Iraq
"Greeted as Liberators"
Five years ago today, Dick Cheney appeared on Meet the Press. He made a quote that will go down as one of the great whoppers of the Bush era.
Now, I think things have gotten so bad inside Iraq, from the standpoint of the Iraqi people, my belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators. And the president’s made it very clear that our purpose there is, if we are forced to do this, will in fact be to stand up a government that’s representative of the Iraqi people, hopefully democratic due respect for human rights, and it, obviously, involves a major commitment by the United States, but we think it’s a commitment worth making. And we don’t have the option anymore of simply laying back and hoping that events in Iraq will not constitute a threat to the U.S. Clearly, 12 years after the Gulf War, we’re back in a situation where he does constitute a threat.
As we all know, the threat he was referring to has since been proven false and nearly 4,000 American troops are dead. Tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians are dead. The Iraqi people have created segregation, but not functional government. By the most conservative estimates, the American people have spent at least 500 billion dollars, and may spend as much as three trillion. There's still no end in sight and one of the two '08 presidential nominees has said he's committed to staying for "100 years".
Bang bang, ka-ching. Bang bang, ka-ching. Bang bang, ka-ching...
I'm not cynical enough to think that the United States invaded Iraq so we could gain a customer for our weapons, but...
In a move that could be the most enduring imprint of U.S. influence in the Arab world, American military officials in Baghdad have begun a crash program to outfit the entire Iraqi army with M-16 rifles.
The initiative marks a sharp break for a culture steeped in the traditions of the Soviet-era AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifle, a symbol of revolutionary zeal and third-world simplicity that is ubiquitous among the militaries of the Middle East.
...
So far, the U.S. military has helped the Iraqi army purchase 43,000 rifles - a mix of full-stock M-16A2s and compact M-4 carbines. Another 50,000 rifles are currently on order, and the objective is to outfit the entire Iraqi army with 165,000 American rifles in a one-for-one replacement of the AK-47.
Iraq roundup
Interesting tidbit today --- they're planning to cut combat tours from 15 to 12 months.
Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, told a Senate panel that the Army is under serious strain from years of war-fighting and must reduce the length of combat tours as soon as possible.
"The cumulative effects of the last six-plus years at war have left our Army out of balance, consumed by the current fight and unable to do the things we know we need to do to properly sustain our all-volunteer force and restore our flexibility for an uncertain future," Casey said.
Wandering Around GOP.com
I was looking at my PureVolume page last night and looked up at the top and saw a banner ad for the GOP. It showed the faces of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Ted Kennedy circled and crossed out by a thick red line. The text read: “SUPPORT THE GOP. CLICK HERE.” Being a passionate GOP supporter, I clicked, and it took me to a fundraising form for the Republican National Committee.
Democrats and left-wing special interest groups are raising hundreds of millions of dollars to put a Liberal in the White House and expand their majorities in Congress.
The fight to stop the Liberals starts here. The Republican National Committee is the official national campaign organization of the Republican Party
Complete the information below to make a secure online contribution to support Republican National Committee's efforts today.
Since I wasn’t in a giving mood but still curious about what my party is fighting for lately, I clicked over to GOP.com
Tuesday Open Thread
The Surge is working, eh? Like this one, in late 1967?
(Then about a month later, the Tet Offensive occurred and all hell broke loose. But no worries, we still won the war... oh wait..nevermind.)
The Politics of Apathy
Barack Obama talks about the politics of hope. But isn't it funny how 'the politics of being a corporate asshole' seem to be leading the polls right now?
I want to talk about a different kind of politics, a colder, more depressing type, one that's not speculative or optimistic, a kind that no candidate in his right mind would dare try to articulate: the politics of apathy. It's how Bush stumbled into the White House. It's what got us stuck in Iraq. It's what lets prisoners at Guantanamo get tortured.
Simply put, we have poor leaders because we're poor citizens; the reason politicians treat you like shit is they don't respect you. And why should they? They've forgotten what real democracy feels like (and so have we). They don't fear their constituents because they know they can manipulate us so easily. All you have to do is raise a bunch of money to run a slick campaign. No surprise that's what their main goal is nowadays: fundraising, so they can buy those ads to convince you they're NOT incompetent shitheads who create more problems than they solve---no, no, no, they're on your side, they always have been, and they always will be. And the lie wins most every time, aided by the facts that most congressional districts are unfairly drawn to favor incumbents and that most people just don't care much about politics.
Iraq vs. Vietnam
Vietnam: The Vietnamese pose no military threat to the United States.
Iraq: Same.
Vietnam: The right wing supports the war, vocally complains about people who don’t, buy into idiotic concept of “domino theory”.
Iraq: Same.
Vietnam: Mass protests turn public opinion against the war, creating conditions that make continuation impossible.