Free Frank Warner

The increasing realization that we’ve won the Iraq war

I knew we’d start seeing a bunch of Iraq war polls just before the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion.

Lo and behold, for the first time in years, a Pew poll finds that most Americans believe the U.S. effort in Iraq will succeed. Iraq will become a stable democracy, and its example may inspire liberalization and liberation throughout the otherwise repressed Arab and Persian Middle East.

By ratio of 53 to 39 percent, most Americans believe the second mission of the Iraq invasion – democratization – will work. (The first mission was to remove the fascist regime.)

Changing opinions. Most Americans – 54 percent – also say the decision to invade was wrong, but that opinion is primarily the effect of five years of partisan bickering, and the selfishness nurtured by appeasers who wanted Saddam Hussein and family to torture and murder Iraqis forever. With some perspective, opinions on the invasion decision will change, too.

President Bush has said American troops in Iraq would “return on success.” It’s good to see that success increasingly acknowledged.

Frank Warner

‘Chemical Ali’s’ execution is approved in Iraq

Nearly 5 years since the U.S. invasion of Iraq, “Chemical Ali” has been ordered executed.

“Chemical Ali” is Ali Hassan al-Majid, who played a major role in Saddam Hussein’s Anfal Campaign, which murdered nearly 180,000 Iraqi Kurds in 1988. Majid repeatedly used poison gas in the genocide against the Kurds.

Majid, a first cousin of Saddam Hussein, was captured in August 2003 and convicted of war crimes in June 2007. His execution was delayed to avoid Ramadan, but now Iraq’s presidential council has approved his death by hanging.

It appears he’ll soon be joining his cousin.

Frank Warner

Adam Gadahn, American al-Qaida who threatened Mavis Leno, may be dead

Adam Gadahn, the bonehead Californian who joined al-Qaida in 2003, once criticized Mavis Leno, Jay Leno’s wife, in a speech that threatened “punishment” for Islamist fascism’s foes.

Even before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Mavis Leno had called on the world to liberate Afghanistan from the Taliban’s brutal oppression, particularly of women. The Taliban and al-Qaida didn’t take kindly to the criticism.

Now a friend of Gadahn says Gadahn may be dead in Pakistan, his quest for gore and glory over.

Predator attack. Gadahn went missing on Jan. 29 at exactly the same time a Predator drone fired the missile killing Abu Laith al-Libi, al-Qaida’s chief in Pakistan. Libi was a Libyan.

Gadahn’s death has not been confirmed, but I think it’s safe to say he’s not having a good winter.

Frank Warner

Bob Geldof to George Bush: Learn to market the good you’ve done

Bob Geldof, the rock singer-humanitarian, recently flew to Africa with President Bush.

In nation after nation, Bush was welcomed as the hero behind several successful programs to improve the health of Africans. But according to Geldof, Americans have yet to hear what Bush accomplished there.

Geldof writes of a moment with Bush on Air Force One. Bush looked at a copy of Geldof’s new book:

The Most Powerful Man in the World studied the front cover. Geldof in Africa — “ ‘The international best seller.’ You write that bit yourself?”

“That’s right. It’s called marketing. Something you obviously have no clue about or else I wouldn’t have to be here telling people your Africa story.”

It is some story. And I have always wondered why it was never told properly to the American people, who were paying for it. It was, for example, Bush who initiated the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) with cross-party support led by Senators John Kerry and Bill Frist. In 2003, only 50,000 Africans were on HIV antiretroviral drugs — and they had to pay for their own medicine. Today, 1.3 million are receiving medicines free of charge.

Hope and hopelessness. Geldof isn’t all compliments. He believes U.S. military action to remove Saddam’s regime in Iraq renders impossible U.S. military action to save Africans in Darfur. And Geldof has no hope for helpful action by “the rest of the world.”

Frank Warner

Ahmadinejad says Iran is worlds No. 1 power

Great! Good or bad, democrat or dictator, the No. 1 is the only thing that upsets Noam Chomsky.

Frank Warner

Angelina Jolie says we have ‘moral obiligation’ to stay in Iraq

As the most zealous defeatists continue to argue that the United States must abandon Iraq because liberation is too costly, actress Angelina Jolie concludes we can’t afford to leave.

She makes a point seldom made on Iraq, that withdrawing wouldn’t end the war, that it would expose millions to murder, starvation and the desperation that makes more war, bigger wars, more savage wars more likely.

Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, just returned from her second trip to Iraq. She says this:

My visit left me even more deeply convinced that we not only have a moral obligation to help displaced Iraqi families, but also a serious, long-term, national security interest in ending this crisis.

Today’s humanitarian crisis in Iraq — and the potential consequences for our national security — are great. Can the United States afford to gamble that 4 million or more poor and displaced people, in the heart of Middle East, won’t explode in violent desperation, sending the whole region into further disorder?

What we cannot afford, in my view, is to squander the progress that has been made. In fact, we should step up our financial and material assistance. UNHCR has appealed for $261 million this year to provide for refugees and internally displaced persons. That is not a small amount of money -- but it is less than the U.S. spends each day to fight the war in Iraq. I would like to call on each of the presidential candidates and congressional leaders to announce a comprehensive refugee plan with a specific timeline and budget as part of their Iraq strategy.

As for the question of whether the surge is working, I can only state what I witnessed: U.N. staff and those of non-governmental organizations seem to feel they have the right set of circumstances to attempt to scale up their programs. And when I asked the troops if they wanted to go home as soon as possible, they said that they miss home but feel invested in Iraq. They have lost many friends and want to be a part of the humanitarian progress they now feel is possible.

Squirming haters. Jolie’s is a message of realism and humanitarianism to which the liberation-haters won’t take kindly. They’ll squirm and whine, and try to belittle her, but they know she’s right.

If your whole political self-image of coolness is wrapped up in proving this political approach or that political party always wrong, you’ll do all you can to block out her words and pretend that wherever the U.S. leaves everything always gets better.

If U.S. military presence is so terrible, why are the Germans, Japanese and South Koreans still generally happy to have us in their countries after all these years? The answer is obvious.

Neighbors in need. Iraq is free, but the Iraqis are vulnerable. If their democracy is to survive, if they’re to have a chance for a lasting peace, they’ll need our help for a while.

Frank Warner

Posting problems, sorry

There seem to be some posting problems. Yesterday, I could neither publish a post or add a comment.

TypePad is working on the problem. I believe you now can post comments with no problem. Hey, give it a try!

Frank Warner

Obama on Social Security

Sen. Barack Obama does have a plan for Social Security.

The Democratic candidate said he would not raise the national retirement age, cut benefits or privatize Social Security.

Instead, he would lift the cap on the payroll tax. Under the current system, the tax is capped at $97,000, which means the richest people in the nation are paying a similar tax rate than their poorer counterparts.

Mr. Obama said he would also help retirees by developing automatic workplace retirement plans. Such plans would allow employers to directly deposit money into a retirement account. The company could match additional contributions made by employees. The government would match contributions on the first $1,000 for families making less than $75,000 a year.

“We have to encourage savings so it’s easy to retire,” Mr. Obama said. “This would put a secure retirement within greater reach for millions of working families.”

Mr. Obama said he also would develop ways to protect pensions and work to prevent “golden parachutes” for executives fleeing a sinking company.

Sen. Hillary Clinton has addressed Social Security by saying it is not in crisis, even as it heads for a withering crisis in 2017. She proposes a new 401(k) plan that sounds a lot like Obama’s plan. And both sound a lot like privatizing Social Security.

Frank Warner

McCain rebukes the mocking emphasis on Obama’s middle name

This is a classy move. John McCain today told his supporters he won’t tolerate the sleazy references to Barack Obama’s middle name, which happens to be Hussein.

Obviously, some people are giving the Hussein name added emphasis in order to imply that Obama is Muslim. He isn’t. Cut the crap.

Frank Warner

Kim Jong Il wants Eric Clapton to play in North Korea

North Korea’s megalomaniacal dictator Kim Jong Il is trying to get Eric Clapton to come to North Korea to play “Layla” for Kim’s son.

Careful, careful! Sometimes Kim doesn’t let artists leave.

It would be a scream if Clapton surprised Kim and sang “I’m so rone-ry” from the “Team America” movie. I think we’d hear the scream.

Frank Warner

Note: The New York Philharmonic is in North Korea right now!