Category: Iraq

One of many questions that Chris Wallace failed to ask Barack Obama during his 45-minute interview on Foxaganda Sunday was what the Senator thought about David Barstow’s devastating exposé in The New York Times the previous weekend.

No surprise. What would be the percentage in replacing one of the plethora of Jeremiah Wright questions with an inquiry about the megamedia’s hiring of retired military officers who sexed up the case for the U.S. invasion of Iraq and then exaggerated, distorted and lied about what was happening when the war and subsequent occupation got underway? Would that help the bottom line? Nah. Hence, none of Wallace’s pals at Foxaganda are talking about this. Indeed, mum’s been the word on Barstow’s bombshell throughout the megamedia. The talking point – or perhaps the memo from on high – seems to be: Don’t talk.

Don’t tell viewers that retired generals and colonels and majors engaged in a war-drumming, flag-waving perversion of patriotism. Or that those in the Pentagon who ordered special briefings for these analysts as part of a domestic propaganda campaign ought to get their mail deliveries slipped between the bars at Leavenworth for the next few years. Avoid the subject and maybe it will go away like so many other stories which have been disappeared as if they were dissidents in some backwater military dictatorship.

I suppose this isn’t a shock to anyone, but once again the House Democrats are ignoring their Constitutional power of the purse and are working on funding the Iraq occupation well into 2009. Led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the House Democrats work on huge Iraq money bill according to a story in the San Francisco Chronicle.

House Democratic leaders are putting together the largest Iraq war spending bill yet, a measure that is expected to fund the war through the end of the Bush presidency and for nearly six months into the next president’s term.

Neither the Bush administration nor Congress has been forthright with Americans about the true costs of the Iraq invasion and occupation. Now, once again the House Democrats are betraying the voters who put them into power in 2006 as they maneuver to fund the Iraq occupation once again to a tune of $108 billion, plus $70 billion of “breathing room” funding for the next president.

From our friends at the Iraq Moratorium:

Reports from Moratorium Day #8, just over a week ago, are still coming in and being posted on the Iraq Moratorium website, and a few got us thinking. One report, our first ever from Point Arena, CA said:

Three of us came out to honor Iraq Moratorium on Friday, April 18, 2008 in front of the local post office.

We carried a sign and displayed it prominently, and we handed out flyers to interested people.

The weather was very cold and exceptionally windy; I think that kept people away. However, we felt really good about joining people all over the U.S. to stand against the Iraq war.

Looked at in a vacuum, three people doesn’t sound too impressive, does it? Well, we Googled Point Arena. It’s a tiny rural town with a population of 486. Not an easy place to build an anti-war presence. And for us, their conclusion gets to the essence of the Moratorium:

“We felt really good about joining people all over the U.S. to stand against the Iraq war.”

This will be short and sweet, as the irony is just too oppressive at the moment.

Trillions of dollars spent.  Thousands of American lives and just as importantly, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Afghan lives spent.  Corporate profits off the scale.  War waged specifically for these profits and the easy access to oil.  

This shit has backfired in the face of our criminal administration beyond anything they could possibly have ever in their entire evil lives considered.  WELL….

Except for the important part.  Corporate profits off the scale.

Let’s have a look.  From CNN:

What do you do when the greed fueled madness of the few becomes the stark deadly reality for many, and the blatant lies of the killers become the truth that is ejected day after day from the plastic reality box , where shiny bright vultures of the ruling class, with perfect teeth and perfect hair, proclaim and affirm that what you see isn’t what you get, that your eyes and ears are lying, that war is peace and hate is love and all is righteous and good in God fearing America.  What do you do when our soldiers, bound by oath to fulfill their duty, are lied to, abused, sent to fight ill equipped, under manned, without competent leadership, stop lossed, numbed with medication, re deployed, over and over,  then are dumped into our cities and streets, forgotten and left to fend for themselves. What do you do.

The following came in on a google news alert I have on Nadia McCaffery who’s son, Sgt. Patrick McCaffrey, was killed nearly five years ago in Iraq. The reason I use the alert is that Nadia, and her Daughter-in-Law have been slowly growing the dream of helping other Veterans returning from the Theaters of War suffering from PTSD and TBI, her son was a medic. Their dream, in her sons honor, is called Veterans Village

This report doesn’t cover ‘Veterans Village’ but Nadia was asked about her thoughts on this Congressional Bill.

From Obama’s Website April 27, 2008:

Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months.

A group of Marines ogling a pinup girl outside their bunkers in Khe Sanh, South Vietnam, in January 1968

Targetting Congressional Pages or Toe Tapping in public bathroom stalls is just fine and dandy, as well as giving male prostitutes seemingly unlimitted access to the White House Press Room and only rove knows where else, and the other numorous sex related adventures of mostly republican congressmen, bet the women have a few little secrets themselves.

But shockingly, once again, after being the Lead Cheerleaders, along with their equally sex confused talking heads, o’really are you listening, you to fatboy cyst, to the extremely failed policy of Wars/Occupations Of Choice we get this:

Another rising  case of the Mis-Treatment of the Military Troops returning from the Theaters of Afganistan and Iraq.

The following was printed in the Fayetteville Observer, in Fayetteville North Carolina, home to Ft Bragg Army Base.

YouTube video raises concerns about Bragg barracks

Well, as the pundits talk almost exclusively about the endless Primary Campaign, the Cheney Bush Administration seems determined to start it’s third war:

“…The nation’s top military officer said today that the Pentagon is planning for “potential military courses of action” against Iran, criticizing what he called the Tehran government’s “increasingly lethal and malign influence” in Iraq…”

“…Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a conflict with Iran would be “extremely stressing” but not impossible for U.S. forces, pointing specifically to reserve capabilities in the Navy and Air Force…”

There’s more…

You’ll be glad to know that the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has finally been cleared for occupation (*cough*cough*), and that the 950-person staff will be moving in throughout the month of May.

Sure, it’s about 6 months late and $140 million over budget…..but isn’t that just a pittance compared to the expected annual operating cost of $1 billion…..not bad for 21 buildings over 104 acres, replete with 600 blast-resistant apartments, huh?  

I knew it would come to this one day, because one side was so stubborn and the other side was feeling rejected. Maybe this rift can be filled one day, but right now, there is only pain and hurt. Makes one wonder how it all came down to this.

That’s right, al-Qaida and Iran have irreconcilable differences, they are tearing their Axis of Evil apart.

http://www.breitbart.com/artic…

The increasing enmity toward Iran is a notable change of rhetoric from al-Zawahri, who in the past rarely mentioned the country-apparently in a hopes he would be able to forge some sort of understanding with Tehran based on their common rivalry with the United States. Iran has long sought to distance itself from al-Qaida.  

“Al-Zawahri wanted to work with Iran, but he’s deeply disappointed that Iran has not cooperated with al-Qaida,” said Rohan Gunaratna, a terrorism expert and author of “Inside al-Qaida: The Global Network of Terror.”

So now, al-Zawahri “wants to appeal to the anti-Shiite, anti-Iran sentiments in the Arab and Muslim world,” said Gunaratna, head of the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore.

Al-Zawahri appeared intent on exploiting widespread worry in the Arab world over Iran’s influence, particularly in Iraq, to garner support for al-Qaida. At the same time, he sought to denigrate Iran’s ally Hezbollah, which has gained some popularity even among Sunnis in the region for its fight against Israel.

But in many of his answers, al-Zawahri went out of his way to criticize Iran. He said the Iraqi insurgent umbrella group led by al- Qaida, called the Islamic State of Iraq, is “the primary force opposing the Crusaders (the United States) and challenging Iranian ambitions” in Iraq.

Great, al-Zawahri plays the race card. Way to turn the Arabs against the Persians, asshole. This Jihad was suppose to be about ideas and policies, but here al-Zawahri goes back to the terrorism of old.

“Iran’s aim here is also clear-to cover up its involvement with America in invading the homes of Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq,” he added. Iran cooperated with the United States in the 2001 U.S. assault on Afghanistan that toppled al-Qaida’s allies, the Taliban.

This campaign of dirty tricks has to end, you don’t go into Jihad as a people divided. You don’t see Iran bringing up Osama’s playboy youth or compassionate sane cleric.

Iran has never been in bed with America, while it is well know Osama was. Do you see Iran making obscure internet videos about that?

No. Because they are against tearing this party apart.

The rhetoric is a stark change for al-Zawahri, who in the past did not seek to exploit Shiite-Sunni tensions. When the former head of al- Qaida in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was waging a campaign of suicide bombings against Shiites in Iraq, al-Zawahri sent messages telling him to stop, fearing it would hurt al-Qaida’s image.

This just goes to show al-Zawahri will stop at nothing to win this thing. He will flipflop, he will lie and he will ruin other members of the Axis of Evil for his own entitlement.

This was suppose to be a different Jihad, a Jihad about ideas. About policy. A Jihad where fanatical Muslim could walk hand in hand with other fanatical Muslims, regardless of sects, setting off each other’s suicide belts, showing the world what a terrorist party united can do.

al-Zawahri has ruined that hope, which is why he is the real Great Satan.