War with Iraq

[YoungBlood]

ASM1, I find it funny that you will not take the words of the intelligence community and this administration to be the truth or even close to the truth. Yet, the second Bin Laden, the man who ordered cowardly attacks on Americans, you immediately take his word as the truth. If Bin Laden has ties with Saddam would he really want to announce it to the whole world? Is it really unreasonable to believe that Bin Laden is scared that we may oust Saddam and he may lose a great ally? One thing is certain; I will trust the United States intelligence community far more than I will trust the word of a er like Bin Laden.

[YoungBlood]

 

ASM1, either you are unaware of Russia's position or you are purposely distorting fact. Whichever it may be, I am frustrated to read false information. First, as far as I have read, the quote from Putin that you are referring to came from an interview on French television, not a surprise press conference. Here is the exact quote, "I am convinced that it would be a grave error to be drawn into unilateral action, outside of international law." Secondly, Putin has also publicly acknowledged that he agrees with US and Britain that Saddam is a threat that must be dealt with seriously. Thirdly, Russia has also acknowledged that war after two months of inspections is a little premature. However they have stated, "Give Saddam Hussein until September 15th and we will go there together," Clearly Russia is much more supportive then you would like many to believe. And finally, please tell me where you read that Putin has Mobilized 300K troops!

[ASM1]

My information comes from several news agencies around the world. Yours comes from within the boundaries of this country from news agencies that are less than open. That makes your observation of my statements irrelavent.

 

Also, you quote of Putin is correct as with your source of where he said it. However, the source you quote was one hour and ten minutes after the press conference held in Moscow for the United Press and Pravda.

 

I also trust our intellegence community as you do. I do not however trust anything that comes from George Bush's mouth. Everything I hear him say on foriegn policy I check out internationally. You would be wise to do the same. Remember, "follow the carot, your getting sleepy, you will beleive everything I tell you." That is the "W" plan. No thanks.

 

ASM1

[dan]

News agenices are more "open" outside of the USA!?

You have that backwards.(This message has been edited by dan)

[Quixote]

ASM1 says

And Iraq is merely the first stop on a sequential plan for control of the last remaining oil reserves on the planet. I encourage all who read the information contained in these links to spread it far and wide and also, by whatever means at their disposal, to tell the mainstream press, members of congress and the White House itself that we will not follow; we will not obey; and we will not kill on the orders of those who lie to us and who demonstrate the integrity of thieves and intellectual cowards.

 

RUN.....the black Exxon helicopters are coming.

 

Aliens are controlling the president and his chief of staff.

 

ASM,

How do you know where Youngblood is getting his info? As for the U.S. press not being independent, please buy a clue.

 

[ASM1]

Um, that quote was from a press release I posted here. I never said any of the words YOU say is a quote from me. Someone is not paying attention. You think US news agencies are open? And I don't need to buy a clue, I have plenty.

 

ASM1

[SR540Beaver]

ASM1,

 

I too read a variety of news from around the world every day. I read it to get a feel for what the rest of the world reads and hears and to get a hint of their pulse. But I don't delude myself into believing that they are objective. Try out www.arabnews.com and see if you think they are objective. Arab News is the first English language daily newspaper in Suadia Arabia. They are state controlled and can only print what the government approves. Many of their news articles actually read like opinion pieces, they are totally subjective. The US media puts out information on a daily basis that unnerves our government. Our press often has a single minded goal of trying to catch our government doing something wrong. How can you say that the US press is not objective in it's reporting and that state controlled media in other countries are? You do need to get a clue my friend. If you are actually reading news from around the world, you need to read it a little closer. Watch for stories about terrorists. Many nation's media will try as hard as possible to avoid the word when they can. They will instead use words such as rebels, freedom fighters, militants, etc. If you strap a bomb to your body and walk into a restaurant and blow yourself and the customers up....you are a TERRORIST! The whole purpose of the exercise is to strike terror into the hearts of their enenmy and destabilize their way of life. Those countries that are sympathetic to the terrorist's cause will avoid labeling them for what they are at any cost and report it that way in their state run media.

[Zahnada]

You should almost never take the press at face value. This goes for US media and foreign media. Anyone out there who blindly watches the press and makes opinions from its reporting are only being used as tools.

 

There is no such thing as an objective media. Personal ideologies of the reporters and of the editors will always creep into any story. It also shows their ideologies by which stories get published and which ones are ignored. Just one look at Fox News should be enough proof of some blatant bias in the press. Naturally, any form of media that is stationed in the United States is probably biased towards supporting the US (unless it's a medium that defines itself by being anti-US which only creates another bias).

 

What we all need to realize is that politicians and the press have a very significant relationship. Politicians provide stories and interviews which gives the press something to talk about. What is expected of the press, is that those stories are taken favorably. Bush would never walk out and say if this war is about oil because he knows there would be no way to put a positive slant on that. Since politicians play such a huge role in determining what's on the news, it's natural that they will present news that favors them. Therefore, almost any news contains some sort of bias from either the source or the reporter.

 

I know that many will counter my argument by stating the "watchdog" function of the press. Watergate is a great example of investigative reporting. But what happens if everything is picked apart and criticized and fully researched? Sources would then not want to be sources anymore and the press would lose even more information.

 

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that there's some massive conspiracy that the press and the government want to take over the world and are spreading vicious lies. Just never trust any press fully. Realize that there are market pressures and administrative pressures and government pressures on all news. And certainly don't base your opinions on the opinions given by newscasters.

 

So it wouldn't surprise me if there's tons of wrong, exagerated, or misleading information being spread by the American press or a foreign press. The sad part about being in any type of society that's run by others is that we will never know the entire story.

[Quixote]

ASM1 "posts" Um, that quote was from a press release I posted here. I never said any of the words YOU say is a quote from me. Someone is not paying attention. You think US news agencies are open? And I don't need to buy a clue, I have plenty.

 

My apologies for misstating what you "posted". I hope i am safe to assume that since you "posted" the press release here, you agree with it. Either way, it is hogwash.

 

As for buying clues, maybe I need to stop by the store and pick some up too.

 

I believe the U.S. news agencies, while somewhat ostrich-like in their view of world events, are a lot more free and unbiased than reports from "press" in socialist states like France, Dictatorial states like Egypt or other countries that do not have a free press.

 

 

[ASM1]

"Narrow vision lacks the full scope of truth" Oh My! How true. Here is the latest from the "world opinion." Oh yeah, sources are proven, and it is true. Sorry, garbage does not fly. Don't you find it funny that the entire world is now acting like Americans? All of a sudden they have caught this fever in every city in the world of, "We the People." How dare they protest to their governments. HOW DARE THEY? Just who do they think they are?

 

Read and learn.

___________________________________________________________________

 

- Belgian Court Ruling Saying Sharon Can Be Tried as War Criminal is the Biggest Blow Ever to the "New World Order" - Israeli Gov't Reaction Reveals Global Power Play Over Iraq

 

- Global Coalition Shatters, Resistance Mounts

 

- Fangs, Rage and Fury of Administration Signal Deepening Danger

 

The Fig Leaf Comes Off

 

by

Michael C. Ruppert

 

Copyright 2003, From The Wilderness Publications, www.fromthewilderness.com. All Rights Reserved. This story may NOT be posted on any Internet web site without express written permission. Contact admin@copvcia.com. May be circulated, distributed or transmitted for non-profit purposes only

 

Feb. 13, 2003, 2330 PST, (FTW) - The clearest signal, among many, of a major fragmentation of the global economic power bloc that had until recently supported the Bush Administration came today when a Belgian court ruled that, after he leaves office, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon may be prosecuted for war crimes. The charges stem from his role as Israeli Defense Minister in facilitating a bloody 1982 massacre of hundreds of Palestinian refugees by the Lebanese Christian Phalange militia at the Sabra and Shatilla camps in Israeli-occupied territory. Other recent signals of a massive global break up include efforts by three NATO members to block NATO support for Turkey once the invasion of Iraq begins, a lawsuit filed today by members of the U.S. Congress seeking an injunction to prevent military action against Iraq, a resolution introduced in the House of Representatives seeking to revoke the war powers given to President Bush after 9-11, the refusal of some British military reservists to be called up for deployment to the Middle East, growing international refusals by first responders and military personnel to receive controversial vaccinations, and even open opposition from British and American intelligence agencies.

 

In response, the administration has bared it fangs, revealed its rage and - as described in some press stories - expressed its "fury" at former allies. All of these signs taken together are ominous because they reveal an administration that is out of control, groping, and fundamentally lacking in the operational skills to behave as a world manager. Each new sign of resistance produces only more muscle flexing as the world inches closer to a replay of 1914, but with a different cast. The bottom line is that Europe is quietly demonstrating power with increasing success every time the Bush Empire screws up. In response, the Empire inches closer to simultaneous overt military aggression on two or more fronts. This is the only skill which it really possesses.

 

ARIEL SHARON

 

A flurry of stories released today by the Associated Press, The New York Times, in Europe and in Israel disclosed that a Belgian court had ruled that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, previously exempted from prosecution under Belgian law for war crimes, could be tried as a war criminal after he left office. The ruling came after a court decision last year dropped a lawsuit against Sharon by Palestinian survivors on the grounds that he was a sitting head of state and not in Belgium at the time.

 

The instant response from Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was explosive. Quoted in stories by the Times Netanyahu described the Belgian decision as, "an affront to truth, justice, and the right of the state of Israel to defend itself against terrorism."

 

"We in Israel and the Jewish people as a whole have had enough of blood libels on the soil of Europe, and we are going to fight this one with everything we have."

 

He also directly linked the ruling to resistance by several European nations, including Belgium, to the U.S. plans for an invasion of Iraq. He called the decision deeply immoral and deeply distorted.

 

Netanyahu seems to have forgotten that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) under Sharon's command launched illumination flares from a distance so that the Phalangist militia could see to commit the massacres and that - as reported by Reuters today - two groups of Israelis have used the same Belgian law to file suits against Yasser Arafat. Sharon was disciplined and forced to resign after the incident. America is not the only country that likes to put acknowledged criminals back in power.

 

But Netanyahu was absolutely correct about the fact that the ruling, coming when it did, signaled that a major realignment was forming to counter the Empire's military strategy and heavy-handed conduct of foreign policy.

 

NATO

 

Three members of the 19-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) moved on February 10th to exercise veto power to prevent NATO resources from being used to defend NATO member Turkey when the Iraqi invasion begins. France, Germany and Belgium were joined by Russia, which is not a member of the alliance, in endorsing the veto and supporting more time for inspections. NATO headquarters is located in Brussels.

 

One key impact of the veto would be to prevent the U.S. from sending key equipment like Patriot anti-missile systems, AWACS surveillance aircraft and biological and chemical units into Turkey.

 

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld responded by stating that France is not an American ally and throughout the administration a number of undiplomatically harsh criticisms were leveled at France. An AP story published on February 12th quoted Republican Congressman Peter King of New York as calling France, "A second rate country" that should be left out of any future defense coalitions. King's statements gave breath to the deeper sentiments that administration officials had been suggesting since the veto was announced. "We may have to restructure the alliance, form a new alliance which the French will not be a part of. We cannot allow a second rate country to have a veto power or obstructionist power over American foreign policy."

 

Criticism of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was significantly more muted than that directed at France. Since the end of World War II Germany has been the rock upon which every aspect of U.S.-European policy has been based. Since taking office Schroeder has steadfastly opposed U.S. invasion plans for Iraq, reflecting the opinion of an overwhelming majority of the German people. The German economy is too powerful for the administration to ignore.

 

And in all this, Russian President Vladimir Putin remains the consummate chess player and judo master who recognizes that the U.S. cannot effectively function without Russian acquiescence or Russian oil. Additional signs of strain have been suggested by an indictment in Britain and the U.S. of Russia's Alfa Group for tax evasion just three days after British Petroleum (BP) and Alfa agreed to a $6.7 billion merger. BP's future has been as fragile as exploitable oil reserves are few and dwindling oil supplies remain the dominant theme music to all of the current instability.

 

It seems clear that NATO's future is uncertain and that a possibly epochal realignment of global alliances is in the making.

 

RESISTANCE FROM THE GROUND UP

 

Britain's The Independent reported this Monday that one in five British reservists being called up for service in the Middle East was either requesting a deferral or actually ignoring their orders to report for duty.

 

All over the world, many who are being asked to receive highly controversial and dangerous anthrax and smallpox vaccinations are refusing. As reported in The Sydney Morning Herald today, 11 Australian navy personnel, already en route to the Persian Gulf have flatly refused to receive their injections. They are now facing disciplinary actions and being transported back to Australia. FTW has previously reported on widespread vaccination refusals by Israeli first responders and throughout the U.S. Journalist Jon Rappoport has also documented vaccination refusals by members of the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Hood, Texas.

 

Rappoport's revelations come even as this writer is investigating widespread illnesses being caused by anthrax and smallpox vaccines recently given to member of the 1st Air Cavalry and 4th Infantry Divisions. In an unconfirmed report received today I was advised of massive absences of elementary school children from schools servicing that base who may have been infected by their recently vaccinated parents. A number of press stories and medical reports have confirmed that those receiving the vaccinations might be contagious for as long as three weeks afterward. FTW's investigation of this incident is continuing and we expect to produce a report within a week.

 

What will happen if Bush sends sick soldiers into battle who know that they have left sick children at home who they themselves have infected?

 

A CRUMBLING HOME FRONT

 

A spreading contagion of domestic opposition on a number of fronts is also backing the administration into a corner.

 

On February 10th Representatives Pete De Fazio D-Oregon and Ron Paul R-Texas introduced a bill (HJ Res 20) that would repeal the war powers given to President Bush immediately after 9-11. This was the measure passed days after the attacks with only one opposing vote, that of California Representative Barbara Lee of Oakland.

 

On February 11th, New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson called for a review of General Electric, Conoco and Halliburton for their financial dealings with "terrorist-linked" companies doing business in Iran and Syria. The move was made on behalf of New York City Police and Fire pension funds which also lost billions as a result of their investments in Enron.

 

On February 12th a coalition of members of the House of Representatives and military personnel headed by Michigan Democrat John Conyers filed suit in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts seeking an immediate injunction preventing the administration from going to war in Iraq. Quoted by the AP Conyers referred to the U.S. Constitution which says, "Congress shall have power... to declare war."

 

"Get it? Only Congress," said Conyers at a Washington news conference.

 

The other members of the Congress joining in that suit were Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio; Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill.; Jim McDermott, D-Wash.; Jose Serrano, D-N.Y.; and Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas. The military members, on active duty and facing service in the invasion, were not identified to protect their identities.

 

THE CIA, THE FBI AND MI6??!!

 

Recent stories in The New York Times and The New Zealand Herald have revealed that even intelligence professionals in the U.S. and Great Britain are both privately and publicly expressing anger and concern at the politicization and falsification of their findings. Just days after a hugely embarrassing scandal in which it was disclosed that the Blair government had plagiarized a graduate student's research paper to formulate its "intelligence dossier" on Saddam Hussein, it was disclosed that members of the British Defense Intelligence Staff had leaked a classified intelligence document to the BBC showing that there were no ties between al Qaeda and the Hussein government in Iraq.

 

This followed on the heels of a highly suspicious tape recording of Osama bin Laden in which U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and American major press organizations conveniently overlooked the fact that bin Laden had called for Saddam Hussein's removal from power.

 

Powell's troubles don't end there.

 

On February 1st, James Risen and David Johnston of The New York Times disclosed that members of the CIA and the FBI were complaining that "senior administration officials have exaggerated the significance of some intelligence reports about Iraq, particularly about its possible links to terrorism, in order to strengthen their political argument for war."

 

It is becoming increasingly difficult to hide the growing fragmentation inside the government and Powell should perhaps take a look at two of his own schizophrenic statements. When he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in October 2001 he said, "We cannot let Usama bin Laden pretend that he is doing it in the name of helping the Iraqi people or the Palestinian people. He doesn't care one whit about them. He has not given a dollar toward them. He has never spoken out for them." Yet on February 11, 2003 Powell testified before the Senate Budget Committee and said, "...Once again he [bin Laden] speaks to the people of Iraq and talks about their struggle and how he is in partnership with Iraq. This nexus between terrorists and states that are developing weapons of mass destruction can no longer be looked away from and ignored."

 

NOW COMES THE REAL DANGER

 

FTW has been warning of developments like this since the Bush administration took office. They are not trivial.

 

This administration has presented itself to the globalized world economy as a business manager that was capable of putting together an acquisition and merger of all of the world's major assets. While the Bush administration has acted as CEO it has still reported to a globalized board of directors which includes the major economic corporations and financial interests of Europe, Russia, China, Israel, Japan and possibly Saudi Arabia. These should be distinguished from the governments or peoples of these nations. What it has demonstrated is that it is incapable of transferring the assets of a significant portion of Europe into the portfolio. It is operationally incompetent to manage its way out of a wet paper bag. The corporate histories of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld demonstrate only the ability to acquire other companies, pump the shares prices, commit fraud and reap billions in profits.

 

The administration's management of world affairs since 9-11 has been laughable and unbelievable on the world stage and increasingly at home. It is losing credibility by the moment. The two most recent developments which indicate a global power realignment are the major shot taken at Israel today by Belgium and North Korea's increasing belligerence which is making a mockery of the U.S.'s hypocritical rhetoric. Netanyahu's statement that there was a link between the Belgian court's ruling and the pending Iraqi invasion was an incredibly revealing admission.

 

The Sunday edition of The Los Angeles Times on February 9th carried a huge story on how a two-front war in Iraq and Korea was winnable while trying to hide the fact that U.S. casualties would be enormous. This after it was disclosed by Britain's Mirror that the United States had just ordered 100,000 body bags and 6,000 coffins.

 

Those who would naively look on these developments should remember the lessons of history. When Adolf Hitler's Third Reich began to realize that it would lose the Second World War - after its defeat at Stalingrad in 1943 - it commenced its "Final Solution," the extermination of 6 million Jews and two million other victims. When its management skills and economic power were revealed to be inadequate, Germany's allies fell away and with each new defeat the Reich became more vicious, more vindictive.

 

Now is the time, especially if dissent further weakens the U.S. position, when people like me, people like you, anyone who is known to be an "Enemy of the State" can be expected to disappear. Now is the time when people in potential combat theaters should begin to feel like cannon fodder and pieces of meat. Now is the time when an administration which stole an election, which encouraged and helped the attacks of 9-11, and which has turned the world inside out is revealing itself for what is. The fig leaf has come off and, naked to the world, fangs exposed, saliva dripping from its lips, the regime of George W. Bush will reveal what energy beats it heart and what its only true ability is.

 

What happens from here on out is anybody's guess.

 

 

 

 

[OldGreyEagle]

So Bush was in on the 9-11 attacks which he encouraged and supported? I read the Website you provided the link to, is there any collaborating website?

[ASM1]

Sure, most news agencies around the world. But I bought the video tape and the proven, documented evidence in it is compelling. It may be worth buying if your mind is open to beleive not what your told, but what the fact prove to be.

 

ASM1

[OldGreyEagle]

So, I want to get this right, there is evidence that Bush knew about and encouraged the attacks on 9-11 and ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, The New York Times,The Washington Post, etc and Matt Drudge all are protecting Pres Bush because they are in on it?

[ASM1]

Well, lets put it this way. The tape, "Truth and lies about 911" is a shocker of facts. The tape does make the case that Bush knew about and attacks of 911 and prevented the CIA and FBI from acting on information they had. George Tennant (director of the CIA) is documented as going ballistic two days before 911 because he had information of an imminent attack in New York by passenger airliners.

 

Now this should be known about me, (ASM1). The point of this post was NOT to accuse Bush of knowing about the 911 attacks. He probably did, who knows? Some say FDR knew about Pearl Harbor before 12/7/41. Who knows? The point of this post and more importantly, the reason of this vedio tape is to present the very hard facts about Bush, his family history of involvement with the Bin Laden family, the Carlyle Group, the facts about the Haliburton, the Board of Directors of Haliburton and their sales of WMD to Iraq during the sanctioned imbargo against international law and the Bush's administration attempt to now take the oil fields of the Middle East. The facts in the tape are undeniable and the sources are verified. My point of this post was only to warn the people here, that Bush is NOT a Repulican, but a criminal. John McCain is a Republican who I wanted to vote for. But Bush used the political system of our country to control the resourses of our military in order to steal the worlds oil supply for his own agenda. That was my point, nothing else.

 

ASM1

[YoungBlood]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....sorry, that is about all I could come up with for a response!