couscous's Comments

Antiwar.com Original Articles : Out Now!

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:28:58 +0000

The Israeli plan for Iraq was always forced partition. It became the American plan too when it became obvious the guerrilla war wasn’t going to end. Unsurprisingly, the ‘sectarian bombings’ started soon afterwards. Iraq, rich in oil on the one hand and internally torn on the other, is guaranteed as a candidate for Israel's targets . Its dissolution is even more important for us than that of Syria. Iraq is stronger than Syria. In the short run it is Iraqi power which constitutes the greatest threat to Israel. An Iraqi-Iranian war will tear Iraq apart and cause its downfall at home even before it is able to organize a struggle on a wide front against us. Every kind of inter-Arab confrontation will assist us in the short run and will shorten the way to the more important aim of breaking up Iraq into denominations as in Syria and in Lebanon . In Iraq, a division into provinces along ethnic/religious lines as in Syria during Ottoman times is possible. So, three (or more) states will exist around the three major cities: Basra, Baghdad and Mosul, and Shi'ite areas in the south will separate from the Sunni and Kurdish north.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : How I Wrote 1,000 Columns for Antiwar.com

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 01:23:40 +0000

Have you checked the front page? NYT, Washington Post, Stars & Stripes (!), et cetera. That is the MSM.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : How I Wrote 1,000 Columns for Antiwar.com

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:12:55 +0000

How does mindlessly regurgitating MSM propaganda help the antiwar movement? Instead of ridiculing the countless articles insisting that Iraq was always plagued by “sectarian violence” they agree wholeheartedly and call for the forced partition of the heavily intermarried Arab population (but not the Kurds of course). Coincidentally, this is also the opinion of the Pentagon. Hence my deleted comment about why anyone would want to pay for propaganda that is widely available for free.

News From Antiwar.com : Rising Anti-Shi'ite Violence Leaves Iraq's Stability in Doubt

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:55:27 +0000

America created the religious violence because they thought it would help to prolong the occupation: The myth of sectarianism - The policy is divide to rule. It may be worthwhile to consider that prior to the Anglo-American invasion and occupation of Iraq there had never been open warfare between the two groups and certainly not a civil war. In terms of organization and convention, Iraqis are a tribal society and some of the largest tribes in the country comprise Sunni and Shia. Intermarriages between the two sects are not uncommon either. Soon after arriving in Iraq in November 2003, I learned that it was considered rude and socially graceless to enquire after an individual’s sect. If in ignorance or under compulsion I did pose the question the most common answer I would receive was, "I am Muslim, and I am Iraqi." On occasion there were more telling responses like the one I received from an older woman, "My mother is a Shia and my father a Sunni, so can you tell which half of me is which?" The accompanying smile said it all. Large mixed neighborhoods were the norm in Baghdad. Sunni and Shia prayed in one another’s mosques. & "Those Americans thought they would decrease the resistance attacks by separating the people of Iraq into sects and tribes," announced a thirty-two-year-old man from Ramadi, who spoke with al-Fadhily on terms of anonymity, "They know they are sinking deeper into the shifting sand, but the collaborators are fooling the Americans right now, and will in the end use this strategy against them."

News From Antiwar.com : At Least 50 Killed in Latest Iraq Bombings

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:25:17 +0000

I know you’re irrevocably committed to the Pentagon’s “sectarian civil war” propaganda, but Iraq never had 'sectarian violence' before America invaded and got stuck in a hopeless guerrilla war. There’s also a problem with your ‘magic bomb theory’: it’s absurd. In a heavily intermarried country where mixed neighborhoods were normal, you can’t blow up hundreds of random people and only kill members of one religious group who have no connections to anyone else. The ‘sectarian violence’ is how the occupation has responded to the guerrilla war; massive collective punishment of the civilian population with an eventual goal of partition. All heartily endorsed by the warbots here! Many Iraqis blame these bombings on the occupation: The IR [Iraqi Resistance] has condemned and condemns attacks on civilians, we do not blow up markets filled with innocent lives. This is a propaganda tactic by the occupier to discredit us. Suicide bombings against Iraqi civilians, beheadings, car bombs and the rest are all the work of the Occupation, the mercenaries, the Mossad, the Iranian militias and its sectarian squads. On many occasions, cars have been stopped at checkpoints only to find out that during their search they (US forces and militias) have planted bombs in them without the car owner’s knowledge. The IR does not do such things. We need the Iraqi people, all of the Iraqi people, it is from them that we draw force and support, how can we target them ? We are a Resistance movement against the Occupation (both American and Iranian) not against the Iraqi people. We need our people. How can we kill our own people ?

News From Antiwar.com : At Least 46 Killed in String of anti-Shi'ite Bombings in Iraq

Fri, 7 Aug 2009 18:17:31 +0000

Many Iraqis believe that al-Qaeda in Iraq is an American creation The story of Aziz Abu Ammar, an affable sexagenarian impeccably dressed with suit and silk tie, is emblematic of what happened to Iraq's professional and cultural elites…Ammar is emphatic: "There is no Sunni against Shi'ite. The Americans provoked it. Since the beginning they started talking about separate areas. In Baghdad most marriages are mixed." That's exactly his case. He is Shi'ite, his wife is Sunni. The solution for Iraq is "the Americans out, all foreign troops out. But even after they leave, we will need a strongman. I don't trust any of these political parties or groups. The only solution would be new, really free elections." He insists "al-Qaeda destroyed the country", but in the same breath adds, "Al-Qaeda is an American creation." They blame the occupation for the bombings "I do not believe it is al-Qaeda any more," a woman weeping near the scene of the bombing told IPS. "I do not care any more, I am just losing my loved ones. The last explosion hit my husband, and now he is disabled, and this one took my son's life." She referred to a similar bombing two-and-a-half months ago at the same market that killed 137 and wounded many more. U.S. leaders and Iraqi government officials again accused "terrorists and the Saddamists" of the bombing. But many people around Baghdad are blaming the occupation forces and the U.S.-backed Iraqi government. "I noticed that security officers did not carry out any site investigation," a former police officer who lives in a neighboring area told IPS, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "I have also noticed that no such crime has been solved since the first days of the occupation."

News From Antiwar.com : Pakistani Taliban Commander Confirms Baitullah Mehsud Killed

Fri, 7 Aug 2009 17:58:35 +0000

For the 99% of Antiwar.com readers and 100% of the staff who are unaware: Baitullah Mehsud was an American agent A tribal leader who earlier defected from Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud and revealed the militants group's ties with the US and Israel has been shot dead. The assassination of Qari Zainuddin comes days after he revealed that their comrade was pursuing a US-Israeli agenda across the violence-wracked country. Zainuddin, a 26-year-old rising tribesman who had called Mehsud "an American agent" was killed by a gunman in northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan on Tuesday. Zainuddin, who broke away from Mehsud, was also increasingly critical of Mehsud's use of suicide bombings targeting civilians. & Insurgents have stepped up their attacks on civilian and religious centers in major cities across Pakistan, which has fueled anti-Taliban sentiments among the Pakistani people. Zarqawi was also an American creation who died shortly after being outed. The occupation creates these miscreants because they hope the endless civilian attacks will stop the locals from supporting the guerrillas. It is difficult to determine how much has been spent on the Zarqawi campaign, which began two years ago and is believed to be ongoing. U.S. propaganda efforts in Iraq in 2004 cost $24 million, but that included extensive building of offices and residences for troops involved, as well as radio broadcasts and distribution of thousands of leaflets with Zarqawi's face on them, said the officer speaking on background. The Zarqawi campaign is discussed in several of the internal military documents. "Villainize Zarqawi/leverage xenophobia response," one U.S. military briefing from 2004 stated. It listed three methods: "Media operations," "Special Ops (626)" (a reference to Task Force 626, an elite U.S. military unit assigned primarily to hunt in Iraq for senior officials in Hussein's government) and "PSYOP," the U.S. military term for propaganda work. One internal briefing, produced by the U.S. military headquarters in Iraq, said that Kimmitt had concluded that, "The Zarqawi PSYOP program is the most successful information campaign to date."

News From Antiwar.com : US Kills Five Afghan Cucumber Farmers in Air Strike

Fri, 7 Aug 2009 14:41:20 +0000

Cucumbers are a fruit, not a munition

These were cucumbers of mass destruction!

News From Antiwar.com : US Claims Pakistani Taliban Leader Mehsud Killed

Fri, 7 Aug 2009 14:38:24 +0000

Antiwar.com Original Articles : Export Cars, Not Democracy

Thu, 6 Aug 2009 20:51:21 +0000

I don’t think the Iraqis want anymore exported cars The FBI's counterterrorism unit has launched a broad investigation of US-based theft rings after discovering that some of the vehicles used in deadly car bombings in Iraq, including attacks that killed US troops and Iraqi civilians, were probably stolen in the United States, according to senior government officials.

News From Antiwar.com : US Drone Strike Kills Pakistani Taliban Chief's Wife

Thu, 6 Aug 2009 20:37:11 +0000

Baitullah Mehsud is an American creation, just like Zarqawi was: A tribal leader who earlier defected from Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud and revealed the militants group's ties with the US and Israel has been shot dead. The assassination of Qari Zainuddin comes days after he revealed that their comrade was pursuing a US-Israeli agenda across the violence-wracked country. Zainuddin, a 26-year-old rising tribesman who had called Mehsud "an American agent" was killed by a gunman in northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan on Tuesday. Zainuddin, who broke away from Mehsud, was also increasingly critical of Mehsud's use of suicide bombings targeting civilians. & Insurgents have stepped up their attacks on civilian and religious centers in major cities across Pakistan, which has fueled anti-Taliban sentiments among the Pakistani people. The last bit was the purpose of the Zarqawi campaign: to make the civilians stop supporting the guerrillas. It didn’t make the Iraqis want to be colonized, but it did effectively neuter the antiwar movement.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder

Wed, 5 Aug 2009 16:56:19 +0000

"~~Blackwater~~The American military knew that certain of its personnel intentionally used excessive and unjustified deadly force, and in some instances used unauthorized weapons, to kill or seriously injure innocent Iraqi civilians.” He concludes, "~~Blackwater~~ The American government did nothing to stop this misconduct.”

Fixed! I especially like all the bits about “illegal weaponry”. If only the Iraqis were slaughtered with legal weapons, then all would be well with the world.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : The Silence of the Sheep

Wed, 5 Aug 2009 16:44:39 +0000

The Iraqi government and its security forces represent the currently dominant Shi’ite faction, nothing more. There is no state. There won’t be one until the Iraqis settle their own differences, by fighting. Our presence may delay that conflict, but cannot prevent it.

There was no religious violence before the invasion. America created the “conflict” because they thought it would stop the guerrilla war: The myth of sectarianism - The policy is divide to rule. It may be worthwhile to consider that prior to the Anglo-American invasion and occupation of Iraq there had never been open warfare between the two groups and certainly not a civil war. In terms of organization and convention, Iraqis are a tribal society and some of the largest tribes in the country comprise Sunni and Shia. Intermarriages between the two sects are not uncommon either. Soon after arriving in Iraq in November 2003, I learned that it was considered rude and socially graceless to enquire after an individual’s sect. If in ignorance or under compulsion I did pose the question the most common answer I would receive was, "I am Muslim, and I am Iraqi." On occasion there were more telling responses like the one I received from an older woman, "My mother is a Shia and my father a Sunni, so can you tell which half of me is which?" The accompanying smile said it all. Large mixed neighborhoods were the norm in Baghdad. Sunni and Shia prayed in one another’s mosques.

News From Antiwar.com : Gen. Odierno Rejects Early Pullout Plan

Wed, 5 Aug 2009 16:35:04 +0000

Colonialism means never having to say goodbye.

News From Antiwar.com : Zawahri: Al-Qaeda Truce Offer to US Still Stands

Tue, 4 Aug 2009 17:29:37 +0000

America isn’t in Iraq and Afghanistan to fight al-qaeda so a “truce” is meaningless to them. If the group suddenly ceased to exist the occupations, and the guerrilla wars, would both continue.

Antiwar.com Blog : Another Iraq War Propaganda Nugget Bites the Dust

Tue, 4 Aug 2009 17:00:09 +0000

America isn’t forcibly keeping Iraq together. The “sectarianism” only began when the capture of Saddam meant a new excuse was needed to hide the guerrilla war: The myth of sectarianism - The policy is divide to rule. It may be worthwhile to consider that prior to the Anglo-American invasion and occupation of Iraq there had never been open warfare between the two groups and certainly not a civil war. In terms of organization and convention, Iraqis are a tribal society and some of the largest tribes in the country comprise Sunni and Shia. Intermarriages between the two sects are not uncommon either. Soon after arriving in Iraq in November 2003, I learned that it was considered rude and socially graceless to enquire after an individual’s sect. If in ignorance or under compulsion I did pose the question the most common answer I would receive was, "I am Muslim, and I am Iraqi." On occasion there were more telling responses like the one I received from an older woman, "My mother is a Shia and my father a Sunni, so can you tell which half of me is which?" The accompanying smile said it all. Large mixed neighborhoods were the norm in Baghdad. Sunni and Shia prayed in one another’s mosques. As the rest of the article makes clear, the reason it has changed is because the “Americans thought they would decrease the resistance attacks by separating the people of Iraq into sects and tribes”.

Antiwar.com Blog : Another Iraq War Propaganda Nugget Bites the Dust

Tue, 4 Aug 2009 16:04:37 +0000

~~Letting~~ forcing Iraqis to devolve into separate states isn’t something they’ve shown much interest in, though the Americans sure are interested in it! From the same article I linked to: Many Iraqis are now beginning to see the rising sectarian violence as part of a larger plan to partition the country. "Americans want to alter the shape of our cities, dividing Iraqis into ethnic and sectarian groups living separately from each other," Khali Sadiq, a researcher in statistics at Baghdad University, told IPS. Here in the reality based community: Iraqis are intermarried, Iraq has never had a civil war and has no history of religious violence (hint: Muslims don’t hate mosques). The violence in Iraq stems from the guerrilla war against the occupation and the vicious attacks on the civilian population are widely blamed on the occupation. In the Pentagon/Antiwar.com bizarro-world: Iraq was plagued by ‘constant ethno-sectarian strife’ that was only kept in check by Saddam and his people shredder. Muslims hate mosques and blow them up constantly and all the Arabs really want to live in homogeneous open-air prisons with limited access to food, water, and electricity. Kurdish Muslims are exempt from this because they ~~support the occupation~~...well I’m sure there must be a reason! All the violence is “terrorism” and if the occupation were to end it would get much worse. The Bandow article is complaining that Europe isn’t doing enough to help America. A stronger Europe and U.S. could then join in military action elsewhere when their interests coincide. That’s clearly devoted to the cause of non-interventionism!

Antiwar.com Blog : Another Iraq War Propaganda Nugget Bites the Dust

Tue, 4 Aug 2009 02:37:49 +0000

The Iraqis aren’t partitioning themselves, the occupation is forcefully partitioning them in an attempt to stop the guerrilla war. It’s also odd that the Kurdish population isn’t being forcibly segregated into open air prisons like the Arab Iraqis, or those other uppity Arabs in Palestine. It’s almost as if they’re being punished for something! "They [death squads] evicted many of our good Sunni neighbors and killed many others," Abu Riyad of the predominantly Shia Shula area told IPS. "We protected them for a while, but then we could not face the militias with all the support they had from the Iraqi government and the Americans. It is a terrible shame that we have to live with, but what can we do?" On the other hand, many Sunni Iraqis seemed unwilling to evict their Shia countrymen – for a while. But people in one mixed area of Baghdad described strange developments. "It is true that our neighbors did not evict us, but then the Americans swept the area and local fighters had to disappear from the streets," Hussein Allawi, a Shia who lived in a predominantly Sunni neighborhood told IPS. "A group of masked strangers then entered the town right under American soldiers' eyes. Only then did we realize that we must leave, and that our good neighbors could not help us any more." Many such stories are told around Baghdad. Afghanistan: It was in a Doug Bandow column. He was howling about the Europeans “subsidizing inefficient welfare states” despite “the growing need for troops in Afghanistan”.

Antiwar.com Blog : Another Iraq War Propaganda Nugget Bites the Dust

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 21:15:55 +0000

Calling for the ethnic cleansing of millions of people in Iraq (i.e. partition) and more troops for Afghanistan is rather unseemly for a site that is trying to appear antiwar. If you’re still in the mood to celebrate the debunking of old war propaganda, here’s the Washington Post admitting that the “Zarqawi campaign” was created by the occupation: It is difficult to determine how much has been spent on the Zarqawi campaign, which began two years ago and is believed to be ongoing. U.S. propaganda efforts in Iraq in 2004 cost $24 million, but that included extensive building of offices and residences for troops involved, as well as radio broadcasts and distribution of thousands of leaflets with Zarqawi's face on them, said the officer speaking on background. The Zarqawi campaign is discussed in several of the internal military documents. "Villainize Zarqawi/leverage xenophobia response," one U.S. military briefing from 2004 stated. It listed three methods: "Media operations," "Special Ops (626)" (a reference to Task Force 626, an elite U.S. military unit assigned primarily to hunt in Iraq for senior officials in Hussein's government) and "PSYOP," the U.S. military term for propaganda work. One internal briefing, produced by the U.S. military headquarters in Iraq, said that Kimmitt had concluded that, "The Zarqawi PSYOP program is the most successful information campaign to date."

Antiwar.com Original Articles : 'Culturally Sensitive' Imperialism

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 20:43:28 +0000

The reason for the increased fuss is that some of the European vassal states are thinking of using defeat in Afghanistan as an excuse to leave NATO; hence the profusion of nonsense in the last year about staying in Afghanistan for decades if necessary. An escalation that is certain to fail is more palatable to the Americans than contemplating the dissolution of NATO.