FEBRUARY 15, 2011
Debbie on February 15, 2011 at 04:07 PM
RIGHT TRUTH
The Iraqi defector codenamed Curveball, who falsely claimed Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, admitted to the lies today and said he is proud he was able to trick the U.S. and its allies into launching the Iraq War. (ABC)
Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi made up details about mobile bioweapons trucks andsecret factories in order to bring down the Saddam Hussein regime, telling the Guardian "There were no other possibilities." Heinitially talked to the German secret service, the BND, where he lived after fleeing Iraq in 1995. He bragged that his claims were lapped up by the Bush administration who suggested his cooperation would help in getting his Moroccan-born wife and child to join him in Germany. (Image via the Guardian)
People lie. People have their own motivations and goals and they are willing to lie to achieve those goals. Some knew that he was lying.
Al-Janabi said he was caught in his lie as early as mid-2000 when the BND met with al-Janabi's former boss at the Military Industries Commission in Iraq, the Guardian reported. [snip]
The former chief of European operations at the CIA, Tyler Drumheller, said in 2007 he tried repeatedly to warn his superiors that Curveball's information was dubious -- even by specifically attempting to redact all mentions of Curveball's information in Powell's 2003 speech. (ABC)
"Everybody Lies!" as Dr. House, M.D. says. Politicians lie. Just today Barack Obama suggested that GOP wants to take away babies’ infant formula, vets’ checks, seniors’ benefits! Why wouldn't a person lie about a cruel dictatorship if he thought there was even a small chance that he could get someone to topple it?
The question becomes who can be trusted, who can be believed?
The United States is now negotiating with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Mullah Abdul Salaam Zaeef, who was previously blacklisted by Western nations and the United Nations and spent four years in Guantanamo Bay, charged with co-ordinating Taliban and al-Qaeda forces
around Kabul, is now in a London hotel. Zaeef is now in secret negotiations between Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, and the Taliban's Pakistan-based supreme commander, Mullah Muhammad Omar.
Apparently the United States and coalition partners trust Zaeef when he says the Taliban has learned it's lesson, and apparently we still trust Karzai and even Mullah Muhammad Omar. It boggles the mind. If negotiations work out here's the deal: in return for power in parts of southern Afghanistan, the Taliban would accept the authority of the Kabul government and expel al-Qaeda and its jihadist affiliates.
As the Telegraph reports:
Zaeef has proved willing to swap the black turban he wore as a Taliban official for the white skullcap of the pious Muslim; his Kalashnikov for the hunting rifle he used in Scotland during the brief vacation that followed his visit; his Kandahar bunker for the congenial Charing Cross Hotel.
Do we believe Zaeef? Do we trust Mullah Omar? How do we know what to do? With the uprisings across the Middle East we see people reaching for something different, different leaders, different laws, but where that leads may be good for the West or it could go very bad. 'If tomorrow is to be a better day for the Middle East, societal tolerance has to be adopted and nurtured, writes Moshe Kantor.'
I suppose tolerance goes both ways? A little hard to take when we read statements like: 'It Is Permissible to Kill Jewish and Christian Civilians In Jihad, Since They Are 'Fundamentally Not Innocent''. Or "Moderate" Jordan: Guy Who Murdered 7 Israeli Schoolgirls a "Hero".
In Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood announced they would not be involved in Egyptian politics, that they would not run a candidate. That was then, this is now: They announce that will be a political party, they are in favor of scrubbing the constitution, they will
strive forjihad. Oops, some believed them. They lied. If asked if they had anything to do with the brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating of CBS reporter Lara Logan, I'm sure they would lie about that also.
Israel should be very concerned because Ayman Nour, one of the leading liberal opposition politicians, has declared that the Camp David accords are over, and might be preserved only if Israel agrees to end the demilitarization of the Sinai and Mohammed ElBaradei are allied with the Brotherhood. (Sultan Knish)
In Pakistan today the Taliban told the Pakistan government they will be punished if they cave to American influence concerning the release of U.S. diplomat Raymond Davis. I'm guessing the Pakistan Taliban didn't get the message from the Afghanistan Taliban that we're all going to get along. I suppose they have not learned their lesson yet.
Next thing we'll hear is that we are negotiating with Sheikh and the missionary Imam Anwar al-Awlaki. I'm reminded of the old sayings, 'Those who play with fire get burned'; 'Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me'. The true followers of Islam follow the Koran and the true followers of Islam believe that lying is a noble thing, as long as it gets them what they want.
But then again, sometimes people do tell the truth and sometimes you can trust them.
RIGHT TRUTH
The Iraqi defector codenamed Curveball, who falsely claimed Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, admitted to the lies today and said he is proud he was able to trick the U.S. and its allies into launching the Iraq War. (ABC)
Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi made up details about mobile bioweapons trucks andsecret factories in order to bring down the Saddam Hussein regime, telling the Guardian "There were no other possibilities." Heinitially talked to the German secret service, the BND, where he lived after fleeing Iraq in 1995. He bragged that his claims were lapped up by the Bush administration who suggested his cooperation would help in getting his Moroccan-born wife and child to join him in Germany. (Image via the Guardian)
People lie. People have their own motivations and goals and they are willing to lie to achieve those goals. Some knew that he was lying.
Al-Janabi said he was caught in his lie as early as mid-2000 when the BND met with al-Janabi's former boss at the Military Industries Commission in Iraq, the Guardian reported. [snip]
"Everybody Lies!" as Dr. House, M.D. says. Politicians lie. Just today Barack Obama suggested that GOP wants to take away babies’ infant formula, vets’ checks, seniors’ benefits! Why wouldn't a person lie about a cruel dictatorship if he thought there was even a small chance that he could get someone to topple it?
The question becomes who can be trusted, who can be believed?
The United States is now negotiating with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Mullah Abdul Salaam Zaeef, who was previously blacklisted by Western nations and the United Nations and spent four years in Guantanamo Bay, charged with co-ordinating Taliban and al-Qaeda forces
Apparently the United States and coalition partners trust Zaeef when he says the Taliban has learned it's lesson, and apparently we still trust Karzai and even Mullah Muhammad Omar. It boggles the mind. If negotiations work out here's the deal: in return for power in parts of southern Afghanistan, the Taliban would accept the authority of the Kabul government and expel al-Qaeda and its jihadist affiliates.
As the Telegraph reports:
Zaeef has proved willing to swap the black turban he wore as a Taliban official for the white skullcap of the pious Muslim; his Kalashnikov for the hunting rifle he used in Scotland during the brief vacation that followed his visit; his Kandahar bunker for the congenial Charing Cross Hotel.
Do we believe Zaeef? Do we trust Mullah Omar? How do we know what to do? With the uprisings across the Middle East we see people reaching for something different, different leaders, different laws, but where that leads may be good for the West or it could go very bad. 'If tomorrow is to be a better day for the Middle East, societal tolerance has to be adopted and nurtured, writes Moshe Kantor.'
I suppose tolerance goes both ways? A little hard to take when we read statements like: 'It Is Permissible to Kill Jewish and Christian Civilians In Jihad, Since They Are 'Fundamentally Not Innocent''. Or "Moderate" Jordan: Guy Who Murdered 7 Israeli Schoolgirls a "Hero".
In Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood announced they would not be involved in Egyptian politics, that they would not run a candidate. That was then, this is now: They announce that will be a political party, they are in favor of scrubbing the constitution, they will
strive forjihad. Oops, some believed them. They lied. If asked if they had anything to do with the brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating of CBS reporter Lara Logan, I'm sure they would lie about that also.
Israel should be very concerned because Ayman Nour, one of the leading liberal opposition politicians, has declared that the Camp David accords are over, and might be preserved only if Israel agrees to end the demilitarization of the Sinai and Mohammed ElBaradei are allied with the Brotherhood. (Sultan Knish)
In Pakistan today the Taliban told the Pakistan government they will be punished if they cave to American influence concerning the release of U.S. diplomat Raymond Davis. I'm guessing the Pakistan Taliban didn't get the message from the Afghanistan Taliban that we're all going to get along. I suppose they have not learned their lesson yet.
Next thing we'll hear is that we are negotiating with Sheikh and the missionary Imam Anwar al-Awlaki. I'm reminded of the old sayings, 'Those who play with fire get burned'; 'Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me'. The true followers of Islam follow the Koran and the true followers of Islam believe that lying is a noble thing, as long as it gets them what they want.
But then again, sometimes people do tell the truth and sometimes you can trust them.
