"Surge" is passe

There's a new buzzword in town -- "pause":

"Washington - Concerns in Iraq that recent security gains are fragile and could backslide mean that President Bush is likely to hand over to his successor a war being fought by as many as 140,000 US troops – about the same number as before the "surge" of some 35,000 troops announced in January 2007.

The White House says Mr. Bush will not make any decisions on troop levels in Iraq until after Gen. David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Iraq, testify before Congress April 8 and 9. But with General Petraeus already recommending against further drawdowns beyond those set to take place by July, and with Vice President Dick Cheney suggesting that further reductions are unlikely to be put in place now, it seems doubtful that Bush would go in any other direction."

Talk about Mission Accomplished. As the year ticks down to the next presidential election, it's finally safe for the Bush administration to announce that there'll be no further troop reductions in Iraq. Instead, the sucker who gets into the White House in November will be left with an ongoing disaster of a war, including troops still deployed at pre-"surge" levels. And Georgie's just a-skatin' away.

But Georgie's been getting other people to follow him with bandaids and toilet paper and clean up his messes all his miserable douchebag life. Why change now?

UPDATE: Nothing succeeds like success, eh?

Into the 6th year

Another shitty milestone in Iraq -- 4000 troops have died for Georgie's war.

"BAGHDAD - The overall U.S. death toll in Iraq rose to 4,000 after four soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing in Baghdad, a grim milestone that is likely to fuel calls for the withdrawal of American forces as the war enters its sixth year."

But it's a success. At least according to Halliburton's shareholders.

5 Years and one day later

Someone had to post this, it might as well be me.

Happy 5th Anniversary, 6-day/week/month War

"The war could last six days, six weeks, I doubt six months" -- Rumsfeld, 2003

"The insurgency is in its last throes" -- Cheney, 2005

"The insurgency is in its last throes" -- Cheney, 2006

"The insurgency is in its last -- err, okay, maybe not" -- Cheney, 2007

"The Iraq invasion was a success" -- Cheney, 2005

"The Iraq invasion was a success" -- Cheney, 2006

"The Iraq invasion was a success" -- Cheney, 2007

"The Iraq invasion was a success" -- Cheney, 2008

"The Iraq invasion was a success" -- Georgie, 2008

*Heave*

Oh yeah... price of oil on March 2003 - $37/barrel. Price today - $110/barrel.Ta-da!

It all depends on your definition of "success"

Buckdog is outraged, and I don't blame him. Vice-Puppetmaster Cheney, the hideous and horrible, the evil and odious, he of the kevlar heart and the itchy, twitchy trigger-finger, has pronounced that the invasion of Iraq was a "success" (!)(??). For who? Not the US military, still stuck there almost 5 years after Georgie told them that their Mission was Accomplished. Not the hundreds of thousands of dead, maimed or displaced Iraqi civilians (yesterday's tally: 92 dead). Then who?...

Mission accomplished.

5 years and how much!? later...

Remember the totally justifiable anger, acrimony and outrage:

"One thing is certain about the Iraq war: It has cost a lot more than advertised. In fact, the tab grows by at least $200 million each and every day." [...]

"White House economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey was the exception to the rule, offering an "upper bound" estimate of $100 billion to $200 billion..."

"U.S. direct spending on the war in Iraq already has surpassed the upper bound of Lindsey's upper bound, and most economists attribute billions more in indirect costs to the war effort. Even if the U.S. exits Iraq within another three years, total direct and indirect costs to U.S. taxpayers will likely by more than $400 billion, and one estimate puts the total economic impact at up to $2 trillion."

As the old saying goes, that was then, this is now:

"THE war in Iraq will cost US taxpayers at least $US3 trillion ($3.24 trillion), a respected, Nobel Prize-winning economist has written in a new book.

Joseph Stiglitz's book The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict, concluded that US military operations in Iraq already have exceeded the cost of the 12-year war in Vietnam and is more than double the cost of the Korean War.

"The only war in our history which cost more was the Second World War, when 16.3 million US troops fought in a campaign lasting four years, at a total cost (in 2007, inflation-adjusted dollars) of about $US5 trillion ($A5.4 trillion)," he wrote in the work co-authored with Harvard professor Linda Bilmes."

Wanna bet that by the time the bell has rung on this thing (if it ever does), it surpasses the $5.4trillion spent on WWII? Now that it's costing about $720million per day, it wouldn't take long. (And just out of interest, what comes after "trillion"? "Quadrillion?" "Gazillion"?)

Saddam - Al Qaeda zzzzzzz

Saddam - Al Qaeda. Saddam - Al Qaeda. Saddam - Saddam - Saddam - Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda - Al Qaeda - Saddam!

Who could forget that hypnotic little refrain chanted by the Bush administration in the buildup to the Iraq War (6 years ago)? It's long since been revealed to be one of the biggest steaming loads of bullshit in history, every kind of evidence, intelligence and conventional wisdom having long since shot it down and kicked its ass around every block in the world. But recently and most redundantly:

"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. military's first and only study looking into ties between Saddam Hussein's Iraq and al Qaeda showed no connection between the two, according to a military report released by the Pentagon.

The report released by the Joint Forces Command five years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq said it found no "smoking gun" after reviewing about 600,000 Iraqi documents captured in the invasion and looking at interviews of key Iraqi leadership held by the United States, Pentagon officials said."

Shocked, shocked, I tell you.

Awww

There are precious few happy stories coming out of bombed-back-to-the-stone-age Iraq, but this one got to me. It's about a dog, a Marine, and an Incredible Iraqi Journey:

"A pack of desert dogs lived at one of the Iraqi border forts the unit patrolled. A wiry German shepherd-border collie mix was the alpha dog. Maj. Brian Dennis took a liking to the animal, whose nubby ears had been cut off as a puppy. Dennis, a 37-year-old Marine serving his second tour in Iraq, saw the dog about each time they visited the fort. He named him "Nubs."" [...]

"The time came, however, for Dennis' unit to relocate 70 miles from Nubs' home fort. He may have wanted to take Nubs with the unit, Dennis wrote in one one of his e-mails home, but there were too many dogs to rescue and keeping a canine was against the rules. As always, Nubs sprinted alongside the Hummers as they pulled away for what Dennis assumed was the last time he would see the dog.

Two days later, Nubs wandered inexplicably in below-freezing conditions into Dennis' new camp, shocking the Marine unit. "I won't even address the gauntlet he had to run of dog packs, wolves, and God knows what else to get here," Dennis wrote. "When he arrived he looked like he'd just been through a war zone.

"Uh, wait a minute, he had," Dennis wrote.

Nubs' miraculous journey forced the Marine's hand, and Dennis and his fellow Marines unanimously decided to keep the animal, building a doghouse at the camp. When two military police officers told Dennis the dog could not stay at the camp, he decided the only way to properly keep the animal was to get it to the United States."

Unlike most stories from Iraq, this one has a happy ending. And while it doesn't make up for the mayhem that's been visited upon that war-torn country, it's a sweet story of love and survival nonetheless. If only the human stories could end so well.

Awwww!

Profiles in hypocrisy

Yesterday, January 20th, was "National Sanctity of Human Life Day", as proclaimed by Preznit Georgie.

I guess that means the US had no part in any violence that might not be conducive to human life, nor made any further threats of violence -- none of this? Or this? Or this? Or this? Or... you get the idea. And for what? Failed states that thrive on illegal drug production (see Afghanistan) seldom have much regard for any aspect of human life, the sanctity thereof or otherwise. But never mind that, let's hand out some plastic fetuses and it's all good.

Religious right wingnuts: when hypocrisy is only exceeded by rank stupidity and cognitive dissonance.

New OBL tape

Mr. Gray is back in play:

"Osama bin Laden warned Iraq's Sunni Arabs against fighting al-Qaeda and vowed to expand the terror group's holy war to Israel in a new audiotape Saturday, threatening "blood for blood, destruction for destruction."

SHRIEEEEEK! Ahem...

"Most of the 56-minute tape dealt with Iraq, apparently al-Qaeda's latest attempt to keep supporters in Iraq unified at a time when the U.S. military claims to have al-Qaeda's Iraq branch on the run."

I'd think by now most of the evil al qaeda terraists that were hanging around Iraq are now in transit... see ya, Iraq. Helloooooo Pakistan!

The mess they made

Turkey is bombing northern Iraq (Kurdistan) for the second straight day:

"Turkish jets bombed separatist Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq for the second day in a row, Kurdish security officials said Sunday, although there was no immediate confirmation from the Turkish military.

Jabbar Yawer, the deputy minister for the Kurdistan Regional Government’s security forces, said that the aircraft hit a remote border region 50 miles north of Erbil but that there were no civilian casualties because the area was deserted.

Mr. Yawer said he did not know if there were any fatalities among the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party, known by its Kurdish initials, P.K.K. The Turkish government accuses the group of launching attacks into Turkey from remote bases in the mountains of the Kurdish region of northern Iraq."

Turkey is supposedly an ally, a rare asset in that part of the world. The Kurds are the only people in Iraq who are pro-occupation -- another rare middle-eastern ally. I'd posit that the Bush administration could fuck up a two-car funeral, but are they really to blame? I mean, who could have predicted such an event?

Al Qaeda retreating from Iraq

Woohoo! Great news! Al Qaeda is retreating from Iraq to Afghanistan and Pakistan:

"KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates landed in Afghanistan on Monday to gauge military commanders' needs as they face a strengthened Taliban and signs that al Qaeda is regrouping in the country.

More than six years after a U.S.-led invasion drove the Taliban from power, Gates said he was concerned about the rising violence but he did not think Afghanistan was moving backward."

Not moving backward, well, that's certainly encouraging.

"American military officers in Iraq have speculated that al Qaeda would try to return to Afghanistan after losing ground in Iraq, where violence has declined following a security crackdown that added thousands of U.S. troops to the streets.

But the senior official's comments marked the first time the Pentagon has acknowledged seeing evidence that al Qaeda fighters were moving back into Afghanistan. The official stressed, however, that the evidence was still not conclusive."

Would it be redundant to point out that Al Qaeda has been retreating from Iraq for over 2 years?

But yeah, okay, it could well be true: does Iraq even need Al Qaeda around anymore to raise shit? They're in the middle of a civil fucking war. But at least da Surge Is Working and da Al Qaeda Is Retreating. Leaving Iraq and heading for Afghanistan and Pakistan, where there's another war and two governments teetering on the verge of collapse, and... uh... there was something else... what was it... oh, yeah:

Nukes!

Well-played, Georgie, well-played.

Iraq reconstruction

Wasn't Halliburton paid billions a few years ago to rebuild the destroyed water system in Iraq so that Iraqis could at least have the most basic of needs, clean water? What happened?

"Baghdad is facing a 'catastrophe' with cases of cholera rising sharply in the past three weeks to more than 100, strengthening fears that poor sanitation and the imminent rainy season could create an epidemic.

The disease - spread by bacteria in contaminated water, which can result in rapid dehydration and death - threatens to blunt growing optimism in the Iraqi capital after a recent downturn in violence. Two boys in an orphanage have died and six other children were diagnosed with the disease, according to the Iraqi government. 'We have a catastrophe in Baghdad,' an official said."

Oh well, they got their money so Mission Accomplished. I guess what they did for it (which appears to be "not much") doesn't really matter.

Operation "Enduring Presence"

The US isn't in Iraq for a good time, they're there for a long time:

"President Bush on Monday signed a deal setting the foundation for a potential long-term U.S. troop presence in Iraq, with details to be negotiated over matters that have defined the war debate at home — how many U.S. forces will stay in the country, and for how long.

The agreement between Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki confirms that the United States and Iraq will hash out an "enduring" relationship in military, economic and political terms. Details of that relationship will be negotiated in 2008, with a completion goal of July, when the U.S. intends to finish withdrawing the five combat brigades sent in 2007 as part of the troop buildup that has helped curb sectarian violence."

July 2008 is when they plan on finally withdrawing the "surge" troops? Wasn't that supposed to have been almost a done deal by now?

Well okay, we knew the Bush administration would just bully its way through any obstacles those dickless wonders in Congress tried to put up to extending this illegal, chickenshit war. But what's really ominous about this particular deal is that it means there'll be a US military presence in Iraq well into the next administration. Or forever.

I have to feel sorry for Americans who expected things to take a turn for the better, or at least the different, after November 2006. It must be like having your car stall out on the railway tracks and being caught up in your seat belt as the train speeds towards you. Unable to stop it, unable to escape.

Big fat NO

"No, a big fat NO, N.O.": So says the Iraqi parliament on the issue of permanent US bases in Iraq:

Iraq “put the U.S. on notice.” Iraq’s National Security Advisor, doesn’t mince words.

“The people of Iraq, the Parliament, the Council of Representative and the government of Iraq, all say no, big fat no, N, O, No military bases for Iraq because we believe that is in direct encroachment to our sovereignty, and we don’t need it.”

“That message was delivered directly to Vice President Dick Cheney at the White House.”

I wonder how the Cheney Monster reacted to that. {{{shudder}}} Furthermore, I wonder what gives these uppity Iraqis the idea that they have any say-so in what goes on around that (you'll notice I didn't say "their") country.

Iraq wants $136mil from Blackwater

Good. Stick it to them:

"Iraqi authorities want the U.S. government to sever all contracts in Iraq with Blackwater USA within six months. They also want the firm to pay $8 million in compensation to families of each of the 17 people killed when its guards sprayed a traffic circle with heavy machine gun fire last month.

The demands - part of an Iraqi government report examined by The Associated Press - also called on U.S. authorities to hand over the Blackwater security agents involved in the Sept. 16 shootings to face possible trial in Iraqi courts."

Well, Georgie's always saying it's a "young democracy", and that is how democracies work. Due process and all that.

Another strange idea

In an effort to quell Iraq's sectarian violence (aka "civil war"), the Iraqi parliament is offering a "Marriage Bonus" of $1500 to Sunni and Shia couples who intermarry:

"Iraq is offering a cash bonus to married Iraqi couples from different sectarian groups in a drive to heal rifts between communities and foster reconciliation. At a ceremony in Baghdad to launch the new initiative on Tuesday, 250 recently married couples from across Iraq accepted awards from Sunni Arab vice President Tareq al-Hashemi. Those in mixed marriages received $1,500." [...]

Um Ubaida, a 25-year-old Sunni civil servant, looked pale and expressionless as she went to receive the wedded couples bonus to help with her debts. She married last year and had a baby two months ago, but has not seen her husband for seven months. "My husband is missing, he went to visit his brother in prison and he never came back," she said.

Uhh, yeah. Another one of those roads paved with good intentions. Before they start offering cash rewards to all and sundry for marrying outside their religions, the American/Iraqi government may want to consider how their little program might be contributing to the ongoing problem of disappearing husbands. And it's probably asking too much, but it would be nice if they'd try to come up with an idea that treated women as something other than chattel... in the interest of enlightenment, democracy, human rights (and all that crap).

Georgie mentions Al Qaeda a few times

It's almost like Georgie's building up to something.

In a speech he gave yesterday, Bush maintained that an early pullout from Iraq was out of the question because Al Qaeda would take over and wreak havoc, maybe even nuculear havoc:

"Bush declared that "the merger between al Qaeda and its Iraqi affiliate is an alliance of killers," and reiterated his longstanding argument that an early pullout would allow them to use Iraq as a safe haven for exporting violence.

"Fighting could engulf the entire region in chaos and we would soon face a Middle East dominated by Islamic extremists who would pursue nuclear weapons and use their control of oil for economic blackmail or to fund new attacks on our nation," he said."

The speech, given at an airforce base, was a pedantic half-hour wankfest during which Bush mentioned the name "Al Qaeda" 94 times. What!!? That's right, 94 times -- I counted. He also mentioned Osama Bin Laden probably about half as many times (I didn't count, be my guest).

Georgie's obviously building up to something. I just hope he's doing a CYA routine over the Iraq progress report that's due in September, and it's not something like martial law.

Update: 94 times! Just for kicks, I timed how long it would take me to say "al qaeda" 94 times. It took me almost 2 full minutes. Georgie's speech was 29 minutes long (11:50am - 12:19pm). That means a full 7% of the entire speech (words and breaks to laugh, take a breath, belch whatever) was the word(s) "al qaeda". Spectacular. I hope the neighbours didn't hear me.

Senate vote failed

The Senate vote to start troop withdrawl from Iraq has been defeated, with the Republicans siding with Bush. Assholes!

It won't work this time

The Bush administration spin machine is like clockwork:

1. Ominous predictions of summer terrorist attack
2. Sudden appearance of Osama on the internets
3. And just to tie it all into the war in Iraq, the news that an attack on the US "homeland" is being plotted not just by al qaeda, but by al qaeda in Iraq:

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States faces an increased threat of attack from al Qaeda, which will likely try to use battle-hardened associates in Iraq to strike inside the United States, an intelligence report warned on Tuesday.

Released as the White House confronts mounting pressure in Congress to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq, the document marked the first time that the 16-agency U.S. intelligence community has warned publicly that the Iraq war poses a near-term threat to the United States."

4. Therefore the war must continue! Fight them there or fight them here!

Everyone remembers the hypnotic "al qaeda/saddam" routine that preceded the Iraq war -- psychological propaganda at its finest. But the objective was different: get people behind starting a war on Iraq. Right after 9/11 people were ripe for revenge -- somebody, somewhere, had to pay, and pay big. With no luck finding OBL, and not a lot of resources spent trying, it was as simple as pointing to the next guy in line: there! Him! And the whole world was on Saddam like the kids in 'Lord of the Flies' on Piggy.

Things are different now, and the administration's attempts at psychological manipulation are more an object of derision than a source of the kind of liver-quivering fear the US lived in 5 years ago. War fatigue has set in big time. Saddam's toast. Nobody wants to start another war (Iran), or even continue with the current one in Iraq. And significantly, the peoples' mood is snarly enough that if there was a terrorist attack in the US, the white house might find itself getting almost as much blame as the perpetrators, either because (a) they fucked around all this time in Iraq when they should have been chasing the real terrorists, or (b) their fucking around in Iraq produced a whole new generation of jihadists and sympathizers.

On the other hand, the one thing that might get at least some of the country behind the white house and their ongoing war plans is another attack. And at the risk of sounding like I wear a tinfoil hat, I'd never underestimate Cheney.