Shlonkom Bakazay?

Christopher Allbritton from his Back to Iraq blog gives his estimate of the current "fubar situation" in Iraq. Also read that Time magazine article that he hyperlinks. Chris says, "Anyone who asks me to tell the “real” story of Iraq — implying all the bad things are just media hype — should refer to this post. I just told you the real story: What was once a hell wrought by Saddam is now one of America’s making." Here's an excerpt:

I don’t know if I can really put into words just how bad it is here some days. Yesterday was horrible — just horrible. While most reports show Fallujah, Ramadi and Samarra as “no-go” areas, practically the entire Western part of the country is controlled by insurgents, with pockets of U.S. power formed by the garrisons outside the towns. Insurgents move freely throughout the country and the violence continues to grow.


I wish I could point to a solution, but I don’t see one. People continue to email me, telling me to report the “truth” of all the good things that are going on in Iraq. I’m not seeing a one. A buddy of mine is stationed here and they’re fixing up a park on a major street. Gen. Chiarelli was very proud of this accomplishment, and he stressed this to me when I interviewed him for the TIME story. But Baghdadis couldn’t care less. They don’t want city beautification projects; they want electricity, clean water and, most of all, an end to the violence.

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He's just sleeping, I kept telling myself'
"On Sunday, 13 Iraqis were killed and dozens injured in Baghdad when US helicopters fired on a crowd of unarmed civilians. G2 columnist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, who was injured in the attack, describes the scene of carnage - and reveals just how lucky he was to walk away."

We were all rushing towards the same place: a fence, a block of buildings and a prefab concrete cube used as a cigarette stall.
I had just reached the corner of the cube when I heard two explosions, I felt hot air blast my face and something burning on my head. I crawled to the cube and hid behind it. Six of us were squeezed into a space less than two metres wide. Blood started dripping on my camera but all that I could think about was how to keep the lens clean. A man in his 40s next to me was crying. He wasn't injured, he was just crying. I was so scared I just wanted to squeeze myself against the wall. The helicopters wheeled overhead, and I realised that they were firing directly at us. I wanted to be invisible, I wanted to hide under the others

What else do you need to know about what's happening right now in Iraq besides what Gaith captures above and below? Read the entire article. They were firing directly at them? We must get on the right path to stop this violence. This is substantially more violence than during the war with all those cruise missles and depleted uranium shells. This is an outrage.





Yes, Gaith got injured, but as Salam says..."he's ok". Thankfully yes...looks like a bad shot to the head. Everybody needs to email him get-well wishes. He's been through way too much for one person recently. (read article)




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CPA = "Cannot Provide Anything" -->ny book review article "The Bungled Transition" by Peter W. Galbraith

The Bush administration's recruitment of staff for the CPA is one of the great scandals of the American occupation, although it has so far received little attention from the press. Republican political connections counted for far more than professional competence, relevant international experience, or knowledge of Iraq. In May, The Washington Post ran an account of three young people recruited for service in the CPA by e-mail, without interviews, security clearances, or relevant experience. They ended up responsible for spending Iraq's budget; because they knew little about the country or about financial procedures, they did so slowly.

>>Peter W. Galbraith served as the first US Ambassador to Croatia and with the UN in East Timor. As a staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the 1980s, he uncovered and documented Iraq's "Anfal" campaign against the Kurds. Currently, he is the senior diplomatic fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non- Proliferation and a partner in a firm specializing in international law and negotiation.<<

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House Republicans and Democrats Unite in Linking Iraq with 9/11
by Stephen Zunes

I saw Stephen Zunes read from his book before the Iraq war happened. He's very articulate and incredibly stubborn. And he speaks his mind with great confidence, verging on arrogance. If you're in academia it doesn't hurt to be all of these things.

On the eve of the third anniversary of 9/11, the U.S. House of Representatives – by an overwhelming bipartisan majority of 406-16 – passed a resolution linking Iraq to the Al Qaeda attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. This comes despite conclusions reached by the bipartisan 9/11 Commission and the consensus of independent strategic analysis familiar with the region that no such links ever existed.

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The Likud Doctrine
First Bush, and now Putin, have picked up lessons for their wars on terror from Israel's campaign against the Palestinians
by Naomi Klein

Canadian writer of the famed No Logo, Naomi Klein, tells you what she thinks.

Common wisdom has it that after 9/11, a new era of geo-politics was ushered in, defined by what is usually called the Bush doctrine: pre-emptive wars, attacks on terrorist infrastructure (read: entire countries), an insistence that all the enemy understands is force. In fact, it would be more accurate to call this rigid worldview the Likud doctrine. What happened on September 11 2001 is that the Likud doctrine, previously targeted against Palestinians, was picked up by the most powerful nation on earth and applied on a global scale. Call it the Likudisation of the world: the real legacy of 9/11.

Let me be absolutely clear: by Likudisation I do not mean that key members of the Bush administration are working for the interests of Israel at the expense of US interests. What I mean is that on September 11, George Bush went looking for a political philosophy to guide him in his role as "war president". He found that philosophy in the Likud doctrine, handed to him ready-made by the ardent Likudniks ensconced in the White House. In the three years since, the Bush White House has applied this logic with chilling consistency to its global war on terror - complete with the pathologising of the "Muslim mind". It was the guiding philosophy in Afghanistan and Iraq, and may well extend to Iran and Syria. It's not simply that Bush sees America's role as protecting Israel from a hostile Arab world. It's that he has cast the US in the same role in which Israel casts itself, facing the same threat. In this narrative, the US is fighting a never-ending battle for its survival against irrational forces that seek its total extermination.

And now the Likudisation narrative has spread to Russia.

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The Wanderers

By ADIB MATTI AS TOLD TO KATHERINE ZOEPF

The American invasion was our greatest hope. We had been planning for it, thinking that we would be able to return to our villages. But gangs formed everywhere, and Christians were easy targets because they don't belong to a tribal system like other Iraqis. We were subject to looting and to threats.

Then my nephew Patrous was kidnapped in the summer of 2003. We had to pay $15,000 and some gold to ransom him. We were successful businessmen, my brothers and I, but this was a fortune for us. In Iraq, it would take us more than five years to earn that much again. Patrous was held for four days. The kidnappers didn't harm him physically, but he was only 8. He was terrified. And he's still very fearful; he never leaves his parents. Sometimes he shouts the name of his kidnapper -- Adnan -- in his sleep.

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And finally Dr. Eden Naby's guest editorial on Juan Cole's Informed Comment about Christians in Iraq.

This is a chilling account of the realities that face the Christians remaining in Iraq. Of course, it's particularly of concern to me because my family is Assyrian Orthodox. I have more to say specifically on this topic when the time is right.

I will also call attention to Fayrouz' recent posts about the same topic soon. I'm just waiting to hear from her (, or really for the opportunity to check my email). I'll do that a bit later and try to update.

It is unusual for information from Christian villages to filter outside the area currently under military and political pressure from the Kurdish Democratic Party. Kurds are barring Western journalists from entering villages like Dayrabun ("Monastary of the Bishop") which are not in any danger zone, but are being denied resettlement by their Christian inhabitants (reported by Thiry August, a Belgian who tried to visit the Faysh Khabour area this summer). The KDP is determined to expand its control as far to the west and south as possible into areas now inhabited by ChaldoAssyrians. Under the Transitional Administrative Law, so favorable to Kurds, the objects of Western sympathy and funds, any territory in the three provinces adjoining Dohuk, Arbil and Sulaymaniya (Ninawa, Tamim [Kirkuk] and Diyala) that Kurds can show they controlled on March 19, 2003 (prior to the invasion), may become part of the Kurdish controlled region in northern Iraq (TAL, Article 53A).

This provision allows Kurds to create "facts on the ground" in the Mosul and Kirkuk areas in particular, at the expense of unarmed ethnic and religious minorities - to wit - the Christians of Iraq, the Yezidis, the Shabat, and the Turkomens. The advantages of controlling Kirkuk are well known. But the Mosul area, now the scene of fierce attacks on Christians and Turkomens, are less well recognized.

Enjoy these articles. I'm so frustrated angry depressed...

And hopefully, some people I care about will understand more. I was hoping this would happen in a different manner, but this will do for now. This is complicated, so I'll have no choice but to leave it vague. Excuse me.

This is first for all my family and friends that have been directly and indirectly affected by the events in Iraq...especially through my passionate and unrelenting will and wish to find some truth in the matters that are most important regarding the situation. I have let certain things get to me so much that it has influenced my relationships with you. And I'm sincerely sorry and regret each moment that has been infused with the negative side of this. I promise I will make up for my moodiness and over-reactive nature during this time in the future.

Second, this is for Mazin al'Tumaizy...the 26 year old producer for al'Arabiya that was killed on camera yesterday. How disgusting and how terrible. Along with Tariq Ayoub, the infamous al'Jazeera correspondant who was killed during the initial phase of the war. See the film Control Room for more information on him. These are awful and unacceptable losses. Not to mention the terrible death toll all across Iraq where Iraqi civilians continue to be inflicted with the worst trauma and loss.

Yes, matters have recently taken on a shape that is inscrutable...especially with the third anniversary and memorial of 9/11. But 9/11 doesn't mean much inside Iraq when things are so dangerous on the ground, other than one false reason the current US administration gave and, consequently, continues to give is that there was a connection between the two. The danger that looms ahead is palpable. Unfortunately, it seems to have already arrived and continues to show new ugly faces each day. This war was so completely wrong for Iraq and the world. And there are truths that will never surface now. It is very difficult to be optimistic. We must support one another through this time, though. Take those that are closest to you and cherish them. Find hope and optimism in those daily interactions. Do not spend too much time alone thinking. And know when to step on the brake when emotions boil over. Also, let us take the few positives we may* have gained from the war and use them to ensure we are going to make a difference in the lives of those we care about. There's no reason to give up, in other words. I'm going to take my own advice finally.

Here it is, then...Seymour Hersh, ...click on the text below to read the entire thing.

There is so much about this presidency that we don’t know, and may never learn. Some of the most important questions are not even being asked. How did they do it? How did eight or nine neoconservatives who believed that a war in Iraq was the answer to international terrorism get their way? How did they redirect the government and rearrange long-standing American priorities and policies with so much ease? How did they overcome the bureaucracy, intimidate the press, mislead the Congress, and dominate the military? Is our democracy that fragile? I have tried, in this book, to describe some of the mechanisms used by the White House—the stovepiping of intelligence, the reliance on Ahmad Chalabi, the refusal to hear dissenting opinions, the difficulty of getting straight talk about military operations gone bad, and the inability—or unwillingness—of the President and his senior aides to distinguish between Muslims who supported terrorism and those who abhorred it. A complete understanding of these last few years will be a challenge for journalists, political scientists, and historians.

I cannot even begin to include all that has happened in the past week and a half. And I might completely omit that from short-term memory so I can get along with things and grasp some sense of what is happening other than what I see before my eyes. I'll just say it's been insane.

Love over Fear,

liminal

You can't break down taboos unless you challenge them. Of course, there is the danger that if you challenge them, you will be attacked, and destroyed politically or marginalized. Perhaps it is even likely.

But our country is in dire danger from the conflicts in the Middle East. If I had been a younger man (I am 51) I would have gone to fight al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. The very least I can do is to speak out about the dangers, and urge solutions of the problems generating the terrorism. What good is freedom of speech if we don't use it?

Click on to read this... one of the latest from Professor Cole. I agree with the first and last sentence above whole-heartedly. The entire entry is important, though. Such sound logic in illogical times...So, please read it.

I have so much to write about I don't know where to begin. I don't have much time now so I'll save it for later.

I will mention this, though. I found a great website with a lot of Daily Show clips among other interesting videos. I've noticed that the Daily Show website's videos section does not work at all since they changed the format. Meaning, you can't watch the clips because most of those links to videos I have here have gone sour. Sorry...but check out the above site. And there are other kindred spirits with a sense of humor putting up so many hilarious videos in other places...I'll try and put those links up soon.

Ok, much to do...

Have a good one.
L O'er F
Lim.

"The Surveillance Modality"

The British appear in the 19th Century to have felt most comfortable surveying India from above and at a distance - from a horse, an elephant, a boat, a carraige, or a train. They were uncomfortable in the narrow confines of a city street, a bazaar, a mela - anywhere where they were surrounded by their Indian subjects.

test for new sys...see if you can laugh at the daily show's latest brilliant piece.

And in some cases, criminals like Elliot Abrams. Why is he the leader of this administration on the Israeli-Palestinian issue? Wasn't he a major proponent of the Iran Contra Affair? Wasn't he indicted? Why does it seem that all the people that have made such atrocious mistakes in this administration will suffer little consequence and possibly be appointed, like Abrams, to another wack administration?

The winds tell me Rumsfeld is going down one way or another, though. Could he sweet-talk his way into being the next Elliot Abrams? I don't recall Abrams being much of a sweet-talker...so probably yes.

_

Moving on, there's no better way to shoot for the middle than with Arnold and his magnificent immigrant story.



Arnold you're being used, can't you see it??? Or are you still stuck on the silver screen with very little dialogue? "Republicans are back." You didn't need to get your daddy to help you get a cush position during Vietnam, but perhaps you'd like to try copious amounts of cocaine and alcohol like our commander in chief before really getting political? Or maybe you did that already in Hollywood. Arnold? Who's YOUR daddy, hm? Not George H.W. Bush, that's for sure. But who's your mommy? Maria Kennedy Shriver? Damn, what better splicing exists of the two party system into the republicats than you? While John McCain maintains his respectability someHOW, boy is he pissing me off for not running for president (not that he would be my first choice)...instead he's doing tours and commercials with bush? He's really keeping Bush alive in so many ways. Say WHAT? Soon, you'll be ill-respected for falling in line too Senator McCain. And the prez knows that McCain is one of the only public-figure aces up his sleeve now and so he's using him in abundance.

Doesn't anybody know American history and what republicans and democrats were originally? Boy, the secondary education system here sucks. I recently put much effort in trying to garner support to pilot a program for improving the terrible book situation in many secondary schools in some rural areas within my reach. Yes, this is liminal the activist. I heard, from a friend, that there weren't enough textbooks for the students at a school where her mother teaches. So, I got angry and started calling and emailing (the few who had email addresses) the people that could help me. The main aims were to update libraries and bring in more textbooks to certain schools that don't have enough for its students (--yes, in the U.S.--). And, guess what, all I got was silence...absolutely nothing, even from friends that are from the areas that would have been a part of the program. This just angers me, but people have their lives to live. I normally see this as a lame excuse, but I'll let it slide a little for now. (and don't start me about the lack of quality of the text books i've seen and the actual state of libraries in these schools.)

what a comedy. it's so fun being actively stuck in the middle of it, i tell ya.
heheh he...

lim.

Al Jazeera reporting...

"What happened yesterday regarding the constitution and the presidency is unfamiliar - plotted by night and carried out swiftly by day," Sfeir said. Sfeir was talking about the Lebanese cabinet's approval of a bill to change the constitution, which would allow Lahud to stay in office. The bill was passed by the cabinet despite protests by the US and EU, who accuse Syria of interfering in Lebanon.

So Lahud stays so that Harriri and he can continue ripping Lebanon to pieces with no care whatsoever about the people of Lebanon. Would somebody like to ask how such a situation came about? Oh, but that would take 1001 nights to explain. Could this be the seed to lead to further action on Syria? and Saudi Arabia too? Because you have to know how much control and influence Saudis have in Lebanon with Harriri buying up the whole place. Where does he get the money to buy most of Lebanon? Hm. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. And while he is a super wealthy man to begin with, to take the actions he has during the recent past must along with some aid from some super wealthy family that seeks to continue opressing the free-spirited people of Lebanon so that it becomes the resort vacation nation for wealthy gulf arabs.

I wish the policy makers would read their history and help Lebanon help itself. Haram on everybody colluding to destroy this beautiful country of ancient culture. Again, I smack of populism. But really, when have the people really been in any even discreet control in Lebanon? What will the U.S. do next besides the Syria Accountability Act?

Now this takes the freakin' cake. "We did not seek this war?"

The republicans have been saying this during the RNC. What kind of acrid bs is this?
I could go on a long list of complaining and describing in great detail about how exactly this war was actively sought by many people for many years. You know, like pointing out the most obvious of things.

A little background on the matter and the usual details from Juan Cole are here.

If they did not seek this war (neocons and other cold, calculating, and scandal-ridden & spy-strutting "assets" of the U.S. partaking in aftermath), then the Iraqi people apparently sought to trick the Americans into completely destroying their wills, the infrastructure and any semblance of security, making Iraq unstable for the forseeable future. My thoughts are twisted at the moment. I believe more and more the U.S. wishes this chaos to continue and Iraq to move to a more theocratic than democratic law. How I come to this conclusion is a bit complex, but I am furious about Najaf...basically a repeat of Fallujah that hardly any people in the U.S. even heard about.

To Iraqis in Iraq: People don't read the news here...for the most part. Also, Iraq has almost disappeared from the front page of newspapers. This is alarming. This is a problem. And this is an election year, so there's no wonder why this is happening. Meanwhile, more and more spy cases are being broken...this time Israel spying on the U.S. Hm...deliberate delusion, ding ding ding!!!

I did not seek this war. You did.

So get the hell out of Iraq now. And stop stealing from Iraq, planting corrupt seeds, and poorly programming its economy.

Allawi is going down. He is just another Saddam. Another CIA asset. Another way for America to have their way with Iraq and its people. What has he done for Iraq besides be propped up as one of the mayors of Baghdad? And like Abbas said, if East Timor can have elections. So should Iraq.

Vive l'elections!

Here are a few conclusions made by Benjamin Constant in 1816 in his paper "The Liberty of Ancients Compared with that of Moderns" You can read it there in full.

"...among the ancients the individual, almost always sovereign in public affairs, was a slave in all his private relations."

"All had to buy their security, their independence, their whole existence at the price of war."

And what are we doing now exactly? Personally, I feel like the American Republic is in danger...or really doesn't exist in many ways already. Hm.

Also there the point he makes about reaching a point in history with the modern nation state where commerce replaces war.
He starts out here referring to "ancient" peoples.

[For ancient peoples] War precedes commerce. War and commerce are only two different means of achieving the same end, that of getting what one wants. Commerce is simply a tribute paid to the strength of the possessor by the aspirant to possession. It is an attempt to conquer, by mutual agreement, what one can no longer hope to obtain through violence. A man who was always the stronger would never conceive the idea of commerce. It is experience, by proving to him that war, that is the use of his strength against the strength of others, exposes him to a variety of obstacles and defeats, that leads him to resort to commerce, that is to a milder and surer means of engaging the interest of others to agree to what suits his own. War is all impulse, commerce, calculation. Hence it follows that an age must come in which commerce replaces war. We have reached this age.

I hate to call hindsight 20/20 on this one, but how sorely Constant is mistaken. I don't see much of a difference today in this matter. War still precedes commerce.

And the following makes me cringe:

Secondly, the abolition of slavery has deprived the free population of all the leisure which resulted from the fact that slaves took care of most of the work. Without the slave population of Athens, 20,000 Athenians could never have spent every day at the public square in discussions. Thirdly, commerce does not, like war, leave in men's lives intervals of inactivity. The constant exercise of political rights, the daily discussion of the affairs of the state, disagreements, confabulations, the whole entourage and movement of factions, necessary agitations, the compulsory filling, if I may use the term, of the life of the peoples of antiquity, who, without this resource would have languished under the weight of painful inaction, would only cause trouble and fatigue to modern nations, where each individual, occupied with his speculations, his enterprises, the pleasures he obtains or hopes for, does not wish to be distracted from them other than momentarily, and as little as possible.

Who is more civilized both then and now if we do a more factual comparision of "ancients" and "moderns"? (leaving out the fact that American colonizers existed as a westward illegally expanding force placed squarely on the indigenous peoples of America. Oh, but that's ANCIENT HISTORY people say. So, perhaps defining what antiquity is would be good for both dead white guys and live ones. Then even more pesky problems might pop up though.

And shouldn't there be an accumulative affect going on as history unfolds? Shouldn't people and societies learn from their mistakes? Well, of course...but do we? Of course not!

Maybe Benny's little weiny was bothering him before he wrote that article.

lim


PS: NEW YORK rocks. Keep the dissent alive. Although I fear this is the final chance to voice opposition against the Iraq war en masse. So, in this manner, it is a sad day.

PPS. Oh, and what's this about some spying? FBI probing some Pentagon Israeli Spy Case Now, that's a damn surprise. Also check out Juan Cole's detailed, annotated, and expert assessment here. New developments coming at Cole's site, so scroll down if you want the entire report. Here's a newsweek article that has several new details about the spying case by Israel on the United states. Specifically, matters concerning Lawrence Franklin here..

I think it is of important note to point out that "My War" a very popular soldier blog has ended. But here's where you can find him in the cache of yahoo.

Just click on the "cache" of the item in the Yahoo list. So, you can hear what this soldier has to say.

Hm, I wonder what this means...

Why was this done? Or why did CBTFW of My War decide to quit blogging? And why did he decide to erase all his previous writing?


Oh, an things are mess still. GFY has been the operable acronym for my thoughts these days, besides those concerning loved ones.

lim.

the scoreline was 4-2

WOW

i wish to see the match recorded.

i'm going to celebrate now!!!

vive l'IRAQ!

lim

Sorry, I've been a bit off cue lately. Busy times. Abu Khaleel beat me to this one. But here's Bush in a huge verbal gaffe. It seems like the most unbelievable thing that he's said in a long time. And talk about irony...you can WATCH IT--especially if you don't believe it--) in quicktime here and in windows player here. The circus of words continues.

Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.

How priceless is that?

Zeyad clears things up about the gaps of information and odd timing of Grand Ayatollah Ali Taqi Al-Sistani seeking medical treatment in London. He did, in fact, leave al'Najaf to seek medical treatment. Trust in Zeyad. I do. Although, I fear because Sistani is not in Najaf it allows for more terrible things to happen now. It's strange to me that this wasn't cleared up as it was happening, though. According to Zeyad, there is no controversy over who is to succeed him, either. He says:

... I wish to comfort the sensational media that there will be no power struggles in the Hawza after Sistani's death. There will always be a peaceful consensus on who would be the supreme marji' in Najaf, as it has always been that way for centuries.

It's always good to hear from Zeyad. Thank you for this very important post. And I apologize for jumping to conclusions. I hope there'll be more information forthcoming about the situation.

lim.

so why even debate it?

I'm going to move on to a topic that will wash over the mind with a subtle brush of liquid doodoo: My opinion of the state of American politics. Bush, Kerry, and both of their crews are a bunch of muppets. Crypto-fascism, veiled republican idolatry, and the sole principled (, though cracking a bit lately,) democrat that could bring us 4 more years of shrub is the Nader. I hope he pulls out at the last second. (heheeeheeehe) And yes, the pendulum has swung to the right in America. But how has it done this? Through lies that don't hold water, inciting fear in the hearts of people, and sending mixed messages in order to keep the population, the masses psychologically terrorized and off-balance. And yes, I'm mildly disturbed that Nader could accept GOP help in Michigan to get on the ballot. Isn't that throwing away all he stands for with the stroke of an tiny ill-decision? Call me crazy, but this is getting out of hand. So I'm defnitely a ABB (Anybody But Bush) nonetheless. So realistically, I want said muppet Kerry to be put in Beit Ub'yaad. But I honestly doubt his ability to pull off a victory against a man who has the pulpit and is pulling all stops to win political points with every issue, with every word that is pushed out of his mouth.

Wasn't it just last week when the final 9/11 report came out with several recommendations that Bush said that he had to 'look into' the possibility for an intelligence czar? And now, he supposedly approved one...but it is clearly a watered down version of what the Republican Chair of the committee, Thomas Keane suggests...namely a cabinet-level official that would hold the president accountable for failures in regard to the "war on terror". Of course, Bush Inc. have handily avoided any accountability thus far...so, whose to say that they will be held accountable for a single thing. What must we do? Actively Resist. Are you going to tell your grandchildren you were a Bush supporter, a complacent fence-sitter, or an active resister?

1. get the vote out...make sure everybody you know votes.
2. stop talking in circles and complaining about everything...
3. act: do something fun, creative, interesting, different to subvert the muppets and the foul policies they implement!

So this is a call to action. Let's spark the pendulum to swing from the dark and dreary depths of a fear-mongered neocon-nightmare of preventively doctrinating the earth for corporate gain. I know I wax-idealistic here, but you'd be surprised how liberating it is to practice democracy...even if it feels like you are being singled out for speaking out. In a real democracy, you should use the right to speak out and not just fall behind and be quiet. That would be the worst thing possible for America. So, act!!! It's so much fun.

Billboards, Graf Art, Stencils, Video Art, Performance Art, Write to the Editor, a Conversation with your Bush-loving brother-in-law...take the street and your mental landscape by storm creatively...not destructively. Right now I fear the mainstream might transform the complacency that racked public sentiment (until it started sinking in that Iraq has no WMD and there is absolutely no connection between 9/11 and Iraq) into a rallying point for a sicker Kerry-complacency that might await us. He's practically a copy of Bush on many issues. Many people believe that Kerry can bring hope to America again...but I believe that we need to put him in the White House and like Naomi Klein said in her most recent article, "then [we] get back to work". And I'll be damned if hope is not alive without him. I don't need a muppet to con me into thinking he's the saviour of this country. I'm not that stupid. He's just not Bush...and sadly, that's good enough for me. I'm trying to be optimistic. Can you tell?

:x
lOvE oVeR fEaR,
LiMiNaL

I'm reeling of these past couple days, but let me address a disturbing development. First Professor Juan Cole of Informed Comment:

Al-Hayat: Marines have arrested Dr. Muthanna Harith al-Dhari, son of the leader of the Board of Muslim Clergy, a fundamentalist Sunni organization. Muthanna was interviewed on the Lebanese Broadcasting Co. harshly critiquing the way the delegates were chosen for the national congress to be held in mid-August. He later discovered 5 humvees heading toward his living quarters at the Umm al-Qura Mosque in Baghdad. He was taken into custody.

If Muthanna committed a crime, for which he was being arrested, it should have been announced to the press. Otherwise, the Allawi government looks as though it is sending the rather thug-like signal that political figures who refuse to cooperate in the national congress and who are critical of him will be arrested. If that is what is going on, it is sad to see the US Marines deployed for the purpose of these political arrests. It is also a shame that the US ban on the military arresting civilians hasn't been extended to Iraq.

Okay folks...this is the beginning of what will probably be many arrests made in the name of a powerless puppet government trying to keep the lid on until January. The problem is that it could ultimately backfire on Allawi and the puppet squad. Here is the Jazeera article...who else is reporting this?

"We were on our way to the headquarters of the AMS, going out from the studio of the LBC (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation), where Dr al-Dhari had given an interview.  

"A US patrol emerged suddenly and stopped our convoy. They searched the cars, and then asked us to step aside and called for reinforcements.

"A number of Humvees arrived with detecting devices. They gave us body scans, and told us that Dr Muthana and two of his companions were to be arrested because the device detected remains of explosives on Dr al-Dhari's hands." 

Is Al Jazeera inciting violence because they report something of enormous significance? This is no joke. And here's an article about the Marine who was in the film 'Control Room' who was recently silenced. Even his wife was told she could not give any more interviews. ...

Sabah Ahmad, the technical manager of the al-Basaer newspaper, told Aljazeera.net the staff condemned the arrest of their editor which they considered an illegal act.

"Journalists in Iraq condemn the arrest of Dr Muthana and we will ask media unions inside and outside Iraq to interfere and call on the US to free him.

"It appears that he was arrested for saying something in a broadcast interview that the US occupation authorities did not like," Ahmad said.

What a splendid message to send to the Iraqi people. And I hope some people pick up on this (at least) in the British Press...I haven't checked if they have, but I feel like nobody will. Thanks for such a great start to using US forces to implement a de facto dictatorship. We've already been here...this is what we're supposed to be moving away from, I thought. Good job. Way to represent the United States in its best interest. All such behavior is going to have the opposite effect. I wish the morons making the decisions to do such inately retarded things will wake up and realize they are in a supposedly FREE Iraq. If not, they will have millions of people wishing to see their backs a lot sooner than they wish & and this freedom shall remain a myth to 'liberated' Iraqis.

...and, incidentally, Larry King. Prince Bandar, the ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the US, flashing subtle messages in F9/11.

RRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! that's all everybody needs to know. i'm confused...i dont have details yet. so, i can't respond to the situation yet. i'm so angry , more later...i need 411...................

So, the question is 'are the terrorists trying to drive Christians out of Iraq?' Well, people that have read my earlier comments know what I have to say about this matter. But let me reiterate and do a run of the gamet review of what the reactions of others have been. First, I am convinced that this will only strengthen the resolve of Iraqis to stick by one another. In other words, Fayrouz' Christian cleansing plan will become even further from a possibility. I will have more proof of this once I speak to people on the ground, but this is my immediate feeling. Backing my feeling up already is blog miestro Abu Khaleel in Iraqi letter to America. As expected though, Fayrou has, in effect,again called for an end of the Christian minority in Iraq for some perplexing reason that I still cannot comprehend. It would be a most strange and unlikely event, I repeat.

UPDATE: And Professor Cole, THANK YOU for this:

Even the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt condemned the bombing of churches. It seems possible that the perpetrators of the church bombings may have created enormous sympathy for the Iraqi Christians, and that their tactic may have backfired on them.

It's exactly my thoughts. Major backfire...

The reactions from the blogosphere are very important to me as I've not heard what's happened yet. I hope to know more by tonight/tomorrow Baghdad time. I'm just getting too angry now about a few things that I've been thinking about lately. These overt terrorists must be stopped...no matter who they are.

And what about the mental terrorists? [even tho the folllwoing are not only mental terrists]

They need to take a serious hike on a downward spiral to hades.

I honestly wonder what people think of Chalabi now that he's been helped to be reinvented by Al Sadr himself. When will criminals that are just trying to take advantage of Iraqi sentiments, hopes, and fears for personal gain just be called criminals without hesitation. Just like in America now...when will criminals who have only manipulated American sentiments, hopes, and fears in order to push a dangerous agenda on a slippery slope just be called criminals. What is so wrong with pointing these things out? Bush lied. Chalabi lied to Bush. Wolfowitz has an Arabic girlfriend named Shaha and was willingly deluded into buying INC bullshit along with Pearle and Feith. Rumsfeld dodges deftly and Cheney still *actively* deludes himself and Americans into believing that there's still a connection between 9/11 and Iraq when there plainly isn't.

ARGH! I'm furious. Why is the truth so dangerous when it comes to Iraq? And why must people be hidden from it?

Why can't we accept that this sketchy adventure is a failure on so many levels so we may *actively* correct things that aren't too far out of reach yet?

Also, I've been having a disagreement with a professor of mine over some very fundamental things about what is happening...so I'm a bit discouraged by what I see as a very educated and jaded person. It's ok to think differently..and as long as we keep this attittude alive, we will be better for it. To only allow opinions that align with your own into your menatl stratosphere is a very narrow way to exist...so, I try to read all our Iraqi friends' blogs, even though they think I don't. And I appreciate each and every opinion, although I'm skeptical of some. It's a free country, though...I can be as skeptical as I wanna be.

Ok...I'll post more on reactions later on and tidy it up a bit. Note: it's approaching evening, but the picture above has been a hit so i'll file this post at an earlier time in order to leave the picture on top.

Peace be on all Iraqis.

And thank you to all the Muslim bloggers who have given their condolences to the Christian community in Iraq. It means very much to my family and I in this difficult time. I wouldn't want such a day to revist any Iraqi. Long live Iraq.

More steam from me later,
lim.

Poor Amy Goodman...but she's asking the right questions. It's normal to be marginal when you seek justice these days...even in times where everybody is outraged at the current administration. But I won't forget the sanction years.

Look how former Sec. of State Mad. Albright reacts in this video just after Kerry's speech at the DNC when confronted about one of her many "stupid statements" about Iraqi children (specifically the 60 mins Stahl interview) or listen or read it.

Heads up, River is back. Check her out. My fears of communications monitoring have been somewhat confirmed by her. So, things are remarkably well in liberation. Just great...

I'm still not sure exactly what has happened with the bombings. I'll comment when I know more. Anxiously awaiting some word, too...

Otherwise, it's a lazy sunday afternoon in my air-conditioned nightmare.

psST: Josh Marshall of the great site talkingpointsmemo.com clears up the niger docs. forgery matter. sounds like 'Good Fellas' meets sketched out former spy that was egged on by the berlusconian plutocracy in a mamet-esque set and knock-out. mayyybe??? berrrr'haps? well, whatever...i'm sure we'll find out much worse things as history unfolds. Don't mess with Joe Wilson you fools.

out,
lim.

there have been several explosions at churches just now. in karada...that is very bad. at a hotel in baghdad...which one, i don't know yet. and at a church in mosul too...

more later...