In Iraq, official U.S. optimism contradicts (lack of) progress on ground
In a speech Monday to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vice President Joe Biden was upbeat about developments in Iraq, where U.S. forces have officially withdrawn from combat operations:
First, violence in Iraq has decreased to such a degree that those who last served there three or four years ago—when the country was being torn apart by sectarian conflict—would hardly recognize the place. Al Qaeda in Iraq and the Shiite extremists remain dangerous, and their attacks still claim innocent lives. But they have utterly failed to achieve their objectives of inflaming sectarian conflict and undermining the Iraqi government.
Second, Iraq’s security forces—now more than 650,000 strong—are already leading the way to defend and protect their country. We have transferred control over hundreds of bases, and many thousands of square miles of territory. Some said that our drawdown would bring more violence. They were wrong, because the Iraqis are ready to take charge. And in recent months, operations that they led, based on intelligence they developed, killed two key leaders of Al Qaeda in Iraq and purged more than 30 other top terrorists from its ranks.
Third, but no less important, is the fact that Iraqi leaders who once settled disputes through violence are at this very moment, ironing out their differences in face-to-face negotiations. The Iraqis recently held their second national election that the world all agreed was legitimate, and although it is taking a long time to form a government, I am convinced that this will happen soon.
I wish I shared Biden’s optimism, but I don’t. While the 2007 surge of U.S. troops did help improve security in Iraq, the larger goals of the surge remain unmet more than three years later. The Iraqis have yet to pass a national oil law, and they have yet to work out a power-sharing agreement among the major Iraqi sects. As a result, more than five months after national elections, no new national government has taken shape. And without progress, there is inevitably regression.
From today’s New York Times:
BAGHDAD — In one of the broadest assaults on Iraq’s security forces, insurgents unleashed a wave of roadside mines and a more than a dozen car bombings across Iraq on Wednesday, killing dozens, toppling a police station in the capital and sowing chaos and confusion among the soldiers and police officers who responded.
The withering two-hour assault in 13 towns and cities, from southernmost Basra to restive Mosul in the north, was as symbolic as it was deadly, coming a week before the United States declares the end of combat operations here. Wednesday was seemingly the insurgents’ reply: Despite suggestions otherwise, they proved their ability to launch coordinated attacks virtually anywhere in Iraq, capitalizing on the government’s dysfunction and perceptions of American vulnerability.
Tom Ricks, the author of “Fiasco” and now a contributing editor at Foreign Policy, made a similar point in an NPR interview this week. The basic questions that have dogged Iraq from the beginning have yet to be resolved, he pointed out.
“How are these three major groups in Iraq going to get along? How are they going to live together? Are they going to live together? How are you going to share the oil revenue? What’s the form of Iraqi government? Will it have a strong central government or be a loose confederation? What’s the role of neighboring countries, most especially Iran, which is stepping up its relationship with Iraq right now, even as Uncle Sam tries to step down its relationship?
All these questions have been hanging fire in Iraq for several years, in fact before the surge…. All of them have led to violence in the past, and all could easily lead to violence again. The only thing changing in the Iraqi security equation right now is Uncle Sam is trying to get out.”
The Iraq war hasn’t been won anymore than the Vietnam war was won. In Vietnam, U.S. officials simply manipulated events to allow American forces to be withdrawn under seemingly honorable conditions, and were then willing to let events take their natural course. We’re doing the same in Iraq, and in time will probably repeat the pattern once more in Afghanistan.
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414 comments Add your comment
BADA BING
August 25th, 2010
10:38 pm
Why does Dolly’s husband have a full beard?………….To cover up the stretch marks.
Bruno
August 25th, 2010
10:40 pm
My tribute to Michael McDonald, Patrick Simmons and Skunk:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTvABE3ZdXs
Scout
August 25th, 2010
10:41 pm
josef:
You mean you found “one” willing to speak out ?
Hillbilly Deluxe
August 25th, 2010
10:43 pm
Bruno
The hits from ARS are really some of their weakest stuff, IMHO.
Bruno
August 25th, 2010
10:46 pm
Scout, hope you caught my 10:34 to you last night:
http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2010/08/24/our-extremists-gingrich-et-al-boost-islamic-extremists/comment-page-4/#comment-380562
RW-(the original)
August 25th, 2010
10:46 pm
I heard Michael McDonald on the AI finale last year. It was horrifying, but if he’s still touring then maybe it was a one night thing. Either that or he’s torturing his fans.
Saw Dylan at Chastain a few years ago and my ears started bleeding at how bad his voice was, but full disclosure makes me admit I never liked him anyway.
BADA BING
August 25th, 2010
10:47 pm
Scout, what do you make of all the headless bodies and murdered illegals on their way to the US. Drug cartels are killing people that have paid them to smuggle them into the US. And Mexican officials do nothing.
Bruno
August 25th, 2010
10:48 pm
It’s hard for me not to get a little lump in my throat whenever I hear this DB song. For “D”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XDZjLAV66A&feature=related
Real love only comes along a few times…….
Mick
August 25th, 2010
10:50 pm
scout
I know you have been getting quite a bit of heat about your views on islam. I’ve studied the religion, the wahabee sect and their views are incompatible with american ideals and culture. I really don’t want to see it spread here. Europe is having a rough time with the lot of them. They just need to stay in the middle east as far as I’m concerned. Afterall, they don’t exactly have the threat of americans trying to immgrate to their closed societies, why should we welcome them here?
Bruno
August 25th, 2010
10:54 pm
Kinda sad that Cornelius Bumpus left us a while back. The man could play, and brought a great spirit with him wherever he played.
Bruno
August 25th, 2010
11:03 pm
Speaking of non-radio hits, one of my all time favorite Doobie Brothers songs is a gem from “Toulouse Street” called “White Sun”. Unfortunately, it’s not available on youtube, so I’ll have to play it real loud on my stereo and hope y’all hear it:
The old man is weak, but strength comes from him
A smile full of youth, and a gleam in his eye
His garden is green and seems overflowin’
And his dreams await in his rockin’ chair sky
And I slip away
Down by the water
And I slip away
Down by the sea
Take love and give love
It’s got to be free
Scout
August 25th, 2010
11:07 pm
Mick:
You are one of the few to have the vision to see ahead. The rest have their heads in the sand.
Scout
August 25th, 2010
11:08 pm
BADA BING:
Headless bodies ……… HEADLESS BODIES ………. We don’t need no headless bodies !!!
Bruno
August 25th, 2010
11:10 pm
To be fair, I should play a Donald Fagen tribute as well, but can’t get past the Doobs. From the “Stampede” album, “I Cheat the Hangman”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luv1fvtj4bQ
Scout
August 25th, 2010
11:12 pm
Bruno @ 10:46
I hear you but ……………
“It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Soldier, not the poet
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
Who has given us freedom to protest.
It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has given us the right to vote.
It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.”
Unknown
Scout
August 25th, 2010
11:14 pm
Mick:
I would add that there a lot of “religions” in the world but Islam is in a class all by itself.
Bruno
August 25th, 2010
11:15 pm
Mick @ 10:50:
Call me an idealist, but I believe in the triumph of the human spirit. As another poster pointed out last night, virtually every repressed Muslim society is on the verge of a full-fledged revolution. In Iran in particular, the young people are sick of the Mullahs. Every Muslim I know here in America was glad to leave their repressive home country and fully embraces American ideals.
For being such a liberal fellow otherwise, your view kind of shocks me.
Don't forget
August 25th, 2010
11:17 pm
Mick
August 25th, 2010
10:50 pm
scout
I know you have been getting quite a bit of heat about your views on islam. I’ve studied the religion, the wahabee sect and their views are incompatible with american ideals and culture.
——————————————————————————————————–
This is what I don’t get. Saudi Arabia is the biggest promoter of wahabism. So why aren’t conservatives focusing on developing and implementing alternatives to oil instead of sending boatloads of freakin money to Saudi Arabia????????? Instead they’d rather protest a mosque 2 blocks from ground zero. That makes NO sense whatsoever.
Mick
August 25th, 2010
11:19 pm
scout
Every immigrant group that came here had to assimilate and become americans to be protected by our great constitution. I don’t want people to come here to try to establish a country within a country. From what I’ve seen, once they got a toehold then they get belligerent. Obviously, its not everyone but once there is a base so to speak, there’s no going back. We need to keep it in check and discourage middle eastern immigration. Sorry, but I feel no kinship with muslims.
Bruno
August 25th, 2010
11:21 pm
Scout @ 11:12– are you claiming that the Soldiers fighting on behalf of the Taliban or Hamas have created the freedoms you speak of?? Force and force alone brings none of the freedoms you have mentioned. I refer you to our Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”
Mick
August 25th, 2010
11:24 pm
bruno
Once again, I defy labeling. Have you been to europe lately? They rue the day that they let all the muslim immigration happen, its a battle of cultures. Who needs more division?
Bruno
August 25th, 2010
11:26 pm
Mick–What real life experience have you had with Muslims?? Do you speak from afar, or do you have any Muslim friends??
As for Europe, the reality is that they’ve invited Muslims in, but offer little chance for citizenship. No wonder the Muslims haven’t assimilated well. And given their historic anti-Semitism and general look-down-their-noses at anyone who isn’t French, or Dutch, or whatever, I don’t think the comparisons are valid.
getalife
August 25th, 2010
11:31 pm
“Man Who Managed The Most Anti-Gay Presidential Campaign In Modern History Comes Out.. Video Flashback: Bill Maher ‘Outed’ Mehlman On CNN In 2006..
Gay Rights Activist: Mehlman Must Account For His ‘Horrid Homophobia’ HP.
Are all cons gay?
Bruno
August 25th, 2010
11:31 pm
“So why aren’t conservatives focusing on developing and implementing alternatives to oil instead of sending boatloads of freakin money to Saudi Arabia??”
DF–In spite of its ever-increasing monetary and political costs, burning petroleum is still far, far cheaper than any other alternative energy source. At some point, the graphs will cross and we’ll no longer need the Middle Eastern oil, and they can return to being nomads in the desert again for all that I care. In the meantime, we have to kiss their asses. Does that make us hypocrites, both conservatives and liberals alike? Certainly.
landry
August 25th, 2010
11:33 pm
mick, i went to berlin for a spell recently, the germans can’t stand the turks, whom they brought in to rebuild after the War, didn’t give them full citizen rights, its a real pisser, makes race relations in the US look like a walk in the park….
Bruno
August 25th, 2010
11:36 pm
“Let there be songs to fill the air”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNXuEGIvqrQ
Mick
August 25th, 2010
11:37 pm
bruno
I have some really good muslim friends from kosovo. They are so, so, different from the muslims from the middle east. Look, face to face, I take a man for what he is worth as a human being sans religion. As a group, however, it seems to me that middle eastern muslims are too close minded about this culture and its freedoms. Case in point; mohammed atta the 911 hijacker lived here in miami, took advantage of our freedoms, then promptly murdered thousands of innocent people. What drives a person to commit such an atrocity? The attitude of religious conviction that is non-negotiable. Like I said before, not all, but way too many and all it takes are those few to bring unwanted consequences.
RW-(the original)
August 25th, 2010
11:38 pm
Inventing Moderate Islam
That’s an interesting read if anybody in this “debate” is open-minded enough to see the difference between Moderate Muslim and Moderate Islam.
Mick
August 25th, 2010
11:40 pm
landry
I was in london a few years ago and was shocked by what I saw then a few weeks later a bus was bombed, then the tube, who needs it? If you don’t like the damn country go back to your own and change it..
Bruno
August 25th, 2010
11:42 pm
“As a group, however, it seems to me that middle eastern muslims are too close minded about this culture and its freedoms.”
Which supports my point: It isn’t Islam that’s at fault, it’s a cultural thing. The bottom line is that only 20% of the world’s Muslim population comes from the Middle East. Overall, my experiences with Middle Eastern folks has been mixed. I’ve met some cool Lebanese folks, and some real jerks from Iran.
BTW, your statements/concerns above in your 11:19 were also said about the Irish in the 1800s and early 1900s. You’re a mick, Mick.
Bruno
August 25th, 2010
11:46 pm
RW–the first sentence of your article states that “Secularism can never enjoy a general acceptance in an Islamic society.”
Since all I need to give is one counterexample to disprove the “all” statement, I will simply point to Turkey. My contention remains that it’s not a religious issue, but a cultural issue.
landry
August 25th, 2010
11:46 pm
mick, I don’t judge countries or religions, just a-holes…..
Mick
August 25th, 2010
11:48 pm
bruno
This probably won’t make any sense but I could care less about the community center with a mosque near ground zero. They could be cool about it and say that since so many are upset by it, we’ll move but that ain’t gonna happen because they have the right and they will stand on that. It would be a kind gesture and show some humility. To me, its just another manufactured controversy. I mean what constitutes “sacred ground”? One block, two blocks, three blocks…just another distraction.
moochers outnumber producers
August 25th, 2010
11:48 pm
Hey Bookman….How much time have you spent in Iraq or Afghanistan? That;s what I thought . Listen MSNBC is not the best place to get your information.
RW-(the original)
August 25th, 2010
11:52 pm
Bruno,
Nice try, but it’s not “my” article and the writer is arguing “never” which may be close to “all” but you would have to read the article to understand the difference the writer is making.
Scout
August 25th, 2010
11:52 pm
Bruno:
If you can’t see that poem is about the American soldier then I can’t help you.
Don't forget
August 25th, 2010
11:53 pm
Bruno
August 25th, 2010
11:31 pm
DF–In spite of its ever-increasing monetary and political costs, burning petroleum is still far, far cheaper than any other alternative energy source.
Um, this is a big subject but, in a nut shell, oil has costs that the market doesn’t recognize like pollution and funding nations that are hostile to us. Those costs are “socialized” and born by the general public.
The other thing to consider is what happens to the cost of newer technologies when they go into mass production? The plummet! Look at VCR’s. My first one cost $400, my last one was $40. Same thing for VCR’s or any other technology that has been developed. And the reason for that is mass production. The difference is that with those technologies, the benefit was enjoyed by the actual consumer. With alternative energy though, the benefit of cleaner fuels and energy independence go to everybody. Your light bulb doesn’t burn any brighter with alternative fuels than with dirty fossil fuels so the incentive to pay the extra for the better product doesn’t exist for the consumer even though we all pay the costs of pollution and energy dependence. Top it all off with the fact that we keep subsidizing fossil fuels to keep them cheap and you have energy policy that will keep those “lines on the graph” from ever meeting. There are all kinds of promising energy solutions that are well beyond the “research” stage but can’t get off the ground because you can’t do anything cheaply on a smaller scale. Look at what Henry Ford did to the cost of a car with mass production.
Mick
August 25th, 2010
11:53 pm
bruno
Yeah, no irish or dogs allowed. They were however, european and thats the difference. Gotta hit the hay….night.
Don't forget
August 25th, 2010
11:54 pm
Ugh, I’m exhausted, sorry for the typos etc in that last one.
landry
August 25th, 2010
11:57 pm
i’m irish and i love jameson
Scout
August 25th, 2010
11:58 pm
Mick:
Here’s one thing people fail to realize. For those of us who have a few Muslim friends, they are basically from the professional class – doctors, lawyers, scientists, etc. They left (sometimes fled) their country to obtain the freedoms we have. Many of them are Muslim in name only and are trying to assimilate.
Then you have what could be called the “blue collar” Muslims, many uneducated, who come here to the U.S. and plop down in a Muslim neighborhood and never assimilate. It is from these ranks that we will have trouble as they are fed the worst of Islam and are prone to violence. The Imams use them like so much canon fodder.
Scout
August 26th, 2010
12:00 am
“And so he bowed” ………. but I won’t !
TAPS !
Don't forget
August 26th, 2010
12:08 am
And so they kissed and held hands.
Bruno
August 26th, 2010
12:14 am
“Top it all off with the fact that we keep subsidizing fossil fuels to keep them cheap and you have energy policy that will keep those “lines on the graph” from ever meeting. There are all kinds of promising energy solutions that are well beyond the “research” stage but can’t get off the ground because you can’t do anything cheaply on a smaller scale.”
DF–Solar energy is very appealing, but despite fairly wide-spread production now, it still isn’t very cost-effective despite heavy subsidization from many governments such as the US and Germany. Ditto for wind turbines. Nuclear fusion is still a long way off. Am I missing anything??
The most intriguing source of energy to me is the vast heat sink that the ocean holds. Certain metals can produce an electrical flow driven by the difference in temp from the bottom to the top of the ocean. It’s clean and completely renewable, but produces so little electricity that it;s not practical either.
The bottom line is that necessity is the mother of invention, not the other way around.
Bruno
August 26th, 2010
12:23 am
My nightly present for the morning crew, “The Cellist of Sarajevo”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7nJxmwY3f8
From the youtube description:
“The Cellist of Sarajevo – a piece by the English composer David Wilde. He was inspired by the Bosnian Cellist Vedran Smailović. He was called “The Cellist of Sarajevo”. He stayed 1992 during the siege in Sarajevo and played there for 22 dead civilians for 22 days. I think that this man is a hero and beautiful I didn’t find this beautiful piece on Youtube. The cello is played by Yo-Yo Ma. It can be found on his CD “Solo”. In the pictures you can see Vedran Smailović playing in the destroyed Sarajevo.”
In the end, the human spirit triumphs, as the Cellist of Sarajevo proved to the world in 1992.
oldguy
August 26th, 2010
12:28 am
Kayaker 71
Late to the comments…. I came back in 69 from the 607th MPs Siagon. I can tell you one thing..it was a good thing they made us turn in our 45s prior to leaving “in country” because this old southern boy would have happily emptied a clip into that crowd of hippie freaks at SFO. I had 10 times the respect for the VC as I did (and do) for them!!
Don't forget
August 26th, 2010
12:39 am
Bruno,
Solar keeps going down in price. It’s one seventh the cost that it was 20 years ago. I understand the price of silica has plummeted in the last year as well. Wind has not been exploited to anywhere near it’s potential and the effects of mass production are not yet being realized. The midwest is referred to as the “Saudi Arabia” of wind. It’s a perfect fit for “central pivot” irrigation farms where the growth in the corners of the fields is poor anyway. Instead of subsidizing farms with cash to not grow crops, why not put turbines on the land and use the revenue to subsidize the farmers? There’s also “small wind” which is smaller turbines that can be used on the tops of tall buildings to harvest the updraft that is almost always blowing and there are designs for more compact generation of wind energy. Ever heard of the “Bloom Box”? Google it. There’s a 60 minutes story on it. Some very well know people are involved. It’s basically a fuel cell but it’s made with common materials and can burn any combustible gas whether it be natural gas, methane, etc. It is something like 67 % more efficient than a conventional power plant and could eliminate the need for a massive power grid which would also save tons of energy that is lost during transmission. It also makes solar and wind more feasible because you can use excess energy from wind and solar to make hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis of water which can be used in the Bloom box. Algae farms produce an oil that can be refined into combustible liquid fuels that could be used in vehicles. There’s an MIT professor that has come up with a lithium battery that can be recharged in about a minute. That would make the electric car much more user friendly and could revolutionize the transportation industry but it needs more research to before it goes to production. The potential for geothermal has gone way up with the simple yet brilliant idea of an entrepreneur in Alaska. He drilled 500 feet to hit some hot water but it was only 70 degrees C. Gotta have steam to run a steam turbine. Well he simply build a heat exchanger and a sealed turbine system that he filled with freon. Just run the freon by the heat exchanger then allow it to drive a turbine. It’s limited to cold climate or cold seasons but you have free energy once you pay for the hardware.
Left wing management
August 26th, 2010
1:00 am
“The Iraq war hasn’t been won anymore than the Vietnam war was won.”
Boy is that ever words of truth.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
August 26th, 2010
4:25 am
The libs went a long way to find someone to tell them what they want to hear, and I’m talking about out there-
Unemployment may rise and home sales may fall, but Atlanta’s economy is poised for “quasi-growth” the next two years, the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University predicted Wednesday.
Fears of a double-dip recession and deflation are unfounded “provided we don’t have a steep drop in home values,” director Rajeev Dhawan said. -Urinal
Your spaceship is boarding, homey.
Kent
August 26th, 2010
4:56 am
Everyone has an opinion…
How do you define propoganda?
Don’t believe what you hear in the news!
= Kent
I Report :-) You Whine :-( mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
August 26th, 2010
5:42 am
At a time when painful unemployment numbers continue to bear down on the tattered economy, many are frustrated that the nation’s leader is enjoying another luxurious trip. On CBS’ “The Late Show” Tuesday night, David Letterman took a jab at the president, saying: “He’ll have plenty of time for vacations after his one term is up.”
I actually wish our little Nero would take more vacations, but that’s just me…
USinUK
August 26th, 2010
5:45 am
B-man – (shaking my fist at the computer) – dangit! taunting me with such a great writeup, when you know I’m going to have to wait until I get home to click on the link!!!
“As for Europe, the reality is that they’ve invited Muslims in, but offer little chance for citizenship”
mmmm …. half right. While a lot of European countries have opened the door to Muslims, you forget that a lot of said immigrants currently living in countries like France automatically ARE citizens because they come from French colonies.
Additionally, the EU opened borders between all the member countries, so that you can not only travel freely between Eurozone nations, you can relocate, as well, without needing to become a citizen of your new country. I think that THAT situation has discouraged people from assimilating as much as anything else – (which includes Eastern Europeans settling in England, English settling in Spain, etc)
USinUK
August 26th, 2010
5:46 am
“I actually wish our little Nero would take more vacations”
not everyone can be W
stands for decibels
August 26th, 2010
5:48 am
from way upthread
All you guys on the Left, you did note this past Sunday one of your standard bearers, Friedman, stated the Iraqi war was important.
That gets a little funnier every time I read it.
I Report :-) You Whine :-( mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
August 26th, 2010
5:50 am
Scientists have created a new kind of artificial cornea, inserting a sliver of collagen into the eye that coaxes its own natural corneal cells to regrow and restore vision.
Wow, and they didn’t even have to rip it out of the eye of some little baby, imagine that…
USinUK
August 26th, 2010
5:54 am
dB – 5:48 –
talk about comedy GOLD
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedman_(unit)
USinUK
August 26th, 2010
5:58 am
whiner … here ya go … just like in your favorite weekly reader, find the baby in this picture
http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/stemcell/images/pluri.jpg
stands for decibels
August 26th, 2010
6:00 am
Scout must be so proud.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/nypd_charges_man_with_hate_crime_after_allegedly_stabbing_muslim_cabbie.php
Cool thing is, the TeaTards can play up the Terra Baybeez angle, since this cabbie has four kids born here in the USA.
stands for decibels
August 26th, 2010
6:01 am
UnU, think we should introduce JohnnyCSA4Evah to Friedman’s infamous “Suck on this” video?
USinUK
August 26th, 2010
6:04 am
dB – I just want to know whose standard he’s bearing?
USinUK
August 26th, 2010
6:05 am
dB – 6:00 – I’m just waiting for Michelle Malkin to tell us what kind of cabinetry and counters the cabbie has …
stands for decibels
August 26th, 2010
6:08 am
waiting for Michelle Malkin to tell us what kind of cabinetry and counters
ya know, mentioning that really doesn’t do much for my anger management program.
bbl…
Gomer Pyle
August 26th, 2010
6:49 am
Bush Campaign Chief and Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman: I’m Gay
Gaa aal lee! That jest might help to explain why Bush and Ken had such eyes for each other. How many more closet doors are yet to be opened.
@@
August 26th, 2010
7:15 am
RW:
Interesting article at NRO. I read an in-depth piece, written (years ago) by a Muslim reformist. It mentioned Ahmadi (sp?).
What I took away from the NRO piece was that…by declaring imam’s like Rauf as moderate, we’re letting down the reformists who really ARE seeking to change.
I would think Obama’s CHANGE supporters could identify.
Gomer Pyle
August 26th, 2010
7:32 am
Based on the tough talk coming from the conservatives on this blog, I can’t help but wonder if they is all career military folks that ain’t never been a civilian since they was in diapers. All they talk about is how much other folks needs to be funding their soldier friends and family to go out and kill other folks that done gone and looked at them cross like. I reckon these folks doin’ all this tough talkin’ is the generals and such too ’cause I ain’t never run into no one else that has took such a liking to killing, ‘cept maybe them serial fellas.
stands for decibels
August 26th, 2010
7:32 am
I don’t think anybody anticipated that placing a senile buffoon on the Catfood Commission might lead to embarrassing stories like this.
stands for decibels
August 26th, 2010
7:37 am
regarding my post @ 7.32: This. Also.
mike
August 26th, 2010
7:39 am
Don’t you love how Jay only remembers Iraq when something bad happens? What a joke. How sad that Jay is so personally invested in failure in Iraq.
barking frog
August 26th, 2010
7:42 am
The imam of the Park51 project has a very interesting wife.
Daisy Khan is a name to contend with. She also doen’t quibble
as he does. She simply says the center will be built but
maybe at a different location.
Gomer Pyle
August 26th, 2010
7:46 am
If we send one soldier for each Iraqi to Iraq, we can have a successful surge and give everyone a job at the same time.
barking frog
August 26th, 2010
7:46 am
The only American oil company to get an oil contract
with Iraq was ExxonMobil. Remember where Condi
Rice worked?
stands for decibels
August 26th, 2010
7:48 am
What a joke. How sad that mike is so personally invested in failure in the ajc.
Bruno
August 26th, 2010
7:50 am
“B-man – (shaking my fist at the computer) – dangit! taunting me with such a great writeup, when you know I’m going to have to wait until I get home to click on the link!!!”
I put the Cellist of Sarajevo link up not so much because it is a beautiful piece of music (it’s good, though), but due to its inspirational value. I don’t know if you remember the story behind it, but during the siege of Sarajevo in 1992, Vedran chose to play his cello publicly despite the risks in order to make a statement, a statement that some of the gloom-and-doom posters of the JB blog need to hear as well, IMO.
Yes, there are some crazy Muslims in the world who are bent on destroying the freedom we enjoy and returning us to the Dark Ages. But I still believe that light will triumph over darkness, both here in the US and in all the dark corners of the world where repression is the norm. The history of mankind proves it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedran_Smailovi%C4%87
Gomer Pyle
August 26th, 2010
7:50 am
What a joke. How sad that mike is so personally invested in failure in the ajc.
Perhaps he was never vested in the company retirement plan.
Bruno
August 26th, 2010
7:55 am
“ya know, mentioning that really doesn’t do much for my anger management program.”
sfd–You still wearing your WWHDD bracelet??
As for mike, I feel sorry for him as well as for the other posters whose gear seems to be stuck in reverse. In spite of my recent setbacks, I keep reminding myself to look forward, not back.
stands for decibels
August 26th, 2010
7:56 am
Perhaps he was never vested in the company retirement plan.
That reminds me. You know what I miss? I miss having Jim Wooten, who has enjoyed and will continue to enjoy company-paid health insurance bennies for the remainder of his days, tell me that I’m a filthy commie pig for trying to secure such benefits for lesser American citizens. Good times.
ken
August 26th, 2010
7:57 am
Like others, I do not care. I want my fellow Americans to have a job, family , vacation and a house.
stands for decibels
August 26th, 2010
7:57 am
sfd–You still wearing your WWHDD bracelet??
uh, it’s around here somewhere…
stands for decibels
August 26th, 2010
7:58 am
found it. Yes, mike is one of God’s creatures, and I’m sure he loves puppies, kittens and apple pie.
Bruno
August 26th, 2010
7:59 am
BTW–Final interview on Monday for the Columbus job.
stands for decibels
August 26th, 2010
7:59 am
Bruno, I mighta missed something–did the good news you were expecting to hear on Wed. not turn out to be so good?
stands for decibels
August 26th, 2010
8:00 am
oops. obviously I missed Bruno’s 7.59–prayers/good vibes going your way, my man.
USinUK
August 26th, 2010
8:00 am
Bruno – who’s HD?
popeye
August 26th, 2010
8:01 am
Gomer….You mean to tell me paperboys are eligible for retirement programs? What next health insurance!
USinUK
August 26th, 2010
8:02 am
Brunooooooooooooooo – 7:59 – gooooooooooo BDOG!!! tear’em up!!! grrrrrrrrrr.
we’re cheering you on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF–ldYIBnM
USinUK
August 26th, 2010
8:04 am
dB – “mike is one of God’s creatures”
so is the herpes virus.
just sayin’
USinUK
August 26th, 2010
8:05 am
here ya go, B-dog … one more for you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-egfEb2igSI
Bruno
August 26th, 2010
8:06 am
“I’m a filthy commie pig for trying to secure such benefits for lesser American citizens”
I won’t disagree with your good intentions, though I will likely argue with you how to go about achieving such a noble goal. Socialism/communism in its purest form tends to put a damper on the spirit of achievement, such that the overall standard of living is lower for everyone. This isn’t a point of conjecture, history has proven it time and again.
Soames
August 26th, 2010
8:07 am
AmVet – 29 out of 50 of the Democrat Senators voted FOR the war in Iraq. 82 out of 208 of the Democrat Representatives voted FOR the war in Iraq. You can throw stones at the Republicans all day long but the truth of the matter is the Democrats voted FOR the war in Iraq as well. The “axis of evil” is not restricted to a single political party.
But you keep blaming Cheney, Bush and everybody else for the Democrat’s shortcomings…the truth becomes more apparent with the passing of each day.
All of these folks who say the Republicans are the party of no or they are blocking the Democrats from doing what they want, Don’t the Dems have the majority in both the House and Senate? How can REPUBLICANS be responsible for OBSTRUCTING when they are in the MINORITY. Apparently some Democrats are voting against some of this ridiculous legislation..
Just pointing out your hypocrisy..I could get in to the Clinton – Mogadishu thing but I’m wasting no more of time on you…
“Soames…good day”
stands for decibels
August 26th, 2010
8:07 am
who’s HD?
Hillbilly Deluxe. (who is also Highly Def, in the late-80s hiphop sense of the term.)
I once posted that I have WWHDD and WWSCD bracelets that I try to wear when I post here, since I tend to think of Messrs. Delux and Comfort as two of the most level-headed, reality-based individuals posting here.
Erudite Erasures
August 26th, 2010
8:07 am
All we’ve done is arm the four sides of the Iraq Civil War: Sunni, Shia, Kurds, and those creepy ninja turtle guys.
Bruno
August 26th, 2010
8:08 am
“Bruno – who’s HD?”
Hillbilly Deluxe. We’ve nominated him to be the standard bearer of what it means to be a Christian here on the JB blog, though I’m sure he would humbly reject any such nomination.
stands for decibels
August 26th, 2010
8:10 am
Socialism/communism in its purest form tends to put a damper on the spirit of achievement
I doubt you’d get much argument from the dirtiest of hippies posting here on that. I probably hated the USSR as fervently as you did (and I still don’t trust the sumbitches running Russia any farther than I can throw them.) I just don’t tend to think of (say) Canada as a socialist country; their single-payer health insurance plan seems to be a rational approach to the issues we face, and I figure the sooner we get on track to such a thing the better.
But what do I know.
USinUK
August 26th, 2010
8:10 am
dB –
I think we should all have t-shirts made with What Would Hillbilly Deluxe Do … just for the looks we would get walking down the street …
interested observer
August 26th, 2010
8:15 am
Bring the troops home from Germany and Japan, Iraq and Afghanistan and save big bucks?
True, we can cut defense spending (actually, most “defense spending” is little more than an economic stimulus program) with troop reductions, but what are those men and women going to do in the real world where there are no jobs?
Still, there is merit to reducing the presence of U.S. troops where they’re not wanted or not needed or should not be. Iraq was a disaster from Day 1, like Vietnam just not on the same scale.
andygrd
August 26th, 2010
8:15 am
In Iraq today, Muslims were attacking Muslims….. The religion of “peace”.. right…
I must admit, I think I am turning into a Liberal Democrat…. I was for the building of the Mosque in NYC before I was against it. All kidding aside,,,, No Mosque near “Ground Zero”.
I refuse to be politically correct anymore…. How many Muslims’ in the US have denounced the attack on 9/11? How many Muslims in the US have denounced HAMAS? How many Muslims in the US have denounced the “Muslim on Muslim” attacks? How many Muslims in the US have denounced the rants against Israel? How many…..
Muslim is not a religion, it is nothing more than a way to oppress people. Kinda like Christianity back in the 1600 -1800’s. Back then is was enslavement for gold and silver, now it is enslavement for power…. How many thin Imam’s have you seen? People starve around them and they are well feed……
stands for decibels
August 26th, 2010
8:16 am
UnU @ 8.10, until then, there’s this:
http://www.cafepress.com/VirtualSpeaking/7159441
(you do know of the fabulous http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/ – yes?)
Bruno
August 26th, 2010
8:17 am
LOL at USinUK @ 8:02 and 8:05.
My problem during interviews is that I often get “test-takers anxiety” and don’t always put my best foot forward. The reason I want this job so badly isn’t just for the money ($200 more per week than the last one), but that the guy truly seems like a good person who represents the profession well. After my last job, that’s a critical factor for me. No more compromising my principles just to make a buck. That may change if my financial situation gets any more desperate, however.
Per your 8:04, herpes viruses need love too!
USinUK
August 26th, 2010
8:20 am
Bruno – I think “love” is how they got here!
mmmm … the best piece of advice I ever got waaayyyyy back when I was in university was that you’re interviewing them just as much as they’re interviewing you. you need to make sure it’s a good fit for your health and happiness as much as they need to make sure you’re good at whatever widgety thing you’re supposed to do. keeping that in mind helps keep the jitters away!
stands for decibels
August 26th, 2010
8:22 am
How many Muslims’ in the US have denounced the attack on 9/11?
(Odds that our “andygrd” has ever bothered to look outside his right wing echo chamber to discover the answer to this ancient question?)
Here’s a freebie: You might start with the folks behind Park51.