Judge drops suit challenging Iraq war

May 19, 2009 - The Associated Press Posted : Tuesday May 19, 2009 15:03:59 EDT NEWARK, N.J. — Two mothers of soldiers who served in Iraq have failed in their attempt to sue the federal government over the constitutionality of the war. U.S. - 4 Comments

Foreign Policy Research Institute

May 27, 2009 - Understanding the Surge in Iraq and What’s Ahead By Thomas Ricks May 2009 Thomas E. Ricks is a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. He is also a contributing editor for Foreign Policy and serves as a special military correspondent for the Washington Post. - 2 Comments

More on Oil in Iraq......

Jun 22, 2008 - As many of you know, lately I have been discussing my beliefs on why I do not believe that Oil was/is our main motivation for Iraq. A recent post on Citizen was used to try and show that the big oil Companies were winning large contracts and this was the reason for the war, but I argued that this was not showed. This discussion was here: http://www.citizensugar.com/1722395#comments Anyhow, I have more information which I believe needs to be brought to light: Article 1 (From the Independent in the UK): http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/oil-giants-return-to-iraq-851036.html This article raises some new details that The New York Times seemed not to go into: a. - 17 Comments

AP IMPACT: Secret tally has 87,215 Iraqis dead

Apr 23, 2009 - By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer Kim Gamel, Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD – Iraq's government has recorded 87,215 of its citizens killed since 2005 in violence ranging from catastrophic bombings to execution-style slayings, according to government statistics obtained by The Associated Press that break open one of the most closely guarded secrets of the war. Combined with tallies based on hospital sources and media reports since the beginning of the war and an in-depth review of available evidence by The Associated Press, the figures show that more than 110,600 Iraqis have died in violence since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The number is a minimum count of violent deaths. - 18 Comments

Kennedy Saw War with Iraq for What It Was

Aug 26, 2009 - Eliminating the Threat The Right Course of Action for Disarming Iraq, Combating Terrorism, Protecting the Homeland, and Stabilizing the Middle East Text of speech by US Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) Friday, September 27, 2002 Thank you, Dr. Fukuyama for that generous introduction. I'm honored to be here at the School of Advanced International Studies. - 8 Comments

Secret British Memo Says US Planned to Provoke Iraq

Jun 21, 2009 - http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/21/iraq-inquiry-tony-blair-bush A confidential record of a meeting between President Bush and Tony Blair before the invasion of Iraq, outlining their intention to go to war without a second United Nations resolution, will be an explosive issue for the official inquiry into the UK's role in toppling Saddam Hussein. The memo, written on 31 January 2003, almost two months before the invasion and seen by the Observer, confirms that as the two men became increasingly aware UN inspectors would fail to find weapons of mass destruction (WMD) they had to contemplate alternative scenarios that might trigger a second resolution legitimising military action. Bush told Blair the US had drawn up a provocative plan "to fly U2 reconnaissance aircraft painted in UN colours over Iraq with fighter cover". - 6 Comments

Stephen Colbert goes "commando" in Iraq...

Jun 09, 2009 - By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON Published: June 7, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/arts/television/08colb.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=stephen%20colbert&st=cse CAMP VICTORY, Iraq — It was Sunday night in Baghdad, and President Obama was ordering Gen. Ray Odierno, the commander of the American troops here, to shave Stephen Colbert’s head. (Not to give everything away, but the general is not as brutal with an electric razor as one would expect a bald man to be; Mr. Colbert’s hairdresser, on the other hand, has a merciless streak.) War, as things go, is a fairly unironic exercise. - 16 Comments

US military now focusing on Afghanistan: Mullen

Feb 09, 2009 - FORT DRUM, New York (AFP) – The chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff said Monday the United States was still "not done" in Iraq but that the military's primary focus was now the war in Afghanistan. "You have turned it around in Iraq," Admiral Mike Mullen told several hundred soldiers at the Fort Drum US Army base in New York state. "A year or two ago we were not in a situation where it looked like we could succeed. - 10 Comments

From The London Times

Dec 21, 2008 - The Sunday Times December 21, 2008 Britain has lost the stomach for a fight Michael Portillo Last week Gordon Brown announced a date for Britain’s withdrawal from Iraq. Most troops will be back in time for a spring general election. The prime minister posed with soldiers and expressed his sorrow over yet more fatal casualties in Afghanistan. - 5 Comments