In "Is Gates channeling Cheney on Iraq with 'last gasp' remark?" (McClatchy Newspapers), Nancy A. Youssef notes US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' Tuesday interview by Judy Woodruff on The NewsHour (PBS) and his "last gasp" assertion ("I think what we're seeing is al Qaeda trying sort of as a last gasp to try and reverse the progress that's been made through these attacks"). Youssef notes how similar it is to Dick Cheney's 2005 assertion that "recent resurgence of violence in Baghdad was 'a last gasp' of Islamic extremists." Despite Gates' claim, Youssef reveals, many "top U.S. military and intelligence officals worry that escalating tensions could threaten the administration's plans to draw down American forces in Iraq." Youssef notes an unnamded "top administration official:"

The official, who insisted on anonymity because of the consequences of publicly criticizing a cabinet officer, said that contrary to what Gates said, most U.S. intelligence and military officials are afraid that ethnic and sectarian violence in Iraq could explode again because, the official said: "All sides are just waiting for us to leave to finish settling scores."

Youssef's source is backed by today's events. Al Jazeera reports that as Turkey's Foreign Minister, Besir Atalya, visited Baghdad in the never ending discussions on how Turkey and Iraq will address the group they've both identified as a terrroist group, the PKK, 2 Turkish troops and 7 PKK fighters were killed in an armed clash on the border of Iraq and Turkey.


Laith Hammoudi and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) report a bomber killed himself as well as 9 other people with thirty-one left wounded in Iskandariyah in what is seen as an attack on either the Iraqi military or Sahwa or both. Habib al-Zubaidy, Sami al-Jumaily, Ahmed Rasheed, Michael Christie and Richard Meares (Reuters) report the death toll has risen to 12 (and that hospitals are reporting the death toll is 13) and that Sahwa had been lined up "to collect overdue pay cheques at an Iraqi army post" and they note:


Delays in paying the Sahwas, known as "Awakening Councils," have also contributed to tensions.
"The death toll from the suicide attack has risen to 12 killed and 32 wounded," said police colonel Ali al-Zahawi, head of Iskandariya police.
"The Sahwa men were preparing to enter the military post to receive their salaries when a suicide bomber managed to blow himself up among them...," Zahawi had told Reuters earlier.


The following community sites updated last night with a roundtable:



Cedric's Big Mix
Iraq roundtabling
23 hours ago

The Daily Jot
ROUNDTABLE
23 hours ago

Thomas Friedman is a Great Man
Roundtable on Iraq
23 hours ago

Mikey Likes It!
Roundtabling Iraq
23 hours ago

Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude
the roundtable
23 hours ago

SICKOFITRADLZ
Iraq
23 hours ago

Trina's Kitchen
Iraq in the Kitchen
23 hours ago

Ruth's Report
Roundtable on Iraq
23 hours ago

Oh Boy It Never Ends
Talking Iraq
23 hours ago

Like Maria Said Paz
Iraq
23 hours ago

Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills)
Talking Iraq roundtable
23 hours ago

The Common Ills
Iraq roundtable
23 hours ago

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.

mcclatchy newspapers
nancy a. youssef
hussein kadhim
laith hammoudi
judy woodruff
pbs
the newshour
like maria said paz
kats korner
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
thomas friedman is a great man
trinas kitchen
the daily jot
cedrics big mix
mikey likes it
ruths report
sickofitradlz
oh boy it never ends

The amount of U.S. money spent on the Iraq war will surpass the cost of Vietnam by the end of the year, making it the second most expensive military conflict in American history, behind World War II, according to Pentagon figures provided Friday.
If Congress approves the supplemental funding request submitted this week by the Obama administration, the cost of the war will rise by $87 billion for 2009, including a previous supplement approved during the Bush administration.
Added to the amount spent through 2008, it would mean the Iraq war will have cost taxpayers a total of about $694 billion. By comparison, the Vietnam War cost $686 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars and World War II cost $4.1 trillion, according to a Congressional Research Service study completed last year.

So opens Julian E. Barnes' "Cost of Iraq war will surpass Vietnam's by year's end" (Los Angeles Times) and with all that money spent on the Iraq War, you might think it would get a little coverage. You'd be thinking wrong. In today's New York Times, "Suicide Truck Bombing Kills 5 U.S. Soldiers and 2 Iraqis at Northern Base" runs on A4. The article is by Sam Dagher. It is the smallest story on the page -- anti-choice protests in Spain and the let's-sob-one-more-time over the earthquake in Italy get more coverage on A4 including photos.

The Washington Post doesn't do much better with A11 for Ernesto Londono and Dlovan Brwari's "5 U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq Bombing" though it's article is a bit longer. On the plane, a man asked if he could borrow the papers. No problem. When he passed them back, he stated that he supports the Iraq War, he's a "die-hard Republican" (it was already known that I oppose the Iraq War) and that the media's efforts to "cover up for Barack" by burying incidents in Iraq "like these" are proof of their "liberal bias." The media's not conservative or liberal, it's corporate and, as Lily Tomlin noted years ago, "Big business protects itself." But I thought for a moment how wonderful it would be if the right-wing did start accusing the media of burying the Iraq War (they are burying the Iraq War) in order to aid and assist Barack Obama. The media's response to the right-wing might mean they actually do a better job.

But the fact of the matter is the media sold this illegal war and did so for a reason. People like Judith Miller (who was far from alone -- and, in fairness to Miller, she foolishly believed what she reported many others, especially prominent columnists, can't say the same) were allowed to run free because the owners wanted them to. This illegal war was wanted and the same ones who wanted are the same ones who are thrilled that the pressure is now off to end it and that so few bother to pay attention to it. If the Iraq War were front and center, the push for more war (specifically in Africa) might be stopped. There's money to be made off war and it's not just from the people building the weapons.

The Post has the stronger article and we'll note this section:

Some Mosul residents say they have come to loathe the National Police officers assigned to the city. A video that appears to show Shiite National Police officers taunting a blindfolded and handcuffed Sunni inmate in Mosul has sparked outrage among residents. It is on YouTube, and residents say it has appeared on insurgent Web sites.
The elderly, bearded detainee is shown sitting on the floor as National Police officers chant pro-Shiite slogans while they clap. A smiling lieutenant colonel is seen waving a handgun in the air to the beat of the chant. One officer standing behind the detainee can be seen shaking the man's head forcefully. The officers make reference to a military operation in the spring of 2008 in Basra, where they fought before being deployed to Mosul.
"The edges of the earth might rattle, but Imam Ali will protect it!" the officers chant, referring to a revered Shiite figure. "Your beard will never scare us, Abu Sufyan," the officers continue, referring to a historic enemy of Imam Ali.
Residents of the city say many people have seen the video. "It shows the National Police mistreating civilians," Mosul resident Jabar al-Obaidi said. "It's sectarianism, racism. This is the reason they're being targeted."


The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.

the los angeles times
julian e. barnes
the washington post
ernesto londono
sam dagher
the new york times

Rebecca: We hadn't planned on a roundtable tonight but Trina asked and we all agreed.  She'll tell you why in a minute and this is an Iraq roundtable.  Participating tonight are The Third Estate Sunday Review's Ava, Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man, C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review, Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills), Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix, Mike of Mikey Likes It!, Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz, Trina of Trina's Kitchen, Wally of The Daily Jot, Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends, Marcia of SICKOFITRADLZ, Ruth of Ruth's Report and me, Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude.  Betty and Cedric join us by phone.  Trina, how about you kick things off?   Trina: Today 5 US soldiers died in Iraq.  As the snapshot notes the world wide web has other things to talk about.  Not much of it important or useful.  How many times did we all watch as they mounted their high horses and acted like they gave a damn about the Iraq War from 2003 through 2007?  Maybe some extended it a little further.  But apparently for them the Iraq War was actually nothing but a political football to toss around in the hopes of advancing a few yards for Team Democrat.  It's disgusting, it's appalling and it needs to be called out.   Cedric: I agree and that piece of trash, rip-off site Corrente?  They used to pretend to care about the Iraq War.  They never did a thing on the deaths of the five.  But tonight that loony Sarah did find time to write, with no irony, "Style over Substance" -- about Michelle Fashion Plate.  Yeah, that was the most imporant thing in the world today.  I'm counting 23 blog posts they posted today and not one of them mentioned the death of the five US soldiers.  If you ask me, 23 posts in one day and not one of you damn hypocrites mentions that 5 soldiers died in Iraq, you can go rot in hell but truth of the matter is you're pathetic ass is already there.   Elaine: It really is amazing how the blogs, like the media, ran from Iraq as soon as Barack got into office.  It doesn't matter if they're pro-Barry blogs, anti-Barry blogs, or in the middle from the center posing as left all the way to the left, they don't give a damn about Iraq and I am mentioning Kimberly Wilder so she can take any problems she has with my remarks up with me by e-mailing me although I probably won't even read it and I won't reply because I don't like having my e-mails passed on.  You slammed Hillary and trashed her and did so over her 2002 vote on the Iraq resolution.  If that mattered at all to you, you would have found time to note the deaths.  You want to self-present as "social justice"?  Then cover the damn war.  You're disgusting and you're little blog posts about Barry and how Barry's going to do this and do that, spare us all.  As Kathy Kelly said on KPFA's Flashpoints Wednesday, "Well I think that Barack Obama is the world's chief exporter of weapons. I mean that goes with the job.  And I think that you can't look at attacks on civilian populations using conventional military force and not discuss War Crimes."  The peace movement's goals have not changed just because the White House flipped and it's been appalling to watch people like Kimberly Wilder -- an alleged Green Party member until her recent break -- go out of her way to praise a War Hawk named Barack Obama.   Mike: The Iraq War has not ended and you have to be a stupid idiot like Phyllis Bennis to say, "Well I'm happy that Barack's said he's going to end it and the time doesn't really matter."  The time doesn't matter to you Phyllis?  In 2007, he was promising the Iraq War would be over by now.   Rebecca: Stopping you for a minute, Mike.  C.I.?   C.I.: Right.  They can click here for Jake Tapper's 2007 story about Barack having just launched his presidential campaign and I quote, "Obama, often criticized for his lack of foreign policy experience, had his plan to withdraw troops from Iraq by March 2008 attacked by an unlikely source -- the Australian Prime Minister John Howard, an ally of President Bush."   Rebecca: Thank you.  I know someone's going to question Mike's statement and I knew C.I. would be able to pull it up.  Mike?   Mike: Well, he's promised everything and he's never delivered a damn thing and we can see that even more this week with his 'state secrets' excuse to cover up for the illegal spying on Americans that the government did.  He lied on the campaign trail non-stop and you've got idiots like Phyllis Bennis saying it doesn't matter when Barack pulls the troops out and that is what she said when he went to 18 or 19 months for a withdrawal and she said it didn't matter if it was longer than what was promised.  That's pathetic Phyllis Bennis.  It does matter.  And if he'd stuck to what he was saying in 2007, the US would have been out of Iraq already and those 5 dead soldiers wouldn't be dead.   Marcia: It just seems to me that there is a detachment about the Iraq War, a distance from it, as if it were a game.  I'd honestly appreciate sell outs a lot more if they'd just say, "I'm a sell out, I didn't give a damn about the Iraq War, I just wanted to elect Democrats."  If they'd say that, I wouldn't expect a thing from them.  I wouldn't be outraged and angry.  But they're liars.  They want to pretend like they still care about ending the Iraq War and they can't even write about it.  They can't cover it, they can't talk about it, they're just a huge disgrace because they're all wanting to act like they're still trying to end the Iraq War.  And they're not doing a damn thing.   Ruth: Well actually, what Marcia's discussing is sort of what Stan and I were talking about earlier this evening.  We had both read Norman Solomon's embarrassing "Getting a Death Grip on Memory" at CounterPunch and he and I had strong opinions on it.  Stan?   Stan: Okay, So Norman Solomon's riding his high horse about how Real Media wants to forget their crimes.  That would be Norman Solomon, pledged delegate for Barack Obama.  That would be Norman Solomon who lied for Barry and who did everything he could to get Barry elected.  He cut off people when he was a guest on the radio and tried to rip their character apart when they questioned Barack.  He cut them off and launched personal attacks on them, the sort of thing he maintains he never does, he maintains he debates the issues, but that's not what he did on KPFA.  And he's a liar because he'd go on KPFA to 'analyze' the race and 'forget' to tell listeners that he was a pledged delegate for Barck.  For that reason alone, he shouldn't have been on.  And he knows that.  He knows all about media ethics.  He just doesn't practice any.  He's a disgusting whore and for him to talk about Real Media's memory lapses, what he needs to do is write a column on how someone betrays every thing they supposedly believe in to whore out for a candidate.  He's a whore, a cheap, trashy, disease ridden whore.    Rebecca: And Ruth, you say what?   Ruth: I would have to agree with Stan.  We were talking about this and how Norman Solomon must wake up every morning convinced that he has really put one over on everybody.    Ava: Or maybe doubting it?  Maybe that's why he lays it on so thick.   Ruth: Good point.  And, as Stan said, he broke every ethic regarding media in 2008.  He knows those ethics, he lectures on those ethics.  He might try getting honest about that.    Rebecca: Because confession is good for the soul? Ruth: Because a blistering confession might allow someone tempted in the future to avoid the path he went down.  It would be like a drug addict sharing with people how low he sunk while active in his disease.   Rebecca: Okay.  Kat and Wally haven't spoken.  Betty hasn't but she and I talked ahead of time and she has a topic she's bringing in.  But I'm letting Wally and Kat know they need to speak if they're planning to.  Ava and C.I. are taking notes and will type up this rush transcript.  They can speak whenever they want but we all doubt they'll speak much.  Betty?   Betty: I wanted to talk about Iraq's LGBT population.  In the April 2nd snapshot, C.I. noted the reports that they were being executed.  No one followed that story this week until we found out, see yesterday's snapshot, that US House Rep Jared Polis went to Iraq and was given information about a gay man sentenced to death for being gay.  Why isn't anyone writing about this?  Michael Riley (Denver Post) was covering it but I'm not even sure if he grasped all of what he was reporting and, if he did grasp it, I think he intentionally downplayed it.  Maybe because he thought if he didn't downplay it, it might be seen as too explosive for print.  But read his article.  A member of the US Congress has been given information that states a gay man is going to be put to execution because he is gay.  The Congress member finds the information and documentation so convincing that he raises the issue on his Iraq trip.  I'd say this is pretty big news.   Cedric: I'd agree with you Betty and I'd argue that if all the people writing last week about the executions hadn't been doing that. and that includes C.I. doing the why-are-we-silent writing, we wouldn't have gotten Timothy Williams and Tareq Maher's "Iraq's Newly Open Gays Face Scorn and Murder" in the New York Times this week.  That's really the strongest article on this subject that paper has published.  And, speculating, I'm wondering is it that the paper previously didn't care about the issue, thought readers didn't care about the issue, thought it wasn't among the important issues or what?   Mike: Well when they can write that stupid article on the Humvee dealership in Iraq then if it's that the paper didn't think LGBT was an "important issue," that's saying a lot.  And none of it good about the paper.    Ruth: I honestly think that there is a 'queasy' aspect to it -- I am talking about among the press.  It happens far too often, an issue involving an attack on the LGBT community in any country, even our own, never gets the kind of attention it deserves.  Never.  I think a large portion of the press, especially above the reporters' level, are uncomfortable with LGBT issues and the LGBT community.    Ava: Well, in terms of the New York Times, they have a shameful history on AIDS in the eighties and I would argue that's because of the "queasy" aspect Ruth's talking about.  They didn't see gays and lesbians as 'real human beings' so when a disease that wasknown as the "gay cancer" struck, they didn't want to devote the kind of attention they would have if the same disease had targeted red-headed-four-year-old boys, for example.    Mike: I don't want to dominate the roundtable but if I can make another point, and I'll try to be quick, homophobia is out there and it's not going away.  It might get reduced, but it's not going away any time soon.  And if we're not willing to combat it, then I don't know what's going to happen.  I am eager about one thing that's coming up.   Marcia: I agree with you, Mike, but I want to also say how important it is that someone like Mike says that and not just me.  I'm a lesbian.  It's important that I speak out.  But Mike's a straight man and it's really important that he speak out as well.  I think the gay community is something like one in ten.  The LGBT community needs to speak up but we also need support from the straight community.  In terms of what Mike's talking about coming up, I agree.  And I'm excited about it as well.  It's something we're going to be doing at Third.  A regular feature.  But I would agree there's a silence and, like Ruth, I would have to say it's because it makes some straight people uncomfortable.   Betty: If I can say one more thing on this topic, I'd just like to point out that gays are being targeted in Iraq.  By the clergy, by the police and apparently by their state government.  And the fact that so many -- including Liar Barack -- have taken to tossing around terms like "democracy" at a time when homophobia is expressed with criminal intent is appalling.  And it's disgusting to see US leaders hail a country where homophobia and homophobic murders are condoned by the governemtn.  It's disgusting.   Wally: Well the silence goes beyond the press and it also includes our own State Dept which has never condemened the murders.  It didn't condemn under the homophobe Colin Powell, it didn't condemn then under Condi Rice and it's not condemning them under Hillary Clinton.  Now I happen to like Hillary and, as most people reading this will know, from something like January through the primary in Puerto Rico, I was on the road campaigning for her.  I ended up taking off the semester to do that.  I believed in her campaign that much.  She's being silent.  Now I could be an Obot and say, "She needs more time to speak! She needs to get comfortable!"  I could offer a million excuses but the reality is she has not spoken out against it and that's not right, and there's no excuse for it, and I'm embarrassed and ashamed for Hillary.  And I'll tell you one more thing, I'd be talking about that like her if she was president.  Because I don't believe in hero worship.  Unlike the Cult of St. Barack, I don't offer excuses.  And I believe Hillary would make a great president.  But I believe that because I think she's smart.  So when someone that smart and that wise doesn't speak out against the murders, it is appalling and I will call out.  I will repeat, Hillary Clinton, I am ashamed and embarrassed by your silence.  I am fully aware that there are issues that are policy and that come above Hillary.  That would include the Israel situtation, for example.  There she's merely executing policy.  However, in terms of this issue, in terms of condemning any murders in any country -- I'm talking warfare, supposed or otherwise -- she has the power, due to the office she holds, to issue a state condemning the murders.  She hasn't done it.  I'm appalled. Shame on you, Hillary, you know better.  And Kat I knew Betty's topic, Rebecca, which is why we were holding off on talking.   Kat: Right.  And it is an important topic but just to back up a second, I agree with Wally and if Hillary had gotten the nomination, she would be president, we all know that, we all know she got more votes than Barack in the primaries and we all know she would have done better than he did in the general.  But if she was president, we wouldn't be playing fan club to Hillary.  We'd be doing what Wally just did right now.  And Wally gave his all to getting the word out on Hillary.  He dropped out of college because he took some weeks off and ended up deciding that it was more important that he campaign for her.  The original plan was just to campaign for her for a few weeks, he ended up dropping out to campaign for her.  And he still believes she would make a wonderful president but that didn't prevent him from calling her out on her silence and doing so strongly.  And if she were president and going back on her word to withdraw one brigade a month from Iraq, we'd all be calling her out.  The Obots aren't politically educated or smart.  They needed a crush, an empty vessel upon which they could impose their dreams of love and romance.  It and they are disgusting.  Now in terms of the LGBT community in Iraq, I don't want to hear any garbage about Muslim religion or any of that other s**t.  We don't use "Muslim religion" or "Muslim culture" to hide behind murdering Jews or Christians.  Murder's wrong.  That's not open to debate.  That the US has installed a regime in Iraq which thinks it's okay to murder gays and lesbians -- and even if the government is not executing them, they are turning a blind eye to their murders -- explains how sick and perverted this illegal war really was.  And to be clear "Muslim religion" or "Muslim culture," gays and lesbians still were in Iraq.  They are Iraqis.  And they had acceptance before the illegal war.  They are a part of Muslim culture whether fundamentalists want to accept it or not.  And they are a part of Iraq and they should have been protected.   Rebecca: I did not know that Kat and Wally were waiting for Betty's topic.  And thank you to Betty for introducing it because that was a very lively discussion.  We need to wind down and I want to let Trina have the last word since she grabbed the first.  Trina, a lot's been said since you explained why you wanted this roundtable.  Closing thoughts?   Trina: I think we have shown that there is so much still to discuss about the Iraq War and there's so much that we didn't even get to.  We didn't talk about how the violence this week has been so great that even the press has a hard time pretending it's not happening, for example.  We didn't talk about the targeting of Sahwa.  There are so many topics that we didn't have time for, all Iraq related, and that's going to be true every day because it is an ongoing war and it is a real shame that the people who supposedly wanted to end it have moved on to other things while over 130,000 US troops remain on the ground in Iraq.  The illegal war has not ended and it's appalling to grasp how little that matters to so many who used to pretend they gave a damn.   Rebecca: And on that note, we'll wrap up.  As stated before, this is a rush transcript.  This roundtable will be posted at the sites of all participating.  And, in closing, C.I. asked me to note the Center for Media and Democracy's "Common Purpose: Another Cog in Obama's PR Machine" on the sell out of our so-called left.  It's a very important piece and I'm sure will be addressing it at Third on Sunday.     iraq michael riley the new york times timothy williams tareq maher

Today the US military announced: "Five U.S. Coalition Soldiers were killed, and one wounded from a suicide vehicle borne improvised explosive device attack earlier today in Mosul. Two Iraqi Security Forces were also killed and 20 wounded. The suicide truck bomb exploded near the Iraqi National Police headquarters in the southwest section of the city. At least two individuals suspected of being involved in the attack were detained, and the incident is under investigation. The names of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense." The five deaths bring the total number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war to 4271. The illegal war Bully Boy Bush started and that Bully Boy Barack continues. They both own it, they both support it.  Mohammed Abbas (Reuters) reports a Mosul truck bomber has claimed two lives (three, actually, the bomber is dead as well) and left at least seventy injured. Again, Bully Boys Bush and Barack own that.

They're not the only ones. Ruth Gledhill's "Tony Blair tells Belief radio programme he thinks about Iraq every day" (Times of London):

Tony Blair has said that he cannot "pass a single day" without reflecting on the aftermath of the war in Iraq.
The former Prime Minister, who converted to Catholicism after leaving office in 2007, told the BBC Radio 3 programme Belief that that religion was a "comfort" to him at all times. He said, however, that the decision to join the US-led invasion in 2003 was the most difficult that he faced.
He said: "I do not pass a single day in which I do not reflect on this and think of the responsibility. I think these decisions are the most difficult you ever take, and you cannot and should not take them incidentally because you believe that you have some religious conviction that's superior to anyone else," he said.

Pru has a very funny comment about the above that was going to be the title of this entry when I read her e-mail this morning; however, the 5 deaths are now the headline so I'll carry her one liner over to Third. And we'll note this from Deborah Haynes' "General Ray Odierno: we may have to ignore Iraq deadline to halt al-Qaeda terror" (Times of London):


The US commander was confident that the overall timetable for the US pullout would be met. But he added that US combat troops might have to stay beyond June 30 in Mosul and Baqubah, where al-Qaeda retains an active presence. "The two areas I am concerned with are Mosul and then Baqubah and [other] parts of Diyala province," he said. "We will conduct assessments and provide our assessments when the time is right"
He added that over the next 12 months "we won't see a large reduction in any forces in Mosul or Diyala. In fact we might see reinforcements in those areas if we continue to have issues". Another flashpoint is the ethnically divided city of Kirkuk, on the border of Iraqi Kurdistan, where Arabs and Kurds are at loggerheads. Provincial elections were delayed there because of a disagreement over ownership of the city, a row that also covers towns and villages scattered along the border.
The general agreed that there was a risk of conflict in those areas. "We can't allow politics, we can't allow pride, we can't allow ego to cause violence to occur when you can solve a problem with dialogue."


Yesterday at the Washington Post online, Dana Priest did another of her Thursday webchats on national security and international issues, here's an excerpt:

Stafford, Va.: Dana, part of Gates' budget includes an increase in spending to support planned expansion of the Army and USMC. Do you know what the actual size of these forces would be once the plan is achieved and when that might be? Will the military have any difficulty in achieving this goal? Thanks.

Dana Priest: Sorry, I don't know the numbers answer. I don't believe they will have problems with recruiting. The economic downturn is driving more people into the military.

[. . .]

More Cheerful in Princeton: In the morning while I do my exercises, I watch C-Span's Washington Journal to get some idea of what people think outside Liberal La-La Land. Yesterday and today that had on classic neocons (Danielle Pletka and Rich Lowry) telling us that we have won in Iraq and that we can win in Afghanistan. Are they just trying to preserve their record of being wrong, or is there anything to their statements?

Dana Priest: I didn't hear the statements but generally that crowd has been, shall we say, overstating their claims for quite a while now.
I'm happy you're more cheerful in Princeton this week.



Turning to public television. NOW on PBS offers a look at coal (no, I'm not optimistic either, NOW on PBS is highly 'business' friendly):

Can America's cheapest and most plentiful energy resource be produced without burning the environment?
Americans are addicted to coal--it powers half of all our electricity, and is both plentiful and cheap. In fact, some call America the "Saudi Arabia of Coal." But are we paying too high an environmental price for all this cheap energy?
With carbon emissions caps high on the Obama Administration's agenda, coal is in the crosshairs of the energy debate. This week, NOW Senior Correspondent Maria Hinojosa travels to Wyoming to take a hard look at the coal industry there and its case that it can produce "clean coal"--coal that can be burned without releasing carbon into the atmosphere. President Obama has been outspoken in his support for "clean coal" technology, but some say the whole concept is more of a public relations campaign than an energy solution.
As part of the report, Hinojosa talks with Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal and Jeff Goodell, the author of "Big Coal," who says that carbon dioxide emissions generated from coal contribute to global warming.
Our investigation is part of a PBS-wide series on the country's infrastructure called "Blueprint America."

This week on Washington Week (begins airing tonight on most PBS stations, check local listings) Gwen sits down with NYT's David Sanger, Chicago Tribune's Christi Parson, LAT's Doyle McManus and US News & World Reports and CNN's Gloria Borger. Also, I was asked to note that Washington Week has given their site some "tweaks," so check that out. Bonnie Erbe sits down with Eleanor Holmes Norton, Ruth Conniff, Star Parker and Karen Czarnecki to discuss this week's news on To The Contrary. And turning to broadcast TV, Sunday CBS' 60 Minutes offers:

The DEKA Arm
New technology is making it possible for amputees to pick up small, delicate objects they never thought they would master thanks to the biggest innovation in prosthetic arms since World War II. Scott Pelley reports. | Watch Video

---

Gun Rush
Americans are snapping up guns and ammunition at an increasingly higher rate despite the economic downturn. But as Lesley Stahl reports, the economic downturn, as well as the election of Barack Obama, may be the reason for the run on guns. | Watch Video

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Steve Wynn
The casino mogul most responsible for taking Las Vegas to new heights of gaming and glitter talks to Charlie Rose about his spectacular success and the eye disease that's slowly robbing him of his ability to see the fruits of his labor. | Watch Video

Among those interviewed by Lesley Stahl for her report on guns is Senator Dianne Feinstein whose remarks will, no doubt, be news at home (the Bay Area) due to her days in municpal government when Harvey Milk was assassinated. At wowOwow, Lesley writes about the 60 Minutes segment and also offers a video preview. And as the wowOwow friend who requested that link notes, "You can join the conversation and leave your comments" at wowOwow.


iraq
mohammed abbas
ruth gledhill
deborah haynes
the washington post
dana priest

lesley stahl
wowowow

The activities of al-Qaeda in two of Iraq’s most troubled cities could keep US combat troops engaged beyond the June 30 deadline for their withdrawal, the top US commander in the country has warned.
US troop numbers in Mosul and Baqubah, in the north of the country, could rise rather than fall over the next year if necessary, General Ray Odierno told The Times in his first interview with a British newspaper since taking over from General David Petraeus in September.
He said that a joint assessment would be conducted with the Iraqi authorities in the coming weeks before a decision is made.

The above is from Deborah Haynes' "General Ray Odierno: we may have to ignore Iraq deadline to halt al-Qaeda terror" (Times of London) and before we go into the revelations, let's note a few things re: the source. Haynes has an important exclusive and good for her. Equally true is that she has produced more content for her outlet than whole divisions have for other outlets. Haynes usually files at least one report or blog post a week that has to do with a news topic and at least one that is a human interest story. In the last months, she's been filing repeatedly. She isn't the only Times correspondent filing on Iraq; but she's filing an incredible amount and finding stories that others are usually not covering. Her work won her a deserved award (and we noted her award back when she received it even though we're not interested in that aspect of the refugee topic) and when England draws down to approximately 400 troops at the end of July (if it sticks with that announcement), she'll most likely be move on to another region and will be missed but probably most people won't grasp what she offered and what she provided until she's gone.

Deborah Haynes is not with faults and we called her out loudly once here. The same blog post written the same way would result in the same calling out again. But if you look at her overall work, the key theme is curiousity. She finds out something and pursues it. For example, she was obviously not the only reporter to notice, back during provincial elections, that the ink smelled (the ink on your finger to show you had voted) but she didn't just file that away in her memory, she pursued it and found out other things about the ink and wrote it up. She's written up the special 'cabins' reporters can sleep in at the US base (now that the US has taken over Basra from the British). She's constantly found things of interest, dug around and found enough information worth filing something on.

She's leaving so I've been wanting to find a way to work in a nod to her work because, whether we've agreed with it or not, it's always demonstrated a curiosity and desire to know that should be the hallmark of reporting but often isn't. And before someone says, "Oh, well there's a story on cars and she didn't write about that." That's not something she would have discovered. That 'story' which won't go away (AP was pimping it today) was put out by M-NF. It's one of the many spoon feeds they do as they. Haynes wasn't picking up on M-NF and she wasn't picking up on what the British command wanted her to write about. Look at the topics she's covered for human interest stories including Iraqis woeful lack of knowledge when it comes to pregnancy. Those were topics she encountered. A passing remark, something she saw, and she pursued it and found the story.

The Times of London was very lucky to have her in Iraq and people who follow news from Iraq were very lucky to have her in Iraq. Her interest and curiosity will be hugely missed and she has a nice body of work that she and her paper can be very proud of.

Now for what she's reporting. That's really big and Ray Odierno went on the record which is how it's different than the whispers that this might happen or, earlier, Nouri al-Maliki stating that maybe US forces would just leave some cities.

It also underscores that the treaty masquerading as a Status Of Forces Agreement was never etched in stone, despite claims otherwise.

As noted in the snapshot, Baghdad saw a huge rally today calling for the withdrawal of US forces. Toss that back to the Status Of Forces Agreement. al-Maliki had to promise Parliament that the thing could be put to a vote (al-Maliki and the US State Dept had to promise Iraq's Parliament that). That vote was supposed to take place in July.

Where are the preparations for that? The Kurdistan Regional Government will be holding provincial elections shortly (May 19th) and they are making their preparations. Where are the preparations for the Iraqi people to vote on the Status Of Forces Agreement?

For those who don't remember the January 31st provincial elections in 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces required extensive work and planning. If you've forgotten the legislation finally passed Parliament in September of 2008. They moved to hold elections as quickly as possible and all the work required meant as quickly as possible was January 31st.

Where are the preparations? And did the rally in Baghdad today worry or trouble Nouri? All those people making it clear how they wanted the US out?

For those thinking, "Well the ballot will be simplified . . ." The ballot wasn't the issue. Who was on it and campaigning were issues for candidates. The govermnent and the election commission required all those months to set up for the elections.

In other news, Ruth Gledhill (Times of London) reports, "Tony Blair has said that he cannot 'pass a single day' without reflecting on the aftermath of the war in Iraq." We may go into that more tomorrow but let's note right now how interesting it is that Blair surfaces with a 'lament' about Iraq after Gordon Brown's government promises the British people an inquiry into the Iraq War. Now Tony Blair wants the world to believe he's haunted by the illegal war.

It's over, I'm done writing songs about love
There's a war going on
So I'm holding my gun with a strap and a glove
And I'm writing a song about war
And it goes
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Oh oh oh oh
-- "I Hate The War" (written by Greg Goldberg, on The Ballet's Mattachine!)

Last Thursday, ICCC's number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war was 4263. Tonight? 4266.

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.

iraq
i hate the war
the ballet
deborah haynes

On the streets of Medina Wasl, merchants chant in Arabic, and a call to prayer blares over a loudspeaker. You can't understand the store signs, which are written in a foreign language. And you don't know who's your friend and who wants to kill you. The Iraq war has come to the United States.
"The only thing they haven't got down is the smell," said Capt. Jeff Vones of Clayton. "There is something very distinct about the smell in Iraq."
On 1,200 square miles in the Mojave Desert, members of the Army National Guard have just finished their final training before deploying to the real Iraq.

The above is from Ethan Hyman's "N.C. Guard troops prepare for Iraq" (News & Observer) and, yes, US troops continue to be sent to Iraq. No, the Iraq War is not over just because the media lost interest. The media lost interest in the illegal war they had to have. They worked overtime to sell it to the American people ("Case closed!" after Collie Powell lies to the United Nations) and they got it and then they didn't want it. Spoiled children ripping the wrapping off one Christmas present after another and then upset when there are no more to open. North Carolina's Army National Guard's 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team sends approximately 4,000 Guard members to Iraq next week. As Patrick Martin's "Pentagon budget envisions a series of Iraq-style wars" (WSWS) observes:

At a formal press announcement Monday and in media appearances over the next day, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates unveiled the biggest military budget in world history, in anticipation of an endless series of Iraq and Afghanistan-style wars by American imperialism.
Both the military budget itself and the official who drafted it--Gates held the same position in the last two years of the Bush administration and is the first Pentagon chief to be retained by a new president--underscore the fundamental continuity between Obama and Bush.
For all its pretensions of "change" and all the popular illusions attached to Obama's supposed "anti-war" stance, the new administration is as committed to the ruthless pursuit of the interests of American imperialism as its discredited predecessor.


BBC News reports "tens of thousands" have taken to the streets in Baghdad to protest, carrying flags and chanting "No, no America. Yes, yes Iraq" to mark the sixth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. The protestors are said to be followers of Muqtada al-Sadr and "the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says the cleric is still showing that he has some political clout. His political followers did quite well in January's provincial elections and he is again showing that he has the ability to call tens of thousands of people out into the streets, our correspondent says."



No news article on Iraq makes the pages of the New York Times today. The New York Times is under a lot more pressure than many seem to know as it tries to dance for it's new master and even the family which has long owned the paper is nervous. But while the cuts coming haven't yet hit the NYT staff (and they are coming), they have hit the Boston Globe (which NYT owns). Richard Perez-Pena's "Boston Globe Surprised by Size of Demand for Cuts" lists some of the outrageous demands NYT is making (and also notes that NYT refuses to show their books -- for good reason, NYT stock is actually worthless because of the two-tiered system but showing the books would result in it being even more worthless). So on the day that the Times reports on the cuts and sacrifices they are demanding of the Boston Globe, we're treated to an example of which staff really works and which doesn't? (A huge portion of NYT staff occupy desks and never work, haven't in years.)

How does it telegraph this. A18 of the nation edition appears to demonstrate the paper is so damn lazy it thought it could pose as Life magazine (original run of Life) and just offer a photo. No story. The photo requires a story and, in fact, the same photo runs in the Boston Globe and comes with a story, "Praising gains in Iraq, Biden welcomes home soldiers at Fort Bragg." Now it's an AP story the Times would argue. Uh-huh. And the Times runs AP stories all the time. What's the point? Where was the editor and why wasn't it asked, "We're running a photo of Joe Biden with the military and we're not offering more than a caption? Are we still a newspaper?" That's the question, after the heads start rolling at the Times, many will be asking, "Are we still a newspaper?" (They'll need a Magic 8-ball to answer that question.)


Yesterday at the Washington Post online, White House reporter Scott Wilson participated in an online chat, below are the sections on Iraq:

surprise: Scott,
Can't the media start eliminating the word "surprise" when a president visits Iraq? It will always be a surprise visit so it should just be a given when the visit occurs, the visit is naturally a surprise.
Thanks.

Scott Wilson: Totally agree...Unannounced is the better description.

Houston: What security procedures are in place for a President to visit a war zone like Iraq? I assume the rank and file troops are kept in the dark until the Prez shows up but obviously some people have to know to make security arrangements. Also, do you get the impression that the military really likes Obama as opposed to Bush or is it simply because they know they are going home with Obama's plan?

Scott Wilson: The Secret Service keeps the security details very private obviously, but I imagine that the morning of his arrival the word gets out among the soldiers (I've been to Camp Victory a few times, and it's huge. But I'll bet word travels fast in the enormous cafeterias.) There's probably clues ahead of time as the Secret Service makes preparations. And I wouldn't make a guess on your last point. I'd only say that many soldiers I met when I worked in Iraq were less interested in going home than in getting the job done correctly as they saw it.

[. . .]

in getting the job done correctly as they saw it. : What exactly is the "job" in Iraq? How do we tell when it is done? Does it involve getting the 5,000,000 refugees home? Taking the walls in Baghdad down? Stopping Kurdish exapnsionism? Gett the country drinking water, electricity? jobs?

Scott Wilson: Seems to me - yes.



In other news, Rick Rogers (San Diego Union-Tribune) covers the closing arguments in the court-martial of the marine who twice confessed to murder on tape. I'm not in the mood for it or for Paul Hackett having the nerve to talk about "moral character" -- the same Hackett who has argued that the dead have no names so they matter less. The same Hackett who is hoping to get his client off via the refusal of another marine to provide testimony. There's nothing about any of that which spells out "character."

Famed prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, author most recently of The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, is interviewed by Michael Collins in "Murder Trumps Torture Says Bugliosi" (Dissident Voice) and we'll note this section:


Vincent Bugliosi: There was a cover story in, I think it was Harper's Magazine about two months ago, about prosecuting Bush. Obviously, I bought the magazine, and I opened it up to the prosecution. What was it all about? Torture. The New York Times had a pro and con in the op-ed section about two months ago, pro prosecution to Bush, anti prosecution to Bush. So I looked at what the prosecution was about -- torture. I’m offended by this.
Who's fighting to bring about justice for the perhaps one million innocent Iraqi men, women, and children and babies in their graves? Actually, I shouldn't say I'm going to bring about justice for them, or try to, because I was unable to establish jurisdiction to go after Bush for the deaths of the Iraqi citizens. I did establish jurisdiction to go after him for the deaths of the 4,200 American soldiers. In any event, it would be a symbolic effort to bring about justice for the million people in their graves. Let's say that number's high. In my book I say over 100,000. Certainly there's over 100,000 innocent Iraqi men, women, children and babies who died as a result of Bush's war. Some numbers put it in excess of one million, and we know there's 4,200 American soldiers.
Who's fighting to bring about justice for those in their graves, decomposing in their cold graves right now as I'm talking to you, Michael? Who's doing that out there?

MC: Right.

VB: No one seems to be interested in that. It's all torture, torture, torture, torture, so apparently torturing 24 or 200 Iraqi citizens or Iraqi insurgents or what have you is more important than bringing about justice, let's say, for 4,200 American soldiers who died in Bush’s war. So you can see where I am offended about that.
I'm not saying that Bush should not be prosecuted for torture.
Let's talk about why it's even more offensive to me than I've already told you. I've given you the main reason why I'm offended by it, that that's all they talk about, as opposed to saying let's go after him for taking this nation to war under false pretenses, and then let's also add a count to the indictment for torture. Do you follow?

Bugliosi is correct and the reason for the disconnect is that a lot of the torture 'prosecutors' have never prosecuted a thing, live in a sheltered world where they give lip service to "international law" but really can't visualize an American being forced to face the same sort of justice anyone else would have to. Torture becomes the "easy" path, the "low hanging fruit" they think they can grab or at least point to. It's part of the cowardice of the left and part of the reason a lot of 'leaders' need to step aside and let some young blood in. And not just in the US. Look at the left 'leaders' in England who have refused to ride the avalanche of news and revelations about the lies of Tony Blair's government. The Socialist Worker wants to 'cover' it with a few paragraphs a week and a half after the Gordon Brown government says there will be an investigation?

The Kurdistan Regional Government notes:





The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.

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