Monday, December 15, 2008

Occupation Iraq: Shoeless in Baghdad

Update: Shoe-Hurling Iraqi Becomes a Folk Hero

I won't be commenting much on the outright propaganda and lies of the press, and even less so at the lying delusions of Bush.

All they are doing is making me angry, and I don't have time for that anymore.


"Bush defends war in trip to Iraq; In surprise farewell, warns work not over" by Tina Susman and Caesar Ahmed, Los Angeles Times | December 15, 2008

BAGHDAD - President Bush, on the first leg of a surprise farewell visit to two war zones, yesterday defended his handling of the war in Iraq but warned that it was "not over" yet, nearly six years after he launched the invasion that toppled a brutal dictator but left Iraq, and the president's legacy, struggling to recover.

It's never intended to be "over." Otherwise, there would not be permanent bases.

The unannounced visit to Iraq, which lasted about eight hours, came 37 days before Bush hands power to President-elect Barack Obama, who is expected to oversee the departure of most if not all of the nearly 150,000 American troops in Iraq.

I'm sick of the lying: Occupation Iraq: Ten More Years

In a final speech to cheering American forces inside one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces, Bush said his decision to bolster the US troop presence early last year to quell sectarian bloodshed was "one of the greatest successes in the history of the United States military."

"Thanks to you, the Iraq we're standing in today is dramatically freer, dramatically safer, and dramatically better than the Iraq we found eight years ago," he said before boarding Air Force One for the flight to his second stop, Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

Just go away you piece of shit! SHUT UP and GO AWAY!!!!! Nearly TWO MILLION DEAD and a DESTROYED NATION and this fuck-shit says this?

But in a sign of the lingering animosity many Iraqis have toward Bush, and in a moment that undercut White House hopes of a glitch-free visit to a relatively quiet nation, an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes across the room at Bush during a news conference with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Yeah, he did that for the WHOLE WORLD!! BRAVO!!!

The journalist, Muntader al-Zaidi, 28, a correspondent for Al Baghdadia, an independent Iraqi station, was about 12 feet from Bush when he shouted in Arabic: "This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!" He then threw a shoe at Bush, who ducked and narrowly avoided it.

As stunned security agents and guards, officials, and journalists watched, Zaidi then threw his other shoe, shouting in Arabic, "This is from the widows, the orphans, and those who were killed in Iraq!" That shoe also narrowly missed Bush as Maliki stuck a hand in front of the president's face to help shield him.

Makes me think STAGED INCIDENT it does! My Pet Goat stuff!!!

Both shoes slammed into the wall behind Bush and Maliki, who proceeded to take questions from other journalists after Zaidi was wrestled to the ground and taken away....

To be imprisoned and tortured, no doubt!

And here is something the Globe won't tell you:

"The Iraqi TV reporter who hurled his shoes at George W. Bush was kidnapped once by militants and, separately, detained briefly by the U.S. military"

And when you consider we is the "insurgents!"

Bush said his visit was in part "to herald the passage" of a Status of Forces Agreement for the withdrawal of all US forces by the end of 2011 and an accompanying Strategic Framework Agreement outlining future US-Iraqi relations.

Why would we need that if YOU and WE are LEAVING?

Bush called the package "a reminder of our friendship and as a way forward to help the Iraqi people realize the blessings of a free society."

The guy makes me want to puke!

**************

The Bush visit, which like his three previous ones was kept secret until his arrival, reflected the changes that have been taking place in Iraq in the aftermath of what he has called his "surge" strategy. In a sign of improved security since his previous stopover in September 2007, and perhaps to burnish his image, Bush's distinctive jet landed in Baghdad in broad daylight, and Bush ventured beyond military bases and the heavily guarded International Zone in central Baghdad.

Wait until you see the "improved security."

His first stop was Talabani's palace in Karada, outside of the heavily secured International Zone, where he walked up a long, red carpet with Talabani. After dark, when the meeting was over, Bush's unmarked motorcade drove through the quiet, chilly streets and crossed the bright green bridge leading into the International Zone for meetings with more Iraqi officials, including Maliki. The streets were empty, having been closed hours earlier to most traffic when security officials got word of Bush's arrival....

Everywhere he goes!!!!!

*****************

4,060 more US forces have died in Iraq, according to www.icasualties.org, and tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed. Bush's popularity level is at a record low. Most Iraqis remain without reliable electricity, clean water, sewage, and security, and pressure has mounted on the US-backed Iraqi government to end the American presence here.

Yup, now for the BAD NEWS!!!

And when it comes to dead Iraqis:

The number of Iraqis killed by the surge has been around 300 per day, 10,000 per month -- with 1.2 million Iraqis dead since the invasion (must be nearly two million by now).

Also see:
Story Iraq: MSM Lied About Death Tolls

Memory Hole: 600,000 DEAD!

Occupation Iraq: One Million Dead Iraqis

You clear now about those "unappreciative Iraqis," readers?

Let's tweak that butt-head one more time:

"Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq's million or so Christians for the most part coexisted peacefully with Muslims, both the dominant Sunnis and majority Shiites (New York Times October 17, 2007)....

Sunnis, Shi'ites, and Christians lived side by side; many intermarried"

Yeah, the MOSQUE BOMBINGS and SECTARIANISM only started AFTER WE GOT THERE -- like in SO MANY PLACES!!!!

That pressure led Iraqi negotiators to demand a firm withdrawal date from the United States during months of negotiations over the Status of Forces Agreement, which was approved by Iraqi's parliament Nov. 27 and will govern the US troop presence after Jan. 1. The pact mandates that American combat troops leave Iraqi cities by June 30 and that all US forces be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.

Well, what do you know, ANOTHER LIE!!!!

"Some American troops will remain in Iraqi cities after a June 30 deadline"

Sick of the MSM LIES yet, America!

In Afghanistan today, Bush got a firsthand look at the deteriorating situation in the seven-year-old US-led war, amid preparations in his administration to hand over work on a strategy overhaul to Obama and to significantly increase the US troop presence there.

Bush spoke to US soldiers and Marines at Bagram Air Base. The rally for more than a thousand military personnel took place in the dark, cold predawn hours. "Afghanistan is a dramatically different country than it was eight years ago," the president said. "We are making hopeful gains."

By SLAUGHTERING and TORTURING INNOCENT PEOPLE?! The man is INSANE and should be GUILLOTINED!!!!!!

Also see: Afghanistan Torture Chamber

For more on the abominable atrocity of U.S. torture, go HERE

Bush then took a helicopter ride to President Hamid Karzai's palace in Kabul - the portion of the 40-hour journey that made his security detail the most nervous. Inside, Bush received a warm personal welcome from Karzai.

"I and the Afghan people are very proud and honored to the profoundest depth of our hearts to have President Bush with us here today," Karzai said, adding that he wished Bush could spend more time in the country.

Then KARZAI is CRAZY, too!!!!

Material from The New York Times and Associated Press was used in this report.

No wonder it was full of lies.

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