‘US seeking to prolong presence in Iraq’
Press TV – April 20, 2011
An Iraqi lawmaker has unveiled a secret US military initiative which he says is aimed at extending the presence of US troops in Iraq beyond December 2011.
Member of Iraqi Parliament’s Security & Defense Committee Qasim Mohammad Jalal said that the American officials have held secret meetings with Iraqi government authorities in an effort to pave the way for the US troops to stay past the deadline set in the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), IRIB reported on Wednesday.
The Iraqi politician pointed out that the US administration has mounted pressure on Iraqi officials in order to prolong its presence in the country.
The SOFA agreement signed between the United States and the Iraqi government mandates that Washington withdraw its troops from Iraq by the end of December 2011.
During his latest visit to Baghdad, US Defense Secretary Roberts Gates also signaled Washington’s willingness to extend its military presence in Iraq beyond December 31, 2011.
“I think there is interest in having a continuing presence, but the politics are such that we’ll just have to wait and see because the initiative ultimately has to come from the Iraqis,” Gates added.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, however, rejected Gates’ offer, reiterating that he expects all American troops to leave his country by the end of the year.
Currently, over 47,000 US troops are stationed in Iraq.
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Latvia urging UK to ‘prepare for war’ with Russia
By Lucas Leiroz | March 18, 2024
The Baltic countries continue their “preparation for war with Russia.” Now, as if it were not enough to engage in a suicidal militarization campaign, Latvia is also demanding that the main NATO countries, such as the UK, also begin adopting radical measures to prepare for the “inevitable” confrontation with Moscow. The main Latvian criticism of the British concerns the military service, with the Baltic country asking the UK to immediately resume conscription policies to increase the size of its forces.
Latvia’s foreign minister, Krisjanis Karins, stated that all NATO countries should follow the Latvian example when it comes to military preparation. According to him, it is necessary to implement special militarization measures and improve defense capacity in the face of the supposed “Russian threat”, which is why Western countries should unite in a common military policy. Karins believes that not all NATO states are efficiently engaged in this military preparation process. In this regard, he criticizes even the stance of key countries in the bloc, such as the UK.
Karins was asked by a journalist from The Telegraph about whether London should adopt mandatory military service for its citizens. He resolutely responded that Latvia “strongly recommends” such an attitude. According to Karins, Latvia is developing a system called “total defense”, in which all the country’s efforts are directed towards expanding military capacity. Efforts include all sectors of civil society, thus requiring a system of total mobilization within which mandatory military service is vital. … continue
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Aletho News 
Dictators don’t dictate they obey orders.
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Who they ‘obey’.
There is a power so organized, so subtle, so complete, so pervasive and evil, that none had better speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of ‘it’. W.W. 1921.
That is what we fight against.
Why we will be victorious:
Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, they send forth a ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression, resistance, and hatred.
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We, on earth, fight a mighty spiritual world, whether we are aware of it or not. We do. Those who are evil ‘know’ who we are. We are at a disadvantage at every turn. We, who belong to God, have only our hearts and minds to guide us. That is enough. We are a hundred times more powerful than evil, and when God gives them the advantage of ‘sight’ when we have the gift of ‘vision’: Sight that is able to see that which is invisable, we level the playing field. It usually takes a lifetime to understand this. But when we do, it is up to each of us to send forth that ‘ripple’ of encouragement to one another, even if it is to only one. Or even none. It still sends a powerful signal to the evil ones that we do NOT fear them.
One of the most truthful books I ever read when I was in school in the early ’60’s was ‘The Lord of the Flies’. I didn’t then, and I still don’t, fully understand why being evil is so compelling to humans. I only know that it is. I would guess it is the opposite reason why they would find it incomprehensable why we love God. There is no reason big enough for me NOT to love Him. I know Him from Heaven and He has led me through hell.. it will soon be time for me to be with Him again. I feel compelled to tell about this story that I now understand alot more than when I was 16. Hopefully, it will help others.
The Lord of the Flies is the story of a group of kids stranded on an island and how the stronger, more violent kids soon dominate the others. The story is about evil and how it conquers the weak.
The Lord of the Flies is symbolic of the translation of the Hebrew/Greek Beelzebub, also known as the devil, a name symbolic of: a devotion to hatred, decay, destruction, demoralization, hysteria, and panic. The unseen “knowledge” these kids had of ‘the beast’….the recognition, [the ancient inescapable recognition] for pure evil and the superficial nature of the human moral system, knowing that this beast is a part of us. The reason things are what they are….the blackness within, a blackness that spreads….unless the part of us that belongs to God, defeats that indescribable evil.
That is what living in hell, aka earth, is all about…and nothing else.
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