CNN: The Beard Makes A Stand On The Surge
By Logan Murphy Monday Sep 03, 2007 8:37am
Via Think Progress:
Appearing on CNN’s Late Edition this morning, Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA), who recently returned from Iraq, asserted “some major improvements” are being witnessed in Iraq. Echoing claims made by Gen. David Petraeus, Boustany said “sectarian deaths are down.”
Host Wolf Blitzer corrected Boustany’s assertion, citing Iraqi health ministry statistics that report Iraqi civilian deaths have been climbing. The LA Times reports:
Bombings, sectarian slayings and other violence related to the war killed at least 1,773 Iraqi civilians in August, the second month in a row that civilian deaths have risen, according to government figures obtained Friday. In July, the civilian death toll was 1,753, and in June it was 1,227.
BOUSTANY: We’re clearly seeing some major improvements. Clearly in the Anbar Province, we’ve seen significant improvement. We were able to walk the streets of Fallujah. Sectarian deaths are down.
BLITZER: And Congressman Boustany, you say that the number of casualties is going down. But we took a closer look — and The Los Angeles Times did as well — citing Iraqi Health Ministry numbers. In June, it was 1,227 civilian deaths in Iraq. In July, it went up to 1,753 civilian deaths in Iraq. And in August, the month that just ended, 1,773 civilian deaths in Iraq. Those numbers are going in the wrong direction.
BOUSTANY: Well, I think what I mentioned earlier, Wolf, was the number of attacks. And, clearly, we have to look at all the metrics very carefully.
BLITZER: But statistics — you can play a lot of room with statistics. In terms of dead people, civilians, Iraqi dead people, those numbers are high and they’re getting worse, despite the increased military troop levels of the United States, the so-called surge having been in effect over the past couple of months. Read more...
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It is nice to know that if you have a platoon of marines guarding you, then you can take your family on vacation in Fallujah.
Indeed. Blitzer actually didn't swallow or spit out the talking points... What could have happened to him? Change of heart?
you can play a lot of room with statistics
Bing! That 'play' equates all of the "successes".
Japandrew @ 2:
He's a real flip flopper. I think his marionette strings are pulled by committee. The most rabid neocons in his troupe are probably vacationing in the Dominican Republic at the moment.
It's hard to sell bullshit when the buyers have become familiar with the stench it gives off. When Wolf begins to question the republicans like this, it makes me think reality may be sort of sitting in a bit.
So a platoon of marines was used so this guy and others could come home and try to sell us a lie.
Once you have lost Blitzer you have lost the war.
Who the hell is this guy?
“Well, Wolf, I want to point out that just two or three months ago, I would have never thought that four members of Congress would be able to walk through the streets of Fallujah. That’s a major…”
And then says
“We had a platoon of Marines.”
What a dick!
Wow, when ol' Wolfy starts to call them on their crap, they have nothing left but Faux News and Limburger (oh, the stench!).
I can smell the gopshit from here and I'm not even in the same country.
Wow, who gave Blitzer his balls back? Now if he doesn't loose them again for another 6 years.
Kudos to Wolfie! Keep the truth flowing and the pressure up! American is behind you. These days they have nothing positive left to spin so it should be quite facile to maintain the truth. Let's see more of our journalists doing so. Maybe then the people will return to trusting what they see and hear in the MSM??
Bush not leaving the military base is the MOST TELLING point of all. He didn't feel safe enough to even enter the green zone, did he?
His photo op (magical mystery tour) will rank up there with his "mission accomplished" legacy photo. The subtitle will be: ALFRED E. NEWMAN RETURNS!
Weaseldog @ 4:
Hopefully the neo-cons are all vacationing on the northestern tip of Ecuador
Captain Kangaroo @ 7:
All we had to do was drive out or slaughter most of the residents of the city.
Dead people don't shoot at you.
Clearly, genocide is the road to victory. Just slaughter everyone in our path, so Congressmen can stroll the streets with a platoon of Marines, in safety.
about time.
pissed off patricia @ 5:
The malodorous "stench" of bullshit reporting is coming home to roost as the people distrust the mainstream media more with each passing day. All you have to do is go online for the facts or watch the political proceedings to recognize that what we're getting is harshly "cherry picked" news with a Bush spin to it. Once you realize this, there's no turning back to ever trusting or believing one word in the print media or television. It's over and they've become extinct - they just don't realize it yet.
If they think that the people of this country are being "duped" by them, then I've got some prime swampland to sell them. The people are wiser and smarter than they are. The people are not fooled.
With Millions who have fled the country.....the death toll is up......imagine what it would be like if they hadn't left the country.
Wolfie's ratings have fallen. Now he has a hill to climb to try to get them up.
I wonder what the sectarian death toll would be without all the weapons we've been handing out like candy at a Christmas parade? And, of course the deaths will increase if we leave, after all we armed them to make sure of that didn't we?
I wonder how long the country of Iraq will continue to exist. I have zero doubt that it will be carved up by it's neighbors over the next few years.
Also, I wonder how many extra sectarian killings took place because of the platoon of men that these douche bags pulled off the streets.
The denial these guys are in is truly spectacular. The fact that a shill like Blitzer called him on it is approaching unbelievable.
Japandrew @ 2:
Nah... just a brain-stem snap. Tomorrow, he's going to be praising the surge and contradicting what he said today. It happened to Tweety a few months ago, and now it's happening to Wolfie. Time to get out the dramamine, because these pundits are going to be bouncing back and forth more than a BB in a boxcar.
In Boustany's defense, there are areas of BedStuy, South Central LA, and some rural Idaho Nazi strongholds that I probably would only feel safe walking through with a platoon of Marines. So in other words, it's just like home!
ScrewedRus @ 18:
I wonder about that too. Turkey wants to take over Kurdish areas in the north, Iran wants to take over Shia parts in the east, Syria and Jordan might want some land in the west, just for the heck of it, and I'm sure Kuwait would like to take over the Iraqi land that they illegally drilled into for oil, which is why Saddam invaded them back in 1990.
whoa, when even wolf begins questioning the bull that comes out of their mouths, maybe there is change in the air.
I love how the neocons always use the word "clearly"... like, "Congressman Boustany is CLEARLY full of shit"
These people are dispicable. Still pushing for more deaths just so they don't have to admit they fucked up the middle east for oil.
I was happy to see Wolf show that he had a backbone, but just a few minutes later Wolf fell back into his old habits a few minutes later when he interviewed General Kevin Bergner.
Bergener is the new designated liar for the military in Iraq. He's the guy who was telling the lies about why the Iranians were detained earlier in the week. Here's what Wolf let Bergner get away with:
BERGNER: Well, that's a pretty sweeping summary to address. The first thing I would just say, though, is we look forward to seeing it officially. And, as you know, it hasn't been released yet.
In other words, "You haven't seen the censored and spun version yet"
BERGNER: The other point to make is that the GAO methodology is significantly different from the benchmarks reporting methodology. The GAO approach is an all or none standard. And so you either achieved the benchmark or you didn't.
In other words, "The GAO methodology doesn't allow for spinning and lying".
BERGNER: The benchmarks methodology that the Congress requires the administration to report on is more a description of progress and a description of the efforts being made to achieve those benchmarks as well. And there's a lot of importance to understanding it in that context, because there are places where they are actually either making progress or they're performing in the absence of those benchmarks.
In other words, " Here we can spin, lie and distort to our hearts content, because there is no requirement that we actually achieve anything."
Blue Buddha @ 21:
Agreed. You know the boy-king thought that he and his buddies were going to set up Iraq as their personal ATM for years to come. But they f'ed it up so spectacularly that the country is ripe to be split apart and absorbed by others. Bye-bye private piggy bank.
And that, my friends, is the only regret that these callous bastards will ever feel about any of this. They don't, won't and aren't capable of feeling anything for the lost lives, ruined families and crushed hopes of Americans or Iraqis, but lost profits? By God, that will bring them to their knees.
I guess they'll have to make due with the billions already plundered from the American treasury. Nobody really believes that we lost 8.8 billion dollars in Iraq do they? You know damn well it's safe and sound in neo-con hands.
Who cares who's speaking... it's not working in Iraq, plain and simple.
Blue Buddha @ 21:
Blue....are you sure about this? Would you provide a link for verification
The genocide in Baghdad is complete.
The Shiites won as to be expected because they are the majority.
Hell, Sadr had to declare a cease fire because they were killing their own.
At some point, they will run out of people to kill.
Geez.
WR @ 23:
Except when it's about a scandal of one of their own ilk, with damning evidence. In that case, they use the word "allegedly"... as in, "Allegedly, Congressman Craig pleaded guilty to lewd conduct."
What he seems to be saying is when the total number of deaths of men who dedicate themselves to killing people goes down and the number of deaths of innocent women and children go up - That's progress!
Reaction Man @ 10:
Exactly! Did the Journonads Pawn Shop go out of biz? Can we expect David Gregory, Brian Williams and Bob Schieffer to follow suit and stop eating up the Westwing turds like they were brownies? Will somebody in the WH Press Corps finally stand up and verbally - if not physically cold-cock the Snow job before he bails? NAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (but its nice to dream about)
"There are three kinds of lies, there are lies, there are damned lies, & there are statistics."
Mark Twain
It's CYA (cover your ass) mode for anyone who supports the "SURGE" - and that obviously includes the CIC, bush.
Unfortunately, for many thousands of others during this "SURGE", it is also CYA mode, but it's being done in graves, and the covering is literal, and being done with Iraqi sand or soil.
The only "SURGE" is apparently in the number of Iraqi deaths, and that is inexcusable.
Impeach the bastards, then send them to The Hague to face a war crime tribunal!!
Short version:
BOUSTANY: Sectarian deaths are down.
WOLF: They're up, actually.
BOUSTANY: Well, I think what I mentioned earlier, Wolf, was the number of attacks.
Conclusion: Deaths are up. Attacks are down. In other words, Iraqis are being killed more efficiently than ever. Therefore the Surge must be working.
Dear Wolf,
Do this all the time. It has helped Keith Olbermann and Jon Stewart kick ass in the 25-54 ratings demo
how long will this attack of 'journalistic integrity' last until his handlers jerk his chain. I'm waiting for another chainey appearance to cower this bearded turd.
VERITAS @ 15:
yep! now tell that to katie couric and her handlers. other that admitting that the military is her only source for her 'guided info', she immediately went into full booshSpin mode.
here's to hope that wolfie's moment of lucidity is a reflection of a true struggle for journalistic integrity at CNN. I won't count on it, though.
U.S. Troop Buildup Felt in Iraq Hotspots
David Rising
Associated Press
PATROL BASE MURRAY, Iraq (AP) - From this base in insurgent country south of Baghdad, there are no doubts that the U.S. decision to pour 30,000 additional troops into the fight has had an effect.
Before the 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade arrived in mid-June, the area around Patrol Base Murray was known as the Triangle of Death - a safe haven for al-Qaida in Iraq to ambush Shiites, launch mortar and rocket attacks into the Green Zone and rig car bombs, suicide vests and other weapons for use in the capital.
Today, commanders point to the sharp drop in Baghdad attacks - down in August to a quarter of what they had been, according to the top commander Gen. David Petraeus - as evidence of their effectiveness.....
Boustany is trying to spin this as usual. Of course there is improvement in those areas that he mentioned. They have cut deals with and are backing the Sunnis who were once known as "Saddam loyalists, dead enders,...etc". Now they are called "concerned Iraqi Nationalists". they are backing the Sunnis to ensure that the neighboring nations such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, etc. (Sunni nations for the most part) are at ease and that their interests are protected.
The Iraqi Government is predominately Shia with some Kurds mixed in but the Sunnis have pretty much left. The Iranians are still backing, but holding back for the time being the Shia milita. Meanwhile, the Iranians have replaced two of their Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Commanders with more battle experienced ones.
Boustany may as well just come clean. The Bush Administration's objectives can not be achieved and the U.S. forces are now simply a blocking force for those Sunni dominated nations.
BaScOmBe @ 37:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/03/eveningnews/main3229425.shtml Hey BaSComBe.....you were right.....Courics a TOOL!....heres her interview with the Preznit....I'm surprised she didn't get down on her knees and give him a blow job......
.
sorry for the mental picture.
Walking the streets of Fallujah, strolling through a marketplace in Baghdad, next it'll be picnicking on the beach in Basra. WTF are we doing in this wonderful oasis of peace and tranquillity?
Or can it be that the Republicans are lying - again?
If we can just hold on until the ethnic cleansing is complete then sectarian violence is bound to go down. Except for boundaries between sects, of course. But we'll still be able to claim victory. Ah the fetid smell of victory!
Wolfie knows the wind is shifting and he trims his sails accordingly.
There's a second point which Wolf could have picked up on:
This is not a benefit of the Surge. The violence in Anbar province is down because of the Anbar Awakening which, as Kevin Drum reminded us, formed last September, before and therefore independently of the Surge.
mudshark @ 27:
What? The Saddam attacking Kuwait thing? I figured most progressives already knew about this Wiki on Gulf War I
Kuwait was caught slant drilling into Iraqi territory (an illegal activity where the derek is on your own property, but the drill head ends up underneath someone else's territory), so Saddam went to the UN about it. The UN did absolutely nothing, and Saddam said right there "If you don't come up with resolution, I'm going to invade Kuwait." The UN/US still did nothing, and sure enough, he marches into Kuwait a couple of months later.
Busheviks Guilty of Criminal Negligence Fallout: L. Paul Bremer Confirms a Key Contention in "No End in Sight." According to the Sep. 4 NYT: "A previously undisclosed exchange of letters shows that President Bush was told in advance by his top Iraq envoy in May 2003 of a plan to “dissolve Saddam’s military and intelligence structures,” a plan that the envoy, L. Paul Bremer, said referred to dismantling the Iraqi Army. Mr. Bremer provided the letters to The New York Times on Monday after reading that Mr. Bush was quoted in a new book as saying that American policy had been “to keep the army intact” but that it “didn’t happen.”...Mr. Bremer indicated that he had been smoldering for months as other administration officials had distanced themselves from his order." Of course, as "No End in Sight" confirms, Bush doesn't read key National Intelligence Estimates, Reports, Important Letters, Etc. His Note to Bremmer was Probably Written for Him to Sign. [buzzflash]
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platoon a Platoon is 30 to 50 solders... and their hardware. You'd be safe almost anywhere in world with that kind of body guard.
RickinSF @ 44:
this is an extreme rarity for wolfie and it is not with any major repug player. there is little to indicate that wolfie would confront any actual WH figurine on any issue whatsoever. but I'll stay tuned to C&L for further updates.
Sandy @ 48:
add 2-4 helicopters, dozens of snipers on rooftops, a couple of armored carriers (with REAL armor) and you have the actual protective contingent.
Blue Buddha @ 46:
Saddam was also assured by the boosh41 envoy that the US would not act against him.
If they really want to prove that Iraq is safe, why don't they take their children and grandchildren with them?
straight shooter @ 42:
That's the conundrum for Surge fans. If things are so hunky dory, we can leave, right?
RickinSF @ 44:
I hear that when his beard tingles, bad things happen.
lost_nacf_gop @ 31:
I can't fault Snow on anything he's said or done. It is frustrating to watch his lie in the face of undeniable facts. But, that's his job. The WH Press Secretary's sole responsibility is to hump the living hell out of the President's talking points no matter how bat-shit insane they may be. Nobody should be expecting him to suddenly "come clean" during a press conference and nobody should be angry with him for not doing so. At the end of the day it's his vacant, black void where a soul once resided that he has to account for.
If everything's so wonderful over there, why can't the troops start coming home?
RickinSF @ 44:
I started noticing a change in Wolfie right around the time Jack Cafferty would bitch slap him around during the Cafferty Report.
I have to give credit to Blitzer on this on.
The guy was touting the number of deaths and Wolf called him on it.
The guy responded that attacks are down since the surge.
Again, Wolf cited the increasing number of deaths.
Does it reall matter how many bombs it took to kill that many people?
It is an obvious straategy adaption caused by our surge. "Less bombs, but larger more destructive and better placements of the for maximum effect.
And the " I walked the streets". ?
Wolf with the comeback with troops.
This guy made the attempt to say it he couldn't walk the streets a couple of years ago.
Sure he could have. It just would have taken more troop security. This Charles Boustany and those like him have absolutely no business what so ever flying to Iraq, causing all sorts of disruptions, taking away from the surge to photo op. Charles here didn't learn a thing on his tax payer cheap rug buying spree to Iraq.
We need to stop taxpayer money from being abused by these idiots that want the Dog and Pony shows and want some sort of medal for it and it supposedly elevates people like Charles to some sort of Iraq expert.
Just like the Republican idiots that were fired at at take off in the C-130. The wet their pants from fear and now they are back talking how safe it is and tough they are.
There is going to be alot of this. Lets hope the sane speak out enough to be picked up on by the media.
Hey, Sean Hanity can enlist to serve in Iraq since the Army raised the age limit to join.
Can we start a hannity to join and serve in Iraq campaign?
Boustany: "And what a smooth, comfortable flight we got out of Baghdad. And they even gave us a fireworks display. Lovely."
At least Blitzer has halfway extracted his head from his ass here.
But my thing is, am I the only one sick and damn tired of hearing about Anbar Province?!
Are these people away that Anbar is ONE part of the damn country and the rest of it is in damn shambles? More over they've been talking about progress in Anbar for surely close to a year now which makes that LONG before the surge ever occured.
What about the rest of the damn country? Where's the progress there?
Wow. Blitzer actually had the courage to say something critical.
I've haven't been a big fan of him, since, every-time I heard him he never criticized any of the ridiculous talking points given by some of the politicians and pundits.
I'll have to give him another look.
[Deleted. Trolling with flamebait-Sitemonitor]
He and Michael Ware should do a show together. They could call it Ware/Wolf.
"BOUSTANY" is an empty shill.
This is the meme the Repub.s are working on.
It think it will work too.
Dems are too spineless to do anything about it.
Sigh @ 63:
Wolf-Ware! Then they can have a line of clothing.
GOP Speak @ 62:
Iran is different from regular Arabia since they are Persians. Persians are not Arabs. It is a separate political and probably a separate racial group.
So my dear Reichsfuhrer, should we prefer ethnic cleansing or should it be genocide? Or does it not matter?
If you could get and review the Wannsee Conference notes, then you will have a good start on how to best implement the cleansing.
Remember Paul Simon sang:'A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest'.
Wasn't Fallujah that city that we just about leveled?
GOP Speak @ 62:
Only through endless war, can we hope to ever see peace. In the mean time, we're safer than we've ever been, yet in terrible danger. Rest uneasy in pools of urine.
rduke @ 66:
Yes. We killed almost everyone that couldn't afford to leave before we got there.
If you slaughter everyone that lives in a city, then it is safe to walk there.
Peace = Death
Well howdy-do. It sounds like Wolf may have grown a couple of other things besides a beard...
GOP Translational Phrase book:
-------Phrase---------------------Translation
"The Surge is Working"....... = "The Stooges are Working"
"Sectarian violence is down" = "the Pentagon has stopped counting the attacks"
"We may be able to reduce
troop levels"......................= "Yeah right, we'll leave when hell freezes over"
The word "clearly" is Republican for "the following statement is 180 degrees from reality".
Remember last spring? When even the Repugs said that substantial progress would have to be made by september? Now time is up and the Repugs are lying their asses off. Go figure.
American casualities down? No, they are up.
Civilans are more safe? No, they are being killed at a faster rate.
Iraq army stepping up? Na.
Iraq Government actually ruling? Na, they have no government.
Benchmarks met? No, but the benchmarks themselves are to blame!
rduke @ 66:
Yup, for a while it was a city without a population.
What is the definition of ethic cleansing anyway, and what's it called when we do it?
Did it ever occur to George Bush that if didn't spend so much time screwing up, he wouldn't have to spend so much time crying on God's shoulder?
Who cut off Blitzer's Kool-aid drip???????? Maybe he's seeing sense. Can we hope??
Jeff @ 55:
Jeez, Jeff, I might buy your apologistics were it not for the fact that Snow isn't doing anything on the public payroll that he already wasn't doing while on Voldemort Murdoch's payroll. Using your line of reasoning we should give all the Faux Noise 'heads a pass because they're just doing their jobs, too. As they say in Texas, El Paso.
Weaseldog @ 68:
Yeah. Fallujah is a pile of rubble now.
lost_nacf_gop @ 76:
If he's (Snow) not with us, he's against us. Not my talking point, but fair to use. He sells Bush/Cheney propaganda.
"Lord" Boustany is a loyal bush-bot and will rarely waiver from script.
Check out this commercial from a few years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ObxtFdDfpY
You are doing a heck of a job Wolfy...
lost_nacf_gop @ 78:
Someone has to do the job of being the press secretary, regardless of what they were doing for a living prior, and that job is to spin facts into a favorable light for his/her employer, the President (Dem, Rep, Ind...I don't give a damn what party). Contrastly, it is the job of the so-called reporters to report fact and not to parrot what is said by the press secretary as fact if it is obviously false. Sometimes that means they have to stop lobbing the softballs and grow a set.
Snow has been doing his job and the press has not. That's all I'm getting at.
And, yes. There is a huge difference between Tony Snow, who has never put himself out to be anything more than a right-leaning commentator and Fox News, that tries to pass itself off as an impartial news organization.
I love how these asshats always say, "I was in Iraq and it's going great!" (all the while they're
flanked by massive security) I would like to see these dipshits live there day by day by day with
all this shit going on and living in constant fear. These 'visitors' to Iraq get to go home after
they're little, 'heavily secured photo-op stroll through the green zone' is over and they think they've
seen enough. Try sticking around say, like...forever, like the Iraqi citizens forced to live amongst the
misery and death we have created there. Try serving two, three or four tours of duty and wondering
if you'll ever get out of there alive and in one piece like our troops do!
How I hate these self congratulatory bastards that think they're a big fucking deal because they
did a 24hr stop over in Iraq to take some pictures and for the opportunity to say...''But, but, I was
there!''
All I have to say to that bullshit it the next time you shit heads go, do us a favor...STAY, and don't
come back!
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