Germany: American Army Recruiting Arabs to Live in Simuluated “Iraq” Environment for War Games

Uncle Sam casts 600 Arabs in ‘Hollywood war’

Allan Hall (The Age)

AMERICAN forces in Germany have placed newspaper advertisements seeking Arabs to join them in war games before troops are shipped out to Iraq.

In Berlin and other large towns this week, the US military set up a casting agency to hire 600 Arabic speakers.

From March 20 to April 11 at a base in Germany, the American army is creating a “mini-Iraq”, with the emphasis being on making it as close to the real thing as possible. Arabs who sign up will live for three weeks at the High Rock Combat Manoeuvre Training Centre between Nuremberg and Regensburg…

…Ten villages have been erected on the 20,000-hectare training area to resemble Iraqi communities. “Volunteers are required to play the role of Arabs in Iraq for 24 hours a day,” the newspaper ads say.

There will be “villages” populated by “good” Arabs and “bad” Arabs. Not surprisingly, there are not many takers for this “acting” job.

Walid Shoebat: Teller of a One-sided Story

Shoebat Omits Instances of Muslim Kindness, Tolerance

David Sforza (University of California at Santa Barbara – Daily Nexus)

On Feb. 7, I was one of several hundred to go watch Walid Shoebat, a former PLO terrorist and now Christian. In his hour and a half speech, he warned that the Middle East has the potential to be that of several Nazi Germanys.

I myself am a Jew. I have had many Muslim friends, including Palestinians. When I walked out of the Corwin Pavilion, I felt disgusted by what I had just heard. Shoebat painted a picture of Islam as a dirty religion full of murderers. What he forgot to talk about is the fact that there are good Muslims…

Iran: Attack for Whose Benefit?

At hat tip for the following articles to a fellow blogger who wishes to remain anonymous.

Attack Iran For Whose Benefit, May We Dare Ask?

Kam Zarrabi (Intellectual Discourse)

In spite of all the voices of opposition to a new war, one thing remains quite significantly and, in my opinion, alarmingly unchanged, they all regard Iran as a “problem” deserving grave concern. Those who object to Washington and Israel’s open threats of draconian measures, including the use of tactical nuclear arsenal, to solve the “problem”, seem to be worried only about the potential undesirable consequences of such action, the cost to American lives and treasure and possible damage to American prestige and American interests worldwide. Otherwise, there is hardly a voice in the American media that would seriously question the very basic premise whether Iran is, in fact, a “problem” of such magnitude that deserves this level of concern.

Apparently, history hasn’t taught us anything…

And this eerie exchange, posted at TalkingPointsMemo:

At a farewell reception at Blair House for the retiring chief of protocol, Don Ensenat, who was President Bush’s Yale roommate, the president shook hands with Washington Life Magazine’s Soroush Shehabi. A grandson of one of the late Shah’s ministers, Soroush said, “Mr. President, I simply want to say one U.S. bomb on Iran and the regime will remain in power for another 20 or 30 years and 70 million Iranians will become radicalized.”

“I know,” President Bush answered.

“But does Vice President Cheney know?” asked Soroush.

The president chuckled and walked away.