oh and here's the Washingtontimes spin on it. (Vitamin writes for them)
she has tailored her personal tragedy to further a political agenda
WTF ?!? yeah, i'm sure that's what she wanted, a dead son i hate the times, mooney mofos
but the Wtimes didn't say that...they said some say that
they (Wtimes) are just objective reporters in a field skewed to the left.
your pushing my buttons !! i'm ready to rage on that heritage foundation fuckface who lives down the street (he's been asking for it) creepy bastard !!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
oh and here's the Washingtontimes spin on it. (Vitamin writes for them)
"Vacaville speaks
Cindy Sheehan's vigil outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, to demand a second visit with Mr. Bush over the death in Iraq of her son, U.S. Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, has drawn some quizzical glances.
Some think* she has tailored her personal tragedy to further a political agenda: Mrs. Sheehan has the support of such groups as the PeaceMajority, Gold Star Families for Peace, Military Families Speak Out and the Institute for Public Accuracy. She has called for Mr. Bush's impeachment and has been interviewed by the Associated Press, Air America, CBS, ABC and CNN. Folks from her hometown of Vacaville, Calif., are getting annoyed. This letter from veteran Trent Fry appeared yesterday in the Reporter, the local paper that first covered her meeting with the president last June. "I have had enough of Cindy Sheehan. We were all saddened by the death of her son, Casey, in Iraq well over a year ago. Every death of a military member is tragic, whether in combat or as a result of an accident. As a mom, she is certainly entitled to grieve her loss. However, I think she's had more than her 15 minutes in the limelight," Mr. Fry wrote. "Everyone who takes the Oath of Enlistment swears to 'obey the orders of the president, and the orders of the officers appointed over me.' Army Spc. Casey Sheehan willingly joined America's all-volunteer military. There hasn't been a draft in more than 30 years. "I wonder what Spc. Sheehan would think of the manner in which his mother is using his death to gain the notoriety to allow her to project her political agenda on the American public. Mrs. Sheehan's road trip across the country is not news and should not be treated as if it were." "
*"Some think" is trick exposed by the OutFoxed video. How to editorialize in the news without taking any responsibility.
That cornhole Charlie Gibson on Good Morning America was interviewing her yesterday and giving her a lot of guff about how she might be "disrespecting" the loss of the parents of other dead soldiers. Fuck him. Anyone at the networks confronting Bush about how his continued idiocy is "disrespecting" the losses of these people? Goddamn...it's like living in Bizarro USA....
That guy sounds like the biggest moron in the world. How could you have the balls to say that to someone who has lost their son? Does Gibson have any of children deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, etc? I don't think so....
Does Gibson have any of children deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, etc? I don't think so....
No, but neither do georgewbushdickcheneydonaldrumsfeldpaulwolfowitzconiericejohnboltonrishardpearlegeorgetenetkarenhughesbillfirsttomdelaydenishastertricksantorumrushlimbaughseanhanitybilloreilyandrewcardscottmcclelenscotterlibbykarlroveorsatan
Does Gibson have any of children deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, etc? I don't think so....
No, but neither do georgewbushdickcheneydonaldrumsfeldpaulwolfowitzconiericejohnboltonrishardpearlegeorgetenetkarenhughesbillfirsttomdelaydenishastertricksantorumrushlimbaughseanhanitybilloreilyandrewcardscottmcclelenscotterlibbykarlroveorsatan
It Is Finally Time To Exit The Oldsmobile Guest Commentary by Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Like all Americans, I had high hopes for the future of the Oldsmobile and its passengers, as we struggle against the onrushing water and its poorly-designed shoulder belts. But as claustrophobia sets in we must begin to sober up and face the truth: hope is no longer an option.
It is time for us to recognize that our continued presence in this volatile region is a hinderance to the Oldsmobile and its people. Rather than helping the situation we are further weighing down the Oldsmobile, causing it to sink faster and faster into the quagmire of Chappaquidick Bay, creating a dangerous situation for both ourselves as well as its passengers who are desperately seeking an air pocket in which to start a better life.
That is why I believe we have reached the point where we must take a deep breath and immediately depart the Oldsmobile. We must seek through the watery darkness and release the belt latch of madness that has kept us here, and reach out for a sane and honorable window crank.
Obviously there will be passengers in the Oldsmobile who do not want us to leave, and will likely try to grasp and grab at our feet as we depart. While we wish them success, it is critical that these passengers quickly learn independence and self-determination. The most effective way to teach them is through example, and with a vigorous kick-off. Let us hope they will cherish our shoes as a lasting legacy of our commitment to liberty.
And, after we return to the safety of the American shore and phone our lawyer, we must begin to ask the hard questions. How did we get here? The sad answer is that we were sold a lie by Gene Quinlan of Hyannisport Oldsmobile-Buick-GMC. We were told that this Oldsmobile had the Delta 88 Royale option package with 6-way electric seats. We were told that they were sold out of the new '69 Toronado. We were given a choice of a burgundy vinyl roof, but never given an exit strategy. We were told, repeatedly, that the Oldsmobile was waterproof and had an automatic pilot system. In short, Gene Quinlan sold us a lie.
There will be ample time for us to reflect on the mistakes and lies of the Oldsmobile misadventure, and hold those who were responsible to account. But that is for another day. Now we must focus our energy on getting out before it is too late.
It Is Finally Time To Exit The Oldsmobile Guest Commentary by Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Like all Americans, I had high hopes for the future of the Oldsmobile and its passengers, as we struggle against the onrushing water and its poorly-designed shoulder belts. But as claustrophobia sets in we must begin to sober up and face the truth: hope is no longer an option.
It is time for us to recognize that our continued presence in this volatile region is a hinderance to the Oldsmobile and its people. Rather than helping the situation we are further weighing down the Oldsmobile, causing it to sink faster and faster into the quagmire of Chappaquidick Bay, creating a dangerous situation for both ourselves as well as its passengers who are desperately seeking an air pocket in which to start a better life.
That is why I believe we have reached the point where we must take a deep breath and immediately depart the Oldsmobile. We must seek through the watery darkness and release the belt latch of madness that has kept us here, and reach out for a sane and honorable window crank.
Obviously there will be passengers in the Oldsmobile who do not want us to leave, and will likely try to grasp and grab at our feet as we depart. While we wish them success, it is critical that these passengers quickly learn independence and self-determination. The most effective way to teach them is through example, and with a vigorous kick-off. Let us hope they will cherish our shoes as a lasting legacy of our commitment to liberty.
And, after we return to the safety of the American shore and phone our lawyer, we must begin to ask the hard questions. How did we get here? The sad answer is that we were sold a lie by Gene Quinlan of Hyannisport Oldsmobile-Buick-GMC. We were told that this Oldsmobile had the Delta 88 Royale option package with 6-way electric seats. We were told that they were sold out of the new '69 Toronado. We were given a choice of a burgundy vinyl roof, but never given an exit strategy. We were told, repeatedly, that the Oldsmobile was waterproof and had an automatic pilot system. In short, Gene Quinlan sold us a lie.
There will be ample time for us to reflect on the mistakes and lies of the Oldsmobile misadventure, and hold those who were responsible to account. But that is for another day. Now we must focus our energy on getting out before it is too late.
It Is Finally Time To Exit The Oldsmobile Guest Commentary by Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Like all Americans, I had high hopes for the future of the Oldsmobile and its passengers, as we struggle against the onrushing water and its poorly-designed shoulder belts. But as claustrophobia sets in we must begin to sober up and face the truth: hope is no longer an option.
It is time for us to recognize that our continued presence in this volatile region is a hinderance to the Oldsmobile and its people. Rather than helping the situation we are further weighing down the Oldsmobile, causing it to sink faster and faster into the quagmire of Chappaquidick Bay, creating a dangerous situation for both ourselves as well as its passengers who are desperately seeking an air pocket in which to start a better life.
That is why I believe we have reached the point where we must take a deep breath and immediately depart the Oldsmobile. We must seek through the watery darkness and release the belt latch of madness that has kept us here, and reach out for a sane and honorable window crank.
Obviously there will be passengers in the Oldsmobile who do not want us to leave, and will likely try to grasp and grab at our feet as we depart. While we wish them success, it is critical that these passengers quickly learn independence and self-determination. The most effective way to teach them is through example, and with a vigorous kick-off. Let us hope they will cherish our shoes as a lasting legacy of our commitment to liberty.
And, after we return to the safety of the American shore and phone our lawyer, we must begin to ask the hard questions. How did we get here? The sad answer is that we were sold a lie by Gene Quinlan of Hyannisport Oldsmobile-Buick-GMC. We were told that this Oldsmobile had the Delta 88 Royale option package with 6-way electric seats. We were told that they were sold out of the new '69 Toronado. We were given a choice of a burgundy vinyl roof, but never given an exit strategy. We were told, repeatedly, that the Oldsmobile was waterproof and had an automatic pilot system. In short, Gene Quinlan sold us a lie.
There will be ample time for us to reflect on the mistakes and lies of the Oldsmobile misadventure, and hold those who were responsible to account. But that is for another day. Now we must focus our energy on getting out before it is too late.
Q: Who is supporting the Freedom Walk? R: The America Supports You Freedom Walk enjoys the support of Stars and Stripes newspaper, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Subway, Lockheed Martin, The Washington Post,[/b] WTOP Radio Network, and ABC WJLA-TV Channel 7 & NewsChannel 8, among others.
Turning 9/11 into a big party is being sponsered by Subway, please get your sandwich somewhere else.
Also sponsoring this partisan event meant to sanitize Rumsfield's failures is a bunch of media outlets including the once independant Washington Post. I know you Washingtonians don't want to start reading the Washington Times, but maybe you should start taking 2 copies when you by from the paper box. Or cancel your subsciption and steal the paper off your neighbor's pourch.
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Shi'ite Islamist leaders hammered home demands for an autonomous federal state for their people across oil-rich southern Iraq on Thursday, four days before a deadline for agreeing a new constitution.
Minority Sunni Arab leaders, as well as a spokesman for the Shi'ite-led coalition government, rejected the idea and it was unclear whether the split would hold up delivery of a draft text that Washington hopes can help quell the Sunni insurgency.
At an impassioned mass rally in Najaf, heartland of Shi'ite Islam, the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution Abdul Aziz al-Hakim turned up the pressure on his opponents from ethnic and religious minorities as the head of his party's military wing derided central government in Baghdad.
"Regarding federalism, we think that it is necessary to form one entire region in the south," said Hakim, leader of SCIRI, and a powerful force in the coalition that came to power in January's election, secured by U.S. military occupation.
Shi'ites account for about 60 percent of Iraq's people and the issue of autonomy raises major concerns for the country's ability to hold together and for the division of its oil wealth.[/b]
Sunni Arabs, dominant under Saddam Hussein, other minorities and secular Shi'ites wary of religious rule have been opposing the idea of a constitution that would allow southern Shi'ites the kind of autonomy now enjoyed de facto by Kurds in the north.
"Federalism has to be in all of Iraq. They are trying to prevent the Shi'ites from enjoying their own federalism," said Hadi al-Amery, head of the Badr movement, a militia organization formed by SCIRI when it was fighting Saddam from Iranian exile.
"What have we got from the central government but death?"
Acts of Antiwar: Operation Ceasefire Will Bring Music To the Mall
By Teresa Wiltz Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, August 11, 2005; Page C01
Operation Ceasefire, a newly formed coalition of musicians who oppose the war in Iraq, yesterday announced plans for a free, 10-hour music festival on the Washington Monument grounds that will be the centerpiece of a cluster of antiwar activities spanning three days, beginning Saturday, Sept. 24.
The concert, billed as a "cultural resistance" by event organizers, will feature acts including the Washington electronica duo Thievery Corporation -- who are also producing the festival -- country-western crooner Steve Earle, socialist rappers the Coup and punk rock/indie artists Le Tigre performing to urge lawmakers to bring the troops home.
A different type of musical event will take place on the Mall two weeks before Operation Ceasefire's planned festival. Country singer Clint Black will headline the Sept. 11 America Supports You concert in support of the military and the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The concert will follow a Freedom Walk, sponsored by the Department of Defense, which will begin at the Pentagon and conclude by the Mall's Reflecting Pool.
The walk and concert will remind participants "of the sacrifices of this generation and of each previous generation that has so successfully defended our freedoms," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in a news briefing announcing the Freedom Walk this week.
The Operation Ceasefire antiwar concert is sponsored by ESL Music (Thievery Corporation's label); the Mintwood Media Collective; the New York-based United for Peace and Justice, a coalition of 1,300 antiwar groups; and the DC Anti-War Network.
The events will kick off with a morning rally in front of the Washington Monument, followed by a march through downtown and an "antiwar fair" on the grounds of the Monument, culminating with the concert. On Sunday, there will be an interfaith service and grass-roots training. Monday's activities will feature grass-roots lobbying of 100 legislators as well as a "mass nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience" in front of the White House, event organizers said.
Thievery Corporation's Eric Hilton said he felt compelled to do something to stop the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq ever since "the day after 9/11, when they first started talking about bombing Afghanistan."
"I don't subscribe to the 'love it or leave it' doctrine," Hilton said during the briefing. "I'm American and I love this country, too. I just feel a moral imperative as a human being who happens to be a musician" to do something about the war.
Other acts confirmed for the Operation Ceasefire concert include Bouncing Souls, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, rock-and-soul band the BellRays, Washington bilingual punkers Machetres, Washington activist and hip-hop artist Head-Roc (one of the event organizers), and Jello Biafra of the seminal punk rock group Dead Kennedys.
"We wanted to focus on groups that were committed to peace and justice," Hilton said, pulling acts from a variety of musical styles including rap, Latin, country, punk and electronica.
But Hilton admitted the group didn't quite get its artist wish list.
Concert organizers sent letters to more than 100 acts, said Washington activist and event organizer Adam Eidinger, but many said they had scheduling conflicts. Organizers would not say who had turned down performance requests.
"We had some delusions of grandeur that we would have some stadium-sized acts," Hilton said.
Eidinger said the collective was still raising funds for the concert, which he estimated would cost between $100,000 and $300,000.
Also involved with the events are Iraq Veterans Against the War and Military Families Speak Out. (The ANSWER Coalition is organizing a Sept. 24 rally in front of the White House.)
"Honestly," said Michael Hoffman, co-founder of Iraq Veterans Against the War, "I feel guilty about what we've done over there." Hoffman said he was a member of the 1st Marine Division, which entered Iraq on March 23, 2003.
"Trying to end this war, in my mind, makes up for some of the damage I've done," he said.
Washington Post is sinking to new lows. They fail to state that they are a sponsor of the "America Supports You" 9/11 party. It is a basic rule of honest jounalism that you disclose ties to those you are reporting about.
I honestly can't believe how bad things are getting...
Innocent men my age getting killed in Iraq for a country that will fall on itself the day we pull out.
Threat of war with Iran and possible embargo now which puts the second largest producer of oil in OPEC at ends with America thus exposing our real weakness. I know we've had it lucky, but it also affects the entire world.
Good-bye auto industry!
Good-bye airline industry!
I also read an article today that Bush hasn't even veto'ed one bill from Congress in 5 years. I realize that Congress is run by the Republicans but this just amazes me. http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0816/p01s04-uspo.html
In the meantime he takes vacations in Texas what seems like every weekend. Presidents such as Roosevelt and Truman now seem like myths. Even inspiring... http://millercenter.virginia.edu/scripps/diglibrary/prezspeeches/roosevelt/index.html Even Clinton who had his "extra-cirrucular activities" balanced the budget and made things seem like the world was somewhat stable. (Did not agree with Kosovo war though)
Despite insurgency, IMF says Iraq's economy is stable WASHINGTON (AP) ??? Despite the insurgency and slow pace of reconstruction, Iraqi authorities have achieved some economic stability and started some reforms but need to do more, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday. It was its first formal report on the nation's economy in 25 years. "The outlook for the medium term is reasonably optimistic, but the security situation has to improve," said Lorenzo Perez, a senior official in the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia department.
The IMF provides annual economic report cards to its 184 members. The last such consultation for Iraq was in 1980.
The IMF's 24-member board said resumption of formal economic contacts with Iraq "represents a further important milestone in Iraq's relations with the fund and in its reintegration into the global economy."
The report said the pace of reconstruction and recovery in Iraq will depend to a large extent on how the political and security situation evolves.
The main author of the report, Adam Bennett, said the oil sector, which accounts for more than three-quarters of Iraq's economy, has recovered strongly and production is approaching prewar levels of 2.5 million barrels a day.
He said oil production "was not at the level we had hoped, but this is not surprising, given the insurgency. We expect production to grow."
The report said non-oil gross domestic product "is estimated to have expanded more moderately in 2004 as lack of security, electricity shortages and poor communications hampered the recovery in private sector activity. Some state-owned enterprises, mainly in construction and petrochemicals, have reactivated production."
The report said inflationary pressures have subsided since the beginning of 2005, "but the 12-month inflation rate through June of 37% still exceeds by a wide margin original projections of 15% by the end of 2005."
Both Perez and Bennett said one problem in assessing Iraq's economy was the lack of good statistical data for the non-oil sector.
They said IMF officials have not visited Baghdad for discussions with Iraqi government officials because of the security situation, but there were regular contacts in neighboring capitals, video conferences and e-mail exchanges.
The report said the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar has come under some pressure in recent months.
"The authorities have responded to this by rationing the supply of dollars on a few occasions," the report said. "The (IMF) staff have urged them to satisfy the demand for dollars in full, in view of the comfortable level of reserves" in the central bank "and to raise interest rates as needed."
Perez said the IMF recommended that Iraq significantly reduce domestic petroleum subsidies, among the highest in the world. He said the subsidies encourage corruption and smuggling.
I like how they say the oil sector has recovered, but in recent news reports they say that oil production is DOWN from one year ago. Not only that but oil producitonwasn't even being monitored for a long time and production levels were just estimates. There was a huge amount of corruption, plus speculation that the U.S. was pumping extra oil and using the proceeds to pay for the occupation since it was going so badly and costing so much.
But remember, you also said that Fallujah and the election were turning points in the occupation and the U.S. was winning.
When the full fledged civil war breaks out and if the Sunnis decide to cancel the constitution with their veto power we'll see if you're still believing.
U.S. auditors have found that $8.8 billion in reconsturtion money spent under Paul Bremer is unaccounted for. Another $3.4 billion earmarked by Congress for reconstruction has been used on "security." Auditors found one fund of $600 million in cash in which no paperwork was kept on how it was spent.
Iraqi businessmen have complained that they had to pay bribes to Iraqi middlemen and Americans in the Provisional Authority under Bremer to get any contracts or jobs.
$11-$26 million in Iraqi property taken over by the U.S. from the Iraqi Central Bank is unaccounted for. Auditors have found much of the money went to fake employees and for non-existent work.
Auditors found on example of a U.S. officer delivering supplies to an Iraqi hospital. When the goods arrived the price for the goods had doubled. The U.S. officer said that $1 million increase was his "retirement package."
Auditors found hat Iraqi oil exports were unmetered. Speculation is that extra oil was being sold to help fund the U.S. war effort in the country. Christian Aid estimates that about $4 billion in oil exports was unaccounted for.
Auditors were going through 300 contracts worth $332.9 million when they found that 154 out of the 198 contracts did not contain evidence of any work.
January 2005 a report by auditors accused the new Iraqi government of fraud, corruption and waste. They found that the entire spending for the new interim Iraqi government from October 2003 to June 2004, worth $8.8 billion was not properly accoutned for.
London Times 7/7/05
Iraqi security forces set up by Americans and the British are routinely torturing detainees.
In the rush to create new Iraqi security forces, many ex-Hussein soldiers and officials are being put back to work.
A State Department report in Feburary, 2005 said that Iraqi authorities have been accused of torture and mistreatment of prisoners.
Iraqi National Guard have been accused of killing prisoners and dumping them in the Euphrates.
Boston Globe 7/15/05
U.S. investigators say the Pentagon can't account for the $1 billion its spending each week on the war in Iraq. One auditor said, "I can't understand how we're spending $1 billion a week."
One example was an auditor who said that the Pentagon spent a "questionable" $1.4 million on services through the Halliburton Co.
Boston Globe 7/17/05
2 studies, one by the Saudi government, one by an Israeli think tank on foreign fighters in Iraq found that majority of them were not terrorists beforehand, but had been radicalized by the U.S. invasion. Most were found to be young Arabs who were responding to calls by clerics and Islamists to drive the Americans out of Arab land. The author of the Israeli study said, "I am not sure the American public is really aware of the enormous influence of the war in Iraq, not just on Islamists but the entire Arab world." Case studies found that foreign fighters considered the U.S. invasion an attack on Islam and Arab culture. Almost all of the foreign fighters are Arab and Sunni going to fight Shiites Arabs.
A 2005 CIA National Intelligence Estimate said "Iraq and other possible conflicts in the future could provide recruitment, training grounds, technical skills, and language proficiency for a new class of terrorists who are 'professionalized' and for whom political violence becomes an end in itself."
Christian Science Monitor 7/18/05
Shiites linked with Sadr and the Badr brigade in parliament are calling for Shiite militias to protect them from attacks.
Associated Press 7/18/05
State Department report in July, 2005 said that Iraq's electricty can't meet demand, oil production is below prewar levels, barely half of Iraqis has access to safe drinking water. Iraqi unemployment is estimated at between 25-50%. Fuel and food subsidies have resulted in a huge budget deficit. U.S. and Iraqi auditors have not been able to account for billions in spending. At least 3 U.S. officials and many Iraqis are facing corruption charges.
New York Times 7/24/05
There are reports of Shiite death squads operating in the interior ministry targeting Sunnis.
Many Iraqis are saying that the civil war has begun.
Zarqawi has called Shiites "monkeys" and an affront to God.
Ayatollah Sistani has called on the government to "defend the country against mass annihiliation."
The new security forces being trained by the U.S. might increases the changes for civil war because 80% of them are Shiites and Kurds. The units often sent to hot spots are Shiite and Kurds.
A Sunni professor from Baghdad Univ. said, "The people feel taht the army does not come to serve them, but to punish them. The people hate them."
After 2 Sunnis working on the constitution were shot in Baghdad, some Sunnis accused the Shiites of committing the killings.
Der Spiegal 7/25/05
Shiite Ayatollah Sistani has said the constant attacks on Shiites constitutions "extermination" and that Iraq is headed towards "genocide."
5 times in the last 4 weeks regular Sunnis and Shiites were gunned down on the road to Baghdad airport as part of sectarian revenge killings between the 2 groups. Basra, Baghdad and areas with mixed Shiite and Sunni populations are plagued with increasing sectarian violence.
There are constant gas and fuel shortages due to insurgent attacks. There's a water shortage in Baghdad. Power to the capitol has been to cut to only 4 hours of electricity a day.
July 21, 2005 U.S. admitted that barely half of Iraq's new police have even mastered basic training and are completely unqualified. 2/3 of the new army are not deployable. There are almost as many insurgents as Iraqi forces capable of combat right now.
Foreign investment has stayed away from Iraq because it's too dangerous.
Imam Saghir says that the civil war has begun.
Sunnis charge the Shiite Badr brigade of killing Sunnis.
Britain's Observer has reported security forces acting as death squads torturing and killing Sunnis arrested on terrorism charges. A government spokesman even admitted that this is going on.
Politicians in the Shiite south and Kurdish north are increasingly calling for separation from Iraq.
Some Kurds are calling for an expansion of their area to hundreds of kilomters South which is predominately Sunni Arab. Arabs in Kirkuk say that Kurds are trying to drive them out of the city.
Business Week 8/1/05
The U.S. has been pressuring the new government to include more Sunnis itno negotiations over the Constitution but the Shiites are resisting because they blame the Sunnis for the crimes of Hussein.
AP 11/25/04
A report by the Defense Science Board, an advisory panel at the Pentagon, reported that the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have united the once divided Islamist movement against the U.S.
The report said that U.S. public diplomacy with the Muslim world is in crisis and the White House and Congress hasn't done anything to fix it.
"At the root of the problem, the report says, is a fundamental misunderstanding of why many Muslims are hostile toward the United States. They "hate our policies," not our freedom, it said."
The report said the U.S.'s actions since 9/11 with the 2 invasions has supported what Islamists said the U.S. would do.
The Board's chairman aid, "To win a global battle of ideas, a global strategy for communicating those ideas is essential." The U.S. is not doing that. The U.S. is failing at understanding how people, especially Arabs, view the U.S.
From the report: "In the eyes of Muslims, American occupation of Afghanist
an and Iraq has not led to democracy there, but only more chaos and suffering."
Another quote from the report: "U.S. actions appear, in contrast, to be motivated by ulterior motives and deliberately controlled in order to best serve American national interests at the expense of truly Muslim self-determination."
New York Times 10/31/04
U.S. commanders believe that most of the new Iraqi security forces being formed are full of spies for the insurgency. They're also afraid that beauracracy is slowing down reconstruction aid.
New U.S. intelligence also found that the insurgents are stronger and have more money then they thought.
The military was most concerned about the insurgents new campaign of intimidation against the new government. "If we can't stop the intimidation factor, we can't win," said Lt. Gen Sattler, a Marine commander in southwest Iraq.
The biggest issue was having the new government get more Sunnis involved, otherwise the insurgency would grow stronger.
U.S. officers were hoping that with new counterinsurgency efforts and the training of Iraqi security forces the U.S. would be able to start withdrawing U.S. soldiers in July 2005!
The U.S. is still not getting any good intelligence on the insurgency from everyday Iraqis.
New York Times 7/24/05
The U.S. plan to hinder the insurgency by holding elections and restoring Iraqi soverignty hasn't worked. The insurgency is moving from attacking U.S. forces to trying to start a civil war.
Attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces have stayed steady over the last year at about 65 per day.
An Army intelligence officer said that the insurgency is replacing its loses in people and material faster than the U.S. can kill and stop them.
The U.S. also admits that it has no better information about the insurgency now then when it first started.
A conservative Sunni leader said that if the government doesn't include more Sunnis then the insurgency will grow stronger.
The kidnappings and attacks on foreign governments seems to be working as no Arab government has sent an ambassador to Iraq.
"In Baghdad, it is commonly understood that the recent success of the insurgency lies in part in the weakness of the Iraqi government."
San Francisco Chronicle 7/3/05
In a review of Larry Diamond's "Squandered Vicotry: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy To Iraq."
Diamond was a Stanford professor who was called up by Condeezza Rice to work for the U.S. Provisional Authority in Iraq to help rebuild the country. He became disenchanted at the lack of success.
According to Diamond:
Most of his work and the work of his collegues was ignored. 2 were killed by insurgents.
"Late March 2004, one of my CPA colleagues shook his head in exasperation and despair. 'We haven't had the will to confront the security challenges," he told me. 'In April this was ours to lose.' He did not finish the thought, but it was: 'And we are losing it.' "
San Francisco Chronicle 7/1/05
General Abizaid said that more foreign fighters have entered the country since the January elections and that the insurgency is as strong as it was 6 months ago.
Soldiers and think tank specialists interview believe that under the current strategy the U.S. can only have a stalemate with the insurgents.
The answer to ending the insurgency is getting more Sunnis involved in the political process.
And more recently:
The Iraqis missed the first deadline for the draft of the constitution.
Due to a concession to the Kurds which gave them veto power over the new constitution, the Sunnis now have veto power as well because of their numbers in 3 or 4 provinces in central Iraq
A leading Sunni group has called for the same kind of autonomy as the Kurds in the North, which turns the Sunnis more against the Constitutional process.
While I feel betrayed by GWBush for starting this Irag war under false premises, it must feel 100X worse for supporters of the Iraq war to see it carried out so poorly?
While I feel betrayed by GWBush for starting this Irag war under false premises, it must feel 100X worse for supporters of the Iraq war to see it carried out so poorly?
Vitamin actually seems to come to terms with how badly things are going and doesn't seem as hopeful as before, which leaves the3rdstream as the only "true believer" left. But of course, according to him, the insurgency is "losing" ever since Falljuah and the elections!
While I feel betrayed by GWBush for starting this Irag war under false premises, it must feel 100X worse for supporters of the Iraq war to see it carried out so poorly?
Vitamin actually seems to come to terms with how badly things are going and doesn't seem as hopeful as before, which leaves the3rdstream as the only "true believer" left. But of course, according to him, the insurgency is "losing" ever since Falljuah and the elections!
Vitamin is not coming to terms with anything. He is distancing himself from the Iraq tragedy which he and his so-called "profession" have helped create. He's now focussing his attention on Iran. His propaganda appears on the same opinion page as John Stossel's, that other shameless tool who passes himself off as a journalist.
"The Free World's Guess" http://www.nysun.com/article/18817 (Quotes Niall Ferguson - not a good look "Iran is now on the brink of becoming the single biggest threat to democracy in the world.")
Looks like at least 7 or 8 articles on Iran in the last 45 days. You'd think he'd spend some more time learning about how wrong he was about Iraq before moving on to the the next Neo-Con chickenhawk project.
Like the moron he voted for, he's a sick joke with a never-ending punchline.
This where the Vietnam experience becomes invaluable for those who grew up after the war. If you read the vast majority of analysis done on that conflict, the overiding conclusion by scholars and those who were involved in making the decisions (yes McNamara) as to why we did not reach our objective (i.e. keeping Vietnam in the Western Axis' orbit) was that we fundamentally did not understand what was occuring on the ground. We did not understand how the common people felt about the ruling regimes in the south, nor what those in the North meant to their people. THus, we never could get them involved to fight their own battles. Without popular support it is impossible to hold ground in a guerilla war.
It strikes me that this is exactly the case in Iraq. You can debate the merits of removing Saddam, the potential terror threat Iraq posed and everything else that lead us to want to go in, till the cows come home. It will never change that we had no understanding of what would happen once we invaded and have bungled the transition since. We will lose many more soldiers here and there will be a reckoning on the ground where the reality of the street meets the reality of our mission there. In my opinion it is one of the grandest mistakes in US foreign policy history. A gigantic waste of money, lives and an enormous wieght around our collective necks. Bush and his boys must go.
This where the Vietnam experience becomes invaluable for those who grew up after the war. If you read the vast majority of analysis done on that conflict, the overiding conclusion by scholars and those who were involved in making the decisions (yes McNamara) as to why we did not reach our objective (i.e. keeping Vietnam in the Western Axis' orbit) was that we fundamentally did not understand what was occuring on the ground. We did not understand how the common people felt about the ruling regimes in the south, nor what those in the North meant to their people. THus, we never could get them involved to fight their own battles. Without popular support it is impossible to hold ground in a guerilla war.
It strikes me that this is exactly the case in Iraq. You can debate the merits of removing Saddam, the potential terror threat Iraq posed and everything else that lead us to want to go in, till the cows come home. It will never change that we had no understanding of what would happen once we invaded and have bungled the transition since. We will lose many more soldiers here and there will be a reckoning on the ground where the reality of the street meets the reality of our mission there. In my opinion it is one of the grandest mistakes in US foreign policy history. A gigantic waste of money, lives and an enormous wieght around our collective necks. Bush and his boys must go.
Right. What you are really saying is We did know, Bush & Co did not. The intelligence, and analysis was there. What has happened is what was predicted by many in the intelligence community. It was reported in some news outlets, picked up by the anti-war movement and marginalized by the administration and the press. From the NY Sun to the NY Times, from ABC to Fox, level headed analysis was scoffed at, while proclamations from Rumsfeld (We will be greeted with roses) to Rice (We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud) were treated as gospel.
I really wasn't saying all that. I stupidly predicted to my friends that this would be over in 8 weeks and that the prospects were 50/50 that things would go ok after that. I did have my suspicions that the story they were selling was bullshit. Particularly because of Joseph Wilson's disclosures and the very thin evidence of connections between Al Qaeda and Saddam, coupled with the fact so many of the neo-cons had been writing and talking about using Iraq as a jumping off spot for "liberating" the Middle East. So, I never thought it was wise to "liberate" the Iraqis from Saddam.
You are correct that, before the invasion, many people predicted that this would end poorly. Some for ideological reasons, others because of their deep understanding of the region. Frankly, I think it would have been difficult to have really known what the outcome was going to be. And that really is my point. You don't put your hand in a hornet's nest without being goddam sure it is worth the trouble. Clearly, (read Sy Hersh's pieces in the New Yorker on Cheney stovepiping intelligence) the Whitehouse was manipulating the press for reasons other than national security. They wanted to pursue a radical agenda of reshaping the world through American Neo-Imperialism. This not a secret. They wrote openly about it for years. Well, it was a very bad idea and we're paying for it.
Comments
your pushing my buttons !!
i'm ready to rage on that heritage foundation fuckface who lives down the street
(he's been asking for it)
creepy bastard !!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
No, but neither do georgewbushdickcheneydonaldrumsfeldpaulwolfowitzconiericejohnboltonrishardpearlegeorgetenetkarenhughesbillfirsttomdelaydenishastertricksantorumrushlimbaughseanhanitybilloreilyandrewcardscottmcclelenscotterlibbykarlroveorsatan
Guest Commentary by Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Like all Americans, I had high hopes for the future of the Oldsmobile and its passengers, as we struggle against the onrushing water and its poorly-designed shoulder belts. But as claustrophobia sets in we must begin to sober up and face the truth: hope is no longer an option.
It is time for us to recognize that our continued presence in this volatile region is a hinderance to the Oldsmobile and its people. Rather than helping the situation we are further weighing down the Oldsmobile, causing it to sink faster and faster into the quagmire of Chappaquidick Bay, creating a dangerous situation for both ourselves as well as its passengers who are desperately seeking an air pocket in which to start a better life.
That is why I believe we have reached the point where we must take a deep breath and immediately depart the Oldsmobile. We must seek through the watery darkness and release the belt latch of madness that has kept us here, and reach out for a sane and honorable window crank.
Obviously there will be passengers in the Oldsmobile who do not want us to leave, and will likely try to grasp and grab at our feet as we depart. While we wish them success, it is critical that these passengers quickly learn independence and self-determination. The most effective way to teach them is through example, and with a vigorous kick-off. Let us hope they will cherish our shoes as a lasting legacy of our commitment to liberty.
And, after we return to the safety of the American shore and phone our lawyer, we must begin to ask the hard questions. How did we get here? The sad answer is that we were sold a lie by Gene Quinlan of Hyannisport Oldsmobile-Buick-GMC. We were told that this Oldsmobile had the Delta 88 Royale option package with 6-way electric seats. We were told that they were sold out of the new '69 Toronado. We were given a choice of a burgundy vinyl roof, but never given an exit strategy. We were told, repeatedly, that the Oldsmobile was waterproof and had an automatic pilot system. In short, Gene Quinlan sold us a lie.
There will be ample time for us to reflect on the mistakes and lies of the Oldsmobile misadventure, and hold those who were responsible to account. But that is for another day. Now we must focus our energy on getting out before it is too late.
Come home, America. Come home.
fuck off.
affirmative
i don't understand this
Raj and I putting in work on HDM
cheers,
Mark
i put in bold my favorite line
???You can wave your signs in protest
Against America taking stands
The stands America???s taken
Are the reason that you can???
???If everyone would go for peace
There???d be no need for war
But we can???t ignore the devil
He???ll keep coming back for more???
???Some see this in black and white
Others only gray
But we???re not begging for a fight
No matter what they say???
???We???ve got the resolution
That should put ???em all to shame
But it???s a different kind of deadline
When I???m called in the game???
Chorus
???I RAQ, I Rack???em up and I ROLL
I???m back and I???m a high tech G.I. Joe
I pray for peace and prepare for war
and I never will forget There???s no price too high for freedom
so be careful where you tread???
???The terror isn???t man to man
They can be no more than cowards
If they won???t show us their weapons
We might have to show them ours???
???It might be a smart bomb, They find stupid people too
If you stand with the likes of Saddam
One just might find you???[/b]
Chorus II
???I ROCK, I RACK???EM UP AND I ROLL
I???m back and I???m a high tech G.I. Joe
I got infrared, gps and good old fasnioned lead
No price too high for freedom
Be careful where you tread???
Bridge
???Now you can come along
Or you can stay behind
Or you can get out of the way
But our troops take out the garbage
For the Good old U.S.A.???
???I ROCK, I RACK???EM UP AND I ROLL In the USA
I ROCK, I RACK???EM UP AND I ROLL
I???m talkin??? about the USA???
Q: Who is supporting the Freedom Walk?
R: The America Supports You Freedom Walk enjoys the support of Stars and Stripes newspaper, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Subway, Lockheed Martin, The Washington Post,[/b] WTOP Radio Network, and ABC WJLA-TV Channel 7 & NewsChannel 8, among others.
Turning 9/11 into a big party is being sponsered by Subway, please get your sandwich somewhere else.
Also sponsoring this partisan event meant to sanitize Rumsfield's failures is a bunch of media outlets including the once independant Washington Post. I know you Washingtonians don't want to start reading the Washington Times, but maybe you should start taking 2 copies when you by from the paper box. Or cancel your subsciption and steal the paper off your neighbor's pourch.
Dan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/10/AR2005081002363.html
Iraq Shi'ites hammer home autonomy demands
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Shi'ite Islamist leaders hammered home demands for an autonomous federal state for their people across oil-rich southern Iraq on Thursday, four days before a deadline for agreeing a new constitution.
Minority Sunni Arab leaders, as well as a spokesman for the Shi'ite-led coalition government, rejected the idea and it was unclear whether the split would hold up delivery of a draft text that Washington hopes can help quell the Sunni insurgency.
At an impassioned mass rally in Najaf, heartland of Shi'ite Islam, the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution Abdul Aziz al-Hakim turned up the pressure on his opponents from ethnic and religious minorities as the head of his party's military wing derided central government in Baghdad.
"Regarding federalism, we think that it is necessary to form one entire region in the south," said Hakim, leader of SCIRI, and a powerful force in the coalition that came to power in January's election, secured by U.S. military occupation.
Shi'ites account for about 60 percent of Iraq's people and the issue of autonomy raises major concerns for the country's ability to hold together and for the division of its oil wealth.[/b]
Sunni Arabs, dominant under Saddam Hussein, other minorities and secular Shi'ites wary of religious rule have been opposing the idea of a constitution that would allow southern Shi'ites the kind of autonomy now enjoyed de facto by Kurds in the north.
"Federalism has to be in all of Iraq. They are trying to prevent the Shi'ites from enjoying their own federalism," said Hadi al-Amery, head of the Badr movement, a militia organization formed by SCIRI when it was fighting Saddam from Iranian exile.
"What have we got from the central government but death?"
(from reuters.com)
Washington Post is sinking to new lows. They fail to state that they are a sponsor of the "America Supports You" 9/11 party. It is a basic rule of honest jounalism that you disclose ties to those you are reporting about.
Dan
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4745543.stm
I honestly can't believe how bad things are getting...
Innocent men my age getting killed in Iraq for a country that will fall on itself the day we pull out.
Threat of war with Iran and possible embargo now which puts the second largest producer of oil in OPEC at ends with America thus exposing our real weakness. I know we've had it lucky, but it also affects the entire world.
Good-bye auto industry!
Good-bye airline industry!
I also read an article today that Bush hasn't even veto'ed one bill from Congress in 5 years. I realize that Congress is run by the Republicans but this just amazes me.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0816/p01s04-uspo.html
In the meantime he takes vacations in Texas what seems like every weekend. Presidents such as Roosevelt and Truman now seem like myths. Even inspiring...
http://millercenter.virginia.edu/scripps/diglibrary/prezspeeches/roosevelt/index.html
Even Clinton who had his "extra-cirrucular activities" balanced the budget and made things seem like the world was somewhat stable. (Did not agree with Kosovo war though)
Just saying...$0.02
WASHINGTON (AP) ??? Despite the insurgency and slow pace of reconstruction, Iraqi authorities have achieved some economic stability and started some reforms but need to do more, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday. It was its first formal report on the nation's economy in 25 years.
"The outlook for the medium term is reasonably optimistic, but the security situation has to improve," said Lorenzo Perez, a senior official in the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia department.
The IMF provides annual economic report cards to its 184 members. The last such consultation for Iraq was in 1980.
The IMF's 24-member board said resumption of formal economic contacts with Iraq "represents a further important milestone in Iraq's relations with the fund and in its reintegration into the global economy."
The report said the pace of reconstruction and recovery in Iraq will depend to a large extent on how the political and security situation evolves.
The main author of the report, Adam Bennett, said the oil sector, which accounts for more than three-quarters of Iraq's economy, has recovered strongly and production is approaching prewar levels of 2.5 million barrels a day.
He said oil production "was not at the level we had hoped, but this is not surprising, given the insurgency. We expect production to grow."
The report said non-oil gross domestic product "is estimated to have expanded more moderately in 2004 as lack of security, electricity shortages and poor communications hampered the recovery in private sector activity. Some state-owned enterprises, mainly in construction and petrochemicals, have reactivated production."
The report said inflationary pressures have subsided since the beginning of 2005, "but the 12-month inflation rate through June of 37% still exceeds by a wide margin original projections of 15% by the end of 2005."
Both Perez and Bennett said one problem in assessing Iraq's economy was the lack of good statistical data for the non-oil sector.
They said IMF officials have not visited Baghdad for discussions with Iraqi government officials because of the security situation, but there were regular contacts in neighboring capitals, video conferences and e-mail exchanges.
The report said the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar has come under some pressure in recent months.
"The authorities have responded to this by rationing the supply of dollars on a few occasions," the report said. "The (IMF) staff have urged them to satisfy the demand for dollars in full, in view of the comfortable level of reserves" in the central bank "and to raise interest rates as needed."
Perez said the IMF recommended that Iraq significantly reduce domestic petroleum subsidies, among the highest in the world. He said the subsidies encourage corruption and smuggling.
I like how they say the oil sector has recovered, but in recent news reports they say that oil production is DOWN from one year ago. Not only that but oil producitonwasn't even being monitored for a long time and production levels were just estimates. There was a huge amount of corruption, plus speculation that the U.S. was pumping extra oil and using the proceeds to pay for the occupation since it was going so badly and costing so much.
But remember, you also said that Fallujah and the election were turning points in the occupation and the U.S. was winning.
When the full fledged civil war breaks out and if the Sunnis decide to cancel the constitution with their veto power we'll see if you're still believing.
Guardian - UK
7/7/05
U.S. auditors have found that $8.8 billion in reconsturtion money spent under Paul Bremer is unaccounted for. Another $3.4 billion earmarked by Congress for reconstruction has been used on "security." Auditors found one fund of $600 million in cash in which no paperwork was kept on how it was spent.
Iraqi businessmen have complained that they had to pay bribes to Iraqi middlemen and Americans in the Provisional Authority under Bremer to get any contracts or jobs.
$11-$26 million in Iraqi property taken over by the U.S. from the Iraqi Central Bank is unaccounted for. Auditors have found much of the money went to fake employees and for non-existent work.
Auditors found on example of a U.S. officer delivering supplies to an Iraqi hospital. When the goods arrived the price for the goods had doubled. The U.S. officer said that $1 million increase was his "retirement package."
Auditors found hat Iraqi oil exports were unmetered. Speculation is that extra oil was being sold to help fund the U.S. war effort in the country. Christian Aid estimates that about $4 billion in oil exports was unaccounted for.
Auditors were going through 300 contracts worth $332.9 million when they found that 154 out of the 198 contracts did not contain evidence of any work.
January 2005 a report by auditors accused the new Iraqi government of fraud, corruption and waste. They found that the entire spending for the new interim Iraqi government from October 2003 to June 2004, worth $8.8 billion was not properly accoutned for.
London Times
7/7/05
Iraqi security forces set up by Americans and the British are routinely torturing detainees.
In the rush to create new Iraqi security forces, many ex-Hussein soldiers and officials are being put back to work.
A State Department report in Feburary, 2005 said that Iraqi authorities have been accused of torture and mistreatment of prisoners.
Iraqi National Guard have been accused of killing prisoners and dumping them in the Euphrates.
Boston Globe
7/15/05
U.S. investigators say the Pentagon can't account for the $1 billion its spending each week on the war in Iraq. One auditor said, "I can't understand how we're spending $1 billion a week."
One example was an auditor who said that the Pentagon spent a "questionable" $1.4 million on services through the Halliburton Co.
Boston Globe
7/17/05
2 studies, one by the Saudi government, one by an Israeli think tank on foreign fighters in Iraq found that majority of them were not terrorists beforehand, but had been radicalized by the U.S. invasion. Most were found to be young Arabs who were responding to calls by clerics and Islamists to drive the Americans out of Arab land. The author of the Israeli study said, "I am not sure the American public is really aware of the enormous influence of the war in Iraq, not just on Islamists but the entire Arab world." Case studies found that foreign fighters considered the U.S. invasion an attack on Islam and Arab culture. Almost all of the foreign fighters are Arab and Sunni going to fight Shiites Arabs.
A 2005 CIA National Intelligence Estimate said "Iraq and other possible conflicts in the future could provide recruitment, training grounds, technical skills, and language proficiency for a new class of terrorists who are 'professionalized' and for whom political violence becomes an end in itself."
Christian Science Monitor
7/18/05
Shiites linked with Sadr and the Badr brigade in parliament are calling for Shiite militias to protect them from attacks.
Associated Press
7/18/05
State Department report in July, 2005 said that Iraq's electricty can't meet demand, oil production is below prewar levels, barely half of Iraqis has access to safe drinking water. Iraqi unemployment is estimated at between 25-50%. Fuel and food subsidies have resulted in a huge budget deficit. U.S. and Iraqi auditors have not been able to account for billions in spending. At least 3 U.S. officials and many Iraqis are facing corruption charges.
New York Times
7/24/05
There are reports of Shiite death squads operating in the interior ministry targeting Sunnis.
Many Iraqis are saying that the civil war has begun.
Zarqawi has called Shiites "monkeys" and an affront to God.
Ayatollah Sistani has called on the government to "defend the country against mass annihiliation."
The new security forces being trained by the U.S. might increases the changes for civil war because 80% of them are Shiites and Kurds. The units often sent to hot spots are Shiite and Kurds.
A Sunni professor from Baghdad Univ. said, "The people feel taht the army does not come to serve them, but to punish them. The people hate them."
After 2 Sunnis working on the constitution were shot in Baghdad, some Sunnis accused the Shiites of committing the killings.
Der Spiegal
7/25/05
Shiite Ayatollah Sistani has said the constant attacks on Shiites constitutions "extermination" and that Iraq is headed towards "genocide."
5 times in the last 4 weeks regular Sunnis and Shiites were gunned down on the road to Baghdad airport as part of sectarian revenge killings between the 2 groups. Basra, Baghdad and areas with mixed Shiite and Sunni populations are plagued with increasing sectarian violence.
There are constant gas and fuel shortages due to insurgent attacks. There's a water shortage in Baghdad. Power to the capitol has been to cut to only 4 hours of electricity a day.
July 21, 2005 U.S. admitted that barely half of Iraq's new police have even mastered basic training and are completely unqualified. 2/3 of the new army are not deployable. There are almost as many insurgents as Iraqi forces capable of combat right now.
Foreign investment has stayed away from Iraq because it's too dangerous.
Imam Saghir says that the civil war has begun.
Sunnis charge the Shiite Badr brigade of killing Sunnis.
Britain's Observer has reported security forces acting as death squads torturing and killing Sunnis arrested on terrorism charges. A government spokesman even admitted that this is going on.
Politicians in the Shiite south and Kurdish north are increasingly calling for separation from Iraq.
Some Kurds are calling for an expansion of their area to hundreds of kilomters South which is predominately Sunni Arab. Arabs in Kirkuk say that Kurds are trying to drive them out of the city.
Business Week
8/1/05
The U.S. has been pressuring the new government to include more Sunnis itno negotiations over the Constitution but the Shiites are resisting because they blame the Sunnis for the crimes of Hussein.
AP
11/25/04
A report by the Defense Science Board, an advisory panel at the Pentagon, reported that the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have united the once divided Islamist movement against the U.S.
The report said that U.S. public diplomacy with the Muslim world is in crisis and the White House and Congress hasn't done anything to fix it.
"At the root of the problem, the report says, is a fundamental misunderstanding of why many Muslims are hostile toward the United States. They "hate our policies," not our freedom, it said."
The report said the U.S.'s actions since 9/11 with the 2 invasions has supported what Islamists said the U.S. would do.
The Board's chairman aid, "To win a global battle of ideas, a global strategy for communicating those ideas is essential." The U.S. is not doing that. The U.S. is failing at understanding how people, especially Arabs, view the U.S.
From the report: "In the eyes of Muslims, American occupation of Afghanist an and Iraq has not led to democracy there, but only more chaos and suffering."
Another quote from the report: "U.S. actions appear, in contrast, to be motivated by ulterior motives and deliberately controlled in order to best serve American national interests at the expense of truly Muslim self-determination."
New York Times
10/31/04
U.S. commanders believe that most of the new Iraqi security forces being formed are full of spies for the insurgency. They're also afraid that beauracracy is slowing down reconstruction aid.
New U.S. intelligence also found that the insurgents are stronger and have more money then they thought.
The military was most concerned about the insurgents new campaign of intimidation against the new government. "If we can't stop the intimidation factor, we can't win," said Lt. Gen Sattler, a Marine commander in southwest Iraq.
The biggest issue was having the new government get more Sunnis involved, otherwise the insurgency would grow stronger.
U.S. officers were hoping that with new counterinsurgency efforts and the training of Iraqi security forces the U.S. would be able to start withdrawing U.S. soldiers in July 2005!
The U.S. is still not getting any good intelligence on the insurgency from everyday Iraqis.
New York Times
7/24/05
The U.S. plan to hinder the insurgency by holding elections and restoring Iraqi soverignty hasn't worked. The insurgency is moving from attacking U.S. forces to trying to start a civil war.
Attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces have stayed steady over the last year at about 65 per day.
An Army intelligence officer said that the insurgency is replacing its loses in people and material faster than the U.S. can kill and stop them.
The U.S. also admits that it has no better information about the insurgency now then when it first started.
A conservative Sunni leader said that if the government doesn't include more Sunnis then the insurgency will grow stronger.
The kidnappings and attacks on foreign governments seems to be working as no Arab government has sent an ambassador to Iraq.
"In Baghdad, it is commonly understood that the recent success of the insurgency lies in part in the weakness of the Iraqi government."
San Francisco Chronicle
7/3/05
In a review of Larry Diamond's "Squandered Vicotry: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy To Iraq."
Diamond was a Stanford professor who was called up by Condeezza Rice to work for the U.S. Provisional Authority in Iraq to help rebuild the country. He became disenchanted at the lack of success.
According to Diamond:
Most of his work and the work of his collegues was ignored. 2 were killed by insurgents.
"Late March 2004, one of my CPA colleagues shook his head in exasperation and despair. 'We haven't had the will to confront the security challenges," he told me. 'In April this was ours to lose.' He did not finish the thought, but it was: 'And we are losing it.' "
San Francisco Chronicle
7/1/05
General Abizaid said that more foreign fighters have entered the country since the January elections and that the insurgency is as strong as it was 6 months ago.
Soldiers and think tank specialists interview believe that under the current strategy the U.S. can only have a stalemate with the insurgents.
The answer to ending the insurgency is getting more Sunnis involved in the political process.
And more recently:
The Iraqis missed the first deadline for the draft of the constitution.
Due to a concession to the Kurds which gave them veto power over the new constitution, the Sunnis now have veto power as well because of their numbers in 3 or 4 provinces in central Iraq
A leading Sunni group has called for the same kind of autonomy as the Kurds in the North, which turns the Sunnis more against the Constitutional process.
man didn't you ever see "Three Kings"? You shoulda known this was gonna happen.
Vitamin actually seems to come to terms with how badly things are going and doesn't seem as hopeful as before, which leaves the3rdstream as the only "true believer" left. But of course, according to him, the insurgency is "losing" ever since Falljuah and the elections!
Vitamin is not coming to terms with anything. He is distancing himself from the Iraq tragedy which he and his so-called "profession" have helped create. He's now focussing his attention on Iran. His propaganda appears on the same opinion page as John Stossel's, that other shameless tool who passes himself off as a journalist.
"The Free World's Guess"
http://www.nysun.com/article/18817 (Quotes Niall Ferguson - not a good look "Iran is now on the brink of becoming the single biggest threat to democracy in the world.")
"Iranian Prosecutor Now Threatening Family of Ganji"
http://www.nysun.com/article/18643
"From Revolutionary to Dissident"
http://www.nysun.com/article/18203
Looks like at least 7 or 8 articles on Iran in the last 45 days. You'd think he'd spend some more time learning about how wrong he was about Iraq before moving on to the the next Neo-Con chickenhawk project.
Like the moron he voted for, he's a sick joke with a never-ending punchline.
It strikes me that this is exactly the case in Iraq. You can debate the merits of removing Saddam, the potential terror threat Iraq posed and everything else that lead us to want to go in, till the cows come home. It will never change that we had no understanding of what would happen once we invaded and have bungled the transition since. We will lose many more soldiers here and there will be a reckoning on the ground where the reality of the street meets the reality of our mission there. In my opinion it is one of the grandest mistakes in US foreign policy history. A gigantic waste of money, lives and an enormous wieght around our collective necks. Bush and his boys must go.
Right. What you are really saying is We did know, Bush & Co did not. The intelligence, and analysis was there. What has happened is what was predicted by many in the intelligence community. It was reported in some news outlets, picked up by the anti-war movement and marginalized by the administration and the press. From the NY Sun to the NY Times, from ABC to Fox, level headed analysis was scoffed at, while proclamations from Rumsfeld (We will be greeted with roses) to Rice (We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud) were treated as gospel.
Dan
You are correct that, before the invasion, many people predicted that this would end poorly. Some for ideological reasons, others because of their deep understanding of the region. Frankly, I think it would have been difficult to have really known what the outcome was going to be. And that really is my point. You don't put your hand in a hornet's nest without being goddam sure it is worth the trouble. Clearly, (read Sy Hersh's pieces in the New Yorker on Cheney stovepiping intelligence) the Whitehouse was manipulating the press for reasons other than national security. They wanted to pursue a radical agenda of reshaping the world through American Neo-Imperialism. This not a secret. They wrote openly about it for years. Well, it was a very bad idea and we're paying for it.