Hollywood abuzz about 'Fahrenheit 9/11'
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Hollywood abuzz about 'Fahrenheit 9/11'
| Sun, 06-13-2004 - 2:23pm |
"...and this country is really in the mood for somebody to tell ’em what they should think, what to do.â€
That's exactly what democrats want--to tell the American people what we should think and what we should do. Unbelievable, he just gave away their secret! I'm glad I can think for myself, thank you.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5050832/
And how about the celebrity turnout for the premiere? Not a real shocker to see Martin Sheen, Demi Moore, Drew Barrymoore, et al excited to be there. And how about Camryn Manheim who was also there, quoted, "A lot of us look to Michael Moore to uncover the real truth." ROFL.
*sigh* These people...


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also awesome point. << If the United States are sooooooooooooooooooooo democratic, how comes that left-sided people are condemneded 4 their ideas? >>
thanks for showing me theres still hope for the world
Kurd Poison Gas Victims Demand Death for Saddam
By Seb Walker (Reuters)
HALABJA, Iraq (Reuters) - Kamil Qadir, lungs wrecked by a poison gas attack on Halabja 16 years ago, sat glued to his television to watch Iraq's Saddam Hussein in the dock for that and other atrocities committed during 35 years of Baathist rule.
Qadir was 15 when chemical bombs landed on this Kurdish town near the Iranian border in 1988, wiping out his entire family and leaving him with severe burns and respiratory problems.
On daily medication, he still suffers flashbacks from the attack which killed more than 5,000 people.
He smiled wryly when an Arab news channel showed people in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit challenging the legitimacy of the tribunal that outlined charges against the ousted president on Thursday.
"They don't know what real problems are," he said between coughing fits. "I have no pleasure in life because of my lungs.
Seeing Saddam in front of an Iraqi judge provides only limited satisfaction, he said. Like many in Halabja, he is not convinced any trial will bring real justice.
"Those defending Saddam do not know him, but neither do those who are judging him," Qadir said.
"Saddam killed 5,000 people here without a trial and now people talk about justice for him. And where is the justice for the foreign companies who supplied him with materials for his chemical weapons, or the Western politicians who supported him?"
Saddam appeared to shrug off responsibility when the Halabja attack was listed at Thursday's hearing among charges that could lead to a formal indictment for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
"Yes, I heard about that in the media," he said.
Halabja residents worry that Saddam might escape the death sentence, a penalty which many view as insufficient. Iraq's interim government is considering restoring the death penalty, suspended during the U.S.-British occupation.
"I don't think Saddam will be executed, but people from Halabja want him chopped up into pieces," said Ibrahim Hawramani, manager of the Halabja monument center established in 2003 to commemorate victims of the gas attack.
The center contains an exhibition of harrowing photographs taken in the immediate aftermath, showing streets littered with twisted corpses, mostly women and children.
'WEST SHARES RESPONSIBILITY'
According to Hawramani, more than 200 foreign companies have been identified as suppliers of materials for Saddam's chemical weapons. They and everyone else who facilitated the crimes of the regime should be prosecuted, he said.
"America brought Saddam -- they provided him with money, supported him against Iran (in the 1980-88 war) and then used his Baath party as a weapon...they have no excuse," he said.
Survivors of the Halabja attack have provided testimony from over 7,000 witnesses which they hope will help convict Saddam.
The testimonies were collected by the Anti-Chemical Weapons Society which supports victims' families and documents evidence.
"We are worried that Saddam won't be given the death penalty," said Aras Akram, a member of the society who lost his parents and 10 other close relatives in the attack.
Akram said many survivors still suffered from blindness and breathing problems and that there were high rates of colon cancer and infertility among Halabja's male population.
"We're trying to draw attention to these problems but until now no specialized doctors are working in the area," he said.
On the streets of Halabja, Saddam's court appearance brought jubilation at his humiliation, but concern that he would not receive the punishment residents believe he deserves.
"We are very afraid that he won't face the right justice," said Qadir Ahmed, who also works at the monument center. "But when we see him broken it gives us great satisfaction. He should be executed as a common criminal."
Ahmed helped bury 1,500 people in a communal grave after the attack, which killed his father, three sisters and two nephews. Ten years later his mother died of gas-induced nerve disease.
Despite losing a brother last year to illness caused by the chemical bombing, 40-year-old carpenter Batyal Hazar expressed rare support for the trial process.
"To see Saddam in front of a judge is the wish of all Kurdish people," he said.
"Of course Kurds are unhappy Saddam should get a trial. But the United States is democratic and looks at guilty people and then gives them a chance. We should be like that."
07/03/04 06:05
© Copyright Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of Reuters Ltd.
Yes there are accusations against the US in this article but my point in putting it here is to show the real world effect of Saddam Hussein and why in my opinion we were justifiable in going to Iraq a 2nd time. Please also remember that the Iraq War has been an ongoing conflict since 1991 - we had only been in a cease fire agreement so long as Saddam complied with the terms of the cease fire. He did not - I mean 17 UN resolutions later and he still thumbed his nose at the rest of the world. Please, someone explain to me how this is a "ficticious war" or an unjustifiable cause.
My father's family has been here since 1607 and we have fought in all the wars this country has been in whether we agreed with the policy or not because it was our duty as American citizens to do so. I agree most people need to crack open the history books and realize there are two opinions to the story and that is what makes us unique and why this particular "Republic" has lasted as long as it has.
No I do not agree with Micheal Moore's type of propaganda because I do believe that it spreads apathy and makes accusations and generalizations with little information. But I do believe that everyone has a right to their opinion. It is I continue to love this country and will fight for this country and all it's causes till my dying day.
I don’t call myself Republican or Democrat. I don’t call myself liberal or conservative. I call myself an American.
Having been drawn into this debate by my wife, without having had the opportunity to review the responses of most of you, I will give you the perspective of someone who has been there and done that.
In 1991, when I left Iraq, there was a cease fire agreement, signed by those who were representing Saddam Hussein. In the years that followed, Saddam refused to allow the inspectors into certain areas for weeks at a time. He never offered any evidence that he was disassembling his weapons or his factories that had been compelled by the agreement.
What he did, however, was use his weapons to destroy thousands of Kurds who were uprising to win their freedoms. In other words, he used chemical weapons against his own people to remain in power.
In the twenty-two (22) years that I served in the United States Marine Corps, I heard almost every excuse in the book as to why someone was not fit to go to war. (From religious to medical to psychological.) So for someone to tell me that they were not medically fit to go to war, without the proper documentation, was just another excuse. Physicals were performed on a scheduled basis, as required by law. To perform a complete physical on every individual before being sent off to battle is cost prohibitive.
To say that our military is being sent off to fight without the proper equipment or resources, is obviously being said by someone who has never been shot at. A flack vest is just that, a flack vest. It is not a bullet proof vest. There is no such thing! Even the so-called bullet proof vest, called Last Chance, is not bullet proof. If a second round hits the vest in the vicinity of the first, the second round goes right through it. (For it to be truly “bullet proof”, it would have to be made out of 3/8" plate metal and weigh about 100 pounds.)
When was the last time one of you stood in temperatures of 100+ degrees wearing an extra 30 pounds of clothing? Unless it was 70 degrees or less, we didn’t wear our flack vests anyway.
Do I agree with everything this administration has done in regards to this war? Emphatically, NO! After Saddam was unseated from power, the administration listened to the Pentagon and sent in the Reserves and National Guard. Without taking anything away from their ACTUAL duties and responsibilities, most of them are not qualified to fight a cold much less a war! They have NOT had the proper training nor do they have the inherent skills required to fight. (Hence the word “guard”.) In a lot of their cases, they saw a means of income without having to risk their lives and still have the ability to wave their patriotism in the faces of America.
You have the right to express YOUR opinion. And I have, and would again, fight for your right to express it. But as I see it, you and your opinion are part of the problem, not the solution.
When the World Trade Center was bombed the first two times, what was done about it? What did you have to say about it?
The world was told, twice, that if it was done again, we would slap their hands. You said, good job Mr. (Cigar-sniffing, I’ll sell our nuclear secrets to the Chinese) President. And now we have to endure the shame of the deaths of so many in the Twin Towers.
We in the military have enough doubts about why we are somewhere we don’t want to be. We don’t need any assistance from those of you who are reasons for panty liners. We need to know that you support what we are doing! If you can’t manage to do that, go to the voting booths and elect the ever popular, and all knowing, Michael Moore. He apparently has ALL the answers to America’s woes, although he has not lifted even one finger, or donated one of his hard earned dollars to help it.
Sincerely,
1st Sergeant
USMC Retired
I've read more detailed & accurate
With all due respect you no more speak for all military as those who in veterans groups speak for you. Veterans and their families all over the country are speaking out.
"Combat Veterans Speak Out In Opposition"
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/7472
http://www.vaiw.org/vet/index.php
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/
"Tapping reserve pool no way to run Army"
http://www.masslive.com/editorials/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1088842935195190.xml
"For Vietnam Vet Anthony Zinni, Another War on Shaky Territory"
http://www.amenusa.org/iraq130.htm
From one of the most respected commanders: Zinni writes: "In the lead up to the Iraq war and its later conduct, I saw at a minimum, true dereliction, negligence and irresponsibility, at worse, lying, incompetence and corruption."
>>>To say that our military is being sent off to fight without the proper equipment or resources, is obviously being said by someone who has never been shot at.<<<
Actually the people who are saying that HAVE been shot at and HAVe served their country, and the people who are currently being shot at have asked their families to send them life saving vests over.
>>>When the World Trade Center was bombed the first two times, what was done about it? What did you have to say about it?<<<
I don't think many people had a problem supporting the decision to go into Afghanistan in which osama was supported and lived and trained his saudi killers. Sad to say we still haven't caught osama bin laden.
edited to add that any attempt to discredit me personally as not having a valid ability to discuss the concerns of those in the military will not change the content of the words coming out of the mouths of military commanders, enlisted men and women, veterans and families of military.
Edited 7/5/2004 12:07 pm ET ET by alfreda_iv
With all due respect your articles and those few military people out of 4+ million do not speak for everyone either.
As far as the flak jackets or bullet proof vest are concerned - you obviously do not understand how they work and still don't even though someone who has worn them explained it to you. People can send those items over to Iraq all they want but it doesn't mean they are always being worn. As he explained that when your in temp of 100 or more degrees the last thing one wants is more equipment on. To begin with they already have quite a bit of equipment on. This does not mean that everyone is of the same opinion. He was there in the 1st Gulf War for the entire time so apparently he does know what he is talking about whether you or anyone else likes it.
It's funny that you critisize someone who has actually been in Iraq and understands the situtation. You throw articles out like they are rightous and just. While it apparently sounds like you have never been in the military or experience what it is like to be a veteren. Nor have you yourself fought in a war - (assumed based on past posts). Just because people write a bunch of articles critisizing the war, the military and the government does not mean they are speaking for the entire military nor the entire government. Even those who are in the military are not speaking for the entire military. Neither was my husband - only giving another perspective based on his own experiences.
Until you experience the military in war and peace time you have little justifiction for your critics other than what you read or hear from a small minority of people.
Zinni has plenty of experience, I would say his opinion is extremely relevent, as well as many others in major veteran organizations, people I know personally and those who have families in the military etc. Funny how one of the most respected commanders is just dismissed as one of those articles from a minority.
alfreda
edited to add: By the way I made no references to the experiences of another posters personal or professional life.
Edited 7/5/2004 2:08 pm ET ET by alfreda_iv
yet all just about all these people didn't serve, so I guess they don't understand either.
"Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert - avoided the draft, did not serve.
Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey - avoided the draft, did not serve.
House Majority Leader Tom Delay - avoided the draft, did not serve House Majority Whip Roy Blunt - did not serve
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist - did not serve.
Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, R-KY - did not serve (1)
Rick Santorum, R-PA, third ranking Republican in the Senate - did not serve.
Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott - avoided the draft, did not serve.
Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld - served in the U.S. Navy (1954-57) as an aviator and flight instructor. (1) Served as President Reagan's Special Envoy to the Middle East and met with Saddam Hussein twice in 1983 and 1984.
GW Bush Nat'l Guard -no deployment, no combat
VP Cheney -didn't serve
Att'y Gen. John Ashcroft - did not serve
Jeb Bush, Florida Governor - did not serve.
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