Flav- these are the things that effect morale. Not the truth, never the truth, but the ineptitude of policy-making that kills, maims, and wounds the heart.
James Glanz of the NYT writes:
"Sweeping statistics on insurgent violence in Iraq that were declassified for a Senate hearing on Wednesday appear to portray a rebellion whose ability to mount attacks has steadily grown in the nearly three years since the invasion.
The statistics were included in a report written by Joseph A. Christoff, director of international affairs and trade at the Government Accountability Office, who testified before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee during a hearing on Iraq stabilization and reconstruction."
hmm.
seems a bit contradictory.
seriously, ineptitude is honest.
who would fake it?
Posted by: jimbolio at April 4, 2006 09:57 PMIf I make mistakes, over and over again, and admit them. I am honest and inept.
If I make a mistake over and over again, and tell you what a fine job I'm doing, I am dishonest and inept.
It is unfortunate Jim, but this is what is happening.
Just as I can chew gum and write at the same time, the administration can be inept and dishonest at the same time, and they're doing a damn good job of it.
What is incompetent is incompetent and what is dishonest is dishonest.
The ony right thing I see is my fellow service-members remaining professional, like a team that plays it's hearts out even though the owner doesn't know what he is doing. Kinda like the Saints.
You want to talk inept and dishonest...the NFL draft is only days away. The Saints will pick a bust once again, and the ownership telling you what a great pick they made doesn't make it so.
Unfortunately this applies to the administration when they tell us the insurgency is in it's "last throes", or "mission accomplished."
Just because they tell us this doesn't make it so. It makes them dishonest and inept.
Posted by: Joe at April 5, 2006 12:35 AM
Mark Twain said, "There is the Liar, the Damn liar and the Statistician."
When we attempt to put numbers to "Insurgent Activities" what are the circumstances we consider. I bet you could run violent crime statistics from Detroit and they would be more substantial.
I just think we need to be careful in how we label these things. We can screw #'s around and use drama to accentuate the #'s but the truth to me is that the insurgents are losing. They are not beat by any means, but they are being killed and captured and they are on the run. They are losing and it is a matter of time until we leave, the Iraqi forces take over and then it is truly in their hands. Quoting statistics is akin to running a pole with loaded questions. Those figures can be bent and wrapped and packaged and manipulated.
So I guess we should all book our flights to Baghdad for summer vactation now. I just got back from a rough area of this country, not Detroit, but close, visiting my family in NYC and attending the 3 year memorial of a friend who gave his life in a tank in the cold and dark water of the Euphrates River. Hows that for the dramatization of a #?
While I was in NYC, I don't recall many car bombs, exploding churches, or decapitations. In fact, I am sure that foreign fighters weren't streaming in from our arch enemy -- Canada. But those violent crime statistics, well, who can argue with Mark Twain?
But my buddy lost his life Over There, not in NYC. That's one death too many for a non-existent tie to 9/11 or WMD's. What's more, this democracy in Iraq we are fighting so hard to establish is perilously close to adopting Sharia and is on track to being dominated by Iranian interests. I don't need a Zogby, Fox Dynamics Opinion Poll, or GAO statistical research to tell me this.
And when its over, NYC will have once less good guy that will pack up, declare "victory" and come home. I don't need statistics, polls, or loaded questions to tell me whose been bent, wrapped, packaged, and manipulated like the triangular shaped flag we presented to Cpl Rodriguez' mom on a cold NYC morning.
In the meantime, this administration relies on the best this country has to offer: the Honor, Courage, and Comittment of guys like Cpl Rodriguez to save the rears of Liars, Damn Liars, and Politicians.
Posted by: Joe at April 5, 2006 04:28 PMJoe,
I completely understand your anger. I don't think that Detroit violence in any way compares to the violence I see here in Iraq. What I do see is people, good people like yourself, who are passionate about life and death and our country, who use #'s to advance a negative or positive argument. Metric's?
Body counts? Measuring sticks? The personal loss you discuss above is certainly not expressed that way. You say so yourself.
You don't know me and you don't know my perspective, so please don't talk down to me about sacrafice. You are wrong to do so.
I am not going to lay out the lives and deeds of my comrades in an argument on a blog. We are all entitled to our perspectives, but the arrogance you used above puts you in the same mix as the people you deride in our government.
I respect you and your service and I respect that you write well and express your opinions elloquently.
However I think you should consider not talking down to people you don't know, about sacrafice.
First I want to say thank you for your service and your sacrifice. From what I gather, you are probably kicking butt in Iraq and from the words you have chosen, have experienced loss in ways most cannot fathom. I can feel it in your words. I am sorry for the losses if this is so. Your quote on page 1 a few days ago and the conviction in your writing conveys this clearly.
It appears, and I respectfully say this, that you have mistaken my conviction for other emotions.
I'm not great at writing. You cannot see my expression or hear my tone. It's a tough medium. But it's my way to honor those like you and our friends.
Some choose to honor their heroes in silence. Some choose to honor them by speaking their name and taking action.
But even though I make mistakes and perhaps express myself awkwardly at times, the way I choose to honor them comes from my heart. And when I read your last post, I know you speak from your heart as well. And I completely respect the hell out of you for this.
But I ask this gently and with respect to you:
How else, though, is a war to be spoken of? What questions can be asked? Whose names can or cannot be invoked? Is there a line that cannot be crossed after a war has begun? And when is it time to be angry at those who are truly arrogant?
I only speak for myself, in the way I am called to do it. As do you and every other Citizen of this great country.I respect your convictions and I know you respect mine.
I hope that you continue to be successful in your service and that you continue to correspond. You and I, and everyone who is inspired by the vision that Citizen Hunter has tapped into, want what's best for this country we love.
We may have different methods, and as Flavia says, we may not write like a Shakespeare, but we do our best. We do all we can. And sometimes that just might be enough.
R/S
S/F
Thanks for your kind words.
I have learned something, in answer to your question.
About speaking and when and which lines can be crossed or not.
It needs to be left up to people other than me.
I'll stick to what I know.
All the best~
Posted by: jimbolio at April 6, 2006 07:50 AMJim,
You're a Great American, sir. Thanks for doing all you can everyday, to help as many people as you can. Thats what its all about. My prayers are with you.
Joe
Posted by: Joe at April 6, 2006 09:29 AMNow here's a good plan. We want to win. We want have a safe homeland.
I'm a player in this "game" without scoring or timelines, but I appreciate the "coaches" that have gameplans that make sense.
Jack Murtha and Patrick Murphy are two of them.
Hoorah!
www.murphy06.com
White House defends intelligence leak as `in the public interest'
BY KENNETH R. BAZINET
New York Daily News
WASHINGTON - The White House insisted Friday President Bush did nothing wrong in authorizing a leak of prewar intelligence because he had allegedly declassified the secret information.
The White House was silent about the leak for almost 24 hours before spokesman Scott McClellan said the President - who has repeatedly trashed government leakers - slipped the information to the New York Times "in the public interest."
Now, I am angry. This is arrogance.
And of course, they had to wait to get their strategy right.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/21/washington/21cnd-leak.html?hp&ex=1145678400&en=4e6f3228d760ab95&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Many people should be fired. There are two big organizations that do not have a system of checks and balances. 1. The Press 2. Certain parts of the intelligence community.
Big Fat Wrong.
Jim,
Krauthammer said it was something that the "liberal left" was harping on. I have a question for him...who exactly is the liberal left..it's not me or you. So what does that make us if we are scratching our heads?
-Joe
...this comment was in regards to Krauthammer's views on the General's comments regarding on Rumsfleds fitness as SoD.
Posted by: joe at April 23, 2006 03:28 PM"That kind of dissident party within the military is alien to America. Some other retired generals have found it necessary to rise to the defense of the administration. Will the rest of the generals, retired or serving, now have to declare which camp they belong to?
It is precisely this kind of division that our tradition of military deference to democratically elected civilian superiors was meant to prevent. Today it suits the antiwar left to applaud the rupture of that tradition. But it is a disturbing and very dangerous precedent that even the left will one day regret."
is this the piece you are referring?
Posted by: jimbolio at April 24, 2006 07:27 PMThat's the one. What's your take?
Posted by: joe at April 24, 2006 11:57 PMI think the answer is no. If someone speaks up it is by their own conscience and standards that compel them to do so. As far as the alien comment, Rumsfled says it happens all the time. So I guess it can be said that it depends on your interpretation. I think that if someone believes something is wrong, they should speak up. I will promise you this, if I were a General, I would say something and not wait until retirement. Have you read that book "Dereliction of Duty"? I have not, but I think I will pick it up and read it. From what I understand it is pertinent to this topic. I believe it was by McMasters. Not sure have to google it. I just want the right thing to be done and I don't want people to feel locked into a poor plan without speaking up. Okay I'm done..your turn, or anyone else for that matter. I would like to hear other takes as I had to take my pickup in for service and missed our daily bull session at the office. Its strange going from a dodge 2500 turbo deisel with lifts to a little white neon rental...its a whole different perspective.
Posted by: joe at April 25, 2006 12:08 AMI am with you on the speaking your heart.
The problem I have with the whole "Leftwing/Rightwing" thing is that when people stoop to that level in their argument, they really take away from the more compelling issue.
It is more than a political statement.
Good folks have given and continue to give their lives over these issues. It really makes me sad that this stuff gets put into the blender with all the silly politcal bickering and non-problem solving conjecture that is meant to entertain the folks who are already signed onto whatever point of view whichever journalist is spewing.
Good people with good character and honest motivations should speak their mind. That is one of the reasons we fight.
Everything else is just crap.
Jimbolio, I couldnt agree with you more. I know that when it comes time to be under fire, I will only think of one thing. To accomplish the mission, to survive, and to make sure my mates come back home to their families. I often think of that time when that happens. I know that all the politics back home will fade into nothing. Time will stand still, and I will put my life in God's and my fellow Marine's hands. I do not want to do or say anything that makes anyone doubt our resolve to win. At thhat point I will know only one thing. We are there. We cannot fail. I just want the plan to be a good one. What I can do to make sure that happens before I go, in my mind, is the best I can do over here. We must win. We must come back home knowing we accomplished something good out of all of this haze. We must have a plan for real victory.
Posted by: Joe at April 25, 2006 11:09 PMThe PLAN!
That is really it isn't it. I tell you from my own personal experience, I think there are those in the DOD, both civilian and military, who have lost focus. When we are worried about appearance over lethality, that should be a kick in the face as to the priorities being askew. The folks who go out and do the ugly work know the deal. I wonder if the "staffers" and "careerists" and the droves of pseudo-tough guys who never leave the wire even care if there is a plan?
Who benefits from the "garrison" atmosphere? Not the average gunslinger. The average gunslinger see's it as a hindrance.
I know it sounds arrogant, but there are those who are ready and able to do what needs to be done, and then there are those who don't have a clue, and who don't care. They are both civilians and military and they put up obstacles and slow the process of destroying the enemy.
They are both Dems and Repubs. They coat their work in the frosting of a uniform or a title and they hold us back.
You know who I am talking about.
It seems to me that the same character dynamic exists in politics. There are those who manage to get themselves in the mix, only to protect themselves from issues that will be tough, issues that get them "outside the wire."
They bring us all down.
Posted by: jimbolio at April 26, 2006 07:13 AM"It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them."
(Mark Twain)
Posted by: jimbolio at April 26, 2006 07:27 AM“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing freeness of speech.”
-Ben Franklin
"ineptitude", there's that word again.
Rocker angry at Katrina response - BBC
"Bruce Springsteen played an emotional set
Bruce Springsteen has criticised politicians for "criminal ineptitude" in their response to Hurricane Katrina in the southern United States.
The singer was performing at the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, parts of which he had visited after they were devastated in the disaster.
"I saw sights I never thought I'd see in an American city," he said. "The criminal ineptitude makes you furious."
More than 1,300 people were killed across US states affected by Katrina.
The population of New Orleans fell from nearly 500,000 to less than 200,000.
Fans cried and embraced during poignant songs in Springsteen's set.
In one, How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?, the lyrics referred to "bodies floating" in the street and levees which had "gone to hell".
Jazz influences
My City in Ruins, originally written for the singer's favourite town of Asbury Park in New Jersey, was dedicated instead to New Orleans.
And reflecting the city's jazz influences, he ended his performance with When The Saints Go Marching In.
Springsteen was joined on the bill at the festival by other high-profile acts including Bob Dylan, the Dave Matthews Band and Elvis Costello.
The annual event traditionally draws around 400,000 people and boosts the city's economy by up to $300m (£165m).
It is being held at a racetrack on the northern side of city that was underwater eight months ago and continues next weekend."
...It was a great, emotional event for the people of this city yesterday.
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