Tag: war

politics

Military Officiers Starting to Revolt?

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An article on Slate talks about how high ranking officials and former generals are fed up with Donald Rumsfeld and how their voices are starting to echo and gather weight behind them. You’ve got to love an article, and the state of our country, our military and our foreign policy, when said article starts with “It’s an odd thought, but a military coup in this country right now would probably have a moderating influence.” Here is a quote from the latest former General to finally publically air his views:

I now regret that I did not more openly challenge those who were determined to invade a country whose actions were peripheral to the real threat—al-Qaeda. … [T]he Pentagon’s military leaders … with few exceptions, acted timidly when their voices urgently needed to be heard. When they knew the plan was flawed, saw intelligence distorted to justify a rationale for war, or witnessed arrogant micromanagement that at times crippled the military’s effectiveness, many leaders who wore the uniform chose inaction. … It is time for senior military leaders to discard caution in expressing their views and ensure that the President hears them clearly. And that we won’t be fooled again.

What I want to know is where have you been Lt. Gen. Greg Newbold since you retired in 2002? Why only speak up now? Still, its better late than never.
In other political news, the latest flare-up about our president’s inability to listen to views that differ from his pre-conceived notion of what’s going on is picking up some steam. It’s about how when captured trailers were touted to the public as mobile WMD labs back in ’03, the Pres, Veep and everyone in the WH knew that intel was false but went with it anyway because everyone was wondering where all the WMDs were. My question is why is it taking so long for these lies to come to light? For those keeping score at home, here are 3 other instances where the WH didn’t care about what others in our government had to say:
1) The administration claimed an al Qaeda prisoner reported that Saddam had trained al Qaeda in bomb-making, but the Defense Intelligence Agency reported before the war that the prisoner was “intentionally misleading the debriefers.”
2) The administration claimed aluminum tubes in Iraq were irrefutable evidence that Saddam had a nuclear program, but the experts at the State and Energy Departments dissented from that view.
3) The administration claimed that Iraqi drones capable of delivering WMD could attack the U.S., but the experts at the Air Force dissented from the view.
I wish i lived in the same world that the WH does. It must be full of gooey gumdrops and lollypop lanes. It must be. Oh yeah, and Jesus is there too, kicking it with his righteous homies.

politics

"What Was Reported" Versus "The Truth"

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Let me sound like Maxwell Smart when I say, would you believe that the 16 year old from Florida who went to Iraq on a “journalism” assignment for school never was enrolled in a journalism class because his school didn’t offer one? That his parents sent a note to school saying he’d be gone during that period even though it was reported that they had no clue he was gone? Would it surprise you to learn his father was arrested for forging 2,000 Iraqi passports and might have been attempting to forge 2,000 more? Here is an article with more about this story.
Via Marla

politics

Quote of the Day

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“I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah.” – Union Gen. William T. Sherman to President Lincoln on today’s date during the Civil War in the year 1864.

That is a cool present. I’ve never gotten a city as a present before. A village yes but a city? What a nice gesture. I hope Lincoln wrote a prompt and very nice thank you note.

politics

Bring Them Home

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I have for a long time subscribed to the “you break it, you buy it” foreign policy in regards to Iraq. We broke it, we bought it, period. However, as it seems that no strides have been taken towards creating any sort of a plan almost 2.5 years after we first went there, I’m starting to think getting the hell out of there as soon as possible is not such a bad idea.

Yesterday, Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania called for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, rejecting the Bush administration attacks on war critics and raising bipartisan pressure for a new policy. Rep. Murtha, the senior Democrat on the House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees defense spending and one of his party’s top voices on military issues said, “The U.S. cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. It is time to bring them home.”

When one of the biggest Democratic defense hawks, who happens to be a decorated Vietnam War veteran and retired Marine colonel, says something like that, I listen. He said, “The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It’s a flawed policy wrapped in illusion” and I agree wholeheartedly.

This 73-year-old man is a decorated Marine veteran who served as an intelligence officer in Vietnam and is widely respected by his colleagues on military matters. His stance has the potential to influence others in Congress who are nervous about falling public support for the war (I have my fingers crossed). Emotionally, he spoke of his regular visits to wounded soldiers at nearby Walter Reed Hospital and Bethesda Naval Medical Hospital. “Our military is suffering,” he said. “The future of our country is at risk. We cannot continue on the present course.”

I also loved how he rebuked recent Cheney’s scare tactics by making a reference to the draft deferments that kept Cheney out of Vietnam. He said, “I like guys who got five deferments and (have) never been there and send people to war, and then don’t like to hear suggestions about what needs to be done.”

Well said. Well said. I for one have decided that I’m going to be more vocal in supporting the elected officials who I believe are part of the solution. If they are going to stick their necks out for the Republican Scare & Hate Machine to try and chop off, I’m going to get their back. I just called Congressman Murtha’s DC office (202-225-2065) to say that I support him and that I thank him for speaking out. I have a feeling I’m going to dialing Washington alot more in the next few months so that my voice is logged and noted. As I’ve previously stated, these calls and emails DO matter. I suggest that if you agree, you do the same. Enough is enough.

politics

Secret Wars

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I have abstained from talking too much about politics recently because it just gets me too angry. However, this little nugget was one I felt was worth sharing:

The Pentagon has secretly been operating a clandestine espionage branch for the past two years after reinterpreting U.S. law to place more power directly in the hands of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Yes, you read that correctly. TWO YEARS! That is a loooong time to keep something hidden from Congress, the CIA, hell, everybody. According to an explosive new article in yesterday’s Washington Post, the group, called the Strategic Support Branch, is “designed to operate without detection and under the defense secretary’s direct control” in collecting human intelligence (or HUMINT, in intelligence-speak). Not only does the group operate outside the public view, Rumsfeld has also hidden it from Congress and is not coordinating with the CIA. Already, it has been operating in places like Iraq and Afghanistan – as well as in unnamed “friendly countries” with which the United States is not at war. The group has been working with the elite U.S. Special Forces, such as Delta Force, as well as recruited outside agents, including “notorious figures” whose “links to the U.S. government would be embarrassing if disclosed.” The Defense Department has also engaged in legal tricks, redefining the rules to support its claims that the intelligence group is subject to less stringent oversight than similar operations within the CIA.

Thanks go to the Center for American Progress’s Daily Progress Report