Meanwhile, Saddam's secrets rise from the desert

The Sunday Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | 08/17/03 | Con Coughlin

[ravingnutter]

Iraq's weapons of mass destruction in Lebanon?

I believe they are correct, especially when you consider the following event:

The powerful blast that reverberated across eastern and central Lebanon Sunday, December 29, was caused by the explosion of a big surface missile in Hizballah hands and of Iraqi origin. Reporting this, DEBKAfile’s exclusive military and Lebanese sources reveal that the Lebanese Shiite terrorist group has recently taken delivery of a shipment of surface missiles, presumed to be medium-range, from the Iraqi army. The blast occurred at a Hizballah training camp near a village called Janta in the northeastern section of the Beqaa Valley close to the Syrian frontier. This camp is also used by the group as a testing ground for new weapons, short range missiles and explosive devices. The blast was heard at a distance of 20 km indicating a warhead of one ton at least.

According to our sources, the missile exploded suddenly, catching the Hizballah team handling it unawares and causing a large number of casualties, as indicated by the long line of ambulances and rescue teams reported by witnesses to be racing to the blast scene from northern and central Lebanon. Among them were Syrian military rescue vehicles. The Hizballah quickly sealed off the ravaged area, allowing no one through but the rescue teams, their own operatives and Syrian officers.

Source

[kjfine]

They always seem to strike at the wrong time though. What the heck were they thinking? These guys and gals over here are so awesome. I am so proud of my soldiers and the job that they are doing. I think of them as my kids. I will do anything and everything to keep them safe. Osama and Co bloodied the wrong nose this time. These kids were itching for a fight because of 9/11, and they (terrorists)got more than they bargained for!

[kjfine]

You are most definitely welcome. Well, you name it, it seems we have done it. Patrols on the roads, tracking convoys and rail shipments. That is it in a nutshell.

[kjfine]

When I got on here, my sister, StarCMC, said that I would help spice things up. You all have done nothing but make feel good! For that, I am in your debt. I tire of listening to the media twisting the truth. It is that twist that I am afraid the American people will fall for.

[FairOpinion]

"The powerful blast that reverberated across eastern and central Lebanon Sunday, December 29, was caused by the explosion of a big surface missile in Hizballah hands and of Iraqi origin."

---
Good point. I have forgotten about that, but it could well tie in.

[JusPasenThru]

A very grateful thank you! God bless you and your outfit. We are still praying for you.

[Oorang]

I tire of listening to the media twisting the truth. It is that twist that I am afraid the American people will fall for.

The people that do not want to put any effort into thinking for themselves, or effort looking into a story/report to see if it is more media lies will continue to believe those lies. You can't help them, they are lost. Fortunately, it seems, more and more people are opening their eyes and engaging their brains. The Clinton years, TWA 800 and 9/11 has swept away the brain fog of many folks. The stupor that is Peter Jennings and Dan Rather does not have the effect it once did. There is a glimmer of hope.

Tell your troops they are greatly appreciated.

[Prov3456]

I agree with Oorang.

THANK YOU, and all of the military, for what you're doing to free the people of Iraq and to defend the freedom that too many Americans don't understand and take for granted.I can't say it often enough: THANK YOU!!

[ellery]

btttt

[herkbird]

The Russian Night Vision equipment has been available here in the USA for quite some time now. You can find night vision equipment advertised in many different magazines and catalogs for really cheap prices. If the Russians were selling it to the USA, whats wrong with them selling it to Irag, unless there was a specific UN resolution preventing it.

I certainly didn't enjoy the fact that Iraq had night vision capabilities, but the Russians are flooding the world with this equipment. I don't know if the Russian Government is selling the night vision equipment, or newly privatised Russian companies. The Russians are just trying to make money selling military hardware. They have little else to sell so how can you really blame them, especially if you can buy the same stuff in the USA.

[maica]

This was published in today's Wall Street Journal. Please tell your troops that there are MANY Americans who are very proud that you are there and know that your mission is critical to bringing peace to not only the region but to all of us.

***

FROM THE FRONT
'Bush Good, Saddam Bad!'
A Marine reports from Iraq, where things are far better than the media let on.
BY JOHN R. GUARDIANO
Tuesday, August 19, 2003 12:01 a.m.
AL HILLAH, Iraq--There's more to America than New York, Washington and Los Angeles. The same is true for Iraq; there's a vast country outside Baghdad and the "Sunni triangle" that's now the center of a guerrilla campaign. It's understandable that Western press reports are fixated on attacks that kill American soldiers. But that focus is obscuring what's actually happening in the rest of the country--and it misleads the public into thinking that Iraqis are growing angry and impatient with their liberators.

In fact, there is another Iraq that the media virtually ignore. It is guarded by the First Marine Division, and, unlike Baghdad, it has been a model of success. The streets are safe, petty and violent crime are low, water and electrical services are almost universally available (albeit rationed), and ordinary Iraqis are beginning to clean up and rebuild their neighborhoods and communities. Equally important, a deep level of mutual trust and respect has developed between the Marines and the populace here in central and southern Iraq.

I know because I'm one of those Marines. My reserve unit was activated before the war, and in April my team arrived in this small city roughly 60 miles south of Baghdad. The negative media portrait of the situation in Iraq doesn't correspond with what I've seen. Indeed, we were treated as liberating heroes when we arrived four months ago, and we continue to enjoy amicable relations with the local populace.

The "Arab Street" I've meet in Iraq loves--that's not too strong of a word--America and is deeply grateful for our presence. Far from resenting the American military, most Iraqis seem to fear that we will leave too soon and that in our absence the Baath Party tyranny will resume. This sentiment is readily apparent whenever we venture into the city. We don't make it far outside of our camp before throngs of happy, smiling children greet us.

"Good, good!" they yell, as they run into the street, often oblivious to oncoming traffic. They give us a hearty thumbs-up and vigorously wave and pump their hands. They are eager to see us and to talk with us. To them, it is clear, we are heroes who liberated them from Saddam Hussein.

"Bush good, Saddam bad!" many Iraqis tell us emphatically--and repeatedly. I'm not sure how George W. Bush is faring with the American public, but he's got a lock on Al Hillah.

Iraqis routinely ask me to "thank Mr. Bush for freeing us of Saddam" and tell me, "We are very grateful, because you have freed us of our worst nightmare, Saddam Hussein." (A lot of Iraqis speak surprisingly good English because most studied it in primary and secondary school.)

It all reminds me of my experience a decade ago in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Most ordinary Russians, Poles and Czechs hailed Ronald Reagan as a hero for bringing down the "evil empire" when few people had the courage even to call it that.

In much the same way, ordinary Iraqis have a tremendous reservoir of goodwill for the president who coined the term "axis of evil"--and who then acted to eradicate a primary source of that evil.

The Iraqis know who their foes are too. Two Iraqi children once spontaneously shouted to me, "France, Chirac!" while giving the thumbs-down sign and shaking their heads disapprovingly. The children quickly smiled and shouted "Bush!" while punching the sky.

"We are very glad that you are here and we hope you never leave," Zaid, a 31-year-old mechanical engineer, told me. "If you leave, then there will be more trouble. The Bath Party thugs will take over."

Zaid makes a decent living selling pirated American movies. He enjoys sophisticated dramas like "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Saving Private Ryan." But most Iraqis, he notes, prefer action-packed adventures starring Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Mr. Van Damme especially is quite popular with Al Hillah children.)




This is not to say that everyone here likes America, nor that Al Hillah is problem-free. Iraq, after all, is still quite poor and suffering from the aftershocks of Baathist rule and economic isolation. One of the biggest problems is looters who steal oil from pipelines and parts from electrical generators to sell on the black market. The country needs more electrical power plants and a better police force.

There are more than 15,000 unemployed ex-Iraqi soldiers in Al Hillah and the surrounding Babil Province. When these soldiers discovered that the U.S. was making interim payments to local municipal employees, they demanded similar financial compensation. A small number of these soldiers even staged a protest at city hall.

The soldiers' complaint was not that the United States is too heavily involved in Iraqi affairs. They were instead complaining that we are doing too little to help them. They want more help, not less; they seek greater engagement, not a withdrawal of American military forces. The difficulties here aren't the result of the U.S. being heavy-handed. Rather, they result from our inability to bring greater resources to bear.

The news from Baghdad, Tikrit, Fallujah and Ramadi--the Sunni triangle--suggests a bleaker image because these areas are very different politically, religiously and culturally from the rest of the country.

Politically, greater Baghdad is populated with people who owe their privileged status in life to Saddam Hussein and the Baath Party. Most Iraqis, by contrast, were brutally oppressed by Saddam. Religiously, greater Baghdad is heavily Sunni. Iraq, by contrast, is two-thirds Shiite, and Al Hillah is 99% Shiite. Culturally, greater Baghdad is relatively secular, political and cosmopolitan. The nation as a whole is more religious, apolitical and insular.

It helps, too, that we Marines have maintained a friendly and visible presence in Iraqi neighborhoods and bazaars. The bottom line: In the Marine-administered towns and provinces in the south, the Iraqi "Arab Street" is mostly docile, compliant and eager to engage rather than shun the West.




As my experience in Al Hillah shows, most ordinary Iraqis are in no way disillusioned with the U.S. What they want--and need--is greater help. This will necessitate a sustained military presence here until the seeds for economic growth and development have taken root.

For that I know the men, women and children of my Arab street are grateful. As Zaid has told me, "It will take 10 to 15 years for Iraq to become a normal country. It is important during that time that the United States be here to help us." Semper fidelis, Zaid.

Lance Cpl. Guardiano is a field radio operator with the U.S. Marine Corps' Fourth Civil Affairs Group and, as a civilian, defense editor of Rotor and Wing magazine.

[alrea]

And, damn, still no special prosecutors, convictions or impeachment. The alphabet soup (nytabccbsnbccnnlatnpr) hasn't reported that fact. I wonder why.

The Socialist Democratic Party of Larger Government Inertia and Property Confiscation has focused on new ways to confuse the masses for their vote.

[MizSterious]

It could just as easily be said that Korea is just "trying to make a living" with their nukes. Your argument stinks.

[Peter Jennings]

"Peter, this still does NOT prove that there was a WMD program in Iraq"

"Many thanks Martha!"

[Darksheare]

The commanders of the Iraqi Army simply buried the shells rather than fire them.
They didn't want to end up boiling in their skins, or vaporised in retaliation.

[Darksheare]

But night vision equipment can't vaporise Tokyo.
And Russia isn't trying to blackmail us with Nukes the way the North Koreans are.

[Marysecretary]

Saddam and Bin laden were recently spotted at an Elvis concert in hell.

[bert]

.....Dr Kay's discovery that Saddam actually issued the order to his commanders to use chemical weapons against coalition forces might also help to shed light on another crucial aspect: the involvement of British intelligence as the conflict in Iraq developed.....

The insight here and in the article is that it was the Brits who knew of the WMD potential on the battlefield, not the Americans. The whole piece is written to place the BRit intelligence and subversion of the Iraqui military in the history books. The war on Iraq was won in advance by the Brits.

This will be a wonderful battle between Yanks and Brits once it is able to come to the light. Who did the most to kill Saddam before the war.....the Yanks or the Limeys?

[MizSterious]

Pfah. Real allies don't sell our enemies items like these. Your argument, like the ones before, holds no water. Russia is dirty on this one.

[Darksheare]

And you're an idiot.
Where did I say that Russia was an ally?
Quote me on it.

Yes, my argument holds water, you're just a moron who likes to disregard anything that goes counter to your weak and pathetic position.