[Rhodes22-list] Politics: A View From The Ground

[Steve]

Don't watch so much liberal TV.  Think about it, Kerry
is an ass.  All he can say is how everything is wrong.
 That all I hear from liberals.  Everything is wrong
and the Dems could do it better.  Clinton was in
office for 8 years, what did he do - Nothing. 
Terrorests operations hit us continuely.  We did
nothing.  3,000 people died because of the Democrats. 
Now there is something to be proud of.  When a group
declared war you this country; you fight back.  Why
all the deomcrats would rather have a Dictator in Iraq
where he used WMD on his poeple; would have gave them
to terrorists to use on us.  You can relay on Kerry to
do anything about anything.  The French would taking
brides.  What Kerry going to do but talk and let us
get made to look like fools.  Clinton made this
country look weak.  That why we got hit.  If Kerry get
elected, we are in for big trouble.  The stock market
is dump, Companies will outsource like you haven't
seen before.  Jobless rate will skyrocket.  

And you can think the Liberals - Democrats for it.  As
for the Miltery; they don't like a puss leader.  Our
militery makes us the last superpower and they don't
want a leader that makes us the joke of the world. 
You can look at what Clinton did; miltery get attack
and our solders die - And Clinton does NOTHING.  That
is exactly what Kerry will do.  NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!
Steve

--- Wally Buck <tnrhodey at hotmail.com> wrote:

> Steve,
> 
> I am not sure how much you know about our military.
> Speaking out against 
> your orders is strongly discouraged.
> 
> I have heard of a poll that indicated 60% of the
> people in Iraq would elect 
> Saddam if he were on the ballot. Heck that is higher
> level of support than 
> both of the clowns running here in the US. I don't
> know anything about the 
> poll you mention so I can't comment. I also read
> that 65% of all people 
> surveyed believe polls are correct at least 50% of
> the time with a degree of 
> certainty plus or minus 5%. :-)
> 
> It seems to me if things were improving the death
> toll numbers would be 
> decreasing not increasing. It was interesting to
> hear Bush admit there were 
> no WMD!!
> 
> Wally
> 
> 
> >From: Steve <rhodes2282 at yahoo.com>
> >Reply-To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
> <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> >To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
> <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> >Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] Politics: A View From
> The Ground
> >Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2004 10:45:30 -0700 (PDT)
> >
> >The lastest polls I saw confirmed that the vast
> >miltary (all branches) supports Bush and that the
> war
> >is going quite well despite how the media is
> reporting
> >it.
> >Steve
> >
> >
> >
> >--- Wally Buck <tnrhodey at hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Bill,
> > >
> > > I mentioned in an earlier post my nephew is in
> Iraq
> > > training their police
> > > force. His describes pretty much the same thing.
> The
> > > situation is much worse
> > > than Bush wants us to believe.
> > >
> > > Wally
> > >
> > > >From: "Bill Effros" <bill at effros.com>
> > > >Reply-To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
> > > <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> > > >To: "R-22" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> > > >Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Politics: A View From
> The
> > > Ground
> > > >Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2004 13:09:55 -0400
> > > >
> > > > >From Baghdad
> > > >A Wall Street Journal Reporter's E-Mail to
> Friends
> > > >
> > > >by Farnaz Fassihi
> > > >
> > > >Being a foreign correspondent in Baghdad these
> days
> > > is like being under
> > > >virtual house arrest. Forget about the reasons
> that
> > > lured me to this job: a
> > > >chance to see the world, explore the exotic,
> meet
> > > new people in far away
> > > >lands, discover their ways and tell stories
> that
> > > could make a difference.
> > > >
> > > >Little by little, day-by-day, being based in
> Iraq
> > > has defied all those
> > > >reasons. I am house bound. I leave when I have
> a
> > > very good reason to and a
> > > >scheduled interview. I avoid going to people's
> > > homes and never walk in the
> > > >streets. I can't go grocery shopping any more,
> > > can't eat in restaurants,
> > > >can't strike a conversation with strangers,
> can't
> > > look for stories, can't
> > > >drive in any thing but a full armored car,
> can't go
> > > to scenes of breaking
> > > >news stories, can't be stuck in traffic, can't
> > > speak English outside, can't
> > > >take a road trip, can't say I'm an American,
> can't
> > > linger at checkpoints,
> > > >can't be curious about what people are saying,
> > > doing, feeling. And can't
> > > >and can't. There has been one too many close
> calls,
> > > including a car bomb so
> > > >near our house that it blew out all the
> windows. So
> > > now my most pressing
> > > >concern every day is not to write a kick-ass
> story
> > > but to stay alive and
> > > >make sure our Iraqi employees stay alive. In
> > > Baghdad I am a security
> > > >personnel first, a reporter second.
> > > >
> > > >It's hard to pinpoint when the 'turning point'
> > > exactly began. Was it April
> > > >when the Fallujah fell out of the grasp of the
> > > Americans? Was it when
> > > >Moqtada and Jish Mahdi declared war on the U.S.
> > > military? Was it when Sadr
> > > >City, home to ten percent of Iraq's population,
> > > became a nightly
> > > >battlefield for the Americans? Or was it when
> the
> > > insurgency began
> > > >spreading from isolated pockets in the Sunni
> > > triangle to include most of
> > > >Iraq? Despite President Bush's rosy
> assessments,
> > > Iraq remains a disaster.
> > > >If under Saddam it was a 'potential' threat,
> under
> > > the Americans it has
> > > >been transformed to 'imminent and active
> threat,' a
> > > foreign policy failure
> > > >bound to haunt the United States for decades to
> > > come.
> > > >
> > > >Iraqis like to call this mess 'the situation.'
> When
> > > asked 'how are thing?'
> > > >they reply: 'the situation is very bad."
> > > >
> > > >What they mean by situation is this: the Iraqi
> > > government doesn't control
> > > >most Iraqi cities, there are several car bombs
> > > going off each day around
> > > >the country killing and injuring scores of
> innocent
> > > people, the country's
> > > >roads are becoming impassable and littered by
> > > hundreds of landmines and
> > > >explosive devices aimed to kill American
> soldiers,
> > > there are
> > > >assassinations, kidnappings and beheadings. The
> > > situation, basically, means
> > > >a raging barbaric guerilla war. In four days,
> 110
> > > people died and over 300
> > > >got injured in Baghdad alone. The numbers are
> so
> > > shocking that the ministry
> > > >of health -- which was attempting an exercise
> of
> > > public transparency by
> > > >releasing the numbers -- has now stopped
> disclosing
> > > them.
> > > >
> > > >Insurgents now attack Americans 87 times a day.
> > > >
> > > >A friend drove thru the Shiite slum of Sadr
> City
> > > yesterday. He said young
> > > >men were openly placing improvised explosive
> > > devices into the ground. They
> > > >melt a shallow hole into the asphalt, dig the
> > > explosive, cover it with dirt
> > > >and put an old tire or plastic can over it to
> > > signal to the locals this is
> > > >booby-trapped. He said on the main roads of
> Sadr
> > > City, there were a dozen
> > > >landmines per every ten yards. His car snaked
> and
> > > swirled to avoid driving
> > > >over them. Behind the walls sits an angry Iraqi
> > > ready to detonate them as
> > > >soon as an American convoy gets near. This is
> in
> > > Shiite land, the
> > > >population that was supposed to love America
> for
> > > liberating Iraq.
> > > >
> > > >For journalists the significant turning point
> came
> > > with the wave of
> > > >abduction and kidnappings. Only two weeks ago
> we
> > > felt safe around Baghdad
> > > >because foreigners were being abducted on the
> roads
> > > and highways between
> > > >towns. Then came a frantic phone call from a
> > > journalist female friend at 11
> > > >p.m. telling me two Italian women had been
> abducted
> > > from their homes in
> > > >broad daylight. Then the two Americans, who got
> > > beheaded this week and the
> > > >Brit, were abducted from their homes in a
> > > residential neighborhood. They
> > > >were supplying the entire block with round the
> > > clock electricity from their
> > > >generator to win friends. The abductors grabbed
> one
> > > of them at 6 a.m. when
> > > >he came out to switch on the generator; his
> > > beheaded body was thrown back
> > > >near the neighborhoods.
> > > >
> > > >The insurgency, we are told, is rampant with no
> > > signs of calming down. If
> > > >any thing, it is growing stronger, organized
> and
> > > more sophisticated every
> > > >day. The various elements within it-baathists,
> > > criminals, nationalists and
> > > >Al Qaeda-are cooperating and coordinating.
> > > >
> > > >I went to an emergency meeting for foreign
> > > correspondents with the military
> > > >and embassy to discuss the kidnappings. We were
> > > somberly told our fate
> > > >would largely depend on where we were in the
> > > kidnapping chain once it was
> > > >determined we were missing. Here is how it
> goes:
> > > criminal gangs grab you
> > > >and sell you up to Baathists in Fallujah, who
> will
> > > in turn sell you to Al
> > > >Qaeda. In turn, cash and weapons flow the other
> way
> > > from Al Qaeda to the
> > > >Baathisst to the criminals. My friend Georges,
> the
> > > French journalist
> > > >snatched on the road to Najaf, has been missing
> for
> > > a month with no word on
> > > >release or whether he is still alive.
> > > >
> > > >America's last hope for a quick exit? The Iraqi
> > > police and National Guard
> > > >units we are spending billions of dollars to
> train.
> > > The cops are being
> > > >murdered by the dozens every day-over 700 to
> date
> > > -- and the insurgents are
> > > >infiltrating their ranks. The problem is so
> serious
> > > that the U.S. military
> > > >has allocated $6 million dollars to buy out
> 30,000
> > > cops they just trained
> > > >to get rid of them quietly.
> > > >
> > > >As for reconstruction: firstly it's so unsafe
> for
> > > foreigners to operate
> > > >that almost all projects have come to a halt.
> After
> > > two years, of the $18
> > > >billion Congress appropriated for Iraq
> > > reconstruction only about $1 billion
> > > >or so has been spent and a chuck has now been
> > > reallocated for improving
> > > >security, a sign of just how bad things are
> going
> > > here.
> > > >
> > > >Oil dreams? Insurgents disrupt oil flow
> routinely
> > > as a result of sabotage
> > > >and oil prices have hit record high of $49 a
> > > barrel. Who did this war
> > > >exactly benefit? Was it worth it? Are we safer
> > > because Saddam is holed up
> > > >and Al Qaeda is running around in Iraq?
> > > >
> > > >Iraqis say that thanks to America they got
> freedom
> > > in exchange for
> > > >insecurity. Guess what? They say they'd take
> > > security over freedom any day,
> > > >even if it means having a dictator ruler.
> > > >
> > > >I heard an educated Iraqi say today that if
> Saddam
> > > Hussein were allowed to
> > > >run for elections he would get the majority of
> the
> > > vote. This is truly sad.
> > > >
> > > >Then I went to see an Iraqi scholar this week
> to
> > > talk to him about
> > > >elections here. He has been trying to educate
> the
> > > public on the importance
> > > >of voting. He said, "President Bush wanted to
> turn
> > > Iraq into a democracy
> > > >that would be an example for the Middle East.
> > > Forget about democracy,
> > > >forget about being a model for the region, we
> have
> > > to salvage Iraq before
> > > >all is lost."
> > > >
> > > >One could argue that Iraq is already lost
> beyond
> > > salvation. For those of us
> > > >on the ground it's hard to imagine what if any
> > > thing could salvage it from
> > > >its violent downward spiral. The genie of
> > > terrorism, chaos and mayhem has
> > > >been unleashed onto this country as a result of
> > > American mistakes and it
> > > >can't be put back into a bottle.
> > > >
> > > >The Iraqi government is talking about having
> > > elections in three months
> > > >while half of the country remains a 'no go
> > > zone'-out of the hands of the
> > > >government and the Americans and out of reach
> of
> > > journalists. In the other
> > > >half, the disenchanted population is too
> terrified
> > > to show up at polling
> > > >stations. The Sunnis have already said they'd
> > > boycott elections, leaving
> > > >the stage open for polarized government of
> Kurds
> > > and Shiites that will not
> > > >be deemed as legitimate and will most certainly
> > > lead to civil war.
> > > >
> > > >I asked a 28-year-old engineer if he and his
> family
> > > would participate in
> > > >the Iraqi elections since it was the first time
> > > Iraqis could to some degree
> > > >elect a leadership. His response summed it all:
> "Go
> > > and vote and risk being
> > > >blown into pieces or followed by the insurgents
> and
> > > murdered for
> > > >cooperating with the Americans? For what? To
> > > practice democracy? Are you
> > > >joking?"
> > > >
> > > >Farnaz Fassihi, a Wall Street Journal reporter
> sent
> > > this report as an
> > > >e-mail to friends.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >To download a free copy of the electronic book
> > > "Quote Without Comment"
> > > >
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> your
> > > web browser:
> > >
> >
>
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> > > >
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> > > >
> > >
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