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!

'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!