The Surge

[Jim]

What we've seen time and time again, the security operations we've attempted in the past in Baghdad had two real fundamental flaws," Bartlett said. Operations did not include enough Iraqi or U.S. troops "to hold the neighborhoods we had cleared throughout Baghdad," he said.

 

"Rules of engagement -- where troops could go, who they could go after -- were severely restricted by politics in Baghdad," Bartlett said. "That's going to change as well.

 

--- Are these guys morons or what? Let's see, you had the chance to keep the Army intact, the Bathists in line, and could have put the screws to Muqtada and the Madi Army when they were vunerable 4 yrs ago. So you're going to try it now?? This will be interesting, and unfortunate for our troops.

 

Has anyone told Bush that he really has no extra troops, that he is just shortening leave time and extending tours of duty? This is not what the reserve guys signed up for.

 

And it will fail. Bush is simply putting off the inevitable until he is out of office. Someone else will have to clean up the mess. Republican or Democrat, the next president will have his hands full.

 

 

[kevbone]

Republican or Democrat, the next president will have his hands full.

 

 

Or her hands full.

[Cobra_Commander]

He should try to get someone else lost/stranded/etc in Oregon to deflect the national media attention.

 

That, or scorpions on an airplane would suffice.

[tvashtarkatena]

The first time I read the word "surge", I knew a) the media was going to parrot it so often that it would become part of our euphemistic national lexicon and b) that Bush was stoopit enough to do it.

 

Two problems:

 

a) We going to take a 'lesser' role, in support of Iraqi troops...all one combat ready battalion of them. Right.

 

b) We're going to 'loosen' the rules of engagement for US forces (contradicting 'a'). Every time we've tried this the violence escalates out of control.

 

I'm reminded of LBJ, who, when gifted with a war he already know was shitty and could probably not be won, chose to do the only thing that would save face in the short term: escalate.

 

Prolonging the misery is an excellent strategy, and one that this administration has proven very adept at executing.

Edited January 10, 2007 by tvashtarkatena

[joblo7]

the only reason we have not suceeded in iraq is because it was never the agenda . most involved are there to line their pockets in a fictitious war decreed by a fictitious president after a fictitious attack. democracy bla bla bla.

i have implicit faith in the capacity of our military to conquer anything it 'wants ' to.

 

here , status quo or a protracted 'war' is much more profitable.

3000 servants dead.

[tvashtarkatena]

Vat vee neet ees a zupaveapon!

[joblo7]

some microwavo-lazero shit that vaporizes everything but the folks and then we rebuild. niiiice

[chucK]

[Dr_Flush_Amazing]

[1948] George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1999

 

- "The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labour. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent." (pp.198-199)

 

- "War ... not only accomplishes the necessary destruction, but accomplishes it in a psychologically acceptable way. In principle it would be quite simple to waste the surplus labour of the world by building temples and pyramids, by digging holes and filling them again, or even by producing vast quantities of goods and then setting fire to them. But this would provide only the economic and not the emotional basis for a hierarchical society." (p. 200)

 

- "It does not matter whether the war is actually happening .... All that is needed is that a state of war should exist." (p. 200)

 

- "The war, therefore ... is merely an imposture." "But though it is unreal it is not meaningless. It eats up the surplus of consumable goods, and it helps to preserve the special mental atmosphere that a hierarchical society needs." (p. 207)

[joblo7]

iraq democracy: 75% want us out.

us democracy: 75% want troops out.

 

president 'w' : more troops

[tvashtarkatena]

An enormous bong forged from unobtainium. Blows people away, leaves buildings standing...

 

...those few buildings left standing in Iraq, that is.

[tvashtarkatena]

 

- "The war, therefore ... eats up the surplus of consumable goods, and it helps to preserve the special mental atmosphere that a hierarchical society needs." (p. 207)

 

Substitute 'beer' for 'war' and this paragraph would describe most of us.

[high_on_rock]

"An ideal form of government is democracy tempered with assassination." Voltaire

 

I know one solution!

[TREETOAD]

[1948] George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1999

 

- "The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labour. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent." (pp.198-199)

 

- "War ... not only accomplishes the necessary destruction, but accomplishes it in a psychologically acceptable way. In principle it would be quite simple to waste the surplus labour of the world by building temples and pyramids, by digging holes and filling them again, or even by producing vast quantities of goods and then setting fire to them. But this would provide only the economic and not the emotional basis for a hierarchical society." (p. 200)

 

- "It does not matter whether the war is actually happening .... All that is needed is that a state of war should exist." (p. 200)

 

- "The war, therefore ... is merely an imposture." "But though it is unreal it is not meaningless. It eats up the surplus of consumable goods, and it helps to preserve the special mental atmosphere that a hierarchical society needs." (p. 207)

 

 

So true..

 

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5010.htm

[gambo]

mistakes have been made....the reaction to GW's speech

 

 

 

http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/list.php

 

http://icasualties.org/oif/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 11, 2007 by gambo