SOME RELEVANT NEWS STORIES
HOW MANY IRAQIS HAVE BEEN KILLED AS A RESULT OF AMERICA'S INVASION?
Respected British research firm states U.S. invasion has killed over one million Iraqis. (Los Angeles Times, 9/14/2007) The estimate is probably low since it is very hard to count the death toll from the indirect effects of the U.S. invasion such as loss of electric power and the destruction of Iraq's physical and social infrastructure. It also does not count the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed by the western sanctions before the war. It should also be noted that one million Iraqis were killed by sanctions from 1991 to 2003. Link to original study in England.
Last year respected British medical group said U.S. Invasion is Responsible for Deaths of Over 650,000 Civilians in Iraq (The Washington Post, October 11, 2006)
Al Qaeda supports Bush's plans to keep U.S. Troops in Iraq This article speaks for itself. Bush's invasion of Iraq has been the best thing that ever happened to Al Qaeda. (The Christian Science Monitor, October 6, 2006)
Cost of Iraq War - Almost $450 Billion So Far - $10 Billion per Month Congressional Research Service quoted on Yahoo News July 9, 2007 Link to PDF File of Actual Report
Total Long Term Cost of War Could Reach over $2 Trillion Christian Science Monitor 1/10/2006
U.S. Invasion produces humanitarian chamber of horrors for Iraqi people. (Click here to go to Oxfam Report.)
Here are some grim examples:
- 70% are without adequate water supplies, compared to 50% in 2003.
- 28% of children are malnourished, compared to 19% before the 2003 invasion.
10 % of all Iraqis have fled since U.S. invasion. (The Washington Post, February 4, 2007)
Christians flee Iraq to Syria (New York Times, August 4, 2004 on Genocide Watch Site) "Democracy" in Iraq as in the former Yugoslavia has unleashed new levels of religious and ethnic violence. Ironically, Iraqi Christians are fleeing to Syria, a country that President Bush condemns as a center of "terrorism".
U.S. Military opposes Bush's handling of war. New poll of soldiers by respected military publication. (The Seattle Times, December 30, 2006)
More and more top military leaders oppose the war.
PETRAEUS REPORT
Official Petraeus Testimony from Official Pentagon Web Site
Address by the President to the Nation on the Way Forward in Iraq September 13, 2007
Serious questions raised about accuracy of Petraeus Testimony (From
Moveon.org)
(Detailed report and sources.)
Some information on Petraeus's Anbar "success". U.S. is now teaming up with former Saddam Hussein supporters. Video on this subject. Another story about the "success".
Hatred of
America rises rather declines during "success" in Anbar. (New York
Times article.) A reminder of why we are hated in Anbar.
Check out this video:
Fallujah
- The Hidden Massacre-*Warning* This video contains images that depict the
reality and horror of war. It should only be viewed by a mature audience.
Petraeus contradicts his own policies.
U.S. Department of Defense Official Website
US Embassy In Iraq - Official Web Site
NEW: Realistic ABC News Video on U.S. troops in combat. (ABC News, July 16, 2007)
IRAQI VIEWS OF US
A Majority of Iraqis Now Approve of Attacks on U.S. Forces This story from ABC News details the findings of a recent University of Maryland study concerning public opinion in Iraq. Some of the results included "Six in ten Iraqis (60%) approve of attacks on U.S.-led forces" and "Nearly eight in ten say the U.S. presence in Iraq is provoking more conflict than it's preventing (as opposed to being 'a stabilizing force.'). (ABC News, September 27, 2006)
Iraqi Lawmakers Back Bill on U.S. Withdrawal Incredibly, the U.S. Congress just passed a bill opposing the wishes of the majority of the Iraqi Congress, who demanded a date for U.S. withdrawal. (The Washington Post, May 11, 2007)
Bush surge opposed by Iraqi Prime Minister. (The Washington Post, January 21, 2007)
Iraqi Prime Minister says Iraq can take care of itself without U.S. troops. (Aljazeera, July 15, 2007)
WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE IS AMERICA ALLIED WITH IN IRAQ?
"Iraqi Parliament Speaker (who had been praised by White House) States Killing American Soldiers is Praiseworthy Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, has stated that "America didn't come to the country for our sake. America came with a pure Zionist agenda. He added, “I personally think whoever kills an American soldier in defense of his country would have a statue built for him in that country.”(Think Progress, July 25, 2006) (Also see complaint by Congressman John Larson concerning this statement) This from a man who White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten believes has an “appreciation for the sacrifice so many Americans have made.” This comment came several weeks after President George Bush said he was "impressed" by Mashhadani. (Wikipedia)
Top Iraqi "moderate" leader, Mr. Hakim, who was also praised by President Bush, refuses to condemn Holocaust denial or calls for Israel's destruction. This story is truly stranger than fiction. Read actual CNN transcript if you are skeptical. (Interview is in middle of program transcript.) (CNN News, December 10, 2006)
Persecution of Christians soars in Iraq leading to mass exodus of Iraqi Christians. (USA Today, March 27, 2007)
Women's rights curtailed as Iraq moves towards religious extremism. (The Washington Post, December 16, 2006)
GENERAL ARTICLES
Saddam's Alleged Al-Qaeda Ties Were Disproved Before the War In new major report U.S. intelligence analysts and members of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee found no links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda while senior Bush administration officials publicly asserted those links to justify invading Iraq. (The Washington Post, September 9, 2006)
Unembedded: A great book on the war in Iraq (Unembedded, 2003) Video
Meeting Resisistance A very interesting film produced by two courageous U.S. reporters who risked their lives to go and cover the war directly rather than sitting around at hotels repeating U.S. government "news". Interview with creators of film on Democracy Now.
Another independent journalist's view
Perpectives on the War
William Odom, Former Director of U.S. National Security Agency
William Lind, U.S. Military Analyst
A global debate is raging about "fascism". Many Europeans regard U.S. President Bush as a fascist. In return, President Bush claims that he is fighting Islamic "fascism". A particularly troubling problem for President Bush on top of all the other problems he is facing at home and abroad is the fact that a former prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials (somebody who knows something about real fascism) has stated that Mr. Bush should be put on trial as a war criminal.
Bush Should Stand Trial as a War Criminal, Says Former Nuremberg Prosecutor This article details comments made by Benjamin Ferencz, a former U.S. prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, who argues that according to the standards of international law established after World War II, George Bush should be tried for launching an "aggressive war" against Iraq in 2003.
Europeans See U.S. Under Bush as Primary Threat to Global Stability Recent polling done by the Angus Reid Global Scan concludes that 30% of Europeans see the United States as the biggest threat to global stability, far surpassing Iran (23%), China (15%), and North Korea (14%).
Reclaiming the Issues: Islamic or Republican Fascism? The article states that Neo-Conservative policies, as exemplified by the Bush Administration, are ideologically closer to historical Fascism than the "Islamic Fascists" that the administration argues it is fighting.