tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61000782011-04-21T18:24:09.598-07:00"As you know, these are open forums, you're able to come and listen to what I have to say." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Oct. 28, 2003andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comBlogger1571100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1074982909149704132004-01-24T14:19:00.000-08:002004-01-24T14:26:41.310-08:00

Please update your bookmarks and links and head on over to Times New Roman Online Thanks for your patience. Andrew Stuart Morrison

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1074630637392679852004-01-20T12:17:00.000-08:002004-01-20T12:32:37.280-08:00

Thank you for being patient everyone. Times New Roman Online is getting a long-overdue major overhaul. I am in the process of switching websites, moving to a dot com that I own, which allows me to upload images and films, keep track of stats more easily, and let's give you the opportunity to comment on every post. Generally, it is getting a shot in the arm in terms of aesthetics and functionality

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1074334134902200762004-01-17T01:34:00.000-08:002004-01-17T02:36:17.920-08:00

It appears as if the Bush administration is going to turn back to the U.N after scolding the body as ineffective and irrelevant. This from the BBC: White House officials say the United Nations is to be asked to go back into Iraq to help oversee the transfer of power to the Iraqis. The US will try to persuade the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, to back the plan to set up an unelected

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1074330843921470142004-01-17T00:58:00.000-08:002004-01-17T01:24:09.950-08:00

I've been on a Thompson kick for the third time in my life, reading Songs of the Doomed again and now Kingdom of Fear. There is nobody out there like him and I've realised after having his words in my head for a few days that we need more from him and more like him. Please, more crazed, Dunhill smoking, drug-addled, Mace-loving journalists! That would suit me just fine after having to be

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1074240958673751862004-01-16T00:04:00.000-08:002004-01-16T00:22:44.450-08:00

Not that big a deal. It will probably work against him more than anything else. Is it really a good plug to have Madonna and Michael Moore as your blowhorns in the culture sphere? Better than Britney, I suppose, or Sting. Too true, you might think...but have a look at his endorsement letter and the points he raises. As Moore reminds us, this is Wesley Clark's take on the NRA: You like to fire

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1074152929857420402004-01-14T23:45:00.000-08:002004-01-15T00:02:31.856-08:00

I love the kind of laughter that comes when things are deadly serious. To wit, it's a rare combination. Have a look at this video from Jon Stewart's The Daily Show. It will make you angry and cause you to pee in your pants at the same time which is, I've found, an oddly pleasurable sensation.

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1073670261509169432004-01-09T08:54:00.000-08:002004-01-09T10:06:08.310-08:00

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace released their long awaited report on the threat Saddam Hussein's Iraq posed to the United States and the verdict does not look good for the Bush administration. The non-partisan and highly respected think tank has confirmed the long held notion that undue political influence on intelligence estimates resulted in a poor decision-making environment,

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1073555398573749072004-01-08T01:30:00.000-08:002004-01-08T01:57:28.570-08:00

I'm still wary of Bush and his traveling freakshow of babbling spindoctors conjuring up some anthrax in a bunker somewhere in Iraq, perhaps a week before election day, but I just don't know, and I'll tell you why: I thought Saddam had the damn weapons and so did you (don't lie fellas). Nothing too serious, no nukes or anything that nasty, but at least a milk carton of some evil botulism or a few

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1073370484815264522004-01-05T22:13:00.000-08:002004-01-05T23:27:54.600-08:00

I seldom find myself trawling for interesting news at MSNBC because my efforts are not usually rewarded, but tonight I came across an interesting article on how American soldiers are dealing with the psychological effects of combat. Here is an excerpt: In a "normal" war, only 10 percent of the Army's forces would be in frontline combat roles—the others would have support duties and be far from

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1073282528634331452004-01-04T21:57:00.000-08:002004-01-04T22:04:45.583-08:00

For a tight encapsulation of the fallacy that has been and remains the U.S War on Terror, read William Cook's essay at Counterpunch entitled Failure to Respond to 9-11.

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1073150088883454152004-01-03T09:10:00.000-08:002004-01-03T09:36:08.670-08:00

Slap a beard on Perle and he could be Santa. I read this Telegraph article and was struck by the Christmas spirit of peace and goodwill permeating it. When there's no one left to bomb will they go away? Read on: President George W Bush was sent a public manifesto yesterday by Washington's hawks, demanding regime change in Syria and Iran and a Cuba-style military blockade of North Korea backed by

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1073126398171430682004-01-03T02:38:00.000-08:002004-01-03T09:03:05.523-08:00

This article from Arab News: Lest anyone forget the power of incumbency, President George W. Bush delivered a few reminders in the past few weeks. The capture of Saddam Hussein and the announcement that Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi had agreed to open his country to weapons inspections demonstrated that ability of the occupant of the White House to generate positive and transformative news.

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1073124172970448302004-01-03T01:56:00.000-08:002004-01-03T02:03:11.660-08:00

It's snowing here so naturally my thoughts return to the plane crash in Egypt. It's too weird out here (on the deck). I can hear the ocean and the ships bleating in the white darkness but the streets are quiet with the big flakes falling. Ok, so my first thought was terror. My second is more disturbing: the Egyptian President was going to meet Tony Blair at Sharm el-Sheikh today, security is

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1073121707253294532004-01-03T00:57:00.000-08:002004-01-03T01:30:48.200-08:00

Check out the BBC Breaking News story here. Initially I'm freaked out because it was a clear day and the British Prime Minister Tony Blair is in Sharm el Sheikh as we speak, right where the plane went down on the Red Sea coast. It's odd that terror is what we think of first rather than the French tourists on board who just disintegrated. I wonder if many people look at the great buildings or

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1073114551098132472004-01-02T22:05:00.000-08:002004-01-02T23:32:15.930-08:00

I'm always a little surprised that all of Vancouver Island hasn't been developed, paved, and sold for top dollar every time I go over there. It is God's country, brutha, and I'm an athiest. I had a great time. Nothing but food, beers, surf, rainforest, and good company. I've revisited a book idea which might have merit, and will probably go forward with that and Times New Roman concurrently. I

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1072302298996827382003-12-24T13:33:00.000-08:002003-12-24T13:45:14.790-08:00

I'm going to the island for a week for the Christmas holidays so postings might be few and far between over the next few days. Before I go, I just wanted to respond to a question a colleague asked me yesterday as to why I haven't been posting about the day to day loss of American soldiers in Iraq for the last week or two. It isn't the result of a thought-out decision on my part, but I've been

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1072218359782650392003-12-23T14:24:00.000-08:002003-12-23T14:33:13.403-08:00

I would give my lunch money to see Bush and Clark in a nationally televised debate. It would almost be unsportsmanlike of Clark to really go at him full-speed, but it would certainly be a rare treat to watch. The New York Times, perhaps foreshadowing such a debate, has an article up with Clark ripping Bush's Iraq policy. Here is an excerpt: Gen. Wesley K. Clark on Monday blamed "bad leadership"

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1072213865194667522003-12-23T12:54:00.000-08:002003-12-23T13:11:49.386-08:00

Phew. Though he is still considering an independent candidacy, the man some claim gave Bush the White House by running in 2000 (therefore splitting the left), will not run as a Green. Thanks, buddy.

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1072173088616745022003-12-23T01:45:00.000-08:002003-12-23T01:53:06.863-08:00

Ok. I'm a little curious to know if this story has any juice to it. If you see anything, let me know. The story goes: Saddam was held by the Kurds before being delivered to his spider-hole. Rumour or fact, believe it, don't...I don't care...but if this is true I must hand it to the Bush administration for the gumption. I realise it's a dirty business but they sure can make it amusing.

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1072058660230404372003-12-21T18:01:00.000-08:002003-12-21T18:06:08.080-08:00

Paul Krugman has a great op-ed piece in The New York Times entitled "Telling it Right". Have a look: "This is a very, very important part of history, and we've got to tell it right." So says Thomas Kean, chairman of the independent commission investigating the 9/11 attacks. Mr. Kean promises major revelations in testimony next month: "This was not something that had to happen." We'll see: maybe

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1072057882377055852003-12-21T17:47:00.000-08:002003-12-21T17:54:19.930-08:00

I just read in an interesting article in The New Yorker by Philip Gourevitch entitled "Winning and Losing" Enjoy: One day late last summer, as the tally of bombings, shootings, and acts of sabotage against the American occupation in Iraq took on the unmistakable profile of a war of guerrilla insurgency, the office of Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, at the Pentagon, designed and

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071948941293922662003-12-20T11:25:00.000-08:002003-12-20T11:35:56.170-08:00

If the United States was ever presented with a perfect candidate for President since JFK, Wesley Clark is that man. I've been intrigued by Clark since reading a bio on him during the Balkans War. His credentials blow every other Democratic candidate out of the water, and when you stand him up to Bush, he towers above the child president in character, intelligence, and experience. I've just

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071873905992442462003-12-19T14:28:00.000-08:002003-12-20T22:39:42.223-08:00

Breaking News from the BBC: Libya's leader Colonel Gaddafi has said his country sought to develop weapons of mass destruction capabilities but will dismantle this programme completely, Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced. "This decision is an historic one and a courageous one and I applaud it," Mr Blair said. My first reaction is big deal. I doubt the program was serious. I'm suspicious

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071781694735469662003-12-18T12:55:00.000-08:002003-12-18T13:26:08.970-08:00

I am more than a bit surprised that the media isn't jumping all over former Republican Governor (NJ) Thomas Kean's comments concerning the findings of his Bush sanctioned, independent National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. What gives, CNN? Mark Gisleson poses the same question over at Bush Wars, asking his readers to stay on the look-out for any new sightings of this

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071743290396458872003-12-18T02:21:00.000-08:002003-12-18T02:29:17.256-08:00

It's alway disturbing to be reading the news only to find that the President of Iran agrees with me: Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has said Saddam Hussein is unlikely to receive a fair trial because he could reveal too many embarrassing details. "Saddam will undoubtedly make statements that will not be pleasing to many people among those who are now standing against Saddam," he said. Iran -

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071740847301264732003-12-18T01:42:00.000-08:002003-12-18T01:53:45.486-08:00

Former Republican Governor of New Jersey, Thomas Kean, now heading an independent commission on 9-11, has dropped a bombshell on the increasingly unfortunate Bush administration. It is the ultimate pooh-pooh on what was promising to be the first good week for the president since he prematurely announced the end of major combat operations in Iraq. Back to the doldrums, old fella. This Breaking

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071691732224550532003-12-17T12:03:00.000-08:002003-12-17T13:22:41.860-08:00

Kenneth Roth, the Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, has an op-ed piece up in the International Herald Tribune demanding a fair trial for Saddam Hussein in the International Criminal Court: Despite the obvious merits of an internationally led tribunal, Washington is adamantly opposed, which largely explains the path chosen by the Iraqi Governing Council. But Washington's opposition

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071684920970317762003-12-17T10:11:00.000-08:002003-12-17T11:03:05.280-08:00

I always find it terrifying when it is revealed to me how staggeringly ignorant (but decidedly passionate) we all can be. The American love affair with the idea that Saddam was responsible for 9/11 continues to hold fast despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, including an admission as such from Bush himself. Indeed, almost 70% of Americans believe that Saddam Hussein had a hand in the WTC

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071658109395869832003-12-17T02:33:00.000-08:002003-12-17T02:50:50.970-08:00

I said it yesterday and I'll say it agin: the next few weeks are vital for the United States and the future of Iraq. We are going to see how the capture of Saddam Hussein will play out. We don't know at all whether or not the insurgency will gasp it's way into oblivion now that Saddam is gone, paving the way for undisrupted elections and the peace that is essential for a democracy to take root,

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-107161747221409802003-12-16T15:19:00.000-08:002003-12-16T15:31:26.100-08:00

This story from Al Jazeera: Iraq probably got rid of its weapons of mass destruction in 1991 as the country's toppled leaders claimed, the former UN chief weapons inspector has said. "The Iraqis have consistently stated that they (weapons of mass destruction) were destroyed in the summer of 1991," Hans Blix told journalists in Stockholm on Tuesday. "My guess is that there are no weapons of mass

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071600248973981322003-12-16T10:40:00.000-08:002003-12-16T10:47:25.070-08:00

This piece from Iraqi writer Tariq Ali called The New Model of Imperialism: Saddam on Parade examines the significance of his capture: My first reaction to the capture of Saddam Hussein was both anger and disgust. Anger with the old dictator who could not even die honourably. He preferred to be captured by his old friends than to go down fighting, the one decent thing he could have done for his

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071599461878700592003-12-16T10:20:00.000-08:002003-12-16T10:33:07.956-08:00

It doesn't look like Saddam's capture is solving much in the short term. These next few weeks are crucial for the U.S occupation. If the insurgency continues unabated, killing more Americans and those helping them, it will reveal the irrelevance of Hussein to the overall effort to de-stabilise the country. On the other hand, if the attacks begin to slow down we could see an accelerated withdrawal

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071514220774096282003-12-15T10:45:00.000-08:002003-12-15T10:52:05.610-08:00

This from Reuters: And then there was one. The capture of Saddam Hussein throws the spotlight on the world's other most wanted man, the elusive Osama bin Laden. The leader of al Qaeda and suspected architect of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington could remain at liberty for much longer as difficult Afghan terrain, friendly tribes, a deep well of loyalty and his role as an

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071483211398798652003-12-15T01:17:00.000-08:002003-12-15T14:49:01.583-08:00

I've always thought Saddam was a nasty man, really the worst kind of scum, up there in the pantheon of skidmarks on par with Ceaucescu, Noriega, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and Nixon. Seeing him laid out, man-handled by a bald medic on TV looking about as "into it" as a cro magnon man snatched by aliens, I realised how omnipotent and inexorable the present projection of American power really is. As to

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071440800392524842003-12-14T14:20:00.000-08:002003-12-14T14:44:09.553-08:00

Alright! Great job finding a bearded, pathetic shell of a man living in a dirt hole. It's a great day for Iraq and a victory for Bush, but let's keep our eyes on the ball. I'm sure the celebration will cast away the clouds of doubt for a few days over why the Americans went into Iraq in the first place, but once the music stops there will still be no WMD found and no link with Al Qaeda. Did the

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071399796513385512003-12-14T03:01:00.000-08:002003-12-14T03:04:51.700-08:00

Al Jazeera has this for sale in the final graf of it's breaking news story: Intifad Qanbar, the spokesperson for the US-backed Iraqi Governing Council, claimed DNA tests had shown that the captive was Hussein.

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071398563774827472003-12-14T02:36:00.000-08:002003-12-14T02:42:56.683-08:00

Nothing as yet confirmed. CNN is going bananas. Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has possibly been captured in a raid near his hometown of Tikrit, U.S. officials say. However, the officials told CNN on Sunday that the identity of the individual, who was one of a number of wanted Iraqis caught, was still being confirmed. A coalition news conference in Baghdad, scheduled for 1200 GMT (7 a.m.

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071390934167477522003-12-14T00:01:00.000-08:002003-12-14T00:35:47.313-08:00

Breaking News from the BBC: A car bomb has exploded at a police station in an Iraqi town, causing several casualties, witnesses say. One report said at least six people were killed in the blast in Khalidiyah, about 35 miles (60 km) west of Baghdad, but this could not be confirmed. US forces, backed by helicopters, have cordoned off the area, witnesses say. Scores of Iraqis have been killed or

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071369386781879602003-12-13T18:29:00.000-08:002003-12-13T18:58:04.276-08:00

A friend passed this Luciana Bohne piece to me on the state of American education. I've posted it in it's entirety. Enjoy: You might think that reading about a Podunk University's English teacher's attempt to connect the dots between the poverty of American education and the gullibility of the American public may be a little trivial, considering we've embarked on the first, openly-confessed

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071260750924190232003-12-12T12:20:00.000-08:002003-12-12T12:27:03.073-08:00

Alternet has an excerpt up taken from a new book called "The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq". I've posted about half of it, so if you're intrigued, go check out the rest: To steer the United States into a preemptive war with a country 6,000 miles away, the Bush administration had to establish five key “facts” in the public’s mind as a precursor to deploying hundreds of thousands of

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071258275691516852003-12-12T11:38:00.000-08:002003-12-12T11:48:35.820-08:00

I'm not surprised that the story about Halliburton price-gouging U.S occupation forces in Iraq is finally getting so much play. With all the initial reservations about giving Halliburton the no-bid contracts in the first place, I would have expected this story to be at the head of the news-cycle. As it stands, this bit of news is almost two months old, with CBS reporting back on the 16th of

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071253506568448342003-12-12T10:19:00.000-08:002003-12-12T10:25:19.290-08:00

Check out this interesting story from Time on how the U.S is taking lessons from Israel on how to occupy Iraq. It's no surprise Iraqi's see their struggle as little different from that of the Palestinians. Here is a brief excerpt: The idea U.S. forces in Iraq may be taking lessons in occupation and counterinsurgency from the Israeli Defense Force may have only just begun to make the news in

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071252392037229312003-12-12T09:54:00.000-08:002003-12-12T10:27:01.336-08:00

I woke up to find everything had changed, and then I blinked, realising that nothing had. It appears the yellow lines in the middle of the road had been painted over, and that's about it. Here is the story of Paul Martin's coronation from The Globe and Mail: Paul Martin became Canada's 21st Prime Minister on Friday, ending his 15-year quest for the top job in the federal government. Mr. Martin

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071251447689873662003-12-12T09:35:00.000-08:002003-12-12T09:52:03.113-08:00

Here is an excerpt from this mornings lead story from Reuters: Iraqi insurgents bombarded the fortified headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition in Baghdad early Friday, the first attack on the compound since U.S. forces launched a mass anti-guerrilla offensive a month ago. In Washington, the Bush administration was braced for a possible legal battle over its decision to bar France, Germany,

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071177062858637942003-12-11T13:03:00.000-08:002003-12-11T13:14:04.346-08:00

After again watching the Robin Cook speech I posted below, it's difficult to watch Bush speak and not cringe with horror. His down-home way of speaking is difficult to take sometimes, especially so today when he weighed in to defend his decision to keep the lucrative Iraqi reconstruction contracts for, as he put it, "friendly coalition folks". It reminds me of an old Saturday Night Live skit when

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071168408752607862003-12-11T10:36:00.000-08:002003-12-11T11:15:29.046-08:00

I was reading an article this morning that reminded me of Robin Cook and the best speech of his life. Last March, with Blair steering the ship of state towards a war the British people did not want, Robin Cook resigned from Blair's Cabinet in protest. His resignation speech to the House of Commons, hand's down the best speech I've heard in modern times, electrified the world with its eloquence

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071166978999280802003-12-11T10:12:00.000-08:002003-12-11T10:23:28.960-08:00

Here are a couple excerpts from Slate's take on the Democrats post-Gore-endorses-Dean debate held in New Hampshire on Tuesday: This was Ted Koppel's worst performance as a moderator. You can forgive him for experimenting with a couple of questions about the horse race. But when the experiment failed and he persisted, that's on him. When he asked inside-baseball questions and got substantive

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071165344522257422003-12-11T09:51:00.000-08:002003-12-11T09:57:41.293-08:00

Nothing says "I love you" more than the gift of an internal spy service. Yes, in the battle for hearts and minds in Iraq, the U.S "now hope to recruit agents from among former regime officials for the new service which will be largely trained, equipped and funded by the CIA". Read the BBC story here.

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071139492472132842003-12-11T02:37:00.000-08:002003-12-11T02:46:14.220-08:00

Bush's new Press Secretary Scott McClellan is not very good up there at the podium. I just watched his latest briefing at the White House and I must say he is about as interesting, eloquent and charismatic as a mute hedgehog in the dark. Ari Fleisher used to get these long-winded pitches from reporters and he'd bat them out of the park. He'd listen intently, smile even as the reporter prattled

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071133976122249232003-12-11T01:08:00.000-08:002003-12-11T01:14:13.413-08:00

Caught this snippet buried in a piece from The Guardian: In Washington, U.S. defense officials said 250 of the 700 Iraqi soldiers trained by the U.S.-led occupation authority have quit. The battalion completed a nine-week basic training course in October and was to be the core of a new Iraqi army. It was uncertain exactly why a third abandoned their new jobs, though some had complained that

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071118374416068912003-12-10T20:23:00.000-08:002003-12-10T20:56:41.423-08:00

Check out Josh Marshall's most recent piece up at his site, Talking Points Memo: "Read this lede from an article in the Times and tell me with a straight face that these guys have any idea what they're doing ... President Bush found himself in the awkward position on Wednesday of calling the leaders of France, Germany and Russia to ask them to forgive Iraq's debts, just a day after the Pentagon

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071109776692182952003-12-10T18:18:00.000-08:002003-12-10T20:06:49.040-08:00

Not surprisingly, the United States is going to dole out lucrative reconstruction contracts in Iraq to those who didn't object to their war. This from the Washington Post: "The directive, signed by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz and posted Tuesday on a Pentagon Web site, effectively excludes firms from Russia, Germany, France, China and Canada from a large portion of the biggest

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071046803292748392003-12-10T00:47:00.000-08:002003-12-10T01:00:24.953-08:00

I just read this brief to get some background on the news coming out of Asia. The link will now permanently reside in the right column under the heading "briefings and background". It's a pretty good realpolitik shakedown on the myriad military realities facing the decision-makers in Beijing, Taipei, and Washington. Enjoy at your leisure.

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1071042149086083532003-12-09T23:33:00.000-08:002003-12-10T00:05:18.916-08:00

William Rivers Pitt has a new piece up called The Trial of John Kerry. Here is an excerpt: We sat in a circle around Kerry and grilled him for two long hours. In an age of retail politicians who avoid substance the way vampires avoid sunlight, in an age when the sitting President flounders like a gaffed fish whenever he must speak to reporters without a script, Kerry's decision to open himself

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070958921897433722003-12-09T00:31:00.000-08:002003-12-09T00:37:33.983-08:00

This from the BBC: A car has exploded near Moscow's Red Square, with at least three people reportedly killed in the blast. Windows were blown out of buildings on the capital's main shopping street, Tverskaya, although one eyewitness said damage was not extensive. The street is only a few hundred metres from the Kremlin in the heart of the Russian capital. The blast comes days after a suicide

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070956411971454542003-12-08T23:51:00.000-08:002003-12-08T23:53:43.406-08:00

This from CNN: Thirty-one U.S. soldiers have been injured after a car bomb exploded outside at the entrance to their barracks in a northern Iraqi town, the U.S. Army says. The blast happened when a car drove through a gate to the base of 3rd Brigade of 101 Airborne division early Tuesday at Tal Afar, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Mosul, the base's spokesman said. The injuries were

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070929164396415982003-12-08T16:08:00.000-08:002003-12-08T16:31:41.230-08:00

This is terrible news for the U.S and ultimately the world. I am certain that if Dean wins the Democratic nomination to run against George W. Bush in the 2004 election the Democrats will lose. Dean has all the support he can get, but he won't sway any Republican-leaning voters. He's from Vermont, damnit! I really hope I'm wrong, but I just can't see Dean beating Bush unless Bush screws up more

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070871860773959592003-12-08T00:15:00.000-08:002003-12-08T00:28:27.173-08:00

A friend sent me this Dexter Filkins article from The New York Times that discusses the American tactical changes which have taken place in Iraq over the last month. Read on: As the guerrilla war against Iraqi insurgents intensifies, American soldiers have begun wrapping entire villages in barbed wire. In selective cases, American soldiers are demolishing buildings thought to be used by Iraqi

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070839641006463312003-12-07T15:24:00.000-08:002003-12-07T15:35:14.800-08:00

Robert Mugabe has officially quit the British Commonwealth. I can guarantee this, however: it will return when he is gone. How long that will take is another matter. This will more than likely accelerate his demise but he has been in power for over 20 years, so we'll see. I once traveled through "Zim" with some University pals on my way to Mozambique and Malawi, and I've never seen a more lush

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070836165156430902003-12-07T14:17:00.000-08:002003-12-07T14:29:36.556-08:00

Newt Gingrich, a close confidant of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and former House Speaker, has gone on the record critisising American strategy in Iraq. This from Newsweek: The military has been hitting hard lately in Iraq, using overwhelming firepower to kill the enemy in operations with videogame names like Iron Hammer and Ivy Cyclone II. But behind the scenes, some military experts,

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070750802061451692003-12-06T14:45:00.000-08:002003-12-06T14:47:08.646-08:00

This from Reuters: A bomb wounded at least 18 people in the main market of the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Saturday and President Hamid Karzai called it a "terrorist" attempt to disrupt a key constitutional assembly. Police blamed the Taliban or allied Islamic militants fighting the U.S.-backed government for the blast which shattered windows in a hotel. A Reuters reporter saw 18

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070750565322964672003-12-06T14:36:00.000-08:002003-12-06T14:43:59.213-08:00

Looks as if Robert Mugabe, though lacking in any political abilities excepting those reminiscent of Mussolini, has headed international opposition off at the pass by saying he's taking Zimbabwe out of the Commonwealth before they kick him out. Read the following Reuters report up at CNN: Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said on Saturday his government would pull out of the 54-nation

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070730676953205062003-12-06T08:59:00.001-08:002003-12-06T09:13:29.636-08:00

The Financial Times has Richard Perle in Trouble Again. "Richard Perle, a prominent Pentagon adviser, lobbied on behalf of Boeing's bid for a controversial $18bn government contract a year after the aerospace company made a $20m investment in the venture capital fund he runs. Mr Perle, a former Reagan-era assistant defence secretary, is considered one of the most influential civilian members of

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070730432470219692003-12-06T08:59:00.000-08:002003-12-06T09:07:23.876-08:00

The Financial Times has Richard Perle in Trouble Again. "Richard Perle, a prominent Pentagon adviser, lobbied on behalf of Boeing's bid for a controversial $18bn government contract a year after the aerospace company made a $20m investment in the venture capital fund he runs. Mr Perle, a former Reagan-era assistant defence secretary, is considered one of the most influential civilian members of

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070610703471747852003-12-04T23:42:00.000-08:002003-12-04T23:52:06.800-08:00

Breaking news from the BBC: Nineteen people are reported dead, and about 50 injured, in an explosion on a commuter train in southern Russia. The blast derailed the train between the resort towns of Mineralnye Vody and Kislovodsk, near the troubled region of Chechnya. Officials in Moscow said the blast was caused by a female suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt. An explosion on a train in the

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070609798662871352003-12-04T23:01:00.000-08:002003-12-04T23:36:49.310-08:00

CNN has a crazy story up. It looks as if the Bush camp is floating the idea around that since China has accelerated their space program, it's time the U.S went back to the moon. It would probably cost hundreds of billions of dollars and take 15 years, and there are never any gaurantees with NASA these days, but the prospect of a Red Moon might rekindle the Cold War mentality that brought the U.S

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070579596286377462003-12-04T14:50:00.000-08:002003-12-04T15:14:09.650-08:00

Behind tightly closed doors, the White House must secretly be cursing their strategic media consultant, The Rendon Group, for the piss-poor job they've done spinning this presidency. The "Mission Accomplished" banner, the flight suit stunt, the Iraq trip complete with show turkey and fly-by fib, they all smell of PR run amuck. It is their job to make the White House and its primary resident

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070567983445987852003-12-04T11:39:00.000-08:002003-12-04T12:00:33.363-08:00

Alexandre Trudeau (son of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau) has been reporting in Iraq since the war began: Here is his latest article for Macleans concerning the mood of American troops. It is well worth the read: Of the two great rivers flowing through Iraq, the Euphrates is slower and bluer. It runs into the country from Syria, cutting across Iraq's western desert as it heads

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070561560228555312003-12-04T10:02:00.000-08:002003-12-04T10:14:32.303-08:00

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz is reporting that Knesset member Yossi Sarid has called for an inquiry into Israels participation in producing intelligence on the Iraqi weapons threat. Here is a brief excerpt: Sarid was responding to a report published in Haaretz on Thursday, which concluded that Israel was "a full partner" of the American and British conception regarding Iraq's non-conventional

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070559645435230142003-12-04T09:36:00.000-08:002003-12-04T09:42:23.703-08:00

Thomas Friedman has written this interesting editorial called God and Man in Baghdad for The New York Times: Are you sitting down? We've encountered many surprises since we invaded Iraq, but now that the political process is under way the biggest surprise may be just around the corner, and it's this: The first post-Saddam democratic government that the U.S. gives birth to in Iraq may be called

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070558706267746012003-12-04T09:18:00.000-08:002003-12-04T09:26:18.230-08:00

A story in todays Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that an Israeli General has admitted his countrys intelligence estimates of Iraqi weapons programs were deeply flawed. "Israeli intelligence was a full partner with the U.S. and Britain in developing a false picture of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction capability. . . It badly overestimated the Iraqi threat to Israel and reinforced

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070558174377647952003-12-04T09:08:00.000-08:002003-12-04T09:16:25.160-08:00

Reuters is reporting details on the Air Force One/British Airways fly-by over the mid-Atlantic that now appears never to have taken place. In another White House correction, the Bush administration on Wednesday changed its story of a British Airways pilot's spotting of Air Force One during the president's stealth trip to Iraq last week. The original story -- which held that the airline's pilot

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070556636991369692003-12-04T08:36:00.000-08:002003-12-04T09:01:28.360-08:00

The Washington Post this morning is reporting that the gorgeous turkey Bush held up for photographers during his 2 hour visit to Iraq was fake. So too was the mid-Atlantic "incident" with a British Airways flight. His spin-jockeys have no apparent qualms with just making stuff up if they believe it will make their boss look good. Shameless, really, but nevertheless an entirely successful exercise

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070555575267439212003-12-04T08:17:00.000-08:002003-12-04T08:33:05.803-08:00

In an apparent disconnect, the military spokesman for the U.S 4th Infantry Division LTC Bill Macdonald says he has no information that contradicts the militarys assessment of the Battle of Samarra, asserting that "At this time, we do not know of any civilian casualties in the attack on our convoy." This hardly gels with eyewitness reports that at least 8 civilians were killed and scores wounded.

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070525640044754922003-12-04T00:08:00.000-08:002003-12-04T02:00:11.683-08:00

There is a great piece on Mugabe in today's Atlantic Online. Samantha Power, author of "How To Kill a Country", is interviewed. She reports that Mugabe has rapidly brought Zimbabwe to its knees by following policies of sef-destruction. She maintains that Mugabe has followed these "ten steps" to destroying his country. 1. Destroy the engine of productivity 2. Bury the truth 3. Crush dissent 4.

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070524667550412852003-12-03T23:35:00.000-08:002003-12-04T01:58:48.760-08:00

Robert Mugabe is a scumbag. He is a corrupt dictator holding on to power in Zimbabwe by hook and by crook and it's high time he went the way of the dodo. He has a policy of systematic intimidation of any political opposition and his foot soldiers threaten, torture, rape and often murder those who are opposed to him and his inept rule. He continues to drive the whites and their wealth, as well as

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070428566220053892003-12-02T21:01:00.000-08:002003-12-02T21:16:16.616-08:00

Not surprisingly, India is keeping mum on yesterday's offer from Pakistani President Musharraf to withdraw from Kashmir if it does the same. Indian Foreign Minister Shashank skipped the matter completely by blowing off questions by reporters today during a press conference at his Ministry. He implied that India need not respond to each and every utterance of the Pakistani President, but that

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070349419761278892003-12-01T22:59:00.000-08:002003-12-02T19:35:55.303-08:00

There was an interesting move today from Pakistani President Musharraf. He has offered the Indian Prime Minister a deal: Pakistan will pull back its 50,000 soldiers from the Line of Control in Kashmir, a highly volatile border region between the two countries, if India does the same with its 700,000 troops. Sounds pretty silly, 50,000 Pakistani soldiers turning their backs on 700,000 Indians,

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070320619688707512003-12-01T15:10:00.000-08:002003-12-01T15:17:09.763-08:00

Reuters has Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld telling NATO ministers in Brussels today: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, in Brussels for a meeting of NATO ministers, said there was a contradiction in Iraq between the relative stability of most of the country and deadly guerrilla attacks in some places. "What you have in Iraq...is a contradiction," he told a news conference. "There is no

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070314630222199092003-12-01T13:30:00.000-08:002003-12-01T13:39:13.993-08:00

OK, it's starting to appear as if the Pentagon wasn't exactly forthcoming with the truth concerning what transpired during the Battle of Samarra. AlterNet has a story up called "Terrorists or Civilians?" which echoes my view that the American units involved went a bit overboard, and that the Pentagon is doing a dance. Have a look: Reports out of Iraq about yesterday's deadly gun battle in

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070311082710723852003-12-01T12:27:00.000-08:002003-12-01T12:38:12.463-08:00

This from Bush today: "We are confronting that danger in Iraq, where Saddam holdouts and foreign terrorists are desperately trying to throw the country into chaos," he said. "They know that the advance of freedom in Iraq, in the heart of the Middle East, would be a major defeat for the cause of terror. The coalition of killers, the collection of killers, is trying to shake the will of America.

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070309225335143312003-12-01T11:52:00.000-08:002003-12-01T12:09:08.953-08:00

For a totally different take on the Battle of Samarra you might have a look at the reports coming out from Al Jazeera. It sounds like a pretty nasty business. Their interpretation of events in Samarra are far removed from the picture being painted by the Pentagon and the major news networks. In Samarra, scenes of devastation dotted the town after fierce US attacks in which senior police and

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070302578021061342003-12-01T10:05:00.000-08:002003-12-01T12:09:58.766-08:00

I'm not very surprised that a new perspective is emerging on the Battle of Samarra that resulted in the deaths of 46 (or 54, depending on what you read) Iraqi insurgents. The Guardian reporting: The aftermath of the weekend battle in Samarra, which the US has claimed was the deadliest since the war ended, today appeared murkier than first reports suggested, as residents of the central Iraqi

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070299731468623872003-12-01T09:24:00.000-08:002003-12-01T09:30:39.606-08:00

There has been a lot of talk about how bad November was for the American-led occupation of Iraq. Here are some numbers posted on the BBC: NOVEMBER DEATHS IN IRAQ US troops: 79 Non-US coalition forces: 26 Foreign civilians: 6 Iraqis killed by insurgents: At least 32* Iraqis killed by coalition troops: At least 64* *No official statistics are kept for Iraqi deaths Strange the BBC

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070296880808051182003-12-01T08:28:00.000-08:002003-12-01T08:47:19.203-08:00

Erudition is out of the question this morning as I played poker until late last night and drank a tickle too much. Nevertheless, Times New Roman Online will soldier on and my state will improve as the clock ticks. A friend sent me a page this morning from the CBC on reporting during the War on Terror. I've posted the introduction to the project but have a look round the site, it's well done.

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070231681467265472003-11-30T14:12:00.000-08:002003-11-30T15:12:01.250-08:00

Reuters is reporting that 46 Iraqi attackers have been killed in multiple, simultaneous attacks on American convoys outside of Samarra in central Iraq. 8 were captured and many wounded. The Americans suffered only 5 wounded. Sounds like a rather protracted engagement, but small arms are no match against tanks. This sounds more like a battle than anything else we've seen since the "end of major

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070224761861480932003-11-30T12:28:00.000-08:002003-11-30T12:43:28.423-08:00

This from CNN this morning about Bush's visit to Iraq: Some carped that it appeared a political stunt meant to produce striking images and public sympathy for a president under fire about his Iraq policies. Others said the very riskiness of the journey that required extraordinary security only underscored why Bush is under scrutiny for his Iraq strategy, which has failed to prevent a rising

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070184258435229412003-11-30T01:17:00.000-08:002003-11-30T01:24:54.603-08:00

Have a look at David Livingstone's piece over at AlterNet called "A Chickenhawk Thanksgiving in Baghdad." I'm glad I'm not the only one charging Bush and his buddies with transparent politicking. You can read the original here but I've posted the article in its entirety because it's worth the read. Enjoy. Oh, what a Thanksgiving party it was. George Walker Bush, President of the United States

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070147025577121992003-11-29T14:55:00.000-08:002003-11-29T15:03:55.300-08:00

Yesterday I asked a theoretical question, curious as to how the Iraqi people may have responded to Bush's visit. Here is an excerpt from an MSNBC article that seeks to answer the same question: ''We welcome Bush as we welcome any guest who comes peacefully,'' he said. ''But we want to draw attention to the fact that there is no security, no jobs and no services well into the American occupation

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070142990383712272003-11-29T13:51:00.000-08:002003-11-29T13:57:07.363-08:00

A nasty bit of business this is. Seven Spanish intelligence agents were killed in an apparent ambush along a road south of Baghdad. Here is an excerpt from CNN's coverage: The deaths come at the end of a month that has seen the most killings of U.S.-led coalition military forces since the war began. The Spanish Defense Ministry confirmed the death toll at seven and said another agent was

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070096865926263832003-11-29T01:03:00.000-08:002003-11-29T01:09:14.766-08:00

Have a look at this tongue in cheek excerpt from an editorial I found in the The Weekly Standard: I take stock in small victories, often overlooked. Like there was the time military engineers in Fallujah cleared a field of garbage, covered it with fresh soil, then erected goal posts to make a soccer field. Sure, the next day the goal posts had been stolen, and the dirt scraped from the field. "

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070096464129752982003-11-29T00:58:00.000-08:002003-12-04T01:55:54.250-08:00

And the going gets weirder. Check out tonights lead story from Al Jazeera: The US military has shot and wounded a seven-year-old Iraqi boy, who, soldiers say, had been wielding an AK-47 assault rifle. In another incident a US soldier was killed in a mortar attack on a base in northern Iraq, as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton visited US troops in Baghdad. According to an army spokesman, four

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070094364562616872003-11-28T14:05:00.000-08:002003-11-29T00:29:56.593-08:00

I wrote a brief post this morning called "Watergate Again?" concerning Senator Hatch's disclosure that a staffer on the Sentate Judiciary Committee was in hot water after stealing a memo from the computer files of a Democratic Senator(s) and then leaked the stolen information to the press. I'll call the incident Memogate until the press catches on and gives it a better name. The memo was one of

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070056681674498802003-11-28T13:41:00.000-08:002003-11-28T13:59:19.516-08:00

Just hours after Bush took off from a surprised Baghdad another American soldier was killed in a mortar attack, while an airborne soldier died due to a "non-hostile gunshot wound", which I believe military speak for a suicide. Side-note: Imagine you're an Iraqi and you hear the news that the President had arrived in your country, the man ultimately responsible for the present situation (to those

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1070049514602970942003-11-28T11:24:00.000-08:002003-11-28T12:01:54.090-08:00

The Going Gets Weird. Apparently a Republican aide to the Senate Judiciary Committee has been placed on administrative leave without pay for accessing sensitive Democratic computer files which he then leaked to the press. This is pure dirty tricks reminiscent of Watergate. The question of note here is who gave the order to hack and why? I've tried to find that question being posed in the press

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1069974663533978192003-11-27T15:00:00.000-08:002003-11-27T15:13:21.283-08:00

It's very seldom that I write anything to do with Canada but a Toronto Star editorial I found in one of my folders seems fitting. It concerns Bush's spiteful behavior towards our country since, even though we've sent our soldiers to Afghanistan and pledged $700,000,000 to reconstruction efforts there and in Iraq, we still refuse put troops on the ground in Iraq. Read on to see how Bush treats his

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1069972752889061282003-11-27T14:27:00.000-08:002003-11-28T11:07:59.850-08:00

Bush, to my knowledge, has never released a list of his favourite books, probably because he doesn't read and the press would have a field day quizzing him on the size of Frodo's feet and whether Aslan was a lion or a wardrobe. But just for the sake of comparison, I've listed Bill Clinton's 21 favourite books and left you to wonder what George Bush's list looks like. I doubt Marcus Aurelius made

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1069969484713036382003-11-27T13:29:00.000-08:002003-11-27T13:46:22.273-08:00

President Bush swooped in on Baghdad today, the first U.S president to visit Iraq. He stayed for just over 2 hours. For security reasons, no one knew he was coming. CNN seems to be suggesting it was all just a pleasant surprise. Some might say this is politicking to the extreme: seizing a photo op with the troops on Thanksgiving, and to a large extend it is. However, Bush, much like his father,

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1069926081913526672003-11-27T01:34:00.000-08:002003-11-27T01:42:03.766-08:00

The BBC has a very interesting piece online that attempts to unravel the myths about Al Qaeda and present a clear picture of what the organisation is, how it works, and what exactly its followers want to achieve and how they plan to go about it. Here are some excerpts: "Al-Qaeda's central stated aim is to "launch a guerrilla war against American forces and expel the infidels from the Arabian

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6100078.post-1069923388189962932003-11-26T23:21:00.000-08:002003-11-27T01:17:49.253-08:00

I've been prattling on an awful lot about the mistakes that have been made by the U.S in Iraq, and I often worry that I might come across to some of my readers as a Yank-hating, leftist commie bastard. Nothing can be further from the truth. I don't love it when they fail, except in hockey, and maybe the winter olympics. But I feel a little vindicated for my often contrary stance when events prove

andrew stuart morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15423831002846218369noreply@blogger.com