My Report on Iraq
Over the next few weeks the public and congress will be briefed on the situation in Iraq by a number of experts. Among them: Army General David Petraeus (commander of the US forces there - expect to see him on Jimmy Kimmel plugging a book by Christmas), Defense Secretary Robert Gates (appointed by the President so you know Kool-Aid is his beverage of choice), Marine General Peter Pace (the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, appointed by...guess), retired Marine General James L. Jones (with pension and full P.X. privileges), Ryan Crocker, the US Ambassador in Baghdad (still missing the good old days when he was assigned to Pakistan), even CBS journalist Katherine Anne "Katie" Couric (who reports at great personal risk that a street market was thriving), and something called the Government Accountability Office (which turns out isn't a joke but really exists).
Despite all of that expertise, I decided to conduct my own report, the findings I shall share here.
Last weekend I was in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport and encountered a whole group of soldiers returning from Iraq for R&R. They were wearing those green camouflage fatigues that allow them to move about undetected in the forests of the Middle East. Airport security made them all take off their combat boots, which lace almost up to their knees. It's the TSA's little way of saying thank you to our boys. "Dog tags in the bins, fellas."
So as we were all putting our shoes and boots back on I asked them what it was like over there. Answer: "bad!" And then I said, "When do you think you guys will all come home?" Almost in unison they said, "When a Democrat is elected."
What other data, reports, hearings, debates, presentations, photo ops from street fairs do we need?
You can read more from Ken at kenlevine.blogspot.com
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Senator Biden said the same thing during the first debate. Elect a Democrat president and put 67 Democratic senators in the Senate, and maintain control of the House and we'll be out of Iraq.
It's up to the voter, but 40 percent of them won't even vote in '08. And you wonder why social conservative neocons are running things? It's not because most Americans hold similar beliefs, but because they vote.
I hope those soldiers vote and never forget which party got them sent to Iraq.
And what party (the Democrats)are KEEPING them there.
Given the numbers thin House majority, really, really think Senate majority and GOP president), could you kindly explain how the Democrats could bring the troops home now?
Who said the troops are weak and cowardly? Who said that "they" have brutalized the Iraqi poulation? Please provide some evidence for your exaggerations. Yes, Harry Reid did say that the war is lost. I think many people would agree with him. Since the reason for going to war keeps changing, it's hard for me to decide if the war has been lost or won. I guess we did keep Saddam Hussein from using all of WMDs that he had; and we did keep him from turning that Nigerian yellowcake into a nuclear bomb so I guess you could say that we have had some success. Now what were those other reasons?
NO yellowcake, no WMDs. Read a paper, goofus. That's been in nearly every paper, nation-wide. And even most of the unapologetically right-wing rags have admitted/printed it by NOW.
The troops really want a Democrat to be President. The troops are clambering for a leader who has said that they have lost the war. That they have brutalized the Iraqi population. That they are weak and cowardly. This is who are troops want as President? I laugh at this thought and gross exaggeration.
So Mr. Smarty-pants, which of our Democratic candidates is calling the troops "weak and cowardly"? Which one is arguing that the troops have lost the war? And, regarding "brutalizing the Iraqi population", the evidence shows that WE HAVE!
It's time for you righties to get real.
Do you ever get dizzy from the spinning?
The troops are clambering for a leader who has the wisdom of mind to not deploy them into conflicts for that leader's personal gain, they are clambering that if and when they are sent into battle, they are properly trained and equipped, they are clambering for decent and accessible health care, of which they have received none of these from the present leadership.
It was bushCo that entered into a lost cause. It was bushCo that brutalized the Iraqi population. bushCo is weak and cowardly; hiding behind secrecy, lies and deceit.
You laugh?
**
I started a joke which started the whole world crying
But I didn't see that the joke was on me, oh no
I started to cry which started the whole world laughing
Oh If I'd only seen that the joke was on me.
I looked at the skies running my hands over my eyes
And I fell out of bed hurting my head from things that I said
'Till I finally died which started the whole world living
Oh If I'd only seen that the joke was on me
The Bee Gees
**
You weren't doing badly until you quoted the freaking Bee Gees.
Speaking of transporting military personnel…
I remember the Chicago bus station, Christmas, 1976.
I group of apparent recent boot camp graduates were looking through a copy of Hustler magazine. Larry Flynt had a pictorial of what HE considered "obscene". It was composed of pages of Viet Nam's most horribly wounded American GIs, full color, uncovered and unedited.
And these young men at the station were LAUGHING! Perhaps not because they were amused, as much as uncomfortable. (One hopes.)
Imagine the difference the right type of education at the right place and time could have made. And STILL would make, except that pictures like these are UNPATRIOTIC in george bush’s America.
We all know the dead are brought home at NIGHT.
DID YOU KNOW that America’s WOUNDED are bring brought in the back door AT NIGHT, TOO?
http://arc
Wounded, dying, suffering, alone, scared, but NOT WORTHY OF SEEING THE DAYLIGHT OF HOME.
It’s UNPATRIOTIC to tell anything even REMOTELY approaching the truth, in george bush’s America.
And with 12% of this year’s military personnel the result of PRISON waivers, beggars can’t be choosers.
We don’t have to wait for Hollywood or Broadway’s version of the military musical, we’re getting the Iraq version already.
Can this POSSIBLY be real!?!?
In George's little world, the photographers would have been required to get signed release forms from the dead and wounded soldiers in the photos.
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