posted on September 23, 2004 09:41:24 AM
Sep 23, 11:02 AM (ET)
By JENNIFER LOVEN
(AP) U.S.
WASHINGTON (AP) -
[taken from My Way News]
Offering a simple, "Thank you America," Iraqi interim prime minister Ayad Allawi declared Thursday that his country is moving successfully past the war that ousted Saddam Hussein and vowed that elections will take place next year as scheduled.
"Elections will occur in Iraq on time in January because Iraqis want elections on time," Allawi told a joint meeting of Congress, an appearance that President Bush's advisers hoped would ease American voters' doubts about the troubled campaign in Iraq.
Despite struggles and setbacks, "the values of liberty and democracy" are taking hold in his country, Allawi proudly exclaimed. "We could hold elections tomorrow" in 15 of 18 provinces, he said, even though terror operatives hope to disrupt them.
"The insurgency in Iraq is destructive but small, and it has not and will never resonate with the Iraqi people," Allawi said. He cautioned, however, that the election may not come off perfectly. But he assured it will be free and fair, "a giant step" in Iraq's political evolution.
"Today, we are better off, you are better off, the world is better off without Saddam Hussein," Allawi said. He added: "Your decision to go into Iraq was not an easy one, but it was the right one."
posted on September 23, 2004 09:52:09 AM
And here we go to refute that propaganda. One day in Iraq. Remember last year when you used to tell us how wonderful things were in Iraq...Well, here we go again. How many other dictators do you wish to go to war against, lindak???
Baghdad
In downtown Baghdad, guerrillas used a car bomb to strike at persons in a retail district who were waiting to sign up for service in the Iraqi National Guard. The huge explosion killed 6 individuals and wounded 54.
There were also clashes at Haifa Street, a stronghold of the Iraqi branch of the radical Monotheism and Holy War movement. The number of resulting casualties is unknown as I write.
A US strike on Abu Ghurab west of Baghdad a week ago may have killed a leader of Monotheism and Holy War, Abu Anas al-Shami, a Jordanian Muslim radical and author.
Sadr City
In east Baghdad, according to Naim al-Qaabi, spokesman for the Sadr movement, a US push into that part of the capital resulted in clashes that left 15 dead and 52 wounded.
Samarra
Some 40 guerrillas fought US forces near Samarra on Wednesday. The US forces called in an air strike on a house, killing 2 Iraqis and wounding 2. Although a supposed ceasefire had recently been called by city leaders of Samarra, allowing US troops back into the city, it seems clear that Samarran guerrillas are still operating in the area and that the situation remains dicey.
Tikrit
Guerrillas used a roadside bomb to attack US troops near Tikrit, killing 1 US soldier.
Nasiriyah
Three American crew members of a Black Hawk helicopter were wounded when it crashed soon after take-off on Wednesday near Nasiriyah. The cause of the crash was not announced, but US helicopters frequently take rocket-propelled grenade fire in Iraq.
Najaf
On Monday and Tuesday, US Marines and Iraqi national guards raided offices of the Muqtada al-Sadr movement near the shrine of Ali, arresting several officials close to the radical young cleric. The American-appointed governor, Adnan al-Zurfi, maintained that they had found weapons caches in the sweep.
The action appears to contravene the terms of the cease-fire earlier reached with the Sadrists, and the raid was condemned by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. Sistani deeply dislikes the Mahdi Army, but he no doubt feels that if the various parties cannot trust that a settlement under his auspices can be trusted, it will weaken his authority to help settle future disputes.
Dexter Filkins of the New York Times reports that Sistani is increasingly worried about the form of the elections scheduled for January. The current plan to have nation-wide pre-selected party lists will unfairly favor the expatriate political parties, he fears, and he is threatening to withdraw his support from the process.
I personally would be shocked and amazed if elections are actually held in January. If they are, it would not be surprising if the expatriate parties managed to set things up so as to dominate them. They are the ones who have been organizing abroad for the past twenty years and have experience in politicking. But if a lot of local Iraqis feel disenfranchised by the results, then the elections won't produce a stable government. Moreover, Sistani's approval would be key to such a government's hopes for success.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is burning up money and ammunition so fast in Iraq that it has prematurely had to dip into a $25 billion emergency fund: "If the additional money were not available this month, armed services either would have to cut other programs to shift money to the war or face the prospect of new troops going to battle without sufficient body armor, armored Humvees and other protective gear." The war is costing about $1 billion a week.
posted on September 23, 2004 10:00:07 AM
Yes, and President Bush said yesterday that there were only a "handful" of people who are standing in the way to progress.
Isn't that a joke? If it's only a handful how come the US military can't take them out? Why are they killing so many innocent citizens in order to take out just a "handful"..... aka "a few thugs"? Why is it lasting so long and costing so much money to take out that "handful"? What if a real army took on the US?
posted on September 23, 2004 11:32:13 AM
Ya, Allawi said it....not your average Iraqi.
I just spent two hours listening to two different radio stations, flicking back and forth, discussing all the corruption, mismanagement, underfunding, and cronyism going on in Iraq to the detriment of the Iraqi's..
For instance, Iraq had 17 cement plants, one in particular could start producing if only they had an emergency generator. But no, those huge concrete blocks protecting ALLIED forces(not the Iraqis) are IMPORTED at the cost of $1,000.00. If a generator was provided IRAQIs could get jobs in their own country providing these blocks..;....they are now called Bremer blocks......because Bremer thought the way to "help" Iraq was to out-source everything they needed to help allied countries make a buck.
The billions of dollars sent to Iraq , most of which has NOT been distributed, is overseen by 19-24 year-old former Cheney interns. They ahve used it to purchase their own body armor and life insurance.....sounds like things are going real well in Iraq.
Go ahead, hold elections........but it would be a change if we got the Iraqi body count after that happens!
[ edited by crowfarm on Sep 23, 2004 11:33 AM ]
posted on September 23, 2004 12:42:04 PM
Better be careful helen....I'm sure cf is just chomping at the bit not to mention your copying and pasting. No...wait...I forgot she only does that to righties.
There are good things going on in Iraq....along with an escallation of violence. Violence that was previously stated would worsen as their election time drew closer.
See...the terrorists are very similar to the ultra-lefties here....they don't really care whether Iraqi people have been given a chance to form their own government. Nope...they only focus on the negative that is taking place while the fight for freedom continues.
Typical ultra-leftie.
"Those who doubted whether Iraq or the world would be better off without Saddam Hussein, and those who believe today that we are not safer with his capture, don´t have the judgment to be president or the credibility to be elected president." - john kerry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"These dizzying contradictions -- so glaring, so public, so frequent -- have gone beyond undermining anything Kerry can now say on Iraq. They have been transmuted into a character issue."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What kind of man, aspiring to the presidency, does not know his own mind about the most serious issue of our time?" - Charles Krauthammer
------------
posted on September 23, 2004 12:59:26 PM
No,linda, I'm not going to say anything about Helen's C&Ping....Helen has proven many times that she is VERY capable of original thought, knows REAL people, does NOT live in a coccoon, can use her life history for her opinions, has a brain AND a soul.
You, on the other hand, need all the C&Ping you can get fromany source.
It is so ridiculous, you, the champion of war, death, and slaughter, to say lefties are like terrorists......
No, I think you are more like a terrorist with your blood lust, shriveled soul, and hatred for anything that isn't just like you.
We don't call it negative to point out what is wrong....we believe in what's right.
It was pointed out BEFORE the war that an INVASION of Iraq would escalate the violence and it has as predicted by people who know more than you....Iraqis, the entire world.......
I heard on the radio this morning from people who , unlike YOU, linda, have been in Iraq to see with their own eyeswhat is going on and it is not good.
Please take a trip to Iraq(maybe at election time?) and when you come back you can give a report (with photos) and we'll all believe you.....maybe..
posted on September 23, 2004 01:06:13 PM
President Bush said in his speech to the UN that Iraq and Afghanistan will be a model for the broader Middle East. I wonder how all the other countries view this. Do they really want their citizens killed and their countries all destroyed and then plundered by greedy US corporations because a western leader thinks he knows what's best for them so he tries to impose it by force?
I read Bush's speech and was wondering if he is really as delusional as he sounds.
posted on September 23, 2004 01:43:24 PM Guess that's why President Bush is ahead in the polls right now.
Guess that's why President Buch far out-surpasses kerry when American's are questioned on which they believe will better defend this country. Yea...must be ALL those delusional people.
"Those who doubted whether Iraq or the world would be better off without Saddam Hussein, and those who believe today that we are not safer with his capture, don´t have the judgment to be president or the credibility to be elected president." - john kerry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"These dizzying contradictions -- so glaring, so public, so frequent -- have gone beyond undermining anything Kerry can now say on Iraq. They have been transmuted into a character issue."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What kind of man, aspiring to the presidency, does not know his own mind about the most serious issue of our time?" - Charles Krauthammer
------------
posted on September 23, 2004 01:57:27 PM
If such great things are going on in Iraq Linda, perhaps you could share some proof of those great things. I'm not talking about hearsay, but real proof those "great things" are going on.
Also, if it is so great in Iraq, why is it that most Americans, whether they are soldiers, reporters, or relief workers don't want to go back after being there? You have to be pretty blind not to see the reality. Oh, wait, you are blind. You support GW.
posted on September 23, 2004 02:00:44 PMGuess that's why President Buch far out-surpasses kerry when American's are questioned on which they believe will better defend this country. Yea...must be ALL those delusional people.
Not sure what your point is, linda_k. Are you saying that Bush is defending the US from Iraq? They didn't attack on US soil.
Yes, it does seem that there are many delusional Bush followers. Thank goodness about 1/2 the country and the rest of the world don't think as they do.
Bush's version of democracy isn't the only type of government worldwide and other countries understand this. They don't want him to impose his form of government and religion on them just because he thinks it's best for them. It's going to bite him in the ass.
posted on September 23, 2004 03:31:50 PMIf such great things are going on in Iraq Linda, perhaps you could share some proof of those great things.
You are new [maybe] to our board here so you haven't seen all the previous posts usually under the thread topic of "Good New". I've posted several. And as I said YOU can do your own search to find many statements of what accomplishments have occured in Iraq. Some being we've rebuild their schools and hospitals. We've gotten girls back in school. We've put the Iraqi's to a better level of electricity than they had pre-war. We've set up many elections in Iraq areas, the beginning of their new voting system. We've changed their currency. There are many others too. But I've already gone though all that. Sorry if you're truly interested in hearing any think good that has gone on there, you'll just have to be adult and find it for your self. But I would recommend, while you're searching that you stay away from all those liberal media sources...they don't like reporting good news. But there are links that our soldiers there have started when they share all the good things they're doing and the groups they've started to get help from American's to support their causes.
Also, if it is so great in Iraq, why is it that most Americans, whether they are soldiers, reporters, or relief workers don't want to go back after being there?
Again you must only be listening to liberals. Many soldiers have volunteered for second and third stints in Iraq. THEY believe in what we're going there.
You have to be pretty blind not to see the reality.
My son is a Marine....I KNOW the reality he shares with me. I don't need some liberal who is always putting down our actions to fill me in nor to supposedly open my eyes. I prefer hearing my news from those who KNOW what they're talking about....not those who can only be negative about everything.
You support GW.
Darn right....he will be re-elected.
"Those who doubted whether Iraq or the world would be better off without Saddam Hussein, and those who believe today that we are not safer with his capture, don´t have the judgment to be president or the credibility to be elected president." - john kerry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"These dizzying contradictions -- so glaring, so public, so frequent -- have gone beyond undermining anything Kerry can now say on Iraq. They have been transmuted into a character issue."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What kind of man, aspiring to the presidency, does not know his own mind about the most serious issue of our time?" - Charles Krauthammer
------------
posted on September 23, 2004 03:36:17 PM
kiara - I at least never judged you to be 'slow'...but it appears I was wrong. I've answered that question a million times. What don't you get about the fact that the last three administrations agreed with one another that saddam presented a threat? Both clinton's agreed....hillary and kerry agreed and voted to go to war IF saddam did not comply.
If I say that a hundred more times will you ever 'get' it?
posted on September 23, 2004 03:43:26 PM
They voted based on the lies that your president told the people of America. they voted to give your president discretion and Bush failed to use that vote of confidence wisely.
Linda, anybody who "gets" what you say is in trouble.
posted on September 23, 2004 03:50:04 PM
linda found a new "victim"...trying to reel it in.....
linda, shag sounds like he'll figure you out fast enough.
linda says,"We've put the Iraqi's to a better level of electricity "
Nope! dead wrong....it's sporadic at best even for the richest Iraqis and, of course, the poorest rarely have it.
Then linda jokes,"But I would recommend, while you're searching that you stay away from all those liberal media sources.."
Translated to the truth this means you will find out the truth, not the Republicans spin on everything.
Yup, schools are open....now if you can just get there ALIVE!!!!!
linda, your word isn't law,"Many soldiers have volunteered for second and third stints in Iraq. THEY believe in what we're going there."
Maybe, but many, many more people, soldiers and civilians want out.......just like any other war. In fact, many , many, too many are just dying to get out.
So your son is a marine....where is he, what does he do? Why should we believe what you say he says.....you lie about so much and are so one sided and narrow minded???????????
I suppose it just COULDN'T be a possibility that Allawi was told to say a pretty speech in the hopes of pleasing his new masters and getting more money ????????????
posted on September 23, 2004 04:59:20 PM
Yes, helen, the more you liberals say...the more lidicrous your statements sound...and the more amuzing I find them.
posted on September 23, 2004 05:08:43 PM
Let's see. kerry was on the Senate Intelligency information. He and all the others had the same intelligence reports as the President had. They formed their decision on THAT info...not on what President Bush said. Like we're all supposed to believe kerry would take anything a Republican president said on merit alone. Yea, right.
All you need to do is read kerry's statements before we went into Iraq....and you will learn, along with other pro-war statements that he was critical of President Bush not taking action - going into Iraq - sooner.
Read kerry statements immediately following our invasion. He still was praising this action. It wasn't until things started getting a little rough that he pulled a typical democrat action....when the going gets tough....run away - withdraw.
So....pretend away all you who prefer to ignore the truth of where kerry stood....go along with ANY of the 8-9 positions he's held on this war. No suprise you'd support a man who's still debating with himself on this issue.
"Those who doubted whether Iraq or the world would be better off without Saddam Hussein, and those who believe today that we are not safer with his capture, don´t have the judgment to be president or the credibility to be elected president." - john kerry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"These dizzying contradictions -- so glaring, so public, so frequent -- have gone beyond undermining anything Kerry can now say on Iraq. They have been transmuted into a character issue."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What kind of man, aspiring to the presidency, does not know his own mind about the most serious issue of our time?" - Charles Krauthammer
------------
posted on September 23, 2004 05:14:57 PM
For those in denial....again, kerry's own words....not mine.
"Those who doubted whether Iraq or the world would be better off without Saddam Hussein, and those who believe today that we are not safer with his capture, don´t have the judgment to be president or the credibility to be elected president." - john kerry....
posted on September 23, 2004 05:41:22 PM
Sorry Linda. My bad. I accidentally used my other id by accident. Yes, it is true I am shagmidmod. I was signed into that account while doing some listings from my inventory and I forgot to sign out. I figure I should point that out before I get a bunch of crazed neo-cons ready to jump me in some dark alley. Wow, see how easy it was for a liberal to admit he made an error. Now if we could just get GW to do the same, the world might quit holding their breathe.
As to crow- you're sorta right, sorta wrong. I've already figured out Linduh a long time ago. I know when she's online because I can hear her grunts through vendio's system. hint... you have to have your speaker system on. lol.
posted on September 23, 2004 05:41:27 PM
Linda why bother with the anti-american negative nellies... only melt down I see is when President Bush wins re-election and all these lefties explode... LOL
You made a nice post, same thing was being discussed on Larry Elder tonight, just when you think kerry can be anymore of a POS, he out does himself once again...
as the PM pointed out, only 3 provinces out of 18 are a problem... not to bad.
AIN'T LIFE GRAND...
posted on September 23, 2004 07:59:59 PM
linda says,"Yes, helen, the more you liberals say...the more lidicrous your statements sound...and the more amuzing I find them. "
But then she says,
"American wouldn't ever be occupied by another country. (((((We'd all die fighting. ))))))The only senario I could see that would ever allow say AQ to occupy our country is if a democratic weaking like kerry was elected. He'd sell this country out in a NY minute....just like he did to the communists."
First, if we're all dead anyone can occupy this country. Do you now see how stupid that remark was?
And it's "amusing" and "ludicrous". linda, if you wouldn't get so upset you'd probably spell better.
posted on September 23, 2004 08:10:17 PMLinda You don't find this one "lidicrous and amuzing?"? Well, I do.
"American wouldn't ever be occupied by another country. (((((We'd all die fighting. ))))))The only senario I could see that would ever allow say AQ to occupy our country is if a democratic weaking like kerry was elected. He'd sell this country out in a NY minute....just like he did to the communists."
Linda
posted on September 23, 2004 08:42:23 PM
Linda
In all fairness I am compelled to correct you on one thing that you said, it was; (((((We'd all die fighting. ))))))
My correction is that us Republicans would all die fighting and the illiberals would just willingly, without a fight hand the country over to whatever force we would be fighting.
BTW, go look up the word "illiberal" in your dictionary, I think it fits the left-wing thinking on this board perfectly.
posted on September 23, 2004 09:33:57 PM
yellowstone - I looked it up....you're so right.
And yes, I stand corrected. I don't believe there's a liberal here...nor a illiberal who would be willing to defend this country. They'd either run to Canada....which a Canadian here has said how welcome our deserters were....or they'd surrender to our enemies...or they'd be like Spain and to exactly what the terrorists want our of pure fear.
---------------------
But I know there are democrats who are fighting in this war....and there were many democratic elected Senators and from the House who supported and voted for this war....so I want to be clear that not all dems think like the liberals here do. Thank heaven for small favors.
posted on September 24, 2004 08:30:30 AM
Why should we be surprised when a former CIA monkey, and man we installed in office comes over here to thank Bush ?
it was; (((((We'd all die fighting. ))))))