Category: War

Justice Deptartment Says State Department Offers of Immunity Make Prosecution Difficult

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Gee, I wonder if those offers of immunity, which make complication prosecution because they, “might make it difficult to prove that evidence gathered by federal prosecutors did not stem from statements made by the guards after they were promised limited immunity,” have anything to do with the fact that this guy is a loyal Republican donor from a family of loyal Republican donors.

It certainly seems that Blackwater has been using State to run interference on drunken murder, fraudulent billing practices, and human sacrifice.

OK, the last one is pulled out of my ass, but I’m going BillO here.

Democrats Move to Prevent Bush From Encumbering Next President on Iraq

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Honestly, I don’t see these going anywhere, because of the gutless leadership in the House and Senate, but Representative Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) have introduced bills prohibiting the Bush administration from entering into a binding security arrangement with Iraq. They require the President to follow Article II of the constitution, and get the “advice and consent” of the Senate.

You can see the House version here.

FWIW, it should be introduced once a month leading up to election day, just to make Republicans vote for the war, over, and over, and over again.

For the life of me, with a substantial majority of Republicans wanting a pullout, and a president who is less popular than the idea of Britney Spears* as a baby sitter, that the Republican delegation continues to back this failed war of a failed president.

They are drowning, and they are throwing themselves an anvil, and calling it water wings.

*Yes, I know that I have promised not to mention They Who Must Not Be Named, but this is not a discussion of her, rather an invocation.

Bob Gates: Moron

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I guess that Robert Gates is just Don Rumsfeld without the charisma.

He’s criticising NATO forces for not doing a proper job in Afghanistan.

Of course, he would be a bit more convincing if:

  • The US had not allowed Osama bin Laden and Mullah Mohammad Omar get away because they were too timid about potential US casualties.
  • Bush and His Evil Minions™ hadn’t simply dropped a not-yet pacified south to go after Saddam, who had nothing to do with 911.
  • If US tactics in the south weren’t so violent and indiscriminate (particularly the bomb happy USAF), that the British weren’t asking US special forces to get the hell out.
  • If US aid policies in Afghanistan weren’t primarily for the benefit of US contractors who were Republican donors.
  • If the US wasn’t juxtaposing this incompetence in delivering aid with an aggressive anti-opium program that leaves Afghan farmers with a choice between aiding the Taliban or starving.
  • The US wasn’t currently limiting its operations in the east, where Taliban activity is minimal.
  • If the US were not committing a smaller proportion of its military to Afghanistan than the NATO allies.

Is there a single competent Republican party Apparatchik in this entire nation?

Iraqi Bill to Reintigrate Baath Party Members Appears to Be a Fraud

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It appears that the bill is, “ So riddled with loopholes and caveats to the point that some Sunni and Shiite officials say it could actually exclude more former Baathists than it lets back in, particularly in the crucial security ministries“.

So my previous report on the issue is wrong, and al-Malaki is acting true to form and doing his level best to ethnically cleanse Iraq’s Sunnis.

It’s a phony success to create a phony victory in a real war.

Bush is Going to Keep Troops in Iraq

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Yes, he says that he he is open to the possibility of slowing or stopping plans to bring home more U.S. troops from Iraq, which means that he’s not going to bring them home.

He’ll make some announcements, but when the tire hits the road, they won’t be redeployed.

Why, because George W. Bush thinks that all that matters is “victory”, which he defines as staying in Iraq, no matter how many terrorists are created, or how many troops are lost, or how many unstable nations move toward nuclear weapons.

It’s all about him, and he needs to show that he’s “brave and resolute” with other people’s lives and other people’s money.

100 Years in Iraq???? WTF!!!

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H/t to GNB.

Yes, that is John McCain calling for 100 years in Iraq, and yes, that is Joseph Lieberman on stage with him, and yes, they are both batsh$# insane, and yes, he’s toast.

Most Republicans want out, and the number is overwhelming in New Hampshire, particularly when you consider the independents who might vote for him.

He is toast.

Tom Lantos Retiring

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The reason given is esophageal cancer, but doubtless the challenge of Jackie Speier in the primary, where she was leading by 30% in the polls, had a lot to do with that too.

It comes down to the fact that he was a very strong hawk on Iraq, and any Iraq Hawk deserves to lose their seat.

FWIW, part of his statement is very disingenuous.

It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family, and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a Member of Congress. I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country.

Of course, Leon Blum (France), Bruno Kreisky (Austria), both of whom were holocaust survivors and not in America, and, of course, Menachem Begin in Israel were all PMs and Holocaust survivors. (H/t The Reality Based Community)

This kind of ahistorical American exceptionalism is de regeur in US politics, and dangerous, because it leads to things like invading Iraq.

Edwards Calls for Complete Pullout of Iraq

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Edwards calls for a complete pullout, including training troops.

He’s right. The Iraqis already know the basics of combat, the finer points could be taught outside of the country to those select few who need this information, and the US military, particularly the army is hostile to the idea of teaching foreigners about civil society.

They see their role as engaging the enemy in the battle space, and destroying them, and that any peacekeeping or nation building is antithetical to their mission.

There is nothing to indicate any real rapproachment amongst the Iraqi factions, and our presence simply delays, and makes more bloody, any eventual resolution.

Having any number of trainers there entails logistics and security that would keep us militarily engage in Iraq for a very long time.

The Surge is Working!!!

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A string of suicide bombings in has hit Iraq: (see also here)

  • On Tuesday, a suicide bombing killed 36 and wounded at least 35 others in Baghdad’s Zayouna (the worst attack since August)
  • A female suicide bomber attacked a checkpoint of neighbourhood patrol volunteers Wednesday morning in Baquba, the capital of Diyala province, reports Reuters. The attack killed 10
  • The abduction and killing of five relatives on Tuesday morning in Jalawla, one of the five killed was a policeman.
  • fighters from Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia kidnapped a farmer and killed his son in Dhuluiya, and stole 200 of the farmer’s sheep. (not going with the obvious comment)
  • The severed head of a member of an called Awakening Council, the Sunni Militias created and armed by David Petraeus was found north of Muqdadiya.
  • Gunmen killed three people in a village 40 miles south of Kirkuk.

We need to get out sooner, rather than later. We are doing no good there.

State Department Knew Blackwater Was Cooking Books in 2005

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The State Department’s IG report in early 2005 noted that, “that Blackwater cited its profit from the contract as a cost it incurred, and billed the government for it — resulting in what the report called “a pyramiding of profit.”

This is the second most blatant bit of account theft that I have ever heard of, the first being a guy who noted change as an expense for a non-profit group called the MSR.

He did time, and so should the execs at Blackwater.

Finally, Something All Iraqis Agree On

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It’s our fault.

All Iraqi Groups Blame U.S. Invasion for Discord, Study Shows

By Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 19, 2007; Page A14

Iraqis of all sectarian and ethnic groups believe that the U.S. military invasion is the primary root of the violent differences among them, and see the departure of “occupying forces” as the key to national reconciliation, according to focus groups conducted for the U.S. military last month.

…

To quote Billy Joel (and of course, Alvin and the Chipmunks, who did the definitive cover), you may be right.

Those Morons in Washington Are Doing It Again

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I mean, of course, the Democrats, particularly the DSCC and DLCC.

There are two very good posts on open left (here and here) discussing the losses in the special elections in Virginia and Ohio yesterday.

The basic point is that the candidates, and the DCCC which backed them made no mention of the war.

These guys are still running away from ending the war. The Democrats took control of congress on this issue, despite these guys ducking covering on this issue in 2006, and they are doing it again.

It’s the war stupid, no matter how much these guys, largely ex-Clintonistas, want to make it the 1992 election.

No money to the DSCC or DCCC. When I give, it’s only to candidates who are clear and vocal about their opinion on the war. It does not have to be the centerpiece of their campaign, but it has to be out there and clearly visible.

‘Nuff said.

Gang-Rape and Cover-Up Brought to You By Halliburton

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Let’s see, a 22 year old girl, one of their employees is gang raped bo other Halliburton employees, and Halliburton’s response is to keep her prisoner in a shipping container, and when the Army doctor turned over the rape kit, they “lost” it.

I used to wonder why Halliburton hired Dick Cheney, and continued to employ him after his disasterous decisions (he bought a company that made them liable for asbestos law suits). Now I think I know why, they simply came from the same place value wise.