Stars & Stripes: "Letters to the Editor for Monday, November 28, 2005 | Stars and Stripes | European and Mideast editions

(EDITOR’S NOTE: These are the letters that appeared in each edition of Stripes on this publication date. Click here to jump ahead to the Pacific edition letters)
War based on a lie

Weapons of mass destruction? I’m still looking for them, and if you find any give me a call so we can justify our presence in Iraq. We started the war based on a lie, and we’ll finish it based on a lie. I say this because I am currently serving with a logistics headquarters in the Anbar province, between the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi. I am not fooled by the constant fabrication of “democracy” and “freedom” touted by our leadership at home and overseas.
...
I’m not being negative, I’m being realistic. The reality in Iraq is that the United States created a nightmare situation where one didn’t exist. Yes, Saddam Hussein was an evil man who lied, cheated and pillaged his own nation. But how was he different from dictators in Africa who commit massive crimes again humanity with little repercussion and sometimes support from the West? The bottom line up front (BLUF to use a military acronym) is that Saddam was different because we used him as an excuse to go to war to make Americans “feel good” about the “War on Terrorism.” The BLUF is that our ultimate goal in 2003 was the security of Israel and the lucrative oil fields in northern and southern Iraq.

Weapons of mass destruction? Call me when you find them. In the meantime, “bring ’em on” so we can get our “mission accomplished” and get out of this mess. ...
- posted by Editor @ 8:02 PM

Reuters AlertNet - Iraq abuse as bad now as under Saddam -former PM: "Iraq abuse as bad now as under Saddam -former PM
26 Nov 2005 23:08:24 GMT
Source: Reuters
LONDON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Abuse of human rights in Iraq is as bad now as it was under Saddam Hussein, if not worse, former prime minister Iyad Allawi said in an interview published on Sunday.

'People are doing the same as (in) Saddam Hussein's time and worse. It is an appropriate comparison,' Allawi told British newspaper The Observer.

'People are remembering the days of Saddam,' said Allawi, a secular Shi'ite and former Baathist who is standing in elections scheduled for Dec. 15. 'These are the precise reasons why we fought Saddam Hussein and now we are seeing the same things.

'We are hearing about secret police, secret bunkers where people are being interrogated,' said Allawi in an apparent reference to the discovery of a bunker at the Shi'ite-run Interior Ministry where 170 men were held prisoner, beaten, half-starved and in some cases tortured.

'A lot of Iraqis are being tortured or killed in the course of interrogations.'

Allawi said the Interior Ministry, which has tried to brush off the scandal over the bunker, was afflicted by a 'disease'.

If it is not cured, he said, it 'will become contagious and spread to all ministries and structures of Iraq's government'.

'The Ministry of the Interior is at the heart of the matter,' Allawi said. 'I am not blaming the minister himself, but the rank and file are behind the secret dungeons and some of the executions that are taking place.'" ...
- posted by Editor @ 8:48 AM

Bush Rewrites History To Criticize His Antiwar Critics: "11/14/2005 @ 3:53pm

Our debate at home must also be fair-minded. One of the hallmarks of a free society and what makes our country strong is that our political leaders can discuss their differences openly, even in times of war.

Conservative who claim raising questions about the war does a disservice to the troops and is anti-American might want to keep these words in mind.

When I made the decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power, Congress approved it with strong bipartisan support.

Actually, Congress did not approve Bush's decision to remove Saddam. In October 2002, the House and Senate approved a resolution that gave Bush the authority to go to war in Iraq if he deemed that appropriate. At the time, Bush and his aides were claiming it was their goal to force Saddam Hussein to give up his weapons of mass destruction and his WMD programs (which, we know now, did not exist). When the resolution passed---and in the weeks after---the White House insisted that Bush was not bent on "regime change" and that he was willing to work within the UN to force Saddam to accept UN inspectors ...
...
While it's perfectly legitimate to criticize my decision or the conduct of the war, it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began.

When was the last time Bush talked about how the war began--that is, when did he mention that his primary reason for war (protecting the American public from the supposed WMD threat posed by Saddam Hussein) was discredited by reality? ...
- posted by Editor @ 5:43 AM

Among Insurgents in Iraq, Few Foreigners Are Found: "By Jonathan Finer | Washington Post Foreign Service | Thursday, November 17, 2005; Page A01

BAGHDAD -- Before 8,500 U.S. and Iraqi soldiers methodically swept through Tall Afar two months ago in the year's largest counterinsurgency offensive, commanders described the northern city as a logistics hub for fighters, including foreigners entering the country from Syria, 65 miles to the west.

"They come across the border and use Tall Afar as a base to launch attacks across northern Iraq," Col. H.R. McMaster, commander of the Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which led the assault, said in a briefing the day before it began.

When the air and ground operation wound down in mid-September, nearly 200 insurgents had been killed and close to 1,000 detained, the military said at the time. But interrogations and other analyses carried out in recent weeks showed that none of those captured was from outside Iraq. According to McMaster's staff, the 3rd Armored Cavalry last detained a foreign fighter in June.
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About 1,000 suspected insurgents, apparently all Iraqis, were detained in September in the northern city of Tall Afar after house-to-house searches involving 8,500 U.S. and Iraqi troops. ...
- posted by Editor @ 5:39 AM