Antiwar.com Blog

An interview with Tyler Gilbert, who recently went through basic training in the US military;

“They Called Iraqis ‘Ragheads'”

The guy who carried my tray was the nicest guy I met there. He was Islamic. His name was Thomas. He decided that he couldn’t kill people. He stopped eating because he had a dream one night that told him he was wrong for the military. They tried to force-feed him. They pulled him out of class, accusing him and another Muslim of being terrorists, just because they were Muslim. Eventually, the drill sergeant told me he went AWOL. I had never met anyone who was Muslim before, but he was the nicest guy I met there. In the platoon, they called Iraqis “ragheads,” and all sorts of racist shit. I was prejudiced too until I met these Muslim guys. My views of Muslims have totally changed.

One drill instructor said, “We’re in Iraq for a good reason. The news isn’t reporting the good stuff we’re doing there. The news is bullshit, they’re lying because they’re only saying the bad stuff about the Army.” They said we should all support George Bush. They were trying to brainwash us. One of the drill sergeants came back from Iraq training Iraqis. He was less gung-ho. He told us, “We’re stupid. We’re training them and then they turn around and fight us instead.”

I want to welcome two new additions to the Antiwar.com Blog:

Scott Horton has already started blogging. Scott is the host of Weekend Interview Show, which has frequently been featured on Antiwar.com, and a new author here as well.

Anthony Gregory is also joining the blog. Anthony is a research assistant at the Independent Institute and a frequent columnist for LewRockwell.com and The Future of Freedom Foundation, as well as Antiwar.com.

CNN reports:

Saddam Hussein’s half-brother, who was a personal adviser during his presidency, was captured in a joint Iraqi and coalition forces operation, Iraqi government officials said Sunday.

Associated Press explains:

Iraqi security forces captured Saddam Hussein’s half brother and former adviser, government officials said Sunday, dealing a blow to an insurgency that some Iraqi officials claim the former fugitive was helping organize and fund, perhaps from Syria.

Although CNN and many news outlets continue to push this story, the real story has emerged:

In an apparent goodwill gesture, Syrian authorities captured Saddam’s half-brother and 29 other officials of the deposed dictator’s Baath Party in Syria and handed them over to Iraq.

What will those insidious Syrians try next?!

A U.S. policy of preemption and a push for new nuclear weapon designs could be a recipe for disaster that makes proliferation more likely, not less.

No More Nuclear Hypocrisy: Defending the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty

While the alarm is repeatedly sounded about Iran and North Korea, few news outlets told us when the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency denounced the nuclear powers’ hypocrisy as a major force for proliferation of nuclear weapons in more and more countries.

Flirting With Armageddon: Welcome to a New Arms Race

A new nuclear arms race is gripping the world. Many experts believe the likelihood of such an attack is greater now than it was during the Cold War. North Korea has already claimed it has nuclear weapons, Iran could be on the brink of building them. Both nations could trigger arms races among their neighbours. The international system set up to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons has sprung a series of leaks. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has warned of a ‘cascade’ of states going nuclear.

Sibel Edmonds, the heroic FBI contract translator – turned – whistle blower, despite the Department of Justice dropping their attempted application of the “state secrets privilege” to silence her last week, is now up against the same tactic with a different name.

According to John Files at the New York Times:

“The government has told a federal appeals court that a suit by an F.B.I. translator who was fired after accusing the bureau of ineptitude should not be allowed to proceed because it would cause ‘significant damage to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.’

Lawyers for the government said in a brief filed with the court on Thursday that the suit could not continue without disclosing privileged and classified information.”

This apparently means, “If we let her tell you what she knows, we might be in trouble.”
Sibel Edmonds’ Website
My interview of her (mp3)

From Ann Coulter’s latest:

Press passes can’t be that hard to come by if the White House allows that old Arab Helen Thomas to sit within yards of the president.

Via James Wolcott.