Spare Me

I am getting a little tired of these mid-occupation internecine blame games about Iraq:

Rumsfeld’s War, Powell’s Occupation: Rumsfeld wanted Iraqis in on the action – right from the beginning.

he latest post-hoc conventional wisdom on Iraq is that Defense Secretary Rumsfeld won the war but lost the occupation. There are two problems with this analysis (which comes, most forcefully, from The Weekly Standard). First, it’s not Rumsfeld’s occupation; it’s Colin Powell’s and George Tenet’s. Second, although it’s painfully obvious that much is wrong with this occupation, it’s simple-minded to assume that more troops will fix it. More troops may be needed now, but more of the same will not do the job. Something different is needed – and was, right from the start.

A Rumsfeld occupation would have been different, and still might be. Rumsfeld wanted to put an Iraqi face on everything at the outset – not just on the occupation of Iraq, but on its liberation too. That would have made a world of difference.

It is not the State Department’s occupation. It is our occupation, and the blame, if things are going poorly, does not fall on Rumsfeld or Powell. It falls on Bush/Cheney, and not to get all high and mighty, but this is more important than a blue dress.

Cripes- I am as big a Bush supporter on this issue as you can be, but these idiotic turf wars that keep getting ginned up are stupid and pointless, and as irritating as the Monday morning quarterbacking being done by the Democrats regarding 9/11. Bush is the President, Bush made the ultimate decisions. If you think there is blame to be spread around, it starts and ends with Bush.

It is called accountability. You know, after all, Bush did choose Powell and Rumsfeld.

Like I Said

When I saw yesterday that Kerry was extending an invitation for Al Sharpton to speak at the DNC, the only reason I could think for this was:

In all seriousness, this probably means that the Democrats have some seriously troubling internal polling data regarding the African-American vote.

From the NY Times today:

For weeks, Senator John Kerry savored a Democratic Party that was unified in rallying behind his presidential candidacy. But in recent days, influential black and Hispanic political leaders whom the campaign had counted on for support have been openly complaining that Mr. Kerry’s organization lacks diversity and is failing to appeal directly to minority voters.

Even as Mr. Kerry spoke here on Thursday to the National Conference of Black Mayors – an appearance his community outreach team viewed as critical to building a network of minority support – two influential Latino leaders circulated harsh letters expressing concern about the campaign’s dealings with minorities.

And in interviews over the last week, more than a dozen minority elected officials and political strategists voiced concerns about what they said was the dearth of representation in Mr. Kerry’s inner circle and worried that he was taking black and Hispanic votes for granted.

“The reality is that we’re entering May and the Kerry campaign has no message out there to the Hispanic community nor has there been any inkling of any reach-out effort in any state to the Hispanic electorate, at least with any perceivable sustainable strategy in mind,” Alvaro Cifuentes, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee’s Hispanic Caucus, said in an e-mail message to party leaders provided by a recipient who insisted on anonymity. “It is no secret that the word of mouth in the Beltway and beyond is not that he does not get it, it is that he does not care.”

That is what I thought. The man can’t even rally his base.

Let Me Repeat

Jeff Goldstein is a genius.

Internet Tax Ban

Good news for the internet:

The Senate voted overwhelmingly to restore a ban on taxing Internet connections for four years, stopping short of the permanent ban approved by the House.

The two chambers will try to work out their differences over an issue that pits a U.S. telecommunications industry trying to expand a range of services against state and local governments worried they could lose billions of dollars in tax revenue.

Voting against the ban:

Voting against the Senate bill were Democratic Sens. Jeff Bingaman, New Mexico; Bob Graham, Florida; and Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey.

Apparently, Kerry did not want his patriotism questioned again, so he declined to vote.

Unfortunately, In Our Name

I don’t know what is in the water today, but first I agree with Kevin Drum, now I find myself at odds with Bill Quick (although not completely). Bill, in reaction to the CBS reports about American soldiers torturing GI’s, states:

This sort of thing may be deplorable, but would anybody want to bet me that Rather won’t try to make the case that forcing a man to stand on a box while lying to him about the effects of some wires he’s holding are precisely equivalent to “torturing beyond imagining and executions without reason?”

I know Bill well enough and respect him enough to understand that he is responding more to Dan Rather’s dubious complete lack of impartiality, and not dismissing the abhorrent acts alleged to have been committed by our troops. However, this is one issue in which Rather’s comments don’t need to be exaggerated.

Gary Farber (who should be given credit for pointing this out to me- I missed it)points to this website, who has posted the pictures. In order to save her bandwifth, I have copied some of the pictures and posted them here, but by all means, I recommend you go to there to view all the pictures and her commentary. And no, I don’t know who she is or what her politics are, but she is spot on when she states this:

You need to face what is happening in Iraq, and I don’t give a shit if those images are too graphic or shocking for you because this is reality. While you’re sitting on your couches watching American Idol, these kind of war atrocities are happening which violates the Geneva Convention. So much for us being there to liberate the Iraqis. We’re no better than Saddam when we do this kind of crap.

Take a look for yourself (the commentary is hers, not mine):

This Iraqi prisoner had electrical wires wrapped around his arms, his legs, and his testicles. He was told that if he stepped off the box, that he would be electrocuted.

They were forced to do oral sex on each other at gunpoint.

Look at the big, wide smile on the woman’s face as she does a thumbs-up and points at the exposed genitals of the Iraq man with his two other prisoners sitting on the ground with bags over their heads.

This is the body of an Iraqi man who died of beatings at the hands of the American soldiers. This is the “freedom” that we brought to Iraqis like this one. Isn’t freedom so wonderful this way?

Again, there is more of this, and I recommend that you view it. Yes, it is painful to look at- I was initially horrified, and that turned to a deep shame, and then to a seething anger. This is torture, and the people who did this are no better than Saddam and his fascists or ttheir Nazi rolemodels from a half century ago.

Several commenters have noted in previous posts that at least it appears the military is taking this seriously and reacting appropriately. That is scant solace.

Do these soldiers understand how many of their brothers-in-arms they have just executed?

Do they understand how many Improved Explosive Devices they just built?

Do the recognize how many random grenade attacks they have just initiated?

And on a simply human level- Have they no sense of fundamental decency?

I am so ashamed. That is my uniform they are wearing.

*** Update ***

Jim Henley comments- I don’t agree with everything hesays, but your should read it.

Doubts About Kerry

In an eminently reasonable post (insert snarky retort here about how I am even capable of recognizing reasonable rhetoric) about why, although he is in favor of Kerry’s candidacy, he still has some lingering doubts about Kerry’s position, Rick Heller makes a few decent points that I wish many other Democrats would take a look at and consider. However, Heller does make one statement that I must wholly disagree with:

2. John Kerry was a dove during the Cold War, and opposed the military buildup by which President Reagan bankrupted the Soviet Union, leading to its collapse. Kerry was probably on the wrong side. But that too is ancient history.

Kerry was on the wrong side, and I don’t even care to debate this issue, as the collapse of the Soviet Union was such a positive event in history that I feel no need to rehash it. I am willing to bet all of the new Eastern European American allies and members of Nato would agree.

Second- this is not ancient history. A complete failure to understand the dynamics of the Cold War and inability to recognize the right side to be on is a thoroughly relevant and important point that must be factored into the current Presidential election.

(via Mark Kleiman)

Now For Something Completely Different

Brace yourselves- Kevin Drum and I agree. Kevin notes that this CPA report on the reconstruction in Iraq states that far less than what should have been spent and has been earmaked has been actually used (less than 5%):

That’s about a billion dollars, the bulk of which has gone to big ticket projects like the electric grid and getting the oil flowing.

The real shame of this is that we’ve insisted that all this money be spent through normal channels. Needless to say, there are good reasons for maintaining oversight over federal funds, but it’s hard not to think that loosening the normal requirements would have been a good idea for at least a piece of this funding.

Think about it: give or take a bit, we have about 200 battalions in Iraq. Each battalion has four to six companies. Give each company captain $20,000 a week to spend on local projects staffed by Iraqis. Total cost: around a billion dollars a year.

Assuming his math is right, I agree wholeheartedly. We trust these battalion commanders with massive combat strength, enough weaponry to level cities, and most of all, we trust them with our most precious asset- our young men and women.

I think we can trust these guys with some cash.

It Is Now Undeniable

Despite the media massaging of the 4.2 % growth rate last quarter, the economic recovery is now undeniable. Says Max:

I don’t do economic predictions, but if I had to bet, I’d say the economy has turned around. The easiest criticism of Bush economic policy — the lack of job growth — may no longer be available.

Not that there aren’t still those out there who hope people remain unemployed so that the Democrats can achieve some political gain:

We liberals would like to think that the election is going to turn (or can be made to turn) on the state of the economy, or perhaps on favored social issues like education or healthcare. This is dreamland. The economy is going to do whatever the economy does, and right now it looks like it will be bad enough that Kerry has a chance to win but good enough that it won’t hurt Bush too badly. Relying on that to win the election would be foolish.

Of course- you can still hang your electoral hopes on bad things happening in Iraq:

Survey results for the past several months have been clear: Bush’s approval ratings for handling the war have gone down, people increasingly believe it was a mistake to invade Iraq, and sentiment is moving in the direction of bringing the troops home. But this hasn’t helped Kerry. It does give him an opening, but by itself it’s not enough for people to have doubts about Bush; they also have to believe that Kerry is likely to do a better job.

Bio-Foods

I bought a new fruit tonight called a Grapple, which is a special apple that has been soaked or something to have the texture and juiciness of a Fuji Apple and the taste of Concord Grapes. Enough of the science- on to my review.

It was awesome. I always refrigerate my apples for about 2-3 hours beore I eat them so they are crunchy and cool, and I did the same with this one.

They were pricy- four for $4.00, butI wanted to try something new. Since my favorite fruits are Bosc pears, Asian pears, and Red Delicious Apples (close runners up are raspberries and pineapple, followed by peaches, and strawberries), and, this was a real treat- the taste of grape with a texture I really like.

In short, go out and buy some, so they will begin to really mass produce these babies and the price will fall.

BTw- in case you are wondering- my favorite fruit/vegetable in the world is the tomato. I could eat 3-4 fresh tomatoes every day. I like em with salt and pepper, I like tomato sandwiches with mustard, tomato sandwiches with mayo, tomato salad, tomatoes with mozzerella, fresh basil, and olive oil. Don’t get me started, or I will started to sound like Bubba from Forrest Gump.

Oh- and take a slice of bread, throw two thick slices of tomato on it, cover it with a piece of cheese, and toast it in the over for a few minutes. Heaven on earth. I can’t wait for summer.

The Kerry Medal Flap

Jeff Jacoby provides the best write-up on the Kerry medal flap to date, and this part is particularly instructive:

Not one voter in 100 would vote against Kerry for trashing his Vietnam War medals when he was 27 years old. What he did with his combat decorations in 1971 has no bearing on whether he is fit to be president today. That long-ago episode is an issue today only because Kerry’s versions of it have changed so many times and because it so perfectly typifies his lifelong habit of saying one thing today and something else tomorrow — and then denying having done so.

He is right, and none other than RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie agrees with Jacoby on this issue. From Hardball last night:

MATTHEWS: Your side would never mention that again, the medals or ribbons, no matter what they are?

GILLESPIE: Let me say-Let me say, and I challenge you and defy you to find anywhere where I’ve said anything that contradicts what I’m going to say to you right now.

MATTHEWS: What’s that?

GILLESPIE: OK. Senator Kerry deserves credit for his service in Vietnam, but his policies on national security are wrong.

MATTHEWS: Including his objections to the Vietnam War?

GILLESPIE: Well, he has a First Amendment right to object to the Vietnam War.

MATTHEWS: Do you think that should be part of this campaign?

GILLESPIE: No.

MATTHEWS: His position on the Vietnam War?

GILLESPIE: I don’t think it’s relevant, and I haven’t talked about it. What was relevant was when he said-this flap over the medals was only relevant because five days ago he said, “I never said I threw my medals,” and then it turns out he did say he threw his medals.

Jacoby, in the piece mentioned above, mentions the number of different versions of Kerry’s stories- highlighting Kerry’s propensity to be on every side of theissue, to try to say whatever is most politically expedient and advantageous at the time.

No one, however is questiong Kerry’s patriotism.

No one is questiong Kerry’s service record (well- some might be- but not the White House or the RNC- a stark contrast to the Kerry Campaign and the DNC’s treatment of Bush).

What people are discussing is his flip-flopping (aka “nuance”).

In short, it is not the medals, it is the man.

“Appalling” About Sums It Up

Gary Farber sums up the abuse cases in Iraq with one word: Appalling.

I don’t think there is much more toadd to that, but knowing me, I will.

One of the reasons I was so quick to errantly state that the Marine Photo Hoax was a hoax when it wasn’t (you know what I mean, I hope- click on the link and make sure you read the comments, because my main post is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG- Ted barlow in particlar had a comment in that thread that was helpful) was because I didn’t want to blieve that our guys could do something like that.

Yes, I understand that we have rotten jerks too- after all, there are scumbags everywhere. My Drill Sergeant was fond of noting that ‘there was a thief in your Sunday School class,’ in his warnings to keep our wall lockers and possessions secured. However, my experiences in the military were such that this sort of cruelty and behavior would be unfathomable- and in particular, all of the guys I knew would at least be intelligent enough to realize how damaging this would be to the mission.

How many GI’s will get killed because some idiot abused innocent Iraqi prisoners (hell- even guilty Iraqi prisoners) and Al Jazeera discusses it every day in the Arab world for 6 months? Not only is this a human rights abuse, but it has broader and more damaging effects on our long-term goals in the region and to the security of our men and women.

Being Matt Yglesias

Big Media Matt states that Euegene Volokh is close to jumping the shark:

Meanwhile, Eugene Volokh seems to be poised precariously above the shark tank.

Why? Because Volokh thinks it probably isn’t the best thing for a sitting US Senator to criticize the administration’s Middle East policies in an interview with a newspaper from the Middle East. Says Volokh:

I realize that anything one says in any newspaper may get into the Arabic press. But when the readers in the Arab world, likely including Iraq, know the statement has been made to an Arab newspaper, it seems to me that the perceived force of the statement would be magnified: “The American opposition wants us to know that even they think that the U.S. is in trouble.” (The interview was with a British Arabic language newspaper, but naturally the material would be reprinted in other publications in the Arab and Muslim world — the quote in the Best of the Web story is from Brunei Online, with an Agence France Press dateline of Beirut — and the readers will likely perceive the statement as having been made to the Arab community.)

Seems to me that the very likely effect of statements such as this is to magnify the resolve of those who are trying to defeat us, to kill our soldiers, and to take over Iraq (despite the line about “could not abandon Iraq,” which many Iraqis would assume could change if America’s “trouble” only got big enough). It is especially likely to magnify their resolve to keep fighting until the election, rather than to surrender and be seen as giving Bush a victory. And the standard (and often quite persuasive) justification for such criticism even during wartime, which is that Americans need to hear all the arguments to decide whom to vote for, is at its least forceful with a statement such as this one.

As Volokh notes, Sen. Clinton is free to say what she wants, but perhaps consideringthe venue might be a tactful idea. Considering she is a Senator, and she is, after all, and one who sits on the Armed Services committee. Asking people to think aboutthe effect their words will have is not stifling dissent, you know.

If that sort of sensible reproach to bad behavior on the part of Sen. Clinton is close to jumping the shark, I can only ask:

How was the landing when you jumped, Matt?

We Can Hope

I think I speak for many when I say that we can only hope the 9/11 Commission hearings today were this productive.

Personally, after watching the shameless behavior of the commission members (Yes, you- Ms. Gorelick and Mr. Ben Veniste), I don’t give two hoots in hell what they have to say, what their final report concludes, and what happens from their now absurd proceedings.

The goal of this commission should have been to find ways to help secure us for the future, and instead it seems like it is nothing more than partisan finger-pointing.

Bill Clinton is not to blame for 9/11, and I reject any statement to that effect.

George Bush, similarly, is not to blame for 9/11.

The people who planned and executed this attack are to blame, and this commission should be focussed on the prevention of future attacks. Unfortunately, this is an election year, and the Democrats are out of power. Not that I am wholly convinced Republicans would act any different were the roles reversed- I did live through the 90′s, after all.

The Sound You Hear

The sounds you now hear are not thunder, but Lee Atwater having a deep belly-laugh in heaven:

In what may be a surprising move to some political circles, Democratic Presidential Candidate Senator John Kerry
(D-Massachusetts) has issued an invitation to former Democratic Primary rival Rev. Al Sharpton to address this summer’s Democratic National Convention in Boston…

On Rev. Al Sharpton as a Speaker at the DNC …

Kerry: “I hope so. Sure … That’s my call … If he wants to do it, he can do it … Let me just say to you … if he wants to do it, I’d like him to do it. I think he’d do a terrific job. I think he’ll add something … there’s no plea necessary. It’s my invitation.”

Next on my wish list are Ralph Nader, Jim McDermott, Cynthia McKinney, Patty Murray, and Jesse Jackson. The Democratic Convention could become Must-See-TV.

In all seriousness, this probably means that the Democrats have some seriously troubling internal polling data regarding the African-American vote.

I also enjoyed Neal Boortz’s preview of the DNC Convention activities:

6:00pm- Opening flag burning ceremony.
6:30pm- Anti-war rally no. 1.
6:40pm- Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.
7:00pm- Tribute theme to France.
7:10pm- Collect offerings for al-Zawahri and al-Sadr defense fund.
7:20pm- Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.
7:25pm- Tribute theme to Spain.
7:45pm- Anti-war rally no. 2. (Moderated by Michael Moore)
8:00pm- John Kerry presents one side of the issues
8:25pm- Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.
8:30pm- Terrorist appeasement workshop.
9:00pm- Gay marriage ceremony.
9:30pm- * Intermission * (Refreshments hosted by Ted Kennedy)
10:00pm- Flag stomping and defacing ceremony
10:15pm- Re-enactment of Kerry’s fake medal toss.
10:30pm- Cameo by Dean ‘Yeeearrrrrrrg!’
10:40pm- Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.
10:50pm- Pledge of allegiance to the UN.
11:00pm- Double gay marriage ceremony.
11:15pm- Maximizing Welfare workshop.
11:20pm- John Kerry presents the other side of the issues
11:30pm- ‘Free Saddam’ pep rally.
11:59pm- Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.
12:00am – Nomination of Democrat candidate.

Shameless Self Promotion and Some Other Things

I see via Joe Gandelman that Larry Sabato has released his latest issue of the crystal ball, and the issue contained his predictions for Kerry’s Veep. Chief on the list is Evan Bayh from Indiana. JUst thought I would point out that I predicted Evan Bayh as a the VP candidate in December.

Unfortunately, I though he would be Dean’s running mate. Moving right along.

Joe also has some comments on the Lautenberg/Kerry/Chickenhawk nonsense that you might want to check out.