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Nora Ephron
Huffingtonpost.com
I always love it when people in Washington attack people for bad manners. According to George Will, newly-elected Virginia Senator James Webb was guilty of bad manners when he was asked by President Bush how his Marine son was doing in Iraq, and responded instead by saying that he hoped the troops would be home soon.
“That’s not what I asked you,” said Bush. “How’s your boy?”
“That’s between me and my boy,” Webb replied. (more…)
side note: interesting. Way to much religious overtone for me. Something he and Bush share. You wonder why they don’t hang out more. However, This guy is nutty for sure, but he’s right on one thing, Bush is a liar, he’s wasting our money and our credibility. He’s ruining our country. Do you honestly think Ahmadinejad would be writing a letter to us, appearing on our shows, if he didn’t feel emboldened by Bush’s actions. He feels good, when he should be consistently worried and nervous. Unfortunately, Bush’s actions, and the GOP enablers are entirely to blame for this. the only winners so far in this war has been Iran.
By H.E. Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Washington Post
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
O, Almighty God, bestow upon humanity the perfect human being promised to all by You, and make us among his followers.
Noble Americans,
Were we not faced with the activities of the US administration in this part of the world and the negative ramifications of those activities on the daily lives of our peoples, coupled with the many wars and calamities caused by the US administration as well as the tragic consequences of US interference in other countries;
Were the American people not God-fearing, truth-loving, and justice-seeking, while the US administration actively conceals the truth and impedes any objective portrayal of current realities;
And if we did not share a common responsibility to promote and protect freedom and human dignity and integrity;
Then, there would have been little urgency to have a dialogue with you. (more…)
By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer
yahoo.com
Iraq’s president said Wednesday he had reached a security agreement with Iran, which the United States accuses of fueling the chaos in the war-torn country. Iran’s president called on countries to stop backing “terrorists” in Iraq and for the Americans to withdraw.
Tehran is believed to back some of the Shiite militias blamed in the vicious sectarian killings that have thrown the country into chaos. The United States has said the Iraqi government should press Iran to stop interfering in its affairs in a bid to calm the violence.
Presidents Jalal Talabani of Iraq and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran held talks Wednesday hours before U.S. President George W. Bush was due to meet with the Iraqi prime minister in Jordan in talks aimed at finding a solution to Iraq’s spiraling bloodshed.
Talabani gave no details on the security agreement with Iran, and Ahmadinejad made no mention of any deal at a joint press conference in Tehran. (more…)
side note: we know that in DC, they love using different words to get around, over and through sticky situations to avoid saying exactly what they mean. The word “pullback” can mean many different things. And who knows if bushie will even go along with these recommendations…he’s said as recently as a few days ago that he will not pull troops out of Iraq as long as he was president. That magical day is 01/20/09.
By Thomas E. Ricks and Robin Wright
The Washington Post
But Iraq panel has no timetable.
The Iraq Study Group, which wrapped up eight months of deliberations yesterday, has reached a consensus and will call for a major withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, shifting the US role from combat to support and advising, according to a source familiar with the deliberations.
But the recommendation includes a series of conditions and qualifications that would govern any drawdown of forces, the source said. “It describes a process by which combat brigades could be pulled out, but there wasn’t a specific timetable on it,” he said. The source demanded anonymity because members of the bipartisan panel have been pledged to secrecy until the report is officially issued Dec. 6.
The issue of a timeline for drawing down troops – both a specific date to begin a withdrawal and the pace – had been major points of contention within the panel. The Bush administration has firmly rejected specifying a date for withdrawal, but Democrats have favored setting a time frame as a way to put pressure on the Iraqi government. (more…)
side note: Well said Senator. I would disagree about going to Iraq for “Honorable Intentions”, but that hopefully will be discussed when the Dems come into power. But, if you read the whole article, at the end, he says, “And our effort in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate, partly because we took our focus off the real terrorist threat, which was there, and not in Iraq.” and “We are destroying our force structure, which took 30 years to build.” and “We’ve been funding this war dishonestly, mainly through supplemental appropriations, which minimizes responsible congressional oversight and allows the administration to duck tough questions in defending its policies. Congress has abdicated its oversight responsibility in the past four years.”. Yeah, unfortunately Senator, You’re talking about a man you backed!
By Chuck Hagel
The Washington Post
There will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq. These terms do not reflect the reality of what is going to happen there. The future of Iraq was always going to be determined by the Iraqis – not the Americans.
Iraq is not a prize to be won or lost. It is part of the ongoing global struggle against instability, brutality, intolerance, extremism and terrorism. There will be no military victory or military solution for Iraq. Former secretary of state Henry Kissinger made this point last weekend.
The time for more U.S. troops in Iraq has passed. We do not have more troops to send and, even if we did, they would not bring a resolution to Iraq. Militaries are built to fight and win wars, not bind together failing nations. We are once again learning a very hard lesson in foreign affairs: America cannot impose a democracy on any nation – regardless of our noble purpose.
We have misunderstood, misread, misplanned and mismanaged our honorable intentions in Iraq with an arrogant self-delusion reminiscent of Vietnam. Honorable intentions are not policies and plans. Iraq belongs to the 25 million Iraqis who live there. They will decide their fate and form of government. (more…)
side note: This is why people in Europe need to question their governments as well…..they were there, hand in hand, helping Bushie. Granted…we need to throw our government out of DC….but they need to make sure they do not help us in anyway like this! I found these photos and wanted to post them all.
by Brian Ross and Maddy Sauer Report:
ABC News
The CIA flew 1,245 secret flights into European airspace, according to a European Parliament draft report obtained by ABC News.
The report is the result of a year-long investigation into secret CIA “extraordinary rendition” flights and prisons in Europe.
No European country has officially acknowledged being part of the program.
But citing records from an informal meeting of European and NATO foreign ministers last December that included Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the Parliament’s draft report concludes “member states had knowledge of the programme of extraordinary rendition and secret prisons.” (more…)
side note: welcome to a Democratic Congress bushie!!
By Emily Heil
The Hill
President Bush has pledged to work with the new Democratic majorities in Congress, but he has already gotten off on the wrong foot with Jim Webb, whose surprise victory over Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) tipped the Senate to the Democrats.
Webb, a decorated former Marine officer, hammered Allen and Bush over the unpopular war in Iraq while wearing his son’s old combat boots on the campaign trail. It seems the president may have some lingering resentment.
At a private reception held at the White House with newly elected lawmakers shortly after the election, Bush asked Webb how his son, a Marine lance corporal serving in Iraq, was doing.
Webb responded that he really wanted to see his son brought back home, said a person who heard about the exchange from Webb.
“I didn’t ask you that, I asked how he’s doing,” Bush retorted, according to the source.
Webb confessed that he was so angered by this that he was tempted to slug the commander-in-chief, reported the source, but of course didn’t. (more…)
side note: We’re not asking you to change course in Iraq George, We’re F@cking telling you!!!! Just read for yourself, he’s still got these visions of turning Iraq and teh whole middle east into Kansas. Good Luck with that one George. funny thing, he’s willing to bet our lives, money and credibility on the line. Sort of makes sense though, he’s been putting anyone but himself on the line his entire life.
By Deb Riechmann
The Associated Press
President Bush, under pressure to change direction in Iraq, said Tuesday he will not be persuaded by any calls to withdraw American troops before the country is stabilized.
“There’s one thing I’m not going to do, I’m not going to pull our troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete,” he said in a speech setting the stage for high-stakes meetings with the Iraqi prime minister later this week. “We can accept nothing less than victory for our children and our grandchildren.”
A bipartisan panel on Iraq is finalizing recommendations on Iraq. The group led by former Secretary of State James Baker III and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., plan to present ideas to Bush next month. (more…)
side note: once again we have bushie living inside his bubble. it should be real interesting how the American public reacts to NBC, and i’m assuming the other networks, minus FOX of course, when they follow their lead and call it a civil war as well.
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and JOHN O’NEIL
The New York Times
TALLINN, Estonia, Nov. 28 — President Bush today said Al Qaeda was to blame for the rising wave of sectarian violence in Iraq, which he refused to label a civil war. Mr. Bush said he would press Iraq’s prime minister during meetings in Jordan later this week to lay out a strategy for restoring order.
“My questions to him will be: What do we need to do to succeed? What is your strategy in dealing with the sectarian violence?” said Mr. Bush. “I will assure him that we will continue to pursue Al Qaeda to make sure that they do not establish a safe haven in Iraq.”The remarks, made at a press conference here with President Toomas Hendrik Ilves of Estonia, were Mr. Bush’s first on the situation in Iraq since a series of bombs exploded in a Shiite district of Baghdad last Thursday, killing more than 200 people. The bombing was the deadliest single attack since the American invasion. The following day, Shiite militiamen staged a vengeful reprisal, attacking Sunni mosques in Baghdad and in the nearby city of Baquba.
The growing cycle of violence have prompted warnings from world leaders, including Jordan’s King Abdullah and Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary General, that the country is at the brink of civil war. (more…)
By Erica Werner
The Associated Press
The lawmaker poised to cause the Bush administration’s biggest headaches when Democrats take control of Congress may just be a grocer’s son from Watts who’s hardly a household name off Capitol Hill.
Rep. Henry Waxman has spent the last six years waging a guerrilla campaign against the White House and its corporate allies, launching searing investigations into everything from military contracts to Medicare prices from his perch on the Government Reform Committee.
In January, Waxman becomes committee chairman – and thus the lead congressional hound of an administration many Democrats feel has blundered badly as it expanded the power of the executive branch.
Waxman’s biggest challenge as he mulls what to probe?
“The most difficult thing will be to pick and choose,” he said. (more…)
side note: once again…this illustrates another f-up by the bushies and his band of idiots! They never bothered to learn that the people of Iraq, and especially the Shiites, who have been under the rule of Saddam for decades now, have always relied upon their religious leaders for guidance and support. These leaders are the ones that provided their families with food and support during the Sunni reign. We all know Saddam didn’t do much for them…..and bushie thought that these people would all gravitate towards our puppet government! It’s almost like they believed we’d be greeted with flowers and treated like liberators! Idiots!
By Jeffrey Bartholet
Newsweek He can deal out death through his black-clad followers and roil the government any time he chooses. Why Moqtada al-Sadr may end up deciding America’s fate in Iraq.
Dec. 4, 2006 issue – One way to understand Moqtada al-Sadr is to think of him as a young Mafia don. He aims for respectability, and is willing to kill for it. Yet the extent of his power isn’t obvious to the untrained eye. He has no standing army or police force, and the Mahdi Army gunmen he employs have no tanks or aircraft. You could mistake him—at your peril—for a common thug or gang leader. And if he or his people were to kill you for your ignorance, he wouldn’t claim credit. But the message would be clear to those who understand the brutal language of the Iraqi Street.
American soldiers who patrol Sadr’s turf in Baghdad understand. They can spot his men. “They look like they’re pulling security,” says First Lt. Robert Hartley, a 25-year-old who plays cat and mouse with the Mahdi Army in the Iraqi capital. The Sadrists use children and young men as lookouts. When GIs get out of their Humvees to patrol on foot, one of the watchers will fly a kite, or release a flock of pigeons. Some of Sadr’s people have even infiltrated top ranks of the Iraqi police. Capt. Tom Kapla, 29, says he knows who they are: “They look at you, and you can tell they want to kill you.”
Sadr is a unique force in Iraq: a leader from the majority Shiites who has resisted American occupation from the start. He’s a populist, a nationalist and an Islamic radical rolled into one. Part of his power is simply that he’s powerful. Large numbers of impoverished Shiites view Sadr as their guardian—the one leader who is willing not just to stand up for them but to strike back on their behalf. “People count on the militias,” says Lieutenant Hartley, who deals with Sadr’s thugs on a regular basis. “It’s like the mob—they keep people safe.” (more…)
After the Thanksgiving Day Massacre of Shiites by Sunnis, President Bush should go on Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News and give an interview headlined: “If I did it, here’s how the civil war in Iraq happened.”
He could describe, hypothetically, a series of naïve, arrogant and self-defeating blunders, including his team’s failure to comprehend that in the Arab world, revenge and religious zealotry can be stronger compulsions than democracy and prosperity.
But W. is not yet able to view his actions in subjunctive terms, much less objective ones. Bush family retainers are working to deprogram him, but the president is loath to strip off his delusions of adequacy.
W. declined to tear himself away from his free-range turkey and pumpkin mousse trifle at Camp David and reassure Americans about the deadliest sectarian attack in Baghdad since the U.S. invaded. More than 200 Shiites were killed and hundreds more wounded by car bombs and a mortar attack in Sadr City. October was the bloodiest month yet for civilians, and in the last four months, some 13,000 men, women and children have died. (more…)
The Iraq Study Group, which wrapped up eight months of deliberations yesterday, has reached a consensus and will call for a major withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, shifting the US role from combat to support and advising, according to a source familiar with the deliberations.
President Bush has pledged to work with the new Democratic majorities in Congress, but he has already gotten off on the wrong foot with Jim Webb, whose surprise victory over Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) tipped the Senate to the Democrats.
TALLINN, Estonia, Nov. 28 — President Bush today said Al Qaeda was to blame for the rising wave of sectarian violence in Iraq, which he refused to label a civil war. Mr. Bush said he would press Iraq’s prime minister during meetings in Jordan later this week to lay out a strategy for restoring order.
Dec. 4, 2006 issue – One way to understand Moqtada al-Sadr is to think of him as a young Mafia don. He aims for respectability, and is willing to kill for it. Yet the extent of his power isn’t obvious to the untrained eye. He has no standing army or police force, and the Mahdi Army gunmen he employs have no tanks or aircraft. You could mistake him—at your peril—for a common thug or gang leader. And if he or his people were to kill you for your ignorance, he wouldn’t claim credit. But the message would be clear to those who understand the brutal language of the Iraqi Street.
After the Thanksgiving Day Massacre of Shiites by Sunnis, President Bush should go on Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News and give an interview headlined: “If I did it, here’s how the civil war in Iraq happened.”