Editoial Note:
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This Saturday night between the hours of 9PM – midnight PDT, we have scheduled downtime to complete some of these activities. Specific details are posted on our status page.

Posted by: b | Oct 29 2005 14:14 utc | 3

Once Upon a Time in the West
Now that Left Blogistan had its orgy of Animal Housism popped by Fitzgerald’s report,
it’s time to get back to the real issues at hand, the Endless War inflation engine, and
an underlying US:Global economic strategy driving America’s middle class to Ch. 13.
There is no doubt, after five years of a madcap deficit spending bubble on the war, and
and equally madcap easy-credit mortgage refinancing bubble in housing, that the US
is teetering on a “shortfall in aggregate demand” that props up easy credit and deficits.
In an Ideologue World, policies held sedulous to the hoi polloi will always be satisficed.
In a Neo-Universe, deficits always get monetized, by printing press, and by wars of terror.
In that light, it’s important to intimately, thoroughly, understand forward-looking realities:
The Administration will continue with deficit spending and easy credit. Here’s its playbook:
http://tinyurl.com/delyx
The Administration gussies up to the same Hollyweird cowboy dress code as Mr. Reagan:
http://tinyurl.com/8avck
http://tinyurl.com/bawtv
The Administration is neither compassionate, nor conservative, Mr. Will, you &^%*’g troglodyte:
http://tinyurl.com/c29yp
http://tinyurl.com/csnlt
http://tinyurl.com/9yt82
http://tinyurl.com/coco9
We are the terrorized townspeople. BushCo is the corrupt sheriff and his posse.
Any questions?
Mr. Eastwood, where are you, now that we need you!? Ooo-eee, ooo-eee, ooo-o-o.
http://www.threatswatch.org

Posted by: tante aime | Oct 29 2005 17:01 utc | 5

I do not understand why the Iranian Prez made that statement about Israel. Can someone help me?
On CNNI recently anchor Fionnuala Sweeney discussed this point with someone – god, who? can’t recall whether it was a journalist or other specialist, nor can I find a transcript – who “explained” that Ahmadinejad’s “wipe them off the map” statement was a quote from another leader/document/text/?, that this is commonly recited in speeches before this particular religious event – Jerusalem Day, decrying loss of muslim control of Jerusalem and so forth. Not that any of this justifies wiping any country off the map. Still, it was an interesting discussion that fleshed out what Ahmadinejad actually said but I did NOT see it repeated during the day and evening while the streamer repeated the phrase as if it were a direct quote.
Did anyone else happen to see the Sweeney interview and/or know who she was talking to?

Posted by: Hamburger | Oct 29 2005 17:26 utc | 7

@fauxreal et al.
1. Ahmadinejad talked on the yearly “Jerusalem Day” (last Friday of Ramadhan) to a quite radical group of his constituency
2. These were not his original statements but he cited Khomeini’s prophecies – see above. But the MSN did cover it as his own words.
3. He talked about Qods, Jerusalem. Last time I looked half of Jerusalem was occupied despite a dozend UN resulutions against this. The annectation of East Jerusalem by the occupation force is still done, everyday.
fauxreal writes: “The statement from Iran was like a justification for the use of those weapons by Israel, and, since Israel is our ally, we would also be involved.”
Would the also very religion loaded, agressive statements on “the axis of evil” and calls for “regime change” have justified the use of nuclear weapons on Washington DC? Well maybe?
Also since when is Israel an ally of the United States? As far as I know there are no contracts etc. in place like with NATO countries, so there is no obligation for the US to do anything in case Israel goes to war.
I think Ahmadinejad has been too harsh with his statements, but then, listen to some likutnik statements and those are not a bit less harsh.
Finally Perez called for the UN to throw out Iran. This is the most laughable think I ever heard of. Israel is the country that defies the UN and any resolution on Israel for decades. Israel is the country that is not a signatory of the NPT – Iran is signatory and sticks to it. Israel is openly annectating a foreign country, palestine, day by day.
The Persians are calculating that currently nobody can touch them. For the US (or Israel) to risk an attack is a very, very high gamble. So they put up some pressure. They should do so with less inflaming rethoric, but you can be sure that ANY words Ahmadinejad would use would be turned against him in the western press. So maybe he thinks it just doesn´t matter.

Posted by: b | Oct 29 2005 18:17 utc | 9

@b
Israel also has at least 200 nuclear warheads and the means to deliver them by aircraft as well as ground and submarine launched missile delivery systems. Not to mention chemical and biological weapons. Certainly no shortage of WMDs.
Israel is not a signatory to the NPT and has been, unlike Iran, illegally militarily occupying foriegn (Palestine, the West Bank, East Jerusaelum, the Golan Heights, etc) soil since the 1967 ‘Six day war’ in defiance of countless UN Resolutions with the explicit support of the US veto.
Oh yeah, routine extra-judicial summary executions regardless of the innocent civilians routinely denied life as ‘collateral damage’ …
Israel, or more precisely it’s extremist Zionist ideology and current government, is to the ME ‘street’ the embodiment of the criminality and injustice of modern western colonialism over the last 90 years since WWI. Hence the rather ‘heavy’ Iranian rhetoric.
Anyone remember the Irgun or the Hagganah ? Yesterdays terrorist is todays ‘freedom fighter’ …
Oh, and our supposed ‘ally’ spies on us regularly, intereferes in our political process directly, etc
PS The attack on the USS Liberty …

Posted by: Outraged | Oct 29 2005 18:36 utc | 11

Israeli Weapons of Mass Destruction: a Threat to Peace

“Arabs may have the oil, but we have the matches.”
– Ariel Sharon

Posted by: Outraged | Oct 29 2005 19:02 utc | 13

As pointed out, the Israelis (present Gvmt.) do not have autonomy, and cannot act on their own decisions. They are financially, politically dependent, and can only manouver through alliance, that is, adopting other’s interests, or by using more or less covert manipulation, influence, deception, blackmail, etc.
They are prisoners of their own device. The whole place is an open air concentration camp. Everyone there is miserable.
Subject to the victim-and-perp syndrome, they can only forge alliance with dominators, from the Nazis before WW2, to America today. To legitimise the symbiosis, they can only pretend control through deception, victimhood, and all its ugly faces in the modern world.
Lastly, to legitimise this situation, the population has been brainwashed and become paranoid. In such situations, a criminal class will rise to the top.
something like that – there are other aspects as well…

Posted by: Noisette | Oct 29 2005 20:31 utc | 15

Jesus, anyone else utterly incapable of focusing on the latest Distraction WH is cooking up? Enough Already. NeoNuts out of the WH NOW. 300,000 Americans are being cut off foodstamps & their children, ~40,000, will therefore be cut off free lunch program. In light of that, and ever so much more like it, I can quickly grow disgusted w/the painless attention to decorum among DC Elites. It’s all living in a nightmare to me…Everything is a Distraction from the Pirates War against us…the Culling of the Herd…the smart-ass trivia of the Tablogs makes my blood boil…and, of course, the “left” has always been anti american middle class, so they’re not about to speak out.

Posted by: jj | Oct 29 2005 20:43 utc | 17

The Iranian distraction was very easy to use because this speech occurs on the last day of Ramadan every year.
Maybe not word for word but pretty much since the revolution in 1979 Iranian fundies have been marching demanding the end of Israel’s illegal takeover of Palestinian land and their usurping of Palestinian sovereignty and political system.
Doubtless the elephant we won’t talk about in this thread was some motivation for the beat up but we shouldn’t forget that there are moves afoot to get Iranian Oil back where it belongs in the hands of USuk. There are a lot of ways to skin that cat and perhaps invasion isn’t really on the agenda because after Iraq just the threat of invasion certainly makes many concentrate their minds on things.
Whether or not USuk win in Iraq the Baathists aren’t going to run it again and the country isn’t worth shit to live in at the moment so Iranians would probably make a concession or two if there were no other alternative.
The French are on side for this one they have probably been offered a share in the Iranian oilfields if they support USuk at the security council.
It’s the French I really want to discuss in here because while everyone is talking about whether or not the Muslims have thermonuclear devices and insinuating that these types can’t be trusted with weapons of mass destruction, unlike Whitefellas, my local fishwrap has this story in it today.
It is about the high rate of illness that people who live in French Polynesia are currently suffering:

” Unexpectedly high levels of radioactive contamination are being discovered in French Polynesia nearly a decade after nuclear testing ended on Mururoa Atoll.
Up to five people a day are being sent to private hospitals in Auckland for diagnosis and treatment for what may be radiation-related illnesses, officials say.
The territory’s president Oscar Temaru has accused the French Government of a continuing, high-level cover-up over the health and environmental consequences of the testing.
“We have a lot of health problems,” he said.
Though France preferred such patients to be sent to Paris, it was cheaper and closer to send them to New Zealand, an official of Mr Temaru’s said. “

This is coming out now because until a few months ago French Polynesia which I believe is still defined as a Parisian suburb for French administrative purposes, was run by corrupt representatives of the whitefellas who have colonised it.
However the locals have finally got one of their own mob in charge. The last 12 months in Tahiti have been a bit like Venezuela. When Temaru won the election the first time up, the French courts declared that there was dodgy work afoot.
Complicated musical chairs ensued which resulted in the Whitefellas back in power.
By far the majority of the dodgy work was attributed to the Gaston Flosse whitefella mob but the courts only sought to rerun the polls in areas that Temaru had won but which it was felt whitey should have prevailed.
Another poll was held on those islands and Temaru got an increased majority which left a fair bit of egg on Chirac’s face since he was buddy buddy with the last administration who had arm twisted Tahitian businesses to give hefty donations to Chirac’s party in the last French national elections.
Now that Temaru is feeling confident and knows he has power he is starting to raise issues the French Government (under right and left administrations) have been sweeping under the carpet for 50 years.
When I was a youngfella this was the first major political action I got involved in and we fought hard but that is yet another yarn.
The point is that when nuclear testing started back in the 1960’s it was considered acceptable to cover the southern half of this planet with fallout.
Francophiles should understand that this isn’t some sort of Anglo have a go at the frogs thing.
The Anglos did exactly the same thing in South Australia. They looked at a map and said no one lives in this desert lets let off some devices at Maralinga . Thing is it was only empty of white fellas. A big mob of Pitjantjatjara Aboriginal people had been living there for 40,000 years minimum.
Of course the US has been involved in nuclear testing in the Pacific as well. In fact although the US has signed a treaty agreeing to cease testing, it still involves itself in so called subcritical tests . Whether or not it sticks to the agreement and doesn’t ‘go critical’ is subject to some dispute.
Finally intensive pressure from Australia and New Zealand governments failed to get France to pay any heed.
When USuk was approached to see if they could have more success New Zealand and Australia were told that the last round of tests for smaller tactical nuclear weapons would be completed. After that the French signed a treaty with the US restricting further testing.
There has long been a suspicion that the French, who appeared impervious to criticism, were effectively sub-contracting these tests of smaller nuclear devices for the US and Israel.
So if people want to get their tits in a tangle over Iran criticising the existence of Israel, an artificial construct, which is a blight on 21st century humanity, that is fair enough, because whichever way it goes many ordinary people on both sides of this debate are going to die. However do not be mislead into thinking that Iran is the only; or even close to the worst example, of a country’s spending on weapons of insane destruction.

Posted by: Debs is dead | Oct 29 2005 22:27 utc | 19

Interesting Review of Andrew Bacevich’s new book on current American militarism. Book sounds very good.
LINK

Posted by: Groucho | Oct 30 2005 0:10 utc | 21

jj-
I like the picture of the Euro fucking the Dollar.

Posted by: Malooga | Oct 30 2005 0:45 utc | 23

On taint aime, well seems to me he/she must be, and I hate to surmise, but you know, they must be one of those….
(((((((((((((((((theaterpeople))))))))))))))))))
And personally, I kinda like it when they show up in the bar, on maybe a slow night — they arrive (un-announced of course) in character, perhaps even in costume to provide a sampling or such, of their unlimited ( “Master Thespian”) talents. All the while testing their particular draw(troll) power over the patrons and the topic(s) at hand, which when it happens to add to the conversation (or ambience for that matter) in such an way that the unexpected grain of sand in the oyster might stimulate that oyster…..you know what I mean a little irritation, a little out of the ordinary, embracing of the error sometimes can work in favor of revalation. But conversly, as a caution though, the surrealist Juan Miro once, in reply to a question of how he could think in such fantastic images and thoughts, answered ; “only by keeping my feet firmly planted on the ground”. So I like what I read, but with preference for the grain of sand part, minus the theatrics.

Posted by: anna missed | Oct 30 2005 8:06 utc | 25

I must have had too much time on my hands today.
I came across a weird diatribe purportedly by some Chinese “General” about how they are planning to take over America.
I followed the link back to something called “Hal Turner” who apparently has air time in the NY area.
And his “blog” consists on a shitpile of racist articles. One particularly disgusting article was about Rosa Parks.
If anyone has a strong stomach and is interested in grappling with the depths of human depravity – check this out (I wont supply any URL’s).
Perhaps this moron invented all the comments by himself. I don’t know if they have internet access in NY lunatic asylums – but I am gonna be particularly careful on my next visit if these people are actually walking around the streets unsupervised.
I’ll will add though, that is gives me some pause on the “free speech” issue.

Posted by: DM | Oct 30 2005 10:45 utc | 27

Endless sunset
While you were, ah, distracted, Congress was quietly renewing every major provision of the Patriot Act.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Oct 30 2005 10:50 utc | 29

@fauxreal I wasn’t aware I was addressing my opinions on the Iranian question at you. I started writing that post over a day ago when the Ahmadinejad remarks first surfaced but as far as I know they hadn’t been commented on here.
But as you have given me your opinion I shall give you mine.
What MrUnspellable/Unpronounceable said wasn’t hateful or racist he simply said the state of Israel should be abolished, as it should. This remark of itself doesn’t make any determination about the people living in the area currently called Israel.
If someone wants to understand why someone said what they said it is vital to know what was spoken not what some other entity claimed was said.
The two state solution as well as legitimising theft is unworkable. As long as ‘Palestine’ and ‘Israel’ are up against each other rubbing shoulders, the violence will continue.
One secular non racist state is the only workable long term solution.
Describing the US’s prime motivation as “reductionist rhetoric” simply exacerbates the conflict.
I realise that it is difficult to come to terms with the underlying economic rationale for invasion and murder because it is so hateful. But to believe Imperialists are primarily motivated by anything other than personal gain, not only means accepting murderers weasly words it flies in the face of the history of Imperialism. The ‘ideo/religious motivations have always been an “add on” by the greedy to give legitimacy for their actions.
I would be interested to hear of any colonisation of one country by another where there was no major economic benefit to the coloniser. I am unaware of any apart from mistaken guesses which are usually dropped like the proverbial hot potato.
Oil is the only reason for Iraq massacre that matters. All the others are just lame after the fact justifications.
I can hardly be bothered going over this well worn ground again. There are many many worse regimes than Saddam Hussein’s out there and no one seriously considers invading them. The US would never invade North Korea (except of course if some previously unknown resource were discovered) no matter how badly they treat their population or threaten the South and or Japan.
Peace won’t be found in the middle east until the issue of oil is confronted and dealt with.
Why do you think the demopublicans don’t have any Iraq policy other than more and better war?
They have drunk the Kool Aid too, so they believe that one of the few real economic advantages the US still retains is it’s energy hegemony backed by it’s military superiority.
Hell they designed the policy. The repugs have only been in control for a decade this bullshit has been going on since at least WW2 finished. Before really if you consider the way the Roosevelt gave Japan the choice between being a thrid rate nation or war.
The philosophic motivations that everyone gets so distracted with are irrelevant.
In fact if BushCo had been honest about the oil bizzo he probably wouldn’t be facing the problems at home he has now.
Yes sure it would have been harder at the start to crank the killing up because people always prefer to have others think they are being ethical. However the long term sacrifice(lives and money) BushCo is asking of US citizens means that some sort of economic advantage is the only thing that people would accept in return for such sacrifice.
The west won’t stop fighting those nations with oil until one of three things occurs.
Those nations go “bugger it nothing is worth this. Take the stuff and piss off.” viable but given the nature of leaders unlikely.
The demand for oil disappears. Nearly as unlikely in the short term since little real progress has been made on alternatives.
Both sides come to an arrangement whereby the oil owners don’t feel they have been burned and the oil consumers don’t feel their dependence on oil makes them dependant on oil owners.
That’s not 100% likely but unlike the first two it is achievable in the short to medium term.
The second option is going to be the only stable and longterm one but won’t really happen until the oil has pretty much run out.
These buggers are going to be killing each other for a while yet. But that doesn’t mean the rest of us have to sit and watch this slaughter without insisting on some ethical guidelines and without trying to mitigate the killing and wounding of innocents as much as possible.
The people of the Mid East turned to Islam when there was nowhere else to go. They tried adopting Marxism to use as an underlying philosophy to power their self defence but Afghanistan was the last straw for demonstrating that imperialism is imperialism no matter what other ism is put out front to justify it.
Recognising that help from outside was really no help at all, they looked for their own philosophy and the one that came to hand was the philosophy that had been prevailing throughout the area before the white fellas turned up.
Its not a great choice, in fact its an ironic choice when you consider that Islam was the philosophy of the pre Xtian colonists, but I guess memories of Ottoman domination are sufficiently in the past that people don’t consider them.

Posted by: Debs is dead | Oct 30 2005 12:04 utc | 31

Time to declare West Bushistan a terrorist state and embargo it. It produces mega-scale grifters, electronic election rigging machines, toxic politicians, and grapefruit. Does anybody anywhere actually like grapefruit?

For example, U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, would let federal prosecutors shop for another jury if the first panel deadlocked on a death sentence. The very notion is absurd — jury shopping for death — and the amendment should be stripped from the Patriot Act reauthorization bill.

Posted by: eftsoons | Oct 30 2005 13:59 utc | 33

you are quie right uncle $cam – the patriot acts – even through their convuluted language – are in real terms the enabling act of the nazis transformed into modern america – if anything the patriot acts are crueler in intent & more shameful in their obvious strategy
resistance as a hononourable act in the us of a is verboten

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Oct 30 2005 14:38 utc | 35

thanks, dan, for the link. interesting that they mentioned that there is no military explanation for why dresden was bombed in the first place .
wasn’t it in order to shock and awe?

Posted by: gylangirl | Oct 31 2005 1:49 utc | 37

Iran Fighting the West w/Modern Weapons. They hired a Brit. Propaganda/PR Firm.
Most TV news reports about Iran depict religious revolutionaries who promote militancy abroad and suppress human rights at home. But this is only part of the story:
1 Art-house Iranian films by such directors as Abbas Kiarostami and Mohsen Makhmalbaf wow foreign audiences. But the domestic film industry also churns out hundreds of more popular pictures. Last year’s big hit The Lizard, drew the clerics’ wrath for depicting a convict escaping prison disguised as a mullah. …
…
6 While official dress codes are very strict, many young Iranians delight in pushing back the boundaries of what is acceptable…
…
7 Skiing is a major pastime in mountainous parts of Iran, with pistes that rival those in Alpine resorts….
…
8 Iran has one of the only condom factories in the Middle East, and actively encourages contraception as a means of family planning. …
link

Posted by: jj | Oct 31 2005 2:55 utc | 39

It would appear the constant background pressure from the US has finally resulted in movement re abandoning Japans (imposed) pacifist constitution and therefore adopting a more aggressive military and foriegn policy posture.
The US hawks believe this will allow them to re-allocate military resources and obtain a new ‘high profile’ ally, new ‘boots on the ground’, re its current and no doubt future military adventures … however, I would suggest as Japan comes out from under the US umbrella of ‘protection’ it will almost inevitably also go its ‘own way’ re policy … no longer being beholden for US strategic protection … and as its currently the second largest economy in the world …
Hmmm, the hawks should be carefull of what they wish for … they might not be ultimately happy with what they get …

EDITORIAL/ Constitutional revision: The LDP apparently put off debate on Article 9
10/31/2005
The Liberal Democratic Party has drafted a new Constitution that proposes changing the Self-Defense Forces to a “self-defense military,” clearly positioning it as a military force. Ever since its inception in 1955, the LDP has called for the establishment of an independent Constitution. At last, it has an official draft of its own.

Posted by: Outraged | Oct 31 2005 5:21 utc | 41

” And it is bringing us no closer to solving the urgent problems posed to world peace by an increasingly complex Iran.”
Almost ALL “urgent problems posed to world peace,” are posed by the U.S. and its militaristic goal of controlling the entire world, as detailed very clearly in the PNAC (read it, if you haven’t). “An increasingly complex Iran” is hardly a problem. Confront bullshit when you see it.
******************
@fauxreal-
Arguing for an independent Kurdistan is highly problematic for the Left, if one really thinks out the implications of what is being advocated–namely, a homeland for any ethnic group that should claim it. In seeking to allay Kurdish suffering through the creation of its own state, one simply creates a new group of opressed, disenfranchised and stateless, namely the Sunnis, Shiites, Turkmen, Azaras, Christians etc. who happen to live on land claimed by the Kurds. They will have to be “ethnically cleansed” for the greater benefit of the Kurds. Where does this fascistic line of thinking stop? An examination of the history of the State of Israel gives us some guidelines for thinking about the consequences of attempting to ameliorate one case of justifed prejudice in just this way.
Following your argument, who could disagree with a Native American demand for a substantial portion of North and South America set aside for their own country. Is this ridiculous only because they are not militarily strong enough to demand this of the US?
Speaking as a Jew (yes, Malooga is a Jewish blogname, descended from along line of famous Jewish bloggers dating back to the 1700’s in Portugal!) who has known Iraqi, Morrocan and Iranian Jews, I would argue that Jewish culture was far more vibrant and interesting when there were thriving Jewish communities in these areas, as well as Cochin India, China, the West Indies (which in 1790 had more Jews than North America), etc.
So the true radical response, I would argue, is not for more “homelands”, but to support the rights of people, wherever they may be, to determine their destiny. Democracy through diversity.

Posted by: Malooga | Oct 31 2005 6:42 utc | 43

@ b
On the contrary, setting up a Muslim Brotherhood
government in Syria, (or allying with the even nuttier
MEK against Iran) is perfectly coherent strategy, though not for the U.S. Nothing is better for Israel than
a certifiably fanatical party governing one of its regional rivals: it justifies all “precautionary measures”. Moreover, such governments are usually corrupt and “penetrable”. From the Israeli point of view it’s a “win-win” situation.

Posted by: Hannah K. O’Luthon | Oct 31 2005 11:07 utc | 45

Next United States Supreme Court Associate Justice ?

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Oct 31 2005 12:41 utc | 47

b, This is long so feel free to delete if you need to, or I can break it up but I think you will find it well worth the bandwidth it is the translated La Repubblica article that Hannah K. O’Luthon posted above. I just bought a kick-ass tranlation software program and it translates up to 20 languages.
The details of the secret operations of ours 007 on the field
for “mappare the defense of Saddam and contacting the sources”
From Chalabi to the agents Iranians
the war of the Sismi in Iraq
To Rome the summit strategic with the Pentagon
by CARL BONINI and GIUSEPPE D’.avanzo
The details of the secret operations of ours 007 on the field
for “mappare the defense of Saddam and contacting the sources”
From Chalabi to the agents Iranians
the war of the Sismi in Iraq
To Rome the summit strategic with the Pentagon
of CARL BONINI and GIUSEPPE D’.avanzo
ROME – He is high a managing one of the political-military intelligence. He is a man of the Sismi. It cuts to the strait corridor of the bar of the Eden hotel of via Ludovisi slowly. It appears rilassato. S’ lingers to watch, through the wide windows, the sky and the sweet profile of Rome in the sun of you open them (is the 22 you open them of 2003). He is elegant in its grisaglia of “civil employee of the Presidency of the Council”. It chooses a table to the center of the terrace. The waiter catches up it with sollecitudine. The man orders one spremuta of orange and a double coffee. The Anglo-American participation in Iraq is begun in the night between the 19 and 20 March, trentatré days before.
Today that Silvio Berlusconi reveals not to never have supported the military participation in Iraq, it is useful to tell as our Country, to the contrary of how much says the premier, has been been involved on the field in the war operations.
It must say with which agreements; to explain which they have been the action plans, plans to you from who and with who.
“For Italian we – the managing one of the Sismi to Republic tells high – the war in Iraq is begun before Been born them of 2002….”. Sorride. It is allegro and there is a light of excitation in its eyes and seems not possession wants, in order once, to suffocate that personal satisfaction behind one icy mask. Singular what. Never seen satisfied, that man. Always aware “that can be made more and better”.
Too much balanced in order to boast itself of the successes. Too much stubborn in order to let to dishearten from the defeats. He says: “it has been a new fact, has been one revolution for our intelligence . Never, in its history, the Sismi has been been involved with much relief in a military operation on the land and, with a capital role therefore in one war campaign. The government? Sure, he authorizes to you from the government, us lacks other… Is one war at all a practice… The score of men who we have sent in Iraq has risked the skin… “. S’ azzitta. The coffee arrives. It drinks slowly socchiudendo of it appeal to the eyes.
The continuous man: “they have been engages one score to you of men of three directions of the Sismi: Military intelligence, Operations, Anti-terrorism. They are uniforms in unit in the areas of Kirkuk, Bagdad, Bassora, protect from covers many fantasiose. Every unit ignored the identity and the job entrusted to the others. Ognuna has had the assignment to move in a territory handkerchief and to work with a sure number of “sources” already characterized and “prepared”. It objects were substantially two: to mappare the defense irachene and to measure it want to fight of the high pictures of the Armed Forces.
If the war that fights laggiù is not therefore cruenta, it must to this job that we have naturally not sbrigato alone. If we have won before that it came shot a single blow, must the happened one of the infiltration and of that we have gained some “.
* * *
The history of the Italian military participation in Iraq begins when resident scholar of the American Enterprise Institute (Aie) Michael Ledeen, sponsored from the minister of the Defense Antonio Martino, disembarks to Rome with men of the Pentagon in order to meet a fist of “outlaws Iranians”. The encounter is organized from the Sismi. In “a covered” apartment of the service near Public square of Spain (second other sources, in one classified room of the hotel Park of the Principles).
Around to a great table, covered from maps of the Iraq, the Iran and Syria there are more or less venticinque men. Those that they count indeed are Lawrence Franklin and Harold Rhode of the Office of Special Plans of the Pentagon, Michael Ledeen (Aie), capocentro of the Sismi accompanied from its an assistant (“a man stempiato between the 46 and 48 years; other young one, on the 38, with an apparatus to the teeth”), mysterious Iranians.
Pollari confirmation to Republic the meeting. “When the minister me churches to supply to that encounter, me incuriosii. In bottom, it is my trade and I am not been born yesterday. It is true, were also my men to the reunion. I wanted to know that what bubbled in pot… Is true, were papers of the Iraq and of the Iran on the table and those lì many outlaws Iranians did not have to be. They went and they came from Tehran with their passport and without some difficulty I lack were transparent to the eyes of the pasdaran… “.
Therefore, the Iranians are not outlaws. They are not oppositori of the regimen of the Ayatollahs. They are men of the regimen, sendes you of Tehran. If it is asked Washington that devil they make us, to the eve of the war, the Iranians to Rome, elbow to elbow with people of the Pentagon, can be collected some good information. In order to pull some thread of the garbuglio, it must listen to a source of the intelligence American who asks to remain anonymous. It says: “In Italy you have always underrated the job of poisoning of Ahmed Chalabi, the leader of the Iraqi National Congress (Inc). You have the tendency to omit this understood it of your history because thoughts that Ahmed has been only transaction ours. It is not therefore: it has been also transaction yours, more than how much you have up to now imagined or known “.
It must say who is Ahmed Chalabi. Favourite of neo-with, Chalabi is person in charge from the “hawks” of the Pentagon of veicolare to the European intelligences news on the proliferation of the crews of obtained destruction of mass from presumed scientists that the regimen has disertato. To being person in charge of the news collection and the construction of the “legends”, she is the responsible of the intelligence of Chalabi, Aras Habib Karim.
Aras is a key man. It coordinates the Intelligence Collection Programme. It manages and it manifactures the “production” of the dissidents. It is a curdo sciita, little less than cinquantenne, most clever, bad, a wizard of the doppiogioco and the counterfeiting of documents. With one particularitity: from always the Cia an agent considers it “Iranian”. According to key man he is an American, Francis Brooke.
False dossier the Italian one on the uranio nigerino arrives also, is not known indeed because, in its hands. Brooke holds the connections with Condoleezza Rice and Paul Wolfowitz and between Pentagon and the Iraqi National Congress. It is ascoltatissimo, also more than Chalabi, to Tehran.
It continues the Source of the USA intelligence: “Ahmed Chalabi and its better men – Karim, Brooke – move in square with send you of the Pentagon and the American Enterprise Institute. An example in order to understand better. The three men who, in 2004, alternate themselves to Bagdad to the flank of Chalabi as “official of connection” with the Pentagon they are Michael Rubin, president of the American Enterprise Institute; Harold Rhode, assistant to the Office of Special Plans di Douglas Feith and councilman “for the transactions Muslims” of Paul Wolfowitz. It happens therefore also in Italy to the eve of the war.
The reunions, than are convened to Rome, collect the representatives of all the square: Michael To Ledeen of the American Enterprise Institute; Larry Franklin and Harold Rhode of the Office of Special Plans; the colonels of the Iraqi National Congress; in more the iracheni sciiti of the Supreme Council for the revolution Muslim in Iraq (Sciri) and naturally the “guardiani of the revolution”. It is this the parterre of Rome. Interesting, not “. Interesting.
* * *
We discover that the winning paper is sciita that the Iran plays in the conflict in via of planning after the attack to the the 11 Towers of september. Tehran decides to spend “for one reasonable guarantee of the strategic interests Iranians in the area”. The Americans, pragmati to us, must hold account of the infuence Iranian on sciita community (the 65 for hundreds of the iracheni). The Ayatollahs have a “national interest” in the change of regimen to Bagdad. A freed Iraq the power of the Sunnites can give to Tehran one greater political infuence and chances of government to the sciiti ones of the supreme Council of the revolution of the Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim, supported accommodated and protect in Iran, with its military arm, the Sadr Brigades (from 7 to 15 mila men). Wonder therefore that the square of Chalabi (is not or they are not, its colonels, also agents Iranians), is received to Tehran with the dignity and the attention that reservoir to one diplomatic delegation.
The political context is this that concurs with the Sciri to collaborate with the Bush administration to the fabrication of the pretests of the war.
Aras Habib Karim organizes, with the Intelligence Collection Programme, the detections of the deserters iracheni. The Sciri offers to the Pentagon one confirmation to their detections apparently “independent”, in truth agreed with the group of Chalabi under the supervision of the intelligence agencies of Tehran.
If a transfuga, “worked” to London from the Inc, declares that Saddam Hussein “is trying to develop to a new type of crews chemistries”, the military leader of the Brigades Sadr, Abdalaziz al-Hakim, in visit to Washington, delivery to the civil employees Americans “a document of the intelligence Iranian who demonstrates as the dictator has authorized the regional commanders to use crews biological chemistries and against every sciita resistance that can is to us in attack case American”.
We have learned to know the module of the disinformation. They appear but protagonists who we did not know had trod the Italian scenes to the eve of the war. We see one to them beside the other, hour. They participate to the meeting of Rome. Programming of Michael To Ledeen on behalf of the Office of Special Plans of the Pentagon. Political sponsorship (to feel Pollari) of the minister of the Defense, Antonio Martino. Technical organization of the Sismi.
* * *
How many frottole on this reunion. It is served, has been said in these years, “in order to save screw human in Afghanistan”. Then, “in order to program with esuli Iranians the support to the popular masses Iranians” of which a vagheggia able renaissance to overthrow the regimen of the Ayatollahs. He has said himself that it has been useful “to characterize the interests of the Iran in Afghanistan”. Finally, like law in a “Note” of the Sismi, in order “to obtain information on presumed ties with Al-Qa’ ida and the role played from some Middle Eastern governments in the relationships with the international terrorism”.
In everyone of these interchanging pictures a such one has a role of primattore called Manucher Ghorbanifar. Iranian of birth, resident – for whom if it knows some – between Paris and Geneva, Ghorbanifar does not have one good reputation. For some, she is a dealer of crews. For others, a counterfeiter. For the civil branch of our intelligence , a secret agent of Tehran. For an agency of the intelligence American, an agent of the Mossad. For others, the most clever one cacciaballe. For other anchor, all these things together. To the contrary the Iranian is a smaller personage, to how much seems.
It is the lepre that the organizers of the meeting throw between the feet of the ficcanaso for condurli far away from the place of the crime, and above all to the wide one from the motive.
He tells the USA source to Republic : “Manucher Ghorbanifar offers only a London source in degree, seems, to indicate to Bagdad where to find the uranio enriched stoccato from Saddam to the eve of the war. Ledeen infioretta then the history reporting that the “contact” of Ghorbanifar has known also that the Iran is trying to acquire this uranio and that the cancellations emitted from the radioactive material in lying have contaminated some technicians iracheni of which knows the identity.
After you strike and you beat again between Cia and Pentagono, the London source of Ghorbanifar comes lead, to expenses of the Agency, Bagdad in order to collaborate to the location of the place in which the uranio is found. The man, after to have carried to I walk for some day the men of Langley, asks 50 mila dollars in order to refresh the memory of persons who, to Bagdad, can help it in the searches. Obviously, those buffone comes dismissed with a soccer in the culo… “.
Therefore, to leave to lose Manucher Ghorbanifar.
The meeting of Rome to the Park of the Principles or in the house of Public square of Spain – but probably in one and the other place – it must connect three segments of intelligence . The Sismi di Nicolò Pollari. The Iraqi National Congress di Ahmed Chalabi. The “supreme Council of the revolution” and the Brigades Sadr di Muhammad and Abdalaziz al-Hakim. Integration of the job and the “product” of the three “nets” can offer essential information to the planning of the Anglo-American military participation and, above all, a concrete appraisal of the consistency of the saddamite defense; of the will to fight of its it generates them; of the arsenal of crews of which Saddam, to here the influence operations , indeed it has. Ognuna of the three intelligences can put on the table an ace that will return good to the Pentagon.
The Sismi boasts the good contacts with the officials who, in Years Eighty, were train to you in Italy. With the time, they are becomes to you informing and “sources”. The Iraqi National Congress counts on the deserters of the regimen. The Sciri is caretaker of the constant monitoring of the territory because, it explains to Republic Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim before being killed 18 March 2003, “the Sadr Brigades, with independent military services one from the other, are to Bagdad, in the Kurdistan iracheno, the south Iranian”. Above all in this area, from Kerbala and Najaf until Bassora and to the peninsula of to the Faw, to the border with the Kuwait, no movement escapes to the informative invisibile network sciita disposed in the zone not flight to south of 3ésimo the parallel, the fundamental territory for whichever earth invasion.
The operations plans you of the Pentagon preview that the war activities on the land “are oriented” from the information that the intelligences will be in a position to stealing in Iraq, $R-oltre.la.linea of the forehead. The information will come collections from the Anglo-American unified Commando in real time, intercrossed, elaborated and therefore transformed in instructions to the combatant units. The idea is to its elementary way. “To illuminate”, from the inside of the Country, it objects to it to you, the devices you of defense and counterattack of an enemy of which the exact breakup of the military forces and the military services camouflaged between the civil population is ignored. There is also according to address of job, quite more important of the first one.
To here of the lines, “it infiltrates it to you” will have to prepare the land for a “secret pact” (safqa, in Arab)”for the yield of the Country”. The pact “previews a package of salvacondotti for the commanders of the republican Guard, of the military services of the Baath party and the fedayn of the president”. In according to moment, the Americans will take care themselves “to offer laute ricompense, the possibility to reside in the United States, with to their families, and above all to carry out a role of I enunciate in connection with some factions of the opposition irachena, before between all the Iraqi National Congress”.
Beside the Sciri and to the men of Chalabi, Italy will be able to make its part in this sale of the regimen to Bagdad and Bassora, tutt’ other that disowned to our military counterespionage. However, the participation in Mesopotamia, its first part (until “the mission is completed” of Bush) has not been other that “simple corruption of a fatiscente system of civil employees that has been sold in block to the Cia”. The agents of the Sismi put themselves to the job. It is the moment to return on the terrace of the Eden and to still listen to the man of the Sismi.
(1 – he continues)
(31 October 2005)

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Oct 31 2005 13:23 utc | 49

with all due respect to the translation software, Nur al-Cubicle has it beat. compare 1st paragraphs…
this is hers-
ROME: He’s another politico-military intelligence chief. He’s a SISMI man. He slowly saunters down the narrow hallway of the bar at the Hotel Eden in via Ludovisi. He stops to admire the sky and the attractive skyline of Rome in the April sun (it is 22 April 2003) through the hotel’s large windows. He looks elegant in his President’s Council grisaille. [Berlusconi presides over the “President’s Council”–Nur]. He selects a table at the center of the terrace. The waiter walks over and solicitously takes his order. The gentleman orders a freshly-squeezed orange juice and a double espresso. The Anglo-American invasion of Iraq began on the night of 19-20 March, thirty-three days earlier.

Posted by: fauxreal | Oct 31 2005 13:39 utc | 51

@fauxreal et al,
faux pas, sorry, you are correct fauxreal. I clicked Hannah’s second link above and it was still in Italian. Without reading the Nur al-Cubicle part, I guess I assumed that the translation link was a tech-glitch and didn’t come through and was excited to use my new software (Which obviously needs more tweaking). bleh… 😉
‘E’ for effort right?

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Oct 31 2005 14:02 utc | 53

Watch what you say, what you do, and what you wear!
Anti-snitching apparel becomes hot fashion trend
“Stop Snitching” T-shirts are one of Milwaukee’s hottest fashion trends. […] The shirts’ message – interpreted with slightly varying twists – essentially urges people to stop talking to and cooperating with police. […] But the shirts are fueling more than fashion, police and prosecutors say. They send a dangerous message to others that, if followed, has the potential to “destabilize the whole criminal justice system,” according to John Chisholm, Milwaukee County assistant district attorney.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Oct 31 2005 15:20 utc | 55

Money for Nothing

Billions of dollars have disappeared, gone to bribe Iraqis and line contractors’ pockets.
When the final page is written on America’s catastrophic imperial venture, one word will dominate the explanation of U.S. failure—corruption. Large-scale and pervasive corruption meant that available resources could not be used to stabilize and secure Iraq in the early days of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), when it was still possible to do so. Continuing corruption meant that the reconstruction of infrastructure never got underway, giving the Iraqi people little incentive to co-operate with the occupation. Ongoing corruption in arms procurement and defense spending means that Baghdad will never control a viable army while the Shi’ite and Kurdish militias will grow stronger and produce a divided Iraq in which constitutional guarantees will be irrelevant.
The American-dominated Coalition Provisional Authority could well prove to be the most corrupt administration in history, almost certainly surpassing the widespread fraud of the much-maligned UN Oil for Food Program. At least $20 billion that belonged to the Iraqi people has been wasted, together with hundreds of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars. Exactly how many billions of additional dollars were squandered, stolen, given away, or simply lost will never be known because the deliberate decision by the CPA not to meter oil exports means that no one will ever know how much revenue was generated during 2003 and 2004.

Posted by: b | Oct 31 2005 18:15 utc | 57

Just in case there may be a MoA reader labouring under the misapprehension that the Volcker report has revealed a nest of ‘corrupt anything for a buck raghead lovers’, I thought I’d throw in this link from my fishwrap about a beekeeping supply business in NZ that has fallen foul of the Volck’s beady eye.
If the owner’s take on the saga is correct this company slipped into Volcker’s field of view because the UN had a record of their transaction. The reason the UN had a record of the transaction was that the company owner, offended when some petty Iraqi bureaucrat tried to stick him up for 30 grand, foolishly thought that the United Nations may be some use in protecting his business from extortion.
Of course as far as Volcker is concerned this business entity is ideal for exposure being as it doesn’t work for big oil and is unlikely to have any of the gang (ie repug lobbyists) on the payroll. True it also doesn’t appear to have indulged in corrupt practises, but let’s not be letting facts get in the way of a good story.

Posted by: Debs is dead | Oct 31 2005 20:25 utc | 59

Speaking of fishwrap, the Guardian is rapidly heading there as well. Check out this Guardian interview w/Noam Chomsky, on occasion of him being chosen Leading Public Intellectual. Nothing even to quote. Distressing to see such Childish Amateurish Drivel from Britain’s once great leftish paper. But then NYT just has a Blackout Policy on his thinking. If it were a really great paper, he’d write regular op-eds.

Posted by: jj | Oct 31 2005 21:17 utc | 61

The new president received immediate pledges of bipartisan support from Democratic leaders. “We think the American people want unity and closure in these difficult times,” said Senator Hillary Clinton of New York. “They don’t want us to take partisan political advantage of the Republicans’ little spot of bother.”

Posted by: DM | Nov 1 2005 5:06 utc | 63

Regarding the articel about Craig Sikut who was arrested for haveing false CIA and other government ID. This individual lost his job with the Navel Investigative service, and I believe he lost his job at UPS. I knew him-a very strange guy.

Posted by: Anonymous | Jun 10 2006 21:37 utc | 65