Author: Connecticut Man1

TPM has nailed down the true extent of Todd Palin’s membership in the anti-American secessionist group known as AKIP. Previously, I had referred to them as AIP – the Alasakan Independence Party- but they seem to have a preference for AKIP. And this is more than just the membership in the ’90s and attending an AKIP convention in ’94 as was previously reported on, concerning both Todd and Sarah Palin, by the media when her 2006 video address to the group surfaced.

This afternoon, the director of Division of Elections in Alaska, Gail Fenumiai, told TPMmuckraker that Todd Palin registered in October 1995 to the Alaska Independence Party, a radical group that advocates for Alaskan secession from the United States.

 

Besides a short period of a few months in 2000 when he changed his registration to undeclared, Todd Palin remained a registered member of AIP until July 2002 when he registered again as an undeclared voter.

There appears to be some conflicting reports on the Sarah Palin’s membership which I think I have found the way to clear up. But there is no doubt that they both attended a 1994 convention, as well as Sarah Palin’s video address to the group in 2006 (Video Below).

And make no mistake about the significance of this when you consider that as the “First Dude/Dunce” of Alaska, Todd Palin, has been seen having a significant hand in Alaskan politics not typically allowed for a person with the status of citizen, given his access to what is claimed as supposedly confidential information, information that Sarah Palin refuses to release to the media or any other citizen based on obviously and demostrably false claims of “executive privilege” Sounds like the corrupt bush admin. all over again, eh? Now wonder McCain likes her.

A phone number search for a number I got out of AKIP archives sent me to this dKos Diary by Ash Meerstrand… It appears he had the same lead I was on. The phone number:

The claim that the AIP held meetings in the town where Palin was mayor while her husband was a member can easily be confirmed using Internet Archive. Meeting information from that time (the first set is from 1998, the other 2000):

 

Wasilla ,Alaska

Country Kitchen Restaraunt,

411 W. Parks Highway, Wasilla

Tuesdays at 7:00 PM

 

Wasilla, Alaska

Nobody’s Inn Restaraunt,

 

W. Parks Highway, Wasilla

Tuesdays at 7:00 PM

Call 376-8285

 

It’s only 8pm in Wasilla, Alaska. Is it too late to investigate? Wasilla has only about 9,000 people, and about 5,500 people lived there in the year 2000, so maybe there could be someone there that would know if Todd or Sarah ever showed up.

Check out the other place I found the phone number:

Web Alaska
Wasilla
376-8285
mailto:web-ak@ak.net

 

I edited out the “image source” and formatting crap so you could see the plain email addy for the “same phone number” contact. I was unable to find another reference on a quick Google of that eMail BUT I also did on a search of “web-ak”. Info on website addy for this site

Excerpted from the website description:

 

Alaskan owned and operated, Web Alaska offers web services for Alaskans and outsiders alike. Compu Doc offers computer repair and services thoughout South Central Alaska.

 

edit Languages

 

English
edit Address

 

   2140 Wolverine Cir
Wasilla AK 95654 US

 

edit Contact

 

   Mark Chryson
 +1 907 376 8285

Forget the phone number… We have a name! This from a Google search for “Chryson” and “Palin”:

The following is a first hand account of a gentleman who has a story to tell about his experiences with Sarah Palin. I am granting him this venue to say what he has to say because firstly, it gives us another non-press view of a soon-to-be mainstream name, and secondly, the person giving this account is a Geek with Guns (and used to host this website for me when I needed his help).

 

“I just wanted to let you know … Sarah Palin who McCain just picked as the next vice president is one of the most honest people I have known. I have known her for over 15 years, been in her house and have had numerous conversations with her, in person, on the phone both for personal issues as well as political issues.

 

“She is an excellent choice and this might have even saved McCain from going down in history as a loser in the presidential race. Sarah is one elected official that I can’t say anything negative about. And after 15 years of knowing her if there was something that was bad I would have known it.

 

“This lady has contacted me personally to get help discovering how one of her co workers was abusing his state office because she didn’t believe she could trust the states department of law. The guy later copped a plea, paid a hefty fine and lost his state job but this was after she quit her 2000 / week job and was forced to go public to expose his corruption. By the way he was/is the chairman of the state republican party
“She is VERY approachable which is going to make the insiders and secret service crazy.”Wanted to let you know.”

 

Mark Chryson
Wasilla, Alaska

 

If you would like to know more about the personal experiences of Mark in regards to Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin, Mark has given us permission to present the following contact information for that purpose, and offered his phone number up for that purpose as well (which I will decline to provide here do to the GwG haters).

 

mark [at] web-ak.com – Email Mark Chryson by removing the [at]

I have not verified the credibility of “Geeks with Guns,” BUT remember how she hacked computers to out the Alaska Republican chairman…

Now from Jack Tapper’s update at Political Punch:

But Fenumiai adds that Palin’s husband Todd was a member of the AIP from October 1995 through July 2002, except for a few months in 2000. He is currently undeclared.

 

As part of their pushback against the charges of Lynette and Dexter Clark of the AIP, the McCain campaign says that Palin did not even attend the AIP convention in Wasilla in 1994.

 

But another former AIP official — Mark Chryson, chairman of the AIP from 1995 to 2002 — tells ABC News that “Palin was at the convention in 1994. She was there.”

 

Was she a member?

 

Chryson can’t say. “She may have been, I do not know,” he says. Their records don’t go back that far.

 

“Ask Sarah,” he suggests.

 

I’d love to. But she hasn’t exactly been making herself available to the press.

Chryson can’t say if she was a member of AKIP? Or he won’t say it knowing it would doom her politically.

Chryson’s computer expertise coupled with Palin’s inside access to computers brought down the Alaskan Republican Party Chairman leaving a power vacuum. I wonder how many AKIP connected people have since been elevated in the Alaskan GOP? Sarah Palin sounds like a woman on a super-duper-double-secret mission to me. An AKIP mission, IMHO.

This may turn into the missing link if we dig enough… heh

Side Note: Just a follow up on Secessionist Sarah diary I did earlier that I felt deserved to be more than just an update in an outdated diary.

I wonder why?

Steve Schmidt, Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) top campaign strategist, yesterday accused the media of being “on a mission to destroy” Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) by displaying “a level of viciousness and scurrilousness” in pursuing questions about her personal life. Schmidt said the McCain campaign feels “under siege” by news inquiries on Palin.

Let us review the situation that got you where you are, shall we?

1. McCain picks Sarah Palin as his running mate.
2. A – Barrage – Of – Epic – Proportions – Casting – Serious – Doubt – On – This – Reckless – And – Incompetent – Decision – Is – Unleashed – Upon – McCain.

Could the problem, just maybe, be the McIdiot that picked Palin in the first place? And just a thought – whining about the Palin pick afterwards doesn’t help McCain’s pitiful situation much.

Pothead Palin is running from a possible impeachment in Alaska…

Image taken from here

Palin’s abuse of power is reminiscent of CT Governor Granny Rell’s abuse of power when her son got caught with the stolen jet ski.

This will be oh-so fun!

As we get close to labor day you need to know that while Obama says “Yes you can!” McCain says “No you can’t!” to American workers, telling them that they can’t do the job.

In McCain’s fragile mind the real problem isn’t about paying a man or woman fair wages for an honest day’s work… McCain thinks the problem is that Americans just aren’t good enough – hard working enough – to do these jobs.

I guess McCain thinks that you need to work harder at finding a pill-popping sugar momma beer heiress 2nd wife, like Cindy McCain, to pay your bills for you if you want to be able to succeed like he did?

I know that the work he is talking about is hard as hell. And it is only made worse by companies that hire undocumented immigrants and put the workers through hellish conditions that are often nothing more than modern day slave labor. Those are the very real issues that McCain would rather ignore.

Instead of having these companies hire by honest free market rules McCain and the GOP would rather let these companies continue to exploit fellow human beings and claim that Americans can’t or won’t do the work.

Originally posted at drinking liberally in new milford:
“McCain Thinks American Workers Aren’t Good Enough”

Standing up at ePluribus Media brought this interesting story to everyone’s attention yesterday:

In news that could eclipse the announcement of either party’s Vice Presidential running mate, McClatchy reports:  

Now come at least three men — coincidentally all in the Bigfoot business — promising evidence at a Friday news conference in Palo Alto, Calif., that the elusive creature has been found at long last.

“A body that may very well be the body of the creature commonly known as ‘Bigfoot’ has been found in the woods in northern Georgia,” says a news release. It describes the carcass as that of an animal 7 feet 7 inches tall, weighing more than 500 pounds that “looks like it is part human and part apelike.”

Stay tuned as we follow up on this historical event tomorrow. And if there really is a Bigfoot, he (or she) will undoubtedly be more exciting than any of the names I have seen leaked as potential running mates for the 2008 election.

Well? With Barack Obama on vacation there really isn’t much worth watching in the race to the White House. Unless you enjoy watching the John McCain campaign crawl out from under the rocks only to misfire daily?

Note to News Busters: Face the facts you right wing nut busters… With the pitiful performance of the McCain campaign you are lucky that Bigfoot isn’t winning the media cycle against your recycled reject of a second best to bush candidate from 2000. Even an Obama on vacation story is cleaning your cuckoo clocks and making you look silly in the process.

Boehner’s communist leader, the ever incompetent Beijing George Bush, and his heir wannabe Beijing John McCain are cut from the same communist cloth as John McCain sets out to copy China and their internet astroturfing:

People who sign up for McCain’s program receive reward points each time they place a favorable comment on one of the listed Web sites (subject to verification by McCain’s webmasters). The points can be traded for prizes, such as books autographed by McCain, preferred seating at campaign events, even a ride with the candidate on his bus, known as the Straight Talk Express, according to campaign spokesman Brian Rogers.

…snip…

More chillingly, dissidents alleged earlier this year that the Chinese government has paid Chinese citizens token sums for each favorable comment about government policies they post in chat rooms and on blogs.

That John Beijing McCain is just a red republican chip off of the old communist block…
(xposted at drinking liberally in new milford)

Though McCain clearly lied in his response to these questions… Just set that aside for a moment and watch his initial reactions to these questions.

If there were dogs nearby they would be sniffin’ that fear oozing out of McCain. It’s like he stands there stupefied awaiting for someone to explain the question to him again. I mean… HOLY CRAP! It only takes two simple questions coupled together to neuter his ability to schlep his talking points and send him into a paralyzed fear of what to do next. Another doe in the headlights reaction from John McCain. Remember when he was asked the viagara/birth control question?

During the awkward exchange, with several lengthy pauses, McCain said he had no immediate knowledge of the vote. “I’ve cast thousands of votes in the Senate,” McCain said, then continued: “I will respond to–it’s a, it’s a…”

“Delicate issue,” the reporter offered, to a relieved laugh from McCain.

“I don’t usually duck an issue, but I’m–I’ll try to get back to you,” he explained.

Though John McCain broke his promise to get back to everyone on that question, NARAL did it for him:

“Let me give you a real, live example, which I’ve been hearing a lot about from women. There are many health insurance plans that will cover Viagra but won’t cover birth control medication. Those women would like a choice,” she said.

But as the abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America was happy to point out, McCain twice voted against measures that would have required insurance companies to cover birth control — in 2003 and 2005.

The Republican said Wednesday that he did not recall those votes. “It’s something that I had not thought much about,” he added.

A campaign aide who refused to speak by name said the Arizona senator opposed all mandates.

No wonder he has been unable to grasp the complex issues of foreign policy. Does McCain’s “I don’t recall” moment remind you of the bush administration, or what? (Plenty more below the fold)

Never mind that pesky “ignorance of the law is no excuse” legal dictum — it’s just a tired cliche, I guess.

Topping the list, though, is a classic . . .

Official Statement # 1: “I don’t recall.”

Many have used these words before, and no doubt many will do so in the future. But who can forget the legendary appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee of the 80th Attorney General of the United States, Alberto Gonzales? (Shorter musical version here, and longer KO version here. )

I don’t recall. I have no recollection. I don’t remember. . .  

I would be remiss in my duties if I failed to note a new phrase, rising fast on the charts as the administration’s days come to an end: “Let bygones be bygones.”

Never mind looking back at past lawbreaking. Don’t bother trying to sort out who in the Bush administration (or who, under their orders) did what to whom in violation of US government regulations, federal laws, international treaties, or the Constitution of the United States of America. As the clock ticks down on BushCo, that “accountability moment” that comes every four years is looking mighty frightening to everyone from Bush on down, and so “let bygones be bygones” is sounding better and better.

Ah, the classic official statements of the Bush administration. If you have a favorite variation, do share it in the comments. They all get embroidered, embellished, and enhanced, but each one comes down to the same thing: Don’t blame me!

Mighty presumptuous and uppity of McCain to be using presidential talking points already, parroting his BFF bush, ya think? Apparently “Don’t Blame Me!” has already worked it’s way into the McCain campaign, as well, as McCain and his surrogates dealt the race card from the bottom of the deck and tried to Blame the Obama campaign for doing it.

It is really hard to excerpt any of this, it is so perfectly laid out:

 

The racial fantasy factor in this presidential campaign is out of control. It was at work in that New Yorker cover that caused such a stir. (Mr. Obama in Muslim garb with the American flag burning in the fireplace.) It’s driving the idea that Barack Obama is somehow presumptuous, too arrogant, too big for his britches — a man who obviously does not know his place.

Mr. Obama has to endure these grotesque insults with a smile and heroic levels of equanimity. The reason he has to do this — the sole reason — is that he is black.

 

So there he was this week speaking evenly, and with a touch of humor, to a nearly all-white audience in Missouri. His goal was to reassure his listeners, to let them know he’s not some kind of unpatriotic ogre.

 

Mr. Obama told them: “What they’re going to try to do is make you scared of me. You know, he’s not patriotic enough. He’s got a funny name. You know, he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on those dollar bills, you know. He’s risky.”

 

The audience seemed to appreciate his comments. Mr. Obama was well-received.

 

But John McCain didn’t appreciate them. RACE CARD! RACE CARD! The McCain camp started bellowing, and it hasn’t stopped since. With great glee bursting through their feigned outrage, the campaign’s operatives and the candidate himself accused Senator Obama of introducing race into the campaign — playing the race card, as they put it, from the very bottom of the deck.

 

Whatever you think about Barack Obama, he does not want the race issue to be front and center in this campaign. Every day that the campaign is about race is a good day for John McCain. So I guess we understand Mr. McCain’s motivation.

 

Nevertheless, it’s frustrating to watch John McCain calling out Barack Obama on race. Senator Obama has spoken more honestly and thoughtfully about race than any other politician in many years. Senator McCain is the head of a party that has viciously exploited race for political gain for decades.

 

He’s obviously more than willing to continue that nauseating tradition.

 

Go read the whole thing. The other reason the McCain campaign is so excited to accuse Obama of “playing the race card” is that one of Obama’s strengths is that he is not perceived by the wider American public as the aggrieved black man- he is no Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton. By claiming Obama is playing the race card (however absurd the charge), they can turn him into the angry black man.

 

It really is shameless and disgusting, and while I had seen no racial component to the Britney ad earlier, I can understand where Herbert is coming from now. I just didn’t see it before.

 

The thing you need to remember is that this is not an accident. The McCain campaign is not doing this willy-nilly. This is a plan. This is a strategy. They know damned well what they are doing. And John McCain has not only signed off on it, but he is actively participating on it

Welcome to the panic of dog whistle politics as McCain plays fear and hate politics to stay alive in this campaign. There is nothing clean in John McCain’s campaign. Even his supporters are as dirty as they come as they willingly repeat his bigoted and lying talking points with a straight face and feign ignorance to it all.

But lying, smearing and dividing the nation is what the GOP machine has done best for the last 8 years under bush, and that has not changed even one little bit under the McCain banner.

McCain is just another scum-sucking, low-life lying republican. Same failed actions, policies and incompetent ideas, just a different name to put on it all.

Let us take a peek at last year, shall we?

Bill O’Reilly Says He Will “Destroy” Daily Kos Today Hotlist

Today, Father Coughlin — er, sorry, frog in my throat — Bill O’Reilly is planning another in his ongoing attacks against Daily Kos and YearlyKos. Fox News has apparently been emailing the Democratic campaigns asking them for “comment” on Bill’s ongoing Jihad of Jackassery: the following email was sent on to us from one of those Democratic campaigns:

 

From: Mitchell, Ron [mailto:xxxxxxx@FOXNEWS.COM]
Sent: Friday, July 27, 2007
To: xxxxxxx
Subject: Fox News Request

 

This is Ron Mitchell with Bill O’Reilly at the Fox News Channel.

 

The O’Reilly Factor plans an update on issues involving DailyKos website the story for Monday.

 

There are some disturbing images on the DailyKos depicting Sen. Joe Lieberman and others along with some very offensive language.

Much More Below…

Hunter continues on in his diary:

We are asking for statements regarding this issue from each of the Democratic candidates planning to attend the YearlyKos convention.

 

The image attached is from an active posting. I think that most people would agree that this sort of thing has no place in mainstream political discourse.

So, what was this abominable photoshopped image, the one that was supposed to “bury” Daily Kos by the mere fact that some commenter once put it on the site? Well, here it is, but I warn you, it is very graphic and mean and abominable and it causes puppies to cry, so we don’t dare post it.

DailyKos had been so afraid of this fight that they feared posting the shockingly disturbing image… Well? Maybe not.

Front page space ain’t cheap at dKos so they only snarkily supplied a space saving link to the hyper-offensive photo. But here at my little brewery not only is front page space cheap but it is also found in plentiful abundance for anyone with access (that would be me!) and has shown a willingness to poke fun at R (Idiots) like bush and Joe neocon Lieberman (that would be me, again!) any chance they can:

Truthfully, this could not really be the BIG O’Reilly story that everyone really wanted to talk about last year, could it? It had to be a minor distraction from the real news of the day, right? Opening Crooks and Liars today (among the many great Blogs I start my day with) was a reminder of the significance of today and, of course, the real reason for last year’s bloviating Bill O’.

Happy Falafel Day!

Falafel Day

Line 66.

During the course of O’REILLY’s telephone monologue on August 2, 2004, he suggested that Plaintiff ANDREA MACKRIS purchase a vibrator and name it, and that he had one “shaped like a cock with a little battery in it” that a woman had given him. It became apparent that Defendant was masturbating as he spoke. After he climaxed, Defendant O’REILLY said to Plaintiff: “I appreciate the fun phone call. You can have fun tonight. I’ll appreciate it. I mean it.”

-Atrios  16:10

Falafel Day

Line 37:

When Plaintiff responded that she never engaged in phone sex, Defendant BILL O’REILLY professed disbelief, and told her that the sexual stories he told were all based on his own experiences, such as when he received a massage in a cabana in Bali and the “little short brown woman” asked to see his penis and was “amazed.” Defendant BILL O’REILLY then suggested that he tell Plaintiff the same sexual stories, which he knew she would “just love.” Shocked and embarrassed, Plaintiff ANDREA MACKRIS informed Defendant in no uncertain terms that she was never experienced in nor interested in gaining experience in telephone sex. Defendant expressed disbelief.

Falafel Day

Line 54.

If any woman ever breathed a word I’ll make her pay so dearly that she’ll wish she’d never been born. I’ll rake her through the mud, bring up things in her life and make her so miserable that she’ll be destroyed. And besides, she wouldn’t be able to afford the lawyers I can or endure it financially as long as I can. And nobody would believe her, it’d be her word against mine and who are they going to believe? Me or some unstable woman making outrageous accusations. They’d see her as some psycho, someone unstable. Besides, I’d never make the mistake of picking unstable crazy girls like that.

Line 55.

If you cross FOX NEWS CHANNEL, it’s not just me, it’s [FOX President] Roger Ailes who will go after you. I’m the street guy out front making loud noises about the issues, but Ailes operates behind the scenes, strategizes and makes things happen so that one day BAM! The person gets what’s coming to them but never sees it coming. Look at Al Franken, one day he’s going to get a knock on his door and life as he’s known it will change forever. That day will happen, trust me.

-Atrios  16:00

Yes… I think O’Reilly’s ranting and raving and foaming at the mouth over a little picture on dKos may have been a distraction from what was really going on in the news that day.

Maybe I should try crossposting this over at dKos just to see if the streetfighter, Bill O’Reilly, and his behind the scenes, strategizing boss destroyed the dKos community after he raked them through the mud?

[update] Just like O’Reilly failed to cover up his sordid phone sex scandal, it appears that he has failed to take down dKos. I wouldn’t be a real Blogger if I didn’t fact-check these things, would I?

Stephen D reports on what is likely just the cover reason for the Phil Gramm Friday night dump attributing Gramm’s resignation to the “Americans are whiners!” comment. I think that is just cover for the more likely real reason:

UBS, LGT Helped Hide Assets, Evade Taxes, Senate Says
By David Voreacos and Carlyn Kolker

July 17 (Bloomberg) — UBS AG and Liechtenstein bank LGT Group aided rich U.S. clients who wanted to disguise ownership of accounts and evade taxes on hidden assets, a Senate subcommittee said.

UBS, the world’s largest wealth manager, hid as much as $17.9 billion for 19,000 Americans who didn’t declare assets to the Internal Revenue Service, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said in a report released in Washington late yesterday. LGT, owned by Liechtenstein’s ruling family, fostered a “culture of secrecy and deception” while assigning code names to U.S. clients, the panel said.

Remember that Phil Gram works for and lobbies for one arm of UBS in the USA. More below…

 
Interesting side note from similar article ABC story posted earlier:

A former UBS private banker, Bradley Birkenfeld, has agreed to a plea deal and is reported to be cooperating with US authorities in bring charges against American citizens on tax evasion charges.

As soon as I read that article linked out by jimstaro at ePM I figured there might be a link.

UBS is still Phil Gramm’s gig, isn’t it? So sayeth his Wiki:

Gramm is a vice-chairman of UBS Investment Bank.

And we all know about McCain’s lobbying troubles because of Gramm:

U.S. Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign faces questions regarding a top economic adviser’s work for Swiss banking giant UBS Warburg.

Economist and former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm is vice chairman of UBS Investment Bank and has lobbied Congress on the company’s behalf.

UBS has been hit hard by the U.S. housing and mortgage meltdowns.

Smoke >>>> Fire? Might be worth fanning the flames a little? Face it… Calling Americans whiners is nothing compared to things that republican criminals typically do.

It would be interesting if Cindy McCain’s (or one of her trusts’) name was on that list of IRS tax dodgers, eh? That would clearly typify a republican circle jerk we have come to expect from the GOP these days. Nevermind the fact that Cindy has McCain has a proven track record of not paying her taxes. And when there is a Friday Night Dump involving corrupt republicans and meant to distract the candy coated media from the real story, timing is everything.

idredit, over at Booman Tribune where this is x-posted, as well, chunked in the last piece I was about to go looking for.

you may be on to something here…

but it depends on the meaning of resign Gramm remains in the background as an advisor. But coupled with the UBS naughty naughty, there’s the deep in the poop sub-prime debacle.

The Carpetbagger Report

Is Gramm gone, or is he only kinda sorta gone?

Yesterday, the McCain campaign disputed part of Novak’s report, saying that Gramm would no longer be a surrogate. But the report also said Gramm would advice McCain on economic matters, and on this, the campaign said nothing.

Gramm’s decision comes after word that, in his weekend column, Robert Novak was to report that the Gramm and McCain had talked subsequent to the ill-time remarks and that he’d stay on as a surrogate and adviser.

But McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said earlier today that Gramm would no longer represent the campaign.

Gramm’s move tonight appears to be a move to clarify his status. But when asked whether this meant he’d no longer advise or represent McCain, Bounds only said that it was Gramm’s decision to step down from his co-chair post.

So, it’s just another round of double-talk from McCain. First the campaign agrees with Gramm, then it doesn’t. Gramm is a surrogate, then he isn’t, then he is, then he isn’t. Gramm is an advisor, then he isn’t, then he might be.

I can understand the campaign’s embarrassment, but this is ridiculous. Gramm not only thinks we’re a “nation of whiners,” he’s also, more importantly, the man whose financial deregulation efforts made the market meltdown possible.

While Gramm’s help in advancing banking deregulation is widely considered partially responsible for the Mortgage Crisis, deregulation also helped UBS move into the markets where it set up these illegal tax havens.

No Kidding?

U.S. army study says Iraq occupation was understaffed
DENVER – A nearly 700-page study released Sunday by the army found that “in the euphoria of early 2003,” U.S.-based commanders prematurely believed their goals in Iraq had been reached and did not send enough troops to handle the occupation.

FULL STORY

More below…
While bush was busy strutting around in his little rocket jockey uniform claiming that major combat operations had ended:

Planners in the Iraq headquarters said 300,000 troops would be needed for the occupation. Even before the invasion, some planners had called for 300,000 troops to be sent for the invasion and occupation.

…snip…

Some commanders told the authors they asked about plans for making the country stable and got no answers.

…snip…

Its writers said it was clear in January 2005 that the Army would remain in Iraq for some time, the writers concluded.

That was only about 7 Friedman units ago.

Take heart, dear reader, that our fearless leader took his military commanders advice on troop levels and… Oh wait! he ignored the military, never sent in the 300,000 troops they wanted and lied about the Friedmans too.

I would feel used if I didn’t know this since the day they sacked General Shinseki for telling them, and us, the truth about needed troop levels.

Retired generals speak out to oppose Rumsfeld:
“In this, Powell echoed former Army chief of staff Gen. Eric Shinseki, who told Congress just weeks before the 2003 invasion that several hundred thousand US troops would be necessary to secure Iraq after the invasion. For this he was publicly contradicted by then Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. Rumsfeld named General Shinseki’s replacement a year before he was to retire and broke custom by not attending his retirement ceremony.”
— csmonitor.com

In case you don’t remember exactly what Shinseki said to get pushed out the door by the bush administration:

McCain makes a good point with his “whackamole” comment, but clearly the only other thing that McCain is correct in when he talks about sending 20,000 more troops to Iraq is at the end of the video where he says, “I don’t know where the troops are going to come from.”

He hasn’t a clue that it would take a draft to get enough troops. Firstly, because we already don’t have the troops to spare. And, secondly, because you need to be looking at the several hundred thousand pairs of boots on the ground deemed neccessary by General Shinseki, before he was chased out of the military by the neocons for being honest, if you really want to secure Iraq and you get the idea of how wrong McCain is.

“Something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers, are probably, you know, a figure that would be required. We’re talking about post-hostilities control over a piece of geography that’s fairly significant with the kinds of ethnic tensions that could lead to other problems. And so, it takes significant ground force presence to maintain safe and secure environment to ensure that the people are fed, that water is distributed, all the normal responsibilities that go along with administering a situation like this.” [Sen. Armed Services Committee testimony, 2/25/03]

Now, of course, several years later we have a bush flack in charge named Petraeus. Nothing more than a yes man for the neocons and eternal war. He took over from a reasonable Admiral that stood in the neocons way when it came to attacking Iran.

All they need is to get their warmongering McCain in to the White House and we can be sure to be playing whackamole in Iran for a hundred years too!