NotLW.001: Things looking more Soviet every day

by redjade Sun Jun 18, 2006 17:06

U.S. Airstrikes Rise In Afghanistan as Fighting Intensifies
In Response to More Aggressive Taliban, Attacks Are Double Those in Iraq War

As fighting in Afghanistan has intensified over the past three months, the U.S. military has conducted 340 airstrikes there, more than twice the 160 carried out in the much higher-profile war in Iraq, according to data from the Central Command, the U.S. military headquarters for the Middle East.

[....]

"Our bombers are pretty flexible," he said in an interview. "And they can stay up a long time." They usually circle over the battlefield for several hours at a time, available to launch attacks as requested by ground commanders.

Freakley said he likes the B-1 because it can carry more bombs than a B-52 and is able to "loiter" longer over a battlefield. In addition, its ability to go supersonic -- it has a maximum speed of Mach 1.25, or 825 mph -- means that it can get to anywhere in Afghanistan in minutes, he said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20....html

redjade note: Interesting to note that this Washington Post piece does not mention Al Q once in the whole article - Where's Osama?

by redjade Sun Jun 18, 2006 17:17

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: uneasy amity

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit ended with fine words among the east-central Asian partners, but the subtext reveals continuing great-power rivalry between Russia and China

[....]

In its early years, the Shanghai five and the incipient SCO was seen as basically a Chinese initiative of local interest; Russia did not take it very seriously. Two things made Russia take notice. The first was the arrival of US troops in central Asia in the aftermath of 11 September 2001 and the overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and the ensuing tilt to the west among dictators in the region (especially Uzbekistan) following assiduous American cultivation.

The second factor was Russia's growing awareness that China too was moving in a big way into Russia's "lost" Soviet-era satellites, including heavy investment in the development of the oil and gas sectors. People's Liberation Army troops even protect the Chinese oil wells in Kazakhstan, which flow – for the first time ever on the Eurasian land mass – from west to east.

As late as 2002, Putin regarded the SCO, and China's ambitions for it, with disdain. All has changed: Russian troops are moving back into central Asia, a reflection of Putin's deep suspicion of Chinese expansionist ambitions.

more at
http://www.opendemocracy.net/articles/ViewPopUpArticle....=3653

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Cooperation_Organ...ation
http://www.sectsco.org/home.asp?LanguageID=2

redjade note: Why is Pakistan a member of SCO? Are they allied with Iran? This might make sense since Iraq's new government also supports Iran's 'right' to nuclear development. Nice to see Pakistan and India working together, too. Of course, these are merely 'observer states' - until the moment that the US and its allies will inevitably have to leave the region for failing to secure 'the piece' of Asia they once desired. Or, maybe this map is just of the countries that AQ Khan gave his nuclear secrets to?

AQ Khan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AQ_Khan

EastAsia - Orwell's Laughing

by redjade Sun Jun 18, 2006 18:34

New American Century Closes Down
Alternet
It was PNAC's role to sustain and propagate these ideas through its reports, its periodic letters and statements signed by right-wing notables, and a steady flow of opinion-pieces and essays, that acted as part of a larger neo-conservative "echo chamber" that included Kristol's Weekly Standard, Fox News, the Washington Times, and the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal, to frame debates in official Washington and the mainstream media.

In this sense, PNAC was more of a "letter-head organization" that acted more as a mechanism for developing consensus on issues among different political forces -- in its case, Republican hawks -- and then pushing them in public, than as a think tank.

[....]

But perhaps its most notable letter was sent to Bush Sep. 20, 2001, just nine days after the 9/11 attacks. In addition to calling for the ouster of the Taliban and war on al Qaeda, the letter called for waging a broader and more ambitious "war on terrorism" that would include cutting off the Palestinian Authority under Yassir Arafat, taking on Hezbollah, threatening Syria and Iran and, most importantly, ousting Hussein regardless of his relationship to the attacks or al Qaeda.

read more
http://www.alternet.org/story/37590/

——————

Mission Accomplished?
Washington Post:
The goal was to continue the Reaganite, muscular approach to projecting American power and "moral clarity" in a post-Cold War world, the group's manifesto said. The targets were liberal drift and conservative isolationism.

[....]

There had been debate about PNAC's future, but the feeling, a source said, was of "goal accomplished" and it looks to be heading toward closing. Former executive director Gary J. Schmitt , who had been executive director of President Ronald Reagan 's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, left recently for a post at the American Enterprise Institute. (Not a big move. Actually, only five floors up from PNAC.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20....html

Project for the New American Century
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_for_the_New_Americ...ntury
http://www.newamericancentury.org/

American Enterprise Institute
http://www.aei.org/

redjade notes: PNAC will probably be most noted by historians for installing America's first Trotskyist inspired government after the Florida 2000 coup

read: http://www.antiwar.com/justin/j061303.html

Insularity and Imperial Overreach: 2 sides of same coin in American history

by redjade Sun Jun 18, 2006 20:33

Washington Post
This cable, marked "sensitive" and obtained by The Washington Post, outlines in spare prose the daily-worsening conditions for those who live outside the heavily guarded international zone: harassment, threats and the employees' constant fears that their neighbors will discover they work for the U.S. government.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20....html

download the .pdf format file
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/graphics/...6.pdf

America: Making the World Safe for [Islamic] Theocracy

by redjade Sun Jun 18, 2006 20:43

Sheehan Supports U.S. Deserters in Canada
"I begged him not to go to Iraq," the anti-war activist said through tears at a rally in support of the former soldiers, who wore black T- shirts emblazoned with "AWOL." "And I wish he was standing up here with these people because he didn't want to go."

Sheehan was making her second visit to Canada in support of sanctuary for those fleeing the U.S. military. The Canadian government has so far denied political asylum to U.S. soldiers who have sought it but appeals are pending.

"They're trying to deport me," said Darrell Anderson of Lexington, Ky., who arrived in Canada by way of Niagara Falls in January 2005. He spent seven months in Iraq with the Army's 1st Armored Division and received a purple heart following a roadside bomb attack before deciding during a leave he would not go back.

"When I was in Iraq, we were killing innocent people for oil. It was obvious they didn't want us there," said Anderson, 24, who is petitioning to remain in Canada.

The gathering at a park in the town of Fort Erie, across the border from Buffalo, N.Y., was organized by peace groups on both sides of the border.

About 20 former U.S. soldiers, referred to as war resisters, have applied for refugee status in Canada. Organizers estimated there may be as many as 200 soldiers in the country who have not yet sought formal protection.

more at
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/18/D8IAK66O0.html

——— ——— ———

Cindy Sheehan Writes...

But for those of us who have lost a son or a daughter or a brother or a sister or a father or a mother in this war, the number one is more than enough.

One empty chair at the table.

One folded flag on the mantel.

One driverless car sitting in the driveway waiting for the finance company to come and pick it up.

One person never coming home.

One broken family that cannot be repaired.

How many more?

How many more of our nation's finest are we willing to kill to enhance the bottom line of the Halliburtons and the Exxon Mobils? How many more of our young wounded is it going to take before our country wakes up?

more at
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0618-20.htm

——— ——— ———

U.S. Troops in Iraq: 72% Say End War in 2006
February 28, 2006

Le Moyne College/Zogby Poll shows just one in five troops want to heed Bush call to stay “as long as they are needed”
While 58% say mission is clear, 42% say U.S. role is hazy
• Plurality believes Iraqi insurgents are mostly homegrown
• Almost 90% think war is retaliation for Saddam’s role in 9/11, most don’t blame Iraqi public for insurgent attacks
• Majority of troops oppose use of harsh prisoner interrogation
• Plurality of troops pleased with their armor and equipment

more at
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1075

'They're trying to deport me' - AWOL Soldier in Canada

by redjade Mon Jun 19, 2006 10:40

A Deserter’s Story

More than 6000 men and women have deserted from the US army since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. In the British forces, the figure stands at around 1000. The soldiers are leaving because they are sickened by the bloodshed in Iraq; because they believe the war is illegal; because they are on the verge of nervous breakdown; and because they are having to buy their own boots or are not being given enough food and water. Labour MP John McDonnell says that troops are now “questioning the morality and legality of the occupation”.

In Britain, deserters rarely – if ever – publicly explain why they have refused to fight. In the US, however, it’s a different story.

Some 25 GIs have applied for refugee status in Canada since the invasion of Iraq. At least 200 others are just living quietly , assisted by organisations such as War Resisters, and hoping that the US will forget all about them. Many of the Canadians helping them were once US citizens themselves.

[....]

Laufer says: “ The actions of these men and women is great ammunition against those who still support the war. You can’t impugn the actions of a soldier who served their country. These people have stood up and said, ‘this is wrong, I’m not going to do this any more’ in the face of severe penalties. They are brave and heroic and they deserve our support.”

more at
http://www.sundayherald.com/56277

by redjade Mon Jun 19, 2006 11:16

The hidden toll of the Iraq war: 450,000 refugees

'International aid agencies are publishing the first comprehensive report into the plight of Iraqi refugees in Syria since the start of the Iraq war in 2003. They estimate that 450,000 Iraqi refugees now live there, and warn of increasing prostitution among Iraqi women and girls, some as young as 12 years old, and find evidence of “organised networks dealing with the sex trade”.'

read more:
http://www.sundayherald.com/56280

redjade note:Please go to the link of the above story to read the sad story of how sex trafficking of Iraqi girls has increased as a result of this war. Question: Why would 450,000 Iraqis take refuge in Syria? I mean, it's not like Syria is the land of freedom and economic prosperity, right? Two reasons that I can think of, 1) Syria is Sunni and the minority Iraqi Sunni population is taking a big hit these days in the (unacknowledged by the US Media) Iraqi Civil War. 2) Syria is secular, much like Iraq used to be under Saddam. 3) Syria does have more economic opportunity than the autocratic regimes of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, for example. 4) The other regimes in the region are all pro-US or pro-Iraqi Gov't, like Iran is. The Iraqi and Iranian Gov't are Shia and anti-secular now, not good if you are a Sunni family.

If your daughter listens to music on a Walkman™ and if you are a secular Sunni Iraqi family, where do you escape to? Syria is your best option. Escaping to Ireland could be another option, but the Dublin Convention would prevent that in most cases. No room at the Inn there, as we know from the Afghans.

George W Bush has a lot to answer for regarding this war - but 450,000 Iraqi Refugees in Syria, 160,000 Iraqi Refugees internally displaced in Iraq, and unknown numbers elsewhere is testimony to the failure of this war. After 'Mission Accomplished' refugees were supposed to be returning to Iraq - not flood out of Iraq.

by redjade Mon Jun 19, 2006 12:40

Hush-Hush Honours for US Military Top Brass
MPs demand to know why invasion chiefs and billionaire got awards
the Independent / UK

Britain has secretly honoured a raft of senior US military and business figures in the past three years, it emerged last night. The recipients include General Tommy Franks, the man responsible for the "Shock and Awe " Iraq war attack plan, and Riley Bechtel, head of the Bechtel Corporation.

Mr Bechtel, the billionaire head of the US-based engineering giant, was handed a CBE for "services to UK-American commercial relations" in 2003, according to information obtained by The Observer. He is a likely bidder for future nuclear plants in the UK and has made hundreds of millions of dollars in reconstruction projects in Iraq. Others honoured include several senior US military figures, among them Vice-Admiral Timothy Keating, the man in charge of maritime forces during the Iraq invasion, and Rear Admiral Barry Costello, commander of the Third Fleet and Task Force 55.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0618-04.htm

——————

Knight Tommy Franks

'He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) by order of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on May 25, 2004. And President George W. Bush awarded him the Nation’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom on December 14, 2004.'
http://www.tommyfranks.com/About.shtml

US Constitution Article. II. Section. 9.
'No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.'
http://www.constitution.org/constit_.htm

redjade note: What is it about these Generals, once the retire they, like all good patriotic Americans, go bow before the Queen?! General Wesley K. Clark did the same thing ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Clark ). It's almost as if once they did their service to her they get their reward - Now, I have to stop that kind of thinking or else I may end up joining the LaRouchies! (another American Trot connection http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_LaRouche )

Also...

Officers and Directors, 2006
http://investor.bankofamerica.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=71595...board

'In December 2004, General Franks became a spokesman for Teen Arrive Alive, which is a company that uses GPS in cellular phones to tell parents how fast their teenage children are driving.'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Franks

by Chris Murray. - The Unmanageables Mon Jun 19, 2006 20:51

Given secretly to the hawks of Iraq , including Betchel.

Wondering if anyone can get information on Knighting criteria- apparently the process
is very secretive.
Is it just the Queen's decision or is Blair there with his little list too. I also remember things
about lucrative contacts around the Dome, (millenium Dome) and accusations of serving Government ministers being members of a cartel. Who awards this crap to the super -rich
and powerful, if you are that disengaged from your humanity , what use is a bauble from the old lady anyway?

The last time a story this big was broken in that paper, it involved spying on the UN by one of the hawk administrations.

The death of David Kelly has re-emerged too.

by redjade Tue Jun 20, 2006 00:47

Bill O’Reilly: Now to me, they’re not fighting it hard enough. See, if I’m president, I got probably another 50-60 thousand with orders to shoot on sight anybody violating curfews. Shoot them on sight. That’s me… President O’Reilly… Curfew in Ramadi, seven o’clock at night. You’re on the street? You’re dead. I shoot you right between the eyes. Ok? That’s how I run that country. Just like Saddam ran it. Saddam didn’t have explosions - he didn’t have bombers. Did he? because if you got out of line, your dead.

Now… is that the kind of country I want to have for Iraq? No… But you have to have that for a few months to stabilize the situation so the Iraqi government can get organized, can get security in place and can get the structure going.''

more at
http://www.callingallwingnuts.com/2006/06/19/oreillys-s...ddam/

listen to the .mp3 (800k)
http://www.callingallwingnuts.com/audio/mstark-podcast-...6.mp3

———

Faux News' Bill O'Reilly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_O'Reilly_(commentator)

The Man who owns this guy also owns SkyNews and Ned Flanders

by redjade Tue Jun 20, 2006 01:08

From Greg Palast's Blog (June 19th, 2006)

[New York] Von Eckardt, our chief investigator, joined me and Krugman in the green room. She’s a big fan of Paul’s and couldn’t wait to hear two of her favorite economics writers talk privately about the great issues of the day.

“I wring them out as absolutely tight as I can,” said Krugman, “and by the morning they’re just a little damp but you can still wear them.”

I had a different technique for stretching the supply of underwear on book tours: Wear them into the shower or, in a pinch, turn them inside out.

“There’s one guy that has a clean pair Fed-Ex’d to him every day and he puts the dirty ones in a return envelope.” The “guy,” of course, had to be Thomas Friedman.

more at
http://www.gregpalast.com/travel-blog

also...
Palast writes...

[San Diego] I feel so much safer. Arnold's Army is on the way to the Mexican border. One thousand National Guardsmen of California, guys with names like Sanchez, Kowalski, Huang and Gutierrez, are being sent by a guy named Schwarzenegger to stop the invasion of immigrants. OK, I'm down with that...

by redjade Tue Jun 20, 2006 14:11

Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick said Monday that he would be leaving his post as the State Department's second in command, as expected, to join the Wall Street investment house Goldman Sachs Group Inc. as a managing director.

[....]

The departure of Mr. Zoellick has been widely anticipated. He was considered for Treasury secretary, but President Bush nominated Henry M. Paulson Jr., chairman and chief executive of Goldman Sachs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/20/world/20zoellick.html...c=rss

by redjade Tue Jun 20, 2006 14:42

Jacob Weisberg author of The Deluxe Election-Edition Bushisms wites about W Bush...

'....calling the president a cretin absolves him of responsibility. Like Reagan, Bush avoids blame for all manner of contradictions, implausible assertions, and outright lies by appearing an amiable dunce. If he knows not what he does, blame goes to the three puppeteers, Cheney, Rove, and Rumsfeld. It also breeds sympathy. We wouldn't laugh at FDR because he couldn't walk. Is it less cruel to laugh at GWB because he can't talk? The soft bigotry of low expectations means Bush is seen to outperform by merely getting by. Finally, elitist condescension, however merited, helps cement Bush's bond to the masses....'

Here what Bush's friends say...

Richard Perle, foreign policy adviser: "The first time I met Bush 43 … two things became clear. One, he didn't know very much. The other was that he had the confidence to ask questions that revealed he didn't know very much."

David Frum, former speechwriter: "Bush had a poor memory for facts and figures. … Fire a question at him about the specifics of his administration's policies, and he often appeared uncertain. Nobody would ever enroll him in a quiz show."

Laura Bush, spouse: "George is not an overly introspective person. He has good instincts, and he goes with them. He doesn't need to evaluate and reevaluate a decision. He doesn't try to overthink. He likes action."

Paul O'Neill, former treasury secretary: "The only way I can describe it is that, well, the President is like a blind man in a roomful of deaf people. There is no discernible connection."

read more at
http://www.slate.com/id/2143250/fr/rss/

by redjade Tue Jun 20, 2006 16:41

Juan Cole: 'Japan has announced that it will withdraw its 600 troops from Iraq over the next few weeks. The announcement was probably prompted by the plan to turn security in Muthanna province, where the Japanese soldiers are stationed, over to Iraq.

Japan joins Italy in this firm commitment to withdrawal. Muthanna is under the control of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq and its Badr Corps militia, and presumably they will provide what security there is in the province.

The British appear to just have given up on lawless Maysan, a stronghold of the displaced Marsh Arabs, who have largely gone over to Muqtada al-Sadr. Their departure from Amara strikes me as more a surrender than a withdrawal. Amara has not been kind to British troops, ever since WW I....'

more at
http://www.juancole.com/2006/06/26-dead-in-civil-war-30....html

redjade note: there's got to be more to this story. Japan annouces it is going to withdraw from Iraq just as N Korea is about to shoot a missile whizzing past (or over) Japan on trajectory to strike at the heart of Alaska. Or maybe the N Korea missile launch is disinfo and it has been announced to blackmail Japan into staying? Keep an eye on this one.

by redjade Fri Jun 23, 2006 17:37

Reinstate the military draft and see how quickly the United States ends its war in Iraq.

Imagine if all our sons and daughters were at risk for deployment to the desert. Imagine if all our children faced the Al Qaeda-style butchery that took the lives of two American soldiers, Private First Class Thomas L. Tucker of Madras, Ore., and Private First Class Kristian Menchaca of Houston.

If we feared our children were next up to be gutted like fish, we might be less likely to shake our heads at crazy antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan. If turning 18 meant your kid's boots on the ground, a resolution to pull troops out of Iraq by a certain date might grab more than six votes in the US Senate.

....politicians have to answer to every American family, not only to those whose loved ones volunteered for military service.

Either this war is worth every citizen's effort, or it's not worth any soldier's life.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped...n_us/

by redjade Fri Jun 23, 2006 17:48

The U.S. Army, aiming to make its recruiting goals amid the Iraq war, raised its maximum enlistment age by another two years on Wednesday, while the Army Reserve predicted it will miss its recruiting target for a second straight year.

People can now volunteer to serve in the active-duty Army or the part-time Army Reserve and National Guard up to their 42nd birthday after the move aimed at increasing the number of people eligible to sign up, officials said.

It marked the second time this year the Army has boosted the maximum age for new volunteers, raising the ceiling from age 35 to 40 in January before now adding two more years.

[....]

These older recruits must pass the same physical standards and medical examination as younger ones, the Army said. However, those between 40 and 42 will face additional cardiovascular screening, Bobick said.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=dom...1.xml