FalloutStories related to 11 Sept 2001. |
| Last modified: |
|
17/10/2004; 9:42:53 |
| Reckless Administration May Reap Disastrous Consequences: |
|
'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 : |
|
'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 |
| Bookmarks: |
|
|
|
Dr. Iyad Allawi, a member of the Iraqi Governing Council, has been chosen to be prime minister of Iraq's interim government. [New York Times: International] Duh . .< 11:02:16 AM  >Italy warns of Bush unrest threat A minister issues a dramatic warning about the level of protests expected during a visit by George W Bush. [BBC News | World | UK Edition] '"If a criminal of the calibre of Bush is given the red carpet treatment, then rage is the right reaction," said anti-globalisation activist Luca Casarini.
"Confronted by a heavily-defended Rome that is looking to protect that terrorist Bush, the only thing to do is break the rules," he told La Stampa newspaper.' . .< 2:05:36 AM >David Leigh: Catch-22 revisited Analysis: The world has focused on US soldiers' abuse of Iraqi prisoners. But the leaked inquiry reveals incompetence worthy of Joseph Heller's novel, writes David Leigh. [Guardian Unlimited] 'Why are US soldiers of such poor quality? One reason for the alarming level of incompetence appears to be that many officers and foot-soldiers are not professionals. They are two-week-a-year reservists. The 320th military police battalion, at the heart of the abuse scandal, was a reserve unit based near Scranton, Pennsylvania. Karpinski, in charge of the brigade, was a corporate management consultant in civilian life. Phillabaum, in charge of the battalion, was a reservist. The company commander, Captain Donald Reese, who "failed to properly supervise his soldiers", was a salesman.
And, as Naomi Klein has pointed out on these pages, many troops were from the poorest parts of rural West Virginia. They had often joined the reserve to pay their way through college, or to get medical care.
The present US administration, led by defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, is trying to exploit these 200,000 army reservists, to get a smaller, lighter, cheaper, full-time army, as well as seeking to privatise many jobs out to commercial firms.' |
| Archive: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On this day in 2003 2002 2001 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
