January 11, 2007

New Bush Iraq Plan Fails to Bolster American Confidence - "Americans broadly reject President Bush's plan for a surge of U.S. forces into Iraq, with substantial majorities dismissing his arguments that it'll end the war more quickly and increase the odds of victory, an ABC News/Washington Post poll finds. Indeed, rather than Bush bolstering public confidence, the national survey, conducted after his address to the nation on his new Iraq strategy, finds that a new high — 57 percent — think the United States is losing the war. Just 29 percent think it's winning."

Gates: Timetable for Troop Boost Unclear - ""We're not going to baby sit a civil war," Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., told NBC's "Today" Show. He said the Democratic-controlled Congress would not undercut troops already in Iraq but would explore ways to restrict the president from expanding the mission."

Iraq wants no part of more U.S. soldiers - "As President George W. Bush challenges public opinion at home by committing more soldiers to Iraq, he is confronted by an essential paradox: An Iraqi government that does not really want them."

Bush's Reality-Based Desperation - "But here's the obvious question: given the president's history of false and misleading statements about the war and his record of poor decision-making related to the war, why should anyone accept anything he says or proposes now? He has no credibility--and far too long of a resume of failure. One speech--standing or sitting--will not make a difference in how Americans regard Bush and the war. There will be no surge of popular support for his newest plan: sending 21,000 additional US troops to Iraq for a last-chance stab at securing and stabilizing Baghdad."

Chris Matthews: Bush's 'Alamo' Grounds for Retirement, 'Terrified' of Bush on Iran - ""A lot of people are going to go to bed tonight terrified that the President of the United States admitted to mistakes in terms of implementing his policy over there ... I am worried, well, I shouldn't say I'm worried, I am definitely interested in the fact that the President of the United States maintains that neoconservative aggressiveness, the same attitude that we have the business in this world of going into countries when we don't like their weapons systems and deciding we're in the Middle East, we're going to attack.""

Bush's new strategy - the march of folly - "So into the graveyard of Iraq, George Bush, commander-in-chief, is to send another 21,000 of his soldiers. The march of folly is to continue..."

Surging toward the holy oil grail - "The basic fact remains that Bush's escalation is designed to smash Muqtada's Mehdi Army. That can only mean, in practice, a mini-genocide of vast masses of unruly, extremely dispossessed Shi'ites: the coming battle of Sadr City, which the Pentagon has been itching to launch since the spring of 2004. The Pentagon is actually declaring war on no fewer than 2.2 million (poor) people. A sinister symmetry still applies: the Pentagon will attack dispossessed Shi'ite masses - just as the Israeli Defense Forces attacked dispossessed Shi'ite masses in southern Lebanon in the summer of 2006."

Promising Troops Where They Aren’t Really Wanted - "As President Bush challenges public opinion at home by committing more American troops, he is confronted by a paradox: an Iraqi government that does not really want them. The Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has not publicly opposed the American troop increase, but aides to Mr. Maliki have been saying for weeks that the government is wary of the proposal. They fear that an increased American troop presence, particularly in Baghdad, will be accompanied by a more assertive American role that will conflict with the Shiite government’s haste to cut back on American authority and run the war the way it wants. American troops, Shiite leaders say, should stay out of Shiite neighborhoods and focus on fighting Sunni insurgents."

War With Syria and Iran = Peace With Iraq? - "It is only a threat. But it is a far cry from the diplomatic proposals floated just last month for making Syria and Iran part of the solution. Can the president really be saying that we are willing to risk war with the two countries, and even attack elements inside them, to achieve peace in Iraq?"

Stand Up Against the Surge - "A surge is not acceptable to the people in this country—we have voted overwhelmingly against this war in polls (about 80 percent of the public is against escalation, and a recent Military Times poll shows only 38 percent of active military want more troops sent) and at the polls. We know this is wrong. The people understand, the people have the right to make this decision, and the people have the obligation to make sure our will is implemented."

Vietnam All Over Again - "A well-known leader of Vietnam vets, paralyzed in combat, describes the frighteningly familiar path that is leading us into a widening conflict:"

Bush speech sets stage for contentious battles in Congress on Iraq - "For Bush, the decision to send more troops to Iraq – rather than begin a withdrawal of combat forces as recommended last month by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group – is a huge gamble. If it fails, he will have few if any options left."

Say Good-bye to a Future Republican Presidency - "President George W. Bush, contrary to the will of the American and Iraqi peoples and his own military commanders, seems ready to embark on a potentially disastrous escalation of the Iraq war, which was lost long ago. This mind-numbingly idiotic strategy is sure to needlessly cost more American and Iraqi lives and to lose the presidency for the Republicans in 2008."

Lockheed Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - "If you think the Iraq war hasn't worked out very well for anyone, think again. Defense contractors such as Lockheed are thriving. And no wonder: here's the story of how Lockheed's interests - as opposed to those of the American citizenry - set the course of US policy after 9/11."

Gates looks to add 92,000 troops to military - "At a briefing to add details about President Bush's new Iraq strategy, Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday said he would recommend increasing the Army and Marine Corps by 92,000 troops over the next five years." -- It just got drafty in here.

Somalia: New Hotbed of Anti-Americanism - "The U.S. foreign policy blundering has created a new violent hotbed of anti-Americanism in the turbulent Horn of Africa by orchestrating the Ethiopian invasion of another Muslim capital of the Arab League, in a clear American message that no Arab or Muslim metropolitan has impunity unless it falls into step with the U.S. vital regional interests."

Study: 744,000 homeless people in U.S. - "A majority of the homeless were single adults, but about 41 percent were in families, the report said." -- But let's escalate war in Iraq? Our government's actions tell us that the United States Government does not work to better the lives of the American people.

U.S. behind reign of terror sweeping Philippines - "The wave of terror currently sweeping the Philippines is part and parcel of U.S. imperialism’s historical and bloody drive to dominate and control the South East Asian region, especially the Philippines. These aims are best capsulated in the words of U.S. Sen. Alfred Beveridge when he said in 1900, “The country that rules the Pacific, rules the world.”"

TV violence found to be more frequent, graphic - "America's children are being exposed to more dead bodies, fistfights and perverts than ever before, according to an analysis of violence on prime-time television released yesterday by the Parents Television Council. "

I got an A in Phallus 101 - "The list of the 12 most bizarre college courses in the U.S. includes offerings such as 'The Phallus' and 'Queer Musicology.'"

Moment 600 years ago that terror came to Mummies of the Amazon - "Hands over her eyes and her face gripped with terror, the woman's fear of death is all too obvious.The remarkable mummy was found in a hidden burial vault in the Amazon."

Scientists find Extraterrestrial genes in Human DNA - "A group of researchers working at the Human Genome Project indicate that they made an astonishing scientific discovery: They believe so-called 97% non-coding sequences in human DNA is no less than genetic code of extraterrestrial life forms."

Evidence mounts for sun's companion star - "The Binary Research Institute (BRI) has found that orbital characteristics of the recently discovered planetoid, "Sedna", demonstrate the possibility that our sun might be part of a binary star system."




Quote of the Day
"It seems almost beyond doubt that since World War II the United States has acquired a reputation for failure and inefficiency in its military operations."
~ US Army Major Richard Gabriel