***Operation Iraqi Freedom - Situation Room - 17 APR 03/Day 29 - LIVE THREAD***

Everywhere! | 17 APR 03 | An.American.Expatriate

[null and void]

Operation Iraqi Freedom

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Links to the last thread 

Day 28

Good Morning.

This is the Daily Thread of Operation Iraqi Freedom - Situation Room - LIVE THREAD.

It is designed for general conversation about the events of the day. In depth discussion of events should be left to individual threads - but links to the threads or other articles is highly encouraged. This allows us to stay abreast of the situation in general, while also providing a means of obtaining specific information.

To all who helped this get started and keep it running, thank you!

[BagCamAddict]

Can you imagine living in an environment where weapons caches like these are found in every other house on your street? In all your schools? We live in a country where we can meet our neighbors at the mailbox and say "Can you believe what Bush is up to these days?" And not only will we not be killed for saying it, but absolutely NOTHING will happen to us because of it. Our neighbors may have a gun or two, but they don't have hundreds of RPGs, land mines, AK-47s, boxes of ammo, etc. We have no ability to understand what these people have suffered through all these years. I believe any of them who are coming forward with the locations of weapons and/or "most wanted" persons are truely brave souls, because they are still at risk until all the vermin are cleaned out.

[umbagi]

See? See? Get your obligations fulfilled, and start posting more on FR. It's good stuff.

I'm glad we went off on that tangent, now -- got some of your work out in the daylight, and you're getting good comments on it. Slow night, anyway :-).

[Kip Lange]

Can you imagine living in an environment where weapons caches like these are found in every other house on your street? In all your schools?

No. The mind recoils.

We live in a country where we can meet our neighbors at the mailbox and say "Can you believe what Bush is up to these days?" And not only will we not be killed for saying it, but absolutely NOTHING will happen to us because of it.

Aye, but something DOES happen if I say, "Can you believe how great our President is?" in any office I work in out here (MA). :-P

[Kip Lange]

Point taken. Are you my Guardian Writing Angel? Clarence? ;-)

[The Wizard]

Fox just had a report about iraqi leadership going to france....

can you spell s-p-e-c-i-a-l o-p-s

[DollyCali]

BCA - thanks for article.. morning !

Umbagi & KL.. I enjoyed catching up on thread(easy now that it is short) & finding your "conversation". Although I do not share your literary knowledge, I marvel how you found each other & although different - normal - surely share enough to forge ahead & broaden your friendship.

Kip have you written anything on your Cambodian experiences?

If the links or infor was in there, I missed it. I never did any followup reading on Vienam, Cambodia..etc. I found the bit I did VERY distressing & although I cared, I then had so much on my plate I realized I need to temper what went into my mind and life.

[umbagi]

Are you my Guardian Writing Angel?

Nope. Just someone always hungry for a new point of view, well-stated, or a new way of saying something with which I agree or disagree (IOW, yer average FReeper :-).

I found your webpage a day ago, just snooping around, and read enough to know it was worth sharing, but I didn't want to publicize it without your permission. I'm glad I "egged you on," though -- now we've all gotten some good stuff we didn't have before!

[Kip Lange]

Umbagi has the Cambodian experiences...I'm far too young for that...the troops I know are the ones that are out there right now. Cambodia's a personal interest of mine in terms of history, is all.

Thanks for the kind words. :p Hey, if you want to see interesting people crop up on the Internet, FR is a pretty good place to hang out. ;-) (even *more* interesting people are lurking...hellllo lurkers :p)

[Kip Lange]

Why...you sneaky SOB. :-) Hehehe.

[BagCamAddict]

Aye, but something DOES happen if I say, "Can you believe how great our President is?" in any office I work in out here (MA). :-P

Well.... I said we can say things like that at the mailbox.... I definitely wouldn't say things like that at work, unless I knew I was talking with someone who felt the same way that I do.

I used to work with a far-right a$$hole named Robert who spouted his political views far and wide and LOUD in the whole office. He happened to also be a manager/VP of the company, so no one could tell him to STFU. He was so far right that it was truely annoying. He posted political statements on his door for all to see... he spouted off in the lunchroom, in the copy room, at the front desk, and he'd even get you cornered in your own office and spout off.

We also had a granola (hippie) girl named Christy in the office who had a calendar up on her wall that had artsy feminist black and white photos. In very small print in one of the captions for a picture was the word "penis." I don't even remember what the whole quote was, but it was feminist. This young gal was the lowest ranking technical person in our office. But she didn't spout her left-wing political views all over the office, she kept them to herself.

One day the top-dog manager called me in to his office to ask me if I thought he should have Christy take down her calendar because it might be offensive to people. The only reason the top manager knew about it was because far-right Robert had complained about it, and the only reason he knew about it was because he was snooping in Christy's office! Anyway, I told the manager in no uncertain terms that her calendar, minding it's own business in her office, was nowhere nearly as offensive as Robert's loud, frequent, and far-right rantings in every room in the office, and that if he was going to have Christy remove the calendar, he sure as heck better have Robert STFU.

I guess what I'm saying is that I don't think a workplace is a good place to get into political debates. The far right can't talk to the far left, and vice versa. It's a Mars / Venus thing. And there is equally as much irrationality on both ends of the spectrum. That's never going to change.

But at least if you make a comment at the mailbox that your neighbor doesn't agree with, you don't have to work with that person every day, and they can't fire you.

Sorry for the long post. :-)

[DollyCali]

Ragtime.. thank you again(maybe for last time for Centcom?) boo hoo.. you did us all such a wonderful service. ESP those of us w/o cable n dish.

Carolina.. David Bloom - thank you.. such a loss to his family & his profession. Wonder if a bit more walking would have eleviated that situation for him... heard the earlier speculation. Not that it will change things.. but a curiousity.

BCA - military terms.. thank you

An observation.... everyone adds a different touch of info & sensitivity. It has been fun to see that.

As the patience levels decreased during tense times , folks reacted differently. Problems for most part were gently soothed over. Graciousness was evident.

[mewzilla]

Anyone catch author Con Coughlin on FOX a little while ago? His sources are saying Saddamn is still alive and in Baghdad. (And if Saddamn did get out of that restaurant in time, do you suppose the Russians gave him a heads up?) And apparently the visa section of the French Embassy in Damascus is tres busy. Three guesses why...

[BagCamAddict]

WARNING: Graphic

And now for Qusay's torture crimes:

"On that day which followed the visit of QUSAY SADDAM HUSSEIN to the prison, 180 prisoners were executed. The guards walked up and down the corridors calling out names. They took some prisoners from nearly every cell...when QUSAY SADDAM HUSSEIN visited a prison, mass executions would often follow and so we all realised what it meant when they began calling out the names of prisoners..."

"On several occasions I saw QUSAY SADDAM HUSSEIN walk along the row of cells, open the slot in the door and spray what I believe to be something like mustard gas into the cell...The bodies of the dead were bloated by the gas. They foamed at the mouth and were bleeding from the eyes...The prisoners were screaming. I remember one of them was only about twelve years old. I remember QUSAY shouting something like "Put this bastard in - he's a member of the [X] family'...The little boy was screaming. He was already bleeding from previous beatings. QUSAY killed him along with all the others...The little boy screamed out "I am sorry, I don't want to die, I want my father." QUSAY said, "Your father is in the cell next door", which was true. QUSAY then proceeded to spray him with gas and he died after about ten minutes of agony. We could hear them screaming... I estimate that QUSAY SADDAM HUSSEIN personally murdered between 1200-1300 people during this period."

"There was a machine designed for shredding plastic. Men were dropped into it and we were again made to watch. Sometimes they went in head first and died quickly. Sometimes they were put in feet first and died screaming. It was horrible. I saw 30 people die like this. Their remains would be placed in plastic bags and we were told they would be used as fish food.... On one occasion, I saw QUSAY SADDAM HUSSEIN personally supervising these murders."

"QUSAY SADDAM HUSSEIN went into the torture room...screaming..."I'll put an end to you with my own hands"...[the prisoner] was brought back into the cell with his right foot covered in filthy bandages. It had been cut off during his torture...the amputation had been carried out with a power saw during his torture under the direct supervision of QUSAY SADDAM HUSSEIN...it had not been done cleanly and it had taken some time to cut the foot off."

[Mrs.Liberty]

A few days ago the news people were reporting that a special team ws in Iraq expressly to look for Scott Speicher and the other MIA/DSU Americans.

here is a link to one Scott Speicher website

Today happens to be Scott Speicher Day, friends and supporters are urged to call the White House and their congresseople and Seantors in order to keep Captain Speicher's name front and center.

[Mrs.Liberty]

congresseople and Seantors =Congresspeople and Senators

[BagCamAddict]

Huh. Press release by CentCom puts Barzan al Tikriti at number 52 of top 55. Different from what was stated at CentCom press conference. Must be a typo. How many ranks do you drop for a typo like that?? LOL

[Quilla]

I would like to see the US acquire definitive evidence of Saddam's demise (or capture). Without it, I'm certain we will be subjected to Daschle's saddened questioning "where is Saddam" just as he has done about bin Laden.

[DollyCali]

Sorry about the confusion re: cambodia.. you had also mentioned facts.

I have been w/FR about a month or so.

Can be too consuming cant it?

Will maybe spend less time with idiot "dates" & more time on FR at night... There are local people I have already met (at not too far away Rep meeting) and others that I definitely want to keep in touch with..

I am personally in a real mental/political draught, as I believe I mentioned previously.

THis forum/thread has been stimulating & encouraging to keep in touch & know I am not alone swimming in the oceans & ebb tide of life

Summer month for me are outdoor times.... As much as I can I kayak, bike, extreme hike, and do the flower/horticulture things...

[mewzilla]

I heard someone state this morning that we've told Syria that if they harbor Saddamn, we will go in and get him. He'll turn up sooner or later. One way or another.

[BagCamAddict]

Rather than post more of these sick torture stories, if anyone wants to read them, go to this website:

http://www.indict.org.uk/targets.php

Once there, click on any of the names. On the next page, there will be a link below their photo to "Read eyewitness accounts of crimes committed by so-and-so."