Showing posts with label Iraq. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iraq. Show all posts

Monday, January 01, 2007

DEAD HUSSEIN 1/1/07

Hussein is dead. The American Friends Service Committee [Quakers] condemned the hanging before procedural questions regarding his trial were investigated. Human Rights Watch, an organization which condemned the trial, continues to protest his swift death just before sunup the other day and at the beginning of the Muslim eid named Eid al-Adha-- a day associated with clemency and devotion. Although Cuba still has the death penalty, the country condemned Saddam Hussein's hanging as one that was carried out by force of the occupation of Iraq by the United States rather than due to the wishes of Iraq itself. The Iraqi government is launching a probe into reports of the taunting of Hussein by gallows guards. There is video and photos available on the web which depicts the actual hanging itself-- more than Americans were shown on their teevee sets.

Saddam was hanged on the gallows that his own secret police used for similar hangings. His body was buried in Ramadi, near his hometown of Awja in Northern Iraq.

radical sapphoq says: Good Riddance. I don't care that the United Nations, the Vatican, the European Union and others have condemned his hanging. Saddam Hussein was on trial for crimes against humanity when the order to rush his execution came in. Violence and civil unrest continue in Iraq, Bush 43 considers his death a democratic victory, and there are accusations abounding that his trial was "illegal." I would have been willing myself to pull the switch [hanging is perhaps more intellectually honest but I am after all a Westerner] and willing to endure any "karma" for thinking that I have the right to judge Saddam Hussein for the things he did while alive. I know what I know. Regardless of how he got into power or his brutal childhood or any other factor, Saddam Hussein followed in Mohammed's bloody footsteps. I will not be leaving flowers at his grave.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

CHANNEL PLOTTING 12/24/06

Merry Christmas to our British allies who have a significant Muslim minority (200 suspected terrorist networks and 1600 Brits are being actively monitored for same) living there. Word is out courtesy of the C.I.A. that the Channel tunnel with its swirling rush of trains is next to go. Travelers are packing the trains in record numbers due to the fogginess settling in around airports causing flights to be delayed or canceled. Perhaps Virgil Goode isn't so crazy after all with his thoughts on limiting immigration of Muslims from the Middle East to the U.S.A.

Metro Police Chief Ian Blair is in disagreement, saying only that he is unaware of any specific plot during the Christmas holidays targeting England. That puts him in notable company with Michael Moore and Dr. Rowan Williams.

It is believed that the Channel plot is being coordinated from Pakistan and possibly involves Western Europeans of Pakistani descent. A separate plot targeting a yet unnamed European country for repeated attacks by April 2007 is being coordinated from Syria and Iraq.

radical sapphoq

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

SHOULD WE STAY OR SHOULD WE GO? IRAQ 11/14/06

There is no doubt this morning that Baghdad is a bad place to be. A bunch of men [reports range from 100 to 150] were kidnapped from a Research Building downtown there. [The Research Institute helps Iraqi professors to leave the country]. The men were all thought to be Sunnis. The Minister of Higher Education, having watched the murder of many of Iraq's outspoken professors and academics, decided to close down the universities because of this incident. Apparently, outspoken professors and academics in Iraq live dangerous lives. Over here, a professor can be denied tenure. Over there, a professor can wake up one morning and find himself dead.

Tensions between several key players in the Middle East continue to mount. Over in the UK, Prime Minister Tony Blair sent a secret letter of reconciliation to Damascus. Adding insult to injury, he made a speech yesterday proposing that both Syria and Iran could become his new peace partners. Thanks, Tony. As I used to say at my last job, some people shouldn't have fingers and the rest shouldn't have mouths. Mr. Blair might shouldn't have either.

Meanwhile, back at home, another Tony briefing the press yesterday stated that there is no official timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. He let it be known that we will not leave until the war "is won." President Bush continues his commitment to bringing democracy and freedom from terrorism to the Middle East was the message that the press who were present did not want to hear. After reading the lastest briefing, I understood why my friend JeremyCrow hates the press. If I were Tony Snow, I would hate them too.

Democrats continue to call for withdrawing US troops from Iraq. They are complaining about the whole war thing. Un-notable Cindy Sheehan turned author has fired off another one of her brilliant missives to Senator Pelosi and Senator Conyors [or at least to her e-mail alert list; letter appears nowhere on her website] proposing that "we the American people" want President Bush to be impeached and are offended that now the democrats wish to work with the republicans who naturally are all a bunch of liars and rather immoral for keeping troops in Iraq. Iraqi President al-Maliki meanwhile continues to take advantage of the US military presence in his country to train his own troops and strengthen his police forces.

This is the sixth week of the oops! not-so-secret Pentagon Group
which is studying all of the tactics involved with the Middle East military manuevers. That group is also looking at terrorism and possible ways that the United States can deal with it more effectively. The folks gathered as part of the Pentagon Group are considered to possess brilliant minds. So far, they have not had any joint meetings with the Iraq Study Group-- a group that nominee Robert Gates to the Secretary of the Defense position was a part of until his nomination. President Bush had his meeting this week with the Iraq Study Group, a bi-partisan group of which Bush family friend James A. Baker is the co-chair. The President also had a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Olmert who in turn felt it necessary to threaten Iran with fear. Iran threatened Israel back with promises of a crushing nature should Israel dare to take any military action against Iran.

The problem with Iran is that Iran will not do what some other countries want Iran to do. Iranian Madman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad indicated recently that when the United States changes its' attitude, then Iran will be ready to talk. The United States demands that Iran cease and desist from its' nuclear highway before negotiations can be arranged. Iran continues to play with uranium enrichment and in fact is "nearly done." The Madman has stated that Iran is going to build up to 60,000 centrifuges and plans a plutonium dumping station, regardless of UN funds or un-funds. A satellite photo published on-line by FOX shows unexplained plutonium by-products. Ahmadinejad also promises to send the American people "a message" regarding his views this week. He maintains a blog at: http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/. [For some reason, the addy refused to be translated into a link so the curious will have to copy and paste the website
http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/ into their own browsers to view the site].

While some folks hold out hope that Syria and Iran will quit their evil terrorist ways in order to bring peace to the Middle East, in fact the Hama and Fatah parties have both come to an agreement over the next Prime Minister of Palestine, Mohammad Shubair has a doctorate from the University of West Virginia. Fatah President Abbas of Palestine is the one who will have the final say in the appointment. Current Prime Minister Hasniya is of the Hama and has agreed to step down from his post in order to end sanctions against Palestine. Even so, the new Palestine Unity government will not recognize Israel as a country in its own right. Or, maybe it will under President Abbat's leadership be able to have a working compromise between the ideology of the Hama and the more moderate position of the Fatah. Or maybe the new combined government will act as a puppet for the Hama. Only time will tell.

Quite honestly, I have no trust that the governments of Iran, Syria, Lebanon, or Palestine will do anything that they say they will. Iran has nuclear capacity which is building and will probably bomb the crap out of Israel, whether Israel makes good on that "fear Israel" threat or not. Palestine will continue to be run by the Hamas covertly. Syria is Iran's buddy, Tony Blair notwithstanding. Lebanon just had several key governmental officials quit and is not stable enough to help in waging war for peace or freedom in any event. And let's not forget that Iran's Madman of the Hour looks incredibly like one of the student-leaders-turned-terrorists of twenty-seven years ago. I only hope that his promised message to the american people is not a bomb, biological warfare, or other such goodie. If it is, he will lose his american fans over at his blog site and no dictator of a bloody regime can afford that.

radical sapphoq

Thursday, November 09, 2006

SWINGING THE GATES 11/6/06

One of the most prominent issues among the dem politicians was to be rid of Donald Rumsfeld. President Bush did it for them by announcing Rumsfeld's resignation and replacement with Robert M. Gates. If Gates is confirmed, he will take office most likely in June of 2007.

In spite of accusations regarding the Iran Contra Affair and others regarding his alleged politicalization of intelligence about the former Soviet Union and Nelson Mandela, radical sapphoq regards Robert Gates as an excellent choice for the job of U.S. Secretary of Defense. He has served as an intelligence professional in the CIA for 27 years. He was also appointed to a bipartisan committee, Iraq Study Group; and also has served on SAFE, a group which deals with reducing our dependence upon oil and finding alternative sources of energy. He has extensive knowledge about the Middle East Region and about foreign affairs. Robert Gates will indeed be an asset to the present administration.

radical sapphoq


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6461942
https://www.cia.gov/csi/books/dddcia/gates.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/oral/gates/1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Gates
http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_16.htm
http://intellit.muskingum.edu/alpha_folder/G_folder/gates.html
http://intellit.muskingum.edu/cia_folder/ciadcis_folder/dcisgates.html
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/BRZ110A.html
http://www.secureenergy.org/shockwave_bios-Gates.php

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

SOME JOKE...NONE OF US ARE LAUGHING, JOHN KERRY 11/1/06

http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2006/11/01/news/update/
doc4548fad08e27b783002350.txt


Kerry said he mangled the delivery of a line aimed at Bush. According to aides, the language was originally written to say that, "If you're intellectually lazy, you end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq — just ask President Bush.''
[end of quote].

radical sapphoq says:
What John Kerry actually said according to published reports was, "If you're intellectually lazy, you end up getting stuck in a war in Iraq--
just ask President Bush."

John Kerry has some nerve excusing his comment as a 'botched joke.' The comment is offensive no matter how he calls it. The addition or deletion of the word "us" does not improve it. John Kerry was wise to cancel his schedule and head back to D. C. Perhaps, he would have been wiser not to have uttered this insulting phrase in the first place.

-radical sapphoq