Hi everyone, it’s Jeralyn from TalkLeft filling in for Jane this afternoon.
I was going to write about opening arguments in the Jose Padilla trial, or the new DNA database legislation introduced by New York Governor Eliot Spitzer that would make it easier for inmates to request DNA testing to establish their innocence or the three missing soldiers in Iraq, for whom al-Qaida now warns the U.S. to cease search efforts and whom it now seems were seized in retaliation for the 2005 Mahmudiya rape and killing of a teenage girl, but then I spotted this:
Iraq’s interior ministry has decided to bar news photographers and camera operators from the scenes of bomb attacks, operations director Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf said on Sunday (local time).
His announcement was the latest in a series of attempts to curtail press coverage of the ongoing conflict, which has already attracted criticism from international human rights bodies.
That got me thinking, how real is the War in Iraq to Americans who don’t have a loved one fighting in the conflict? Where has the news coverage been of the gory daily details?
For those of you old enough to remember the media coverage of the Vietnam War, you’ll remember how vividly it was brought to us every evening on our television screens by the nightly news programs.
Without the internet or e-mail, a massive anti-war movement grew. I don’t think anyone doubts that it contributed to the war’s end.
By contrast, we hardly ever see the damage inflicted in Iraq up close and personal on television news. The war has become something we hear about in headlines, like “5 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq” and “37 Civilians Killed by Roadside Bomb,” but we don’t actually see it.
Maybe we should. Maybe the visceral effect of watching people die and be maimed, which is a daily occurrence in Iraq, would spark greater outrage here at home and force Congress to act to end this war once and for all.
So, what do you think? Is the media doing its part to expose the atrocities in Iraq? Has self-restraint dictated media coverage to date or is the Administration controlling what the media shows?
This new embargo on showing bombings in Iraq is very troubling. I think Americans need to see the blood and gore to absorb the reality of war and the lives lost.
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Jeralyn?
…and the Army has barred YouTube and MySpace from the troops. I think that’s peachy — their morale will be so much higher if they don’t know how much America hates this war. And when they return, what a lovely suprise!!
I think the Iraqi Tet Offensive is under way as we read or it is getting very close.
Almost 750 Iraqis dead in the first 14 days of this month. The war of the bodies has returned to Iraq.
49 US troops killed, 3 abducted this month.
1 Danish soldier killed, 5 others wounded in Basra today.
Shellings of the green zone happening weekly.
More and more of the upper ranks have been getting killed.
What better time to clamp down on any real information leaking out of Iraq?
-GSD
If there’s anything we need, it’s a military entirely out-of-touch with the public’s mood. I’m going into the kevlar blinder bizness.
Is this one of the “benchmarks” BushCo. wants the Iraqi government to reach?
Hi, Jeralyn. Always good to see you. (Jeralyn has a chicken soup with Tumeric that is killer).
OT Alert: McNulty resigns
The odd thing is that GW Clusterfuck repeats endlessly that “americans have seen so many bloody scenes on their TeeVees about Iraq.”
The truth, of course, is that we haven’t seen SHIT about Iraq. The camera crews aren’t out in the streets cataloguing the bloodletting- and our military isn’t showing scenes of us killin Iraqi men, women, or children.
Once again- the truth is just the opposite of what GW Clusterfuck claims it is.
No, Jane — that’s TURMERIC!! Think positively! ;-)
You mean like the returning coffins?
Hey Jeralyn! Hope Jane is doing OK today. {{{{{{{{{{Jane!}}}}}}}}}}
To answer your question, the news orgs are not doing anywhere near enough to report on all the apsects of this war. But please remember, these are not the same news orgs that we saw during Viet Nam. Journalists of the caliber of Halberstam and Michael Herr do not exist in this day. There are far more Judy Millers roaming the news world than there are people who understand the reporting that Halberstam built his career on. Too many of them give a nod to David’s legacy and then bow down and kiss the rings of Russert and Broder. They kinda make a truth out of the old Faces song “A Nod Is As Good As A Wink To A Blind Horse.”
rwcole @ 7
Yeah because he knew that’s what killed the Vietnam war, the war he’s never heard of.
The theory of this presidency is that if you can control the images and the spin, that is the reality.
Kind of a bitch when reality starts to catch up with you.
GW Clusterfuck uses the line about all the bloody violence we see on our teevees to explain why we don’t support his war in Iraq- so AND GET THIS–He’s lyin to us about our own experience to explain to us why we don’t support HIM–
I’ve heard delusional- but doesn’t this take some kinda cake?
sorry. didnt read prior thread, just got home and up popped CNN alert. On topic: gritty scenes from Vietnam on the nightly news was certainly one of the factors that led to the end of the war. Hardly anyone here (except of course those with loved ones in harm’s way) even realize there’s a war going on over in Iraq. Media coverage (real coverage, not JudyJudyJudy type coverage) could help end it. that’s also why you don’t see flag-draped coffins at Dover AFB any more.
Good afternoon Jane. You have mail. And I long for a homecooked meal.
rwcole @ 12
is that the same kind as Marie Antoinette suggested? (sorry, historical inaccuracies and all)
Magical thinking: If you don’t show pictures of it or print stories about it, it will go away.
As if. All those funerals get notices, at least at the local level. I wonder if the number of funerals (talk to the undertakers and the cemeteries) matches the number of casualties reported.
Hey Geralynn, I’ve been a long time reader of your site. Let us know about Dwayne. I really think he’s a good man. Hang tough, Tap
Off Topic: (sorry)
I’m assuming this is old news:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..id=topnews
snip
..and Comey FORMER DAG Comey testifies for Schumer and SJC tomorrow AM.
I agree, Jeralyn. It’s absolutely true that “out of sight is out of mind” regarding Iraq.
Of course, we aren’t being told the truth about what’s going on in Iraq with regard to the political situation, either. The difference between the Iraqi cabinet members and other US-puppet administrators and the Iraqi Parliament (as well as the difference between Iraqi nationalists vs. Iraqi separatists) seems key, and yet is all but ignored by our media and Members of Congress (at least publicly).
We’re attempting a grand-theft-oil heist of historic proportions, and Members of Congress either don’t know, or don’t care. Here’s yesterday’s open plea to the United States Congress from the oil workers’ unions in Iraq, signed by a foe of Saddam Hussein’s, who now can’t get the time of day from our federal government – a government which likes to pretend that we invaded Iraq to ‘help average Iraqis’ (ha, ha, ha):
http://www.basraoilunion.org/
…and it’s not even Friday:
Deputy A.G. McNulty Announces Resignation
Blank K: JINX
dakine01- Amen Bro’ This media is all about bottom line, and if the bottom line is big cor-cor-corprations that’s where they’re gonna go. Sad but true, sad but fuckin’ true…Lewis Black
PJ @ 16,
The military cannot lie or change these numbers.
However, Blackwater and other security corporations don’t have to report their numbers of casualties..
..Which makes me really effin suspicious. What if it’s higher than the military casualties?
What if it’s lower?
Lou Costello @ 21
Bond. James Bond. (Halle)
Somebody owes the other a coke. Or a Guinness. Or an Abbott…
Jeralyn,
Welcome back to the front page of FDL! I hope that we can see you here more often!
As for your question, full coverage and sunshine is always better!
But please, give us your take on the Padilla trial, too! As was the case during the Libby trial, it is very helpful for me to hear several well-informed voices. I look forward to Lew’s reports, but I want to see your assessment of the opening arguments of the Padilla trial, too!
Bob in HI
Speaking of spices, I wish to extol the spice blend called “zaatar.” I get it from Atlantic Spice Co., in Truro, MA (the town just before P’town) and started using it in eggs (fried, scrambled, omelets). The ingredients are: oregano, thyme, savory, marjoram, sesame seeds, salt, lemon, and sumac. (Sumac? Really?)
Feeling that I had missed the point of zaatar, I looked it up online and found that it is a major flavorant of mediterranean breads. So I tried it in my basic NYTimes no-knead bread recipe and loved it! Now I am trying it in more dishes. Right now, I am cooking meatloaf with zaatar as the main spice.
Anyone else ever heard of this stuff? Evidently it’s huge in Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and that region. I’d love to hear of other zaataristas!
Even in Vietnam many atrocities were either omitted or toned down. What we saw was palatable compared to the naked truth. Just that much turned our hearts and heads. Imagine if we got the whole ugly truth? Washington lines would be lit up demanding we withdraw NOW.
Is this the Russertization of Iraq?
Total war is the new tax relief.
McNulty: “I did it for my kids.” – ThinkProgress
Whoa, Lou,
It’s always for the chidren, because no man stands taller than when he stoops to help a child, or something.
Iraq’s interior ministry has decided to bar news photographers and camera operators from the scenes of bomb attacks, operations director Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf said on Sunday
And Cheney was there last week. Hmmmmm…
Hi Jeralyn!
Hey – we went over to teach the Iraqis our system of government, and we’re doing just that.
Too bad for them it’s the Bushie system.
(((((Jane)))))
Wishing you negative results….
in the most auspicious sense.
Its interesting to flip this thread around and think about what we have seen and seen and seen, which is the footage of the twin towers falling. That footage has done more than anything else, for better or worse, to lead us to the place we are today. Fictional movies with a single compelling scene can inspire political action, so its no wonder that they don’t want any visuals to deepen the narrative that is becoming accepted by the world.
And let’s not forget that soldiers can no longer email negative messages to their families. And blogging is forbidden. And they can’t use myspace.
They are doing everything to control the message.
And, wasn’t something changed recently merging military public relations with some other dept.? Need to go look for that.
Threadwise…it’s all in the wording: Katt Williams
Blank Kludge @ 18
Well, I suppose that rules out McNulty as successor to Gonzo if he’s impeached?
And thanks for the news about Comey. The SJC has been doing better at prying info loose, so I can’t wait to see what they ask Comey, and how he responds!
Bob in HI
Oilfieldguy @ 9
Son has a friend takes military photos… was reminded recently showing them to the public could be cause for being booted from the service, possibly prison…
maybe we should just get some of the Viet Nam photos and re run them…
I want some chikken soop.
Veritas78 @ 26
I have thyme and sumac (the two main ingredients for the mixture) and make it as I need it. Butter and zaatar on bread (even regular bread), yum.
(This is the non-poisonous sumac. It’s a cousin of lemonade berry. What’s used is the berry, I understand, dried and ground.)
Interesting that the Iraqis decide to start hiding an unpopular war right after a usually hiding and unpopular Vice President visits. Once again, the Administration’s playbook is at work…..what we don’t know won’t hurt them.
Lou Costello @ 20
A-yep. McNulty’s not going to go down with the BushCo ship. He’s probably working on his rsum.
It’s just the latest in a pattern on information suppression. In other words…Stop bad PR!
U.N.: Iraq Withholding Death Figures
P J Evans @ 40
The fresh berries make for a very pleasant tea.
Lou Costello @ 20
Yep, this just happened to be the week McNulty figured out his seventeen year old starts college in a year.
Who could have predicted?
Little AG Jr moves forward – not backward – in chronological time.
And he does so at precisely the same rate as the rest of his family unit!
This wholly unanticipated finding no doubt underlies Pere McNulty’s astonishing discovery that the progeny who was a high school sophomore last school year will require college tuition in say – oh – 24 months.
I eagerly anticipate McNulty’ early publication in the online Journal of Human Chronobiology.
Thanks Jeralyn!
We have to take responsibility on this too … we are no longer limited to what the MSM or the government shows us …
Do we go to Youtube and watch the Channel 4 documentaries?
or to yahoo’s new photos to see what they have captured each day?
or to sites like GorillasGuides where a team of Iraqis are reporting events daily that do not get reported in the US?
My view has always been that if our country does it and we pay for it with our tax dollars, we have a responsibility to look … and to feel. If the photos and stories are too upsetting, then let’s use that upset to fight harder against this atrocity.
One way to render ‘benchmarks’ meaningless is to shut-off any fact-checking sources.
Also, the last thing BushCo wants us to see would be Iraqis united across sectarian lines – Sunni and Shia – to oust the invader – no longer a civil war, but a war of national independence.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there were large-scale protest marches in Baghdad featuring united Sunni-Shia groups calling for US withdrawal.
But, Bush wouldn’t want us to see that would he?
Phoenix Woman @ 42
Well, this comes at a convenient time, you know. Regents U. is about to graduate a whole new class of Bush-Rove pawns. The chairs they’ll slide into over at DOJ will still be warm. . .
Bob in HI
Anyone who still supports this fucking war should STFU and enlist. Put your ass where your mouth is.
PS – a little birdie says we need to watch the Senate carefully over the next 24 hours … the vote on Reid/Feingold is hidden in a water bill and there’s a Levin/Reid item coming that takes away the oversight … moving fast, so calls now are essential … get out your Senate lists and dial!
Question: If a car bomb blows up in Baghdad and kills a bunch of people, but the offical count of the dead doesn’t include them…did they really DIE?
Death toll excludes bombs: Fun and Games with the body counts
What do you think transpired at DOJ to cause this Monday resignation?
You guys are great. I went off-line for 20 minutes after posting to make a meatloaf (Sorry Jane, no chicken soup tonight, and yes, Veritas 78, it’s turmeric not tumeric but that’s my fault for telling Jane the wrong word when I made chicken soup for her) and there are already 40 comments!
Thanks for the welcome back, I read you all and think FDL is just the greatest community around.
Tap Duncan, Duane (dog the bounty hunter for those who didn’t get the reference) is pretty worried about getting extradited back to Mexico. I spoke with him and Beth for a long time about two weeks ago and they are waiting on the Mexican Supreme Court to decide his fate.
As for Jose Padilla coverage, I will be covering it at TalkLeft as much as I can not being there. I agree with the defense attorney today who said in opening arguments that the Government’s case is far more about al-Qaida than then the three on trial. Once again, like John Walker Lindh, it seems there’s no evidence the three wanted to fight the U.S.
Veritas78 @ 26
Don’t know nuttin’ about no spices, but as for bread, I would truly LOVE to find somewhere local that baked Salt Risen bread.
Since I assume few here have ever heard of it, it has a texture similar to sourdough but a uniquely sharp taste. Makes a wonderful toast and is also great with country ham (the aged for a year, smokehouse hams). Damn I wish I could find it.
I have one question which I think this very politically astute group may want to ponder: why did McNulty resign TODAY? If AGAG had his way this would have been the late friday dump; as it is, we have a whole week to let it dominate the headlines as it can. NOT GOOD for AGAG.
even more potentially interesting: will mcnulty rat out monica? the “use” immunity DOES NOT protect from perjury, and if mcnulty has some juicy docs salted away that could cause fortress monica to fall in a heap. once she realizes she is GOING TO JAIL unless she cooperates, i think our little fundie songbird will twitter quite a long melody…featuring karl rove as central movement (double entendre intended!)
solai @ 52
Rove told McNulty to do something he didn’t want to do? Like, something illegal?
Bob in HI
Siun @ 50
I’m from NY, so very often I knew that my senators didn’t need prodding to vote the way I hoped. Not so this time. I’ll call Hillary.
Tap Duncan @ 17
BTW, it’s Jeralyn. I’m a longtime reader of her site as well.
Sooo….I guess that visit from Cheney and his thoughts concerning ‘kicking out the press’ are being practiced now, eh?
i think we all know what happens when people start tryin’ to hide bodies.
x174 @ 59
There have been quite a few bodies over the last 6 years, no one seem to have the balls to talk about where they are.
They are still trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear to present to us as if everything is peachy keen ..well it isn’t, and the silk purse still looks like a goddam sows ear.
GSD – all my sources say yep, Tet plus developing. Tribes north and south uniting (note, this transcends sunni and shia)- think supply lines and exit routes, increase of attacks on Green Zone, reactions to the walling in of neighborhoods followed by US air bombardments on those neighborhoods, and more …
njr @ 38
Indymedia provides free anonymous news posting.
Best way I know for global transmission of Iraq War Crimes reports /images / video.
Indymedia is a global network of free news collectives with open sites.
Don’t like the news?
Publish your own.
Indymedia US
Indymedia global
Indymedia NYC
Indymedia Seattle
Is McNulty scheduled to testify?
Siun @ 46
Siun, maybe we bloggers need to do a better job of linking to those sites when we write about Iraq. I know I wasn’t even aware of them. Perhaps we need to do blogswarms when there’s a particularly atrocious day where everyone links to the videos.
I’ll play devil’s advocate a little here (be gentle). How immediate and extensive was the coverage of “the good war”–WWII? Not very: super-sanitized newsreels that covered events weeks after the fact, with a distinctively rah-rah tone to them. How would immediate and graphic coverage of the events of that war have affected morale and support for the war on the home front? It was a very different time, and a very different American people (not to mention a very different president).
Note: I am in no way advocating any form of censorship. This is purely a thought experiment, in the same way that I ask my students in my homework assignment on Hiroshima if there’d be any circumstances where using a nuke would be justifiable today (with the implied question, was dropping them on Hiroshima and Nagasaki justified?). Is there any circumstance where censorship *would* be justifiable? I’m not sure there is, but it’s worth thinking about.
AGag’s statement on McNulty From TPM ~ H/T C&L (see the comments too *grin)
Jeralyn @ 53
I don’t hang much at Talk Left any longer; I read it at least daily, although usually three or four times a day. I definitely go because of your perspective. I’m either here or a couple of other places. I’m looking for intelligent discourse not constantly having to defend everything I say or think.
John Walker Lindh got caught in the frenzy afterwards. I don’t think there’s much there, just like with this new bunch, the Ft. Dix Six. Jesus – how convenient is that – the Ft. Dix Six?
And it doesn’t help that the verbs are always in the passive voice. “5 U.S. Soldiers DIE in Iraq” or “37 Civilians DIE in Roadside Bombing” are much more immediate. They say, “Pay attention. This is important stuff. People are DYING here. Start asking why.” The passive-voice headline is an enemy of informed citizenship.
Jeralyn:
I agree completely and I post once a week here about the week’s events and point to resources like this for which I am immensely grateful to Jane for her support on this. But to be honest, I’ve seen a lot of resistance in the blogosphere around these issues … people are upset by the photos, upset by the emotions they ignite, and … perhaps more than anything, I think many people do not want to face what we are doing. Maintaining our belief that “we are the good guys” in pretty ingrained even amongst progressives …
Has the government ever censored the media showing flag draped caskets returning from a war previous to this adminstration?
Since this is an Iraqi law (not U.S) won’t those other sites be stopped from posting photos also?
Man, they’re devious.
Anyone who thinks they’re incompetent should think again. We just don’t understand the agenda.
Siun @ 62
Let’s not forget. The very people who have fucked this region up beyond all possible mayhem, ARE STILL THE SAME PEOPLE CALLING THE SHOTS.
The very same people. Now they want to call all the shots and not have anyone see what they are doing.
The disaster that is Iraq is about to quicken into an unmitigated disaster.
I knew Cheney was up to absolutely rotten, vile, repressive war mongering things on his recent jaunt.
The American people will know just how rotten well before the next Friedman Unit. It will remain to be seen if there is only a Mitchell Majority supporting the war after the final collapse.
-GSD
Siun @ 70: The “we’re the good guys” is a good point. There’s also the aspect that we also don’t want to think about our boys and girls getting hurt and killed in horrific ways. We’ve become a society that shoves death as far away as possible (which is why 6 Feet Under was oftentimes so powerful). I remember the reaction to the pictures of the Blackwater operatives who were burned. I wonder what the reaction would have been like if those had been pictures of Iraqis.
tbsa @ 71
George H.W. Bush started that in the Gulf War One I think.
-GSD
@ 68
and with the little guy hero, the video clerk.
Curious Details Emerge on the Fort Dix Six
who is our real enemy?
solai @ 72
exactly. and more importantly, i don’t think for a minute that chimpy and his associates on the neocon side are idiots either; they “play” fools for tv, but somehow i’m convinced that what they want to happen is carefully being maneauvered into place. the oil law being fought over in Iraq is part of it, but IMHO other things are going on under the surface.
The man to watch continues to be Ahmed Chalabi. He currently runs the commission which determines whether ex-baathists can be “cleared” to join current govt. a gatekeeper position, and it is suspected by some oil industry watchers that much of the “missing oil money” is actually going to fund him and his surrogates.
solai @ 72
Some people have a better grasp than others. The Cheney trip.
solai @ 72
I feel like they’ve turned and are now making a move against us, the American peep!e
Siun @ 50
Takes away what oversight???
BuggyQ @ 66
You make a good point. The real news about the Vietnam coverage was just that – the coverage, the real war stories that Americans had never before seen.
Siun @ 62
The bedouin are expert at attack strategy. Historically they silently sneak up, encircle, attack at night, sting, and get out. Watch out. I’ve been worried about this for a long time. I’m surprised they have waited this long.
GSD @ 73
how about this scenario:
a concentrated uprising in baghdad and elsewhere cuts off us troops; supplies are unable to get from kuwait or kurdistand or saudi arabia. attempts to bring in supplies by air are partially successful until a chemical or dirty bomb attack leaves the airport useless.
the us attacks from carrier based planes to no avail. house to house fighting in BD leads to thousands of US dead, many more captured and killed after torture (helpfully submitted to the internet afterwards). Finally in desperation the US begs Iran for help; Iran sends in its Republican Guards and “escorts” the us troops out to Iran, forcing them to leave their heavy armor and weapons behind. they are then “debriefed” for about a month and sent home a few planeloads at a time for maximum media punch. the shia government of iraq then, with help of the RG, slaughters all reachable sunni, while turkey invades in the north and effectively decimates the kurds, turning the oil over to the Iraqi govt in return for promises to keep the kurds under control. the saudis can do nothing, they can’t take on iran and iraq (with us weapons) both. Kuwait and SA expell all us forces to avoid similar bloodbaths in the region.
Prove me wrong, folks. THIS is the disaster I see coming. Chimpy wants it to happen on the next Dem Prez’s watch but he may not be that lucky…
tet plus
You mean classic old unit to unit combat involving the US? Somehow I doubt it.
1) The inurgents are doing well enough with the tactics they are already using.
2) Large attacks would make hundreds of insurgents vulnerable to air power. Can’t see it happening.
Lou Costello,
Cheney, more than any other, is a master at raiding the US Treasury and ripping off Americans. Power and thievery are his total focus.
LS @ 82
Sounds like the makings for a blood bath.
rwcole @ 84
Probably more like hundreds of small attacks countrywide all at the same time: Tet Offensive Summary
@ 68
Doesn’t it sound like a sound byte from the WHIG?
pow wow @ 19
We’re attempting a grand-theft-oil heist of historic proportions, and Members of Congress either don’t know, or don’t care . . .
The Media And Congress are part of the heist!!! They all play for the same team!!!! The wearing of the Prezeldentiary Crown is merely ceremonial and allows that group to heist MORE than the others!!! The only difference is what booty you get to loot!!!!! Those under The Crown loot internationally, the rest loot from US TAXPAYERS!
Please tell me that ANYONE in here understands that they are all in this together, and the rest is window dressing to pretend there’s two party’s?
Alfred K.,
I just copied your post to a file. You obviously know way more than I. Maybe this is why the military leaders are threatening to speak up.
Dobson claims Chimpy is meeting with fundie leaders to build up support for attack on iran; dobson uses “domino theory” of nuclear attack saying if Iran nukes us, NK Russia and China will follow suit…uses “end days” metaphors to sell the idea
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/….._0514.html
rwcole @ 84
The problem is that the U.S. troops are intermingled with the people in their regions and neighborhoods. They are spread out all over the country. If the tribes attack, they will attack in a bunch of small separate organized attacks all at the same time. They can easily cut off squads, etc., the way they nailed that squad the other day. The airpower would not be that effective without taking out U.S. troops as well. Which brings me to the Iraq and U.S. deciding to cut off media reports of what would potentially be happening.
A huge offensive aimed at U.S. and NATO troops was predicted last year for the spring in Afghanistan.
What a mess!!!!
Lou Costello @ 87
Exactly my thought.
From the Mother Jones article ‘Curious Details Emerge on the Fort Dix Six’:
http://www.motherjones.com/moj…..ailsemerge
“As for the bumbling plotters: “The FBI learned of the alleged plot when the men went to a Circuit City store and asked a clerk to transfer a jihad training video of themselves onto a DVD.”
As for the over-aggressive informants: “One of the [accused plotters]… called a Philadelphia police officer in November, saying that he had been approached by someone who was pressuring him to obtain a map of Fort Dix, and that he feared the incident was terrorist-related, according to court documents.”
Also, here’s the description of one of the informants actions: “He railed against the United States, helped scout out military installations for attack, offered to introduce his comrades to an arms dealer and gave them a list of weapons he could procure, including machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.”"
(snip)
Clearly, it was a politically timed ‘bust’ and announcement…
solai @ 90
I was a computer programmer on tactical and strategic war games programming in the 1960’s and 1970’s; its all declassified now so I can talk about it. still CANT talk about what i did in the 1980’s and early 1990’s…but the wisdom is not mine; it was obtained from years of study of real world warfare with the best minds our military and defense establishment had.
And just between you, me and the fence post, we could have won vietnam in two months wihout using nukes. LBJ was too chicken to do it but he knew it was possible; that’s why so many retired military of that time hate his and mcnamara’s guts…clear parallel to chimpy and rummy…
An additional thought. There are 300,000 “trained” Iraqis with guns.
Is the media doing its part to expose the atrocities in Iraq?
No.
Has self-restraint dictated media coverage to date or is the Administration controlling what the media shows?
The only time the media will show atrocities is on 24 Hrs., The Sopranos, or the weekend horror flick. There is no time for that during the great fight for Iraqi freedom.
After all, is there a better way to show that the violence is way down than by not showing it?
Send in Bruce Willis.
While they may censor photos of bombings, we do have an eyewitness report on what it is really like from Mohammed Ibn Laith who is 16 and part of a rescue team that tries to help victims of bombings. Note that his father mentioned in the first paragraph – and his older brother – have both since been killed in bombings.
Alfred – I think your scenario leaves out some key local interests and concerns. Remember that Iraqis fought a long war with Iran and the Iranian backed SCIRI are not popular. This is a very complicated situation but I suspect we will sooner see unified action by a number of tribes and across sectarian lines. Of course, we are all guessing … but bloodbath is sadly not a guess.
Alfred Kelgarries @ 91
the end days, a self fulfilling prophecy
I remember, I watched it every night. I grew up watching it.
I remember the last chopper out and our boys pushing them over the side of aircraft carriers.
I remember even though I was young.
Nixon in 73 ended it, finally, way too damn late for way too damn many.
It seems our current government has absolutely no recollection.
I remember.
LS @ 96
but no howitzers, mortars, armored fighting vehicles or air power, and their comms all use us freqs (not the same ones IIRC but ones known to us jammers if need be). the reason we aren’t LETTING the Iraqi army “stand up” is we have a darn good idea whose side they’ll come in on (hint it isn’t ours…)
Disclaimer: i mainly work now in civilian anti-terror stuff so my knowledge of the military situation in iraq is third hand through a lot of old buddies, some posted there now and some unfortunately now deceased. anyone with better info i’m happy to be corrected….
Elliott @ 99
He’s full of it, and he’s full of himself.
radiofreewill @ 94
I posted the bit about one of them calling the police earlier, I just couldn’t believe it. There’s culpability here, who are the people responsible for these undercover programs,who is letting them run amok?
Ft. Dix Fix
There’s gonna come a backlash from stuff like that, and it could create (perceived) justification for actually wanting to attack the American public.
Elliott @ 103
Well, there’s always Negroponte. What’s he busy with these days. It’s no different than agitators at a demonstration, or death squads in El Salvador or Iraq. They pick some vulnerable idiots and get them to do their dirty work. Boil, boil, toil, and trouble.
Siun @ 98
you are leaving out chalabi, he’s an iranian stooge. i suspect when the time is right he’ll play that card, and my scenario doesn’t suggest the RG would be popular with the iraqis or that they would stay; they’ve move in just long enough to strip our forces out and then leave. their objective would be to hamstring the US; they’d also try to make sure chalabi’s militias were the ones to get the abandoned heavy us stuff.
and agreed, this is only one of hundreds of possible scenarios. but my “disaster detector” has been blinking orange ever since i learned about our precarious supply line from kuwait. the more i hear about the possibility of a tet-style coorindate insurgent attack, the more it changes to red…
Jeralyn, thanks again for Talk Left, and for the community you’ve buit there. As IANAL, I very seldom feel I have anything to add to the comments…but I learn from them.
As for the Fort Dix Six
Well gosh golly me!
They sound just like the “Auburn Three” -
Three activists and one “Anna“.
“Anna” became the lover of one of the four activists.
And – as a paid FBI informant – she then organized sabotage involving explosives/arson, rented the house in which she discussed her wishes, had the house wired by the FBI, had her targets move in, persuaded them to join her plan, drove them to pick up supplies, paid for supplies…and waited in the parking lot where the FBI arrested the people coming out to rejoin her – the people she’d just entrapped.
Including the activist she was paid to take as a love, entrap, and betray.
It’s mourning in America.
[snip]
Elliott @ 76
Good question.
Who defends the Constituion and the Republic – and who defies it?
FYI, there is a new thread
PW, has new post up!!!
Elliott @ 103
“Letting them run amok?”
Elliot, these “investigations” are purposeful, intentional, planned.
They’re following orders.
This is merely COINTELPRO for the 21st centurey.
Alfred … you might find some of the notes at GorillasGuides informative. MarkfromIreland’s posts in particular going back a while … he’s got extensive military experience and experience in the ME and he began fussing about supply lines about two years ago … it’s a very bad picture indeed.
Amok, amok, amok
century, not centurey. sheesh.
Speaking of avoiding graphic violence, this story is in the new Mother Jones:
1,516 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN GOEZ ON AND ON AND..
Citizen Alfred Kalgerries and the Firepup Patriots:
“…the reason we’re not letting the Iraqi army “stand up” is we have a darn good idea which side they will come in on…”
Yes indeed, I’m afraid we are beyond a turnin’ point here. I believe that absent Syrian and Iranian intervention to help us get our kids outta there, we are gunna hafta send another 25,000 troops into Baghdad and start movin’ the troops in the provinces into the capitol in order to then fight their way down Highway 1 into Kuwait. We can’t get our troops outta this mess unless we go on bended knee to the Syrians and Iranians…but, of course, our homegrown good old American fascist President doesn’t want ‘em out and could give a shit less how many Americans or Iraqis die. Have you looked at New Orleans lately?
We are in a tub a shit here and nobody brought any soap. The Congress is so confused it keeps gettin’ lost tryin’ ta catch it’s own tail with all the scandals and corruption and none of the Democrats has the balls ta call “bullshit” on ‘em and move to enable Fitzgerald ta go up the tree with treason charges.
Since our Democrats are helpless and the remainin’ Repofascists know they have nuthin’ ta fear from the Democratic leadership, and nuthin’ ta lose…therefore it is time for well organized, non-violent, nationwide demonstrations over a 4 day weekend culminating in a march on the Capitol Building on a Monday.
It’s time for every baby boomer who can still walk to hit the streets…we hafta start dictatin’ the agenda here.
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION – GOD IS WATCHIN’!!
P J Evans @ 40
I LOVE Garam Masala!
My Pakistani neighbors of two years (they just moved away), two young men who were engineers, taught me good about their cuisine! They claim all the famous Northern Indian food is THEIRS! I love cultural pride!!!
“My granma’s fritters are better n yer granma’s fritters!!” lolol
One of the key items they turned me onto that I’d NEVER used in MY 20 years in the biz was fresh cardomam pods and seeds.
The link above for garam masala, quite SPICY in heat BTW, can be ehnahced with nutmeg, tamarind and various kinds of peppercorns like red, pink or green.
Add garlic, onion powder (or dehydrated onion but there’s all the sulphites in powdered garlic and onion stuffs).
One of MY only store bought products of a mixed spice include the McCormick Montreal Seasonings (chicken, steak). I like to take 2/3 Chicken Montreal and 1/3 Garam Masala and mid them.
Then, add some yogurt (flavored or not), some fresh berries (I LOVE black berries, lingon berries), lemon rind, squeezed lemon juice, a bit of EVOO and some balsamic. Puree this in processor, and soak that chicken, steak, lamb or WHAT ever in that marinade for 24 hours.
Killer, killer dish is the result.
My neighbors also turned me onto using more basmati rice. They’d have the garam masala in it, whole cardamom pods, delicately sliced and cut veggies . . . peppers, onions, carrot slivers . . . awesome stuff, and has me hooked on basmati rice more so than even wild brown rice’s (hard to wean me offa THAT though).
I thank my Pakistani neighbors and I’m gonna miss their plates.
We used to send each other a plate ful of something special when we did bbq, or kitchen cooking, and we always said:
‘I’m returning your plate, I don’t know how that food got there, though.’
They had way cool senses of humor.
They really, really respected food and its preperation . . . to the extent the Japanese do, I would say . . . they made a chickpea salad recipe, with precision cut chili serrano’s, tomato tidbits, sliced red onions, slivered carrots, lemon juice, a special vinegar I never learnt, touch of safflower oil. It was AWESOME!
Their attention to the mis en place was as devoted as any Cordon Bleu grad. I’m sure gonna miss them two guys.
I can’t imagine the Iraqi photo blackout working. I buy the relationship to Cheney’s visit, but I can’t see how it is enforceable given the physical and emotional climate amongst the Iraqi citizenry.
Maybe this is overoptimistic but I can actually see a backlash to the law resulting in increased production of imagery. How this effects dissemination of the images I don’t have a sense for.
Late to the party: thanks so much, Jeralyn, for this post. It absolutely KILLS me how we can’t find out what’s going on in Iraq. At the very least, as a taxpayer I should be able to know what my taxes are purchasing—after all, this is actually a public war (& according to our president, a global, multi-national war), not a secret operation. Siun’s weekly posts about what’s happening in Iraq actually help to save my sanity. I weep over them, but I think they are crucial. I still don’t understand why the MSM has just bent over for the administration’s ban on photographs of caskets coming home from the war. How can we honor our fallen soldiers if we don’t know they’re falling? I know that our men and women who are fighting over there are bothered because most Americans seem oblivious to the war. I would like any of them who happens to read this (pretty unlikely, as this comment is so late) to know: many, many of us want to know more about what’s happening to you. The government and the main-stream media won’t let us know. I hope you will all start to speak out publicly when you finally get home—there are many of us who really want to hear from you. We don’t care if you favor the war or oppose it—we want to hear from you. (And those who don’t want to hear from you should be forced to listen!)
Oh, you’ll see it on Al Jeezera, you just won’t see it on any USA sources, or the internet other n Al Jeezera.
It’s almost UNBELIEVABLE they’d even SAY they were gonna block journalists from combat zones, and it’s unfathomable how they will actually enforce it. I DO expect, there will a HUGE increase in dead periodista’s in the next few weeks, though . . . . . including some bodies that were not even literate, much less able to report. Just shot, hacked up, and called a journalist. Examples, as it were.
Wierd scenes inside the gold mine, wierder and wierder every day, and heading to more and more hidden and nasty blacker and blacker ops daily.
How much will the public stand for this?
Bustednuckles @ 100
I remember, too, busted.
Siun @ 62
And I thought I had already read on AW.com by someone in past 7 days that there WAS a unity movement to demand US Withdrawl. Unlike Tricky Dick, it IS time to pull out in the middle of a screw.
Still . . . . it’s all the same game from both aisles. What will be done about that?
solai @ 64
I have an impression he’s been called to do so? Where’d my feeble pea brain get THAT idea? I dont’ keep track of a lot of stuff so well . . . . some things just stick hard. Oh well, GO FDL PUPS!
Elliott @ 79 . . . . I feel like they’ve turned and are now making a move against us, the American peep!e
That move began LONG ago, google Leo Strauss.
Then, Neocons.
Then, Contract With America.
And reread Eisenhower’s farewell speech about the MIC.
So far, the american people, and the blogs, and the MSM, and everyone for the most part, have rolled over and played possum to either PARTS of the scene, or all of it.
Money talks, Big Bro Walks It All.
Who or how will change this?
Alfred Kelgarries @ 95 . . . . .we could have won vietnam in two months wihout using nukes.
How? I’ve heard MUCH macho talk about this WINNING shit, but, no one ever says HOW. Other than more firepower, more killing, yadda yadda.
SE Asia is a special spot for me, as my pops was in it in the 50’s and early 60’s from a ‘Befriend The Peasants’ perspective. He and his programs got shit on when the butter went to guns.
Tell me how.
Phreakin spookily eerie and all things easily possible.
Tanbark woulda said this, so I’m gonna email him direct and use yer words if ya don’t mind to shove it down his gullet cuz he’s so damned always right . . :grin:
I buy into all you say, hoss, only, I’m not sure it works out as neatly as you posit. My version has a lot more slaughter in it, in paybacks for Islamic Desocratins. Heads will roll. As the Old Caliph would have done.
I’m not sure, they ain’t entitled to do so, either. I’m NOT about religons being one up on anyone. But I’m about politics and peoples holding their ground and being rightous. I haven’t seen a lot of rightous in humans for a few thousand years now . . . . anyone else? Bueller?
The Need For Al Qaeda To Be In Iraq
Could my thinking be so far off? When no one else has made the same point, or at least in the direction of my point, as me, I wonder if I could be that far of the logic concerning this kidnapping.With the kidnappings, this administration is taking the opportunity to boast the contention Al Qaeda is in Iraq, so they need to stay there to fight the war on terror.
For the last 4 months, there has been a huge debate on whether to put timetables in Iraq. One of the arguments has been: If we leave now we would be strengthening Al Qaeda and Iran. What more evidence is needed to make the case for occupation in Iraq when you got 5 dead US solders and 3 missing? To add in this logic, a Al Qaeda affiliate has made claims to the attacks. There is another reason why this administration needs Al Qaeda to be in Iraq.
I know most people have heard the many complaints we have abandon our efforts to hunt down Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Couldn’t you make the case you were doing what Americans want you to do if you were hunting down Bin Laden’s group in Iraq, especially after you just lost solders and cannot account for all of those involved in the attack?
Because I don’t believe anything this administration and his general cronies, not all are cronies, put out, I am always looking for the next lie around the corner. I have had it with the delvers of Bush’s propaganda: Fox news and their wantabees CNN, MSNBC, Washington Journal,and the rest all have a conservative slant in their news reporting.
So far, the connection to Al Qaeda being responsible for this attack is weak, From what I know about Al Qaeda, they usually take direct responsibility for their attacks very quickly after the attack. Think about 911. It did not take long for the murders, Bin Laden and the real Al Qaeda, to take credit for their crime. Why would they take this indirect approach now?
If I were doing the propaganda thing to seek support for this war, the last thing I would want is the media “turning over the same rocks” I did. They would get the true discovery. Yes, it better to bar them from the make up site, and feed them the information you want them to have.
Joseph
Sort of as a companion piece is the Pentegon pulling the plug on soldiers’ access to YouTube and MySpace. They’ve blocked it. They’ll be no more first hand accounts of anything from them either.
And yes, Al Qaeda is the big buzzword attached to everything because they need poll numbers. They NEED to beat the “terrr terrr fear fear” drum with a renewed fervor. It wins elections. They can’t very well do that with all this truth and facts shit all over the place to be had by just anyone yanno! We’ll keep seeing more of the rovarian “news” plants in the NYT and WaPo as well.
Next, they’ll be calling off the election because we’re at war doncha know . They’re “staying the course”… make no mistake on that.