Buck Naked Politics

Iraq War Statistics Still Confusing

by  D. Cupples | The Associated Press reported that 2007 was the U.S. Military's "deadliest year" in Iraq: as of Sunday, 899 U.S. troops have died -- the highest number since 2003.  The next highest was in 2004, when 850 died.  This year, U.S. troop deaths peaked in May, at 126.

It was also a deadly year for Iraqi civilians, with 18,610 killed in 2007, up from 13,813 in 2006.  This came amid reports that some analysts believe our war effort has been successful: that violence in Iraq declined in the second half of 2007. The AP reports:   

Some Vermont Activists Want Bush & Cheney Arrested

by  D. Cupples  |  An activist group is pushing for a town policy that would subject President Bush and Vice President Cheney to indictment for "crimes against our constitution" if they set foot in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Not all Vermonters think of our president as a criminal.  At the same time, the perception of him as a criminal doesn't seem restricted to Vermont.  When I was in London, for example, someone had left a poster near Parliament that included a picture of President Bush and the words "war criminal."  About the Vermont situation, CNN reports:

Is Bush's Pocket Veto Legal?

by  D. Cupples | President Bush has attempted to use a pocket veto to reject the Defense Authorization Act, which includes not only $800+ billion in funding but also better oversight of contractors and a higher pay raise for our troops than they had been scheduled to get.

Why is the Commander in Chief willing to deny our troops their additional raise and clamp down on contractors?  The Associated Press reports:

Benazir Bhutto Assassinated

By Damozel  |  At the moment, all that is really known is that she was killed, possibly by a suicide bomber and possibly by gunshot wounds. (CNN)    A number of others died as well. (CNN)  

Bhutto, 54, was being driven from the rally in her bulletproof vehicle when she asked that the rooftop hatch be opened so she could bid supporters farewell, according to several aides, including one who was sitting next to her.

As she leaned her head through the hatch, between three and five gunshots rang out, aides said. Bhutto sank back into her seat, just as a large bomb detonated to the left of her vehicle. Those inside the car said her face was badly bloodied. It was not clear whether she'd been hit by bullets or shrapnel from the bombing. She lost consciousness, aides said, and never regained it.

Juan Cole's Top 10 Myths of '07

by  D. Cupples |  The week before the New Year is all about counting: things like days, calories, credit-card tallies.  Author and President of the Global Americana Institute Juan Cole decided to count myths.  Below is a sampling of Cole's list of the top 10 myths of 2007 (listed from 10 to 1).

Administration Warned about Using Security Contractors in Iraq

By D. Cupples | Between the high costs and the questionable services, the Bush Administration should have considered reducing its reliance on private contractors a few years ago.   Today's Washington Post reports:

"The U.S. government disregarded numerous warnings over the past two years about the risks of using Blackwater Worldwide and other private security firms in Iraq, expanding their presence even after a series of shooting incidents showed that the firms were operating with little regulation or oversight, according to government officials, private security firms and documents."

Pattern: Wasted Tax Dollars in Mid-East and at Home

Posted by D. Cupples | It seems that a pattern is emerging.  Today's New York Times reports:

"After the United States has spent more than $5 billion in a largely failed effort to bolster the Pakistani military effort against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, some American officials now acknowledge that there were too few controls over the money. The strategy to improve the Pakistani military, they said, needs to be completely revamped." (NYT)

This is not surprising. In September, a Vanity Fair article described transfers of literally tons of U.S. cash to Iraq from 2002-04 -- more than $12 billion dollars, of which about $9 billion simply disappeared.

"Awakening Groups" in Iraq: a Strategy Doomed to Fail?

by  D. Cupples | So-called "Awakening Groups" are growing in Iraq: i.e., groups of Iraqis paid (and armed) by the U.S. government to patrol neighborhoods for insurgency-related activities.  Apparently, some U.S. and Iraqi officials recognize the frightening prospect that insurgents are infiltrating the "Awakening Groups."

In other words, our government may be helping to arm our enemies, which may lead to (more) civil war in Iraq. With news like this, it's hard to be confident in the Bush Administration's war-planning skills -- especially after 190,000+ U.S. weapons were lost in Iraq, as well $1 billion in other military hardware.  Today's New York Times reports:

Is the Administration telling the Truth about Iran or Trying to Save Face?

by  D. Cupples | This year, the Bush Administration vociferously claimed two rationales for attacking Iran:

1) that Iran had nuclear weapons, which posed an imminent threat;

2) that Iran's government had armed U.S. enemies in Iraq (as opposed to drug lords or other individuals operating in Iran without government approval).

The recent National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) eroded the first claim, stating that Iran had dropped its nuclear-weapons program in 2003.  If the other claim is proven true, then the Administration's severely weakened credibility might be revived a bit.  Today's Washington Post indicates that Administration officials are refocusing on the arming-our-enemies claim, albeit via vaguely created impressions.  For example, David Satterfield (adviser to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice) said:

Kurds Unhappy About Airstrikes; Refuse to Take a Meeting with Rice

Posted by Cockney Robin | It seems that for some reason the Kurds didn't care much for Turkey's airstrikes. (Backstory here).

Sunday's tacit approval of Turkish bombers in Iraqi airspace may have partly blown apart fragile U.S. hopes of Iraqi reconcilliation. The Bush administration provided targetting intelligence, de-conflicted airspace to let the Turks have a free run and didn't bother telling their Iraqi charges...but deny they officially approved the bombings. The Kurds are very pissed at their American "friends". (Cernig)

Massoud Barzani had been scheduled to meet Condoleezza Rice in Baghdad, but withdrew "as a sign of protest" after several villages were bombed on Sunday (Cernig). 

Military Pushes for Iraq Troop Drawdown, while Bush Gives us Something Else to Fear: Afghanistan?

The U.S. invaded Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, in part to track Osama bin Laden, who is still at large.  The next major terrorist-threat was Iraq, Administration officials said before invading in 2003.  They claimed that Iraq had WMDs and links to 9/11 --  notions that have been debunked.

This year, Administration officials tried to make a case for war against Iran but backed off after a  National Intelligence Estimate indicated that Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons program in 2003.  Now, after years of  ignoring Afghanistan -- and failing to capture bin Laden -- the Bush Administration again has its sites on that nation.  The Washington Post reports:

Turkish War Planes Bomb the Kurds in Northern Iraq

Posted by Cockney Robin  | A month after the US promised to share intelligence with the Turks (WaPo),  the Turks---provoked by a spate of attacks by the Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK) inside Turkish borders--- have sent warplanes into Northern Iraq to bomb the PKK.  The US has denied authorizing the raid. (BBC News)  But the Turks feel that the US implied permission when it opened Iraqi airspace for the operation (BBC News).

They targeted the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in areas near the border, officials said. The Turkish media said up to 50 planes were used. 

Blogging Conservatives Argue/Imply that Jones Made Up the Gang-Rape Story; Jon Swift Administers Swiftian Kick

Posted by Damozel | Certain right-wing bloggers seem to have concluded that KBR needs their help and support against the accusations of Jamie Leigh Jones, who claims to have been gang-raped and falsely imprisoned by KBR's employees. (BN-Politics)  For some reason---I wonder what it could be?---these bloggers feel fiercely protective of poor beleaguered KBR, which certainly does seem to have had more than its share of troubles.  Despite the fact that the evidence shows that Jones was raped and despite the fact that her father had to have his Congressman (Republican) get the State Department to rescue her, they apparently have difficulty believing that events could possibly have unfolded exactly as she alleged. (BN-Politics).

Iraq: Violence is Down, Despite Attacks & Human Rights Violations?

by D. Cupples |  Last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates voiced optimism about violence in Iraq.  That day, four car bombs killed 25 people and wounded 65.  Two weeks earlier, an Army Public Relations officer said that violence in Iraq was down 50%.  That day, bombs in Bagdhad and Mosul killed 26 and wounded dozens.  Three weeks before that, General Joseph Fil announced that violence in Iraq was down 70%.  That day, a roadside bomb killed 20 children in rural Iraq.

Intensifying confusion over violence statistics, yesterday's New York Times reported:

An Antidote to Partisan Bickering: Progress in Iraq, the NIE, & the Climate Change Conference

Posted by Damozel | Since I first started blogging (way back before Buck Naked Politics), Midtopia has been one of my favorite political blogs. Centrist blogger Sean Aqui, its author, has a way of getting straight to the core of the partisan bickerings of the day and quietly exposing the gaps, logical leaps, and factual errors on both sides of the argument.  This is why I'm so happy that---following a hiatus---Sean Aqui is back and posting.

Did U.S. Govt. Officials Cover up Rape in Iraq?

Posted by D. Cupples |  According to ABC News, former Halliburton/KBR employee Jamie Leigh Jones (now age 22) was gang raped by coworkers in Iraq.  A rape kit indicates that she was vaginally and anally raped, but the kit has disappeared.

Instead of contacting law enforcement, Jones' employer reportedly put her under guard in a shipping container (with a bed) and told her that she would lose her job if she left Iraq for medical treatment.  A sympathetic guard let her use a phone, and she called her father -- who called Rep. Ted Poe, (R-TX).   Poe called the State Department, who sent agents to rescue Jones from the container.  More than two years later, the Justice Department has not brought criminal charges against the rapists or the people who kept Jones in the container.

$1 Billion (More) in Military Hardware Missing in Iraq

By D. Cupples  |   Every dollar that pays for lost or stolen military equipment is one less dollar for our troops.  Just a few months ago, we learned that 190,000 US-owned AK-47s and pistols had been lost in 2004-05, when General David Petraeus was in charge with arming Iraqi security forces.  Gen. Petraeus chalked it up to clerical errors.

Yesterday, CBS News reported that $1 billion worth of all sorts of US-funded equipment is unaccounted for:

More Confusing Statements About Iraq War

By D. Cupples |  Grasping official statements about the Iraq war is about as easy as following each strand in a colander full of cooked spaghetti. Violence in Iraq is down (or moved to different regions).  Insurgents have been driven from Baghdad (and used telekinesis to set off four car bombs yesterday, one of which killed 16 people and wounded 32 in Baghdad).

Even within today's New York Times article, official statements about progress in Iraq seem to conflict.  The Times reports that Sunni insurgents have been pushed out of Baghdad  but have migrated to the northern city of Mosul in the Nineveh province.  The sixth paragraph begins:

Car Bombs Kill 25 and Wound 65, Gates in Iraq for News Conference

By D. Cupples |  Yesterday, four bombs killed 25 people and wounded 65, the deadliest of which killed 16 and wounded 32 in Baghdad's Karradah neighborhood.

Also yesterday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates held a news conference with the Iraqi Defense Minister. Gates' comments were optimistic, according to the Associated Press:

Bush versus the NIE: Buck Naked Bloggerama

 Mark Twain on President Theodore Roosevelt:

We are insane, each in our own way, and with insanity goes irresponsibility.   Theodore the man is sane; in fairness we ought to keep in mind that Theodore, as statesman and politician, is insane and irresponsible.
- Letter to J. H. Twichell, 2/16/1905

Among other things, Twain opposed Roosevelt for his role in the Spanish American war.  I don't know whether you'll find this in any way helpful to remember as you read what follows.