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When You Talk About the Iraq War, Think about ‘What will we talk about today you and I?’

Craig Houghton — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 05:35:43 +0000

Last night, I read a post over at Crooks and Liars that linked to a piece written by a young Iraqi blogger. I broke down before I finished reading. I’m not forwarding you there to push guilt or to convince you that re-deployment out of Iraq is the only sane or moral choice left (although that’s true). I’m recommending you read it because it’s so unmistakably real, and you can’t talk about something real in abstract terms and get it right unless you hang on tight to all the living breathing directly observable details to which the abstractions refer. When you talk about ‘the war,’ think about, “What will we talk about today you and I?” Read it through to the end — it won’t take too long.

Mohammed Ibn Laith, 16 years old, wrote the post after the death of his brother, a month before the death of his parents, and prior to surviving a recent bombing, alongside his brother and sister, that claimed the lives of his fellow bloggers.

I know that in a couple of days your (mine too?) memory of the piece will have faded. You might forget that Paris Hilton is a fictional character and American Idol is irrelevant. Once again, it will matter to you that your favorite Starbucks recipe could be just a bit better with a little tweaking. But, when you talk about the war, let it remind you of the piece:

“What will we talk about today you and I?”

U.S. Planning to Attack Iran on April 6th says Russians

Craig Houghton — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:21:19 +0000

It’s always dicey to point to a date, but that’s what the Russian media has done. Foreign papers are carrying this story along with a handful of bloggers, but I haven’t heard a peep from the corporate media here. We’re in the middle of a show of force as we begin our war games in the gulf, but is this just a last minute cram before an April 6th attack?

from Online Journal and Intel Daily

WASHINGTON DC — The long awaited US military attack on Iran is now on track for the first week of April, specifically for 4 AM on April 6, the Good Friday opening of Easter weekend, writes the well-known Russian journalist Andrei Uglanov in the Moscow weekly “Argumenty Nedeli.” Uglanov cites Russian military experts close to the Russian General Staff for his account.

and

India E-News

Moscow, March 27 (RIA Novosti) Russian military intelligence services are reporting a flurry of activity by US Armed Forces near Iran’s borders, a high-ranking security source said Tuesday.

Europe’s abuzz now. Where’s the U.S. msm?

I realize this could just be another threat by proxy. It’s odd that it’s coming from Uglanov and friends, but I suppose good psychops would want to get the info into the hands of an unlikely source like that. Either way, that’s all speculation at this point. I’d just like to see the big names pick up on the fact that russian sources are leaking this. I think there’s a story in that (at least).

Additional Sources

Russian News & Information Agency here and here. And, in english.

Note: Thom Hartmann reported on this all yesterday morning. Anyone have anything new? I’m hoping this is bogus, but the actions of the Bush administration are far stranger than fiction.

(image from http://www.oldamericancentury.org)

Hamden Rallies to Stop Bush’s Iraq Escalation

Craig Houghton — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 08:10:55 +0000

A Connecticut rush-hour rally in the center of Hamden managed a very impressive crowd today. Organized by MoveOn.org, the gathering was one of many across the country in response to Bush’s ridiculous call last night for more of the same in Iraq. According to CBS, support for an escalation is in the teens, and it shows.

Usually most people pass on honk-if-you-support signs, but the beeping in downtown Hamden made the experience more like Manhattan than a small town in Connecticut. I slapped together a video of the event, so please do check it out for yourself.

Here’s the video I took. Bear in mind, it was after dark.

Or, Right-click the link below and choose Save Target As…
http://www.leversandpulleys.com/hamden_1-11-07.wmv

It’s time for congress to flex and cut the funding. It isn’t ‘nice’ to pull the cash, but if that’s the price, I really don’t mind.

It isn’t nice to carry banners
Or to sit in on the floor
Or to shout our cry of Freedom
At the hotel and the store
It isn’t nice, it isn’t nice
You told us once, you told us twice
But if that is Freedom’s price
We don’t mind.

– from It Isn’t Nice, Malvina Reynolds

Randi’s Right! We’re Fighting for the Saudis

Craig Houghton — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 15:57:00 +0000

Prompted by Saudi Arabia’s warning to Cheney that they’ll support the Sunni’s in Iraq and the Saudi ambassador resigning at a moments notice, Randi Rhodes asked yesterday, “ what’s in it for Saudi Arabia to keep Iraq either in chaos or under their thumb?“

Prior to the invasion the Saudi’s saw the empty coffers and the rule of the royal family was in question. They were going broke. Look here.

Next, Bush does them a favor and lies us into a war. The cavalry rushes in to break Iraq.

Post-invasion , the Saudi economy is flourishing. The royals again hear the rustling of currency and they feel the rush of the flowing oil upon which their power depends. Look here.

Randi’s short answer to her own question says it best: “It’s the oil, stupid.”

“SA was already freaked out over the thought of Iraq being able to produce oil to capacity because the Saudis have ruined their country and needed to suppress global production in order to spike prices for themselves. And now, Saudi Arabia is enjoying budget surpluses with no external debt.”

Now, as Iran’s future brightens with the Shi’a influence in Iraq growing and as the U.S. beginning to seriously wake up to the inevitability of a withdrawal, the Saudi’s are getting pissed. They’ve been doing their best to keep it good and broken for some time now — 55 percent of the foreign insurgents in Iraq come from Saudi Arabia. That’s a significant MAJORITY. MSNBC reports that, “radical Saudi clerics urge them to go to Iraq to kill Americans.” They want to keep Iraq broken to serve their own interests, and the Bush administration knows it.

Why did we rush into a war of choice and why has the Bush administration been so incredibly, criminally, incompetent in Iraq? It’s in the name of friendship and a pact sealed by blood and oil. Bush and his local cronies made out like bandits while the Saudi economy boomed. All they had to do was stomach 25,000+ U.S. casualties, send hundreds of thousands of Iraqis to their death, drain our treasury, and sacrifice our security. What a deal.