President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez directed in a radio address this weekend.... "Mr. Defense Minister, move 10 battalions to the border with Colombia for me, immediately--- tank battalions, deploy the air force.... we don't want war, but we aren't going to permit the U.S. empire, which is the master [of Colombia].... to come to divide us." (WashingtonPost)
As the military from leftist Ecuador and Venezuela deploy on their borders with Columbia, a U. S. ally, the tense crisis threatens to erupt into war.
The reason.... a raid by Colombia into Ecuador which killed a leader of the rebel leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) which has fought to overthrow the Colombian government for 40 years.
Colombia said its police and air force shot back at targets in Ecuador only after its forces came under fire from FARC rebels about a mile inside Ecuador.
Chavez warned "This is something very serious. This could be the start of a war in South America" and threatened to retaliate with Sukhois.... recently purchased Russian warplanes.
And... in the Middle East, Iranian's President Ahmadinejad is visiting Baghdad today and telling the U.S. to get out of Iraq and the region. (WashingtonPost)
During his two-day trip, Iran and Iraq will sign seven agreements on customs, transportation links, improving cooperation in industrial development, highlighting the new, closer relations between the former foes.
Since the U.S. overthrow of Saddam and the installation of a new U.S.-backed government, both Iraq and Iran are now run by Shiite majorities.
Meanwhile, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) decried our lack of focus on Afghanistan and nuclear-armed Pakistan. (NYTimes)
"Afghanistan is slipping toward failure. The Taliban is back, violence is up, drug production is booming and the Afghans are losing faith in their government"... Biden warned.
"If we should have had a surge anywhere, it is Afghanistan.... Afghanistan's fate is directly tied to Pakistan's future and America's security. When President Musharraf of Pakistan concluded that we were not serious about finishing the job in Afghanistan, he began to cut deals with extremists in his own country.
"As a result, the border area remains a freeway of fundamentalism: the Taliban and Al Qaeda find sanctuary in Pakistan, while Pakistani suicide bombers wreak havoc in Afghanistan."
The fruits of the Bush administration's Iraq-obsessed foreign policy.... deep unrest with the specter of war in our backyard, and an obscenely costly war in Iraq that has played into Iran's ambitions in that country while emboldening fundamentalism in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Heck of a job, Georgie.
Showing posts with label Afghanistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Afghanistan. Show all posts
Monday, March 03, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
A Bush-Eye View...
With his abysmal legacy staring him in the face, what's a failed president to do but disagree with all truth-telling.... "Conflicting Assessment of War in Afghanistan." (WaPo)
In a recent report to The Decider on Afghanistan, Gen. James L. Jones first line cut to the chase: "Make no mistake, NATO is not winning in Afghanistan."
Yet, in a speech Friday to the hawkish Conservative Political Action Conference, Bush said of Afghanistan: "The Taliban, al-Qaeda and their allies are on the run...."
....and our trickle-down economy is healthy, the deficit will disappear and global warming is a liberal myth.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Iraq Should Be a Nation Divided....
The vote in the Senate today.... probably coming late in the night as the GOP filibusters.... decides a simple matter really. What do we care about, the lives of our troops, or the occupation of a nation waging a tribal civil war where 69 percent of the citizens don't want our presence, and whose Prime Minister Maliki told us a few days ago could take over their own security operations.
As the "Democrats Maneuver To Force Iraq Votes," let's not lose sight of the troops, as Majority Leader Harry Reid passionately reminded the Senate..... not just the unacceptable loss of life, but the tens of thousands injured, many with the loss of limbs and other horrific disabilities.
Reid said of the vote, "It's unfortunate that President Bush has proven, beyond any doubt, that he won't listen to the Congress or the American people unless he's forced to, and that's what this amendment does."
Yes, Chicken Little Bush continually fear mongers that if we leave Iraq the sky will fall. That's not what recent "war games" exercises for the U. S. military concluded however as outlined in "Exit Strategies." (WaPO)
It's worth quoting in full: "If U.S. combat forces withdraw from Iraq in the near future, three developments would be likely to unfold. Majority Shiites would drive Sunnis out of ethnically mixed areas west to Anbar province. Southern Iraq would erupt in civil war between Shiite groups. And the Kurdish north would solidify its borders and invite a U.S. troop presence there. In short, Iraq would effectively become three separate nations."
This outcome is basically the same as the thoughtful proposal of Sen. Joseph Biden that has received bipartisan support.... dividing Iraq into three defined states under a weaker central government. The sky wouldn't fall. Especially if the administration drops the "stay the course" rhetoric and works to implement such a plan.
Today's "Intelligence Report Warns of al-Qaeda's Capabilities," (WaPo) and confirms our worst fears as articulated by Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, that the invasion of Iraq "diverted needed resources from eliminating the threat from al Qaeda".... and "points out that the real threat to the U.S. homeland emanates from Afghanistan and Pakistan, not Iraq."
Sorry to say, though, undoubtedly when the clock strikes midnight in the Senate tonight nothing much will have changed.... and the "stay the course" pumpkin-heads will once again frustrate the will of the nation.
As the "Democrats Maneuver To Force Iraq Votes," let's not lose sight of the troops, as Majority Leader Harry Reid passionately reminded the Senate..... not just the unacceptable loss of life, but the tens of thousands injured, many with the loss of limbs and other horrific disabilities.
Reid said of the vote, "It's unfortunate that President Bush has proven, beyond any doubt, that he won't listen to the Congress or the American people unless he's forced to, and that's what this amendment does."
Yes, Chicken Little Bush continually fear mongers that if we leave Iraq the sky will fall. That's not what recent "war games" exercises for the U. S. military concluded however as outlined in "Exit Strategies." (WaPO)
It's worth quoting in full: "If U.S. combat forces withdraw from Iraq in the near future, three developments would be likely to unfold. Majority Shiites would drive Sunnis out of ethnically mixed areas west to Anbar province. Southern Iraq would erupt in civil war between Shiite groups. And the Kurdish north would solidify its borders and invite a U.S. troop presence there. In short, Iraq would effectively become three separate nations."
This outcome is basically the same as the thoughtful proposal of Sen. Joseph Biden that has received bipartisan support.... dividing Iraq into three defined states under a weaker central government. The sky wouldn't fall. Especially if the administration drops the "stay the course" rhetoric and works to implement such a plan.
Today's "Intelligence Report Warns of al-Qaeda's Capabilities," (WaPo) and confirms our worst fears as articulated by Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, that the invasion of Iraq "diverted needed resources from eliminating the threat from al Qaeda".... and "points out that the real threat to the U.S. homeland emanates from Afghanistan and Pakistan, not Iraq."
Sorry to say, though, undoubtedly when the clock strikes midnight in the Senate tonight nothing much will have changed.... and the "stay the course" pumpkin-heads will once again frustrate the will of the nation.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
The Second Roundup
The showdown at DC corral didn't amount to much. The Democratically-led Congress huffed and puffed and then The Decider blew down their Iraq-funding-bill-with-a-timeline house.
Now, they're all at the White House bar for a second try, shooting high fives as the Democrats offer to withdraw the timeline demand.... while our troops continue to die in Iraq's unwinnable war.... and, our hand-picked president of Afghanistan declares his government can "no longer accept" civilian casualties caused by U.S.-led operations.
This motley bunch of executive and legislative cowboys all wear black hats. Bush is getting what he wants, a blank check for continuing his war, while the Democrats have shown they are really hollow vessels.... without the courage or the will to accomplish what the nation demanded in the last election.
The time has never been riper for a U.S.-first third party.... with a sheriff who will bring law and order back to our leadership-forsaken country.
Now, they're all at the White House bar for a second try, shooting high fives as the Democrats offer to withdraw the timeline demand.... while our troops continue to die in Iraq's unwinnable war.... and, our hand-picked president of Afghanistan declares his government can "no longer accept" civilian casualties caused by U.S.-led operations.
This motley bunch of executive and legislative cowboys all wear black hats. Bush is getting what he wants, a blank check for continuing his war, while the Democrats have shown they are really hollow vessels.... without the courage or the will to accomplish what the nation demanded in the last election.
The time has never been riper for a U.S.-first third party.... with a sheriff who will bring law and order back to our leadership-forsaken country.
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