UNITED NATIONS, April 14 — Large amounts of nuclear-related equipment, some of it contaminated, and a small number of missile engines have been smuggled out of Iraq for recycling in European scrap yards, according to the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog and other U.N. diplomats. [emphasis added]
Well it’s easy to smuggle imaginary stuff. I mean, it has to be imaginary. There was no WMD and in particular no nuclear WMD in Iraq, right?
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What happens when pro-liberation demonstrators turn up at an anti-war rally? A peace activist explains:
My immediate reaction was to charge at these bastards and try to smash thier placards and hurt them as much as possible. I was accompanied by several other enraged demonstrators. Unfortunately the more militant socialist groups had already marched away so most of the immediate crowd complained that we where ruining a peaceful march. I stand by the actions we took. When Liberals have the confidence to attend a anti-war demo it clearly isn’t a good sign.
If people are serious about activism they should realise that change doesn’t come from wishing problems away it comes from militant direct action. By standing there debating with a bunch of right wingers at a rally, not only are people wasting time and demoralising everyone, they are giving them confidence to come back and disrupt more rallies. In the ideal situation Young Liberals should be left bruised, bashed and bleeding if they dare show thier face at a rally like that. That way they will be more hesitant about coming next time, and if they do the police will be more likely to quickly move them on.
Beyond the “peace” activist openly advocating violence as a way to solve problems and being very afraid of discussing issues with dissenting adults, the idea that the police are going to side with the anti-Western hippies after they beat up people with patriotic signs is truly delusional.
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2 firefights x 0 US casualties + 120 dead militants = Vietnam?
In both of them, US Marines were surprised by surprisingly fierce, well-organized attacks-and then proceeded to kill a tremendous number of insurgents, while suffering zero deaths.
[source] American forces killed more than 100 insurgents on Tuesday in close combat in a small village in central Iraq, Marine commanders said Wednesday… Marines fought house to house, roof to roof, doorway to doorway. They repelled attacks of machine-gun fire, volleys of rockets and repeated charges by masked fighters, Colonel McCoy said. Two marines were shot but their injuries were not life-threatening.
[source] Marine officials said the three-hour battle that erupted at dusk Tuesday on the streets of Fallujah, and was recounted Wednesday by several of the key officers involved, exemplified the bravery and resourcefulness that Marines are known for, even when surprised and surrounded by a host of enemy fighters on alien urban turf. By the end of the tumultuous encounter, the charred personnel carrier had been towed to safety by a tank and most of its 17 crew members — several of them wounded — had been rescued from a house where they had taken shelter… The rescue squad rushed four tanks and six Humvees to the area, where they fought their way through several blocks to reach the burning carrier. Surrounded by 25 Marine riflemen on foot, the armored vehicles advanced, firing machine guns from their turrets. Overhead, Air Force attack planes repeatedly strafed the area. Marine officials here said at least 20 insurgents were shot dead during the fighting…
“This is a story about heroes. It shows the tenacity of the Marines and their fierce loyalty to each other,” said Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne, commander of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. “They were absolutely unwilling to leave their brother Marines behind.”
If a cease fire means this kind of casualty ratio, I’m all for it. And as Instantman points out,
the most interesting quote was this one: “It showed not only the intensity of the resistance but an acute willingness among insurgents to die.” You can always find something to agree on, if you look hard enough.
Oh yeah. Reminds of the time when Mullah Omar said “we love death while Americans love Pepsi” and the blogosphere responded “Well, Omar’s dead and I’ve got a Pepsi - win win!”.
After the United Nations Commission on Human Rights narrowly passed a resolution today critical of Cuba, members of Cuba’s governmental delegation attacked Frank Calzon, executive director of the Washington-based Center for a Free Cuba.
The attack took place inside the United Nations building in Geneva.
Witnesses said a Cuban delegate punched Mr. Calzon, knocking him unconscious. UN guards reportedly protected him from further assault by additional members of the Cuban delegation.
The UN can’t even keep dictators thugs from physically assaulting dissidents inside their own building, and people want them to run Iraq?