Wretchard features a troubling post by Zeyad at Healing Iraq on conditions in Baghdad.
[I]t’s probably good to treat Zeyad’s report as a series of unconfirmed reports which are being reported verbatim. What can we say for sure or nearly sure?
Mosques are a focus of fighting The fighting in his neighborhood has ended for now. The authorities are trying to keep the lid on Reported incident casualties are fairly low.
What can we say as probable?There are small groups racing around fighting actions against each other.
What’s a maybe?Maybe some units of the National Guard are doing their job Maybe some units of the Interior Ministry are in cahoots with militias
That’s just a short exerpt. Keep an eye on the Belmont Club – he’s likely to update as more information comes in.
If one may add this to the brew? Included here is this excerpt:
“Maybe the Bush administration is turning a blind eye to the extensive flight of capital and people from Iran to Iraq because …”
Say what? Iraq is now a safe haven for capital $$$$? from Iran? If so, think of the capital flowing into Iraq from other places, such as KSA? What does this mean for the Kurds, & Iraqis? More ! +
Dubai ports takeover linked to Iran attack?
WND ^ | 2/25/06 | Jerome Corsi
Posted on 02/25/2006 5:06:56 PM PST by freedom44
Is the Bush administration’s recent deal to allow the Dubai government effectively to take over control of container and stevedore operations in 22 U.S. ports part of a secret plan to launch a military strike on Iran?
Maybe the Dubai Ports World, or DPW, deal is the quid pro quo, the pay-off, for Dubai allowing us to use military facilities in the United Arab Emirates as staging points for a planned Iran attack?
Maybe the Bush administration is turning a blind eye to the extensive flight of capital and people from Iran to Iraq because the U.S. wants to protect those Iranians who can flee to Dubai (as well as the capital they bring with them) before a “shock and awe” military attack on Iran takes out the Ahmadinejad regime and all the mullahs who stay home with him? Strangely, the pieces begin to add up to these conclusions.
We have amply document that Dubai has been a welcome home for the capital flight from Iran as the mullahs and their cronies seek to find a safe haven for the billions they have stolen from the Iranian people. Dubai calculates that by the end of 2006, some $300 billion will have been moved from Iran to Dubai by over 400,000 Iranians. Over 7,000 Iranian companies operate in Dubai, and some 300,000 to 400,000 wealthy Iranians make Dubai their home some or all of the year. Billionaire former President Akbar Hashami Rafsanjani owns vacation resorts on Dubai’s world-class beaches. +
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1585619/posts
maz2- It all sound a bit pie in the sky to me. I can’t imagine the republicans wanting to commit to another long term occupation with an already overstretched military.
Dubai is a surrealy ultramodern place. I’m sure they’d love to see more capitol flight from other arab countries but I’m not sure they need a war to get it since its already happening at a pretty steady clip. And most countries don’t want a war along with a long term bloody occupation going on in their backyard.
Jose, our stars have aligned again. Good point about modern Dubai.
Bush has nailed the Dems in their own hypocrisy. They are now caught refusing to identify good vs bad Arabs, a central theme they thought they had nailed the Republicans with. Oh, the irony.
The Israelis with the US, as it should be, are going to end Iran’s nuclear ambitions at the time of their choosing. Period.
….the Dubai government effectively to take over control of container and the Dubai government effectively to take over control of container and stevedore operations in 22 U.S. ports operations in 22 U.S. ports
There has never, in this agreement, been a clause to replace US stevedores. There are not and will never be foreign stevedores in mass in the US. That’s not the contentuous issue. We have very little contol of what gets loaded on container ships overseas and far too few resources to check every container. It’s a big weakness for all countries.
I don’t know the full facts well enough. Bush, as statesman, probably hopes it will get shot down by congress and he can stand above the decision, thereby supporting what appears as a decent Arab ally. And God knows we need the rare few.
“Iraq is a divided country, with Sunni, Shia and Kurdish factions that share both bitter rivalries and access to large quantities of arms.
And, perhaps most importantly, there is a very real danger that war in Iraq will fuel the fires of international terror.
Anti-American feelings will surely be inflamed among the misguided who choose to see an assault on Iraq as an attack on Islam, or as a means of controlling Iraqi oil.”
Howard Dean February 17, 2003
“Here’s what I don’t get about the Golden Dome mosque bombing. That, once overtaken, the guards were tied up. That eats up the clock when you’re in a hurry and it spares lives, not exactly the M.O. of Al Qaeda, which tends to be more throat-cuttingly swift and savage. Al Qaeda and its affiliates are also not shy about claiming bragging rights for their crimes and atrocities, yet no one so far has taken awful credit for this desecration. Most odd, and no wonder the timing and execution of this event has given rise to dark speculation.
http://jameswolcott.com/archives/2006/02/shattered_dome.php
Penny-
I agree the Democrats are being political oppurtunists. Bush’s base has strong anti-muslim feelings and they’re trying to exploit it in a very crass manner. I’m not a big fan of the Democrats although my opinion of the Republicans is even lower.
I wish the UN could deal with Iran but with Russia and China both having vetoes everyone knows that isn’t going to happen. The UN needs to get rid of all vetoes. They may have made some sense during the cold war but nowadays they’re a serious handicap. It simply doesn’t work when China and Russia are selling get out of jail free cards.
Dealing with Iran’s nuclear facility isn’t going to be a problem though, a single airstrike should do the trick. And I don’t doubt that the Iranian leadership isn’t expecting it and indeed counting on it to stem the tide of pro-western feeling in their own country.
Wow. Howard Dean(what happened to the DNC funds, buddy?) and James “I root for hurricanes” Wolcott, two of the biggest moonbats out there.
Link to Cindy Sheehan next, steve, and win all three metals in a single event.
I think it’s time that we as conservatives remove our rose colored glasses where Iraqi acceptance of civil democracy is concerned. From where I sit, this place is no different than Palestine.
The minute US forces leave it will be pretty much as they found it.
WL Mackenzie Redux:…I totally agree…the concept of democracy rests in our image of what should be…’they’ are not using the same mirror…that said, I wonder what the overall net result will be? There will be a change of sorts but will it be for the better (for ‘them’ and the ROTW (rest of the world))? Don’t know the answer to that one…one can only hope.
Well personally, I do not want my nation’s troops and my tax dollars emboiled in a costly military adventure which will not solve the problem or that nets us less than what we put into it.
I’m willing to see if more Canadian troops can do anything with a “USMC-pacified” Afgahnistan before I would commit a dollar to the mess in Iraq…and now they want to go into Iran with the propblems in Iraq. I think there are some serious breeches in reason/judgement shown by US foreign policy planners.
I’m put in mind of how US conventional ground forces were stalled (for all its detractors) the switch to carpet bombing Vietnam brought the “insurgents” to the bargaining table….only to have the capitualting left outlaw the tacktic and prolong the war another 3 years.
The bottom line is IF you go to war it is foe the right reasons…and after that it is in the hands of the generals to win quickly and with minimal loss. When politics is involved in a war..it is always prolonged and the end result is often a loss for all sides.
I see the Middleeast conflict with these pismire rogue regimes to be no different. Commit to total war and to the methods which will bring victory with the least amount of loss of life and costs to our side…..or leave. What I see right now is a politicized pissing match which will bring a long drawn out conflict which will cost too mich and yeild too little….unless you are in the business of supplying both sides with the tools to protract the conflict into a spending match.
With a rational perspective, William F. Buckley thinks it’s over for us in Iraq. I’m not yet sure.
Hey, Steve, cartoons including Tom & Jerry(look above) fuels the fires of international terror. If it’s not the US enraging them, it’s Denmark. All infidels and systems not in agreement with the jihad enrages Muslim fascism. The big picture.
What would it take for you to connect the dots and enlarge your fragmented perspective?
Wl Mackenzie “I’m put in mind of how US conventional ground forces were stalled (for all its detractors) the switch to carpet bombing Vietnam brought the “insurgents” to the bargaining table….only to have the capitualting left outlaw the tacktic and prolong the war another 3 years.”
It’s interesting that you should bring that up. It was Richard Nixon who sabotagued the negotiations during his election. He sent messages to the leadership of South Vietnam to withdraw from the negotiations telling them that if they pulled out of the talks he’d negotiate them a better deal. The ploy worked, South Vietnam walked away from the talks and Nixon surged in the polls.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20001106/wiener
It sounds like a conspiracy theory but a pretty impressive body of evidence has surfaced over the years to support it, not the least of which are confessions by several people involved as well as FBI survaileance records.
The “Nam” degenerated into a meat grinder for troops and ordnance after the 3rd year…also it became a political football…in any event the real losers were the idealists who died there thinking their giovernment was interested in spreading democracy instead of spreading out military spending…the “Republicrats” were both happy with using a protracted war to further political and economic agendas…..now had that war been left to the generals….
Thanks for the link Penny. Good points made there. Conservatives who want to win this thing and get out had best look seriously at changing the coaching staff.
Penny…did you read them?
Dean is predicting exactly what happened before the war even began, and wondering about why they stopped getting Osama.
The other guy points to an Iraqi blogger who asks relevant questions about the mosque bombing.
Is anyone here old enough to remember that the US neither began nor ended the Vietnam War?
steve in bc, how do you think all the great Vietnamese restaurants in Vancouver started?
Do us all a favor and go ask some of the older Vietnamese owners and report back.
Signs That the United States is About to Bomb Iran
Strategy Page ^ | 2/26/06
Posted on 02/26/2006 12:12:36 PM PST by finnman69
Before any major military operation, there are always tell tale signs. With all the talk about Israel or the United States bombing Iran’s nuclear weapons program, it would be wise to check for the signs before taking the pundit prattle too seriously.
1. � The U.S. Navy stages a “surge exercise” and moves six carrier battle groups into the Indian Ocean.
2. � A “regularly scheduled exercise” moves Patriot Missile Batteies to Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. These exercises happen from time to time, but if they happen when other things are happening�
3. — Movement of B-52 and B1B bombers to the island of Diego Garcia (in the Indian Ocean).
4. — Deployment of F117 stealth bombers and F-22 fighters to anywhere in the Persian Gulf.
5. — Deployment of B-2 Stealth Bombers to Guam, where there are special facilities for maintaining these aircraft.
6. — Lockdown of Whitman Air Force Base (where most B-2 bombers are stationed) in Missouri.
7. — Increased delivery of Pizza to Pentagon
8. �Sudden loss of cell service near some air force bases (from which heavy bombers would depart). At the same time, there would be sightings of Middle Eastern looking guys around these bases, trying to get their cell phones to work, while being observed by what appears to be FBI agents.
9. Deployment of KC-135/KC-10 aerial tankers to Diego Garcia, Guam and the Persian Gulf.
10. America asks nations neighboring Iran for basing and over flight rights.
These warning signs are no secret, and intelligence officers regularly run down their check lists. As a result, nations will sometimes stage a false alert by deliberately performing many of the items on someone’s check list, with no intention of following through. +
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1585941/posts +
Remember the Swift Vets! Remember the false “war crimes” charges made by Kerry against Viet Nam veterans. Lest We Forget. +
Kerry Met With Viet Cong And North Vietnamese In Paris In 1971
Kerry’s Group Met With The Viet Cong In Paris In 1971. The Vietnam Veterans Against The War (VVAW) sent their own delegation to Paris to meet with the …
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1091943/posts – 53k –
Reading Iraqi based bloggers. The men all in black who arrived from afar were very well dressed and seemed wealthy. some of the cars were expensive too.
Were they Suni who had stashed wealth from Saddam times, or were they from across borders, sent to create mayhem?
Mayhem to prevent the progress of democracy and peace. The two things Kings and Emirs fear the most.
Is this the same foment that has kept Palistine and Israel off balance for 32 years?
According to the blogger copy, they were not local people at all.
Guess the cartoon fed entifada was slowing down too much. TG