In the News on December 21, 2007 > FreedomsWatch

Friday, December 21, 2007

In the News on December 21, 2007
By Eric Livingston :: 18 Comments :: Email to a friend

David Ignatius from the Washington Post writes about progress in Iraq by General David Petraeus. Reports have been funneling into Washington about the reduction in violence and a hopeful outlook for the Iraqi government in 2008. Gen. Petraeus says the level of violence is down over half of what it was this summer, and chalks it up to what he calls his “Anaconda Strategy.” The State Department hopes the reduction in violence coupled with increased diplomatic efforts will lead to progress on Iraqi political and economic reforms.

BAGHDAD -- Gen. David Petraeus has an enviable problem as he ponders his next report to Congress about the U.S. mission in Iraq. His military surge has been so successful in reducing violence that some officials -- at the Pentagon and the State Department, not to mention in the Democratic Congress -- are wondering whether Petraeus can accelerate his timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops.

What's clear from conversations here is that 2008 will be a year of transition in Iraq. Recent military success has only reinforced the need for political reconciliation among Iraq's factions. To that end, U.S. diplomats are planning a surge of their own starting in January, to push the Iraqi government to pass reform legislation and take more responsibility for the country's future.

Comments

By keeemosabe @ Saturday, December 22, 2007 12:09 PM

It's too profitable for some to leave, like Blackwater and especially KBR. See a riveting movie about the waste, the corruption and how war for profit came to Iraq by no bid contracts and cost plus contracts which make it profitable to torch $300k trucks because of a flat tire and no spare. See the movie Iraq for Sale It's on Comcast Digital as a free movie right now. Many 2 minute clips are at http://iraqforsale.org/ This is powerful stuff told by people who were there and testify as to what happened.

By keeemosabe @ Sunday, December 23, 2007 5:42 PM

You say: >>>Every dollar the Congress has provided for the war effort has been hard-won. Some 44 efforts by the current majority party to de-fund the war and, or force premature withdrawal of the forces from the theater hardly constitute enthusiastic support<<<
I say Should not every dollar and every life be questioned? Without questioning who knows how many wars the neo-cons would start for profit or other nefarious purposes…such as aggressive action that could be Zionist-supremacist in nature. I don’t support Islamo-supremacists, Zionista supremacists, white supremacists, and I don’t want to be hoodwinked into other peoples’ (supremacist) wars. I think strong questioning is in order. More of it prior to Iraq adventures could have helped avoid it. Our military and our country deserve policies that pass muster and inspection, not go along-get along” Ya Vol Herr Commandant” Congressional toadies.

By keeemosabe @ Sunday, December 23, 2007 5:45 PM

By Demogorgon @ Tuesday, December 25, 2007 7:00 AM

Well I've been away far too long it seems...

I'm glad to see that others (jcoles9318) have arrived to do 'intellectual battle' with all these conspiracy theory, Orwellian obsessed, professional propaganda operatives of the radical anarchist Left.

However "keeemosabe" is quite the infallible legend in his/her own mind... and is only here to harass, infuriate, and demoralize those of us who actually see things beyond the scope of our own lifetimes.

As for the YouTube (Dick Cheney) video link referenced by George Lively on Dec. 21: As I recall there was quite a lot of criticism after the first Gulf War for leaving Saddam in power due to his vicious suppression of the Shiite/Kurd uprisings. Of course as no 'liberal' could be blamed for this catastrophic human tragedy - the statements of Cheney in April 1994 were, doubtless, considered back then to be cold, calculating, and even cruel by you 'intellectually superior' types who now want to quote him prophetically. Besides, that whole "9-11 thing" sort of brought about a serious reconsideration of this previous 'policy' position.

Hey keeemosabe, where is your 'fellow traveler' bathroomboy... has he been reassigned by MoveOn.Org to harass a different 'right-wing' blog now?

Or has his venom just languished since the "lose the war, lose it now" caucus in Congress failed to defeat the will of that evil "spider king" Bush?

Oh, and Merry Christ's Mass to all you militant-atheists out there.

Well that's enough 'poking' of the intellectually vacuous minds of stealth-Marxist dissenters for one day.

I would like to thank jcoles9318 for your service to our country.

Considering your personal perspective on things, I don't know how you manage to even correspond civilly with such venomous and delusional people as keeemosabe. I really wish such hypocrites as this would pick a third-world socialist hell-hole of their choice - and move there.

By keeemosabe @ Tuesday, December 25, 2007 11:23 AM

Demogorgon: I'm not nearly as ideological as you claim. You, on the other hand, being the unthinking, uncritical follower of your leader off a cliff does not make you a patriot, just a pawn.
Why do you insist Iraq invasion is related to terrorists or 9-11? Even Bush said it was not, though that doesn’t stop Cheney from confusing that issue whenever he opens his mouth. Bush said God told him to invade Iraq. I think he was really hearing his neo-con advisors whispering in his ear. See, rallying America around a war to can be a very potent political weapon to manipulate the political course of the country, as is proved here and throughout America continually. The only skill shown by this administration about this Iraq war and occupation is how it has and is being used for political purposes with an eye toward elections. I'm not here to debate the history of 50 to 100 years ago. I want to avoid repeating and increasing the more relevant mistakes in Iraq, and the mistake of diluting force from where the terrorists were once concentrated enough to defeat far more easily. I want to improve our chances of winning, but you defend and justify and support the mistakes being made. And it seems, you do it for party above county, OR, perhaps you need to be led, right or wrong, by a strongman type president, and cannot psychologically handle the uncertainties of a democracy or republic. Ask yourself why.

By toxicspin @ Tuesday, December 25, 2007 2:07 PM

Keemosabe, I truly feel sorry for you. It's sad to see someone with such great zeal, become sucked into certain beliefs as you have. Your talents are so wasted...

By keeemosabe @ Friday, December 21, 2007 7:29 PM

So removing the troops "early" is dangled to say, "I toldya so" but I'm tellin' ya that this is like Lucy teeing up the football for Charlie Brown. No matter what ... it ain't gonna happen. If success is claimed it will be used to justify keeping our troops in permanent bases being built there. Have you forgotten that Bush has said he sees troops there for decades? So it is very disengenous and dishonest to dangle early troop withdrawal, just like "Mission Accomplished" ....Right!whoever puts this crap out there really thinks US citizens are stoopid.

By keeemosabe @ Sunday, December 23, 2007 10:09 PM

Right. Here is some more left wing propaganda. Wonder where we got it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YENbElb5-xY

By George Lively @ Friday, December 21, 2007 5:02 PM

Check out what Dick Cheney said in 94
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YENbElb5-xY

By jcoles9318 @ Saturday, December 22, 2007 7:07 PM

There is still much to do in Iraq militarily, politically, diplomatically and in regional economic development/re-development. The success of the kinetic portions of the surge, plus the huge emphasis on non-kinetic activities have laid a firm foundation for long-term success in a very dysfunctional part of the world.

A few points:

-- Whatever we're paying KBR and the other life support contractors, it's not enough. During my year in Afghanistan the life support contractors made life more than just bearable; they made living in a Fourth World environment almost comfortable -- and the workers from the country program manager down to the guy who cleaned septic tanks were dedicated, conscientious and eager to provide the best support humanly possible.
-- I'm tired of hearing people complain about all the 'mistakes' made in running these two war fronts. The fact is, the War Against Islamic Jihadism is the best run, best led, and most successful US war in the last 100 years.
World War II in Europe lasted at least one year longer than it optimally could have and cost the US more than 100,000 additional casualties because of alliance-related compromises, bad generalship, poor doctrine-strategy and a very slow senior leadership 'learning curve.'
Half of Korean War casualties were caused by political-diplomatic dissonance at the senior levels of the alliance, and the war was extended by a full 14 months largely because political-diplomatic difficulties at the UN Security Council Directorate impeded development of doctrine-strategies that could have ended the war with a clear allied victory.
Vietnam was a doomed effort from the day Lyndon B. Johnson became Commander-in-Chief. Political-diplomatic meddling led by the White House & State Department made success impossible.

While there was a great deal of uncertainty as to how to proceed during the early portions of the anti-Islamic Jihad War, and certain of the senior commanders and their staffs were unable to adjust doctrine & strategy to fit actual conditions on the ground; the greater failure in the war effort occurred in the Congress, and was enabled by disaffected elements within the State Department.
But with the shift of theater commanders and creation of a combined kinetic/non-kinetic doctrine, we have been privileged to witness true brilliance in operation -- this, despite a barrage of impediments placed by the congressional majority in the path to success.
The learning curve for success in Iraq & Afghanistan has been steep and short. That our forces, and those of certain of our allies, have achieved such success in the face the dual efforts of our external enemy and a dangerously politicized Congress is nothing less than phenomenal.

By ProudToBeAnAmerican @ Wednesday, December 26, 2007 3:21 PM

Why does this leftard Keemosabe constantly insist that he is not nearly as ideological as we all think he is? If you read through all of these blogs they are all strewn with his left wing, socialist garbage.

Now...Why would a libtard waste hours and hours blogging on a pro-military, conservative blog if he were not an ideologue??? I do believe Mr. Keemosabe has the same sort of denial syndrome as his porn star super hero Bill Clinton. Neither one of them are able to discern what the word is....is. Mr. Keemosabe you definitely IS an ideologue. Now; go back to the democratic underground, the daily kos or move on dot DORK to be with your own kind. Go trash the united states, the real men will be right here where they belong.

By keeemosabe @ Sunday, December 23, 2007 1:08 PM

Response to jcoles: Bull-Only!
Point by point:
Congress impediments: Congress has given George Bush's War everything it asked. All they have essentially done is to slow the process down to get a different viewpoint heard--and on the record. Anything short of a Congress that is lock stepping, goose-stepping with "Heil Bush!" arm salutes is met with patriotism questioning demagoguery. He gets all he wants, and if anybody questions or does not follow his orders immediately, that's who gets heaped with scorn. Sir, you don't want democracy. You want a dictator.

So you support the no bid, cost plus contracts that result in torching $300k trucks due to a flat tire. If that does not anger you, just get out of my face…it makes you a died-in-the-wool bootlicker. So this the vaunted conservative formula for protecting the taxpayer.
You claim this is the best run war in 100 years? Wow. That is the most laughable comment I've heard in 10 years. So you can't acknowledge or remember what happened in Bosnia / Serbia... where the US lost not one soldier in combat? How do you expect ANYONE to take you seriously?

By jcoles9318 @ Sunday, December 23, 2007 3:28 PM

Well, I guess you caught me, sir. Your vast personal experience in our combat zones and your deep understanding of American history overwhelm my puny 35 years with our military and the US Government; 24 years of which have been deployed with our forces.
Regarding your criticism of 'no-bid' contracts to companies such as KBR: Exactly what other companies are that can build & sustain life support systems for armies & air forces in the field? It really is hard to bid-out a contract when there is only one company that can coordinate such huge undertakings...There are many companies that can each provide some part of the needed support and those have been brought under the KBR umbrella as sub-contractors; which greatly facilitates government management of a very complicated contracting process and environment.
Regarding your assertion that $300K trucks were burned for lack of a spare tire...I'm sure that event, or something like it, happened -- maybe once, maybe a couple of times -- but it certainly was not and is not the norm, although such events have happened in every war in every generation in every nation...What I do know for certain is that when high-end equipment is destroyed there is an investigation...I don't know the outcome of the inquiry into this incident but if the investigation found a good reason for destroying the vehicle, such as to keep it from falling into enemy hands, then the equipment is written-off as a materiel casualty of war. But if the vehicle was unnecessarily destroyed, those responsible (usually the corporate sponsor of the individuals involved) are required by law to pay for the loss.
Regarding your comments about Bosnia...that action was hardly a war; more a bombing campaign than a ground fight. I've been with our forces in the Balkans -- primarily the US Army Reserve, which has made up the bulk of forces in the region -- and the mission from day-one was peace-keeping and nation building.
Our missions in Afghanistan, where I recently spent a full year as a mentor to the Afghan government; and Iraq are both combat and nation building missions. There is no comparison between pure peace keeping/nation building and combat/nation building missions. I am currently trying to get to Iraq and have applications in the system with both Federal agencies and contractors.
Regarding your comments concerning funding and equipment support provided by the Congress: Every dollar the Congress has provided for the war effort has been hard-won. Some 44 efforts by the current majority party to de-fund the war and, or force premature withdrawal of the forces from the theater hardly constitute enthusiastic support...and regardless of party in power, individual politicians have made the funding process unnecessarily cumbersome and difficult.
Regarding this being a well-run military action, I can only suggest that you read the diplomatic and political history of World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam -- then you'll see what really bad decision makes looks like.
Our military is large and at times cumbersome organization, the rudder of which sometimes requires exceptional pressure to move from its base course. After a relatively short time and the immense pressure resulting from learning to fight an asymmetrical enemy on his turf that rudder has turned and our military is now on a course, that given proper fuel and guidance, will take our forces on a success course.
Finally, resorting to name calling -- such as 'boot licker' and the other epithets you used is proof-positive of a closed mind and lack of substance in one's arguments.

By jcoles9318 @ Sunday, December 23, 2007 3:38 PM

As for your PS: Had former President Clinton ordered a ground invasion of either Afghanistan or Iraq, and the wars had followed a course similar the courses these two fronts in the Anti-Islamic Jihad War have taken my reaction would be the same. I give credit where it is due, and I criticize based on the facts. I give Mr. Clinton credit for the things he did well and I criticize in the areas in which his leadership was sub-standard.

By keeemosabe @ Sunday, December 23, 2007 4:29 PM

There is no way to defend going into an extra bonus optional Iraq war if one believes history can teach. The Soviets were bled out in after about a decade in Afghanistan, on their southern doorstep. How much arrogance does it take for a president and his neo-con advisors to believe opening a concurrent second front a half a world away is good "strategery"? And then to believe it could be done on the cheap, with Iraq's oil revenues paying for it,,, And without taxpayers making any sacrificial supporting "earmarked" taxes,,,and without a draft to bolster the military,,, and drumming out gays, even if only used as segregated translators,,, and without the necessary ceramic vehicle and body armor for far too long,,, and military honchos resisting the supply of MRAPs to protect from IEDs,,,and knowing that Iraq would be strengthened as a player in the region, as Cheney acknowledged in the above referenced video,,, and knowing that Iraq could wait until after victory was assured in Afghanistan,,,and knowing Pakistan with its powder keg of nuclear missiles is the biggest security concern in the region,,,and knowing that the cost in $$$ and men for Iraqi oil is far higher than to fund the research to replace oil as an energy source by wet and dry geothermal, nuclear, wind, coal liquefaction, battery and air powered cars. No This is a war begun to expand oil opportunitiees, and is fueled by war profiteers and now I see by the wannabe profiteers too. Will your letters be used in your resume?

So it figures that one who defends the Iraq war in this manner would have a present potential or financial interest in it. Of course those involved with no-bid cost-plus contracts would applaud this war for a dacade or decades. War for profit intertwined with the military industrial complex is a true danger as Eisenhower warned in his farewell speech. If you value patriotism over financial gain, you could appreciate it.

By keeemosabe @ Sunday, December 23, 2007 5:02 PM

As for learnig curves, I have seen no answer to IEDs. What I have seen is a natural segregation of Shiites and Sunni, which was an idea supported by Biden and others, but opposed by the administration. I see how the US once supported the Shiites when they were the underdog, and now we support and arm the new underdogs, like the Sunnis (yes those Falujah sunnis who now kill "Al Qaeda-in-Iraq") We did not need to undertake this ill begotten war. It was avoidable. We could arm all but the terrosists. Sell them arms for their oil, be a friend to all and let them build or let them fight. If they build, they prosper, and so do we. If they fight, it is their battle, no blood on our hands, as every nation has a right to arm. If they fight to exhaustion, fine. Then we go in, only as necessary and as a COALITION force, UN & NaTO sanctioned, to and mop up what is left after they have spent themselves, which would then be far easier than now. The Shiites and Sunnis hate each other more than they hate us. But they will kill what they see as trespassers, just as you would do if you saw foreign troops on our soil. Right? But most important to the long term of the US and the Mid-East is to knock heads and get a truce leading to a solution between Palestinians and Israel. And develop our own oil alternatives. Let them DRINK their oil.
Those is the ultimate answers. Even Bush sees the Israel Palestine issue now at this late date.

By keeemosabe @ Sunday, December 23, 2007 2:07 PM

PS: I know one thing...You would not have such high praise for this war if a Clinton started it and ran it just the way it is now. I know it. You know it. Everybody knows it. Admit it.

By jcoles9318 @ Sunday, December 23, 2007 7:09 PM

Mr. Keemosabe...The one thing you have exactly right and in context is that the US must develop alternative energy sources, but virtually everything else you've written is a regurgitation of factual perversion, Far-Left spin and misinformation. While there is small thread of truth in your arguments the fabric of your assertions is weak, badly woven and not long wearing.

You're entitled to your opinions...and if you want to carry around the kind of anger you've shown during our brief correspondence, then so be it...the life you damage is your own.

But one point you made bothers me greatly...you accuse me of being a 'war profiteer' and of wanting to see this war go on for a long time. Neither statement is even remotely close to true. In fact, if I could afford to pay the government or a private company for the opportunity to serve alongside our troops I would...and I very much want to see the bulk of the forces return to the States or to posts other than in the Southwest Asia combat area. But we cannot and should not withdraw from Iraq or Afghanistan until the local governments can sustain law and order without major Western intervention.

Your notions that the Iraq War is optional and that it is about oil are simply wrong...Please, go spend some time on the ground...study the real situation, and don't allow yourself to be swayed by the propaganda of Bush-demented, anti-American radicals.

And although I seldom agree to repeat myself, I say to you again that had Mr. Clinton directed military undertakings such as we've had since 9/11 and they had progressed exactly the same way as these have, I would give credit where it is due and offer criticisms as they are warranted.

Obviously, neither of us will be swayed by the writings of the other and fostering rancor is not at all productive for either of us. Let us terminate this discussion, and hopefully when we next meet on-line our discussion can be more civil and productive.

V/r,
jim

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