Three Must Reads

The mainstream media has finally caught up and fleshed out some important issues regarding Iraq that I wrote about on Sunday (see The Iraq Catch 22). There are three in particular you should read:

First take a look at the Washington Post story by Robin Wright and Peter Baker, White House, Joint Chiefs At Odds on Adding Troops. Let there be no doubt from this point forward, the Joint Chiefs of Staff have found their balls and are pushing back against crazy proposals advanced by the neo-cons. New SecDef Robert Gates will have ample opportunity in the coming days to demonstrate whether he is on the side of the President or the troops.

Second, it is now official because the New York Times tells us today (as I said on Sunday) that Attacks in Iraq at Record High, Pentagon Says. The article by DAVID S. CLOUD and MICHAEL R. GORDON lays out the bad news that notwithstanding the surge of US troops into Baghdad in August and September the violence among the civilian population spiraled upwards.

Finally, as I warned on Sunday, we’re going to try to take down Mookie. Who? “Mookie” aka Moqtada al Sadr is the villain in the latest Pentagon report. According to Julian Barnes at the Los Angeles Times, Sadr Army is called top threat in Iraq, A Pentagon report cites the danger of the Shiite cleric’s militia. What Barnes neglects to mention in much detail is that Mookie is not killing U.S. troops. However, if we move ahead with the neo-con plan to take out Mookie his followers will turn on our troops and that will be a bloodbath that will worsen things in Iraq. Take that to the bank.

7 Comments

keepinon on December 19, 2006 at 7:50 pm

Of course if that happens, Bushco representatives will proclaim “no one could have foreseen the dire consequences of taking him out”, or something to that effect. Seriously Mr. Johnson, thanks for your analysis and take on these dynamic and confusing events. We sure don’t get much of this from the liberal biased Main Stream Media.

Connecticut Man1 on December 19, 2006 at 8:39 pm

It would be nice if these guys would, just for once, pay attention to the people that actually look ahead at possible consequences in a realistic way. ACKKK!
- idredit on December 19, 2006 at 9:01 pm
  
  The decider-in-chief will only pay attention if he looks up and sees a halo or a crown of thorns. He and Dick will stick to their urge to surge, leaving the mess for their successor.
  
  More grim reading than the Iraq Study Group report*is the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) findings, released today.
  
  Iraq chaos will not be solved by military force
  
  Iraq, says the ICG’s report, faces “complete disintegration into failed-state chaos” and the solution does not lie in the transfer of responsibility to the fragile government of Nouri al-Maliki, as envisaged by the Bush administration and even by the study group led by the former secretary of state James Baker and the former Democratic congressman Lee Hamilton.[.]
  
  The ICG, whose mission is to prevent and resolve deadly conflicts, takes issue with advocates of a “surge” in US troop strength in Iraq and declares that there can be no military solution, only a political one.
  
  Instead the ICG wants the “big five” permanent members of the Security Council and Iraq’s six neighbours to form an “international support group” but not with the exclusive aim of propping up the Maliki government. “It must support Iraq which means pressing the government, along with all other Iraqi constituents, to make the necessary compromises.”

opit on December 19, 2006 at 9:29 pm

You’re getting hard to tie down. I just zipped through your post at TPM Cafe yesterday.
How is it that this administration so consistently does the wrong thing ? By random odds – toss a coin to decide – they would have better results than they demonstrate – reluctantly.
My mania is acting up. It seems deliberate : planned ( and I’ve never had a diagnosis of mental instability – but a person feels like prepping for it these days ).
Check the Asian Trib. Nice report on 100 years of GWOT planned.

realtime on December 19, 2006 at 10:04 pm

then the administration will have to find another evil mastermind to blame for the success of the insurgency.

I have heard Larry on Pacifica station KPFK. I especially enjoy the Q & A with Ian Masters. The last one is archived on Nov 19, 2006.

http://www.ianmasters.org/left_coast.html

Looking forward to more Q & A.

KNUCKLEHEAD on December 19, 2006 at 10:52 pm

Mr. Johnson, It`s always a pleasure to read your diaries, as they`re always clear & concise. It`s beyond me, that if imbeciles can`t be made to understand, why then, can`t they be forced to understand. Who can get in the deciders face & tell him to sit down & shut up. With your access to people in the know, is there any talk that you know of, of dire measures
to straighten him out. Mom won`t, pops is crying. Does he have a friend, any friend, who`ll tell him to cease & desist.

observer393 on December 20, 2006 at 12:10 am

The truth is the biggest threat to our troops are the Sunni death squads. However, we cannot admit that while we are busy going down on any Sunni leader we can. We have to turn a Shia leader into our enemy to placate our unelected Sunni friends and puppets in the region even at the expense of lots more of our troops dead and wounded.
It is time that this reality was told to our people.

keepinon on December 19, 2006 at 7:50 pm

Of course if that happens, Bushco representatives will proclaim “no one could have foreseen the dire consequences of taking him out”, or something to that effect. Seriously Mr. Johnson, thanks for your analysis and take on these dynamic and confusing events. We sure don’t get much of this from the liberal biased Main Stream Media.
- Connecticut Man1 on December 19, 2006 at 8:39 pm
  
  It would be nice if these guys would, just for once, pay attention to the people that actually look ahead at possible consequences in a realistic way. ACKKK!
  - idredit on December 19, 2006 at 9:01 pm
    
    The decider-in-chief will only pay attention if he looks up and sees a halo or a crown of thorns. He and Dick will stick to their urge to surge, leaving the mess for their successor.
    
    More grim reading than the Iraq Study Group report*is the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) findings, released today.
    
    Iraq chaos will not be solved by military force
    
    Iraq, says the ICG’s report, faces “complete disintegration into failed-state chaos” and the solution does not lie in the transfer of responsibility to the fragile government of Nouri al-Maliki, as envisaged by the Bush administration and even by the study group led by the former secretary of state James Baker and the former Democratic congressman Lee Hamilton.[.]
    
    The ICG, whose mission is to prevent and resolve deadly conflicts, takes issue with advocates of a “surge” in US troop strength in Iraq and declares that there can be no military solution, only a political one.
    
    Instead the ICG wants the “big five” permanent members of the Security Council and Iraq’s six neighbours to form an “international support group” but not with the exclusive aim of propping up the Maliki government. “It must support Iraq which means pressing the government, along with all other Iraqi constituents, to make the necessary compromises.”
opit on December 19, 2006 at 9:29 pm

You’re getting hard to tie down. I just zipped through your post at TPM Cafe yesterday.
How is it that this administration so consistently does the wrong thing ? By random odds – toss a coin to decide – they would have better results than they demonstrate – reluctantly.
My mania is acting up. It seems deliberate : planned ( and I’ve never had a diagnosis of mental instability – but a person feels like prepping for it these days ).
Check the Asian Trib. Nice report on 100 years of GWOT planned.
realtime on December 19, 2006 at 10:04 pm

then the administration will have to find another evil mastermind to blame for the success of the insurgency.

I have heard Larry on Pacifica station KPFK. I especially enjoy the Q & A with Ian Masters. The last one is archived on Nov 19, 2006.

http://www.ianmasters.org/left_coast.html

Looking forward to more Q & A.
KNUCKLEHEAD on December 19, 2006 at 10:52 pm

Mr. Johnson, It`s always a pleasure to read your diaries, as they`re always clear & concise. It`s beyond me, that if imbeciles can`t be made to understand, why then, can`t they be forced to understand. Who can get in the deciders face & tell him to sit down & shut up. With your access to people in the know, is there any talk that you know of, of dire measures
to straighten him out. Mom won`t, pops is crying. Does he have a friend, any friend, who`ll tell him to cease & desist.
observer393 on December 20, 2006 at 12:10 am

The truth is the biggest threat to our troops are the Sunni death squads. However, we cannot admit that while we are busy going down on any Sunni leader we can. We have to turn a Shia leader into our enemy to placate our unelected Sunni friends and puppets in the region even at the expense of lots more of our troops dead and wounded.
It is time that this reality was told to our people.

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