A time to remember the graves of our fallen soldiers and the politicians that put them there.

This Trillion Dollar Murder/Torture Spree

They hate our Liberty

Saddam-148 deaths

Bush- 648,000 Iraqi-3,000 American

The newest lie

The problem with telling a pack of lies is that the liar has to keep lying. Once the facts creep into the picture the whole operation will fall apart.

The new lie (er,talking point) has to do with the Iraqi security forces. It will be amusing to see if this fig leaf can cover the multitude of sins that have stacked up in Iraq. I expect to hear that the Iraqi security forces have made remarkable progress, and that they are ready to take on the insurgency. That's right people, young Iraqi men are flocking to join the Quisling army just like the young Americans that are lining up to join the U.S. Army. Bush has inspired so many to join the struggle(for the other side). As Iraqi forces stand up, our forces will stand down. The check is in the mail and the troops will be home by Christmas. Oh wait, the troops don't want to come home, to cut and run would destroy their morale. So many of them are looking forward to their third tour it would be unfair to take that away from them.

Yes, the Iraqi security forces are gonna be capable of doing so much you won't believe it. Unless you're really gullible.

One of the major talking points used by the neo-con warmongers is that the war critics offer no alternative plan. This is a rhetorical ruse because an alternative would never be considered anyway. Nevertheless here is a plan for a successful outcome in Iraq.
Declare War
Article 1 of the constitution states that only congress has the power to declare war, and thus, inversely, the power to declare a war to be over. The American people, acting through their elected representatives, have lost control of this vital responsibility. A formal declaration of war would send a clear message of resolve to friends and foes alike. It would focus the energy of the government toward solving this problem. Congress should grow a spine and join the vertebrate kingdom. Without a formal declaration of war, these acts of violence are a crime by the executive branch.
Initiate the Draft
Occupying and bringing civil order to a foreign country is a labor intensive endeavor. Bringing stability to Iraq requires more manpower than it did to simply topple the government there. Unfortunately, the experienced military personnel that pointed this out were fired and now the problem is much worse than it would have been had this sage advice been heeded. If the president is unable to inspire an adequate number of men to volunteer for military service, this unpopular measure must be enacted. Without adequate manpower, the few unfortunate soldiers charged with the poorly thought out mission in Iraq face an increasingly dangerous and frustrating task with a decreasing chance for success.
Rescind the tax cuts for the wealthy
Failure to commit adequate resources such as body amour, the needed equipment, ample manpower, pay raises and benefits for the brave soldiers that are placed in harms way, is deeply irresponsible. There are two costs of war, blood and treasure. In past wars the soldiers in the field have been confident that wealthy citizens have made their contribution. The burden of this war is being shifted from the beneficiaries of it to the working class. The war in Iraq has become an extension of the class warfare on the domestic front. Interest payments on the national debt are de-facto entitlements for the leisure class. The debt being accrued has placed this country at the mercy of foreign lenders. Communist China could shut this war down any time it wanted to, however they are content to watch America shoot itself in the foot.
The Powell Doctrine
America should commit its armed forces only when there is a clear objective that the public broadly supports. If so we should use overwhelming force and have a plan for an exit strategy. Unfortunately, Mr. Powell, like many other military experts have been shown the door.
Leadership
When a naval captain runs his ship aground he is customarily replaced. The Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal that contrived this war has suffered from continuous intelligence failures. Intelligence failures have become the hallmark of the Bush administration. When accused of lying, the White House cites intelligence failure as an excuse. So are they lying or are they just stupid? Either way, should the American people reward this much incompetence?
Stop the Madness
War is a serious undertaking and must be done right or not at all. Partisan apologists have labeled this as “Cut and run” or a “Retreat” or “Dishonoring the sacrifice” or whatever they come up with in the next spin cycle. The choice now is to stop the madness as soon as possible, OR “Cut and Run” 10 years, a trillion dollars and thousands of American lives from now. Leaving Vietnam did not result in the nightmare scenario the hawks wanted the public to believe. The search for WMD and regime change has been accomplished. The presence of a foreign occupying army is counterproductive to bringing stability to Iraq. Therefore, what is the rational basis for continuing to occupy Iraq? The true reasons for invading Iraq are not known to the American public. Establishing permanent military bases in Iraq and expanding the war into other countries may be the true purpose of the invasion. This would explain the reluctance of the Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal to leave Iraq. This is the rationale that dare not speak its name.

The Torture Never Stops

It now appears the Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal has reopened some Soviet-era gulags for the pourpose of torturing people. Those Bastards! Operating a concentration camp in Poland, that sounds familar. Who else has operated a concentration camp in Poland? Why do republicans get real touchy when they get compaired to nazis. Torture doesn't yeild any useful information. And besides, these people in the Cheney-Rumsfeld only believe what they want to believe. Any information they do get, will only be distorted and misused anyway. What about the people that get tortured? Are they going to love America now? If Iraq has become a training ground for terrorists, then these torture facilities will be like a war college. That's right people your tax dollars are being used to create a whole new generation of terrorist elete.

Someday this war will be over. What will I have to rant about then?
China! China holds the key to ending the war in Iraq. Without China how can the borrow-and-spend republicans operate? If the American taxpayers were presented with a bill for the true cost of this mess, the demand for an end to the occupation would be overwhelming. Knowing this, the politicians in washington hide the true cost of the war and borrow the money. Paybacks are hell. Interest payments alone will soon criple the U.S. government. How ironic will it be that a communist country was able to beat down a capitalist empire at their own game. The republicans must really hate America, look at what they're doing to it!
China could stop this war if it wanted to. Just cut off the money. Maybe they enjoy seeing imperialist yankees destroy themselves. That is why they are such enablers. Every day they watch the foolish yankee get weaker, but the day will come when they are no longer amused. That day will mark the begining of the end. Not just the end of the war but the end of the government's ability to function and the economy as we know it.
If we Americans are lucky, the president will be impeached and the war will be stopped without the economic collapse. However the malicious politicians in washington are likely to take the entire country down with them. The will of the American people means nothing to them and the future of America means even less. Americans are now dependent upon the kindness of foreigners that buy Treasury Bills. America needs some tough love from our enablers. If China and Japan were to stop lending the U.S. government money, reality would then set in.
If Cindy Sheehan really wanted to stop the war, she should go talk to the Premier of China. He will not be afraid of her.

Has anyone noticed that every time president bush is presented with the oppourtunity, he will propose the need for the military to be given vast powers in dealing with domestic situations that are either real or imagined, such as hurricanes of the avain flu. Now just what is the GOP game plan here? Will there be a convenient situation, either real or imagined, around election time next year, that the administration can use as an excuse for the military to impose a curfew or a quarantine? Although the Congress has not declared war, bush has declared himself to be war president. This stance is being taken not to protect the country but to protect himself. The constitution states that only congress may declare war and likewise congress may declare a war to be over. This is the root cause of the quagmire in Iraq. If the congress had the moral backbone to do the right thing to begin with, the American people (acting through their representives) would not have lost control of the war. Had congress actually declared war it would now be able to claim that the aims of the war(the search for weapons of mass destruction)had been achieved and thus declare an end to it. This leaves us with the REAL reason for the war, which is a power grab by the president. There is no peace treaty that can put an end to a power grab. Power addicts desire a bigger and bigger fix, and if a suitable crisis cannot provide an excuse for a larger power grab, they will manufacture one.