About Iraq, Fester asks what I’ve been thinking about all day. During the Second Battle of Fallujah, the US attacking forces were composed of a composite division as six battalions led the main attack, another battalion as a diversion force, and two battalions as local reserves. Additionally an Iraqi Army brigade was present as a …
Archives for March 2008
I Almost Made It
I almost made it through the damned day without blogging about the primary, but then MSNBC had to highlight this interview with Hillary on FOX: Clinton’s campaign has argued for seating the Michigan and Florida delegations, which were stripped after those states held early primaries in violation of party rules. Recent efforts to hold re-votes …
More Great Adventures In Contracting
Oy. [T]o arm the Afghan forces that it hopes will lead this fight, the American military has relied since early last year on a fledgling company led by a 22-year-old man whose vice president was a licensed masseur. With the award last January of a federal contract worth as much as nearly $300 million, the …
Failing The Test
Some criticisms sound meaningful but are really fairly trivial (the incompetence dodge, Dick Cheney’s shriveled, black soul) while others cut a bit deeper. This falls in the second group. Government auditors said yesterday that the Pentagon relies too much on contractors who often work alongside their government counterparts, cost more and sometimes take on responsibilities …
The Streets are On Fire
What is going on in Iraq right now is really a mystery to me, and it appears like there is some sort of news blackout. There is little to nothing on television, and what news there is coming out of the print media is sketchy. Here is a blurb from USA Today: Tens of thousands …
The Roof Is On Fire
Let’s start the day off with some light news: Little by little, millions of Americans surrendered equity in their homes in recent years. Lulled by good times, they borrowed — sometimes heavily — against the roofs over their heads. Now the bill is coming due. As the housing market spirals downward, home equity loans, which …
Worst Spin Ever
This: The Pentagon on Wednesday said an eruption of violence in southern Iraq, where US-backed government forces were battling Shiite militias, was a “by-product of the success of the surge.” Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said it showed that the Iraqi government and security forces were now confident enough to take the initiative against Shiite …