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POPSDefining “Victory” In Iraq Part of the problem here is that the war in Iraq is usually thought of as a single war in Iraq. But there have been at least three wars in Iraq since 2003 – the U.S.-led war against Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party regime, the civil war between Sunni and Shia militias, and the insurgencies against government and international forces waged by a constellation of guerrilla and terrorist groups. All three wars are distinct from each other, and two of the three are already over. The war against Saddam Hussein and his government ended when the regime was overthrown and what remained of its army was disbanded. You might say it didn’t officially end until he was captured in December of 2003, but he effectively lost when he was demoted from absolute dictator to fugitive. No matter what else might happen, Saddam Hussein will never be considered victorious.
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POPSJohn McCain is truly an angry and frustated egomaniac This pretender needs to chill out on one of his wife’s luxurious estates and tend the barbecue. It is very evident that he would turn over our government to the corporate powers who have been running it for the last eight years. Not this time. — Posted by Luke Wright
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POPSHezbollah Brigades Propaganda Specialist Captured In Baghdad Shia terror groups have launched a handful of IRAM attacks on US and Iraqi outposts in Baghdad. http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/06/mahdi_army_uses_flyi.php Hezbollah Brigades also posted video of an attack on a US patrol with an Iranian-supplied, armor-piercing, explosively formed projectile, or EFP. The capture of the Hezbollah Brigades propaganda expert is the latest in a series of raids against Shia terrorists. Scores of Special Groups operatives have been captured over the past month, including senior leaders, weapons smugglers, financiers, trainers, and cell leaders.
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POPSIraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki demands US withdrawal timetable Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish MP, said that the issue of immunity for US forces had become a particularly sensitive subject for Iraqis. “We have suffered so much from immunity. Immunity equals committing crimes. In the name of immunity they have killed people, they have their own prisons, they captured Iraqis. We can’t continue like this,” he said.
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POPSwoman blows up are we seeing a new, dehumanising shift in media coverage? suicide bombers 'blow up' now? i thought the bombers 'blew themselves up'.
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POPS Change "He Should Believe In" He would become a responsible voice within his party by challenging his constituents to embrace progress in Iraq. Using his considerable influence to rein in the reflexive and poisonous antiwar rhetoric that has become the Democratic party’s standard rallying cry against Republicans, he would seek to alleviate the bitter divisions that plague our country. Unfortunately, Sen. Obama has not been that kind of candidate. Instead, he has chosen the far easier path of exploiting the existing currents of public opinion for political gain. In his speeches, he downplays the gains achieved through the surge and dismisses as “spin” all evidence of progress, all the while repeating his call for a withdrawal of all U.S. combat troops within sixteen months of becoming president, no matter the conditions on the ground. Even worse, Sen. Obama’s rhetoric on the Iraq war is beginning to jeopardize his stated goal of repairing alliances that he claims are in tatters.
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POPSMaliki: Iraq Will Not Be Used as a Staging Area From BLOG. The meeting with Iranian leaders comes as Maliki's government is negotiating a "status of forces" agreement with the United States that would govern how long U.S. forces would remain, whether permanent bases would be established and what jurisdiction the Iraqi government would have over them. Iran strongly opposes any permanent U.S. presence in Iraq. The Iraqi government maintains close ties with Iran As I have pointed out before, Iraq has very close ties with Iran, politically, socially, and even militarily. Maliki's Dawa Party, as well as the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (the United Iraqi Alliance's second largest political party) and the Badr Organization (which dominates the Iraqi military and police forces) all originated from Iran.
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POPSIraqi Parliament Want US Forces Out Quick, who said: Senator Obama opposed the new strategy, and, after promising not to, voted to deny funds to the soldiers who have done a brilliant and brave job of carrying it out. Yet in the last year we have seen the success of that plan as violence has fallen to a four year low; Sunni insurgents have joined us in the fight against al Qaeda; the Iraqi Army has taken the lead in places once lost to Sunni and Shia extremists; and the Iraqi Government has begun to make progress toward political reconciliation. That's right, John McCain -- last night .
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POPSIndiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull Long-awaited return: Indiana Jones director Steven Speilberg with, from the left, Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone, Harrison Ford and, sitting, Karen Allen The first Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, was released in 1981, followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984 and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989. Together they have grossed £600million. This time he is battling the Russians, with Cate Blanchett playing a Soviet agent. Karen Allen returns as Marion Ravenwood, Indy's love interest from Raiders of the Lost Ark. There are also roles for Britons Ray Winstone, John Hurt and Jim Broadbent.
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POPSIran Not Alone in Proxy Wars, U.S. Doing Same Republican Pat Buchanan uncovers the truth of why Iran MAY be (so he believes, naively methinks) arming militants in Iraq--if you believe the propaganda from Crocker and Patreus. The fact is that the U.S. is arming militants (i.e. terrorists) against Iran , and Buchanan thinks they are just responding in kind. So just who is fighting "proxy wars", especially when the U.S. is fighting all of this for ISRAEL? If there were more republicans like Buchanan and Ron Paul we would not be in wars presently, nor the dollar worthless, gas prices high, and the economy sinking (due to debt spending on war).
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POPSWhen will they ever Learn, when will they ever learn, when will they ever learn
Previously, I've offered the Bush gang some undeserved advice. It was simple and even more obvious with time. Whatever instinct they have to do something, then don't. Do the opposite or do nothing. Everything they touch turns to dust. Just a few: Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Iran, Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, waterboarding, rendition, POWs, Dollar, Oil, Economy, Hamas, Gaza, West Bank, Katrina, civil rights, prisons, racism, FEAR. Only one state has prospered and at the US expense. It's economy roars ahead based on false security and terrorism. Iraq's government partly rules Baghdad's Green Zone. Now Lebanon's government may in time rule a Beirut Green Zone. Only Israel benefits. Bush ignored the democratically elected Hamas in Gaza. Then the US provoked a Hamas military takeover. Why? So Israel could practice judicial assassination and Hamas wouldn't talk peace? Never. And when Hamas through Carter offered the peace to the Zionists? The lamest excuse ever?
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POPSHow We'll Know When We've Won: Frederick W. Kagan Certainly, the American people have a right to insist that our government operate with a clear vision of success and that it develop a clear plan for evaluating whether we are moving in the right direction, even if no tidy numerical metrics can meaningfully size up so complex a human endeavor. As shown here, supporters of the current strategy do indeed have a clear definition of success, and those working to implement it are already evaluating American progress against that definition every day. It is on the basis of their evaluation that we say the surge is working. http://www.aei.org/publications/filter.,pubID.27890/pub_detail.asp
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POPSWAR IS OVER CONTINUED: For American politicians to suppose that without us it would thrive and grow in Iraq is just proof of their ignorance. Our presence in Iraq is the only thing that made al-Qaeda viable. Our occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan are the principal selling points in al-Qaeda propaganda. Whatever someone imagines we gain by staying in Iraq and Afghanistan is far outweighed by what we are losing. We are losing lives in dribs and drabs, and we are losing treasure at an alarming rate. We have severe internal problems that our military presence in the Middle East aggravates. Our military is on the verge of being broken. Some Nobel laureates estimate the war will end up costing us $3 trillion. Well, plain and simple, we can't afford it. If we don't change direction in this country, we're going to end up impoverished and bankrupt, and you know what? Iraq and Afghanistan will still be the messes they are today.
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POPSThe Shia problem... We traded a Sunni tyrant for a Shia majority in Iraq that will be closely aligned with Iran... Both the Mahdi army and the Badr corps are funded, trained and have close ties to the Iranian Qods force... Although Maliki is attempting to do the right thing banning armed militia parties from government (they can be only one "army" in a nation-state), the effort is likely to cause his downfall. Iraq is simply not ready to be a representative democracy. These people place far more importance on religious matters than political reconciliation. The fast we realize this and get out the better...
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POPSIraq: From One Dictator to Another? "Over a thousand Iraqis got killed and more than that number wounded just for a game of chess between warlords," Mohammad Alwan, a lawyer in Baghdad, told IPS. "All of them call for dissolving militias while they keep militias of their own. Most of those in power in the government are militia leaders."
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POPSManufactured Martyrdom - Iran "Kills" Aide to Muqtada al-Sadr It is significant Washington is being blamed and not the administration of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad as Tehran is using this to inspire more hatred (attacks) against the foreign led occupation. It is also significant this took place in the religious center of Najaf which will inspire even more hatred. This comes right after Thursday's statement by the Sadr movement saying they were "under siege" and warned they will end the ceasefire they imposed last August. Tehran is setting the stage for more attacks against the remaining British-U. S. troops in the country, an offensive Iran will be entering at least by launching missiles from Iran at UK/US bases.
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