Free Republic

Four Broad Lessons from Iraq Print Mail By Richard Perle Posted: Thursday, April 7, 2005 TESTIMONY House Committee on Armed Services (Washington) Publication Date: April 6, 2005 Mr. Chairman, As always, I appreciate this opportunity to share with the Committee some ideas and observations about the situation in Iraq and, more specifically, some of the lessons we should take away from our experience there. Within the Department of Defense, and among its many advisors and consultants there have already been several important "lessons learned" assessments. These cover everything from the effectiveness of specific weapons systems, procedures, organizations and training to...

To All: This will be my final letter from Iraq. I will be leaving the country in the next week and should be home in the United State soon after. Spring is now here in Iraq. The weather is pleasantly warm with the occasional sunny day. On a recent trip, I flew in a helicopter North of Baghdad over miles of small farms, criss-crossed by irrigation canals, each surrounded by bright green fields. It all gave an impression of timelessness, life unchanging but for the season. In the days since the elections it has been very quiet here and all...

A growing sense of optimism about democracy in the Middle East is boosting President Bush's standing in the world and dampening domestic criticism of his policies in the region. The good news abroad has yet to register in the president's approval ratings, which are weighted down by concerns about his plan to privatize part of Social Security. But the White House has sought to get political credit for the positive developments overseas, with Bush linking the Iraqi elections, renewed Israeli-Palestinian talks, and burgeoning democracy protests in Lebanon to his policies, including the decision to go to war in Iraq. ''The...

There are only a few of our 43 presidents – Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR and Reagan come immediately to mind – whose legacies are emblazoned in the glorious history of our embryonic "experiment" in democracy. After only 200 years, we are now recognized as the most generous, powerful, wealthy country on earth – and the envy (and therefore animosity) of all others. George W. Bush can now relax vis-à-vis what is sure to be his remarkable legacy. With his second term in office only beginning, he already has changed the configuration of the world! And on domestic issues, he has...

Paying close attention to the news these days might lead some people to believe that the Middle East is more chaotic and unpredictable than it has been in many years... and those people would be right. That part of the world is displaying ever-increasing signs of moving toward a level of sociopolitical turmoil, the likes of which has not been attained in the region for centuries. Recent events there mark the beginning of what may well prove to be a cultural tempest of extraordinary ferocity, however, the swirling winds of change to which I refer are not born of despotic...

I was reading an article on the views Iraqis hold of America, following the successful elections in Iraq. It got me to think about a subject I have mulled for a while. What are the long term psychological effects of having your freedom handed to you by another? Imagine if the American Revolution was almost completely won by the hands of another country. What if say...France had done most of the hard work and fighting and dying and also held our hands financially? How would we see ourselves 230 years later? Could we even have lasted this long? Our pride...

Please see: http://www.jasonlvandyke.com/liberal1.htm This is an article I wrote on PETA for all who are interested. Its public domain; feel free to distribute it or publish it anywhere.

Will freedom work in Iraq? Posted: January 13, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com I share President Bush's hope that freedom will prosper in Iraq. I agree with President Bush that freedom is the best way to deter war because free nations seldom attack one another. I remain cautiously optimistic that the free election this month in Iraq will be a very important step toward reshaping the Middle East and countering the oppression and violence that has too often marked the history of the region. However, as Americans we need to realize freedom is about more than elections. The...

During World War II, Frank Capra made a series of films called "Why We Fight" to rally Americans behind the war effort. Imagine a filmmaker doing that today. Actually, it's impossible to imagine. Hollywood either prefers to stay away from the war on terrorism altogether (the film version of Tom Clancy's "The Sum of All Fears" changed the villains from Islamist extremists to neo-Nazis) or to use it, even in its pre-9/11 form, as a morality play to warn against lost civil liberties (see "The Siege," starring Denzel Washington). The film community — whose exquisite sensibilities are routinely outraged by...

<p>The number of Iraqis making sure they are properly registered to vote has surged dramatically, officials said Saturday, calling the rise evidence of enthusiasm for the Jan. 30 elections despite continuing security concerns that have blocked the process in two provinces.</p>

Hi, I have been listening to the report about the WMD’s by Mr. David Kay. Now, all of you in the West must know that as far as we, the Iraqis, are concerned, we care very little that stocks of WMD’s existed or not at the time of liberation. For us Saddam and his regime were in themselves, the most lethal WMD that cost our people hundreds of thousands of victims not to mention the destruction of the economy and the very fabric of society in our afflicted country. That regime was a dead end for our people and with...

Japanese Politicians Talk of 'Liberating' N.K. TOKYO -- A high-ranking figure in Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has drawn attention for saying Japan's future relations with North Korea should be determined with the oppressed state's "liberation" in mind, as the political circle remains enraged at Pyongyang's decision to return false remains of Japanese abductees. Takebe Tsutomu, secretary general of Japan's ruling party and the man perceived to be second-in-command, appeared on Nippon TV on Saturday asserting that, "Our goals are to resolve the kidnapping, nuclear and missile issues. To put it boldly, we must think about how to confront...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

IsraelNN.com) Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem, Israel, today announced its historic Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names to the Internet has gone online. The Database was presented and an international 11th Hour Campaign to collect more names of victims was announced. Special video messages from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Professor Elie Wiesel, and Simone Veil were presented as well. The Database, which will allow online public interaction and contributions of new names and materials, seeks to capture the names of as many Jewish Holocaust victims as possible. The sophisticated technology allows users worldwide to...

With every passing day – and there are precious few left – another enormous constituency turns against President George W. Bush in his race against John Kerry. First, the Hollywood celebrities mobilized against Bush. Then came the recording industry, with mega-stars like Bruce Springsteen offering free concerts in order to defeat Bush. Next it was the turn of the academic and scientific communities to pummel the president, with 54 Nobel Prize winners announcing they would tour the universities denouncing Bush. Of course, the president had already been abandoned by Europe, with their million-man rallies against him where he was burned...

http://jb-williams.com/soldier-debate1.htm US soldier in Iraq responds to 1st Debate! By CAPTAIN RON HAYES LETTER TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BY A SOLDIER IN IRAQ In response to the 1st Presidential debate! The 1st debate in the campaign for presidency of the United States raised some crucial issues that are still a cause for confusion to the American people. I decided it’s time for a viewpoint from someone who is in the middle of this war and has no room for debating this issue. I have been in Iraq almost 9 months and I have seen the good and the bad of...

Meanwhile, our soldiers are on the edge of thier Hummer seats.

Kerry's Unwavering Arrogance Written by Frank Salvato Monday, September 27, 2004 It isn’t hard to see, or hear. All one has to do is listen to John Kerry for a bit. His every word drips of it. It emanates from his every action. John Kerry is arrogant. This has never been more obvious than in his recent remarks about Iraq in the face of Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s speech to a joint session of Congress. John Kerry essentially said that the prime minister didn’t know what he was talking about and that he, John Kerry, did. We’ve heard about...

Iraqi Americans Taking Their Stories to U.S. Military Bases By Kathleen T. RhemAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Sept. 23, 2004 -- Dr. Ali Alattar has some compelling stories to tell, and he believes U.S. military service members and their families need to hear them. The Iraqi-born physician knows Americans have heard countless tales of weapons of mass destruction and mass graves in Iraq. But, he contends, most have never heard these stories straight from someone who has seen people suffering disfigurement, burns and hopelessness because of exposure to chemical weapons. And most have never heard directly from someone who...

Coalition Makes a Difference for Afghans By Sgt. 1st Class Matthew A. Fearing, USASpecial to American Forces Press Service KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Aug. 28, 2004 –– The convoy crested a dusty hill and the riders could see Shah Wali Kot below. The village is nestled in a small valley with brown hills that reach skyward on either side. Children in the village stopped to look as vehicles rolled into town. They turned and waved. An Afghan girl named Negeba paints a wall in a Shah Wali Kot classroom. She assisted coaliton servicemembers who visited her village during a recent...

As a duty of memory, it is necessary, on the eve of the presidential election, to give a clear and definitive look at one of the most crucial events of the Bush administration and understand there was no room for hesitation. First, the U.S. intervention was legitimized by the U.N. Charter itself....Therefore, undertaking a military course of action was legitimate, and the United States respected the spirit and principles of the U.N. Charter. Second, it was not a new war.... Military intervention was necessary, and even a moral obligation, to eradicate this threat. Third, to this military threat must be...

UK Free Press The London Times "Most afternoons, among the market stalls leading to the old city of Najaf young men set up TV sets in the street showing grotesque scenes of cruelty. Handcuffed prisoners are executed with sticks of dynamite shoved into their pockets. Screaming men plead for their lives as they are beaten by Saddam Hussein's secret police. Crimson fragments of bodies lie in the street, moments after a huge explosion, to the soundtrack of an Arab lament. The crowds gather round. People mutter and shake their heads. Then they queue to pay 1,000 Iraqi dinars (about 33p)...

Parisians in period costumes parade through the city's streets. Photograph by Jacques Brinon/APRevellers defy rain to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of Nazi occupationA COLUMN of vintage American armour with the Stars and Stripes flying and GIs in period uniform rolled through Paris yesterday as the city celebrated its 1944 liberation by French and US forces. President Chirac led the formal ceremonies, hailing the courage of the Parisians, resistance fighters and Free French forces, in an address at the Hotel de Ville. General Dietrich von Choltitz, commander of Gross Paris, the Nazi military region, surrendered at the...

PARIS - Ceremonies that drew thousands of people into the streets culminated with a solemn tribute to the heroes of the liberation at Paris City Hall — followed by a jubilant outdoor ball. The liberation "shook France and renewed hope in the world," said President Jacques Chirac in an address at City Hall, where he decorated veterans and Resistance members. The liberation was "an essential step in the capitulation of the Nazi regime," and through it, "France found its place in the world," Chirac said. Before a crowd of thousands, and intermittent rain, he stressed the need to transmit the...

French set rancour over the Iraq war aside to rejoice in a triumph helped by AmericaPARISIANS will dance in the streets tomorrow to celebrate the capital’s 1944 liberation from German occupation, which redeemed French pride and laid the foundation of the Gaullist state. The festivities mark the climax of France’s commemmoration of its deliverance from four years under the Nazis. President Chirac, much of the Cabinet and Mayor Bertrand Delanoë will preside over the ceremonies to honour Paris’s finest hour. The German surrender holds special significance because, unlike the D-Day landings or other big battles of 1944, the French did...

August 19,  2004  AIR COMPONENT DATA - who flew what, where - 8/18/04 - OIF, OEF.CENTCOM  | August 19, 2004 FIRST ID SOLDIERS DETAIN 10 DURING OPERATION WOLVERINE IRAQI SECURITY FORCES AND MNF RESTORE ORDER IN AL HAYY NATO Training Implementation Mission arrives in Iraq Joint Force Command (JFC) Naples, via State Dept, Defend America  | August 17, 2004 AFGHAN NATIONAL ARMY RECRUITING ACADEMY GRADUATES SECOND CLASS (+) CENTCOM  | August 19, 2004 Vermont Guardsmen Train, Mentor Afghan Soldiers Afghan Army Maneuvers With Task Force Bronco Afghan National Army Brings Security, Sets Example Pay Raise Shows America's Commitment to TroopsDoD  | August...

GUWAHATI: At least 15 people were killed on Sunday, when militants exploded a powerful bomb during Independence Day celebrations in an eastern town in Assam, police said. The blast, blamed on the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), occurred at 9.30 am during the official celebrations at a parade ground at Dhemaji town. Most victims were reported to be students participating in the Independence Day parade in the district headquarter town. Inspector General of Police Khagen Sharma said the attack was suspected to be the handiwork of ULFA. Chaos and panic prevailed at the Dhemaji ground following the blast and...

Arlington, VA -- "John Kerry has had some difficulty explaining where he stands on the liberation of Iraq. He voted for the war. Then he was against the war when it was politically expedient. Now John Kerry says he was for the war. But now some of his own aides are saying that his vote to authorize force wasn't really a vote to go to war. "That statement cannot be reconciled with what he said when he voted in 1991 against using force in the first Gulf War. During the debate in the Senate, he declared that a vote on...

USA Today - Los Angeles Times  USA Today   "Jailers often treated allegedly lagging players in ways certain to hurt, not improve, the athletes' performances on the field. After shaving their heads to humiliate them, athletes were hung upside down and the soles of their feet whipped. They were buried in hot sand up to their necks. Their fingers or ears were amputated. Electric shocks were applied to their skin. And, in the case of soccer players, they were forced to kick concrete balls." -- USA TODAY, July 30, 2003 ~*~ At only 22, Tareq, a defender, has been to...

HAVANA -- A former political prisoner whose case was highlighted by President Bush urged Cuba's government Friday to hold a referendum on whether to change the communist island's political system. In a 10-page report called "The Cuba We Want," Leonardo Bruzon Avila and fellow dissident Carlos Rios Otero called for the referendum and laid out a plan for Cuba's transition to a multiparty, democratic system and free-market economy. The report was delivered Friday to the offices of Cuban Justice Minister Roberto Diaz Sotolongo. There was no public reaction by the President Fidel Castro's government to the recommendations. The proposal echoed...

Poll: Afghans Optimistic About Recovery (64%-say country headed in right direction 11%-wrong way) Jul 13, 8:38 AM (ET) By STEPHEN GRAHAM KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Two-thirds of Afghans say they are optimistic about the future but remain worried about insecurity and the ravaged economy, according to a survey released Tuesday. A majority also approved of interim leader Hamid Karzai, the favorite in landmark presidential elections set for Oct. 9, according to a poll that claims it is the most extensive yet on Afghan public opinion. Of those questioned, only 13 percent favored the ousted Taliban regime, saying they favored governance...

Sgt. Jared Zabaldo in Baghdad writes: I just got back from an embed with the Iraqi army's 2nd Battalion. The 2nd Battalion is actually part of the Iraqi army's Iraqi Intervention Force. It's a special force in the army specifically trained in counter-insurgency operations. Once again I managed to be in the thick of it again. I walked through the streets of Baghdad July 1 on the Iraqi army's first foot patrol in Baghdad. In fact I made two patrols that same day on the same market-place street. This is a street that I have traveled down many times at...

   The Washington Post  "'We smelled something rotten, and when we breathed in, we couldn't breathe out. The sky was full of smoke, and someone said it was chemicals. People started crying and running toward the mountains. I was burning and I became blind, but someone led me out. After walking for two days, we reached Iran.' [Wais Abdel] Qadr was the only member of his family to survive the gassing of Halabja by the Iraqi military on March 16, 1988." -- The Washington Post, August 7, 2003 ~*~"In the last room, where she was held for several hours, the door was locked. At...

E-mail Author Send to a Friend <% printurl = Request.ServerVariables("URL")%> Print Version July 01, 2004, 11:30 p.m. Next Stop: BaghdadThe liberation of Iraq is almost complete. By John Keegan EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the last in a five-part series of excerpts from The Iraq War, by John Keegan. Together they comprise chapter six: "The American War." Changing plans in mid-campaign is not, however, to be recommended, unless there is an overwhelmingly powerful reason. At that stage of the Iraq War, there was no such reason. The enemy was not exerting significant resistance and was still vulnerable to the offensive...

The liberals like to say that Iraq is a failure. Some Conservatives say that things aren’t going “as good as we had hoped.” We can’t expect liberals to look at the facts and form honest opinions, but the view from some Conservatives is puzzling. I’ve grown tired of hearing how terrible things are from the liberals, and I’ve grown equally tired of the silence coming from Conservatives in response. So I ask you, what is it that makes Iraq a failure? What makes Iraq not as “good as we’d hoped?” What makes Iraq anything less than an astounding victory? Surely...

 The New York Times "Virtually every athlete at the club has physical or mental scars inflicted by Saddam Hussein's older son, Uday, who took control of Iraq's Olympic Committee in 1984 and began a terrifying campaign of torture and humiliation. Many fled the country, including Mr. [Ahmed] Samarrai.... "'The system of the regime started in primary school,' said Mr. Samarrai, who defected on a trip to Switzerland in 1983 and returned here after the war. 'It was exactly like the Nazis in the 30's.'... "'Uday played hell with sports,' said Immanuel Baba Dano, a revered figure in Iraq who was coach...

"IRAQ is now at a setback, but it is temporary. We will rise up like mountains, standing firm, and we will protect all people regardless of religion, color and every other consideration. Pluralism should be a factor of progress, not divisiveness,' said Iraq's new interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi as he took office Monday morning. Difficult and bloody days are ahead, but this small victory provides a moment to pause and marvel at what U.S. troops, coalition troops and freedom-minded Iraqis were able to achieve despite the many factions that toiled so desperately for the new Iraq to fail. Physician...

Poll Shows Iraqis Optimistic About Institutions, Elections By Harold HeilsnisAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, June 28, 2004 – The Iraqi people expressed confidence in their country's future as it moves from occupation to the newly sovereign interim government toward free elections, according to a recent Coalition Provisional Authority poll. In the poll, conducted June 9-19, 68 percent of Iraqis expressed confidence in the interim Iraqi government, and 79 percent said the new government would make things better for Iraq. Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and President Ghazi al-Yawar also drew strong support, 73 percent and 84 percent, respectively. Pollsters commissioned...

Return of Sovereignty Means 'Hopeful Day' for Iraq By Jim GaramoneAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, June 28, 2004 – The dedication and sacrifice of the U.S. military "has brought us to this hopeful day" of post-Saddam Hussein Iraq becoming a sovereign nation, President Bush said today during a short speech in Istanbul, Turkey, where he is attending the NATO Summit. Sovereignty transferred to the interim Iraqi government from the Coalition Provisional Authority, which has run the country for 14 months, two days ahead of schedule in a brief ceremony today. Bush said this is a day "of great hope...

He was lauded with a 20-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. A.O. Scott of the New York Times calls his movie a "passionate expression of outraged patriotism." At the June showing of "Fahrenheit 911" before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science in Los Angeles, he received a standing ovation of over a minute. And Michael Moore's most recent work spits in the face of my dead countrymen. As yet another innocent person has their head severed by Islamic "extremists," Moore apparently glosses over the fact that democracy, in general – and America, specifically – is under...

President Reagan used several deft tactical maneuvers to exploit cracks in the Soviet armor. As president of the United States, Ronald Reagan initiated a sweeping and unprecedented program of covert actions and economic-warfare initiatives that acted to greatly weaken the Soviet economy, its support for "wars of liberation," and its hold on its power in Eastern Europe, former top Reagan administration officials said. The elements of these programs were contained in top-secret national-security directives signed by Reagan in 1982 and 1983, these sources told United Press International. "Any kind of covert-action program had to be expressed in a presidential finding,"...

It Was Twenty Years Ago Today "One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for." BY RONALD REAGAN Sunday, June 6, 2004 12:01 a.m. EDT (Editor's note: President Reagan delivered this speech June 6, 1984, the 40th anniversary of D-Day, to a group of World War II veterans at Pointe du Hoc, France.) We're here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For four long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps,...

Iraqi dentist, ays, reports regularly "Stories and news from Iraq after the liberation" in his blog Iraq at a glance. Not only does his news reflect a positive outlook of many Iraqi, he has added to his masthead the words: "Liberation, Freedom, Democracy, Now we have the right to act as we choose" On Wednesday, June 02, 2004, ays had this to say. These short stories may seem so minor compared to the media stories coming of Iraq each day; but remember, as you read below, these are freedoms never experienced before by Iraqi citizens under Saddam. Hi friends, *I'm...

<p>It's common for people, but Americans especially, to think that what's happening to them has never happened before. Short memory, that.</p> <p>But just under 60 years ago, American occupiers had conquered more than half of Nazi Germany and marched ashore to take the home islands of Japan. The German, Japanese, and Iraqi occupations have a number of points of similarity, but just as many differences. Using earlier occupations to support, or attack, the current U.S. policies in Iraq often doesn't work, and just as often works too well.</p>

On the day the Kotel was liberated, Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook and Rabbi David Cohen, "the Nazir", were privileged to be among the first to arrive there, together with the paratroopers who had liberated it. Rabbi Kook then stirringly proclaimed, "We have come home. We shall never leave." We all felt our spirits exalted. Motta Gur's historic cry - "The Temple Mount is in our hands!" - thrilled millions of Jews in Israel and throughout the world. During those moments, it was hard to understand why Rabbi Kook should have to cry out so forcefully, "We shall never leave." Was...

World War II Holocaust survivors Fred Bremer, left, and Irving Senor talk with American GI Holland Williams during a meeting Tuesday involving survivors and former soldiers on Fort Huachuca. (Mark Levy-Herald/Review)FORT HUACHUCA - In 1945, Dallas Peyton Jr. saw two men run toward each other, embracing as they fell to the ground. That scene nearly six decades ago is still vivid in the 81-year-old Peyton's mind. A flood of tears suddenly wet the man's cheeks. "They were living skeletons. They may have been family members or friends," Peyton said of the two men who were inmates at the Dachau Concentration...

<p>CHICAGO (AP) -- Iraqi doctors were forced to cut off ears, falsify reports on torture and participate in other human rights abuses during Saddam Hussein's regime, a survey of physicians there found.</p> <p>Fewer than 10 percent of the 98 doctors surveyed said they had performed such abuses, but their responses indicated they believed human rights abuses by other physicians were not uncommon.</p>

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 March 18, 2004Release Number: 04-03-41 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS FROM OIF: THE FIRST YEARTAMPA, Fla. – Operation Iraqi Freedom Coalition Forces have successfully liberated 25 million Iraqis from the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. These highlights provide information regarding the accomplishments of the Coalition throughout the past year. The OIF Coalition is comprised of 34 countries, including 11 NATO countries, and they have provided over 22,000 troops to support the efforts in Iraq. There are two multi-national divisions in...

The Bias Towards Brutality and Totalitarianism By Carroll Andrew Morse On February 29, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved the deployment of peacekeeping troops to Haiti. Before Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled the country, supporters of foreign intervention disagreed about its proper goals. Senator John Kerry and a significant number of Congressional Democrats, for example, felt that it was appropriate to use military action to keep Aristide in power despite widespread and credible charges of anti-democratic intimidation and corruption. Other supporters of military action, led by the Bush administration and the government of France, saw no special value in protecting...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Governing Council is hoping to salvage a deal on an interim constitution by Monday after last-minute objections blocked agreement on the document, hindering U.S. plans to return power to Iraqis on June 30. The document, unanimously agreed to earlier this week, was to have been signed Friday, but objections by five Shi'ite members of the U.S.-appointed Governing Council forced an embarrassing postponement of the ceremony. Council sources said the main point of contention was a clause that could allow Kurds to veto a permanent constitution if they feel it does not address their demands for autonomy....