Worse than we thought. As usual. McClatchy. It’s always nice to read real reporting. Fair use:

On Sept. 9, the day before Army Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. military commander in Iraq , and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker told Congress that things were getting better, Batoul Mohammed Ali Hussein came to Baghdad for the day.

A clerk in the Iraqi customs office in Diyala province, she was in the capital to drop off and pick up paperwork at the central office near busy al Khilani Square, not far from the fortified Green Zone, where top U.S. and Iraqi officials live and work. U.S. officials often pass through the square in heavily guarded convoys on their way to other parts of Baghdad. As Hussein walked out of the customs building, an embassy convoy of sport-utility vehicles drove through the intersection. Blackwater security guards, charged with protecting the diplomats, yelled at construction workers at an unfinished building to move back. Instead, the workers threw rocks. The guards, witnesses said, responded with gunfire, spraying the intersection with bullets.

Hussein, who was on the opposite side of the street from the construction site, fell to the ground, shot in the leg. As she struggled to her feet and took a step, eyewitnesses said, a Blackwater security guard trained his weapon on her and shot her multiple times. She died on the spot, and the customs documents she’d held in her arms fluttered down the street.

Before the shooting stopped, four other people were killed in what would be the beginning of eight days of violence that Iraqi officials say bolster their argument that Blackwater should be banned from working in Iraq.

Sounds like a bad case of Blackwater Fever, eh?  Read more 

Okay, it was a non-binding* resolution to condemn our revolution, but still…

When the past catches up with you, bitch-smack that dirty little commie hippy all the way back to the 18th Century where it belongs. Impertinent rebels! The gall! The absolute gall!

Had enough?

*Sorry, no link. I made it up. Just like Mr. Bush did about the reasons for invading Iraq. He is cousin to my madness.

++++

Stumbled on this randomly in a quest for military slang (“Na poo). The Wipers Times was put out by soldiers in the trenches in World War I:

Cloth Hall.
Ypres.

Great Attraction This Week
Messrs. INFANTRY, ARTILLERY & Co.
Present their Screamingly Funny Farce,
Entitled:

“BLUFF”

THIS FARCE PROMISES TO BE A GREAT SUCCESS AND A LONG RUN IS
EXPECTED

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose..

Which reminds me:  Read more 

Missed this one, alas. The Independent:

The US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, expressed long-term interest in running for the US presidency when he was stationed in Baghdad, according to a senior Iraqi official who knew him at that time.

Sabah Khadim, then a senior adviser at Iraq’s Interior Ministry, says General Petraeus discussed with him his ambition when the general was head of training and recruitment of the Iraqi army in 2004-05.

“I asked him if he was planning to run in 2008 and he said, ’No, that would be too soon’,” Mr Khadim, who now lives in London, said.

“Too soon”? Funny, you’d think that Petraeus would want to be President in 2008, since he could clean up the Iraq mess better as President than he could as a mere General.

Unless, well, unless cleaning up the Iraq mess isn’t something Petraeus is interested in doing?  Read more 

Despite the fact that the biggest news This Week was the testimony of General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker before Congress regarding the Iraq War, both men seemingly refused to Face the Nation and Meet the Press.  Read more 

In his Congressional testimonies, General Petraeus kept using the word “troopers” to describe individual soldiers.

Is this a new back-formation, whereby a “trooper” is the singular of “the troops”?

Did Petraeus coin the word?

Or is it the customary term in the military?  Read more 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you The Anti-Powell. Rolls right off the tongue, donit? Our side sure isn’t thrilled by the idea, of course. paging Watertiger, pick up the white caption phone, Watertiger But it’s not a bad joke, it’s a possibility. This is one result of Beltway Bubbledom- the sincere and not-ridiculous belief that Petraeus could be a successful candidate in 2012. Because when it comes to running for president, telling the truth is a failing and lying in front of not-critical representatives and fawning cameras is a strength. Heh, here’s all you need to know about President Petraeus:  Read more 

Why does Admiral Fallon hate the troops? National security analyst Gareth Porter writes:

In sharp contrast to the lionisation of Gen. David Petraeus by members of the U.S. Congress during his testimony this week, Petraeus’s superior, Admiral William Fallon, chief of the Central Command (CENTCOM), derided Petraeus as a sycophant during their first meeting in Baghdad last March, according to Pentagon sources familiar with reports of the meeting.

Fallon told Petraeus that he considered him to be “an ass-kissing little chickenshit” and added, “I hate people like that”, the sources say. That remark reportedly came after Petraeus began the meeting by making remarks that Fallon interpreted as trying to ingratiate himself with a superior.

More importantly, why does Admiral Fallon hate ponies?

Anyhow, this isn’t the first time Petraeus and his boss have clashed over Iraq policy. WaPo:  Read more 

You’re seeing it everywhere, aren’t you? Today, Conservative operative and Designated Bush Fluffer of the Day at House of Hiatt seriously opines:

Despite real military progress, the situation in Iraq remains difficult. Gen. Petraeus is a skilled leader, but we do not know if even he can win.

“Even he…” Not “Even He”? Gerson really does believe that Petraeus is the new Jesus, doesn’t he?

Anyhow, the trained categorization professionals in the Ontological Commmitment Wing of The Mighty Corrente Building have filed this post with The Department of You Can’t Buff a Turd for several very good reasons:  Read more 

I assume you saw the following video, but I’ll put it up again. Did you know he wasn’t the only one tossed on his ass? The very kind and extremely gentlemanly (and white, and former CIA) Mr. McGovern also got kicked to the curb. His crime? Saying outloud, as Petraeus’ mic was being clipped on, “Swear him in.” Pathetic cowards, our Rulers in DC. Afraid of an old man and a preacher. Just sad. Go to a protest and find out for yourself. I’d say “break a leg,” but that would be in really bad taste*:  Read more 

Well, there you have it. Calgary Herald:

in surprising, unscripted remarks before a Senate committee on Tuesday, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq said he couldn’t the answer the one question many people were asking as they marked the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks: has the current Iraq war strategy made the country safer?

“I don’t know, actually,” Petraeus said in response to questioning by Republican Senator John Warner.

Now, to be fair to the General_{MR SUBLIMINAL Why?}—who, despite having a bright future ahead of him as a FIX news commentator or its functional equivalent, a Republican presidential candidate, seems at least as honest a man as Colin Powell—thet question really is above his pay grade.  Read more 

I’m so proud! [sniff]

Ponies for everyone!

 Read more 

President Bush will tell the nation this week he plans to reduce the American troop presence in Iraq by about 30,000 by next summer, but will condition those and further cuts on continued progress, The Associated Press has learned.

In the speech, the president will say he understands the deep concerns Americans have about U.S. involvement in Iraq and their desire to bring the troops home, they said. Bush will say that after hearing from Petraeus and Crocker, he has decided on a way forward that will reduce the number of troops but not abandon Iraq, they said.

Could it be that the “surge” will end not because of conditions on the ground, rather, what top military officials have been saying for a long time: we don’t have the troops.

We’ll just bite their legs off…  Read more 

Just asking…

From Petraeus’s* slideshow:

 Read more 

When General Westmoreland Petraeus makes his Bush’s report to Congress on Monday, be sure we’ll hear more and more of the same mantra: Anbar, Anbar, Anbar.

Consider the Latin cautionary phrase:

Post hoc ergo propter hoc  Read more 

Oh, my goodness! Who knew?! Via AP, “Bush advisers favor current war strategy”:

President Bush’s top two military and political advisers on Iraq [General Betray-Us and Ambassador Ryan Crocker] will warn Congress on Monday that making any significant changes to the current war strategy will jeopardize the limited security and political progress made so far, The Associated Press has learned.

Well, slap my ass and call me Spanky! I would never, never have guessed.

Not in a million years.

Or a million lives.

Or a trillion dollars.

Whichever comes first.  Read more 

Hey, remember that report that Bush has been “eagerly awaiting” discussin’ with us folks for the past Friedman or so?

Well, grab a tissue, because there ain’t gonna be one. At least, not to us peons.

A senior military officer said there will be no written presentation to the president on security and stability in Iraq. “There is no report. It is an assessment provided by them by testimony,” the officer said.

The only hard copy will be Gen. Petraeus’ opening statement to Congress, scheduled for Monday, along with any charts he will use in explaining the results of the troop surge in Baghdad over the past several months.  Read more 

Good heavens! You mean Petraeus would actually fake a showplace in Iraq so he could show the gullible and the Kool-Aid drinkers visiting dignitaries around, so they’d go home all happy, make speeches on The Hill, and say “It’s Surgalicious”? Say it’s not so! Say Petraeus isn’t just another loyal Bushie! Sadly, he is, and it’s so. WaPo does some actual reporting:

Nearly every week, American generals and politicians visit Combat Outpost Gator, nestled behind a towering blast wall in the Dora market. … Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. military leadercommander* in Iraq, frequently cites the market as a sign of progress.

Visits to key U.S. bases and neighborhoods in and around Baghdad show that recent improvements are sometimes tenuous, temporary, even illusory.

Even U.S. soldiers assigned to protect Petraeus’s showcase remain skeptical. “Personally, I think it’s a false representation,” Campbell* said, referring to the portrayal of the Dora market as an emblem of the surge’s success. “But what can I say? I’m just doing my job and don’t ask questions.”

Bingo.  Read more 

Offered without comment:

Gen. Petraeus and a High-Profile Suicide in Iraq
Col. Ted Westhusing, a West Point scholar, put a bullet in his head in Iraq after reporting widespread corruption. His suicide note — complaining about human rights abuses and other crimes — was addressed to his two commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, now leader of the U.S. “surge” effort in Iraq. It urged them to “Reevaluate yourselves….You are not what you think you are and I know it.”

By Greg Mitchell

(March 14, 2007) — The scourge of suicides among American troops in Iraq is a serious, and seriously underreported, problem, as this column has observed numerous times in the past three years. One of the few high-profile cases involved a much-admired Army colonel named Ted Westhusing.

A portrait of Westhusing written by T. Christian Miller for the Los Angeles Times in November 2005 (which I covered at the time) revealed that Westhusing, before putting a bullet through his head, had been deeply disturbed by abuses carried out by American contractors in Iraq, including allegations that they had witnessed or even participated in the murder of Iraqis.  Read more 

This militarist QOTD and video will no doubt go over big with the Cheetohs-stained, one-handed typists: w00t! w00t!

Petraeus 2007:

[Petraeus] said “thugs with no souls” were carrying out atrocities to derail Operation Fardh al-Qanoon (Imposing Law) …

Bush 2004:

We must continue to stay on the offense when it comes to chasing these killers down and bringing them to justice — and we will. We’ve got to be strong and resolute and determined. We will never show weakness in the face of these people who have no soul.

What makes these utterances by our Christianist President chief executive and his general so bizarre, is that there’s no basis in Christian theology for this “no soul” idea at all.  Read more