Iraq’s Newest Graduate School
April 17, 2007
Blog Comment: Many of us are going to be saying, “I told you so,” and rightfully so, because there was NO CHANCE this could have happened had George W. Bush not invaded Iraq. Some may say that this is nothing more than an idle boast or empty propaganda. That would be a very inaccurate perception and saying so would be propaganda itself. The fact of the matter remains that Iraq was NOT a threat to the United States, or anyone else. Now, it serves as a Graduate School for people who WILL DO HARM to citizens around the world.
What is truly egregious is that the American people do not seem to have the will to hold this Administration responsible. The obvious intentional manipulation of facts in the run up to the war, the blatant lies to the public, the Congress, the United Nations; were nothing more than an attempt to deceive us, yet we hold no one accountable. Is the Constitution of the United States now an irrelevant document? It appears so.
In place of “staying the course” with an intense focus on all those responsible for the attacks on 9/11, we are asked to “stay the course” in graduating a whole new generation of people who terrorize our children and grandchildren.
I leave you with the Reuters report and this thought by President John F. Kennedy, it is taken from his remarks to the American University on June 10, 1963;
“What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children — not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women — not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.”
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Qaeda group says Iraq a “university of terror”
Reuters News Service
Tue Apr 17, 2007 8:25AM EDT
By Firouz Sedarat
DUBAI (Reuters) - The head of an al Qaeda-led group in Iraq said the country has become a “university of terrorism” producing highly qualified warriors since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
In an audio recording posted on the Internet on Tuesday, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq, said his fighters were successfully confronting U.S. forces in Iraq and have begun producing a guided missile called al-Quds 1 or Jerusalem 1.
“The largest batch of soldiers for jihad … in the history of Iraq are graduating and they have the highest level of competence in the world,” Baghdadi said.
He also sought to mend fences with other anti-U.S. insurgent groups in Iraq following reports of tensions between them.
“From the military point of view, one of the (enemy) devils was right in saying that if Afghanistan was a school of terror, then Iraq is a university of terrorism,” said the leader of the group set up last year by al Qaeda’s Iraq wing and some other Sunni groups.
“We would like to inform the mujahideen all over the world, and especially in Iraq, that the Quds (Jerusalem) 1 rocket has gone into the phase of military production,” Baghdadi said, adding that its length, weight, range and precision “matches those of world powers”.
The authenticity of the tape, issued to mark the fourth anniversary of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, could not be verified. But it was posted on Web sites often used by al Qaeda and other insurgent groups in Iraq.
“The fear of the American Marines has disappeared from the hearts of the people of the world, as the mujahideen have become thousands from the few they were after the fall of the infidel Baath regime,” Baghdadi said. “These are just some of the achievements of four years of jihad.”
Baghdadi called on insurgents to maintain their unity, warning that enemies wanted to cause splits in their ranks. “Our friendship is deep … and ties between us are stronger than some believe,” he said.
His comments appeared to confirm reports of a growing rift between his militant group and other insurgent organizations that accused al Qaeda of trying to impose control over them.
Addressing insurgent groups such as the Islamic Army in Iraq and the Ansar al-Sunna, Baghdadi said he strongly opposed any fighting between insurgent groups and vowed to take all necessary measures to prevent bloodshed.
“By God, you will not hear or see but good things (from us),” he said.
Baghdadi’s group has claimed responsibility for mass kidnappings and a series of major attacks.
© Reuters 2006.
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