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POPSU.S. Military Hoped for Virtually Unlimited Freedom of Action in Iraq This was reported in June... According to Cockburn's reporting, "President Bush wants to push through by the end of so he can declare a military victory and claim his 2003 invasion has been vindicated." (Note 13) A prime beneficiary of the acceptance of a military agreement that the Iraqi people do not believe respects their rights or serves their interests would probably be the vast, privatized U.S. military/intelligence complex, positioned to profit from repressing the resistance sure to follow. If the Bush administration's goal is achieved through secret deals and pressure tactics it would only confirm the widespread view that its commitment to democracy is primarily self-serving. In Iraq as elsewhere there are many who would welcome a genuine American commitment to liberty and human rights but believe that U.S. actions contradict its rhetoric. So much to decipher here!
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POPSFreeeeeedom! of Information (National Security Archive) So much information, great site! National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Books provide online access to critical declassified records on issues including U.S. national security, foreign policy, diplomatic and military history, intelligence policy, and more. Updated frequently, the Electronic Briefing Books represent just a small sample of the documents in our published and unpublished collections. A tax-exempt public charity, the Archive receives no U.S. government funding; its budget is supported by publication royalties and donations from foundations and individuals. On March 17, 2000, Long Island University named the National Security Archive as winner of a Special George Polk Award for 1999 for "piercing self-serving veils of government secrecy" and "serving as an essential journalistic resource."
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POPSUS, Iraq deal sees long term US prescence Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Malikai said there have, since 1990, been UN restrictions that have imposed on the leadership of Iraq as 'punishment' for the invasion of Kuwait, that need to be lifted, before the international forces mandate could be renewed. Imposed on the Leadership in 1990? A lot has changed in then. So why are the United Nations suddenly supposed to be calling the shots? Seems like so-one will be comig home, the name will just change from being Troops-To security forces.
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POPSWounded-troops tally not even close to reality Apparently, the discrepancy comes as a result of time. Troops whose wounds are discovered after they return home are not added to the official tally. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), founder of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, said the total number of Americans who may have suffered head injuries in combat maybe total as many as 150,000 — about 10% of the 1.5 million troops have served in Iraq “I am wary that the number of brain-injured troops far exceeds the total number reported injured,” he says.
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POPSUS Drops plan to force Diplomats to Iraq The positions that were to be filled by 'Diplomats' have been filled by volunteers. The Foreign Service Employees protested sending unarmed civilians. Give them a gun. They are de facto members of the Military. They are protected by the same 'Executive Privilege. Remember Blackwater didn't lose one diplomat. No Doubt The Commander in Chief also considers himself to be a civilian.
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POPSIraq Vets may suffer depression, stress Being sent away as their countries heroes, That war is 'noble, be given the blame when they return because the real culprit cannot be brought to trial while cowering behind security laws. They didn't start it. Just like Vietnam, but hotter, drier, and longer.Talking about respect for the troops is a political stunt, for which there is absolutely no evidence apart from lip service,while the real support comes from other veterans, or charitable organizations. Business isn't charitable. Families? The person they sent away, never comes back, "There we're no V'day heroes in 1973" A line from the song Khe Sanh by Jimmy Barnes from Cold Chisel an Australian Band. The song says in a line: If I'm not welcome here, I'll go and live somewhere else, preferably overseas. There isn't often that option.
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POPSHouse passes $50Billion Iraq withdrawal bill The Administration says "The votes put interests of radical interest groups against the needs of the military" The majority of of the house represents only radical interest groups? Pharmaceutical companies aren't radicals, they have the Lobby groups that can give them as much respect as money can buy. By their definition anyone against the US presence in Iraq is a radical. Of course war isn't radical. To Dictator it is a Natural Habitat.
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POPSReport puts hidden war costs at $1.6 Trillion A family of four would be paying $16,500 to fund the war from 2002 to 2008, and the report speculates on the war continuing until 2017, where it estimates the expenditure to be $3.5 Trillion, at 46,400, per family. The Bush budget figures are likely to be specific spending allocations, without as much accounting for "co-lateral damage", even when the damage is to US Citizens.
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POPSThe Foreigner's Gift:The Americans, the Arabs, and the Iraqis in Iraq
Yes, a poisoned Palestinian political culture opted for Hamas in a free election in early 2006. This is what it is: an expression of the malady of Palestinian politics. The larger case for democratic reform is bigger, and nobler, than the state of Palestinian politics. The Bush Doctrine brought about a veritable reversal in the realm of ideas: here was a conservative President asserting that freedom can travel to distant shores, that we can take it to strangers beyond, and here were his liberal critics at home falling back on a surly argument that Iraq, Lebanon, and other Arab and Islamic domains offer insurmountable obstacles to the spread of freedom. Those in the know—and those who pretend to be—have written and spoken about the influence exercised by the Egyptian thinker and pamphleteer Sayyid Qutb (executed by the Nasser regime in 1966) on the course of modern Islamism. This is good as far as it goes. What is needed is a more sustained analysis of the depth of Egyptian radicalism
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POPSThanks and Praise Well, this is different. A momentary exhibition of freedom of religion in, of all places, Iraq.
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POPSKurds promise response to Turkish strike The PKK, Turkey, Iraq,and the U.S. are all fighting for the same area in the 'relatively peaceful' north. Why? to prevent the other three gain a tactical advantage over the others U.S. officials fear this could 'destabilize' one of the few areas that has not been destabilized by the invasion. They are concerned about the fact that they do not have the capacity to order Turkey and the PKK to act is a manner that is likely to assist the U.S. achieve their objectives. The Iraqi government is now beginning to realize that U.S. interests are not those of the Iraqi people. If they were, more Iraqi civilians would be alive today, as opposed to being co-lateral damage.
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POPSJury awards father $11m for military funeral case Protesting at a funeral shows lack of respect for both the living and the dead. To call such a display of spite, and hate a protest, devalues the word, and can infer any war protest is the province of fringe elements and fanatics. One of the reasons there should be war protest, is for the SAKE of the military who have been or will be killed in conflict, and their relatives. They offer to risk their lives for the sake of their family and their country, but are used as cannon fodder for the political and financial advantage of those that send them. Troops learn of a situation on a 'need to know basis' and are told they need to 'know' nothing but what is directly related to a direct order, they fight for their comrades, and are not sacrificed, they are spent.
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POPSU.K investigating 'Shell Shock'-Brain injuries They are studying battle related shock trauma, and brain damage- A syndrome that is compared to being punch drunk. also perhaps whiplash. I wonder what more they need to know. A case of scientists trying to qualify something that is patently obvious. The original Title included the phrase 'possible' brain damage. I can't see where they have any right to doubt. Of course the standard line, is that victims 'recover' after a few months.
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POPSArmy to review Iraq contracts for fraud Will the review be independent? It seems like a situation where 'classified' information could create a sacrificial goat. While they may ascribe guilt, those pulling strings, know how to keep a low profile. They're looking for a Patsy
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POPSBush asks for $46 Billion more for wars So far $455 Billion has been provided by congress for the war. There have also been more than 3830 U.S. Military personnel, and 73,000 Iraqi civilians killed. These figures are conservative. Ask the Red Cross
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POPSTHE LIE OF THE CENTURY Powell also claimed to the United Nations that the photo on the left showed "Decontamination Vehicles". But when United Nations inspectors visited the site after the invasion, they located the vehicles and discovered they were just firefighting equipment. Powell claimed the Iraqis had illegal rockets and launchers hidden in the palm trees of Western Iraq. None were ever found. Powell claimed that the Iraqis had 8,500 liters (2245 gallons) of Anthrax. None was ever found. Powell claimed that Iraq had four tons of VX nerve gas. The UN had already confirmed that it was destroyed. The only VX ever found were samples the US had left as "standards" for testing. When the UN suspected that the US samples had been used to contaminate Iraqi warheads, the US moved quickly to destroy the samples before comparison tests could be carried out. If you want to know more go to the link and read it all.
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