A Pardon for the Turkey

by Patrick Lang (bio below)

“About 100 Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish leaders, many of whom will run in the election on Dec. 15, signed a closing memorandum on Monday that “demands a withdrawal of foreign troops on a specified timetable, dependent on an immediate national program for rebuilding the security forces,” the statement said.” NY Times

President Bush pardoned the national turkey today. Some other bird will die in its stead.

In Cairo the “Reconciliation Conference” sponsored by the Arab League under the leadership of that great friend of the United States, Amre Moussa (not), adjourned calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.

The turkey’s pardon lay upon the table in plain sight for all to see.

“In Washington, Justin Higgins, a State Department spokesman, said, “The United States supports the basic foundation of the conference and we certainly support ongoing discussion among Iraq’s various political and religious communities.”

But regarding troop withdrawal, he said: Multinational forces are present in Iraq under a mandate from the U.N. Security Council. As President Bush has said, the coalition remains committed to helping the Iraqi people achieve security and stability. NY Times

So … The turkey evidently does not want a pardon.

Col. Patrick W. Lang (Ret.), a highly decorated retired senior officer of U.S. Military Intelligence and U.S. Army Special Forces, served as “Defense Intelligence Officer for the Middle East, South Asia and Terrorism” for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and was later the first Director of the Defense Humint Service. Col. Lang was the first Professor of the Arabic Language at the United States Military Academy at West Point. For his service in the DIA, he was awarded the “Presidential Rank of Distinguished Executive.” He is a frequent commentator on television and radio, including MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann (interview), CNN and Wolf Blitzer’s Situation Room (interview), PBS’s Newshour, NPR’s “All Things Considered,” (interview), and more .

Personal Blog: Sic Semper Tyrannis 2005 || Bio || CV
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Novel: The Butcher’s Cleaver (download free by chapter, PDF format)


“Drinking the Kool-Aid,” Middle East Policy Council Journal, Vol. XI, Summer 2004, No. 2