http://docs.google.com/View?docid=ah6sxjndq9qq_361fr9449

Like Bush, you deal with things that might occur in the future.

Delusionally, you point to al-Maliki’s perfunctory and tepid support of the `oil law’ and the summer recess as proof that al-Maliki et al are giving the Bush admin the thumbs up and a high five.

Until the`oil law’ has been passed and dollars are flowing into the coffers of the US oil companies and the US, and until the Iraqi Parliament has actually cut short or forgone their vacation, you HAVE nothing to demonstrate that al-Maliki et al are giving the Bush admin the thumbs up and a high five.

HINT: Look into the past Shirin and enlist what legislative measures prove that al-Maliki et al are giving the Bush admin the thumbs up and a high five.

Please, do something.

In the past, I’ve learned a thing or two from you.

But now it seems more than ever that you are truly clueless about the nature and the history of al-Dawa, SCIRI, al-Hakim, al-Maliki, et al., despite your preposterous claim of mulling over it over your morning tea every day for years.

Here’s an intersting pov:

“MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Because, to be honest, it’s not really
in the interests of the main power players here in Iraq to meet them.

“These are American agendas, American benchmarks. These aren’t the
benchmarks that the factions within the Iraqi government really care
about. What they care about is getting their hands on their own security
forces and setting them loose as they see fit.

“And, don’t forget, a lot of these benchmarks strike at the deepest,
most heartfelt divisions politically and in terms of the sectarian
divide that exist in this country. None of them are easy fixes. And in
none of them is it really in the interests of those who hold power to
meet them. They just want to keep their power — Anderson.

“COOPER: So, essentially, you’re saying they don’t see themselves as
part of a larger Iraq. They don’t see themselves as a ruling of — all
the people of Iraq, as we think about a democracy. They still see
themselves as factions, and they are trying to hold on to turf and
power.

“WARE: Yes, absolutely. I mean, the concept of a national unity
government, as the Bush administration calls this thing that they
describe as the Iraqi government, is laughed at, even by some of the
senior members of this government itself.”

But, of course, all that is moot now that you have revealed your belief that everything the Arabs do is really about Israel.

And when you DO actually address the substance of the question, Homer, your case is, to be as kind as possible, lame and weak in the extreme.

Voicing even “tepid” support is a far cry from “giving Bush and Cheney a highly raised one fingered salute”, and to make your case even weaker, the support from Al Hakim, Al Maliki, and The Party Formerly Known as SCIRI is not what most people would call tepid.

What is preventing the oil law from passing is not “tepid” support from Al Hakim, Al Maliki et al., but massive opposition to it OUTSIDE the make-believe cabinet, and OUTSIDE of Al Hakim, Al Maliki, and The Party Formerly Know As SCIRI. In the parliament the only significant support it has is from Al Hakim and Maliki’s people. Even the Kurds, the closest thing we have to quislings, are far from enthusiastic about it. In fact, you could say with fair accuracy that Al Hakim, Al Maliki et al. are pretty much the only significant players who are NOT expressing at least some opposition to it.

Outside the make-believe government the opposition is very, very strong, and growing, and is largely led by the oil workers themselves, as well as other labour unions. So, it is not Al Hakim, Al Maliki et al. “giving Bush and Cheney a highly raised one fingered salute” that is keeping the oil law from passing - quite the contrary in fact.

As for the other “benchmarks”, the lack of “progress” is also due to factors other than Al Hakim, Al Maliki et al. “giving Bush and Cheney a highly raised one fingered salute”. There are other things going on there, including the make-believe government’s complete lack of any real power to do anything that has any real effect. And. of course, Maliki is, as always, desperately trying to prevent Bush from firing him from his job, while at the same time not challenging Al Hakim, Talibani, and others regarding little items like their militias, the ethnic cleansing they are conducting, their use of torture, their repression of dissent - stuff like that.

Of course, you would know all this if you were keeping up with the Arabic, and in particular the Iraqi news media, but that information is also available from English language sources. Maybe instead of copying and pasting Galbraith’s well-known, but irrelevant recitations of well-known events from Modern Iraqi History for Dummies you ought to seek out the kinds of sources that will tell you what is really going on right now.

Oh yes - and you still have not explained how the well-known events recounted in your Galbraith copy/paste support your assertion that al-Maliki, al-Hakim, et al have been giving Bush and Cheney a highly raised one fingered salute.

To think that any Iraqi is going to fill the coffers of US oil companies and the US, i.e. Israel’s number one buddy in the ME, is LAUGHABLY ABSURD.

Even if it passes, it will not be binding.

Like your posts, the ’support’ is bullshit, a red herring to further drain the beast of blood and treasure.

Al-Maliki et al are killing the US with a death by a thousand cuts.

Unfortunately for the US, their position is solid and sound.

Al-Maliki was pissed on by Sect Cheney long ago.

The US did nothing when your buddy SH was gassing and raping and Al-Maliki pleaded for help.

They will never be an Allawi-like stooge for the USA.

You are un-informed to think so.

HINT: Al-Dawa came off the US terrorist list recently. It has had unpunished American blood on its hands for a long long time.

10 Pro-Iranian Shiites Held in Kuwait Bombings, The Washington Post December 19, 1983

Kuwait announced yesterday the arrest of 10 Shiite Moslems with ties to Iran in terrorist bombings that killed four people and wounded 66 last Monday at the U.S. Embassy and other targets.

“All 10 have admitted involvement in the incidents as well as participating in planning the blasts,” Abdul Aziz Hussein, minister of state for Cabinet affairs, told reporters after a Cabinet session, United Press International reported.

Hussein said the seven Iraqis and three Lebanese were members of the Al Dawa party, a radical Iraqi Shiite Moslem group with close ties to Iran.

Message From Iran Triggered Bombing Spree In Kuwait, The Washington Post, February 3, 1984

Al Dawa, for example, is no household name in the United States.

But it is a name important to this story.

It leads us back to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the ruling figure in Iran; to Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, the militant Lebanese Shiite leader who has been implicated–despite his denials–in the Marine and French bombings in Beirut; to Hussein Musawi, Fadlallah’s strong-arm lieutenant; to the Hakim brothers in Iran and their connections to the Middle East terrorism industry

Bush warns Iraq on chemical arms U.S. fears use of weapons against rebels. Chicago Tribune. March 10, 1991 [snip]

Jawad al-Maliki of the Dawa Party said in Damascus, Syria, that mustard gas was used against protesters in al-Haleh, al-Kifil, Najaf and some areas of Basra, in southeastern Iraq.

Precisely what is going on inside Iraq is difficult to determine since
Western reporters have been expelled. Most information is coming from
refugees and opposition leaders in Iran and Syria.

Defense Secretary Dick Cheneydescribed the situation as “volatile” but said it appears Hussein will be able to keep the unrest in check for now. The Iraqi leader is using his loyal Republican Guard to quell the
rebellion.

Iran gives al-Maliki’s government an aircraft as a gift

BAGHDAD: A jetliner donated to the Iraqi government by Iran landed at Baghdad airport on Saturday, four months after it was first promised by Tehran, according to government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh.

[snip]

“The Iraqi government would like to thank the Islamic government of Iran for this present, which we hope will contribute to the development of relations and common interests between the two nations,” al-Dabbagh told The Associated Press.

[snip]

The gift underlines the warmth of ties between the al-Maliki government and Tehran since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein, who fought a ruinous, eight-year war against Iran in the 1980s.

Thnaks for your always interesting comments..you haver your Trigger Finger on many Issues and you always appear to be on Target..Your “Match Shooting” is World Class..

You are right always..in your Point..Aim..Shoot.. about “Follow the Money..” People in Power ( of all kinds) always Have the Money..want to make the Money..or use thier Money to Buy and Finance
People or resources..Its always about POWER and MONEY first with those guys..Looks to me like we now have “New Money” Competing with Old Money..i/e the Old NWO Money/Cartel out of England competing with the New European Order money that was put together in Rome..
and Created the EU and the Euro…What direction is that group going..?? What are thier apparent intentions..? How will thier Policys affect the future of the United states..The future of Europe..the future of everything beyond the shores of the United states..??

Going Beyond “Follow the Money”…it would be interesting if someone in the Know.. put up a Chart showing all the Big Money Players…how the Money is being Funneled..who is Financing what…and what the Intentions and Objectives..of all the Major players world wide..Russia…China..Eurpoe..Asia..Africa..Latin America..Etc..and what Cartels are forming Alliances and what thier apparent Objectives are..and what are the Projected outcomes in the future for Countrys and regions..

They we all could really “FOLLOW THE MONEY..” and know the EMPIRE BUILDERS..In my opinion..The Rulers of the United states..now have some serious competition..causing the to get caught up in the game..and selling thier Souls..

Its always tempting to go over to the DARK SIDE..or be drawn into the Games of the Dark Side..unless the “FORCE” is with you..

Again, “I bring up the fact that back when Iraq was “more stable”, Baath security men raped and killed a woman, set fire to a man’s beard and drove nails into his head and then you reply with long, angry, and totally unrelated post about the oil law?”

Again, did I touch a nerve?

Shirin: support Bush’s onerous oil law

Voicing tepid support and doing nothing about the oil law is a helluva lot different than actually carrying out the law and ripping off the Iraqi people.

There is a difference btw talk and action.

So do tell Shirin: How EXACTLY is the Iraqi Parliament enacting the Bush admin’s directives?

Demonstrate wih proof EXACTLY how al-Maliki, et al are giving the Bush admin the thumbs up and a high five?

The oil revenue–sharing law has been stuck and is non-binding practically speaking.

Provincial elections have not been held.

The Iraqi constitution is still un-revised.

Former Baathists are still excluded.

Reconstruction funds are not being failry distributed.

And you say al-Maliki, et al are high fiving the Bush admin?

ROTFLAMOL!!!

This just in: Iraqi make-believe prime minister, Nouri Al Maliki has urged the Iraqi make-believe parliament not to take off the full month of August, but to stay in Baghdad and pass the laws the United States has been pressing for, including the “oil revenue sharing” law.

How do you square that with your contention that Al Hakim and Al Maliki et al. - how did you put it? - “have been giving Bush and Cheney a highly raised one fingered salute”?

Oh yes, and Homer, when you make an assertion, it is up to you to support your assertion with actual facts that actually relate to your assertion.

Now, let me simplify things for you. Here are the questions:

1. How does Galbraith’s little stories, which can all be found in Chapter one of Modern Iraqi History for Dummies, support your assertion that “al-Maliki, al-Hakim, et al have been giving Bush and Cheney a highly raised one fingered salute”? Those well-known stories of brutal repression appear quite unrelated to the claim you apparently pulled them up to support, and unless you can present some logical, rational process that connects them such that the historical stories actually support the “one finger salute” theory, this looks like just another instance of your “when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” syndrome.

2. How do you reconcile the beloved theory you have repeated here so many times, with the following facts:

- Al Hakim, Al Maliki, The Party Formerly Known As SCIRI, and Ad Da`wa support Bush’s onerous oil law both in the make-believe cabinet and in the make-believe parliament.

- This week members of Al Maliki’s make believe cabinet and parliament are happily singing the same song in perfect harmony with Bush, Cheney, and their generals. All together are insisting that it is “just too soon” for the Americans to leave, that their departure would be “a disaster”, that we really MUST give the “surge” more time - possibly even a couple of more years - to “work”.

Try addressing these questions, Homer, this time without obfuscating and without throwing red herrings all over the place.

Name some.

You never quote them.

In fact, I have never seen you post a link.

What are you babbling about?

Resorting to metaphor?

You wrote “EVERYONE’S a step or two above Thomas Friedman”.

So, I would like to know how you are a `step or two above Thomas Friedman’ and what have you published.

Have you ever refuted Friedman, Galbraith, or any ME writer by way of a publication?

I am just curious.

BTW: I think Miller and Friedman should be sent to Iraq where they can report from the Red Zone.

With your expertise, show how Al-Maliki, al-Hakim, et al are co-operating with Bush and Cheney for the benefit of the US.

With your expertise, refute the almost universally accepted claim that there has been little or no progress toward the benchmarks.

If a reporter witness a murder, than by definition, that reporter can’t be just a reporter anymore, much less an objective one. Miller doesn’t understand, or want to understand, that she was a witness to, and a participant of a crime. That’s why she needed to testify truthfully. The issue of protecting a source is not universal or absolute.

Judy Miller is the Typhoid Mary of journalism. This was a woman who had to be quarantined for life because she insisted on working as a cook while being a typhoid carrier, despite not displaying any symptoms. Even after killing some of her employers she simply refused to understand that what she was doing was morally wrong, in that she never had to suffer the consequences of her willful disregard for public health while others DID.

As Matt Hutaff wrote in the aptly-named “Keep It In Your Pants”:

“Vitter and his ilk are just part of a long chain of liars who pimp themselves as moralists for the conservative vote. Does that base feel burned yet by these charlatans and hypocrites? Seems like a man of principle is hard to find these days, and even harder to elect. When people like Vitter aren’t taking obscene campaign contributions, committing adultery, drinking to excess, or a host of other failings, they’re badgering you on the one or two vices you might have. Doesn’t that sting? Can’t you find some real, honest-to-God genuine nutball capable of keeping his pants zipped around a call girl?”
– Matt Hutaff, “Keep It in Your Pants,” The Simon, July 10, 2007.

Just scratch a pious neocon and watch the snakes crawl out. (Those are snakes, aren’t they?)

Montag: EVERYONE’S a step or two above Thomas Friedman

Just curious, pls show how you are two steps above Thomas Friedman.

What have you published?

Here’s your chance Shirin.

Reject Galbraith’s claim.

You can refute the Britney Spears of ME academia no?

Judging by the length of your posts, you seems to have an abundance of free time.

I am ready!

I bring up the fact that back when Iraq was “more stable”, Baath security men raped and killed a woman, set fire to a man’s beard and drove nails into his head and then you reply with long, angry, and totally unrelated post about the oil law?

Did I touch a nerve?

Hate to read about your Baath buddies in such a manner?

I guess if the political conditions which were conducive to such rapes murders were still existent, which you seem to prefer, none of what we see/hear about in Iraq could be happening, right?

Shirin: NOT well regarded among REAL authorities on Arab matters

It is obvious your time in Iraq is analogous to a lay-over in an airport.

Judging by your lack of publications and citations, it is clear you do not know shit from shinola when it comes to your own country.

Nevertheless, who do you recommend, i.e. besides yourself?

Your position is clear: Saddam Hussein is GOD!! Mwahaha!! Mwahaha!! Mwahaha!!