Reactions to story from The New York Times

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  Bush’s War in Iraq

  http://tomscommentry.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/bushs-war-in-i...
  104 days ago in Tom’s Commentary · No authority yet

  JOE BIDEN: Asks Petraeus to Rate Iraq on 1-10 Scale Video Play List: The RNC & Petraeus Fmr. General Chairman Martinez Speaks on Iraq Iraq — What has Been Gained & Lost Senator Obama and Iraq A Torch must be Passed to Obama in 08 Olbermann: Obama Takes McCain to School News Wire & Blogs: Ariz. Mountain Renamed After Slain Soldier from CBS News.com A federal panel has officially renamed a Phoenix mountain for the first American Indian woman to die in combat while serving in the U.S. military, ending one of the country’s most contentious fights over a place name. Dems: Force Iraqis to use oil cash from MSNBC.com: Politics Democrats plan to push legislation this spring that would force the Iraqi government to spend its own surplus in oil revenues to rebuild the country, sparing U.S. dollars. When the Data Don’t Really Measure Up from Wash Post - Politics by Post As part of his presentation to Congress yesterday, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus displayed 11 multicolored charts to demonstrate progress in Iraq. A close look at the facts indicates that the data often lacked context or were misleading. Here is a guide: Frustrated Senators See No Exit Signs from Wash Post - Politics by Karen DeYoung and Thomas E. Ricks Asked repeatedly yesterday what “conditions” he is looking for to begin substantial U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq after this summer’s scheduled drawdown, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus said he will know them when he sees them. For frustrated lawmakers, it was not enough. A ‘Conditions-Based’ Answer from Wash Post - Politics by Post Several senators asked Gen. David H. Petraeus when and under what conditions he would recommend further reductions of U.S. forces from Iraq, after an assessment this summer. The general’s responses, as an exchange with Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) shows, were less than specific. A Burr in the Side of the American People from PoliticalBase.com Blog Sen. Claire McCaskill in this morning’s senate hearing emphasized the cost of the war for Americans, versus the cost for Iraqis. “It is a major burr in the side American people,” she said, “that the Iraqi government has a budget surplus and we have a massive deficit, and yet we are paying, and they are not… We’re spending about $200 million a year [to pay the Sons of Iraq] twice the average salary you’d make in Iraq, and I’m trying to figure out how you get Iraq to pay that…” Hazy Iraq Benchmarks: Political Success Requires Implementation from Center for American Progress by Brian Katulis, Peter Juul Petraeus claims “surge” is fostering Iraqi reconciliation, yet by his own benchmarks this is fiction, write Brian Katulis and Peter Juul. Bad Ending to a Long Day from PoliticalBase.com Blog The Senate Foreign Relations hearing ended on a somber note, with senators expressing doubt and mistrust over the Status of Forces Agreement that Ambassador Crocker is currently working on. “I’m now concerned this administration might negotiate a long term security agreement” that would constrain the Congress or next president, Senator Ben Cardin said. “If you want the cooperation of many of us, that agreement better come before us.” Senator Jim Webb expressed similar concerns. Crocker Says Iran Needs to Initiate Diplomacy with U.S. over Iraq from PoliticalBase.com Blog Senator Chuck Hagel questioned Ambassador Crocker at this afternoon’s hearing about the claim he’s made that a “diplomatic surge” accompanied the military surge. “I don’t see Condoleezza Rice doing any Kissinger-like flying around,” he said. “Where is the diplomatic surge that in the end is going to make a difference in the outcome of Iraq, and certainly, how we come out of this?” Petraeus: Iraq Too Fragile for Further U.S. Troop Pullouts from FOXNews.com by foxnewsonline@foxnews.com Army Gen. David Petraeus painted a picture of a nation struggling to suppress violence among its own people and to move toward the political reconciliation that Bush said a year ago was the ultimate aim of his new Iraq strategy. Feith Regrets Not Pushing ‘Law and Order’ in Iraq from NPR Topics: Politics The U.S. government has been criticized for many aspects of its handling of the Iraq war. But Douglas Feith, an architect of the war, says one of his biggest regrets is not convincing top Pentagon officials to pay more attention to law and order immediately after the fall of Baghdad in 2003. Basra Was the Test from Center for American Progress by Ian Moss The “surge” strategy now under review on Capitol Hill failed to meet its most important goals recently in Basra, writes Ian Moss. General Resists Timetable for Withdrawal of Troops in Iraq from NYT > Washington Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, warned a Senate panel against removing “too many troops too quickly.” Neither Brief Nor A Pause from PoliticalBase.com Blog General David Petraeus recommended this morning to the Senate Armed Forces Committee that once troops in Iraq have been drawn down to “pre-surge” levels, there should be a “45 day period of consolidation and evaluation to determine when we can make recommendations for further reductions.” Veterans’ Mental Health by the Numbers from Center for American Progress CAP takes a by the numbers look at the mental health toll on our veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan and why improvements are needed. Iraqi Widows, Orphans Left Stranded from ABC News: Intl Iraq’s Growing Legions of Widows Suffer Loneliness, Ostracism and Poverty Iraq Report Details Political Hurdles and Future Options from Wash Post - World News by Robin Wright A new assessment of U.S. policy in Iraq by the same experts who advised the original Iraq Study Group concludes that political progress is “so slow, halting and superficial” and political fragmentation “so pronounced” that the United States is no closer to being able to leave Iraq than it was a y… Bush Listens Closely To His Man in Iraq from Wash Post - World News by Michael Abramowitz - For months, a debate raged at the top levels of the Bush administration over how quickly to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. But the discussion shut down soon after President Bush flew to Camp Arifjan, a dusty Army base near the Iraqi border in Kuwait, in January for a face-to-face meeting… Sen. Biden: Troop buildup a failure from MSNBC.com: Politics A leading Democrat on Saturday declared last year’s troop buildup in Iraq a failure. New Plan Will Shorten Army Combat Tours from CBS News.com The Bush administration plans to announce next week that U.S. soldiers’ combat tours will be reduced from 15 months to 12 months in Iraq and Afghanistan beginning later this summer, The Associated Press has learned. Evidence of Executions by Iraqi Forces Surfaces from NPR Topics: World Recent fighting between Shiite militia and Iraqi troops highlighted severe, lingering problems for the U.S.-trained forces, including tactical and logistical issues and desertion. Even more grave, evidence points to executions of detained militiamen by some of the security forces. Dem Leaders To Bush: Not Too Late On Iraq from CBSNews - Politics Democratic leaders told President Bush on Friday that it’s not too late to change course in Iraq and pleaded with him not to hand the war off to the next president. Think Again: Getting Iraq Right from Center for American Progress by Eric Alterman, George Zornick Iraq demands a change in direction, but it’s hard for people to demand a change on policies that go unreported, writes Eric Alterman. Iraq: Out of Our Hands and Into a Two-Star General’s? from PoliticalBase.com Blog “Out of Iraq we will come, and the jury’s out on what’s going to happen next,” Retired General Barry McCaffrey said at this morning’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the American military prospects in Iraq. The political will in the U.S. to continue the war is gone, the military is at its breaking point, and al Qaeda will not overrun Iraq if we leave, the panelists made clear. What Could $432 Million Buy American Families? from Center for American Progress On average, we spend $432 million a day in Iraq, while families at home feel the crunch of rising prices, declining employment, and soaring credit. G.I. Missing Since 2004 Confirmed Dead from CBS News.com The father of a soldier listed as missing-captured in Iraq since 2004 said Sunday that the military had informed him that his son’s remains were found in Iraq. Staff Alleges Abuses by Top Iraq Auditor from Wash Post - Politics by Robin Wright Federal investigators called at least nine current and former employees of the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction before a grand jury in Richmond on March 18, and the FBI has summoned others for questioning this week, marking a new phase in the probe of allegations ag… Political Memo: Iraqi Offensive Revives Debate for Campaigns from NYT > Washington The war’s return to the public consciousness poses new challenges and opportunities for the candidates, particularly Senator John McCain. U.S. Has Little Influence, Few Options in Iraq’s Volatile South from Wash Post - World News by Karen DeYoung As U.S. warplanes attacked targets in Basra yesterday, Bush administration officials acknowledged that their hands-off strategy toward southern Iraq in recent years has left them with little knowledge of the conflicts among competing Shiite groups there and few ways of influencing them. Despite the Fighting in Basra, Bush Emphasizes Progress from Wash Post - Politics by Peter Baker DAYTON, Ohio, March 27 — The images from Baghdad and Basra bristled with explosions, burning buildings, angry street protests, rocket smoke wafting from the Green Zone. The words from Dayton were “remarkable” and “victory” and “rebirth.” 42 Democrats Vow a Drawdown in Iraq If They Win Seats from Wash Post - Politics by Paul Kane More than three dozen Democratic congressional candidates banded together yesterday to promise that, if elected, they will push for legislation calling for an immediate drawdown of troops in Iraq that would leave only a security force in place to guard the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. The Iraq Headline We Fear from PoliticalBase.com Blog Not the headline we want to see…From today’s New York Times, “Assault by Iraq on Shiite Forces Stalls in Basra:” In Speech, Bush Praises Iraq’s Government from NYT > Washington President Bush said the fighting in Iraq demonstrated the willingness of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to impose order. Iraq Explodes from PoliticalBase.com Blog An afternoon update on the out-of-control events happening right now in Iraq. Looks like the Maliki government is “all-in” with the decision to try to take down the militias Bush: Iraq Needs Security, Not “Hectoring” from CBSNews - Politics President Bush defended the slow pace of progress in Iraq, asserting “it is not foot-dragging” as Iraqi politicians try to reach agreement on political, security and economic goals. Bush consults advisers on Iraq from MSNBC.com: Politics Wrapping up a series of consultations on Iraq, President Bush met at the Pentagon on Wednesday with the military’s top leaders to hear their views on prospects for further troop reductions. Vet Voice: What We’ve Learned This Week [In Iraq] from PoliticalBase.com Blog Brandon Friedman over at Vet Voice has what I think is best summary of the five things we should now have all learned about our five-year Iraq adventure. Resurging Iraqi Violence: Shi’a Civil War Only One of Many from Center for American Progress by Brian Katulis Latest outbreak of fighting among Shi’a rivals is emblematic of multiple conflicts still raging across the country, writes Brian Katulis. Idea of the Day: Phased Military Redeployment from Iraq in One Year from Center for American Progress The United States should immediately begin redeploying its troops from Iraq and declare it does not intend to maintain military bases permanently in Iraq. A swift strategic redeployment from Iraq, coordinated with Iraq’s government, gives the United States the best chance to revitalize its ground forces now stretched too thin to address growing threats on other fronts in the fight against global terrorist groups in Afghanistan and elsewhere. How Could We Spend $600 Billion?: What the Education System Could Do With the Money Spent on Iraq from Center for American Progress The $600 billion given to operations in Iraq could buy thousands of schools, fund hundreds of thousands of salaries, and send millions to college. Just to Recap: Ridiculous War, Monumental Mistake from Center for American Progress by Spencer P. Boyer Five years ago, the United States invaded Iraq and set in motion a chain of events that most Americans wish had never been unleashed. While President Bush and Vice President Cheney have been making the rounds to convince a skeptical public that the war has been critical for America’s national security interests, their words ring hollow. With 4,000 Americans killed, 30,000 wounded, and over half a trillion dollars spent so far, this unfortunate anniversary is the proper time to step back for a reality check. Bush Given Iraq War Plan With a Steady Troop Level from NYT > Washington Troop levels in Iraq would remain nearly the same through 2008 as at any time during five years of war, senior officials said. What Are Our Interests in Iraq? from PoliticalBase.com Blog The United States has a chance to actually meet its ultimate goal in Iraq– establishing a peaceful, democratic ally in the Middle East– if it maintains high troop levels for at least another year, Fred Kagan argued today at the famously conservative American Enterprise Institute. Kagan was joined this afternoon by Michael O’Hanlon and Kenneth M. Pollack, both of the Brookings Institution, to discuss the findings of the newly-releaesd Phase IV Report of AEI’s Iraq Planning Group. Bush Says War’s Outcome ‘Will Merit the Sacrifice’ from Wash Post - World News by Karen DeYoung and Michael Abramowitz As the death toll for American troops in Iraq reached 4,000, President Bush conferred yesterday with top U.S. officials in Washington and in Baghdad and vowed in a public statement that the outcome of the war “will merit the sacrifice.” Bush Says War’s Outcome ‘Will Merit the Sacrifice’ from Wash Post - World News by Karen DeYoung and Michael Abramowitz As the death toll for American troops in Iraq reached 4,000, President Bush conferred yesterday with top U.S. officials in Washington and in Baghdad and vowed in a public statement that the outcome of the war “will merit the sacrifice.” Cheney On Iraq War: Bush “Carries Biggest Burden” from PoliticalBase.com Blog With the sad milestone of 4,000 killed-in-action in Iraq, Vice President Cheney reminds us of who really carries the biggest burden of this preposterous war: U.S. Death Toll In Iraq Hits 4,000 from CBS News.com A roadside bomb killed four U.S. soldiers in Baghdad on Sunday, the military said, pushing the overall American death toll in the five-year war to at least 4,000. Book Details U.S. Pressure On Allies Before War from Wash Post - World News by Colum Lynch UNITED NATIONS — In the months leading up to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration threatened trade reprisals against friendly countries who withheld their support, spied on its allies, and pressed for the recall of U.N. envoys that resisted U.S. pressure to endorse the war, acc… On War’s Anniversary, Bush Cites Progress from Wash Post - Politics by Dan Eggen President Bush sought yesterday to convince a skeptical public that the United States is on the cusp of winning the war in Iraq, arguing in a speech at the Pentagon that the recent buildup of U.S. forces has stabilized that country and “opened the door to a major strategic victory in the war on t… “So?”, from PoliticalBase.com Blog When asked how that assessment comports with recent polls that show about two-thirds of Americans say the fight in Iraq is not worth it, Cheney replied, “So?” Five Years In, How Much Do We Care?, from PoliticalBase.com Blog As Bush proclaimed today that he needn’t reduce the level of troops in Iraq, it’s hard to know whether people are listening to him and agree or simply aren’t paying attention to the war at all. Two thirds of Americans say they think the war was a bad idea. But even with five years and $600 billion come and gone– not to mention nearly 4,000 soldiers lost — people aren’t exactly taking to the streets over it. At least in Washington, D.C, they’re literally not taking to the streets. The country’s complacent attitude was clear from the paltry protests across capital today. Cabinet Departments & Agencies: Vice President Dick Cheney Department of Defense Department of Justice Department of Homeland Security Department of State Department of Treasury Department of Interior  
• 

  Iraq, Episode XI: A Failure by any Other Name

  http://tetheredswimming.com/2008/04/06/iraq-episode-xi-a-fai...
  108 days ago in Tethered Swimming · Authority: 1

  Iraq, Episode XI: A Failure by any Other Name 6 April 08 “Rocky “V”, that was the fifth one! So Rocky five, plus Rocky two, equals Rocky seven, Adrian’s Revenge!” - Bart Simpson As with most things Iraq related, the reaction to the recent fighting in Basra would be extremely funny if it was just another domestic American political soap opera instead of a war that kills and maims people. The story arc is so familiar that it’s become boring. Something bad happens; the White House and its cadre of fanatics declare the disaster a sign of progress; the lie eventually becomes inoperable; the war continues. The links below are to stories from The New York Times. Wednesday - 26 March - Headline: Iraqi Crackdown on Shiite Forces Sets Off Fighting 4th paragraph: In Basra, American and British jets roared through the skies, providing air support for the Iraqi military. A British Army spokesman for southern Iraq, Maj. Tom Holloway, said that while Western forces had not entered Basra, the operation already involved nearly 30,000 Iraqi troops and police forces, with more arriving. “They are clearing the city block by block,” Major Holloway said. Thursday - 27 March - Headline: Iraqi Army’s Assault on Militias in Basra Stalls 2nd paragraph: American officials have presented the Iraqi Army’s attempts to secure the port city as an example of its ability to carry out a major operation against the insurgency on its own. A failure there would be a serious embarrassment for the Iraqi government and for the army, as well as for American forces eager to demonstrate that the Iraqi units they have trained can fight effectively on their own. Friday - 28 March - Headline: Assault by Iraq on Shiite Forces Stalls in Basra 1st paragraph: American-trained Iraqi security forces failed for a third straight day to oust Shiite militias from the southern city of Basra on Thursday, even as President Bush hailed the operation as a sign of the growing strength of Iraq’s federal government. Saturday - 29 March - Headline: U.S. Airstrikes Aid Iraqi Army in Basra 2nd & 3rd paragraphs: Although American officials have emphasized that the campaign in the southern port city of Basra is directed by Iraqi forces, the Iraqis have failed so far to wrest control of neighborhoods in Basra from Shiite militias and asked the Americans and British to step in. The Iraqi military does not have jet fighters. In Baghdad, American helicopters exchanged fire with Mahdi Army militia members in the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City, and rockets crashed into the office of Iraq’s Sunni vice president in the heavily fortified Green Zone, killing a security guard. Sunday - 30 March - Headline: Shiite Militias Cling to Swaths of Basra and Stage Raids 1st paragraph: Shiite militiamen in Basra openly controlled wide swaths of the city on Saturday and staged increasingly bold raids on Iraqi government forces sent five days ago to wrest control from the gunmen, witnesses said, as Iraqi political leaders grew increasingly critical of the stalled assault. Monday - 31 March - Headline: Cleric Suspends Battle in Basra by Shiite Militia 1st paragraph: The Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr on Sunday called for his followers to stop fighting in Basra and in turn demanded concessions from Iraq’s government, after six days in which his Mahdi Army militia has held off an American-supported Iraqi assault on the southern port city. The substance of Mr. Sadr’s statement, released Sunday afternoon, was hammered out in elaborate negotiations over the past few days with senior Iraqi officials, some of whom traveled to Iran to meet with Mr. Sadr, according to several officials involved in the discussions. Tuesday - 1 April - Headline: Iraq Seems Calmer After Cleric Halts Fighting 4th paragraph: The uncertainty over Mr. Sadr’s statements was underlined at a news briefing in Baghdad on Monday, where Ali al-Dabbagh, a government spokesman, dodged questions about whether Mr. Maliki would honor Mr. Sadr’s demands. When asked if the government would release Mahdi Army detainees who had not been accused of a crime, for instance, Mr. Dabbagh said there had long been plans to let some of them go. He said the government would “look into” Mr. Sadr’s concerns. Wednesday - 2 April - Headline: Britain Puts Troop Drawdown on Hold 6th paragraph: [British defense secretary Desmond Browne] said the use of British ground troops in the fighting was ordered “in extremis,” suggesting that the deployment of forces from the British base at Basra was a last-ditch measure to save Iraqi troops. Thursday - 3 April - Headline: U.S. Cites Planning Gaps in Iraqi Assault on Basra 5th paragraph: The Bush administration has portrayed the Iraqi offensive in Basra as a “defining moment” - a compelling demonstration that an Iraqi government that has long been criticized for inaction has both the will and means to take on renegade militias. Friday - 4 April - Headline: More Than 1,000 in Iraq’s Forces Quit Basra Fight 1st & 2nd paragraphs: More than 1,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen either refused to fight or simply abandoned their posts during the inconclusive assault against Shiite militias in Basra last week, a senior Iraqi government official said Thursday. Iraqi military officials said the group included dozens of officers, including at least two senior field commanders in the battle. The desertions in the heat of a major battle cast fresh doubt on the effectiveness of the American-trained Iraqi security forces. The White House has conditioned further withdrawals of American troops on the readiness of the Iraqi military and police. That’s a pretty neat little summation of the Basra affair. It also serves as a scale model of our entire Mesopotamian adventure, including the usual denouement where the Iraqis and the Iraqi government are cited as the root of the problem. As though, to paraphrase the evil king in Braveheart, the only trouble with Iraq is that it’s full of Iraqis. The real trouble with Iraq is that it is under an unpopular and ineffective foreign occupation. Recall that the - ahem - surge was the government’s response to the 2006 elections, Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation and the Baker-Hamilton report. The rational was that the occupation of Iraq could be made to work with better leadership and strategy. Yet here we are a year later and very little has changed. The war continues to go downhill and whatever fresh bullshit is trotted out by those who defend its continuation cannot long conceal that simple and immutable fact.
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  Fred Kagan on Monday: "The civil war in Iraq is over"

  http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/03/27/kagan/inde...
  118 days ago in Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com · Authority: 3,667

  (Updated below - Update II - Update III - Update IV) The American Enterprise Institute held an event on Monday entitled "Iraq: The Way Ahead." They convened a panel as diverse as the ones typically convened among the Beltway establishment to talk about Iraq. It featured war cheerleader genius Fred Kagan of the AEI and war cheerleader geniuses Michael O'Hanlon and Ken Pollack of the Brookings Institution (the always in-sync, pro-war AEI and Brookings are, along with the Council on Foreign Relations, the most quoted and most-cited "think tanks" in the American media). To commence the discussion to show us all "The Way Ahead" in Iraq, here is the very first thing that Fred Kagan said:The first thing I want to say is that: The Civil War in Iraq is over. And until the American domestic political debate catches up with that fact, we are going to have a very hard time discussing Iraq on the basis of reality.One has to watch the video to fully appreciate how pompously he sits there on his war throne issuing his decree about "reality" in Iraq. Less than 24 hours after Kagan decreed the Civil War in Iraq over -- and lectured Americans that we must accept this if we are to understand reality in Iraq -- McClatchy News Service reported:With Iraq's top leaders directing the battle, Iraq's army and national police pressed a major operation Tuesday to wrest control of the southern port city of Basra from the Shiite Mahdi Army militia. Fighting between government forces and the militia quickly spread through Iraq's south and into Baghdad.Today, long-time, highly prescient Iraq correspondent Patrick Cockburn reported in The Independent: "A new civil war is threatening to explode in Iraq as American-backed Iraqi government forces fight Shia militiamen for control of Basra and parts of Baghdad." The Times of London today reported: "Iraq’s Prime Minister was staring into the abyss today after his operation to crush militia strongholds in Basra stalled, members of his own security forces defected and district after district of his own capital fell to Shia militia gunmen." The New York Times today detailed the deadly and increasingly violent fighting in multiple venues in Iraq, warning: "if the assault in Basra leads the Mahdi Army to break completely with its current cease-fire, which has helped to tamp down attacks in Iraq during the past year, there is a risk of escalating violence and of replaying 2004." Several days before the AEI event, Kagan was one of the featured "experts" on Charlie Rose's fifth anniversary show and this exchange occurred:CHARLIE ROSE: You believe the civil war is over? FREDERICK KAGAN: Yes. CHARLIE ROSE: Why? FREDERICK KAGAN: . . .Virtually the moment that President Bush announced that we would be changing our strategy and sending more forces and not leaving, those groups stood down. And as our troops started to push into the neighborhoods, we rapidly got back to the point where we were fighting armed groups. . . . So, we're in a situation where now the Iraqi people are mobilizing in the forms of these CLCs to stop the violence, whereas at the end of 2006 they were mobilizing to continue the violence. And that to me is an indication that the civil war is over. The Iraqi people do not want to fight a civil war between sects.Other than Bill Kristol and Fred's brother, war cheerleader Robert Kagan, nobody has been more wrong about more things with regard to Iraq than supreme war theorist Fred Kagan. He's also deemed by the establishment media and the Bush administration to be the most respectable and knowledgeable expert on Iraq. Within that depressing contradiction lies most of the answers as to why we have destroyed that country and will continue to do so indefinitely. UPDATE: More Fred Kagan Wisdom from the AEI event on Monday -- just three days ago:The Surge succeeded in doing that [nipping civil war in the bud]. On a recent trip to Iraq, in all of our studies, what has become very clear is that the Iraqi populace is not mobilized for civil war. On the contrary, increasingly the Iraq populace is mobilized to stop violence.Should a person endlessly holding himself out as the premiere expert on Iraq have been able to foresee, or at least anticipate the possibility of, the horrific events that would unfold less than 24 hours later? Even if one wants to be generous on that question, the real point is that people like Fred Kagan have spent the last five years issuing emphatic happy talk to the American population in order to keep them pacified about Endless Occupation there, even though they either (a) have no idea what they're talking about or (b) know full well that what they are saying is baseless and false. Virtually all of our revered experts -- including the Great and Honorable Commanding General David H. Petraeus -- have similar records as Kagan. Time and again, their pronouncements are proven to be wrong -- humiliatingly and disastrously so -- and yet they continue to prance around as Serious Experts who are entitled to credibility, and are treated as such. Is there any point at which someone of this sort loses credibility? UPDATE II: I just received the following email from a woman whose son has been serving in Iraq, along with a picture of him:Mr. Greenwald, Thank you for coverage of the war in Iraq. Since you posted a picture of one of the people who got us into this war, I would like to share a picture with you. I have attached a picture of my son, US Army XXX XXXX XXXXX. He spent XX months in Iraq in 2006-2007 and will return in XXX. 2009. He was lucky and came back OK, although he lost friends and had many narrow escapes. He is 23 years old, married for almost 2 years, and a wonderful man in every way. In the picture he's with a couple of Iraqi kids.I wish Kaplan (sic) and his fellow war cheerleaders could live as the parent or spouse of a deployed soldier or as an Iraqi parent for just a few days. He wouldn't be so quick to say the war is over. Thanks again for your work, XXXXX XXXXXWhat is so deranged about the Kagans and O'Hanlons and the like is that they don't perceive themselves as "war cheerleaders" at all. They have convinced themselves that they are the real warriors, doing the actual fighting. Here's what Fred Kagan said at the AEI event:It will be some time before the Iraqi Security Forces are able to ensure the security of the country against Al Qaeda, particularly to ensure that Al Qaeda is not able to establish safe havens anywhere in the country That will be some time. And we've got some fighting ahead of us."We've got some fighting ahead of us," says this brave, swaggering war hero. Then, towards the end of his presentation, with Michael O'Hanlon and Ken Pollack waiting for their turn to shower us all with their brilliant Iraq expertise, Kagan said that he wanted to make one last point "before I turn it over to my brothers from Brookings." They're brothers in combat. His war buddy alongside him in the trenches, Mike O'Hanlon, then proclaimed them all -- "Fred and Ken" -- to be "Lombardis of this war," after the football coach Vince Lombardi, renowned for his will to win: "they stuck with it, and they persevered through difficult times," tough guy O'Hanlon bellowed. They're really as obscene and self-deluded as they are ignorant and continuously wrong. UPDATE III: From a truly depressing Times Online article:"The battle is not easy without coalition support," lamented one Basra resident, who had worked as a translator for the British forces. "The police in Basra are useless and helping the Mahdi Army. The militia are hiding among the civilians. This country will never be safe, I want to leave for ever. I don't know how to get out of this hell."As always, Americans hear instead about how happy things are in Iraq from the likes of Kagan, O'Hanlon and the other Lombardis of this war, rather than from actual Iraqis. It's striking how few of them followed the advice of actual Iraq expert Thomas Ricks of The Washington Post:Princeton, N.J.: Obviously not everyone in the media should resign, but it is annoying to having The Post (and others) regularly publish articles by those who were wrong, wrong, wrong, but those who were right about Iraq (e.g. Feingold) still get short shrift. Thomas E. Ricks: Yes, I agree with you. There are a few people out there who should have the decency to follow the advice of the king of Spain.Along those lines, I encourage everyone to read this truly superb post. UPDATE IV: Back in February, actual Iraq expert Juan Cole warned of exactly what is occurring now (h/t macgupta), writing that "the instability in Basra is so bad that a planned drawdown . . . seems likely to be postponed" and:The problem for Iraq is that whereas Baghdad or even Mosul can be subjected to a vigorous military campaign without that causing the country to collapse, I am not sanguine that Basra can survive a frontal assault and still remain Iraq's import-export entrepot. And, if Basra is depopulated or sent into a spiral of violence similar to the Sunni Arab areas of the north, it will not hold Iraq harmless.This February article from The Guardian began: "A final all-out battle for Basra is seen as 'inevitable,'" and quoted a British General saying that the Iraqi Security Forces believed such a battle was imminent and that nobody was in charge of the Basra. The same day, The Washington Post questioned whether the Mahdi Army militia would follow Moqtada al-Sadr's ongoing cease fire, and warned that the situation could unleash whole new violence. But as they always do, happy warriors Kagan, O'Hanlon and Pollack ignored of all of that and kept running around telling Americans -- right up until last Monday -- how peaceful and stable things are because of the Glorious Surge.
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  More Shi'ite on Shi'ite Action

  http://nhdemocrat.blogspot.com/2008/03/more-shiite-on-shiite...
  113 days ago in New Hampshire Democrat · Authority: 2

  More Shi'ite on Shi'ite Action Posted by Matt Another day, another nonproductive attempt at suppressing the Mahdi Army by the various other Iraqi Shi'ite factions directed by the government. The situation is extremely confusing and volatile as you have several different actors all fighting across a wide swath of land from Basra to Baghdad. Things do not appear to be going well for Nouri Al-Maliki who has chosen to extend the deadline for Sadrists to turn in their weapons until April 8th. Apparently the program was going so well that they needed more time to process all the weapons... or because the Iraqi military has made little headway in forcing the Mahdi Army out of Sadr City or Basra. Today saw the first direct American involvement with airstrikes in Basra and a Stryker platoon dueling with militia in Sadr City (though for the sake of full disclosure said platoon may have been engaged in routine reconnaissance in Baghdad, the details are unclear). There are plenty of places to go for more interesting analysis. I'm still of the opinion that going too much into depth with hypotheticals at this point isn't particularly useful; the situation on the ground is too fluid to really get into looking at who might benefit from what particular outcome. I will say that Bush is entirely correct in that this is a very significant moment for Iraq (or at least this Iraqi government-should things go particularly poorly we might need to find another one), but claiming that this is a 'good test' for the Iraqi military is an understatement. This is an extremely difficult test as it pits Shi'ite against Shi'ite and is an offensive into an urban area occupied by somewhat veteran fighters on their own turf. This would be tough fighting for our troops, never mind a military of questionable caliber. Adding to the confusion is the presence of pro-ISCI militia that is engaging with 'special groups' (Iranian backed organizations) and the scope of the operations (Sadr City in Baghdad, Basra, apparently action in Naseriya as well). This has a very good chance of not going well at all and if we have to bail out the Iraqi military that really isn't a good sign; but, again, I'm not going to go too much into hypotheticals until the direction of the action takes better shape.
• 

  So far the score is

  http://nhdemocrat.blogspot.com/2008/03/so-far-score-is.html
  113 days ago in New Hampshire Democrat · Authority: 2

  So far the score is Posted by Matt Mahdi Army et al- 2 days ISCI- 0 but it is early yet.
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  International Zone Under Curfew As Attacks Continue

  http://www.freethoughtaction.org/2008/03/international-zone-...
  114 days ago in FreeThoughtAction · Authority: 1

  BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's government imposed a weekend curfew in Baghdad on Thursday amid clashes between government troops and Shiite militia fighters, and U.S. Embassy staff were told to remain indoors after days of rocket attacks left two U.S. government employees dead. More... See also: Heavy Fighting Rocks Iraq's Basra City Thousands in Baghdad Protest Basra Assault Militias Resist Iraqi Forces in Fight for Basra Iraq implodes as Shia fights Shia Iraqi PM Promises A Fight "Until The End" Shiite Militia Won't Back Down in Government Crackdown

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