Watching SMARTY

With only minutes to go until the start of the Belmont Stakes, SMARTY JONES has become a favorite.

There are many pasttimes for Americans; and, some years it's the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. This year, more than others, it is more than interesting.

SMARTY JONES has won 2 legs of the Triple Crown. We haven't had a Triple Crown Winner for about 26 years. This may be the year.

Anyone who watched the Preakness was undoubtedly fascinated with the speed, and the ease with which this special horse crossed the finish line. Good Luck to Smarty Jones.

[Note of disappointment: SMARTY didn't win. What a time to lose the first race! (Well, Kentucky stables have already offered approximately 30 million in fees.) We have to wait more years for a Triple Crown Winner.]

PRESIDENT REAGAN (40) 1911 - 2004

Ronald Reagan died today, at age 93. (AM)

1981 Reagan Inauguration Speech: (referring to Arlington Memorial Cemetery)

Under one such marker lies a young man--Martin Treptow--who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire.

We are told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the heading, "My Pledge," he had written these words: "America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone."

ANOTHER LINK--UNSCAM

.

UNSCAM

and

THE FRENCH BETRAYAL OF AMERICA

(excerpt)

by Kenneth R. Timmerman
Publisher: Crown Forum (New York).
Expected on sale date: March 16, 2004
Copyright © Kenneth R. Timmerman, 2004.

[Note: the following is only part of the excerpt. UNSCAM has more, plus links (if you care to purchase.)]

From the very start, Saddam violated even these generous UNrestrictions. He began with the money: Saddam insisted the UN use the Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) as the sole repository of Iraqi funds, perhaps hoping that his friends in France would look the other way so he could dip into the account for other purposes. When that didn’t happen, the deposits built up – until more than $13 billion in unspent cash had accumulated in the BNP account in New York. “The BNP sent the UN an embarrassed letter,” says former World Bank economist and Middle East specialist Patrick Clawson, “asking them to reduce the Iraq escrow account by spreading it across several different banks.” The Iraq account had become the single-largest cash accounts on the BNP books, and “had become a problem with their regulators,” Clawson told me.[xvii]

Next, Saddam turned to fooling export licensing authorities, using techniques that had been tested and proven by Hussein Kamil, Amir Rashid, Amir Hamoody al-Saadi, Safa Habobi and others during the 1980s. Under the guise of “civilian” projects, he imported dual-use equipment which was intended for biological weapons labs, chemical weapons plants, ballistic missile production, or his clandestine nuclear weapons development program. Throughout the seven years of the Oil-for-Food program, oil sales worth more than $50 billion was approved by the UN’s Office of the Iraq Program. [xviii] “The holes in the sanctions were big enough to drive a missile launcher through,” a former Congressional staffer who tracked the trade told me.

[. . .] The French simply didn’t consider Iraqi weapons of mass destruction a threat. It was an attitude that I would hear repeated again and again by French officials and politicians from all sides of the political debate. “Even if Saddam has these weapons, so what?” was the refrain. “He has never threatened France.” [...]

LINK ADDITIONS

.
New Links: (right side)

COMMAND POST

CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (1993)

syzygyjob.net WAR ISSUES DISCUSSIONS

CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION

.
1993

CW Convention


The Chemical Weapons Convention is opened for signature at a January signing ceremony in Paris; 130 countries show support for the CWC and for international disarmament by signing the Convention. In February 1993, a Preparatory Commission is set up in The Hague to prepare for the entry into force of the Convention.

CWC Article 6

Many of the chemicals that can be used to produce chemical weapons may also be used for peaceful purposes. For instance, thiodiglycol, a Schedule 2 chemical, is an ingredient in both felt pen ink and textile dyes, as well as a precursor of mustard gas. Furthermore, it may be possible to convert or reconfigure equipment in some chemical production facilities to produce chemical weapons agents or their precursors. To ensure that abuses do not occur, the Convention places reporting and routine inspection requirements on industrial facilities that produce, process, transfer or consume the following Scheduled chemicals in quantities above particular thresholds.

CHALABI (New Yorker)

.
(Jane Mayer “The Manipulator”, New Yorker 6/7/04)

"I clarified the picture," Chalabi says

Chalabi tells Mayer, "There is a smear campaign that says that I am responsible for the liberation of Iraq. But how bad is that?"

New Yorker

(Ritter on Chalabi)

Scott Ritter, who knew Chalabi from his work on the U.N.'s weapons-inspection team in Iraq, tells Mayer that in the late nineties Chalabi confided to him his plans to run Iraq once America had liberated it. Ritter, who strongly opposed the war, also says that "Chalabi spoke of benefitting financially from Iraq's oil reserves," Mayer reports. Chalabi's office denies this. In January, 1998, at his apartment in London, Chalabi met with Ritter about weapons inspection. "I should have asked him what he could give me," Ritter says. "Instead, I let him ask me, 'What do you need?' " The result? "We made the biggest mistake in the intelligence business: we identified all of our gaps." During the course of their meeting, Ritter says, he told Chalabi of his suspicion that Saddam may have had mobile chemical- or biological-weapons laboratories. "We made that up!" Ritter says. "We told Chalabi, and, lo and behold, he's fabricated a source for the mobile labs." According to Ritter, Chalabi later described a clear vision of Iraq's future—with himself in charge. Ritter says, "He told me that, if I played ball, when he became President he'd control all of the oil concessions, and he'd make sure I was well taken care of." Chalabi's office denied Ritter's account, calling him a liar. Ritter says he left the meeting without agreeing to work for Chalabi.

Francis Brooke tells Mayer that Chalabi's sophisticated marketing operation at the I.N.C. was "an amazing success." Brooke met Chalabi when they both worked at the Rendon Group's Iraq project, a London-based C.I.A.-funded program to influence global opinion on Saddam Hussein. According to Brooke, the Rendon Group signed a secret contract with the C.I.A. that guaranteed the company a ten-per-cent management fee on top of whatever money it spent on the campaign. "We tried to burn through forty million dollars a a year," Brooke says. "It was a very nice job." By 1993, Chalabi had gained control of the I.N.C. The U.S. government had given more than $120 million to the group, which was cut off from government funding shortly before the recent raid on Chalabi's Baghdad home and office. Tensions between Chalabi and the C.I.A. began over financial questions. "The agency didn't know how he spent his money," one former I.N.C. associate says. "All transactions were cash." Brooke also says that he got a phone call from Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz in February, 2001, promising that Saddam would be toppled this time and that he would resign if he couldn't accomplish it, an account that Wolfowitz calls "nonsense."

" For his part, Chalabi says, "I think I have more of a future than the C.P.A."

PEOPLE OF INTEREST

.
THE WATCH LIST (revised) ----- the persons of notice

Ahmed Chalabi—added (Iranian Code)
Mohamed El Baradei
Hans Blix
Scott Ritter
Jacques Chirac
David Albright

Robin Cook? (resigned, re-elected?)
Claire Short (resigned)
Dr. David Kelly (suicide, Hutton Inquiry)
George Galloway (faded from scene)

Cure: Watch the activities around them, read about them, try to figure them out.

THE IGNORE LIST----persons of note
(promote discord in the world, as authority figures; they have undermined America)
Former President, Jimmy Carter
Former General, Ramsey Clark
Cure: revoke the passports while they are out of the country.

DELETE BUTTON LIST—automatically deletes any statements (past, present, future)
Rush Limbaugh
Michael Moore
Cure: Instantly deaf, can’t hear you.

TENET RESIGNS

.
JULY 2004

CIA Director George Tenet has resigned effective July, 2004.

Will this soothe Democrats?

Nothing soothes the opposition party in times of election fury.

EXAMS--S/R/NR and FUN

.
EXAMS--Sympathy, Resentment, and NO REGRETS

Khalid and many other Iraqis are undergoing EXAMS. They have my sympathy. It's one of those experiences you (usually) remember for decades.

There is RESENTMENT toward those who are natural test takers. They could take an exam after no sleep, blindfolded, and still come out of it in excellent shape--with terrific scores. Well, I know some of these people. I'm not one of them--so, of course, there is resentment! One person could easily belong to MENSA (after all, it's taking a test.) This person could take an exam on a subject he knows nothing about and figure out the answers (provided it was a multiple choice exam.) In addition to this, he can spout logical BS until the cows come home--to help him deposit more manure. He's not only a challenge, he's a friend. Worst of all, he's a friend with WIT and HUMOR genes; and, you just can't hate a guy for that. Well, I resent it; I stood in the wrong gene lines, when I should have spotted him and stood behind him.

But, about EXAMS: It was similar to 5-7 times in front of an intellectual firing squad (for each experience.) You march to the location and hope you aren't shot (down.) No matter how well you studied, there was always the question you didn't know as well, and the moment of wondering if there was anything left in your brain. And then . . .the realization that the only thing in your brain was the thought that there was nothing in your brain.

No Regrets: It was an experience. I have no regrets; I just wouldn't want to do it again. Getting older enables you to study what you wish, when you wish, and (sometimes) the exams are quick exchanges of wit and humor. Yup, it's more fun to be older.

BUSH SPEECH

Better than Usual

[About the Bush Speech at the US Air Force Academy (CO)]

Typically, the speech writers include all the “pat” phrases—the OMG, not again words that we’ve heard until we could lose lunch. The speech was better than usual, better than average. I hesitate to say that it was really great because I missed parts of it and am looking for a full transcript (which haven’t appeared, yet.)

The speech today appears to be the BIG PICTURE speech; it seemed part of a good effort to bring it all together and (finally) tell us (all) exactly the views--in short, putting the jigsaw pieces together in public. During the parts I heard, there were fewer of the worn out phrases and more of the connectivity necessary in Democracy.

Not a brilliant speaker, this speech went well for Bush. . .better than usual.

LIST OF OFFICIALS:

.
PM Dr. ALAWI announced:

Deputy Prime Minister (security affairs): Mr. Barham Saleh.

Minister of Agriculture:Dr. Sawsan al-Sharifi.

Minister of Communication: Dr. Mohammed al-Hakim.

Minister of Construction & Housing Dr. Umar Farouk Salim al-Damluji.

Minister of Culture Mr. Mufid al-Jazairi.

Minister of Defense Mr. Hazem al-Shalan.

Minister of Education Dr. Sami al-Mudahffar.

Minister of Electricity Dr. Ayham al-Samarra’i.

Minister of Environment Dr. Mushkat Mumin.

Minister of Placement and Immigration, Ms. Pascal Ishu Wardah.

Minister of Finance Dr. Adil Abd-al-Mahdi.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Hoshyar Zebari.

Minister of Health Dr. Ala-al-Din-Al-Awan.

Minister of Higher Education Dr. Tahir al-Bakka.

Minister of Human Rights Dr. Bakhtiyar Amin.

Minister of Industry and Minerals Dr. Hakim al- Hasni.

Minister of Interior Mr. Falah al-Naqib.

Minister of Water Resources Dr. Abd-al-Latif Rashid.

Minister of Justice Dr. Malik Duhan al- Hasan.

Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Ms. Layla Abd-al-Latif.

Minister of Oil Mr. Thamir al-Ghadbhan.

Minister of Planning Dr. Mahdi al-Hafiz.

Minister of Public Works Dr. Nisrin Barwari.

Minister of Science and Technology Mr. Rashad Umar Mindan.

Minister of Trade Mr. Mohammed al-Juburi.

Minister of Transportation Mr. Luay Hatim Sultan al-Urs.

Minister of Youth and Sport Ali Faiq Al-Ghadban.

Minister of State for Provinces Judge Waeil Abd-al-Latif.

Minister of State for Women Ms. Nirmin Uthman.

Minister of State Dr. Qassim Dawud..

Minister of State Dr. Mahmoud Othman.

Minister of State Dr. -- Mr. Adnan al-Janabi.





Two Vice Presidents:

Mr. Ibrahim Jaafari al-Eshaiker

Dr. Rowsch Shaways.

(from 6/1 transcripts DoD link at the right)

DRUNK OFFICIAL/IRANIAN CODE

CHALABI RATS US OUT?

We’ve got rumors, and we’ve got some information. Apparently, some drunk official let it slip to Chalabi that the US had cracked the Iranian codes. It looks like Chalabi told the Iranians, they transmitted the information under the old codes (after Chalabi told them) and news-watchers wonder what is truth and what is rumor.

Now, the intelligence community seems to have released the information that we had broken the codes and that the Iranians transmitted the message under the old codes, which says we did break the codes, and that we did find out Chalabi “ratted US out.” And, the Iranians continued to send messages under the old code—which indicates that they may not have believed Chalabi (if he did tell them.)

Espionage: agents and double-agents, the spy stuff is intrigue….and intriguing.

RoaN--RESPONSES

To Road of a Nation:

1. It looks like a political shuffle during which there was a shift toward accommodating an Iraqi attitude, rather than Brahimi, the CPA, and some of the groups active in Iraq. Possibly, it was a more favorable solution—a compromise, which gives something for all, but not all to someone. Disbanding the IGC shows a general agreement with the solution.

The U.S. would support those who wish Democracy in Iraq. Some groups might favor one person; other groups might favor another person; but, it matters who the Iraqis favor.

2. The map won’t change. We hope there is an attitude change throughout the Middle East. We can hope that many in the Middle East will decide to turn away from the bitter hatred.

3. At first, I wasn’t in favor of establishing a military base in Iraq; but, it may be the best way to protect you. If Iraqis refuse, we would go somewhere else; but, it seems in the INTEREST OF ALL to establish a base. The decision is yours.

4. Iraq should be a strong country, armed for defense but not for threat. Democracies don’t usually attack each other and we defend Democracies. It is highly unlikely Israel would attack you. If you attacked Israel, we would have some severe difficulties ahead.

Refusing to sell oil to USA is somewhat unlikely. We didn’t come to steal your oil. We would like to buy some oil. If you are selling and we are buying, it seems likely we would come to an agreement. There are bigger worries.

QUICK CHANGE

Do the Iraqi Shuffle?

I think someone shuffled the deck and different cards were chosen for the new government. This is so new that I haven’t heard much about how it happened. Pachachi dropped out and the IGC resigned? There are 29 days left, during which the CPA is caretaker and then the new government takes charge.

Things are moving too fast to follow it from the outside.

IMAGINE IT

Can you picture this?

The dedication of the WWII Memorial was yesterday. Today is the traditional Memorial Day (tomorrow the official holiday) and while reading a soldier’s site I had an imaginary picture.

The picture: Thousands upon Thousands of soldiers are standing in row after row. Their various historical uniforms glow and their medals sparkle, as they raise their arms. . .IN SALUTE TO YOU, the soldiers of today who are fighting for freedom.

They are saluting YOU—-for carrying on their work courageously.

They would thank you; and, I do THANK YOU.