Do you smell a draft, readers?
Oh, already got one: No Draft Needed
"Obama unveils Iraq pullout plan; Combat operations to end in 18 months Backed by McCain, but some Democrats irked" by Joseph Williams, Globe Staff | February 28, 2009
WASHINGTON - .... The vast majority of the 142,000 troops now on the ground will stay through the end of this year....
The president announced that 35,000 to 50,000 troops will stay in the country as late as Dec. 31, 2011, the full withdrawal deadline set by Iraqi leaders and President George W. Bush, and that Obama pledged to meet. Their mission, Obama said, will be training the Iraqi military and conducting counterinsurgency operations - a plan applauded by some Republicans but derided by some of Obama's allies, who questioned whether he had kept his campaign promises....
And Gates wants 'em to stay even longer. The fact is WE NEVER LEAVE unless FORCED!!! That is the WAY of EMPIRES!
Obama made what the White House described as courtesy calls to Bush and to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of Iraq before the speech, stressed that the responsibility will now fall upon Iraqis to develop a country "that is sovereign, stable, and self-reliant."
They HAD THAT BEFORE WE INVADED, dip!! And WTF?
'Bamer gotta CHECK IN with BUSH before he DOES ANYTHING?
"We've also taken into account the simple reality that America can no longer afford to see Iraq in isolation from other priorities," Obama added. "We face the challenge of refocusing on Afghanistan and Pakistan.... these are the challenges that we must meet and will meet."
****************
Obama, whose presidential ambitions were launched with his early opposition to the war, insisted he had kept his word, saying his critics "maybe weren't paying attention to what I said during the campaign."
"Everything that I said I would do during the campaign I am now doing," Obama said in an interview aired last night on "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" on PBS. "Obviously because of consultation with commanders on the ground, something I also said we would do, there are some modifications to the plan. But this is basically the thrust that I have been talking about for several years and I think it is a responsible solution."
Yeah, yeah, I know about your slithery slickness with word, 'bamer! The audacity of hope!
.... Antiwar groups also said leaving troops behind can only provoke Iraqi insurgents, which will lead to more violence and bloodshed.
"For us it's a beginning but the timetable is too slow," said Medea Benjamin of Code Pink, whose members opposed the war and have disrupted hearings on Capitol Hill. "It seems like a continuation of the war in a different form. The continued presence of that many military troops would be a provocation. It would be 'occupation lite.' "
Well, there you go! Proof I'm wrong, right? I mean, if fine ladies like CodePink make the papers they must be legit, right?
Sadly, WRONG!!!
See: CodePink: A CIA Front of Controlled Opposition
That's why they make the MSM and we don't, readers.
And I'm tired of "lefties" promoting LIES!
See: Occupation Iraq: Israel's IEDs -- and keep that in mind as you read the Zionist War Daily's accounts!!
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates acknowledged that the remaining units could end up in combat. But he told reporters their mission "will have changed. And so the notion of being engaged in combat in the way we have been up until now will be completely different."
Yeah, because WE SAY ITS NOT! Just CHANGE the TERMS of DEFINITION and PROBLEM SOLVED!
Gates also acknowledged the "hypothetical" possibility that the US could keep a "very modest-sized" force past the December 2011 deadline....
I'd call it a PROBABILITY!!
Even as Obama marked the finish line for the war in Iraq, he made clear the challenge ahead in Afghanistan.... The president has budgeted $75.5 billion more in the current fiscal year for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and $130 billion for next year.
There is your CHANGE!
In his highest-profile appearance yet as commander in chief, Obama repeatedly paid tribute to the US military and to military families, saying they had "succeeded beyond any expectation" in Iraq and had sacrificed much, "bearing the heaviest burden" at a time "when so many people and institutions have acted irresponsibly." He promised to increase military pay, improve veterans' healthcare, and provide more benefits under a 21st-century GI Bill.
Did he promise them the moon, too? This guy passing out money like a drunk sailor on leave! And if we've won, why can't we leave?
The president also made sure to address the Iraqi people directly, telling them that they have "persevered through tyranny and terror" and "stepped back from a descent into civil war."
"Let me be clear about America's intentions," he said. "The United States pursues no claim on your territory or your resources. We respect your sovereignty and the tremendous sacrifices you have made for your country. We seek a full transition to Iraqi responsibility for the security of your country. And going forward, we can build a lasting relationship founded upon mutual interests and mutual respect as Iraq takes its rightful place in the community of nations."
Bush could have given that speech -- and probably did three years ago.
Of course, the IRAQIS WANT US to STAY!!
Yes, the MSM shit-shovel never ends!
"Iraqis should prepare now for US withdrawal, troops say" by Lara Jakes, Associated Press | February 28, 2009
CAMP SPEICHER, Iraq - .... Iraqis, however, said they feared the absence of US combat troops....
In Saddam Hussein's hometown, Tikrit, Sunni government worker Hazim Ali Hamid, 40, was stung by Obama's praise of US forces for removing Hussein.
"But, in fact, the US forces achieved one thing - that is, destroying Iraq," he said. "We hope the US soldiers will leave our country sooner rather than later to end one of the bloodiest pages in Iraq's history."
What about the IRAQI DEAD, huh?
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 -- way more than Saddam ever did).
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?
Of course, look what happens to you when you tell the truth.
Staff Sergeant Michael Rosas, 29, from Los Angeles, worried that Obama's timetable would require troops newly arrived in Iraq for their one-year deployment to stay longer. "I wonder if we're going to be extended," said Rosas, on his second Iraq tour. "It would be kind of stupid to send a whole new combat force to replace us. It would be a hardship, but it's a hardship of war. It's part of what we signed up for."
That's why I've stopped covering U.S. war dead. They don't care, so why should I?
"We don't need to be here," said Sergeant Jimmy Johnson, 40, from Radcliff, Ky. He deployed from Fort Benning, Ga., and is in his second tour since 2006. "The job is done. Let soldiers go home. Let soldiers be with their families, loved ones." --more--"
No, we must OCCUPY in perpetuity!
BAGHDAD - .... In Tehran, Iran's supreme leader expressed concern that the United States was preparing for a "long stay" in Iraq despite a pact that calls for all American troops to leave the country by the end of 2011.
Nooo?!!!
"Occupiers are making preparations for a continuing and long stay in Iraq," Iranian state television quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as telling visiting Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. "This is a big danger."
What, the permanent bases and residual force give it away?
In Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, Iraqi forces arrested 11 suspected insurgents including the so-called "oil minister" of the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq, a purported political faction linked to Al Qaeda in Iraq.
Yup, "Al-CIA-Duh," uh-huh!
An Interior Ministry statement said Ali Mahmoud Mohammed and 10 other suspected insurgents were arrested in a raid in a Diyala village. No other details were given. Iraqi authorities accuse Mohammed of hijacking oil tanker trucks, kidnapping, and killing the drivers and blowing up oil pipelines.
Yeah, whatever. I'm sick of shit propaganda, and I'm not believing a word. CUI BONO, Iraqi government?
In Baghdad, the head of the Iraqi High Tribunal said a mid-April trial date is planned for the first war crimes trial of Iraqis since the US-led invasion.
Is there not something galling and wrong about that?
Foreign invaders are the victims of war crimes?
Two members of Hussein's former Ba'ath Party are accused of executing two British soldiers taken captive by a mob in southern Iraq in 2003. The exact trial date has not been set, said Aref al-Shaheen, the head of the Iraqi High Tribunal, which was set up to hear the cases against members of Hussein's regime. The trials of Hussein and others have been under charges of crimes against humanity. --more--"
So when do the trials of George W. Bush begin?
BAGHDAD - Insurgents attacked a main US-Iraqi base yesterday in the northern city of Mosul, killing one American soldier and striking directly at the Iraqi command center for an offensive against the militants.
The barrage underscored the resilience of Al Qaeda in Iraq and other groups after repeated attempts to break their hold in Mosul, a dangerous city where at least seven US soldiers have been killed since early February.
You are starting to see the shit fooley, right? I've been reading the same recycled shit for years.
With the US combat role in Iraq set to end in August 2010, Mosul represents one of the key remaining showdowns with insurgents. American military planners have backed up Iraqi forces in the crackdown launched last month.
Which we hardly ever hear about. All we hear are suiciders and politics -- and I'm sick of the omissions!
The rocket attack hit Forward Operating Base Diamondback in southern Mosul, the US military said. Iraqi police, however, described the attack as mortar strikes. The site includes the Iraqi security command for the entire province. The last mortar barrage on the site was nearly two months ago. --more--"
Let's continue with the agenda-pushing, shall we?
"Suicide bomber kills 3 in Baghdad" by Associated Press | March 5, 2009
Like clockwork.
BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber stalked members of a police intelligence unit, waiting for their night shifts to end, then attacked them outside a Baghdad restaurant yesterday, killing three.
The blast was one of a spate of attacks around Iraq - including a suicide car bombing at a police checkpoint in the northern city of Mosul and the ambush slaying of a Sunni sheik and his family north of Baghdad.
Violence in Iraq has dropped dramatically over the past 18 months, and was among the reasons President Obama cited for his decision to end the US combat mission here in August 2010. But there are growing concerns about a possible upward trend in violence after a series of deadly attacks in recent weeks on US and Iraqi troops.... --more--"
Can you see why I'm lagging in my reporting? I'm sick of the same shit swill being spit at us every day!
And here it is again!
"Car bomb kills 12 south of Baghdad" by Saad Sarhan and Sudarsan Raghavan, Washington Post | March 6, 2009
HILLAH, Iraq - A car bomb exploded in a crowded livestock market south of Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 12 people and injuring scores of others, police said.
The attackers parked the car in the market during one of its busiest days, detonating it by remote control, said Major General Fadhil Raddad, the commander of the Babil provincial police force. Virtually all the victims were civilians who had come to sell their cattle and other livestock in this central Iraqi city, 60 miles south of the capital....
Oh, the FALSE-FLAG STENCH is RANK on this one!!!!
Kassim Abdullah, 40, a butcher who was injured in the leg and neck and spoke from his hospital bed: "This was a cold-blooded crime against poor, simple people who were here to make a living. I can't understand why we would be targeted."
I CAN!!
Although violence in Iraq is at its lowest level since 2003 and 2004, yesterday's attack underscored the ability of insurgents to stage deadly assaults. In recent weeks, there have been dramatic attacks across Iraq against US soldiers and Iraqi civilians....
I'm sick of the lying shit-shovel, I really am!!!
Yesterday's attack took place in the city's mostly Shi'ite enclave of Hamza al-Garbi. Raddad, the police commander, said the perpetrators had planned the attack well in advance and it had been designed to inflict maximum casualties....
A-HA!!!! See: Prop 201 tutorial
"I don't know who would do such a thing, or why, because this is a poor area with poor people trying to make a living," said Hussein Rahim Abboud, 30, a cattle trader who was injured in the head by shrapnel. "There were no police, army or Americans here. This explosion was a pure act of terrorism, nothing else."
I KNOW WHO!!!!!
Also Wednesday, gunmen killed a senior Ministry of Interior official, Brigadier General Salam Salman Mohammed, as he drove to work in Baghdad. Two roadside bombs blew up in the western part of the capital, wounding several people. --more--"
And that PROMISED "withdrawal" is a LONG WAY AWAY, Americans!!!
CUI BONO?
