to put it in the most simple terms:

it's high time america switched from a "roth schild" to a red white & blue shield.

Bush wants to leave Iraq in a civil war. One less competitor for the Texas Oil Companies.

This is time for the Bush Administration to put up, or shut-up. If it truly is our goal to bring peace and cooperation to Iraq, we must not do anything to inflame this situation, but instead recognize (finally) that there are many varying interests in Iraq, and each deserves the same consideration. Unfortunately, I expect the US to fan the flames and then lay the blame on al-Sadr.

They want to deny the fact that Al sadr has a base line estimate of 25 THOUSAND troops. I am not talking about paper pushers, truck drivers, or cooks. This man has 25 thousand dedicated fighters at his disposal. Honestly, how many people see the government taking the same route that was taken with Arafat. They know Sadr runs the show and eventually, they are going to have to work with him. It's the last thing they haven't tried, because we all know that soccer balls and teddy bears aren't working any more; the Iraqis just turn them into IED's.

And so it begins

The Iranians will be blamed, the Iranians will be bombed, and thus let the gates of hell flood open.

paranoia @ 6:

Not much word about the new largest oil find in midwestern America! We don't need their oil, but they need it more and should have it. If you want peace then let them rebuild with their own wealth!

I googled that. It was an April Fools' joke. We're still fucked with $100 a barrel oil. Carry on.

Mark Cartwright @ 12:

ABC News has just aired a news special regarding al-Sadr on the George and Charles show. They report that there is nothing to fear about al-Sadr, as he is a poor bowler, drinks orange juice and does not wear an Iraqi flag pin. We and our troops in Iraq can sleep peacefully tonight.

And the Green Zone ought to ignore all those explosions.

Over 4,000 dead Americans killed and more to come.

Chimps motto: "Get Americans killed over there so we don't (hopefully) get Americans killed over here"

Unkl Witz @ 14:

I think the picture says a lot about what a comic joke our training of the Iraqi army has been. Look at these clowns, apparently running down the street upright with their weapons at half mast. The guy with the 30 caliber machine gun is dragging his belt and looking down at it rather that up at any potential targets.

I'm sorry but these guys would be toast in a real firefight.

Not quite Sergeant Robert Barnes material

slippy hussein toad @ 11:

paranoia @ 6:

Not much word about the new largest oil find in midwestern America! We don't need their oil, but they need it more and should have it. If you want peace then let them rebuild with their own wealth!

I googled that. It was an April Fools' joke. We're still fucked with $100 a barrel oil. Carry on.

The US dollar is worth about 1/3 of what it was when Bushco tooks over the White House. Even if we found a gazillion barrels of oil; it would still sell for $100 a barrel.

Why exactly did Condi suddenly feel the need to take a secret flight to Iraq? To talk diplomatically about a withdrawal plan for the Iraq war? Of course not. To stir up a hornet's nest? Yes.

She slithers into town like a snake in the dead of night, and then proceeds to taunt and mock the Iraqi people on their own blood-soaked soil. Shameless. Unforgiveable.

Bush, Cheney, Rice, McCain et al scare the hell out of me. I am frightened for all of us.

20 largest oil producers

Country and 2004 rank
1. Saudi Arabia
2. Russia
3. USA

Estimated Reserves (billion barrels, 2006)
Saudi Arabia 267 billion bbl
Russia 60
USA 21

2004 Production Includes Crude Oil, NGL, Condensate, Refinery Gain
Saudi Arabia 10.4 mb/d
Russia 9.3 mb/d
USA 21 8.7 mb/d Crude oil = <5.2 mb/d

#14. Iraq 115 2.0 mb/d

12 Answers to Questions No One Is Bothering to Ask about Iraq
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174921

calgarylady @ 21:

Why exactly did Condi suddenly feel the need to take a secret flight to Iraq? To talk diplomatically about a withdrawal plan for the Iraq war? Of course not. To stir up a hornet's nest? Yes.

She slithers into town like a snake in the dead of night, and then proceeds to taunt and mock the Iraqi people on their own blood-soaked soil. Shameless. Unforgiveable.

Bush, Cheney, Rice, McCain et al scare the hell out of me. I am frightened for all of us.

Sneaking into Iraq with unannounced visits is the only way an American official can come these days. It's just too dangerous to say anything in advance.

Oh, and you certainly won't see John McCain walking through any Iraqi markets this year, no matter how much body armour he's wearing, or how many attack helicopters are circling overhead.

Just like suburban Iowa. right John.

"I don't care what anyone says, we are winning in Iraq."

Maybe you should consider a reup after this November John. You can be there for the victory party.

Tough to know whether to trust the NYT after Judith Miller. I'm sure Sadr serves some US purpose. Otherwise we would have had Blackwater whack him. He sure looks mean and fat.

Biggus Diggus @ 31:

I'm sure Sadr serves some US purpose. Otherwise we would have had Blackwater whack him.

Al-Sadr is the person we seem to fear the most. He's an Iraqi nationalist. Not a stooge of the US; not a puppet of Iran. An Iraqi.

And, please: Blackwater is great at taking out unarmed civilians, but they'd be destroyed by al-Sadr's men. There's something about fighting for your country instead of for a paycheck or cheap macho thrills that moves you up to another level. Not worrying so much about living or dying makes a difference.

actually, they're trying to portray this as a big plus!

US and Iran Find Common Ground in Iraq’s Shiite Conflict
New York Times - 1 hour ago
By JAMES GLANZ and ALISSA J. RUBIN BAGHDAD - In the Iraqi government’s fight to subdue the Shiite militia of Moktada al-Sadr in the southern city of Basra, perhaps nothing reveals the complexities of the Iraq conflict more starkly than this: Iran and ...
Clashes Intensify Between Shiite Militia, US Forces Washington Post
Rice sees Iraqi unity emerging in battle against Sadr Christian Science Monitor

"common ground"... "unity"... ... oh, ok... yay.

Hasn't anybody realized that AlSadr cannot continue to control his militia?
The utter chaos that now defines Iraq is about to become much worse as the militias that have been paid by the US (Bush) to stand down are now becoming increasingly anti US and AlMaliki as time goes by. The true horror of the civil war that has been brought to bear by this rogue US administration is about to become full blown. The consequences of which will be felt by the US for years and years.
The US cannot continue with it's imperialistic ways and continue to be a super power. The "super power" potential of the US has been squandered by this criminal administration and we are in danger of it"s actions costing us everything.

This criminal administration MUST be held accountable and removed from office in order for the United States to continue to be more than a third world country.

It seems safe to conclude that if and when Sadr follows through on his threat, the excrement will well and truly have hit the spinning blades -- as in, so much for all the claims that the surge has been a success. Then again, as much as I hate to say it, perhaps this will serve as the metaphorical straw that broke the camel's back -- the pivotal episode which will finally make an overwhelming majority of Americans wake up and acknowledge once and for all that the War in Iraq has been little more than a costly and colossal boondoggle.

calgarylady @ 38:

The Middle East powderkeg is going to explode soon. Unfortunately, the consequences will be felt by everyone on this planet, not just the United States.

Wouldn't you love to have about 5min with Bush???

Che's Lounge @ 40:

Bluestocking @ 39:

It seems safe to conclude that if and when Sadr follows through on his threat, the excrement will well and truly have hit the spinning blades -- as in, so much for all the claims that the surge has been a success. Then again, as much as I hate to say it, perhaps this will serve as the metaphorical straw that broke the camel's back -- the pivotal episode which will finally make an overwhelming majority of Americans wake up and acknowledge once and for all that the War in Iraq has been little more than a costly and colossal boondoggle.

Sadly true. Sad because it will yet cost untold numbers of US soldiers' lives to bring about this realization.

What about those who live in Sadr City? Imagine gunships hovering overhead spraying 50cal rounds into your neighborhood. There is something truly unholy about Bush's tactics against the folks he was supposedly liberating. Mahdi Army is a people's Army. We should never be in the business of fighting a people's Army. It's UnAmerican.

I can't believe that the NYT reporters know less about these fighting methods than I do! OK, game designers must understand conflict and motivations behind a struggle, but the writers can read, can't they?

Why his fighters have clung to those fight-then-fade tactics is unknown. But American military and civilian officials have repeatedly claimed that Mahdi Army units trained and equipped by Iran had played a major role in the unexpectedly strong resistance that government troops met in Basra.

The Vikings and the Bedouin were known for their ability to use the landscape as a weapon. Historians have written entire books on this topic! They didn't keep castles to be besieged or standing armies to be easily demolished (like the British redcoats who stood in lines like corn for the harvest). Walls and fortresses can be breached. Moving targets are harder to vanquish. They came out of the seas or the desert, struck fiercely and wisely, and then disappeared. Mainland Europeans were frustrated by our own Revolutionaries who wore green and brown, hid in the trees and faded away when out-matched. Were they cowards? Nope. They fought smart.

Why? Because they were NOT fighting the same war despite being on the same battlefield.

The events in Basra, in contrast with the Mahdi Army’s continued fighting in Sadr City, renewed questions about where the Sadrist movement stands in Iraq’s unstable political landscape. While his faction has often played the spoiler in Baghdad’s Shiite political structure, his followers also represent the poor and disenfranchised, who were battered under Saddam Hussein, making it difficult for the government to write them off.

al-Maliki and al-Hakim are trying to divide Iraq into 4 areas and sell off the oil rights (billions to go into European accounts, not Iraqi banks for Iraqi citizens to benefit) They are partitionists, working against the interests of their own country, and they desperately need American firepower to keep them propped up. The corruption and the cash alone won't do it. If the occupiers use all their resources and risk their own fighters, so much the better. They want the occupiers to stay forever and will cede as much of Iraqi interests as is necessary. The occupiers want a weak, divided country that can be pillaged readily.

al-Sadr is a nationalist. He wants the United States, the mercenaries, the foreign developers, contractors, and rest of the jackals OUT of Iraq and the country to be ONE NATION. He'd actually rather be studying to gain another rank or so of priestliness, so this war is a distraction. But one that he must fight if his nation is to be kept whole.

With that in mind... an occupying force is going to be fighting a different war than a resistance force.

Resistance that comes from the people is also going to be supported by the people, and those fighters in turn aid the people. Occupiers divide neighborhoods into ghettos, burn the crops, poison the water because a cowed population is easier to dominate. Resistance fighters don't want a sick and starving population, but a strong and united nation!

We are not the good guys in this illegal war of occupation, and the government we are propping up over there is as bad as the rest of the puppets we have installed. Since the NYT cheerleaded and propagandized for Cheney and Rummy, they had better learn what sort of civil war they got our troops into. But that would entail reading and researching and being journalists, not simply stenographers.

Harumph. We can't define "winning" for our own side (or maybe don't want to be honest about our goal), but it ought to be obvious what al-Maliki and his stooges considers winning (fat foreign bank accounts with him holding the key to the lockbox) and what al-Sadr considers winning (foreign occupiers and enablers ousted and a nation unified).

Al-Sadr should not make a Tet-offensive mistake, which practically wiped out the Vietcong.
To win from America, is a statistic matter. You must kill each month just a bit more American soldiers. Increase a bit the months before the elections.

Al-Sadr threat should be looked on in the same light as those of Ho chi men during the Vietnam war. The circumstances of a puppet government having only minority support of the country and totally defendant on out side forces should ring a bell that even George Bush should remember.

"A war of liberation has never been won by an outside aggressor in the history of the world". Based on this fact and other assumptions it was determined by the CIA in 1967 that the war in Vietnam could not be won (even though it continued for another 6 years). Take out Vietnam and insert Iraqi.

"Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it".

Do we even know this is true...or is it more misinformation like repeating the Iranian Pres. said "blow Israel off the map"?

***Another BIG LIE*** which turns out to be more DoD propaganda And the media gladly serve it up in steaming hot piles!

Besides? how can al-Sadr threaten war when the surge is working so well?

sassafra @ 50:

al sadr's a moron. he's given them no alternative to eliminating him and his militia.
let's put it this way, would we put up with it if someone like dobson had a militia here in the states and decided to attack say, san francisco?

Or he could sign treaties with them.....I hear thats working great for the native Americans! Democracy is all about majority rule.That means al-Sadr is right.

If your hypo were based in reality it would probably read "if someone like dobson had a militia here in the states and decided to attack an invading occupier of our nation we would all join him!"

Your hypo is lame!

Has Warpig said "Bring 'em on" yet?

al-Sadr threatens an ‘Open War’

Does that mean anyone can joint?

Or is it pay as you go?

ysbaddaden @ 57:

al-Sadr threatens an ‘Open War’

Does that mean anyone can joint?

Or is it pay as you go?

I think it means you have to play a qualifying round, instead of receiving an invitation.

Zak @ 48:

Ruthless People @ 15:

Over 4,000 dead Americans killed and more to come.

Chimps motto: "Get Americans killed over there so we don't (hopefully) get Americans killed over here"

Thats 4,000 killed IN IRAQ...how about the thousands who have died from their injuries OUTSIDE Iraq, the thousands who are permanently maimed, crippled, disfigured...

While we're at it...how about the civilian contractors serving alongside the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan with companies such as KBR, Blackwater, and others? Considering that a significant number of civilians are based in Iraq and Afghanistan doing jobs which military personnel used to do , it seems reasonable to assume that there have been at least a few casualties -- and it also seems reasonable to assume that the DoD has at least some rough idea of how many civilian contractors have been killed, since many of these people would have been required to obtain security clearances as part of the hiring process (if they didn't have them already).

According to an article from the Houston Chronicle back in February of this year, over 1100 civilian contractors have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan to date -- yet all too conveniently, these casualties are also not being included in the official tally from the Pentagon and it's not too hard to see what their rationale for this might be. Let's face it -- if the American people were to be given the raw figures on how many people have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan in the course of their duties with the US military or an affiliated contractor, my guess is that an overwhelming majority of Americans would at least be thinking twice about the war if not opposing it because my guess is that the number is significantly higher than anyone has been letting on.

... No doubt the NYT is listening to "Rummy's generals" again...

If al-Sadr is going to carry out this threat, better that it happens while Bush is still president.