Login HerePelosi joins Carl Levin and tells it like it is:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said twice Sunday that Iraq “is a failure,” adding that President Bush’s troop surge has “not produced the desired effect.”
“The purpose of the surge was to create a secure time for the government of Iraq to make the political change to bring reconciliation to Iraq,” Pelosi said on CNN’s “Late Edition.” “They have not done that.”
But Wolfie couldn't help himself and mindlessly repeated BushCo's spin.
Anchor Wolf Blitzer asked: “Are you not worried, though, that all the gains that have been achieved over the past year might be lost?”
“There haven't been gains, Wolf,” the speaker replied. “The gains have not produced the desired effect, which is the reconciliation of Iraq. This is a failure. This is a failure."
Damn right it is.
The Democratic leadership needs to keep pounding this point over and over, because it's the truth. The Bush/McCain surge failed. Another 1,000 dead Americans so Bush could pass the buck.
Good for Levin and Pelosi. I hope this means we won't see any more Democrats giving Bush a standing ovation when he lies and claims it's been a success.
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Good on them.
Guess this is why we’re hearing about the death penalty cases re 9/11 today. What? Cynical? Moi?
The new plan seems to be to keep surging until we win.
“There haven’t been gains, Wolf,” the speaker replied. “The gains have not produced the desired effect, which is the reconciliation of Iraq. This is a failure. This is a failure.”
Nice words, Nancy. Now how’s about *doing* something about it?
Thanks for the info Nancy.
She’s turned out to be just about as useful as a hemmorhoid.
Hi, BT!
Not really. At least hemorrhoids make you get up off your ass and DO things.
If W Iraq policy weren’t so sad, it’d be funny. Since they can’t do top-down puppet govt, they try it bottom-up with Awakening Counsels. (Anyone know the origin of that term?) Sunnis are happy to accumulate the weapons we’re providing them with. But they won’t keep piling them up forever without using them. After all, it was Petreaus who turned oover the first 150,000 weapons to the insurgents.
Right now, U.S. is supporting all the factions that want to rip Iraq apart, while Muqtada al Sadr, a nationalist who wants to hold it together (let’s not go into the details of how he would do that) is the enemy.
How could it ever have gotten this far, though?
In what sense could we ever “win” someone else’s multi-faction, centuries-old, culturally and religious-rooted hatreds and resultant civil-wars and anarchy?
What, precisely, is to be “won?”
Hi Blue Texan, thank you !
Surely you are not suggesting logic? !
My hemorrhoid resents that remark.. it feels it is much better than Nancy ever could be!!
What’s that on the table, Nancy? Is that impeachment?
Just trying to keep track of where we’ve been & where we’re going. It helps me keep sane.
Sgt: Next week, we leave for the front. The object will be to kill as many Frenchmen as possible. Naturally, they are going to try and kill as many Russians as possible. If we kill more Frenchmen, we win. If they kill more Russians, they win.
Boris: What do we win?
Boris: Nothingness. Non-existence. Black emptiness.
Sonja: What did you say?
Boris: Oh, I was just planning my future.
I always seem to be holding my breath these days just hoping that Bush doesn’t do something even more stupid before he leaves.
The time of the surge was used by Petraeus to arm, train, and fund both sides in Iraq’s civil war, thereby enhancing their lethality, thereby bolstering the the often-heard humantarian objections to the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Recall that Bush told his biographer, Draper, that he want to induce his successors to keep troops in Iraq, and toward that objective the surge may yet succeed.
These sick right-wing bastards continue to deny the existence of physical reality as a constraint on their fevered hallucinations. But reality has a way of eventually exerting itself.
And Nahant @ 13
I stand corrected, and apologize for any pain I may have caused any hemmorhoids who may have been injured by my thoughtless remark.
He could do something less stupid and it would still put us in a bind!
He does something more stupid every single day. (Hey BT, would that make for a good regular post: W’s Stupid of the Day?) Only some days it’s not the magnitude as invading Iraq.
Is that a Woody Allen quote too?
Not interested in what Ms. Pelosi “says” - just in what she “does” and so far, that’s not much. Do anyone think they are finally get the message and is it too late?
I will talk it over with him and get back to you on that front.
ohhhhhhhhhhh i find that funny…my appoligies to ALL the hemmroid suffererzzzzzzzzz
that, of course, DOES… dummy.
She knows as well as anyone that if Gates is extending the “surge”, then that means that Moqtada al-Sadr’s not going to extend his six-month truce that’s set to end March 1, and it’s the Sadr truce that’s the main reason for the drop in casualties in Iraq.
Does anyone believe we have the votes to impeach in the House and Senate?
Preparation W
I think that statements falls under “No Sh** Sherlock.”
Twain, not buying into and reinforcing BushCo propaganda is a start. All too often I hear Bush talking points coming out of Democratic mouths.
Now, no. Once the evidence is exposed to the full light of day, they wouldn’t dare not impeach & connvict.
They do for us, but not for the GOP/Media Complex.
Impeachment is off the table. So, at this point, unless pelosi DOES SOMETHING I don’t buy a thing she says. Even the answer to wolfie was weak. Given an opportunity like that, the answer should have been along the lines of: What are you talking about wolfie? Are you asking me a question or are you simply mouthing what you are told to ask?
No, I don’t buy it and I don’t think that many will.
Every day he remains in office is fraught with danger here, there & everywhere. Hope burns eternal that Mr. Conyers will heed the clamor of we the people to institute impeachment proceedings soonest. To hell with my failed Sen. DiFi, Boxer and Rep. Pelosi who have demonstrated they are all just good old boys in high and not so high drag.
good for warts too.
Here’s a “Stupid Shit of the Deployment” Award page from my favorite real trooper blog, the Army of Dude”. This guy is great, if we only had had the internet. . .none of those stupid MARS phone calls!
ps i also loved your comment about voting yesterday……..hahahahahaha
This is success to these deluded people:
Iraqi Deaths February 2008 SO FAR
Starting Feb 1st:
Thursday: 1 US Soldier, 20 Iraqis Killed; 20 Iraqis Wounded
Friday: 110 Iraqis Killed, 215 Wounded
Saturday: 31 Iraqis Killed, 24 Wounded
Sunday: 2 US Soldiers, 21 Iraqis Killed; 10 Iraqis Wounded
Monday: 39 Iraqis Killed, 24 Wounded
Tuesday: 3 GIs, 90 Iraqis Killed; 7 Iraqis Wounded; Mass Grave Found
Wednesday: 1 US Soldier, 46 Iraqis Killed; 46 Iraqis Wounded
Thursday: 3 US Soldiers, 29 Iraqis Killed; 42 Iraqis Wounded
Friday: 5 US Soldiers, 31 Iraqis Killed; 17 Iraqis Wounded
Saturday: 1 Navy SEAL, 26 Iraqis Killed; Five Iraqis Wounded
Sunday: 86 Iraqis Killed, 84 Wounded
Monday: 1 US Soldier, 25 Iraqis Killed; 53 Iraqis Wounded
-G
At the end of our fifteen month deployment, it seemed fitting to resurrect the Stupid Shit series started over a year ago under the gray Washington sky. I envisioned a weekly edition but quickly realized a deployment is a constant parade of ridiculous, asinine, over the top moments that are too numerous to keep track of, and much too difficult to explain in full.
These entries come to you in a fury of writing during the few precious days we have inside the wire. Ever since Baghdad we’ve left the comfort and safety of our huge bases to venture out into the city for as little as two or as much as eight days at a time. There is a direct correlation between the amount of operation activity and the amount of stupid shit that gets piled onto us. As the workload increases, so does the shit, eloquently described as stupid here on out.
arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ,it is indeed a challenge to be humoress when EVERYDAY we wake up to these cold hard facts ……sigh
Done with the Pelosi-Establishment Dem Kabuki Dance. Over it.
Here’s a textbook example for Nancy and all of us how to stand up to Repubs and the Noize Machine. Absolutely perfect:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT_faGwBr1Q
We have options. Let’s use them!
http://cindyforcongress.com/
Amen.
Good start by Pelosi- needs endless follow up. Most are convinced that “things are getting better in Iraq”. The campaign to disabuse the public of that notion has to be carefully planned- they will want to reject any bad news.
Does anyone believe we had votes to impeach Nixon BEFORE hearings even began?
I HATE this argument! HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT! It is ass-backwards. You do not start out with the punishment before you even have the trial. You do not start out with the conclusion and then mold the facts to that outcome. Quit with the “we don’t have the votes” nonsense. MOST Rethuglicans didn’t want to vote to impeach Nixon until it was abundantly clear (with hearings) that the bastard broke real laws (and only a fraction of the laws Bush/Cheney have broken).
How about we do the investigation first, THEN vote on impeachment.
OT to npb: despite the myriad reasons to frown on professional golf (ecological, socio-economic, land-use, etc.) … that sure was a glorious weekend at the tourney formerly known as the Crosby in Carmel.
One thing that would be a good start would be for Dems to stop referring to it as the Iraq War. The war ended when the Iraq military was defeated and Saddam Hussein’s government was disbanded. What we have now is the Iraq Occupation.
Impeachment is off the table until criminal charges can be brought up. Impeaching for incompetence? Didn’t congress try that with Andrew Johnson? And it failed to get him out of office, as I see it, because ya can’t impeach someone just because they suck.
I see The Johnson impeachment kinda set a precedent that incompetency or unpopularity are not enough to be removed from office.
Nancy’s statement may be true but it comes off like a political statement to criticize for its own sake. Does anyone remember the purpose of the surge? Very few. The rest hear, “The violence is down and the surge is working.” This is the drum beat. Nancy and Reid did not create a drum beat. They do not know how to seize the moment and work it. They react. By later today no one will remember or care what Nancy said to Wolfie.
The reductions also have to do with the TWP(Terrorist Welfare Program) of offering $300.00 cash stipends to Sunni fighters not to fight.
Unfortunately they have been using the money and weapons to tighten up their militias so if and when they decide to stop cooperating, they’ll be rested, armed, funded and probably have a better lay of the American strategic landscape.
-G
damn straight….commence the hearings!!!
Thanks for the link. I hate to know that much about what’s really going on Iraq. My imagination is not as cruel as reality. But then, got to do a reality check from time to time.
Yes, the surge has failed. And yes, lack of political reconciliation is a big issue.
But I don’t see that Nancy’s argument is going to hold much sway. Regular people see some success with the surge because our troops are not dying in the same numbers as they were before.
It would be more effective, IMO, to say that the surge hasn’t lowered the number of troop deaths. Al Sadr’s cease fire did that. The surge has been used as a way to fabricate success (fewer deaths) when it has had no such effect.
IMO we should be pounding that point. More people can relate to our troops rather than some distant, nebulous thing like political reconciliation.
I don’t remember what I said on that subject. Hum a few bars & I’ll pick it back up.
it is the double whammmy,imo…incompetence,and CRIMMINAL acts
Excepting Guantanamo and the Green Scare trials, that is.
I don’t know why more Dems don’t push this line.
The war is over, has been since Saddams government fell. What we are dealing with is an occupation.
You can not win an occupation, you can not lose an occupation.
You can continue it, or end it. Those are the only two options.
about…if they thought it would make any difference,they wouldnt let us vote
hahahahahahaha
This guy is great, really wonderful sense of humor. I hope we don’t get so caught up in being against this thing that we miss a chance to learn from those that are trapped in it.
criminal charges can not be brought until Bush is out of office. Impeachment is the only recourse for actual crimes committed while the chimp is in office.
Americans equate any reduction in casualties as “progress” and a step toward the final goal which is no casualties at all. It’s logica- but just wrong. Hard to convince people of that however. Hats off to Pelosi for the ol college try- farts in the general direction of Wolfie for bein the sap that he is.
(emphasis mine)
Yep, remember it now. Not sure where I originally plagarized that from.
Nicely stated- I like it.
One key is investigations. Another key is dominating news cycles. The Democrats have some ability on the investigations side. They lack anyone who can get on TV to sell the messages. The Republics had that with Newt. WHo can for the Democrats?
Actually…valid reasons for impeachment are whatever the Congress decides are valid reasons. The “high crimes and misdemeanors” thing is very pliable. Getting an impeachment to be seen as legitimate by the populace though, that is another thing.
Show them the very real crimes (and there are crimes worse than Nixons) and the people will be more than fine with impeachment. Plus, impeaching ANY of these Administration clowns is a shot across the bow that they absolutely cannot ignore. Take one of them. ANY of them. And their belligerence will start to fade into pure panic-driving hairpulling.
Well said. We are slow learners in this country or we wouldn’t be there. Maybe we’ll get it this time.
I wish we would stop using BushCo’s words. Why do we call it the “surge” as opposed to the “bailout?”
Recently, there was a Book Salon featuring Thom Hartman’s book “Breaking the Code.” It made the point that using BushCo’s words concedes a significant edge to them. A very good example Hartman cited as allowing BushCo to refer to what is going on in Iraq as the “Iraqi War” as opposed to the more correct and decriptive words - “Iraqi Occupation.” If it was known as the Iraqi Occupation, BS like ‘waiving the white flag of surrender’ would be harder to sell.
Here’s a table that Nancy can put impeachment on.
Tactics and strategy. The surge was never a strategy-it was an internal security operation. A tactic. Combined with bribing the militias, and Sadr’s standdown, it may have helped quiet things down somewhat, temporarily-but one tactical success does not make a successful strategy. The overall strategy has still failed, as evidenced by the lack of reconciliation, which was of course the real point to begin with.
More here.
There’ll probably be no after-office charges. Presidential pardons will see to that.
Haven’t heard the word “victory” from Clusterfuck or McBush lately. Cat got their tongues?
Bush admitting that he authorized Waterboarding is a felony by law sine WWII, that alone should force this congress to to it’s constitutional duty and start hearing that should to eventual impeachment and trial. Even though the AG said he won’t investigate this administration, he can also be charged with obstruction of justice for not doing so. .
Sorry, wiki.
As long as Al Sadr maintains the truce violence will be down. As long as Americans continue to pay off Al Sadr with money the truce will hold. As long as the truce holds Bush, McBush and the media will hail the surge as a success. Might as well send our income taxes directly to Iraq. As soon as the truce ends watch out Green Zone.
DING!
Who will charge anyone with anything? There’s no one.
We’re in the home stretch of the Clusterfuck presidency.
There won’t be any impeachment- and no prosecution after the fact (of Clusterfuck at least).. There SHOULD be a total airing of what this little fucker did and it’s illegality and who helped and how—-total disclosure.
Americans deserve the truth- it we aren’t told history- we’ll be doomed to relive it.
AMEN.
Verdicts normally come after trials. But then again this is the Chimperor Empire.
There are these two Democrats who can’t seem to sneeze without it appearing on television these days. Barack somebody or other, I think, and that senator from New York that isn’t Chuck Schumer.
Perhaps the two of them could compete to see who could do better at pushing the message of investigations and holding those responsible for misdeeds accountable for their actions.
I mentioned this the other night but I watched “Rescue Dawn” and one of the first things those rotten commie pathet lao mofo’s did was to dunk the hero in a well!
It is about the investigation…that is what impeachment is … a process proscribed by the Constitution to investigate alleged high crimes and misdameanors. Such as lying to start a war that killed over a million humans.
It also vetts the alleged activity before the congress and the American people.
And it benefits the election process by exposing candidates that support such policies.
Your comment reveals a veiled attempt to mock the process by implying the end is to remove from office the perp…that can be but not necessarily is the result. it is an opportunity to correct illegal or activity that is not beneficial.
It’s a waste of key strokes, it ain’t happenin.
Well don’t you worry Prof, when I control the media, this line will be out front and center.
It ocurred to me about a year ago, after I read that Rumsfeld actually was a ‘friend’ of Saddam’s until Saddam turned all independent, that they are trying to establish their own ‘bought and paid for’ thug in Iraq. Handing out all of the munitions to the various factions means, in bush-speak, let the toughest SOB win. And Bush and the oil companies can do great business together with the winner. Plus the winner must promise never to bother all those secret air bases. Promise, pinky swear.
I think it should be someone outside of presidential candidates. Otherwise, anything said would be lost in the noise of campaign rhetoric.
Makes for very simple framing. “These guys are crooks.”
And when there’s more obstacles thrown up by the DOJ: “The crooks have taken over the police force.” What else do you call it when the capo di capo tells the jailer who to release and who to keep locked up, and who also tells the public prosecutor when to press charges and when to look the other way?
Bob in HI
Speaking of Kabuki (as I was), John Solomon, who’s deceptions are well documented in the Liberal blogs, has left the WaPoo to run the
WashingtonMoonie Times.http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02.....ref=slogin
Yes, smack dab in between Karl Rove and Larry Craig in a three-way.
Dance away brave puppet!
The votes to start the process are in the House who has the constitutional responsibility to start the process which Rep Kuccinich has offerred to the floor which sent it to the Judiciary committee.
Raven, you are right…Army of Dude is great.
whatever the Congress decides
These morons can’t decide whether it’s night or day, give me a break.
The new president can declassify information at a whim. Just like Chimpy and Dicky.
Let it all hang out baby.
-G
Is there even a single fucking Congressional Dem saying this?
That was the obvious plan from the start. It’s name was Allawi. This was an imperial enterprise from the get-go. It went South, as they so often do.
I think the Bush Administration defines “Winning the War in Iraq” as having secure oil production and exporting. That’s what ‘winning’ in. When the oil is pumping and is safe, we won. Some troop presence near oil centers, and the rest? At least enough government/military stability so that we don’t need to come back when there is an uprising or demand to disrupt the oil flow.
Oh - and Gov Siegelman’s (sp?) trial.
And Ron Coronado’s trial for answering questions in San Diego.
And the QWEST executive CEO sent to the slammer after deying the NSA’ illegal wiretaps.
And Ron Coronado’s trial for disrupting hunters in Arizona.
And Dave Foreman and Peg Millet’s trial for carrying out the plans set forth by the FBI infiltrator who entrapped them.
And the woman sent to prison in (Minn?) by one of the AUSA’s - for nothing.
Nope - show trials - that’s the Evil Empire’s gig.
That’s why we ran our schools and roads and elder care and child care and hospitals to ruin: so no one could force us to live in the Evil Empire.
Except, of course, the same military/contractor complex we paid to “save us” from the Commies.
HUMOR ALERT attempt for my non fans
its like occupying the bathroom
you cant stay in there forever unless you want a huge hemmroid!
cancercures #96:
I think you are exactly correct.
Before Allawi there was Chalabi. Let us not forget him. He’s still in charge of the oil ministry iirc.
Nancy Pelosi: The surge has failed.
most.obvious.statment.of.the.decade
Correct..the presumption of innocence is part of our process…the fact that crimes are alledged requires and investigation, charges and a defence. All part of the democratic PROCESS
Those who pose this argument are opposing justice.
Not obvious at all to most americans unfortunately.
Nope. I think it’s Plan B. That’s the plan to keep Iraq’s oil off the market so the prices stay high. The Plan A that you mention was the neocons’s idea. They lost to Cheney’s oil execs who favor Plan B. This from Greg Palast’s Armed Madhouse.
what is this about?
You are parsing see 102. Torture, 935 false statements to get us into war, occupation and Geneva convention violations are evidence enough. Not only bad policy but major crimes.
You probably do a lot of sophistic reasoning as does your buds.
It would be great to get a clear idea of what Clusterfuck’s plan was regarding Iraq’s oil. Obviously it hasn’t turned out well…but what were the goals?
Increases/decreases in production?
Movement of Iraq out of Opec to contribute more non-opec oil to world supply?
Remove the threat of Iraq changing to the Euro for petroleum purchases?
Long term production and supply agreements for US oil companies?
Would be nice to know why we really invaded Iraq?
nancy know failure …
she is living it in da house.
Actually, if it’s whom I’m thinking of, it was a woman in Wisconsin. She was a Dem official IIRC. The appeals court directed a verdict of not guilty and demanded she be release immediately from prison. I don’t recall her name but I’m sure some one here has handy links to the story…
I think it was to stop oil production in Iraq for the benefit of the Saudis.
Not to americans, to her
Then, I’m afraid, it’s not going to happen.
THE STORY this year is the election. Period. Everything else revolves around that, in the eyes of the media. Everything.
And given the way the democratic nomination process is going, every elected Democratic member of the House and Senate — by virtue of being a superdelegate — is going to have whatever they say on investigations and impeachment read through the lenses of the election. “If so-and-so is pushing for investigations, what are the implications of that push for the election? Who does so-and-so favor, and does this help or hurt their candidate in the nomination fight?
Does anyone have the status of former Governor of Alabama Don Siegelman case, Congress asked for the information and DOJ told them to pound sand.
For those of you who are asking about the U.S. plan for Iraqi oil, read Greg Palast’s Armed Madhouse. He sez there were 2 plans: the neocons to privatize it & flood the market with it & the oil cos. to keep it off the market. The la