March 19 Iraq War Blogswarm Posts

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Note: Aside from any human error, these pages include all of the blog postings that we were notified about in the comments for Bring the Noise! Bring the Swarm! post. Many other posts are listed too, and work continues on getting a full set.

Now that you have participated or read postings from people who have participated, here are some of many things you get involved in to continue the effort to stop the war on Iraq.

Out of Iraq Blogger's Caucus.
Link up with other blogs that oppose the senseless carnage in Iraq.

US
United for Peace and Justice
Visit their website regularly for national actions and to find the latest local actions in their online calendar.

A.N.S.W.E.R.(Act Now to Stop War and End Racism)
Go to their website regularly to get details on their anti-war and pro-justice demonstrations.

Iraq Veterans Against the War
Support their efforts to stop the war and get justice for Iraq vets and military families.

UK
Stop the War Coaltion
Get involved in an umbrella group of war opponents.

3/19 Iraq War Blogswarm - Blogs Starting with Numbers

Here are links to the posts from blogs starting with the Numbers along with brief quotes from the posts.

100 Voices:
Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan

Matthew Palevsky, Journalist
反戦するイラク帰還兵 / Iraq Veterans Against The War（IVAW）主催のWinter Soldierコンファレンス会場からお伝えします。イラクとアフガニスタン兵士が自ら目撃した、戦場における軍の誤管理、イラク市民に対する暴力を証言します。

10,000 Monkeys and a Camera:
Five Years Too Many

Other anniversary posts:

* NYTimes: Iraq 5 Years In
* Attaturk: Crappy Anniversary
* BarbinMD: Five Years
* Juan Cole: 5 Years, 5 Lies
* Quiddity: Five-year anniversary...
* Rep. Jim McDermott: What Might Have Been
* Winter Soldier: Soldiers Speak
* William Saletan: The Lessons of Iraq

42:
March 19

I almost forgot about the March 19th Blogswarm amongst all the recent economic wreckage: five years ago today George Bush launched his doomed war of aggression against Iraq, or more specifically, Saddam Hussein. Well, he’s been dead for quite awhile now, but the war grinds on with daily death, mayhem, and horror. Bush today commemorated the anniversary with probably the most egregious bullshit he’s ever spouted, but you won’t see it in the US media. For that, we have to cross the pond to the UK: President Bush: Iraq war was a success and will end in victory.

# イラク戦争まる５年 (320 Aikotoba)
現地治安悪化で報告会中止。国境なき医師団

3月26日（水）に東京で開催される予定だった『国境なき医師団　イラク活動報告会』が中止になったと本日発表された。

この催しは全国アクションリストでも紹介しています。足を運ぶつもりでいた方は、今一度、国境なき医師団（MSF）の公式サイトでご確認ください。

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3/19 Iraq War Blogswarm - Blogs Starting with A

Here are links to the posts from blogs starting with the letter "A," along with brief intros quoted from the posts.

Aaru Tuesday:
5 Years

Today is the Blogswarm Against The War, because we have been doing this for five freaking years now. I am caught up in silence, sadly, but there is one thing connected to the war I wanted to jot down, because it has been bugging me in blogland lately; Ferraro, blah, Steinem, blah, Feldt - especially Feldt. I mean, just look at Feldt:

Ablogination:
The War On Iraq: The Forgotten Ones

Most reasonably intelligent people know that around one million people have died as a result of The Big Lie. Most people who don’t have their heads up their asses know that nearly 4000 Americans have lost their lives and tens of thousands more maimed or otherwise injured.

But how about those who are forgotten? Anyone familiar with the term “Refugee"?

Above and Beyond:
Five Years Later

A successful endeavor?- Suicides, family breakups, depression and social stigma are just some of the hidden legacies of the Iraq war among the more than one million US troops who have served in the campaign.

Acts of Hope:
Blogswarm against the war: hope in the rain

There were perhaps thirty of us, in the rain and wind, standing at a corner. Some held signs, others made peace signs with their fingers, others simply stood.

Several were from my congregation; its oldest members, in fact. A few were students. One was a little girl in a pink slicker, standing under the protective arm of her mother. She was the only child out on this night. Two photographers snapped pictures. At least four, maybe five of those in attendance were clergy; not young ones, but the young ones were tending to Holy Week duties and perhaps families; the retired ones were there in the rain, in clerical collars and raincoats and wrinkles.

Adam Kokesh - Revolutionary Patriot:
5 Years

Dennis Kucinich at WS, with a cameo by Adam Kokesh

YouTube video with Kucinich at Winter Soldier.


Adaptivereuse.net:
Fight climate change, not war

From the beginning it was nothing more than an unjustified war of aggression by a group of countries, the US, UK and Australia, whose historical pretensions of moral superiority can now clearly be seen as false, disguises for greed and criminality. It has put the final nail in the coffin of the US economy and completely corrupted the already fragile US political system, probably beyond repair. Not only has it ruined countless lives, the money it has wasted would have gone a long way to solving the real crisis facing the world and that is climate change.

After Downing Street:
Photos from March 18-19 in DC by Mike Hearington
Link to protest photos included.


al Qaeda in Albuquerque:
A deal for Saddam: What might have been

Suppose that 5 years ago today, 19 March 2003, the Congress had voted to strike a deal with Saddam: We'll buy all Iraq's oil for $90/bbl, starting immediately - 20 March 2003.

The going price was ~$30/bbl.
This proposal would have represented about a 200% mark-up over then-current market price.

Albatross!:
The Tribe

The Tribe was strong and proud. Its members lived in peace and prosperity in a time when other savage tribes scrabbled and fought and warred just to maintain meager survival. The Tribe had survived and grown because its people offered all they had - the best of their abilities, a fair share of their possessions, their very lives to the benefit of the tribe. And in return, they were rewarded, each to the measure of their efforts, so that the richer and stronger the Tribe became, the wealthier and more powerful each member and each family became along with it.

Alien Trucker:
My Hero - Our Tree House - His Flag

There are moments in time that will always be a major part of your memories, Some can be that very moment when something wonderful happens that changes your life. Some are the moments spent with friends and family over many years. Some come from a traumatic moment that you or someone close experiences. This story has all three. Try to bear with me as this post may get long with memories hitting me from all sides and pouring out.

All Things Democrat:
Iraq War - 2003-2008 - So Far

I’m sad to announce that, according to today’s count on the Iraq Coalition Casualties website, that we’re - on the 5 year anniversary of this illegal war - just 8 dead Americans short of 4000.

That last statement was foul.

American Leftist:
Iraq War Blogswarm

"Why is it so difficult to organize opposition to the war?"- During the lunch hour, I, along with my young son, attended a protest to mark the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war on the north side of the capital here in Sacramento. The crowd numbered 75 to 100 people, and I recognized a number of them from past instances of activism related to peace issues, immigration, Chiapas and the environment.

And, Yes I DO Take It Personally:
Iraq War Blogswarm

Today, March 19, marks the 5 year anniversary of the biggest Military/Foreign Policy blunder since the Viet Nam Fiasco: King George's Holy Oedipal Crusade On Iraq.

(Crossposted at Blog of Revelation.)

The Angryindian:
Remembering The Downing Street Memorandum

I expected most people and the mainstream media to focus on American military expenditures and the U.S. body count inching its way up to 4000 with a few enterprising souls reminding us that Iraqi’s and Afghans are dying too and in that order. What I am concerned with did not get much mention at all, even when it originally transpired there was scant reportage and what notice that did exist failed to acknowledge the gravity of the matter. This of course is exactly what the Bush administration needed and wanted. And the American press allowed them to get away with it. If you haven’t figured it out already, I’m referring to the Downing Street Memorandum, the leaked document detailing the minutes of a classified July 2002 meeting between then British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his senior intelligence advisers namely England’s real life “C”, Sir Richard Dearlove.

Appletree:
Iraq: What You Can Do

The war has created 5 million refugees

If you really want to help the people of Iraq, there are three things you can do:

(Crossposted at Liberal Avenger)

arduous blog:
My Prayer

Wednesday, March 19th marks the 5th anniversary of the Iraq War. Tonight I came home and took a shower by candle light. It was all I could think to do right now to commemorate the troops who have passed away and those that fight on.

I'd like to talk about how demand for oil is destroying the fabric of our country. I'd like to wax eloquent on the plight of the Iraqi people. But not now.

article of faith:
Doofus: "No Regrets"

Bush Defends Iraq War on Fifth Anniversary:

“Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision—no regrets, and this is a fight America can and must win. Defeating this enemy in Iraq will make it less likely we will face this enemy here at home.

The Aristocrats:
Bringing It All Back Home

I was in Amman, Jordan this morning, strolling through King Abdullah's lovely rose garden, thinking about this very thing, this 'freedom thing' that so many members of the opposition party like to say I'm obsessed with. The sun was shining brightly, the caged birds were singing, and well, it was hard not to be thinking about freedom.

Atheist Revolution:
Stop the Iraq War

My country is at war. That seems like a strange statement, especially when this is the fifth year it has been true. In examining my daily life, nobody would guess I was a citizen in a nation at war, and I am hardly unique in this respect. With the exception of those who have close friends or family serving in Iraq, the daily lives of my fellow Americans remain largely unaffected by this war. Is this why we are not out in the streets demanding immediate withdrawal? Or perhaps our inaction reflects the sort of learned helplessness that sets in after years of observing the utter lack of accountability which pervades our government. Our president and his minions do what they want without regard for the law, and our Congress refuses to reign them in at all.

atomicpop:
4000

i’ve not posted about the war for a long time. frankly, it depresses me too much. but this, this i just couldn’t pass up.

as i’m sure you know the united states passed a landmark this week - 4,000 dead american service men and women from the war in iraq.

Attending the World:
“Ovens” of Abu Ghraib? Troops HAVE gone Insane!

What has become of America? Have we become the Nazis of the 21st Century? It’s bad enough we have done the following (see Video), but this story is very disturbing indeed. Our troops in Iraq HAVE gone insane!

NEW REPORT: ABU GHRAIB PRISONERS PACKED IN ICE WATER-FILLED GARBAGE CANS AND SENT INTO SHOCK, MILITARY POLICE SAY

Aunt Dahlia:
Iraq 5 Years Later

None of this is apropos of anything, except that I wonder now, 5 years after the invasion, how the war will affect those who are fighting it 20 or 40 years from now. Will they talk about it? Will they feel that they were fighting for a just cause, or will they be angry at the loss of years of their life toward a war they opposed? I’m sure there will be some of both.

Austin Criminal Defense Lawyer
War on Drugs <=> War in Iraq

Both Wars

• Are costing the American taxpayer billions and billions of dollars. Trillions if the full economic costs are calculated.
• Have huge ‘cottage’ industries supporting them, and someone is getting rich off of them.
• Cost American lives. And foreign lives, of course – for those who care.
• Are premised on lies.
• Depend on ignorance. The more people educate themselves about the truth, and find out what’s really going on, the less they support both wars.

Automatic Preference:
March 19 Iraq War Blogswarm

Coverage of Winter Soldier, just held in Silver Spring, Maryland. (H/T b. medusa), organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War.

(The blog has embedded video from Winter Soldier coverage.)


An Average Patriot:
Besides inhuman living standards and 2 million immigrants look at Bush's Iraq success from a morticians eyes!

What Bush doesn't want you to hear about his created Hell for Iraqi civilians! First "Despite claims that the security situation has improved in recent months, the human rights situation is disastrous," Amnesty International says in its report, titled "Carnage and Despair: Iraq Five Years On." In a summary of the report, Amnesty writes that "a climate of impunity has prevailed, the economy is in tatters and the refugee crisis" keeps escalating.

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3/19 Iraq War Blogswarm - Blogs Starting with B

Here are links to the posts from blogs starting with the letter "B," along with brief intros quoted from the posts.

Bang the Drum:
Letters Home

Too many lives have been lost. Too many lies have been told. It’s time for the Bush administration to figure out that there is a time for us to end a Three Trillion Dollar War that has cost lives, jobs, families, mental health, and the moral authority of our nation.

In an hour or so, I will be at a vigil for those we’ve lost, and those we long to see again. Please join me by writing about an end to this war, or lighting your own candle and finding a like-minded group to tell Washington “no more war.”

Basket of Puppies:
Greed and Oil. Another war for our souls

If there is one story that describes this war it’s the tragedy of Col. Westhusing. Robert Bryce of the Texas Observer brought the suffering of the war to me with this one story. Colonel Ted Westhusing was true blue. A devout Catholic, he had a wife and three kids. When the war started, he truly believed in America. He believed what his superiors told him. He believed in the cause of this war. On June 5, 2005 he gave up believing. - it’s worth a read. Westhusing’s story is about how war broke his spirit, and how it’s depth of evil destroyed his soul.

Beau Bo D'Or:
Tony Blair Planning The Occupation

It wasn’t just Halliburton that did well from the war in Iraq.
While bodies were being flown home, The Blairs were working out how to make and spend their profits.

Beeston Quakers
Rallying for peace

Police said there were 10,000 people there. The organisers said there were 40,000. I don't know if I was included in their figures. All I know is that Trafalgar Square was full and that some groups were assempling in the adjoining streets. There was room to move on the edges of the square, but not much. I couldn't get a good photo showing everyone there. {with pictures}

Beginning to Wonder
A Responsible Plan

On this day which is being commemorated as the fifth anniversary of the day we blundered into Iraq, I have never been more proud to be a Democrat. Not only do our two fine candidates for President both far outshine anything that the broken Republican brand has put forth, but representatives of our Party have put together a plan that is sweeping and intelligent, and a stark contrast to the mendacious tomfoolery that the Republicans and the Bush administration have been peddling these last 5 years.

Bench:
The War Drags On............
Cartoons!

Between the Hammer and the Anvil:
MONOPOLY - IRAQ EDITION

It wasn’t just Halliburton that did well from the war in Iraq.
While bodies were being flown home, The Blairs were working out how to make and spend their profits.

BFD Blog
Clueless Losers File: Lynndie England

Truth really can be stranger than fiction. Less than two weeks after her release from military prison, the German magazine Stern has just run an interview with Lynndie England, who is arguably one of the most clueless losers of the century.

Bicycle Built for Two:
Five Years - A Personal Memoir

Five years ago today I was eight months pregnant with my son and staying with my mom in her home day and night as she tried desperately to recover from surgery to remove a tumor and battled painfully against the cancer which had spread throughout her body. My daughter, still a toddler lie sleeping in an extra room my mom had made just for her. My mom lay in her own bed while I waited for her to call for me, for ice chips, for meds, for anything at all she needed. I sat staring at the TV without recognizing sound or images, a book in my lap, not knowing what to do next, just waiting.

big microscope:
war is peace

reedom is slavery.

ignorance is strength.

most of us know, instinctively, that these three statements are absurd. yet these are all things republicans believe. how else can one explain the past five years of war in iraq? the bush administration would like you to believe that through war, we can achieve peace and ‘democracy’ in the middle east. they’d like you to think that freedom in this country will be protected by making us all slaves to the watchful eyes and ears of data-devouring, privacy-eviscerating government ‘security’ programs. and they want you to put those goddamn stubborn facts aside and just trust them to ensure america stays strong in the face of grave threats ‘out there’. truth be damned; dogma be praised.

Blazing Indiscretions
FOR THE BLOGSWARM: WINTER SOLDIER TESTIMONY BY IRAQ VET MIKE PRYSNER

As the lack of coverage of the Winter Soldier hearings has proved, the corporate media is not open to the full extent of anti-war feeling, so this blogswarm is one aspect of new media filling the gaps left by institutions who (despite some mea culpas over their cheerleading of the rush to war 5 years ago) still feel most comfortable reflecting elite opinion. I am put in mind of two oft quoted phrases: "Be the change you want to see in the world"-(Mahatma Gandhi) & Be The Media! Combined we are doing that, we are being the media but a different media, we are enacting a change, not beholden to corporate interests or imperial objectives. A grassroots, human movement of global reach and consciousness.

Blog of Revelation:
Iraq War Blogswarm

Today, March 19, marks the 5 year anniversary of the biggest Military/Foreign Policy blunder since the Viet Nam Fiasco: King George's Holy Oedipal Crusade On Iraq.

(Crossposted at And, Yes I DO Take It Personally.)

Bloggerheads:
The Iraq War (according to Page 3)

The Sun newspaper, in case you're not aware, is the British Murdoch-owned tabloid that helped Blair's government push the 45-minute WMD lie (even suggesting at one stage that they could have been deployed in 30 minutes), dedicated more column inches to a Labrador puppy thrown off an overpass than they did to the Abu Ghraib scandal (see bottom of this page), and endorsed Tony Blair on the eve of the post-Iraq general election by declaring that he had quite an enormous penis.

Blue Girl, Red State:
Five years ago today

I was a lone voice. We had not been here very long and I didn't know people then like I do now, but that didn't stop me from voicing my opinion about the path we were about to pursue as a nation. I was working all the time back then in the run-up to cashing on my chips, and one of my coworkers was an Army wife - sorta. He was a full-time reservist and a recruiter, and she had never lived on base or been a part of the military culture like I had, and I had a hard time with her "Hoo-Ah" support. That was a full service public health clinic, and it was me and one of the nurse practitioners who were the sole dissenters. Everyone else thought we would just reprise the 1991 Gulf War and be done with it in short order.

3990 3991

They are not just commas, Mr. Bush

Fifth Anniversary Observations

Me, personally? This is really the fifth anniversary of the war? Never would have believed it. Never would have guessed that what seemed like a lean and mean smash and grab that wouldn't last very long would have ensnared us in a quagmire of this magnitude. Our allies have abandoned us and fallen by the wayside. Our Veteran's Administration is understaffed, underfunded and overwhelmed. You would have been laughed out of the room if you had said we would have this many troops in Iraq right now. I was in uniform five years ago today. I was, thankfully, in a unit that wasn't in danger of deploying and I was, more thankfully, able to get the hell out of the military without being stop-lossed.

Blue Herald:
5 Years of War, 4,000 Dead and Hundreds of Lies

Five years and hundreds of lies later, here we are. Approaching 4,000 American lives lost. Up to 100,000 estimated wounded Americans. 1,189, 173 Iraqi deaths. Millions of Iraqis displaced. A civil war. Al Qaeda IS in Iraq now. A demolished infrastructure. A broken U.S. military. No sign of reconciliation in sight. A majority of Americans want our troops out of Iraq. A majority of Iraqis want our troops out of Iraq. In my mind, the greatest cost of this occupation has been the dead and wounded. You can’t put a price on life. You can’t put a price on body parts or mental health.

Borges Blogue:
Iraq War Blogswarm: The solution is apparent, it is not capitalism

The end of the Baathist regime in Iraq was meant to liberate the country from a repressive regime, as well as neutralising a perceived threat by that regime to the world. Years on, people are more oppressed than ever, as living standards have deteriorated and many still fear for their lives upon leaving their door, and the dangers posed by the terrorism which has found a home in Iraq are more real than ever.

Boxothoughts:
A Global View of the Iraq War

Occasionally some of the most insightful and solid advice can come from beyond a nation's shores.

Here is some analysis by two American allies who are looking at America and the Iraq bedlam on this fifth anniversary of the immensely unpopular Iraq invasion.

Brilliant at Breakfast:
John McCain's "Slip" is More than Just That...Its Part of a Talking Points Campaign to Talk Iraq Into Iran. Stop the Insanity! End the War!

We have to nip this kind of propaganda in the bud. This talking points campaign is aimed at the news byte conscious. The retraction is usually on page 20, unless its caught in such an embarrassing light, as in this case.

Bring It On:
"Because We Acted..."

No doubt, we are all tired of listening to the sound bites carefully selected from today’s Presidential Propaganda Catapult launch from the Pentagon. I just want to unpack one paragraph. Have a gander and see what you think:

"Because we acted, Saddam Hussein no longer fills fields with the remains of innocent men, women and children."

Saddam’s dead, sure. But we have been responsible for putting a lot of innocent Iraqi men, women, and children in the ground too.

Buckdog:
George Bush Says 5 Years Of War In Iraq Has Been 'Worth It'

After 5 years of war, the death of tens of thousands of Iraqi's as well as 3,990 American troops, President Bush claims that the War in Iraq has been 'worth it'. History will not be kind to this man. Today, over 300 progressive bloggers are swarming the blogosphere with their thoughts and opinions on this fifth anniversary of Bush's War in Iraq.

The Buddha Diaries:
Blogswarm Alert

Oh, and if you haven't already done so, please give a thought to joining this BLOGSWARM against this immoral, arrogant, never-ending war in Iraq. Thank you.

Byzigenous Buddhapalian:
BLOGSWARM 031908 - Part 1
BLOGSWARM 031908 - Part 2
BLOGSWARM 031908 - Part 3
BLOGSWARM 031908 - Part 4
BLOGSWARM 031908 - Part 5
BLOGSWARM 031908 - Part 6


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3/19 Iraq War Blogswarm - Blogs Starting with C

Here are links to the posts from blogs starting with the letter "C," along with brief intros quoted from the posts.

Caminante, No Hay Camino:
5 Years Out

The reasons behind the war were a lie in the beginning.

The self-justification in the 'decider's' speech today is delusional.

The war is criminal.

Blogswarm Against the War

Today marks five years since the US started bombing Iraq.

While others out there will offer reflections on what it has meant, I am simply going to post the service, readings and meditation we had the day after the bombs started to fall. Context is everything: I serve a congregation that is half a mile from the nation's oldest private military college and needed to be aware of people's thoughts even as I was and always have been totally against this so-called war.

can we all just agree?:
five years too many.

but then i realized that i don't have the heart or the stomach to write a
carefully researched analytical piece on the implications of the war (although i am grateful to the people who can.)

i just want you to think of the people you love best: your kids, your nephews and nieces, your parents, your girlfriend/boyfriend/partner/husband/wife, your best friends, your grandparents, and then i want you to imagine them dead. killed by a bomb that fell on their bed while they were sleeping, blown up by a suicide bomber while they were shopping for food, shot in the head by a soldier because they didn't understand the command to stop, ripped apart by an improvised explosive devise that their tank ran over, burned to death in an explosion after a rocket hit their vehicle, tortured to death by militia members or american soldiers, wasted away completely by diarrhea from some water-borne illness, caught in the crossfire between someone and someone else...

Cathleen's Place:
March 19, 2008 End the War in Iraq Blogswarm

Many years ago, when I was working at University City High School, a war called Desert Storm started. The students were electrified and could talk of nothing else. UC High is in very conservative country, for the most part, but there were quite a few kids who understood that going to war for oil was insane. The students who thought it was great came to school wearing red, white and blue top hats, little pins with pro-war slogans and waving baby American flags. They'd ask, "Aren't you so proud to be an American?" They were baffled by my negative response. I always added, "I may not be proud to be an American, but I am always grateful to have been born in America."

Cause for Concern:
Iraq War Blogswarm - 3-19-08 - 3992

I'm sad to announce that, according to today's count on the Iraq Coalition Casualties website, that we're - on the 5 year anniversary of this illegal war - just 8 dead Americans short of 4000.

That last statement was foul.

Celestial Dreams:
March 19th, 5 years too many. End the war.

Today thousands will gather in cities all across America to express their opposition to the war in Iraq.

Please visit http://events.unitedforpeace.org/5yearstoomany to find an event near you.

Visit http://www.5yearstoomany.org/ to keep up to date with today’s highlights or check out the numerous blogs that will covering the anniversary today:

my angry poem, “Votary of destruction”

I wrote this a few months ago when i was sort of ‘ticked off’ about the disintegration of our constitutional rights, the Iraq war, and the multitude of other ongoing outrageous scandals.

The Chawed Rosin:
Long Past Time to End the War

Although those responsible for the war made the dubious claim that the invasion was necessary to protect the security of the United States, even their most credulous supporters eventually saw the unlikelihood of any true threat from a nation so much smaller and more vulnerable than our own.

Cheezy's Blog - Scratch & Sniff:
5 Years On

Five years on from the launch of the illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq, it's a good time to take stock of the results.

Doubtless you'll have your own sources, but at the moment I'm finding Juan Cole's website a very good one for reporting the events on the ground - at the very least it gives the lie to the old 'surge is working' narrative that the MSM has been promoting over the past few months.

Chicken Yoghurt:
March 19 Iraq War Blogswarm: A child called ‘It’

Little Warren Iraq is five today. He’s been something of a problem child. Never out of trouble, always in the papers, some people have said he’s symptomatic of what’s wrong with the world today. He’s something of a talisman to those who want to see a better and fairer society.

Coffee Messiah:
Blogswarm - March 19, 2008

A warless world will come
as men develop warless hearts.
Charles Wesley Burns

==========================

Choose:
The single clenched fist lifted and ready,
Or the open hand held out and waiting.
Choose:
For we meet by one or the other.

Carl Sandburg

cognitive dissent:
Iraq War II: five years

Today is the fifth anniversary of Bush's invasion of Iraq, which should prompt some reflection upon where we are and how we got here. Accordingly, here are some of my (many, far too many...) posts on the mess in Mesopotamia:

Complex System of Pipes:
world against war

World against War protest yesterday. See reports with pics from Jamie and Lenin. Turnout was a few tens of thousands - a pretty impressive mobilisation, all things considered - of which 6 buses from Greater Manchester.

Concerned TN Citizens:
Regional Peace Vigils Make Channel 5 News!

The segment on the vigils at King College and in Johnson City start at about 3:34 in the telecast..

Consequences of Republicanism:
5 Years of Iraq: Activism Needed

Today is the 5 year anniversary of Bush's unprovoked war against Iraq. After the American media abandoned their crucial role of informing the people and decided to instead sell this war, it took years for the full scope of Bush's lies to emerge. Now that we know how he deliberately misled us into this war, it is mind-blowing to see the utter lack of accountability which has followed. Impeachment proceedings should begin immediately, but we must not lose sight of an even greater responsibility - ending this war. Today should be a day of reflection for what we as individual Americans can do to make this happen.

Contextual Criticism:
When Is a War Not a War? In Iraq

The so-called war in Iraq is not a war. It never was a war. Our Iraq adventure has been circumscribed by two events: an invasion and an occupation.

Patrick Cockburn of CounterPunch explains the invasion, which began on March 19, 2003: While there was some conflict and some resistance, he says, by and large the reason the allied forces marching to Baghdad "had an easy passage ...[was] because the Iraqi army did not fight. Even the so-called elite Special Republican Guard units, well paid, well equipped and tribally linked to Saddam, went home."

Courting Destiny:
3WW: money, tangled, understood: Small Wars; fiction though the war isn’t

Here’s a Bush marking the five year anniversary slide show. I’ll save you the trouble, because who actually wants to look at him?. He said we’ll stay with the course while he acknowledged the cost has been much more than anticipated. Of course all the costs are much more. As I remember the war supposedly ended about six weeks after it began. Courting Destiny began as our way of protesting the RNC in New York in 2004. Our original url, freenynyfrombush.blogspot.com is one of our proudest partial lines. We didn’t know that some crazy radical rightists thought they ran the blogosphere, and yes we can admit it now, made us kind of cry. We wouldn’t back down then and we’re certainly not going to back down now.

The Cranky Webmaster:
Waterloo 2

The President of the United States awoke today as if it were any other day. He showered, shaved and dressed himself in a suit. He doubtless ate breakfast and joked with friends about this or that. Eventually he made his way to a podium where, as Commander in Chief, he presented his analysis of the past five years of war in Iraq. He was upbeat, arrogant and unrepentant. It was George W. Bush at his finest, full of confidence, basking in the glory of his military successes.

Cupcake Punk:
21&5

It's hard to claim chocolate as anti-war; thousands gallons of oil are used to produce and ship it around the world and it's such a bourgeois item. BUT food is community. Food brings people together. Food defines relationships. Food brings peace. Imagine Iraqis and Americans and Africans and Europeans sitting down to a meal together. Somewhere, in between the shared culture of nourishment, positive conversation occurs, opinions are challenged, expanded.

The Curmudgeon:
2003 And All That

The Iraq War was a war fought in Iraq but not against Iraq by the Coalition of the Willing against the forces of Soddomite reprision.

Causes of the Iraq War
1. The Soddom Hussein. The Soddom was the evil ruler of Iraq. It was a pro-Western ally and thus widely hated by the Arab Multitudes, and also an anti-Western fanatic and thus widely hated by the Civilised World.

Cut to the Chase:
Iraq War Blogswarm: Three Trillion Lies And Still Going Strong

Today, as we mark that dark mid-March day in 2003 when President Bush, complete with a raised fist pumping air like he was about to go into the final playoffs to give "'em one more for the Gipper..." gesture and dispatched the first soldiers off to war, the cold, harsh light of day makes it a heluva lot easier to see all the lies.

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3/19 Iraq War Blogswarm - Blogs Starting with D

Here are links to the posts from blogs starting with the letter "D" along with brief quotes from the posts.

Daisy's Dead Air:
Bring Them Home Now!

As I wrote on Monday, the Greenville Antiwar Society candle lighting took place on Sunday night, downtown at Bergamo Square. Below are some photographs of the event, which I am sharing here as my contribution to the Blogswarm Against the War.

In the center, there is a beaded structure, representing the Iraqi people--hundreds of beads symbolize the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi dead. It would be impossible to light a million candles, so this is the best we could do.

dancewater:
BLOGSWARM

Local events today and the rest of this week:

STOP THIS WAR!
The post includes the poem, "Peace to Baghdad."


Dandelion Salad:
It’s March 19 and Blogswarm Day! Posts on Iraq War by Lo

It’s March 19 and Blogswarm Day! Here is a list of my posts on Iraq in the last few days. I’ll add more throughout the day today since I post on Iraq almost every day. Hopefully some good video coverage of the mass protest in Washington, DC today will be posted. ~ Lo

Dane of War:
Blogswarm - March 19th, 2008: 5 years into the war, and what the hell for?

Today is the fifth anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The invasion began at 9:34PM EST on March 19, 2003. The U.K. codenamed it Operation Telic, and in Australia it was known by the name Operation Falconer.

So, how's it going? How do we "measure that success?", as the Bush regime so often says?

Daughters of Vietnam Veterans:
Leaving Home to Iraq/IVAW Ft. Hood/A Casey Porter Film
This posting has a YouTube video with the title above.


Dave Dubya's Freedom Rants:
Mass Media, Mass Madness

Here we are again. We arrive at yet another anniversary of Bush’s glorious war. Why are millions of innocent people suffering for so long? His reasons for the calamitous blunder and debacle were far from the stated purposes. He cared nothing for the Iraqi people and had no proof for his WMD and al-Qaeda claims. He wanted war for power, profit, oil, and last, but not least, his insurance as “war president” to win his 2004 re-election.

De Koboldorum Rebus:
Five Years Tomorrow

Well, that went horribly badly, didn't it? Yes, it was March 20, 2003, that we (and by "we" I mean the West in general, even those of us who aren't officially directly involved) embarked upon the living, breathing, definition of an illegal war. It was billed, of course, as the necessary removal of a brutal dictator who was conspiring with Osama Bin Laden while constructing stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. We would be greeted as liberators, and everybody would be back home in six months.

The Dean's Office:
What's "FUBAR?"

For those of us who were against this war since well before it began this has been a pretty frustrating five years. We marched, we wrote letters and we voted. None of that seemed to help. In fact: it seems like things have just gotten worse.

If you're like me the last five years have made you feel a bit powerless. But we don't have to feel that way. Here's a couple of modest suggestions to things we can do today to make things a little bit better all by our lonesome.

Demeur:
Iraq Blogswarm

I've been thinking about what I could add to the disent of the current occupation of the White House by one George W. Bush. A president (in name only) who has taken this nation in a direction that goes against every principle that every day Americans hold dear. Where to even start. From his stealing of the elections in 2000 and 2004 to his current approval of waterboarding never has there been such an assult and disreguard on the constitution of this country. And not only has this administration preverted the electorial process it has gone one step further by eating it's own if you recall Katherine Harris.

Dinge, die mich bewegen.....:
Der Krieg im Irak – ein Schandfleck für die Menschheit

Der 11. September, Massenvernichtungswaffen, Saddam Hussein und zahlreiche weitere Gründe wurden uns aufgetischt, um den Irakkrieg anzuzetteln. Alles Lug und Betrug an der Menschheit!

Im heutigen Blogswarm möchte ich meine Gedanken wiedergeben und hoffe damit auch andere Menschen zum Denken zu animieren.

distributocap NY:
Doomed to Repeat

As of tomorrow we are entering year 6 of a war that has no end in sight. Monday (or in this case Thursday) morning quarterbacking shows the world that George W. Bush’s 5-year invasion of Iraq was set in motion without even a cursory look back at the 5 thousand year history of the region. Any person can easily open a junior high school textbook and see the long-term history of Iraq is teeming with ethnic conflict, religious hatred, deep-rooted enmity, and endless occupations. And it doesn’t take a whole lot of in-depth investigation to learn that the short-term history of Iraq since World War I is even more revealing.

Divine Democrat:
FIVE YEARS OF PERIL-FIVE YEARS WITHOUT PEACE

If you listen to the hollow words of George Bush in that video, he said "I know that the families of our military are praying that all those who serve will return safely and soon. Millions of Americans are praying with you for the safety of your loved ones and for the protection of the innocent. For your sacrifice, you have the gratitude and respect of the American people. And you can know that our forces will be coming home as soon as their work is done.

Dohiyi Mir:
Five Years (To Be Continued)

In which NTodd marks five years of war in Iraq. (25:04)

Features: Pink Floyd, Country Joe and the Fish, Neil Young, Moody Blues, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam.

Donkey Punch:
Happy Anniversary! (Updated)
This post starts with a picture of a soldier with a tear in his eye.

5 years. We’ve been occupying Iraq for five years.

5 years of Mission Accomplished.

5 years of raining terror down on the populace.

5 years of further alienating the Arab world.

a dragon dancing with the buddha:
No, Hillary...

Hillary Rodham Clinton told a group of young veterans Tuesday that one lesson of the Iraq War is not to commit troops "unless you are prepared to go all the way and are prepared to be successful."

Oh, God. Oh, my God. The lesson of the Iraq war is that we should have been prepared to go all the way?

"Mismanaged." Like the war was an Inn or a Savings & Loan.

President George W. Bush said on Wednesday he had no regrets about the unpopular war in Iraq despite the "high cost in lives and treasure" and declared that the United States was on track for victory

Treasure? Dear god. He thinks he's Nicholas Cage.

Drinking Liberally in New Milford:
5 Years

It has been five years since the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. And so the day of protesting began as per usual in the no free speech zone known as America:

Today, police arrested more than 30 people “who blocked entrances at the Internal Revenue Service building” as “part of a day of protests to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.” Demonstrators also converged in Miami and San Francisco, and other cities across the country.

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3/19 Iraq War Blogswarm - Blogs Starting with E

Here are links to the posts from blogs starting with the letter "E" along with brief quotes from the posts.

Eagle Eye's Omnipotent View
Atrocities in Iraq

Reasons to end the imperialist dynasty as stated by the IVAW:
*Corporate profiteering is driving the war in Iraq
*The occupation is a primary motivation for the insurgency and global religious extremism
*Our national “moral authority” is being undermined

Editor Mom
Five Costly Years in Iraq

For 5 long years, the United States has been engaged in an illegal war against Iraq. That is 5 years too many, 5 years too costly, in so many ways.
Five years after our military first put on an explosive show of its firepower, nearly 1 in 5 Iraqis is now a displaced citizen or a refugee in another nation, according to the International Organization for Migration. That's nearly 5.1 million human beings—2.7 million displaced and 2.1 million refugees—who have been forced to flee their homes.

Electronic Cerebrectomy
How Is This Winning?

Our economy is failing, and it will continue to fail as long as this war goes on. Watch this video, please. It's only about 90 seconds long, but it's from the BBC. And you do really have to get unfiltered news about America from the BBC or the Guardian or another unbiased source, because the American media will not tell you the truth. They're trying to scare you into keeping the economy moving, even as it's grinding to a halt.

The Eleventh
Five Years Forward, a Thousand Years Back

Gabe was there for two tours, his discharge date extended. He lost men in his unit, close friends, to sniper fire and IED’s. He came home with hundreds of photos, some heart-wrenching, some so horrifying I still see them in my sleep. And even though he’s home, he is still in the war, because it is still in him. Almost two years after his return stateside, he checked himself into the state psychiatric hospital for a week to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Episcopollyanna
Five years, countless lives & an unmitigated disaster

I know a guy who's served at least two tours in Iraq. I've fallen out of touch with C because he no longer dates my friend. After his first tour he came back and things seemed okay for a while and then things fell apart between the two of them. The final straw came when C had an opportunity to retire from the Army but decided to re-up because he was getting a huge bonus. He's a weapons specialist with the Stryker Brigade based at Fort Lewis and the Army was anxious to have him back. My friend couldn't handle his PTSD, the hair-trigger anger. She couldn't handle her own gut-wrenching anxiety either.
C was in Mosul on December 21, 2004, when a suicide attack killed 22 and wounded at least 72 in a dining hall. It took two days for my friend to hear if he was alive. Six of his fellow soldiers from Fort Lewis were killed in the attack. He told horror stories about being terrified of small children because they could be hiding weapons and could kill you. When I first met him he was a quiet, smart young man.

ex-lion tamer
the definition of insanity

the definition of insanity has been posited by alcoholics anonymous as “repeating the same action over and over again, hoping to achieve different results”.

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