Watching The Petraeus Senate Hearings,...

[JimGinPA]

A Few thoughts;

First, what a dynamic speaker McSame is! His opening remarks prove he could be much more effective than 'Ambien' or 'Lunesta'. He will be dangerous in debates during the GE!

Secondly, MoveOn.org was right about Petraeus. He is nothing more than a shill for Bu$hCo. The M$M promoting him as a "hero" and a "neutral arbiter" is a fucking joke. His only purpose at this point is to aid the Bu$h administration in running out the clock in Iraq. His replacement should be made swiftly after the inauguration.

[hisownpetard]

1. He sounds like an old Social Studies teacher with bad breath and hemmorrhoids.

[Avalux]

15. Funny - I've always imagined McShame with putrid, rotting breath.

Every time I see him speak I think about it and it makes me shudder. :scared:

[flpoljunkie]

2. Must read from Salon's Gary Kamiya: The Iran Boggeyman is Back

The Iran boogeyman is back

Gen. Petraeus is reportedly going to blame Iran for why we need to stay in Iraq. If he does, it'll be destructive propaganda.

By Gary Kamiya

Apr. 08, 2008 | In his much-awaited testimony before the U.S. Senate this week, Gen. David Petraeus is reportedly going to cite Iranian aggression to justify keeping U.S. troops in Iraq. According to the Times of London, Petraeus will claim that Iranian troops fought alongside Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army against Iraqi government troops in Basra. The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, who will also testify, accused Iran of providing some of the rockets that have struck the Green Zone in Baghdad, causing a number of U.S. casualties. "We got the tailfins of what was dropping on us ... This was quite literally made in Iran," Crocker told reporters.

It's blame-blame-blame, blame-blame Iran. We've heard this song before. The Bush administration warbles it every time it needs to justify its failed Iraq policies and rally a skeptical public. Evil Iran, our archenemy, a charter member of the Axis of Evil, is killing American troops, and we can't leave Iraq, or Ahmedinejad and his cronies will take over the whole country. It's an updated version of the Cold War "domino effect" argument, with Iran taking the place of the communist menace. And in the latest version, Muqtada al-Sadr, the vehemently anti-American cleric, is portrayed as Public Enemy No. 1, an Iranian tool fighting the good guys in the Maliki government. U.S. troops have been fighting Sadr's militia in Baghdad's Sadr City in the last few days, making it even easier to portray him this way.

There's just one problem with this story: It's nonsense.

The truth is that the Maliki government and its allied Shiite faction, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI, formerly known as SCIRI), are much closer to Iran than the Sadrists are. Maliki's campaign against Sadr isn't a noble crusade by the good Iraqi government against the bad Iranian-backed Sadrists, but a battle waged by a weak Shiite leader backed by one militia, ISCI's Badr Corps, against another, stronger Shiite leader, Sadr, with his own militia, the Mahdi Army. Not only that, the "good" militia, the Badr Corps, was created in Iran by Iran's Revolutionary Guard -- the same organization whose Quds Force the United States notoriously declared to be a "terrorist organization" last year. The maraschino cherry on this sundae of absurdity: It was the head of that Quds Force, an Iranian general, who bailed out Maliki after Maliki's assault on Basra ignominiously failed, forcing him to send officials to Iran to broker a truce.

more...

http://www.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2008/04/08/petraeus_iran/print.html

[JimGinPA]

7. Thanks For The Link...

I just got to it. Very interesting read.

[JimGinPA]

14. Sessions Just Asked A Leading Question That Showed Your Article Accurate

Mentioned the "tailfins".

[babylonsister]

3. It's the DOG and PONY show, smearing LIPSTICK on a PIG! Oink. nt

[JimGinPA]

4. Exactly, And The M$M Is Only Going To Be Focused On The Candidates...

Keeping score on who (in their opinion) looks the most presidential. All the while ignoring the reality of the bullshit rationalizations for the continued occupation.

[babylonsister]

5. I'm waiting for the m$m to break away when Dems start telling these

guys they need hip boots because it's getting so deep.

You're right; this is on for the wrong reasons; will these statements, or the hearings, even be analyzed?

[JimGinPA]

6. The First Protester Just Dragged Out

:patriot:

[Life Long Dem]

8. I saw that. He was yelling bring them home! And they continued on like it was an everyday occurence.

Wait a minute, it is an everyday occurrence.

The fundamental question is: What is the United States’ interest in Lebanon? It is said we are there to keep the peace. I ask, what peace? It is said we are there to aid the government. I ask, what government? It is said we are there to stabilize the region. I ask, how can the U.S. presence stabilize the region?... The longer we stay in Lebanon, the harder it will be for us to leave. We will be trapped by the case we make for having our troops there in the first place.

What can we expect if we withdraw from Lebanon? The same as will happen if we stay. I acknowledge that the level of fighting will increase if we leave. I regretfully acknowledge that many innocent civilians will be hurt. But I firmly believe this will happen in any event.

Sen. John McCain, September 1983
http://www.amconmag.com/2008/2008_02_11/cover.html

[kid a]

9. kicking squealing gucci little piggy ntneeded

[SoonerPride]

10. If the war is such a fucking great idea, then BRING BACK THE FUCKING DRAFT

We keep our volunteer service personelle in a constant of rotation whereby the only relief they get from going back AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN is to either be killed or seriously wounded. Hoo-fucking-ray!

The psychological scars alone make most of those 140,000 still in Iraq damaged goods. Not to mention the destroyed families and economic consequences of this. This quagmire will topple our economy and plunge us headlong into another GREATER DEPRESSION. Hope you speak Mandarin, as this country is now for sale to the Chinese.

If the fucking occupation of Iraq is a policy we want to pursue for 100 years, then bring back the fucking draft. We'll see how popular it remains then.

This talk of "winning" is a goddamned joke. There is nothing TO win.

Get out and get out NOW. I don't care if the whole fucking middle east devolves into a holy war between the Shi'a and Sunni. It ain't our problem to fix. Sorry.

[Barack_America]

11. Fuck Lieberman.

Fucking lying traitor.

Thank you, that is all.

[JimGinPA]

12. Lieberman Bringing Iran To The Front Burner...

Could he be any more obvious?

[Barack_America]

13. The oozing praise for Petraeus....

...and declarations of "progress" were more than I could take.

My brain shut off in self defense before he could even begin on Iran.

[Hieronymus]

16. Every Republican is asking softball questions given to them in advance.

[redqueen]

28. And in other news: water is still wet.

:P

[JimGinPA]

17. Does Anyone Know If Something Is Wrong With Susan Collins?

Her speech seems especially slow and halting today. Does she suffer from an illness?

[Hepburn]

18. I just noticed that, too...

...she sounded very odd to me, too.

[Tropics_Dude83]

23. Petraeus really does=Betrayus

Despite what the media shills think.

[JimGinPA]

19. I Don't Care Much For Nelson - But He Sure Made Them Squirm

[Coexist]

20. Lindsay Graham. Ick.

[JimGinPA]

21. This Whole "al Qaeda Came To Iraq" Meme Is So Disingenuous...

Some Iraqis call themselves "al Qaeda in Iraq" and the conflating just took off.

[JimGinPA]

22. We're Bribing Iraqis $16 Million A Month...

And it's supposedly saving us money because they're not blowing up our vehicles now. Unbelievable!

[JimGinPA]

24. C-SPAN Turned Off The Hearings Just Before HRC Began...

Sexists! M$NBC & CNN is on her though.

[Life Long Dem]

25. Give Hillary a sedative she looks stressed. Wonder why?

[Keefer]

36. Sniper fire? n/t

[npincus]

26. Hillary looks bone-tired.

[Life Long Dem]

27. Wow! She must be carrying a lot of baggage.

[ksoze]

29. how does obama look?

tired, rested, or Not Present.

[JimGinPA]

31. Yeah, He's Not Present...

Because he's not on this commitee, disrupter.

[karynnj]

32. So, next there will be complaints that teh SFRC is scheduled later in the day

Allowing him more sleep!

[npincus]

34. rather childish, no?

it's an observation and not a slur. HRC looks very very tired.

[crankychatter]

30. It's believed he's here to pump up the case to attack inside Iran

I'm not watching today because it's just too awful to contemplate.

[JimGinPA]

33. Claire McCaskill Kicking It Bigtime!

She's right about them starting to pay for services instead of us paying for everything and them being left with a budget surplus.

[npincus]

35. and I like her glasses.

stylish!