Unfortunately, North America has completely BIASED news media!

If you lived outside of North America, you would realize that.

Do you know any Iraqi/Afghani people, personally, I mean?
Do you know their side of the story? If not then you are making totally biased statements and therefore you may not have your facts straight.

JMO

How do you know you're not the one being brain washed?

I am amazed when I watch BBC news. Talk about scary ????

I never said brain-washed I said biased.

I know Iraqi people, who have been told good and bad stories about what is really going on there. From actual sources aka people there.

God gave me a mind, a sharp one at that, and I intend on using it.

Make informed decisions and respecting the opinions of others.

I am patriotic and I am grateful to those in the military.

I am not, however, someone who condones war for greed and this is most certainly that.

This has nothing to do with Republican versus Democrat, it is a case of morals and humanity.

##############################################################

There are definite connections of Hussein and Al-Qaeda:

http://www.cfif.org/htdocs/freedomline/current/in_our_opinion/oil_for_osama.htm

Oil for Osama

The United Nations’ Oil for Food program scandal continues to swell.

Recall that documents discovered after the liberation of Iraq revealed that the U.N.’s self-described flagship humanitarian program was wracked with bribery, kick-backs, smuggling, under the table deals and influence peddling. Among other revelations, evidence uncovered in Baghdad implicated long-time U.N. official Benon Sevan who was responsible for managing the program and reported directly to Secretary General Kofi Annan……………………….

However, the documents show that Saddam was able to thoroughly corrupt the program and use it to line his own pockets, fund purchases of illegal weapons, pay off officials in a variety of nations and organizations and stash hidden cash in banks around the world.

Saddam’s booty resulted largely from a kick-back scheme involving oil sales under the program. Iraq would sell oil to Oil for Food contractors at below-market prices. ………………..

Coverage of the scandal, led by journalist Claudia Rossett, has forced the U.N. to respond. Last month, Secretary Annan named former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to lead a U.N. investigation into the matter. ………………….

On May 2, Tim Russert questioned Secretary General Annan on Meet the Press about a letter from Sevan’s U.N. office to the Oil for Food contractor responsible for overseeing Saddam’s oil exports.

The day after Russert revealed the letter, Rossett and the Wall Street Journal reported that they had obtained another letter from Sevan’s office. It was addressed to a Swiss company named Cotecna, responsible for inspecting humanitarian goods shipped into Iraq under the Oil for Food program. Rossett reports that Cotecna employed Secretary Annan’s son for nearly three years before winning its Oil for Food contract. According to the Journal, the letter warns Cotecna that all "documents and all other data compiled or received by the Contractor … shall be treated as confidential and shall be delivered only to United Nations authorized officials."……………….

Even more disturbing than the U.N.’s shameful response and the complicity of supposed U.S. allies France and Russia in the scandal is the possibility that Oil for Food money funded AL QAEDA and other terrorist organizations.

Rossett, reporting in National Review, recently detailed two possible links between the proceeds from the Oil for Food program and organizations with known links to AL QUAEDA and she’s careful to leave open the possibility of many more as-yet undiscovered connections.

The first runs from an Oil for Food oil buyer through a front company in Liechtenstein to a bank in the Bahamas called Bank Al Taqwa. In November 2001, both the U.S. government and the U.N. publicly identified both the front company and Bank Al Taqwa as belonging to AL QAEDA, and revealed that both the company and the bank had definitive links to two known major AL QAEDA financiers.

The second ran through a now-defunct Swiss company called Delta Services, also an Oil for Food oil buyer. Delta Services was a subsidiary of a Saudi company which had close ties to the TALIBAN during the height AL QAEDA’s involvement in Afghanistan in the late 1990s.

That Saddam viewed AL QAEDA’s interest to be parallel with his own — and sought to fund their efforts — is no great logical leap. We already know that he had previously funded terrorist organizations like HAMAS, and his contempt for the United States is clearly established. But the possibility that Saddam could have provided funding to AL QAEDA and other terrorists using proceeds of Oil for Food sales is incredibly disturbing.
Consider this: Osama bin Laden is believed to have funded AL QAEDA with about $300 million of family money. During its eight-year life, more than $111 billion flowed through the Oil for Food program. Bin Laden’s initial contribution constitutes a mere three tenths of one percent of the total program — a mere rounding error. If Saddam succeeded in routing only a few hundred million to AL QAEDA, he provided funding for sophisticated terrorist operations for decades to come.

It’s essential that the U.S. learn to what degree French and Russian opposition to its intervention in Iraq was motivated by Saddam’s payoffs. And it’s time for the U.N. to stop clamping down and start opening up.

************************************
************************************

Oil-for-Food Programme
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Oil-for-Food Programme, established by the United Nations in 1995 (under UN Security Council Resolution 986)[1] and terminated in late 2003, was intended to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs for ordinary Iraqi citizens without allowing Iraq to rebuild its military.

The programme was introduced by United States President Bill Clinton's administration in 1995, as a response to arguments that ordinary Iraqi citizens were inordinately affected by the international economic sanctions aimed at the demilitarisation of Saddam Hussein's Iraq, imposed in the wake of the first Gulf War. The sanctions were discontinued on November 21, 2003 after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the humanitarian functions turned over to the Coalition Provisional Authority.[1]
As the programme ended, there were revelations of corruption involving the funds…………………………..

Allegedly used to finance Al-Qaeda.

The scandal engulfing the United Nations Procurement Department and the Oil-for-Food Programme allegedly involved AL QAEDA finance operations. FOX News broke the story that Alexander Yakovlev, a Russian official in the UN Procurement Department, was involved; he later resigned and pled guilty to corruption charges. One link was to Ahmed Idris Nasreddin, a man designated as a terrorist financier by the US and the UN. The UN has named Nasreddin as a man "belonging to or affiliated with AL QAEDA." Petra Navigation Group was a company that was on the blacklist of firms blocked from doing business with the U.S. for sanctions-busting activities designed to help Saddam's regime

Now, sit there and say that Al-Quada was never involved with Iraq, Saddam Hussein...

Yes, I omitted a lot of material. The links are provided if you want to read for yourself. I see no reason to put all of that in this post, as this post is intended to show DEFINITE connections with Al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein.

I never said brain-washed I said biased.

I know Iraqi people, who have been told good and bad stories about what is really going on there. From actual sources aka people there.

God gave me a mind, a sharp one at that, and I intend on using it.

Make informed decisions and respecting the opinions of others.

I am patriotic and I am grateful to those in the military.

I am not, however, someone who condones war for greed and this is most certainly that.

This has nothing to do with Republican versus Democrat, it is a case of morals and humanity.

Now who's being fooled...this is so much more than for greed. If thugs weren't running the UN alot of these problems would be fixed. Can you imagine...they made sudan head of human rights??? If there isn't something wrong with that pic in your eyes then you truly aren't seeing other govts. for what they are.

Who knows why other govts. aren't stepping up to the plate on this war of terror anyway. They should be. It's always our country to has to do clean up while everyone else reaps the benefits. Getting something back for us is not being imperialistic or mean or whatever some want to call us.

Thanks, Dunx

And as far as Sudan is concerned if anyone knows about human rights issues they would.
Funny how your helpful government has literally nothing to do with Africa....Oh yeah nothing there they want.
Just saying, that's all.

The 500 tons of uranium have finally been removed from Iraq. Seems that the US and Iraqis were incredibly cautious with its removal. The Iraqis sold it to a Canadian company for millions of dollas.

US removes uranium from Iraq - http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080706/D91O8E100.html



And, the Iraqis are leading the final purge of al-Qaeda from Iraq: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article4276486.ece


Definately good news, so much so that the Prime Minister of Iraq is thinking of timetables for US forces having to leave Iraq, though of course with some behind for security and assistance and training when needed. The article also talks about the good investments and diplomacy Iraq is having with its neighbors.: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL0353522920080707?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true

Good news right there ^

A nation any nation under military and political occupation has no government at all . Therefore Iraq has no government as the orders are from the White house and the Pentagon .
Does it take a real genius to see the truth ???.

Read the last news report. Have you not read and heard about the diplomatic missions and meetings that the Iraqi President and Prime Minister had, alone, with other foreign dignitaries? Iraq is in complete control of over half of their provinces and five more ontop of those are relatively peaceful.

Have you ever been to their government websites? They have Ministry for every government necessity. They are fully operational.

Iraq is asserting their authorities and other ARAB governments are investing and relieving new and outstanding debts. Iraq's currency and its rise over the last two years and the last few months show the rising strength of the government and economy.

The real truth can be found by those actually looking into the issue and researching on their own, unlike those (like you) who will continue to utter the same mantra even when US forces leave and Iraq continues its current path of an economic oil powerhouse and democracy in the Middle East.

Those you mentioned are called " the dogs of America " and were working for the CIA for ages .

Concerning Africa:

Mr. Bush, said Mr. Geldof, "has done more than any other president so far."

And, if you knew anything about Sudan you would know it is not a black and white issue. You don't want us to go to war with Iran do you? You don't want us to increase tensions and hostility with China and Russia, right? Look into how they are tied into Sudan and how Iran has said any action by western diplomats and such in Africa would be a direct attack on Islam and would bring launch of a holy war.

Do your research. Just saying.

Do you know that the stock of Exxon has been on a steady decline? The same is the case for Chevron and numerous other big other companies. I have a mutual fund with Exxon in it. And it has been going down big time, thanks to Exxon.