Stay The Course Kline

According to the Strib: U.S. Rep. John Kline said he has changed his views on tactics but not the war itself. "The fight in Iraq is central to the war against terror" according to Kline, but more and more we're seeing that the war in Iraq is causing terrorism and a huge amount of anti-American, anti-Iraq occupation that has fuel more violence. The current conditions are a civil war and America lacked planning and leadership (aka Bu$h and Kline). They lead us to this point. Kline has continued to back this losing war at the costs of billions for American taxpayers, thousands for American deaths, and countless civilian deaths. I've said it before; Kline is all about supporting the Iraq War. It's his identity. How sad is that?


What we have today is a very involved and dangerous political destabilization of the region. Even previously very stable countries like Saudi Arabia are now facing violence. The war has reinvigorated weakened terrorist network with new recruits and more funding and a goal...fight the crusaders (that would be Americans). It has basically grown the seeds of Al Qaeda-linked groups and those like them. Add in the militias that we've armed and the local cultures of revenge and power... and wah la.... civil war without ending. Kline can be a soldier directing the war until the end of days with his 'stay the course' policy but it will ultimately bankrupt the United States and end up here anyway. John Kline will shortly being using Bu$h's 'blame the victim' by blaming Iraq. But ask yourself, did Iraq ask to be invaded? Did the Iraqis promise American anything? Or did America lie to them just like they lied to us. Kline should be held accountable just like Bu$h for what has happened in Iraq. It didn't just happen...they lead us there with thier "we could have won in Vietnam" beliefs.

Those who want to know more on what is truly happening can't depend on the local media. The three blind mice could have done a better job in the last five years. Try these ‘must read’ on the Iraq war. Let me know if you have a favorite not listed among these.

Juan Cole on Informed Comment, a very in dept look at all the information in the Middle East with insight by Juan:

And Nuri al-Maliki, head of the al-Da`wa al-Islamiyah Party (Islamic Call [Shiite]) will make all those concessions to the Baathists over his own dead body. (Remember he is already being stoned when he goes to Sadr City; what do you think the Shiite masses will do to him if he kisses and makes up with the remnants of the Baath officer corps?)On the other hand, I have long argued that the neo-Baathist and Baathist-cum-Salafi guerrilla movements are the central political actors in Sunni Iraq, and something like the process described by al-Zaman will have sooner or later to be attempted

Baghdad Burning, an female blogger in Iraq, very insightful inspired by Read Jarrar’s Blog.

A final note. I just read somewhere that some of the families of dead American soldiers are visiting the Iraqi north to see ‘what their sons and daughters died for’. If that’s the goal of the visit, then, “Ladies and gentlemen- to your right is the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, to your left is the Dawry refinery… Each of you get this, a gift bag containing a 3 by 3 color poster of Al Sayid Muqtada Al Sadr (Long May He Live And Prosper), an Ayatollah Sistani t-shirt and a map of Iran, to scale, redrawn with the Islamic Republic of South Iraq. Also… Hey you! You- the female in the back- is that a lock of hair I see? Cover it up or stay home.”And that is what they died for.

Back to Iraq, former AP reporter who is a good read on the fly for background information.

Ain el-Rummane, a Christian neighborhood in the hills above Beirut occupies an ominous place in Lebanese history. It was here, in 1975, near a statue of the Virgin, that a bus full of Palestinian refugees was ambushed by Christian militiamen. It was a massacre in response to an assassination attempt, and the reprisals it generated in turn quickly grew into the Lebanese civil war.

Today in Iraq, a picture of failure happening through out Iraq…it’s not pretty.

Bring ‘em on: Three U.S. Army soldiers were killed and two wounded during combat operations in Baghdad, the military said today. The Multinational Division soldiers died at about 9 a.m. Sunday, the command said, without providing any details about what had happened.

A transition to failure, an oldie but none the less true assessment of what has come to be in Iraq:

While certainly the Iraq War does indeed represent “hard work” – as the President pointed out more than 22 times during the debate – it more importantly symbolizes the colossal failures of the Bush administration. As the daunting statistics of the “transition” reveal, “remaining steadfast” will only compound a terrible error in judgment.

Insurgent Iraq, You have to at least know the players (something our own government leaders have lost sight of?)

The occupation of Iraq is today less about rolling back Iraqi military power, dislodging a tyrant, or building a stable democracy than it is about fighting an insurgency -- an insurgency that is now driven substantially by the occupation, its practices, and policies. We can take a first step toward understanding the insurgency by locating it within the broader field of popular Iraqi opposition to the occupation, which is widespread.

Antiwar Blog, The Corner, Truthout, more insight on what has happened in Iraq particularly politically.