General Patreaus delivered his report to Congress along with Ambassador Crocker. What they said really did not matter, but to anyone paying attention...it contained no surprises EXCEPT for the proposal of a 30,000 troop drawdown next year. But even that makes sense given the facts and is confirmed by the soldiers themselves.
Did the Senators take the opportunity to ask probing questions? No. None of the Democratic candidates did anything more then deliver a stump speech.
Every poll on the President's poor approval rating makes headlines, but what of the Congress? Gallup measure confidence in various institutions last June. Congress is the lowest rated institution in the country. Lower then HMOs. Over 10 points lower then the President. Nearly two-thirds lower then the Supreme Court and 80% lower then...the Military. There are plenty of very effective Congressmen and women, but they are overshadowed by morons.
Glenn Reynolds says it best: "the best Bush strategy is to put Congress on TV as often as possible."
Showing posts with label Iraq. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iraq. Show all posts
9.13.2007
3.13.2007
Around the Horn
Okay, my take on things:
Politics:
-Scooter Libby. Scooter got convicted of the same thing Martha Stewart got convicted of. But on (arguably) less solid evidence. I am not partisan enough to say he should get off any less or that Bush should pardon him now. Was it a political show trial? Sure, but that is Washington right now. And he is a Republican. Democrat and Clintonista Sandy Berger got off with a slap on the wrist for destroying classified material (which he lied about), but he is a Democrat.
Unfair? Certainly, but that is the way the media and Washington work.
-Iraq. The current conditions seem to be affecting the situation positively. (I don't thing the "surge" can take all the credit.) Iraq will be a mess for years, our job is to get the mess to a level manageable by the Iraqis themselves.
-Dems 2008. Anyone who thinks Obama has a shot is smoking something. Hillary will be the nominee. Barack has too much baggage that is only trickling out. The Clinton op-force is patient and will strike fast and brutally when the time is right. The Clintons INVENTED the politics of personal destruction.
-Attorney Firings. More political hay. Dems and Repubs are shocked (SHOCKED) that this sort of thing goes on. (Hillary also fired 93 attorneys when the Clintons came to town. But, claim Democrats, that was DIFFERENT! Of course, it was. ) I simply do not see the problem with firing a political appointee if that appointee is not carrying on the administration's wishes. NEXT!
-GOP 2008. I am not sure any of the current Big 3 will be nominated. McCain does not want to make nice with the more conservative wing, Romney still makes people uneasy with his flip-flops and religion, and Gulianni has appeared too many times in a dress.
Two words: Fred Thompson.
Sports:
-UConn. I weep. Nothin'. Not even an NIT bid. I think the this might mark a real transition year in NCAA Hoops. Calhoun (and every other DI coach) will need to understand how to work with very talented freshman/sophomores and mid-level upperclassman that do not have the talent to go early. But Calhoun will clean house in the off-season.
-Tournament Time. Wow. Who knows? I would think that UNC should walk away with it. Or Florida. But I like Kansas (who has the hardest road) and UCLA is a legitimate contender. I am still down on the Big 10, but I think Maryland has a real shot if they can stay up for the games. (But then everyone who can stay up for the games does.)
My choice right now: UNC.
-38 Pitches. Love him or hate him, Curt Schilling is a worthy read. He has a blog, 38 Pitches, that I have added on the left. Check it out.
-Cleats. Okay, so I am in a sports shop looking at the clearance rack and I find these Kelme cleats. For $29! One slight problem is the biggest size they have is an 8, which I passed long ago. But a deal is deal, so I make like freakin' Drizella trying to cram her doggies in that glass slipper before Cinderella gets a shot. With about as much luck. Damn, so close.
-The Kids. Youth sports starts soon. My eldest has his first lacrosse practice tonight, Little League tryout are in a few weeks and spring soccer starts soon. More observations on the insanity that are kids' sports leagues to follow.
Politics:
-Scooter Libby. Scooter got convicted of the same thing Martha Stewart got convicted of. But on (arguably) less solid evidence. I am not partisan enough to say he should get off any less or that Bush should pardon him now. Was it a political show trial? Sure, but that is Washington right now. And he is a Republican. Democrat and Clintonista Sandy Berger got off with a slap on the wrist for destroying classified material (which he lied about), but he is a Democrat.
Unfair? Certainly, but that is the way the media and Washington work.
-Iraq. The current conditions seem to be affecting the situation positively. (I don't thing the "surge" can take all the credit.) Iraq will be a mess for years, our job is to get the mess to a level manageable by the Iraqis themselves.
-Dems 2008. Anyone who thinks Obama has a shot is smoking something. Hillary will be the nominee. Barack has too much baggage that is only trickling out. The Clinton op-force is patient and will strike fast and brutally when the time is right. The Clintons INVENTED the politics of personal destruction.
-Attorney Firings. More political hay. Dems and Repubs are shocked (SHOCKED) that this sort of thing goes on. (Hillary also fired 93 attorneys when the Clintons came to town. But, claim Democrats, that was DIFFERENT! Of course, it was. ) I simply do not see the problem with firing a political appointee if that appointee is not carrying on the administration's wishes. NEXT!
-GOP 2008. I am not sure any of the current Big 3 will be nominated. McCain does not want to make nice with the more conservative wing, Romney still makes people uneasy with his flip-flops and religion, and Gulianni has appeared too many times in a dress.
Two words: Fred Thompson.
Sports:
-UConn. I weep. Nothin'. Not even an NIT bid. I think the this might mark a real transition year in NCAA Hoops. Calhoun (and every other DI coach) will need to understand how to work with very talented freshman/sophomores and mid-level upperclassman that do not have the talent to go early. But Calhoun will clean house in the off-season.
-Tournament Time. Wow. Who knows? I would think that UNC should walk away with it. Or Florida. But I like Kansas (who has the hardest road) and UCLA is a legitimate contender. I am still down on the Big 10, but I think Maryland has a real shot if they can stay up for the games. (But then everyone who can stay up for the games does.)
My choice right now: UNC.
-38 Pitches. Love him or hate him, Curt Schilling is a worthy read. He has a blog, 38 Pitches, that I have added on the left. Check it out.
-Cleats. Okay, so I am in a sports shop looking at the clearance rack and I find these Kelme cleats. For $29! One slight problem is the biggest size they have is an 8, which I passed long ago. But a deal is deal, so I make like freakin' Drizella trying to cram her doggies in that glass slipper before Cinderella gets a shot. With about as much luck. Damn, so close.
-The Kids. Youth sports starts soon. My eldest has his first lacrosse practice tonight, Little League tryout are in a few weeks and spring soccer starts soon. More observations on the insanity that are kids' sports leagues to follow.
12.14.2006
More Mid East Crap
I made a point last January that TIME magazine finally catches up with: Arabs do not give a rat's ass about the Palestinians. They use it as an excuse to distract the West from the Sunni/Shiite powerplay occurring in the region.
In 632, the Profit Mohammed died. The elders appointed Abu Bakr as his successor despite the protests of those who said the Profit appointed Ali ibn Abi Talib as his rightful successor. Ali finally became Caliph for 5 years from 656 to 661 and is known as the last of the "rightly guided caliphs." After Ali's assassination, and coincident with the rise of the Umayyad dynasty (Sunni), the Sunnis and the Shiites have been fight each other. And the have not stopped since.
Iraq is the latest battlefield in this centuries old war. The US is not the problem. The fighting won't stop because we leave. The "sectarian" violence that plagues that country has plagued Islam for 1,345 YEARS! Saudi Arabia (Sunni) will never allow Iran (Shiite) to dominate Iraq, so it funds the Sunni insurgency. Iran wants to dominate Iraq, so it fund the Shiite militias.
The solution is majority (Shiite) control with inalienable rights (and oil money) granted to Sunnis. The Iraqi Kurd and Saudis (Egyptians?) should be "persuaded" to be an honest broker in this process. There are some indications that the Saudis are waking up to the reality that if the US leaves, the Saudis' lives will become much, much more complicated.
Good. It is about time.
UPDATE: Diana West from the Washington Times: Let'em kill each other.
In 632, the Profit Mohammed died. The elders appointed Abu Bakr as his successor despite the protests of those who said the Profit appointed Ali ibn Abi Talib as his rightful successor. Ali finally became Caliph for 5 years from 656 to 661 and is known as the last of the "rightly guided caliphs." After Ali's assassination, and coincident with the rise of the Umayyad dynasty (Sunni), the Sunnis and the Shiites have been fight each other. And the have not stopped since.
Iraq is the latest battlefield in this centuries old war. The US is not the problem. The fighting won't stop because we leave. The "sectarian" violence that plagues that country has plagued Islam for 1,345 YEARS! Saudi Arabia (Sunni) will never allow Iran (Shiite) to dominate Iraq, so it funds the Sunni insurgency. Iran wants to dominate Iraq, so it fund the Shiite militias.
The solution is majority (Shiite) control with inalienable rights (and oil money) granted to Sunnis. The Iraqi Kurd and Saudis (Egyptians?) should be "persuaded" to be an honest broker in this process. There are some indications that the Saudis are waking up to the reality that if the US leaves, the Saudis' lives will become much, much more complicated.
Good. It is about time.
UPDATE: Diana West from the Washington Times: Let'em kill each other.
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