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Also Try Veterans Papers -05-03-06 Editorial: Think Again About Dividing Iraq (ABC News) "As sectarian violence continues in Iraq, Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., argues that Iraq should be divided into three separate regions: Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni, with a central government in Baghdad." "Once the nation effectively divides, so does its major resource and in ways that make the territorial losers in nonoil areas effectively dysfunctional. The central government cannot preside over a divided nation and hope to control oil and the nation's infrastructure and export facilities at the same time. This leaves the losers with little choice other than further conflict." 05-06 -07-18-05 Expert: Suicide Bombers Not Motivated Primarily by Religion (MSNBC News) Tucker Carlson: "I should also say you’ve compiled the world’s largest database on suicide terrorism. You studied every suicide bombing in the world since about 1980, so you’re a good guy to ask, obviously, the guy to ask. You make the point, if I understand it correctly, that, most of the time, suicide bombing is a response to foreign occupation, you say, not a product of religious extremism." Robert Pape: "Yes. Over 95 percent of all suicide terrorist attacks around the world since 1980 have in common not religion, but a clear strategic purpose, to compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from the territory that the terrorists view as their homeland or prize greatly." 7-05 -Editorial: Falluja Is a Name that Lives in Infamy (Guardian Unlimited) "The destruction of Falluja was an act of barbarism that ranks alongside My Lai, Guernica and Halabja." 11-05 -Editorial: Silencing a Skeptic (MSNBC News) "[Former Republican Congressman Dick] Armey had succumbed to Cheney's pressure. He had decided to be the good soldier, the loyal partisan. But this vote [to give President Bush the power to wage war with Iraq] weighed upon him. For weeks afterward, he would agonize about it and try to convince himself that he had not actually voted for a war. He wanted to believe that he had merely given Bush the option to use military force, to strengthen the president's hand in pursuing a diplomatic solution to the Saddam problem." 09-06 -Life in Iraq (CNN) "Since the collapse of the Iraqi regime, homeless children -- often drug-addicted and hungry -- have become a common sight on the streets of Baghdad." "Aid agencies say they are pressing the authorities running Iraq into working out ways of prevention and getting those already homeless and addicted into care." Under Saddam, the problem of unwanted children was taboo and kept hidden -- children on the streets were slung into orphanages, even jail. But this life on the streets seems hardly better." 7-03 -New American Empire (CBC News) "Long before Sept. 11, influential neo-conservatives wanted to see America as an enlightened ruler, unchallenged, astride the world. Long before Bush was elected president, they got together and they wrote down a manifesto." "The document was effectively a charter of the Project for a New American Century, a neo-conservative think tank in Washington." According to the article, the founding members included Vice-President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz of the Defense Department, Richard Perle, head of the defense advisory board, Louis Libby, Cheney's chief of staff; John Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control, and Elliot Cohen of the defense policy board. "They wanted the U.S. as a global 'constabulary' – their word – unburdened by the United Nations or world opinion, preventing any challenge to U.S. dominance." "But, they wrote a year before Sept. 11, such aspirations are unlikely to be realized without 'a catastrophic and catalyzing event. . .like a new Pearl Harbor.' " 3-03 -New American Empire (NewAmericanCentury.org) "The Project for the New American Century is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to a few fundamental propositions: that American leadership is good both for America and for the world; that such leadership requires military strength, diplomatic energy and commitment to moral principle; and that too few political leaders today are making the case for global leadership." "The Project for the New American Century intends, through issue briefs, research papers, advocacy journalism, conferences, and seminars, to explain what American world leadership entails. It will also strive to rally support for a vigorous and principled policy of American international involvement and to stimulate useful public debate on foreign and defense policy and America's role in the world." 3-03 -New American Strategy (Christian Science Monitor - Chaddock) "National strategy, released Friday, calls for US dominance to expand global peace." "More broadly, the 31-page document asserts American dominance as the lone superpower – a status no rival power will be allowed to challenge." "And it provides a reason the world should accept this state of affairs: the expansion of peace and more freedom. A Pax Americana will be 'in the service of a balance of power that favors freedom.' " " ' We cannot let our enemies strike first.... To forestall or prevent such hostile acts by our adversaries, the United States will, if necessary, act preemptively.' " 4-03 -New American Strategy for Security (Whitehouse.gov - Bush) Outlines the Bush administration's approach to national defense in a 33-page paper, the National Security Strategy. "The great struggles of the twentieth century between liberty and totalitarianism ended with a decisive victory for the forces of freedom—and a single sustainable model for national success: freedom, democracy, and free enterprise. In the twenty-first century, only nations that share a commitment to protecting basic human rights and guaranteeing political and economic freedom will be able to unleash the potential of their people and assure their future prosperity." Introduces a new U.S. policy of using preemptive strikes and working unilaterally when the U.S. determines that U.S. interests are served by such approaches. 9-03 -Propaganda - How to Recognize It (Donn) Helps students recognize the role of propaganda in international relations, especially warfare, and how to keep propaganda from fooling them. Uses Panama and Iraq as examples of the U.S. using propaganda to help win a conflict. "To protect yourself against the techniques of propaganda, three good questions to ask yourself are: -Who does this benefit? - Why did they do that? -According to whom? " 2-03 Al Saher, Kazem (CharlotteChurchFans.com) Provides a short profile on the singer. "Considered one of the most renowned composers and vocalists in the Middle East, Kazem Al Saher is the voice of conscience for Arabs through song." 2-02 Allawi:Terrorists Pouring into Iraq (CNN News) "Iraq's interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has warned that "terrorists" are flooding into his country from across the Muslim world." 9-04 American Isolation From Europe - Not So True (Stratfor) "The United States is much less isolated in relation to Europe than is generally believed." 6-03 Baghdad - History of the City (CBC - O'Malley and Thompson) "It is an ancient city, one of the world's oldest. It is the locale of much of Thousand and One Nights, the Arabian stories of Sheherazade, Ali Baba, Sinbad the Sailor, and Aladdin." 2-03 Carter: Iraq War Based on False Premises (Fox News) "Former President Jimmy Carter said Saturday the detention of terror suspects at the Guantanamo Bay Naval base was an embarrassment and had given extremists an excuse to attack the United States." "Carter said, however, that terrorist acts could not be justified, and that while Guantanamo 'may be an aggravating factor ... it's not the basis of terrorism.' " " 'I thought then, and I think now, that the invasion of Iraq was unnecessary and unjust. And I think the premises on which it was launched were false,' he said Saturday." 7-05   Downing Street Memo (Times of London) Provides the text of a memo from Matthew Rycroft, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Private Secretary, dated July 23, 2002. At this time, U.N. inspectors had not yet returned into Iraq to look for weapons of mass destruction (WMD). No proof had been presented that Iraq was making weapons of mass destruction. In the memo, Blair's Secretary summarized a meeting between Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W. Bush. Among the Secretary's statements were: "Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy." 6-05 Editorial - Al-Sistani's Intentions for Iraq (WorldPress.org - Hani Fahs, Al-Hayat) "Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is not expected to escalate his position to the point where he might issue a fatwa calling for jihad and armed resistance, since he does not believe in wilayat al-faqih [the right of Islamic jurists to rule]." "The essence of Al-Sistani’s position is that the Iraqis do not need to resort to violence to acquire their rights as long as they have peaceful means available to them. But should these means no longer be available, then other means, including armed resistance, should be sought." 2-04 Editorial - The U.S. is Primarily Interested in U.S. Interests in Iraq (WorldPress.org - Abu al-Hasan al-Mqawtir, Al-Daawa) "As far as the economy is concerned, occupied Iraq’s experience over the last eight months proved beyond any doubt that the occupiers had bad intentions in invading Iraq. This is clearly seen in the exclusion of Iraqis from economic decision-making. Even when Iraqis do participate, they are only allowed a token, superficial role. You could call it throwing dust in the eyes." "The reason behind this is obvious. Iraqis disagree over political, social, and cultural issues. But they fully agree on economic issues—especially if they have clear ideas as to how Iraq’s economy should be managed so that Iraq’s interests are put first." "The occupiers’ two major aims are to loot all of Iraq’s national wealth and to control conflicts in the world by controlling Iraqi oil, which is one of the largest reserves in the world. These two aims require that Iraqis be excluded from the economic decision-making process even if they are the least patriotic Iraqis available." Editor's Note: Al-Daawa is an organ of the Siite Daawa Party in Baghdad. 2-04 Editorial: Dead Wrong in Iraq (CNN News) "In a scathing report on the intelligence community, a presidential commission Thursday said the United States still knows 'disturbingly little' about the weapons programs and intentions of many of its 'most dangerous adversaries.' " "The panel also determined the intelligence community was 'dead wrong' in its assessments of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction capabilities before the U.S. invasion." 4-05 Editorial: Young Iraqi Doctor's Experience (GlobalResearch.ca) "Dr. Salam Ismael is in Europe to testify about the human rights violations committed against his people in Iraq." 01-06 Energy Weapon to Replace Bullets (USA Today) "Troops in Iraq will soon be shooting an experimental weapon that fires an invisible beam of energy instead of bullets to repel insurgents without killing civilians." "The weapon will be demonstrated in public this summer and in Iraq within months. It is the first in what could become a catalog of energy beams that aim to ease one of the war's toughest problems." 7-05 Essay - Three Views of America's New Power in the World (BBC News - Reynolds) Provides three points of view about the expression of American power in the world. 5-03 Essays on the Middle East Conflicts and Other Current Events (History News Network) Provides liberal and conservative viewpoints on the Middle East conflicts and other major current events. 10-02 Evolution of the Bush Doctrine in Iraq (PBS.org - Frontline) Gives history of the development of President Bush's approach to Iraq, including a discussion of the the National Defense Strategy (NSS) providing the current overall philosophy regarding conflict and U.S. interests. Explains the policy of preemption and the U.S. acting alone." 9-03 Five Women Confront the New Iraq (Christian Science Monitor - Prusher) "From actresses to lawyers, women are seizing a historic if uncertain moment." 7-03 Hagel: Deep Trouble in Iraq (Bloomberg.com) "The U.S. is 'in deep trouble in Iraq' and needs help from allies in the region to secure the country and more economic development to win support from Iraqis, Republican Senator Charles Hagel said." 9-04 History of Iraq (OpTruth.com) Provides a history of Iraq as a context for understanding the current war. Operation Truth is written by soldiers who have faced combat in Iraq. 11-04 Iraq (About.com - Rosenberg) Provides sources of maps, statistics, the flag, government and military information, and information on the economy, as well as history. 2-01 Iraq (CountryReports.org) Provides a profile by topic, including Economy, Defense, Geography, Government, People, National Anthem, Lyrics and Related Links. Provides a map and a flag. 6-02 Iraq (Library of Congress) Provides a history of the country, including culture, government, economy, and more. Also includes geographic information. 1-02 Iraq (U.S. State Department) Provides information about Iraq's history, economics, and government. 11-04 Iraq in Transition (PBS News) Provides news stories. 4-05 Iraq: 4,000 Years of Strife (CBS News) "The ancient Greeks called it Mesopotamia, a word meaning 'the land between the rivers' - the muddy Tigris and the meandering Euphrates. Here is the cradle of civilization." "It’s been the home of great conquerors, like Hammurabi whose code of justice demanded an eye for an eye, Nebuchadnezzar who vanquished Jerusalem, around 600 B.C., and, centuries later, Saladin, the Muslim warrior who repelled the Christian crusaders of medieval Europe." "Now comes the latest invading Army, preparing the last days, the last hours of Saddam Hussein. Soon the new invaders will have to unify what has never been unified, build what has never been built, here in the cradle of civilization. " 3-03 Iraqi Civilians Casualties Count (BBC News) Provides the text of a memo from Matthew Rycroft, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Private Secretary, dated July 23, 2002. At this time, U.N. inspectors had not yet returned into Iraq to look for weapons of mass destruction (WMD). No proof had been presented that Iraq was making weapons of mass destruction. In the memo, Blair's Secretary summarized a meeting between Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W. Bush. Among the Secretary's statements were: "Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy." 6-05 Iraqi Living Standards "Plummet" (BBC News) "Living conditions for Iraqis have plunged over the past 25 years with many households struggling to fulfil basic needs, an Iraqi-UN report says." "In 2004, a year after the fall of Saddam Hussein, some 22,000 households were questioned about their lives." "It is highly likely that most households now have a lower real income than almost 25 years ago, said the report, entitled the Iraqi Living Conditions Survey 2004." "Almost a quarter of children aged between six months and five years old are suffering from chronic malnutrition, it said." "In some areas, the situation has worsened dramatically since the fall of the regime." 5-05 Is Western-Style Democracy Good for Everyone? (BBC News) Asks readers to answer the question, "Is western-style democracy good for the world or is it just another example of cultural imperialism?" Provides samples of responses to the question. 11-03 King Gilgamesh of Iraq (BBC News) "Archaeologists in Iraq believe they may have found the lost tomb of King Gilgamesh - the subject of the oldest "book" in history." 11-04 Kurdish Language (Kurdistan Web) Provides the alphabet, history, and more on the Kurdish language. 8-02 Kurdistan (Kurdinfo.com) Provides information about the people, land, culture, and history of Kurdistan, a territory within Iraq. 8-02 Kurds of Iraq (PBS) "Kurdistan was erased from the world's maps after World War I when the Allied Powers carved up the Middle East and denied the Kurds a nation-state. They are the largest ethnic group in the world without their own country, with more than twenty million Kurds living in parts of Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria. Throughout the 20th century their struggles for political and cultural autonomy were opposed by countries in the area, which often used the Kurds as pawns in regional politics." 3-03 Life in Iraq: Dating Difficult (Time Magazine) "Those still seeking love have fewer places to find it. Many once liberal university campuses are now policed by fanatical Shi'ite student groups associated with the hard-line cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. They impose strict segregation of the sexes and beat up those who dare to fraternize. Parents concerned about the violence in the streets force their children, especially daughters, to remain indoors. Only the bravest go out for dinner, since restaurants are popular targets for suicide bombers." 07-07 Marla Ruzicka, Hero (PBS News) Provides stories about the work of a 28-year-old hero who worked hard, and at great risk, to help the people of Iraq. She was killed on April 16, 2005 by a car bomb. 4-05 News and History on Iraq (CNN) "After toppling the regime of Saddam Hussein in less than a month, the United States and other coalition countries are struggling against an ongoing guerrilla resistance as the reconstruction of Iraq gets under way." 1-04 Oil-for-Food Scandal Timeline (BBC News) Provides a timeline 9-05 Qur'an Searches (STG - Pickthall) Provides searches in the text of the Holy Qur'an by sura number and verse or by word. Visitors sometimes spell as Koran or Quran. 6-02 Qur'an in Arabic (IslamicCity.com) Provides the text of the Holy Qur'an in Arabic. Requires setting the browser to accept Arabic fonts in order to use. In Internet Explorer 5.0 right click on the IE icon and select Properties. Then Select Languages and pick Arabic. 6-02 Research Group: Civilian Casualties in Iraq Total 25,000 (Guardian Unlimited) "The number of Iraqi civilians who met violent deaths in the two years after the US-led invasion was today put at 24,865 by an independent research team." 7-05 Restoring Order In Iraq a National Priority (ABC News) "A sense of obligation balances negative public views on Iraq: Despite broad concerns and sharp criticism of the administration's performance, nearly six in 10 Americans say U.S. forces should remain in place until civil order has been restored there." "That expression of resolve works to President Bush's advantage as he prepares to address the nation on Iraq, as does a slight improvement in some bottom-line measures. But steep challenges remain: Recriminations against his administration have jumped, with a majority for the first time saying it 'intentionally misled' the public in going to war, and nearly three-quarters saying it underestimated the challenges involved." "On Iraq specifically, 56 percent disapprove of Bush's work, and 44 percent disapprove strongly. (Strong disapprovers outnumber strong approvers by 19 points.) A majority hasn't approved of his handling of the situation there since January 2004, shortly after the capture of Saddam Hussein. On a more emotional level, nearly a quarter of Americans say they're "angry" about the war." 6-05 Role of Media in Terrorism (Guardian Unlimited) "Journalists must urgently debate whether their coverage of crises such as the hostage-taking in Iraq is driving terrorists to commit ever more outrageous atrocities, a top BBC executive said last night." Editor's Note: The Awesome Library does not cover hostage-taking activities because coverage is necessary for terrorists to "gain full value" from their hostage-taking. Further, the Awesome Library staff strongly encourage other media not to cover hostage-taking events. 9-04 Saddam - Rise of Saddam Hussein to Power in Iraq (PBS.org - Aburish) Provides a political biography of Saddam hussein. "Saddam Hussein is the most methodical Arab leader of the twentieth century. He's organized. He's a day dreamer. And also, he had the following. He was popular. But Saddam Hussein is a planner. And he has affected the Middle East so considerably that we need to understand him." College Level. Aburish alleges that the U.S. government provided support for Saddam's massacre of his Iraqi opposition after the Gulf War in order to keep Iraq from splitting into three nation states. 3-03 Shiites (Columbia Encyclopedia) Provides a brief introduction to the second largest branch of Islam. 9-01 Shiites (InfoPlease.com) Provides a brief introduction to the second largest branch of Islam. 9-01 Should Christians Convert Muslims? (Time - Biema) "Muslim critics accuse missionaries of lying about their identities and their faith to achieve their goals. And as the tensions between Islam and the West continue to boil, some familiar with the Middle East have begun asking whether the missionaries, who love Muslims but despise Islam, are the sort of nonappointed goodwill ambassadors the U.S. really needs in a region dense with the rhetoric of holy war. Says Charles Kimball, a Baptist minister who was director of the National Council of Churches' Middle East office in the 1980s: 'Sincerity isn't the issue, or commitment to one's faith. It is just that the region is at a pivotal and volatile juncture, and it is arguably not the time for groups coming in, like someone with a lighted match into a room full of explosives, wearing Jesus on their sleeves.' " 6-03 Sistani - Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani (Miami Herald) "From a modest home in this holy city, Iraq's top Shiite cleric is projecting increasing political influence that has jeopardized Washington's plan for transferring power to Iraqis." "The United States already has dropped one political plan for Iraq after al-Sistani's insistence that elected rather than appointed representatives draft the new constitution prompted the Americans to speed the timetable for handing over sovereignty and to delay the drafting of a new national charter."1-04 Story of One Terrorist from Jordan (MSNBC News) "In the early stages of research for this hour, we discovered there was one suicide bomber in Iraq who had once lived in America....a Jordanian named Raed Al-Banna. He is believed to have conducted the deadliest suicide bombing to date in Iraq - 130 Shiite killed by his car bomb in Hilla, Iraq on February 28, 2005." "I was determined that Al Banna be a focus of our reporting. His journey from Jordan to the US, back to Jordan and ultimately to Iraq would tell us much. How could he have gone from wanting to live in America to hating us so much he would give his life to kill our troops and their allies?" 12-05 Suit: CIA Withheld Iraq Findings (International Herald Tribune) "The CIA was told by an informer in the spring of 2001 that Iraq had abandoned a major element of its nuclear weapons program, but the agency did not share the information with other agencies or with senior policy makers, a former CIA officer has charged." 8-05   Sunnis (Columbia Encyclopedia) Provides a brief introduction to the largest branch of Islam. 9-01 Sunnis (St Martins College) Provides a brief historical profile of Sunni Islam. 9-01 Threat to World Heritage in Iraq (JNP) "Although in Iraq to date UNESCO has acknowledged only one World Heritage site (Hatra), this is perhaps because the whole country should be so designated. Iraq is often described as the cradle of civilization, and the country is thickly dotted with the remains of thousands of villages, towns and cities." 01-07 Times of London: Memo Claims U.S. "Fixed" Data to Support War (CNN News) "Claims in a recently uncovered British memo that intelligence was 'being fixed' to support the Iraq war as early as mid-2002 are 'flat out wrong,' White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Monday." "British officials have not disputed the authenticity of the memo published by the Times." "After the minutes of the meeting became public, 89 Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to Bush asking for an explanation." "The memo 'raises troubling new questions regarding the legal justifications for the war, as well as the integrity of your administration,' the letter said." 5-05 Projects Help Iraqi Refugees (OxfamAmerica.org) Provides food, water, sanitation, supplies, and other assistance. 3-03

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