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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bilow who wrote (105373)	7/14/2003 10:09:19 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 281500

U.S. Soldiers Talk About the Occupation of Iraq ____________________________ by Occupation Watch Center Compiled by Imad Khadduri July 11th, 2003 "Most soldiers would empty their bank accounts just for a plane ticket home." -Anonymous Army soldier in a letter to Congress, Christian Science Monitor, July 7, 2003 "Make no mistake, the level of morale for most soldiers that I've seen has hit rock bottom." -Unidentified officer from the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq, Christian Science Monitor, July 7, 2003 "The way we have been treated and the continuous lies told to our families back home has devastated us all." -Unidentified soldier in a letter to Congress, Christian Science Monitor, July 7, 2003 "U.S. officials need to get our [expletive] out of here…I say that seriously. We have no business being here. We will not change the culture they have in Iraq, in Baghdad. Baghdad is so corrupted. All we are here is potential people to be killed and sitting ducks." -43-year-old reservist from Pittsburgh, who arrived in Iraq with the 307th Military Police Company on May 24, Washington Post, July 1, 2003 "What are we getting into here? The war is supposed to be over, but every day we hear of another soldier getting killed. Is it worth it? Saddam isn't in power anymore. The locals want us to leave. Why are we still here?" -Sergeant from the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division, The American Cause (founded by Patrick Buchanan), June 30, 2003 "This duty is absolutely ridiculous… We are combat troops. We are trained in combat. We are not trained in peacekeeping. We should all be home by now. It's like we won the Super Bowl, but we have to keep on playing." -Sgt. 1st Class Richard Edwards, Los Angeles Times, June 29, 2003 "At night time you think about all the people you killed. It just never gets off your head, none of this stuff does. There's no chance to forget it, we're still here, we've been here so long. Most people leave after combat but we haven't…Some soldiers don't even f**** sleep at night. They sit up all f** night long doing s* to keep themselves busy - to keep their minds off this f****** stuff. It's the only way they can handle it. It's not so far from being crazy but it's their way of coping. There's one guy trying to build a little pool out the back, pointless stuff but it keeps him busy." -Cpl. Richardson, The Evening Standard, June 19, 2003 "For me, it's like snap-shot photos. Like pictures of maggots on tongues, babies with their heads on the ground, men with their heads halfway off and their eyes wide open and mouths wide open. I see it every day, every single day. The smells and the torsos burning, the entire route up to Baghdad, from 20 March to 7 April, nothing but burned bodies." -Sgt. Meadows, The Evening Star, June 19, 2003 ''Little kids wave at us and their parents slap them in the back of the head and make them stop…It makes me feel like I wasted my time over here and they don't appreciate what we did…'' -Spc. Anthony Combs, Associated Press, June 17, 2003 occupationwatch.org

To: Bilow who wrote (105373)	7/15/2003 9:27:51 AM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Blix reports to the UN Iraq Published: 27-Jan-2003 By: Channel 4 News So, in an atmosphere of fevered expectation, 60 days after the weapons inspectors began their work they've finally delivered their findings to the UN Security Council. Click here to read Hans Blix's report now. (Select '27 January update' on left) The conclusion was tougher than many had expected and was immediately dismissed by the authorities in Iraq. The chief inspector Dr Hans Blix, and his colleague Dr Mohammed El Baradei listed a number of problems they say Iraqis haven't addressed - and warned their 'window of opportunity' to provide the answers wouldn't be open forever. Indeed, another deadline has now come into play - on February 14th, in less than three weeks time, the inspectors will have to report again. Their main findings today: Iraq seems not to have genuinely accepted the disarmament demands. It's Arms Declaration last month does not resolve major outstanding arms issues. Iraq has also refused to guarantee the safety of U2 survellance planes without conditions. And it has failed to account for 6,500 chemical warfare bombs. Iraq has also failed to prove it's destroyed all its anthrax. But there is no evidence that it has revived its nuclear weapons programme. Mr Blix said the Iraqis had illegally tested "missiles with longer range than the 150 kms" allowed under UN sanctions. Both Mr Blix and his assistant Mr Baradei stressed that they need "more time to investigate further." The foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, certainly hasn't pulled his punches after hearing the inspectors verdict - he said Baghdad's cooperation was "a charade." Material Breach? But do the gaps in disclosure and co-operation identified by Mr Blix ammount to a "material breach" by Iraq of the key UN resolution, 1441? They may be, as he puts it, the "tip of a submerged iceberg," but how much farther do they take us on the road to war? Our diplomatic correspondent, Lindsey Hilsum reports. Britain and America say the inspectors' report proves what they've said all along: Iraq is cooperating superficially but still hiding the truth. Security Council Resolution 1441 Security Council Resolution 1441 says: "false statements or omissions in the declarations submitted by Iraq" and "failure by Iraq ...to comply with... and cooperate fully in the implementation of this resolution shall constitute a further material breach.." But like beauty, a material breach is in the eye of the beholder. The inspectors' evidence will bolster both those who feel Iraq is a problem which must be solved immediately by war - and those who say diplomacy and continuing weapons inspections will contain Iraq. International reaction to report: The reaction is clouded by the language of diplomacy - Germany, Russia, France and China say today's report shows the inspectors need more time. They probably mean they're hoping that if they postpone the war, the problem will go away. British and American reaction that the time for inspections is running out mean the time for war is nigh. Anti-war protestors often say America really wants Iraq's oil reserves - weapons of mass destruction are just an excuse. It's true that it's in America's strategic interest to get a friendly regime in Iraq - not so much for the oil, but to get a better foothold in the turbulent Middle East, a source of terrorism. Iraq's army was all but destroyed in the Gulf War. Today's report gives the Americans and the British much ammunition for their argument that a new war is needed, but it won't convince countries whose real objection is that they fear America's rise not just as the dominant superpower, but as an aggressive force in the world. channel4.com

To: Bilow who wrote (105373)	7/15/2003 11:38:17 AM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

From Reuters, June 7th: More than 500 tonnes of natural uranium and 1.8 tonnes of low-enriched uranium were stored at Tuwaitha, plus smaller amounts of highly radioactive caesium, cobalt and strontium. in.news.yahoo.com From Reuters, May 6th: WORRIED ABOUT DIRTY BOMBS While most of the radioactive material found at these sites would be unusable for atomic weapons, the IAEA is concerned some of it could end up in the hands of terrorists who could use it for so-called dirty bombs. A dirty bomb is made by attaching radioactive material to a conventional explosive like dynamite to disperse it over a wide area. These bombs are aimed more at creating panic than physical damage. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday he had no information from military or intelligence sources about the looting referred to in the Washington Post's eyewitness report. "I don't know that there was a special concern that there was nuclear-related material at that particular site," he said. in.news.yahoo.com From the Philadelphia Inquirer, by way of the Charlotte Observer: Hisham Abdel Malik, a Iraqi nuclear scientist who lives near Tuwaitha and has been inside the complex, told me that in buildings "where there are radioactive isotopes, there is looting every day." He says the isotopes, which are in bright silver containers, "are sold in the black market or kept in homes." According to IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming, such radioactive sources can kill on contact or pollute whole neighborhoods. charlotte.com I cannot find a reference I thought I had seen to finding some of this material on the black market, so I guess I conflated expressions of anxiety with positive assertions like the one above, for which I apologize. Still, there are numerous assertions that the material was of value on the black market........

To: Bilow who wrote (105373)	7/15/2003 11:41:57 AM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Iraqi Defense Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmed said coalition leaders "make up" allegations about chemical protection equipment. But in an apparently contradictory statement he added: "Every Iraqi soldier carries his own gear, including chemical gear, in order to protect himself." While British military officials conceded that no weapons of mass destruction were found at the abandoned facility, British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon maintains they do exist. Hoon said the discovery of the protective suits showed "categorically" that Iraqi troops were prepared for the use of such "horrific weapons." cnn.com

To: Bilow who wrote (105373)	7/15/2003 11:55:37 AM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Clearly, Blix thought that the evidence of stockpiling was strong, although he did not rule out the provision of an explanation. Clearly, he thought that the Iraqis were footdragging, and likely only responding to external pressure. He most certainly did not accept your explanation, nor did "the world" accept Saddam's explanations, the disagreement was over "containment" versus invasion, not giving Iraq a clean bill of health. As I said, there was more material than expected at Tuwaitha, and there was a lot of anxiety about it ending up on the black market. I am sorry that I confused a positive assertion by a local with an actual recovery. Many of the chemical suits were not in storage, but available for immediate use, and, as I said, the anti- toxin was for a specific agent favored by the regime. I await your apology.........Not that I would count on it......