Piro to report on Iraq's WMD

Coming soon to a boob tube near you, the some of the truth about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction. It seems Bush didn't lie, Saddam Hussein did, as FBI guy George Prio tells 60 Minutes on Jan. 27th. 

I used to argue, for some stupid reason Hussein was playing with the inspectors and intelligence community to give the impression that he had WMD. Hence, once a target for the inspection was determined by Iraq, the order went out to clear the building out just before the inspectors arrived. 

I figured he just didn't understand the U.S. (and he didn't as he never thought we would actually invade, just drop a bomb or two for a few days - the legacy of the Clinton years.) but it seems he was playing the shell game in order to convince Iran that he had the weapons. He was more afraid of an Iranian invasion, then one from the west. 

Piro spent seven months with Hussein after he was arrested; he speaks Arabic and was charged with debriefing the Stalin wannabe. Hussein had several things he wanted to show, one being how smart he was at tricking the U.S. This is just before he was hanged. 

To the end, Hussein needed to be the macho figure, so once it was clear President Bush was going to invade, he still did not say anything. He instructed his army to stall the invasion for two weeks so he could put the "secret war" or the insurgency into effect. I read elsewhere, he got that idea from watching Blackhawk Down and how the gangs in Somalia operated, thinking the US and the UN were somehow analogous. Of course, the UN fucks up and  runs away, that is their job.  Just ask people being shot at and starved all over the world today. 

Another item of interest is that Hussein had the people and equipment lined up for the time that he would, indeed, give the order to make the weapons. 

So, catch the show.  I know the Bush haters will figure a way to not actually understand the implications of the information, but normal people will now have a handle on what in the hell the Saddam was thinking.

Bush didn't lie

InDUHviduals cry

Iran blinks

John Batchelor is back on WABC.  He is, by far, the best primary source of  information on the middle east in our media.  For more on JB hit HERE

Sunday night, he had an interview with the author of a book to be published next year called "Chechen Jihad."  Here is some fresh input.

First, in 2006 the Chechnyan fundamentalists planned to kill all the leaders of the G8. They had the plan in place and a truck filled with explosives.  Unfortunately, the Russians found out and five days before the assassination, the Russians killed all but one of the plotters.  They got the last one three months later. 

With this mess about them, like pants around their shoes, the Iranians realized they had gone to far - they being the keystone to all terrorist action in the region. There followed high level negotiations that included the U.S. The Iranians, to make things short, caved, Bodansky reported. They agreed to back down their violence, especially in Iraq. 

The recent NIE estimate was part of the deal.  That is, the surprising announcement was part of the planned thaw - a U.S. admission that Iran may not be so bad, after all. The U.S. has been permitting all manner of contact by Iraq with Iran now and speaking quite warmly of its contacts. Of course, the media and critics never pass beyond the surface. See last item below.

The recent peace meeting in the U.S. was impressive in the glad tidings expressed by all, except for Iraq who didn't show up, at least on the highest level.  They did not show up because Iran told them not to as the Shiite big brother.  Indeed, Iran showed and reported it had wonderful chats with Rice and Bush. The violence continues to decrease and Sadr's militia is moving more to the "middle," which seems to mean peaceful. Sadr is somewhat off to the side looking for a way to become a political power in the new paradigm.

From other sources, Sadr's bad-guy strongmen are being removed, if not killed. The Sadr army is killing many who engages in terrorism (this is from AKI news service).  Sometimes, they turn the bad guys, including two Iranian operatives, just last week, over to the U.S. along with the mines and weapons the bad guys had. 

Next?  Very soon, the author reported, there will be an open rapprochement between the U.S. and Iran.  Buy puts in oil companies, if you want to make a killing. The smart money, an analyst friend tells me, is already on oil dropping fast.

A reason Iran may be interested in working things out, other than having the Russians (and, perhaps the other 7) assassinate its leaders or Israel and the U.S. bombing the crap out of them is their economy is at a tipping point.  It it is just about dead - one of the leading oil producers in the world is now rationing gas. There is no more room to play the trickster.

This day, Sunday, PM Brown announced the war in Iraq is over and the soldiers are coming home as soon as possible. Maybe, this is connected. The Sadr people have been busy in Southern Iraq, taking over, it seems, from the British. 

So, either the occupation is going to settle down or, as one pundit put it, the British are fleeing and have lost to Sadr.  Pundits are not usually sensitive to nuance and the British don't walk away from a fight or peacekeeping effort. 

So, go sell your oil stocks, if this tale makes sense.  The more I think about recent events, the more likely it seems.  If you think about it, why would the U.S. publish its strategic intelligence estimates?  Or, why did Mr. Bush say the analysts do a good job, rather than look to prosecute whoever released the information? 

Critics of the administration complain the Bush crowd have stopped down the flow of information, yet do not question the easy release of this apparently sensitive data that could be used against them. Previously, the administration said it would not release NIEs. People are so excited about the notion of another big intelligence error, that they miss the entire exercise. What we have here is another example of Bush being dumb like a fox. (Oh, or his diabolical staff dictating to him their evil, oil-based plots, if that is your pleasure.)

e.g.: 

Why Was the NIE Released?....Part 2
washingtonmonthly.com Found 6 days ago
WHY WAS THE NIE RELEASED?....PART 2.... Three weeks ago DNI Mike McConnell said flatly that he didn't plan to make public any of the key findings from the upcoming National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear program. Today, in a move that took everyone by surprise, the key judgments were released. Why? Earlier today I speculated that it might have been due to congressional pressure. Spencer Ackerman doesn't think so: An aide to Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), the chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, says that Rockefeller — the obvious culprit in any Senatorial intelligence push — didn't press McConnell to release the NIE's key judgments.

Iraq Speech to VFW- Echo of JFK

I know, I have been among the missing in action. I apologize, but my free time was taken up the the Simpsons, Transformers, and Bournes. I was reminded that I had a blog when Irene sent me the link to President Bush's recent speech. Below is a paragraph to whet your interest.

While I have to bang my head sometimes for want of information from the White House and for the stilted stuff that finally issues from the press office, I have been a fan or reading Bush's speeches and watching C-SPAN and know that his good stuff never, I mean never, makes it to air. No, not even on FOX. Something to do with a nation of people with ten-second attention spans.

Sometime ago, I reviewed his energy plan/speech given in a biodiesel plant, but you never saw that on air either. It is a good plan and only now are parts of it being passed. You never see critics attack Bush's grasp of economics, business, and energy because, I would submit, they would not want to bring attention to his mastery of these matters. Just bark something about Halliburton for effect.

Anyway, for the Iraq speech, click on the title. I still wish there would be more detail, though, say by way of white papers (no that is not racist.) After the section below, I quote John Kennedy who explained what we are doing some 45 years ago. Like Kennedy said, we do these things because they are hard. BUSH:

...Now, I know some people doubt the universal appeal of liberty, or worry that the Middle East isn't ready for it. Others believe that America's presence is destabilizing, and that if the United States would just leave a place like Iraq those who kill our troops or target civilians would no longer threaten us. Today I'm going to address these arguments. I'm going to describe why helping the young democracies of the Middle East stand up to violent Islamic extremists is the only realistic path to a safer world for the American people. I'm going to try to provide some historical perspective to show there is a precedent for the hard and necessary work we're doing, and why I have such confidence in the fact we'll be successful...

JFK was a bit more old-fashioned in his rhetoric because people still read and could follow bunches of paragraphs in a row. When you read his Inauguration speech, excerpt below, and his Berlin speech, as well as recall his use of tax cuts to spur the economy, consider whether JFK could be a 2007 Democrat. EXCERPT:

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.	4
This much we pledge—and more.	5
To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do—for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.	6
To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom—and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.	7
To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required—not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.	8
To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge—to convert our good words into good deeds—in a new alliance for progress—to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this .. neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.

Changin' Times

All news isn't bad.

For one thing, the Canadian dollar took a dive. This is important if you like to drink in Toronto.

Even if you believe in having no borders so that the huddled masses of drug dealers and murders can come and live near your local school, you have to admit the fact that 72% of Americans were agitated enough to drop kick Congress is a good sign that the republic isn't completely burned out or focused on Hollywood.

The latest Pew Poll says Congress' approval rating is 16%. Apparently, we haven't been dumbed down enough to just let the caricatures in Congress do what they want. All we need is a new party.

As of last Friday, the official word among major media, with a suspiciously instantaneous change in spin, is that the surge is doing great, that Iraqis people are super-duper, we can't leave, and, just surfacing, it is time to do something about Iran. Pay attention, you will see this astonishing change play out. (Then, never trust journalism again.) Remember how this shift happened when you think about politics and your country in the future.

Today, this being Tuesday, the spin is, sure the surge is OK, but the leadership in Iraq is failing. Of course, it is Bush's fault, until the lies, sorry politics, shift again.

Actually, I have already predicted this. One election is over, the other is far enough away. So, we can go ahead and do the painful things that have to be done. "Not for nothin'" does the U.S. have the second busiest airport in the world just 40 miles outside of Baghdad. A plane lands at this 15 mile (that is 15,000 kilotons if you are metric) wide military facility every two minutes! Ever see that on CNN? No? You will soon, right after you see Israel's air bases. (Israel's military is on high alert, now. All those empty facilities in the Golan are now fully occupied - its been some 40 years since last manned.)

The new, supposedly anti-Bush British Prime Minister just dropped in on D.C. to announce the world owes America a debt of gratitude for leading the way in the fight against terrorism and Britain had no plans to remove troops. Then, the Sunday talk shows were filled with positive comments about the effort in Iraq. (Washington Post guy - Iraq is just a battle in the wider war against terrorism.)

To be honest, the overnight change in tune bespeaks conspiracy or sub rosa control, unless you can give me a clue why not. Only a few Dem candidates haven't figured out how to morph out of this one. Don't get me wrong, this could be an elitist shift, not a liberal one. The Dems do have a problem, though, as most of their leaders will be foundering come election season. Hilary may find herself best situated.

Now, comes excellent news from gawker.com. It may also explain the sudden shift in bias:

profit and loss

'New York Times' Second Quarter: Serious Trouble

The second-quarter results from the New York Times Company just came out, and they're kind of grim. Operating profit decreased to $43.3 million—last year, same quarter, it was $86.2 million. Earnings per share decreased to $.15 per share; same period last year, it was $.37. But why? Times Co. CEO Janet Robinson said that the results "reflected the weakness in the print advertising market stemming from both secular and cyclical forces in our businesses." Ooo, good, cyclical! That means there'll be an upturn—or at least less stress?—next quarter? Uh, right?

Advertising revenues decreased 5.7 percent for the quarter. Newsprint expenses decreased more than 22 percent, but that's a mixed bag, because it was partly due to less newspapers—which means fewer people are buying the paper. Circ revenues were down 0.5 percent, which the company is attributing largely to the loss of subscribers after subscription prices were raised. (Let's see how they spin the price increase they just enacted.)

Its all good.

Well, except for the (non-Persian) madman wanting to destroy Israel and build a Muslim world "without an America."

New Scoring Method

We keep reading that x number of soldiers were killed and wounded today, and the same type of report about the innocent Iraqi people who are trying to buy food. Yessir, we all know about how many soldiers have died (though it is rarely broken down into accidents vs. armed conflict).

At least during the Viet Nam war the number of alleged enemy killed was published. After all, the genius McNamara had a spreadsheet that would show we can't lose if the daily ratio of kills were met. You gotta love geniuses.

Permit me to posit a fantasy sports score reportage for tonight:

In a stunner, Syracuse's Orangemen scored 81 points. Then in an overtime battle, North Carolina ran up 79 points in a tough, see-saw game. In Hockey, the Rangers skated well scoring 3.

Pretty stupid way to keep score.

So, you say, but we are not keeping score in a war.

Like hell, we aren't. That is the nature of war, though no longer war reportage. Today, we are suppose to believe, if someone is killed, we had better stop. If one believes that, he or she should not have voted to use force. It is a binary thing.

Below is real war reportage, old school style. You will see keeping score means something in the real world, as does useful commentary. The battle discussed below was at the very end of the past January. A longer article can be found here,
That article, in the Australian, noted that about of the third killed were from Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.

Iraqi Forces Kill Cult Leader Who Claimed To Be The Islamic Messiah

Iraqi military forces -- backed up by U.S. and British forces and helicopters -- scored a big victory in Najaf over the past several days. "The final toll in the military operations north of holy Najaf totalled 263 [terrorists] killed, and 502 [terrorists] arrested including 210 injured," Iraqi spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said Tuesday. Askiri said Iraqi forces had seized "500 weapons and 11 mortar tubes along with numerous pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns and very important documents."

The impressively executed operation was a testament to the steadily improving combat capabilities and discipline of the Iraqi forces, especially since these were mostly Shiite soldiers fighting against Shiite insurgents. [My emphasis] President Bush has promised Americans that the U.S. will stand down when the Iraqi forces are ready to stand up. The past few days are evidence that Iraqi forces are getting closer to being ready to assume full command of their country, despite the carping of the critics in Washington.

Perhaps most interesting was that Iraqi forces killed the commander of a Shiite militia, a cult leader who actually claimed to be the Islamic Messiah (or Mahdi). The armed cult known the "Soldiers of Heaven" was plotting to assasinate top Shiite religious leaders in Najaf as part of an effort to bring about the end of the world.

"He claimed to be the Mahdi," Shirwan al-Waeli, Iraq's National Security Minister, said of the cult's leader, adding that the cult leader had used the full name "Mahdi bin Ali bin Ali bin Abi Taleb," claiming descent from the Prophet Mohammad. "One of the signs of the coming of the Mahdi was to be the killing of the Ulema (hierarchy) in Najaf," Waeli told Reuters. "This was a perverse claim. No sane person could believe it." Waeli said that when police first approached the militia camp, the cult leader answered: "I am the Mahdi and I want you to join me." Iraqi officials says they have arrested other Shiites claiming to be messengers of the Mahdi, further evidence that an apocalyptic fervor -- largely inspired by Iran -- is spreading through the Shiite world.

Match this against a report:

JFK: Why Iraq?

Listen to JFK's Inaugural Address. It is short and says what W can't seem to convey. Or is it we are not listening? Or, have we abandoned a sense of purpose greater than being properly entertained?

EXCERPT:

...We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

This much we pledge -- and more....

Why Iraq?

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manner of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

John Donne

Return of the Geni - Iraq

Sure I have been busy, but the truth is I lost track of my blog, the password, my old computer, my lunch, so even a simple blog became part of the great roar of the noise failed projects in the back of my mind. Today I took a few minutes, found myself, tossed a molded lunch, and saw that Google has Gobbled Blogger, which makes life much easier, as I use gmail and docs.

I seem to recall my mission was to offer information contrary to the consensus opinion and its supporting propoganda. Don't assume, by the way, that I am a proponent of what I report. Look at the arguments, not the messenger. This loss of the ability to do this in the US is a ominous omen. We better get back to logic or will shimmer away into the fanciful places we have read about, like France.

One of my favorite sources of news in lieu of the filters and blinders at the NY Times, CBS, CBC, etc is Xinhua news service. Your first reaction may be - But that is the official news service of China, which is sort of communist! [The headline is a link to Xinhua.]

True, but, you see, Xinhua is honest about what it is, unlike many in Western media, and, oddly enough the articles appear to actually report events. It is tough to spin the reportage of actual events, except by not reporting them if they don't present all the news that fits. So, amidst reports of the big ASEAN Conference in Sourth Korea (bet you haven't seen this in the NYT) was reportage on President Bush's new plan to subdue violence in Iraq, which our media likes to wail about to an almost unprecedented level. [I think the left once again seriously misjudges the electorate and assumes the last election was about "Get out of Viet Nam".}

It seems like the EU, England, Turkey, Australia et al are delighted by the additional 21,000 new troops. Huh? Isnt' the entire world against the anti-Christ Bush? Doesn't Europe dismiss America? Isn't he a dumb ass who 100% of the time picks the wrong option? Isn't the sky falling?

In the interest of professional journalism, an elective at Columbia, there are those, according to Xinhua, who oppose the plan: Pelosi, Kennedy, Russia, Iran. You can tell a person by the company he or she keeps.

Oh, Sweden has said something or other, which Xinghua reports, obviously having trouble with translating Swedish: "In Stockholm, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said on Thursday that the United States lacks the political dimensions needed to solve the conflict in Iraq."

There you go, the word from Sweden: "He said that the increase may well help with security problems around Baghdad, but it is also important to tackle challenges like the inclusion of different groups in the political process, distribution of oil wealth and getting Iraq's neighbors to play a part in stabilizing the country." Now, lets turn to page 28 and sing Kum Bia.

Xinghua: "Also on Thursday, Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu said that maintaining the troops of the international coalition in Iraq cannot be a solution for the war-torn country...I will prefer a political to a military solution," said Tariceanu in Alexandria.

There's an idea.

I have to go now and find Romania on the map. I think its near Transylvania.