so

Teh stupid it burnnnnns

Susan Collins askin’ pointed questions about Iraqis picking up more of their own tab. A person might think she had some hoppin’ mad constituents to face in November….

and i have sunshine…love your puppy,i do rescue of critters,they the best peeps

oh that sillyputty face shortride SPORTS….. yuk

how do you pick up the tab for 4000 dead americans plus the 10,000s of thousands forever damanged physically and mentaally?

Rebuilding infrastructure, restoring pensions, rule of law. How come Iraq gets to have that and we don’t?

Nelson: Have laws like de-baathification reform been implemented?

P & C: Well they are in process.

Yes, make it stop, make it stop! Sessions was particularly odious.

Tom Ricks fellates liveblogs McCain:

McCain is tackling the hard questions head-on with Petraeus: Why is the Green Zone still being attacked? Why did more than 1,000 Iraqi security forces defect in Basra? And what’s up with Moqtada al-Sadr?

That’s a good political tactic — he is using his position as the senior Republican on the committee to get the ugly stuff out ASAP, and do it on his terms, rather than let the Democrats set the tone. But it’s still to McCain’s credit that he is tackling it, rather than trying to put lipstick on the pig, the other possible approach.

See?
When he challenges the witnesses, he’s maverick-y and straight-talk-y.

Bush’s Iraq in a nutshell:

We will stand down when they stand up.

They will stand up when we stand down (i.e., leave).

Therefore, we can never stand down.

Catch-22.

Ah, I think, ah. Crocker is really backpedalling here.

Joe and the Republicans seem to lionize Petreaus and Crocker. Like some type of high school jock-hero worship by the kids in the marching band.

The Move-On ad on General Betrayus was spot on. I loved how it got everyone’s panties in a knot, including most of the Democrats.

Crocker’s a big um-er & ah-er.

Crocker: spinning like crazy on political reconciliation.

Look up Smarmy in the dictionary and you will see where Christy got that picture.

I REALLY can’t stand that wuss.

“Political reconciliation” = wipe out the opposition then declare victory

Crocker is such an idjit

oh swishy is up

The Administration continues to view the War in Iraq as a glass 1/10 full instead of 9/10 empty.

Ooooh, it’s Kiss-Ass Huckleberry!

Oh Joy!
Graham Crackers

oh, sheesh,Lindsey Graham is making me sick

Oh goody, Sen. Graham wants to send Crocker to a “good place” and give Patreaus another star.

Where are the witnesses’ superiors?

Where is Rice?

Where is Gates?

Why is our Iraq policy and strategy being determined by tacticians and field operators?

Enough with the underlings.

Strawman Graham is up …

Graham to Petreus: Hugs. Hugs. Hugs. Kisses. Kisses. Kisses.

You know, that’s not really helpful.

hahahahahahahahaha…sigh

Huckleberry up now. Wow, he has two sweeties, now. Is that poop on his nose McCain’s or Petraeus’?

So did Ricks say that McCain gave a stump speech on why we should stay in Iraq forever?

Smarmy = Lindsay Graham

im sorry he tries to ACT like a manly man,with other peoples balls…………..imo

I get the sense that Crocker does not like the orders he has been given from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but he feels it is his duty to salute and spread the manure.

Graham: surge is good because Al Qaeda hates the surge.

A pox on Graham. He needs to go to a bad place, a very bad place.

And of course that last 10th is just backwash.

Al Qaeda hates the surge … pfft

Gee, anyone else getting the feling that Lindsey submitted his questions ahead of time for preparation by Petraeus’ staff?

yea just another hypocritical ,murdering twit

Graham has come loaded for bare . . . and bald fellating.

What was the biggest success of the surge?

How much more soft ball can you get?

McStain, Lieberman and Graham, the Axis of Weasels.

Graham dracker tellin’ us the number one people who want us to leave are Al Qaeda in Iraq. Guess he hasn’t talked to Martha Raddatz.

Graham now pushin’ the fear-Iraqn meme….

all of them,its like moot court

Well, there’s always quitting as an optiion. Others have done it before him.

– Did McCain mix up Shi’ia and Sunni again? Watch the tape and see what you think. Spencer says yes, and provides a transcript as well. Ineptitude — or on purpose obfuscation? You decide.

mccain was trying to get the general to say mccain was right and everyone else was wrong

simple stuff there

Using his logic, Al Qaeda must love Graham because we hate him.

Graham Cracker, the McBush fill-in. What are the McBush talking points?

That’s possible, but they also were just very leading. Isn’t your lawyer term “Asked and answered”?

or did they just give him the questions?

These people are a really inferior product - I want my money back. Senators for sale

“Lebanonization” … shows how much our mil leaders are modeling Israeli practice … with the obvious results

and then we can claim Iran is all behind Lebanese nationalists too

where’s Seder’s creaking closet door???

Petraeus has only one real superior: Dubya.

One of several reasons why Admiral Fallon resigned — having a subordinate repeatedly going over your head (and getting praised for it by the President) is a real drag.

Has anyone asked about our ten dead troops in the last 24 hours?

Has anyone asked about power, water, food, ambulances, or fuel?

Has anyone asked about Blackwater’s renewed contract?

Has anyone asked about Maliki’s defeat in Basra?

Has anyone asked about Iran being the cease-fire negotiating site?

Is it all fellatio and candy?

Is all of this sacrifice bringing about a more secure America?”
Petraeus said the question is “perhaps best answered by folks broader view, and ultimately by history.” The war has “huge cost,” including more than 4000 troops who have made “the ultimate sacrifice.” But there is “no longer a ruthless dictator in Iraq [who] threatened his neighbors” and his people.” There’s a “nascent democracy,

http://www.washingtonindepende.....r-worth-it

“nascent democracy” al Sadr our enemy is looking to win big gains this election so of course our puppet Malkiki decides to ban al Sadr from the upcoming elections which will just make him more popular.

yeah - me and lindsay priming the pump for iran being attacked…..

– Which leads to this question: why on earth is Lieberman given early or any rotation time on the Dem side of the aisle? Especially since, as Tom Ricks points out, the Dems on the committee seem to universally loathe him?

bingo

enough of that please

Graham now pushin’ the fear-Iraqn meme….

———–
all of them,thats the daily talking points where our WHORE media will pull sound bites

why do are the repubs so obsessed with finding Al-Quaeda under Iraqi beds still? They just keep repeating those same silly fairy tales.

McStain, Lieberman and Graham, the Axis of Weasels.

Hysterical

Huckleberry just took about 4 swigs from that glass in one min. Hmmm.

hahahahahahahahahahahaha

Yep.

There’s a noble tradition to it, which has been woefully lost upon many in the Bush Administration.

Big bad al Qaida all over Iraq and P says we are tackling them, successfully. We are safer with P on the ball. What functioning democracy is Graham talking about? He thinks if he waves his hand it will be so.

What millions of Sunnis is he talking about? The four million refugees, perhaps.

The Surge: Great? Or greatest surge ever?

Leading the witness, Graham!

The Al-Quaeda take over myth. Small Organization takes over how many millions of people? Won’t happen unless the Bush Supreme Court votes for them.

i think dirty dick is CinC

Shorter Graham: Iraq is a resounding success and we should implement those same strategies right here at home …

NEVER ASK A question,you dont KNOW the answer to

“Ineptitude”

How about “Senility”?

Do “they” know something about Mccain’s health that makes his choice of VP all that more meaningful? Every time my Grampa made those kinds of errors, people would look knowingly at one another with pity in their eyes that such a bright fellow could lose his memory so quickly.

But when Mccain does it, the media and everyone close to him just lets it pass as if it is perfectly acceptable for the man they want as President to stumble over his own memory every time he talks.

Patreaus: “War is not a linear phenomenon.”

he’s right, it’s a loop

Okay, fess up Liindsayyy. Whut’s IN that glass???

And while we are at it, why on earth are both Nelsons on the committee with Lieberman? I may need to start mainlining espresso if they keep this up…

lol
must remember that!
how appropriate!
lol

More Tom Ricks:

Crocker to Tehran: Get Smart

That was an interesting little disquisition on Iran just given by Ambassador Crocker. He said it is time for Tehran to consider “just where they want to go in Iraq.”

He added, “They should be thinking strategically.” (It would be fun to be snarky here, but I think he is right in the implied point he is making: The United States is indeed thinking strategically about Iraq — it only took us about four years to start doing that.)

But he also said, “This would be an excellent time for them to reassess.” What does he mean by that? Why would Iran want to adjust their relationship now, when there will be a new American president in place in less than a year? Or is there some sort of implied threat there: You guys better get smart, or this president still has time to pound you?

Crocker is turning into the most interesting person here today. He reminds me of something I’ve heard soldiers say in Iraq after they make some candid statement: “What are they gonna do, cut off my hair and send me to Iraq?”

Sometimes, there’s no getting round the obvious; good writing, here and in a few MSM oases, helps:

The suppression of professional military dissent helped to create the disaster in Iraq; now it is depriving American voters of an election-year debate about the defense issues that matter most…. In the long run, success or failure for the United States in Iraq will not hinge on who wins the argument about the surge; it will depend on whether it proves possible to change the subject.

– Steve Coll, The New Yorker [emph. added]
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/....._talk_coll

Ben’s hairpieces just keep getting more outrageous every year…

Has anyone asked about our ten dead troops in the last 24 hours?

—————
i did not know RIP

of course we have no MEDIA to tell me this….oy

That’s classified information, and you can expect a visit from the nice gentlemen from the NSA. Please have your identification papers in order when they arrive.

Some pix from my last run through LA:

http://freewayblogger.blogspot.....geles.html

Join me for the next war, won’t you?

They don’t want Joe to have the last word?

Levin did in his opening statements

http://levin.senate.gov/newsro.....?id=295684

A cup of Joe.

ben nelson: make the iraqis pay for their own gd occupation.

i love you muchly all my family and friends thank you!!!!

if you haven’t read this NYtimes piece about the recent crackdown on shia militias, you should…

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04.....ref=slogin

I want someone to ask the General about substandard helmets and the makers of those helmets getting another contract!

Crocker when pressed has a terrible time and just keeps going uh, uh, sort of like a fish out of water.

Geez, Crocker’s getting close to being incoherent. How’s he gonna hold up thru another hearing this afternoon? Crocker’s crackup could be a popcorn event.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/.....to-attack/

The Green Zone is turning red…

Why doesn’t someone ask about that?

Has our billion dollar embassy become a billion dollar bullseye?

thanks……..drip,drip,drip …of young lives

“A crackdown on the Mahdi Army militia is creating potentially destabilizing political and military tensions in Iraq, pitting a stronger government alliance against the force that has won past showdowns: the street power wielded by the radical cleric Moktada al-Sadr. “

Opening statement of this article

Not seeing any questions on this … when is Hilary on ?

How long do your signs stay up, if you know?

How many of these pointless hearings did they do as Vietnam dragged its sorry ass to a conclusion over more than a decade?

It’s well past time to pack up our toys and GO HOME.

crocker is truly an abomination

precisely

Puppy is sitting up here with me on the couch and dreaming of chasing bunnies. His front paws are trying to run while he’s sleeping. Too funny…

cant,they all stolen,or broken,but makking more,is very LUCRATIVE

ENJOY ,the delicious moment…..awwwwwwwwwwwww

IMO, if this hearing is meant to be a prelude to bombing Iran, they’re not doing a very good job of making the case. Iran mixed in with too much other stuff. But then we’ll see what the corporate media pull out to emphasize. They could again do the grunt work for the Rs.

Thune … are the Iranians in control of the Mahdi army

useful to remember - from GorillasGuides 2 years ago:
http://gorillasguides.com/2006…..n-context/

have no doubt that armed militiamen loyal to al-Sadr’s movement are engaged in some very unsavoury activities but I very much doubt that the Mahdi army is the biggest Shiite militia, and I very much doubt that they’re the ones running the death squads of people in Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Defence. But what I, or any other westerner, think is irrelevant. What’s relevant is how the vast majority of al-Sadr’s constituency see things. And how they see the situation is:

* Al-Sadr’s movement is led by people who didn’t flee Iraq but who stayed and resisted Saddam.
* Al-Sadr has consistently resisted attempts to split up Iraq.
* Al-Sadr is consistently critical of Iranian efforts to increase their influence in the country.
* Al-Sadr has flown in the face of the price rises in fuel, food, clothing, and the ration reductions imposed by the green zone government at the behest of the American led occupation.
* They see and hear the green zone government talking of dividing up Baghdad.
* They see Nouri al Maliki going to Washington to be feted by the very people whose racist and brutal occupation has unleashed a tide of blood upon their homeland (and are now trying to pin the blame upon them.)
* They see their hero, and his followers:
*
o Visiting the wounded in hospital.
Sadr city cleric visiting wounded children Imam Ali Hospital.
o Providing comfort to the afflicted.
o Seeing to it that the families get some food and money to tide them over.
o Doing their best to protect them and their homes and children.
* They see that al-Sadr and his followers are doing the things that citizens expect a real government to do in an emergency.

If you lived in Sadr city or the South who would you believe? Would you believe a pack of murderous foreigners and their puppets or would you believe what you see with your own eyes day in day out?

Ambassador Crocker always becomes inarticulate, stutters and stumbles when asked a question that he has not been prepped on or is not the Bush/Cheny line of malarkey.

So, don’t you have a movie camera on your computer?

i should be nauteous from this ,but the lies make me crave comfort food,mebbe mac n cheese

Patreaus: “The hand of iran was very clear in the recent weeks.”

Which Senator is now up? He’s asking if the Iranians pull Sadr’s strings.

P. proceeds to completely mischaracterize Sadr and his history. OK, imscharacterize is the wrong word. I should have said lie. He’s now talking about how Sadr discredited himself into being the most powerful political force in Iraq.

I want our Senators to act like they have a plan we need a coordinated attack to get our points across and we need half our guys to burn the GOPers with a rapid response to all the GOP softballs being thrown out there.

show us PROOF Betrayus

CNN.com poll, current:

Do you agree with the top U.S. military commander in Iraq that things are better than before the surge?
Yes 42% 10564
No 58% 14323
Total Votes: 24887

So?

Headline at Al Aswat:

U.S. amb. says commitment to Iraq shouldn’t be limited

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq

Tuesday , 08 /04 /2008 Time 7:10:01

http://www.aswataliraq.info/lo.....rSection=1

Baghdad, Apr 8, (VOI) - U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said on Tuesday that the United States has to make its commitment to Iraq unlimited, describing the Iraqi Parliament as having successfully working with the complicated issues.

they have not been stellar,thusly

If you lived in Sadr city or the South who would you believe? Would you believe a pack of murderous foreigners and their puppets or would you believe what you see with your own eyes day in day out?

i think you’ve hit on one of the main problems - the iraqis are just not civilized enough to ignore what they can see with their own eyes.

Thune, R-SD. By my scorecard, Bayh will be next, then Marinez (gag) and then Hillary.

Thune now, Bayh next

Wow, Petraeus saying that War/conflict is more expensive than peace … Cheney’s gonna be p*ssed …

and that is why we are stuck in this clusterfuk
THEY DONT REPORT the death and destruction,only the rose colored glass version

o/t

Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr has postponed the Million Iraqi March out of safety concerns for participants -

reuters

Which Senator is now up? He’s asking if the Iranians pull Sadr’s strings.

that’s thune

much needed break from the asshattery that is this ‘iraq report’. Had to out a HUGE pot of black beans on. We have some folks here working on the house and they will be nice and hungry come 12:30 :)

Ahhh I see I might have to discard my hip waders for eyebrow waders

They need to get organized they need a Union

Yeah, they spoiled his causus belli for bombing Iran by brokering the Basra cease fire.

Hours for the big, in your face signs, days, weeks for the more obliquely placed ones. the average vi