H
Harry Hope
Guest
All together now! One.. two... three...
The surge is working!
Yes, George W. Bush's magical, manly surge is working like a lucky
charm.
In November 2006 Our Great Leader watched his party's ass get spanked
thanks to overwhelming anti-war sentiment.
In January 2007 he decided to send more troops to Iraq.
Who would have predicted that, just over a year later, those
long-promised sweets and flowers would be raining down upon our troops
in a benevolent tidal wave of gratitude?
I mean, just take a look at the recent headlines...
Basra fight widens rift among Shiite factions
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0328/p25s01-woiq.html
Moqtada al-Sadr's powerful Shiite movement upped the ante Thursday in
its battle with Iraqi government forces.
Militiamen loyal to the young cleric refused to back down in their
fight in the southern oil-rich city of Basra and his foot soldiers in
Baghdad took to the streets in a show of force, calling for the
resignation of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
(snip)
Violence in Basra has spread to parts of the capital and other towns
and cities between Baghdad and the southern oil city.
Since Wednesday, at least 60 people have been killed in violence in
Hilla, 60 miles south of Baghdad.
Meanwhile...
Iran 'behind Green Zone attack'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7311565.stm
The most senior US general in Iraq has said he has evidence that Iran
was behind Sunday's bombardment of Baghdad's heavily fortified Green
Zone.
Gen David Petraeus told the BBC he thought Tehran had trained,
equipped and funded insurgents who fired the barrage of mortars and
rockets.
And let's not forget...
U.S. Armor Forces Join Offensive In Baghdad Against Sadr Militia
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...27/AR2008032700781.html?nav=rss_world/mideast
U.S. forces in armored vehicles battled Mahdi Army fighters Thursday
in Sadr City, the vast Shiite stronghold in eastern Baghdad, as an
offensive to quell party-backed militias entered its third day.
Iraqi army and police units appeared to be largely holding to the
outskirts of the area as American troops took the lead in the
fighting.
Several Mahdi Army commanders said they had been fighting U.S. forces
for the past three days in Sadr City, engaging Humvees as well as the
Strykers.
By their account, an Iraqi special forces unit had entered Sadr City
from another direction, backed by Americans, but otherwise the
fighting had not been with Iraqis.
"If there were no Americans, there would be no fighting," said Abu
Mustafa al-Thahabi, 38, a senior Mahdi Army member.
So let's see.
The Shiites are fighting each other in Basra, Iranian-backed
insurgents are attacking the Green Zone, and American troops are
fighting Al-Sadr's militia in Baghdad.
At least it can't get any more complicated, can it?
Warlord vs. Warlord http://www.slate.com/id/2187564
.... The fighting in Basra, which has spread to parts of Baghdad, is
not a clash between good and evil or between a legitimate government
and an outlaw insurgency.
Rather, as Anthony Cordesman, military analyst for the
Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies,
writes, it is "a power struggle" between rival "Shiite party mafias"
for control of the oil-rich south and other Shiite sections of the
country.
Both sides in this struggle are essentially militias.
Both sides have ties to Iran.
And as for protecting "the Iraqi people," the side backed by Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki (and by U.S. air power) has, ironically, less
support - at least in many Shiite areas, including Basra - than the
side that he (and we) are attacking.
Right... but that's the worst of it, surely?
Iranians help reach Iraq cease-fire
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-03-30-iraqnews_N.htm
Iranian officials helped broker a cease-fire agreement Sunday between
Iraq's government and radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, according
to Iraqi lawmakers.
The deal could help defuse a wave of violence that had threatened
recent security progress in Iraq.
It also may signal the growing regional influence of Iran, a country
the Bush administration accuses of providing support to terrorists in
Iraq and elsewhere.
So anyway, as you can see, I was being sarcastic earlier.
The truth is, there's really no way in the world that anyone in their
right mind could argue that the surge is working.
Bush: Iraq is returning to normal
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/31825.html
President Bush, saying that "normalcy is returning back to Iraq,"
argued Thursday that last year's U.S. troop "surge" has improved
Iraq's security to the point where political and economic progress are
blossoming as well.
By EarlG
Democratic Underground
http://www.democraticunderground.com/
Harry
The surge is working!
Yes, George W. Bush's magical, manly surge is working like a lucky
charm.
In November 2006 Our Great Leader watched his party's ass get spanked
thanks to overwhelming anti-war sentiment.
In January 2007 he decided to send more troops to Iraq.
Who would have predicted that, just over a year later, those
long-promised sweets and flowers would be raining down upon our troops
in a benevolent tidal wave of gratitude?
I mean, just take a look at the recent headlines...
Basra fight widens rift among Shiite factions
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0328/p25s01-woiq.html
Moqtada al-Sadr's powerful Shiite movement upped the ante Thursday in
its battle with Iraqi government forces.
Militiamen loyal to the young cleric refused to back down in their
fight in the southern oil-rich city of Basra and his foot soldiers in
Baghdad took to the streets in a show of force, calling for the
resignation of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
(snip)
Violence in Basra has spread to parts of the capital and other towns
and cities between Baghdad and the southern oil city.
Since Wednesday, at least 60 people have been killed in violence in
Hilla, 60 miles south of Baghdad.
Meanwhile...
Iran 'behind Green Zone attack'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7311565.stm
The most senior US general in Iraq has said he has evidence that Iran
was behind Sunday's bombardment of Baghdad's heavily fortified Green
Zone.
Gen David Petraeus told the BBC he thought Tehran had trained,
equipped and funded insurgents who fired the barrage of mortars and
rockets.
And let's not forget...
U.S. Armor Forces Join Offensive In Baghdad Against Sadr Militia
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...27/AR2008032700781.html?nav=rss_world/mideast
U.S. forces in armored vehicles battled Mahdi Army fighters Thursday
in Sadr City, the vast Shiite stronghold in eastern Baghdad, as an
offensive to quell party-backed militias entered its third day.
Iraqi army and police units appeared to be largely holding to the
outskirts of the area as American troops took the lead in the
fighting.
Several Mahdi Army commanders said they had been fighting U.S. forces
for the past three days in Sadr City, engaging Humvees as well as the
Strykers.
By their account, an Iraqi special forces unit had entered Sadr City
from another direction, backed by Americans, but otherwise the
fighting had not been with Iraqis.
"If there were no Americans, there would be no fighting," said Abu
Mustafa al-Thahabi, 38, a senior Mahdi Army member.
So let's see.
The Shiites are fighting each other in Basra, Iranian-backed
insurgents are attacking the Green Zone, and American troops are
fighting Al-Sadr's militia in Baghdad.
At least it can't get any more complicated, can it?
Warlord vs. Warlord http://www.slate.com/id/2187564
.... The fighting in Basra, which has spread to parts of Baghdad, is
not a clash between good and evil or between a legitimate government
and an outlaw insurgency.
Rather, as Anthony Cordesman, military analyst for the
Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies,
writes, it is "a power struggle" between rival "Shiite party mafias"
for control of the oil-rich south and other Shiite sections of the
country.
Both sides in this struggle are essentially militias.
Both sides have ties to Iran.
And as for protecting "the Iraqi people," the side backed by Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki (and by U.S. air power) has, ironically, less
support - at least in many Shiite areas, including Basra - than the
side that he (and we) are attacking.
Right... but that's the worst of it, surely?
Iranians help reach Iraq cease-fire
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-03-30-iraqnews_N.htm
Iranian officials helped broker a cease-fire agreement Sunday between
Iraq's government and radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, according
to Iraqi lawmakers.
The deal could help defuse a wave of violence that had threatened
recent security progress in Iraq.
It also may signal the growing regional influence of Iran, a country
the Bush administration accuses of providing support to terrorists in
Iraq and elsewhere.
So anyway, as you can see, I was being sarcastic earlier.
The truth is, there's really no way in the world that anyone in their
right mind could argue that the surge is working.
Bush: Iraq is returning to normal
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/31825.html
President Bush, saying that "normalcy is returning back to Iraq,"
argued Thursday that last year's U.S. troop "surge" has improved
Iraq's security to the point where political and economic progress are
blossoming as well.
By EarlG
Democratic Underground
http://www.democraticunderground.com/
Harry
