SAM SAYS

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Sam (Hammorabi)

We are not supporting GWB neither against his opponents but really telling the truth about our dictator that we knew more than the others. If those who talk about WMD and the war should ask us and we will tell them that SH is a danger not only for Iraq but to the region and the world. This has been demonstrated by his several atrocities in the past.

Without the help of US to get rid of Saddam he may has stayed in power for hundreds of years by his sons with all his danger over the heads of all of us.

[Note: Bold, for emphasis, is mine]

FREED TO FIGHT US

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UPI

Released detainees return to fighting U.S.
By Shaun Waterman
UPI Homeland and National Security Editor
Published 7/6/2004 7:20 AM

WASHINGTON, July 6 (UPI) -- Several prisoners released by the U.S. military from a detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have rejoined their comrades in arms and taken part in fresh attacks on U.S. forces, according to Defense Department officials and a senior GOP lawmaker.

"We've already had instances where we know that people who have been released from our detention have gone back and have become combatants again," Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence told United Press International recently.

"At least five detainees released from Guantanamo have returned to the (Afghan) battlefield," said the defense official, who requested anonymity.

When asked how U.S. authorities could know, the official declined to comment, "That gets into intel stuff. I can't go there," the official said.

"These people don't have driver's licenses," he told UPI. "They don't even have birth certificates. Some of them are trained in deception and counter-interrogation techniques.

"One guy had 13 aliases."

[Comment: This is not PC; it's PS (Politically Stupid. SCOTUS reached into a foreign land to protect the guilty. Looks that way!]

PULSE & COUNT SITES

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Blog Pulse

The site attempts to “take the pulse” of bloggers, on a variety of topics. You can plug in a word or a phrase, or a person’s name. The search engine will direct you to the blogs which are covering the search request.

Iraq Blog Count

Iraq Blog Count is a very helpful site which keeps track of the Iraqi bloggers with a list of those who are “blogging Iraq.” Some are Iraqis inside Iraq; some are Iraqis outside Iraq; some are military; and, some have opinions on Iraq. It covers most blogs dealing with Iraq.

[Comment: Okay, so it didn’t cover this blog. Iraq Blog Count is still a good site.]

AGAINST SADDAM

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Saddam defence team threatened (almuajaha.com thread)
by mustafa muhsin

Number 1 I am a Sunni

Number 2 I am an Arab

Number 3 I hate saddam more than anything... the mere sight of him angers me.

Number 4 I don't care about the lies that people say about saddam having support amongst Sunni Arabs... It's just not true we hate him just as much...

Number 5 saddams defence team should be made to stand trial along with him for the mere audacity of defending a mass murdering, genociadal, homociadal, sadistic, sociopathic psychopath.

[Blank lines inserted for ease of reading.]

U--TRANSFER

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ABC/APwire

U.N. Didn't OK Uranium Transfer to U.S.

Wed Jul 7, 7:06 PM ET
By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer

UNITED NATIONS - The United States didn't have authorization from the U.N. nuclear watchdog when it secretly shipped from Iraq (news - web sites) uranium and highly radioactive material that could be used in so-called "dirty bombs," U.N. officials said Wednesday. The nearly 2 tons of low-enriched uranium and approximately 1,000 highly radioactive items transferred from Iraq to the United States last month had been placed under seal by the International Atomic Energy Agency at the sprawling Tuwaitha nuclear complex, 12 miles south of Baghdad, the officials said.

(…)In 1992, after the first Gulf War (news - web sites), all highly enriched uranium — which could be used to make nuclear weapons — was shipped from Iraq to Russia, the IAEA's Zlauvinen said.

After 1992, roughly 2 tons of natural uranium, or yellow cake, some low enriched uranium and some depleted uranium was left at Tuwaitha under IAEA seal and control, he said.

SYRIAN RUMORS

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Official Rumors

Global Security

In a briefing for journalists reported on October 29, 2003, the director of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency said satellite images showed a heavy flow of traffic from Iraq into Syria just before the American invasion in March 2003. Retired Air Force Lieutenant General James Clapper Jr. said he believed "unquestionably" that illicit weapons material was transported into Syria and perhaps other countries. He said "I think people below the Saddam- Hussein-and-his-sons level saw what was coming and decided the best thing to do was to destroy and disperse. ... I think probably in the few months running up to the onset of the conflict, I think there was probably an intensive effort to disperse into private hands, to bury it, and to move it outside the country's borders."

In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Telegraph published on January 25, 2004, Dr. David Kay, the former head of the Iraq Survey Group, said there was evidence that unspecified materials had been moved to Syria shortly before the start of the war to overthrow Saddam. "We are not talking about a large stockpile of weapons," he said. "But we know from some of the interrogations of former Iraqi officials that a lot of material went to Syria before the war, including some components of Saddam's WMD programme. Precisely what went to Syria, and what has happened to it, is a major issue that needs to be resolved."

[Comment: The above makes the rumors official; it does not make the conclusions factual. There are good reasons to suspect that Syria is "holding it for a friend."]

FUNNY SADDAM

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NEED A LAUGH? Check out this site, creativity at work on Saddam's trial photos---with captions. It's a top site, now. You may need patience to get into the site; it's a busy place; but, it's worth it.

Rock, Paper, Saddam

MISSED LPB SPEECH

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(UPDATED BELOW)
Fox News reported that the LA Times and Washington Post claimed that L. Paul Bremer left Iraq without a goodbye—-no parting speech. (How rude!) We have misinformation in prominent place, and retractions hidden under a rock. It happens too often. It happened again with this……….misinformation. Reporters must learn to present the facts, nothing but the facts……under penalty of UNEMPLOYMENT.

Several of the Iraqi bloggers remarked on Bremer's speech. It was televised in Iraq, just as it should have been. If you spiffy reporters can’t find information, you should MoveOn to another job. The Iraqis heard the speech. The reporters were not reporting facts, they were spreading gossip.

Apparently, one LA Times reader sent information (facts) to the reporters. (Typical response: they’ll think it over.) Maybe they can squeeze a correction ("sorry bremer") into the Real Estate Section.

UPDATE:

Thursday, July 08, 2004

Iraq the Model

We almost thought we were hallucinating!
After the authority handover at June 28, Ali wrote a post about that event and included a description about Paul Bremer’s farewell speech to the Iraqis. We were surprised that it wasn’t covered by the major media and moreover the Los Angeles times even went as far as saying that Mr. Bremer "left without even giving a final speech to the country — almost as if he were afraid to look in the eye the people he had ruled for more than a year".

Omar, at Iraq the Model, tells all and includes a link to the LA Times correction.

HOT STUFF--REMOVAL

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US Newswire

WASHINGTON, July 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced today that the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have completed a joint operation to secure and remove from Iraq radiological and nuclear materials that could potentially be used in a radiological dispersal device or diverted to support a nuclear weapons program.

(…)Twenty experts from DOE's national laboratory complex packaged 1.77 metric tons of low-enriched uranium and roughly 1000 highly radioactive sources from the former Iraq nuclear research facility. The DOD airlifted the material to the United States on June 23 and provided security, coordination, planning, ground transportation, and funding for the mission.

[Comment: If the radioactive sources were too dangerous to remain in Iraq, why hadn't the U.N. forced prior removal or destruction? Was Yellowcake included in the removal?]

9/11 IRAQ MURAL

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9/11 Mural in Iraq

Claim: A mural in Iraq depicts an airplane slamming into buildings resembling the World Trade Center towers.

Status: True.

Origins: On 26 March 2003, a mural showing an airplane crashing into one of two tall vertical buildings and setting it aflame (while a second airplane approaches the other building) was discovered by U.S. Marines searching Iraqi military headquarters in Nasiriya. The plane in this cheerily-hued painting bears the logo and color scheme of Iraqi Airlines.

The now famous photo, which shows two Marines in front of the mural, was taken by Joe Raedle, a photo journalist accompanying the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force from Task Force Tarawa.

No comment has so far been offered as to whether the mural pre-dates the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City or whether it was painted afterwards in celebration of same.

Barbara "artless" Mikkelson

Last updated: 30 March 2003

Sources:
CNN. "Marines Discover Iraqi 9/11 Mural." 26 March 2003.
Wolf Blitzer. "Wolf Blitzer Reports." CNN. 26 March 2003.
[Melbourne] Herald Sun. "Twin Towers Reminder." 28 March 2003 (p. 9).

[Note: Whether or not the mural was done before or after 9/11, it shows the opinion of the Regime--gloryification for the death of innocents.]

FISK SENTENCE?

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Sullivan

FISK COMES THROUGH: The Independent's Robert Fisk does his bit for the Baathists by disclosing the identity of the judge who is presiding over Saddam's trial. Now the guy fears for his life. Whatever it takes to prevent democracy in Iraq. Whatever it takes ... (via Sullivan, via Black Triangle)

Just punishment for Fisk would be to spend the rest of the war with the Judge. Fisk should be sentenced to existing no more than 15 ft. from the Judge at all times. He should eat the same food, ride in the same vehicle, sleep in the same residence, exist close enough to understand the fear that he made so clear to the Judge. Fisk should feel it, too. Fisk should be forced to live with the results of his actions.

The Court of Creative Justice levies this sentence on Robert Fisk.

Black Triangle can be found Here.

14 September, 2001

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by Tony Kern

[This is a portion of an open letter to America. The rest is worth reading, too]

(…)Every American citizen was in the crosshairs of last Tuesday's attack, not just those that were unfortunate enough to be in the World Trade Center or Pentagon. The will of the American people will decide this war. If we are to win, it will be because we have what it takes to persevere through a few more hits, learn from our mistakes, improvise, and adapt. If we can do that, we will eventually prevail.

Everyone I've talked to in the past few days has shared a common frustration, saying in one form or another, "I just wish I could do something!" You are already doing it. Just keep faith in America, and continue to support your President and military, and the outcome is certain. If we fail to do so, the outcome is equally certain. God Bless America.

Dr. Tony Kern, Lt Col, USAF (Ret)
Former Director of Military History, USAF Academy

WMD:U--AMBIGUITY

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Life is AMBIGOUS; messy and full of questions.

Guardian WatchBlog (right)

Uranium

* 3 May 04 UPDATE: In his new book, Joe Wilson states that "It was Saddam Hussein's information minister, Mohammed Saeed Sahhaf, often referred to in the Western press as 'Baghdad Bob,' who approached an official of the African nation of Niger in 1999 to discuss trade -- an overture the official saw as a possible effort to buy uranium."

CavalierX:

So the uranium buy attempt did happen, and he knew about it, and he lied about it to try and prevent the liberation of Iraq. How about that?
Posted at Tuesday, January 06, 2004 by CavalierX

IMHO: Most quotes are recorded accurately; the interspersed opinions are in question. The Wilson quote could be easily verified. The conclusion might not be accurate. To support the conclusion, Cavalier suggests that there was little else Iraq would be interested in purchasing from Niger. Although, it may be true that the interest was Uranium, there could have been another reason for Iraq approaching Niger. My conclusion (at this point)is Iraq did approach Niger for trade purposes; we don’t know conclusively what the trade involved.

(IIRC) During the war, we heard that troops had found yellowcake, and we heard that the U.N. knew about it and had tagged it. If true, we don't know why the U.N. would permit Iraq to have Yellowcake.


[Uranium Info:]
http://chemistry.allinfoabout.com/periodic/u.html About Uranium

Uranium occurs in minerals including pitchblende, carnotite, cleveite, autunite, uraninite, uranophane, and tobernite. It is also found in phosphate rock, lignite, and monazite sands. Radium is always associated with uranium ores. Uranium can be prepared by reducing uranium halides with alkali or alkaline earth metals or by reducing uranium oxides by calcium, carbon, or aluminum at elevated temperatures. The metal can be produced through electrolysis of KUF5 or UF4, dissolved in a molten mixture of CaCl2 and NaCl. High-purity uranium can be prepared by the thermal decomposition of uranium halides on a hot filament.


[NOTE: Thanks, CavalierX. You have worked hard and include factual information. Regardless of whether or not I agree with the conclusions, your efforts and materials are helpful in the search for truth.]

WASHINGTON POST POISON?

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About Chandrasekaran & Yellow-J

How do I know this? Because my fellow Marines and I witnessed it with our own eyes. Chandrasekaran showed up in the city of Al Kut last April, talked to a few of our officers, and toured the city for a few hours. He then got back into his air-conditioned car and drove back to Baghdad to write about the local unrest.

"The Untouchable 'Mayor' of Kut," his article's headline blared the next day. It described a local, Iranian-backed troublemaker named Abbas Fadhil, who was squatting in the provincial government headquarters. He had gathered a mob of people with nothing better to do, told them to camp out in the headquarters compound, and there they sat, defying the Marines of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade.

Chandrasekaran was very impressed with the little usurper: "'We thank the Americans for getting rid of Saddam's regime, but now Iraq must be run by Iraqis,' Fadhil thundered during a meeting today with his supporters in the building's spacious conference room. 'We cannot allow the Americans to rule us from this office'....Fadhil has set up shop in an official building and appears to have rallied support across this city of 300,000 people.

"The refusal of Marine commanders to recognize Fadhil's new title has fueled particularly intense anti-American sentiments here," Chandrasekeran continued. "In scenes not seen in other Iraqi cities, U.S. convoys have been loudly jeered. Waving Marines have been greeted with angry glares and thumbs-down signs."
Readers must have concluded that Kut was on the verge of exploding. The entire city was ready to throw out the despised American infidel invaders and install their new "mayor" as their beloved leader.

What utter rubbish. In our headquarters, we had a small red splotch on a large map of Kut, representing the neighborhood that supported Abbas Fadhil. When asked about him, most citizens of Kut rolled their eyes. His followers were mainly poor, semi-literate, and not particularly well-liked. They were marginal in every sense of the word, and they mattered very little in the day-to-day life of a city that was struggling to get back on its feet.

We knew the local sentiment intimately, because as civil affairs Marines, our job was to help restore the province's water, electricity, medical care, and other essentials of life. Our detachment had teams constantly coming and going throughout the city, and Chandrasekeran could have easily accompanied at least one of them.

Since he didn't, he couldn’t see how the Iraqis outside of the red splotch reacted to us. People of every age waved and smiled as we rumbled past (except male youths, who, like their American counterparts, were too cool for that kind of thing.) Our major security problem was keeping friendly crowds of people away from us so we could spot bad guys.

None of those encouraging things made it into the article. Nor did anything about how we had been helping to fix the city’s problems as soon as we arrived. Just a quick-and-dirty sensationalistic piece about a local Islamist thug bravely going toe-to-toe with the legendary United States Marines. The general reaction to Chandrasekeran’s article was either laughter or dumb bewilderment.

Soon afterwards, a Marine commander met privately with Fadhil and told him he would be forcefully removed if he did not leave the government building. Fadhil, chastened, asked if he could slither into exile without the appearance of coercion, so he could save face. The commander agreed. Suddenly faced with a real confrontation, the "mayor" had backed down, and he left without any riots or bloodshed. The Americans took over the office that Fadhil said we should never occupy. The Post didn't cover any of that, either.

Don't take my word for it that the Post’s reporting is substandard and superficial. Take the word of Philip Bennett, the Post's assistant managing editor for foreign news. In a surprisingly candid June 6 piece, he admits that "the threat of violence has distanced us from Iraqis." Further, "we have relied on Iraqi stringers filing by telephone to our correspondents in Baghdad, and on embedding with the military. The stringers are not professional journalists, and their reports are heavy on the simplest direct observation." Translation: we are reprinting things from people we barely know, from a safe location dozens of miles away from the fighting.

[Note: Yellow-J = Yellow Journalism. See original article for all the links, and more information]

OBL threatens Europe

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OBL says Time’s Almost Up, Europe!

Newsmax

The statement run by Asharq al-Awsat newspaper referred to a 90-day cease-fire for attacks in Europe that the leader of al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden, declared on April 15.

"To the European people: Only a few days remain for you to accept the truce offered by bin Laden. Otherwise you will have nobody but yourself to blame," the London-based paper quoted the statement as saying.

Spain’s response?

CNN

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spain's cabinet has agreed to send nearly 900 more troops to Afghanistan, boosting its current small contingent there to more than 1,000 ahead of the country's elections.

[Comment: Spain, if you have enough courage, send those troops back to Iraq, too!]

FISK RATTED?

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Or, was FISK FISKED?

• DOWNING Street blasted The Independent yesterday for naming the judge in Saddam’s trial — putting his life at risk."

"It accused journalist Robert Fisk of breaking an agreement with the Iraqi Special Tribunal not to identify anyone in the court other than the defendants.

The Sun (UK)

THE CHEF

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Or, look who’s cooking, now!

During a Fox News Channel interview, one participant mentioned that he had been studying cooking for approximately 5 years. When asked what he would do now, Mr. L. Paul Bremer planned to cook, write a book, and lecture (at some time) during the fall.

No, the stress did not reduce the man to chef-hood . . .he likes to cook! He will specialize in French Cuisine. Uh Oh, is this a diplomatic difficulty, or will it soothe U.S./French relations?

I hope Mr. Bremer has time to check the Iraqi Blogs. There are many expressions of “thanks” to Abu Haider for his tireless efforts (and to the CPA we “thank you!”)

HAPPY 4th of JULY to the SOLDIERS--who are working hard to develop and improve Iraq!

4TH OF JULY

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I am a descendent of the REBELS, those who dared. They saw a better life for the people and they dared to reach for it. More than 225 years later, we still dare to feel the spirit of . . . FREEDOM.

Today in NYC, there is a dedication of the site of the FREEDOM TOWER. A building which will rise 1776 feet into the sky and will be a phoenix—-rising out of the ashes. A symbol of freedom, a dedication to those who died at this site, the building will remind US buildings will rise and fall; but, the SPIRIT remains, the SPIRIT lives on, and the SPIRIT can not be destroyed. Remember FREEDOM.

Dignitaries and ordinary people are meeting to place the cornerstone which says:

“TO HONOR AND REMEMBER THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 AND AS A TRIBUTE TO THE ENDURING SPIRIT OF FREEDOM”.

Now, “Ground Zero” has an additional meaning: it means a continuing with determination through adversity; it means a renewed appreciation of “THE SPIRIT OF FREEDOM.” It means that “We, the people, are charged with protecting and DEFENDING those freedoms which were given to US by the men and women who fought to gain those freedoms—those who died to gain them, those who lived on to shape them.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!

(Pause to celebrate and enjoy the day. Then it’s back to the job; we have work to do for FREEDOM.)