Recommended
http://www.ddh.nl/pipermail/wereldcrisis/2002-October/003148.html
A Dutch messageboard called Wereldcrisis
Post giving excerpts from various books, describing how the CIA was involved in the assassination of Iraqi president Abdul Karim Kassim in 1963. The Baath party took the reins of power, leading eventually to the presidency of Saddam Hussein in 1979. One of the books quoted is Out of the Ashes, The Resurrection of Saddam Hussein, 2000 by Andrew and Patrick Cockburn.
http://www.ddh.nl/pipermail/wereldcrisis/2003-December/004676.html
A Dutch messageboard called Wereldcrisis
Article by Michael Moore entitled We Finally Got Our Frankenstein (Dec. 14th 2003).
http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/news/ntm24663.htm
Alexander's Gas & Oil Connections
Analysis of Iraq's resources, including oil and gas. Contains population data also. (Oct. 24 2002). The home page is http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/main.htm, and gives links to oil data and news from around the world, including Central Asia.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16274
Alternet.org
Ten Appalling Lies We Were Told About Iraq (Christopher Scheer, June 27th 2003). At-a-glance summary of all those lies, including the aluminium tubes, the faked Niger uranium invoices and more.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15778
Alternet.org - http://www.alternet.org
MSNBC's Banfield Slams War Coverage: transcript of speech given by MSNBC correspondent Ashleigh Banfield on April 24 2003. Comments about media coverage of the Iraq war. Mentions criticism she received from MSNBC colleague for talking with Al -Aqsa Martyrs Brigade.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15867
Alternet.org - http://www.alternet.org
Article by Ben Tripp entitled The Other 'F' Word (May 9 2003). What makes George W Bush's government fascist: rampant nationalism and a concentration of power in the hands of an elite.
http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFreeMain.cfm
American Civil Liberties Union
http://www.antiwar.com/orig/browne28.html
Antiwar.com
The libertarian argument against the war in Iraq, in a nutshell.
http://www.antiwar.com/ips/lobe100603.html
Antiwar.com
Article by Jim Lobe entitled Washington APlame, or The Lady's Not for Burning (Oct. 6th 2003). Speculation about who "outed" Valerie Plame, the CIA officer and wife of diplomat Joseph Wilson. Wilson is the man who published an article in the New York Times in July 2003, alleging that the White House must have known that reports of Iraq's purchase of uranium were false when Bush cited them in his State of the Union speech in Jan. 2003. Within a week of the NYT article being published, calls were made to various journalists about Plame's identity; of these journalists, one (Robert Novak of the Washington Post) named Plame in print. Who made these calls? A prime suspect is Karl Rove, Bush's top political advisor and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Dick Cheney's chief of staff. The White House is trying to backtrack, by claiming that Plame is an "analyst" rather than a covert officer (does this remind anyone of how the British government tried to claim that David Kelly was just a middle ranking civil servant rather than a senior MOD official?)
http://www.arabmediawatch.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=20
Arab Media Watch - http://www.arabmediawatch.com
Article by FAIR's Seth Ackerman entitled Withholding the News: The Washington Post and the UNSCOM Spying Scandal (March/April 1999). Allegations by Iraq that UNSCOM was spying, which only came to light because they were leaked by Kofi Annan's staff, even though the Washington Post had known about these allegations as well. (Once rival paper the Boston Globe published the story, then so too did the Washington Post.) Up until then, the Post withheld the story at the request of the US government on the grounds of national security.
http://www.arabmediawatch.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=161
Arab Media Watch - http://www.arabmediawatch.com
Media myths concerning the 2003 Gulf War (March 21 2003). Features sections entitled: Iraq And Weapons of Mass Destruction; Iraq's Threat To The Region And To The United States; Iraq And Al-Qaeda; Liberating The People of Iraq - Regime Change; Humanitarian Consequences Of The War In Iraq; Ready To Go - The Oil Is Ripe For The Taking; The US Economy; Domestic Security; At Risk: US Soldiers And The Environment; The Risks Of Regional Instability; The Price Of This War: Our Freedom; Big Problems And Even Bigger Solutions: A More Humane Global Policy.
http://www.arabmediawatch.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=23
Arab Media Watch - http://www.arabmediawatch.com
Media Myths: Exit of the UN weapons inspectors in December 1998. Describes how Richard Butler, the Executive Chairman of UNSCOM, pulled inspectors out of Iraq in 1998, saying that Iraq had failed to grant UNSCOM full and unconditional access to at least four sites in Iraq. Iraq, in turn, claimed that the inspectors had been too intrusive, especially in their attempts to search "presidential sites" without prior notice. They also accused the inspectors of spying. Iraq did not expel the inspectors, as was subsequently reported.
http://www.arabmediawatch.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=21
Arab Media Watch - http://www.arabmediawatch.com
"Media Myths: All Iraq needs to do is comply with weapons inspectors" (Feb. 23 2003).
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/DK06Ak01.html
Asia Times
Article by Tom Barry entitled "Flawed Blueprint For 'War For Peace' Doctrine. Mentions PNAC & Committee on the Present Danger. Tom Barry is a senior analyst at the Interhemispheric Resource Center and a co-director of Foreign Policy in Focus.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ED10Ak04.html
Asia Times Online - http://www.atimes.com
Article by Pepe Escobar entitled The Iraqi Killing Fields (April 10 2003). Describes targetting of independent journalists by US forces.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2751019.stm
BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk
Text of audio message broadcast - allegedly by Osama bin Laden - on al-Jazeera on Feb. 11 2003. Calls on Iraqis to rise up against America if it invades Iraq. This was cited by Colin Powell as evidence that bin Laden was in league with Saddam Hussein, but later on in the message bin Laden describes Saddam as a "socialist" and an "infidel".
http://www.beholdtheempire.com/gulf/articles/article5.html
Behold The Empire
Interview with Beth Osborne Daponte, the demographer who was dismissed from her job in the US Commerce Dept. because she contradicted Dick Cheney about estimating the number of casualties from Gulf War I (Feb. 6th 2003).
http://www.benjaminforiraq.org/contaminazione/INA-Depleted%20Uranium%20.htm
Benjamin For Iraq
Study on the effect of depleted uranium on cancer rates in different parts of Iraq following Gulf War I.
http://www.bushflash.com/
Bushflash.com
Anti-Bush site.
http://www.bushwatch.net/bushmoney.htm
Bushwatch - http://www.bushwatch.net
The URL says it all, really. Mentions the Carlyle Group and the Bush - bin Laden connection. Talks about the Carlyle Group's ties with the defence industry. Mentions United Defense Industries (part of Carlyle's portfolio), and Carlyle's giving of financial advice to the Saudi government. Questions whether Osama bin Laden's family have truly cut him off.
http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/2002/12/11_Oil.html
Buzzflash.com - http://www.buzzflash.com
Article by Margie Burns entitled Oil Is Only One Agenda, Not The Only Agenda (Dec. 11 2002). Critique of article by Daniel Yergin in the Washington Post (Dec. 8 2002), in which he argues against oil as a motive for the Iraqi invasion.
http://www.casi.org.uk/reader/
Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq
The CASI Iraq reader. Contains links to various UN Security Council resolutions, plus articles background articles.
http://www.casi.org.uk/discuss/1999/msg00246.html
Campaign for the Abolition of Sanctions in Iraq - http://www.casi.org.uk
Post to message board about The Lancet's assessment of the health risk associated with depleted uranium. Estimates that at least 40 tonnes of DU were dispersed in Kuwait and Iraq as a result of Gulf War I. The death rate per 1,000 Iraqi children under 5 years of age increased from 2.3 in 1989 to 16.6 in 1993.
http://www.casi.org.uk/discuss/2000/msg00113.html
Campaign for the Abolition of Sanctions in Iraq - http://www.casi.org.uk
Post to message board about Human Rights Watch's position on Iraq sanctions. Discussion about who is legally responsible for the consequences of sanctions against Iraq.
http://www.casi.org.uk/discuss/2000/msg00113.html
Campaign for the Abolition of Sanctions in Iraq - http://www.casi.org.uk
Message to CASI board about the legality of sanctions against Iraq. Mentions bombings against Iraq.
http://www.casi.org.uk/discuss/1999/msg00005.html
Campaign for the Abolition of Sanctions in Iraq - http://www.casi.org.uk
Message about April Glaspie, the UN Ambassador to Baghdad at the time of the first Gulf war.
http://www.cato.org/pubs/fpbriefs/fpb50.pdf
Cato Institute
Briefing by Ivan Eland entitled Does US Intervention Overseas Breed Terrorism? (17th Dec. 1998).
http://www.cato.org/dailys/03-05-03.html
Cato Institute - http://www.cato.org
Article by Gene Healy entitled "Why Hussein Will Not Give Weapons of Mass Destruction to Al Qaeda" (5th March 2003).
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/10/14/60II/printable577975.shtml
CBS News
Article by Scott Pelley entitled The Man Who Knew (15th Oct. 2003). Describes interview with Greg Thielmann, a former expert on Iraq WMD, who says that the "evidence" that Colin Powell gave in his address to the UN was a misrepresentation of the facts, and that before 9/11, Powell had said that Saddam had "not developed any significant capability in weapons of mass destruction". Pelley's article then goes on to say "But Thielmann also says that he believes the decision to go to war was made first, and then the intelligence was interpreted to fit that conclusion."
http://www.channel4.com/news/2003/special_reports/pnacletter.html
Channel 4
Copy of letter sent by PNAC to President Clinton on Jan. 26 1998 urging him to remove Saddam Hussein from power.
http://www.channel4.com/apps26/news/news_story.jsp?storyId=342582
Channel 4 TV - http://www.channel4.com
Article entitled More MPs Vote Against Blair (March 18 2003). Survival of Tony Blair after revolt by Labour MPs, during which 217 MPs voted against the government's stance on Iraq. "Tony Blair has won Commons backing for war against Iraq but at the personal cost of another huge backbench rebellion. Up to 139 Labour MPs are believed to have voted against the Prime Minister's hardline stance on Iraq, despite a day of arm-twisting by the whips. . . The rebel cross-party amendment, insisting the case for war had not yet been established, was defeated by 396 votes to 217, Government majority 179. But the scale of support for it served as another severe setback for Mr Blair after the resignation of three ministers, including Commons leader Robin Cook, over military action against Saddam Hussein."
http://www.clamormagazine.org/features/issue14.3_feature.html
Clamor Magazine - http://www.clamormagazine.org
Description of Prescott Bush's links to the Nazis (not perhaps relevant to the current Iraq situation but interesting nonetheless). Describes how, through Union Banking Corporation, Prescott Bush, George Herbert Walker and Fritz Thyssen financed Hitler before and during WWII. There's an interesting passage about how in 1934 the Polish government was planning to take over Consolidated Silesian Steel (one third of which was owned by Averell Harriman, co-owner with Prescott Bush of a holding company called The Harriman 15 Corp). The reason for the proposed Polish government take-over was "rampant mismanagement, excessive borrowing, fictitious bookkeeping and gambling in securities". During WWII Consolidated Silesian Steel Corp was sold to UBC, under the control of Harriman and the management of Prescott Bush. The company employed Jews as slave labour.
http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/12/iraq.resolutions/index.html
CNN - http://www.cnn.com
Short descriptions of UN resolutions 687 (1991), 1205 (1998) and 1284 (1999).
http://money.cnn.com/2003/05/11/news/companies/halliburton_iraq/index.htm
CNN.com
Article entitled Senators Critical of Halliburton (May 11th 2003). Describes the award of a contract worth up to $7 billion to Kellogg, Brown and Root (a subsidiary of Halliburton) for reconstruction/operation of oilfields in Iraq. The contract is open-ended (i.e. it runs indefinitely) and was awarded without competitive bidding.
http://cjr.org/year/93/2/iraqgate.asp
Columbia Journalism Review
Article by Russ W Baker entitled Iraqgate: The Big One That (Almost) Got Away; Who Chased It - And Who Didn't. Describes how George Bush Sr, "operating largely behind the scenes throughout the 1980s, initiated and supported much of the financing, intelligence, and military help that built Saddam's Iraq into the aggressive power that the United States ultimately had to destroy."
http://www.cjr.org/year/03/3/macarthur.asp
Columbia Journalism Review
Article by John R MacArthur entitled The Lies We Bought: The Unchallenged "Evidence" For War (May/June 2003 ed.). Summary of the disinformation used by the Bush and Blair administrations to persuade people that Saddam Hussein was building a nuclear arsenal.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1109-11.htm
Common Dreams
Article by Eric Rosenberg entitled Rumsfeld Retreats, Disclaims Earlier Rhetoric (9th Nov. 2003). Quotes from Donald Rumsfeld before and after the war in Iraq.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0708-06.htm
Common Dreams
Article by George Monbiot entitled Our Fake Patriots (8th July 2003). Subtitled "Britain is fast becoming Bush's doormat - so why isn't the British right saying a word?"
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1117-10.htm
Common Dreams
Article by Chalmers Johnson entitled Assassins Are Us (17th Nov. 2003). Describes the Pentagon's creation of a new "task force" composed of U.S. Army Special Forces troops, which is designed to carry out special operations on "high value targets".
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0225-03.htm
Common Dreams - http://www.commondreams.org
Article by Ralph Ranalli entitled Judge Rejects Lawsuit to Block War Against Iraq (Feb. 25 2003). Description of unsuccessful lawsuit filed against President Bush and Donald Rumsfeld by a group of US soldiers, parents of soldiers and US House members to stop Bush from launching a war against Iraq without Congressional approval.
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0131-01.htm
Common Dreams - http://www.commondreams.org
Article by Thom Hartmann entitled If You Want To Win An Election, Just Control The Voting Machines. Description of how Nebraska Republican Chuck Hagel's election as a US Senator *might* just have something to do with the fact that he was once head of, and still retains part interest in, the company that owns the company that "installed, programmed and largely ran the voting machines that were used by most of the citizens of Nebraska."
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0507-02.htm
Common Dreams - http://www.commondreams.org
Article by James C Moore entitled Karl Rove: Counting Votes While the Bombs Drop. Discusses the influence of George W Bush's chief strategist Karl Rove. More information available on http://www.famoustexans.com/karlrove.htm.
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0915-04.htm
Common Dreams - http://www.commondreams.org
Article by Eric Margolis from the Toronto Sun entitled Saddam's Nukes Are A Western Myth. Mentions that the original 1990 UN resolution authorising military action to evict Iraq from Kuwait had an article that called for the Security Council to immediately start _regional_ nuclear arms control and disarmament (i.e. not just Iraq, but other countries in the Middle East, including Israel).
http://www.corpwatch.org/news/PND.jsp?articleid=1149
Corpwatch.org - http://www.corpwatch.org
Article by Patrick Martin entitled USA: Unocal Advisor Named Representative to Afghanistan (Jan. 3 2002). Bush's appointment of former Unocal aide as special envoy to Afghanistan. The envoy, Afghan-born Zalmay Khalilzad, is involved in "long-running US efforts to obtain direct access to the oil and gas resources of the region . . . believed to be the second largest in the world after the Persian Gulf."
http://www.counterpunch.org/madsen01312003.html
Counterpunch - http://www.counterpunch.org
Article by Wayne Madsen entitled Bush and Hitler: Compare and Contrast.
http://www.lumpen.com/coup2k/
Coup2K
Site describing the US 2000 election as a "coup d'etat".
http://www.crisispapers.org/Editorials/PNAC-Primer.htm
Crisis Papers
Article by Bernard Weiner entitled How We Got Into This Imperial Pickle: A PNAC Primer.
http://www.crisispapers.org/topics/scandals.htm
Crisis Papers
Selection of article excerpts, grouped together under the heading Iraq Scandals.
http://www.cspan.org/iraq/ritter.asp
Cspan - http://www.cspan.org
Text of Scott Ritter's address to the Iraqi Parliament on Sept. 8 2002. Recommends that Iraq allows the immediate and unconditional return of UN weapons inspectors. A quote: "My country seems on the verge of making a historical mistake, one that will forever change the political dynamic which has governed the world since the end of WWII; namely, the foundation of international law as set forth in the UN Charter. . . My government has set forth on a policy of unilateral intervention that runs contrary to the letter and intent of the UN Charter. The consequences of such action are not only dire in terms of their near-term consequences. . . but also in the long-term global destabilization that will result. . ."
http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/english/0,1518,236692,00.html
Der Spiegel - http://www.spiegel.de
Article by Hans Hoyng and Gerhard Spoerl entitled War Out Of Compassion (issue no. 8/2003). Describes how George W Bush's religious convictions have influenced his policies.
http://www.freep.com/news/nw/iraq/where17_20030417.htm
Detroit Free Press - http://www.freep.com
Article by Tamara Audi entitled Where's Saddam?: Arab Rumor Mill Says US Helped Him Disappear (April 17 2003). Allegations that there was a deal between Saddam and the US to get him out of the country.
http://nsarchive.chadwyck.com/igessayx.htm
Digital National Security Archive
Iraqgate: Saddam Hussein, US Policy and the Prelude to the Persian Gulf War, 1980-1994. Paper giving details of Reagan's economic assistance to Iraq.
http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Carlyle_Group
Disinfopedia.org
Entry on the Carlyle Group.
http://www.dominantstar.com/1p_bushjr.htm
Dominantstar.com - http://www.dominantstar.com
George W Bush's horoscope describing his "zones of intensity". Included for its curiosity value, which is all the more compelling when you consider that it was written in January 2001.
http://www.doublestandards.org/ina.html
Double Standards
Description of illnesses caused by depleted uranium left behind in Iraq after Gulf War I.
http://www.eetimes.com/sys/news/OEG20030522S0050
EETimes
Article by Loring Wirbel entitled U.S. 'Negation' Policy in Space Raises Concerns Abroad (May 22nd 2003). "The nation's largest intelligence agency by budget and in control of all U.S. spy satellites, NRO is talking openly with the U.S. Air Force Space Command about actively denying the use of space for intelligence purposes to any other nation at any time. . .not just adversaries, but even longtime allies, according to NRO director Peter Teets."
http://www.fair.org/activism/usat-iraq.html
Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting - http://www.fair.org/
Action Alert: USA Today Repeats Myths On Iraq Inspectors (Aug. 12 2002). Describes USA Today article (Aug. 8 2002) which states that "Iraq expelled UN weapons inspectors four years ago and accused them of being spies." In fact the inspectors were withdrawn by Richard Butler, the head of the inspections team, in anticipation of a military attack (this withdrawal happened in Dec. 1998). FAIR also says that the spying allegation is correct - the Washington Post (Jan. 8 1999) reported that "the UN arms inspectors helped collect eavesdropping intelligence used in American efforts to undermine the Iraqi regime."
http://falloutshelternews.com/BushHitlerLinks.html
Fallout Shelter News - http://falloutshelternews.com
List of links by Norman D Livergood showing analogies between George W Bush and Adolf Hitler.
http://www.famoustexans.com/georgewbush.htm
Famoustexans.com - http://www.famoustexans.com
Brief biog. of George W Bush.
http://tinyurl.com/74xx
Financial Times
Full text of Hans Blix's report to the UN Security Council on March 7 2003.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20030729.html
FindLaw's Legal Commentary
Article by John W Dean entitled The 9/11 Report Raises More Serious Questions About The White House Statements On Intelligence (July 29th 2003). Describes President Bush's refusal to submit one of the intelligence briefings he had before September 11th to the Joint Congressional Inquiry on 9-11.
http://www.fpif.org/commentary/0111hawk_body.html
Foreign Policy In Focus
Article by Jim Lobe entitled Hawks Take Aim At Iraq (Nov. 30th 2001). Describes how PNAC members within the US administration (e.g. Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney) began to lobby for war against Iraq in the immediate aftermath of September 11th.
http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2003/0302powell_body.html
Foreign Policy In Focus - http://www.fpif.org
Commentary by Phyllis Bennis entitled Powell's Dubious Case For War (Feb. 5 2003). Dismisses Colin Powell's claims of link between Al Qaeda and Iraq. Mentions Hans Blix's assertion that there was "no evidence" of mobile biological weapons labs and no evidence of Iraq hiding and moving WMD. Also mentions report in Washington Post (27/12/02) of detainees being roughed up by US authorities when being interrogated about Iraq/Al Qaeda links.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,51577,00.html
Fox News
Article entitled "Atta Didn't Meet With Iraqi Agent" (April 30 2002). States that Mohammed al Atta, the alleged leader of the nineteen hijackers on September 11th, didn't meet with an Iraqi agent in Prague in April 2001.
http://www.friendsjournal.org/contents/2003/04april/feature.html
Friends Journal - http://www.friendsjournal.org
Article by Charlie Clements entitled The Faces of Collateral Damage (April 2003). The effect of sanctions and the likely effect of a second Gulf war on public health in Iraq (at the time of writing, Iraq is not allowed to import the pesticides that control disease-bearing insects).
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB21/
George Washington University
Declassified National Security Documents describing American intentions and involvement in the Middle East. Span the years 1947 - 1991.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/guantanamo-bay.htm
Global Security
Description of the terrain and history of Guantanamo Bay.
http://www.hereinreality.com/carlyle.html
Here In Reality - http://www.hereinreality.com
Article on the Carlyle Group. Taken from article in Guardian by Oliver Burkeman and Julian Borger, Oct. 31, 2001, and another article in Red Herring (Jan. 8, 2002) by Dan Briodi.
http://www.hereinreality.com/insidertrading.html
Here In Reality - http://www.hereinreality.com
Article by Michael C Ruppert about alleged insider trading before September 11th. Subtitled CIA Executive Director "Buzzy" Krongard Managed Firm That Handled "Put" Options On United Airline Stock. The article alleges that the amount of United Airline put options bought immediately before Sept 11th was much higher than normal. (Apparently, the SEC replied that the level of put option dealing wasn't all that high after all.)
http://www.hermes-press.com/impintro1.htm
Hermes Press
Article by Norman D Livergood entitled The New US-British Oil Imperialism.
http://www.hermes-press.com/nazification_step3.htm
Hermes Press - http://www.hermes-press.com
Timelines comparing Hitler's rise to power with that of George W Bush. Subtitled The Nazification of America - talks about coup d'etats, electronic voting scams, September 11th, the Patriot Act, the Cyber Security Enhancement Act and civilian detention camps.
http://www.the-hutton-inquiry.org.uk/
Hutton Enquiry
Hutton Enquiry web site, with transcripts.
http://www.iknowwhatyoudidlastelection.com/bush-supreme-court.htm
I Know What You Did Last Election
A simple, easy to read description of the US Supreme Court's decision on the voting in Florida in the 2000 election.
http://www.impeach-bush-now.org/
Impeach Bush Campaign - http://www.impeach-bush-now.org/
Non-partisan campaign led by Prof. Francis Boyle of the University of Illinois.
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=23589
Indian Express
News item by Evelyn Leopold entitled US to Ask Approval to Control Iraq's Oil Industry (May 10th 2003). "UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States and Britain face Security Council members on Friday on their resolution that would end 12 years of U.N. sanctions against Iraq and give them control of the country's oil revenues for at least a year."
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/terror-qaeda.html
Infoplease.com - http://www.infoplease.com
Article by Laura Hayes entitled Al Qaeda: Osama bin Laden's Network of Terror. Details Al Qaeda connections in the Philippines, Algeria, Eritrea, Chechnya, Tajikistan, Somalia, Yemen and Kashmir.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4090.htm
Information Clearing House
Article by Todd Tavares entitled The Real Winners: A Rogue's Gallergy of War Profiteers (July 13th 2003). Describes the links between the current US administration and the companies awarded contracts for rebuilding post-war Iraq. Originally appeared in Dollars and Sense magazine.
http://www.ips-dc.org/iraq/primer.pdf
Institute For Policy Studies - http://www.ips-dc.org
Document by Phyllis Bennis entitled Understanding The US-Iraq Crisis: A Primer (Jan. 2003). Comprehensive study describing the Bush administration's motives for war, the role of the UN and the likely consequences of the war. Gives some background info on Gulf War I. NB If you have trouble downloading this, go to the home page and do a search.
http://www.ips-dc.org/COERCED2.pdf
Institute for Policy Studies - http://www.ips-dc.org
Article entitled Coalition of the Willing, or Coalition of the Coerced? Who was in the "Coalition of the Willing". If you can't download this, then visit the home page and navigate from there.
http://www.accuracy.org/bush/
Institute for Public Accuracy - http://www.accuracy.org
Detailed analysis of George W Bush's speech about Iraq on October 7th 2002.
http://www.internationalanswer.org/
International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism)
.
http://icpj.org/afghanistan.html
International council for Peace and Justice - http://icpj.org
Article by Karen Talbot entitled Afghanistan, Central Asia, Georgia: Key to Oil Profits (May 6 2002). Describes US military activity in Afghanistan, and its use of September 11th as an excuse to "jump start" oil and gas pipelines in the region. Also mentions that the deployment of US military personnel in the Pankisi Gorge of Georgia is "ostensibly to fight terrorists, [but] is aimed at guaranteeing and protecting the projected Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (Turkey) pipeline designed to bypass Russia and Iran." Mentions Unocal and Afghanistan in some detail, even saying that at one point during negotiations with the Taliban, US representatives told them "either you accept our offer of a carpet of gold, or we bury you under a carpet of bombs" (Charles Brisard: Bin Laden, The Forbidden Truth). Mentions Bush connections: e.g. the fact that Enron (closely linked with Bush & Cheney) conducted the feasibility study for the $2.5 billion Trans-Caspian pipeline - a joint venture with Turkmenistan, Bechtel Corp and General Electric. Enron would also have benefited from the Afghanistan pipeline.
http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=18038
Interpress Services - http://www.ipsnews.net
Article by Jim Lobe entitled Strong Must Rule the Weak, said Neo-Cons' Muse. Describes how the ideas of German political philosopher Leo Strauss have influenced the thinking of neoconservative organisations, including the PNAC.
http://freedom.orlingrabbe.com/lfetimes/selfdefense_preempt.htm
Laissez Faire Electronic Times - http://freedom.orlingrabbe.com/lfetimes/lfetimes_index.htm
Article by Russell Madden entitled Self-Defense: Preemptive, Immediate, and Retaliatory. Discusses whether the US invasion of Iraq was justified on grounds of self defence. (The answer is a resounding "no".)
http://mondediplo.com/1998/03/04iraqkn
Le Monde Diplomatique
Article by Kendal Nezan entitled When Our "Friend" Saddam Was Gassing The Kurds. Describes the 1988 chemical attack on Halabja by Saddam Hussein, in response to its occupation by Kurdish resistance fighters. Five thousand people were killed. Earlier chemical attacks had also been carried out; in 1987, Saddam Hussein had attacked Kurdish villages, killing hundreds of people. The destruction of Kurdish towns and villages continued into 1989; over a period from 1974 onwards, 400,000 Kurds were killed. The White House, however, did not condemn Saddam Hussein's actions until Iraq invaded Kuwait; up until then, they turned a blind eye and even sold him WMD/loaned him money (a billion dollars at one point).
http://claslib2.tripod.com/lh/030509.html
Left Hook
Article entitled The Lawless Bush Administration (May 9th 2003). Describes powers conferred by the Patriot Act to designate someone an "enemy combatant" and imprison them indefinitely without trial. Mentions the case of Jose Padilla, who - when he entered the US in 2002 - was arrested on suspicion of plotting to attack America with a radioactive "dirty bomb". At the time of writing, he has yet to see a lawyer or receive a hearing.
http://claslib2.tripod.com/lh/030220.html
Left Hook
Article entitled How To Win Friends And Influence People: The Bush Method (Feb. 20 2003). Article on Bush's determination to go to war against Iraq on unjustified pretexts/flimsy evidence.
http://claslib2.tripod.com/lh/030228.html
Left Hook
Article entitled That 'Liberal' Media, At It Again On Iraq (Feb. 28 2003). Description of Gen. Hussein Kamel's interview with UN inspectors about Iraq's WMD (or lack thereof). Kamel, who defected from Iraq in 1995, was later killed on the orders of Saddam Hussein. He was the head of Iraq's Ministry of Military Industrialisation and was also Saddam's son-in-law. In 1995 he provided the UN's inspectors with over 150 boxes of documents about Iraq's erstwhile WMD capabilities, including information on how the WMD had been destroyed after Gulf War I.
http://claslib2.tripod.com/lh/030404.html
Left Hook
Article entitled War In Iraq: Horowitz vs. The Mythkiller (4th April 2003). Article about David Horowitz's publication The War Has Refuted The Opposition. Debunks Horowitz's arguments by pointing out: (1) the lack of WMD found in Iraq since the beginning of the war; (2) the fact that the Al Qaeda training camp run by Kurdish group Ansar-al-Islam operates in a part of Iraq that comes under the no-fly zones (in any case, Ansar-al-Islam is opposed to Saddam Hussein); and (3) the fact that the tape released by Osama bin Laden in Feb. 2003, which called for a jihad in defence of Iraq, also called on Iraqis to fight the Americans if they invaded Iraq and described Saddam Hussein as a "socialist" and an "infidel".
http://claslib2.tripod.com/lh/030306.html
Left Hook
Article entitled The Bush Administration And The Truth: Natural Enemies (March 6 2003) - about Bush's real reasons for going to war against Iraq. Mentions Iraq's lack of WMD. Quotes Bush as saying in Sept. (2002?): "I would remind you that when the inspectors first went into Iraq and were denied--finally denied--access, a report came out of IAEA that they were six months away from developing a weapon. I don't know what more evidence we need." The truth was that the IAEA (the International Atomic Energy Agency) had never issued any such report. However, in 1998 they *did* say that there was no evidence of Iraq's having produced a nuclear weapon or even "retained a physical capability for the production of weapon-usable nuclear material or having clandestinely obtained such material." Also mentions the aluminium tubes bought by Iraq which were for use in ordinary rockets. However, Condoleezza Rice claimed that they were only suited for nuclear weapons programs; this was refuted by IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei. The article also describes Colin Powell's use of questionable sources such as the plagiarised British intelligence dossier which had been modified to play up the alleged threat posed by Iraq. Other "evidence" offered by Powell was a recording of a telephone conversation between two Iraqi military officers, which had been mistranslated to make it seem as if the officers were trying to hide incriminating material.
http://claslib2.tripod.com/lefthook/intro.html
Left Hook
Articles written in the immediate aftermath of September 11th. Provides examples of insane post-911 ranting from people like Ann Coulter and Jerry Falwell.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/cummings/cummings19.html
LewRockwell.com - http://www.lewrockwell.com
Article by Richard Cummings entitled Swine Before Perle - 'The National Review' Attack On LRC. Right-wing media organ The National Review's attempts to discredit libertarian web site lewrockwell.com because of its anti-war stance.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/capitalistwar.html
LewRockwell.com - http://www.lewrockwell.com
Article by Llewellyn H Rockwell Jr entitled A Capitalist War?, about the link between military imperialism and domestic profit.
http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=1329
Ludwig von Mises Institute
Article by Hunt Tooley entitled The Bipartisan War Machine (17th Sept. 2003). Explains how US expansionism has existed for some time regardless of which political party is in power, and is driven by the interests of firms who give donations to politicians, expecting payback in the form of post-war reconstruction contracts.
http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=1194
Ludwig von Mises Institute - http://www.mises.org
Article by Christopher Westley entitled War's Winners And Losers (April 5 2003). Argues that the war in Iraq will favour "special interests", i.e. companies that benefit from and indeed depend upon "large government", e.g. in the form of defence spending. These companies (Bechtel, Halliburton, Fluor etc.) are the ones who make large donations to whichever government happens to be in power, in order to ensure that they carry on benefitting from initiatives like the Iraqi invasion.
http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstatx.htm
Matthew White
Matthew White: Death Tolls for the Man-made Megadeaths of the Twentieth Century. An alphabetical index of death tolls from various wars that have occurred during the 20th century.
http://www.thememoryhole.org/media/evening-standard-crowd.htm
Memory Hole - http://www.the memoryhole.org
Doctored photograph from The London Evening Standard (April 9th 2003) supposedly showing a huge crowd of jubilant Iraqis celebrating the toppling of Saddam Hussein. In reality, the photograph has been doctored to make it seem as if there are more people there than there actually are.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/gen/apr03/131523.asp
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - http://www.jsonline.com
Article by Bruce Murphy entitled Neoconservative Clout Seen in US Iraq Policy (April 5 2003). Influence of various neoconservative think tanks (including PNAC, the New Citizen Project Inc and the John M Olin Center for Strategic Studies, all of which have been funded by an organisation called the Bradley Foundation).
http://www.chss.montclair.edu/english/furr/glaspie.html
Montclair State University, New Jersey
New York Times article giving transcript of talk between Saddam Hussein and April Glaspie on July 25th 1990.
http://www.users.qwest.net/~mbenjamin4/mypages/thoughts/gulfwar2.html
Moss, Benjamin
Article by Benjamin Moss entitled The Gulf War: Origins and Motivations.
http://www.users.qwest.net/~mbenjamin4/mypages/thoughts/gulfwar1.html
Moss, Benjamin
Article by Benjamin Moss entitled The Gulf War: Myth and Reality.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/907379.asp?0cv=KA01&cp1=1
MSNBC.com - http://www.msnbc.com
Article by Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball entitled The Secrets of September 11 (April 30 2003). Description of attempts by the White House to keep secret part of an 800-page report on September 11th.
http://www.newint.org/issue261/sssh.htm
New Internationalist - http://www.newint.org
Article by David Hellier entitled Sssshh. . . - description of how the British government had actively encouraged the sale of arms to Iraq before Gulf War I.
http://www.newsmax.com/articles/?a=1999/6/9/103249
Newsmax
Article by Carl Limbacher and Caron Grich entitled The Caspian Connection: Pipeline Politics and the Balkan War (June 9th 1999). Describes how President Clinton's involvement in the Balkans might have had more to do with the establishment of an oil pipeline from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean than with ousting Slobodan Milosevic. Plus ca change. . .
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/1/3/214858.shtml
newsmax.com - http://www.newsmax.com
Article on Osama bin Laden entitled "Inside Osama bin Laden" (Jan. 3 2001).
http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/bulletin/EdDesk.nsf/All/B298B433C42175FCCA256CEB0082A529
Ninemsn Bulletin - http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au
Article by Fareed Zakaria entitled America: The Arrogant Empire (Mar. 19 2002). The last paragraph of this article states: "There are many specific ways for the United States to rebuild its relations with the world. It can match its military buildup with diplomatic efforts that demonstrate its interest and engagement in the world's problems. It can stop oversubsidizing American steelworkers, farmers and textile-mill owners, and open its borders to goods from poorer countries. But above all, it must make the world comfortable with its power by leading through consensus. America's special role in the world - its ability to buck history - is based not simply on its great strength, but on a global faith that this power is legitimate. If America squanders that, the loss will outweigh any gains in domestic security. And this next American century could prove to be lonely, brutish and short."
http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page271.asp
No 10 Downing Street
The "September Dossier": the British government's assessment of Iraq's WMD threat.
http://www.nonviolence.org/vitw/pages/why_did_iraq_invade_kuwait.html
Nonviolence.org - http://www.nonviolence.org
Article by Simon Harak entitled Why Did Iraq Invade Kuwait? - A Brief History. Background to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
http://www.occupationwatch.org/
Occupationwatch.org
Site that exposes "the impact of the military and economic occupation of Iraq".
http://www.oilandgasinternational.com/departments/from_editor/10_29_01.aspx
Oil and Gas International - http://www.oilandgasinternational.com
Article entitled Unocal and Afghanistan. Describes how Unocal tried to court Taliban leaders after they took Kabul in 1996, because they wanted to build a 790-mile oil and gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistani ports on the Arabian sea. However, the Taliban demanded an exhorbitant price for the pipeline (in the form of road, water supply and telephone line construction). NB This article is now only available to paid Oil and Gas International subscribers.
http://www.oneworld.org/news/reports/may96_iraq2.html
Oneworld.org
Description of the effect of sanctions on public health in Iraq following Gulf War I. Written in 1996, the article estimates that 500,000 children have died as a result of malnutrition and illness.
http://www.onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/080703Leopold/080703leopold.html
Online Journal
Article by Jason Leopold entitled Wolfowitz: Iraq was not involved in 9-11, no ties to al-Qaeda (August 7th 2003). Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz's admission that Iraq had nothing to do with September 11th.
http://www.osamaskidneys.com/links.html
Osama's Kidneys
Site listing various September 11th conspiracy theories. Its recommendation is "caveat lector".
http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=4c8b95795b56eb46fd81460fb1c3a58a
Pacific News Service/NCM
Article be Peter Dale Scott entitled Why Baghdad Fell Without a Fight -- Does Saddam's General Have the Answer? (May 28th 2003). Describes allegations that Republican Guard commander General Maher Sufian al-Tikriti (who was mysteriously omitted from the "most wanted" pack of cards) was paid off in advance of the Iraq war by the CIA, in order to ensure that Baghdad fell without resistance.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/interviews/al-fagih.html
PBS
Interview with Dr Saad al Fagih (a Saudi dissident living in London) about Osama bin Laden. Mentions reasons for emergence of bin Laden. Description of bin Laden family, and Osama bin Laden's journey from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan. Structure of Al Qaeda.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/front/6496667.htm
Philadelphia Enquirer
Article by Charles J Hanley entitled Powell's battle cry fails test of time (Aug. 10th 2003). Describes the points laid out in Colin Powell's address to the UN outlining the case for war against Iraq, and how these points were based on flimsy evidence and lies.
http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf
PNAC (Project for the New American Century) - http://www.newamericancentury.org
PNAC (Project for the New American Century) document "Rebuilding America's Defenses". Subtitled "Strategy, Forces and Resources for a New Century", this document (published in Sept. 2000) talks about a "Pax Americana" involving strategic control of the Middle East, the increase of US defence spending so that America can fight two wars simultaneously at any given time, and the control of space and cyberspace. NB If you have trouble accessing the link, then go to the parent site and click on the Publications/Reports link.
http://www.newamericancentury.org/statementofprinciples.htm
PNAC (Project for the New American Century) - http://www.newamericancentury.org
PNAC (Project for the New American Century) statement of principles. Contains list of signatories including Jeb Bush, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Kagan, Donald Rumsfeld and Dan Quayle.
http://pnac.info/
PNAC.info
Site exposing Project for the New American Century. Site is created by Lance Brown, candidate for US president in 2008.
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/USAPA.html
Ratical.org - http://www.ratical.org
HTML inks to text of Patriot Acts I and II, plus commentaries.
http://www.reclaimdemocracy.org/civil_rights/govpower_enhancement_act.html
Reclaim Democracy
Description of the proposed Domestic Security Enhancement Act.
http://www.timeenoughforlove.org/saved/CarlylesWay.htm
Red Herring
Article by Dan Briody entitled "Carlyle's Way" (8th Jan. 2002). Discusses how the fortunes of the Carlyle Group are linked with those of the US defence industry and the bin Laden family. Mostly concentrates on the defence angle.
http://www.rexresearch.com/karrick/karric~1.htm
Rexresearch.com
Description of the Karrick process for obtainng oil from coal. Also known as low-temperature carbonisation, the Karrick process involves heating coal, shale, lignite or any other carbonaceous material (including refuse) to about 800 deg. F in the absence of oxygen. Oil is thus distilled from the material, rather than burning as it would if oxygen were present.
http://www.rmbowman.com/Bowman2000/iraq.htm
rmbowman.com - http://www.rmbowman.com - Most Rev. Dr Robert M. Bowman, Lt Col, USAF (retired)
Speech called Our War Against Iraq given to a peace march in honour of Martin Luther King Jr in 1999. History of war/occupation in Iraq going back over 100 years. Mentions replacement of Soviets by Saddam Hussein as "bad guy" as rationale for US military expenditure. Mentions training exercises conducted by General Schwartzkopf in July 1990, simulating an Iraqi attack on Kuwait.
http://www.robert-fisk.com/articles303.htm
Robert-Fisk.com
Article by Robert Fisk entitled Oil, war and a growing sense of panic in the US (Don't Don't tell me that America would have invaded Iraq if its chief export was beetroot) - appeared in the Independent on 1st October 2003. Describes sabotage of oil pipelines in Iraq. Also mentions that officially, Iraq contains 12% of the world's oil reserves but that its deserts are unexplored and that the figure may be closer to 25%. Speculates that it may have been Saddam Hussein's decision in Nov. 2000 to switch pricing of Iraqi oil from dollars to Euros that may have been a factor in America's decision to invade Iraq.
This is an Independent Portfolio article and the full text is only available to subscribers.
http://www.rrstar.com/localnews/your_community/rockford/0521hedgesspeech.shtml
Rockford Register Star - http://www.rrstar.com
Text of the speech by NYT reporter Chris Hedges that got him booed off the stage at Rockford College graduation ceremony (May 20th 2003).
http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2003/11/21/cleland/index_np.html
Salon.com
Article by Eric Boehlert entitled The President Ought To Be Ashamed (21st Nov. 2003). Describes the smear campaign against former Democrat senator Max Cleland, which was instigated as a result of his objections to certain aspects of the Homeland Security Act. Cleland, who serves on the independent panel (the 9/11 Commission) created by Congress to investigate the September 11th attacks, is protesting at the Bush administration's reluctance to release details of presidential daily briefings issued before the attack. He accuses the White House of attempting to "slow walk the commission into irrelevancy"
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/11/17/IN178228.DTL&type=printable
San Fransisco Chronicle
Article by Patrick J Sloyan entitled War without death: the Pentagon promotes a vision of combat as bloodless and antiseptic (17th Nov. 2002). Describes how thousands of Iraqi troops were buried by US tanks in the trenches that they'd dug out.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0307/S00117.htm
Scoop NZ
Article by Jason Leopold entitled CIA Warned White House Last Oct That Iraq/Uranium Claims Based On Forged Docs (July 15th 2003). "The CIA successfully got the White House last October to omit references to Iraq’s alleged attempts to purchase uranium from Niger because the agency concluded that the documents used to back up the allegations were forgeries, according to two Democratic members of the Senate’s intelligence committee, both of whom were briefed by the CIA in classified hearings last year about the uranium allegations.
But it still remains unclear how, after briefing the White House and the intelligence committee that the documents about Iraq’s attempt to procure uranium from Niger wound up in President Bush’s State of the Union address in January."
http://www.shianews.com/low/articles/islam/0000189.php
Shia News - http://www.shianews.com
Article by Ash Pulcifer entitled How Oil Plays A Role In An Invasion Of Iraq (Jan. 23 2003). Argues that the reason why the Bush administration wants "regime change" in Iraq is that they want to control oil prices by increasing Iraq's oil production rates. The only way to do this is by introducing Western technology into oil drilling practices, i.e. by allowing American oil companies to rebuild and update the country's oil infrastructure.
http://www.slate.msn.com/?id=2071502
Slate MSN
Article by Michael Crowley entitled What turned the hawkish Iraq weapons inspector into a dove? (Sept. 25th 2002). Describes the change in attitude of former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter, who resigned from his post in 1998 because he was angry at the Clinton administration's lack of aggression in ensuring that Iraq was disarming. Later on he did an apparent U-turn, claiming that Iraq was "fundamentally disarmed" in the 1990s.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/columnists/molly_ivins/6689068.htm
Star-Telegram
Article by Molly Ivins entitled Remembrance of Quotes Past (Sept. 4th 2003). How the administration's position on Iraq's WMD changed as time progressed, from "We know for a fact there are weapons there" (White House spokesman Ari Fleischer on Jan. 9th 2003) to "I never believed that we'd just tumble over weapons of mass destruction in that country" (Donald Rumsfeld on May 4th 2003).
http://www.sundayherald.com/print27735
Sunday Herald
Article by Neil Mackay entitled Bush Planned Iraq 'Regime Change' Before Becoming President (Sept. 15 2002). Article about influence of Project for the New American Century (PNAC) on American foreign policy and Iraq in particular.
http://www.sundayherald.com/33021
Sunday Herald - http://www.sundayherald.com
Article by Neil Mackay entitled Carving Up The New Iraq - April 15 2003. Lists the businesses, think tanks, politicians, military personnel and other players who will stand to gain from the war in Iraq. Article is continued on http://www.sundayherald.com/33079
http://www.supplysideinvestor.com/showarticle.asp?articleid=1668
Supply Side Investor
Article by Jude Wanniski entitled Fire Paul Wolfowitz, written in the form of a memo to Donald Rumsfeld (9th Oct. 2001), and subtitled Re: The Monkeys on Your Back. Describes how Paul Wolfowitz - under the influence of RAND corporation guru Albert Wohlstetter - tried in 1991 to persuade Dick Cheney to "kick Saddam out of Kuwait" and "chase him all the way to Baghdad, slaughtering the Republican Guard on the way." Cheney disregarded Wolfowitz's advice, paying more attention to that of Colin Powell. The memo goes on to say "After the [Iran/Iraq] war, our State Department gave Saddam its passive assent to grab the Kuwaiti oilfields, but when he did, Maggie Thatcher and the Wohlstetter boys persuaded Bush to kick him out. . . "Bin Laden DOES speak for the entire Islamic world in noting that at least a million Iraqi civilians have died as a result of that policy. There would have been no attack on the WTC if we had dealt honestly and responsibly with Iraq."
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/com-hans-7-19.html
Take Back The Media
Article by Dennis Hans entitled Mama Mia, What a Con! (July 2003). "Did neonconservative elements in U.S. intelligence, perhaps at the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans (OSP), use the Italian military intelligence agency, known as SISMI, to con British intelligence into believing what most U.S. experts considered far-fetched at best - that Iraq sought uranium from Africa for use in a nuclear weapons program? Is that the "back story" behind this discredited assertion - "there is intelligence that Iraq has sought the supply of significant quantities of uranium from Africa" - in the Brits' ballyhooed September 2002 dossier, which Bush cited in his 2003 State of the Union address?"
http://blogistonpost.blogspot.com/
The Blogiston Post
Anti-war blog giving useful information about contracts awarded in post-war Iraq.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/comment/0,,980647,00.html
The Guardian
Article by Seumas Milne entitled The Right To Resist (June 19th 2003). Describes the "chaos and insecurity" in Iraq that has developed since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime. An estimated 5,500-7,200 Iraqi civilians (based on hospital, mortuary and media records) have been killed, while Iraqi military deaths are "thought to run into tens of thousands". The article also describes how the occupation authorities are planning to "privatise dozens of state-owned companies within a year, pre-empting the decision of any future elected Iraqi government."
http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,1000991,00.html
The Guardian
Timeline for the events leading up to the death of Dr David Kelly (July 18th 2003). Dr Kelly was the MOD scientist who was "outed" by Tony Blair's government as the source for allegations that its Iraq dossier was "sexed up" to include an erroneous claim that Iraq could deploy its WMD arsenal within 45 minutes.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1079575,00.html
The Guardian
Article by Naomi Klein entitled Iraq is Not America's to Sell (7th Nov. 2003). Describes the illegality of Paul Bremer's economic reforms in Iraq.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12956,982170,00.html
The Guardian
Article by Kevin Maguire entitled Galloway Seeks Enquiry After Papers Exposed As Fakes (June 21st 2003). Documents purporting to show that suspended Labour MP George Galloway took £6.3M from Saddam Hussein have been proved to be forgeries. At the time of writing, Mr Galloway is also denying allegations that he profited from the UN oil for food scheme to the tune of £375,000 per year. Mr Galloway was suspended following a television interview in which he branded Tony Blair and President George Bush "wolves" over the invasion.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/oil/story/0,11319,808913,00.html
The Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk
Story by Jeremy Rifkin entitled The US Must Follow Europe's Lead And Turn Its Back On Oil (Oct. 10 2002).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/wtccrash/story/0,1300,583869,00.html
The Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk
Article about the Carlyle Group by Oliver Burkeman and Julian Borger. Entitled The Ex-presidents' Club.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,916318,00.html
The Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk
Explanation by Robin Cook of why he resigned as Leader of the House of Commons (March 19 2003). "I cannot defend a war with neither international agreement nor domestic support. . . We cannot base our military strategy on the basis that Saddam is weak and at the same time justify pre-emptive action on the claim that he is a serious threat. Iraq probably has no WMD in the commonly understood sense of that term - namely, a credible device capable of being delivered against strategic city targets. It probably does still have biological toxins and battlefield chemical munitions. But it has had them since the 1980s when the US sold Saddam the anthrax agents and the then British government built his chemical and munitions factories. . .What has come to trouble me most over past weeks is the suspicion that if the hanging chads in Florida had gone the other way and Al Gore had been elected, we would not now be about to commit British troops to action in Iraq."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,943910,00.html
The Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk
Article by David Teather entitled American To Oversee Iraqi Oil Industry (April 26 2003). Describes US plans to install an American chairman on a planned management team of the Iraqi oil industry. The proposed candidate is Philip Caroll, former chief exec. of the US division of Royal Dutch/Shell.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4669035,00.html
The Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk
Article by John Kampfner entitled The Truth About Jessica (May 15th 2003). When Jessica Lynch was "rescued" by US special forces who went in with all guns blazing, her Iraqi guards had long fled and doctors had already tried to free her.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,2763,879053,00.html
The Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk
Article by Nick Paton Walsh entitled Iraq Reverses Russia Oil Ban (Jan. 21 2003). Describes reversal of Iraqi decision to cut the Russian firm Lukoil out of a deal over the "huge" West Qurna oil field. Could be yet another explanation the US invasion of Iraq - they wanted to get their hands on the oil before the Russians did.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,776844,00.html
The Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk
Article by David Teather entitled US Helped As Saddam Plotted Chemical Attacks (Aug. 19 2002). Describes US aid to Saddam Hussein during Iran-Iraq war.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4504072,00.html
The Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk
Interview with Scott Ritter entitled Even If Iraq Managed To Hide These Weapons, What They Are Now Hiding Is Harmless Goo (Sept. 19 2002). Ritter argues that 90-95 % of Iraq's WMD capability has been verifiably eliminated, and that any stockpiles of chemical weapons would have degraded in the time since the end of Gulf War I. A passage at the end of the interview mentions the change in Ritter's story: from saying (shortly after his resignation in 1998) that Iraq could very well reconstitute its WMD programme, to saying a year later that 90-95 % of Iraq's WMD capability had been destroyed, to saying (just after his appeal to the Iraqi parliament in Sept. 2002) that: "The problem is the last time Iraq chose to cheat and retreat, the UN did nothing about it. The US was not a fair and honest broker in this game. We were pushing a policy of regime removal that took precedence over disarmament. So this time round, let us not play that game. Let us focus on WMD, let us focus on doing what the international community has said and, if Iraq chooses to play cat and mouse and cheat, we don't play that game. We back off and the security council takes decisive action."
http://media.guardian.co.uk/presspublishing/story/0,7495,921109,00.html
The Guardian media section - http://media.guardian.co.uk
Article by Ciar Byrne entitled Sun Journalist Quits In Protest At War Reporting (March 25 2003). Describes how feature writer Katy Weitz resigned from The Sun newspaper over the tabloid's gung-ho stance on the war against Iraq.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=452375
The Independent
Article by Patrick Cockburn entitled US Soldiers Bulldoze Farmers' Crops (12th October 2003). "US soldiers driving bulldozers, with jazz blaring from loudspeakers, have uprooted ancient groves of date palms as well as orange and lemon trees in central Iraq as part of a new policy of collective punishment of farmers who do not give information about guerrillas attacking US troops."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=410730
The Independent
Article by David Usborne entitled WMD just a convenient excuse for war, admits Wolfowitz (May 30th 2003). Full text of article available to BT Click & Buy subscribers.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=378163
The Independent - http://news.independent.co.uk
Item by Andrew Buncombe entitled CIA 'Sabotaged Inspections and Hid Weapons Details' (Feb. 14 2003). Describes an accusation by the Democrats that the CIA had in effect decided that UN weapons inspections in Iraq were useless, and had withheld information from inspectors and lied about which information had been passed on. Full text of article available to BT Click & Buy subscribers.
http://www.thelibertycommittee.org/neo-conned.htm
The Liberty Committee
Article by congressman Ron Paul entitled Neo-conned (10th July 2003). Describes the co-option of the present American government by the neoconservatives, and the people whose ideas have influenced the neoconservative movement, such as Leo Strauss and Michael Ledeen. Interestingly, Ledeen not only believes in strong leadership, but also argues in favour of lying as a means of achieving political objectives. Mentions think tanks such as PNAC, the Bradley Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute.
http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/powell-no-wmd.htm
The Memory Hole
"2001: Powell & Rice Declare Iraq Has No WMD and Is Not a Threat". Gives link to a video clip from John Pilger's documentary, Breaking the Silence, which contains 2001 footage of Powell and Rice declaring that Iraq is not a threat.
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030428&s=klein
The Nation - http://www.thenation.com
Article by Naomi Klein entitled Privatization In Disguise. 'On April 6, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz spelled it out: There will be no role for the United Nations in setting up an interim government in Iraq. The US-run regime will last at least six months, "probably...longer than that." And by the time the Iraqi people have a say in choosing a government, the key economic decisions about their country's future will have been made by their occupiers. "There has got to be an effective administration from day one," Wolfowitz said. "People need water and food and medicine, and the sewers have to work, the electricity has to work. And that's a coalition responsibility." The process of getting all this infrastructure to work is usually called "reconstruction." But American plans for Iraq's future economy go well beyond that. Rather, the country is being treated as a blank slate on which the most ideological Washington neoliberals can design their dream economy: fully privatized, foreign-owned and open for business.'
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010205&c=2&s=bugliosi
The Nation - http://www.thenation.com
Excerpt from Vincent Bugliosi's book None Dare Call It Treason. Describes how the US Supreme Court acted to stop the counting of "undervotes" (the ones the voting machines didn't pick up) in the Florida ballots in the 2000 election and then later stated that Bush had won on "equal protection" grounds. That is to say, the Supreme Court ruled that as different methods were used for determining the vote in different counties in Florida, then all the undervotes should be discounted. This was a reversal of the original ruling by the Florida Supreme Court that the undervotes should be counted manually.
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030414&s=balmer
The Nation - http://www.thenation.com
Article by Randall Balmer entitled Bush and God. Influence of George W Bush's religious beliefs on his campaign in Iraq.
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030623&s=klein
The Nation - http://www.thenation.com
Article by Naomi Klein entitled Downsizing In Disguise (June 5th 2003). Describes the background and activities of US-appointed Iraq governer Paul Bremer. Speculates that his sacking of Baath party members from public sector jobs may have more to do with a desire to shrink the public sector and make it ripe for privatisation than with preventing a come-back by Saddam's henchmen. Also mentions Bremer's launch of a company called Crisis Consulting Practice in October 2001, which specialises in helping multinationals come up with "integrated and comprehensive crisis solutions" for terror attacks. Could Bremer end up selling terrorism insurance to the companies that are setting up in business in Iraq?
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/press.htm
The National Security Archive
Description of declassified cocuments including briefing materials and diplomatic reporting on two visits by Donald Rumsfeld to Iraq in 1983.
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/content/?020930fr_archive02
The New Yorker
Article by Seymour M Hersh entitled A Case Not Closed (1st Nov. 1993). Article about rumours of an assassination attempt on George H. Bush, which were sparked off when the Kuwaiti government arrested seventeen Iraqis and Kuwaitis in possession of a bomb. One of the Iraqis confessed under interrogation that they were part of a mission organised by Saddam Hussein to assassinate George H. Bush. The article casts doubt on whether such an assassination attempt had been planned in the first place, and even if it had, whether the order had come from Saddam Hussein.
http://www.observer.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,968181,00.html
The Observer
Article by Kamal Ahmed entitled The Cluster Bombs That Litter Iraq (June 1st 2003). Estimates that up to 10,000 unexploded cluster bomblets could be lying in urban and rural areas in Iraq.
http://www.observer.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,754879,00.html
The Observer - http://www.observer.co.uk
Revised extract from John Pilger's The New Rulers Of The World. Subtitled The Great Charade. Describes detainment of terrorism suspects in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Points out that since the US has itself committed terrorist acts and harboured terrorists, its stance against international terrorism is inconsistent.
http://www.observer.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,919850,00.html
The Observer - http://www.observer.co.uk
Article by Jamie Doward entitled Ex-presidents' Club Gets Fat On Conflict (March 23 2003) - article about Carlyle Group. Describes Carlyle's acquisition of United Defense in 1997. This company developed a 40-tonne howitzer, the Crusader, which was commissioned by the Pentagon despite widespread opposition from the US army. "The $665m contract was signed just two weeks after the attacks on the twin towers and less than a month later Carlyle decided to take (sic) the company public in a move that was to earn the group $240m."
http://www.observer.co.uk/libertywatch/story/0,1373,665003,00.html
The Observer - http://www.observer.co.uk
Article by John Wadham entitled Terror Law Takes Liberties - about the UK's Anti-Terrorism, Crime & Security Act.
http://www.observer.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,825105,00.html
The Observer - http://www.observer.co.uk
Article by Peter Beaumont and Faisal Islam entitled Carve-up Of Oil Riches Begins. Describes US plans to ditch industry rivals and force end of OPEC (Nov. 3 2002).
http://www.observer.co.uk/libertywatch/story/0,1373,610367,00.html
The Observer - http://www.observer.co.uk
Article by Patricia J Williams entitled This Dangerous Patriot's Game describing the so-called War on Terror. Description of changes that have come about as a result of the Patriot Act, including institutionalised snooping, and the introduction of military tribunals that can try "resident aliens" suspected of terrorism without "due process".
http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,940054,00.html
The Observer - http://www.observer.co.uk
Article by Ed Vuillamy entitled Israel Seeks Pipeline For Iraqi Oil (April 20 2003). Describes to build a pipeline to siphon oil from Iraq to Israel. Mentions the 1975 "Memorandum of Understanding" (signed by Henry Kissenger), in which the US guaranteed Israel's oil reserves and energy supply in times of crisis. This memorandum has been "quietly renewed every five years, with special legislation attached whereby the US stocks a strategic oil reserve for Israel even if it entailed domestic shortages - at a cost of $3 bn in 2002 to US taxpayers. This bill would be slashed by a new pipeline which would have the added advantage of giving the US reliable access to Gulf oil other than from Saudi Arabia."
http://www.bushfiles.com/bushfiles/fertilize_bushes.html
The Texas Observer - http://www.bushfiles.com/
Article by Robert Sherrill entitled What Fertilized The Bushes?. Describes Jeb Bush's questionable business deals and George W's possibly illegal insider stock transactions, along with George W's oil company that was launched in the mid 1970s; this company was a failure but in 1986 merged with Harken Energy. In 1990, Harken - despite its lack of experience of drilling in water - beat Amoco to win an exclusive offshore contract with Bahrain.
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/CIA%20Hits/Iraq_CIAHits.html
Third World Traveller
Article on causes of Gulf War I - mentiones April Glaspie, Kuwait's slant drilling and the CIA.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/7928
Tompaine.com
Article by Richard Blow entitled Conservative Journalists' Dirty Little Secret. Discussion of Weekly Standard writer Matt Labash's remarks about the true nature of conservative journalism.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/
Top Ten Conservative Idiots
Self-explanatory! Biased in favour of the Democrats, but worth a read for its humorous summaries of Bushite spin.
http://truthout.org/docs_03/051203A.shtml
Truthout.org - http://truthout.org
Article by William Rivers Pitt entitled The Women Like This War (May 12th 2003). Describes the links that exist between Halliburton and Dick Cheney (who still receives $1M a year "deferred compensation" from the company). Describes how James Woolsey, former Director of the CIA, spent the last six months of his directorship warning the American public about the dangers of terrorism from Iraq. It turns out that Mr Woolsey is a director at Paladin Capital, formed three months after September 11 to reap profit from the defense and intelligence contracts that were being issued by the US Defense Department during the "War on Terror". "Paladin has amassed $300 million from investors because it sees the US government spending some $60 billion on the anti-terrorism programs it sells, and sees private corporations spending twice that amount."
http://www.truthout.org/mm_01/4.wax.rums_050203.pdf
Truthout.org - http://www.truthout.org
Letter from Henry Waxman of the House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform to Donald Rumsfeld pointing out Halliburton's dealings with countries that sponsor terrorism.
http://www.unansweredquestions.org
Unanswered Questions
Detailed site giving September 11th timelines and posing some pertinent questions.
http://www.un.org/Depts/unscom/s98-1172.htm
United Nations - http://www.un.org
Letter dated Dec. 15 1998 from the UN Secretary General to the President of the Security Council. Submission of a report from the Director General of the IAEA and the Executive Director of UNSCOM. IAEA was happy with the level of co-operation shown by Iraq, whereas UNSCOM was dissatisfied. The UNSCOM Executive Director (Richard Butler) alleged that problems had been experienced by UN inspectors in Iraq, stating that Iraq had not submitted certain documents to the inspection team when requested to do so, had refused to allow removal of missile engine components (saying that the request was "not justified"), had refused to let UNSCOM interview students at university sites, had undertaken "extensive, unilateral, secret destruction" of its WMD materials, and had moved materials to other sites and refused to say where these sites were.
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030308-100622-7817r
United Press International
Article entitled Some Evidence On Iraq Called Fake (March 8 2003). Describes report by Mohamed ElBaradei (director general of the IAEA) to the UN Security Council, in which he said that documents purportedly showing Iraqi officials shopping for uranium in Africa in 2001 were not authentic". (The documents consisted of a series of faked letters between Iraqi agents and officials in Niger.) ElBaradei also reported that an extensive sweep of Iraq by advanced radiation detectors showed that there was no evidence of banned nuclear weapons or nuclear material, and he rejected claims by Colin Powell that the aluminium tubes purchased by Iraq had been for use in centrifuges for uranium enrichment.
http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/activities.html
United States Agency For International Development
Awards of contracts for rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure.
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/iraq_pol99.jpg
University of Texas
Map of Iraq showing regions.
http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2003/tr20030531-depsecdef0246.html
US Defense Department
Full text of Wolfowitz's "floating on a sea of oil" interview on May 31st 2003.
http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2003/tr20030801-depsecdef0526.html
US Department of Defense
Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz Interview with The Laura Ingraham Show (1st Aug. 2003). This is the interview where Rumsfeld admits that there is no link between Iraq and September 11th:
"Q: And when did you start to think that perhaps Iraq had something to do with it?
Wolfowitz: I’m not sure even now that I would say Iraq had something to do with it. I think what the realization to me is -- the fundamental point was that terrorism had reached the scale completely different from what we had thought of it up until then. And that it would only get worse when these people got access to weapons of mass destruction which would be only a matter of time."
http://www.house.gov/waxman/issues/foreignaffairs/PDFs/iraq_unsc1441.pdf
US government web site
Text of UN Resolution 1441 (8th Nov. 2002).
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/archive/030609/20030609040506_print.php
US News & World Report
Article by Bruce B Auster, Mark Mazzetti and Edward T Pound entitled Truth and Consequences (9th June 2003). Describes a discussion that took place on Feb. 1 2003 on what arguments Colin Powell should use when presenting the case for war against Iraq to the UN. At one point Mr Powell, when looking through the initial draft that was presented, cried out "I'm not reading this. . . This is bullshit." NB If you went to the US News & World Report web site, you'd have to pay to view this article. But why do that, when you can click here?
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/war_is_a_racket_033103.htm
Veterans For Peace
Smedley Butler's War is a Racket. Decorated three times for bravery in action, Smedley Butler was a major general who fought in several campaigns. Eventually he came to realise that wars are fought mainly for the benefit of arms manufacturers and other companies, whose profits increase several-fold during times of conflict. Butler died in 1940 but many of his arguments still have relevance today.
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0310/hentoff.php
Village Voice
Article by Nat Hentoff entitled Ashcroft Out Of Control (28th Feb. 2003). Describes the proposed draft of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act, which would extend the powers of the Patriot Act by allowing secret arrests of people suspected of terrorism and by allowing American citizens to be stripped of citizenship if they become a member of, or "give material support to" a group that has been designated as a terrorist organisation. The Act also would prevent people from having reasonable access to information about threats to their health and community, such as levels of toxic emissions.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56429-2003Aug27.html
Washington Post
Article by Michael Dobbs entitled Halliburton's Deals Greater Than Thought. "Halliburton, the company formerly headed by Vice President Cheney, has won contracts worth more than $1.7 billion under Operation Iraqi Freedom and stands to make hundreds of millions more dollars under a no-bid contract awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to newly available documents.
The size and scope of the government contracts awarded to Halliburton in connection with the war in Iraq are significantly greater than was previously disclosed and demonstrate the U.S. military's increasing reliance on for-profit corporations to run its logistical operations. Independent experts estimate that as much as one-third of the monthly $3.9 billion cost of keeping U.S. troops in Iraq is going to independent contractors."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56336-2003Jul14.html?nav=hptop_tb
Washington Post
Article by Dana Priest and Dana Milbank entitled President Defends Allegation on Iraq (July 15th 2003). Describes president Bush's assertion that the CIA's doubts about the "Niger uranium" intelligence arose after the President's State of the Union address on 28th January 2003 and not before. The CIA, on the other hand, maintains that it mentioned its doubts four months _before_ the President's address.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A61461-2002Nov15?language=printer
Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com
Article by Mike Allen entitled CIA's Cash Toppled Taliban (Nov. 16 2002). Describes early misgivings on the part of Bush's advisers over how to conduct the war in Afghanistan, and how Colin Powell overcame the objections of Cheney and Rumsfeld and persuaded Bush to seek a resolution from the UN before invading. Also describes the initial attitude of Powell and Cheney to the invasion of Iraq.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A40212-2003May10?language=printer
Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com
Article by Barton Gellman entitled Frustrated, US Arms Team to Leave Iraq (May 11th 2003). Describes the lack of success encountered by the 75th Exploitation Task Force in finding any WMD.
http://asp.washtimes.com/printarticle.asp?action=print&ArticleID=20020927-500715
Washington Times - http://www.washtimes.com
Article by Joseph Curl entitled Agency Disavows Report On Iraq Arms (Sept. 27 2002). The International Atomic Energy Agency's claim that a report cited by President Bush as evidence that Iraq in 1998 was "six months away" from developing a nuclear weapon does not exist.
"There's never been a report like that issued from this agency," Mark Gwozdecky, the IAEA's chief spokesman, said yesterday in a telephone interview from the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
"We've never put a time frame on how long it might take Iraq to construct a nuclear weapon in 1998," said the spokesman of the agency charged with assessing Iraq's nuclear capability for the United Nations.'
http://billmon.org.v.sabren.com/archives/000172.html
Whiskey Bar (a blog)
Entry entitled What a Tangled Web We Weave (29/05/03). Quotes showing how the story on Iraq's WMD has changed, from Dick Cheney's "Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction" on 26th Aug. 2002, to "They may have had time to destroy them, and I don't know the answer" from Donald Rumsfeld on 27th May 2003.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030128-19.html
White House
President George W Bush's State of the Union speech in January 2003 (the one with the reference to those forged Niger uranium invoices).
http://www.willthomas.net/isbushnuts.htm
Will Thomas - http://www.willthomas.net
Article by William Thomas entitled Is Bush Nuts? - Feb. 12 2003. Says it all, really.
http://www.worldpress.org/1101binladen_cia.htm
World Press Review Online
Article by Ranjit Bhushan entitled "Osama bin Laden: CIA's Toy Gone Awry". Talks about bin Laden's training by the CIA so that he could fight against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
Copyright Miriam Ibbotson 2003: page last updated 10th January 2004
