Guest blogged by David Edwards
As BRAD BLO reported when this story broke earlier this week, US air strikes north of Baghdad destroyed a house and killed an Iraqi family as they prepared for bed.
US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnson said that three suspicious men were seen by an unmanned drone. US Forces used precision guided munitions to destroy a nearby building.
Descriptions of the situation by local police and witnesses do not agree with the official version offered by the US military. Reuters quoted police chief Colonel Sufyan Mustafa: “I absolutely confirm there were no terrorists in this house.”
Some believe that the US intends to increase the use of air strikes in coming months. Air strikes increased during the course of 2005 from 20 per month to 120 per month. In the December 5th edition of The New Yorker, Seymour Hersh writes:
This translated Syrian TV report is the only significant video coverage we could find detailing the deadly air strikes reported by BRAD BLOG earlier this week.
Many of you will probably remember the John Birch Society. Founded in 1958, it is one of the oldest and most arch-conservative groups / societies / clubs, what have you, in the United States. On their web site (found via BuzzFlash), they ask, "Should George Bush be impeached and removed from office." I will let you read the results for yourself. I swear… What is this country coming to? 😉
http://www.jbs.org/poll.php?vo=1
Note: Be sure to read the caption above each bar graph.
37 % of the Faithful STILL swallow it all
#1
WELFL,
Wow, I just checked out your John Birch Society link and, holy impeachment, Batman! 60%! That’s pretty goddamn surprising.
I dunno…all things considered, I think that maybe the chimp’s actual approval numbers are somewhere in the 20’s, or the teens, even, and the polls & whatnot are all smoke & mirrors/threats & bribes magic tricks fabricated by the bush bullshit brigade.
WOW! If 63% of the Birchers (!!!) say he should be impeached, that’s HUGE! I grew up in a Birch household. They mean business. I don’t know if it’s actually Birchers who responded to their poll, of course, but I do know that lying into war and eavesdropping on citizens without a damn good (and court-approved) reason are not the way to get their support…
hang in there gang. Let’s take our country back. And remeber, it still all comes down to election reform…
peace out,
shw
I joke around so much on this blog, but the death & maiming & horror of this war, particularly THIS war, so illegitimate & inept & unnecessary, is more than sobering. It is hideous.
Joan, I laughed at your first comment in a good way. It was very nicely written and (by my standards) perfectly appropriate. I’m with you all the way.
Shannon Williford wrote: "I don’t know if it’s actually Birchers who responded to their poll…"
Welfl: I wondered about that too. I’m sort of hoping that a person has to be a registered member in order to vote, but I didn’t want to click too many links to find out. Ha.
The Birchers are fanatical, but they’re TRUE CONSERVATIVES, as distinct from neo-cons. True conservatives don’t start wars overseas against countries that aren’t threatening us. They don’t believe in trillion-dollar deficits to finance them, nor do they believe in lying about what they’re doing.
I think that explains the poll readings. Great news.
Wonder how the killing of innocent civilians helps in the war on terror?
Are the bodies different when a "terrorist" destroys a family than when a "soldier" destroys a family?
Surely the answer to that depends on the creedence given to the notion "we didn’t mean to" and "we tried not to".
I doubt the investigation would be initiated by a bomber, whether the bomber is called a "terrorist" or called a "soldier", and I doubt whether the feelings of the bomber or the family are relevent to an official policy.
When I was working on anti-"PATRIOT" Act resolutions, the Birchers were allies. It was a surrealistic experience to someone of my background and convictions – but there it was! (I’m sure it was an equally strange experience for them.) I wrote an article on the subject of the "PATRIOT" Act and the need for local resolutions – very nonpartisan – and got a lot of positive feedback from Bircher types.
They are implacable foes of the "New World Order".
So, it doesn’t surprise me that they would favor impeachment.