Posts Made By: Rod Kaufman

Thus far, the only "surge" in Iraq is the inSURGEncy.
Enter George W Bush who now states there will always be a an "acceptable level of violence" no matter where you happen to be. Such levels of violence occur in varying degrees all over the world. While it happens to be relatively low in the United States, with an occasional hiccup now and then, it happens to be relatively high in Iraq. So, as the logic from Bush goes, don't expect the violence to subside from the particular society we happen to be involved with in Iraq today. There will always be violence in Iraq but it can be an acceptable level of violence.
Get used to it, it's normal for that particular region. So what if the Red Cross states the conditions for the Iraqi people are "unbearable". They just don't understand what acceptable levels of violence happen to be and that will be defined by George W Bush, at a time to be determined later...

Ever wonder why the rest of the world hates the US?
Don't think it does?
I could go through the list on poll after poll from country after country that despises US policies under the Bush administration. Those same polls were positive under the Clinton administration and virtually all of them took a major nosedive under Bush. In fact, if Hillary becomes president, Bill Clinton will make it his mission in life to attempt to repair the damage done by the Bush administration by becomming a goodwill ambassador and then some to the rest of the world that the Bush administration has totally POed.
So why does the rest of the world hate the US so much?
Hmm, where to begin?
Let's start with our secretary of state, Condi Rice.
Let's pause for a moment and forget that she now has been subpoened by representative Henry Waxman to testify as to why the Bush administration continued to refer to the bogus rational of uranium from Niger to make the case for war in Iraq even though the CIA uncovered the lie. True to the Bush administration form, Condi will appear but she won't answer because thw White House says "internal White House conversations are privileged information!"
But back to the topic at hand, how did Condi PO the rest of the planet?
Let's start with the Russians. Yeah, I know, everybody still hates the Russians. However, Condo has really outdone herself in proving it to them. First, the US wants to place a missile system near the Russian borders, ostensibly "defensive" in nature. Forgetting for a moment that the US would go absolutely ape---- if the Russians did the same thing over by our borders, Condi decided to go the extra mile and refer to the Russian Federation as the "Soviet"! The "Soviet Union" went by the wayside during the Reagan era and now it's being resurrected by our own secretary of state!
I could go on and on listing the reasons why the US is viewed as it is elsewhere in the world but we need only begin with our own secretary of state....

One thing Bush has done right?
Well, he(eventually)took responsibility for the federal government's failure in the Katrina disaster.
Well, he (eventually) took responsibilty for the Republican loss of the midterm elections.
Well, he (eventually) recognized there were no WMDs in Iraq, and unlike his vice president, he (eventually) recognized there was no connection between Saddam and Al Queda.
Well, he (eventually) recognized that global warming exists even if he disputes the causes.
Well, ....

George Tenet has an interview coming up on 60 minutes on Sunday. He has a new book on the slam-dunk business that he says he didn't utter in relation to WMDs in Iraq and Bush had made up his mind to invade Iraq anyway. Basically, he says what the White House did to him was "despicable." He blasts the Bush White House for failing to accept the post-invasion warnings from the CIA regarding the deteriorating situation and states that Bush forbade the use of the word "insurgency". He was even more distainful of Cheney and Rice and he called the latter "a failure" as a national security advisor, so much so that it's a theme in his book. Cheney apparently has his own chapter(s) or themes in the book. Everything you've heard about Cheney being about as bad as it gets appears to be true.
I can't wait for the 60 minutes interview and the upcoming book...

The LA Times obtained an advanced copy of Tenet's book. In it you'll read what many have already suspected, ie the Bush White House ignored warnings of an imminent threat of attack against the United States by Al Queda. "Before Sep 11, the Bush administration was slow to recognize the magnitude of the terrorist threat." "Compared to the Clinton administration, there was a loss of urgency." Moreover, Tenet recounts a meeting between Rice and J Carter Black, a counter-terrorism expert. Black's opening line to Rice was direct, "There will be a significant terrorist attack in the coming weeks or months!" Tenet stated, "I can recall no other time in my seven years that I sought such an urgent meeting at the White House." "Tenets briefers then pressed Rice to get Bush to sign off on a series of authorities needed to launch pre-emptive strikes against Al Qaeda, arguing we must take the battle to Bin Laden in Afghanistan." "The authorities didn't come through until after Sep 11." This from our president who has stated his most solemn duty is to protect the American people...

The Sunday LA Times Parade Magazine had an interesting article on Iraq. It seems that the majority of Iraqis marry their first cousins, giving "all in the family" a whole new meaning.
Basically, this clan-like structure permeates the country so not only do you have the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds fueding with each other but you also have individual clans within those groups doing the same. Thus, the Bush idea of a unified, democratic and peaceful Iraq is a pipedream...

George W Bush landed on aircraft carrier and, with the now infamous "mission accomplished" banner in the background, declared the war in Iraq to be essentially over.
Little did he know the war was just beginning.
Little did he know that Iraq was becoming completely destabilized.
Little did he know that a total lack of a post invasion plan would lead to chaos.
Little did he know Iran would become a major force in the region.
Little did he know global terrorism would increase by 25% from where it had been.
Little did he know billions of American dollars would be wasted through corruption and incompetence.
Little did he know that thousands more would die.
Little did he know...

It's the bottom of the ninth with runners in scoring position and team Republican is at bat...
First, and batting at Iraq, is John McCain: "If I'm on the mound, I'll put 100,000 more of my team-mates on the field!
Batting second, and not to be outpitched, is Rudy Guiliani who proclaims: I'll not only put more troops in Iraq, I'll put them in New York City!!! Finally, batting clean-up is Mitt Romney who scores a line drive with his challenge to his team-mates to remain in Iraq as long as we've played in Korea! Anything less and you're a cut and runner!
Then there's the ultimate squeeze-play of life and death on the base paths with runners in scoring position with their die-hard fans cheering in stands: First, batting on aborting little leaguers from the playing field is Mitt Rommney who delivers a wicked pitch to Rudy Guiliani by proclaiming not only is Rudy pro-abortion, he's also a pro-stem cell free-agent which means he's definitely snuffing the life out of the team plus he proving he's not a team-life player by being pro-gun control! McCain, in response to his challenge from the team, becomes a player-coach and proclaims Rommney to be a classic switch-hitter who changes his position on everything from aborting little leaguers to becoming up and close and too personal with your team-mates!
Rudy Guiliani pops up with with his claim to fame that, while he's a conservative team-player, everybody has differences of opinion on how to play the game!
Finally, cheering in the background, is their number one fan, Ann Coulter!
The outcome?
Sorry, rained-out... :S

First, I'd get my facts straight:
1. There are 26 to 27 million people living in Iraq and not 17 million.
2. The oil they live on is their own and since they decided to contract it to countries in asia it's their business.
3. The lives of our troops are at risk and we need to get them out of there.
4. A political and not a military solution is required for long term stability in the region.
5. The outcome will impact regional allies so we need to be senistive to their needs when they read us the riot act on Iraq.
And, despite what Bush and his fellow Republicans might think, this is a free country and we can hold them accountable and responsible for the mess they got us into in the first place. As I've posted before, I like Biden's plan on a tri-state solution on Iraq. It's going to happen anyway so better sooner than later. I also like Biden's recommendation to shove Iraq down Bush's throat...

Well, it's in the book and thank God it's over.
Hmm, where to begin?
Guess what? Hillary Clinton's the dragon lady.
Where did they all essentially agree to remain in forever? Iraq, of course, er, ah, the troops, not them.
Abortion, well, you know and now even Rudy's waffling.
Stem cell research, McCain actually showed some testosterone and has the brains to back it, with Rudy waffling again.
Hunting down Bin Laden wasn't a priority except for McCain who stated he'd chase Bin Laden to the gates of hell.
Evolution: three of the wanna be Bush's actually raised their hands when asked who DOESN'T believe in it? After that, it was puke time...