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 of Shiites took to Baghdad’s streets to protest the government crackdown on militias in Basra as heavy fighting between Iraqi security forces and gunmen erupted for a third day in the southern oil port and the capital.
Iraqi officials reported 17 more people killed in overnight clashes in Baghdad’s main Shiite district of Sadr City and raised the number of deaths from fighting in the southern city of Hillah to at least 60.
Mounting anger focused on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite who is personally overseeing an operation against Shiite militias dominated by followers of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr amid a violent power struggle in Basra, Iraq’s southern oil hub near the Iranian border.
The events threatened to unravel a Mahdi Army cease-fire and spark a dramatic escalation in violence after a monthslong period of relative calm.
Juan Cole has more, and James Joyner shows that he secretly hates America by proclaiming the mission so far is a “disaster.”
While I write this, Bush is babbling about mass graves and terrorists and claiming he has disproved the critics. It is ten am and I already feel like drinking.
If you know more, by all means throw it in the comments.
*** Update ***
I will hand it to the Pentagon PR department, this sure sounds like the fruits of our success:
raq’s Prime Minister was staring into the abyss today after his operation to crush militia strongholds in Basra stalled, members of his own security forces defected, and district after district of his own capital fell to Shia militia gunmen.
With the threat of a civil war looming in the south, Nouri al-Maliki’s police chief in Basra narrowly escaped assassination in the crucial port city, while in Baghdad, the spokesman for the Iraqi side of the US military surge was kidnapped by gunmen and his house burnt to the ground.
Saboteurs also blew up one of Iraq’s two main oil pipelines from Basra, cutting at least a third of the exports from the city which provides 80 per cent of government revenue, a clear sign that the militias — who siphon significant sums off the oil smuggling trade — would not stop at mere insurrection.
In Baghdad, thick black smoke hung over the city centre tonight and gunfire echoed across the city.
I love the smell of thick black smoke in the morning. Smells like victory.
Couple more victories like this and we will be fighting them over here instead of over there.
LiberalTarian
NPR had what sounded like recent news on events in Basra. You can go to http://www.npr.org and click through for story segments.
What you hear will make you ill. While you are at it you can listen to McCain’s babblings on how we can’t leave because it would cause a worse war later. Republicans are so good at predicting the future, right? They can’t find their butts with both hands in the present. I hate this fucking war.
Scrutinizer
The best coverage I’ve read on this so far has come from Juan Cole and Al-Jazeera’s English website. (Hi, NSA!!!) There does seem to be a yawning cavern where the US MSM’s coverage should be.
libarbarian
My take:
If the central government can get a quick win, then its reputation and legitimacy will be boosted.
If it can’t, and the Sadrists are able to demonstrate that they can hold their own for a respectable amount of time, then it will definitely harm the governments respect and legitimacy.
Zifnab
John, you can always turn to McClatchy (formerly Knight Ridder) for a good heads-up on what’s going on.
Raenelle
In the relativity category, the Dems don’t look so bad any more, do they. In the “politics is the art of the possible” category, the standard is never a measurement against utopia but rather against the alternative. I’ll take a dog chasing its tail over a dog with rabies any day.
horatius
Can you play the huggy bear again with mcBush embracing his master?
tim
John, back in my drinking days I found that the “Bloody Bull” was a reliable, nutritious source of escape from a troubled world:
One part Bloody Mary Mix
One part Beef Boullion broth
One part (or more, depending on the level of your need to escape) vodka
Ice
Lemon
Guzzle, my friend, and forget the Bush era.
PeakVT
It’s cheaper to embed reports in the mcBush campaign than in the mcBush war. Plus, the food is better, and good grub is all that is required to keep reporters happy and taking you at your word.
jrg
John, your posts are always informative and/or entertaining. You do a service to all of us that frequent this blog. Thank you.
It pains me to say it, but maybe you should spend a couple of days away from the computer and go to the beach or something. We’ll all still be here when you get back.
drunken hausfrau
I’m in London — the lunchtime TV news was all over the Iraq situation — with live footage from reporters. Major oil pipeline in Basra blown to bits… UK troops trying to keep things from getting out of hand, but they can’t directly go into the fray — they don’t have “authorization” from Iraqi “government” (and quite honestly, they don’t have the troop strength anymore… they’ve been pulling out and putting more troops in Afghanistan…)
Try BBC online.
LiberalTarian
Listen John, don’t let it get you down. Believe me, as an environmental chemist, there is plenty to get depressed about. But, it is more depressing to be helpless and cynical. When you fight it, you find that you felt like you did something.
Here’s something you can put your dukes up about. It’s an embryonic anti-Republican campaign commercial. “The Republicans hired this man to help wage our wars. They have got to be run out of government forever.”
The Other Steve
It must be so difficult being GW Bush. A man of infinite wisdom. A Poet, an artist, a Maestro.
drunken hausfrau
OK, silly me… I just read the American news sites online and they seem to be talking about a whole different war someplace in magic pony land! Bush is claiming success for BASRA?! The big pipeline was blown to bits and the streets are on fire — as John says. Bush says he takes credit for the “success” of the Iraqi govt. forces against the militia rebels??? Someone is taking happy pills and washing it down with cheap whisky.
The news over here is of a powder keg that has been lit … The Green Zone has been hit at least 4 times in the past 24 hours… scores dead and wounded. The British military nervously not intervening.
srv
Smart Republicans would say this is a result of the Brits pulling back and watching. But of course the ISC and Sadr and other riff-raff are going to fight even over Basra.
This is just the shape of things to come in other idylic places like Baghdad.
ploeg
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7316056.stm
Uh, if you expect to win, you say that you will fight until you win. Not a good sign.
drunken hausfrau
Here are some snippets from the BBC:
-More than 70 people have died and hundreds have been injured in days of violence sparked by an Iraqi crackdown on Shia militias in Basra.
-In Basra, police chief Adbul Jalil Khalaf said he survived an assassination attempt overnight, in which three of his bodyguards were killed.
-Residents in the city have said that they are beginning to run out of food and water.
One told the BBC that the Iraqi army broke into shops, took food and water, then set fire to shops and cars on the street. [Great way to treat your people, huh? steal their food & water and destroy their shops and cars… way to go, Maliki!]
– An oil pipeline near Basra, which carries oil for export, was damaged by a bomb. A Southern Oil Company official told Reuters news agency the main pumping station of Zubair 1 had been shut down and that exports would be greatly affected.
In other developments across the country:
-The FBI said it had recovered the bodies of two US security contractors kidnapped in Iraq in 2006
-A prominent civilian spokesman for the Baghdad security operation, Tahseen Sheikhly, a Sunni who often appeared with US officials at news conferences, was kidnapped by gunmen from his home in the capital
-Thousands of Sadr supporters gathered in Baghdad’s Sadr City, a vast Shia-dominated suburb, to demand Mr Maliki’s resignation over the military operation
-Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone was again hit by several rounds of rockets, causing a fire, Iraqi and US embassy officials said
-Iraqi police in Kut said dozens of people were killed in clashes on Thursday between Iraqi and US forces, and Shia militiamen, the AFP news agency reported
-There have also been clashes through the night and the early morning in the towns of Hilla and Diwaniya
Brachiator
The BBC News site has some good coverage, although details are spotty. They also offer some excellent background (Analysis: The struggle for Basra):
I guess I picked the wrong day to give up glue sniffing.
More and more it appears that the struggle in Iraq is between numerous competing groups who often are clearly ignoring the “US war against Al Queda in Iraq.” US forces are stuck in the middle.
Sadly, I think that many Americans are still accepting to the variations on the lies that the surge is working, or that there is even some point to our forces being in Iraq because no one wants to admit that the lives of US forces have been put at risk, and at times sacrificed, for no rational reason at all.
I don’t expect anyone in the Bush Administration to be honest about this. It is worrisome that McCain cannot admit that the Bush Administration has made a disastrous miscalculation. The Democrats claim to want to pull forces out, but even they cannot admit to the enormity of Bush’s Folly.
Xanthippas
I don’t usually like to shill for myself on other people’s blogs, but you did ask. If you want links to good articles/analysis of what’s going on, go here or here.
cleek
they’re fighting us there so we won’t have to fight them here.
Krista
Yeah, that’s the same thing I’m seeing here on ctv.ca. I didn’t catch the midday TV news (came home for lunch), but I would presume it’s on there as well.
Krista
So it looks like the news is only sketchy in your country…Comrade.
The Other Steve
70? That’s all! That’s not a battle.
At Gettysburg over 7,000 were killed in a single day!
At the Bulge, over 30,000 were killed in the course of a month! That’s more than the entire Iraq war.
At Waterloo, over 50,000 were killed or wounded in a single day!
This is nothing! I spit at your contention that 70 dead is important. That’s nothing more than a police action.
Janet Reno killed 76 men, women and children at Waco! She’s obviously a War Criminal!
MattF
… and something-or-other seems to be imploding in N Korea. Good times!
Jen
Freedom is messy.
Svensker
Yup. Welcome to the U.S.S.R of A., where the Leader is always right, and the news is always good.
The Other Steve
Damn, I forgot to bring up some great Greek battles.
Alexander slaughtered 300,000 Persians at the Battle of Gaugamela!
70 is nothing!
The Other Steve
Support the Troops!
Ninerdave
It’s a fucking civil war with out guys in the middle of it.
Dennis - SGMM
So far in Iraq, over 100,000 have been killed by a jawboning ass.
Notorious P.A.T.
At the risk of taking this thread in a whole other direction, one of the Democratic candidates supported this war, and one did not.
lysias
About 100 people were killed the day of the storming of the Bastille in 1789.
libarbarian
AWESOME VIDEO
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Now That I got your attention – watch this AWESOME VIDEO
carsick
If overall deaths are UP = Success!
If overall deaths are DOWN = Success!
If overall deaths are STATIC = Success!
On another note, it’s going to be an exciting game tonight. I gotta go with Xavier. I expect it to be a close one though.
LiberalTarian
Christy makes a good point at Firedoglake. We could piss away our strength in numbers going after each other’s candidates, or we could go after both of them to get what we want. Do we want out of this war? Put pressure on the candidates to get us the fuck out. Make them compete to say which one will get us out first–or, sit around and hump each other over and over and over about which candidate is Satan.
If we keep up the pissing match McCain could pull out a win, and we’ll never get out of that fucking war. Nothing like getting beaned in the head to make you remember you are supposed to be keeping your eye on the ball.
Tim H.
1. ?
2. SUCCESS!
On the positive side, it’s the only strategy I’ve seen with fewer steps than the Underpants Strategy.
Teak111
The Other Steve: you forgot Little Boy and Fat Man.
“The bombs killed as many as 140,000 people in Hiroshima and 80,000 in Nagasaki by the end of 1945,[2] roughly half on the days of the bombings.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki
Tsulagi
That spokesperson should have just left it at that. Awesome.
Yep, plenty of byproducts of success from our glorious adventure in Iraq. So deep in byproducts coming out the hole of success, you need a wetsuit to wade through it.
Basically just seems like a Shia on Shia squabble for power and control. Think Sopranos. The larger New York family (Baghdad/Maliki/Badr Brigades) is moving on Tony (Sadr, JAM) in Jersey (Basra and Kut).
Tony/Sadr opposed the recent provinces legislation that gives more control to the central Baghdad family taking powers, and money, away from provincial control. That was legislation the admin in Feb. heralded as benchmark-meeting success. Later an uppity three-member Iraqi presidential panel vetoed it.
But somewhere about the time the unitary-executive lovin Dick made a visit, it was un-vetoed. Followed by Maliki saying any civil disobedience opposing the provinces law and/or the central government like not showing up for work or protests would be an act of terrorism. Has Maliki learned democracy at the knee of The Dick or what?
Of course we’re supporting Maliki. He of the Dawa party. A political party that once had its headquarters in Tehran and we labeled as a terrorist organization supporting Iran. Also the Badr Brigades, who fought alongside Iranian troops during the Iran-Iraq War. But if they’re wearing an IA uniform, we’re good with that.
Sadr just pays lip service to the Iranians. He’s a nationalist, plus he thinks their practice of Islam is too decadent. Sort of like laidback Unitarians or something. Sadr favors a more Taliban-like implementation of Sharia. And he loves power too. You know, like our fundamentalist type Christians who’d like to be running the show in D.C.
Our role in this latest squabble? We’re like the skilled button men from Sicily. If it escalates and the Baghdad family’s foot soldiers melt away (likely) going after Tony/Sadr when he shoots back, just point out who we should blow away.
Stay the course! You just can’t have the byproducts of success deep enough.
Scott H
al-Jazeera [English], not my usual read, I googled it, but the US media is all about “The Pastor Pages”:
Behind the scenes, government officials and senior Mahdi Army figures loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia leader, are said to be holding talks to end the fighting.
Meetings were held in Najaf on Thursday to try to end the crisis, Liqa Ali Yassin, a member of al-Sadr’s 32-member parliamentary bloc, said.
On Wednesday, al-Sadr had demanded that al-Maliki leave Basra and send a parliamentary delegation for talks on resolving the crisis.
Draw your own conclusions.
Tim H.
You get a large bloc in Pa. to say that and you might get their attention. But if it truly were the #1 issue with voters Kucinich or Edwards would still be in the race.
The Grand Panjandrum
Why do you wait until so late in the day? Bloody Mary’s for breakfast is the only way to live during the Shame and Degradation of this Administration.
I say we look on the bright side and be satisfied that we aren’t at war with Iran. Yet.
Scrutinizer
Or you could go for the firebombing of Japanese cities, which killed far more people and destroyed far more property than the atomic bombs did.
LeMay was lucky he was on the winning side.
BH Buck
Oh, man. Could you imagine what damage that would bring? Our economy is already near dead, resting at the bottom of a ravine. Our military is stretched to the point of breaking.
How could we sustain another war?
dj spellchecka
Increased violence in iraq is actually good news.
McClatchy Newspapers report:— The White House and Pentagon claimed partial credit for the Iraqi government’s new military offensive in Baghdad and the port city of Basra, calling it a “byproduct of the success” of the U.S. troop surge that showed that Iraqi forces are capable of assaulting Shiite extremists.
Stephen Hadley, President Bush’s national security adviser, called the Iraqi-led operation in Basra “an indication of the increased maturation of this (central) government,” and he praised Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki for taking charge of the operation.
Of course this is “an indication of the increased maturation of this (central) government” if maliki’s forces can actually prevail in basra, a somewhat dicey proposition.
the wierd thing is that maliki’s party gets support from iran while sadr wants nothing to do with iran. and who are we backing??
now we find ourselves in the middle of a shite turf war.
i suppose the white house will argue that’s better than being in the middle of a civil war.
ps
if the other oil pipeline gets blown up, that’s the end of iraq oil getting to market anythime soon.
LiberalTarian
See? That’s the thing. We can agree it’s a waste of blood and treasure. We can agree it is an illegal war based on lies. We can agree we hate the war. We just don’t hate it enough to do anything but bitch about it.
[NSA prophylactic–I’m all about non-violence, I’m advocating civil remedies, not rioting or “terrorism.” I support peace by peaceful means. Be sure to add that to my file.]
Zifnab
We wouldn’t. This would be a purely air-tactical war (which is why the Air Force is pressing so hard to start dropping bombs) in Rumsfeld/Cheney-world. Maybe a bunch of navel bombardments as well.
If Iran decided to make the fight on the ground, we’d probably just abandon Iraq in the same way we jumped ship on Afghanistan. And oil would inevitably skyrocket another $50/barrel, no problem, when the Iranians shut down the Gulf.
All that said, I think an Iranian War would probably do more to end this entire clusterfuck faster than anything else. Our military would be completely shredded, the oil-infrastructure in the US would be laid out flat, and we’d be more or less forced to downsize like crazy once our new and improved stagflation recession really set in. If we were to invade Iran, I’ve got good odds that America would simply collapse on itself.
I’d blame the Democrats.
BH Buck
Most everyone else does.
Jim
Plan for the Mahdi army campaign:
http://www.globalguerrillas.typepad.com/
He pretty much shows how it’s going to play out:
Saul Goode
Ummm..the reason that it’s not being reported in the MSM is beacuse it ain’t happening quite like USA is claiming…shocker, I know.
You might wanna hop over to Bob Owen’s fanatastic blog to get a proper perspective.
Liberal Masochist
Tsulagi – I think it is more the war between the Barksdales and Marlo Stansfield’s crew in Season 3 of The Wire. The Basra shia, like Marlo, are trying to go their own way and do their thing on their set of corners. The Barksdles (Baghdad power) is crumbling and weakened but doesn’t realize it yet.
The US is like Prop Joe and trying to broker a peace, double deal and stay out of the way, all at the same time. We are trying for our own version of the New Day Co-op.
Not sure where Omar fits in with all of this.
Bubblegum Tate
But our country is the most freedomliest and libertytacular, even though there is librul media bias from a press that hates ‘Murica and teh tr00pz and lies constantly to attack Bush!
Uh…or something.
Seriously, this is both predictable and depressing. And when I say that, I’m talking about the events in Iraq, the U.S. media’s coverage of it, and the wingnuts’ spin.
Helena Montana
If there’s a news blackout, it’s self-imposed by the media. Mustn’t have their straight-talking buddy McCain look bad by letting us see that Iraq is blowing up again. If they report what’s happening there, they won’t get invited to any more barbecues. Hot DAMN, that man is fun to have a beer with.
No, no, Everything’s fine there, just fine.
Bubblegum Tate
Blackwater
Fulcanelli
Quickest way to end the war?
Reinstate the draft. Rich Repugs feel no pain, with no dogs in the fight.
In the the BushCo world view they don’t care if our men and women die over in the middle east, there’s fewer and fewer jobs for them to come home to anyway, and furthermore returning vets will just be acting like ‘libruls’ like after WW2 when they return, looking for the big nanny state federal government to help them readjust to regular life and get their lives back on track, etc.
This is so wrong.
Anybody know where I can get a few valiums to go with this scotch I’m hitting on at 1:00 in the afternoon? The 10mg, you know, the blue ones…
Liberal Masochist
Bubblegum – that fits pretty well. One of the Blackwater guys even said during his Congressional testimony, “I’ll do what I can to help y’all. But, the game’s out there, and it’s play or get played. That simple.”
dj spellchecka
Bush sees increased violence as a positive moment.
from the times of london:
In an interview with The Times, he backed the Iraqi Government’s decision to “respond forcefully” to the spiralling violence by “criminal elements” and Shia extremists in Basra. “It was a very positive moment in the development of a sovereign nation that is willing to take on elements that believe they are beyond the law,” the President said.
Fulcanelli
So that means when somebody busts a cap in his ass for he and his administration’s criminal actions over the last eight years they’ll be doing the right thing for the Soverign Nation of the USA?
Just as I thought.
See things DO all work out in the end. That’s a relief!
Punchy
I heard from a reliable source that all the violence erupted when Malaki went to Basra and proposed to implement the Fair Tax.
The Other Andrew
I don’t have any feelings one way or the other about Maliki, but, um, now might not be the best time to dig in your heels. If things continue on their current path, the Pentagon could be forced to spin his assassination. And god only knows what unintentionally-hilarious idea they’d come up with for it…
rob!
up is down, down is up in Bush’s America.
more violence = success
less violence = success
just the right amount of violence = success
…but no one can come home, because that would mean FAILURE. and you don’t want Ol’ Lady Liberty to fail do you, you terrorist-loving, tax-and-spend, gay-marriage-having elitists?
D-Chance.
The end game is in sight. Democrat victory in November, withdrawal, al-Sadr’s militia takes over, Muqtada al-Sadr becomes your new Iraqi
prime ministerdictator/cleric.Hell, I’ve been hearing that one ever since the US decided not to take the bum out when they had him surrounded in that mosque in Fallujah back in 2004. He’s now had more than enough time to build up his militia army, he’s in control of the oil areas, he has the support of many of the civilians, the US-backed Iraqi army is still weak and inept. If (when) we leave, he steps in and takes over. We may as well get used to negotiating with him, he’s going to be there for decades.
MJ
John I am surprised that you used Juan Cole as a source. You have documented Juan Cole as being biased and full of shit a fair amount over the years. I’d be leery of anything he reported after the overwhelming amount bullshit that has come from him.
dj spellchecka
sadr’s no angel, but he has few ties to iran. on the other hand:
from wired’s blog:
On one side, there’s Moktada al-Sadr, the homegrown firebrand and long-time thorn in the side of American forces. On the other, there’s the team of Da’wa (the party of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki) and the former Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (which runs most of the country’s security services). Both SCIRI and Da’wa have decades-deep connections to Iran. “Shiite rivals, particularly the party loyal to the cleric Moktada al-Sadr, regularly accuse the Supreme Council of being a tool of the Iranian intelligence service. The party’s top officials, including its leader, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, lived in Iran for decades and still frequently return,” the Times observes.
“SCIRI was essentially created by Iran, and its militia, the Badr Brigade, was trained and equipped by the Revolutionary Guards,” Council on Foreign Relations Iran scholar Ray Takeyh notes in the current Middle East Journal.
demimondian
Well, of course.
This is bad news for them, after all.
Ted
Yes, indeed. We wouldn’t want opinions about the middle east coming from someone with a PhD in middle eastern studies and speaks fluent Arabic.
That wouldn’t be the wingnut thing to do.
Bedlam
Watched this and found it disturbing….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gwqEneBKUs
McCain mix about the war….
words here:
The work that we face in our time is great
in a time of war
and the terrible sacrifices it entails
the promise of a better future is not always clear
there’s gonna be other wars
I’m sorry to tell you there’s gonna be other wars
there’s gonna be a lot of combat wounds
and my friends it’s gonna be tough
and we’re gonna have a lot to do
That old Beach Boys song, Bomb Iran?
Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb…
I’m still convinced that withdrawal means chaos
and if you think that things are bad now
if we withdraw–you ain’t seen nothing yet
was the war a good idea, worth the price in blood and treasure?
It was a good idea
President Bush talked about our staying in Iraq for 50 years
Maybe a hundred, that’s fine with me
I don’t think Americans are concerned if we’re there for a hundred years, or a thousand years, or ten thousand years. (less)
Yup, McCain for 10,000 years in Iraq. woot.
Tom
I’ve had “Streets of Fire” by Springsteen playing in my head all day thanks to this thread.
tBone
Dug Jay used a variant of this yesterday, only not ironically. I LOLd.
AkaDad
I don’t think anyone could have predicted there would be an illusion of success during a cease-fire.
double-plus-ungood
MJ:
Perhaps you would like to point to a better source? Cole has made the occasional error, but he’s by far outperformed the bulk of other available sources of Middle Eastern analysis.
cbear
This is the shit that, amidst all the other never-ending bullshit from the goopers and the press in this country, just infuriates me.
Here in the U.S. we have never heard Sadr referred to without the word radical prefacing his name, and/or that of his organization or followers.
Nevermind the fact that he very probably represents the single largest political and social bloc of people in that hellhole of a country, AND can field the largest and most effective fighting force in Iraq outside of the U.S. Military—which will have hell to pay if he and his miltia decide to go all in.
Nevermind the fact that there is nothing what-so-fucking-ever radical about representing the will, and hopes, and aspirations, and anger, of the majority of your people in your own fucking country.
This perfect example of “framing” through the use of language, is nothing more than an attempt by this administration, and the shithounds of a compliant media, to “catapult the propaganda” to the sheeple….cause we certainly wouldn’t want to EVER consider that a scary radical might actually represent the will of a people we are occupying and subjugating for the financial and political benefit of a small cabal of utterly corrupt, mendacious pricks.
We saw exactly the same tactic used, beginning in the 60’s, to frame the Israeli-Palestinian dispute for the American public’s consumption.
Hence, every military or guerilla action by Palestinians against Israel was reported as having been conducted by Palestinian Terrorists, and every military action by Israelis against the Palestinians was conducted by Israeli Soldiers, or the Israeli Army.
Thus, 10 Israeli’s Killed= Terroism. 10 Palestinians Killed= Legitimate Military Action…even if the 20 poor dead bastards were killed on the same day in the same event.
Thus, the public is never able to make a rational assessment of the situation and perhaps pressure our government to implement a more balanced foreign policy in the region.
What makes this so egregious is that, IMHO, the end result of that particular “framing” has been 40+ years of American ME foreign policy which has often been at odds with our nation’s best interests—and engendered the hatred of the U.S. by large segments of the Muslim world, attacks on our people and country, and our current inabaility to extricate ourselves from the quagmire that is Iraq.
(sorry for the extended rant. i’ll now return to my normal sophomorically scatalogical commenting style)
Jake
I can’t even snark about this shit any more. The country is unravelling because a dumbshit cowboy with a fear of horses wasn’t getting enough of a thrill from video games. As an added bonus, 150K + people who were cast as supporting roles in that sick fuck’s fantasy are stuck in the middle.
Buck
I’ve been humming and singing “The Roof Is On Fire” all day.
We don’t need no water let the mother fucker burn.
I just can’t get it out of my head.
w vincentz
SHIT!!
Did anyone besides me see the smirking chimp at the Air Force Museum today, deliverin’ his speech against the tair-or-ists-sts? Shit, I can’t believe he’s still trying to sell it!
For me, I can’t wait until this asshole is lead off in leg irons to the Hague to face his war crimes.
Does anyone still believe this administration has a grip?
If you do, so sad for you.
cbear
tbone-
big props on your piece going viral around the internets. try not to go to “Hollywood” on us when you score the big bucks for the screenplay.
wwz
Areas of Baghdad fall to militias as Iraqi Army falters in Basra
Times… “In Baghdad, the Mahdi Army took over neighbourhood after neighbourhood, some amid heavy fighting, others without firing a shot. In New Baghdad, militiamen simply ordered the police to leave their checkpoints: the officers complied en masse and the guerrillas stepped out of the shadows to take over their checkpoints. In Jihad, a mixed Sunni and Shia area of west Baghdad that had been one of the worst battlefields of Iraq’s dirty sectarian war in 2006, Mahdi units moved in and residents started moving out to avoid the lethal crossfire that erupted. One witness saw Iraqi Shia policemen rip off their uniform shirts and run for shelter with local Sunni neighbourhood patrols, most of them made up of ex-insurgents wooed by the US military into fighting al-Qaeda.” …
Xanthippas
I’ve already linked to a lot of these articles (see my comment up top) but Froomkin has some more good links on what’s going on. I definitely recommend the Time piece by Mortenson about what American forces may have to do is Maliki’s little offensive fails.
wwz
cbear Says: ….
clapclapclapclap
Hear hear.
Tim (the Other One)
Hey kids. I’m 55. Could one of you guys do the TeeVee analogy using either the original Star Trek or Twilight Zone episodes ?
TIA
Dennis - SGMM
Inasmuch as the al-Maliki government wouldn’t undertake something like this without permission from Washington, what in the world led our delusional little shit of a president to sign off on it? Does anyone in this misbegotten administration realize that they’ve just lit the fuse on civil war in Iraq?
My guess is that Bush/Cheney have decided to wager all on one throw of the dice. I think they’ve just thrown snake-eyes.
w vincentz
Dennis,
Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t the Sadr’s malitia have until tomorrow to lay down their weapons…or else?
MJ
Speaking Arabic and having a PhD doesn’t mean he’s not full of shit a lot of the time and is trust worthy.
Here he claims Chemical weapons are not weapons of mass destruction. link
The Kurds may have a different perspective on that.
link
Here is a post by him that is full of shit:
http://www.juancole.com/2004_04_01_juancole_archive.html#108192862382575758
link
The BBC and CBS both have reports showing Juan Cole as being full of shit.
Juan Cole also made claims that Israels attack on the Jenin refugee camp was a motivation for 9/11. The problem is that it happened after 9/11. He also is known to quote the 9/11 report about things that were NOT in the 9/11 report. Do you need links to this stuff too? These examples just scratch the surface of it. Somebody could write a book debunking his posts.
I stand by what I said. The man may be Prof. and speak Arabic but it doesn’t mean he is a reliable source of information.
demimondian
They’re fighting Pyrrhus there so they don’t have to fight Pyrrhus here
wilson
Agree there’s a conscious effort at a blackout. I’m not surprised the British are seeing more. Here the coverage is spotty and mixed with such crucial issues as the impact aircraft grounding will have on spring breaks.
No surprise this is going poorly. More important question is why it is happening now and this way? Why would Dick set this off now? He surely knows it’ll fail (he’s a nasty SOB, but I don’t think he’s stupid – unfortunately). What is gained? Maliki out (they want that), a new stooge without the headache of a pretend “democracy” (they want that),more need for more American troops on the ground(they want that), higher oil prices protecting the commodity bubble (they want that). Other ideas? What’s not to like here from their viewpoint. Set’s up another charade hearing in Congress, more dollars for the contractors (300 million to a 22 year old slime bucket – what’s with that?). And, of course, more McCain – the ultimate goal.
So, what’s our pushback? Notice any flaming rhetoric from our side? Or is it crickets again? Until someone can pick up the anti-war theme and use it as a cudgel, there will be problems. I have to believe the amount of anger and disgust out there is huge, but it needs focus and direction. Where and who will it come from?
cbear
Here’s our “War on Terra” in a nutshell.
Twenty-something gets $300 million Contract.
Un-fucking-believable.
D-Chance.
Easy, Dennis…
instability = interference from Iran = need to invade Iran.
Don’t think there still isn’t time for Cheney to open up that Third Front before leaving office. He’s been itching for it for 5+ years. He never planned for such a long stay in Iraq. It was supposed to be Shock and Awe, install a US-selected puppet, cash out on all the new oil money, and then onwards to the next target.
Dennis - SGMM
You’re mostly correct. Al-Maliki gave the militias in Basra until tomorrow to lay down their arms. The Badr Corps, which is the militia of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (al-Sadr’s Shia opponents) has been fighting alongside the government forces. The only conclusion is that this demand is largely directed at al-Sadr and his Mehdi Army militia.
The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq and al-Maliki’s Dawa party are desperate to hold on to power and Iraq will supposedly be holding elections in October. Thus their need to get rid of the very popular al-Sadr before then.
PaulB
And even if the various factions succeed in driving the Mahdi army out of direct control of its strongholds, all that will happen is that they’ll go underground and the guerilla war will resume. There are no good options remaining to us.
demimondian
Not sure that there’s a conscious blackout — I think that this was timed for when the American press was inwards-focused on the election, and foreign news was getting the double whammy of a bad economy and reduced priority.
We’ll see if it works, though. In particular, this offers a chance for blog-based news sources to shine. I wonder if somebody will offer Riverbend press credentials, for instance.
w vincentz
Wilson,
Think. With Sadr controlling Basra, there won’t be a port ot ship oil from.
Thsi is the end game.
They won.
Let’s bring ours home.
No more lies.
War crimes trials soon.
Face
/checks cnn.com….checks msnbc.com….checks foxne…nevermind, dont need to.
NOT ONE FUCKING WORD OF ANY OF THIS. Something’s afoot with the media with respect to the Bush Admin. There’s just no way they should be ignoring this.
Tom
Some day, this war is gonna end.
demimondian
With Basra on fire, there won’t be any oil to ship from the putative port, either.
Dennis - SGMM
I wouldn’t misunderestimate for one second Cheney’s desire to start a war with Iran. It’s a win-win for him and Bush. If we prevail (I kinda’ fucking doubt it) they’ll be heroes. If they fail then things will be in such a cluster that the next president will be too busy just keeping the wheels on the country to investigate them.
demimondian
So, John — what do you think your story 10K is going to be?
p.a.
Bush sees metastasizing tumor as positive evidence circulatory system functioning well
Bush sees cannibalism as positive sign in ‘local food’ movement
Bush sees homelessness as positive sign Americans enjoying more outdoor recreation
Bush sees malnutrition as positive sign in fight against obesity
They say in the last weeks of the Nixon administration Haig
told the military not to let Dick near ‘the briefcase’. Ya think it took longer than the end of January 2001 for someone in this misadministration to make the same decision about Georgie? In 218 years we have had good, bad, and indifferent Presidents. Some were decent people, some weren’t. What we have now is a whole ‘nother thing entirely.
GW is a real mold-breaker. Is there any way we can get back at Scalia and Thomas that won’t involve prison time?
Oh well, Rome survived Nero…
Jen
Cheney says so many batshit things, but c’mon, in discussing 4,000 dead you bust out with:
I’m beginning to think this guy is kind of a dick.
Jen
This being a close second…
w vincentz
Dennis,
This is how the “war” will end. McSame is uninvolved.
Sadr is taking contol despite the US military’s best efforts, as well as their Iraqi serrogates.
Shit, we should have learned our lessons in Viet nam, but, alas, I don’t think we did.
Sadr has enormous power. He did his cease fire time.
Now he asserts.
End of story. It is no longer our vain attempt to contol.
The wildfire is beyond our control.
Get our boys out now!
War crimes tribunals for all those that supported this misguided adventure!
The “people” have spoken.
cbear
Big Time.
IMO, what we are witnessing is Dick and Chimpy’s “Flucht nach vorne” or “Flight Forward”.
“This refers to a situation in which an individual or institution seeks a way out of a crisis by becoming ever more daring and aggressive (or, as the White House propaganda department might put it: “bold”) A familar analogy is the gambler in Vegas, who tries to get out of a hole by doubling down on each successive bet.
Classic historical examples of the flucht nach vornes include Napoleon’s attempt to break the long stalemate with Britain by invading Russia,the decision of the Deep South slaveholding states to secede from the Union after Lincoln’s election, and Milosevic’s bid to create a “greater Serbia” after Yugoslavia fell apart.”
(Sorry I can’t find the source for the above quote, although it may be from the sorely-missed Billmon, who wrote extensively, and presciently, on this several years ago)
Dennis - SGMM
Irony is now dead and buried at a crossroads with a stake through its heart.
How in the world would Cheney know anything about the motives of those who serve when he did everything in his power to avoid the service?
The Other Steve
Found This out on CNN international.
They’re saying that Iran is behind this. al-Sadr wasn’t towing the Iranian line, so they’re pushing to break his back. Which is interesting, as there was an article yesterday that said al-maliki was more in the pocket of Iran than al-Sadr was.
It also says al-Sadr has not called for an end to cease fire. So the fighting is still somewhat limited. If he calls for an end, it might break out all over.
I’m very confused as to whose side are we on.
Fe E
Did anybody else just hear Walter Kronkite say something about winnabilty–or was that just my imagnation?
Dearest FSM, we.are.BONED.
Tsulagi
Success is on the march!!
You could just hear the admin’s Pentagon spokesperson on that one: “Clearly in yet another byproduct of success, now we got ‘em just where we want ‘em!”
dj spellchecka
found at the cnn article the other steve linked to:
“This is a window into the future of Iraq after the American withdrawal,” Ware said.
“What many people suggest is that we’re looking at a situation that will be akin to Lebanon in the 1980s, with vicious, well-armed militia proxy wars where all the factions are supported by one foreign sponsor or another.
“But this will be Lebanon on steroids.”
Xanthippas
I vote for crickets. That might explain why I go over to Memeorandum and see a handful of blogs touching on the situation in Iraq. I know the situation is a little complicated, but how hard is it to write a post that says “Okay things are really complicated, but we can at least tell that they are fucked up and it’s probably Bush’s fault.” Or maybe Memeorandum is blacked out too.
Dennis - SGMM
Although none of the troopers in Custer’s column survived, troopers in other columns reported that just before riding to the attack Custer waved his hat and shouted “We’ve caught them napping!”
w vincentz
“If a blind man leads another blind man, they both end in a ditch.”
At least some saw this coming:
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41737
Let the healing begin for the wounded, and war crimes trials for the perps.
Ahh…justice!
Fe E
Bush said this earlier today. Does anybody else get the feeling that his howling wolves of total madness are circling in closer and closer?
from this link
Tim (the Other One)
P.A. wins !
Xanthippas
Oh, and I have to shill for Marc Lynch and his summary of five theories about why this is happening right now (with links!) I don’t know which one is right but I can promise you one thing: if the situation really appears to be this complicated and Maliki’s motives that unclear even to people who are over there and people over here who closely follow Iraq, then you can be sure that President Bush himself cannot possibly understand what’s going on right now.
DougJ
Tens of thousands of Shiites took to Baghdad’s streets to protest the government crackdown on militias in Basra as heavy fighting between Iraqi security forces and gunmen erupted for a third day in the southern oil port and the capital.
That kind of thing happens in the streets of Philadelphia and Baltimore every day. Should we surrender there as well?
cbear
Too right. I seriously doubt that freaking dolt “understands” the difference between his asshole and a hole-in-the-ground.
Dennis - SGMM
Xanthippas, excellent link. It seems as though all of the lines of speculation end at the same place: Iran is extending its influence in Iraq and playing Bush like a violin in the process.
w vincentz
Good link Fe E.
Sadly, “All the kings horses and all the king’s men, couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again.”
Sinister eyebrow
Tens of thousands of Shiites take to the streets of Philly every day? No wonder the Schukyll Expressways sucks so bad.
Tsulagi
No news there…
When the really smart Richard Perle predicted there would be statues honoring Bush in Baghdad, he really should have said Tehran. If the Iranians had any gratitude, they would at least create a national holiday in Bush’s honor: Thank Allah for the Retard Day. In celebrating and honoring TARD, all would fall off their bicycles at high noon.
tBone
For the elderly or infirm, choking on a pretzel in lieu of falling off a bike will be acceptable.
binzinerator
Could this be the Iraq version of the Tet Offensive?
Xanthippas
Here’s another great link, Greenwald quoting Fred Kagan who just this past Monday said “The civil war is over.” That quote will be hung alongside a portrait of Rich “We’re Winning” Lowry in the “Iraq Punditry” wing of the Great Hall of Ignominy.
p.a.
And symbolically choke on a pretzel! (Are pretzels halal?)
Brachiator
I think it is too easy to make Iran a major player in what is happening. They may be meddling, but given the past enmity between the two nations, it is unlikely that they are in control of any significant faction.
One of the links, about what the US can do to control and direct the situation, seems like a lot of hooey from people who still believe that the US can bend other nations to its will.
Unlikely. US forces are not the target of the attacks, and the combatants don’t have a clear strategy or easily understood set of objectives that they are fighting for.
p.a.
There are many differences between Iraq and Viet Nam. The one overarching similarity is that we do not, and never have, controlled the agendas either place. Maybe if we could have acted competently in the first month of occupation, we may have had a shot. Have not had a chance since.
Conditions will improve if/when Iraqi militias think it is in their interest to lessen the violence, and will worsen when they want it too.
LiberalTarian
Damn. You are so hot when you’re mad.
LiberalTarian
cbear–our very own radical. :D
BH Buck
Anyone with ‘bear’ in their nick can rant as long as they want, as far as I’m concerned. ;-)