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 

Sung to the tune Call Me Names by the Specials.

++++

Nevermind all your rants
just give the surge a chance
this ain’t happenstance
there is reason to the rhyme

Just give us some more time
to win the hearts and minds
and whatever else you find
when you clean the streets

Death is something that will come
and then it will go
we are all just travelers
who go with the flow
Death is just a way for fate
to help us celebrate
having lost our minds
we bleed all the time  Read more 

Fifteen Troops and What Do You Get?
(Special nod to Merle Travis’s original lyrics and
Tennessee Ernie Ford’s recording of Sixteen Tons)

Some people say a war is made out of lies
A soldier’s made out of warriors’ cries
Warriors’ cries and blood and guts
Guns you can fire and knives that will cut

You kill fifteen troops, and what do you get?
Another year older and billions in debt
Dick Cheney don’t you call me cause I can’t go
We bury the dead in a very dark hole  Read more 

In a poll conducted by D3 Systems for the BBC, ABC News, ARD German TV and USA Today, more than 2,000 people were questioned in more than 450 neighbourhoods and villages across all 18 provinces of Iraq between 25 February and 5 March 2007:

69% of Iraqis think that the occupation by the US and the UK is making things worse.

77% of Iraqis think that the US occupation is having a negative effect compared to 12% who think the occupation is having a positive effect. (That’s about 7 to 1 PURPLE THUMBS DOWN by my calculations.)

A majority (51%) actually approves of attacks on coalition forces.

Wow. That is not insurgency talking. That is revolt against an armed occupying force.  Read more 

Like the actual number of Iraqi dead that “nobody” knows (I believe in the Lancet numbers of 300,000-600,000), it’s hard to get a good idea of the actual numbers of people serving in Iraq. It’s important for us to remind people of the total commitment: nearly 400,000.  Read more 

You know, when I was AEI listening to the Wise Men, they specifically said that  Read more 

Oops I meant Crusade TGWOT. Smell this:

A BILL

To require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to  Read more 

ABC which will be live on GMA tomorrow.

Jan. 18, 2007 — There may be a growing battle between Congress and the president over the Iraq War strategy, but new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she won’t block funding for additional troops.  Read more 

I know it’s scary isn’t it. The Surge Theory.

With the Islamic Courts smashed, the most organized and dedicated fighting force in the country is gone. But not completely, most members of the Islamic courts are still around, and will revive the organization in the next few months. They will be opposed by a stronger Transitional Government.  Read more 

Meet the New Boss. Seasoned Vet’s take on rearranging the Sundeck Chairs in the Green Zone:

 Read more