Tag: Antiwar movement

Ansar Al-Sunna has posted a video of the attack on the US base FOB Marez in Mosul. Astonishingly, they filmed the actual explosion, then drove around the base in order to get a good shot of the gaping hole in the tent. They introduce the tape with a segment in which an Ansar al-Sunna fighter uses a map of the base to show how the attack was accomplished. The bomber is shown receiving farewell hugs before departing on his mission.

UPDATE: CBS has posted translation of some of the dialogue on the video:

In the new video, which carried a Dec. 20 date on the footage, three guerrillas clad in black, wearing face masks and carrying AK-47 automatic rifles describe their plans.

One of the men read a statement saying another of the three identified as Abu Omar al-Musali would carry the attack by breaking into the base through the perimeter fence. The man reading the statement later embraced the bomber, who was wearing an explosives-laden vest

“He will take advantage of the change of guards. We have been observing their schedule for a long time. This lion will then proceed to his target and we will take advantage of lunch time. He will storm the dining room where the crusaders and their (Iraqi) allies are gathered,” said the man.
[…]
The man reading the statement indicated with a rifle bayonet to a hand drawn map of the base. He also addressed a warning to President Bush, and prime ministers Tony Blair and Ayad Allawi of Britain and Iraq.

“Let Bush, Blair and Allawi know that we are coming and that we will chase them all away, God willing,” the masked man said.

I received some comments on “The Economics of Oil.” T. Gillin wrote:

There is another dimension to the peak oil debate, at least insofar as foreign policy is concerned. Whether or not “peak oil” or more “price elastic” views of the oil supply situation is “right” or “wrong,” there is also the issue as to divining what the U.S. national security managers think the real situation actually is.

There doesn’t seem to be much publicly available material around to help us figure this out. Most commentators seem to be just guessing what they think is in Pentagon heads. Even former “insiders” like Karen Kwiatowski don’t seem to offer any insights here.

There is just no guarantee that national security managers will be operating within a realistic energy economics paradigm. History is rife with wars being pursued based on flawed economic advice. Look at the dubious attractions of the much-fought-over China market. Most of the foreign combatants always did more trade with each other than they ever managed to wangle from the Middle Kingdom.

I suspect that in a field where opinions are radically divided between the experts as to what the realistic energy economics paradigm actually is, responsible national security planners would probably choose the worst case scenario. So maybe peak oil theory, whether it is true or not, is behind Pentagon strategy after all.

It is possible that the neo-cons (despite the alleged faith in free markets) are drinking from the same well as the greens (who more or less reject any kind of market-based economic thinking as a matter of principle). It is a reasonable hypothesis to assume that the neo-con “faith” in free markets is superficial, especially when you consider their “Cold War liberal” roots. This faction has definite social democratic and interventionist heritage. So maybe the neocon “faith” in markets is similar to the proverbial Sunday morning Christian, loudly proclaiming his faith in Church but forgotten Monday to Friday.

Donald Losman has pointed out that well before the current Iraq war the U.S. was spending more on “defending” Persian Gulf oil than they were worth to the US at least when you count the cost of what the U.S. actually imports from the region. The same Donald Losman has pointed out that previous National Security Strategies, before the current pre-emptive war doctrine, i.e. those issued during the Clinton era, explicitly added “economic goals” like energy security to the Pentagon’s mission statement.

It is possible that what Losman is reporting here is an unpublicized revival of mercantilism by the U.S. Government, alternately we may be seeing the “military industrial complex” trying to find a new post-cold war justification. This may even turn classical theories of imperialism on their head. Instead of economic demands driving military imperialism, the imperialists are looking for economic sponsor to justify their expenditure levels.

I am old enough to recall that back in the 1970s OPEC oil crisis (which Losman has pointed out barely impacted the U.S. GDP — see pdf file here) even as ardent a defender of free trade as Milton Friedman was prepared to recommend a temporary tariff on OPEC-sourced oil imports as a means of discouraging dependence. Regardless of the validity of peak oil versus price elastic theories, a targeted tariff can be justified on strategic grounds. This would seem to me to be a fairly elegant response to the current situation, yet few seem willing to revive it.

Sam Koritz: I agree that bogus beliefs about oil economics – among other things! – influence foreign policy (see the 2nd half of “The New Energy ‘Crisis’ and Iraq“). My view is that all sorts of nonsensical ideas, some sincerely believed and some not, are used to justify government aggression. The natural tendency of those with power is to weaken restraints on that power. Leaders are often willing to sacrifice personal wealth or popularity to this end but, as Robert Higgs points out in “The Iraq War – A Catastrophic Success,” many of the initiators of this war have personally benefited from it. The active, ongoing limitation of executive power-grabbing is central to the successful functioning of political systems. (See “Common Denominator” by Nicholas Thompson about the judiary’s role – then see Simon Jenkins’ “I never thought I’d say this, but thank you to the Lords, the Libs and the law” for an example.) I don’t see how an oil tariff would help. Continue reading “Economics of Oil, Part 2”

The Bull****er-in-Chief’s Christmas radio address contained a rather stange passage;

“During the holidays, we also keep in our thoughts and prayers the men and women of our Armed Forces, especially those far from home, separated from family and friends by the call of duty. In Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere, these skilled and courageous Americans are fighting the enemies of freedom and protecting our country from danger. By bringing liberty to the oppressed, our troops are helping to win the war on terror, and they are defending the freedom and security of us all. They and their families are making many sacrifices for our nation, and for that, all Americans are deeply grateful.”

My ears have been acutely trained to screen out bull***t, so, even though this is what he’s quoted on the White House website (www.bull***t.gov) as having said, it’s not what I heard. He has been misquoted. This is what he actually said;

“Our murderous attack on the civilian population of Iraq, and our attempt to replace their somewhat independent political system with a toadying one of our creation, responsive to orders from D.C. and Tel Aviv has caused an increasing number of them to join the insurgency against us. As many as 100,000 of them may now be considered “insurgents”, willing and able to violently resist our occupation. Since we have proven incapable of stopping these attacks without increasing the amount of murder inflicted on the Iraqi population, which in turn influences more of them to violently resist us, we must consider this war to be yet another disastrous, criminal failure in what passes for US foreign policy. Since, during my Presidency, and as a direct result of my plans, the US is now the most hated and feared nation in the world, perhaps even in the history of the world, and since this puts the lives of all Americans in grave danger, I must be considered the worst US president ever. No small accomplishment, since there have been so many bad presidents – in fact, I could count the number of good ones on one hand. Since I am clearly guilty (if anyone is) of High Crimes and Misdemeanors (having turned Iraq into a chaotic, demented slaughterhouse), I should be impeached as quickly as possible, and jailed (in Iraq) for the remainder of my natural life.”

I’ve got to admit it — RAWA has always had the most respect from me as a group of women who, at the risk of their own lives, did what they could to bring education and medicine to the children and women of Afghanistan during the reign of the Taliban. Now, since the demise of the Taliban (more or less), they have focused efforts on opening and maintaining a hospital for women and kids and this effort is now imperiled through lack of funding. If you want to do a truly good deed this holiday season, consider making a donation to them; any amount would be greatly appreciated.

Here is their email discussing the need to scale down their so-vital efforts in the future:

Dear supporters of Afghan women and children,

A few weeks ago we made a direct appeal to you to help us keep Malalai Hospital open. You responded generously and helped us raise over $6000! This money will save many lives and we are truly grateful. But, it is still only a fraction of what we were raising a year ago. Can you help us make a goal of $10,000 before the end of the year? http://www.afghanwomensmission.org/help_us/

After our first appeal, we got a letter from RAWA on December 18th which said, “We have decided to scale down the hospital next year due to lack of funds. This is really a very hard and painful decision because the hospital is needed as much as it was needed few years ago.”

$10,000 is only half of what is needed each month to keep the hospital functioning to its capacity. If we can raise at least that this December, we have some hope of keeping the hospital running at a scaled down level. We only need $4000 more.

If you can spare $50 this month, you can help provide a monthly visit to Malalai Hospital for 5 women and their children! http://www.afghanwomensmission.org/help_us/

Please remember RAWA and Malalai Hospital, when you’re writing those year-end checks to charities. Make a donation in the name of someone you love this holiday season – it will be the most meaningful gift you can give.

RAWA does great things to empower Afghan women: these brave women run schools, administer hospitals, house children in orphanages, hold peaceful demonstrations, and raise awareness throughout the world.

http://www.afghanwomensmission.org/help_us/

The holiday season reminds us that it’s the time to reach out, the time to remember those in need, the time to give back. And we can help you too: your donation is deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Afghan women will be better off for your help. Please visit the website of Afghan Women’s Mission to find out the latest ways your donation is working for Afghan women.

Many thanks,
Sonali Kolhatkar
Co-Director, Afghan Women’s Mission

P.S. You can also mail us your checks directly to: 2460 North Lake Avenue, PMB 207, Altadena, CA 91001, USA. Make checks out to IHC/AWM.

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Jack Newfield obits:

A Foe of Injustice (New York Sun)
Jack Newfield, Crusading Columnist (The Jewish Week)

Jack Newfield here, from the land beyond, beyond:

John sure does me proud, “And so he wrote, passionately, powerfully and with a faith in the potential of a word well chosen to change the world.” Oh, I feel so good, that’s tikkune.

Well, I’ve got to go and try to find Bobby.

Ufot:

Let’s see, I ask for gush and Feingold and I get gush and Feingold. I recall tikkun and Said’s eulogy and I get tikkun and Newfield’s eulogy. Newfield has his Bobby Kennedy and John has his Russ Feingold. Newfield’s as brainwashed as Feingold. The next thing you know it’s going to rain frogs.

John Nichols:

A UW girl’s gone and got herself arrested for filming Israeli soldiers beating up a Palestinian. Should I write about her on the 30th or the refuseniks like I did last year? I’ll have to talk it over with Ufot.

The Department of Defense released the names of the 13 troops killed in the attack on a mess tent in Mosul. They are

Capt. William W. Jacobsen Jr., 31, of Charlotte, N.C. Jacobsen was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

Sgt. Maj. Robert D. O’Dell, 38, of Manassas, Va. O’Dell was assigned to the United States Army Intelligence & Security Command, Fort Belvoir, Va.

Sgt. 1st Class Paul D. Karpowich, 30, of Bridgeport, Pa. Karpowich was assigned to the Army Reserve’s 2nd Battalion, 390th Infantry Regiment, Webster, N.Y.

Staff Sgt. Julian S. Melo, 47, of Brooklyn, N.Y. Melo was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

Staff Sgt. Darren D. VanKomen, 33, of Bluefield, W.Va. VanKomen was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

Staff Sgt. Robert S. Johnson, 23, of Castro Valley, Calif. Johnson was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

Sgt. Lynn R. Poulin Sr., 47, of Freedom, Maine. Poulin was assigned to the Army National Guard’s 133rd Engineer Battalion, Belfast, Maine.

Spc. Jonathan Castro, 21, of Corona, Calif. Castro was assigned to the 73rd Engineer Company, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

Spc. Thomas J. Dostie, 20, of Sommerville, Maine. Dostie was assigned to the Army
National Guard’s 133rd Engineer Battalion, Portland, Maine.

Spc. Cory M. Hewitt, 26, of Stewart, Tenn. Hewitt was assigned to the 705th Ordnance Company, Fort Polk, La.

Spc. Nicholas C. Mason, 20, of King George, Va. Mason was assigned to the Army National Guard’s 276th Engineer Battalion, West Point, Va.

Spc. David A. Ruhren, 20, of Stafford, Va. Ruhren was assigned to the Army National Guard’s 276th Engineer Battalion, West Point, Va.

Pfc. Lionel Ayro, 22, of Jeanerette, La. Ayro was assigned to the 73rd Engineer Company, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

These deaths are only 13 of the 1324 since the war began.