The Mosque Attack: Where was Bush?
The Iraq news this morning is that the twin golden minarets of the al-Askari mosque in Samarra were blown up yesterday during an attack apparently mounted by Sunni extremists with links to al Qaeda. Given that George W. Bush has repeatedly (and erroneously) called the early 2006 attack on the mosque the trigger of sectarian conflict within Iraq, anyone paying attention ought to ask, so why did the United States not do what was necessary to prevent another attack on the mosque? The other Iraq news is the release of a Pentagon report noting--no shock here--that despite Bush's so-called surge the overall level of violence in Iraq has not decreased. Attacks have shifted from Baghdad to other parts of the country. When it comes to violence in Iraq, there is a free market.
What's likely to get less attention than the Pentagon report is a report put out by a coalition of nongovernmental organizations that raises questions about the United States' conduct of the war. Here's an Agence France-Press article on the report:
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - A coalition of non-governmental groups on Wednesday took the UN Security Council to task for its "shocking silence" on alleged violations of international law by US-led forces in Iraq and urged an early end to their mandate.
In a scathing report, the Global Policy Forum slammed the conduct of US-led coalition forces and their Iraqi government partners who "have held a large number of Iraqi citizens in 'security detention' without charge or trial, in direct violation of international law."
"No Iraqi is safe from arbitrary arrest and the number of prisoners has risen greatly since 2003 (when the US-led war began)," said the forum, an international non-profit body that monitors policy-making at the United Nations....
The report said US military commanders have established permissive "rules of engagement," allowing troops to use "deadly force" against virtually any perceived threat.
"As a consequence, the US and its allies regularly kill Iraqi civilians at checkpoints and during military operations, on the basis of the merest suspicion," the 117-page report said.
Americans may have Abu Ghraib fatigue and not want to hear more about systemic problems involving U.S. human rights and international law violations within Iraq. But it seems this is a matter that the in-control Democrats of Congress ought to examine. If arbitrary arrests, detentions without charges, and the misuse of deadly force are indeed on the upswing, U.S. forces could be creating more enemies than they are thwarting.
Posted by David Corn at June 14, 2007 09:17 AM
9 comments:
Mr. David Corn,
No surprises. Interesting AFP is the source. One might expect the WaPo or NYT's would be reporting at least some of the same facts.
Thanks
Kirk
It’s Official: The Crash of the U.S. Economy has begun
It’s official. Mark your calendars. The crash of the U.S. economy has begun. It was announced the morning of Wednesday, June 13, 2007, by economic writers Steven Pearlstein and Robert Samuelson in the pages of the Washington Post, one of the foremost house organs of the U.S. monetary elite.
Pearlstein’s column was titled, "The Takeover Boom, About to Go Bust" and concerned the extraordinary amount of debt vs. operating profits of companies currently subject to leveraged buyouts.
In language remarkably alarmist for the usually ultra-bland pages of the Post, Pearlstein wrote, "It is impossible to predict when the magic moment will be reached and everyone finally realizes that the prices being paid for these companies, and the debt taken on to support the acquisitions, are unsustainable. When that happens, it won't be pretty. Across the board, stock prices and company valuations will fall. Banks will announce painful write-offs, some hedge funds will close their doors, and private-equity funds will report disappointing returns. Some companies will be forced into bankruptcy or restructuring."
Further, "Falling stock prices will cause companies to reduce their hiring and capital spending while governments will be forced to raise taxes or reduce services, as revenue from capital gains taxes declines. And the combination of reduced wealth and higher interest rates will finally cause consumers to pull back on their debt-financed consumption. It happened after the junk-bond and savings-and-loan collapses of the late 1980s. It happened after the tech and telecom bust of the late '90s. And it will happen this time."
More HERE
*****end of clip*****
From the article:
Among those poised to profit from the crash is the Carlyle Group, the equity fund that includes the Bush family and other high-profile investors with insider government connections. A January 2007 memorandum to company managers from founding partner William E. Conway, Jr., recently appeared which stated that, when the current “liquidity environment”—i.e., cheap credit—ends, “the buying opportunity will be a once in a lifetime chance.”
Well, there you go.
capt
Where was Bush? I do not know. Maybe he was drunk? Maybe he was snorting? Maybe he was playing at his video games?
The Dems are not going to examine anything because they are bed partners with Hitler Bush.
The report said US military commanders have established permissive "rules of engagement," allowing troops to use "deadly force" against virtually any perceived threat.
"As a consequence, the US and its allies regularly kill Iraqi civilians at checkpoints and during military operations, on the basis of the merest suspicion," the 117-page report said.
Americans may have Abu Ghraib fatigue and not want to hear more about systemic problems involving U.S. human rights and international law violations within Iraq. But it seems this is a matter that the in-control Democrats of Congress ought to examine. If arbitrary arrests, detentions without charges, and the misuse of deadly force are indeed on the upswing, U.S. forces could be creating more enemies than they are thwarting.
These three paragraphs should indicate to the discerning reader that Iraq and the war is lost. That is why Hitler Bush must bomb Iran to redeem himself from being a failure. Bombing the crap out of people makes Hitler Bush feel successful because he is a cold blooded murderer.
The United States of Evil is guilty of murders and war crimes. America and Evil are synonymous.
Please go to uscatholic.org and scroll down to Margin Notes by Kevin Clarke and read his article, "Iran Spam" in the June, 2007 edition of the magazine.
US may collapse as a superpower
Iran spam
Scooter Libby is going to the Slammer
I would guess that the NRO, Fred Thompson, Mary Matalin, Joe Degenova, Victoria Toensing and the Washinton Post are all shedding tears for Scooter…
I still expect Bunnypants to pardon Scooter before he spends one day in prison.
It was not a futile exercise - Scooter is a convicted felon. Of course that qualifies him for special pay and duty within the back-channels of the darkest GOPher holes.
capt
My hope is that Scooter does go to prison. Can you actually believe that a Nazi may go to jail? How is that possible in Nazi America?
capt has linked "Iran Spam" to his website and it is a great read.
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