Here we go with a bunch of interesting stuff...
A report compiled by the Iraqi government says their army still has a long way to go. The document, prepared for those who will take over after December 15th, says Iraq "needs more men, better leaders, new equipment and improved training to confront the insurgents without U.S. support."
The report says the insurgency is still as strong as ever too. Perhaps part of the reason is that no matter how many Al Qaida 'lieutenants' you kill, the insurgency is in reality a profusion of rebel groups. "Attack any single part of it, and the rest carries on largely untouched. It cannot be decapitated, because the insurgency, for the most part, has no head. Only recently, American and Iraqi experts say, have they begun to grasp the new organizational structure that, among other things, is making the insurgency so difficult to stop."
Talking of Al Qaida top lieutenants, according to Blogenlust's tally that makes four "Number Threes" and 35 "right hand men" killed or captured so far. So why is it so difficult to grab Number One?
Rice's message to Europe - "Trust us, we don't torture. You don't need proof and anyway you're already all involved to your back teeth in the crap we've pulled so shut up and get your populace to shut up too, or else. Remember we're the only Superpower on the block." I predict that European leaders will diplomatically publicly say they trust Mistress Rice while privately this heavy-handed dominatrix act will do even more damage to Ameriac's credibility abroad. Still, I would dearly love to see just one European leader tell Condi to her face that she's full of it.
The "sole superpower" tough-guy act only goes so far before others start working to change the way the game is played. Iran is taking steps to begin selling oil in euros instead of dollars, adding that such a measure is quite positive and should be taken as soon as possible. This would considerably strengthen Europe vs the USA but would also give Iran a huge card to play in its negotiations with the EU over its nuclear plans. The move has its risks for Iran too. Some will recall that it was rumored this very move by Saddam was the final catalyst for the invasion of Iraq.
Utterly unreported here but this story about the 15 tonnes of $100 dollar bills, totalling $1.4 billion, flown to Kurdish cities in the final days of the Coalition Provisional Authority is a real eye-opener. One Kurdish politician who served on the CPA-run Iraqi Governing Council says the US administration’s handling of Iraqi funds has encouraged new levels of corruption that in the long run pose as much of a threat to Iraq’s stability as the insurgent violence that has swept the country. “Iraq has been dealt with as a business, not as a country or a people,” he said. “Many people have gotten very rich at the expense of the poor Iraqi people and the American taxpayers.”
Paul Krugman writing about the "Notional Stratergy For Shiite Vicory In Iraq" (did I get that title right?) does some debunking of claims - such as those over oil production and cities once under control of the enemy. He concludes The point isn't just that the administration is trying, yet again, to deceive the public. It's the fact that this attempt at deception shows such contempt - contempt for the public, and especially contempt for the news media. And why not? The truth is that the level of misrepresentation in this new document is no worse than that in a typical speech by President Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney. Yet for much of the past five years, many major news organizations failed to provide the public with effective fact-checking.
Then again, Editor and Publisher has the story of how the Notional Stratergy was penned by a rightwing pollster with more of an interest in changing poll results than really setting a wise course in Iraq? Not surprised? Me neither.
Time magazine brings us the tale of Gov. Mitt Romney, the Republican who wants universal healthcare without calling it "universal healthcare". The only thing he needs to change about his plan is removing the profit-mongering health insurers in favor of a single provider backed by the government. Then it would definitely be more cost-effective and still provide coverage for all.
Zbigniew Brzezinski, the original Democrat Hawk, notes that Bush has tried to equate Islamic radicalism with communism and gives The Prezi-didn't a history lesson. Sorry, Z, but if you want Bush to stop making dumb comparisons then you need to use more pictures...of goats, for preference.
I love this one from Yahoo! News. It has a built-in "Duh!" factor. The History News Network at George Mason University has just polled historians informally on the Bush record. Four hundred and fifteen, about a third of those contacted, answered -- maybe they were all crazed liberals -- making the project as unofficial as it was interesting. These were the results: 338 said they believed Bush was failing, while 77 said he was succeeding. Fifty said they thought he was the worst president ever.
And finally, on the lighter side, comes this from tomorrow's Guardian:
At first sight it is little more than a poetic polemic about the virtues of an effective leader. But a poem has been removed from school textbooks in Pakistan after it became clear that the first letter of each line spelt out "President George W Bush".
Penned by an anonymous writer, The Leader embarrassed education officials in the country after it found its way into an English textbook for 16-year-olds.
Even Bush's allies are embarassed by him.
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