Cranky Clinton thumbs her nose at Sunshine Week

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

IN EARLY 2012, FADED CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O ASKED FOR THE DEPARTMENTS TO DO A BETTER JOB OF RECORD KEEPING WITH E-MAILS.

GUESS WHICH DEPARTMENT BLEW HIM OFF IN A MEMO?

YEP, CRANKY CLINTON'S STATE DEPARTMENT.

THIS IS SUNSHINE WEEK.

CRANKY CLINTON CELEBRATED BY NUDE ECLIPSE BATHING.

"YEAH," CRANKY TOLD THESE REPORTERS, "I SHOWED THE TWINS.  THEY'RE NOT VERY PERKY PREFERRING TO LAY PEACEFULLY ON MY BELLY THESE DAYS.  I'LL DO ANYTHING TO CELEBRATE DARKNESS.  SUNSHINE WEEK?  WHEN DO WE GET TO CELEBRATE OPAQUE DAY?  I'LL TELL YOU WHEN! OCTOBER 26TH! MY BIRTHDAY! THAT'S WHEN WE GET TO EMBRACE OUR TRUE AND HIDDEN NATURES!"


FROM THE TCI WIRE:



The Islamic State came to prominence because of Barack.

He refused to honor the election results which saw Ayad Allawi's Iraqiya beat Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law.

When Nouri refused to step down and honor the election results, he created an eight month political stalemate where nothing happened.

And the White House backed him.

They even had US officials negotiate a legal contract, The Erbil Agreement,

Having voided the votes of the Iraqi people with this contract, the White House then refused to honor their promise to Iraqi politicians.

To get the blocks to agree to a second term for loser Nouri, the US officials insisted that the other political blocs could list their priorities in the contract (i.e. the Kurds had the implementation of Article 150 of the Iraqi Constitution as one of their items put into the contract) and that this was a legally binding contract with the full backing of the White House.

The day after it was signed, Parliament finally had their first really meeting, eight months after the elections.

And Nouri refused to honor the agreement, said he needed time, and Iraqiya walked out.

And Barack did what?

Called Ayad Allawi and asked him (begged) to send Iraqiya back into Parliament, insisting (yet again) that The Erbil Agreement had the full support and backing of the White House.

But when Nouri never implemented his part of The Erbil Agreement, when he just used it to get a second term and then ignored the promises he made?

The White House did nothing.

Acted like they knew nothing about the contract.

The 2010 elections let the Iraqi people see their votes overturned.

Now their leaders were protesting Nouri's refusal to implement The Erbil Agreement.  By the summer of 2011, the Kurds, Iraqiya and cleric and movement leader (Shi'ite) Moqtada al-Sadr were calling for Nouri to implement The Erbil Agreement.

When he continued to refuse, they attempted to work within the Constitution and go for a recall vote.  But the US government wouldn't let that happen either.  They pressured the always willing to fold Jalal Talabani to invent an excuse to stop the Constitutional process and he did.

So now you have the voters stripped of their vote, their leaders stripped of their rights of Constitutional redress.

This is when Iraqis take to the street and begin what is over a year of protests.


Let's bring another idiot in real quick.


Today, Patrick Cockburn  offered more of his one-sided reporting:

The fact that so many Sunnis are alienated from or terrified by Isis should present an opportunity for Baghdad, since Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s government is meant to be more inclusive than that of his predecessor, Nouri al-Maliki. Increasingly aggressive sectarian policies pursued by Mr Maliki during his eight years in power are now blamed for turning peaceful protests by Sunnis into armed resistance and pushing the Sunni community into the arms of Isis. This is an over-simplified version of recent history, but with the new government lauded internationally for its non-sectarian stance, the Sunni hoped they would face less day-to-day repression. “Isis has shocked many Sunni by its actions,” says Mahmoud. “But instead of the government treating us better to win us over, they are treating us even worse.”

Noam Chomsky likes to praise Cockburn.

Probably because they both share that paternalistic nature when it comes to Arabs, that attitude of they know better than Arabs, that condescending nature that allows them to act like they're smarter than the Palestinians, etc.

Cockburn 'reports' on Iraq for the Independent.

He ignored the protests.

They lasted over a year.

And he ignored them.



He was far from alone in ignoring the protests.

To give you an idea of the protests, lets's drop back to the October 25, 2013 snapshot:

Iraqi Spring MC notes protests took place in Baquba, Samarra, Falluja, Mosul, Rawa, and Ramadi.  National Iraqi News Agency reports thousands turned out in Falluja and Ramadi for the Anbar sit-ins and quote Shiekh Mohammed Fayyad declaring, "The citizens participated in the prayers that held in the courtyard northern Ramadi and eastern Fallujah cities , stressing that the goal of this trickle is to send one again a message to the governing in Baghdad that our demonstrations are peaceful and backed by citizens deep conviction."  Al Mada reports organizers distributed forms in Ramadi and Falluja for families of the detained to fill out in the hopes that they can locate their loved one and determine the status.  Many are held without charges.  Many have been thrown in detention centers, jails and prisons for no reason -- they are accused of no crimes but are related to a suspect the police could not find so family members were knowing rounded up even though they were not suspects.  In Samaeea Sheikh Ziad Madhi noted that the protests are not about political parties but our about justice -- first and foremost, a call to release the innocent detainees.  In Baquba Shebab al-Badri echoed the emphasis on detainees and stated they would continue to demand the release of the detainees and continue to call for an end to the raids (mass arrests) that continue to target Sunni communities.  Kitabat reports on Sheikh Ziad Mahdi in Samarra who noted the detainees remain imprisoned and remain a priority of protesters.  The Sheikh noted the demands for the release of the innocent detainees continue because they have not been released so the sit-ins continue. He noted that Nouri al-Maliki is responsible for the continued deterioration of security in Iraq.  Iraqi Spring MC notes there were calls for the United Nations and others to witness what it really taking place in Iraq, calls for an end to Iranian interference in Iraq, Falluja speakers called for an end to injustice and the flowing of blood in the streets, and Nouri al-Maliki was denounced for using militias to stay in power.  Kitabat also reports on Sheikh Humam Kubaisi in Ramadi and how he noted ten months have passed and still the demands are not met.



These protests were ignored.


Nouri's attacks on the protesters were ignored.


January 7, 2013, Nouri's forces assaulted four protesters in Mosul,  January 24, 2013,  Nouri's forces sent two protesters (and one reporter) to the hospital,  and March 8, 2013, Nouri's force fired on protesters in Mosul killing three.


And then came the April 23rd massacre of a peaceful sit-in in Hawija which resulted from  Nouri's federal forces storming in.  Alsumaria noted Kirkuk's Department of Health (Hawija is in Kirkuk)  announced 50 activists have died and 110 were injured in the assault.   AFP reported the death toll rose to 53 dead.  UNICEF noted that the dead included 8 children (twelve more were injured).

Finally, Patrick Cockburn was interested.

Not interested enough to note what UNICEF did.

To this day, Cockburn has never reported that 8 children were killed by Nouri's forces or that twelve more were wounded.

To this day.




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When they got nothing else, they toss out the R-word

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


FADED CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O RODE THE WOODEN BENCH IN PREP SCHOOL WHEN IT CAME TO BASKETBALL.  THAT HASN'T STOPPED HIM FROM PRETENDING HE'S AN EXPERT ON THE GAME.

NOR HAS IT STOPPED SO CALLED NEWS OUTLETS FROM PRETENDING THAT HE'S THE MAN.


HENRY J. GOMEZ GETS IT WRONG -- THERE'S NO SWAGGAR IN BARRY O'S WALK, JUST SUGAR.


IN OTHER NEWS, CHARLIE SHEEN CONTRIBUTES A BADLY WRITTEN TWEET THAT CALLS BARRY O "BARRY SATERA KENYA" AND THE TEMPLE WHORES SCREAM "RACISM!"

AS 1 WHITE ANGLO MALE AND 1 AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALE, WE ARE CONFUSED AS TO WHERE THE RACISM IS IN CHARLIE SHEEN'S TWEET?

OR IS THE CRY OF RACISM INTENDED TO DEFLECT FROM THE FACT THAT SHEEN IS RIGHT: BARRY O SHOULD HAVE STOPPED TALKING BASKETBALL AND GOT HIS CANDY ASS ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE WHITE HOUSE TO THE FUNERAL OF MAJ. GEN. HAROLD GREEN WHO WAS JUST KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN?



FROM THE TCI WIRE:

1. Kenneth Roth ‏@KenRoth 6h6 hours ago

   This satellite imagery helps show what retaliation by Iraq's Shia militia looks like: http://trib.al/zZH1wLF 

   
   

   

   
   

   View photo 127 retweets 51 favorites
   

As noted in yesterday's snapshot, Human Rights Watch has issued a new report entitled "After Liberation Came Destruction: Iraqi Militias and the Aftermath of Amerli" which documents the abuse of human rights (War Crimes) being carried out in Iraq by security forces.  From the report:



Peshmerga officers told Human Rights Watch they saw 47 villages in which militias had destroyed and ransacked homes, businesses, mosques, and public buildings. Residents told Human Rights Watch that the militias included the Badr Brigades, Asa’ib Ahl al-Haqq, Kita’ib Hezbollah, and Saraya Tala’a al-Khorasani, and that they destroyed numerous villages between the towns of al-Khales, in southern Diyala province, and Amerli, about 50 kilometers to the north in Salah al-Din province.
Satellite imagery corroborates witness accounts that in many cases Iraqi government forces and militias targeted the same villages and towns in which, supported by coalition air strikes, they had fought ISIS in the weeks before they lifted ISIS’s siege of Amerli. Satellite imagery showed that most of the damage they inflicted on these towns and villages after they lifted the siege resulted from arson and building demolition.
On the basis of field visits, interviews with more than 30 witnesses, and analysis of photographs and satellite imagery, Human Rights Watch found that an area that included 35 villages and towns showed extensive destruction caused by fire, explosives and heavy earth moving equipment. The evidence showed that most of the damage occurred between early September and mid-November 2014. Using satellite imagery, Human Rights Watch identified over 3,800 destroyed buildings in 30 towns and villages, including 2,600 buildings likely destroyed by fire and a further 1,200 buildings likely demolished with heavy machinery and the uncontrolled detonation of high explosives. This destruction was distinct from damages resulting from air strikes and heavy artillery and mortar fire prior to ISIS’s retreat from Amerli, which Human Rights Watch separately identified using the satellite imagery. Human Rights Watch’s field research together with the satellite imagery analysis indicates that militias engaged in deliberate and wanton destruction of civilian property after the retreat of ISIS and the end of fighting in the area.

In the four towns and villages that Human Rights Watch visited, researchers found evidence of extensive fire damage limited to the interior of buildings that would not be detectable in satellite imagery, indicating actual fire-related building damages are likely to be substantially higher than 2,600 in the affected 30 towns and villages assessed. On the basis of witness statements and analysis of satellite imagery, Human Rights Watch believes this damage was likely the result of arson perpetrated by pro-government forces.


For a change, an HRW report on Iraq is getting serious media attention.  For example,  Missy Ryan (Washington Post) notes the report:



Shiite militias and Iraqi government forces burned and looted dozens of villages, abducting at least 11 local residents, in the wake of a U.S.-supported operation against the Islamic State last year, a human rights group has charged in a new report.


Kareem Shaheen (Guardian) includes these comments:

“Iraq can’t win the fight against Isis’s atrocities with attacks on civilians that violate the laws of war and fly in the face of human decency,” said Joe Stork, HRW’s deputy Middle East and North Africa director.
“Militia abuses are wreaking havoc among some of Iraq’s most vulnerable people and exacerbating sectarian hostilities.”


Of the Shi'ite forces doing the terrorizing, AFP observes, "The units have played a key role in the fight to drive IS back, but relying on such groups further entrenches them in Iraq, giving them an expanded power base that will be difficult to dislodge."

Anne Barnard (New York Times) uses the HRW findings as a jumping off point to note what's taken place during the current Tikrit offensive:

During the current Tikrit offensive, video clips from the town of Albu Ajeel, where many militiamen believe villagers aided in the massacre, showed burning shops and buildings and a uniformed man declaring, “Burn them, burn them.” Few residents appear to have returned.

And while that attention is needed, the world continues to look the other way as the Iraqi government continues to daily bomb the residential neighborhoods of Falluja.  This action is a legally defined War Crime (it's known as collective punishment).  Then Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki began the bombings in January of 2014.  In September of 2014, new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced he had stopped the bombings.

But he hadn't and the bombings continued.


Today, Iraqi Spring Media notes Falluja General Hospital received nine dead and wounded from the latest bombings by the Iraqi government.  They also note that the bombings have left dead at least 2399 people (332 children, 184 women among them) and at least 4080 injured (484 children and 381 women among them).


The Human Rights Watch report did mean the State Dept's Jen Psaki was forced to mouth some meaningless words today.

QUESTION:  There’s a report just came out today from the Human Rights Watch talking about the militia attacks destroyed villages.  It’s their reports about after liberation came destruction.  And I know that you’ve answered that question about that and the human rights abuse by the militias in Diyala and other areas, and U.S. sent delegations in the past to Baghdad and Erbil to check on that.  Have you got any result on those investigations that Prime Minister Abadi said he will conduct investigation on that?

MS. PSAKI:  Well, I think, one, we understand that the prime minister’s office has responded to the Human Rights Watch report, noting that the legal measures were taken against individuals who committed human rights abuses in Amirli such as the destruction and looting of civilian property as well as those accused of kidnapping civilians.  So there has been action taken in that regard.  Obviously, there are newer reports we’ve spoken to recently that they are certainly looking into.

We can’t confirm the allegations in the Human Rights Watch report regarding potential abuses, but we agree that the long-term solution to the instability Iraq faces right now requires the political leadership to make the kinds of decision that’s – decisions that will unite the country and not promote sectarianism.



Political leadership, Jen sputters.  She's attempting (and failing) to go with "political solutions" -- what US President Barack Obama declared was the only answer back in June.  Haider al-Abadi became prime minister in August.

He's proven very good with words.

But words are empty and meaningless when there's no follow through.


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Cranky's e-mails may have gone away but not the controversy

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

CRANKY CLINTON HAS BEEN THIS ANGRY SINCE JUNE 2008 BUT THE NEWS THAT THE GROUP FRIENDS OF THE EARTH WANT HER E-MAILS HAS HER SPITTING OUT A TOXIC STEW FAR WORSE THAN WHAT'S FILLING LAKE ERIE CURRENTLY.

UP UNTIL NOW, CRANKY AND HER HAREM OF MALE EUNICHS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SPIN ANY QUESTIONING OF CRANCKY'S E-MAIL SCANDAL AS 'REPUBLICAN FUELED!'

NOW COMES FRIENDS OF THE EARTH.

"WHO ARE THOSE BASTARDS ANYWAY?" ASKED AN ANGRY CRANKY LIGHTING A FRESH BENSON AND HEDGES OFF THE BUTT OF ANOTHER ONE.  "I TELL YOU ONE DAMN THING, A BUNCH OF TREE HUGGERS ARE NOT GOING TO STOP MY MARCH TO THE OVAL OFFICE, NO SIREE.  I HANDLED AL 'OZONE MAN' GORE AND I'LL HANDLE THESE LITTLE DO-GOODERS AS WELL."

SMILING, CRANKY EXHALED AND, AS HER HEAD WAS SURROUNDED BY TOBACCO SMOKE, SHE CACKLED, "I'LL GET THEM.  AND THEIR LITTLE DOG TOO!"

FROM THE TCI WIRE:


Under Hillary, the State Dept regularly lied and/or obscured reality.

Congress was denied basic information.


This was probably most clear in the November 30, 2012 House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia hearing (covered in the December 1, 2012 snapshot) where the State Dept's Brooke Darby was sent to spin, stall and avoid answering questions.

 

 

US House Rep Gerald Connolly: Madame Deputy Assistant Secretary, welcome. Is it your testimony here today that the State Dept is fully committed to transparency and accountability with respect to any and all programs it has oversight and responsibility for in Iraq?

 

Brooke Darby: We take our responsibility for accountability and cooperation with all of the  audit entities, with Congress very, very seriously.

 

US House Rep Gerald Connolly: No, ma'am, that was not my question.  Is it your testimony that you're fully committed to transparency and accountability with respect to those responsibilities?

 

Brooke Darby: We are absolutely committed to accountability.

 

US House Rep Gerald Connolly: Full accountability?  Full transparency and accountability?

 

Brooke Darby:  I'm not sure -- I'm not sure how you define that so . . .

 

US House Rep Gerald Connolly:  Well I guess I'm not sure why you avoid the word.  That was my question and you've ducked it three times.  Are we or are we not, is the State Dept committed to full transparency and accountability to the tax payers in the United States and the people who served in Iraq or not?

 

Brooke Darby:  We absolutely are accountable to the tax payers, to our Congress and to all of the oversight bodies who are looking into how we are spending our dollars, whether our programs are achieving success.  We are absolutely --

 

US House Rep Gerald Connolly:  Alright. I'll sort of take that as a commitment. 

Also testifying at that hearing was the Inspector General for the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart W. Bowen.  We'll note this exchange.

US House Rep Brian Higgins: Clearly there's a lack of oversight and transparency.  And that problem is seemingly pervasive and growing or least since we've initiated this back in 2003. Why is it that the State Dept would deliberately make efforts to obstruct, efforts to blame greater oversight and transparency?  Why is there that adversarial relationship?  It would seem to me that your efforts would be  to benefit the effective use, efficient use, of American resources in that region because we all have a strategic interest in seeing that region evolve.  Why is it that you suspect that the State Dept is seemingly obstructing those efforts?

 

Stuart Bowen:  Well it was obstructing. I think we heard today that they are supportive -- almost "fully" supportive --  of our oversight at this stage. And it took an obstruction letter though, Mr. Higgins, as you were pointing to, to break that log-jam. Why?  You know I can't read into the exact motives but I think to a certain extent it was a -- it was a legalistic argument about jurisdiction.

Hillary has clear problems with transparency.  She has clear problems with accountability.

Her e-mail scandal is not a stand alone scandal but part of a broad action to deceive and to avoid accountability while Secretary of State.

A lot of fools (Bob Somerby, for example) and a lot of liars (James Carville) are saying the e-mail scandal doesn't matter.

As a stand alone it matters.  The inability of Hillary to be transparent and open goes against all the principles of a functional democracy.  But this e-mail scandal is yet another example of how she obscured and lied as Secretary of State.

She wants to be president of the United States.

Yet every action as Secretary of State goes to the fact that she doesn't believe in democracy, doesn't believe in accountability and doesn't believe in responsive government.

It is amazing that someone whose obstruction is noted in repeated SIGIR reports is on the verge of announcing her candidacy for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

It's even more amazing that the press is completely uninterested in these documented cases detailing her obstructionism and her lying.


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Cranky Clinton explains difference between her and husband

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

THE LATEST POLL FINDS CRANKY CLINTON IS DEEPLY UNPOPULAR.

REACHED FOR COMMENT BY THESE REPORTERS, CRANKY FIRST SNARLED, "WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE!"

HOWEVER, AFTER SHE HAD BURNED DOWN AN ORPHANAGE AND RESTORED HER EQUILIBRIUM, CRANKY ADMITTED THAT SHE WAS NOT "THE COMEBACK KID" THE WAY HER HUSBAND BILL WAS.

"BILL LIKED PEOPLE AND THE PEOPLE LIKED HIM," HILLARY EXPLAINED.  "I LIKE SERVANTS AND THEY BETTER FEAR ME.  THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE IN OUR OUTLOOK.  I'VE ALWAYS FELT THAT AMERICA NEEDS TO BE WORKING FOR ME AND THAT WHEN I'M HAPPY WE ARE ALL HAPPY.   LOTS OF STRIFE MEANS A HAPPY LOW LIFE LIKE ME."

AT THAT POINT, CRANKY STOPPED TALKING AS SHE SAW A 3-YEAR-OLD STUMBLING OUT OF THE STILL BURNING ORPHANAGE.

OPENING HER PURSE, SHE PULLED OUT A SAWED OFF SHOTGUN.

"I CALL IT 'ANNIE OAKLEY,'" SHE EXPLAINED.

TAKING AIM, HILLARY PICKED OFF THE KID AT A DISTANCE OF SEVERAL YARDS.

"DON'T FORGET TO INCLUDE HOW GOOD I AM AT SPORTS," CRANKY ORDERED.  "I'M HOPING TO GRAB THE GUN VOTE!"



FROM THE TCI WIRE:




Reuters reports, "Iraq said on Monday it had put its Tikrit offensive on hold and senior officials called for more air strikes to dislodge Islamic State (IS) militants,"

On hold?

Did they pause on Monday?

Because they paused on Saturday, remember?

Reuters explains in a longer report, "The offensive, the largest yet against insurgents has been stalled for four days after Iraqi security forces and Shia militia pushed into Tikrit last week."

Four days on hold.

And they took 12 days to reach Tikrit.

Loveday Morris (Washington Post) puts it this way, "Iraqi forces’ operation to retake the city of Tikrit has stalled as troops suffer heavy casualties at the hands of Islamic State militants, raising concerns about whether the pro-government fighters are ready for major offensives."


I would argue that the inability to reach Tikrit in a timely fashion made it clear that the Baghdad-Tehran forces were not "ready for major offensives."

Reaching it and then taking a break?  Then starting back up for a day before taking another break?


Anne Barnard (New York Times) reports:

As the days pass, critics are asking why the government’s 30,000-strong force has been unable to dislodge the last Islamic State fighters -- and whether the reduced pace is a bad sign for future efforts to root the militants out of their self-declared capital, the much larger city of Mosul.


Yeah, why can't do it anything?

"Hundreds" is the number of Islamic State fighters that were reported to be in Iraq when the Tehran-Baghdad forces arrived in Tikrit.

But the Islamic State is winning in Tikrit?


Nabih Bulos (Los Angeles Times) explains:

State media, meanwhile, displayed slogans announcing that there was "no backing down" from  the battle for Tikrit, hometown of Saddam Hussein, as reports came of the destruction of the former Iraqi strongman's grave in the city.
State media also broadcast interviews with various military officials who downplayed the stall, saying that military operations had not ceased and accusing opposition media of seeking to "demoralize people."



The destruction of the grave of former President Saddam Hussein?

Tikrit was chosen for one reason only: The motivation factor.

Shi'ites who loathed Saddam could be encouraged to charge, to behave like rabid dogs.

And with regards to Saddam's grave they did just that.

They destroyed it.

But apparently, that wasn't enough to motivate them to take on Tikrit.  (Saddam Hussein's grave is in nearby al-Owja village, not Tikrit itself.)

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"Oops, she let it slip!"

"THIS JUST IN! IT TAKES A BITCH!"

Oops, she let it slip!

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

CRANKY CLINTON'S STILL IN THE MIDST OF HER E-MAIL SCANDAL AND A NEW DETAIL HAS EMERGED.

IT'S REPORTED THAT VALERIE JARRETT IS THE ONE WHO RATTED HILLARY OUT TO THE PRESS.


REACHED FOR COMMENT, VALERIE JARRETT DECLARED TO THESE REPORTERS, "BEHIND EVERY BITCH THERE'S ANOTHER ONE."


FROM THE TCI WIRE:


Wednesday the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held an important hearing on Iraq and the Authorization for the Use of Military Force that US President Barack Obama has requested.  We've covered the hearing in the Wednesday and Thursday snapshots and will cover it later in this one.  But for now, let's note what Ranking Member Robert Menendez stated as the hearing was coming to a close.



Ranking Member Robert Menendez:  Finally, I do hope that we can get to a point to find the right balance and that's not easy in this proposition to give you an AUMF that gives you the wherewithall to degrade and defeat ISIL but by the same token doesn't provide an open-ended check.  And I think that the real concern here  is for some of us who lived under shock and awe and were told that Iraqi oil was going to pay for everything and saw a lot of lives and national treasure spent, that even well intentioned efforts can move in a totally different direction.  And this is the most critical vote that any member of the Congress  will take which is basically a vote on war and peace and life and death.


As if to underscore the points he was making Wednesday, CBS News reported Friday:

A U.S. soldier at an Iraqi training base was injured by gunfire directed at the base, marking the first time an American soldier has been wounded by fire from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.
A Pentagon spokesman told Martin that the soldier received superficial wounds to his face after the incident, which occurred Wednesday at 3:00 a.m. Iraqi time.

National Iraqi News Agency adds, "The Spokesman of the Pentagon said that this is the first time that a US soldier wounded are carried out on the ground, since the United States began training Iraqi forces as part of coalition efforts to defeat the IS organization."  All Iraq News quotes the Pentagon spokesperson, Steve Warren, stating that "US soldiers returned fire."




Oh, what a beautiful city
Oh, what a beautiful city
Oh, what a beautiful city
Twelve gates to the city
Hallelujah
There are three gates in the east
And three to the west
There's three to the north
And three to the south
There's twelve gates to the city
Hallelujah
-- "Twelve Gates To The City," traditional song recorded by Carly Simon on her Christmas Is Almost Here



Twelve Gates To The City, and 12 days to reach Tikrit.

That's how long it's taken the Baghdad-Tehran alliance.  On Thursday, the 12th day of the operation, they finally reached Tikrit.  Apparently, there was no direct path so they had to take stop overs, possibly they traveled Jet Blue via Miami.

Thursday, All Iraq News reported that Khalid al-Khazrji (Deputy Chair of the Local Security Committee) was insisting, "The Iraqi forces have completely controlled over Tikrit."

Oh, the lies and the liars.

Like Khaled al-Obeidi.  Thursday, National Iraqi News Agency reported that Defense Minister al-Obeidi declared that the battle for Tikrit "will be today and will be a decisive battle."


Didn't happen.

But Iran and Baghdad's Shi'ite forces had finally made it to Tikrit.

And?



Jean Marc Mojon (AFP) didn't seem to grasp what he reported on Friday morning:


Iraqi forces on Friday battled jihadists making what looked increasingly like a last stand in Tikrit but the Islamic State group responded by vowing to expand its "caliphate".
Thousands of fighters surrounded a few hundred holdout IS militants, pounding their positions from the air but treading carefully to avoid the thousands of bombs littering the city centre.


The bulk of Islamic State fighters had left, only a "few hundred" remained and that was still too much for the combined might of Baghdad and Tehran.

Offering a more clear-eyed assessment on Friday was Saif Hameed (Reuters) who reported:

The offensive to retake Tikrit appeared to stall on Friday, two days after Iraqi security forces and mainly Shi’ite militia pushed into Saddam Hussein’s home city in their biggest offensive yet against the militants.
A source in the Salah Al-Din Operations Command said Iraqi forces would not move forward until reinforcements reached Tikrit, of which the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) still holds around half.

Using guerrilla warfare tactics, the militants have turned the city into a labyrinth of home-made bombs and booby-trapped buildings, and are using snipers to halt their progress.


Adam Rawnsley (War Is Boring) notes that, "in a sign of Tehran’s growing military presence in the Iraq, Iranian weapons were a nearly ubiquitous sight in images and videos coming out of the offensive to take the mostly Sunni city."  Yamei Wang (Xinhua) adds that Friday saw at least seventy-two security forces injured and another 26 killed.




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Hillary has another explanation

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

CRANKY CLINTON'S STEPPED IN IT YET AGAIN.

AFTER WEAVING A COLORFUL TALE REGARDING HER E-MAILS AND INSISTING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE JUST HAD TO TRUST HER, TURNS OUT SHE WAS BEING DISHONEST AND LYING YET AGAIN.

REACHED FOR COMMENT, HILLARY SNAPPED AT THESE REPORTERS, "LOOK, NO ONE EXPECTS ME TO BE HONEST AT FIRST! EVERY ONE KNOWS I AM GOING TO LIE.  THAT'S WHAT I DO.  THAT'S WHO I AM.  AND THAT'S WHY AMERICA SHOULD VOTE FOR ME."

AT THAT POINT, HILLARY EMITTED A SCREAM AND BIT THE HEAD OFF A SMALL CHILD BEFORE SCURRYING OFF UNDER A ROCK.


FROM THE TCI WIRE:



On the Thursday broadcast of ABC World News with David Muir, Iraq was covered:

David Muir: Now to new fall out after our ABC investigation last night. It involves the fight against ISIS known for those awful videos, lining up their victims on the beach.  And now a new concern.  Are some of the Iraqi forces -- trained and paid for by US taxpayers -- using techniques that are just as brutal?  Well the State Dept tonight responding to our report and ABC's chief investigative reporter Brian Ross back on the job tonight.

Brian Ross:  The State Dept called these scenes today serious and distuuing.  Brutal images of what appear to be Iraqi forces and militias carrying out, celebrating, torture and beheadings.  In this torture scene, two US weapons against the wall. This video shows two civilians, pleading for their lives, about to be shot dead.  A man with an American supplied weapon walks by, a gunman with what appears to be the insignia of Iraqi Special Forces caught on tape.

US State Dept spokesperson Jen Psaki: Their behavior must be above reproach or they risk being painted with the same brush as ISIL fighters.


Brian Ross:  The Pentagon says it has already cut off money to some Iraqi units because of gross human rights violations.  But Senator Patrick Leahy says the ABC News report shows the government should cut off money to more Iraqi units.

Senator Patrick Leahy: When you look at at the videos and look at the uniforms being worn, do we really want to say the US condones that?

Brian Ross: US officials tonight tell ABC News that America's top military leader Gen Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, has repeatedly warned Iraqi leaders about the conduct of the Iraqi military and the militias that fight with them -- especially because the US is sending $1.5 billion to the Iraqi army and almost 3,000 American troops to help train them.


At the link, you'll find not only the video report, but also a text article and a photo essay.  James Gordon Meek, Brian Ross, Rym Momtaz and Alex Hosenball did the previous ABC News report on this topic.

The Jen Psaki moment in the transcript above is from today's State Dept press briefing.

Jen is shown looking down at her notebook and reading a pre-written statement.

She's ridiculous and shameful.  Let's move to that moment at today's briefing:



QUESTION: There’s some really disturbing images coming out of Iraq, which appear to show uniformed Iraqi soldiers committing atrocities – beheadings, torture. Are you – I mean, Iraq has said they’re investigating. Do you have confidence in their investigation, their ability to investigate this alone? Will you, the State Department, do any investigating? That’s the first question.


MS. PSAKI: Sure. Well, these are clearly disturbing and serious allegations, ones that we’ve, unfortunately, spoken about many times before, including from this podium, because we’ve been – there have been a range of reports out there for some time about these types of abuses. So we’re, of course, deeply concerned by the reports. The Iraqi Government, as you mentioned, has indicated that it will investigate to determine the facts behind these claims. We urge it to conduct a transparent, thorough, and timely investigation.
I would also note that Prime Minister Abadi, I think including in his inaugural remarks, spoke about this, has stated that he – not about this specifically, but about efforts to kind of address unregulated militias, which is part of the problem – has stated that he has a zero-tolerance policy of human rights abuses by any security element. U.S. officials from Washington and Baghdad continue to raise our concerns with senior Government of Iraq officials, and we have been doing that for some time.
This behavior is clearly – their behavior must be above reproach or they risk being painted with the same brush as ISIL fighters. And certainly that’s a message that we are making clear. But they’ve indicated they’re investigating. There’s no plans for the United States Government to investigate, no.


QUESTION: Okay. But do they not also risk, then, the U.S. sort of cutting off funding and pulling out of the coalition and sort of stopping their involvement?


MS. PSAKI: Well, we have withheld assistance from certain Iraqi units on the basis of credible information in the past. There’s an entire process of review that happens. And certainly if new information surfaced that warranted that – the Leahy law being put into effect, we would do the same thing.


QUESTION: Right. So unlikely that you would – as a result of these types of crimes, if proven true – I mean, there’s images supporting them at this point. But if proven true, it’s unlikely that you would do some sort of broad pullout of Iraq as a result, just stopping financing to certain brigades?



MS. PSAKI: Well, there are laws in place, that have been in place for time, that we have applied to some Iraqi units. And certainly we would continue to apply those if applicable. Obviously we look at any information that was available, including reports and media reports as well. But I’m not going to prejudge what that would mean in the future.


That's not the law and the State Dept looks like a pack of idiot War Criminals right now.

The US government is not allowed to pick and choose -- per the law -- which parts of a military they give assistance to.  The law is that when incidents like the above take place, the US government has to cut off all military assistance.

That's the law.

I thought Jen was leaving.  I thought she was taking her lying to the White House?

After today, she can't leave soon enough.

There is spin and there is whoring.


We've been rather kind to Jen here.  Marie Harf, not so much.  But Jen's largely gotten a pass because she's usually been professional not whorish.

When she stands in front of the press and lies through her teeth about the law -- to cover for War Crimes -- she's nothing but a cheap whore.

She has no shame and she clearly has no ethics.

The Leahy Amendment does not say: If the government the US is sending military aid to has human rights abuses (War Crimes), the US government must ensure that the 'good' elements of the military receive money and weapons.

The law says when these human rights abuses take place, the aid is to be immediately cut.

The State Dept is a disgrace today.

John Kerry's confused himself with Secretary of Defense throughout his tenure as Secretary of State.

It is shameful.

And it should be criminal for a spokesperson to lie about what the law says.




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Well it's her idea of fun

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

BIG DOG BILL CLINTON GOT TAKEN DOWN FOR SAYING HE DIDN'T HAVE SEX WITH MONICA LEWINSKY WHEN HE DID BUT HIS BORING HALF MAY GET TAKEN DOWN FOR THE CLAIM THAT SHE DIDN'T SEND CLASSIFIED E-MAILS TO ANYONE ON THE PRIVATE SERVER SHE USED FOR HER PRIVATE ACCOUNT.

CRANKY CLINTON JUST ISN'T BELIEVABLE AS SOMEONE CONSUMED BY PASSION BUT AMERICA WILL BUY HER AS THE CRANKY FOOL SENDING OUT NATIONAL SECRETS IN HER E-MAILS.

REACHED FOR COMMENT, CRANKY DECLARED SHE WAS "POURING OVER SPREAD SHEETS.  HA! I WAS UP TILL 4 THIS MORNING RUNNING ACTUARY NUMBERS!  THAT'S THE SORT OF THING THAT GETS MY JUICES FLOWING, I TELL YOU!  I THINK, FOR FUN TONIGHT, I'LL PULL OUT SOME PIE CHARTS."



FROM THE TCI WIRE:


What happens when an angry Frankenstein faces Congress?


That was this morning at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing where Secretary of State Kerry,  Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Gen Martin Dempsey (Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) provided testimony.

Or in Kerry's case, theatrics and laughter.

When not impatiently clicking his pen throughout the hearing, Kerry basically glowered -- as if the Committee were villagers carrying torches.

"I see a real danger of a ground troop creep here  converting this into not the region poliicing its own terrorism but like the air strike campaign that's 80% US, it's a US mission," declared Senator Tim Kaine in the hearing.

This resulted in a forced chuckle by Kerry.

It didn't result in any real answer.

Of course not.

Kerry can't even get honest that everyone in the administration is waiting on Gen Lloyd Austin's recommendation which the military chiefs expect will be for US troops in an on the ground combat role -- this was addressed -- again -- in yesterday's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing covered in Tuesday's snapshot.  From yesterday:


Senator Lindsey Graham:  Do you agree with me that the best way that you guarantee that you destroy and degrade ISIL is that you have some American ground forces to help the regional forces?


Gen Joseph Dunford Jr.: Senator, uh, right now, uh, I think it's critical that we provide US support.  And I think, as you know, we're waiting for Gen [Lloyd]  Austin to make a recommendation as to exactly what that support would be.



John Kerry found Kaine's question hilarious.

This despite the fact that Kaine's remarks are similar to what many leaders in the region have said and have told Congress.  King Abdullah II of Jordan, for example, has noted this has to be a regional response and not a US dominated one.  For it to work, it has to be a regional response otherwise it is the West again attacking Iraq which only helps recruit opposition forces.

King rightly points out that while Kerry and other US officials insist the current war on Iraq is a coalition effort -- a coalition working with the government of Iraq -- the reality is that 80% of the air strikes are carried about by the US.

So if they can't get honest about that, why should the same US government officials be trusted when they claim that any efforts on the ground would be a coalition working with Iraq?

Most likely, as King points out, ground forces would be US troops with a few Iraqis and a handful of soldiers from other countries tossed in.

Though he can't get honest, John Kerry can lecture and did so repeatedly.

"So as long as we continue to work on the integration," he said waiving his clutched and unclutched right hand  throughout the air, "the  internal inclusivity of Iraq and its government -- to help the Iraqis to be able to do this themselves, help the region feel empowered by it, that is a long term recipe for the United States not to have as much risk and not to have to put ourselves on the line the way we have historically."

But that hasn't been done.

Iraq's Haider al-Abadi became prime minister in August and there's been nothing but empty talk.

He did finally get a budget passed.

Iraq's Parliament passed the 2015 budget on January 29, 2015.

And in August, this was going to happen before the end of September.

Didn't turn out that way.

In fairness to him, there is no 2014 budget.

Former prime minister and forever thug Nouri al-Maliki was never able to pass a 2014 budget.

But that's really all Haider has to point to.

The State Dept attempted to sell an 'oil deal' between the central government out of Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government as proof that Haider was being more "inclusive" than Nouri and as movement towards resolving Iraq's many crises that led to the current state of affairs.

However, that 'deal' is still not implemented.

It's nothing more than empty words from Haider al-Abadi.



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

TODAY ELDERLY SECRETARY JOHN KERRY APPEARED BEFORE THE CONGRESS LOOKING ALL GLUM LIKE SOMEONE FORGOT TO GIVE HIM A COFFEE MUG ON

NATIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONALS’ DAY.

HE SLAMMED REPUBLICANS WHO WROTE A LETTER TO IRAN – A PUBLIC LETTER.

REACHED FOR COMMENT AFTER THE HEARING BY THESE REPORTERS, KERRY BRISTLED WHEN REMINDED THAT WHILE RUNNING FOR THE PRESIDENCY IN 2004, HE INSISTED THAT THE FOREIGN LEADERS HE SPOKE TO PRIVATELY WANTED BULLY BOY BUSH TO LEAVE THE WHITE HOUSE.

WHEN FURTHER REMINDED THAT HIS SECRET TALKS WERE CALLED OUT, KERRY INSISTED THAT THEY WERE “SECRET – SEE IT WAS GOSSIP.  AND EVERYONE KNOWS I’M A CATTY GOSSIP.  SO THAT’S THE DIFFERENCE.”

AS HE STORMED OFF HE NOTED HE DIDN’T EVEN GET A CARD TODAY.

THESE REPORTERS ATTEMPTED TO INFORM HIM THE HOLIDAY DID NOT ROLL AROUND UNTIL MARCH 22^ND BUT HE HAD HAD ALREADY STORMED OFF.

•  

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

This morning, US Senator John McCain declared, "Indeed, all four of the military service chiefs have testified that defense spending at sequestration levels would put American lives at risk. Now more than ever, a strong Navy and Marine Corps are essential to our nation's ability to deter adversaries, assure allies and defend our national interests."


He was speaking at a budget hearing the Senate Armed Services Committee was holding.  Mccain is the Chair of the Committee, Senator Jack Reed is the Ranking Member.  The witnesses appearing before them were Gen Joseph Dunford Jr (Commandant of the Marine Corps), Secretary of the Navy Raymond Mabus Jr. and Adm John Greenert (Chief of Naval Operations).

We'll come back to the hearing in a moment.

But let's think about what the Chair was saying.

Not in terms of the US but in terms of Iraq.

Nouri al-Maliki was prime minister of Iraq from 2006 - 2014.  There were no real public works programs to repair Iraq's crumbling infrastructure.  There were times when the yearly budget was such that Nouri could have given every Iraqi citizen in the country a billion dollars.  But didn't.

The money also didn't go to help address Iraq's problems -- such as the severe shortage of nurses and doctors (but especially nurses).  Instead, Nouri was fine with bringing in nurses from other countries.

This despite double-digit unemployment in Iraq and a severe need for employment.

Now there was money for Nouri's son to amass a fleet of sports cars in London as well as a bachelor pad where he -- contrary to the strict Shi'ite beliefs Nouri is supposed to hold (supposed to) -- entertained woman after woman.  There was money for Nouri's son to party.

But there was no money spent on the Iraqi people.

Nouri created his own political slate and dubbed it State and Law.

The point being, Nouri insisted, he was law and order and restoring that to Iraq.

And he ran in 2010 on the (false) claim that he'd restored order to Iraq.

The one thing he did pour money into was the Iraqi forces.

(Not the Peshmerga.  The Kurdish Regional Government paid the Peshmerga out of their portion of the national budget.)

In fact, the Iraqi forces were so 'covered' by Nouri, he was able to say, "I got this."

He was able to say, "I got this" -- and to refuse to US training for them.


This was noted in the November 30, 2011 House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia hearing on Iraq.  We covered it in the next day's snapshot (December 1, 2011).  The Ranking Member, US House Rep Gary Ackerman, noted how the US training program was being publicly rebuked by the Ministry of the Interior.  They did not want or need US trainers.  That was made clear.  (There was no Minister of the Interior.  Nouri refused to nominate anyone for the post so that he could control the Ministry himself.)

They didn't show up for training, these forces.

What's changed since then?

Not much.

CBS News reported Monday:


CBS News correspondent Holly Williams reports there are already more than 2,500 U.S. military advisers and trainers in Iraq, but Dempsey said their work is being hindered by the fact that Iraqi units sometimes fail to show up for training, or arrive without the proper equipment.
"Right now we don't need more advisers on the ground," Dempsey told reporters on board the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, alongside his counterpart French Gen. Pierre de Villiers.
"We've got trainers and advisers that are waiting for some of the Iraqi units to show up, and when they've shown up -- a handful of them -- they've shown up understrength and sometimes without the proper equipment. The Iraqi government can actually fix that themselves," said Dempsey.


Back at the 2011 hearing when Ackerman was noting the Iraqi forces didn't want US training, he also noted that the Iraqi forces were unable to provide security to the country by themselves as he questioned the State Dept's Brooke Darby:

Ranking Member Gary Ackerman: When will they be willing to stand up without us?

Brooke Darby: I wish I could answer that question.

Ranking Member Gary Ackerman: Then why are we spending money if we don't have the answer?

[long pause]

Ranking Member Gary Ackerman: You know, this is turning into what happens after a bar mitzvah or a Jewish wedding. It's called "a Jewish goodbye."  Everybody keeps saying goodbye but nobody leaves.

When will they be able to stand up?


Not then.

And apparently still not now.

In fairness to them, it turns out some of Nouri's spending was wasted on corruption and on paying people for service that they were not actually performing.

But the US is yet again working on training.

Iraqi forces, by themselves, are still not able to meet the goals McCain expects from US allies: "to deter adversaries, assure allies and defend our national interests."

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