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Anti-Empire
The Saker Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
Lockdown Skeptics
Voltaire NetworkVoltaire, international edition
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Scott Ritter & New Evidence of US Build Up in the Gulf national |
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news report
 Wednesday August 07, 2002 21:26 by irl IRL
 time for Ireland to get itself organized for the next war... ' "This isn't American democracy in action," said Mr [Scott] Ritter. [the former UN chief weapons inspector ] "It's the failure of American democracy. Before we go to war with Iraq, we must be able to determine that Iraq poses a threat to the national security of the US. Such a determination must be backed up with substantive fact. I believe that Iraq does not pose a threat to the US worthy of war. This conclusion is shared by many senior military officers." ' http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4476914,00.html
Imagery of Al Udeid Air Base
Dramatic satellite photos show just how far U.S. preparations for war with Iraq have advanced. They are images of the state-of-the-art al Udeid air base in Qatar, which has been significantly upgraded over the last six months and is expected to be used as America's base for military operations against Saddam Hussein. The images, taken by the commercial satellite company Digital Globe, show that between January and June, Qatar - with the help of the United States - has quietly expanded the base to put it on a war footing. It built a 13,000-foot runway to handle heavy bombers, as well as new ammunition dumps and large storage buildings for tanks. Also under construction are hardened aircraft shelters that can hide hundreds of warplanes. And in recent months, a giant tent city has been erected to house as many as 3,800 troops. The photos also reveal what appears to be a sophisticated command and control center. Tim Brown of the defense think tank Globalsecurity.org which has published an extensive analysis of the latest satellite imagery on its web site, said the base "looks like it is being designed to replace the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia so we don't have to rely on the Saudis for this operation." Pentagon officials last night refused to discuss details of the preparations at al Udeid. One added that planners are "not happy" the images are floating around on the Internet - "but [we] realize there's nothing we can do." Pentagon sources also said al Udeid is one of a handful of bases in the Persian Gulf region where extensive work is being done in advance of military operations against Iraq. Massive expansion and equipment pre-positioning is also taking place at a secret base in southern Kuwait as well as a NATO base in Incirlik, Turkey, the sources said. Bush administration officials have insisted that final decisions on launching military strikes have not yet been made. Military officials said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has recently rejected two competing plans for toppling Saddam: one, modeled on Operation Desert Storm, involves a massive invasion by 250,000 troops and the other, modeled on the war in Afghanistan, envisions extensive use of Special Forces troops alongside Iraqi opposition groups. Gen. Tommy Franks, head of U.S. Central Command, is said to be nearing completion of a third option involving a quick-strike force of 75,000 troops aimed at separating Saddam from his armies, capturing Baghdad and preventing Iraq from launching weapons of mass destruction against U.S. troops or Israel. Franks briefed President Bush on the war plans at the White House yesterday. Although the timing of the operation has not yet been set, it is generally believed the Bush administration wants it to begin sometime in the spring. Defense experts warn, however, that the widely reported timetable could be a deception so that Saddam has as little time as possible to prepare for the attack. Meanwhile, Iraq made some diplomatic moves apparently designed to derail or delay U.S. war plans. Saddam invited the chief U.N. weapons inspector, Hans Blix, to Baghdad for talks, hinting this might result in renewing the hunt for illicit weapons that was suspended in December 1998. But the Bush administration rejected the offer. It also rejected an invitation to members of Congress to tour suspected biological, chemical and nuclear weapons sites, accompanied by arms experts of their choice, during a three-week visit. "I can't think of anything funnier than a handful of congressmen walking around. They'd have to be there for the next 50 years trying to find something,' said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. "It's a joke."
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Comments (4 of 4)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4Listen, over here in the United Corporations of America the people know fuck all about what is going on. The corporate controlled news doesn't report anything about any opposition to the imminent war. Most Americans are still scratching their asses over why the WTC was hit. They stil don't get it! Like the UK there is no debate in the legislature about a war. I think the only hope is for European countries to actively oppose this war with Iraq and the hegemony of the USA. I urge Europeans to take to the streets and raise hell to prevent this war from happening. I urge all Europeans to become countries which actively oppose the USA's war aims. I encourage you to work for, amongst other things, sanctuary for USA's conscientious objectors. Become a safe haven for those who oppose the war and those who risk imprisonment in the USA over this matter. Ireland should remain neutral. No more flights of the U.S. military landing in Limerick. If you have to put cows on the runway at Shannon do it! The antiwar movement in the USA is very small now. It will get bigger but only after it begins since Americans get upset when Johnny comes home in a body bag. We have to start soon. Time is running out. The war will begin before Spring 2003. Cheers and good luck!
'The war will begin before Spring 2003.'??
I agree with everything you had written until that point - best to assume it will be in October 2002.
I think October 2002 IS before Spring 2003. Anyway, I read that there is speculation that events may begin sometime in August. The buSHITes may feel under pressure now that Blair is on the spot about supporting AmeriKKKay.
'I think October 2002 IS before Spring 2003.'
ummm yeah! thats true:-P
i just meant it will be a lot sooner than most assume - the dogs of war are getting hungry