John Murtha, HuffPo: After Five Years: the Iraqi Government No Where Near in Control

[Amerigo Vespucci]

After Five Years: the Iraqi Government No Where Near in Control

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-john-murtha/after-five-years-the-iraq_b_96659.html

On Sunday, Secretary Gates appeared on CBS's Face the Nation and said, "Eight provinces in Iraq are already under provincial control, where there are either no coalition forces or they are...not involved in combat."

Iraq is divided into 18 provinces and has an estimated population of 27.5 million people. The U.S. has transferred control of 8 provinces to Iraqi Government control.

While the administration applauds this statistic as "progress being made," they leave out the fact that these 8 provinces have a combined population of only 6.5 million people.

After five years, more than 4,000 American lives lost, and over $535 billion spent, less than 25% of the Iraqi population is under Iraqi control.

The American people deserve more than "progress is being made" rhetoric. They deserve the facts.

[ItsNeverOver]

1. 5 Years, 4 Thousand U.S. Deaths and $500 Billion Later...

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Whether you measure it by the lives that have been lost, the sap of taxpayer money, the loss of accountability or the breach of the numerous laws and institutions that make up the foundation of our country, the Iraq War has cost us. It is astounding that our leaders have the stomach to be aware of all these costs and can still look us in the eye and tell us this war has been anything but an abominable failure. Here are the highlights of the latest befuddlements in the Bush administration's handling of the war:

*The end of March saw the bloodiest two-week period we have experienced since September 2007, resulting in the loss of 25 American lives in fourteen days. That week, on the same day a roadside bomb claimed over 50 lives, Dick Cheney and John McCain visited Iraq; McCain told CNN, “We are succeeding. And we can succeed, and American casualties overall are way down.”

*A lawsuit waged against KBR regarding the senseless death of Sgt. Ryan Maseth due to negligence in electrical wiring has uncovered details that the private contracting company's failure to fix reported faulty wiring led to the deaths of at least eleven other troops.
Details probing into the suicide of Army Colonel Ted Westhusing in Iraq found that greed and corruption in the attitudes and behaviors of his commanders was a contributing factor to his emotional distress. One of his commanders? David Petraeus.

*On March 11th, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on waste, fraud and abuse of American tax dollars in Iraq, which described corruption in contracts as “widespread” and “rampant,” and found that “poor accountability has resulted in thousands of weapons provided by the U.S. to Iraqi security forces being stolen, looted, or otherwise provided to insurgents and militias to use against U.S. troops.”

It's too late to get our money back. But its not too late to demand that our leaders use our tax money in a responsible manner that contributes to, not undermines, our security. Progressive Future has launched a brand-new website to provide our supporting activists with the tools and resources necessary to launch an all-out campaign to change the direction of our country. This new site includes features such as a http://progressivefuture.org/media-center">weekly cartoon like the one above, daily updated news you can use, recent outrages, and direct action opportunities, like our petition to call for contractor accountability. Join Progressive Future in taking back our country.

[ItsNeverOver]

2. 5 Years, 4 Thousand U.S. Deaths and $500 Billion Later...

?v=0

Whether you measure it by the lives that have been lost, the sap of taxpayer money, the loss of accountability or the breach of the numerous laws and institutions that make up the foundation of our country, the Iraq War has cost us. It is astounding that our leaders have the stomach to be aware of all these costs and can still look us in the eye and tell us this war has been anything but an abominable failure. Here are the highlights of the latest befuddlements in the Bush administration's handling of the war:

*The end of March saw the bloodiest two-week period we have experienced since September 2007, resulting in the loss of 25 American lives in fourteen days. That week, on the same day a roadside bomb claimed over 50 lives, Dick Cheney and John McCain visited Iraq; McCain told CNN, “We are succeeding. And we can succeed, and American casualties overall are way down.”

*A lawsuit waged against KBR regarding the senseless death of Sgt. Ryan Maseth due to negligence in electrical wiring has uncovered details that the private contracting company's failure to fix reported faulty wiring led to the deaths of at least eleven other troops.
Details probing into the suicide of Army Colonel Ted Westhusing in Iraq found that greed and corruption in the attitudes and behaviors of his commanders was a contributing factor to his emotional distress. One of his commanders? David Petraeus.

*On March 11th, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on waste, fraud and abuse of American tax dollars in Iraq, which described corruption in contracts as “widespread” and “rampant,” and found that “poor accountability has resulted in thousands of weapons provided by the U.S. to Iraqi security forces being stolen, looted, or otherwise provided to insurgents and militias to use against U.S. troops.”

It's too late to get our money back. But its not too late to demand that our leaders use our tax money in a responsible manner that contributes to, not undermines, our security. Progressive Future has launched a brand-new website to provide our supporting activists with the tools and resources necessary to launch an all-out campaign to change the direction of our country. This new site includes features such as a http://progressivefuture.org/media-center">weekly cartoon like the one above, daily updated news you can use, recent outrages, and direct action opportunities, like our petition to call for contractor accountability. Join Progressive Future in taking back our country.