Shlonkom Bakazay?

All I can say is, meow Mona meow. Kifaya indeed. Never enough. Seldom am I afforded the opportunity to express my libido's cravings here. So, here's to Mona in all her hotness.

Read her latest article, The increasing Frustration of Egypt’s Youth

Are they frustrated because they can't be enamoured in all your heavenliness?

After I did Abu Ghraib, I got a bunch of digital pictures emailed me, and -- was a lot of work on it, and I decided, well, we can talk about it later. You never know why you do things. You have some general rules, but in this case, a bunch of kids were going along in three vehicles. One of them got blown up. The other two units -- soldiers ran out, saw some people running, opened up fire. It was a bunch of boys playing soccer. And in the digital videos you see everybody standing around, they pull the bodies together. This is last summer. They pull the bodies together. You see the body parts, the legs and boots of the Americans pulling bodies together. Young kids, I don't know how old, 13, 15, I guess. And then you see soldiers dropping R.P.G.'s, which are rocket-launched grenades around them. And then they're called in as an insurgent kill. [one, two, three, four, five, six]

Body language is remarkable, ain't it?

This is just a heads-up post about the legality of bombing raids on Iraq in 2002. Thing is, they weren't legal in any stretch of the term. I didn't really have the chance to put much up about it, but I think we'll need to look at this in more detail in the near future. It's Downing Street Memos related and passed-up in the current storm over the memos in the US because it shows American and British culpability. Don't have much time now to comment, but I'll put some links to a few stories. From this story.

A spike in British and U.S. 2002 bombing raids on Iraq, reportedly designed to goad Saddam Hussein into retaliating, was illegal under international law, according to British Foreign Office legal advice leaked to the UK’s Sunday Times. The advice indicated that the goal of the bombing was to provoke Hussein, thus providing a pretext for war.

British Ministry of Defense records show that the spike began in May 2002.

Then there's this.

These "spikes of activity" were aimed at provoking Saddam into action that might justify war. Other documents confirm that Blair had agreed to back regime change in the spring of 2002, that he was warned it was illegal and that ministers were told to "create the conditions" that would make it legal. Other gems include the admission that the threat from Saddam and WMD had not increased and that US attempts to link Baghdad to al-Qaida were "frankly unconvincing".

Indeed. And Michael Smith (the reporter that first broke the Downing Street Memos on the scene), expounds upon this in a recent story.

American media coverage of the Downing Street memo has largely focused on the assertion by Sir Richard Dearlove, head of British foreign intelligence, that war was seen as inevitable in Washington, where "the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

But another part of the memo is arguably more important. It quotes British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon as saying that "the U.S. had already begun 'spikes of activity' to put pressure on the regime." This we now realize was Plan B.

Put simply, U.S. aircraft patrolling the southern no-fly zone were dropping a lot more bombs in the hope of provoking a reaction that would give the allies an excuse to carry out a full-scale bombing campaign, an air war, the first stage of the conflict.

British government figures for the number of bombs dropped on southern Iraq in 2002 show that although virtually none were used in March and April, an average of 10 tons a month were dropped between May and August.

But these initial "spikes of activity" didn't have the desired effect. The Iraqis didn't retaliate. They didn't provide the excuse Bush and Blair needed. So at the end of August, the allies dramatically intensified the bombing into what was effectively the initial air war.

The number of bombs dropped on southern Iraq by allied aircraft shot up to 54.6 tons in September alone, with the increased rates continuing into 2003.

In other words, Bush and Blair began their war not in March 2003, as everyone believed, but at the end of August 2002, six weeks before Congress approved military action against Iraq.

The way in which the intelligence was "fixed" to justify war is old news.

The real news is the shady April 2002 deal to go to war, the cynical use of the U.N. to provide an excuse, and the secret, illegal air war without the backing of Congress.

Another hard-hitting editorial by Krugman on the DSM.

Leading the nation wrongfully into war strikes at the heart of democracy. It would have been an unprecedented abuse of power even if the war hadn't turned into a military and moral quagmire. And we won't be able to get out of that quagmire until we face up to the reality of how we got in.

Let me talk briefly about what we now know about the decision to invade Iraq, then focus on why it matters.

The administration has prevented any official inquiry into whether it hyped the case for war. But there's plenty of circumstantial evidence that it did.

And then there's the Downing Street Memo - actually the minutes of a prime minister's meeting in July 2002 - in which the chief of British overseas intelligence briefed his colleagues about his recent trip to Washington.

"Bush wanted to remove Saddam," says the memo, "through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and W.M.D. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy." It doesn't get much clearer than that.

The U.S. news media largely ignored the memo for five weeks after it was released in The Times of London. Then some asserted that it was "old news" that Mr. Bush wanted war in the summer of 2002, and that W.M.D. were just an excuse. No, it isn't. Media insiders may have suspected as much, but they didn't inform their readers, viewers and listeners. And they have never held Mr. Bush accountable for his repeated declarations that he viewed war as a last resort.

Still, some of my colleagues insist that we should let bygones be bygones. The question, they say, is what we do now. But they're wrong: it's crucial that those responsible for the war be held to account.

Let me explain.

What I don't understand is that Baloney Tony could have Bush mushed and left out to dry if he so pleased. And people would love him for it. There must be other DSMemos out there.

Imagine the year 2056...

MECCA—The 14 democratic member nations of the Middle Eastern Union unanimously voted to declare war on the U.S. Monday, calling the North American country a "dangerous rogue state that must be contained."

"The United States of America has repeatedly violated international law and committed human-rights abuses at home and abroad," MEU President Mohamed Rajib said at a Monday security-council meeting. "MEU weapons inspectors have confirmed that the U.S. continues to pursue their illegal ununhexium-weapons program. Our attempts to bring about change through diplomatic means have repeatedly failed. Now, we are forced to take military action."

The MEU, formed in the wake of the 2042 Saudi Arabian revolution, is modeled on the Enlightenment ideal of the democratic republic and makes every attempt to avoid war even as it pursues an agenda of encouraging self-rule throughout the world. The decision to invade America marks the first military action of the MEU.

Rajib said that, unless the U.S. ends its "unlawful and tyrannical" occupation of northern Africa in seven days, the governments of Iraq, Iran, Jordan, and Muhammad Arabia will begin deploying aero-troops to international tropospace over America's Brand-New England region. [to continue story]

Jon Leyne speaks to Iraqis inside Iraq and reports on the utter failures that prove America is losing the war. So, Rumsfeld is wrong. Rumsfeld is in denial. Winning the war is winning the peace. And there are now so many Iraqis that are so hostile to the US if only by the virtue of their complete incompetence in trying to even make essential services reach pre-war levels in this Fatoush Republic.

Speaking to Iraqis is a rare event for most reporters these days. But if people could hear them now, they'd hear that there is no water or contaminated water where there is water.

The water situation is very real and very critical in the major population centers at the moment. How can you win hearts and minds if you cannot even make sure people have safe water to drink in the midst of a hellish Iraqi summer?

'We've been affected badly,' complained one man in the area. 'We don't have any water to drink. What are we supposed to do? Sometimes they cut the power as well. It's all the fault of the Americans.'

I meant to post this a long long time ago, but I haven't really been around a scanner for a while. Somebody in my family brought the March 20, 2005 issue of the Sunday Times to me when we got together for Easter. If you aren't familiar with this date, it's the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. We tend to celebrate Easter twice in my family for schedule flexibity. The more usual one and Assyrian Orthodox one. Sometimes we get together for one, sometimes for another. Why did I mention that? Anyway...this article mentions both Sir Richard Dearlove (head of MI6 at the time of the lead-up to the war) and the intelligence being "fixed". Obviously the first time around it didn't stick. I believe the leak of the actual document of the minutes is very interesting. Don't you? Click on the picture, or this link here, for the first page, here for the second part, and here for the third part. You have to go back to the first part to finish the article. All I can say is get hold of the documentary about this PreDowning Street Memo moment. I know I'd like to see it.

Here are all the links to the scans of the story:

PreDowningStreetMemo.jpg
PreDowningStreetMemoForPost.jpg
PreDowningStreetMemo2.jpg
PreDowningStreetMemo3.jpg

I got the latest Punk Planet in today and lookie what I found.

All pictures were taken in the summer of 1990, about a month before the invasion of Kuwait. This was just one of our visits. We left two weeks before the invasion. We had no idea that anything strange was happening when we were there. This summer was perhaps the best time of my life. I was only 12.

News & Analysis: Water main attack affects two million in Baghdad

Several of my friends and family in Baghdad have alerted me in the past few days about this problem that is approaching a critical point now. A couple of them don't have water at all. A few others have some water but it is filled with bacteria. When they drank it they got very sick. So, it is undrinkable water. Now, as you know, is summer. And it is as hot as hell. The electricity service is still shite, so there are times when you cannot run the AC because the small house generators cannot handle those levels. So, what you have are temperatures around 45 degrees celsius (115 degrees F), no cooling so you sweat, no water so you get dehydrated...

It's not a good formula for success.

Here's something I found. I was aghast that nobody has mentioned it yet in the MSM. Please help me get the word out by linking to this article in your blog. Thank you.

BAGHDAD, 22 Jun 2005 (IRIN) - Two million Baghdad residents have been without drinking water since 19 June after saboteurs targeted a major water main in the capital.

'The attack on the water pipes was a shock to all residents. Insurgents are not only killing innocent people but also destroying the daily lives of millions of people,' Amer Salman, a senior Baghdad governorate official, said.

Salman added that they were working hard to repair the main but said that it may take up to a week to have it functioning properly again, although small-scale pumping may start within two days.

The Mansoor, Yarmouk, Kadhimiya, Baya'a, Ghazaliya and Hay al-Jame'a districts in Baghdad are the worst affected.

'Every day I have to drive 10 km to reach to a public water pipe where I can get water for washing, cleaning and drinking. My air conditioning [AC] machine needs to be filled with water manually every three hours,' Kamal al-Jumaily, a Yarmouk district resident, said.

The AC machines, which have to be filled by hand, are cheap to run and are to be found in most Iraqi homes. They are particularly necessary in the summer when temperatures may reach 50 degrees centigrade.

Local doctors have reported an increase in diarrhoea and other illnesses related to the consumption of dirty water.

'Children have been the most effected, due to the dirty water being consumed now. Some families are using public pipes and unsafe wells, which are known to be contaminated,' Dr Ahmed Ibraheem, at Yarmouk general hospital, said.

Ibraheem added that during the last water shortage in the capital in January, more than 200 cases of illness through consumption of contaminated water were reported, but they fear the number could be higher now as sanitation has further deteriorated in the capital.

In a desperate measure, many residents have started to dig wells in their gardens.

'The heat is increasing and in place where we acquire more comfort, Iraqis are suffering even more now from power and water shortages,' Mahmoud Abbas, a Bayaa district resident said.

It is nice that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his team feel as if they have achieved closure on their prisoner abuse issues and are ready to move on. The problem is, they are still in deep denial. The Bush administration has not only refused to face the problem squarely, but it is also enabling a pervasive lack of accountability.

Domestic closure is also a smoke-screen to the greater problems caused by this stubborn denial. Because the resonance of Abu Ghraib on the future of the world if this complete lack of accountability continues shall have far-reaching implications. In other words, we've only seen the beginning of the problems that could result from their denial failing to subside.

Stop hurting America. Stop hurting the world. Denial is your worst enemy.

Speak of the devil...

Great to hear Iraq's justice minister being concerned about justice.

Iraq's justice minister has accused the US of concealing information about deposed president Saddam Hussein that could be damaging to "many countries".

Abdel Hussein Shandal said it seemed there were "lots of secrets" that the Americans wanted to hide.

Saddam Hussein is set to go on trial in Iraq over alleged crimes against humanity, but no date has been set.

Mr Shandal spoke to the AP news agency on the eve of a major conference. US officials did not immediately comment.

"There should be transparency and there should be frankness, but there are secrets that, if revealed, won't be in the interest of many countries," Mr Shandal said.

"Who was helping Saddam all those years?"(emphasis added)

Real Iraqis wanting a real reconciliation leading to real justice in the future shall not let this one die. I am more sure of this than most things. And it is very much in the interest of America to reveal some of these secrets and to own up to their past grave mistakes if they want the average Iraqi's goodwill. Until then, there's only going to be suspicion and animosity at America's real intentions.

Wake up. Own up. Because there will be no let up concerning these secrets.

Lying to yourself only hurts yourself. Making soldiers and Marines currently in Iraq pay for these lies, these secrets, with blood and death is a heinous crime occuring each day.

I say they're both irredeemable blowhards from the fiery depths of hades.

There are few people I've sincerely hated in my life. These former buddies happen to be two of them.

Bolton blocked.