Tits deep and falling fast the al-Maliki-led, U.S.-backed government in Iraq is struggling to provide basic necessities to a nation broken by war, civil and sectarian strife, and ancient animosities. While American troops are dying every day as the situation continues it's bottomless descent, it took a Congressional repudiation for the Bush Administration to take action.

As the symbolic, non-binding resolution moves from the House to the Senate today, Secretary of State Condoleza Rice flew to Baghdad unannounced to secure the Administration's position in the hearts and minds of Iraq's beleaguered leaders. She'll be playing hardball demanding results from the latest plan to quell the violence in the nation's capitol, while offering assurances that the Bush Administration has no intention of caving to Congress or the American people. The escalation will happen. But, if swift progress is not made, the U.S. will lessen it's support of the ruling coalition, which is essentially a death sentence to anyone working in the Iraqi government at the moment. In short: "We don't care how you do it, just get it done." The pressure is on.

The Administration's escalation plan calls for 21,500 U.S. troops to be embedded with Iraqi forces to secure key areas of Baghdad and Al Anbar province. This allows the full spectrum of American military intelligence, technology, and fire support to be made available to Iraqi units on the ground through their American embeds without compromising U.S. operational security. It also allows Iraqi troops - taking orders from their own civilian government - to effectively become the best equipped, best informed, and best trained death squads the world has ever known without asking U.S. troops to become war criminals. It's all very neat and tidy.

Dear people of Iraq, rejoice for you have been liberated.

Labels: Condoleza Rice, iraq, Nuri al-Maliki, Surge

Even as debate rages in Congress and around watercoolers throughout world regarding President Bush's Iraq escalation plan, the ground work is being laid for America's next ill conceived military boondoggle: Iran.

Across America - in Illinois, Hawaii, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, Arkansas, and Kentucky - sightings of so-called UFOs are spiking. While these sightings are dismissed or ignored by military and civil air authorities, watchers of the night sky who also pay attention to global geo-politics recognize this activity for what it is: maneuvers and operations in preparation for a military strike.

With these activities taking place beneath the noses of Congress and the American people, a strike on Iran is now a foregone conclusion. It is a question of when, not if a strike will occur.

What makes these questions other than academic is that Bush is putting in place military assets that will enable him to order and effect the rapid nuclear castration of Iran. But scarcely a peep of protest has been heard from our congressional leadership.

Observers have noted the dispatch of minesweepers and another U.S. carrier to the Persian Gulf, the naming of Admiral Bill "Fox" Fallon to head CentCom, which today manages two ground wars, and the return of U.S. fighter-bombers to Turkey. ~via

Either the unitary executive is about to open another front in the struggle for Pax Americana, or the Greys are finally coming home.

Labels: Congress, iran, iraq, Surge, Unitary Executive

General George Casey, outgoing commander of "Coalition of the Willing" forces in Iraq today surprised some by going on record as disagreeing with the Commander-in-Chief's troop escalation gambit. The President has repeatedly stated the need for 21,500 more troops to be deployed as soon as possible. Casey, who has been nominated for the post of Army Chief of Staff, told the Senate Armed Forces committee that only half that number were needed.

After watching this Administration try and fail to wage a war on the cheap - by ignoring former Army Chief of Staff General Shinseki's recommendations of an occupation force of "several hundred thousand" troops for success in Iraq - John McCain (R-AZ) very nearly got out of his seat and bitch slapped General Casey. Well, not really. But he did say this:

"I'm not certain five additional brigades in Baghdad and one more in Anbar province are sufficient to do the job," said McCain. "I am certain, however, that the job cannot be done with just two additional brigades, as you, General Casey, had advocated." ~ via

Currently there is no word of whether the now mythological Civilian Reserve Corps will be ready to support the 21,500 troops the President wants to send into Baghdad and Anbar province in the coming weeks, and according to the Congressional Budget Office, an additional 28,000 troops will be necessary to support the expanded mission. That means 49,500 service members - not 21,500 - will join those already deployed without a timetable for disengagement, and without a plan for victory.

Details. Details. Details.

Labels: Civilian Reserve Corps, Gen. Shinseki, General George Casey, Surge

"In a video released Monday, al Qaeda's second in command ridicules President Bush's plan to send more U.S. troops to Iraq and predicts a fate "worse than anything you have yet seen." Al-Zawahiri cites Bush's plan to send more than 20,000 U.S. troops to Iraq, and asks, "Why not send 50,000 or 100,000?" FBI officials said Monday that U.S. forces found documents at least six months ago indicating al Qaeda in Iraq has aspirations to attack on U.S. soil." ~CNN

Hmmm...immanent threat. So like August 6, 2001 PDB immanent threat? Or Katrina Force Hurricane immanent threat? I'm not sure. And the President's not telling. This threat was discovered six months ago, and yet it's made public the day before his sixth State of the Union Address when his popularity is currently next to nil.

No one is taking George's calls. And he needs to send more troops to Iraq! Why? Something about it being the only way to win. Why they didn't slap a Mission Accomplished sign over a KFC/TGI Friday's/Nike sponsored globally televised execution of Saddam and start bringing troops home the next day, I will never know.

The policies to be set forth in the State of the Union Address are getting a vicious going over both in the international press, and here at home. Taxing our health benefits as income? This is a win for us how? Think, damn it! Your policies have failed. You're presiding over a red hot economy that doesn't know whether to implode or dominate the world, you're out-to-lunch playing at a fantasy with our dime and the lives our fellow citizens, and you want to tax health care as income?

I have no words.

Labels: al-Qa'eda, FUD, Katrina, saddam hussein, Surge

What a way to end the week. Bush wants a troop increase; a “surge.” One last thrust to quell the violence once and for all. You know, like Belfast. That he's had to reshuffle his military, intelligence and state department personnel to get this idea to float above outright ridicule is telling. Everyone knows a radically new strategy is necessary. And almost everyone knows a redeployment is an integral part of any such strategy, but not our Commander-In-Chief. I swear the man must think he's been chosen by God Himself to run this war. Oh wait...he does.

Our fledgling Democratic Congress has chimed in, and so has the military. It seems that while most of the plans for Operation Soup Fork call for 20 to 40 thousand additional U.S. troops, the Pentagon has reported that there's only a fraction of that number in any position to answer the call. Even a draft couldn't help with this plan. It would take months to train and deploy that many conscripts. And then there's Iran.

After a hopeful showing by moderates and reformers in the election recently, Iran has once again rattled its nuclear saber prompting Israel to intentionally leak its own military plans for a preemptive strategic nuclear strike against them. Madness just doesn't quite sum it up.

It's 2007. Any nation with the will to develop nuclear weapons shall have them. We need to accept this, and work with the facts. We didn't invade or bomb China when they went nuclear. We engaged them. The same can happen with Iran and every other nation that chooses to seek the bomb. There is always common ground, and there is always leverage. In this case we must accept that every nation has the right to self-determination (even the wacky ones). On these terms we can end our 27 year silence with Iran and re-establish diplomatic ties as co-equal, sovereign powers. Then, together with the other nuclear powers of the world we can begin what the wonks call a meaningful dialog.

Meanwhile, at the U.N., we can do something really nutty and stop behaving like hypocritical neo-nationalists and start acting like the world leader we claim to be. First step: an international nuclear open door policy. The nuclear powers of the world will police one another with a regime of inspections and standards formulated to discourage proliferation while maintaining the security of the most destructive weapons on Earth. That doesn't sound so bad now does it? For the sovereignty nuts out there I say: "Suck it." The American people have been not asked, but told that we will relinquish more civil rights and liberties for this global war on terror then I care to list here. What's the matter with letting the other kids in the club see our goods if it means we can subject them to the same mandatory inspections? It'll keep us safer in the long run while allowing us to keep an eye on our adversaries.

But that'll never happen. There will be troop increases in Iraq, and they will remain there long enough for the fat 30 year contracts to drop, so Bush & Co. can ride off into the sunset in style. Iran and Israel will forget about each other until CNN has another slow news day, and everyone will live happily ever after except the poor bastards in combat boots.

Labels: George W. Bush, iran, iraq, Israel, Surge