Showing posts with label Iraq Occupation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iraq Occupation. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Operation Iraqi Liberation, or OIL, was what this sham of an invasion and subsequent occupation was originally supposed to be dubbed. This ingenious administration soon realized this Freudian slip of an acronym and with a wave of a magic thesaurus, changed the “Liberation” to “Freedom”. It would seem at the time that no one believed an agenda as transparent as Operation Iraqi Freedom could actually be as brazenly evil as it turned out to be. However, after seven-plus years of this administration, most people now know better – not that this knowledge has really made a lick of difference. Case in point, there does not seem to be a nearly adequate degree of outrage over the announcement that the Iraqi oilfields are now available to the highest bidder, only this administration doesn’t believe in bidding for contracts, nor the legislative process; so while five contracts were granted to the usual suspect companies, said contracts do not force the companies to obtain permits that would force them to go through the government. This all on the heels of our good president emphasizing the need to begin drilling for oil off the coast of Florida, in Alaska and really anywhere else the failed oilman deems appropriate.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/world/middleeast/19iraq.html?_r=2&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Oh Brother, Brooks!
As Petraeus testifies, Baghdad teeters on edge of erupting
David Brooks should quit his day job and any other job that pertains to his allegedly knowing anything about anything. David, I’m sorry to have to pick on you all the time, but you represent to me a great deal of what is wrong with American news commentary (regardless of how tolerable to Democrats everyone says you are). Over five years ago, you were one of the many pundits who as a shill for this Bush administration thought invading Iraq was simply a fantabulous idea! Now whenever you find it to be expedient, say when a certain General and Ambassador are slated to testify before congress about how the surge has worked, how progress is being made politically and militarily, etc., etc., you toe that exact same line regardless of what the cold hard facts entail. “55% of Iraqis say their lives are going well… 49% now say the U.S. was right to invade Iraq.” ARE YOU $#!TT!NG ME?! The front page of the periodical for which you write even reads: “Iraqi Offensive Against Militia Is Raising Concerns on Stability”.
You argue that a primal mistake made was to assume that an Iraqi democracy would evolve the same way it did here in America. I would argue that it was a primal mistake to invade the country in the first place! “Democrats happily declare that there has been no political progress… because this grand compromise is the only kind of political progress they can conceive of.” This statement feeds into the classical GOP line that Democrats/Liberals/Progressives hate America and therefore do not want to see this country succeed. Listen Brooks, it makes me pretty far from happy to see what has happened to that country and by proxy, our country, as a result of the disastrous foreign policy decisions you so merrily cheer-led. Secondly, political progress at this point in time is nothing less than an oxymoron, moron, so long as our “coalition of the willing” is occupying their country. If you really want to apply the old 1776 analogy, WE – the United States would be the British (the occupiers) and the Iraqis would be those declaring their independence from the tyrannical occupiers. But I guess since neither the Sunnis, nor Shiites, nor Kurds have had a tea party – the analogy does not apply.
Brooks, I assure you that when all is said and done, and you are nothing more than an extraordinarily bad memory of how an American Press Corps should not do their jobs, my grandchildren will look back and say: “Now THAT’s what happens when you have such an abominably ill-informed populous.” You see, the only reason you can get away with spouting off the nonsense you do is because most Americans don’t care nearly enough about this country to call people like you out for the shill you are.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/opinion/08brooks.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
David Brooks should quit his day job and any other job that pertains to his allegedly knowing anything about anything. David, I’m sorry to have to pick on you all the time, but you represent to me a great deal of what is wrong with American news commentary (regardless of how tolerable to Democrats everyone says you are). Over five years ago, you were one of the many pundits who as a shill for this Bush administration thought invading Iraq was simply a fantabulous idea! Now whenever you find it to be expedient, say when a certain General and Ambassador are slated to testify before congress about how the surge has worked, how progress is being made politically and militarily, etc., etc., you toe that exact same line regardless of what the cold hard facts entail. “55% of Iraqis say their lives are going well… 49% now say the U.S. was right to invade Iraq.” ARE YOU $#!TT!NG ME?! The front page of the periodical for which you write even reads: “Iraqi Offensive Against Militia Is Raising Concerns on Stability”.
You argue that a primal mistake made was to assume that an Iraqi democracy would evolve the same way it did here in America. I would argue that it was a primal mistake to invade the country in the first place! “Democrats happily declare that there has been no political progress… because this grand compromise is the only kind of political progress they can conceive of.” This statement feeds into the classical GOP line that Democrats/Liberals/Progressives hate America and therefore do not want to see this country succeed. Listen Brooks, it makes me pretty far from happy to see what has happened to that country and by proxy, our country, as a result of the disastrous foreign policy decisions you so merrily cheer-led. Secondly, political progress at this point in time is nothing less than an oxymoron, moron, so long as our “coalition of the willing” is occupying their country. If you really want to apply the old 1776 analogy, WE – the United States would be the British (the occupiers) and the Iraqis would be those declaring their independence from the tyrannical occupiers. But I guess since neither the Sunnis, nor Shiites, nor Kurds have had a tea party – the analogy does not apply.
Brooks, I assure you that when all is said and done, and you are nothing more than an extraordinarily bad memory of how an American Press Corps should not do their jobs, my grandchildren will look back and say: “Now THAT’s what happens when you have such an abominably ill-informed populous.” You see, the only reason you can get away with spouting off the nonsense you do is because most Americans don’t care nearly enough about this country to call people like you out for the shill you are.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/opinion/08brooks.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Operation: Truth Freedom
I generally don’t like to be redundant when it comes to commenting on this administration and its contemptible policies, abroad and domestic alike, but two separate stories in today’s New York Times are such paradigms of the various scars Bush and co have beset upon this nation of ours.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/washington/11army.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=army&st=nyt&oref=slogin
Firstly, it is being reported that the Army intentionally buried an extremely thorough 18-month analysis by the RAND Corporation regarding the numerous mistakes made by various cabinet members in the lead up to the Iraq invasion, as well as the subsequent occupation. The crux of the matter, which has proven to be the most fatal flaw that has plagued our military since the fall of Baghdad, is that American forces were “well suited to waging major battles but not to restoring civil order.” Admittedly, this is hardly a revolutionary finding, as the critical errors made in waging this occupation have been blatantly obvious for years now. I simply find it to be detestable and demonstrative that the Army would adhere to the administration in its desire to cover their proverbial asses. All gung-ho about sending brave men and women to the front lines to die and sheepishly cowardly when it has come to taking responsibility for this mess.
So while Donald Rumsfeld was the incompetent boor of a Defense Secretary way back then, Robert Gates has taken the American fear-mongering show on the road for a European tour. Although he insisted to the contrary, “I am not indulging in scare tactics,” Gates tried desperately and deliberately to scare European countries into supporting NATO efforts in Afghanistan by warning of the potential for more terrorist attacks. Perhaps he and his boss have failed to realize that Europeans are already quite familiar with their dirty tricks, as they pay more attention to what’s going on in America than most Americans do! It speaks measures about this administration that many of its past and present employees would be arrested and tried for war crimes if they attempt to travel to certain foreign countries. That is slightly beside the point, but the fact remains that these people MUST be held accountable for the deliberate nature of their deception and incompetence, and seemingly the only ones willing to do something are the ones Gates is trying not to scare, but……
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/washington/11army.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=army&st=nyt&oref=slogin
Firstly, it is being reported that the Army intentionally buried an extremely thorough 18-month analysis by the RAND Corporation regarding the numerous mistakes made by various cabinet members in the lead up to the Iraq invasion, as well as the subsequent occupation. The crux of the matter, which has proven to be the most fatal flaw that has plagued our military since the fall of Baghdad, is that American forces were “well suited to waging major battles but not to restoring civil order.” Admittedly, this is hardly a revolutionary finding, as the critical errors made in waging this occupation have been blatantly obvious for years now. I simply find it to be detestable and demonstrative that the Army would adhere to the administration in its desire to cover their proverbial asses. All gung-ho about sending brave men and women to the front lines to die and sheepishly cowardly when it has come to taking responsibility for this mess.
So while Donald Rumsfeld was the incompetent boor of a Defense Secretary way back then, Robert Gates has taken the American fear-mongering show on the road for a European tour. Although he insisted to the contrary, “I am not indulging in scare tactics,” Gates tried desperately and deliberately to scare European countries into supporting NATO efforts in Afghanistan by warning of the potential for more terrorist attacks. Perhaps he and his boss have failed to realize that Europeans are already quite familiar with their dirty tricks, as they pay more attention to what’s going on in America than most Americans do! It speaks measures about this administration that many of its past and present employees would be arrested and tried for war crimes if they attempt to travel to certain foreign countries. That is slightly beside the point, but the fact remains that these people MUST be held accountable for the deliberate nature of their deception and incompetence, and seemingly the only ones willing to do something are the ones Gates is trying not to scare, but……
Saturday, October 13, 2007
WOW
Gee... whyever would this story be released on a Friday evening?!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21272663/
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/13/washington/13general.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7042805.stm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/12/AR2007101202459.html?hpid=topnews
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071013/D8S83AD80.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21272663/
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/13/washington/13general.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7042805.stm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/12/AR2007101202459.html?hpid=topnews
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071013/D8S83AD80.html
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Glass Almost Half Full?
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ?SITE=INKEN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Jeez, when you've managed to control only 40% of the capital city in the country you're occupying, you KNOW it's time to start another war!
Jeez, when you've managed to control only 40% of the capital city in the country you're occupying, you KNOW it's time to start another war!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Forget the Troops... Just Arm the Sunnis Instead!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/world/middleeast/11iraq.html?em&ex=1181707200&en=a65e5d04adc68413&ei=5087%0A
In the cited article, it states that since the “four-month-old increase in American troops… only modest success” has been shown “in curbing insurgent attacks.” This seems to be an extraordinarily generous statement, if not one that is flatly inaccurate. The number of casualties among both civilian and military personnel has sharply increased since ‘the surge’ and there is certainly no sign of it decreasing or leveling off. So why might this be the case? I might argue that ‘the surge’ has incited so much more violence and general devastation because there are now considerable more American soldiers to target!
So this article goes on to outline the military plan to arm Sunnis to do battle with Al Qaeda… First thing that came to mind is just how admittedly risky this strategy is, especially considering the Sunnis have “promised” to fight. Frankly, I’m surprised it never occurred to anyone that the Sunnis may have crossed their fingers behind their backs when they made said promise!!! The second thing that came to mind is the irony in how the United States’ military can afford to fully arm Sunni Iraqis but can barely afford to arm its own troops. Now I am by no stretch of the imagination a military commander, strategist, historian, etc. thus I have no alternate idea, but this plan of action is just more of the same whimsical hooey that got us into this mess in the first place! Considering all the falsehoods that the American people were led to believe, how do we really know that “successful tests” were actually executed in Anbar Province? I’m afraid the parties concerned, especially the White House, have lost such a substantial amount of credibility that absolutely nothing can be taken at face value. But who cares about all that jazz… can you believe nothing happened in The Sopranos series finale?!
In the cited article, it states that since the “four-month-old increase in American troops… only modest success” has been shown “in curbing insurgent attacks.” This seems to be an extraordinarily generous statement, if not one that is flatly inaccurate. The number of casualties among both civilian and military personnel has sharply increased since ‘the surge’ and there is certainly no sign of it decreasing or leveling off. So why might this be the case? I might argue that ‘the surge’ has incited so much more violence and general devastation because there are now considerable more American soldiers to target!
So this article goes on to outline the military plan to arm Sunnis to do battle with Al Qaeda… First thing that came to mind is just how admittedly risky this strategy is, especially considering the Sunnis have “promised” to fight. Frankly, I’m surprised it never occurred to anyone that the Sunnis may have crossed their fingers behind their backs when they made said promise!!! The second thing that came to mind is the irony in how the United States’ military can afford to fully arm Sunni Iraqis but can barely afford to arm its own troops. Now I am by no stretch of the imagination a military commander, strategist, historian, etc. thus I have no alternate idea, but this plan of action is just more of the same whimsical hooey that got us into this mess in the first place! Considering all the falsehoods that the American people were led to believe, how do we really know that “successful tests” were actually executed in Anbar Province? I’m afraid the parties concerned, especially the White House, have lost such a substantial amount of credibility that absolutely nothing can be taken at face value. But who cares about all that jazz… can you believe nothing happened in The Sopranos series finale?!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Me and G.W.B.
I seem to have finally realized exactly who President George W. Bush reminds me of; Blogger Paul R. Weeks. When I was a high school/college student, I had an admittedly bad habit of leaving certain assignments to linger until shortly before it was due in class. In most cases, I would be given a fairly generous amount of time (slightly less than four years, though) to complete said assignment, but many people simply choose to act only at the 11th hour. The way I see it, this President and his administration have been given over four years to finish their assignment and they’re still asking for extensions.
Now we can all say that we expected so much more from a President of the United States, but expectations regarding this guy have all but fallen by the wayside. I will be the first to admit that procrastination is not a good approach in handling one’s duties, but it is slightly more understandable when the individual procrastinating is not the leader of the free world! So more foot-dragging ensues as a veritable Bush veto-fest has ensued; Cheney visits Iraq for merely the second time since the invasion and Bush has a secure, ‘closed-circuit’ video conference with Prime Minister Maliki. Moderate House Republicans have a curt discussion with the President about how the war is hurting, get this: the GOP!!! For a second I thought they were just a bunch of selfish, heartless bastards… boy was I wrong! The war certainly isn’t hurting the thousands of American families who have lost sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, etc. – it’s hurting the Republican prospects of getting elected in 2008! Who gives a damn about those poor fools anyway?! Certainly not the GOP, that’s for goddamn sure.
Now we can all say that we expected so much more from a President of the United States, but expectations regarding this guy have all but fallen by the wayside. I will be the first to admit that procrastination is not a good approach in handling one’s duties, but it is slightly more understandable when the individual procrastinating is not the leader of the free world! So more foot-dragging ensues as a veritable Bush veto-fest has ensued; Cheney visits Iraq for merely the second time since the invasion and Bush has a secure, ‘closed-circuit’ video conference with Prime Minister Maliki. Moderate House Republicans have a curt discussion with the President about how the war is hurting, get this: the GOP!!! For a second I thought they were just a bunch of selfish, heartless bastards… boy was I wrong! The war certainly isn’t hurting the thousands of American families who have lost sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, etc. – it’s hurting the Republican prospects of getting elected in 2008! Who gives a damn about those poor fools anyway?! Certainly not the GOP, that’s for goddamn sure.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Get Over It
This just in: Harry Reid has turned his back on the troops!
But seriously (?), Senator Reid should really know better than to be a realist regarding Iraq, because in reality – this war is lost! Only in GOP-fantasy land is the USA still number one, second to none, rah rah sis boom bah, etc. etc., which of course would be the ones critical of said statement.
“I can’t begin to imagine how our troops in the field, who are risking their lives every day, are going to react when they get back to base and hear that the Democrat leader of the United States Senate has declared the war is lost,” said Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/04/20/reid_says_was_is_lost_drawing_gop_rebuke/
Alright then, Senator McConnell, if you can’t imagine how our troops would react to Sen. Reid’s statement, why don’t you go over to Iraq, get some shoddy body armor, maybe score yourself a weapon, get only half the training you really need to be in combat and then tell us your reaction.
Sure, there will be a considerable number of soldiers who want to fight to the bitter end, because that’s what they’re trained to do (if they got full training to begin with). But there will likewise be a considerable number (perhaps an ever greater one) that knows and has known for some time now that this is truly a hopeless situation and that a resolution can only take place ‘through political, economic, and diplomatic means,’ (as Reid says he told President G.I. Bush).
Honestly, how good of a situation can it be over there if our troops are currently in the process of building a three-mile wall to protect a Sunni enclave in Baghdad from surrounding Shiite neighborhoods?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18227048/
Building walls is never an indication of a good situation, that is unless you’re in a highly psychedelic British rock group…
But seriously (?), Senator Reid should really know better than to be a realist regarding Iraq, because in reality – this war is lost! Only in GOP-fantasy land is the USA still number one, second to none, rah rah sis boom bah, etc. etc., which of course would be the ones critical of said statement.
“I can’t begin to imagine how our troops in the field, who are risking their lives every day, are going to react when they get back to base and hear that the Democrat leader of the United States Senate has declared the war is lost,” said Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/04/20/reid_says_was_is_lost_drawing_gop_rebuke/
Alright then, Senator McConnell, if you can’t imagine how our troops would react to Sen. Reid’s statement, why don’t you go over to Iraq, get some shoddy body armor, maybe score yourself a weapon, get only half the training you really need to be in combat and then tell us your reaction.
Sure, there will be a considerable number of soldiers who want to fight to the bitter end, because that’s what they’re trained to do (if they got full training to begin with). But there will likewise be a considerable number (perhaps an ever greater one) that knows and has known for some time now that this is truly a hopeless situation and that a resolution can only take place ‘through political, economic, and diplomatic means,’ (as Reid says he told President G.I. Bush).
Honestly, how good of a situation can it be over there if our troops are currently in the process of building a three-mile wall to protect a Sunni enclave in Baghdad from surrounding Shiite neighborhoods?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18227048/
Building walls is never an indication of a good situation, that is unless you’re in a highly psychedelic British rock group…
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Just a little EFP
For those of us who choose to pay attention to the grim daily reports broadcast from Iraq we are repeatedly told about the ‘roadside bombings’ that result in numerous casualties. While First Lady Laura Bush has made such instances sound like mere bummers in an otherwise flowery Iraqi status quo, one must admit that after hearing the phrase ‘roadside bombing’ oh so many times it begins to sound routine, especially since no American news outlets are permitted to film such brutal occurrences. This is obviously by no means coincidence that Americans must go out of their way to find footage of said bombings, and frankly not too many people want to see what happens after the cool explosion. In an article today discussing Iran’s possible involvement in supporting insurgents, The New York Times evokes powerful imagery by describing Explosively Formed Penetrators (EFPs), “a particularly deadly type of roadside bomb favored by Shiite militias in Iraq.”
“The weapons fire a semi-molten copper slug that cuts through the armor on a Humvee, then shatters inside the vehicle, creating a deadly hail of hot metal that causes especially gruesome wounds even when it does not kill.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/world/middleeast/27weapons.html?_r=1&ref=middleeast&oref=slogin
Ironically, it seems as though The Times is attempting to bolster support for continued, if not escalated hostility towards Iran (a surge, if you will). In especially implicative fashion, the header on page A11 even goes so far as to read: “THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ: Lethal Assistance” (italics mine, bold The Times’). So, whoever could the ever impartial Times be referring to that may or may not be providing pernicious aid?
On an entirely unrelated subject, my previous blog entry regarding Iranian forces capturing of 15 British sailors has made a splash in the news, but not nearly enough of one especially considering the implications such actions might have. All the while back on the home front, the fortunate sons and daughters of the House and Senate continue to do battle over money and the dreaded timeline, with the former chalking up a not entirely convincing victory on Friday. Then yesterday, like the cowardly little man-child he is, Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell (R-KY), stated that he was not going to bother trying to block the proposed bill because his Little Big Daddy Bush will simply veto it. How glad I am that Republicans have gotten over their childish ways of the past! ‘I don’t wanna! I’m gonna tell on you! My daddy can beat up your daddy! Gimme back my House and Senate!’
“[This is] not surprising from a White House that has stubbornly refused to change course even in the face of dwindling support from American people whose sons and daughters are dying” said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070327/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq
Perhaps the real reason McConnell pretends to be so coy is because when all is said and done, Little Biggie will have already pushed his GI Joes into yet another unwinable battle front, only this time there will really and truly be no more do-overs.
“The weapons fire a semi-molten copper slug that cuts through the armor on a Humvee, then shatters inside the vehicle, creating a deadly hail of hot metal that causes especially gruesome wounds even when it does not kill.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/world/middleeast/27weapons.html?_r=1&ref=middleeast&oref=slogin
Ironically, it seems as though The Times is attempting to bolster support for continued, if not escalated hostility towards Iran (a surge, if you will). In especially implicative fashion, the header on page A11 even goes so far as to read: “THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ: Lethal Assistance” (italics mine, bold The Times’). So, whoever could the ever impartial Times be referring to that may or may not be providing pernicious aid?
On an entirely unrelated subject, my previous blog entry regarding Iranian forces capturing of 15 British sailors has made a splash in the news, but not nearly enough of one especially considering the implications such actions might have. All the while back on the home front, the fortunate sons and daughters of the House and Senate continue to do battle over money and the dreaded timeline, with the former chalking up a not entirely convincing victory on Friday. Then yesterday, like the cowardly little man-child he is, Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell (R-KY), stated that he was not going to bother trying to block the proposed bill because his Little Big Daddy Bush will simply veto it. How glad I am that Republicans have gotten over their childish ways of the past! ‘I don’t wanna! I’m gonna tell on you! My daddy can beat up your daddy! Gimme back my House and Senate!’
“[This is] not surprising from a White House that has stubbornly refused to change course even in the face of dwindling support from American people whose sons and daughters are dying” said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070327/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq
Perhaps the real reason McConnell pretends to be so coy is because when all is said and done, Little Biggie will have already pushed his GI Joes into yet another unwinable battle front, only this time there will really and truly be no more do-overs.
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