Thread: Quagmire....

Boon Mee is ok, he is a born-again liberal. He just doesn't know it yet

a question for presidential press secretary tony snow....

Q Well, one more, Tony, just one more. Do you believe -- does the President still believe that Saddam Hussein was connected to Zarqawi or al Qaeda before the invasion?

"MR. SNOW: The President has never said that there was a direct, operational relationship between the two, and this is important. Zarqawi was in Iraq.


"Q There was a link --


"MR. SNOW: Well, and there was a relationship -- there was a relationship in this sense: Zarqawi was in Iraq; al Qaeda members were in Iraq; they were operating, and in some cases, operating freely from Iraq. Zarqawi, for instance, directed the assassination of an American diplomat in Amman, Jordan. But they did they have a corner office at the Mukhabarat? No. Were they getting a line item in Saddam's budget? No. There was no direct operational relationship, but there was a relationship. They were in the country, and I think you understand that the Iraqis knew they were there. That's the relationship.


"Q Saddam Hussein knew they were there; that's it for the relationship?


"MR. SNOW: That's pretty much it."


Senate Democrats swiftly sent out some culpatory quotes from the archives. Among them:
Bush's 2003 State of the Union message : "Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications, and statements by people now in custody reveal the Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of Al Qaeda. Secretly, and without fingerprints, he could provide one of his hidden weapons to terrorists, or help them develop their own."


And his Feb. 8, 2003 Radio Address : "Saddam Hussein has longstanding, direct and continuing ties to terrorist networks. Senior members of Iraqi intelligence and Al Qaeda have met at least eight times since the early 1990s. Iraq has sent bomb-making document forgery experts to work with Al Qaeda. Iraq has also provided Al Qaeda with chemical and biological weapons training."

White House Briefing -- News on President George W Bush and the Bush Administration - washingtonpost.com

Look for changes coming this election. You better believe there's going to be a shitstorm if the Democrats get a solid majority in Congress.

if the dems take congress, it will send a message to the world that the american people do not support the GWB white house or its doctrine. which may go a long way in securing the american people from further attacks on innocent civilians.

it will also open up (for the first time in six years) the prospect of congressional oversight......you know, as the constitution intended?

And that's a big "if" ray ... like the way you qualified that. Careful choice of words. You don't even believe or have confidence in what you say.

I agree too many qualifiers.

Without qualifiers it wouldn't be politics.

That's right I forgot we're talking about Democrats .

^^or follow standards of common sense.....it's an election for god's sake.

how do i know what is going to happen in nov?
i have my opinions on what will happen, but these are hardly facts......a point that the likes of sk and batboy seem unable to grasp.

U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq

The details provided here come from a database maintained by The Associated Press. Names of service members who have died are entered only after their official release by the military. Because names are not always released immediately, the number of names in the database may not correspond to overall numbers of deaths reported by military authorities.


Total deaths — 2657 Names released — 2657 Since May 1, 2003* — 2518By Service ___ By Cause ___ By Year ___ By Gender ___ Army 1324 Action 2089 2003 485 Male 2605 Marines 665 Accident 305 2004 846 Female 52 Army National Guard 374 Other 246 2005 845 Marines Reserve 100 Illness 13 2006 481 Army Reserve 98 Friendly fire 4 Navy 35 Air Force 23 Navy Reserve 12 Army Reserves 4 Marines Reserves 3 Air Force Reserve 1

Here is an interactive link to the numbers. It's updated frequently.

We must be cognizant of the fact that most of the killed and disabled are Iraqi civilians.

Link: U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq - Conflict in Iraq - MSNBC.com

so what are your thoughts on the moat?

in case you haven't heard, this is the new 'plan' to bring security to the besieged citizens of baghdad.

The plan to dig trenches around Baghdad will be implemented in coming weeks, Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Abdul-Kareem Khalaf told The Associated Press.


It comes as more than 130 people were slain in two days — either killed in attacks or tortured and dumped in rivers or on the city's streets.
"Trenches will be dug around Baghdad in the coming weeks when the third part of the Baghdad security plan is implemented," Khalaf said.


The security plan, known as Operation Together Forward, began June 15 and is being implemented in three phases. The first phase included setting up random checkpoints around the city, phase two began Aug. 7 and focused on the most violence-prone areas of Baghdad — mostly the Sunni Arab southern districts. Phase three reportedly includes cordoning off and searching other parts of Baghdad, including predominantly Shiite areas.


Khalaf said that except for the trenches, vehicle and pedestrian traffic would be restricted to just 28 entry points with manned checkpoints.

Iraq to dig trenches around Baghdad - Yahoo! News



kurt russell's career is probably the only thing that will benefit from this bit of genius.

"escape from baghdad" coming soon to a theater near you.











'operation together forward'.

They are becoming desperate, aren't they ?

In other news the decline of wages, high unemployment, and increasing prices of basic commodities is creating the perfect storm for Al-Quida's recruitment as more and more younger Iraqis see no other alternative than to take up arms against the very goverment(s) creating the bad economic situation.

A very interesting article on how the Bush Administration hired people to work in Iraq.
----------------------------------------

Coalition Provisional Authority

Many of those chosen by O'Beirne's office to work for the Coalition Provisional Authority, which ran Iraq's government from April 2003 to June 2004, lacked vital skills and experience. A 24-year-old who had never worked in finance -- but had applied for a White House job -- was sent to reopen Baghdad's stock exchange. The daughter of a prominent neoconservative commentator and a recent graduate from an evangelical university for home-schooled children were tapped to manage Iraq's $13 billion budget, even though they didn't have a background in accounting.

But many CPA staff members were more interested in other things: in instituting a flat tax, in selling off government assets, in ending food rations and otherwise fashioning a new nation that looked a lot like the United States. Many of them spent their days cloistered in the Green Zone, a walled-off enclave in central Baghdad with towering palms, posh villas, well-stocked bars and resort-size swimming pools.

Entire: WP: Ties to GOP trumped skill on Iraq team - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com

Corruption at its worst.

hey, hey, hey!

let's stay focused......freedom's on the march.

Yeah yeah, ok ray.

it's becoming apparent that keda doesn't support the troops.

On the contrary, it's those you support that I don't support.

Originally Posted by keda

it's those you support that I don't support.

that's a well thought out philosophy you've got there.

Originally Posted by surasak

Corruption at its worst.

No, corruption at its best

Originally Posted by Milkman

The chief of intelligence for the Marine Corps in Iraq recently filed an unusual secret report concluding that the prospects for securing that country's western al Anbar province are dim and that there is almost nothing the U.S. military can do to improve the political and social situation there, said several military officers and intelligence officials familiar with its contents.

The officials described Col. Pete Devlin's classified assessment of the dire state of Anbar as the first time that a senior U.S. military officer has filed so negative a report from Iraq.

One Army officer summarized it as arguing that in Anbar province, "We haven't been defeated militarily but we have been defeated politically -- and that's where wars are won and lost."

Entire: WP: Anbar situation called dire - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com

and for those in need of a geography lesson, anbar province is that tiny, insignificant one one the left....that takes up 1/3 of the country.

That's pathetic considering that Anbar is mostly sand. If they can't secure a tract of sand what chance do they have in the cities?

Originally Posted by surasak

That's pathetic considering that Anbar is mostly sand. If they can't secure a tract of sand what chance do they have in the cities?

Western Sahara and Polisario comes to mind..