Iraq

What Obama's Risking in Afghanistan

President Obama's campaign slogan was "Change we can believe in." Americans, desperate for change, gave Mr. Obama a clear victory. Now in power, he's realizing that he can't deliver that change - at least in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama said during his campaign: "I will meet with military leaders and the secretary of Defense and give them a new mission - bring our troops home safely and responsibly from Iraq within 16 months."

Posted in Militarism, War/Empire, Afghanistan, Iraq

The Military's Expanding Waistline

President Obama will almost certainly touch down in Baghdad and Kabul in Air Force One sometime in the coming year to meet his counterparts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he will just as certainly pay a visit to a U.S. military base or two.

Posted in Militarism, military industrial complex, private contractors, privatization, war profiteering, War/Empire, Afghanistan, Iraq

Afghanistan, the Next US Quagmire?

UNITED NATIONS - The United States is planning to send an additional 17,000 troops to one of the world's most battle-scarred nations - Afghanistan - long described as "a graveyard of empires".

First, it was the British Empire, and then the Soviet Union. So, will the United States be far behind?

Posted in Afghanistan, Iraq

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 19, 2009
12:00 PM

CONTACT: The Real News Network
Geraldine Cahill 416.916.5202 Ext:423
smcommunications@therealnews.com

Are Generals Disputing Iraq Pullout?

Do disagreements amongst top generals and Obama on Iraq pullout plan represent a more profound debate?

WASHINGTON - February 19 - With President Obama's plan to "withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months" being met with resistance by top U.S generals, The Real News spoke to historian/investigative journalist Gareth Porter to discuss the implications of this internal disagreement.

Porter says that Obama's 16 month withdrawal plan, "generated a good deal of resistance within US command both in Baghdad and from General Patraeus at CENTCOM in Tampa Florida. Petraeus let it be known that they felt it was too risky and that they favored a longer plan to withdraw."

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Posted in iraq withdrawal, Iraq

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 19, 2009
11:36 AM

CONTACT: Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Ashley Hoffman
202.546.0795 ext. 2109
ahoffman@armscontrolcenter.org

New Report Outlines How Obama Can Execute Iraq Withdrawal Plan

Retired Officers Caution Against Efforts to Slow the President’s Redeployment Policy

WASHINGTON - February 19 - In a new report released today by the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Lieutenant General Robert Gard and Colonel Richard Klass outline how President Obama can responsibly execute his campaign commitment to remove U.S. combat forces from Iraq within 16 months.

Based on recent press reports, there is reason to suspect that there may be an effort underway, led by some military officials and non-governmental analysts, to delay President Obama's 16-month timetable.

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Founded in 1980, the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation is a leading advocate for prudent measures to prevent the spread of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. Visit the Center online: www.armscontrolcenter.org

Posted in iraq withdrawal, War/Empire, Iraq

Tutu Urges Obama Apology on Iraq

$Desmond M. Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of South Africa, gestures while speaking during the closing session of the the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009. In an article for BBC News, he says it would be \"wonderful\" if Mr Obama apologised for the invasion of Iraq. (AP Photo/Keystone/Alessandro Della Bella)$

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has warned Barack Obama of the risk of squandering the goodwill he says the US president's election has generated.

In an article for BBC News, he says it would be "wonderful" if Mr Obama apologized for the invasion of Iraq.

He also says he prays that Mr Obama will be tough on African dictators.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner adds that the UK's standing in the world has suffered because of its co-operation with the US in the "war on terror".

'Dance and shout'

Posted in obama, Iraq

Commanders in Iraq Challenge Petraeus on Pullout Risk

WASHINGTON - CENTCOM Commander General David Petraeus and Multinational Force Iraq (MNF-I) Commander General Ray Odierno have submitted assessments of Iraq combat troop withdrawal plans to President Barack Obama based on the premise that his 16-month withdrawal plan would pose significantly greater risk to "security gains" than the 23-month plan they favour.

Posted in iraq withdrawal, Iraq

A 'Fraud' Bigger Than Madoff

In what could turn out to be the greatest fraud in US history, American authorities have started to investigate the alleged role of senior military officers in the misuse of $125bn (£88bn) in a US -directed effort to reconstruct Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. The exact sum missing may never be clear, but a report by the US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) suggests it may exceed $50bn, making it an even bigger theft than Bernard Madoff's notorious Ponzi scheme.

Posted in Iraq

Iraq's "Teflon Don"

Fallujah, Iraq -- Driving through Fallujah, once the most rebellious Sunni city in this country, I saw little evidence of any kind of reconstruction underway. At least 70% of that city's structures were destroyed during massive U.S. military assaults in April, and again in November 2004, and more than four years later, in the "new Iraq," the city continues to languish.

Posted in Iraq

David King: Iraq as the First 'Resource War' of the Century

The Iraq war was just the first of this century's "resource wars", in which powerful countries use force to secure valuable commodities for themselves, according to the UK government's former chief scientific adviser.

Sir David King predicted that with human population growing, natural resources dwindling and seas rising because of climate change, the squeeze on the planet would lead to more conflict.

Posted in climate change, global warming, resource wars, Iraq