I don’t snark about “spineless democrats” because I believe they are on the same page as the republicans. They approved the war, they have no intention of defunding the war and they have signed on for the next war with Iran

Yeah, I agree.

They all get their campaign money and such from the same sources.

Six weeks before the 2004 election, Petraeus wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post in which he lied and said that there had been “tangible progress” in Iraq, and that “Momentum has gathered in recent months.”

We all know how that worked out.

And the DoJ’s site has many examples, starting as far back as 2003, of Petraeus misleading on how well it was going in Iraq at the time he made the comments.

That Iraqi in the article who was fawning over betrayus and saying we must avoid another “911 by Iranians” sounds like a plant. I heard one on MPR saying how important it was for the Iraqi government to do what the Americans wanted particulary in regard to the oil law. No Iraqi would talk like this guy.

Exactly right Susan..
BTW.. I hope you are feeling better.. Good luck with everything..
We certainly don’t want to put you on the injured reserve list

“could you just let Petraeus write your schmooze piece for you? You are acting as a tool in a PR campaign and while writing about a “journalism” student, you just seem to have become void of any sense of responsibility to the reader. I need not come to the conclusion that Petraeus is a failure or that he isn’t acting on the up and up to see many areas where he clearly is challenged and has made mistakes that are important to note.

This is a glosser piece and you shouldn’t write this sort of drivel for the masses. Your article doesn’t even approach the question of whether Wesley Morgan is being used to promote a “success”.

The numbers do not indicate success. Generals calling for disbanding the police isn’t a success. Iraqi casualties are on the rise for several months in a row. The towns that are experiencing decreases in violence…are abandoned. The amount of Iraqi refugees to the US is peaking, and to the neighbor countries is in the millions….

But you’re going to write a fluff piece..what a shame.”

General, United States Army

As for those who’d not vote if they don’t get their pet candidate: I guess it’s considered more righteous to be stubborn than to begin to get the troops out — which any of the Democratic candidates will begin to do once in office. Not voting is tantamount to voting for the Republican candidate who’ll perpetuate the war and, if Bush doesn’t hit Iran, the next Republican president surely will. Good god. What selfish thinking.

I thought the idea was that fewer and fewer U.S. troops = fewer Iraqi casualties. Therefore, an incremental withdrawal = fewer Iraqi casualties.

(’course, ethnic cleansing will surge with U.S. withdrawals. Maybe it’s just that no scenario will suffice. Maybe it’s more important to find any American plan inadequate than it is to turn Iraq over to the Iraqis.)

Book TV will reair Ritter/Miller on the 9th. Check your local listing. I would love to get your feed back on what you read between the lines with Ritter. I saw and heard a desperate man trying to rally his countrymen in the 11th hour. This guy has been and probably still is “in the know” much more than the average well informed citizen. How do he and Larry get on?

So, every time we rant about the spineless Congress, we’re in reality abetting Bush’s and Petraeus’s game plan. We need to keep our eyes on the ball. And we need to empower, not denigrate, Congress, by encouraging them to step up the pressure to end the war, and also by praising them for what they are doing, including their significant passage of bills aimed at helping veterans.

I would submit that it is the very spinelessness of Congressional Democrats that gives General Petraeus the scope with which to work his much vaunted trickery - not criticism from the Lefty Blogosphere - who nobody reads except the Choir. So…does Drum mean to maintain that our leaders in Congress are giving Petreaus the time of day because Lefty bloggers say nasty things about them and Petreaus is more cordial? Well, that’s pathetic - and it doesn’t exactly cover them in glory, nor does it give me any confidence in their abilities to discern shit from shinola. Luckily, I don’t buy it.

Further, if Congressional Democrats don’t feel sufficiently “empowered” by virtue of the fact that we elected them to be our leaders, I really don’t know what will do the trick. Maybe a support group?

Passing bits of legislation here, and having another investigation there are all good, worthwhile things - but it isn’t enough when you, at the same time, extend by six months the dictatorial powers Bush assumed for himself. The signals we get from Congressional Dems are awfully mixed, and often dissonant.

The problem as I see it is the Democrats have lost their compass. They make idle threats that they back away from as soon as any Republican says “BOO” too loudly and uses the “f” word (”fillibuster”).

It’s really very simple. If Congressional Democrats want to be respected by the rank and file, they need to start throwing sand in the war machinery. Right Wing crazies will call them all sorts of names, and blather on about how they don’t support the troops and all that BS - but the people who elected them, will be mollified. So will those Lefty Bloggers who apparently have so much clout they can send all the pols running for the smelling salts. Americans understand a whole lot more than they are ever given credit for. They should stop needing reassurance and start being leaders.

And I’ll just betcha that if they were to be more agressive, support for Congress would go up in all the polls. And let’s face it, that’s all any of them give a damn about.

Leslie, once the permanent troops are ensconced in those permanent bases, the Regional Command and Control Center is staffed, and up and running, and the oil is safely in the control of Big Oil, it is just too late. If we think people are too apathetic or resigned now to do anything, just wait until Iraq becomes a fate accompli instead of a crisis.

Who are you going to vote for then Kucinich or Gravel? If it’s a tight race, you may be throwing your vote away and making it more likely that a Bushie will win.

According to some analysts it could be done in 3-6 months.

It will happen if and only if enough Iraqis decide to force the U.S. out, and when that finally happens we will see just how fast it can be done. My guess is it will take a hell of a lot less than 10-12 months when the time comes.

What Hillary wants is the kind of non-withdrawal “withdrawal” that will leave those nice, bright, shiny new permanent - excuse me, “enduring” - bases well populated for the foreseeable future, the Regional Imperial Command and Control Center fully staffed and operational, Iraqi oil and its profits well under the control of American Big Oil, Hillary Clinton as Empress of Iraq and Bill Clinton her Imperial Consort.

Both she and Obama have made it very clear that they will maintain U.S. presence in Iraq for many years to come, thus fulfilling the neocon dream of Iraq as a base of U.S. operations.

They have both declared that they will bomb whomever they decide needs bombing, including allies, and including the possible use of nuclear weapons. The have both declared their intention to significantly increase the size of the U.S. military. There is only one purpose for which the U.S. needs a larger military, and that is to invade and occupy more countries.

That is why there is no way in hell either Hillary or Obama will get any support whatsoever from me, and they sure as hell will not get my vote.

“We are in a hole we can not get out of and if BushCo decides to attack Iran it is all over anyway.”

How true. Attacking Iran is so insane, I can’t wrap my brain around the knowledge that so many in the WH want it to happen.

::::

MEP, I missed a good part of Ritter on BookTV. Hope it’s replayed. Here’s the link to the BookTV page but I don’t see an audio/video link yet:
http://www.booktv.org/program.aspx?ProgramId=8572&SectionName=&PlayMedia=No

I am at a loss.