This story caught my eye: WASHINGTON, July 31 – The Central Intelligence Agency was told by an informant in the spring of 2001 that Iraq had abandoned a major element of its nuclear weapons program, but the agency did not share the information with other agencies or with senior policy makers, a former C.I.A. officer has charged. In a lawsuit … Read More
US Military Throws A Lifeline To Terrorists?
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld today rejected calls to set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, saying that would be a “mistake” because it would send a “lifeline to terrorists." – Washington Post, June 23, 2005 Pentagon officials have provided little detail in discussing the possible withdrawal of forces from Iraq. The most specific estimate has … Read More
Liberation?
It looks like the women of Iraq will have LESS freedoms now than they did under Saddam. Speaking about Iraq’s new constitution, the AP writes: Most worrying for women’s groups has been the section on civil rights, which some believe would significantly roll back women’s rights under a 1959 civil law enacted by a secular regime. You would think that … Read More
Quote Of The Day
By mid-June, the Iraqi forces had been given 306 million rounds of ammunition, roughly 12 bullets for each of Iraq’s 25 million people. But when one senior American officer involved was asked whether the Americans might end up arming the Iraqis for a civil war, he paused for a moment, then nodded. “Maybe,” he said. But you really should read … Read More
The Voice of the Iraqi People (or “The Voice of the Iraqi People”)
Talk about echo chambers. Someone at CNN noted that the U.S. military is apparently recycling quotes attributed to the Iraqi people. For example, when a car bomb went off yesterday in Baghdad (killing 25 liberated Iraqis), the U.S. military released a news statement which contained this passage: “‘The terrorists are attacking the infrastructure, the ISF and all of Iraq. They … Read More
White House Purges?
It seems that some of the press gaggles archived on the White House website have, um, gone missing. For example, you can no longer access the press gaggle where Ari Fleischer says: But there’s a bigger picture here, and this is what’s fundamental—the case for war against Iraq was based on the threat that Saddam Hussein posed because of his … Read More
128,000
That’s the number of Iraqi civilian deaths since the invasion liberation clusterfuck that started in March 2003. That is one out of every 200 Iraqis. And 55% percent of them are women and children. So says an Iraqi humanitarian organization, according to the Washington Times. Have a nice day.
Flypaper Schmypaper!
The flypaper theory, which was false and stupid before last week, is now (in light of the London attacks) demonstrably false and stupid. But that doesn’t stop administration officials from making bone-headed and offensive arguments like this: Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Fran Townsend, the president’s homeland security adviser, said that the war in Iraq attracts terrorists “where we have … Read More
Moral Clarity vs Factual Clarity
Matt Yglesius says what I have been thinking for a long time. The reason why the right is inept at fighting the war on terror is because they simply have no interest in accurately surmising the driving force behind our enemies. Instead, the right just wants to paint the bad guys with broad brushes, and ignore the nuances of their … Read More
Failure IS An Option
Let’s get serious. Bush screwed up by getting us into Iraq in the first place, and screwed it up once we were there. He had no plan yada yada yada. But let’s put down the anti-Bush signs and flags and ribbons and ask some simple questions with respect to Iraq: NOW what? How do we “win”? I’m struggling with this, … Read More
Operation Yellow Elephant Update
Max Blumenthal talks to College Republicans, and asks them why they aren’t enlisting. The responses are what you would expect: “a nagging football injury”, “my ex-hippy parents don’t want me to”, etc. Then there is Cory Bray, a senior at at U.Penn’s Wharton School of Business. From the bar at a college Republican party, Bray brayed: "The people opposed to … Read More
Terrorists Heart Bush
Remember that ridiculous meme during the past election that the terrorists were rooting for John Kerry to win? Apparently, just the opposite: Two French journalists who were held hostage in Iraq told a British documentary program that their captors believed George W. Bush’s re-election as US president would help radicalize Iraqis. Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, who were seized in … Read More
Bush’s Speech
From the speech: And the larger purpose of our involvement has always been to help the nations of The Middle East become independent and stand alone, self-sustaining, as members of a great world community – at peace with themselves, and at peace with all others. With such an Iraq, our country-and the world will be far more secure than it … Read More
Better There Than Here?
One of the most annoying and disingenuous memes coming from the White House these days—and Bush repeated it in his speech last night—is the idea that it is better to fight the terrorists in Iraq than it is to fight them here. When I first heard that message, I dismissed it as silly rhetoric . . . but then, I … Read More
Bush Then And Now
THEN: "Victory means exit strategy, and it’s important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is . . . I think it’s also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn." — Bush criticizing President Clinton on not setting a timetable … Read More