Wednesday, December 12, 2012

He smiles so pretty though


BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE

CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O VISITED REDFORD, MICHIGAN ON HIS NEVER ENDING "LOOK AT ME!" TOUR.  HE OPENED HIS SPEECH BY ACKNOWLEDGING VARIOUS MINOR OFFICIALS WHO WERE PRESENT.


HE DIDN'T BOTHER TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE  PEOPLE HE'S KILLED WITH DRONES.  HE DIDN'T MENTION THE LITTLE GIRL WHO SAW HER GRANDMOTHER KILLED BY A DRONE IN PAKISTAN.  HE DIDN'T MENTION THE FEAR HIS DRONE WAR HAD CAUSED.


HE JUST GRINNED AND SMILED FOR THE CAMERAS . . . AS BLOOD DRIPPED FROM HIS CULPABLE HANDS.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:


 
In yesterday's snapshot, we covered the Memorandum of Understanding For Defense Cooperation Between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Iraq and the Department of Defense of the United States of America.  Angry, dysfunctional e-mails from Barack-would-never-do-that-to-me criers indicate that we need to go over the Memo a little bit more.  It was signed on Thursday and announced that day by the Pentagon.   Section two (listed in full in yesterday's snapshot) outlines that the two sides have agreed on: the US providing instructors and training personnel and Iraq providing students, Iraqi forces and American forces will work together on counterterrorism and on joint exercises.   The tasks we just listed go to the US military being in Iraq in larger numbers.  Obviously the two cannot do joint exercises or work together on counterterrorism without US military present in Iraq.
 
This shouldn't be surprising.  In the November 2, 2007 snapshot -- five years ago -- we covered the transcript of the interview Michael R. Gordon and Jeff Zeleny did with then-Senator Barack Obama who was running in the Democratic Party's primary for the party's presidential nomination -- the transcript, not the bad article the paper published, the actual transcript.  We used the transcript to write "NYT: 'Barack Obama Will Keep Troops In Iraq'" at Third.  Barack made it clear in the transcript that even after "troop withdrawal" he would "leave behind a residual force."  What did he say this residual force would do?  He said, "I think that we should have some strike capability.  But that is a very narrow mission, that we get in the business of counter terrorism as opposed to counter insurgency and even on the training and logistics front, what I have said is, if we have not seen progress politically, then our training approach should be greatly circumscribed or eliminated."
 
This is not withdrawal.  This is not what was sold to the American people.  Barack is very lucky that the media just happened to decide to take that rather explosive interview -- just by chance, certainly the New York Times wasn't attempting to shield a candidate to influence an election, right? -- could best be covered with a plate of lumpy, dull mashed potatoes passed off as a report.  In the transcript, Let-Me-Be-Clear Barack declares, "I want to be absolutely clear about this, because this has come up in a series of debates: I will remove all our combat troops, we will have troops there to protect our embassies and our civilian forces and we will engage in counter terrorism activities."
 
So when the memo announces counterterrorism activies, Barack got what he wanted, what he always wanted, what the media so helpfully and so frequently buried to allow War Hawk Barack to come off like a dove of peace.
 
In Section Four of the Memo, both parties acknowledge that to achieve these things they may need further documentation and that such documenation will be done as attachments "to this MOU."  Thse would include things like "medical reports" for "dispatched personnel."  Oh, some idiot says, they mean State Dept personnel.  No, they don't.  The US is represented in this Memo by the Defense Dept.  This refers to DoD personnel.  They may also need an attachment to go over "procedures for recalling dispatched personnel," and possibly for covering "the death of dispatched personnel with the territory of the host country."  The Memo can run for five years from last Thursday (when it was signed) and, after five years, it can renewed every year afterwards.  US troops could be in Iraq forever.  The kill clause in this differs from the SOFA.  The 2008 SOFA had a kill clause that meant, one year after notification of wanting out of the SOFA, the SOFA would be no more.  The Memo doesn't require lead time notice.  Instead, "Either Participant may discontinue this MOU at any time, though the Participant should endeavor to provide advance notice of its intent to discontinue the MOU to the other Participant."
 
Again, Barack got what he wanted.  He'd stated what he wanted in 2007.  He got it.  If your life's goal is to cheer Barack -- that is the goal of the Cult of St. Barack -- start cheering and stop whining that Barack's been misrepresented.  The Memo gives him everything he wanted so, for Barack, it's a victory.  For those who believe in peace, for those who believe the US military should be out of Iraq, it's a tragedy.
 
More time and space and we'd be covering the Central Bank and the preparation for April's elections as well as Victoria Nuland on the proposed oil and gas law in Iraq.  Instead, we'll close by noting radio in the US.  Susanna Hoffs' Someday came out this summer.  Kat raved over it here.  It is a great album and Susanna's finest.   Susanna's a guest on NPR's World Cafe today and she talks about the new album and performs two songs from the album live.  (She also performs a cover of Jackie DeShannon's "When You Walk In The Room.")  Susanna first came to public attention as a guitarist and vocalist with the Bangles whose hits include "Manic Monday," "Walk Like An Egyptian," "In Your Room," "Eternal Flame," "Hazy Shade Of Winter," "If She Knew What She Wants" and "Walking Down Your Street."


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