BAGHDAD, Jan. 23, 2008
Blasts In Northern Iraq Kill At Least 22
At Least 17 Dead And Scores Wounded In Mosul Explosion; Suicide Bomb Kills 5 Near Kirkuk
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An Iraqi woman gestures as she reacts to her plight after waiting in a queue to buy petrol for three days, with others to fill up her containers with petrol for heating, in the center of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
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U.S. Army soldiers from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment set out to search Arab Jabour during Operation Coliseum south of Baghdad, Iraq on Monday, Jan. 21, 2008. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
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Rescue crews were searching late into the night for victims under the debris of collapsed homes from the thunderous 4:30 p.m. explosion. Police said injured people were trapped under the collapsed ceilings and walls of their homes.
The blasts reinforced U.S. claims this week that Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, is the only major Iraqi city with a strong al Qaeda presence. American and Iraqi forces have been on the offensive against the terror group in and around Baghdad, but Mosul continues to be a center of gravity for al Qaeda in Iraq, according to the military.
Iraq's third largest city, a major transportation hub with highways leading west to Syria and south to Baghdad, is the main conduit in the flow of blood money and foreign fighters.
Mosul's disaffected populations also provide fertile ground for al Qaeda among fellow Sunni Arabs. The terror group is apparently seeking to exploit ethnic tension between majority Sunnis and minority Kurds, who together form about 85 percent of the city's population of roughly 2 million.
Wednesday's explosion, in a Sunni neighborhood in western Mosul, came shortly after the army received calls that insurgents were using the vacant building as a shelter and a bomb-making factory, according to Brig. Saeed al-Jubouri, a police spokesman.
That raised the possibility that the terror group may have soldiers into a trap.
However, Brig. Abdul-Karim al-Jubouri, who heads security operations for the Mosul police, said authorities did not believe that was the case. He said that if it were a trap, insurgents would have waited for security forces to get inside the building to kill as many of them as possible. The bombs went off just after the army arrived, and no soldier was known to have been killed.
Also, he said, insurgents usually warn nearby residents to leave before a bombing. On Wednesday, they did not.
"The insurgents used the building to store weapons and bombs, and it seems they blew up the building after learning that Iraqi soldiers had discovered their plans," Abdul-Karim al-Jubouri said.
The bombings collapsed the three-story building and damaged dozens of old houses in the area, according to Saeed al-Jubouri. He said 17 civilians were killed and 134 injured.
One of the injured, 25-year-old Um Mohammed, was making dinner for her family.
"Everything on the kitchen shelves fell on me, and I started to scream for help until my husband came and took me to the hospital," she said while being treated for wounds to her head, legs and left hand.
Her husband, 32-year-old taxi driver Abu Mohammed, escaped with only minor injuries to his hands.
"I was standing near my house behind the exploded building when a very loud blast took place, and the smoke covered the whole area," he said. "I was confused and went inside my house to search for my wife. Everything in the house was turned upside down. I saw my wife lying on the ground and I carried her to my car and headed to the hospital. What has happened is a disaster."
Attacks have persisted in recent months in northern Iraq even as violence has declined in Baghdad and other areas.
In a separate incident, a suicide car bomber targeted a police convoy near the northern city of Kirkuk, killing at least five civilians and wounding 11, police said.
In the capital, Baghdad, gunmen opened fire on Iraqi soldiers resting on the side of a highway, killing three and wounding at least one, according to police and the U.S. military. The attack in the heart of Baghdad provided a deadly example of the stark challenges facing the Iraqi forces as they work to take over their own security so U.S.-led troops can eventually go home.
Five militant Iraqi Sunni groups said in a joint statement posted on the Internet that they were stepping up attacks on American troops in Iraq in support of Palestinians in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
The statement announced the launching of what was described as the "Iraqi Resistance Campaign to Help Gaza" and accused U.S. President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of responsibility for the deteriorating situation in the coastal strip.
It described the American and Israeli leader as "war criminals," saying they sought to "cover up their dreadful failures in all fields." It did not provide details of the planned attacks on U.S. troops.
In another development, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has accepted an invitation to visit Iraq, but no date has been set, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry announced. It would be the first visit to Iraq by a top Iranian leader since the Islamic revolution of 1979.
Iran had no immediate word on the visit.
The two Muslim neighbors fought a ruinous eight-year war in the 1980s that left an estimated 1 million people killed or wounded. Relations have improved since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein's Sunni-led regime.
In other developments in Iraq:
The measure calls for removing the three green stars that are thought to symbolize Saddam's now-dissolved Baath Party's objectives of unity, freedom and socialism and changing the calligraphy of the words "Allahu Akbar," or God is Great, in a symbolic break with the past.
The decision - which was approved by a show of hands, with 110 lawmakers of 165 present voting in favor - is temporary. A law to establish a new banner must be passed in one year.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 123 CommentsRe: "There were no immediate claims of responsibility, but the attack bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda in Iraq..."
What "hallmarks" would those be, CBS?
I would say that the mass-murder of Iraqis with nobody being held responsible, matches the "hallmarks" of a Blackwater terrorist attack.
Here we go again. You see, without the imaginary nemesis of the nonexistent group known as "al-Qaeda-inIraq", we are simply continuing the mass-murder, torture, maiming, rape and plunder of Iraq, for no good reason.
This is why it is important for U.S. war criminal commanders and the Western stenographers that make up our press corpse to keep trying to prop up the "al-Qaeda-in-Iraq" boogie-men.
One again we will note that these unsupported black propaganda articles ALWAYS seem to be presented by writers who lack the integrity to associate their names with this tripe.
CBS complicity in the ongoing mass-murder, maiming, torture, and plunder operations against the people of Iraq have been noted.
Re: "Credible intelligence indicates he and his group are responsible for the sectarian murder of several hundred Iraqi civilians in the past year," the statement said."
And we are supposed to accept this just because some boot-licking war criminal with zero credibility and a chronic habit of lying, tells us that it is "credible"?
Make up your mind, CBS. Are we supposed to be scared of the non-existent threat from Iran, or the imaginary "al-Qaeda-in-Iraq" phantoms?
notblue,
Did I hurt your feelings by mocking this ridiculous yellow-journalism piece?
Too bad.
So sad.
Re: "Abdul-Kadim''s son, Hamza Jawad, said his father was trying to keep the troops out of the bedroom until his wife could dress properly, but one of the soldiers reached through a space in the door and opened fire."
Sounds like this soldier is a trigger happy moron and murderer.
He would be a good addition to the craven scum of Blackwater, Dyncorp, Triple-Canopy, etc.
Re: "Abdul-Kadim''s son, Hamza Jawad, said his father was trying to keep the troops out of the bedroom until his wife could dress properly, but one of the soldiers reached through a space in the door and opened fire."
Sounds like this soldier is a trigger happy moron and murderer.
He would be a good addition to the craven scum of Blackwater, Dyncorp, Triple-Canopy, etc.
Sorry for the multiple posts.
This Web site is running even more clunky than usual today.
Altho, may I add..........the Al Qaeda in Iraq (Sunni), and Iran Republican Guard (Shia) confusion is deliberate -
are we with war against Eurasia or Eastasia?
cattlekate,
Re: "Good post, feelfree."
Thank you.
Re: "are we with war against Eurasia or Eastasia?"
Good question.
CBS? Could you clarify this for us?
it is fascist nazi terrorislam stupid,,,
non muslims of the world unite,,, fight against the tyranny of the fascist nazi terrorslam imperialist empire of the darkside,,,
I was a fanatic...I know their thinking, says former radical Islamist
By blaming the Government for our actions, those who pushed this "Blair''s bombs" line did our propaganda work for us.
More important, they also helped to draw away any critical examination from the real engine of our violence: Islamic theology.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=465570&in_page_id=1770
Bless the Beasts and Children
Fascist nazi terrorslam kills every man woman and child in the village again%u2026 typical mo for terrorslam%u2026
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/bless-the-beasts-and-children.htm
Our Prophet commanded us to fight the kaafirs when we are able and to attack them in their homelands and to give them three choices before we enter their lands: either they become Muslim and be like us, sharing our rights and duties; or they pay the jizyah (poll tax) and feel themselves subdued; or they fight, in which case their wealth, women, children and homes become permissible as booty for the Muslims.
http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=13759&ln=eng&txt=before%20islam%20arabia%20pagan
the truth about fascist nazi terrorislam...
http://www.terrorismawareness.org/what-really-happened/
From the last known journalist at CBS News:
"Cronkite: Why our troops must leave Iraq"
www.metrowestdailynews.com/opinion/x1211480742
By Walter Cronkite and David Krieger
"The American people no longer support the war in Iraq. The war is being carried on by a stubborn president who, like Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon during the Vietnam War, does not want to lose. But from the beginning this has been an ill-considered and poorly prosecuted war that, like the Vietnam War, has diminished respect for America. We believe Mr. Bush would like to drag the war on long enough to hand it off to another president."
"The war in Iraq reminds us of the tragedy of the Vietnam War. Both wars began with false assertions by the president to the American people and the Congress. Like Vietnam, the Iraq War has introduced a new vocabulary: "shock and awe," "mission accomplished," "the surge." Like Vietnam, we have destroyed cities in order to save them. It is not a strategy for success."
"The Bush administration has attempted to forestall ending the war by putting in more troops, but more troops will not solve the problem. We have lost the hearts and minds of most of the Iraqi people, and victory no longer seems to be even a remote possibility. It is time to end our occupation of Iraq, and bring our troops home."
rhs648,
Re: "Nothing is sacred to these terrorists. Blowing-up innocent people at funerals is so cowardly. If there is a hell, nothing could be more appropriate for these monsters."
This does seem to be the case. Blackwater may be losing their immunity for their role in these various atrocities, though.
Terrorists-for-Rent, like the craven, steroid addled, and murderous cowards of Blackwater, Dyncorp, CACI, etc., must be about the most contemptible and foul collection of excrement ever assembled.
CBS,
Just a few months ago, you were reporting that "al-Qaeda-in-Iraq" had been defeated.
Now you are claiming that they are once again a threat.
Which is it?
Isn''t it far more likely that "al-Qaeda-in-Iraq" is little more than a Made-in-USA divide and conquer hoax, and that it is the people of Iraq who are tired of seeing their friends and family humiliated, tortured, maimed, raped, displaced, and/or murdered, as a result of the fraud-based and criminal U.S. led war of aggression against their country?
The people of Iraq have every right to defend themselves, do they not?
Clarification
Should be:
Isn''t it far more likely that "al-Qaeda-in-Iraq" is little more than a Made-in-USA divide and conquer ruse, and that it is the people of Iraq who are tired of seeing their friends and family humiliated, tortured, maimed, raped, displaced, and/or murdered, as a result of the fraud-based and criminal U.S. led war of aggression against their country, that our forces are fighting?"
downsteamjim
Re: "The report I saw was that your friends were down but not out."
Here is one report making such a claim:
"(CBS/AP) Many U.S. military commanders in Iraq believe they have dealt a large enough blow to al Qaeda in Iraq to declare victory over the group, according to a report in the Washington Post."
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/15/iraq/main3366346.shtml
I''m not sure what you mean by my "friends". As I have already explained, "al-Qaeda-in-Iraq" looks like little more than a U.S. fabricated propaganda ruse to excuse the ongoing mass-murderous criminal war of aggression there, where no such excuse actually exists. I can''t imagine why you would think that I would befriend an imaginary group.
Apparently your reading comprehension is as poor as your memory.
Posted by FeelFree1 at 06:58 PM : Jan 21, 2008
In an October tape, bin Laden sought to patch up splits between Iraqi insurgent factions, urging them to unite with the Islamic State of Iraq %u2014 the insurgent coalition led by Al Qaeda. He took a conciliatory stance, chiding even Al Qaeda''s followers for being too "extremist" in their positions toward other insurgents.
Bin Laden''s deputy Ayman al-Zawahri took a sharper tone in a Dec. 16 video, branding as "traitors" those who work with the anti-Qaida tribal councils and calling for Sunnis to purge anyone cooperating with the Americans.
Doesn''t seem like OBL or Ayman al-Zawahri feel that way.
AJMarine1,
Re: "Doesn''t seem like OBL or Ayman al-Zawahri feel that way."
The latest releases from "Osama", "Zawahiri", and "Adam Gadahn (Pearlman)", look like fairly obvious fakes, to me, written and produced by black propaganda factories like the SITE Institute, IntelCenter, and others.
Surely you are familiar with the term psychological-operations, "AJMarine1".
Yes I am Feel; in this day and age, it''s hard to tell who is telling the truth and who is not.
I just wish the Iraq government would we say, "we can take care of ourselves now and would you Americans please leave."
AJMarine1,
Re: "I just wish the Iraq government would we say, "we can take care of ourselves now and would you Americans please leave."
I don''t see that happening. The installed Iraqi "officials" are largely hand-picked stooges, and they know full well that their life expectancy would diminish dramatically of the U.S. froces and "contractors" withdrew.
The Iraqi people have asked us to leave, many times, yet they have been ignored or attacked for doing so. The Iraqi "government" is clearly not representative of the people of Iraq, and they lack both legitimacy and sovereignty.
Posted by FeelFree1 at 07:42 PM : Jan 21, 2008
Al Sadr''s self imposed cease fire is due to expire in Febuary, it will be interesting to see what he does.
If left to their own, due you see Iraq breaking up into 3 separate countries or absorbed by their neighbors?
AJMarine1,
Re: "If left to their own, due you see Iraq breaking up into 3 separate countries or absorbed by their neighbors?"
Hard to guess. I think that the Kurds would like to peel off, obviously, much to the displeasure of the Turks, but the strain between Shi''ites and Sunnis appears to be largely manufactured.
Their sense of nationalism could potentially unify them, in my opinion.
There were movements in this direction at several points over the past five years (unity) including overtures from Sadr, but they were relentlessly subverted.
14 more dead at the hands of fascist nazi terrorislam. How many are we up to now?
$#!^
Posted by Nancy_Naive at 08:05 PM : Jan 21, 2008
If you have any money left, now is the time to BUY.
AJMarine1,
"I thought this feud went back centuries and that is one reason Arabs and Persians don''t get along very well."
My understanding is that the Shi''ites and Sunnis of Iraq are overwhelmingly Arabs, not Persians.
Under the Saddam regime, intermarriage was apparently very common between members of these sects, and Iraqi society was overwhelmingly secular and Western.
Did these Iraqis hate their in-laws just because they were from a different sect of Islam? Unlikely.
The U.S. has armed and funded a number of extremist death-squads from each of these sects during this conflict, and this is where I believe the animosity between these sects has largely bloomed.
I recall a story from an embedded journalist reporting from Iraq, early in the conflict. A military commander called a meeting with local leaders and directed them to separate themselves into Sunnis on one side of the room, and Shi''ites on the other.
The attendees reportedly looked at each other with bewilderment, because this was a non-issue among them, and they did not understand why they were being asked to segregate themselves.
Correction-
Should be: "I recall a story from an UN-embedded journalist reporting from Iraq..."
Posted by FeelFree1 at 08:14 PM : Jan 21, 2008
I found this.
August 27, 2006
Los Angeles Times
Hezbollah is not a headache for Israel alone. The Shiite extremist group poses an equally daunting challenge to the Sunni Arab regimes in the Middle East. For behind Hezbollah%u2019s perceived heroics in the Lebanon war sits Shiite Iran, with its claim to great-power status. If unchallenged, the Iran-Hezbollah axis of power will end the millenniums-old Sunni Arab domination of the Middle East.
The Shiite-Sunni conflict dates to the beginning of Islam, when a dispute over succession to Prophet Muhammad split the religion into two sects. Sunnis won control of the political institutions and suppressed the Shiites, often brutally. In the 16th century, Shiites triumphed in Iran, but in the Arab world down to modern times, they have remained on the economic and political margins. The Middle East that the British created at the end of World War I confirmed Sunni hegemony, but the war in Iraq threatens to undermine it.
http://www.cfr.org/publication/11364/old_blood_feud_drives_the_mideasts_new_power_play.html
it is fascist nazi terrorislam stupid,,,
non muslims of the world unite,,, fight against the tyranny of the fascist nazi terrorslam imperialist empire of the darkside,,,
I was a fanatic...I know their thinking, says former radical Islamist
By blaming the Government for our actions, those who pushed this "Blair''s bombs" line did our propaganda work for us.
More important, they also helped to draw away any critical examination from the real engine of our violence: Islamic theology.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=465570&in_page_id=1770
Bless the Beasts and Children
Fascist nazi terrorslam kills every man woman and child in the village again%u2026 typical mo for terrorslam%u2026
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/bless-the-beasts-and-children.htm
Our Prophet commanded us to fight the kaafirs when we are able and to attack them in their homelands and to give them three choices before we enter their lands: either they become Muslim and be like us, sharing our rights and duties; or they pay the jizyah (poll tax) and feel themselves subdued; or they fight, in which case their wealth, women, children and homes become permissible as booty for the Muslims.
http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=13759&ln=eng&txt=before%20islam%20arabia%20pagan
the truth about fascist nazi terrorislam...
http://www.terrorismawareness.org/what-really-happened/
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! March 23, 1775 Patrick Henry
AJMarine1,
My impression of the Council on Foreign Relations is similar to my impression of other "think-tanks", like the American Enterprise Institute, The Project for a New American Century, the Heritage Foundation, etc.
These organizations seem only to express their views for effect, rather than to inform.
Gotta'' go.
Take care.
Posted by FeelFree1 at 08:31 PM : Jan 21, 2008
Same to you Feel,....Live Long and Prosper.
---
First, define your terms properly, then try to make your argument-- it works better, that way. Fascism is defined as "a system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with a belligerent nationalism." (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language)
Fascism and nazism have little to do with jihadists working for restoration of the caliphate. These are not Nazis or fascists but violent theocrats, of whom the world has seen legions-- far more than fascists of any stripe.
A jihadist, as theocrat, is a unique species of political animal, acting out of his purportedly religious convictions to create a kingdom of/for God on earth, and not necessarily for his own economic interest. Zionists, for examle, are consumate theocrats. So were members of the Inquisition. Not surprisingly, the first action of the theocrat is to announce his impeccable credentials, received (more or less) directly from God.
Regarding violent jihadists, many Muslims disavow such extremists among them, but there are few outspoken Muslim critics of radical Islam. This does not imply most Muslims favor violence, but that terrorists easily intimidate those less violent.
Fascist nazi terrorislam is intent on killing or enslaving all non muslims......
Why is there no muslim country that grants equal rights to non muslim citizens???
The most notable characteristic of a fascist country is the separation and persecution or denial of equality to a specific segment of the population based upon superficial qualities or belief systems.
Simply stated, a fascist government always has one class of citizens that is considered superior (good) to another (bad) based upon race, creed or origin. It is possible to be both a republic and a fascist state. The preferred class lives in a republic while the oppressed class lives in a fascist state.
http://www.couplescompany.com/Features/Politics/Structure3.htm
Look at: WEXLER WANTS HEARINGS DOT COM
Sign this Appeal.
This site is an Appeal For Redress in support of our mission in Iraq.
An Appeal For Redress is an authorized means for active duty military to submit a grievance to Congress. It can be signed by Active Duty, Reserve, or National Guard military personnel.
It is authorized by DoD Directive 1325.6 and DoD Directive 7050.6.
The wording of the Appeal for Redress is:
As an American currently serving my nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to fully support our mission in Iraq and halt any calls for retreat. I also respectfully urge my political leaders to actively oppose media efforts which embolden my enemy while demoralizing American support at home. The War in Iraq is a necessary and just effort to bring freedom to the Middle East and protect America from further attack.
If you are active duty, reservist or national guard, please Sign this Appeal.
Most service members fully support the war in Iraq and feel calls to retreat by Congress and attacks by our media on our conduct and mission act to motivate our enemy while demoralizing our support at home, directly increasing the threat we face and resulting in greater American casualties. This Appeal for Redress provides a way in which individual service members can appeal to Congress to fully support us and actively oppose media attacks on our mission and our morale.
This Appeal will be delivered to members of Congress.
http://www.appealforcourage.org/
beehive21,
Re: "Why can''t these people stand up and fight?"
It looks like many of them are. That seems to be one of the main reasons explaining our military deafeat there."
Re: "Take the bombers family and all the ones before and hang the families it would surprise you how fast the BS would STOP,kill the families of the bombers,now."
The U.S. military is doing the overwhelming majority of the bombing in Iraq, and has been for quite some time.
Are you suggesting that the Iraqi resistance fighters not only kill the U.S. military members that are doing the bombing, but also hunt down and execute their families and relatives?
Sounds a lot like Saddam''s method of problem solving.
Why did we invade Iraq, again?
kansas1946,
Re: "They are freaking nuts and don''''t deserve to have one more American soldier die to keep them from killing each other."
It sounds as though you may be attempting to blame the people of Iraq for the death and misery that we have delivered to them.
That is disappointing.
someboy sounds like a shill for fascist nazi terrorislam
dont you just hate these stupid silly little fascist nazi terrorislamic muslims pretending to be liberal Americana,,, and begging for the usa to leave iraq,,, lol,,, they must be really getting their arses kicked,,, hahahahahaha,,,
and these fascist nazi terrorislamic muslim collaborators,,,
Last letter from doomed Al Qaida chief: "We are so desperate for your help"
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2007/ss_iraq_09_30.asp
Iraq insurgency: People rise against al-Qa''eda
Damien McElroy spent a week in the heart of the insurgency in Anbar province in Iraq. In the second of seven exclusive reports he describes how peace and prosperity have returned to a town formerly riven by sectarian killings.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/08/wanbar308.xml
Al Qaeda Dealt Devastating Blow in Iraq
The U.S. military says it has dealt devastating and potentially irreversible blows to Al Qaeda in Iraq in recent months, leading some generals to advocate a declaration of victory over the group, which the Bush administration has long described as the most lethal U.S. adversary in Iraq, the Washington Post reported Monday.
Al-Qaeda In Iraq Reported Crippled
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/14/AR2007101401245_pf.html
REHAB IS NOT JUST FOR HOLLYWOOD TERRORISTS NOW
U.S. Tries Rehab For Religious Extremists
Singapore Has Reduced Its Detainee Ranks With Islamic Reeducation; A Model For U.S.?
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/09/world/main3347089.shtml
%u201CWhy we stand for immediate withdrawal of all US troops from Iraq%u201D
%u201CTHE U.S. occupation of Iraq has not liberated the Iraqi people, but has made life worse for most Iraqis.%u201D
%u201CTens of thousands of U.S. service people have been killed or maimed, and hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis have lost their lives as a result of the U.S. invasion in 2003, the ongoing occupation, and the violence unleashed by them.%u201D
%u201CIraq''s infrastructure has been destroyed, and U.S. plans for reconstruction abandoned. There is less electricity, less clean drinking water, and more unemployment today than before the U.S. invasion.%u201D
%u201CAll of the justifications initially provided by the U.S. for waging war on Iraq have been exposed as lies; the real reasons for the invasion %u2014 to control Iraq''s oil reserves and to increase U.S. strategic influence in the region %u2014 now stand revealed.%u201D
%u201CThe Bush administration has insisted again and again that stability, democracy, and prosperity are around the next bend in the road%u2026But the U.S. has deliberately stoked sectarian divisions in its ongoing attempt to install a U.S.-friendly regime, thus driving Iraq towards civil war.%u201D
%u201CWe call on the U.S. to get out of Iraq %u2014 not in six months, not in a year, but now.%u201D
www.ipetitions.com/petition/OutNow
it actually never ended since it only stopped by the signing of a ceasefire,,, just like the korean war,,,
the resumption of hostilities was only a matter of time since iraq broke the ceasefire agreement,,,
blame saddam for iraq,,, Even clintoon and the dems wanted the resumption of hostilities back in 1998,,,
"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
"Iraq''s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
Moreover, no international law can prevent the United States from taking actions to protect its vital interests, when it is manifestly clear that there is a choice to be made between law and survival. I believe, however, that such a choice is not presented in the case of Iraq. Indeed, should we decide to proceed, that action can be justified within the framework of international law rather than outside it. In fact, though a new UN resolution may be helpful in building international consensus, the existing resolutions from 1991 are sufficient from a legal standpoint. - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/gore/gore092302sp.html
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/007528.php
Top Secret: Bush Told the Truth About WMD
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=26457045-1E9E-4795-9D31-0E5B73E74EE9
To our troops (cont.)-
The Iraq War also constitutes an "illegal war of aggression", as described by the "Nuremberg Charter", another U.S. obligated treaty, since it was an offensive action by the Bush regime, and there was no threat, only fabricated intelligence, in support of the invasion.
Additionally, our Constitution places the SOLE POWER of declaring war in the hands of our Congress. They have yet to even formally declare war, and they do not have the Constitutional authority to abdicate their responsibility to the President, or the Resident, as the case may be.
To our troops:
"Do not fight for a dying regime. It is not worth your life."- GWB
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxKpeKQA6B4
Every U.S. service member, as you know, swears an oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States...". Our Constitution cites international treaties as the "Supreme Law of the Land", meaning that ALL U.S. policies are bound by any international treaty of which the U.S. is signatory.
One such treaty is the U.N. Charter, which provides for only 2 cases which a member country may legally wage war against another. One is in the event of an immanent threat (currently being invaded/attacked), and the other requires a specific U.N. Security Council Resolution authorizing the use of force. We know that the Bush regime failed to push through an actionable U.N. Resolution, ahead of the invasion of Iraq, and we know that there was no immanent threat from the Saddam regime. As such, the war against Iraq violates the U.N. Charter, which is in turn a serious violation of our Constitution.
Being non-Muslim in Islamic nations
means ''protection''--and problems.(World: Iraq)
The official term for this right is "dhimmitude." The world''s foremost expert on the subject, Bat Ye''Or, coined the word in 1983 to describe the legal and social condition of Jews and Christians (dhimmis) subjected to Islamic rule. Broadly interpreted, it appears benign: Non-Muslims enjoy a protected status among their Muslims neighbors: But dhimmitude becomes problematic because its supposed safeguards and protections can be withdrawn as selectively as they are applied by rulers or governments of Islamic states.
In Iraq, as in other predominately Muslim states, Christianity has existed side by side with Islam for centuries. For some observers (as well as those who experience it firsthand), the status of Christians is not one of cheery coexistence. Rather, it may be more like the old racial divides in the United States, where blacks lived near, but not integrated into, white society, and where they "kept their place"--separate and unequal.
In a July 24 interview with NCR, Baghdad Archbishop Jean Sleiman, leader of Iraq''s Latin Catholic church, said that in Iraq, "Christians and Muslims can I-live] side by side--but only side by side. Side by side, but not equally. No mixing, no integration."
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-121763784.html
Young Muslims begin dangerous fight for the right to abandon faith
A group of young Muslim apostates launches a campaign today, the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America, to make it easier to renounce Islam.
The provocative move reflects a growing rift between traditionalists and a younger generation raised on a diet of Dutch tolerance.
The Committee for Ex-Muslims promises to campaign for freedom of religion but has already upset the Islamic and political Establishments for stirring tensions among the million-strong Muslim community in the Netherlands.
Ehsan Jami, the committee%u2019s founder, who rejected Islam after the attack on the twin towers in 2001, has become the most talked-about public figure in the Netherlands. He has been forced into hiding after a series of death threats and a recent attack.
The threats are taken seriously after the murder in 2002 of Pim Fortuyn, an antiimmigration politician, and in 2004 of Theo Van Gogh, an antiIslam film-maker.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2426314.ece
Related:
"1st U.S. soldier in new MRAP vehicle dies in Iraq attack"
"Pentagon invested in trucks meant to provide more protection than Humvees"
BAGHDAD (AP) %u2014 A soldier killed over the weekend south of Baghdad was the first American casualty in a roadside bomb attack on a newly introduced, heavily armored vehicle, a military spokeswoman said Tuesday.
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