Dark Dubya

Talking Turkey

Talking Turkey
Hopeful Voices Arise from the Middle East - Will Anyone Listen?

The Turkish National Security Council released an official statement that Sunni participation in the elections in Iraq was "a very important development," noting that all Iraqis had to be involved in resolving sensitive issues such as the status of the city of Kirkuk. The Turkish Daily News reports that the continuation of a comprehensive response against threats posed by terrorism was agreed to at the meeting of the Council (MKG), emphasizing the importance of cooperation among all relevant state institutions.

NTV/MSNBC adds:

On the controversial problem of the oil rich Iraqi city of Kirkuk, the MGK called on a solution in which all Iraqis could be reconciled to. The statement underlined the importance of the territorial integrity of Iraq.

[Update]:

The Turkish administration has renewed an appeal to Iraq to resolve disputes over the ethnically volatile oil rich city of Kirkuk, where Ankara is wary of the ethnic Kurdish population gaining too much influence.

[Update]:

The campaign by the Iraqi Kurds has emerged as one of the most volatile issues dogging talks concerned with forming a new national government, and “It could also be contributing to a complex web of violence..”

What Are These Lobbyists Doing in Iraq?

What Are These Lobbyists Doing in Iraq?

I'm concerned about what appears to be a dreadful conflict of the People of the United States' interest. It's happening in Iraq today. It involves Washington D.C. lobbyists who I believe have overstepped the boundaries of ethics. My main concern is that their lobbying efforts are tangled in the web of a war in which our nation is engaged - and for whom our loyal troops are fighting and dying. Some decisions being made by the U.S. Military in Northern Iraq are being sabotaged by the political group which has hired an American lobbyist firm. It seems terribly improper for this lobbyist firm to be smack dab in the middle of a hot spot which is the scene of a sub rosa civil war in Iraq today.

See my column at American Street.

What Are These Lobbyists Doing in Iraq?

What Are These Lobbyists Doing in Iraq?

“Kirkuk is Kurdistan; it does not belong to the Arabs,” Hamid Afandi, the minister of Peshmerga for the Kurdistan Democratic Party, one of the two major Kurdish groups, said in an interview at his office in the Kurdish city of Irbil. “If we can resolve this by talking, fine, but if not, then we will resolve it by fighting.”

- Kurds in Iraqi Army Proclaim Loyalty to Militia

By Tom Lasseter, Knight Ridder Newspapers

Read the quote above.

Note once again - closely - that it is a statement from a top representative of the Peshmerga for the Kurdistan Democratic party of Iraq. Note that he is threatening violence if his party doesn’t get its way in negotiations concerning the city of Kirkuk.

“Barbour Griffith & Rogers, was retained by the Kurdistan Democratic Party in July 2004 “to ensure that Iraqi Kurdistan maintains its autonomy from Baghdad in the new Iraq Government, and for the return of oil-rich Kirkuk — which Saddam Hussein had ‘Arabized’ as the capital of the region — to Kurdistan.”

Now read this statement from Turkish columnist Tulin Daloglu that appeared in the Washington Times on December 27:

Robert Blackwill, who served as deputy national security adviser and presidential envoy to Iraq during first Bush administration, sounded surprised at a recent Council of Foreign Relations event when he acknowledged the fact that “[M]ost of the economic development that’s happening in Kurdish Iraq is coming across the Turkish border.” He may be surprised because the lobbying firm he heads, Barbour Griffith & Rogers, was retained by the Kurdistan Democratic Party in July 2004 “to ensure that Iraqi Kurdistan maintains its autonomy from Baghdad in the new Iraq Government, and for the return of oil-rich Kirkuk — which Saddam Hussein had ‘Arabized’ as the capital of the region — to Kurdistan.”

A Washington, D.C . lobbyist is representing the Kurdistan Democratic party of Iraq to ensure that Kirkuk is returned to Kurdistan?!

Is that true?

How far does that representation go?

Who is this lobbyist firm influencing in Congress?

What does it have to do with the decisions that our Representatives make about the war in Iraq?

Is this lobbyist involvement resulting (directly or indirectly) in any degree of violence, international strain, or decisions made about our American troops in the Kirkuk area?

When does any of this become a conflict of national interest?

I’d really like to know.

Read more from Tom Lasseter’s Knight Ridder piece to understand how the political influence in Northern Iraq is working against U.S. Military efforts:

American military officials have said they’re trying to get a broader mix of sects in the Iraqi units. However, Col. Talib Naji, a Kurd serving in the Iraqi army on the edge of Kirkuk, said he would resist any attempts to dilute the Kurdish presence in his brigade. “The Ministry of Defense recently sent me 150 Arab soldiers from the south,” Naji said. “After two weeks of service, we sent them away.

The Barbour Griffith & Rogers International website states:

BGR International (BGRI) specializes in lobbying and communications strategies for governments and businesses seeking assistance in dealing with the often complex U.S. political and business decision-making processes; in promoting international business development and market penetration; in planning political and media campaigns, including public relations, message development, research polling, and advertising; and in analyzing the effects of major foreign policy trends. Success in international politics and business requires knowing the governmental and business decision-makers in Washington and in world capitals, as well as an appreciation of the political, economic, security, cultural and historic forces that shape their decisions.

An article titled Kurds Try To Invest 14 Tons of Cash was posted in the Financial Times over a year ago, on December 10th, 2004 - and it only provides a vague answer as to what this lobbyist’s representation is all about:

A Washington-based lobbying firm with strong ties to the US Republican party has been in talks with international banks to facilitate the placing by the Iraqi Kurds of more than half a billion dollars in cash. The money is part of $1.4bn in Iraqi oil revenues paid in cash by the US-led occupation authority to the Kurds in June 2004, just days before it handed power to an interim Iraqi government.

Barbour, Griffith & Rogers, a firm founded by two senior aides of President George H.W. Bush and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, is representing the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Washington. Robert Blackwill, until last month White House chief adviser on Iraq, has also joined the firm.

Ed Rogers, a founding partner, confirmed the firm was working for the Kurds but said it was not managing any money for them. “Know that BGR has no role in managing investments for the Kurds and the only comment about our role that we can make is what is listed in our foreign agent registration filing,” he wrote in an e-mail.

People familiar with the matter say that the firm has made inquiries about investing the cash, which is currently held at a Kurdish bank, in Switzerland. However, the efforts have been delayed as banks make checks on the provenance of the cash….A spokesman for the Kurdish Regional Government said the payment was part of $4.5bn in funds it claims the UN owes the region as part of the now defunct oil-for-food programme.

The United States is at war in Iraq today, and it seems that a Washington DC lobbyist firm is reaching into extremely dangerous territory in professionally assisting a foreign power with a political aim such as fighting for the powderkeg known as Kirkuk. The relationship between the high-powered lobbyists of Barbour, Griffith & Rogers and the Bush administration is politically incestuous. The timing of taking on the Kurdistan Democratic party of Iraq as a new client in July 2004 - when just the month before, June 2004, $1.4bn in Iraqi oil revenues was paid to the Kurds in cold hard cash by the US-led occupation authority raises a lot of questions. If these lobbyists aren’t involved in managing Kurdistan investments, what are they doing - and is what they are doing ethical and/or patriotic? Should this lobbyist firm be assisting a foreign political faction that is directly involved in war-time negotiations when our own troops are dying - and while a democratic settlement for a central government in Iraq is being sought by our own government?

Kirkuk

Kirkuk
American Citizens Deserve to Understand the Politics of Oil and the Territorial Demands of the Autononmous Kurds

"Kirkuk has been described, even by U.S. officials, as a “powder keg...."
- Blogrunner: Jude Nagurney Camwell

"What the Kurds want most of all is to control Northern Oil - part of the Iraqi National Oil Co, in charge of the oilfields west of Kirkuk. It is apparent that Sunni Arabs will not settle peaceably with the Kurds on this issue."
- Jude Nagurney Camwell, American Street (June, 2005)

This oil city is a tinderbox full of ethnic rivalries and hatreds, and it is coveted by the Kurks, who now may make up half of the city of Kirkuk.
- Juan Cole, Over 10,000 Sunnis, Secularists March in Baghdad against Election Results; Al-Hakim meets Kurdish Leaders

Kurdish leaders have inserted more than 10,000 of their militia members into Iraqi army divisions in northern Iraq to lay the groundwork to swarm south, seize the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and possibly half of Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, and secure the borders of an independent Kurdistan.
- CBS News - Keeping Iraq Intact

Kurdish leaders have inserted more than 10,000 of their militia members into Iraqi army divisions in northern Iraq to lay the groundwork to swarm south, seize the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and possibly half of Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, and secure the borders of an independent Kurdistan.
- Knight Ridder - Kurds prepare for civil war in Iraq

Kurds Are Flocking
to Kirkuk,
Laying Claim
to Land and Oil

Staff Sgt. Les Patterson was there, tracking squads on a radio from a base near Kirkuk, Iraq, and receiving the news that his friend, Sgt. 1st Class Ronald Wood, had been killed.
- Deseretnews.com - Forever changed: War in Iraq has had a major impact on lives of many Utahns

A "Two-State Solution?" Are We Looking at a New Middle East Hotbed of Ethnic Strife and Violence Between Arabs and Kurds?

[President of Iraq under the Iraqi Interim Government from 2004 to 2005] Ghazi al-Yawar told the Arab network: "It is a national betrayal by the Kurds. There is a freedom of opinion in Iraq but this does not mean that some people would try to speak about disintegrating Iraq. This is not something we could accept and we will counter this with all our power." Al-Yawar's comments came just two days after British Foreign Minister Jack Straw's visit..Many observers speculated that Straw traveled to pressure Kurdish leaders to give ground on the oil rich-city of Kirkuk, which Kurds want included in their domain. But the Kurdish Prime Minister, Nechivan Barzani threw cold water on such plans, telling reporters: "Our policy and stance is clear, we refuse to compromise on any grounds regarding Kirkuk.

The people themselves on the ground – they watch al-Jazeera and they see that the rights of Palestinians are being discussed at the United Nations," explains Kani Xulam, director of the American Kurdish Information Network in Washington. "When somebody like Colin Powell says there should be a two-state solution, that translates into Kurds asking, 'Why can't there be a two-state solution to the Arabs and Kurds in Iraq, too?'"
- Kurdistan Observer - Kirkuk About to Explode? (October 2004

In the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk, the insurgent group Ansar al-Sunna left leaflets at several gas stations warning employees not to charge the higher prices and describing them as "apostates," or lapsed Muslims. "We have been threatened with kidnapping and death because they think we are serving the government officials, but in fact we are serving the people," said Issa Abdullah Hadidi, who has run the Uqba Ibn Nafi gas station in the southern part of the city for 20 years. He said he has never felt so endangered.
- WaPo, At Gas Stations in Iraq, Price Hike Fuels Outrage

A united Iraq? No, a united Kurdistan..Should the Kurds push for independence, Kirkuk and its oil would be a key economic engine.
- Steve Gilliard, blogger,commenting on Kurds preparing takeover; U.S. exit strategy at risk

"Kirkuk is Kurdistan; it does not belong to the Arabs," Hamid Afandi, the minister of Peshmerga for the Kurdistan Democratic Party, one of the two major Kurdish groups, said in an interview at his office in the Kurdish city of Irbil. "If we can resolve this by talking, fine, but if not, then we will resolve it by fighting."
-Kurds in Iraqi Army Proclaim Loyalty to Militia

Adhaim, 70 km (45 miles) north of Baghdad on the main road to the flashpoint city of Kirkuk, is violent. Nineteen Iraqi troops were killed there on Dec. 3 when a joint patrol with U.S. forces was ambushed. Both al Qaeda-linked Islamist groups and more secular, nationalist groups have been active in the region.
- Reuters - 3 Iraqi troops killed; Rumsfeld signals pullback

Turkmen sources in Kirkuk said these lands belonged to their own ethnic people before the former regime pushed them out or executed their members, after which the lands were excavated with bulldozers. The issue of the city remains the main obstacle to reaching a consensus on the new Iraqi constitution being drawn up by a special commission, as Kurds insist that all their people who were deported to return to the city.
- Science Daily - Tension grows in Iraq's Kirkuk (August 2005)

Attacks, assassinations and bombings are routine in Kirkuk province in the north, a volatile mixture of Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs engaged in a subterranean battle for dominance of the area's oil fields.
- Juan Cole, Top Ten Myths about Iraq in 2005

While in Kirkuk, [US Army Infantryman Nick]Johnson saw many Kurds returning to that city after having been exiled from their homes under Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. They would return to their home city without a job or a place to live, just to be "home." "The Kurds loved the Americans and have a deep loyalty to us and the kids love us too; they would chase us all around," Johnson said.
- Reno Gazette Journal - A soldier's perspective on Iraq: We are winning and should stay

An Iraqi official in the disputed city of Kirkuk accused Kurds of cheating in Thursday's election, saying thousands had been bussed in to swell the Kurdish vote. Kurds denied the charge... The future of Kirkuk, at the heart of the northern oil industry, is one of the most emotionally charged issues in Iraq. Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen all claim historical rights to the ancient city 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad.
- Reuters - In Iraq's disputed Kirkuk, voting highly sensitive

The problem with the U.S. Staying in Iraq:
One Man's "Democratic Government" May Be Another Man's "Regime":

Yousif Mitty, the founder and director of the Evangelical Church of Iraq, is in the United States as a speaker at several engagements..The Mittys lived in Kirkuk, just south of the United Nations no-fly zone in Iraq..Leaving everything behind, the couple made a "quick decision" to flee Kirkuk and reside in Kurdistan, where they continue to teach the word of God..Yousif Mitty, who is a geologist with Northern Oil, himself served 10 years in Saddam's army during the Iraq-Iran War. "It's not an option," he said. "It's not volunteer." Yousif Mitty said a large number of Iraqi citizens are against the withdrawal of American troops for fear insurgents will rise up and create another dictatorship. "Praise the Lord, through American help we got rid of Saddam's regime, but we do not want another regime," he said.
- Pheonixville News - Missionaries from Iraq pay visit to Valley Forge

Using 9/11
The Long Strrrrrrretch: Civil War in Northern Iraq was Necessitated by the Actions of 15 Saudi Nationals?

In Kirkuk, I met with leaders of the Sunni, Kurdish and Shiite communities who are working to build a government. They expressed concern about outsiders coming in through Syria and thanked us for what we are doing for them and their country...We must never forget that on Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacked America and killed nearly 3,000 innocent people.
- John Shadegg, Republican US Congressman from Arizona

Headlines

Headlines

National:

+ House Judiciary Democrats issue report alleging gross misconduct by Bush over Iraq
RAW STORY has reproduced the executive summary of the report.

+ Workers in New Orleans Denied Pay, Proper Housing and Threatened with Deportation
Tina Susman, a reporter for Newsday, followed the case of a group of homeless men from Atlanta who went to New Orleans to work and never got paid.

+ Vet's Own Sign Saying: "Remember the Fallen Heroes" Bugs Military Recruiters
NYT: "As those thinking of becoming soldiers arrive on the slushy doorstep of the Army recruiting station here [Duluth, MN], they cannot miss the message posted in bold black letters on the storefront right next door...."
Editor and Publisher: Fallen soldiers should be on page One of newspapers.



Entertainment:

+ "The Book Of Daniel"
New NBC TV Show About Christians with real-life problems is not 'wholesome' or 'serious' enough for the AFA.


Travel

+ In Alabama, a Poor County Is Rich in Modern Architecture
"Newbern Mercantile may sell bullets, peach Nehi and souse (pickled pig snout), but the firehouse is the height of urban sophistication, with walls of polycarbonate that shimmer every time a car goes by."


International:

+ Mossad Chief Says Iran Two Years From Nuclear Bomb
Haaretz: Mossad chief Meir Dagan stresses the importance of a diplomatic effort aimed at preventing or at least delaying Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons, along with the importance of the United Nations Security Council implementing economic sanctions against Iran.

+ Russian Parliament Approves Curb on NGOs
AP (at Burlington Free Press):
Critics say this threatens the future of human rights groups and others that the Kremlin considers to be possible opponents.



Opinion Excerpts:

+ Jeffrey Sachs

There was a lot of talk this year about ending extreme poverty...But these words have yet to make a discernible difference for the hungry, destitute and dying. Action needs to proceed at every level, from the local to the national and the international. Every big player in this drama needs to be held accountable for their actions. At the end of next year, each must be asked a single question: what did you do this year to end extreme poverty?
- "It is time for words to give way to meaningful action" (Financial Times - subsc req)

+ EJ Dionne Jr:

The recent budget bill, which squeaked through the House and Senate just before Christmas, is a road map of insider dealing. It shows that when choices have to be made, the interests of the poor and the middle class fall before the wishes of interest groups with powerful lobbies and awesome piles of campaign money to distribute.
- WaPo

+ Jim Hoagland:

Bush is unintentionally driving together a centrist group of responsible Republican and Democratic critics in Congress to pressure him -- to check and balance him, if you will -- on war policy, civil liberties, torture and other contentious issues
- Wapo

+ Andrew Erdmann:

So far, many Americans who opposed the war have not extended a helping hand to the Iraqi people in its aftermath. Others sit on the fence. With elections under a new Constitution, the time has come to focus on Iraq's future and put aside the politics of the past.
-"After Withdrawal, Engagement" (Times Select subscription required)

+ Russia's anti-West offensive

Nobody denies a government's right to regulate nongovernmental organizations. But this law was written largely to weaken Western support for democratic movements in Ukraine and other former Soviet republics.
- IHT editorial

+ Al-Ahram Weekly (Cairo):

The dream of freeing the Middle East, in its entirety, of all weapons of mass destruction should not lose its holistic character. Attempts or proposals forwarded by Western and regional powers -- or regional parties on behalf of international players -- to divide the issue up into separate parts are certain to harm the collective interest of the region in attaining comprehensive security and stability.
- "Denuclearise the entire Middle East"

Tar Heel Tavern #44

Tar Heel Tavern #44

This week's edition of the Tar Heel Tavern can be seen at Pratie Place. Don't miss Jane's offering of free downloadable Holiday music while you're visiting her site.

Bora asks:

How would mandatory blogging (in schools) affect the level of reading and writing among the kids?

Dave hopes that during this season, people will think about what it is to resurrect, and why it is important to allow others to resurrect.

_____________

Other Places

+ Because I enjoyed it so much and because it is tied in with the Christmas theme, I am linking Benny's post as an honorary Tar-Heeler.

+ I laughed at Rising Hegemon's spoof on Fox News' Christmas wars. [Related: "Five to the Egg Noggin" photo] This is waaaaay too close to reality! When I think of the American minds bamboozled by the 'fair and balanced' Fox News, I think: "Oh - the HumeHannity!" (credit for "humehannity" goes to Anonymoses).

+ A big shout-out to the community of Steubenville, Ohio today, for the work they've supported at the Unity Kitchen (Urban Mission) They're not even close to making ends meet, but they're doing what I consider to be God's work. Committed to serving the low income population without regard for age, race, nationality, gender, religious belief or other distinguishing characteristics, volunteers gave 52,868 hours of service to Urban Mission in 2004. The Steubenville-Weirton area of Ohio/West Virginia, posted the second to the largest unemployment increase (+2.5 points) in the nation in 2003. They experienced large declines in manufacturing employment over the year, contributing to increased unemployment. See "The Economy At A Glance" [US Dept of Labor]. In October of 2005 there was a whopping 7.4 rate of unemployment in the area with a
very sad and revealing -12.8% in the 12-month percentage change in Manufacturing. These are the kinds of communities in most need of government attention, and the thought of the recent "belt-tightening" news from Congress has to make this community feel like a noose has been tightened around their necks.

See a related story - The Glory and the Gutting: Steeler Nation and the Humiliation of Pittsburgh by Charles McCollester (director of the Pennsylvania Center for the Study of Labor Relations at Indiana University of Pennsylvania):

The steel rust-belt area from Youngstown, Ohio to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, centered in Pittsburgh and strewn with once mighty but now financially broken towns like Aliquippa, Braddock, Newcastle, Steubenville, Sharon, McKees Rocks, and Duquesne, is sinking into spiritual and financial bankruptcy. Workshops have given way to prisons and malls. Now gambling is hailed as economic salvation by the elites who presided over the region’s economic collapse.

My Uncle Billy Was a Real-Life War Hero

My Uncle Billy Was
a Real-Life War Hero

My Uncle William Johnson Hart fought bravely in WWII. He was a rear-gunner on a Boeing Flying Fortress (B-17). He was trained in gunner school in Nevada at what is known as Nellis AFB today. Former actor (and President) Ronald Reagan played a guy like my Unle Billy in a movie (short) called "The Rear Gunner." Billy's plane was shot down over Germany in 1943, the pilot was killed, and young Billy parachuted to safety.


My hero Billy

He landed in a farmer's field and was taken to a local home for questioning. As a child, I remember him telling me that the farmer was kind to him - treated him like a human being. He was sent to Stalag - Luft 3 in 1943 and was held prisoner there for most of WWII. (Stalag 3 was the setting for the Steve McQueen film "The Great Escape".) My mother was ten years old at the time and she used to tell me about the long, long wait and the anguish of her mother (my grandmother) - for nearly four months - not knowing if Billy was dead or alive. One day a letter came. More would follow, but there was usually a four-month lag time. Here is one of the post cards they received, written in February 1944; received (as my grandmother wrote on the card) in June of that same year:

February 20, 1944,
from Stalag Luft 3 Germany

Dear Mom,

I hope by now that you have received some mail from me. Everything is OK here and I'm feeling fine, hope you are all OK too.
Give my love to everybody and if you have some snapshots of the family I hope you will send them to your loving son.

Billy

Billy made it back home, but he died too early of heart problems just after he'd turned 50. He never let his years of imprisonment get him down. He always looked at the brighter side of things, and he said his German imprisoners treated him with dignity. Unfortunately, Billy realized part of the reason for his kind treatment by the Nazis was because he was white, Christian, and partly of German descent. Soviet prisoners received far more inhumane treatment, as did Jews and others of ethnicities or religion that were not to the Nazis' political "liking." It was beyond moral understanding that one human could treat another so discriminatingly - and so unjustly. Yet, he and his family were grateful that he was not tortured or killed. It was a paradox of injustice that Billy and his family grappled with for the rest of their lives (to this day, it's made all of us extremely wary of any form of discrimination or prejudice) - and it reinforced Billy's belief in the cause in which he was engaged.

I was not a strong swimmer as a kid. I remember how Billy once jokingly told me that if I fell into deep water, to sink to the bottom, then "run like hell." What a visual. I laugh about it to this day.

It was the saddest day of my childhood, saying goodbye to Uncle Billy. His was the first funeral I'd ever attended, and I loved him - the stories he'd tell - the cocky smile on his handsome face. While he was no superhuman martyr - he missed his family as anyone would - he never had regret for a day he spent in that Stalag because he felt that he was doing it for his brothers-in-arms and his fellow countrymen. He left a spirit in my heart for this country - and its people - that will never die. He left a hole where his bright personality used to be. I miss him to this day.

Munich Review

Munich Review

"We cannot avoid using power, cannot escape the compulsion to aflict the world so let us, cautious in diction and mighty in contradiction, love powerfully."

- Martin Buber

I went to see Munich - it's a powerful film. Steven Spielberg spins a cautionary tale about politics, hatred, longing, vengeance, cold-blooded murder, the great power of the bonds between Jews, a love for one's own immediate family, a reverence for the soul of Judaism, and the human side of the Palestinian and Israeli longing for home and place - all without offending. I think that's the part that requires a touch of genius - to not offend or harm Israel. It is a story about Israeli (Mossad) agents who were sent to Europe to assassinate Palestinian activists after the Munich murders of Israeli athletes by Black September terrorists at the 1972 Olympics. Even though there are reminders that it's not factually sound and that the story has been embellished to help make its point, it is the message that counts.

The message is a cry for peace - and art can be a great tool for convincing the public that hatred begets hatred - that every killing is answered with a killing and the cycle never ends. Reconciliation is abandoned and people hate one another more than they love peace. Children are raised to hate "the other" rather than remembering and respecting the virtue of the values, learned through faith and community traditions, that "the other" is really "us."

We are all brothers and sisters under the skin and beyond all ethnic claims - and land claims.

The troubles go back further than Munich - it's a tale as old as time. Jewish theologian and philosopher Martin Buber was aghast upon learning about the attack on the Arab village of Deir Yassin early in the morning of April 9 1948, west of Jerusalem. Some 100 Palestinians (mainly old men, women and children) were killed when commandos of the Irgun (headed by Menachem Begin) and Lehi guerrilla groups, with the help of a small elite unit from the main Jewish defence organisation, the Haganah, led the attack. Buber called it a called it "a black stain on the honour of the Jewish nation" and "a warning to our people that no practical military needs may ever justify such acts of murder".

In 2002, the Guardian's Ann Karpf wrote:

Deir Yassin is important not only because it launched a cycle of violence and counterviolence (two days later an Arab ambush killed 77 Jewish doctors, nurses and medical students) that has been the pattern ever since, so that we can no longer tell what is a reprisal for what. But also because it has come to symbolise the Palestinian dispossession.

National theology and religious theology are never morally compatible. There will not be a logical spiritual reconciliation for many of the political decisions made by a nation's leaders in matters of national security. I think there is a danger when any nation uses religion or tribalism to justify murder. At the end of Munich, you see a haunting image. It is the New York City skyline, and the World Trade Center towers stand straight and tall. You get an immediate sense of understanding the consequences of politics; hatred; longing; vengeance; cold-blooded murder; the great power of the bonds between people of any one religious group, tribe, or nation; a love for one's own immediate family; a reverence for the soul of religion; and the human side of the Palestinian and Israeli longing for home and place.

Steven Spielberg has said this about his film:

"By experiencing how the implacable resolve of these men to succeed in their mission slowly gave way to troubling doubts about what they were doing, I think we can learn something important about the tragic stand-off we find ourselves in today."

French actor of Amelie fame Mathieu Kassovitz was my favorite in this film. He played an Israeli named Robert, who was a Belgian toy maker turned "explosive expert."

Talking God's Politics with Jim Wallis, John and Elizabeth Edwards

Talking God's Politics with Jim Wallis, Senator John and Elizabeth Edwards
Senator John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth Edwards recently sat down and talked with author Jim Wallis about his book, God's Politics.
Go here to listen to their conversation. (It's the first of a two-part conversation).

You can discuss it here at One America.

Ritter Dismantles Hitchens

Ritter Dismantles Hitchens
A must-read.

Bob Geiger (Yellow Dog Democrat) met Scott Ritter and got to spend a few minutes with him after attending a debate on the Iraq war between him and neoconservative apologist Scrooge Christopher Hitchens Tuesday night, where he "dismantled Hitchens in front of a crowd of perhaps 600 people."

*A tip of the hat to Crooks and Liars

_______________

See Scott Ritter's transcribed comments from a November 17, 2005 appearance in Amherst, MA:

"No President is going to allow the national security of the United States of America to be held hostage by the United Nations, and, as distasteful as war is, the President has no choice but to engage in a war with Iran. That’s why we’re going to war, ladies and gentlemen. The President wants it......

This war, ladies and gentlemen, has a good chance of beginning in 2007. What are you going to do, peace movement? What are you going to do? Sit back and go, ‘oh my God, this is too much to think about. I’m going to hit the delete button and pretend that Ritter never spoke.’ Or do what others do? ‘Na, he’s a crazy wild man. Na, I’m not buying into that garbage. We’re just going to move on thinking that Iraq’s bad and they’ll never going on into Iran.’ Study the facts I’ve just put on the table. You will not contradict a single one of them. You cannot contradict a single one of them because they are facts. I’m not making it up. It’s all based on written and spoken statements made by Bush administration officials, past and present.

What are you going to do? Wait for congress to do the right thing? Congress has already sold out. Congress isn’t going to oppose this President. Congress has already bought into the notion of the Iranian threat. What are you going to do? One thing you can do is change congress, and you have a window of opportunity. The 2006 election may well go down in history as one of the most critical elections that this country has ever faced..."

Republicans Turning VA Benefits into Welfare

Republicans Turning VA Benefits into Welfare

Immoral government stretches its ugly fingers into Veteran's Benefits. War Vets should be honored - not just because they're walking around with one arm or half a face or a troubled mind - - but because they proudly and loyally served our nation!

Republicans are trying to turn VA benefits into welfare! With this type of thinking, we will soon be blaming our Vets for their own poverty, along with every other citizen we unjustly blame for being unable to find or afford their boots or their bootstraps, let alone pull themselves up by them!

From an opinion at Military.com:

....the biggest blow to veterans came when Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) was removed as Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Smith was universally respected as a friend to veterans and a fighter for increased benefits, but strayed from the official Party line one too many times. Not only did he lose the chairmanship, he was removed from the Committee.

Smith has been replaced by Steve Buyer (R-IN). In his first few days as Committee Chair Buyer has managed to offend every veteran's group in the country. At a time when every veteran knows the VA needs more funding, Buyer said,

"I want to modernize the system. I am not a defender of bloated bureaucracies." Buyer then went on to paint a perfectly clear picture of the VA of the future: "Some of the veterans service organizations, they are having this belief that everyone should have open access to the VA system, when in fact I believe that the VA system should follow its core constituency and the intent of Congress when we laid out our priorities, and that was in fact to take care of our disabled and indigent veterans first."

This was NOT an off-the-cuff remark by Rep. Buyer. He was placed in his position by the Republican Party leadership and speaks for the Party who answers to the White House. Buyer speaks the gospel and gets his sermons right from the Top.

The most important part of Buyer's remarks is his deliberate "welfarizing" of the VA healthcare system. By telling us the priority of the VA is to care for "disabled and indigent" veterans first, he minimizes and denigrates the sacrifices made by ALL veterans. The VA was set up to serve ALL veterans including the "disabled and indigent." This careful positioning of the VA healthcare system creates the impression that the VA is a welfare program and veterans are just looking for a "handout." Also, it's easy to talk about the "intent" of a previous Congress when your goal is to undo what they have done. And the remark about "core constituency" is just plain outlandish. The VA serves ALL veterans.

It's no wonder they are reacting this way! According to Asheville's Scrutiny Hooligans, Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi stepped down earlier this month because of a growing scandal surrounding the use of uranium munitions in the Iraq War:

"By the year 2000, there were 325,000 on Permanent Medical Disability. This astounding number of ‘Disabled Vets’ means that a decade later, 56% of those soldiers who served have some form of permanent medical problems!” [My emphasis] The disability rate for the wars of the last century was 5 percent; it was higher, 10 percent, in Viet Nam."

Cheney Puts Final Senate Stamp on Immoral Budget

"House Republicans are home now decrying the “War on Christmas,” their houses festooned with lights and pretty red bows. It’s hard not to wonder if their Christmas spirit is blunted at all by the big lump of coal they recently gave America’s poor and working families. Republicans have wished the nation’s least privileged citizens a "Merry Christmas" by whacking our already anemic social safety net system."

- Karen Dolan, Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies [TomPaine.com - Tiny Tim v. Scrooge]

Cheney Puts Final Senate Stamp on Immoral Budget
Cheney Breaks Tie to Pass Spending Cuts


"Bah Humbug!"


_______________________



Jim Wallis in Washington D.C.

"Our basic moral principles tell us that caring for the vulnerable should be our first order of business before we provide more to the wealthiest."

- Rev. Jim Wallis, Sojo.net

________________

Senate Roll Call Vote on Deficit Cut
No Democrats voted "YES".
Kudos to Republicans who voted their moral conscience: Lincoln Chafee, R.I.; Susan Collins, Maine; Mike DeWine, Ohio; Gordon Smith, Ore.; Olympia Snowe, Maine, along with one Independent: Jim Jeffords, Vt.



+ The truth from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorites:
Assessing the Effects of the Budget Conference Agreement on Low-Income Families and Individuals

+ Catherine Dodge/Bloomberg News:
U.S. Senate Approves $39.7 Bln in Cuts to Benefit Programs


+ LATimes.com: Spending Cuts Would Barely Trim Deficit

With Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) slamming the package as "a bill Scrooge would love," all 44 Democrats and one independent were expected to [and did] oppose it...

...Much of the criticism of the measure came from groups speaking for the poor, the elderly and college students.

"The provisions … would cause considerable hardship among low-income families and people who are elderly or have disabilities," said the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Medicaid recipients, particularly those just above the poverty line, would have to pay more for their healthcare or accept fewer medical services. Some could be forced to pay as much as $100 for services that now cost $3, the center said.

For elderly and disabled Medicare recipients, the premium that covers visits to the doctor would be increased.

Heckuva job, Dick 'n Dubya.

The American public shares the blame for this immoral budget.

Our political leaders talk a good talk about alleviating the conditions that lead to poverty, but after election day, we see little action. Poverty increases in our communities by the year.

Pro-rich policies are passed by the Republican party, who have been elected by a majority of Americans who attend church services on a regular basis. How does that make sense? Was Jesus pro-rich? Is God pro-rich?

We hear a lot of empty talk about values - but what about the values being represented by this clearly immoral budget? Where are Americans of faith in this debate? There is virtually no discussion or debate in the public square about the moral values that would guide our Representatives to reconcile public policy with social justice. What good are values when we toss them aside?

- In the middle class churches today, what is being touted as good, noble, and lofty? Why are the poor so often blamed for their own poverty?

- Is the middle class so removed, both literally and figuratively, from the urban and rural poor that they have forgotten the importance of God's calling to serve the poor?

- We may never realize the full alleviation of poverty, but does that spiritually excuse us from trying to address such problems?

- Why are there literally thousands of references to poverty and/or serving the poor throughout the Bible, yet the Christian Right supports the policies of George W. Bush and his 'rubber-stamp Republicans?'

- What about man's propensity for social injustice, selfishness, greed, and prejudice? Why isn't the Church talking about committing to economic justice and reconciliation in our congregations and communities?

These are questions we need to ask ourselves - especially as the Holiday season is upon us.

"Peace on earth - good will to men?"
Not with this budget.

_____________


Note: The budget reconciliation measure must now return to the House after the Senate failed to overturn a Democratic point of order against the bill that makes a minor change to the legislation. After the House and Senate each pass a version of the reconciliation bill, members from each chamber will meet in a conference committee to produce a final bill. After both chambers approve this final version, it will be sent to the president for his signature.

"Wartime President"

"Wartime President"

Kevin Drum asks:

What is ‘wartime’? Is George Bush really a ‘wartime president,’ as he's so fond of calling himself? Conservatives take it for granted that he is, while liberals tend to avoid the subject entirely for fear of being thought unserious about the War on Terror. But it's something that ought be brought up and discussed openly.”

When we look back at the George W. Bush presidency, the word "wartime" will have had a suspicious tinge to it, just like the legitimacy of his election to the presidency in 2000 will always have an overshadowing of fraudulence. Learning about these domestic wiretaps has only increased the public's already skeptical (and ever-declining) view of the level of ethics and honesty in the government under Bush.

NYT columnist Paul Krugman [nytimes.com] put it this way:

"One way or another, the Bush administration will stagger on for three more years. But its essential fraudulence stands exposed, and it's hard to see how that exposure can be undone.

What do I mean by essential fraudulence? Basically, I mean the way an administration with an almost unbroken record of policy failure has nonetheless achieved political dominance through a carefully cultivated set of myths. The record of policy failure is truly remarkable. It sometimes seems as if President Bush and Mr. Cheney are Midases in reverse: everything they touch - from Iraq reconstruction to hurricane relief, from prescription drug coverage to the pursuit of Osama - turns to crud...

I hear right-leaning ideologues lately telling us to forget how the war was begun - and to look ahead. In other words, "don't look back." And yet, how can we forget that this war was, when all was said and done, completely unnecessary? How can we forget that fact when we hear Bush calling himself a "wartime president" every time he makes excuses for acting as if he's entitled to unchecked power - like a monarch or a dictator?

David Brooks tells us that

"...the Democratic Party's loudest voices are in the grip of passions that render them untrustworthy..."

The "passions" of which he speaks revolve around the proven failures of truth - the bona fide trust-damaging acts of this "war president," in whom a nation NEEDS to trust, because it is paramount in a democracy to trust a commander in chief. It's all about sending our own sons and daughters to war - or deciding to risk our own lives under a "war president" whose integrity is all-important. We trust with the blood of our own families - the flesh of our flesh. I can't imagine anything greater about which to get passionate. How about you?




Tip of the hat to Joe Clarke

Why Did He Come?

A Christmas message from the National Council of Churches

Why Did He Come?
The answer, in His own words:



Rev. Bob Edgar
General Secretary
National Council of Churches USA

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

For the Peace of the World:
A Christian Cirriculum on International Relations

Is America God's Favorite Nation?

Headlines

Headlines

Bush

Anonymoses: Bush: “the first President to admit to an impeachable offense.” [so says John Dean]


Iraq

New Perspectives Quarterly: An interview with Madeleine Albright



The Year 2005

Swans: 2005 - A Year in Review

Mercury News: Best CDs of 2005

Seattle Times: Best Books of 2005

Christian Science Monitor: Best Fiction 2005

MSNBC/John Hartl: Best Films of 2005

SFGate: Best Music of 2005




Journalism

Brad DeLong: Dan Froomkin Writes to Jay Rosen

Larry Beinhart: Deconstructing David Brooks

Alternet Interview about Larry Beinhart's New Book: "Fog Facts: Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin."



Religion

Spero News: Christian peacemakers doubt Iraq war being won

Religion News Blog: Long-lost Gospel of Judas to be published


Entertainment

Tristram Shandy - A Cock & Bull Story
[review] - [trailer] - [movie website] - In theatres January 27th.

Peace, Poverty Mocked by Bushworld

Peace, Poverty Mocked by Bushworld
At Christmas, the biblical prophet Micah's words of of Peace, Love, and Mercy are betrayed by an unforgiving national theology

Christmas Spirit Mocked by World of War, Torture
by Caroline Arnold

Excerpt:

Wouldn’t President Santa announce Peace on Earth beginning immediately with an end to bombing Iraq and the withdrawal of American troops? Wouldn’t he stop all torture without exception. Wouldn’t he take responsibility for reducing our WMDs and addressing global warming? And wouldn’t he call for a Christmas amnesty for detainees at Guantanamo Bay and in the CIA’s secret prisons?

If Santa’s elves were in Congress wouldn’t they hear the angels’ song of Peace on Earth, and seek mercy for the poor and oppressed instead of tax cuts for the rich and war for the victims of tyranny?

With Santa leading the free world wouldn’t the Great Kings of Oil, Pharmaceuticals and Finance want to bring substantial gifts to the least among us – adequate food, clean water, medicine for AIDS, malaria and preventable diseases, technology/tools/ information, renewable energy supplies, stable livelihoods, sustainable ecologies, and self-determination?

And wouldn’t all of us poor shepherds pitch in to make sure all children on earth had homes, healthy air, water and food, education, and hopes of things Bright and Beautiful?

Do justice, seek mercy, and walk humbly. It’s Christmas.

*Tip o' the hat to Carlos at Jesus Politics, who is bewildered and incredulous this year at the perversion of Christmas by George W. Bush.

Bush Press Conference

Bush Press Conference

Here's the official transcript.

Excerpts:

Most provacative press corps question:

I wonder if you can tell us today, sir, what, if any, limits you believe there are or should be on the powers of a President during a war, at wartime? And if the global war on terror is going to last for decades, as has been forecast, does that mean that we're going to see, therefore, a more or less permanent expansion of the unchecked power of the executive in American society?

PRESIDENT (Downplaying relevance of WMD):

..I gave a speech prior to the liberation of Iraq, when I talked about a broader strategic objective, which is the establishment of democracy. And I've talked about democracy in Iraq. Certainly it's not the only rationale; I'm not claiming that. But I also want you to review that speech so that you get a sense for not only the desire to remove a threat, but also the desire to help establish democracy.

The President's hopes for 2006 (but don't ask him too much about Iraq, chump!)

Q: Looking ahead to this time next year, what are the top three or top five -- take your pick -- accomplishments that you hope to have achieved? And in particular, what is your best-case scenario for troop levels in Iraq at this time next year?

PRESIDENT: I hope the world is more peaceful. I hope democracy continues to take root around the world. And I hope people are able to find jobs...I want New Orleans and Mississippi to be better places...one of my hopes is, is that people are able to find hope and optimism after the Katrina disaster down there, that people's lives get up and running again, that people see a brighter future. I've got a lot of hopes, and I'm looking forward to working with Congress to get those -- to achieve some big goals.......I hope by now you've discovered something about me, that when I say we're not going to have artificial timetables of withdrawal, and/or try to get me out on a limb on what the troop levels will look like..
..Nice try. End of your try.

On the President Bush Oval Office Speech

"Deer Bush - We're listening,
our ears are poised for your
insightful new revelations,
but you just aren't speaking to us."

On the President Bush
Oval Office Speech

I appreciated the tone of the President's speech tonight, and I am one of those non-defeatist, sincere critics of whom he spoke. I think I'm one of few bloggers who have actually put forward a moral vision to counter my criticisms.

The speech sounded like a constant plea for us to believe we're not losing in Iraq. Which means we are losing in Iraq. What did the president offer to convince us we're winners in Iraq today? An admission that he has made life-taking errors and his word that he has learned from those dreadful mistakes. Soon, the Pentagon will ask for another hundred billion dollars from Congress. Was this speech worth another one hundred billion of our tax dollars? Not if you ask me. The Oval Office has proven itself to be incompetent.

President Bush needs to internationalize this effort - making his plan for the defeat of terror in this world a multilateral goal - a unified front with alternatives to military occupation rather than a unilateral war-only goal. This Middle East intervention was never meant for America to handle alone. We're currently looking at a small, well-paid coalition of limited nations that has grown smaller and will likely disappear in 2006. With that coalition dissipated, we are looking at a future of severely impractical goals for our troops to handle alone. If we love those troops and if we want their morale to soar, let's tell them they're coming home. Let's create a vision to end terrorism that the world will rally around. Let's talk about a success we can all get behind.

Until I hear a hint of that, President Bush's fine talk is vain - "like sounding brass and hopeless gain."

The use of Longfellow's "....the right prevail with peace on earth good will to men.." was insulting to my Christian sensibility. The sadness of this song reflected HW Longfellow's bitter feelings about the Civil war because it divided the nation (I wonder how he'd feel about our divided nation and the lack of peace on earth today because of America's elective war?) I don't think any of us should be using Longfellow's heartfelt words for politics- that's a cheap Christmas stunt. The song calls only for peace. Our nation is not at peace this year - not even close. We're being told to expect more death and violence.

_______________

+ Most blatant false choice:

From the Bush speech:

"My conviction is this: We do not create terrorists by fighting them. We invite terrorism by ignoring them.."

There's more way than one to reduce terrorism.


+ I thought terrorists hated a free society!?

From the Bush speech:

"Behind the images of chaos that the terrorists create for the cameras, we are making steady gains..."

Judging from public poll results revealing a lack confidence in the leadership of the Iraq war, "steady gains" must not be camera-friendly or ratings-worthy. Say! What was all that embedded journalism about - if not a creation for cameras? Whatever happened to the embedded stories?


+ Most false political labeling:

From the Bush speech:

"Defeatism may have its partisan uses, but it is not justified by the facts..."

Most dissent about this war has been intelligent, concerned, and constructive. For example, there is nothing partisan about a Roman Catholic who trusts the Pope's leadership in saying this war was immoral and unjust. There is nothing defeatist about understanding the cause in which the nation is engaged, but expecting a moral and civil approach to that engagement. There is nothing defeatist about searching for alternatives to "the course." On Monday, Dec. 19, the president said to a member of the press corps who asked about the government spying on its citizens (FISA):

"If I were you I'd be asking these questions, too."

If that's true, why does he turn around and call those who ask similar questions "defeatists?" It's nothing but politically disingenuous.

+ President Bush: It's not "what you'll allow"..it's HOW you'll do it!

From the Bush speech:

"To retreat before victory would be an act of recklesseness and dishonor, and I will not allow it...."

I'm certain that Republican Senator John Warner would disagree with this statement. The word "victory" may come back to bite the President in the butt.

From a great PBS discussion on November 30th:

JIM LEHRER: Do you believe then, Senator, if I hear you correctly, that forget this word "victory" and substitute "successful mission"?

SEN. JOHN WARNER: Well, that's just one senator's view. I guess I've been around too long and been in too many experiences over the past half century...The last real victory was World War II. I was a young sailor then in the training phases of that war. And I remember the outpouring after VE Day and VJ Day into the streets of America and the parades. But then I also served in Korea with the Marines. And I remember coming home and people really didn't want to know where we were.

There's an honest debate in this country about how we got into this war and how we have failed to achieve success in many missions. Bush says he's changing his strategy and tactics as he learns from mistakes on the ground. It's not "what he'll allow" that's important, but HOW he'll achieve success in various missions.


+ Victory is a word that no two people can define in the same way when they speak about our engagement in Iraq.

From the Bush speech:

"Our forces in Iraq are on the road to victory, and that is the road that will lead them home..."

Senator Jack Reed commented on November 30:

"...this notion of a complete victory is too amorphous. I think it's too amorphous for the military commanders. They want an objective that is clear-cut, that is in some respects measurable. And the president alluded to that in some respects when he talked about a stable country, one that's not going to collapse because of internal division, and one also that's not going to offer a haven to terrorists.

Those are I think more achievable objectives but once again it undercuts the president's more grandiose theme of this democratic transformation of the Middle East. But I think that's a more clear-cut objective. I think you can plan for that. I think also you can dedicate resources. And I also agree with the chairman in that this is not just a military strategy. It has to have an economic component and it has to have a political component. We've made progress, but I don't think we've made the kind of progress in the political field and the economic field that is going to complement our military efforts...

...there's still a huge challenge. And that challenge is not so much technical training. It's building a reliable, professional corps of leaders that will support the government of Iraq and not be swayed by sectarian or community issues because of the nature of Iraq.

Rep John Murtha in an interview with Laura Rozen on "victory":

There are only two positions—the president’s position and my position. Whatever else is in-between. We have 96 congressmen on the resolution [calling for redeployment]. I sent a nine-page letter talking about why I decided to do this, and how strongly I feel about it. They had no hearings. They keep trying to undermine what I’m doing with rhetoric and false resolutions—the resolution on floor today [Friday]—I want them to address this from a standpoint of substance, of experience. I believe that the policy of the president—total victory—is not a policy. I believe that is a flawed policy wrapped in an illusion. And I believe that there’s no end to it, that we will be there 10 to 15 years.

Look at this question from a Bush press conference on December 18th, the day after his Oval Office speech. Look at how the word "victory" is used, and look at Bush's reasoning for staying.:

Q: Mr. President, you said last night that there were only two options in Iraq -- withdraw or victory. And you asked Americans, especially opponents of the war, to reject partisan politics. Do you really expect congressional Democrats to end their partisan warfare and embrace your war strategy? And what can you do about that to make that happen?

THE PRESIDENT: Actually, I said that victory in Iraq is much larger than a person, a President, or a political party. And I've had some good visits with Senate and House Democrats about the way forward. They share the same concerns I share. You know, they want our troops out of Iraq as quickly as possible, but they don't want to do so without achieving a victory....there are some in this country that believe, strongly believe that we ought to get out now...It's a wrong strategy, and I'd like to tell you again why...democracy is hopeful and optimistic...I can't think of anything more dispiriting to a kid [American troop] risking his or her life than to see decisions made based upon politics...it sends the wrong signal to the enemy. It just says, wait them out; they're soft, they don't have the courage to complete the mission -- all we've got to do is continue to kill and get these images on the TV screens, and the Americans will leave...

Soldiers do not concern themselves with politics. They fight for their friends, they concentrate on their mission. If we told them they were coming home today, they'd rejoice. Democracy is hopeful and optimistic, but Bush's strategy in Iraq has not inspired hope or optimism in America, more importantly, he has failed to engender his citizens' trust, and the last time I checked, he was the leader of a nation called America. The false choice surrounding the macho fear-mongering "we're soft - they'll wait us out.." and "this is bigger than politics.." will be laughable when we start drawing down our troops in another year, anyhow..leaving Iraq in chaos. Even Donald Rumsfeld was man enough to admit that the insurgency will last at least another twelve years.


+ Hope vs. truth in the face of civil war in Iraq

From the Bush speech:

"...this vote -- 6,000 miles away, in a vital region of the world -- means that America has an ally of growing strength in the fight against terror."

The recent elections represented hope. Hope is a powerful thing. Can hope overcome a bitter reality that looms heavy over a population? Imagine a national referendum on slavery in 1857 America. Imagine the numbers of Americans coming out to vote their passions (one way or the other - for or against slavery). Would this have stopped secession? Would it have 'headed off' the Civil War in America? I doubt it seriously. As sure as you're born, there is a great civil struggle coming in Iraq. This will mean Middle East instability. This will mean an extended U.S. presence - perhaps a permanent presence. We have a new embassy in Iraq, and we have suspicions that Bush and company has no plan to end a military presence in that nation.

General George Casey recently said:

There is much work to be done in 2006 as the new Iraqi political leaders settle in, Casey said. The government has to form, he said, and “take the reins and get on with governing.” The Iraqi government will face difficult political and economic challenges not only in 2006 but also for several years thereafter, he added. [my emphasis]

On the political side, Casey said Iraq’s increasingly confident and competent leaders still must debate whether to amend the country’s new constitution and foster a discussion about the future of federalism. He said he expects such debates “to be heated and probably divisive.” .. The end of the string of elections in 2005 does not mean the insurgency has gone dormant, said the commanding general of Multi-National Force-Iraq. But continued political successes gradually will erode the potency of the insurgency, he said....U.S. and coalition forces will continue to carry out a dialogue with all the political and ethnic groups in Iraq in an effort “to continue to bring people away from the insurgency and into the political process,” Casey said.

We shouldn't doubt the good General's words. If we believe him, and there's no reason not to believe him, we are going to be in Iraq for quite some time - permanently, perhaps.

Why isn't George W. Bush telling us the truth?

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell understands that it is Bush's intention to have a military presence in Iraq for many years to come. According to the WaPo,

"Powell said the United States was widely unpopular around the world, saying "we have created an impression that we are unilateralist, we don't care what the rest of the world thinks. I don't think it's a fair impression."

I would sit General Powell down and grill him on this point. Given real facts from current history, how can he possibly believe the world could see the Bush administration's position on Iraq as anything but unilateralist?


+ Another blatant false choice:

From the Bush speech:

"If you think the terrorists would become peaceful if only America would stop provoking them, then it might make sense to leave them alone."

A false choice: Initiate an unjust war upon a nation having no links to 9/11 - or do nothing. Was this the only choice? If so, we have certainly come to the end of American ingenuity, creativity, and morality. The solution to alleviating terror is and always has been about winning hearts and minds. If Bush can't win ours with honesty and sound moral leadership, how can he ever expect to win theirs?

__________

Out there in the Blogosphere:

+ Blony makes some salient points, such as:

The single most important fact the President fails to comprehend is that there is no possibility of U.S. victory in Iraq because there was never any meaningful threat to the U.S. from Iraq. You cannot fashion 'Victory' out of arrogant, ignorant, unnecessary aggression. What's left is, how do we best clean up after the long series of stupid mistakes and let Iraqis get on their way to being however they are going to be?

They'll start by asking middle class Americans to foot a $100 billion bill while the richest Americans are asked to make no sacrifices - and are actually enriched. The only sacrifices in America today are coming from the blood of military families and the treasure from middle class pockets. This is not my vision of America - this is not the dream of our forefathers nor is it the promise of great men such as FDR.



+ My fellow writer at Syracuse Progressive, Fred Bieling, is a National Guardsman and a veteran of the current Iraq and Afghanistan wars. He says:

Did any of you caught the special on NBC about the troops from the 2-108th INF from Glen Falls? I'll be thinking of them as I make my rounds through the halls of Headquarters today. And President Bush, you have 6-8 months to get results. It's your last chance to get it right.

6-8 months.

What will we accomplish in that time? I predict that we'll see little reduction in violence in six months and we will leave Iraqis in chaos, regardless of time or what the President says now about leaving politics out of the equation. Who does he think he's fooling? He's the leader -and he's had one eye on the political calendar from the lead-up to the war until now.

By the way, I saw Tom Brokaw's special 'To War And Back' last night - and I think it was one of the best productions I've seen about the "connect" we need to make between the Iraq war and the real lives of the men and women who serve. Nate Brown's story was especially moving - and the thought of any of these men being forgotten for their sacrifices, in any way, would be a national sin.

I saved the best for last.

- "..we found some capacity to restart weapons programs."

- George W. Bush, 12-18-05

_ _ _



- "....I suspect that they have a pretty good idea if they had some weapons or not. This unearthing that this guy had something buried in his back yard for 12 years, I swear, it looked like a carburetor some redneck would have in his garage, and they put this thing up and we’re going to get blown up by this? It was buried for 12 years. I mean, they may have — as Vice President Cheney said right here in this chair, they may have a reconstituted nuclear program, but we sure haven’t found anything close to it yet or a nuclear bomb..."

- James Carville, Meet the Press, June 29, 2003