The DISH
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Volume 7 Issue 32…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…August 13, 2004
Venue for an Artist
Accidental
Terrorist
By Unknown US Soldier
in Iraq
Enlisted in the ranks
under king George II
Trained as a
peacekeeper but terror is my weapon
Superior tech-threat
the enemy cowers
In mud huts and holy
towers
Watching CNN with
xenophobic fear
Mecca’s bought on
Wall Street
as proud imperialists
cheer
Who wants to marry a
millionaire
on real world
Baghdad?
There will be no
Ramadan this year
I’m a mercenary that
kills for college tuition
A time-honored family
tradition
A floatation device
for the working class man
Trade a picket fence
for blood soaked sand
I’ll learn to hate
the Arab face
Like a taint among
the human race
Prejudice claims
another soul
At the end of the
bullet’s trace
Hitler reborn in a
bigot’s cause
The SS rally under
Patriot laws
Media scandal, vote
Nazi for four more
Write a check to the
Federal Reserve
and celebrate the
spread of war
Ignore education,
the environment and
the national debt
It’s Super Bowl time,
plug into the TV set
While I waste my time,
my tears, my life
As my words never
leave the Internet.
About Me: Written by an unknown US soldier in Iraq. Posted at www.bringthemhomenow.com/, this poem expresses the sentiment of many of those fighting a war of choice, rather than need. These warriors belatedly recognize the motivating forces behind the conflict are oil and old-fashion greed.
Shallow Sovereignty: Growing
Terrorists
On Friday, August 8, 2004, George W. Bush addressed Unity: Journalists of Color
Conference held in Washing, DC. Following his comments, Bush answered some
questions, which included the meaning of sovereignty as it relates to Native
Americans. Breaking the cardinal rule of definitions, Bush awkwardly tried to
define sovereignty by repeatedly using the word. Of course, his explanation was
as clear as mud.
Bush's inability to define what the term means for a nation and its people
could explain its absence in the June hand-over of sovereignty to Iraq.
Unbiased reviews by a number of think tanks, including International Forum on
Globalization (IFG), show an abysmal lack of Iraqi control over their country.
Antonia Juhasz, Project Director at IFG, explains in "The Hand-Over That
Wasn't" why more than 130,000 US troops, US control of reconstruction
funds and the 100 orders issued by Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition
Provisional Authority, and enacted by the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council
negate the possibility of Iraqi sovereignty. The Bremer orders "control
every aspect of Iraqi life from the use of car horns to the privatization of
state-owned enterprises." These orders fixed the corporate and income tax
rate and allow foreign entities to control up to 50% of Iraqi banks.
With foreigners in control of their economy, millions of Iraqis remain
unemployed with few prospects of future employment. These idle workers are
primary recruits for the growing resistance to the ongoing US occupation.
Rather than the promise of sovereignty, freedom and democracy, the Iraq people
face more death and destruction. For more about Bremer's orders and shallow
sovereignty, visit www.ifg.org.
Mujahideen: Freedom
Fighters/Terrorists?
The last Afghan king, Mohammed Zahir Shah, ruled the mountainous nation from
1933-1973. Lt. Gen. Sadar Mohammed Daud Khan, leader of the 1973 coup, became
president and prime minister of the new republic. His repressive rule ended
with the 1978 coup led by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA).
Committed to favorable land reform for the poor, trade union rights, and
expansion of education and social services, equality for women, separation of
church and state, and strengthening ties with the Soviet Union, the PDPA
enraged wealthy landlords, Muslim religious leaders and tribal chiefs. These
factions immediately began organizing resistance to the government's
progressive policies under the guise defending Islam.
Fearing the spread of Soviet influence, the US immediately offered to support
the Afghan contras. On July 3, 1979, President Jimmy Carter signed the first
directive to aid the freedom fighters. On December 24, 1979, thousands of
Soviet troops entered the country to prevent the government's fall. The Soviet
action solidified support for the "national liberation."
Between 1978 and 1992, the US spent at least $6 billion or as much as $20
billion supporting the Afghan contras or mujahideen, warriors fighting
to defend fellow Muslims. Also aiding the effort in recruiting, training and
arming these warriors was other Western governments, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Afghanistan became the Soviet Unions Vietnam.
Out of this conflict arose Saudi militant Osama bin Laden, a scion of the
wealthy bin Laden family. He helped organize Maktab al-Kahidamat
(MAK), a recruiting service, through which funds and arms were distributed to
the contras. MAK, a front for Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence Directorate
(ISI), received the bulk of CIA and Saudi Arabian covert assistance.
By 1989, bin Laden controlled MAK operations. The CIA was fully aware of his
activities and those of the other promising guerillas, including mujahideen
leader Gulbuddin Hakmatyar. Known for throwing acid in the face of women that
refused to wear the veil, Hekmatyar was also known for trafficking in opium.
Like the US occupation of Afghanistan today, the CIA backing of the mujahideen
coincided with explosive growth in the production and sale of opium in the
region.
Nearly a decade after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the mujahideen forced
the USSR to withdraw. In 1992, the mujahideen captured the capital, Kabul.
Departing Soviet troops left behind an arsenal of sophisticated weaponry and
thousands of seasoned Islamic warriors. These Afghan war veterans form the core
members of al-Qaeda (or al-Qa'ida, pronounced al-KYE-da), which means "the
base" in Arabic.
Bin Laden is credited with establishing al-Qaeda around 1988 as a multi-national
support group for Islamic freedom fighters and/or militants. Since the 1990s,
al-Qaeda has been credited with numerous acts of terrorism, including 9-11. Bin
Laden has issued several "fatwahs" or religious decrees
calling upon Muslims to take up arms against the United States for its role in
the Middle East conflict and virtual occupation of Saudi Arabia through a
network of military bases.
In 1996, fighting among the various mujahideen factions led to the creation of
the Taliban, which seized control of much of Afghanistan, outside the Northern
Alliances northeastern strongholds. (Sources: www.infoplease.com,
www.cia.gov, www.globalresearch.ca,
and www.ict.org.il/)
FFX: Acaustic Dames
If it's Sunday, Free Form X-Change (FFX) is happening at Apache Café. Hosted by
Yohannes Sharriff, Atlanta's hottest spoken word artist, FFX rocks, featuring a
talented assortment of acts that span the artistic spectrum from the visual
delights of dance with African drum with accompaniment to voice a capella.
This Sunday, FFX presents Acaustic Dames' Feed the Hungry and Homeless
Campaign. To assist in this worthy effort, FFX will be collection
non-perishable foodstuffs, i.e., canned goods, etc., clothing and toys for
residents of local homeless shelters. On any given day, there are an estimated
15,000 people living on the streets of Atlanta, Georgia. Many are families with
small children. You can help the homeless! Raid the pantry and closet; do not
forget toys for the children. For your generous donations, Acaustic Dames will
perform cuts from their new album "Estrogen Glitter."
Every third Sunday of the month is Ladies' Night. This Sunday all ladies are
admitted free before 9:30 PM. Doors open @ 8:30 PM. Sign up for the open mic.
Come early and plan to stay late. The Apache Café is located at 64 3rd
Street in Midtown Atlanta. For more information, log onto www.freeformxchange.com.
USA on Lock-Down
Deep Cover Operative (DCO), Peep City Barnabus has been a fly on the wall in
several highly secret meetings. His covert activities have provided The
DISH many valuable dispatches including "Enron Around VP" (The
DISH Vol. 5 No 2), regarding Dick Cheney's possible exit from the Bush
2004 ticket, and Iraq's urban insurgency plan following the US "shock and
awe" campaign, "What Price Iraqi Oil?" (The DISH
Vol. 5 No 40) Amidst confusion involving
a dispatch from Crawford, TX, "Stranger than Fiction" (The
DISH Vol. 6 No 33), Barnabus disappeared from radar. Amazingly, an
unscathed Barnabus has resurfaced without preamble in the most unlikely of
places.
This time, stranger than a "Bourne Conspiracy" thriller, Peep City
escaped his pursuers in a shipment of illegal arms bound for the Middle East.
His dispatch said the arms surreptitiously went to an al-Qaeda cell. Learning
many things while posing as a gun runner, most startling and difficult to
believe but impossible to dismiss, Peep City claims, al-Qaeda quickly learned
and adjusted after its drubbing in Afghanistan.
Barnabus surmised that al-Qaeda picked up on Bush's tendency to "cherry
pick" information while relying exclusively on exiles and captured
operatives for intelligence. According to Peep City, al-Qaeda designed a
disinformation strategy using planted ciphers and computers to feed the US
bogus data and fake plans. The strategy was designed to see how the US
responded by keeping the US on high alert; al-Qaeda hoped to increase stress
and reduce the sense of urgency. Simultaneously, allowing al-Qaeda to study US
defensive responses, it would create uncertainty and complacency when nothing
happened. It is then al-Qaeda believes the US will be most vulnerable.
A stunning scenario, if terrorists actually are smart enough to lead the
world's sole superpower around by the nose, the United States is in serious
trouble. Distrust abounds over the US Homeland Security alert placing New York
City, New Jersey and Washington, DC on lock-down, coupled with the expenditure
of millions of dollars to continue WMD lies, how does one know what to take
seriously? Believing and reacting at al-Qaeda's ciphers with lock-down alerts
is like a tiger chasing its tail. Deja vu Manchurian Candidate! The
DISH's money is on Peep City.
Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL)
"Don't think you're going to be heroes. You're not going there because
of weapons of mass destruction. You're not going there to get rid of Saddam
Hussein, or to make Iraq safe for democracy. You're going there for one reason
and one reason alone: Oil." - Battery sergeant's address to all
enlisted men that were part of the original March invasion.
The above quote comes from "The Writing on the Latrine Walls" by
William Rivers Pitt. The complete essay can be accessed at www.truthout.org/docs_04/080904A.shtml.
Pitt's essay recalls for the education of his readers the roadmap designed by
the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) for US control of the Middle
East and its oil and the astute observations of a Reuter’s photographer that
spent six months in Iraq.
The invasion of Iraq to control its oil resources and the building of permanent
military bases, which are important planks in PNAC's Middle East plans, have
been accomplished. Rather than protecting Iraqi citizens, the US military
guards the convoys carrying supplies and empty tankers for the oil fields. And,
instead of building Iraqi infrastructure, the billions of dollars earmarked for
rebuilding Iraq is being spent building US military bases.
While the biggest contractor in Iraq, Halliburton, gets richer, the morale of
US soldiers plummets. Forbidden to address the media and conditioned not to
discuss the situation among themselves, the Reuters photographer found a font
of information about "how they really feel - - all anti-Bush stuff, all
wanting to go home - in the writing on shithouse walls."
Transitions are rarely easy. This definitely
applies to the change from elementary to middle school for the Dark
Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro. Going from walking to a neighborhood
elementary school to catching a school bus to middle school, from having a
single teacher to changing classes and multiple instructors, the first few days
have been filled with trials and tribulations. When asked for his first
impression, the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro said, "I hope I don't board the wrong
bus again."
Conspiracy.Com: What Could the People Do?
An email from Conspiracy.com paints a horribly frightening picture of America's
future. It theorizes that following the 2000 coup d'etat perpetrated by the US
Supreme Court and 9-11, neocons decided that it was their time to run the
world.
Unlike those who believe the terror warnings are designed to scare Americans,
conspiracy.com believes they are designed to test the subtle infrastructure
neocons have put in place in case controlling the outcome of the 2004
presidential election should the Electoral College fail to deliver. Americans
already on lock-down with massive military presence will be less likely to
protest when Bush declares martial law. A national emergency will justify
postponing the November 2 election, which will keep Bush in the White House
indefinitely.
Conspiracy.com points to the old and unsubstantiated information of a new
threat from only about 20,000 so-called terrorists worldwide that caused the
strongest nation in the world to place New York City (est. pop. 8 million), New
Jersey (est. pop. 8 million) and Washington, DC (est. pop. ½ million) on
lock-down. New York looks like a field exercise designed to control the
movement of Americans not foreign terrorists.
Consider, with the courts in his pocket, the Commander-in-Chief has already
ordered the military into action. Once martial law has been declared, what can
the people do? The Patriot Act has silenced dissent. The media are definitely
gung-ho in expressing support of Bush's actions. Congress is cowed and with a
new Intelligence Czar, America is "Guantanamo!"
Disgruntled wants to know:
For years, we have been arguing that legacy, which awards admission points
to prospective students whose parents or grandparents attended the college or
university, is an unearned advantage. Worse than affirmative action, legacy
establishes a quota system for the privileged class, especially whites, that
could attend college when color locked blacks out. In response to questioning
about legacy, George W. Bush, who could only attend Yale because his daddy went
there, agreed the practice should be abolished. Now, the question remains, what
will the Bush administration do to rectify the situation?
Disgruntled says:
At the Journalists of Color Conference, George W. Bush was asked about the
absence of tax relief for those burdened by payroll taxes. Bush succinctly
responded that he chose to focus on income taxes, rather than payroll taxes,
out of concern for the solvency of Social Security. Since time and opportunity
for follow-ups were limited, no one pressed Bush on the fact that the Social
Security surplus was used to offset or in part helped finance the tax cut that
disproportionately favored the wealthy.
Disgruntled feels: Vindicated! For
months, the misery index has indicated the economic recovery is weak or
non-existent. Unemployment among black adults is double digits. The rate for
teens has reached historic levels. The costs of energy and food are rising.
Rent is off the charts in most urban areas. The ranks of the homeless are
growing, while real wages are declining. The recently released weak job growth
numbers simply reflect the anemic economic conditions on the ground.
Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and
Telephone Calls
Email ImpeachSonOfaBush@yahoogroups.com
In response to Bush's appointment of Jay Garner, the initial Iraqi interim
military governor, Robert Novak wrote, "Nothing has so demonstrated to
Arabs their political impotence than Rumsfeld's selection of retired Lt. Gen.
Jay Garner as Iraq's interim military governor. Now a defense contractor, he
helped develop the Arrow missile-defense system for Israel. After the September
11 terrorist attacks, Garner visited Israel as guest of the hard-line Jewish
Institute for National Security Affairs and signed that organization's letter
praising Sharons' treatment of Palestinians."
Email ranger116@webtv.net What kind of
terrorist threat will George's handlers cook up to cancel the Bush/Kerry
Presidential Election Debate? There is no way they will let Scrub show his few
backers how incompetent he is in a debate with Kerry! Also, we should do
everything possible to stop him from wearing a radio receiver in the debate or
at least make sure it is headline news if he does.
Email doggone001@aol.com Pres. Bush has
repeatedly said, given what he knows today, he would still attack Iraq.
Intellectually challenged, that kind of bulldog determination to proceed ahead
in the face of contradictory facts does not speak will of his learning curve.
Too bad his life is not defending those lies.
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