Iraq Issues

[nemafakei]

Or the military has learnt from past mistakes.

[Andrew]

WARNING: The links in this story are to graphic, gruesome pictures of dead bodies, and some include graphic sexual content as well.

The link itself is safe.

US soldiers allegedly trading pictures of dead Iraqis & Afghanis for porn

I support the troops!

Er wait...

Another Abu Ghraib.

[Acriku]

*shudder* Being my curious self I went to each picture uncensored... Yowza. Dat's some f*ed up sh*t.

[Dante]

People take these pictures because there is a demand for them. And at least partly because they want to. What does that say about the species as a whole?

[Andrew]

LOL

This has made mainstream media (as predicted on FARK).

On CNN tv they are going over the exact link I provided.

Damn media thinking they are cool looking at/using blogs. sigh. If I wanted to read blogs, I would read blogs... not read blogs on tv.

[Andrew]

Satellite Interview between Bush and troops in Iraq scripted

That's great.

[Dude_Doc]

So... what do you think the "constitution-vote" result will be? A yes or a no?

[Andrew]

2000+ Soldiers dead.

Seems the military doesn't want anyone to know about it ;)

Papers, Ignoring Pentagon Plea, Mark 2,000th U.S. Death in Iraq

[Andrew]

Now a civilian count by Pentagon

26000 killed or wounded from Jan 1, 2004 to Sept. 16, 2005

The number of US deaths jumped to 2,015. 15 or so deaths in 4 days.

[stefanhendriks]

Somehow, ironic. As i thought the last thing the USA wanted, was to have a '2nd vietnam'....

[Andrew]

Not necessarily involved with Iraq.

White House Release

Q Hi, Mr. President. Thank you. Did Karl Rove tell you the truth about his role in the CIA leak case? And do you owe the American people an apology for your administration's assertations that Karl Rove and Scooter Libby weren't involved?

THE PRESIDENT: We're going through a very serious investigation. And I will -- have told you before that I'm not going to discuss the investigation until it's completed. And we have got a -- my obligation is to set an agenda, and I've done that. And the agenda is fighting and winning the war on terror, and keeping the economic vitality and growth alive, dealing with the energy problem, nominating people to the Supreme Court that adhere to the philosophy that I can depend on -- Judge Alito being such a person. I noticed today that they've got a date. I'm disappointed in the date, but happy they do have a firm date for his confirmation hearing. We've got to recover from the hurricanes. So I've got a lot to do, and will continue to focus on the people's business.

1st Question of the page.

Thought he was going to fire anyone involved with the CIA leak.

Should read/skim the entire article. Funny.

EDIT

Colin Powell's ex chief of staff says documents link Cheney and Rumsfeld to torture

A former top official in the Bush administration is making new allegations that Vice-President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved the use of torture against al-Qaeda suspects and other foreign-held prisoners.

[Andrew]

US does not torture, Bush insists

Five U.S. soldiers charged with detainee abuse

Why is the Bush Administration whining about the democrats wanting to input a no torture clause into some of the bills or whatever they are passing if they do not torture in the first place?

...the Bush administration is making "a terrible mistake" in opposing a congressional ban on torture...

Also

Judge Orders Release of Abu Ghraib Photos

A Republican Senator suggested the same day they contained scenes of "rape and murder." Rumsfeld then commented, "If these are released to the public, obviously it's going to make matters worse."

The photos were among thousands turned over by the key "whistleblower" in the scandal, Specialist Joseph M. Darby. Just a few that were released to the press sparked the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal last year, and the video images are said to be even more shocking.

Nope no torture here. Glad to see the Bush Administration trying to hide the truth.

And in case you missed *graphic* torture images at Abu Ghraib Prison.

Report: 70%-90% held in error in Iraq

Red Cross delegates saw U.S. military intelligence officers mistreating prisoners under interrogation at Abu Ghraib and collected allegations of abuse at more than 10 other detention facilities, including the military intelligence section at Camp Cropper at Baghdad International Airport and the Tikrit holding area, according to the report.

[Andrew]

US Used Chemical WMD in Fallujah

And the media ignores it.

Of course this is somewhat old news except for the new tv report.

and one article says it did not happen.

Is Jimmy Massey telling the truth about Iraq?

Although the new links have another marine saying similiar things.

Google news

The investigative report includes testimony by Italian journalist Guiliana Sgrena, kidnapped February 4 near Baghdad University as she readied to interview survivors in Faluja to confirm the use of MK77.

Sgrena was released in March this year but her car was attacked by a US patrol on its way to the airport. An Italian escort died in the attack, but she returned home alive and was able to denounce the incident.

So the military tried to kill her because she had information on USA using banned weapons. Interesting.

EDIT:

US 'uses incendiary arms' in Iraq BBC news

Interestingly another article says that "No U.S. network has aired any part of the film."

Lets pretend it never happened!

[exatreide]

I don't consider Naplam a chemical weapon.

[Andrew]

The chemical in question was "white phosphorous", although someone told the BBC that that is not a chemical weapon so they changed their headline.

From IMDB news

TV Film Claims U.S. Used Chemical Weapons in Iraq

The Italian state television network has broadcast a documentary in which a former U.S. soldier who served in Iraq claims that troops were ordered to use white phosphorus shells against insurgent and civilian targets during the offensive in Fallujah a year ago. The documentary, titled Fallujah: The Concealed Massacre, included footage of horribly burned bodies, including women and children, and an interview with a biologist in Fallujah in which he claims that a "rain of fire fell on the city." The U.S. has said that it had used phosphorus shells only for purposes of illumination. The story was picked up by the BBC and displayed prominently on its website under the headline, "U.S. Used Chemical Arms in Iraq" (later changed to read "U.S. Uses Incendiary Arms in Iraq." Al-Jazeera, the Arab News Network later picked up the BBC report. A spokesman for the BBC said that it made the change because, contrary to the RAI claim, white phosphorous is not a chemical weapon. Moreover, he noted, the U.S. is not a signatory to conventions barring its use in warfare. It also quoted a Pentagon spokesman as calling the documentary part of a "disinformation" campaign. No U.S. network has aired any part of the film.

Whether it is a chemical weapon or not, it still appears to melt human flesh when in contact.

Napalms were also used.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_phosphorus_incendiary

Has some very good links at the bottom of the page including the documentary on the "WMD" used in Iraq.

Although

http://www.rainews24.rai.it/ran24/inchiesta/default_02112005.asp

has an extremely much better download speed for the documentary. 30 minute long, average quality.

[exatreide]

I still don't consider that a bad chemical weapon, well definitly not worse then the depleated uranium shells we use.

[gunner154]

Napalm is obviously not a chemical weapon. Saying that it is is tantamount to saying my lighter is a chemical weapon.

Chemical weapons and chemical warfare. They go hand-in-hand.

[Andrew]

Detainees Say U.S. Soldiers Threw Them Into Den Of Lions

They were also beaten.

I'm guessing Bush is going to say opponents of war are rewriting history again...

EDIT:

Detainees Deserve Court Trials

Fannntastic!

A military tribune says they are innocent, yet they are still held at Guantonamo and treated as terrorists!

EDIT for acriku

Yep, I heard about it and saw some of it. He pretty much just bashed them and went on about his agenda and didn't give a shit about veterans.

Glad I mostly watched Canada's holiday on tv, it was actually about the veterans and not propaganda.

[Acriku]

Anybody catch Bush's speech on Veteran's Day that totally bashed the opposition of the war as being unpatriotic and such?

[Andrew]

Iraq detainees 'found starving'

This just gets better and better. Gotta love the occupation.

Bush said that USA does not torture. They must be outsourcing to the new Iraqi police and those other countries where the secret jails are. That way they can not get blamed and they can simply point the finger.

"In order to search for a terrorist, they used to detain hundreds of innocent people and torture them brutally."

Bush's approval rating hits new low

39%

He must be doing something wrong...

[Andrew]

Surprise!!

Remember last week when CEOs of Exxon, Conoco, Shell, and BP testified before Congress that they didn't meet with Cheney's energy task force? They were lying. Good thing they weren't under oath

(headline taken from fark since it was soooo good)

I bet the terror alert goes up before Christmas. Because bush's approval rating is so low, and he uses terror as a crutch to keep power.

CHENEY ENERGY TASK FORCE DOCUMENTS FEATURE MAP OF IRAQI OILFIELDS Reported in 2003 about cheney using an iraqi oil map in 2001...

Funny pic:

EDIT:

I also like how the government doesn't have a plan for Iraq.

Senate GOP Blocks Dems on Iraq Timetable

[nemafakei]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4441822.stm

Looks like the US aren't the only ones. Despicable.

[Andrew]

U.S. official admits phosphorus used as weapon in Iraq

That's great.

Let's not tell anyone we used phosphorus as a weapon, then deny it and bitch about italian tv trying to discredit the US military, and try to discredit 2 soldiers that were WHISTLE BLOWING about the situation, and when you can't handle the evidence, finally admit that it did happen.

A bunch of people need to be fired, all the way up to Bush.

[Dude_Doc]

How ironic - as they claim other countries have secret weapons only aiming at the US, when they themselves use gas and bombs in their invasions.

[Acriku]

The WP weapons, otherwise known as Willie Petes, were used since Gen. Billy Mitchell's demonstration in the early 1920s that proved the aircraft's ability to deliver explosive payloads. They also were under debate on whether or not it is a chemical weapon since the Vietnam War's usage of it:

Use of white phosphorus is not specifically banned by any treaty. However, there is a debate on whether white phosphorous is a chemical weapon and thus outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) which went into effect in April of 1997. The CWC is monitored by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The spokesman for that organization, Peter Kaiser, stated that white phosphorus was not against the convention if it was used as a lighting agent, but "If on the other hand the toxic properties of white phosphorus, the caustic properties, are specifically intended to be used as a weapon, that of course is prohibited, because the way the Convention is structured or the way it is in fact applied, any chemicals used against humans or animals that cause harm or death through the toxic properties of the chemical are considered chemical weapons." However, even when it is used as a weapon, it may be argued that it is not the toxic properties of white phosphorus, but the heat which is produced by its deployment, and thus white phosphorous is not a chemical weapon, but an incendiary weapon. [2]

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_phosphorus_incendiary

The United States also refused to sign the protocol banning WP usage on civilian populations:

As to its use as an incendiary weapon, the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons (Protocol III) prohibits the use of air-delivered incendiary weapons against civilian populations or indiscriminate incendiary attacks against military forces co-located with civilians. [3] However, the protocol also specifically excludes weapons whose incendiary effect is secondary, such as smoke grenades. This has been often read as excluding white phosphorus munitions from the protocol, as well. The United States is among the nations that are parties to the convention but have not signed Protocol III.

From same site.