Our President surges and accelerates
I’m sorry. I looked for something new. I really didn’t hear anything. This is staying the course. This is a variation of Operation Together Forward.
Entries Tagged as ''
Democratic Response to Escalation
Senator Dick Durbin from Illinois gives a smart and thoughtful response.
Operation Together Forward 10.1a
The President spoke tonight. This is the speech that we have been waiting for. (Full text of speech)
There were many key words that we have heard so many times before. Freedom. Liberty. He said freedom 6 times. He said liberty 4 times. Of course, he tied this speech in with 9-11.
Unfortunately, the president is recycling and old plan. Operation Together Forward was supposed to stabilize Baghdad. It didn’t. Why? Many Iraqi’s are playing both sides of the fence. Many Iraqi politicians support both the Americans and Iraqi security forces and the death squads and militias. The president still has not demanded in public that the Iraq politicians choice one side or the other. This is key. No operation in Iraq will be successful unless the leaders in Iraq choose between the militias and the Americans.
The Errington Thompson Show 1/6/07
It is 2007 and time for our year in Review. This was a really fun show to do. Our new digital studio still has some issues but they are getting better. The Godfather of Soul - James Brown has died so all of my out going music is dedicated to him and his life.
I review the year with Amanda Terkel a researcher and blogger from the Center for American Progress.
Remember I’m on iTunes and several other podcasting services.
US hits Al Qaeda in Somalia
Now, we’re talkin’. I have been talking about the global war on terror needed to be truly global. We know that Somalia has been a strong hold for al Qaeda. If we weren’t bogged down in Iraq we could hit other targets in Southeast Asia as well.
From CNN.com:
A U.S. gunship has attacked suspected al Qaeda targets in southern Somalia, a senior Pentagon official said Monday.
The AC-130 flew its mission within the last 24 hours, the official told CNN. The operation was launched based on intelligence that al Qaeda operatives were in the location, but there was no immediate indication of how successful the strike had been.
Additionally, the official said, the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower has moved within striking distance of Somalia, but its jets have not been put to use.
Update (1-9-07)
NYT has more information here.
Update (1-10-07 reposted)
So I’m reading today’s update and I stop and I have to re-read this one section. The Somali government needs US troops. They are waiting for them to arrive any minute. What!!! Now, this is reminding me of a West Wing episode. That episode didn’t end well for the Americans. We are sending troops to Somalia. The home of Black Hawk Down? I’m hoping that someone thought this through.
More from CNN.com:
A senior al Qaeda suspect wanted for bombing U.S. embassies in East Africa has been killed, a Somali official said Wednesday as witnesses said U.S forces launched a third day of airstrikes.
Also Wednesday, Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister said American troops were needed on the ground to root extremists from his troubled country, and he expected the troops soon.
The death of al Qaeda suspect Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was detailed in an American intelligence report passed on to the Somali authorities. Mohammed, one of the FBI’s most wanted terrorists who has evaded capture for eight years, was allegedly harbored by a Somali Islamic movement that had challenged this country’s Ethiopian-backed government for power.
No more newspeak.
New rule. You have to call things what they are.
Surge = Escalation.
There is absolutely nothing in the track record so far to suggest that putting another 20,000 troops in harm’s way is going to change the way things are going in Iraq.
The President and his Administration have not had one single thing go the way that they said it would go so far in this war. Why should we believe them at this point.
The tally so far:
3,015 U.S. military deaths
46,880 non-mortal U.S. military casualties (as of 12/02/06)
5,915 Iraqi military deaths
53,101 to 58,704 Iraqi civilian deaths
over $357,070,768,522 in Congressional Appropriations
1 dead dictator
1 civil war
0 weapons of mass destruction
Above info courtesy of Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, Iraq Body Count, and The National Priorities Project.
By the way, the above expenditures could have paid for 47,294,048 children to have attended a year of Head Start; or could have paid for health insurance for one year for 213,814,562 children; or could have hired 6,188,072 additional public school teachers for one year; or could have built 3,215,084 additional housing units; or could have provided four-year scholarships at public universities for 17,309,999 students.
But now we can’t.
Because we spent that money to blow shit up.
MLK
With Martin Luther King’s birthday coming up, I would like to try to do something insightful. I think that the holiday is wasted in most places of this country. Besides, getting a day off from school, shouldn’t we be doing more. Race relations have been at a standstill for decades. Is there nothing more to do?
-
Errington C. Thompson, MD, is a surgeon, scholar, fulltime sports fan and part-time political activist. He is active in a number of community projects and initiatives. Through medicine, he strives to improve the physical health of all he treats...
