“If we're an arrogant nation, they'll resent us. If we're a humble nation, but strong, they'll welcome us.”
- George Bush Jr. (more)
So what do you think? Bush promised the US would be a humble nation in his election campaign… While the US engages in another pseudo-war, this one titled “Operation Iraqi Freedom”, the rest of the world refers to it as the “War of Lies” and “[Operation] Freedom to Kill Iraqis” while world leaders promise “horrible consequences” and guarantee “100 new bin Ladens” (more).
To those of you screaming “support our troops”, you need to ask yourself where the trillion or so dollars this whole thing is going to cost is coming from. What exactly has the Bush regime been slashing to make it possible? Veterans benefits, that's what. Not only that, but the Bush “No Child Left Behind” regime has just slashed the education program by over ten percent. And so on (more).
To those of you screaming “this will save the people of Iraq from Saddam's brutalism”, you need to ask yourself who is being put in charge of the US-lead (no UN allowed) post-war relief effort. Who is the Bush regime putting in charge? Jay “Patriot Missile” Garner, that's who. To clarify, Bush is putting in charge one of the world's leading arms dealers in a country he's helped convert to rubble (more).
To those of you screaming “Saddam has illegal WMDs and will use them on us, and he's violated the UN”, you need to ask yourself exactly what weapons the US is using and what international law it's breaking. What illegal weapons are the US using? Depleted Uranium weapons, that's what. The US continues to fire DU weapons into Iraq, “deliberately flounting a UN resolution” which classifies them as illegal WMDs (more, more).
"This war is evil. It's an unjust war. They have no right to make war against us. Until now, we were sitting in our homes, comfortable and safe. ... What's the sin of the children? What have they done?"
- Haidar Kathim and Imad Hussein (more)"What fault did my pour son have? ... He was 30 years old. He only got married four months ago. We were all so happy. ... British soldiers fired on us. First against the car and then, after we all got out with our hands up, they continued attacking us with machine guns."
- After British attack on civilians (more)"Five children were turned into human torches in this house because of the gas cylinders inside... Their bodies protected me because I was in a corner. ... That is Bush's democracy. They want us to welcome them with flowers. Look what they've done to our families."
- After US school bombing (more)
Quotes like the above — horrific stories of civilians being slaughtered — are just going to continue to rise. There's new ones coming in every day thanks in part to trigger happy “shoot first, ask questions later” troops executing families on the street (more), and in part to new US orders to “shoot [civilians] on sight” because of the threat of suicide bombers (more).
Oh, and I should have taken Mrs. P's bet yesterday… She wanted to wager that Peter “This War Is Not Working” Arnett (more) who was fired a couple days ago for telling the truth would be blackballed from the media. Hired by the Mirror! (more).
I'd like to finish with a few other quotes. Interpret them as you see fit.
"[There were nights in WWII] when we'd lose 1,000 people. There will come a time maybe when things are going to be more shocking. We're prepared to pay a very high price... If that means there will be a lot of casualties, then there will be a lot of casualties."
- US Central Command (more)"The problem is that there has to be enough for this war and another one. We would have to be able to respond if the North Koreans move on Seoul"
- Lexington Institute (more)"Whenever the non-Muslims attack a Muslim land it is the duty of everyone to rise up against the aggressor."
- Mullah Mohammed Omar (more)
I have to clarify where that last two quotes came from — the middle quote is from an analyst looking at the current US supply numbers. The US is running out of missiles and bombs. It may have enough for levelling Iraq, but after that it will be very disarmed. Great news for the defence contractors who kick-started this war, horrible news for the American tax payer.
The last quote is from a current anti-US postering campaign being run in Afghanistan by the Taliban. Oh, you thought Afghanistan was free now, right? You thought that was was over? Not even close. The clerics are still very much fighting for control (more, more, more). Nothing much has changed, except that the new government signed oil deals with the US (more, more), and encourages the drug trade (more). Reports of “freedom granted” are dubious and isolated at best (more).
