Monday, April 14, 2003

 
Late Night Observations

"President Bush said this Iraq situation looks like 'the rerun of a bad movie.' Well sure, there's a Bush in the White House, the economy's going to hell, we're going to war over oil. I've seen this movie, haven't I?" -- Jay Leno

"President Bush has said that he does not need approval from the UN to wage war, and I'm thinking, well, hell, he didn't need the approval of the American voters to become president, either." -- David Letterman

"In a speech earlier today President Bush said if Iraq gets rid of Saddam Hussein, he will help the Iraqi people with food, medicine, supplies, housing, education - anything that's needed. Isn't that amazing? He finally comes up with a domestic agenda - and it's for Iraq. Maybe we could bring that here if it works out." -- Jay Leno

"President Bush announced tonight that he believes in democracy and that democracy can exist in Iraq. They can have a strong economy, they can have a good health care plan, and they can have a free and fair voting. Iraq? We can't even get this in Florida." -- Jay Leno

"Democrats were quick to point out that President Bush's budget creates a 1 trillion dollar deficit. The White House quickly responded with 'Hey, look over there, it's Saddam Hussein.'" -- Craig Kilborn

"We have it. The smoking gun. The evidence. The potential weapon of mass destruction we have been looking for as our pretext of invading Iraq. There's just one problem -- it's in North Korea." -- Jon Stewart

"War continues in Iraq. They're calling it Operation Iraqi Freedom. They were going to call it Operation Iraqi Liberation until they realized that spells 'OIL.'" -- Jay Leno

"CNN said that after the war, there is a plan to divide Iraq into three parts ... regular, premium and unleaded." -- Jay Leno

"Iraq began destroying those missiles they don't have over the weekend. See, President Bush may be the smartest military president in history. First, he gets Iraq to destroy all of their own weapons. Then he declares war." -- Jay Leno

"Many of our soldiers are stationed at Camp Coyote just south of the Iraqi border. This is how you know we have a strong army, when you can actually tell your enemy exactly where your camp is and what its name is." -- Jon Stewart

"The Pentagon still has not given a name to the Iraqi war. Somehow 'Operation Re-elect Bush' doesn't seem to be popular." -- Jay Leno

"The president boasted at the top of his press conference that we have the support now of Britain and Spain for our attack on Iraq. You know, when you want to make it perfectly clear to the world that you're not an imperialist, the people you want in your corner are Britain and Spain." -- Bill Maher

"Experts say that if we go to war with Iraq, oil could reach as much as $80 a barrel. Of course, after the war it will be free." -- Jay Leno

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posted by Thomas Ball 3:14 PM

 
Glorifying War - A Reader Response

In a recent article, "Syria and Iran: Prepare for Invasion - A Reference for Seekers of Truth", I speculated that a result of endless military incursions would be a reinstatement of the draft.

A member of our ingenious readership begs to differ. She cites the following reasons why a draft will most likely be unnecessary regardless of how many invasions the Administration executes:

"...A draft won't be necessary as the combination of closing down all the factory work and exporting it to Mexico and China (which takes 13$-per-hour jobs from the working poor), the generally sour economy [and] the corporate driven media glorifying war will drive Macho America to volunteer for war.

It will be the only way to make decent money and gain ego gratification at the same time. Thoughts of being a hero, wearing neat camo gear, playing with war toys, shooting guns and making money when the alternative is working at Wal-Mart, getting drunk and having your girlfriend and mom tell you to "grow up" will pale in comparison to the glories of war the right-wing will paint. All hail the fatherland."

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posted by Thomas Ball 11:33 AM

 
Lessons From War Games

Back in July of 2002, an immense military exercise dubbed "Millennium Challenge" came to fruition. Gen. Paul Van Riper, leader of the 'red' opposition forces, employed motorcycle messengers and coded calls to elude electronic eavesdropping and direct a surprise suicide attack. Swarms of pleasure boats and private planes crashed into the "blue," or friendly warships in a large-scale version of Al Qaeda's bombing of the destroyer Cole.

"The result of this virtual attack was that a significant part of the U.S. fleet was sunk before the mother of all war games ($235million worth) really began. The higher ups could hardly just tell everybody to go home, so the 16 ships were 'refloated'."

"Van Riper kept on rebuffing instructions to use traceable communications such as satellite or cell phones and even to reveal the location of some of the red force. He then discovered that his No. 2 red commander on the real-life orders of the Air Force general overseeing the game."

"Van Riper quit, saying in an email to colleagues that the game "was in actuality an exercise that was almost entirely scripted to ensure a 'blue' victory."

As I read this article, I was taken aback at how this situation was reflective of the overall dilemma facing our nation.

Indeed, the world in which we now live seems a surreal, artificial enactment. In the words of Michael Moore:

"…we live in fictitious times. We live in a time where fictitious election results give us a fictitious president. [and] We are now fighting a war for fictitious reasons."

Administration lies and failures, which are numerous and egregious are overshadowed by 'refloating' specters of overwhelming distraction. Indeed, the dog has been wagged so much in the past two years and a half, I think it's getting sick.

Those who would stand up to the fictional administration are undermined either by the public, paralyzed by administration-induced fear, or by our would-be opposition leaders paralyzed by the fear of losing reelection.

And when it comes to "setting up the win"?

Whether steel tariffs, perpetual war or lockbox lies, government decisions seem scripted to ensure a 'GOP' victory. Dissent and individual thinking otherwise non-supportive of those at the helm has been steadily debilitated, in many cases forcing a sense of hopelessness and helplessness, leading eventually to capitulation.

And the coup de grace?

General Van Riper, in summing up the lesson learned from this quarter-billion dollar fiasco, also encapsulated, either by purpose or coincidence, the world in which we live under the oppressive ignorance of a Bush regime:

"Nothing was learned from this…A culture not willing to think hard and test itself does not augur well for the future."

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posted by Thomas Ball 9:39 AM

 
Iraq, North Korea News Summaries

Troops Sweep Into Tikrit (Sky News) US forces are in control of the centre of Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, according to reports. A task force of the First Marine Expeditionary Force, supported by helicopters and F-18 jets, attacked remnants of the Iraqi Republican Guard and paramilitary fighters on the southern edge of the town. US military planners have suggested that troops loyal to the deposed Iraqi leader might make a last stand there.

Rumsfeld says top Saddam aides escaped into Syria (Washington Times) Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said senior members of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's ousted regime already have escaped from Iraq to Syria, and some have gone from Syria to other countries. The Times reported that either one or both of Iraq's two top biowarfare researchers, nicknamed "Dr. Germ" and "Mrs. Anthrax," have shown up in intelligence reports as escaping to Syria.

Suspected Sites Probed (Sky News) Up to 3,000 potential weapons of mass destruction sites are being investigated across Iraq, the Commander of US forces in the Gulf has said. General Tommy Franks said up to 10 or 15 sites were having samples taken from them every day. General Franks told Fox News: "I am absolutely confident there are weapons of mass destruction inside this country."

Suspected chemical warhead found in Kirkuk (CNN) Weapons experts were called Saturday to an occupied northern Iraqi air base in Kirkuk to determine if a warhead discovered there is laden with a chemical agent. On Friday, a former Iraqi air force colonel claiming to be the former base commander told U.S. military officials he knew of 120 missiles within about an 18-mile radius of the city -- 24 of them carrying chemical munitions, according to an Army intelligence posting at the airfield's military headquarters. The man said he had been freed recently from an Iraqi prison, military intelligence said.

Army Testing Trucks for WMD (FOX News) Anywhere from seven to 15 vehicles are being tested for possibly containing biological or chemical weapons and for serving as mobile weapons labs, Fox News has learned. Fox News reported that an Army intelligence unit was heading toward a suspect vehicle Friday where they will test for the presence of chemical or biological agents.

Saddam Aide Surrenders (Sky News) Saddam Hussein's chief weapons adviser has surrendered to the US military. US officials had described Lieutenant General Amir al-Saadi as the person they most wanted to speak to about Iraq's weapons programmes. He was the senior weapons and scientific adviser to Saddam and oversaw the country's chemical program in the past, reports said.

DNA Used in Saddam Hunt (Sky News) American forces have DNA samples from Saddam Hussein and his sons they can use to check if he has been killed. General Tommy Franks said it would be checked against DNA taken from bodies found after Coalition missile strikes on Iraqi leadership targets. "The appropriate people with the appropriate forensics are doing checks you would find appropriate in each of the places where we think we may have killed regime leadership," Franks said.

G-7 Rift Over Iraq Debt Underscored at Meeting (WSJ) Finance ministers of Germany and Russia made clear they hadn't any intention of writing off Iraq's debt. Estimates of its foreign debt range from $60 billion to more than $130 billion. On top of that, Iraq owes $27 billion in war reparations from the first Persian Gulf War, while an additional $200 billion in reparations has yet to be adjudicated by a United Nations commission set up to resolve Gulf War claims. Iran also may assert $100 billion in claims against Iraq dating from the nine-year Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

Russian, French, German Leaders Push for U.N. Control of Iraq's Future (LA Times) The leaders of Russia, France and Germany met here Friday to press the Bush administration to put the United Nations in charge of Iraq's future. "The situation we are confronting in Iraq must be resolved as quickly as possible in accordance with the U.N. Charter," Russian President Vladimir V. Putin said at a joint news conference with French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

Chirac Tells Blair U.N. Should Decide Iraq Govt (Reuters) French President Jacques Chirac told British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Saturday the United Nations should be charged with putting in place a new Iraqi government, a spokeswoman at the Elysee Palace said. "The political, administrative, economic and social reconstruction of Iraq can only be done by the United Nations, which has the legitimacy and experience necessary for the task," Chirac told Blair, according to the spokeswoman.

Analysis: France bolsters Mideast position (UPI) French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin jogged through Egypt on Saturday as part of a whirlwind tour to bolster France's position in the region. "My purpose is to bring you a message of trust, France's trust in the wisdom and spirit of responsibility of the Arab and Muslim peoples," he said in a conference on Saturday in Cairo, his only scheduled public appearance in the trip.

Putin: War aim not achieved (Associated Press) Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the U.S.-led coalition of having failed to achieve its war aim, to disarm Iraq. Putin was quoted by Reuters as saying: "The goal of war -- to disarm Iraq -- has not been achieved. ... We must never mix notions. No one liked the Iraqi regime apart from Saddam Hussein, but this is not the point."

Revealed: Russia spied on Blair for Saddam (UK Telegraph) Top secret documents obtained by The Telegraph in Baghdad show that Russia provided Saddam Hussein's regime with wide-ranging assistance in the months leading up to the war, including intelligence on private conversations between Tony Blair and other Western leaders. Moscow also provided Saddam with lists of assassins available for "hits" in the West and details of arms deals to neighbouring countries.

Iran may consider resuming ties with U.S. (UPI) Iran on Saturday hinted at ways the Shiite Muslim country could resume ties with the United States, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. In an interview with the Rahbord (Strategy) periodical, published by the Center for Strategic Studies, Iran's powerful former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said the two decade-long freeze on relations between Iran and the United States could be resolved either through a popular vote or a decision by Iran's arbitration body, the Expediency Council.

Bush Accuses Syria (Sky News) George Bush has accused Syria of having chemical weapons. "We believe there are chemical weapons in Syria," he said. The US President said the action against Iraq had shown "we're serious about stopping weapons of mass destruction". Asked if Syria could face military action, he said: "They just need to cooperate."

North Korea Hints it Would Accept Multilateral Talks Over Nuclear Dispute (Associated Press) North Korea hinted Saturday it could accept U.S. demands for multilateral talks to discuss the communist country's suspected nuclear weapons program. "If the U.S. is ready to make a bold switchover in its Korea policy for a settlement of the nuclear issue, the DPRK will not stick to any particular dialogue format," the North's KCNA news agency quoted a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying.

Bush: Iraq War Drove N. Korea to Concede (Washington Post) President Bush suggested yesterday that the U.S.-led military defeat of Iraq had spurred concessions by North Korea, and he said he sees increasing chances for nuclear-control talks that include Pyongyang.

Sharon: Israel Would Yield Settlements for Peace (Reuters) Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in an interview published on Sunday that Israel would have to remove some settlements to get peace with Palestinians, and called the fall of Saddam Hussein a chance to end the conflict.

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posted by Thomas Ball 1:13 AM