Silencing voices

I know it has been ages since I wrote anything about Iraq or the war. Here is an interesting article on the Huffington Post from a lady who was based out of Baghdad for most of 2003 and 2004 speaking ambivalently about the war and her feelings about it. What was really interesting to me were the comments on the post.

There was zero thought on what was said - you can see in her post how scared she was already to be expressing anything but wholesale hatred towards the war on a blog known for "liberal" commenters. Unfortunately, her fears were right. There was the usual cacophony of "you are nuts!", "we know better than you because the folks on the teevee said so!" and the usual, "but, but Bush screwed it up!".

That was one of the reason I had stopped talking about the issue a long time ago. It was doing nothing for me in terms of interest and every post was simply a pissing match between the sides and people with something to prove - people who think they have all the answers - people to whom someone else's conversation is only a time to gather their arguments, not to actually take the time and make the effort to listen.

The post was very interesting to me, so head on over and read it. I wish people were more willing to talk in terms of gray than plain, old black and white and stop reading one anothers' minds.

You break it, you buy it!

I am spitting mad at the cut-and-run chickens right now - looks like Barack Obama has joined in on the chorus too. Hello, folks! How irresponsible are y'all! Isn't this the exact kind of thing that will prove to the world once again that when it comes to the rest of the world, America just the biggest bag of hot-air? Talk the big talk but fold it up quick as a lightning when it comes time to walk the walk?

I don't get it! Are the Democrats trying to improve the image of America or cement it at the bottom of history under the category, "blunders for the ages"....

In the mood for some propaganda

Via Protein wisdom comes this link to a story in the LATimes that laments US propagandazing the poor, innocent, Iraqi civilians with paid stories that "are basically factual, they present only one side of events and omit information that might reflect poorly on the U.S. or Iraqi governments".

Oh! The humanity! The sneakiness of it all and the awfulness of planting stories that are actually fact-based!

It has got to be against some UN convention or the other, I tell you. I mean, here I was I thought all you really needed for a good story is for it to be "fake but accurate" or atleast filled with lots of baloney and PC-emotion. Why does the damned US try to confuse the issue with facts?

Update: Here is more on the issue from Vodkapundit!

"Insurgents"? Drop Dead! - Updated

Tony Blair said it better than I could in the quoted passage below how I feel about the kidnapping of Margaret Hassan. If these guys are really interested in the welfare of Iraq and not the return of Saddam to power, how does anyone explain the kidnapping of a woman heading a charity helping Iraqis? She is a native, for Gods' sake! What is killing her going to achieve? How is it better for anybody in the whole world if this woman who has dedicated her life to helping Iraqis lead a better life is murdered brutally? I don't give a damn about the cause - just explain how this one woman's murder is going to better anything for anybody in Iraq!

Aid worker kidnapped in Iraq

"This is someone who has lived in Iraq for 30 years, someone who is immensely respected, someone who is doing her level best to help the country," said Blair.

"It shows you the type of people we are up against, that they are prepared to kidnap somebody like this."

A Care International spokeswoman said she had no idea who kidnapped Hassan or what their demands might be, but was keen to stress Hassan saw herself as part of the Iraqi community.

"She sees herself as an Iraqi. Iraq is her home. She has been living there for many years and would never consider coming back to Britain," the spokeswoman said.

Update: So how do you guys explain this video plea by the kidnapped lady? Is that still for ransom?

Wednesday's roundup

I don't know what to write about specifically, I am just going to post about what I think about the day's headlines.

CNN.com - U.S., Iraq to probe missing N-equipment - Oct 13, 2004

Washington has said it will join Baghdad in a full investigation into missing machinery from Iraq's nuclear facilities, and Iraq's science minister has invited UN inspectors to the country.

One of the things that had really bothered me about the war was the botching of the guarding of the possible WMD sites. This made the possibility of terrorists getting their hands on dangerous material so much more real that it terrifies me. It is good to see finally someone woke up and decided to do some thing about this.

U.S. agency taking spyware to court Woo hoo! I curse the moustaches of all spy-ware makers! May all your computers be infected forever!

India ranks 55th and Pakistan 91st out of 104 countries according to the World Economic Forum's Growth Competitiveness Index.

Of course, they found another mass-grave in Iraq filled with women and children - "The body of one woman was found still clutching a baby. The infant had been shot in the back of the head and the woman in the face, the BBC reported." Saddam? Just drop dead!

Oh, the Lakers lost to the Seattle Sonics 80-87 yesterday in their first pre-season game - if this is any indication of the season to come, Kobe will realize sooner than later that he ain't all that without Big Daddy Shaq helping him out.

Iraqi women for equality

It sure warms my equality-loving-feminist heart to see pictures of Iraqi women not lying down and taking it but taking to the streets in an effort to make their voices heard. Check out pictures taken by Zeyad from a womens' rally opposing the proposition 137 proposed by the GC that would curtail their right to vote - Healing Iraq Photoblogs.

Go Women! If they won't give you what you want, don't be afraid to fight for it!

It was about oil

I guess the Iraq war was about oil after all...only for the nations who were opposing it in the security council like France and Russia - MORE ON IRAQ'S OIL CONTRACTS!

Update: Here are Zeyad's views on the story - The mother of all scandals and No Oil for blood - he seems to have a little more insider info on the subject -

And to all you infidel naysayers: "May Allah damn your moustaches". This IS an authentic official list. My uncle who has been working at the State Oil Marketing company for over 20 years told me that yesterday, and also that these 'deals' weren't all under the Oil for Food program but also by illicit oil smuggling through Turkey, Jordan, and Syria. The deputy Minister of Oil has already issued a statement about it adding that there are many more documents proving these links that have not been released to public yet.

[all emphasis in original]

Another update: Sam of Hammorabi has a list of countries and the names associated - for India, it seems to be a certain Beham Sing and the Congress Party - so who is this Beham Sing? A google search doesn't turn up anything on the name - anybody know who this guy is? Does anyone wonder now why the CONgress Party opposed the sending of Indian troops to Iraq? Sonia Gandhi also seemed deeply concerned by the war - I guess she didn't want her bribe-source to dry up before the elections...

This is too good!

Yahoo! News - Iraq to Probe Alleged Saddam Oil Bribes

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq plans to investigate allegations that dozens of officials and businessmen worldwide illegally received oil in exchange for supporting former leader Saddam Hussein, officials said Tuesday.

Of course, the really interesting part is a partial list of the organizations and individuals alleged to have received these bribes -

Organizations named include the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Communist Party, India's Congress Party and the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

(link via LGF)

Awesome!!!

The Command Post - Iraq - Saddam Captured Alive, Iraq Official Says - it is a jolly good day to be alive :)

So, my Mavs whup some Laker butt in LA on the 13th anniversary of their last win there on Friday - my husband buys me an $1100-pair of diamond chandelier earrings on Saturday and I hear the Saddamonster is captured this Sunday morning - can my weekend be any more perfect? Funny you should ask :) I would love for Darrah or Sandra to beat sour-puss Lillian on Survivor, thankyouverymuch! ;)

I would give anything to be able to down a cool glass of Reisling right about now, but I guess I have to wait another 6 months before I can complete my celebration. heh!

More anti-terror demonstrations

Here is an initial first-hand report of the long-planned anti-terror demonstrations in Baghdad, held by the various political parties marching together for peace and democracy in Iraq - The Iraqi people spoke today. I will post more links as they become available. I think this is a good thing that the long-oppressed seem to have found a voice of their own and are for the first time marching for themselves and not Saddam.

Update: The Iranian reformers are trying to jump on the democracy bandwagon - here is news of huge demonstrations asking for an end to the brutal mullahcracy in Iran.

Iraq update: Zeyad's perspective on the demonstrations is here - here are some pictures he took with his new digital camera of the demonstrations. I love these guys' spunk and courage and the eternally optimistic outlook they project.

Another update: Here is a the Yahoo (AFP) story on the demonstrations - note the "sneer" quotes around the word "terrorism" - Bleh! Did I mention AFP is French?

(begin rant) Another thing to keep in mind - if even Al-Jazeera admits (per the Iraqi bloggers) there were 10,000 people marching in these demonstrations, why is this not a big media event? Why is the big media in general silent about it? Doesn't fit with their storyline of a "quagmire"? Why is it that when "NON-IRAQIS" hold anti-war rallies it is a big thing but when the free IRAQI people hold them to make their views known, people just ignore them?(end rant)

It is also really interesting to see the difference between the so-called anti-war protesters and the Iraqis marching against terrorism in Zeyad's photos (he has three sets of pictures up on his site). Where as there is nothing but blood, hate and a freaky carnival atmosphere in the "peace" protests, the Iraqis as you can see are well-dressed and almost every face shines with hope and happiness. The people look repectable and they seem to be proud in whatever they are doing.

Last update: Here is a hilarious comparison in pictures between the "peace" protesters and the Iraqi demonstrators.

Very interesting!

Telegraph | News | Revealed: the Iraqi colonel who told MI6 that Saddam could launch WMD within 45 minutes

An Iraqi colonel who commanded a front-line unit during the build-up to the war in Iraq has revealed how he passed top secret information to British intelligence warning that Saddam Hussein had deployed weapons of mass destruction that could be used on the battlefield against coalition troops in less than 45 minutes. Lt-Col al-Dabbagh, 40, who was the head of an Iraqi air defence unit in the western desert, said that cases containing WMD warheads were delivered to front-line units, including his own, towards the end of last year.

This colonel not only says they had WMDs ready to be deployed in case of war, but that too within 30 minutes...It should be interesting to say the least, to find out what else will come out as these people will start talking about their capabilities to the coalition forces and to the world in general. Pre-emptive update: Here is a link to a site that claims that there can be RPG-propelled chemical weapons and have been known to be possessed by Iraq. Another update: An interesting article about how the Telegraph tracked down the Colonel. (All links via LGF)

How credible is Riverbend?

Iraq at a glance

I read in one of the blogs the following: "Bush was in Iraq on the 27th. He made a fleeting visit to Baghdad International Airport. Don't let the name fool you- Baghdad Airport is about 20 minutes outside of Baghdad. It's in this empty, desert-like area that no one is allowed to go near.". I want to say: please watch at Baghdad's map carefully, you can conclude easily that the longest displacement in Baghdad is 25Km, so, how can Baghdad international Airport be 4 Km outside Baghdad and in a DESERT like area??
You can see the sectors: 'Hay Al-A'amel', 'Hay Al-Firdows','ay Al- Jihad' and 'Hay-Al Ta'ameem', all of these sectors located around Baghdad International Airport and the time which is needed to reach the airport from these sectors is less than 10 minutes!
So, the Airport is IN Baghdad and beside those sectors.

[All emphasis in original]

So writes Ays, another Iraqi blogger about a post written by Riverbend of Baghdad Burning. Now, I have always kept an open mind about both the pro-US and the anti- Iraqi bloggers so far, but this attempt to deliberately mislead people who might think she is telling the truth since she lives there is something that looks like a cheap tactic to pander to her audience or to bitch about something just for the sake of bitching about it. Eiter ways, it does a lot to damage her credibility when she deliberately distorts facts to make them fit into her world-view.

Update: Here is a BBC map of Baghdad for reference.

It is very unilateral

Looks like the action in Iraq is getting more unilateral by the day - Japan Set to Send Troops to Iraq (washingtonpost.com). Who cares if there are Italian, Spanish, Polish and British (just to name a few) troops out there in addition to the Americans? If there are no French, Germans and the UN (given the great job they seem to be doing in places like Ivory-no-blood-for-cocoa- Coast) I guess we still cannot call the coalition multilateral!
/sarcasm

Demonstrations in Iraq

Zeyad has a good-sized report on the recent anti-terrorism demonstrations in Iraq in this post - Yesterday's anti-terrorism demonstrations in Baghdad - Omar has a first-nad report (he participated in the demonstration) in this post - I was there. It is hard not to be optimistic when you see these people so enthusiastically jump into the process of taking control of their lives back into their own hands and freely express what they want.

I have read in many places where people fight over which Iraqis are the real truth-tellers - optimistic ones like Zeyad, Omar, Ays and Alaa, or seemingly pessimistic ones like Riverbend. I am not going to get into the debate - it is also very true that depending on your ideology and what you want or expect to happen in Iraq, you are going to like one side better than the other. I admit as a supporter of the war, I like what the optimistic Iraqi bloggers have to say, since they seem to be validating my contentions that ultimately the war to remove Saddam would be good for Iraq.

What is more interesting to me is a look at the demographics and see how the viewpoints differ based on that. The skeptical ones, both Salam Pax and Riverbend are younger (in their 20s) and had a lot more privileges before the war than arguably most other Iraqis. The new Iraqi bloggers on the other hand are mostly middle-aged, well-educated (some are dentists and others doctors) - they seem to have seen a lot more happening around them than the reactionary and easily-enraged young ones. This is what makes me listen to them so much more, as they seem to be wiser and more cool-headed. The older bloggers also concentrate more on fixing the broken than rail that something is not being fixed as soon as they would like it.

Of course, this is not to say this somehow invalidates the viewpoint of the younger bloggers - as a young woman, I can see how Riverbend could be fearful for her safety in the current chaos reigning in Baghdad, which might not be that obvious to the men, Zeyad, Omar, etc. Ultimately, one is not neccessarily more right than the other, just because you like what they have to say. I think it is better to be able to see all the viewpoints and try to understand them, so you get a better overall picture of what is going on in Iraq.

War and WMD

I guess the Iraq war was not about the WMD after all...BAIT AND SWITCH:

Good Riddance!

Two down, one to go!

Saddam's sons killed in U.S. raid

July 22 - Saddam Hussein's fugitive sons Odai and Qusai were killed Tuesday during a raid on a home in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the commander of allied ground forces in Iraq said.

Nice Move!

Iraq council plans war crimes trials

So the Iraqi people form their first semi-government and as expected, want to prosecute Saddam and sons for the horrors they visited on the Iraqis. So what does Human Rights Watch do? They criticize, of course!

BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 15 - In a move that drew immediate criticism from a human rights organization, Iraq's first postwar national political body decided Tuesday to establish a tribunal to try former members of Saddam Hussein's regime and others accused of crimes against humanity, according to a spokesman for a key member of the 25-member Governing Council. Meanwhile, the U.S. administrator for Iraq applauded the formation of the 3-day-old council and said the length of time American forces remain in the country is "now in the hands of the Iraqi people."

Why, you ask?

Hania Mufti, London director of Human Rights Watch, said the Iraqi court system was ill-equipped to deal with the task of trying such crimes and said international legal experts should be part of the process. ...
“Saddam’s victims should not be overseers of the justice system. It should be independent of both the former regime and its victims,” Mufti said.

Of course, this is the same organization that says on its website -

Unfortunately, the US seems more interested in questions of justice and accountability for past crimes mainly to the extent that these can be used to vilify the old Iraqi regime and justify its military intervention. It is far less interested in seeking justice for the victims and survivors of Saddam Hussein's tyranny.

Let us read that a little more slowly now. The US only wants to "vilify" the old regime? As if they made up stuff to make Saddam look bad? How does one vilify a mass-murdering, sadistic megalomaniac?et's look at the second point - justice for victims - if HRW is so interested in that, why are they now criticizing the victims who are actually seeking justice? Does it make any sense? Or were those words just to beat up the US with, but don't mean nothing to the HRW?

But then of course, there is more. I noticed something real funny when I went to their main website. The main page has a picture of a poor Muslim lady who lost family in the Gujarat riots. Fair enough! I wonder what they have to say about Pakistan - Pakistan - compare it to the India page. Most items on Pakistan page are either US-related or old. On the India page, you see slavery, womens' problems, communalism - you would think India was a hell-hole compared to the "Land of the Pure".

Yep! I take them seriously - they are not biased at all.

To John Doe

To the oh-so-mysterious coward who emails me news items on Iraq every so often, first of all, Shove it! Got that? because I have no idea what you are trying to accomplish by that. Do you want me to change my mind and rally to get Saddam back in power? Fat chance! I still maintain that after the initial shock wears off and the Iraqis learn to govern themselves, they will live better lives than they did under your "beloved dicator".

For every article you cite about how Iraq is "fallin apart", I can tear your Chicken Little crap apart by citing articles about how good of a job the Iraqis are doing for themselves -

There is rebuilding going on in Iraq--largely by Iraqis. (thanks, Niraj)
They can't decide on a flag and nobody knows who they are - but it feels good to have some kind of government in Iraq (Salam Pax's column for Guardian)
Iraq's Governing Council named

Sign your name if dare to and I will argue with you and be reasonable if I think it is worth my time. If not, don't waste your time on me, since I won't be doing so on you anyways. Oh, and go outdoors once in a while - it may help your depression at seeing dictators fall, poor thing!

G from Baghdad

A very perceptive post from G in Baghdad (Salam's friend) about the situation there and the difference between the people while talking to outsiders and between themselves (channel of reality and channel of rhetoric) - G. in Baghdad - read the whole thing. Very interesting.

What about the children?

If I were the violent sort, I would shove this into the faces of all those hypocrites worrying about the "cruel, imperialist USA" killing hundreds and thousands of Iraqis and their children in the war with Iraq. I would make all those who hid behind the one injured Iraqi boy to try to get their mind around 200 children! Imagine it! TWO HUNDRED children - some still holding their dolls - BURIED ALIVE!!! Now tell me how your stupid candle-lit vigils were supposed to help these kids in any way! Tell me, how your marching with signs of "No blood for oil!" helped this innocent blood from being gratuitously spilled! Do you really give a flying fuck if we find WMDs or not? After these hundreds of mass-graves being unearthed, after these gruesome stories of death, humiliation and torture that the Iraqis faced daily for decades, do you still think Saddam should have been left alone?

On second thoughts, don't speak! Some of you are so blinded by hatred for Bush and America, you don't give a damn.

KurdishMedia News - Daily Kurdish news updates

"Citizens were discovered on May 30, 2003, in a communal grave close to Debs, in Kirkuk. However, this mass grave was different from other mass graves discovered since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s terrorist regime since it contained the remains of 200 babies, victims of the repression of the Kurdish uprising in 1991," Al-Taakhi noted. "Even the dolls were buried with the children," it added.

It is believed that the babies were buried alive. It was also reported in the local media that an adult female person had also been found in the mass grave. It was suggested that she could have been their minder.

Hello, Iraqi women!

Now that Salam Pax, his existence and his motives have been done to death all over the blogosphere, I would like to see if there are any Iraqi women interested in blogging. I mean, we have the Iranian Girl, so it isn't like blogging is forbidden - now that Saddam's not in power anymore, I would guess that it isn't too dangerous for people to venture into the internet world.

Well, if there are any Iraqi women out there interested in blogging, drop me a line and I will provide you the web space for free :) We would love to hear from you.

One beeellion dollars!

Can you imagine a billion dollars? In cash? In $100 bills in three tractor trailers? All this while the country was starving and babies were dying all ostentatiously due to the UN sanctions? Yes, the same sanctions that Russia wants to leave in place now.....

Paper: Saddam took $1 billion before war

May 5 - Saddam Hussein removed nearly $1 billion in cash from Iraq's Central Bank shortly before U.S. forces began bombing Baghdad in March, The New York Times reported on its Web site Monday night.

Nice going!

The Russians were initially opposed to the war because they wanted proof of the "existence" of WMD - now they want proof that there are no WMD? What is it - they belive there are WMD in Iraq or not? I know it is a naive question - what really matters is that they will always try to keep the status quo for greed or out of spite, but will not lift a finger to help the people they claim to speak for.

No lifting of sanctions until proof of no WMD: Putin

NOVO-OGAREVO, Russia: UN sanctions against Iraq should not be lifted until it has been proved that the country does not possess weapons of mass destruction, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.

This is interesting!

This is really interesting to hear and proves a lot of pro-war arguments right about the Iraqis themselves welcoming the war. This poll cannot even be ruled out as propaganda, since the pollster was not a Western organization, but Indian NDTV.

Most Iraqis in Baghdad welcome US: NDTV poll

A majority of Iraqis actually welcome the US invasion on their country though the jury is still out on whether coalition troops should pull out immediately or stay back, according to an opinion poll conducted by NDTV in Baghdad.

Andrew Sullivan worries about the younger generation being less pro-American. I think there is a very simple explanation for that. The older people in general have had some whiffs of freedom and remember what it was like to live in prosperous times. They hate Saddam because they have seen the before and after-Saddam-Iraq. The youngsters on the other hand, have known no life except the one they had under Saddam - it is entirely possible that they think this is normal and think any change is bad.

Oil for "food"

No wonder the UN and Kofi Annan were so against invading Iraq. It so disgusting that the UN and Kofi Annan himself would authorize the buying of equipment such as listed below, while they are at the same time making meaningless noises about the "poor, poor, starving Iraqis". Tear the UN down already, for all the credibility they have left. I doubt if I would trust them to feed my dogs when I am on vacation - actually, I wouldn't!

Oil, Food and a Whole Lot of Questions

...About a year ago, in the name of expediency, Mr. Annan was given direct authority to sign off on all goods not itemized on a special watch list. Yet shipments with Mr. Annan's go-ahead have included so-called relief items such as "boats" and boat "accessories" from France and "sport supplies" from Lebanon (sports in Iraq having been the domain of Saddam's Hussein's sadistic elder son, Uday).

......

It is impossible to find out for certain. The quantities of goods involved in shipments are confidential, and almost all descriptions on the contract lists made public by the United Nations are so generic as to be meaningless. For example, a deal with Russia approved last Nov. 19 was described on the contract papers with the enigmatic notation: "goods for resumption of project." Who are the Russian suppliers? The United Nations won't say. What were they promised in payment? That's secret.

............

Of course, with so little paperwork made public, it is impossible to say whether there has been any malfeasance so far — but I found nothing that would seem to contradict Gen. Tommy Franks's comment that the system should have been named the "oil-for-palace program." Why, for example, are companies in Russia and Syria — hardly powerhouses in the automotive industry — listed as suppliers of Japanese vehicles? Why are desert countries like Libya, Syria and Saudi Arabia delivering powdered milk?

And then there is this menacing list of countries that supplied "detergent": Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Algeria, Yemen and Sudan. Maybe all that multisourced soap was just a terrific bargain for doing the laundry.

(link via Instapundit)
(all emphasis on the quotes, mine!)

Good stuff

A pretty damning indctment of the coverage of the war in Iraq by a Qatari writer in the "Arab News" of all the places. It provides a very interesting perspective. On a side note, doesn't this man's description of the Arab media remind you of the BBC's coverage of the events?

ArabNews: Arab Media's Conduct During War Indicative of a Deeper Malaise

The Arab media attacked the Iraqi opposition and imposed a collective boycott while satellite stations played host to everyone but the Iraqis who were, after all, the ones most concerned. The Kuwaiti media was the sole exception to this rule. Not one satellite channel had the courage to transmit scenes of welcome to the coalition troops in the liberated cities. Instead, the satellite stations made a great fuss over what they called the crimes of the coalition and ignored the crimes of the regime. The correspondents continued to impose their political points of view on viewers. Not one of the satellite stations, except Kuwait, had the courage to show a tape of the chemical strike against Halabja. It was the same with the air attack of the 1991 uprising in which holy places were hit and hundreds of Shiites were killed and tortured. More than 250,000 Iraqi citizens were killed in the uprising.

Nor was their selectivity of topics confined to analysis. It extended even into the presentation of the news. One Arab channel deliberately blamed the weapons and ammunition hidden by Saddam's soldiers who were in civilian clothes in a house. This was shown in its entirety by CNN. The aim of the Arab satellite stations was to suggest that the allies were “savage” in their treatment of civilians. Furthermore, respectable newspapers were not considered to be devout if they did not cover the sorrowful and tragic accident of the journalists who were killed by the coalition forces — in order, they said, to silence Arab satellite stations. Again, the question: Is it possible for the Arab media to be objective?

(link via Instapundit)

Poor Fisk!

I feel sorry for Robert Fisk! I really do. The poor man cannot seem to catch a break. He goes to Afghanistan during the war and he gets mugged by the Afghans. Now he is in Iraq and he is cussed at by the Iraqis while he is trying to "reclaim" books from 10-year-old kids! This is just so funny - I am sorry, but it is just really funny! I wonder if this man even understands how pathetic he sounds.

Robert Fisk: Library books, letters and priceless documents are set ablaze in final chapter of the sacking of Baghdad

I saw the looters. One of them cursed me when I tried to reclaim a book of Islamic law from a boy of no more than 10. Amid the ashes of Iraqi history, I found a file blowing in the wind outside: pages of handwritten letters between the court of Sharif Hussein of Mecca, who started the Arab revolt against the Turks for Lawrence of Arabia, and the Ottoman rulers of Baghdad.

(link via blog-grandpa)

Update: Oh, and this AP story via The Command Post adds a pretty interesting spin to the looting stories.

Oh My God!

No words!

Marines free 123 from Iraq hellhole - APRIL 16, 2003

The Marines found 123 prisoners, including five women, barely alive in an underground warren of cells and torture chambers.

Being trapped underground probably kept them safe from the bombing of Baghdad by the coalition.

Severely emaciated, some had survived by eating the scabs off their sores. All the men had beards down to their waists, said onlookers.

(link via The Command Post and Cypher)

It is all about Oil!

Conspiracy theorists have often claimed the war on Iraq was all about oil. Of course, they did say the same thing about Afghanistan too and it really happen the way they predicted it, but I don't think that will stop anyone from retracting anything. It always amazed me how much the theories relied on "future predictions" instead of past performances. We don't yet know what is going to happen to happen in the future, so let's see the staus of Iraqi oil right now - and lo and behold, the biggest benefactor of Saddam's oil has been....a French company! I wonder if that had anything to do with Chirac's bluster about vetoing any resolution put forward by US and UK. Another interesting tidbit - "Total's biggest shareholder is Montreal's Paul Desmarais, whose youngest son is married to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's daughter." (via Damian Penny). Why is the anti-war side so silent about these doings but crying itself hoarse over stuff that the Bush Government might do? Interesting ain't it?

Iraqi liberation will unleash untapped wealth
(link via Command Post)

Iraq's wealth potential is so massive that the France, China and Russia obviously became willing to sabotage the United Nations Security Council in order to exploit Iraq's oil resources.

By 2001, oil companies in those three countries had signed deals with Hussein, pledging to spend up to US$38-billion in exploration, improvements and expansions to bring production up to at least five million barrels a day.

Most lucrative of all, and least surprisingly, was the deal between Hussein and France's largest corporation, TotalFinaElf, to exploit the country's largest oil field on the Iranian border north of Basra.

"TotalFinaElf reportedly has signed a deal [in 2001] with Iraq on development rights for Majnoon [the oilfield]," said the U.S. report. "Future development of Majnoon could ultimately lead to production of 450,000 barrels per day in two years for US$4-billion and could eventually produce about one million barrels per day."

At current prices that would mean TotalFinaElf's US$4-billion would be earned back in a mere 11 months.

Hope

This just fills me with so much hope and joy. It is awesome how these people are so willing to get up and take care of themselves. I think this goes to show Iraq doesn't lack for qualified people - if only they were actually free to do what they wanted. I am proud for them.

Telegraph | News | Iraqis eager to get involved in Basra's clean-up
That was apparent in Basra's main power station, where the plant's directors met an American intelligence officer to decide what would happen to it.

The meeting had barely begun when the officer proclaimed: "Gentlemen, I am here to get this power station up and running. I've got engineers and contractors itching to get started. Is there anything you would like to add?"

"Actually," said the station's planning manager, Adel Hussein al-Shati, a stout, elderly man who once studied at Portsmouth Polytechnic, "we'd like to do it ourselves." He then explained how long it would take and how many men he needed.

"Well that's a relief," the officer said. "Get to work."

"Of course," Mr al-Shati said. "This is our job and this is our country".
(link via Joanne Jacobs)

In case you were wondering

In case you were wondering what people will start complaining about now that Baghdad has fallen, here is an excellent example. I admit some of his points make sense, but why is it necessary for people to put into what could have turned into a very sensible column offering post-war advice to America, silly allegations?

G Parthasarathy: Iraq's uncertain future
Large sections of the Iraqi armed forces deserve high praise for the tough resistance offered to a force that totally dominated the skies and possessed overwhelming superiority in firepower.
He is openly supporting the people who were fighting FOR a dictator, using means like human shields and terror tactics against the coalition forces.

The conflict has seen horrifying images of civilian casualties. It has resulted in erosion of the credibility of the American media and particularly channels like CNN. The Americans have encountered a population that feels it is faced with a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea.
Coma again? Who loses credibility? The people who predicted half-a-million civilian deaths or the American media? Why would civilian casualties affect American media's credibility? Because they don't focus on blood, guts and gore like Al-Jazeera?

The British and Americans have made little, if any, progress in winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. The United States is going to find that winning the war was far easier than winning the peace. It seems determined to ignore symbolism that are essential to correct the image that this war is being fought primarily in order to gain control of Iraq's oil and gas resources.
Stupid, again - how do we know the Iraqis hate Americans? Oh, because giving flowers, kissing on the cheek and cheering for them are insults according to some obscure Arab customs?

The problem with columns like these is not that they don't make some extremely sensible points - the problem is that they so cannot resist taking gratuitous potshots against America and are so mired in negativity that the good points are lost under all that bad.

How about that!

Those forged documents every one was accusing the US of using to convince the UN to approve the war on Iraq.....looks like they were put into the market by the French originally. Now, I really wonder why France would do such a thing.....

Tipping Points (washingtonpost.com)

The intelligence officials offered a tantalizing coda for conspiracy-mongers. They said the "crude forgery" received by U.N. weapons inspectors suggesting the Iraqis were trying to buy uranium from Niger as part of their nuclear program was originally put in intelligence channels by France. The officials wouldn't speculate on French motives.

(link via Instapundit)

Flame-bait alert!

Now if I were a really mean person and wanted to piss off some people and gloat over my pro-war and pro-American stance, I would put up a picture like the one below on my blog. But I am really a nice person, aren't I? ;)

Somehow to me, this picture speaks a lot better than all the anti-war slogans combined :D

A picture is worth....

A picture is worth hundred words - I couldn't help but choke down tears when I was listening to radio on my way to work and they were describing the Iraqis' effort to bring down Saddam's statue, and thus symbolically ending his regime. I felt so proud and happy for the people - I think we should pay the Bay area peaceniks' tickets to Iraq, so they could personally tell these people why it was so wrong for them to be liberated. Why everything should have been left in place in the name of "world Peace". I bet the Iraqis would have some really good answers, doncha think?

My Way News Photo - WAR IRAQ US

Update:
What is wrong with this Rediff headline about the event?
US troops bring down Saddam statue in central Baghdad

Not American fault

Pretty interesting news this, especially since the Al-Jazeera is trying to make it all look like that US is deliberately targeting its reporters. If the BBC doesn't think it is the Americans' fault, then I really don't think it is. I commend the fact that the Americans were quick to apologize, even if they weren't sure they did it. It shows they are atleast willing to take responsibility for any mistakes they might have made in the war.

MediaGuardian.co.uk | Special reports | Gilligan casts doubt on source of hotel attack

The BBC's defence correspondent Andrew Gilligan has cast doubt on whether the missile that killed two journalists in Baghdad today was fired by a US tank, speculating that Iraqi soldiers may have launched the lethal attack.

The US military has admitted one of its tanks fired on the Palestine Hotel, the centre for most of the foreign media in the Iraqi capital.

However, Gilligan said reports from central command in Qatar were starting to suggest US tank fire was not responsible for the deaths of Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk and Jose Couso, a cameraman with the Spanish TV network Telecinco.

Really?

But then I thought the Iraqis didn't want or need to be liberated - what about patriotism? Why would they turn on "fellow brothers" who wanted to help them? Maybe because they were actually happy with what is going on in their country right now? Oh, but if it were upto some people. we would be debating this plan to death for the next 12 years, while Saddam would turn Iraq into a virtual graveyard. Thank God that regardless of motives or reasons, someone took the initiative to help these people! I am happy for them.

Hurt and Disillusioned, Some Arab Fighters Go Home
(link via Command Post)

Salaam, a Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim, said he was unprepared for the hostility of some Iraqis to volunteers like himself.

"I went there to be a martyr, not to be murdered by a brother," he told Reuters. "We went there to help them liberate their country, and all they did was shoot us in the back."

"I am not afraid of the Americans. On the contrary I want to fight them. But I was scared of the Iraqis, specifically those who call themselves the Iraqi opposition," he said.

Awesome!

Of course, I am still not supposed to call Saddam "evil", since I am not supposed to care. As for the kids, I hope that every one who has seen the stock photos on Al-Jazeera and Arab News about the "poor, burned and dead" children, will spare a little thought for these more than 100 kids, who have been imprisoned for years, and most certainly would have died in prison, if not for the war.. But then I am crazy right-winger, what do I know? :)

The Command Post: Saddam's Imprisoned Children

More than 100 children held in a prison celebrated their freedom Tuesday as US marines rolled into northeast Baghdad amid chaotic scenes which saw civilians loot weapons from an army compound, a US officer said...

"The children had been imprisoned because they had not joined the youth branch of the Baath party," he alleged. "Some of these kids had been in there for five years."

The truth behind Iraqi Body Count

Oxblog has a very nice analysis of the way the "Iraqi Body Count" website - yeah, the one by the already discredited Marc Herold, whose civilian bodycounts in the Afghanistan war were widely called for the BS they were. Josh Chafetz looks at the numbers and comes to the conclusion that....gasp! Iraqi Body Count's minimum numbers are more than what even Iraqi officials themselves (who obviously have a vested interest in making it seem like the coalitionis killing civilians) are claiming! Any one surprised? Didn't think so!

The Iraqis

Looks like the Iraqis understand the Americans' problems a lot better than some Americans and most of the rest of the world. What else can you say? These are the people under the knife of the sword - they are not arm-chair generals like you and me. They accept and forgive the mistakes, because they know better than anyone else, whose fault everything really is. If only our know-it-allness were not so all-consuming, we would give a thought to those people being threatened the most, instead of assuming we know all the answers.

CBS News | On The Scene: Iraqi Forgiveness | March 28, 2003 19:45:46

It is exactly the type of mistake the U.S. military most wants to avoid, but knows it cannot. A civilian vehicle carrying a family of farmers was attacked by Marines on a road north of an-Nasiriyah.

Three people, the family patriarch and two brothers, were killed, but amazingly in their shock and grief the surviving family members turned to the marines for help.

"He says he knows it was the American military that did this, but he is not angry because Saddam is intentionally sending civilians down this road intentionally for this to happen," said Cpl. Jeff Lindsey, translating.

(link via The Command Post)

Ask and ye shall receive....

Apparently that is the case in Iraq, as seen in the story below. All the soldiers had to do was ask politely and they were told the information they were seeking. It would really be funny if it weren't related to such a dangerous situation. May be we should have sent these soldiers to negotiate with Saddam.

"Would you leave Iraq and run away into exile with your whole family of murderers?"

"Why, sure - let me call my travel agent..."

So what have you got? Explosives

According to an officer in the boarding party the interrogation went something like this: "So, mate, have you got any weapons or explosives on board?

"The captain didn't just say yes, he drew a picture showing how the 45-litre steel drums lined up on the deck had been welded together and then split down the middle to make a hinged shelter for dozens of mines."

"Explosive! Explosive!" the captain reportedly said, pointing to the drums and a raft towed behind the tug.

(link via The Command Post)

Good Read

A very well-written article debunking the top ten myths about the war in Iraq. Also serves as a helpful primer to many issues that are currently being raised by both sides on the war.

Top 10 Lists: Top Ten Myths About the War in Iraq

(link via Vodkapundit)

More lies!

This article is filled with so many gross distortions of facts and lies - I cannot imagine it is masquerading as news instead of being filed under opinion, or at least terrible propaganda. I don't have the patience to "fisk" it the way it deserves to be. Have at it!

US remembers the law on POWs, belatedly - The Times of India

Moral relativism

I guess someone needs to tell the Red Cross that while the images shown of the Iraqi POWs were of them being helped, searched or just being led away - none of them is interrogated on camera, there is no violence against them and none of the prisoners are identified.

As for the Iraqi side, we have already seen that some POWs were executed summarily, those alive were not being treated, but were interrogated on camera forcibly, were made to identify themselves on camera. Also, the stuff shown about the Iraqi POWs, was shot and broadcast by independent news channels, while the American POWs were interrogated by "Iraqi TV" and shown on Al-Jazeera.

IOL : Red Cross reminds war parties of POW terms

The Qatar-based Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera and Iraqi state television on Sunday broadcast images and interviews of US soldiers held by Iraq, along with images of several bodies, apparently dead US soldiers.

In recent days, other television stations have also broadcast footage showing Iraqis captured by American-British forces.

Horrific!

You go America! Go liberate the poor souls. Go give them back their lives.

United Press International: Lucky Break for Jordan

A group of American anti-war demonstrators who came to Iraq with Japanese human shield volunteers made it across the border today with 14 hours of uncensored video, all shot without Iraqi government minders present. Kenneth Joseph, a young American pastor with the Assyrian Church of the East, told UPI the trip "had shocked me back to reality." Some of the Iraqis he interviewed on camera "told me they would commit suicide if American bombing didn't start. They were willing to see their homes demolished to gain their freedom from Saddam's bloody tyranny. They convinced me that Saddam was a monster the likes of which the world had not seen since Stalin and Hitler. He and his sons are sick sadists. Their tales of slow torture and killing made me ill, such as people put in a huge shredder for plastic products, feet first so they could hear their screams as bodies got chewed up from foot to head."

It is true

So, I guess it is true that someone close to Saddam or Saddam himself did get injured and that too, pretty bad. I hope that family of snakes gets eliminated fast, so the war can be over already.

Letter From Gotham: SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED TO SOMEONE

Arvind, you are an idiot!

Man, where does this guy get off fabricating crap to further his own agenda?

Remembering and forgetting

In lecturing to us on all of the above and much more from time to time, the US forgets the events in its own land of

• black churches being burnt


• the prevalence still of the Ku Klux clan


• allowing all-white juries at trials of blacks


• cosying up to sycophantic dictators


• helping to create Frankenstein monsters like the Taliban


• denying the right to abortion to its women across the country


• forsaking international obligations on environment, ballistic missiles and criminal courts


• indefinitely denying access to lawyers and judges to 650 suspected terrorists and Taliban fighters held in a naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and


• not even whispering about a dialogue with Saddam Hussein before setting out to finish him off.

Ok folks, let deal with this crap one point at a time -
Black churches being burnt? you mean 50 years ago during the civil rights movement? How about the burning of live people (Sikhs) a mere 20 years ago? Don't remember where?

Ku Klux Klan? Yes, they exist, because of the freedom of speech that this land has, that will not suppress any one, regardless of what they say. That doesn't mean they are supported and 1000s of people attending them, unless they are booing them, of course.

All-white juries sentencing blacks? examples, please! This is a land where OJ got away with murder literally because he was black and so was most of his jury.

Dictators, that I agree to an extent - that is called diplomacy, and btw, Saddam Hussein, the guy India is supporting right now, is a dictator in case you were not aware.

Creating the Taliban, agreed upto an extent again, and since they created the monster, it was only fair that they killed it too.

Denying rights to abortion? That's new for me - I will let NOW and Planned Parenthood know where that is, so they can go fight that "grave injustice".

Forsaking obligations - towards the world - nice words, man - you want them to send in a peace-keeping force for every damned thing and then stand trial for it in the International Criminal Court? You are nuts if you fell for it. There is a reason why there are different nations - an ICC would be as big a joke as the UN soon.

Lawyer access to enemy prisoners of war, who are technically not that, since they don't have a country they were fighting for. Instead of gathering intel from them, you want the US to pay for their lawyers and make a farce out of their trials - ha ha, funny!

Dialogue with Saddam Hussein? about what? wasn't the UN talking to him for the last 12 years? What else is there to talk about? If it were up to people like you, we would probably keep talking to Hitler, till he finished off the complete Jewish population on earth.

Seriously, Arvind, get your head out of your butt and think, man! I would have loved to see some coherent and rational arguments presented for your side, but when rely on absurdities and made-up facts to further your agenda, you lose your credibility.

Iraq's terrorism ties

This is kinda related to the discussion we were having yesterday about why Iraq and Iraq alone is being targeted by America right now in the war. Here are two excellent posts by another blogger Alex Knapp of Heretical Ideas - lots of good information - worth checking out.

IRAQ AND TERRORISM, PART ONE

IRAQ AND TERRORISM, PART TWO -- AL-QAEDA LINKS

It started!

Just heard the President's speech on TV. Nothing new - not too long of a speech - same points as usual, with the additional information that the war has started upon his orders. It is definitely a nervous time for Americans and Iraqis. I am feeling very anxious too - it is going to be hard to go to sleep tonight and leave to work tomorrow as if nothing happened. Life is going to go on as usual - at least as much as we pretend that it is normal.

So far, they are saying that the strikes are being made surgically and decisively on military targets only. I hope the trend will continue. I know and understand that there might be Iraqi human shields in the military installations, placed there by Saddam, deliberately in an attempt to influence world view. I also believe that Saddam will try to make a last ditch attempt to gas anyone he can in a way to achieve maximum deaths. I pray and hope he doesn't succeed in that.

I wish it hadn't come to this. I wish that the whole world stood together as one and asked Saddam to step down, instead of choosing to target America and Bush. I believe that Saddam might have fled if he thought that there was no way he could stall, play games and try to get away with his bullshit. Well, it has finally come to this - I hope and pray that it is over with minimum casualties on both sides and as soon as possible.

Interesting!

A very informative article at Rediff about Saddam's various trials to get his hands on a nuclear bomb, even going to the extent of trying to "recruit" an Indian scientist to help him in his nefarious efforts.

Saddam's bomb

On May 18, 1974, Saddam Hussein was chairing a meeting of the Revolutionary Command Council in his vice-presidential office when a nervous aide slipped a single sheet of paper in front of him. It was a copy of a news story from Reuters that morning, confirming that India had successfully tested a nuclear bomb in the remote Thar desert of Rajasthan. Saddam was impressed, but not amused.

'If the Hindis (Indians) can do it, why can't we?' he asked those at the table.

He had already secretly spent millions on his bomb project and had precious little to show for it. And yet here was starving India, an inferior Third World country that had dragged its bomb to the test site on the back of an ox cart, banging on the doors of the exclusive nuclear club.

The Ba'ath Party had been trying to recruit nuclear experts from all across the Arab world since 1971. There was no reason for any sleight of hand as Iraq had signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1969. Saddam's mission was to get hold of the technology he needed without showing his true intent. He had two options: he could acquire uranium or he could acquire plutonium.

Because Saddam wanted the bomb and because India had succeeded in building and testing one, Saddam swallowed his contempt for the Indians and took a personal interest in the career of their chief nuclear physicist Raja Ramanna.

12 more years!

Poor man! We should have given him another 12 years to carry out his inspections - don't you know that nearly 4 months is too soon? Whatever! Here is an idea - how about the inspectors stay on during the war and catalog the "weapons" that Saddam "doesn't have", as he brings them out for use against the Americans and his civilians? They might actually find something this way!

Regrettable that inspection isn't over: Blix

United Nations chief weapons inspector Hans Blix on Wednesday expressed regret that his teams in Iraq had no more time to complete their work.

"I naturally feel sadness that three-and-a-half months of work carried out in Iraq have not brought the assurances needed about the absence of weapons of mass destruction... and that armed action now seems imminent," he said at a Security Council meeting just hours before the American deadline for President Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq expired.

If you need more evidence

Read on, if you still need more reasons to support the overthrow Saddam's thuggocracy by force or by diplomacy.

See men shredded, then say you don't back war

Many Iraqis wonder why the world applauded the military intervention that eventually rescued the Cambodians from Pol Pot and the Ugandans from Idi Amin when these took place without UN help. They ask why the world has ignored the crimes against them?

All these crimes have been recorded in detail by the UN, the US, Kuwaiti, British, Iranian and other Governments and groups such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty and Indict. Yet the Security Council has failed to set up a war crimes tribunal on Iraq because of opposition from France, China and Russia. As a result, no Iraqi official has ever been indicted for some of the worst crimes of the 20th century. I have said incessantly that I would have preferred such a tribunal to war. But the time for offering Saddam incentives and more time is over.

I do not have a monopoly on wisdom or morality. But I know one thing. This evil, fascist regime must come to an end. With or without the help of the Security Council, and with or without the backing of the Labour Party in the House of Commons tonight.

(link via LGF)

Good Article!

A very good article by Colonel (retired) Anil Athale explaining the Iraqi situation and the impact on India of any developments in the Iraqi war.

Anil Athale: Shed no tears for Saddam

The occupation of Iraq, either peacefully or with force, will take place sooner or later. US preparations for taking action against Iraq are at such a level that not taking action is no longer an option. The US has moved huge forces over a distance of 7,000 kms, spending close to $9 billion. Backing down now would mean political suicide for President Bush.

Even if Saddam Hussein is to comply with all that the US wants the US will make sure he is ousted and a regime change affected in Iraq. The issue of possession or detection of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is irrelevant for the Americans.

Something to think about

Salaam gives us plenty to think about in his latest post, for people both pro-war and anti-war - he points out how neither side has his country's best interests at heart and how both sides failed to prevent the events that are leading up to the war that will temporarily at least, debilitate his country and the citizens.

I pray that whatever occurs will be swift and as painless as possible to both the American soldiers and the Iraqi civilians. I also hope that the aftermath will bring smiles, freedom and happiness to the Iraqis that will far outweigh the inevitable death and destruction that is going to be caused.

Hans Blix....

Is he really for the UN and for peace, or is he for Saddam? Why is he trying to so hard to portray Saddam in a good light - going to the extent of covering up valuable and incriminating evidence against him? Is he really as neutral an observer as he claims to be? Should we be really taking his words seriously? Does he have any credibility left?

Iraqi drone 'could drop chemicals on troops'

A REPORT declassified by the United Nations yesterday contained a hidden bombshell with the revelation that inspectors have recently discovered an undeclared Iraqi drone with a wingspan of 7.45m, suggesting an illegal range that could threaten Iraq’s neighbours with chemical and biological weapons.

(link via LGF)

Just read it!

Words simply cannot do justice to the horrors stories this one battle-hardened journalist found himself come face-to-face with in Iraq. Read all this and tell me how the American-led war is worse for Iraqis than their current "living" conditions.

Why this monster must go - theage.com.au
(link via Tim Blair)

Interesting and Disturbing!

This is very interesting in itself, especially so in the light of Saddam's so-called co-operative destruction of the Samoud missiles (with no photos or video allowed, of course - you ask us of eveidence? who do you think we are? America?). Disturbing is the fact so far none of the US newspapers have covered this piece of news.

Saddam 'killed missile chief' to thwart UN team

(link via Susanna)

Western intelligence agencies are investigating claims that Saddam Hussein ordered the murder of a senior Iraqi missile engineer to prevent him passing vital information to United Nations weapons inspectors.

Gen Muhammad Sa'id al-Darraj, who was in charge of Iraq's mobile Scud missiles until three months ago, died 24 hours after talks with Saddam's officials, according to Arab newspaper reports. The officials wanted to discuss how the general would conceal his knowledge if he were called for interview by the UN.

An Iraqi Story

Who says us blood-thirsty war-mongers don't have hearts? Here is a different look at the Iraqi people via a story told by Suman Palit

Old Gods, New Gods, a woman of the peshmerga.. and of promises kept (Act I):

Now it all makes sense!

See, all these days I haven't been able to figure out how people make such awful assumptions about the motives and actions of America just because it is America. Scrappleface runs a Powell speech through the "WOW" translator and lets us ignoramuses know what was really said (wink, wink).

ScrappleFace: Powell Continues 'Saber Rattling' in Pakistan Interview

Huh?

I thought he didn't have those thingies.....Wasn't that the whole point of the "containment works!" - "more inspections less accountability" - crowds? That he cannot possibly have the weapons that he is now threatening the poor things with.

We will gas you when US bombs fall, Kurds told

If war comes to Iraq, the Kurds of Kifri will be right in the line of fire. Iraqi officials have threatened that the moment the first American bomb lands, they will reply with a chemical assault on the town.

But in the entire place, there is not a single gas mask to be had, and no detection posts, decontamination centres or safe houses.

In lieu of proper protection, the residents of Kifri have been doing what they can to prepare. The women have baked high-energy biscuits that will keep fresh for weeks. The men scour the town's bazaar for extra blankets and plastic sheeting.

(link via Inscrutable American)

More Iraqi views on war

Iraqis in Syria fear U.S. will again abandon war against Saddam
Voice of Iraqis
If antiwar protesters succeed

(all the above and more from Instapundit)

Very Interesting!

A very interesting analysis of how many Iraqis could die as a result of war. Very intelligent and logical and seems to ask the right questions without making too many wrong assumptions.

How Many Dead Iraqis? - Guessing about collateral damage. By Fred Kaplan

He was there

...he has been in a situation similar to Iraq now and here is his story -

War for Peace? It Worked in My Country

But I still acutely remember the suffering and misery brought about by war. It would certainly be a better world if war were not necessary. Yet I also remember the desperation and anger I felt when the rest of the world chose to ignore the tragedy that was drowning my people. We begged a foreign power to free us from oppression, by force if necessary.

So I follow with some consternation the debate on Iraq in the United Nations Security Council and in NATO. I am unimpressed by the grandstanding of certain European leaders. Their actions undermine the only truly effective means of pressure on the Iraqi dictator: the threat of the use of force.

Critics of the United States give no credit to the Bush administration's aggressive strategy, even though it is the real reason that Iraq has allowed weapons inspectors to return and why Baghdad is cooperating a bit more, if it indeed is at all.

The antiwar demonstrations are truly noble. I know that differences of opinion and public debate over issues like war and peace are vital. We enjoy the right to demonstrate and express opinions today because East Timor is an independent democracy — something we didn't have during a 25-year reign of terror. Fortunately for all of us, the age of globalization has meant that citizens have a greater say in almost every major issue.

Well, well, well!

Saddam challenges Bush to a public debate!
Bush responds!!!

More Iraqis for peace - via war!!!

Iraqi-Americans urge U.S. to oust Saddam - 02/24/03

DEARBORN -- In an answer to this month's worldwide war protests, some 500 Iraqi-Americans on Sunday urged one of President Bush's top military strategists to topple Saddam Hussein.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz assured them that American military might would come with even greater humanitarian help for people under Saddam's grip.

Very Interesting!!!

Very, very interesting and explains a lot too.

What did Schroeder know and when did he know it?

Even before the beginning of the current crisis the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) obtained evidence that Iraq possessed rolling laboratories for bio-weapons production. According to reliable classified sources, Saddam Hussein ordered the mobile facilities built as recently as 2000.

Hamburg -- The BND reported their suspicions to both the Chancellor's office and the Bundestag foreign affairs committee several months ago. US Secretary of State Colin Powell showed pictures of this type of rolling laboratory to the Security Council three weeks ago.

(link via Instapundit)

Good One!

I guess one by one the Arabs are either trying to scare Saddam into exile, or are making a case to their citizens for joining up on America's side in the war.

Egyptian newspaper blames Saddam for war

"The Iraqi leadership is characterized by great pride combined with total ignorance. When these two traits are joined, they cause the disasters and crises that Saddam Hussein's regime has brought upon us time after time.

"The only one who can stop the war wagon is Saddam Hussein.

"He must stop the games, co-operate with the UN, and answer this question: 'Where are the chemical and biological weapons that Washington knows Baghdad has?'

(link via Sari)

No Blood for Mount Doom!!!

Very funny! Wonder how a certain Aragorn (let's call him "iggo ortensen" to protect his privacy) feels about that :-)

Peace in Middle Earth in our time

MINAS TIRITH (Gondor News Network) - Thousands of peace activists took to the streets of Minas Tirith and other cities of Middle Earth today to protest what they termed a rush to war with Mordor.

(link via Andrea Harris)

This is so funny

Iraqi Vice President Offers `Dialogue'

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraq's vice president offered to hold a dialogue with the United States, saying in an interview aired Friday that his country was ready to talk if Washington ends threats of war.

What are they really going to US about? If they are prepared to show proof that they have no weapons, they should be talking to the UN right now - but then, maybe they wanted to convey this message to US in person -

"Oh God, support Iraq and its army and leadership," he said. "Oh God, make the Jews, Americans and British weak. Oh God, crush their forces, down their planes, sink their ships and shake the earth below their feet."

Anti-semitic bastards!!!

If you marched on the weekend.....

This is something you didn't see or may be don't even care knowing about. This article is a look at all the various people and organizations you marched with. I hope your heart fills with pride. Bravo! for being "courageous" enough to march and chant without a single concern for Iraqis - those "innocents" you claim to be fighting for - but you.
(Thanks, Dean)

I hope your pleas are answered soon

This was a very moving message I found via a link from Dean Esmay. I have been a rebel all my life and I cherish my freedom to be one. I cannot even attempt to fathom the feelings and lives of people who have to seek permission to breathe and live. They are alive, but are they really living or just existing? It is extremely sad for me to see hopeless lives like that being downtrodden by ruthless dictators/psychopath-scum, who deserve to be tortured the same way they tortured their citizens.

OpinionJournal - The Real World

Now, this UN business is really depressing me. Why can't they do the right thing? Many nations contributed to building this monstrous regime. Why not help to undo the damage inflicted on us?

The "No Blood for Oil" signs are particularly galling. Loads of Iraqi blood has already been spilled. At least half a million in the Iraq-Iran war, a couple of hundred thousand are estimated to have died in the Gulf War, a couple of hundred thousand Kurds disappeared in the 1980s, I have no idea how many Shias and Marsh Arabs and other Arabs against the regime have been murdered. Thousands of prisoners have also disappeared or been executed. The list goes on. It is enough.

Please send help. Everyone here wants this to be over. It is hard to imagine anything but celebrations if this monster is overthrown at long last.

Hmmm....

Those war-monger Saddam-hating Iraqis - don't they know that all they have to do is to let the UN inspectors "inspect" Iraq for another 12 years and then there will not be any Iraqis left for Saddam to torture? That will be kinda peaceful, without all the stupid talk of torture, deaths and rapes. There will still be oil in Iraq and sanctions can be lifted since officially Saddam isn't torturing anymore, and we will have achieved PEACE without war. Too bad, the Iraqis will be a little too dead to enjoy it, but it is but a wee little technicality.

Anti-Hussein Iraqis in Hungary for Training by U.S. Military

TASZAR, Hungary, Feb. 12 — Behind the high wall of concrete slats and barbed wire that surrounds the Hungarian Air Force base in this small southwestern town, the first group of Iraqi volunteers is training to join an American army that may invade Iraq.

The arrival of the Iraqis, shrouded in official secrecy, has brought the politics of the Middle East to this town of 3,000 people, mainly farmers and Hungarian military families.

This is why I am pro-war

This is not about America, India, England - even if every single other country is taken out of the equation, ultimately it is the Iraqis, whose voice I respect the most. They are the ones with more to lose than anyone else. They are the only ones with any moral authority to oppose or stand up for the war. They want it. I don't care if everybody thinks Bush is evil, it is about oil, Americans Nazis - it really doesn't matter, see? The Iraqis need something, and Americans and Bush especially are the only people willing to give it to them - freedom from oppression. Don't give me crap about other countries - they will be dealt with or not, depending on circumstances. This, is the right thing to do from Iraqi and American-interest perspective. It doesn't matter to me how many slogans peaceniks make up and how they holler at the top of their lungs - in the end all that matters is the voice of the people who are going to be affected - if they want to be liberated, who are we to say no?

Maltesh asked me a question in my comments earlier that if an Iraqi slits the throat of an infant for freedom (I am paraphrasing), will we look on and keep quiet? My answer is, Saddam has been not just slitting throats of infants, but worse - why don't we stop him? Remember the freedom struggle of India - what did we do when we were similarly oppressed? We rose up and fought it. Would we have welcomed another country to wage war against Britain and liberate us during the freedom struggle? Hell, yeah! Why wouldn't we give the Iraqi people the same chance?

I am as queasy as the next person when it comes to an all out war between anybody - heck, I can't even confront a person who is dying to pick a fight with me without shaking like a leaf. Why am I then for war? I liken this situation to be tortured by a psychopath. If I am being slowly and brutally tortured by a maniac, I would rather die than live in the conditions. I'd rather be free or die.

Another argument that I am dead against is the one of motives - like I said in a previous comment, if you were dying of thirst in a desert, do you care about the intentions of the guy who poured water down your throat? If you were broke and benefitted from a charity, would you refuse the help because all the donor wanted was to donate money so he could get a tax break? There is a limit to intellectual dishonesty. There is nothing wrong in admitting that one doesn't want the war because one cannot stand Bush and so will suspect to death anything that is done by him. But then, it is really wrong to pretend that you are doing this all this crap because you somehow care about the "poor, poor Iraqi civilians". They don't care - they want to be free. They just took away your moral authority to argue from behind their backs - Sorry, but you lost. Your loss fortunately happens to be the Iraqis' gain. God bless America and God bless a Free Iraq!!!

It's a just war, say Iraq's exiles

Iraqi exiles in Britain yesterday condemned the anti-war march and warned that it would make it easier for Saddam Hussein to continue massacring his own people.

As hundreds of exiles, many of them with first-hand experience of Saddam Hussein's brutality, prepared to stage their own counter-demonstration in London today, many spoke with anger as they watched the peace protesters pour through the streets of London.

(link via Dean Esmay)

Answer him!

I couldn't quote from this - just had to put the whole thing here -

... And why I will not

Dr B Khalaf
Friday February 14, 2003
The Guardian

I write this to protest against all those people who oppose the war against Saddam Hussein, or as they call it, the "war against Iraq". I am an Iraqi doctor, I worked in the Iraqi army for six years during Iraq-Iran war and four months during Gulf war. All my family still live in Iraq. I am an Arab Sunni, not Kurdish or Shia. I am an ordinary Iraqi not involved with the Iraqi opposition outside Iraq.

I am so frustrated by the appalling views of most of the British people, media and politicians. I want to say to all these people who are against the possible war, that if you think by doing so you are serving the interests of Iraqi people or saving them, you are not. You are effectively saving Saddam. You are depriving the Iraqi people of probably their last real chance get rid of him and to get out of this dark era in their history.

My family and almost all Iraqi families will feel hurt and anger when Saddam's media shows on the TV, with great happiness, parts of Saturday's demonstration in London. But where were you when thousands of Iraqi people were killed by Saddam's forces at the end of the Gulf war to crush the uprising? Only now when the war is to reach Saddam has everybody become so concerned about the human life in Iraq.

Where were you while Saddam has been killing thousands of Iraqis since the early 70s? And where are you are now, given that every week he executes people through the "court of revolution", a summary secret court run by the secret security office. Most of its sentences are executions which Saddam himself signs.

I could argue one by one against your reasons for opposing this war. But just ask yourselves why, out of about 500,000 Iraqis in Britain, you will not find even 1,000 of them participating tomorrow? Your anti-war campaign has become mass hysteria and you are no longer able to see things properly.

Locum consultant neurologist, London

Everyone talks about "innocent Iraqi civilian deaths" - how many Iraqis do you see talking like that? If Iraqis are willing to suffer the collateral damage in a war that will free them, who in the world has a right to oppose it and why? When Iraqi after Iraqi is wrting columns asking, begging to be liberated, why is the anti-wr movement still trying to hide behind the "poor Iraqis" cover to oppose war? Why don't they come out and say what they really think? That the real reason is that they hate Bush and that is the only reason why they are against the war? Why does everybody else think they know what is good for Iraq better than the Iraqis? If the Iraqis don't care about the motives behind the war as long as they are free, why should it be anyone else's busuness? Shouldn't the voice of the Iraqi people be more important to us? Sometimes it is really important to find out the views of the people you are trying to save and ask them what kind of a safety they want - one in which they are alive but as good as dead, or one in which a few die, but the rest are free.
(link via Instapundit)

Good one!

Sari has a very good, long and logically argued article making the case for war. Check it out.

My deconstruction of the anti-war movement:

Post-war policy for Iraq

Testimony of Douglas J. Feith Under Secretary of Defense for Policy before the Committee on Foregin Relations U.S. Senate 11 February 2003

(link via Dean Esmay)

Verrrry Interesting!

I guess it was really all about the money all along - not oiilll!

The Inspections Dodge - Why are France and Germany pro-Saddam? Follow the money.

In the two decades before the Gulf War, I played a role in Iraq's efforts to acquire major technologies from friendly states. In 1974, I headed an Iraqi delegation to France to purchase a nuclear reactor. It was a 40-megawatt research reactor that our sources in the IAEA told us should cost no more than $50 million. But the French deal ended up costing Baghdad more than $200 million. The French-controlled Habbania Resort project cost Baghdad a whopping $750 million, and with the same huge profit margin. With these kinds of deals coming their way, is it any surprise that the French are so desperate to save Saddam's regime?

Germany was the hub of Iraq's military purchases in the 1980s. Our commercial attaché, Ali Abdul Mutalib, was allocated billions of dollars to spend each year on German military industry imports. These imports included many proscribed technologies with the German government looking the other way. In 1989, German engineer Karl Schaab sold us classified technology to build and operate the centrifuges we needed for our uranium-enrichment program. German authorities have since found Mr. Schaab guilty of selling nuclear secrets, but because the technology was considered "dual use" he was fined only $32,000 and given five years probation.

Meanwhile, other German firms have provided Iraq with the technology it needs to make missile parts. Mr. Blix's recent finding that Iraq is trying to enlarge the diameter of its missiles to a size capable of delivering nuclear weapons would not be feasible without this technology transfer.

Russia has long been a major supplier of conventional armaments to Iraq--yet again at exorbitant prices. Even the Kalashnikov rifles used by the Iraqi forces are sold to Iraq at several times the price of comparable guns sold by other suppliers.

Pro- Vs Anti-war - The cross-blog debate

Since we have been doing something like this over here for the past few days, I thought it would be interesting to post this link - there are five questions posed to the pro-war crowd by the anti-war group and vice versa. Both groups will compile their best answers and respond by the 17th of this month. Stay tuned.

The Truth Laid Bear: Cross-Blog Iraq Debate: The Questions

All hail UN!!!

Shame on the UN, but then of course, if they weren't ashamed by the elections of Gaddhafi and Saddam to the Human Rights and disarmament commissions, I don't think they are capable of shame.

Bosnia sex trade shames UN

A SENIOR United Nations official is demanding that her colleagues involved in the sex trade in Bosnia should be stripped of their immunity and prosecuted.

Madeleine Rees, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bosnia, has broken ranks to demand that UN officials, international peacekeepers and police who are involved in sex crimes be brought to justice in their home countries.

(link via Greeblie)

All hail UN!!!

Shame on the UN, but then of course, if they weren't ashamed by the elections of Gaddhafi and Saddam to the Human Rights and disarmament commissions, I don't think they are capable of shame.

Bosnia sex trade shames UN

A SENIOR United Nations official is demanding that her colleagues involved in the sex trade in Bosnia should be stripped of their immunity and prosecuted.

Madeleine Rees, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bosnia, has broken ranks to demand that UN officials, international peacekeepers and police who are involved in sex crimes be brought to justice in their home countries.

(link via Greeblie)

Something to chew on.....

More later once I am done with this thing called "work"....

Truckers tell of Iraqi buildup

The truckers say many Iraqis are anxious and fearful - anxious about a war, fearful of their leader.

"I know the Iraqi people very well - I spend a lot of time there - and they're scared of Saddam," said Gergez, who recently spent 20 days in Mosul when Iraqi customs officials impounded his truck.

"They speak against him, but only to the drivers and always very secretly.

"They ask us drivers: 'Are the U.S. soldiers on the Turkish side yet? Are they coming?' "

The Turkish truckers are among the few outsiders who are allowed to enter Iraq regularly. They seem to have better access than chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix. Every day, their trailers and tankers are backed up for miles outside the Habur Gate, a grimy border crossing at the foot of the majestic, snowcapped Cudiz Mountains.

(link via Dean Esmay)

Asking for liberation and freedom!

Let us tell the people featured here that the war is all about oil - that's it, folks, no one wants to liberate you - didn't you hear it is all about oil and power? You don't have the right to be freed from a dictator, because you have oil - Sorry, about that.

Foundation for the Defense of Democracies

Free Voices of Iraq is a series of perspectives published by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in which Iraqi democracy and human rights activists speak out about the suffering of the Iraqis under Saddam Hussein, their desire to be liberated, and the prospects for bringing democracy to a post-Saddam Iraq.

Let's tell this lady it is for Oil

Berivan Dosky, a Kurd from northern Iraq, described how her mother was forced to flee her village in Duhok province in the 1961 Iraqi war against the Kurds, merely two hours after giving birth to Berivan. Berivan herself was later forced to repeat the scenario with her three-month-old son. In 1988, during a chemical attack against the Kurds, Berivan had to make a Faustian choice: She had only one gas mask, and had to decide whether to use it for herself, or give it to her then two-year-old son. She decided neither would wear it; they would either live or die together. Berivan is worried that Saddam will once again use chemical weapons against the Iraqi Kurds who live in the British and American-protected Kurdish safe haven. She asked Mr. Blair to make sure that there are enough gas masks for everyone.

and this one too....

Melina Bakhos, an Assyrian poet, told the Prime Minister how SaddamÂ’s regime has destroyed more than two hundred villages, and dozens of ancient churches and monasteries, in her small Christian Assyrian community. Only this summer, his agents beheaded a 72-year-old nun in a Mosul Church. Hundreds of Iraqi women have been beheaded in the last two years under the orders of SaddamÂ’s son Uday. Their heads are displayed on the walls and doors of their houses. Teachers have been beheaded in front of their pupils. These women, and others who were doctors and engineers, were accused of being prostitutes. In reality they were killed because of they were related to opponents of Saddam.

My father, Sheik Taleb Al Souhail, was the chief of the almost one million strong Bani Tamim tribe from the central part of Iraq. Our family fled from Iraq after the Ba'ath coup d'etat of 1968, but Saddam's agents still managed to kill my father in his exile home in Lebanon, in April 1994. Although the case is well documented, it was never prosecuted in the Lebanese courts. All our property in Iraq was confiscated by the Ba'ath regime, and several members of the tribe were arrested and executed. My mother and six sisters have remained in exile in Jordan. We receive constant death threats from the regime. Earlier this year, a voice on the phone told me: "Do not think that because you are a woman you will not face the same fate as your father."

(link via Dean Esmay)

Very interesting....and a little sad!

This story is the account of an Iraqi army deserter - he describes how low the morale is, and how they have to go fight the US, knowing they will die in the war, or they will die anyways, because of Saddam. I hope the war will end quickly and we will not have to take too many of these reluctant fighters' lives.

Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | The choice for Iraq's rag-tag army: be killed by the US or by Saddam

For Private Abass Shomail the war in Iraq ended before it had even begun. Two days ago Abass slipped away from his sentry post and started running in darkness across the muddy frontline. He stumbled past the newly dug trenches designed to protect Iraq's conscript army from American bombardment.

He kept going. Eventually he found himself in a rolling landscape of green hills and pine trees, the Kurdish self-rule enclave in the north of Iraq. Abass was the first deserter from the Iraqi military to cross into Kurdistan for several months. Yesterday, in an interview with the Guardian, he gave a unique insight into the condition of the Iraqi army on the eve of an imminent and massive US attack.

(link via Instapundit)

Me and the War!

Ok, by now I have been part of a lot of war discussions and arguments that I have been asked a bunch of times where I stand on the war against Iraq. So, this is where I tell you what I think - I am not as famous as Shakira or as vacuous as Sheryl Crow, so if you are not interested, I will understand. This issue is important to me, since I have been arguing about this with my friends, my husband and people that I have known only via blogs. It is not just that, my livelihood most probably depends on whether the war happens or not - I will explain, later. I warn you that this post is my opinion only, I am not going to bother with putting up links for everything - there is thing called "Google" that is sure to help anyone wanting to research further. This is solely meant to be the viewpoint of a non-American - I am not telling the Americans how to live their lives. I am just expressing what I feel as a "resident alien".

First of all, let us tackle the issue of Saddam - here is what I think - he is a mad man. He is an ego-maniac, a dictator, a terrorist (he terrorizes his own people) and an organism belonging to the human species, who is completely devoid of any shred of humanity. He has gassed people to death - I will not call the Kurds "his own people", the way most people do, since as far as he is concerned, there are no people but his own family that are his own - we know even that is doubtful, if we pause to remember that he had his own son-in-laws executed. He invaded Kuwait. He set the oil wells on fire. He admitted he had chemical weapons after he lost the Gulf war. He routinesly tortures the people in his country. He is known to have a "professional" team of rapists. He and his heirs are human beings who would lighten the burden of earth by dying. He builds mosques and palaces for himself and drives around in expensive cars while his people starve. He pays money to the most despicable of all humans - those Palestinian suicide bombers who find Allah in the shredded and nail-ridden body parts of toddlers, mothers, grand mothers, grand fathers and people celebrating religious festivals. He is vey vengeful and will stop at nothing to exact revenge on people who believe have wronged him. This is undisputably true.

And on the other side is the democratically elected President of the world's only super power. Agree with him or not, in his country, you can get away with calling him a "moron", "bumbling idiot" and "shrub". He doesn't gouge out the eyes of your children in front of you just to make you pledge allegiance to him. He will not have his people rape your wife in front of you and your kids, just so he can claim "100%" majority in the elections. He will not slowly lower you into a vat of acid because you don't have his framed photograph in your house. He will not have you and yours executed mercilessly because you wrote an editorial condemning him and his clan.

In between these two are the Iraqis who are half-dead and hope that true death will come fast enough and invloveds no torture of them or their relatives. Then there are the Americans, who once had the swagger of a superpower, but have been punched in the belly on September 11th, 2001 and since then are living in a constant fear of anthrax letters and anticipated "nuclear" and "dirty bomb" and "smallpox" strikes. On one side you have a population survivng, but not living. On the other hand is a people that wants to not just live but propagate its way of life throughout the planet. On one side you have a population so cowed and pushed into submission that it no longer tries to be independen anymore. On the other hand you have people that bow to no one, and are free to live life the way they choose fit - whether it be in the concrete jungles of New York, the wilderness of Montana, the icy coldness of Alaska or the hot deserts of Texas and Arizona.

Considering all that, it is obvious to me that the Iraqi people needs to be free - they need to be able to govern themselves on their terms. They have to be able to call their "leader" a goddamned fascist, if they choose to. They should be able to go watch a movie instead of the "Great Leader"'s speech on TV if they are not interested. Their women should have the freedom to choose to wear to a bikini instead of a burkha, if they are so inclined on a hot summer day. The men should be free to congregate and talk about what an idiot their President is, for being very religious and believing in the Divine. The kids should be able to go to schools and colleges and hope and dream that someday, they will be an astronaut or a rocket scientist or a brain surgeon. All this so far, is the "emotional" reason to liberate the folks in Iraq.

Most of the anti-war people in my opinion, hate America, hate the Whitey, hate Bush or in some cases believe that you turn you other cheek and after that your butt cheeks for the opposing people to lash at, rather than take a single step in self-defense. Most of them also appeal at your emotions - "poor Iraqi civilians who are dying", "horrible, evil, Bush", "Make incredible bi-sexual love, not war", etc., in addition to the ubiquitous "Its all about Oil(TM)", the problem is everything they say is either conjecture, fabrication or just plain pacifism - no facts, no logic - nothing to backup their arguments. On the other hand then, there are Iraqi-Americans and Iraqi-Canadians and Iraqis in Iraq (off-the-record, of course) who support the war. So we have the lefty-liberals who want the US to solve to solve every problem in the world with the tax payers' money, opposing the liberation of Iraqis and the cold-hearted-right-wingers asking for it. You also have the Iraqis saying that they don't care if its for oil, they just want to be free. Whose side do you want to be on? A dictator who kills and tortures without even blinking or a President who will do something he thinks is good for the mankind even though he knows he is going to catch a lot of crap for it? To me, the choice is very simple.
(Edited to fix some mistakes)

What do Iraqis want!

Give Us a Chance to Build a Democratic Iraq

When Colin Powell appears at the United Nations today, he is expected to talk about Iraq's efforts to build weapons of mass destruction and its ties with terrorist organizations.

Those are excellent reasons for overthrowing Saddam Hussein. As we all know, there are other powerful reasons, too — most notably the desire of my people to be free from repression and to plant the seeds of democracy in soil that has for too long been given over to tyranny.

(link via Dean Esmay)

Very Interesting!

I wonder why the Indians were quiet on this so far - or were they?

Indian documents suggest Iraq violated U.N. resolutions

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Two chemical plants on the outskirts of Baghdad might provide evidence that Iraq has been developing chemical weapons and long-range ballistic missiles in violation of U.N. resolutions, according to Indian court documents and experts on Iraq's military programs.

The court documents were filed in the case of a company under investigation for violating India's export regulations.

Pro-war Vs Anti-war

Let the discussions and debates begin!

The Truth Laid Bear: Cross-Blog Iraq Debate: Call for Questions

A few weeks back I proposed a cross-blog debate on Iraq. I'm pleased to announce that the folks at Stand Down: The Left-Right Blog Opposing an Invasion of Iraq have agreed to coordinate the anti-war side of the debate. And so: the game is on!

Why India should be pro-war against Iraq.....

A very pragmatic and practical article by Shekhar Gupta about why India should be supporting America's war against Iraq instead of whining about "unilateralism". It is OK to talk all touchy-feely in most affairs, but when it comes to actions, I think it is in a nation's best interest to be cold-blooded to a fault and evaluate the pros and cons of everything with an objective eye. Individually people should be encouraged to be humane, but as a nation, we should also be willing and ready to make tough choices with no other motivation but self-interest. Ideologies are good for speeches. That doesn't mean they need to subvert actions.

Saddam, snookerÂ’s first frame

The larger point is, how do we see our own national interest in all this? Do we have the moral or political strength to influence the decision in DC? Will at least our Arab ‘‘friends’’ be grateful for our brave stance? Do we actually think Saddam will survive the war to pay us back in gratitude? And, finally, if the war happens and the Americans succeed, how will the game play out for us?

Also, if the Americans go ahead unilaterally, without the UN fig leaf, think of the openings it will create for us the next time Pakistani terrorism picks up and Colin Powell calls us to ask for restraint and counsels us against acting unilaterally. If we cannot see it, it only means we have abandoned the new imagination that brought us such stunning foreign policy successes over the past half-decade, successes that are real feathers in the Vajpayee governmentÂ’s cap and which it is now in danger of losing.

We err gravely in looking at this as a US-Iraq, superpower-underdog, first world-third world issue. The larger American game is not merely to thrash Saddam. This will be the first step in a lengthy, messy and probably bloody process of ‘‘fixing’’ the Islamic world. This time, the idea is to bring about fundamental changes in the Islamic world, its power equations and even political philosophy. It may or may not work and either way there will be implications for us. But we need to study these rather than pull out the creaky old bandwagon and jump on to it.

He ends the essay with a bang that makes me proud to be Indian -

Does that work to our benefit or detriment? Given a chance — and the power — wouldn’t we have liked to do just that? This war will not be about oil, but about militant Islam and everybody’s future. This is the big picture we must keep in mind before we rush for the pickets and the barricades, or we would look as silly as those anti-globalisation punks of Berlin, Rio, Seattle, Davos and so on.

(link via Madonna and Jaljeera)

Once upon a time.....

....I really respected this man! It is sad to see him resort to racist remarks to achieve....what exactly?

BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Mandela condemns US stance on Iraq

"Their friend Israel has got weapons of mass destruction but because it's their ally they won't ask the United Nations to get rid of them.

"They just want the oil," Mr Mandela went on. "We must expose this as much as possible."
.............
"Is this because the secretary general of the United Nations [Ghanaian Kofi Annan] is now a black man? They never did that when secretary generals were white," he said.

Update: Some South-African reactions to Mandela's comments - Madiba's attack on Bush surprises opposition

Well, well, well!

So, what were the inspectors doing for the last four years? Why couldn't the UN assert its will upon Iraq and keep the inspections going then? Now that the US forced the issue, they are able to get in, something they could not do by themselves. Now they want to impose restrictions on what should be the next step? Idiots!

Annan: Give Inspectors More Time in Iraq

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Weapons inspectors should be given more time to do their jobs as the United Nations seeks to disarm Iraq peacefully, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Monday shortly before crucial reports from the chief inspectors assessing Iraqi compliance.
"They should be given the time to do their work and all of us, the council and the assembly, must realize that time will be necessary, a reasonable amount of time, I'm not saying forever, but they do need time to get their work done and I suspect the council will allow that to be done," Annan told reporters.

Why the US should fight Iraq!

I just cannot quote any single line from this post without feeling bad about not including the others - read the whole thing. It is amazing, emotional and inspiring.

Eject! Eject! Eject!: WAR
(link via Tim Blair)

Awful!

So, this poor man thinks he is entering a safe haven when he rushes into a UN vehicle and asks them to save him. What do the $#%@^&s do? Why they hand him right back over to the people he was running away from. How much would you bet that the man is being tortured right now and his family is going to be murdered brutally? It makes me so mad to see these idiot-lily-livered-fit-for-nothing "officials" acting like this and sending people to certain death. More thoughts after I have counted till 10,000 - anything less will not do. Horrible!

CNN.com - Iraqi scientists refuse U.N. talks - Jan. 25, 2003

About 40 minutes later, another Iraqi man stopped a U.N. vehicle outside the headquarters pleading "Save me! Save me!" in Arabic, according to the U.N. The man, apparently unarmed, forced his way into the driver's seat of the stopped vehicle, as an Iraqi guard struggled to pull him out, while an unfazed U.N. inspector watched from the passenger seat.

Appearing agitated and frightened, the young man, with a closely trimmed beard and mustache, sat inside the white U.N.-marked utility vehicle for 10 minutes, AP reported. At first, an inspection team leader sought help from nearby Iraqi soldiers, but the man refused to leave the vehicle as the uniformed men pulled on his sleeve and collar.

(link via Instapundit)

Update: The spoons man tells it better than me U.N. INSPECTORS MURDER IRAQI DEFECTOR, FAMILY

Unilateral as in with few allies?

Well, now we know UK and Australian troops are out to help the US in the war against Iraq. How unilateral is this? How come everybody counts France and Germany as allies who will not help but forgets to mention the ones that are actively invloved and will help?

AUSTRALIAN TROOPS MOVE

Saddam wins "election"

This would be funny if it weren't so pathetic -
CNN.com - Landslide expected in Saddam poll - Oct. 15, 2002