The White House on Friday appeared resigned to the fact that the Iraqi parliament is going to take August off, even though it has just eight weeks to show progress on military, political and economic benchmarks prescribed by the United States.
"My understanding is at this juncture they're going to take August off, but, you know, they may change their minds," White House press secretary Tony Snow said.
"You know, it's 130 degrees in Baghdad in August," he said, sympathetically.
Snow was reminded that U.S. troops will be continuing to fight throughout August in the heat.
"You know, that's a good point," Snow said. "And it's 130 degrees for the Iraqi military."
The White House and other top officials previously had worked to persuade the parliament to remain at work, saying it would send a bad signal if the Iraqi lawmakers went on vacation while U.S. troops were fighting and dying.
Snow said that a scheduled Sept. 15 progress report on by Gen. David Petraeus was important, yet said he also said that was not a deadline. He said progress can be made even if the parliament is not in session.
"You're assuming that nothing is going on," Snow said.
"Let's also see what happens because quite often when parliaments do not meet, they are also continuing meetings on the side. And there will be progress, I'm sure on a number of fronts," the spokesman said.
The Iraqi parliament's vacation plans have been repeatedly criticized by U.S. lawmakers. But the U.S. Congress will be on vacation from Aug. 3 to Sept. 4, if it sticks to current plans.
We must be crazy!!
Friday, July 13, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
FOR YOUR INFORMATION:
Here are three urls that will give you some background on why we are in Iraq.
http://www.newamericancentury.org/
http://www.crisispapers.org/Editorials/PNAC-Primer.htm
http://www.crisispapers.org/
http://www.newamericancentury.org/
http://www.crisispapers.org/Editorials/PNAC-Primer.htm
http://www.crisispapers.org/
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Our National Interest
This is our National Interest OIL. We are in Iraq for reasons that are not being told to the American People.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
THE NEW WORLD ORDER
Will be at this most prestigious address. This will be the new World Capital, no country, just multicorporate entities residing in this wondrous new haven for all who would have as their ideology corporate greed....
Guess who will be in residence, with the new tenet of Halliburton? Would it be the same persons that have been bankrupting our Country for the past 6 years.....
Guess who will be in residence, with the new tenet of Halliburton? Would it be the same persons that have been bankrupting our Country for the past 6 years.....
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Thursday, February 1, 2007
From Senator Boxer
To Boardwalker
Thank you for contacting me about the war in Iraq . I appreciate hearing from you.
On January 10, 2007, President Bush announced to the nation that he is ordering an escalation of U.S. forces into Iraq - an additional 21,500 troops.
This so-called "new way forward" in Iraq is just another tragic step in the wrong direction. Iraq is in a civil war. All of the troops in the world can't make up for the lack of a political solution to solve this deadly conflict. Putting more U.S. troops in the middle of a civil war will only result in the loss of more American lives.
Since American forces went into Iraq in March 2003, more than 3,000 of our troops have been killed and over 22,500 more have been wounded. Yet we are nowhere near a solution to the grave crisis in Iraq .
After conducting the most extensive independent assessment of the war in Iraq to date, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group (ISG) concluded that the "situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating" and that "current U.S. policy is not working." The ISG report is helping the nation face the hard realities and hard choices in Iraq .
I agree with the ISG that the Iraqi people must take control of their own country. As such, I do not support a large influx of U.S. troops into Iraq , and I believe that we must end our open-ended commitment to keep large numbers of U.S. troops in Iraq .
Throughout the month of January, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is holding hearings on the war. As a member of this Committee, I am working with my colleagues to help forge a new direction in Iraq , one that does not escalate the number of U.S. forces but demands the Iraqi people reach a compromise on their own and forces Iraqi security forces to take responsibility for protecting their own people.
Above all, I hope that the Foreign Relations Committee hearings and the outrage that the American public has expressed at the idea of escalating the war will force the President to understand that the American people are rejecting his failed strategy in Iraq.
Once again, thank you for your letter and for caring deeply about this critical matter.
Barbara BoxerUnited States Senator
Thank you for contacting me about the war in Iraq . I appreciate hearing from you.
On January 10, 2007, President Bush announced to the nation that he is ordering an escalation of U.S. forces into Iraq - an additional 21,500 troops.
This so-called "new way forward" in Iraq is just another tragic step in the wrong direction. Iraq is in a civil war. All of the troops in the world can't make up for the lack of a political solution to solve this deadly conflict. Putting more U.S. troops in the middle of a civil war will only result in the loss of more American lives.
Since American forces went into Iraq in March 2003, more than 3,000 of our troops have been killed and over 22,500 more have been wounded. Yet we are nowhere near a solution to the grave crisis in Iraq .
After conducting the most extensive independent assessment of the war in Iraq to date, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group (ISG) concluded that the "situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating" and that "current U.S. policy is not working." The ISG report is helping the nation face the hard realities and hard choices in Iraq .
I agree with the ISG that the Iraqi people must take control of their own country. As such, I do not support a large influx of U.S. troops into Iraq , and I believe that we must end our open-ended commitment to keep large numbers of U.S. troops in Iraq .
Throughout the month of January, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is holding hearings on the war. As a member of this Committee, I am working with my colleagues to help forge a new direction in Iraq , one that does not escalate the number of U.S. forces but demands the Iraqi people reach a compromise on their own and forces Iraqi security forces to take responsibility for protecting their own people.
Above all, I hope that the Foreign Relations Committee hearings and the outrage that the American public has expressed at the idea of escalating the war will force the President to understand that the American people are rejecting his failed strategy in Iraq.
Once again, thank you for your letter and for caring deeply about this critical matter.
Barbara BoxerUnited States Senator
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
To Believe...
Do we? Believe? Where are we going and why? Will we wake up some fine morning and find out this picture has come true?
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Culture Wars...
Our opponents in Iraq and in the middle east in the War on Terror are from a Culture thousands of years old. Our leaders are from a Culture several hundred years old. There in lies the problem. I heard from one of them on T.V. the other day say that "we don't need to understand our enemy, we just need to be good leaders." This was the assessment from the FBI.
Horse Warriors. We indeed need to understand them for they will fight to the last man to rid their lands of our occupation. So many profound differences. In religion, in family hierarchies, in the way they govern of their lands. If they came to America and tried to impose their values upon us what would we do?
We tell the world that a "democratic form of leadership" is what we want to install in the Middle East. What our leaders haven't told the world is why...the reasons we have heard keep changing. What is the real reason we have set this course of action, and why hasn't Congress had an open and honest debate on this issue?
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
The Cost of Winning
What is winning, what is losing…
Is Winning the most important goal when the concept is flawed? We are dealing with this conundrum on a daily basis in Iraq. For some of us, from the beginning the reasons for our involvement was at best questionable. There were far too many reasons that were put to us that just did not add up.
Watching Colon Powell give his U.N. address was an eloquent exercise in body language suppression. His eyes and face told the audience that he was being a “good solder” and that we should all follow “this lead”. What he really told us on that day was that this war was not his basic strategic model, and that what we were hearing was not a strategy based upon sound military principles.
So We Won the War. And have been losing the concept of peace ever since. Why is it that winning ultimately became losing, and how or can we have our moral high ground restored in such a way, that we the American People can once again become respected in the world view of recognizing that winning sometimes is facing the realities of a failed strategy and that the idealism of our young soldiers who fight for their Country, should be supported in kind by the integrity of our leaders.
The reasons for War changed, and became visionary forged in a false sense of idealism. The vision was based wrongly upon changing a “cultural paradigm” of the tribes and chiefs, but I will save these musings for another day…
Is Winning the most important goal when the concept is flawed? We are dealing with this conundrum on a daily basis in Iraq. For some of us, from the beginning the reasons for our involvement was at best questionable. There were far too many reasons that were put to us that just did not add up.
Watching Colon Powell give his U.N. address was an eloquent exercise in body language suppression. His eyes and face told the audience that he was being a “good solder” and that we should all follow “this lead”. What he really told us on that day was that this war was not his basic strategic model, and that what we were hearing was not a strategy based upon sound military principles.
So We Won the War. And have been losing the concept of peace ever since. Why is it that winning ultimately became losing, and how or can we have our moral high ground restored in such a way, that we the American People can once again become respected in the world view of recognizing that winning sometimes is facing the realities of a failed strategy and that the idealism of our young soldiers who fight for their Country, should be supported in kind by the integrity of our leaders.
The reasons for War changed, and became visionary forged in a false sense of idealism. The vision was based wrongly upon changing a “cultural paradigm” of the tribes and chiefs, but I will save these musings for another day…
The Next Step
Will be building a voice that is reflective of our Community. We as a County have options open to us that encourage dialogue that is constructive. Most of what is posted on the blogs for our area seem to be voices for the left and right that sets up inherent opposing and unproductive thoughts and ideas, and a lot of unspeakable rants. We can do better. Our Humboldt Community is rich with folks who have the education, resources, and personal integrity to make a difference. Lets hear from those of you that have new and visionary ideas of how we can develop solutions for the issues that face our Citizens. We do not have to accept the entrenched ideologies, candidates, and divisive self serving dialogue that has defined this past election process. WE CAN DO BETTER!
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