FalloutStories related to 11 Sept 2001. |
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17/10/2004; 7:47:43 |
| Reckless Administration May Reap Disastrous Consequences: |
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'This nation is about to embark upon the first test of a revolutionary doctrine applied in an extraordinary way at an unfortunate time. The doctrine of preemption -- the idea that the United States or any other nation can legitimately attack a nation that is not imminently threatening but may be threatening in the future -- is a radical new twist on the traditional idea of self defense. It appears to be in contravention of international law and the UN Charter. And it is being tested at a time of world-wide terrorism, making many countries around the globe wonder if they will soon be on our -- or some other nation's -- hit list.' -U.S. Senator Robert Byrd, Feb. 12, 2003 |
| On the road to losing the peace : |
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'It was bad enough for the U.S. to have endured the intelligence failures that led to Sept. 11; it's another thing to know that 18 months, billions of dollars and untold numbers of bombs later that Osama bin Laden and most of his top advisers remain on the loose. This failure ought to be thrown daily in Mr. Bush's face, but he has diverted attention to Iraq, where the United States is about to make a mistake of historic proportions.' -Jeffrey Simpson in The Globe and Mail, 18 Feb 2003 |
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Ahhhh. We hurt their feelings. It's incompetence by the highers up that's harming US forces. Quit whining you losers. . .< 4:13:00 PM  >Mirror.co.uk - THIS WAR IS NOT WORKING 'I am still in shock and awe at being fired. There is enormous sensitivity within the US government to reports coming out from Baghdad. They don't want credible news organisations reporting from here because it presents them with enormous problems.' . .< 3:59:55 PM >The New Yorker: Fact [Daypop Top 40] '"This is tragic," one senior planner said bitterly. "American lives are being lost." The former intelligence official told me, "They all said, "We can do it with air power." They believed their own propaganda." The high-ranking former general described Rumsfeld's approach to the Joint Staff war planning as "McNamara-like intimidation by intervention of a small cell" - a reference to Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara and his aides, who were known for their challenges to the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Vietnam War. The former high-ranking general compared the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Stepford wives. "They"ve abrogated their responsibility."' An extraordinary condemnation of Rumsfeld. The military seems almost contemptuous of this creep. There is a disastor brewing and it's largely because Rumsfeld micro-managed the invasion. At this point the USUK and Iraq are in a stalemate and it will be weeks before new troops and equipment arrive. Unbelievable incompetence. . .< 3:40:44 PM >Iraq goes offline The latest round of bombs appears to have finally cut off Iraqi access to the Internet. [Salon] . .< 2:06:07 PM >In pictures: Iraqi civilians' plight Images of Iraqi civilians, many of whom have to endure daily horrors of the war and scramble for basic food and water. [BBC News | World | UK Edition] Victims of the USUK invasion. . .< 2:05:24 PM >In quotes: War in Iraq Views from the protagonists as all sides struggle for propaganda as well as military victories. [BBC News | World | UK Edition] . .< 2:04:10 PM >A donor's guide to aid for Iraq Nick Cater untangles the politics and logistics of choosing which aid agency to support. [Guardian Unlimited] . .< 1:59:13 PM >'You didn't fire a warning shot soon enough!' Daily briefing: A journalist's account of the killing of a car full of Iraqi civilians by US soldiers differs widely from the official military version, says Brian Whitaker. [Guardian Unlimited] . .< 1:45:03 PM >Iraqi civilian casualties mount At least 11 members of the same family are reported killed in an air strike in central Iraq as US-led forces advance on Baghdad. [BBC News | World | UK Edition] Bodycount . .< 1:41:25 PM >Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | US backs checkpoint killings soldiers 'A statement purported to be from the Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, was read out on Iraqi television tonight, calling for Muslims to join in a holy war against the coalition invasion and that jihad was a "duty".' . .< 1:36:44 AM >Rumsfeld's Design for War Criticized on the Battlefield Officers on the Iraqi battlefield complain that the Pentagon has not sent enough troops to wage the war as they want to fight it. [New York Times: NYT HomePage] I will pound on Rumsfeld every chance I get. I wish Wofowitz were in the headlines more. He's an evil dude too. . .< 1:35:15 AM >The Test for Rumsfeld: Will Strategy Work? Critics charged that Donald H. Rumsfeld's principles of a new American military have been applied in Iraq and found wanting. [New York Times: NYT HomePage] Dump him. The creep has been backpeddling and sounding nervous. I'm an audio person so I like to listen to the voices of the speakers. He's in trouble. . .< 1:17:40 AM >A Gruesome Scene on Highway 9 [washingtonpost.com] '"Cease fire!" Johnson yelled over the radio. Then, as he peered into his binoculars from the intersection on Highway 9, he roared at the platoon leader, "You just [expletive] killed a family because you didn't fire a warning shot soon enough!"' . .< 1:02:36 AM >Apple's QuickTime 6.1.1, available via Software Update, is said to deliver "important bug fixes for MPEG-4 streaming." [One wonders if it may also relate to Apple's unannounced music distribution service, rumored to be due soon.] [Macintouch] . .< 12:49:58 AM >Blair acts to reassure Europe on US plans Politics: Tony Blair has started the daunting task of rebuilding relations with France, Germany and Russia. [Guardian Unlimited] . .< 12:48:54 AM >George Monbiot: It will end in disaster Comment: The US and British governments have dragged us into a mess that will last for years, says George Monbiot . [Guardian Unlimited] 'Even if, having held out for many weeks or months, Saddam Hussein is found and killed, his spirit may continue to inspire a revolt throughout the Muslim world, against the Americans, the British and, of course, Israel. Pakistan's unpopular leader, Pervez Musharraf, would then find himself in serious trouble. If, as seems likely in these circumstances, he is overthrown in an Islamic revolt, then a fundamentalist regime, deeply hostile to the west, would possess real nuclear weapons, primed and ready to fire.
I hope I've missed something here, and will be proved spectacularly wrong, but it seems to me that the American and British governments have dragged us into a mess from which we might not emerge for many years. They have unlocked the spirit of war, and it could be unwilling to return to its casket until it has traversed the world.' Amazing. The two solutions they are fighting over are both sure to completely unacceptable to the Iraqis. What a pile of clowns. Wolfowitz or some creep that neither the CIA or Iraqis trust. Brilliant. These guys have really got their crap together. . .< 12:16:42 AM >Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Britain - how the world sees us: part 1 'These days when a foreigner flags me I will take them into the cab and then ask them where they are from. If they say Britain or the United States I pull to the side and ask them to leave the car. I am very polite; there is nothing personal about it. For all I know they could be very nice people. But how can I take money from them, drive them where they want and act like everything is normal, when their governments are killing our people?' . .< 12:10:05 AM >Civilians shot dead at checkpoint American soldiers shot dead seven women and children when their car failed to stop at a checkpoint. [Guardian Unlimited] '"A civilian is always a threat until proven innocent," Lieutenant Jason Davis of the 101st Airborne Division told Reuters.' Couldn't blow out the tires guys? |
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On this day in 2003 2002 2001 |
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