Protestantism

» Migisi - Point

In response to Point posted by pink101:
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Why have 15 Americans died over there already this month?
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Right!! 14 (or 15, 16, depending on who reports) dead soldiers in the first THREE DAYS of June! 127 American troops died in May alone - the third worst month since the invasion in 2003. 3,495 dead US boys and girls to date, and the number is climbing hourly. Not to mention the Iraqi casualties: 31 Iraqi bodies found in Baghdad yesterday killed by death squads. More Reuters reports of deaths here: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk...
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Oh, yes, so peaceful.

-- posted by Migisi

» Migisi - Do as we say, not as we do

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Turkish forces shell northern Iraq - Iraqi leader
Sunday, June 3
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk...
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(snipppets)
"While residents say Turkey shells the area almost daily, the latest attack came days after Turkey moved tanks to its border and speculation mounted that Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government is planning a military incursion.
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"There were some strikes from Turkish forces on areas next to the Turkish border, but until now there has been no Turkish military invasion of Kurdish lands in Iraq," Masoud Barzani, president of Iraq's Kurdistan region, told a news conference.
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"On Saturday, Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Turkey should not resort to "threats, forces and weapons" as this would only worsen the situation. He made no reference to Turkey's repeated request for U.S. and Iraqi troops to hunt down the rebels.
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"Kurdistan, a mostly stable region that comprises three of Iraq's 18 provinces, is largely outside the control of Maliki's government in Baghdad and runs its own affairs.
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"U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, on a trip to Asia, echoed Maliki's comments, urging Turkey not to undertake "unilateral military action"...
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Sigh. There goes my business investment in peaceful joyful Kurdistan.

-- posted by Migisi

» Migisi - Point

In response to Point posted by Migisi:

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"127 American troops died in May alone" - and 2,000 civilians!
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http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/i...
"The number of civilians killed in Iraq jumped to nearly 2,000 in May, the highest monthly toll since the start of a U.S.-backed security crackdown in February, according to figures released on Saturday.
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"An Interior Ministry official, who did not want to be named because he was not authorized to release the figures, said 1,944 civilians were killed in May, a 29 percent hike over April. At least 174 soldiers and policemen were killed in the same period."
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It makes me SICK in the heart.
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Gotta go do something positive to get healthy. Later all.

-- posted by Migisi

» Migisi - Before I go...

.http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/06/03...
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Iraq President Talabani says Iraqi troops will be ready at the end of 2008
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Hee hee. More lies. I have to agree with Amato's remarks:
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"The Iraqi President tells ABC that building an army takes time and he foresees they won't be ready until the end of '08 to defend themselves. Are you listening, Rahm? Talabani said "in the next two years", ~three years ago~. Al-Maliki also promised in Nov. 2006 that his "country's forces would be able to assume security command by June 2007". He also denies that their parliament signed a petition that wants the US out of Iraq. They were deceived. He doesn't say how, so let's get Agatha Christie involved.... Talabani concurs with the Gates's Korean analogy - the US will have a presence in Iraq for many years."
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Now, I'm going.

-- posted by Migisi

» Migisi - Failed strategy

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The surge isn't working...
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Commanders Say Push in Baghdad Is Short of Goal
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/04/world/...
"BAGHDAD, June 3 - Three months after the start of the Baghdad security plan that has added thousands of American and Iraqi troops to the capital, they control fewer than one-third of the city's neighborhoods, far short of the initial goal for the operation, according to some commanders and an internal military assessment.
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"The American assessment, completed in late May, found that American and Iraqi forces were able to "protect the population" and "maintain physical influence over" only 146 of the 457 Baghdad neighborhoods...
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"In an interview, he said that while military planners had expected to make greater gains by now, that has not been possible in large part because Iraqi police and army units, which were expected to handle basic security tasks, like manning checkpoints and conducting patrols, have not provided all the forces promised, and in some cases have performed poorly...."
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Definition of 'insanity': Doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results.

-- posted by Migisi

» Brian Tubbs - Cause and Strategy

My opinion...

The cause to invade Iraq was just. The strategy pursued to achieve a quick military victory over Saddam's military was sound. HOWEVER...

The strategy pursued to manage postwar Iraq was DISASTROUS - and has created a huge mess!!! We were just to go in there, and we did well initially. But we BOTCHED things up royally since.

In retrospect, I think most of us can agree that the United States was NOT adequately or sufficiently prepared to undertake the takedown of Saddam and the management of post-Saddam Iraq. We weren't ready, and that should've been a BIG, DECISIVE factor in our decision to attack in the first place.

But....I categorically and passionately reject all the cynical, anti-US, leftist conspiracy theories and accusations paraded by the anti-war movement. And paraded here. I utterly and totally reject them.

» paper_turtle - Cause and Strategy

In response to Cause and Strategy posted by BrianTubbs:

With all due respect, Brian, I wish you would stop labeling everything as leftist, or Marxist, or radical, or traitorous or whatever simply because you disagree, however strongly, with the opinions expressed.

IMHO that's intellectually lazy, and it seeks to persuade with emotion, not logic.

peace and love,
Paper Turtle

-- posted by paper_turtle

» pink101 - Cause and Strategy

In response to Cause and Strategy posted by paper_turtle:

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"...to persuade with emotion, not logic."
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It's more a matter of just hammering away on thestupidity of people who are stuck in some sort of an ideology like young teenagers who think belonging to a team is soooo important.
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-- posted by pink101

» pink101 - June 6, 1968

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Today marks a dark day in American politics:
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http://scholarsandrogues.wordpress.com/2...
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-- posted by pink101

» Migisi - Cause and Strategy

In response to Cause and Strategy posted by BrianTubbs:
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The strategy pursued to manage postwar Iraq was DISASTROUS..
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Bush and his military leaders had NO postwar strategy in place at all before or after Bush invaded.
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Is my statement a "cynical, anti-US, leftist conspiracy" theory?
Nope. It comes from an Army insider way back in 2004.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/art...
Army Historian Cites Lack of Postwar Plan
Major Calls Effort in Iraq 'Mediocre'
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"The U.S. military invaded Iraq without a formal plan for occupying and stabilizing the country and this high-level failure continues to undercut what has been a "mediocre" Army effort there, an Army historian and strategist has concluded.
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"There was no Phase IV plan" for occupying Iraq after the combat phase, writes Maj. Isaiah Wilson III, who served as an official historian of the campaign and later as a war planner in Iraq. While a variety of government offices had considered the possible situations that would follow a U.S. victory, Wilson writes, no one produced an actual document laying out a strategy to consolidate the victory after major combat operations ended...
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"Similar criticisms have been made before, but until now they have not been stated so authoritatively and publicly by a military insider positioned to be familiar with top-secret planning. During the period in question, from April to June 2003, Wilson was a researcher for the Army's Operation Iraqi Freedom Study Group. Then, from July 2003 to March 2004, he was the chief war planner for the 101st Airborne Division, which was stationed in northern Iraq."
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Read the whole article, Bri.

-- posted by Migisi