Dr. Germ

[dsm]

I wish we'd stop coming up with these stupid nicknames. They sound like Batman characters. What are we, a bunch of television-watching cretins who need a little help identifying the bad guys?


Rihab Rashid Taha is "Dr. Germ."

The other female detainee, Dr Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, was dubbed "Mrs Anthrax" by U.S. intelligence services.

Then there was Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, or better known as "Chemical Ali."

Seems a little childish to me that's all. Did we have official nicknames for Stalin or Hitler? I don't recall any.

-dsm

[Dynasty]

[ QUOTE ]
Did we have official nicknames for Stalin or Hitler?
-

[/ QUOTE ]

Axis Powers.

[Utah]

I dunno. Dr. Germ sounds kinda hot to me.

[pokerjo22]

"Hitler has only got one ball, G ring has two but very small, Himmler has something sim'lar, But poor old Goebbels has no balls at all."

Yes, we were very mature back then.

[Victor]

ITs a lot easier to make a case that a country has chemical and biological weapons if their scientists are named Dr. Germ, Mrs. Anthraz and Chemical Ali.

I think its called propaganda, but our gov wouldnt engage in that...of course not.

[Glenn]

I think Chemical Ali was given his nickname by Iraqis. I don't know about the others, but it seems entirely possible that Dr. Germ and Ms. Anthrax were already called that as well. I mean think about it, if it was the administration giving out names like this, don't you think there'd be a Professor Nu-cue-ler by now?

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
ITs a lot easier to make a case that a country has chemical and biological weapons if their scientists are named Dr. Germ, Mrs. Anthraz and Chemical Ali.

I think its called propaganda, but our gov wouldnt engage in that...of course not.

[/ QUOTE ]

You should think before you type,



If they did, then CBS, ABC, NYT, and LA times would be all over it. They love playing "GOTCHA!".

Despite how CNN articles portray those nicknames....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2855349.stm
The kurds gave him that name.

Known to the Kurds as "Chemical Ali" for his role in gas attacks in N Iraq during the offensive against the Kurds in 1987, Ali Hassan al-Majid was an important ...


A decree signed by al-Majid, dated 3 June 1987, stated: "Within their jurisdiction, the armed forces must kill any human being or animal present in these areas."

Human rights campaigners say the Iraqi army then proceeded to kill tens of thousands of Kurdish civilians in gas attacks and by summary execution.

Dr. Germ was named by her colleagues and weapons inspectors that interviewed her in the 1990's, and I don't know how Ms. Anthrax got her name, that one may of been a US intel nickname, but I don't have any proof either way. The names are also, very accurate.

[Cyrus]

"The other [Iraqi] female detainee, Dr Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, was dubbed "Mrs Anthrax" by U.S. intelligence services."

I trust that the implication that this woman (and, consequently, Iraq) was behind the Anthrax postal attacks on the United States is transparent to all here. It is transparent, isn't it?

(Hello, anyone awake? /images/graemlins/cool.gif)

"Did we have official nicknames for Stalin or Hitler? I don't recall any."

Another fact that merits analysis. We have nicknames for the Iraqis because they are not truly threatening! (They never were, actually. And the lack of WMDs or any other evidence simply proved what our intuition told us all along.)

We acknowledge subconsciously this lack of true threat and this is why we don't object when they get nicknames.

--Cyrus

PS : Stalin had a nickname, though. He was called "Uncle Joe" by wartime scribes and the American GIs.

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
"The other [Iraqi] female detainee, Dr Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, was dubbed "Mrs Anthrax" by U.S. intelligence services."

[/ QUOTE ]

Where is this quote from?




[ QUOTE ]

Another fact that merits analysis. We have nicknames for the Iraqis because they are not truly threatening! (They never were, actually. And the lack of WMDs or any other evidence simply proved what our intuition told us all along.)

We acknowledge subconsciously this lack of true threat and this is why we don't object when they get nicknames.

[/ QUOTE ]

So chemical ali wasn't a threat to the kurds? It's nice to know that your intuition is better than the intelligence agencies of Isreal, Jordan, Egypt, Britain, the Bush, and the Clinton administration.

[nicky g]

"It's nice to know that your intuition is better than the intelligence agencies of Isreal, Jordan, Egypt, Britain, the Bush, and the Clinton administration. "

Well the people on this board who argued that Iaq didn't pose a significant WMD threat did have better intuition on this matter than those intelligence agencies (maybe because they listened to the people on the ground, the weapons inspectors, rather than spooks relying on guesswork and politicised defectors).

[wacki]

There was bad intel, from multiple countries, and it's a shame that was the case. I hope that will never happen again.

But to say chemical ali was a threat to anyone is ridiculous and historically inaccurate. To say chemical ali and Dr. Germ were propoganda names is just false.

Just curious, Saddam was ready and primed to begin WMD buildup, do you think he wouldn't of done it as soon as sanctions were lifted/became ineffective? Especially when considering Putins quote?

[elwoodblues]

[ QUOTE ]
To say chemical ali and Dr. Germ were propoganda names is just false.


[/ QUOTE ]

It can be true and still be propaganda. In my mind, the names are clearly propaganda.

[nicky g]

Of course chemical ali had been a threat, and much more than that, in the past.
As for lifting the sanctions etc, I think maintaining an inspection regime indefinitely would have been feasible, and I don't think Hussein could have built a nuclear bomb without anyone knowing about it even without them. I don't think the economic santions were entirely necessary to hinder his WMD programme.

[andyfox]

Stalin was a member of the Allies. The Axis powers were Germany, Italy, and Japan.

[tolbiny]

after hitler invaded the east...

[wacki]

Nicky G, you might be right about preventing WMD's without economic sanctions, in a perfect world.

But in this world that is a huge risk to take. Saddam was chronically deceitful. He was acquiring weapons illegally even during the sanctions. The food for oil program was corrupt enough. I hate to think of how bad it would be if the UN didn't try to choke his money supply. The French were making illegal deals with him hand over fist against UN sanctions, more and more evidence is coming out that says the scandal goes all the way to the top of France and the UN. The Russians weren't very good at controlling their exports. They sold them Kornet missiles, GPS jammers etc.
That all occurred during sanctions, against UN policy. Who knows what it would of been like if Saddam had more money.



Russia
http://www.cdi.org/russia/250-7.cfm

French Connection
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20040908-123000-1796r.htm
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2004/main051704.htm


Sorry about my spelling on my previous post. I squeeze these posts in when I can, and sometimes (actually most of the time) I don't have enough time to correctly post. I must say, I never thought 2+2 would be better than most newspapers when it comes to the news.

[anatta]

"But in this world that is a huge risk to take"

War is a huge risk to take. Whatever we were doing and Saddam was doing during the 1990's, the fact is we were successful in containing Saddam, he attacked nobody and had no WMDs. Colin Powell even said so in early 2001.

Given the increased scrutiny post 9-11, and the fact that Hans Blix was on the ground inspecting sites, finding nothing, I think would should have given peace a chance rather than rush into this disaster.

[wacki]

That is a valid point. And prior to september 11th, I would agree with you. But the rules of the game changed on that day. And the rules of the game also changed after Putin repeated Saddams words. We can no longer sit back and hope. Atleast, not like we did before.

[Toro]

[ QUOTE ]
I wish we'd stop coming up with these stupid nicknames. They sound like Batman characters. What are we, a bunch of television-watching cretins who need a little help identifying the bad guys?

[/ QUOTE ]

And who was the braniac that came up with that lame idea with putting the faces of all the bad guys on a deck of cards. I'll bet that was real useful in tracking them all down.

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I wish we'd stop coming up with these stupid nicknames. They sound like Batman characters. What are we, a bunch of television-watching cretins who need a little help identifying the bad guys?

[/ QUOTE ]

And who was the braniac that came up with that lame idea with putting the faces of all the bad guys on a deck of cards. I'll bet that was real useful in tracking them all down.

[/ QUOTE ]

It was probably as useful as the milk carton pictures.

[vulturesrow]

My understanding is that it was very useful. How else were they to recognize the faces of specifc members of the regime they were looking for?

[anatta]

[ QUOTE ]
But the rules of the game changed on that day

[/ QUOTE ]


Poor people fight and die, corporations profit, and politicians wrap themselves in the flag. Looks like the same old song to me.

[Toro]

[ QUOTE ]
My understanding is that it was very useful. How else were they to recognize the faces of specifc members of the regime they were looking for?

[/ QUOTE ]


Uh, how about passing out photographs. I didn't like the deck of cards thing at all. I thought it trivialized the war with a gimmick.

[vulturesrow]

They were photographs essentially. It was a convenient means of mass producing and disseminating them.

[Toro]

[ QUOTE ]
They were photographs essentially. It was a convenient means of mass producing and disseminating them.

[/ QUOTE ]

It was still a gimmick. Reminded me of Gerry Ford's WIN (whip inflation now) buttons.

[dsm]

[ QUOTE ]
"The other female detainee, Dr Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, was dubbed "Mrs Anthrax" by U.S. intelligence services."

[/ QUOTE ][ QUOTE ]
Where is this quote from?

[/ QUOTE ]


BBC News "Mrs Anthrax" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3002103.stm)
Three paragraphs down, "Dubbed "Mrs Anthrax" by Washington, US intelligence services.."


BBC News The Abominable "Dr. Germ" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3679040.stm)
In regards to Dr. germ (first sentence), "Nicknamed 'Dr Germ' by UN weapons inspectors.."


-dsm

[WTF]

[ QUOTE ]
Did we have official nicknames for Stalin or Hitler?

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's personal nickname for Adolf was "Corporal Hitler." But names like this, or "One Ball" were just a goof, where names like Dr. Germ or Mrs Anthrax are supposed to make these women seem inhuman. But of course they are not anymore sinister than the guy who created cluster bombs (Dr. Slice 'em and Dice 'em) or the neutron bomb (The Shadow Maker).