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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brumar89 who wrote (91990)	12/23/2004 5:42:49 PM
From: Grainne	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 108807

Whilt it may be true that there are some people in the world who would lie about the U.S. to help their cause, my own observations of the way the U.S. has acted in the world since the Vietnamese war indicate that we have a HUGE propaganda machine that lies with the best of them, as well as a CIA actively involved in very dirty tricks all over the globe. We are not an innocent nation full of dogooders when we intervene in conflicts overseas. Our propaganda/misinformation goal right now in Iraq is to keep Americans convinced that it is worth losing our soldiers to spread democracy there, when our goals are much more complex and shooting innocent people dead is not the typical way one spreads democracy. If you were following the hospital story, you would know that the U.S. seized the main hospital in Fallujah the first night it attacked so that the doctors could not treat patients or give accurate counts to the organizations that are trying to figure out how many Iraqis are dying in the conflict. You would know that the U.N. and the International Red Cross are doing investigations re U.S. war crimes because of the hospital takeover. Now why would we bomb a smaller hospital to smithereens? I'm not sure--maybe it was in our way, maybe it was not an intentional strike, or maybe it was. I have no idea really! But I do know that the event occurred. If you google and read the cited sources, you will find lots of articles and lots of photos. This one happens to be from the BBC, a respected international news organizaion from Britain (our only real ally in Iraq), not some group that you think is out to get America: BBC NEWS \| World \| Middle East \| US strikes raze Falluja DepthProgrammesLANGUAGESMORE >Last Updated: Saturday, 6 November, 2004, 13:14 GMT US strikes raze Falluja hospitalA hospital has been razed to the ground in one of the heaviest US air raids in the Iraqi city of Falluja.Witnesses said only the facade remained of the small Nazzal Emergency Hospital inthe centre of the city. There are no reports on casualties.A nearby medical supplies storeroom and dozens of houses were damaged as US forces continued preparing the ground for an expected major assault.UN chief Kofi Annan has warned against an attack on the restive Sunni city.It is the third time since the end of the US-led war that US and Iraqi forces have tried to gain control of Falluja.They say militants loyal to top al-Qaeda suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi are hiding there.Zarqawi's supporters have been behind some of the worstattacks on coalition and Iraqi forces as well as dozens of kidnappings. Some of the hostages - foreigners and Iraqis- have been beheaded.'Ruined'US troops using 155mm howitzers pounded a number of pre-planned targets in Falluja on Saturday.Along with air strikes - one ofthe heaviest in recent days -this is all part of what appears to be a steadily increasing pressure on the insurgents, says the BBC's Paul Wood, who is with US marines outside Falluja.Overnight, a column of armoured vehicles and humvee jeeps carried out attacks in the outskirts of Falluja designed to draw out the rebels and provide fresh targets for the air power and artillery.These are the kind of preliminary operations which would be carried out before a full-scale assault on Falluja, our correspondent says.KEY STORIESRebel attacks in Samarra kill 33US strikes raze Falluja hospitalAnnan's Falluja warning: ExcerptsEU downplays Iraq tensionsMSF aid agency ends work in IraqIn pictures: Preparing for FallujaFEATURES AND BACKGROUNDFixing Falluja Morale is high amongUS troops waiting to root out insurgents, Paul Wood finds. City of rebellionPrayers and tearsQ&A: Iraqi electionRough and unreadyWeapons row: Who said whatHAVE YOUR SAYHow should Falluja be dealt with? Iraq: Global phone-inVIDEO AND AUDIOHostage crisisFull in-depth report RELATED BBC LINKS:BBC Arabic ServiceTOP MIDDLE EAST STORIES NOWMilitants massacre 21 Iraq police 'Plan agreed' to keep Gaza calm 'Progress' at Iran nuclear talks Gaza militants die in Israel raid Page 2 BBC NEWS \| World \| Middle East \| US strikes raze Falluja ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3988433.stm2 of 211/7/2004 12:44 AMFALLUJA FLASHPOINTApr 2003: US paratroopersshoot dead 13 demonstratorsNov 2003-Jan 2004: attacks onthree US helicopters kill 25Feb 2004: 25 killed in attacks onIraqi police31 Mar 2004: four UScontractors killedApr 2004: US seals off cityMay 2004: Siege liftedJune 2004: Zarqawi loyaliststargeted in US raids - continuing to dateOct 2004: Iraqi PM threatensmilitary action if Zarqawi is not handed overCity of rebellionIn pictures: Troops prepareHave Your SayThe air strikes reduced the Nazzal hospital, run by a SaudiArabian Islamic charity, to rubble.Hospital officials quoted by Reuters news agency say all the contents were ruined.More people were preparing to flee the city - more than half of the city's estimated 300,000 people have alreadyleft.US marine officers say the full-scale attack will go ahead only once Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has given the order."The window really is closing for a peaceful settlement," Mr Allawi said on Friday after meeting EU leaders in Brussels.In a letter to the leaders of the US, UK and Iraq, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan warned that the use of forcerisked alienating Iraqis when their support for elections was vital.But Mr Allawi called the letter "confused".He said if Mr Annan thought he could prevent insurgents in Falluja from "inflicting damage and killing", he was welcome to try. E-mail this to a friendPrintable versionLINKS TO MORE MIDDLE EAST STORIESSelect6SelectNews alerts\| E-mail services\| Desktop ticker\| Mobiles/PDAs\| Headlines for your siteBack to top ^^News Front Page\| World\| UK\| England\| Northern Ireland\| Scotland\| Wales\| PoliticsBusiness\| Entertainment\| Science/Nature\| Technology\| Health\| EducationHave Your Say\| Magazine\| In Pictures\| Week at a Glance\| Country Profiles\| In Depth\| ProgrammesBBC Homepage >>\| BBC Sport >>\| BBC Weather >>\| BBC World Service >>About BBC News\| Help\| Feedback\| News sources\| Privacy & Cookies Policy\| About the BBC 216.239.63.104