more on the body armor i posted on the other day

the story is WORSE than we all thought. how can it get WORSE you say, well it involves KENNY G now
i'm making light of it but 10,000,000 on a bat mitzvah or ANY type of party or event is NOT funny. especially when our men and women are being blown to smithereens
(and of course the author is MORE than right. what 12 year old wants to hear don henley, kenny g or stevie nicks? NONE that i know of)
UPDATED: 50 Cent, the War Profiteer and the $10 million Bat Mitzvah
By Anthony Lappé
Why the world's best coming of age party has Iraq vets' blood boiling
On the day the President told the American people to prepare for the long haul in Iraq, here’s a story that seems to perfectly sum up our priorities as a nation. They’re calling it Mitzvahpalooza. It may go down in history as the world’s most obscene coming of age party. David H. Brooks, CEO of bulletproof vest maker DHB Industries, spared no expense for his 13-year old daughter’s entry into adulthood. The girl and 300 of her closest BFFs were entertained recently in New York’s Rainbow Room by Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, Kenny G, Aerosmith and, believe it or not, 50 Cent (I guess 500 large can make you forget all about street cred). It was hosted by Tom Petty. The reported cost: $10 million. See the pics here.
First off, what 12-year old is a fan of Don Henley, Fleetwood Mac and, for God’s sake, Kenny G? Who was this party really for? Second, and more importantly, where does a guy get $10 million to blow on a Bat Mitzvah? Well, it appears, from you, the American taxpayer. According to United for a Fair Economy, Brooks and Co. have made a tidy profit outfitting our nation’s fighting men and women in body armor that allegedly couldn’t take a hit from a 9mm round: ........

one of our favorite organizations (member brownie???) has done it again!

they didn't learn their lessons. they never cared to. why bother?
this speaks VOLUMES

FEMA Meets the Press, Which Happens to Be . . . FEMA
By Al Kamen
FEMA has truly learned the lessons of Katrina. Even its handling of the media has improved dramatically. For example, as the California wildfires raged Tuesday, Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, the deputy administrator, had a 1 p.m. news briefing.
Reporters were given only 15 minutes' notice of the briefing, making it unlikely many could show up at FEMA's Southwest D.C. offices. ...........

.................And so I think what you're really seeing here is the benefit of experience, the benefit of good leadership and the benefit of good partnership," Johnson said, "none of which were present in Katrina." (Wasn't Michael Chertoff DHS chief then?) Very smooth, very professional. But something didn't seem right. The reporters were lobbing too many softballs. No one asked about trailers with formaldehyde for those made homeless by the fires. And the media seemed to be giving Johnson all day to wax on and on about FEMA's greatness.
Of course, that could be because the questions were asked by FEMA staffers playing reporters. We're told the questions were asked by Cindy Taylor, FEMA's deputy director of external affairs, and by "Mike" Widomski, the deputy director of public affairs. Director of External Affairs John "Pat" Philbin asked a question, and another came, we understand, from someone who sounds like press aide Ali Kirin. ..............

his quote is, 'i don't think this place is worth another soldier's life'

i more than agree with that. we can't undo the damage we've done to their country, their people, their lives. we can't undo the damage we've done to our lives and our familes. we CAN prosecute those that are guilty of crimes against humanity. we won't but we CAN and we SHOULD. they are directely responsible for tens of thousands of lost lives and millions of disrupted lives. i sort of hope their god exists because i think that is the ONLY justice that will happen. when they leave this world and end up in HELL

'I Don't Think This Place Is Worth Another Soldier's Life'
After 14 months in a Baghdad district torn by mounting sectarian violence, members of one U.S. unit are tired, bitter and skeptical.

By Joshua Partlow Washington Post Foreign Service
BAGHDAD, Oct. 26 Their line of tan Humvees and Bradley Fighting Vehicles creeps through another Baghdad afternoon. At this pace, an excruciating slowness, they strain to see everything, hoping the next manhole cover, the next rusted barrel, does not hide another bomb. A few bullets pass overhead, but they don't worry much about those.
"I hate this road," someone says over the radio. ........
...............While top U.S. commanders say the statistics of violence have registered a steep drop in Baghdad and elsewhere, the soldiers' experience in Sadiyah shows that numbers alone do not describe the sense of aborted normalcy -- the fear, the disrupted lives -- that still hangs over the city. ...............

thanks to jeff for sending me the link to

the wounded warrior project

wounded warrior project videos

Our Mission
To raise the awareness and enlist the public's aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women, to help severely injured service members aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs.
Wounded Warrior Project is a non-profit organization

ah, how refreshing

JUST when you thought they couldn't be any MORE insincere, incompetent, heartless, soulless and cold (so to speak) they prove ya wrong!

Perino: ‘There Are Public Health Benefits To Climate Change’ For People Who Die From ‘Cold’
In her press briefing yesterday, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino responded to reports that the White House “eviscerated” Center for Disease Control director Dr. Julie Gerberding’s Senate testimony on the “Human Impacts of Global Warming.” She claimed that “the decision” was “to focus that testimony on public health benefits” of climate change.” “There are public health benefits to climate change,” asserted Perino.
Asked to explain what some of those benefits are, Perino said that climate change “would help those individuals” who “die from cold-related deaths every winter“:
Q: And one more. You mentioned that there are health benefits to climate change. Could you describe some of those?
MS. PERINO: Sure. In some cases, there are — look, this is an issue where I’m sure lots of people would love to ridicule me when I say this, but it is true that many people die from cold-related deaths every winter. And there are studies that say that climate change in certain areas of the world would help those individuals. There are also concerns that it would increase tropical diseases and that’s — again, I’m not an expert in that, I’m going to let Julie Gerberding testify in regards to that, but there are many studies about this that you can look into......

NOTE: video at the link above

please remember this name:

anne arundel county circuit judge paul harris

he acquitted a man who hit his girlfriend THREE TIMES IN THE FACE (this took place in public in a parking lot). how did the judge know he hit her three times? there was a witness. who was the witness? an off duty POLICE officer. IMPARTIAL POLICE OFFICER at that.

the victim didn't show up at the hearing so the judge decided she may have WANTED TO BE HIT (he mentioned in s&m or b&d that COULD be the case. oh, someday, i'm going to talk a bit more about THAT. i have a few things to say on that subject and some background to say it). ah, but we ALL know (all of us but the judge) how AFRAID victims of domestic abuse are. we also know how many are beaten to within an inch of their very lives OR KILLED because they either tried to get away from the abuser or had the abuser arrested.

judge, you get my gatsu piedi of the week award

Maryland Judge: Some Domestic Violence Victims Like Being Hit
Karen Houppert
Domestic violence cases are notoriously difficult to prosecute.
But every once in a while, prosecutors get handed the tools for a conviction on a silver platter: An impartial eyewitness who just happens to be a police officer.
Such was the case in a domestic violence trial that made the local papers here in Maryland last week. A cop pulling into an Exxon station saw a man hit his girlfriend in the face three times, called in back-up and had the man arrested.
But according to Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Paul Harris, who is "probably as against domestic violence as anybody, when the case is proven," one can't simply assume that a woman who is being hit didn't consent to the attack. "Sadomasochists sometimes like to get beat up," the judge reminded the courtroom--then acquitted the man. .........

michael webb is the acquitted WOMAN BEATERs name. he got let off of that, but according to a video at alternet recounting this story, the acquitted WOMAN BEATER michael webb is doin' time for a drug violation. well, he sounds like one stand up kinda dude!

how much is YOUR child worth?

how much is your husband worth? your wife worth?

one man, whose ten year old son was killed is waiting for an apology from blackwater. i think he's going to have to wait a LONG time for that. how can erik prince think killing a ten year old is NOT a mistake? as far as i know, prince still says blackwater did NOTHING wrong that day (or any other day). prince is a REAL prince


US Embassy offers just $12,500 for boy slain by Blackwater
Jason Rhyne
For the families of Iraqi civilians killed by the US security firm Blackwater last month, it may be difficult to place a monetary value on the loss of their loved ones -- but they agree it has to more than the few thousand dollars currently being offered up by the US Embassy.
The embassy made a rare move on Wednesday to compensate surviving victims and the families of fatalities related to a Sept. 16 shooting incident involving Blackwater's private security guards, according to a report in the Washington Post by Sudarsan Raghavan.
But the money being offered -- just 12,500 in one case involving the death of a 10-year old boy named Ali -- is being greeted with disgust by many..........

wonder who else's pockets

are being lined here. of course there is evidence OTHER body armor is more effective than this. not only won't the military appropriate the other armor, but it won't allow service member's familes (or friends) to ship the other armor to their deployed loved ones.

Two former body armor company execs indicted for insider trading, fraud

By FRANK ELTMAN
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) - Two former top executives of the leading supplier of body armor to the U.S. military were indicted today on charges of insider trading, fraud and tax evasion in a scheme that netted them nearly $200 million, federal prosecutors said.
David H. Brooks, 53, the former CEO of DHB Industries Inc., and Sandra Hatfield, 54, the former chief operating officer, were charged in a superseding indictment with manipulating DHB's financial records to increase earnings and profit margins, thereby inflating the price of DHB's stock.
"Corporate executives who line their own pockets at the expense of their shareholders flaunt the responsibilities they owe their companies and the investing public," U.S. Attorney Benton J. Campbell said in a statement.
The former DHB executives are accused of falsely inflating the value of the inventory of DHB's top product, the Interceptor vest, to help meet profit margin projections. The vest, designed to withstand rifle fire and shrapnel, was made for the Marine Corps and other branches of the military...............

breaking story!!!

keith olbermann hears al qaeda (not specified if it's plain ol' al qaeda OR al qaeda in iraq) CAUSES NIGHT TO FALL. wow

i'd like to go out on a limb here and add, i think it's the GAY members of al qaeda that cause night to fall

Olbermann: 'I heard Al Qaeda causes night to fall'
Mike Aivaz and Jason Rhyne
MSNBC host Keith Olbermann says the realistic threat of terrorism is being so overstated by the Bush administration -- and in turn, by Fox News -- that it's downright funny.
"What happens when the culture of fear begins to inspire not terror or outrage, but laughter?" asked Olbermann. "Am I being too optimistic, or has giggling now passed paranoia in response to the president and these macabre parrots working at Fox?"
Olbermann cited a report yesterday carried by Fox News which suggested that Al Qaeda may be the true culprit behind the rash of recent California wildfires. Basing their coverage on an article it said ran "five days ago" in the Arizona Republic, the Fox and Friends morning program discussed an FBI memo stating that an Al Qaeda detainee had brought up the possibility of such a plan................

while i was getting my coffee today

at dunkin', i noticed a little sticker someone put on the side of the counter. it said something like

PLEASE CHINA, have the olympics in darfur
(the following is from december 2006)
China and Darfur
The Genocide Olympics?
NEWSPAPERS HAVE been running harrowing ads on the genocide in Darfur. They feature images of suffering coupled with appeals to President Bush to halt it. But the key to this tragedy lies not in the killing fields of western Sudan nor even in the White House. It is to be found instead in Khartoum, Sudan's booming capital. The sleek new office towers sprouting up in the commercial district explain why Sudan's government has resisted American and European pressure to end the genocide. But they also show why Arabs and Asians -- and especially the Chinese -- have the power to influence Sudan and the responsibility to use it.......

a warm and cozy

to make us ALL feel safe and be able to sleep soundly each and every night. WE ARE LOVED AND WE ARE PROTECTED

McCain Promises Gun Company He'll Personally Chase Bin Laden and Shoot Him

Posted by GottaLaff

This post, written by GottaLaff, originally appeared on Cliff Schecter's Brave New Films Blog
I'm running, but I couldn't ignore this:
While speaking at a company called Thompson, which bills itself as "America's Master Gunmaker," John McCain declared:"I will follow Osama Bin Laden to the gates of hell and I will shoot him with your products."..............

from pam's house blend

i was waiting for the first one to say this. of course some asswipe already said somethig about the homes of the people who HATE AMERICA are burning down (vile ugly evil comments). this one is just as vile and evil and ugly

James Hartline: San Diego is on fire because of the homos

the headline in an australian paper

(and it's scary)
Bush offers to bomb Kurds

seems they've found their

blackwater scapegoat. oh, i'm guessing he should have been fired, but i'm also thinking the man was never given a choice. he HAD to use blackwater. once again one of the little players goes down while the big ones continue to float. so once again we're all feeling warm and cozy since they've taken care of that 'blackwater situation'

State Dept. Ousts Its Chief of Security

By Karen DeYoung Washington Post Staff Writer
The State Department's security chief was forced to resign yesterday after a critical review found that his office had failed to adequately supervise private contractors protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq.
Richard J. Griffin, a former Secret Service agent who was once in charge of presidential protection, was told by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's deputy, John D. Negroponte, to leave office by Nov. 1. Griffin's chief deputy, Gregory B. Starr, will become acting assistant secretary for diplomatic security. .........

to my beloved red sox

kick the SHITE out of 'em! (praise the lord)

The Rockies Get Off Their Knees
Dave Zirin
Twenty-one wins in twenty-two games. An improbable run to the World Series. One of the hottest streaks to end a season in the history of the game. And not two pitchers the average fan could even name. Ladies and gents, your Colorado Rockies: a team performing what even an atheist could call a baseball miracle. And "miracle" is an appropriate term for a team that riled the baseball world last year by claiming that filling the dugout with Christian players would grease the skids to greatness. ;.............

a plea for help (it's personal)

can someone explain to me WHY it's such an issue barack obama may or may NOT have had his hand over his heart during a rendition of the national anthem

INSTEAD Of making an issue out of millions of iraqis being displaced, tens of thousands being killed, thousands of our men and women being killed, an inadequate health care system in the us, an inadequate veterans health care system, homelessness in the us, poverty in the us, the treatment of gulf storm victims, the treasonous acts of certain members of our government by outing a covert cia agent and a HOST of other things in these same veins. YET they are upset barack doesn't have a flag lapel pin?

so, is someone going to help me by answering this?

Fox & Friends' Doocy reported Obama's "patriotism problems"
During the October 23 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, while previewing a discussion of a clip of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) in which Obama did not place his hand over his heart during the playing of the national anthem at a campaign event in Indianola, Iowa, co-host Steve Doocy asserted, "First he kicked his American flag pin to the curb. Now Barack Obama has a new round of patriotism problems," echoing an assertion made by the conservative blog NewsBusters. As Media Matters for America documented, during an October 3 interview with ABC-affiliate KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Obama was asked why he was not wearing an American flag pin on his lapel. ...........

pablo has crystalized my thoughts

toon by pablo on politics

Shatha al Awsy, Zaineb Obeid, Huda Ahmed, Ban Adil Sarhan, Alaa Majeed and Sahar Issa

i didn't know their names either. consider how brave they are. consider their circumstances. consider all the journalists (not just women) who are doing their jobs (and by journalists i mean REAL ones as opposed to the robert novaks and the like)

Women in McClatchy Baghdad bureau receive courage award
NEW YORK — Six Iraqi women who've worked in the Knight Ridder and McClatchy Baghdad bureau received the International Women's Media Foundation Courage in Journalism Award Tuesday.
At a luncheon at New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel, the foundation also honored Lydia Cacho, a Mexican journalist who exposed a pedophilia ring in the resort city of Cancun and subsequently was seized by police, apparently acting on the orders of a state governor, and Serkalem Fasil of Ethiopia, who was jailed for her criticism of the Ethiopian government, a U.S. ally in the battle against Islamic militants in neighboring Somalia.
The Foundation presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to Peta Thornycroft, 62. She's worked as a journalist in South Africa and Zimbabwe for more than three decades, and she renounced her British citizenship and became a citizen of Zimbabwe in 2001 so that she could continue to report under country's curiously named Freedom of Information and Right to Privacy Bill..........

this breaks my heart

no, it rather sickens my stomach. representative stark, you should NOT have apologized. you said NOTHING wrong. in my opinion you didn't go far enough. our men and women are dying, their men and women and babies are dying and a bunch of good ol' white boyz in the united states are lining their pockets. you spoke from your heart and it pains me you apologized

Rep. Pete Stark apologizes to president following failed censure attempt

David Edwards and Jason Rhyne
Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) apologized today for heated remarks he made during House Democrats' attempt last week to override a presidential veto of the SCHIP children's insurance program. The apology came following an attempt by Republican leaders to censure Stark, which failed 196-173.
"I want to apologize, first of all to my colleagues," the congressman said from the floor, adding that he also extended the apology to the "president and his family" as well as as "the troops."
"I hope that with this apology, I will become as insignificant as I should be, and that we can return to the issues that do divide us, but that we can resolve in a better fashion," he concluded.........

oh, rep stark, p.s. nancy pelosi is an ass

julie gerberding's speech was eviscerated?

oh hell NO, the AMERICAN PEOPLE are being eviscerated by king george and his entire court. that the great goddess for the occasional 'leak' (i call them whistle blowers OR truth tellers). not that we wouldn't have known her comments were edited. just like everything else though, NOTHING will be done. well the world is going to fall apart on the greater scale but i meant on the lesser scale; to king george and his court.

even on 60 minutes the other day, one of the firefighters battling the california blazes mentioned climate change. not that that is what CAUSED these particular fires but how climate change perhaps changes the frequency and the severity of the fires. well THEY don't care because the rapture is a rap rap rappin' at their doors

Heavy Editing Is Alleged In Climate Testimony

By H. Josef Hebert Associated Press
Testimony that the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention planned to give yesterday to a Senate committee about the impact of climate change on health was significantly edited by the White House, according to two sources familiar with the documents.
Specific scientific references to potential health risks were removed after Julie L. Gerberding submitted a draft of her prepared remarks to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review.................

........Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), the committee chairman, said in a statement last night that the Bush administration "should immediately release Dr. Gerberding's full, uncut statement, because the public has a right to know all the facts about the serious threats posed by global warming."
The Bush administration has been accused by government scientists of pressuring them to emphasize the uncertainties of global warming. Earlier this year, climate scientists complained to a House committee that the administration had sought frequently to manage or influence their statements and public appearances. .......................

yes, it IS for real

i went on the cia website to check it out, thinking of course it WAS A JOKE. it ain't

(only the logo on the left of course)

Terrorist busters

(i LOVED one of the comments on think progress; 'looks like a mexican wrestler')

as a matter of fact, i'm going to BEG you to read ALL of the comments (at the link above). they are PRICELESS as in; 'that would look GREAT on a lunchbox'

the big boyz keep getting BIGGER

Halliburton third-quarter net income rises 19%

didn't they just say

they defeated al qaeda in iraq? they JUST said it last week. yet here is general petraeus saying al qaeda is driving around iraq in government ambulances....HMMMMMMMM what up with dat?
one day one story. another day another story. now give 'em billions MORE for their folly

U.S.: Al Qaeda Using Iraqi Government Vehicles, Ambulances
Brian Ross and Luis Martinez Report:
Citing evidence that insurgents and al Qaeda terrorists are using Iraqi government vehicles and ambulances to carry out missions, Gen. David Petraeus has ordered a new system of checkpoints for almost all Iraqi official convoys and motorcades.
The only exceptions, according to an unclassified version of Gen. Petraeus' order, obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com, are "Tier 1" motorcades, such as that of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
U.S. officials in Washington confirmed the order and say it has been in effect since early October...........

i don't care what they say about king george

the man has GIANT stones. using words like 'CHALLANGE' and 'DEMAND'. our men and women are still dying. our children aren't getting proper food, education and health care. we are directly responsible for the displacement of MILLIONS of others. we have destroyed a WHOLE country. there are people starving in the rest of the world. there are children being raped and made to kill in the rest of the world. yet king george is DEMANDING BILLIONS more for his little pet war? ENOUGH
oh one more thing NANCY PELOSI IS A GIANT DOPE TOO. is she bending over for her daddy? sure seems like it

Bush Asks Congress For $46 Billion More In War Funding
Democrats Vow a Wait and a Fight

By Peter Baker Washington Post Staff Writer
President Bush challenged Congress to another clash over the direction of the Iraq war yesterday as he asked lawmakers for $46 billion more to pay for overseas military operations and insisted that they approve it by the end of the year.
The president's war funding plan revived the political struggle over Iraq that has grown somewhat dormant in Washington over the past month. Democrats vowed not to rubber-stamp the request and indicated that they will disregard Bush's holiday deadline, holding off any action until next year as they debate a new strategy to counter his leadership on the war. ...........

cause i love that dirty waterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

(boston you're my home!!!)

David Ortiz was on the field for pregame warmups before Game 7 of the ALCS against the Indians.
(Globe Staff Photo / Barry Chin)

Irena Sendler

just so you know her name. i didn't, but now i do.
if the world were filled with irenas (and the four kansas students who brought her story back to life) well, we would ALL be happy to be here

tikkun olam
How Holocaust heroine rescued 2,500 children
It took four Kansas teens to bring the world her story
By Kirsten Scharnberg Tribune national correspondent
FT. SCOTT, Kan. - The young Kansas women have become known as the "rescuers of the rescuer."What the four high school students did started out simply enough: collaborate on a National History Day project to write a short play about an event from the past. What they accomplished when it was all said and done has been stunning: discover, research and introduce to the world an unsung Polish heroine of the Holocaust, a woman who daringly saved some 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto yet remained virtually unknown to historians and the public for more than 60 years.................

help

chris dodd bring our constitution back!

it doesn't matter

treasonous acts were committed yet NO ONE will ever be charged with treason here. our phone calls and email and bank records are all being spied upon YET when a REAL criminal act occurs (outing valerie plame wilson) NO ONE (not one of the big boyz that is) not even that ass novak gets in trouble (scooter was a very little player here). how is that right? how did we allow this to happen? why won't we demand justice?

Plame on '60 Minutes': She Worked to Halt Iranian Nukes
WASHINGTON Four years after her CIA cover was blown in a newspaper column, Valerie Plame is settling scores with the Bush administration, Republican lawmakers and the journalists involved in the White House leak scandal. Plame writes about the leak, the fallout and the perjury trial of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in her memoir, "Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House." The book is to be released Tuesday, but The Associated Press purchased it early. In her first interview since Bush administration officials outed her as a covert CIA agent, Plame (who goes by Valerie Wilson) reveals to CBS "60 Minutes" on Sunday night that she was involved in preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon. CBS, in the form of Katie Couric, reports that she was “involved in one highly classified mission to deliver fake nuclear weapons blueprints to Tehran.” Plame on the program remains coy about this. Her role in Iran intelligence was first revealed by Larisa Alexandrovna of the Raw Story site in February 2006. .....

(unfortunately katie couric conducted the 60 minutes interview. it was ALMOST unwatchable because of her)

these are the sorts of people i am most afraid of

you know what, don't even bother reading what i wrote. go on over to the accidental housewife she says it MUCH better than i even could dream it

these who have power and have no cares about me, my family, my friends, my body, my children, MY decisions.

they don't 'believe' in abortions. they don't think it's my RIGHT to have one if i so choose. YET, they do NOT want to take care of the children that ARE born. they don't care if they are fed or educated or get health care. their caring STOPS at the moment of birth.

tell me what's wrong with THAT picture?
GOP '08 Candidate Huckabee Insanely Compares Abortion to the Holocaust
Posted by GottaLaff at 5:15 PM on October 20, 2007.
GottaLaff: Holy mother of idiots, just stop.

This post, written by GottaLaff, originalyl appeared on Cliff Schecter's Brave New Films Blog
I'm speechless (and for me, that's saying something):
Speaking before a gathering of Christian conservative voters, GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said legalized abortion in the United States was a holocaust.
Not the best analogy, Mike. "Offended" doesn't even begin to describe what I'm feeling.
"Sometimes we talk about why we're importing so many people in our workforce," the former Arkansas governor said. "It might be for the last 35 years, we have aborted more than a million people who would have been in our workforce had we not had the holocaust of liberalized abortion under a flawed Supreme Court ruling in 1973."
Mike Hack-abee, I don't know where to begin. To equate the right to choose and all the circumstances under which that might be necessary, to a holocaust...and all its implications? That's beyond wrong............................

you claim al qaeda in iraq

is GONE. now you claim shiite militias have taken their place. when you claim you have defeated the shiia militias who then will you claim is 'bothering' you? the civilians? the iraqi government? who who who?

U.S. Planners See Shiite Militias as Rising Threat

By Ann Scott Tyson Washington Post Staff Writer
Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker have concluded that Shiite extremists pose a rising threat to the U.S. effort in Iraq, as the relative influence of Sunni insurgent groups such as al-Qaeda in Iraq has diminished drastically because of ongoing U.S. operations.
This judgment forms part of the changes that Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, approved last week to their classified campaign strategy for the country, which covers the period through summer 2009. The updated plan anticipates shifting the U.S. military effort to focus more on countering Shiite militias -- some backed by Iran -- that have generated new violence as they battle for power in the south and elsewhere in Iraq, said senior military and diplomatic officials familiar with the plan. ...........