Iraq: The Successifying

Chimpy McDimwit has just given an interview to the Times of London in which he claims that the violence now erupting in Iraq is "a very positive moment in the development of a sovereign nation that is willing to take on elements that believe they are beyond the law."

That violence includes fighting raging in Kut, where some 42 people have already died and over 100 have been wounded; Baghdad, where Iraqi authorities have imposed a curfew from 11 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Sunday after hundreds of thousands of people marched in the streets against Maliki's government setting off days of clashes between government troops and Shiite Muslim militia fighters &mdash leading a Canadian newspaper to speculate that the militias that support the various factions of the Iraqi government are trying to eliminate smaller factions before the coming elections. U.S. Embassy workers in Iraq have been told to remain in secure buildings. Two Americans have died in the attacks so far; Hilla, Karbala, and Diwaniya; and Basra, where Nouri al-Maliki has personally showed up to posture right before he gets his ass kicked all the way back to the Green Zone. Incidentally, multiple rocket attacks are taking place inside the "secure fortress" of the Green Zone, indicating that perhaps it is neither as secure nor as fortress-like as the morons in charge and their sycophants in the press would have us believe.

In Basra, police chief Major General Abdul Jalil Khalaf survived a suicide car bomb attack around 1:00 am on Thursday (2200 GMT Wednesday) in which three policemen were killed.

The International Committee of the Red Cross put the toll from the Basra clashes at 20 dead but other, unconfirmed reports said 40 were killed. Altogether, about 130 are reported killed and hundreds injured. Saboteurs have also blown up a key oil pipeline, which Iraqi authorities estimate will take approximately 72 hours to repair. Needless to say, this has sent oil prices back up again.

In addition, gunmen have kidnapped Tahseen Sheikhly, a spokesman for the Baghdad security plan launched in February 2007 to stabilize the capital. Sheikhly has appeared frequently at news conferences alongside U.S. officials. The abduction occurred in the afternoon, according to officials in the Interior Ministry. The attackers shot and wounded at least one of Sheikhly's guards and ransacked his home before fleeing with him.

Mr Bush, who had spent the morning being briefed on Iraq by the Pentagon before an imminent announcement on US troop levels, said that despite “substantial gains” since the US military surge began last year, much work was needed to “maintain the success we’ve had”.

During his interview with the Times, Bush disparaged those who want US troops to come home, and reinforced his power, saying as he has before, "I'm commander in chief."

He averred that decisions would not be made by those who “scream the loudest” in calling for troops to come home.

“I understand people here want us to leave, regardless of the situation," he said, "but that will not happen so long as I’m Commander-In-Chief.”

How long before Drunky McCokespoon goes back to chopping brush in Crawford and leaves the rest of the world in peace?

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Iraq - The Marine Corps Wants Out

Who can blame them?

Congress, Republicans and Democrats both, it's time for you people to step up to the plate and tell Georgie that his little dog-and-pony show is over, dammit.

The NYT tells us:

The suggestion was raised in a session last week convened by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and regional war-fighting commanders. While still under review, its supporters, including some in the Army, argue that a realignment could allow the Army and Marines each to operate more efficiently in sustaining troop levels for two wars that have put a strain on their forces.

Right now, we have 160,000 troops in Iraq. Various factions have been flapping their gums about bringing approximately 30,000 of them out very soon (you know, that famous 'surge' that worked so well). That would leave approximately 130,000. 25,000 of these are members of the USMC.

No word yet on just how many Marines will go from Iraq to Afghanistan (a legal war that actually has the support of the American people, not to mention NATO and a coalition of the actually willing). The lot? That would leave the remaining troops occupying Iraq in a very bad position indeed. Especially now that the British are planning to halve their troop commitment in Iraq and are not even making a pretext at holding on to Basra.

As I've pointed out before, U.S. military supply lines run from Kuwait through Basra to wherever our troops are stationed. That is also the military's path to withdrawal of the troops. Till now, the various Shi'ite militias are leaving the U.S. military alone.

However, should things change - should we bomb their fellow Shia in Iran, should one faction win a clear military victory over the others, should they decide to unite against us - our troops are fucking fried. The only way to get out will be through hostile territory in al-Anbar province, a hotbed of Sunni resistance which has only been placated with large gifts of arms and money to keep them from attacking our troops. If they see Americans on the run, why wouldn't they join in with the Shia in wiping out the troops?

It's either flee through al-Anbar into Saudi, or pull back into Baghdad and get airlifted out. Both bad choices.

Please, if you care at all about what's left of the military, please urge your Congresscritter to get them the hell out of that rapidly closing death trap.

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Media: This week's New York Times magazine

Looking at Sunday's New York Times magazine ... it's full of crap! A few comments ...

Do the editors think we all make $300,000 per year? Most people in the U.S.- even middle class people - are worrying and struggling financially. But, man oh man, you would never know that by looking at this magazine. It is the college issue so maybe they have to make things look like everything's A-Okay ... as you go off to college, don't worry about a thing ... all that money and energy ... really ... everything is okay ... this country really isn't going to hell in a hand basket.

In the inside cover is quite a spread. Trump's vision. "Manhattan's boldest, brightest new neighborhood. Riverside South a community on the rise ... affording residents the luxury of life on the water ..." Pardon me while I take time to have a bitter and disdainful chuckle. Does Trump ... or any of those residents worry about global warming? Glacial melting? Rising waters? To see the most likely consequences of global warming to the Trump's vision, go here. Trump's been a busy little beaver. See my post on his vision in New Orleans here.

Then there's a 14-page advertisement for Kuwait, "The Rise of a Global Player ... This supplement has been produced and sponsored by Summit Communications. It did not involve the reporting or editing staff of The New York Times." Summit Communications is a New-York based public relations firm that produces "special country, regional, and sectoral promotional reports" that are inserted into the New York Times as advertising supplements. Promotional and upbeat ... not the full picture. Here are some of the topics covered in this spread:

• Islamic Banking Is Based On Ethics
  
• Foreign Participation Is Key To Boosting Oil Production
  
• How Oil Wealth Has Enabled A Small Arab Country To Assist Developing Nations All Over The World
  

[said breathlessly and with great excitement]
TAKE ME!!! YES! YES! YES! I want to go there. I want to be a maid and have my sponsor hold onto my passport so I can't leave. Yes, and I'm sure they'd really welcome me - a feminist and a lesbian!

"Foreign Participation Is Key To Boosting Oil Production" ... I guess that's the philosophy in Iraq too. Foreign participation. God these mADmen are good at weasel wording!

No wonder people are turning to other sources of news. Who wants to wade through this crap?

Stumble It!