BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE
UPON WINNING THE NOVEMBER 2008 ELECTION, CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O, FRESH FROM THE BATHING SUIT ROUND, RUSHED ON STATE TO PANT, "TO ALL THOSE WATCHING TONIGHT FROM BEYOND OUR SHORES, FROM PARLIAMENTS AND PALACES TO THOSE WHO ARE HUDDLED AROUND RADIOS IN THE FORGOTTEN CORNERS OF OUR WORLD, A NEW DAWN OF AMERICAN LEADERSHIP IS AT HAND."
HIS VANITY WAS HUGE. HIS ABILITY TO CHANGE A DAMN THING? SMALLER THAN PRINCESS TINY MEAT'S SMALL PENIS.
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Let's start with those offering confusing commentary about Iraq. Crazy Reider Vissar's buddy Joel Wing feels the need to post a video today. It's entitled "A Decade in Iraq: Lessons and the Landscapes Ahead." It's a bit of propaganda, to be sure. I have no idea why you'd post an April event -- a bad April event -- in June? But I have no idea why you'd pimp the War Hawk Mentality of Harvard and the John F. Kennedy School of Government to begin with?
If there was any value to including it, it would be to comment on how awful it is. Or how ashamed Harvard should be for letting some of the criminals responsible for the destruction of Iraq -- Stephen J. Hadley (National Security Advisor from 2004 to 2008) and Meghan O'Sullivan -- pontificate on stage.
Meghan O'Sullivan has, from time to time, grasped one of the large themes in Iraq. She's never been able to do specifics. Which is how she comes to rave about Abdul Latif al-Rashid, in this event from last April, being the assistant to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
There are some who will shrug at that. But there are some who follow Iraq that will grasp the problem immediately. Last December, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani suffered a stroke. The incident took place late on December 17th (see the December 18th snapshot) and resulted in Jalal being admitted to Baghdad's Medical Center Hospital. Thursday, December 20th, he was moved to Germany. He remains in Germany currently.
There are rumors that he's unable to move, there are rumors that he's near death, there are rumors that he'll be back in Iraq this month and is fine, but there aren't a lot of rumors -- in fact, there aren't any -- that he's meeting with his assistants.
Meghan O'Sullivan has often seemed to miss the finer details.
We could go through and explain bit by bit how wrong the American speakers are and how awful it is that those who pushed the illegal war -- those psychopaths -- are being given a stage to pontificate from. But I didn't post the video. I wouldn't. If you do, I think it's incumbent upon you to provide some sort of a commentary -- if only a brief paragraph noting how far from facts the presentation is.
"The police always come late, if they come at all," as Tracy Chapman so aptly noted in "Behind The Wall" (first appears on her self-titled debut album). True of the police, true of the media 'watchdog' FAIR. Rebecca Hellmich has discovered "a new poll" about public perception in England on how many Iraqis have died in the Iraq War. Rebecca seems unaware that the Iraq War continues but we'll set that to the side.
Last Friday's snapshot noted Alex Thomson (Channel 4) summarizing a new poll on the British asking them about deaths in Iraq:
- Two-thirds (66 per cent) of the public estimate that 20,000 or fewer civilians and combatants have died as a consequence of the war in Iraq since 2003.
- One in 10 (10 per cent) think that between 100,000 and 500,000 have died and one in 20 (6 per cent) think that more than 500,000 have died.
- According to public estimates, the mean number of deaths in Iraq since the invasion is 189,530.
- Women in Britain are more likely to underestimate the number of deaths in Iraq since the invasion than men. Half (53 per cent) of women think 5,000 or fewer deaths have occurred since the invasion compared to one-third (35 per cent) of men.
Guess what? That's the same poll Rebecca and FAIR have discovered today. AFP's Prashant Rao discovered it on Saturday, you may remember. And, pay attention Rebecca and FAIR, we made that the topic of Third's "Editorial: Piss Ant Rao's Propaganda" last Sunday. Former Bully Boy Bush official Fran Townsend was noting The Lancet study on the number of Iraqis killed in the war. And 'independent' and 'objective' journalist Prashant showed up on Twitter to insist that The Lancet was bogus. Right there, FAIR, that's where you show up as a media watchdog. But of course, FAIR always forgets to bark. Here's France's little War Monger Prashant bickering with a Bush official who trusts The Lancet study:
- Incredible that despite how violent Iraq has been for a decade, Syria has nearly caught up, in terms of death toll, in less than 2.5 years.
@prashantrao@FranTownsend Are you sure? 2.5 yrs into the Iraq war the British Lancet was claiming over 600K Iraqis dead
Prashant doesn't let it go. He'll come back shortly with 'proof' that The Lancet study was wrong. What's his proof? Links to two pieces by, yes, nutty Joel Wing dismissing The Lancet Study. See, it's a Circle Jerk of Death for these freaks.
We're not done yet. Ground Report maintains today, "Even though the American involvement in the war is over, news on Iraq continues to engage American audiences and the recent Memorial Day holiday prompted many Americans to reflect on the impact of recent wars. "
American involvement in the war is over? Yesterday, Mark Thompson (Time magazine) reported today on the $2 billion contract that the State Dept has with PAE Government Services, Inc., "That’s a million dollars a day over a five-year period, if the contract hits its ceiling. The down payment is $347,883,498 (don’t you just love such precision? It’s almost a prime number, for Pete’s sake)." A million dollars doesn't sound 'over' to me. There's also the Congressional Research Service's report issued June 3rd [PDF format warning] "Iraq: Politics, Governance, and Human Rights:"
Heightened AQ-I and other insurgent activity has shaken the Iraqi leadership’s confidence in the ISF somewhat and apparently prompted the Iraqi government to reemphasize security cooperation with the United States. On August 19, 2012, en route to a visit to Iraq, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey said that “I think [Iraqi leaders] recognize their capabilities may require yet more additional development and I think they’re reaching out to us to see if we can help them with that.”39 Iraq reportedly has expressed interest in expanded U.S. training of the ISF, joint exercises, and accelerated delivery of U.S. arms to be sold, including radar, air defense systems, and border security equipment.40 Some refurbished air defense guns are being provided gratis as excess defense articles (EDA), but Iraq was said to lament that the guns would not arrive until June 2013. Iraq reportedly argued that the equipment was needed to help it enforce insistence that Iranian overflights to Syria land in Iraq for inspection.
After the Dempsey visit, reflecting the Iraqi decision to reengage intensively with the United States on security, it was reported that, at the request of Iraq, a unit of Army Special Operations forces had deployed to Iraq to advise on counterterrorism and help with intelligence, presumably against AQ-I.41 (These forces presumably are operating under a limited SOFA or related understanding crafted for this purpose.) Other reports suggest that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) paramilitary forces have, as of late 2012, largely taken over some of the DOD mission of helping Iraqi counter-terrorism forces (Counter-Terrorism Service, CTS) against AQ-I in western Iraq.42 Part of the reported CIA mission is to also work against the AQ-I affiliate in Syria, the Al Nusrah Front, discussed above.
Reflecting an acceleration of the Iraqi move to reengage militarily with the United States, during December 5-6, 2012, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy James Miller and acting Under Secretary of State for International Security Rose Gottemoeller visited Iraq and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with acting Defense Minister Sadoun Dulaymi. The five year MOU provides for:
• high level U.S.-Iraq military exchanges
• professional military education cooperation
• counter-terrorism cooperation
• the development of defense intelligence capabilities
• joint exercises
The MOU appears to address many of the issues that have hampered OSC-I from performing the its mission to its full potential. The MOU also reflects some of the more recent ideas put forward, such as joint exercises.
American involvement in the war is over? Have you read the MoU?
December 6, 2012, the Memorandum of Understanding For Defense Cooperation Between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Iraq and the Department Defense of the United States of America was signed. We covered it in the December 10th and December 11th snapshots -- lots of luck finding coverage elsewhere including in media outlets -- apparently there was some unstated agreement that everyone would look the other way. It was similar to the silence that greeted Tim Arango's September 25th New York Times report which noted, "Iraq and the United States are negotiating an agreement that could result in the return of small units of American soldiers to Iraq on training missions. At the request of the Iraqi government, according to [US] General [Robert L.] Caslen, a unit of Army Special Operations soldiers was recently deployed to Iraq to advise on counterterrorism and help with intelligence."
Read the MoU and then try to insist, with a straight face, that "American involvement in the war is over."
RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot"
"Protests continue, pilgrims are blown up and the p..."
"Camp Ashraf, Martin Kobler and other things"
"Asparagus Stir-Fry in the Kitchen"
"The bumpy ride"
"Maj Gen Michael T. Harrison placed on suspension"
"revenge"
"Bill Moyers is worthless"
"The useless Marcy Wheeler"
"Why is Joseph Kishore such a punk ass?"
"Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid"
"One to read, one to skip"
"Scandals, parties and Mickey Mouse"
"Barry O's Browsing History"
"THIS JUST IN! AND WHAT IF HIS INTERNET USAGE WAS SPIED ON!"
