i disagree

the LAST thing we actually need is yet ANOTHER report on iraq. we don't need one. we KNOW the situation there (and here). we know it's destroying human life here and there. we know it's costing billions (yes and the report will cost money as well) here and there. it's unnecessary. it's redundant. even if we DO spend the millions on the report. IT WILL EFFING BE IGNORED OR LIED ABOUT JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER EFFING REPORT THESE DAYS (on ANY subject)
Kennedy and Levin Want New Report on Iraq Released

By Karen DeYoung Washington Post Staff Writer
A new intelligence report on the situation in Iraq is "essential" to upcoming debates on the war, and its judgments should be publicly released, Sens. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) said yesterday in a letter to the head of the nation's intelligence agencies.
Levin and Kennedy asked Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell to release an unclassified summary of the latest National Intelligence Estimate before Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ryan C. Crocker, the ambassador to Iraq, testify April 8 before the Senate Armed Services Committee, which Levin chairs.
Without the NIE, Levin and Kennedy wrote, "Congress and the American people will not have the essential information needed for an informed public debate." The document, an update of two previous assessments publicly released last year, was completed and delivered to Congress on Tuesday.
Several lawmakers familiar with its conclusions declined to provide specifics but said it contained little information beyond public accounts of recent events in Iraq. "The stuff that was positive, they emphasized. The negative, they stated, but deemphasized," said Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.). Biden chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which was briefed on the intelligence estimate early this week. ......

because my lil' friend JESUS told me to kill kill kill

that's why i did it! that's EXACTLY what king george would have us believe
Citing Faith, Bush Defends War Actions
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
NASHVILLE — President Bush delivered a rousing defense of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on Tuesday, mixing faith and foreign policy as he told a group of Christian broadcasters that his policies in the region were predicated on the beliefs that freedom was a God-given right and “every human being bears the image of our maker.”
In a 42-minute speech to the National Religious Broadcasters convention, Mr. Bush called upon European allies to step up their efforts in Afghanistan, and conceded that recent security gains in Iraq “are tenuous, they’re reversible and they’re fragile.” Still, he insisted his troop buildup there is succeeding.
“The decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision early in my presidency,” Mr. Bush said, to a standing ovation. “It is the right decision at this point in my presidency, and it will forever be the right decision.”
The speech, coming a week before the fifth anniversary of the American invasion of Iraq, is the first of three talks on terrorism and war policy that Mr. Bush will give before next month’s Congressional testimony by the top American military commander in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus, and the senior diplomat there, Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker.
General Petraeus is widely expected to recommend a temporary pause in troop withdrawals from Iraq, although at least one senior administration official said the president envisions further reductions this year. With the nation’s attention turned to the race to succeed Mr. Bush, White House aides say the speeches are a way for the president to frame the Iraq discussion, taking it back from the presidential candidates and Democrats on Capitol Hill.........

the possible collapse of a damn in iraq

has 'ALARMED' american officials. i in NO WAY want to trivialize that. nor do i want ONE MORE PERSON in iraq to be hurt or displaced by either human hand or act of nature hand. want i DO WANT is for american officials to be ALARMED at what's going on in america. too bad they weren't 'ALARMED' during the time of katrina, huh?

Iraqi Dam Seen In Danger of Deadly Collapse

By Amit R. Paley Washington Post Foreign Service
AT THE MOSUL DAM, Iraq -- The largest dam in Iraq is in serious danger of an imminent collapse that could unleash a trillion-gallon wave of water, possibly killing thousands of people and flooding two of the largest cities in the country, according to new assessments by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other U.S. officials.
Even in a country gripped by daily bloodshed, the possibility of a catastrophic failure of the Mosul Dam has alarmed American officials, who have concluded that it could lead to as many as 500,000 civilian deaths by drowning Mosul under 65 feet of water and parts of Baghdad under 15 feet, said Abdulkhalik Thanoon Ayoub, the dam manager. "The Mosul dam is judged to have an unacceptable annual failure probability," in the dry wording of an Army Corps of Engineers draft report. ............

10,000 out of how many?

how many did we displace? way more than 10,000 that's for sure. how many iraqis have helped our troops? way more than 10,000 that's for sure. how many iraqis lives are on the line? way more than 10,000 that's for sure. are these 10,000 going to be alive when (and IF) they really do get into the us? even one of king george's court, ryan c crocker thinks we're not doing our jobs (as far as the refugees go that is)

Crocker Blasts Refugee Process
Iraqis Could Wait 2 Years for Entry, Ambassador Says

By Spencer S. Hsu and Robin Wright Washington Post Staff Writers
The U.S. ambassador to Iraq warned that it may take the U.S. government as long as two years to process and admit nearly 10,000 Iraqi refugees referred by the United Nations for resettlement to the United States, because of bureaucratic bottlenecks.
In a bluntly worded State Department cable titled "Iraqi Refugee Processing: Can We Speed It Up?" Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker noted that the Department of Homeland Security had only a handful of officers in Jordan to vet the refugees.
Bush administration officials in Washington immediately disputed several of Crocker's claims.
Still, the "sensitive" but unclassified memo, sent Sept. 7, laid out a wrenching, ground-level view of the U.S. government's halting response to Iraq's refugee crisis. Human rights groups and independent analysts say thousands of desperate Iraqis who have worked alongside Americans now find themselves the targets of insurgents and sectarian militias, prompting many of them to seek residency in the United States or Europe...........

am i missing something here?

if king george REALLY cared about the troops welfare (and i don't for a second believe he does) and how they are dealing with extended tours, why the f**k would he meet with the big dick, bobby gates and the joint chiefs of staff? why the f**k wouldn't he GO TO IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN AND MEET WITH THE TROOPS THEMSELVES? why wouldn't he meet with the husbands and wives and children here, of the troops that are deployed. why not meet with the mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers of the deployed troops? i just don't get it. what is the big dick going to tell king george? stay the course?

Military Briefs Bush On Troops' Welfare
Effects of Lengthy Deployments Discussed


By Michael Abramowitz Washington Post Staff Writer
President Bush went to the Pentagon yesterday to hear firsthand the views of top military advisers concerned about the impact of extensive Iraq deployments on the overall health of the U.S. armed forces.
Administration officials declined to offer details of Bush's private meeting with Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Bush did not appear publicly after the meeting but issued a written statement indicating that the discussions included plans to expand the size of the military and improve coordination between military and civilian officials in places such as Iraq.........

king george - too little too late

AND it's NOT like it's al-maliki's fault. YOU put him there. sure he's incompetent but then again so are you. no, you're more than that. you're DANGEROUS too. you're power hungry and money hungry and uncaring and unaware of the pain and suffering you are causing WORLD WIDE

if congress would only act.........

Bush Turns Up Heat on Maliki
Iraqis Could Seek New Government, President Cautions


By Michael A. Fletcher and Megan Greenwell Washington Post Staff Writers
MONTEBELLO, Canada, Aug. 21 -- President Bush pointedly declined Tuesday to offer a public endorsement of embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, expressing his disappointment at the lack of political progress in Iraq and saying that widespread popular frustration could lead Iraqis to replace their government.
"The fundamental question is: Will the government respond to the demands of the people?" Bush said. Stopping short of directly endorsing Maliki, as he has on several previous occasions, Bush continued, "If the government doesn't respond to the demands of the people, they will replace the government."......................

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...........

a budget of 1 billion (and i'm sure there's a plus sign after that)

over 1,000 employees (doing the 'lords's work'). well they need all that shite to 'do the nation's most important work'????????????????? huh?

why are they building the BIGGEST, COSTLIEST, MOST SECRET embassy in the universe in iraq? this article isn't about the new embassy but the old. old or new it gives me the chills.

they want 'the best people' to work there. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT F**KING MINDS WOULD WANT to work there?

why isn't more money being funneled into health care (mental and physical) for our returning troops? why are we tossing them aside (yet giving bonus money to the powers that be on the va staff???)

if you don't see injustice, lack of morals, insanity here, well then, there is absolutely something WRONG with YOU
Embassy Staff In Baghdad Inadequate, Rice Is Told
Ambassador's Memo Asks for 'Best People'


By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer
Ryan C. Crocker, the new U.S. ambassador to Iraq, bluntly told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a cable dated May 31 that the embassy in Baghdad -- the largest and most expensive U.S. embassy -- lacks enough well-qualified staff members and that its security rules are too restrictive for Foreign Service officers to do their jobs.
"Simply put, we cannot do the nation's most important work if we do not have the Department's best people," Crocker said in the memo.
The unclassified cable underscores the State Department's struggle to find its role in the turmoil in Iraq. With a 2007 budget of more than $1 billion and a staff that has expanded to more than 1,000 Americans and 4,000 third-country nationals, the embassy has become the center of a bureaucratic battle between Crocker, who wants to strengthen the staff, and some members of Congress, who are increasingly skeptical about the diplomatic mission's rising costs......

how can a study warn

iraq is CLOSE to being a 'failed state'? wtf is it now? paradise?

how can those who have control, who CAUSED this sleep at night?

how can crocker say there is PROGRESS when SIXTY people were wiped off of the face of the earth?

when his co workers in the embassy are FRIGHTENED to be there


60 Die in Iraq; Study Warns Of Collapse
British Center Finds Country Close to Being a 'Failed State'


By John Ward Anderson Washington Post Foreign Service Friday, May 18, 2007; Page A14

BAGHDAD, May 17 -- More than 60 people were killed and dozens wounded in mortar strikes, drive-by shootings, roadside explosions, suicide bombings and other violent attacks in Iraq on Thursday, as a new study warned that the country was close to becoming a "failed state."
The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan C. Crocker, said the country had tread close to "the edge of the abyss" but now was making progress on political reforms needed to help mend sectarian and ethnic rifts that have pushed the country to the brink of civil war. Crocker cited what he said was Iraqi political progress toward agreements on constitutional reforms, the sharing of oil revenue and allowing former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath political party to take government and other public jobs............