Bush rises to the challenge of meeting his low expectations ...

I'm rather looking forward to Hayes' response here.

 

To call Bush Administration foreign policy madly incompetent would be too kind. Of course, I've thought that for years. Yet another example of unintended consequences, brought about by severe myopia.



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That's a bit of an understatement. Right now his legacy is 1,000 people a month getting slaughtered like dogs in the bloody streets in Iraq and a hard line dominated nuclear armed Iran. Things have been transformed all right, just from bad to worse.

 

Can't be that bad if the U.S. is their benefactor. The Russians and the Chicoms are still dangerous.

 

Yes wnes, the two situations are PERFECT ANALOGUES. Man you are good at this, you should have considered law school.

wnes, let me ask you a question.

In your opinion, has the US ever done anything ever that you think was good in foreign policy?

 

Sam, you really are underestimating casualties in Iraq.


U.N.: 14,000 Iraqis killed in 2006

Holy city bomb kills 45; Armed robbers hit Baghdad bank

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- More than 14,000 civilians have been killed in Iraq in the first half of this year, an ominous figure reflecting the fact that "killings, kidnappings and torture remain widespread" in the war-torn country, a United Nations report says.

Killings of civilians are on "an upward trend," with more than 5,800 deaths and more than 5,700 injuries reported in May and June alone, it says.

The report, a bimonthly document produced by the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq, covers May and June, and includes chilling casualty figures and ugly anecdotes from the insurgent and sectarian warfare that continues to rage despite the establishment of a national unity government and a security crackdown in Baghdad.

The report lists examples of bloody suicide bombs aimed at mosques, attacks on laborers, the recovery of slain bodies, the assassinations of judges, the killings of prisoners, the targeting of clergy -- all incidents dutifully reported by media over these three-plus years of chaos in the streets.

The U.N. agency says it has been made aware since last year of the targeting of homosexuals, "increasingly threatened and extra-judicially executed by militias and 'death squads' because of their sexual orientation."

The intolerance propelling the anti-gay prejudice extends to ethnic and religious minorities and others whose manner of dress doesn't meet the standards of religious extremists.

"On 28 May, an Iraqi tennis coach and two of his players were shot dead in Baghdad allegedly because they were wearing shorts. Similar threats are said to be made to induce men to conform to certain hair styles or rules regarding facial hair," the report says.

Women face intolerance -- and violence -- as well.

"In some Baghdad neighborhoods, women are now prevented from going to the markets alone. In other cases, women have been warned not to drive cars or have faced harassment if they wear trousers. Women have also reported that wearing a headscarf is becoming not a matter of religious choice but one of survival in many parts of Iraq, a fact which is particularly resented by non-Muslim women."

Academics and health professionals have been attacked, spurring them to leave the country or their home regions, causing a brain drain and a dislocation in services.

"Health care providers face difficulties in carrying out their work because of the limited supply of electricity and growing number of patients due to the increase in violence," the report says.

Kidnappings have been part of the chaotic Iraqi scene since the insurgency began, with many hostages killed even after a ransom is paid. The abductors are not only motivated by sectarianism or politics; organized crime appears to be involved with some of the kidnappings.

"On some occasions, sectarian connotations and alleged collusion with sectors of the police, as well as with militias, have been reported to UNAMI. Although there are no reliable statistics regarding this phenomenon, because Iraqis often are afraid to report such crimes to the police, the kidnappings are likely a daily occurrence," the report says.

For children, the "extent of violence in areas" other than the Kurdish region "is such that likely every child, to some degree, has been exposed to it," it says.

"In one case the body of a 12-year-old Osama was reportedly found by the Iraqi police in a plastic bag after his family paid a ransom of some 30,000 U.S. dollars. The boy had been sexually assaulted by the kidnappers, before being hanged by his own clothing. The police captured members of this gang who confessed of raping and killing many boys and girls before Osama," the report says.

Cultural symbols
"Civilian casualties resulted mainly from bombings and drive-by shootings, from indiscriminate attacks, in neighborhood markets or petrol stations, or following armed clashes with the police and the security forces," the report says.

"Civilians were also targeted or became unintended victims of insurgent or military actions.

"Terrorist acts against civilians have been aimed at fomenting sectarian violence or allegedly motivated by revenge and have targeted members of the Arab Shia and Sunni communities, including their cultural symbols, as well as markets in Shia neighborhoods."

Figures from the Medico-Legal Institute in Baghdad and the Ministry of Health show that the total number of civilians killed from January to June was 14,338.

In late June, the Ministry of Health "acknowledged information stating that since 2003 at least 50,000 persons have been killed in violence and stated the number of deaths are probably under-reported." the report says.

"The Baghdad morgue reportedly received 30,204 bodies from 2003 to mid-2006. Deaths numbering 18,933 occurred from 'military clashes' and 'terrorist attacks'" between April 5, 2004, and June 1, 2006.

The report also notes the probes by the United States into the alleged killings of 24 civilians in Haditha by U.S. troops as well the deaths caused by military operations throughout the country.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/18/iraq.main/index.html



Sounds like hell on earth. Gays and women being targeted if they appear, "different." But, I'm sure the Iraqis will thank us for it all, someday. Right??



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I can answer that... Nixon recognized China. Oh boy!


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....LOL. I would guess the firebombing of Tokyo isn't far behind.

 

Not exactly perfect, but still analogous.

The other day Deckard was dumbfounded that I was the first person he saw to use this analogy. Actually no. As I found out, Paul Wolfowitz did it three years ago.

http://www.sptimes.com/2003/07/28/Korea/Wolfowitz__Iraqi_war_.shtml

Of course, the difference is I am a steadfast non-interventionist while Wolfowitz is a war hawk.

Easy, Nixon's Rapprochement with PRC.

 

As I said before, the entire Middle East policy of this administration has always been:

1. Invade Iraq
2. Don't do anything Clinton did, even if he was right

I find it incredible that people are saying this administration is trying to transform the Middle East with Democracy when this administration doesn't understand the basic concepts of Democracy. I realize that's a caricature, but it increasingly looks like one of the better caricatures around. You can't have people who ran crooked elections for chair of the local Young Republicans, people who whisper campaign about ilegitimate black babies and pedophilia in responsible positions and expect them to understand or advocate anything except personal power. They are now learning the world is not a college campus or a local race or even a Presidential primary and we are all worse off. Bullying can only take you so far. A few months ago, I was thinking we could ride this out for the next three years and then start rebuilding. No more. Color me officially pessimistic. And to top it all off, it looks like Bush just doesn't care enough to even keep up appearances, much less make a decision.... which is probably good because he would inevitably make the worst one.

 

The guy is freakin' me out. I know this sounds like a cheap shot, but seriously, could the guy be drinking again? He seems to be increasingly disengaged and irrational. The incident giving the German Chancellor a massage, which clearly startled her and flipped her out, may seem petty, but it is yet another example of his crazy behavior.

The guy is frightening. He's our President, and he may be nuts.



Keep D&D Civil.

 

Sam, unlike you and your liberal buddy Deckard, I don't subscribe to moral relativism. Indiscriminantly bombing civilian targets should be condemned in all circumstances in my view.

 

LOL, to me and most of the educated populace, Wolfowitz' three year old spin (GWB tries to liken Iraq to WWII all the time) tends to underscore how much the Korean War and the Iraq War are different - even a die-hard Iraq hawk like Hayesstreet recognizes this, as do Iraq war opponents such as myself and Franchiseblade. Quite honestly, I find it surprising that you take a chickenhawk clown like Wolfowitz at his word - since he's been busted lying to congress I tend to not believe a single thing that has ever come out of his mouth, and as far as his "analysis", well his track record is pretty horrific.

Anyway, last time I checked Saddam Hussein did not swoop down from the Caucusus and invade Iraq, nor was Iraq in 2003 part of an expansionist soviet state with a large army that presented a larger regional threat. Insteand he was more like NK in 2003 - an isolated crackpot. (by way of contrast, in 1990 that is exactly what he did to Kuwait) I mean, just look up "pre-emptive" in the dictionary, and then look up "reactive". They're not the same thing, bro

Quite honestly, if everybody followed your theory of non-interventionism, you might be speaking Russian or Japanese right now.

wnes, I believe that the US has a responsibity to be internationalist rather than isolationist. While the exercise of US power has been far from perfect - it has not been completely deleterious either. I know this is hard for you to accept, but it's true.

 

You reminded me of some of my Dutch friends. They say nay, as well.
I hope Dubya is that simple, and is merely incompetent.

 

He's been given everything he has. He's been enabled by his father, and his father's friends, so he could be a business failure, but become rich, be a mediocre politician, but become President. I wonder how his dad sleeps at night. I hope he has nightmares.



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I know I do... mostly, though, I have childhood-like dreams of fading memories that signify a country not ruined by these fools.