November 2006

Just now breaking and it is definitely going to send shockwaves around D.C.

The bipartisan Iraq Study Group reached a consensus on Wednesday on a final report that will call for a gradual pullback of the 15 American combat brigades now in Iraq but stop short of setting a firm timetable for their withdrawal, according to people familiar with the panel’s deliberations.

The report, unanimously approved by the 10-member panel, led by James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton, is to be delivered to President Bush next week. It is a compromise between distinct paths that the group has debated since March, avoiding a specific timetable, which has been opposed by Mr. Bush, but making it clear that the American troop commitment should not be open-ended. The recommendations of the group, formed at the request of members of Congress, are nonbinding.

A person who participated in the commission’s debate said that unless the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki believed that Mr. Bush was under pressure to pull back troops in the near future, “there will be zero sense of urgency to reach the political settlement that needs to be reached.”

This sounds an awful lot like what Democrats have been getting at. Prove to Iraq we are done and force them to step up. Of course Bush already said this week he would not go this route:

Mr. Bush has rejected such contacts until now, and he has also rejected withdrawal, declaring in Riga, Latvia, on Tuesday that while he will show flexibility, “there’s one thing I’m not going to do: I’m not going to pull the troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete.”

It is good to see a politician with such honesty:

President Bush has pledged to work with the new Democratic majorities in Congress, but he has already gotten off on the wrong foot with Jim Webb, whose surprise victory over Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) tipped the Senate to the Democrats.

Webb, a decorated former Marine officer, hammered Allen and Bush over the unpopular war in Iraq while wearing his son’s old combat boots on the campaign trail. It seems the president may have some lingering resentment.

At a private reception held at the White House with newly elected lawmakers shortly after the election, Bush asked Webb how his son, a Marine lance corporal serving in Iraq, was doing.

Webb responded that he really wanted to see his son brought back home, said a person who heard about the exchange from Webb.

“I didn’t ask you that, I asked how he’s doing,” Bush retorted, according to the source.

Webb confessed that he was so angered by this that he was tempted to slug the commander-in-chief, reported the source, but of course didn’t. It’s safe to say, however, that Bush and Webb won’t be taking any overseas trips together anytime soon.

(emphasis mine)

I am glad Webb didn't slug Bush, but it is good to finally see someone stand up in this way to Bush. Republicans had no problem taking shots at Clinton, one right after the other, but when it comes to Bush, we are supposed to treat him like some delicate little flower? Fuck that. Bush decided he wanted to play big boy and become a President. He decided he wanted the super-sized game of being a war time President. Now he needs to man-up and start facing the criticism he so deserves. Jim Webb has a son serving this country and has a right to ask questions. Bush has daughters who should be serving in Iraq, but instead are out partying and embarrassing us in other countries.

Earlier today our commander idiot in chief had this to say:

President Bush said on Tuesday the hand of al Qaeda lay behind the sectarian violence racking Iraq, and deflected talk of "civil war."

So that means our number one enemy is behind all our troubles then. Great - that means our military should be handling this problem. So then why is Bush saying this also:

Bush said he will ask al-Maliki to explain his plan for quelling the violence.

So it's al-Maliki's responsibility to deal with al Qaeda? I thought we were the ones fighting al Qaeda. Isn't this Bush's war? How the hell can he go demanding Iraq's plan when he has yet to present a plan.

This line of babbling from Bush will do nothing but increase the number of Iraqi's and U.S. soldiers that die for his lies. Someone needs to sit him down and slap the stupid right out of him because he is the biggest danger to the world and needs to be stopped. Democrats better not sit there next year and worry about political futures and instead move to serious hearings and impeachment so that we can save the lives of what few troops we have left. After he is out of office then turn his ass over to the Hague along with Cheney and Rumsfeld so they can stand trial for war crimes. This is the only way the world will accept us as a responsible power again.

Remember the Republican controlled Congress spent 1/10th the time investigating Abu Gharib as they did investigating Bill Clinton's Christmas Card list. Here is why that is such a crime:

Outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld authorized the mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, the prison's former U.S. commander said in an interview on Saturday.

Former U.S. Army Brigadier General Janis Karpinski told Spain's El Pais newspaper she had seen a letter apparently signed by Rumsfeld which allowed civilian contractors to use techniques such as sleep deprivation during interrogation.

Karpinski, who ran the prison until early 2004, said she saw a memorandum signed by Rumsfeld detailing the use of harsh interrogation methods.

"The handwritten signature was above his printed name and in the same handwriting in the margin was written: "Make sure this is accomplished,"" she told Saturday's El Pais.

Karpinski was made to be the fall guy (girl) in the entire scandal and no one would listen to her. Now she is going to countries where people will listen.

It is amazing how we hear that we should support our troops, yet the people who constantly make that demand are the ones who refuse to listen to the troops when they address problems like this. Almost every single general who has served in Iraq and left service during that time has raised serious complaints, but Bush don't listen to them. Instead he chooses to listen to the now fired Donald Rumsfeld.