Mission Accomplished! Il Duce Bush pens permanent U.S. military presence in Iraq

Expect 50,000 U.S. troops to remain in Iraq FOREVER. That's the Bush/neocon plan. It won't be tolerated by Iraqis.

US, Iraq deal sees long-term US presence

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BEN FELLER AP News Nov 26, 2007 21:53 EST ~~~snip~~~ The Iraqi officials [who spoke under conditions of anonymity because the subject is sensitive] said that under the proposed formula, Iraq would get full responsibility for internal security and U.S. troops would relocate to bases outside the cities. Iraqi officials foresee a long-term presence of about 50,000 U.S. troops, down from the current figure of more than 160,000. ___ Associated Press Writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this story.

A "Declaration of Principles" from George Bush? by BarbinMD [Daily Kos front-page story] Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 06:07:33 AM PST

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Yesterday it was announced that George Bush has unilaterally decided that the United States will have what appears to be a permanent presence in Iraq. ~~~cont'd~~~

General Douglas Lute said the long term agreement signed by President Bush and Iraq Prime Minister al-Maliki on the permanent stationing of U.S. troops in Iraq will not need to be brought before Congress because "it does not rise to the level of a treaty agreement". Another unilateral decision by our self-declared Wartime President, supreme Commander-in-Chief, and Unitary Executive extraordinaire! This is a fascist smack in the face AFAIC.

The ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict

As I document the ongoing vioence between Israelis and Palestinians, it is revealing to watch the comparative number of deaths on each side. I prognosticate that the number of Palestinians killed will far exceed the number of Israelis killed. That brings up the question of the appropriate use of force.

President Bush has convened a "peace" conference in Annapolis, Md. today. Hamas wasn't invited! Gazans are completely cut off (economically and every other way - borders are sealed). Palestinians living in Gaza are caught between Israel and the sea. The situation in Gaza is completely unacceptable. Bush is using this peace conference to build or strengthen a concensus against Iran and against Hamas. That is why this peace conference is a joke. Who cares about Condi Rice's legacy. The living conditions of Palestinians should be the first concern of all Palestinian leaders (including the Palestinian Authority) as well as United States if it is interested in brokering peace. I don't expect peace from Bush. I expect war. The man breaks everything he touches. The meeting in Annapolis will likely make things worse not better.

Three Gazans die in Israel strike

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Last Updated: Tuesday, 27 November 2007, 12:07 GMT - BBC News Reports from the Gaza Strip say three people have been killed in two separate attacks by Israeli forces. The militant group Hamas said two of its members were killed in an Israeli air strike near the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. Israeli military officials said the armed men were approaching the barrier between Israel and Gaza. And in southern Gaza, medical staff said a civilian was shot dead by Israeli troops near the Sufa crossing. However the Israeli army said that the man was crawling towards the crossing in a "suspicious manner". ~~~cont'd~~~

What GIs & Bush wish for New Year

December 31, 2006, 05:44 PM EST:

Yes, I know there are no GI (Government Issues) serving in the military. They are all "volunteers", but "GI" works where brevity is at a premium such as in a headline.

Basically, the U.S. troops serving in Iraq want to survive the ordeal and return safely to their families. Bush see himself as a "Wartime President" and a decisive Commander-in-Chief who forges victory in Iraq. He likes being known as The Decider. George W. Bush won't admit his decision to invade and occupy Iraq was a mistake. Neither does he want to be known as Bush The Withdrawer.

Therefore Commander-in-Chief George W. Bush using the authority of his office, against widespread almost univeral expert advice, will escalate war in Iraq in 2007. He will say it is temporary but as Atrios notes a "sustained surge" is an escalation.

Bush wishes for victory in 2007. There will be a bigger war in Iraq in 2007 but there will be no U.S. victory or U.S.-puppet Iraq government victory in 2007, 2008, or beyond.

GIs hope for life after Iraq in 2007 (AP) BAGHDAD, Iraq - Get home safely. That's the top New Year's resolution for many U.S. soldiers in Iraq. But their hopes for 2007 look beyond surviving roadside bombs, ambushes, sniper fire and mortar and grenade attacks. Spc. Maurice Gibbs, 22, wants to start a family with his wife, Marlyn, after both finish their tours in Baghdad.

Bush mourns death of 3,000th U.S. soldier in Iraq Reuters - President Bush mourned the death of the 3,000th U.S. soldier in Iraq, the White House said on Sunday, but cautioned war-weary Americans that no quick end was in sight to the conflict.

Bush: US to fight in Iraq 'without wavering' in 2007 AFP - US President George W. Bush said in his New Year's message that the United States would battle terrorists and work towards a "free and unified Iraq" in 2007.



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Faire l'amour, pas la guerre
Make love not war

Condi Rice is a failure!

It is my understanding that Dr. Condoleezza Rice was brought on board the Bush team to serve as Junior's tutor when it was decided he would run for President after his smarter brother Jeb lost an election in Florida. George W. Bush needed a tutor because he didn't know shit about foreign affairs or geography. Bush didn't know Kazakhstan from Kyrgyzstan or Shiite from Sunni. It is important that the most powerful man in the world know these things.

So Condi Rice is a Bush family confidant. She was rewarded for her efforts by being named Bush's National Security Adviser during his first term in office. Dr. Condoleezza Rice was at George W. Bush's side when he made the decision to invade Iraq and issued the order on March 20, 2003. The failed war in Iraq is as much on Condi Rice's hands as it is on Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. She acquiesced in that disasterous decision. She was by Bush's side when he lied about WMD in Iraq. She was his national security adviser. She was as responsible for bad intelligence as former CIA director George Tenet.

Condi Rice continued to be rewarded for her faithful service to the Bush Crime Family. The Bush-Cheney regime loved to point to her and Colin Powell as examples of "diversity" on the Bush-Cheney team. The fact that she is black and a woman helped her win Senate confirmation as Secretary of State. Oh yes, she does have a Phd in political science and is supposedly a Russian expert, but her tenure as our chief diplomat has been about as "successful" as George H.W. Bush's oldest son has been as the 43rd President of the United States.

Condi can't stand up to George W. Bush. The extant question is whether Robert Gates or some senior military officers will man-up to Junior and tell him "No" to more war? Dr. Condoleezza Rice is a failure as Secretary of State.

Rice still struggling for success after two years as top US diplomat

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by David Millikin
AFP Thu Dec 28, 7:41 PM ET

Condoleezza Rice wraps up her first two years as secretary of state with few diplomatic successes to show for her efforts and fewer signs she plans to change course to improve the record.

And yet, as Rice heads into 2007, the 52-year-old former academic should be at the top of her game for the last two years of President George W. Bush's administration.

She has seen off her longtime rival for Bush's ear, former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

And the Bush administration is under pressure from all sides to use more diplomacy and less bluster in its foreign policy, a shift which should place Rice at the epicenter of decision-making.

But since she took over as America's top diplomat on January 26, 2005 with an agenda to promote freedom and democracy around the globe, Rice has been shadowed by the failure of that plan on its biggest stage: Iraq.

The violence in Iraq, and the Bush administration's refusal to bring rivals Syria and Iran into efforts to stabilize the country, are widely blamed for the broader failure of US policy in the Middle East -- where Lebanon teeters on the brink of civil war and Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts languish.

Elsewhere, Rice's globe-trotting -- 37 overseas trips totalling nearly 500,000 miles (800,000 kilometers) -- has yielded little concrete success, with her few diplomatic victories clouded by poor or no follow-up.

~~~snip~~~

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Bush is faking deliberating options

George W. Bush is a faker and a liar. He has never considered any option except escalating the war he is losing in Iraq. That has been the only option he has considered since the results of the Nov 7 election and the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group forced him to pretend he is reviewiew his Iraq war policy.

Bush has telegraphed his intentions many times. Anyone who thought George W. Bush would listen to voices of reason does not understand how deeply psychologically disturbed the 43rd President of the United States is.

Remember what Bob Woodward said, talking about George W. Bush on "60 Minutes" last October?

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"Late last year he had key Republicans up to the White House to talk about the war. And said, 'I will not withdraw even if Laura and Barney are the only ones supporting me.' Barney is his dog,"

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Bush because he is the Commander-in-Chief twisted the U.S. military's arm and finally got Gen. George Custer Casey to go along with Bush's and the neocon American Enterprise Institute's plan to send more troops to Iraq. This will not be a temporary surge but a SURGE and SUSTAIN operation. Bush will lie about the nature of this so-called "surge option" just has he has lied about every aspect of this war from its conception at least as early as July 2002 (probably earlier than that) to its inception on March 20, 2003

Now Bush is convening his sycophants who will all concur "after careful deliberation" with his plan to escalate the war in Iraq. Does anybody think Condoleezza Rice, Dick Cheney, or Stephen Hadley will tell the Commander-in-Chief, No?

This last gasp, Hail Mary, roll of the dice, double down tactic will fail just as everything else associated with Bush's illegal, unjust, unnecessary, immoral, and unwinnable war in Iraq has failed. All the pretend deliberations (just like the pretexts Bush used to start this war) have been cover for his own sweet lying *** .

Bush to gather top aides ahead of decision on Iraq

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AFP 1:05 pm EST Wednesday 27 December 2006

US President George W. Bush will assemble his top aides at his Texas ranch Thursday for final consultations on his planned strategy change in Iraq, the White House said.

"He's wanting to make sure that we give all consideration to all the options," White House spokesman Scott Stanzel told reporters Tuesday.

"He continues to ask questions of his advisors and he is continuing to think about thinking steps ahead and trying to make sure that all options and all ideas are given the due consideration they need, trying to think through the consequences of any actions and of those options," Stanzel said.

Bush is expected after the start of the year to deliver a speech announcing a new way forward in Iraq.

Expected to attend the meeting are the president's new Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Vice President Dick Cheney and national security adviser Stephen Hadley, among others.

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Saddam Hussein's pending execution

I still think that Saddam Hussein should have been tried by the World Court. His execution will not unite Iraqis or diminish the violence. There are good reasons to believe his execution will actually further inflame the violence that is already raging in Iraq. Note that the Bush-Cheney regime hails the verdict and the rejection of Saddam's appeal. The Bush-Cheney White House sees Saddam's execution as "bringing him to justice". The European Union urges the (U.S. puppet) Iraq government not to carry out the sentence.

I am not sympathetic to Saddam. I am opposed to the death penalty in ALL cases. Violence begets violence. I think executing Saddam Hussein is counter to U.S. interests. It further taints everything that the U.S. has touched in Iraq and makes everything and everyone who cooperates with Americans in Iraq suspect and targets for the insurgency.

Lastly, executing Saddam is akin to a doctor burying his mistakes. In the rush to execute Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, vital information about others involved in the plot went to the gave when McVeigh died.

Only Saddam and those high in his regime know the full story of past cooperation between the Reagan White House and Saddam's regime during the 1980s. Executing Saddam is another bad tactical error on the part of the U.S. and it's puppet government in Iraq in my reasoned opinion.

Some Iraqis fear Saddam execution would fuel violence

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By Mussab Al-Khairalla
Reuters 5:24 am EST Wed 27 Dec 2006

Many Iraqis said on Wednesday they would welcome a swift execution of Saddam Hussein but others expressed fears that carrying out the death sentence now would further fuel sectarian violence.

~~~snip~~~

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Mixed reactions to Saddam verdict

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Last Updated: Wednesday, 27 December 2006, 09:15 GMT - BBC News

The US has hailed a ruling by an Iraq court that Saddam Hussein be executed within 30 days, while the EU has urged Baghdad not to carry out the sentence.

~~~snip~~~

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Bush is a serial pathological liar

George W. Bush lied us into war in Iraq. He KNOWINGLY lied about WMD. Bush lied when he said in October 2006 "we are winning in Iraq". Bush lied when he said right before the Nov 7 election that he expected Donald Rumsfeld to remain Secretary of Defense for the remainer of Bush's term in office.

George W. Bush lied in June of 2006 when he said he wanted to close Guantanamo Detention Facility in Cuba. Guantanamo has been expanded, and Bush knew that when he said he wanted it closed in June.

Today Bush has returned to Texas to "rethink" U.S. involvement in Iraq. Bush has NEVER questioned, deliberated, or doubted for one second his decision to invade and occupy Iraq. The only "rethinking" Bush is doing is how he can escalate the war in Iraq which he is losing.

As Helen Thomas accurately notes in the article below, Bush is busy writing his recipe for more war. George W. Bush is not only the worst President in U.S. history, he is also one of the worst leaders in the history of the world. Toying with WWIII is not wise, manly, courageous, or Christian. George W. Bush is a serial pathological liar.

The US 'wants to end Guantanamo'

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Last Updated: Wednesday, 21 June 2006, 20:46 GMT 21:46 UK - BBC News

US President George W Bush has said he would like to close the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay and send many detainees back to their home countries.

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Bush in Texas to rethink Iraq course (AP 26 Dec 2006) President Bush went to his ranch Tuesday to rethink U.S. involvement in Iraq

Bush is writing the recipe for more war

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By Helen Thomas
Hearst Newspapers

December 26, 2006

President Bush has alerted the American people that the war in Iraq will go on for a long time -- easily into the next presidency.

Bush's 2003 "cakewalk" invasion of Iraq to bring about a "regime change" has expanded into what he told a news conference Wednesday is "the beginning stages of an ideological battle."

According to the official White House line, Bush is pondering his options for a "new way forward" in Iraq, with his decision to be announced next month.

But the president indicated Wednesday that he has already made his choice, hinting to reporters at his year-end news conference that he will send more U.S. troops to Iraq.

It doesn't seem to occur to him that some of the escalating violence in Iraq stems from opposition to the U.S. military occupation there.

~~~snip~~~

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US deaths surpass 9/11

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The Daily Telegraph (Australia) 27 December 2006

"The war on terror is a long struggle and we will be fighting violent jihadists to secure peace for many years to come and the call of this generation is to take the fight to the terrorists to prevent an attack on our nation greater than the scale of 9/11," the spokesman said at the president's ranch where Bush is spending the end of the year.

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Update on escalation of Iraq war

I find the headline "The President is likely to bow..." to be more than passing strange because Bush WANTS to escalate this war.

Bush may boost Iraq troops by 20,000

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The President is likely to bow to a request for five more brigades as attacks rise to 1,000 a week

Peter Beaumont, foreign affairs editor
Sunday December 24, 2006
The Observer

President Bush began a series of urgent consultations with his key defence and foreign policy advisers at Camp David yesterday, amid expectations that he was preparing to agree to a request from US commanders to send an additional 20,000 troops to Iraq to secure Baghdad.

The request for five extra brigades to secure the capital follows the decision by senior US officers that, despite deep reservations, there was sufficient movement among Iraqi political leaders towards tackling sectarian violence to justify the deployment of extra US troops. A report in yesterday's Los Angeles Times reported that commanders in Iraq, including General George Casey and Lieutenant-General Raymond Odierno, have decided to recommend a temporary increase in combat forces, a plan that appears to be gaining favour in the administration. Casey previously opposed the increase.

Bush was joined at his Maryland retreat yesterday by his new Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, who travelled to the presidential compound from a whirlwind fact-finding mission, meeting US military and Iraqi political leaders in Iraq. Also attending the meeting was Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who insisted that the sacrifice in American lives and aid to Iraq was worthwhile for regional security.

Recent comments by Bush, Gates and Rice have led to intense speculation that Bush intends to reject several of the key recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, instead increasing troop numbers. The talks come as a Pentagon report disclosed last week that the number of terrorist attacks had risen to almost 1,000 a week with almost 100 Iraqis now dying every day.

Instead of setting a timetable for a rapid withdrawal, administration officials have made clear that they believe that there will be a long-term US commitment on the ground in support of the Iraqi government. Hints from Gates in the past few days have suggested, however, that while US troops may remain, their mission is likely to be rapidly transformed to that of military advisers, as he spoke approvingly of one unit's success at training Iraqi brigades by boosting the size of the US teams embedded in each Iraqi unit.

Gates refused to rule out an expected surge in US troop numbers in Baghdad - perhaps by as much as a further 30,000 men - which has been widely expected as a short-term solution to the spiralling security problems.

~~~snip~~~

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Robert Gates is flat out lying about Iraqi's "willingness to step forward".

Bush ponders $10 billion New Deal to create jobs in Iraq

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The Sunday Times December 24, 2006

by Sarah Baxter, Washington

THE White House is expected to announce a reconstruction package for Iraq as part of a plan for a “surge” of up to 30,000 troops into Baghdad when President George W Bush unveils America’s new strategy next month.

Bush is being urged to give up to $10 billion (£5.1 billion) to Iraq as part of a “New Deal” that would create work for unemployed Iraqis, following the model of President Franklin D Roosevelt during the 1930s depression.

At the Pentagon, the joint chiefs of staff are insisting on reconstruction funds as part of a package of political and economic measures to accompany the armed forces. They fear the extra troops will be wasted and more lives lost if Bush relies purely on the military to pacify Iraq, according to sources close to General Peter Schoomaker, the army chief of staff.

Military commanders have come round to the idea that an increase of troops is likely to form the backbone of Bush’s new strategy on Iraq. “People are warming to the idea that some sort of surge is necessary,” said a military official.

Robert Gates, the defence secretary, held talks with Bush, Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, and Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser, at Camp David yesterday, where he reported back on his three-day tour of Iraq. He said the willingness of Iraqis to “step forward” had advanced significantly.

~~~snip~~~

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Bush creates more targets for insurgents

President Bush is reported to be considering creating a $10 billion make-work jobs program to win the hearts and minds of Iraqis. This will not succeed. It will only create more targets for Iraqi insurgents. Anyone tainted in any way whatsoever by the occupying American power will be targeted for torture and assissination. That is all Bush will accomplish besides deeping our $9 trillion U.S. national debt.

Bush has financed this entrire war by off-the-books, off-the-budget borrowing against the burgeoning national debt. The national debt has doubled under President Bush. He has borrowed more money than all the former Presidents of the United States combined.

Will the Chinese give us "make work" programs when we are in the poor house? Bush is throwing good money after bad in Iraq. The only thing worse than sending U.S. soldiers to die in vain is sending more U.S. soldiers to die in vain.

Bush ponders $10 billion New Deal to create jobs in Iraq

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The Sunday Times (UK) December 24, 2006

by Sarah Baxter, Washington

THE White House is expected to announce a reconstruction package for Iraq as part of a plan for a “surge” of up to 30,000 troops into Baghdad when President George W Bush unveils America’s new strategy next month.

Bush is being urged to give up to $10 billion (£5.1 billion) to Iraq as part of a “New Deal” that would create work for unemployed Iraqis, following the model of President Franklin D Roosevelt during the 1930s depression.

At the Pentagon, the joint chiefs of staff are insisting on reconstruction funds as part of a package of political and economic measures to accompany the armed forces. They fear the extra troops will be wasted and more lives lost if Bush relies purely on the military to pacify Iraq, according to sources close to General Peter Schoomaker, the army chief of staff.

Military commanders have come round to the idea that an increase of troops is likely to form the backbone of Bush’s new strategy on Iraq. “People are warming to the idea that some sort of surge is necessary,” said a military official.

~~~snip~~~

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Gates lies as cover for Bush to escalate war

The following Associated Press obligatory news story of Robert Gates briefing President Bush on his return from Iraq is agitprop and White House spin of the news. Robert Gates is lying when he claims to have a positive impression of Iraqi leaders' plans to address the sectarian violence. THERE IS NO PLAN. GATES IS LYING THROUGH HIS TEETH AND GIVING COVER FOR BUSH TO ESCALATE THIS WAR WITH FALSE HOPES AND MORE LIES.

This falls in the same category of manipulation of the news that Gates and reporters engaged in earlier in his visit to Iraq. Several U.S. troops told Gates they needed more help (i.e. more troops in Iraq). That was NOT a scientific sampling of the U.S. troops' sentiments regarding escalating this war. They were mere testimonials but when reported over and over it amounts to building a false consensus of opinion that the U.S. troops in Iraq are in favor of Bush sending more U.S. troops which is what Bush intended to do all along.

Lackadaisical and sloppy U.S. news coverage of this war amounts to the press being in bed with Bush. We don't need the press to be cheerleaders. We need the press to accurately report on this war. According to Jessica Tucker Matthews of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the press lags six months behind in reporting the actual situation on the ground in Iraq. It is far worse than ordinary Americans comprehend.

TWO news stories below. The first gives a false impression. The second reports the story accurately.

New Pentagon chief briefs Bush on Iraq

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By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer
6:26 pm EST Sat 23 Dec 2006

President Bush, drafting an overhaul of his faltering and unpopular war plan, heard Saturday from a Pentagon chief who had just returned from Iraq with a positive impression of Iraqi leaders' plans to address sectarian violence.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates finished his first week on the job by delivering a report to Bush on the three days he spent talking with Iraqi leaders, U.S. commanders and American soldiers. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace, who traveled with Gates to Iraq, helped make the presentation.

The early-morning meeting at Camp David in Maryland's mountains lasted about an hour. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, national security adviser Stephen Hadley and Hadley's deputy, J.D. Crouch, who is coordinating the administration's Iraq review, also participated.

~~~snip~~~

While in Baghdad, Gates did praise Iraqi leaders for having "some concrete plans in mind" to deal with the deadly militias that have brought the country to the brink of civil war between the Shiite majority and Sunni minority.

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Shiite cleric won't support coalition

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By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer
11:10 am EST Sat 23 Dec 2006

Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric withheld support Saturday for a U.S.-backed plan to build a coalition across sectarian lines, Shiite lawmakers said, jeopardizing hopes that such a show of political unity could help stem the country's deadly violence.

Members of the United Iraqi Alliance, the Shiite coalition that dominates parliament, met with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf after traveling to the holy city over the past few days. Al-Sistani holds no political post and rarely emerges from his home and adjacent office, but he has strong influence over Shiite politics.

Some members of the Shiite alliance have sought a coalition that would include Kurds and Sunnis, and sideline Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric whose militia is blamed for much of Iraq's sectarian violence. Lawmakers who attended the meeting with al-Sistani said the cleric opposed any move that would divide Shiites.

"There are obstacles in the face of forming this coalition, because al-Sistani does not support it. So we will work to strengthen the (Shiite) alliance," said Hassan al-Sunnaid, of the Dawa Party of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Ali al-Adib, also a Dawa Party member, said al-Sistani "does not support such blocs because they will break Shiite unity."

An official close to al-Sistani, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the cleric "will not bless nor support any new bloc or front. He only supports the unity of the Shiites."

Such a development could frustrate U.S.-backed efforts to persuade Iraq's political leaders to set aside sectarian interests and work together for the sake of national unity. Without progress in Iraqi politics, some observers say, the security situation in the country is likely to remain tenuous.

Al-Maliki, the Shiite prime minister, had relied heavily on the support of al-Sadr, whose 30 loyalists in the 275-seat parliament and six ministers in the 38-member Cabinet boycotted politics after al-Maliki met Bush in Jordan recently.

Al-Sadr's walkout revealed the depth of division within the 130-seat Shiite bloc in parliament, where some lawmakers who are viewed as moderate have grown weary of the radical cleric's confrontational tactics. Al-Sistani is also believed to be uncomfortable with the younger al-Sadr, a firebrand whose fighters waged battles against American troops that left parts of Najaf in ruins.

After meeting al-Sistani, the Shiite lawmakers visited al-Sadr. The cleric has agreed to allow his supporters to rejoin the government, officials close to him have said. Their walkout had prevented the government from passing laws, creating a political deadlock alongside a deteriorating security environment.

"Our meeting with Muqtada al-Sadr was successful and fruitful. There were common points of understanding between us, and we assured the unity of the (United Iraqi) Alliance," said Khaled al-Attiya, an independent who is parliament's deputy speaker.

"He will give his final decision to rejoin the government and parliament after Eid al-Adha," al-Attiya said, referring to the Islamic calendar's most important holiday, which Iraq's Shiites will celebrate from Dec. 31 to Jan. 4.

However, the meeting ended with one Dawa party participant saying only that it was "constructive."

~~~snip~~~

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Gates briefs Bush on Iraq visit

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Last Updated: Saturday, 23 December 2006, 19:07 GMT - BBC News

New US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has briefed President George W Bush about his recent trip to Iraq, as the White House considers a policy shift.

Mr Gates went to the presidential retreat at Camp David, near Washington, to report on his three days in Iraq.

Mr Bush has conceded that the US is not winning in Iraq, and sent Mr Gates to assess the situation on the ground.

The defence secretary said Iraqi leaders had "concrete plans" to end escalating sectarian violence.

In the New Year President Bush is expected to announce a short-term increase in US forces in Iraq.

White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters on Wednesday that such a deployment was "something that's being explored".

~~~snip~~~

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Shades of things to come in Iraq

There was never any doubt that George "The Decider" Bush would decide to escalate the war in Iraq with a so-called "surge option". It will not be a temporary surge but a "surge and sustain" operation following the neocon plans of neocon Fred Kagan of the neocon American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Bush will "be forced" to keep these extra troops in Iraq for the next 18 or 24 months. He will try (with great difficulty I predict) to draw down some of these extra troops before the 2008 U.S. elections.

Part of the "surge option" plan is to go after Moqtada al-Sadr Mehdi army. Big mistake!

This will throw southern Iraq into the same turmoil as Baghdad and Anbar province are currently wrapped in. The violence will spread in Iraq. The civil war will become total war with a distinct likelyhood of it becoming a regional war.

U.S. troops will be in greater danger after Sadr's Shiite militia are targeted. Southern Iraq will erupt threatening UK troops and the 800 mile long U.S. land supply line from Kuwait to Baghdad. Just wait and watch as another grand tactic error is made by the incredibly stupid Americans!

Here is a taste of coming flavor attractions. The flavor is cherry red. It taste of blood.



Clashes in southern Iraqi city kill 5

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Reuters 6:42 am EST Sat 23 Dec 2006

Clashes between Iraqi security forces and Shi'ite militiamen loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have left five people dead and wounded 17 others in the usually calm city of Samawa, police sources said on Saturday.

The sources said that the fighting began on Friday afternoon when Sadr's armed followers protested against the continuous detention of their comrades by the police.

Four of the dead were policemen.

The city is now under full curfew preventing movement of vehicles and pedestrians in an attempt to calm the sudden rise of violence.

Samawa, a small Shi'ite city generally considered to be a world apart from the violence gripping central Iraq, was the first Iraqi province to be officially handed back to Iraqi control from the U.S.-led occupation of the country.

But clashes, resulting from tense political stand-offs between Sadr's movement and the local authorities, have broken out on a number of occasions since the handover.

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[Updated at 12:55 pm EST Sat 23 December 2006]:

U.S. plans for manipulating Iraq have failed so far and will continue to fail just as the U.S. effort to pacify Iraq under U.S. military occupation has failed and will continue to fail. Here's more evidence of that:

Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani won't support coalition

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By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer
11:10 am EST Saturday 23 December 2006

Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric withheld support Saturday for a U.S.-backed plan to build a coalition across sectarian lines, Shiite lawmakers said, jeopardizing hopes that such a show of political unity could help stem the country's deadly violence.

Members of the United Iraqi Alliance, the Shiite coalition that dominates parliament, met with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf after traveling to the holy city over the past few days. Al-Sistani holds no political post and rarely emerges from his home and adjacent office, but he has strong influence over Shiite politics.

Some members of the Shiite alliance have sought a coalition that would include Kurds and Sunnis, and sideline Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric whose militia is blamed for much of Iraq's sectarian violence. Lawmakers who attended the meeting with al-Sistani said the cleric opposed any move that would divide Shiites.

"There are obstacles in the face of forming this coalition, because al-Sistani does not support it. So we will work to strengthen the (Shiite) alliance," said Hassan al-Sunnaid, of the Dawa Party of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Ali al-Adib, also a Dawa Party member, said al-Sistani "does not support such blocs because they will break Shiite unity."

An official close to al-Sistani, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the cleric "will not bless nor support any new bloc or front. He only supports the unity of the Shiites."

Such a development could frustrate U.S.-backed efforts to persuade Iraq's political leaders to set aside sectarian interests and work together for the sake of national unity. Without progress in Iraqi politics, some observers say, the security situation in the country is likely to remain tenuous.

Al-Maliki, the Shiite prime minister, had relied heavily on the support of al-Sadr, whose 30 loyalists in the 275-seat parliament and six ministers in the 38-member Cabinet boycotted politics after al-Maliki met Bush in Jordan recently.

Al-Sadr's walkout revealed the depth of division within the 130-seat Shiite bloc in parliament, where some lawmakers who are viewed as moderate have grown weary of the radical cleric's confrontational tactics. Al-Sistani is also believed to be uncomfortable with the younger al-Sadr, a firebrand whose fighters waged battles against American troops that left parts of Najaf in ruins.

After meeting al-Sistani, the Shiite lawmakers visited al-Sadr. The cleric has agreed to allow his supporters to rejoin the government, officials close to him have said. Their walkout had prevented the government from passing laws, creating a political deadlock alongside a deteriorating security environment.

"Our meeting with Muqtada al-Sadr was successful and fruitful. There were common points of understanding between us, and we assured the unity of the (United Iraqi) Alliance," said Khaled al-Attiya, an independent who is parliament's deputy speaker.

"He will give his final decision to rejoin the government and parliament after Eid al-Adha," al-Attiya said, referring to the Islamic calendar's most important holiday, which Iraq's Shiites will celebrate from Dec. 31 to Jan. 4.

However, the meeting ended with one Dawa party participant saying only that it was "constructive."

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Count on Bush sending more troops to Iraq

The following entry is the latest post in a thread I started on The Augusta Chronicle bulletin board titled Count on Bush sending more troops :

Neither Bush nor the Iraq Study Group ever considered the option of withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. Bush's escalation of his failed war was a foregone conclusion from the beginning of this so-called reevaluation. Bush The Decider never deliberated a single day on what his response would be. His only problem was getting others to go along with it to give him cover.

Bush's policy review was as phony as Bush's "diplomatic efforts" were in the runup to his order to invade and occupy Iraq.

The bottom line is that even a "temporary surge" of 20,000 to 50,000 or more U.S. troops (which won't be temporary BTW) will NOT stabilize Iraq. Bush is only prolonging the INEVITABLE military and political defeat of the United States of America on the battlefield of Iraq. George W. Bush is also escalating the cost in human lives, money wasted, political capital squandered, and the pretige and influence of United States diminished.

US generals agree to troop surge in Iraq: report

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AFP Sat Dec 23, 3:09 AM ET

Top US military commanders in Iraq have decided to recommend a "surge" of fresh American combat forces, eliminating one of the last remaining hurdles to proposals being considered by President George W. Bush, The Los Angeles Times has reported.

Citing an unnamed defense official, the newspaper said the approval of a troop increase plan by top Iraq commanders, including General George Casey and Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, comes days before Bush unveils a new course for Iraq.

The recommendation by the commanders in Iraq is significant because Bush has placed prime importance on their advice, the report said.

The US command in Iraq decided to recommend an increase of troops several days ago, prior to meetings in Baghdad this week with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, according to The Times.

Commanders have been skeptical of the value of increasing troops, and the decision represents a reversal for Casey, the highest ranking officer in Iraq, the paper said.

Casey and General John Abizaid, head of the US Central Command who will step down in March, have long resisted adding more troops in Iraq, arguing that it could delay the development of Iraqi security forces and increase anger at the United States in the Arab world, The Times said.

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Bush likely to start WWIII

Is there any doubt that George W. Bush started the war with Iraq? He is losing that war, and Bush's Republic War Party lost the midterm U.S. election which was a referendum on his war in Iraq.

Nevertheless, George W. Bush is undaunted and still thinks the U.S. can win in Iraq. His Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice thinks Iraq is "worth the investment" in American lives and treasure if Iraq becomes the cornerstone of the new Middle East. Say what?

The United States Navy is currently beefing up forces in the Persian Gulf for no apparent reason (according to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates) except to send a message to friends and foes alike that the United States will be in the region "for a long time". Journalist Robert Parry and others see danger of a wider war lurking in the shadows.

There are clear indications that George W. Bush is dilusional. He may well start a bigger war against Iran and Syria believing that his reputation and his place in history will be salvaged if events break in his favor. (The last sentence is paraphrased from Robert Parry.)

Consider the following:

Scarborough - Barnicle: Bush Delusional, Criminal - Should be relieved of command by Terre [Daily Kos recommended diary] Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 09:56:18 AM PST

A Very Dangerous New Year By Robert Parry [Consortium News] Thursday 21 December 2006

Condi Rice is fucking loopy!

I saw the last part of Secretary of State Rice's interview with Margaret Warner on PBS' The News Hour this evening. It was lame.

In an interview with the Associated Press Condi Rice said Iraq is "worth the investiment" in American lives and treasure. It is pitiful to watch the Bush war regime which lied us into this war lie us into protracting this totally failed policy indefinitely.

Iraq's army will never stand up. The U.S.-puppet government of Iraq will never be able to govern itself, sustain itself, or defend itself.

Sending 50,000 more U.S. troops into this maelstrom and spending hundreds of billions more dollars will accomplish nothing positive and will spill more American blood and accumulate more red ink.

Rice: Iraq worth investment in U.S. aid

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By ANNE GEARAN, AP Diplomatic Writer
9:47 pm EST Thu 21 Dec 2006

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told The Associated Press on Thursday that Iraq is "worth the investment" in American lives and dollars and said the U.S. can still win a conflict that has been more difficult than she expected.

In an interview at the State Department, the nation's highest-ranking black government official also said the United States is ready to elect a black president.

Rice was asked whether an additional $100 billion the Pentagon wants for the Iraq and Afghan wars might amount to throwing good money after bad in Iraq. President Bush and Congress have already provided more than $500 billion for the two conflicts and worldwide efforts against terrorism, including more than $350 billion for Iraq.

"I don't think it's a matter of money," Rice said. "Along the way there have been plenty of markers that show that this is a country that is worth the investment, because once it emerges as a country that is a stabilizing factor you will have a very different kind of Middle East."

The top U.S. diplomat made the remarks as Bush faces mounting pressure from the public and members of Congress to find a fresh course in the long-running war. More than three-and-half years after the U.S. invasion that deposed Saddam Hussein, the conflict shows no signs of nearing an end and has cost the lives of more than 2,950 American troops.

Bush conceded this week for the first time that the U.S. is not winning the conflict, though he said it is also not losing.

"I know from the point of view of not just the monetary cost but the sacrifice of American lives a lot has been sacrificed for Iraq, a lot has been invested in Iraq," Rice said.

Bush would not ask for continued sacrifice and spending "if he didn't believe, and in fact I believe as well, that we can in fact succeed," Rice said.

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Jailed Syrian dissident prods Bush on Palestine, Iraq

Here is a resident of the Middle East who knows something about conditions there. President Bush and Secretary of State Rice should give a good long close listen to what this guy has to say.

Jailed Syrian dissident prods Bush on Palestine, Iraq

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AFP Thu Dec 21, 3:59 PM ET

The jailed Syrian dissident writer Michel Kilo appealed to US President George W. Bush to "work seriously" towards a Palestinian state and to withdraw US troops from Iraq.

Speaking to AFP by telephone from Adra prison northeast of Damascus, Kilo said he hoped that Bush would go beyond just calling -- as he did in a statement on December 13 -- for the release of political detainees in Syria.

"I would hope that he announces a timetable for a withdrawal (of US military forces) from Iraq and that he promises to work seriously for the building of a Palestinian state," he said.

He added that Bush should also commit himself to forcing an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights and from Lebanese territory that remains under occupation.

"If the American president were to act in such a way, it would do much to serve democracy and human rights, while seriously hampering the ability of corrupt and despotic Arab regimes to repress their peoples," he said.

Kilo, 66, classified by Amnesty International as a "prisoner of conscience", was arrested in Damascus with nine other dissidents in May after signing a declaration that called for radical change in relations between Syria and neighbouring Lebanon.

Seven have since been released, but Kilo -- along with lawyer Anwar Bunni and communist activist Mahmud Issa -- remain behind bars.

Sources close to Kilo say he has access to a public telephone in the courtyard of Adra prison, 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the Syrian capital, like his fellow detainees.

In his December 13 statement, Bush called on Syria to free all political prisoners and to halt "intimidation and interference" which, he alleged, had been hurting Lebanon's embattled democracy.

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