Saturday, January 19, 2008

Counting remains hard for Rubin

Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldier was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations north of Baghdad Jan. 18."


In the New York Times today, Alissa J. Rubin contributes a really bad article. Among other groaners is her claim that yesterday's armed clashes "more than 40 people dead." Yes, it was 'more than forty.' 80 is indeed more than 40. In fact, it's twice forty. Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) is able to count:

Members of an obscure messianic cult fought pitched battles Friday with Iraqi security forces in two southern cities, leaving at least 80 people dead, injuring scores and spreading panic among worshipers marking Shiite Islam's holiest holiday.

Counting has never been Rubin's strong suite as we've repeatedly noted here. Later in the article she will claim that the number of corpses discovered in Baghdad "has dropped to about three after months of dozens being found." "About three"? Three is not the average. Exactly what math system was Rubin trained in?

Rubin does report on an official, Maowaffak al-Rubaie, being cornered in Baghdad and how he pled to al-Maliki for help and the thugs from the Interior Ministry were sent to the mosque he'd been cornered in. By the way, al-Rbuaie's title? National Security Adviser. Condi would probably explain it away with, "No one could have guessed." The National Security Adviser of the puppet government gets trapped but let's all pretend that's a functioning government with support of the Iraqi people.

Rubin would do well to study how Zavis' notes the Soldiers of Heaven's past public history in US reports:

Last January, U.S. and Iraqi forces fought and killed hundreds of members of the Soldiers of Heaven, a messianic group they alleged was plotting attacks on the Shiite religious leadership in Najaf. The group's leader, Dhyaa Abdul-Zahra, claimed to be Mahdi and was killed in the fighting.

Rubin runs with the questionable past reports of the New York Times instead. It's a really bad article and one that may have gone through many drafts because it makes for a very awkward read just in terms of construction. (It runs on A6 so most will miss it.) That's a real shame because al-Sadr's announced (via a spokesperson) he's considering calling off the truce/freeze and you've got another Shi'ite bloc leader calling out the inaction of the puppet government.



Rubin can take comfort in the fact that a syndicated piece of drivel by another Rubin (war cheerleader Trudy) will probably be more noticed and provide more laughter. Long after the illegal war has ended, Trudy Rubin will still be distorting it and


Meanwhile, Pete Yost (AP) reports:


Apparent gaps in White House e-mail archives coincide with dates in late 2003 and early 2004 when the administration was struggling to deal with the CIA leak investigation and the possibility of a congressional probe into Iraq intelligence failures.
The gaps 473 days over a period of 20 months are cited in a chart prepared by White House computer technicians and shared in September with the House Reform and Government Oversight Committee, which has been looking into reports of missing e-mail.

Remember IVAW is organizing a March 2008 DC event:

In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.
Click here to sign a statement of support for Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan

March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'."

Also in the Times is a report on Paul Slough who was involved in the slaughter of innocent Iraqis September 16th in Baghdad. From Ginger Thompson's "From Texas to Iraq, and Center of Blackwater Case :"

Initial investigations by the Pentagon, the F.B.I. and the Iraqi government found no evidence to support Mr. Slough's account -- no car bombs, no signs of enemy fire or insurgents. The F.B.I. concluded that at least 14 of the 17 fatal shootings had been unjustified, saying Blackwater guards had recklessly violated American rules for the use of lethal force. Military investigators went further, saying all the deaths were unjustified and potentially criminal. Iraqi authorities characterized the shootings as "deliberate murder."
Mr. Slough's lawyer, Mark Hulkower, said security contractors in Iraq work in "an extraordinarily challenging environment, where the enemy does not wear uniforms, unless disguised as Iraqi soldiers or police to exploit civilians."

They aren't contractors, they are mecenaries.

NOW on PBS began airing in most markets last night. If it's already aired in your area, you can stream online:

With the primary season underway, America is focused on whether the next president will be Democrat or Republican. Meanwhile, within the Democratic Party another struggle is unfolding. NOW on PBS reports on a rift between progressives who believe the party has sold out its liberal values and centrists eager to capture a broad swath of the more conservative voters. It's a struggle that is taking place at all levels of government.
In Maryland, six-term incumbent Al Wynn is facing a tough challenge from newcomer Donna Edwards. According to Edwards, Wynn has sold out to big business and the Bush agenda, including a vote for the war in Iraq and the 2005 energy bill. Wynn says his challenger is naïve and doesn't understand that there are choices in politics between compromise and doing nothing.


The following community sites have updated since yesterday 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;
Trina's Trina's Kitchen;
and Ruth's Ruth's Report


The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.































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Friday, January 18, 2008

Iraq snapshot

Friday, January 17, 2007.  Chaos and violence continue, the illegal war keeps going (and gets extended?), John Edwards addresses the realities of Ronald Reagan, and more.
 
Starting with war resisters, Courage to Resist has posted a number of interviews with war resisters.  Today we'll focus on their interview with Brandon Hughey who spoke of how he turned against the illegal war, advised his superior of it and finally took matters into his own hands by checking out from Fort Hood for 28 days (starting in January 2004) "to see if maybe they would boot me out.  Once I go AWOL and once I show that I'm not a 'good soldier' maybe they'd just boot me out.  So I came back in 28 days, instead of kicking me out of the army they said, 'We're glad to have you back. We're going to give you extra duty and dock your pay. But I suggest you pack your backs and start getting ready to go to Iraq.'  So basically that idea I had backfired.  I had tried to get myself booted out and even that didn't work.  So at that point, I began to feel like I was trapped.  There was no way out."
 
Courage to Resist: And none of your superiors ever informed you of Conscientious Objector status?
 
Brandon Hughey: No, I had never even heard of that.  I didn't even know that existed until I after I came to Canada.
 
Courage to Resist: So you were told to get ready to ship out to Iraq after being AWOL for 28 days?  What did you do then?
 
Brandon Hughey: Basically, I began to think of what other options I had to get out of the military.  You know, I couldn't really think of anything.  I tried going AWOL and coming back, at that point I just felt trapped.  I had remembered that tens of thousands of people had come up -- during Vietnam -- had come up to Canada and I thought at the time, 'Maybe as a last resort option I could leave the country?" And so I kept that in the back of my mind and when I realized that, you know, there didn't seem like any other way I could get out I began to feel like, "Okay, leaving the country is an option." So, at that point, I began to make plans to go to Canada.
 
Courage to Resist:  How did you prepare yourself to make this huge decision?
 
Brandon Hughey:  I was just going to pack my bags and drive myself there -- try to set aside whatever money I could and hopefully have enough to get myself started in a new life and a new country.  I really didn't have much a plan because I didn't know what I was getting myself into.   And that was pretty much it.
 
Courage to Resist: And when did you actually make the move?
 
Brandon Hughey: I came up in March of 2004, when I arrived. 
 
Courage to Resist: Did you make contact right away with anybody with the War Resisters Support Campaign or any other resisters.
 
Brandon Hughey: Well the War Resisters Support Campaign hadn't been formed yet when I arrived.  But I was staying with a Quaker family for a few months when I first arrived.  So the Quaker community did a lot and they, you know, they did a lot to support me.  That was really my first support network when I came to Canada. 
 
Courage to Resist's audio interviews are part of their ongoing Audio Project.
 
A number of war resisters have gone to Canada and attempted to be granted asylum.
November 15th, the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear the appeals of  war resisters Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey.  Parliament is the solution.Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use. Both War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist are calling for actions from January 24-26.  The War Resisters Support Campaign has more on the action in Canada:
 
The War Resisters Support Campaign has called a pan-Canadian mobilization on Saturday, January 26th, 2008 to ensure :
1) that deportation proceedings against U.S. war resisters currently in Canada cease immediately; and 2) that a provision be enacted by Parliament ensuring that U.S. war resisters refusing to fight in Iraq have a means to gain status in Canada.
For listings of local actions, see our Events page. If you are able to organize a rally in your community, contact the Campaign -- we will list events as details come in.
 
 
Join and support January 25 vigils and delegations in support of U.S. war resisters currently seeking sanctuary Canada. Actions are being planned in Washington D.C., New York, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Supporters will meet with officials at Canadian Consulates across the United States in order underscore that many Americans hope that the Canadian Parliament votes (possible as early as February) in favor of a provision to allow war resisters to remain. Download and distribute Jan. 25-26 action leaflet (PDF).
Supporting the war resisters in Canada is a concrete way to demonstrate your support of the troops who refuse to fight. Help end the war by supporting the growing GI resistance movement today!
Organize a delegation to a Canadian Consulate near you .
Host an event or house-party in support of war resisters.
 
 
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.



Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
 
 

 
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.

 
March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'."
 
And the war drags on and on.  Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) pieces together several press conferences to explain, "Gates and top uniformed officers sketched out a plan that runs counter to pledges by Democratic presidential contenders to bring about a rapid drawdown of the U.S. military presence in Iraq" and cites Lt. General Raymond Odierno (the number two) declaring that it "could be five to 10 years" that the US forces remain in Iraq.  Ann Scott Tyson (Washington Post) observes, "Senior U.S. military officials projected yesterday that the Iraqi army and police will grow to an estimated 580,000 members by the end of the year but that shortages of key personnel, equipment, weaponry and logistical capabilities mean that Iraq's security forces will probably require U.S. military support for as long as a decade."  Julian E. Barnes (Los Angeles Times) reminds, "Iraq's defense minister, Abdul-Qader Mohammed Jassim Mifarji, has said Iraqi forces will not be able to assume responsibility for internal security until 2012 or be able to defend the country's borders before 2019."
 
In the face of that, the alleged 'anti-war groups' cave again.  They aren't anti-war groups, they aren't peace groups.  They are Win Without War and all the other useless groups that do nothing to end the illegal war. Nothing the reports of the cave, PR Watch explains that "Ryan Grim reports that the biggest and best-funded organizations in the liberal peace movement, primarily MoveOn and the groups in its Americans Against Escalation in Iraq (AAEI) coalition, are no longer advocating that Congress end the war. This year "the groups instead will lower their sights and push for legislation to prevent President Bush from entering into a long-term agreement with the Iraqi government that could keep significant numbers of troops in Iraq for years to come. ... The groups believe this switch in strategy can draw contrasts with Republicans that will help Democrats gain ground in November." AAEI's PR spokesperson, Moira Mack of Hildebrand Tewes Consulting, called it "the perfect legislative opportunity." In other words, as Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber pointed out last March, for MoveOn and other Democrat-aligned peace groups it's not about ending the war, it's about electing Democrats. Most of the tens of millions of dollars that MoveOn and AAEI have spent lobbying and organizing for "peace" has been directed at pressuring and embarrassing pro-war Republicans, while the Democratic Congress has continued to fund the war and pro-war Democrats have generally been given a pass."  All those 'groups' have to offer is silent vigils and online petitions.  And we've seen serveral years before.
 
A rude comment on IVAW comes from a surprising online source.  We're not linking to it.  We're not linking to that site while it's up.  (The same way all the ones lying about Gloria Steinem aren't being linked to.  See The Third Estate Sunday Review for a piece tentatively titled "Hey Little Girl Are You All Alone, Did You Go and Leave Your Brain at Home" dedicated to the Mud Flap Gals and all the other useless play-feminists online who never thought they needed to educated themselves on any topic before weighing in.)   IVAW is being slammed for not allowing an event that marks the anniversary of the illegal war.  Buy a clue, idiots, IVAW's Winter Soldier Investigation ends before the anniversary.  But apparently, the 5th anniversary of the illegal war can't be marked if it can't be done on a weekend.  Apparently, we're supposed to have "5th Anniversary of the Illegal War" observed and then, during the week, the actual date?
 
It's too damn bad that there are some hurt feelings and people whining and carping about IVAW.  IVAW isn't preventing anyone from doing anything.  They have planned the Winter Soldiers' Investigation and the dates are March 13th through March 16th.  You have to be really STUPID not to grasp that the 5th anniversay of the illegal war is AFTER the Winter Soldiers' Investigation.  IVAW's Kelly Dougherty observes:
 
As we enter 2008, please stop for a moment and consider where we are now, and where we are going. In just over a year, America will have a new President. We will have endured a year of campaign commercials and attack ads. We'll have watched debates devoid of any real discussion of the withdrawal from Iraq that a growing number of Americans now call for. We'll have waited, for yet another year, for our leaders to find a way to say what we know in our hearts: we must leave Iraq.        
But what will have changed in the next year that will make that happen?
We must face this fact: we run the serious risk that one year from today we'll be right where we are now, but with another year's worth of casualties, a year's worth of grieving families, a year's worth of Iraqi anger and suffering built on our  occupation of a country we now know was no threat to us. Ending this war in a year is different than ending it now, just as ending it now is different than ending it a year ago, or a year before that. There is a price to pay for every day that we wait. 
 
She's exactly right.  And in 2004, we saw the peace movement shut down shop because the most important thing wasn't ending the illegal war, it was 'elections!'  The peace movement can't make the same mistake in 2008.  If people have hurt little feelings, too damn bad.  Too much time has been wasted with the peace movement wasting their energies on the John Kerry presidential bid or the Democrats 2006 Congressional races.  People in the peace movement will most likely favor a candidate on their own.  That's to be expected.  But the peace movement is not a get-out-the-vote movement nor should it be hijacked (willingly or not) by political parties.        
 
IVAW is not the only thing happening in DC.  March for Peace exists around it and blocks out the 13th through the 16th for IVAW.  Possibly, those whining online about IVAW don't believe students matter and that's why they flaunt their ignorance of March for Peace?  You can find their schedule here.     
 
CBS and AP report that Turkey is declaring that they "bombed nearly 60 Kurdish rebel targets in an attack this week in northern Iraq."  Christian Peacemaker Teams have protested noting that the bombings -- as with all ariel bombings including the ones the US is doing in Iraq -- are indiscriminate and targeting civilians.
 
In other reported violence . . .
 
Bombings? 
 
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad bombing that claimed 2 lives and left four wounded, a Baquba home bombing left 2 police officers dead and two more wounded while another Baquba home bombing claimed the lives of 2 children and four adults wounded.
 
Shootings?
 
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an armed clash in Basra that left at least two soldiers injured, three Iraqi police officers injured and an unknown number of civilians injured while Dr. Luma Salih was shot dead in a seperate incident as she left the hospital, a Wajihiyah armed clash left 2 police officers dead and three more wounded, 8 people were shot dead in Kirkuk and  a Nasriyah Province clash in which 9 people were killed and at least forty wounded.
 
Corpses?
 
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 corpses discovered in Baghdad and 3 in Diyala Province.  Reuters reports 7 corpses "were found after one" US "air strike in the town of Riyadh".
 
In US political news, the Green Party has scheduled another presidential candidate forum for February 2nd at Busboys & Poets in DC (14th and V Streets) at ten in the morning -- Jesse Johnson and Kent Mesplay are confirmed to appear others may or may not.  More info click here.  They've also created a new webpage for videos with the San Francisco forum held Sunday already on it and plans for more videos to be added.  The Green Party's official blog can be found here and certainly if it's happening and known Kimberly Wilder (On The Wilder Side) is probably posting about it. In Democratic presidential politics, Shailagh Murraqy (Washington Post) quotes John Edwards response to Barack Obama's praise of Ronald Reagan (see yesterday's snapshot): "When you think about what Ronald Reagan did to the American people, to the middle class to the working people.  He was openly -- openly -- intolerant of unions and the right to organize.  He openly fought against the union and the organized labor movement in this country . . . He openly did extraordinary damage to the middle class and working people, created a tax structure that favored the very wealthiest Americans and caused the middle class and working people to struggle every single day.  The destruction of the environment, you know, eliminating regulation of companies that were polluting and doing extraordinary damage to the environment.  I can promise you this: thie president will never use Ronald Reagan as an example of change."
 
This MLK weekend, PBS'  Bill Moyers Journal includes an essay by Moyers (who served in the Johnson White House) reflecting on history and present day -- in addition, he speaks with the New York Times David Cay Johnston about the truths regarding taxation and spending. In most markets, that airs tonight.  It will stream online and provide transcripts and audio.
 

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
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Other Items

For the second time in two days, a suicide bomber struck outside a Shiite mosque in Diyala Province north of Baghdad on Thursday, as worshipers prepared for one of the most important days in the Shiite calendar. The police and witnesses said at least 11 people were killed.

That's the opening paragraph to Stephen Farrell's reports on some of yesterday's violence, in this morning's New York Times, entitled "11 Die in Attack on a Shiite Mosque in Iraq." At McClatchy Newspapers, Leila Fadel explains the religious festival Ashura and speaks with Iraqis hopeful that it won't be marred by violence. However, Reuters is already reporting:

Iraqi police clashed with gunmen from a Shi'ite cult who staged a series of hit-and-run raids in two southern cities on Friday, security officials said.
Witnesses in Iraq's southern oil hub of Basra and Nassiriya said at least four people may have been killed in the violence, in which gunmen were reported to be using heavy machineguns and mortars.
The clashes came as religious observations for the annual Ashura festival, one of the holiest events in the Shi'ite Muslim religious calendar, approached their peak across southern Iraq.

Over at The Baltimore Sun, journalism takes a holiday as Frank James swipes from a 'news' source to both 'cover' and slime the peace movement. Let's all quit calling these faux peace groups "peace groups." Win Without War does what exactly?

Not a damn thing. Never has never will. And they're only one of the three losers being hailed as a peace group. Council for a Livable World? Yeah, they've inspired the country for the last few years, right? (That was sarcasm.) These are the phony 'anti-war' groups that always rush to sell out the movement. They aren't leaders, they don't have any real members they can call on, but they sure do eat up a lot of press time. They're like two little boys from the Brookings Institute -- you know the two meant -- who rush out whenever it's time to sell something.

Not peace, they never sell peace. But they're always there to sell out the peace movement. And they're always hailed as realistic and treated as though they're CODEPINK or some other group on the front lines offering real leadership.

They're an online creation existing solely to provide cover for the Democratic Party and no one outside of the MSM press thinks they're a part of the peace movement. They do, however, prevent the real peace movement from being heard since the MSM repeatedly goes to these worthless 'organizations' which couldn't fill a back booth in Georgetown let alone create a significant march down Pennsylvania Avenue. Well it feeds their egos and it allows the peace movement to defocus on a bunch of gas bags who always preach 'realism.' They clamp down on objections to the illegal war and work to lower outrage. That's not the peace movement. That is a phony front that needs to stop attempting to pass themselves off as anything other than an online creation.

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.




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The illegal war just got longer

Gates and top uniformed officers sketched out a plan that runs counter to pledges by Democratic presidential contenders to bring about a rapid drawdown of the U.S. military presence in Iraq. One candidate, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, called for the withdrawal of nearly all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of 2009.
Gates and the uniformed military leadership said a smaller U.S. presence will be needed for the foreseeable future to provide support for Iraqi forces. They didn't go as far as Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., however, who says that U.S. troops may be stationed in Iraq for decades or even a century.
"We'll have some people here, if the government of Iraq wants it, for some period of time. That could be five to 10 years. But it will not be at the levels we're at now. I don't believe that that will be necessary," said Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Iraq, during a teleconference from Baghdad.
He said the support could include U.S. air power for five to 10 years, close air support for ground operations, helicopters and "an appropriate number of ground forces that go along with that." Odierno gave no figure for the ground forces, saying "that will be dictated by the situation on the ground."

The above is from Nancy A. Youssef's "Despite dropping violence, Gates calls for extended U.S. presence in Iraq" (McClatchy Newspapers) breaking the ugly truth that independent media may or may not find the time to address today. Ann Scott Tyson's "Iraq May Need Military Help for Years, Officials Say" (Washington Post) covers the same theme:

Senior U.S. military officials projected yesterday that the Iraqi army and police will grow to an estimated 580,000 members by the end of the year but that shortages of key personnel, equipment, weaponry and logistical capabilities mean that Iraq's security forces will probably require U.S. military support for as long as a decade.
"The truth is that they simply cannot fix, supply, arm or fuel themselves completely enough at this point," said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. James Dubik, head of the Multi-National Security Transition Command in Iraq.
[. . .]
Iraqi security forces now consist of nearly 500,000 personnel, after a 55 percent increase in the size of the Iraqi army over the past year, Dubik said. The Iraqi government envisions increasing that number to 580,000 by the end of 2008, with an ultimate goal of building a force of as many as 640,000, he said.
Part of the rapid growth, however, has resulted not from additional recruits but because the Iraqi government has placed other existing security forces under the oversight of the ministries of defense and interior, Dubik said. In addition, the latest count is based on Iraqi government data rather than on U.S. military data, a change detailed in a Pentagon report released last month.

While those two papers offer reality, others are less fortunate. Thom Shanker apparently was forced to wear a blindfold to a press briefing and can't find his way back. It's a really bad article and embarrassing for the New York Times which usually is all over the "Officials said . . . . and then they said . . . And then another said . . ." beat. Over at the Los Angeles Times, Julie Through the Gasbags buries his own lede and even his context comes late:

Iraq's defense minister, Abdul-Qader Mohammed Jassim Mifarji, has said Iraqi forces will not be able to assume responsibility for internal security until 2012 or be able to defend the country's borders before 2019.

However Julian Barnes does at least provide humor. Read the above again and then get ready for the punchline: "But Odierno said that with U.S. help, the Iraqi forces could be ready sooner."
Well, if they couldn't amuse themselves . . . they'd amuse no one.

Meanwhile so-called peace groups rush in to wave the white flag because they've never been about anything but turning out the Democratic vote. But we'll get to them in the next entry.

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.









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Thursday, January 17, 2008

I Hate The War

"When you think about what Ronald Reagan did to the American people, to the middle class to the working people," former Sen. John Edwards shot back at an event in Henderson, Nevada. "He was openly -- openly-- intolerant of unions and the right to organize. He openly fought against the union and the organized labor movement in this country...He openly did extraordinary damage to the middle class and working people, created a tax structure that favored the very wealthiest Americans and caused the middle class and working people to struggle every single day. The destruction of the environment, you know, eliminating regulation of companies that were polluting and doing extraordinary damage to the environment."
Edwards added, "I can promise you this: this president will never use Ronald Reagan as an example for change."

Carlton asked that we open with the above. It's from Shailagh Murray's "Obama's Reagan Comparison Sparks Debate" (Washington Post). He asked that his points be summarized. (They could be quoted, he's very clear in his statements.) Like Mike and Wally (and Cedric before Cedric decided to support Hillary Clinton -- I believe Cedric announced that decision two weeks ago), Carlton's just been waiting for Edwards to do or say anything that indicated he was running for president (and not vice president). He's waited for Edwards to stand up to Bambi the way he has to Hillary. He's waited repeatedly and seen nothing. He's very hopeful that the above represents a turning point for the Edwards' campaign. Carlton's a Democrat from a family of Democrats. He's voting in South Carolina's Democratic primary and the candidate he wants to support is John Edwards. He feels closest to Edwards in terms of economics and the illegal war when Edwards bothers to address the latter. (That's a summary, not my editorial point.) But he can't vote for Edwards if Edwards can't stand up to Obama. So he's really hopeful that this is a turning point for the Edwards campaign and asks that if anyone's considering voting in a Democratic primary, they please watch Edwards over the next few days to see if he continues to act like he's running for president. He says if Edwards keep it up, he'll vote for him but otherwise, Hillary's going to get his vote.

If a Mike Gravel supporter wants to be summarized, e-mail and let me know. (That only applies to community members.) Carlton was in a panic because it was too late to make the gina & krista round-robin and he really wanted the above noted.

A visitor wanted to know, "What does it matter if Obama praises Reagan?" Anyone running for the Republican nomination should probably give lip service to the myth of Great Reagan. In the Democratic Party?

No.

Reagan's history (glossed over at obit time) is well known. Barack Obama is not twenty-years-old. He's allegedly mature. He's old enough to know better. This is one more time where he holds up the ideal to the nation and, to no surprise, his ideal turns out to be someone from the Republican Party. He has to search so far and wide for someone praise worthy that he rushes off to the Republican Party? It also needs to be noted that it's more than one video clip. Other clips have now been released and he's actually praising Reagan in more than just 'communication.' Was he 'communicating' well when he decided to 'honor' Bitzburg with a visit to a cementary where members of the Nazi's SS were buried? Is that the kind of 'communicating' Bambi is enthralled with? Was he 'communicating' well when he lied about Iran-Contra, when he fought to continue apartheid in South Africa?

There is nothing praise worthy in Reagan. Allowing that some feel they can't say anything bad at the time of a death is one thing. It's another thing all these years later to find Obama comparing Reagan to various presidents (including at least one Democrat) and feeling a closer affinity with Ronald Reagan.

Either Obama supports denying MLK recognition, apartheid, homophobia, death squads in Central America and 'honoring' the SS or else he really is just as stupid as so many fear. Or maybe he's such a supreme suck up to the right ("Be a Democrat for a Day" in Nevada and vote for Bambi!) that he'll say anything. What you're left with is someone with a lack of knowledge, a lack of skill (though I'm sure his remarks were pleasing to his intended audience) and who panders to the extreme. Unless, of course, he really does support what Reagan stood for. If so, he's in the wrong primary.

It's really amazing because the Democratic primary could have been about something. It could have been about the illegal war, it could have been the economy, any number of issues. But instead The Nation magazine, Democracy Now! and so many other allegedly 'left' and allegedly 'independent' outlets decided to make it about The Selling of Barack. They spent months and months doing "You can go to potty, Bambi. Come on little fellow, you can do it!" pieces instead of holding his feet to the fire. Of course, the reality is that they weren't just being nice to a newcomer. They were actively in his camp. That's obvious, in the case of Democracy Now!, by who was allowed to speak and who wasn't and by how.

Here's all The Selling of Barack did: Raise a spoiled child who took everything for granted. The Democratic Party isn't good enough for him and he knows he can insult Tom Hayden and assorted others and get away with it. He knows he can put homophobia on stage in South Carolina because he did that and the alleged 'left' and alleged 'independent' media gave him a pass. There were never any standards he had to meet. There was no 'curfew' imposed upon him. He was allowed to run free as he pleased with indulgent 'parents' applauding anything he did. And now they're stuck with the fact that they 'raised' a spoiled brat who thinks he's better than them and that the party he's running from is beneath him.

When you think about the hate (and it is hate) that they've hurled at Bill Clinton -- a former president -- they've made it clear that Bambi is their favorite and he can do no wrong. Which is how he thought he could get away with that telling facial expression and snide remark in the New Hampshire debate. It's how he's thought he could get away with trashing his own party and throwing people like Tom Hayden under the bus.

Tom Hayden's not perfect, Bill Clinton even less so. But Barack's like the spoiled brats in Mildred Pierce and Stella Dallas, embarrassed by the party he supposedly wants to represent, quick to ditch them and move to the 'other side.'

They refused to hold him accountable for anything. Now you've got an out of control child who thinks he can spit on his 'parents' and they're the ones who should be handling his latest public tantrum. But, if you check, they're all missing in action.

The Nation's off on Bill Clinton again tonight. Amy Goodman minimized the statement this morning. (And anyone who wants to argue that should research her guests list today.) Where's Robert Parry? Robert Parry's written how many books about the Reagan era, how many columns? Now his little prince is praising Reagan. Where's Parry?

Like Mildred, they'll probably attempt to take the fall for their spoiled brat. Right now, however, they're letting him hurl himself to the floor at the checkout lane and throw an embarrassing tantrum. There are, apparently, no grown ups in independent media (or 'independent' media).

Bambi got a pass from Big Media throughout, no question. And check Ava and my TV pieces during the writers' strike and you'll come across one MSM journalist after another going on a chat and chew and admitting that's the case. But independent media was supposed to be independent. That means they weren't supposed to enlist in a campaign.

That means they weren't supposed to sign up with one party. But who's profiled Cynthia McKinney? Has Amy Goodman bothered to interview her since McKinney declared she was running for the Green Party nomination? No. But isn't that an interesting story. McKinney leaves the Democratic Party and is running for the Green Party nomination for president.

At least Goodman covered, recently, the Ralph Nader ballot issue. It's cute to watch supposed 'left' supposed 'journalists' talk about Nevada and 'ballot access' and all that other nonsense while they go to town on Bill Clinton after they stayed silent on Nader (in 2004 and now).

Little Media should have been raising the issue of the illegal war but didn't they all avoid that. They should have been doing their part -- especially since they all can't stop taking bows for 2003. Maybe what they really love about Bambi is that he made a statement in 2002 and then ran away from the illegal war -- not unlike 'independent' media. Maybe that's what they really identified with?

Here's some reality for the print division, their attacks on the Clintons aren't playing well. Here's some reality for the broadcast division, they have standards they are supposed to follow and one of them is telling you when a guest is supporting a candidate. They haven't bothered to do that. And there's actually another aspect to that which will be saved for Sunday. They've rigged the system. They're not allowed to do that.

They embedded into one campaign while claiming to be 'independent.' The reality is that they are no better than the MSM and their critiques of Judith Miller (they never really got around to Dexy Filkins, did they?) can be turned right back on them.

There was never any reason to make the 2008 elections the biggest story of 2007 but if they were going to waste all of our time, they could have used their 'power' to push. Instead, the best we got was a plea to dump Richard Dailey. Yeah, that'll happen.

They disgaraced themselves repeatedly and relegated the Iraq War to a footnote.

The same little media that never bothered to tell the story of Abeer suddenly ran as fast as they could from war resisters and all topics war related. It would be poetic justice if their pet project, buidling up one candidate, exploded in their faces as he revealed just how petulant, empty and bratty he was. But even then, they'd try to ignore it and, after, make a few excuses.

He is the candidate they 'raised' him to be.

And by ignoring the illegal war, they've allowed it to continue. But what's a few more dead Iraqis or US service members? Isn't it more important to run a fan club? Especially a fan club that might get someone in the White House! They were drunk with the hope that if they all worked hard and coordinated their efforts, they could 'make' a president. The Selling of Barack is the untold story of 2007 and may continue to be that of 2008.

They have repeatedly embarrassed themselves. Hillary wins New Hampshire and they rush out their dopey, embarrassing columns: "Hillary didn't win. If you add John Edwards and Bambi together, they won!" If you add Hillary and John Edwards together, they 'won' Iowa. Common sense and journalism met the axe as they went out of their way to distort reality over and over. Including claiming that Hillary's Michigan win wasn't a 'win' because "uncommitted" got X%. Hillary won it and won it despite the fact that Edwards and Obama told their supporters to vote "uncommitted." It's not like Hillary toured the state. She won. You can lie as much as you want, but she won.

Now Bambi might have 'grown up' to be all that they hoped, if they'd called him out along the way. If they'd held him accountable.

But maybe the illegal war would be over now if they hadn't decided The Selling of Barack was more important than any other issue?

Kat notes a really bad article tonight (she's not praising it) and the faux peace groups are yet again compromising on their demands regarding the illegal war -- compromising with the Democratic Party. That's what happens when you're more vested in elections than in ending the illegal war. That's what happens when the peace movement, or 'peace movement,' confuses itself with the Democratic Party.

It's over, I'm done writing songs about love
There's a war going on
So I'm holding my gun with a strap and a glove
And I'm writing a song about war
And it goes
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Oh oh oh oh
-- "I Hate The War" (written by Greg Goldberg, on The Ballet's Mattachine!)

Last Thursday, ICCC's number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war was 3921. Tonight? 3926. Just Foreign Policy's total for the number of Iraqis killed since the start of the illegal war was 1,165,204 and now stands at 1,168,058.

Last year, Howard Zinn asked "Are We Politicians or Citizens?" and it struck a huge chord with readers. Apparently none of those readers were in independent media since he provided the framework independent media should have been operating under. How different things might be today if they'd applied it.

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.










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Iraq snapshot

Thursday, January 17, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, the air war more deadly (and more illegal), X-Men's Rogue continues to provide laughter in the 2008 presidential race, and more.
 
Starting with war resistance.  Today Dee Knight (Workers World) explores an upcoming event and notes war resister Camilo Mejia
 
Mejia spent nine months in military prison from May 2004 to February 2005 for refusing to return to Iraq after his first tour of duty there. He has been speaking and organizing since his release. He was chosen to chair the IVAW National Board at its conference last August. He told WW the organization is growing fast--from about 500 in August to more than 700 now, with members in 48 states, Washington, D.C., Canada, and on numerous bases both here and overseas, including Iraq.
Commenting on the recent mutiny by a platoon of soldiers in Iraq, Mejia said this type of resistance is increasingly common there. "I refused a mission once," he said. "We had watched several of our comrades be killed and wounded. I said no--as squad leader--that I would not allow my guys to be used as bait for some colonel to make general."
 
Camilo Mejia tells his story in Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia, published last May by The New Press. 
 
War resisters have resisted in a number of ways throughout the Iraq War.  That includes the ones who went to Canada seeking asylum.   November 15th, the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear the appeals of  war resisters Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey.  Parliament is the solution.Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use. Both War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist are calling for actions from January 24-26.  The War Resisters Support Campaign has more on the action in Canada:
 
The War Resisters Support Campaign has called a pan-Canadian mobilization on Saturday, January 26th, 2008 to ensure :
1) that deportation proceedings against U.S. war resisters currently in Canada cease immediately; and 2) that a provision be enacted by Parliament ensuring that U.S. war resisters refusing to fight in Iraq have a means to gain status in Canada.
For listings of local actions, see our Events page. If you are able to organize a rally in your community, contact the Campaign -- we will list events as details come in.
 
 
Join and support January 25 vigils and delegations in support of U.S. war resisters currently seeking sanctuary Canada. Actions are being planned in Washington D.C., New York, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Supporters will meet with officials at Canadian Consulates across the United States in order underscore that many Americans hope that the Canadian Parliament votes (possible as early as February) in favor of a provision to allow war resisters to remain. Download and distribute Jan. 25-26 action leaflet (PDF).
Supporting the war resisters in Canada is a concrete way to demonstrate your support of the troops who refuse to fight. Help end the war by supporting the growing GI resistance movement today!
Organize a delegation to a Canadian Consulate near you .
Host an event or house-party in support of war resisters.
 
 
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.



Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
 
 

 
In 1971, over one hundred members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to share their stories with America. Atrocities like the My Lai massacre had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. The members of VVAW knew differently.
Over three days in January, these soldiers testified on the systematic brutality they had seen visited upon the people of Vietnam. They called it the Winter Soldier investigation, after Thomas Paine's famous admonishing of the "summer soldier" who shirks his duty during difficult times. In a time of war and lies, the veterans who gathered in Detroit knew it was their duty to tell the truth.
Over thirty years later, we find ourselves faced with a new war. But the lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming "a few bad apples" instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, our country needs Winter Soldiers.
In March of 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for these wars. We hope you'll join us, because yours is a story that every American needs to hear.

 
March 13th through 16th are the dates for the Winter Soldier Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Dee Knight (Workers World) notes, "IVAW wants as many people as possible to attend the event. It is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand. 'We have been inspired by the tremendous support the movement has shown us,' IVAW says. 'We believe the success of Winter Soldier will ultimately depend on the support of our allies and the hard work of our members'."
 
That's in March.  Today Josh White (Washington Post) reports on the escalation of the air-war (or is that supposed to be a "'surge' in the deaths of innocents"?) that finds the US military command admitting to having conducted at least five times more air bombings in 2007 than in the previous year leading to the dropping of "1,447 bombs on Iraq last year, an average of nearly four a day, compared with 229 bombs, or about four each week, in 2006. . . . The greater reliance on air power has raised concerns from human rights groups, which say that 500-pound and 2,000-pound munitions threaten civilians, especially when dropped in residential neighborhoods where insurgents mix with the population."  Human rights groups are far from the only ones who should be complaining.  The 1899 Laws and Customs of War on Land was ratified by the US Senate in 1902 and Article XXV clearly forbids the actions described above: "The attack or bombardment of towns, villages, habitations or buildings which are not defended, is prohibited."   Apparently unaware of those basics, the US Air Force announces many bombings in Iraq yesterday including:
 
* Air Force B-1B Lancer dropped guided bomb unit-31s on enemy structures in the vicinity of Baghdad
 
* In Khan Bani Sa'd, a house-borned IED and VBIED were destroyed by F-16s using GBU-38s.
 
Khan Bani Sa'd was also the location for "a show of force" as was an area outside Babi and Tall Afar.  This as Reuters reports today six dead ("including two women") as a result of US forces ground and air attacks "on a building in Jalawla" which also left two women wounded. US military flack Winfield Danielson pulls spin duty today declaring, "Coalition forces deeply regrets when civilians are hurt or killed during operations to rid Iraq of terrorism."  Who are the terrorists at this point?  Iraqis in their own country or foreign fighters they want to leave?
 
Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers' Baghdad Observer) reports on reactions to the Iraq War during a recent visit to Kuwait:
 
But popular support for the war next door has waned. While Saddam Hussein's capture and execution were welcomed in Kuwait the deterioration of a nation caught people off guard.   
A Kuwaiti friend explained it to me in simple terms.    
"Before they had water, now they do not. Before they had electricity now they do not, before they had security now they do not," she said. "This was not liberation or democracy."        
           
In some of today's reported violence . . .
 
Bombings?
 
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Diyala Province bombing that claimed 12 lives (plus the life of the bomber) and left 16 wounded, a primary school blown up in Mosul, a Mosul car bombing that killed 1 police officer and wounded one woman.
 
Shootings?
 
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports the latest (known) attack on an official as Sheik Mohammed Felek was targeted in an unsuccessful assassination attempt by unknown assailants firing from two cars, in addition 1 police officer was shot dead another left wounded in Ibn al-Jawzi while last night 1 police officer was shot dead in Salahuddin.
 
Corpses?
 
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers)  reports 3 corpses discovered in Baghdad.
 
But worry ye not, Al Jazeera reports the International Monetary Fund is high on Iraq and, "Surging oil prices have recently boosted Iraq's oil revenues to $27 bn, $6bn higher than projected.  The IMF approved a $744m credit for Iraq on December 19, just a week after the country paid off an earlier $471m loan."  Interesting when you consider Richard Cowan (Reuters) reporting on how the US House has caved to Bully Boy and passed an exemption that prevents US citizens from suing the current puppet government for things done by Saddam Hussein's government.  Or maybe Bully Boy just fretted that some Americans still believe the false-link he's repeated on Iraq and 9-11 and that he might be proved a liar in court?  Meanwhile, Andy Rowell (The Price of Oil) noted Monday the objection by the Iraqi Parliament to the deals Iraq's northern Kurdish region had entered into with Big Oil companies and quoted Osama al-Nijifi speaking at a press conference, "There must be a formula for maintaining the unity of Iraq and the distribution of its wealth.  Oil and gas are a national wealth and we are concerned about those who want to go it alone when it comes to signing deals."  CBS and AP report today, "The Iraqi Oil Ministry has decided to stop cooperating with international oil companies participating in production-sharing contracts with the Kurdish regional administration in northern Iraq, an official said Thursday.  The decision is concsidered a first step toward implementing the ministry's threats to blacklist and exclude these companies from any future deals with Baghdad if they refuse to abandon their oil deals with the self-ruling Kurdish government."
 
 
Public views of the situation in Iraq, which turned more positive in the fall, have again slipped.  Currently, 41% of Americans say the military effort in Iraq is going very well or fairly well, while 54% say that the situation there is not going well.   
In November, opinion was split over progress in the military effort; 48% said things were going well there, the highest percentage expressing this view in more than a year (47% in September 2006).  Both Republicans and Democrats are less likely to say the situation in Iraq is going well; currently, 66% of Republicans express a positive opinion of the situation, down from 74% in November.  This shift among Democrats has been comparable (24% now, 33% then). 
While positive perceptions of the military effort have declined in the past month, they still remain higher than they were earlier this year (30% in February).  But support for withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq as soon as possible remains strong, despite the improved views of the situation.  Currently, 54% favor bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq, which is consistent with measures for the past year.
 
[. . . ] 
 
Negative views of the decision to go to take military action against Iraq are at their highest point since the war began almost five years ago.  Slightly more than a third of Americans (36%) say the decision to use military force was right while 56% see it as wrong.  In September 2007, 42% said the war was the right decision, compared with 50% who said it was wrong.      
 
The above is from the sections "Iraq Views Turn More Negative" and "More See Iraq as 'Wrong Decision'."  Today in DC, the US House of Representatives' House Armed Services Committee met at ten "to receive testimony on Iraqi Security Forces."  Mark Kimmitt (Deputy Assistant Secreatary of Defense for the Middle East) and Lt. General James Dubik (Commanding General of Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq in Baghdad) appeared before the committee chaired by Ike Skelton who noted, "Today the Armed Services Committee is holding the very first hearing of our new year."  William Branigin (Washington Post) reports that Dubik and Kimmitt attempt to put foward that Iraqi forces can take responsiblity for security of Iraq in early 2009 . . . or 2012 and "the officials also said that Iraq does not expect to be able to defend itself against external threats for at least another 10 to 12 years." CBS and AP report US Rep Roscoe Bartlett pressed for concrete answers noting, "I think most Americans would like to have on their refrigerator a chart they can follow that speaks to when we can get out."  Dubik responded with a non-response ("When I talk to my dad about these kind of things, my advice is to him is put no number on the refrigerator" -- ???????????) leading Bartlett to press, "Does that meanw e'll be there forever?  I don't think people have any stomach for that."
 
Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates,stated today in a press conference of the rotations in and out of Iraq "if you haven't been there in 30 days, you're out of date."  This as Gordon Lubold (Christian Science Monitor) reports that Bully Boy and David Petraeus (General and White House Boy Pal) are in conflict with Gates "over how much further US forces can be cut later this year."  Lubold notes: "The tug of war is illustrated by General Petraeus's recent requests for forces. He has asked for small numbers of troops to fill gaps left by departing forces to help manage operations as the broader drawdown continues, sources say. Those requests are giving Pentagon officials pause because many forces that could go have not had adequate time at home."  Asked in the press conference today about the the drawdown of the escalation, Gates replied, "Well, first of all, I -- all the evidence available to me now suggests that we will be able to complete the drawdown of the five brigade combat teams that General Petraeus recommended last September, and that that take place by the end of July.  Obviously we will wait to see General Petraues' evaluation in March, in terms of what we might be able to do after July."  Gates went on to describe it as "a dynamic process" and utilized many similar hedge phrases.
 
Who cares what I might be for real
Underneath my games
I'll let you chose from a thousand faces
And a thousand names
-- Carly Simon, "The Girl You Think You See" (Anticipation)
 
Yes, we are turning to US political news, where Barack Obama insults not just "Tom Hayden Democrats," but the majority of the country.  In a craven display, even for Bambi, he batted those long lashes at the  Renoa Gazette editorial board to gush over Ronnie Ray-Gun: "I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not.  He-he put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it.  I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s and, you know, government had grown and grown but there wasn't much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating."  Actually, Bambi, the pre-Reagan  period you're so IGNORANT of, produced the sunshine laws and open government.  You're so very good as polishing the right-wing talking points and making them sound fresh (or maybe Stay Fresh?) but what you say is blah-blah-blah-blah.   The Nation's Bambi groupies are going to have to work over time to justify their lover's latest statements or maybe they'll just -- as they so often do -- ignore it.
 
Bambi's launching an attack on the government --  which, for the record, was more than working at that point and actually had several waves of reform and accountability coming (such as the sex discrimination case against Sears that Reagan's head of the EEOC -- that would be Clarence Thomas -- would kill).  Is he that uninformed of times he lived through?  Or is he just eager to trash everyone?  He just slammed the feminist movement, the Civil Rights movement, the peace movement, the gay rights movement, the labor movement and . . .  it's honestly hard to think who Bambi didn't just spit on.
 
There will be the usual enablers to rush in say, "Don't you tsk-tsk at Bambi!  Ignore them, Bambi, hop back on your potty chair!"  But it's no longer an issue of ignorance.  Bambi knows what he's saying.  Tom Hayden laid it out in an open letter to Bambi in November:
 
On one side were armed segregationists, on the other peaceful black youth. On one side were the destroyers of Vietnam, on the other were those who refused to submit to orders. On the one side were those keeping women in inferior roles, on the other were those demanding an equal rights amendment. On one side were those injecting chemical poisons into our rivers, soils, air and blood streams, on the other were the defenders of the natural world. On one side were the perpetrators of big money politics, on the other were keepers of the plain democratic tradition. Does anyone believe those conflicts are behind us?
 
Barack Obama is the X-Men's Rogue, morphing and shape shifting from one moment to the next to become whatever is needed at present.  Ronald Ray-Gun lashed out at MLK throughout history and only signed the MLK Day proclamation due to the fact that it had a veto proof in the support.  For those remembering last week and the faux outrage ginned up, it may come as shocking that now Bambi's saying he's like Ronald Reagan. 
 
But that is Barack Obama.
 
I'm not necessarily
The girl you think you see
Whoever you want is exactly who
I'm more than willing to be
I'll be a queen
A foul-mouthed marine
Your Mary Magdalene
To please you
-- Carly Simon, "The Girl You Think You See"
 
 
 

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