Sunovabitch! Will Pitt's got a SCOOP!

[Gold Metal Flake]

From his live blog at Sheehan Central:

http://www.truthout.org/cindy.shtml

There is a smoking gun right here in camp.

It has been reported that the US started bombing Iraqi sites well before the so-called diplomacy was completed, to deplete Iraq's war capabilities, and also to goad Saddam into a war. For many, this is prima facie evidence of a war crime.

Tim Goodrich, Air Force veteran here in camp, participated in that bombing while in Iraq. We have an interview with him which will be up later today.

[jsamuel]

1. ^^

:thumbsup:

[Midlodemocrat]

2. I saw that.

How f'in great is that?


Go Will Pitt!!!!!

[wtmusic]

3. WADR to Will

this is common knowledge

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050613&s=scahill

[K-W]

The scoop is the interview, not the attacks. EOM

[tk2kewl]

5. not as reported by a pilot who carried out the illegal orders

[jsamuel]

6. "thenation" vs First Person Account

[katinmn]

9. Yep. Been out there for a while. Not in mainstream, tho.

[wtmusic]

12. you're right

it's common knowledge for us, not so for most

[enough]

11. Important Nation article from June 2005.

Thanks for posting this, wtmusic. Maybe it will get some attention this time. Will's interview with the pilot might do it.

The Other Bomb Drops

Jeremy Scahill

It was a huge air assault: Approximately 100 US and British planes flew from Kuwait into Iraqi airspace. At least seven types of aircraft were part of this massive operation, including US F-15 Strike Eagles and Royal Air Force Tornado ground-attack planes. They dropped precision-guided munitions on Saddam Hussein's major western air-defense facility, clearing the path for Special Forces helicopters that lay in wait in Jordan. Earlier attacks had been carried out against Iraqi command and control centers, radar detection systems, Revolutionary Guard units, communication centers and mobile air-defense systems. The Pentagon's goal was clear: Destroy Iraq's ability to resist. This was war.

But there was a catch: The war hadn't started yet, at least not officially. This was September 2002--a month before Congress had voted to give President Bush the authority he used to invade Iraq, two months before the United Nations brought the matter to a vote and more than six months before "shock and awe" officially began.

At the time, the Bush Administration publicly played down the extent of the air strikes, claiming the United States was just defending the so-called no-fly zones. But new information that has come out in response to the Downing Street memo reveals that, by this time, the war was already a foregone conclusion and attacks were no less than the undeclared beginning of the invasion of Iraq.

The Sunday Times of London recently reported on new evidence showing that "The RAF and US aircraft doubled the rate at which they were dropping bombs on Iraq in 2002 in an attempt to provoke Saddam Hussein into giving the allies an excuse for war." The paper cites newly released statistics from the British Defense Ministry showing that "the Allies dropped twice as many bombs on Iraq in the second half of 2002 as they did during the whole of 2001" and that "a full air offensive" was under way months before the invasion had officially begun.

much more>

[ChickMagic]

13. Excellent!!!

:thumbsup:

[BrotherBuzz]

14. You and I know that...

but this an opportunity to give it more exposure, that, and it helps validate everything Cindy is trying to say. It illuminates another damn lie that Bush* told. What's more, now there's a name and a face to connect to it. This is good.

[katinmn]

17. Absolutely. Need to seize all opps to wake up Amerika.

[BrotherBuzz]

21. 'Ya think someone there will wake up the MSM at the press thingy?

I sure hope someone wisperes in their ear this morning about the Air Force dude mingling in the crowd. Scoop, scoop, get your 'red hot' scoops here.

[tk2kewl]

4. Timmay!

[katinmn]

7. Not really a scoop. The alternative media's been writing about this

for quite a while.

[jsamuel]

10. technically, it is a confirmation of the DSM

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. Excellent!

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

15. I saw Tim Goodrich on the CSpan viewing of the DSM Town Hall

Meeting in LA that was hosted by Maxine Waters.

He discussed the bombings as a way of the US trying to incite Saddam Hussein. He was wonderful.

I don't know if CSpan has this in their archives, but the whole meeting is a must see for everyone.

On edit.. just found this audio with Tim Goodrich, Ivan Medina, and Fernando Suarez del Solar

Military Families Speak Out

http://www.sdimc.org/en/2004/08/105486.shtml

[BabboonBush]

16. Yeah but this is old news

isn't it? I distinctly remember US war planes dropping bombs on certain targets in the no-fly zones, ostensibly because Saddam was disregarding the no-fly zones. I also remember this bombing occurring JUST BEFORE we invaded Iraq.

I remember hearing that we did this to pre-weaken Iraq so that we could "easily" conquer it in its weakened state. And of course, be greeted with flowers and candy as liberators and live happily ever after with no insurgency.

Oh YEAH, Mission Accomplished. OH YEAH!!!

[katinmn]

18. yeah, but see post #14

[BabboonBush]

22. Then the case would have to be made

that Bush actually STARTED the Iraq war at that point. That may be hard to prove, especially since they will undoubtedly come back and say, "We were just protecting the no-fly zones."

I guess you could ask them then why they were bombing specific targets, such as communications centers.

Nonetheless, I do believe they were setting the stage for an attack. I remember how things were escalating during that time.

They would have to make a very strong case here that Bush actually BEGAN this war before the diplomatic phase. I hope they can do it.

[ClassWarrior]

20. Not to 99% of the American people.

Gotta keep hammering the message, even if it's old to us.

NGU.

[In_The_Wind]

19. Excellent!