Hardening of the arteries (attacking our own freedoms) is not going to improve this phenomenom...

According to the timetable for Reconstruction -

Iraq gets blunt talk from Rumsfeld 

The subtext could be "we will measure the success of this announcement by the number of GIs blown up in the daily ambushes." So, we will start pulling out of Iraq in 12 months time, but only if the resistance quietens down, and the government cobbles together an acceptable constitution. Throwing in the towel? Like hell! Just more flapping of the teatowel, from a cabal of deceivers, thieves and liars. What happened, did that nice Mr Blair soil himself, recently? Better ease him out, then. Preferably with a Glock-free exit, but, you never can tell what might happen, in the battle against Evil ...

But what if the attacks on invaders, and in Western cities, do not abate? Well, we won't know, because we do not parlay with terrorists. Pay them, equip them, give them sanctuary, but it's all done through authorised middlemen, cowboys and horsemen.

Anyway, no matter, the corporations are entrenched in the infrastructure of Iraq, and the US military will stay behind in the four permanent bases.

Oh dear me! Is that the time? ... It's dreadul! ... Why didn't someone *tell* me? ... Thousands of Iraqi women and kiddies have suffered, some may have died, even, as a result of our freedom-fries, and our democratic bombs, missiles and rockets. Red, glaring rockets.

from http://www.caat.org.uk -------------------------- One rule for the rich world... The annual G8 summit is a self-selecting and undemocratic get-together for some of the world's richest nations. Other countries can attend as spectators or sometimes as guest speakers, but nothing more. It is organised like this for a reason. Collectively, the G8 countries control over half the votes at the two major international financial institutions, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The summit represents a chance for them to a devise common strategy in world politics. The G8 countries, including the UK government, all subscribe to an economic model that promotes economic liberalisation as the key to poverty reduction. IMF and World Bank loans to developing world countries are often predicated on commitments to privatise public services and drop trade barriers and subsidies, which can protect a national economy from the uncertainty of the global market. International development organisations have criticised this approach, saying it actually increases poverty... --------------------------------- Gus editorialises: And who is that Mr Rumsfeld anyway? What did he expect? A picnic?... Some people are complaning that Saddam gave weapons away to the Iraqi population to participate in the insurgency after the war he knew he was going to lose (who did not?), Iraqi people always had weapons at hand before that... In the USA the CONSTITUTION garantees the right of everyone to bear arms... And the number of weapons there is staggering considering it is often in the hands of people who think shoot to kill is a sport.

From We Can Leave Iraq by 2007 at Slate.
... Lieut. Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. officer in charge of training the Iraqi forces, was transferred this month to take over the Army's Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Petraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne Division during the early phases of the war, is widely viewed as one of the Army's most creative and competent generals. It's not yet clear whether the transfer stems from Petraeus' frustration with the job or from Rumsfeld's dissatisfaction with his handling of it. Either way, some of Petraeus' aides, if not the general himself, have recently learned of rumors that Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari doesn't want his army to be well-trained. A leading Shiite, Jaafari reportedly fears that if the U.S. troops leave Iraq, the insurgents will crush all resistance and hoist the Sunnis back to power. Since the Americans have said they will leave once the Iraqi security forces are self-sufficient, Jaafari figures it's best to keep that day at bay. This could explain why many Iraqi units lack such basic materials as reliable weapons, ammunition, and sufficient food and bedding gear. ...

From The Source Beyond Rove: Condoleezza...
... Rice’s demagogic scare tactic was also very much part of the tangled history of alleged Iraqi purchases of uranium from Niger, the fabrication leading to ex-Ambassador Joseph Wilson’s now famous exposé of the fraud, the administration’s immediate retaliatory “outing

The Editor,

Sydney Morning Herald.                                                             August 1, 2005.

 

So, suspected London bomber, Osman Hussain, says his group was motivated by anger over the Iraq war & not by religion (‘Bomb suspects driven by Iraq rage’, Herald, August 1)?

 

Seems Hussain must have missed the briefings given by John Howard & Tony Blair.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair went to great lengths last week to suggest that the recent London bombings weren't connected to Britain's role in the occupation of Iraq, but rather to irrational hatred of western culture. 

 

Really?

If you attack your neighbour, kill several of his family members, ransack his house and steal his car, is it logical to conclude that your neighbour is in a rage against you because he doesn't like how you dress and what movies you enjoy watching?

 

Let's Talk Dirty

Juan Cole at Informed Comment (warning: some people don't like Cole) prefers to write about 'guerillas' in Iraq, rather than 'insurgents' or 'terrorists'.

Searching Google News for 'iraq +guerillas' brings up only 58 instances. Contrast to Iraq +insurgents (18500) or + terrorists (17100). Even 'resistance' got 3640, despite its lefty overtones.

It will be interesting to watch the trend to adoption of 'guerillas', against the approved terminologies. It will be interesting to see if The Age will come back to something like Fears of new guerilla war in Iraq as 2003 seems to be the last time they dared to bracket Iraq with 'guerilla war'.

On FOX News Channel's Day Side, Terrorism Expert John Loftus revealed that Haroon Rashid Aswat, the suspect wanted by British Police for "masterminding" the July 7th London bombings and July 21st attempted bombings is in fact an asset of MI6, the British Secret Service. According to Loftus, Aswat has been under the protection of MI6 for many years. 

 

London Bombings Mastermind Is MI6 Asset

‘Well, only yesterday it was reported that one of the key members of the conspiracy to bomb the Australian Embassy in Jakarta last September has claimed links with Al Qaeda. The alleged bomber, Rois, claims that the $10,000 which funded the operation came directly from Osama bin Laden and that Australia was targeted because it was an "American lacky" which was leaning on Muslims, especially in Iraq. If true, bin Laden's influence is still profound in our own region.

 

 

 

So does Osama bin Laden still command global terrorism or is he now a symbol emulated by thousands of would-be Jihadies in a global insurgency? Well, tonight we'll ask one of the world's foremost experts on Al Qaeda.

 

 

 

Michael Scheuer worked for the CIA for 22 years, eight of them as chief of the bin Laden unit, which he set up in 1996. He resigned from the CIA late last year after becoming frustrated with political and bureaucratic inaction on intelligence indicating that bin Laden was going to kill thousands of Americans if he was not stopped.’

 
Lateline’s Tony Jones talks with Michael Scheuer.

 

 

 

 

The Bin Laden Threat

 

The Foreign Office's top official warned Downing Street that the Iraq war was fuelling Muslim extremism in Britain a year before the 7 July bombings, The Observer can reveal.

 

Despite repeated denials by Number 10 that the war made Britain a target for terrorists, a letter from Michael Jay, the Foreign Office permanent under-secretary, to the cabinet secretary, Sir Andrew Turnbull - obtained by this newspaper - makes the connection clear.

 

The letter, dated 18 May 2004, says British foreign policy was a 'recurring theme' in the Muslim community, 'especially in the context of the Middle East peace process and Iraq'.

 

'Colleagues have flagged up some of the potential underlying causes of extremism that can affect the Muslim community, such as discrimination, disadvantage and exclusion,' the letter says. 'But another recurring theme is the issue of British foreign policy, especially in the context of the Middle East peace process and Iraq.’

 

Leak Shows Blair Told Of Iraq War Terror Link

From Weapons of War Now Include Lightning Guns at Slashdot. 

Xena, warrior princess, coming to Adelaide in November. 

‘If we as Australian citizens do not hold our own criminals accountable, who will? Never mind Bush and Blair, what about our own criminals? We have severe laws (some created by the criminals themselves) to prosecute the politically motivated murder of innocents, and there is now an international criminal court at The Hague, to which we as a country have subscribed.’ 

 

Australia War Criminal Watch

‘Many Britain's leading politicians failed to gain the respect of their US counterparts when they visited the American capital in the run-up to the Iraq war, according to Britain's former ambassador to Washington.  

 

Some of the country's most senior Cabinet members come under fire for being "political pygmies" in their dealings with the US administration, in the latest extract to be published of Sir Christopher Meyer's memoirs.’  

 

UK Cabinet Ministers Acted Like Political Pygmies

 

 

‘Further evidence suggesting that British security forces were alerted in advance to the danger posed by the leader of the London suicide bombers emerged yesterday.

 

Reports in the United States indicated American law enforcement officers had raised concerns with their British counterparts over Mohammad Sidique Khan, believed to have led the 7 July attacks.  

 

According to the New York Daily News, the FBI told British officials well before the bombings that Khan "was trouble" and should be "checked out".  

 

The information passed on by the FBI is said to have come from a Pakistani-born al-Qaeda supergrass, who is currently in protective custody having pleaded guilty to a range of terrorist charges in the US. The informant cannot be named in Britain because he is alleged to be connected to men about to stand trial in London charged with terrorist offences.’  

 

FBI 'gave prior warning to Britain about 7/7 bomber'