Colin Powell on the Bush Administration’s Iraq War Mistakes
May 13, 2012 – Colin Powell
Chaos in Baghdad
On the evening of Aug. 5, 2002, President Bush and I met in his residence at the White House to discuss the pros and cons of the Iraq crisis. Momentum within the administration was building toward military action, and the president was increasingly inclined in that direction.
I had no doubt that our military would easily crush a smaller Iraqi army, much weakened by Desert Storm and the sanctions and other actions that came afterward. But I was concerned about the unpredictable consequences of war. According to plans being confidently put forward, Iraq was expected to somehow transform itself into a stable country with democratic leaders 90 days after we took Baghdad. I believed such hopes were unrealistic. I was sure we would be in for a longer struggle. Colin Powell reflects on lessons from the battlefield to the halls of power—including the mistakes of the Iraq War, his infamous U.N. speech, and the crimes at Abu Ghraib.
Mere HER i The Daily Beast.
Stoned to death for being an emo: NINETY Iraqi students killed for having ‘strange hair and tight clothes’
- Number of deaths could be even higher
- Cleric calls the stonings ‘an act of terrorism’
- Ministry of Interior ‘complicit’ in the killings
10 March 2012
Youngsters in Iraq are being stoned to death for having haircuts and wearing clothes that emulate the ‘emo’ style popular among western teenagers.
At least 14 youths have been killed in the capital Baghdad in the past three weeks in what appears to be a campaign by Shia militants.
Militants in Shia neighbourhoods, where the stonings have taken place, circulated lists yesterday naming more youths targeted to be killed if they do not change the way they dress.
Mere HER i The Daily Mail.
Look at the big picture on Iraqi deaths
by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi – February 27, 2012
Since the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, one of the most frequently recurring talking points has been speculation as to whether there will be a sectarian civil war in the country. Throughout this winter, the media at large and numerous analysts have been quick to note incidents of mass casualty attacks, pointing to an upsurge in fatalities, particularly in the month of January.
In addition, there has been a tendency to tie the increase in violence to the U.S. withdrawal and the subsequent political crisis that entailed the issuing of an arrest warrant against Tariq al-Hashimi, the Sunni vice-president of Iraq, on allegations of involvement in terrorism, as well as a boycott of the Iraqi parliament by the main opposition bloc al-Iraqiya, which has now decided to end its boycott.
Mere HER i Middle East Forum.
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