Today's the Big Day for the Petraeus Report on progress of the clusterfuckapalooza also known as iWaq. The press conference gets underway in moments and your intrepid reporter is glued to the TV. And so am I.Initial word is that the report claims the Surge has been successful (and we all know the parameters of success -- the number of entry wounds in the back of the skull) -- although it "hasn't turned out as planned". However! no troops can leave the meatgrinder for another 6 months, and even then only 4,000. What? Why?? Nine months ago, we were told that the Surge was supposed to mean troops could start deploying by now and be out of there completely in another Friedman Unit. Well, let's hear what they have to say. And away we go...
***************************************************
Opening statements began with a scathing speech from Democrat Tom Lantos, who began by making it perfectly clear that the Bush administration has no credibility: "We cannot take any of this administration's assertions about Iraq at face value any more." And it went downhill from there. He pretty much told Petraeus that it doesn't matter what he says, the Dems know it's bullshit.The Republican speakers were predictably off their rockers. A lot of time was spent berating MoveOn, who apparently took out a full pager in the NY Times today that called Petraeus "Betray-us", because the report was supposedly ghost-written by the White House. Then a lot of happy horseshit about handing off security in Iraq to the Iraqi government and their own army -- yeahyeahyeah, but wasn't that what the surge was for? And no Repug can open their mouth without saying something about "September the 11th" and radical Islamists who see Iraq as part of their War On Freedom. And what brought them to Iraq? Hussein wouldn't have tolerated them.
Petraeus is up and the microphone's screwed. And the text of his statement hasn't been handed out. Isn't that oh so fucking typical of this whole goddamn Iraq war thing.
Okay, we have sound. Oh shit: nothing to see here, move along. He's just repeating all the "75% less violence" and a lot of other statistical bullshit... and he thinks troop levels can go down to pre-surge levels by next summer. Which means Georgie can leave his mess for someone else to scoop up. Nothing about withdrawing, except how disastrous it would be to even downsize the troop numbers. Amazing: the report really was ghost-written by the Bushies, it's all White House talking points. A reporter described Petraeus' testimony as reminiscent of Colin Powell's infamous recitation at the UN; a lot of stats and bullshit, but no real sense that he believes what he's saying.
****************************************************
Well, the bell has rung on my blogging of this little shindig. It doesn't matter what Petraeus says anyway; sadly, we all know this war isn't meant to be won or even lost for that matter. Until the American people rise up and stop them, the Bush Administration and their corporate backers will run from country to country like pyromaniacs with gerrycans and matches, looking back and laughing hysterically at the bridge they've just set aflame as they make their way to the next one.
|