IRAQ INVASION LIKELY TUES

In case the FTW site goes down again here is a copy of the article from the site:
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/012403_invasion.html

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----FTW article begins----

FTW URGENT BULLETIN

U.S. - IRAQ INVASION LIKELY TO BEGIN WITH STATE of the UNION, Tuesday

by
Michael C. Ruppert

January 24, 2003, 1930 PST (FTW) - Serious international developments are indicating that the first stages of the U.S. invasion of Iraq will begin unilaterally no later than next Wednesday and most likely as the President delivers his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday night.

The Associated Press reported today, in a story little noticed by mainstream American press, that the Japanese government had today urged all Japanese citizens to leave Iraq as soon as possible. Japan has large numbers of its nationals working in Iraq in various trade and oil-related business ventures. According to a second report today on CNN Headline News the Japanese advisory was specific that all Japanese citizens should be out of the country by next Wednesday at the latest.

The Japanese alert was followed by a simultaneous advisory from the U.S. State Department issuing a worldwide alert to all Americans traveling overseas. According to another AP story, State Department officials tried to downplay the significance of the warning, "but officials were unable to say when the last such advisory had been issued." A worldwide alert for U.S. citizens is extremely rare and suggests that the administration is concerned about a global backlash against Americans traveling overseas. Cautionary advisories are normally isolated to specific countries or geographic regions.

The invasion of Iraq will most likely commence with a massive aerial campaign in which the U.N. and many military analysts have predicted widespread collateral damage with heavy civilian casualties. One recent UN estimate suggested that the total Iraqi casualty count for the entire operation could exceed 500,000.

This decision should not be taken as a surprise. In recent weeks support for the obvious U.S. intentions, both worldwide and at home, has been declining rapidly. At the time this story was written a contemporaneous CNN poll showed that 62% of those responding believed that the United States should not attack Iraq without UN approval. Politically, the Bush administration has seen that this situation is not going to improve. Every delay in an attack to which the administration has already committed not only risks greater military, political and economic opposition but also increases the risk that U.S. ground forces will be engaged in desert fighting in hot summer weather. Recent moves by both the French and Russian governments to approve new trade and development agreements with the Hussein government might also weaken U.S. economic control in a post-Saddam regime.

With crude oil prices at two-year highs and with U.S. oil reserves at 27-year lows the signs of a crumbling U.S. economy made themselves felt again today with a more than 200 point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial average. The Bush administration has apparently decided to roll the dice now in a go-for-broke imperial conquest that has as its primary objective the immediate control of 11 per cent of the world's oil reserves.

In many previous stories FTW has documented how the Iraqi invasion is but the first in a series of sequential worldwide military campaigns to which the United States has committed. All of these are based upon globally dwindling oil supplies and the pending economic and human consequences of that reality. On January 21st, CNN Headline News acknowledged, for the first time, the reality of Peak Oil and accurately stated that "all the cheap oil there is has been found." The story also acknowledged that there was only enough oil left to sustain the planet for thirty to forty years and that what oil remained was going to become increasingly more expensive to produce and deliver.

It is likely that the resiliency of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, in his effort to resist U.S.-inspired strikes by wealthy Venezuelan industrialists, has had an impact on this decision by the Bush administration. Venezuela, which is the third largest foreign importer of oil to the U.S., has seen its U.S. deliveries cut to a fraction of normal levels in recent weeks. Within the last week oil analysts have been predicting shortages and price spikes similar to those of 1973-4 if U.S. oil stocks were not replenished quickly. The administration's apparent decision to launch the attacks against Iraq appears to be at least a partial acknowledgement that Chavez is successfully resisting U.S. pressure to oust him.

Chavez angered multinational investors and financiers recently by moving to increase the share of oil profits retained in Venezuela for the benefit of its people.

Today's announcements signal that the world is entering a period of danger not seen for forty years. That the announcements from the Japanese government and the State Department came on the same day that the Department of Homeland Security became active and its Secretary Tom Ridge was sworn in seems an unlikely coincidence. Previous reporting from FTW had indicated that even massive protests and non-violent global resistance would prove ineffective in preventing an Iraqi invasion. And our predictions that the Bush junta had prepared for all the worst-case scenarios, including domestic unrest and worldwide opposition appear to be vindicated.

The administration has clearly issued a statement to the world. "Screw you. We're going to play this game any way you want to play it. And we're ready for anything that comes."

Only time will tell if they are correct.

----end of FTW article----

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thanks for the info.

The WRH site states that it may be earlier - military people are getting orders for as early as Sunday night.

"As I stated yesterday, Bush cannot wait any longer. Support for the war is collapsing. Frankly, I don't think he can even wait until after the UN inspectors report because it will weaken the case for war even further. I think the war will begin Sunday night or Monday morning. I am getting emails from military people that report being told to expect a full alert late Sunday. I am VERY concerned about a staged terror incident tomorrow, because Bush needs one so badly right now. Without a staged terror attack, Bush has no reason he can use to start the war. Without a staged terror attack, Bush will have little he can say during the State of the Union because it will be obvious he is NOT talking about the sinking economy, bankrupt airlines, a discredited stock market, vast and unpayable government debt, and a billion and half a day trade deficit that is driving the dollar down and the foreign-held debt up."

Electronic attack causes global internet slowdown
January 26 2003
AAP

Traffic on the many parts of the Internet slowed dramatically early today, the apparent effects of a fast-spreading, virus-like infection interfering with Web browsing and delivery of email.

Sites monitoring the health of the Internet reported significant slowdowns globally. Experts said the latest electronic attack bore remarkable similarities to "Code Red" virus during the summer of 2001 which also ground traffic to a halt on much of the Internet.

"It's not debilitating," said Howard Schmidt, one of President George W Bush's top cyber-security advisers.

"Everybody seems to be getting it under control." Schmidt said the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Centre and private experts at the CERT Coordination Centre were monitoring the attacks.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/25/1042911600457.html

Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.

Israeli troops enter Gaza City in deepest incursion since start of fighting

IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer Saturday, January 25, 2003
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(01-25) 14:37 PST GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) --

Israeli tanks entered Gaza City from three directions late Saturday, and helicopter gunships exchanged fire with dozens of Palestinian gunmen in the deepest incursion in more than two years of fighting, security officials and witnesses said.

Tanks were spotted just a mile from downtown Palestine Square. Five Palestinians were wounded, one seriously, according to hospital officials.

Israeli forces blew up the two-story house of a Hamas militant and were approaching the houses of two others involved in an attack on a Jewish settlement in Gaza, Palestinians said. A metal workshop in the same area was blown
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z38A25933

http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/01/1565796.php

(clean html version too ;-)

So, if Bush starts the 'war' again on Tuesday, then what's going on Wednesday? Does anyone have a map of downtown San Francisco that shows more than street names? People are meeting by the trolley turnaround?

It's as though it's burned into a part of the brain at this point, a permanent alteration - 5 pm, Powell and Market, 5 pm, Powell and Market . . .

Then United for Peace has 7am the next day for non-violent cd at the South side of Market and Main (near Embarcadero BART).

but do you have a map? Not everyone is a bicycle messenger and has the city memorized - lots of people at that march a week ago could barely locate a BART station coming from the civic center. Where is the IRS building?

http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/01/1565362_comment.php#1566068

This is more specific, and points more to next week as the time. Probably there will be more information in the next few days. Most people were anticipating that they were sitting on some sort of secret location of a WMD that they hadn't revealed yet, but there were lots of signs that people were wondering why they wouldn't just come out and give the location. The inspectors who reported today said they hadn't found anything. What's the name for a game like this?
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from Chronicle:
"
To counter concerns about Iraq, Bush intends to reiterate his assertion that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction and is linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, officials said. But new evidence of those charges will not be revealed until next week by Secretary of State Colin Powell, perhaps at the United Nations, officials said. "
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/01/27/national1710EST0773.DTL

"Most people were anticipating that they were sitting on some sort of secret location of a WMD that they hadn't revealed yet, but there were lots of signs that people were wondering why they wouldn't just come out and give the location."

If Iraq were to find out we know where their WMD's are being hidden, they would relocate them. My guess is the biggest danger for troops are the release of chemical weapons, and if the military knows where they are located, we would want to destroy those locations first before they get a chance to use them. The element of surprise would be gone if we revealed what we know.

Keep in mind the UN resolution doesn't state we have to prove Saddam has WMD's, he has to prove he doesn't. When the inspectors were kicked out in 98, they had tagged WMD's for destruction which they were unable to ever implement. Saddam claims they have been destroyed. OK Saddam, if that's so, prove it. He hasn't yet.

quote:
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When the inspectors were kicked out in 98,
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When are you going to stop lying to us?


Where's USAma?

Dead or Alive?

So what year we're they kicked out?

> 01/24/03
> FTW URGENT BULLETIN
> Serious international developments are indicating that the first stages of the U.S. invasion of Iraq will begin unilaterally no later than next Wednesday and most likely as the President delivers his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday night.

Get over it. March 1 at the earliest, more than a month away, time enough for you to learn something about the real world.

For Sam B to get a job.

I hope you dictatorphiles will admit you were wrong after the war doesn't begin this week. It will begin in March, but not this week.

And after the war ends quickly with minimal casualties, Iraqis dance in the streets, and the Saudi dictators quiver, let's see what you paranoid maniacs trip out on next.

Probably back to breaking windows at starbucks and niketown. Maybe you all need to find a more stimulating job so you don't have so much time on your hands. More McVeighs in the making.

But you won't know Newton, will you,? because you'll be serving your country, and in Uniform, and fighting in Iraq. Right?
Fighting that war that you want. Right?
Or you'll be writing your son, who wil be fighting over there. Right?
Or giving patriotic speeches at his funeral. Right?

Too old -- they won't let me. Plus it's a volunteer military, last time I checked. War is part of the job description. Especially a war to preserve the world economy (free flow of oil from a diversified set of nations).

I'll support our troops by paying my taxes and not cheapening their efforts like you will here on this site.

So chicken warrior, keep on typing and destroying. And when this, like every other cause you have rallied for that has proved to be pointless, is complete you can move over to the next trendy issue for you lazy white middle-class rejects. Your parents would be ashamed if they knew how you were spending their money.

Talk of war seems to be doing WONDERS for the worlds economy... Just look at England, Blair's support for the war in Iraq is really helping boost the British economy

Investors don't like uncertainty. This war has been festering for 12 years. Invade ASAP and end the damn thing.

Have you ever seen one of those horrible airshow crashes where the planes followed the lead plane right into the ground...

Blair's following of Bush's lead on almost every act of foreign policy kind of reminds me of that

I guess a US invasion and occupation of Iraq will create a certain certainty, like the certainty created by the German invasion of Poland

More like the Allied occupation of Germany (or Japan).

"I'll support our troops by paying my taxes "

Sounds unAmerican to me . . . given how our taxes are being used, especially since our taxes fund Israel to the tune of billions while US soldiers are being sent into a gas cloud with faulty masks and gear. Most of them may or may not work. Don't believe me? Look it up. Plus the DU ammunition, which they've admitted they're going to use again - you call funding the irradiation of our soldiers by our own munitions 'support'?? Aren't you aware of what's happened to many of the troops since Gulf War I? Their semen burns their wives when they get back, being so soaked in chemicals - Saddam's chemicals? Maybe. Our own? Obviously, since we know what we used over there. Now Bush has cut medical for vets making more than 30k. Great deal there. But meanwhile, dump money into Israel. And better still, dump money into rich people's bank accounts! Great support there!

If you want links to the info I can post it. But really, this is sick sick stuff. Slaughtering civilians and forcing soldiers to die of cancer and heavy metal poisoning in order to STOP a situation that has NOT YET HAPPENED nor HAS ANY PRECEDENT for EVER happening (Saddam striking the US), is nothing short of a cognitive fallacy at best, and a weak sociopathic facade for an oil grab more likely.

The threat isn't Saddam attacking the US homeland. The threat is this:

1) The lessons Saddam learned from Gulf War One: Should have waited until I had a nuke, then should have gone ahead and also taken the Saudi oil fields -- the Coalition would have been stuck as to what to do.

2) Saddam sees himself as the destined leader of the a United Arab nation. He is willing to use nukes to get there. He instituted a crash program in 8/90 to produce a nuclear device to destroy Tel Aviv if the Coalition marched on Baghdad. He is big on wanting to go out with a bang and to leave behind a big legacy.

3) He has said he would nuke the Iraqi, Kuwaiti, and Saudi oil fields if he had a nuke and his regime was falling.

4) The world without 22% of its oil for ~25 years (while the fields were inhospitable) would create a depression unlike the world has ever seen. For everybody. Everybody from Bill Gates to peasants in Africa would suffer. Including you and yours.

This is what we are fighting for. Oil. If the US emperialistically takes the oil from the Iraqi people, I will join your march. But it won't happen. As long as the oil flows freely, it doesn't matter who is making the profit.

Finally, before you get all in a huff, it's not worth it anyway. Remember that the aggregate GDP of all of the oil-producing Middle-East countries is less than that of Spain. There is no money in oil. Money is in services.

For the sources and quotes for points 1-4, it's all neatly provided in Pollack's book. You all should read that one.