That Tingle Means it's Working
Doesn't it set a wonderful example for democracy when leaders in this country, both Democrat and Republican, call for the ouster of the elected Maliki government in Iraq?
And now for your first lesson in elected democracy -- the coup d'etat.
Oh, and number two -- installing a CIA-backed emergency government.
But let's all see this for what it is: another excuse to buy this shitty war some more time.
The whole idea of the surge was to establish some semblance of security and provide "breathing space" so that the Iraqi leaders could make political progress. And while the military has done a better job creating pockets of security, even while overall violence is up from last summer, the political side of the equation has gone backwards. The Sunnis have left the government entirely, and an emergency summit designed at bringing them back in has failed. Half of the 36 ministries have withdrawn support for the government and don't even attend meetings. Which raises another question: how do you tell who is showing up when they're all on vacation?
So what do we do now? Try to install the Allawi government back in. That way, when General Petraeus testifies before Congress that the surge has not created an environment where political reconciliation could take place -- i.e. the surge has failed -- we'll then pretend that was because we had the wrong team in charge. But now we have the right team in charge! And you can't pull the plug now that we have the right team in charge! Just you wait and see! It's all going to turn out great! Just give us a couple more months!
And by months, I mean years.
Meanwhile, this is the kind of spin you get from the right wing, who likes to think that we're actually in control of this situation. Here's a recent National Review editorial:
"The fact is that the surge is President Bush's policy, and one that he implemented over the vociferous opposition of Democrats who thought the best strategy against al Qaeda in Iraq was to begin to leave. Now the surge has helped turn Sunni tribes against al Qaeda, advancing the goal that nearly everyone in the U.S. notionally shares of routing the terror group from Iraq."
Then, of course, there's the reality: it was the Sunnis in Anbar province who decided to create an alliance against the Al Qaeda types, and that happened before the surge even started. So we didn't do that. They did. We simply armed them, funded them, and helped them. But they're not on our side. They're on their side. They were shooting at us and blowing up our convoys just months ago. We didn't stop and suddenly realize that we're in love with each other. You're thinking of a Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan movie.
Plus, Anbar is entirely Sunni. It's like Utah for Mormons. So they don't have to deal with the Sunni-Shiite dynamic like the rest of the country. This is regular crazy Sunnis organizing against the extremely crazy Sunnis. With our guns and money. Is that the best we can do for now? Probably. Is it a long-term solution? Shit no.
So don't let them fool you with all the talk of "progress." They've simply, and for the 37th time, re-defined what "progress" means. And when we get to #65 - that more Iraqis have access to NFL Network than ever before -- I'll say, "Okay, okay. That is progress. ...Can we come home now?"
Bill Maher is the host of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" which airs every Friday at 11PM.
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Yours is a good summation. Petraeus hasn't addressed the Sunnis' long term goals. Do they want to share power or do they want to be in power? If the former, all things are possible, but if the latter, no chance in hell.
Even more significant is if the latter, we truly are wasting American blood and treasure delaying the start of something inevitable, an all out civil war between Shiite and Sunni.
After Bush's comments to the VFW last week a spokesman from the government of Vietnam advised us to let the Iraqis decide their fate and get out. He concluded there will be chaos, but none of us knows if it will be short term or long. What we do know is it won't be forever.
As for espousing democratic principles we hawk them like a newsboy. With regards to adhering to those same principles we suck! It's not our job to call for the ouster of any democratically elected leader; it's up for the people, in this case the members of parliament, to decide Al Maliki's future.
Kinda funny in a sad way. If the "democratically elected" Iraq government doesn't do what President Cheney and his puppet Bush think they should do then they'll have them removed and replaced with another "democratically elected" government. Sadly, at this point in time the only kind of Iraqi national government that will work is a dictatorship. So after all the bullshit about WMDs, the evil dictator Saddam and bringing democracy to the middleast it will only be a matter of time before a dictator is installed by the US. Of course he won't be called a dictator, but "president". But essentially it will be a Saddam type with the exception that he will allow us to steal Iraqs oil.
lol ... "Related Topics: Congress, CIA, Al Queda, Tom Hanks, & Meg Ryan"
Bill - you "kid the President" ... keep it up!
dadw5boys: Right on! And the dictatorship of this administration continues its quest to be "king of the whole wide world".
Why in HELL are we allowing this to happen to us?
Bill,
As usual you hit the nail on the head. Thank goodness we have you out there in the media mainstream to spread the words from our hearts and mouths. Now, if we can just find a way to be REALLY effective and make a change!!!!!!! Keep on keeping on!!!!!
But! But! Iraq already has a democratically electe Shite(sp) government! Right? Lwayno
Iraq. Iraqi people. I don't think they really consider themselves "Iraqi", as much as their local tribe. Iraq was created by the British. What could be so wrong to let Turkey annex Mosul, Sryia: Bahgdad, and Basra;Iran. I know Israel would not feel so secure, but when have they. Established Gov'ts securing territories vital to them. Let them do what needs to done. Just a thought
Let me see now! Guatemala,Chile, El Salvador,Nicaragua, Florida?? CIA installed "Democracies" and in Iraq, United Fruit is not even involved! Maybe a little oil?
"Goddamnit, we gots to put a real Halliburton Democracy in Iraq!" your truly "vice" war president, Dickie "F-thee" Cheney
p.s. This important FAUX News Alert is brought to you by Mary Carey, GOP Porn Queen and newly appointed Secretary Of Propaganda and White House Pimp-Madam
Someone once said that the more things change, the more they stay the same. I seem to remember that the US tried this method before in Vietnam when we "let" or rather encouraged the generals to shoot the Diem brothers. Somebody, please, remind me how that worked out for us and the rest of the region. And for all those freaking revisionists who claim that we could have won in Vietnam with greater commitment - please talk to me about it at the Washington Mall - specifically the Vietnam Memorial with the names of over 58 thousand Americans who died in that previous disaster. Maybe if W and Dick had actually seen action in that one, they wouldn't be so eager to waste American lives and fortune in this sinkhole. Good old blood and guts George - his "guts" and somebody else's blood.
Ain't much I can add to the above comments. I wonder if they will televise when Fredo gets his Medal of Freedom.I still believe bush cheney bremmer et al are a bunch of skunks. On the personal side I am going to look you up in hell and tell you how much I enjoyed your comments and H.B.O. specials. My reasoning for this is I believe intellignt design is a bunch of crap and I also would like to express my oponion of Adam & Eve. They had two sons and also a couple of daughters as close as I can figure out. And they had children. Would the almighty allow what I would call Friggin in the Riggen? Looking forward to your next special.
David Ignatius wrote a piece in the Washington Post yesterday ("Bush's Lost Iraqi Election") that again proves how utterly incompetent this administration has been in "managing" the aftermath of the Mission (see: "Accomplished"); seems the CIA had a plan for gently directing the course of the 2005 elections in Iraq with grassroots campaigns and Big Sacks of Cash intended to steer voters away from the Iranian-backed Shiite candidates. At the last minute, however, Bush & Co. decided to pull the plug on their influence peddling and directed the CIA to sneak back to these villages and kindly ask for their money back. Meanwhile, millions of dollars and up to 5000 Iranians a week were pouring over the border with fake ration cards and purpling their Shiite fingers in support of Ali Sistani and a regime that would be friendly to Iranian interests.
So Bush HAD his chance to Politically Correct the course of the stream in Iraq back when doing so might have made a difference, back when moderation and unity and a tripartite government might have put a tourniquet on the vast red wound we'd inflicted on the Iraqi people, but like the darling little clusterdouche that he is, he decided not to get involved. Now, years later, with a failed Maliki government and chaos in the streets, Bush is dusting off the same CIA that wanted to do it right in the first place, to buy the election BEFORE the bleeding could breach the levees and turn into a flood of human misery. As always with this president: too little, too late. Iran has owned our asses in Iraq since the day so many of its people crossed the borders and voted their hungry consciences.
The Ignatius article: http://www
While this crazy war is destroying the U.S. military, the mercenaries (or contractors) in Iraq have outnumbered U.S. soldiers. In other words, the U.S. military is being destroyed while some corporations are making huge profits and increase their combined strength.
If the U.S. military is being destroyed, isn't it potentially dangerous that some shady, disloyal corporations -- nominally American, British, etc. -- build up their war chests on U.S. tax payers' expense? To me, that sounds like coup d'etat-dangerous, or anarchy-dangerous.
I'm convinced that Cheney and his corporate and pervert ideological backers are out to destroy this nation. Obviously Cheney has committed crystal clear impeachable crimes already as it is. But what I'm convinced of is that he's part of a conspiracy to undermine and destroy this country once and for all. In that light, the fact that the U.S. military is getting crushed and the growing presence of private armies within U.S.A.'s borders makes that situation extremely worrisome.
I'm convinced that prolonging, Rummy's and Cheney's wet dream, "The Long War", is exactly what's going on as Bill Maher points out.
Give Georgie a break. History is on our side. Look how well all the other US Gov backed governments worked out: Noriega in Panama, the Shah in Iran, the Taliban in Afghanistan, Saddam in Iraq. None of those went bad, why would this one? Lighten up, freedom haters!
If one does not subscribe to HBO, how would they approach getting Mr. Maher's regular program???
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