Dowd: "The Bush warriors are so deluded, they're even faking their fakery.

[understandinglife]

<clip>

At the Naval Academy, President Bush talked about how well the Iraqi security forces were fighting. He claimed that 40 Iraqi battalions were taking the lead in the fight against insurgents, and that in the battle of Tal Afar this year, "the assault was primarily led by Iraqi security forces - 11 Iraqi battalions backed by 5 coalition battalions providing support."

Anderson Cooper of CNN swiftly produced Time magazine's Baghdad bureau chief, Michael Ware, who was embedded with the U.S. military during the entire Tal Afar battle. "With the greatest respect to the president, that's completely wrong," Mr. Ware said, adding: "I was with Iraqi units right there on the front line as they were battling with Al Qaeda. They were not leading."

He also told Mr. Cooper: "I have had a very senior officer here in Baghdad say to me that there's never going to be a point where these guys will be able to stand up against the insurgency on their own."

Mr. Ware recalled that in a battle two weeks ago, he saw an Iraqi security officer put down his weapon and curl up into a ball when he was under attack. "I have seen that on - on many, many occasions," he said.

From W.'s Head in the Sand by Maureen Dowd on December 3, 2005

More at the link:

http://select.nytimes.com/2005/12/03/opinion/03dowd.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

"Curling up in a ball. Good National Strategy for Victory." -- all georgie and dickie would have done is run; they way they always have from the truth.

Will post link to full article as soon as TruthOut or some other site has it.


Peace.

[texpatriot2004]

1. MoDo rules nm

[jayfish]

2. I Wonder What Ever Happened To That...

Iraqi military? You know, the one that melted away? The one that came back and was promptly disbanded. The one that said give us jobs and pay us... or else. I think I've got a pretty good idea. It sure would've been nice to have them on our side right about now. The Iraqi security forces don't stand a chance.

Jay

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. Ok flame me, but this Michael Ware guy,

who everyone and their brother has been quoting the last two days, said something ELSE yesterday that really bothered me. It was on CNN. He claims that pulling out of Iraq anytime soon would be "disastrous".

So good for him that he is calling dubya on the carpet for lying, but Michael Ware is not exactly my idea of a good guy.

[dchill]

4. Ware is right, in the sense that...

thanks to Cheney and Bush, there's practically nothing we can do with regard to Iraq that would not be "disastrous". But if we pull our troops out, at least they wouldn't be dying for BushCo profits.

[northzax]

5. right, we can't pretend

that pulling out US troops will make anything better. Iraq is going to be chaotic and deadly for a long, long time, I'm afraid.

on the flip side, the Iraqi army as it is currently constituted has no good reason to put anything on the line. Why fight, and get shot at, if someone else is willing to do it for you? That would be silly.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. True

but I took his comments as support for the war.

[EFerrari]

8. It's probably his hard wiring as a military man.

He's not thinking in terms of policy decisions but in terms of a limited (and impossible) mission.

Just the fact that he's speaking in public speaks volumes, doesn't it?

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. Yes I suppose you are right

I heard this interview when he said a pullout would be "disastrous" BEFORE I heard him exposing dubya's lies. I was over at my mom's watching CNN with her. Then I got in my car to come home and heard Randi Rhodes singing his praises. I got home and DU was ready to put a halo on him.

And I was thinking this is the same guy who really pissed me off earlier tonight. WTF?

But now that you mention it, I should be grateful he is speaking out at all.

[EFerrari]

10. Not sure if we should be grateful or, if we should take it as a measure

of how messed up we are. Maybe both.

The teams aren't clear any more, are they?

And, these times will probably get weirder before we get rid of MendacityCentral.

[EFerrari]

7. It's unraveling. People are speaking up, finally.

:kick:

[Mojorabbit]

11. The visual

I get of an Iraqi probably just trying to earn some money to feed his family and curling up in a ball like a child while under fire is truly heartbreaking. I will never understand what it is in the human makeup that makes us so into warfare. It is just so sad for everyone involved.

I have my reservations. I hate that we destroyed this country and are probably going to leave all those people with a huge mess.
There will be civil war for sure.

I remember prewar when the msm had a special with teens from the US and Iraq asking eachother questions. I wonder where those Iraqi teens are now. I hate the whole situation.

[understandinglife]

12. TruthOut link:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120305F.shtml


Peace.