Wolfowitz says significant U.S. forces expected to remain in Iraq through

[Whoa_Nelly]

Wolfowitz says significant U.S. forces expected to remain in Iraq through 2004

KEN GUGGENHEIM, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, September 25, 2003


(09-25) 13:24 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said Thursday that "significant forces" from the United States probably will remain in Iraq through the end of next year.

Pressed by House Democrats about whether the administration planned to withdraw U.S. troops right before the 2004 presidential election, Wolfowitz assured them that no decisions were being made on political grounds.

<snip>
Democrats have accused the administration of trying to ram the plan through Congress without giving lawmakers enough time to consider it. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., urged Bremer to "use your good authorities to impress upon this administration the need to slow down this train."


<snip>
Sen. Jim Talent, R-Mo., noted that the United States was seeking international contributions at a donors' conference next month. He said "old Europe" is unlikely "to give money to Iraq if we're loaning it to Iraq."

more...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/09/25/national1608EDT0724.DTL

[KharmaTrain]

1. Drip...Drip...Drip...

I'm sure Wolfie got the ok from Rove to trial balloon this one...hell these bastards have had weeks (since they weathered the State Of The Union lie) to set their spin machine toward the reality that U.S. troops will still be hunkered down in Baghdad when Smirky's minions try to steal the next election.

This regime is now set into damage control mode (we haven't seen anything like this since the Nixon days) where any question upon them is viewed as an attack and any question is considered a litmus test on one's patriotism. You can see the hatchet job that's been done on Daschele, Byrd and now Kennedy as as example of how sharp these NeoCon knives are and the free ride they get from their buddies in the media (all those free dinner and drinks are really paying off now).

But being the optomist that I am, may Wolfie's words be true and this Iraq mess is still all over this regime in a year from now. I utterly cringe at the number of innocent American and Iraqi lives will be lost in the duration, but if this keeps the NeoCons from ever getting close to the levers of power again in my lifetime, I will take it.

Also, people like Wolfie insure this regime will repeat a lot of the PR blunders of Vietnam (actually this adventure at the outset is making Vietnam look small) that first disconnected with our allies and now with the American people. This is what Cronkite refers to when he said Johnson lost the war when he lost the American people and this regime is on the verge of doing the same thing. Hopefully we're a lot smarter and wiser and we can avoid too much damage for the next 15 months.

[thebigidea]

2. stay the course, Wolfie - light at the end of the tunnel, peace with honor

what a despicable man.

[E_Zapata]

5. What scares me the most is that Bush hasn't lost nearly enough Americans

Millions and millions of Americans are right in there with Bush believing he is doing as good a job as anybody across the board. Bush is but a symptom of a very diseased American society. I do have hope, however, that the bulk of the American public is more capable of coming to terms with reality. Here's hoping . . . .

[KharmaTrain]

17. Honestly, It Is A Cult

You've hit a chord here...

Notice how often WhistleAss' name is invoked anytime there's a pronouncement by Von Rumsfedlt or AssCroft or any of the real manipulators in this regime...not unlike the name of dictator is used. You rarely hear the concept of the "Bush Administration" but a direct connection to the manchild. It gets even worse when you get some low-level military or beauracratic lackey or some maniquin in the House who uses praises the "Commander In Thief" like he's some kind of divinity. They remind me of the old pronouncements I would hear on shortwave listening to Radio Moscow or Radio Havana.

It's become more and more obvious that Dubya is more a brand than a real human. This gives people like Chenney and the rest of this cabal cover to do their pillage while deflecting the attention to the puppet. This trick worked when people were scared that planes were gonna crash in their buildings, anthrax would show up in the mail and Arab guys with box cutters were going to blow up their shoes. But now the Chicken Little act is wearing a bit thin and this regime is running out of games to play.

I'll admit I'm enjoying reading the Freeper boards, listening to Hate Radio and watching the squirming by all the Wingnut talking heads. While I'm sure it's frustrating to some to hear all the black is white is black these yahoos spit in the face of growing realities, I'm starting to relish the slow roasting these goons are taking.

[cliss]

3. OK, Wolfowitz predicts US troops will be there

for the rest of this year and all of 2004. Let's review costs: we've spent $4 billion per month since we've been there. Bush just asked for $87 billion. That's a total of $111 billion since March, or $12.7 billion per month (based on 9 months this year).

So for 2004, that will be $152.4 billion, not counting any unforeseen expenses, like more bombings (a very real possiblity) or the oil pipeline blown up again (count on it).

So far, we've got $263 billion. Can we handle it?

[KharmaTrain]

4. "Off The Book" Costs

What's not factored into this numbers game will be the bills being wracked up now that won't come due til later.

For example all the overtime we're assuredly paying those fine hires from HaLLiburton to repatch up the pipeline they patched up a week earlier. Or for the replacement costs for all the ordinance we shot into that country last Spring or the "administrative costs" (such as those worthless Congressional PR junkets to Baghdad) that all fall outside this appropriation and get dealt with in other bills.

What will be worth watching will be the year-end budget requests, what will be added or padded or tacked onto to spending bills and then the usual bum's rush before the end of the year to get them passed (en masse). It may be like watching paint dry to some, but watching a mark-up session on CSPAN is extremely revealing and I wonder if they plan to sneak their cameras in for some of the conferences this time around. This is where the real costs of this war come out...and the horsetrading (and the Democrats are very guilty here) are done.

[symbolman]

6. The real cost that's not being factored in

is the cost of human casualties.. especially those not being reported -- thousands..

that's where Bush will be taken down and they know it..

[Newsjock]

7. Wolfowitz's DISGUSTING QUOTE from this same story

Pressed by House Democrats about whether the administration planned to withdraw U.S. troops right before the 2004 presidential election, Wolfowitz assured them that no decisions were being made on political grounds.

"These are national security decisions, they have to be made on that basis," he said.

Wolfowitz said that doesn't mean that "we're not trying to, in fact, get more Iraqis on the front lines, get them dying for their country so fewer Americans have to."

* * *

Read that last sentence again. Then make sure everyone you know knows what a sick, sick, evil bastard Wolfowitz is.

[Karenina]

8. Can you spell....

POPULATION REDUCTION, boys and girls? I knew you could.

[LizW]

9. Disgusting and nonsensical

We bombed, invaded, and attacked a sovereign nation. They fought back. The war is so unpopular that it's beginning to hurt the neo-cons politically, so now they want Iraqis to take our place, in essence, dying on both sides of the war we started!

This war and occupation are, quite simply, a pretense for looting the US Treasury for decades to come.

[saigon68]

10. what a sick, sick, evil bastard Wolfowitz is.

Actually he's a War Criminal. Various Germans swung from ropes for pandering the same nonsense 50 years ago.

[Barrett808]

11. Wow, that's breathtaking

AS things get uglier and uglier for the junta, their true colors are starting to show.

[Whoa_Nelly]

14. Who can that evil quote be sent...

to get media attention by pointing out the revealing criminal intent per Wolfowitz's statement? I am going to send it to my senators and move-on.org. Who else in the US media??? Who else in media beyond our country's borders...The Guardian? The Mirror? Pravda? ...?

[lumpy]

15. Wolfowitz is a sicko evil bastard.

He even looks the part. His insidious face reminds me of Walt Kelly's parody of Joseph McCarthy of HUAC infamy in the comic strip Pogo, Simple J.Malarkey.

[rocktivity]

12. Just in time for Halliburton to finish their construction projects

cash in on their classified no-bid contracts, and get ready to vote for the NEXT president.


rocknation

[underpants]

13. We aren't building FOUR permanent bases there for no reason

Remember that?

Remember how this was the PNAC plan all along?

Remember when the sandstorms hit they made that announcement?

[lumpy]

16. Four well stocked military bases in Iraq

will ensure that US military might will control the mideast and it's oil. Concentration camps will be needed also.

[The Magistrate]

18. 'No Decisions Were Being Made On Political Grounds'!?!

That really does take the biscuit!

With the exception of deciding to stuff cash into their own pockets, these reptiles have never made a decision on any but political grounds, including the decision to invade Iraq in the first place!

[underpants]

19. Actually he's right, W is never AT FREAKIN' WORK!!!!!!!!

So technically he is not on political "ground".

See that jokes works if you allow yourself to believe that W is actually running the show.