BUMPER CARS BICYCLES FIRECRACKERS AND CINNAMON STICKS

Denver Lakeside Amusement Park tower

Satellite view of Lakeside Amusement Park

April 2004

In the designs of providence there are no mere coincidences.
Pope John Paul II


Growing up is not easy.
Being a grown-up is easier.
Well, maybe not easier, but more comprehensible.

Youth is an exciting time.
Old age can be a depressing time.

The time that flies between youth and old age is a painting that we create by our choices and experiences.
The lines and colors that we use to limn that painting are determined by how we choose to live our lives.

These short and banal statements describe the painting that becomes our existence (and vice versa).
The colors and shades on our palette---the size of our canvas---are chosen by us.
But sometimes what goes into our painting is not chosen by us.

The words luck and lucky are used a lot.
"I was just lucky, I guess."
"What luck!
“I had bad luck”.

There are those unexpected ups and downs
---fortunes and misfortunes---those surprises.
I’ll keep my metaphor going.
Is our life an abstract painting?
Surreal?
Realistic?
Other?

What have I done with my life?
What has my life done to me?
Did I enjoy my life?

I tell my students that they’ll remember very little about what they learned in high school.
I tell them that we mostly remember the sad and funny moments.

I remember, for example, when I was in 11th grade, and Marlene Snowden’s dress came off during lunch.
It was one of those wrap-around type dresses, and the big “safety” pin popped off.

I remember my 10th grade English class when Mr. Dickerson came into class and told us that JFK had been killed.

I remember the day on the playground that Thomas Brimm the Bully “made me” jump on a can of black tar, and the can exploded, and I got covered with black, sticky goo.
I was in fourth grade.

I remember how much I enjoyed lighting firecrackers on the Fourth of July.

I remember riding my first bicycle with its trainer wheels, and later, the excitement I felt when I got my first “real” bicycle: a green, 3-speed Schwinn!

I remember how much fun it was to be in a bumper car at Lakeside Amusement Park.

I remember the kiss I had with Joann Babbs in the long tunnel at the same park.

I remember the cinnamon sticks that I made using oil of cinnamon and toothpicks.

Remember to Remember.


IT'S ABOUT RENEWABLE RESOURCES!

THE POPE AND A DOPE

War is a defeat for humanity.

Pope John Paul II

George W. Bush: Welcome to America, Mr. Pope.
Pope Benedict XVI: Thank you Mr. President.
GWB: I hope you won't talk too much about my war in Iraq.
PBXVI: We'll see. I can't just stick my head in the sand and ignore it.
GWB: Well, maybe just stick your eyes under the sand.
PBXVI: We'll see.
GWB: Mr. Pope, what's God been telling you lately?
PBXVI: My communion with God is a private affair.
GWB: Not me. I had to tell the whole world that God told me to bomb Saddam.
PBXVI: Yes, I read about that.
GWB: Well, I guess it's about time for lunch.
PBXVI: Good. I'm as hungry as a horse.

BOMB TODAY ASK QUESTIONS TOMORROW

President Bush often argues that history will vindicate him. So he can't be pleased with an informal survey of 109 professional historians conducted by the History News Network. It found that 98 percent of them believe that Bush's presidency has been a failure, while only about 2 percent see it as a success. Not only that, more than 61 percent of the historians say the current presidency is the worst in American history.

From The First Draft of History Looks a Bit Rough on Bush
By Kenneth T. Walsh
April 11, 2008

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/politics/2008/04/11/the-first-draft-of-history-looks-a-bit-rough-on-bush.html

The pro-active aggressions, of our military occupation have now begun to equal what the Israeli's have been doing to the Palestinians for over fifty years. In Sadr City we are bombing and strafing the civilian population indiscriminately, murdering innocent women and children alike, with impunity: in the name of protecting our soldiers that have made war upon that war-torn area many times before. This is not war; it is the arrogant and unjustified murder by the military not for military purposes, but for the crooked politicians and corporations that support our every excess.

If this were war: these actions would be war-crimes, instead these actions have become simple and routine events to be carried out against the same people we supposedly are there to liberate. If we were there to liberate the population, then we would not need the long term military bases, nor would we be demanding absolute control over the oil and water of that country. If this was a war of liberation we would never have settled for an Iraqi government that is corrupt in every department, and in nearly every official capacity.

But we are not "at war," instead we are trying to perfect the formula for maintaining continuing chaos in the name of ever- greater profits for the criminal-elite, worldwide!

From We Are Not 'At War'
Jim Kirwan
http://www.rense.com/general81/weare.htm

4-15-8

*********************************

The fate of America swings on the hinges of what doors are opened by a new American president, and what good things that new American president can do.

The new president comes after an ARROGANT George W. Bush WHO ignored the world---and then unleashed his unnecessary PRE-EMPTIVE WAR upon Iraq.

George W. Bush damned the Iraqi people.

George W. Bush damned the world.

George W. Bush has out-butchered the Butcher of Iraq.

George W. Bush’s war has killed 1,000,000 Iraqis, and forced millions to become refugees.

George W. Bush’s war has produced the deaths of 4,036 American soldiers.

George W. Bush’s war has crippled thousands and thousands and thousands of American soldiers.

George W. Bush’s policies accelerated Global Warming.

George W. Bush’s policies have liquidated the American Treasury.

George W. Bush has almost ruined our nation.

George W. Bush IS the worst president in American history.

History will never be able to rewrite these facts.

Mad Plato

IT’S THE OIL STUPID!



**************************
From
Petraeus Sets Up Iran
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
April 14, 2008
http://counterpunch.com/roberts04142008.html
With Iran, Russia, China, and North Korea threatened by American belligerence, it is not difficult to imagine a scenario that would terminate all pretense of American power: For example, instead of waiting to be attacked, Iran uses its Chinese and Russian anti-ship missiles, against which the US reportedly has poor means of defense, and sinks every ship in the American carrier strike forces that have been foolishly massed in the Persian Gulf, simultaneously taking out the Saudi oil fields and the Green Zone in Baghdad, the headquarters of the US occupation. Shi'ite militias break the US supply lines from Kuwait, and Iranian troops destroy the dispersed US forces in Iraq before they can be concentrated to battle strength.
Simultaneously, North Korea crosses the demilitarized zone and takes South Korea, China seizes Taiwan and dumps a trillion dollars of US Treasury bonds on the market. Russia goes on full nuclear alert and cuts off all natural gas to Europe.
What would the Bush regime do? Wet its pants? Push the button and end the world?
If America really had dangerous enemies, surely the enemies would collude to take advantage of a dramatically over-extended delusional regime that, blinded by its own arrogance and hubris, issues gratuitous threats and lives by Mao's doctrine that power comes out of the barrel of a gun.
There are other less dramatic scenarios. Why does the US assume that only it can initiate aggression, boycotts, freezes on financial assets of other countries and bans on foreign banks from participation in the international banking system? If the rest of the world were to tire of American aggression or to develop a moral conscience, it would be easy to organize a boycott of America and to ban US banks from participating in the international banking system. Such a boycott would be especially effective at the present time with the balance sheets of US banks impaired by subprime derivatives and the US government dependent on foreign loans in order to finance its day-to-day activities.
Sooner or later it will occur to other countries that putting up with America is a habit that they don't need to continue.
Does America really need more political leadership that leads in such unpromising directions?

Q & A

Why would Bill Clinton voluntarily bring up the story of his wife’s trip to Bosnia?

Bill is becoming both a penile and senile (former) president.
Or maybe just the second.
It is so obvious that Bill, too, is lying.
George W. Bush and the Clintons are a bunch of liars.
Bill thinks that he wears the pants in the family, but it has really been Hillary in her pant suits all along.

How likely is it that the next president, whether Republican or Democrat, will pull U.S. troops out of Iraq?

The Good Extraterrestrials will have to end the Iraq war (i.e. our Occupation), because the U.S. government is never going to give up the black gold that it has plundered there for the Pentagon and all of the filthy-rich corporations.
We are stuck with a doom that was planned ahead of time.

Thank you Shotgun Dick, the Decider, Wolfowitz, Rice...and all the other Cons who were on the beguiling bandwagon to have this pre-emptive war.

Why have so many Democrats changed their minds about whom to vote for in the primaries?

Voters are boarding another candidate's ship, because the other candidate's ship is filled with excessive ballast, a cargo of lies, and various shades of manure.
One is a better speaker who also isn’t too bad looking.
One candidate is too inconsistent.
The sails of this candidate’s ship have been flapping hither and thither, hot and cold, up and down.
The captain of this ship is petulant.
We shipmates don't want a whining and petulant Captain.


How likely is it that the next president, whether Republican or Democrat, will pull U.S. troops out of Iraq?

Bush's blundering, bloody boondoggle will continue to burn and bomb for much longer than Obama and Clinton think or are willing to tell us.
It’s not going to be that easy to leave Iraq, at least not very quickly.
The burning and bombing will continue in Iraq, but our troops would remain there a lot longer if McCain was in the driver's seat.
Bush has placed Iraq and the Middle East on a precipice.
What a legacy!
Iran and Al-Qaeda are licking their lips for troops to suddenly leave Iraq.
I want the next president to work on diplomacy---NOT WAR---and to extricate America from its occupation of Iraq.
Here is where Joe Biden's thoughts about what to do in Iraq must be heeded.
As soon as Obama or Clinton becomes president, he or she should immediately activate Mr. Biden to work on the peace process, and end the Bush & Cheney reign over terror.


What are the chances Barack Obama will go all the way to the White House?

To say what I'm about to say makes me sick to my stomach.
I wish that I wasn't having these thoughts.
I fear that the "powers-that-be" will not permit Barack Obama to get elected---or if elected---to remain president.
I know I shouldn't be thinking like this, but I am very concerned about this possiblilty.
I am reminded of a line from a book that I have my students read ("BLESS THE BEASTS AND CHILDREN") by Glendon Swarthout):
"We cannot bear the goodness of God."

IT'S THE OIL STUPID!

Mad Plato

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It's Occupation, Not War
By Charley Reese

4-14-8

http://www.rense.com/general81/dcz.htm

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ended some years ago. In Iraq, the war ended with the fall of Saddam Hussein's government; in Afghanistan, with the fall of the Taliban government. What's been happening since is occupation and resistance to occupation.

It's always helpful to call things by the right name. One of the ways using the wrong word can trip us is illustrated by John McCain's campaign theme. We have to win the war in Iraq, he keeps saying. Ending a war implies either winning or losing. No such baggage is attached to an occupation. You can end an occupation without either winning or losing. You just withdraw your troops.

The fact that what is going on in Iraq is an occupation is proven by the nature of the conflicts. They are between factions of Iraqis. Our guys are caught in the crossfire or killed by Iraqis who oppose our presence. There are no large-scale attacks directed against us.

Those who want to continue the occupation paint a horrific picture of what they claim will happen if we withdraw ­ a massive civil war, genocide or a regional war. There is no hard evidence to support any of those suppositions. But even if they happen, they need not concern us. Lots of factions in different parts of the world decide to kill each other from time to time, and we don't interfere. As long as there are no Americans to get caught in the crossfire, let the Iraqis have their civil war if that's what they want.

On the other hand, there's never been civil war in Iraq. There were rebellions against the Baathist government and, before that, against the British-sponsored governments, but before our occupation, Sunnis and Shia intermarried and lived side by side. There were always Christians in Iraq and, until the state of Israel was created, Jews. That was, in fact, true throughout the Middle East.

As for al-Qaeda, it has been virtually wiped out in Iraq ­ not by us, but by Sunni tribesmen who turned against it because of its murderous fanaticism. McCain keeps confusing al-Qaeda with Shia and trying to link it to Iran, but al-Qaeda is a fundamentalist Sunni group way outside the mainstream of Islam. Most of its members are Saudis or Egyptians. It was never in Iraq until our war and occupation gave it an excuse to come in. It's never been in Iran. For American politicians to suppose that without us it would thrive and grow in Iraq is just proof of their ignorance.

Our presence in Iraq is the only thing that made al-Qaeda viable. Our occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan are the principal selling points in al-Qaeda propaganda. We have no interests, strategic or otherwise, in either country. The last thing al-Qaeda wants is for us to withdraw, which is why it should be the first thing we do.

Whatever someone imagines we gain by staying in Iraq and Afghanistan is far outweighed by what we are losing. We are losing lives in dribs and drabs, and we are losing treasure at an alarming rate. We have severe internal problems that our military presence in the Middle East aggravates. Our military is on the verge of being broken. Some Nobel laureates estimate the war will end up costing us $3 trillion. Well, plain and simple, we can't afford it.

We should never go to war unless there are tangible, identifiable benefits for the American people for doing so. Try to think of a benefit we have gained from Iraq or Afghanistan. There are none. We deposed two governments that were not attacking us or threatening to attack us, and we let get away the private terrorist group that had attacked us. It does not matter that they were bad governments. There are lots of bad governments in this world. The only bad government we have an obligation to change is the one in Washington, D.C.

If we don't change direction in this country, we're going to end up impoverished and bankrupt, and you know what? Iraq and Afghanistan will still be the messes they are today.

*********************************

The Coming War with Iran: It's About the Oil, Stupid

By Joe Lauria

April 13, 2008
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-lauria/the-coming-war-with-iran_b_96428.html

World civilization is based on oil. The world is running out of oil. The oil companies and governments are not telling the truth about how close we are to the end. Dick Cheney knew about peak oil back in 1999 when he spoke to the London Petroleum Institute as Halliburton CEO. He predicted it would come in 2010. After that it's just a matter of years before it runs out. Whoever controls the remaining oil determines who lives and who dies.
Sixty percent of this oil is under a triangular area of the Middle East the size of Kansas. In that speech Cheney said: "The Middle East with two thirds of the world's oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies."
This small Middle East triangle encompasses the northeast of Saudi Arabia, all of Iraq and the southwestern part of Iran, along with Kuwait, Qatar and the Emirates. The US controls Iraq. It has friendly governments in the other states.
Iran is the exception. The US now surrounds Iran.
Controlling an area the size of Kansas shouldn't be a problem for the U.S. military, except that it is heavily populated and many people in the triangle don't want the Americans there and are willing to fight.
It's been known for at least thirty years that America needs alternative energy sources. But instead of an alternative energy plan we got the invasion of Iraq by oilmen wedded to a dying business, willing to kill hundreds of thousands to cling to the last drop. The US is never leaving the region or withdrawing from Iraq. McCain is right about staying, but 100 years is too long. The oil won't last that long.
Iran is next. Lieberman set up Petraeus to testify last week that Iranian-backed groups are murdering hundreds of American servicemen in Iraq. On Friday Gates called Iran's influence in Iraq "malign" and Bush said if Iran keeps meddling in Iraq "then we'll deal with them." They are building their case for war with resolutions in the Senate and at the UN. It's only western Iran, from the Iraq border to 150 miles inside the country that the U.S. will have to occupy. That's where Iran's oil is. But the U.S. will have a nasty battle on their hands in Iran even if they restore a Shah-like puppet in Tehran 30 years after the revolution. The Saudis would not mind seeing the Iranian regime go. But the Saudis may also be on the list. The US may have to destabilize and control Saudi Arabia some day too. The Wall Street Journal a few years ago revealed that in the 1970s under Nixon, Kissinger had plans drawn up for the US invasion and occupation of the Saudi oil fields. Those plans can be dusted off.
The American oil wars are being launched out of weakness, not strength. The American economy is teetering and without control of the remaining oil it will collapse. There will be massive chaos in any case, when only enough oil remains for the American elite and whomever they choose to share it with.
That will leave an oil-starved China and India, both with nuclear weapons, with no alternative but to bow to America or go to war.
It's not about greed any more. It's about survival. Because the leadership of this country was initially too greedy to switch from oil to solar, wind, geothermal and other renewable alternatives, it may now be too late. Had the hundreds of billions of dollars poured into the invasion and occupation of Iraq been put into alternative energy the world might have had a fighting chance. Now that is far from certain.
What is certain is that these wars are not about democracy. They are not about WMD. The coming one will not even be about Iran's nuclear weapons project. It's about the oil, stupid.

MANGOES AND MASSAGES

I lived for six years on a tropical island.

Those who know me can tell you what island it was, but I shall keep its name nameless here.

If you read all of my poems you can figure out from one particular poem the name of this island.

Every day I swam in the ocean.

I didn't swim all that hard.

I mostly just floated on my back---ears submerged---and paid attention to the serene silence.

I lived about a mile from the ocean, but I could still hear the waves roaring at high tide.

My first apartment on the island was only a hundred footsteps from the ocean.

Then I moved into a condemned house that was five minutes from the ocean.

This house was in the thick jungle, and was isolated from people and cars.

A winding dirt road went down to the house, and my roommates and I could easily hear when a vehicle was approaching.

My roommates were a young couple who planned to get married under the ocean.

The groom-to-be was a former Navy Seal, and both were licensed massage therapists.

Their clients ran the gamut from businessmen to lawyers and senators.

And teachers.

I was one of them.

The sunny massage room was across a hallway from my room.

Our jungle house had a shower right outside the back door, and there was a claw foot bathtub outside to take sun baths.

A large avocado tree grew where the shower was.

Breadfruit trees surrounded the house, and their ripe fruit would drop on the tin roof and make very loud thuds.

There was also a mango tree that I climbed.

It was high enough for me to see the ocean over the jungle’s canopy.

If you walked through the jungle at night, you could see the lights glowing from tiny flowers.

Paradise!


IT'S ABOUT RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND PARADISE!

READING BETWEEN THE LINES

April 10, 2008

President Bush Discusses Iraq
Cross Hall

THE PRESIDENT:

Good morning. Fifteen months ago, I announced the surge. And this week, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker (No relation to Betty) gave Congress a detailed report on the results.

Fifteen months ago, al Qaeda had bases in Iraq (which were not there before my pre-emptive invasion) that it was using to kill our troops and terrorize the Iraqi people; today, we have put al Qaeda on the defensive in Iraq, and we're now working to deliver a crippling blow (And if that delivery should take a hundred years, John McCain is ready to take the reins from me and continue the way forward with that delivery).

Fifteen months ago, Americans were worried about the prospect of failure in Iraq; today, thanks to the surge, we've renewed and revived the prospect of success (And Americans are still worried about the prospect of failure).

With this goal in mind, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker have submitted recommendations on the way forward (Don’t ask where the way forward lies).

The recommendation likely to receive the most attention is on troop levels. General Petraeus has reported that security conditions have improved enough to withdraw all five surge brigades by the end of July. That means that by July 31st, the number of U.S. combat brigades in Iraq will be down by 25 percent from last year (But our total troop level will be about where it was before my surge).

Beyond that, General Petraeus says he'll need time to consolidate his forces and assess how this reduced American presence will affect conditions on the ground before making measured recommendations on further reductions. And I've told him he'll have all the time he needs (About eight months).

Some have suggested that this period of evaluation will be a "pause." That's misleading, because none of our operations in Iraq will be on hold.

(This is a perpetual war. No holds barred. Until I’m behind bars or in one.)

Instead, we will use the months ahead to take advantage of opportunities created by the surge -- and continue operations across the board (That includes the chess board and the water board).

Our job in the period ahead is to stand with the Iraqi government as it makes tough choices and makes the transition to responsibility for its own security and its own destiny (Which I’ve been saying for the past five years).

In the period ahead, we'll also continue to train, equip, and support the Iraqi security forces, continue to transfer security responsibilities to them as provinces become ready, and move over time into an overwatch role (Or an Overlord role, if you prefer. I kind of think of myself as The Overlord).

The Iraqi army and police are increasingly capable, and leading the fight to secure their country (Only a thousand of them deserted last week).

On the economic front, Iraq is moving forward. With Iraq's economy growing, oil revenues on the rise, and its capital investment expanding, our economic role in the country is changing. Iraqis in their recent budget would outspend us on reconstruction by more than ten to one (And in that “one” we didn’t get the water or electricity flowing…so maybe the Iraqis will).

On the diplomatic front, Iraq will increase its engagement in the world -- and the world must increase its engagement with Iraq. To help in this effort, I'm directing Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus to visit Saudi Arabia on their trip back to Iraq. I'm directing our nation's senior diplomats to meet with the leaders in Jordan, the UAE, and Qatar, and Kuwait and Egypt. (I know I’m about 5 years too late with my diplomatic engagement, but I’ve been married to war. Since I’ll be leaving in 8 months, I’ll open the diplomatic door…and then run like hell to my ranch!).

The regime in Tehran also has a choice to make. It can live in peace with its neighbor, enjoy strong economic and cultural and religious ties (Or it can be nuked by us and the Israelis).

If Iran makes the right choice, America will encourage a peaceful relationship between Iran and Iraq. Iran makes the wrong choice, America will act to protect our interests, and our troops, and our Iraqi partners (And our even smarter bombs will be dropped).

Our work in Iraq will still demand sacrifices from our whole nation, especially our military, for some time to come (Just like those Aztecs demanded their sacrifices).

Our troops want to win. Recruiting and retention have remained strong during the surge (Though not much water retention since it’s quite hot in Iraq).

And I believe this: I believe the surest way to depress morale and weaken the force would be to lose in Iraq (Or to stay there without a plan to withdraw).

One key to ensuring that our military remains ready is to provide the resources they need promptly. Congress will soon consider a vital emergency war funding request. Members of Congress must pass a bill that provides our troops the resources they need -- and does not tie the hands of our commanders or impose artificial timelines for withdrawal (Again, my war is going to be a perpetual one until there is victory! We have a ways to go before we’ve spent $3,000,000,000,000).

Some in Washington argue that the war costs too much money (Your gas costs too much money, too, but you still fill up your tanks.)

There's no doubt that the costs of this war have been high (And that I’ve been too high…on my horse).

Iraq is the convergence point for two of the greatest threats to America in this new century -- al Qaeda and Iran (And you can thank me---your Decider and Divider---for creating these two great threats and their convergence).

If we succeed in Iraq after all that al Qaeda and Iran have invested there (And after all that the U.S. has invested there), it would be a historic blow to the global terrorist movement and a severe setback for Iran.

It would give America a new partner (And plenty of oil) with a growing economy and a democratic political system in which Sunnis and Shia and Kurds all work together for the good of their country. And in all these ways, it would bring us closer to our most important goal -- making the American people safer here at home (Or we could leave…and just make ourselves safer here at home…and not continue to occupy a foreign nation that never attacked us in the first place).

And while this war is difficult, it is not endless (Only perpetual).

And we expect that, as conditions on the ground continue to improve, they will permit us to continue the policy of return on success. The day will come when Iraq is a capable partner (And no longer a prisoner) of the United States. The day will come when Iraq is a stable democracy (With more camels in its stables) that helps fight our common enemies and promote our common interests in the Middle East (Hmm…Just what are those common interests?)

And when that day arrives, you'll come home with pride in your success, and the gratitude of your whole nation (which at the moment is full of holes).

God bless you.

(Applause.)

IT'S THE OIL STUPID!

WHAT I HEARD WHEN GENERAL PETRAEUS AND AMBASSADOR CROCKER REPORTED TO CONGRESS ON THE IRAQ WAR

"We've all got to stop and say: every day, young men and women are being killed, their bodies are being torn apart in an insane war that started with spin--which is a nice word for 'lies'--and that continues with spin. Why are we just standing here? Why are we allowing this massive blunder to continue?"

Phil Donahue

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(Note: I heard a lot of “uhs” coming out of Crocker---I saw a lot of metals covering Petraeus.

Mad Plato)

I'M A FOUR-STAR GENERAL AND HAVE STRATEGIC THOUGHTS

THE WAY AHEAD

IT’S A PROCESS RATHER THAN A LIGHT SWITCH.

WORK IN PROGRESS

IT'S A HELL OF A MESS

WE HAVEN’T TURNED ANY CORNER

THERE IS NO LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

THE CHAMPAGNE BOTTLE HAS BEEN PUSHED TO THE BACK OF THE REFRIGERATOR

BUT THERE IS PROGRESS

WE'VE ALIENATED MOST OF THE GLOBAL POPULATION

THE PLATES...THE SCREWS...IT’S PHENOMENAL

IT'S WITHIN THE GOLDEN HOUR OF TRAUMA

WE ARE SEEING BOTTOMS UP RECONCILIATION

BOTTOMS UP AND TOP DOWN LINK

IRAQ IS BOTH HARD AND COMPLICATED

HARD DOES NOT MEAN HOPELESS

BATTLE FIELD GEOMETRY

CONSEQUENCES COULD BE EXTREMELY GRAVE

COPS ON THE BEAT

CORRECTIVE ACTIONS

THE CHALLENGES ARE REAL

WAR IS NOT A LINEAR PHENOMENON---IT IS A CALCULUS

A BILLION DOLLARS ISN'T PENCIL DUST

MONEY BECOMES YOUR MOST IMPORTANT COMMUNICATOR

IMPROVING THEIR BUDGET EXECUTION EFFORTS

BUDGET EXECUTION FOR 2007 WILL COME IN AT 62%

PRIMING THE PUMP

THE WAY FORWARD IS CONDITIONS-BASED

TAKE YOUR HAND OFF THE BICYCLE SEAT AND LET THEM PEDAL THEMSELVES

WE'LL KNOW WHEN WE GET THERE, AND WE DON'T KNOW WHEN WE'LL GET THERE

BRIGADE TEAMS

MILITIA GANG CRIMINALS

STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK ARRANGEMENT

NOBODY THINKS THERE IS A DIPLOMATIC SURGE

WE'VE GOT TO GET SOME MATRIX FOR PEOPLE

ENGAGEMENT

OPEN-ENDED COMMITMENT

And this from Senator Russ Feingold to the General and the Ambassador:

I hope you won't take it personally when I say that I wish we were also hearing today from those who could help us look at Iraq from a broader perspective. The participation at this hearing of those charged with regional and global responsibilities would have given us the chance to discuss how the war in Iraq is undermining our national security. It might have helped us answer the most important question we face – not "are we winning or losing in Iraq?" but "are we winning or losing in the global fight against al Qaeda?"
Like many Americans, I am gravely concerned by how bogged down we are in Iraq. Our huge, open-ended military presence there is not only undermining our ability to respond to the global threat posed by al Qaeda, but it is also creating greater regional instability, serving as a disincentive for Iraqis to reach political reconciliation, straining our military, and piling up debt for future generations to repay.
I am pleased that violence in parts of the country has declined, but as the increase in violence in Mosul and recent events in Basra and now Baghdad indicate, long-term prospects for reconciliation appear to be just as shaky as they were before the surge. In fact, the drop in violence could have serious costs, as it is partly attributable to the deals we have struck with local militias, all of which could make national reconciliation that much more difficult.
We need to redeploy our troops from Iraq and I am disappointed that you are calling for a halt in troop reductions, General Petraeus, because the presence of about 140,000 troops in Iraq will exacerbate the conflict, not stabilize it, and it will certainly not contribute to our overall national security. Some have suggested that we should stay in Iraq until reconciliation occurs. They have it backwards -- our departure is likely to force factions to the negotiating table in an attempt to finally create a viable power-sharing agreement.
If we redeploy, Iraq will no longer be the "‘cause celebre' for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of US involvement in the Muslim world," as the Intelligence Community so clearly stated. Iran, as well as Turkey, Syria, and other regional actors, will have to decide if Iraqi instability is really in their interests once we are no longer on the hook. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we will be able to adequately address what must be our top priority – the threat posed by al Qaeda around the globe, and particularly its safe haven in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. Nothing could be clearer than the need to refocus all our instruments of national power to combat this threat.
Redeployment does not mean abandoning Iraq. We must work for a peaceful outcome in that country. But if we continue to leave our military caught up in the sectarian divisions that consume Iraq, we will be doing so at grave risk to Iraq's progress, the region's stability, and our own national security.

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And

From Painful Performance

By Robert Scheer April 9, 2008 http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080421/truthdig

General Betray Us? Of course he has. MoveOn.org can hardly be expected to recycle its slogan from last September, when General David Petraeus testified in support of escalating the US war in Iraq, given the hysterical denunciations that worthy group received at the time. But it was right then--as it would be to repeat the charge now.
By undercutting the widespread support for getting out of Iraq, Petraeus did indeed betray the American public, siding with an enormously unpopular President who wants to stay the course in Iraq for personal and political reasons that run contrary to genuine national security interests. Once again, the President is passing the buck to the uniformed military to justify continuing a ludicrous imperial adventure, and the good general has dutifully performed.
So why are we surprised? Why do we expect the generals to lead us on the path to peace when that is the professional task of statesmen and not warriors? It is an abdication of civilian control of the military, the basic principle of American constitutional governance, to assign a central role to an active-duty general to make the decision to end the war. It betrays the legacy warnings of our two most famous wartime generals, George Washington and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
American history offers no greater heroes, not because of their considerable success in battle but because they gained the wisdom to sound the alarm against unbridled militarism so passionately and effectively. The farewell addresses of both those departing generals-turned-president still stand as the essential bookends for what has been written about the limits on military adventure required for democracy's survival. Washington's plea to the nation "to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism" sets the standard for enlightened political discourse. A close second is Eisenhower's warning that, "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex."

IT’S THE OIL STUPID!

SELF-SUSTAINING LIFE FORMS WITH FOLDED HANDS AND CROSSED FINGERS IN A PERPETUAL WAR

In a country where values are collapsing, patriotism becomes the handmaiden to totalitarianism.

Norman Mailer

Our first problem is not immigration, but the American corporation. That is the force which has succeeded in taking America away from us.

Norman Mailer

This war, if it proliferates over the next decade, could prove worse in one respect than any conflict we have yet experienced. It is that we will never know just what we are fighting for. It is not enough to say we are against terrorism.

Norman Mailer

3 Iraqi children die; U.S. loses 17 soldiers in 4 days

By Kim Garnet

Associated Press

April 10, 2008

BAGHDAD - Errant mortar shells slammed into houses and a funeral tent Wednesday , leaving three children among the dead during clashes in a Shiite militia stronghold under siege by American and Iraqi forces on the fifth anniversary of the U.S. capture of the capital.

The fighting came as the U.S. military reported five more soldiers killed. That raised the number of troop deaths to 17 since Sunday.

Many Iraqis said hopes that followed the U.S.-led ouster of Saddam Hussein have been quashed.

"On this day five years ago we were dreaming of a bright future, but now we know that our dream has turned into a long nightmare," said Khalid Ibrahim, a 45-year-old teacher from the mainly Sunni area of Azamiyah.

In many ways, Bagdhad resembles more of a war zone than it did on April 9, 2003 when U.S. Marines stormed into the capital and pulled down a bronze statue of Saddam with the help of dozens of Iraqis.

The city of 6 million people has largely been carved up along sectarian lines, a patchwork of neighborhoods surrounded by 10-foot high concrete walls and dotted with checkpoints.

*******

They sat like solemn statues---with folded hands---without one crack of a smile---face to face with their inquisitors---and displayed their one-dimensional graphics of maps and charts.

After showering the General and the Ambassador with their praise and appreciation, the Senators proceeded to ask questions or to make their own speeches about the Iraq war.

But the Iraq war is an occupation by the U.S. military that finds itself in the middle of a civil war between fighting factions and sects who want to become Iraq’s new dictators.

They will fight among themselves with or without their liberators…I mean their occupiers…until Kingdom Come.

PERPETUAL WAR.

George W. Bush and his Neo-Con friends produced the present impasse in Iraq that will not pass on---except to the next American president and tomorrow’s children.

And so the Ambassador and the General must continue to carry out the dirty work of their Decider and Long War Commander-in-Chief.

Each must do his duty…

Each must do his job…

Each must press…

On

And

On

And

On

And

On…

And America’s powerful military-industrial complex cannot permit 140,000 soldiers to return home.

It will not permit thousands and thousands of private contractors (who get paid billions and billions from your paychecks) to leave Iraq.

THEY MUST STAY THE COURSE.

By invading Iraq, George W. Bush and his company permitted Iran to get back from Iraq what it lost when Iraq invaded Iran---with the blessings and aid of the United States.

Remember?

That’s when the United States didn’t mind if Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons as long as they were used to kill Iranians.

Iran’s interventions in Iraq will be the new way forward and the justification for the Pentagon---for the General---for the Ambassador---and for any future president---to stay in Iraq for one-hundred and fifteen years---

Or as long as it takes.

Bush and Cheney’s shock and awe turned into a confusing quagmire and chaotic civil war.

Iran is helping to fuel the civil war.

And so the show must go on.

The occupation has to continue.

There is much oil beneath desert sands to be coveted and protected----

NO WMDS.

IT’S THE OIL STUPID!

U.S. must leave Iraq, retired generals say

By Rick Maze
Apr 4, 2008

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/military_iraqwithdrawal_040208w/

Setting a withdrawal timetable from Iraq might be a shaky strategic move, but it would provide a morale boost for service members and their families, a former Army War College commandant said Wednesday.

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Robert Scales Jr., testifying before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee about U.S. military strategy in Iraq, said he has no doubt that a major withdrawal of combat forces is coming because the U.S. has “run out of military options” and cannot indefinitely sustain troop levels.

“Regardless of who wins the election and regardless of conditions on the ground, by summer the troops will begin to come home,” said Scales, who headed the war college in 1997. “The only point of contention is how precipitous will be the withdrawal and whether the schedule of withdrawal should be a matter of administration policy.”

White House and Pentagon officials have resisted efforts by some lawmakers to set a fixed timetable for withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq, arguing that insurgents and other groups would try to use the dates to their advantage.

Scales, who was one of the creators of the Army After Next program in 1995 that helped plan for transforming the force, agreed that following a fixed withdrawal schedule “is not a good idea in an insurgency because the indigenous population tends to side with the perceived winners.”

“However, some publicly expressed window of withdrawal is necessary, for no other reason than to give soldier’s families some hope that their loved ones will not be stuck on a perpetual rollercoaster of deployments,” he said.

Scales testified along with two other retired Army generals, Gen. Barry McCaffrey and Lt. Gen. William Odom, who also agreed a withdrawal of U.S. combat troops early in the next president’s administration is inevitable.

“We face a deteriorating political situation with an over-extended Army,” said Odom, who served as director of the National Security Agency in the Reagan administration.

“The only sensible strategy is to withdraw rapidly but in good order,” Odom said. “Only that step can break the paralysis now gripping U.S. strategy in the region.”

McCaffrey, a former chief of U.S. Southern Command and commander of the 24th Infantry Division in the 1991 Gulf War, predicted a withdrawal of U.S. forces within three years or less because there is “no U.S. political will to continue” and because allies “have abandoned us.”

“It is over,” McCaffrey said.