The Four Reasons


The Four Reasons
News Archives
2004
2003


Cost of the War in Iraq
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"Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars"  - MLK Jr
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“From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce a new product in August,”   
White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card told The New York Times about why the Bush administration was waiting on its PR offensive about the possibility of war until after Labor Day - 2002
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We're currently uh, one of the first teams that was deployed to support the city of New York for this disaster. We arrived on, uh, late Monday night and went into action on Tuesday morning. And not until today did we get a full opportunity to work, uh, the entire site . . .
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"Trying to eliminate Saddam, extending the ground war into an occupation of Iraq, would have violated our guideline about not changing objectives in midstream, engaging in "mission creep," and would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible. We had been unable to find Noriega in Panama, which we knew intimately. We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. The coalition would instantly have collapsed, the Arabs deserting it in anger and other allies pulling out as well. Under the circumstances, there was no viable "exit strategy" we could see, violating another of our principles. Furthermore, we had been self-consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations' mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. It would have been a dramatically different — and perhaps barren — outcome."
George H.W. Bush: A World Transformed (1998)
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"Even today I am willing to volunteer to do the dirty work for Israel, to kill as many Arabs as necessary, to deport them, to expel and burn them, to have everyone hate us, to pull the rug from underneath the feet of the Diaspora Jews, so that they will be forced to run to us crying. Even if it means blowing up one or two synagogues here and there, I don't care. And I don't mind if after the job is done you put me in front of a Nuremberg Trial and then jail me for life. Hang me if you want, as a war criminal..."             From an Interview with Ariel Sharon published in the Israeli daily Davar Dec. 17, 1982
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"What kind of victory is it when someone is left defeated? What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy. What is a war criminal? Was not war itself a crime against God and humanity, and, therefore, were not all those who sanctioned, engineered and conducted wars, war criminals? The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. Non-cooperation with evil is a sacred duty." -Gandhi


Oceana
5/26

Govt attacks pullout plan after blast

Man accused of plot to bomb Israeli embassy implicates Qaida

'Price check' on $44m-a-day Defence Force

Police need immunity for PNG mission, Keelty says

Poll puts Australia's Labor ahead

No evidence Aust mission in Iraq targeted: Downer

Bashir 'called off' Aust terror attack

Gusmao to meet Wiranto over E Timor abuses

Indonesia: Major party endorses Wiranto bid

Violence returns to Ambon

Iraq embassy security sufficient, Downer says

Oceana Archive

5/25

Terror blast justifies troops: PM

Australian Diplomats Unhurt as Bomb Explodes in Iraqi Capital

PM thwarted on gay marriage ban

Howard admits facing 'fight of political life'

Australian al-Qaeda cell plan revealed in court

Downer defends travel warning

Latham winning the war

Oceana Archive

5/23

Australians Advised Against Travel to Indonesia, AFP Says

Al-Qaeda recruit claimed he was ignored when he tried to warn authorities

Three Indonesian terror suspects acquitted

Horrors behind the wire in Australia's detention camps

First visit of senior Australian official to NATO HQ

Convicted Bali bomber threatens Howard

Think-tank warns of Kyoto sanctions

Oceana Archive

5/21

Australia accused of leaving East Timor on brink of ruin

Would-be bomber of Israeli embassy could have set off truck bomb

More support for Habib abuse claims

Succession concerns aid Labor

Indonesia probe into Bashir nears end

Oceana Archive

5/20

PM denies Hicks claim as warden admits abuse

Latham suspicious of Hicks abuse reports

More abuse detail to come: Hicks' dad

How the US treated David Hicks

Iraq front line on terror war, says Howard

Claims Habib was tortured in Camp X-Ray

NSW couple expelled over security fears

Oceana Archive

5/14

RAAF releases jet fighter back-up plan

Republicans admit there's something about Mary

Man jailed for Sydney Aiport bomb hoax

Labor confused on tax: PM

Detention policy damned as cruel to children

Evidence of mass extinction meteor found in Australia

Oceana Archive

5/13

Australian Govt to Mail A$600 Checks to 2 Million Families

Govt to examine Hicks abuse claims

Latham pledges 'wider' tax cuts

Report recommends freeing child detainees

Oceana Archive

5/12

Govt not asking right questions about Hicks: lawyer

Howard pleads ignorance on Iraq prison abuses

China's economic transition 'key' to Australia's future

Budget cuts may affect EPA's ability

Australia to boost S Pacific aid

Howard denies election imminent

Qld police, CMC given new anti-terrorism powers

Tax cuts key to Australian budget

Vaile applauds FTA with Thailand

Beheading of American 'appalling': Downer

Oceana Archive

5/11

Australia welcomes EU offer to abolish farm export subsidies

 

Oceana Archive

5/9

Cosgrove 'shocked' by Iraq prisoner abuse

Democrats say no easy passage for Budget

East Timor PM accuses expelled Australian of rioting

Govt urged to invest more in public schools

Costello stokes leadership talk ahead of Budget

Govt lying about Budget taxes: Opposition

New emergency services site being decided

Marshals guard Australia-US trips

Oceana Archive

5/8

Child detention breaches UN convention: human rights report

Australia, US sign air marshal agreement

Iraq to become economic powerhouse: former AWB chairman

East Timor PM accuses expelled Australian of rioting

Democrats urge extra injection for public education

Oceana Archive

5/7

NZ set to extend presence in East Timor

It's a deal: marshals to fly on US route

Hardliner pays $2.6m for mosque

Costello backers 'expect' handover

Oceana Archive

5/6

Terrorism test goes off with a bang

 

Oceana Archive

5/5

ASIO to assess security threat in Athens

Golkar wins Indonesian parliamentary vote, final tally shows

War on terror will go on 'a long time': PM

Sydney terror suspect to seek bail

Oceana Archive

5/4

War Crimes Trial Sought for Blair Over Iraq

Germany on Alert at Air Bases After Attack Warning

Oil prices may squash Europe's economic recovery

Turkey arrests 16 Islamists ''planning attack'' at upcoming NATO summit

British Soldiers say pictures are 'tip of the iceberg'

Hamas Addresses E.U. To Change Position

Blair to send as many as 4,ooo troops to Najaf and Kut to fill Spanish void

Blair Peppered by Questions at Event

UK: Interest rates to rise this week

Georgia Provoking Conflict, AFP Reports, Citing Ajaria's Leader

Europe Archive

5/3

Howard and Bush to talk trade, war

PM to visit US, UK and France

Australian in 'bomb plot' trial

INDONESIA: Prison Officials' Ignorance Hampers Drive vs HIV/AIDS

Oceana Archive

5/2

Australia's Downer Links al-Qaeda to Saudi Shootings

 

Oceana Archive

5/1

Crash and burn: $1bn spy plane disaster

Cyber soldiers in the trenches

A bloody Sunday shatters Ambon's two years of peace

Defence's billion-dollar bungles

Stand by for more terrorism scares, US warns

Protest turns violent as Bashir is rearrested

Beating about the Bushmaster

Oceana Archive

4/30

Defence rallies round for spy chief

Govt detains children despite court case

Police promise successful Bashir prosecution

Flint rules himself out of ABC investigation

Howard disputes intelligence concerns

Indonesian cleric faces Bali charge

Oceana Archive

4/29

PM stays mum on talkback war

MFAT investigating claim NZ passports were used by terrorists

Sydney terror suspect refused bail

Terror link to NZ passports seized in Bangkok

Oceana Archive

4/27

E Timor condemns Australia for theft in sea border dispute

Howard: we won't be in Iraq long-term

Trial of alleged key Bali bomber begins

Oz seizes Greenpeace ship over GE protest

Howard puts Australia at risk

Govt mulls gay marriage restriction

Govt asked to provide Iraq police

Howard: 'My fear of terror attack in Aust'

4/26

Australian Troops to Remain in Iraq Until Mid-2005, Herald Says

Howard flags extra troops for Iraq

PM's Iraq visit draws mixed reaction

'Symbolic' Iraq commitment worries ALP

Australia prepared for SARS outbreak

N.Z. Labour Party Support Falls, National Leads, Poll Says

4/25

Australian Prime Minister pays visit to troops in Iraq

Brigitte may return to Australia to give evidence

Why Mossad might be interested in New Zealand

ASEAN membership out of Australia's reach

4/19

We'll stay in Iraq until job is done: PM

Australia 'bullying' East Timor over oil revenue

Medics groomed for terrorism role

New Zealand said demanding Israel return any fake passports

Landmark case for Australian terror suspects

4/17

Two suspected Israeli Mossad agents arrested in New Zealand while trying to obtain false passports

Diplomat sent to New Zealand to deal with Israeli arrests

 

4/16

PM slams Australian hostage as 'foolhardy'

Outrage as Australia abolishes 'failed' Aboriginal council

Human shield hostage blames Aussie president

Australia expands electronic visa system to new EU members

 

4/15

Three New Zealanders in trouble in Iraq

Sydney man on terror charge

Australia: Military spurned own intelligence, officer claims

 

4/13

What is Australia's Iraqi exit plan?

NZ will pull engineers out od Iraq if they cannot work

Australian defence adviser 'sacked for refusing to sex up WMD reports'

Intelligence 'failings' revealed

Hostage crisis: PM says he'll 'go the distance'

Peace protester tries to arrest Howard

No need to flee Iraq, says Howard

 

4/7

Murdoch Says Australian Troops Should Stay in Iraq, AAP Reports

 

 

4/6

Govt 'ignored' Afghan counter-terrorism request

 

 

4/4

Australia blamed in East Timor report

Howard ignored Afghan plea

No tax cuts, Govt urged

3/21
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