Saturday, December 09, 2006

more of the same

thanks to arianna huffington


"It took us a day, but we finally plowed through all 79 proposals submitted by the Iraq Study Group. Now, we're all for thoroughness, but 79 seems like overkill -- it's hard enough to read through 79 proposals, let alone try to implement them. Here then is HuffPost's look at seven of the Group's suggestions that should be the first to go:

Recommendation 4: As an instrument of the New Diplomatic Offensive, an Iraq International Support Group should be organized immediately following the launch of the New Diplomatic Offensive.

First, did we miss the Old Diplomatic Offensive? Second, we'd love to think that an International Support Group is going to work but, really, it's just going to be a lot of sitting in a circle on folding chairs wondering when this guy is going to shut up about his wife leaving him for some other guy who blew up the Golden Mosque in Samarra.

Recommendation 13: There must be a renewed and sustained commitment by the United States to a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace on all fronts: Lebanon and Syria, and President Bush's June 2002 commitment to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

2002? C'mon, people -- that ship has sailed. Remember when the President was asked about his greatest achievement in office and he talked about catching that 7-pound bass? Seriously, 2002? Good luck, Bill and Ted.

Recommendation 21: The President should restate that the United States does not seek to control Iraq's oil.

Too hard for him to pull off with a straight face.

Recommendation 32: Minorities. The rights of women and the rights of all minority communities in Iraq, including Turkmen, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Yazidis, Sabeans, and Armenians, must be protected.

Beautiful sentiment, but not exactly our strong suit.

Recommendation 64: U.S. economic assistance should be increased to a level of $5 billion per year rather than being permitted to decline.

Five billion in economic aid? I can just hear Sen. Brownback complaining about welfare insurgents driving Escalades.

Recommendation 73: The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Director of National Intelligence should accord the highest possible priority to professional language proficiency and cultural training, in general and specifically for U.S. officers and personnel about to be assigned to Iraq.

We kinda doubt the Pentagon kept forwarding addresses for all those fired gay Arabic interpreters.

Recommendation 77: The Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense should devote significantly greater analytic resources to the task of understanding the threats and sources of violence in Iraq.

If this really needs to be said, we are screwed even worse than we thought."

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The purpose of the ISG report in the first place was to put the fig leaf of 'independent comission'on the Bushco "stay-the-course-until-the-defeat-and-pullout-can- be-blamed-on-the-incoming-administration-in-2008." And nothing more. The ISG was NEVER going to cause a change. Bush is incapable of admitting he's a moron, and has never done one thing right in his entire life. I certainly don't expect him to start now. His ego matters more to him than the lives of every soul killed in his private, personal "war".
While all the hoopla has been going on about the ISG report, ELEVEN MORE OF OUR KIDS GOT KILLED .

QUASAR9 said...

Hi Betmo, the rage rages on
on a war which cannot be won
no great military army to defeat
because there is no visible enemy
other than the Quixotic windmills
and demons in Cheney's head

QUASAR9 said...

And a peaceful weekend to you

Anonymous said...

The ISG was a joke on the same lines of the Warren Report.
-obob

Anonymous said...

thanks for sharing that. sigh.

Anonymous said...

Undeniable Liberal said it all. Any "war" that has to have a "commission, committee, or blue ribbon anything" ride to it's supposed rescue has long since been lost. The ISG was nothing more than a manufactured cover up, and bid for more time, by Bush cronies. James Baker isn't exactly bipartisan, if you read of his exploits in 2000 on behalf of Bush.

The DP is going to be in control of Congress for two years, because when any of it's idiots even offer a suggestion (and they will: Speaker Moonbeam, moron from Calif., can't wait to piss all over us), they are going to be buried under a shit storm called "blame."

I fail to see why "the first woman speaker ever" is being heralded as such an accomplishment, when in two short years, that title will be amended to read, "the first woman speaker ever to help destroy America", because of her stupid, short sighted, bought off, refusal to impeach.

Were that a male to issue such a stupid statement, he would be called a dumb fucker. It's a gender neutral phrase, Ms. Moonbeam.

Anonymous said...

What all of this is really going to boil down to is a complete withdrawal of all troops, and a scenario much like the withdrawal of troops in Viet Nam. It will be brutal, but its the only way I see it happening. All these commissions are just another way to push paper, and try to sound like they are doing something. Just the same old, same old. Just wish George had the same philosphy as Harry Truman, remember, "The buck stops here." ?

Michael Bains said...

The stupid commission... It DOES look like they went outta their way to suggest as little immediate remedy as possible.

Seems to me a Rec for Impeachment of the U.S. Admin could've got the ultimate goal of Peaceful Transition going faster than any of their 79 recs.

Pinheaded, short-sighted hegemons... arrrugh!