We bomb. They suffer.

[mullaney]

regime change starts at home

It's time to start getting organized for next year's election. It's time to start thinking about how we are going to kick Bush out of office. One simple way you can start is to get organized.

Moveon.org has been at the center of the anti-war effort, helping organize events like the virtual march on Washington. Now they are beginning to organize for the next election. And they need you. These past couple of years have taught us that it does matter who is in the White House. Let's get someone in there that represents our views and has the courage and conviction to follow through on them.

http://www.moveon.org/pac/newpres/

 

[mullaney]

a little less angry and a lot more excited

I've been feeling very angry lately. I'm tired of being jaded when it comes to politics. I'm tired of supporting Democrats who seem to agree with me and then vote with the Republicans every chance they get. I want to support someone who has a backbone and is willing to say the things that need to be said and to get things done.

Reading about Howard Dean today made me a little less mad and a whole lot more hopeful. Here are a couple of important links when it comes to Dean:

Dean For America

"Senator Kerry was reported to have said that he could win without the South. I don't want to win without the South. I want to go to the South, and I'm going to say to white guys that drive pick-up trucks with Confederate flag decals on the back of their car, 'We want your vote too, because your kids don't have health insurance either.'"

"I opposed the Congressional Resolution giving the White House open-ended authorization to attack Iraq. I continue to oppose the Bush Doctrine of preemptive war. The conflict with Iraq was a war of choice; based on a prediction of triumph; and a definition of success that goes well beyond victory on the battlefield."

National Dean in 2004 Meetup Day - May 7

 

[mullaney]

I'm 100 percent certain the persons we shot at were armed

The war is over, right? No more civilian deaths, right? Hmm... well uh... no, I guess not.

U.S. Forces Return Fire at Iraq Protest

"U.S. paratroopers fired on anti-American protesters during a nighttime demonstration, and a hospital reported Tuesday that 13 Iraqis were killed and 75 wounded, including three young boys. Soldiers said armed men had mixed into the crowd and fired at them from nearby buildings."

And a more updated version of the same story:

US troops 'kill 13 Iraqi protesters'

"US troops opened fire on a group of Iraqi demonstrators near Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 13 people and wounding 75 others, according to reports from the area."

 

[mullaney]

Just like an Iraqi to bring a shoe to a gunfight

Some follow up news on the demonstration. Seems like we fired on demonstrators again in Fallujah.

Two killed in second clash in Fallujah

"The Red Cross said that three of the 15 Iraqis killed in that clash were boys under age 11 and that 53 Iraqis were wounded."

Two More Protesters Killed in Iraqi Town

"This was no peaceful demonstration, the Americans insisted. They said protesters threw rocks and shoes; Maj. Michael Marti, an intelligence officer for the division's 2nd Brigade, said a vehicle window was broken by what was believed to be automatic weapons fire."

 

[mullaney]

Can anyone fail so badly?

It's been some time since I updated this journal. If anyone was so naive to think the war was over when that statue of Saddam was torn down, they should read this essay. If anyone was so naive to believe that the Bush administration would make good caretakers of Iraq, they should read this essay. Honestly, I'm even having a hard time believing how badly this failed war is turning out.

The Crime and the Cover-Up
by By William Rivers Pitt

Evans had just returned from Baghdad. Upon her arrival to the city, she saw the demonstrable chaos caused by the war, and by the abject failure to repair the country in the aftermath. "It was 120 degrees, it was dusty, the air had a haze that makes everything gray," said Evans. "The buildings you see on the road are bombed out. In some, you can see the fire coming up. In some, you only see the scaffolding of contorted metal. We got across our bridge and turned right onto the street we know so well, the one we've stayed on, and every building was either boarded up or bombed out, including the United Nations DP. It was all bombed in, the windows were black from the fire."

"Immediately after we arrived," said Evans, "we hear that it is not only worse than before the war. It is worse than during the war. People are upset, people are angry. There were lots of stories about how the Americans are doing this on purpose. A month after the '91 war, which was much worse than this one, everything was back and working. Now, the people live in this chaos they can't even imagine. People can't go outside. Women haven't left their homes. Lots of people haven't come back from Syria or Kuwait or wherever they fled to get away from the bombing, because life in Iraq is unlivable. There is 65% unemployment, and even the doctors and nurses and teachers who are going to work don't get paid, so there's no money."

"That professor I spoke to, the one doing intelligence for Bremer, I told him that I had spoken to countless Iraqis and all of them felt this chaos was happening on purpose," said Evans. "He basically said this was true, that chaos was good, and out of chaos comes order. So what the Iraqis were saying - that this madness was all on purpose - this intelligence guy didn't discredit. He said, 'If you keep them hungry, they'll do anything for us.'"