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  Tuesday  March 11  2003    12: 17 PM

iraq

Britain and U.S. put off Iraq vote
U.N. chief warns of political fallout without council OK

Chirac: France will veto Iraq resolution

A Hazy Target
Before going to war over weapons of mass destruction, shouldn't we be sure Iraq has them?

When Bombs Fall, U.S. Will Join Ranks of War Criminals

Wake America from Its Bloodless Trance
By Ben Cohen

So, it's an inexcusable omission for the Bush Administration to sell the Iraq war to us and the international community without acknowledging its human toll, not only on our soldiers but on the Iraqis.

It's really an outrageous situation, which we have come to accept as normal fare in the war business. But it actually represents deceptive spin at its ugliest. Talking about war without addressing casualties is like discussing the benefits of nuclear power and ignoring nuclear waste. The two go hand-in-hand.

To break through the denial, my ad depicted dead and wounded people, both soldiers and civilians. And that's precisely why the networks should air it. More debate about the war's potential casualties would help our nation make an informed decision about Iraq.

But network TV executives don't think you should see our commercial.
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Win Without War TV Spots

Mike Golby strikes again. A must read (for those not familiar with Mike — he's from South Africa)...

My Un-American Proclivities

Surely, to the average, educated American, this whole Iraqi exercise smacks of incapacitating somebody before beating the living shit out of them while proclaiming them extremely dangerous? A psychotic might need to believe his own propaganda but he can hardly blame others for seeing things differently. And, if he is able to extricate a can of mace from his pocket while you're giving him a drubbing, can you blame him for using it? Well yes, you can't, but you will, hey?

Now that some of my anger has worn off, I wonder what it must be like to live in a society capable of turning one's mind to mush. People cannot help but swallow liberal doses of garbage each day. In a way, I feel sorry for George W. Bush and his followers. They're about to commit murder on a massive scale [call it genocide], and the world knows it. No-one can live with that. They'll deny it and themselves for years to come.

Bush once said that people envy Americans their lifestyle and their freedoms. Do you believe that? The United States government has a 250,000-strong army in Kuwait supported by air conditioners, ice-cream machines, and digital hymn books [as well as five carriers and their battle groups]. Somehow, I don't feel envious at all. It's the stuff of farce. Dave wonders why the Europeans would rather see George W. Bush hounded, naked and screaming, into Pennsylvania Avenue than witness the greatest crime of modern times. I wonder at Dave having to wonder at all.
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This Is War
an unblinking look—in words and images—at the reality of warfare

A father's message

The picture sits on top of my tv. A handsome young man, in a Marine Corps dress uniform, hat (cover, they call it in the military) tucked under his left arm, his right arm, right hand with white glove, encircling a stunning young woman. When the photo was taken at the Marine Corps Birthday Ball in 2002, my son Ben was enrolled at the University of Maryland while serving as a member of the Marine Corps Reserves. A little more than one year earlier, he had been at his reserve unit at Anacostia Barracks in Washington, D.C., on the morning of September 11, 2001, and saw the smoke rising across the Potomac in the West from the Pentagon crash site. After the tragedy of September 11th, he expected to be called up any day.
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