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May 24, 2013

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'

Caroline B. Glick: Thank you, Hafez al-Assad

Diana West: From the Brooklyn Bridge to London
Morgan Housel: Why spotting bubbles is so much harder than you think

Environmental Nutrition editors: NuVal labeling to the rescue?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Memorial Day: Jews Serving and KIA in War on Terror; Liberace Bio-Pic; Jew Wins "Survivor"; Shalom, Dr. Brothers; More

The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: HIDE THESE FROZEN TREATS FROM THE KIDDIES!: Sangria pops; Irish cream pudding pops; mango Lassi pops

May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting

May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review March 23, 2006 / 23 Adar, 5766

Iraq: Just the (damning?) facts, ma'am

By Michael Graham


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | It's been just over three years since Sen. Ted Kennedy quoted dire predictions on the floor of the US Senate that toppling Saddam would involve "running through a battalion a day" and that the fighting would "look like the last fifteen minutes of Saving Private Ryan." Three years since the United Nations predicted half a million injured Iraqi civilians and the Germans promised "millions of [Iraqi] victims of U.S. rockets."


In other words, three years since the opponents of the Iraq War got it just about completely wrong.


And yes, it's been three years since the Bush Administration launched its mission to secure Saddam's "weapons of mass destruction," which may or may not have existed when this war began. Three years of a war that began without a plan to fight an insurgency or to secure basic services after Saddam's fall.


There's been so much senseless spin, from "No War For Oil" to "Saddam Ordered 9/11," it's easy to forget there are actual facts available to us. These facts, by themselves, prove nothing. They aren't comprehensive. But they are concrete pieces of data that, in the days before we debated the meaning of words like "is," might have carried some weight.


I offer them for your consideration. Ignore them or embrace them--either way, they will still be the facts.


Fact #1: Invading Iraq and toppling Saddam has SAVED lives, not cost them. Under Saddam, some 5% of the 25 million Iraqi population were murdered or disappeared. The low estimates are that a thousand people died on average during Saddam's twenty years in power. Other estimates go as high as 4,000 a month. Before they started hating President Bush, anti-war activists insisted that evil UN sanctions against Iraq were killing 5,000 children a month-a "fact" they completely abandoned when the war began.


Today, according to the anti-war website IraqBodyCount.net, the maximum Iraqi death toll in these three years was under 40,000 Iraqis. Or the equivalent of eight months of "peaceful" UN sanctions.


Fact #2: It's Iraqis, not Americans, who are dying in the battle with insurgents. As that notorious right-wing rag USA Today has reported, the number of U.S. forces killed during the war has declined steadily since November, while Iraqi soldiers and police are dying faster than ever. A RAND Corporation military analyst told USA Today this "means Iraqi security forces are in positions of responsibility," while the US is "doing fewer patrols on its own and more in support of Iraqi operations."


In September there were 37 Iraqi units taking the lead role against the terrorists. Today there are at least 63 of them. The number of Iraqi security forces has jumped too, from 127,000 in January 2005 to almost twice that number today. The amount of battle space controlled by the Iraqis has tripled since January 2006.


Fact #3: The vast majority of American soldiers and Marines who go to Iraq come home safely. While more than 1 million Americans have served in Iraq over the past three years, only 2,320 have been killed. Each of these lives is precious, of course, but that total number of casualties over three years equals just one month of the Vietnam War, and isn't close to the worst single day in WWII or Korea.


Fact #4: Saddam Hussein was connected to Al Qaeda. For knowledgeable people, this debate ended long ago with a mountain of circumstantial evidence and common sense. It was the Clintonistas who feared Osama would "boogie to Baghdad" in 1999, not the Bushies. Now we have obtained Iraqi intelligence service documents that clearly state "OBL and The Taliban are in contact with Iraq." We have additional documents detailing money from Saddam to buy weapons for Al Qaeda operations in the Philippines.


Fact #5: Congressman John Murtha is lousy at math. OK, OK, that's an opinion. Rep. Murtha said recently "25 thousand Iraqis are fighting with each other inside the country…that's a civil war!" Uh, no. As Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld points out, there are 25 million Iraqis and only 135,000 of us. If the Iraqis decide they want a civil war, nobody will have to guess about it. But one-tenth of one percent of the population isn't a civil war. It's terrorism. It can be bloody and ugly, yes. Murder is an ugly thing. But civil warriors must have some hope of governing the land they're fighting over, and Al Qaeda, the insurgents and the hold-out Sunni elements have no hope of that whatsoever.


All they can hope is that the above facts will be ignored and we will lose the will to win. We cannot lose this war. We will either win, or we will quit.


And that's a fact.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Michael Graham is a talk show host and author of the highly acclaimed "Redneck Nation: How the South Really Won the War." To comment, please click here.



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