thumping the tub
Tub-Thumper - 1. A speaker or preacher who for emphasis thumps the pulpit; a violent or declamatory preacher or orator; a ranter. (from oed.com). This blog will be a combination of reasoned posting somedays and an occasional rant.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
15 YEARS
15 years ago today was the announcement of the ceasefire at the end of Gulf War 1.

135 US troops were killed, 35 of them with 'friendly fire'. Of the 16 British soldiers killed 9 were killed by Americans. Iraqi deaths were conservatively put as between 50 and a 100 thousand.

The thing is though, Gulf war 1 never really stopped. The US and UK were bombing Iraq on and off for the whole time between the two wars. A brutal sanctions regime was put in place that the UN claims led to the deaths of at least 500,000 people. Famously Madeleine Albright said that she felt the price was 'worth it'.

Two more UK soldiers today, thousands more Iraqi's in internicine fighting and clashes with the US and UK (and let's not forget the tent, camel and a couple of chef's donated by other countries in the 'Coalition of the willing (TM).'

The people of Iraq have been under assault for years. From Saddam and from the West. In our long years of 'helping' them things have gone from bad to worse to absolutely deplorable.

LEAVE NOW - This is all this boy has ever known. How does this help?

posted by michael the tubthumper @ 2:05 pm  
19 Comments:
  • At 2:25 pm, Blogger Unknown said…

    agreed. NOW

     
  • At 2:31 pm, Blogger michael the tubthumper said…

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

     
  • At 2:44 pm, Blogger Lily said…

    Hey Mike thanks for signing on to support the corruption theme- basically I'm just linking up the related posts at different blogs. No requirements, just trying to encurage some posts about corporate crime.

     
  • At 2:57 pm, Blogger michael the tubthumper said…

    hi rose

    hi again lily, i know i said i would but been too busy today. i will do though

     
  • At 6:32 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Agreed. I think of the families trying to survive under these conditions and it has to be a living hell. I also think the Iraqi people have to be the strongest people in the world to have survived at all.

     
  • At 2:38 am, Blogger Rex Kramer, Danger Seeker said…

    I dunno, Mike. Did we not bomb the hell out of Germany, and then occupy them to this day? Seems to me that period of occupation was preceded by a brutal dictator as well, and things turned out pretty well.

    Painting parellels with wide strokes,

    Rex

     
  • At 2:15 pm, Blogger michael the tubthumper said…

    i don't think that it is really a parallel with germany but then i suspect you don't either.

     
  • At 3:50 pm, Blogger jhbowden said…

    I'd like to thank our British friends for supporting the liberal revolution in the Muslim world and opposing fascism in the Middle East. Letting the democratic majority in Iraq face the jihadists alone would be criminal.

     
  • At 5:03 pm, Blogger michael the tubthumper said…

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

     
  • At 6:01 pm, Blogger michael the tubthumper said…

    ops wrong link

     
  • At 6:03 pm, Blogger jhbowden said…

    No one disputes that we need to withdraw from Iraq. We need to do so in a way that does not put someone like al-Zarqawi in charge. Antiwar protesters advocate recklessness because they hate the west.

    Poll from World Public Opinion

    "Asked what they would like the newly elected Iraqi government to ask the US-led forces to do, 70% of Iraqis favor setting a timeline for the withdrawal of US forces. This number divides evenly between 35% who favor a short time frame of “within six months” and 35% who favor a gradual reduction over two years. Just 29% say it should “only reduce US-led forces as the security situation improves in Iraq.”

    Here's another Poll.

    "The majority of Iraqis overall view the recent parliamentary elections as valid, are optimistic that their country is going in the right direction and feel that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein has been worth the costs."

    Too bad we can't say the same about today's anti-liberal left. In the near future, the Iraqis will be able to hate Americans in freedom, just like our ungrateful friends in Europe.

    ;)

     
  • At 6:03 pm, Blogger michael the tubthumper said…

    according to a british ministry of defence poll (yes thats the british ministry of defence - those well known jihadists) 82% of iraqis would rather we left and left now.

    the paper the link is from is a murdoch paper and just like Faux news was originally pro-war

     
  • At 6:14 pm, Blogger michael the tubthumper said…

    this one

    the accidental one should have been thisone. which i did not mean to relate to the comments here i just put in the wronglink when i was doing html. it is damn funny tho

     
  • At 6:15 pm, Blogger michael the tubthumper said…

    sorry, blogger went all weird for a bit there. well it did at my end anyway

     
  • At 6:24 pm, Blogger michael the tubthumper said…

    well i distrust the one from 'world public opinion' as it has people from monsanto on the board and is involved with both the rockefeller and ford foundations.

    just because they give it a public interest sounding name does not make it a public interest research body.

     
  • At 7:17 pm, Blogger jhbowden said…

    michael--

    If you examine both polls, the numbers are quite similar. The number you refer to claims that 82% of Iraqis are opposed to coalition troops. This isn't the same thing as an immediate pullout, as polling from other sources indicates. The International Jewish Biotech Conspiracy isn't behind this fact.

    From your link,

    "But Iraq's President Jalal Talabani pleaded last night for British troops to stay. "There would be chaos and perhaps civil war," he said. "We are now fighting a world war launched by terrorists against civilisation, against democracy, against progress, against all the values of humanity. If British troops withdrew, the terrorists would say, 'Look, we have imposed our will on the most accomplished armed forces in the world and terror is the way to oblige the Europeans to surrender to us'."

    Ah, somebody with a good handle on reality.

     
  • At 12:38 am, Blogger Keir said…

    LEAVE NOW.

    Michael, right on. Being asked to believe that there were two distinct "Gulf Wars" is kind of like being asked to believe that there were different people taking part. Also it is quietly denying any aggression during the sanctions/no-fly zone/half a million dead children years.

    Some bizarre comments from your new center-right friend. I liked this one the most: "Antiwar protesters advocate recklessness because they hate the west." Classic!

     
  • At 9:55 am, Blogger enigma4ever said…

    I see the troll has been here- I have seen him on numerous blogs today- what a pain...you handled him great....I was glad that the point about the continuation of one mess into another and carrying on was pointed out, Gulf Wars??? please GULF WAR MESS ...I think many americans get IT....I wish that more did...BTW your site looks great... I love the Albert Blackboard headline...and some of the other touchs you have put on here....

    ( I was off blogland for a few weeks- had home duties to tend...but I still come here on regular basis- sometimes I just lurk....you don't mind lurkers right?)

     
  • At 2:16 pm, Blogger michael the tubthumper said…

    nice to see you back enigma

     
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U.S. MONETARY Cost of the War in Iraq - other people are spending too, and the human cost is much higher
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What is Tubthumping and who is doing it?

Name: michael the tubthumper
Home: Glasgow, Scotland
About Me: Tub-Thumper - 1. A speaker or preacher who for emphasis thumps the pulpit; a violent or declamatory preacher or orator; a ranter. This blog will be a combination of reasoned posting somedays and an occasional rant. 28 years old, I write and research for a couple of websites and also do my own stuff.
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Thumping The Tub Video

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I have made a few short movies. Here are links to free downloads for them all in the order that I made them (as far as I can remember). Please feel free to use, distribute, disagree with, shout at etc etc

  • Praise The Lord and Pass The Ammunition
  • This was a REAL song from World War 2. I was so stunned by it I had to make a movie

  • How Far Is It From Here to Nuremberg
  • This is my attempt at a video for the excellent, if worrying, David Rovics (see links) song

  • What You Like
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  • Imperial Measures
  • What is going on in Iraq? Some things you knew, some you didn't. A couple of bits of info are out of date now.

  • Wish You Were Here
  • Wish You Were Here is a 6 minute film about the unprecendted rate of animal extinction we are currently experiencing

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    some of the blogs I look at
    Arse of the month

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    The inaugural 'Arse of the month' award goes to our very own Scottish First Minister Jack (Joke) McConnell. He seems to spend a lot of his time sucking up to english politicians and yet it appears they don't even know his name. Follow the link to see..

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    It's All Gone Scottish

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    A list of some other Scottish sites and blogs most of which, if not all, are pro-independence. I don't agree with content on all of them obviously. Some are Scots at home, others abroad.

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