Iraq...The Nightmare Goes On.....

The Congress has finally begun to live up to what the Constitution envisioned it to do. We in the United States do not have Kings. We settled this issue over 200 years ago. Mr. Bush seems to have forgotten that. The President has promised a veto and a compromise will eventually have to be reached. But, at least the President is being reminded that he has to listen.

What bothers me is the the fact that John McCain and Joe Lieberman are taking to the Airways (and say on the floor of the Senate) that the Plan is starting to work. I don't doubt their patriotism or their committment to this country. But, I don't know what planet they're living in. If the "surge" is working, why is it that the Government has ordered all US Personnel to wear protective armor. Juan Cole, in his blog today, reports on a very disturbing development:

(Source: http://www.juancole.com, retrieved March 30, 2007)
"The US embassy in Baghdad circulated a memo to all Americans working for the US government in the Green Zone. It ordered them to wear protective gear whenever they were outside in the Green Zone, including just moving from one building to another. Guerrillas have managed to lob a number of rockets into the area in recent days, and killed one US GI on Tuesday.

The Green Zone is therefore actually the Red Zone. I.e., it is no longer an area of good security contrasting to what is around it. Senator McCain was more wrong than can easily be imagined. Not only can American officials not just stroll through Baghdad districts unarmed and unprotected by armor, but they can't even move that way from one building to the next inside the Green Zone..."

When will we see an end to this nightmare? What is worst that Iran is being targeted especially with what Chris Dodd and Tom Lantos have apparently just introduced. It seems to me that talking will achieve a hell of a lot more. But, the folks in Washington seem not to want to buy into it.

Pat Tillman

Today was another sad day. The hyprociy and the lies once again exposed how the Bush Adminstration has misled us for so long. From what I was able to gather, Pat Tillman was killed by Friendly Fire and at least Four Generals knew about it. When I heard Pat Tillman's Mother earlier, I wondered how far this cover-up went. I did not doubt for a minute that the Adminstration was anxious to move the spotlight away from Abu Gharib. It needed a Hero...just like it built up Jessica Lynch. The worst thing I heard was that A grieving mother was told by Defense Department Officials that she was rude. As a parent, I would want to know the truth. I know that I would not be nice and would be fighting for the truth. I would not care who got offended in the process. Pat Tillman was indeed an example for us all. He gave up a life of privilege to serve. He must always be remembered for that. How this ultimate sacrifice was manipulated should never be tolerated.

Tony Snow....

I heard the sad news that Tony Snow's cancer has returned. He has been an eloquent and passionate defender of the Bush Adminstration. I have not agreed with his views now or while he was at Fox News. But, as Howard Fineman of Newsweek & MSNBC said on Countdown w/Keith Oberbmann, he is a gentleman. I wish him and his family all the best.

First Day of Spring

We're about to embrace Spring. For Persians, it is the start of the new year and the opportunity to begin anew. It signifies optimistism and hope. With all that is going on in the world today, I wonder. But, one has to hope and believe despite all the violence and suffering around the world.

Iraq...4 Years On.....

We have just begun the 5th Year of the War in Iraq. President Bush went on National Television on Monday to ask for patience and told us that the War can still be won. For an alternate perspective, I wanted to point out what Juan Cole discussed in his blog...what is discussed is disturbing, to say the least...(http://www.juancole.com) thought I pass this on to the team:

10. Refusing to fire Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld when his incompetence and maliciousness became apparent in the growing guerrilla war and the Abu Ghraib torture scandal.

9. Declining to intervene in the collapsed economy or help put Iraqi state industries back on a good footing, on the grounds that the "market" would magically produce prosperity effortlessly.

8. Invading and destroying the Sunni Arab city of Fallujah in November, 2004, thus pushing the Sunni Arabs into the arms of the insurgency in protest and ensuring that they would boycott the January, 2005, parliamentary elections, a boycott that excluded them from power and from a significant voice in crafting the new constitution, which they then rejected.

7. Suddenly announcing that the US would "kill or capture" young nationalist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in spring, 2004, throwing the country into massive turmoil for months.

6. Replying to Baathist guerrilla provocations with harsh search and destroy missions that humiliated and angered ever more Sunni Arab clans, driving them to support or join the budding guerrilla movement.

.....

5. Putting vengeful Shiites in charge of a Debaathification Commission that fired tens of thousands of mostly Sunni Arab state employees simply for having belonged to the Baath Party, leaving large numbers of Sunnis penniless and without hope of employment.

4. Dissolving the Iraqi Army in May, 2003, and sending 400,000 men home, unemployed, resentful and heavily armed.

3. Allowing widespread looting after the fall of Saddam Hussein on April 9, 2003, on the grounds that "stuff happens," "democracy is messy," and "how many vases can they have?"-- and thus signalling that there would be no serious attempt to provide law and order in American Iraq.

2. Plotting to install corrupt financier, notorious liar, and shady operator Ahmad Chalabi as the soft dictator of Iraq, and refusing to plan for a post-war administration of the country because that might forestall Chalabi's coronation.

1. Invading Iraq.

Isreal & Palestine

Palestine's National Unity Government was presented to President Abbas today. Although I hope that the Government of Israel will at least make an attempt to get the peace process jump-started, I remain pessimitic. I hope that I am proven wrong, for the sake of all the ordinary folks (Israelis and Palestinians) in that part of the world.

Mugabe.....

Robert Mugabe touts his credentials as a revolutionary. But he's no different than all the other thugs. The world seems to remain silent, despite the condementation. As always, the only victims are the ordinary folks. Africa says that it is "embarrased". But, Africa does not want to do anything. This man has driven a prosperous country to the ground for the enrichment of his cronies. When will he wake up?

Chuck Hagel & Fred Thompson

Chuck Hagel has annoounced that he won't be making decisions right now about the Presidency. I'm glad that he's keeping his focus on figuring out a way to get out of Iraq. Fred Thompson is apparently thinking about it. The campaign is starting to get ever more interesting. Ultimately, I think that the nation will be better for it by the debate we're about to have about the future.

The Latest On The Cost of the War in Iraq

The most recent edition of Foreign Policy conducted an analysis of the War in Iraq. The only figure I think is good enough is the fact that we're spending $ 250,000 per minute. So, by the time I would have been done with my blog entry, we would have spent about $ 500,000. The achievements for this have been dubious, at best. At this stage, I am not certain if the Adminstration has taken Martin Wolf's advise in the Financial Times to ,"...start again. It must design a foreign policy for teh current age. In doing so, it should discard almost everything the Bush adminstration has proclaimed." I pray that I am wrong.

:-(

Elections and What Can Be Possible....

The following appeared in the March 7th Edition of the Financial Times (Partially noted, Retrieved March 13, 2007):

Computer wizardry that swung Senegal election

By Dino Mahtani in Dakar

Published: March 8 2007 02:00 | Last updated: March 8 2007 02:00

In an elegant back office in Senegal's presidential -palace, Thierno Ousmane Sy, presidential adviser and computer wizard, shows off the secret weapon that helped re-elect his boss last week.

Opening databases on his computer, he reveals extensive lists of voters. Clicking on a random name, a box pops up showing telephone details, voter identification number, party member seniority, religious affiliation and even details of ties to local witch-doctors and political "godfathers". If the voter is sufficiently influential, a long personal history is contained in the notes....


My hope is that the success enjoyed by this wizard is studied by the campaign to assess what else can be done that is not already being done to insure success. In addition, there should be active consideration given to Interent-Based Voting. There has been studies & discussions. It seems to me that if Estonia is able to insure a high turn-out, we should have the ability to do it. Senator Clinton's Every Vote Count Act (which I signed up as a Co-Sponsor online), is a fine idea..but we ought to take it one step further in order to move to a fully online system.

Wi-Fi For Us All

As we continue to debate our future, one of the ideas we should truly start a dialogue on is "Wi-Fi for the masses"--the title of the Article in the March 3rd Edition of the Economist. This is something that I have not seen much discussion on here in the United States. It seems that other parts of the world seem to enjoy universal access, but us. We should create an atmosphere whereby cities are able to provide such service. Google has tried it in its' home town, Philadelphia has tried it...but it is being resisted by the big telecoms. I submit that this is one of the ways we will further the effort to "create the future".

Iran: Oil, Nuclear Power & the Challenges At hand...

Iran continues to claim that its' quest for Nuclear Power is for peaceful purposes. The world continues to think otherwise. There is continued discussion about enhancing the sanctions regime. Yet, some of the statistics that came out a few months ago in a Businessweek Article ON December 11, 2006 shows that Iran has some long-term challenges that it neeeds to deal with. Some of the notable challenges are:
1) Aging Fields: Three-fifths of Iran's output comes from oil that are 50-plus years old;
2) Low Investment: Iran Isn't spending enough to replace output.
3) Oil Politics: Companies linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp have gotten $ 8 Billion in development deals;
4) Rising Consumption: Consumption is growing @ 10% a year, forcing Tehran to spend $ 5 Billion annually for imports.

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/nov2006/
gb20061130_396971.htm?chan=search retrieved March 13, 2007

Iran's parliament (the Majlis) just passed a law rationing Gasoline. The long-term challenges within Iran cannot be ignored. Iran, though, should be proud of one thing: its' National Oil Company (NIOC) was named one of the new "Seven Sisters" of Oil Companies by the Financial Times.

The US Presidential Campaign

I just shared some thoughts on the Hillary Clinton campaign on Senator Clinton's Campaign Blog:

"...What has been outlined is fine and happy talk, but I hope that the Campaign takes a look at what was in the March 3rd 2007 edition of the Economist. The Article is titled "Hillary under pressure". It ends with the statement that ".. The days when Mrs. Clinton could walk her way to the Democratic Nomination have gone...." The campaign needs to insure that it counters this and quickly..."

I hope that this comment from this "face in the crowd" will be taken under advisement.

The week that we just left behind: FBI, The Patroit Act & Iraq...The struggle continues....

This week was another interesting week, to say the least. On Friday, the US Justice Department Inspector General issued a reporting documenting oversights by the FBI in the issuance of National Security Letters. This was granted to the FBI as part of the Patroit Act. Robert Mueller and Alberto Gonzales said that they're taking steps to fix the problem. Alberto Gonzales is the same man who drafted a memo for Mr. Bush stating that in effect, torture was permissible. Furthermore, it is the same Alberto Gonzales who talked about the Geneva Conventions not being applicable anymore. This is also the same Alberto Gonzales who fired Eight US Attorneys and replaced them with appointees. Justice seems to be hijacked for the sake of political expediency.

As for Iraq, the surge is continuing. It was announced today that the President has asked for additional troops to support the 21,000 troops already authorized. As the surge continued, General Petraus, The President's last hope, said that military is not the solution. There has to be a political solution. A conference was conveyed in Iraq, with suposedly a follow up conference to be held in Turkey. The Bush Adminstration continues to cling to the view that Iran and Syria are the main culprits. It has said that it has made mistakes. But, mistakes are one thing. Creating a disaster which has meant displacing over 10% of the Iraqi population is a fact that cannot be denied. There are daily killings every day. The victims I am most worried about are the Children. As noted in this insightful Newsweek Article (source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16610767/site/newsweek/ retrieved March 13, 2007), chronicles the "lost" generation. One staggering statistic from Iraq's Ministry of Education is the percentage of elementary school kids. It says that 70% of the elementary school kids are not attending classes regularly. There is also signs of post traumatic stress disorder. I have to ask the question: Who will help the children? No one seems to want to.

I do hold out hope though in the way the Walter Reed scandal has been handled. I saw General Cody, the Vice Chief of Staff, when he visited Walter Reed and the keen sense of control he had. As I also saw this account of the steps Bob Gates took as briefly outlined in this account, ".....When the Post first published its stories, Bush's chief of staff, Josh Bolten, called Robert Gates, the new Defense secretary. Bolten, who replaced Andy Card a little more than a year ago, is a results-oriented pragmatist. So is Gates. The two men agreed that swift action was called for. A senior White House official, who requested anonymity discussing the president's private conversations, tells NEWSWEEK that Gates called President Bush and said: "I'm going to hold people accountable. I don't know how high it will get. But it will be high." Bush responded, the official says, "Do what you need to do."...Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17554602/site/newsweek/ retrieved March 12, 2007..." it seems that the Adminstration is getting it. Whether it is too little, too late remains to be seen.

Zimbabwe....Another Tragedy!!!

There was a posting on the BBC today on what is going on in Zimbabwe. The leading opposition figure, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been detained and apparently badly beaten. Here is the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/
6444259.stm.

Although the United States was swift to condemn this, I wonder where South Africa is. The country is suffering from a 1700% inflation rate, umemployment is rampant, people are fleeing the country and Mugabe seems to still want to cling on to power. Yet, South Afria is silent. South Africa has its' own challenges as it looks to the post Mbeki era. But, can Africa (and especially Southern Africa) afford a failed state?

Healthcare

There has been enough discussions about the dismal state of healthcare in this country. There is apparent enough consesus that something has to be done about it. The status quo as it stands today cannot stand. I am afraid to get sick!!! John Kerry, to his credit, discussed it during the 2004 election. Unfortunately, it never got any traction with the electorate.

Our health care system is broken. Anyone who denies it is either dreaming, smoking or not living in this planet. I agree that competition is great. But, at what cost???? I urge all to read Jacob Weisberg's column in the Thursday Financial Times (http://http://www.ft.com/cms/s/
e76a290a-c758-11db-8078-000b5df10621.html)

We have to do something. The status quo is just simply unacceptable.

I had an opportunity to share my thoughts on a conversaton I had with my local postman on the John Edwards Campaign Blog. He told me that he had to sell his Condo and move in with his parents because he could not afford the cost anymore. I think we ought to remember such folks who work hard, pay their taxes and seem to be falling by the wayside despite the expanding economy and opportunity. As I see it, we have to make sure that such folks matter....Right now, they seem not to in the rush to focus on raising money , looking pretty and sophisiticated on TV, torpeoding all semblance of public finance and simply forgetting the simple guy in the street in the midst. I may be just frustrated, afraid and worried. I can't help it. I want to be optimistic for the sake of my child, but in the midst of the despair, it is tough to be optimistic about the future.