[CTRL] Fwd: LP RELEASE: War pork
-Caveat Lector- --- Start of forwarded message --- From: Libertarian Party Announcements <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Fwd: LP RELEASE: War pork Date: 4/10/2003 12:44:01 PM -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- === NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY 2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100 Washington DC 20037 World Wide Web: http://www.LP.org === For release: April 10, 2003 === For additional information: George Getz, Communications Director Phone: (202) 333-0008 E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Congress is profiteering on the war by funding special interests, Libertarians say WASHINGTON, DC -- The bill funding the war in Iraq has become jam- packed with so many special-interest favors -- such as a $250 million grant for Southern catfish farmers -- that Congress should be ashamed to vote for it, the Libertarian Party says. "Unfortunately, wartime looting isn't confined to Iraq," said Geoffrey Neale, the party's national chairman. "Politicians in Washington, DC, are using the fog of late-night legislating to cover their tracks as they funnel money to their political supporters." As a House-Senate conference committee negotiates the final details of legislation funding the Iraq war, Democrats and Republicans are scrambling to insert dozens of special-interest riders. Though the $80 billion package was stalled by disagreements on Wednesday, it is expected to be completed within days and presented to President Bush. According to an estimate by Rep. Ron Paul, R-TX, the bill contains $20 billion in "wartime pork," or spending that has no connection with the war in Iraq or the battle against terrorism. "By turning the bill into a spigot for special interests, Congress is profiteering on the war -- and that should anger every American," Neale said. One especially egregious example: Republican Sen. Thad Cochran inserted language that would funnel $250 million to Southern catfish farmers, many of them in his home state of Mississippi, under the guise of providing drought relief for livestock producers. Other "war-time pork" includes: * $69 million to fund a "Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust," named after the former Missouri Congressman. * A measure intended to prevent a German company, DHL Worldwide Express, from competing with Federal Express and United Parcel Service in the delivery of military cargo. During the 2002 election cycle, UPS gave $1.5 million to Democratic and Republican candidates and $300,000 to the Republican National Committee, Neale noted. * $98 million for an agricultural research lab in Iowa, and $250 million in other Agriculture Department grants. * $3.2 billion to extend unemployment benefits for airline employees. * $11 million for Congressional salaries and expenses. * A total of $12.4 million for the Library of Congress, the Congressional Research Service, the General Accounting Office and the U.S. Court of International Trade. * $8 billion in foreign aid for nations that are supposedly helping the fight against terrorism, including Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Djibouti. "It's disgraceful that politicians who publicly brag about supporting our troops are privately using this war as a device to enrich special interests and benefit their own re-election campaigns," Neale said. "The Libertarian Party is challenging Mr. Bush to veto this bill. Maybe that will send a message to the politicians who insist on conducting business as usual in Washington, DC -- while their fellow Americans are dying in Iraq." -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBPpXFKdCSe1KnQG7RAQGnlAQAqoMhK2xqvxBvc/YYoenZyQK9 +c4hl30S RaRtS1KvN19xPGfGRE6J5UC2GeRywHGsaVYYHHLsQuwsubJDRz5h6oZlTH3ASR3 h N7HGcI+tbm6cTskmasUN2M7eWtevjE6AQC681XYI+xTzv3Q/bzOOWkJxHel6P2k 0 gbolbfZDsWU= =f/M5 -END PGP SIGNATURE- --- The Libertarian Partyhttp://www.lp.org/ 2600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 100voice: 202-333-0008 Washington DC 20037 fax: 202-333-0072 --- For subscription changes, please use the WWW form at: http://www.lp.org/action/email.html End of forwarded message Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believ
[CTRL] Al-Saadi After Surrendering
-Caveat Lector- http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2003-04/12/article10.shtml No Banned Arms In Iraq: Al-Saadi After Surrendering "I tell you for history: we have nothing, not to defend the regime," Saadi BAGHDAD, April 12 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's top weapons advisor insisted while surrendering to U.S. troops here Saturday, April 12, that he was ready for questioning because the ousted regime did not have arms of mass destruction. "I expect to be questioned, to be interrogated about the Iraqi armament program," General Amer Al-Saadi, a rockets specialist and Saddam's chief weapons advisor, told German ZDF public television, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said. Iraq Has No Banned Arms "I tell you for history: we have nothing, not to defend the regime," said Saadi, who was the chief interlocutor of U.S. disarmament experts, referring to U.S.-British allegations that the Saddam regime still had prohibited weapons. Saadi told the station that he had remained in his Baghdad home even after U.S.-led forces entered the Iraqi capital Wednesday, April 10, and that he decided to give himself up because he felt "in no way guilty." He accused the United States of attacking Iraq without reason. The U.S. launched its war against Iraq without UN authorization and without providing any evidence that Iraq possess any banned weapons. Before the war, the general had been charged by Saddam with liaising with the UN arms inspectors verifying Baghdad's assertion that it had no program for weapons of mass destruction. ZDF footage viewed in Baghdad showed Saadi wearing a mustard shirt and black trousers while speaking with his German wife, Helma, his brother and his nephew in the garden of his home in an undisclosed location in the capital. Then Saadi sat in the back seat of the ZDF van next to the journalist who was interviewing him along the way. Saadi was seen stepping down from the vehicle near a public bath on Abu Nawas avenue which travels along the eastern bank of the Tigris river, on the opposite side of the U.S.-controlled Republic Palace of Saddam Hussein. Saadi shook hands with the U.S. troops who told him that he could take along his wife, but the weapons specialist insisted on going alone. He kissed his wife on the cheek before sitting in the passenger seat of a U.S. military truck that took off to an undisclosed location. Saadi, an avid tennis player, was carrying only a small sports bag. A ZDF statement said Saadi declared in an interview to be aired later Saturday that he had no information on the whereabouts of Saddam, who has not given sign of life since a U.S. air strike on a Baghdad building where he was believed to have been present on Monday, April 7. He also said that Iraq had no chemical or biological weapons. The station said in the statement that Saadi wished to be accompanied by a ZDF team when he gave himself up. ZDF said Saadi appears on a list of 52 most wanted Iraqis released by the U.S. Defense Department on Friday under the name "Amir Hamudi Hasan" with the title of presidential scientific advisor. The Defense Department's list takes the form of playing cards. Saadi, or Hasan, is represented by the seven of diamonds. Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ===
[CTRL] Vacuum Waiting to be filled
-Caveat Lector- 10.04.2003 - 17:44 CET http://www.euobserver.com/index.phtml?sid=9&aid=10897 Kirkuk falls to Kurds, Turkey mobilised The fall of Saddam Hussein has left a power vacuum in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk (Photo: Jan Oberg) EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Following the fall of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk into Kurdish hands, Turkey has announced it will send military observers into the city, and has restated that they will send in troops if necessary. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül said, after talks with his US counterpart Colin Powell on Thursday, that Turkey had reminded the US of their promise that Kurdish forces would not control oil-rich Kirkuk after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Mr Gül also announced that Turkey would send military observers into the city to ensure that Kurdish Peshmerga (allied to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) withdraw from the city. The Peshmerga entered the city early on Thursday "with some US special forces" a spokesperson for the PUK said. Reports indicate that only a handful of US forces are actually in the city, wrong-footed by the Kurdish forces who entered the city sooner than expected and not in synchronisation with coalition forces, as had been planned. However one US official told the EUobserver that Turkey has been reassured that "US forces are in control." In a sign of how potentially explosive the situation is, Washington is backing limited Turkish involvement but are anxious to play-down military overtones. "We would be happy to have liaison officers accompany some of our units in the interest of transparency" said one US diplomat. It is not clear yet how many observers will be involved or what their role will be. Both the US and Turkey now find themselves in an extremely difficult situation. Ankara fears a Kurdish controlled Kirkuk would fuel Kurdish aspirations to statehood and could potentially envelope the whole of South East Turkey, also a Kurdish area. Turkey's aspirations to enter the European Union hinge on fulfilling a number of political criteria one of which is having good relations with neighbouring countries. A number of EU member states, most notably Belgium, have warned that Turkish accession to the Union would be "unthinkable" if Turkish forces were to enter northern Iraq. The European Union has repeatedly emphasised the need for all countries in the region to respect Iraq's territorial integrity. The US also has to play its hand carefully stopping Turkey acting unilaterally which could lead to clashes between Kurds and Turks, creating a war within a war. But Washington also needs to keep the Kurdish groups on board as they will be a helpful ally in future battles in the north of Iraq and in helping set up an interim administration. Kurds make up approximately 20% of Iraq's population. Press Articles Boston Globe Washington Post Le Monde El Mundo Gazeta Wyborcza RTP Ha'aretz BBC Written by Andrew Beatty Edited by Honor Mahony Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl ===
[CTRL] The Prize for Blocking American Armies
-Caveat Lector- http://www.turkishdailynews.com/FrTDN/latest/for.htm 12 April 2003 Exclusive interview with the deputy prime minister and foreign minister Turkey says EU membership process is on its way ITC calls for U.S.-Turkish committee to investigate Kirkuk events UN council deadlocks on Cyprus peace initiative Turkey reviews military readiness for possible operation Turcomans take to streets in Ankara and Istanbul Exclusive interview with the deputy prime minister and foreign minister Gul: Don't test Turkey's northern Iraq resolve The foreign minister stresses that Turkey explained to U.S. and Iraqi Kurds in 'clear terms' its concerns in northern Iraq and made clear that it would take any required action if pledges made to Ankara were not abided with Yusuf Kanli & Ilnur Cevik Turkey has strongly warned the United States and Iraqi Kurdish factions Friday that Ankara's northern Iraq resolve should not be tested. In an exclusive interview with the Turkish Daily News, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul stressed that Turkey was not yet satisfied with the actions taken by the United States following the occupation of Kirkuk by Iraqi Kurds in contravention to previous pledges made to Ankara. Gul said Turkey understands that because of the uncertainty brought about with the war, some developments may evolve out of control, but warned that "If these out of control developments could not be corrected or there is a disability to correct these, then we would not hesitate to undertake whatever we are required to do. Everyone knows this. The world knows this. And the people in northern Iraq know this better than anyone else." The foreign minister said Turkey was not a country which could be tested with fait accompli. "No one can stage a fait accompli for a country like Turkey. Everyone must know this. Everyone who might have the intention of making some gains by staging a fait accompli must know that no fait accompli may be staged against Turkey. Turkey shall definitely not allow such things," he said. Upset with the occupation of Kirkuk by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan peshmergas, Gul said Turkey was now following the developments and will "look at the end result." The PUK peshmergas were withdrawn from Kirkuk Friday but the news of the withdrawal coincided with reports Mousul was captured and a large group of peshmergas, together with a small contingent of U.S. troops, entered the city. Turkey has told the United States and Iraqi Kurds in talks over the past several months that if the cities were occupied by the peshmergas and if civilian movements towards the cities in a manner that could change the demographic situation was allowed, it would not hesitate from sending its troops into northern Iraq. Gul, talking with the TDN moments before he attended a key policy-making meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok on northern Iraq situation, did not rule out a possible incursion of the Turkish army into northern Iraq. "We will look whether there is compliance with the pledges made to Turkey or a fait accompli is wanted to be implemented within a span of time. For sure, we have plans and programs ready for any eventuality. These are issues unfolding on a daily and momentary basis. We are closely following the developments and let everybody know that when it is required we shall definitely not hesitate from taking any required decision. Right from the beginning we have said Inshallah, there won't be a need for such a decision and to take such a step, but if and when such a need arises, the moment we see the pledges and assurances made to Turkey were not serving any purpose, we shall evaluate the evolvement of the developments and won't hesitate from taking the appropriate decisions accordingly. There is no question on this," he said. Gul warned that withdrawal of peshmergas from the cities won't be enough, and underlined that any move aimed at changing the demography of the cities, would be unwelcome. "It is out of the question for Turkey to accept any planned move in the region aimed at changing the demography of the area. Everything must evolve in its natural course. An attempt to benefit from the atmosphere of disorder and confusion and to change the demography of the area with armed or unarmed population movements. We have said that we won't allow such moves and we are determined not to allow such moves. Everyone must know this. We shall not accept such moves with ulterior motives designed to serve some future aims," he warned. Gul also denied claims that the government has left some key decisions to the military. He said the political will was with the government and all through the Iraq war process, the military respected government decisions without any hesitation. "The political will is with the government. All institutions of the Turkish state are abiding without any hesitation with the political will express
[CTRL] A Rose by any other name ... Robbins ... Sarandon
-Caveat Lector- http://www.buzzflash.com/buzzscripts/buzz.dll/content BUZZFLASH REPORT Saturday April 12, 2003 at 1:10:12 PM Buzzflash Unearths National Baseball Hall Of Fame News Release Announcing Ari Fleischer Lecture Anti-Democracy Republican Operative Who Barred Sarandon And Robbins >From Baseball Hall of Fame Welcomed Ari Fleischer To Speak at Hall Lecture Series. April 12, 2003 A BUZZFLASH BREAKING NEWS ANALYSIS Hundreds and hundreds of BuzzFlash.Com readers have inundated the venerable Baseball Hall of Fame with letters, calls and e-mails protesting the cancellation of an event honoring the legendary film "Bull Durham." (http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/03/04/10_baseball.html) The celebration -- featuring stars Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins and Robert Wuhl -- was abruptly deep-sixed by Dale Petroskey, a former White House assistant press secretary under Ronald Reagan and obvious Karl Rove protégé. Petroskey wrote to Sarandon and Robbins to lambaste their political views: "In a free country such as ours, every American has the right to his or her own opinions, and to express them. Public figures, such as you, have platforms much larger than the average American's, which provides you an extraordinary opportunity to have your views heard -- and an equally large obligation to act and speak responsibly" "We believe your very public criticism of President Bush at this important -- and sensitive -- time in our nation's history helps undermine the U.S. position, which ultimately could put our troops in even more danger. As an institution, we stand behind our President and our troops in this conflict." Not that it matters because the Baseball Hall of Fame should not be in the business of censoring political viewpoints, but Petroskey never -- even by his own admission after the fact -- asked Sarandon and Robbins if they would agree to keep politics out of the celebration. So, it was a White House/Hall of Fame set-up from the get-go. BuzzFlash has learned that Petroskey hasn't always been so concerned about politics entering into the Hall of Fame's official programming. In fact, BuzzFlash.Com has unearthed a January 17th, 2002, Cooperstown Hall of Fame news release in which Petroskey announces the appearance of Ari Fleischer -- Yes, that Ari Fleischer -- at a National Baseball Hall of Fame lecture series on February 2 of last year. In the news release, Petroskey glowingly praises Fleischer and details his political accomplishments. Petroskey writes that he is "thrilled" to welcome Fleischer for his Cooperstown lecture. Most significantly, Petroskey boasts that audience members will "hear his [Fleischer's] perspective on life in the White House and the current political scene which of course includes the war on terrorism." So much for keeping politics out and the war on terrorism out of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Here is Petroskey's remarks about Fleischer in the January 17, 2002, news release: The Cooperstown Winter Cultural Series opens on Saturday, February 2 in the Louis C. Jones Center at The Farmers’ Museum with President Bush’s Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. As White House Press Secretary, Mr. Fleischer is the primary spokesperson for the President and delivers the daily White House briefing. He previously served as the Senior Communications Advisor and Spokesman for the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign. Prior to joining Governor Bush’s campaign, Mr. Fleischer was the national spokesman and Communications Director for Elizabeth Dole’s presidential campaign. Mr. Fleischer was hired by the House Committee on Ways and Means after Republicans took control of the Congress in November 1994. As Communications Director there, Mr. Fleischer was the House of Representative’s principal staff spokesman on issues relating to taxes, Medicare, Social Security, welfare and international trade. “In his first year Ari Fleischer has had a more demanding job than any White House Press Secretary in history” said Hall of Fame President Dale Petroskey. “He has managed to be a candid spokesman for the President while clearly and simply articulating the Bush Administration’s goals, both foreign and domestic. We are thrilled to welcome him to Cooperstown and hear his perspective on life in the White House and the current political scene which of course includes the war on terrorism.” (See http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/whats_new/press_releases/2002/ pr2002_01_17.htm) The Bush Cartel literally owns the White House, Congress, most of the Federal Judiciary, most of the mainstream media. Now, we learn that they also own the politics of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Say it ain't so Joe, Say it ain't so! A BUZZFLASH BREAKING NEWS ANALYSIS BuzzFlash Note: Petroskey, in a typical Republican non-apology, tried to weasel his way out of his un-American, politically biased action in canceling the April 26-27 Bull Durham festivities. Keep inundating Petroskey with letters, e-mail and pho
[CTRL] Barney's Brother's Bloody Baghdad Boondoggle
-Caveat Lector- Sun 6 Apr 2003 show images http://www.news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=402572003 Blair in grim warning of bloddy battle for Baghdad BRIAN BRADY COALITION troops face a long and bloody battle to take Baghdad and sweep Saddam Hussein from power, Downing Street warned last night. Despite yesterday’s lightning attack by US armour on the Iraqi capital, in which 1,000 defenders were said to have been killed, officials in London and Washington tried to play down expectations that the war was all but won. Allied commanders still believe Baghdad will have to be wrested from Saddam district by district in a string of engagements with potentially heavy casualties on both sides. Last night, there were reports that Iraqi fighters, tanks and artillery were blocking the main roads into Baghdad as darkness fell. Members of Saddam’s ultra-loyal Fedayeen militia were prowling the streets and manning heavy machine-gun positions. A spokesman for Tony Blair said: "No one underestimates the difficulties that remain, or pretends that the job is done. "We’ve been saying all the way through that there won’t be one battle for Baghdad, but a series of engagements. "There will be more loss of life. We have to acknowledge that." Officials also revealed new intelligence reports from Baghdad, which they claimed showed Saddam’s regime had been rocked by internal tensions. The Prime Minister also sought to increase the pressure on the Iraqi president, with a call for the people of Baghdad to turn against him and support the coalition invasion. His spokesman claimed the end of Saddam would be hastened "if the people on the ground see the speed of the advance and recognise that this time, unlike 1991 [after the Gulf War], we are there to see it through". There was surprise and delight on both sides of the Atlantic that US forces had been able to move deep into Baghdad. Commanders said the incursion, which left dozens of Iraqi tanks smouldering in the streets, was intended to send out a powerful psychological message to the city’s defenders that US forces could move with impunity. Last night, coalition forces were cranking up the pressure on Saddam. Dozens of US attack jets, air controllers and unmanned spy planes were put on 24-hour alert over Baghdad to provide close support for American troops fighting in the city. Elsewhere in the country, fierce fighting was reported as Allied forces tried to flush out and finish off Iraqi troops. Soldiers from the ‘Screaming Eagles’ 101st Airborne Division made a sweep through the central city of Kerbala, 70 miles south of Baghdad. US Air Force officers said US warplanes had successfully dropped 2,000 pound bombs on three targets in the city: a Republican Guards barracks, the Kerbala headquarters of the ruling Ba’ath Party and an ammunition depot. Early yesterday, shortly after the US tanks entered Baghdad, US troops took the headquarters of the Medina division of the Republican Guard at Suwayrah, 35 miles south-west of the capital, without firing a shot. Meanwhile, US special forces seized the main road between Baghdad and Saddam’s birthplace, Tikrit. And in the south of Iraq, two coalition jets attacked the Basra home of ‘Chemical Ali’, General Ali Hassan al-Majeed, with laser-guided weapons after a tip-off that the notorious commander was inside. British troops were waiting for orders to begin the final assault on the city. Ministry of Defence sources said the Americans’ approach to Baghdad was a ‘copy’ of the British strategy for Basra, where forces launched quick strikes on Iraqi forces before withdrawing. The MoD insisted that the ongoing operation to take the whole of Basra under control would continue in tandem with the action in the capital, but military chiefs have agreed that the battle for Baghdad will remain an American operation. "Our sphere of influence will remain the south of the country and I don't see that changing in a hurry," one defence source told Scotland on Sunday. "But the moment of truth is nearing for the Americans, when they have to decide how exactly to take on Baghdad.’’ The rapid military progress around Baghdad and the rest of Iraq will also provide a welcome backdrop for President George Bush when he flies into Belfast tomorrow for a meeting with Blair. The leaders will discuss a post-war settlement for Iraq as well as the latest efforts to secure peace in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. But Downing Street admitted that the two sides had still not agreed on the central issue of the role the United Nations will play in the restructuring of Iraq. You must rattle the enemy's joints, terrify and defeat them The Bush administration is resisting British demands for the UN to be given a "central role", largely due to its failure to support the military campaign. The decision to award billions of pounds worth of construction contracts to American firms before the fighting has stopped has also caused frictio
[CTRL] Unity with Reason: Zinni Zeroes In
-Caveat Lector- http://buffalonews.com/editorial/20030404/1025897.asp CANISIUS COLLEGE 'The wrong war at the wrong time,' former Mideast envoy maintains By ANTHONY VIOLANTI News Staff Reporter 4/4/2003 Click to view larger picture DEREK GEE/Buffalo News "I had grave reservations" about the war, retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni said. America may be on the threshold of military victory in Iraq, but that hasn't changed Anthony Zinni's feelings against the war. "This is in fact the wrong war at the wrong time," the retired Marine general said Thursday night at Canisius College. Zinni was head of Central Command until Gen. Tommy Franks took over nearly three years ago. Zinni had served as President Bush's peace envoy to the Middle East until this month, when he spoke out against the war. "I had grave reservations about this whole undertaking and expressed those," Zinni said. "That's one reason why I'm no longer the Middle East envoy. "We have to look for solutions that can come about without military action," Zinni said during the William H. Fitzpatrick Lecture at Canisius. "We're applying military action to places where it isn't necessary. I don't think the American people will stand for a series of wars like this." What happens in the coming days in Baghdad will play a huge role in determining the future of Iraq and the Arab world, he said. "The endpoint of this war and how Baghdad goes down is going to be critical," Zinni said. "We have not won the hearts and minds of the people in Iraq. We're going to have to finish this in a way that does not create a lot of death and destruction but at the same time does not make us look weak. "We cannot give Iraqi soldiers who are willing to die, a reason to fight on the streets of Baghdad for anything other than (President Saddam Hussein). If they suddenly find a cause like Arab pride, nationalism or standing up to the West, and they feel encouragement and support by others, then they may fight to the death. That would be a cost to both sides that would be disastrous to the region." Understanding the Arab mind-set has been difficult for the United States. The biggest mistake the United States made in the war, Zinni said, was speaking of "shock and awe." "That was a way to say: "Your fate is inevitable. We're going to crush you. The might of America will defeat you. Just surrender and throw down your arms.' "You don't speak to Arab pride and Arab manhood in this way. That whole psychological business gave them another cause to fight for, more than they would have fought just for Saddam." Zinni said everything in the Iraq war will climax in what he called "the moment." "That moment will be when the region, the country and the world realizes Saddam is gone. It will be a moment of decision. There will be tremendous mixed emotions in the Islamic and Arab world," he said. "On one hand, they will be glad we rid them of Saddam. On the other hand, there will be great apprehension about this world power that bullied its way in, ignored international arguments and has now decided to impose a form of government on this country. "That moment could change everything and could give us a fresh start. That part of the world will be holding its breath and waiting for the next step." Zinni said it will be "a monumental task" to transform Iraq into a democracy. "Whatever the outcome of that task is how this war of intervention will be judged," he said. It is also vital, Zinni said, to deal with the Middle East peace process between the Palestinians and Israel. "The people in this region are desperate for this problem to be gone," he said. "Only one organization, nation and entity in the world can broker this problem: the United States." It was the United States that used the term "pre-emptive war" with Iraq, and that bothers Zinni. "I think it was a mistake to make that statement and put it in our national security strategy and make it an overt policy," he said. One thing Zinni praises about the war is the skill of U.S. military personnel. "Thank God for our fine young men and women," he said. "They carried the day. They have certainly displayed bravery and courage on the battlefield." e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] FAQ | Help | Site Map | Subscribe to the News Copyright 1999 - 2003 - The Buffalo News Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures
[CTRL] Taking the Troops for a Bath
-Caveat Lector- http://truthout.org/docs_03/040703A.shtml Go To Original (*Editor's Note: In all of the stories that have come and gone in recent months, this could well be the most offensive of them all. ''It's simple," says Evangelical Christian Army chaplain Josh Llano. "They want water. I have it, as long as they agree to get baptized." In so many ways, this represents the true mindset of the individuals who have pushed this war. It is right down the line with the actions of this administration over the past three years; recall that, when our airmen were being held in China back in 2001, Mr. Bush was only concerned with whether or not they had Bibles. - wrp) Army Chaplain Offers Baptisms, Baths By Meg Laughlin Miami Herald Saturday 05 April 2003 CAMP BUSHMASTER, Iraq - In this dry desert world near Najaf, where the Army V Corps combat support system sprawls across miles of scabrous dust, there's an oasis of sorts: a 500-gallon pool of pristine, cool water. It belongs to Army chaplain Josh Llano of Houston, who sees the water shortage, which has kept thousands of filthy soldiers from bathing for weeks, as an opportunity. ''It's simple. They want water. I have it, as long as they agree to get baptized,'' he said. And agree they do. Every day, soldiers take the plunge for the Lord and come up clean for the first time in weeks. ''They do appear physically and spiritually cleansed,'' Llano said. First, though, the soldiers have to go to one of Llano's hour-and-a-half sermons in his dirt-floor tent. Then the baptism takes an hour of quoting from the Bible. ''Regardless of their motives,'' Llano said, ``I get the chance to take them closer to the Lord.'' A blue-eyed 32-year-old with an abundance of energy, Llano goes out every day to drum up grimy soldiers for his pool. He talks to truck drivers, tank drivers, computer specialists -- anyone and everyone. He goes out to the combat zone to the fighting soldiers and the combat support soldiers who keep them in supplies. ''You have to be aggressive to help people find themselves in God,'' he said. He calls himself a ''Southern Baptist evangelist,'' and justifies the war and killing with a verse from the Gospel of Matthew, which he often recites: ``Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's. ''This means we are called upon by our government to fight and that is giving unto Caesar, as the Bible tells us,'' he said. Earlier this week, word went out that portable showers might be installed here soon, but Llano was undaunted. ''There is no fruit out here, and I have a stash of raisins, juice boxes and fruit rolls to pull out,'' the chaplain said optimistically. (In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.) © Copyright 2003 by TruthOut.org Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl =
[CTRL] Why are we in Iraq?
-Caveat Lector- http://www.jsonline.com/news/gen/apr03/131523.asp Neoconservative clout seen in U.S. Iraq policy By BRUCE MURPHY [EMAIL PROTECTED] Last Updated: April 5, 2003 Question: Why are we in Iraq? Answer: The neoconservatives made us do it. War with Iraq Quotable We should acknowledge we have an empire. We have power and we should do good with it. - John C. Hulsman, Heritage Foundation fellow The buzz in Washington and beyond has been that President Bush's attack on Iraq came straight from the playbook of the neoconservatives, a group of mostly Republican strategists, many of whom have gotten funding from Milwaukee's Bradley Foundation. The neoconservatives differ from traditional conservatives in favoring a more activist role for government and a more aggressive foreign policy. Led by Weekly Standard editor William Kristol, the neoconservatives have offered a sweeping new vision for U.S. foreign policy: to restructure the Middle East and supplant dictators around the world, using pre- emptive attacks when necessary against any countries seen as potential threats. Traditional conservatives, such as Heritage Foundation fellow John C. Hulsman, suggest that this will lead to "endless war," while Jessica Mathews of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has charged that "announcing a global crusade on behalf of democracy is arrogant." Whether Bush ends up sticking with the neoconservative playbook remains to be seen, but a wide range of observers suggest it is a key part of his current game plan. "I think Bush has drawn upon that thinking," said Michael Joyce, who led the Bradley Foundation, a leading funder of neoconservative thinkers, from 1986 to 2001. Joyce added that Bush's "key people," including Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, "were clearly influenced by this thinking." Under Joyce, the Bradley Foundation made 15 grants totaling nearly $1.9 million to the New Citizenship Project Inc., a group Kristol led and which also created the Project for a New American Century, a key proponent of a more aggressive U.S. foreign policy. The foundation also is a significant funding source for the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank with many neoconservative scholars. Perhaps more important, noted Joyce, the Bradley Foundation was a longtime funder of Harvard University's John M. Olin Center for Strategic Studies, which until 2000 was run by Samuel P. Huntington, who wrote the influential book "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order" about the conflict between the West and the Muslim world. Huntington trained "a large number of scholars" who have helped develop neoconservative theories, Joyce noted. Read by the right people But it is Kristol's Weekly Standard, bankrolled by conservative media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, that has popularized these viewpoints. The Standard may have a circulation of just 55,000, but it has aimed successfully at policy- makers rather than average readers, making it "one of the most influential publications in Washington," a story by The New York Times concluded. Hulsman calls the Standard the "house newspaper" of the Bush administration. Kristol and Gary Schmidt, executive director of the Project for a New American Century, have accused the media of exaggerating their impact. "I think it's ludicrous to see all these articles, in this country and in Europe, that somehow we are the diabolical cabal behind the war in Iraq. It wasn't the case that Bill (Kristol) was calling people in the White House advocating for things," Schmidt told the Journal Sentinel. Their influence came from "intellectual leverage, not personal leverage," he added. In 1997, the Standard's cover story announced that "Saddam Must Go." In 1998, the Standard published a letter to then-President Clinton, calling on him to remove Hussein from power. The letter was signed by 18 people, eight of whom would join the Bush administration in senior positions, including Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and Richard Perle, who serves on the influential Defense Policy Board and was until last month its chairman. Roman Empire of 21st century? The neoconservatives argue that we no longer live in a bipolar world, as when Russia faced off against the United States. They see a unipolar world, with America as the Rome of the 21st century, a colossus that can dictate its will to the world, noting that America spends as much on defense as the next 15 countries combined and has troops stationed in 75 countries. "The fact is," writes Charles Krauthammer, a Washington Post columnist who espouses neoconservative views, "no country has been as dominant culturally, economically, technologically and militarily in the history of the world since the late Roman Empire." Hulsman summarizes the neoconservative view this way: "We should acknowledge we have an empire. We have power and we should do good with it.
[CTRL] One Ba’athist Regime Perishes
-Caveat Lector- http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=DefenseWatch% 2edb&command=viewone&op=t&id=34&rnd=644.683837890625 DefenseWatch "The Voice of the Grunt" 04-01-2003 While One Ba’athist Regime Perishes, the Other Adapts By Robert G. Williscroft The border between Iraq and Syria is a southwestern extension of the Iraq-Turkish border and appears much like the border between North and South Dakota: wide open with nobody around. The Syrian government consists of a group of thugs cut from the same bolt as Saddam’s henchmen. Ostensibly, they are another branch of the Ba’ath Arab Socialist Party, but in practice, like in Iraq, where the party and the government form a cult of personality focused on Saddam Hussein, in Syria it is Bashar al-Assad, son of the fabled late dictator Hafez al-Assad who was listed by Forbes Magazine as the eighth-richest person in the world, worth $2.3 billion - an impressive accomplishment in a state where the economy is nationalized. Most Americans have come to understand that an Islamic country does not recognize any difference between church and state, but sees them as elements of a unified system of rule. This unified rule is governed by the Shari'ah, which is analogous to codified law in Western society. The Shari’ah consists of the Qur'an, which Muslims believe was revealed by Allah to Mohammad during the 7th century, the Sunnah, which records the Prophet Mohammad's life, and a constantly evolving collection of Fatwas or rulings that deal with every aspect of Islamic life from ideology to practical daily matters. Taken together, the Qur'an and Sunnah form the basis for Islamic jurisprudence, very much like our Constitution forms the basis for our secular laws. Ba’athism originally offered freedom from Western colonialism and Arab unity under the banner of socialism. It was the brainchild of two expatriate Arabs living in France in the 1930s. A Greek Orthodox Christian, Michael Aflaq, was the main ideologue of Ba’athism, and Salah al-Din Bitar, who was a Damascus Muslim, was a practical politician who later become prime minister of an independent Ba’athist Syria. In contrast to then-currently popular Marxism, the early Ba’athist movement was based on classless racial unity. Early Ba’athist ideas contained a heavy dose of fascism, with nationalized industry and a centralized economy serving the needs of the nation. As such, it opposed both Marxism and Western capitalism. In 1941, Rashid Ali al-Kailani conducted an army coup against the pro- British Iraqi monarchy and requested help from Nazi Germany. Al-Kailani was an Arab nationalist who was strongly pro-Axis. Damascus was a Vichy French colony at the time of the Baghdad coup, and the Ba’ath Party founders who had moved there from France immediately organized public demonstrations in support of Al-Kailani. Following World War II, the Ba’athist Party emerged as the leading secular party of Arab unity. Like Islam, it offered a coherent ideology, but young Arabs saw it as a modern replacement for the tired ideas of ancient Islam with its tyrannical Mullahs and arbitrary rules and restrictions on behavior. Ba’athism offered Arab youth tight, internal discipline that contrasted sharply with the corruption-ridden loose nature of many Arab civil institutions. It was a rigidly organized hierarchy of small cells. Members, who were expected to devote their lives to the party, passed through four stages before being granted full membership: supporter, sympathizer, nominee and trainee. Both Iraq and Syria require potential members to pass a series of tests at each level, so that full members of Saddam’s and al-Assad’s Ba’athist organizationz are the most hardened and fanatical of their supporters. Currently, there are about 40,000 full-fledged Iraqi Ba’athists with about two million in the pipeline; the Syrian Ba’athists have similar numbers. Recently, Saddam extended this principle by establishing the Fedayeen Saddam, the irregular guerrilla force that has been engaging allied troops. The Fedayeen consists of teenage members or novices eager to move up in the Ba’ath hierarchy ladder, very reminiscent of the Hitler Youth movement in Nazi Germany In 1947 the Ba’athists set up a single party under a National Command out of Syria, with a Regional Command located in each Arab country. The Iraqi branch was established in 1954. There followed a series of bloody coups in both Syria and Iraq, culminating with the Ba’athists taking control in Syria in 1963, and in Iraq in 1968. Once in power, both the Syrian and Iraqi versions of Ba’athism underwent dramatic changes, but in different directions. The Syrians have retained their secularism, and have been moving away from the precepts of national socialism that formed the original foundation of Ba’athism. Under the stern control of strongman Bashar al-Assad, Syria is moving towards a market- driven economy despite its current label as a supporter of terrorism. Iraq,
[CTRL] Neocon-Speak
-Caveat Lector- http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=Insider% 20Notes%2edb&command=viewone&op=t&id=9&rnd=65.0634765625 Deep Throat Returns: Insider Notes from the Pentagon 03-26-2003 Understanding Neocon-Speak The minute by minute TV and radio coverage of the war in Iraq includes lots of exciting new vocabulary! As I enter the terminal leave stage of my career, I only want to go along, get along and do my part to support the prevailing wisdom of war in Iraq. It's not much of a contribution, but here's the insider/almost- outsider quick reference guide: “Command and coercion” Term used by Pentagon spokesmen and others to differentiate Saddam’s control of his military machine from the way we control our military machine, a.k.a. “command and control.” Key part of the PSYOP effort to showcase Saddam as both fear-driven and a little bit insane, so as to differentiate from our own executive leadership. “Humanitarian Aid” Millions of dollars and tons of stuff Iraqis might get someday if they will just relax and let us liberate them without a struggle. Sounds like the temporary remorse after date rape, but without the date. “Keep it in perspective” Repetitive advice, from war advocates Rumsfeld to Rush Limbaugh, explaining that in war people die. Soon more detailed body counts on the other side will be brought out to give us even more valuable perspective.“Iraqi Oil Fields” 1) the treasure of the Iraqi people, or alternatively 2) the treasure of U.S. oil and oil services companies who had been cut out for the last 12 years, but now will get theirs. Except for that 1998 -2000 Halliburton contract with Baghdad, but I guess all definitions have exceptions. “Liberation” 1) Freedom, alternatively; 2) living in your own state, under martial law enforced by another larger and more powerful country, that fought its way in to your capital city in a very small coalition of two or three willing. For related terms, see “humanitarian aid.” “Perspective” Valuable object lesson taught to soldiers by folks like Wolfowitz, Feith, Perle, Cheney, Bolton, the entire National Review team, evangelicals who support George W. Bush blindly, and commentators like Newt Gingrich, Charles Krauthammer, Bill Kristol and Rush Limbaugh. The common denominator and apparently a critical factor for the “correct” perspective, is never having worn a uniform. Or for that matter, never having to say you’re sorry! “Reality TV” 24 hour coverage of selected exciting bits about people interacting in stressful conflict environments. Avoids the hard questions of why and what it means, substituting shock and awe. In case we missed the shock and awe, reporters continually use the phrase to remind us of what we missed when we went for pretzels and beer. “Shock and Awe” Simultaneously the US campaign in Iraq 2003,and the US government campaign to shape domestic consumption of the conflict. Alt., what we feel looking at the pictures of our POWs on Al Jazeera (and Drudge). Alt, alt., what neocon civilian war planners felt when they saw Iraqis fighting back and not rushing forward with tiny-highly-paid- consulting-firms-that-will-remain-nameless provided US flags (like in Kuwait 12 years ago). See also “liberation” above. “Stop Loss” See “command and coercion” above. “War in Iraq” $74 billion (just this week, not counting what we already spent or will spend after the $74 billion asked for this week runs out in September) exercise, with a quarter of a million troops in a forward desert location without EPA, Greenpeace or local resident restrictions on live fire and all the latest technologies. NMTC, eat your heart out! Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used
[CTRL] Lessons unlearned
-Caveat Lector- http://www.suntimes.com/output/greeley/cst-edt-greel04.html Lessons unlearned haunt U.S. April 4, 2003 BY ANDREW GREELEY Advertisement During the Vietnam War, there was a morose song that claimed that Lyndon Johnson had mired the United States in the ''Big Muddy,'' a dark swamp from which there was no escape. Because the U.S. military never seems to learn from its mistakes, it would appear that we are once again deep in the Big Muddy. The strength of American military might exists in its technology, firepower and air power--none of which is much good against guerrilla warriors who are ready to die. The war in Vietnam was lost finally because our military leadership was never able to cope with the Viet Cong. Is there any reason to think that the leadership of today is better able to cope with the Fedayeen Saddam? The much-abused CIA warned about the Fedayeen. The geniuses at Defense dismissed the CIA long ago when it refused to report that Iraq was involved in the World Trade Center attack. I do not blame the troops for getting themselves into the Big Muddy, nor even their officers. I blame the civilian leadership (just as in the time of the Vietnam War) for putting American fighting men and women in what seems to be an impossible position. I blame especially the civilian ''defense intellectuals'' who thought this whole crazy war up. I blame the ''chickenhawks'': Wolfowitz, Perle, Cheney, Kristol and especially Donald Rumsfeld, who is emerging as the Robert McNamara of the early 21st century. McNamara, some readers will remember, was the brilliant corporate executive who as secretary of Defense led the American military into the Big Muddy. A published story now claims that at the start of the planning for his foolish, dangerous war, Rumsfeld thought it could be won in three days with 30,000 troops. Now the generals (like Barry McCaffrey) who fought in the first Iraq war are saying that the 90,000 troops inside Iraq are dangerously few compared with what is needed. Rumsfeld is telling the world that we will not engage in street war in Baghdad, but rather surround the city and lay siege to it until there's an internal revolution--a cockeyed notion if there ever was one. In both cases, many Americans would die and thousands and thousands of Iraqis. The Brookings Institution has suggested that 5,000 Americans might die and 20,000 might be wounded. They estimate that Iraqi military casualties might exceed 100,000, and civilian casualties might be much higher. What happens when you want to liberate a country that does not want to be liberated? What happens when the ''only superpower'' is humiliated by a handful of fanatics in flowing desert robes? Even in details, the venture into the Big Muddy is like the last one. Reporters from the front lines describe serious problems. Central Command headquarters is optimistic in its daily briefings. The Pentagon blames journalists for exaggerating the problems. The president, who now apparently thinks he's Abraham Lincoln (as did Lyndon Johnson), solemnly warns that we will stay the course in a war that will be long and difficult. One wonders why he didn't warn about pro-Saddam Hussein guerrillas before the war. Or even if he knew about them. So one hears responsible people in nice restaurants returning to the theme of their predecessors 35 years ago: ''Let's kill them all!'' Yeah, and then let's go after the French, too. The American plan was to ''decapitate'' Iraq in the first air attack, then to ''shock and awe'' them with the biggest air strike in history, then to destroy Saddam's command and control systems, then to accept the surrender of the Iraqi army and deal with those in the leadership who wanted to break away from the Baathist Party's dominance, then finally to accept the acclaim of the liberated Iraqi people. Don't look now, but none of those things has happened. Who thought they would? The chickenhawks, obviously. The United States will doubtless win the war eventually (unlike the Vietnam conflict). The question is at what price in lost influence, credibility and human lives. Find a nearby business with smartpages.com News | Sports | Business | Entertainment | Lifestyles | Classifieds Visit our online partners: Daily Southtown Pioneer Press Suburban Chicago Newspapers Post-Tribune Star Newspapers Jerusalem Post Daily Telegraph Copyright 2003, Digital Chicago Inc. Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not
[CTRL] Hoon Hoots / Fisk Fights
-Caveat Lector- http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=393745 Hoon: 'No proof that Allied bombs hit marketplace' By Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor 04 April 2003 Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, launched a vitriolic attack on Robert Fisk of The Independent yesterday, claiming there was no conclusive proof US cruise missiles had bombed markets in Baghdad. Mr Hoon hit out after Labour MPs used an emergency Commons statement on the war to highlight Fisk's reports on the civilian casualties caused by explosions in the city last week. The Independent carried detailed reports on the two incidents. The first was last Wednesday when 14 Iraqis were killed and the second was on Friday when 62 died. Fisk collected shrapnel at the scene of the bombing in the Shu'ala district from what turned out to be a cruise missile made in Texas by Raytheon. Alice Mahon, Labour MP for Halifax, seized on the report when she highlighted the number of deaths of civilian children in the war on Iraq to date. "The two market bombings killed a high number of children. If he wants information on the second bombing, he can go to yesterday's Independent, where they have got the number of the missile," she said. Mr Hoon said there was not "a shred of corroborating evidence", other than that "supplied by Saddam Hussein's regime", that American forces were responsible for the two marketplace tragedies. "I would really caution Ms Mahon against relying on a particular account. First of all the original account of the first market place bomb, set out in graphic detail in the Independent newspaper," he said. "If as I'm sure she did, she read it carefully, she would have seen the source of information to suggest it was the responsibility of coalition forces was someone the journalist spoke to in the marketplace. That was the source of the allegation it was a coalition responsibility." Mr Hoon had also read "with some care" The Independent's reports on the second incident but was equally unconvinced. He revealed for the first time Western intelligence claims that Iraqi authorities had been seen "clearing up" the bomb site soon afterwards. "The allegation is that because a piece of cruise missile was handed to the journalist it somehow proved it was caused by coalition forces," he said. "A considerable number of cruise missiles have been targeted at Baghdad in the past few weeks. I can also tell Ms Mahon we have very clear evidence immediately after those two explosions there were representatives of the regime clearing up in and around the marketplace. Now why they should be doing that other than to perhaps disguise their own responsibility for what took place is an interesting question. "What is important about this is all of us should look very sceptically at these kinds of reports, relying only on known and agreed facts." Mr Hoon repeatedly cast doubt on TV reports on Wednesday that Iraqi civilians had died from cluster bombs dropped near the village of Hillah. MPs and the public should "suspend their belief" because the graphic images were the product of Iraqi minders taking television crews to particular locations. But Glenda Jackson, Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate, condemned the suggestion that journalists should be censored and pointed out several reputable British reporters had already died in Iraq. Mr Hoon replied: "I'm certainly prepared to consider criticism of coalition forces if it is warranted. But what I'm not prepared to do is to accept at face value an account of an incident given by a man in a marketplace in Baghdad. It is simply absurd to suggest that we've got to accept that kind of account. "We are prepared to recognise we might have some responsibility but at the same time we don't rush to judgement in blaming, in this case, coalition forces without there being a shred of corroborating evidence other than that supplied by Saddam Hussein's regime." 5 April 2003 23:53 Legal | Contact us | Advertise in print | Subscribe to the print edition | Sign up for our free daily news update | Other Digital sites © 2003 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd ~ http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=393723 Robert Fisk: The ministry of mendacity strikes again 04 April 2003 Poor old Geoff Hoon. It must be tough having to defend the indefensible when the Americans insist on plastering their missiles with computer codes that reveal their provenance even after they have blown the innocent to pieces. Take the poor old man – far poorer in every way than Mr Hoon – who produced that telling scrap of fuselage at Shu'ala last week, proving that the missile which hit the dirt-poor Shia Muslim slums was made by Raytheon, manufacturers of the cruise missile. The Iraqi intelligence service is a brutal, crude organisation, but subtlety and sophistication are not its strong points. To suggest that President Saddam's goons could have turned up in the slums – amid a p
[CTRL] Unity In Commanding Attention
-Caveat Lector- 04-01-2003 Hack's Target Stuck in the Quicksand http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=Hacks% 20Target%2edb&command=viewone&op=t&id=8&rnd=710.99853515625 By David H. Hackworth Since Vice President Dick Cheney said he saw the war in terms of “weeks rather than months,” I wish I could report that Tommy Franks’ grunts were beating Desert Storm's 100-hour-war record set by Stormin’ Norman's studs in 1991. But because Saddam got the message in 1991 that his army couldn't stand toe-to-toe with our military machine and walk away the winner, that's sadly not the case. Instead, Saddam’s sadists took a page from the post-World War I German Command, which came up with a smart new way of doing war business after waving the white flag and subsequently blitzkrieged its way across Europe in just over a year. The vanquished tend to question why they lost and adjust their battle tactics and gear accordingly. The victors seldom bother to mess with success. Which is probably why, given Desert Storm's easy score, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld felt comfortable going back to the Gulf with four combat divisions – even though the president authorized eight. Especially when air power's “shock and awe” promised a quicker, cheaper win. Now we're stuck in the Iraqi quicksand in a soon-to-be burning desert with guerrillas tearing up our rear, doing unto our troops whatever unconventional fighters did to the French at Moscow, the Germans at Stalingrad, the Americans in Vietnam and Somalia, the Soviets in Afghanistan and the Russians in Chechnya. While Saddam was watching videotapes of “Apocalypse Now” and “Black Hawk Down” and taking notes, Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard Myers – badly misjudging Iraq's determination – chose to refight Desert Storm. The Dream Team made three classic mistakes: * Not understanding the enemy or the nature of the war. * Thinking smart bombs would do the job. * Underestimating the patriotism of the average Saddam-hating Iraqi and how fiercely he'd fight for his country. Sources who participated in the year-long war games prepping for Operation Iraqi Freedom say prescient junior officers – pointing out that Saddam was publicly ordering his people to prepare to fight unconventionally – pushed strongly for scenarios to include: insurgent strikes to soft rear areas with missiles; hit-and-run guerillas cutting our supply lines; and other suicide assaults such as car bombs. But the brass blew off their paramilitary prophecy as radical thinking. Majors don't win verbal wars with generals – particularly slick political types under the thumb of an overpowering SecDef who seems to have bet a lot of lives on technology. A concerned retired general says: “I think the combination of Rumsfeld and the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, an Air Force man, is a dangerous mix. I'm sure Myers is a superb combat pilot, but that doesn't qualify him for influencing a ground campaign. And there's never been a war won by air alone. Sure, it sets the conditions for final victory, but until you get the troops on the ground to do the dirty, dangerous work, you can never achieve victory. The final truth is that our soldiers and Marines and airman always have to take our plans and make them work.” During the Vietnam War, our leadership managed to violate all nine Principles of War. In Iraq, as in Vietnam, we have control of the air but don't have Initiative on the ground, Mass, Surprise, etc. And most of the top brass support Rumsfeld's scary impersonation of former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara by agreeing that victory is just around the next guerrilla-ambush corner. Talk about denial. Last week, Operations Chief Maj. Gen. Victor Renuart, holding court at Central Command's prime-time version of the Spinners Club, said a car-bomb attack that killed four soldiers came from “an organization that's getting desperate” and not playing by the rules. Big surprise! George W. Bush needs to immediately reassess his war plan, bring in more combat troops, heed the advice of his fighting generals on the ground rather than his team of mainly chicken-hawk advisers and immediately readjust his tactics. He needs to get real and apply the lessons learned from the Russians in Chechnya and the Israelis in Lebanon – and to understand what went wrong in Vietnam. Hopefully then, he won't make the mistake of another Texas president who didn't sack his SecDef and Joint Chiefs chairman straight away for their screw-ups – an error so egregious it cost our country almost 60,000 American lives and LBJ his presidency. Http://www.hackworth.com is the address of Col. David H. Hackworth's home page. Sign in for the free weekly Defending America column at his Web site. Send mail to P.O. Box 11179, Greenwich, CT 06831. © 2003 David H. Hackworth. Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.
[CTRL] Attrit Atwit
-Caveat Lector- http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=24793 Arab News SAUDI ARABIA'S FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY Editorial: Elusive WMDs 6 April 2003 Published on Sunday, April 06, 2003 American military spokesmen are mangling the English language every bit as badly as American bombs are wrecking Iraq’s armed forces. The hacking of a verb “attrit” from the noun “attrition” has produced smiles among educated listeners. More serious however is the definition of “weapons of mass destruction” and, crucially for the US/UK forces, where Iraq is keeping those it is supposed to possess. WMDs as they have become known are described as nerve gas or biological agents which will act indiscriminately upon anyone who runs into them, be they soldier or civilian. The Americans and the British want us to believe that WMDs are something completely different from any other sort of weapon. They acknowledge no equivalence with their own fearsome and hugely destructive weaponry, such as the cluster bombs and the Mothers of All Bombs (MOABs), which have been used with such devastating effect against the Republican Guards and any civilians unfortunate enough to be near them. We have to believe that the US/UK forces have been trying to avoid civilian casualties, not necessarily because they care, but because they have already experienced the international uproar caused by TV pictures of slaughtered innocents. Bush is on a mission to make the world what he considers a better place, and civilian corpses eviscerated and torn to bits by US weaponry cloud the message that he and Prime Minister Tony Blair are the good guys. Time and again, as Washington and its allies limbered up to strike at Iraq, the core reason behind their planned assault was said to be the need to find and render harmless Saddam’s massive nerve and biological warfare weaponry. Washington said early in the conflict that there were 40 WMD sites in Iraq. Seven of those sites are now in coalition hands, yet so far there has been no physical evidence to demonstrate that the program was still running. Protective clothing and training facilities designed to help Iraqi troops defend themselves from chemical attack does not prove that Iraq still has its deadly chemical and biological arsenal. White powder discovered at the Latifiya military complex does not appear to be a chemical agent, as a US engineer officer, Col. John Peabody, frankly admitted to journalists. Peabody’s career path may have just ended. The Pentagon and the White House desperately need to find something, the so-called “smoking gun”, but they have yet to come close. The rumor from Israel that perhaps Iraq had shipped its WMD stockpile to Syria for safe keeping is not simply outrageous. It also smacks of the Bush administration spin doctors desperately setting up a fallback excuse in case no WMDs are ever found inside Iraq in the days and weeks ahead. If the coalition cannot produce any WMDs, they will have lost their main reason for attacking Saddam in the first place. This could prove a crucial turning point for world opinion, because Washington will discover more and more people dubious of the US-UK claim that they have acted disinterestedly. Indeed that claim — already highly suspect — will be even further undermined, or should that be “attrited”? Copyright © 2003 ArabNews All Rights Reserved. Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need n
[CTRL] Area surgeon aids troops
-Caveat Lector- The Daily Camera To print this page, select File then Print from your browser URL: http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/county_news/article/ 0,1713,BDC_ 2423_1866804,00.html Area surgeon aids troops Boulder man operated on recently rescued POW in Germany By Lisa Marshall, Camera Staff Writer April 5, 2003 Friday morning: 57 dead; 16 missing; 7 captured. The daily White House press briefings and fuzzy real-time TV reports fall far short of conveying the brutality of war, says Boulder neurosurgeon Gene Bolles. Bolles spent Thursday hunched over an operating table at Germany's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, repairing the broken back of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who was rescued from an Iraqi hospital this week. The 19- year-old soldier will require aggressive rehabilitation, Bolles said, but is expected to recover well — one success story in a war full of tragedy. "It really is disgustingly sanitized on television," said Bolles, who has spent the last 16 months as chief of neurosurgery at Landstuhl, the destination for the war's most wounded soldiers. As of Friday, 281 patients had been brought to Landstuhl since Operation Iraqi Freedom started, and plane-loads are arriving regularly. "We have had a number of really horrific injuries now from the war. They have lost arms, legs, hands, they have been burned, they have had significant brain injuries and peripheral nerve damage. These are young kids that are going to be, in some regards, changed for life. I don't feel that people realize that." Bolles, 66, had a private practice in Boulder for 32 years before taking the job at Landstuhl. The U.S. military was short on neurosurgeons after Sept. 11, 2001 — having scaled down its medical staff in response to a shrinking troop population in the '90s — and was looking for an experienced civilian doctor willing to work as a contractor for a few years, said Lt. Colonel Bill Monacci, consultant to the Army Surgeon General for neurosurgery. Bolles, a self-described "pacifist," found his patriotic juices flowing in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, so he postponed his retirement and took the job to help out with Operation Enduring Freedom, the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. "I was looking for any way to help out," said Bolles. "Not to fight a war necessarily, but to help out." He is one of only a handful of civilian doctors among the mostly military staff at Landstuhl, the largest military hospital outside the United States. Until this week, he was the only neurosurgeon, taking anyone with back, neck, spine or head injuries. While Monacci said he thinks the number of wounded has been relatively low given the scope of the war, Bolles has handled an increasingly heavy workload exceptionally well, he said. "It is a tough situation. He probably thought it was going to be a bit of a slow-down from his practice, but I imagine it is a little busier than he planned for," Monacci said Bolles said despite media images that may lead the public to believe otherwise, he and the other doctors at Landstuhl have been busy for months. Before the war began, the hospital already had treated 300 U.S. soldiers from Kuwait and surrounding areas, wounded in car accidents, windstorms and during training exercises. A brutal sandstorm landed five soldiers on Bolles' operating table. The wind blew a tent pole through the skull of one soldier and toppled heavy equipment onto another, fracturing his spine, he said. Still affected by the carnage he saw as a division flight surgeon during the Vietnam War, Bolles said he is particularly troubled by the injuries he has seen coming from Operation Iraqi Freedom, a war he doesn't necessarily support. "I am opposed to any war," he said. "I am doing what I am doing because I am a doctor, not because I have a political agenda." He spent three hours in the operating room one morning last week removing bullet fragments, blood and brain matter from two young soldiers who each had been shot in the head. One will recover nicely, Bolles said; the other will have permanent neurological damage. Another of his patients, wounded in a grenade battle, died on the operating table. "These are young children; 18, 19, 20 with arms and legs blown off. That is the reality," said Bolles. Lt. Col. John Ogle, a Longmont emergency room doctor and flight surgeon for the National Guard, agrees that the public is not always given an accurate count of military injuries. But he says that is because an accurate number is often hard to come by: What exactly constitutes wounded? "I would not call the war coverage sanitized," he said. "Everybody knows that there are casualties over there, mostly Iraqi. What has not been stressed enough is what it was like in the previous 12 years of Saddam's regime." As things heat up on the battlefield, Bolles' workload is getting heavier. Soldiers arrive daily in C-141 transport planes after the eight-hour flight from Iraq: 46 on Friday, 39 today, 38 on S
[CTRL] Fwd: FC: SARS: Some background information on the disease
-Caveat Lector- --- Start of forwarded message --- From: Declan McCullagh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Fwd: FC: SARS: Some background information on the disease Date: 4/3/2003 9:28:56 AM I've been almost entirely offline this week because of CFP and probably won't catch up on email until Monday. But here's some information on SARS, which we'll cover from time to time on Politech. Basically SARS appears to be as infectious as the common cold -- it spreads by airborne droplets or those left on surfaces -- except it can kill you. Here's the tech perspective: "Disease infects business world" http://news.com.com/2009-1022-995238.html?tag=fd_lede1_hed Note the number of cases yesterday (2,223): http://www.who.int/entity/csr/sarscountry/2003_04_02/en Compared to a week earlier (1,323): http://www.who.int/entity/csr/sarscountry/2003_03_26/en And six days before that (306): http://www.who.int/csr/sarscountry/2003_03_20/en/ That's an exponential spread. More info: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/severeacuterespiratorysyndrome.html http://www.aic.cuhk.edu.hk/web8/sudden_acute_respiratory_syndrom.ht m -Declan - POLITECH evening reception in New York City at 7 pm, April 1, 2003 at CFP: http://www.politechbot.com/events/cfp2003/ - POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ - End of forwarded message Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] MOON'S DIVINE PRINCIPLE
-Caveat Lector- http://www.freedomofmind.com/groups/moonies/jews_div_principle.htm JEWS AND JUDAISM IN REV. MOON'S DIVINE PRINCIPLE A REPORT BY A. JAMES RUDIN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR INTERRELIGIOUS AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE DECEMBER 1976 (Editor's note: When I left the Moon cult in 1976, I took out with me complete sets of speeches done by Moon himself to members and published by the Unification Church entitled, "Master Speaks." Although the Moon organization has tried to polish their public image, despite Moon's conviction and 13 months in jail, in my opinion, the group's theology has not essentially changed- especially when it comes to Jews and Christians. Moon's cult is fabulously wealthy - owning the Washington Times Newspaper, UPI, The University of Bridgeport, and hundreds of other entities as listed on this web site. As Moon has been waiting for the Global Economy to fail, he has been busy setting up an infrastructure to "take over" and set up his Automatic Theocracy - with Unificationism the world religion. He is apparently benefiting from the Bush faith-based Initiative to achieve his ambitions to be seen as the "Messiah," (Jesus's younger brother who was able to succeed where Jesus failed. I recommend you look at www.xmoonies.com for more information regarding Christianity and Moon. I have decided to post this old, yet still valid in my opinion, report by the well respected Rabbi Rudin, current Interreligious Affairs Director for the American Jewish Committee. --Steven Hassan) THE PERIL OF REV. MOON (by RABBI MARC H. TANENBAUM) There are several levels of significance implied for the American people, and, especially for the Jewish community, in this study of the basic text of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's movement -- the first systematic study, to our knowledge, that has been published of the "sacred scriptures" of Moonism. The first is that Rev. Moon is contributing to a theologically reactionary mentality whose traditional fixations on anti-Semitism have been repudiated in recent decades by virtually every major Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox, and Evangelical group and leader -- from Vatican Council II, the World and National Council of Churches, to Dr. Billy Graham and the Southern Baptist Convention. At a time when the majority of enlightened Christian leadership throughout the world is laboring to uproot the sources of the pathology of anti-Jewish hatred which culminated in the Nazi holocaust, Rev. Moon appears to be embarked on a contrary course of seeking to reinfect the spiritual bloodstream of mankind with his cancerous version of contempt for Jews and Judaism. On this level. therefore, this document is published as a clinical diagnosis intended to expose the Moon infection in order that both Christian and Jewish leadership will be vigilant to the need for combatting any effort of Rev. Moon and his followers to enter the mainstream of American religion and culture with his horrendous baggage of bigotry. A second consideration is that we are now dealing not only with an ersatz spiritual phenomenon but one that has potentially serious political implications as well. The recent revelations that Rev. Moon and his Unification Church are allegedly involved as a front group for the South Korean Intelligence Forces in this country who are charged with illegal lobbying and bribery raise the serious issue of whether Moon's anti- Semitism is intended to be used for the ideological objectives of his political backers. If that is the case, then the American people must be alert to the emergence in the Moon phenomenon of an ideological campaign whose antecedents trace back to the Nazis and to Stalinist Communism. Those totalitarian movements consciously and cynically employed anti-Jewish hatred as a major vehicle for realizing their apocalyptic goal of undermining the biblical and democratic values of Western civilization. The troubling question cannot be evaded: why are Rev. Moon and his political backers resorting to the Nazi model of exploiting anti-Semitism for ideological purposes? Every American Congressman, Senator and public official who is approached by the Moon movement ought to be alert to this ideological land-mine of fanatic hatred when courted for support by Rev. Moon and his backers. And finally, this document is intended for the consciences of Jewish young people who, most incredibly, have been enticed or seduced to become a "Moonie." It has been estimated that nearly thirty percent of the Moonies today are Jewish young men and women who have been subjected to this latest form of totalitarian brainwashing. During the Korean War, 1951-53, the Communists captured 3,778 American soldiers and subjected them to psychological coercion which involved, first, a "mind-conditioning" phase in which the American prisoners were intensively persuaded to hate their own country, and, second, a so-called "suction" phase in which they were taught that life was superior un
[CTRL] Fwd: Fw: HALLIBURTON PROFITEERING- IMPEACH CHENEY
-Caveat Lector- --- Start of forwarded message --- Subject:Fw: HALLIBURTON PROFITEERING- IMPEACH CHENEY Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2003 23:46:43 -0800 Dear Friends, While I applaud the effort to impeach Bush, who richly deserves it, I feel that Cheney is an easier target right now. He lacks the personal popularity of Bush, and is very vulnerable to charges of self-dealing. He is still on salary with Halliburton, which is getting lucrative contracts to supply tents and other support to the troops in Iraq right now, and for rebuilding and cleaning up later. Cheney is one of the principal hawks who pushed for this war. Getting rid of him would do everyone a favor, and show that the administration is not as monolithic a force as it likes to appear. Bush may not be too fond of him, and may not fight too hard to keep him. Cheney bragged a few days before the invasion that it would be "a piece of cake", and is partly responsible for the gross miscalculation and subsequent loss of life that this invasion has already cost to both the coalition forces and the Iraqi people. Many Republicans as well as Democrats are very upset and frustrated with the administration's actions. While they feel they have to support the commander-in-chief while the country is at war, they might be willing to start cleaning up the flagrant graft that is going on by impeaching Cheney. Peace, Carol Wolman - Original Message - From: Amanda Pahl To: carol wolman ; Anne Williams ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; Cheryl Guttman ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; Burrows, Sharon ; Bob Campbell Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2003 11:56 PM Subject: EMAIL HALLIBURTON - NO PROFITEERING Despite protests from lawmakers citing conflict of interest, the U.S. Army has awarded a lucrative wartime contract to a subsidiary of the Halliburton Corporation. In the past, the company has been investigated for over billing the U.S. government and just a year ago paid $2 million to settle fraud charges with the Justice Department. The contract, for oil field firefighting and rebuilding in Iraq, was awarded without competitive bids. Vice President Dick Cheney resigned as chief executive of the oil concern in 2000 to join the Republican Presidential ticket, but Halliburton is still paying Cheney “deferred compensation” of up to $1 million a year. It’s unseemly and unpatriotic for corporations with close ties to administrative officials like Vice President Dick Cheney to profit from Bush’s decision to unilaterally attack Iraq. Call to action - email [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tell David J. Lesar, CEO of Halliburton, to dispel the appearance of wartime profiteering by donating the profits from its lucrative Army contracts to aid humanitarian relief efforts in the region. Deadline: Ongoing SAMPLE: Dear David J. Lesar, With American servicemen and women dying in Iraq, it’s unseemly and unpatriotic for corporations with close ties to administrative officials like Vice President Dick Cheney to profit from Bush’s decision to unilaterally attack Iraq. I hope you will demonstrate a commitment to the American people and victims of this war by pledging to donate the profits from your lucrative Army contract to aid humanitarian relief efforts in the region. Please let me know how you intend to address this matter. Sincerely, End of forwarded message Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spect
[CTRL] SARS May Be Linked to Chlamydia-Like Agent
-Caveat Lector- http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=searchNews&storyID= 2509445 http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Huge Taxpayer Burdens
-Caveat Lector- http://www.progress.org/2003/iraq20.htm Huge Taxpayer Burdens Due to War Against Iraq NEW STUDY FINDS COST OF WAR AND POST-SADDAM IRAQ LIKELY TO EXCEED $110,000,000,000 THIS YEAR; COULD EXCEED $550BILLION OVER NEXT DECADE As Vice President Dick Cheney's company Halliburton, and other U.S. corporations, line up for contracts and handouts associated with "postwar Iraq," we can see some of the beneficiaries of the war against Iraq. But who is paying for this war? The U.S. taxpayers, of course. Here are the details, from Taxpayers for Common Sense. To reduce the U.S. taxpayer costs of occupying and rebuilding Iraq, the Bush administration needs to encourage other countries to share the long- term financial burden of Iraq, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a national budget watchdog organization. The report, "Sharing the Burden," concludes that the costs of the war with Iraq will exceed $110 billion for 2003 and could exceed $550 billion over the next 10 years. The report assumes that this year's cost will include a month long war followed by eight months of occupation and rebuilding. The United States has already spent $1 billion on cruise missiles, $380 million on chemical protective suits, and more than $100 million on air combat missions, according to the report. "The administration needs to disclose completely the long-term costs of Iraqi war," commented Keith Ashdown, author of report and Vice President of Policy at Taxpayer for Common Sense. "This is vital, so that later our nation doesn't come down with a bad case of sticker shock and we shortchange the necessary efforts to bringing democracy to Iraq. The President needs to prepare to nation for the sacrifices necessary to pay for this hundred billion dollar war." "There is not one dollar in this year's budget to pay for the war," continued Ashdown. "The cost of the war will blow a hole in the budget that future generations will have to pay." Adding to a federal deficit topping $300 billion this year, the administration is expected to request $80 billion from Congress early this week to start to pay for the war, homeland security and humanitarian aid. "It is about time that the administration show its cards on what we are spending. They need to let taxpayers know what the total bill for Iraq will be," continued Ashdown. The deficit and war costs are expected to crowd out other domestic programs, funds for a new Medicare prescription drug benefit, Social Security reform and some of the President's own pet projects. "With record deficits, the administration needs to find other countries to share this financial burden of rebuilding Iraq or it will leave the United States in a financially and militarily vulnerable position," continued Ashdown. "For a variety of reasons we were unable to get any other country to pay for the combat portion of this effort. Our nation needs to aggressively push for others to help pay for post-war efforts, because these costs will far exceed the cost of the combat." Unlike the Persian Gulf War, almost all of the total costs of the current war are being funded by U.S. taxpayers. Great Britain will contribute about $2.7 billion for its role in current coalition efforts. "While it should never be the deciding factor, any time our nation decides to go to war, the budgetary and economic costs should always be considered," concluded Ashdown. Some of the highlights of the report: A war lasting 1-3 months will cost between $56-$85 billion. The is based on 250,000 - 300,000 troops, 25,000 - 35,000 air combat sorties and five aircraft battle groups. The Iraq war and post-Saddam Iraq will cost between $170-$550 billion over the next decade. The report finds that getting other countries to share the financial burden will be essential to reducing the long-term financial burden of Iraq. A total cost of $110 billion for combat and rebuilding efforts for 2003. This assumes the war ends before May and rebuilding, humanitarian aid begins shortly after. The full report is available now at http://www.taxpayer.net/nationalsecurity/ learnmore/BRAC/HTML/IraqReport.htm Private Notes for George Bush -- Simple Ways to Fund the US War on Iraq Must paying for the US war be difficult? Writing in the Progressive Review, Sam Smith cheerfully suggests some simple ways to pay for the US war against Iraq. None of these would require a massive tax hike nor a generation-long bond debt. Eliminate all federal spending on international affairs, general science, space, technology, natural resources, and the Amtrak bailout. Oops, that won't quite cover it. Eliminate all federal spending on agriculture, commerce, housing, and 96% of the money we spend on transportation. Simply cut 93% of the money spent on education, training, employment, and social services. Eliminate all veterans' benefits and half of the justice system. Default on 43% of this year's interest payments on the federal debt. (These are meant to sound absurd.
[CTRL] Belgian war crimes law delayed
-Caveat Lector- w w w . h a a r e t z d a i l y . c o m http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/280760.html Last update - 22:09 04/04/2003 Amendment to Belgian war crimes law delayed; suit against Sharon stands By Sharon Sadeh, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service The ruling coalition in Belgium has failed to pass amendments that would have curtailed the controversial law seeking to prosecute war crimes and genocide perpetrators from around the world, Israel Radio reported Friday. The amendments were expected to bring an end to the lawsuit against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. On Wednesday the Belgian House of Representatives approved the amendments to the law that were expected to be ratified by the Belgian Senate, but the process has been delayed. The amendments to the law, which has turned into a serious diplomatic liability for Belgium, were to be effective retroactively on a series of lawsuits presented in Belgium against many leaders, as well as IDF officers, for their involvement in the slaughter at the Sabra and Chatila refugee camps in 1982. Aside from Sharon, cases are also pending under the Belgian law against U.S. President George Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Palestinian Authority Chair Yasser Arafat, Iraq's Saddam Hussein and Cuban President Fidel Castro. According to the amendments, the Belgian court would only be permitted to try people suspected of committing war crimes in states that are not democratic and do not grant the right to a fair trial. The amendments were passed before dawn Wednesday in a stormy session which broke up the Belgian coalition. The Liberal Party of Prime Minister Guy Verhofstatd announced its intention to support the amendments with the opposition parties, against the position of its coalition partners, the Greens and Socialists. Under the impression that the amendment would pass, the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem commented that this was "a positive development" and was to decide whether to send the Israeli ambassador back to Brussels. /hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=280760 close window Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Sick
-Caveat Lector- http://www.rense.com/general36/sue.htm Rense.com Site Of Cross Makes Jewish Lawyer Sick - Will Sue The Boston Channel.com 4-4-3 FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- A Jewish lawyer and newspaper columnist who voted in a Methodist church that serves as his precinct's polling place, has sparked a heated debate over holding elections in religious buildings, which he says violates the separation of church and state. Robert Meltzer, 37, of Framingham, said he will sue the town this week in federal court. He said he has tried to persuade local officials to move polling stations from the church and a Catholic school to secular sites. But Selectmen have refused, arguing that the practice is widely accepted and that the church is the most convenient site for the polls. Meltzer said he voted in the Wesley United Methodist Church last year, standing in a voting booth directly below a large cross. Afterward, he vowed never to return, and has since voted by absentee ballot. "In order to vote, you basically had to bow before the cross," Meltzer said. "I was sick for a week." Voting in churches has long been a common practice throughout New England, and is permissible under state law. Some 60 communities -- including Boston, Cambridge, Lowell, Somerville and Worcester, Mass., -- hold elections in houses of worship, according to the secretary of state's office. "The law is silent on the subject," said Brian McNiff, a spokesman for the office. "Asking a feminist to vote in a Roman Catholic Church is like asking a black man to vote in a KKK hall. You are being told to go somewhere that espouses beliefs that are antithetical to your own." Meltzer's precinct voted at a public school until the 2000 census required Framingham to create a new precinct. Wesley United Methodist Church volunteered its space free of charge, Framingham Town Clerk Valerie Mulvey said. "It's a find for the town," she told The Boston Globe. "Of course, we looked at schools first, but this fell into our laps. We'd take a temple too, if they'd take us." Meltzer said Hebrew scripture prohibits Jews from entering churches for fear of "idolatry," and "worshipping false divinities." Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, acknowledged that scripture forbids Jews from entering churches, but added that few Jews adhere to it. http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/2074787/detail.html Disclaimer Email This Article MainPage http://www.rense.com This Site Served by TheHostPros Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Concerned Jewish writers claim Zionists are behind the Iraq war
-Caveat Lector- http://www.theweeklyinformant.com/arishavit.htm http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Bloody Excesses
-Caveat Lector- http://www.counterpunch.org/chuckman04042003.html April 4, 2003 Israel's Bloody Excesses Was Einstein Right? By JOHN CHUCKMAN "My awareness of the essential nature of Judaism resists the idea of a Jewish state with borders, an army, and a measure of temporal power, no matter how modest. I am afraid of the inner damage Judaism will sustain -- especially from the development of a narrow nationalism within our own ranks, against which we have already had to fight strongly, even without a Jewish state." Albert Einstein Einstein is one of my favorite twentieth-century characters. He was remarkable, and I don't mean only for his profound contributions to our understanding of the physical world. He was someone who drove authoritarians like J. Edgar Hoover mad. He was one of those rare souls, like George Orwell, who despite mistakes and flaws, consciously worked to direct his actions, and redirect them after missteps, by principles of decency, humanity, and rational thought. He never subscribed to menacing slogans like "My country, right or wrong" or "You're either with us or against us." Quite the opposite, he knew any country was capable of being wrong at times and did not deserve blind allegiance when it was. Einstein's was one of the most important names lent to the cause of Zionism. His name and visits and letters raised a great deal of money towards establishing universities and resettling European Jews suffering under violent anti-Semitism long before the founding of Israel. But even in a cause so dear to his heart, Einstein never stopped thinking for himself. He not only opposed the establishment of a formal Israeli state-- he was after all a great internationalist--but he always advocated treating the Arabic people of Palestine with generosity and understanding. Clearly Einstein's Zionist path was not the one followed. The actual path chosen by Israel has been pretty much that of "the iron wall," a phrase put forward by Ze'ev Jabotinsky in the 1920s as the appropriate posture for Zionists to adopt towards Arabs in Palestine. Charles de Gaulle, up until the Six Day War, demonstrated great understanding and support for Israel. This thoughtful and highly individualistic statesman felt an instinctive sympathy for the struggle of the Jews, but the Six Day War caused him to alter France's policies towards the Jewish state. The Six Day War was a much darker and more complex affair than it is portrayed in official Israeli myths. The war was not simply an attack by a gang of Arab states against Israel--a description which suggests not just Goliath, but the entire tribe of Philistines, attacking little David with his slingshot. While this is an appealing image, naturally arousing great sympathy in American Puritans raised on the Old Testament, it is not an accurate one. A fine Jewish scholar like Avi Shlaim, a specialist in the first half century of Israeli policy, recognizing that not all important documents bearing on the matter have been released, agrees there are doubts and ambiguities here rather than light and darkness. Before the Six Day War, David Ben Gurion made it clear to de Gaulle and other western leaders that Israel wanted more land to absorb migrants. Before the war, Israel also high-handedly diverted water from the Jordan river, a hostile act in a water-short region and the kind of thing that caused more than one "range war" in America's Southwest. A very tense situation arose with a surge in Soviet armaments to Arab states, although any knowledgeable observer understood that Israel continued to hold the upper hand in any potential conflict. A major diplomatic mission was undertaken by Abba Eban to gather support for Israel's intended violent response to Egypt's blockade of the Straits of Tiran. Just as we now have Bush's obdurate, hasty demand for war with Iraq, Eban made it clear that Israel had no stomach for diplomacy to end the blockade. The blockade meant war. De Gaulle made a remarkably prescient observation to the Israeli government: "If Israel is attacked, we shall not let her be destroyed, but if you attack, we shall condemn your initiative. Of course, I have no doubt that you will have military successes in the event of war, but afterwards, you would find yourself committed on the terrain, and from the international point of view, in increasing difficulties, especially as war in the East cannot fail to increase a deplorable tension in the world, so that it will be you, having become the conquerors, who will gradually be blamed for the inconveniences." De Gaulle also understood that Israel's behavior was nourishing nationalistic aspirations on the part of the Palestinians, a development Israel either greatly underestimated or chose to ignore, perhaps reflecting the arrogance of those supported by great power towards those without power. De Gaulle's advice was, of course, ignored. Israel managed easily to overwhelm the Arab states, as its leaders had known i
[CTRL] Why it always pays
-Caveat Lector- Print this article | Close this window Why it always pays to know your enemy April 5 2003 There is a complex of buildings in downtown Baghdad - if it still exists after coalition bombing - that contains a dark secret unknown to, or ignored by, the US military when it developed the "Operation Iraqi Freedom" battle plans. Called the Al Bakr Institute for Higher Military Studies, it is the Iraqi version of the American War College and Army General Staff College rolled into one. As a chief weapons inspector for the UN, I studied this institute for seven years, inspecting it twice. My interest stemmed from a concern that if Saddam Hussein's regime was to continue to maintain chemical and biological weapons (CBW), it would need a corresponding doctrine of employment. The Al Bakr Institute was the place in Iraq where doctrine was developed. I found no evidence of a CBW doctrine, but I did find something that should be of greater concern. When I first visited in 1992, the library and archives of the institute were filled with binders containing interviews with every Iraqi military commander, down to the battalion level, who had engaged in combat with US forces during Operation Desert Storm. I reviewed these files, looking for any mention of CBW, but found probing investigations into the tactics and equipment of the US military, the deficiencies of Iraqi equipment and tactics, and plans for reorganising, re-equipping and retraining the Iraqi military to overcome those deficiencies. A second inspection in 1997 showed this program had matured, and a new doctrine had been formulated and disseminated. Furthermore, the institute had formalised a sophisticated program of ongoing study of the US military that updated Iraqi military thinking on a regular basis to compensate for developments in technology and tactics. The Iraqis had learnt not to engage in a stand-up fight where Americans could bring to bear their superiority in firepower, target-acquisition capabilities and manoeuvrability. The Iraqis reconfigured their military to emphasise small-unit tactics, as opposed to the plodding division- and corps-level operations of the Iran-Iraq and Gulf Wars. The Al Bakr Institute developed concepts of active defence, constantly moving assets with an eye towards the US ability to collect, process and respond to intelligence data, so the US would bomb what had happened, not what was happening. Deception was integrated throughout, including tactics that had the Iraqis place derelict vehicles in freshly evacuated battle positions, drawing US air attacks away from the real combat power. Command-and-control was decentralised, with Iraq divided into four autonomous defence regions each broken into combat sectors. The success of the ongoing resistance in southern Iraq attests to the efficacy of this strategy. Radio communications were de-emphasised - couriers and face-to-face briefings became the standard. The Al Bakr Institute found that special care had to be taken to maintain and retain the loyalty and reliability of the Iraqi population. So the Baath Party was instructed to engage in formal Islamic training and to integrate its functionaries with religious and tribal leaders, especially in the south. Tribal relations were moved away from the party and turned over to the Special Security Organisation, responsible for regime security, including the President's. The Baath Party Militia was melded with tribal militias to form rural defence forces with a shared identity. Further troubles await the coalition forces as they close on Baghdad. The Special Republican Guard, Saddam's elite security force, has been given an expanded role in responding to emergency situations beyond the basic physical security of Saddam. While certain battalions are responsible for the security of Baghdad and Tikrit, others, broken into companies and platoons, serve as "stiffener" forces for Republican Guard units. In the aftermath of the failed CIA coup d'etat in June 1996, the Special Republican Guard dissolved its 5th Brigade and merged that brigade's four battalions with the paramilitary Fedayeen Saddam, creating an elite and fanatically loyal organisation under the control of the Special Security Organisation. Those who predicted that the Iraqi army would surrender, that the Iraqi population would welcome the coalition with open arms and that the Iraqi leadership would collapse were wrong. Unfortunately, the "effects- based" strategy embraced by the Pentagon was based on these conditions. What has transpired is a case of arrogance resulting from ignorance of the enemy. The Iraqis, thanks to the Al Bakr Institute, have not made that mistake. And today we are paying the price. Scott Ritter served as a UN chief weapons inspector for Iraq for seven years, from 1991-1998. This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/04/1048962934805.html Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article
[CTRL] no hot water for showers
-Caveat Lector- http://truthout.org/docs_03/040603H.shtml Go to Original The War's Dirty Secret: It's About Changing United States, Not Iraq Steve Lopez LA Times Sunday 30 March 2003 Much to her surprise, the federal government is promising to do everything Los Angeles Congresswoman Maxine Waters has spent years fighting for. Education for the neediest souls will be transformed, quality health care will be guaranteed, damaged roadways and bridges will be rebuilt, and millions of dollars will be spent to spur new business. Waters just never figured the beneficiaries would be residents of Iraq. A few weeks ago, when I spent several hours with her in Washington as the start of the war approached, Waters had begun to fear the worst. "I'm very worried about the long-term impact," she said, predicting that as the cost of the war grows, states, counties and cities will get stiffed. Waters wasn't talking about the weeks and months ahead, but the years and decades to come. The cost of the war and rebuilding Iraq, she said, could drastically limit what government can do. The effort to turn Iraq into a democracy, in other words, is making the U.S. less of one. Our opposition party has disappeared, corporate interests dictate public policy, and the feds may be rummaging through your e-mail. There's a dirty secret no one has told you, and here it is: This war is not about changing Iraq, it's about changing America. Unless you're lucky enough to be an investor in one of the corporations that will win multimillion-dollar contracts to rebuild Iraq, you may be hurting when the cost of the war and a new era of deficit spending put even more of a drag on the economy. If you don't earn enough to hit the jackpot on President Bush's proposed tax cuts, you're just going to have to fend for yourself. The whole idea is to train you to expect less and to feel patriotic about it. If things get really bad, you can always move to Iraq. "I think it's terribly arrogant and overly ambitious for this president to think he can invade that country, turn it into a democracy, and use American taxpayer dollars to build an infrastructure that still is not built in some parts of this nation," Waters said. "In addition to that, he wants to go ahead with tax breaks for the wealthiest people in this country." To clarify, Waters isn't against sending American dollars to other countries. "I believe in foreign assistance, and I think the richest nation in the world should certainly help our neighbors in other parts of the world," she said. "But I dislike the idea that we tear up Iraq first, bombing it to smithereens, and then we go back and put in the water systems, the health-care facilities and the other things we've torn up." Last week, Waters and the rest of the country got the first bill for Operation Iraqi Freedom when the president asked Congress for $74.7 billion to cover war-related costs. Empire-building isn't cheap. "That's probably going to underwrite about one month's cost of the war," said Waters. "And it's just the tip of the iceberg." Waters got nervous when she saw Halliburton, Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, grab one of the first rebuilding contracts before we'd even begun knocking things down. To help prevent a feeding frenzy by corporations with political connections, Waters introduced two amendments. The first would have put a four-year hold on the awarding of military contracts to companies that helped draft the Iraqi war policy or employed high-level administration officials. It was shot down like a sputtering Scud. Waters went back to the drawing board and came up with a softer amendment. "This time I just said, 'OK, let's say the person who's worked for that company in the last four years can't do the negotiating. He'd have to recuse himself from that discussion.' Now that's as simple as it can get, and they voted against that one, too." One night last week, I called Waters' Capitol Hill office at 9 p.m. her time and she answered the phone herself, having just returned from a House session. "I was on the floor for an hour, helping educate people about the cuts being made to veterans' programs," she said. So let's review. We're asking 200,000 troops to risk life and limb in Iraq, and the White House and Congress are preparing a welcome-home party by slashing veterans' benefits. Last week, I visited the Veterans Affairs dorms in West L.A., where I met a Vietnam vet who was wounded six times. He had a brace on his leg and shrapnel scars from head to toe, and he'd finally given up on his fight for enough disability pay to live on. When I walked away, patients were calling out to me, saying there's no hot water for showers. Things are not looking good for the future veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom. By Waters' count, current budget proposals would trim $15 billion from veterans' programs -- something's got to cover those big tax cuts -- over the next 10 years. And that's if there ar
[CTRL] How the Rich Go to War
-Caveat Lector- villagevoice.com exclusive http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0315/ridgewar1.php James Ridgeway's War Log How the Rich Go to War They Send the Poor to Fight April 3rd, 2003 1:00 PM hen it comes to making war in the Bush administration, the rich call the shots, while the working class and the poor dodge the bullets or get killed. As Paul Atwood, a former Vietnam vet and researcher at the University of Massachusetts, said this morning, the men who are running this war have long been referred to as "chicken hawks." To be sure, the people who run this country are usually rich. Just consider the fabulously wealthy Bush A-team. The president's net assets have been estimated to be anywhere from $8 to $19 million. He comes from a wealthy New England family to begin with, which bankrolled his early business ventures. Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife are worth anywhere from $20 million to $69 million. Defense chief Donald Rumsfeld's net assets range from $53 million to $175 million. Even Bush's second tier is loaded. Karl Rove, the political guru who calls the shots for the president, was pressured to dump up to $3.3 million in securities, but retained $1.1 million in mutual funds. Andrew Card, White House chief of staff and former GM lobbyist, had assets of up to $4.1 million. But the people who are fighting the war are different. While the military today is all volunteer, the soldiers and sailors comprise a snapshot of working-class society. Some 60 percent of enlisted men and women are white. Many are married. And many see themselves getting ahead by being in the army. A substantial number seem to come from military families. Consider the case of Army private Jessica Lynch, who was captured in an Iraqi ambush, badly wounded, and then miraculously rescued by the Special Forces last week. She enlisted in the army's delayed-entry program while she was still in high school in Palestine, West Virginia, where the unemployment rate is 15 percent. She wants to be a teacher, and "the Army gave her a good deal," Jessica's brother said. A list of military men and women who have so far died in Iraq shows that most are middle or working class. Marine Lance Corporal William W. White, 24, who died in the Iraqi war, also joined the military as a way to "step up in life" and a means of getting to college. He wanted to be a fireman or law enforcement officer. Army specialist Jamaal R. Addison, 22, of Roswell, Georgia, who also died in Iraq, joined right out of his Atlanta high school. His father, a postal worker, said Jamaal wanted to better his situation in life. "He realized he had obligations in life, but he wasn't a fighter," said his dad. Most recruits come directly from high school, often from families who don't have the money to send their kids to college. More than 20 percent of military personnel are black. (By way of comparison, blacks make up 12 percent of civilian society.) Half of all the women recruits are people of color. Many soldiers are from poor southern states. The Pentagon has put aggressive recruiting programs in high schools. By law, every school must file a list of its juniors and seniors with addresses and phone numbers. This is how the Pentagon boosts its Junior ROTC programs (there are now 500,000 students who are members from 3000 high schools nationwide). Public school systems sometimes add on a special military school, often aimed to appeal to African American or Latino kids who come from lower- income families. Defending our heritage "requires the active support of public institutions in presenting military opportunities to our young people for their consideration," wrote Donald Rumsfeld and Education Secretary Rod Paige in one letter to public schools. "For some of our students, this may be the best opportunity they have to get a college education." When Marine Lance Corporal Brian Rory Buesing, 20, of Cedar Key, Florida, died in Iraq, he had a year to go in his enlistment period, and was planning on putting the money he was due from the Pentagon into education so he could attend a Florida university. "Overwhelmingly these are people who can't afford college, who may want to go to college and see the military as a way to pay for it, who don't have the skills to get admitted because of their educational background—people who want to escape their neighborhoods, and some who want the adventure," said Atwood, now a research associate at William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences at the University of Massachusetts. "The same people who 35 years ago supported the war in Vietnam support this war in the Gulf and are prepared to send the children of less privileged people to do their dirty work," he said. "I can assure you there's a lot of anger and opposition to this war on the part of Vietnam veterans, because of the illegality and immorality of it but also deriving from the fact that these chicken hawks are sponsoring it." Additional reporti
[CTRL] Iraq can't be a Vietnam
-Caveat Lector- Comment http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,930158,00.html Hearts, minds and bodybags Iraq can't be a Vietnam, pundits insist. Those who were there know better James Fox Saturday April 5, 2003 The Guardian In Vietnam in 1972 there was a hearts and minds programme called chieu hoi to entice the population in the south to rally to the government. The late Gavin Young of the Observer quipped: "I think the Americans have bitten off more than they can chieu hoi ." Is this the case with Iraq if, whatever happens in Baghdad, liberation turns to occupation and resistance? To lose the hearts and minds, which the Americans have surely done so far in Iraq, would surely be to lose the war, whatever the strategic results. But don't whisper "Vietnam", and certainly "quagmire", the word with which the Iraqis daily taunt the Americans. To do so in print has invited the reflex denial that the topography - desert versus jungle - is different and not good for guerrilla war; that Vietnam took 10 years to lose and we've been here two weeks. One historian wrote last week that the Iraqis were not "politicised as the Vietnamese were by the Vietcong", a startling observation given the evidence of recent days. Nationalism, patriotism and fatwas from the Arab world are surely enough. Iraqi strategists, according to one Arab editor, study Vietnam constantly. And they talk of it too. Not only will 100 Bin Ladens be unleashed by this struggle, they say, but "100 Vietnams". "Let our cities be our swamps and our buildings our jungles," Tariq Aziz told the Institute of Strategic Studies before war began. Yesterday Iraq's information minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, talked of turning Iraq into "another Indochina". Has Baghdad become a mini Ho Chi Minh trail of hidden tunnels and arsenals? George C Scott, as General Patton in the eponymous film, hisses: "Rommel, you sonofabitch, I read your book". The key book for the Iraqis was written by General Vo Nguyen Giap, the brilliant architect of the war against the French and the Americans. It was published in English in 1961, under the title People's War, People's Army, long before the US war in Vietnam hotted up. Though full of partyspeak, it shows how easy it is to hold up and demoralise a hugely superior army that has a long supply convoy. Giap exploited what he called "the contradictions of the aggressive colonial war". The invaders have to fan out and operate far from their bases. When they deploy, said Giap, "their broken-up units become easy prey". First harass the enemy, "rotting" away his rear and reserves, forcing him to deploy troops to defend bases and perimeters. "Is the enemy strong?" wrote Giap. "One avoids him. Is he weak? One attacks him." There will never be enough troops to hold down the scattered guerrilla forces. General William Westmoreland, commander of US forces in Vietnam, estimated that he would have needed 2 million troops to "pacify" the country. At the peak of the war he had half that number. You can apply the principle to Baghdad or the country beyond - the topography matters less than the principle. Commanders talk of their puzzlement at Republican Guard units "melting away" after the onslaught of last week. Are they preparing a trap? It was astonishing to read of the surprise on the part of the military at the Iraqis' methods. The commander of the Desert Rats said that their "terror tactics" were "outside the rules of war", although anyone who has attended a war knows there aren't any rules. Hue was the last pitched battle fought by the Americans during the 1968 Tet offensive. In that battle, 5,000 Vietcong infiltrators climbed out of their civilian clothes in the city to reveal their North Vietnamese uniforms. General Westmoreland complained that Tet "was characterised by treachery and deceitfulness" - the same outrageous methods Bush speaks about today. The Americans were surprised and outraged by the Vietnamese tactics right to the end, consistently underestimating the North Vietnamese army's strength and determination. I remember the shock in 1972 when the North Vietnamese launched a fierce barrage far from its bases with deeply dug-in 130mm guns south of the demilitarised zone. Giap had stockpiled massive underground arsenals. The Iraq campaign has swiftly changed from a "hearts and minds" operation of liberation to one of winning the war. The Anglo-American forces have not won the cooperation of the local population that is so vital for military-political control. From the Iraqi point of view, since you can't win, the only real weapon is the demoralisation of the enemy, keeping the war going as long as possible and uniting the population against them. Mark Franchetti reported vividly last weekend on frightened marines shooting up any taxi that moved, describing the fresh-faced soldiers he had met a few days ealier turning into scared, demoralised killers - echoes again of the Vietnam era. Giap wanted to wage a protracte
[CTRL] 'Congress' Adventures in Wonderland'
-Caveat Lector- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24169-2003Apr3.html washingtonpost.com Humpty on the House Floor By E. J. Dionne Jr. Friday, April 4, 2003; Page A21 A strange thing happened in the House of Representatives on April Fools' Day. Republicans repudiated their own budget. But in the fog of war, the news was lost entirely. The incident reveals much about what's wrong with passing radical measures with so little debate. House Republican leaders figured that the parliamentary maneuvers were so complicated and the focus on Iraq so intense that the episode would get practically no media coverage. They were right. That's why it's important to examine what happened. On a nearly party-line vote, the House passed a budget that includes $1.4 trillion in tax cuts, $726 billion of which are protected under Congress's "reconciliation" process. To make a long story short, the protected tax cuts will in principle be easier to pass because Democrats will not be able to filibuster them in the Senate. The GOP budget also includes $265 billion in cuts for veterans' programs, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, student loans and a slew of other matters. The Senate, on the other hand, reduced that $726 billion tax cut to $350 billion, and it did not include the House's deep budget cuts. The Senate and House now need to work out their differences. On Tuesday Rep. John Spratt, a South Carolina Democrat and his party's leader on budget issues, introduced a motion to "instruct" House conferees to restore $212 billion of the proposed budget cuts and reduce the tax cut by that amount. His motion further instructed the House to give way to the Senate's smaller tax cut figure. As the Democrats read it, their motion would reduce the tax cut by about $600 billion. Rep. Jim Nussle, the Iowa Republican who chairs the House Budget Committee, would have none of it. He gave a lengthy speech denouncing Spratt and the Democrats for being unwilling to confront "waste and abuse in this government." Then the peculiar thing happened. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay walked onto the floor and decided that the Democratic proposal didn't say what its authors said it said. The Texas Republican ignored the second half of Spratt's instruction and insisted that it called for reducing the $726 billion House tax cut by only $212 billion. "The Democrats are suggesting that we have a $514 billion tax relief package," DeLay said, "and I think we could do a lot with that." Over and over, Spratt insisted that DeLay was flat wrong about what the motion meant. But Republicans embraced DeLay's magic words and were free to vote for a proposal that repudiated their budget. Spratt's instruction passed 399 to 22. "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less." "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things." -- Lewis Carroll, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" Why did the shrewd DeLay rely on Humpty Dumpty's logic? Because Spratt was on the verge of winning, DeLay had to pretend that a defeat was a victory. "They no longer had the votes to defeat our motion," said Thomas Kahn, the Democrats' staff director on the Budget Committee, "because the cuts we were striking were so unpopular." Republicans are especially sensitive to complaints from veterans' groups during wartime. Last month the top commanders of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans wrote House leaders to complain that "cutting already underfunded veterans' programs to offset the costs of tax cuts is indefensible and callous." Parliamentary procedure may well allow Republicans to ignore this vote. But even DeLay couldn't dispute the fact that the House went on the record as abandoning almost all of the budget cuts that Nussle, with some honesty, had pushed through. Faced with a clear tradeoff between programs and tax cuts, Republicans voted for the programs. Which leads to the question: Do they really mean what they say they mean? These tax proposals represent not a short-term stimulus to the economy but a radical change over time in the ability of government to finance basic services. If the advocates of big tax cuts are unwilling to be candid about how they would cut government, they should not be pushing through a radical program on the basis of two- or three-vote margins in the House and Senate. It was Jefferson who argued that you should not undertake great departures on slender majorities. Moderate Republicans and Democrats in the Senate can stop this. They can hold the line on behalf of their still excessive but more modest tax cut. They have to decide whether to stand with Jefferson -- or Humpty Dumpty. © 2003 The Washington Post Company Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C
[CTRL] History for the Invaders
-Caveat Lector- http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=24744 Arab News SAUDI ARABIA'S FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY The Lessons of History for the Invaders Norman Davies, The Independent Published on Saturday, April 05, 2003 LONDON, 5 April 2003 — The Battle for Baghdad is beginning. Everyone asks whether it will bring a swift end to the conflict. The answer, almost certainly, is “no”. When Saddam Hussein was first transformed from a useful client into an evil dictator, the Western media was eager to call him a new Hitler. More recently, he is thought to be more like Stalin. (Even his mustache is more like Stalin’s than Hitler’s.) This should cause no surprise. Saddam’s regime was not set up in an advanced industrial country like Germany, but in a traditional Arab society which he set out to modernize, secularize and militarize by brute force. Saddam’s Baath Party, which stands for “Renewal”, boasts a heady brand of so-called Arab socialism where extreme nationalism is fused with communist-style party control. Most importantly, since Saddam’s military and security systems were largely designed by Soviet advisers, the tentacles of the ruling party penetrate into every corner of every state institution, ensuring that embedded political officers give all the orders at all times and at all levels. If this calculation is correct, the generals do not command the army. They defer to political colleagues, who may be dressed up as generals and sit in on staff meetings, but who do not answer to the army command. One may be equally sure that the military/ security forces form an elaborate chain of interlocking services where every watchdog organization is itself watched over by another watchdog. The regular army is kept in check by the Revolutionary Guard. The Revolutionary Guard is guarded by a Special Revolutionary Guard. And the Special Revolutionary Guard is run by high- ranking officers from the Security Department, whose agents will oversee every other unit. In addition, the ruling party will have organized its own armed services. There will be “blocking regiments” to shoot any soldier who thinks of retreating. (There will also be blockers of the blocking regiments.) There will be assorted militias and specialized corps of bodyguards, frontier troops, desert rangers, prison guards, and internal troops, each positioned to crush the least sign of dissent. By now, there must be a specialized corps of suicide bombers. Washington’s idea that it can swiftly “decapitate” this sort of hydra by removing Saddam, by rounding up the “death squads”, or by replacing a few ministers is unconvincing. In the short term, however, the most urgent question concerns the dictator’s ability to persuade his troops to fight. Some American analysts think that armies ruled by fear will melt away when attacked. One cannot be so sure. Indeed, if Stalin be the model for this war-game, the conclusions must be rather worrying. By 1941, Stalin had already killed many millions of his own subjects. Yet, when the Soviet Union was attacked, the Red Army put up a heroic fight that surpassed all expectations. To the amazement of the German invaders, who had been told they were removing a wicked regime, Soviet troops contested every inch of land, irrespective of losses. Anyone who imagines lack of democracy means lack of fighting spirit needs to think again. The simple fact is that the soldier defending his native soil will fight better than an invader. But other psychological and cultural factors are at work. On Stalin’s eastern front, for example, observers noted something akin to “the bravado of desperation”. Soldiers who had been maltreated at home, who had seen their relatives tortured or cast into the Gulag, but who were powerless to protest, had nothing to lose. So they charged at the enemy with the Motherland on their lips in the one last act that could restore their pride and dignity. Of course, when tested, Saddam’s troops may not die willingly. In that case, one might argue that Saddamism, unlike Stalinism, was not brutal enough. Every army has its own culture, its own corporate ethos. Reports from Iraq increasingly contrast the “softly, softly” approach of the British with the “gung-ho”, “trigger-happy”, “cowboy” stance of many Americans. The contrast may not be entirely fair. We may yet see incidents of “friendly fire” in which Americans are the victims. But perceptions count. And the US war machine seems to suffer from two major defects. Firstly, it appears to have been trained to believe that the safety of its own members is sacrosanct, and hence that anyone outside its own ranks is an enemy. Secondly, it is led by an ideologically driven clique, which is not typical of America and which possesses absolutely everything except self- criticism. In the long term, especially if the US takes sole charge in Iraq, these attitudes will take their toll. For they ignore another simple fact, namely that cultures are more powerful than c
[CTRL] The End of Perle ... an End to His Ideas?
-Caveat Lector- http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=24767 Arab News SAUDI ARABIA'S FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY Exclusive: The End of Perle ... an End to His Ideas? Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid Published on Saturday, April 05, 2003 How it came to be that Richard Perle and his ideas should be at the basis of the strategy of a great nation has been repeatedly questioned in the last two years. The truth is that it is not unusual for an adventurous theorist or those with interests that conflict with the work of the US to infiltrate into the ranks of American strategists. This actually reflects the reality of a political system that opens its doors to the likes of these people and is consequently affected by the struggle of organizations outside the government including those with extremist trends such as that adopted by right-wingers. During the era of Ronald Reagan there were many times when the US provoked allies such as the UN, despite the fact that the latter provided secure means for a country looking for a way to organize the world in a manner that best suited its interests. Strained times passed with the Eastern bloc too because of the extreme right-wing tendencies of representatives whose stands almost led America into dangerous confrontations. However, the strings that most tied down the Americans was the Arab- Israeli conflict, a problem that doesn’t serve its interests at all. It is also an issue that corresponded to election interests and to pressure centers allied to Tel Aviv. Most leading American State Department employees were opposed to these policies. However, the State Department wasn’t the one controlling this issue. The American policy harmed US interests for long decades and still does. Richard Perle, who became a consultant penetrating into the Ministry of Defense by taking advantage of the influence of the pillars of the ministry around the current president, is an example of the more extreme ideas. Extremism of the kind that Washington hadn’t been seen in the Middle East, where he became infamous for establishing the total regional change document, pushing it to the extreme and thus widening the circle of enemies before any war on the ground could begin. His suggestions created much argument in the last two years — but no one had a clue of how much influence his ideas enjoyed until the American government set about on an unnecessary war. There is a consensus in the West on the need for change in the Iraqi regime for a number of reasons, among them tidying up the situation of a nation that has been left hanging. This could have been achieved without resorting to outright war. It was possible to leave it to the Iraqi forces that were never given a real chance. The Iraqi opposition never got true support from the Americans in the years since the second Gulf War. The aid given was small and limited to weak Iraqi sides with no real power. This was indicative that Washington didn’t wish for a change in Saddam’s regime but only sought to annoy him. Suddenly the policy changed from refusing to provide weapons to sending all of the country’s army and requisitioning $70 billion for war. Not only had Perle founded the idea of pursuing the America’s enemies but had also added friends, such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to the list and also expanded the idea of change so that its limits became unclear. His ideas were subject to ridicule by critics inside America. However, the movement of the American military equipment confirmed that Perle’s ideas are the driving force behind the executives in the administration. Arab News Opinion 5 April 2003 Copyright © 2003 ArabNews All Rights Reserved. Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is
[CTRL] "Free" for All (a form of "liberation")
-Caveat Lector- http://truthout.org/docs_03/040603C.shtml Go to Original At Umm Qasr, the Southern Port "Secured" by the Marines, "It's Chaos" By Sophie Shihab Le Monde Tuesday 1 April 2003 While the Americans would like this city to become "the window" of the South, lootings multiply. Residents, very happy "to be liberated", complain of the lack of water. From Le Monde's special envoy in Umm Qasr. "For thirty years, Iraqis have been accustomed to live under the truncheon of Saddam. Today the truncheon has disappeared and it's chaos ", deplores Hamdane, while contemplating a cloud of young looters in action in Umm Qasr, the port city "secured" by coalition forces in Southern Iraq. Two weeks ago, the houses that they finish "cleaning" sheltered, among other things, the Internet Center, installed in the local branch office of the Ministry of Telecommunications. Furniture, doors, plummbing fixtures, electric wires, everything is gone. These recent ministry houses symbolized the "luxury" enjoyed by Party Comrades in this southern region where Northerners feel exiled. Didn't their offices have air-conditioning, while the hospital didn't? Hamdane, a specialized craftsman with seven children at home, doesn't even have a refrigerator. He's also doing the rounds of the public buildings and factories with a wheelbarrow, just like the looters he condemns. The perimeter of the new port, occupied by the Marines, starts only five hundred meters away, but they make war, not do police work. Monday March 31, these Marines enlarged the prohibited perimeter in front of their main camp, in fear of suicide attacks. Umm Qasr, their bridgehead, is nevertheless the most secure zone for the Americans in Iraq. Their colleagues in "civilian affairs" have finally succeeded in reestablishing water and electricity. During the preceding days, the residents, very happy to be "liberated", were already crazed: "If water doesn't come soon, there will be a revolution against the coalition, how do they not understand that they're digging their graves?" asked one. Apologies repeated ad infinitum while children cried, "water, water!" at the sight of any foreign vehicle. However, Monday, Major Paul Stanley, of the British army's corps of "civil engineers" was confident that Umm Qasr would quickly play its role as a "window" for the region, particularly for the residents of Basra. Monday, the British launched new forces into the battle for the country's second city "the liberation of which will be a turning point for the South", assured the Major. Even if, for now, this window is painful to see. "Schools and most of the market remain closed", he said, "because the population has not yet crossed the green line past which it will be certain Saddam isn't coming back." And that's what should change with the fall of Basra. Put another way, the bridgehead will be consolidated with the capture of the Southern metropolis, which will fall more easily when this bridgehead becomes attractive. The first task of the "civil engineers" was to prevent a mass of refugees from blocking the military route to Baghdad. There were no floods of refugees. However, the whole region was deprived of water. It came- briny water by canals, and potable water by water-trucks- from Basra where Saddam's forces won't let it leave any more. This was an apparently unforeseen situation, as British army engineers took a long week to lay 2.5km of canals from Kuwait to the Marine's camp at the frontier. Iraqi water-truck drivers began to distribute water Monday in Umm Qasr. "But some only gave it to their own clans, others sold it, the population is still complaining. We threatened the drivers with loss of their licenses, it should go better tomorrow and the day after tomorrow", the Major said. At the hospital, which now serves only for quick day consultations, the little bit of water allocated "was looted a half- hour later by the neighborhood people. How was I to stop them?" sighs a Director. Another job of the "civil engineers": identify the managers capable of restarting activity in the region. This is the biggest problem: all the managers of factories and vital installations are Baath party members, as are their assistants, and the assistants of the assistants. None of them has come forward to suggest resuming service under the tutelage of the "occupiers". These are reduced to depending on a little over a dozen people of good will, often English professors or doctors, who have neither the necessary knowledge, nor the art or desire of imposing themselves like the Baathists. Beyond which, they sometimes fear over-exposing themselves. Only the hiring of former port employees is taking place at an accelerated rhythm, carried by the designation of an American company to manage these installations with USAID financing. This financing, says Major Stanley, will also permit the "repurchase of the office chairs stolen in the city". However, these disappointments, which the UN'
[CTRL] "Trick or Treat"
-Caveat Lector- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5944-635035,00.html April 05, 2003 UN and Army at odds as troops encourage looting >From Daniel McGrory in southern Iraq UNITED NATIONS officials have rebuked British commanders for urging local residents to loot buildings belonging to the Iraqi Army and the ruling Baath Party. The British view is that the sight of local youths dismantling the offices and barracks of a regime they used to fear shows they have confidence that Saddam Hussain’s henchmen will not be returning to these towns in southern Iraq. One senior British officer said: “We believe this sends a powerful message that the old guard is truly finished.” Armoured units from the Desert Rats stood by and watched earlier this week as scores of excited Iraqis picked clean every floor and every room of the Baath Party headquarters building in Basra after it had been raided by British troops. Villas owned by the elite, army compounds, air bases and naval ports and even some of the regime’s former torture chambers and jails have been ransacked in the past week. But UN officials said last night that such behaviour was against the Geneva Convention and bred a dangerous mood of anarchy. Homes and vehicles in towns such as Umm Qasr and Safwan, which have nothing to do with Saddam’s regime, have been robbed and vandalised in recent days; a UN official attributed that to the permitted level of lawlessness. One said: “The British and American armies have a duty to protect local law and order. It is not right that they promote the idea that it is permissible to steal or destroy anything owned by the Iraqi Government, their army and their party leaders. “The worry is that it doesn’t stop here with government property alone and we are already seeing that. At the moment it appears to us that it is in danger of getting out of control and should be stopped.” An additional risk for the coalition in permitting such behaviour is that vital intelligence is being pilfered or destroyed. By the time British units have reached some buildings they find that every file and piece of paper has been strewn across the floor or used to start bonfires. That happened at the desert barracks used by Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam’s cousin known as “Chemical Ali” and who was suspected of being pivotal in Iraq’s chemical weapons industry. Since the start of this war the allies have been desperate to find documentary evidence that Iraq has manufactured and stockpiled a chemical and biological armoury but so far they have been frustrated in their efforts to track down incriminating paperwork. The ransacking is also destroying documentary proof of how Iraq has managed to flout UN sanctions for the past 12 years. Retreating Iraqis, Republican Guards and party officials would not have had time to destroy their filing cabinets. Their documents, which are worthless to locals, are systemically destroyed every time they enter a building as an act of revenge. Some of the equipment looted from army and government centres also shows how successfully Iraq was able to import what it needed from the West. At the dockside in Umm Qasr a group of British soldiers watched astonished as four children manhandling a brand-new diesel ship’s engine from Switzerland on to a wooden barrow. The machine could have been of no use to them but they took away the packing case with the serial number and import documents still taped inside. Tons of other material bought from half a dozen European countries, also still in their wrappings, disappeared within minutes from the dockside office. Some of those organising the looting gangs have been clearly seen carrying automatic weapons but they have been left unchallenged by passing Australian and British patrols. On the outskirts of the town of Imam Anas, moments after British troops had finished searching a naval establishment a gang of 40 villagers moved in. Shortly afterwards women were seen leaving the compound carrying metal bed-frames on their heads. Their children scurried behind them, their arms full of anything they could carry. By mid-morning everything that was not nailed down had gone. It was at that point that the men of the village moved in with crowbars, hammers and chisels and began dismantling the sleeping quarters, taking away corrugated roofing, wooden supports and doors. British forces do not have the manpower to police every town and village in the Southern Province they control but there is no doubt that in the past week the incidents of looting have increased massively. Ali Hassan al-Douri, a local teacher in Umm Qasr, watched 20 young men move through a business office like a plague of locusts and said: “At first it was just getting our own back on the regime but I fear if we are not careful this will get out of hand.” Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. s
[CTRL] The Real Deal About Enron (Pt 2)
-Caveat Lector- Mapping the Real Deal… The Real Deal About Enron http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0304/S00035.htm ... an interview with Scoop Real Deal Columnist Catherine Austin Fitts Part Two Of Seven Parts By Daniel Armstrong* Originally Published By Sanders Research Associates [*Daniel Armstrong is a writer and novelist based in Eugene, Oregon. Mr. Armstrong is a graduate of Princeton University and attended the University of Oregon School of Journalism.] If my years working on the clean up of BCCI and the S&L crisis taught me one thing that I would communicate today to the shareholders, retirees and employees who have been harmed, it is this: people like those on the board of Enron absolutely make money from insider trading, bid rigging and fraud, and they do so with help from the highest levels. -- Catherine Austin Fitts. IMAGE: Enron - Click Through To Original Article * (Click Here for Part One http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0304/S00031.htm ) In Part One, we introduced the subject of this interview Catherine Austin Fitts and described some of her experiences in taking on the criminal powers who lie behind the modern U.S. Governmental apparatus. * INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT BEGINS DA: In 1989 and 1990, Catherine, you worked for HUD Secretary Jack Kemp in the first Bush Administration. Kemp was a member of the oversight board for the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) that was set up for the S&L cleanup. Part of your responsibilities at HUD was to provide regulatory support to Kemp and to the RTC people and its operation, regarding mortgage and property disposition. Also, between 1994 and 1996 you served as a board member of First American Corporation, after former New York Banking Commissioner Harry Albright was appointed Trustee of the First American Resolution. You were there to assist in selling First American financial assets and unraveling its BCCI connections. CAF: That's correct. I was initially brought into the Bush Administration to ensure that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) at HUD was sound and to help clean up the IranContra Fraud at FHA/HUD. There were also fraud issues related to regulatory responsibility in the Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Federal Housing Loan Bank system, and the U.S. mortgage market--- that dovetailed into the S&L work. After I left HUD, I became a board member of Carteret Savings & Loan to help some old partners with more S&L clean up. Since my days at Dillon, Read, I had a reputation for successfully reengineering financial situations that others thought were hopeless. DA: Beginning in 1996, your company Hamilton Securities, Inc, which was on a competitive contract with HUD as a financial advisor, was sued by HUD contractor Ervin Associates and then investigated by the Department of Justice for alleged insider trading, bid rigging, fraud, and conflicts of interests. No basis was found to support any of those allegations by their investigators in 1996, then again in 1999, and finally a year ago, they dropped all investigations. Those allegations against Hamilton are similar to those filed against Enron Corporation. So not only have you been part of the clean up of several large and complex fraud cases, but you have also been on the receiving end of a DOJ investigation---on allegations not terribly different than those in the Enron case. Additionally, you were a member of the SEC's Emerging Market Advisory Committee from 1990 to 1993. Clearly, you must have a pretty good sense of corporate law and first hand knowledge of what goes on in government fraud investigations. I know from articles you have written that you are not fully convinced the investigation of Enron is in good faith---also that you feel a lot of mistakes and omissions were made in the way the DOJ initiated its investigation. Can you explain some of this? CAF: There are seven steps that should have been taken if the federal intelligence, investigation, regulatory and prosecution agencies were serious about stopping the Enron fraud, getting our money back and holding guilty parties accountable. All seven are based on two fundamental principles that you always see working when prosecutors and investigators are doing a competent job. The first fundamental principle is: Make sure you have control of all the data and information about money and how that money is used in the organization. The second fundamental principle is: Make sure you use that control---of the data and information---to gain control of any cash that was stolen or wrongfully used. Let me emphasize at the outset that Enron's management and board of directors and their accountants and banks have admitted to securities violations, gross negligence, sham transactions, and obstruction of justice. So let's not skirt the issue: we have a self- proclaimed criminal enterprise. I believe that Enron was also engaged in additional financial fraud and money laundering.
[CTRL] Take 'Em While They're Young!
-Caveat Lector- http://fp.collectiblestoday.com/images/product/450/0912316001.jpg Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Senate panel OKs smallpox
-Caveat Lector- www.sfgate.com Return to regular view Senate panel OKs smallpox measure Compensates workers hurt, killed by vaccine Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times Thursday, April 3, 2003 ©2003 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi? f=/c/a/2003/04/03/MN296479.DTL Washington -- With hospitals and health care workers around the country refusing to join the Bush administration's smallpox vaccination program, a Senate committee approved a measure on Wednesday to compensate workers disabled or killed by the shots. The 11-10 vote was along party lines on the Republican-backed measure and came after the committee rejected several Democratic amendments to make the bill more generous. Democrats vowed to fight for a more expansive benefits package once the measure reaches the Senate floor. "It's a tin-cup response to a major kind of health threat, and it insults first responders in this country," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., who offered the amendments. The measure is intended to encourage vaccination among health care and emergency workers who might respond to an attack using the deadly smallpox virus. The chief sponsor of the measure, Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., said the measure was urgently needed. "This is not a legal issue," said Gregg, chairman of the panel, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. "This is not a health issue. This is a national security issue." Gregg noted that the bill's $262,100 lump sum death benefit was the same amount paid to police officers killed in the line of duty, and was more than the $256,000 lump sum paid to a soldier who might be killed in battle in Iraq. But the measure is less generous than one defeated last week by the House. While both the House and Senate measures would pay $262,100 to those permanently disabled or killed from vaccination, the House bill caps compensation for lost wages at that amount. The Senate cap is $50,000. Smallpox was eradicated two decades ago. But many experts believe rogue nations, including Iraq, continue to maintain illicit stocks of the smallpox virus. Last year, after months of internal debate, President Bush announced a voluntary program to inoculate as many as 439,000 doctors, nurses and emergency workers who would be the first to respond if terrorists obtain the smallpox virus and introduce it into the United States. Kennedy said that so far, only 25,000 people had been vaccinated. That is mostly because of fears about the safety of the vaccine, which is made from a live virus that is a cousin to smallpox and can cause serious complications and even death. Ten states have suspended vaccinations, lawmakers said. Last week, federal health officials announced that seven health care workers had developed cardiac problems after being vaccinated, and that two of them had died of heart attacks. Calling the vaccination program "an absolute disaster," Kennedy predicted that things would not improve if the Senate bill passed intact, leading to a contentious exchange with Gregg, seated beside him. When Kennedy described the measure as an insult to first responders, Gregg shot back, "It's not an insult. It's a genuine attempt to try to address the issue." ©2003 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback Page A - 4 Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat L
[CTRL] Flu Shots Prevent
-Caveat Lector- http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/thrive/2003/apr/02/040206755. html April 02, 2003 Study: Flu Shots Prevent Heart Disease By STEPHANIE NANO ASSOCIATED PRESS Flu shots may do more for the elderly than fend off the flu bug - they also protect against heart disease and stroke, new research shows. Results of a large study of more than 286,000 elderly, appearing in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, show hospital stays for heart disease or stroke during two flu seasons were substantially reduced among those who got flu shots. "Influenza may be even worse than we thought. And flu shots might be even better than we thought," said researcher Dr. Kristin Nichol of the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center. New government figures show influenza contributes to an average 36,000 annual U.S. deaths. Flu shots are now recommended for all adults 50 and older. In 2001, about 63 percent of those over 65 were vaccinated in the United States. The flu vaccine reduces deaths overall and prevents pneumonia in the elderly, and some small studies have suggested that they help ward off heart disease and strokes. The researchers checked medical records for those over 65 enrolled in three managed-care plans in the Minneapolis, Portland, Ore., and New York City areas during two flu seasons - 1998-1999 and 1999-2000. Of the 140,055 people studied in the first flu season, 56 percent were vaccinated. In the second, 60 percent of the 146,328 enrollees got flu shots. They compared hospital stays for those who got shots and those who didn't. Flu vaccination cut hospitalizations for heart disease by 19 percent both seasons, the findings showed. Hospital stays for stroke were reduced by 16 percent the first season and 23 percent the second. "There are very few things we can do in medicine that provide these kinds of benefits over a very short period of time. This is huge," said Nichol. Dr. William Schaffner, head of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said the results need to be investigated further but reinforce an important message. "It offers even more reassurance and affirmation as to the importance of getting your flu shot annually," said Schaffner. The researchers also found immunization cut hospital stays by about one- third for the flu and pneumonia, a common complication, and reduced by half the risk of death from any cause. The findings are similar to previous studies. Nichol said the connection between the flu and heart disease and stroke isn't clear but the virus could be affecting blood vessels and the development of clots in the brain and heart. Schaffner said there should be a national program to provide flu shots, noting that the government has launched a smallpox vaccine program without a single case. "We have an estimated 20-30,000 deaths due to influenza. We need an organized, national vaccine program each year," he said. --- On the Net: New England Journal: http://www.nejm.org CDC flu information: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/ flu/fluvirus.htm -- Previous: CDC Has Test to Confirm Mystery Illness 2 Apr. 14:25:58 Next: Native American Hoped to Help Others 2 Apr. 14:17:16 Printable text version | Mail this to a friend Las Vegas SUN main page Problems or questions Read our policy on privacy and cookies. Advertise on Vegas.com. All contents © 1996 - 2003 Las Vegas Sun, Inc. Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
[CTRL] Fwd: New article: Rule-the-World Productions Proudly Presents . . .
-Caveat Lector- --- Start of forwarded message --- From: FreedomWire <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Subscriber <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Organization: Harry Browne Subject: Fwd: New article: Rule-the-World Productions Proudly Presents . . . Date: 4/4/2003 10:58:20 AM To respond to this message, please DO NOT hit "Reply" -- instead, mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] F r e e d o m W i r e /-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/ Dear Subscriber, Below you'll find a new article by Harry Browne. If you're not receiving his articles regularly, it's probably that you aren't a subscriber to LibertyWire -- the email list of the American Liberty Foundation. It's free, and you can subscribe at http://www.americanlibertyfoundation.org/lw.shtml. Don't miss Harry's radio show this Saturday evening. He has several topics in mind to discuss -- such as the real reason (finally discovered) that the U.S. military is invading Iraq; why Cher (a high-school dropout) understands more about war and peace than Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, and Colin Powell (despite their impressive resumes); what civilian control of the military is supposed to mean; and whatever topic you raise if you call or email Harry during the show. The show can be heard on a Radio America station (http://harrybrowne.org/Radiostationlist.htm) or on the Internet (http://www.radioamerica.org/radioamericaaudiolink.html ). Saturday evening: Eastern: 11pm - 1am Central: 10pm - Midnight Mountain: 9pm - 11pm Pacific: 8pm - 10pm Alaska:7pm - 9pm Hawaii:6pm - 8pm Kathmandu: 9am - 11am And now . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rule-the-World Productions Proudly Presents . . . Now Playing on a TV Channel Near You ** Operation Iraqi Freedom ** COMING ATTRACTIONS See our other Epic Productions, coming soon: Operation Iranian Freedom Operation Syrian Freedom Operation Libyan Freedom Operation Lebanese Freedom Operation Zimbabwian Freedom Operation Philippine Freedom * Operation Pakistani Freedom Operation Afghan Freedom III * Operation Indonesian Freedom Operation Saudi Arabian Freedom Operation Algerian Freedom Operation Angolan Freedom Operation Azerbaijanian Freedom * Operation Bahrainian Freedom Operation Belarusian Freedom Operation Bhutanian Freedom Operation Bruneian Freedom Operation Burmese Freedom Operation Burundian Freedom Operation Cambodian Freedom Operation Cameroonian Freedom Operation Chadian Freedom Operation Colombian Freedom * Operation Cuban Freedom Operation Egyptian Freedom Operation Equatorial Guinean Freedom Operation Eritrean Freedom * Operation Haitian Freedom Operation Kazakhstanian Freedom Operation Kenyan Freedom Operation Korean Freedom Operation Laotian Freedom Operation Maldivean Freedom Operation Omanian Freedom Operation Qatarian Freedom Operation Rwandan Freedom * Operation Sudanese Freedom Operation Somalian Freedom Operation Swazilandian Freedom Operation Tajikistanian Freedom Operation Tunisian Freedom Operation Turkish Freedom * Operation Turkmenistanian Freedom Operation Uzbekistanian Freedom * Operation Yemenian Freedom Operation Russian Freedom Operation Chinese Freedom * Don't miss the surprise twists in these productions, when members of the "Coalition of the Willing" discover they've been targeted by Rule-the-World Productions. YOUR GUARANTEE OF SUPERIOR ENTERTAINMENT These great dramas are brought to you by the same talented team that brings you: Government Health Care Government Education Government Drug War Government Welfare Government Foreign Aid Government Farm Subsidies and our all-time #1 award-winner: Government Postal Service THE CREDITS All produced by the world's largest enterprise: The United States Government Remember our motto: "We're from the government and we're here to help you." NOTICE Due to conflicts of interest, we've had to cancel: Operation American Freedom OUR APOLOGIES We apologize that some of our previous epics ended tragically. "Operation Vietnamese Freedom" didn't live up to its advance billing. "Operation Panamanian Freedom" was scripted to end Panama as a drug conduit, but instead destroyed the Panamanian military -- leaving no way to stop the flow of drugs. "Operation Iraqi Freedom: the Prequel" was intended to produce an Iraqi uprising and an end to the evil demon, but we changed the script at the last moment. "Operation Kosovo Freedom" ended the ethnic cleansing of Albanians, but mistakenly replaced it with the ethnic cleansing of Serbs. "Operation Afghan Freedom" enabled the Taliban to come to power. "Operation Afghan Freedom II" produced a lot of Rock & Roll and recycled veils, but it also left the country in the hands of feuding warlords and a U.S.-imposed viceroy who fears for his life. But we promise that you'll love "Operation Iraqi Freedom." Unlike the last few productions, we guarantee to kill all the evil-doers -- and even more! [Note: All cou
[CTRL] The Lexicon
-Caveat Lector- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . http://motherjones.com/news/warwatch/2003/13/we_342_01.html MotherJones.com / News / warwatch The Lexicon As 'Operation Iraqi Freedom' proceeds, Washington hawks and antiwar activists are expanding our vocabulary in fascinating ways. March 26, 2003 April 3, 2003 treason ['trE-z&n] noun Defined: the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state two which the offender owes allegiance; as codified in US law -- 'Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.' Redefined: the offense of failing to adequately laud the actions or strategies of the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance. Usage: "If you analyze (Arnett's) remarks strictly as a matter of rhetoric, the answer is unambiguously: YES. Arnett used his time on Iraqi television to praise the Iraqi government and people in a way that might stiffen their resolve and lead them to hunker down against allied forces. Certainly, in a 21st-century context, his words were a "comfort" at the very least." New York Post columnist John Podhoretz on whether fired NBC reporter Peter Arnett is guilty of treason. war game ['wor 'gAm] noun Defined: a simulated battle or campaign to test the validity of military tactics and strategies Redefined: a simulated battle or campaign rigged to validate untested military tactics and strategies. Usage: "The most elaborate war game the U.S. military has ever held was rigged so that it appeared to validate the modern, joint-service war-fighting concepts it was supposed to be testing, according to the retired Marine lieutenant general who commanded the gameÕs Opposing Force." August 16 article in Army Times about the war games that validated many of the strategies championed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. March 26, 2003 coalition [ko-&-'li-sh&n] noun Defined: an alliance or union between groups, factions, or parties, esp. for some temporary and specific reason Redefined: an alliance or union between the United States and one or more other countries willing to provide political cover, but not necessarily lend real support; always temporary Usage: "The members of this coalition have not failed to act. They are contributing different personnel, services and materials, according to their means and expertise. ... Many more countries are providing supplies, logistical and intelligence support, basing and over-flight rights, and humanitarian and reconstruction aid. Other nations have the will to face terror, though not the means to participate in operations." National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice, in the Wall Street Journal terrorist ['ter-&r-ist] noun Defined: a person who employs terror or terrorism, usually aimed at civilian targets, esp. as a political weapon Redefined: any combative Iraqi not in a uniform Usage: "We have intelligence information saying that the Fedayeen Saddam people -- I'm not going to call them troops, because they're traveling in civilian clothes and they're essentially terrorists -- have been moving south into some areas." Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld See Also: guerrilla, insurgent, rebel, irregular E-mail article . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This article has been made possible by the Foundation for National Progress, the Investigative Fund of Mother Jones, and gifts from generous readers like you. © 2003 The Foundation for National Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Support Us Advertise Ad Policy Privacy Policy Contact Us Subscribe Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing
[CTRL] Lying Isn't Freedom of Speech
-Caveat Lector- http://www.billboard.com/bb/charts/country.jsp >>>Now, when you read the following article, please bear in mind that this another case of the "Chad" not telling the full story but trying to skew the events to satisfy his own agenda. Specifically: "Since then, album sales have plunged for the Dixie Chicks and numerous radio stations, largely by the request of their listeners, have banned the playing of the Dixie Chicks’ music." Now this may be true for older albums but if one merely clicks on the linque above, there's another story to be told. A<:>E<:>R <<< http://www.washingtondispatch.com/article_4972.shtml What Freedom of Speech Isn’t Exclusive commentary by Chad Allen Apr 4, 2003 After intensely attacking the merits of war and our President over the past two weeks, celebrity anti-war protestors, media personalities, and politicians have begun to grumble in concern that they might face possible retribution for their words and actions. Some of these individuals have gone so far as to say that freedom of speech should provide them with safety from intellectual and economic persecution. However, history in America shows that freedom of speech has never been equated with freedom from ridicule or freedom from economic damages. These opinion shapers should realize that their outspoken views, especially when they run contrary to the views of a majority of Americans, might come at an economic or personal price. This convoluted protectionist view regarding freedom of speech has even infected former Vice-President, Al Gore. Earlier this week, Al Gore was speaking to a college audience and he mentioned the firestorm of protest that has recently occurred against the Dixie Chicks. As you likely recall, the lead singer of the country group, Natalie Maines, recently stated before a European audience that she was “ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.” Since then, album sales have plunged for the Dixie Chicks and numerous radio stations, largely by the request of their listeners, have banned the playing of the Dixie Chicks’ music. In regards to the Dixie Chicks, Gore said, “They were made to feel un- American and risked economic retaliation because of what was said. Our democracy has taken a hit.” Has our democracy truly taken a hit by what has happened to the Dixie Chicks? Certainly not! In fact, the ideas of democracy and freedom of speech have been exemplified by the actions of the Dixie Chicks and by those protesting against them. Consider that the Dixie Chicks exercised their freedom of speech, though regrettably in a foreign land, by stating their opinion about President Bush. In turn, their listeners essentially shared either their contrary view of the President or their displeasure with the timing of the comment by attempting to thwart further album sales and/or limit air time devoted to the group. While the opinions of the Dixie Chicks will be heard by millions because of their fame, the only way the consumers’ voice can usually be heard is economically, through product protests. Our country’s history is littered with individuals who were mocked or were forced to pay an economic price by politicians, the media, or a group of citizens due to their societal or political views. In William Hallahan’s excellent book, “The Day the American Revolution Began”, Hallahan describes how some of America’s earliest opinion shapers were loathed and mocked by Colonialists and Loyalists. James Rivington, publisher of the New York Gazette, was hated by the Colonialists due to his Loyalist sympathy and brash style. Equally as brash and hated was Sam Adams, who used the Boston Gazette to revolutionize hatred for the Loyalists among the Colonialists. Both of these men faced plenty of mockery among their political enemies and likely had their income potential reduced because of their beliefs. Individuals in the limelight continued to pay an economic or personal non- violent price for their views through the 19th and late 20th centuries. Paul Weaver, former editor for Fortune magazine, briefly describes in his informative book, “News and the Culture of Lying”, how the political Left used the media in mass to help crucify the image of Robert Bork, both among politicians and American citizens, through truthful and fictitious stories. Despite Bork’s lost opportunity because of the attacks, Bork has since become a successful author and well-respected member of the Conservative Movement. Conservatives engaged in much of the same tactics during the Clinton Administration, as at times, overzealous conservative thinkers and journalists had difficulty in parsing what were actual and imaginary actions of President Clinton. Clinton survived the attacks and remains arguably the most beloved living politician among Democrats. A list of other notable individuals and groups who have been attacked personally or economically due to their views would be legion, but could include former Atlanta Brav
[CTRL] The Pink Elephants Told Me So
-Caveat Lector- http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=615&e=19 &u=/nm/20030404/pl_nm/iraq_bush_europe_dc_2 Bush Mix of God and War Grates on Many Europeans Fri Apr 4, 9:13 AM ET Add Politics to My Yahoo! By Tom Heneghan PARIS (Reuters) - The religious overtones in President Bush (news - web sites)'s speeches increasingly grate on many ears in Europe, where leaders invoking God in times of war are widely suspect of misusing faith for political purposes. No less than the German president, French prime minister and Belgian foreign minister have joined religious leaders in expressing concern about Bush's beliefs and the place of religion in U.S. politics. Media commentators, especially in northern European countries with Protestant heritages, have branded Bush's evangelical views as Christian fundamentalism, with some even comparing them to the Islamic fundamentalism of Osama bin Laden (news - web sites). The discussion reflects both the widespread popular anti-war sentiment in Europe and the deeper gulf between a continent where faith is on the wane and an America where religious values probably play a more prominent political role than ever before. German President Johannes Rau, a Protestant preacher's son who makes no secret of his own faith, reacted sharply this week on n-tv television to press reports that Bush believed defeating Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) was part of a divine plan. "George Bush has got a completely one-sided message. I don't think a people gets a sign from God to liberate another people," he said. "Nowhere does the Bible call for crusades." Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, a vocal critic of the war, said before hostilities broke out last month that he saw Christian fundamentalism gaining influence in Washington and added: "That is, of course, a dangerous point of departure." French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, asked about a U.S. weekly's cover story on Bush and God, told Le Point magazine: "In no way can God be called on for a vote of confidence." UNEASE AT GOD TALK Bush's firm faith, rooted in an evangelical Protestantism that reflects an important voter bloc in his Republican party, has also prompted questions in mainstream U.S. media about how much it colors his stand on Iraq (news - web sites) and his war on terror. In his speeches, he has asked for guidance from "the loving God behind all of life and all of history," hinted he believed there was a "divine plan" for the world and warned Americans that "we are in a conflict between good and evil." These references may not seem so out of place in the United States, where all presidents say "God bless America" and "In God We Trust" is emblazoned on dollar bills. But they stand out and sometimes even shock many Europeans who remember how German soldiers trooped off to World War One with "Gott mit uns" (God with us) stamped on their belt buckles. "I believe George Bush's religious views are genuine," Cardinal Karl Lehmann, head of the German Bishop's Conference, told the Catholic weekly Rheinischer Merkur in an interview on Thursday. "But this careless way of using religious language is not acceptable anymore in today's world." In Sweden, invoking God in politics is so unusual that parliamentarian Hans Lindqvist told Reuters: "I've never seen anything like this before." Commentators in Britain, where Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites)'s firm but discreet Christian beliefs have also aroused critical attention, have described Bush as "chaplain in chief" and analyzed his use of religious phrases and images in detail. "For world-weary Europe, the presidential language evokes mirth and queasiness in equal measure," The Independent wrote. In France, where even practicing Catholic or Jewish politicians shrink from mentioning religion, the daily Le Monde reacted sharply last week to the news that the U.S. House of Representatives had called for a day of national prayer and fasting to secure divine blessings for U.S. troops in Iraq. "This bizarre approach shocks Europeans," it said in an editorial. Its religion correspondent accused Bush and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein of "gross misuse" of religion. "One is tempted to say the destiny of America is in the hands of a small group of Protestant bigots," Henri Tincq wrote. The religious side of Bush's thinking has attracted much less public attention in traditionally Catholic countries such as Ireland, Italy and Spain, where the Roman church has lost most of the vast influence it used to wield in secular affairs. Media there have focused mostly on whether the Iraq conflict is a just war, sometimes quoting the pronounced anti-war stand of Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II. Russia, which in its old communist days might have churned out caustic criticism about the White House and "the opium of the people," has also shown little interest in Bush's beliefs. "Politicians now routinely invoke God and Orthodoxy for all
[CTRL] New Arab Nationalist Mood
-Caveat Lector- Arab News SAUDI ARABIA'S FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=24729 War Spawns New Arab Nationalist Mood, Pride Reuters Published on Friday, April 04, 2003 CAIRO, 4 April 2003 — A new mood of Arab nationalism, fusing pan-Arab and Islamic themes, is sweeping the Middle East in reaction to the US-led war on Iraq, denounced by many Arabs as a new colonial invasion. Millions of Arabs are taking pride in Iraqi resistance against overwhelming odds, and some are venting anger at their own governments, seen as impotent to prevent or collaborating with the Anglo-American attack on an Arab, Muslim nation. “The Iraqi resistance has liberated the Arab world from a very mundane self-image,” said Mohammed Saied of Cairo’s Al-Ahram Center for Strategic Studies. “It has rehabilitated some pride and dignity after three or four decades in which self-confidence in the region has been completely destroyed,” he told Reuters. The nationalist rhetoric pouring out of demonstrations, editorials, public appeals and petitions, unites pan-Arabist and Islamist discourse in an unstable mixture that is making some Arab governments increasingly nervous. But whether it will lead to real political change in the Arab world or subside once the conflict ends remains to be seen. In Egypt, Lebanon and elsewhere, portraits of the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser, a pan- Arab nationalist hero of the 1950s and 1960s, have reappeared in anti-war protests. Nasserite slogans and songs are enjoying a modest revival. An “Initiative for a New Arab Nationalism” signed by several Egyptian non- government organizations links calls on Arab governments to take practical steps against “American aggression” with bold demands for domestic reform. “It has become imperative now that these forces propose a new Arab nationalist project that will take into consideration the reasons and causes of this weakness, defeat and impotence that we lived through for many years,” the appeal said. Echoing a similar call by 19 leading judges and jurists, it called for “thorough constitutional, political and legal reforms in our lands and modernization of the social structures”. Analysts say that if the war lasts and is followed by prolonged US rule in Iraq, a more organized anti-war movement could coalesce to press for political change. Omnipresent television images of civilian Iraqi casualties, the bombing of Baghdad and US troops raising the Stars and Stripes flag in the captured city of Umm Qasr have politicized many Arabs, awakened from apathy and torpor. While many have long abhorred Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Iraqi resistance against what is widely perceived as American imperialism has made him a street hero. “Before the war, there was a sense of resignation and impotence in the Arab world,” said Mustafa Hamarneh of the University of Jordan in Amman. “Now there is pride in Iraqi resistance ... and anger at their own governments, who are seen to be either sitting on the fence or collaborating with the United States,” he said. Jordan’s King Abdallah, who has allowed US special forces to operate from his country, felt obliged to condemn the war for the first time on Wednesday as an “invasion” and called Iraqi victims “martyrs” in response to mounting domestic pressure. Pan-Arab nationalism is widely regarded as having been in terminal decline since Israel defeated Arab armies in six days in the 1967 Middle East War, a humiliation that led many Arabs to turn to Islamist ideology or retreat into apathy. Egyptian civil rights campaigner Saadeddin Ibrahim said the Iraq war was having the reverse effect. “In 1967, three Arab countries were defeated in six days without a fight. Now it’s the exact opposite. Tiny Iraq is standing up to three big powers, not for six days but now for two weeks. This, added to the Palestinian uprising, added to Hezbollah’s resistance in southern Lebanon, is creating a cumulative, collective sense of Arab pride and empowerment.” Saddam has sought to harness Islamic and Arab nationalist sentiment, peppering recent speeches with quotations from the Qur’an and recalling historic Arab battles against invaders. Despite his secular, Socialist, Baathist background, this talk resonates with many in the wider Islamic world from Rabat to Jakarta who see the war as a violation of a Muslim land. Islamic activists in turn have struck a more nationalist tone. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah, has emphasized the anti-colonial nationalist nature of Iraq’s struggle. Both nationalists and Islamists have volunteered to fight in Iraq against the US and British forces. But whether this “marriage of convenience”, as one secular Arab academic called it, between nationalists and Islamists will endure beyond the war seems doubtful. Copyright © 2003 ArabNews All Rights Reserved. Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on
[CTRL] Lens Distortion
-Caveat Lector- http://www.counterpunch.org/avnery04032003.html April 3, 2003 A Crooked Mirror Presstitution and the Theater of Operations By URI AVNERY George Bush, we are told, is a deeply religious person, and so is his yeoman, Tony Blair. It is a pity that they do not read the Bible more. One of the most beautiful Hebrew sentences can be found in I Kings XX. When he threatened Israel, the King of Syria boasted of his mighty army and demanded surrender. King Ahab replied with four immortal Hebrew words, rendered thus in English: "Let not him that girdeth on (his harness) boast himself as he that putteth it off." Retroactive Terrorists Schoolbooks in dozens of languages must now be rewritten. The old books said that the men and women of the French resistance in World War II were heroes. These civilians went out in the night to bomb German trains, kill German soldiers and execute collaborators. The instructions came from London. They knew that if they were caught, they would undergo gruesome tortures and be put to death. American and British movies sang their praise. The Russian partisans, whose slogan was "Death to the Invader!" made the life of the German soldiers hell. The partisans were hanged in droves. The original guerillas--for whom this Spanish word meaning "little war" was coined--attacked Napoleon's soldiers. Goya immortalized them in his magnificent painting. A whole generation of Israeli children was taught to admire the Irgun and Stern Group fighters, all civilians, of course, who blew up the installations of the British army and killed its soldiers. It appears now that they were all vile terrorists. Presstitution In the Middle Ages, armies were accompanied by large numbers of prostitutes. In the Iraq war, the American and British armies are accompanied by large numbers of journalists. I coined the Hebrew equivalent of "presstitution" when I was the editor of an Israeli newsmagazine, to denote the journalists who turn the media into whores. Physicians are bound by the Hippocratic oath to save life as far as possible. Journalists are bound by professional honor to tell the truth, as they see it. Never before have so many journalists betrayed their duty as in this war. Their original sin was their agreement to be "embedded" in army units. This American term sounds like being put to bed, and that is what it amounts to in practice. A journalist who lies down in the bed of an army unit becomes a voluntary slave. He is attached to the commander's staff, led to the places the commander is interested in, sees what the commander wants him or her to see, is turned away from the places the commanders does not want him to see, hears what the my wants him to hear and does not hear what the army does not want him to hear. He is worse than an official army spokesman, because he pretends to be an independent reporter. The problem is not that he only sees a small piece of the grand mosaic of the war, but that he transmits a mendacious view of that piece. In the Falklands and the first Gulf wars, journalists were simply not allowed to reach the campaign area. It seems that a bright fellow at the Pentagon had an idea: "Why keep them out? Let's allow them in, they'll be told what to write and broadcast and eat out of our hands like puppies." Shame Since the age of 19, I have been a journalist. I was always proud of it. On innumerable forms I wrote "Profession: Journalist." I am ashamed when I see a large group of journalists from all over the world sitting in front of a many-starred general, listening eagerly to what is called a "briefing" and not posing the simplest relevant question. And when a courageous reporter does stand up and ask a real question, no one protests when the general responds with banal propaganda slogans instead of giving a real answer. Remember the virtual surrender of the Iraqi 51st division? The "uprising" of the people of Basra that never was? The thousand and one other lies, that have gone with the wind? Where were the journalists when all this happened? Almost all the journalistic reports of this war are a crooked mirror. We see in it a manipulated, distorted and mendacious picture. Therefore, praise be to the few who, like Peter Arnett, are ready to sacrifice their career on the altar of truth. The bottom of the barrel I am ashamed of being a journalist. I am doubly ashamed of being an Israeli journalist. In this war, all sections of the Israeli media have sunk to a new low. No criticism at all gets published. The opponents of the war have effectively been silenced. Even in the American media, some voices of dissent are being heard. In Israel, this is not possible. It would be worse than treason. The only exception I know of is the TV reporter San Semama, who stole into Iraq, was caught by the Americans, imprisoned in a jeep and starved for 48 hours. He saw what was really happening. Parts of his reports were published here and there, and then the curtain of
[CTRL] Between Chic & Glum
-Caveat Lector- Diners feel eat of tobacco ban with smoked gnocchi April 4 2003 A New York restaurant has cooked up a way to beat the city's tough new anti-tobacco ban. The Italian restaurant Serafina Sandro unveiled a "Tobacco Special" menu on Wednesday, with such delicacies as gnocchi made with tobacco and filet mignon in a tobacco-wine sauce, garnished with dried tobacco. Tobacco panna cotta is available for dessert, followed by a strong glass of tobacco-infused grappa. "I never thought tobacco would taste so good," said the restaurant's co- owner, Fabio Granato, of the rich tobacco flavour. "It tastes better than smoking." Under the new law, pushed by the Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, cigarettes and cigars are barred from almost every bar and restaurant in the city. It aims to protect workers in the 13,000 bars and restaurants that have allowed smoking. "Bravo Bloomberg," he said. "It took Mayor Bloomberg to make us finally cook with tobacco in the kitchen. It's the invention of a new spice into the cuisine." The tobacco recipes were the brainchild of chef Sandro Fioriti, a cigar smoker who mused "maybe a little more tobacco" as he sampled the panna cotta. He has been testing the recipes on friends and staff for two months, he said. A lobster and shrimp salad with tobacco is in the works, while a salmon wrapped in tobacco leaves was rejected as too strong, he said. The World Bar at Trump World Tower is also aiming to placate tobacco- starved customers, introducing a "smokeless" Manhattan cocktail touted to taste like a cigarette. Some bar owners are handing out nicotine chewing gum, and the city's Health Department is offering free nicotine patches to the first 35,000 who call a quit smoking telephone hotline. Reuters This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/03/1048962877018.html Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Leaders' Cheers
-Caveat Lector- http://www.independent.org/tii/news/030401Eland.html Bush’s Early Blunders in the War Are Downplayed by the American Media By Ivan Eland* Although Arabic television networks may well be overemphasizing the civilian carnage in Iraq, the American media is just as obligingly de- emphasizing it as they underplay the early mistakes of U.S. and British forces. For starters, although their cause is in dispute, the explosions in the two Iraqi markets that killed 17 and 50-plus civilians—so far, two of the highest one-time death tolls of the war—were certainly newsworthy, but received only modest attention. This should alert an informed observer to the possibility that the American media are downplaying other uncomfortable facts in the military campaign. Although we’ve heard whisperings from official Washington that the civilian leaders at the Pentagon—many of whom have had no prior military experience—may have underestimated the enemy, the extent of that bungling has been glossed over in the press. When invading any country, regardless of its military capabilities on paper, a key question becomes whether the population will support or oppose the invading forces. The Bush administration may have deluded itself about how much the Iraqis might love the U.S. imposition by force of a restricted form of democracy and self-determination. Although hawks would like to pass off the fierce resistance encountered to Saddam’s most loyal thugs or people fighting because those thugs are holding a gun to their heads, evidence trickling in suggests that many Iraqis, including anti-Saddam Shiites, regard U.S. forces as invaders rather than liberators. Exporting democracy at the point of a gun is like a persistent telemarketer repeatedly calling at dinnertime; even if the product is great, you are in no mood to buy it when your privacy has been involuntarily violated. In the long-term, the will of Iraqis to resist could create the conditions for a guerrilla war long after the major battles are won (à la the second war in Chechnya). In the short-term, the battle for Baghdad could be intense and costly. With even a remote possibility of a hostile population, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld’s insistence on sending only 170,000 ground forces to subdue a country the size of California was folly. Of course, an overconfident Bush administration didn’t believe the Iraqis would fight back and had no back-up if they did. This episode is reminiscent of Kosovo, where the Clinton administration had no “Plan B” if bombing didn’t bring Milosevic to heel (it didn’t). In an episode of excessive civilian intrusion into military planning similar to Hitler’s disregard of sound military advice from his generals and the Johnson administration’s micromanagement of the Vietnam War, defense insiders say that Rumsfeld ignored early advice from the military that larger and heavier ground forces would be needed for the invasion. At the very least, he should have had heavier forces on the Iraqi border ready to race in if things went bad (the arrival of most heavy forces is weeks away and cannot help but slow all-important momentum and strengthen the Iraqi will to fight). What has happened in Basra may be indicative of what will happen in the fight for Baghdad. Small numbers of guerrilla fighters and a fractured Iraqi military unit have held the British at bay for longer than expected. Baghdad is larger, heavily defended by elite forces and Iraq’s most important metropolis. Even with reinforcements, U.S. forces may have trouble taking the capital city. As the experience in Basra shows, urban terrain acts as a tremendous force multiplier for even weak forces. If the fight for Baghdad is intense, high U.S. or Iraqi civilian casualties could occur and the war could be dragged out—thus eroding U.S. public support for the conflict (Saddam’s strategy for surviving). The overconfidence of the Bush administration also led to the elementary mistake of neglecting to guard vulnerable supply lines. Throughout military history, armies have realized that attacking supply lines in the adversary’s rear has the same effect as taking on heavily armed forces directly, but is safer. After all, a tank that runs out of gas and ammunition is just as ineffective as one that has been destroyed. Thus, U.S. troops have been left short on food and fuel and exposed to attacks from virtually every direction. In addition, an old political adage seems to have escaped the administration: dealing with a foreign policy crisis can’t get you reelected, but it can get you defeated. LBJ and Carter met their demise because of bungled military operations. And Bush need only look to his father and Winston Churchill to find politicians who were thrown out of office even after winning resounding military victories. Perhaps the Bush administration can overcome the early blunders to win its preventative war and reelection, but it will be an uphill battle given the high expectations o
[CTRL] AWOL (Arabs Who Obfuscate Logic) ?
-Caveat Lector- Where are the casualities and the Iraqi army? By John Keegan April 4 2003, 2:12 PM One of the most mysterious aspects of this highly mysterious war is the absence of casualties. People get killed in normal wars. Who is getting killed in this one? And where is the Iraqi army? As a percentage of those engaged, casualties represent less than one tenth of one per cent. For purposes of comparison, during the Second World War casualties in Bomber Command of four per cent per sortie - say 300 dead aircrew each 1,000 bomber raid - were thought bearable. The British death toll so far is under 30 and most of the victims have died in accidents. The American death toll is not much higher. Opponents of the war will say that, though Western casualties may be low, that is not true of the Iraqis. Perhaps but where is the proof? Although there is still a large Western press corps in Baghdad, television has so far succeeded in bringing us only the most paltry evidence of deaths inflicted among civilians by the coalition - three here, perhaps 17 there, but that may have been Iraqi friendly fire. In a similar incident during the Bosnian war, when a Sarajevo market was shelled by the Serbs, 80 were killed. The Iraqi government announced yesterday that 1,250 civilians have died but provided no evidence. Deaths among uniformed Iraqis are reported by the Western media, by implication, to be very high. Fairly regularly, television or the press brings us news of Iraqi divisions "severely mauled" or even "destroyed". Strangely, there are no photographs or eye-witness testimonies. Indeed, rather the contrary. James Meek, travelling with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force up the Tigris, reported yesterday that the enemy was a will-o'-the-wisp. "The marines are now pushing up against the territory supposedly defended by the dreaded Republican Guard. Yet there is no sign of them; their menace seems constantly to recede. "Similar reports of a melting enemy are coming from the US army in Najaf and Kerbala and from other marines at Kut, downstream of Nasiriyah." The marine company commander rubbed home the point, after a very rare exchange of fire with the enemy. "We were a little bit surprised to get some fire but we fired back. It only lasted five minutes. These guys are cowards. This is boring." Where indeed is the Republican Guard or the so-called Iraqi regular army? The situation map on March 20 showed showed six Republican Guard divisions encircling Baghdad and 16 ordinary army divisions, of which six armoured or mechanised, distributed about the country. The Republican Guard divisions may still be where they were first identified though, if so, it is difficult to know what to make of reports of their engaging the invaders at a considerable distance south of the city. Of the ordinary divisions there have been no reported signs at all. The Americans do not appear to have seen them, nor have the British. It is as if they have disappeared into thin air. There is endless television footage of M-1 Abrams tanks and Bradley armoured fighting vehicles driving up the long empty roads of central Iraq but they never fire their guns. In the south, the British are doing their thing, at which they are supremely good - armed street patrolling, snatching baddies and winning urban firefights, filling in the time left over with chatting up the locals, reassuring old ladies that food is on the way and getting the water put on again. Not for nothing is Empire in the Army's blood stream. The environs of Basra might be Quetta after the great North-West Frontier earthquake of 1927. What the British are not doing is engaging any major portion of the Iraqi armed forces. As operational situations go, Basra is a not much more serious a military problem than Northern Ireland in the early 1970s. The opposition is almost exactly similar - a politico-criminal mafia. It is doubtful if there are any Iraqi troops in Basra, only armed apparatchiks of the Ba'ath Party, anxious to hold on to what is left of their privileges. The moment must come quite soon when the British say "enough" and move in to turf the Ba'ath mafia out, as the IRA was turfed out of "Free Derry" in Operation Motorman in 1972. Squashing the Ba'ath mafia will not, however, help to solve the great riddle of the Second Gulf War: where have all the Iraqi soldiers gone? Have they gone home and hidden their uniforms? Have they drifted across the borders into Iran or Syria? Are they refugees in the Northern No-Fly Zone? No answers. Unless they materialise soon, this war will fizzle out for lack of an enemy. The Telegraph, London This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/04/1048962923971.html Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a pri
[CTRL] Has Peggy Got a Mouse in Her Pocket?
-Caveat Lector- World Socialist Web Site www.wsws.org http://wsws.org/articles/2003/apr2003/noon-a04.shtml WSWS : News & Analysis : Middle East : Iraq Right-wing ideologue Peggy Noonan welcomes US casualties in Iraq "Some good" from bloodier war, says Wall Street Journal columnist By Bill Vann 4 April 2003 Back to screen version| Send this link by email | Email the author “We can take it,” is the title of the latest column produced for the Wall Street Journal editorial pages on March 31 by Peggy Noonan, the former Republican White House speechwriter. What “we” are supposed to take, as the piece makes clear, is the killing of US soldiers amidst the carnage that is being unleashed on the people of Iraq. Noonan welcomes the prospect of a significant number of American troops coming home from Iraq in body bags. She speaks not just for herself, but decisive sections of the ruling elite. They believe that such a blood sacrifice is the only way to break down public resistance to Washington’s pursuit of US corporate interests around the world by means of military aggression. Noonan’s specialty is paeans to right-wing Republican politicians and vilification of their political opponents. Typical of her adulatory prose was a column assessing Bush’s State of the Union address earlier this year: “This, truly, is a good man ... there can be no doubting the depth of his seriousness and the degree to which he attempts to do what he is convinced is right and to lead his country to toward that vision of rightness There is a profound authenticity to him, and a fearlessness too. A steady hand on the helm in high seas, a knowledge of where we must go and why, a resolve to achieve safe harbor.” She concludes by suggesting that Bush became president by means of divine intervention rather mob violence to halt ballot counting in Florida. What she most admires in her fearless helmsman is his determination to put an end, once and for all, to what has long been known as the “Vietnam syndrome”. This term has been used to describe the public antipathy to militarism abroad, reinforced by the deaths of more than 58,000 American soldiers in a failed decade-long intervention in Southeast Asia. At the same time, it refers to the reaction within the military, which saw its public reputation discredited and its ranks torn by dissension during the Vietnam War. Senior uniformed commanders, most of whom were junior officers during that war, remain wary of any US military intervention that does not enjoy strong public support and include a relatively swift and secure “exit strategy”. Bush senior—for whom Noonan crafted such sound bites as “1,000 points of light” and “Read my lips, no new taxes”—claimed to have “kicked” the Vietnam syndrome in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. But his critics on the right of the Republican Party—those who now control the Pentagon and oversee the present aggression in Iraq—criticized his ending of the ground war after the slaughter of Iraqi troops fleeing Kuwait and his decision not to conquer Iraq itself. Noonan laments that the wars fought since Vietnam—the invasions of Grenada and Panama in the 1980s as well as the first Gulf War and the interventions in the Balkans in the 1990s—have been quick affairs with relatively few casualties. The second war against Iraq will be different; and that, she says, is a good thing. “There is no chance that it will be easy,” she writes. “Easy means fewer dead and less dread. But ... there I see some good to be gotten from the long haul.” “The world will be reminded that America still knows how to suffer,” Noonan argues. “In a country as in an individual, the ability to withstand pain—the ability to suffer—says a great deal about character.” The willingness of the US to sustain substantial casualties, she suggests, will serve to intimidate both “our implacable foes and sometimes doubting friends.” An elevated US death toll will benefit the country’s proponents of unrestrained militarism, she adds: “Deep in the heart of many pro-invasion thinkers has been a question ... Can we still take it? It won’t be bad for us to see that the answer is yes.” It will be even more salutary for the military to see its troops blooded and to lose its fear of casualties. Noonan writes: “Our armed forces, the professionals, are going to learn that they can do it. They’ve wondered too. They are also going to learn how to do their jobs better, because they’re really going to have to do the job. They are not going to feel when they return that they got all dressed up and the party was canceled.” Some party. How many flag-draped coffins will be coming home to Noonan’s posh Upper East Side neighborhood in Manhattan? The old populist slogan, “a rich man’s war, a poor man’s fight,” has never been truer than today. Those who are “really going to have to do the job” of dying on the battlefield are drawn overwhelmingly from the working class and the poor. They are for the most part young pe
[CTRL] BLAIR TURNS INTO TERRIER
-Caveat Lector- POODLE BLAIR TURNS INTO TERRIER http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=12803346 &method=full&siteid=50143 By James Hardy, Political Editor TONY BLAIR yesterday vowed to stop George Bush imposing a puppet state on Iraq. The PM revealed that coalition forces would set up a military government in Baghdad but insisted it would switch "as soon as possible" to civilian administration. He told the Commons that a US dominated regime would be only temporary. And in a rare show of defiance against Washington the Government warned it would not tolerate action against Syria or Iran. US hawks want to impose an interim administration on Iraq with former American generals running Ministries. But the Government insisted that US officials should be only advisers. After days of ducking the question Mr Blair was finally pinned down by anxious MPs. He said Britain would work for a UN resolution "endorsing" the interim government but remained vague on the timetable. "The UN has made it quite clear itself it doesn't want to lead an Iraqi government. "There will be difficulties as to when we make the transition to the interim authority, as to precisely what negotiations in the UN bring. "But the one point in common ... is that everybody understands it has got to be UN endorsed." Labour MPs fear a US dominated administration would wreck coalition claims to be "liberating" the people of Iraq. They were deeply alarmed at leaks from Washington showing hawks plotting to run the country by installing retired general Jay Garner as governor. Ex-Minister Joan Ruddock said: "We cannot win hearts and minds when there is an announcement from the US that the immediate postwar Iraq will be run by a former general who is the president of an arms company, a declared supporter of Israel." Outside the Commons Foreign Secretary Jack Straw claimed the Americans agreed the UN must back an interim government. "We will be seeking an interim Iraqi authority moving to a more representative government drawn from the Iraqi people. "There could be advisers from other countries but there will not be foreign nationals running the Iraqi government." Mr Straw also made it clear that Britain would not back any US attack on Syria or Iran - accused of aiding Saddam in a new bout of sabre rattling by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. He would be deeply uneasy if the Americans were planning action. "It would worry me if it were true. It is not true and we would have nothing whatever to do with an approach like that." Top Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Following Foggy Geraldo ?
-Caveat Lector- Friday April 04, 2003 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3350810 &thesection=news&thesubsection=dialogue Robert Fisk: Reports of airport assault premature 04.04.2003 - 8.00am SADDAM HUSSEIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - So where are the Americans? I prowled the empty departure lounges, mooched through the abandoned customs department, chatted to the seven armed militia guards, met the airport director and stood beside the runways where two dust-covered Iraqi Airways passenger jets -- an old 727 and an even more elderly Antonov -- stood forlornly on the runway not far from an equally decrepit military helicopter. And all I could hear was the distant whisper of high-flying jets and the chatter of the flocks of birds which have nested near the airport car park on this, the first day of real summer in Baghdad. Only three hours earlier, the BBC had reported claims that forward units of an American mechanised infantry division were less than 16km west of Baghdad -- and that some US troops had taken up positions on the very edge of the international airport. But I was 27km west of the city. And there were no Americans, no armour, not a soul around the runways of the airport whose namesake, in poster form, sat nonchalantly in the arrivals lounge in a business suit, cigar in hand. Even more astonishingly, there was no sign of the 12,000 Republican Guards whom the US division expected to fight. Indeed, Saddam Hussein International Airport looked as if it was enduring an industrial strike (let us not conceive of such an event in Saddam's Iraq) rather than an imminent takeover by the world's only superpower. Was it true, the Iraqi minister of information was asked at his daily 2pm press conference (11pm NZT) - a routine institution of usually deadly tedium - that the Americans were at the airport? "Rubbish!" he shouted. "Lies! Go and look for yourself." So we did. And, alas for the Anglo-American spokesmen in Doha and the US officer quoted on the BBC, the Iraqi minister was right and the Americans were wrong. But it's a good idea to take these things, if not with a pinch of salt, then at least with the knowledge that there are always two reasons for every decision taken in this violent, ruthless land. Sure, the Americans had been caught lying again - as they were about the "securing" of Nasiriyah more than a week ago - but was that the only reason journalists were permitted to visit Baghdad airport? We saw no Republican Guards - just as the Americans have themselves somehow failed to discover the 12,000 Republican Guards supposedly facing them. Indeed, what I found most extraordinary was that there appeared to be absolutely no attempt to block the road into Baghdad from the airport. Save for a few soldiers on the streets and a police squad car, you might have thought this a mildly warm holiday afternoon. Was their some kind of trap about to be sprung? Were the Americans being lured into the gentle, palm-fringed highway into town because, unknown to all of us, there was in fact some real armour hidden away in the great fields on the western banks of the Tigris? All day, I had asked myself about the supposed American assault-to-come on Baghdad. Where were the panicking crowds? Where were the food queues? Where were the empty streets? True, the motorway to the airport was a spooky, lonely journey. But the centre of Baghdad was livelier than for many days. The city authorities have put more of their Chinese double-decker buses back on the streets - normal service, as they say, has been resumed - and the railway company claimed its trains were still leaving for northern Iraq. At lunchtime, I dropped into the Furud Takeaway for my daily fix of chicken "shish- taouk", tomatoes and green beans. It was packed with Shia families, the ladies in black chadors, the men largely bearded, chomping through giant "mezzes" of "hoummus" and "tabouleh" and lamb and rice. The television was showing an Iranian channel, a musical in the Persian language. Iranian TV has two Arabic channels whose signal can be picked up without a satellite dish - and many Baghdadis trust their news service more than that of Kuwaiti or Saudi television. Near the Rafidiyeh Bridge, in a canyon of traffic, I caught sight of a middle- aged man staring at the great monument to Saddam's "victory" in the 1980- 88 war with Iran. At the base of a column, iron, helmeted soldiers stood behind iron sandbags, firing an iron machine-gun at their Persian enemies, an iron soldier throwing an iron grenade in the same direction. There is this monument to military victory in Baghdad, a monument to the "martyrs" of that victory - perhaps half a million of them - and a monument to the unknown soldier of that same war. Ex-prisoners asked for a monument to their suffering - in eight years, there were 60,000 of them - but their request was officially turned down. Was that to emphasise the humiliation of surrender? Is this a lesso
[CTRL] Fox Broadcast Entertainers Get Pink Slips
-Caveat Lector- http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/04/1594893.php Protesters Demand FOX News be accountable to the public by Camille Sauvé Thursday April 03, 2003 at 05:03 PM Over 70 people protested in front of Fox News' Battery Street Station to demand that Fox tell the truth about the human toll of the Iraq war and not rely solely on official sources or their supporters for information fox_battery.jpg, image/jpeg, 576x432 Over 70 people protested in front of Fox News' Battery Street Station to condemn Fox's coverage of the Iraq war claiming that Fox is a voicebox for Pentagon propaganda, excludes anti-war voices and doesn't show the tragic human toll on Iraqi civilians. Protesters also demanded that Fox give Geraldo, Bill O'Reilly and Oliver North pink slips for their irresponsible, jingoistic and threatening commentary (O'Reilly recently said protesters were terrorist and should be locked-up for a long time). Women from Code Pink next took off their pink slips with the names of the offending "journalist" and tossed the lingerie outside of the stations doors. Members from Global Exchange, Media Alliance and Code Pink then attempted to get a representative from Fox to come down and receive a list of their suggestions for responsible journalism, including a college news reporting textbook to learn the basics. Fox did not respond with a representative. Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Bring on the Talebans!
-Caveat Lector- http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,929399,00.html Bringing aid and the Bible, the man who called Islam wicked Evangelists Fears that US Christians will inflame situation Matthew Engel in Washington Friday April 4, 2003 The Guardian It could only happen with an American invasion. Poised behind the troops, waiting for a signal that Iraq is safe enough for them to operate in, are the evangelical Christians - carrying food in one hand and the Bible in the other. All the groups, generously funded by American churchgoers, are likely to do a magnificent job in offering water, food, medical help and comfort to a traumatised population. But they are causing alarm among Muslims, who fear vulnerable Iraqis will be cajoled into conversion, and Christians, some of whom warn that the missionaries will be prime targets in an unpacified Iraq. Muslim worries have been heightened because the man leading the charge into Iraq is the Rev Franklin Graham, who delivered the invocation at President Bush's inauguration, the son of Billy Graham and a fierce critic of Islam. He is on record as calling it a "wicked, violent" religion, with a God different from that of Christianity. "The two are different as lightness and darkness," he wrote. He runs an organisation called Samaritan's Purse, whose workers are in Jordan, waiting to move into Iraq. It has a strong record of charitable help built up over more than 30 years, but its official aim is clear: "The organisation serves the church worldwide to promote the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ." Of late, Mr Graham has avoided inflammatory statements and declined to speak to the Guardian. He did, however, write an article for the Los Angeles Times yesterday designed to mollify his critics, insisting that Samaritan's Purse will offer help to Iraqis without religious strings attached. "Sometimes the best preaching we can do is simply being there with a cup of cold water, exhibiting Christ's spirit of serving others," he said. Ibrahim Hooper, of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations was unimpressed, saying the groups involved were "despicable and deceitful". Of Mr Graham, he said: "This guy has repeatedly stated that Islam is intentionally cruel. I fail to see how such a person can be a positive influence in a Muslim country. Humanitarian relief is just a cover. Their basic motivation is conversion. These groups train workers to go in under the guise of relief to convert people away from their faith. "I know this because I've been on their training courses. There's a technique known as contextualisation. You never say directly you're Christian. You take chairs out of the church to make it look like a mosque. You grow a beard. You dress your wife in Islamic attire. They know they're not welcome." Also moving into Iraq are the Southern Baptists, the second largest religious group in the US after the Catholics and the most powerful component of the Christian conservative movement. They are perhaps the strongest pro- Bush, pro-Iraq war and pro-Israel political force in the US. Their coordinator in Oklahoma, Sam Porter, insists that humanitarian aid is the prime objective of the Iraqi relief operation; the church has 25,000 trained volunteers who help in disaster relief in the US and elsewhere. But he added: "If someone says 'Why would you to come to Iraq to serve in an impoverished, war-stricken country?' we would say it was because of the love that the Lord Jesus Christ put in our hearts. If a country opens up for evangelical missions to go there, we go. We believe strongly that Jesus Christ is the son of God and we intend to proclaim that." Some Christian commentators are alarmed that missionaries blundering into an unstable country of which they know little would be in danger. Three Baptist missionaries were shot and killed in Yemen last December by a Muslim extremist, who said he did it because "they were preaching Christianity in a Muslim country". One evangelical writer, Richard Mouw, of beliefnet.org, warned the groups: "We must do this with a genuine desire to serve human needs. If this is viewed as a pretence for evangelism it will only hurt the Christian cause, and perhaps further endanger the lives of the 600,000 Christians in Iraq." Jonathan Bonk, editor of the International Bulletin of Missionary Research, says that many strong evangelicals cannot separate their charitable work from spreading their faith. "It's not a crafty attempt to proselytise. It's an earnest attempt to share what they hold most dear. That's true of all the proselytising religions, including Islam. "The difficulty in Iraq won't be because the evangelists are Christian, but because they're western. If they aggressively evangelise, that's a problem. But they're going to be in danger whether they say anything or not. As symbols of the west, and what the west represents, they are targets." Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 Forwarde
[CTRL] Britain clamps down
-Caveat Lector- http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,929478,00.html Britain clamps down on imports Michael White, political editor Friday April 4, 2003 The Guardian Tony Blair's government tightened the screws on Israel's illegal West Bank settlements yesterday by warning British food and agricultural importers that they will now be liable for taxes on zero-rated goods which are not genuinely Israeli. To the delight of Labour MPs critical of the settlements, widely seen as a barrier to peace between Israel and the Palestinians, the Treasury issued a written commons statement which signals a tightening up of customs checks in response to Israeli stonewalling on the exact origins of its exports. John Healey, the economic secretary in Gordon Brown's team, said that the latest agreement between Israel and the EU to provide zero-rates of duty on Israeli products does not extend to goods originating in territories occupied during the 1967 war, including Gaza and the West Bank. "These settlements are illegal under international law, they are not part of Israel," one Labour MP said yesterday. "By buying such goods we are subsidising these settlements." Less than 10% of Israel's farms exports are said to emanate from the West Bank, but such goods are used to defray the heavy cost of subsidising the settlements from Palestinian attacks. Mr Healey told MPs that zero-rating may be denied "where there is reasonable doubt as to entitlement". Israel has not denied certifying goods from the West Bank as Israeli. The EU is also tightening up its controls. Britain's active role in persuading President George Bush to embrace the "road map" to restore the Middle East peace process - as part of the US regional strategy against Iraq - has prompted hostile commentary in Tel Aviv. Mr Healey said that Israel had failed to prove the legitimacy of goods suspected of coming from the occupied territories. "Customs and excise have now begun issuing duty demands to UK importers where there is reason to suspect that goods may have originated in Israeli settlements in the occupied territories," he said. Israel will still be able to export goods produced in settlements, but they will not be eligible for the special rates of duty. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Ex-Generals Defend Their Blunt Comments
-Caveat Lector- April 2, 2003 http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/02/international/worldspecial/02GENE.ht ml?ex=1050337895&ei=1&en=11d495e1f2c4c4a0 Ex-Generals Defend Their Blunt Comments By JIM RUTENBERG Some of the retired military leaders whose blunt statements about war strategy have rankled the Pentagon defended their right yesterday to offer frank assessments about military progress. Gen. Barry McCaffrey, for one, took issue with suggestions yesterday by Gen. Richard B. Myers and Senator John W. Warner, Republican of Virginia, that they were out of line with their tough assessments of the military's battle plan. "I'm quite proud to be part of an attempt to explain to the American people what's happening to their young people," General McCaffrey said last night on the MSNBC program "Hardball." "This war is too important to be left to the secretary alone. At the end of the day I think they ought to value my public opinion." General McCaffrey made his comments just moments after Senator Warner, who is the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, emerged from a meeting with General Myers and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and proposed a new standard of etiquette for retired military officers. "I think they should follow the tradition of presidents, the commander in chiefs," Senator Warner said. "You do not see former presidents criticizing a sitting president during war." At a Pentagon news conference yesterday with Mr. Rumsfeld, General Myers said that the critical assessments of his war plan from military officials, retired and active, were counterproductive. "I think for some retired military to opine as aggressively as some have done is not helpful," he said. The major networks have hired retired generals to help analyze the war and sort through the on-the-ground confusion, exacerbated by real-time reports from correspondents traveling with troops. General McCaffrey, of the Army, has been among the most openly critical and appears regularly on NBC and MSNBC. In an opinion article in The Wall Street Journal yesterday he expressed optimism about the campaign but wrote, "The `rolling start' concept of the attack dictated by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has put us in a temporarily risky position." Some of the retired generals said, however, that they understood Pentagon concerns and indicated that they would keep them in mind. "I think the troops and all the people over there have done an absolutely superb job, a sensational job and the results speak for themselves," Gen. Wesley K. Clark, chief NATO commander during the war in Kosovo, said when asked to comment on General Myers's remarks on CNN. "It's very unfair and difficult for anyone to criticize a war plan without having been involved in the planning process." General Clark himself has expressed concern about the number of American troops sent to Iraq. Maj. Gen. Burton Moore of the Air Force, a former director of Central Command who is retired and who appears on Fox News, said he was worried that some of the criticism could hurt morale. "If troops on the ground keep hearing from people who keep saying, `We don't have enough forces, we don't have enough forces,' " General Moore said, "you can't blame some of the soldiers if they start believing it." But, he added: "I don't think ex-generals, as a general statement, should be quiet. They are also free citizens." Broadcast network executives declined to comment, as did executives at CNN. But Erik Sorenson, president of MSNBC, said he agreed that the retired generals, speaking from climate-controlled studios, should not assume that past experience is a substitute for direct knowledge about top-secret planning. "We've instructed our generals to be careful not to speculate on what they don't know," he said. "And I don't know of anyone who has seen the war plan in our news organization." Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company | Privacy Policy Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIM
[CTRL] Yahoo! News - POW Father Denies Daughter Shot, Stabbed
-Caveat Lector- http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&ncid=716&e=5 &u=/ap/20030403/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_pow_family http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] AFI RESEARCH INTELL.BRIEFING
-Caveat Lector- http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2545.htm AFI RESEARCH INTELL.BRIEFING The Defence of Baghdad - Special Military ReportRichard M. Bennett 3rd April 2003: The forward units of the 101st Airborne/3rd Infantry Division advance towards the SW of the city through the Karbala Gap and the US Marine Corps Division advance through Al Kut have met only insignificant opposition. It seems highly unlikely that many of the defenders have simply melted away into the civilian population here or indeed elsewhere as significant quantities of heavy equipment such as Tanks, APC, Artillery and the like have not been found either abandoned or destroyed. Nor have large numbers of POW's been taken. The Army, Republican Guard and Air Force(largely fighting as Ground or Air Defence Troops)numbered some 410,000 two weeks ago. The best estimate we have so far received is that some 10,000 have been taken prisoner of defected, with a similar number killed or wounded. Iraq would therefore appear, at least on paper to still have some 390,000 effectives. This does not include 45,000 well armed paramilitaries and perhaps as many as another 50,000 Fedayeen and al Quds Guerrilla-style forces(others give an even higher figure). ~ US claims to have largely destroyed the two main Republican Guard Divisions defending the southern approaches to Baghdad must be treated with caution. There is no evidence that catastrophic damage has yet been inflicted on either unit and the noticeable lack of destroyed and captured equipment, and dead or captured Iraqi soldiers tends to confirm this. More importantly AFI Research believes that there are in fact eight identifiable Republican Guard Divisions, not six as is often reported and indeed the two Divisions reported to have been opposing the US ground campaign are believed to have only transferred south from the Northern Corps within the last month or so. The 2nd Al Medina Armoured Division with the 2nd, 10th and 17th Armoured, and 14th Mechanized Brigades near Karbala and the 5th Baghdad Mechanized Division with the 4th, 5th and 6th Mechanized Brigades near Al Kut are both reinforcement units. ~ As these two units appear to have been the only such Divisions involved in any serious fighting so far it is of great interest to considered the possible deployment of the original Southern Corps formations. The 1st Hammurabi Mechanized Division is reportedly deployed in well protected positions to the West of Baghdad with the 8th and 9th Mechanized and 18th Armoured Brigades; the 6th Nebuchadnezzar Mechanized Division was based in Al Kut area with the 19th, 22nd and 23rd Mechanized Brigades, but now appears to have withdrawn into the outskirts of Baghdad; the 8th Special Forces Division based both in the city and probably behind US lines with the 33rd, 65th, 66th and 68th Brigades. The 26th Brigade is reportedly near the Airport and the Al Nida Armoured Division which was based in the Qal'at Saleh-Amarah area with the 41st, 42nd and 43rd Armoured Brigades. It is believed that this unit was withdrawn north and is deployed somewhere behind the Baghdad Division and on the right flank of the US Marine advance. Inside the city the Special Republican Guard which consists of the First, Second and Third Mechanized Brigades guarding the three main routes into the city, and the Fourth Mechanized Brigade held as a strategic reserve alongside the elite 1st Adnan Tank Regiment at Abu Gharib and 2nd Tank Regiment at Al Makasib forms another overstrength Divisional sized formation. ~ Northern Front. The Republican Guard units still deployed north of Baghdad are the 7th Adnan Mechanized Division based at Mosul with the 11th and 12th Mechanized, and 21st Armoured Brigades and the Al Abed Mechanized Division based at Kirkuk / Khalid Camp with the 38th, 39th and 40th Mechanized Brigades defending the Northern Front. In addition there are two largely intact Regular Army Northern Corps; the First Corps at Khalid Camp in Kirkuk with the 2nd Infantry Division at Al Rabee, the 5th Mechanized Division at Kirkuk, the 8th Infantry Division in the Shuwan Area and the 38th Infantry Division at Qader Karan, while the Fifth Corps is centred on Mosul with the 1st Mechanized Division at Makhmur, the 4th Infantry Division near Bashiqa, the 7th Infantry Division near Al Mansour and the 16th Infantry Division in Mosul. ~ Southern Front. The considerable remnants of the Third Corps with the 6th Armoured Division near Naserria and the 11th and 51st Divisions bottled up in the partial-siege of Basrah are still supported by a largely untouched Fourth Corps at Al-Amara (Amarah) with the 10th Armoured Division, the 14th Infantry Division and the 18th Infantry Division to the north east along Route-6. The Second Corps originally at Diwaniyah with the 3rd Armoured Division, the 15th Infantry Division and the 34th Infantry Division is not reported to have been heavily involved in combat nor yet militarily out of the pict
[CTRL] One for Mr Miller
-Caveat Lector- http://english.pravda.ru/war/2003/04/02/45430.html 12:46 2003-04-02 The Mystical Side of the Iraqi War Four omens predict grand political, financial, economic changes in the world As it is well known, people are drawn to notice mysterious signs and omens before a war or a grand global event happens. One may argue about mysticism forever, although omens surprisingly become true. A hundred days before American President George W. Bush presented his ultimatum to Saddam Hussein (March 17th), which was December 6th last year, the American finance minister and the presidential economic adviser resigned from the American government on the threshold of economic and political priority changes. Another event happened the same day, although it was hardly noticed by media outlets. A small private jet slammed into the building of the Federal Reserve Bank. The pilot of the plane died. The FBI soon announced that the tragedy was incidental. Probably, it was really so. However, that was the first omen, which predicted the US dollar demise. Furthermore, the accident happened in the sun eclipse orbit (December 4th). The system analysis of rhythmical factors allows to calculate, when dollar is going to crash. We believe that the first vestige of the coming crash of the American currency will occur in hundred days v in July of the current year. More important events will happen to US dollar in August and September of the current year. It will not be the total collapse of the global dollar system (it will happen in two or three years), but dollar will lose 20 or 30% of its value. Further events, which are going to happen with the American currency, are possible to be calculated with the use of ancient astrologers- methods v the range of lunar groups, eclipses of December 4th, 2002: this is the period of May-June of 2004 and February-March of 2005. The tragedy with the Shuttle of Columbia (February 1) took place about fifty days before the launch of the army operation in Iraq. The catastrophe happened around the new moon period, like the first eclipse (December 6th of the past year). A lot of people noticed something mystical about the shuttle crash. For example, the shuttle blew up above George W. Bush-s home state - Texas. The shuttle with the first Israeli astronaut on board went to pieces not far from a small Texan town of Palestine. To crown it all, the Israeli astronaut took a direct part in the operation that was conducted by the Israeli Air Force in 1981 v to destroy a nuclear reactor in Iraq. He also participated in other actions of the Israeli aviation in the Middle East. The Russian space giant Rosaviacosmos paid attention to the fact that the shuttle did not fly to the International Space Station. Columbia was meant to conduct technical and technological experiments in space. The Russian space company did not rule out that some of those experiments were conducted according to the Pentagon-s program that was connected with the operation against Iraq. Furthermore, specialists compared the shuttle-s crash with the explosion of a chemical bomb on the territory of the United States, and which is desperately sought for in Iraq. Certain calculations of lunar groups of the February new moon tragedy allow to predict shocking events that might occur in the United State and in Israel during September- October of the current year, as well as between June-July of 2004, and March-April of 2005. Another weird event happened in the United States on February 28th, 20 days before the war in Iraq began. This time period is very close to the new moon again. A lightning hit Florida governor Jeb Bush-s plane and made a whole in its wing. There were seven people on board the plane, none of them was injured. The jet successfully landed at its destination airport, where the governor boarded another plane and left for Miami Beach. As Jeb Bush (George W. Bush-s brother) said, he was not frightened with the incident at all. Alia Faraj, the governor advisor, was sitting next to the Florida governor, and she was scared of the lightning a lot. As Jeb Bush stated, she was paralyzed. Since it goes about mystical coincidences, it is worth mentioning that Jewish Alia would be scared and paralyzed in Israel too. However, this omen predicted Israel (USA-s junior brother) that the Iraqi war would not be a disaster for the Jewish state, although it would clip its wings . Indeed, if the American administration manages to win the war (nobody has any doubts about it) and to set up a loyal pro- American regime in Iraq, Israel and its problems will be pushed into the background for the USA. Moreover, Israel might become an annoying obstacle for the American new policy in the Middle East. Lunar groups of this omen allow to predict severe problems for Israel (and for the United States) for the period of November-December of the current year, as well as for July-August of 2004, April-May of 2005. This period will be dangerous for George W.
[CTRL] After the War / True to Values
-Caveat Lector- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16138-2003Apr2.html washingtonpost.com After the War Thursday, April 3, 2003; Page A22 THE WEEKEND before the war started, President Bush signed on to a statement with British Prime Minister Tony Blair pledging to "work in close partnership with international institutions, including the United Nations," in postwar Iraq and to seek a Security Council resolution to "endorse an appropriate post- conflict administration." Yet a secretive Pentagon-led group is already far advanced in plans to unilaterally install a postwar regime dominated by Americans and Iraqi exiles -- one that would effectively exclude not only the United Nations but also European and Middle Eastern allies whose support will be essential to stabilizing the country. Even the State Department's nominees would be shut out by Defense Department leaders who talk of leaping from military rule to an interim Iraqi government in 90 days with the help of the American officials who would run Iraqi ministries. This narrow approach could compound the diplomatic damage of the war and expose the United States and its soldiers to large and unnecessary risks. Few dispute that a U.S. military administration will be needed immediately after the conflict, and administration officials are right that Iraq should be turned over to Iraqis as quickly as possible. The problem with the Pentagon's emerging approach is that it would structure this supposedly limited military regime in such a way as to concentrate control over the subsequent political transition in U.S. hands, effectively limiting international participation to providing a nominal blessing or working in a subordinate technical capacity. It would make virtually inevitable an Iraqi transitional government dominated by the small group of exiles long favored by the Pentagon. Some administration officials appear to believe they can impose this scheme over the protests of allies but still count on U.N. humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping contributions that would allow an early withdrawal of most U.S. troops. The Security Council's failure to follow through on its own resolutions on Iraq and the irresponsible obstructionism of allies such as France might seem to justify that course. Yet Mr. Bush rightly pledged to seek the repair of alliances and of the United Nations after the war, and the Pentagon's plan would surely deepen the rifts. Even a parting with Britain could not be ruled out; Mr. Blair has made U.N. involvement in postwar Iraq the centerpiece of his own political strategy. An isolated United States might find little help in feeding or policing Iraq's 23 million people, while being condemned across the Middle East as an occupying power. The Pentagon's Iraqi friends could quickly come to be regarded as quislings and puppets. U.S. forces could find themselves the targets of resistance and terrorism, while any hope of postwar progress on an Israeli-Palestinian settlement could disappear. A better model is readily available. Mr. Blair is proposing that the United Nations convene a conference to decide on the formation of a transitional government -- like the one that led to an Afghan administration after the ouster of the Taliban. The United States inevitably would have a major influence in shaping that administration, just as it did the Afghan regime, but the U.N. umbrella would give the process far greater legitimacy. It would also open the way for international participation in reconstruction and peacekeeping, as in Afghanistan, and allow for U.N. as well as American technical help in rebuilding institutions. It could provide a platform for repairing U.S. relationships with countries such as Germany; even France, which has threatened to obstruct Security Council agreement on a postwar administration, has signaled its willingness to work with the British formula. Mr. Bush said, on that prewar weekend, that he understands "incredible international cooperation" is needed to manage the threats of the 21st century. Postwar Iraq may determine whether the United States regains that cooperation -- or embarks on a dangerous unilateral course. © 2003 The Washington Post Company ~~ >>>I'll point out here that "values" and "ideals" are not the same thing. "Values" tend to be reflected on a scale of moral equivalence, whereas "ideals" remain as thing to which one aspires. Maybe Ashcroft has this thing about being boiled in oil, something HE considers valuable. A<:>E<:>R <<< http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16079-2003Apr2.html washingtonpost.com Israel True to Values, Ashcroft Says Thursday, April 3, 2003; Page A08 Attorney General John D. Ashcroft yesterday told a conference of evangelical Christians and Jews who are united in support of Israel that in the face of almost daily terrorist threats, Israel has remained "steadfastly true" to "the values our two nations share." Ashcroft spoke i
[CTRL] + WAR + Iraq Poster Exhibition +
-Caveat Lector- http://war.miniaturegigantic.com/ http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Another Cost of War ?
-Caveat Lector- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-631740,00.html April 02, 2003 Disease revives terror of 1918 flu By Nigel Hawkes THE lightning spread of Sars brings grim echoes of the greatest world pandemic, the 1918 flu scourge. Like Sars it happened during a time of war and was helped on its way by mass travel — of troops, not tourists. It killed about 2.5 per cent of those who caught it, roughly the same as Sars. It infected one billion people, half the world’s population, and killed between 20 and 40 million, a figure that exceeds the bubonic plague in the 14th century and smallpox in the 16th, and is challenged only by today’s Aids pandemic. The first case to be traced was a young army private, Albert Mitchell, at Camp Funston, Kansas, in March 1918. By the end of the week 500 soldiers at the camp were ill. Mitchell may not have been the first case but he was the first recorded. Tracking of epidemics owes its birth to the 1918 flu outbreak. This first wave killed relatively few. Something changed during the spring, perhaps in the trenches of France, to make the virus far more dangerous. The second wave, which swept through Europe during the spring and summer of 1918 and returned to the US with the troops towards the end of the year, was much deadlier. In October 1918, the worst month for the epidemic in the US, 195,000 Americans died, many of them between 20 and 40, the age range who suffered most. Today we have far better tools to trace the spread of Sars, and more sophisticated treatments; but we also have airlines to hasten its spread. Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] From Plumbers to Miners
-Caveat Lector-
The Secret War Machine [ Post 543678 ]
http://www.libertyforum.org/showflat.php?
Cat=&Board=news_crime&Number=543678&t=-1
Category: News & Opinion Topic: Crime & Corruption
Synopsis: The missing link between the Contras and al Qaeda.
Source: Wired News
Published: April 1, 2003 Author: Bruce Sterling
For Education and Discussion Only. Not for Commercial Use.
The Secret War Machine
The missing link between the Contras and al Qaeda.
It may come as a shock that Vice Admiral John Poindexter has popped up
as a visionary cyberguru for Darpa. Until recently, the former national
security adviser was best known as a convicted conspirator in the late-'80s
Iran-Contra scandal. Poindexter's career move makes sense, though, when
you consider the astonishing prescience of his scheme to fund covert
operations in Central America. The visionary spirit of Iran-Contra never
died, and today it's alive and well and fueling the War on Terror.
People born during Iran-Contra are now nearly old enough to drink, so a
quick review is in order. In the mid-'80s, the Republican Reagan
administration and the Democrat-controlled Congress differed on how to
deal with the menace of the leftist government in Nicaragua.
Anticommunist Reaganites favored the classic communist tactic of secretly
arming opposition movements ("contra-revolutionaries"), while Congress
considered this strategy sneaky, illegal, and destabilizing to the
international order. Congress prevailed, cutting off the CIA's funding for a
proxy war in Central America.
But Congress was merely a local outfit. The anticommunist faction both
privatized and globalized, replacing vanished public subsidies with private
funds from right-wing charities like the National Defense Council, the
Nicaraguan Freedom Fund, and the Western Goals Foundation, as well as
from supportive Muslims with oil money to burn. The conspirators secretly
acquired weapons from Israel and sold them to Iran at a hefty profit, which
they turned over to guerrillas fighting the Nicaraguan regime.
Admiral Poindexter's PROF interoffice email system (powered by an IBM
mainframe) seems pretty backward nowadays, but there was an
unmistakable Enron-style genius in routing charity money and Saudi profits
through Israeli arms contractors to buy munitions for Nicaraguan
counterrevolutionaries. John Poindexter, Oliver North, Elliot Abrams,
Richard Secord, John Singlaub, Robert MacFarlane, Adnan Khashoggi,
Manucher Ghorbanifar: These legendary innovators created something
truly new and brilliant - an offshore, autonomous, self-financing, global,
anticommunist venture-capital outfit big enough to fight a private war
against a sovereign nation. Lieutenant Colonel North liked to call it Project
Democracy. It ran loops around Congress the way offshore Internet porn
rings dodge the US Customs Service.
Hezbollah, the Islamist terror network that still thrives in the ghastly
politics of the Middle East, may have triggered the operation's demise.
Iran, which had bought hundreds of small rockets through Oliver North,
leaned on Hezbollah to release seven American hostages, a cause close to
President Reagan's heart. Somebody, quite likely a Hezbollah terrorist,
leaked the truth about arms-for-hostages to Al Shiraa, a Lebanese
newsweekly. The leak set in motion a stumbling series of revelations and
attempted stonewalls that ended the short, inventive life of Project
Democracy.
Considering the audacity of the scheme's challenge to Constitutional
authority, its principals have done surprisingly well in the years since.
Oliver North gave up his uniform to become what he always had been at
heart: a right-wing political agitator. Elliot Abrams now manages Venezuelan
revolution, counterrevolution, and counter- counterrevolution for the
State Department. And, of course, John Poindexter is in charge of the
Department of Defense's Total Information Awareness program.
But the real success story is the Contras, or rather their modern
successor: al Qaeda. Osama bin Laden's crew is a band of government-
funded anticommunist counterrevolutionaries who grew up and cut the
apron strings. These new-model Contras don't need state support from
Washington, Moscow, or any Accessory of Evil. Like Project Democracy,
they've got independent financing: oil money, charity money, arms money,
and a collection plate wherever a junkie shoots up in an alley. Instead of
merely ignoring and subverting governments for a higher cause, as
Poindexter did, al Qaeda tries to destroy them outright. Suicide bombers
blew the Chechnyan provisional puppet government sky high. Cars packed
with explosives nearly leveled the Indian Parliament. We all know what
happened to the Pentagon.
The next Iran-Contra is waiting, because the contradictions that created
the first have never been resolved. Iran-Contra wasn't about eager
American intelligence networks spreading dirty money in distant lands; it
was about the gap between old, legitimate, land-based g
[CTRL] Fwd: [pagans4peace] Fwd: [NIPG] Fw: Taking war powers away from GWB - HJ Resolution 20
-Caveat Lector- --- Start of forwarded message --- > Subject: FW: Taking war powers away from GWB - > HJ Resolution 20 > > > Maybe there's hope for this democracy after > all... The text of HJ Resolution can be found > at: > http://www.radiopower.org/HJ_Resolution_20.html. > > > > > Rachel > > > > -Original Message- > Sent: Saturday, 29 March, 2003 4:15 PM > Subject: [deeplistening] Re: An Important > Initiative From Dennis Kucinich > > > > Please do this NOW and distribute the message > as widely as possible. Suzanne > > Friends and Concerned Americans: > Against all odds, there was enough signatures, > e-mails > telegrams and phone calls within the last 24 > hours to > Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio to > persuade him > to introduce before the House of > Representatives in > Washington, D.C. a little known resolution that > deprives > the President of his authority to wage war, by > returning > war powers to Congress. However, we must now > persuade > Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert that there > is a growing > consensus if not a plurality to mandate the > resolution for a > House ballot. > Therefore, please take a moment to e-mail > Speaker Hastert by > simply saying, "I am in favor of introducing HJ > Resolution > 20 > for a vote."( See below.) > And then please follow up congress people and > senators. > Always include your address or they will > disregard the > email. > Speaker Hastert's e-mail: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ___ >Dear Speaker Dennis Hastert, >I am in favor of introducing HJ Resolution > 20 for a > vote. >Sincerely, > > Please do this NOW. And please forward to > Every other concerned citizen you know. > > > > > = \\-->@.@<--// "Jamie C." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sign up for my Chicagoland Ghost Mailing List http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/ChicagolandGhostClub Jamie's Chicagoland Ghost Web Page http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shadowlands/2007 \\-->@.@<--// __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - File online, calculators, forms, and more http://tax.yahoo.com Yahoo! Groups Sponsor -~--> FREE Cell Phones with up to $400 Cash Back! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_bBUKB/vYxFAA/i5gGAA/6cWolB/TM -~-> pagans4peace Discussion * Sharing * Informing * Action * Humour * Friendship This group is relatively unmoderated: make it your own, and please invite and welcome new members. Join at our homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pagans4peace -- we can all make use of its Files, Photos, Links, Chat Room, Calendar etc We are a group for discussing and posting information on peace and Nature-based spirituality, with activism for peace a main concern. We don't expect members to 'clean up' their language, but civility towards fellow members is insisted upon. Please be tolerant of the spiritual paths of others at all times, as we are diverse in our beliefs. How can a member help this e-list? http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/help.html Discussion on these topics is encouraged; chat is best moved to our Chat Room http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pagans4peace/chat or offlist between members. Sign the pagans4peace GuestMap and show us where you are from on Planet Earth: http://pub28.bravenet.com/guestmap/view.php?usernum= 2404280650 1,000+ peace site URLs in Files http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pagans4peace/files/Lists%20of% 20URLs/peace_groups.doc To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ End of forwarded message Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are
[CTRL] Old News to "Old" Europe
-Caveat Lector- >>>Isn't it in some religious text that these fundies adhere to that says people should respect their elders opinions (but not repeat their mistakes)? It may be time for their readin', ritin' and recognition. A<:>E<:> R <<< http://www.gvnews.net/html/Opinion/abs993.html Op-Ed Ignore German History at Your Own Peril By Thom Hartmann GVNews.Net Crisis Capsule They say that those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. Germans today remember the events and the lessons of 70 years ago when democracy failed. Will Americans pay heed? NEW YORK, Mar 28, 2003 -- The 70th anniversary wasn't noticed in the United States, and was barely reported in the corporate media. But the Germans remembered well that fateful day seventy years ago - February 27, 1933. They commemorated the anniversary by joining in demonstrations for peace that mobilized citizens all across the world. It started when the government, in the midst of a worldwide economic crisis, received reports of an imminent terrorist attack. A foreign ideologue had launched feeble attacks on a few famous buildings, but the media largely ignored his relatively small efforts. The intelligence services knew, however, that the odds were he would eventually succeed. (Historians are still arguing whether or not rogue elements in the intelligence service helped the terrorist; the most recent research implies they did not.) But the warnings of investigators were ignored at the highest levels, in part because the government was distracted; the man who claimed to be the nation's leader had not been elected by a majority vote and the majority of citizens claimed he had no right to the powers he coveted. He was a simpleton, some said, a cartoon character of a man who saw things in black-and-white terms and didn't have the intellect to understand the subtleties of running a nation in a complex and internationalist world. His coarse use of language - reflecting his political roots in a southernmost state - and his simplistic and often-inflammatory nationalistic rhetoric offended the aristocrats, foreign leaders, and the well-educated elite in the government and media. And, as a young man, he'd joined a secret society with an occult- sounding name and bizarre initiation rituals that involved skulls and human bones. Nonetheless, he knew the terrorist was going to strike (although he didn't know where or when), and he had already considered his response. When an aide brought him word that the nation's most prestigious building was ablaze, he verified it was the terrorist who had struck and then rushed to the scene and called a press conference. "You are now witnessing the beginning of a great epoch in history," he proclaimed, standing in front of the burned-out building, surrounded by national media. "This fire," he said, his voice trembling with emotion, "is the beginning." He used the occasion - "a sign from God," he called it - to declare an all-out war on terrorism and its ideological sponsors, a people, he said, who traced their origins to the Middle East and found motivation for their evil deeds in their religion. Two weeks later, the first detention center for terrorists was built in Oranianberg to hold the first suspected allies of the infamous terrorist. In a national outburst of patriotism, the leader's flag was everywhere, even printed large in newspapers suitable for window display. Within four weeks of the terrorist attack, the nation's now- popular leader had pushed through legislation - in the name of combating terrorism and fighting the philosophy he said spawned it - that suspended constitutional guarantees of free speech, privacy, and habeas corpus. Police could now intercept mail and wiretap phones; suspected terrorists could be imprisoned without specific charges and without access to their lawyers; police could sneak into people's homes without warrants if the cases involved terrorism. To get his patriotic "Decree on the Protection of People and State" passed over the objections of concerned legislators and civil libertarians, he agreed to put a 4-year sunset provision on it: if the national emergency provoked by the terrorist attack was over by then, the freedoms and rights would be returned to the people, and the police agencies would be re-restrained. Legislators would later say they hadn't had time to read the bill before voting on it. Immediately after passage of the anti-terrorism act, his federal police agencies stepped up their program of arresting suspicious persons and holding them without access to lawyers or courts. In the first year only a few hundred were interred, and those who objected were largely ignored by the mainstream press, which was afraid to offend and thus lose access to a leader with such high popularity ratings. Citizens who protested the leader in public - and there were many - quickly found themselves confronting the newly empowered police's batons, gas, and jail cells
[CTRL] This is not to be won on the battlefield.
-Caveat Lector- http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030403-024040-6730r U.S.: Iran will infiltrate 5 Iraqi cities By Eli J. Lake UPI State Department Correspondent >From the International Desk Published 4/3/2003 3:28 PM View printer-friendly version WASHINGTON, April 3 (UPI) -- Iran's senior leadership decided last month to send irregular paramilitary units across their border with Iraq to harass American soldiers once Saddam Hussein's regime fell, according to U.S. intelligence reports. On March 24, a U.S. intelligence agency issued a "spot report" to a wide range of senior U.S. officials detailing conversations in a meeting of the Islamic Republic's top leadership in the equivalent of the U.S. National Security Council. The council, which is working on Iran's post-conflict strategy, includes Iranian President Mohammed Khatami and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei. "This confirmed all of our suspicions that the Iranians are not our friends and not for peace in the region. They are in fact for a piece of the region," one U.S. intelligence official told United Press International. This official said the units would target the Iraqi cities of al-Najaf and Karbala, the two places in Iraq considered holiest by the country's Shiite minority. But also targeted would be Baghdad, where several hundred thousand Iraqi Shiites live in the suburb known as Saddam City, as well as Basra and the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk. "They were saying we have to be careful ultimately in the battle for Iraq. This is not to be won on the battlefield. Remember the tactics we need are direct confrontation we must raise the cost of occupation," this official said recounting the conversation detailed in the March 24 intelligence report. Adding to American concerns, previous CIA reports on Iran claim that the country's Revolutionary Guard has procured several Saudi and Kuwaiti military uniforms, a tactic another intelligence official said was meant to cause confusion on the battlefield. The explosive intelligence from March 24 also confirmed the failure of U.S. and British diplomatic efforts in the last three months to convince Iran to remain neutral in the current conflict. On the weekend of March 16 the U.S. special envoy to the Iraqi opposition met with Iranian diplomats in Geneva, under the auspices of a U.N. grouping to discuss Afghanistan, to firm up an agreement from Tehran not to send proxy forces over their border or attempt to send agent provocateurs into Iraq during or after the conflict. The private statements from last month's meeting follow with many of the public statements from Iran's senior leaders in the run up to Operation Iraqi Freedom. On March 14 Hujjat al-Islam Hassan Rowhani, Iran's national security adviser, warned ominously in a public statement that there will be no "happy ending to the way the Americans have chosen" for their occupation of Iraq. "The U.S. presence in the Middle East is worse than Saddam's weapons of mass destruction," Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former Iranian president and current chairman of the country's powerful expediency board, said on Feb. 7. The intelligence has already hardened America's public reaction to Iran's intentions in the war. On March 28, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld opened his news briefing with a stark warning to the Baddr Brigades, the military wing of an Iranian opposition group that he said was "equipped and directed" by Iran's Revolutionary Guards. "The entrance into Iraq by military forces, intelligence personnel, or proxies not under the direct operational control of (Central Command Chairman) Gen. Franks will be taken as a potential threat to coalition forces," Rumsfeld said. He added that the United States would hold the Iranian government responsible for the actions of the Badr Brigades. Two days earlier when Secretary of State Colin Powell was asked whether Iranian proxies were becoming a problem for U.S. forces in the Iraq campaign, he said, "Not yet." Copyright © 2001-2003 United Press International Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The B
Re: [CTRL] War Strains
-Caveat Lector- 4/3/2003 8:03:44 AM, Prudy L <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This whole column is a joke. Not falling for the sympathy sympatico symbiotic sympletonic? This reminds me of the old images of LBJ displaying his scar ... or better yet, Dicky Trick with 'Checkers' ... or Ford tripping the light fantastic ... A<:>E<:>R http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] On the Beat
-Caveat Lector- >>>Now THIS is how you treat journalists from the country that hosted your war council ... A<:>E<:>R <<< http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=24644 Arab News SAUDI ARABIA'S FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY Exclusive: Western Journalists Beaten, Starved by Americans Essam Al-Ghalib, Arab News War Correspondent Published on Thursday, April 03, 2003 KUWAIT CITY, 3 April 2003 — Two Western journalists have arrived safely back in Kuwait City after being arrested, beaten up and deprived of food and water in Iraq — by members of the US Army’s military police. Arab News has learned that Luis Castro and Victor Silva, both reporters working for RTP Portuguese television, were held for four days, had their equipment, vehicle and video tapes confiscated, and were then escorted out of Iraq by the 101st Airborne Division. Despite possessing the proper “Unilateral Journalist” accreditation issued by the Coalition Forces Central Command, both journalists were detained. Their ordeal at the hands of the Americans is in stark contrast to that received by Newsday journalists in Baghdad, who yesterday in Jordan described as “humane” their treatment at the hands of their Iraqi interrogators despite suffering various indignities. “I have covered 10 wars in the past six years — in Angola, Afghanistan, Zaire, and East Timor. I have been arrested three times in Africa, but have never been subjected to such treatment or been physically beaten before,” Castro said in an exclusive interview with Arab News. “The Americans call themselves liberators and freedom fighters, but look what they have done to us,” he added. Castro and Silva entered Iraq 10 days ago. They had been to Umm Qasr and Basra and were traveling to Najaf when they were stopped by the military police. According to Castro, their accredited identification was checked and they were given the all clear to proceed. “Suddenly, for no reason, the situation changed,” Castro told Arab News. “We were ordered down on the ground by the soldiers. They stepped on our hands and backs and handcuffed us. “We were put in our own car. The soldiers used our satellite phones to call their families at home. I begged them to allow me to use my own phone to call my family, but they refused. When I protested, they pushed me to the ground and kicked me in the ribs and legs.” “I believe the reason we were detained was because we are not embedded with the US forces,” he continued. “Embedded journalists are always escorted by military minders. What they write is controlled and, through them, the military feeds its own version of the facts to the world. When independent journalists such as us come around, we pose a threat because they cannot control what we write.” After being held for four days, they were transported to the 101st Airborne Division to be escorted out of Iraq. Castro told Arab News: “A lieutenant in charge of the military police told me, ‘My men are like dogs, they are trained only to attack, please try to understand’.” The journalists were then transported by truck to Camp Udairi to await a helicopter transfer out of Iraq. At Camp Udairi, they told their stories to members of the US Marines. One soldier, who Castro asked not be identified, wrote out a note, which was shown to Arab News. The note said: “I am so sorry that you had to endure such bad conditions, but remember that I care and pray you can forgive.” “The Americans in Iraq are totally crazy and are afraid of everything that moves. I would have expected this to happen to us at the hands of the Iraqis, but not at the hands of the Americans. This is typical of the American attitude, as related to us by British forces. The attitude is ‘shoot first and ask questions later’”, Castro added. Castro, a veteran journalist, has had all his tapes and equipment returned to him, but not his jeep. When asked by Arab News what he intends to do next, he replied: “Return to Iraq as soon as possible to tell the truth to the world about what is happening there.” Copyright © 2003 ArabNews All Rights Reserved. Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and
[CTRL] SwissAir 111
-Caveat Lector- >>>For those of us who are CBC-endowed, here's a program that might be worth watching on SwissAir 111's demise and investigation. A<:>E<:>R <<< http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/swissair.html On the evening of September 2, 1998, a Swissair MD-11 left New York bound for Geneva. There were 229 people on the plane. A little less than an hour into the flight, the pilots smelled smoke. As a precaution, they decided to divert to Halifax. About twenty minutes later, the plane crashed into the ocean, about eight kilometres off of Peggy's Cove. It shattered into about two million pieces. There were no survivors. "The Investigation of Swissair 111" follows the inside story of a four and a half year inquiry into what went wrong. The airplane's black boxes stopped functioning about six minutes prior to impact, leaving Canada's air crash detectives with a gaping evidence hole. Coupled with the fact that the aircraft lay in small pieces 55 metres below the surface of the ocean, this would be one of the most complex crash investigations ever. "The Investigation of Swissair 111" follows, in intimate detail, the work, lives and struggles of this team of crash sleuths, as they try to learn, through the tragedy, how air travel can be made even safer than it already is. The film is directed and written by Halifax-native, Howard Green, and is a co-production between CBC-TV's "The Nature of Things" and Swiss National Television. It will air at 8 p.m., Thursday, April 3, 2003. The Executive Producer of "The Nature of Things" is Michael Allder. Visit CBC News online for up-to-date information regarding the investigation of Swissair 111. Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] BILLBOARD
-Caveat Lector- http://www.billboard.com/bb/charts/country.jsp Ah, just like the Beatles ... burned broken black bundled bubblegum vinyl turns into great success at No. 1. A<:>E<:>R http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Little Black Face
-Caveat Lector- http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/beary3.html Little Black Face by Kevin Beary Little Black Face (Facietta Nera) is the song emblematic of the Italian fascist era. Singing it even facetiously at a soiree in Italy today can get one thrown out of the house mighty fast. The song refers to the Italian conquest of Ethiopia (Abyssinia) in 1935-36. Yet many of the sentiments expressed in the song are enjoying new currency in Washington these days: If from the heights, you watch the sea, O little darky, slave among slaves, You’ll see, dreamlike, many ships approach, And a flag that billows o’er the waves. Little black face, wait and hope, For the hour nears, beautiful Abyssinian, Once we have reached you and stand at your side, A new law you’ll have, and a brand-new king. We are merely the slaves of love, And our watchwords are Duty and Freedom! Our Pillars of Righteousness we shall avenge, Which falling, have freed you from serfdom. Little black face, petite Abyssinian, We’ll bring you, free at last, to Rome; Then you too shall wear our homeland’s garb, You too shall be kissed by our golden sun. Little black face, you’ll Roman be, And our proud flag your own will be. And proudly together we’ll march and sing, Before the Duce, before the King! Although the neocons have characterized the Iraq war as one to bring freedom and democracy to that country, American singers pushing the war focus on revenge for the putative Iraqi attack on the World Trade Center rather than on bringing freedom to the Iraqi people. Darryl Worley, in his Have You Forgotten?, meditates thus: I hear people saying we don't need this war – I say there's some things worth fighting for And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout bin Laden. Have you forgotten?... Some say this country's just out looking for a fight – After 9/11, man, I'd have to say that's right. Clint Black expresses similar sentiments in his I Raq and Roll: I pray for peace, prepare for war and I never will forget... This terror isn't man to man, they can be no more than cowards... Now it might be a smart bomb, they find stupid people too. If you stand with the likes of Saddam, well, one might just find you. These singers are obviously more sincere than the neocons whose war they are promoting. Sincere but misinformed. For no plausible evidence of a link between Saddam Hussein and the attack on the World Trade Center has ever been produced. But as Joe Sobran explained recently in his essay What Happened to the War on Terrorism?: "American people aren’t in the mood for yet another war. So the trick was to convert the shock of 9/11 into war fever, then to redirect it at Iraq by ‘linking’ Saddam Hussein to ‘terrorism.’ This required some slippery semantics and a lot of propaganda – which is mostly sheer repetition of nonsense until resistance is worn down, and logic surrenders." Leaving aside the differences between the songs pertaining to the two wars, there are many similarities between America’s invasion of Iraq and Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia, as can be seen by reading Denis Mack Smith’s critical biography of Mussolini: "As [Mussolini’s] military preparations became more obvious, further private messages were sent from London to warn him that, since Ethiopia was willing to accept arbitration, Italy’s bullying of a much weaker country would alienate potential friends... "Mussolini was not the man to be moved by such arguments and made clear that, if thwarted, he would leave the League [of Nations] never to return; he hoped...that in the last resort, most English people except ‘pacifists and old ladies’ would accept if not actively support Italian imperialism. In any case, he added, the hostility of world opinion meant nothing to him. He had already spent vast sums in preparation for this colonial war and ‘intended to give Italy a return for his investment.’... "In public he listed ninety-one examples of Ethiopian ‘aggression’ and claimed that he was just exercising the right to self-defense "[But p]ublic opinion in the world at large was building up against someone who, by challenging the League and destroying the idea of collective security, was demolishing the illusions of a whole generation "Mussolini," however, "‘was living in isolation, within four walls, seeing and hearing nothing of reality...surrounded only by flatterers who told him merely what he wanted to hear.’" Of course, the comparison of Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia and Bush’s invasion of Iraq holds up only to a certain point. Unlike Mussolini, Bush possesses an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. Given that Defense Secretary Rumsfeld has refused to rule out the use of nuclear arms, if conventional weapons are insufficient to defeat the Iraqi military and irregulars and American casualties reach a level unacceptable to the American people, low-intensity nuclear weapons could be used to selectively target objectives in Iraq, and if necessary, in Syria and Iran. All o
[CTRL] the origin of the Peace Symbol (not a B-52 after all)
-Caveat Lector- http://www.peacesymbol.org/peacesymbol.htm the origin of the Peace Symbol A history of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) logo One of the most widely known symbols in the world, in Britain it is recognised as standing for nuclear disarmament – and in particular as the logo of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). In the United States and much of the rest of the world it is known more broadly as the peace symbol. It was designed in 1958 by Gerald Holtom, a professional designer and artist and a graduate of the Royal College of Arts. He showed his preliminary sketches to a small group of people in the Peace News office in North London and to the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War, one of several smaller organisations that came together to set up CND. The Direct Action Committee had already planned what was to be the first major anti- nuclear march, from London to Aldermaston, where British nuclear weapons were and still are manufactured. It was on that march, over the 1958 Easter weekend that the symbol first appeared in public. Five hundred cardboard lollipops on sticks were produced. Half were black on white and half white on green. Just as the church’s liturgical colours change over Easter, so the colours were to change, “from Winter to Spring, from Death to Life.” Black and white would be displayed on Good Friday and Saturday, green and white on Easter Sunday and Monday. The first badges were made by Eric Austin of Kensington CND using white clay with the symbol painted black. Again there was a conscious symbolism . They were distributed with a note explaining that in the event of a nuclear war, these fired pottery badges would be among the few human artifacts to survive the nuclear inferno. These early ceramic badges can still be found and one, lent by CND, was included in the Imperial War Museum’s 1999/2000 exhibition From the Bomb to the Beatles. What does it mean? Gerald Holtom, a conscientious objector who had worked on a farm in Norfolk during the Second World War, explained that the symbol incorporated the semaphore letters N(uclear) and D(isarmament). He later wrote to Hugh Brock, editor of Peace News, explaining the genesis of his idea in greater, more personal depth: I was in despair. Deep despair. I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards in the manner of Goya’s peasant before the firing squad. I formalised the drawing into a line and put a circle round it. Eric Austin added his own interpretation of the design: "the gesture of despair had long been associated with the death of Man and the circle with the unborn child." Gerald Holtom had originally considered using the Christian cross symbol within a circle as the motif for the march but various priests he had approached with the suggestion were not happy at the idea of using the cross on a protest march. Later, ironically, Christian CND were to use the symbol with the central stroke extended upwards to form the upright of a cross. This adaptation of the design was only one of many subsequently invented by various groups within CND and for specific occasions – with a cross below as a women’s symbol, with a daffodil or a thistle incorporated by CND Cymru and Scottish CND, with little legs for a sponsored walk etc. Whether Gerald Holtom would have approved of some of the more light- hearted versions is open to doubt. The symbol almost at once crossed the Atlantic. Bayard Rustin, a close associate of Martin Luther King had come over from the US in order to take part in that first Aldermaston March. He took the symbol back to the United States where it was used on civil rights marches. Later it appeared on anti-Vietnam War demonstrations and was even seen daubed in protest on their helmets by American GIs. Simpler to draw than the Picasso peace dove, it became known, first in the US and then round the world as the peace symbol. It appeared on the walls of Prague when the Soviet tanks invaded in 1968, on the Berlin Wall, in Sarajevo and Belgrade, on the graves of the victims of military dictators from the Greek Colonels to the Argentinian junta, and most recently in East Timor. There have been claims that the symbol has older, occult or anti-Christian associations. In South Africa, under the apartheid regime, there was an official attempt to ban it. Various far-right and fundamentalist American groups have also spread the idea of Satanic associations or condemned it as a Communist sign. However the origins and the ideas behind the symbol have been clearly described, both in letters and in interviews, by Gerald Holtom and his original, first sketches are now on display as part of the Commonweal Collection in Bradford. Although specifically designed for the anti- nuclear movement it has quite deliberately never been copyrighted. No one has to pay or to seek permission before they use it. A symbol of freedom, it is free for all.
[CTRL] Prayers for the Preyers
-Caveat Lector-
http://www.presidentialprayerteam.org/index.htm
"People across this country are praying. They are praying that they hope
those families and loved ones will find comfort and grace in their sorrow.
We pray that God will bless and receive each of the fallen, and we thank
God that liberty found such brave defenders."
--President George W. Bush
PRESIDENTIAL PRAYER REQUESTS FOR
MARCH 27, 2003
Pray for the President and his cabinet as they continue to work with the
military advisors monitoring "Operation Iraqi Freedom." Pray for wisdom and
guidance from God's hand, and that all information and intelligence they
receive will be accurate, timely and strategic.
President Bush shakes hands with soldiers after a meeting at the Pentagon.
Photo courtesy of the White House.
Pray for the protection, health and speedy release of the POWs who have
been captured. Also for them to sense the nearness and comfort of God.
Pray for the protection of the MIAs, that they will be quickly accounted
for.
Pray for the families of the POWs, MIAs and those who have lost their lives
in the conflict so far, that God will comfort them and the entire nation will
show their gratitude for the sacrifice and service of their children, as well
as being aware of the millions of Americans who are upholding them in
prayer.
Continue to pray for the leaders of the Iraqi military efforts, that they will
choose to surrender, minimizing the loss of life in this conflict.
Pray for the safety of the seamen who are charged with the responsibility
of clearing the Umm Qasr harbor of mines so that humanitarian relief can
be delivered to the Iraqi people.
Pray for the President as he meets with President Musharraf of Pakistan on
Friday, March 28. The leaders will discuss a variety of issues, particularly
their cooperation in the war on terror. Also, on Wednesday, April 2, the
President will host Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines for a State
Visit at the White House. The two leaders will also discuss their common
efforts against terror attacks, as well as efforts to bring economic reform
and alleviate poverty in the Philippines.
Give thanks for the safe return of the 14-year-old Michigan girl, Lindsey
Ryan, who had been missing since March 1. Lindsey was found on March
24. Thank God for His watchful care over this young woman, and for the
many answered prayers on her behalf.
Pray that America will be turned back to faith and trust in God.
ADDITIONAL LEADERS TO PRAY FOR THIS WEEK
Photo of Colin Powell courtesy of the White House.
Secretary of State
Colin Powell
Attorney General
John Ashcroft
Director of the Secret Service
Brian L. Stafford
White House Chief of Staff
Andrew Card
>>>I'm confused ... I don't read in any part of the "Bible" about starting
wars (but I do recall "blessed are the peacemakers [not 'warmakers']") ...
I'm wondering if this is W assuming some role as the emissary of the divinity
("the Gospel according to W(ehrmachter)" ... if "praying for " is supposed
to be "preying on" ... now, don't get me wrong: I'm at one with the military
but I don't try to contrue their purpose as being in concert with some
man-made, -inspired, or -interpreted religious doctrine ... I think if the
Nazarene had any political aspirations for his followers, he'd have laid out
the plan a little bit more clearly. A<:>E<:>R <<<
Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article
have to stand on their own merits.
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material
is distributed without charge or profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information
for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do
not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera-
tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and
rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is
written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on
the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after
careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with
reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all.
Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief,
from the Kalama Sutra
http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need no
[CTRL] Hole in Head ... er ... One Team
-Caveat Lector- http://www.presidentialprayerteam.org/golf/ http://www.presidentialprayerteam.org/golf/viewincentives.php Welcome and Instructions for Golfers and Walkers John Lind Executive Director This event in ten cities is to honor the brave men and women who are defending our nation's freedom. It is also a way to bring much needed funds to the operation of The Presidential Prayer Team. Participants in either the prayer walk or golf portion of the event are asked to obtain sponsors - friends, relatives, church members. All the materials you need to sign up sponsors, as well as a sign-up section on our website, will be provided. Each golf event will feature a $1 Million Hole-in-One Contest, along with other prizes (See Prizes for fund-raising). It includes lunch with some of the influential leaders and Honorary Committee Members of The Presidential Prayer Team. All golf and prayer walk participants receive a wide array of gifts (See Gifts). Increased funding is vital to launching a prayer campaign on over 1,200 radio outlets. This campaign emphasizes the importance of prayer in turning the hearts of our leaders and nation back toward God and brings great awareness of these issues to literally thousands of communities across the U.S. Because space is limited for this event, we encourage you to sign up today. If you cannot participate at this time, but would like to contribute to the work of The Presidential Prayer Team, you may do so by clicking here to donate. Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] UK will not attack
-Caveat Lector- 11.15am update http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12956,928010,00.html Straw: UK will not attack Syria or Iran Staff and agencies Wednesday April 2, 2003 The Guardian Britain would have "nothing whatever" to do with military action against Syria or Iran, the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, signalled today. Mr Straw's comments will be seen as an attempt to ensure that speculation about an Anglo-American attack on the two countries is quashed ahead of his meeting with EU foreign ministers tomorrow. The US president, George Bush, has previously identified Iran as part of the so-called "axis of evil", while America's defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, recently accused Syria of supplying military equipment to Iraq and threatened to hold it to account for its actions. In contrast, the government has made efforts to improve relations with Syria and Iran. Mr Straw has visited Iran on a number of occasions and the prime minister has visited Syria. Interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Straw described Iran as "a completely different country and situation from Iraq". "Iran is an emerging democracy and there would be no case whatsoever for taking any kind of action." "We have had good cooperation from the Iranian government," he added. "The Iranians have more reason to know of the terror imposed by Saddam Hussein, not just on his own people but on other peoples in the region, than almost any other country including Kuwait." Regarding Syria, Mr Straw said "we have worked hard to try to improve relations". But he went on: "That said, it is important that Syria ensures that its territory is not used as a conduit for military supplies to the government of Iraq, and I hope that they are not doing so." Asked whether he was worried that an impression was being created that Syria and Iran were next in line behind Iraq, Mr Straw replied: "it would worry me if it were true. It is not true, and we would have nothing whatever to do with an approach like that." Mr Straw is in Berlin today, and Brussels tomorrow, on a diplomatic mission to sell the government's plans for a UN-sponsored conference to decide upon Iraq's postwar future and to repair relations damaged by Britain and America's march to war. The government hopes the conference would open during the period of post-conflict American military rule and would follow the model set by the Afghanistan conference in Bonn which preceded the formation of a post- Taliban government. Yesterday, Mr Straw described the conference's goal as "to place responsibility for decisions about Iraq's political and economic future firmly in the hands of the Iraqi people". It is hoped that all the Iraqi anti-Ba'athist political groups would attend. Washington hawks are known to be unimpressed by the idea, especially the prospect of giving dovish security council members like France and Germany a say in Iraq's future. European leaders are also believed to sceptical about contributing to the cost of rebuilding a country that America and Britain have destroyed. Today Mr Straw is having dinner with Germany's foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, who chaired the Afghanistan conference but has been bitterly critical of the present war. Tomorrow, the foreign secretary is in Brussels for a meeting of Nato's North Atlantic council, followed by a working lunch for foreign ministers of Nato and EU states and meeting with the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, and Russia's foreign minister, Igor Ivanov. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of tim
[CTRL] Desert (out) Fox-ing
-Caveat Lector- Wed 2 Apr 2003 http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=386382003 Revisiting Rommel's nightmare over supply lines PAUL GALLAGHER DESERT warfare was described by Erwin Rommel, the Second World War German commander, as a "logistician’s nightmare". Sixty years on, leaders of the hi-tech forces in the Gulf face even greater strategic challenges. The rapid advance of United States troops towards Baghdad has left behind a 300-mile supply line winding south to the food, fuel and water depots in Kuwait. Protecting convoys of "beans, bullets and black oil" for the troops at advanced positions south of Baghdad has become a critical element in the campaign. Iraq’s information minister, Mohamed Said al-Sahaf, immediately identified the snaking supply convoys as the weakest link in the invasion force and said his country’s troops would "cut up the boa constrictor". Within 24 hours, the first US casualties of the war were shown on al- Jazeera television - members of a supply convoy ambushed at An Nasiriyah after straying from a main road. British forces fighting around Basra, about 20 miles from the Kuwaiti border, have not encountered too many logistical problems but journalists embedded with advanced US positions further north tell a different story. Some units have reported having to cut back their rations to one meal a day as they wait for supplies to reach them. The US Army 3rd Infantry Division claimed to be running low on food, fuel and water, and the 101st Airborne Division was short of AA batteries, vital for night vision equipment, radios and global positioning systems. The logistical operation in the Gulf is immense and the 120,000 US combat troops rely on a hidden army of 50,000 military personnel making sure they are adequately supplied. It is estimated that at least 5,000 fighting troops with Apache helicopter gunships will be needed just to defend the supply lines. For US forces, supplies are organised by Combat Service Support, which is operating about 10,000 five-tonne trucks in the Gulf. The fleets of helicopters, tanks and aircraft in the region consume an estimated 15 million gallons of fuel each day during combat operations, roughly the amount of fuel used daily in Florida. For the 90,000 troops now inside Iraq, the logistical teams must deliver 400,000 gallons of water a day, and there are 48 million MREs (meals ready to eat) stockpiled for consumption in the warehouses of Kuwait. All supplies are delivered on convoys of 20 to 30 trucks that can stretch along the road for more than a mile - every day of the war, there are more than 20 of these convoys on the move. The ten- tonne Heavy Expanded Military Tactical Truck can carry 11 tonnes of cargo and pull a further 11 tonnes on a trailer. The journey from Kuwait to the frontline should take about 18 hours but, because of the fighting and jams on the roads, it now takes about 24 hours to deliver supplies. Small supply depots, which are heavily guarded by razor wire and up to 200 troops, have been set up every 50 miles along the 300-mile route and they include forward helicopter re-fuelling stations. Larger supply depots have been set up at captured air bases, including one at Tallil, just outside An Nasiriyah. Major General Dennis Jackson, the director of logistics at US Central Command, said: "We try to think of everything, and then we think about what’s the thing we haven’t thought about." Lorry drivers are among the most vulnerable of all troops in the theatre of operations. During the 1991 Gulf war, more than half of US deaths were supply troops, mostly as the result of accidents. Delivering fuel is the greatest challenge, with the 3rd Infantry burning up to 750,000 gallons of diesel daily as it advances toward Baghdad. A single M1 Abrams tank consumes two gallons for every mile it travels. Tankers, with up to 7,500 gallons of fuel on board, are the vehicles most vulnerable to enemy attack and require constant protection. To try to combat this, a 100-mile fuel pipeline has been laid in Kuwait to reach the Iraqi border, and fuel stations are being set up further north inside Iraq. William Pagonis, a retired major-general who was in charge of the logistical operation to supply 500,000 troops during the first Gulf war, never saw his supply lines attacked by the retreating Iraqi army. But he said that, this time around, logistics have come to the fore. "For most tactical battles lost in world history, you will find logistics were the key to success and failure," he said. "Hitler lost the logistical war before the combat war." At US Central Command in Qatar, General Tommy Franks has played down talk of a logistical crisis. He admitted that distribution problems meant "some soldiers may not get their fair share on a given day" but insisted: "We have sufficient stocks, sufficient food, water and ammo." This article: http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=386382003 War with Iraq: http://www.news.scotsm
[CTRL] Biological Weapon? [See end]
-Caveat Lector- HEAT IN GULF TO ROCKET http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=12800128 &method=full&siteid=50143 Apr 2 2003 >From James Lyons In Kuwait AN intense heatwave with temperatures up to 41C (106F) will hit coalition troops in Iraq at the weekend. The first searing heat of its kind this season will see temperatures hit 38C (100F) by Friday, and peak Sunday, experts said. But military officials do not expect the weather to hamper operations. Analyst Thomas Withington, of the Centre for Defence Studies, at King's College, London, said: "It is going to get very hot but the British troops are trained to fight in these conditions." Weather experts say sandstorms which recently hit the country are unlikely to recur. Yesterday Unicef, the UN children's charity, warned cases of cholera had been reported in Basra. About half the 1.3 million people in Iraq's second largest city are without food and water. Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Bergs, Bricks, or Fools' ?
-Caveat Lector- http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/search/s_126234.html Neocons like Goldberg, Reiland are imperialists By Bill Ravotti Monday, March 31, 2003 National Review’s Jonah Goldberg and his neoconservative allies have not been shy about criticizing those on the Left who resort to character assassinations against their opponents in an effort to stifle debate. Yet, it is Goldberg & Co., whining like little schoolgirls, now are using the “anti- Semitic” card in an effort to intimidate those who dare question the influence of Israel on U.S. foreign policy. Goldberg has targeted four prominent Catholics — Robert Novak, Pat Buchanan, Chris Matthews, and Rep. James Moran (one can only imagine his private thoughts of the Pope) — who have suggested that one of the reasons the Bush administration has targeted Iraq is for the benefit of Israel’s security interests. Wherever one stands on this issue, it should at least be open for debate. While attacking all, Goldberg’s ire is directed most toward Buchanan and his so-called well- established “Jewish problem.” Goldberg charges Buchanan with blaming Jews for the war with Iraq with his attacks on “neoconservatives,” a phrase Goldberg described as a code word for “Jewish conservatives.” Goldberg is twisting words and facts to fit his own agenda. It is his blame game that is fact-free in an effort to demonize his opponents instead of debating them head on. To say one attacks neoconservatives because they are Jewish is false, and Goldberg knows this. Neoconservative is a term that has been used for some time, and it has never been used exclusively for “Jewish conservatives.” The most ardent may be evangelical Christians like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, and some are Catholics like William Bennett and Michael Novak — the designated ‘neocon theologian’ when needed to lecture Pope John Paul II on the Catholic definition of a just war. Newt Gingrich, a non-Jew, was the most visible spokesman before his own self- destruction, and the neocon strategy is often laid out in the pages of National Review and The Weekly Standard, whose columnist include both Jews and non-Jews. Yes, there are many neoconservative Jews (and non-Jews) inside and outside the Bush administration who, as Buchanan says, “harbor a passionate attachment to a nation not our own that causes them to subordinate the interests of their own country and to act on an assumption that, somehow, what’s good for Israel is good for America.” Richard Perle is the most passionate inside the administration and his ties to Israel have been well known for over 20 years. However, engaging Perle does not equate to blaming all Jews or a hatred of another country; rather, it represents a sincere conviction to the sovereignty of one’s own country, keeping the U.S. out of other peoples conflicts and putting the national interests of America First. What is so un-American about this and will the real "Blame America First" crowd stand up? It is also well known that Israel’s Ariel Sharon, for a variety of reasons, wanted this war with Iraq and wants the U.S. to disarm Iran, Syria, and Libya next. Fair enough, I don’t blame Sharon for wanting the U.S. to fight a war if he thinks it will benefit Israel. However, Sharon is not our commander and chief and our leaders should not be using U.S. foreign policy or troops for the national security of a foreign state, especially when it could be detrimental to us in the long run. Does Buchanan have a “Jewish problem”? Absolutely not. Does he have a “neoconservative problem”? You bet, and so do I. The neoconservatives are some of the most arrogant and power- hungry people around. Far from believing in liberation, they seek to conquer to rule. Norman Podhoretz, editor of Commentary, seeks an “imperial mission for America, whose purpose would be to oversee the emergence of successor governments in the region" and to “find the stomach to impose a new political culture on the defeated” Islamic world. Is this liberation? The neoconservatives have an utter disdain for the sovereignty of other nations and believe they have been granted the divine authority to utilize the U.S. military to tear down and recreate the Middle East in their own image, as some sort of utopian ‘yes-man’ democratic colony. William Bennett, a day after 9/11, wanted to invade Lebanon, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and China. Goldberg, who never got close to the military himself, thinks this of U.S. foreign policy, “Every 10 years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall just to show we mean business.” Some, including Trib columnist Ralph Reiland, have called for a “War of Civilization” between the Arab world and the U.S. and Israel with “Iraq as the first step.” Ironically, this is the same War of Civilization that al-Qaida’s bin Laden seeks. This neoconservative doctrine is an imperialistic recipe designed for disaster, and destined to lead America in
[CTRL] Discretion not part of the equation?
-Caveat Lector- http://www.hillnews.com/news/040203/guide.aspx APRIL 2, 2003 A ‘safe sex’ guide in House gym causes embarrassment By Sam Dealey An explicit guide to safe sex in the House gym that vividly describes sex acts illegal in 14 states is causing discomfort among some lawmakers. At least one piece of advice deals with the use of drugs that are illegal under federal and state laws. “Almost anything you want to do, you can probably do safely. Be creative, and have a healthy, safer sex life,” the how-to pamphlet says. Entitled “Good Sex is Safer Sex,” the publication was paid for by the D.C. Department of Human Services and sponsored by the Whitman-Walker Clinic Inc. It was brought to The Hill’s attention by an outraged lawmaker who sought to remain anonymous. “I was downstairs in the House gym using the phone, and during a break I just grabbed something to read,” the lawmaker said. “And I learned not to use a condom twice, among other things,” the offended representative said. The 400-word guide offers explicit guidance on such matters as foreplay, oral, vaginal and anal sex. It often employs vernacular language unsuitable for general publication. Many lawmakers were unaware of the pamphlet. But when they heard about it, nearly all who were contacted were united in their opprobrium. “If this is their best hit on safe sex and AIDS, it’s no wonder we have an epidemic,” said Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.). “Teaching children safe sex this way is about as effective as having a needle exchange program and saying you’re saving lives.” Among the tamer examples, readers are advised not to share “vibrators or other sex toys.” Of the 14 states that outlaw sodomy, 11 apply to both heterosexuals and homosexuals. Four apply only to homosexuals. The pamphlet includes explicit illustrations of the proper methods for putting on a condom and engaging in oral sex. The guide also contains a section addressing alcohol and drugs. “If you shoot drugs or steroids,” it advises, “never share your works (syringe, cookers, cotton, etc.). If you have to share your works, squirt bleach through the needle and syringe three times, then squirt water through it three times before you use it.” Rep. Michael Oxley (R-Ohio), who chairs the informal House gym committee, was unaware that the pamphlet is available in the facility until a reporter brought it to his attention. After briefly glancing at the guide, he declined to say whether it was appropriate material for the House gym. “It’s probably none of your business anyway,” Oxley said. House gym operations — the facility is also known as the Wellness Center —- fall under the jurisdiction of the Architect of the Capitol. “The pamphlet is one of a series of fifty different ones that were provided as a part of the Wellness Initiative,” said Eva Malecki, a spokeswoman for the architect’s office. “They provide information and educate members about various health issues. People can pick them up and browse through whatever topic they’re interested in, just like you would in your doctor’s office.” Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] ht
[CTRL] Scoop Real Deal Columnist Catherine Austin Fitts
-Caveat Lector- News http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0304/S00031.htm The Real Deal About Enron (Part 1) - Introduction Thursday, 3 April 2003, 12:42 pm Column: Catherine Austin Fitts Mapping the Real Deal… The Real Deal About Enron ... an interview with Scoop Real Deal Columnist Catherine Austin Fitts Part One Of Seven Parts By Daniel Armstrong* Originally Published By Sanders Research Associates [*Daniel Armstrong is a writer and novelist based in Eugene, Oregon. Mr. Armstrong is a graduate of Princeton University and attended the University of Oregon School of Journalism.] If my years working on the clean up of BCCI and the S&L crisis taught me one thing that I would communicate today to the shareholders, retirees and employees who have been harmed, it is this: people like those on the board of Enron absolutely make money from insider trading, bid rigging and fraud, and they do so with help from the highest levels. -- Catherine Austin Fitts. IMAGE: Enron - Click Through To Original Article What investment banker Catherine Austin Fitts invariably emphasizes in her discussion of global money flows is the extent to which criminal proceeds play a part in the real world economy. This should come as no surprise to anyone. Not after all America watched their pension funds stripped away, while dotcom CEO's pocketed millions of dollars in profits from stock market "pumpanddump'' schemes. Not after energy traders like Enron, Dynergy, and Reliant have been accused of using the California energy crisis to manipulate the market, causing vicious price hikes, rolling browns out and power shortages. No. In this past year, our naiveté and trust in Wall Street, perhaps the world in general, has collapsed much like the World Trade Center did that fateful September morning. The world really isn't any different, it's just that some of the veils have been shorn away, and longtime Wall Street insider Fitts figures there's no sense pretending innocence any longer. Tax evasion, insider trading, drugs sales, black budgets, and terrorism are a significant part of global economic dynamics. It's simply how the money works in a financial system where so-called creative accounting methods are as transparent as mud and money laundering is part of the quantum mechanics of financial law. "The Real Deal,'' as Fitts refers to her straighton analysis of money flows, "is that financial fraud, in all its wide variety of deceits, is the most profitable business on the planet today.'' Based on her eleven years experience on Wall Street and eight working with federal agencies cleaning up HUD and several large banking scandals, my guess is that Ms. Fitts knows what she's talking about. The United States Department of Justice estimates that $500 billion to $1 trillion in criminal proceeds are laundered annually worldwide. It may be twice that. And the Real Deal is you can't do accurate economics if this isn't accounted for. Sums this large--- hundreds of billions of dollars, says Fitts, can only be laundered into the system through Wall Street and the central banking system. Companies like WorldCom, Tyco, and Global Crossing. Banks like Citigroup, JP IMAGE: This is not Paul Volcker MorganChase and the New York Fed. This isn't wild talk. We've heard it all in the unraveling of the Enron web already. The largest banks do the largest business transactions and they are the only ones capable of disguising the underside of these vast financial flows. This is curious and profound commentary from a former Managing Director and board member for the elite New York investment firm Dillon Read, Inc. and onetime Assistant Secretary of HUD. When she looks at the Enron bankruptcy, with her BCCI and S&L cleanup experiences to draw upon, she aptly quotes Yogi Berra, not Paul Volcker, to describe what she sees: "It's déjà vu all over again.'' Catherine Austin Fitts began her career in 1978 at Dillon Read in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. Eight years later she became the firm's first woman Managing Director and board member. Her success raising capital for the renovation of New York's subway system, City University of New York, and several other major projects prompted Business Week to refer to her as a "Wonder Woman'' and generated a reputation in financial circles that she could fix anything. Fitts left Dillon Read in 1989 to join the first Bush Administration, working as Assistant Secretary to Jack Kemp at the Department of Housing and Urban Development with the task of "fixing'' HUD and the Federal Housing Administration and cleaning up the S&L scandals. In 1990, she was named to the Securities and Exchange Commission's Emerging Market Advisory Committee. A year later, President Clinton's Treasury Secretary Nicolas Brady and Chief of Staff John Sununu, asked her to be a governor on the Federal Reserve Board and a member of the board of Sallie Mae. This was heady stuff for a woman of forty. But she'd already started her
[CTRL] "War" Starr Dies
-Caveat Lector- http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/news/story/0,11711,928578,00.html Soul legend Edwin Starr dies aged 61 Rebecca Allison Thursday April 3, 2003 The Guardian Soul legend Edwin Starr died yesterday at the age of 61, his manager, Lilian Kyle, confirmed. The US-born star - known for his enduring hits War and Contact - is thought to have died of a heart attack. Starr had lived for many years in the UK and died at his home near Nottingham. Leading tributes last night, 70s rock star Suzi Quatro, who has known Starr since she was a teenager in Detroit, said: "He was the best. There was nobody better on stage and he was the nicest man you could ever wish to meet. We had been very close friends for many years and I'm just stunned by the news." The singer, who was born Charles Hatcher in Nashville, Tennessee, formed his first group, The Future Tones, in 1957. His biggest success came with his outspoken single War, a US number one in 1970 and number three in the UK. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Hill and Knowlton Alumnus
-Caveat Lector- http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/asdpa_bio.html Biography of Victoria Clarke Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Victoria Clarke was nominated by President George W. Bush to be the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs on April 5, 2001. She was confirmed by the Senate on May 17, 2001, and sworn in at a ceremony in the Pentagon on May 22, 2001. In this position, she is responsible for all matters relating to Department of Defense public information, internal information, community relations, information training, and audiovisual matters. Ms. Clarke comes to her position with extensive public policy experience in both government and the private sector. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Clarke was the general manager of the Washington, D.C. office of Hill and Knowlton, a global public relations and marketing firm. Previously, she was President of Bozell Eskew Advertising, a leading issue advocacy and corporate communications company. From 1993 to 1998, Clarke was Vice President for Public Affairs and Strategic Counsel for the National Cable Television Association. In 1992, Clarke served as Press Secretary for the re-election campaign of President George Bush. From 1989 to 1992, she was Assistant U.S. Trade Representative under Ambassador Carla Hills for Public Affairs and Private Sector Liaison. Previously, she served as press secretary to Congressman and then Senator John McCain. In 1982, Ms. Clarke was a press assistant to then Vice President George Bush. From 1979 to 1982, Ms. Clarke worked as an editorial assistant, photographer, and graphics editor for the Washington Star daily newspaper. Ms. Clarke holds a B.A. degree from George Washington University where she graduated in 1982. Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Four for Arafat
-Caveat Lector- Detentions http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,928469,00.html Freed journalists tell of eight-day Iraqi prison ordeal Tortures and beatings heard by four released from notorious jail after pleas for help to Vatican and Arafat Peter Beaumont in Amman Thursday April 3, 2003 The Guardian A group of western journalists held in a notorious Baghdad prison on suspicion of spying described yesterday how other prisoners were tortured and beaten in the corridors outside their cells. Matthew McAllester, a Briton employed by the US newspaper Newsday, described the terror of his eight days in Abu Ghraib prison just outside Baghdad, one of the biggest prison complexes in the Arab world. "There were beatings and torture going on outside our cells, in the corridor," McAllester said immediately after his release. He described hearing the screams of other prisoners being tortured and saw some with eyes and faces bloodied and swollen. "Other inmates hobbled around, apparently because the soles of their feet had been burned or otherwise injured. We thought we were going to be killed at any moment," McAllester said. McAllester, 33, and Moises Saman, 29, a photographer for Newsday, were picked up by Iraqi secret service agents nine days ago, with Molly Bingham, 34, a freelance US photographer, and Johan Rydeng Spanner, a Danish freelance photographer. McAllester and Saman were handcuffed and taken downstairs from their hotel room in the service elevator, and transported to Abu Ghraib prison just outside Baghdad. "We could hear screams, especially during the night," McAllester said yesterday. "The Iraqi prisoners were occupying the cells opposite us. We would hear them being taken to and from a session. "But I could hear them being beaten just yards away from where we were trying to sleep. It sounded as though some kind of implement was being used." At one stage, one of the Iraqis was in such pain after his "session" that a doctor was brought to see him. Bingham, who entered Iraq on a tourist visa a day before the US-led war began, described being approached in her hotel room by members of the special police, who asked to search all her equipment, before armed officers led her away at just after 4am. For McAllester and Saman the ordeal began about 1.30am on March 24. McAllester was about to file a story, and Saman was near the top of the Palestine hotel taking photographs as US warplanes bombed the capital. When he came back down to the room the two Newsday staffers were sharing, two Iraqi intelligence agents were sitting on one of the beds. The men were handcuffed and told they were being taken to Syria. Instead, they were taken to the jail. After being stripped and handed prison py jamas, they were given blankets and led to bare concrete cells where they were held during their interrogations. They were blindfolded at different periods. Bingham endured one interrogation blindfolded for the entire interview. McAllester said the authorities wanted him to sign a statement in Arabic, which he refused to do. Instead, he wrote one out in English saying in part that "I was not sent here by the CIA or the Pentagon and I'm not from any mission". "I was accused of being dishonest and the inter rogators implied my future depended on my becoming honest," McAllester said. The authorities wanted him to "come up with more information spontaneously without being asked". Although the journalists say they were not badly treated, McAllester re calls his guards joking to him: "We kill people." The release of the journalists, and a peace activist who had been held with them, came after frantic efforts by Newsday editors and prominent international figures and journalist advocacy groups. Newsday editors had contacted everyone from the Vatican to Iraq's ambassador to the UN and diplomats in the region and, through an intermediary, the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, whose intervention is understood to have been crucial in securing the release. McAllester added a note of caution: "We are free because we had the support of such a great network of people. There are Iraqis still in that prison who do not have that support." Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers
Re: [CTRL] [ctrl] Presidential Quarantine - Why Bush can't leave America -- and why that matters
-Caveat Lector- 4/2/2003 7:07:02 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Presidential Quarantine > Why Bush can't leave America -- and why that matters The larger question is: Why can't he go and speak in public to any and all Americans, and not just to the military bases and the American Legion / VFWs / AmVets groups? On military bases, it's against the law (or strong custom) to criticise or contradict the "boss". And the old-timers at (some of) the vets' groups are as involved in reminiscence as they are in reality news. A<:>E<:>R http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Fwd: SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome):
-Caveat Lector- --- Start of forwarded message --- SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome): A Great Global SCAM By Leonard G. Horowitz, D.M.D., M.A., M.P.H. Author of thirteen books including the national bestseller, Emerging Viruses: AIDS & Ebola—Nature, Accident or Intentional? and Death in the Air: Globalism, Terrorism and Toxic Warfare Abstract Rather than a public health emergency, the “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome,” generally called SARS, is best diagnosed as a “Sickening and Repulsive Scam.” This article argues that this unprecedented viral attack is, alternatively, an ingenious social experiment featuring institutionalized bioterrorism for widespread psycho-social control. The outcome of this experiment, whether it leads to population reduction or not, depends on you. Background You are about to read much neglected truths pertaining to this bizarre new pneumonia-like illness called SARS. Authorities explain this acronym for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome as simply the latest threat in an ongoing series of attacks on humanity by mysteriously mutating “super- germs.” Yet, a careful study of this multi-disciplinary subject reveals something amiss far more insidious and deadly than SARS. This spreading scourge of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome stretching from Asia to North America has all the earmarks of a novel social experiment in population manipulation aimed to culture the mass mind for the arrival of “the Big One”—a biological agent that will facilitate decimation of approximately a third to half of the world’s population, in keeping with current official population reduction objectives. Naturally you would be disinclined to believe the above sentence. Open- mindedness in this domain threatens exposure to a “Twilight Zone” of knowledge in which reality is far stranger than fiction. Your first instinct, therefore, might be to close this page in favor of the next SARS site that promises more of the standard treatments broadcast on every official news page and government report on this subject. But, if you choose to have your worldview shattered by considering the little known truths surrounding Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, then continue reading. . . . “No great epidemic has ever evolved divorced from major socio-political upheaval.” Leonard G. Horowitz, D.M.D., M.A., M.P.H. Emerging Viruses presentation, 1996 Introduction My name is Dr. Leonard Horowitz, and I will be your SARS tour guide on this website. As a Harvard graduate in public health, and expert in the fields of medical sociology, behavioral science, and emerging diseases, I am best known for my work exposing the man-made origin of HIV/AIDS in the national bestselling book, Emerging Viruses: AIDS & Ebola—Nature, Accident or Intentional? (Tetrahedron Press, 1998; 1-888-508-4787; http://www.healthyworlddistributing.com/detail.aspx?ID=4) This was my tenth book that American grassroots activists, medical physicians and scientists included, made a national bestseller. U.S. Government documents that I reprinted for the first time for the world to see were strong endorsements for this work. Included here are stunning and tragic contracts under which numerous AIDS-like and Ebola-like viruses were bioengineered by the U.S. Army’s 6th leading biological weapons contractor—Litton Bionetics—a medical subsidiary of the mega-military weapons cont! ractor called Litton Industries. You can get free information on this man- made vaccine-transmitted theory of AIDS at http://www.originofAIDS.com. Here I focus your attention on SARS, and what mainstream sources of information are withholding about this new pandemic. This narrative was written immediately following my return from Total Health 2003—an alternative medical conference in Toronto, Canada, held March 27-30, 2003. I landed in Toronto the day that SARS began dominating front page headlines in every major newspaper in the country. Five consecutive days of unprecedented media blitz in Canada’s largest city over the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome left the entire population frightened and bewildered. Having been well-trained in media health promotion and persuasion methods from my behavioral science studies at Harvard University, I concluded that something akin to a social experiment was underway. With SARS, people were being frightened beyond reason, I realized. The classic definition of phobia was being manifested on a social, if not global, scale. Surely the SARS death rate, approximately 3%, was insufficient cause for such widespread panic. The media successfully whipped the Canadian population into a trembling mass of masked and quarantined “sheeple.” Officials were forced to direct the closing of hospitals, restaurants, schools, and workplaces with only two deaths reported at the onset of the media onslaught. Within
[CTRL] AFI RESEARCH INTELL.BRIEFING
-Caveat Lector- http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2517.htm AFI RESEARCH INTELL.BRIEFING 2nd April 2003 - Christian-Zionist alliance carves up the Arab lands For fifty years the Zionists have occupied Palestinian lands and for more than 35 years the territory of Syria, Jordan and Egypt, while for long periods it maintained a military occupation of Southern Lebanon. Now the Arab nations must watch powerlessly as Israel's main supporter buys the unprincipled little Gulf Sheikdoms, bullies Saudi Arabia and invades Iraq. Egypt and the North African countries have been sidelined as much by their own lack of cohesion as by Washington's diplomatic offensive and both Syria and Iran are paralyzed with fear that they will be next on the target list. This now appears to be a very widely held view amongst the Arab masses, and perhaps more significantly there is a resigned acceptance that Arab Governments are incapable or unwilling to challenge this new threat to their ancient homelands, traditions and independence. To the majority of Muslims firmly committed to peace, prosperity and a better future for their children the thought of endless conflict is appalling. This said it is also being made quite clear to AFI Research by many Arab individuals and groups that they can no longer tolerate the humiliation and dishonour that they feel at their inability to either regain the lands lost to Israel or defend themselves against present American expansionist policies. The mood amongst middle ranking military and security personnel is particularly bitter and is a potential tinderbox for both their own Governments and Western interests throughout the region. Many in the business and professional communities rather surprisingly see little or no benefit to themselves or their nations economies from a growing US involvement in their affairs. Quite the reverse in fact as a significant proportion see themselves as mere supplicants looking from crumbs from their new imperial masters table. There is a legacy of growing hatred of the US and Britain Most disturbing however is the ground swell of openly expressed hatred of the United States and Britain amongst both religious and secular groups for what is widely perceived as a display of an arrogant disregard of Arab sovereignty, history and dignity. This is quite definitely being channelled into an enormous upsurge in monetary, physical and moral support for those who still appear capable of fighting back. Terrorist movements, freedom fighters or 'Gods Chosen ones', call them what they will, these groups are seen as the only Islamic option that can still strike fear in Washington and London. President Mubarak may have been underestimating the long term effect of the new Christian-Zionist crusade on the region when he claimed it would create a hundred new Bin Ladens. Al Qa'ida is and always was a grossly overrated organization. But it has been a useful media hype for the coverage of a far wider and more deadly Islamic movement controlled by Syria and Iran; financed by leading Saudi's and dissident Sheiks in the Gulf States and recruiting from many areas including Pakistan, Chechnya, Kosovo, Indonesia and the Muslim communities in the major Western nations. These are the groups that will gain enormously from Iraq's defeat. For to many in the Middle East, Saddam represents an Arab leader who has taken on the might of the worlds only superpower and fought with honour against overwhelming odds. America has managed to turn the tyrant of Baghdad into a potential Islamic hero for generations to come. All the propaganda that will pour forth from Washington and London in the aftermath of war will only serve to further convince those who were already believers and will in all probability fail to persuade anyone else of the justice of this war. America can and will achieve military dominance over the next couple of weeks, but what a pyrrhic victory it may turn out to be for both President Bush and Prime Minister Blair. The long term interests and security of the West and the United States in particular, will eventually be seen to have been gravely damaged by this war, but only once the euphoria and political posturing of victory over a relatively weak third world country has finally subsided. It is still a historical truth that 'in the long run meddlers in the Middle East only found trouble for their pains'. Washington is about to find out that this is likely to be their allotted fate as well. Richard M. Bennett Richard Bennett Media. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel/Fax: +44 (0) 1626 33 50 40 ~~~ Check out the websites at Freelance and Richard Bennett Media or see our entries in the latest Guardian Media Guide and Artists & Writers Yearbook Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expr
[CTRL] The Political Compass
-Caveat Lector- http://www.politicalcompass.org/ http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] The Oedipal struggle
-Caveat Lector- April 2, 2003 Warring Tribes, Here and There By MAUREEN DOWD http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/02/opinion/02DOWD.html ASHINGTON The president and his war council did not expect so much heavy guerrilla resistance in Iraq. And they really did not expect so much heavy guerrilla resistance at home. But you can't have transformation without provocation. This was a war designed to change the nature of American foreign policy, military policy and even the national character — flushing out ambivalence and embracing absolutism. As two members of the pre-emptive Bush doctrine's neo-con brain trust, Bill Kristol and Lawrence Kaplan, argued in a book-length call for battle, "The War Over Iraq": "Well, what is wrong with dominance, in the service of sound principles and high ideals?" So it should not be a surprise that the troubled opening phase of the war has exacerbated territorial and ideological fissures in the administration and the Republican Party. Democrats are muter than mute. But a dozen days of real war in the desert has turned the usually disciplined Bush crowd into a bunch of schismatics: there is internecine warfare between the "hold out a hand" Bush I team and the "back of the hand" Bush II team. There's a feud between Donald Rumsfeld and some of his generals and ex-generals, and animosity between the Pentagon — where Rummy, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle and Douglas Feith spin schemes for intimidating the world and remodeling the Middle East — and the State Department. Colin Powell and his deputies wince as old alliances shatter and the Arab world seethes, and mutter that there had to be a way to get rid of Saddam without making everyone on the planet despise America. The Washington Post reported on Monday that moderate Republicans were trying to do an intervention with the president to show him that hawks were giving him "bum advice." The article was clearly referring to the Bush I realpolitik crowd of James Baker, Brent Scowcroft, Lawrence Eagleburger and Mr. Powell and his acolytes at State. These pals of Poppy Bush are alarmed that the Hobbesian Dick Cheney — who has been down in his undisclosed locations reading books about how war is the natural state of mankind — the flamboyantly belligerent Rummy and the crusading neo-cons have mesmerized the president with their macho schemes. "There is a behind-the-scenes effort by former senior Republican government officials and party leaders to convince President Bush that the advice he has received from Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz . . . has been wrong and even dangerous to long-term U.S. national interests," The Post said. One former senior Republican official noted: "The only one who can reach the president is his father. But it is not timely yet to talk to him." This raised the odd specter of the president's being dragged off from running a war and taken to Kennebunkport for a Metternichian outing in the family cigarette boat. Mr. Scowcroft and Mr. Eagleburger could pin W. down while Bar steered and Poppy explained the facts of international life. The Oedipal struggle of the Bushes — a father who was an ambassador to the U.N. and an envoy to China, a globe-trotting vice president and an internationalist president, and a son who was a Texas governor with little knowledge of the world — was bound to be aggravated by an invasion of Iraq not sanctioned by the U.N. Here was a son acting to correct his father's "mistakes" in the first gulf war, when his father did not think he had made a mistake, but rather a great contribution to history. The neo-cons egged on 43 to war in Iraq by writing, as Mr. Kristol and Mr. Kaplan did, that 41's foreign policy was "defective" and that Bush senior had urged Iraqi Shiites and Kurds to revolt and then, afraid that Iraq would break up, turned "a blind eye" when they did that after the war and were slaughtered by Saddam. When the Iraqi Shiites did not greet U.S. soldiers with flowers and hugs last week, as the hawks had promised, the stung warriors once more blamed Bush 41. "We bear a certain responsibility for what we didn't do in 1991," a senior U.S. military commander at Central Command in Qatar told reporters. "We let them down once. We're not going to do it again." Bush 43 is busy trying to do something his dad thought he'd done. The title of Bush 41's book: "A World Transformed." Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company | Privacy Policy Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it
[CTRL] Gnats and Lions
-Caveat Lector- Posted on Wed, Apr. 02, 2003 http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/5540077.htm Lesson of Napoleon still valid: A gnat can beat the lion BY RON GROSSMAN Chicago Tribune CHICAGO - (KRT) - At the height of Napoleon's power, Europe lay at his feet. The French emperor could make and break kings as he pleased. But when he put his brother on the throne of Spain in 1808, the nation's unhappy peasants responded with a tactic that utterly baffled Napoleon, perhaps the greatest general in history. Small bands of lightly armed Spaniards fell upon French soldiers when and where least expected, then faded back into the countryside before a counterattack could be mounted. As a result, Napoleon was compelled to keep large forces tied down in Spain that he desperately needed elsewhere when his empire began to crumble. "The lion in the fable tormented to death by a gnat gives a true picture of the French army," observed a contemporary, the Abbe de Pradt. The Spanish word for war is guerra, and, in that language, guerrilla is a band that wages war. The term has been adopted by English to describe the kind of unconventional, hit-and-run warfare, and those who wage it, currently bedeviling U.S.-led forces in Iraq. It is a confounding form of warfare in which traditional military textbooks go out the window. It can transform the lesser armed into the more formidable force. Stunning battlefield success can leave the victor the more vulnerable. At the beginning of World War II, success was a German monopoly; the defeats belonged to the Russians. Josef Stalin's forces were ill-prepared, the Soviet dictator having purged most of the officer corps in paranoid fear of a military coup. He steadfastly refused to believe intelligence data that a German attack was imminent. Accordingly, Adolf Hitler's army quickly drove hundreds of miles into Russian territory, much as U.S. soldiers and Marines have in Iraq. --- But that left the Germans with hugely extended lines of supplies that Russian partisans began to harass - just as Iraq's Fedayeen Saddam are attacking American supply convoys. Frederick the Great of Prussia confronted similar difficulties trying to keep his cavalry supplied in the face of attacks by 18th Century Bohemian guerrillas. "Every bundle of hay cost blood," Frederick noted afterward. Military history shows that when a nation finds itself invaded by a more powerful one, two responses are possible. The invaders can be met in set battles, in which case the defenders most often go down to defeat. Or, they can realize that such is a losing strategy - as did Mao Tse-tung, the Chinese communist leader, while battling Japanese invaders during World War II. Mao set down his military philosophy in a few maxims: "The enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy camps, we harass; the enemy tires, we attack; the enemy retreats, we pursue." --- T.E. Lawrence, the famed Lawrence of Arabia, used that strategy during World War I. The British officer worked behind the lines stirring up an Arab resistance movement to the Turks. It bore postwar fruit in the creation of Arab states that eventually became independent, among them Iraq. "If we came as an army with banners," Lawrence said, he and the Arab tribesmen would surely be defeated. "Armies were like plants, immobile, firm-rooted, nourished through long stems to the head. We might be a vapor, blowing where we listed." Commanders facing guerrilla resistance often are unprepared by previous experience to know that winning battles doesn't necessarily end a war. The English found that when fighting the Welsh in the 12th century, reports a contemporary chronicler, Gerald of Wales. "Though defeated and put to flight one day," he noted of the Welsh, "they are ready to resume combat on the next, neither dejected by their loss, nor by their dishonor." The Pentagon's thinking was that Saddam Hussein's repressive regime would rob Iraqis of the will to fight. Yet repression can be trumped by patriotism when a people find themselves invaded. The Russians had suffered terribly under the Soviet regime. Yet they set those feelings aside when Stalin dropped the revolutionary propaganda and called upon them - using religious symbolism - to defend Mother Russia. Guerrillas don't win wars by defeating their opponents as conventional military forces do. They realize their job is to make the other side weary of a stalemated conflict. When the Viet Cong mounted their Tet offensive in 1968, they suffered tremendous casualties. By traditional military calculus, they lost. But they won the propaganda battle. Increasingly, the U.S. lost its taste for the Vietnam War and eventually withdrew its forces. As the American patriot Thomas Paine clearly recognized, when armies face guerrillas all bets are off. He was convinced that George Washington's lightly armed soldiers could defeat the British army, even though the Americans often couldn't stand up to their opponents in
[CTRL] War Strains
-Caveat Lector- http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-04-01-bush-cover_x.htm Strain of Iraq war showing on Bush, those who know him say By Judy Keen, USA TODAY WASHINGTON — The public face of President Bush at war is composed and controlled. On TV and in newspaper photos, he is sturdy and assured, usually surrounded by military personnel. But those choreographed glimpses of Bush's commander-in-chief persona don't tell the whole story. Behind the scenes, aides and friends say, the president's role is more complicated and his style more emotional. President Bush lowers his head and is joined by members of the military in prayer at MacDill Air Force Base last week. By Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP People who know Bush well say the strain of war is palpable. He rarely jokes with staffers these days and occasionally startles them with sarcastic putdowns. He's being hard on himself; he gave up sweets just before the war began. He's frustrated when armchair generals or members of his own team express doubts about U.S. military strategy. At the same time, some of his usual supporters are concerned by his insistence on sticking with the original war plan. Interviews with a dozen friends, advisers and top aides describe a man who feels he is being tested. As might be expected from loyal aides, they portray the president as steady, tough and up to the task, someone whose usual cheer has shifted to a more serious demeanor. Their observations yield a rare inside look at how the president functions in a crisis. Friends say the conflict is consuming Bush's days and weighing heavily on him. "He's got that steely-eyed look, but he is burdened," says a friend who has spent time with the president since the war began. "You can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. I worry about him." Bush is juggling a lot more than projecting the image of a confident commander in chief. He's a prosecutor who quizzes military officials about their backup plans when things go awry on the battlefield. He's a critic who sees himself as the aggrieved victim of the news media and second- guessers. He's a cheerleader who encourages others not to lose faith in the war plan. He's a supervisor who manages the competing views and egos of top advisers. The president reads newspapers first thing in the morning, flipping through some of them while he's still in the White House residence instead of waiting for clippings assembled by aides. Through the day, he regularly watches war coverage on the nearest TV, which is in the private dining room next to the Oval Office. He knows when heavy bombardments of Baghdad are scheduled and sometimes tunes in to see them. As he consumes media accounts of the war, Bush has noted criticism coming even from some people he believes should be his allies. He was stung last year when Brent Scowcroft, his father's national security adviser, wrote a newspaper column questioning the necessity and wisdom of going to war. Similar complaints continue, and some people outside the administration are pressing current Bush advisers to urge him to retool his war plan. The president's aides say he's aware of those efforts but "discounts" them. News coverage of the war often irritates him. He's infuriated by reporters and retired generals who publicly question the tactics of the war plan. Bush let senior Pentagon officials know that he was peeved when Lt. Gen. William Wallace, the Army's senior ground commander in Iraq, said last week that guerrilla fighting, Iraqi resistance and sandstorms have made a longer war more likely. But Bush has told aides that he wants to hear all the news from the front — good and bad. He has a special epithet for members of his own staff who worry aloud. He calls them "hand-wringers." Two days after combat began, he has said acidly, some people were already asking "how the unconditional surrender talks were going." 'Do you need to see him?' Bush makes a point of managing the balance of power in his inner circle. Secretary of State Colin Powell receded from the headlines once the war began, but Bush keeps him near. The president seeks second opinions about military strategy in regular private meetings with Powell, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the 1991 Gulf War. There's another reason Bush keeps Powell close: to signal to the hawks on his team that he values the secretary of State's more cautious approach to diplomacy and war. Bush's schedule still includes meetings on matters unrelated to the war, many of them on the economy, but the meetings are shorter now. Fewer aides receive permission from chief of staff Andy Card to see the president. "Do you need to see him or do you want to see him?" Card asks them. Bush believes he was called by God to lead the nation at this time, says Commerce Secretary Don Evans, a close friend who talks with Bush every day. His history degree from Yale makes him mindful of the importance of the moment. He knows he's making
[CTRL] Lessons of Shock and Awe
-Caveat Lector-
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030402-102747-7735r
Commentary: Lessons of Shock and Awe
By Thomas Houlahan
>From the International Desk
Published 4/2/2003 10:54 AM
WASHINGTON, April 2 (UPI) -- There has been a great deal of official
resistance to the proposition that the
Pentagon's "Shock and Awe" war plan hasn't worked particularly well. It has
been argued that the strategy has been a success because whatever
setbacks may have occurred, coalition forces are 50 miles from Baghdad
and have lost fewer than 100 dead.
I wish I could be as satisfied with what has been achieved as Pentagon
officials claim to be, but facts, as John Adams said, are stubborn things. In
four days of ground operations in 1991, coalition forces destroyed 40
divisions and took 89,000 prisoners. In 10 days of serious ground operations
in 2003, using better weapons, coalition forces have destroyed one Iraqi
division, have one bottled up in Basra, and they have taken 8,000 prisoners.
Had the Pentagon followed the "Powell Doctrine" of overwhelming force
that served the coalition so well in the last Gulf War, the war would
probably already be over, and fewer U.S. and British servicemen would
have been killed.
The Powell Doctrine was effective because it realistically addressed the
issue of what makes men fight and what makes them stop fighting. The
present "Shock and Awe" theories ("Shock and Awe" is a collection of
untested schemes, not a doctrine) have run into problems because they
didn't.
There are four main reasons why soldiers fight. It therefore follows that if
these motivations are undermined, soldiers will be more likely to
surrender.
First, men will fight if they believe that their resistance is accomplishing
something important for their country. This is the main reason that the
Pentagon and Centcom have pounded the "resistance is futile" theme and
manage to work the phrase "Saddam Hussein's regime is finished" into
seemingly every media briefing. The problem with the coalition's strategy in
this war is that these statements don't resonate with Iraqi soldiers in the
trenches. Iraqi infantrymen don't watch or listen to Pentagon or Centcom
press briefings.
Attempting to awe soldiers by bombing Baghdad has not worked either.
Soldiers on the front lines probably don't know the extent of the damage
in Baghdad. Even if they did, it is highly unlikely that they would be sitting
in their trenches far from the capital saying: "Gee, they're pounding
Baghdad to a pulp. I guess the jig's up and we'd better surrender." There is
not a direct enough connection between what is happening in Baghdad
and their prospects for effective resistance for the bombing to make much
difference to them.
In the first Gulf War, the coalition did not tell Iraqi soldiers that resistance
was futile with rhetoric. It demonstrated that it was futile with
overwhelming ground power. The balance of combat power was so
lopsided in 1991 that Iraqis literally delayed our combat units longer by
surrendering than they did by resisting. It took Coalition combat units
longer to round up and process a battalion of prisoners than it did to blast
their way through a battalion. Under those circumstances, it was obvious
that in resisting, Iraqi soldiers were not accomplishing anything for their
country, and were merely throwing their lives away. As a result, there
were mass surrenders.
The main irony of this war has been that a battle plan specifically designed
to convince the once-defeated Iraqi army that resistance is futile has gone
awry and has made believers out of Saddam's soldiers. There is an old
saying in boxing: "Never let a scared fighter get brave. Knock him out early
or he'll start thinking he can win." The cumulative effect of the coalition's
early disappointments has been to provide encouragement to an Iraqi army
that came into the war lacking confidence.
Soldiers will also fight because they don't want to let their comrades
down, or because they don't want to be seen as cowards. Overwhelming
force also works against this motivation. When, an approaching wave of
Abrams tanks makes it clear that resistance would be a waste of time and
lives, troops will begin to surrender. The more troops surrender, the less
guilty each remaining soldier feels about joining the parade.
I mentioned earlier that bombing Baghdad doesn't do much to affect a
soldier's will to resist. It also doesn't do anything to degrade his unit's
cohesion. In the first Gulf War, Iraqi units were forced to spread out to
avoid destruction by air or artillery strikes. The men in those units were
also forced to stay in their holes by those strikes. As a result, Iraqi units
were atomized and unit cohesion was broken. Infantry companies were
reduced to a series of isolated two-man fighting positions. Just as
individuals find strength in numbers, they find weakness in isolation. This
made them more likely to surrender when coalition ground units arrived.
The decision to di
[CTRL] Cannon Fodder, Raw Meat, and the War Hawks
-Caveat Lector- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55427-2003Mar30.html washingtonpost.com War Hawks Blinded by Hardened Hearts By Courtland Milloy Monday, March 31, 2003; Page B01 "I think the level of casualties is secondary," American Enterprise Institute scholar Michael A. Ledeen told the gathering of war hawks. "I mean, it may sound like an odd thing to say, but all the great scholars who have studied American character have come to the conclusion that we are a warlike people and that we love war. . . . What we hate is not casualties, but losing." Odd, indeed, I thought upon reading Ledeen's remarks in news accounts of a so-called "black coffee briefing" held Thursday at the AEI. But, sure enough, results of various opinion polls published a few days later showed Americans' support for the war on Iraq actually hardening, even though most respondents said they believe that there will be "a significant number of additional U.S. military casualties." At this point, dead Iraqi civilians didn't seem to matter at all. Ledeen, an adviser to the State Department under President Ronald Reagan and author of "The War Against the Terror Masters" and "Tocqueville on American Character," appeared to have his finger on the pulse of a large group of people -- a group, I might add, whose views sometimes baffle me. Even military officials are warning that Americans might soon be confronting military carnage not seen since the Vietnam War. As of yesterday, a little more than a week after this supposed "cakewalk" of a war had begun, 57 coalition force personnel had been killed, 21 were missing and seven were being held as prisoners of war. About 589 Iraqi civilians had been reported killed and 4,500 reported injured. Among the victims of errant missiles were Iraqi babies. Exactly where was this upbeat chant to bomb on, as indicated by the polls, coming from? "We did not choose this war," Ledeen told me. "Terrorists have been killing us for 20 years plus, and this is the first time we've really responded. We are reluctant to engage in war, but once we start fighting, we fight to win." Loser, he said, is a very bad word in America. "Everything in America hinges on success, and we don't have an awful lot of time for losers," he said by way of explaining the American mind. "People who come to this country tend to believe in rapid advancement. If people get in the way, we say, 'Get outta my way.' Most Americans have always been in a great hurry. We believe we can take it with us and that the most successful people will get the best accommodations in Heaven. We believe successful people are the chosen people." And yet, Ledeen's criteria for "winning" the war on Iraq make losing seem far more likely. During the briefing at the AEI, he said, "If there is not a democratic government in Iraq in a year or so, we will have failed." At this rate, however, it appears that a war could still be going on. Ledeen told me later that he believed American support for the war would drop "only if it becomes clear that we are being badly led or find out that we have been lied to." So, keep an eye on who, if anyone, is really in charge of the war, as U.S. officials continue second-guessing their own military strategy. And be on the lookout for those weapons of mass destruction -- the reason given for waging war in the first place. After testing 10 of their best intelligence leads, U.S. forces have so far uncovered no substantial evidence that such weapons exist. Not finding any would amount to, say, a credibility-buster bomb. "[Alexis de] Tocqueville called us warlike," Ledeen said, referring to the French aristocrat who toured America in 1831. "And it's certainly not all positive. Ask the Indians. Ask the Mexicans. . . ." The list goes on and on. Of course, it's too soon to ask the Iraqis, because, we've been told, they are still too afraid of Saddam Hussein to speak freely. But some of them have not been too afraid to question us. "We ask why, why, why?" Ahmed Sufian, a physician at a Baghdad hospital, told a Washington Post reporter after scores of Iraqi civilians were killed or wounded in a market destroyed by what was believed to be an errant U.S. missile. "Why all this blood? They came to free us? This is freedom?" Maybe someday America's hawks will answer him. E-mail: ">[EMAIL PROTECTED] © 2003 The Washington Post Company http://www.writersreps.com/live/catalog/authors/ledeenm.html THE WAR AGAINST THE TERROR MASTERS Why It Happened. Where We Are Now. How We'll Win. "These are books that transcend mere descriptive narrative and seek to fix a value—political, philosophical or strategic—on the events of 9/11 and their aftermath. A lively example of the type is WAR AGAINST THE TERROR MASTERS."—Tunku Varadarajan, The Wall Street Journal "Sometimes controversial, often provocative, always informative and insightful."—Bernard Lewis, author of WHAT WENT WRONG? TOCQUEVILL
[CTRL] Los Angeles Times - Editor's Note
-Caveat Lector- http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/showcase/la-ednote_blurb.blurb http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] From gladhand to backhand
-Caveat Lector- Posted on Tue, Apr. 01, 2003 http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/5528914.htm White House power plays anger Republicans BY JAMES KUHNHENN [EMAIL PROTECTED] WASHINGTON - Consumed by waging war, the Bush administration increasingly is giving the Republican-controlled Congress the back of its hand, acting as if the legislative branch were a constitutionally mandated annoyance. Administration officials abruptly have canceled appearances before congressional committees and have refused lawmakers' requests for information. Now, President Bush wants to sidestep congressional oversight of how he spends nearly $75 billion that he wants for the Iraqi war and homeland security. ''Nice try,'' scoffed Rep. Mark Steven Kirk, R-Ill., during a hearing on the spending plan. ``There are a lot of precedents we don't want to accept here.'' Since the beginning of his presidency, Bush and his team have worked hard to reinvigorate the executive branch of government. Increasingly, however, with the United States fighting wars against terror and Iraq, Bush is seeking even broader authority to act without answering to legislative scrutiny. The administration says it needs ''flexibility'' to spend much of the money -- meaning it wants to be free to spend it any way it wants without having to ask Congress first. PUSHING BACK Congress is beginning to push back. Legislative committees could put their stamp on how the $75 billion is spent as early as today. Republicans and Democrats already have made clear that they intend to give the president the money he wants, and perhaps more. But they want to rein in the president's drive for expanded authority. ''I don't know how that flexibility works, but the Congress has always balked at giving too much flexibility, because it is our responsibility to watch the purse,'' said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas, one of Bush's staunchest allies. To many lawmakers, Bush's request for flexibility is only the latest example of administration disdain, if not contempt, for Congress. Time and again, Republicans and Democrats say, the Bush administration has stiff-armed lawmakers or scorned their committees. One week before U.S. cruise missiles began falling on Baghdad, Pentagon officials turned down a Senate Foreign Relations Committee's request for Pentagon officials to testify about reconstruction in postwar Iraq. Instead, defense officials chose to brief journalists on that subject the same day. ''No answers!'' fumed Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. ``That does not encourage a great amount of trust and cooperation.'' Also on the same day, Treasury Undersecretary Peter Fisher abruptly canceled his scheduled appearance before the Senate Finance Committee, at which he likely would have faced questions about budget deficits and the national debt. CONCERN IN GOP ''If I weren't a Republican, it wouldn't be so embarrassing,'' committee Chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa said. Bush's own condescension has irritated members of Congress. Nearly two weeks before he launched the war on Iraq, Bush referred publicly to lawmakers as ``the spenders.'' That ''certainly encourages warm feelings,'' Hagel said sarcastically. It is to be expected that Democrats would complain about treatment by the Republican White House. What is noteworthy, however, is that such criticism now comes from many Republicans in Congress, including some who vote regularly with the president. By skipping the Foreign Relations Committee hearing, for example, the administration got crosswise with Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., the panel's chairman and an influential player on international issues. ''There's a strain of arrogance in all of this,'' said one Republican senator, on the condition of anonymity. ``They need to do a better job.'' Grover Norquist, a conservative activist with close ties to the White House, said lawmakers have a point. ``There is a sense that the White House has to understand that they are co-equal branches of government.'' © 2003 The Miami Herald and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.miami.com Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason a
[CTRL] (more) Dueling for Dollars
-Caveat Lector- http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495;article=39113 APFN THE REAL REASON WE ARE AT WAR! Wed Apr 2 13:13:03 2003 208.152.73.199 THE REAL REASON WE ARE AT WAR! http://praesentia.us/archives/000227.html Dollar vs. Euro - Hegemoney. The Federal Reserve's greatest nightmare is that OPEC will switch its international transactions from a dollar standard to a euro standard. Iraq actually made this switch in Nov. 2000 (when the euro was worth around 80 cents), and has actually made off like a bandit considering the dollar's steady depreciation against the euro. The real reason the Bush administration wants a puppet government in Iraq - or more importantly, the reason why the corporate-military-industrial network conglomerate wants a puppet government in Iraq - is so that it will revert back to a dollar standard and stay that way." (While also hoping to veto any wider OPEC momentum for the switch from Iran - which is seriously considering switching to euros as their oil transaction currency as of Sept 2002 - and other OPEC members including Saudi Arabia whose regime appears increasingly weak/ threatened from an internal coup). This administration is acutely aware of this and in preparation for invading Iraq we will create a huge and permanent military presence in the Persian Gulf region, just in case we need to grab Saudi's oil fields as well as Iraq’s… Saddam sealed his fate when he decided to switch to the euro in late 2000 (and later converted his $10 billion reserve fund at the U.N. to euros) - at that point, another manufactured Gulf War become inevitable under Bush II. Only the most extreme circumstances could possibly stop that now and I strongly doubt anything can - short of Saddam getting replaced with a pliant regime. Big Picture Perspective: Everything else aside from the reserve currency and the Saudi/Iran oil issues (i.e. domestic political issues and international criticism) is peripheral and of marginal consequence to this administration. Further, the dollar-euro threat is powerful enough that they'll rather risk much of the economic backlash in the short-term to stave off the long- term dollar crash of an OPEC transaction standard change from dollars to euros. All of this fits into the broader Great Game that encompasses Russia, India, China. The effect of an OPEC switch to the euro would be that oil-consuming nations would have to flush dollars out of their reserve funds and replace these with euros. The dollar would crash anywhere from 20-40% in value and the consequences would be those one could expect from any currency collapse and massive inflation (think Argentina currency crisis, for example). You'd have foreign funds stream out of the U.S. stock markets and dollar denominated assets, there'd surely be a run on the banks much like the 1930s, the current account deficit would become unserviceable, the budget deficit would go into default, and so on. Your basic 3rd world economic crisis scenario. The United States economy is intimately tied to the dollar's role as reserve currency. This doesn't mean that the U.S. couldn't function otherwise, but that the transition would have to be gradual to avoid such dislocations (and the ultimate result of this would probably be the U.S. and the E.U. switching roles in the global economy). The following two recent articles discuss Iran’s vacillating position about switching to the euro as their standard currency for oil exports, and this may help explain Bush’s sudden urgency to topple Saddam. In the aftermath of toppling Saddam it is clear the U.S. will keep a large and permanent U.S. military force in the Persian Gulf. Indeed, the Bush administration has no “exit strategy” in a post-Saddam Iraq, as a permanent U.S. military force will be needed to "maintain order" (ie. to protect the newly installed puppet regime). Paradoxically, if the war in Iraq goes poorly or becomes prolonged, it is possible that Iran and other OPEC members may do exactly what Saddam did, thus creating the very situation this administration is trying to prevent, an OPEC switch to the euros as their oil transaction currency standard. 'Economics Drive Iran Euro Oil Plan, Politics Also Key' (August 2002) 'Iran may switch to the euro for crude sale payments' (Sept 2002) USA intelligence agencies revealed in plot to oust Venezuela's President’ (Dec 2002) Venezuela is the fourth largest producer of oil, and the corporate elites appear interested in privatizing Venezuela’s oil industry as that outcome would become lucrative to the U.S. based oil conglomerates. Additionally, the Bush junta may be concerned that Chavez’s “barter deals” with 12 Latin American countries as well as Cuba are effectively cutting the U.S. dollar out of the vital oil transaction currency cycle. Commodities are being traded among these countries in exchange for Venezuela’s oil, and thus dollars are not being used in these barter agreements. If these unique oil transactions p
[CTRL] Dirty Laundry Done Dirt Cheap
-Caveat Lector- http://www.allhatnocattle.net/zelda_morgan_war_correspondent.htm By Zelda Morgan - All Hat No Cattle War Correspondent Dirty Laundry Done Dirt Cheap March 31 2003 "Media Alert ... WARNING! ... Code Red. Recently, Microsoft/ GE ... er um, MSNBC/NBC shit-canned Peter Arnett. They dropped him faster than a blonde dropping an algebraic equation just for telling the truth. Since this travesty occurred --since these slime balls pulled his press pass -- I've gone underground for the time being and I will return your messages when the drugs wear off." - Anita Beer's outgoing message on her cell-phone voicemail. We, here at AHNC, would like to offer Peter Arnett a job. It just so happens we were discussing adding a new assistant as the workload here has been overwhelming for myself and the editors. This war has been filling our time and we still have many other issues to address. An additional employee on our staff would take up the slack. We understand Peter Arnett is back in the market and we would like to make him an offer. Peter, the job description, as my assistant, is simple and clear. You take care of my every need while I am performing the important tasks of a Senior War Correspondent. You will be asked to do the heavy lifting and make a good cup of coffee (no flavored beans, please). You might think of joining a health club and do some working out -- tighten up the abs -- lose the man boobs. Please refer to my "Radioactive" column on the topic of comb-overs. We will get you a hat to wear. The job requires lots of travel and you will need to be ready to go on a moment's notice. Naturally, I will be riding in the first class section and, while you are in your probationary period, you will be riding in the wheel- hub. Just like the old days at CNN, eh, Pete? You can pretty much say anything you want. The editors will slash and gash their way through your work anyway. You will not recognize it when they are done. They are miserly about their bits and baud. I send them novels and they reduce me down to a few lousy paragraphs. So write what you will and don't worry about getting canned. They are happy to get anything to butcher up. And, Petey, I don't have to tell you how lousy the pay is in this industry. We do not do it for the money, now, do we? We really don't care if our rent is paid, do we? Our team of attorneys will forward the contract to your team of agents. You all just fill in the blanks and we will meet again with the arbitrator nearby. We do it for the love of our country, don't we, Petemeister? The benefits package cannot be beat. Unless you are an Iraqi citizen, you will need some health coverage. AHNC has you covered like a warm, fuzzy blanket. We legally marry or adopt as necessary and we are all covered through our "Aunt Receptionist" who is legally married to a steel worker in Pennsylvania who works for Kaiser and we all have family plan, health care! Sadly, there is no retirement fund to offer. The fund was depleted and is now in debt. Our retirement was being managed by Merrill-Lynch and it is now all gone. The pension portfolio used to have Enron, WorldCom, ImClone, Tyco, El Paso, Andersen, etc. Peter, you have a good future as a lifestyle journalist. We think you will work out well in our organization. Here at AHNC, we are not afraid of the truth. We are not intimidated easily. You are welcome to express yourself as an individual here. Open note to the guy who sent me the flowers. I love you too. Good boy! Nice job. Way to go! Bravo! Encore!! Zelda Morgan, AHNC War Correspondent at your service. Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and mino
[CTRL] Neocon Con
-Caveat Lector- http://www.buzzflash.com/farrell/03/04/01.html The Neocon Con: Deception and the Drive to WWIII by Maureen Farrell "Nothing Saddam does can save him, says Powell" "Even if Baghdad readmits United Nations arms inspectors, the United States will still pursue a 'regime change' policy, with or without the support of its allies." - The Sydney Morning Herald, February 8, 2002 (nine months before U.N. inspectors returned to Iraq) http://old.smh.com.au/news/0202/08/world/world9.html Anyone who's been paying attention recognizes the prescient futility expressed in the article above. Serving as a marker of sorts, it's but a sliver in a body of evidence regarding the duplicitous nature of Bush's United Nations "diplomacy." Yet many Americans, equating blindness with patriotism, are convinced the president acted in good faith and went the "extra mile" to reach a diplomatic solution. And sadly, in confusing our allies' disarmament intentions with Bush's regime change imperative, they've funneled angst and anger towards the French, while missing vital subplots to this saga. In short, "patriotic Americans" have failed to notice that: 1) The Bush administration relied on a series of fabrications and forgeries to make its case 2) This war was planned before Sept. 11 and 3) The neocons are deliberating driving us towards World War III. A Madman's Guide to Chaos The Project for a New American Century has been on the radar for some time. Largely described as a group of neoconservative interventionists dreaming of empire, their impact was succinctly explained by University of Pennsylvania political science professor Ian Lustick. "After 9/11, (PNAC) was able to benefit from the gigantic eruption of political capital, combined with the supply of military preponderance in the hands of the president," Lustick said during a recent Nightline appearance. "And this small group, therefore, was able to gain direct contact and even control, now, of the White House." Connected to the president through Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Lewis "Scooter" Libby and Jeb Bush, PNAC foretold America's future foreign policy in its 2000 report, Rebuilding America's Defenses. "America's 'core mission,'" they announced, would be to "fight and decisively win multiple, simultaneous major theatre wars." And so, the con was on. Article Link As moderate Arabs become radicalized by the war in Iraq, an even more disturbing picture unfolds. While spouting platitudes about peace, this administration, as columnist Joshua Micah Marshall asserts, is gunning for "a full-scale confrontation between the United States and political Islam." Even more to the point is Marshall's claim that, "Chaos in the Middle East is not the Bush hawks' nightmare -- it's their plan." Exposing these neoconservatives' "willingness to deceive," Marshall writes: "In the [Bush Administration's] view, invasion of Iraq was not merely, or even primarily, about getting rid of Saddam Hussein. Nor was it really about weapons of mass destruction. . . . Rather, the administration sees the invasion as only the first move in a wider effort to reorder the power structure of the entire Middle East. Prior to the war, the president himself never quite said this openly. But hawkish neoconservatives within his administration gave strong hints. In February, Undersecretary of State John Bolton told Israeli officials that after defeating Iraq, the United States would "deal with" Iran, Syria, and North Korea. Meanwhile, neoconservative journalists have been channeling the administration's thinking. Late last month, The Weekly Standard's Jeffrey Bell reported that the administration has in mind a "world war between the United States and a political wing of Islamic fundamentalism. . ." In other words, The Weekly Standard, edited by PNAC co-founder William Kristol, is admitting that the neocons are actually hoping to spark a world war - and even worse, they're willing to sacrifice U.S. citizens to do so. Marshall explains: "So events that may seem negative -- Hezbollah for the first time targeting American civilians; U.S. soldiers preparing for war with Syria -- while unfortunate in themselves, are actually part of the hawks' broader agenda. Each crisis will draw U.S. forces further into the region and each countermove in turn will create problems that can only be fixed by still further American involvement, until democratic governments -- or, failing that, U.S. troops -- rule the entire Middle East." There is a startling amount of deception in all this -- of hawks deceiving the American people, and perhaps in some cases even themselves." http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/ 2003/0304.marshall.html Military Matters A more troubling deception lies in the ways neocons have misled American troops. Though the CIA warned the Bush administration about possible Iraqi tactics, Ken Adelman, Dick Cheney and Richard Perle brayed about quick and certain success. "I believe
[CTRL] Genie of Disaster
-Caveat Lector- http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=24614 Arab News SAUDI ARABIA'S FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY The War Has Released the Genie of Disaster George Monbiot, The Guardian Published on Wednesday, April 02, 2003 LONDON, 2 April 2003 — So far, the liberators have succeeded only in freeing the souls of the Iraqis from their bodies. Saddam Hussein’s troops have proved less inclined to surrender than they had anticipated, and the civilians less prepared to revolt. But while no one can now ignore the immediate problems this illegal war has met, we are beginning, too, to understand what should have been obvious all along: that, however this conflict is resolved, the outcome will be a disaster. It seems to me that there are three possible results of the war with Iraq. The first, which is now beginning to look unlikely, is that Saddam Hussein is swiftly dispatched, his generals and ministers abandon their posts and the people who had been cowed by his militias and his secret police rise up and greet the invaders with their long-awaited blessing of flowers and rice. The troops are welcomed into Baghdad, and start preparing for what the US administration claims will be a transfer of power to a democratic government. For a few weeks, this will look like victory. Then several things are likely to happen. The first is that, elated by its reception in Baghdad, the American government decides, as Donald Rumsfeld hinted again last week, to visit its perpetual war upon another nation: Syria, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, North Korea or anywhere else whose conquest may be calculated to enhance the stature of the president and the scope of his empire. It is almost as if Bush and his advisers are determined to meet the nemesis which their hubris invites. Our next discovery is likely to be, as John Gray pointed out some months ago, that the choice of regimes in the Middle East is not a choice between secular dictatorship and secular democracy, but between secular dictatorship and Islamic democracy. What the people of the Middle East want and what the US government says they want appear to be rather different things, and the tension between the two objectives will be a source of instability and conflict until Western governments permit those people to make their own choices unmolested. That is unlikely to happen until the oil runs out. The Iraqis may celebrate their independence by embracing a long-suppressed religious fanaticism, and the United States may respond by seeking to crush it. The United States might also soon discover why Saddam Hussein became such an abhorrent dictator. Iraq is a colonial artifact, forced together by the British from three Ottoman provinces, whose people have wildly different religious and ethnic loyalties. It is arguable that this absurd construction can be sustained only by brute force. A US-backed administration seeking to keep this nation of warring factions intact may rapidly encounter Saddam’s problem, and, in so doing, rediscover his solution. Perhaps we should not be surprised to see that the Bush administration was, until recently, planning merely to replace the two most senior officials in each of Saddam’s ministries, leaving the rest of his government in place. The alternative would be to permit Iraq to fall apart. While fragmentation may, in the long run, be the only feasible future for its people, it is impossible, in the short term, to see how this could happen without bloodshed, as every faction seeks to carve out its domain. Whether the US tries to oversee this partition or flees from it as the British did from India, its victory in these circumstances is likely to sour very quickly. The second possible outcome of this war is that the US kills Saddam and destroys the bulk of his army, but has to govern Iraq as a hostile occupying force. Saddam Hussein, whose psychological warfare appears to be rather more advanced than that of the Americans, may have ensured that this is now the most likely result. The invaders cannot win without taking Baghdad, and Saddam is seeking to ensure that they cannot take Baghdad without killing thousands of civilians. His soldiers will shelter in homes, schools and hospitals. In trying to destroy them, the American and British troops may blow away the last possibility of winning the hearts and minds of the residents. Saddam’s deployment of suicide bombers has already obliged the invaders to deal brutally with innocent civilians. The comparisons with Palestine will not be lost on the Iraqis, or on anyone in the Middle East. The United States, like Israel, will discover that occupation is bloody and, ultimately, unsustainable. Its troops will be harassed by snipers and suicide bombers, and its response to them will alienate even the people who were grateful for the overthrow of Saddam. We can expect the US, in these circumstances, hurriedly to proclaim victory, install a feeble and doomed Iraqi government, and pull out before the whole pl
[CTRL] surreal tales of Iraq war
-Caveat Lector- Print this article | Close this window April Foolers spin surreal tales of Iraq war April 2 2003 The unsuspecting could have been tricked into thinking the US-led war in Iraq had taken a sudden surreal twist yesterday, as newspapers around the world spun bitter-sweet April Fool's reports about the conflict. In South Africa, the Afrikaans Beeld newspaper told its readers that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had accepted an offer of exile in the country in exchange for a top job running the country's oil industry, As part of the deal, Saddam would be offered a luxury game farm near the smoggy oil city of Sasolburg, the daily wrote. Washington was said to be excited about the offer, which would make the Iraqi leader "somebody else's problem", the paper fibbed. "Oscar withdrawn in punishment," headlined Greece's Eleftheros Typos daily, reporting from Hollywood that the film academy had called back an award given to Michael Moore, the anti-war US director of the subversive documentary Bowling for Columbine. Moore had lashed out at the US administration during the award ceremony on March 23. "We are against this war Mr Bush. Shame on you. Shame on you!," he said, bringing both cheers and boos from the glitterati audience. Germany's Tageszeitung ran a spoof report saying that tensions over Iraq had led Washington to rethink the site for its new embassy in Berlin. The current site is on Berlin's Pariser Platz - which means Parisian square - and directly opposite the French mission. France spearheaded fierce diplomatic resistance to US plans for war against Iraq, dashing hopes by London, Washington and Madrid of obtaining a second UN resolution authorising military action. Tageszeitung, quoting American sources, said US diplomats "could live with being next to the French, but only if the name of the square is changed". Another spoof, from the Belgian paper Le Soir, reported that like Saddam, Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel had several near-perfect lookalikes who cover for him during television appearances. Michel, a strong opponent of the war against Iraq, has become a something of a regular on Belgian television debates, leading some to joke that he seemed to be everywhere at once. In Japan, the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper reported that the world's largest oilfields had been discovered in Tokyo Bay, a revelation set to tip the balance of power with Washington radically in Japan's favour. The paper separately reported that Japan planned to send robots modelled on the popular 1960s cartoon character Astro Boy to help with post-war reconstruction in Iraq. "It is partly aimed at showing the world the right way to use science technology following the loss of confidence in US high-tech weapons," the paper wrote. Kenya's East African Standard reported that US-led forces in Iraq were looking for reinforcements in Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan, better adapted to the desert and semi-arid conditions, which were giving the coalition forces "a rough time", the report said. AFP This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/02/1048962767098.html Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/arc
[CTRL] Soaring heat
-Caveat Lector- http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0304/S00037.htm Soaring heat and water shortages in Iraq - UN Wednesday, 2 April 2003, 11:11 am Press Release: United Nations UN relief agencies warn of soaring heat and water shortages in Iraq 1 April – As United Nations relief agencies struggled to move more humanitarian aid into Iraq, stifling heat amid a continuing water shortage emerged today as a new threat to the health of the civilian population, especially children. "It is interesting and important to note that the temperature on the border between Kuwait and Iraq today is a stifling 37 degrees - 99 degrees Fahrenheit," Geoffrey Keele, spokesman for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) told the daily briefing in Amman, Jordan, on UN humanitarian activities. "In weather like this, the need for water, already acute in several places, becomes more and more urgent. Dehydration among young children is a concern. Access to safe water also remains a concern, and grows, as the temperature increases." Mr. Keele noted that three tankers, under contract to UNICEF from private companies and carrying almost 100,000 litres of water, managed yesterday to make their way safely to Um Qasr in southern Iraq across the border from Kuwait. Deliveries were made to local hospitals and health centres - making sure that supplies went to those who needed them most. There was now a limited supply of water and electricity serving different parts of Basra, Iraq's second city to the north of Um Qasr, where the 1.7 million residents have been hard pressed for both since the early days of fighting, said Veronique Taveau, spokesperson for the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq (OHCI). At the Wafa’ Al-Qaed pumping station outside the city, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and local technicians were trying to connect the three remaining back-up generators providing power to the station, she said. Despite slight improvements in water provision, the ICRC remains concerned about the water and power supply situation. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that while information coming from the centre and south of Iraq indicated there were relatively good medical stocks, water shortage was the most serious constraint. The hospitals in Samarra, Najaf and Nassiria were believed to be affected by a serious lack of water, spokesperson Fadela Chaib said. For the time being, despite the high potential, there were no reports of infectious diseases outbreaks throughout the country, she added. In the north of Iraq, Mr. Keele said two trucks with 16 tons of medical supplies, 6 tons of water purification supplies and educational materials were making their way through customs and inspections on the border from Turkey. The UN High Commissioner for the Refugees (UNHCR) continued to report no significant refugee arrivals anywhere in the region. ENDS Home Page | International | Previous Story | Next Story Copyright (c) Scoop Media Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl
[CTRL] The New History Ain't Been Yet Writ
-Caveat Lector- http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/01/international/worldspecial/01QATA.h tml?ex=1050250043&ei=1&en=1c4882019d301c1f April 1, 2003 Top Commander Suggests Shiites Haven't Rebelled Because U.S. Failed Them in '91 By JOHN M. BRODER AMP SAYLIYA, Qatar, March 31 — The United States, through its past acts, is largely to blame for the failure of Iraq's Shiite majority to rise in revolt against Saddam Hussein, a senior American military commander at Central Command said here today. "We bear a certain responsibility for what we didn't do in 1991," the officer said. After the Persian Gulf war in 1991, the American government encouraged a Shiite uprising, then did not act when Mr. Hussein's forces slaughtered thousands of civilians. "We let them down once," the officer said in a background session with reporters. "We're not going to do it again." The officer, who spoke on condition that his name not be used, said millions of leaflets and round-the-clock radio broadcasts into Iraq had failed to convince the Iraqi population that the United States and its allies were fully committed to overthrowing the Baghdad government. He said years of repression and a succession of what he called barbarous acts against civilians by government agents and militia since the start of the current war had caused the people to largely refrain from acts of rebellion. "If you have been beaten up and beaten down the way they have been for 12 years, it should not surprise us that they're waiting to see," said the officer. Nonetheless, he expressed optimism that ultimately the Iraqis would recognize that the American-led forces were serious about toppling Mr. Hussein and dismantling his apparatus of terror. The officer said cultural misunderstandings and a failure to learn the lessons of recent history contributed to miscalculations by American military and civilian leaders. He said those planning and prosecuting the war might have failed to appreciate how deeply Mr. Hussein's personality and organs of repression pervade Iraqi society. "There are big cultural differences between ourselves and the Arab world," he said. "Their version of the truth is different from our version of the truth. They come at it from a different way." He said that on some days at least, Baghdad was winning the public relations war in the Arab world by showing pictures of wounded children and devastated public marketplaces, while American officials were showing antiseptic videotapes of precision weapons hitting buildings. The coalition has not effectively shown skeptical audiences in the Arab world and around the globe the brutality of the Iraqi war effort. "The way this regime fights is despicable, it's barbarous," he said. "We cannot allow anyone, especially in the Arab world, to believe that the way they fight is honorable." He said Arabs were, as a rule, more emotional than Americans and Europeans. Those who have lived for decades under what he called Mr. Hussein's totalitarian rule tend to discount, even distrust, American promises of liberation and relief aid. He compared the Iraqi population to the Germans under Hitler and the Russians under Stalin, who were so cowed by their charismatic leaders that they did not revolt in an organized way. He said Iraq was not, as some strategists inside and outside the government presumed, a "house of cards" that would topple quickly if given a modest push. "That's just not true," he said. Mr. Hussein appears invincible to many Iraqis who have known no other leader. "He's won the lottery every time," the officer said. "Saddam is a huge symbol for these people. He's everywhere. He's everything." That is why American bombers and missiles repeatedly attack Iraqi state television, and why British troops in Basra are knocking down statues and posters of Mr. Hussein. The officer said that in some places at least, the Iraqi people were close to believing that the end of the government was near. "They are rising up, even though slower than we hoped," he said. "I sense we're near the tipping point in Basra. I sense we're near the tipping point in Nasiriya." Intercepted communications between Iraqi army commanders and conversations with Iraqi officers who have surrendered or been captured indicate that at least some in the military believe that the government is in its final days, he said. "They are worried," he said. "And they ought to be." But he acknowledged that ground actions — and particularly the heavy bombardment of Baghdad, which apparently has resulted in dozens of civilian deaths and injuries — might have had the effect of stiffening the anti-American resolve of at least some of the citizenry. He also said, however, that he believed that more Iraqi civilians had been killed by the Iraqi government "than by any of our errant bombs." He charged that scores of civilians had been killed by the Iraqis in Basra and that more than 60 had been "executed" in Mosul. But he warned that more Amer
[CTRL] Stalemate
-Caveat Lector- Analysis http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,927902,00.html Arab hopes rest on toppling Saddam and humbling the US Martin Woollacott Wednesday April 2, 2003 The Guardian The chastening of America has begun and the likely outcome of the war is coming into view - one regime gone, in Baghdad, another humbled, in Washington. According to those who analyse Arab policy and follow Arab opinion from here, the hopes of Arab governments now centre on this prospect. "They do not want Saddam Hussein to survive," according to Shibley Telhami, of the University of Maryland, a well known broadcaster to the Arab world, "and know the United States could not let that happen, but are glad that America is not having the easy war it expected." Arab states wanted the quick war the US promised but also feared the triumphalist America which would have emerged from it. Now the least worst option for them would be the less confident US which a harder war might produce, one which would not contemplate further military adventures, would get out of Iraq quickly, and might redeem itself by a more even handed approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Much of the rest of the world might well go along with this. Yet, to use one of the new military words which have invaded Washington talk, how do you "calibrate" such a victory? The "too easy" part is a given, but how hard a war would be too hard? Too hard, and you skirt the destabilisation of Arab regimes, even more encouragement of terrorist recruitment, and even the possible retreat of an angry US from the region, from all engagement, whether good or bad. The problem of public opinion has become worse not only because every bomb that falls on civilians and every checkpoint killing further enrages Arabs, but also because the idea that Saddam might physically win has begun to take hold. The success of the Iraqi regime in tripping up US and British forces has moved Arab public opinion, according to Professor Tellhami, from a resigned acceptance of western victory toward the view that Saddam may somehow defeat the US. "A week ago," says Telhami, "if I had asked Arabs if Saddam had any chance, they would have said No. Today they would say Yes." And this assessment, fed by the Arab coverage of the war, is daily playing into the homes of Iraqis. Their portrayal as Arab heroes must add to the divisions and complexities of the Iraqi mood. In the Panglossian world of Centcom, where everything is always for the best in the best of all possible military worlds, the problem of the political war, which must be short and take few lives, and the war of the generals, which may have to be long and take many, also lurks behind the mandatory optimism. But, in the American coverage, it is often cast in terms of what is happening, or may happen, to the troops, or reflected in investigations of quarrels at the Pentagon. There seems to be no urgency in examining the military choices in the light, above all, of the politics of the war. Prof Telhami believes the war is already politically lost and that there remains only a choice between bad and worse outcomes. Other American students of the Middle East, like Edward P. Djerejian, director of the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, Houston, and a former US ambassador to Israel and Syria, are not of that mind. "We are wedged between the two pressures," he says, "if the war is prolonged and the resistance continues, that could make it much more of a political balancing act." His argument is that the damage done during the war can be repaired by the right policies in post-Saddam Iraq and by immediate attention to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. There will be a reckoning for those so enthusiastically embracing Iraqi resistance. First, when US victory comes, second, less certainly, when the Iraqi reaction is more clearly grasped, and, third, perhaps, when post-war US policy reveals itself. But what the Arabs have almost certainly got right is that even if the war takes a sudden turn for the better, post- Saddam America will be a very different place from the country that existed only two weeks ago, perhaps weaker, certainly more cautious. Syria, rhetorically backing the Iraqis, is a straw which shows the way the wind is blowing. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anythin
