Iraq

Posted on Iraq

further evidence the UN is incompetent

further proof john kerry was wrong to suggest putting increased trust in the UN is contained in the following links. some are rather lengthy articles, but i think they are important to understand why the UN needs to be reformed.

Annan ready for oil-for-food flak — i’m sure he is.
The Oil-for-Food Scam: What Did Kofi Annan Know, and When Did He Know It? –his hands are far from clean. very long. very damning stuff in this report.
Exposé, At Last?— article from the author of the previous report, claudia rosett, posted at NRO. a condensed review of the important stuff.
UN veteran fired over oil scandal — kofi next?
A Miasma of Corruption:The United Nations at 50 — a very comprehensive analysis of needed reform from the cato institute
Russian UN diplomat charged with money laundering — nothing surprising here. eventually all of the UN will have their hands in a few cookie jars. as the second article shows, russia and france were enablers in oil-for-food…so they have a few other skeletons in the closet too.
UN asks Ukraine to leave Lebanon –financial misconduct by some of their peacekeepers

that should be enough support for my argument.

let’s keep our eyes on the ball here. we, as america, a powerful and influential voice at the UN, should push the UN for needed reforms. what i would like to see is more consistency in the application of standards for members of the human rights committee (i.e. no leaders that brutalize their people should be eligible for it), emphasis on common-sense alternatives to kyoto, a more defined role for peacekeepers and a harder line taken on rogue dictators.

i would also like kofi annan to spare us his pithy lectures about how america should run itself. tell ya what, kofi. once the UN can handle its own business and effectively threaten rogue elements in its membership, then maybe you will gain a shred of credibility with us. the failures of the UN have forced this unilateral response by the US to threats. why? because sanctions don’t work and neither do toothless resolutions.

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Posted on George W. Bush, Hurricane Katrina, Iraq

i’ve had just about enough of cindy sheehan.

latest news: other things happened not related to katrina. chief justice william rehnquist died saturday, losing a tough battle with thyroid cancer. read about it here .

like everyone else, i was willing to give cindy sheehan a pass on almost all the crazy, messed up things she has said. she lost a son in iraq who’s not coming back. it must be absolutely devastating to lose a loved one. i can’t relate to that. i really don’t know the way the grieving process works in cases like this. i sympathize with her loss and wish only the best for the remaining family members.

that said, the fact that cindy sheehan is using hurricane katrina to get herself and her personal vendetta against the president more airtime is beyond inexcusable. it’s just wrong. like i’ve said and fellow conservatives have mentioned in their blogs, mistakes were probably made here. cindy sheehan hates president bush. we get it. for heaven’s sake, let’s hear all the information and get all of the facts before we put any heads on a pike!

read what she said on huffington post and marvel at the insanity of it. i applaud the fact that sheehan has been involved in the recovery efforts in new orleans. good for her. however, i cannot excuse her blatant attempt to politicize this tragedy for her own benefit. i disagree with those who say cindy sheehan has been swayed in her beliefs by moveon, michael moore, air america, et al. she believes everything she says without any external persuasion from any group out there.

Here’s a few choice comments.

“950 people in Iraq and how many thousands in the Gulf States died while the emperor strummed a guitar and knocked a golf ball around? ”

“…I really believe that George and his band of incompetent and dangerous thugs need to resign. It would be the only honorable and competent thing to do.”

cindy, please stop this nonsense. you’re hurting your cause and ticking off a lot of people who would normally support you. your efforts to help the good people of new orleans suggest that you are capable of looking at the big picture involved here. keep going in that direction, and don’t let your personal feelings about the president interfere with that process.

some may slam me for piling on cindy sheehan. i’m comfortable with that. i absolutely disagree with the venom in her comments and refuse to make any more excuses for her.

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Posted on Iraq

more on iraq

841 dead in Baghdad stampede–CNN

more articles:
Iraq’s Achievement — another perspective on the constitution.
from the economist:
An Iraqi tragedy raises sectarian tension— up to 1,000 possible deaths in Iraq due to a suicide bomb scare.

i honestly don’t know how long i can keep my current view of the situation in iraq. but war isn’t supposed to be war without casualties, right? at some point, i suppose that all of us have doubts. but i’m not ready to change my mind yet.

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Posted on Iraq, Moonbats

more analysis of the iraqi constitution

one muslim blogger rips george galloway and those with similar ideas in the iraqi expat blog. to his post, i agree 100%. it goes without saying that george galloway is not helping the cause. it is also very cool that there are in fact muslims that are against terrorism and who encourage others to join the cause and speak up. we need more of them to do so.

in case you were wondering about good things happening in iraq, here’s a report of some. it’s up to us to get the message out, because the MSM has been incredibly negligent here.

for good, (mostly) clean, conservative humor, check out the clever folks at IMAO. i resisted an endorsement as long as possible, but after checking out a couple podcasts, i was hooked. it’s not for the easily offended. there’s your warning.

read. learn. enjoy.

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Posted on Iraq

read it for yourself

here’s a link to the bbc’s article that references the current version of iraq’s draft constitution, if you’re interested. there is a link there to a pdf of that draft.

michael barone has a similar perspective to mine on the comparison between our constitution and theirs in his blog. i think i’ve said all i’m going to on this.

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Posted on Iraq

beware the media spin

don’t allow yourself to surrender to those who wish to be right about failure in iraq. don’t let yourself be lied to by the press about iraq and its constitution. read the current draft for yourself. think for yourself. that’s something america allows us to do. have faith in the process. it’s imperfect but president bush is committed to its completion.

You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books, You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me, You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self.
–Walt Whitman- “Song of Myself”

make your own decisions. don’t let the media spin you around. don’t allow yourself to give in to defeat. i believe the doom-and-gloom prophets will end up being wrong about iraq’s constitution. but there would be nothing surprising about that.

finally, here’s a different view of iraq’s constitution from the new york times. if i find more articles like this, i will post them.

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Posted on Iraq

good news

the u.s. army is exceeding its re-enlistment and first time enlistment goals, according to the new york post. bet that’s new information for some of us. the truth is out there. it will all be revealed in time. just keep believing and fighting for it. if you’re worried about the direction of the new iraqi constitution, there’s hope for you in the current draft text.

Update: according to cnn , the iraqi prime minister is hopeful about the new consitution.

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Posted on George W. Bush, Iraq

something i just have to say

i was watching the situation last night and i have to say that the opening comments by tucker carlson and monica crowley totally mirrored my feelings on iraq at this point. it’s easy to be frustrated and confused about iraq when good news is not readily available. i believe the american people understand the importance of supporting our military men and women and their families. i think that we also want to support our commander-in-chief as well. many of us voted for him. after 9/11, we appreciated his strong message toward the terrorists, leaving no doubt that he was willing and able to hunt them down and destroy them.

progress has been made in iraq and in the war on terror. the president needs to show us this. this is not something karl rove can do. this is not a job for conservative talk radio, the mainstream media, or even conservative blogs. it’s the president’s job to give us a good reason to keep trusting him. i hope he can…because public support is necessary to win any war.

success in iraq in my view doesn’t mean making their government and laws exactly like ours. if we say that the iraqis should decide their own future (and we actually mean it), then unfortunately we have little control over what they do with that future. there are countries with a large muslim population, like the UK for example, that don’t allow Islam to dictate their foreign policy. we could argue, i suppose, about the internal effects of radical islam to the UK, but that’s a debate for another day.

the new iraq should value the rights of everybody, including women. that would be the best scenario, but i don’t know how much the US can insist on while still allowing for the autonomy of the iraqi leadership. should the US push for those rights? YES, and the UN could make itself useful for once and facilitate the negotiation process between the opposing parties on the iraqi constitution. if we don’t want the iraqi government to be considered a puppet of the united states, then we should allow them to make their own choices. after all, that is what makes them an independent, self-determining country.

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Posted on George W. Bush, Iraq

the UN and freddie mitchell

the president needs to sell his iraq policy — not to the anti-war crowd, because they can’t be convinced (no matter how much new evidence is brought into the mix). he needs to sell his policy to his supporters who are finding that the “loony lefties” are starting to make more and more sense. that’s scary. if mr. bush has a vision, and concrete plans to back up that vision, it’s not unreasonable to share part of that plan with the american people who supported him and voted for him. this article in the american spectator makes a similar argument.

do i know for sure that iraq will end up stablized, pro-democracy, and a peaceful neighbor to other countries? no, i don’t. i’ll tell you what i do know. i trust our military. i trust president bush and his military advisors. i don’t trust the UN, who has totally screwed up the handling of saddam hussein’s iraq from the very beginning. in the immortal words from IMAO’s UN slogans: “if this is an emergency, please hang up and dial america”. the UN has dropped the ball on international affairs so often that they should no longer be carrying it. if this was pro football, the UN would be the equivalent of freddie mitchell — all hype and limited production.

cindy sheehan has a voice. air america has a voice (at least for now). the president needs to find his voice. it’s his responsibility to sell his iraq policy to us. i hope he can.

on a lighter note, here’s a great dilbert cartoon which is unfortunately very accurate, and one interesting way to fight high gas prices. for the record, i do not agree with everything on the IMAO site, but it’s all quite funny.

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Posted on Iraq

more on the UN oil-for-food disaster

we need to keep this story out there to emphasize the importance of UN reform. the average american may not see this as a major issue up there with the domestic ones (the economy, border security, etc), but it is. here’s why. it is the failure of the UN to handle its own responsibilities that has required the US to get involved in all these international incidents. the UN refuses to enforce its own resolutions, and allows dictators to get away with despicable acts against their people. not just iraq. rwanda. bosnia. there are many more examples of the UN dropping the ball. the point is that the UN as it’s currently constructed cannot do all the things we expect it to do. it needs to be reformed. maybe john bolton is the guy who can help bring this about. i hope so.

here are a few related links to the oil-for food story.
British MP denies oil-for-food charges
Q&A: Oil-for-food scandal
UN report deals serious damage
UN veteran fired over oil scandal

the UN should be held accountable for its mistakes. if no other country is willing to do it, the US should lead the way here, because it is in our best interest.

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