Topic 11 of 38: Iraq
Sun, Nov 9, 1997 (10:48) |
Paul Terry Walhus (terry)
Saddam is at it again. Bet Clinton wishes Bush had finished the job.
It's a dirty job, can Bill do it? Will Saddam make a pre-election move
to embarass the Democrats and prove that he can influence the course of
American politics. How can that country continue to put up with him?
Is Iraq back? Are we in for more trouble here?
13 responses total.
Topic 11 of 38 [politics]: Iraq
Response 1 of 13: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sun, Nov 9, 1997 (11:28) * 17 lines
The cameras are off now. How much time are we giving them?
A U-2 plane if flying on Monday and it could be fired on, it's a
UN plane, bought and paid for by Ted Turner. This would have
serious consequences. For CNN and the US.
Suppose we find a cache of these heinous biological and chemical
weapons, what would be the environmental consequences of taking them
out.
Meanshile, Saddam builds a fancy new palace while his people rot.
And what about the coalition that Bush put together. Is it still there?
And what about the middle east peace process, what will be the impact
on this?
Topic 11 of 38 [politics]: Iraq
Response 2 of 13: nick a'hannay (pmnh) * Mon, Nov 10, 1997 (01:51) * 2 lines
This entire business reeks. Don't mean to sound like Lyndon LaRouche, but did you really ever buy the Bush company line re: the reason we didn't take Hussein out the first time? You know, that his military people told him we'd achieved our objectives, it's time to go home, and all of that? Has their EVER been a military type (outside of George McClellan) that didn't want to fight- especially when he's been pretty much kicking ass, and taking names with impunity (even little Mac may have gone for that)?
And all this business of, "Would you want me to risk YOUR son, or YOUR daughter to capture Sadaam Hussein?"- doesn't this seem just a wee bit cynical, in light of all the Panamanian sons and daughters (and mothers and fathers) Bush sacrificed to arrest Manuel Noriega?
Topic 11 of 38 [politics]: Iraq
Response 3 of 13: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Mon, Nov 10, 1997 (12:33) * 4 lines
We're good at picking on weaklings like Grenada and Panama. But what
about Saddam and Iraq? What next? The U2 flew over safely today but
it's not over yet.
Topic 11 of 38 [politics]: Iraq
Response 4 of 13: John Jacobson (Molelakehoop) * Thu, Nov 13, 1997 (11:22) * 4 lines
The U.S. electorate somehow thinks Iraq should be bombed into the stone age just because they dare to thumb their nose at the U.S. The U.S. has to work through a coalition of other countries that don't quite get as worked up over Saddam thumbing his nose. Saddam does this to remain popular at home.
Getting a coalition together for todays Iraqi threats are much more difficult than when Saddam invaded his neighbor. The issues today, in the eyes of the security council, are more of a shaded gray color than the black and white issues of the past. Saddam, being the cagy dictator he is, knows this. He is selectively singling out only the U.S. members of the UN inspection teams. Divide and conquer--an often successful ploy. Saddam is definately cast in the mold of Hitler, willing to sacrifice lives a
will for little apparant reason. There are no easy answers.
John
Topic 11 of 38 [politics]: Iraq
Response 5 of 13: John Jacobson (Hoop) * Thu, Nov 20, 1997 (09:39) * 4 lines
It appears that the crisis in Iraq is now over. Of course--any leader like Saddam that uses "human shields", mercilessly murders thousands of its citizens with nerve gas as well as things we will never know--will always bear keeping a close eye on. This Hitler-like madman will unfortunately be a boil on the face of the world for years to come.
What saddens me about this crisis is that Kuwait was dead against any U.S. military involvement. Saudi Arabia was totally silent and offered no U.S. support despite the fact that U.S. troops still "guard" the Saudi's from Iraq. The Arab countries appear to want the U.S. military when there butts are on the line (oops--this doesn't apply to the cowardly Kuwaiti's that left for disco's in Egypt when Saddam invaded) and want the U.S. out of the region all other times. The U.S. military as a paid mercenar
for the rich Arab oil producing states is very distasteful. Personally--I find it to be totally un-American for the U.S. to be guarding a group of dictators such as the Saudi Royal Family.
John
Topic 11 of 38 [politics]: Iraq
Response 6 of 13: nick a'hannay (pmnh) * Thu, Nov 20, 1997 (10:16) * 2 lines
Well stated and true, unfortunately...
Though, judging from our government's intermittant enfatuation with fascists, such behavior may be construed as being somewhat "American"...
Topic 11 of 38 [politics]: Iraq
Response 7 of 13: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Tue, Nov 24, 1998 (11:24) * 2 lines
Iraq is defying the inspection team again. Are you surprised?
Topic 11 of 38 [politics]: Iraq
Response 8 of 13: Tim Guenther (TIM) * Tue, Nov 24, 1998 (12:33) * 1 lines
Nope, not at all.
Topic 11 of 38 [politics]: Iraq
Response 9 of 13: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Tue, Nov 24, 1998 (12:38) * 2 lines
Neither am I. What's keeping Clinton from unleashing the dogs of war?
Topic 11 of 38 [politics]: Iraq
Response 10 of 13: wer (KitchenManager) * Wed, Dec 16, 1998 (19:51) * 1 lines
They off the leash again now...
Topic 11 of 38 [politics]: Iraq
Response 11 of 13: jerry springer (jerryspringer) * Tue, Nov 19, 2002 (14:05) * 4 lines
It is the showdown to beat Sadam's IRAQ. We beat them up.
Syria, North Korea, Cuba will be intimidated once we succeed our operation in IRAQ.
We need to think of alternative energy developemnt, so we don't need to depend on oil from Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries.
Then sell the lots of arms to Israel and let it beat the entire Arab dums.
Topic 11 of 38 [politics]: Iraq
Response 12 of 13: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Mon, Nov 22, 2004 (15:05) * 46 lines
Kevin Sites lays down deep supporting fire in his current blog entry.
IMO, one of the more interesting war documents from an embed.
>To Devil Dogs of the 3.1:
>Since the shooting in the Mosque, I've been haunted that I have not
been able to tell you directly what I saw or explain the process by
which the world came to see it as well. As you know, I'm not some war
zone tourist with a camera who doesn't understand that ugly things
happen in combat...
***
>It's time you to have the facts from me, in my own words, about what
I saw -- without imposing on that Marine -- guilt or innocence or
anything in between. I want you to read my account and make up your
own minds about whether you think what I did was right or wrong. All
the other armchair analysts don't mean a damn to me.
***
>"Did you shoot them," the lieutenant asks?
>"Roger that, sir, " the same Marine responds.
>"Were they armed?" The Marine just shrugs and we all move inside.
***
>There are people in our own country that would weaken your
institution and our nation –by telling you it's okay to betray our
guiding principles by not making the tough decisions, by letting
difficult circumstances turns us into victims or worse…villains.
***
>So here, ultimately, is how it all plays out: when the Iraqi man in
the mosque posed a threat, he was your enemy; when he was subdued he
was your responsibility; when he was killed in front of my eyes and
my camera -- the story of his death became my responsibility.
>The burdens of war, as you so well know, are unforgiving for all of
us.
http://www.kevinsites.net
Topic 11 of 38 [politics]: Iraq
Response 13 of 13: politician (cfadm) * Sun, Jul 2, 2006 (05:14) * 29 lines
The last blog entry was Sept 16
After the Falluja mosque shooting report last November-I got thousands of hate mails and death threats.
Some went something like this, “Dear Liberal Media Scumbag, I hope the next video clip out of Iraq I watch is an insurgent placing your severed-head onto your back.”
Those voices were a minority, extremists as small-minded and blinded by “righteousness” as the suicide bombers who have murdered thousands of innocent victims in Iraq (including my friend and humanitarian Marla Ruzicka, founder of the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC), killed outside Bagdhad on April 16th this year).
I never got an angry email from the unit I was with nor from Marine battlefield commanders who, though, saddened by the incident, knew I reported with fairness and context both on television and specifically, through the use of this blog, in which my November 21, 2004 “Open Letter to the Devil Dogs of the 3.1” was reprinted and linked to sites around the world.
As difficult as that chapter was for all involved, it provoked dialogue, introspection and maybe in some cases, even positive change. It also highlighted to enemies and allies alike, that America, despite perceived faults, practices what it preaches when it comes to its regard for the sanctity of a free press and its essential role in a democracy.
My belief now, as it was then, is that the cost and consequences of the truth can be enormous-but it can’t be buried or destroyed and must survive, because, as it was so eloquently stated in the pre-amble of the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, “public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice.”
That may sound as earnest as the syllabus for a journalism 101 class, but it will be the guiding principle for my new project, Kevin Sites in the Hotzone, launching on Yahoo! News on September 26th .
Kevin Sites in the Hotzone will be the nexus that binds mobile, digital newsgathering technology and the global delivery system of the internet to narrative storytelling, putting a human face to the complex issues of violent conflict.
I will report from the field solo, as I often have over the last five years, but will be supported by my “Mission Control” team based in Santa Monica, California.
Our first year goal is ambitious; to cover every armed-conflict in the world within one-year. The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies is currently monitoring 31 armed conflicts, with 15-20 seeing recent military action.
Please visit hotzone.yahoo.com to learn more about the project and to sign up for regular updates.
This current site, kevinsites.net, has been dark since January and will no longer be updated-however, all of the postings and photographs recorded here will be transferred to the new site and archived under country names.
Special thanks to John Parres for his early support of kevinsites.net, to David Ulevitch, who has generously provided the server space where it’s lived since it’s inception, to boingboing.net for directing so many readers to us, and most importantly, to the site’s co-creator and producer, Xeni Jardin, to whom kevinsites.net will always be dedicated.
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