John F. Burns and Eric Schmidt of the NEW YORK TIMES reported today that generals in Iraq view the situation as grim. The training of Iraqi forces isn't going well. One senior officer suggested that American involvement in Iraq "could last many years." Another said of the Iraq operation, "I think this could still fail."
But fear not: the American Government is taking dramatic steps to correct the situation.
Speaking to the International Republican Institute, President Bush called for patience in assessing the situation in Iraq, and calmed audience fears by stating that the American Revolution was followed by "years of chaos," and that America's original articles of confederation "failed miserably" (NYT). Whew! Thanks Mister President. That's a load off my mind.
On Capitol Hill, the Senate and House armed services committees approved a bill that will ban women from combat (CNN). Looks like Congress finally figured out it was those darn girls who screwed up the deal in Iraq. What were we thinking, invading Iraq with a dumb old bunch of girls? Never mind that, though. Now we'll show those pesky insurgents a thing or two!
In another vital strategic move, the Air Force has asked President Bush for permission to put offensive and defensive weapons in outer space (NYT). This is a brilliant maneuver for two reasons:
1) It keeps our armaments in a safe place where the terrorists can't get at them.
2) It sends a clear message of deterrence to the Klingons, the Romulans, and the rest of the Axis of Intergalactic Evil.
And on the economic front:
Gao Huiqing, a senior economist at the State Information Center, a top government think-tank in Beijing, states that "China is unlikely to back down" to demands from the Bush administration that it break the yuan's decade long tie to the dollar (REUTERS). In a preemptive retaliatory move, President Bush has imposed quotas on American imports of certain Chinese textiles.
So you can stop worrying your pretty little head over the U.S. trade deficit, can't you?
JLH
On the military front...those two geniuses from the NYTimes aren't they the ones who made or at least contributed to the myth that the Iraqi Republican Guard was an Elite Fighting Force?? The Iraqis seem as adept at dropping their weapons as the French.
ReplyDeleteI trust these two reporters only reported the truth...and not the side of the story that made the best headlines for their readership.
OH...and as for expectations...now that we are going on 60 years...when are you going to start appropriately whining about bringing the 'boys' and girls home from Germany, Japan and Korea...why all this whining and misaligned expectation about bringing the troops home from Iraq?
On the girl front...when the fitness/strength standards, recruiting goals, career path expectations etc. are set to equal....then women should join men in combat units. We could start by registering women for the draft and see if a majority of americans would make a happy face.
I say: make everybody eligible for the draft. Especially women. And, yes, let's let Germnay defend their own fucking sauerkraut. They are, like, the third biggest economy on Earth. They can damn well afford it.
ReplyDeleteBush sucks cock.
Well, let's see? No one can predict the future; so as events unfold, it's still the "uncertainty principle" at work. But something tells me that given the Founding Father's belief in a REPUBLIC; and that we elect not just the House; based on the distribution of size among the states ...
ReplyDeleteBut the senators, too. Isn't it possible that the 100 people we've sent to the senate are feeling what Bush Co is doing?
What if it's Rumsfeld that ends up getting sacked? You think moderate republicans (and this newcomer, Thune), don't feel pressure from base closings?
I read a Ralph Peters piece in the NY Post week's ago; and he said the commission to oversee this base closing document is UP IN ARMS! It's going to hurt the very troops we are counting on NOW, to pull our coals out the the fires that have been started in the Mideast.
I've believed that if Dr. Frist had the votes, you'd have seen action from him BEFORE the threat of base closings hit the senate. (As if senators are just poor schmucks without powers.)
What did Dr. Frist gain by walking back and forth on the ledge? Wasn't he hoping enough Americans would call and write to their senators, so he could get some heat going for his plans? What if the only group are the religious fanatics? This stuff isn't discounted?
Wal-Mart's discounts when stuff doesn't sell to the retail trade. Why not assume senators listen with both ears?
Sure. Cunning, before bravery. But they've won their rights to vote. They have a long standing nature to the way they behave towards each other.
And, it seems Bush doesn't know the difference between dividing and uniting. While the garbage just keeps growing.
So? If Frist pulls it off, it's close. But it leaves a lot of troubles for the future, in its wake. ALmost any new administration up ahead can pad out the judicial differences; and pack the court with opposite opinion slicers and dicers. Do I know? No.
But I can sure sense a feeling of unhappiness gripping me, now. The first test? We'll see what the moderate republicans are made of? Because they lose everything if Frist and Bush Co win.
Needless to say, the Internet has already fractured. There are no sites up there that are getting the same viewership they were receiving before this nutty stuff came down the pike.
What if there are really no plans to deal with the consequences we've danced into? You think Bush owns plans? REALLY?
I appreciate the though provoking posts, folks. Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteJeff