The Associated Press quoted Sen. John McCain claiming in an interview that he would "seize that opportunity to educate Senator [Barack] Obama along the way" if the two were to visit Iraq together, and that McCain also said that Obama "really has no experience or knowledge or judgment about the issue of Iraq." But the AP did not mention a series of claims made by McCain that raised questions about his own "knowledge" and "judgment" about Iraq, including about the safety of Baghdad neighborhoods and that Iran is training Al Qaeda.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200805270006?lid=322934&rid=8658434
In a May 26 article about an interview with Sen. John McCain, the Associated Press reported that McCain said that he and Sen. Barack Obama should visit Iraq together and quoted McCain claiming that he would "seize that opportunity to educate Senator Obama along the way." Reporters Liz Sidoti and Barry Massey further quoted McCain saying that Obama "really has no experience or knowledge or judgment about the issue of Iraq and he has wanted to surrender for a long time." But they did not mention statements McCain has made or actions he has taken in the past two years that raised questions about McCain's own "knowledge" and "judgment about the issue of Iraq," including claims about the safety of Baghdad neighborhoods, and his admittedly false claim -- which he made repeatedly -- that Iranian operatives are "taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back."
As Media Matters for America has documented, after visiting Iraq on a fact-finding tour, McCain twice made the Iran-Al Qaeda claim to reporters during a March 18 press conference in Amman, Jordan -- one day after he made a similar claim during an interview with nationally syndicated radio host Hugh Hewitt. After Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who was accompanying McCain on the trip, whispered something in his ear, McCain corrected himself, saying: "I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda." As The New York Times reported on March 19, Iran is believed to be financing and training Shiite extremists in Iraq, not Al Qaeda in Iraq.
On March 26, 2007, just before another fact-finding tour to Iraq, McCain told conservative radio host William Bennett that "[t]here are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods today."
When asked about those comments the next day on CNN's The Situation Room, McCain told host Wolf Blitzer: "General [David] Petraeus goes out there almost every day in an unarmed Humvee." When confronted about his comment on the April 8, 2007, edition of CBS' 60 Minutes, McCain, then in Iraq, admitted to correspondent Scott Pelley: "There is no unarmored Humvees. Obviously, that's the case. ... Of course I'm going to misspeak and I've done it on numerous occasions, and I probably will in the future."
On April 1, 2007, as part of a Republican congressional delegation, McCain visited an open-air market in downtown Baghdad. At a press conference later that day, a reporter asked McCain about his previous statement that he "could walk through" neighborhoods in Baghdad, and McCain replied: "Yeah, I just was -- came from one. ... Things are better, and there are encouraging signs. I have been here many ... times over the years; never have I been able to drive from the airport, never have I been able to go out into the city as I was today." However, McCain later admitted during his interview with Pelley on 60 Minutes that he was provided with security during his visit to the market: "I understand why they would provide me with that security, but I can tell you, if it had been two months ago, and I'd have asked to do it, they'd have said, 'under no circumstance whatsoever.' I view that as a sign of progress." As Pelley noted, McCain was accompanied by "10 armored humvees, soldiers with rifles, and two Apache attack helicopters circling overhead." Several other media outlets also noted McCain's heavy security during the visit.
The day after McCain's Baghdad market walk, Reuters reported that "[t]he crack of shots fired by unseen snipers echoed on Monday through Baghdad's wholesale Shorja market, a day after U.S. Senator John McCain held up his visit there as one sign of improving security in Baghdad." Also, in an April 3, 2007, New York Times article headlined "McCain Wrong on Iraq Security, Merchants Say," reporter Kirk Semple wrote that a "day after members of an American Congressional delegation led by Senator John McCain pointed to their brief visit to Baghdad's central market as evidence that the new security plan for the city was working, the merchants there were incredulous about the Americans' conclusions. ... Shorja, the city's oldest and largest market, set in a sprawling labyrinth of narrow streets and alleyways, has been bombed at least a half-dozen times since last summer. At least 61 people were killed and many more wounded in a three-pronged attack there on Feb. 12 involving two vehicle bombs and a roadside bomb."
From the May 26 Associated Press article:
Republican John McCain on Monday sharply criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama for not having been to Iraq since 2006, and said they should visit the war zone together.
"Look at what happened in the last two years since Senator Obama visited and declared the war lost," the GOP presidential nominee-in-waiting told The Associated Press in an interview, noting that the Illinois senator's last trip to Iraq came before the military buildup that is credited with curbing violence.
"He really has no experience or knowledge or judgment about the issue of Iraq and he has wanted to surrender for a long time," the Arizona senator added. "If there was any other issue before the American people, and you hadn't had anything to do with it in a couple of years, I think the American people would judge that very harshly."
McCain, a Navy veteran and Vietnam prisoner of war, frequently argues that he's the most qualified candidate to be a wartime commander in chief. In recent weeks, he has sought portray Obama, a first-term senator, as naive on foreign policy and not experienced enough to lead the military.
The Iraq war, which polls have shown that most of the country opposes, is shaping up to be a defining issue in the November presidential election.
Click on this link http://mediamatters.org/items/200805270006?lid=322934&rid=8658434 to read the rest of the story.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
AP REPORTED McCAIN'S OFFER TO "EDUCATE" OBAMA ON IRAQ WITHOUT MENTIONING McCAIN'S FALSE CLAIMS ABOUT IRAQ
BREAKING NEWS: CLG REPORTS BUSH PLANS AIR STRIKE ON IRAN BY AUGUST
Bush 'plans Iran air strike by August' 28 May 2008 The George W Bush administration plans to launch an air strike against Iran within the next two months, an informed source tells Asia Times Online, echoing other reports that have surfaced in the media in the United States recently. The source, a retired US career diplomat and former assistant secretary of state still active in the foreign affairs community, speaking anonymously, said last week that that the US plans an air strike against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news Click here to read full story.
FORMER BUSH PRESS SECRETARY SAYS BUSH USED PROPAGANDA TO SELL THE WAR IN A NEW BOOK
Former Bush press secretary Scott Mclellan has written a memoir that, among other things, describes the administration as using "propaganda" to sell the war in Iraq.
by Chris Edelson
http://www.theseminal.com/2008/05/27/former-bush-spokesman-describes-iraq-war-propaganda/
Mclellan is not the first insider to spill the beans about incompetence and deception–he is preceded by former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill. John DiIulio, and Richard Clarke, among others, Mclellan also notes that Rove and Libby "at best" misled him in their role about the administration's retaliation against Valerie and Joe Wilson, and concedes that some of his own statements to the press were "badly misguided."
The administration's use of propaganda to push for war in Iraq is no surprise — for one thing, Dana Milbank of the Washington Post reported on the administration's deceptions in late 2002. What's curious is that Mclellan professes to "still like and admire President Bush." How can Mclellan still likes and admire a president who, in Mclellan's own words, used propaganda to mislead a nation into war? Perhaps this helps to explain Bush's solid 30% of diehard supporters–like Mclellan, it's not clear what, if anything, could make them stop liking and admiring Bush.
A question begs to be answered, and perhaps Mclellan gets around to it somewhere in his book: if Mclellan knew that the president was lying to the American people about the need to go to war in Iraq, why didn't he speak up sooner, and leave the administration? (he stayed on as press secretary until 2006). I guess if he can still admire a president who uses deception to sell an unnecessary war, he could still feel ok feeding "badly misguided" information to the American people.
You know we've hit scandal overload when a former press secretary can accuse a sitting president of using propaganda to sell war to the public and the media's likely reaction is a yawn.
FEELING SAFER, IRAQIS COME HOME, BUT ONLY A FEW
Of some 5.1 million Iraqis uprooted from their homes, some 78,180 - fewer than 1 percent - had returned by March 31, according to the International Organization for Migration, an intergovernmental humanitarian group based in Switzerland.
Up to half the displaced are in neighboring countries, chiefly Jordan and Syria. But these countries, feeling overwhelmed, have tightened visa restrictions. Meanwhile Iraqis who are refugees in their own country are feeling the pinch of high rents, lost jobs and the disruption of their children's education.
Yet the U.N. and aid agencies warn that despite the drop in violence, a rapid mass return of Iraqis demanding their old homes back may only reignite sectarian tensions.
So the exodus from Iraq remains possibly the biggest crisis of its kind in the world today, and could stay that way indefinitely.
By KIM GAMELAssociated Press Writer
Click on this link to read full story: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/387/story/370214.html
McCAIN SAYS HE AND OBAMA SHOULD VISIT IRAQ TOGETHER: DOES THIS MEAN McCAIN WILL NEED 200 TROOPS AS SECURITY INSTEAD OF 100 LIKE THE LAST TIME
When Sen. John McCain first visited Iraq, the US military provided a security guard of 100 troops to protect him as he walked around the streets of Baghdad. McCain returned to the US and told a nationwide audience that everything was so calm in Baghdad he could walk around the streets unprotected.
When McCain returned to Iraq earlier this year, he wanted to visit the same Baghdad neighborhood but the US military told him that part of the city was far too dangerous to visit and so McCain settled for a photo/op at another part of Baghdad.
Now McCain has issued a challenge to Democrat Sen. Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic nominee for POTUS, to visit Iraq with him.
Does this mean McCain will ask for a security detail of 200 troops if Obama were to join him on a tour of Baghdad, which, of course, is highly unlikely?
Editorial Comment: Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE
Republican John McCain on Monday sharply criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama for not having been to Iraq since 2006, and said they should visit the war zone together.
By LIZ SIDOTI and BARRY MASSEY, Associated Press WritersTue May 27, 12:54 AM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080527/ap_on_el_pr/mccain
"Look at what happened in the last two years since Senator Obama visited and declared the war lost," the GOP presidential nominee-in-waiting told The Associated Press in an interview, noting that the Illinois senator's last trip to Iraq came before the military buildup that is credited with curbing violence.
"He really has no experience or knowledge or judgment about the issue of Iraq and he has wanted to surrender for a long time," the Arizona senator added. "If there was any other issue before the American people, and you hadn't had anything to do with it in a couple of years, I think the American people would judge that very harshly."
McCain, a Navy veteran and Vietnam prisoner of war, frequently argues that he's the most qualified candidate to be a wartime commander in chief. In recent weeks, he has sought portray Obama, a first-term senator, as naive on foreign policy and not experienced enough to lead the military.
The Iraq war, which polls have shown that most of the country opposes, is shaping up to be a defining issue in the November presidential election.
McCain, who wrapped up the GOP nomination in March, supports continued military presence in Iraq though he recently said he envisions victory with most U.S. troops coming home by January 2013 if he's elected. Obama, who has all but clinched the Democratic nomination, says he will remove U.S. combat troops within 16 months of taking office, though sometimes he shortens it to 11 months.
Click on this link for full story http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080527/ap_on_el_pr/mccain
DAHR JAMAIL WRITES ABOUT HOW ONE IRAQI CITY IS COPING WITH THE US OCCUPATION OF THEIR LAND
IRAQ: Through Occupation, The Very Dreams Change
By Ahmed Ali and Dahr Jamail*
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42529
BAQUBA, May 27 (IPS) - After more than five years of U.S. occupation, the very dreams of the people of Baquba have changed. For a start, they are no longer about the future.Today, a shower is a dream. Or that the electricity supply continues just that little bit longer.
"These needs are very trivial for people of other countries," 43-year-old political leader Saad Tahir told IPS. "But in Iraq, people dream more of these things than of some ambition or success." Abdullah Mahdi, a retired 51-year-old trader, says he dreams only of electricity. "Like millions here, I hope supply gets better to help us to sleep in this hot summer," Mahdi told IPS. "We have been suffering from this problem since the 1991 Kuwait war, and this current occupation only made things worse."
Others dream of freedom of movement. "I dream of travelling among the Iraqi provinces freely and safely," a local resident said. "For more than two years now, I have not travelled to any province of my country."
Lack of security means Iraqis can rarely travel even to a neighbouring area. Children also seem to have begun to dream differently. "I dream of a playground in which I and my friends can play freely and at any time," 11-year-old Luay Amjad told IPS. Children are not allowed to play just anywhere for fear of unexploded bombs, haphazard firing, and a general fear of the Iraqi military. Many children in Baquba and other districts of Diyala province have been kidnapped. "All families wish to see their children safe, and then enjoying their time," said a young father.
"We know that they currently live in a very closed world. But we put pressure on our children for their own safety. Streets are dangerous, and even gardens may sometimes be dangerous." Others dream of a functioning economy. According to the ministry of trade, unemployment has been vacillating between 40-70 percent over the last two years. "I hope that the trade and economic process will improve," said an unemployed trader. "I wish Iraq could be an industrial country with a flourishing and luxurious status of living. I want to get back to my shop and have my own customers."
Teachers dream of an Iraq that can be a centre for education again. "Iraq was one of the countries that paid great attention to education," a university professor, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IPS. "Now, breaking the rules of schools is very common, and fake certificates are spread widely all over the country.
We dream of a rigorous and successful educational process." Farmers simply dream of water, and the security necessary to work in their fields. "I hope I can work on my farm again, and have water to irrigate all the land," said a local vegetable farmer. A cleric spoke of bigger dreams. "I dream that all Iraqis will love each other again, as we used to in the past days. We miss hope, a smile, and true love.
We hope that cooperation prevails again among people. We hope for killing and displacement to end forever in this once peaceful country. We hope that the sectarian discrimination disappears." A political analyst said he dreams of an end to the occupation. "The occupation is the source of all the problems of our people. I do dream of the end of the occupation -- no more arrests, no more prison for simple and poor people, and no more suffering."
(*Ahmed, our correspondent in Iraq's Diyala province, works in close collaboration with Dahr Jamail, our U.S.-based specialist writer on Iraq who has reported extensively from Iraq and the Middle East). (END/2008)
BAGHDAD, CITY OF WIDOWS: GRIPPING NEW VIDEO OF IRAQI WIDOWS TALKING ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THEIR FAMILIES
SOURCE: THE REAL NEWS NETWORK
http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=1568&updaterx=2008-05-27+09%3A20%3A35
We show this segment courtesy of www.aliveinbaghdad.org. Alive in Baghdad employs Iraqi journalists to produce video packages each week about a variety of topics on daily life in Iraq.
Iraq, Baghdad/Abu Dsheer -
This memorial day, as citizens of the United States, and perhaps elsewhere, are remembering the fallen soldiers of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as previous conflicts, Alive in Baghdad asks you to remember the civilian fallen as well. It’s been estimated that 1.3 million women have been widowed in Iraq due to war, ranging from the Iran-Iraq war to the most recent conflict which is still going on today.Although its difficult to be certain if this number is accurate, or to know just how many have been widowed in the most recent conflict, Iraq’s acting Minister of Women's Affairs, Narmeen Othman, suggests that at least 70,000 women have been widowed due to the most recent war.
However, these numbers are disputed widely, and while a government committee on women’s affairs has claimed there are just 1.3 million widows in Iraq, others have reported drastically different numbers. One source in the Ministry of Women’s Affairs told an NBC staffer in 2007 that there were 3 million widows in Iraq due to the various wars of the last two decades.
Despite this already shocking number, the United Nations news service, IRIN, reported in 2006 that there are 8 million widows nation-wide, with upwards of 330,000 in Baghdad alone.
To put that in perspective, if true, it would mean that as much as 6-7 percent of Baghdad’s population may be made up of widows, suggesting that the number of children with only one parent left is likely to be double, or triple this, if not more.
The primary cause for women to be widowed today is sectarian violence and terrorism. Areas such as Abu Dsheer, Hawr Rajab, and other tumultuous districts that have seen some of the worst internecine fighting understandably have some of the most prevalent populations of widows and orphans.Abu Dsheer has been considered one of the bloodiest conflict areas in Baghdad, due to the influence militias have held there. Abu Dsheer is located in the south of Baghdad near Al-Saha neighborhood. Since 2004, Abu Dsheer was controlled by al-Qaeda on one side and the Sadr Movement on the other side, Many people were assassinated due to their sect whether they were Sunni or Shi’a. The Iraqi government tried many times along with coalition forces to restore security in Abu Dsheer with no success.In 2006 there were many bombings taking place in Abu Dsheer, in addition to the battles between the Iraqi or coalition forces and the militias.
The civilian casualties were very high in Abu Dsheer, and the families living there faced grave financial difficulties due to the bad security conditions which prevent them from going to work or looking for jobs within Abu Dsheer.There are NGOs trying to help the people living there, by providing them with medical and financial aid according to their abilities. NGOs such as Al-Tathamon Social Organization (Social Solidarity Organization) are trying to fix some of the problems in areas like Abu Dsheer.
The organization was created on the 10th of July 2007 in order to help families or individuals who were having medical or financial problems. They also help the families who lost there provider, like the father of that family or the mother. The Social Solidarity Organization has offices located in several areas such as Kadhimiya, Sadr City, Al-Husseiniya and Al-Nahrawan, as well as Abu Dsheer.Due to the difficulty these organizations have finding funding, many such as the Social Solidarity Organization and Al-Yateem Charity, which help the women interviewed by Alive in Baghdad, receive support from the Sadr Movement.
Although they claim to have sought financial support from the Iraqi government, both, the organization, and the widows interviewed by Alive in Baghdad say they have not received any support from the government.
US USES BULLETS ILL-SUITED FOR NEW WAYS OF WAR
As Sgt. Joe Higgins patrolled the streets of Saba al-Bor, a tough town north of Baghdad, he was armed with bullets that had a lot more firepower than those of his 4th Infantry Division buddies.
As an Army sniper, Higgins was one of the select few toting an M14. The long-barreled rifle, an imposing weapon built for wars long past, spits out bullets larger and more deadly than the rounds that fit into the M4 carbines and M16 rifles that most soldiers carry.
By RICHARD LARDNERAssociated Press Writer
http://www.kentucky.com/522/story/415759.html
"Having a heavy cartridge in an urban environment like that was definitely a good choice," says Higgins, who did two tours in Iraq and left the service last year. "It just has more stopping power."
Strange as it sounds, nearly seven years into the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, bullets are a controversial subject for the U.S.
The smaller, steel-penetrating M855 rounds continue to be a weak spot in the American arsenal. They are not lethal enough to bring down an enemy decisively, and that puts troops at risk, according to Associated Press interviews.
Designed decades ago to puncture a Soviet soldier's helmet hundreds of yards away, the M855 rounds are being used for very different targets in Iraq and Afghanistan. Much of today's fighting takes place in close quarters; narrow streets, stairways and rooftops are today's battlefield. Legions of armor-clad Russians marching through the Fulda Gap in Germany have given way to insurgents and terrorists who hit and run.
Fired at short range, the M855 round is prone to pass through a body like a needle through fabric. That does not mean being shot is a pain-free experience. But unless the bullet strikes a vital organ or the spine, the adrenaline-fueled enemy may have the strength to keep on fighting and even live to fight another day.
Click on this link to read full story http://www.kentucky.com/522/story/415759.html
2 US SOLDIERS, 15 IRAQIS KILLED, 53 IRAQIS WOUNDED ON MEMORIAL DAY
At least 15 Iraqis were killed and 53 more were wounded in the latest violence. The most significant attack left two dozen casualties in Tarmiyah. Also, one American soldier was killed and two more were wounded during an IED attack today in Salah ad Din province. Another U.S. soldier died in a non-combat related incident.
Monday: 2 US Soldiers, 15 Iraqis Killed; 53 Iraqis Wounded
Updated at 12:45 a.m. EDT, May 27, 2008
http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=12898
In Baghdad, a roadside bomb wounded five people near the airport. A bomb wounded two people in Shabb. In Hurriya, a car bomb killed an Iraqi soldier and wounded eight others. Five people were wounded near Abbas Ebin Firnas intersection when a bomb was detonated inside a park. No casualties were reported after shelling in Muthanna airport. A roadside bomb blasted a US convoy in al-Muhandseen, injuring three American soldiers (unconfirmed). Also, two dumped bodies were recovered.
A suicide motorcycle bomber struck at a joint police and Awakening Council (Sahwa) checkpoint in Tarmiyah. The bomber killed six people and wounded 18 more.
Eight people were wounded when a grenade was tossed at a Mosul police patrol. The body of a prison warden was found.
Three al-Qaeda leaders were arrested. Also, six teenage boys were detained on suspicion they were training to be suicide bombers. The boys said they or their family members were threatened with death if they did not obey.
A roadside bomb near Taza wounded an ambulance driver and a policeman.
One Sahwa member was killed and three were wounded during clashes in Muqdadiyah.
In Balad Ruz, four shepherds and their flock were reported missing.
Two Karkhiya chieftains were kidnapped in Baquba.
A bomb killed a policeman and his six-year-old son in Khan Bani Saad.
Gunmen in Abu Saida killed a policeman and wounded two others.
AND STILL THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA INSISTS ON TELLING AMERICANS THAT EVERYTHING IS GOING GREAT IN IRAQ.
