The UN, US and Iraq IV

The War of 1812 came to us -- seems they burned down the Capitol building.

The Spanish American war is turning out to be a sham as the Maine was unlikely sunk by an enemy torpedo.

The Mexican/American war -- not particularly honorable, in fact nearly as silly a war as one could imagine.

I believe mamajuana set caution to the wind in the statement but 9/11 still remains what it is -- a horrendous breakdown of our intelligence and security due to a very foolish self-assurance that "they would never do that" which even goes over the line into an incomprehensible denial.

In order to be sucker punched, you have to be a sucker.

The administration seems to be following the Soviet model, which relied on continuous revolution across the planet to justify erosion and eventual removal of civil rights at home. Enough people in the US can be counted on to cheer when they see things explode on their TV sets,and who will equate foreign war with action films that this administration seems to feel little to no fear at running roughshod over the principles of democracy. If one reads records from late 1930s and early 1940s Germany, one finds similar declarations of national pride in military victories that one hears from the American populace today.

Sofia, War didn't come to us; terrorism came to us, but it's not the first nor the last. Many terrorist acts were executed by Americans against Americans. That's not 'war,' it's terrorism. .

That's it, Hobit.

CI -- You're right. We responded to terrorism with war -- not an intelligent move (to put it mildly!).

Blaming everyone in sight for the work of a few Saudi religious fanatics is rather stretching it. Why didn't we go after all the domestic organizations that spawned a Timony McVeigh? What is the real difference? Got to be careful -- we don't want to let the rest of the world know it's really revenge. Osama has made more videos than Sting -- what's up with a "War on Terrorism" that looses sight of who the enemy is?

Because it isn't a war on terrorism, y'old Wizard (but you know that?)!!

We did prosecute a 'war' on the KKK, it's funding and operations, and McVeigh burned.

911 was a declaration of war to me, and to most Americans. Terrorism is an act of assymetrical war.

Sofia, In prosecuting the war with the KKK, we didn't kill over 3000 innocent people to get at the enemy. Same case with McVeigh. You go after the perpetrators of the terrorism, not kill whole villages of innocent men, women, and children.

There is a certain mindset, and the US is not the sole owner, that sees military might as the only solution to society's problems,and will always applaud military action, regardless. The administration has played into this mindset.

so it seems, so it seems - sadly. Just as long as it's not their family and friends, they're the 'enemy.'

c.i. said--

We didn't have to.

The Taliban made their decision to cloak al-Quaida. They had a choice.

I'm not signing on to every bomb that has dropped--but its more complicated and shaded than some of the pronouncements made here, IMO.

True. But, there are also many that hate war, look at the long-term and all options, and see that war--as horrible as it is--is a lesser evil than the undeterred situation.

It's more complicated and "shaded" than ole Rumsfeld can figure out. He's been remarkably quiet lately. It doesn't take a political genius to figure out that they are in trouble in Iraq and that the end may not justify the means. Attempt to rationalize it in as many different ways as you care -- that is called "spin" -- you're going to come out the other end with all the same unanswered questions. The war in Iraq was not a war on terrorism by the administrations's strategy of how such a war should be conducted. They haven't found any Al Quida terrorists being harbored in Iraq. Perhaps they thought that some of Timothy McVeigh's terrorist friends were being harbored there?

(They are still looking for more conspirators in the McVeigh tragedy).

Sofia's quote: "We didn't have to." Are you saying "we had to in Iraq?"

If you read the PNAC documents the choice to go into Iraq had been made at least as early as 1998.

Sounds like someone took a pot shot at Rummy ...

Baghdad Burning

... I'll meet you 'round the bend my friend, where hearts can heal and souls can mend...
Sunday, September 07, 2003

This Just In...
I just heard some interesting news! Apparently as Rumsfeld's plane was leaving Baghdad Airport to take him to Kuwait, missiles were fired at his plane and they missed! Hoping to hear more about it- but I just had to share.

The puppet-master met with Bremer and the puppets but the picture wasn't complete- Bush wasn't there.

I *love* Donald Rumsfeld's latest comment on Iraq... "...It's like Chicago."
Wow. This guy is funny.

You know what? I agree with him- he just didn't finish the statement properly. What he actually should have said was, "It's like Chicago... during the 1920s, when Al Capone was running it: gangs, militias, fighting, looting, vendettas, dubious business dealings and shady figures in dark corners."

Except instead of Al Capone, we have Al-Jaffari, Al-Chalabi, Al-Hakim and L. Paul Bremer.

There were several attacks on the American forces today. The most prominent ones were in Baquba and Mosul and a couple of hours ago, there were two in Baghdad. We haven't seen the Baghdad ones on tv, but we heard a dull explosion and one of the neighbors told E. about an armored car burned.

Another comment: of the dozens of emails I got sympathizing with my feelings towards Rumsfeld, the *only* one I got defending him had a few choice sentences in it I thought I would share...

Basically it tells me that Rumsfeld is a heroic and very compassionate man and then continues to say that we ungrateful Iraqis should be ashamed of ourselves, etc. It also claims that I must be a Ba'athist because, of course, who else *except* a Ba'athist would be against this noble war?! (Sad, sad, *old* arguement.)

Another fun line:
"You should be thanking your lucky stars that Rumsfeld, and not Saddam, was in the Pentagon when your asshole buddies flew into it. Otherwise you and your whole family would be radioactive dust right now."

Apparently, I should be grateful Little Dougie, as I am fond of calling him, wasn't in the Pentagon either, because he finishes his compassionate email with the following:

"If it were up to me I would have vaporized you ten minutes after the Trade center attacks."

The whole thing cheered me up because it simply confirmed my suspicions of Rumsfeld and his followers. His emails, compared to more intelligent emails, work to remind me of the diversity of blog readers. I am honored that people like Little Dougie take time off of watching Fox News to check out my blog. Thank you Little Dougie, *you* have made my day!

On the other hand, it could have been Rumsfeld personally emailing me... either way, I'm flattered- keep reading the blog!

- posted by river @ 3:33 AM
Saturday, September 06, 2003

Bad, Bad, Bad Day...
Bad #1: Mosque shooting.
Bad #2: No water.
Bad #3: Rumsfeld.

Today in Al-Sha'ab area, a highly populated area of Baghdad, armed men pulled up to a mosque during morning prayer and opened fire on the people. It was horrific and chilling. Someone said 3 people died, but someone else said it was more… no one knows who they are or where they're from, but it's said that they were using semiautomatic machineguns (not a part of the army arsenal, as far as I know). And these were just ordinary people. It's incomprehensible and nightmarish… if you are no longer safe in a shrine or a mosque, where *are* you safe?

No running water all day today. Horrible. Usually there are at least a few hours of running water, today there's none. E. went out and asked if there was perhaps a pipe broken? The neighbors have no idea. Everyone is annoyed beyond reason.

A word of advice: never take water for granted. Every time you wash your hands in cold, clean, clear water- say a prayer of thanks to whatever deity you revere. Every time you drink fresh, odorless water- say the same prayer. Never throw out the clean water remaining in your glass- water a plant, give it to the cat, throw it out into the garden… whatever. Never take it for granted.

Luckily, yesterday I filled all the water bottles. We have dozens of water bottles, both glass and plastic. Every time there's even a semblance of running water, we put something under the faucet to catch the precious drops. We fill bottles, pots, thermoses, buckets- anything that will hold water. Some days are better than others.

The problem is this: when the electricity is off, the municipal water pumps don't work- the water pressure is so low, the water won't go up the faucet. When there *is* electricity, everyone starts up their own, personal, water pumps to fill the water tanks on the roof and the water pressure drops again.

Washing clothes is a trial. Automatic washers are obsolete- useless. The best washers to use are those little ?'National' washers. They look like small garbage bins. You fill them with water and detergent and throw the clothes in. The clothes rotate and swish for about 10 minutes (there has to be electricity). We pull them out, rinse them in clean water and wring out the excess water. The excess water goes back into the washer. After the washing is done, the dirty soap water is used to wash the tiled driveway.

Washing dishes is another problem. We try to limit the use of dishes to what is absolutely necessary. Most of the water we store in buckets and tubs is used to wash people. We wash using the old-fashioned way- a smallish tub full of water, a ladle, a loofah, soap and shampoo. The problem is that because of the heat, everyone wants to wash at least twice a day. The best time to wash is right before going to bed because for a few heavenly minutes after you wash, you feel cool enough to try to sleep. I have forgotten the delights of a shower...

Before the war, many people dug wells in their gardens. These wells don't look like your traditional well- a circular, stone wall with a bucket hanging in the middle. They are merely small, unpretentious holes in the ground to which mechanical pumps are attached. They provide a more or less decent water supply. The water has to be boiled or chlorinated to be used for drinking.

To make matters worse, Rumsfeld is in Iraq. It's awful to see him strutting all over the place. I hate the hard, smug look that seems plastered on his face… some people just have cruel features. The reaction to seeing him on tv differs from the reaction to seeing Bremer or one of the puppets. The latter are greeted with jeers and scorn. Seeing Rumsfeld is something else- there's resentment and disgust. It feels like he's here to add insult to injury… you know, just in case anyone forgets we're an occupied country.

And now he's going to go back to America and give a speech about how he doesn't know what anyone is talking about when they say ?'chaos' (*he* was safe in the middle of all his bodyguards)… how electricity and water are functioning (after all, his air-conditioner was working *fine*)… how the people are gloriously happy and traffic is frequently at a stand-still because the Iraqis are dancing in the streets… how the ?'armed forces' are cheerful and *grateful* to be on this heroic, historical mission… how kids wave at him, troops cheer him, dogs wag their tails in welcome and doves hover above his head…

To hell with him.

And no. I'm not whining- I'm ranting. You can't see me right now, but I'm shaking my fist at the computer screen, shaking my fist at the television, and heaping colorful, bilingual insults on Rumsfeld's head (hope the doves crap on him)... I'm angry.

gels, It won't be long before the 9.1 million people in this country out of jobs will begin to feel like that Iraqi. I wonder when the firestorm is going to begin? Job losses are increasing every month. 93,000 in August.

c.i.--
Didn't mean to ignore your earlier question. I almost brought back one of my many posts, describing why I believe we are in Iraq-- but, you've heard it before.

THIS, I thought, might be fodder for some interesting discussion. The new draft Resolution.

Here it is.

I am glad to see we're focused on pushing for elections. I'm surprised they've made this much progress so quickly.