Iraq wants to revoke private security firm Blackwater’s license to operate in Iraq after Blackwater guards fired indiscriminately at a civilian crowd, killing eleven.
Since the US invasion, some 80,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed as a direct result of the violence. Iraq should revoke George Bush’s license to kill, don’t you think? Or maybe that’s up to us…
Did you know that we’re in a state of national emergency? Neither did I, but that’s apparently been the case since September 14, 2001.
This notice appeared on the White House website yesterday:
Notice: Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Certain Terrorist Attacks
Consistent with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency I declared on September 14, 2001 . . .
Because the terrorist threat continues, the national emergency declared on September 14, 2001, last extended on September 5, 2006, and the powers and authorities adopted to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond September 14, 2007. Therefore, I am continuing in effect for an additional year the national emergency I declared on September 14, 2001, with respect to the terrorist threat.
This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.
GEORGE W. BUSH
The real emergency, of course, arises from ”the powers and authorities adopted” (arrogated) by this President.
Iran sure got a lot of attention during General Petraeus’ report to Congress today. The claim, of course, is that Iran is supporting insurgents in Iraq who are carrying out attacks against US troops. If true (and who knows?), that alone would put Iran on W’s morally-acceptable-to-bomb list.
Iran was also the topic of an article in today’s New York Times: “Iranian Raises Possibility of an Intrusion Into Iraq.” By golly, those Iranians are just asking for it, aren’t they? Actually, it turns out the Iranians are claiming the right to ”hot pursuit” of Kurdish guerrillas who have been carrying out attacks inside Iran from bases in Iraq.
In other words, they’re claiming the exact same right the Americans have claimed to enter Iran.
If you make your way to the thirteenth paragraph of this article (eleventh page) – which is about a conference among Iraq, Iran, and most of the other states in the region — if you read that far, you will find this little tidbit:
The group that has claimed responsibility for the attacks [inside Iran], called Pezak or Pejak for its acronym, is believed to be made up mainly of Iranian Kurds seeking autonomy for Kurds in Iran. Asked specifically about that group, Mr. Baqiri [Iraq’s deputy foreign minister] stated publicly what Iranian officials have been claiming privately for months: that the United States supports the group.
This support, Mr. Baqiri said, amounted to a “double standard” in American policy, given that the United States has repeatedly accused Iran of exporting deadly roadside bombs to Iraq and supporting armed groups here.
There will be a tremendous amount of focus on Iran in the wake of the Petraeus report. I’m willing to bet you even money that US support for the groups attacking Iranian troops inside their own country will get little or no attention.
How can I be sure so sure? A double standard is standard operating procedure when it comes to US foreign policy. It says so right there in the New York Times.
Page eleven. If you look for it, you’ll find it. Eventually.
Just in case this doesn’t get major attention in the corporate media, according to the Sydney Morning Herald today, Bush gave a really upbeat assessment of where things stand in Iraq:
“We’re kicking ass,” he told Mark Vaile on the tarmac after the Deputy Prime Minister inquired politely of the President’s stopover in Iraq en route to Sydney. [article]
According to Iraq Body Count, we’ve kicked the asses of about 75,000 Iraqi civilians. Heckuva job, Decider.
