GOOD INFORMED commentary on Iraq

[nadinbrzezinski]

Recomended by Micah Marshall

http://www.juancole.com/2004_04_01_juancole_archive.html#108109946449807198

[chrisdfer]

1. What about pure Pro American propaganda?

What about pure Pro American propaganda? Any idea how we can get sites like this shut down? I came across this and it really distrubed me. Why in the world would someone put up such crap like this? Think Bush and Co is behind it? Eitherway I think it is very distasteful and this site shouldn't be on the net. Any opinions?

http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/

[Crunchy Frog]

2. I can't even figure out

what exactly you're trying to say. Do you think you could clarify a little? Are you saying that some sites should be shut down because of their political content?

My suggestion is that if you don't like the political content of a site, that you should stay away from it and frequent sites whose content is more in line with your preferences.

[NJCher]

3. not only that but htey load you up with cookies

Cher

[Bridget Burke]

5. You're wrong, wrong, wrong.

Hey, you wanted my opinion!

There's lots of distasteful stuff on the net. I avoid that which I dislike & counsel you to do likewise. There are those who regard DU as "un-American" & would love to have it shut down. Let's not encourage them.

Enjoy your stay.

[dpibel]

6. Hey! d00dz! Check out this quote from DU!!

Sure, comrade! I completely agree with you that Amerika should only allow news that comes directly from Commies "R" Us. Because what we are really about at DU is feeding our lust to tear down the endless bounty from above which is the USofA.

There. That about get it for ya? (I almost suspect you'd actually quote this post. Which is tragic, really.)

[markses]

7. Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing the hissy fit

The sarcastic right "leaning" posters will be here in abundance today, as they throw their hissy fits over the obvious collapse of the deeply delusional Bush vision. They have no outlet for their shattered little dreams, so they'll vent their denials on this site. It's an amusing spectacle, to be sure.

[Jacobin]

8. Yeah. They are crawling all over this site like cockroaches

[NNN0LHI]

9. You got it markses n/t

[Jacobin]

10. Dick Cheney got it right, actually

in 1998, that is:

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/pubs/soref/cheney.htm

"I think that the proposition of going to Baghdad is also fallacious. I think if we were going to remove Saddam Hussein we would have had to go all the way to Baghdad, we would have to commit a lot of force because I do not believe he would wait in the Presidential Palace for us to arrive. I think we'd have had to hunt him down. And once we'd done that and we'd gotten rid of Saddam Hussein and his government, then we'd have had to put another government in its place.

What kind of government? Should it be a Sunni government or Shi'i government or a Kurdish government or Ba'athist regime? Or maybe we want to bring in some of the Islamic fundamentalists? How long would we have had to stay in Baghdad to keep that government in place? What would happen to the government once U.S. forces withdrew? How many casualties should the United States accept in that effort to try to create clarity and stability in a situation that is inherently unstable?

I think it is vitally important for a President to know when to use military force. I think it is also very important for him to know when not to commit U.S. military force. And it's my view that the President got it right both times, that it would have been a mistake for us to get bogged down in the quagmire inside Iraq."

[Junkdrawer]

4. The beginning of the "Arafat" strategy?

Muqtada Under Siege, US Helicopters Patrol Skies above East Baghdad

Sistani calls for calm

In the aftermath of one of the most turbulent days yet in American-occupied Iraq, the London daily al-Hayat reports that American helicopters were deployed late Sunday against the Army of the Mahdi militia of Muqtada al-Sadr in East Baghdad.

It said that Muqtada al-Sadr had withdrawn into his mosque in Kufa, south of Baghdad, for a spiritual "retreat," and that it was reported that Coalition military forces had surrounded the mosque. (Mosques are considered sanctuaries in the Muslim world, and there are always protests when they are invaded by security forces or military troops).

Agence France Presse reported that an aide close to Sistani said, ' The Ayatollah has called on the Shia demonstrators to remain calm, to keep a cool head and allow the problem to be resolved through negotiation," the source said. "Ali Sistani also called on the demonstrators not to retaliate against the occupation forces in the event of an aggression . . ." Nevertheless, the revered cleric believes "the demonstrators’ demands are legitimate," and "condemns acts waged by the occupation forces and pledges his support to the families of the victims", the source said. '