Posts tagged “iraq war”
Blair wasn't a liar on Iraq -- he was incompetent, trusting US intelligence without question. New Labour was always a center-right confidence trick, and disaffected supporters were right to feel betrayed, but wrong to let that push them toward Conservatives who'll be far worse for Britain's social services.
Some bombings get names and others don't. The Baghdad attack killed twice as many people as London, but you wouldn't know it from the coverage.
Rice's careful non-denial about attacking Iran tells the whole story. "Not on the agenda at this point" is diplomatic cover, not a denial. Given Bush's track record of doing the unthinkable, and Iran's role in funding the Iraqi insurgency, I'd bet we're attacking Iran within twelve months.
Stumbled across Internet Veterans For Truth, a scrappy group of bloggers hosting clips everyone should see: Kerry on Vietnam, Bush dodging the 9-11 commission, Rice's damning testimony about that August 2001 PDB, and more. Worth your time.
I break down the Iraqi insurgency into three groups: local power-grabbers, Iranian-backed destabilizers, and largely mythical al-Qaeda fighters. The real danger is Iran exploiting instability to seize territory and oil influence. Withdrawal ultimately hurts Western interests more than staying hurts Iraqis.
Rumsfeld literally confused Saddam Hussein with Osama bin Laden. Twice. In 20 minutes. Maybe we didn't invade Afghanistan because these idiots couldn't find it on a map. The conspiracy theories were dumb, but at least they required basic competence to execute.
Despite 1000+ interviews and months of evidence, Bush and Cheney keep implying an Iraq/9-11 link the commission explicitly found no evidence for. Cheney even claims he "probably" knows things the commission doesn't. Why didn't he share it with them, then? I'm equal parts furious and terrified.
A grab-bag of links: Jellyfish's albums deserve your attention, interview prep resources for the newly employed, BBC's useless press release rewrites, Bush's bald-head fetish and his trophy gun, American atrocities in Iraq, quiet planes, and inevitably, a clown named Spanky facing porn charges.
The Chalabi scandal keeps compounding: we paid millions to a convicted fraudster for false intel, invaded Iraq based on it, and possibly got played by Iran. Nobody's been fired. Never underestimate the Bush administration's capacity to make catastrophically bad situations dramatically worse.
Don't tell me we're "winning by numbers" in Iraq. With 25 million Iraqis, if even 1% want to fight us, that's 100,000 insurgents. We're killing 20 at a time. Do the math. Numbers are precisely the argument you don't want to make here.
If this story is accurate, the US is now keeping slaves in Iraq. Slaves. I'm done making jokes about this administration. Bush is closer to Hitler's wartime behavior than anyone in recent memory. This has to stop.
Clearing my backlog: Abu Ghraib torture outrages me, we should rent a castle in August, Mills and Boon manga exists, some guy bet his life savings on roulette and won, and yes, Wolf Blitzer's mother really does call him Wolf.
Took an Empire Records quiz (I'm Lucas, appropriately enough), got distracted by Moore's War President image, felt genuinely guilty about Iraq, and fell down a rabbit hole of random LiveJournal photos. The internet is vast, weird, and occasionally moving.
Security contractor killed in Fallujah worked for a company called Custer Battles. You really can't make this stuff up.
Bush may bring back the draft to staff an Iraq occupation that experts say could require up to 480,000 troops. Meanwhile, the government's insistence that the Constitution doesn't apply at Guantanamo has backfired, making it impossible to prosecute an accused spy for treason.
The casual way people reference physical torture as an interrogation tool is unsettling. "There are ways other than physical torture" implies it's the obvious fallback. That framing is deeply troubling.
We don't need government propaganda, we're deluded enough on our own. A third of Americans think we found WMDs in Iraq, 22% think Saddam used them during the war, and before the invasion, half believed Iraqis were among the 9/11 hijackers. None of this is true.
Linking to some good Iraqi Information Minister humor (still funny, always will be), plus thoughts on SARS panic outpacing the actual disease. That 5% death rate isn't reassuring when you think about it statistically. Staying scared for now.
I debate Ben about Iraq: the war was the right thing to do even if Bush's motives were self-serving. The UN is toothless, European opposition was self-interested, and Iraqis couldn't free themselves. I'd love a world government, but until then, at least our empire isn't genocidal.
Stop sending me the Baghdad Bob link! Fine, here it is. Also: a Honda ad that took 606 takes, a chimp using a vending machine, Syria apparently being next on Dubya's list, and assorted other internet flotsam I've been collecting.
G Takahashi's weblog has great war coverage, including a soldier's email home that vividly captures life in combat. Written March 29th, the soldier mentions "upcoming weeks" ahead, proving the media's quick-victory narrative was nonsense. Also fascinating: how the internet and Al-Jazeera have dethroned CNN as the war's trusted voice.
I support removing Saddam but question why we only target certain undemocratic leaders. Some Americans get the real story, others are hopelessly clueless. Also, try Googling "the worst search engine" for a laugh.
I'm ambivalent but increasingly convinced we should attack Iraq now, before Saddam gets nukes. It's not about the reasons Bush gives (oil), and yes, innocents will die, but stopping a greater evil before it's inevitable seems worth it. I just hope Iraq can govern itself afterward.
If the US has evidence Iraq is hiding WMDs, just give it to Blix. Convince him, get your material breach, then bomb away. Otherwise, shut up. Why is this hard?
A US Congressman's anti-France rant on Radio 4 is the most gloriously offensive thing I've ever heard. The surrender joke at 5:40 is pure gold. Also, go send someone an anti-valentine.
The UN Security Council voted unanimously for the Iraq resolution, prompting a Clinton NSC member to warn that there are "no checks and balances on President Bush." The irony of foreign autocracies positioning themselves as defenders of democratic restraint is apparently lost on everyone involved.
