With the American Public demanding to know what exactly happened in the run up to the war in Iraq and the misuse of USA Intelligence the best the White House has to offer is '…well they agreed on the same intelligence, too."
Not exactly.
In addition where the American People had become indoctrinated into a "Culture of Fear" endorsed by some media services in the country it sadly compromised what the electorate would consider a 'strong' candidate who would take on the 'enemy' while people of peace would appear to be weak and ineffective.
Yet. Representative Dennis Kucinich who strongly opposes still today the war in Iraq is still in the House. Whether you support him or not you cannot ignore his statements.
http://kucinich.house.gov/
He has an independent website where he raises funds for future political endeavors. He questions the idea that the USA will never leave Iraq with the reality that it has spent upwards of $300 billion so far with the construction of many new military bases in Iraq. He currently has a House Joint Resolution 55 for the planned withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
House JR 55
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.j.res.00055:
Video link:
http://www.kucinich.us/messages/dk2005081801.php
Realizing the level of investment made by the USA along with the cronies of Bush/Cheney and the windfall profits from this region for those 'Favorite Son' businesses, only to be aware of the fact visiting Deputy Prime Minister from Iraq Chalabi (video at bottom of page) stated clearly in his address on C-Span that the most the Iraqi military now has is automatic weapons. If that is the case and the USA were to leave with expensive and sophisticated military bases in it's wake then what indeed is the potential for not only Iraq but it's neighbor to the north Iran?
George Walker Bush has designed this invasion to be a forever war and a forever presence in Iraq. That is why there is a determined opposition and insurgency and why their desperation has lead them to attacks on allied nations of the USA such as Jordan.
The only way to stop this insanity and bottomless pit spending is to remove all those that support USA aggression to date while still unable to secure the very villian that planned and implimented the attacks of 911, while replacing them with a 'regime' of peace determined to work within the fabric of the International Community and remove the terrorist networks that remain successful and growing under this current regime in DC !
We don't belong in Iraq.
We never did !!
Saturday, November 12, 2005
"... the British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa, ..."
"But they voted for the war with the same intelligence as we did."
So, when Bush equates the information received by Congress/Senate were they the same?
It's Saturday Night.
It would seem not.
"Daschle had expressed reservations about a possible U.S. attack on Iraq, and he was not part of an agreement between the White House and other congressional leaders framing the resolution last week."
Senator Daschle was the Senate Majority Leader at this time, he basically agreed with Bush regarding Iraq with reservations regarding the invasion of Iraq. That reservation was best voiced by "Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, said the 133 votes against the measure were "a very strong message" to the administration.
"All across this land Americans are insisting on a peaceful resolution of matters in Iraq," he said.
"All across this land, Americans are looking towards the United States to be a nation among nations, working through the United Nations to help resolve this crisis."
How can George Walker Bush make the claim Democrats that voted for the War Powers Act of 2002 had the same intelligence he did when they weren't even included in the framing of the resolution. The Democrats had the same information as the UN by proxy of public proceedings but they were not included in high level information. They were lied to no differently than the American Public and the UN Security Council.
This was a very interesting observation by Senator Byrd.
Byrd had argued the resolution amounted to a "blank check" for the White House.
Sen. Bob Graham of Florida was one of 21 Senate Democrats voting against the resolution.
"This is the Tonkin Gulf resolution all over again," Byrd said. "Let us stop, look and listen. Let us not give this president or any president unchecked power. Remember the Constitution."
U. S. Anthrax Cases.
All are on the East Coast.
All are concentrated in the two cities of the strikes of 911, except for the office of American Media in Florida. American Media was chosen to focus a consensus of attention. It could easily be said this had the 'hallmarks' of al Qaeda and it's incideous assault on the American Psychi in choosing September 11th (9-1-1) as the date of their assault on the USA.
Yet, there were no matchs of this anthrax found in Afghanistan OR Iraq.
Where did the 'idea' of Weapons of Mass Destruction come from?
The Unsolved Mystery of the anthrax attacks.
Oct. 8: Environmental tests detect the anthrax bacteria at the American Media building in Boca
Raton, Florida. A co-worker of Bob Stevens who died October 5 from anthrax also tests positive
for the disease and the building where both worked is closed after the bacterium was detected
there. The FBI takes over the investigation into the Florida anthrax death after the germ was
found in the nose of a co-worker and on a computer keyboard in their office. American air
strikes on Taliban positions continue for the second day.
Oct. 9: FBI agents wearing bio hazard suits swarm over the American Media Inc. building in
Boca Raton, Florida. FBI and local law enforcement closed the building which houses the offices
of several supermarket tabloids. All 300 people who work in the building and anyone who spent
more than an hour inside since Aug. 1 were advised to visit health officials. American air strikes
on Taliban positions continue for the third straight day.
Oct. 10: FBI investigators spent their third day collecting evidence in the newspaper offices of
the two men whose exposure to anthrax has prompted heightened fear of bioterrorism across
America. American forces continue to strike military targets in Afghanistan, but the focus for
Americans is quickly turning to the anthrax scare.
Oct. 11: A third person employed by American Media tests positive for anthrax in Florida and
officials say the probe into the source of the disease is now a criminal investigation. President
George W. Bush speaks at a memorial service at the Pentagon. Bush vowed to destroy terror
with 'every weapon' in the U.S. arsenal as he marked one month since the Sept. 11 attacks at a
Pentagon speech. Air strikes continue for the fifth day. View Ground Zero images on Oct. 11th.
Oct. 12: New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani speaks at a news conference and announces that an
NBC News employee in New York has tested positive for anthrax in tests done after the network
received suspicious mail addressed to NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw. CNN said the employee
was exposed to the bacteria after opening a suspicious package at the NBC's Rockefeller Center
headquarters 10 days ago. U.S. President George W. Bush, at the White House celebrating
National Hispanic Heritage Month, speaks about the anthrax scare sweeping the nation. In the
latest of threats upon the U.S., Bush tries to reassure Americans that they are safe. U.S.
Attorney General John Ashcroft holds a news conference at the Department of Health and
Human Services in Washington to discuss anthrax threats. Ashcroft said that people should be
cautious when opening suspicious items they receive in the mail. American forces continue
bombing strategic Taliban positions in Afghanistan.
Oct. 13: Afghanistan assesses the damage after a seventh straight night of U.S. bombing raids,
as the ruling Taliban defiantly snub U.S. demands to surrender Osama bin Laden. In a
statement broadcast on Qatar's al-Jazeera television network Al Qaeda spokesman Sulaiman
Bu Ghaith, warns Americans and Britons, especially Muslims, children and 'all those who oppose
U.S. policy, not to ride planes or live in high buildings.'
Oct. 14: Jalalabad, long surrounded by militant training camps including some for bin Laden's
al Qaeda network, sees particularly heavy bombardment since the United States launched its
first strikes one week ago. U.S. warplanes again pounded Afghanistan, beginning a second
week of strikes against Islamic Taliban rulers and loyalists of Osama bin Laden.
Oct. 15: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle talks to reporters on Capitol Hill after an
envelope containing a suspicious powder, believed to be anthrax was opened in his office.
Daschle staffers exposed to the substance are treated with antibiotics, a Capitol Hill physician
tells a news conference attended by Daschle and Capitol Hill police. Health and postal officials
said a small amount of anthrax spores had been found in a Postal Service mail sorting facility in
Boca Raton. Suspicious letters and powder are reported at Microsoft offices in Reno, Nevada,
and in several countries including Canada, Australia, France, and Germany.
Oct. 16: A 7-month-old son of an ABC producer tests positive for anthrax exposure after
visiting the building three weeks prior. Microsoft's Bill Gates said the software giant was
boosting security measures after six employees were exposed to a letter that tested positive for
anthrax. In the United States, the number of people exposed to the potentially deadly germ
rises to at least 12. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Pakistan President General Pervez
Musharraf meet in Islamabad. Powell arrived in the Muslim country amid protests by Islamic
groups that back Afghanistan's ruling Taliban and that are furious Musharraf is backing the
military action in neighboring Afghanistan. The U.S. military, which first dropped bombs, then
food, on Afghanistan, launches a paper propaganda assault by dropping nearly half a million
leaflets to convey a message that the United States is not the enemy, the Pentagon said. The
leaflet shows a photo of an Afghan man shaking hands with a Western soldier. American forces
strike Taliban positions for the ninth straight day.
Oct. 17: Palestinian gunmen assassinate far-right Israeli cabinet minister Rehavam Zeevi in
revenge for the killing of a militant leader, throwing U.S.-led peace efforts into turmoil. The
radical Palestinian Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility for
shooting Zeevi, a 75-year-old former general who advocated the 'transfer' of Arabs from land
claimed by Jews. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said the killing marked a major change in
Israeli-Palestinian relations. "The situation is different today, and will not again be like it was
yesterday," he said.
Thirty-one staffers at Tom Daschle's office test positive for anthrax. New York Governor George
Pataki speaks to the media at a news conference in New York, and says his offices showed the
presence of anthrax in a test and has been closed for further testing and decontamination work.
Germany's Bayer company promises it will be able to deliver 200 million Cipro tablets in the
next three months. Ciprobay is used to treat anthrax. U.S. President Bush and Vice President
Dick Cheney meet with Congressional leaders prior to Bush's departure for a trip to the
21-nation gathering of Asian-Pacific leaders in Shanghai. The trip will take Bush out of the
country for five days.
Oct. 18: Two new cases of the skin form of anthrax are reported - one involving an assistant to
CBS anchorman Dan Rather and the other a postal worker in New Jersey. That brings to six the
total number of confirmed cases of anthrax infection. U.S. aircraft rain more bombs from the
skies above Afghanistan but a Taliban minister said Osama bin Laden and his hardline Islamic
protectors were all alive and well even as the toll rose. Victory in Afghanistan will require putting
troops on the ground in addition to bombing terrorist and Taliban targets from the air, Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon press conference.
Oct. 19: U.S. ground forces battle in Afghanistan, opening a new phase of the war on terrorism
after nearly two weeks of fierce air strikes, a defense official said. President Bush meets with
Chinese President Zemin and Asian Pacific leaders in Shanghai. The anthrax strains surfacing
with terrifying impact in Florida, New York and Washington are all similar, said Bush officials,
likely indicating a single source. " We obviously are preparing for more," said homeland
security chief Tom Ridge. A second New Jersey mail carrier is confirmed to have skin anthrax.
Oct. 20: Elite U.S. Rangers launch raids into Afghanistan in the dark of night. Two U.S. soldiers
are killed when their helicopter crashes in Pakistan near the Afghanistan border. In China, Bush
says the soldiers "did not die in vain." Later Bush meets with Russian President Putin and
Chinese President Zemin. Anthrax is confirmed at the Ford building on Capitol Hill. The FBI
locates the mailbox in New Jersey where anthrax letters dropped. Paul McCartney and dozens
of stars perform at a benefit concert in New York City. Israeli tanks move into Palestinian cities.
Oct. 21: The 21-member APEC countries, meeting in Shanghai China, end their conference and
issue a joint statement denouncing terrorism. Israeli tanks enter several Palestinian cities in the
West Bank in response to the assassination of cabinet minister Zeevi. Israel insists that Arafat
hand over the killers. Several Palestinians are killed in street battles with Israeli troops. Mayor
Anthony Williams of Washington announces at a press conference that two postal workers at the
Brentwood postal facility in Washington D.C. are confirmed with anthrax and are hospitalized.
Tests begin on hundreds of Washington postal workers.
Oct. 22: Israeli tanks continue to roll into Palestinian controlled areas and engage in street
battles with Palestinians. President Bush returns to Washington from China. Bush administration
tells Israel to immediately leave the West Bank as Middle East tensions build. U.S. Defense
Secretary Rumsfeld scolds the press for troop movement leaks that may jeopardize lives or
missions. Air strikes in Afghanistan continue with a focus on Taliban troops in Northern
Afghanistan. Two Washington postal workers die mysteriously. Anthrax is the suspected cause.
Oct. 23: Two postal workers from the Brentwood postal facility in Washington are confirmed to
have died from inhalation anthrax. Many postal employees ask why they were not treated and
tested earlier, and why Capitol Hill staffers apparently received priority attention. Another New
Jersey postal worker is confirmed with anthrax. Anthrax is confirmed in a Washington facility
that sorts White House mail. Later President Bush emphatically tells reporters, "I don't have
anthrax." The FBI releases photographs of the letters, confirmed to carry anthrax spores, that
were sent to Tom Daschle, Tom Brokaw, and the Editor of the NY Post. U.S. Secretary of State
Colin Powell meets Israeli Minister Shimon Peres and asks Israel to withdraw from Palestinian
controlled areas. Earlier Israel tells US that withdrawal demands are "out of line." The IRA
promises to disarm "to save the peace process" in Northern Ireland.
Oct. 24: Israel continues to raid Palestinian controlled areas, and claims to have captured two
of the Zeevi assassins. U.S. Postmaster General John Potter tells Americans "There are no
guarantees that mail is safe." He also advises Americans to wash hands after handling mail. An
air strike in Kabul kills 22 Pakistani militants linked to Osama bin Laden. The U.S. House of
representatives overwhelmingly approves a domestic anti-terrorism bill giving police new
powers. Pentagon says they are "surprised at how doggedly" the Taliban are clinging to power.
Oct. 25: Under extreme pressure from the U.S. and other countries, Israel agrees to begin
withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territory. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said homeland
security is not temporary, and "will become permanent in American life." Opposition Afghan
leaders indicate frustration that the 19-day bombing campaign has failed to weaken Taliban
troops. USA Today headline reads: "Rumsfeld: bin Laden may get away." Defense Secretary
Rumsfeld later clarifies statement and says finding bin Laden "is like finding a needle in a
haystack." Anthrax at Capitol Hill is described as very high quality.
Oct. 26: U.S. President George W. Bush signs the anti-terrorism bill into law. Britain announces
that 200 elite commandos were ready for action in the U.S.-led coalition. A small amount of
anthrax spores are found in a CIA mailroom. The CIA mail goes through the Brentwood mail
facility. A state department mail handler is hospitalized with inhalation anthrax, and anthrax is
found at a New York postal facility. Anthrax is confirmed in an off-site U.S. Supreme Court mail
facility. Taliban officials say that Afghan opposition figure Abdul Haq was captured after slipping
into Afghanistan and was executed by the Taliban for treason.
Oct. 27: Abdul Haq's execution is confirmed. Taliban officials said "anyone who assists the U.S.
is liable to be killed." Haq attempted to escape after radioing for U.S. military assistance.
Between 5,000 and 10,000 Pakistani warriors join a convoy of trucks and busses heading to the
northern Afghanistan frontier. The Pakistani "jihad brigade" vowed to fight a holy war against
United States. American warplanes strike Taliban targets with increased ferocity. Civilian deaths
in Afghanistan continue to mount, with the errant bombing of a village north of Kabul killing ten.
Israeli troops delay withdrawal from Palestinian areas citing ongoing battles with gunmen.
Oct. 28: For the second straight day civilians are killed in heavy U.S. air strikes in Kabul.
Gunmen stormed into a Christian church in Behawalpur Pakistan, during Sunday services, and
sprayed the congregation with gunfire, killing the minister and 15 others. Israeli tanks leave
Bethlehem after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon gave the green light for withdrawal despite attacks
by Palestinians that killed five people in Israel. A New Jersey postal worker is diagnosed with
inhalation anthrax. A WTC memorial service, attended by victim's families, is held in New York
City at "Ground Zero", amidst the still smoldering ruins.
Oct. 29: U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller hold a press
conference and tell Americans to be on the alert for a "credible threat" within the next week
against the United States. U.S. aircraft intensify their strikes around the strategic northern
Afghanistan city of Mazar-e-Sharif. Taliban Ambassador Abdul Salam Zaeef tells armed
Pakistani volunteers "we already have plenty of mujahedeen on the front line." Traces of
anthrax are found in mailrooms of the Supreme Court, the State Department, and the Health
Department. Two new cases of anthrax are reported in New Jersey, bringing the number of
confirmed cases to 15. The Skydeck at the Sears Tower in Chicago is re-opened.
Oct. 30: The Federal Aviation Administration imposes flight restrictions around U.S. nuclear
plants and advises 103 nuclear facilities to fortify security. Alert warnings issued on Oct. 29 are
based on information from Canadian intelligence officials. British PM Tony Blair arrives in Syria
to help in Middle East peace efforts. U.S. jets pounded several areas held by the Taliban. A
huge explosion north of Kabul creates a massive mushroom cloud. The Pentagon says it has
small amounts of ground troops in Afghanistan to coordinate air strikes and to open lines of
communication. A Manhattan hospital worker with inhalation anthrax is "struggling for survival."
Oct. 31: The French newspaper Le Figaro claims that Osama bin Laden stayed for 10 days in a
Dubai hospital in July, 2001 for treatment of a serious kidney ailment. Under heavy security,
two armored vehicles transported $200 million in gold from a Bank of Nova Scotia vault located
in the ruins of the World Trade Center. Taliban forces in northern Afghanistan are hit with heavy
bombardment from B-52 bombers, indicating possible preparedness for Northern Alliance troop
movements on Taliban positions. A NY hospital worker dies from inhaled anthrax, becoming the
first anthrax death not linked to the postal service or the news media.
Oct. 8: Environmental tests detect the anthrax bacteria at the American Media building in Boca
Raton, Florida. A co-worker of Bob Stevens who died October 5 from anthrax also tests positive
for the disease and the building where both worked is closed after the bacterium was detected
there. The FBI takes over the investigation into the Florida anthrax death after the germ was
found in the nose of a co-worker and on a computer keyboard in their office. American air
strikes on Taliban positions continue for the second day.
Oct. 9: FBI agents wearing bio hazard suits swarm over the American Media Inc. building in
Boca Raton, Florida. FBI and local law enforcement closed the building which houses the offices
of several supermarket tabloids. All 300 people who work in the building and anyone who spent
more than an hour inside since Aug. 1 were advised to visit health officials. American air strikes
on Taliban positions continue for the third straight day.
Oct. 10: FBI investigators spent their third day collecting evidence in the newspaper offices of
the two men whose exposure to anthrax has prompted heightened fear of bioterrorism across
America. American forces continue to strike military targets in Afghanistan, but the focus for
Americans is quickly turning to the anthrax scare.
Oct. 11: A third person employed by American Media tests positive for anthrax in Florida and
officials say the probe into the source of the disease is now a criminal investigation. President
George W. Bush speaks at a memorial service at the Pentagon. Bush vowed to destroy terror
with 'every weapon' in the U.S. arsenal as he marked one month since the Sept. 11 attacks at a
Pentagon speech. Air strikes continue for the fifth day. View Ground Zero images on Oct. 11th.
Oct. 12: New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani speaks at a news conference and announces that an
NBC News employee in New York has tested positive for anthrax in tests done after the network
received suspicious mail addressed to NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw. CNN said the employee
was exposed to the bacteria after opening a suspicious package at the NBC's Rockefeller Center
headquarters 10 days ago. U.S. President George W. Bush, at the White House celebrating
National Hispanic Heritage Month, speaks about the anthrax scare sweeping the nation. In the
latest of threats upon the U.S., Bush tries to reassure Americans that they are safe. U.S.
Attorney General John Ashcroft holds a news conference at the Department of Health and
Human Services in Washington to discuss anthrax threats. Ashcroft said that people should be
cautious when opening suspicious items they receive in the mail. American forces continue
bombing strategic Taliban positions in Afghanistan.
Oct. 13: Afghanistan assesses the damage after a seventh straight night of U.S. bombing raids,
as the ruling Taliban defiantly snub U.S. demands to surrender Osama bin Laden. In a
statement broadcast on Qatar's al-Jazeera television network Al Qaeda spokesman Sulaiman
Bu Ghaith, warns Americans and Britons, especially Muslims, children and 'all those who oppose
U.S. policy, not to ride planes or live in high buildings.'
Oct. 14: Jalalabad, long surrounded by militant training camps including some for bin Laden's
al Qaeda network, sees particularly heavy bombardment since the United States launched its
first strikes one week ago. U.S. warplanes again pounded Afghanistan, beginning a second
week of strikes against Islamic Taliban rulers and loyalists of Osama bin Laden.
Oct. 15: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle talks to reporters on Capitol Hill after an
envelope containing a suspicious powder, believed to be anthrax was opened in his office.
Daschle staffers exposed to the substance are treated with antibiotics, a Capitol Hill physician
tells a news conference attended by Daschle and Capitol Hill police. Health and postal officials
said a small amount of anthrax spores had been found in a Postal Service mail sorting facility in
Boca Raton. Suspicious letters and powder are reported at Microsoft offices in Reno, Nevada,
and in several countries including Canada, Australia, France, and Germany.
Oct. 16: A 7-month-old son of an ABC producer tests positive for anthrax exposure after
visiting the building three weeks prior. Microsoft's Bill Gates said the software giant was
boosting security measures after six employees were exposed to a letter that tested positive for
anthrax. In the United States, the number of people exposed to the potentially deadly germ
rises to at least 12. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Pakistan President General Pervez
Musharraf meet in Islamabad. Powell arrived in the Muslim country amid protests by Islamic
groups that back Afghanistan's ruling Taliban and that are furious Musharraf is backing the
military action in neighboring Afghanistan. The U.S. military, which first dropped bombs, then
food, on Afghanistan, launches a paper propaganda assault by dropping nearly half a million
leaflets to convey a message that the United States is not the enemy, the Pentagon said. The
leaflet shows a photo of an Afghan man shaking hands with a Western soldier. American forces
strike Taliban positions for the ninth straight day.
Oct. 17: Palestinian gunmen assassinate far-right Israeli cabinet minister Rehavam Zeevi in
revenge for the killing of a militant leader, throwing U.S.-led peace efforts into turmoil. The
radical Palestinian Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility for
shooting Zeevi, a 75-year-old former general who advocated the 'transfer' of Arabs from land
claimed by Jews. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said the killing marked a major change in
Israeli-Palestinian relations. "The situation is different today, and will not again be like it was
yesterday," he said.
Thirty-one staffers at Tom Daschle's office test positive for anthrax. New York Governor George
Pataki speaks to the media at a news conference in New York, and says his offices showed the
presence of anthrax in a test and has been closed for further testing and decontamination work.
Germany's Bayer company promises it will be able to deliver 200 million Cipro tablets in the
next three months. Ciprobay is used to treat anthrax. U.S. President Bush and Vice President
Dick Cheney meet with Congressional leaders prior to Bush's departure for a trip to the
21-nation gathering of Asian-Pacific leaders in Shanghai. The trip will take Bush out of the
country for five days.
Oct. 18: Two new cases of the skin form of anthrax are reported - one involving an assistant to
CBS anchorman Dan Rather and the other a postal worker in New Jersey. That brings to six the
total number of confirmed cases of anthrax infection. U.S. aircraft rain more bombs from the
skies above Afghanistan but a Taliban minister said Osama bin Laden and his hardline Islamic
protectors were all alive and well even as the toll rose. Victory in Afghanistan will require putting
troops on the ground in addition to bombing terrorist and Taliban targets from the air, Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon press conference.
Oct. 19: U.S. ground forces battle in Afghanistan, opening a new phase of the war on terrorism
after nearly two weeks of fierce air strikes, a defense official said. President Bush meets with
Chinese President Zemin and Asian Pacific leaders in Shanghai. The anthrax strains surfacing
with terrifying impact in Florida, New York and Washington are all similar, said Bush officials,
likely indicating a single source. " We obviously are preparing for more," said homeland
security chief Tom Ridge. A second New Jersey mail carrier is confirmed to have skin anthrax.
Oct. 20: Elite U.S. Rangers launch raids into Afghanistan in the dark of night. Two U.S. soldiers
are killed when their helicopter crashes in Pakistan near the Afghanistan border. In China, Bush
says the soldiers "did not die in vain." Later Bush meets with Russian President Putin and
Chinese President Zemin. Anthrax is confirmed at the Ford building on Capitol Hill. The FBI
locates the mailbox in New Jersey where anthrax letters dropped. Paul McCartney and dozens
of stars perform at a benefit concert in New York City. Israeli tanks move into Palestinian cities.
Oct. 21: The 21-member APEC countries, meeting in Shanghai China, end their conference and
issue a joint statement denouncing terrorism. Israeli tanks enter several Palestinian cities in the
West Bank in response to the assassination of cabinet minister Zeevi. Israel insists that Arafat
hand over the killers. Several Palestinians are killed in street battles with Israeli troops. Mayor
Anthony Williams of Washington announces at a press conference that two postal workers at the
Brentwood postal facility in Washington D.C. are confirmed with anthrax and are hospitalized.
Tests begin on hundreds of Washington postal workers.
Oct. 22: Israeli tanks continue to roll into Palestinian controlled areas and engage in street
battles with Palestinians. President Bush returns to Washington from China. Bush administration
tells Israel to immediately leave the West Bank as Middle East tensions build. U.S. Defense
Secretary Rumsfeld scolds the press for troop movement leaks that may jeopardize lives or
missions. Air strikes in Afghanistan continue with a focus on Taliban troops in Northern
Afghanistan. Two Washington postal workers die mysteriously. Anthrax is the suspected cause.
Oct. 23: Two postal workers from the Brentwood postal facility in Washington are confirmed to
have died from inhalation anthrax. Many postal employees ask why they were not treated and
tested earlier, and why Capitol Hill staffers apparently received priority attention. Another New
Jersey postal worker is confirmed with anthrax. Anthrax is confirmed in a Washington facility
that sorts White House mail. Later President Bush emphatically tells reporters, "I don't have
anthrax." The FBI releases photographs of the letters, confirmed to carry anthrax spores, that
were sent to Tom Daschle, Tom Brokaw, and the Editor of the NY Post. U.S. Secretary of State
Colin Powell meets Israeli Minister Shimon Peres and asks Israel to withdraw from Palestinian
controlled areas. Earlier Israel tells US that withdrawal demands are "out of line." The IRA
promises to disarm "to save the peace process" in Northern Ireland.
Oct. 24: Israel continues to raid Palestinian controlled areas, and claims to have captured two
of the Zeevi assassins. U.S. Postmaster General John Potter tells Americans "There are no
guarantees that mail is safe." He also advises Americans to wash hands after handling mail. An
air strike in Kabul kills 22 Pakistani militants linked to Osama bin Laden. The U.S. House of
representatives overwhelmingly approves a domestic anti-terrorism bill giving police new
powers. Pentagon says they are "surprised at how doggedly" the Taliban are clinging to power.
Oct. 25: Under extreme pressure from the U.S. and other countries, Israel agrees to begin
withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territory. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said homeland
security is not temporary, and "will become permanent in American life." Opposition Afghan
leaders indicate frustration that the 19-day bombing campaign has failed to weaken Taliban
troops. USA Today headline reads: "Rumsfeld: bin Laden may get away." Defense Secretary
Rumsfeld later clarifies statement and says finding bin Laden "is like finding a needle in a
haystack." Anthrax at Capitol Hill is described as very high quality.
Oct. 26: U.S. President George W. Bush signs the anti-terrorism bill into law. Britain announces
that 200 elite commandos were ready for action in the U.S.-led coalition. A small amount of
anthrax spores are found in a CIA mailroom. The CIA mail goes through the Brentwood mail
facility. A state department mail handler is hospitalized with inhalation anthrax, and anthrax is
found at a New York postal facility. Anthrax is confirmed in an off-site U.S. Supreme Court mail
facility. Taliban officials say that Afghan opposition figure Abdul Haq was captured after slipping
into Afghanistan and was executed by the Taliban for treason.
Oct. 27: Abdul Haq's execution is confirmed. Taliban officials said "anyone who assists the U.S.
is liable to be killed." Haq attempted to escape after radioing for U.S. military assistance.
Between 5,000 and 10,000 Pakistani warriors join a convoy of trucks and busses heading to the
northern Afghanistan frontier. The Pakistani "jihad brigade" vowed to fight a holy war against
United States. American warplanes strike Taliban targets with increased ferocity. Civilian deaths
in Afghanistan continue to mount, with the errant bombing of a village north of Kabul killing ten.
Israeli troops delay withdrawal from Palestinian areas citing ongoing battles with gunmen.
Oct. 28: For the second straight day civilians are killed in heavy U.S. air strikes in Kabul.
Gunmen stormed into a Christian church in Behawalpur Pakistan, during Sunday services, and
sprayed the congregation with gunfire, killing the minister and 15 others. Israeli tanks leave
Bethlehem after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon gave the green light for withdrawal despite attacks
by Palestinians that killed five people in Israel. A New Jersey postal worker is diagnosed with
inhalation anthrax. A WTC memorial service, attended by victim's families, is held in New York
City at "Ground Zero", amidst the still smoldering ruins.
Oct. 29: U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller hold a press
conference and tell Americans to be on the alert for a "credible threat" within the next week
against the United States. U.S. aircraft intensify their strikes around the strategic northern
Afghanistan city of Mazar-e-Sharif. Taliban Ambassador Abdul Salam Zaeef tells armed
Pakistani volunteers "we already have plenty of mujahedeen on the front line." Traces of
anthrax are found in mailrooms of the Supreme Court, the State Department, and the Health
Department. Two new cases of anthrax are reported in New Jersey, bringing the number of
confirmed cases to 15. The Skydeck at the Sears Tower in Chicago is re-opened.
Oct. 30: The Federal Aviation Administration imposes flight restrictions around U.S. nuclear
plants and advises 103 nuclear facilities to fortify security. Alert warnings issued on Oct. 29 are
based on information from Canadian intelligence officials. British PM Tony Blair arrives in Syria
to help in Middle East peace efforts. U.S. jets pounded several areas held by the Taliban. A
huge explosion north of Kabul creates a massive mushroom cloud. The Pentagon says it has
small amounts of ground troops in Afghanistan to coordinate air strikes and to open lines of
communication. A Manhattan hospital worker with inhalation anthrax is "struggling for survival."
Oct. 31: The French newspaper Le Figaro claims that Osama bin Laden stayed for 10 days in a
Dubai hospital in July, 2001 for treatment of a serious kidney ailment. Under heavy security,
two armored vehicles transported $200 million in gold from a Bank of Nova Scotia vault located
in the ruins of the World Trade Center. Taliban forces in northern Afghanistan are hit with heavy
bombardment from B-52 bombers, indicating possible preparedness for Northern Alliance troop
movements on Taliban positions. A NY hospital worker dies from inhaled anthrax, becoming the
first anthrax death not linked to the postal service or the news media.
Political Pressure/Intimidation ! Would the Democrats survive as a party?
It's Saturday Night
Did some Democrats feel there was an alternative to resist Bush's measures and still survive to lead a return to democracy from demagoguery? The Democrats were in survival mode from an American Public in panic after September 11th and the Anthrax attacks.
In an environment of war and fear where Republicans held majorities and stood fast in one opinion there was no successful resistance except with Senators and House members who were entrenched with their constitutents back home and would survive any out spoken statement against Bush/Cheney and the Neocons.
The Power of Concesus is a reality the American Public has yet to master while it places their very Constitution between a Rock and a Hard Place, yet alone a political party of Democrats.
A timeline of aggression and mistake after mistake after mistake...
November 7, 2000 Election Day
http://www.nyas.org/publications/sciences/pdf/ts_11_00.pdf
One Million Black Votes Didn't Count in the 2000 Presidential Election
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0621-11.htm
December 12, 2000 Supreme Court Ruling of Gore v. Bush
http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/00-949.ZPC.html
January 21, 2001 George Walker Bush Inauguration
Inauguration Protests Largest Since Nixon in 1973
http://www.commondreams.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi?file=/headlines01/0121-01.htm
February 4. 2001 Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force convenes in secret.
Enron testifies six times before it's results are
published on May 14, 2001.
http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=573&Month=5&Year=2004
February 9, 2001 USS Greenville during a public relations sailing, strikes the Japanese Schooling Vessel, Ehime Maru,
sinking it, ten miles off "Diamond Head, O'hau, Hawaii. Dead are four teenagers, two instructors and three crewmen with
another 12 injured.
http://gohawaii.about.com/library/weekly/aa021001a.htm
February 16, 2001 Six airmen are laid to rest following a training incident off Hawaii where two helicopters collided.
http://starbulletin.com/2001/02/16/news/story4.html
April Fool's Day, 2001 The chinese Spy Plane Incident
http://www.americans-world.org/digest/regional_issues/china/china9.cfm
May 5, 2001 Test launch of Missile Defense Shield
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/05/08/missile.shield/index.html
May12, 2001 Pakistan takes firm stance against MDS with USA
Islamabad, May 12After initial hesitation, Pakistan has taken a firm stand against US President George Bush’s missile defence shield (MDS), saying that it would jeopardise strategic stability and trigger a new arms race.
“It would undermine international efforts aimed at arms control and disarmament,” country’s military ruler, Gen Parvez Musharraf said, announcing his regime’s stand for the first time on the US proposals to have MDS.
“We share the international concern at the development and deployment of ballistic missile defence,” he told a state banquet given in honour of visiting Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji here last night.
It was for the first time that General Musharraf reacted to MDS after India welcomed the US move to have missile defence as a step towards unilateral reduction of nuclear forces.
It is also significant that General Musharraf chose to announce this during the visit of Mr Rongji, whose government firmly opposed the plan.
The announcement also coincides with US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage’s visit to New Delhi. The Pakistan media today carried comments by Mr Vajpayee, welcoming the new US vision of disarmament. PTI
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010513/world.htm#5
September 2001 Despite the Bush administration’s bullish outlook on the deployment of a missile-defense shield during the next decade, there is a lot of work yet to be done in the laboratory, said U.S. government scientists.
http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/issues/2001/Sep/Future_Anti-Missile.htm
August 31, 2001 - Libya's Mohammar Quadaffi approaches the Vatican in request to speak with Western Leaders. He is refused by Blair and Bush.
September 11, 2001
International reaction
The attacks had major world-wide political effects. The attacks were denounced world-wide, with the headline of Paris,
France's "Le Monde" newspaper being prototypical: "Today We Are All Americans." Approximately one month after the attacks the
USA led a wide coalition of international forces into Afghanistan in pursuit of al-Qaeda forces. The Pakistani authorities
moved decisively to align themselves with the United States in a war against Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. It gave the U.S. a
number of military airports and bases for its attack on Afghanistan. It arrested over six hundred supposed Al-Qaeda members
and handed them over to the U.S.[12]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11,_2001_attacks#International_reaction
October 7, 2001 - "Operation Enduring Freedom" launched.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Enduring_Freedom
December 17, 2001 Failure Raises Questions on Overall Program (of MDS)
http://cndyorks.gn.apc.org/yspace/articles/bmd/namdprogcancelled.htm
State of the Union Address 2002
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020129-11.html
February 2002 - from the Op-Ed that would appear in 2003 by Joe Wilson
"...In February 2002, I was informed by officials at the Central Intelligence Agency that Vice President Dick Cheney's office
had questions about a particular intelligence report. While I never saw the report, I was told that it referred to a
memorandum of agreement that documented the sale of uranium yellowcake — a form of lightly processed ore — by Niger to Iraq
in the late 1990's. The agency officials asked if I would travel to Niger to check out the story so they could provide a
response to the vice president's office..."
August 11, 2002. SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS IRAQ IN ‘MATERIAL BREACH’ OF DISARMAMENT OBLIGATIONS,OFFERS FINAL CHANCE TO COMPLY, UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTING RESOLUTION 1441 (2002)
Instructs Weapons Inspections to Resume within 45 Days,
Recalls Repeated Warning of ‘Serious Consequences’ for Continued Violations
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2002/SC7564.doc.htm
September 12, 2002 Bush addresse the United Nation with overtures against Iraq
http://www.un.int/usa/02_131.htm
October 11, 2002
House Approves Force Against Iraq with arguments against.
US House Approves Resolution Authorizing Use of Force against Iraq The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to approve the No. 114 resolution which grants President George W. Bush
the power to use force in dealing with Iraq although many lawmakers expressed opposition to the motion during hectic debates
over the past few days.
http://english.people.com.cn/200210/11/eng20021011_104843.shtml
October 11, 2002
Senate approves Iraq war resolutionAdministration applauds vote
Friday, October 11, 2002 Posted: 12:35 PM EDT (1635 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In a major victory for the White House, the Senate early Friday voted 77-23 to authorize President Bush
to attack Iraq if Saddam Hussein refuses to give up weapons of mass destruction as required by U.N. resolutions.
Hours earlier, the House approved an identical resolution, 296-133.
...Resolution sharply divides DemocratsThe Senate vote sharply divided Democrats, with 29 voting for the measure and 21 against. All Republicans except Sen. Lincoln
Chafee of Rhode Island voted for passage.
Ahead of the vote, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle announced Thursday morning he would support Bush on Iraq, saying it is
important for the country "to speak with one voice at this critical moment."
Daschle, D-South Dakota, said the threat of Iraq's weapons programs "may not be imminent. But it is real. It is growing. And
it cannot be ignored." However, he urged Bush to move "in a way that avoids making a dangerous situation even worse."
Daschle had expressed reservations about a possible U.S. attack on Iraq, and he was not part of an agreement between the
White House and other congressional leaders framing the resolution last week.
Sen. Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia, attempted Thursday to mount a filibuster against the resolution but was cut off on a 75 to
25 vote.
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/10/11/iraq.us/
January 23, 2003 State of the Union Address 2003
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030128-19.html
"... the British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa, ..." spoken by George Walker Bush.
February 5, 2003
INTERNATIONAL LAW ON THE USE OF FORCE
Powell's mission—like that of his colleagues over the past months—was to fit the Bush administration's case against Saddam
Hussein into the U.N. structures governing the use of force as laid out in the U.N. Charter. Whether the United States
chooses to continue to pursue this path or not has serious implications for the future of international law and the United
Nations.
The international legal rules governing the use of force take as their starting point Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter, which
prohibits any nation from using force against another. The charter allows for only two exceptions to this rule: when force is
required in self-defense (Article 51) or when the Security Council authorizes the use of force to protect international peace
and security (Chapter VII).
http://www.worldpress.org/specials/iraq/
March 21, 2003 Bush begins his invasion into Iraq.
From the Sydney Morning Herald
Invasion beginsBy Paul McGeough in Baghdad and Lindsay Murdoch on the Kuwait/Iraq borderMarch 21 2003
At least five cruise missiles slammed into the heart of Baghdad this morning, setting two government buildings ablaze and
stabbing at the heart of the regime - Saddam Hussein's palace compound on the banks of the Tigris River - but still not
"shock and awe".
The force of the missiles, low powered compared with some of the massive warheads promised by the US, pointed to a new turn
in the Bush battle plan, after a surprise opening missile strike earlier in the day on a military complex on the outskirts of
the city.
US and British troops invading from Kuwait seized the Iraqi border town of Umm Qasr this morning, the official Kuwaiti News
Agency said. Iraqi state television denied that the town had fallen.
Meanwhile, US forces launched a massive artillery assault on Iraqi positions near the Kuwait border early today. Artillery
units of the US First Marine Division fired a barrage of 200 rounds from heavy howitzers.
Their target was the Iraqi 51st Mechanised Division across the border. As well, American Apache attack helicopters launched
Hellfire missiles into the Iraqi positions. The massive assault lit up the sky with bright orange explosions in an awesome
display of firepower which continued for two hours.
In Baghdad, air raid sirens wailed at 8.48pm and 20 minutes later as a building, thought to be the headquarters of Saddam's
oil ministry, was engulfed in a massive fire ball. The missiles whipped in from the south, exploding with a low percussion
thud that reduced the building to ghostly flames and a plume of smoke.
The next target was only metres away and it too went up in a spectacular hit, minutes later. This building, which earlier in
the day boasted two anti-aircraft batteries which were stationed on its rooftop, and the oil ministry, are next to Saddam's
planning headquarters, where the Jumhuriya bridge meets the west bank of the river.
A short time later, two missiles appeared to slam into the presidential compound itself. The chances of the security paranoid
Saddam or members of his family being on the premises at a time like this are zero, but there were reports that a house in
which the president's wife and daughters lived was hit.
Baghdad - the regime and the city - emerged dazed from the first US strikes and fearful of what might be in store for them in
the coming night.
Iraqi forces had retaliated in the wake of the opening US assault, firing three Scud missiles into Kuwait, one of which was
taken out by a US-operated Patriot missile battery before it neared Kuwait City. The two reportedly landed harmlessly in the
deserts of north Kuwait.
Light traffic returned to Baghdad's streets, but only for the daylight hours. The telephone system either was shut down or on
the brink of collapse - international calls were impossible; local calls were a lottery.
Foxholes and barricades were still being built around the city - and what the Herald presumed to be waste cardboard on a busy
intersection proved to be a foxhole when several soldiers were seen emerging from beneath it.
Iraqi officials said that one person had died and several had been injured in US-led attacks on a customs post on the
Jordanian border and on a TV station at Ramadi, a Saddam stronghold west of Baghdad. There was further scattered US bombing
beyond Baghdad in the mid-afternoon, but the day's strikes were focused on the Al Rasheed military complex, about 15km south
-east of the capital, and, according to Iraqi street talk, an elaborate presidential palace next to Saddam International
Airport.
Reports from Washington say that the CIA was convinced that it had a surveillance fix on Saddam in a bunker within the
complex.
Both sites are close to one of Saddam's more impressive personal security facilities - the palace is cheek-by-jowl with the
airport, from which a French construction contractor built Saddam two escape routes in the mid-80s, a tunnel and a separate
access road.
A hectoring Information minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, accused Mr Bush of deliberately attempting to assassinate Saddam.
"Bush has committed a despicable crime against humanity. The only way to describe the rulers of the US and Britain is that
they are mercenaries and war criminals," he said.
Like most of his colleagues, Mr al-Sahhaf arrived at a press conference in the drab military ensemble of the Baath Party.
Most senior officials have switched to the same garb - even the director general of information, Uday al-Taie. Yesterday he
arrived at work in the early hours in a smart suit and tie. By mid-morning he too was in fatigues.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/21/1047749918896.html?oneclick=true
The rest is current history with an American death toll to date of 2063 with war wounded at 15,477 and Iraqi death of 26,931 minimally with estimates exceeding 100,000.
http://www.nyas.org/publications/sciences/pdf/ts_11_00.pdf
One Million Black Votes Didn't Count in the 2000 Presidential Election
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0621-11.htm
December 12, 2000 Supreme Court Ruling of Gore v. Bush
http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/00-949.ZPC.html
January 21, 2001 George Walker Bush Inauguration
Inauguration Protests Largest Since Nixon in 1973
http://www.commondreams.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi?file=/headlines01/0121-01.htm
February 4. 2001 Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force convenes in secret.
Enron testifies six times before it's results are
published on May 14, 2001.
http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=573&Month=5&Year=2004
February 9, 2001 USS Greenville during a public relations sailing, strikes the Japanese Schooling Vessel, Ehime Maru,
sinking it, ten miles off "Diamond Head, O'hau, Hawaii. Dead are four teenagers, two instructors and three crewmen with
another 12 injured.
http://gohawaii.about.com/library/weekly/aa021001a.htm
February 16, 2001 Six airmen are laid to rest following a training incident off Hawaii where two helicopters collided.
http://starbulletin.com/2001/02/16/news/story4.html
April Fool's Day, 2001 The chinese Spy Plane Incident
http://www.americans-world.org/digest/regional_issues/china/china9.cfm
May 5, 2001 Test launch of Missile Defense Shield
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/05/08/missile.shield/index.html
May12, 2001 Pakistan takes firm stance against MDS with USA
Islamabad, May 12After initial hesitation, Pakistan has taken a firm stand against US President George Bush’s missile defence shield (MDS), saying that it would jeopardise strategic stability and trigger a new arms race.
“It would undermine international efforts aimed at arms control and disarmament,” country’s military ruler, Gen Parvez Musharraf said, announcing his regime’s stand for the first time on the US proposals to have MDS.
“We share the international concern at the development and deployment of ballistic missile defence,” he told a state banquet given in honour of visiting Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji here last night.
It was for the first time that General Musharraf reacted to MDS after India welcomed the US move to have missile defence as a step towards unilateral reduction of nuclear forces.
It is also significant that General Musharraf chose to announce this during the visit of Mr Rongji, whose government firmly opposed the plan.
The announcement also coincides with US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage’s visit to New Delhi. The Pakistan media today carried comments by Mr Vajpayee, welcoming the new US vision of disarmament. PTI
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010513/world.htm#5
September 2001 Despite the Bush administration’s bullish outlook on the deployment of a missile-defense shield during the next decade, there is a lot of work yet to be done in the laboratory, said U.S. government scientists.
http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/issues/2001/Sep/Future_Anti-Missile.htm
August 31, 2001 - Libya's Mohammar Quadaffi approaches the Vatican in request to speak with Western Leaders. He is refused by Blair and Bush.
September 11, 2001
International reaction
The attacks had major world-wide political effects. The attacks were denounced world-wide, with the headline of Paris,
France's "Le Monde" newspaper being prototypical: "Today We Are All Americans." Approximately one month after the attacks the
USA led a wide coalition of international forces into Afghanistan in pursuit of al-Qaeda forces. The Pakistani authorities
moved decisively to align themselves with the United States in a war against Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. It gave the U.S. a
number of military airports and bases for its attack on Afghanistan. It arrested over six hundred supposed Al-Qaeda members
and handed them over to the U.S.[12]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11,_2001_attacks#International_reaction
October 7, 2001 - "Operation Enduring Freedom" launched.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Enduring_Freedom
December 17, 2001 Failure Raises Questions on Overall Program (of MDS)
http://cndyorks.gn.apc.org/yspace/articles/bmd/namdprogcancelled.htm
State of the Union Address 2002
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020129-11.html
February 2002 - from the Op-Ed that would appear in 2003 by Joe Wilson
"...In February 2002, I was informed by officials at the Central Intelligence Agency that Vice President Dick Cheney's office
had questions about a particular intelligence report. While I never saw the report, I was told that it referred to a
memorandum of agreement that documented the sale of uranium yellowcake — a form of lightly processed ore — by Niger to Iraq
in the late 1990's. The agency officials asked if I would travel to Niger to check out the story so they could provide a
response to the vice president's office..."
August 11, 2002. SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS IRAQ IN ‘MATERIAL BREACH’ OF DISARMAMENT OBLIGATIONS,OFFERS FINAL CHANCE TO COMPLY, UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTING RESOLUTION 1441 (2002)
Instructs Weapons Inspections to Resume within 45 Days,
Recalls Repeated Warning of ‘Serious Consequences’ for Continued Violations
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2002/SC7564.doc.htm
September 12, 2002 Bush addresse the United Nation with overtures against Iraq
http://www.un.int/usa/02_131.htm
October 11, 2002
House Approves Force Against Iraq with arguments against.
US House Approves Resolution Authorizing Use of Force against Iraq The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to approve the No. 114 resolution which grants President George W. Bush
the power to use force in dealing with Iraq although many lawmakers expressed opposition to the motion during hectic debates
over the past few days.
http://english.people.com.cn/200210/11/eng20021011_104843.shtml
October 11, 2002
Senate approves Iraq war resolutionAdministration applauds vote
Friday, October 11, 2002 Posted: 12:35 PM EDT (1635 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In a major victory for the White House, the Senate early Friday voted 77-23 to authorize President Bush
to attack Iraq if Saddam Hussein refuses to give up weapons of mass destruction as required by U.N. resolutions.
Hours earlier, the House approved an identical resolution, 296-133.
...Resolution sharply divides DemocratsThe Senate vote sharply divided Democrats, with 29 voting for the measure and 21 against. All Republicans except Sen. Lincoln
Chafee of Rhode Island voted for passage.
Ahead of the vote, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle announced Thursday morning he would support Bush on Iraq, saying it is
important for the country "to speak with one voice at this critical moment."
Daschle, D-South Dakota, said the threat of Iraq's weapons programs "may not be imminent. But it is real. It is growing. And
it cannot be ignored." However, he urged Bush to move "in a way that avoids making a dangerous situation even worse."
Daschle had expressed reservations about a possible U.S. attack on Iraq, and he was not part of an agreement between the
White House and other congressional leaders framing the resolution last week.
Sen. Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia, attempted Thursday to mount a filibuster against the resolution but was cut off on a 75 to
25 vote.
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/10/11/iraq.us/
January 23, 2003 State of the Union Address 2003
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030128-19.html
"... the British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa, ..." spoken by George Walker Bush.
February 5, 2003
INTERNATIONAL LAW ON THE USE OF FORCE
Powell's mission—like that of his colleagues over the past months—was to fit the Bush administration's case against Saddam
Hussein into the U.N. structures governing the use of force as laid out in the U.N. Charter. Whether the United States
chooses to continue to pursue this path or not has serious implications for the future of international law and the United
Nations.
The international legal rules governing the use of force take as their starting point Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter, which
prohibits any nation from using force against another. The charter allows for only two exceptions to this rule: when force is
required in self-defense (Article 51) or when the Security Council authorizes the use of force to protect international peace
and security (Chapter VII).
http://www.worldpress.org/specials/iraq/
March 21, 2003 Bush begins his invasion into Iraq.
From the Sydney Morning Herald
Invasion beginsBy Paul McGeough in Baghdad and Lindsay Murdoch on the Kuwait/Iraq borderMarch 21 2003
At least five cruise missiles slammed into the heart of Baghdad this morning, setting two government buildings ablaze and
stabbing at the heart of the regime - Saddam Hussein's palace compound on the banks of the Tigris River - but still not
"shock and awe".
The force of the missiles, low powered compared with some of the massive warheads promised by the US, pointed to a new turn
in the Bush battle plan, after a surprise opening missile strike earlier in the day on a military complex on the outskirts of
the city.
US and British troops invading from Kuwait seized the Iraqi border town of Umm Qasr this morning, the official Kuwaiti News
Agency said. Iraqi state television denied that the town had fallen.
Meanwhile, US forces launched a massive artillery assault on Iraqi positions near the Kuwait border early today. Artillery
units of the US First Marine Division fired a barrage of 200 rounds from heavy howitzers.
Their target was the Iraqi 51st Mechanised Division across the border. As well, American Apache attack helicopters launched
Hellfire missiles into the Iraqi positions. The massive assault lit up the sky with bright orange explosions in an awesome
display of firepower which continued for two hours.
In Baghdad, air raid sirens wailed at 8.48pm and 20 minutes later as a building, thought to be the headquarters of Saddam's
oil ministry, was engulfed in a massive fire ball. The missiles whipped in from the south, exploding with a low percussion
thud that reduced the building to ghostly flames and a plume of smoke.
The next target was only metres away and it too went up in a spectacular hit, minutes later. This building, which earlier in
the day boasted two anti-aircraft batteries which were stationed on its rooftop, and the oil ministry, are next to Saddam's
planning headquarters, where the Jumhuriya bridge meets the west bank of the river.
A short time later, two missiles appeared to slam into the presidential compound itself. The chances of the security paranoid
Saddam or members of his family being on the premises at a time like this are zero, but there were reports that a house in
which the president's wife and daughters lived was hit.
Baghdad - the regime and the city - emerged dazed from the first US strikes and fearful of what might be in store for them in
the coming night.
Iraqi forces had retaliated in the wake of the opening US assault, firing three Scud missiles into Kuwait, one of which was
taken out by a US-operated Patriot missile battery before it neared Kuwait City. The two reportedly landed harmlessly in the
deserts of north Kuwait.
Light traffic returned to Baghdad's streets, but only for the daylight hours. The telephone system either was shut down or on
the brink of collapse - international calls were impossible; local calls were a lottery.
Foxholes and barricades were still being built around the city - and what the Herald presumed to be waste cardboard on a busy
intersection proved to be a foxhole when several soldiers were seen emerging from beneath it.
Iraqi officials said that one person had died and several had been injured in US-led attacks on a customs post on the
Jordanian border and on a TV station at Ramadi, a Saddam stronghold west of Baghdad. There was further scattered US bombing
beyond Baghdad in the mid-afternoon, but the day's strikes were focused on the Al Rasheed military complex, about 15km south
-east of the capital, and, according to Iraqi street talk, an elaborate presidential palace next to Saddam International
Airport.
Reports from Washington say that the CIA was convinced that it had a surveillance fix on Saddam in a bunker within the
complex.
Both sites are close to one of Saddam's more impressive personal security facilities - the palace is cheek-by-jowl with the
airport, from which a French construction contractor built Saddam two escape routes in the mid-80s, a tunnel and a separate
access road.
A hectoring Information minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, accused Mr Bush of deliberately attempting to assassinate Saddam.
"Bush has committed a despicable crime against humanity. The only way to describe the rulers of the US and Britain is that
they are mercenaries and war criminals," he said.
Like most of his colleagues, Mr al-Sahhaf arrived at a press conference in the drab military ensemble of the Baath Party.
Most senior officials have switched to the same garb - even the director general of information, Uday al-Taie. Yesterday he
arrived at work in the early hours in a smart suit and tie. By mid-morning he too was in fatigues.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/21/1047749918896.html?oneclick=true
The rest is current history with an American death toll to date of 2063 with war wounded at 15,477 and Iraqi death of 26,931 minimally with estimates exceeding 100,000.
"Rock and Hard Place" by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
The fields of Eden
Are full of trash
And if we beg and we borrow and steal
We'll never get it back People are hungry
They crowd around
And the city gets bigger as the country comes begging to town
We're stuck between a rock
And a hard place
Between a rock and a hard place
This talk of freedom
And human rights
Means bullying and private wars and chucking all the dust into our eyes
And peasant people
Poorer than dirt
Who are caught in the crossfire with nothing to lose but their shirts
Stuck between a rock
And a hard place
Between a rock and a hard place
You'd better stop put on a kind face
Between a rock and a hard place
We're in the same boat
On the same sea
And we're sailing south
On the same breeze
Guiding dream churches
With silver spires And our rogue children
Are playing loaded dice
Give me truth now
Don't want no sham
I'd be hung drawn and quartered for a sheep just as well as a lamb
Stuck between a rock
And a hard place
Between a rock and a hard place
You'd better stop
Put on a kind face
Can't you see what you've done to me
Are full of trash
And if we beg and we borrow and steal
We'll never get it back People are hungry
They crowd around
And the city gets bigger as the country comes begging to town
We're stuck between a rock
And a hard place
Between a rock and a hard place
This talk of freedom
And human rights
Means bullying and private wars and chucking all the dust into our eyes
And peasant people
Poorer than dirt
Who are caught in the crossfire with nothing to lose but their shirts
Stuck between a rock
And a hard place
Between a rock and a hard place
You'd better stop put on a kind face
Between a rock and a hard place
We're in the same boat
On the same sea
And we're sailing south
On the same breeze
Guiding dream churches
With silver spires And our rogue children
Are playing loaded dice
Give me truth now
Don't want no sham
I'd be hung drawn and quartered for a sheep just as well as a lamb
Stuck between a rock
And a hard place
Between a rock and a hard place
You'd better stop
Put on a kind face
Can't you see what you've done to me
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)