Iraq

As the opposition is becoming more organised and deadly, the people of Baghdad are becoming more afraid by the day. These days of Ramadan will be sad and hard for them. There is no security in Baghdad, if you read between the lines of most publications. This past Monday, 4 suicide attacks that left at least 35 people dead and more than 200 injured.

Bush is blaming this mess on foreign troops in Iraq.

He is right.

They dont belong there, they never should have invaded the country in the first place.

He also said the bombings was because of the progress of the occupation and the desperation of the insurgents.

I'm not quite sure what to make of this nugget...

ermmm... Is the man insane???



Well, at least he is not taunting them to "bring it on" again.



I will take Robert Fisk's word for it any day:

Some of America's enemies may come from other Arab countries, but most of the military opposition to America's presence comes from Iraqi Sunnis - not from Saddam "remnants", "diehards" or "deadenders" (the Paul Bremer cover-up titles for a real and growing Iraqi resistance), but from men who in many cases hated Saddam.



They don't work "for" al Qaeda. They don't work for Mullah Omar or Osama bin Laden.



But they have learned their own unique version of history. Attack your enemies in the holy month of Ramadan. Learn from the war in Algeria. And the war in Afghanistan.



Learn the lessons of America's "war on terror". Go for the jugular. "Bring'em on." Kill the leadership. You're with us or against us, collaborator or patriot. That was the message of yesterday's bloodbath in Baghdad.

Iraq

As the opposition is becoming more organised and deadly, the people of Baghdad are becoming more afraid by the day. These days of Ramadan will be sad and hard for them. There is no security in Baghdad, if you read between the lines of most publications. This past Monday, 4 suicide attacks that left at least 35 people dead and more than 200 injured.

Bush is blaming this mess on foreign troops in Iraq.

He is right.

They dont belong there, they never should have invaded the country in the first place.

He also said the bombings was because of the progress of the occupation and the desperation of the insurgents.

I'm not quite sure what to make of this nugget...

ermmm... Is the man insane???



Well, at least he is not taunting them to "bring it on" again.



I will take Robert Fisk's word for it any day:

Some of America's enemies may come from other Arab countries, but most of the military opposition to America's presence comes from Iraqi Sunnis - not from Saddam "remnants", "diehards" or "deadenders" (the Paul Bremer cover-up titles for a real and growing Iraqi resistance), but from men who in many cases hated Saddam.



They don't work "for" al Qaeda. They don't work for Mullah Omar or Osama bin Laden.



But they have learned their own unique version of history. Attack your enemies in the holy month of Ramadan. Learn from the war in Algeria. And the war in Afghanistan.



Learn the lessons of America's "war on terror". Go for the jugular. "Bring'em on." Kill the leadership. You're with us or against us, collaborator or patriot. That was the message of yesterday's bloodbath in Baghdad.

America and it's double standards

Bush sternly rebukes Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad for making anti-Semitic remarks but at the same time he is quite okay with his new deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin, equating Islam with evil, the devil and portraying this religion (and the areas where it is practiced) as the great US enemy.



Talk about double standards...



America is a country of extremes: there are so many things good in the American culture but many bad things too... the American president should be above that though, when a country selects a leader who is so extreme as Bush is, it becomes frightening. When the leadership is being steered by right-wing groups who have a clear agenda of manipulating the world to further their own interests, an organisation that has no interest whatsoever in what the rest of the world thinks or does, it becomes a concern for the rest of the world.



The rest of the world, including the Arab countries, certainly notices the double standards. Nowhere else is it more clear than in the endless conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Yesterday again: 11 dead and countless people injured after Israeli gunships pounded civilian areas. Why am I more upset when the Israeli army behaves like this, against when a suicide bomber blows him(her)self up in a crowded place? Because they are the extention of a government of a country and should behave better. The human rights are being trampled on such a huge scale that almost all else pales beside it. The Palestinians are under occupation and are fighting this with the only tools they still have to their disposal. I believe they would immediately have instant world-wide support if they stopped targeting soft targets and went after soldiers (however almost impossible this is, this is a true David/Goliath situation).

Be that as it may, the US hypocrisy in this is almost tangible. The roadmap was buried under the violence coming from Sharon and he was clearly being egged on by the USA. The US vetoing behavior at the UN security council has remained unchanged.



The hypocrisy of it all is galling and is being noticed all over the world.

This is "why they hate the USA" - in a nutshell.



Meanwhile, in another country now emptied out of American troops, Osama bin Laden is still alive and well and very active thank you very much.



I am staying well away from tempting American targets.

America and it's double standards

Bush sternly rebukes Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad for making anti-Semitic remarks but at the same time he is quite okay with his new deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin, equating Islam with evil, the devil and portraying this religion (and the areas where it is practiced) as the great US enemy.



Talk about double standards...



America is a country of extremes: there are so many things good in the American culture but many bad things too... the American president should be above that though, when a country selects a leader who is so extreme as Bush is, it becomes frightening. When the leadership is being steered by right-wing groups who have a clear agenda of manipulating the world to further their own interests, an organisation that has no interest whatsoever in what the rest of the world thinks or does, it becomes a concern for the rest of the world.



The rest of the world, including the Arab countries, certainly notices the double standards. Nowhere else is it more clear than in the endless conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Yesterday again: 11 dead and countless people injured after Israeli gunships pounded civilian areas. Why am I more upset when the Israeli army behaves like this, against when a suicide bomber blows him(her)self up in a crowded place? Because they are the extention of a government of a country and should behave better. The human rights are being trampled on such a huge scale that almost all else pales beside it. The Palestinians are under occupation and are fighting this with the only tools they still have to their disposal. I believe they would immediately have instant world-wide support if they stopped targeting soft targets and went after soldiers (however almost impossible this is, this is a true David/Goliath situation).

Be that as it may, the US hypocrisy in this is almost tangible. The roadmap was buried under the violence coming from Sharon and he was clearly being egged on by the USA. The US vetoing behavior at the UN security council has remained unchanged.



The hypocrisy of it all is galling and is being noticed all over the world.

This is "why they hate the USA" - in a nutshell.



Meanwhile, in another country now emptied out of American troops, Osama bin Laden is still alive and well and very active thank you very much.



I am staying well away from tempting American targets.

Iraq

The US resolution passed... but in fact does not change a thing.



I have been reading many articles such as this one, saying stuff like "They didn't want any part of the war. Fine. But they have little excuse now for taking no part in the peace. In fact, the U.N. resolution leaves little wiggle-room for ostensibly peace-loving, multinationalism-besotted nations (hello, Canada) to decline a burden-humping role in Iraq. "



Folks like this author dont get it.



Americans and the British invaded a country that was no threat to them, under false pretenses.

This was clearly illegal under Article 2, paragraph 4 of the UN Charter (which reads: All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state).

They now occupy this country.



This makes the burden theirs to shoulder, and theirs alone (which means, the US Congress should quit trying to pass off the costs for the occupation to the Iraqi people as a loan!). They should foot the bill and nobody else. Or else, when we start paying for their mess, what's to stop them from moving on to the next country (probably Syria) on the US agenda ?



The only time this should change is when they hand the (temporary) running of the country, and responsibility for forming a new Iraqi government, over to the UN. Until that happens they should quit whining and bullying other countries into sharing the price of their own arrogance.



Individually, I will support any Iraqi charity or organisation that tries to make life better over there and would welcome any information on such organisations. But I will fight like a lion to block a political or financial endorsement of the Americans in their right-wing agenda. It burns my gall enough that troops from my country are now in Iraq. Believe me, this will be remembered and brought forward come the next elections!



Meanwhile, the daily sabotage and deaths of soldiers and civilians dont make headlines any more. Still, they happen.

Iraq

The US resolution passed... but in fact does not change a thing.



I have been reading many articles such as this one, saying stuff like "They didn't want any part of the war. Fine. But they have little excuse now for taking no part in the peace. In fact, the U.N. resolution leaves little wiggle-room for ostensibly peace-loving, multinationalism-besotted nations (hello, Canada) to decline a burden-humping role in Iraq. "



Folks like this author dont get it.



Americans and the British invaded a country that was no threat to them, under false pretenses.

This was clearly illegal under Article 2, paragraph 4 of the UN Charter (which reads: All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state).

They now occupy this country.



This makes the burden theirs to shoulder, and theirs alone (which means, the US Congress should quit trying to pass off the costs for the occupation to the Iraqi people as a loan!). They should foot the bill and nobody else. Or else, when we start paying for their mess, what's to stop them from moving on to the next country (probably Syria) on the US agenda ?



The only time this should change is when they hand the (temporary) running of the country, and responsibility for forming a new Iraqi government, over to the UN. Until that happens they should quit whining and bullying other countries into sharing the price of their own arrogance.



Individually, I will support any Iraqi charity or organisation that tries to make life better over there and would welcome any information on such organisations. But I will fight like a lion to block a political or financial endorsement of the Americans in their right-wing agenda. It burns my gall enough that troops from my country are now in Iraq. Believe me, this will be remembered and brought forward come the next elections!



Meanwhile, the daily sabotage and deaths of soldiers and civilians dont make headlines any more. Still, they happen.

Iraq

How to convert people to suicide bombing 101:

Find a group of impoverished farmers.

Tell them they have to give you information on saboteurs, even if they don't know anything or if it would endanger not only themselves but their entire family or clan.

As punishment for not receiving the intel you want, you raze their crops and trees and leave them utterly destitute.

To rub salt in the wounds, play jazz loudly while you bulldoze their precious crops.

Collective punishment, Israeli style...



Whoo boy, the Americans sure know how to reinforce every ugly stereotype of them!!

This is much like Saddam's draining of the swamps to flush out his opposition... give it a little longer and there wont be any difference between the occupier and the former tyrant.



In the mean time, the puppet government is trying to convince their neighbors to accept that the American presence will be there for an indefinite time.

They should wake up and smell the coffee, and focus their energies closer to home.



This is about to become a bloodbath of biblical proportions...

Iraq

How to convert people to suicide bombing 101:

Find a group of impoverished farmers.

Tell them they have to give you information on saboteurs, even if they don't know anything or if it would endanger not only themselves but their entire family or clan.

As punishment for not receiving the intel you want, you raze their crops and trees and leave them utterly destitute.

To rub salt in the wounds, play jazz loudly while you bulldoze their precious crops.

Collective punishment, Israeli style...



Whoo boy, the Americans sure know how to reinforce every ugly stereotype of them!!

This is much like Saddam's draining of the swamps to flush out his opposition... give it a little longer and there wont be any difference between the occupier and the former tyrant.



In the mean time, the puppet government is trying to convince their neighbors to accept that the American presence will be there for an indefinite time.

They should wake up and smell the coffee, and focus their energies closer to home.



This is about to become a bloodbath of biblical proportions...

Iraq

A really interesting article in the UK Independent today on the situation in Iraq 6 months after the invasion.

I question the results of the survey in the last paragraph though, and wonder if they included women in their questioning... I doubt it, I doubt they could even find women on the street to interview, since women now hardly dare to leave home without some male protection. I suspect this was a mainly male opinion. Women in the new Iraq increasingly have no voice and no presence in the public arena.

Iraq

A really interesting article in the UK Independent today on the situation in Iraq 6 months after the invasion.

I question the results of the survey in the last paragraph though, and wonder if they included women in their questioning... I doubt it, I doubt they could even find women on the street to interview, since women now hardly dare to leave home without some male protection. I suspect this was a mainly male opinion. Women in the new Iraq increasingly have no voice and no presence in the public arena.

Iraq

It may be pretty under-reported lately but there are still American soldiers dying every day, many instances of attempted sabotage every day, riots, regular violent demonstrations and utter lawless mayhem in places.



Into all that, and against the wishes of many Iraqi's, the Americans are bringing in Turkish troops.



I wonder, have ANY of those Americans in charge ever read a history book??

This is like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse!!



I guess people should not complain though, since the electricity is now finally back to pre-war levels...

Iraq

It may be pretty under-reported lately but there are still American soldiers dying every day, many instances of attempted sabotage every day, riots, regular violent demonstrations and utter lawless mayhem in places.



Into all that, and against the wishes of many Iraqi's, the Americans are bringing in Turkish troops.



I wonder, have ANY of those Americans in charge ever read a history book??

This is like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse!!



I guess people should not complain though, since the electricity is now finally back to pre-war levels...

Syria

It seems it's Syria's turn in the hotseat: the Israeli bombing turned them into the flavour of the month.



Of course, the Israeli's already believed they had a clear invitation to bomb Syria because of the American House International Relations Committee bill that will be passed in the next week or two by a huge majority, which will result in sanctions being put into place against them for as long as they "support terrorist groups and develop chemical and biological weapons". HAH!



If the Israeli's had any doubts of Bush's enthusiastic support, his statement on Monday was pretty clear: he said that he had told Sharon "Israel must not feel constrained defending the homeland".



No matter how much Syria has been co-operating with the US re Al Quaeda over the past two years, as long as they are not completely compliant with the wishes of the Americans and Israeli's, they are fair game.



This puts me in such a moral dilemma: I would really like to see the Middle East democratised and especially see women's rights take hold. However, this would achieve the opposite: more war and oppression. The blatant unfairness in this upsets me - it fixes nothing and polarises people even more. If I were an Arab living in that part of the world I would be foaming at the mouth by now and looking up the Osama Bin Laden volunteer group cellphone number... I really believe actions such as these make the world less safe and only promotes terrorism and violence...



All tyrants are now paying heed and quietly stocking up on those WMD's and nuclear weapons... after all, you never know when the US spotlight may shine on you and when you may need a strong deterrent!



Talk about winning hearts and minds!!!

Syria

It seems it's Syria's turn in the hotseat: the Israeli bombing turned them into the flavour of the month.



Of course, the Israeli's already believed they had a clear invitation to bomb Syria because of the American House International Relations Committee bill that will be passed in the next week or two by a huge majority, which will result in sanctions being put into place against them for as long as they "support terrorist groups and develop chemical and biological weapons". HAH!



If the Israeli's had any doubts of Bush's enthusiastic support, his statement on Monday was pretty clear: he said that he had told Sharon "Israel must not feel constrained defending the homeland".



No matter how much Syria has been co-operating with the US re Al Quaeda over the past two years, as long as they are not completely compliant with the wishes of the Americans and Israeli's, they are fair game.



This puts me in such a moral dilemma: I would really like to see the Middle East democratised and especially see women's rights take hold. However, this would achieve the opposite: more war and oppression. The blatant unfairness in this upsets me - it fixes nothing and polarises people even more. If I were an Arab living in that part of the world I would be foaming at the mouth by now and looking up the Osama Bin Laden volunteer group cellphone number... I really believe actions such as these make the world less safe and only promotes terrorism and violence...



All tyrants are now paying heed and quietly stocking up on those WMD's and nuclear weapons... after all, you never know when the US spotlight may shine on you and when you may need a strong deterrent!



Talk about winning hearts and minds!!!

Israel

So, a grief-stricken young Palestinian woman called Hanadi Jaradat decides the best way of avenging her brother and cousin who were both killed by the Israeli army in Jenin, is to strap explosives on her body and detonate them in a busy family restaurant in Haifa.



This is a tragedy, no other way of looking at it.

Israel's response to this was completely off kilter: it went and bombed Syria.

Now, that made a lot of sense...!!



As America blocks resolution after resolution in the Security Council, the Middle East is spiralling towards a destabilising war with a crazy kind of inevitability. We are all watching on the sidelines, seemingly paralysed.



There are too many black-and-white people in positions of power right now, in this colourful world we live in.

Israel

So, a grief-stricken young Palestinian woman called Hanadi Jaradat decides the best way of avenging her brother and cousin who were both killed by the Israeli army in Jenin, is to strap explosives on her body and detonate them in a busy family restaurant in Haifa.



This is a tragedy, no other way of looking at it.

Israel's response to this was completely off kilter: it went and bombed Syria.

Now, that made a lot of sense...!!



As America blocks resolution after resolution in the Security Council, the Middle East is spiralling towards a destabilising war with a crazy kind of inevitability. We are all watching on the sidelines, seemingly paralysed.



There are too many black-and-white people in positions of power right now, in this colourful world we live in.

Iraq

Another report about not finding any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.



How many times can you say "I told you so" before it becomes really offensive??



I think I'll just watch the occupation meter on this site tick along. I hope this will cost the Americans so much that they will never ever think of doing something like this again. Ever. And even if they think of it, they will not be able to afford it.



So, as far as I am concerned, Bush can carry on with his isolationist goings-on. Keep control of everything in Iraq. Keep pouring in more dollars. By the time elections come along, whether Bush wins another term or not, the bill should be huge.



The humanitarian cost to the Iraqi's is enormous, especially the women.

It's only fair the Americans (and their British lapdog) pay too.

Iraq

Another report about not finding any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.



How many times can you say "I told you so" before it becomes really offensive??



I think I'll just watch the occupation meter on this site tick along. I hope this will cost the Americans so much that they will never ever think of doing something like this again. Ever. And even if they think of it, they will not be able to afford it.



So, as far as I am concerned, Bush can carry on with his isolationist goings-on. Keep control of everything in Iraq. Keep pouring in more dollars. By the time elections come along, whether Bush wins another term or not, the bill should be huge.



The humanitarian cost to the Iraqi's is enormous, especially the women.

It's only fair the Americans (and their British lapdog) pay too.