The official word from the Bush administration is that the torture and sexual abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. troops in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison is not “systematic,” according to General Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This type of torture of indigenous and Third World people, however, is well-documented as a pattern and practice of the U.S. military and the CIA.

The pictures are appalling, the words devastating. As a wounded Iraqi crawls from beneath a burning truck, an American helicopter pilot tells his commander that one of three men has survived his night air attack. "Someone wounded," the pilot cries. Then he received the reply: "Hit him, hit the truck and him." As the helicopter's gun camera captures the scene on video, the pilot fires a 30mm gun at the wounded man, vaporising him in a second.

...The graphic images, passed around among military police who served at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, are a new batch of photographs similar to those broadcast a week ago on CBS's "60 Minutes II" and published by the New Yorker magazine. They appear to provide further visual evidence of the chaos and unprofessionalism at the prison detailed in a report by Army Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba. His report, which relied in part on the photographs, found "numerous incidents of sadistic, blatant, and wanton criminal abuses" that were inflicted on detainees.

Is the Commander In Chief capable of the Job or does he just not give a damm.
If he is such a great leader, how do the troups dare to act in this way.
How could he not know. He is Bush, he has access to all information.
He should not be in power, running the biggest bullying army in the world.

.......The war is a stupid, unjust and criminal war. It is a quagmire from which no immediate escape seems possible. Many more Americans are going to die so that American ''democracy and freedom'' can be imposed on the Iraqis -- whether they want them or not. Many more Iraqis will die, too. Americans who support the war share in its criminality.

......... They're not campaigning. They have not instructed their individual-state campaign managers. In 34 of the 50 states, they haven't even bothered to print any political paraphernalia - posters, handbills, pens, and bumper stickers. What does that tell you?"         More deception and rigging

COMMENT FROM SISTER LAETITIA BORDES: "I'm filled with sadness. I'm filled with fear. I fear for the people of Iraq, because I feel that John Negroponte certainly is not concerned about the democracy of Iraq. I think that John Negroponte is concerned about his reputation. He is an expert in counter insurgency tactics. We see that in his background. And John Negroponte will stop at nothing. At nothing."

What's wrong with the American people? It's so obvious by now that Bush is a liar and a conniver, and an idiot to boot. He got us into the Iraq mess with deceitful tactics and a plan built on fantasy. No WMD, no Al Qa'eda link, no threat to the US. The only point was to control Iraq's oil. He's bankrupting the American treasury in order to enrich his oil buddies. And the fantasy has turned into a nightmare.

We dream of waking up one morning in a world where everyone has adequate health care, free quality education pre-kindergarten through college, decent paying job opportunities, and a clean safe environment, knowing that we live in a safe world where we can once again travel freely, without fear.
Return to the Kucinich for President Official Home Page

Most Americans, including many liberals and critics of the Bush administration, have bought the official story that 9-11 was perpetrated by Al Qa'eda, and the only questions to be asked have to do with the failure of intelligence. Those who question this story and want to investigate other possibilities are dismissed as "conspiracy kooks".
As a practicing psychiatrist, I hear many stories from my patients about how they are being conspired against. Some of the stories are psychotic paranoia, others are all too real. A woman being abused by her spouse, for instance, is truly being persecuted, and the perpetrator may have the whole family convinced that she is "crazy". I would be remiss if I didn't take her story seriously.

“President Bush poses the greatest threat to America that we have seen in modern history,” Ritter told an audience in the University Union's Potomac Lounge.   ~ ~ ~
Ritter, a former intelligence officer for the US Marine Corps who served as the UN's Chief Weapons Inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998, said the U.S. government “brought us into this war on false pretenses.”   ~ ~ ~
“Our real policy has been regime change,” Ritter said. “Our plan was to dethrone Saddam, not to find weapons of mass destruction.”

Why Bush is spending so much on nuclear weapons.
The budget is busted; American soldiers need more armor; they're running out of supplies. Yet the Department of Energy is spending an astonishing $6.5 billion on nuclear weapons this year, and President Bush is requesting $6.8 billion more for next year and a total of $30 billion over the following four years. This does not include his much-cherished missile-defense program, by the way. This is simply for the maintenance, modernization, development, and production of nuclear bombs and warheads.

Musings about a second Bush term typically assume four years of the same right-wing policies we've had to date. But it'd likely be far worse. So far, the Bush administration has had to govern with the expectation of facing American voters again in 2004. But suppose George W. Bush wins a second term. The constraint of a re-election contest will be gone. Knowing that voters can no longer turn them out, and this will be their last shot at remaking America, the radical conservatives will be unleashed........
...............Nothing is more dangerous to a republic than fanatics unconstrained by democratic politics. Yet in a second term of this administration, that's exactly what we'll have.

To commit a crime against peace, one must engage in “planning, preparation, initiation or waging of war of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties . . . or participation in a common plan or conspiracy . . . to wage an aggressive war.” Bush is guilty on all these counts. The most damning evidence coming not from the liberal left, but in a series of well-documented books providing revelations by people in his own administration or party. Now, with Woodward’s work, the President is condemned with his own words.

Once there was a time when American conservatives defended their country from government. No more. Today conservatives defend Bush’s warmongering neo-Jacobin government at all costs.

At least 600 Iraqis have died so far, mostly women and children. Ambulances are being shot up, people are being told to flee the city and then stopped in the desert without food or water. These heinous crimes are being committed by the American military, no doubt following orders from Rumsfeld and Bush.

Local Iraqis in Christchurch have united to call on NZ and US to withdraw troops and described how US media have grossly distorted the true picture. (See Chch Press story section B Page 2 on April 14, 2004.) Iraqis call for NZ to get out

The US is committing very evil deeds in Iraq. The current atrocities are but the latest in a long litany of assaults on this ancient, proud people, who have the misfortune of living on top of a much coveted asset.
The CIA inflicted Saddam Hussein upon the Iraqi people in the 80's, and the Nixon government, Rumsfeld in particular, supported him in full knowledge of his gassing of the Kurds. When Saddam asserted his independence, he was seduced into invading Kuwait, then brutally crushed. Iraq was dusted with uranium powder, and then treated to 10 years of cruel sanctions.

The truth of what's happening in Falluja has to get out.
.......I'm outraged. We're trying to get to a woman who's giving birth without any medical attention, without electricity, in a city under siege, in a clearly marked ambulance, and you're shooting at us. How dare you?
How dare you?

Despite the growing number of reports that depict the fighting as a spontaneous and indigenous revolt against the U.S.-led occupation, the influential neo-cons are calling on Bush to warn Tehran to cease its alleged backing for al-Sadr and other Shia militias or face retaliation, ranging from an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities to covert action designed to overthrow the government.

I have watched with heavy heart and mounting dread as the ever-precarious battle to bring security to post-war Iraq has taken a desperate turn for the worse in recent days and hours. Along with so many Americans, I have been shaken by the hellish carnage in Fallujah and the violent uprisings in Baghdad and elsewhere. The pictures have been the stuff of nightmares, with bodies charred beyond recognition and dragged through the streets of cheering citizens. And in the face of such daunting images and ominous developments, I have wondered anew at the President's stubborn refusal to admit mistakes or express any misgivings over America's unwarranted intervention in Iraq.

A myth equal to the fable of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction is gaining strength on both sides of the Atlantic. It is that John Kerry offers a world-view different from that of George W Bush. Watch this big lie grow as Kerry is crowned the Democratic candidate and the "anyone but Bush" movement becomes a liberal cause celebre.

Theologian Charges White House - Complicity in 9/11 Attack
There’s nothing the least bit wild-eyed or hysterical about David Ray Griffin. In person, he’s disarmingly calm, and speaks in the unflappably precise and deliberate style of a lifelong academic. Which is exactly what Griffin is. A respected philosopher of religion at the Claremont School of Theology since the 1970s and longtime Santa Barbara resident, Griffin is now raising questions that even President Bush’s harshest critics are afraid to think, let alone ask aloud.
In his latest book, The New Pearl Harbor — released just two weeks ago — Griffin all but accuses the Bush administration of taking a dive on September 11 and giving Al Qaeda terrorists an unobstructed shot at the World Trade Center. According to Griffin, a case can be made that the Bush administration arranged the attack, or allowed it to happen. He is aware that he may be dismissed as a conspiracy nut, but given the “transcendent importance” of the issue, Griffin is willing to assume that risk and has taken to repeating Michael Moore’s line on the subject: “Personally, I’m not into conspiracy theories except those that are true.” I met with Griffin over coffee to discuss his book and the September 11 investigation. The following is an edited account of their conversation.

Richard Clarke, the former White House counterterrorism coordinator, accuses the Bush administration of failing to recognize the al-Qaeda threat before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and then manipulating America into war with Iraq with dangerous consequences.
He accuses Bush of doing "a terrible job on the war against terrorism."

A year ago, the United States went to war in Iraq because President George W. Bush and his administration convinced Congress and the country that Saddam Hussein was an urgent threat that required immediate military action.
The nation has paid a high price for that decision ever since.

.THE DANGERS OF FUNDAMENTALIST BELIEFS ON GEORGE BUSH AND ON U.S. FOREIGN POLICY.
ISLAMIC & ISRAELI FUNDAMENTALISM AND HOW THEY INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH US POLICY

Military watchdogs are warning Canadians about the current and planned weaponization of our upper atmosphere. Scientists such as Dr. Rosalie Bertell, winner of the MacBride Peace Prize and former head of the Chernobyl and Bhopal Medical Commissions; Dr. Alfred Lambremont Webre of the Vancouver-based Institute for Cooperation in Space; and journalist Jeffrey Simpson of the Globe and Mail describe this frightening issue, and the scientists propose some peaceful solutions.

My most immediate priority," Spain's new leader, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, declared yesterday, "will be to fight terrorism." But he and the voters who gave his party a stunning upset victory last Sunday don't believe the war in Iraq is part of that fight. And the Spanish public was also outraged by what it perceived as the Aznar government's attempt to spin last week's terrorist attack for political purposes.
The Bush administration, which baffled the world when it used an attack by Islamic fundamentalists to justify the overthrow of a brutal but secular regime, and which has been utterly ruthless in its political exploitation of 9/11, must be very, very afraid.

America under George W. Bush has become a rogue nation, an outlaw that shreds treaties and invades other countries on false pretexts, with no provocation. We refuse to come under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, lest we be judged by the same standard that applies to every other nation. We continue to consume far more than our share of the planet's dwindlng resources, and add far more than our share to the planet's carbon dioxide load, which is heating things up at a rapid rate.

TEHRAN (Mehr News Agency) – Over the past few days, in the wake of the bombings in Karbala and the ideological disputes that delayed the signing of Iraq’s interim constitution, there have been reports that U.S. forces have unloaded a large cargo of parts for constructing long-range missiles and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the southern ports of Iraq.

Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan's Feb. 25 testimony to the House Budget Committee provided an unintentionally candid look at the Bush administration's deliberate fiscal policy of bankrupting the federal government to justify a sweeping program of privatization.
During his February 25 testimony before the House Budget Committee, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan generated sensational national headlines by recommending that President Bush's $1.5 trillion in tax cuts be made permanent while Social Security and Medicare benefits be dramatically cut to achieve long term deficit reduction and a balanced budget.

Information Clearing House

The crisis in Haiti is another case of brazen US manipulation of a small, impoverished country. Much of the media portrayed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide as an undemocratic leader who betrayed Haiti's democratic hopes and thereby lost the support of his erstwhile backers. He "stole" elections and intransigently refused to address opposition concerns. As a result he had to leave office, which he did on Sunday at the insistence of the US and France. Unfortunately, this is a very distorted view.

Following on the heels of the military invasion of Iraq, another invasion began: a corporate invasion by Halliburton, Bechtel, and other U.S. companies that were awarded millions in “reconstruction” contracts. Nine months into the occupation, Iraqi schools are still in disrepair, electricity is intermittent, and the water is not safe to drink. On February 24, protest the corporations that are making millions in Iraq, and speak out for Iraqi workers’ rights and self-determination.
• Find the war profiteers in your community
• Calendar of February 24 events
So many Americans do see what is happening and they do care
Click here and then go to "Campaigns"

How much suffering would it take to compensate for the sins of humanity? There are six billion of us now, and our greed and selfishness are rapidly destroying the planet. This is especially true of Americans, as we all know.

Ralph Nader says that Rep. John Conyers is going to be filing a request for impeachment.
Is the Impeach Bush movement gathering steam?
Just 2 comments on this article:
1. On March 11, 2003 we already had our "academic debate" among about 40+ lawyers before Cong. Conyers on the merits of impeachment, with Clark and I presenting the case for impeachment. No one disagreed with us on the merits of impeachment. Basically, the opponents argued on grounds of political expedience: it would hurt the Democrats in 2004.
2. There is now in existence a second, revised draft Bill of Impeachment that we debated on March 11, 2003. Obviously, it will have to be updated. See my Destroying World Order (Clarity Press: 2004) for more details. Fab.

David Horowitz whines about a lack of 'academic freedom' – and calls for government regulation of campuses to ensure 'diversity'
Is there a bigger, fatter, more egregious hypocrite on God's green earth than David Horowitz? What else can we call someone who mounts a campaign for censoring campus speech – in the name of "academic freedom"?

In my research I came across this extraordinary documentation of the laws enacted over the years in the US, that curtail, discourage or punish dissent or protest against the official line. It seems quite clear that America is forfeiting it's reputation as home of the brave and the free, and becoming more of a theocratic dynasty or plutocracy. Or a Fascist state - American style.

"The Neoconservative Plan for Global Dominance" and "Homeland Security Threatens Civil Liberty" are listed as Project Censored's most underreported stories for 2002-2003. The New York Times runs an editorial on black box voting, drawing widespread attention to the possibility of rigged elections in 2004. Given our recent history, if freedom were to be undermined, how would we know for sure?

The takeover of America by George W. Bush and that gang gathered with him at the Capital, with hardly a word of protest from the people, remains a surprise and a shock to a lot of clear thinkers.
That this man could seize the office by judicial order after losing the popular vote, use executive order to release American industry from a volume of anti-pollution measures, and lead us to war against Iraq without provocation, should have stirred the wrath of the masses. It didn't happen. ...Read more

If the military budget doesn't pay for the needs of troops and veterans, who is benefitting from the tremendous increase? Cheney through Halliburton, the Bush family through Carlyle, and other administration insiders through their corporate connections. How corrupt can you get? When will the American taxpayers wake up to this enormous ripoff?

The fear campaign aimed at Iraq was precisely timed for the kickoff of the midterm election campaign of 2002.
A brilliant paper by Al Gore, lengthy but very lucid

In January 2003 thousands of us from across the world gathered in Porto Alegre in Brazil and declared--reiterated--that "Another World Is Possible." A few thousand miles north, in Washington, George W. Bush and his aides were thinking the same thing.
Our project was the World Social Forum. Theirs--to further what many call the Project for the New American Century.

With the collapse of the edifice of lies used to justify the war in Iraq, the entire US political establishment has rallied around a new lie concocted to conceal the old ones—namely, the assertion that an “intelligence failure” is to blame for the false pre-war claims about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

Late last year, a special Mother Jones investigation detailed how, only weeks after 9/11, the Bush administration set up a secret Pentagon unit to create the case for invading Iraq. Here is the inside story of how they pushed disinformation and bogus intelligence and led the nation to war.

We must not give up on the media - we must not assume that the media's shameless promotion of George Bush is immutable - for if the corporate media continues its present course and repeats its performance of 2000, Bush has a lock on the election.

LONDON - A strong case arguing the illegality of the invasion of Iraq will be handed soon to the International Criminal Court at The Hague.
The report prepared by eight leading international lawyers and professors of law drawn from four countries makes a strong case against the illegality of the way British and U.S. troops fought the war. Inter Press Service

• This is an historic moment of CHOICE.
• This is the moment when we must choose LIFE or DEATH individually and collectively.
• It is our responsibility to choose and to do it NOW!
• YOU can create a 180 degree change in our politics and government leaders.
• There is a man at the center of the worldwide cry for peace and change. His name is DENNIS KUCINICH, and he is one of the Democratic candidates for President of the United States.