Please go to updated essay at: http://www.drsenator.com/IraqWarFactsResponse.html

----- Original Message -----

From: "Jonathan

To: "Thomas Lee Abshier, ND" <naturedox@qwest.net>

Sent: Sunday, February 13, 2005 3:21 PM

Subject: Re: Iraq Facts

Thomas,

(from Jonathan) Ordinarily I would discount such a simple minded analysis if it were not for the fact that so many people I have encountered are equally simplistic.

1. It is not my job to check facts.  Most reasonably educated and responsible people will supply the sources of their facts.  This person did not provide any sources for their statements.

2. The "facts" are presented at random without any context or hierarchy of importance.

3. The conclusion is spurious:

If these facts are true then the war must be good and right?

(from Thomas): The war was good and right if those who ruled the country were oppressive of their own people and they are now being given an opportunity to choose their own destiny.  The war continues to be good and right if we are eliminating from Iraqi society those who are attempting to disrupt the new representative government with IED’s and suicide bombs.  The war was good and right if Saddam was in fact planning to use his military-industrial complex to produce bioweapons or nuclear weapons, or if he had intentions in any way to supply the al quaeda network with those weapons. 

War is not inherently evil.  War is the final tool of a nation to defend or establish the rule of righteousness in various ways: 1) to stop the threat or actuality of aggression, 2) to remove an oppressive government in defense of a helpless people.

4. One would assume that in a country of over 24 million people there would be a great deal of activity.  The Iraqi people had an advanced society and were perfectly capable of building schools, etc. before the war without any help from us. 

Please note that most of the construction is required as a result of our war and sanctions.  Building roads and schools was not the reason for preemptive war.  If it was, I wish we would have declared war on Portland because there are an awful lot of potholes to fix in our roads!

Thomas: The fact of much economic activity in a country of 24 million people is no doubt true.  The more germane question is, “what was the direction and effect of the activity?”  Saddam directed at least a percentage of his nation’s wealth, toward palaces, weapons, military, and payoffs.  Was this a sufficient drain on the productive capacity of his country to bring down its standard of living?  I do not know the numbers, but we can safely say that this expenditure did not benefit the lifestyle of the common Iraqi as much as if it was directed toward building up the country’s infrastructure.  

5.  Point by point comments:

Fact: Did you know 47 countries have re-established their embassies in Iraq? 

Jonathan: SO WHAT?  BY THE WAY THE U.N. OFFICE HAS PULLED OUT BECAUSE IT IS TOO DANGEROUS.

Thomas: The reestablishment of embassies is a sign that Iraq has reentered the community of civilized nations.  If embassies were not present in Iraq, then this was a symptom of an estrangement of Iraq from the rest of the world.  I do not know the reason why the 47 nations were not present, but the fact is that the UN pulled out because their headquarters was bombed.  This is an indication of the problem with Iraq. 

Leaving Iraq and allowing the insurgents to occupy and establish their rule, is not the equivalent of peace.  Such a retreat in the face of an advancing evil is simply to suppress the overt manifestation of war.  When hearts are oppressed by evil, the fire of the soul’s desire for freedom still burns.  This deep internal sense of injustice and unrighteous oppression may be the only indicator of a country at war, but nevertheless, that country is at war.  The peace of a totalitarian oppression is the precursor condition for an overt war, and in fact there is already present a state of war, it is simply distributed throughout the nation in the discontent heart of its citizens.  The only true peace exists in a world where righteousness has been established in every heart, and every person properly respects the space of his neighbor. 

The lack of bombings, shootings, and violent actions in a society is not the final indicator of victory.  We must use a higher standard of righteousness to evaluate our endpoint.

Fact: Did you know 25 Iraq students departed for the United States in January 2004 for the re-established Fulbright program?

Jonathan: ONLY 25 OUT OF A POPULATION OF 24 MILLION?  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Thomas: I do not know what the Fulbright program is, but I am assuming it is a scholarship or exchange student program of some sort.  If 25 came to the United States now, and there were none before, then this is another indication of the reentry of Iraq into the commerce and community of nations.  Was the oppressive regime of Saddam, or possibly the sanctions against him, was the reason the program was terminated?  Regardless, the reestablishment of relations with all people on the earth is good, if the purpose of that commerce is honorable (i.e. not a cover for some destructive infiltration).

Fact: Did you know the Iraqi Navy is operational?  They have (5) 100-foot patrol craft, 34 smaller vessels and a naval infantry regiment. 

Jonathan: A NAVY WITH ONLY 34 VESSELS SMALLER THAN 100 FT IS INSIGNIFICANT.  THE CIA FACT BOOK SAYS THAT THERE IS NO NAVY, JUST MERCHANT MARINE VESSELS.  WHY WOULD REBUILDING IRAQ'S NAVY BE A GREAT THING?  AND WHAT THE HELL IS A "NAVAL INFANTRY" ANYWAY?  THIS IS NONSENSE!

Thomas: The Marines are essentially a naval infantry.  The Navy can transport the Marines, or may have a small detachment of Marines on board.

Clearly, under Saddam, the presence of an Army, Navy, or Marine Corp was bad because he was using force for the purpose of advancing evil.  At this point, we are attempting to restore the rule of righteousness.  If the “fact” is true, and they do actually have coastal patrol boats, then this means we are equipping them, or allowing the Iraqi’s to equip themselves with boats to defend their ports against ocean borne attack.

Fact: Did you know Iraq's Air Force consists of three operational fighting squadrons, 9 reconnaissance and 3 C-130 transport aircraft which operate day and night, and will soon add 16 UH-1 helicopters and 4 Bell Jet Rangers?

Jonathan: SO WE'RE SELLING U.S. AIRCRAFT TO IRAQ?

REMEMBER AFTER GULF WAR I, GEN. SCHWARTZKOFF ALLOWED THE IRAQIS TO FLY THEIR HELICOPTERS AND ALLOWED THEM TO SLAUGHTER THE KURDS (OUR CIA BACKED INSURGENTS).  NO IRAQ "AIR FORCE" I'M AFRAID. 

I WONDER IF HE HAS SOME PLANES TO SELL THEM.

I REALLY AM A LITTLE CONFUSED BY THESE "FACTS".  WAS THE GOAL OF THE WAR TO BUILD UP THE IRAQI MILITARY?  IS THAT THE GOOD NEWS!?

Thomas: See previous comments about the Navy.  If we are selling US aircraft to Iraq, it is for the purpose of establishing a good regime.  Whether a Muslim culture can maintain a good and righteous government remains to be seen.  We know at the very least they have problems treating women with respect.  We do not know whether they will be seduced into allying with the radical Wahabe type Jihad against America.  We would be much wiser if we sent missionaries and taught the gospel of Christ along with helping them establish their new government.    

You ask why we are equipping them with an air force.  We must recognize that there is a difference in the two regimes, the Saddam regime and the new government we are attempting to facilitate in installing.  It was under Saddam that helicopters were directed in the slaughter of the Kurds.  It was a terrible mistake on the part of the US to allow this.  I don’t think GWB would have allowed such an atrocity without severe retaliation.  Remember, the US does not conduct itself perfectly in all manners of human and international relationships.  The national/group errors are the equivalent of our personal indiscretions.  The nation is comprised of imperfect people, and wrong/evil/bad policies happen – just look at slavery, abortion, and misogyny – we don’t have it fully together as a nation.  But, just because there are mistakes, and even outright wrong actions, committed by the US, such excursions do not paint the entire national character black.  When errors and wrongs are committed, it is appropriate that we apologize and make them right.  I believe our action in Iraq now is in the category of “making it right.”  We should have gone to Baghdad in the first Gulf War.  We weren’t called in to free the hostages of a nation.  We didn’t feel we had the international support to do it, or whatever other reason, we allowed Saddam to continue his oppressive reign for years, and finally we responded.  I think it was a bold act of courage on the part of President Bush to lead our country against a tyrant in an attempt to free those people.  Remember, if tyranny exists anywhere, the world is one step closer to a shooting war.  That war is already present and brewing in the hearts of those who are oppressed.  And, a man who would oppress his own people is one step closer to being a man who would oppress the peoples of the whole world.  The only force stopping the expansion of a tyrant is the willingness of the world to oppose him.  If we had been willing to take over Saddam in 1991, possibly the hundreds of thousands of people that Saddam killed might have been saved. 

Fact: Did you know Iraq has a counter-terrorist unit and a Commando Battalion? 

Jonathan: I HOPE SO.  THERE WAS NO "TERRORISM BEFORE THE WAR.

See comment above regarding peace in a country.  Peace is not the ultimate goal or measure of a country’s success; it is the full institution of righteousness on all levels of society, individual and corporate, toward which we aim.  A totalitarian regime is a friend to evil.  The Terrorists are evil.  They are not freedom fighters.  They have no intent to produce increased freedom in the lives and hearts of the people of Iraq.  Some may be doing terrorist acts because they have a fanatical belief in the way of Allah, and want to impose it on everyone.  Some may have a desire for a territorial expansion or the monolithic rule of Islam in the Mid East.  Regardless, their goal is not choice, freedom, or the Liberty possible in Christ.  They do not want to establish the minimum rule-set necessary to maintain Godly space-respecting behavior between neighbors (individual, corporate, and international).  Rather, the radical Islamists have a rule-set they consider holy, that they are willing to impose on anyone and everyone.  Their view of life stretches through the centuries, and time is merely the road they travel toward their ultimate subjugation of the entire world under the boot of Sharia law.  No, the United States is not a terrorist nation.  We have done terrible things, and created terror in isolated pockets at times, but as a policy, as a commitment, the United States is not a nation whose goal is the colonization and subjugation of the world under the Iron Fist of Christian Rule.  On the contrary, the rule of Christ is the most gentle restraint possible.  And let us be frank, a man must live under the rule of law.  But that law is God’s perfect law, and that law is an easy yoke to bear.  The structure of the universe demands that we live under law in our behavior – every particle and wave must follow the laws of nature as it transmits energy through space and time.  As humans, we are simply more complex aggregations of particles and waves, and the set of laws and conditions governing our interactions is accordingly geometrically more complex.  The possible permutations of behavior are so great that we cannot memorize, or be taught, the entire set of proper behavior.  Thus, we must instead govern ourselves and generate our actions based on more fundamental principles.  It is in the proper synthesis and weighing of the various moral principles that the Holy Spirit enlivens our mind when we have been well grounded in those principles by reading the Word of God, the Holy Bible.  But, in all this there is freedom and a perfect honoring of another person’s space.

If Iraq has a commando anti-Terrorism unit/battalion, this indicates that they are on the track toward defending themselves against these tactics.  It remains to be seen whether the Iraqis are capable of resisting the temptation to impose Sharia law on themselves, and then be participants in the worldwide Jihad against Christianity and all non-Muslim religions.

Fact: Did you know the Iraqi Police Service has over 55,000 fully trained and equipped police officers? 

Jonathan: I THINK NYC HAS MORE THAN THAT.  SO WE ARE SUCCESFULLY TURNING IRAQ INTO AN ARMED CAMP.  ARE WE ARMING ANOTHER POTENTIAL SADAHM AND THEOCRATIC STATE?  DID YOU KNOW THAT THOUSANDS OF IRAQI POLICE RECENTLY RESIGNED BECAUSE THEY WERE BEING KILLED?

Thomas: We do not measure the righteousness of a cause by how many people leave it because following it is hard.  Of course the Iraqi police are going to be under attack.  They are the visible local representatives of a resistance against the imposition of an evil Islamic regime on Iraq.  Yes, there is the potential for Iraq to become an armed camp of religious zealots.  That is what the problem was in Afghanistan.  Religious fanaticism seeking to impose its particular brand of tyranny springs eternal in the human heart.  Slavery to an idea, person, or regime is one of the hallmarks of evil.  Remember, absolute freedom to do anything (and do it without consequences) is impossible, nature will not allow it.  The question is how to know the minimum set of rules so as to maximize pleasure and the number of choices available while eliminating the possibility of pain and injury.

If NYC has more police than Iraq, then they probably still need a lot more.  It is my suspicion that the Iraqis still need a lot of supervision, guidance, and discipline in how to behave toward each other.  Suddenly going from a nation of totalitarian repression to a nation of free action typically confronts people with moral choices they are unprepared to resist.  Gambling, drugs, prostitution, and the opportunity to engage in fraudulent business practices usually tempt the man who suddenly emerges from the cozy womb of totalitarian restrictions.  Police are usually required in abundance to replace the iron hand of the autocrat.  Is this good that they have 55,000 police?  Well, it probably isn’t enough, but it’s an indication that there are people in the society who are willing to shoulder the burden of enforcement of righteous behavior in their country.

Fact: Did you know there are 5 Police Academies in Iraq that produce over 3500 new officers each 8 weeks?

Jonathan: I HOPE THAT IS TRUE BECAUSE THERE IS MORE CRIME, LOOTING KIDNAPPING AND ORGANIZED CRIME THAN EVER BEFORE IN IRAQ.  DURING A SENATE HEARING, I HEARD FORMER DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE, RICHARD ARMITAGE, SAY THAT ORGANIZED CRIME HAD BECOME A HUGE PROBLEM AS A RESULT OF SANCTIONS, ANDTHAT THEY DIDN'T TAKE THAT "FACT" INTO ACCOUNT BEFORE THE WAR, THUS, A
STRONGER INSURGENCY.

Thomas: It’s hard to assess every factor operating in a complex society.  In hindsight we can easily identify this force, and clearly recognize how and why the system is responding as it has.  Were the sanctions bad?  Well, they were not successful.  They were meant to produce enough pain and restrictions on Iraq to break their will to behave badly.  The US did not impose sanctions for the purpose of subjugating the people of Iraq to a reign of terror.  The purpose of the sanctions was to coerce within Iraq a Godly code of intra and inter-national conduct.  It was because this lesser force had failed to produce a compliance with international codes of good conduct that the Iraq war was launched.

The rise of organized crime in a society under restricted trade rule is not surprising.  All this is simply more evidence of the need to establish a true rule of righteousness.  Clearly Saddam did not forward the motion toward this goal.  The capitulation of the United States to Saddam in his refusal to allow the weapons inspectors should never have been allowed.  If there was any event which was the precursor to the 2^nd Iraq War, it was the failure of Clinton to retaliate against this blatant expression of rebellion.  The rebellion Saddam was embracing was pride and power.  If his pride was in his submission to the righteousness of the rule of Christ in his life and nation, such pride would have been followed by increasing honor.  If his lust for power was to manifest the power of the True God in his life and nation, he would have been likewise given more power.  But, he chose to idolize himself, and he was dethroned and shown to be a pathetic self-anointed thug-king.  The end of dishonor was inevitable.  We need not apologize for being the instruments by which his end came.

Fact: Did you know there are more than 1100 building projects going on in Iraq?  They include 301 schools, 67 public clinics, 15 hospitals, 83 railroad stations, 22 oil facilities, 93 water facilities and 69 electrical facilities. 

Jonathan: DID YOU KNOW THAT ONLY 2 PERCENT OF THE MONEY ALLOCATED FOR IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION HAS BEEN SPENT BECAUSE OF THE INSURGENCY? 

Thomas: If the insurgency has been so effective that only 2% of the money appropriated for Iraq’s reconstruction has been spent, this shows how important it is to overcome the insurgency.  If this is true, this means that the insurgency has no care for the actual welfare of the people, they care only about being in control of the territory and people.  This is no reason to leave or consider our care and effort to be misdirected or futile.  This fact only emphasizes the fact of their commitment to evil. 

In this case the definition of evil is: an unwanted domination of a nation by a small group who wish to use that control for purposes of unjust personal enrichment or for satisfying an unrighteous lust for power.  In the case of the Insurgency, I see elements of both money and power driving their efforts.  Their worship of an unholy god and his draconian command to dominate the world for him is the fundamental force driving their souls.  As such, every Islamic nation is a potential threat to the sovereignty of the United States as a Christian Nation.  The Islamic sword desires the neck of every infidel to bow in submission under its blade, either in forced conversion or death.

To declare “Peace” while Islam still grips the hearts of billions is to ignore the threat of living with a people who are committed to placing the entire world under their ideological domination.  We are currently in a cold war with Islam, and their insurgency is not confined to the terrorist resistance in Iraq.  The Islamist need not conquer the United States with bombs and airplanes; he may simply multiply endlessly in our free nation.  When he has sufficient numbers he can simply vote to repeal the constitution and declare Sharia as the nation’s law.  Granted such a coup would take centuries, but unless our national will is hardened against this attack we will fall prey to inexorable decay.  The Islamic mind has shown itself willing to consider history and the move of Allah in this glacial epoch-long jihad.

There is only one weapon which can save us from domination by this unholy religion.  We must remove the muting corks from mouths of those who speak from pulpit and podium and allow a vigorous defense of Christianity in the public square.  We must recognize that conversion of the Islamist to Christianity is serving goodness and righteousness.  When a person chooses to change his spiritual allegiance to another religion, it is not a violation of that person’s psychic space or God given free will.  Witnessing and sharing of the Gospel should be done respectfully, in the sense of sharing “my experience” living in the freedom of Christ.  I do not advocate a mandate or discriminated citizen status for the Muslim.  But, being realistic, Christians need to become more mature.  In the current day, the name “Christian” is applied to all manner of unGodly behaviors.  Thus, the witness of Christians is weak.  But, this poor testimony need not be the eternal state of Christianity to the world.  By opening the public discourse to an overt commentary about the witness of any given action, the name of Christianity can be separated from bad behavior by simply declaring it to be non-Christian.  Under our current implicit national gag order on discussing Christianity in the “secular” media, the secular humanist detractors can plausibly associate bad behavior by organizations, agencies, administrations, corporations, etc., and smear the perfected principles of Christ with the deficient behavior of weak and fallible humans.

Jonathan: IRAQ NOW IMPORTS GASOLINE, OIL EXPORTS HAVE DROPPED, PIPELINES ARE BEING BOMBED, AND HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS IN RECONSTRUCTION MONEY HAS BEEN STOLEN WHILE CONTRACTS ARE GIVEN TO CRONIES AND U.S. CORPORATIONS THAT DEFRAUDED INVESTORS (I.E. LUCENT, QUALCOMM, HALLIBURTON, ETC)?  TWO YEARS LATER, MOST IRAQIS STILL HAVE VERY LIMITED WATER, SEWAGE AND ELECTRICITY.

Thomas: Again, the insurgency of unjust and unrighteous demi-tyrants is lowering the quality of life for the people of Iraq.  Such violations of the people and infrastructure of Iraq by ex-loyalists and Islamic fanatics cannot be properly attributed to misdeeds by the US Armed Forces or our political intentions.  We engaged in a pre-emptive war in good faith, and we have engaged in a well intentioned effort to restore their infrastructure.  The fact that power/control hungry zealot-hoodlums will not allow us repair and reinitiate their economy does not impugn our intent or efforts at reconstruction. 

We are willingly giving to people in need, we are not the enemy, and our cause is righteous.  The fact of the occasional unrighteous appropriation illustrates clearly willingness of human nature to stoop to unearned enrichment; such events do not prove the intent of a country or Administration.  Such aberrations from our intended performance continue to illuminate the need for us openly endorse Christianity and its principles of right-relationship in our society.  A society-wide standard of Absolute Right principles increases the moral authority of every person in the society to serve as a watch-dog against corruption.  While the laws that govern monetary actions are essentially codifications of Judeo-Christian ethics, an overt stand for a supernatural Absolute standard removes any doubt about a relativistic justification for corrupt behavior.

Did you know 96% of Iraqi children under the age of 5 have received the first 2 series of polio vaccinations?

DID YOU KNOW THAT CANCER RATES INCLUDING CHILDHOOD LUKEMIA HAVE SKYROCKETED AS A RESULT OF DEPLETED URANIUM CONTAMINATION?

(See article written about use of U238 armaments and projectiles by military)

Did you know 4.3 million Iraqi children were enrolled in primary school by mid October?

BEFORE THE WAR, IRAQ HAD ONE OF THE WORLDS HIGHEST LITERACY RATE (OVER 90%), AND ONE OF THE WORLDS LOWEST INFANT MORTALITY RATES SO I WOULD ASSUME THAT CHILDREN WENT TO SCHOOL AND WERE EDUCATED BEFORE THE WAR.  WE DID NOT START A WAR TO ENFORCE TRUANCY LAWS.

High school attendance, high literacy, and low infant mortality are all good societal outcomes.  If it was that way before the war, then apparently Saddam the autocrat was good at enforcing these behaviors.  The more appropriate question is, “Should we have left him in power because he was good at enforcing truancy laws?” 

The significance of 4.3 million children in school is difficult to assess because we do not know whether that is higher or lower than before the war.  If our assumption is true that children are now in school, and life is getting back to normal after the war, that is good. 

Your habit is to diminish the significance of good social statistics in Iraq.  You enhance and dwell on negative statistics, attempting to prove your thesis of America’s evil intent and incompetence.  Your fundamental frame of reference is that America is evil, her intentions are evil, and her leaders are evil.  But, upon confronting you with this judgment, you pretend to not know what evil actually is; therefore you cannot judge anyone or any circumstance as evil.  You use the pretense of saying that you simply “look at results” and therefore do not make judgments about the good or evilness of a situation.  . 

I believe you are attempting to make authoritative declarations about circumstances and people while pretending to not appeal to a higher value system from which to make this judgment.  If there is no God, then man is the judge of all things, in which case the system of absolute judgment rises from man’s values.  If you are simply stating how you feel that is fine, but your value system is of little significance unless you can enroll the agreement of others, who will in turn take action.

I believe there is a God, which in turn has generated within man a sense of value; for example we generally recognize that pain and injustice are bad, while pleasure and equitable transactions are good.  Again, you can pretend that you are simply making all this up yourself, or you can use the fact of the similarity in the human valuation of fundamental principles as evidence for the existence of a God through whom we are all connected.  *** 

 and that In this case the values we humans feel are in some way reflecting God’s value system.  We must note that even though the source of our value system is God’s standards which resonate in our hearts.  The problem is that our imperfect sensory systems misperceive circumstances and our mis-programmed computing systems misjudge the true and Godly valuation of a system. 

Your evasion in declaring people and circumstances to be evil is a disguised way of saying that you have an inherently resonant value system which will resonate with the human heart.  You are trying to avoid any reference to an Absolute by pretending that this is simply your valuation system.  But, implicit within your tone and presentation is outrage at the negative behaviors.  If you you do not need to refer to God’s standards to make judgments.  By pretending that the results speak for themselves and have within them inherent judgments, you have in effect made your evaluation of the significance of that data an absolute standard.  But in fact, the judgments you make are private interpretations.  You may have tapped into a larger body of social agreement, or you may have agreed with the Absolute standard by which God judges circumstances.  But, facts by themselves do not stand alone.  Facts are given significance only in relationship to a context, and the Absolute significance is judged by God.  If you want to judge events/transactions/circumstances/projects as indicative of corruption, thuggery, or conspiratorial collusion, then simply admit that the reason that these negative behaviors have significance as being negative behaviors, is because there is a higher standard that has already been established, and that you are simply judging them as negative

Did you know there are 1,192,000 cell phone subscribers in Iraq and phone use has gone up 158%?

SO, THE MEASURE OF THE SUCCESS OF A MILITARY OCCUPATION IS A RISE IN CELL PHONE SUBSCRIBERS?  THE U.S. DESTROYED THE LAND LINE PHONE SYSTEMS (ALONG WITH THE WATER, ELECTRICITY, OIL, ETC).  THUS, THE "NEED" FOR CELL PHONES WHICH CAN BE TRACKED BY G.P.S. SYSTEMS.  HOW CONVENIENT THAT SO MANY U.S. COMPANIES GOT THE CELL CONTRACTS.

Did you know Iraq has an independent media that consists of 75 radio stations, 180 newspapers and 10 television stations?

NOT FOR LONG.  JUST WAIT FOR U.S. STYLE MEDIA CONSOLIDATION.  MOST OF THESE "NEWS OUTLETS" ARE "RAGS" WITH LIMITED DISTRIBUTION.  NO AL JAZIRA, THEY'VE BEENED BANNED SINCE LAST AUGUST.  WHAT ABOUT THE WESTERN JOURNALISTS THAT WERE DELIBERATELY KILLED AT THE PALESTINE HOTEL BY THE U.S. MILITARY?  AGAIN, MAYBE THE PENTAGON SHOULD BOMB OUR OWN COUNTRY UNTIL RUPERT MURDOCK AND VIACOM LOOSEN THEIR GRIP ON "THE MEDIA"?

Did you know the Baghdad Stock Exchange opened in June of 2004?

THIS WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS ON OUR AGENDA.  THAT'S WHY WE SENT OUR FIRST U.S. VICEROY PACKING JUST A FEW DAYS AFTER HE GOT OFF THE PLANE.  APARENTLY HE HAD SOME CRAZY IDEA THAT IRAQ SHOULD HAVE ELECTIONS RIGHT AWAY AND THAT THE RESOURCES BELONG TO IRAQIS.  RUMSFELD SENT PAUL BREMMER INSTEAD TO "STRAIGHTEN THINGS OUT" SINCE IT WOULD TAKE A YEAR TO ISSUE DIRECTIVES THAT WOULD PRIVATIZE IRAQI ASSETS INTO THE HANDS OF THE U.S. GROVER NORQUIST, ONE OF BUSHES TOP OPERATIVES ADMITTED TO WRITING THE PLAN.

Did you know 2 candidates in the Iraqi presidential election had a recent televised debate recently?

DID YOU KNOW THAT THE IRAQI PEOPLE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO VOTE FOR A PRESIDENT?  THEY JUST VOTED FOR A COUNCIL THAT WILL VOTE FOR ANOTHER COUNCIL THAT WILL PICK A PRESIDENT?  BY THE WAY, IRAQ IS GOVERNED BY ISLAMIC LAW NOW AND IS NO LONGER SECULAR.  YOU WILL BE HAPPY TO KNOW THAT THEIR NEW FLAG NOW SAYS, "GOD IS GREAT".