Iraq: The Big Picture

A blogger notes two excellent articles today dealing with Iraq.  Here, my friends, is your Sunday evening reading assignment. Via Booman Tribune…

Let DC Do Its Thing, Let’s Talk Reality

The catastrophe that is Iraq is so complicated that it simply can’t be fairly addressed in the blog format. If there is an area where bloggers can rightfully be blamed for non-seriousness, it is in discussion of the consequences of America’s monumental failure in Iraq. A small part of this has to do with a lack of foreign policy expertise or access to unbiased intelligence reports. But a bigger part just has to do with the format. To truly address what I consider to be our options, I think I’d [...]

Tags: Iraq War

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Craig Guilty?

Not so fast..

Craig to withdraw guilty plea

Larry Craig is apparently going to attempt to withdraw his guilty plea: Attorneys for Sen. Larry Craig are expected to file papers Monday to withdraw his guilty plea to a Minnesota disorderly conduct charge, a source with knowledge of the case told CNN. Craig’s attorneys are expected to argue that the Idaho Republican suffered a “manifest injustice” [...]

Tags: Larry Craig

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Are You Watching Football, Too?

Gotta love laptops.  They give you the freedom and luxury of watching football and blogging; multitasking! But, why the heck isn’t CBS airing the Tennessee-Jacksonville game in high def? Or, is it a technical issue locally?  Whatever, here’s something to read between the plays..

Bush team focused on "selling the surge"

"Selling" — that’s what they do in the Bush White House. Whatever it takes, whatever needs to be said, whatever statistics need to be manipulated, whatever facts need to be cherry-picked: "Another new arrival in the West Wing set up a rapid-response PR unit hard-wired into Petraeus’s shop. Ed Gillespie, the new presidential counselor, organized daily conference calls at [...]

Tags: Ed Gillespie, PR, White House, Surge

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The Timetable in Anbar

Some things just aren’t what they seemed..

Progress In Anbar Initiated Four Months Before Bush’s Escalation

The Bush administration is increasingly touting the reduced violence in the Anbar province as evidence that the President’s escalation policies are working. Last week, President Bush made a surprise visit to the region and used it to argue that the troop buildup should not be cut short: In Anbar you’re seeing firsthand the dramatic [...]

Tags: Bush Administration, Anbar Province, Iraq, Iraq War

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The Right Questions

That, my friends, is the key to getting the right answers. You have to ask the right questions.  And, Schieffer has been around long enough to know about Vietnam…

Asking the right question to Petraeus.

CBS Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer said this morning that one of the lessons we learned from Vietnam “is that we were asking the wrong question” to our generals. “When we have to ask, are we winning? we’re probably losing. Victory is always obvious,” he said. Let me preempt that question to General Petraeus. We [...]

Tags: Vietnam War, Iraq War, Bob Schieffer

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Tough Talk

And it’s coming from Joe Biden..

"DEAD, FLAT WRONG"

President Bush’s war strategy is failing and the top military commander in Iraq is "dead flat wrong" for warning against major changes, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Sunday. Ahead of two days of crucial testimony by Bush’s leading military and political advisers on Iraq, Sen. Joseph Biden indicated that he and other Democrats would persist [...]

Tags: Biden, Iraq War

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Another Scandal

Just dig down through the details in THIS one!

Another GOP gay scandal brews in murder-suicide case?

There is a bizarre story swarming blogtopia, laced with unconfirmed (and confirmed) sources that could lead to another Republican Sexual Hypocrite "outing" and scandal. First, some facts about the weird murder suicide in Orlando in late August that kicked off the whole matter: [...]

Tags: GOP, Gay Scandal

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Iraq: The Big Picture

A blogger notes two excellent articles today dealing with Iraq.  Here, my friends, is your Sunday evening reading assignment. Via Booman Tribune…

Let DC Do Its Thing, Let’s Talk Reality

The catastrophe that is Iraq is so complicated that it simply can’t be fairly addressed in the blog format. If there is an area where bloggers can rightfully be blamed for non-seriousness, it is in discussion of the consequences of America’s monumental failure in Iraq. A small part of this has to do with a lack of foreign policy expertise or access to unbiased intelligence reports. But a bigger part just has to do with the format. To truly address what I consider to be our options, I think I’d [...]

Tags: Iraq War

Thanks for reading!

Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down

Flash Flood Watch until late afternoon. That ought to tell you what today’s gonna be like around here…so, with coffee in hand, let’s scour the blogs…beginning with a little something from the fine folks at Think Progress..

Bush’s new Iraqi friend.

During his “surprise visit” to Iraq earlier this month, President Bush met with Sattar Abu Risha, the head of the Anbar Salvation Council who “has a rather unsavory reputation as one of the shadiest figures in the Sunni community.” Time magazine wrote that “Sheikh Sattar, whose tribe is notorious for highway banditry, is also building [...]

Tags: Sattar Abu Risha, Anbar Salvation Council

Thanks for reading!

Are You Watching Football, Too?

Gotta love laptops.  They give you the freedom and luxury of watching football and blogging; multitasking! But, why the heck isn’t CBS airing the Tennessee-Jacksonville game in high def? Or, is it a technical issue locally?  Whatever, here’s something to read between the plays..

Bush team focused on "selling the surge"

"Selling" — that’s what they do in the Bush White House. Whatever it takes, whatever needs to be said, whatever statistics need to be manipulated, whatever facts need to be cherry-picked: "Another new arrival in the West Wing set up a rapid-response PR unit hard-wired into Petraeus’s shop. Ed Gillespie, the new presidential counselor, organized daily conference calls at [...]

Tags: Ed Gillespie, PR, White House, Surge

Thanks for reading!

Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down

Flash Flood Watch until late afternoon. That ought to tell you what today’s gonna be like around here…so, with coffee in hand, let’s scour the blogs…beginning with a little something from the fine folks at Think Progress..

Bush’s new Iraqi friend.

During his “surprise visit” to Iraq earlier this month, President Bush met with Sattar Abu Risha, the head of the Anbar Salvation Council who “has a rather unsavory reputation as one of the shadiest figures in the Sunni community.” Time magazine wrote that “Sheikh Sattar, whose tribe is notorious for highway banditry, is also building [...]

Tags: Sattar Abu Risha, Anbar Salvation Council

Thanks for reading!

The Iraq Study Group

Ah, from the past comes new research..

Five More Years, Says Half-Reconstructed Iraq Study Group

It seems there was an attempt to reconvene the Iraq Study Group. You remember it. The somewhat bipartisan group that last December, after nine months of work, offered 79 recommendations to the Cheney-Bush Administration for changing Iraq Policy. Almost all of which were ignored. But, writes Robin Wright in the Washington Post today, Mister Bush kept the reconvening from occurring by dissuading James Baker III from participating. So, the U.S. Institute for Peace did a go-around and got together many of the experts from the ISG, "two dozen former U.S. officials and ambassadors, former CIA analysts, and Iraq specialists from think tanks and universities" who drafted another set of recommendations under the scintillating title "Iraq: A Time for Change." The panel’s report will be released tomorrow. Among other things, it calls for [...]

Tags: Iraq Study Group

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