This means they can come home now, right?

Al-Qaida in Iraq 75 percent destroyed.

Oh, but Gen Petraeus states the gains are, "tenous... and could be reversed".

And so the cycle of almost success continues. The cycle of just another six months and We're makin' progress which will keep us in Iraq for... 50 years?

Is it worth it?

Is Iraq worth what we are paying? No.

Does leaving cheapen the sacrifices of those who have served and those who gave the final full measure? Maybe...

But it's a vulgar gambler's fallacy of irrational escalation used by Chickenhawk Warmongers to tap into the raw emotions of those who have lost loved ones or those who have served and want to, need to believe their government didn't send them into a war for profit.

But, as everyone who's worn the uniform can tell you the goals of the military are:
1) Mission Accomplishment.
2) Troop Welfare.

The US government doesn't "Support the Troops". To politicians sitting in a Corinthian leather chair in DC, you the soldier, are a blip on a power point presentation. If you're ground into hamburger to accomplish the mission, oh well.

Take a look at the graphic above. Notice anything? The last 4 years have all been statistically the same. And that's it. Each of those 3900 killed is nothing but a number to Washington, a statistic.

I hope next year will be different. I hope at the end of 2008, we won't add another 850 and 6000 to the those grim totals. We have purchased a fragile peace by throwing money at the Anbar Sheikhs and right now Moqtada al-Sadr is just bidding his time. Many things could lead an upsurge in violence; the death of Sayyid Ali Husaini al-Sistani, a broader Kurdish-Turkish War, a revival of the Anbar insurgency.

And then there is the money. Only a fool or a madman would continue to throw money into a losing proposition.

We are currently paying 15 Billion a month for Iraq and Afghanistan. That doesn't include the 440 Billion set aside at the beginning of the fiscal year for the War Department.

Unfortunately, what's worse Iraq isn't a losing proposition, to some. Vast amounts of US money have simply been wasted, to the point where, We the People will never know what happened to billions of dollars of hard currency in Iraq.

But, it's been a windfall for Ahmad Chalabi, Blackwater, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and many more tied into the sick and twisted Waltz of Death.

Ron Paul loses some Luster

Well, I'm in an unevinable position when it comes to Ron Paul.

On a positive note the NYTimes did print a follow-up stating they should not have run a string of allegations and assertions without allowing a response from Paul's campaign. Not that it has stopped the racist meme from being adopted as "Internet Fact" by the likes of Democratic Underground.

But, Ed Brayton of Dispatches from the Culture Wars has a video of Ron Paul rejecting evolution, stating "it's a theory... theory of evolution. No one has absolute proof on either side."

Uugh.

I can't vote for someone who could reject the mountains of evidence for Evolution. And I can not in good conscience, rationalize his statments by telling myself Paul played to the audience and is trying to garner votes. Because if I am to vote for Paul, he has to be above that kind of pandering. Otherwise I am as guilty as everyone else who ignores the ugliness of their favorite candidate...

The problem is, Ron Paul's stated position on the Occupation of Iraq, understanding the root causes of 9/11 (It's Blowback not because they hate us for our freedom or because women drive cars unescorted), and ending the Imperial American Empire are a strong siren's call for me.

But, I can not ignore these repeated warnings .

Update (12/27):
Ironically, it seems, being caught up in the Paul Revolution caused me to lose sight of the title of my own blog...

Do you know what USMC stands for?

U
Suckers
Missed
Christmas

To all the Devil Dogs and Servicemembers overseas away from Hearth & Home, Friends & Family, Have a Safe and Merry Christmas.

One day hopefully, We The People, will understand the True Spirit of Christmas take command of our lives and not allow a bureaucracy to send our children into War for the advancement of the careers or stock portfolios of the Few...

The Anti-War 110th Congress!

Yes, I'm so glad the democratically controlled congress is saying no to giving the Warmongers money!

Wait, this post reads the senate just approved another 70 Billion in war funding?!? And now Iraq/Afghanistan have surpassed Vietnam in War Profiteering...

Let's read what hillary had to say about Funding the Iraq War 7 months ago:
"Well, today we're talking about this very important immigration issue, there'll be time to talk about that later." ~ hillary clinton

Well of course you have time hillary, you don't have to worry about chelsea getting her Tits blown off by an IED! But, of course chelsea is special she's been groomed for leadership and has just started a $150000 job in New York. Can, We the People really ask such a special young woman to put that all on hold and endanger her health, life and sanity?

Unbelievable. Can anyone continue to delude themselves a democratic president will pull the troops out before 2012? Let alone any of the Insane republicans... This is one of the wages of the Warfare/Welfare State...

Vote for Ron Paul.

Religious/Military Indoctrination

So, you are a squad leader and you have to take:
Tarawa defended by the Japanese or
The Fort Douaumont during the Battle of Verdun or
Pork Chop Hill in Korea or the
Russian Guns in redoubt at Balaclava...

How do you convince the men you aren't just ordering them to a wasted death? Why convince them they are in the service of a Glorious Sky Daddy and will be rewarded in their next life! And if any parents question the death of their loved one? Why just ask Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich what to say! You see, the truth is, if the parents are upset their son is dead it's probably because they are Evil Non-Religious people and stupidly they believe their son is "wormdirt" and not enjoying the Big Reward. A sort of heartless Pascal's Wager.

And what better time to pound in the indoctrination than when the young men are under the stress of Boot Camp? You could even title your Religious Brain-washing 'God's Basic Training'! The First Strategic Objective being: Evangelize and Disciple All Enlisted Members of the US Military.

The ignorance on display here is disgusting. And once again this can be attributed to a lack of knowledge of history. Instead of distrubting copies of a book containing bronze age myths why not let military recruits read The War Prayer by Mark Twain?

Oh... Well I know why because the State doesn't want it's cogs to question the decisions of the State. The State has enjoyed a cozy relationship with Religious Authority. Everyone knew their Country was the Just Country, the Righteous Country because religious "leaders" said so.

Fortunately, a man of great courage, Michael L. Weinstein, is standing up, speaking out and leading the fight against those using their Military Rank to coerce and force their religious beliefs upon the troops under their control.

President Ron Paul

Ron Paul is going to win the Presidency. The question is whether the Gatekeepers of Society (Members of the Media, Corporate Interests, The Supreme Court, Controllers of the Voting System) will attempt to steal the election from Ron Paul.

You see it is not in the interests of the Establishment to have someone who would reduce the scope and power of the State by minimizing overseas forays, respecting the rule of law and adhering to the Constitution.

So the only thing, We the People can do is to overwhelm the system so as to not allow them to place another ignorant puppet in power. Support for President Paul by the People is on the verge of being overwhelming even as the ideologically driven dead tree media forces it's views on society.

Vote for Ron Paul. Give America and the World a chance.

A Closer Look at the Ron Paul Revolution.

Update (12/20):
A white supremacist, Don Black gave Ron Paul $500. Paul is not giving the money back. A Paul spokesman stated, "And that's $500 less that this guy has to do whatever it is that he does."

Some of the back and forthers at Wonkette apparently believe this to be the greatest political scandal E-V-A-R. I wonder if they have the morals to decline their tax refunds, paychecks, social security check, or pell grant money. I guess the $500 is worse than waterboarding or "Shock & Awe" and the 2 Trillion Dollar Price Tag for Iraq...

Waterboarding: An American Tradition since 1901!

The US used waterboarding in the Phillipines back in 1901. Of course back in 1903, they called it the "Water Cure":

The commonest form of torture was known as the "water cure," and it was so common that, on Bohol, toward the end of the war, people joked about getting it -- and then got it. It became, as its nickname suggests, a kind of liquid panacea, a cure for whatever you couldn't kill -- a cure for disloyalty, a cure for native "insolence," a cure for the insurrection -- that the army doled out like the shots for the small pox it also dispensed. Ostensibly, the "water cure" was used to elicit information. But the information it obtained was always suspect. And people died from it.

Testifying before Congress in 1903, Lt. Grover Flint gave a sanitized but still vivid account of the way that it worked:

A man is thrown down on his back and three or four men sit or stand on his arms and legs and hold him down; ...a carbine barrel or a stick as big as a belaying pin... is simply thrust into his jaws and his jaws are thrust back, and, if possible, a wooden log or stone is put under his head or neck, so he can be held more firmly. In the case of very old men I have seen their teeth fall out, -- and I mean when it was done a little roughly. He is simply held down and then water is poured onto his face down his throat and nose from a jar; and that is kept up until the man gives some sign or becomes unconscious. And then... he is simply... rolled aside rudely, so that water is expelled. A man suffers tremendously, there is no doubt about it. [S. Doc. 331, 57 Cong., 1 Sess. (1903), pp. 1767-1768]

Waterboarding is torture.

And it's frightening to read "Americans" (in reality FREEpers) support the practice. Or US Senator Kit Bond equate torture by drowning with swimming.

Hey Kit, would you have been happy if your son Sam had, "learned" to swim this way at Quantico? Or would it be okay if insurgents in Iraq used waterboarding on your son in Iraq? Because I don't think so, but I guess you would be fine with the insurgent freestyle...

Update:

Sam Stein at The Huffington Post exposes 30 Anti-American cowards against waterboarding. Strangely they all have General or Admiral before their name...

Chicken Hawk Defense

So, a standard defense by Chicken hawk Warmongers is, "Does one need to have been in the military to have an opinion on the military?"

This comment is usually left anomynously on blogs by those who feel it's some how a trump card.

The answer is: Of course not. But, I'll question everyone and anyone, who is willing to send Men off to war, with no intention of placing their own precious lives at risk, interrupting their own dreams and pacing their own aspirations on hold to fight "Islamo-fascism", and who have never "seen the elephant".

For the problem is one of perspective. If you have never seen a person bleed to death, be blown apart, or seen friends return from in-country and watch them drown themselves in booze or broads, expose themselves to X-Game like activities so the adrenline rush breaks through the dull ache of "normal" life or just let the melancholy overwhelm them so they slip away...

Well...

When I hear Warmongers talk about the need to stay in Iraq, I know you have no idea what you are talking about. Or you simply don't care because it won't be your friends and family in harm's way...

True Cowardice

Tomorrow, 12/12/07 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst brave Warrior Jonah Goldberg will give a lecture, All I am Saying is Give War a Chance.

You can (if space is available): "Join the UMass Republican Club for yet another lively and edifying political discussion on the costs, necessities, consequences, and benefits of war." (emphasis mine)

There is something especially twisted about enlistment age Men sitting around extolling the virtues of War while never entertaining the notion they themselves would have to pick up a rifle and fight.

Of course, I can understand the UMass Republican Club members trepidation. Who wants to go to MCRD San Diego or Parris Island to receive cruelty and maltreatment? As Sgt Glass stated, "I think it has to do with the Marine Corps not wanting to admit to the public what it takes to train somebody ... to go to war." (emphasis mine)

But, to those being trained as Captains of Industry and Leaders in Government the evils being visited upon others (home or abroad) matter little.

To them, War is a wonderful device to stifle dissent, unify the public under a hyper-patriotic Just War Banner and transfer vast amounts of wealth to those in charge of Government and Industry.

Destroy All Chimps!

Chimps have better memories than Humans!

A Chimp Killing Pogrom must be enacted! For it is an insult to Christians everywhere God's Special Creation, MAN, should be humbled by Chimpanezes! Also those damn immoral Bonobos use sex to diffuse situations instead of solving problems with genocidal murder sprees as is expressly stated by GOD in the Bible

If the facts of the world do not agree with Religion, the World must be changed! And the destruction of every Chimp in the world will change the facts of this report for ever!

Uh oh, there is an angle I did not consider. Instead of being bad for Christianity this may be the long-awaited proof of reincarnation...

Quickly O'Reilly Man the Guns! Evil America Haters are trying to Stop War with Iran!

From the nine-page summary of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program.

"The good news is that U.S. intelligence now believes Iran stopped trying to develop a nuclear weapon a few years ago. So if that's true, it takes some of the urgency away from a confrontation with the Iranian mullahs." - Bill O'Reilly, Faux News

Takes some of the urgency away? So even if Iran doesn't have nuclear weapons or an active program we still have to go to war with Iran?

Oh, of course, War is always the answer. Especially, when your bald splocthy head wont have to sweat spending more than 3 days in country, distributing your merchandise.

What the fuck is with the coverage of Iran? The Iranian people are not a single block all working feverishly towards the destruction of the world. Is it laziness or ignorance which drives reporters to speak in terms of Iran as driven solely by the will of Ahmadinejad?

Ahmadinejad is not Hitler, but he must be Napoleon Bonaparte, because he obvious has the power to send the Iranian Military into war at will. And keep them at War for a 15 year plus span!

The Iranians have a strategic choice to make," Most Glorious Leader Bush said, "They Can Come Clean..." It is, of course, the words of a Despot Authoritarian Statist controlling the US. A "man" who was told in August 2007 Iran may have suspended their weapons program. A "man" who has never come clean about Iraq, but instead makes jokes about the Search...

The Bush Regime is not America, nor is the Iranian Regime Iran.

Hopefully, the People will not allow themselves to be lead into another War in which The Warmongers hide in safety at home while Americans die for gold and glory.

xoxoxox Bush and Abdullah BFFE xoxoxox

Crooks and Liars has a video link of Ed Henry asking President Bush if Bush asked his Busom Buddy King Abdullah about the barbaric treatment the 19 year Saudi girl rape victim has endured.

President Stumble Bush replied, "I don't remember if that subject came up."

Jonathan Miller interview by Bill Moyers

Bill Moyers Journal Interview with Jonathan Miller "A Brief History of Disbelief".

The interview is from May of 2007, but Dr. Miller is such a reasoned voice and the mini-series was so well done, it needs to be referenced.

It is thanks to Dr. Miller, Professor PZ Myers, Professor Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Philosopher/Marine Mark I. Vuletic and many other intelligent, well-spoken, brave individuals I can express my ideas without fear of facing the attacks from close minded zealots or the outright bigoted attacks from ignorant fanatics which plagued the eminent men (e.g. the infamous Crusade against Bertrand Russell) of early generations.

Fund The Troops, Support the War Profiteers

So, the inarticulate Criminal-in-Chief is hiding behind the troops again.

"Pentagon officials have warned Congress that the continued delay in funding our troops will soon begin to have a damaging impact on the operations of this department," Bush said Thursday.

Everytime there is a threat to the War, the Support the Troops canard is played. But, a damaging impact on the operations of the department doesn't mean Gunny from S1 would have to tell Sgt Disaffected, 'Sorry we can't pay you this month', it means the billions of dollars going to the War Profiteers (CACI, Lockheed Martin, Halliburton, Blackwater, Triple Canopy) is in jeopardy.

And That is Something The Pentagon can not allow!

It does appear violence is down in Iraq, of course the problem is the War Mongers are pushing the Surge as the key reason violence is down. They are wrong. One of the main reasons violence is down is the split between the Sunni Tribal Leadership of Al Anbar province and the foreign insurgents fighting US there.

The foreign fighters (usually all lumped together as Al Qaeda in Iraq) have been targeting and murdering Iraqis indiscriminately. The foreign fighters overstepped and killed some of the clan leaders.

The Sunnis realize they are going to be fighting a civil war with the Shia for a long time to come and have decided to save their strength get control of the foreign militant groups in Anbar and not kill as many Americans. They aren't our "allies" as Petraeus or Crocker have announced so Bush can crassly proclaim success and push the continued occupation.

So, Bush still hides behind the skirts of others (The Pentagon, The Troops staged as props at his scripted teleconferences) to continue the theft of blood and treasure.