Why they hate us........

How many Muslims has the U.S. killed in the past 30 years?

Tom Friedman had an especially fatuous column in Sunday's New York Times, which is saying something given his well-established capacity for smug self-assurance. According to Friedman, the big challenge we face in the Arab and Islamic world is "the Narrative" -- his patronizing term for Muslim views about America's supposedly negative role in the region. If Muslims weren't so irrational, he thinks, they would recognize that "U.S. foreign policy has been largely dedicated to rescuing Muslims or trying to help free them from tyranny." He concedes that we made a few mistakes here and there (such as at Abu Ghraib), but the real problem is all those anti-American fairy tales that Muslims tell each other to avoid taking responsibility for their own actions.

I heard a different take on this subject at a recent conference on U.S. relations with the Islamic world. In addition to hearing a diverse set of views from different Islamic countries, one of the other participants (a prominent English journalist) put it quite simply. "If the United States wants to improve its image in the Islamic world," he said, "it should stop killing Muslims."

Snip

Contrary to what Friedman thinks, our real problem isn't a fictitious Muslim "narrative" about America's role in the region; it is mostly the actual things we have been doing in recent years. To say that in no way justifies anti-American terrorism or absolves other societies of responsibility for their own mistakes or misdeeds. But the self-righteousness on display in Friedman's op-ed isn't just simplistic; it is actively harmful. Why? Because whitewashing our own misconduct makes it harder for Americans to figure out why their country is so unpopular and makes us less likely to consider different (and more effective) approaches...>>>>

Iran

Iran Seeks Image of Defiance With New Missile Tests

Iran test-fired its most advanced missiles today. The move demonstrated Iran's ability to strike targets as far away as Europe, and it increased tensions over its nuclear program. Analysts break down the details of the development......>>>>

JUDY WOODRUFF: Is it possible we're making too much of this, making too big a deal of this?

MICHAEL ELLEMAN: Of the missile tests themselves?

JUDY WOODRUFF: Yes.

MICHAEL ELLEMAN: Yes, I think we're making much more fuss over what I would call just ordinary developments.

KARIM SADJADPOUR: I would agree with that. I always look at the institution of the bazaar. And I say that, when you go into a carpet bazaar and you see a carpet you like, never show the merchant how much you like that carpet, because if he knows you're not going to leave the shop without the carpet, he can extract a very high price for it.

I think from -- from the Iranians' vantage point, they say, well, if the Americans feel so strongly about our nuclear program, then they should offer us the corresponding price. And I actually once posed this to an Iranian official. I said that, I don't think this nuclear pg was ever so important for Iran until it became so important to the United States. And he said that's absolutely right.....>>>

Iran's doing what any country, with the ability, would do when constantly being threatened, they're developing and testing defensive weapons. We and Israel do same and cheer on our positive results, then we actually continue the testing by engaging in war, Israel with the Palestinians and Lebanese, we in the present with Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, making sure the tested weapons and high tech toys do their job, Kill and Destroy!!

There's allot to say about Iran's human rights and more, but condemning them while threatening them and doing what we claim they will do, at the same time, is even more then hypocrisy, and nobody is listening!!

Iran won't do a First Strike against anyone, but watch out when any first bombs are dropped or another's missiles hit them!!

And they'll look like they already do to many, around the World, especially in that region and with occupation forces pretty much surrounding them, The Victims Of The Aggression Already Laid Forth In What This 21st Century started On!!

Nuclear Balance

Indian Navy's nuclear sub and China's encirclement

This is a recent Real News Network Video, not up on YouTube yet!
While the leaders? ramp up the rhetoric about Iran, our Friend India Expands The Nuclear Defense Of!!

An NDTV panel in India discusses the launch Sunday of lndia's nuclear ballistic submarine INS Arihant

Iran

"A History of Iran: Empire of the Mind"
The peoples of the Iranian plateau have a written history of at least 2,500 years. The Persian Empire extended from Egypt to northern India, and the influence of the Persian language, literature, and architectural styles is still evident across western and central Asia. Unfortunately, most Americans view Iran today through the prism of staged anti-American demonstrations and the rantings of their current {i.e. Previous} president. Axworthy, Honorary Fellow at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter in England, has provided a valuable counterpoint to those distorted impressions. He has written a compact but still inclusive narrative account that conveys both the diversity and richness of the various empires and cultural forces that have shaped the Iranian people. He offers fascinating insights into the political developments in the Achaemenid, Parthian, and Sassanid empires, and his efforts to illustrate how Iranians adopted Islam while resisting the “Arabization” of their culture is provocative. This is an excellent examination of the forging of a people who are poised to, once again, play a prominent role in world affairs. --Jay Freeman

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

by: Richard Smith at VetVoice

You will not be able to stay home, brother.
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skip,
Skip out for beer during commercials,
Because the revolution will not be televised.

In November of 1963, the way in which the world consumed information was changed forever. For the first time, 90% of American households owned a television set. The assassination of American President John F. Kennedy and his following funeral is considered to be a critical moment in history and in the way in which we consume media. Previously, television had been thought of as a low brow medium. Kennedy's own FCC commissioner called television a "vast wasteland"....>>>>>Read Rest Here

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

The Album: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Gil Scott-Heron

The Book: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised Revised Ed: Democracy, the Internet, and the Overthrow of Everything



'Hearts and Minds, "The ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live there." -- President Lyndon Johnson

Roxana Saberi Released!!! {UpDated: More Breaking News at time}

This UpDate has nothing to do with the release but it's just hitting:

With the Good comes the Really Bad!

Fragging!!

Another Deja-Vu 'Nam Hits the Present Occupations!!!

U.S. service member kills 4 fellow troops in Iraq - GI in custody after killing 5 at Iraq ‘stress clinic’
Contrary to earlier reports, military says soldier did not kill self after attack



With a Report from McClatchy on the shooting

The Original News On Roxana

UpDate2
According to Agenzia Giornalistica Italia with this:

IRAN: JOURNALIST ROXANA SABERI RELEASED

AGI) - Teheran, 11 May - Roxana Saberi has been released.

AGI had a report up about an hour ago that she to be released in a couple of hours, the one above is the second one, the most recent!

And This just posted:
Saberi's Free: Are U.S.-Iranian Relations Truly Thawing?

5min. ago: Lawyer: US reporter leaves jail in Iran

Abdolsamad Khorramshahi says Roxana Saberi is "now out of jail."

**********
Just heard a quick report on NPR that her father is traveling to Iran to be there when she is released to bring her home!!

UpDate 3:

From the BBC: Fathers joy at Saberi release with Video link!

**********

U.S. Reporter Jailed in Iran to Soon Be Freed

An Iranian appeals court reduced the eight-year jail sentence for Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi on Monday to a suspended two-year term and she will soon be freed, her defense lawyer told Reuters.

Here's one from the Times Online with a bit more meat in the report than the real quick blurb.

UpDate:

Iranian authorities have released freelance journalist Roxana Saberi after a court reduced her sentence to a two-year suspended term.
Roxana Saberi released from Tehran jail

Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi, who has been convicted of involvement in acts of espionage, has been released from Tehran's Evin prison.

The release came just one day after a Tehran court of appeals reduced her eight-year jail sentence to a two-year suspended term, Press TV's correspondent reported on Monday.

Saberi, 32, is a freelance journalist who was initially detained in late January for working in Iran after her press credentials had expired.

She was later sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of spying for the government of the United States.

However, earlier on Sunday Saberi's lawyer expressed optimism about the verdict after her case was heard in a Tehran court of appeals.........

We Can No Longer Condemn!!!!!

Torture In Iran

April 5, 2009


Watch CBS Videos Online

Ahmad Batebi tells CNN's Anderson Cooper, in his 1st U.S. television interview how he was tortured for 9 years in an Iranian prison and how he managed to escape.

I thought this was very interesting coming out at this time, and with the mention within on how our actions have tied the Human Rights Advocates hands because of our Now Policies!!

Before 9/11 - Taliban - al Qaeda

The National Security Archive has just released a Load of Files Electronic Briefing Book No. 253 Posted - August 20, 2008 under the title: 1998 Missile Strikes on Bin Laden May Have Backfired with a subtitle: Extensive 1999 Report on Al-Qaeda Threat Released by U.S. Dept of Energy,
Taliban Told U.S. They Wanted to Bomb Washington


With backlinks to the PDF's and more links in the sidebar on the left.

On the tenth anniversary of U.S. cruise missile strikes against al-Qaeda in response to deadly terrorist attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, newly-declassified government documents posted today by the National Security Archive (NS Archive) suggest the strikes not only failed to hurt Osama bin Laden but ultimately may have brought al-Qaeda and the Taliban closer politically and ideologically.

I've just glanced through some but the same questions come up that have with the remembering the reports on the Taliban and al Qaeda prior to 9/11, the many unanswered questions from the commission on 9/11, the dodging of questions and outright lies from some within the government, especially the administration, at the time and since, with more added as the policies of the administration exploded into the negatives for this country and it's national security and now negative standing amoung nations on this planet.


One question keeps growing, "With all this country must have known, through it's extremely well financed and technology advanced Intelligence Agencies, how were the acts of 9/11 allowed to happen?"!


The reasons given, intelligence sharing etc., are just to simplified to carry any weight, not after being told, and shown some, for years what our monies were buying and suspecting much more that was not told in the interest of National Security.

A 400-page Sandia National Laboratories report on bin Ladin { this is a big pdf download }, compiled in 1999, includes a warning about political damage for the U.S. from bombing two impoverished states without regard for international agreement, since such action "mirror imag[ed] aspects of al-Qaeda's own attacks" [see pp. 18-22 {pdf}]. A State Department cable {pdf} argues that although the August missile strikes were designed to provide the Taliban with overwhelming reason to surrender bin Laden, the military action may have sharpened Afghan animosity towards Washington and even strengthened the Taliban-al-Qaeda alliance.

Following the August 20 U.S. air attacks, Taliban spokesman Wakil Ahmed told U.S. Department of State officials {pdf} "If Kandahar could have retaliated with similar strikes against Washington, it would have." Such an attack, although unfeasible at the time, was at least in part actualized by al-Qaeda on 9/11.

Following the 1998 embassy bombings, the U.S. sought to extradite bin Laden to Saudi Arabia or possibly Egypt, but failed to get bin Laden out of Afghanistan because, at least according to the U.S. Department of State {pdf}, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were unable or unwilling to apply enough pressure to coerce Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Omar to surrender bin Laden.

The lengthy Sandia report compiled by Dr. Gary W. Richter {pdf} synthesizes an impressive volume of public-source information available on bin Laden into a coherent summary of the al-Qaeda terrorist threat following the August embassy bombings. The report concludes that the bombings did not take U.S. intelligence and diplomatic services by surprise, as the U.S. in 1998 had capable counterterrorism intelligence gathering and interdiction capabilities. However, according to the report, in retrospect, the August 20 retaliatory cruise missile strikes may have caused long-term political harm to U.S. national security and counterterrorism interests [see pp. 18-22 {pdf}]. The report contains extensive timelines, biographies and issue summaries and is useful for researchers interesting in the evolution of al-Qaeda and the American response.

The see pp. 18-22 above are small pdf's giving some quick interesting bullet points.


Read the Documents. This link is the same as the very first above. There are a number of documents at the bottom of the page to sort through.
Note: The following documents are in PDF format. You will need to download and install the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view.


Under Document 1 dated December 6, 1999 ou will find some information and backlinks along with these bullet points:

* The "war" against terrorism will never be "won," as terrorism will always be a global problem.

* The August 7, 1998, embassy bombings should not be taken as an indication that U.S. counterterrorism efforts are entirely ineffective.

* The August 20, 1998, retaliatory cruise missile strikes did little to help solve the problem posed by bin Laden and may ultimately prove to have done more harm than good.

* The risk of future attacks by Osama bin Laden or his associates using weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) is not insignificant.

* The root cause of the militant threat is the widespread and deep-seated discontent among a large segment of the Islamic world, as opposed to the actions or agitation of any one individual or group of individuals. As such, diplomatic options are likely to be the most effective strategies at reducing the threat.

And:

* The U.S. was not "blindsided" by a new threat, as much was already known about al-Qaeda, including its anti-American aspirations and the existence of an East African al-Qaeda cell. [page 18]

* Members of this East African cell had been identified before August 7, and were under "intense scrutiny." It is likely "that this campaign of disruption had done much to dissipate the threat." [page 18]

* In response to the ongoing surveillance, threat evaluation and disruption operations, the members of this cell "felt themselves to be at "100% danger." [page 18]

* "In retrospect there were also specific indications of a bomb plot," however "it seems as if threat assessment personnel in Washington did not take the warning signs as seriously as did the embassy personnel in Nairobi." [page 19]

* The number of bombings prevented far exceeds the number of bombings that were not stopped by U.S. security efforts. [page 18]

And:

* High cost

* International criticism

* Questionable justice in that the strikes "killed only (or nearly only) individuals who were innocent of the embassy bombings"

* Reputational damage from disregarding alliances

* Questionable effectiveness in destroying or disrupting al-Qaeda or perspective terrorists

* Possible diminished impact for any future U.S. strikes by "demonstrating how little [the U.S] could achieve (e.g., limited physical damage)," by depleting ammunition, providing adversaries with an opportunity to observe and reformulate strategies based on observed vulnerabilities, and convincing bin Laden that the U.S. is unwilling to use higher-cost forms of force that would put U.S. personnel at risk

* "The attack provoked a new round of terrorist bombing plots."

* Bin Laden received a good deal of publicity and "appeared to many as an underdog standing firm in the face of bullying aggression."

* The Taliban's poor control over Afghanistan "may mean that they shouldn't bear responsibility for the acts of those on their soil."

* The U.S. may have given away the moral high ground by mirroring certain aspects of bin Laden's strategy with the attacks, and the U.S. bombed targets in independent third-world countries without concern for the sensitivities or sovereignty of those nations.

And:

* Justified under domestic law

* Calling attention to the bin Laden-Taliban connection, which complicated the Taliban's ability to gain international recognition as well as their future ability to justify support for Muslim fundamentalist groups

* Demonstrated U.S. resolve, dedication to dealing with terrorism as a matter of national security, and the reach of U.S. military power

* Provides incentives for nations to cooperate in U.S. counterterrorism activities, if for no other reason but to avoid unilateral action

* May deter terrorists and nations from harboring terrorists

There's alot of reading and research that can be found and added to the already known and suspected.


Where Iraq fits into all this sits only in the minds of those who wanted an invasion an regime change for years before, those who once supported that dictatorship, and saw wealth and extreme power in toppling their once friend and allie, and controlling a country in the center of the region to grant expansion of that extreme wealth and power.


What the invasion and occupation of Iraq has accomplished is far beyond what any extremist anywhere in the region or not hoped for, total unrest and hatreds. One needs only look at Afghanistan today, the Pakistan border region and Pakistan, the continuation of actions in the Iraq theater, the push back by the Iranians and their preparations to ward off attack by anyone, Guerilla Insurgents reportedly flowing into the border region from all over and waging growing destructive attacks on Nato forces and the Afghans, and the growing Criminal Terror attacks in other points outside of these theaters.


Where we once might have had friends an allies we created enemies.


Where we had the chance to better relations with the other powers they are ignoring us and recently sticking our own actions right back in our faces, they will allie with the region those few wanted to control, against us.


And we as a Nation will move on in our Apathy, holding No One Accountable, an with no knowledge of what the future brings, only knowing it will not be what it should have been!

Iran? No! Pakistan? Yes! Forgotten Conflict Soon To Expand and Escalate Dangerously!

I was going to post a followup to a recent post I had done referencing some disturbing news, but suspected, out of Afganistan. That post, a few days ago, followed the extremely sad news about the loss of the nine soldiers, fifteen injured, in a battle at a small fire base they held by Afgan insurgents. This U.S. Abandons Site of Afghan Attack is a recent report on that and as the title says the American forces abandoned the base. It was than apparently retaken by the Afgan Insurgents as well as the little town near it, and control of the territory well around the town and base.


Another report came out yesterday, in the Asian Times, but was dated for today, I've already seen that other sources have been picking it up today, that will follow shortly.


Than this morning Sebastian likes to rattle cages has this diary up with news out of The Guardian that may answer a few questions, or more like worries, I had. This could also explain, and make much more clearer the reason for this, American Envoy To Join Iran Talks, which should have happened over 6 years ago, right after the illegal invasion and as many knew an insurgent conflict would result.


The only ones who could have quieted the rising Blowback, from the invasion and coming occupation, were the neighbors of Iraq, All of them, it's their region, their neighbor, their religions, their sects, and many of us were calling for their involvement.


But Iraq never was and still isn't the only huge problem and extremely failed policy of this administration and it's cohorts, The forgotten War, Afganistan, has and is a big part of the picture and the growing Hatreds in the region, towards us, from those policies!



The other day I had this in that post:

Afghan Warlords, Formerly Backed By the CIA, Now Turn Their Guns On U.S. Troops


They defeated the Soviets with Washington’s help, but now they attack Americans as the new occupiers


And these folks don't play games, they're well seasoned guerilla fighters, in their own country and the terrain well known by them!


They also don't need to raise up hatreds or indoctrinate others, we're doing a damn good job across the region, from Iraq, raising the civilian hatreds towards us in Iran by our rethoric and threats, through Pakistan and into Afganistan, making enemies of tens of thousands if not millions, and this has nothing to do with religious ideology, that's used on both sides to embed fear and control the masses not directly involved, pure propaganda!

But amid a well-coordinated assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai and large-scale bombings last week in the capitals of both Afghanistan and Pakistan, U.S. forces are keenly aware that they are facing an increasingly complex enemy here—what U.S. military officials now call a syndicate—composed not only of Taliban fighters but also powerful warlords who were once on the payroll of the Central Intelligence Agency. "You could almost describe the insurgency as having two branches," says a senior U.S. military official here. "It's the Taliban in the south and a 'rainbow coalition' in the east."

Indeed, along with a smattering of Afghan tribal groups, Pakistani extremists, and drug kingpins, two of the most dangerous players are violent Afghan Islamists named Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Jalaluddin Haqqani, according to U.S. officials.

And these two are whom:

were once among America's most valued allies.

I've always thought that bin Laden, and it has been suspected and reported, because of his family thus the connections to possible U.S. officials, was on the CIA payroll and a middle man for the arms dealings for us in the Afgan/Soviet conflict.

Hekmatyar, then widely considered by Washington to be a reliable anti-Soviet rebel, was even flown to the United States by the CIA in 1985.

immortalized in the recent film Charlie Wilson's War

We even made him a cult hero in our movies, now that's the American Way.

Today, the Haqqani network is driving the recent rise in violence in eastern Afghanistan, according to U.S. military officials.

In the course of conducting these operations, insurgents have benefited greatly from the shortage of U.S. and allied troops here, say U.S. officials.

My guess, just like during the Afgan/Soviet conflict, the rise in violence, especially the changing tactics, is drawing fighters from Iraq as well. If that's the case, and violence abates in Iraq, if we still have troops in that country it won't be quiet for long. With quiet comes complacency and if that complacency is seen an felt by the insurgents a very quick rise in insurgent actions will follow for we will still be occupiers in their land, some coming from those we're paying now not to fight us!

U.S. officials had an even higher opinion of Haqqani, who was considered the most effective rebel warlord. "I adored Haqqani. When I was in Afghanistan, Haqqani was the guy who made sure I would get out," says Wilson. "He was a marvelous leader and very beloved in his territory."

The above has been suspected, actually more than suspected because of the lack of ability to get Afganistan under control and not only because the administration just walked away from it and our promises.



This is what I found yesterday at the Asia Times Online:


Militants ready for a war without borders


Hell of a Title that just grabs the attention!


It isn't anything new, that's what Criminal Terrorism, on a World Scale, has been about for years, striking back from the few for the Wests failed policies in their lands and regions and started long before 9/11!



This is how the report starts out:

From thinly disguised insinuations against Pakistan following the suicide attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul this month to outright accusations against Islamabad by the Afghan government over the unrelenting Taliban-led insurgency, the blame game has entered a critical time: a major regional battle could erupt in a matter of days

A matter of days?



The U.S. now wants to, late, send more troops into Afganistan and do what should have been done after we rid it of the Taliban government and al Qaeda, Seek Out Insurgents In Pakistan, in others words expand the conflict into anothers country and not a very stable country at that!



I've been wondering, though haven't heard anything, if some of the insurgents of Iraq have been moving their front, because of the blastwalls that surround the neighborhoods, the employing of others by the U.S. to fight their own countrymen and not our troops, the refugee's all over Iraq and neighboring countries, the ceasefires..................................................., and more.



In Guerilla Warfare everything becomes a weapon to use when the need arises!

Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani was quick to call in senior strategic analysts, who pointed out that the military would only follow the directions of the civilian government. Yet just days earlier, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani had announced that all decisions concerning military operations would be decided by the army chief. This does not bode well for Pakistan's whole-hearted cooperation.

But regardless of how sincerely the Pakistani army fights against the Taliban, the fact is that the Taliban have already staged a virtual coup in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) bordering Afghanistan.

Now if you were in a military of a country that gets invaded What Would You Do!!

As a result, the middle and lower members of the security forces are effectively non-functional and answer to the Taliban's call across NWFP.

Bring together the above about the Afgan Insurgents and Warlords around that country, add the Growing Taliban ranks as well as the original al Qaeda.

On Monday, a high-level al-Qaeda shura (council) concluded in Miramshah in North Waziristan with instructions to all members with families to retreat to safe locations in expectation of the Afghan war spreading into Pakistan's tribal areas.

We have been feeding the growing hatreds, the longer we stayed in Iraq and the dangerous stagnation we've been a part of in Afganistan.

The shura also noted that militant ranks in the region had received their biggest boost since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, including growing numbers from Muslim countries.

If the Guardian report, and apparently others have started reporting same, is correct, though way too late, establishing even minor diplomatic relations might quell actions and arms supply from Iran as well as Iranians joining what possibly could be a full scale conflict with Afgan Warlords, Taliban, al Qaeda, Pakistani Tribesmen, possible Pakistani military forces, irate Afgans, Pakistani's from around the country, and a new Mujahideen, made up of, Once Again, fighters from around that region and elsewhere, including Iraqi's!!

How do Iranians react to threats of attack?

Triita Parsi talks about the affect of threats on Iranian public opinion



Trita Parsi was born in Iran and grew up in Sweden. He earned a Master's Degree in International Relations at Uppsala University, a second Master's Degree in Economics at Stockholm School of Economics and a PhD in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University SAIS. He has served as an advisor to Congressman Bob Ney (R-OH18) on Middle East issues and is a co-founder and current President of the National Iranian American Council . Dr. Parsi is the author of Treacherous Alliance - The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel and the United States (Yale University Press, 2007). He has followed Middle East politics for more than a decade, both through work in the field, and through extensive experience on Capitol Hill and the United Nations.

It's Their Region

We have Destroyed one Country, and it's people!

While the administration hammers on the negative of the idea of Talking with the other Countries of the Region they are Apparently talking to the one they condemn the most Iran, in secret.

The only way to end this Extreme Debacle is by getting All of Iraqs Neighbors Involved! What has helped quell the violence, these last couple of months, has been the involvement of Iran which the Iraqi's seek out!

Iran leader in landmark Iraq trip

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has received a warm welcome in Baghdad on the first ever visit to Iraq by an Iranian president.

Here is a Video of his arrival

He received the lavish ceremonial welcome granted to heads of states by the visited country, something the bush has Never Received from his visits to Iraq!!

Before The NIE - Iran

Doing some research on a certain topic totally, and I mean totally differant, than this, I came across a report by Michael E. Salla, M.A., Ph.D.
November 7, 2007 posted at Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran cross posted, from his site, America's Hero's Journey, titled The Neoconservative Agenda to Sacrifice the Fifth Fleet – The New Pearl Harbor.

Don't know if anyone caught this before, but my interest is the continuing growing questions I have about the lead up to what happened on 9/11 and all that has occurred since. I'm not one for conspiracies, but am one who questions what they read or hear, especially when it raises question after question, and nobody seems willing to really seek out All the answers!

Mr Salla has put together a well researched scenario of what the possibilities were with invation of Iran, that anyone with even a working knowledge of the Arms Trade Industry and that Region were putting some of the same together, maybe only in their minds, but were the realities.

Iran had the U.S. Military sitting on one side, Iraq, on another, Afganistan, and a growing fleet presence on another, the Persian Gulf Area, and a wanna be tough guy, reading others words, poorly, threatening them from Washington!

Mr Salla leads off with this:

The Bush administation has covered up and ignored dissenting Pentagon war games analysis that suggests an attack on Iran's nuclear or military facilities will lead directly to the annihilation of the Navy's Fifth Fleet now stationed in the Persian Gulf.

He goes on to describe the Fifth Fleet's Vulnerability to Iran's Anti-Ship Missile Arsenal:

The Enterprise has over 5000 Navy personnel, and on November 2, began participating in a Naval exercise in the Persian Gulf.

including a cut from this

Many years ago, Soviet planners gave up trying to match the US Navy ship for ship, gun for gun, and dollar for dollar. The Soviets simply could not compete with the high levels of US spending required to build up and maintain a huge naval armada. They shrewdly adopted an alternative approach based on strategic defense. They searched for weaknesses, and sought relatively inexpensive ways to exploit those weaknesses. The Soviets succeeded: by developing several supersonic anti-ship missiles, one of which, the SS-N-22 Sunburn, has been called "the most lethal missile in the world today."

Mr Salla links back to a GAO study on the US Navy's preparedness for anti-ship cruise missiles. And also to a military study in 2003.

Mr Salla has a number of links embedded in his report well worth the look see. He goes on to explain the Neo-Conservatives thought process, though I find their thoughts not really thought out, more in tune to an extremely short time line, with this chapter, The Neo-Conservative Strategy to Attack Iran

Starting out with this:

Neoconservatives share a political philosophy that US dominance of the international system as the world's sole superpower needs to be extended indefinitely into the 21st century. Part of the neoconservative agenda is to identify and overthrow states that are opposed to the current U.S. dominated international system.

Much of which many had already figured out long ago.

He goes on to explain his thoughts on First Attack Strategy, Second Attack Strategy, Third Attack Strategy into the Consequences of Iran being Attacked!

Now Iran, being like most on this planet, certainly are Not Going To 'First Strike' a power that is surrounding it with already based Military Might, even with being bogged down in the Quagmire of Iraq and Afganistan heating up daily!

But if the U.S., or even Israel, were to Strike at Iran, one needs not think to hard what their reaction might be, especially if they even had a passing thought as to the possibilities of a followup strike coming, causing more Death and Destruction!

And once again, they are pretty much surrounded by the U.S. Military, though not as overwelming in Afganistan. I would think they would not only Attempt to hit a U.S. Ship/Ships, but Bases and Troops in Iraq are not to be a distant thought, they're All in Range of Iranian Ordinance!

And if Israel were to Strike, what would they face? Not much unless Iran has long range capabilities unknown of.

But a Strike by either would Cause an Explosion of Hostilities throughout the Region, leading to attacks outside of the region, that's where Israel's Blowback would come from!

We have those in the region questioning the policies of this administration as reported yesterday in this Washington Post article.

LithiumCola has diary in the recommend on an L.A. Times report from today on the gutting of Intelligence gathering on Iran than the step up.


There has also been a report on CNN the past couple of days on the dealings between Iran and the U.S., not so long ago, that were, for the most part, the complete opposite of the recent rethoric coming out of Washington. Can't find a link to he report nor a video link of same.

There's only One Danger to this Planet, in the present, it's coming out of our own Capital and not just from the puppet but those pulling his strings and writing his words, as well as any others allied with them any where in this World!!

Plame-What Was Scrubbed by 60min-Iran

Former Covert Agent Speaks

Click To Play

When Valerie Plame Wilson's identity was leaked, the covert CIA agent became the center of a scandal that went all the way to the White House. Katie Couric previews her exclusive interview.

Wanna Good Read....

Start here, Report says war on terror is fuelling al Qaeda, if you hadn't already, or if nobody else has latched on to this story to grab the attention of.

Now this sounds very familiar, oh ya, tens of thousands of us, in this country, and millions more around the world were saying Very Similar as the War Drums started beating more rapidly, by the MSM and the administration, about Iraq, and frankly many thought that Afganistan would be heading in the same direction after it was invaded.

You see we have a history of Rhetoric that we don't follow through on, especially in Afganistan, anyone remember what happened after the Soviets were forced out.

Those of us who have the experiance of Invasions of little countries, whose people did nothing to deserve the death and destruction, understand what the invaded will do, and in Iraq it was written well before 'The Shock and Awe', and in Afganistan, if we followed our past policies, it was sure to develope!

Now in the short Reuters report above we find this:

A report by the Oxford Research Group (ORG) said a "fundamental re-think is required" if the global terrorist network is to be rendered ineffective.

What is the Oxford Research Group, ORG for short:

Oxford Research Group (ORG) works to promote a more sustainable approach to security for the UK and the world. We combine detailed knowledge of root causes of conflict with an understanding of political decision-making, and we build trust through facilitating constructive dialogue between policy-makers, academics, the military and civil society.

The report is written by Professor Paul Rogers and released this month. They have monthly reports that you can receive in your in-box if you sign up.

Who is Professor Paul Rogers,

Global Security Consultant to Oxford Research Group and Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford, takes a step back from the heat of the moment to provide a concise monthly overview of the international security situation, focussing on the 'war on terror', the related conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the implications of US and UK foreign policy for the majority world.

These briefings are now published in English and Spanish, and you can subscribe below to receive these briefings by email as they are published each month.

The reports are called Towards Sustainable Security: Oxford Research Group International Security Report 2007

You can purchase the most recent report at their online store, or read about what others will sure to be reporting, but probably not the Media here in the States.

There's a link, in the above, for a report in August that you can download in PDF form or just read it here Iraq After the Surge August 2007 - Paul Rogers

The Professor starts this report out with this,

In late 2006 the Baker-Hamilton Report recommended a change of policy for the Bush Administration over Iraq. The two main proposals were that the United States should work towards a large-scale military withdrawal from the country and that it should do so in parallel with an engagement with regional powers to ensure that a post-withdrawal Iraq would not degenerate into wholesale violence and civil war. Such a diplomatic engagement would necessarily include countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Now once again something sounds very familiar,

The two main proposals were that the United States should work towards a large-scale military withdrawal from the country and that it should do so in parallel with an engagement with regional powers to ensure that a post-withdrawal Iraq would not degenerate into wholesale violence and civil war.

Yep, the same tens of thousands here, and millions around the world, Focus Groups All, started saying similar, once again, after the big bad 'Shock and Awe' started destroying the Iraqi's Country as well as the Iraqi People!

Even before the Inevitable coming Guerilla/Insurgent War!!!

Many were saying it than, if you like the bush weren't listening! Many have been saying it since than, all these years now of Death and Destruction! And Sadly my thoughts are that we have passed the point of any reasonable outcome, with minimal BlowBack!

To many have been Killed and Maimed! To much has been Destroyed, especially the lives of the Iraqi's and their Children, the ones who will survive! To much Hatred has been added to that which already existed from our long time failed policies and backing of tyrants!

The hatreds will fuel the BlowBack now for decades, and it only takes a few to wage the coming destructive havic, and there's certainly much more than a few!

Can Iranian and US Veterans Talk Peace?

By Harold Burbank

Attorney Harold Burbank, 2008 candidate for the US House, District 5,
Connecticut, has learned from the Iran UN Mission that it will puruse
Burbank's proposal that Veterans for Peace USA, a 7000 member US war
veterans peace group, and Iran war veterans begin a cultural exchange for
peace. Burbank made the proposal in his capacity as a Veterans for Peace
observer for this week's UN General Assembly High Level Dialogue on Religion
and Culture, scheduled by the General Assembly in part to address religion
and culture issues raised by the 9/11 tragedy.

"If the US and Iran governments will not or cannot talk to each other
sensibly, it is time for those who have implemented war policy, the US and
Iran war veterans whose lives and families have been or could be affected by
a US war with Iran, to try to talk sense to each other and perhaps in time
to their governments on how to end Middle Eastern wars and threats of wars.
Ideally this dialogue will lead to new champions for peace on both sides
that cannot be ignored to prevent war in Iran." Burbank said the Iran UN
Mission press secretary was trying to schedule a meeting for him for
detailed talks with appropriate Iran staff this week, to coincide with work
that Iran and Veterans for Peace are doing for the High Level Dialogue on
Religion and Culture. Burbank said he got his idea after hearing Iran
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad challenge the UN community in his General
Assembly speech last week to join Iran for a "Coalition for Peace". "I
think that Veterans for Peace should accept Ahmadinejad's challenge. Both
Iran and Veterans for Peace have responded positively," Burbank said. "Our
Maine chapter has already promised to fund several delegates. It is up to
Iran to advise us on how to take the next step."

'Abandoned at the Border'

Iraqi Refugees in the United States

Talk of the Nation, September 3, 2007 · Retired Gen. Joseph Hoar talks about his op-ed that appeared in The New York Times on Friday {8-31-07}, in which he argues that the United States needs to open its doors to more Iraqi refugees.

Listen in to the discussion

Retired Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Hoar, is the former commander in chief of U.S. Central Command.

In the Generals op-ed he writes:

FOR more than a year, men and women in our armed forces have been urging the United States to bring to safety the Iraqi translators and others who have worked beside them and are now the victims of retaliation.

And adds the obvious:

It is shameful that more than four years into this war, Iraqis working at our embassy cannot count on the United States to protect them or to help them find a new home when their work with us has made it impossible to survive in their own country.

And another obvious:

Similarly, it is both cruel and foolish for the United States to ignore the plight of more than two million others who have fled and are struggling to survive in Syria and Jordan.

Shown in this video, from the UNHCR, found at their site:

Iraq's Exodus of Pain


As well as this video:



And a few of the reports posted there as well:

Iraq: Rate of displacement rising
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis -- to whom quoted text may be attributed -- at the press briefing, on 28 August 2007, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

UNHCR and UNICEF issue joint appeal to get Iraqi children back to school
Friday 27 July, 2007
GENEVA -- UNICEF and the UN refugee agency today issued a $129 million joint appeal aimed at getting tens of thousands of uprooted Iraqi children back in school.
Warning that a generation of Iraqis could grow up uneducated and alienated.

More can be found on the plight of the Iraqi refugees at the UNHCR Website.

The General goes on to add this obvious as well:

Dealing with the refugee crisis is vital to the national security of the United States. Continuing indifference to suffering that we had a strong hand in causing will turn our Muslim supporters against us. More important, it repudiates the fundamental values of our country and costs Iraqis their lives.

For those that just don't seem to get those points what more can one say to convince you of the already known facts of what has been happening, in the present, and what occurred in the past, and not the past of just that region, but the meddleing of the so called powerful in that and other regions of this planet!

The general ends with this:

As a key part of that strategy, the United States must reach out to Iraq’s neighbors — including Syria — and demonstrate a willingness to help support and take in refugees, starting with those who risked their lives to stand with us.

We must not only reach out to Iraq's neighbors on the issue of the refugee's, which must start Now, but also all the region to help stem the growing sectarian violence that is occurring in Iraq. We, for we created this destructive mess, must sit down with the leaders, political and religious, and ask for their help in attempting to quiet the growing hatreds within Iraq, this should have been started Long Ago!

We broke it and the only way to attempt to bring about the stability needed can be found Only with the help of the Entire Region!

Stop Iran War.com

I just received the following E from VoteVets.org.
And as Jon Soltz says "Pass It On"!
So that's what this old Vet is doin, "Passing It On"!
Sign on, if you haven't already! Support Action If You Have!

Dear VoteVets.org Supporter,
Last week, General Wes Clark and VoteVets.org, launched StopIranWar.com. We launched this site to help stop the Bush Administration from taking us down a path to another war.

And we were right to be concerned. Just a couple days after we launched StopIranWar.com, Vice President Cheney stated about Iran, "But I've also made the point, and the president has made the point, that all options are on the table."
As a veteran of the Iraq war, this sounds all too familiar to me, and I'm going to do everything I can to stop a war with Iran.

Now, I need your help.

Today, we're launching a web video urging Americans to sign our petition to stop a war with Iran. This will be the first in a series of video blogs we'll be releasing over the next month to help stop George W. Bush from starting another war.

[Signers]
Thank you for signing the petition. Now, it's time to spread the word. Please watch the video and then forward it to everyone you know.

[Non-signers]
I urge you to sign the petition today. Then watch the video, and forward it to everyone you know.

We're currently at 20,000 petition signatures and growing, but we need to reach hundreds of thousands of people. We need to create a movement so large that the Bush Administration will be forced to pay attention.

I have no delusions that my voice alone, or even the voice of someone as knowledgeable, as experienced, and as well-respected as General Clark will be able to compel George W. Bush to start diplomatic efforts to head off a looming conflict with Iran. Only the shared voice of millions of Americans has any chance of stopping a war with Iran.

Will you stand up and make your voice heard today?

[Signers]
Watch the new StopIranWar.com video blog today. Then forward this message to everyone you know.

[Non-signers]
Sign the petition today. Then watch the video, and forward it to everyone you know.

Thank you for all you do.

Sincerely,

Jon Soltz
Iraq War Veteran
Co-founder, VoteVets.org
VoteVets.org represents the Voice of America's 21 Century Patriots - those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. It primarily focuses on nonpartisan education and advocacy on behalf of troops, veterans and their families.

Now I realize it's a tiny bit repetitive in the message and links.

Well There's A Freakin Reason, As This Old Vet Sees It, To Get Your ATTENTION!!

Visit the Video link, double click and Vote It Up, Sign on to the Petition and Contact Your Representatives Over and Over with the Message You Know You Need To Send!!

Thanks

Shrub HD Omega

Letter from a Vietnam Vet

Letter follows intro:

Dear family and friends,

It's showdown time. Will be keep our democracy or go over the precipice into tyranny? Democracy is not a spectator sport. I urge you to act.
Here is a letter that I just sent to my senators and congressman via Congress. They have a "for a fee" service whereby they print-out then hand deliver your letter to the congressman's office. It cost me $15 to have three letters delivered. Because of the (probably CIA initiated) anthrax scare, mail is TOOOO slow getting to congress. This method has the most impact. I encourage you to do likewise.

*********************
It is abundantly clear that President Bush is preparing to attack Iran and he is not going to ask congress for permission. This administration has repeatedly stretched (and often broken) the authority of the presidency through various ruses and, if congress allows him to continue with his attack on Iran, we can pretty well kiss our democracy good‐bye. For the past six years congress has been complicit in the building of the new American tyranny. The people elected the new, democratically oriented congress precisely because we did not want any further erosion or our freedoms and liberties a la the Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act, and to disengage our nation from our misbegotten military involvement in the Middle East.

When World War III starts, as it surely will if we attack Iran, President Bush will have no choice but to order a national emergency, the suspension of habeus corpus, the renewal of the military draft and the forced labor (enslavement) of the masses to support this god awful policy of global hegemony.

When will congress find the backbone to stand up to this madman and tell him "ENOUGH"?!!!

Democracy and the great social/political experiment known as AMERICA hang in the balance. What will be your response? As he has done many times already, President Bush will claim extraordinary powers that congress and the constitution never intended him to have. That is why it is incumbent upon the 110th congress to pass legislation making it clear that the military is not to follow any administration orders for war that congress has not authorized and that if the President gives any orders for attacking Iran without first asking Congress for a declaration of war, that will be considered an impeachable offense.

I spent two years in the army in Viet Nam and I sure as hell didn't give my service only to see my country become a police state.

I, like you and the president, took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I still hold this duty dear; that is why I write to you today. The Bush administration has assaulted our Constitution and it's time to put a stop to this madness.

Ken Ashe
******************

Ken, as myself and some 6000 Veterans, is a member of Veterans For Peace



The Failed Policies will Haunt Us and the World for Decades!

News Crawl 1-21-07

Pentagon sees U.S. war cost in Iraq rising

The steadily rising Iraq war price tag will reach about $8.4 billion a month this year, Pentagon spokesmen said on Thursday, as heavy replacement costs for lost, destroyed and aging equipment mount.
The Pentagon has been estimating last year's costs for the increasingly unpopular war at about $8 billion a month, having increased from a monthly "burn rate" of around $4.4 billion during the first year of fighting in fiscal 2003.

For war zone workers, a new fight

US companies employing civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan have refused to settle workers' compensation and medical benefit claims for hundreds of war-zone injuries that range from back pain to post-traumatic stress.
A Globe review of rulings by administrative judges that resolve disputed claims found that Halliburton Co. , DynCorp International, and other US contractors have been ordered to pay millions of dollars in compensation to workers whose claims they initially denied. In some cases, the companies had fought the claims for years even though their own doctors agreed that a worker had been injured.
Judges ruled in favor of the employee three times as often as they ruled for the companies, according to the review.

Show Me The Intelligence

Have you noticed? Neither President George W. Bush nor Vice President Dick Cheney have cited any U.S. intelligence assessments to support their fateful decision to send 21,500 more troops to referee the civil war in Iraq. This is a far cry from October 2002, when a formal National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) was rushed through in order to trick Congress into giving its nihil obstat for the attack on Iraq.

The Central Question

Government routinely lies, and so do many corporations. That mysterious commitment to the public good, which once joined Americans from many different classes and positions, seems to have dissolved. Integrity, which simply means being true regardless of consequences to one's own beliefs, seems to have no market value in America today.

US Plans Envision Broad Attack on Iran: Analyst

US contingency planning for military action against Iran's nuclear program goes beyond limited strikes and would effectively unleash a war against the country, a former US intelligence analyst said on Friday.

Cheney's Dead-Enders

"With the departure of his longtime friend Donald Rumsfeld, John Bolton's resignation as UN ambassador, and Democrats taking over Congress, times seem grim for the Dick Cheney wing of the Bush administration. The vice president's vision of a 'unitary executive' - otherwise known as the imperial presidency - will almost certainly be challenged by congressional oversight committees, and perhaps by the courts."

Protesters Will Urge Congress to Stand Up to Bush

Americans angered by Bush's plans to escalate the Iraq war will flood the streets of Washington on Saturday, January 27, in a massive national peace march organized by United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ). Marchers will call on Congress to listen to the voters, not Bush, by using its power to end Bush's war and bring the troops home. The last three national marches organized by UFPJ each attracted between 300,000 and 500,000 people.

"I think the Iraqi people owe the American people a huge debt of
gratitude" - The pResident {Yep up to 655,000 are really Grateful, many in
their Mass Graves, as are their Survivors}


"I think once they get in harm's way, Congress's tradition is to
support those troops," Mr. Hadley said. {Harms Way, shows what the
administration thinks of the Troops, it's called a Strong Defense!}

The Failed Policies will Haunt Us and the World for Decades!