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Reporting from Baghdad
It should come as no surprise that the Bush administration's newest military-man-of-substance-turned- political lapdog, General Petraeus, maintains that the situation in Iraq is not only salvageable, but actually improving, due to the "surge" of U.S. combat troops into Iraq over the past year. All the president and his collection of GI Joe hand-puppets ask for is more time, more money and more troops.
There is no reason to believe that the compliant war facilitators who comprise the "anti-war" Democratic majority in Congress will do anything other than give the president what he is asking for. No one seems to want to debate, in any meaningful fashion, what is really going on in Iraq.
Why would they? The Democrats, like their Republican counterparts, have invested too much political capital into fictionalizing the problem with slogans like "support the troops," "we're fighting the enemy there so we don't have to fight them here," and my all-time favorite, "leaving Iraq would hand victory to al-Qaida."
There simply is no incentive to put fact on the table and formulate policy that actually seeks a solution to a properly defined problem. Like the Republicans before them, the Democrats today seek not to govern with the best interests of the people in mind, but rather to game the system in order to consolidate political power. Political sloganeering has so trumped reality that any political backlash that is generated from the so-called "Petraeus Report" will be limited to how the Democrats could better sustain a conflict that kills American troops, since no main-stream Democratic leader has expressed a true "get out of Iraq now" policy.
Nearly 4 1/2 years following President Bush's ill-fated (and illegal) decision to invade and occupy Iraq, few people in a position to influence policy formulation and implementation in America have actually grasped the horrible truth about what has transpired, and what is transpiring, in Mesopotamia today. As the United States places the finishing touches on Fortress America, the new half-billion-dollar Embassy complex in the heart of the Green Zone in downtown Baghdad, and more troops pour into mega-bases throughout Iraq, the reality (and futility) of permanent occupation has yet to sink in. What could be going through the minds of those members of Congress who keep signing blank checks for the president? Is there no oversight of how and why this money is spent? How can someone fund permanent infrastructure one day, then speak of the need to get out of Iraq the next?
The compliant mainstream media, of course, is no help. The war in Iraq has become a major generator of advertising revenue for these corporations, so there is no incentive to actually report the truth, but rather manipulate the fiction. Iraq has become a prestige destination for every aspiring journalist or struggling anchor, determined to get "the big story." The most recent manifestation of this syndrome is CBS News anchor Katie Couric, who earlier this week travelled to Iraq because she was (in her own words), "Curious about very basic questions regarding living conditions, about how much fear there is in the street, about how the soldiers really are doing." That the situation in Iraq has been boiled down to these three big, burning issues (living conditions, fear in the streets, and how the troops are really doing), and that CBS is sending their multi-million-dollar investment to investigate, speaks volumes about the truly degenerate state of American journalism today.
The real big three she should be addressing are "Why do Americans keep dying?" "Who is killing them?" and "Why?" Of course, answering these questions would undermine the very fantasy world Couric is being sent to cover, one where Americans are doing good deeds in the name of peace and justice for downtrodden Iraqis. Couric's jaunt is fraud on a massive scale. Ironically, she herself acknowledged this when she admitted that her up-beat reports from Iraq were reflective of what the US military wanted her to see, and not honest 'reporting' on her part.
If Couric and her ilk won't answer these questions, I will. "Why do Americans keep dying?" Simple: Because we are in Iraq. We don't belong there. Our presence is derived from our own violation of law, not someone else's, and as such any effort to sustain our presence is tainted by this same foundation of illegitimacy. In short, Americans will keep dying in Iraq as long as we remain in Iraq. If Katie wanted to really get to the bottom of this story, she could venture out on her own to any one of the villages and towns where Americans have been killed recently. Of course, she would probably end up dead herself, which would defeat the purpose of trying to report the story.
"Who is killing them?" Another easy answer: Iraqis. We are occupying their homeland. We are violating their sovereignty. We are butchering, abusing and torturing their citizens. Our continued presence is an affront to the socio-economic-political fabric that is (or was) Iraqi society. If someone occupied my hometown in the same manner Americans occupy Iraq, I'd be killing them any way I could. And I would be called a hero by my own people, and not a terrorist. The Bush administration, in an effort to deflect public attention away from this reality, has created the fiction of a massive al-Qaida presence in Iraq, working in parallel with a similarly large Iranian Revolutionary Guard Command presence, which apparently is responsible for the majority of anti-American violence and dead U.S. troops.
Rhetoric aside, however, American officials who make these claims have been unable to back them up with hard facts and figures. There is an al-Qaida presence in Iraq. However, the majority of what is known as "al-Qaida in Iraq" is composed of Iraqis, not foreigners. The whole phenomenon is a direct result of the American occupation of Iraq, and would dissipate the moment America left the country. Likewise, the accusation of direct Iranian involvement in anti-American violence is questionable. Iranian political support of Iraqi Shiite groups who violently oppose the American occupation of Iraq is real, but then again we know this: We invited the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq to join us in toppling Saddam. Based out of Iran, functioning as a de-facto arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Command, SCIRI did as we asked. Why, then, are we shocked when SCIRI maintains ties with the very entity that created and nurtured it? It is Iraqi Shiites who are killing Americans, not Iranians. And they would kill us with or without the support of Iran.
Now we come to the third and perhaps most difficult question: "Why?" In some odd way, Katie Couric's jaunt to Iraq answers that question: Because Americans truly don't care. Oh, we care about vague softball issues, such as "conditions in the street," "fear," and of course, "how the American troops are really doing," especially when they are fed to us in 30-second sound bites or three- minute "in-depth" stories. Little feel good segments planted in between commercials, designed not to infringe on our intellectual curiosity for more than 30 minutes so we don't loose our focus watching the latest "reality" show or made-for-television drama.
The fact is, Couric's made-for-television news is to what is really happening in Iraq as "CSI: Las Vegas" is to what is really happening on the streets of Sin City. CBS knows that, which is why they are packaging Katie in this fashion. The shame is that for most Americans watching, they think they're getting the real deal. They are not, but will continue to wallow in their ignorant indifference. Katie will struggle to tell us that our kids keep dying in Iraq to "improve the quality of life" and "reduce the level of fear" on the streets of Baghdad. She solemnly informs us that "our boys and girls" are suffering, but they know it is in support of a just and noble cause. Katie will continue to report the story in Iraq from the perspective of an American political dynamic, not Iraqi reality.
She won't go visit one of the American mercenary units in Iraq, the private military contractors who challenge the American military for numerical supremacy. She won't burrow into the never-never land of legal ambiguity that allows these mercenaries to commit murder at will, to treat Iraq (and Iraqis) as second-class citizens in their own nation, and whose continued abuse of Iraq results in a deep and undying hatred for all things American. Katie may catch a movie in a hardened underground theater on one of the Pentagon's mega-bases, or go shopping in a PX inside the "Green Zone" to get a "feel" of life for our troops, but she won't venture up north, into Kurdistan, where other secure outposts of foreign occupation sit, out of sight and mind. If Couric would visit the Iraqi Oil Ministry, she might be shocked to witness the legal maneuvering and exploitation carried out by foreign oil companies (including, directly or indirectly, American oil companies).
Working with local Kurdish officials, small oil exploration and drilling camps are sprouting up all over northern Iraq, where they siphon off the wealth of the Iraqi people. Shipped out of Iraq via Turkey and (surprisingly) Iran, using long-established smuggling routes, these illegal ventures are generating billions of dollars in income for oil companies, and because these ventures aren't supposed to exist, this income goes unreported. You can't miss these sites. Any review of Google-Earth imagery would show these facilities springing up like mushrooms over the last few years. The U.S. military knows about them, and yet does nothing. Note to Richard Kaplan (Katie Couric's producer): If you want to investigate this story, I'll provide you with the geographic coordinates. Drive up and try to talk your way into the security perimeter. Position Katie well for the camera shot and demand answers. Just look out for the Canadian, South African or American mercenaries who are charged by "Big Oil" to keep this dirty little secret "secret."
Instead of going to Iraq to report on why Americans keep dying, Katie could just stay here, in America. There are any number of corporations whose board rooms she could visit. Or she could smooth talk her way into a number of country clubs, to interview the human face of the "military industrial complex" that President Eisenhower warned us about a half-century ago. She might take a look at congressional campaign financing, where the profits from these corporations fund the campaigns of the politicians who continue to do nothing about Iraq. Then, and just then, would Katie come close to answering the question of "Why?"
But she won't. Or should I say, she can't. CBS is owned by General Electric. GE is working hard to get favorable trading status with any number of foreign trading partners. The U.S. trade representative is working hard on GE's behalf. Hard-nosed "reporting" by the likes of Couric would not go over well in the bowels of the White House, where instructions to the U.S. trade representative are issued. "I'm Katie Couric," her broadcast could begin. "Tonight I am declaring independence from corporate control over how I report (i.e., read) the news." Answering the "why" of Iraq requires confronting the layers of corruption and corporate domination of America on so many levels that even if Katie wanted to, she couldn't-at least not from her perch as anchor of the CBS Evening News.
In a way, Iraq is a manifestation of all that ails America today. A complete breakdown of fundamental societal checks and balances brought on by greed and hubris. From General Petraeus who will give it, to the mindless corporate-owned minions who populate much of Congress who will receive it, to the entertainment-as-news media which will report on it, and to the American people who will consume it with no foundation upon which to evaluate it, the "Petraeus Report" will have little relevance to what is really going on in Iraq. Once again, Americans will be searching for a solution to a problem they have yet to properly define.
Just ask Katie Couric. Or better yet, watch her.
Scott Ritter was a Marine Corps intelligence officer from 1984 to 1991 and a United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998. He is the author of numerous books, including "Iraq Confidential" (Nation Books, 2005) , "Target Iran" (Nation Books, 2006) and his latest, "Waging Peace: The Art of War for the Antiwar Movement" (Nation Books, April 2007).
© 2007 TruthDig.com
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71 Comments so far
Show All"Only suffering will wake Americans up."
The problem with that is that when that happens it will be over and to late to do anything about it . . .
Go Scott Ritter . . . I hope he is watching his back. Don't drive by any book depositories in a convertible or stand on any open balconies . . .
Helluvan article.
Agreed, Balakirev, what difference does it makes whether it's NBC, ABC, Fox, or CBS? They're all beholden to parent-company (i.e., "corporate") influence. It's been said, many-times-and-many-ways, that the "news" that America's been indoctrinated to not question is all about reporting what gets ratings and what secures sponsorship. It's all about the bottom-line; it is not about truthfulness and in-depth journalism or reporting. It is all about skirting the real issues and covert omission.
In-a-nutshell, though Mr. Ritter was incorrect on a technicality, his broad underlying premise is totally correct. And, that's really what the issue is here.
Anyone with even the slightest knowledge of the Crusades ought to know that for a western Christian nation to invade the Muslim world is suicide. And yet, like some dork-ass grammar school snitch, we go skipping through the playground in our short pants and saddle shoes, heading home toward mommy and a glass of warm milk. This is how empires die, not with a bang but by sticking a thumb up its ass because somewhere, sometime, someone once told you it will bring good luck.
Thank you, Scott, for the dose of reality and using the word "oil" which has been excised from ALL mainstream commentary, as you mentioned.
Have I heard correctly that #2 at State is Negroponte and that he is incharge of Iraq?
Here's the REAL report from Baghdad, kiddies.
Won't see this on CNN, CBS, or any other 'truth
fully reporting station.' Here's the result of
Georgies 'Democracy Project.' He'll never read it but everybody should. It's powerful.
http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/
Even before NPR was repeating the Chandra Levy story every 15 minutes, they used to beat us over the head with the ongoing "tragedy" of little Elian Gonzales (now a teenager back in Cuba with his father). I used to give NPR the respect that I now maintain for Common Dreams, until I finally realized that they were even worse than the mainstream media because they pretend to be otherwise.
Scott Ritter is right on as usual. Finally someone mentioned the OIL which is why we aren't leaving Iraq anytime soon no matter how many of our best US troops we let die in the sand.
Bless your honest voice, Scott Ritter. Through the darkest days of the past half decade your reports have been rare flashes of bright clear light illuminating those dark places that more timid hearts fear to mention. You are a valuable asset to all of those who expect truth and straight data from the news and information media.
Thanks, buddy.
egon fawlkner
Auburn CA
But Katie Couric is so cute, she will be seen and heard, from her beautiful eyes to her shapley legs,___ by multi-millions. This top notch Scott Ritter article, will be forth string news, read by those that care and are aware, that our TV news is propaganda at best.
CBS is owned by Viacom. GE owns NBC. Otherwise, well said, Scott.
Actually, CBS isn't owned by GE. NBC is. Something called Sumner Redstone controls CBS Corporation.
The day after Mr. Chavez did his "I still smell the sulfur from when the devil stood here" speech at the UN, Katie dramatically began her broadcast with: "The President of the United States has been insulted," and topped it off with an angry look on her face. Walter Cronkite would have said: "Yesterday, Chavez of Venezuela launched a verbal assault against George Bush, whom he compared to the devil. Let's look at why he said what he said."
Them was the good ole days.
My Gawd I've been missing the big picture all these years... can someone recommend a few good "reality" shows and made-for-TV dramas, I need to put an end to my ignorance, and fast!
So aren't the Kurdish people as apart from the leaders going to demand a piece of the action , or are they prepared to be the "safety zone" for the sell-off of their own wealth? I predict oil wars inside of oil wars.
Ritter always brings out the all too troubling facts. He and others got everything right about this war and still have not been promoted to punditry in the MSM. Getting it right is apparently not an asset when it comes to punditry.
Why won't NPR cover a story like this. Why are they so busy trying once more to make the incredible Bush lies credible in their big deal coverage of genealissimo Betray -us. Is it so that we won't have to admit America's and NPR's colossal betrayal of International law in the pursuit of oil.
Hasn't the inability to admit a mistake cost enough people their lives. Isn't it obvious that the American invasion has done more damage to Iraq than the bloodthisty Saddam?
NPR? You've GOT to be kidding. Listen to the litany of their sponsors (corporate donors.) Can't make the connection?
Give up on NPR, they gave up on you years ago. I gave up on them when they ran the "big scream" every 10 minutes 24/7 for weeks, thereby condemning Howard Dean.
Listen to NPR with an open mind and you'll hear a script that deviates from the rest of the MSM by micrometers.
Before 911, I played a game on my drive time. I tuned in NPR until I heard "Israeli" or hmmmm, who was that white girl gone missing? Oh yes "Chandra Levy." When I heard either, I switched stations. Usually took 35 seconds or so. Right after 911, I could have used the same two words and listened for hours. Poor Chandra, they dropped her like a hot potato. Likewise the Israelis, lest we make any unconscious and incorrect links between them and the terrorists.
Again: forget NPR.
National Propaganda Radio.
Ah, Jonabark
Remember, Mr. Saddam Hussein was helped into power by members of the U.S. elite. He was an excellent anti-Communist. And when he proceded to bump off thousands of its members, fellow travelers, campus admirers, etc. (using a CIA supplied hit list), no one considered him bloodthirsty.
After killing off members of one of the biggist middle eastern communist parties, he got the stamp of approval from our Big Boys and thus established both his credentials and rule.
Of course, when he instigated the Iraq/Iran War (with the backing and blessing of the Big Boys), he was still fulfilling the the duties listed under his job description.
Killing Kurds. Well everybody does it. Now that we have suckered some Kurd elite into a special relationship with the Big Boys, both can enrich themselves while ripping off the average ex-Iraqi Kurd.
Now that the U.S. has attempted to step into the recently executed Saddam's shoes, those employed by the Big Boys, are torturing, imprisoning, casually murdering, raping, looting in such fashion, that Saddam seems to be enlightened despot.
Of course, we won't add the other wonders brought in by the Big Boys: malnutrition, poverty, unemployment, lack of pottable water, crumbling infrastructure, little electricity, lack of health care, etc.
It seems that when the Big Boys insert themselves into any nation, it becomes worse off. Hey, they are performing as expected even in their own nest...the U.S.
Gangster Capitalism. Its what we do best. And its our leading export.
How sweet it is.
Thanks Scott. Again! If you're out there, do you have any insight into the 6 nuke bombs that were transported on a B52 to Louisiana? This could NOT have been a mistake by the Air Force. It's not possible. Also, why would the Air Force declare to the world that they are going to "stand down" on Sept. 14th? Any connection to the anti war rallies in DC on Sept 15th? I smell a rat, but I can't put the pieces together.
Thanks
"Once again, Americans will be searching for a solution to a problem they have yet to properly define."
I think I found one! Vote Green!
"Why do Americans keep dying?"
America had to be the world's policeman or sink into irrelevancy. It was a simple choice.
Hi Rebel Farmer. I'm afraid we will never hear the truth of the six nukes transported on the B-52H. Damage control on that one goes to the very highest level. If another whistle blower comes forth, or even slides in fifth, we may hear something. Right now I'd bet, any investigations by the government about the matter, are all directed in an attempt to find out who blew the whistle on the transfer. ___ What you think?
CBS, owned by Viacom, which is controlled by Summer Redstone. This is the same Summer Redstone who came out openly and stated its better for him and his companies if the Republicans win elections. I'm sure the fact that the chairman of the company openly said this was completely ignored by the corporation managers. Right. Picture your typical, suck-up corporate manager doing anything counter to what the chairman of the board wants.
Also, note this is the same CBS that just recently went to great lengths to make sure no anti-war message got into the background crowds of their morning show. And its the same CBS that has refused to accept the money to run anti-war ads during the Super Bowl. And of course its the same CBS who constantly has a prime-time schedule full of all sorts of police and military and spy glorification shows (the CSI's, the Unit, the old JAG show, etc, etc)
Thanks Scott Ritter, for writing this excellent article.
The neocon government will require another terror attack in order to "rally the people" for the planned bombing in Iran. No doubt the arrangements are being made right now...
CBS and the rest also employ scores of present and ex military consultants and advisers, as well as ex-gov officials, while the FBI, DHS and CIA maintain Hollywood "liaison" offices, to "help" producers "get it right" you see, or risk not only non-cooperation but outright harassment and thwarting.
CBS ownership aside, and with great respect for Mr. Ritter, "Reporting from Baghdad" still omits the more ominous trends there.
Shia-on-Shia violence is skyrocketing. The gov't and Shia parties are splintering and/or collapsing. The Brits are quietly withdrawing. Basra, Iraq's second largest city, is now operated by militiae hostile to the gov't. The professional class, including most doctors, is long gone from central/southern Iraq. All told, some 4-6 million Iraqis have evacuated the country or died. more have been displaced from their homes in the now ethnically cleansed "peaceful" Baghdad area.
One wonders/fears for the "stability" that will pass for "victory".
If Americans really don't want to know the truth, I suppose we who do care about it should be happy that NPR exists. I live in Holland, Michigan, where many people (read: white men) are dedicated to becoming very very rich, by any means necessary (native son Eric Prince of Blackwater fame is a good example). This is entirely in accord with the Christian Reform values of this community. For me, NPR is a lifeline (along with the Internet and the library). I've been living in middle America since 1989 (a huge shock after 32 years in Berkeley, for sure). I believe that if NPR got any leftier [sic], many Americans would quit listening.
Only suffering will wake Americans up.
Hey Scott, You should have given the google earth coordinates of those oil wells!
"I do tears."
GWB
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m_xGt72qOs
Scott Ritter is an honorable man.
What I can't understand about the Iraq debacle is that the whole premise for the "surge" is the US Army's Counterinsurgency Manual: http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-24fd.pdf
If one reads the Manual, one will realize that the US military and their mercenary adjuncts have yet to actually implement the strategy for waging a counterinsurgency as described in the Manual.
In other words, the "surge" was, in effect, designed to fail.
The machine has badly broken down.
Finally, as a retort to Bush: This is the "lesson of Vietnam: http://www.mishalov.com/Vietnam_Cu-Chi.html
Scott Ritter for PRESIDENT.
OldtimerPosting @8:44pm, 9 Sept
Scott Ritter could not be president because he lacks the qualities that made Bush great--they include:
Divine guidance; Cognizance & courage to discredit the scientific community; Insight to recognise the dangers of environmental reforms; Courage to assassinate the character of those who oppose his policies(Max Cleland, a triple ampuitee Viet Vet who tried to initiate an investigation into the causes of 9/11): Perception to disregared all the warnings concerning the consequences of this war; Remarkable advisory team--ie Chaney, Rove,Rumsfield,Brown, Gonzales, & the list goes on.
Scott is no match for Bush
Bombing Iran
In view of the absurdity the schemes to bomb Iran while planning to provide arms to this volatile region, and the history of other ill conceived policies of this administration, one can only conclude that the arms merchants are instrumental in its conception.
After tolerating the actions of this theocratic administration, guided by special interests for over six years, Americans must assume blame for the resulting destruction.
Excellent debunking of BushCo's lies about who it is that is fighting the U.S. troops. It is indeed the Iraqis.
If the Iraqi resistance forces can keep the United States soldiers in check and make their life a daily misery, then all the more so will they be able to rid their country of any undesirable forces (be they Al Qaeda militants or not) once they no longer have to put all their energy into fighting the U.S. troops. This is also what BushCo does not want us to notice.
Thanks again Scott. Sure wish i could get them to listen to you
Keep up the great work, Scott Ritter! You have a been a voice of reason since the beginning of this oily nightmare and your work continues to embarrass the "professionals." PS, respectfully, the word "media" is plural, as in "The mainstream media are worse than useless."
Scott Ritter attacks another woman and we're supposed to be impressed? GE owns NBC not CBS. Considering that's a fact and he gets it wrong in a key section, it's appalling that Common Dreams posted this nonsense. I don't expect them to fact check everything they repost but if they don't know who owns CBS, it's Viacom, then they've got as many problems as Scott Ritter.
It's also strange to see Scott Ritter railing against corporate news. I can remember back when you couldn't turn on your TV without him griping about Clinton back when we had an elected president. Then Bush came in and Ritter was all over the place still until his arrests became public. I saw him get asked about that on CNN and never saw him again. So I guess that's when he decided he was against coporate news. They kick him out and suddenly he wants to be our friend.
I knew it was a matter of time some troll would bring that Ritter attacking underage woman thing up. He paid his dues. It's all in the past.
At this point, it's a clear case of character assassination.
Who knows by Christmas the American public may rush to buy Gen. Petraeus dolls at the local toy shop. If bush is able to convince the american public, who is more than eager to believe, that the surge is working.
The Iraqi insurgents are trimming the deciders' sails.
If we fight them in Iraq then we won't be able to fight them in Iran. Support Iraqi fighters-they provide the only effective checks and balances to Emperor Bush. Praise Allah!
Good one, Mr. Ritter,
Keep speaking out. Too few with any actual knowledge of Iraq have the courage to say anything.
Dear Mikael, it seems that you have missed the whole point of Mr. Ritter's report. Maybe you would be kind enough to provide any information you might have about Iraq and Iran.
The error about GE owning CBS seriously undercuts the article. I would not cite this article because of that error.
Thank you for telling it like it is..I have been appalled by Katie Couric's coverage. Talk about a p.r.stunt!!!
The war isn't continuing because people don't care; it's continuing because people do care; and they are afraid that they are responsible for what has happened and continues to happen in Iraq; and they are right.
In spite of what the President and others said, leading up to the invasion of Iraq, most Americans knew their chances were better of being attacked by Polar Bears than Iraqis.
Frightened and confused, they watch as the Administration with the support of Congress engaged in incomprehensible behaviors.
People need to know that mistakes were made; and that making more mistakes won't change that.
It's time for us to leave Iraq.
GuyCaballero
Stop being a weenie.
Anyway, the constant monopolization and concentration of the U.S. media makes almost impossible to keep up with which holding company is controlling which media outlet.
GE or Viacom (Redstone). Both have essentially the same ends. Ritter's article is otherwise correct and certainly orders of magnitude closer to the truth than the corporate media or almost all politicians and their paymasters.
"In other words, the "surge" was, in effect, designed to fail."
I've been puzzling over this for the last few months ... the more I think the more I believe "we" didn't get the "surge" we paid for (and that people died for, etc.) and were promised.
I've opposed this war since August 2002 when it became obvious it was in the process of "becoming inevitable" ... but, you're correct, the "surge" did not implement or build on Petraeus' expertise...
My recollection is that it was intended to secure Baghdad, and instead it seems to have focused largely on towns and cities outside of Baghdad, bedroom communities, we were told where the car bombers and suicide bombers assembled their wares. The man power was supposed to, as I recall, be used for joint community policing in Baghdad, a high-manpower endeavor we simply couldn't staff previously.
What about those walls we had begun to build to sector off Baghdad, which came as a surprise to and were vetoed by parliament ... Was sectoring and banning auto traffic in Fallujah conceived before or after the Baghdad plan was thwarted?
It will be interesting to watch Petraeus in the coming year or so. Like Bremer and the other toadies, he will want to clear is own name and reputation ... I can't wait to hear his side of the story.
I realized that between the post-2006 elections and Bush's hard thinking, new plan almost 2 month long time-out and the 6 months to implement "the surge" -- "the surge" bought TeamBush almost a full 12 months.
Ritter describes here better than anyone I have heard phrase:
"Like the Republicans before them, the Democrats today seek not to govern with the best interests of the people in mind, but rather to game the system in order to consolidate political power."
Quite simply, these people are not on "our" side...
on edit: The recent "trial balloon" PR attempts to recommend Allawi to replace Maliki are still rumbling and such a switcheroo could be used (at any time) to buy TeamBush another year or so as the government "reorganizes" ... but the Iraqis really appear to loathe Allawi ... so, I'm thinking we and they gonna stay with "the devil we know" ... The American dependent forces may also appreciate that a change at the top could "purchase" continued support if serious withdrawal noises become louder.
I think some of Maliki's demonization was due to his lack of cooperation with Petraeus, and Petraeus lost those showdowns, leading to this bastardized "surge."
Rebel Farmer makes a good point...it is impossible to mistakenly transfer nuclear weapons. Now I'm confused...what are they up to? Perhaps it's simply an excercise that has occurred for some time and was finally discovered?
Nice job Scott Ritter...you're a great person, truly insightful.
rtdrury September 7th, 2007 3:03 pm:
"America had to be the world's policeman or sink into irrelevancy. It was a simple choice."
Sorry, looks like Scott's writing didn't sink in you. Or don't you know the difference between the police and Mafia? Members of the police don't murder and rape. America is the world's stinking, murdering robber, that's what it is, and get used to it.