Yes, and meanwhile, McCain can use "al Qaeda" rhetoric to obscure these basic facts of the situation.
Putz.
gumboman
· 1 year ago
This is the clearest explanation of these events that i've seen
OleHippieChick
· 1 year ago
Another bouquet of FAIL to put over there with all the others.
Great explanation, AJ, thanx.
Dave of the Jungle
· 1 year ago
I don't think anybody could have predicted that tribal groups, religious sects and traditional political enemies would engage in Civil War.
Duh..
Bush_Bites
· 1 year ago
This had to be Bush's idea.
Indigo
· 1 year ago
Shades of Saigon, 1974!
cowboyneok
· 1 year ago
Watching Bill Maher on HBO on Demand. Tavis Smiley just said every single thing that can remotely be spun as positive is a "defining moment!" That was a great explanation of what is happening, A.J. Unfortunately, I don't trust the average American to read and digest what is going on. They simply spend enough time to see if there is violence or not. If an American soldier dies then its bad. If not then they gripe about the high cost of gas and dream of the good ol' days when Bush told them to go shop and they could afford to do so. Sorry to be so down on the average American, but they are just so disconnected. Blogs are about the only place you can go and speak to other Americans who bother to remain informed.
cowboyneok
· 1 year ago
McCain's explanation of events will be: "America is fighting for honor! We will NOT surrender!" His surrogates and idiot dark side supporters will wildly cheer, and when the event is over they will go back to bitching about high gas prices, and the looming reality of losing their jobs or how they can't pay to go to the doctor. They will march to the polls and vote for their hero, John McCain.
Wisconsin Liberal
· 1 year ago
Phil Donahue said it best on Cspan's Q&A, the reason we are still there is so that the politicians can "save face".
Dave of the Jungle
· 1 year ago
Chuck Hagel, on Charlie Rose last night, said his vote to authorize the War was a mistake and that it will take a generation to rebuild the Army and Marine Corps.
DonQ
· 1 year ago
Thanks, A.J. -- your insights are invaluable!
Tom3
· 1 year ago
Is the Surge still working? LOL!!
dad
· 1 year ago
Thanks (again) A.J.
OlderAndWiser
· 1 year ago
Guess it's hard to impose "democracy" on a country that knows you're trying to steal its oil, after all is said and done.
Chris From Maine
· 1 year ago
the surge is working, so we have to stay.
the more we succeed, the longer we stay. but if there are casualties, we cant leave.
in other words, WE ARE NEVER LEAVING IRAQ.
Tom3
· 1 year ago
President Obama will get us out of this mess.
KarenMrsLloydRichards
· 1 year ago
B-b-but! Johnny Mac said that Maliki was the winner; after all, it was Sadr who called for the cease fire, and winners don't call for a cease fire. That's what he said. And he's going to be the next Commander Guy! Being tortured in the Hanoi Hilton made him pass the CINC threshold--with flying colors!
Dave of the Jungle
· 1 year ago
Yeah, boy, we've got al Qaeda on the run.
See?
jr
· 1 year ago
We're babysitting a civil war and people want us to stay so the billion dollar embassy won't go to waste
paulbe
· 1 year ago
This isn't civil war, this is the beginning of open rebellion against the puppet government and the occupying army. The Iranians seem to have been involved in hosing things down this last 72 hours. Pity the dual citizen faction of the US Government wants you to bomb them.
bumpkis
· 1 year ago
But but but AJ....
Gates says Iraqi army appears to have performed well 5 hours ago
COPENHAGEN (AFP) — Iraqi forces appear to have done "a pretty good job" in an offensive to regain control of Basra from Shiite gangs and militias, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Monday.
WASHINGTON — The Iranian general who helped broker an end to nearly a week of fighting between Iraqi government forces and Shiite Muslim militiamen in southern Iraq is an unlikely peacemaker.
Brig. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, who helped U.S.-backed Iraqi leaders negotiate a deal with radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr to stop the fighting in Iraq's largely Shiite south, is named on U.S.
Treasury Department and U.N. Security Council watch lists for alleged involvement in terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear and missile technology.
His role as peacemaker, which McClatchy first reported Sunday, underscores Iran's entrenched political power and its alliances in Iraq, according to analysts.
Clearly, Bush and Gen. Petraeus have zero influence or control over matters in Iraq. The surge has failed,. And Muqtada al-Sadr delivered a decisive defeat to Maliki's tin-pot army in Basra and in the smaller towns along the Euphrates in the Shiite-dominated provinces of southern Iraq.
Was the "Battle of Basra" a "defining moment" in the history of Iraq? Or, was it Bush and Petraeus and Maliki's downfall?
Or, was the whole thing yet another Cheney-directed disaster? Cheney did make a "surprise" visit to Iraq for secret talks with Maliki shortly before the latter moved his "headquarters" to Basra Palace to fight to the end -- a move that had no chance of success, as evidenced by Maliki 's SOS call to the Americans to evacuate him from Basra Palace, because the building was surrounder by Sadr's Mahdi Army and taking incoming mortar fire.
The winners of the "Battle of Basra" are Muqtada al-Sadr and Iran.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sarah B.
· 1 year ago
Juan Cole defines Bush and al-Maliki’s “defining moment” downward – they lost.
Why al-Maliki attacked Basra
The three reasons the Iraqi prime minister launched his ill-fated assault on the Sadrists of southern Iraq.
"John McCain has admitted he's clueless when it comes to the economy. (Fear not - he's checked out Alan Greenspan's book from the library). He's made it pretty clear he intends to run on his military record and gung ho, never mind the facts, position on Iraq. That might be OK if he could just get the details right."
All Comments
Putz.
Great explanation, AJ, thanx.
Duh..
the more we succeed, the longer we stay. but if there are casualties, we cant leave.
in other words, WE ARE NEVER LEAVING IRAQ.
See?
Gates says Iraqi army appears to have performed well
5 hours ago
COPENHAGEN (AFP) — Iraqi forces appear to have done "a pretty good job" in an offensive to regain control of Basra from Shiite gangs and militias, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Monday.
---------------------------------------
UR_hands
http://steampunkworkshop.com/telegraph.shtml
Iranian who brokered Iraqi peace is on U.S. terrorist watch list
Warren P. Strobel and Leila Fadel | McClatchy Newspapers
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/v-print/story/32...
WASHINGTON — The Iranian general who helped broker an end to nearly a week of fighting between Iraqi government forces and Shiite Muslim militiamen in southern Iraq is an unlikely peacemaker.
Brig. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, who helped U.S.-backed Iraqi leaders negotiate a deal with radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr to stop the fighting in Iraq's largely Shiite south, is named on U.S.
Treasury Department and U.N. Security Council watch lists for alleged involvement in terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear and missile technology.
His role as peacemaker, which McClatchy first reported Sunday, underscores Iran's entrenched political power and its alliances in Iraq, according to analysts.
Clearly, Bush and Gen. Petraeus have zero influence or control over matters in Iraq. The surge has failed,. And Muqtada al-Sadr delivered a decisive defeat to Maliki's tin-pot army in Basra and in the smaller towns along the Euphrates in the Shiite-dominated provinces of southern Iraq.
Was the "Battle of Basra" a "defining moment" in the history of Iraq? Or, was it Bush and Petraeus and Maliki's downfall?
Or, was the whole thing yet another Cheney-directed disaster? Cheney did make a "surprise" visit to Iraq for secret talks with Maliki shortly before the latter moved his "headquarters" to Basra Palace to fight to the end -- a move that had no chance of success, as evidenced by Maliki 's SOS call to the Americans to evacuate him from Basra Palace, because the building was surrounder by Sadr's Mahdi Army and taking incoming mortar fire.
The winners of the "Battle of Basra" are Muqtada al-Sadr and Iran.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why al-Maliki attacked Basra
The three reasons the Iraqi prime minister launched his ill-fated assault on the Sadrists of southern Iraq.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/04/01...
Juan Cole nails it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"John McCain has admitted he's clueless when it comes to the economy. (Fear not - he's checked out Alan Greenspan's book from the library). He's made it pretty clear he intends to run on his military record and gung ho, never mind the facts, position on Iraq. That might be OK if he could just get the details right."
http://swimmingfreestyle.typepad.com
If McCain knew anything about Iraq, let alone Iran, he would know the folloiwng:
Mookie, you are the man!
:)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~