Iraq bad, growing worse

There was lots of news about Iraq today. Sydney Blumenthal has a piece in the Guardian with the rather blunt headline: Far graver than Vietnam. Blumenthal records the growing rift in US military leadership over Iraq.

On what does he base that conclusion? Perhaps it's because the Green Zone is no longer secure, as reported by the Financial Times. Or perhaps it is because the U.S. intelligence forecast paints a dismal picture for positive outcomes in Iraq. The best we can hope for, according to the report, is a maintenance of a violent status quo. The worst is all out civil war.

The Bush President continues to make sunny assessments of Iraq, but many Senators, both Republican and Democrat, are no longer buying it. In fact, they are uniting to demand answers. They are responding to the administration's request to shift a few billion dollars from reconstruction to security. That should tell us something. The Christian Science Monitor analyzes the move as an effort to achieve short term objectives that will lead to effective elections.

Veteran comes home from Iraq, works for Kerry

It occurs to me that we won't know for several years what the true impact of this war has been. The returning veterans will tell the story. There will be lots of them coming home. It will be up to us to listen carefully. At any rate, here is at least one veteran of the Iraq war working to elect Kerry.

Iraqi Policeman for Kerry

I loved Oregon Troops Say Support Kerry “so we can get outta this hellhole” on Blue Oregon.

Check out the picture of his son with an Iraqi policeman holding a John Kerry bumper sticker. But read the post, it's well worth it. [via Lizbet's blog, My Whim is Law].

A Widow's tale

Check out this excerpt from Judy Woodruff's interview with Kristen Breitweiser, one of the 9.11 widows that forced Bush to ok the 9.11 commission. She is very eloquent on one of the most troubling aspects of the Bush administration - it's resistance to inquiry and transparency, even in areas that clearly affect the security of the nation and the well-being of its citizens:

WOODRUFF: You said that you voted for George W. Bush in 2000. What has turned you around

BREITWEISER: I think my own personal experience in the last three years, where I'd hoped that President Bush -- someone that I voted for, that my husband voted for -- would have been my biggest ally in trying to correct the problems that occurred on the morning of September 11th and trying to make this nation safer. And what I found out, for the last three years, is that he was our biggest adversary. And I'm very disappointed...

WOODRUFF: Specifically because he what?

BREITWEISER: With regard to the 9/11 Commission, President Bush: fought the creation of the commission; fought the legislative language to make sure the commission was set up in a bipartisan manner; fought the funding of the commission; fought an extension for the commission; fought access to individuals and documents.

This commission was very important because it was going to make sure that we learn from the mistakes that occurred in 9/11 and, in a sense, honor the lost lives by making sure that in the next attack -- which we know is going to happen -- more lives would be saved.

Unocovered: The War on Iraq - riveting, disturbing movie

I saw Uncovered: The War on Iraq tonight. It's a powerful movie. I have a review up at New Patriot.

Judge orders Iraq records opened

Ho hum, just another activist judge ordering the Bush administration to, for cryin out loud, release the papers already.

Judge Orders U.S. to Open Iraq Records

What happens if Bush wins?

I have been doing a lot of thinking on the subject of what happens if Bush wins. I had been shaping an essay in my mind, but the Washington Monthly beat me to it.

Polls, pfaa - but this one is good news

If you are a poll watcher for Kerry, you'll liked the September 15 Annenberg poll of undecided voters. Bush's stock went down 12% after the GOP convention.

Here's an idea: Spend money on security at home

Wouldn't it be interesting if we took a fraction of the cost of the war in Iraq and dedicated it to improving security at home? This is from the September/October 2004 Issue of Mother Jones:

Nickel and Diming Homeland Security

Comparing Homeland Security spending with its Iraq equivalent.

Bush administration officials used to say that the war on terrorism had to be fought "in Baghdad, not Boston." You don't hear that line much anymore, yet it's clearly reflected in the administration's spending priorities. The war in Iraq so far has cost $150 billion; for the Department of Homeland Security, the administration has allocated $27 billion this year, with the bulk of that going to the routine operations of agencies like the Customs Service. When it comes to new programs to make planes, trains, ports, and urban centers safer, there's precious little left over—which is why a range of critics, from local firefighters to Republican members of Congress, have lambasted Bush for shortchanging the nation's true homeland security needs. Below, a sample of those needs, along with Bush's budget allocations, compared with the time it takes to burn through the same amount in Iraq.

Amount needed for basic security upgrades for subway and commuter trains in large cities: $6 BILLION (Iraq spending equivalent: 20 days)

Bush budget allocation for train security: $100 MILLION (Iraq equivalent: 8 hours)

Amount needed to equip all U.S. airports with machines that screen baggage for explosives: $3 BILLION (Iraq equivalent: 10 days)

Bush budget allocation for baggage-screening machines: $400 MILLION (Iraq equivalent: 32 hours)

Amount needed for security upgrades at 361 U.S. ports: $1.1 BILLION (Iraq equivalent: 4 days)

Bush budget allocation for port security: $210 MILLION (Iraq equivalent: 17 hours)

Amount needed to buy radiation portals for U.S. ports to detect dirty bombs in cargo: $290 MILLION (Iraq equivalent: 23 hours

Bush budget allocation for radiation portals: $43 MILLION (Iraq equivalent: 3 hours)

Amount needed to help local firefighters preparefor terrorist attacks: $36.8 BILLION(Iraq equivalent: 122 days)

Bush budget allocation for firefighter grants: $500 MILLION (Iraq equivalent: 40 hours)

Amount needed to get local emergency medical crews ready for terrorist atttacks: $1.4 BILLION (Iraq equivalent: 5 days)

Bush budget allocation for emergency medical training grants prior to eliminating program altogether: $50 MILLION (Iraq equivalent: 4 hours)

(Sources: American Public Transportation Association, FY 2005 Budget, Government Accountability Office, Council on Foreign Relations, U.S. Coast Guard, House Appropriations Committee))

Forgerygate

David Neiwert, a Seattle based journalist, has one excellent post and another excellent post about Docugate (or whatever you want to call the CBS/Rather/Bush/document forgery/Hattfield and Mccoys/use the baby as a pinnnatta/hold your water and hope for the best fiasco).

Please be sure to check out this fascinating tidbit from The Blogging of the President (via Neiwert), which asserts that the memos are a product of an investigation of the Nixon Justice Department:

President Richard Nixon’s Justice Department investigated possible political payoffs in return for scarce Texas National Guard spots in the early 1970s, leading many fearful officers to scramble and write “CYA” memos of the type written by Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, sources involved confirmed Sunday

Colin Powell correctly uses the F-Bomb

If it were true that Colin Powell stayed on in the Bush administration to march on as the lone sane soldier in an army of kooks, it would restore his credibility in my book.

A furious row has broken out over claims in a new book by BBC broadcaster James Naughtie that US Secretary of State Colin Powell described neo-conservatives in the Bush administration as 'fucking crazies' during the build-up to war in Iraq.

This story may begin to shed light on not only why he stayed, but just how many inmates are running the asylum. I don't think we will know the truth for many years, though.

September 11 and its aftermath

Juan Cole has written an incisive analysis of September 11 and its aftermath.

I have faith, though it is not always evident on these pages, that America will pull its head out of the sand. I don't know if it will happen by Nov. 2. But it has to happen sometime. The American soul must rebel against such obvious contempt for common sense as Bush has displayed in his actions following 9/11.

Memo, schmemo

In the light of the memo brouhaha, this Kos reader has put together his own memo. It's pretty funny.

States Writes: a Progressive Peer Directory

Kevin Hayden, of the American Street has put together a heck of a site. He has read the archives of 800 some odd progressive blogs and created a state-by-state index.

Say hello to States Writes: a Progressive Peer Directory.

ps. Thanks for including this lowly blogger.

People, come to your senses

Recent reports have Lawmakers Troubled by 'Ghost Detainees'.

Congress may keep up the focus on the prison abuse scandal following the disclosure that the military has concealed as many as 100 "ghost detainees" from the Red Cross. The presence of prisoners held by the CIA outside of the military's usual system of registration and care was an important finding of an Army investigation completed last month. Defense officials had previously only acknowledged eight such prisoners.

It is this kind of news, which is reflective of the sick secrecy with which this administration runs our government and the contempt it has for people under its sway, that makes me work for an end to Bush.

I have said many times, though I am opposed to the policies of the GOP, I recognize in them an honest difference of opinion. But there can be no difference among Americans on our fundamental concept of freedom and the basic rights guaranteed us by our Constitution. When the government starts dissapearing people (which they will doubtless deny under a blizzard of euphemistic snow), my friends and fellow citizens, it is time to revolt. All government apologists in this matter are dogs.

It does not matter that most of the people being dissapeared are in Iraq. Ask yourself some simple questions: Does US conduct at Guantanomo Bay represent what you believe? Can you see how the average Iraqi might not be able to tell the difference between a government that dissapears and tortures its people and a government that dissapears and tortures its people?

Republicans! Democrats! Libertarians! Green Party!Independents! Reform Party! Come to your senses. Our President's secrets are killing America.