Antiwar.com Blog

Parallel-universe news from Gene Callahan and Bob Murphy:

October 10, 2003, New York City – Responding to growing public resentment over aggressive military campaigns, the United Nations today announced the release of a global “do-not-bomb list.” A new UN resolution makes it a crime to drop bombs on the territory of any government or group that has put its name on the do-not-bomb registry.

“The International Do-Not-Bomb Registry is fully up and running,” said Timothy Yuslis, chairman of the United Nations Aerial Warfare Commission. He called the move a “major victory for humans.”

Meanwhile, military groups, soon to face fines of up to $11,000 per kiloton for violating the rules, vowed to heed the wishes of potential bombees while considering legal options that might overturn the system.

Many humans applauded the new list. As Fazool Yansouri, a strong supporter of the measure, put it: “There’s really nothing more annoying than getting home from a hard day at work, sitting down to eat with your family, and then all of a sudden your meal is interrupted by a cluster bomb crashing into the kitchen, sending body parts flying hither and thither.”

Read more.

Instead of paraphrasing U.S. government propaganda, the bloggers at National Review link straight to the press release. Bravo! A lesson in integrity for the rest of the White House shills in the blogosphere.

Ali Ismail Abbas, the Iraqi boy who suffered the loss of both arms and much of his family during the glorious liberation of his country, has been fitted with prostheses by a British charity. This is wonderful news, and Ali seems genuinely grateful for the help he has received.

But for those who think that the U.S. will be held in eternal esteem by the Iraqis, Afghans, etc., consider Ali’s recent comments on the war:

I keep asking myself: “Why are they bombing Iraqi people? What have we done to them?”

I hoped that the pilot who hit our house would be burned as I am burned and my family were burned.

Oh well, I’m sure he’s the only Iraqi who feels this way.

Israel is now reported to have submarines equipped with nuclear weapons.

As an Israeli, I find it a great relief. Now, even if Israel is completely destroyed, we’ll strike back at whoever did it. We may all perish – but not ignominously!

In fact, the future is already here. Just like in the doomsday scenario, Israel’s governments have been doing their best to destroy the country in every possible way – devastating its economy, society, culture, environment, security, its political, education, welfare and health systems – but enhancing its ability to strike militarilly (in order to expand the settlements).

The only trouble is that we Israelis have no nukes to strike back at our own government. So we do perish ignominously, after all.

Read this post by Glenn Reynolds, then read the article it refers to. Then convince me that Reynolds hasn’t gotten into Limbaugh’s stash.

Reynolds makes it sound as if Brendan O’Neill’s article somehow makes the case for war, like this hawk yelp from Charles Krauthammer. Say what? Contra Krauthammer (“Rolf Ekeus, living proof that not all Swedish arms inspectors are fools”) and the rest of the inspectors-were-wimps warbots, O’Neill points out that the inspectors were belligerent liars, too:

From the outset, UNSCOM was far from a neutral, peace-loving body. Its powers of intervention and destruction were unlike anything that went before in the arms control and inspection business…

Those who oppose Western intervention in Iraq and elsewhere should have no truck with the inspectors’ current claims. Say no to war – and no to weapons inspections.

Or rather, damned French media. From AFP:

In Baghdad’s Sadr City district, more than 10,000 Shiites gathered for the funeral procession of two of their own killed in a firefight Thursday night between the Mehdi Army militia and coalition soldiers that also left several people hurt.

Militiamen armed with assault rifles and pistols escorted the funeral procession, led by a cleric who waved a ceremonial sword.

Raising their fists in the air, the men roared, “There is no God but Allah. America is the enemy of God.”

I bet an American soldier is digging a well somewhere. Why aren’t we hearing about that?