear threat

WASHINGTON – While President Bush's critics continue to claim he hyped the Iraqi nuclear threat in his State of the Union Address, a recently declassified Central Intelligence Agency assessment obtained by Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin shows the CIA took very seriously Saddam Hussein's efforts to reconstitute his nuclear weapons program.

The report, "Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs," dated October 2002, concluded Baghdad would "probably have a nuclear weapons during this decade."

"Baghdad hides large portions of Iraq's WMD efforts," the CIA report said. "Revelations after the Gulf war starkly demonstrate the extensive efforts undertaken by Iraq to deny information. Since inspections ended in 1998, Iraq has maintained its chemical weapons effort, energized its missile program, and invested more heavily in biological weapons; most analysts assess Iraq is reconstituting its nuclear weapons program."


posted by Frodgie at 9:02 AM

 

September 11 Today

Seems like a long time ago; seems like yesterday. Actually we're in that awkward period of historical memory in which it's too soon to see 9/11 as History Channel fodder and too late to feel it freshly. It was 21 months ago; life moves on; we don't talk about "Where were you?" anymore.

And yet it seems that everything that is happening in the world right now is related to 9/11. President Bush meeting with the new head of the Palestinian Authority and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel, in Aqaba, Jordan: That is about 9/11. Mr. Bush had no intention of going into the long chain yank that is the Mideast . . . until 9/11, which forced the toppling of the Afghan regime, the U.S. counterassault on the Taliban and terrorism, the invasion of Iraq and the toppling of Saddam. All of that came out of 9/11. And Mr. Bush is pushing a Mideast roadmap because he knows what all but children know: 9/11 grew from, was gestated in, the intense hatred of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

President Bush as nation-builder: That is 9/11. He suggested when he ran for president that international nation-building efforts were presumptuous and perhaps hubristic. All changed. Mr. Bush speaking last week to Arab leaders when he didn't know his remarks were being broadcast, speaking of what "Almighty God" expects of them. That kind of fervor--a lot of that is traceable to 9/11. In an interview two years ago, three months before 9/11, Mr. Bush told me of his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their talk had turned personal, and Mr. Bush spoke of his understanding of the nature of Christianity and the meaning of the cross. Mr. Bush shows the impulses of the evangelist: When something has saved your life and has the added benefit--you are certain--of being true, you want to spread it around. But those impulses have come out more publicly, less embarrassedly or self-protectively, after 9/11.


posted by Frodgie at 8:58 AM

 

Caterwauling at Bush Risks Historic Opportunity

A sane world would recognize, and eventually maybe even this one will, that the most important Iraqi development of the last week or so was the formation of the 25-person Governing Council. While of course still tenuous, it represents the first step toward a pluralistic Iraqi government, and toward consolidating the huge geopolitical gains President Bush won by toppling the Saddam's murderous regime.

Political and press rhetoric in the current world, of course, is instead consumed by the revelation that intelligence analysts sifting ambiguous reports sometimes disagree. Desperate Democratic presidential candidates and the neurotic anti-Vietnam left take the intelligence controversy as the latest excuse for belittling the president's military victory. Serious people need to understand what this carping puts at risk.

To start with Iraq itself, the assassination of pro-American Iraqi leaders is an unmistakable sign of classic guerrilla war. But guerrillas are far from invincible. Vietnam begs to be understood: After more than 15 years of guerrilla fighting, the North Vietnamese victory required a conventional invasion by 20 tank-led divisions. The 1968 Tet offensive is now recognized as a huge Communist defeat on the military front, remember, though it became a political defeat on the U.S. homefront because of misreporting by the press and the public relations blunder of not warning the public.


posted by Frodgie at 8:55 AM

 

Facing A New Nuclear Reality

The United States took another step toward eliminating the last vestiges of Cold War nuclear weapons production in May when the Department of Energy awarded contracts for construction of fossil fuel power plants to replace three Russian nuclear reactors. These reactors produce not only heat and electricity but also weapons-grade plutonium, enough to build 11/2 nuclear weapons a day. When the new U.S.-financed power plants are constructed and the nuclear reactors shut down, weapons-grade plutonium will no longer be produced in Russia.

President Bush is deeply committed to reducing the number of our nation's strategic nuclear warheads by two-thirds, and to preventing nuclear and radiological materials from falling into the hands of terrorists. This $466 million project is the latest advancement in an aggressive nonproliferation effort that has expanded from $800 million to $1.3 billion per year since the president took office. That's why I was perplexed, during congressional debate on the defense budget by the hysterics over the $21 million that would allow our scientists to contemplate advanced weapons concepts that could be used to protect against 21st-century threats. (In all, some $6.4 billion in the budget is for Department of Energy nuclear weapons programs.)


posted by Frodgie at 8:52 AM

 

Bush, Blair show what it means to lead

WASHINGTON — President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair clearly demonstrated Thursday, for all the world to see, what it means to lead.
The embattled allies stepped forward, and in the face of strong criticism at home and abroad, boldly defended their decision to go to war in Iraq and vowed to stay the course.

They sharply rejected charges that they doctored intelligence on Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction to bolster their case for going to war.

And they offered a rationale for taking what was a politically risky course: They did it to protect their citizens.

"The prime minister and I have no greater responsibility than to protect the lives and security of the people we serve," Bush said. "The regime of Saddam Hussein was a grave and growing threat. Given Saddam's history of violence and aggression, it would have been reckless to place our trust in his sanity or his restraint. As long as I hold this office, I will never risk the lives of American citizens by assuming the good will of dangerous enemies."

Added Blair: "And when you lead countries, as we both do, and you see the potential for this threat of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction to come together, I really don't believe that any responsible leader could ignore the evidence that we see, or the threat that we face. And that's why we've taken the action that we have, first in Afghanistan, and now in Iraq."


posted by Frodgie at 8:51 AM