A reminder of what the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are really about

LeDaro: Blackwater=Blackoil
Read the post, watch the video.
Excerpt:
When will the World understand that all these so-called wars for freedom
and democracy are for resources and, in the case of the
Iraq/Afghanistan war, for fossil fuel resources? It’s blatantly obvious
for Iraq. For Afghanistan apparently there is going to be a natural
gas pipeline from the former USSR, through Afghanistan, into an Indian
Ocean port.

We can torture you with immunity, but you have to pay if you torture us

America the Exceptional - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com
Excerpt:
So, to recap: the U.S. creates a worldwide regime of torture,
disappearances and lawless imprisonment. Then, the Bush administration,
the Obama administration, and the American federal judiciary all
collaborate to shield the guilty parties from all accountability (Look Forward, Not Backward!),
and worse, to ensure that not a single victim can even access American
courts to obtain a ruling as to the legality of what was done to them,
let alone receive compensation for their suffering, even while
recognizing that many of the victims were completely innocent and even
though other countries have provided the victims with compensation for their much more minor role in what happened. Our courts even ensure that Blackwater guards are shielded from prosecution for the cold-blooded murder of Iraqi citizens.

But we invade, occupy and destroy Iraq -- while severely abusing, torturing
and killing their citizens -- and then demand, as a condition for our
allowing the end of crippling sanctions, that they fork over hundreds of
millions of dollars in compensation to American torture victims, even
though it all happened 20 years ago, under an Iraqi regime that no
longer even exists. They hate us for our Freedoms.

Perspective on 9/11 and the invasions of Iraq and AfghanistanClick the link

Perspective On 9/11 And The Invasions Of Iraq & Afghanistan
Click the link to see the graphs

Iraq: The Proof is in the pudding...

Another Point of View: Iraq: The Proof Is In The Pudding - Or So They Say
As Britain's inquiry into the origins of the 2003 Iraq War goes ahead full steam, "shocking" revelations already abound.

I use the word shocking in quotes because, to be humbly honest, these revelations so far merely confirm what has been known for years: that the Bush administration had no valid reason to go to war with Iraq other than securing oil resources, and that the Blair government simply went along for the ride to get its fair share of said resources.

Read on for more details...

Olivia Chow's response to our "let them stay" letters

we move to canada: olivia chow's response to our "let them stay" letters <full post

* The Committee recommends that the government immediately implement a program to allow conscientious objectors and their immediate family members (partners and dependents), who have refused or left military service related to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations and do not have a criminal record, to apply for permanent resident status and remain in Canada; and that the government should immediately cease any removal or deportation actions that may have already commenced against such individuals.

Americans don't want Obama's surge

Stopwar.ca: Americans don't want Obama's surge <read full post

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan 23 - Most Americans feel very positively about President Obama, but that does not mean they support everything he says he plans to do. A new Financial Times/Harris Poll finds that they support his positions on some foreign policy issues but not on others...

Monument to the shoe thrower

Let Freedom Rain: New statue in Iraq honouring shoe thrower

It's ethnic cleansing, not the surge

The Raw Story | Report: Satellite images show ethnic cleansing source of reduced Iraq violence