President Obama Authorizes Air Strikes, Humanitarian Aid in Iraq

Image from source, TPM

Ugh. I don't like any of this. I don't like the hovering threat of a renewed Iraq war. I don't like that we have to be involved at all. I don't like that the Twitter comments from #TCOTs was overtly negative before the President had finished a sentence. "Thanks Obama, you screwed up Iraq" is a paraphrase of the comments I saw rolling in.

Sure, Iraq was going perfectly when Dubya left office, right? And the end date he settled by treaty, the one that President Obama followed? Mistake! But Obama's mistake. Dubya was just goofin', seeing if the radical Kenyan socialist would fall for it, right? In reality, we should have stayed in Iraq forever. Right?

Listen, I don't pretend to be an expert on Iraq, the Middle East, or much of anything going on over there. Like most Americans, I kind of cringe, and hope it resolves itself before it gets out of hand, but I don't know why it's our problem. Other than that pesky "Pottery Barn Rule." But I sure would like to see conservatives act like Americans when there's a crisis, instead of blaming everything on the President as a reflex.

[Excerpt]

Obama Authorizes Military Air Strikes, Humanitarian Aid In Iraq

President Barack Obama announced Thursday night he had authorized the U.S. military to launch targeted airstrikes if needed to protect Americans from Islamic militants in northern Iraq, threatening to revive U.S. military involvement in the country's long sectarian war.

He also said the U.S. military had carried out airdrops of humanitarian aid to Iraqi religious minorities under siege by the extremists. . .

Read more at: Talking Points Memo

Can We Please Ignore the Iraq War "Experts?"

Image from source, Politico

I would never claim to be an expert on the Middle East. I'll be honest, I've never even really understood the fervor of our support for Israel. So, I'm not going to put on a front like I have the answer to what's going on in Iraq right now. But I'm pretty sure about a couple of things:

- Whether our withdrawal from Iraq spurred the current unrest or not, we had to leave, a) because we couldn't stay indefinitely, b) because George W. Bush signed an agreement before he left office (remember, he had a shoe thrown at him), c) the Iraqi parliament voted us out, and d) the overwhelming sentiment of the American people was for us to leave.

- The architects and players of the War in Iraq, including Rice, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Feith, Hadley, Tenet, Rumsfeld, and Dubya himself should have no role in any decisions made. They also shouldn't be viewed as experts on cable news or the Sunday political shows. Add to the Bush Administration the cheerleaders for war, such as Bill Kristol, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, and really the whole of FOX "News" and right-wing talk radio. They were all flat wrong about almost everything. Their opinions shouldn't hold any weight or any sway.

- Most of all, let's get the President out of the damned microscope. Let's have just a smidgen of the old "don't criticize the Commander in Chief in a time of war," attitude again, shall we? Not to insane, grill-the-Dixie Chicks, Patriotic­™ American® ­levels, but in the actual patriotic American sense. Imagine if we did have the dreaded sequel to 9/11. Rather than rallying around the flag, Right Wing World would be sharpening their pitchforks, lighting their torches, and storming Pennsylvania Avenue. It's not healthy individually and not healthy for our country to behave this way.

[Excerpt]

The Case for Doing Nothing in Iraq

Here we go again. Whenever there’s a crisis anywhere in the world, you can count on America’s pundit class to demand action—usually of the military variety. Don’t just stand there, bomb something! After more than two decades of unchallenged American hegemony, Washington keyboards seem almost programmed to call for intervention halfway around the globe. . .

Read more at: Politico

A Solution in Syria?

Image from source, Slate

Who cares if this was an accidental solution, whether it was planned or somewhere in between? If it works, it won't matter.

[Excerpt]

Did John Kerry Just Accidentally Find a Workable Solution for Syria?

Speaking in London earlier today, John Kerry appeared to issue a long-shot ultimatum to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, suggesting that if he turned over his complete stockpile of chemical weapons within the next week he could avoid an attack from the United States. The State Department, however, would later walk back those comments, saying they were a "rhetorical argument" and not an actual proposal, adding that Assad "cannot be trusted" to take such action. . .

Read more at: Slate

SYRIAsly, Can We Not Get Into Another War?

Image from Wikipedia. Did you know for sure
where Syria was?

We're in the last week of what is usually the "dog days of August," when the news is boring and nothing noteworthy seems to happen. Kids are going back to school, so for them the world is school this week, and the last three weeks were the summer careening out of control and crashing into school. I suppose parents of those children have a bit of a lift this week, but for the rest of us, late August is meh.

And blogging has been, even further back into the summer. Yes, stuff happened, but not a lot that I was eager to write about. Fortunately, summer gives a blogger some cover: nobody is writing quite at full strength in the summer, certainly not as stridently as usual. But here we are, with Syria. A deadly serious, deeply complicated, morally gray (as in, not knowing exactly who to support), politically gray (as in, Rand Paul and John McCain on opposite sides) fuster cluck.

I've already said in a previous post that Syria is past my pay grade (particularly since this is a hobby, and I don't get paid). Frankly, any Mideast crisis is out of my wheelhouse, and my deep personal interest. I'm not Jewish, I'm not fundamentalist Christian, I'm not Muslim. . .so, I have no emotional tie to Israel. I had to look up Syria on a map today (I was right about where it was, but I wasn't sure). I'm smart enough to know that there are implications that tie into relations with Russia and with China, and pissing them off is problematic. And I know that while President Obama has a number of options on his plate, none of them are good options.

Imagine having his job. Half a dozen shitty choices, none with clean outcomes, and all of them bound to draw fiery criticism from the right and the left. The left because they're already weary of war, and many are convinced that Obama is far further right than they thought they were getting. The right because they hate everything the President does from how he ties his shoes to how he licks stamps. The only thing almost everybody agrees on: "We've got to do something."

You know what troubles me about that? Those are the exact words my mother used, years after the Iraq War was started, as an answer to me about why we were in Iraq. As a Bush voter, and staunch Republican, she said that after September 11, we had to do something. I pointed out that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 and that there were no weapons of mass destruction. Didn't matter to Mom, we had to do something. Apparently, even if "something" is just blowing some shit up in the general area of the perceived problem.

I have a reputation for being irreverent, callous and blunt. But I don't mean to give short shrift to the suffering of the Syrian people, particularly the children. I suppose it's the fact that the Syrian government was already killing them indiscriminately before last week, that's got me wondering why now. Is it the President's "red line" statement from a while back, and that the Syrians apparently crossed it? Also, truth be told, kids and adults are being killed in lots of countries around the world. Is it only if they're poisoned that we have to send in the military?

Anyway, for someone who feels ill-equipped to really blog about this topic, I've managed to ramble on at length. I guess I just wanted to put my thoughts out there for anyone who happened by. And to explain why there may not be a heavy coverage of the topic on the blog. I suspect that when Right Wing World really gets cranked up on the topic, there will be an opportunity to at least pick apart the details, and maybe flesh things out a little. The nuts at Free Republic (for example) can be so clearly wrong about something, that it can crystalize what is right. . .or rather, correct.  See? They're good for something!

[Excerpt]

Military strikes on Syria 'as early as Thursday,' US officials say

The U.S. could hit Syria with three days of missile strikes, perhaps beginning Thursday, in an attack meant more to send a message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad than to topple him or cripple his military, senior U.S. officials told NBC News on Tuesday. . .

Read more at: NBC News

US to Launch Military Strike on Syria?

Image from source, Boston Globe

Ugh. As a lowly hobbyist blogger, I'm going to fold on this hand. "What to do in Syria" is wayyy over my pay grade. So, I'll pass on the latest information, and just leave it there, marked as an important event. And I'll comment so far as to ask: do you suppose Republicans and Democrats will leave the politicking on this one for later, and rally around the President, who has some very difficult decisions to make? Oh, who am I kidding. . .

[Excerpt]

US assails Syria, moves closer to military strike

The Obama administration said Monday that it had “undeniable” evidence that the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad used chemical weapons to kill hundreds of civilians, significantly raising the possibility that the United States would take military action in the conflict. . .

Read more at: Boston Globe

NBC News' Richard Engel Survives Kidnapping in Syria

Image from source, New York Times

Whew. Many's the time I've been watching NBC News' Richard Engel report on some strife in the Middle East, missiles exploding around him, and thought, that dude is going to get hurt one day. I've often thought the same thing watching Anderson Cooper in the same sorts of scenarios. Well, Anderson has experienced some harrowing events, but I doubt anything like Engel's recent disappearance. Monday, the news filtered throughout the internet--despite NBC's pleas for a blackout--that Engel and his news team were missing, and had been since Thursday. When you go missing like that in Syria, I can't imagine the odds are good that you'll turn up relatively unscathed. Thankfully, Engel and his team are okay.

[Excerpt]

Richard Engel of NBC Is Freed in Syria

Richard Engel, the chief foreign correspondent for NBC News, and his crew had sneaked into Syria before. They knew where to go, where not to go; what to say, what not to say. But last Thursday, in a demonstration of the perils of reporting from the war-torn country, Mr. Engel’s crew was taken hostage by an unknown group and told they would be used to secure the release of hostages being held by Syrian rebels. . .

Read more at: New York Times

Republicans Blow the CIA's Cover in Libya

Good goin', dude. Image from Washington Post.

Oops. They keep forgetting that while they're playing politics, the real world is happening.

[Excerpt]
 
Letting us in on a secret

When House Republicans called a hearing in the middle of their long recess, you knew it would be something big, and indeed it was: They accidentally blew the CIA’s cover. . .

Through their outbursts, cryptic language and boneheaded questioning of State Department officials, the committee members left little doubt that one of the two compounds at which the Americans were killed, described by the administration as a “consulate” and nearby “annex,” was a CIA base. They did this, helpfully, in a televised public hearing. . .

Read more at: Washington Post

Romney Defenders: Here is Why the Rest of Us Are Upset With Mitt

If you are a conservative who is thus far on Mitt Romney's side, regarding the politicization of the attacks in Libya and Egypt, I have an answer for you. Short answer: Mitt says there was an "apology" when there wasn't, and waded into the fray while the attacks were ongoing. For the longer, more nuanced answer, check out this clip from The Rachel Maddow Show. I'm serious, watch it. If nothing else, you may gain a little perspective on why so many people are so upset with Romney.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

President Obama Announces Slow Afghanistan Withdrawal

There are few things I don't understand about the Afghanistan War. No, that's not true, I understand very little of it. I've tried over these last 10 (!) years, to wrap my brain around it, but I don't get it. And now that Osama bin Laden is dead, as far as I (and most Americans) are concerned, mission accomplished. This time for real. On Wednesday night, President Obama made an announcement regarding the slow--very, very slow--wind-down of the war. Why so slow? I have no idea.

Most Democrats, and increasingly more Republicans want the war to end, as quickly as possible. Finishing by 2014 does not do that. In fact, the first leg of the draw-down is itself painfully slow, not wrapping up until mid-2012, leaving more troops there than were there when Bush left office. I can't wrap my brain around Obama's reasoning any more than I can about the war in general. My biggest questions are:

- If we ended the war today, would we be tangibly worse off than staying in, and how?
- What is going to happen in 2012, 2013 and 2014 that we have to wait for in order to leave?
- From a cynical, political viewpoint, why would Obama come out with such a drastically unpopular action?

And perhaps the answer to the third question is that this is not a political calculation at all. Maybe there's something more to the slow draw down than craven politics? I'm not making excuses here, just trying to understand. Personally, I think we should pull out of all our middle-east operations. But as I stated at the start, what do I know?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Where in the World is Moamar Gaddafi

Image from Anorak News

The Middle East is really having a heckuva year. Things are getting weird for the people in charge, and because of it, we have to try to figure out how to spell Moamer Gaddafi again. What is it with these weird looking head cases with impossible to spell names anyway? But of all of the unstable world leaders, Gaddafi is quite possibly the nuttiest one this side of Kim Jong Il. Can you seriously think of a person in the world (other than Gaddafi himself) who'd be upset if we never had to type his name again? Sources can't even agree on his first name. I saw "Mu'ammar Qaddafi" on Wikipedia. Begone unspellable menace!

[Excerpt]

Libya’s Gaddafi denies fleeing as cities overrun



Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi denied Monday he had fled his country after protesters overran several cities, as his four-decade rule was under assault amid claims of a "massacre" in Tripoli.



"I am going to meet with the youth in Green Square," in downtown Tripoli, he said, in what state television reported was a live broadcast from the strongman's home. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Anderson Cooper and Other Journalists Attacked in Egypt

Image from Huffington Post

Wednesday in Egypt, many journalists and news crews covering the potentially revolutionary riots, were sought out and attacked. Included in these attacks were NBC's Richard Engel (though he was not injured) and CNN's Anderson Cooper (who was repeatedly punched in the head). These attacks apparently came from pro-Egyptian government counterprotesters, believed to be paid by the government itself.

[Excerpt]

Anderson Cooper Attacked, Punched In The Head By Pro-Mubarak Mob In Egypt



Anderson Cooper and his crew were attacked by supporters of Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Wednesday. CNN's Steve Brusk tweeted that Cooper was punched in the head ten times. . .
 
Read more at: Huffington Post

Daily Show: Obama's Mid-East Speech & FOX "News"

After a fruitless battle of words at a right-wing "FOX Fan" site, I felt the need to feel like I'm not alone in finding FOX "News" to be a ridiculous, illegitimate news outlet. Thankfully, Jon Stewart agrees with me.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Looking for Comity in the Muslim World
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Economic Crisis

Something to Remember During Obama's Middle East Trip

When you see and hear all sorts of allusions made to President Obama being "too cozy" with Muslims on his Middle Eastern trip--and you will--never forget these images of former President George W. Bush. And share them, won't you?



Source: Prophet of Doom

Bush's Legacy: A Giant Shoe

Photo from source, AOL News

Hahahaha! Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[Excerpt]

Bush Legacy: Iraqi Orphans

A huge sculpture of the footwear hurled at President Bush in December during a trip to Iraq has been unveiled in a ceremony at the Tikrit Orphanage complex. . .

Read more at: AOL News

More to Iranian Speedboat Story

Photo from source, ABC News

Hmmm. . . Like many of the stories we hear regarding Iran, the initial story may not have been quite what it seemed. We'll keep watching this one.

[Excerpt]

U.S.: Voices on Recording May Not Have Been From Iranian Speedboats

Just two days after the U.S. Navy released the eerie video of Iranian speedboats swarming around American warships, which featured a chilling threat in English, the Navy is saying that the voice on the tape could have come from the shore or from another ship. . .

Read more at: ABC News

Iranian Speedboat Saga: Fake or Real?

The right-wing bloggers and pundits are aghast that anyone would dare think that the US would stage something like this. I'd counter that Republican leaders, from Bush to Rumsfeld to Cheney to DeLay have made many people take anything we're told by them at face value. They've set us up to be suspicious of everything. So yeah, I admit it, upon hearing about this story, I immediately wondered if it could be a "false flag" operation. What do you think?

[Excerpt]

Iran says US video was fabricated

Iran's Revolutionary Guards say the US navy fabricated evidence that a convoy of its ships was harassed by Iranian speedboats in Gulf waters on Sunday.

The US has released grainy footage, apparently showing small boats speeding near the American warships.

In an audio recording, an Iranian radio operator appears to say "I am coming at you; you will explode". . .

Read more at: BBC News

And watch the video here: