Hubris and Folly

National Newswire
B. Thomas Cooper
Editor

Also Posted At:
http://theinfiniteecho.blogspot.com


Just two of the words used by Thomas E. Ricks, senior Pentagon correspondent for The Washington Post to describe the Bush administration’s decision to invade Iraq and its management of the war and subsequent occupation.

And those were the nice words.

In his new book, Fiasco, Ricks also accuses George Bush of being misguided, and incompetent, providing a plethora of disturbing detail, guaranteed to cause the reader great anxiety.

“President George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003 ultimately may come to be seen as one of the most profligate actions in the history of American foreign policy,” Mr. Ricks warns. “The consequences of his choice won’t be clear for decades, but it already is abundantly apparent in mid-2006 that the U.S. government went to war in Iraq with scant solid international support and on the basis of incorrect information — about weapons of mass destruction and a supposed nexus between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda’s terrorism — and then occupied the country negligently. Thousands of U.S. troops and an untold number of Iraqis have died. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent, many of them squandered. Democracy may yet come to Iraq and the region, but so too may civil war or a regional conflagration, which in turn could lead to spiraling oil prices and a global economic shock.”

Indeed!

This as members of Congress prepare to sue the president over his liberal use of so called ‘Signing Statements, believed by many, including myself, to be in direct violation of constitutional restraints preventing erosion of the balance of power.

Meanwhile, Iraqi civilians continue to die at an average rate of one hundred per day, as has been the case since early May. I certainly hope they all enjoyed their brief dance with Democracy.


National Newswire
http://nationalnewswire.blogspot.com/

U.S. Encouraged Detainee Abuse

National Newswire
B. Thomas Cooper
Editor


U.S. military commanders encouraged abuse of detainees in Iraq, according to a report released Sunday by Human Rights Watch, even after the Abu Ghraib prison scandal erupted in 2004.

According to the report, prisoners were routinely mistreated, deprived of sleep and exposed to extreme temperatures as part of the interrogation process.

"Soldiers were told the Geneva Conventions did not apply, and that interrogators could use abusive techniques to get detainees to talk," stated John Sifton, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch.

The report describes prisoners being stripped naked, thrown in the mud, sprayed with water and then exposed to frigid temperatures during hours of interrogation.

The Bush administration had long claimed certain enemies, including terrorists, were illegal combatants and not protected by Geneva Conventions rules. The conventions prohibit "outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment."

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that in fact, the Geneva Conventions should apply to the conflict with al-Qaida, and any captured combatants being detained.

National Newswire 2006
http://nationalnewswire.blogspot.com/

Sectarian Violence Surges in Iraq

National Newswire
B. Thomas Cooper
Editor

ABC NEWS, and the Associated Press, report two American soldiers killed Saturday in Baghdad, while south of the Iraqi capital, U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a major attack against a compound believed to be the headquarters of a radical Shiite militia , reportedly killing 15 suspected militiamen during the three-hour siege.

This, as two rockets exploded within the heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad, which houses the U.S. and British embassies. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

As a result of this recent escalation in violence, the United States intends to increase troop numbers in the Baghdad area, rather than drawing down current levels, as expected. U.S. troop levels in Iraq currently remain around 127,000, according to military sources.

U.S. Central Command reports that as of July 14th, 2006, the combined number of U.S. casualties for Operation Iraq Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom stands at 2,843, greater than the total loss of life suffered during the events of September 11th.

U.S. officials blame Shiite militias for the majority of sectarian violence, but this of course, means little to the understandably tense residents of Baghdad, who remain skeptical, and fearful, as the violence grows more intense.


National Newswire 2006
http://nationalnewswire.blogspot.com/

Your Source for Breaking News

National Newswire
B. Thomas Cooper
Editor

Welcome to National Newswire,
Your Source for Breaking News, and More!

During the first six years of the Bush administration, the world has become increasingly unstable. Destructive events are occurring closer to home. We find US supremacy fading on the world stage, as once again, the middle east becomes ground zero for hostilities. As America struggles to find a solution, all we can do is watch as the situation sinks deeper into the abyss.

Was it the events of 9/11 that shook our collective consciousness, sending us reeling against the ropes?
Was it the devastation suffered in the south following Katrina? Perhaps the answer is far more sinister.

National Newswire will focus on current geo-political events. We are actively seeking cutting edge stories and commentary that will provide our readers with a fresh perspective. We welcome your editorial comments and contributions.

Fresh content will begin appearing on Monday, July 24th. Thank you for dropping by.

B. Thomas Cooper

National Newswire

National Newswire 2006
http://nationalnewswire.blogspot.com/

A Shot Across the Bow

National Newswire
B. Thomas Cooper
Editor

Previously Posted At:
http://theinfiniteecho.blogspot.com

The big news this week is the US Supreme Court overwhelmingly ruling against the Bush administration tactics and policies in regard to prisoners being held at Gitmo. The implications of the ruling strike what may very well prove to be the death knell for the administration of George Bush and his corrupt cronies.

The nations highest court ruled the president overstepped his legal authority, and in doing so, violated established national and international human rights laws, as well as the US Constitution and the Geneva accord. Tony Snow, White House resident spin monkey, attempted to portray the decision as nothing more than a difference of opinion between governing bodies, but such is obviously not the case. George Bush and his administration willfully, and with blatant malice, violated the law.

This is no isolated incident, mind you. The current administration is without question, the most corrupt administration in the history of our formerly great country. We are a nation adrift. We have failed our core values. The events of 9/11 should not be used to frighten ourselves into compromising human rights.
When that happens, and it already has, the terrorists win hands down.

If in fact, we as Americans are truly concerned about ‘justice’, we must suck it in and admit the enemy resides within. The terrorists cannot and will not destroy our nation, but we may very well destroy it ourselves. “Pride comes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall”. You’ll find that quote somewhere in Bible, and never have wiser words been spoken.

So tell me again why we shouldn’t impeach a president who’s pathos has resulted in the loss of thousands of lives? No really, I mean it. I want to see your mindless, self serving excuses fill my in-box. Help me to understand how you justify continued support for such lawless, unethical conduct.

Enough time has passed. Only an absolute fool would defend or support the transgressions of this administration. It is indeed, time to kick the trash to the curb. This is our country. It is time we take it back.


National Newswire
http://nationalnewswire.blogspot.com/

Rumsfeld Vs Reality

National Newswire
B. Thomas Cooper
Editor

Previously Posted At:
http://theinfiniteecho.blogspot.com


Does a lampoon of Donald Rumsfeld and a wounded soldier go too far?
Such is is the question on the lips of many, following a recent political cartoon drawn by Tom Toles and published by the Washington Post, depicting Donald Rumsfeld with a legless serviceman.

The answer to the question is of course, subjective at best. Satire is protected by the US Constitution, even when deemed distasteful. As for the lampoon of Rumsfeld, humor is seldom pretty, and is at it's ugliest when confronting the truth. Donald Rumsfeld has demonstrated a propensity for disregarding the truth when the truth was inconvenient. From the very outset, he has failed to grasp the realities of the situation in Iraq. Like the story of the emperor and his new clothes, denial of the truth does not make it less true.

Mark Twain, an American literary icon wrote the following on the subject:

“Next the statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation which is attacked, and every man will be glad for those conscience- soothing falsities, and will study them, and will refuse to examine any refutations of them, and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self deception.”

"Grotesque self deception?"
Sound familiar?

He also said:

“Our country, right or wrong. Have you not perceived that that phrase is an insult to the nation?”

Or as George Washington, father of our country put it:

"Loyalty to your country always...
Loyalty to your government when they deserve it"


It has also been said that If one were to throw a rock over a high fence into a yard full of dogs, one can safely assume the dog that yelps is the dog struck by the rock.

You'll know a man by his deeds.
His name is Donald Rumsfeld.

National Newswire 2006
http://nationalnewswire.blogspot.com