Sunday, September 02, 2007

Wasted money in the Green Zone

In the New York Times this morning, James Glanz confesses (in "Civilian Death Toll Falls in Baghdad but Rises Across Iraq") to just how much money -- stockholders pay attention -- the paper has wasted in Iraq (villas don't come cheap, nor did the heady days of Burnsie and Dexy living it up in the Green Zone). In fact, careful readers who own stock should be screaming their heads off.

The Times has spent a fortune in Iraq with little to show for it and that's underscored when Glanz cites "statstics" that were put together by AP and Reuters. These statistics chiefly come from government sources each day. And McClatchy Newspapers also compiles, for the record. But where's the New York Times? Why is the paper that sunk so much money into Iraq unable (with all their staff) to compile their own figures?

Possibly because the US government frowns on it?

So the statistics indicate that violence dropped a little in Baghdad while it rose elsewhere. Some, such as US military hack Lt. Col. Chris Garver, want to shout from the roof tops that the escalation is working. That indicates no such thing. To make that claim, you have to look the Iraqi people in the eye and say, "You're safety means nothing to us. We only care about the puppet government in Baghdad." Along with doing that, you also have to admit that the Iraqi government did nothing in August. They were (and still are until Monday) on vacation. So what was that? Bad planning on the part of the US administration?

Nothing's been accomplished. Nothing will be accomplished. It's an illegal war and the Iraqis want US forces to leave.

David E. Sanger tells readers that the US government is finding ways that allow them to, in the words of an unnamed official, "circumvent Maliki." The chosen (and supported by the US) puppet now must be circumvented. That's one more sign of the lack of 'progress' in Iraq.

Puppet Nouri al-Maliki is again in a tizzy and AP reports:

He added that critics are sending "negative messages that encourage terrorism."
"Maybe they don't know the size of the destruction that Iraq passed through and the big role of the Iraqi government and its achievements such as stopping the civil and sectarian war," al-Maliki said.
During an interview broadcast Sunday by Iraqi state television, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker also urged patience with the Iraqis as they try to reach power-sharing agreements among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.
"After 35 years of injustice under Saddam Hussein, there are some problems since liberation and the problems of 40 years cannot be solved in a year or two," Crocker said, speaking in Arabic. "What is important is that there is progress."
A draft report still under review at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad includes allegations that the al-Maliki government is riddled with corruption and has, in some cases, sought to derail or prevent investigations into alleged graft by Shiite-controlled agencies or allied officials, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the findings.
The draft report by the Office of Accountability and Transparency has yet to be reviewed by senior diplomats who are members of an anti-corruption group or by Crocker, who along with top commander Gen. David Petraeus is due to report to Congress during the week of Sept. 10.

The Los Angeles Times offers a timeline for what's coming up regarding Iraq reports and has Crocker and Petreaus testifying (as Ron Jacobs pointed out over a week or two ago) on September 11th. But understand, the administration isn't try to trick the public, they aren't, they honestly, honestly, honestly aren't.

The following community sites have updated since Friday morning:

Rebecca's Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude;
Cedric's Cedric's Big Mix;Kat's Kat's Korner;
Betty's Thomas Friedman is a Great Man;
Mike's Mikey Likes It!;
Elaine's Like Maria Said Paz;
Wally's The Daily Jot;
and Trina's Trina's Kitchen


New content at The Third Estate Sunday Review:

Truest statement of the week
A Note to Our Readers
Editorial: Impeach
TV: The Soggy Katrina retrospectives
How Not To Stage A Rally
A Day in Dallas and time wasted at Parkland
The GOP's new Larry Craig Diet
10 CDs
Things to Watch
Highlights

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com and Isaiah's comic should go up next but I'm passing that off to a friend because we have to catch a plane. "Runaway Bully" is the title and if it's not up by the time we land, I'll post it tonight.











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