ThinkFast: May 21, 2007
ThinkFast: May 21, 2007
“Two intelligence assessments from January 2003 predicted that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and subsequent U.S. occupation of Iraq could lead to internal violence and provide a boost to Islamic extremists and terrorists in the region.” They will be released as part of the “Phase II” Senate report on pre-war intelligence.
In an op-ed, Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) and Jodi Rell (R-CT) say it “borders on malfeasance” for the Bush administration “to block the efforts” of their states to reduce global warming pollution. “For the last 16 months,” the EPA has refused to sign off on state plans to enact tailpipe emissions standards.
Incoming Prime Minister Gordon Brown reportedly plans to cut British troop numbers in Iraq from 7,000 to 2,000 over the next 12 months, and have all troops removed by spring 2008.
“Since the British military began allowing homosexuals to serve in the armed forces in 2000, none of its fears — about harassment, discord, blackmail, bullying or an erosion of unit cohesion or military effectiveness — have come to pass. … The biggest news about the policy, they say, is that there is no news. It has for the most part become a nonissue.”
25 percent: The number of Americans who say “things in the U.S. are going in the right direction. … That is about the lowest level of satisfaction detected since the survey started in December 2003.”
“As Iraq’s government compiles a record of failure, the Bush administration is under growing pressure to intervene to rearrange Baghdad’s dysfunctional political order, or even install a new leadership.” Echoing Jim Hoagland, one U.S. official calls it the “eternal temptation for the Americans.”
“The average price of self-serve regular gasoline hit a record high of $3.18, rising more than 11 cents over the past two weeks, according to a nationwide survey released Sunday.”
“A suicide bomber blew himself up Sunday in a crowded market in eastern Afghanistan, killing 14 people and wounding 31,” one day “after a suicide bomber in northern Afghanistan killed three German soldiers and seven bystanders.”
“After an initially tepid reception from policymakers, the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group are getting a second look from the White House and Congress, as officials continue to scour for bipartisan solutions to salvage the American engagement in Iraq.”
And finally: “Inspired by Tony Snow and Bob Schieffer’s battle of the bands last week, MSNBC’s ‘Countdown with Keith Olbermann’ held a ‘D.C. Idol’ contest to let viewers vote for their favorite vocal moment by a politician. The winner, announced Friday, was Bill Clinton with his version of ‘Imagine’ from Israel. Clinton won with 38 percent, besting the likes of John Ashcroft’s ‘Let the Eagle Soar’ and Karl Rove’s ‘MC Rove.’
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“As Iraq’s government compiles a record of failure, the Bush administration is under growing pressure to intervene to rearrange Baghdad’s dysfunctional political order, or even install a new leadership.”
Well, so much for democracy in Iraq. We don’t like the duly elected representatives, so we will remove them. Just exactly what gives us the right to do that? We are occupying their country. If we take over their government too, do you really think it will improve things. So, the last of Bush’s reasons for invading Iraq has been proven false. But, it doesn’t matter. The American public now knows why we invaded Iraq. It was all about stealing their oil.
May 21st, 2007 at 9:08 amI don’t care if it doesn’t look democratic to ya’ll. I install the leaders I want. I did it here in 2000, I’ll do it there in ‘07!!!
May 21st, 2007 at 9:13 amCould you check. I think they have been doing the right direction/wrong direction well before 2003.
May 21st, 2007 at 9:16 amExclusive: Secret US plot to kill Al-Sadr
The US Army tried to kill or capture Muqtada al-Sadr, the widely revered Shia cleric, after luring him to peace negotiations at a house in the holy city of Najaf, which it then attacked, according to a senior Iraqi government official.
http://www.independent.co.uk/
May 21st, 2007 at 9:21 am“As Iraq’s government compiles a record of failure, the Bush administration is under growing pressure to intervene to rearrange Baghdad’s dysfunctional political order, or even install a new leadership,†the LA Times reports today.
Hmmm . . . getting GDumbya’s administration to intervene in Baghdad’s dysfunctional political order. Isn’t that kind of like having a peodophile in charge of security at the local grade school?
If GDumbya is going to rearrange any dysfunctional political order, I would suggest that he begin in the U.S. A good first step would be for him and Darth Cheney to resign.
May 21st, 2007 at 9:22 amIraq’s VP Opposes Draft Oil Law
Iraq’s Vice President has publicly opposed Iraq’s controversial Oil Law, saying it gives too many concessions to foreign oil companies. “We disagree with the production sharing agreement,†Tariq al-Hashemi told reporters yesterday.
“We want foreign oil companies, and we have to lure them into Iraq to learn from their expertise and acquire their technology, but we shouldn’t give them big privileges,†al-Hashemi said. Continue reading ‘Iraq’s VP Opposes Draft Oil Law’
May 21st, 2007 at 9:23 amThank You, Ron Paul
Ron Paul, a Republican congressman running for president, is saying what needs to be said about the 9/11 attacks and the Iraq war. Clearly, his rivals and the news media can’t handle the truth.
http://www.fff.org/comment/com0705g.asp
May 21st, 2007 at 9:26 amStates to Outlaw Sales of Some Antiwar T-Shirts
May 21st, 2007 at 9:29 am“Two intelligence assessments from January 2003 predicted that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and subsequent U.S. occupation of Iraq could lead to internal violence and provide a boost to Islamic extremists and terrorists in the region.†They will be released as part of the “Phase II†Senate report on pre-war intelligence.
Funny how EVERYONE seemed to know just what the consequences of this disastrous invasion and occupation would be, before it was even started.
Ask yourself: Could any administration be so clueless as to honestly think this would have gone well, despite the massive amount of information pointing solidly to the opposite conclusion?
Many people like to talk about how incompetent this administration is. The reality, however, is that this administration is one of the most competent we’ve ever seen…look at all they’ve managed to accomplish in just six short years:
(List courtesy of the Rockridge Institute.)
It’s no secret that this administration lies to the American people, but the best lie they ever told…and one that is still blindly accepted as truth, is that their real goals are identical to their stated goals, and any failure to accomplish their stated goals is due to incompetence, rather than the simple reason that their actual goals - the ones they are having no trouble accomplishing - are fundamentally at odds with their stated goals.
May 21st, 2007 at 9:29 amThe Incredible Vanishing Iraqi Political Leadership: Al-Hakim to Iran ??????????????
Abdul Aziz al-Hakim has chosen to seek chemotherapy for his lung cancer in Iran rather than in the US. His condition was confirmed during a visit to a hospital in Houston this weekend. He is likely to be absent from Iraq in Iran for several months, and says he is going there so as to be closer to his family than he would be in the US.
May 21st, 2007 at 9:31 amLOL Prince Harry is probably Gay, so British had to allow Gays into the military. For the moment Gays in the US would be wise to NOT join up till Bush is gone from office. Soldiers are just used as cannon fodder by Bush.
May 21st, 2007 at 9:35 amAnd there were the Army War College Reports, beginning in October 2002.
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB182.pdf
Bush & Company knew, but it’s damn hard to loot a country when it has a stable and functioning government.
May 21st, 2007 at 9:44 am“Officials continue to scour for bipartisan solutions to salvage the American entanglement in Iraq.” This morning on NPR, a report focused on a meeting that took place between one of the American generals and Congress. Senator Byrd asked the general if the U.S. military had made any plans to withdraw all of the troops from Iraq. The general said that there were no published reports on removing the troops from Iraq. The NPR reporter noted that the key word in the general’s statement was published. The reporter believed that the U.S. intends to station at least 30,000 troops in Iraq for the next thirty years with the primary reason being Iraq’s oil supply. This begs the question: if the NPR reporter was able to make this judgment why did no senator press the general on this matter? So much for Congress making sure that the military-industrial complex is kept in check and that more American troops are kept unnecessarily out of harm’s way.
May 21st, 2007 at 10:11 amNice TMonk #9 it’s obvious they’re trying to move us in a certain direction. Good work.
May 21st, 2007 at 10:14 amThe biggest news about the policy, they say, is that there is no news. It has for the most part become a nonissue.â€
It should be a nonissue. The issue is that thousands of young men and women have died needlessly in a war fabricated by the neocons and the oil agenda.
May 21st, 2007 at 10:52 am“Incoming Prime Minister Gordon Brown reportedly plans to cut British troop numbers in Iraq from 7,000 to 2,000 over the next 12 months, and have all troops removed by spring 2008.”
TP, this is a misprint. It should read “spring of 2010″, as it does in the linked article. After all, 12 months from now will be the summer of 2008. :-)
May 21st, 2007 at 11:02 am#
Nice TMonk #9 it’s obvious they’re trying to move us in a certain direction. Good work.
Comment by the Lone Voice of Reason — May 21, 2007 @ 10:14 am
I completely agree. I’ve thought for a long time now that the “incompetency” label was one that was more than acceptable to the Bush administration. It allowed them to hide what their true goals are. It also allowed them to put into “power” a person who is extraordinarily ambitious, vicious and totally irresponsible, while being intellectually lacking.
May 21st, 2007 at 11:17 amSince very early in this administration I have had my doubts about what is and is not reality based. Now with each new day we get more and more revelations about how the justice department was politicized, how our intelligence gathering capabilities have been politicized, it seems everything this administration has done has been done with the goal of pushing republican politics and enhancing the republican party. It makes me wonder if there has been any truth to anything they have put out? A sort of boy who cried wolf scenario.
What have they given us that we can trust? Have any actions by the justice department been valid? Or have they all been geared towards furthering the political aims of the republican party? We know that at least for the last few years, this has been the case. Was Ashcroft fired for not signing off on the NSA spying? I would bet that he was. They say that the program is dead, but who really believes that it is being run in any manner other than the way they originally conceived it to run? And now that we know how fully they politicize everything, who thinks that they only target those suspected of terrorism and terrorist ties? Since day one I have thought that they used the program more to track political opponents, be they democrats, reporters who write unfavorable stories or private citizens who don’t side with them.
What other information and departments have been politicized? Are any economic figures untainted? Why would they not try to influence the economy. On a manufacturing level I don’t see the economy growing the way they say it has. Has this information been politicized?
At this point I have to be skeptical of everything they put out. If they say it is 12:00pm I will check my watch. If they say the sky is blue I must look up. If they say anything I am afraid I will have to verify this myself because they lost my trust and confidence long ago.
May 21st, 2007 at 11:29 am8 death’s on the Gaza strip by Israel attack’s….Why isn’t any of this ever mentioned,?…..Blessings
May 21st, 2007 at 11:31 amTobey Tall,
Where did you find the information about states banning t-shirt designs?
I’ve tried to have a t-shirt printed with the Third Reich’s symbol and the words “mission Accomplished” but nobody will touch it.
Is this still America?
May 21st, 2007 at 1:06 pm“Since the British military began allowing homosexuals to serve in the armed forces in 2000, none of its fears — have come to pass. … The biggest news about the policy, they say, is that there is no news. It has for the most part become a nonissue.â€
I guess this is saying “Pity the US is different from Britain when it comes to the same issue”.
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:48 am