Blizza Blizza

US gives up search for Iraq WMD

'Nuff said.

Dubya has all but admitted the WMD ruse was just that: a ruse to get approval for the removal of Saddam Hussein from power.

Please, please, please let the voters remember this in November.

And when the boy saw a real wolf prowling amongst the flock, he cried out, "Wolf! Wolf!" But no one came, because they thought he was up to his old tricks again.

Aesop reminds us that we should never cry wolf unless absolutely necessary. So, George W. Bush, I ask you: on what grounds have you been crying wolf this time?

Hmmm?

The BBC wants to know, and so do the millions of us Americans who still don't support this so-called "war" whose only purpose thus far has been to remove Saddam Hussein from power and give the rest of the free world one less reason to trust the United States and its citizens.

Remember this?

Yeah, like I said...

Also from the "Former-Iraqi-Politician-News" department: the BBC pointed me to this very aptly-named site this morning:

www.welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com

I LOVE the Internet.

(For those of you who prefer domestic media outlets, CNN also has a story.)

This article is just generally funny, but my favourite quote is this:

Saddam's wife, Sajida Khairallah Telfah, is also his cousin. Together they had three daughters and two sons, Uday and Qusay.

Yeah, that explains a lot. A whole helluva lot.

How do you know if an Iraqi dictator's daughter is a virgin?

She can still outrun her dad.

Ba-dum *ching*...

I just saw this in an article on the BBC's site about the Arab media lambasting the US and British troops for failing to do more policing in Iraq:

Muslims are the biggest source of instability in the world as they are killing one another or killing others.

Al-Watan - Kuwait

Keep in mind that that's an Arab news organisation, most likely run and owned by Muslims, offering that opinion.

What's the bet some of these show up on eBay within two weeks?

And on a related note, this is just pathetic. Yay for capitalism, though. You won't catch ME buying any of that crap, but kudos to the lucky sonsabitches who have the goods to sell. You people buying that stuff are just sad.

The British are reporting that Chemical Ali has been killed in a bombing raid on his mansion outside Basra Saturday. Note, for the record, that coalition troops brought him to a merciful, quick end, unlike the thousands of Kurds he was responsible for poisoning in the late 1980s.

Boom Boom
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In other war-related news, somebody give this guy a medal. He did the right thing, although I wish our troops could have gotten their hands on the bastards who were beating a 19-year-old girl. I'd love to see what the folks in Jessica Lynch's hometown would do to them if they were ever caught and brought to the US.

And in related news, my sympathies go out to Bill Walsh, copyeditor for the Washington Post, which just lost the first US journalist in Iraq. Michael Kelly, columnist for the Washington Post, editor-at-large for The Atlantic Monthly, and former editor of The New Republic, died in a HUMVEE accident that was apparently unrelated to combat.

The infamous Iraqi general Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known to Westerners as "Chemical Ali," has had his palace near Basra looted.

By locals.

How do you like them apples?

As if there weren't enough reasons already, you can add this Iraqi's story to the mix. I still say war isn't the only way to get rid of the regime, though.

I'm not entirely sure how I really feel about the firing of Peter Arnett, but I tend to think that if NBC and National Geographic don't want their reporters associating with Iraqi TV, that's fine by me. That said, Arnett has a history of stirring up trouble in his war coverage, and perhaps this was for the best. I would like to think, though, that the networks that fired him did it because the way he acted was wrong, not because they were trying to suppress the truth, as the American media so often do. (In case you hadn't noticed, that's why I read a lot of the BBC.)

Not much else I can say about this painting.

Some people just don't get it, apparently. South Carolina's state House just passed a resolution by a 50-35 margin requesting the Dixie Chicks perform a free concert for SC troops and their families. Best quote:

"I think it's an olive branch to the Dixie Chicks," [Republican Rep. Catherine] Ceips [who introduced the resolution] said.

"But only after they apologize first for exercising their free speech, is that correct?" asked House Minority Leader James Smith, a Democrat.

You tell 'em, James!

Let me get one thing clear: I support our troops 100%. They have to follow orders or risk court-martial for desertion, or worse, treason. So don't hate them.

But dammit, we have the stupidest president in history. And I'm sick and tired of all the Dubya apologists who say this war has nothing to do with avenging Bush Sr.'s embarrassment at the hands of Saddam in the aftermath of the Gulf War, when Saddam didn't get ousted like everyone wanted him to. And I'm tired of people saying the first war wasn't about removing Saddam, because at that time, the executive order that Ford put into place against political assassination was still in effect, and Bush Sr. didn't try to classify anyone wearing a military uniform and of Arab descent an "enemy combatant" and throw them into pig cages in Cuba.

But you can bet your bottom dollar that Bush Sr. was mad as hell that Saddam got to sit there and thumb his nose at the US despite our best efforts to make him unwelcome. And you can bet that this distaste got transferred to Dubya the moment he was handed the presidency by the Supreme Court.

So whether it's officially stated or not, Dubya is doing it to avenge Daddy's embarrassment. Of course he'll never admit that, but he's human, male, and from Texas. He has to protect the family name, and he just happens to be in a position where he has the most powerful armed forces in the world at his disposal to do so.

There isn't one single shred of evidence that Saddam has any direct links to Al-Qaeda or Osama bin Laden. Sure, he offers money to Palestinian suicide bombers' families, but does anyone think he does that for any reason other than to piss off the US? If his motives were purely altruistic, he wouldn't need to make sure his offers get broadcast all over world television for his enemies to hear. Saddam is an evil, evil man, but to go to war with him in the name of protecting the US from his terrorist activities is a bald-faced lie, and nothing Dubya ever says will change that.

If the point of this were simply to "free" the Iraqi people, why didn't we try a bit harder to get the common people to revolt against Saddam? And another thing that's been bothering me for years: since when is it the US's responsibility to make sure every other country in the world is democratic? When did we become the world's police force? Why is Saddam's dictatorship any of our goddamn business as long as he "keeps it in his pants," so to speak? You don't see us waging war with Cuba to eradicate Castro, or with Zimbabwe to remove Mugabe, or Burma or Cambodia to remove the corrupt, evil regimes there. Or, as many have said, why aren't we going after North Korea? At least we know the North Koreans have WMD and every intention to produce more. As much as everyone is reasonably convinced that Saddam is hiding them, the North Koreans have publicly admitted it.

I was watching a bit of CNN early this afternoon and they were showing the anti-war march in NYC. Apparently the censors weren't on duty, as not only did a giant "Buck Fush" sign make it onto the broadcast, but when Maria Hinojosa was interviewing one protestor, a guy walked by wearing a t-shirt with a Time magazine cover on it that had a head shot of Dubya on a black background with "FUCKED" in giant white letters under the photo.

It took me about five minutes to stop laughing. Now, someone tell me where I can get that t-shirt.

All I have to say to this is "Wow." We've been at war for all of 36 hours and they already want to surrender.

Hey, I suppose if war has to be done, this is about the best way to do it :-\

And all this time, I thought the Onion made up the "What Do You Think" quotes.

Apparently the Onion just interviews these people and records what they actually say. No, really. And people wonder why the rest of the world thinks Americans are stupid. Some choice quotes:

"[Y]ou have to abide by the president, whatever he does."
Only if you're in the military, lady. But if you want to think that, be my guest. By the way, Dubya said we should all run around with our feet on our ears, so hop to it.

"I don't really support President Bush. Yeah, I do actually, I do. I'm really not sure. I don't really care, I guess."
Would sticking my foot up your ass help you make up your mind? Because you're obviously completely incapable of doing so.

"[A]ccording to the Pope, [war] wasn't even necessary, and the Pope has a lot of advisors to tell him what's going on."
Right, and all those advisors really helped good ol' Johnny decide what to do about all those pedophile priests, didn't they? Sheesh. Some people put waaaaay too much faith in Catholic dogma.

For some rather more intelligent commentary, check out the BBC's interactive essays on war.

The BBC already has a FAQ on war in Iraq. Sorta funny, if you ask me. A FAQ on war? Hey, whatever.

I left this untitled because I'm so frustrated that I can't think of a worthwhile title. And apparently, I'm not alone.

Ugh. At least get it over with quickly if you must make an ass of yourself and this country, Dubya. And don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out of office, either. Maybe you and Tony Blair can go cry in each other's tea after your respective parties get absolutely obliterated in the next elections.

Can I send in my vote for a straight Democratic ticket right now? They could nominate a garbage bag full of prion-infected British cow brains and I'd vote for it over four more years of Dubya.

So much for waiting a couple of years for Saddam to forget.

At least we have major Arab leaders, like Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, saying that Iraq is "fully responsible for the current crisis." Not that that statement doesn't completely ignore the fact that Dubya is going to war without a declaration by Congress, but it's nice to know not everyone in the Middle East completely blames us. Even if it really is our fault.

Of course, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz saw things a bit differently; he was quoted as saying "[The US government] have power but no brains." I never thought I'd agree with anything he said, but this is the first reasonable statement I've heard out of anyone in the Iraqi government ever. Now why doesn't anyone with the power to stop this business realise that?

By the way, thanks a lot for making CBS show war coverage instead of CSI. And you folks might want to have a gander at ESPN's take on what Dan Rather was thinking last week when he interviewed Saddam. I like option D.

Once again, the Onion pretty much summed up my feelings about this whole giant mess. They were only three days off on the release date, too ;)

So Dubya, being the infitely stupid man that he is, decided it would be a good idea to go to war. Fortunately, he said Saddam had 48 hours, after which we could strike "at a time of our choosing."

Wouldn't it be great if we just pulled out all our troops, brought everyone home, let things simmer for a couple of years, and then just bombed the shit out of Baghdad with B-52s from Barksdale one night? Like sometime in July 2005. Everyone will have completely forgotten about this whole mess by then, and Saddam will be caught so off-guard that he'll be a piece of cake to assassinate.

Hey, it could work...

I know I'm not the only one who finds this absolutely hilarious (from CNN.com this afternoon):

•President Bush to speak at 8 p.m. EST, will say Saddam Hussein must leave Iraq to avoid war
•Iraqi foreign minister responds by saying Bush should leave office instead

Here's an idea: how about both of you piss off and fight each other. Leave the rest of us the hell out of it. OK? Thanks.

Then again, maybe we should declare that war is inevitable more often. It made me about $60 on the stock market.

It appears that some large percentage of "American people" - or at least the segment of us who vote in CNN online polls - are the world's biggest hypocrites. The lead singer of the Dixie Chicks, a country band whose music I couldn't possibly care less for, recently stated her regrets that our current President is from Texas, her home state. Now there are radio stations and fans boycotting the Chicks' music because the listeners are offended that she would say something so, well, "unpatriotic."

Might I remind the 60-odd percent of people who are supporting this that there are an awful lot of people who are PROTESTING THIS RIDICULOUS PROPOSED MILITARY ACTION? YOU STUPID HYPOCRITES! You can't say the Dixie Chicks are unpatriotic and then turn around and bitch at Dubya for bringing Armageddon to the Western world, or vice versa. Pick a fucking position and stick by it, or just shut your mouth and sit back.

Who ARE these people, anyway? There has to be some pretty substantial overlap between the segments if a majority of the American public doesn't support war, yet a very large majority of the voters on CNN think the Dixie Chicks deserve to be boycotted merely because their lead singer expressed an opinion. Wake up, folks. Your musical/artistic/film idols are not perfect and do not necessarily agree with you. If that bothers you, fine, but don't hold them to a higher standard than that to which you hold yourselves.

Maybe I'm being redundant here, but I fail to see how the Dixie Chicks aren't allowed to say war is wrong and the President is an idiot when these folks feel that it's their God-given right to do so.

And just in case any of them are reading this page: George W Bush is a two-bit President who couldn't reason his way out of a wet paper bag. The pending war is wrong, and Dubya is a fool for not seeing the will of his people. Please, feel free to boycott me, you hypocritic slime.

Remember what happened last time there was a major political assassination in what used to be Yugoslavia? You probably don't - I certainly wasn't around - but, well, you gotta love coincidences. Fresh from the front page of CNN's web site, the assassination of the Serbian prime minister has a very good chance of being followed by a major world war.

(Yes, I realise that's about the extent of the parallel I can draw. Work with me here.)

Watching CNN this morning and Bill Richardson, current governor of New Mexico and former US Ambassador to the UN, just said "Iraq is not an immediate threat to the US."

HELLO! ANYONE HOME, DUBYA? ARE YOU LISTENING?

I would have followed that up with "...but North Korea almost certainly is." Why are we completely ignoring a country that we KNOW is developing ballistic missiles, has a sophisticated nuclear program, and isn't afraid to admit, publicly, that they're in blatant violation of various non-proliferation treaties? This is ridiculous.

T minus seven days until the end of the world, better known as the day Dubya bombs the shit out of a not-necessarily-innocent country without the approval of virtually anyone else, including most of our so-called allies.

I know I'm not the only one who thinks our government has completely divorced itself from the desires of the American populace, so why the hell are we letting them get away with it?

I think it's high time we decided that ignoring whatever treaty it is we signed saying we wouldn't participate in political assassinations is less vital than ignoring oh, the majority of the UN. We all know the CIA are perfectly capable of pulling this off, and if they aren't, why does anyone take the conspiracy theorists (who say the CIA are certainly equipped to do so) seriously? Either they can or they can't, and I certainly have no reason to think they can't. So just assassinate Saddam already and call it good. Don't send a quarter of a million troops into a region that's already unstable just because of some petty grudge your daddy has with some fat-cat dictator. The rest of the world isn't listening to your excuses any more, and the American people are quickly losing patience. Don't make us even more targetable than we already are.

Anyone want to give me a plane ticket to get the hell out of here? I like the Perth area, and I don't think terrorists would ever have any reason to attack anything there. They'd get into town and get so relaxed that they'd completely forget about their plans to blow anything up.