THE US, THE UN AND IRAQ, ELEVENTH THREAD

MUCH MORE TO COME
(sources to be provided)

Influencing media
On the Bill O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly claimed that Soros is buying power in the media to further his political agenda.

"He funds La Raza. Now what is the intrusion of the mainstream media? Because you've got some pretty big names. Bill Moyers. Wednesday night, he's going to take a big shot at the press on PBS. We know he's in bed with Soros. Rosie O'Donnell, not taken seriously, but certainly a platform every day on ABC. "New York Times", two of their main columnists. "Newsweek" magazine Jonathan Alter. And NBC News, where it's pitiful, but they have commentators that basically take exactly what Soros gives them and spit it out over the airwaves. That's a lot of power, is it not?"[25]

You just destroyed your credibility by using Bill O'Liar as a source.

to see who the true media giants are (and those wielding the most influence) , it's interesting to look at the information provided by the linked article .

btw if we want to dicuss SOROS would it not be appropriate to have a separate thread for him ?
i think it would allow a better exchange of views on his influence over the press by having such a thread - or we could have a thread to discuss THE MEDIA in total - any thoughts and suggestions ?
i would not really look for anything about soros under the iraq thread .
hbg







source :
MEDIA GIANTS

For those who want to know what jihad is all about and how it apples to todays conflict I suggest you read this by Patricia Crone, professor of Islamic history at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.

http://www.opendemocracy.net/faith-europe_islam/jihad_4579.jsp

Links at the source

Sounds like more denial of reality, something Bush supporters can easily identify with.

If you don't report it, it never happened. If it never happened that's proof things are getting better.

Therefore Bush's surge is working.

Shadowy Iraq office accused of sectarian agenda
May 1, 2007
By Arwa Damon
CNN

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's prime minister has created an entity within his government that U.S. and Iraqi military officials say is being used as a smokescreen to hide an extreme Shiite agenda that is worsening the country's sectarian divide.

The Office of the Commander in Chief has the power to overrule other government ministries, according to U.S. military and intelligence sources.

Those sources say the 24-member office is abusing its power, increasingly overriding decisions made by the Iraqi Ministries of Defense and Interior and potentially undermining the entire U.S. effort in Iraq.

In a joint news conference, Iraq's ministers of interior and defense vigorously denied allegations the Office, as it is known in Baghdad, is run to achieve sectarian goals.

"It is a consultation office and coordination, nothing else," said Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi.

The Office was set up about four months ago with the knowledge of American forces in Iraq. Its goal is ostensibly to advise Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki -- the nation's new commander in chief -- on military matters.

According to a U.S. intelligence source, the Office is "ensuring the emplacement of commanders it favors and can control, regardless of what the ministries want."

Ali Dabbagh, spokesman for the Iraqi government, would not respond directly to questions about what authority the Office exercises within the Iraqi government. He denied allegations that the prime minister's advisers were trying to push a Shiite agenda.

However, a senior Iraqi army officer disagreed. The officer, who is seeking help from the senior U.S. command, said: "The Office is not supposed to be taking charge like this. It's overstepping its role as an advisory office. It's not a healthy thing to have. It's people with no power who want to have power."

A senior U.S. military official cited several cases in Baghdad in which Iraqi commanders considered capable by the United States were detained or forced out of their positions after cracking down on Shiite militias.

Among the cases, an Iraqi colonel in Baghdad, who had made strides in controlling the Shiite Mehdi militia, was removed from his job, the U.S. military official said.

The official also cited the case of an Iraqi National Police commander who was detained and then fired after ordering his men to crack down on Shiite militiamen. The same source said the Office is working to reinstate Iraqi officers the United States had successfully removed because the officers were frequently casting a blind eye to violence carried out by Shiite militiamen.

Every senior U.S. and Iraqi military official who spoke to CNN in Baghdad about the advisers asked not to be named due to the sensitive nature of the story and potential political or personal backlash.

Al-Obeidi insisted the Office was not overstepping its boundaries.

"Now to say that there is an interference with the affairs of the Interior Ministry, or that it has a role in the process of transferring, firing, replacing or imprisoning, this doesn't exist at all," he said. "I challenge anyone who confronts me with such a fact."

A White House official confirmed that the U.S. government does have specific concerns about the Office, adding: "We are working with them on their command-and-control issues to make sure it works properly and so that commanders are put into their jobs for the right reasons and not just sectarian reasons."

White House spokesman Tony Snow on Monday said the administration was "concerned" about stories that the Iraqi government was trying to execute the Baghdad security plan along sectarian lines.

"It is vital for the success of an Iraqi democracy to have security forces that will enforce the law fairly, regardless of who you are or regardless of what group you belong to," Snow said.

U.S. hopes for partnership
As is often the case in Iraq, the whole truth can be hard to find, and the details about exactly what happens behind the closed doors of the Office remain unclear, even to many in the U.S. military.

One senior U.S. commander in Iraq said that the U.S. military generally "doesn't know" what is happening in the Office but added: "Rather than sit back and criticize, we can partner with them. And that is currently being efforted."

But building that partnership, the U.S. military and intelligence sources say, is a challenge.

Bassima al-Jaidri, an adviser in the Office, was described by a senior U.S. military official as "a rabid advocate" with a Shiite agenda who uses her position to intimidate members of Iraq's security forces.

She was described by another as a "feared force" within the outfit who has the ability to influence the dismissal and investigation of senior Iraqi commanders.

Despite repeated efforts, CNN was unable to reach al-Jaidri for comment.

Hassan Sneid, a member of the Iraqi Parliament and adviser to al-Maliki, downplayed al-Jaidri's influence, saying she doesn't have any authority.

"The prime minister is the main man responsible for security in Iraq," Sneid said. He added that the prime minister has targeted Sunnis and Shiites alike and even investigated people within the Office of the Commander in Chief.

Dabbagh said that a number of Iraqi commanders, including good commanders, had been relieved of duty because they had reached retirement age and that this had been voted on by the Council of Ministers. The decision to remove them was to create positions for younger commanders and potentially for some ex-Baathist commanders that the Iraqi government was trying to bring into the Iraqi Security Forces, he said.

The senior Iraqi army officer told CNN that the presence of the Americans was preventing the actions of the Office from being devastating, but he worried about what would happen when U.S. forces ultimately leave Iraq. At that point, the officer says, there will be no restraint on the activities of the Office.
-----------------------------------------------

CNN White House Correspondent Ed Henry and CNN Baghdad Producer Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this story.

U.S. Embassy employees fearful over Green Zone attacks
U.S. Embassy employees fearful over Green Zone attacks
By Leila Fadel
McClatchy Newspapers
5/15/07

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. Embassy employees in Iraq are growing increasingly angry over what they say are inadequate security precautions in the heavily fortified Green Zone, where recent mortar and rocket attacks have claimed the lives of six people, including two U.S. citizens.

In spite of the attacks, embassy employees complain, most staff members still sleep in trailers that one described as "tin cans" that offer virtually no protection from rocket and mortar fire. The government has refused to harden the roofs because of the cost, one employee said.

A second official called it "criminally negligent" not to reduce the size of the embassy staff, which a year ago was estimated at 1,000, in the face of the increasing attacks and blamed the administration's failure to respond on concerns that doing so might undermine support for President Bush's Iraq policy.

"What responsible person and responsible government would ask you to put yourself at risk like that? We don't belong here," the employee said, adding, "They're not going to send us home because it's going to be another admission of failure."

Embassy employees have been ordered not to talk about security concerns or precautions with reporters, but three State Department employees in Baghdad discussed the issue with McClatchy Newspapers. All three asked not to be identified for fear that they'd lose their jobs.

The officials also complained that important security precautions appeared to have been set aside during highly publicized official visits. During a March 31 visit from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a high-profile presidential candidate, the embassy lifted a requirement that bulletproof vests and helmets be worn at all times. When a rocket landed outside the U.S. Embassy while Vice President Dick Cheney and several reporters visited last week, no warning sirens were sounded.

"Where were the sirens then?" one official asked. "We don't belong here, and people are afraid to say it."

Official spokesmen have rebuffed requests for information about the embassy, citing security concerns, and repeated requests for comment from the embassy and the State Department in Washington went unanswered Monday. On Sunday, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack called security the "utmost priority for" Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker.

The Green Zone, which is home to the U.S. Embassy and many Iraqi government offices and officials, has long been touted as an oasis of relative peace amid the chaos of Baghdad. Entry into the zone, which covers about four square miles in central Baghdad, requires special permits, and visitors must pass through a maze of checkpoints. Attacks have been relatively rare.

But in the past several months, security in the zone has deteriorated. On April 12, a suicide bomber exploded in the Iraqi parliament's cafeteria, killing a lawmaker.

Rocket and mortar attacks also have become more frequent since the U.S. began a surge of additional American troops into Baghdad - and they've also become more accurate. On March 27, a rocket that landed behind the embassy killed an American security contractor and a U.S. soldier. On May 3, a rocket attack killed four foreign contractors who worked for the U.S. government.

Another rocket blasted a chunk of concrete from the facade of Saddam Hussein's Republican Palace, which now houses the U.S. Embassy.

Last week, Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, told reporters in Washington after a visit here that conditions inside the zone were "infinitely worse" than she'd experienced during a visit last year.

"I was concerned then," she said. This year, however, she said that she stayed at a place where a rocket had landed a month ago and that another recent rocket attack had killed a woman not long before.

On May 3, the embassy warned Green Zone residents to keep outdoor travel to a minimum and "remain within a hardened structure to the maximum extent possible and strictly avoid congregating outdoors." The message ordered individuals "whose place of duty is outside a hardened structure or traveling a substantial distance outdoors" to wear bulletproof vests and helmets "until further notice."

But those precautions haven't calmed nerves inside the Green Zone, according to the three State Department employees, who complained bitterly about security measures in interviews with McClatchy Newspapers.

The three said rising anxiety was evident during recent town hall meetings, where several speakers demanded increased protection. One speaker asked for blankets made of bullet-resistant Kevlar to protect himself from shrapnel and debris in case a rocket or mortar round struck nearby.

The employees said their trailers have been surrounded with sandbags, but that nothing has been done to reinforce the roofs to withstand a rocket or mortar hit. When some employees asked during the meeting if they could move into a hardened structure, they were told to wait for the completion of a new embassy that's still under construction.

"In any other embassy, we would have been evacuated," one of the employees said. "As always, the U.S. government is reactive, not proactive. They are going to wait until 20 people die, then the people back in Washington will say we have a problem."

Unlike the U.S. military, U.S. Embassy employees are volunteers and can ask to leave if they feel unsafe at any time.

"I can't shake my fist at Uncle Sam and say, `Why am I here?'" one official said. "We're all volunteers."

But people are afraid to leave out of fear that such a request would hurt their careers, one of the officials said.

"I can't sleep, I can't eat," another official said. "My life should be worth more than achieving this government's agenda."

Two of the people who spoke with McClatchy said the conditions also have affected experienced diplomats' willingness to serve in Baghdad and that the holes are being filled by young and inexperienced volunteers and contractors.

"We're like a patchwork quilt," the official said.

One of the U.S. officials expressed anger that embassy employees were told not to talk to reporters.

"They want to say everything is fine. But if I'm asked I'm not going to lie," he said. "It's my life and it would be my grave and it would be my body flying back to my family."
-----------------------------------------

McClatchy Newspapers correspondent Renee Schoof contributed to this report from Washington.

And now for something completely different, yet strangely germane . . .
did anyone see the PBS program on Hamilton? Amazing how Hamilton and Jefferson differed on slavery, industrialization and the size of government.

What's Secretary of Defense Gate's job now?


Bush names Pentagon General 'war czar'
By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer
26 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - President Bush on Tuesday chose Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, the Pentagon's director of operations and a former leader of U.S. military forces in the Middle East, to oversee the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan as a war czar.


"General Lute is a tremendously accomplished military leader who understands war and government and knows how to get things done," Bush said, capping a difficult search for new leadership in the wars that have defined his presidency.

It was a difficult job to fill, given the unpopularity of the war, now in its fifth year, and uncertainty about the clout the war coordinator would have. The search was complicated by demands from Congress to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq and scant public support for the war. The White House tried for weeks to fill the position and approached numerous candidates before settling on Lute.

In the newly created position, Lute would serve as an assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser, and would also maintain his military status and rank as a three-star general.

The White House has avoided the term "war czar." Bush called Lute the "full-time manager" for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lute has been director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff since September. Before that, he served for more than two years as director of operations at U.S. Central Command, during which he oversaw combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.


Another layer of "yes" men will not change Bush's "stay the course" and "we will win in Iraq" status in Iraq.

As opposed to the current War Czar - Bush - who has no military experience and does not understand war or government, and who doesn't know how to get things done?

Priceless

Cycloptichorn

Priceless, indeed! We are also aware of the simple fact that unless they are "yes" men, they won't hold their jobs very long.

All Bush wants out of this new "czar" is to explain to the American Public that we can still succeed in Iraq.

And how much military experience do you have?
How well do you understand war or govt?

It seems to me that using your criteria,you have no business commenting on whats going on either.

I'm not clear on just what a war czar is,
what he will do or not do
nor why we elected to use a nineteen century term for an autocratic sovereign selected by hereditary right to define the person we hope to entrust our efforts at making war in two separate places in the world.

Don't we usually just have a US Commander? That's what we called Westmoreland and General Abrams in Viet Nam.

Joe(Also, isn't it war tsar?)Nation

Only a lifetime of observation and study. But that's it.



Better than Bush. No doubt in my mind whatsoever. Better than the clowns who thought up the Iraq fiasco. Because, you see, I'm cautious when applying power.



They weren't my criteria, they were Bush's criteria.

After all, why is he appointing this guy to do his job if he himself doesn't already posess those same qualities?

The president was unintetionally pointing out his own failings, which was why I said 'priceless.'

Cheers tho

Cycloptichorn

TSAR IVAN THE TERRIBLE , is that what the american citizens are yearning for ?

hbg, I saw a great painting on my last visit to Russia at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. It shows Ivan the Terrible after he mortified his own son; he, sitting on the floor with his son on his lap, with the expression of total disbelief and bewilderment that he killed his own son. I love Russian paintings for the story they tell in great artworks.

c.i. wrote :



are you trying to tell us more than what you are actually writing
hbg