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

QUOTE

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

QUOTE

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

QUOTE

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~~~

The legacy of slavery and southern white "heritage"

Many southern white Republicans routinely pooh-pooh the legacy of slavery by saying "I never owned slaves, and my parents and grandparents didn't own slaves either." They wash their hands of the legacy of slavery that to this day profoundly affects America's second largest minority group as well as American society in general.

I was listening to a program on public radio several days ago about efforts to build appropriate housing in a poor section of western Alabama. The area wasn't always poor. At one time it was at the heart of the prosperous Old South's empire of cotton which was built by slaves of course. In trying to build efficient housing today (not “tin can” trailers that are the norm) architects look to the old ways of orienting houses and providing natural ventilation. The professors remarked that the old manor houses couldn't have been built without slave labor.

The legacy of slavery in America is inescapable no matter how much southern white Republicans want to dismiss it. I, a southern white male who is 59 years old, well remember the 100th anniversary retrospective of the Civil War years back in 1961-1965. I clearly remember segregation in the American south during the 1950s. The experience of slavery is still fresh in the collective memory of American blacks, a huge stain on America, and a perplexing dilemma for Americans' psyches. The only comparable instances of collective guilt shared by American society are: the genocide perpetrated upon the native peoples of this land; the dropping of two atomic bombs on civilian populations in Japan during WWII; the deaths of between 1.5 and 3 million Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians during the U.S. war in Vietnam; and the more than 1 million Iraqis who have died since the U.S. illegally invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003. Many “conservatives” attempt to justify those atrocities as well.

Racial memory is long term. To this day the Jews celebrate Passover and praise the God of Israel as "the one who delivered us from the bonds of slavery in Egypt." That was millennia ago. Slavery in America was ended less than 2 centuries ago. Is it any wonder that we are still dealing with the consequences of such an inhumane institution as that of slavery in America? Until Americans collectively face our history, admit the unfathomable injustices done to huge numbers of humanity, and redress those wrongs, this society will continue to move forward carrying a heavy burden of subconscious guilt whether southern white Republicans recognize it or not.

Iraq 20 Nov 2007 - 7th report

As of 4:16 pm EST icasualties.org had raised its tally of U.S. military fatalities from the war in Iraq to 3875.

Iraq Coalition Casualty Count

11/20/07 CBS/AP: U.S. Helicopter Crash In Iraq Kills 2, 12 injured
A U.S. military helicopter crashed Tuesday southeast of Baghdad, killing two soldiers and injuring 12, the U.S. military said. Initial reports indicated the crash was not due to hostile fire, the military said.

Two killed as US helicopter crashes in Iraq

AFP 3:49 pm EST Tuesday 20 November 2007

A US military helicopter crashed near Salman Pak, 25 kilometres (16 miles) southeast of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing two soldiers and wounding 12, the American military said.

Military spokesman Specialist Charles Espie told AFP that the helicopter crashed due to causes yet to be determined.

"It was not brought down by enemy fire," he said.

"Two coalition force soldiers were killed and 12 were wounded," Espie said.

A military statement said an investigation would be conducted to determine the cause of the incident.

~~~cont'd~~~

Is there any doubt that Iraq is beyond any possibility of reconcilation between Sunnis and Shiites? See previous entry in 4th report today about how Ammar al-Hakim and his Shaheed al-Mihrab Foundation is a major player with a vision for a Shiite Iraq.

Al-Maliki lashes out at Sunni leader

By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer
4:34 pm EST Tue 20 Nov 2007

Iraq's prime minister lashed out at the country's Sunni Arab vice president in an interview published Tuesday, drawing attention to a bitter rift between two key politicians from rival sects at a time the U.S. is pressing for Iraqi unity.

~~~snip~~~

The outburst by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, printed in a newspaper read throughout the Arab world, occurred as American officials are urging the Iraqis to take advantage of a downturn in violence to resolve their differences before next year's planned drawdown of U.S. forces.

In the interview, published by Al-Hayat, a London-based, Arabic-language daily, al-Maliki, a Shiite, said Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi was to blame for a backlog of legislation adopted by parliament but not yet ratified by the three-man presidential council of which the Sunni is a member.

Al-Maliki also said al-Hashemi's Iraq Accordance Front, the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, was not representative of the country's Sunni Arab community.

The prime minister said he had given up trying to persuade five members of al-Hashemi's bloc to return to Cabinet posts they abandoned last August in a dispute with al-Maliki.

Al-Maliki said he planned to name other Sunnis from Anbar province and the cities of Tikrit and Mosul to those Cabinet posts and that "we are in the final selection stage."

~~~cont'd~~~

Iraq 20 Nov 2007 - 6th report

File this under a thread titled "U.S. military has become politicized" if using a bulletin board format.

Dems says Pentagon using scare tactics

By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer
12:40 pm EST Tuesday 20 November 2007

In their latest tussle with the White House on the Iraq war, two leading House Democrats said Tuesday the Pentagon was using scare tactics to try to goad Congress into passing another war spending bill.

And Reps. David Obey and John Murtha said they won't bite. Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Murtha, D-Pa., head of the panel's Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, said they won't support more money for the war this year unless President Bush accepts a timetable for troop withdrawals.

Last week, the House passed a $50 billion bill that would keep operations afloat for several more months, but sets a goal of bringing most troops home by December 2008. After Bush threatened to veto the measure, Senate Republicans blocked it.

"If the president wants that $50 billion released, all he has to do is to call the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, and ask him to stop blocking it," Obey told reporters.

Obey and Murtha convened the rare recess-week news conference to counter Pentagon reports that the military will have to take drastic steps next month if it doesn't get the money soon.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Friday signed a memo ordering the Army to begin planning for a series of expected cutbacks, including the layoffs of as many as 100,000 civilian employees and another 100,000 civilian contractors, starting as early as January.

Obey and Murtha said they calculate the military has enough money to continue operations through March by eating into its $471 billion annual budget.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the military has only limited transfer authority.

"Those who think we have some sort of flexibility here are simply misinformed," Whitman told reporters on Tuesday. "We've entered into a very serious period here."

Murtha said the Pentagon was issuing "irresponsible" propaganda.

"They're scaring people," he said. "They're scaring the families of the troops. . .That's the thing that's so despicable."

When asked whether public opinion could eventually turn against Democrats if they hold out too long, Murtha said no because the Pentagon has destroyed credibility.

"Go back and look: mission accomplished, al-Qaida connection, weapons of mass destruction," he said. "On and on and on and you'll believe the Pentagon?"

~~~cont'd~~~

Iraq 20 Nov 2007 - 5th report

Situation Normal in Baghdad by Devilstower [Daily Kos front-page story] Tue Nov 20, 2007 at 05:33:25 AM PST

Extremists Move North by Juan Cole [Informed Comment] Tuesday, November 20, 2007

AP reports that US generals in Iraq are talking about the move to northern Iraq of the most violent Sunni religious guerrillas (the US calls them al-Qaeda and some of them style themselves that way, though it is misleading).

The article says that Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling said from a base outside Tikrit north of Baghdad, Hertling said 1,830 roadside bombs were placed in his region in June, compared with 900 last month.

900 roadside bombs in one region of Iraq a month doesn't strike me as something to get all giddy about.

~~~cont'd~~~

Hat tip TPM Tuesday 20 November 2007

DC grand jury investigation of Iraq shootings goes beyond Blackwater.

--David Kurtz

Today's Must Read By Spencer Ackerman - November 20, 2007, 9:24AM [TPMmuckraker]

Remember that recently-impaneled grand jury looking at Blackwater's Nisour Square shootings? Turns out it's not just about Blackwater.
Four years into the occupation, prosecutors are attempting to build the first criminal case against private security companies -- who up until now worked in a system rigged to ensure unaccountability.

~~~cont'd~~~

McClellan Implicates President in Obstruction by BooMan [Booman Tribune] Tue Nov 20th, 2007 at 11:51:51 AM EST

Chomsky vs. Bush: The Iraq War by Steven D [Booman Tribune] Tue Nov 20th, 2007 at 09:28:19 AM EST

U.S. military to turn over AP photographer to Iraqi court

The news agency has protested the detention of Bilal Hussein, who is accused of having links to terrorist groups.

By Peter Spiegel, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 20, 2007

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. military has decided to turn over an Associated Press photographer to an Iraqi court for criminal prosecution, accusing him of having links to terrorist groups operating inside Iraq.

The photographer, Iraq native Bilal Hussein, was taken into custody by U.S. troops in Ramadi 19 months ago and has been detained ever since. Although an AP lawyer said Hussein has been held with little evidence, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Monday that the military decided to bring a criminal case after new evidence was uncovered.

"This case does not hinge on a single piece of evidence but rather a range of evidence that makes it clearer than before that Bilal Hussein is a terrorist media operative who infiltrated the AP," Morrell said.

AP officials have vigorously protested Hussein's detention and the difficulties they have had in legally defending him. Its own investigation supported none of the military's suspicions, the news organization has reported.

~~~cont'd~~~

Afghanistan

Chris in Paris cites a Reuters story in his AMERICAblog entry.

Afghanistan aid wasted by the truckload by Chris in Paris · 11/20/2007 03:05:00 AM ET [AMERICAblog]

Too much aid to Afghanistan wasted: Oxfam

By Jon Hemming
Reuters Mon Nov 19, 7:29 PM ET

Too much aid to Afghanistan is wasted -- soaked up in contractors' profits, spent on expensive expatriate consultants or squandered on small-scale, quick-fix projects, a leading British charity said on Tuesday.

Despite more than $15 billion of aid pumped into Afghanistan since U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the Taliban in 2001, many Afghans still suffer levels of poverty rarely seen outside sub-Saharan Africa.

"The development process has to date been too centralized, top-heavy and insufficient," said a report by Oxfam.

By far the biggest donor, the United States approved a further $6.4 billion in Afghan aid this year, but the funds are spent in ways that are "ineffective or inefficient," Oxfam said.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) allocates close to half its funds to the five largest U.S. contractors in Afghanistan.

"Too much aid is absorbed by profits of companies and sub-contractors, on non-Afghan resources and on high expatriate salaries and living costs," the report said.

A full-time expatriate consultant can cost up to $500,000 a year, Oxfam said.

More money needed to be channeled through the Afghan government, strengthening its influence and institutions.

Aid also needed to be better coordinated to avoid duplication, it said.

Only 10 percent of technical assistance to Afghanistan is coordinated either with the government or among donors.

~~~cont'd~~~

Afghan boys suffer mental scars after suicide bomb

By Tahir Qadiry
Reuters 9:06 am EST Tuesday 20 November 2007

Afghan schoolboy Naqibullah fears closing his eyes.

Each time he tries to go to sleep, he relives a suicide bombing that killed dozens of his classmates.

"I dream about the attack. I see the wounded and dead bodies around me," said Naqibullah, 14, who was wounded in the blast two weeks ago in the northern Afghan town of Baghlan.

The bomber blew himself up as boys from a high school lined up to greet a group of parliamentarians visiting a sugar factory.

Survivors are suffering dangerous psychological scars, doctors say.

Khalilullah Narmgoy, the head of the local hospital, said most of the children, while slowly recovering from their physical wounds, needed long-term psychological care.

"Most of these children are suffering from depression," he said. "I, as a doctor, who was standing 15 meters (yards) from the attack, have been affected by it. I was shocked by it and now dream about dangerous things."

~~~cont'd~~~