The Blue State

$108 billion more for Iraq

Had enough yet?  President Bush is instructing Congress to pass a $108 Iraq war spending bill.  Democrats have already caved on that, but are fighting Bush over whether to add funding for veterans:

"I made my position very clear to Congress and I will not accept asupplemental over $108 billion or a supplemental that micromanages thewar, ties the hands of our commanders," Bush said. "We will work withCongress on these veterans' benefits .... But the $108 billion is $108billion."

The hard line came as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,D-Calif., and other top congressional leaders held a rally for the Iraqwar veterans measure on the West Front of the Capitol.

Severalconservative Republicans joined the rally on behalf of the legislation,which would greatly increase college education benefits for veterans tocover tuition and fees at most public universities. That would, onaverage, double college aid for veterans to about $12,000 per year.

"Weare very close to pulling it off," said Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., the chiefsponsor on the legislation, alluding to a plan by Democratic leaders toadd the veterans measure to the war funding bill.

$1 trillion later, and we are still funding this war.  Since the war started in 2003, it looks like we have 95 years left there.  Better hold on tight and get used to it.

MoveOn.org Ad: Six months at a time

MoveOn.org released a new web that takes a look back at the promises Bush, Rumsfeld and McCain have made regarding military involvement there since the war began:

They promised to change the course, yet the only thing we've done is stay the course.

US Ambassador to Iraq: Al Qaeda a larger threat in Afghanistan

During Senator Joe Biden's (D-DE) thorough questioning of US Ambassador Ryan Crocker yesterday, the former presidential candidate got Crocker to admit that Afghanistan, not Iraq, is the central front in the war against those that attacked us on September 11th:

US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker conceded during Senate hearingstoday that Afghanistan, and not Iraq, is the main front in the fightagainst al-Qaeda.

Evading a direct answer to a question from Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) asto whether the focus of the war against the terror network is in Iraqor Afghanistan, Crocker finally said, "I would ... pick al-Qaeda in thePakistan-Afghanistan border area."

That's exactly what every Democratic presidential candidate believed.  John McCain feels a lot different.

Bush's two-sided argument

As alluded to this morning by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), since January of 2007 the Bush Administration has had a puzzling argument about the need for a large US troop presence there.  When the violence was out of control, the Administration said that underscored why the US needed to remain there.  When violence subsided somewhat this last winter, they also used that as justification to keep troops there.  Now with violence flaring up once again, both Bush and McCain say that proves why the US can't get out of Iraq.

So then let's beg the question.  Under what circumstance would it be OK for US troops to withdraw?  From what Bush and McCain are hinting at, there isn't such a circumstance.  They want to keep our young men and women there indefinitely.  A vote for McCain is a vote for indefinite involvement in a country that had nothing to do with the attacks on our country.

Baghdad falls ...again

In a span of just one week, the political players went from a fragile ceasefire agreement to all-out war.  This weekend, as the Iraq army in Basra faltered, parts of Baghdad fell into the hands of militia leaders:

Iraq’s Prime Minister was staring into the abyss today after his operation tocrush militia strongholds in Basra stalled, members of his own securityforces defected and district after district of his own capital fell to Shiamilitia gunmen.

With the threat of a civil war looming in the south, Nouri al-Maliki’s policechief in Basra narrowly escaped assassination in the crucial port city,while in Baghdad, the spokesman for the Iraqi side of the US military surgewas kidnapped by gunmen and his house burnt to the ground.

Saboteurs also blew up one of Iraq's two main oil pipelines from Basra,cutting at least a third of the exports from the city which provides 80 percent of government revenue, a clear sign that the militias — who siphonsignificant sums off the oil smuggling trade — would not stop at mereinsurrection.

The diplomatic agreement between Iraqi factions, not the US surge, was what led to the relatively peaceful winter there.  Now that the ceasefire has been broken, the floodgates have re-opened and the violence is back.  But this time can a deal be reached, or has Iraq already missed its diplomatic opportunity?

Bush, McCain and the faces of the fallen

Click for larger view

4,000

Today in Iraq a roadside bomb killed four US troops, bringing the total of US military casualties to 4,000.  Here are some other war stats not worth smiling about:

• 4,308 coalition forces have lost their lives.
• 145 self-inflicted deaths.
• 29,395 wounded.
• At least 89,000 civilian deaths.

Worth fighting?  That's why we need a president who had the moral judgment to oppose this thing from the very beginning.

Absurdities from Bush's Iraq speech today

On how the occupation has gone in general:

"Operation Iraqi Freedom was a remarkable display of military effectiveness."

The weapons argument, yet again.  Bush still has not learned his lesson in that regard:

"Because we acted, Saddam's regime is no longer invading its neighbors orattacking them with chemical weapons and ballistic missiles."

On the surge's impact on the war against al Qaeda:

"The surge has done more than turn the situation in Iraq around -- it hasopened the door to a major strategic victory in the broader war on terror."

Actually, last time I checked, Obama bin Laden is still free.  His terrorist organization was the one that attacked us on 9/11.  They were not as involved in Iraq as they are today as a result of this war.

Once again, Bush lumped Osama bin Laden in with the mission in Iraq:

"When Iraqi andAmerican forces finish the job, the effects will reverberate far beyondIraq's borders.  Osama bin Laden once said:  "When people see a stronghorse and a weak horse, by nature they will like the strong horse."  Bydefeating al Qaeda in Iraq, we will show the world that al Qaeda is theweak horse.  (Applause.)  We will show that men and women who love libertycan defeat the terrorists.  And we will show that the future of the MiddleEast does not belong to terror -- the future of the Middle East belongs tofreedom."

Enough is enough.  Just nine months and the Bush/Cheney regime will be out of office.  Don't celebrate too soon though.  There always is the possibility of an attack on Iran.

No difference between McCain, Bush and Cheney on Iraq

The DNC rolled out its first ad on John McCain, marking the five-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.  It highlights John McCain's association and approval of an Iraq policy that has cost more than one trillion dollars, sacrificed the lives of nearly 4,000 Americans and left an entire country in peril.

Cartoon: Five Years … and Counting

By Andrew Wahl of OffTheWahl.com

(Click for larger image)