3:58:49 PM EDT
"Mumbles McCain's REJECTED Op-Ed"
The Felicity Daily Herald
Here's McCain's Op-Ed piece that was REJECTED by the 'New York Times':
In January 2007, when General David
Petraeus took command in Iraq, he called the situation "hard" but not "hopeless." Today, 18 months later, violence has fallen by up to 80% to the lowest levels in four years, and Sunni and Shiite terrorists are reeling from a string of defeats. The situation now is full of hope, but considerable hard work remains to consolidate our fragile gains.
Progress has been due primarily to an increase in the number of troops and a change in their strategy. I was an early advocate of the surge at a time when it had few supporters in Washington. Senator
Barack Obama was an equally vocal opponent. "I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence there," he said on January 10, 2007. "In fact, I think it will do the reverse."
Now Senator
Obama has been forced to acknowledge that "our troops have performed brilliantly in lowering the level of violence." But he still denies that any political progress has resulted.
Perhaps he is unaware that the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has recently certified that, as one news article put it, "Iraq has met all but three of 18 original benchmarks set by Congress last year to measure security, political and economic progress." Even more heartening has been progress that's not measured by the benchmarks. More than 90,000 Iraqis, many of them Sunnis who once fought against the government, have signed up as Sons of Iraq to fight against the terrorists. Nor do they measure Prime Minister
Nouri al
Maliki's new-found willingness to crack down on Shiite extremists in Basra and
Sadr City?actions that have done much to dispel suspicions of sectarianism.
The success of the surge has not changed Senator
Obama's determination to pull out all of our combat troops. All thathas changed is his rationale. In a New York Times op-ed and a speech this week, he offered his "plan for Iraq" in advance of his first "fact finding" trip to that country in more than three years. It consisted of the same old proposal to pull all of our troops out within 16 months. In 2007 he wanted to withdraw because he thought the war was lost. If we had taken his advice, it would have been. Now he wants to withdraw because he thinks Iraqis no longer need our assistance.
To make this point, he mangles the evidence. He makes it sound as if Prime Minister
Maliki has endorsed the
Obama timetable, when all he has said is that he would like a plan for the eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops at some unspecified point in the future.
Senator
Obama is also misleading on the Iraqi military's readiness. The Iraqi Army will be equipped and trained by the middle of next year, but this does not, as Senator
Obama suggests, mean that they will then be ready to secure their country without a good deal of help. The Iraqi Air Force, for one, still lags behind, and no modern army can operate without air cover. The Iraqis are also still learning how to conduct planning, logistics, command and control, communications, and other complicated functions needed to support frontline troops.
No one favors a permanent U.S. presence, as Senator
Obama charges. A partial withdrawal has already occurred with the departure of five "surge" brigades, and more withdrawals can take place as the security situation improves. As we draw down in Iraq, we can beef up our presence on other battlefields, such as Afghanistan, without fear of leaving a failed state behind. I have said that I expect to welcome home most of our troops from Iraq by the end of my first term in office, in 2013.
But I have also said that any draw-downs must be based on a realistic assessment of conditions on the ground, not on an artificial timetable crafted for domestic political reasons. This is the crux of my disagreement with Senator
Obama.
Senator
Obama has said that he would consult our commanders on the ground and Iraqi leaders, but he did no such thing before releasing his "plan for Iraq." Perhaps that's because he doesn't want to hear what theyhave to say. During the course of eight visits to Iraq, I have heard many times fromour troops what Major General Jeffrey Hammond, commander of coalition forces in Baghdad, recently said: that leaving based on a timetable would be "very dangerous."
The danger is that extremists supported by Al
Qaeda and Iran could stage a comeback, as they have in the past when we've had too few troops in Iraq. Senator
Obama seems to have learned nothing from recent history. I find it ironic that he is emulating the worst mistake of the Bush administration by waving the "Mission Accomplished" banner prematurely.
I am also dismayed that he never talks about winning the war?only of ending it. But if we don't win the war, our enemies will. A triumph for the terrorists would be a disaster for us. That is something I will not allow to happen as president. Instead I will continue implementing a proven counterinsurgency strategy not only in Iraq but also in Afghanistan with the goal of creating stable, secure, self-sustaining democratic allies.
***********
Quite frankly I don't know 'why' the New York Times rejected Mumbles McCain's Op-Ed piece, because quite frankly .... and if the New York Times is in Barack's hip pocket as the Right alledges ... the 'Times' would have run it because McCain says NOTHING except "I'm in Iraq until the cows come home" or "C'mon, Barack: Admit you were wrong about the surge!"
McCain, like Bush, has no definition for what constitutes VICTORY in Iraq, and neither does McCain advance SPECIFICS as to how he Plans to end the"Iraq Folly" beyond:
"We won't leave until we've WON!"
(whatever that entails)
Hell, Mumbles: "The New York Times" did YOU a favor by not releasing your silly Op-Ed piece, baby!
Allow me to comment about this SURGE business, okay!
: )
I've NEVER been in the U.S. Military! Never worn the Uniform of any Branch of the U.S. Armed Services. Yet having NEVER experienced the art of Military Warfare .... I bet I could have drafted a Plan whereby employing 50,000 additional U.S. Troops (in addition to the 150,000 already there) to temporarily quell 'sectarian violence' would have accomplished TEMPORARY Relief just as easily as what General Petraeus pulled off!! So all this Right wing 'chest pounding' about the brilliance (?) and success of the SURGE is nothing but false bravado and a false sense of temporary victory relief! As Barack says:
"We say we must stay when things are going bad; and we say we must stay when things are going good: Which is it?"
See. The TRUTH is .... Republicans (McCain's Church) want to forever STAY in Iraq to rape Iraq of its Oil Reserves! Simple as that!!
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
We've long taken our eye off the ball (bin Laden) to seek instead a 'Land Grab' in Iraq and to fill the pockets of Cheney's boys (Halliburton), Bush's boys (Arms Manufacturers), and the GOP coffers (Chevron).
SURGE SUCCESS, my black ass! : )
Bush, the GOP, Right wingers, neocons, and Conservatives want 'US' to bleed Iraq dry until ALL of its riches (OIL) land into the deep pockets of those that perpetuated this 'Crime Against Humanity' in the first place!
McCain's Buddies!
All while al Qaeda runs amuck in Afghanistan & Pakistan.
All while the US Dollar ain't worth a damn worldwide.
All while the wolf is at the door of MILLIONS of American households!
I hope to god .... Americans make these bastards PAY this November!!
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2:24:49 PM EDT
"Lifting All Ships"
The Felicity Daily Herald
Obama vows to work for Mideast breakthrough
BY DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent
AMMAN, Jordan - Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama vowed on Tuesday to work for a breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations "starting from the minute I'm sworn into office."
In a news conference here before departing for Israel, he said any U.S. involvement in peace talks must recognize not only Israel's security concerns but also the economic hardships facing Palestinians.
He said he would continue to regard Israel as a valued ally. "That policy is not going to change," he said.
"What I think can change is the ability of the United States government and a United States president to be actively engaged with the peace process and to be concerned and recognize the legitimate difficulties that the Palestinian people are experiencing right now."
Obama, in the midst of a weeklong high visibility foreign trek, also acknowledged the long history of Middle East tensions that would confront him if he were to become president.
"It's unrealistic to expect that a U.S. president alone can suddenly snap his fingers and bring about peace in this region," he said.
Obama was in Afghanistan and Iraq before arriving in Jordan on Tuesday for talks with King Abdullah. He planned to leave for Israel later in the day. He then is scheduled to travel to Europe.
Obama condemned an attack in Jerusalem on Tuesday, where a Palestinian man rammed a construction vehicle into cars and a bus near the downtown hotel where Obama was scheduled to stay later in the day. An Israeli civilian shot and killed the driver. Several people were injured in the attack, which resembled a deadly vehicle assault that took place in the city earlier this month.
"Today's bulldozer attack is a reminder of what Israelis have courageously lived with on a daily basis for far too long," Obama said.
Campaign aides said Obama intends to visit a southern Israeli town that is a frequent target of rockets fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza.
The stop in Sderot is part of a crowded day of events on Wednesday in which the Illinois senator has also arranged to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on the West Bank and with Israeli leaders.
Susan Rice, a foreign policy adviser, said Obama wanted to go to Sderot because it is a "place in which Israel's security is every day at risk and threatened. And Sen. Obama will have the opportunity to see that first hand and get a very personal feel for the everyday" difficulties. His schedule indicates he intends to spend slightly more than an hour there.
Obama's trip to Iraq and Afghanistan was an official congressional trip, paid for with federal funds. The balance of his travels are financed by his presidential campaign.
The Illinois Democrat is working to shore up support among U.S. Jewish voters, many of whom supported Hillary Rodham Clinton in the battle for the party's presidential nomination, and some of whom have questioned his commitment to Israel.
Obama's schedule for Wednesday also includes a visit to Yad Vashem, the Israeli memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Aides said a stop at the Western Wall, one of the holiest places in Judaism, was also a possibility.
In addition to Abbas, Obama's meeting list for the day includes Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and members of his Cabinet as well as Benjamin Netanyahu, head of the opposition Likud party and a former prime minister.
In his news conference, Obama alluded to the internal domestic problems facing Olmert, who is facing allegations of corruption, and the political schism among Palestinians.
"One of the difficulties that we have right now is that in order to make those compromises you have to have strong support from your people, and the Israeli government right now is unsettled," he said. "You know, the Palestinians are divided between Fatah and Hamas."
He compared the existing circumstances with those that permitted Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to sign a peace treaty in 1979.
"Those leaders were in a much stronger position to initiate that kind of peace," Obama said.
++++++++
Seeing Barack 'do his thing' in the Mideast .... to me is akin to opening a long closed window and allowing the fresh breeze of CHANGE to come in.
In Afghanistan, we see where Barack first opened the window in refocusing our attention back to the place where al Qaeda first schemed the 911 Attacks.
In Iraq, we see where it was Barack that Challenged the 'Powers That Is'' to seriously begin thinking about TROOP WITHDRAWAL in a REASONABLE 'Time Period' ~ and for which NOW the Iraqi Government concurs. So when Barack now Challenges the Israelis & Palestinians to forge a 'Lasting Peace':
somehow it all seems quite possible!
And this ~ the possibility of change ~ is all I really ask for in a Leader.
As Human Beings, we all respond to Challenges. It's in our DNA! Challenges serve as a motivator to spark a Human's Creative Juices to flow; cause our Spirit to embark upon that 'Impossible Dream'; and to slay that unbeatable dragon. And all Great Leaders understood this!
Moses understood that he had to Inspire his people to go across a desert to then reach the 'Land Flowing With Milk & Honey'.
Jesus had to Inspire his people to strive to enter a Kindom where Death and Misery is no longer the End to Mankind's existence.
Human Existence is chock full of this type of Leadership!
Just give People a Meaningful Direction to go, and Mankind will accomplish the task!!
Hell! John F. Kennedy inspired me to WALK 50 MILES, baby! : )
The World is CHANGING. The heady, Fresh Wind of CHANGE is sweeping the world and causing the tide to lift all ships.
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1:22:29 PM EDT
Sorry, Folks
You Tube had to 'take down' the previous video of these two charming Black Women <g> due to copywrite restrictions from "The Wendy Williams Show".
Sorry.
I'll be back later on today via video. I'll plug y'all in on a taste from the Shawn Hannity radio program and see what Heil Hannity is talking about TODAY, okay. : )
Oh, BTW ~ any of my own videos WILL NOT be copywritten. : )
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12:42:39 PM EDT
"My Black Sisters"
I Write What I Like
I LOVE Women. For a whole lot of reasons. : )
It was a woman's eyes I first saw when I entered this world. Too, it was a woman's eyes I sought when I first fell off my bike, or landed wrong when I fell off a 'Jungle Jim' (remember them <g>).
It was a woman's eyes that took me into previous unknown worlds of BOTH Pleasure & Pain. Too, it was a woman's eyes that was my very first 'Best Friend'.
A woman's eyes bore my First Child ( a precious baby Girl) .... comforted me when I stood stricken before both my parent's grave ..... strengthened me during times of trial ..... and often brought me back 'down to earth' whenever I thought I was 'all that'.
And in the End, I hope it is a Woman's Eyes I see .... when I close my own eyes for the Last Time.
I have, and will always, LOVE WOMEN!
I'm a "Scorpion" after all. : )
I LOVE my Black Sisters
From the time when 'Black Women' were THE ONLY females roaming the earth; from the time when they (Black Women) sat on the Thrones in Egypt or Ruled massive Lands in West Africa; and of course, when they (Black Women) held our Families together through Slavery and beyond .... Black Women have (and will always) be the Pillars on which Civilization will depend.
I say all this because .... a Brother (like myself <g>) damn near needs to be a top flight Psychologist to deal with these magnificent, God Created Beings. : )
Difficult is too light a meaning on how to form a Relationship with these bronze goddesses ~ because they're one part sensual god, one part possessing more 'balls' than Hercules <g>, and one part a greater therapist than Dr. Phil could be on his BEST days! : )
A Brother has to bring his 'A Game' when dealing with a Black Woman, folks! : )
Money, Position, Status, Class, etc. have absolutely nothing to do with it either!
NOTHING!!
Case in point: the video below shows 2 relatively Highly Successful Black Women and the ATTITUDES they have toward one another, yet alone toward Black Men.
: )
It's just 'an example' <g>, but it's fairly representative of the 'stuff' we Black Men have to fight through to get to the 'Promise Land', so to speak. : )
Just an Observation. : )
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