Spying on America's Secrets

So what would happen if, a Canadian agent convinced a U.S. Army mechanical engineer to secretly bring classified U.S. national defence documents home, so they could be photographed and sent back to Canada? What if those documents included atomic weapons and fighter jet information? What if the Americans finally found out via an FBI investigation? What would the U.S. government do? Well, for one thing, they'd be pissed. They'd call a news conference and show the world how pissed they were at Canada. They'd feel betrayal that one of their closest allies ... friends ... had come into their house and steal secrets from them. In fact, had they asked, the information would probably have been shared with them. Diplomats would be pulled, and the U.S. would be mad with us for quite some time.

This of course did happen ... the stealing part that is. But it wasn't Canada. It was Israel that did the stealing. And it happened for years. An investigation has culminated in charges being brought against a traitorous mechanical engineer. The U.S. government however, hasn't reacted. That's because this situation involves Israel, and as usual, Israel will be forgiven for their transgressions. Israel can do no wrong because Israel has the entire Arab world arrayed against them, and that very fact is why America will always have a soft spot for Israel, despite their stupidity. America's penchant for forgiving Israel for all wrongs however is also the reason why America will never have credibility in the Arab world -- why it will never bring peace to the Middle East; and why there will be no democracy in Iraq if America has anything to do with it.

Disemboweled and Torn Apart for Teaching Girls

The world does not need the Taliban. The world does not need Islamic fundamentalists. The world doesn't need fundamentalists, period. They should be killed. Everyone single one of them. Killed -- because if it's not them, it's us. This report from 2006 is a reminder of why the war in Afghanistan got as much support as it did; and why it's still a just war. If George W. hadn't fucked it all up by invading Iraq, the world would have been a different place today. Muslim moderates would have cheered to have the fundamentalists purged from the planet. Instead, George W. succeeded in irking Muslim moderates and turning a war against fundamentalists into a war against Islam. Way to go jackass.

The gunmen came at night to drag Mohammed Halim away from his home, in front of his crying children and his wife begging for mercy.

The 46-year-old schoolteacher tried to reassure his family that he would return safely. But his life was over, he was part-disembowelled and then torn apart with his arms and legs tied to motorbikes, the remains put on display as a warning to others against defying Taliban orders to stop educating girls.

Saying No to Weapons Export

Way to go South African dock workers! A Chinese ship docked at a South African port encountered problems when it tried to offload its shipment of weapons destined for Zimbabwe. While there is currently no UN or AU embargo on shipping weapons to Zimbabwe, public interest groups are concerned about the use of those weapons in the political turmoil that is Zimbabwe today. So, dock workers refused to offload the ship, and it had to leave. The ship had on board, three million rounds for AK-47s, 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades and several thousand mortar rounds. Just what is a country, with no economy, doing, in importing such weapons? And what is China doing, exporting such weapons to such an unstable country?

The Arms industry is huge. The economics of dealing in death just makes for good business. It's startling however, when you start digging into the flow of cash for weapons. The top 20 arms exporters in the world include the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Yes, the body whose "primary responsibility, under the [UN] Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security," supplies the arms to conflicts around the world. Canada is just as guilty as the five permanent members. We rank number 12, and export $10-25MM in small arms. Those very weapons that are handy in ethnic and religious conflicts in developing nations; those very weapons that are light and easy to carry and use by children who supply the bodies in some of those armed conflicts.

Fat Man Revealed

Wikileaks has released an early drawing of the "Fat Man" bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki in the closing of the second world war. The drawing had remained censored and not publicly available until this release. There's nothing secret about it, since the design has long been superseded.

My Lai Massacre

Soldiers went berserk, gunning down unarmed men, women, children and babies. Families which huddled together for safety in huts or bunkers were shown no mercy. Those who emerged with hands held high were murdered. ... Elsewhere in the village, other atrocities were in progress. Women were gang raped; Vietnamese who had bowed to greet the Americans were beaten with fists and tortured, clubbed with rifle butts and stabbed with bayonets. Some victims were mutilated with the signature "C Company" carved into the chest. By late morning word had got back to higher authorities and a cease-fire was ordered. My Lai was in a state of carnage. Bodies were strewn through the village.BBC News.

On March 16, 1968, Charlie Company of the American 1st Battalion, swept through hamlets of My Lai and My Khe of Son My village in Vietnam, looking for Viet Cong. There were no Viet Cong in the village, but Charlie Company started a wave of violence, shooting at everything alive. Civilians ran for their lives, and were gunned down. People were herded into an irrigation ditch and shot with automatic weapons. No one was spared. Not even children. When they were finished, over 500 people were murdered.

The American military initially covered up incident. It would take a year and a half later for the story to break, and charges to be laid against soldiers. Of the 26 soldiers charged, only one was ever given prison time -- just four and a half years in military prison. In the court martial, the precedents set in the Nuremberg and Tokyo War Crimes Tribunals, were reversed. The results of the WWII war crimes tribunals set the precedent that following orders was not a defence for committing war crimes. The punishment from the war crimes tribunals was execution.

Tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of the massacre -- and I have to ask, what has changed?

Sources:

1. Wikipedia
2. The Associated Press
3. PBS

See a related documentary here.

Gates Without Irony on Turkish Invasion

Is it just me, or is the irony lost on these fucking morons? In case aren't aware, Turkey has marched into Northern Iraq to kick Kurdish butt. Specifically the butts of the PKK, a terrorist group that has been launching attacks on Turkey from the mountainous region of northern Iraq. Turkey finally had enough, and sent its military in. Understandably, the Iraq government is pissed. Understandably, the Turks don't give a damn. Totally confusing is the moronic response from the US, as represented by the following words from Defense Secretary, Robert "What is Irony?" Gates:

It's very important that the Turks make this operation as short as possible and then leave, and to be mindful of Iraqi sovereignty. I measure quick in terms of days, a week or two, something like that. Not months. Military activity alone will not solve this terrorist problem for Turkey. There certainly is a place for security operations but these also need to be accompanied by economic and political initiatives and to deal with some of the issues that provide a favourable local environment where the PKK can operate.

I don't know about you, but at this point, I don't think the US has the moral authority to tell anyone who they can or can't invade. Until the Bush administration is ousted by a revolution -- and by that I mean a purge -- not only of the political apparatus they've used to soil American standing in the world, but also the nepotism they've employed to destroyed the American institutions, such as the justice system. Then, and only then, with America restored, can a defense secretary stand up and utter those words, and be taken seriously.

Taxi To The Dark Side

ThinkProgress is reporting that Taxi to the Dark Side, a documentary about an innocent Afghan taxi driver tortured to death by America at the Bagram Air Base, will finally be aired, thanks to HBO. HBO picked up the film from Discovery Channel, after Discovery broke its contract to broadcast the film before the 2008 elections. Discovery was afraid of the controversy that may result, which would potentially impact a planned IPO.

Let this be a reminder that media companies are not public. They are private businesses. They have a responsibility to their shareholders first and foremost, and have absolutely no responsibility to the public.

Check out the trailer here.

Yes, he is that dumb

Think Progress has posted a video of George W. Bush defending his decision not to send US troops into Darfur to stop the genocide. Totally lacking a grasp on irony, Bush stated his reasoning:

A clear lesson I learned in the museum was that outside forces that tend to divide people up inside their country are unbelievably counterproductive.

That was the second chance irony waved in front of Bush. It's as if nothing sticks. Showering the man with the obvious still leaves him oblivious. If you took a huge sign of the obvious and danced it in front of him, he would still miss it. That's what happened when he missed his first chance to grasp the irony of the situation -- as he was speaking from the Rwandan Genocide Museum.

Iran vs. America: An Alternative History

Hey America -- want to know why they hate you? LewRockwell.com is running a post by J.L. Bryan that provides a timeline from 1953, to present day, with a mirror image of the two states. What if Iran was American and vice versa? Read the post for more, but here's the synopsis:

1953: Iran instigates a coup in America that leads to the toppling of Dwight D. Eisenhower and the installation of Joseph McCarthy as king. All of this, after America got upset over the fact that 90% of American oil revenues were being taken by Iran.

1953-1979: The puppet King McCarthy rule is absolute, backed by Iranian money and arms. Anyone who opposes him, vanishes.

1978-1979: Under McCarthy's rules, Americans can only gather in support of McCarthy or to pray. This leads to a Christian revolution movement led by the likes of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Jim Bakker. With the support of students, these Christian clerics, dump McCarthy and boots Iranian influence from America.

1980-1988: The Iranians arm the Mexican dictator, José Husseino, and sends him to war against America. The Americans fight back, and Husseino uses chemical weapons against the Americans. Millions die, and millions more suffer from the use of weapons of mass destruction. Husseino even uses chemical weapons on Mexicans to crush a revolt.

1991: Husseino, now armed and scary, starts taking an interest in his neighbours, and makes a move on Guatemala. Iran responds by invading both Mexico and Guatemala. They leave Husseino in power, but dot Guatemala with military bases.

1991-2001: The American people still haven't recovered from the America-Mexico war. Iran convinces the world to impose economic sanctions on both Mexico and America. Half a million American children die of malnutrition as a result, and radiation poisoning as a result from the 1991 Iranian invasion results in a cancer epidemic. Iran meanwhile, secretly funds dissatisfied groups in America.

9/11/2001: The Cubans blow-up the Iranian Freedom Tower. The Iranians blame the Christofascists of the West.

2001-2007: Read If Iran Were America (And We Were Iran): A Timeline for more.

The Internet is a Weapons System

The Pentagon sees the internet as an enemy "weapons system" that needs to planned for and dealt with. So it said in its Information Operation Roadmap, published in 2003. The internet represents everything that a colonial America should be worried about. Decentralized, anonymous, with the ability to network disparate and like-minded groups, quickly and cheaply. The internet disseminates information and propaganda outside the control of a central authority. With its views, the Pentagon shares the perspective of the Chinese government, which likewise sees the internet as a threat to its ability to control the masses. Unlike the Chinese however, Americans control their government, and can still do something about this. Read more at Global Research.

Bush: The Environmental Genius

We’ve been had. The world has been hoodwinked by an environmental genius. I’m still shocked by the realization. It suddenly dawned on me this morning that it’s all been a farce. Wow. Such deception. Such acting ability. The lies, the blatantly moronic actions and seemingly idiotic policies. All pure genius.

It all makes sense now. In the 90s, Dubya knew that Global Warming would cause irreversible damage to the world. Never mind Manhattan and polar bears, Bush knew from his PhD in Geography that countless millions in the lowlands of Bangladesh were in danger, and that if Gore got elected he would try the useless tactic of convincing industry to change, at which he had been failing since the 60s. Heck, Al even invented the internet to convince people and it still didn’t work. Something had to be done. Enter George.

All along he had a seven step plan to save the world:

1. Get Jeb elected in Florida and stack the Supreme Court. Make sure the people of Florida have no chance to express who they really want as president, and steal the 2000 election.
2. At all costs, slow down the flow of oil. George knew that the only way to stop global warming was to stop the burning of fossil fuels. What better way than to shut down the oilfields in the world’s second largest reserve? He needed a way to destroy the Iraqi infrastructure, but congress would never give him the cash. Unless. With the help of his Dad’s CIA peons, he convinced his country that they were under threat, and that his one-time friend Saddam was really a tyrant with WMDs. George was determined to save us, even if it meant sacrificing thousands of young Americans, breaking international law and risking jail time by ignoring the Geneva Conventions.
3. Set the US economy up for collapse by spending exorbitant amounts of money destroying Iraq to drive the government into serious debt, all the while getting Greenspan to encourage banks to lend money to people who couldn’t afford it, creating over confidence in the growth of the economy and a housing boom, enabling millions of contactors to buy massive new F350 trucks, and driving consumer debt to all time highs.
4. Build up international trade, especially with China, so that the world’s economies are all tied together and he can affect them all. Use the American consumers’ confidence to get them addicted to cheap plastic goods from China. Encourage the Chinese to use lead paint in their toys and pesticide in their pet foods.
5. With Iraq oil production stopped, and American consumers buying lead-laden Chinese Barbie dolls by the container ship load, oil prices would rise, and he could now encourage farmers to grow corn for ethanol, guaranteeing steep rises in food prices, and pretty much everything else.
6. When the Chinese toy buying is at its peak, expose the lead and pesticide use, causing consumer panic and the rejection of Chinese goods.
7. Sit back and watch the collapse.

With oil and food prices so high, and the mortgage market imploding, the stock market will collapse sending the entire world into a recession.

With recession comes unemployment. High gas and food prices mean that people will only be able to afford food and not much else. Consumers will even be scared to buy cheap Chinese products.

The result: the consumption of fossil fuels for everything from F350s to air travel to Chinese Barbie doll factories plummets, cutting greenhouse gasses enough to stop Global Warming and save the people of Bangladesh from losing their homeland.

Freakin’ brilliant.

© Darren Harnett 2008.

Nazi Business

Cracked.com has a cynical piece on five well known brand names and the role they played in supporting Nazi Germany. The companies are Siemens, Bayer, IBM, Volkswagen and Hugo Boss. What did these companies do to support the Nazi war effort? Hugo Boss made the uniforms worn by the Nazis -- and you can probably recognize the Nazi influence in today's Boss wear. Volkswagen created the Beetle to be the affordable wonder car every German could own. IBM supplied the Nazis with systems to keep an inventory of Jews and others, allowing the holocaust to be executed efficiently. Bayer (then part of IG Farben) produced the Zyklon-B gas used in the gas chambers. And Siemens was the Nazi infrastructure machine -- everything from railways to the gas chambers themselves.

Those five are not the only businesses to prosper and support Nazi Germany. There were many others -- and they weren't limited to German companies. Businesses around the world, including Western Europe and the US, saw the opportunity Nazi Germany represented and some even sympathized with their pursuit of a master race.

Of course, it was only just business. It wasn't like those companies were actually killing people. Really. They were just making a killing from the killing. Not much has changed today of course. Around the world, business continue to prosper from the murder of innocents. Think you're not using a product or service that either directly or indirectly is responsible for murder, war, pillage, rape? Think again.

Blackwater Trounced

Surprise-surprise. Blackwater has dropped its membership in the mercenary industry group, the International Peace Operations Association. IPOA was engaging Blackwater in a review of their processes to ensure they were complying with IPOA's Code of Conduct -- a code that stresses human rights, corporate ethics, International Humanitarian Law, transparency, accountability, and responsibility and professionalism in relationships with employees, clients, and partner companies. Blackwater apparently didn't like the scrutiny -- so it withdrew its membership from IPOA.

Bet no one saw that one coming.

Everybody Wants to Bomb Iran

While is playing up to American conservatives and promoting Iran as a land free of nuclear weapons and homosexuality, Israel is apparently turning up the rhetoric on first strike options on Iranian nuclear targets. Times is reporting that Israel is contemplating a two pronged attack at Iran's underground nuclear facilities, that involves an initial strike with conventional weapons, followed by an attack with low yield nuclear weapons. Mossad is apparently reporting that Iran is only a couple of years away from refining enough enriched uranium to make bombs -- and Israel either wants to US to act against Iran or stay out of it and let Israel do the deed.

Now guess: just what do you think the response will be from the Islamic zealots -- and maybe even moderates? If there isn't polarization yet, this is sure to put an end to any hope of respite from the madness. Have all the sane people left the world?

Iraq Expels Blackwater

Blackwater USA is a private, mercenary army that is under the employ of the US military. It has quite a comprehensive operation in Iraq, protecting diplomats, contractors and other non-military types. The company has been regularly criticized for its operations in Iraq, where it operates as an unofficial extension of the US military, but without the oversight of civilian and military law. Iraqis have repeatedly complained that Blackwater's employees indiscriminately fire on, and kill, civilians during their operations. Now it appears that the Iraqis have finally had enough. The Iraq government has ordered the expulsion of Blackwater from their country after eight civilians were killed in the aftermath of a car bomb explosion -- although this expulsion may not affect Blackwater's operations that cater to the CIA or US State Department.

Of course, the US has quickly reacted and has promised an immediate investigation. The US military would be unable to operate in Iraq without Blackwater's presence. The US doesn't have enough soldiers to fight the war and provide security to the nation-building contractors on the ground -- half of whom are the guns for hire. In addition to the security detail, Blackwater also participates in clandestine operations on behalf of the US government. Most of these operations are shrouded in secrecy and can only be speculated on. American reliance on private armies for hire reached a pinnacle under the Bush Administration, which has successfully maintained a war while keeping congressional oversight to a minimum. This isn't disaster waiting to happen -- it has already happened, and Blackwater USA is making a killing keeping Uncle Sam's hands free of blood.

The US may be able to view Blackwater's soldiers as non-military personnel -- but the rest of the world, especially the Iraqis right now, see them all as being Americans. While the American government is now pursuing nation building, it's mercenaries are busily shredding any credibility it may be gaining. The situation is such a disaster that it must take a comatose population and administration mired in shit as to not notice.

For more on the private armies in Iraq, check out this BBC documentary.

Another Middle East War?

The latest beat of the war drums south of the 49th, is for a possible massive blitz against Iran, in the continued escalation over the Iranians insistence on continuing their uranium enrichment program. The Americans could simply be rattling their sabres in the hopes of getting Iran to back down, and getting more teeth on the latest UN sanctions. Or maybe, in the twilight of the Bush Administration, ole George is about to ensure the world is even more fucked up before he's finished.

Who knows.

Regardless, if you're Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, you may want to read, "So you’re about to be invaded by the United States" -- a rant posted on Craiglist. The post informs the potential victim of an invasion of what they can expect -- and possible courses of action they can take. Enjoy!

Military Spending vs. War and Death

Here are two maps. The top one reflects military spending, based on 2002 numbers. The US far outweighs the other countries of the world, taking up 45% of the land mass to account for its $353B war chest.

By contrast, the second map shows deaths related to war in 2002. The dark bloody blot on the map represents the Congo and 26% of the 172,000 deaths from war worldwide. Africa continues to be brutalized by conflict, and the world's $789B military budget represents such potential for peace on the continent. All it takes is the will to make a difference.

These maps were sourced from Worldmapper, via the Daily Mail.

Internet Jihad

Islamic terrorists don't hail from just the Middle East. They're now originating from our own western democracies. Young men, inspired by a strict interpretation is Islam and fanciful promises of never ending virgins for martyrs, are entering a fantasy world, where the killing of innocents is the objective. As important as terrorist cells and training camps in Africa and the borders of Pakistan are, they pale in comparison to the importance of the internet for terrorists. The internet represents the ultimate borderless landscape. With near-anonymiity, freedom of expression and unparalleled access to a world audience, the new breed of cyber terrorist exhibit the same fearlessness and bravado as those who remove their social filters when anonymously commenting on the internet. For these individuals, far removed from a war zone or a scene of murder, cyber-terrorism probably feels a bit like a game. It's anything but a game however. Cyber terrorists serve the most important function in the arsenal of terrorism: propaganda and the dissemination of training information. It hardly matters whether Osama bin Laden is still alive. Terrorism doesn't need a central figure anymore. The internet has provided a network bin Laden could never have built on his own. A network he probably doesn't even understand -- if he's still alive -- but a network that certainly understand. It's disappointing then, that cyber-terrorism isn't being addressed in Bush's "global war on terrorism." Where's the US propaganda machine? In their response to terrorism, America continues to be reactionary -- not realizing that as much as the war needs to be fought with bombs, it must also be fought with ideas and information.

Business of War

Why is America shipping military gear to Iran? A good question that should be asked, since America has been rattling sabres since GW got tingle for Mahmoud. The answer is not one that most Americans will care to hear, nor interested in doing much about. It comes down to the mixing of commerce and war. When the two meet, only horrible things can result. America's defense department apparently has a lot of surplus and legacy equipment -- the over capacity no doubt a result of defense contractors pushing Uncle Sam to buy more. Through a series of third parties, the defense department moves equipment out to civilian hands, from where it skips the country and tend to end up in the hands of the highest bidder.

Playing this out to ultimate end will find surplus American military gear in the hands of enemies on a battlefield. American made equipment being used to kill American soldiers, fighting wars triggered by politicians, at the behest of military contractors. If the present trend of contracting the military continues of course, the defense contractors themselves would ultimately supply the soldiers. So, defense contractors build weapons, ensure they end up in the hands of all combatants, and hell, maybe even supply the combatants, and profit from the chaos that result. All funded of course, by the taxpayers, who are too lazy to do anything about it. Brings new meaning to the words collateral damage.

Wars are unfortunate in civil societies, and are a necessary evil -- an instrument of good -- in dealing with uncivil societies. The business of war and warmongering however, is morally wrong for civil and just societies.

Our Contribution to Genocide

Africa is dry, and climate change is going to make it even more so. It has been suggested that the current conflict in Sudan, is not just a manifestation of religious and ethnic animosities -- it's also a conflict of too few resources to meet the demand of the existing population. If the world is serious about ending the genocide in Sudan, it will also have to address the problem of dwindling resources, exasperated by the Sahara pushing further south, down the continent. It is another perspective on climate change. Our consumption habits in the developed world is being paid for, in part, by the lives of Africans -- by the genocide happening in Sudan.

This perspective begs for urgency in addressing climate change. The conflict and resulting genocide in Sudan may be an early warning sign of the coming consequences of climate change. It won't happen fast, but ancient hatreds around the world, currently held at bay by economic and social prosperity, will certainly ignite when there's nothing left to lose. The world has had little success in brokering peace in Sudan, or implementing sustainable measures to provide the basics of life. What will we do when the strife in Sudan crops up elsewhere in the world -- as climate change alters more than just the African continent?

They say that every society is only three meals away from revolution. Deprive a culture of food for three meals, and you'll have an anarchy.

Related reading:

• National Security and the Threat of Climate Change [PDF]
• Climate Change and International Security
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis [PDF]

Big-baadaa-boom!

This image, from the October 2002 issue of Popular Mechanics, compares the nuclear weapons from WWII-era to those in existence -- and the tiny, low yield, Bunker Busters of the US. What is incredible isn't the latest nuclear arsenal -- but that of the past -- and how terrifyingly close we came ending it all.

The Popular Mechanics graphic tops out with the Tsar Bomba (aka Ivan), the 50-megaton nuclear bomb that was detonated by the Russians on October 30, 1961 in the Arctic Sea -- its yield was equivalent to 10-times all the explosives used in WWII; followed by Bravo, a 15-megaton bomb tested by the US on March 1, 1954 at Bikini Atoll -- its yield was equivalent to 1,000 times that of Fat Man and Little Boy; then, Mike, which was tested on October 31, 1952 by the US. On the graphic, Fat Man and Little Boy hardly register as a blip.

How close we came during the cold war ... how close.

Re-writing History of Iran

The Heathlander has a post on MSNBC shameless obliteration of history in a recent slide-show on Iran. Apparently, publishing facts pertaining to the US-UK involvement in the overthrow of Mohammed Mossadeq, the eventual Islamic revolution and the US-backing of Iraq in wars against Iran is just not convenient. Before the US can launch a war against Iran, it must first be demonize. Americans must first be made to see Iranians as evil -- people who aren't human -- and therefore should be killed. MSNBC is participating in this propaganda exercise.

Be A Witness

This ad by Be A Witness, a campaign made by the American Progress Action Fund and the Genocide Intervention Fund, was rejected by the three major US TV networks (ABC, CBS and NBC).

Coulter Frothing at the Mouth

The patron saint of the Republican party, Ann Coulter, has been frothing at the mouth again.

On Darfur:

These people can't even wrap up genocide. We've been hearing about this slaughter in Darfur forever — and they still haven't finished. The aggressors are moving like termites across that country. It's like genocide by committee. Who's running this holocaust in Darfur, FEMA?

On Passover:

Moses had to grab Jews by the scruff of their necks and drag them to the desert for 40 years to get a generation capable of living in freedom — and even then the Jews were complaining about it being too drafty. Once free, they complained about the food, which apparently compared unfavorably to the food back in Egypt. Even in the desert, the Jews would not stop with the golden calves. God nearly let the whole lot of them perish in the desert, he was so angry about their idolatrous ways. Only when he had a new generation, born in freedom, that didn't complain about the food, did he lead them to the promised land. For you liberals still reading, this is all extensively covered in a book known as the "Bible."

On the Iraq war:

If you want a shorter rebuilding process, then we're going to have to wage less humane wars. The enemy — as well as innocent civilians — must be bombed into quivering terror. Otherwise, we displace aggression but don't destroy it.

What's the traditional response to a rabid dog again?

Declassified Intelligence Report: Iraq Had No Pre-War Ties to Al-Qaeda

The Washington Post is running a story on a declassified US Defense Department report released yesterday, that discounts any pre-war ties between Iraq and al-Qaeda. Before the war, the US intelligence community was pretty much aligned in their consensus that there was only limited contacts between al-Qaeda and Iraqi government officials -- and that any links between the two was based on suspect information. The Undersecretary of Defense, Douglas J. Feith, however, had taken such reports from the CIA and DIA, and spun a tale of lies to feed to Cheney and Bush, which concluded that there was indeed an established relationship between al-Qaeda and Iraq -- and that Iraq may even have had a hand in the 9/11 attacks on the US. The CIA had disagreed with the information Feith was feeding Cheney and Bush via briefings -- and expressed their disagreement -- however, Feith concluded that the CIA could be ignored.

Subsequent to the US invasion of Iraq and the toppling of Sadaam Hussein, Iraq's former foreign minister, Tariq Aziz; former intelligence minister, Mani al-Rashid al Tikriti; and senior al-Qaeda operative, Ibn al-Shaykh, were all interrogated, and evidence they provided also supports the CIA and DIA's pre-war conclusions.

So, where does this leave the Bush Administration? Totally exposed you would think. If you were completely sane, that's exactly where your conclusions would be drawn. If you were completely nuts however, you would be the vice-president of the United States, and on the same day the report was being publicly released, you'd be on the radio, reconfirming the spin, that really, "they [al-Qaeda] were present [in Iraq] before we invaded."

Updated:

Scott Adams has a short post on his site, titled: I Wish I Had a Government. Adams is upset. Upset at the current government and the alternative. Adams is looking for his tax dollars at work, and suggests that he would be happy if "Congressmen and Congresswomen run across a field of rakes every morning to get to work. ... it would only take a few rakes in the face per day to make me feel as if my tax dollars weren't a complete waste."

Terry Jones on Humiliation

Terry Jones, he of Monty Python fame, writes about humiliation in the Guardian. Specifically, he targets the humiliation of UK sailors at the hands of their Iranian captors and shares the outrage being expressed in the British press. Jones compares how the west has treated Arab prisoners in recent Middle East conflict with the treatment being experienced by the sailors. He is outraged -- mad -- at what's being done. Faye Tuney is forced to wear a black headscarf and her picture is allowed to posted around the world; the sailors forced to talk on Iranian TV; they're allowed to write letters home!

Jones believes that the UK sailors should be treated the way a civilized nation treats prisoners of war -- the way the US (with British help) has been treating prisoners. He suggests that perhaps the prisoners should have bags over their heads, with their mouths duct-taped; that they should be given "the privacy of solitary confinement;" that they should be held for years with no charges; that they should be allowed to partake in physical exercise, such as taking up stress positions which they have to maintain for hours on end; that they should forced into “compromising sexual positions, or having electric shocks to their genitals” -- with pictures of such activity circulated around the world.

Since Iran is not treating the UK prisoners with such civility, the Iranian people should be made to suffer -- sanctions, or better yet, a full scale invasion by GW’s forces is what is called for. They’re asking for it.

Gotta love the western media’s hypocrisy.

[You can see the videos of the UK Sailors on Iranian TV here.]

Palestinian Loss

If wonder why the Palestinians carry such disdain for Israel? Before WWII, there was no Jewish state. After WWII, Israel was carved out of Palestinian land. Remember, most of the Middle East and Africa was still occupied as colonies of European nations -- so they could do as they damn well please. And they did. It may be that they felt some remorse for what the Germans did to the Jews. They didn't feel enough remorse however, to welcome Jews into their own countries. Canada was one of those nations that didn't want the Jewish exodus to land on our shores. Our shame. The map of Palestine today -- our shame as well.

There's obviously no going back now. But acknowledging the past mistakes is the only way of making the future peaceful. [Source: eatliver.com]

Indigènes / Days of Glory (2006)

Indigènes -- a French term used for the African soldiers during the second world war, meaning "natives" -- is a more appropriate title for this movie, than the English release title, Days of Glory. There was little glorious about the participation of North African soldiers in the French army of WWII. Although the North Africans fought for the French motherland, France was hardly open arms for the Africans -- if anything, to this day, those soldiers that are still alive continue to be marginalized and not treated with the same respect of their French counterparts. The movie is about France's shame -- a shame that some are willing to acknowledge, but others, like those of the National Front, dismiss as lies.

Indigènes follows a group of Algerians who join the French army as they fight through Italy and Provence to liberate France from the Nazis -- focusing on four, each having their own reasons for fighting in defense of their colonizer. Abdelkader believes in the French ideals of liberté, égalité, and fraternité; Yassir is there just to get rich, liberating treasures wherever they're found; Saïd wants to escape poverty at home -- and Messaoud is looking to find a new life and love in France. Along the way, they are tested and transformed by the war and the bigotry they encounter.

The individual stories are powerful and superbly performed. The injustices are painful to watch. This is history, but also a potent mirror on the state of the world. The injustices continue today. The hope of the characters crushed with their fallen bodies; with history that continues to repeat itself; with bigotry that remains unchanged. The movie is powerful and moving, and hopefully will be seen by more than just the converted. This is a war movie of two wars -- with one that continues to be fought today, in desperate need of more infantry. Liberté, égalité, and fraternité: it shouldn't be so hard to accomplish.