Thursday, June 14, 2012

The unsuited and unsuitable Brett McGurk



ambassador to swingtown





That's Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "The Ambassador to Swingtown."  Brett McGurk is Barack Obama's nominee for US Ambassador to Iraq.  As opposition mounts to his nomination, Ryan Crocker, Chris Hill and James Jeffrey pen an embarrassing and, yes, offensive letter endorsing McGurk where they declare, "Brett is the right man for the job."

The right man?

In 2012, they want to tell the world Brett's the right man.

So it's not just the White House attempting to screw over women, it's Crocker, Hill and Jeffrey rushing in to help?

The uniquely unqualified McGurk is Barack's third nominee for US Ambassador to Iraq.  Try to grasp that Barack has not yet completed his fourth year as president.

That's alarming.  Clearly, the White House has been unable to pick a stable or suited nominee.  For those late to the party, the previous two (Hill and Jeffrey) were confirmed.  And they didn't stay on the job.  Now it's McGurk.

Are you noticing that all three of Barack's nominees are men?

Iraqi women are served by every US Ambassador to Iraq being a man?  How so?

Three nominees and Barack Obama can't think of one damn woman to serve as US Ambassador to Iraq?

It's not like the bar is that high, not after Chris Hill and his mid-day naps.  As Brett McGurk demonstrates, you don't even need to speak Arabic.  You'd think speaking the language of the country you were going to be ambassador to was kind of a given.

Jeffrey, Crocker and Hill want you to know that "Brett is the right man for the job."

Because he can't keep it in his pants.  Or are we still pretending Gina Chon was his only booty call in Iraq?  So Sex On The Job becomes US Ambassador to Iraq and that means what to women in Najaf, Baquba, Kirkuk, etc?

Presumably it means that the US Embassy becomes off limits to them.  Unless they want to be hanged, stoned or set on fire in an 'honor' killing.  Are there any adults in the administration?  They're trying to send a nominee to Iraq whose very presence will prevent women from accessing the embassy.  How many times in the last 8 months has the State Dept sent Brooke Darby to a hearing to testify about all the work they're doing on women's rights in Iraq?

What was the point of that?

I don't think anyone ever saw any results.  But the lip service at least gave the appearance that the same government which destroyed the lives of Iraqi women now had some concern about them.  That flies out the window, Brooke's talk about business opportunities, about the need for human rights and, especially with regards to the Iraqi police, the need for additional training so that women are protected.

All that's out the window.

I'm not calling Brooke a liar.  I repeatedly gave her a pass when we covered those hearings.  I repeatedly noted she was a lower-level flunkie and I wasn't going to hold her responsible for the answers of her superiors.  (I would -- and did -- hold her accountable when she couldn't answer a question.)

So not only do Iraqi women get screwed over, Brooke Darby gets to be the first female US government employee to be screwed over to put the ass who puts his dick everywhere into a position he's not qualified for?

Max Boot cries for McGurk at the neo-con bible Commentary.  I'm missing one word -- of compassion or recognition -- that this nomination would not help Iraqi women, that it would hurt them.  It's all about sex, whines Max, as he recounts married McGurk's clandestine affair with former Wall St. Journal reporter Gina Chon (the paper terminated her employment on Tuesday).  No, it's not all about sex.  McGurk is unqualified.  That was known ahead of time.  Last week's hearing may have been treated superficially by the press but we devoted time in three consecutive snapshots -- Wednesday, Thursday, Friday:

And what did we learn?

McGurk wanted to steal credit that then-Gen David Petraeus and those serving under him deserved.  McGurk doesn't understand al Qaeda in Iraq and his testimony conflicts with that of Leon Panetta's (former CIA Director, now the US Secretary of Defense) and the public remarks of the National Director of Intelligence James Clapper.  And he flat out lied about Sahwa.  I thought this would have gotten reported.  He stated 70% of Sahwa had received government jobs.  That was his biggest Sahwa lie, it was his only one.  (Sahwa is also known as "Awakenings" and "Sons of Iraq" and "Daughters of Iraq.")

He lied or revealed his ignorance pretty much every time he opened his mouth.  When that happens, what's an unskeptical, go-along-to-get-along press to do?  Why focus on the prepapred statement, the written statement submitted ahead of time for the record.  So the few quotes from McGurk that the press did carry (very few outlets covered the hearing) were from that prepared statement.

If Max Boot wants to talk about qualifications, then he needs to talk about qualifications.

If he doesn't think hiding an affair you conduct on the taxpayer dime is an issue, then he should talk about something else.  But that would require actual knowledge and apparently Max Boot has none on McGurk.

Maybe before you talk about what you think someone is "owed," you should familiarize with the issue or is that just too much damn work in the age of instapundit?

Six of nine Republican members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are asking that Barack withdraw the nomination of Brett McGurk.  You know this because the press is reporting on a letter.
It's amazing how, reporting on the same letter, so much is ignored.

Here's Reuters.   Here is AFP.  Matthew Lee's AP story is probably one the best along with Sunlen Miller's piece for ABC News.

The following community sites updated last night and today:


The Daily Jot
THIS JUST IN! NEW STRATEGY: GET BITCHY!
1 hour ago
Cedric's Big Mix
Who let the claws out?
1 hour ago 

We'll close with this from David Coombs' "A Message from David Coombs, Bradley Manning's Attorney" (World Can't Wait):




Over the past two years, thousands of individuals have either donated to the defense fund or given freely of their time to support PFC Bradley Manning.  The support provided has come in many forms:
1)  Signing petitions (standwithbrad.org);
2)  Standing up to say “I am Bradley Manning” (iam.bradleymanning.org);
3)  Writing to military/government authorities;
4)  Writing letters to the editors of local and national newspapers;
5)  Attending marches, rallies, and other public events to raise awareness about Bradley Manning;
6)  Using social media to write about the case and the events of every hearing;
7)  Contacting government representatives;
8)  Sending messages of support to my law office;
9)  Donating to the legal defense fund; or
10)  Volunteering with the Bradley Manning Support Network and Courage to Resist.
At every court hearing, I am given the opportunity to witness this support first hand.  The attendance by supporters during these hearings as been nothing short of inspiring.  Although my client is not permitted to engage those in attendance, he aware of your presence and support.
At every court hearing, I am given the opportunity to witness this support first hand.  The attendance by supporters during these hearings as been nothing short of inspiring.  Although my client is not permitted to engage those in attendance, he aware of your presence and support.


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


 
Posted by at