That’s how the Democrats should respond to the Petraeus White House report non-report: “Who cares?”
We’ve seen three reports in the last 15 days from the intelligence community, the GAO, and now the Jones Commission, all of which agree that The Surge is not working, that Iraq is a violent, chaotic mess making no political progress. So why on earth should we listen to what the White House or its puppet general have to say? Especially when this White House has dedicated itself to politicizing every facet of federal government?
Oh wait, I forgot. There is no White House report. Again, who cares? True, Dubya is blowing off the reporting requirements of the toothless appropriations bill:
(A) The President shall submit an initial report, in classified and unclassified format, to the Congress, not later than July 15, 2007 [and another in September 15, 2007], assessing the status of each of the specific benchmarks established above, and declaring, in his judgment, whether satisfactory progress toward meeting these benchmarks is, or is not, being achieved.
But is blowing that off such a bad thing? In Dubya’s judgment, the status of Iraq is probably something like we must nuke Iran RIGHT NOW OMG. The only suspense surrounding such a report would concern the extent and brazenness of its dishonesty.
This is not to say that the Democrats should ignore Puppetraeus completely when he testifies on behalf of The Surge. There are three questions in particular I would like to hear them ask:
1) Why don’t all deaths count equally? The Surge was supposed to make Iraq safer, but Iraqi deaths have gone up – what difference does it make how they were killed?
2) Where is the political progress that was supposed to be the ultimate goal of The Surge?
3) Why should we listen to you and not the trio of reports which tell us The Surge is not working? Don’t tell us it’s because you’re “on the ground,” because “the ground” is not where The Surge’s success will be measured (See Question 2). Why should we regard you as impartial when you wrote a pro-war op-ed to help Bush six weeks before the 2004 election? Why should we regard you as credible when you declared back in June that you would report enough progress to justify extending The Surge?
Unfortunately, the question the Democrats are most likely to ask is “Can I have your autograph?”
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evening!
Hiya!
My head is still downstairs or somewhere inbetween.
top of the evenin’ to ya Eli!
yet another excellent post. Wish i could get my mom & aunts online … they’d love this, and FDL in general.
Hey Eli.
We’re here. QuakerGirl says it best. ;->
Been a rocky week. sigh.
lucky 7
Hiya, LL! Hiya, Adie!
Can I have your autograph? That is hilariously perfect, and a bit sad.
OT: Has the new “Bin Laden” tape received any commentary from the lefty blogs? I happened to catch a glipmse of the MSM drooling all over it and never questioning its authenticity. Looks nothing like him (in facial structure not to mention his new brill creamed beard) and the rhetoric sounds like it came straight from the Heritage foundation, the Rendon group or the CIA. The wingtards, predicatbly, are doing cartwheels. Some days you just have to laugh.
Liarerman at it again
Jay @ 9
“Hooray! Our Fearless Leader has completely failed to capture or kill Public Enemy #1! This can only be good for Republicans!”
I agree, Eli, I’m wondering about the extent of their brazenness in their reporting… Damn, too bad we can’t get it on record…!!! 8-(
AZ Matt @ 10
So, they could bring home, like, *one* troop, and that would satisfy the requirement, right?
Did Petraeus take a loyalty oath?
Response to your three questions, Eli. Well, it’s obvious. All people are not equal. Ask Babs. She made that very clear during Katrina so that is an established fact.
Your second question is just silly. Who says you can’t change a “mission”? Shrub is the Decider and he decides what the mission is at any given time. You are so unpatriotic.
As for your third question, that’s because the Decider knows things they don’t know and never forget that.
Geese, what’s with these questions? (Eye roll, turn back on subject.)
Jay @ 9
Or it could be the Manhattan Institute.
QuakerGirl @ 15
The criteria wasn’t so much who was killed, so much as *how* they were killed. It even makes a difference whether they were shot in the front or the back of the head.
AZ Matt @ 10
I’d really like to know if he’s got a secret account in the Cayman Islands.
Loo Hoo. @ 14
To Shrub or the Constitution??? ;-)
Loo Hoo. @ 14
Did Petraeus take a loyalty oath?
Did Lieberman?
That’s a great picture up top. You can’t see the puppet strings on either of them.
Loo Hoo. @ 14
I am sure Monica Goodling checked him out.
Hugh @ 21
Petraeus must be a pretty shrimpy guy if Bush makes him look small….
Or, maybe, Bush has got on his cowboy boots with the three-inch heels and the four-inch lifts in `em….
ccmask @ 16
Oh yeah, maybe Judy wrote it!
Sulaimaniya, Sept 7, (VOI)- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said on Friday that he would not approve the decision to hang former defense minister Sultan Hashim, because he has reservation regarding executing Iraqi army officers, denying media reports which said that the three convicted in the Anfal case will be executed tomorrow.
I cannot imagine how much worse the leadersheep of the pseudo democrats could have played this report.
I”m totally disgusted. Your questions for Betrayus are perfect.
What does this lamest of ducks have on the DEMS? They are spineless. /rant
tw3k @ 24
Wrote it? Hell, maybe she *delivered* it.
montag @ 23
Ooh, but look at all those bright shiny medals he sports…!!! ;-)
I don’t really give a fuck that this guy has 4 stars and a Princeton PhD.
My 1 question to him: Do you care about the United States people?
I find that pic very revealing. The general looks indeed like an oversized “Pet,” ready to bend over and lick his master’s shoes. Maybe bush has a nickname for him along the lines of Fido.
I think it’s a scandal!
oddmommy @ 30
Or, alternatively, Dubya has a little lift that he stands on to make himself look larger and more magnificent in WH photo ops.
dumbya went 1/2 way round the around the world – prolly lost a day – who knows?! Certainly not that pampered pooch – and all he comes back with is a lotta xcess gas into the stratosphere, and insulting s’more people we oughta be working WITH, not against.
This is one world. We don’t want everyone to march in lockstep. We needn’t have to.
We would like to get along tolerably well, promote peace, and – if it’s not too much to ask – our kids to have a future…
Jonathan @ 29
F*ck that… what about the troops he ‘leads’…!!! 8-(
AZ Matt @ 10
Some things never change – old men still love to send young men to war. What is that psychology all about? Bet he would be easier on women but he has to get rid of or injure the competition. Guys, give us help here. I know you have evolved beyond this but you must have some inkling of what the Lieber-men are all about. He speaks with such enthusiasm about killing and maiming our youth. Look at the ages of these slaughtered lives. So very young. Personally, I think old men should go to the forefront of the battle.
Jay @ 9
I think cable news was interested in it for Osama’s punditry. As he criticized the Democrats on Iraq, I can see him being questioned by Wolf Blitzer or Chris Matthews on air and in robe about the important issues of the day like Hillary’s cleavage.
Well, rest assured Petraeus’ report will be independent of politics nor will it attempt to strike fear or foment doubt in the minds of ordinary Americans…oh wait, what day is he delivering his report again?
QuakerGirl @ 35
Does it count if I want to send the College Republicans to war?
I hope this first building block in the effort to reclaim Iraq for a united Iraqi government free of American influence turns out to be as promising as it sounds:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/engl…..668624.htm
http://www.dailykos.com/storyo…..73216/4829
Hello, Congress?
Adie @ 33
I’m always amazed how little advancement humans have made. Seems almost like we’ve gotten better at making stuff and little else.
Ugh – that photo – Betrayus looks so very deferential to Mr. Manly Man aka lil boots. He looks more like a servant than a general. Where did they find this guy?
Eli @ 32
Anyone check props at Universal to see if Alan Ladd’s box for love scenes is missing? :)
tw3k @ 40
Have we gotten as much better at making stuff as we have at destroying stuff?
Hiya Eli!
Do you think the dems want TRex’s autograph? That’s what I asked for from Chicago.
That picture’s been shopped. Look at the hands. Petreas’ are as large or larger than Bushs’.
Jay @ 9
Yeah, I had questions about the beard, too. Maybe he’s found the fountain of youth, and is living comfortably in retirement in Florida. Without the turban and Taliban threads, of course. Probably wearing a business suit and sunglasses.
He’s living in retirement, of course, because he has achieved his objectives beyond his wildest dreams, and everything in Iraq and Afghanistan– not to mention the U.S.– are sliding his way without needing any micromanagement from him. He must be laughing at what a chump Georgie boy is.
Bob in HI
Yes, I’m sure Bin Laden is riveted by the minutiae of Red State v. Blue State squabbling. Geez, it borders on parody.
CT
IMO and experience, all military officers with political ambitions have had their eyes focused on their civilian superiors and could have cared less about the soldiers under their command.
Regardless of how people die in an occupied country, it is the legal responsibility of the occupiers to ensure the health and safety of the population. If people are dying at rates that far exceed what they were prior to the war, then the occupier must accept responsibility for that.
It matters not whether people are committing suicide due to occupation or dying of cholera due to poor sanitation under occupation. Or dying due to lack of medical care under occupation. Or because of lack of electricity and thus lack of air-conditioning in temperatures that can reach 120 degrees in summer.
We are de facto occupiers. And if people are dying in greater numbers, we are responsible.
Not only that, since millions have left or died already, the increased numbers spell a huge increase in percentage of deaths.
SnarKassandra @ 44
Oh, God no. I don’t think they’re fans.
montag @ 18
Why? All they have to do is funnel the funds thru Hadassah.
And Dubya the Decider dun decided: we’re kickin’ ass in Iraq.
wrong country, wrong war…irrelevant in Peter Pan’s world. He and Wendy-Condi are flyin’ high, so what diff does reality make?
I’m leaving for Tahlequah in about 10. Straight up the turnpike about 80mph. The people are calling. ;0) Goodnight.
Linda @ 41
The word “lickspittle” comes to mind. Well to my mind anyway.
TheraP @ 49
Plus the people that die because all the doctors left, or because they need to refridge their medicine or they need a machine to help them breathe.
Jay @ 47
I have to say, the thought of OBL on MTP, spouting Broderesque insider CW, amuses me something fierce.
Eli @ 50
OK. Just checking. ;)
Jay@9:
I agree with you. I saw Ben Laden and said: “That’s not him!” but looking closer, I see it IS HIM! He apparently doesn’t like the coverage he’s been getting, and he’s had a WASH AND BRUSH UP! Lady Clairol! Better lighting! He seems a bit peeeved that everybody thinks he’s been hurting kids and families ‘n stuff.
Plus, he’s bound by the Koran to warn us to convert before he can, with entirely clear conscience, attack us again.
Jonathan @ 48
As a 20 yr Noncom, I agree with ya! The ones who spoke truth to power were never promoted…!!!
CTuttle @ 58
I hope the ones in charge of my brother care about him.
Tweety and the Great Pumpkin are probably making phone calls as we speak.
61!
Eli @ 43
Seems to be pretty at both and not very interested in humanity.
Eli @ 55
I’m holding out for Lou Dobbs to have him on to talk about illegal immigration….
TheraP @ 49
You are so right, TheraP.
Did y’all see the move on video about Bush and progress? I posted it here. Top post.
itwasntme @ 57
Wrong nose. his was more narrow.
Night, OKK. Hugs for Lahoma.
Eli @ 17
I am being very naughty. It is a stupid criteria and what kind of mind comes up with such a thing? And, worse, are those who accept it (Congress). Madness.
I want you to know I greatly appreciate you writing this thread. It needs to be aired. I just want to get to my senator, Harry Reid, and knock some sense in his head. Not a good response from me.
Jay @ 9
My sentiments exactly, tho I’m having a hard time laughing lately (but I recognize your context and, if I have trubbles at FDL, it’s usually caused by trying to snarkify too much, so… yeah – mebbe i can laugh again a bit tomorrow.)
1st thot upon seeing & hearing bits of the bin whutsisname tape were:
Where’s rover?! I wanna that stoopid tape fingerprinted.
and/or:
Why does all of this sound as if Ann Cull-her wrote it?! or matalin, or mebbe more likely, some ham-handed new recruit shooter has found.
it doesn’t sound legit.
it doesn’t look legit.
it smells like a hoax. *gasp*
Kathryn in MA @ 66
Maybe he had some work done?
bobschacht @ 46
I wasn’t paying total attention but KO did cover the tape, including the changing color of the beard. He had some ME expert on who was talking about the darker and shorter beard being because Bin laden is re-stating his strength. Again, I wasn’t paying complete attention but the gist was that the older tape with the longer, grayer beard was perceived as a weakening in the Muslim world.
With any luck, C&L or MSNBC will have the segment up at some time for review.
Eli @ 38,
Operation Yellow Elephant has been trying to get them College Repubs, Young American for Freeeeedooom signed up. I don’t think there has been much success.
Operation Yellow Elephant
I saw Ben Laden and said: “That’s not him!” but looking closer, I see it IS HIM! He apparently doesn’t like the coverage he’s been getting, and he’s had a WASH AND BRUSH UP! Lady Clairol! Better lighting! He seems a bit peeeved that everybody thinks he’s been hurting kids and families ‘n stuff.
And I say again, that’s a pretty neat trick – a video made by a dead guy.
Eli @ 55
seriously!
SnarKassandra @ 59
Cassie, you’d have to ask him! It can be like ‘a box of chocolates… ya nevah know…’ !!! *g*
Ooh, Betrayus! Hadn’t seen that before. Somebody ought to ask, since we are the defacto police dept. cum prosecutor/judge/jury in Iraq, what their clearance rate is. Does it exceed 0.00000000001%? How do they choose whether a bullet in the ear is insurgent-inflicted or a crime? America wants to know.
jayt @ 73
They do that sometimes. take an old video and put new people in it with iMovie or something.
yellowdog jim @ 61
!
Congrats, ydog! not everyone bingos on 61!
are we playin bingo? cool!
Eli @ 38
That works. They can put their body where their mouth is. They support this war; they go to the forefront of the battle. Never ask another person to do what you are not willing to do yourself.
QuakerGirl @ 68
No problem. I recognized the snark, just wanted to clarify the specific kind of awfulness on display.
dakine01 @ 71
CNN has it, but a very poor feed here.
Eli, more like – he’s dead and they have a stand-in to keep the base worked up.
AZ Matt @ 72
Not holdin’ my breath. Holding my nose, maybe.
From OYE:
After his unit was extended in Iraq, U.S. Army CPL Juan Alcantara was denied permission to travel home to New York City for the birth of his child. CPL Alcantara was killed in action weeks later without ever seeing his daughter Jaylani (above, right).
Money quote from CPL Alcantara’s mother:
Alcantara’s mother, Maria Alcantara, and [his fiancee, Sayonara] Lopez both scolded President Bush and the Army for refusing to allow the young soldier to return home for the birth of his child.
“I hate Bush and I hate this war because if it wasn’t for him [the extension] he’d be here with me,” Lopez said. “People are losing families for no reason.”
Maria Alcantara shared Lopez’s disgust.
“The war is never going to end and it can’t be won,” the mom said in Spanish. “They should enlist Bush’s family.”
CPL Alcantara and his family immigrated to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic.
QuakerGirl @ 68
Would it matter what side of the head you hit him on?
Eli maybe you can expand that like this:
1) Why don’t all deaths count equally? The WAR was supposed to make Iraq safer, but Iraqi deaths have gone up SINCE WE TOOK OVER – what difference does it make how they were killed?
Eli @ 43
forgive me: barely suppressed biology training bubbling forth…
We never will have the chance, at the rate we’re going.
Quote paraphrased from marvelous interview of E.O. Wilson, renowned biologist, recently (on PBS):
If all the countries in the world were to consume resources at the same rate that the USA does currently, it would take FOUR earths in order to supply the “need”.
AZ Matt that is really sad.
I looked at that Bin Laden tape a couple of times and unless someone sent him a bottle of my natural hair
dyecolor, he’s a fake. Ah, but who is the actor?Kathryn in MA @ 78
thanks.
getting the “zed” when no one’s posted is not a real challenge anymore.
real firedogs go for it after 60.
last night i got a 263.
or was it 264?
So Shrubby got Austria and Australia a little mixed up did he…no worries George, we may be kickin’ ass in Iaq, but back home the OBGYN’s are practicing their love with reckless abandon.
AZ Matt @ 85
So very sad.
SnarKassandra @ 87
Well, Petraeus has been peddling bogus statistics to say that “sectarian” killings have gone down since The Surge began. It’s an irrelevant distinction designed to conceal that fact that killings overall are way up from the pre-Surge numbers for the same month.
ardens @ 86
:D
Adie @ 88
I’m surprised it’s only four.
Eli @ 94
It is an escalation, not a surge.
yellowdog jim @ 91
oooooooooooo!!!1!!eleven!!
Mrs. Peterr and I had identical, simultaneous reactions to the pictures of bin Laden: Keith Hernandez, Clyde Frazier, and the Hair Club for Men.
Jay @ 92
Yep, and this time, he can’t fall back on not traveling much, because, now, he’s been to both.
But, I’ll bet the Australians have been showing that little gaffe over and over.
But, it proves one thing–no matter how good his speechwriters are (and they’ve never been that good), they simply can’t make up for stupid.
Kathryn in MA @ 98
BINGO!
(sorta)
Peterr @ 99
I haven’t seen it yet, but I actually had the exact same reaction just based on the comments here.
Eli @ 94
*gah* the fricking shell games of which direction the bullet entered is sheer BS, a body is a body…!!! 8-(
Worst. Puppet. Ever.
CTuttle @ 103
And non-sectarian violence is still violence, which is not being reduced by The Surge.
By the way, why is the three frontal shots to Tillman’s forehead not being mentioned by Dod???
I think getting the even hundreds should be the new zed, and Montag, you the winner!
Peterr @ 99
I think KO called it Hairclub for Men for Beards…
newdealfarmgrrrlll @ 5
Suggest you try to keep them informed, even if you have to copy & paste.
Also, are you aware of the weekly?
“Liberal Opinion”. We still have it delivered, if only to keep up support for them. Google ‘em, and you shouldn’t have any trouble ordering. WONDERFUL collection of articles as published by leading liberal writers all across the country, PLUS – tee hee – best of the political cartoons, sent weekly year-round through regular mail delivery. I can’t recommend it highly enough!
Dandy for the many who just don’t have the capacity or comfort with the toobz that some of us do.
Snarkassandra @ 97
L’emasculation! Sans Le Surge!
CTuttle @ 106
They weren’t sectarian?
Adie @ 88
And that isn’t even shocking :/
Eli @ 102
Actually, it’s a hoot! Even NPR treated it like “fact”.
Loo Hoo. @ 107
Oh, there will be a comment released from moderation and spoil that unique achievement…. :)
CTuttle @ 106
Afghanistan has different rules for analysis than Iraq doncha know…
Peterr @ 99
Mrs. Peterr and I had identical, simultaneous reactions to the pictures of bin Laden: Keith Hernandez, Clyde Frazier, and the Hair Club for Men.
Maybe poor OBL got “Ree-jected!!”?
Another one of Mel Sembler’s golden children bite the dust BIG TIME.
Oh those Republican Family Values.
http://blogs.tampabay.com/brea…..-held.html
Jay @ 104
i’m thinking back over all of the puppets we’ve ever known.
who would be the second worse?
not Lambchop.
not Beany.
not Kukla.
not Pinocchio.
not …
well, maybe Punch?
Worst.
Stooge.
Ever.
Eli @ 111
Doh! Silly me…!!!
jayt @ 116
Umm, he’s probably got a much higher rate of… redacted.
Through all the madness and the mayhem wrought by this criminal administration, I often wonder why there are so few Joe Wilson’s out there? Smart, courageous, patriotic Americans on the inside, willing to stick their neck out to drop some real bombshells on this crime family? We need those people now more than ever. Was with Iran will multiply this Middle East catastrophe exponentially.
yellowdog jim @ 118
JoeyCharlie McCarthy.yellowdog jim @ 118
Well, that, too, even when considering Shemp.
More information on Rebulican Family Values. Sorry for the OT but I appreciate FDL’s continued Mel Sembler vigilance.
http://blogs.tampabay.com/brea…..urg-1.html
Or Curley Joe.
That’d be war with Iran…
Posted in the comments to Krugman’s take on the upcoming Petraeus shit as sunshine report: http://welcome-to-pottersville…..stand.html
That wasn’t the only BS Petraeus helped spread. Below are other examples of him, over the years, telling us how good it was going in Iraq. I guess it went so well, that we needed the surge.
Let’s look at some of Petraeus earlier BS, where he gave us a ‘rosy picture’ implying we should stay the course. I guess all those Iraqi’s he trained turned out so well, that the surge wasn’t needed.
And I love his Jan. 2005 comment where he let slip that: Iraqis must provide for their own security. The coalition cannot impose a peace on Iraq, nor can force make democracy flourish
http://www.defenselink.mil/tra…..iptid=3158
September 14, 2003 . . .
. . . Schieffer: Let me ask you one other thing, and that is this intense criticism that seems to be boiling up on Capitol Hill. This story this morning is filled with it, and basically it comes down to that Don Rumsfeld, and I’ll just put this straight to you, is stubborn, and that’s the reason he won’t admit that he made a mistake when he said we have plenty of troops there, and that that’s one of the reasons you’re having problems on the Hill and within the Pentagon. I just want to give you a chance to respond to that.
Rumsfeld: Sure, I’m glad to. How do you respond to whether or not you’re stubborn. I guess you respond this way, we have General [John] Abizaid who is in charge of the Central Command, [Lieutenant] General [Ricardo] Sanchez, who is in charge of Iraq, and then a series of division commanders, good ones, [Major] General [David] Petraeus, [Major] General [Raymond] Odierno, and they meet regularly, and they ask that question, do we need more U.S. troops, and they say they don’t. They do not feel that we ought to bring in more additional troops, why?
Rumsfeld: Just let me respond. Now, should I be stubborn and say, you’re wrong? What I do is I say, why do you or don’t you need something, and I go and discuss it. And they come back consistently and say they do not need more additional troops, you need more force protection, you need more combat support people if you’re going to have more troops. We’re managing the skill mix of the troops, because they’re not doing a lot of combat, they’re doing a lot of presence and a lot of construction, and a lot of assistance, and a lot of forming city councils, 90 percent of the people in Iraq are now living in an area that’s governed by a city council, or a village council.
Schieffer: So you do not feel that you made a mistake-
Rumsfeld: If I felt I’d made a mistake I’d change it.
Schieffer: Misestimated, or underestimated.
Rumsfeld: My problem is the people who are saying we need more troops are not giving any good reasons. There’s no substance to their arguments, they’re just saying we don’t have enough. Our military people say we do, and they then explain why they think they do, and why they want the effort on increasing the Iraqi capability. So I listen to the two sides of the argument. I would increase the number of troops in five minutes, if people would come to me and make a decent argument, but all I see is critics saying, you need more troops. Something has to be wrong. . .
http://www.defenselink.mil/new…..x?id=26181
June 28, 2004 – Recent adjustments made to improve Iraqi security forces are working, a senior U.S. officer in Baghdad said June 27.
Ongoing changes “are gradually, but markedly improving the quality of Iraqi security forces,” Army Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus, chief of the Office of Security Transition in Iraq, reported during a Pentagon Channel interview. . .
. . . “But, there are also areas where we see considerable success,” he pointed out. For example, he said, Iraqi security forces had months ago assumed a variety of important security tasks from coalition forces in the north and south of the country. . .
http://www.defenselink.mil/tra…..iptid=1643
January 05, 2005. . .
. . . GEN. METZ: No, no. The original plan for the Iraqi army was 27. As we began to grow — a year ago, the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, which became the National Guard, that number has changed a number of times since I’ve been in command. We are focused right now on 45 battalions, but with an expansion program to about the 65-battalion level. That has a relationship to the amount of equipment we can ship in to get them to that level.
So I just don’t have all the numbers memorized, but there is a 27-battalion army original plan; 45-battalion National Guard growing to 65 plan. The minister of interior has an ever-increasing and robust structure that he’s putting together. The army has made some decisions inside of that original plan to go with intervention forces and change some of the training for the army battalions. He’s brought on — he’s working on bringing on mechanized forces.
And so, again, we had a plan before sovereignty and it was a baseline to work from. But the sovereign government has made decisions and is changing things, and we’re offering advice. But it’s going to be a robust enough structure, I think, in 2005 to take on the insurgent fight here in Iraq, and it will be equipped and trained to do so.
Does that help?
Q Yes, sir, thank you. Just, the 65, is that by the end of this year, or what is –
GEN. METZ: I would say by the end of ‘05 for sure. I’m sure that we can get you that data. I just — I apologize, I just don’t have it all memorized –
Q Sure, no problem.
GEN. METZ: — and that’s because my good friend, Dave Petraeus, he’s supposed to put me out of business. And every time I see him I hug him and say, “Dave, you’ve got to put me out of business. I’m the Multinational Corps fighting here. You’re building the transition security capability — get on with it.” And he is. And we really are a team. We’re good friends. But I look to him to memorize all those numbers. And when he gets them trained and they become tactical control, take on to the Multinational Corps, we employ them and they are good troops. . .
http://www.defenselink.mil/new…..x?id=24406
Jan. 10, 2005 – The U.S. Army general in charge of training Iraqi forces said here today that the job is tough, but it is a mission that must be accomplished before coalition forces can leave Iraq.
And, Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, added, progress is being made. . .
. . . Iraqis must provide for their own security, Petraeus said. The coalition cannot impose a peace on Iraq, nor can force make democracy flourish. . .
http://www.defenselink.mil/new…..x?id=31204
March 14, 2005 . . .
. . . Petraeus said the Jan. 30 Iraqi elections provided a boost to the security forces. Iraqis manned the two inner lines around more than 5,000 polling places nationwide. Insurgents launched more than 270 attacks on Jan. 30, but did not penetrate any polling place, he said.
Following the elections, the general continued, the Iraqi forces got a boost in morale for their fine showing, and the Iraqi people developed trust in the security apparatus. This respect has meant more recruits for the Iraqi army and police, and a greater role in the defense of their own country.
Iraq has 96 operational combat battalions today, Petraeus said. The battalions are out in the cities and rural areas of the country. They are going on independent operations and they are getting results, the general said. Iraqi forces are “shouldering the burden” in 12 of Iraq’s 18 provinces — the three Kurdish provinces in the north and the nine provinces in the south.
“It’s making a big difference. You see it in Fallujah, you see it in Baghdad,” he said. “You also see it in places like Tikrit and Mosul.” . . .
http://www.defenselink.mil/new…..x?id=16991
Aug. 2, 2005 – The chief of the coalition command charged with training Iraqi security forces said “enormous progress” has been made in the effort. . .
. . . Petraeus said that while most of the Iraqi units rely heavily on coalition forces for support and guidance, “there are still some three dozen of them that are assessed to be in the lead.” By this he means that the Iraqi units are leading the fight against the insurgents with minimal or no help from coalition forces. . .
. . . Given continued progress and acceptable conditions, Petraeus said, the United States may be able to reduce troop presence in the country next year, noting this depends on political progress as well as progress in the security capabilities of Iraqi forces. . .
http://www.defenselink.mil/new…..x?id=18152
Oct. 5, 2005 – The Iraqi security forces have made enormous progress over the past 16 months, the U.S. Army general who oversaw their training for more than a year said during a Pentagon news conference today. . .
. . . Iraqi security force readiness has continued to grow with each passing week, the general told reporters, and will grow even more between now and the Oct. 15 national referendum on a draft constitution. “There are now over 197,000 trained and equipped Iraqi security forces, and that should be close to 200,000 by the time of the referendum,” he said.
More than 115 Iraqi police and army combat battalions are in the counterinsurgency fight, he said. About 80 of the battalions are fighting alongside U.S. forces, which the general said equates to Level 3 readiness in the four-tier readiness rating system. “Over 36 (battalions) are assessed as being ‘in the lead,’” he said. In the lead is the term associated with Level 2 readiness, and means the troops are capable of leading joint patrols, as opposed to merely participating.
Level 1 units are labeled as being “fully independent.” There is one battalion in this category, Petraeus said.
The general said it is a mistake to fixate on the Level 1 unit. He said Americans should to expand their understanding of the readiness levels and what each unit brings to the fight. . .
http://www.defenselink.mil/new…..x?id=18157
Bush Pleased With Progress of Iraqi Security Forces
Oct. 5, 2005 – President Bush said today he’s pleased with the progress Iraqis are making in developing a military capable of handling the security challenges of the future.
Bush spoke to the press following a meeting with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld; Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, former commander of Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq. Rumsfeld and the generals briefed the president on the status of Iraqi forces and coalition operations in Iraq.
montag @ 120
Viva, V*a*ra!!
QuakerGirl @ 90
They have body doubles, remember? He travels day by day, never staying in the same place twice….which is pretty tricky dragging your dialysis machine over them hills and thru the caves.
Yeah I was underimpressed at the way they divided up the deaths. To make a huge understatement. :-P It’s so mindbogglingly ridiculous…
Eli @ 111
That is the right question.
dakine01 @ 115
different as in a grunt saying “this fucking war!” and Tillman saying “this war is so fucking illegal!”
G’night all. Remember that the truth is the most powerful ally of all, be thankful it’s on your side.
Peterr @ 99
lmao
montag @ 123
nyuk nyuk nyuk
a shot to the back of the head = sectarian
a shot to the front of the head = criminal
3 tightly-grouped in the forehead = murder.
montag @ 125
AND the category IS!
(setting aside the “puppetry” and “stoogery” categories.)
WORST.
excuse for a HUMAN BEING.
EVER!
(our apologies to all the puppets and stooges we may have offended: you never deserved this.)
(okay, there is Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Dahmer, Pol Pot … hmmmm … then? )
jayt @ 135
or the Sopranos got mad at you
jayt @ 135
a shot to the back of the head = dead
a shot to the front of the head = dead
3 tightly-grouped in the forehead = dead.
yellowdog jim @ 136
Actually, I was thinking he still isn’t quite as bad as Cheney….
Florida Mom @ 117
Turns out Larry Craig’s children don’t wear halos either!
Peterr @ 99
I don’t believe Osama bin Laden is still alive. He’d have to be getting at least as good of medical care as he needed most of the last couple of years before he disappeared at the end of 2001. It doesn’t seem likely he would have been able to receive dialysis and treatment for Marfan’s without attracting attention.
Loo Hoo. @ 82
fwiw, I’m on the verge of boycotting CNN. Suggest you watch primarily to understand why yer acquaintances are so misinformed, but don’t count on em. They seem to have reverted to being a repeater signal for the admin. spin, and trumpeting Dobbsian dogma. It’s sad, and maddening. They used to be better. It must be too costly to pay people to think, sigh.
Right now, we’ve got Jon Stewart and KeithO telling it as is. MSM might as well stay home.
Though I am not in the armed services, much of my family and several of my closest friends are. The general consensus is that an attack on Iran is a foregone conclusion. It will happen and it will happen soon. Everything else is just dog and pony show.
montag @ 140
i was talking about cheney.
/snark
Ed*ard Teller @ 141
This is precisely why we can’t allow universal healthcare.
Jay @ 104
mebbe that’s how bobbleheads were “born”?
One point bothers me:
“The Surge is not working, that Iraq is a violent, chaotic mess making no political progress.”
I’m not so sure about that last part. It seems like all the ethnic cleansing and sectarian violence has pretty well achieved a certain political progress. Not the sort that Shrubbie claimed he wanted, of course. The political “progress” would seem to be the fragmentation of Iraq into three separate nations. Nevertheless, if the three emerging former-Iraqi states can achieve a kind of political balance, it would certainly be progress, and a way out of the civil war.
President talks-with-his-mouth-full will have none of that, of course, and will continue meddling until the entire country formerly known as Iraq is as leveled as New Orleans.
Turns out Larry Craig’s children don’t wear halos either!
“Family values? Yes!! (oh, you mean *my* family?)”
Youffraita @ 147
And, of course, ethnic cleansing is way down in some areas… because there’s no-one left to cleanse.
jayt @ 148
I hate it when people judge me based on who my parents are and I don’t want anyone judging them based on who me and my brother are.
Loo Hoo @ 144
Why am I NOT surprised about Larry Craig’s kids.
If these folks would just embrace the fundalmentals of human sexuality and get what they need in appropriate ways (meaning I believe gay sex to be appropriate if one is gay) then they could all sleep better at night and not need to go to Vegas or turn to little children for their gratification.
Ed*ard Teller @ 142
The ISI (Pakistan intelligence, thoroghly infilrated by religous fundamentalists) has excellent medical clinics.
jayt @ 136
Minor edit…
Ed*ard Teller @ 141
In all seriousness, I tend to agree, except for one thing. If he had died, I’d expect to see some movement toward proclaiming him a martyr. Even if he died tripping on the sidewalk to pick up the Pakistan Dawn, there’d be a video declaring he has paid the ultimate price in fighting George W Bush and the forces of the West.
Eli @ 145
LMAO!!
CTuttle @ 153
Tillman
Thomas @ 144
Any speculation among your sources as to the use of ‘Rods from God’?
Evening, All.
yellowdog jim @ 145
Lynne.
montag @ 23
Let’s say Gen BetrayUS has a “wide stance,” much like Larry Gannon/Craigert.
Someone here once posted a personal photo of him off-duty (can’t find it now), out of uniform with two other aquaintances and…oh well, don’t ask, don’t tell, eh?
I usually don’t go all tin-foil hatty, but bin Laden’s appearance is just too convenient to the Congress having its discussion about Iraq.
OBL is probably living in Florida.
David W. Bartoo @ 157
No speculation required. They’re going to be used (they’re just the military’s wet dream right now) to move money from the Treasury to the missile manufacturers. They will require enormous throw-weight.
If he had died, I’d expect to see some movement toward proclaiming him a martyr. Even if he died tripping on the sidewalk to pick up the Pakistan Dawn, there’d be a video declaring he has paid the ultimate price in fighting George W Bush and the forces of the West.
Not if he was actually captured at Tora Bora, and thereafter held incommunicado. In that case, it would be in nobody’s best interest to talk.
SnarKassandra @ 150
Normally that’s not the case, or at least normally that shouldn’t be the case. But in this case, Craig (like many Republicans) has made nearly a fetish of “Family Values”. As a visible, political figure, espousing such positions, then how his own family measures up to that kind of (utterly unrealistic) standard becomes a way of judging the hypocrisy of the politician himself. Craig’s daughter sounds like she’s got problems of her own and I wish her well in resolving them, but Craig comes off as a hypocrite because he preaches the standard Father Knows Best And Controls All line…
OldCoastie @ 161
I’m wondering what Dr. Hillhouse’s take is on this… Nothing new is posted on her site…!!!
Montag @ 162
’spect you are correct, merely wondering ’bout scuttlebut . . .
More from OYE:
David W. Bartoo @ 166
Que?
“OBL is probably living in Florida.”
Please. Haven’t we suffered enough?
CTuttle @ 168
see 158
David W. Bartoo @ 165
Well, they’re not even in testing, as I suggested, but, according to the Air Force’s propaganda, they’d be used anywhere explosives could be used. The Air Force wants space full of `em, so they could be launched against any target in the world.
Kinetic weapons=high explosives.
Peterr @ 155
also in all seriousness, I have always wondered how they would know for sure. Try to imagine how important they would consider it to dig down thru the rubble caused by one of those bunker-buster horror-weapons, in hostile territory. we may never know for sure…
meanwhile and continuing, we ARE sure, and so is the administration – whether they admit it or not – thousands upon thousands of innocents…
It’s been wrong from Day 1.
And, every day this “war” continues, hundreds of survivors probably consider heinous acts they never would have before.
jr & shooter are spawning far more terrorists than they, or anyone else, can ever corral.
jmho.
gawdwhutamess to clean up after these guys!?!
Where’d I put my shovel & broom?
*sigh*
yellowdog jim @ 170
Exactly, ‘Rods from God’?
OldCoastie @ 161
OC
I’m not a conspiracy theorist usually, but when I was sneaking onto the internet earlier today and say a headline subtitle that said that OBL wsas blaming Demos, I thought….okay, that’s it. He’s in their pocket. Who’s family was flown out after the 9/11 attack? And, And he was never captured….(a whole whole lotta other stuff) and now, with the timing and all.
Well, You All Know What I Was Thinking.
CTuttle @ 173
wiki sees all, knows all, and tells a darnsight more…
Jesus’ General to Faux Noise:
ccmask @ 129
How long has he been on dialysis – if it’s for any length of time, you’d think he’d be looking a little worse for wear by now. Assuming he is still alive. Which I don’t.
demi @ 173
it sounds ludicrous to me, too.
and always the timing!
CTut @ 168 hearty greetings
Well, as many Air Force are (so we are told) now quite Godly . . . might qualms be butterflying round their innards?
CTuttle @ 173
yes.
then 162.
althespook @ 175
Danke Schon!!! Evening, AK!!!
myers @ 127
Brevity matters. Give us a taste and a link, and let it go at that.
CTuttle @ 172
“Rods from God” are one of the Air Force’s wet dreams in the so-called “Full Spectrum Dominance 2020″ plan. They are imagined to be long, hollow rods made of tungsten alloy, capable of surviving very high-speed reentry from space. With high reentry speed and large mass, they act as kinetic weapons (think big metorites) that can be guided by satellite toward ground targets.
CTuttle @ 172
PopSci magazine says they are at least 15 years away, very expensive and at that speed would evaporate on touch down and probably not penetrate the surface.
Fern @ 177
rumor has it that he got nerve-gassed while fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan. Produced the need for dialysis due to kidney damage. Marfan’s, if he has it, is genetic AFAIK.
althespook @ 175
That reminds me, anyone try wikiscanner?
If Bin Laden has been dead for while, it would seems that someone has lost their Midas touch on the production of the tape…time has finally caught up.
althespook @ 175
. . . and can be changed if you don’t like the answer you get.
Twain @ 183
In that case, we can absolutely count on the Bushies investing a few hundred billion on their development.
CTuttle @ 181
I live to serve the Lake.
Eli @ 188
I could only wish. Such a boondoggle would at least not kill millions of people while it was chased after.
Elliot,
Timing Is Everything.
What up? Do we really think this Muslimguy had JohnEdward’s (I do love that guy) four hundred dollars an hour hairdresser “touch up” his beard?
I’m tired on a Friday night, but I also smell something. It’s Just Too Much.
David W. Bartoo @ 179
Heh, Aloha, David, ain’t our atmosphere grand… burn, baby, burn!!! ;-)
demi @ 191
Maybe just a little Afghan Formula 44.
Meanwhile, back at the Barksdale Bomb Bumble:
ArmsControlWonk has a lovely tidbit today:
Pilots, crews and all those associated with handling nuclear weapons do make mistakes, as a casual reading of Scott Sagan’s The Limits of Safety: Organizations, Accidents, and Nuclear Weapons will demonstrate. Indeed, the fact that the bombs sat on the tarmac for ten hours because no one quite believed that such an accident could happen will make excellent fodder for organizational theorists:
Sources in the Air Force say it took [ten hours] because the airmen who first discovered the bombs could not believe what they were seeing and had a hard time convincing superiors that the missiles on the bomber were, in fact, carrying nuclear weapons.
Hi guys, whazup?
Anyone catch Moyers tonight?
Eli @ 194
demi @ 191
I think it smells fishy
I gotta go for tonight.
Thanks guys. Comforting to know so many terrific pups are on the trail ;->
{{{{{Peace}}}}}
Howdy Ms Doodley!
Bye Adie.
althespook @ 185
So it would have been quite a while then. Dialysis will only carry you so long, i understand, before you need a transplant.
Elliott @ 198
more pleasant than what I had in mind :D
SnarKassandra @ 200
Hiya Snarky! How’s school?
wangdangdoodle @ 196
Not for awhile, in my timezone, Ma’am! Aloha!!!
‘Nite adie.
Guess Boyo George will have to settle for measley ‘bunker busters’ this time ’round.
demi @ 191
hey don’t seem interested in catching him, even Fred Thompson isn’t interested in catching him. How can they not want to catch the Mastermind of 9-11!! I mean really?! It makes absolutely no sense.
Is he captive?
Is that him in the tapes or a double?
Remember all those doubles Saddam had, Probably wouldn’t be hard to find one for Osama, eh?
Okay, what’s worse than Fishy”
(almost hating to ask)
The smell of We Been Had!?
wangdangdoodle @ 204
Mostly good. Kinda stupid. I am ready to stop reviewing and start learning all new stuff.
Eli @ 193
laughing
demi @ 207
We been had
demi @ 208
yeah, that smells pretty rotten D:
Elliott @ 211
” No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices”
Edward R. Murrow
It’s past time that we all let our voices be heard.
I agree with the boss at GAO when he recommended that members give Petraeus an honest listen. It won’t cost anything to do so.
Blowing-off Petraeus before he speaks is analagous to being afraid of negotiating with Iran because they’re “Evil”.
Listen to what he has to say, then have at him.
Word! Word for tonight!
Da Best.
CTuttle @ 205
Good one tonight. A little more insight into the late night hospital visit to Ashcroft (2nd story) and a heart breaking but uplifting segment in the last 15 – 20 minutes about coal mining polluting the water in the Apalachians (?). I recommend viewing and have music qued up to commemorate.
Art @ 213
(standing and applauding:
clap, clap, clap!!)
SnarKassandra @ 209
I read an interesting article in Time magazine, late August edition, about how hard it is to get put a grade ahead when you’re too smart for your own peer group. It made me think of you!
Wang Dang,
Spin ‘em, don’t spell ‘em.
It’s two PP’s
But, luv you, (race it) babe. :)
Elliott @ 207
It makes absolutely perfect sense if you think 911=inside job.
Fern @ 202
I have long suspected that the concept that OBL is “living in a cave” is spin to cover the fact that he is being protected by Taliban sympathizers in the Pakistani Intelligence forces. My best guess is that he is in a heavly guarded safe house in one of the “lawless” areas with all modern conveniences including access to a military hospital (with transplants and western medicines). The reason we don’t go get him is that to do so would mean a de facto war with Pakistan, which has nukes.
Which has nothing to do with the very odd OBL message of today. As you say, it really just doesn’t look like him, and his script was way to western-centric. I call bullshit on this one.
It’s lookin to me as if the dems and the goopers settle for demanding that Clusterfuck start withdrawin some troops next year- something he has to do anyway- but this way everyone gets some credit for it….
This thing’s goin on for at least three more years.
demi @ 219
I kan uzhally spel beter then tat.
wangdangdoodle @ 218
I don’t want to change to the next grade. I will be able to take college classes and AP classes and get college credits almost for free while I am still in HS. AND my brother has to be my guardian until I graduate HS so he can stay in the US and not overseas. And since my 18th birthday is 7 months before I graduate HS, I am taking my time and will just collect some colleger credits along the way.
I call bullshit on this one.
Amen!, but we are a small group to call it anything.
Most people are shaking in their boots.
Argggggh.
A small band of sisters and brothers.
SnarKassandra @ 224
well that is smart :)
gasho @ 220
Even if you don,t you know that Osama is not on FBI most wanted list for 9-11? Only for stuff in the 90’s?
casual observer @ 213
What can he add, realistically? What can he tell us that we haven’t already heard *and* is truthful?
wangdangdoodle @ 216
try http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/index-flash.html
should be viewable even in the tuttle timezone.
SnarKassandra @ 224
Sound like a good thing to keep your brother here.
Wangdangdoodle,
(calling you by your Whole Chosen Name).
Totally teasing.
I always say, Words don’t mean, People Do.
And, you sister, mean A Lot!
demi @ 225
Wouldn’t it be somethin’ if an audience called bullsh*t on Bush,
I can hear the growing chant!
demi @ 231
Word!!
{{{ wangdangdoodle }}}
yellowdog jim @ 229
The sign post up ahead…
“The Tuttle Zone”
Hi Snarkita! Glad it’s Friday?
demi @ 231
she does!
Elliott @ 232
:o his head would explode!
Regarding the non-Petreus-non-written-non-White House-non-report, it is, to mix a metaphor, a shell game where they keep moving the goal posts. If it looks like cr@p, smells like cr@p, and sticks to your shoe like cr@p it MIGHT JUST BE CR@P. /tantrum
demi @ 231
{{MWAH!}}
demi @ 231
i 2nd that emotion
Second to Israel, Iran has the largest Jewish population in the Middle East, I don’t suppose that Lieberman would want to risk bombing those people.
Alicia @ 235
Glad it is friday AND my chores are all done! (At least until my brother gives me a new list.)
Hiya Lou!! 27 and counting?
Bill Maher in Da House…
Ummm… I have NO EARTHLY idea what I just seemed to link to… I was just trying not to get caught in the spam filters…
edited — seems to think you want to send e-mail… SORRY!!
yellowdog jim @ 228
You mean out there in the land that time forgot?
Marion in Savannah @ 237
It is the fig leaf by which Democrats & Republicans alike can claim that their support for the Iraqupation is rational and Serious.
althespook @ 244
Where?
Re: bin Laden tape.
[Somewhere in the Ops Division of the CIA]
Boss: “Stretch, it’s your turn for UBL duty.”
Stretch: “Ah, come on. I did it in 2004. Do you know how long it took to get the make-up on? Jeeezus Christ!”
Boss: “C’mon, it’s all for the war effort.”
Stretch: “Yeah, keepin’ the war going.”
Boss: “That is the war effort. You know that. Otherwise, we’re all out of a job.”
Stretch: “Not the stupid hat. It itches.”
Boss: “The hat, too. You’re doin’ it for your country.”
Stretch: “Yeah, right.”
Boss: “Look, it’s either this, or three years in Albania.”
for WDD
Oye Como Va
LL and Elliot,
Sister are we!
Bound to be Free!
Just like the Fish (y smell)
In the Sea.
Woody Allen… ‘member? I think Sleepers?
Well, my version of…
wangdangdoodle @ 243
hey! Actually it’s 22 — my latest adventure begins on the 29th :-)
yellowdog jim @ 240
Hiya Jim! You south or north?
wangdangdoodle @ 234
The Tuttle Zone
demi @ 251
demi, you are too cute ;-)
Alecia @ 241
RGJoe’s kind of collateral damage? The state of Israel would not be amused.
Elliott @ 250
Niiiiiice!
wangdangdoodle @ 253
neither.
texas.
Eli @ 228
Eli, I can’t answer that, because I’m not clairvoyant. Or is it telepathic? I can never keep that stuff straight. My only and extemely simple point is I don’t see how one can argue with his report until he’s given it.
yellowdog jim @ 254
lol ;-)
yellowdog jim @ 258
She know’s what city.
wangdangdoodle @ 248
HBO 1
SnarKassandra @ 242
My chores are getting my kids in School Mode. My 15-year-old son is a junior this year, and last year his grades weren’t so good and I didn’t lean on him, so I have to turn up the heat so he can go to the school he wants to go to. I hate doing that.
montag @ 249
Ha! Love it!
SnarKassandra @ 261
oh!
central.
close to where 41st would meet airport.
Alicia @ 263
My brother only leans on me if I don’t do my work. I almost failed 7th grade science because I hated the teacher so I wouldn’t do homework. That wasn’t OK. Otherwise he leaves me alone about school.
SnarKassandra @ 261
Right. North or south of the Colorado?
demi @ 251
Sisters we are!!!!
Bound to be Free
yellowdog jim @ 253
I was thinking more like this.
LoudounLib @ 252
you wouldn’t be counting the days would you?
Loudenlib,
Well, I been a whole lotta things in my life.
But, if I made you smile,
I’m glad to be cute.
(no, you, really. that facebook shot. You Pretty Lady.)
I ALMOST got the zed. I am #2,
yellowdog jim @ 265
Oh, OK, I drive close by there on my way to work every day.
demi @ 271
aw thank you hon *blushing*
Elliott @ 270
nawwww!!! ;-)
casual observer @ 258
My point is that three impartial reports have already told us The Surge is a failure. I can’t imagine what Petraeus can say that would convince any rational person that the White House spin is correct, and those three other reports are all wrong.
demi @ 251
Oddly enough, in Bananas as well.
Thanks for the photo.
Makes it easy to figure out why Petraeus got that 4th star – he’s shorter than Chimpy.
Eli @ 276
Eli,
If his report is bullshit, then that will readily be apparent, I hope. But it would not be consistent with a liberal approach, in my view, to judge what he is going to say before he says it. As liberals, we are not afraid to listen to people, even if we don’t agree with them.
casual observer @ 279
I’m not afraid to listen to him. I just don’t think what he says is going to be very truthful, considering that he’s already cooking the casualty numbers.
And as I keep repeating, we *already* know that The Surge isn’t working; it’s been confirmed by three different reports, all of which are far more plausibly non-partisan than Petraeus or the White House. It would be different if Petraeus’s testimony was the *only* report on The Surge, but it’s not – it’s simply the most partisan and least credible one.
Eli @ 280
He’s mandated to give the report–is that not correct? It’s not as if he has a choice.
I personally have most faith in the GAO report. And unlike O’Hanlon, I think rigor is a good thing. But the GAO Comptroller General told congress in hearing that Petraeus likely had better information in certain areas than GAO did.
casual observer @ 281
He’s mandated to testify to Congress about the progress; the president is mandated to give the report… but apparently won’t.
Another sign of executive contempt for congress. And they are part of the problem, because they allow it.
casual observer @ 283
I’m sure they’ll send him a strongly worded letter.
Maybe this guy could use his program on the Bin Laden tape. http://blog.wired.com/27bstrok…..s-ana.html
okay, have to just holler to the heavens (I know this is an old thread, and I haven’t even had a chance to read the other comments), but I took one look at that photo and I just exploded — Bush managed, yet again, to find someone (it must be getting harder and harder to do so, unless they’re breeding them) shorter than him, with a smaller head, with no discernible neck, and (I’ll wager) with a higher voice and equally undescended testicles (Abu Gonzales, anyone?) … Why doesn’t SOMEone just call him on this, face to face, and let’s be done with it!!!!!!!!!! help, I can’t breathe.
Whatever its tactical accomplishments, the surge is a time-dependent phenomenon. It is going to be gone by election day. No one can say that it works without the political reconciliation.