NewsBling - Your Iraq News Source

Cesar Aguado asked:


With the elections approaching quickly, there is increasing fear among many in the U.S. government that al Qaeda may attempt to carry out attacks against Americans in an effort to sway election results. McCain, among others, fears that violent insurgents in Iraq may try to step up attacks on American troops and force more casualties that could, in turn, sway how the American public votes.

While McCain may be a supporter of the buildup of troops in Iraq, he has criticized the way in which the war has been handled. He also disagrees with any plans to withdraw troops from Iraq anytime soon. He points out how recent attacks in Iraq are the direct result of al Qaeda’s influence, and that they still pose a significant danger in the region.

As one of the strongholds of much of the world’s energy sources, there is no doubt that control in Iraq will have a significant impact on energy and oil prices here at home. Those, in turn, will influence the American economy and the success of many businesses. Rising energy costs combined with our failing economy could be potentially fatal, especially to the small business owner who may not have unlimited resources to draw upon.

McCain’s Strategy for Iraq

As part of his presidential campaign, McCain feels it is crucial to bolster the numbers of troops in Iraq so there are sufficient personnel to carry out their mission. With increased troops, insurgent strongholds could be cleared and then held peacefully, allowing Iraqi citizens to rebuild and create the infrastructure and economy necessary for continued success.

He also feels that violence needs to be stopped between Sunni and Shia factions, and the Iraqi army and police forces need accelerated training and equipment in order for them to be able to carry out their peacekeeping missions independently. McCain said the goal is to give the Iraqi people the tools they need to govern themselves, which would then enable us to bring our troops home. He emphasizes, though, that we cannot retreat until their government is both stable and self sufficient.

McCain criticizes the government’s policy of rotating top American officials through Iraq. He believes those with the best knowledge and experience should be left in place, assuring continuity and building upon our successes over there, rather than sending new leaders who need to overcome a significant learning curve.

Finally, McCain calls for increased international pressure on countries such as Iran and Syria, who have been funding and arming the most violent factions of insurgents in Iraq, and who have been directly responsible for the deaths of many American soldiers.

McCain agrees that the road to success is going to be a long one, and that the American people need to be better educated about the realities of the war and the expectations of our troops and our citizens in order for us to achieve success. Iraq is crucial to ongoing peace in the Middle East, which in turn affects big business and independent businesses alike. It is a training ground for terrorists, many of whom are undergoing specific training to carry out attacks on the United States. In order for America to be secure, McCain believes we must see our mission in Iraq through to a successful conclusion.



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Aaron Taylor asked:


e the repeated attempts of former President George W. Bush to renege on his usage of the word “crusade” to describe the Iraq War, there are some in the evangelical community who suspected all along that for Bush and his top aides, the Iraq War was indeed a holy war. At the time, the majority of evangelicals–including myself–cheered as the President and his top aides cast the Iraq war in moralistic terms, invoking the name of God to bless the bombs dropped by U.S. planes in the initial “shock and awe” campaign.

When other Christians tried to tell us that invoking the name of God to bless the invasion of a sovereign nation was wrong, we laughed and mocked. Who in the world–other than liberals of course– actually believes that the President of the United States of America would launch a modern day crusade? It turns out that the minority was right. I was wrong.

Earlier this week GQ magazine released a set of memos from none other than the former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. In a set of memos placed on Bush’s desk every morning over a period of several months (titled the World Wide Intelligence Update), Rumsfeld quoted numerous passages from the Bible and superimposd them against a backdrop of soldiers, tanks, and fighter planes.

If the leader of a Muslim country were to invoke passages from the Koran to call on Allah to bless their troops as they attacked their American enemy, we would have with absolute certainty called that fanatacism–and we would have ridiculed anyone who thought otherwise. But because it was our leaders and they were calling on the name of our God and reading from our Bible–even though anyone with an elementary Bible knowledge knew that they were twisting the Scriptures by divorcing them from their original contexts–we called them pious.

To my fellow evangelicals that love Jesus and want to see His purposes fulfilled in our world, here are a few examples of how the Holy Scriptures were twisted by the Pentagon to sanctify a holy war.

1. In the first picture, there are three soldiers sitting in prayer with their machine guns pointed heavenward. The Scripture reference is Isaiah 6:8 which says, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” I can remember as a young boy going to church and seeing these words on a banner hanging over the center stage of the sanctuary. These words have inspired thousands of Christians to go into all the world and devote themselves as Christ’s ambassadors to humanity. Now apparently we’re supposed to believe that God had the U.S. military in mind when He inspired Isaiah to write these words.

2. In another frame we see a tank gliding across the Iraqi desert as the sun is setting. The Scripture for the day? Ephesians 6:13 which says, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” I guess I was absent that day in Sunday School when the teacher said the Apostle Paul had America’s War on Terror in mind when he wrote these words. Somehow I always thought this verse was talking about prayer against demonic powers seeking to overthrow believers in their faith. Who would have known?

3. Perhaps the most bizarre frame is the one using Psalms 33:16. Although the verse says explicitly, “The King is not saved by a mighty army,” the verse is plastered across an American tank, a missile, and a U.S. soldier showing that victory does come through a mighty army. Talk about missing the point!

There’s only one word for such a blatant misuse of Scriptures to sanctify a political agenda–idolatry! The American Church let this happen. I let this happen. May God be merciful to us and move upon our hearts to repent.

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Wooglet Voot asked:


We have to attack Iraq and throw him out. He is a brutal leader.
The people gased were armed and fighting to overthrow Saddam’s government.
I guess you could say gas is against the Geneva convention but so is attacking a country without declaring war, or that has not attacked. To be clear one of those two things has to be true.
We were providing air support to the Kurds by enforcing the no fly zone. We were providing them weapons so they were shooting at Saddam.

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Mark Doyle asked:


Caroline Picard will soon return from one of her numerous tours performing for our troops. A favorite with the troops, Caroline has performed in Ramstein and Sembach, AB Germany, Darmstadt Army Base, Darmstadt Germany, La Madelina Navy Base, La Madelina, Italy, Sigonella Base, Sicily, Osan, Busan, Navy Seoul, Okinawa, Camp Shields, as well as Tokyo, Atsugi, Sasebo, Iwakunia, Yukota, Camp Zuma, Masawa, Yokuoska Bases in Japan, and NAS Bahrain, the Persian Gulf. She has over 12 world wide tours for the troops to date and loves performing for them.

An award winning, national and international touring comic for 14 years, this Louisiana-bred lady is fueled by Coors Lite, Crown Royal and a serious “HOT FLASH ATTITUDE”. She calls her style of comedy “WSIWYG”, WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET”. “Hell, I’m 54, I’m all grown up, I say what I want, why? Because, I can. I’ve paid my dues, in more ways than one. I’ve worked for the phone company, most major Oil and Gas corporations as an Executive Financial Secretary, and I’ve run my own restaurant. I’ve been laid off, downsized, and with the restaurant, lost everything I owned.

I can still do the same things now that I did when I was 20, evidently I didn’t get that “Now that you’re over 50 you die” memo. I’m part of the “Boomer Generation, we listen to no one.” “If you are easily offended, then leave my planet, it’s time to grow up and get your head out of your ass, that’s got to be uncomfortable.”

Caroline will soon be on tour in comedy clubs and concerts through out the country. If you get a chance to see her straight shooting, comedy act in your town, go see her. If you can’t see her live check her out online for some funny comedy clips.



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Liz asked:


He is flying air support missions in Iraq. But I don’t know if they receive email from Yahoo or only through Military branch email address.

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ansky asked:


International Committee of the Red Cross says it is alarmed by the worsening humanitarian situation in Iraq and calls for better protection of Iraqi civilians from continuing violence. In a report issued Wednesday the Red Cross reports numerous instances of what it calls clear violations of international humanitarian law.

The Red Cross says the Iraqi people are enduring “unbearable and unacceptable” conditions, and calls on all those who can influence the situation in Iraq “to act now to ensure the lives of ordinary people are spared.”

The report says civilians are increasingly the targets of daily shootings, bombings, murders and abductions as well as military operations. It documents the alarming state of Iraq’s health-care facilities, noting that medical professionals are forced to avoid going to hospitals and clinics for fear of their own lives. Russia is criticizing Iran for conducting an air-defense exercise near a nuclear plant Russia is helping to build.

A Russian foreign ministry spokesman said Wednesday that Iran did not inform Russian experts at the Bushehr plant before the test. A representative of Russia’s atomic agency says the lack of warning created tension at the site and disrupted work.. Iran conducted the practice firing at 5 a.m. Friday near the still-unfinished nuclear power plant in the country’s southwest. The Russian company in charge of construction at Bushehr says Iran has resumed payments for the project. Russia earlier this month had complained that Iran was behind in its payments but Iran denied the charge.



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1Democracy asked:


http://govsec.blogspot.com/

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said congressional Democrats will stick to demands for some form of accountability from President George W. Bush in any legislation to pay for U.S. military operations in Iraq.

Lawmakers and Bush administration officials were unable to reach a compromise in negotiations last week on a funding measure. Bush and his aides said that there can be no timeline for a U.S. withdrawal in the legislation and each side blames the other for refusing to make concessions.

Lawmakers are trying to craft a measure that provides almost $100 billion for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and Democrats are seeking to impose restrictions on Bush’s strategy. Congressional leaders have pledged to complete the legislation before taking a week-long Memorial Day recess that begins at the end of this week.

White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten said after the last round of negotiations May 18 that the Democrats “seem to be dug in on presenting the same approach” that the president already vetoed.

Pelosi said Democrats have demonstrated they are willing to work with Bush on his priorities, including trade and immigration.

http://govsec.blogspot.com/



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jess asked:


Our country is spending trillions of dollars a year in iraq, and we aren’t even doing what we are there for to begin with? Should the U.S. stop focusing on other people and help our own for awhile? Iraq or America?

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