going to war

The war on terror is actually fueling al Qaeda. That is the determination of a new study:

A report by the Oxford Research Group (ORG) said a "fundamental re-think is required" if the global terrorist network is to be rendered ineffective.

"If the al Qaeda movement is to be countered, then the roots of its support must be understood and systematically undercut," said Paul Rogers, the report's author and professor of global peace studies at Bradford University in northern England.

"Combined with conventional policing and security measures, al Qaeda can be contained and minimized but this will require a change in policy at every level."

He described the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq as a "disastrous mistake" which had helped establish a "most valued jihadist combat training zone" for al Qaeda supporters.

The report also suggests an immediate withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq and opening diplomacy with Syria and Iran. The key part comes at the end of this article:

"Going to war with Iran," he said, "will make matters far worse, playing directly into the hands of extreme elements and adding greatly to the violence across the region. Whatever the problems with Iran, war should be avoided at all costs."

We seem to have a serious problem when it comes to history in our country. Hard to believe things that happened in the 90's have been quickly forgotten. For my loyal readers, this will sound familiar, but it deserves repeating. We created Osama bin Laden!

I have really been waiting for this to happen:

The CIA officer whose identity was leaked to reporters sued Vice President Dick Cheney, his former top aide and presidential adviser Karl Rove on Thursday, accusing them and other White House officials of conspiring to destroy her career.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Valerie Plame and her husband, Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador, accused Cheney, Rove and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby of revealing Plame's CIA identity in seeking revenge against Wilson for criticizing the Bush administration's motives in Iraq.

Several news organizations wrote about Plame after syndicated columnist Robert Novak named her in a column on July 14, 2003. Novak's column appeared eight days after Wilson alleged in an opinion piece in The New York Times that the administration had twisted prewar intelligence on Iraq to justify going to war.

The CIA had sent Wilson to Niger in early 2002 to determine whether there was any truth to reports that Saddam Hussein's government had tried to buy yellowcake uranium from Niger to make a nuclear weapon. Wilson discounted the reports, but the allegation nevertheless wound up in President Bush's 2003 State of the Union address.

The lawsuit accuses Cheney, Libby, Rove and 10 unnamed administration officials or political operatives

I wish the Wilson's all the luck in the world. They more than deserve justice on this. For more info, check out Firedoglake.

Bush is out in full force doing his cowboy talk against other countries:

"If the Iranians are trying to influence the outcome of the political process, or the outcome of the security situation there, we're letting them know our displeasure," Bush said. "Our call is for those in the neighborhood to allow Iraq to develop a democracy, and that includes our call to Iran as well as to Syria."

So in the last week we have had harsh words with Syrian, Iran, China and North Korea. If Bush is looking to start world war 3, he is on the right course. Scary part is we are not able to handle world war 3 and doing this talk in our weakened state is putting more Americans at risk.

If we ignore all of Bush's problems here at home. Forget about Katrina, wiretapping, the CIA leak, the Dubai ports deal, cooked intelligence, everything and just focused on his foreign policy and diplomacy then we should still have enough to impeach him. He is constantly putting America in harms way by his "tough talk" and lack of diplomacy.

Something Bush should consider is the fact that maybe Iraq is wanting the help of Iran and Syria. Polls over there show an overwhelming number of Iraqi's and their parliament want us out now. Also a majority of Iraqi's support attacks on our troops. This is alarming news and should be looked at carefully. That can lead one to believe more so that Iraq is looking to an ally in their neighbors to the west and east.

It is also scary when you think about the state of our military. Our troop levels are way down and what we do have is tied up in Iraq. Going to war with Iran is most likely enough to cause the United States to reinstate the draft.

If you ever had any doubt that one reason for going to war in Iraq was to
help boot Halliburton then this story from the

Post Chronicle might change your mind:

Pentagon Spied on Houston
Anti-Halliburton Activists

by Houston Global Awareness Jan 24, 2006

A Houston-based anti-Halliburton group was spied on by a top-secret
Pentagon counter-intelligence agency in 2004, according to a report in
Newsweek magazine.(1) The peaceful protest, organized by Houston Global
Awareness on June 29, 2004, was attended by approximately ten local peace
activists.

The protest involved handing out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to
employees of giant military contractor Halliburton to draw attention to
allegations that the company over-charged for military food contracts in
Iraq.

A report in Newsweek this week reveals that the Pentagon's Counter
Intelligence Field Activity (CIFA) filed a report on the Houston protest,
which took place outside Halliburton's headquarters in Houston, Texas.

So terror comes in the shape of PB&J now? Don't get me wrong, we need a
strong intelligence field at this point in our history. That means our
intelligence should be focused on terrorism and finding Osama. This is getting
ridiculous when we hear about the Pentagon pissing away this valuable resource
to spy on American citizens who want peace. Of course we have to protect
Cheney's cash cow.

I finally had enough of a break to sit down and read the entire transcript of
Rep. John Murtha's press conference today and I am highly impressed (full
transcript available
here). We
have constantly been inundated with the the continuous line of "Democrats have
no plan". Well after reading this, Republicans must be working hard to update
their strategy because it is now evident that Democrats do have a plan. I will
get into that plan in a bit, but first I would like to share the powerful
opening to Murtha's statement.

"The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy
wrapped in illusion. The American public is way ahead of us. The United
States and coalition troops have done all they can in Iraq, but it is time
for a change in direction. Our military is suffering. The future of our
country is at risk. We cannot continue on the present course. It is evident
that continued military action is not in the best interests of the United
States of America, the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf Region. "General
Casey said in a September 2005 hearing, "the perception of occupation in
Iraq is a major driving force behind the insurgency." General Abizaid said
on the same date, "Reducing the size and visibility of the coalition forces
in Iraq is part of our counterinsurgency strategy."

A tiring argument we hear on a daily basis from conservatives is that the
liberal left believes that Saddam should have been left in power to rape and
kill. The truth is that is a totally false assertion, and, in my opinion,
getting rather old.

The fact is that we question the timing of the war more than the reasoning
for it. We all admit that Saddam Huessein was a horrible dictator that raped,
killed and tortured his people. We also admit the fact that he has previously
attacked surrounding nations without provocation. As matter of fact, it was
while Bill Clinton was President of the United States that Congress passed
resolution 4655 which was called the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998. This was
passed by both floors and signed into law on October 31, 1998 by President
Clinton. The resolution passed the House by a vote of 360-38 and passed Senate
by unanimous consent. The fact lies in that both parties regarded Saddam as an
evil dictator that needed removed from power. This thereby negates the argument
from certain conservatives that the liberal right thought Saddam should remain
in power.

So why all the debate over the war in Iraq, both past and present? If we all
agree Saddam should be removed as Iraq’s tyrant leader how come Democrats and
now some Republicans want the troops out? The truth is our questioning has
always been behind the reasoning of going to war with Iraq at a time when we
were already engaged in another war on terrorism

Have Americans gotten tired of the lies involving Iraq?
In a poll released yesterday by the Washington Post and ABC news, support for
the war in Iraq
is at an all time low and so are the President’s approval ratings.

Bush’s approval rating has dropped to 52%, and the
Republican parties has dropped to an astonishing 41%. This should send an
alarming message to the Republican leaders that their party is finally being seen
for what they are – a bunch of showboating idealists who promote their own
personal agenda.

The real slap to the Republican Party should be the fact the
John McCain, the Senator that the Republicans seem to oppose more and more, had
a high approval rating – 57% to be exact. This should show that people are
starting to get fed up with the radical right movements in Congress.

Now onto Iraq.
When asked if they thought Iraq
was worth going to war over, an alarming 58% said no. 73% of those people also
believe the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq is unacceptable, and 65%
believe the U.S. has now gotten bogged down with the war in Iraq.

So again I ask, Have Americans gotten tired of the lies involving
Iraq. Judging
by this poll, I would have to say yes. One question I would have liked to seen
asked would be: Do you feel the Downing Street Memo merits enough fact for a
Congressional inquiry into the matter? True if that question would have been asked
then the pollsters would be coined as “Liberal Media” by the hateful celebrities
such as Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity.