Barry McAffrey provided the Senate Foreign Relations committee with a detailed report of the situation in Iraq. A must read.
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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly
Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.
You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.
Giving up is unforgivable.
Technically true, but collectively nonsense
This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.
Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.
“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”
When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.
Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!
Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!
Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.
… gradually, and then suddenly.
Tick tock motherfuckers!
People are complicated. Love is not.
Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.
I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.
Come on, man.
Everybody saw this coming.
It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.
The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.
Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.
Good lord, these people are nuts.
Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.
Lyndon Taft
Now there’s a fine and familiar rhetorical trick. Paint a glowing picture of what is going on in Iraq, then blame any problems on the lack of support from the folks back home.
You know we didn’t reeally lose in Viet Nam, right? Yeah, it was all those people back home protesting that caused us to lose.
The same old lies, repeated over and over again…
John Cole
Yeah. Because that is exactly the sum total of the report.
Stormy70
The soldiers blogs I read paint that same glowing picture, while the MSM stays in their Baghdad hotel reporting on what goes on in one tiny part of Iraq. Real clear picture getting through that way, huh?
demimondian
Sorry, Stormy, that dog won’t hunt.
Soldier’s blogs are censored, and at least one of those critical of the current war in Iraq has been pulled down, precisely because it was critical. There’s every reason to believe that’s the usual fate of critical blogs.
ppGaz
Uh, no. As bad as I think MSM is, and that’s pretty bad, that’s just not true.
Also, have you looked at cable news ratings lately? Have you concluded that the 5% or less of the population that watches the stuff are (a) being brainwashed and then (b) going out and infiltrating the non-viewing population to get them to let go of support for the war? Since Faux has the lion’s share of the cable news viewership, then are they the problem?
Steve
Very interesting. The quote that struck me was this:
“Continue to level” is an interesting choice of words.
SomeCallMeTim
This is my favorite: “We must continue to level with the American people. We have a five year fight facing us in Iraq.” He’s got sack to put those two sentences right next to each other; I’ll grant him that.
John, what makes you consider this a “must-read” rather than the same happy-pappy mess that convinced you (and, IIRC, still convinces you) to support the war in the first place? Also, given that anti-Iraq war Dems have been pretty much right about everything (not limited to Iraq – see federal budget, torture, civil liberties, the War on Science, the religious right, etc.), and predictive ability doesn’t seem to convince you as regards whose model to trust, what would it take to convince you that you ought to be looking our way? Is there some specific policy goal (e.g., tax cuts) to which you are so committed that it outweighs all other considerations?
SomeCallMeTim
Huh. Jinks, Steve.
Andrei
I find the most troubling and telling aspect of this report here:
Emphasis mine.
It still infuriates me the hubris this administration wallows in day in and day out. Even if Iraq was a good target to attempt to disrupt the Middle East and foster democracy (and with it more capitalism), the fact that the insurgency is a small aspect of the current problem, Saddam had no WMDs, Iraq was not an imminent threat to us, and indeed 6 countries surrounding the country that also have to be dealt with in some political or diplomatic fashion — which has yet to ever be discussed by any repsonsible pro-war member in Congress, the Senate or the White House — just is upsetting in the highest order.
And this reports makes the claim Iraq is tougher than Vietnam?!? That doesn’t surprise me, but considering the impact and execution of Vietnam, that is a massive alarm bell that should be going off for everyone right now.
Andrei
For Stormy:
Letter from an Iraq vet
Lyndon Taft
Looks like McCaffrey’s nightmare is coming true. Georgie Vacation Boy’s Iraq Approval number has collapsed to 34% in today’s Newsweek Poll. Overall approval falls to 42%.
America is learning to hate this inept fool of a president. Hopefully 2006 will give us a Democratic Congress and we can impeach the asshole.
John S.
First, they need to catch him getting a blowjob. Then, if there does en up being a Democratic majority in Congress, they might be able to impeach him.
I’m not holding my breath, though.
Geek, Esq.
The problem is that there will be no victory through strength of arms.
The only victory will be providing Iraqis with a decent, safe existence. Right now, the insurgents are doing a better job of preventing that than the US is at making it happen.
Stormy70
Andrei – wow, some soldiers are anti-war, shock! I thank him for his service, though. He’s not in Iraq right now, is he?
Gee, I trust all those doom and gloom media reports. Did you miss this in the Report?
There is no way the Dems will win the Congress in 2006. Even the leadership knows this.
John S.
Leave it to a conservative to praise and impugn someone in the same breath.
ppGaz
My ears are up as much as the next guy’s …. I’m not hearing gloom and doom.
Are you really going to suggest that support for GWB’s handling of the war is in freefall due to “gloom and doom reports?”
Stormy70
I’m not impugning him, I just think things have changed in the last year. He can think what he wants, but I will not elevate his opinion over all the other soldiers I have spoken to who say things are not like the media is portraying it. We have a welcome home squad in DFW for all the returning soldiers, and my brother speaks to his military friends. They just won’t be published in Salon.
capelza
The soldier who’s blog was recently shut down was in Iraq…Leonard Clark in the Arizona National Guard. This one happened last month, and yes, he was still In Iraq. Is this the one you were thinking of demimondian?
Rome Again
Somehow I don’t see that happening, I think rather, he’ll find some way to escape impeachment before his administration falls, receiving a full pardon for him and his cronies in the process.
I hope you’re right though.
Northman
“Finally, Iraq is encircled by six bordering nations — all of whom harbor ill-will for the struggling democratic Iraqi state.”
ALL of them?
I mean, I understand Syria is going to be on the list, and Jordan and Saudi Arabia seem less than happy that democracy is giving the Shiites power, but they appear more worried that the violence will spread from Iraq to their countries and would like stability, if not Shiite-dominated democracy. That same reason appears to amuse the Iranians, who seem quite happy to see their co-religionists come to power next door. And what about Turkey? They’re already a democracy, so they aren’t afraid of that. As I understand things, the only problem the Turks have is that the Kurds are now harbouring terrorists in their autonomous region that are carrying out attacks in Turkey, which a decent government in Iraq would be able to stop.
Still an interesting read. Filled with the usual lines about how things are going to get better, though they started out really bad, and they are going to get worse through most of 2006. First Summary point is a great example:
“This is the darkness before dawn in the efforts to construct a viable Iraqi state. The enterprise was badly launched –but we are now well organized and beginning to develop successful momentum. The future outcomes are largely a function of the degree to which Iraqi men and women will overcome fear and step forward to seize the leadership opportunity to create a new future.”
demimondian
Yes, but being afflicted by a combination of Saturday afternoon laziness and childcare for the five-year-old (sorry, folks, but he does come first…), I didn’t go look it up.
Thanks.
Andrei
Is that why less soldiers are dying since last year, the electricty and water are working reliably, and the insurgency is waning?
Oh… wait. That’s right.
Stormy70
The electricity is 15% higher than prewar levels. This is a nationwide number. Before the war, Baghdad and a few other towns were given most of the electricity, while outlying regions had to make do. Source is the Brookings Report. Lots more in there if you are inclined to check it out. No link since I don’t know how to link a pdf file.
The insurgency is currently getting pounded, thus the uptick in casualities. This operation started Wednesday in Western Iraq. This is war, where the enemy fights back and changes its tactics, then we change our tactics, and so on. Just like every war fought in history. I guess I have more faith in our military to get it done than people who were anti-war to begin with, and did not want to go into Iraq.
Stormy70
Here is the link to a blog where you can find the link to the Brookings Report.
Andrei
If you look at page 24 of that report, you’ll note a lot of holes in the data (esp with regard ot pre-war information) and more importantly, Baghdad itself is suffering. Something on the order of 40%-50% less electricity capacity than pre-war numbers, with peaks and valley’s of electricity to use from 8 hours a day to 13.
It’s a bit like saying the state of Nevada has 15% more electric capacity but Las Vegas is getting half what is had before the start of the occupation.
The question you need to ask yourself is what is the density of the population in Iraq? Here’s an old one from 1987. Note just howw many people live near Baghdad as compared to the rest of the country. Then you’ll know how to read numbers like “15% more nationwide” and see if it actually means anything.
Stormy70
So, spinning the report negetively already. Fact is, Saddam kept Baghdad in electricity, while the rest of the country suffered without it. So now Baghdad will have to be patient while the rest of Iraq gets upgraded and comes online. Also, the economy is booming, and the infrastructure in Baghdad can’t handle it, yet. It takes time to get this done, and the terrorists don’t make it any easier.
Andrei
“So now Baghdad will have to be patient while the rest of Iraq gets upgraded and comes online.”
So speaketh Stormy. Glad to know you know what people living in a city as large as Baghdad need to tolerate TWO YEARS after the Mission Accomplished Shock-n-Awe(tm).
Tony Alva
Andrei,
Stormy makes perfect sense here. The Iraqi economic boom has brought what to Baghdad, folks? MODERN F’in conveniences to millions of it’s citizens!!! What are these conveniences? Washing machines top the list, air conditioners a close second. television sets and satellite TV gear pulling up in third, and many, many other components that were denied to the entire population for decades. The fact is that consumption is up ten fold. All you need to do is talk to soldiers deployed and they will confirm this. Find someone in the corps of engineers and they’d be glad to fill you in on the progress. The report is a fair assessment. McCaffrey is a fledgling member of MSM and a free presser. He has been both critical of the admin and supporter of success.
It’s clear that most of you who opposed the war to begin with will never believe that things are improving if you can’t even give a little credence to this guys report.