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Related Information to Post War IraqPost War Iraq - Page 91 of 171
MORE IRAQI CHILDREN SUFFERING FROM MALNUTRITION: - Page 91 - Politics, Business, Civil, History - Posted: 16th May, 2006 - 1:17pm
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So, now that the USA left Iraq can the country rebuild herself and become stable? Related Information to Post War Iraq
Post War Iraq - Page 91
Here is a very interesting article about the propaganda efforts concerning Iraq.
https://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/WT.../27/191308.html
Altering perceptions of Iraq
News and propaganda compete for public opinion
(No, this has nothing to do with arvhic's post above. I found this article, and determined to post about it before I saw that arvhic had posted.)
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| PROPAGANDA 101 On February 22, a story published in the Italian-based Information from Occupied Iraq suggested that Fox News (specifically, The O"Reilly Factor) was advancing a "radical new conspiracy theory" as to why no weapons of mass destruction (WMD) have been found in Iraq. The theory is that Russian special operations units may have spirited the WMDs over the border into Syria in early 2003. In fact, this is neither a "radical" nor a "new" theory. Nor is it a "conspiracy theory." What makes the IFOI story propaganda is that it attacks the information with words like "radical" and "conspiracy." It pretends it is new information (numerous media companies - including CNN and The Washington Times - were discussing the possibility back in 2004), and it attacks Fox News, which both the political left and disinformation websites like IFOI regularly do. Saturday, IFOI published a story referring to U.S. and British troops as "locusts stripping Iraq bare." IFOI's website is often linked from other anti-Iraq-war websites, which only increases the size of its audience. |
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| SWARMER AND STEEL CURTAIN The day after their call to arms, Jihad Unspun referred to Operation Swarmer, launched March 16, as "not only a needless escalation of aggressive war on a peaceful people but is ethnic cleansing, plain and simple." Of course, this assertion is distorted over-dramatization, but it is a propagandized assertion that negatively impacts those who do not understand the dynamics of military operations in Iraq. Let's put Swarmer in perspective: Operation Steel Curtain, which few reporters got worked-up about last November, was a 17-day operation conducted by some 2,500 Americans and 1,000 Iraqis in Iraq's Al Anbar province. It was aimed at shutting down the ratlines along which foreign fighters were moving in their border-crossings from Syria. Ten U.S. Marines and 139 terrorists were killed, 256 bad guys were captured, and numerous weapons caches were uncovered. Swarmer, in contrast, was a 1,500-man helicopter-borne operation with no casualties, little if any damage to property, yet U.S. and Iraqi forces nabbed over 100 suspected insurgents and seized 24 weapons caches chocked full of everything from machineguns to surface-to-air missiles. |
Of course, since aircraft were used, we have all sorts of journalists and pundits (all perfectly balanced in their reporting) claiming that we are making "air strikes" similar to the bombing of Dresden or Tokyo against innocent Iraqi civilians.
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| CIVIL OR GUERRILLA WAR Though it's all semantics, those who would foment propaganda are almost insisting we call the insurgency in Iraq a "civil war." After all, in the sense of perception, a "civil war" smacks of something much larger, much more Oliver Cromwellian or Stonewall Jacksonian, where a country is divided into two, sometimes more, massive parts all of which are waging great battles against one another. Of course, there is no single definition of "civil war" that stands in all corners, but you can bet the opponents of our efforts in Iraq hope that by labeling the Iraq war a civil war, it will be considered a lost cause and thus a failure of the Bush administration. Then there are Iraq-war optimists like Charles Krauthammer who take a different tack. In his latest column, he concludes - and with sound logic (not propaganda) I might add - Iraq has been in a state of civil war since the beginning of the insurgency. Moreover, winning that "civil war" is "doable," writes Krauthammer. "That is not to say it will be done. It is to say that those who have decided that because of 'civil war' it cannot be done have been unreasonably panicked by something that has been with us all along." So what is an insurgency? I"ve always been taught an insurgency is a guerrilla war. After all, insurgents are guerrillas; and according to my Webster's unabridged, "not recognized as having the status of a belligerent." |
So, where is the reporting about good news in Iraq? Arvhic claims there isn't any. It is an attitude that is supported by the international media, and is particularly strong among the MSM in the US.
A couple of weeks ago, Chris Matthews, of CNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews" fame said something to this effect:
"We report on war. War is news. What is this 'reconstruction'? That's not news, is it?"
You can't report on reconstruction, the fact that people own businesses, that they enjoy more freedom than ever in their history, that infrastructure is being restored and built, that education is increasing. Why can't you report them? Because it might make Bush and Co. look not so bad. And that, as arvhic has shown over and over, is unacceptable. Anything that does that is to be dismissed out of hand.
Again. Why are Iran, Syria, and the insurgents they support so worried about Iraq? The war is over with Iraq. These other countries want the war to continue, not the US.
Edited: LDS_forever on 28th Mar, 2006 - 6:49pmInternational Level: International Guru / Political Participation: 854 
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Nigthhawk, I don't believe, or really know, if the bombings of Iraq were as bad as Dresden or Tokyo. But common sense would tell me that is highly unlikely.
However, it is interesting that "Shock and Awe", a bombing campaign that was vicious by any standards, has helped large US corporations get richer. I'll help you fill the void of reconstruction stories a bit later.
| QUOTE |
| So, where is the reporting about good news in Iraq? Arvhic claims there isn't any. It is an attitude that is supported by the international media, and is particularly strong among the MSM in the US. |
Is there good news in Iraq? I'm sure there is some, but how does that balance with the bad news? The reality is more people are being murdered on a daily basis than before the invasion. Is that good news? US troops aren't to blame, but gross mismanagement by the occupying force is certainly a factor.
Insurgents are NOT the major killing machine in Iraq right now. It is death squads within the police force and military. They are controlled by the Iraqis, who are controlled by the occupying forces. But occupying forces are not pulling the trigger, they are merely failing to pull up the shield. This is not my opinion, this is a fact. Ask the few brave journalists who dare step outside their hotels.
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| You can't report on reconstruction, the fact that people own businesses, that they enjoy more freedom than ever in their history, that infrastructure is being restored and built, that education is increasing. Why can't you report them? |
We do report on reconstruction, I will post an example below. However, I would like to remind everyone the reason why Iraq needs to be reconstructed. Contrary to popular opinion, it wasn't Saddam who blew up vital infrastructure, including hospitals, roads, bridges and schools. It wasn't Saddam who blew up ever ministry building in Iraq except the oil ministry.
No, it was "Shock and Awe". And now we must go into Iraq and feel in "awe" that large US companies have secured most of the billions of reconstruction dollars to clean up a mess their government literally created?
A few more cold and hard facts. Iraq was far more educated and affluent before barbaric economic sanctions were imposed, than it is now. Iraqi's had far more freedom in their country before the CIA helped engineer a Baathist party coup, than they enjoy now. And how much freedom do the people really enjoy in the world's most dangerous place?
In truth, most of the media is shocked at how much of a tragedy this whole saga has become. Our job is to tell the truth, not paint a rosy picture of how the US has made Iraq a "model of democracy and freedom."
It's our job to report how the US president has confused the Taliban training in Iraq when they were the widely known rulers of Afghanistan. Our job isn't to make the US president George W Bush look bad, he is already an expert at that. In fact it is a challenge to take the guy seriously.
Contrary to the US media's handbook for pleasing their audience, we don't pander to our leaders. We hold them accountable. And I, and my journalist colleagues, do not apologise for that. How can you have democracy without scrutiny? How can you constantly rely on the source "a US official said" without any further questions?
Here is the story on the reconstruction effort I had promised. I urge everyone to visit this link and watch this TV report on the Internet, it is remarkable.
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| BBC Newsnight - The 50 Billion Dollar Robbery While the dollar cost of the war in Iraq is still being counted, it's estimated that about $US50 billion has already been directed to private contractors, most of them American, to rebuild and secure the country. But auditors say that vast amounts are unaccounted for. The BBC's Peter Marshall has been investigating startling allegations of cronyism, contracts and war profiteers. "It was the most blatant disregard for the procurement regulations I have ever seen," says Bunny Greenhouse, a Contracting Officer in the US Army. The report examines the remarkable story of one company, Custer Battles, who won a contract for $US17m to provide security for an airport. They demanded, and received, $US2m upfront, in cash. They were unable to do the job, but were paid the full amount in any case. A senior US official tells Marshall that Custer Battles were "opportunistic, aggressive, and took advantage of a chaotic situation to make a lot of money." The company is now being sued for $US10m, for fraud. According to Marshall, one contract for repairs to a cement factory was awarded to a US contractor for $US50 million. They were unable to carry it out, so the same job was eventually done by an Iraqi company for $US80,000. Marshall says that the Houston oil and gas company Halliburton has cornered more than half of Iraq's reconstruction work. The US Vice President, Dick Cheney, was Chief Executive of Halliburton for five years, immediately before becoming V-P. One $US2.4 billion contract - to restore Iraqi oil wells - was awarded to Halliburton without any competition. Auditors say the company overcharged by $US200 million, but they don't have to pay it back. Meanwhile Bunny Greenhouse, who first blew the whistle on the contract, has been demoted. |
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Zarqawi, al Qaeda are heading out, U.S. general says
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| Al Qaeda in Iraq and its presumed leader, Abu Musab Zarqawi, have conceded strategic defeat and are on their way out of the country, a top U.S. military official contended yesterday. The group's failure to disrupt national elections and a constitutional referendum last year "was a tactical admission by Zarqawi that their strategy had failed," said Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, who commands the XVIII Airborne Corps |
https://washingtontimes.com/world/20060413-110216-1235r.htm
Is this all rhetoric or fact? I would hope that if Al-Qaeda is admitting defeat and plan to leave Iraq, that the US military would pay extra close attention to those who are leaving the country in the next few months. Will the possible removal (forced or not) of Al-Qaeda bring peace to Iraq?
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It's definitely not fact. the US military don't even know if Zarqawi is alive. I don't believe Al-Queda ius behind a lot of the violence in Iraq today. It appears to be sectarian motivated violence.
If Al-Queada are in Iraq and they decide to leave I doubt it will make a real difference. Someone is clearly trying to bring Iraq into a Civil War, my prediction is that this is more of a power struggle than anything else.
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Post Date: 16th Apr, 2006 - 5:17pm / Post ID: #
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FORMER IRAQ HOSTAGES RECALL TERROR AND ISOLATION OF 'THE TOMB'
Two of the peace activists held by militants in Iraq for four months have given an emotional and detailed account of their ordeal.
Ref. https://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/20...ages060415.html
Post War Iraq
An Australian soldier serving in Iraq was killed over the weekend. This is significant because it is Australia's first casualty of this war.
The 25-year-old man had been cleaning his gun in the Australian barracks, situated in the secure Green Zone in Baghdad, when it suddenly discharged. He was struck in the head and rushed to the US Military Hospital, where paramedics courageously tried to save his life, but in vain.
The soldier had been based at Sydney's 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) at the Holsworthy Army Barracks before arriving in Iraq a month ago. This is about a five minute drive from where I work and I have met several 3RAR troops. They will be shattered by this tragic incident.
While I am categorically opposed to the politics behind this invasion. I just want to say that our troops, and those of the US, Britain and other coalition partners, do a mighty fine job and it is always worth remembering just how much they sacrifice for their country.
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Post Date: 30th Apr, 2006 - 11:54am / Post ID: #
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Post War Iraq - Page 91
SIX KILLED; 12 BODIES FOUND TORTURED IN IRAQ
Within the last 24 hours, insurgents in Iraq killed five people; a roadside bomb killed an American soldier; and 12 bodies, all shot in the head and bearing signs of torture, were found in Baghdad.
Ref. https://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/04/29/...main/index.html
THOUSANDS IN NEW YORK MARCH AGAINST WAR
Tens of thousands of anti-war protesters marched Saturday through Manhattan to demand an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq just hours after an American soldier died in a roadside explosion in Baghdad -- the 70th U.S. fighter killed in that country this month.
Ref. https://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/29/war.protest.ap/index.html
Post Date: 16th May, 2006 - 1:17pm / Post ID: #
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Post War Iraq Politics Business Civil & History - Page 91
MORE IRAQI CHILDREN SUFFERING FROM MALNUTRITION: REPORT
Nearly one in 10 Iraqi children suffers from acute malnutrition, according to a UN-backed government survey, which described the situation as "alarming."
Ref. https://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/200...ldren-iraq.html
SADDAM'S TRIAL ENTERS NEW PHASE WITH OFFICIAL CHARGES
Saddam Hussein refused to enter a plea on Monday when the judge in his trial formally charged him with murder, torture and illegally arresting 399 people.
Ref. https://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/200...al-charges.html
BRITISH SOLDIERS SHOW NO SIGNS OF IRAQ WAR SYNDROME: STUDY
British soldiers deployed to Iraq in 2003 show no evidence of the Gulf War syndrome reported by veterans after the 1991 war.
Ref. https://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2...rome060515.html
TOPIC: Post War Iraq