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View Poll Results: Iraq and the resistance, is it getting better, worse, or staying the same? | |||
Better | 13 | 15.29% | |
Worse | 54 | 63.53% | |
Staying the same | 18 | 21.18% | |
Voters: 85. You may not vote on this poll |
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LinkBack | Thread Tools |
01-07-2005, 08:50 AM | #41 (permalink) | |
Junkie
Location: Detroit, MI
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There have been a grand total of 0 terrorist attacks in the US since entering Iraq. |
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01-07-2005, 10:15 AM | #42 (permalink) |
Junk
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I voted things have stayed the same. As long as there are daily bombings that kill people, it pretty much seems business as usual.
__________________
" In Canada, you can tell the most blatant lie in a calm voice, and people will believe you over someone who's a little passionate about the truth." David Warren, Western Standard. |
01-07-2005, 10:34 AM | #43 (permalink) | |
Loser
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01-07-2005, 10:53 AM | #44 (permalink) | |
Junkie
Location: Detroit, MI
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Its a quantifiable fact that there haven't been attacks in the US since entering Iraq. At the very least, the statement "Iraq is part of the War on Terror" is a matter of opinion. I don't see any equality in it at all. |
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01-07-2005, 11:01 AM | #45 (permalink) |
Super Moderator
Location: essex ma
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your argument resembles the following, powerclown:
since i began moving my coffee cup back and forth across my desk, it has not snowed in philadelphia. when i am not typing this post, i have spent some time pushing my cup back and forth and looking out the window. my cup was just moved again. it is still not snowing. obviously my actions are warding off snow, and making philadelphia a safer place to drive around in.
__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear it make you sick. -kamau brathwaite |
01-07-2005, 11:18 AM | #46 (permalink) | |
Junkie
Location: Detroit, MI
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Has there been a terrorist attack in the states since entering Iraq? I stand by my assertion that the statement: "Invading Iraq was the worst thing you guys could have done for your security." is simply an opinion. |
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01-07-2005, 11:26 AM | #47 (permalink) | |
Junkie
Location: Right here
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if that's the point you were making, rest assured that mephisto knows his statement was an opinion.
__________________
"The theory of a free press is that truth will emerge from free discussion, not that it will be presented perfectly and instantly in any one account." -- Walter Lippmann "You measure democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists." -- Abbie Hoffman |
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01-07-2005, 11:37 AM | #48 (permalink) |
Super Moderator
Location: essex ma
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the logic of your post is a problem, powerclown----it correlates unrelated elements in order to draw arbitrary conclusions.
on the other hand, i am still moving my coffee cup back and forth. (there it goes again) it is still not snowing. (just look out my window) q.e.d.
__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear it make you sick. -kamau brathwaite |
01-07-2005, 11:51 AM | #49 (permalink) | |
Junkie
Location: Detroit, MI
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One can't know for sure what another is thinking until they come out and say it. -------------------------------------- rb, I don't think the elements are unrelated at all. Critics of this war insist that this undertaking in Iraq has only put the US in more danger, but where is the proof? Where are the legions of people lining up to destroy America? Where are all these fresh, new recruits of al-Qaeda that this situation has supposedly caused?? Where are the anti-war, anti-Bush, anti-'colonialism', anti-'resource-plundering', anti-anti-UN fighters who are supposed to be taking out their revenge on the US? Last edited by powerclown; 01-07-2005 at 11:53 AM.. |
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01-07-2005, 01:53 PM | #51 (permalink) |
Junkie
Location: Detroit, MI
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The key phrase here is: ...attacking, killing, injuring....in Iraq.
Not...in America. Hey, I don't wish to be the de facto Defender of the Iraqi War here. I have a certain amount of criticism of aspects of this war myself. The ball has been dropped repeatedly, opportunities have been squandered, mistakes have been made - I will be the first to acknowledge episodes of incompetence. But, as I said, there is no manual for this extremely complicated undertaking - a large part of this is learning on the job, as they go. The reason I'm willing to accept some setback is because I believe the overall cause is worthwhile. |
01-07-2005, 07:29 PM | #52 (permalink) | |
Super Moderator
Location: essex ma
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Quote:
__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear it make you sick. -kamau brathwaite |
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01-07-2005, 10:07 PM | #54 (permalink) | |
Junkie
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The reason it's made you unsafer is: - becuase you are now a larger target - because American soldiers and citizens are being killed daily in Iraq (or do these not count in your opinion?) - because there are now millions of angry muslims who are more likely to tacitly support anti-Americanism - because there are now hundreds of thousands more angry militants who are more likely to act upon their anger becuase the invasion of Iraq - because the invasion of Iraq is probably the best recruitment aid for Al Queda and probably in their favour - because Iraq was not a threat to the US before the invasion, but now it is - because, because, because... I could go on. I'm suprised you believe otherwise. With regards to their being no attacks since the invasion, I think you're mixing up cause and affect. I'll tell you what. There hasn't been any attacks since Janet Jackson's tit fell out. Therefore her tit must be helping protect America. As we say in Ireland, "same difference" Mr Mephisto |
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01-08-2005, 02:00 AM | #55 (permalink) | |
The Dreaded Pixel Nazi
Location: Inside my camera
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The biggest things I see though is what I mentioned above Iraq = the symbol of America's failure in the middle east before this war. We basically let their tryant dictator go back to his cubby hole and abuse his people, and turned a blind eye to that. Iraq = a battle ground we can fight those terrorist in (who in did are coming from other countries) other then fighting them on our own soil, where they are basically hidden until the bomb goes off. Iraq = A place where while fighting those terrorist, we can also try to rally the citizans either through our actions or maybe even propaganda to start a wave of change for hopefully what is the better. So yes, maybe we have stirred the bee hive, but we have beekeepers (our military) helping out, rather then having to tend those bee's ourselves (the citizans).
__________________
Hesitate. Pull me in.
Breath on breath. Skin on skin. Loving deep. Falling fast. All right here. Let this last. Here with our lips locked tight. Baby the time is right for us... to forget about us. |
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01-08-2005, 08:56 AM | #56 (permalink) | |
Junkie
Location: Detroit, MI
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Last edited by powerclown; 01-08-2005 at 09:05 AM.. |
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01-09-2005, 08:31 PM | #57 (permalink) | ||
Banned
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Wow. Now that's a statement. Quote:
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01-09-2005, 08:46 PM | #58 (permalink) | |
Banned
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Just found this, too:
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01-09-2005, 09:23 PM | #59 (permalink) | ||
Banned
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And you sure don't hear it on the news. |
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01-09-2005, 09:29 PM | #60 (permalink) |
Junkie
Location: Right here
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Looks like it was a press conference. Where'd you hear about if it wasn't on the news?
Or did you mean old news as in October 2003?
__________________
"The theory of a free press is that truth will emerge from free discussion, not that it will be presented perfectly and instantly in any one account." -- Walter Lippmann "You measure democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists." -- Abbie Hoffman |
01-09-2005, 09:36 PM | #61 (permalink) | |
Banned
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I sure didn't hear it on See BS with Dan Rather. |
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01-09-2005, 09:38 PM | #62 (permalink) |
Kiss of Death
Location: Perpetual wind and sorrow
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Also there is speculation that Iraq had terror links with Al Qaeda all the way back in 1993 in and around the Olympic Motel and Somalia. This was ofcourse run out of Khartorum.
__________________
To win a war you must serve no master but your ambition. |
01-09-2005, 11:13 PM | #64 (permalink) | |
The Dreaded Pixel Nazi
Location: Inside my camera
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Quote:
__________________
Hesitate. Pull me in.
Breath on breath. Skin on skin. Loving deep. Falling fast. All right here. Let this last. Here with our lips locked tight. Baby the time is right for us... to forget about us. |
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01-09-2005, 11:17 PM | #65 (permalink) | ||
Junkie
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When the US invaded Iraq, Saddam Hussein was in power. The 9/11 Comission itself found that there was no link between Iraq and the attacks. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2004Jun16.html Of course, since the invasion, Hussein is no longer in power and there are lots of opportunities for terrorists to get involved. Your statement also assumes that all (or maybe you mean "most") decapitations are the actions of Al Queda. I think you'll find that most of them are the actions of insurgent groups; repugnant as they are, they are not all Al Queda. Mr Mephisto |
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01-09-2005, 11:19 PM | #66 (permalink) | |
Junkie
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In my mind I can't see how you can feel safer. I believe you if you say you do, but at least you explained why rather than make a one or two sentence quip. Mr Mephisto |
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01-10-2005, 07:37 PM | #67 (permalink) |
Super Moderator
Location: essex ma
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story...387460,00.html
this article is about fallujah after the americans detroyed it. it is quite at odds with other material on the battle, and is worth having a look....
__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear it make you sick. -kamau brathwaite |
01-10-2005, 09:00 PM | #68 (permalink) | |||||||
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you "SIGH", it is time to accept that we can not persuade the other side with "facts". If William Safire's syndicated column, dated January 28, 2003, (SOB's contribution) contained "facts", would Bush not have cited that informatiom when he was questioned by the press, just three days later? (See first quote box below). Would the Bushco not have used Safire's "facts" for the last 24 months. to justify their Iraqi operations, if there was any merit in them ? The "facts" are all there, Mr. Mephisto, for those who do not rely on Bushco shills like Safire and Richard Miniter for reliable information. The Bush quote below on the Iraq Al Queda connection, or lack of connection, is from the white house website, and the Powell quote regarding Saddam's lack of WDM in 2001 is from the Dept. of State website. Dr. Rice is quoted from a CNN program transcript. It is much more convenient to leave it to Safire and Miniter to edit and consolidate what you then use to frame your "informed opinion", than to do your own research and attempt to seperate the facts from the spin of columnists and the Bushco's massive psy-ops. Trouble for me is, I just can't do it, and you, obviously, can't either. We will convince Bushco apologists and supporters of nothing. They are the enablers of this scary, disfunctional, destructive, administration, because they are misinformed and quite content to remain so. They find their resolve in their own ignorance. They react to those who compare them to the citizens of Germany in the late 1930's by calling us "fringe" or "X-file" groups. They have refused to accept the determination of U.S. and U.N. weapons inspectors that there no WMD found in Iraq that legitimized statements made by Bush and his appointees making a case for an invasion of Iraq on grounds that Saddam posed an "imminent threat" to the security of the United States. They have refused to accept the determination by the 9/11 commission and of former CIA director George Tenent that no reliable intelligence exists to legitimize the claim that Saddam was a supporter of and a conspirator with al queda. Quote:
in Iraq are nearly all Iraqis, or that Bush's claim that we are fighting them "there" so that we won't have to fight them "here", has no basis in fact. Quote:
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Rice made public statements before 9/11 that directly contradicted the Bushco post 9/11 propaganda attempt to justify invading Iraq: Quote:
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01-10-2005, 10:07 PM | #69 (permalink) | |||||||
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Unless you believe that every al Qaeda cell was involved in the attacks, your statement is irrelevant to what I said. However, what I said is borne out on page 66 of the 9/11 report. Quote:
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Not "all." Not "most." "A lot." Now for a little more: Link Quote:
Notice anything interesting in it? <img src=http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0XQCqAjIdKm*Q!RZLgC5fodsCcF8pcPuyQHWTcJwBAQZwSQEFDRezIdv5ETkUiev*DWUGcDPNh!0XLmMbAd2KGgxdniiLq14byq4LlPLXcrVbPtzreJISp1qV683!N0GyLnd3ljzfQpw/photo_2.Par.0002.ImageFile.jpg?dc=4675505372460097691></img> |
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01-10-2005, 10:58 PM | #70 (permalink) | |||
Junkie
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And, and with reference to my statement "Even by your standards sob", I wasn't trying to be impolite. I was stating that I don't believe that most or all (or just "a lot") of the decapitations are the actions of Al Queda. Personally I think that Al Queda is credited with a lot more than it already carries out. I believe it has inspired a lot of groups, but I think as an effective force it was probably destroyed in Afghanistan and by subsequent arrests and targetted assassinations by the US and its allies. Of course, once again, that's just my opinion. You continue to search for reasons to take offence at my posts. You've even ignored personal messages I've sent clarifying your misunderstanding of certain things I've posted and compliments I've made. I can't really do anything if you want to be insulted. Quote:
You're splitting hairs. If you want to dissect every sentence, word for word, then there's likely to be no value in further discussion. I don't really want to play games. I come here for engaging, educational and enjoyable repartee with fellow board-members. Despite my attempts, my interaction with you has proven to be none of the above. I wish you well and will try, in any subsequent discussion, to be more exacting, should I choose to comment on your posts. Mr Mephisto |
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01-10-2005, 11:34 PM | #71 (permalink) | |
Banned
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sob, your reference to the 707 airliner at Salmon Pak is examined in an
article by Seymour Hersh. Hersh won a pulitzer prize for his investigative reporting on the My Lai massacre in Viet Nam, after army officer Colin Powell, ordered at that time to determine whether the event took place, reported back to his U.S. Army superiors that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre">"In direct refutation of this portrayal is the fact that relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent." Later, Powell's refutation would be called an act of "white-washing" the news of the Massacre, and questions would continue to remain undisclosed to the public.</a> The reader reviews of Hersh's new book on the Iraq invasion and occupation are illuminating in that the opinions of the reviewers are as polarized as they are on this forum. There is no middle ground ! <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0060195916/002-1623418-2797669?"> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0060195916/002-1623418-2797669?</a> Quote:
quote box and determine what source you think might be more credible; Seymour Hersh, the reporter who exposed Colin Powell's 1969 whitewash of the My Lai massacre....or SOB's reference to the unsubstantiated PBS.org report about a terrorist hijacker training center, complete with a 707 passenger jet, used as a hijacker training tool. |
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01-11-2005, 06:40 AM | #72 (permalink) | |
Banned
Location: Gor
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I guess that means the airplane in the picture didn't really exist. Neither the meaningless detour to Vietnam or the attempt to change the subject to the attacks (again) had anything to do with his statement. Last edited by Tarl Cabot; 01-11-2005 at 06:49 AM.. |
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01-11-2005, 07:13 AM | #73 (permalink) | |
Super Moderator
Location: essex ma
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SOURCE:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exer...D7AE75F9B8.htm Quote:
regardless of where you might stand of the surreal matter of post-hoc justifications for bushwar (largely a psychological excersize, it seems to me), the ongoing everyday attrition of this war on the american position--political, ethical, discursive---cannot be denied. the foulness outlined in this article seems but a symptom. it also seems a good moment for consideration of the effects of conservative discourse more generally: this defense was taken from limbaugh---the attempt to trivialize torture is a conservative monopoly---strange to consider the question of how this could possible square with "morality"....
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a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear it make you sick. -kamau brathwaite |
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01-11-2005, 11:08 AM | #74 (permalink) | ||||||
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(on the right side.....) that he copied and pasted into the last quote box in his post (above). It is a PBS Frontline editors note, dated one year after 2003-05-05: Quote:
credibility concerning My Lai, to that of journalist Seymour Hersh......... and it is not, "my attempt".....as you called it, "to change the subject to the attacks (again)". No, Tarl Cabot, what is "meaningless" is the reasoning that the Bushco and their supporters have advanced to justify 10,000+ American military casualties, to date in their Iraq folly, including <a href="http://www.boston.com/dailynews/010/nation/A_daily_look_at_U_S_military_d:.shtml">1355 dead</a>. Meaningless "Bushshit", such as this quote from the "war prezzdent": Quote:
the opposition, which the links I included in my last post clearly demonstrate are primarily Iraqis, "to bring them on". Is it "misleading" to point out, as I did in a preceding post, that Powell said this: Quote:
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or doing. How many dead Americans and Iraqis will it take until newsprint fills up with pieces like this, <a href="http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/10614345.htm?1c">Iraq It's beginning to look like Vietnam </a> and we haul our misdirected military resources out of Iraq ? |
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01-11-2005, 07:17 PM | #75 (permalink) | |
Banned
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I'm also getting bored with correcting people who misquote and misrepresent what I said. For the record, I opposed Mr Mephisto's characterization of Iraq as "a country that had no involvement with Al Queda." So with credit to John Henke, whom I'm plagiarizing from because of a lack of interest in endlessly having to repeat what I ACTUALLY said, I'll submit the following: Neither I nor the 9/11 Report are claiming that Iraq and Al Qaeda were engaged in an ongoing collaborative relationship. I merely point out that there was quite a history of mutual overtures, an apparent willingness to work together, and possible historic cooperation on chemical production/training. I do not consider it relevant to the prewar calculation that Iraq was in an ongoing cooperative relationship with Al Qaeda. As Bush said, the danger from that relationship laid in the future. I support the above statements in spite of the media-fueled opposing viewpoint: "Nope, no 'collaborative relationship' here. Move along. Bush lied." I understand your position though. If you admit that Salman Pak was a terrorist training camp, it at least partially justifies our presence in Iraq. And that would never do. P.S. Has anyone told the Marines that the plane they blew up was "unsubstantiated?" |
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01-12-2005, 09:51 AM | #76 (permalink) | |
Junkie
Location: Detroit, MI
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Here is proof for something. Something positive.. It's a start. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Election. Says Abdel Hussein al-Hindawi, the head of the Electoral Commission: "These are the first free, multi-party elections since 1954 and I can tell you that according to our 6,000 electoral agents throughout the country, there is a real fervour [to vote] even in the Sunni regions." Nearly 14 million voters are eligible to go to the polls. Iraq is spending 250 million dollars for this landmark election. Voting papers are being printed in Switzerland to avoid counterfeiting, and a company will distribute them to the 9,000 polling stations which will be equipped with 40,000 ballot boxes. Adds Hindawi: "We have banned any emblem showing violence or religious symbols. . . . Under this rule, we have rejected one list which depicted a tank, another which opted for a Koran with a sun, and a third which had mass graves." -Legal. Two seminars on the rule of law in Iraq were held in October as part of a university partnership led by DePaul University to improve legal education in Iraq. The first seminar was titled "The New Iraqi Constitution" and was held in Baghdad. -Women's Rights. Iraqi women, meanwhile, continue with their struggle for greater rights and freedoms in the new Iraq. Zainab Al-Suwaij and Ala Talabani, two Iraqi feminist activists, work on behalf of their countrywomen. Al-Suwaij, who went into exile in the U.S. after the failed Shiite uprising in 1991, "created the American Islamic Congress with the goal of promoting moderation and tolerance within and outside the Islamic community. After the American occupation of Iraq she has also spent 14 months there working to develop projects focused on improving the educational system--her schools for dropouts have a 97 percent rate of success--and empowering Iraqi women." -Humanitarian. Thirty-four Iraqi medics, academics and police officers arrived in Britain in October to study forensic archaeology at Bournemouth University so they could identify their dead and gather evidence of genocide in their homeland. Seven of the group agreed to be interviewed about the project, paid for with nearly £1 million [$1.9 million] of British Government funds, on condition their identities were protected. Iraq will also receive other valuable foreign assistance to help deal with the tragic legacy of dictatorship. -Economics. Alan P. Larson, the undersecretary of state for economic, business and agricultural affairs, provides an useful overview of the economic situation in Iraq before and after the liberation: In 1979 Iraq had a per capita living standard on a par with Italy. By the fall of Saddam Hussein's government, Iraq had the GDP of an impoverished developing country and had become the most heavily indebted nation in the world. This grim legacy, compounded by a serious security situation, poses big hurdles to economic development. Despite these problems, the Iraqis are persevering and succeeding. Iraqi policies made it possible for economic output in the first ten months of 2004 to be 51.7% higher than in 2003. Per capita income in 2004 is projected to be $780, up from approximately $500 in 2003. The Iraqi government has set forth a solid medium-term economic plan. The newly independent Central Bank is keeping inflation in check, with the consumer price index rising only 5.7 percent in the first eight months of 2004 compared with 46 percent in 2003. The new dinar has appreciated 27 percent against the dollar in the past year. Says Larson: "The economic progress Iraqis have achieved so far, under very difficult circumstances, testifies to their competence and courage. This holds especially true for the men and women who make up the new Iraqi government, who, at great personal risk, are busy building their vision of a democratic and free Iraq." -Debt Relief. "The United States, Germany and other G7 nations agreed . . . to write off up to 80 percent or $33 billion of Iraq's Paris Club debt, which could pave the way for a wider international accord, officials said." That means, for example, that Australia will forgive Iraq $1.1 billion. The deal might have another good financial spinoff for Iraq: "The accord with the Paris Club, which holds about $42 billion in Iraqi debt, may help pave the way for Iraq to receive about $8 billion in aid from the [International Monetary Fund] and World Bank." The Kuwaiti government, meanwhile, will be asking the parliament to approve an 80% cut in Iraq's $16 billion debt, a reduction in line with the Paris Club decision. Iraq's debt to Russia will be reduced from around $10.5 billion to between $700 million and $1 billion. And Saudi Arabia has also expressed willingness to make substantial cuts in Iraqi debt. -Financial. Despite security concerns, the Baghdad Stock Exchange continues to move ahead: "There's a lot of interest," said Mazin Aziza, who represents one of the 13 Iraqi banks now listed on the exchange. "People like to buy and sell on the exchange. We wait for security to improve. Then there will be much more trading." . . . -Oil. "Iraq, the fifth-largest oil producer in the Middle East, will spend more than $1 billion next year to increase oil production capacity by about 15 percent to 3.25 million barrels a day, an Iraqi official said. 'The budget is fixed for priority projects to build new export pipelines and complete modifications to our refineries,' Abdulilah al-Amir, a foreign relations adviser to Iraqi Oil Minister Thamir al-Ghadhban, said." The authorities plan to build a new refinery in the town of Zakho, in the Kurdish north, close to the Syrian and Turkish borders and along a pipeline route to Turkey. Iraqi officials also are conducting talks with Norway towards building greater cooperation in the oil industry. And the Ministry of Oil has announced that it has shortlisted five foreign companies to study the giant Rumaila oil field in the south and another four to study the oilfields around Kirkuk. -Oil Industry. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, meanwhile, is onto the second leg of it Restore Iraqi Oil (RIO) program (the first stage consisted of renovation of existing oil infrastructure): The new program goal is to increase liquid petroleum gas (LPG) production to 3,000 metric tons. "This is what we think of as propane," said [Marcia] Meekins, [oil engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' southern district]. "And, of course, the reason they (Iraq) want to increase their production is that now, they have to import it. They want to decrease their reliance on imports." One report concludes that "the Iraqi petroleum industry, despite frequent sabotage attacks and other disruptions, is managing to pump a steady stream of oil, providing a much-needed cushion to international markets and a silver lining to the insurgency-riven aftermath of the US-led invasion. Problems still haunt the industry, including a major pipeline rupture last week. Even so, Iraq has been a reliable supplier this year." Arguably, this is at least partly due to hard work and determination of a new generation of experts who are trying to rebuild Iraq's oil production: Amid Iraq's rusty refineries, sabotage and fuel shortages, there is a new breed of savvy bankers, hands-on oil managers and western-educated engineers who believe oil can help build a dynamic, modern nation which will inspire the Middle East. -Business. In Amman, Jordan, the Iraq Procurement 2004 forum and exhibition recently opened, "providing the opportunity for Iraqi businessmen to meet with representatives of global companies hoping to play a role in the rebuilding of the war-stricken state. . . . An exhibition hosting over 50 regional and global companies will be held on the sidelines of the forum, providing the companies with the chance to display their products. During the three-day event, certain projects in the fields of IT, healthcare, energy production, telecommunications, banking, agriculture, water and sewage system will be presented to foreign investors." -Fallujah. Together, the United States and the Iraqi government have earmarked as much as $100 million for the reconstruction effort in Fallujah, according to Ambassador Bill Taylor of the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office. . . . He said that the reconstruction will likely begin with infrastructure projects aimed at restoring basic services. Specifically, he identified a need to repair electricity distribution lines, sewage lines and water treatment facilities. Once basic services are restored, reconstruction efforts will turn to schools, clinics and solid waste management, he said. The next invasion of this battered city has begun. Teams of reconstruction experts have set up shop in the municipal government complex downtown, having commandeered a former youth sports complex to serve as their headquarters. There, they have launched a crucial, large-scale effort aimed at rebuilding a city that was devastated during the U.S.-led offensive to take control of the longtime rebel stronghold. -Transportation. The Army Corps of Engineers and the Programs and Contracting Office in Baghdad are also expected to issue contracts soon worth $36 million to Iraqi firms to renovate some 76 train stations throughout the country. Speaking of rail infrastructure, a USAID program is constructing a 45-mile railway line (link in PDF) between the southern port of Umm Qasr and Shuaibah junction near Basrah. The project should be completed by January 2005. -Health Care. A large part of the effort to rebuild the country's health system consists of improving the skills of Iraqi doctors, who in most cases have been cut off for many years from the latest overseas medical developments. As part of that strategy, "the Japanese government will invite 10 doctors from the southern Iraqi city of Samawah and its vicinity to Japan from . . . for training in infectious disease prevention as part of its reconstruction assistance for Iraq." Already, "in March and October this year, Japan and Egypt jointly provided medical training for a total of 215 Iraqi doctors at Cairo University." -Infrastructure. A new initiative to provide water and sanitation systems as well as hygiene awareness is improving sanitary conditions for the residents of 21 villages in eastern Kirkuk as well as the southwestern part of As Sulaymaniyah Governorate. This initiative is being implemented by an international NGO in partnership with USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. This project is supporting well drilling, construction of water storage and distribution networks, provision of household latrines, and is addressing health and hygiene education and awareness and delivering some basic health interventions. -Medical. Just as Iraqi doctors need to catch up with the rest of the world after years of isolation, so do Iraqi academics and teachers. To help them, British academic institutions continue to provide assistance for Iraqi universities: The AOC-British Council Further Education Iraq Group was launched in February this year following discussions with Dr Hamadi and the president of the Iraqi Foundation for Technical Education. Its vision is to help develop a "restructured, modernised and responsive" vocational education system along regional lines to support the skills needed to reconstruct Iraq. A total of ten UK FE colleges are so far involved in providing expertise in areas such as management, exchange programmes and standardised qualifications for teachers, and developing teaching and learning methods and the curriculum. Books and learning materials are also being provided by organisations such as British Education Suppliers Association and The British Publishers Association. -Humanitarian Aid. It will clearly take years to repair the damage of decades of destruction and neglect. In the meantime, emergency aid continues to play a vital role, filling in the gaps. Assistance is coming for Iraqi hospitals: More than eight tons of donated medical supplies will leave Detroit (DETROIT?!?!) next week bound for a storage depot in Baghdad, Iraq, to help the interim government there resupply war-torn civilian hospitals. . . . The materials were donated by doctors and hospitals. The shipment was organized by local Iraqis. Wally Jadan, president and chief executive of the Southfield-based Arabic content radio and television network Radio and TV Orient, hopes to organize more shipments in the coming months along with a mission by Iraqi physicians living in Metro Detroit. |
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01-12-2005, 01:23 PM | #78 (permalink) | |
Junkie
Location: Detroit, MI
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whitehouse.gov... I mean, Wall Street Journal. Which has subsequent links to everything mentioned above. |
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01-12-2005, 01:34 PM | #79 (permalink) | |
Junkie
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I agree that, if we take the list you posted, at face value, then Iraq is in some ways "better off". But in many many other ways, it's a lot worse off. I hazard a guess that if you asked the average Baghdad resident if they preferred their life today to that when Hussein was in power, that they will choose the latter. Not for any love of Hussein, but simply for a love of safety, stability and state integrity. Mr Mephisto |
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01-12-2005, 01:45 PM | #80 (permalink) | |
Junkie
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You know, the sad thing is (and perhaps to the surprise of some of those who attack me and my politics on this board), I originally supported the war. Yep. Me. Mr Mephisto. Mr "Anti-Bush, America-hater" Mephisto. Why? Becuase I believed what Bush and Co told us. I supported the invasion of Afghanistan (still do). I laud the actions of the majority of US troops there and around the world. But guess what? Once I realised we had been lied to, that there was a much larger degree of cyncial social engineering at work, I changed my mind. I withdrew my support for the war. I investigated further and monitored the situation; and did not rely upon Fox News or Dan Rather alone for reports. Now when I question the war, when I criticise the actions of America, I'm labeled as a lefty. Because I don't swallow the bitter pill of Bush/Cheney propaganda, I'm considered an apologist for tyranny. I'm asked "why are you so interested in US politics anyway?". I'm personally attacked and insulted. Oh well. Such is life. Mr Mephisto |
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iraq, worse |
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