Iraq War

AP - Tony Blair considered not running for a third term as British prime minister but his wife and others persuaded him it would be seen as an admission that he had been wrong about the Iraq war, she says in her newly published autobiography.

We’re gonna go ahead and report this story, even though we run the risk of the GOP suing us for “taking McCain’s quotes out of context.” At a town hall meeting today, Senator McCain made a stunning... Your News is the place where wonderful, funny, and amazing things exist. This blog delivers informative news in the easiest way.

And then of course he retracted the statement… “No, no, I was talking about that we had fought the Gulf War for several reasons,” McCain told reporters. One reason was Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, he said. “But also we didn’t want him to have control over the oil, and that part of the world is critical to us because of our dependency on foreign oil, and it’s more important than any other part of the world,” he said. “The Congressional Record is very clear: I said we went to war in Iraq because of weapons of mass destruction,” he said. It was the second time in two days that McCain had to clarify his comments. On Thursday, he backed off his assertion that pork-barrel spending led to last year’s deadly bridge c

Thousands of dockworkers at West Coast ports stayed off the job on Thursday in what their union said was a call for an end to the war in Iraq. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union said more than 25,000 members in 29 ports stayed off the job. The action came despite an order issued Wednesday by an arbitrator directing the union to tell its members to report for work as usual in response to a request from employers. "Longshore workers are standing down on the job and standing up for America," Bob McEllrath, the union's president, said in a statement. "We're supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it's time to end the war in Iraq." The scene at most West Coast ports was quiet, without any scuffles or confrontations. The cranes used to unload contai

The last couple mornings I’ve tried two different radio stations to wake up to. The first one, Z99, was rambling about Miley Cyrus (the pseudonymously famous daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, I later learned) who apparently set off some controversy for posing partly nude for a trashy [are there any other kinds?] checkout magazine. She’s [...]

McCAIN’S ORIGINAL ‘100 YEAR’ TOWN-HALL PROCLAMATION RELATED: 10 Things To Know About John McCain a.k.a McSame a.k.a McBush a.k.a McWarMonger a.k.a McBomb-Iran Related Posts March 27, 2008 — Keep McCain off the Red Phone! (0) February 28, 2008 — Barack Obama And John McCain Clash Over Iraq War (0) April 27, 2008 — CNN Hires Bush’s Former ‘Liar In [...]

George Bush got away with one of the biggest foreign policy blunders of all times, often based upon deception, partially due to inadequate scrutiny by the news media. The New York Times has a must-read article on how the Bush administration used military experts, posing as an unbiased source despite often having a conflict of [...]

The Iraq war is being debated on many different levels. One is the idea that it could be the cause of the U.S. economic recession. Politicians and economists are divided on the subject. Most Democrats, including presidential candidate Barack Obama, claim that the Iraq war has had a substantial effect on the U.S. economy and should be examined as one of the primary reasons for the U.S. recession. Most Republicans quickly dismiss the claim as being without merit, but a growing number of Republican s, including Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul, strongly oppose the war based on its economic fallout. But is the Iraq war to blame for our economy’s problems? Let’s look at arguments from both sides of the debate:The Iraq War caused the U.S. economic recessionIn a Washington Post arti

Michael Monsoor, such a strange name for most of us, became famous today attributing to the "Great" Jadish Iraq War. He is treated as "Hero of US". I noted the ceremony this morning. And video clips of the ceremony can be found here. It was very touching. And wow....what a man. It brought tears to [...]

"Army Gen. David H. Petraeus returned to Congress yesterday seeking more time to consolidate security gains in Iraq by halting troop withdrawals this summer, all but guaranteeing that about 140,000 U.S. forces will remain at least through the fall presidential election. During a day of hearings against the backdrop of a heated campaign for the White House, Petraeus called security in Iraq "

Students owe it to themselves, world to learn about Iraq warBaylor University The Lariat Online, TX - 57 minutes agoA good number of them are still into things like World of Warcraft and Halo, not quite as realistic, but a war nonetheless. We've grown up watching more … Written by Google Inc. and Powered by WordPress

America's global war on terror which started immediately after the the 9/11 WTO bombings by the Al Qaeda over seven years ago continues. Afghanistan seems to have been stabilised or rather at least... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

- Scott Miller The headlines have been in the can for weeks now. Our socialist media has been waiting anxiously for the 4,000 casualty mark to come so they could splash the American death toll across the headlines in an effort to undermine the very troops they feign concern for. This from the AP: Overall US death [...]

March 24, CNNBAGHDAD, Iraq -- Four U.S. soldiers died in a roadside bombing in Iraq on Sunday, military officials reported, bringing the American toll in the 5-year-old war to the grim milestone of 4,000 deaths. Eight of those killed were civilians working for the Pentagon.The four were killed when their vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device while patrolling a neighborhood in southern Baghdad, the U.S. military headquarters in Iraq reported Sunday night. A fifth soldier was wounded in the attack, which took place about 10 a.m. (3 a.m. ET).The U.S. milestone comes just days after Americans marked the fifth anniversary of the start of the war.Meanwhile, estimates of the Iraqi death toll range from about 80,000 to the hundreds of thousands, with another 2 million forced to leave

Of course I, along with all Americans whether in favor or opposed (most of those opposed), honor the sacrifices of those involved and despite the hours I've spent orally and electronically defending its rationality if not its necessity (Here's a post when I was more worried.) and even having participated in its execution, I couldn't muster the motivation to write something on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war. The main reason is that the question seems settled. Obama and Hillary currently engage in a retreat auction ("I see your six months and raise you two.") in front of Kassocks, but I have a feeling they'll be moderating that view in the general election, and that if either of them do win the election, that person will find an excuse to stay. Meanwhile the candidate who most urges

Initial reports indicate that 32 people were arrested on Wednesday morning as part of protest to mark the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq. As initially reported, the protesters blockaded the IRS building as a statement in protest of the use of tax dollars to fund the war. I am not sure how many [...]

On the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion, all three White House hopefuls offered conflicting views on about the Iraq war. Who benefits from Iraq as a campaign issue depends a lot on what happens there over the next 8 months

We’re now five years into the tragedy that is the Iraq War, and the Bush administration, as well as all the cowards who remain callously loyal to the official White House line, are touting its “successes.” That fact is galling. It reduces five years of lies, death, destruction, protests, vigils, public dissent and public outrage to background noise, as easily dismissed as it is ignored. Frustration is appropriate. Despondency is understandable, but unacceptable. This week at Take Back America, which concluded today, I had the pleasure of sitting in on a panel discussion between the Reverend Jesse Jackson, former assistant attorney general to LBJ and civil rights leader Roger Wilkins, and MLK historian Taylor Branch. All three men shared experiences from their dogged effor

McCain has placed a large portion of his chips on the Iraq war. Here is his statement on the 5th anniversary of the invasion."Today in Iraq, America and our allies stand on the precipice of winning a major victory against radical Islamic extremism. The security gains over the past year have been dramatic and undeniable. Al Qaeda and Shia extremists — with support from external powers such as Iran — are on the run but not defeated. Tough fighting remains ahead, especially in places like Mosul. Important political gains have also been made, but far more must be done in coming months to cement the gains made in huge cost in American blood and treasure."Americans should be proud that they led the way in removing a vicious, predatory dictator and opening the possibility of a free and stable

3,992 American soldiers dead. The list of names can be found here.Today, on the fifth year anniversary of this war, I feel anyone who supported this war (or continue to do so) should hold their heads down in shame.It was all for nothing. A waste of human life. The blood is on your hands for allowing this to happen, shouting down the opposition with accusations of being unpatriotic while not backing up any argument for going there in the first place.This war has been a failure since day one. The first step to maturity in this nation is to finally admit it before getting more people killed. Then again, those who supported the war have never minded sacrificing the lives of others when they themselves are guaranteed not to be put in harms' way.

Max Hastings, writing in the Canberra Times, compared the attitude of the American people towards the war in Iraq as akin to having “a chronic ailment. It is nasty. They wish it would go away. But it does not inflict the sort of agonizing pain that causes democracies to force urgent action upon their government.” [...]

By SARAH KARUSH, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - Police have arrested about a dozen people who crossed a barricade at the entrance of the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington at the start of protests marking the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war. Anti-war protests and vigils are planned across the country. Dozens of people gathered at the [...]

My country is at war. That seems like a strange statement, especially when this is the fifth year it has been true. In examining my daily life, nobody would guess I was a citizen in a nation at war, and I am hardly unique in this respect. With the exception of those who have close friends or family serving in Iraq, the daily lives of my fellow Americans remain largely unaffected by this war. Is this why we are not out in the streets demanding immediate withdrawal? Or perhaps our inaction reflects the sort of learned helplessness that sets in after years of observing the utter lack of accountability which pervades our government. Our president and his minions do what they want without regard for the law, and our Congress refuses to reign them in at all.I cannot think about America's war in

About a month ago I promised to write a post about the Iraq War on March 19th because it is the 5 year anniversary of that tragic day when we all sat in front of our televisions, watching the greenish night-vision images of the streets of Baghdad, waiting for the military we all finance to start dropping bombs on people who never did a thing to hurt us. I signed up for this blogswarm out of a sense of obligation, because my country started a war 5 long years ago. I have to say something.Right?But the closer this day came, as I tried to think of a powerful message to send out into the blogosphere, the more I realized I'm faking it. The anger, the passion, the outrage, the frustration. It's all still there, but there's nothing else to say about it. It's the same old story that's been told no

Five years ago tomorrow we watched Shock and Awe on our wide screen television sets. It was a war led by false pretenses. It had nothing to do with the events of September 11th, 2001. The populace was misled. It had nothing to do with Weapons of Mass Destruction. The populace was misled. I still wonder what the reason could have been for an invasion. What could this invasion possibly fix? It didn't take long to topple Saddam Hussein. We fixed him all right. One wonders if that is what one nation is supposed to do when the leader of another nation is corrupt? Do you think a military just goes in and fixes it and the problem is solved? What could they have been thinking? Here we are five years later, a million deaths later, billions of dollars later, and the U.S. is stuck.

 Cross posted at Grizzly Groundswell  This is the second story that I have found this month that writes about the fact that the Iraq war is not being covered in the news now that the situation is improving. You can read my first post on this subject here. The reason that I feel the need to write [...]

A US military study officially acknowledged for the first time yesterday that Saddam Hussein had no direct ties to al-Qaida, undercutting the Bush administration's central case for war with Iraq. The Pentagon study based on more than 600,000 documents recovered after US and UK troops toppled Hussein in 2003, discovered "no 'smoking gun' (ie, direct connection) between Saddam's Iraq and al-Qaida", its authors wrote. George Bush and his senior aides have made numerous attempts to link Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda terror in their justification for waging war against Iraq. Wary of embarrassing press coverage noting that the new study debunks those claims, the US defence department attempted to bury the release of the report yesterday. The Pentagon cancelled a planned briefing on the study an

Fewer Americans have accurate information regarding the number of casualties suffered in the Iraq war by its fighting men and women. In a recent Pew poll, only 28% said that about 4,000 Americans had died in combat which was a dramatic drop from last August when 54% knew the death rate was about 3,500. In [...]

Thee is increasing evidence of an unforseen consequence for members of the military who are fighting in Iraq. Soldiers and Marines caught in rodside bombings and fiefights are coming home in epidemic numbers with permanent hearing loss and ringing in their ears. Hearing damage has now become the number one disability in the fight against [...]

Back up in this bitch for the evening session of HHR. Yo, got to say HBO on Demand is definitely the shit mane. Been watching those episodes of "The Wire" season 5 the last few days and man I've never been happier. Times are good. If you get a chance, I definitely encourage you to peep. Moving on. On the positive tip, I just wanted to let you all know that Lupe Fiasco, Talib Kweli, and Public [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Unlike the Kerry/Bush 2004 contest, the Obama/McCain match up will offer a clear distinction between an anti-occupation and pro-occupation candidate. Obama took a decidedly unpopular position with this amazingly prescient 2002 speech given in the days leading up to the invasion. Yet subsequent comments on his Iraq position have been distorted by Democratic Primary opponents, and we can expect

During this Presidential campaign season, one of the biggest issues being discussed by candidates is the war in Iraq. While this is certainly one of the most controversial wars the US has been involved in, it seems that few musicians and artists are tackling this issue in their music. Buy at AllPosters.com With that in mind, we’re [...]

The long thin line running north from Kuwait City is the Death Highway where Iraqi military vehicles in retreat were attacked. Reports suggested that many civilians were amongs these soldiers.It seems that DU was used within 10 km of Basrah if this map is accurate. The IAEA Kuwait report I refer to earlier states clearly that in their studies they had to rely on information from the Kuwaiti military as to where DU was used. The Americans were not forthcoming in providing information.Reference -p41-46_e.pdfThe map is obtained from The National Gulf War Resource Center at

~Snooper~In a post we made waaaaaaaaaay back on 12/14/2007, we brought our readers the following post: Moonbat Intelligence - The Myth. We discussed the continuing psycho-babble from the idgits still yammering and contorting themselves because the once vaunted myths of the Iraq War have one by one, been placed in the Abyss of Obscurity the moonbats and the Leftinistra kook fringe have dug for themselves. As the writers of Strategy Page so predicted, around this time of year, the moonbats will ooze from under their algae coated mud ponds and slither around on their bellies as the reptiles they are. Juan Cole is one of these. The idgit just doesn't get it.Apparently, the "old myths" didn't hunt anymore so the Leftinistra have invented new ones...simply amazing. We informed our readers many times that the Leftinistra would have to do this very thing...invent new issues because their "issues" and attacks on America went down in flames in 2007...their target of hatred became their co

 I recently came to the realization that I have not written a post about the Iraq war since December 4th, and my Iraq war postings have been seemingly more and more infrequent. Considering the fact that I began this blog to try to awaken people to the Islamo-fascist threat that we face, and most of my early posts were war related before it morphed into more of a conservative political news oriented blog, I began to wonder why.  The answer is painfully obvious. I search the internet on a daily basis looking for topics to write about and news articles to comment on. I have dedicated my blogging life to finding liberal news items and trying to offer a counter argument to them. In the beginning the Iraq war was in the news daily, and considering that I started this blog with the intention of raising awareness of Islamo-fascism and defending the Iraq war, the Iraq war news, or liberal propaganda as I see it, made for quite a few Iraq war postings almost on a daily basis. That was fine wi

By: Stewart A. Alexander Socialist Party USA - Nominee for U.S. Vice President, and candidate for nomination by the Peace and Freedom Party Stewart A. AlexanderPresident Bush is attempting to pressure Democrats in Washington to give him $196 billion to continue the Iraq War. To enforce his position, the president is threatening mass layoffs of civilian employees at [...]

Many conservatives appear to be looking at how they will be viewed by history and are trying to cleanse their record. One of the most tragic legacies of the Bush administration was the manner in which Republicans chose to use the 9/11 attack to play politics while Democrats were seeking a united front in opposition to terrorism. In exchange for short lived electoral victories, the Republicans were willing to betray the best interests of the nation, including proceeding with a foreign policy which has proven to be disastrous with respect to our national interests. In recent weeks I’ve noted a number of conservatives attempt to rewrite history. The most recent has been Karl Rove’s denial that the 2002 Iraq War Resolution was a political ploy of the Bush White House. While bloggers have often debunked such claims, it is good to see the mainstream media also publishing the truth, as The Washington Post does today: Speaking on PBS’s “Charlie Rose” talk show las

President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki signed a deal on Monday arranging for permanent bases and “investment opportunities” for the Bush Administration in Iraq. In return, Nouri al-Maliki and his government will get protection from the United States military against any threats to Maliki’s power (at least until Bush decides to renege on the deal). The Bush Administration is calling this arrangement an “enduring relationship with a democratic Iraq”. While this imperial arrangement is the exact opposite of what the American taxpayers are demanding, this is a victory for the Bush Administration, which has been quite clear that its intention is to keep our military in Iraq. In reality, this deal is a treaty between President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki. However, because President Bush decided not to call it a treaty and instead a “Declaration of Principles for Friendship and Cooperation”, the Bush Administration is going to use those semantics to circu

The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq will end up costing about $1.5 trillion. A staff report from Congress's Joint Economic Committee, titled "The Hidden Costs of the Iraq War," estimates that the Iraq and Afghan wars have cost the average American family more than $20,000. The report also argues that war funding is diverting billions of dollars away from productive investment, and that the wars are pulling reservists and National Guardsmen away from their jobs, resulting in $1 billion to $2 billion worth of economic disruptions. The report takes into account the massive healthcare costs for injured veterans, the reduced economic productivity of vets who return home injured, and the massive interest the U.S. will pay on the borrowed money that is funding the war. Folks, this is one of the many reasons that I am supporting Ron Paul. Dr. Paul never voted for the war (one of the few). Just think what that $20K that EVERY family is spending could have been better used for ... imagine if

The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq will end up costing about $1.5 trillion. A staff report from Congress's Joint Economic Committee, titled "The Hidden Costs of the Iraq War," estimates that the Iraq and Afghan wars have cost the average American family more than $20,000. The report also argues that war funding is diverting billions of dollars away from productive investment, and that the wars are pulling reservists and National Guardsmen away from their jobs, resulting in $1 billion to $2 billion worth of economic disruptions. The report takes into account the massive healthcare costs for injured veterans, the reduced economic productivity of vets who return home injured, and the massive interest the U.S. will pay on the borrowed money that is funding the war. Folks, this is one of the many reasons that I am supporting Ron Paul. Dr. Paul never voted for the war (one of the few). Just think what that $20K that EVERY family is spending could have been better used for ... imagine if

Well those weapons of mass destruction were never found, but the body count just keeps going up in Bush’s war on Iraq. The pictures are extremely graphic and yes, very sick shit. They are on a seperate page so if you want to see the destruction, click here to see the Iraq war gallery

Opposition to the war in Iraq has reached an all-time high, according to the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll released Thursday morning. Support for the war in Iraq has dropped to 31 percent and the 68 percent who oppose the war is a new record.read more | digg story

They write columns:Advocates of changing the mission say it could leave around 60,000 troops in Iraq indefinitely (although the number could be much higher). The CBO evaluated a scenario that is consistent with this strategy at a cost of another $687 billion through 2017. And, since all of this is deficit spending, CBO projects that American taxpayers will spend an additional $152 billion in interest on this borrowed money by 2017.As a member of Congress for 11 years and of the House Budget Committee for the last three, I can attest that such forecasts invariably underestimate the eventual cost and that the credibility of predictions from administration officials has been consistently unreliable.$687 billion could cover a lot of diabetes prevention programs.

Take a look at this teaser from CBS about the upcoming episode of “60 Minutes.” It looks pretty interesting. 60 Minutes has identified the man whose fabricated story of Iraqi biological weapons drove the U.S. argument for invading Iraq. It has also obtained video of “Curve Ball,” as he was known in intelligence circles, and discovered he was not only a liar, but also a thief and a poor student instead of the chemical engineering whiz he claimed to be. 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon’s two-year investigation will be broadcast this Sunday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. ET/PT. Curve Ball is an Iraqi defector named Rafid Ahmed Alwan, who arrived at a German refugee center in 1999. To bolster his asylum case and increase his importance, he told officials he was a star chemical engineer who had been in charge of a facility at Djerf al Nadaf that was making mobile biological weapons. 60 Minutes has learned that Alwan’s university records indicate he did study chemical e

When CPT Director Emeritus Gene Stoltzfus visited Iraq soon after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, he was impressed by the energy and vision of the Iraqi grassroots organizations he met there. “I discovered endless expressions of generosity, hard work, reasonable hopes for community and humor,” he wrote. “I discovered partners--not the kind of partners that far-away funders require that you have; I found real partners who share a vision for our ages. Like people who live with an eye to the future everywhere, they have long practiced reaching across lines into the neighborhoods of others where the stuff of negotiations begins.” Stoltzfus wrote this reflection to address the issue of “foreign fighters” in Iraq. When the U.S. government and media speak of such fighters, they are referring to Al Qaeda operatives or militants from other groups fighting U.S. forces. Stoltzfus noted that the Blackwater mercenary forces, to which the military has contracted out responsibility

On September 15th, members of The Seminal staff attended ANSWER Coalition’s antiwar march in Washington, D.C., dressed in professional attire. Our aim was to reclaim the symbols of power and show that protesters are speaking for ordinary Americans. By dressing professionally, we believed we would appear articulate, serious, and organized. To get involved, please sign up for the email list: Email: The response we received before, during, and after the protest has been astonishing. Our articles were featured twice on the front page of reddit.com and we were invited for an interview on the Bryan Suits Show, a major conservative radio talk show in Seattle. At the protest, we were perceived positively by our fellow protesters. Everyone understood our reasoning, and many supported it. Most importantly, after the event we received emails from activists saying they wanted to join us at the next event we attended. In response to these expressions of support, we decided to create

The Swamp reports on a significant anniversary coming up for Barack Obama: Next Tuesday is a high holy day in the calendar for Barack Obama supporters, who will mark the five-year anniversary of the moment their presidential candidate gave his first speech against the war in Iraq. Obama was just an Illinois state senator that day in 2002, when he went to a rally in Daley Plaza at the invitation of Chicago Democratic doyenne Bettylu Saltzman and called the president’s impending military action “a dumb war.” Not that many politicians were saying things like that at the time, most notably not the other people who would end up running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2008. Now that public and political sentiment has turned on the war, it’s a distinction Obama, today a U.S. senator, mentions rather often. So it comes as no surprise that the Obama for America campaign will mark next Tuesday’s anniversary with some fanfare, with a set of rallies sch

Japanese law forbids any assistance to America’s war in Iraq which lacks a United Nations resolution. The Japanese Self Defense Force is restricted to providing aid to forces fighting in and around Afghanistan where the UN voted for military operations. A japanese group, Peace Depot, obtained American military documents which indicate ships belonging to the Japanese Self Defense Force in the Indian Ocean provided fuel to the Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier which was carrying out bombing missions in Iraq. According to a spokesperson for the group, “This fueling activity clearly violated the(Japanese) antiterrorism law.Z” Japan’s opposition party gained control of the Upper House of the Diet several months ago and is adamantly against Japanese participation in Iraq. This incident will most probably allow the opposition to end any further aid to the Iraq war which apparently some in the current Japanese government which to provide.

Alan Greenspan thinks so...From the UK Times AMERICA’s elder statesman of finance, Alan Greenspan, has shaken the White House by declaring that the prime motive for the war in Iraq was oil.In his long-awaited memoir, to be published tomorrow, Greenspan, a Republican whose 18-year tenure as head of the US Federal Reserve was widely admired, will also deliver a stinging critique of President George W Bush’s economic policies.However, it is his view on the motive for the 2003 Iraq invasion that is likely to provoke the most controversy. “I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil,” he says.Greenspan, 81, is understood to believe that Saddam Hussein posed a threat to the security of oil supplies in the Middle East. more**Update**Greenspan later clarified his statement in an interview with the WaPo:Greenspan, who was the country's top voice on monetary policy at the time Bush decided to go to war in Iraq,

The Circus is coming to town, again. This time they are protesting the War in Iraq in Washington, D.C.While there are legitimate concerns about the War in Iraq, why does the kook fringe Left always have to resort to this type of nonsense? (See Video)I also have a few questions for the lunatic liberal base:1) Why is it that a liberal protest is not discernible from a typical hippie jam-fest? Shouldn't a protest demonstrate something other than a time for fun, games, music, and a time to get high?2) These protests have their own form of attention deficit disorder. Why does every liberal protest have to include random Leftist grievances from communists, environmentalists, feminists, and people who want to protect prostitutes (see video).3) Are you even trying to change public opinion? Protests like these hurt your cause because you people push away those who may potentially agree with you.4) When are any of you going to learn how to play the bongo? You liberals bring bongos to ever

Stewart A. Alexander for President Peace and Freedom Party August 15, 2007 Stewart A. AlexanderThese days the presidential candidates for the Democratic Party are sounding more like replacement candidates for Bush; on the issue of ending the Iraq War. All the candidates, with the exception of Representative Dennis Kucinich and Governor Bill Richardson, are making open-ended commitments [...]

A US film laying bare the ugly reality of the Iraq war seared the big screen at the Venice film festival on Friday, with director Brian De Palma saying he hoped it would help end America's military occupation. "The pictures are what will stop the war," De Palma told a news conference after the press screening of the movie, "Redacted".read more | digg story

  One of the mantras we have been hearing from the Democrat party is that the Iraq war is the same as the Vietnam war. Many Democrats have proclaimed that the Iraq war is George Bush’s Vietnam. Today the president turned the table on the Democrats and compared Iraq to Vietnam. “One unmistakable legacy of Vietnam is that the price of America’s withdrawal was paid by millions of innocent citizens whose agonies would add to our vocabulary new terms like ‘boat people’, ‘re-education camps’ and ‘killing fields’.” Mr Bush added: “In Vietnam, former allies of the United States and government workers and intellectuals and businessmen were sent off to prison camps, where tens of thousand perished. Hundreds of thousands more fled the country on rickety boats, many of them going to their graves in the South China Sea.”   Needless to say, the Demodrats weren’t too happy with this. This is part of the history of the Vie

Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, who is also the director, Lions for Lambs is hitting theatres in the United States on November 9th and its plot goes head-to-head with our controversial war in Iraq. Facing important issues such as President George Bush's "war on terror," Lions for Lambs interweaves the stories of two American students, their idealistic professor (played by Redford), a senator (played by Cruise), and a journalist (played by Streep) who all wind up in Afghanistan.Another film that speaks up about our horrifically divided nation and the President's war that triggered it is In the Valley of Elah. Directed by Paul Haggis and starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and Susan Sarandon, the story is based on post-combat stress. More specifically, it explores a real incident in which a soldier was murdered while on a drinking spree with his comrades on return from Iraq.Due out in October, Grace is Gone, directed by James Strouse, tells the story of a surviving f

di Daniel Pipes New York Sun 24 luglio 2007 Pezzo in lingua originale: Salvaging the Iraq War Due posizioni dominano e dividono oggi l'America. Qualcuno sostiene che la guerra è persa, e pertanto occorre lasciare l'Iraq. Altri asseriscono che la guerra può essere vinta, e quindi le truppe non devono ritirarsi. La soluzione da me proposta raggiunge un compromesso tra le due opzioni ed offre

I and others pointed out years ago that the way to control Iraq was through deterrence and negotiation. The President, however, declared after 9/11 that countries were either for us or against us. He used this justification, plus the threat of the use of chemical weapons by Saddam Hussein, as the reason to go to war.But those of us on the other side of this argument wondered why the same reasoning did not apply to North Korea, especially since it was known that this country was developing nuclear weapons. Today we have evidence that negotiating with the enemy can result in achieving our aims. International inspectors have confirmed that North Korea has shut down its only nuclear reactor in exchange for oil. As this country receives more fuel it will take further steps to terminate its atomic weapons program. I sincerely wish we would have tried similar diplomacy with Iraq.

“President Bush equated the war in Iraq today with the U.S. war for independence. Like those revolutionaries who ‘dropped their pitchforks and picked up their muskets to fight for liberty,’ Bush said, American soldiers were also fighting ‘a new and unprecedented war’ to protect U.S. freedom.” Quote from LA Times President Bush’s Orwellian comments makes my head [...]

An Iraq war veteran has received Oakland Community College's Fred M. Mester Excellence in Paralegal Studies Award. Mandeline Dreasky was a member of the 1775th Military Police Company out of Pontiac. She served in Kuwait and Iraq providing convoy escorts. In 2004, she enrolled in a paralegal program, but her studies were interrupted when her husband Sgt. Duane Dreasky suffered serious burn injuries in Iraq. He subsequently spent eight months in hospitals and rehab in Germany and Texas before he died in July 2006. Mandeline later returned to school, where she set an example for others in earning all A's.

Published May 23, 2007 ZOOMA tired and disgusted Iowa soldier fired off an e-mail a few days ago, telling family and friends how things are going in Iraq.A Blackhawk helicopter pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Jim Funk has flown more than 80 combat missions since he arrived there in October.He described his Boone-based unit's successes after 5,000 hours of flying out of LSA Anaconda, a huge American base north of Baghdad. He talked about the tragedies he and his fellow Iowans have witnessed and his worries of becoming complacent as he goes on mission after mission.Morale?"We're treading water," the Ames man told the people closest to him. "We continue to kick butt on missions and take care of each other, even though we know the American public and government DOES NOT stand behind us.Ohhhh, they all say they support us, but how can you support me (the soldier) if you don't support my mission or my objectives. We watch the news over here. Every time we turn it on we see the American publi

Stewart A. Alexander for President Peace and Freedom Party June 12, 2007 Stewart A. Alexander The first weekend of June 2007 was another deadly weekend for American troops in Iraq; America lost 14 troops in a civil war that appears to be without end. The previous month, the month of May, was one of the deadliest months [...]

BOSTON (AP) — Sean Lewis tried golf after losing his right leg in a mortar attack in Iraq, but his prosthetic leg got in the way of his swing. So he ditched it, and he’s been hitting one-legged ever since. “Golf has a special meaning for me,” Lewis wrote in his biography for the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project. “It had gotten me out of Walter Reed, and given me a life outside of the military again. Golf had shown me that I can still do something. … It’s a form of therapy more…

Ok I thought this sounded familiar. I posted a piece on this here 2 Dec, 2006. NYT needs to get it's act together and pay more attention. Maybe they rehired Jason Blair? (I am resetting the time on this piece to bring it back to the top) ~RJH Commentary on this tomorrow when I am not sitting here with my face on the keyboard half asleep. ~RJH New York Times story link Rumsfeld’s Memo of Options for Iraq War Following is the text of a classified Nov. 6 memorandum that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld sent to the White House suggesting new options in Iraq. The memorandum was sent one day before the midterm Congressional elections and two days before Mr. Rumsfeld resigned. Nov. 6, 2006SUBJECT: Iraq — Illustrative New Courses of Action The situation in Iraq has been evolving, and U.S. forces have adjusted, over time, from major combat operations to counterterrorism, to counterinsurgency, to dealing with death squads and sectarian violence. In my view it is time for a major adjustmen

Something To Remember...Not All Democrats Are DefeatistsBowing to President Bush, the Democratic-controlled House and Senate reluctantly approved fresh billions for the Iraq war on Thursday, minus the troop withdrawal timeline that drew his earlier veto.The Senate vote to send the legislation to the president was 80-14. Less than two hours earlier, the House had cleared the measure, 280-142, with Republicans supplying the bulk of the support.Five months in power on Capitol Hill, Democrats in both houses coupled their concession to the president with pledges to challenge his policies anew. “This debate will go on,” vowed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, announcing plans to hold votes by fall on four separate measures seeking a change in course.In a highly unusual maneuver, House Democratic leaders crafted a procedure that allowed their rank and file to oppose money for the war, then step aside so Republicans could advance it. There were 194 Republicans in favor, as well as 86 Democrats,

In grudging concessions to President Bush, Democrats intend to draft an Iraq war-funding bill without a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops and shorn of billions of dollars in spending on domestic programs, officials said Monday. While details remain subject to change, the measure is designed to close the books by Friday on a bruising veto fight between Bush and the Democratic-controlled Congress over the war. It would provide funds for military operations in Iraq through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. Democratic officials stressed the legislation was subject to change. They spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss provisions before a planned presentation to members of the party's rank and file later in the day. Either way, Democratic leaders have said they hope to clear a war spending bill through both houses of Congress and send it to Bush's desk by week's end. They added the intention was to avoid a veto. Bush vetoed one bill this

War Issue Show Divisions In Both Political PartiesAnti-war Democrats in the Senate failed in an attempt to cut off funds for the Iraq war on Wednesday, a lopsided bipartisan vote that masked growing impatience within both political parties over President Bush's handling of the four-year conflict.The 67-29 vote against the measure left it far short of the 60 needed to advance. More than half the Senate's Democrats supported the move, exposing divisions within the party but also marking a growth in anti-war sentiment from last summer, when only a dozen members of the rank and file backed a troop withdrawal deadline."It was considered absolute heresy four months ago" to stop the war, said Sen. Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, author of the measure to cut off funds for most military operations after March 31, 2008.Ironically, the vote also cleared the way for the Democratic-controlled Congress to bow to Bush's wishes and approve a war funding bill next week stripped of the type of restric

Nancy Pelosi is threatening to sue president Bush over the Iraq war surrender bill. Pelosi recently told a group of liberal bloggers, “We can take the president to court” if he issues a signing statement “The president has made excessive use of signing statements and Congress is considering ways to respond to this executive-branch overreaching,” a spokesman for Pelosi, Nadeam Elshami, said. “Whether through the oversight or appropriations process or by enacting new legislation, the Democratic Congress will challenge the president’s non-enforcement of the laws.” In the 1970s, congressional Democrats tried to get the courts to force President Nixon to stop bombing in Cambodia. The courts ruled that dissident lawmakers could not sue solely to obtain outcomes they could not secure in Congress. If Democrats don’t have the votes to override a presidential veto they threaten to sue the president. If Americans really sent the president a message last November, why are the D

J.R.'s Take: Senator Reid: Iraq War is LostAccording to Press TV an Iranian news source Democratic Majority Leader Harry (the traitor)Reid had this to say:"I believe ... that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week," Reid stated.Patriots, stand up ! E-mail Reid Thanks for Listening -- Jay Are

Is this how Harry Reid supports the troops? By telling them they have lost, that they can’t win? He continues to show no faith in our troops: “I believe … that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week,” Reid told journalists. Not even half of the additional troops that make up the surge have been deployed and already Harry Reid has surrendered. This is exactly what out enemy has been waiting to hear. He has been sitting there waiting for a major bombing to kill a large number of people so that he could use the occasion to proclaim defeat. Yesterday’s bombings gave him the event he had been salivating for. “I believe the war at this stage can only be won diplomatically, politically and economically.” Isn’t this the exact policy that was carried out throughout the ’80’s and ’90’s and that led to September 11th? Now we have a president with

Iraq war is 'lost': US Democrat leader: " The war in Iraq 'is lost' and a US troop surge is failing to bring peace to the country, the leader of the Democratic majority in the US Congress, Harry Reid, said Thursday.'I believe ... that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week,' Reid told journalists."

Record of Iraq War Lies to Air April 25 on PBS : "Bill Moyers has put together an amazing 90-minute video documenting the lies that the Bush administration told to sell the Iraq War to the American public, with a special focus on how the media led the charge. I've watched an advance copy and read a transcript, and the most important thing I can say about it is: Watch PBS from 9 to 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25. Spending that 90 minutes on this will actually save you time, because you'll never watch television news again – not even on PBS, which comes in for its share of criticism.While a great many pundits, not to mention presidents, look remarkably stupid or dishonest in the four-year-old clips included in 'Buying the War,' it's hard to take any spiteful pleasure in holding them to account, and not just because the killing and dying they facilitated is ongoing, but also because of what this video reveals about the mindset of members of the DC media. Moyers interviews media

I am not a John McCain supporter, but I do believe he is dead on when it comes to the Iraq war. If he wins the Republican nomination I would vote for him over any Democrat. For me the biggest issue in the ‘08 election is national security, and I don’t believe any Democrat can be trusted with national security.  McCain makes some good points in his speech, some of which can be read below: For Republicans, who still largely support the war, McCain offered a blistering critique of Democrats in control of Congress. He accused them of being reckless in their foreign policy by attempting to set a deadline for withdrawal in legislation intended to provide money for the war effort. And he said those who control the legislature are “heedless of the terrible consequences” of failing in Iraq. “Democratic leaders smiled and cheered as the last votes were counted,” he said. “What were they celebrating? Defeat? Surrender?” Speaking to reporters later,

Sen. Carl Levin, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, today released a newly declassified report of the Department of Defense Inspector General about the intelligence activities of Douglas Feith, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, before the Iraq War. Sen. Levin also released declassified slides which Under Secretary Feith used to brief [...]

But but but they say they DO support the troops. ~RJHWashington Post article link Reid Backs Iraq War-Funds CutoffSenate Leader Makes It Clear a Bush Veto Wouldn't End Debate on WithdrawalBy Shailagh MurrayWashington Post Staff WriterTuesday, April 3, 2007; A04Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid yesterday endorsed the Senate's toughest antiwar bill yet, a bid to cut off funding within a year, sending a clear signal to President Bush that the Iraq debate will continue in Congress regardless of whether he carries through on his veto threats.Reid (Nev.) announced that he had teamed up with Sen. Russell Feingold (Wis.), one of the Democrats' strongest war critics, on legislation to set a deadline of March 31, 2008, for completing the withdrawal of combat forces and ending most military spending in Iraq.Reid's decision came as House and Senate Democrats were just starting to deliberate a compromise war spending bill. The package is likely to include language at least calling for troop

The New York Times reports:Student productions at Wilton High School range from splashy musicals like last year’s “West Side Story,” performed in the state-of-the-art, $10 million auditorium, to weightier works like Arthur Miller’s “Crucible,” on stage last fall in the school’s smaller theater.For the spring semester, students in the advanced theater class took on a bigger challenge: creating an original play about the war in Iraq. They compiled reflections of soldiers and others involved, including a heartbreaking letter from a 2005 Wilton High graduate killed in Iraq last September at age 19, and quickly found their largely sheltered lives somewhat transformed.“In Wilton, most kids only care about Britney Spears shaving her head or Tyra Banks gaining weight,” said Devon Fontaine, 16, a cast member. “What we wanted was to show kids what was going on overseas.”But even as 15 student actors were polishing the script and perfecting their accents for a planned April

President Bush Discusses Iraq War Emergency Supplemental, FULL STREAMING VIDEO, Diplomatic Reception Room In Focus: Renewal in Iraq, 2:00 P.M. EDT. PODCAST OF THIS ARTICLETHE PRESIDENT: Today I'm joined here at the White House by veterans, family members of people serving in combat, family members of those who have sacrificed. I am honored that they have joined me here today.Here in Washington, members of both parties recognize that our most solemn responsibility is to support our troops in the war on terror. Yet, today, a narrow majority in the House of Representatives abdicated its responsibility by passing a war spending bill that has no chance of becoming law, and brings us no closer to getting our troops the resources they need to do their job.The purpose of the emergency war spending bill I requested was to provide our troops with vital funding. Instead, Democrats in the House, in an act of political theater, voted to substitute their judgment for that of our military commanders

Well here we go again, another "public" hearing where the public isnt allowed.. Our founding fathers must be turning in thier graves.. And a message to Capitol Police, grow some balls and stand with the people not take orders to push them out when the goverment dont like what the public has to say.. I'm a (R) and i support this war but people not being able to tell thier goverment how they feel no matter thier view point or party affiliation in a "public" hearing is extremely un-american..

WASHINGTON (AP) - With Democrats pushing for an end to the Iraq war now entering its fifth year, President Bush pleaded for more patience Monday, saying success is possible but “will take months, not days or weeks.” The war has stretched longer, with higher costs, than the White House ever predicted. On the fourth anniversary of the day Bush directed the invasion to begin, the president made a televised statement from the White House Roosevelt Room to defend continued U.S. involvement.He said his plan to send 21,500 additional U.S. troops to secure Baghdad and Iraq’s troubled Anbar Province “will need more time to take effect,” especially since fewer than half of the troop reinforcements have yet arrived in the capital. Bush added: “There will be good days and bad days ahead as the security plan unfolds.” Democrats are bringing up this week in the House a war spending bill that would effectively require the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq b

Protesters march on their way to the Pentagon on Saturday for demonstrations on the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War. Photo by REUTERS. As Monday reigns in the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq the weekend was met with protests and anger all over the country and even abroad. Saturday thousands marched at the Pentagon yesterday and smaller protests gathered in places all over the world. Pentagon marchers were met with angry counter-demonstrators and War veterans gathered at the Vietnam memorial to protect it from acts of vandalism by protestors. There were no acts of vandalism reported. The march began at the Vietnam memorial and proceeded across the Potomac to the Pentagon. At the Pentagon demonstration speakers called for the impeachment of President Bush, Vice President Dick Chaney and denounced congress for not cutting off the funding for the war. Protestors held signs saying “U.S. Out of Iraq Now!”The two sides of the demonstrations hurled insults and obscenities at

Walter Cronkite, the legendary news anchor, spoke to the local CBS affiliate in my native San Francisco Bay Area, and gave a grave assessment of the situation in Iraq. “We should have gotten out a long time ago. This is a mistake, this entire war there, it’s a disaster. And the earlier we get out the better,” Cronkite said. “It’s a terrible disaster. Look at the loss of lives of our young Americans there and those who have been maimed for life, for what purpose? No purpose we can define.” [emphasis added] CBS Political Editor Hank Plante referenced Cronkite’s turn against the Vietnam War that then-President Lyndon Johnson believed was the sign that the country was lost and likely forced him out of reelection. Johnson was challenged by the anti-war faction of his Democratic Party. Check out the video of the exclusive interview.

At the beginning of the invasion of Iraq by the “coalition forces” (for which, read America and New Britain), there was a lot of talk about whether this was simply an excuse to rob Iraq of its oil reserves. This was, of course, vehemently denied in all quarters. However, the fact that George W Bush was so closely tied to the oil industry meant that the accusation was never entirely going to go away. The problem in any event was that wherever there is the chance to make money, you get a congregation of businesses and politicians sloshing around in the money-pot, while trying to put a moral spin on seedy events. So, what of the oil scandal in Iraq that never was? Baghdad is under pressure from Britain and the US to pass an oil law which would hand long-term control of Iraq’s energy assets to foreign multinationals, according to campaigners. Iraqi trades unions have called for the country’s oil reserves - the second-largest in the world - to be kept in public hands

     The United States continues to call on Iraqis to take responsibility for themselves regarding the “Iraq War” or “War in Iraq” or “War on Terror”.  However, it is critical for U.S. politicians to acknowledge that the Iraqis did not ask us to invade their country in the first place.  Therefore, constructing the notion that Iraqis are responsible for the U.S. winning the war against Iraq, actually serves to release the U.S. from taking responsibility for the terrible consequences of its invasion and of its continued war on Iraq.      Peace, Dr. Amaal V.E. Tokars

You may have seen this. A friend emailed it. It checks out as true on Snopes.com. I am glad we are on these guys side!! Bad dudes! SEMPER FI ! Leading the fight is Gunnery Sgt Michael Burghardt, known as "Iron Mike" or just "Gunny". He is on his third tour in Iraq. He had become a legend in the bomb disposal world after winning the Bronze S tar for disabling 64 IEDs and destroying 1,548 pieces of ordnance during his second tour. Then, on September 19, he got blown up. He had arrived at a chaotic scene after a bomb had killed four US soldiers. He chose not to wear the bulky bomb protection suit. "You can't react to any sniper fire and you get tunnel-vision," he explains. So, protected by just a helmet and = standard-issue flak jacket, he began what bomb disposal officers term "the longest walk", stepping gingerly into a 5ft deep and 8ft wide crater. The earth shifted slightly and he saw a Senao base station with a wire leading from it. He cut the wire and used his 7in knife t o p

Iraq War Will Cost More-than-$2-Trillion “More than 2,500 American troops have died and close to 20,000 have been wounded…” Look at it this way, cost vs. benefit. Sure, you “freed” the Iraqis, but uh, couldn’t the rest of that 2 TRILLION be spent on alternative energy instead of OIL!?

Iraq War Videos Not On American Media*Video Inside Iraq What You Won't See On American Media(An exclusive, in-depth interview with journalist Dahr Jamailon what is really going on in Iraq)*Fallujah: The Hidden MassacreDahr Jamail recognized that Americans were being misled about the US occupation of Iraq, so he went to Iraq to find the truth. After being unembedded in Iraq totaling over 8 months, he returned to the States to tell what he discovered.In this video Dahr Jamail speaks of the horrors of occupation, the use of illegal weapons by American forces, the rip-off of American taxpayers by Bechtel and other US corporations, the shabby and biased media coverage of the situation by US media, and of the resilient determination of the Iraqi people to be free from foreign occupation.see more ...*Inside Iraq What You won't read on American Media

Hillary Clinton (D-New York) at Iowa Democratic Party headquarters in Des Moines. Photo by:REUTERSAs candidates make their visits to Iowa and other parts of the country campaigning the people of Iowa will be paying close attention to what the candidates have to say about the war in Iraq.In 2004, the presidential race ended with Kerry just beginning to speak out louder against the war. This election will focus much more on a clear cut plan on how to end the war and bring our troops home as soon as possible.Hillary Clinton continues to have trouble polling in Iowa after making her first visit a couple of weeks ago because of her vote for the war in Iraq while in the Senate. Hillary Clinton has come out strongly against the war but has recently said she will not renounce her vote for the war. Barack Obama was not in the Senate at the time but was opposed to the war and voiced his concerns that it would not bode well for the United States to enter into a conflict there.John Edwards als