Unadulterated Bullshit
Far more interesting than the "Getting Us" scandal is the CENTCOM graphic published this week by the New York Times. As with so many of these things, the vital message of the graphic - that DoD folks acknowledge that conditions in Iraq are steadily deteriorating and have gotten perilously close to "chaos" - is at risk of being blacked out by the appalling fecalstorm of reaction to the release of the graphic from the deranged radical right, increasingly hunkered down with hands over ears and heads in unspeakable locales.
They're of course arguing for investigations - if not hit-squads - for anyone who revealed this information. As it happens, there appears no conceivable basis for even designating this "news" (and our expectations there have obviously been steadily lowered to the point of no expectations at all - hey! is that where the Stones got that title?) . But this certainly reaffirms the bush administration's pathological need to lie about any and everything. Does this sound familiar? As any smart creature (standard: squirrel?) has realized by now, the only time "security risk" is invoked by the bush folks, it means they have a dirty secret regarding their criminality or political hijinks to hide. If it were really a matter of national security, they would not have bothered.
This is another one of those cases where I must apologetically boost Larry Johnson's entire post. I worked at an excerpt, I did, but all said and done you need the Whole Thing.
When the history of the U.S. debacle in Iraq is written, the week of 30 October 2006 will be seen as a critical turning point in the gullibility of the American voter to the hogwash spun from the Bush White House and the Rumsfeld Defense Department--i.e., victory is at hand. Most Americans now realize that the odor emanating from the White House briefing room is pure, unadulterated bullshit. Just one week ago our commander on the ground, General Casey, helped push the propaganda by insisting that:
The Baghdad security plan continues to have a dampening effect on sectarian violence. . .Extra U.S. troops dispatched to Baghdad have had a decisive effect. . . Iraqi security forces operating in and around Baghdad also are making significant contributions in reducing the violence, he added.
When October ended Iraqi insurgents had killed 105 American soldiers and wounded over 900. We have not seen casualties like this since January of 2005. So much for reduced violence. But that is only the tip of the iceberg of mayhem that is now Iraq.
Besides mounting U.S. and Iraqi casualties, this week was marked by three other ominous developments:
Iraqi Prme Minister Maliki sided with the militia of Moqtada al Sadr and ordered U.S. troops to end their siege of Sadr City.
Major U.S. contractors (e.g., Bechtel, Kroll, etc.) announced they are withdrawing personnel from Iraq because it is too dangerous. (I guess they missed General Casey's upbeat assessment.)
Central Command military analysts peg the situation as sliding towards chaos.
Maliki's move to restrict the operations and movement of U.S. forces in Iraq is only the first shoe to drop. Until now the United States has enjoyed unfettered access to plan and conduct counter terrorist operations. The ambush of Al Zarqawi in June, for example, was carried out without prior permission or coordination with the Iraqis. We are now on the path where U.S. forces will face growing restrictions on what they can do and where they can do it. This will enable the various terrorist forces to regroup and will feed a growing spiral of violence.
Maliki's order to open Sadr City also is a reminder of the power Moqtada al Sadr wields behind the scenes. It was only two weeks ago that al Sadr's forces stormed into the Iraqi city of Amara, burned several police stations and killed several police. It may not be the only militia in Iraq but it is certainly one of the most powerful and clearly has the ear of Prime Minister Maliki. Oh, and someone under Sadr's direct control is holding a U.S soldier prisoner. In light of our own questions about the legitimacy and applicability of the Geneva Convention when you are fighting terrorism, we have trouble persuading the Shia militia to treat the U.S. soldier humanely.
And then there is the retreat of U.S. corporations from Iraq. Rather than wait for helicopters landing on the roof of the U.S. Embassy in the Green Zone to effect their strategic retreat, I guess they have decided preemption is a better course of action. Would they be leaving if things were going well and victory on the horizon? No and hell no.
Finally there is the leak of a powerpoint slide from Central Command's daily intelligence assessment. The media and pundits were all atwitter over this but they are like cave fish who have discovered that the sun rises every day. This is not a new briefing. Central Command, the military command in charge of Iraq, has been tracking this activity for more than two years. The analysts have given weekly assessment tracking these trends. Like all good analysts, they are telling the truth as they know it rather than the fantasy their bosses would like to hear. In fact, this information was available to the nitwit General Casey, who announced last week that things were swell in Iraq. I don't know who leaked the chart, but God bless them. It divulges no sources or methods. But it does blow the bullshit whistle on the White House and DOD spin.
So what is our metaphor to capture this moment? Have we crossed the Rubicon? The Romans' point of no return? Or, are we thrashing about in the Styx, the river in Greek mythology, "where the wrathful and sullen are punished by being perpetually drowned in the muddy waters"? Given our goober of a President, I thing a more apt image is Shit Creek. We're up it without a paddle. Let us pray that next week's elections pluck our Republic from danger and put our feet back on solid ground.
They're of course arguing for investigations - if not hit-squads - for anyone who revealed this information. As it happens, there appears no conceivable basis for even designating this "news" (and our expectations there have obviously been steadily lowered to the point of no expectations at all - hey! is that where the Stones got that title?) . But this certainly reaffirms the bush administration's pathological need to lie about any and everything. Does this sound familiar? As any smart creature (standard: squirrel?) has realized by now, the only time "security risk" is invoked by the bush folks, it means they have a dirty secret regarding their criminality or political hijinks to hide. If it were really a matter of national security, they would not have bothered.
This is another one of those cases where I must apologetically boost Larry Johnson's entire post. I worked at an excerpt, I did, but all said and done you need the Whole Thing.
When the history of the U.S. debacle in Iraq is written, the week of 30 October 2006 will be seen as a critical turning point in the gullibility of the American voter to the hogwash spun from the Bush White House and the Rumsfeld Defense Department--i.e., victory is at hand. Most Americans now realize that the odor emanating from the White House briefing room is pure, unadulterated bullshit. Just one week ago our commander on the ground, General Casey, helped push the propaganda by insisting that:
The Baghdad security plan continues to have a dampening effect on sectarian violence. . .Extra U.S. troops dispatched to Baghdad have had a decisive effect. . . Iraqi security forces operating in and around Baghdad also are making significant contributions in reducing the violence, he added.
When October ended Iraqi insurgents had killed 105 American soldiers and wounded over 900. We have not seen casualties like this since January of 2005. So much for reduced violence. But that is only the tip of the iceberg of mayhem that is now Iraq.
Besides mounting U.S. and Iraqi casualties, this week was marked by three other ominous developments:
Iraqi Prme Minister Maliki sided with the militia of Moqtada al Sadr and ordered U.S. troops to end their siege of Sadr City.
Major U.S. contractors (e.g., Bechtel, Kroll, etc.) announced they are withdrawing personnel from Iraq because it is too dangerous. (I guess they missed General Casey's upbeat assessment.)
Central Command military analysts peg the situation as sliding towards chaos.
Maliki's move to restrict the operations and movement of U.S. forces in Iraq is only the first shoe to drop. Until now the United States has enjoyed unfettered access to plan and conduct counter terrorist operations. The ambush of Al Zarqawi in June, for example, was carried out without prior permission or coordination with the Iraqis. We are now on the path where U.S. forces will face growing restrictions on what they can do and where they can do it. This will enable the various terrorist forces to regroup and will feed a growing spiral of violence.
Maliki's order to open Sadr City also is a reminder of the power Moqtada al Sadr wields behind the scenes. It was only two weeks ago that al Sadr's forces stormed into the Iraqi city of Amara, burned several police stations and killed several police. It may not be the only militia in Iraq but it is certainly one of the most powerful and clearly has the ear of Prime Minister Maliki. Oh, and someone under Sadr's direct control is holding a U.S soldier prisoner. In light of our own questions about the legitimacy and applicability of the Geneva Convention when you are fighting terrorism, we have trouble persuading the Shia militia to treat the U.S. soldier humanely.
And then there is the retreat of U.S. corporations from Iraq. Rather than wait for helicopters landing on the roof of the U.S. Embassy in the Green Zone to effect their strategic retreat, I guess they have decided preemption is a better course of action. Would they be leaving if things were going well and victory on the horizon? No and hell no.
Finally there is the leak of a powerpoint slide from Central Command's daily intelligence assessment. The media and pundits were all atwitter over this but they are like cave fish who have discovered that the sun rises every day. This is not a new briefing. Central Command, the military command in charge of Iraq, has been tracking this activity for more than two years. The analysts have given weekly assessment tracking these trends. Like all good analysts, they are telling the truth as they know it rather than the fantasy their bosses would like to hear. In fact, this information was available to the nitwit General Casey, who announced last week that things were swell in Iraq. I don't know who leaked the chart, but God bless them. It divulges no sources or methods. But it does blow the bullshit whistle on the White House and DOD spin.
So what is our metaphor to capture this moment? Have we crossed the Rubicon? The Romans' point of no return? Or, are we thrashing about in the Styx, the river in Greek mythology, "where the wrathful and sullen are punished by being perpetually drowned in the muddy waters"? Given our goober of a President, I thing a more apt image is Shit Creek. We're up it without a paddle. Let us pray that next week's elections pluck our Republic from danger and put our feet back on solid ground.
posted by Sir Gumbo at 11:03 PM
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