Posted By:
Howard Kaloogian
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I found this essay by Amir Taheri interesting.  He does a good job of defining what is at stake in post-war Iraq and he deftly casts aside the side-arguments by some with agendas of blocking progress for the Iraqi people.

Here’s an excerpt:

A COUNTRY, NOT A CAUSE

By AMIR TAHERI


What is the real issue in Iraq today? It is to create a new government whose legitimacy is based on free elections. Opponents of the democratic option, however, constantly try to shift the focus to other issues.

For example, they say the Arabs are humiliated because non-Arab armies changed an Arab regime. Well, the reason that that happened is simple: Saddam created a regime that could not be overthrown by the Iraqi people alone, and there were no Arab armies to come to the rescue. So the Americans led a coalition that liberated the people of Iraq from their oppressor.

Does that amount to a political version of the original sin? Should the Iraqis be forced to live under another despotic regime simply to cure the Arabs of their supposed humiliation?

The U.S.-led Coalition was able to enter Iraq because Iraq had been denied normal, not to say democratic, politics for half a century. The only way to get the Coalition out of Iraq is to allow that country to have normal democratic politics. Car bombs, throat-cutting, hostage-taking and hiding in shrines will not drive the Coalition out. Only a freely elected government can ask it to withdraw in accordance with the latest resolution by the U.N. Security Council.

By opposing democratization, Sadr, Saddam and Zarqawi are, in fact, prolonging the country’s occupation. Free elections in Iraq would not only spell the end of occupation but could also end all three careers.

The Iraqi people should do all they can to prevent their country from becoming a “cause” for pan-Arabists and Islamists. Iraqis want a country in which they could live as normal human beings. They don’t want a cause for which they die while other Arabs nurse their humiliation.

CLICK HERE to read the entire column.

Posted By:
Howard Kaloogian
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Be sure to check out this wire report on Al Qaida’s efforts to recruit supporters in Latin America and exploit our poorly enforced southern border as a means to enter our nation.

CLICK HERE to read the report from AP.

Posted By:
Howard Kaloogian
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I wanted to call everyone’s attention to this website - www.DivestTerror.org which I became aware of through Frank Gaffney’s column in the Los Angeles Times.

Put The Heat On If Your Pension Fund Aids The Terrorist Cause

By Frank J. Gaffney Jr.

For the first time since Sept. 11, Americans have a chance to do something that millions of us have yearned to do: help win the war on terror.

Millions of people who invest in public pension plans can act to deny upward of $70 billion to nations that finance, train, arm and otherwise sponsor terrorist enemies of the United States. The Center for Security Policy, in a report titled “Terrorist Investment of the 50 States” (www.DivestTerror.org), identifies where much of this money goes and through which companies.

There can be little doubt about the effect of keeping such immense sums out of the hands of the Iranian, Libyan, Syrian, North Korean and Sudanese regimes. They would have less money to fund their terrorist allies, less money to buy or build weapons of mass destruction, less money to threaten U.S. interests and allies. It might even precipitate the sort of cash-flow crisis that ultimately destroyed the Soviet Union — catalyzing regime changes where they would do the most good without firing a shot.

Read Gaffney’s entire column by CLICKING HERE

Posted By:
Howard Kaloogian
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PoliticsOnline is an outfit that follows the use of the Internet in politics.

They asked their subscribers to nominate the top political websites and Move America Forward was one of the top nominees.

We will now be in contention with MoveOn.org, Al Jazeera, John Kerry’s E-Team, Joe Trippir from the Howard Dean campaign, and many others.

You can vote for Move America Forward - just look for my name, Howard Kaloogian, on the list of nominees:

Posted By:
Howard Kaloogian
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Kudos to columnist Michelle Malkin for noting our work in monitoring anti-war protest plans for the Republican National Convention.

Read her column CLICK HERE

Be sure to also read about the abusive treatment she received from MSNBC’s Chris Matthews.  Read that column by CLICKING HERE