yo

From a blurb about a story in today’s Atlanta Journal Constitution:

“Our ally Iraq gave a hearty welcome to the leader of our enemy Iran”

wtf?!?

Good morning Blue Texan!

Cairo/Baghdad – The Iraqi government lavished hospitality and praise on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Sunday during the first visit by an Iranian head of state to a country that was for decades considered a bitter foe.

Yet, the visit was met with a mix of reservation and outright protest from Iraq’s Sunni Arabs, who watch nervously Iran’s growing political and economic clout in their country.

Just so we don’t get too wound up about how much they all love Iran.

So we’ve achieved peace and reconciliation in Iraq. Just not involving us.

Atlanta Journal Constitution

No need for a WTF at all… simply assume that everything in the Journal Constipation is nuts. We sane few in Georgia apologize, yet again…

Good morning, BT

Remember, Iran and Iraq hated each other before Bush’s war

Well, yes, but really Iran hated the Sunnis and secular Baath Party. Nominally at least, their Shia brethren are now in control. That has to get some of the credit for the rapprochement.

Hey, Raven -

How was your trip? What do you do with the pups when ya’ll travel?

Excellent post, Blue Texan, the frustrations we feel at the incompetence/deliberate dis-judgments of this administration that, by the by, ran on a campaign of we’re the adults, experienced, we’ll restore honor and dignity.… is legion.

Needless to say, the Obama theme that good judgment matters more than “experience” resonates…and not just with me. And the next time St. John and the McCainiacs say we should put the past behind us, one can make the argument that’s exactly what the Obamamentum is doing.

I’m writing today about Honor for an American Hero today.

The sad, sad subtext that fills the blogosphere these days is all the lives and treasure squandered by this American president…in war and at home.

Happy Birthday!

I wouldn’t be surprise if we are paying for the visit.
The Iraqi’s can just bill the meeting under ‘miscellaneous expenses’
and we will pay it…

So we want to keep 140,000 troops in Iraq to make it safe for Iran? Good to know.

McCain, experience you can doubt on.

tw3k @ 10
Hey, thankee. It’s one of those kiss-a-decade-good-bye ones, making one reflective and resolved to work ever harder for better and better Democrats…and democracy!

It was fine till the bride tripped gettingn out of the van in Charlotte, probably a deep bone bruise we hope. We takes the critters everywhere we can and the little one travels amazingly well since she sat on laps the entire time!

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is Hitler? Not.

Gotta admit. The guy makes Bush look like a pussy. The guy has balls. AAnd of course this was for a reason, to demonstrate that he is tougher and more popular than Bush. It worked.

He’s a bad guy, but he is not a pussy.

They are neighbors who know their history and are very aware of our and the West’s interference and machinations in their world

(is the characterization of Ahmadinejad as Hitler snark?)

Morning pups….

Meanwhile Pentagon Says It Launched an Air Strike in Somalia to Go After a Terrorist Suspect

Just a quick reminder for everyone: Scott Horton will be here for today’s First Monday, talking about the Siegelman case and politicization of the DOJ. The live chat with Scott will start at 3 pm ET/noon PT.

Ouch! Hope a bruise is all it is; lots of TLC would be in order. *g*

Ah, one of those nice round numbers. Round as a drawing of zen. :)

Come on Raven, you aren’t taking the side of the bitter enders, the Saddamists, rejectionists……..wait, I’m sorry now they are tribal sheikhs, awakening councils, friendly Sunnis, local militias allied with the US.

When are we officially going to change the name of Al Anbar province to East Asia?

-G

We’re on it like a duck on a Junebug!

A special thanks to Philip Zelikow, Paul Wolfowitz, Paul Bremer, and the most stupid man on the planet – Doogie Feith.

My bad, if it were not for us the whole joint would be like a fuckin coca-cola commercial.

I’d like to buy the world a home and furnish it with love,

Grow apple trees and honey bees, and snow white turtle doves.

I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony,

I’d like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company.

It’s the real thing, Coke is what the world wants today.

There continue to be Iran-Iraq tensions. Take Muqtada al Sadr. Please! Sorry couldn’t help myself. Anyway he’s Shia but also a nationalist He’ll take aid from Iranians but he doesn’t want them running the show in what he increasingly feels is his country. Ahmadinejad’s visit comes only a couple of days after Turkey pulled its troops from northern Iraq. There has been no movement on a national political settlement. The rescinding of the deBaathification law was so much hot air and may even be more restrictive than the previous situation. More proof that the surge is working.

Incidentally, braindead NPR this morning I heard that Democrats need to backpedal on Iraq because the surge is working and to talk about Iraq will make them look weak on national security. Listening to the MSM of which NPR is firmly a part makes me think of the invasion of the pod people except nowadays we call them Very Serious People.

Blue Texan:

You sarcastically describe Ahmedinejad as “the next Hitler who wants to nuke us…” among other things.

Why tippy-toe around the truth here? Are the threats our government has been leveling at him because he wants to nuke “us”? Or someone else? Don’t shy away from reminding people about the nature of our foreign policy, particularly on a day when the Israelis are massacring the population in Gaza.

I’d like to give the world a hug

And tell it jokes and stuff

And pull its pants down to its knees

And chase it through the rough

And tie it down with bonds and straps

And check its purse for change

And leave it out at Moosegrin Hall

With my cousin who’s deranged

(it’s the re-ul thang)

This is taken quite literally for granted in neocon/fundie circles — St. McCain’s boy Hagee says it all the time.

Is that from “What do you do with an airsick ARVN”?

I somehow sense that things in Iraq – and the Middle East generally – are not going quite as the Administration would have us believe.

Motherfucking douchewipe assholes.

Iranian Hitler?

The current Iraq meme in DC circles is that al-Qa’idah is present in Iraq and that this justification for the “surge” or de facto increased presence of American forces occupying the country.

Remember when Darth Cheney connected Hussein to the Saudi’s organization? Still does as far as I know. However, most people considered the refutation of that excuse for attacking Iraq compelling enough to dismiss Cheney’s delusions.

However, now we have a case where everyone is insisting that al-Qa’idah is the reason Americans are in Iraq. We’ve come full circle to Darth’s view of the thing.

Talk about a Hitler. He’s in the house next to the Naval Observatory when he’s not hiding in a concrete bunker.

I can’t remember, actually.

I may have recalled it from National Lampoon, circa 72.

By the way: There was a recent cover story in a Condé Nast publication that touted the wonderful (taxpayer-financed) investment opportunities in “peaceful” Iraqi Kurdistan. You know, the area that Turkey has invaded recently under the pretext of hunting down PKK fighters? (The latest Turkish incursion is what sent the price of oil back over $100 a barrel last week.)

Then they are doing what we knew they were doing all along. Believing their own made-up crap.

Wasn’t that the drivel emanating from Cokie Roberts’ caviar hole?

-G

One of my back-burner thoughts. I’ve been wondering how the kosovo precedent could be used the kurds

Hey, come on now, Mesopotamia is where the original Garden of Eden was.

-G

riding from Baghdad’s airport in a civilian-style sedan — and not an armored military vehicle or helicopter — to central Baghdad.

now if he really wants to pile on – he would find a way to meet and greet Sons of Iraq/Awakening Council members – I know, I know, centuries of hatred, but SOI are already completely disillusioned with US Admin and Military -

Jubouri said his 800 fighters had taken huge risks to ally with the U.S. military and faced allegations that they are “agents for the Americans.”

“If there is no apology, or no compensation, or failure to produce the informers before us, we will carry arms against the Americans,” Jubouri said

In Baghdad and other parts of Iraq, concern is mounting over a U.S. proposal that calls for about 20 percent of the volunteer forces to be integrated into the nation’s army and police. The rest would be provided with civilian jobs and vocational training.

“The Sunnis were always the leaders of the country. Is it reasonable that they are turned into service workers and garbage collectors?” said Khalid Jiyad Abed, an Awakening leader in the city of Latifiyah and an engineer. “We had not anticipated this from the American forces. Of course we will not accept that,” Abed added

Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, architect of the Sons of Iraq program and future Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, saying, blithely: “Overall, you will never satisfy everybody.”

all from WaPo 2/28 article: Sunni Forces Losing Patience With U.S.

Meanwhile George W. Dicksmack launches more missiles into Somalia, a known Muslim nation but had said last week that he dare not intervene in Sudan because he didn’t want to offend Muslims by attacking another Muslim nation.

I am sure this will be brought up at his next gin and Paxil press-conference.

-G

Incredibly, no. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard/read this comparison by neocons.

Total recall!

WE ARE WINNING
(Tune: Rock of Ages)
We are winning, this we know
General Harkins tells us so,
Though in the Delta things are tough
And in the highlands very rough,
But the VC soon will go,
Mr. Cabot tells us so.
If you doubt them, who are you
McNamara says so too.

One has to have a highly developed sense of irony to appreciate the symbolism of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s extravagant visit to Baghdad. It would not have been possible without the tamping down of the violence in Baghdad by Bush’s surge, including the infamously dangerous road from the airport to the capital. Iraq and Iran are playing the U.S. for a fool. We spend our money and shed our troops’ blood keeping apart the Sunni from the Shiite, and this gives Shiite Iran a golden opportunity to boost its influence in Iraq. McCain: there’s no fool like an old fool.

Big grin here.

Well-spotted. The military is a cooperating partner in crime, mind.

Very badly done NYT article on Iran’s nuke program
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03…..ref=slogin

You see, it all stems from that laptop the U.S. got in 04, but it takes the NYT about halfway thru the article to mention that’s the bone of contention. I’ve always thought that laptop was a forgery, perhaps by Mossad. IIRC, there was lots of funny stuff about it.

correction to 40 above -

should be War Criminal at large, Lt. Gen. Ray ‘Willy Pete’ Odierno

It was precisely because progressives were dismantling the so-called evidence of WMD in Iraq–yellowcake, aluminum tubes–and associated coverups, that we were also able to stomp on this “Iranian” computer leading to their next little war.

There are necessarily unsung heroes in that process, but I do believe FDL gets some credit for getting the Libby trial into public awareness.

The British House of Commons has told Gordon Brown to tell Bush “ixnay on the Iran ar-way”:

MPs warn against US attack on Iran

A military strike against Iran is unlikely to succeed and could provoke a violent backlash across the region, MPs have warned.

The Commons foreign affairs committee urged the Government to use its influence with Washington to persuade the US administration to “engage” diplomatically with the Iranians over their controversial nuclear programme.

In its report, the committee acknowledged that Tehran had suspended work on developing a nuclear weapon in 2003, making American military action less likely.

“We remain of the view that such a military strike would be unlikely to succeed and could provoke an extremely violent backlash across the region,” it said.

How inspirational!

Do you suppose the US troops on their third or fourth rotations in Iraq are writing a hymnal of their own, too?

Check out my man

http://armyofdude.blogspot.com/

egregious (can’t seem to get reply button to work)
I wasn’t hanging out here in 03 but I figured out for myself that every story about Iraq WMD turned to dust when you touched it.

Do you have any links to Iranian laptop? I’m pretty tied up today with travel & a conference call, so don’t have time to look. I’ll check later.

so you don’t have to dig

http://armyofdude.blogspot.com…..wards.html

Chimpy and the Big Dick MUST discredit and intimidate everyone about Iraq until they make it to Argentina.

As soon as the intimidation stops, the war crimes will come to light.

How dare the leader of a country visit and talk with their neighbor! World leaders need to obey Chimpy and stop talking to each other! HE is in charge of the world!

With Ecuador and Venezuela pushing up against Colombia, Bush and Co might want to not head in that general direction (maybe he can unload his land cheap)

o/t

Phoenix Woman,fyi -

John McCain has jumped into the vaccines-cause-autism fray on the side of those who blame vaccines for the “epidemic” of autism

sorry I’m currently link challenged, but it’s over at Washington Independent by Arthur Allen

did you know your vaccines post rec’d mention in HealthLawProfBlog ???

cbl–so good to see you at the lake again!

The Iranian surge of one IS working. Imagine a surge with no weapons. It’s easy if you try….

Crap.

(((egregious)))) missed you so much! left a note over at your place a few days ago. xoxoxo

Was he riding in a MRAP? Was he wearing a vest? I am real curious to see how this plays in US media versus foreign news. Were our kids providing his security? Did Blackwater shoot up some intersections to get him through? How many billions did it cost? You know-if the Iraqis were able to provide security for him against AlQuaida then our job is done. I am going to make sure that people on my E-mail list know about the good job Iraqi security has done. WooHoo.

Remember, Iran and Iraq hated each other before Bush’s war — now they hate us. Maybe he is a uniter after all.

What a cock-up. You couldn’t write this stuff. If you were trying to write a political thriller in which the whole world comes to pieces, you couldn’t make this up.

One of the reason Ahmadinejad is popular is precisely because he stands up to the USA. So he wants nukes?

Ever heard of deterrence?

They are really scared of the USA/Israeli alliance.It is so important to understand that so many Iranians (even ones who do not support him)think the USA has had an irrational hatred for Iran at least since the overthrow of the Shah. Are they wrong? Did the Iranians shoot down an innocent US Airbus and never apologise? Oops no, other way around.

One big project for the hoped-to-be President Obama would be to ratchet down the level of mutual distrust with an important, non-Arab, Middle Eastern country.

OT

I personally think it would be a great idear if folks in the Progressive community started getting behind an effort to help make Howard Dean Barak Obama’s running mate. Dean was endorsed by Al Gore and Jimmy Carter in 2004 and was a cornerstone of the Democratic Congressional victories in 2006.

For many months, I was under the impression that both Obama and Clinton would be hard pressed to pick Wes Clark for his military and foreign policy credentials. However, after seeing the margins of victory Obama has been getting in the primaries, and the weakness of John McCain as a candidate, it seems he’ll have the opportunity to look further afield for a Vice Presidential contender. Dean, as running mate would take his 50 State Strategy and his “$100 Revoluion” to the next level, thus solidifying any Congressional gains in this election cycle.

Progressives have a good amount of time before the convention to move this forward. Most of us here understand what America could be if Howard Dean were in the White House for as many as 16 years. If Obama could consider Republicans in his Administration, he should consider having Dean at his back.

Think about it. Please.

Obama/Dean 08
“Change the Paradigm”

Still, I never did see where it was too bright for Ahmadinejad to be rattling nukes when he doesn’t have them and Isreal and the U.S. do. Particularly when: the U.S. Administration is unbalanced; U.S. conventional forces are not available for anything else; Israelis have never shown any reluctance to make preemptive strikes; and all publicised info is that it would take more than a few conventional air strikes to take out Iran’s supposed nuclear facilities.

‘…the whole world comes to pieces …’

It is quite possible that you have just described the
‘BUSH DOCTRINE’ in its entirety.

Good morning. So please to read all the good news.

The surge worked! It’s true you can prance around Baghdad just like Ahmadinejad; and it’s true the Iraqis do welcome you with hugs and kisses, just like our military brass said. Security is good and Mr. Iran is walking around safe and snug as a bug in a rug. Think he’ll shop at the market place like Pal Joey Lierman? Bet he looks more stylish in his suit and casual look than dear Joe looked in his helmet, army clothes and bullet proof vest.

Glad we are such a success now there is no point in our staying there. Bring the troops home!

Another piece of the puzzle falls into place. Israel is reporting that missiles hitting inside Israel were manufactured in Iran.

The march to war is picking up pace.

-G

tw3k March 3rd, 2008 at 7:33 am 38
In response to Phoenix Woman @ 35 says

One of my back-burner thoughts. I’ve been wondering how the kosovo precedent could be used the kurds

Well the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was very upfront-they were running ops in Serbia to try and provoke a Serbian over-reaction, which would bring NATO into it on their(KLA) side, which is exactly what happened…this model applied to Iraqi Kurdistan would see the PKK trying to provoke a Turkish over-reaction, maybe even get some Americans killed by Turkish fire, in order to bring the Americans in as a shield against the Turks.
Then they declare independence.

Howard Dean is one of the main reasons for the historic Blue Wave in the ‘06 elections, and now that the 50 State Strategy has had a few years in the vine, I’m thinking it’ll really bear fruit this Nov, and will dwarf the one in ‘06. A lot of the Obama phenomenon stems from the 50 State Strategy as well IMHO.

Dean’s having such an impact where he is that I’d hate to lose him. I wonder if he can get more done where is now rather than being VP. Of course if he could parlay time as VP into being the Prez eventually, then he’d really have impact!

Hmmm….I could help with this effort now thinking more about it…

Ah, yes, the kinder gentler way of pursuing hegemony.

This is hilarious:

Bush told Turkey to finish the job and leave Iraq quickly…then Imadamnnutjob, while IN IRAQ, tells foreigners to stay out.

They’re two of a kind, George and Mahmoud.

Details here:
http://newsprism.wordpress.com

I don’t think the Iranians hated the Sunnis at all, they just hated Saddam and his regime which started a war against them on the West’s behalf. Iran has been supportive of dissident Sunni groups across the region.

at least he doesn’t have 160,000 troops in Iraq

Is Ahmadinejad really in charge? I thought he was like third in the power structure. If so, why do we keep building him up? Seems like it’s against the US’s interests (though not the Cheneyites’).

Did I say he was bright?

If Ahmadinejad is an “Iranian Hitler”, does that mean Ehud Olmert is a “Jewish Hitler”?.

Discuss, please.

suppose they know how ridiculous they look? What a waste of blood and money. Cuz there surely is no honor there.