we knew it

but he said it out loud. i guess it doesn't count when we say it because we don't have stars on our shoulders

US violated Geneva Conventions, Bush Iraq commander says

By John Byrne
The head of the US Central Command, General David Petraeus, said Friday that the US had violated the Geneva Conventions in a stunning admission from President Bush’s onetime top general in Iraq that the US may have violated international law.

“When we have taken steps that have violated the Geneva Conventions we rightly have been criticized, so as we move forward I think it’s important to again live our values, to live the agreements that we have made in the international justice arena and to practice those,” Gen. Petraeus said on Fox News Friday afternoon.

Petraeus made the comment in the context of being asked about the Bush administration’s so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques.” ...........

hey da liebs

there are PLENTY of countries and people (take saudia arabia for instance. take libya for instance . take your best bud king george for instance.) who are responsible for the deaths of americans. why aren't you bombing THEM i must ask myself?
Lieberman 'hopes' Iran is aware US airstrikes are 'distinct possibility'
David Edwards and Muriel Kane
After General David Petraeus testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee in April, conservative pundit Pat Buchanan
warned that "the neocons may yet get their war on Iran."
Buchanan particularly singled out Petraeus's agreement with Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) when he suggested, "Is it fair to say that the Iranian-backed special groups in Iraq are responsible for the murder of hundreds of American soldiers and thousands of Iraqi soldiers and civilians?"
When Lieberman appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Monday, Buchanan reminded him of that question and asked, "Do you believe that the United States should conduct air strikes on the al-Quds force in Iran if they do not stop this, and do you expect President Bush to do something like that?"
"I hope we don't have to get to the point of moving in any way into Iran to strike at the base of the people who are responsible for killing Americans," Lieberman replied. "But I hope that the Quds Force and the Iranian government has in mind that that is a distinct possibility.".............

is cnn turning into faux?

you be the judge
Republican operative's wife attacks MoveOn.org. Oh, she's also CNN's new anchor Campbell Brown

by
Joe Sudbay (DC)
Jonathan Klein, the President of CNN, has got himself yet another biased reporter. The wife of Dan Senor, who served as a spokesperson for Bush in Iraq, is now working for CNN. Normally, who a reporter's spouse wouldn't and shouldn't matter. And, it wouldn't if Campbell Brown didn't show an obvious bias. Last night, in her first week on the job, she attacked MoveOn:
During the November 28 CNN special Campaign Killers: Why Do Negative Ads Work?, CNN anchor Campbell Brown said: "General David Petraeus made his reputation taking on insurgents in Iraq. But when he came to Capitol Hill in September, he was confronted by American insurgents, a liberal anti-war group called MoveOn.org."............

i have an idea

why don't we send those assholes (who as PRIVATE citizens walk the mexico united states border to stop illegal border crossings) to guard the saudi iraq border? i think it's a DAMN fine idea. plus, it won't innvolve any of our troops! plus, it will give the assholes a big fat woody

Petraeus denies militants cross Saudi/Iraq border but officials admit infiltration

David Edwards and Muriel Kane

The top US commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, told Diane Sawyer of ABC's Good Morning America on Monday that jihadis are not crossing the Saudi border into Iraq. However, other sources indicate that the border is far more porous than Petraeus was willing to acknowledge.
Sawyer asked Petraeus about recent reports that "about half of the 60 to 80 foreign fighters coming into Iraq [each month] are coming across Saudi borders," including a large number of suicide bombers. "You have been very hard on the Syrians for letting foreign fighters come in through their borders," she said. "Are the Saudis not doing enough to shut down their borders?"
"I'm not sure that they're coming across the Saudi border," replied Petraeus. "I think what we have found is that it is Saudi citizens and citizens from other countries in North Africa and in the region who are coming through Syria."
When Sawyer asked again, "So you don't see them coming across the Saudi border?" Petraeus responded, more emphatically, "We do not, actually. The Saudis have a reasonably tight grip on the Saudi border, and it is a substantial expanse of desert. You really have to want to be a suicide bomber if you want to come across that expanse of desert that defines the Saudi-Iraq border in western Anbar Province."..........

after lugar

i guess no one wanted to be first. little by little they WILL come to the side of light. to the side or right. to the side of the law. to the side of morals and ethics. to the side WITH A SOUL

GOP Skepticism On Iraq Growing
Key Senators Urge Reduction in Troops


By Karen DeYoung and Shailagh Murray Washington Post Staff Writers

Key Republican senators, signaling increasing GOP skepticism about President Bush's strategy in Iraq, have called for a reduction in U.S. forces and launched preemptive efforts to counter a much-awaited administration progress report due in September.
In an unannounced speech on the Senate floor Monday night, Sen. Richard G. Lugar (Ind.), the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, said the U.S. military escalation begun in the spring has "very limited" prospects for success. He called on Bush to begin reducing U.S. forces. "We don't owe the president our unquestioning agreement," Lugar said......

.........Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to Bush yesterday urging the president to develop "a comprehensive plan for our country's gradual military disengagement" from Iraq. "I am also concerned that we are running out of time," he wrote.......

don't like particular reports on how the situation in iraq is going?

well then, make shite up! switch things around. make things better.

don't you wish you could do this in real life?

we can't make all of the soldiers who have died in iraq come back to life. we can't make all of the iraqis who have lost their lives come back to life. we can't make all of the iraqi children who have seen things we can't even dream about - well we can't erase their memories.

we CAN stop this shite RIGHT NOW. demand king george and his court bring OUR MEN AND WOMEN HOME NOW

General’s Iraq Progress Report Has Competition

By DAVID E. SANGER and THOM SHANKER

WASHINGTON, June 23 — Last month, Congress set a deadline for the American commander in Iraq, declaring that by Sept. 15 he would have to assess progress there before billions more dollars are approved to finance the military effort to stabilize the country. The commander, Gen. David H. Petraeus, said in recent days that his report would be only a snapshot of trends, strongly suggesting he will be asking for more time.
But even before he composes the first sentences of the report, to be written with the new American ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan C. Crocker, the administration is commissioning other assessments that could dilute its findings about the impact of the current troop increase. The intent appears to be to give President Bush, who publicly puts great emphasis on listening to his field commanders, a wide range of options...........

snow vs petraeus vs king george vs THE AMERICAN PEEPS

it's so hard to keep track of untruths. one is telling us this the other is telling us that. NONE of it is GOOD though

from americablog
we have this: White House Spokesman Tony Snow contradicted General Petraeus
by
makeprofilelink("John Aravosis (DC)");
John Aravosis (DC) · 6/14/2007 11:28:00 AM ET

Yesterday, White House spokesman Tony Snow is now flatly contradicting General Petraeus, telling reporters that it's basically absurd to think that we'll be able to judge the efficacy of the Iraq surge by this September. Unfortunately, that's exactly what General Petraeus told Bush - that by September we'll have a good idea of how the surge is going...............

uh oh, wonder how long gates is going to last

seems like HE may have the semblings of a brain (and for that matter a soul)

Gates appears to break from Bush playbook on Iraq

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates' message on Iraq has recently seemed to conflict with the White House line, writes the Los Angeles Times.
"During a recent trip to the Middle East, Gates told the Iraqi government that time was running out and praised Democratic efforts in the U.S. Congress to set a timetable for withdrawal, saying it would help prod the Iraqis. He reiterated that point during a meeting with reporters last week," report Peter Spiegel and Julian E. Barnes.
A spokesman for Gates says that the Defense Secretary shares the views on troop withdrawal held by the White House and General David Petraeus, who commands US troops in Iraq. ......

'exceedingly complex'

is that another phrase for 'we're f**ked'?

seems like it is

when even the top general says it's a mess then will the masses do something?

or

how much longer are we going to wait? how many more of our troops are we going to allow to die? how many iraqis are we going to allow to die? how many are we going to allow to be displaced? and FOR WHAT?

(of course the general and i think we should proceed in different directions. or, maybe we don't. maybe he just can't say how he really thinks we should proceed)

U.S. surge fails to stem Baghdad violence, general says
By Nancy A. Youssef
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, said Thursday that the surge of U.S. and Iraqi troops into Baghdad hadn't reduced overall violence in the country and that the situation was "exceedingly complex."
The newly named commander echoed the warnings of those who'd preceded him, saying things could get worse before they get better. He spoke of threats emanating from Syria and Iran but said that al-Qaida, which has taken responsibility for a spate of car bombings, was "probably public enemy number one."
Petraeus' sober assessment made clear that while he thinks he's making progress, Iraq is a long way from stability and will require a long-term commitment from the United States.
"The level of violence has generally been unchanged" since the troop buildup began Feb. 15, Petraeus said at the Pentagon. Throughout the country, "there was a dip for a while. It was coming down and (then there were) these sensational attacks of the past couple of weeks." .........

ha!

the man JUST WON'T STOP
now, he was doing a FAVOR for a general by going out with protection. he didn't WANT the protection. he was doing his bud a favor


McCain says he would have gone into Baghdad market without escort
JACQUES BILLEAUD

PHOENIX — Sen. John McCain said Monday he would have taken his tour of an Iraqi market last week even if he hadn't been accompanied by heavily armed U.S. soldiers.
The Republican presidential hopeful said he would have walked through the Bab al-Sharqi market in Baghdad without the military protection, but the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, had recommended the armed escort.
"I'm not notorious for being nervous about going anywhere," said McCain, R-Ariz. "I'll gladly go almost anywhere in the world, under any circumstances, but I did respond and do what General Petraeus asked me to do."
McCain and other members of a congressional delegation toured the market last week, traveling in armored military vehicles and wearing body armor during their hourlong excursion.............