Representatives of the Iraq Veterans Against the War and the Ladies of Liberty Alliance, including conscientious objector Tracey Harmon (pictured below), are spreading the message of freedom to Iraq – not with war, but with peace.
Tracey writes via Freedom’sPhoenix:
“Here’s the first round of pictures. These were taken outside of one of Saddam’s torture prisons. We’ll be visiting the refugee villages in the next couple of days.”
Ms. Harmon will be joining me and Angela Keaton on Antiwar Radio this Friday.
Author: Scott Horton
Scott Horton is editorial director of Antiwar.com, director of the Libertarian Institute, host of Antiwar Radio on Pacifica, 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles, California and podcasts the Scott Horton Show from ScottHorton.org. He’s the author of the 2017 book, Fool’s Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan and editor of The Great Ron Paul: The Scott Horton Show Interviews 2004–2019. He’s conducted more than 5,000 interviews since 2003. Scott lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, investigative reporter Larisa Alexandrovna Horton. He is a fan of, but no relation to the lawyer from Harper’s.
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Saddam went to war against his neighbors. The USA and coalition forces stopped his aggression and destroyed his ability to attack again. War sucks, but islamic bad guys with armies suck more. Notice, the caption say she is outside one of SADDAM'S torture rooms (highly doubtful if it really is though, that looks more like an apartment or office building. Saddams sons did their evil in out of the way places). Since that T64 is sitting there, it would be a capture, and is on display outside a coalition office or command.
But, since most of the liars in the IVAW never went to Iraq or even served in the US military….you wouldn't know about that.
BTW, the only way she could be standing there, is because the US military and coalition forces brought freedom to 25 million Iraqis.
Where were the weapons of mass destruction? You know, buddy, the so-called REASON for the war. The Iraqi people didn't ask for the "freedom" Americans supposedly brought to them. As far as war-mongering on Hussein's part goes, America is the last country on earth that should be casting stones.
Saddam went to war against his neighbors.
So? That was in 1991. The most recent war of aggression on our planet, not counting the Georgian Army attacking the tiny little village of South Ossetia, was the US and UK unnecessary invasion and inept occupation of the nation of Iraq.
Unnecessary because a few days prior to the invasion there were over 200 UN inspectors scouring Iraq and finding no violations. A few weeks prior to the the Chief Weapons inspector declared Iraq in full cooperation from the start of inspections in December 2002 and in fact late in February the Baathist regime was declared proactively cooperating on substance.
Unecessary wars and "OFFENSIVE" wars most likely to secure natural resources for economic purposes are immoral. The soldiers who fought in them are not. The people who make believe that it was a moralaction by the ones who sent in the troops are the ones who disgrace our great nation.
If you believe George Bush and Dick Cheney gave a rats ass about 8 million Sunnis and 12 million Shiites in Iraq you've been smokin way too much dope.
"the US military and coalition forces brought freedom to 25 million Iraqis."
The Kurds were already free, the Baathists didn't want Bush's version of Freedom and the Shiites don't appreciate the way Bush handled it. See Muqtada al Sadr and the anti-occupation Sadrist Movement. The Sadrists represent Iraq's poor. Poor get a raw deal in Republican style liberation and Democracy. Even abroad.
The issue was WMD as the case for war. In December 2002 an offer was made on Saddam's written signature to allow the FBI, CIA and US military into Iraq to verify Iraq was WMD free.
Any military person or citizen of this country who insists that the nearly 4400 US soldiers who died in Iraq did so for a just and humanitarian cause, do a disservice to all soldiers who've fought wars and fight now and will do so in the future.
Its time to face the truth and the immorality of the US invasion of Iraq in March of 2003 because Bush said there was NO DOUBT that Iraqis were CONCEALING the "MOST LETHAL WEAPONS ever KNOWN from UN Inspectors.
Bush was wrong and most likely lying that there was NO DOUBT about concealing WMD.
Well, Andy….buddy….WMD was but ONE of the many reasons the UN forces went it (oh yeah…UN forces, not just the good ol USA). Saddam continued to paint and fire on coalition aircraft, continued to murder Kurds, continued building his armies, all after he agreed to not do so after Desert Storm. I clearly still remember the cheering crowds as we entered Al-Kut and Baghdad, happy we were finally there to stop Saddam and his sons.
(SIGH). I feel sorry for you. I know the propaganda American troops are subjected to. But just a little rebuttal. There were no "UN FORCES". The United Nations didn't approve the invasion of Iraq. It was in fact illegal under international law. You say the WMD "was but one of many reasons", well that sure smacks of revisionism to me. As for those "cheering crowds" they sure didn't "cheer" for very long now did they? The Ukrainians also cheered when the Nazis invaded the USSR too. Still keep your memories going, if it makes you feel better about yourself. Rationalization and self-deception are the best drugs…
NotfoooledbyW, hmmmmm…multiple violations of UN treaties and sanctions, many of which allowed the use of force to during compliance. That means Iraq failed to uphold their word after Desert Storm. In essence; Iraq did not stand down, forcing the UN to take aggressive action…..led by GW and the USA. Also, Iraq did NOT allow unfettered access to facilities and research centers for days and weeks at a time, despite their agreement to do so. Even then, they were escorted only to certain areas, even though the agreement demanded full uninterupted access.
Of course, you are talking about the Chief UN inspector that was later busted for child porn? Nice.
Which "free" Kurds are you talking about, the tens of thousands gassed by Saddam with the "non-existent" WMD? Or the tens of thousands systematically murdered by his police and military for being….Kurd? Again, WMD's were a PART of the reason we went in. Saddam may have signed all kinds of agreements, but deliberately failed to honor any of them.
How about all the Kurds killed by America's good ally Turkey? You seem remarkably unconcerned about them. Your attempts to depict the American attack as some kind of moral act of goodness are all wrong.
What exactly do we fight for? Puppy's and rose petals? Iraq now has more electricity, clean water staffed schools, democratic government and justice, safer roads, safer bridges, modern farming and ranching techniques and equipment, and a people that are ONLY NOW able to decide what their lives will be. Yeah, freedom of humanity is a good thing to fight for.
BTW, the most liberal democrats in Congress and the Senate(Hillary, Pelosi, Waxman, Kennedy, Reid etc) had been clamoring Saddam had WMD's all through the 90's (you know, during Clintons watch?), they also called for his ouster, even if it required military action. These same "anti-Bush/war" politicians voted FOR military action….yup, George never acted on his own, he asked Congress for permission….who gave it to him! Hell, even 'ol Barrack voted to continue funding the war (was for it before he was against it!!)
The only reason for the American army to fight is to defend America, not to provide electricity for Iraq. And Iraq was never any threat to America. You must have graduated from the school of neocon 101.
See, I've been there, done that…..for 28 months. I talked to Iraqis and Kurds, and even a couple of Iranian captures. They all said that Saddam was an ass that needed to go.
Sadr for the poor? Really? One of the richest men in Iraq because he stole most everything from Sadr City? The same Sadr that encouraged his Maadi Army to kill anyone anywhere….Muslim or not? There was one group in Iraq we had kill-on-sight orders for: The green headband Maadi Army of Sadr.
Now, why do I bother saying any of this, since all of you have made up your minds to be cute little anarchist robots and not believe reality? Someone has to :)
Why stop with Iraq robocop? Why not take out the whole world?
Iraq, in fact, has lesse" lectricity, clean water staffed schools, democratic government and justice, safer roads, safer bridges, modern farming and ranching techniques and equipment, and a people that are ONLY NOW able to decide what their lives will be. Iraqis live in worse conditions ,they are killed every day,kiddnapped,tortured.Over 5 millions fled the country and live in misserable conditions in Syria,Jordan,and many other countries.Iraq is for over destroyed for the sake of Israel which you're fighting for.I have talked to many of those refugees.
17 Dec 2007 – Millions of Iraqis have fled their homes as a result of violence and persecution and are now living either as refugees in neighboring countries or as internally displaced people inside Iraq.
Many more Iraqis are living in fear in Iraq. They wish to flee to safety but are trapped within Iraq and are in considerable danger of violence. Many do not have adequate access to clean water, food, healthcare or education.
http://www.theirc.org/uprooted-iraqis-urgent-cris…
So, if someone out there could promise Americans more electricity, clean water, staffed schools, etc, then you'd be ok with them invading America and taking over and kicking out the current corrupt politicians?
I wonder when his shift at the PsyOps warfare center ends?
Since the US military invasion and occupation of Iraq, Iraq's health care system has deteriorated as a result of deliberate destruction by the US administration. The most vulnerable victims of this destruction are the Iraqi children, particularly children under the age of five.
The US-British sponsored sanctions and wars against the Iraqi people have killed more than 2 million Iraqi civilians, a third of them were children under the age of five. Iraq's health care and education systems were deliberately targeted for destruction.
Under the US-UN imposed sanctions, Iraq's public health care system has eroded at every level. Life-saving medical supplies such as chemotherapy drugs, antibiotics, vaccines etc., are either banned or delayed under the dual-use policy. Medical equipments that Iraq was allowed to import were either blocked from delivery by US-Britain or the shipments were almost invariably incomplete and of unusable quality.
http://www.naba.org.uk/content/articles/Health/Ir…
During the US assault on Fallujah, US forces cut off water and electricity to the city of 300,000 people. US air strikes have destroyed hospitals and medical centres. The US took over the Fallujah General Hospital and converted to a military hospital, thus denying the citizens of Fallujah any health care service. On 09 November 2004, US warplanes attacked the
Nazzal Emergency Hospital in the centre of the city and completely destroyed it. Thirty-five patients were killed, including five children under the ages of 10 years. According to Amnesty International, "20 Iraqi medical staff [doctors and nurses] and dozens of other civilians were killed when a missile hit a Fallujah clinic on 09 November 2004". The air strike also destroyed the hospital medical supplies warehouse. The destruction of Fallujah is a crime against humanity. http://www.naba.org.uk/content/articles/Health/Ir…
It is now becoming clear that we the Kurds are facing another betrayal by the United States only because we are Kurds and the Americans due to their racist approach towards our people do not find us worthy enough as human beings to enjoy our legitimate rights. The history of the United States shows that they were never friends of oppressed people but rather friends of dictators and corrupt rulers…
…Since it is sure now that we will have to live under American occupation for an unspecified time, we have at least to know which legal status we are going to have.
I must admit that living under occupation is not a picnic and the International law gives the occupants wide powers which could be easily misused and is in reality misused every day. Who ever wants to know how an occupation looks like he has to look to the treatment of the Palestinians by the Israeli
http://www.kurdmedia.com/article.aspx?id=8934
Hussein, while only in his early 20s, became a part of a U.S. plot to get rid of Abd al-Karim Qasim. Hussein was installed in an apartment in Baghdad on al-Rashid Street directly opposite Qassim's office in Iraq's Ministry of Defense, to observe Qassim's movements. The move was done with full knowledge of the CIA, and Hussein's CIA handler was an Iraqi dentist working for CIA and Egyptian intelligence.[1]
The assassination was set for Oct. 7, 1959, but it was completely botched; the 22-year-old Hussein lost his nerve and began firing too soon, killing Qassim's driver and only wounding Qassim in the shoulder and arm, Qassim escaped death. Hussein was shot in the leg, but escaped to Tikrit with the help of CIA and Egyptian intelligence agents. Hussein then crossed into Syria and was transferred by Egyptian intelligence agents to Beirut, the CIA paid for Hussein's apartment and put him through a brief training course, the agency then helped him get to Cairo, where he made frequent visits to the American embassy. During this time the CIA placed him in an upper-class apartment observed by CIA and Egyptian operatives.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein_-_Uni…
The cocountries bombed by the USA in the last 60 years
The bombing list
Korea and China 1950-53 (Korean War)
Guatemala 1954
Indonesia 1958
Cuba 1959-1961
Guatemala 1960
Congo 1964
Laos 1964-73
Vietnam 1961-73
Cambodia 1969-70
Guatemala 1967-69
Grenada 1983
Lebanon 1983, 1984 (both Lebanese and Syrian targets)
Libya 1986
El Salvador 1980s
Nicaragua 1980s
Iran 1987
Panama 1989
Iraq 1991 (Persian Gulf War)
Kuwait 1991
Somalia 1993
Bosnia 1994, 1995
Sudan 1998
Afghanistan 1998
Yugoslavia 1999
Yemen 2002
Iraq 1991-2003 (US/UK on regular basis)
Iraq 2003-05
Afghanistan 2001-05
untry that waged more wars against other countries!
America's Empire of Bases
At Least Seven Hundred Foreign Bases
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0115-08.htm
It didn't take a war to liberate South Africa, East Germany, Romania, the USSR, and so on and so forth. I was saying it in 2002, I still say it now. It's true that it did take a war to stop the Khmer Rouge, and free Bangladesh, and topple Idi Amin, but those were all accomplished by locals, and besides, the *US government opposed those humanitarian interventions!*
LOL! Lear, you're funny in your ignorance :)
SSG Medzyk.
It is tragic you still believe in the propaganda dished by the liers in charge.
Dear Medzyk,
I did serve in the military, in Viet Nam, while GW Bush was cowering in the Guard. I would say it's obvious that the only people better off because of this war in Iraq are 1) coffin makers; 2) war profiteers like Halliburton; 3) sadists; 4) anti-semites of the Arab-hating variety. I don't count Bush or Cheney as better off because 1) the Rapture didn't come for Bush and 2) Cheney isn't getting to steal the oil.
Lester Ness, AQ3, USN, ret.
Umm…YOUR leader is in charge now.
…and, it's spelled: LIARS…with an "A" :D
Medzyk,
Thank for correcting my spelling error.English is not my first language.I have no leader . I simply do not just imbibe every thing the power to be serves the masses.I am not in the military,nor I gain any benefit from the on going war.I saw the the horrors of war from the victims prospectiv.And if you mean Obama in your statment, "YOUR leader is in charge now",you are totally wrong.But since you are a member of the US military then Obama is certainlly is your Leader and your Commander and you shall follow and obey his orders,march on!
Lesterness, nice try, but 16,000 National Guard served in-country, 4200 being casualties. GW became a very good fighter pilot (according to all his command reviews), and had just as much a chance to be sent over as ANY OTHER RESERVE PILOT THAT ACTUALLY WAS. Are you proud of your war service? After all, you were only a Asian-hating variety of anti-communist when the rapture didn't come for Eisenhower/Kennedy/Johnson/Nixon. Didn't the rubber companies, like giant Michelin, make a butt-load of money from that war?
Oh, Lester, I notice that you were Navy…..see much horrificly dangerous bloody action way out there on Dixie Station, so far out to sea that you couldn't see land after a days sail?
Lear, I understood from previous posts that English is not your forte'…which is why I left a smiley face. I will take your admittence of not knowing anything about the military, or waging war, as pure ignorance of the subject at hand. If you are indeed Kurd, as you implied, you must be gleeful that the one man who dedicated his life to killing all of you….is now dead by hanging after a trial by his own countrymen. Saddam was a real peach, huh? Especially after dropping all those silly chemical weapons on all those Kurd villages. Darn 'ol WMD's anyway, always around when you need them!
Medzyk,
You are such an ignorant.Where in the hell did you get the idea that I am from Kurdistan.For your information,the Kurds took up arms against the government of Iraq and waged an armed reblion against teh government.Many governments would do the same when faced with the same circumestances.By the way when Sadam was "dropping all those silly chemical weapons- many of their components were supplied by the US-on all those Kurd villages",he was very much an ally of the US against Iran.The US government nor the American public never cared about the Kurds.
One does not have to be a for hire profissional killer to know about the horrors of war.
Medzyk,
What is up with the repetitive use of your rank here? Some people do every darn thing to appear such important persons. They have a tremendous need to feel important and to be perceived as such. Some people have such an inflated sense of their self and feel superior to anyone else. They are always in need of exercising power over others by virtue of their titles or uniforms.
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you're funny in your ignorance
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