I think each couple has the things that bring them closer. I love the fact he is different than me . I talk to him at great length about history and politics. We have a different belief about Judaism and the contributions of Jews to the world. We have several differences but our similarities outweigh our differences. I am not anti semitic in the least. That comes up alot.

So is your husband anti-Semitic?

The crimes of Saadam Hussein
Reprisal Against Dujail
On July 8, 1982, Saddam Hussein was visiting the town of Dujail (50 miles north of Baghdad) when a group of Dawa militants shot at his motorcade. In reprisal for this assassination attempt, the entire town was punished.


More than 140 fighting-age men were apprehended and never heard from again. Approximately 1,500 other townspeople, including children, were rounded up and taken to prison, where many were tortured. After a year or more in prison, many were exiled to a southern desert camp. The town itself was destroyed; houses were bulldozed and orchards were demolished.
Though Saddam's reprisal against Dujail is considered one of his lesser-known crimes, it has been chosen as the first for which he will be tried.


Anfal Campaign
Officially from February 23 to September 6, 1988 (but often thought to extend from March 1987 to May 1989), Saddam Hussein's regime carried out the Anfal (Arabic for "spoils") campaign against the large Kurdish population in northern Iraq. The purpose of the campaign was ostensibly to reassert Iraqi control over the area; however, the real goal was to permanently eliminate the Kurdish problem.

The campaign consisted of eight stages of assault, where up to 200,000 Iraqi troops attacked the area, rounded up civilians, and razed villages. Once rounded up, the civilians were divided into two groups: men from ages of about 13 to 70 and women, children, and elderly men. The men were then shot and buried in mass graves. The women, children, and elderly were taken to relocation camps where conditions were deplorable. In a few areas, especially areas that put up even a little resistance, everyone was killed.

Hundreds of thousands of Kurds fled the area, yet it is estimated that up to 182,000 were killed during the Anfal campaign. Many people consider the Anfal campaign an attempt at genocide.


Chemical Weapons Against Kurds
As early as April 1987, the Iraqis used chemical weapons to remove Kurds from their villages in northern Iraq during the Anfal campaign. It is estimated that chemical weapons were used on approximately 40 Kurdish villages, with the largest of these attacks occurring on March 16, 1988 against the Kurdish town of Halabja.

Beginning in the morning on March 16, 1988 and continuing all night, the Iraqis rained down volley after volley of bombs filled with a deadly mixture of mustard gas and nerve agents on Halabja. Immediate effects of the chemicals included blindness, vomiting, blisters, convulsions, and asphyxiation. Approximately 5,000 women, men, and children died within days of the attacks. Long-term effects included permanent blindness, cancer, and birth defects. An estimated 10,000 lived, but live daily with the disfigurement and sicknesses from the chemical weapons.

Saddam Hussein's cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid was directly in charge of the chemical attacks against the Kurds, earning him the epithet, "Chemical Ali."


Invasion of Kuwait
On August 2, 1990, Iraqi troops invaded the country of Kuwait. The invasion was induced by oil and a large war debt that Iraq owed Kuwait. The six-week, Persian Gulf War pushed Iraqi troops out of Kuwait in 1991. As the Iraqi troops retreated, they were ordered to light oil wells on fire. Over 700 oil wells were lit, burning over one billion barrels of oil and releasing dangerous pollutants into the air. Oil pipelines were also opened, releasing 10 million barrels of oil into the Gulf and tainting many water sources. The fires and the oil spill created a huge environmental disaster.


Shiite Uprising & the Marsh Arabs
At the end of the Persian Gulf War in 1991, southern Shiites and northern Kurds rebelled against Hussein's regime. In retaliation, Iraq brutally suppressed the uprising, killing thousands of Shiites in southern Iraq.

As supposed punishment for supporting the Shiite rebellion in 1991, Saddam Hussein's regime killed thousands of Marsh Arabs, bulldozed their villages, and systematically ruined their way of life. The Marsh Arabs had lived for thousands of years in the marshlands located in southern Iraq until Iraq built a network of canals, dykes, and dams to divert water away from the marshes. The Marsh Arabs were forced to flee the area, their way of life decimated.

By 2002, satellite images showed only 7 to 10 percent of the marshlands left. Saddam Hussein is blamed for creating an environmental disaster.

The crimes of Saadam Hussein
Reprisal Against Dujail
On July 8, 1982, Saddam Hussein was visiting the town of Dujail (50 miles north of Baghdad) when a group of Dawa militants shot at his motorcade. In reprisal for this assassination attempt, the entire town was punished.


More than 140 fighting-age men were apprehended and never heard from again. Approximately 1,500 other townspeople, including children, were rounded up and taken to prison, where many were tortured. After a year or more in prison, many were exiled to a southern desert camp. The town itself was destroyed; houses were bulldozed and orchards were demolished.
Though Saddam's reprisal against Dujail is considered one of his lesser-known crimes, it has been chosen as the first for which he will be tried.


Anfal Campaign
Officially from February 23 to September 6, 1988 (but often thought to extend from March 1987 to May 1989), Saddam Hussein's regime carried out the Anfal (Arabic for "spoils") campaign against the large Kurdish population in northern Iraq. The purpose of the campaign was ostensibly to reassert Iraqi control over the area; however, the real goal was to permanently eliminate the Kurdish problem.

The campaign consisted of eight stages of assault, where up to 200,000 Iraqi troops attacked the area, rounded up civilians, and razed villages. Once rounded up, the civilians were divided into two groups: men from ages of about 13 to 70 and women, children, and elderly men. The men were then shot and buried in mass graves. The women, children, and elderly were taken to relocation camps where conditions were deplorable. In a few areas, especially areas that put up even a little resistance, everyone was killed.

Hundreds of thousands of Kurds fled the area, yet it is estimated that up to 182,000 were killed during the Anfal campaign. Many people consider the Anfal campaign an attempt at genocide.


Chemical Weapons Against Kurds
As early as April 1987, the Iraqis used chemical weapons to remove Kurds from their villages in northern Iraq during the Anfal campaign. It is estimated that chemical weapons were used on approximately 40 Kurdish villages, with the largest of these attacks occurring on March 16, 1988 against the Kurdish town of Halabja.

Beginning in the morning on March 16, 1988 and continuing all night, the Iraqis rained down volley after volley of bombs filled with a deadly mixture of mustard gas and nerve agents on Halabja. Immediate effects of the chemicals included blindness, vomiting, blisters, convulsions, and asphyxiation. Approximately 5,000 women, men, and children died within days of the attacks. Long-term effects included permanent blindness, cancer, and birth defects. An estimated 10,000 lived, but live daily with the disfigurement and sicknesses from the chemical weapons.

Saddam Hussein's cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid was directly in charge of the chemical attacks against the Kurds, earning him the epithet, "Chemical Ali."


Invasion of Kuwait
On August 2, 1990, Iraqi troops invaded the country of Kuwait. The invasion was induced by oil and a large war debt that Iraq owed Kuwait. The six-week, Persian Gulf War pushed Iraqi troops out of Kuwait in 1991. As the Iraqi troops retreated, they were ordered to light oil wells on fire. Over 700 oil wells were lit, burning over one billion barrels of oil and releasing dangerous pollutants into the air. Oil pipelines were also opened, releasing 10 million barrels of oil into the Gulf and tainting many water sources. The fires and the oil spill created a huge environmental disaster.


Shiite Uprising & the Marsh Arabs
At the end of the Persian Gulf War in 1991, southern Shiites and northern Kurds rebelled against Hussein's regime. In retaliation, Iraq brutally suppressed the uprising, killing thousands of Shiites in southern Iraq.

As supposed punishment for supporting the Shiite rebellion in 1991, Saddam Hussein's regime killed thousands of Marsh Arabs, bulldozed their villages, and systematically ruined their way of life. The Marsh Arabs had lived for thousands of years in the marshlands located in southern Iraq until Iraq built a network of canals, dykes, and dams to divert water away from the marshes. The Marsh Arabs were forced to flee the area, their way of life decimated.

By 2002, satellite images showed only 7 to 10 percent of the marshlands left. Saddam Hussein is blamed for creating an environmental disaster.

but it was totally cool with you for saddam to use them on iranians? oh i forgot, they're not actually human...

No he does not. But I don't agree with everything he thinks either. We do agree on one thing. Al Qaeda is not based in Algeria and not funded by Algeria and so you have to conclude that AL QAEDA wants a foothold somewhere and are having a hard time finding somewhere to settle. Its hard to actually live in the fear versus witness it. He was in the army at the height of the war 1995 2000 so he saw his fair share of beheadings and roadside attacks.

Can you explain what you mean by this?

I think all you need to do is google news ALGERIA and look at who has been perpetrating terrorism there. I dont think the 17 year old who bombed the parliament was helped by Algerians to do it. Its outside money and outside funding. AL Qaeda killed 3 foreigners in Algeria 2 days ago who were building a dam and posted the video. AL Qaeda also claimed responsibility for the killings of 15 people in Batna last week and is broadcasting videos as Al Qaeda in the magreb with bin ladens face all over the place. You can hardly say that Algerians are behind all of this. Its overseas interferance and overseas money . Algerians themselves want an end to terrorism. Others seem to be very interested in perpetuating the hell there. Itsnot homegrown anymore. Its outside people who want to make others lives hell.

The GSPC is an Algerian group with a long difficult history with Al Qaeda. At the height of the civil war, Al Qaeda actually withdrew support for them (and their predecessors) for their attacks on Muslim civilians. They now claim to be part of Al Qaeda, but their roots are not foreign. The notion that terrorism is new to Algeria is absurd enough that I do no think that can be what you mean. The 17 year old who bombed the Prime Minister's office was Algerian. As was the 15 year old who bombed the Coast Guard station this month. As are the many who explode artisinal bombs in Algeria every week, making it common enough to not make international news. I would guess those who injured (none were killed) the French Italian and Algerians involved in damn building were as well. Some things have changed since this new al Qaeda allegiance and they are indeed scary. Attacking government targets, suicide bombings and increased strength do not bode well. But, it does not take too much scratching below the rhetoric to know that there is enough Algerian involvement in these acts to label them as local as they may be not.

I think we agree that the worst possible thing for Algeria right now is to have what was a small remnant of a horrible recent past become part of an increasingly brutal global fight. But, I know from listening to too many Algerians, that this "it is outsiders" is a common refrain. I don't think the reality is quite so simple.

I go into this now only becuase I think it is a good illustration of the complexity of some of these issues--a complexity that demands some intellectual honesty and rigor if we really want to understand any of it. There is no doubt a threat to us and to many others in this world, especially in the Muslim world, from radical violent factions. But, misplaced hysteria like that perpetuated by Ms. Mansfield does not accurately identify that threat and thus does not help diffuse it. Nor does the misplaced hysteria that encouraged (tricked?) too many to believe Saadam a threat to us.

Fixed your link...

how dd you do that hahaha

i'm just trying to figure out why those links are labeled "trash" and it appears that it's just due to you disagreeing with what she said because it was negative.
so next question - do you think the story in that one link happened or not?

NPR is real, unbiased news. It's one of the only sources I'll trust.
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and npr has a left slant to it

maybe, but they had one of the largest drums beating in support for hte war in Iraq. Anne Gerrels was one of the hugest supporters of the war on NPR. Not sounding so lefty to me.

maybe, but they had one of the largest drums beating in support for hte war in Iraq. Anne Gerrels was one of the hugest supporters of the war on NPR. Not sounding so lefty to me.

well surely by now everyone realizes there is no such thing as UNbiased media coverage. EVERYONE has an angle and an axe to grind. I find the best approach is to try to get info from a variety of sources and use my own filter.

maybe so, i don't listen to npr anymore. did once or twice, it pissed me off.

http://www.wnpr.org/RadioMiddleton.asp

I never said they didn't have some annoying programs on npr.

But, they're the closest I've heard to real balance. They have the backbone to report unpopular stuff - and take unpopular positions. I give em credit.

But anyways, back to the point. When you take a very hard bias in your articles/opinions/writings - you discredit yourself.

If people dedicate their lives looking for evil they will find it, in every culture.

This kind of reminds me of a large group of men that I know. They spew and spout that all american women are whores and trash. But you find them every weekend at the clubs hitting on drunken women. Do I see any of these men at any areas that family gather? Parks, museums, or the like? No wonder they think this about american women, they find what they look for.

Do you see any correlation here?

Absolutely. And to make sure you are reading critically, even when reading someone you agree with. Be aware of how they gathered facts, which they chose to highlight, when they present opinion as fact. Look at the logic (or lack thereof) of how conclusions are drawn from presented facts.

I think we live in a political culture where we think a valid argument consists of picking the facts that back our opinion and then shouting over the others. I see this in students' papers all the time--line up a list of facts and other peoples' opinions that supports your opinion so the "evidence" is overwhelming. This is NOT analysis. Analysis is looking at all the facts you can find, weighing possible explanations and arguing why one explanation is better than the others. It also acknowledges the limits of the explanation.

Were Laura Mansfield to stick to the honest gathering of fact, I would say she is one piece to the puzzle. But, she has very selective facts. It is in her analysis of these facts that she becomes absurd. Leave aside her conclusions, look at her translations, take the valid ones as PART of a larger picture. That is the best way I can think to deal with any slanted analysis.

We can all go out and search for tidbits that support our prejudices, our fears, our hates, our loves, our suspicions, our heart-felt convictions. But, this is not looking at things in totality.

Incidentally, one of the hard things, and one of the more beautiful things, about being in a bi-cultural marriage, is that you are forced to consider things from another perspective all the time. I think we have all had this experience personally and are thus a pretty good group to be able to do it analytically as well.

jaula,

thank you for taking the time to articulate this so nicely.