is what Obama said true?

At a time when we're facing the largest homecoming since the Second World War," Obama said of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, "the true test of our patriotism is whether we will serve our returning heroes as well as they've served us."

Just a quick Google search on the Vietnam war:

1968. U.S. strength in South Vietnam totaled more than 500,000 by early 1968.

January, February, March, 1972. U.S. troop strength in Vietnam dropped to 136,500 by 31 January 1972, to 119,600 by 29 February, and then to 95,500 by the end of March.

What if I Googled the Korean War?

Etc., etc., etc....

Dith Pran, the Cambodian-born journalist whose harrowing tale of enslavement and eventual escape from that country's murderous Khmer Rouge revolutionaries in 1979 became the subject of the award-winning film "The Killing Fields," died Sunday. He was 65.

...

"If you didn't think about the danger, it looked like a performance," he said. "It was beautiful, like fireworks. War is beautiful if you don't get killed. But because you know it's going to kill, it's no longer beautiful."

The Iraq War is an abomination, as was the Vietnam War. Why must it continue?

Pran was certainly a courageous man. May he rest in peace.

We're coming at you. Your ships will explode in a couple of minutes.

Looks like the Straits of Hormuz Incident wasn't what we were told.

Link...

The controversial, politically charged movie Redacted will be aired before its theatrical release on HDNet's Movie Channel tonight, Wed. Nov. 14th at 10:15 PM Eastern. It is a docudrama about modern media coverage of war and particularly the war in Iraq, loosely based on the Haditha incident.

What would you do? You perceive a threat to your national security. A known terrorist group is a serious threat to harm your country and kill your citizens. You devise a plan to make a pre-emptive invasion of a sovereign country and threaten it loudly and long. Your parliament is set to vote on authorization any time now. Other nations encourage you to use diplomacy but you are inflexible….

Originally brought to light by The New York Times, the Bush Administration may have authorized "painful interrogation tactics against terror suspects — despite the Bush administration's insistence that it has not violated U.S. anti-torture laws."
...
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino... "would not comment on whether the 2005 opinions authorized specific interrogation practices, such as head-slapping and simulated drowning."

I'm not sure the Bush Admin has any respect for mankind, much less the US Congress and the American people.

From Congressional Quarterly:

The Senate also may vote on a “sense of the Senate” resolution that would say the policy of the United States is to "combat, contain and roll back" Iran and its surrogates in Iraq.

Lieberman is a co-sponsor.

The Webb amendment that would have given troops more time at home between deployments was blocked by Senate Republicans.

Senate Democrats could not get enough votes for cloture to end a Republican filibuster of the bill.

Tennessee Sens. Alexander and Corker both voted against cloture, which is a vote against the amendment.

As Sven noted yesterday, Alexander had said just the day before that he was "studying" the amendment and might consider it.

But Alexander and Corker both decided to once again toe the Bush party line. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) said "The White House has been very effective of making this a loyalty test for the party."

Sens. Collins and Snowe of Maine, Coleman of Minnesota, Sununu of New Hampshire, and Smith of Oregon were the other Republicans who supported the troops, along with every Democrat.

We interrupt the regularly scheduled cable OJ and helicopter car chase programming for this: CNN is reporting that Blackwater has been banned from Iraq:

Iraq's Interior Ministry has revoked the license of Blackwater USA, an American security firm whose contractors are blamed for a Sunday gunbattle in Baghdad that left eight civilians dead. The U.S. State Department said it plans to investigate what it calls a "terrible incident."

In addition to the fatalities, 14 people were wounded, most of them civilians, an Iraqi official said.

Joe Powell has lots more.

According to Olbermann, that will be the theme of Bush's address tonight. The more success "we" have in our "investment" in Iraq, the more troops can come home.

So, he's laying it off on the military, and more specifically the troops? If they do their job they get to come home?

What exactly is their job? Isn't that supposed to be defined by civilian political leadership? Who would that be? Oh, wait...

UPDATE: Well, that was interesting. Too much to parse, except for a couple of things.

First, it appears Sen. Lamar Alexander was hand picked to crank up the Republican rhetorical spin about "changing the mission" and "bi-partisan support" in Congress.

Second, Bush admits that his strategy is a continuing presence "beyond his presidency." In other words (as Bush likes to say), hand the problem off to the next president. Hopefully, permanent bases are just a bonus.

Oh, and one more thing. If we are "driven out of Iraq", the same thing that happened on 9/11 could happen again. So nothing will change for one more Friedman Unit until March, when the commanders on the ground will give their next report on what we should do.

UPDATE: John Edwards: "Our troops are stuck between a president without a plan to succeed and a Congress without the courage to bring them home." Edwards says it is time to end the war, and that the next time Bush asks for more money he has a choice: funding with a firm timeline for withdrawal, or no more funding.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, who is up for reelection, is posturing distancing himself from Bush and the Petraeus report and getting some bi-partisan support:

"My answer is, let’s have a change in mission as rapidly as we can," said Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who next year will defend a seat rated by CQ as "Republican favored."

Alexander and Ken Salazar, D-Colo., have jointly proposed changing the mission of troops from combat to support, to reduce the presence long-term and to increase political and diplomatic efforts.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., embraced Alexander’s proposal Monday as a model for bipartisan compromise because it calls for a long-term military presence in the Middle East.

This is the same Sen. Alexander that has voted with the Bush administration every single time on Iraq.

In related news, the Knoxville News Sentinel had an unbelievably absurd front-page above the fold big bold headline today that said "Bush to endorse troop removal" with the sub-head "Speech to outline plan to cut forces in Iraq by 30,000 with conditions." Those would be the 30,000 troops he sent over for the surge. Even Bush is distancing himself from Bush.

The sad thing is, people will buy this B.S., and will be talking about how Bush and the Republicans are doing something while Democrats are sitting around making up silly ads and arguing over whether we should surrender to Iran or al Qaeda.

Democrats need to start calling it like it is, and send all these creeps home that we can in 2008. We need to start by moving Alexander's seat from "Republican favored" to "in play." Who's going to step up to the plate? Democrats need to quit avoiding tough fights and waiting around for wounded candidates to run against.

...in New York City!

By way of Whitescreek, the internets are buzzing with the latest revelation that Bush knew there were no WMD in Iraq and withheld this information from Congress before the vote to authorize the use of military force.

In related news, Bush later admitted in a 2004 public speech that there were no WMD, but still privately insisted they were there up until April, 2006.

Is this the portrait of a decisive leader or a disturbed man? (Hint: he sees ghosts.) Only 500 more days until our long national nightmare is over.

From the NYT:

For now, though, Mr. Bush told the author, Robert Draper, in a later session, "I’m playing for October-November." That is when he hopes the Iraq troop increase will finally show enough results to help him achieve the central goal of his remaining time in office: "To get us in a position where the presidential candidates will be comfortable about sustaining a presence," and, he said later, "stay longer."

Keith Olbermann comments:

A man with any self respect, having inadvertently revealed such an evil secret, would have already resigned and fled the country! You have no remaining credibility about Iraq.

Russ McBee explains.

Some might conclude that there are three kinds of criminals in the federal government right now.

Bush: Criminally insane.

Congress: Criminally negligent.

Cheney: Just a plain old criminal.

New York Times: Report Offers Grim View of Iraqi Leaders

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 — A stark assessment released Thursday by the nation’s intelligence agencies depicts a paralyzed Iraqi government unable to take advantage of the security gains achieved by the thousands of extra American troops dispatched to the country this year.

The assessment, known as a National Intelligence Estimate, casts strong doubts on the viability of the Bush administration strategy in Iraq.

Front page of today's Knoxville News Sentinel: Analysts find Iraq still in need of outside help

Intelligence report warns against scaling back mission of U.S. forces

The Iraqi government will become more precarious over the next six to 12 months and its security forces have not improved enough to operate without outside help, U.S. spy agencies conclude in a new assessment of the country’s political and military fortunes.

Despite some uneven improvements, the analysts concluded that the level of overall violence is high, Iraq’s sectarian groups remain unreconciled, and al-Qaida in Iraq is still able to conduct highly visible attacks.

On a related topic, there's also some buzz about Bush's support for Iraqi PM "heckuva job" Maliki. One talking head said Maliki had no political power because right now power in Iraq boils down to who has the biggest militia, leaving me to wonder who has a bigger militia than Maliki's U.S. Armed Forces?

Also, is anyone else sick of hearing about "military commanders on the ground" (why are they on the ground? should someone help them get up?) and the hype surrounding the highly anticipated Petraeus report? This is an Iraqi political problem, not a U.S. military problem. Where is Condi Rice? Out shopping for shoes?

It sure is hard to believe the person delivering that speech with such fire-and-brimstone zeal is the same guy who all this week has looked like a depressed old loser with a foggy mind. What do they do? Wind him up? Give him some sort of rejuvenating drug that allows him to all of a sudden feel strong and speak clearly again.

Read more...

Maybe the Bush Administration and the Pentagon should use Google:

Rebuilding Iraq price comparison
Compare Rebuilding Iraq prices before you buy to make sure you get the best deal. Find a list of Rebuilding Iraq prices from multiple vendors at MSN ...

You’re going On Vacation?

Where does the Senate and the House of Representatives think they are going? Vice President Cheney flew to Iraq and told the government they shouldn’t go on vacation.

I want to turn on C-Span and see the House of Representatives and the Senate sitting in their respective chairs making policy; discussing it, showing the American people that they just might have read the bills they are signing. Right now it looks like everybody left at half time. Never mind, “negotiations behind closed doors” that perpetuate the Iraqi War with no end in sight; sending the same men and women back into combat, because there is no draft and because that would certainly stop this sick fiasco.

Sit down, every last one of you, in front of the American people and do the JOB that you were elected TO DO. Stop shuffling the cards. If you are going to Impeach, Impeach. You voted to keep this war, explain why our children (and certainly not many of yours) need go back three and four times to die for it. Explain why it costs billions for 150,000 troops in Iraq ? Where is the rest of the money going? To whom? Explain NOW, or bring the troops home. If you want to clean up the air, clean it up NOW.. Don’t designate funds. Fix the Ninth Ward in New Orleans . We need jobs. Stop building America with Mickey Mouse ears. Don’t pitch McDonald’s hats for graduation gifts. Don’t tell Americans they can’t buy cheap drugs from Canada , because the drugs may have problems while we sell alcohol and cigarettes with a label that says watch out, but do it anyway. Say the word “homeless” out loud several times, so it exists. You might even do something about it. Get off non-issues that feed this consumptive culture.

Resolution to Vote For? Shall it be this leg, that one, a toe, half a head, an eyeball? A son, a daughter? Which part? Which whom are you willing to part with? This war is about privatizing oil and building bases in Iraq . Our soldiers are wounded and dying and this country is running out of gas. Stop it NOW!

NO waiting until September. No fishing. No golf. No freebies. No raises this year. No nothing! Cut the sad faces. Show up on time. Sit in the heat of it. You work for us and at this point, you are non- union.

David Plumb

I was going through the old SKB archives looking for posts about the run up to the Iraq invasion, trying to come up with a summary of what the mood was like in the Fall of 2002 and early 2003.

I found some funny stuff, some poorly written stuff, some confused stuff, even some hawkish stuff early on when we were all still furious and hurting over 9/11 (not that it's worn off much, but there have been many distractions and sideshows since). I may put together a compendium of some of those posts sometime.

But it appears my feelings evolved over time, and I finally arrived at this "Special Commentary" style rant which seems to sum it all up. Sadly, not much has changed four and a half years later...

Read more...

While Congress debated whether to end the senseless U.S. occupation of Iraq last night, four more American soldiers died.

Bush just trotted out one of his Stepford Aides to give a press briefing on Homeland Security the growing threat of al-Qaida in Iraq.

Fran Townsend, Bush's Homeland Security Advisor, gave a robotic reading from declassified portions of a National Intelligence Estimate that was long on rhetoric but short on intelligence.

The bottom line is that al-Qaida is stronger in Iraq because our invasion of Iraq has weakened them, or something. It was mostly incoherent, except that we must stay in Iraq to keep us safe here.

Townsend also reiterated the alleged "link" between al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden and the 9/11 attacks, and asserted that because al-Qaida is now in Iraq they have access to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons, and they will not hesitate to use them against us.

Here's the AP report.

(*Oh, and in case you didn't get the headline joke... although it's not really a laughing matter.)

AC Kleinheider thinks Lamar! Alexander is emerging as the leader of a less insane GOP policy on Iraq, namely implementing the Iraq Strategy Group recommendations, and that a moderate consensus would "marginalize the increasingly vociferous faction of the Democratic base."

Arianna Huffington thinks it's a transparent political ploy designed to distance himself and other Republicans who are up for reelection from Bush's catastrophe in Iraq, and while applauding anyone willing to speak out against the insanity says we need a concrete plan to bring the troops home and these "I've seen the light" Republicans aren't delivering.

I'm going with option B. It's nice that some of these guys are finally coming around, but as Huffington says, "welcome to 2004." They're just reading the tea leaves in the bottom of the 2006 election cup and trying to spread their bets accordingly. They are culpable, and they shouldn't be let off the hook, and neither should any of the spineless Democrats in Congress who refuse to put an end to this insanity or at least get Bush and the GOP on record with another veto.

And while we're posturing and pontificating, 30 more American soldiers have died in Iraq so far this month, and it's only the 11th.

It's interesting how different headlines announce the departure of Gen. Peter Pace as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

• "Gen. Peter Pace to Retire as Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman" (Fox News)

• "Joint Chiefs Chair Will Bow Out" (Washington Post)

• "General 'sacrificed' to clear decks on Iraq" (Guardian UK)

• "Top US military officer sacked" (SBS World News Australia)

However you want to spin it, the purge of the Iraq war scapegoats architects is almost complete, leaving Bush with a "clean slate" and a spotless record on the war come September.

P.S. Defense Secretary Gates regarding the qualifications of the Chief of Naval Operations nominated to replace Pace:

Gates said Mullen "has a broad view of what the needs and requirements of the services are." To illustrate that, Gates said that when Mullen was recently asked by senior Pentagon adviser what he was most concerned about, he replied, "The Army."

Well, at least it's comforting to know that Adm. Mullen is aware the United States has an Army.

By way of the Beanster, what did Victor know and when did he know it?

Shit happens. C'est la vie.

In case you missed it (it wasn't mentioned in today's Knoxville News Sentinel), eleven Congressional Republicans went to the White House and told Bush and other top administration officials that he will no longer have the support of the GOP if the war goes on much longer.

Pundits are comparing the rather historic confrontation to Goldwater's famous meeting with Nixon that ended his presidency.

House Republican leader John Boehner attended the meeting, which was organized by Rep. Charles Dent of Pennsylvania and Rep. Mark Kirk of Illinois representing a group of moderate Republicans.

In what was described as a "remarkably candid" and "blunt" meeting, Bush was told that the no longer has any credibility on the war, and that it is time for "candor" and "honesty." Here is the NBC News video report by Tim Russert.

Bush acknowledged that the war is causing political problems for the GOP and expressed concerns about upcoming elections.

One would think he heard that message loud and clear in Nov. 2006, but his actions since suggest otherwise. Pressure from Democrats in the new Congress, along with some Republicans who are wising up, seems to finally be working. This could be the beginning of the end, especially if Democrats can put together a veto-proof coalition.

What's frustrating is that it has to come down to politics. The fact that we were led to war based on a pack of lies, that we have damaged our reputation around the world, that we have seriously weakened our military, and that we have failed to shut down the terrorist network that attacked us are all irrelevant. It's the number of "R" seats in Congress at stake and the threat of a "D" in the White House that gets Bush's attention.

Whatever it takes to end this thing is OK by a majority of Americans at this point. It's time to declare victory and bring our troops home.

OMG, I am so surprised.… This just ran on the AP wire about an hour ago:
Mid-East Graded Poorly on Press Freedom.
Seems some of the problem is that, in Iraq, Saddam era laws are still in force and in at least a couple of cases may have been enforced. Some 30 reporters were detained last year and two TV stations closed for showing footage of protests of Saddam’s execution.
Since the latest purpose we have for invading this country is to establish democracy I have been wondering if this is a Utopian Dream Democracy of our Exalted Leaders. Everything Bush always wanted in a democracy.
The press must go along or be shut down, the army and the police run things and you shoot the people who don't agree with you.
Oh well, just a thought.

President "Support the Troops" Bush has today cut off funding for U.S. defense and homeland security, betraying the trust of U.S. troops fighting his war of choice in Iraq and the American people he swore an oath to defend.

Today, Bush denied:

• $20,594,672,000 in funding for the U.S. Army and reserves

• $7,891,201,000 in funding for the U.S. Air Force and reserves

• $5,974,169,000 in funding for the U.S. Navy and reserves

• $2,648,081,000 in funding for the U.S. Marine Corps and reserves

• $82,462,000 in funding for the U.S. Air National Guard

• $628,855,000 in funding for the U.S. Army National Guard

• $2,714,487,000 in other defense operational and maintenance funding

• $5,906,400,000 in funding for the Afghanistan Security Forces

• $2,432,800,000 in funding for the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Fund

• $2,000,000,000 in funding for repair and replacement of homeland National Guard equipment

• $71,726,000 in intelligence funding

• $115,000,000 in funding for container and supply chain security

• $970,000,000 in funding for air travel security, including checked baggage explosive detection systems

• $8,000,000 in funding for Federal Air Marshals

• $190,000,000 in funding for port security

• $325,000,000 for passenger rail security

• $3,251,853,000 in funding for veteran's health care, including treatment of post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury

• $466,778,000 in funding for VA trauma centers, prosthetics, rehabilitation for the blind, and mental health treatment

• $595,000,000 in funding for upgrading VA hospitals and medical centers

• $32,500,000 in funding for prosthetic research for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans

Those are the facts. President Bush does not support the troops, and wishes to leave them in Iraq indefinitely -- extension of tour after extension of tour, stop loss order after stop loss order -- without adequate protection, equipment, supplies, or medical care.

Rejecting demands for accountability, Bush also said today that the bill "substitutes opinions of politicians for the judgment of military commanders."

Actually, the bill finally imposes the judgment and will of the American people by way of Congress on the Bush administration and the fatally flawed opinions of his military commanders, who have been wrong time after time after time (or who have simply been telling Bush what he wanted to hear instead of the truth which everyone else has figured out by now).

And in case Bush, Dick Cheney, and Fox News have not read the Constitution, here's a news flash: Only Congress can declare war, not Bush or his military commanders. Bush's job is to prosecute the war to advance the mission objectives set out by Congress and the American people. Mission accomplished. Time to bring our troops home.

We are long past the military phase of the Iraq invasion, just as Bush told us four years ago today. Military commanders cannot effect a political solution in Iraq. That's the job of Bush and Condi Rice. They need to quit complaining, get busy and do their job, and stop blaming their failures on the military and Democrats.

This is a good day for America. Congressional Democrats have exposed Bush and his neocon corporate crony pals for what they are -- losers who put their own selfish interests before the interests of America and our soldiers.

From the NYT:

At the maternity hospital, a rehabilitation project in the northern city of Erbil, an expensive incinerator for medical waste was padlocked — Iraqis at the hospital could not find the key when inspectors asked to see the equipment — and partly as a result, medical waste including syringes, used bandages and empty drug vials were clogging the sewage system and probably contaminating the water system.

The newly built water purification system was not functioning either.

[..]

The dates when the projects were completed and deemed successful ranged from six months to almost a year and a half before the latest inspections. But those inspections found numerous instances of power generators that no longer operated; sewage systems that had clogged and overflowed, damaging sections of buildings; electrical systems that had been jury-rigged or stripped of components; floors that had buckled; concrete that had crumbled; and expensive equipment that was simply not in use.

Curiously, most of the problems seemed unrelated to sabotage stemming from Iraq’s parlous security situation, but instead were the product of poor initial construction, petty looting, a lack of any maintenance and simple neglect.

Problems were found at the Baghdad Airport, hospitals, and military bases. But clearly there's too much focus on the bad news coming out of Iraq instead of all the successes.