FalloutStories related to 11 Sept 2001. |
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17/10/2004; 7:57:36 |
| 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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Unbelievable. Home of the free? . .< 1:42:36 PM  >Pennsylvania Student Shoots Principal and Kills Self A heavily armed 14-year-old boy shot his school principal inside a crowded junior high cafeteria then killed himself, authorities said. [New York Times: NYT HomePage] Learning the lessons of war. Solve your problems with violence . . it's the US American way. . .< 2:35:14 AM >Children held at Guantanamo Bay World: Detention of children at US detention camp condemned as repugnant and illegal by human rights groups. [Guardian Unlimited] 'The United States and Somalia are the only member states of the United Nations no to have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, but the US is a signatory, and thus has "an obligation not to defeat the object and purpose of the treaty," Ms Wright said. "This is clearly totally at odds with the purpose of the treaty." The precise legal ramifications are unclear, since many experts argue that the US is already in breach of international law by holding any of the detainees indefinitely without trial or charge, regardless of their ages. [...] The three boys are not the only inmates under 16 to have been brought to Guantanamo Bay. Canadian officials have been seeking for months to gain access to Omar al-Khadr, a Canadian national who they say is being held at Camp Delta after being captured on July 27 during fighting in eastern Afghanistan. He was 15 at the time, they said.' Evil doers. . .< 2:33:54 AM >Fate of Prisoners From Afghan War Remains Uncertain Some 664 prisoners remain in a legal, political and geographical limbo after fifteen months of confinement in Guantánamo Bay. [New York Times: NYT HomePage] The US . . . part-time defenders of The Geneva Convention. . .< 2:31:23 AM >U.S. Warns Iraqis Against Claiming Authority in Void The American military moved to strip Baghdad's self-appointed administrator of his authority and threatened arrests. [New York Times: NYT HomePage] . .< 2:24:23 AM >The Perils of Empire Eighty-six years ago, another powerful invading army had just entered Baghdad. At the same time, other divisions driving north-eastwards from Egypt were occupying Palestine. Urged on by their own strategists and intellectuals, these forces would soon advance upon Damascus. They would exercise great influence upon Iran and the Persian Gulf states. Donning the mantle of liberators, they would encourage regime change in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. They would send out messages of hope that "the entire Arab world may rise once more to greatness and renown" now that its oppressors were defeated. These were folks determined to make the entire Middle East secure and stable -- a blessing to the world, no doubt, but a particular blessing to their own hegemonic nation, and that nation was Great Britain. (link)
A fascinating historical perspective and an important read. [Al-Muhajabah's Islamic Blogs]. .< 2:22:45 AM >This Occupation is Turning into a Disaster Every aspect of today's chaos and the danger of clashes between Iraqis and their occupiers highlight the need to get a UN presence into Iraq fast. The UN should expand the oil-for-food system to head off the poverty crisis. It should appoint a UN administrator to start brokering intra-Iraqi talks and forestall US efforts to create an Iraqi government of US placemen.
One of the Pentagon's many failed predictions was that someone, if not Saddam Hussein, would surrender to US forces in the face of overwhelming US military might. Had that happened as in Japan and Nazi Germany, it could have given Washington the right of continuity which its failure to get UN backing before the attack had denied it. Instead, the postwar occupation runs counter to international law as much as the war itself. The UN has a moral obligation to take over and, hard though it will be to get it past Washington's veto, the EU states and Russia should draft a security council resolution to authorize a strong UN role as soon as possible. (link)
My concerns about the war on Iraq were always focused on what would happen after the war was over. The initial signs are not good and tend to confirm what I thought would happen. Only time will tell if I was right. I pray that I was not and that things will go better than I feared. [Al-Muhajabah's Islamic Blogs]. .< 2:17:15 AM >Bush, Blair, and the Big Lie No one, least of all this writer, who spent a harrowing time in Iraq under Saddam's brutal, sinister, megalo-despotism, mourns him. But in their lust to invade Iraq, the Bush administration and Tony Blair deeply discredited their own nations' moral standing, credibility, and democratic ideals by outrageously misleading their own people and whipping them into mass hysteria to justify an imperial war. (link)
In this article, Eric Margolis reviews all the lies that were told by the Bush Administration and the Blair government to justify war on Iraq. It ticks me off when I'm lied to. [Al-Muhajabah's Islamic Blogs]Good grief. How bad is it when the right wing rag The Toronto Sun is dissing 'the war party'? Amazing. . .< 2:16:32 AM >Weapons, Lies, and the United States "Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised." - US President George W. Bush in his March 20 ultimatum telling Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq within 48 hours or face the consequences. Four weeks, three false alarms, and one nearly successful military campaign later, the US has found no conclusive evidence of the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Was America right? Was Saddam Hussein breaking sanctions and harboring dangerous chemicals and nuclear warheads? Was he willing to sell these weapons to terrorist groups like Al Quada for the right price? Maybe. Was the Bush administration and US intelligence wrong about the whole thing, using the possible existence of illegal weapons as a curtain to shield the real reason for war - (oil, revenge, keeping the American public's worries and fear safely away from the shambles that America's economy, freedom, and environmental policy has become)? [Kuro5hin.org] Missing the point here. The war was unnecessary. The weapons inspections were working. . .< 12:17:01 AM >The Onion | New Fox Reality Show To Determine Ruler Of Iraq "Fox did such huge numbers with its war coverage, we figured, 'Why not find a way to keep this good thing going?'" Berman said. "I'm confident that our loyal Fox News viewers will find that reconstruction can be just as thrilling as destruction." |
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On this day in 2003 2002 2001 |
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