Saturday, July 5, 2008

WHAT IS IRAQI PM AL-MALIKI SMOKING?

Whatever Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is smoking I want some.

Iraqi PM says government has defeated terrorism

houston_chron196:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/buzz/5873141.html

BAGHDAD — Iraq's prime minister said Saturday that the government has defeated terrorism in the country, a sign of growing confidence after recent crackdowns against Sunni extremists and Shiite militias.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched the crackdowns to extend the authority of the government over areas in Baghdad and elsewhere that have largely been under the control of armed groups since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

"They were intending to besiege Baghdad and control it," al-Maliki said. "But thanks to the will of the tribes, security forces, army and all Iraqis, we defeated them."

He was speaking at ceremonies marking the fifth anniversary of the 2003 assassination of Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, a leading opponent of Saddam Hussein who was killed in a truck bombing in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf after returning from exile in Iran.

SO MAYBE THE NEW "BAGHDAD BOB," PRIME MINISTER AL-MALIKI CAN EXPLAIN THESE INCIDENTS IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN---IRAQ:

Reported Security incidents:Baghdad:
Source: http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/

#1: A bomb attached to a car killed two people and wounded eight others on Friday in the Yarmouk district of western Baghdad, police said.

#2: Friday Two bodies were found in Baghdad on Friday, police said.

#3: A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded one policeman and one civilian in the Karrada district of central Baghdad, police said.

Diyala Prv:#1: On Friday evening gunmen planted a bomb near a house at Shuhdaa neighborhood in Jalwlaa (northeast Baquba). Six people from one family were injured when the bomb exploded (a wife, four daughters and a son).

Mahaweel:#1: One body was found with gunshot wounds and signs of torture on Friday in a house in Mahaweel, 60 km (35 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

Basra:#1: Gunmen killed Salim al-Daraji, an official of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) in northern Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad on Friday, police said.

Tikrit:#1: Iraqi police killed four militants, two of them foreigners, just south of Tikrit, 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

Irbil:#1: Two unidentified bodies showing signs of having been shot were found in the northern Iraq district of Makhmour on Saturday, police said."The bodies, found in the village of al-Qadiriya, al-Kuweir district, (30 km) west of Makhmour, were taken to a morgue in the city," the source, who did not want his name mentioned, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq. Makhmour, 68 km southwest of Arbil, is one of the districts administratively disputed by Arbil, 349 km northeast of Baghdad, and Ninewa, 405 km northeast of the Iraqi capital.

Mosul:#1: Meanwhile, a civilian was killed and six others, including two policemen, were injured in a car bomb attack that targeted their vehicle in northern Mosul city.

#2: Militants shot dead two off-duty policemen in a market in eastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.Al Anbar Prv:

Fallujah:#1: An Iraqi Sunni Arab politician escaped a bomb explosion with wounds in the city of Fallujah in Anbar province on Saturday, a local police source said. A roadside bomb detonated near the car of Khaled al-Ubeidi, head of the Iraqi Islamic Party in central Fallujah on Saturday morning, wounding him, his driver and a bystander, the source toldXinhua on condition of anonymity.A roadside bomb wounded Khalid Mohammed, an official of the Iraqi Islamic Party in Falluja, and three other people, 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, police said

WHY WE NEED A MILITARY DRAFT: SIX OUT OF TEN YOUNG AMERICANS CAN'T FIND IRAQ ON THE MAP

There are many reason why we need a military draft not the least of which is six out of ten young Americans according to a National Geographic study can't find Iraq on the map.

But there are more reason why need a draft.

We are fighting two wars. The Iraq war and the Afghanistan war and according to Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, we don't have enough troops for the exploding situation in Afghanistan.

Every war the U.S. has been involved in since World War II we had a military draft. There was a draft for the Korean War. I should know I was drafted in 1951 into the U.S. Army. There was a draft for the Vietnam War, but the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have been fought by an all volunteer military.

But now that same all volunteer military is stretched beyond the breaking point and even though 1200 troops in Iraq "re-upped" on the Fourth of July doesn't mean a damn thing.

What that means is they heard from back home how the economy is tanking and jobs are hard to find and so they decided to stay in the military rather than come home and end up out of work.

So bring on the DRAFT. It is time EVERYONE of military age know what it is like to serve in one of the branches of the United States military.

American flag lapel pins are out. Standing under the American flag in a military uniform are in.


Maybe then they will know where Iraq is on the map.

COMMENTARY BY BILL CORCORAN, EDITOR OF CORKSPHERE

Six out of 10 young Americans cannot find Iraq on a map

By Andrew Buncombe in WashingtonWednesday, 3 May 2006
http://tinyurl.com/5mepez

The US may be the world's only true superpower but global domination does not equal global knowledge. A new survey shows young Americans have what can only be described as shoddy geography skills, with six out of 10 unable to locate Iraq on a map and almost half incapable of pointing to the state of Mississippi.

Traditionally, the US has bowed to the idea of isolationism, hoping that geography in the form of vast oceans can help act as a protection from other nations. But the survey suggests that such an attitude- both culturally and in terms of interest in overseas travel - is having a woeful impact on Americans' ability to learn about the wider world.

The survey shows that, despite having invaded Iraq three years ago, six out of 10 Americans aged 18 to 24 cannot locate the country. Two-thirds do not know that the October 2005 earthquake that killed 70,000 people struck in Pakistan. Indeed, more than 40 per cent cannot locate Pakistan in Asia.

But it is not just overseas knowledge that is lacking. The survey shows that domestic geography is also poor. Despite the chaos caused by Hurricane Katrina, which killed hundreds of people and cost billions of dollars when it struck the Gulf Coast last August, one-third of those questioned were not able to find Louisiana on a map of the US. When asked to point on a map to a location that avoids hurricane strikes - ie, the north-west of the US - around a third pointed in the wrong direction.

"It's not good ... It shows the knowledge is pretty appalling," said John Fahey, president of the National Geographic Society, which commissioned the survey. "I think this is born out of a sense that [people believe] 'I can be isolated here - culturally and geographically. I don't need to think too much about what's happening in the rest of the world'."

He added: "Geographic illiteracy impacts our economic well-being, our relationships with other nations and the environment, and isolates us from our world. Geography is what helps us make sense of our world by showing the connections between people and places. Without it, our young people are not ready to face the challenges of the increasingly interconnected world of the 21st century."

The survey, carried out in December 2005, also found fewer than three in 10 think it is important to know the locations of countries in the news; only 14 per cent believe another language is a necessary skill; 47 per cent could not find India on a map and 75 per cent could not locate Israel.

While the geography skills of young Americans are unimpressive, however, they may be improving. A similar study carried out in 2002 found only 13 per cent could point to Iraq on a map. Almost one in 10 could not even point to the United States.

That survey also found that young people who have travelled abroad and speak another language are likely to have better geography skills than those who do not. Young adults who obtained international news from newspapers as opposed to television alone were likely to score better, as were respondents who regularly used the internet.

The National Geographic Society has released the results of the survey to coincide with a campaign to improve "geographic literacy". Entitled My Wonderful World, and led by a group of business, non-profit and education leaders, the aim is to highlight ways that children and parents can help build geography skills.

Central to the campaign is a website at www.Mywonderfulworld.net which contains suggestions for outdoor family activities, links to geography games and classroom materials.

WARNING! WARNING! MARINES IN FALLUJAH: GRAPHIC VIDEO OF U.S. MILITARY VEHICLE DESTROYED IN ENEMY ATTACK

The mainstream media doesn't want the American public to even know there is war going on in Iraq, but this extremely graphic video shows what took place right after a U.S. military vehicle was destroyed by an IED near Fallujah injuring a number of U.S. Marines.

WARNING: This video may not be suitable for minors.

Click on diamond-shaped arrow to activate video.

http://www.youtube.com/v/oLY0FFOhTUM&hl=en&fs=1

DOUBLE IED DESTROYS U.S. TANK. NEW VIDEO: WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC: NOT SUITABLE FOR MINORS

This video is taken from an Arabic news station and shows a double IED destroying a U.S. tank recently in Iraq.

WARNING: The scenes following the attack are extremely graphic.

THIS VIDEO MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR MINORS

Click on diamond-shaped arrow in middle of picture to activate video.

http://www.youtube.com/v/A7hTwQBZ5MA&hl=en&fs=1

IED ATTACK ON U.S. MILITARY VEHICLE: WARNING: VERY GRAPHIC

The video is in Arabic because it was posted on an Ararbic news station and shows an IED attack on a U.S. military vehicle in Iraq.

WARNING: The scenes are very graphic.

Click on diamond-shaped arrow in middle of picture to activate video.

http://www.youtube.com/v/Pv51hR-0tW0&hl=en&fs=1

INSURGENT VIDEO: M1 ABRAMS TANK DESTROYED BY IED

This video is from an Arab TV news source and shows an M1 Abrams tank destroyed by an IED. The scenes are very graphic and come with a WARNING.

The incident happened less than two week ago in Iraq.

Click on diamond-shaped arrow in middle of picture to activate video.

http://www.youtube.com/v/hBAjgg0sbi8&hl=en&fs=1