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 Sunday, October 17, 2004
Iraq: There Never Was an Exit Plan. Knights Ridder newspapers has finished a report on Bush's post-war planning and finds it was non-existent: A Knight Ridder review of the administration's Iraq policy and decisions has found that it invaded Iraq without a comprehensive plan in place to... [TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime]
You know, Knight-Ridder has been the best source for news in these times. This is really important. No exit plan. I guess God was going to be our exit plan. 11:20:11 PM 
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The Army Is in Worse Shape than I Thought. The Blackhorse Regiment is being sent to Iraq. This means that the army is in much more trouble than I had thought. And it drives Phil Carter--who knows whereof he speaks--beyond shrillness: INTEL DUMP - : The Los Angeles Times provides a long report in Sunday's paper on the deployment of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, dubbed "Blackhorse" for the stallion on its shoulder patch, to Iraq for a year of combat duty. The regiment has long served as as the opposing force, or "OPFOR", for units from other installations coming to train at the Army's National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. Now, with the Army stretched to practically its breaking point over the Iraq and Afghanistan missions, the Army has turned to the Blackhorse regiment for help. For years, The Box has been a stage for the Army's elite "opposition force" ? soldiers expert at assuming the roles of enemy fighters, be they the Taliban or Iraqi insurgents. Their mission is to toughen new soldiers with elaborate simulations ? staging sniper fire, riots, suicide car bombings and potentially dangerous culture clashes.
Staging such scenes has long been the work of the fabled 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, or Black Horse Regiment. But starting next month, the 3,500-member unit will begin shipping out to Iraq from the Ft. Irwin National Training Center, near Barstow. Deployments are nothing new in the Army, of course, but there is a special sense of urgency about dispatching the Black Horse to tackle situations that it has trained roughly 500,000 soldiers to handle since 1994. Now the bombs and bullets they encounter will be all too real.
"No one ever thought the Black Horse would be taken out of the National Training Center; they are just too valuable here," said Maj. John Clearwater. "But the Army is stretched too thin, and Iraq is a big mission."
The article misses the most important point: deploying the OPFOR is like eating your seed corn. This unit is responsible for training other units and raising their level of expertise and combat readiness. The 11th ACR is being replaced by a National Guard unit. That's like replacing the Dodgers with a high school baseball team. Sure, they can both play baseball and wear the uniform ? but one is a whole lot more proficient and experienced at its job. The OPFOR has a reputation as a tough enemy, and that's a good thing because it forces units training at the NTC to become better themselves. By replacing this unit with National Guard troops, the Army has hurt its ability to produce good units for Iraq in the future. Suffice to say, National Guard and active units that go through Fort Irwin aren't going to get the same tough experience they would have with the Blackhorse regiment as OPFOR ? and that means they'll be less ready for combat when they get to Iraq. This is a desperation measure, and I think the Army will come to regret it.
[Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal: A Weblog]
So, let's take the group with the great expertise (they have been doing it since 1994) in training our soldiers to fight terrorists and send them to fight. Well, we have a National Guard unit. Seems like this is a 'pennywise and pound foolish' sort of game. 11:18:07 PM
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Who's on first?. From the Harry Shearer site comes this RealAudio clip from his ooold comedy group, The Credibility Gap. It's a clever play on the old Abbot and Costello routine. I hadn't heard it before...... [Joho the Blog]
This is hysterical. Listen to the original Abbott and Costello routine for comparison. 11:07:30 PM
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Inside This Oval Office, Nobody Tells Bush He's Wrong. As Ron Suskind writes up the story, it sounds like there were ten people or so in the room, nine of whom knew that Sweden had an army. But nobody would back Tom Lantos. One must, at all costs, pretend in public that George W. Bush knows what he is talking about:
The New York Times > Magazine > Without a Doubt: In the Oval Office in December 2002, the president met with a few ranking senators and members of the House, both Republicans and Democrats. In those days, there were high hopes that the United States-sponsored ''road map'' for the Israelis and Palestinians would be a pathway to peace, and the discussion that wintry day was, in part, about countries providing peacekeeping forces in the region. The problem, everyone agreed, was that a number of European countries, like France and Germany, had armies that were not trusted by either the Israelis or Palestinians. One congressman -- the Hungarian-born Tom Lantos, a Democrat from California and the only Holocaust survivor in Congress -- mentioned that the Scandinavian countries were viewed more positively. Lantos went on to describe for the president how the Swedish Army might be an ideal candidate to anchor a small peacekeeping force on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Sweden has a well-trained force of about 25,000. The president looked at him appraisingly, several people in the room recall.
''I don't know why you're talking about Sweden,'' Bush said. ''They're the neutral one. They don't have an army.''
Lantos paused, a little shocked, and offered a gentlemanly reply: ''Mr. President, you may have thought that I said Switzerland. They're the ones that are historically neutral, without an army.'' Then Lantos mentioned, in a gracious aside, that the Swiss do have a tough national guard to protect the country in the event of invasion.
Bush held to his view. ''No, no, it's Sweden that has no army.''
The room went silent, until someone changed the subject.
A few weeks later, members of Congress and their spouses gathered with administration officials and other dignitaries for the White House Christmas party. The president saw Lantos and grabbed him by the shoulder. ''You were right,'' he said, with bonhomie. ''Sweden does have an army.''
This story was told to me by one of the senators in the Oval Office that December day.... This is one key feature of the faith-based presidency: open dialogue, based on facts, is not seen as something of inherent value. It may, in fact, create doubt, which undercuts faith. It could result in a loss of confidence in the decision-maker and, just as important, by the decision-maker. Nothing could be more vital, whether staying on message with the voters or the terrorists or a California congressman in a meeting about one of the world's most nagging problems...
This is the form of government adopted by the Ottoman Empire under Sultans like Selim the Sot. It did not work very well then. It does not work very well now. [Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal: A Weblog]
Tom Lantos is the only Holocaust survivor in the Congress. He came here with nothing and became a Congressman. But he is a Democrat, so I guess he can be disrepected like this by the Presidnet and his staff. Do not want to disagree with Fearless Leader. Just change the subject. If they can make their own realities, then why does Sweden HAVE an army? 9:53:04 PM
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Do the Cheneys agree with Alan Keyes that incest awaits kids of gay parents?
Haven't heard the RNC and the Cheneys and the Bush campaign express their outrage yet
at this comment
from one of their own. Even more fun, Keyes' comments came at one of the national rallies held the big religious right groups to fight marriage rights for gays.
U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes told a rally Saturday that incest was "inevitable" for children raised by gay couples because the children might not know both biological parents.
"If we do not know who the mother is, who the father is, without knowing all the brothers and sisters, incest becomes inevitable," Keyes told the Marquette Park rally held to oppose same-sex marriages.
"Whether they mean it or not, that is what will happen. If you are masked from your knowing your biological parents, you are in danger of encountering brothers and sisters you have no knowledge of."....
The "United We Stand -- Defending Marriage" rally, staged by the groups Illinois Family Institute and Concerned Women for America, featured a procession of speakers, including religious leaders from various cultures. Among the approximately 150 people present were families huddling to keep warm. The event is part of a 14-city Illinois tour to push for a state constitutional amendment denying recognition and benefits to gay civil unions, moves other states have made or are considering.
But Kerry and Edwards spoke highly of her, so they must be attacked. Not because of what they said but because they are Democrats. If you are a Republican, you can spew as much gay-hating rhetoric as you want, even calling Mary a selfish hedonist. IOKIYAAR. 9:39:31 PM
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Oh, the Humanity. Ted beat me to this, mostly. But I wanted to say this: I’m sure if we trawl through our 1990s archives we’ll find that the high-minded and their lofty correspondents
Reader Keith Rempel gets at the heart of what’s wrong here, and articulates what I couldn’t: “Kerry was using Cheney’s daughter to harm her father. … ANOTHER UPDATE: “More thoughts here: ‘thou shall NOT speak of another’s kid in any way that could POSSIBLY be construed as negative’ … MORE: … James Somers emails: “Kerry crassly exploited Cheney’s daughter for use against Bush and thus, by extension, Cheney. Perhaps you have to be a parent to understand what that means.”
were right out there on the front lines defending Chelsea Clinton from anything that might have been construed as insulting at the time. (We can leave aside — as perhaps too complex to grasp — the point that it is not actually an insult to mention that someone who has worked in various professional and political contexts doing outreach work with the gay community is, in fact, gay.) I’m waiting to see if the parallel to Chelsea strikes any of the people over at The Corner who are waving the flag of ‘common decency’ in defence of Mary Cheney at the moment. But, of course, I forget: when they’re insulted it’s an offense to common decency and civility, but when we’re insulted it’s just more political correctness and evidence that the left is too sensitive and has no sense of humor. [Crooked Timber]
when they're insulted it's an offense to common decency and civility, but when we're insulted it's just more political correctness and evidence that the left is too sensitive and has no sense of humor. Just remember, IOKIYAAR. It's OK If You Are A Republican. And Chelsea was a teenager. Mary in in her late 20s. And she was actually described in positive terms. Love it when hypocritical means is used for purely politcal ends. And the media ust buys into it. Bush lies about his comments regarding OBL. No big deal. Kerry compliments Mary Cheney and that runs for at least 3 news cycles. ANd no where do we hear about the new Bush documents found. Again. For the last time! 9:00:50 PM
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The Bush War on Science, yet again. Skeptic Magazine enters the fray; putatively educated Republicans had better read this before voting for their Party's candidate in November.... [The Leiter Reports: Editorials, News, Updates]
I've been involved as a researcher in science for over 25 years. Before this adminisitration, I never worried whether a scientist's political affiliation would affect their science. Science was science. Politics would not really affect clear scientific truth.
This administration has changed all that. I am beginning to worry that, if things continue, only scientists of the 'correct' political party will be allowed to practice. Just as Russian scientists had to join the Communist party or otherwise kowtow to to the politicians, we seem to be sliding towards a similar situation.
Already we have had scientists who have had their travel restricted for political reasons. Scientists have been told to have their reports vetted by political appointees before it can be discussed. Creationist texts are sold in the science section. NASA scientists are not allowed to discuss global warming with the press. Science that does not further political ends has been supressed. The grand coalition of the investigator-initiated research grant may be in peril. This must be changed. Another four years could do tremendous damage to our research capabilities. We are already having trouble finding enough scientists to fill the positions we need now. What happens when we simply make it another politcal appointment? 8:38:30 PM
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The Abyss. THE ABYSS....Matt Yglesias voices his concern today about....the creeping Putinization of American life (the Sinclair incident, the threatening letter to Rock The Vote, the specter of the top official in the House of Representatives making totally baseless charges of criminal... [Political Animal]
A nice description of how the US is slowly descending into a state ruled by a single 'strong leader.' Using terror to consolidate power is not something novel to these times but may be novel to America, at least with such possible ramifications. 8:26:58 PM
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STUDY WHAT WE DO. "In the summer of 2002, after I had written an article in Esquire that the White House didn't like about Bush's former communications director, Karen Hughes, I had a meeting with a senior adviser to Bush. He expressed the White House's displeasure, and then he told me something that at the time I didn't fully comprehend -- but which I now believe gets to the very heart of the Bush presidency.
The aide said that guys like me were 'in what we call the reality-based community,' which he defined as people who 'believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.' I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. 'That's not the way the world really works anymore,' he continued. 'We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.'"
--Ron Suskind, "Without a Doubt", New York Times Magazine
[Gibson Blog]
Ohmigod! They can create new realities purely with the power of their mind! And then change it again when they want. Think of the power such a thing would mean. They could create a world where none would want, where war was an unthinkable action, where women could make the same as men, where none would become ill, where the Earth was not polluted. It seems incredible but if they really have this power, I am hoping they use it wisely. For one with the power to create new realities could wreck havoc if not properly used. 8:21:14 PM
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Alternate future stories can be fun. It is interesting to see this one created in an open collaborative atmosphere. 8:11:27 PM
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Fairfax Election Office Swamped
The largest voting District in Virginia, which has a Republican in charge of the election, is in the process of being overwhelmed by the large number of new voters and absentee ballots. While other districts added personnel and did their best to meet this avalanche, Fairfax fell behind. An interesting dynamic of this, and every other election I remember, seems to be that the Republicans find ways for people not to vote, feeling that it is okay to deny legitimate voters their rights, while the Democrats want to have more people vote, even if they are dead. This dynamic will be even more in evidence in tis election, because of the huge number of people that are voting for the first time. Voter turnout may be the highest it has ben in a generation. Something that will help the Democrats (they may not even need dead people to vote) and hurt the Republicans.
Jeb Bush Ignored Felon List Advice
A good example of what he Republican strategy is. Earlier in the year, Florida was caught red-handed trying to remove legitimate voters from the rolls. At the time Jeb said that this was the first time he had heard about it. But this new report indicates that he did in fact know about it and went ahead anyway, hoping no one would notice, apparently.
As U.S. Debt Ceiling Is Reached, Bush Administration Seeks to Raise It Once Again
Talk about fiscal responsibility. They controll both sides of the Congress and the Presidency, yet the Republicans just keep spending. Since Bush took office, the natonal debt has increased 40%!! Unbelievable. Whay happened to the Republicans being the party of fical responsibility. Their Medicare plan cost more money than they said, and they knew it. Now they are raiding the pension plan to keep the government operating. So, let's screw the workers. And their reponse is 'Well, we are not spending money as fast as we thought we might.'
Tough Tactics Used Often at Guantanamo: NY Times
Looks like Gitmo abused prisoners also. Nice to know we are the good guys. Not surprising for an administration that lies to its people, that writes legal memorandums detailing just how torture can be permitted,
Scowcroft Is Critical of Bush
The National Security Advisor for the first Bush, Scowcroft thinks that Iraq is a 'failing venture' and that Bush has harmed relations with our allies. I expect that Scowcroft will either recant his comments or be reviled by the White House. 6:32:19 PM
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August just seems to be a bad month for this Administration. IN 2001, they were given a briefing saying Al Queda was planning to attack on American soil, and did nothing. Now it seems that they again ignored important information.
Both England and the US had the same information regarding Chiron's problems in August. England gets 14% of its vaccine from Chiron, the US 48%. England went out and made sure there was backup supplies. The US believed Chiron and did nothing! If the US had even told Aventis, its other supplier, in August to produce more, it could have. ut it waited until October.
So, now we will have more Americans die because this Administration is apparently unable to properly plan. I guess they just feel that God will do the planning for them. Whatever happened to 'God helps tose who help themselves.' Whatever happened to leadership or even competence? How about accountability? 9:23:35 AM
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