I’m a bit pressed for time today, so I’ll just do a quick rundown of events, pointing you in the direction of further coverage. This is not to indicate that these are not important. Indeed, some are very much life and death.
al Qaeda Who?
The White House has been going to great lengths to spin al Qaeda “proper” (e.g. the al Qaeda that originally attacked in 2001 and continues to be focused in Pakistan/Afghanistan) and al Qaeda of Iraq (e.g. the al Qaeda that didn’t exist before the war and that George Bush built from the ground up) as being the same organization. This is especially the case since the disastrous National Intelligence Assessment was released earlier this week. Their assertion is patently false. The only link between the two is that “Afghanistan al Qaeda,” the one that can actually hurt the American Homeland, uses the war in Iraq, and the work of al Qaeda of Iraq, as the single best recruiting tool it’s ever had… and yes, George Bush is their recruiting poster boy.
What is most troubling is that all of this was foreseen in earlier intelligence reports, reports that were presented to the President prior to the war, but which he disregarded as not within the realm of possibility. Now, with so many dead Americans and Iraqis as the as payment for this man’s arrogance, how is the Administration spinning these facts now? This is how.
The Politics of Fear
Marching in lock-stop with the facts outlined above, you will note that the Administration has once again released information that it has caught a “high level” al Qaeda operative, doing so weeks after the man’s capture and conveniently dovetailing in such a way as to help their political assertions at home. Have they no shame?
Snow Job
To say that the Iraq Parliament going on vacation for the month of August is inconvenient for the President is like saying Phoenix is mildly warm in this same month. And speaking of heat, that was what was in White House Press Secretary Tony Snow’s bag of tricks when asked about the matter. He noted that Baghdad reaches 130 degrees in August and that the legislators need some relief. Since the common soldier, the one who experiences this heat in full battle gear, never crosses their minds, the fact that this was a crass answer at best didn’t dawn on them until much, much later. At that point, Snow back peddled as fast as he could. Of course, Snow never could answer exactly why we support this vacationing government and believe that it will magically create a political solution to the current mess.
Republicans Block Iraq Redeployment
Today, Republicans in the Senate blocked from an up-or-down vote a bill that would have mandated the President redeploy American forces in Iraq in a supportive and anti-al Qaeda of Iraq role only, bringing the balance home by the Spring of next year. Many Republicans have voiced their dissatisfaction with the President’s continually failing policies, but only three were willing to actually vote for change. Instead, they have remained in lockstep with the President. Many will likely make their break with Bush in September after achieving what they believe is sufficient political cover to do so. The question is: how many more people, American and Iraqi alike, will die to buy these cowards this cover?
It is also worth pointing out that the coverage of this debate has been appalling. The media of all variety has once again shown its conservative (little “c,” though a big “C” works, too, in some instances) bias. Check this link for many examples of exactly the sort of poor journalism about which I’m speaking, as well as for details surrounding the vote itself.
No Word Yet on Bush Commutation
A former Cheney aide was sentenced to 10 years in prison for passing classified information to the Philippines. For his sake, let’s hope that he has information that could lead to the downfall of the President and Vice President.
18 July 2007
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