Aljazeera: U.S. uses napalm gas in Fallujah – Witnesses
The U.S. military is secretly using banned napalm gas and other outlawed weapons against civilians in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, eyewitnesses reported.
The United Nations banned the use of the napalm gas against civilians in 1980 after pictures of a naked wounded girl in Vietnam shocked the world.
The United States, which didn't endorse the convention, is the only nation in the world still using the deadly weapon.
Monday, November 29, 2004
IRAQ: FALLUJAH WAR CRIMES
Aljazeera: U.S. uses napalm gas in Fallujah – Witnesses
The U.S. military is secretly using banned napalm gas and other outlawed weapons against civilians in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, eyewitnesses reported.
The U.S. military is secretly using banned napalm gas and other outlawed weapons against civilians in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, eyewitnesses reported.
UKRAINE
Toronto Times: Ukraine flirting with a civil war
The narrow victory of Ukraine's prime minister Viktor Yanukovych in last week's reportedly fraudulent presidential election is raising grave fears of civil war in this highly strategic nation.
Ukraine split along historic lines, with the European-oriented western, largely Uniate Catholic half (once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), supporting Yushchenko, and the Eastern Orthodox portion, notably the Donets coal basin and industrial Luhansk, with 10 million ethnic Russians, favouring Moscow. Crimea, an ethnic Russian and Tatar region, went solidly for the pro-Moscow camp.
Yushchenko supporters have massed in the streets for days and called on the army and security service to join them, invoking the threat of political chaos, even civil war.
As of this writing, the security services, heavily influenced by Russia's secret services, appear loyal to Yanukovych
The narrow victory of Ukraine's prime minister Viktor Yanukovych in last week's reportedly fraudulent presidential election is raising grave fears of civil war in this highly strategic nation.
Ukraine split along historic lines, with the European-oriented western, largely Uniate Catholic half (once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), supporting Yushchenko, and the Eastern Orthodox portion, notably the Donets coal basin and industrial Luhansk, with 10 million ethnic Russians, favouring Moscow. Crimea, an ethnic Russian and Tatar region, went solidly for the pro-Moscow camp.
Yushchenko supporters have massed in the streets for days and called on the army and security service to join them, invoking the threat of political chaos, even civil war.
As of this writing, the security services, heavily influenced by Russia's secret services, appear loyal to Yanukovych
UKRAINE
Times: Russia ‘will back force’ by Ukraine president
RUSSIA has offered to back the Ukrainian government if it uses force to crush pro-democracy demonstrators who have taken control of the capital and other cities, it was claimed last night, write Askold Krushelnycky and Mark Franchetti.
A senior figure in the Ukrainian presidential administration who declined to be identified said that Boris Gryzlov, President Vladimir Putin’s personal envoy to Ukraine, had promised “diplomatic cover” against any international backlash prompted by such a move.
Guardian: Ukraine's postmodern coup d'etat
Yushchenko got the US nod, and money flooded in to his supporters
For one thing the demonstrators do not reflect nationwide sentiments. Ukraine is riven by deep historical, religious and linguistic divisions. The crowds in the street include a large contingent from western Ukraine, which has never felt comfortable with rule from Kiev, let alone from people associated with eastern Ukraine, the home-base of Viktor Yanukovich, the disputed president-elect.
Their traditions are not always pleasant. Some protesters have been chanting nationalistic and secessionist songs from the anti-semitic years of the second world war.
Nor are we watching a struggle between freedom and authoritarianism as is romantically alleged. Viktor Yushchenko, who claims to have won Sunday's election, served as prime minister under the outgoing president, Leonid Kuchma, and some of his backers are also linked to the brutal industrial clans who manipulated Ukraine's post-Soviet privatisation
Yet after none of those polls did the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the main international observer body, or the US and other western governments, make the furious noise they are producing today. The decision to protest appears to depend mainly on realpolitik and whether the challengers or the incumbent are considered more "pro-western" or "pro-market".
RUSSIA has offered to back the Ukrainian government if it uses force to crush pro-democracy demonstrators who have taken control of the capital and other cities, it was claimed last night, write Askold Krushelnycky and Mark Franchetti.
A senior figure in the Ukrainian presidential administration who declined to be identified said that Boris Gryzlov, President Vladimir Putin’s personal envoy to Ukraine, had promised “diplomatic cover” against any international backlash prompted by such a move.
Guardian: Ukraine's postmodern coup d'etat
Yushchenko got the US nod, and money flooded in to his supporters
For one thing the demonstrators do not reflect nationwide sentiments. Ukraine is riven by deep historical, religious and linguistic divisions. The crowds in the street include a large contingent from western Ukraine, which has never felt comfortable with rule from Kiev, let alone from people associated with eastern Ukraine, the home-base of Viktor Yanukovich, the disputed president-elect.
Their traditions are not always pleasant. Some protesters have been chanting nationalistic and secessionist songs from the anti-semitic years of the second world war.
Nor are we watching a struggle between freedom and authoritarianism as is romantically alleged. Viktor Yushchenko, who claims to have won Sunday's election, served as prime minister under the outgoing president, Leonid Kuchma, and some of his backers are also linked to the brutal industrial clans who manipulated Ukraine's post-Soviet privatisation
Yet after none of those polls did the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the main international observer body, or the US and other western governments, make the furious noise they are producing today. The decision to protest appears to depend mainly on realpolitik and whether the challengers or the incumbent are considered more "pro-western" or "pro-market".
ISRAEL: STATE TERRORISM
Guardian: Israel shocked by image of soldiers forcing violinist to play at roadblock
Of all the revelations that have rocked the Israeli army over the past week, perhaps none disturbed the public so much as the video footage of soldiers forcing a Palestinian man to play his violin.
The incident was not as shocking as the recording of an Israeli officer pumping the body of a 13-year-old girl full of bullets and then saying he would have shot her even if she had been three years old.
Of all the revelations that have rocked the Israeli army over the past week, perhaps none disturbed the public so much as the video footage of soldiers forcing a Palestinian man to play his violin.
The incident was not as shocking as the recording of an Israeli officer pumping the body of a 13-year-old girl full of bullets and then saying he would have shot her even if she had been three years old.
Yoram Kaniuk, author of a book about a Jewish violinist forced to play for a concentration camp commander, wrote in Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that the soldiers responsible should be put on trial "not for abusing Arabs but for disgracing the Holocaust".
"So when Israeli soldiers are abusing palestinians they should not be tried because they commited a crime or in this case because they did the same thing as the nazis did when they forced jewish musicans to play in concentration camps but because they are "disgracing the holocaust". How twisted can a mind get?"
IRAQ: FALLUJAH RESISTANCE
JUS: First US Retreat From Fallujah Reported
Mujahideen Retake The Old City
Last evening, after US forces outside Fallujah took heavy rocket fire from the Lions of Fallujah, occupation forces pulled their units that were surrounding the western sector of the city back in the direction of the US base at al-Habbaniyah.
In a dispatch posted at 9pm Mecca time, Friday night, Mafkarat al-Islam's correspondent reported that US forces outside Fallujah were subjected to heavy Mujahideen bombardments, firing Grad and Tariq rockets that resulted in their withdrawal from the area. JUS also received information from sources close to the Mujahideen that US forces were indeed pulling back at al-Habbaniyah
Mujahideen Retake The Old City
Last evening, after US forces outside Fallujah took heavy rocket fire from the Lions of Fallujah, occupation forces pulled their units that were surrounding the western sector of the city back in the direction of the US base at al-Habbaniyah.
In a dispatch posted at 9pm Mecca time, Friday night, Mafkarat al-Islam's correspondent reported that US forces outside Fallujah were subjected to heavy Mujahideen bombardments, firing Grad and Tariq rockets that resulted in their withdrawal from the area. JUS also received information from sources close to the Mujahideen that US forces were indeed pulling back at al-Habbaniyah
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
911
P&A: $100,000 Reward For Scientific Proof WTC Towers Collapsed As Bush Administration Claims
$100,000 REWARD to the first person to deliver a full mathematical, engineering proof of how the impact and/or fires caused any of the WTC buildings to collapse the way the government claims! It must include all the fuel, mass, critical temperatures, likely temperatures and their causes, energy needed to crush concrete into fine powder, force needed to sheer bolts and rivets, time calculations, and all the other relevant data in a detailed analysis to be reviewed by accredited engineers on a team headed by Jeff King http://911review.org/Wiki/King,Jeff.shtml, engineer and doctor educated at MIT.
$100,000 REWARD to the first person to deliver a full mathematical, engineering proof of how the impact and/or fires caused any of the WTC buildings to collapse the way the government claims! It must include all the fuel, mass, critical temperatures, likely temperatures and their causes, energy needed to crush concrete into fine powder, force needed to sheer bolts and rivets, time calculations, and all the other relevant data in a detailed analysis to be reviewed by accredited engineers on a team headed by Jeff King http://911review.org/Wiki/King,Jeff.shtml, engineer and doctor educated at MIT.
USA: PROPAGANDA WATCH
Rense: US Media Preps Americans For Attack On Iran
"Amerika and its partner in war crimes, Israel, are getting ready to sock it to Iran. Shortly before this worse than disgustingly useless farce we just participated in, hyped as a national presidential election, our government of razor wire mentality shipped specially designed long-distance F-16 Fighting Falcon jets to Israel. And as usual, these heavy duty F-16 fighter planes of superior design and capability when compared to those of our own Air Force were purchased by Israel with our tax money"
"Amerika and its partner in war crimes, Israel, are getting ready to sock it to Iran. Shortly before this worse than disgustingly useless farce we just participated in, hyped as a national presidential election, our government of razor wire mentality shipped specially designed long-distance F-16 Fighting Falcon jets to Israel. And as usual, these heavy duty F-16 fighter planes of superior design and capability when compared to those of our own Air Force were purchased by Israel with our tax money"
Monday, November 22, 2004
USA: POWELL
The Telegraph: Powell 'pushed out' by Bush for seeking to rein in Israel
Colin Powell, the outgoing US secretary of state, was given his marching orders after telling President George W Bush that he wanted greater power to confront Israel over the stalled Middle East peace process.
Although Mr Powell's departure was announced on November 15, his letter of resignation was dated November 11, the day he had a meeting with Mr Bush.
According to White House officials, at the meeting Mr Powell was not asked to stay on and gave no hints that he would do so. Briefing reporters later, he referred to "fulsome discussions" - diplomatic code for disagreements.
"The clincher came over the Mid-East peace process," said a recently-retired state department official.
"Powell thought he could use the credit he had banked as the president's 'good cop' in foreign policy to rein in Ariel Sharon [Israel's prime minister] and get the peace process going. He was wrong."
Colin Powell, the outgoing US secretary of state, was given his marching orders after telling President George W Bush that he wanted greater power to confront Israel over the stalled Middle East peace process.
Although Mr Powell's departure was announced on November 15, his letter of resignation was dated November 11, the day he had a meeting with Mr Bush.
According to White House officials, at the meeting Mr Powell was not asked to stay on and gave no hints that he would do so. Briefing reporters later, he referred to "fulsome discussions" - diplomatic code for disagreements.
"The clincher came over the Mid-East peace process," said a recently-retired state department official.
"Powell thought he could use the credit he had banked as the president's 'good cop' in foreign policy to rein in Ariel Sharon [Israel's prime minister] and get the peace process going. He was wrong."
ISRAEL
Uri Avnery: Sharon prepares to sabotage Palestinian elections
Uri Avnery says that Sharon will do his utmost to sabotage the upcoming Palestinian presidential elections, which are likely to be won by Mahmud Abbas - Abu-Mazen. He argues that the election of Abu-Mazen could pave the way for US endorsement of a Palestinian state, risking both Sharon's plan to annex 58 per cent of the West Bank and the future of the settlements. He warns that Sharon will do anything to prevent this. "For example, bloody attacks, acts of 'terrorism' that can be attributed to the new chairman, civil war, anarchy
Uri Avnery says that Sharon will do his utmost to sabotage the upcoming Palestinian presidential elections, which are likely to be won by Mahmud Abbas - Abu-Mazen. He argues that the election of Abu-Mazen could pave the way for US endorsement of a Palestinian state, risking both Sharon's plan to annex 58 per cent of the West Bank and the future of the settlements. He warns that Sharon will do anything to prevent this. "For example, bloody attacks, acts of 'terrorism' that can be attributed to the new chairman, civil war, anarchy
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Depopulation should be the highest priority of U.S. foreign policy towards the Third World." - Dr. Henry Kissinger, National Security Memo 200, dated April 24, 1974
IRAQ: FALLUJAH WAR CRIMES
Al-Jazeera: Napalm, Falluja women, children in mass grave:
Residents of a village neighbouring Falluja have told Aljazeera that they helped bury the bodies of 73 women and children who were burnt to death by a US bombing attack.
"We buried them here, but we could not identify them because they were charred by the use of napalm bombs used by the Americans," said one resident of Saqlawiya in footage aired on Aljazeera on Sunday.
There have been no reports of the US military using napalm in Falluja and no independent verification of the claims
Residents of a village neighbouring Falluja have told Aljazeera that they helped bury the bodies of 73 women and children who were burnt to death by a US bombing attack.
"We buried them here, but we could not identify them because they were charred by the use of napalm bombs used by the Americans," said one resident of Saqlawiya in footage aired on Aljazeera on Sunday.
There have been no reports of the US military using napalm in Falluja and no independent verification of the claims
HAARP, Aerosol and Electromagnetic Weapons
Globalresearch: Aerosol and Electromagnetic Weapons In The Age Of Nuclear War
North America is now suffering its seventh year of conspicuous and dangerous aerosol and electromagnetic operations conducted by the U.S. government under the guise of national security. Concerned citizens watch in fear as military tankers discolor the skies with toxic chemicals that morph into synthetic clouds.
We continually witness bizarre meteorological occurrences as powerful electromagnetic devices manipulate both the jet stream and individual storm fronts to create artificial weather and climatic conditions. Black operations projects embedded within these aerosol missions are documented to sicken and disorient select populations with biological test agents and psychotronic mind/mood control technologies.
Part of what is happening in the atmosphere above us involves the Pentagon's secret space weapons program, designed for strategic, operational and tactical levels of war. NASA missions will soon be transferred to Pentagon control.1 The Air Force Space Command declares that, in order to monitor and shape world events, it must fight intense, decisive wars with great precision from space.2 Air Force Secretary James G. Roche has stated: "Space capabilities are integrated with, and affect every link in the kill chain."3
North America is now suffering its seventh year of conspicuous and dangerous aerosol and electromagnetic operations conducted by the U.S. government under the guise of national security. Concerned citizens watch in fear as military tankers discolor the skies with toxic chemicals that morph into synthetic clouds.
We continually witness bizarre meteorological occurrences as powerful electromagnetic devices manipulate both the jet stream and individual storm fronts to create artificial weather and climatic conditions. Black operations projects embedded within these aerosol missions are documented to sicken and disorient select populations with biological test agents and psychotronic mind/mood control technologies.
Part of what is happening in the atmosphere above us involves the Pentagon's secret space weapons program, designed for strategic, operational and tactical levels of war. NASA missions will soon be transferred to Pentagon control.1 The Air Force Space Command declares that, in order to monitor and shape world events, it must fight intense, decisive wars with great precision from space.2 Air Force Secretary James G. Roche has stated: "Space capabilities are integrated with, and affect every link in the kill chain."3
IRAQ: FALLIJAH WAR CRIMES
islamonline: US Troops Reportedly Gassing Fallujah
FALLUJAH, November 10 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - US troops are reportedly using chemical weapons and poisonous gas in its large-scale offensive on the Iraqi resistance bastion of Fallujah, a grim reminder of Saddam Hussein’s alleged gassing of the Kurds in 1988.
“The US occupation troops are gassing resistance fighters and confronting them with internationally-banned chemical weapons,” resistance sources told Al-Quds Press Wednesday, November 10.
The fatal weapons led to the deaths of tens of innocent civilians, whose bodies litter sidewalks and streets, they added.
“They use chemical weapons out of despair and helplessness in the face of the steadfast and fierce resistance put up by Fallujah people, who drove US troops out of several districts, hoisting proudly Iraqi flags on them. Resistance has also managed to destroy and set fire to a large number of US tanks and vehicles
Jihad Unspun: Mujahideen Holds South Fallujah, Harries North
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent noted that US forces in their attacks on the ash-Shuhada’ and al-Jubayl neighborhoods on Thursday used a new type of gas, different from that used before. The new gas overcomes the victim and causes asphyxiation. Twenty bodies of victims of the gas were found in the two neighborhoods in the last four days
It appears that the Mujahideen had come to cope with the desiccating gas used by the US forces, as fighters could be seen carrying around water-dampened cloths.
FALLUJAH, November 10 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - US troops are reportedly using chemical weapons and poisonous gas in its large-scale offensive on the Iraqi resistance bastion of Fallujah, a grim reminder of Saddam Hussein’s alleged gassing of the Kurds in 1988.
“The US occupation troops are gassing resistance fighters and confronting them with internationally-banned chemical weapons,” resistance sources told Al-Quds Press Wednesday, November 10.
The fatal weapons led to the deaths of tens of innocent civilians, whose bodies litter sidewalks and streets, they added.
“They use chemical weapons out of despair and helplessness in the face of the steadfast and fierce resistance put up by Fallujah people, who drove US troops out of several districts, hoisting proudly Iraqi flags on them. Resistance has also managed to destroy and set fire to a large number of US tanks and vehicles
Jihad Unspun: Mujahideen Holds South Fallujah, Harries North
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent noted that US forces in their attacks on the ash-Shuhada’ and al-Jubayl neighborhoods on Thursday used a new type of gas, different from that used before. The new gas overcomes the victim and causes asphyxiation. Twenty bodies of victims of the gas were found in the two neighborhoods in the last four days
It appears that the Mujahideen had come to cope with the desiccating gas used by the US forces, as fighters could be seen carrying around water-dampened cloths.
IRAQ: WAR CRIMES
IPS: US Slaughters People At Prayer In Baghdad Mosque
An eyewitness commentary to IPS through a U.S. raid on a Baghdad mosque Friday gives a vivid picture of what a 'successful raid' can be like.
U.S. soldiers raided the Abu Hanifa mosque in Baghdad during Friday prayers, killing at least four and wounding up to 20 worshippers.
At 12:30 pm local time, just after Imam Shaikh Muayid al-Adhami concluded his talk, about 50 U.S. soldiers with 20 Iraqi National Guardsmen (ING) entered the mosque, a witness reported.
"Everyone was there for Friday prayers, when five Humvees and several trucks carrying INGs entered," Abu Talat told IPS on phone from within the mosque while the raid was in progress. "Everyone starting yelling 'Allahu Akbar' (God is the greatest) because they were frightened. Then the soldiers started shooting the people praying!"
Talat said he was among a crowd of worshippers being held back at gunpoint by U.S. soldiers. Loud chanting of 'Allahu Akbar' could be heard in the background during his call. Women and children were sobbing, he said.
An eyewitness commentary to IPS through a U.S. raid on a Baghdad mosque Friday gives a vivid picture of what a 'successful raid' can be like.
U.S. soldiers raided the Abu Hanifa mosque in Baghdad during Friday prayers, killing at least four and wounding up to 20 worshippers.
At 12:30 pm local time, just after Imam Shaikh Muayid al-Adhami concluded his talk, about 50 U.S. soldiers with 20 Iraqi National Guardsmen (ING) entered the mosque, a witness reported.
"Everyone was there for Friday prayers, when five Humvees and several trucks carrying INGs entered," Abu Talat told IPS on phone from within the mosque while the raid was in progress. "Everyone starting yelling 'Allahu Akbar' (God is the greatest) because they were frightened. Then the soldiers started shooting the people praying!"
Talat said he was among a crowd of worshippers being held back at gunpoint by U.S. soldiers. Loud chanting of 'Allahu Akbar' could be heard in the background during his call. Women and children were sobbing, he said.
ÎRAQ: RESISTANCE
Arab Voice: 104 US Troops Killed In Mass Attacks Around Iraq
Iraq Explodes At "Zero Hour" Saturday Resistance
Launches New Strategy Nation-Wide
All parts of Iraq witnessed fighting against the US occupation on Saturday, beginning early in the morning. Half-past six am was zero hour for the Iraqi Resistance forces. At that time they launched attacks on US troops and fighting erupted all over the country that flared particularly violently in Baghdad.
These battles marked the launch of a new Resistance strategy based on the coordination of actions between the Resistance groups in different parts of Iraq, and the unification of their efforts for the liberation of the country.
Iraq Explodes At "Zero Hour" Saturday Resistance
Launches New Strategy Nation-Wide
All parts of Iraq witnessed fighting against the US occupation on Saturday, beginning early in the morning. Half-past six am was zero hour for the Iraqi Resistance forces. At that time they launched attacks on US troops and fighting erupted all over the country that flared particularly violently in Baghdad.
These battles marked the launch of a new Resistance strategy based on the coordination of actions between the Resistance groups in different parts of Iraq, and the unification of their efforts for the liberation of the country.
IRAQ: FALLUJAH RESISTANCE
China View: Resistance Controls 60 Percent Of Fallujah - Witnesses
Militant groups in battle-torn Fallujah have controlled 60 percent of the central Iraqi city and surrounded dozens of US Marines in Jolan district,witnesses said Sunday.
"Defenders of the city are controlling 60 percent of the city and they are encircling dozens of US soldiers in Jolan neighborhood," eyewitnesses who managed to sneak out of the city told Xinhua.
Residents of Fallujah said the southern part of Fallujah, whichis still under control of the militant groups, constitutes the larger part of the city, and US troops only control the north andsmall eastern spots in the city.
"Some American troops are based in government buildings and the yare pounded by fighters," they said.
"In daytime, groups of mujahedeen (Holy War fighters) engage with hit-and-run attacks with US Marines, and at the same time they gear themselves up for the night battles," they said.Fierce fighting and loud explosions resonated throughout Jolan district before the sunset.
Militant groups in battle-torn Fallujah have controlled 60 percent of the central Iraqi city and surrounded dozens of US Marines in Jolan district,witnesses said Sunday.
"Defenders of the city are controlling 60 percent of the city and they are encircling dozens of US soldiers in Jolan neighborhood," eyewitnesses who managed to sneak out of the city told Xinhua.
Residents of Fallujah said the southern part of Fallujah, whichis still under control of the militant groups, constitutes the larger part of the city, and US troops only control the north andsmall eastern spots in the city.
"Some American troops are based in government buildings and the yare pounded by fighters," they said.
"In daytime, groups of mujahedeen (Holy War fighters) engage with hit-and-run attacks with US Marines, and at the same time they gear themselves up for the night battles," they said.Fierce fighting and loud explosions resonated throughout Jolan district before the sunset.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
ARAFAT
Guardian: Yasser Arafat's Life And Legacy
From an early age, Muhammad Abdul Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini, the sixth child of a Palestinian spice, incense and grocery merchant, sensed that a high destiny awaited him. It did - but Yasser Arafat, who has died aged 75, assuredly earned it by his own endeavours too.
By the standard of lifelong, indefatigable, and for him courageous dedication to a cause, he deserved the title of Mr Palestine that he held for a whole generation of his people's struggle. But by the standards of ultimate achievement, he didn't; rarely can a "liberator" have strayed further from the original ideals of "liberation".
Arafat was born in Cairo, where his father had settled for business reasons, but after the death of his mother, the four-year-old was packed off to Jerusalem to live with his uncle in a house by the Wailing Wall and al-Aqsa mosque.
From an early age, Muhammad Abdul Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini, the sixth child of a Palestinian spice, incense and grocery merchant, sensed that a high destiny awaited him. It did - but Yasser Arafat, who has died aged 75, assuredly earned it by his own endeavours too.
By the standard of lifelong, indefatigable, and for him courageous dedication to a cause, he deserved the title of Mr Palestine that he held for a whole generation of his people's struggle. But by the standards of ultimate achievement, he didn't; rarely can a "liberator" have strayed further from the original ideals of "liberation".
Arafat was born in Cairo, where his father had settled for business reasons, but after the death of his mother, the four-year-old was packed off to Jerusalem to live with his uncle in a house by the Wailing Wall and al-Aqsa mosque.
IRAQ: WHO KILLED M. HASSAN?
Jihad Unspun: Who Really Killed Margaret Hassan?
“Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state” (Noam Chomsky)
There are truths, there are lies and then there is the middle ground of half-truths: propaganda. Those who engage in its dissemination are malicious criminals. And those who are subjected to it are the victims.
Margaret Hassan is now believed to be the first woman killed by kidnappers but nobody is asking who and why, given that the Iraqi resistance has denied any role in her captivity from the onset. In fact, Abu-Musab Al-Zarqawi’s group issued a statement that they don’t hold women prisoners unless they are proven to be belligerent enemies and they actually called for her release! Furthermore, no group has claimed responsibility, which is unprecedented in relation to previous cases of killing kidnapped hostages.
“Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state” (Noam Chomsky)
There are truths, there are lies and then there is the middle ground of half-truths: propaganda. Those who engage in its dissemination are malicious criminals. And those who are subjected to it are the victims.
Margaret Hassan is now believed to be the first woman killed by kidnappers but nobody is asking who and why, given that the Iraqi resistance has denied any role in her captivity from the onset. In fact, Abu-Musab Al-Zarqawi’s group issued a statement that they don’t hold women prisoners unless they are proven to be belligerent enemies and they actually called for her release! Furthermore, no group has claimed responsibility, which is unprecedented in relation to previous cases of killing kidnapped hostages.
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