posted
There is something wrong in this White House.
Not like that�s any new news, but here is just the latest example of bubble that Mr. Bush lives in does not serves neither him nor the public well.
The Associated Press ran this story on 1 October 2005:
quote:WASHINGTON - President Bush said Saturday he is encouraged by the increasing size and capability of the Iraqi security forces, touting progress on a key measure for when U.S. troops can come home.
However, that seems to be a direct contradiction to what his top generals told Congress just two days before.
The Washington Post ran this story on 30 September 2005.
quote:Decline in Iraqi Troops' Readiness Cited Generals Tell Lawmakers They Cannot Predict When U.S. Forces Can Withdraw
The number of Iraqi army battalions that can fight insurgents without U.S. and coalition help has dropped from three to one, top U.S. generals told Congress yesterday, adding that the security situation in Iraq is too uncertain to predict large-scale American troop withdrawals anytime soon.
Gen. George W. Casey Jr., who oversees U.S. forces in Iraq, said there are fewer Iraqi battalions at "Level 1" readiness than there were a few months ago. Although Casey said the number of troops and overall readiness of Iraqi security forces have steadily increased in recent months, and that there has not been a "step backwards," both Republican and Democratic senators expressed deep concern that the United States is not making enough progress against a resilient insurgency
Back to the Associated Press story:
quote:On Friday, Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said Sunni Arab opposition to Iraq's draft constitution has increased the potential for instability and called into question U.S. hopes for substantial troop cuts next spring
It was the second time this week that Casey rolled back his July prediction that "fairly substantial" troop withdrawals could begin next spring.
On Wednesday, he told Congress that only one Iraqi army battalion was ready to go into combat without U.S. support, down from three estimated a few months ago. He argued, though, that the Iraqi army is getting stronger, with more than 30 Iraqi battalions deemed capable of leading combat operation against insurgents, albeit with U.S. help.
Bush said more than 100 Iraqi battalions are operating throughout the country. "Our commanders report that the Iraqi forces are serving with increasing effectiveness," he told radio listeners.
So, there are more Iraqi troops under arms. There are however, fewer Iraqi troops capable of handling the insurgents by without support from United States troops than there were a few months ago.
All in all, those seem like dubious conditions to hail the readiness of the Iraqi military to the American public.
-------------------- Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. ~ohn Adams
Once again the Bush Administration is worse than I had imagined, even though I thought I had already taken account of the fact that the Bush administration is invariably worse than I can imagine. ~Brad DeLong
You're just babbling incoherently. ~C. Montgomery Burns
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
The fact is that Bush makes feel-good headlines with his lies and his general's viewpoints are reported several pages back in the newspapers -and not at all on T.V. After all, what could career military guys know about combat readiness that our Commander In Chief does not?
So most good little sheep beieve what is repeated over and over by CNN/FOX/local stations due to rote memorization, an unwillingness to face the unpleasant fact that we're doing a half-assed job in Iraq and general apathy.
After all, it takes effort to find the truth when the "news" is determined by the political viewpoints of the producer/publisher/sponsor.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
Someone pointed out to me that maybe he isn't merely incompotent, but actually just evil. This person was my mother.
Registered: Sep 2000
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posted
You mom was tragicly incorrect- I can (sorta) respect an evil genius.
I think Bush has (unintentionally) allied himself with smart, greedy, evil fuckers that make all his imporntant decisions for him.
Republican politicians in other words.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
Gross incompetence can have a subtle charm at some levels (ever watch The Office?). These levels do not and should not include the highest eschelons and in fact the very office of leadership for a superpower. At a certain point ignorance (real or pretended), especially when combined with arrogance and actual power, becomes malevolence. Becomes evil.
Registered: Sep 2000
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Disclaimer: That was a joke. The United Nations is a competant organization that helps millions each year and all those reports of corruption, political favors for dictators and not assisting victims untill genocide has been confirmed by every major news network should be overlooked in favor of the good works the U.N. does. Really.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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With the isolationist/self interest policy of the US, can the rest of us vote to evict them off planet? No more star trek, Stargate filmed in Canada, what have the Americans done for us? (thanks for the assitance in the war, better late than never)
-------------------- Over the centuries, mankind has tried many ways of combating the forces of evil...prayer, fasting, good works and so on. Up until Doom, no one seemed to have thought about the double-barrel shotgun. Eat leaden death, demon...
posted
Well, you're laughing more than the Sudanese refugees anyway.
The U.N. brokered cease fire that stopped most of the killing took a whole week to hammer out. ....After more than a year of innocents being slaughtered by government forces while no one did anything (including the U.S., of course).
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
Right, because the situation in Darfur having gotten as bad as it was before the 2004 cease-fire had absolutely nothing to do with the UN's principal military contributor(s) sitting around debating the meaning of the word "genocide" or with the US and the Sudan government forming a "close intelligence partnership" and the latter increasing its cooperation in the War on Terrah despite itself being on Bushco's list of state sponsors of terrorism and Powell's senate declaration OR with the US' constant refusal to try war criminals at the international criminal court deadlocking the Security Council, had it?
Oh, wait, of course, the UN's corrupt.
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted
I'm not exempting anyone from blame, bt the U.N.'s purpose is to at least try to resolve such conflicts nad if they had done that a year prior, a lot of people could have skipped that whole getting killed thing.
I'm pissed that the US did not get involved because we're trying to paint a arab-friendly picture while we flail around in Iraq/Afghanistan.
Stupid reason to let whole villages get slaughtered while we sit quietly by.
As to trying criminals before the World Court- that would be the same court with a 15 year maximum sentence for Genocide and no death penalty. Yeah, that's justice allright. Biljana Plavsic got eleven whole years for her admitted role in the deaths of two million people.
Shit, they'd probably give Bin Laden probation.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
Personally don't agree with death penalty, people tend to be remembered by thier fans in thier prime. Plus it's wrong
-------------------- Over the centuries, mankind has tried many ways of combating the forces of evil...prayer, fasting, good works and so on. Up until Doom, no one seemed to have thought about the double-barrel shotgun. Eat leaden death, demon...
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