micah holmquist's irregular thoughts and links |
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Welcome to the musings and notes of a Cadillac, Michigan based writer named Micah Holmquist, who is bothered by his own sarcasm. Please send him email at micahth@chartermi.net. Holmquist's full archives are listed here.
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Sites Holmquist trys, and often fails, to go no more than a couple of days without visiting (some of which Holmquist regularly swipes links from without attribution) Aljazeera.Net English Blogs that for one reason or another Holmquist would like to read on at least something of a regular basis (always in development) Thivai Abhor |
Sunday, August 10, 2003
GbA Charles J. Hanley of the Associated Press has written a generally good article about how there is reason to believe the Bush Administration made statements about Iraq that were more ominous than accurate. Although Hanley doesn't cover the fact that the Bush Administration never gave any evidence that suggested that Iraq was a threat to the U.S., it is still nice that the piece is being printed in numerous newspapers. *** "Engineering experts from the Defense Intelligence Agency have come to believe that the most likely use for two mysterious trailers found in Iraq was to produce hydrogen for weather balloons rather than to make biological weapons, government officials say," Douglas Jehl writes in an August 8 New York Times story. "The classified findings by a majority of the engineering experts differ from the view put forward in a white paper made public on May 28 by the C.I.A. and the Defense Intelligence Agency, which said that the trailers were for making biological weapons." *** "A senior al Qaida terrorist, now detained, who had been responsible for al Qaida training camps in Afghanistan, reports that al Qaida was intent on obtaining WMD assistance from Iraq. According to a credible, high-level al Qaida source, Usama Bin Laden and deceased al Qaida leader Muhammad Atif did not believe that al Qaida labs in Afghanistan were capable of manufacturing chemical and biological weapons, so they turned to Iraq for assistance. Iraq agreed to provide chemical and biological weapons training for two al Qaida associates starting in December 2000," The White House writes in a report issued yesterday. The report does not clarify whether such training occurred or whether the "senior al Qaida terrorist" is considered reliable. The Voice Unheard has critiqued this and other statements in the report. *** "American jets killed Iraqi troops with firebombs – similar to the controversial napalm used in the Vietnam War – in March and April as Marines battled toward Baghdad," James W. Crawley writes in an August 5 San Diego Union-Tribune story. "Marine Corps fighter pilots and commanders who have returned from the war zone have confirmed dropping dozens of incendiary bombs near bridges over the Saddam Canal and the Tigris River. The explosions created massive fireballs... During the war, Pentagon spokesmen disputed reports that napalm was being used, saying the Pentagon's stockpile had been destroyed two years ago. Apparently the spokesmen were drawing a distinction between the terms 'firebomb' and 'napalm.' If reporters had asked about firebombs, officials said yesterday they would have confirmed their use." *** Justin Huggler reports in today's Independent on the recent shootings and deaths of the abd al-Kerim family in Iraq at the hands of the U.S. military. *** "Iraqis enraged by fuel shortages rioted in Basra Sunday, forcing British troops to fire warning shots for a second day in an effort to quell some of the worst unrest seen since the fall of Saddam Hussein," Joseph Logan of Reuters writes today. "At least one Iraqi involved in protests was killed and two others were wounded, but it was not clear who had fired the shots which struck them, reporters in the city said. Hundreds of young men barricaded roads in the second city with blazing tires and hurled chunks of concrete at passing cars. British tanks patrolled the streets and armored vehicles guarded petrol stations where increasingly frustrated drivers queued for hours in 120-degree heat." |