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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (30400)	10/22/2003 10:35:06 AM
From: T L Comiskey	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Anti-U.S. Guerrillas Keep Up Pressure in Iraq 2 hours, 44 minutes ago By Alistair Lyon BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Guerrillas kept up attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq (news - web sites) Wednesday, as an Oil Ministry source acknowledged that this week's pipeline explosion was the most destructive carried out by saboteurs to date. = AP Photo Slideshow: Iraq Violence and sabotage hampering postwar reconstruction efforts provide a sobering backdrop to an international donors' conference on Iraq that starts in Madrid Thursday. A roadside bomb wrecked a U.S. military vehicle in the flashpoint town of Falluja, west of Baghdad, but the military could not immediately say if there had been American casualties. Reuters television footage showed a Humvee lying in a ditch off a main road outside the restive Sunni Muslim town. Local people were throwing petrol onto the blazing vehicle and shouting "Allahu Akbar (God is great)." Falluja has been the scene of many attacks by guerrillas who have killed 104 U.S. troops in Iraq since President Bush (news - web sites) declared major combat over on May 1. Earlier, an improvised bomb exploded in a road tunnel in central Baghdad at dawn, hitting a Humvee and slightly wounding two U.S. soldiers, Captain Tommy Leslie of the 1st Armored Division, told Reuters at the scene. Guerrillas often use roadside bombs against U.S. forces, as well as using sabotage to try to cripple a drive to resuscitate the oil industry that provides almost all of Iraq's export revenue. An Oil Ministry source said Iraq aimed to resume exports from its crude oil pipeline to Turkey by early November, but sabotage threatened to undermine Baghdad's best efforts. "The plan is to resume Kirkuk exports in the first week of November after storing five million barrels of oil in Turkey," the source said. "But these are just plans. I don't think the pipeline can function in the foreseeable future because the sabotage will just continue." The source said Iraq would resume testing of the battered pipeline at a rate of 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) this week, then ramp up the volume to 500,000 bpd, he said. Postwar sabotage has prevented Iraq from shipping oil through its northern pipeline, which carried about 800,000 bpd before the war that toppled President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) in April. PIPELINE ATTACK The Oil Ministry source said Tuesday's sabotage blast that hit a cluster of four pipelines, just south of Baiji, Iraq's biggest oil refinery, was the most worrying attack so far. "This was a terrible blast. It hit four pipelines and it was the first time we actually witnessed parts of a pipeline being blown up completely," he said. "Normally there are dents, leaks and damage. But this blew up parts of the pipeline, which means repairs will take longer." The blast tore through two lines to Baghdad's vital Daura refinery, which was already taking diverted crude oil from the south. "The Daura refinery is now starved of oil," the source said. "It's getting about 30 percent of its usual supplies." Hunting for guerrillas, U.S. forces raided a farmhouse north of Saddam's hometown of Tikrit before dawn Wednesday. Chickens scattered as helicopters flew overhead, a woman in the farm next door cried as she watched through the bars of her window. The soldiers pulled about 20 men into the garden, handcuffing them and searching for identification cards. They found grenades and machine guns on the property, and dug up material that could be used to make explosives. After several hours, they took 10 men away, piling them onto a truck with hoods over their heads. Five were from the same family.

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (30400)	10/22/2003 10:42:06 AM
From: T L Comiskey	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

washingtonpost.com Buying a Way Out of the WMD Hunt By Art Buchwald Tuesday, October 21, 2003; Page C02 When the news came out that weapons of mass destruction could not be found in Iraq, the president said: "I know they are there. We have to look harder." "Yes sir, Mr. President. You are not the only one who believes it. Colin Powell, Don Rumsfeld and Karl Rove all insisted they were there, and that is why we attacked Iraq." "Why isn't David Kay, our WMD inspector, on our side?" Bush asked. "Perhaps because he is on the other side." "Either that or he hasn't looked hard enough," the president said. "I'm not going to go all around America justifying the war if we don't find any weapons of mass destruction. I know for a fact, because the CIA told me that once they find Saddam Hussein he will tell us where they're hidden. What will it cost to continue the search?" "A lousy $600 million, sir, not counting the $200 million we've spent so far." Mr. Bush said, "Who in his right mind would complain about that kind of tip money?" "The boys in the basement have an idea. Suppose we buy weapons of mass destruction from Iran and North Korea? We could ship them to Baghdad by Federal Express." The president said: "It is a good idea. I would rather buy them than look for them. What do we do about David Kay?" "We don't tell him. After the package is delivered, someone will tip him off as to where the weapons can be found. Once he 'finds' them, Colin Powell goes on David Letterman and breaks the news to America." The prez said, "Either Letterman or Jay Leno, whoever is more believable." "Then after Colin confirms there are WMDs in Iraq, your election campaign will start in earnest. You will say your reason for going to war has been justified, and all the naysayers will have to eat crow." Bush said: "Suppose the Axis of Evil tells us they can't afford to spare their weapons of mass destruction? What do we do then?" The aide said, "We'll promise to replace them from our own stock of WMDs." "Good thinking. Does the CIA have to know?" "No way. They're a rogue agency and the less they know, the better it is for us." The president said: "We'll send Don Rumsfeld on a goodwill mission to Iran. He can propose the deal to the ayatollah." "This thing looks better and better. Who should we send to North Korea?" "Ambassador Wilson. He can talk to Kim while his wife finds out how many WMDs they have." "Can the Wilsons be trusted?" "They did a job for Vice President Cheney and he was pleased with their reports." Mr. Bush said: "Let's do it. We can take the money out of the Head Start program." "Sir, you are going to make the boys in the basement very happy." "I'm not doing any more than Martin Sheen would do in 'The West Wing.' " © 2003, Tribune Media Services © 2003 The Washington Post Company

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (30400)	10/22/2003 10:52:34 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

So much for the Bush Bounce... talkingpointsmemo.com

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (30400)	10/22/2003 10:54:28 AM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Ann Coulter defends Rush's blackmarket procurement of drugs, but when she was rejected in her bid to run for the House of Representatives by the Libertarian party in 2000, it was because she professed to be "virulently, passionately opposed" to ending the War on Drugs. lp.org Now she champions Rush and his drug use, saying that taking enough painkillers to dull the entire population of CT is okay if Rush is doing it because he had "pain", over 30,000 illegally obtained oxycontin's worth of pain: townhall.com