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POPS The Obama Work-Out War-weary Obama manages a decision … more golf! Boston Herald: WASHINGTON - President Obama has outperformed former President George Bush in a key area - he’s hit the links as many times in nine months as Bush did in nearly three years, political Web sites reported. Politico, a political news and gossip site, and the Chicago Tribune’s The Swamp, reported that CBS’ Mark Knoller - who documents presidential statistics - Tweeted Sunday, “Today - Obama ties Pres. Bush in the number of rounds of golf played in office: 24. Took Bush 2 yrs & 10 months.” The Swamp noted that after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Bush quit golf, saying, “I don’t want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander-in-chief playing golf . . . I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal . . . ” Come on, guys. Iraq was different. That was Bush’s war. Afghanistan? That’s Bush’s other war! http://www.julescrittenden.com/2009/10/27/golf-for-we-not-for-thee/
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POPSCharles Krauthammer: The Three Envelopes 
I suppose, explain away his own, well, yearlong drift on Afghanistan. This compulsion to attack his predecessor is as stale as it is unseemly. Obama was elected a year ago. He became commander in chief two months later. He then solemnly announced his own "comprehensive new strategy" for Afghanistan seven months ago. Obama is obviously unhappy with the path he himself chose in March. Fine. He has every right -- indeed duty -- to reconsider. But what Obama is reacting to is the failure of his own strategy. There is nothing new here. The history of both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars is a considered readjustment of policies that have failed. In each war, quick initial low-casualty campaigns toppled enemy governments. In the subsequent occupation stage, two policy choices presented themselves: the light or heavy "footprint." In both Iraq and Afghanistan, we initially chose the light footprint. This was the considered judgment of our commanders at the time,
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POPSAlternate Iraq War Universe … Obama Won! Never mind that the surge was initiated by President George Bush, and the current withdrawal was negotiated by the Bush administration with a sovereign, elected Iraqi government which his actions allowed to come into being, in place of the prior despot he had deposed, while Democrats, including Obama, were howling for abandonment. Obama deserves some credit, of course. For staying Bush’s course and throwing his own boneheaded pandering demands for a precipitous pullout under the bus. OK, I thought Friedman had got about as weird as he could. Silly me. This next step is particularly important, which is why we cannot let Afghanistan distract U.S. diplomats from Iraq. Remember: Transform Iraq and it will impact the whole Arab-Muslim world. Change Afghanistan and you just change Afghanistan. Fascinating. The big clamor for the last few years of course has been that Iraq was distracting us from Afghanistan, and now every jackanape out there, to include Friedman . . .
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POPSObama Quietly Deploying 13,000 More US troops to Afghanistan In addition to the deployments under way, McChrystal has also requested an extra 40,000 troops he says are necessary to prevent the country falling into the hands of the Taliban. The Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai, today expressed support for McChrystal's request. "I'm fully behind him for what he's seeking in this report," Karzai told ABC's Good Morning America. As part of the internal debate, the US defence secretary, Robert Gates, who is cautiously supporting McChrystal, is due to meet later today the vice-president Joe Biden, who is opposed to the troop increase and favours a shift in priority to tracking down al-Qaida in Pakistan. A decision on McChrystal's troop request appears to have been postponed for a few weeks. Any extra troops will come as a result of a parallel reduction in the number of US troops in Iraq. A US military planner told the Army Times: "We've increased forces in Afghanistan before we've reduced forces in Iraq in a meaningful way.
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POPSAfghanistan: Krauthammer's Take If he tells you that his expertise in that area is useless and what you have to do is go to the other strategy, it's persuasive. The administration is refusing that advice, at least up until now, because it means a costly year, year and a half, two years " as we had in Iraq with the surge " that it thinks that politically it cannot afford.
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POPSPresident Obama Had Better Learn That Being Allergic To The Word “Victory” Has Serious Consequences Since American soldiers are doing the vast majority of the dirty work, their per-capita death rate is still 1-1/2 to two times that of their counterparts in Iraq.) President Obama had better learn that being allergic to the word “victory” has serious consequences " and quickly. __________________________________________ Joseph Curl at the Washington Times recites some of the “distractions” that are apparently keeping Obama from paying proper attention to Afghanistan and carrying out his primary role as Commander in Chief: In the past month, the president has found the time to play golf " four times. He’s had links legend Arnold Palmer and other top golfers over to the White House. He’s shot some hoops with friends and yukked it up with hockey’s Pittsburgh Penguins. He’s celebrated Ramadan at the White House, eulogized newsman Walter Cronkite in New York City, attended several fundraisers (including Thursday afternoon’s luncheon), appeared on David Letterman's . . .
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POPSThe United States’ Place in The World … and he needs to grow a set via Weekly Standard, Lieberman, Kyl and Bayh, “Whatever it takes … crippling sanctions.” I dunno, I can think of other measures that might be more effectively crippling. Whatever … Also at WS, Steven Hayes, hurtfully, “Speak timidly and don’t carry a stick.” Ralph Peters, NYPost, cruelly: “Appease-y does it for weak Prez on the road to a Mideast apocalypse.” Greenwald, Should any Iraq lessons be applied to Iran? I can think of a few quick applicable Iraq lessons off the top of my head. Whack one tyrant, the rest notice. Also, whacking tyrants effectively neutralizes their ability to cause trouble. Also, follow-on is important, don’t let the Euros weasel out of it, and ignore the Dems and the anti-war American left. They are loud, but harmless.
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POPS Not Liked Enough In fairness to Obama, though, it’s a pretty lame message from the cave-dweller. Despite the recent bombings in Iraq, violence is still significantly down, Iraq is a functioning democracy, the security forces are increasingly capable, and the pullout is on track … thank you, George Bush. If Osama wants to needle Obama and show he’s really hip and with it, he’ll poke him over the Afghanistan thing. A little timely al Qaeda crowing is exactly what the surrender enthusiasts in Washington DC need right now to put them in full retreat. You know, “How do you like your good war now, infidels? Run, it’s what you do best!” Something like that. Remember when he had his No. 2 admonish the Dems for failing to surrender fast enough in Iraq, and they redoubled their efforts? Now that Bush is out of the way, it’s a great opportunity for Osama to revive his favorite old theme from back in the day. Americans have no stomach for a fight, and will bolt if you give them a bloody nose.
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POPSIraqi Commandos Arrest Baathist & Terror Commander in Tikrit, Iraq Commandos with the Golden Brigade entered the Al Ujayli's residence, arrested him and searched the residence without incident. "Tonight's operation was conducted in a professional manner and continues to build upon the great abilities of the Soldiers of the 8th RCB ," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mitchell Franks. "The detention of Al Ujayli will deal a significant blow to terrorist activities in not only the Salah al-Din province, but throughout the northern part of Iraq as well," Franks added.
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POPSAl Qaeda Takes Credit for Last Week's Baghdad Bombings Since the attack, Maliki has ordered the concrete blast walls to be put back up around sensitive sites, and the military has arrested 11 officers for negligence or aiding in the attack. The Iraqi government has accused both al Qaeda in Iraq and former Ba'athists operating from Syria of conducting the attack. On Aug. 23, state-run television aired the confession of a senior member of the Ba'ath party who is accused of masterminding the attacks. The suspect claimed he was a former policeman in Miqdadiyah in eastern Diyala province, a region that has served as a bastion for al Qaeda in Iraq. He said the attackers paid $10,000 in bribes to ensure that their trucks would pass through checkpoints into Baghdad. The attack was ordered by a senior Ba'ath official based in Syria. Today, the Iraqi government asked Syria to turn over senior Ba'athists Sattam Farhan and Mohammad Younis al Ahmed for their involvement in last week's bombings.
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POPSUPDATE: Bombs And Mortars Kill At Least 50 In Iraqi Capital Series of Blasts in Central Baghdad Kill at Least 50, Injure 300, Police Say http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,540468,00.html BAGHDAD — Iraqi police and medical officials say at least six bomb and mortar attacks have struck high-profile targets in central Baghdad, including one near the parliament building, killing at least 50 people and wounding 300 others. It was not yet immediately clear where the other deaths among the 50 people killed occurred. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. AP Television News footage from inside parliament showed debris and broken glass from the blast in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone. It wasn't immediately clear what caused that explosion. The Green Zone has often been a target of insurgent mortar and rocket attacks. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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POPSRemains Identified as Navy Captain Michael Scott Speicher Acting on information provided by an Iraqi citizen in early July, US Marines stationed in Al Anbar Province went to a location in the desert which was believed to be the crash site of Captain Speicher’s jet. The Iraqi citizen stated he knew of two Iraqi citizens who recalled an American jet impacting the desert and the remains of the pilot being buried in the desert. One of these Iraqi citizens stated that they were present when Captain Speicher was found dead at the crash site by Bedouins and his remains buried. The Iraqi citizens led US Marines to the site who searched the area. Remains were recovered over several days during the past week and flown to Dover Air Force Base for scientific identification by the AFIP’s Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner. The recovered remains include bones and multiple skeletal fragments. Positive identification was made by comparing Captain Speicher’s dental records with the jawbone recovered at the site.
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POPSIran Media Reporting Arrest of 3 Americans The official said the account came from a fourth member of their group who was feeling sick and had stayed behind in Sulaimaniyah. The Iranian state TV report claimed the four Americans were together when they crossed the border, but "only one returned , while the three were arrested." The discrepancy could not immediately be reconciled. The area where the three disappeared is a popular hiking destination known for a picturesque waterfall and rocky scenery as well as a thick growth of fruit and nut trees. Kurdish officials said U.S. helicopters and Humvees deployed to the nearby city of Halabja to search for the Americans after they were reported missing on Friday but left after it was determined they had been seized by the Iranians. U.S. asks Swiss help in accessing tourists
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POPSThank You America – And Damn You, You Bastards This religion aims to destroy Iraq and return it to the days of minority rule. America canceled all of our debts and urged the rest of the world to do so, while the Arabs refused to do so and they even demanded payment for every Iraqi citizen living in their countries. America allowed Shias to ... DougM has it - says Go read it. Seriously. http://www.sondrak.com/index.php/weblog/dayum1/ After six years of liberation, we now know who our friend is and who our foe is. We should not give a chance to those idiots who claim that Iraq is part of the Arab Nation. These idiots should understand that Iraq is part the federal, free and democratic world. What ..? Wet stuff in eyes? Iraqi Columnist: Thank You, America http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/07/iraqi_columnist_thank_you_amer_1.asp
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POPSNational Sovereignty Day For such a historic day, the scribblers seem to be ignoring a lot of history. It’s like no one wants to talk about it anymore. Too bad. A great accomplishment, at tremendous sacrifice by both Americans, Iraqis and their British, Australian, European and Asian allies. Congratulations, Iraq. All yours now. Until and unless you need a little more help. Hopefully we’ll have an American president who is willing to help.
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POPSBye, Bye Babylon Looking back over six years of good intentions, tragic errors, generosity, arrogance, partisan vituperation, painful deaths and ultimate vindication, two things strike me: the ever-resisted lesson that human affairs are more complex than academic theories claim, and the simple truth that most human beings prefer a measure of freedom to immeasurable repression. Now the symbolism of our troops withdrawing from Iraq's cities is richer than Washington grasps. Mesopotamia created urban culture: Ur, Babylon, Nineveh and countless lesser-known sites are where humans first worked out ways to live together in close quarters in large numbers. The coming wave of terror will strike cities that make Baghdad seem a youngster. The "cradle of civilization" is rising from the grave again. Yes, sectarianism, old grievances and the greed for power may deliver future crises -- even an eventual civil war.
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POPSSPECIAL PREVIEW: The Abandonment of Democracy . . . should set aside the goal of democracy in Afghanistan” had prompted that country’s foreign minister to make “an impassioned appeal for continued U.S. support for an elected government.” In early April, former New York Times correspondent Joel Brinkley summed up the administration’s initial performance: Neither President Obama nor Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has even uttered the word democracy in a manner related to democracy promotion since taking office more than two months ago. The State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor has put out 30 public releases, so far, and not one of them has discussed democracy promotion. Democracy, it seems, is banished from the Obama administration’s public vocabulary.
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POPSObama Needs to Brush Up on Middle East History Saddam Hussein" and that the government of Iraq is "democratically elected." But he still has some history left to learn. "No system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other." But that's what the United States did in Germany and Japan, and in Iraq, as well. As one of the Democratic senators who insisted that the Iraqis meet benchmarks, Obama was a micromanager in that process himself. "We did not go by choice; we went because of necessity" into Afghanistan. And as for his claim that "Islam has always been a part of America's story," that's a stretch, and one that requires airbrushing out the war against the Barbary pirates. Most disturbingly, Obama seems to have gotten the history of the Israel-Palestine issue wrong. The plight of the Palestinians since 1948 or 1967 is not the moral equivalent of the slaughter of Jews in the Holocaust, as Obama's "on the other hand" segue suggested. Michael Barone
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POPS Stephen (No-Hair) Colbert Is A Patriot! The four shows are to air this week starting Monday on Comedy Central. For Colbert in Iraq, tonight's Word is `haircut' CAMP VICTORY, Iraq -- Wearing a camouflage suit and tie, Stephen Colbert took his show to Baghdad to entertain U.S. soldiers in Iraq. For openers, President Barack Obama appeared by video to thank the troops. "You're welcome," the mock pundit answered. "I wasn't talking to you," the president deadpanned. To the roaring approval of hundreds of troops at Camp Victory, on the western edge of Baghdad, Colbert taped the first of four episodes of "The Colbert Report," in which he plays a pompous, blustering conservative TV host. His first guest was the towering, bald Gen. Ray Odierno. When Obama and the U.S. commander suggested Colbert had to look like a soldier in order to be a soldier, the general took an electric razor to Colbert's perfectly parted cable-news coif. http://www.heraldonline.com/wire/world/story/1393928.html
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POPS Prince Harry Meets 9-11 Families at Ground Zero In a sombre start to his two-day visit of the city, Harry bowed his head and observed a minute's silence after placing the memorial on the fence where the World Trade Centre once stood... Before laying the wreath on the wire fence, he spoke to families of those killed in the attack. Speaking before his arrival, Monica Iken, a 39-year-old New Yorker who lost her husband Michael in the atrocity, said it was fantastic Harry was making the effort to attend the site. She said: 'It is great he wanted to come here and show that people still care, and it shows respect to our loved one that died on that day.' After observing a minute's silence, the prince took a step back and bowed again. He was then taken to see designs of the proposed building which will replace the World Trade Centre.
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POPS The Power Of A Single Picture Taking pictures from his Stryker vehicle and then later sharing the prints with his subjects, Staff Sgt. Cox would build bonds with the Iraqi people. His photographs built bonds with the families of six of his comrades when tragedy struck. The father of one of the men who fell that day saw the Fox report and later found a blog by the Fox reporter, Catherine Herridge. Through the report and comments on the blog, Cox became friends with the families of the fallen. Fox News Video at site.
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POPSObama Gets What He Wished For Well look who's squirming now. Once again, and now under a Democrat President, Democrats find themselves in a panic over being seen as weak on terrorism. In the environment created by President Obama's hasty decisions, selective release of documents from his predecessor's administration, and constant droning on about the miserable legacy he inherited, Speaker Nancy Pelosi sought to cover up her own participation in the Congressional-Executive consultations on terrorist interrogation -- and then attempted to deflect evidence to the contrary by dismissing the US intelligence community as serial liars. Not a single, credible observer believes her account, she was rebuked by her own party's CIA Director, and her number two in the House leadership openly discussed the need for a independent review of her comments.
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POPSBand of Brothers 101st Airborne Motto "Currahee!" via Antara ~ ~ ~ "Hang tough, big guy," he said. "Your troopers need you back out there." But Petraeus' four stars carried no weight. "There was absolutely no response whatsoever," Petraeus said. "Did you think there was any hope?" Martin asked. "Not really," Petraeus said. "I see his beautiful blue eyes but he's staring straight right through me, and he doesn't know who I am and he doesn’t know I'm there," Joanne said. Petraeus turned to leave, then decided to give it one last try. "I just decided to shout out 'Currihee.'" That's right, "Currihee." It's a Cherokee Indian word that the was the motto for the famous "Brand of Brothers" regiment in the 101st. "We counted 'One, two, three, Currihee,'" Petraeus said. "That's when he kind of sat up in the bed as best as he could," said Brennan's dad Jim. "Like saying, 'I'm in here, I'm in here,'" Joanne said.
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POPS Once Upon A Time In America b) the Japanese atrocities against helpless civilians, and c) the thousands and thousands of Allied and American servicemen whose lives had been saved by the end of the war. At times, the logic deployed in the debate about “torture” borders on torture itself. Here is Michael Kinsley branding us all as a nation of criminals, for standing by idly as innocent people are randomly plucked off the street. “There is another group that stood by and did nothing while Americans grabbed people off the streets of foreign countries, took them to other foreign countries...and tortured them until they said whatever our government wanted to hear....Millions of people...knew that torture was going on, and voted for Bush anyway...62 million of us voted to reelect George W. Bush in 2004.” So 62 million war criminals voted to have innocent passersby tortured: this does sound serious.
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POPSCaptured Al Qaeda Leader Has Close Ties to Saddam Regime The Kurdish daily Kurdistani Nwe has published a 2002 letter from the Iraqi presidency that it says proves that there was cooperation between the regime of Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda. The letter, which appeared on the paper's front page, was published by the intelligence apparatus of the Iraqi presidency and discussed an intention to meet with Ayman Al-Zawahiri in order to examine a plan drawn up by the Iraqi presidency to carry out a "revenge operation" in Saudi Arabia. Remember this the next time you see a mainstream media report claiming there was no links between Saddam and Al-Qaeda. To read full post: http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/05/ny-times-captured-al-qaeda-leader-has.html
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POPSIraqi Suicide Mommy Blows Up Her Child In Emergency Food Line Even putting aside our baseline revulsion at terrorism, there are three especially hideous things that jump out from this: 1) A mother deliberately taking her (presumed) child with her as she immolates herself. For all the hundreds of suicide bombings that Iraq has already witnessed, this has got to be a first. 2) This was a line for food aid. Islamists have gone from attacking U.S. soldiers, to attacking Iraqi soldiers, to attacking police stations, to attacking the religious ceremonies of rival sects — on down the line of nihilism until, now, they are reduced to blowing up hungry people seeking sustenance. 3) This hideous crime was played on page four of The New York Times. And a quick scan of other media suggests it got similar B-rate treatment elsewhere.
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POPS Rejectionism Is The New Dead-ending Damn, that sounds awful familiar. Sounds kind of like the role reversal has them a little confused. I hope they can figure out that 2006 Democratic strategic thinking is not the right answer post-2007/08 surge success. While the violence is far below the worst levels in 2006, 18 major attacks this month have kindled fears that Baathist and jihadist elements could be reconstituting themselves into a smaller, but still deadly, insurgency that will exploit the withdrawal of American troops between now and 2011. Translation: rejectionism could be a problem for Obama’s de-surge.
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POPSThe New York Times ~ Call Them “militants” “extremists” or “insurgents" This followed widespread criticism of The Times for initially refusing to call the Mumbai murderers “terrorists.” The word terrorist carries “connotations of opprobrium,” Hoyt wrote. “What you call someone matters. If he is a terrorist, he is an enemy of all civilized people, and less worthy of consideration.” Why, that must mean that those who engage in indiscriminate acts of slaughter in Iraq are more worthy of consideration. Of which civilized people are they not the enemies? The Times might as well admit it — while it may deplore terrorists’ tactics, it frequently sympathizes with their goals. Witness the op-ed forum it gave to unrepentant ex-terrorist William Ayers, on December 6, If someone blew up The New York Times building, would they be “terrorists,” activists militantly opposed to biased news coverage or extremists showing their disdain for the paper’s moral relativism? We certainly wouldn’t want to heap opprobrium on them.
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POPSThe Baby Democrat Network Schedule (BDN) * Your Wealth Is My Wealth - Does your neighbor, friend or family member earn way more money than you do? Do they have more toys, take better vacations, have nicer homes, newer cars and generally live a better lifestyle than you do? There's no reason you just can't take a lot of what they have. You're entitled to it! This program shows you how to do it. Your Wealth Is My Wealth is followed by: * No Team Loses - An interactive instructional show for parents of toddlers and young children who are just beginning what formerly was termed "competitive" sports. Internet and television audience can call in and ask questions. This week's issues include: how to I keep those two parents from keeping score, all children are equally athletically co-ordinated and after the game both teams received snacks of equal value. No Team Loses is followed by:
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POPSJoker One: A Marine Platoon’s Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood . . . . . . And while you’re at it, they’re told, try winning over the hearts and minds of the populace, too. Vague visions of military glory vaporize on Joker One’s first forays into Ramadi’s hardscrabble neighborhoods, where everyone lives within walled compounds and even the smiling kids who take the Marines’ candy quickly turn around and pelt them with stones. Campbell, a deft writer who must be an obsessive diarist, recounts his unit’s 7 ½ -month tour in powerful, exacting detail, from a U.S. major’s babbling incoherency after an attack to the way a rocket-propelled grenade skipped down the street before finally hitting something solid enough to detonate it. He tells it all with lyrical grace.
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POPSThe Audacity of Chutzpah...Obama Says: "Iraq War Was Easier" He said Afghanistan is a more complex problem than Iraq. “Iraq was actually easier than Afghanistan. It's easier terrain,” Obama told Kroft. “You've got a-- much better educated population, infrastructure to build off of. You don't have some of the same destabilizing border-- issues that you have between Afghanistan and Pakistan. And so this is going to be a tough nut to crack. But-- it is not acceptable for us to simply sit back and let safe havens of terrorists plan and plot.”
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POPSSo We Finally Get A French President Who’s More Or Less Onside* * Sarkozy brings France back into NATO’s military command, pissing off large parts of France. Doesn’t look like Sark’s keen to pitch in more in Afghanistan, though. Washington Times iNo Pasaran! blog Jacques Chirac: A "Very Sympathique" Letter From Monsieur Obama Barack Obama and those who voted for him would be horrified if he (and they) had to cozy up to people (but can we only be sure they are in fact human?!) such as George W Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, and Sarah Palin, but the president has no compunction about writing to principled foreigners who opposed the United States such as Jacques Chirac (merci à RV).
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POPSPetraeus To Deliver Princeton Baccalaureate Address … And Plans A 2010 Visit To Iowa........ She added that she was surprised by his prompt reply last week. “With asking people who are so busy, they have to consult their schedule, and it can take from a week to months to confirm,” Tilghman said. “I contacted him and got a response back in 20 minutes. I think he has a very deep affection for Princeton.” Gen. Petraeus planning 2010 visit to Iowa “THE WEEKLY STANDARD has learned that General Petraeus is planning on delivering the commencement address at the University of Iowa in 2010.” So reports Michael Goldfarb, late of the McCain campaign, on the magazine’s blog. Petraeus going to Iowa, a state he doesn’t have previous ties to, is going to create a huge amount of buzz about his presidential ambitions because the Iowa Caucuses kick off the whole presidential nomination process. If he does, deliver the address—and Petraeus must know this—it will be seen as a sign that he is thinking about running in 2012.
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POPSU.S. Jet Shoots Down Iranian Drone Over Iraq (Updated) At least one was shot down by Israeli fighter jets. In 2007, Iran said it built a drone with a range of 420 miles. In February, Iran's deputy defense minister claimed its latest UAV could now fly as far as 600 miles -- a huge improvement over crude drones like the Misrad, if true. Iran often exaggerates what its weapons can do. But, if this drone really can stay in the air for for that long, the Washington Times notes, "it could soar over every U.S. military installation, diplomatic mission or country of interest in the Middle East." Including those in Iraq. UPDATE: So I finally got a hold of a spokesman for Multi-National Corps - Iraq. His response: "I believe MNF-I is taking the lead on this incident." So then I reached out to MNF-I. A spokesman there wouldn't confirm the shoot-down. Nor would he deny it. "We've got nothing for you, Noah," the spokesman said.
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POPS Hustled: How Obama Deceived America About The Drawdown There is no easy way to determine on a Sunday night how many tens of millions of training dollars and man-hours Obama wasted by shifting this Stryker brigade, but if the Iraqi theater really didn't need them, it at least could have been understandable. But the Iraqi theater clearly did need a Stryker brigade, and he planned on sending one all along. We know this because just as soon as the Obama White House sold the drawdown story to the media and the anti-war left, he immediately and quietly ordered that another Stryker brigade—one that is no doubt capable, but one that didn't have the specific, intensive training of the unit diverted to Afghanistan— rushed to Iraq months ahead of schedule in order to keep the same number of Stryker brigades (two) as there has been the entire time. There is no drawdown of Stryker brigades in Iraq.
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POPSIraq Is Thriving Despite What the Media Won't Tell You Telephone land line subscribers are also up, from a prewar total of 833,000 to 1.3 million today, according to statistics collected by the Associated Press. The number of Iraqis who have access to drinkable water and to sewerage has nearly doubled. Where households once had to make do with four to eight hours of electricity a day, the national average is over 14 hours a day. The Internet was virtually unknown in the Saddam Hussein era. Only an estimated 4,500 Iraqi users existed in 2003, according to the Brookings Institution. But that soared to 230,000 in January 2007 and to 688,410 in the most recent figures. Casualties among Iraqi civilians and security forces last month dropped to their second-lowest level in nearly four years with 283 deaths linked to war-related violence. The deadliest month for Iraqi civilians and security forces, according to the AP count, was December 2006 with 2,309 killed. posted by Gateway Pundit
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POPSThis Would Not Have Happened Under Saddam AFP: “Iraq arrests Al-Qaeda ‘oil minister’.” From the Iraqi statement: “The police in Diyala province arrested eleven members of the Islamic State in Iraq (Al-Qaeda’s self-styled name there), including Ali Mahmud Mohammed. He is the oil minister of this organization.” Now what was this bilge about Iraq having nothing to do with the Global War On Terrorism? Under Hussein, the government would have feted this guy. After President George Walker Bush liberated Iraq, police haul the guy off to jail. Thanks to President Bush, we now have an Arab nation that will arrest terrorists instead of funding them. I am sick of the liberal lies and the media who fall for it. Don Surber blog http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/2009/02/28/this-would-not-have-happened-under-saddam-hussein/
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POPSObama Strikes Back At Budget Critics The president's language did include one concession to criticisms. During Tuesday's address to Congress he said he had identified "two trillion dollars in savings over the next decade" in the budget. But many pointed out that the "savings" came from tax hikes on those making more than $200,000 and families making more than $250,000, and from cutting Iraq war spending that critics said was never going to happen anyway. On Saturday, Mr. Obama continued to use the $2 trillion figure, but called it "deficit reductions" instead of "savings."
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