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Congressmen Injured in Iraq
Via the NY Times:
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A military vehicle carrying three congressmen overturned on the way to the Baghdad airport, injuring two of them, the U.S. Embassy said Sunday.
Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., was airlifted to a military hospital in Germany for an MRI on his neck, and Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., was sent to a Baghdad hospital for evaluation, said Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., who was also in the vehicle but was not hurt when it overturned Saturday.
Murphy is ''bumped and bruised, but in good spirits,'' his chief of staff, Susan Mosychuck, said Sunday. He will return home from Germany as soon as he is cleared by doctors, she said.
Skelton spokeswoman Lara Battles said she believed Skelton was also doing well. She declined to comment further.
The politicians were riding in a convoy that was driving in the middle of the road, a common practice used by the military in Iraq to deter oncoming motorists. Shortly after dark, an oncoming tanker truck refused to yield, the embassy said in a statement.
''Then all of a sudden brakes get slammed on. Then we hit something and go off the side of the road and tip over,'' Marshall told The Macon (Ga.) Telegraph by phone from Baghdad.
Marshall said that as the vehicle toppled over, he held onto Skelton, who has limited use of his arms due to childhood polio. The embassy said the driver's quick reaction ''probably averted disaster.''
The delegation had traveled to Afghanistan for Thanksgiving with the troops and then on to Baghdad to meet with troops there.
Three years later, we still can't secure the road from the airport into Baghdad.
We wish the Congressmembers a speedy recovery and safe return home to their loved ones.
I posted this yesterday, seems relevant to the thread... ya think? Except, Congressman Murphy's episode doesn't seem to match the Miss Condi's rhetoric below...
The New Way Out
U.S. leaders finally have a coherent approach—but patience is wearing thin.
By Michael Hirsh, Scott Johnson and Kevin Peraino
Newsweek
Dec. 5, 2005 issue - Only a few months ago, the road from Baghdad International Airport to the Green Zone was a symbol of American futility in Iraq. When talking heads in Washington wanted to argue that the war was hopeless, they would simply point to "Ambush Alley."
How is it possible, the critics would say, that two long years after U.S. troops took Baghdad, soldiers, contractors and diplomats still had to make a "Mad Max" dash through this five-mile corridor just to get to the heart of the capital? If the U.S. Army couldn't secure such a vital chokepoint, it would never be able to pacify the rest of the country. But since August, without much public notice, the Baghdad highway has been largely secured. In April 2005, when control of the route was primarily American, there were 37 casualties. By October 2005—when Iraqi Special Police checkpoints were in the forefront—there was only one person wounded. The number of attacks plummeted, too, from 27 to eight. November has also been fairly quiet, says Lt. Col. Barry Johnson of the Multinational Forces in Iraq.
What changed? A key difference is the 70 or so Iraqi Special Police who have operated those 24/7 checkpoints along the road since June, Johnson says. The Iraqis play a key role that Americans couldn't, and they're backed by two Iraqi Army platoons that conduct operations along with units of the U.S. Third Infantry Division. There are no more U.S. checkpoints. "It simply would have produced more targets," says Johnson. In a TV interview last week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cited the highway as a place where, along with parts of the north and south, Iraqis are "stepping up" and their American mentors are "actually seeing them hold territory."
Ellen has a great piece on her blog about a speech Obama made last week where he layed out a coherent strategy for Iraq. It's not one of immediate withdrawal, but supports reduction of troops with a timeframe for phased withdrawal. It also does not leave behind a broken country.
Summary from Ellen's blog:
Obama is calling for a reduction of the American presence, clarity regarding our rejection of the idea of permanent or long term military bases, a realistic vision for the structure of the government, improved implementation of infrastructure reconstruction, encouragement of international participation and an increased effort to confront terrorism in Afghanistan and the rest of the world all to “take steam out of the insurgency”. Obama thinks that there should still be an American presence in Iraq, but that the presence should be more constructive and our actions more strategic to realistic goals.
Read the rest of her insightful analysis and historical references here ==>
http://ellenofthetenth.blogspot.com/
Why Obama is right on the mission, but republicans are wrong for the job
Iraq is not secure & there is a huge potential for acts of vengeance and retribution.
Saddam's trial is postponed again, humanitarian aid workers are missing again, & the EU wants to oust any member nations harboring CIA "secret prisons."
The Plame case will heat up later this week and I wouldn't be surprised if Rove, Libby and Hadley are indicted and Cheney, the puppetmaster and major contributing architect to Gulf Wars I and II runs free. Even if he were impeached with Bush, he would probably earn $100,000/speaking engagement with the Carlyle group, like Bush I.
Be sure to read Rossian's contribution on at the end of the last topic, and scroll up for related stories about abuse by US and UK contractors.
There are also a bunch of arguments from yesterday about whether to leave Iraq or stay and what timetable to use, and who is responsible. If there are really permanent bases being established, plans for Iraqis to use US planes in operations that could kill many civilians, and outstanding contracts with companies like Halliburton (with billions of tax dollars unaccounted for), it is unlikely that US will get out of this quagmire anytime soon.
Marble chunk falls from Supreme Court facade
Monday, November 28, 2005; Posted: 10:32 a.m. EST
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A basketball-sized piece of marble moulding fell from the facade over the entrance to the Supreme Court, landing on the steps near visitors waiting to enter the building.
No one was injured when the stone fell.
The marble was part of the dentil moulding that serves as a frame for the frieze of statues atop the court's main entrance.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/28/scotus.facade.ap/index.html
(My dearest Fundies, so much is crumbling under your beloved burning Bush... who is God mad at today, I ask you? Oh, and while yer at it, who would Jesus torture?)
Here’s a thoughtful nugget from a colleague who’s a member of a business network that I belong to…
My son in law's father, who is Cherokee/Irish shared this wise and simple story his father told him. It says a lot about what works in networking as well as life.
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
Will The Wolf Survive?
by Los Lobos
Through the chill of winter
Running across the frozen lake
Hunters are out on his trail
All odds are against him
With a family to provide for
The one thing he must keep alive
Will the wolf survive?
Drifting by the roadside
Climbs each storm and aging face
Wants to make some morning's fate
Losing to the range war
He's got two strong legs to guide him
Two strong arms keep him alive
Will the wolf survive?
Standing in the pouring rain
All alone in a world that's changed
Running scared, now forced to hide
In a land where he once stood with pride
But he'll find his way by the morning light
Sounds across the nation
Coming from your hearts and minds
Battered drums and old guitars
Singing songs of passion
It's the truth that they all look for
The one thing they must keep alive
Will the wolf survive?
Will the wolf survive?
Dwazhon:
That is so bizarre -- I remember reading that on the old Kerry blog and, and this is the absolute truth, I was just thinking about it yesterday! (or the day before - on a smoke break from work anyway.) That exact quote! (Or maybe not exact but the exact same concept -- I wonder if it's the same person.)
Chuck in Doha
I read an interesting book review on Salon today, in case anyone out there subscribes:
http://www.salon.com/books/int/2005/11/28/dreyfuss/index.html
The book is by Robert Dreyfuss and the title is "Devil's Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam."
Chuck in Doha
The LA Times has a column buried in the movies & arts review section that takes on Cheney & his revisions of history... hat-tip to dailykos poster KingOneEye.
He said, "Tim Rutten's article, Cheney's History Needs A Revise, is one of the best deconstructions of the Vice President's hysterical hypocrisy I've read to date. "
Here's a link to the article...
http://www.latimes.com/news/columnists/cl-et-rutten26nov26,1,3009182.column?coll=la-news-columns
Here's a very interesting article highlighted by dailykos poster TeacherKen...
Baiting the anti-war left?
by teacherken
Mon Nov 28, 2005 at 04:09:42 AM PDT
As is obvious from the title, this diary is NOT about education, even if it may be educational. It is the result of the daily email I receive from The History News Network of the Center for History and Media of George Mason University.
The full title of the relevant piece is Why Republicans Are Desperate to Bait the Antiwar Left and was written by Jim Sleeper, a former New York Daily News columnist and the author of Liberal Racism, is a lecturer in political science at Yale.
...let me suggest that the entire piece, which is brief, is worth reading.
Here's the HNN article...
http://hnn.us/articles/18696.html
Here's the rest of TeacherKen's review...
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/11/28/6943/0653
Dwazhon:
Thanks for posting that link. I never would have found it I don't think.
Also, I used to feel somewhat conflicted about saying top adminstration officials lied us into war, so I decided to consult Merriam-Wbster (www.m-w.com), and, after reading the below, I feel much better about using the word "Lied" in this particular case:
Main Entry: 3lie
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): lied; ly·ing /'lI-i[ng]/
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English lEogan; akin to Old High German liogan to lie, Old Church Slavonic lugati
intransitive senses
1 : to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive
2 : to create a false or misleading impression
transitive senses : to bring about by telling lies
synonyms LIE, PREVARICATE, EQUIVOCATE, PALTER, FIB mean to tell an untruth. LIE is the blunt term, imputing dishonesty . PREVARICATE softens the bluntness of LIE by implying quibbling or confusing the issue . EQUIVOCATE implies using words having more than one sense so as to seem to say one thing but intend another . PALTER implies making unreliable statements of fact or intention or insincere promises . FIB applies to a telling of a trivial untruth .
Chuck in Doha
Dwazhon:
I meant the LA Times link, although the ones you just posted are probably good too (off to see).
Chuck in Doha
Well, also interesting. I've often thought the Bush strategy is to find a straw-man to beat the beejeezus out of. Also, I couldn't resist and Googled Dwazhon -- a village in Liberia? My sister was in the Peace Corps in Liberia back in the day.
Chuck in Doha
Posted by: chuck at November 28, 2005 11:33 AM
Good work, chuck in doha! You're on the right track.
BTW, I googled Doha the other day. Man, you sure get around...
Chuck, feels good to say lie, as a big release of angst. But our lawmakers have to be careful to show intent, when the admin. has covered up so much manipulation through the press. As each item becomes inarguable, as Levin's latest find of knowing more about a non-911-Iraq link, they act. Like shutting down the Senate on rule 21(?).
Marjorie:
Yeah, I'd have to say Cheney = prevaricator no prob., Bush = equivocator at best. In either case, lair is acceptable vernacular/idiomatic.
Madame:
I hope to finish this one up soon -- home for Christmas and then probably back for 1 or 2 months and then, I hope USA!!
Chuck in Doha
Posted by: chuck at November 28, 2005 11:33 AM
Yes, Dwahzon is the name of a small village not too far from Monrovia which we visited weekly when my family lived in Liberia.
By the way, and on-topic for a change, I thought this WaPo article was very telling. For a long time I have thought that the best outcome we could hope for in Iraq was a "kinder and gentler" version of the Hussein regime with close ties to Iran, which this article seems to bear out:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/26/AR2005112601211.html
Well, George, to paraphrase a guy I used to work with, "whatcha gonna do, Lieutenant?"
Also, I think Sharon's recent and somewhat breath-taking political gambit puts a lot of things back on the table in the Middle East that never should have been off the table to begin with. Have to see where he intends to go with that.
Somehow I get the sense that a lot of wheels are moving behind the scenes right now in this neck of the woods.
Chuck in Doha
Posted by: chuck at November 28, 2005 11:24 AM
Well, now that we have all the meanings for the verb lie, it yanks my chain in the biggest way possible. THIS is what I object to the most about this corrupt administration: THE LIE
They have lied.
They lie.
They will lie.
Well, no revelation there, one might say.
EVERYTHING they say they stand for, they do not.
EVERYTHING they say they believe in regarding democracy and freedom they do not.
EVERYTHING the people who voted for George W. Bush thought they were getting for their vote, they did not.
They did not get a better education system for their children. No child left behind must apply to deployment.
Pro-life to these people is nothing more than a manipulative tool to get their base to the polls.
Yet, America is blind. They ignorantly and blissfully go along with the dumb down propaganda they have been fed.
Today, as I braved the 19 degree weather and snow swirls (wind chill takes it to a little below zero), upon my travels I pulled up behind a pickup truck. Plastered all over the back of it were bumper stickers that read: "You can't be Catholic and pro-abortion". "Abortion stops a beating heart."
Sure wish I had one that said "You can't be (Christian, Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, etc..) and pro-war". "War stops a beating heart every ____ minutes." "Mommas don't let your children grow up to be soldiers."
No, I am not anti-religion. I am anti the abuse and use of it for manipulation.
No, I am not anti soldiers or our armed forces. I am against the use of them as chess pieces for the rich who have no conscience.
It is ALL a LIE.