Monday, December 11, 2006

NYT: Lost in the Circle Jerk

Four US troops died on Sunday; in Baghdad, the last two days have seen over 100 corpses discovered; children were among those targeted yesterday (at least three reported to be shot-dead). And the New York Times wants to jaw bone some more over the James Baker Circle Jerk. We're not noting the Times this morning.

The James Baker Circle Jerk is apparently the replacement for a show trial and what everyone will use to avoid focusing on the realities in Iraq. It's xenophobic (as we noted the day it came out), it's a cover and it's sop to make the American people believe that 'someone's looking out for them' (as phoney as Bill O'Reilly). I don't care who disputes in the future or how wonderful that's written, we're done with the James Baker Circle Jerk here. To continue to note here is to feed into that nonsense. We've rejected it as nonsense from the start, the topic is now off the table.

That's not in response to any suggested highlights. Last night, we noted Russ Feingold's critique of it. Since he's one of the few who will call the illegal war out, we'll leave with Feingold having had the last word on the topic. That's fitting.

But as the mainstream press continues to gas bag over this and as 'independent' media uses what little time they give to Iraq to note the report, it's eating up way too much space. We've rejected it, it's a joke, we're done with it here.

Which is why we're dispensing with the Times this morning. Chaos and violence rage out of control in Iraq on a daily basis and they still want to cover a report that they were covering before it was released.

On some of the realities in Iraq today, Martha notes Sudarsan Raghavan's "For Iraq's Sunnis, Conflict Closes In" (Washington Post):

A few blocks from Ali Farouk's three-story home, an empty house provides a glimpse of what he fears will be the future. Once owned by a Sunni Muslim, the paint is peeling, the windows are blown out. Two scarlet X's mark the pale blue front door.
To the door's right are the words: "Not for Sale. Wanted."

According to neighbors, "Wanted" refers to the former owner, who fled after crossing paths with the Mahdi Army, the Shiite militia of firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The gunmen accused the owner of killing four of their own at a checkpoint. Then they took over his house.
To the door's left, the words: "This is vengeance for the other day."
Farouk, a Sunni Muslim, fears his home might be targeted next. In the past two months, Shiite militiamen have tightened their grip on his central Baghdad neighborhood of Tobji, purging dozens of Sunni families, by fear and by threats. His world has become even more precarious since a barrage of car bombs, mortar shells and missiles killed more than 200 on Nov. 23 in Sadr City, the Baghdad slum that is home to many of Sadr's loyalists.


Yesterday, the US military announced: " An improvised explosive device detonated near a Multi-National Division - Baghdad patrol, killing one Soldier west of the Iraqi capital Dec. 10. As the patrol was finishing its early morning security mission west of the city, the roadside bomb detonated killing one Soldier and wounding another." Today, the US military announces: "An improvised explosive device detonated near a Multi-National Division - Baghdad patrol, killing three Soldiers in the northern part of the Iraqi capital Dec. 10. As the Soldiers conducted a late night combat patrol, the roadside bomb detonated killing three Soldiers and wounding two others."

Other topics that matter include resistance to the illegal war and we'll cover that in the next entry.

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