Bush...escapes frequently to his 1,600-acre ranch. He is currently immersed in a five-week stay away from Washington, the longest presidential retreat in at least 36 years, according to The Washington Post.
A presidential spokesman said the time in Crawford is a time for Bush to ''shed his coat and tie and meet with folks in the heartland and hear what's on their minds."
This week, the president will meet with his economic advisers and foreign policy team, go to a fundraising lunch, and attend a Little League championship game. So far, Sheehan is not on his agenda. But he knows what is on her mind, and that is his excuse for declining to meet with her.
So it's okay for the President to "meet with folks in the heartland and hear what's on their minds" as long as they agree with him, apparently. But if you are the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, he doesn't have the courage to hear what's on your mind.
A real leader doesn't dodge the tough questions. A real leader does not just meet with the "common people" that make him look good. A real leader would meet with Cindy Sheehan.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
More on Presidential Vacations
We Should Not only Expect, but Demand Better Answers from a President
But most of all, she is tapping into a growing popular feeling that the Bush administration is out of touch with the realities, and the costs, of the Iraq war...Ms. Sheehan's 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in Baghdad. She says she and her family met privately with Mr. Bush two months later, and she is sharply critical of how the president acted. He did not know her son's name, she says, acted as if the meeting was a party and called her "Mom" throughout, which she considered disrespectful.
...Bush obviously failed to comfort Ms. Sheehan when he met with her and her family. More important, he has not helped the nation give fallen soldiers like Casey Sheehan the honor they deserve. The administration seems reluctant to have the president take part in events that would direct widespread attention to soldiers' funerals or to the thousands who have returned with serious injuries.Perhaps most troubling, Mr. Bush is not leveling about where things stand with the war. He continues to stay on message, as he did with the platitude he offered last week: "We will stay the course; we will complete the job in Iraq." The public knows that things in Iraq are not going well on any number of levels, and deserves a fuller, more honest discussion led by the commander in chief.
Just 38 percent of the respondents in a recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll, a new low, approved of Mr. Bush's handling of Iraq. That does not mean the remaining 62 percent agree with Ms. Sheehan that the troops should come home immediately. But it does mean that many Americans are with her, at least figuratively, at that dusty roadside in Crawford, expecting better answers.
Monday, August 08, 2005
Already Meeting with Her Last Year is not the Same as Meeting with Her Now
Q Is the President going to meet with the mother who lost a son in Iraq, that's been camped out in front of his ranch?
MR. DUFFY: The President has met with Ms. Sheehan last summer, and as we've said, the National Security Advisor, as well as the Deputy Chief of Staff met with her and other mothers for 45 minutes.
Q On North Korea, how disappointed is the President about the fact that they had to go into a three-week recess with no agreements made?
MR. DUFFY: We have made important progress in this round of talks. There is agreement among the five nations, a consensus that we need a denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The break in the talks was prompted by the Chinese government, which gives the nations an opportunity to return to their capitals and talk about next steps. We anticipate a reconvening of the talks on August 29th,* so we believe there has been important progress and we're still optimistic that some agreement can be reached.
Q Why won't the President meet with her? I mean, she's camped outside -- I mean, is he at all worried that he's got this mother, someone who lost a kid in Iraq, she's camped out in front of the ranch, both -- I mean, from a PR side of things, but also the substantive -- listening to her -- I mean, why won't he meet with her?
MR. DUFFY: The President did meet with her in June of 2004; he's met with hundreds of families of the fallen. They are private meetings. And he was glad to meet with her at that time. We always mourn the loss of every life. And as I said, he's met with hundreds of families of the fallen.
Q Can we go back to the NTSB thing? Did they request that or is that something that we offered? Do you know how that came about?
MR. DUFFY: Let me see what I have on that.
Q Because that would indicate maybe that there is some suspicion there about that.
MR. DUFFY: I have what I have.
Q Trent, on Ms. Sheehan, what was the White House's message to her in the meeting with her over the weekend?
MR. DUFFY: As I said and reported, that Mr. Hagin and Mr. Hadley listened to her concerns.
Q Did they -- what was their response to her? I mean, did they welcome her concerns, did they --
MR. DUFFY: It was a private meeting. As I said on the wire call, she suggested and expressed on more than three occasions that she was very appreciative for them coming out.
Here's a little background on why she has every right to be pissed at the W, Rove and Co:
BuzzFlash: Your son Casey died April 4 in Iraq. Whom do you hold responsible for your loss?And more words to consider from Cindy:
Cindy Sheehan: George W. Bush.
BuzzFlash: Why?
Cindy Sheehan: I think he rushed into this war -–this invasion –- without having proper intelligence. And the reasons he went are so clearly wrong -–from his false claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction to there being no connection between Iraq and Saddam and Osama bin Laden. He diverted attention and troops and resources from Afghanistan and Al Qaeda to Iraq.
I don’t think Iraq has anything to do with the war on terror, except now terrorists are crossing the borders to go and kill innocent Iraqis and our troops. So he went almost unilaterally, with very little international support, to invade a country. They didn’t have a plan for the peace or for the occupation of Iraq.
My son was killed by Shiite insurgents. I believe George Bush created the insurgency by his failed policies and that’s why my son was killed.
I felt like I was in Bizarro World as I heard George speak about 9/11 five times and mention terrorism 31 times, even though these rationales for war have been disproved repeatedly. I think George thinks that since we believed him once about terrorism vis-à-vis Iraq, that we must therefore be gullible enough to believe him this time. I don't know, and I am not a professional pundit, but my theory is he might have mentioned 9/11 to manipulate our emotions and maybe even frighten us a little again?
The thing that struck me when I was watching that vacuous man giving his hollow speech was the fact that he could have always replaced the word "terrorists" with the phrase: "my moronic and callous foreign policies" For example, when he said that terrorists spread death and destruction on the streets of Baghdad and kill innocent people, he could have just as easily said: "My moronic and callous foreign policies spread death and destruction on the streets of Baghdad and kill innocent people." When he said that we need to stop terrorists from toppling governments in the region, he could have just as easily said: "We need to stop my moronic and callous foreign policies from toppling governments in the region." People have characterized the speech-lite in many ways, but if I had to pick a few words to describe it, I would say: "Hypocritical, manipulative, condescending, meaningless drivel."
No wonder the W's testicles have retracted and he doesn't want to meet with this woman. He hasn't had someone tell him he's an idiot to his face for low about 5 or 6 years, at least. Again, the Prez's actions, or inactions more accurately, speek volumes - he's a coward.
Cindy and the Gold Star Families for Peace
In case you were thinking that all folks in Texas love the W, Rove and Co. here's a comment from teh GSFP web location. You can't get onto Cindy's location since it has recieved too much traffic:
I live not far from George Bush's ranch in Crawford, and I am one among many Central Texans who believe the President got us into the war in Iraq under false pretenses, and that many young men, women and children have died unncessarily because of the President's terrible, arrogant mistakes. I support you in your efforts to protest this bloody war. My husband and I, however, are concerned that with a premature wholesale pullout of US troops, Iraq will fall into chaos and be plunged into a bloody civil war, allowing terrorist elements to gain a stronghold, and potentially destabilizing the whole middle east. There are no easy solutions to the mess President Bush and his hawks got us into, but I applaud you for taking a stand. Your voices need to be heard, and if there are more of you, and if the polls continue to show eroding support for Bush on the Iraq issue, he will no doubt be pressured into moving out of Iraq as quickly as possible, to try to save the White House for the Republicans' next election.
"I'm a Uniter, not a Divider"
But state schools chief O'Connell said intelligent design is "not an issue in California. It just hasn't come up."
When told about teachers avoiding the e-word, O'Connell said, "That's really regrettable."
"What (Bush) is doing is divisive, something to take people's attention away from all the other things going on with schools," he said.
"Why isn't he talking about funding issues, or class size or," O'Connell said, pausing, "Do you want me to go on?"
Can't Get Enough of Karl?
Here are the other top vote getters:
The Top Five Slogans from the contest were:
Loose Lips Deserve Pink Slips. Fire Karl Rove (Our winner!)
Karl Rove: The Voice of Treason
Treason is Not a Family Value
Support Homeland Security—Fire Karl Rove
Firing Rove: A REAL Patriot Act
Some other top slogans we thought were good include:
It's not Left or Right—it's WRONG. Fire Karl Rove
Bush Knew: Fire Him Too
Keep Your Promise—Fire Rove!
Fire Rove. It's not just a good idea, it's the law.
The American Spectator
All Images Copyright Windspike 2005
I call this one "The American Spectator." Took it yesterday at the Aloha Festival. Can anyone come up with a better caption?
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Contrast
Contrast this quote from the NYTimes with the excerpt that follows:
"These are my boys. I trained with them since January. Every one of them was like my sons, every single one. I was responsible for them. I still feel that responsibility." LARRY BOWMAN, gunnery sergeant, on recent deaths in the Third Battalion, 25th Marines.Doctorow Excerpt:
But this president does not know what death is. He hasn't the mind for it. You see him joking with the press, peering under the table for the weapons of mass destruction he can't seem to find, you see him at rallies strutting up to the stage in shirt sleeves to the roar of the carefully screened crowd, smiling and waving, triumphal, a he-man.
He does not mourn. He doesn't understand why he should mourn. He is satisfied during the course of a speech written for him to look solemn for a moment and speak of the brave young Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
But you study him, you look into his eyes and know he dissembles an emotion which he does not feel in the depths of his being because he has no capacity for it. He does not feel a personal responsibility for the 1,000 dead young men and women who wanted to be what they could be.
They come to his desk not as youngsters with mothers and fathers or wives and children who will suffer to the end of their days a terribly torn fabric of familial relationships and the inconsolable remembrance of aborted life . . . they come to his desk as a political liability, which is why the press is not permitted to photograph the arrival of their coffins from Iraq.
Interesting contrast, no?
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Hiroshima Survivors
Long about 1994 I went with a Japanese friend with some others on a Shinkansen whirlwind tour of
My friend has had a brain tumor. They cut her head open and successfully removed her lump but had to scuff up a little of her brain doing it. She has not been the same ever since. She was the mother of two beautiful daughters. Unfortunately, earlier this year, her three year old daughter died unexpectedly.
There is no way to connect these dots to the infestation of
On this day, the 60th anniversary of the atomic devastation that stopped the war, I reflect and feel remorse. I have been to
One Small, Simple, Quick Fix
In a more modern twist, in the same way that companies govern the votes of shareholders, use an online voting system that is safe and secure, unlike the Diebold machines used in Ohio. The whole issue there is to ensure access for those who can't afford computers and internet hook ups.
Slice:
THE Voting Rights Act, signed into law 40 years ago today, is often described as the highest achievement of the civil rights movement. It redeemed the soul of democracy by abolishing the legalized hypocrisy of poll taxes and literacy tests, and it freed minorities to elect candidates who better represent their values.
Friday, August 05, 2005
Time for some True Confessions
There are routine movies and others that blaze a trail. There are routine bad movies and others so horrendous that they redefine bad, that make us look up synonyms for agonizing and abysmal and then gnash our teeth because the language has not kept pace with the decline of film. There are even movies that are so blazingly rotten that they can redefine past experiences and make us look back on recent weak efforts like "Stealth" or "Fantastic Four" and think, "Ooh, that was fascinating."Okay, so fess up; who's going to see it anyway? I loved watching Bo and Luke Duke tear it up in the General Lee on the small screen. Can it be all that bad?
Well, then again, last time I ignored the advice of some critics that left the chair empty (regular chronicle readers understand), I ended up walking out on the movie - some Sarah Jessica Parker flick that was so horrendous it has thus far been the only movie I couldn't tollerate to the very end.
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Presidential Vacations
If anyone who has sighted the W personally (as in not on television, but eye witness) in these past few days could comment on the whereabouts of our fair prez, please leave a comment with the location and circumstance.
Thank you.
Love and Marriage
From page 140:
Did you know that there are thirty-two names for love in one of the Eskimo languages? August said. "And we just have this one. We are so limited, you have to use the same word for loving Rosaleen as you do for loving a Coke with peanuts. Isnt' that a shame we don't have more ways to say it?"From page 145:
"I decided against marrying altogether. There were enough restrictions in my life without someone expecting me to wait on him hand and foot. Not that I'm against marrying, Lilly. I'm just against how it's set up."From page 147:
"you know, some things don't matter that much, Lilly. Like the color of a house. How big is that in the over all scheme of life? But lifting a person's heart - now, that matters. The whole problem with people is -"I was at the NCLR benefit two years ago where Sharon Stone was the celebrity speaker and her words still hang with me. She said, paraprhasing, "I've been married (laughter, mainly due to her recent divorce). Marry (long pause), if you must."
"They don't konw what matters and what doesn't," I said, filling in her sentence and feeling proud of myself for doing so.
"I was going to say, The problem is they know what matters, but they don't choose it..."
Is it really necessary to give this person air space in the Media?
So, is there a reason we actually want the mainstream press to be printing such warnings? Does it not simply feed into the hysteria that is the desire of such nut jobs? Al Jezeera may suggest that they are just doing their job, but I would suggest giving such wack jobs air space only feeds the flames. Why do it? Well, becuase it sells advertising and that's how the media make their cash. It's time for people who advertise in the mainstream media to indicated with their powerful advantage to either stop advertising in outlets that report such "news," or at least, the individual does not have to purchase the rag displaying it.
Incidentially, if such video clips can find its way to the Media outlets, why can't we find em, smoke em out, and squash em (to borrow a phrase from General Schwarzkopf)?
Slice:
Al Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri has warned the United States and Britain of more attacks, singling out London for the first time since suicide bombings on its transport system killed 52 people.Incidentially, do you believe these folks when they say there is a truce available? Should we take them up on it?
slice x:
"What you have seen in New York, Washington and Afghanistan, are only the initial losses and if you (United States) continue the same hostile policies you will see what will make you forget those horrors," he said in reference to the 11 September 2001 attacks.Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but we weren't in Afganistan nor Iraq when 9/11 hit. So, pardon me if I don't believe you about the truce.
Zawahri said the London bombs were a result of Blair's policies. He said bin Laden had offered a truce to Western countries asking them to pull out their armies from Iraq and Afghanistan in order to live in peace.
"To the people of the crusader coalition ... our blessed Shaikh Osama has offered you a truce so that you leave Muslim land. As he said, you will not dream of security until we live it as a reality in Palestine, and until all your infidel armies leave Prophet Mohammad's lands," he said.
"Our message to you is clear, strong, and final: There will be no salvation until you withdraw from our land, stop stealing our oil and resources, and end support for corrupt rulers," al-Zawahri added.
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Add 14 More to the "It's Worth it" Pile
Slice:
Insurgents blew up a U.S. assault vehicle in western Iraq Wednesday, killing 14 Marines and a civilian interpreter in the deadliest roadside bomb attack against American forces since the war began.
Intelligent Design
Slice:
President Bush said on Monday that schools should teach "intelligent design," a theory asserting that an intelligent agent helped shape the origins and history of the earth and life, in addition to evolution, the theory of life that enjoys overwhelming support from scientists.Mr. Bush, who spoke in an interview with reporters from five Texas newspapers, said students should learn about intelligent design to understand the debate over creation-of-life theories. His support could help the efforts of Christian conservatives who have pushed for public schools to teach the theory.
"I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought," Mr. Bush told the reporters. "You're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, the answer is yes."
Intelligent-design theory holds that some biological systems are so complex that they could have arisen only through the action of an intelligent force -- ostensibly divine -- and not simply through Darwinian evolution.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
More GIs Dead in Iraq, but do we Care?
Slice:
Seven American Marines have been killed in fighting in Iraq's western Anbar province, the guerrilla heartland which keeps challenging U.S. and Iraqi troops despite repeated security crackdowns.
One of Iraq's most violent Islamic militant groups, Army of Ansar al-Sunna, claimed responsibility for the deaths, saying it had killed eight Marines.
"The lions of monotheism succeeded in killing eight American Marines, slaughtering some of them and shooting the rest after ambushing them in al Jazeera area, north of Haditha," it said in a statement posted on an Islamist Web site.
Stonewalling versus Partisan Delay
Exhibit A - Does this person get an answer?
Q So Senate confirmation really makes no difference in how he carries out his job?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think it's clear to everybody that he had the majority support of the United States Senate. But, unfortunately, a handful of Senate Democrats were intent on using partisan tactics to delay the nomination from receiving an up or down vote on the floor of the Senate.
Q How do you square that, Scott, with the opposition from folks like George Voinovich?
MR. McCLELLAN: Let me keep going on the first row, and then I'll come back to you, Carl.
Terry, you had something....
Exhibit B - Or, Does this person get an answer?
Q Well, following up on what you just said, you're basically saying that a handful of senators, Democrats, are holding you up. What do you think about Senator Ed Kennedy talking about Bolton misled Congress by denying he had interviewed in the State Department CIA investigation of faulty pre-war intelligence on Iraq?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think the State Department addressed that last week --
Q No, but you're saying that it's a delaying tactic.
MR. McCLELLAN: No, I'm saying Senator Kennedy's views are well known.
Q No, but tell me -- no, but you made a statement; respond to this. You're saying that it's delaying tactics --
MR. McCLELLAN: It's already been responded to.
Q No, you're saying it's a delaying tactic. This is concrete information that Senator Kennedy is throwing out, and that's not delaying tactics, that's something that needs to be addressed.
MR. McCLELLAN: No, I heard your question. It was addressed last week.
Go ahead, Bob.
Exhibit C- Another interesting question, but is it met with an answer?
Q Thank you. Would it be the President's preference, if he could, to overturn Roe versus Wade? And, also, does he think that embryonic stem cell research should be made illegal?MR. McCLELLAN: I think that -- two things. One, on the issue of abortion, the President has made it very clear that there are ways -- common sense, practical ways that we can work together to reduce the number of abortions in America. And he has worked to do that, if you look at what we have done, by placing a ban on partial birth abortion, by supporting efforts to increase adoption. The President is strongly committed to finding ways we can work together to reduce the number of abortions in America. He is someone who is pro-life.
Now, in terms of the question you bring up, I think this is trying to bring it up in the context of does the President have a litmus test for the Supreme Court -- no, he does not. And the President has made that very clear. He is not the one who has a litmus test. He believes that a judge ought to interpret our Constitution and our laws and not try to legislate from the bench. A judge is someone who ought to look at the facts and look at the law and look at our Constitution and apply the law. And that's what the President has consistently said.
In terms of -- what was the second part of your question?
Q The legality or illegality of embryonic stem cell research.
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President felt that taxpayer dollars should not be going to fund research where human life is created for the sole purpose of destroying it. Now, he believes strongly in advancing medical research, but we also must work to maintain the highest ethical standards. And that's why he came to the policy that he did. It doesn't place any prohibition on the private sector and research done in the private sector. He drew the line at taxpayer dollars because he is President of all the people.
And I think people do appreciate the need to move forward aggressively to advance science, but also look at those ethical considerations that really have far-reaching consequences into the future.
Exhibit D - And onto another topic, but again - any answer?
Q Scott, Major League Baseball has just suspended Rafael Palmeiro 10 games for steroid use. He's a friend of the President's, and the President has spoken out about steroids. What is his message to Palmeiro, and what does that do to his friendship with him?So, what do you think? Has the W, Rove and Co perfected the art of obfuscation and stonewall building, or is it partisan delay tactics that got us to where our government has led us today?
MR. McCLELLAN: This must be breaking news, first I've heard about it.
Q And does the President --
MR. McCLELLAN: So you're asking me his views. I haven't had a chance to talk to him about it, or see the reports. But, obviously, that is an issue that the President took head on and called on Major League Baseball to address. They are taking steps to address it. It is a serious matter, and we appreciate the efforts by Major League Baseball and the representatives of the players to move forward and address it with stronger enforcement and stronger penalties.
Q What does that do to the President's friendship with a player like that?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I just heard about this.
Watching Paint Dry
I can't imagine that a person of Bolton's reputation will have much of an affect on making change happen, particularly given his cavalier and crass reputation. Diplomacy is not the mark of a person who is used to getting whatever they want, when ever they want it.
Koffi Annan has a point:
"I think it is all right for one ambassador to come and push, but an ambassador always has to remember that there are 190 others who will have to be convinced - or a vast majority of them - for action to take place."KOFI ANNAN, secretary general of the United Nations, on the appointment of John Bolton by President Bush.Here's another interesting Bolton related quote:
...this may be the first time a world superpower has used its top United Nations post as a spot for the remedial training of a troublesome government employee.
Monday, August 01, 2005
You thought you had a bad day...
Can't Complete the Deed
Slice:
Recess appointments are by no means rare but it was believed to be the first time such an appointment had been made for the job of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy called it an abuse of power.
"It's a devious maneuver that evades the constitutional requirement of Senate consent and only further darkens the cloud over Mr. Bolton's credibility at the U.N.," he said.
Bush sidestepped the Senate confirmation process after it became clear he would not be able to overcome Democrats who held up the nomination of the outspoken conservative on charges he tried to manipulate intelligence and intimidated intelligence analysts to support his hawkish views as the top State Department diplomat for arms control.
And, now the W is actually saying the UN is vital and important?! But when pushing our troops into battle indicated their support was not necessary to start the Iraq war, not to mention the derogatory and verbal lambasting his administration and party has delivered against the UN thus far? Hypocrites.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
What would you do if mortar shrapnel tore into your skull?
Some see heroes. Others are outraged. There are many levels of twistedness laced throughout this article. In the end, I want to know when will those responsible for sending our troops to Iraq be held accountable for this foolishness.
"Relax, relax," Lt. Col. Tim Maxwell said, resting his hand on the corporal's shoulder. "Just wanted to see how you're doing."
"Doing good, sir. How about you?"
"I feel like I got no brain left," Maxwell said. "My brain got whacked pretty good. I kind of have to fake it to get by."
On Oct. 7 in central Iraq, mortar shrapnel tore into Maxwell's skull, causing severe brain damage, and lacerated the left side of his body. Seventeen days later, a rocket exploded near Ferguson in western Iraq, shredding his lower left leg.
The two Marines had never met before the 40-year-old colonel sought out the 22-year-old corporal in the physical therapy ward of the Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune this month. Their encounter was part of an extraordinary endeavor by a Marine officer with a faulty memory and a speech impediment, in which the walking wounded help care for injured comrades.
The Obsolescence of Schools of Education
Having been trained exclusively in schools of education in public universities, one might think I would be highly critical of this recent NYTimes article. Unfortunately, my experience won't let me. Some of the worst teaching I have ever witnessed and was forced to matriculate through as the courses were required were the ones unpacking "proper" pedagogy. Think about it - a full hour and a half on how to hold your chalk? Like that helps you with controlling discipline in the classroom or teaches you how to handle parents who lie for their children so they can get out of doing the homework you assign.
I asked one School of Education researcher once, after she had gone through an elaborate discourse on her year long research venture where she video taped a mathematics classroom for a whole year, "do you think that by studying what is going on rather than conducting experiments on what can be done better you are only furthering mediocrity in the classroom rather than change and innovation?" She was dumbfounded and didn't answer. Of course, the question really nullifies more than a year’s work on her part and the expense of so many graduate students doing the actual labor on the research project. She didn't like the underlying sentiment laced in the question, but I was trying to make a point.
What we need is wholesale reform from the ground up. That is, we have to ask difficult questions like, "how do we train people to train teachers?" Why is it that the beginning teachers rather than experienced teachers are tossed into the more challenging classroom settings (say, teaching delinquents math over honors algebra)? There are much better questions to discuss and answer rather than simply taking a look at what is going on in classrooms today.
If we were to dream the perfect school and the most dazzling educational experience, it would look considerably different than what has emerged from about 150 years of staid wrote practice of how it was done before. The students of today shouldn't stand for it, and neither should we.
Slice:
Today, education schools face pressure to improve from all directions. A flurry of new studies challenges their ideological bias and low admissions standards. Critics now question their very existence, with competition from fast-track routes to certification threatening their long-held monopoly on training teachers. The soul-searching has accelerated with the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which demands a "highly qualified" teacher - state certified, with a bachelor's degree and proven knowledge of subject - in every classroom by the end of this coming school year.
In fact, No Child Left Behind, with its emphasis on standards and hard data, has placed national policy in direct conflict with the prevailing approach of many colleges, where the John Dewey tradition of progressive education holds sway, marked by a deep antipathy toward testing.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
A Work of Fiction
Here's an interesting quote from the paperback version (p. 104):
I have noticed that if you look carefully at people's eyes the first five secons they look at you, the truth of their feelings will shine through for just an instant before it flickers away.I know the book is a work of fiction, but is there any truth to this? Perhaps there are some bloggers out there have experiences that verify such a statement. If so, I will thank you to share your story here in the comments.
Little Rascals
Even so, it feels like the "He Man Women Haters Club" is being re-installed in the SCOTUS. And I also recall the episode where Spanky goes bug hunting....a lot like swatting terrorists. No matter how many you kill, there are still more to replace the ones you aim for, and, there is a lot of collatteral damage when the killing is done - if it ever stops.
Internet Fritz
We should have new boxes for installment fun shortly and the problem could be remedied as early as Wednesday.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Mid Afternoon Nap for the Insomniac
All Images Copyright Windspike 2005
I took this shot about 3:00 PM mid-July trying to get in a nap while some very rowdy children played downstairs. Alas, no sleep for me. Instead you get this shot I call: Mid Afternoon Nap for the Insomniac.
St. Mary with the Blue Eyes
All Images Copyright Windspike 2005
I didn't feel much like posting on the politcal today. Thus, you get a couple of recent shots I took this month. This one I call St. Mary with the Blue Eyes. I have converted it to black and white, but I think because of the stark color contrasts it works well in full color (what you see here).
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Releasing Documents
What are they trying to hide this time around?
The White House said on Tuesday it will refuse to hand over to the Senate some documents related to Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' legal work for the U.S. government in a sign of a possible partisan battle ahead with Senate Democrats.
Senate Democrats, who have demanded access to relevant information as the confirmation process gets under way in the U.S. Senate, reacted skeptically and demanded more documents.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the administration would make public between 62,000 and 65,000 pages of documents concerning Roberts' work during the Reagan administration. But he said the Justice Department will withhold internal memos generated from 1989 to 1993, during Roberts' work as deputy solicitor general during the presidency of George Bush, father of the current president and a fellow Republican.
It was during this period that Roberts wrote a legal brief on the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized a woman's right to abortion. He said in the brief that "we continue to believe that Roe was wrongly decided and should be overruled."
Monday, July 25, 2005
Bush Naked
PRESIDENT BUSH'S new Supreme Court nominee was a historic first after all: the first to be announced on TV dead center in prime time, smack in the cross hairs of "I Want to Be a Hilton." It was also one of the hastiest court announcements in memory, abruptly sprung a week ahead of the White House's original timetable. The agenda of this rushed showmanship - to change the subject in Washington - could not have been more naked. But the president would have had to nominate Bill Clinton to change this subject...W lacks courage in the worst possible way (see today's Doonesbury comic strip). Unlike the Cowardly Lion who had it all along but didn't realize it, W thinks he is courageous, but in fact, is not. In reality, he is lost any connection to the integrity he and his party espouse and lost his valor long ago when he shirked his responsibility to serve in the military. The man is a shadow of the person elected and shames us all and the office.
...But the scandal has metastasized so much at this point that the forgotten man Mr. Bush did not nominate to the Supreme Court is as much a window into the White House's panic and stonewalling as its haste to put forward the man he did. When the president decided not to replace Sandra Day O'Connor with a woman, why did he pick a white guy and not nominate the first Hispanic justice, his friend Alberto Gonzales? Mr. Bush was surely not scared off by Gonzales critics on the right (who find him soft on abortion) or left (who find him soft on the Geneva Conventions). It's Mr. Gonzales's proximity to this scandal that inspires real fear.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
A source of Inspiration
Ride on.
When Lance Armstrong claimed his first yellow jersey on 3 July 1999 he gave millions of people hope. At the age of 27 the all-American champion proved there was life after cancer. He had ridden the Tour de France before, won stages in fact, but victory in his first appearance since he was struck down by the illness was a triumph of spirit. But surely his time in the overall lead of the world’s biggest bike race wouldn’t last much longer than the first week. Aficionados of the event knew his name and they recognized his weaknesses.
Before cancer, the Texan couldn’t climb and his ability in the time trial was reasonable at best. Tactically he’d made more than one faux-pas. He was a star but not a rider capable of holding onto the ‘maillot jaune’. Lance proved that the cynics were wrong. And he has continued to do so every year. In the final race of his career there was nothing left to prove. At the age of 33 he had eclipsed the efforts of the greatest cyclists in history in the race which matters most.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
One, Eleven, Forty-Six = Seven
Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France's final time trial on Saturday, all but guaranteeing him a seventh consecutive - and last - race victory to round out a stellar career.
Armstrong beat second-placed Jan Ullrich by 23 seconds in the 20th stage to extend his already comfortable race lead - setting him up for a victory ride on the last leg into Paris on Sunday, when the 33-year-old will retire.
Another McMessage from McClellan
Slippery little weasel, isn't he?Q Why does Karl Rove still have security clearance and access to classified documents when he has been revealed as a leaker of a secret agent, according to Time magazine's correspondent?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there is an investigation that continues, and I think the President has made it clear that we're not going to prejudge the outcome of that investigation.
Q You already have the truth.
MR. McCLELLAN: We're not going to prejudge the outcome of that investigation through --
Q Does he have access to security documents?
MR. McCLELLAN: -- through media reports. And these questions came up over the last week --
Q Did he leak the name of a CIA agent?
MR. McCLELLAN: As I was trying to tell you, these questions have been answered.
Q No, they haven't.
Q Let me ask --
MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, David.
Q And they most certainly haven't. I think Helen is right, and the people watching us know that. And related to that, there are now --
MR. McCLELLAN: Let me correct the record. We've said for quite some time that this was an ongoing investigation, and that we weren't going to comment on it, so let me just correct the record.
Q If you want to make the record clear, then you also did make comments when a criminal investigation was underway, you saw fit to provide Karl Rove with a blanket statement of absolution. And that turned out to be no longer accurate --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, and there were preferences expressed by those overseeing the investigation that we refrain from commenting on it while they're continuing to look at -- investigate it.
Q White House officials have been very clear through their attorneys or through other leaks to make it known that it was essentially journalists who educated them about who Valerie Plame was, what she did, and her role in sending her husband to Niger. It has now come to light that in fact White House officials were aware, or at least had access to a State Department memo that the President's own Secretary of State at the time had with him when he was traveling on Air Force One to Africa, which indicated both who she was, what she did, and her role in the Niger trip. So did the White House, in fact, know about her through this memo, or not?
MR. McCLELLAN: I thank you for wanting to proceed ahead with the investigation from this room, but I think that the appropriate place for that to happen is through those who are overseeing the investigation. The President directed us to cooperate fully, and that's exactly what we have been doing and continue to do.
Q But you don't deny that attorneys for Rove and others in the White House are speaking about these matters, creating a lot of these questions, right, that you say you can't speak to?
MR. McCLELLAN: As I said, we're not getting into talking about an ongoing investigation. That's what the President indicated, as well.
Q Can I ask you something on a different topic?
MR. McCLELLAN: Sure.
Your Tax Dollars at Work
My first reaction was "ah, shit." Then I was pissed that my tax dollars are supporting the use of uranium (nuclear weapons) on the people of Iraq. WTF Outloud and outrageous. Ten year old kids getting breast cancer?!? How nice we supported that.
Moby Dick, OBL & W
In the last pages, I got to thinking that Melville was particularly prescient and his work is a marvelous parable reflecting today's political situation. If Osama bin Laden is Moby Dick, that makes W Ahab. This begs the question, if this parallel can be drawn why is it that OBL has been reduced to a secondary or even tertiary concern for W while Ahab never relents. Perhaps it is because W read the book. No, that can't be. He doesn't read.
Here's the segments that got me thinking on this thread. From page 552 of my copy:
"Great God! but for one single instant show thyself, " cried Starbuck; "never, never wilt thou capture him, old man - In Jesus' name no more of this, that's worse than devil's madness. Two days chased; twice stove to splinters; thy very leg once more snatched from under thee; thy evil shadow gone - all good angels moving thee with warnings: - what more wouldst thou have? - Shall we keep chasing this murderous fish till he swamps the last man? Shall we be dragged by him to the bottom of the sea? Shall we be towed by him to the infernal world? Oh, oh, - Impiety and blasphemy to hunt him more!"
..."And as mechanical," muttered Ahab. Then as the men went forward, he muttered on: "the things called omens! And yesterday I talked the same to Starbuck there, concerning my broken boat. Oh! how valiantly I seek to drive out of other's hearts what's clinched so fast in mine! - The Parsee - the Parsee! -gone, gone? and he was to go before: - but still was to be seen againere I could perish - How's that? - There's a riddle now might baffle all the lawyers backed by the ghosts of the whole line of judges: - like a hawk's beak it pecks at my brain. I'll, I'll solve it, though!"
Friday, July 22, 2005
The Plot Thickens
At the same time in July 2003 that a C.I.A. operative's identity was exposed, two key White House officials who talked to journalists about the officer were also working closely together on a related underlying issue: whether President Bush was correct in suggesting earlier that year that Iraq had been trying to acquire nuclear materials from Africa...In addition to ferreting out the original leak, the grand jury is examining the truthfulness of its witnesses, comparing each account with previous testimony. One apparent area of interest is the conflicting accounts given by Mr. Rove and Matthew Cooper, a Time magazine correspondent who has said he spoke to Mr. Rove about Ms. Wilson, about why they spoke on July 11, 2003.
Mr. Rove, said a source familiar with his testimony, told prosecutors that the conversation began under the pretext of discussing welfare reform.
But Mr. Cooper said he had no record or memory of actually talking to Mr. Rove about welfare reform, instead only discussing the Wilson case in their brief chat. The grand jury focused on that apparent discrepancy, Mr. Cooper wrote in an account in Time this week.
If these guys aren't sweating it so far, they should be. This ain't small stuff.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Supporting the Troops?
I spotted this bumper sticker on an Nissan Armada while out and about last week. There was nary a yellow ribbon to be found. I was a bit confused.
Sure, it's got a nice military olive drab hue . And, obviously, the owner likes the W, Rove and Co. But, do you think they really support our troops given that they drive this gas guzzler (bear in mind that the Armada is the largest vehicle that Nissan makes and gets a reported 13 in town MPG)?
Rove the Albatross
As Rove rots, hung round W's neck, perhaps then we will come to know the full truth revealing the ill gotten bounty and blood soaked dollars smashing against the sharp shoals of ethics and moral living espoused but unpracticed by this group.
Let us hope that the smaller of ships is the one that sinks rather than the whole of the mighty America, for we certainly cannot afford to let the albatross foul our fine country. It is time for the republican majority to rid our fair nation of the dead albatross. It is their beast made and their burden to rectify.
Lucky
As I crossed the street a set of emergency vehicles, sirens full scream, blazed up the road. Responding to, perhaps, another alarm and cry for help. Again, I felt lucky, and thankful that my tax dollars support such services. Simultaneously, I was ashamed for people who spend a great deal of energy (and large sums of money to their accountants) skirting their responsibility to pay their taxes.
With the political scene fouled with so much negativity, partisan power plays and top-level smear and run leak campaigns, it is easy to slip into a negative perspective and take all for granted. That we actually have government that can be replaced without violence, again, I feel lucky.
For the roads, the trails, and the parks and the beaches; for my family and friends; for the police and fire fighters, and even in spite of recent terrorist attacks abroad, I feel relatively safe, again, I feel lucky.
To have been born here, in this country, indeed, I am lucky, and thankful. But for one small twist of fate, I could have been born to some other family, some other state.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Not from this Planet
"It's true - there is only one Lance Armstrong. The more I watch him the more I realize that he's not from this planet," said Savoldelli, a two-time winner of the Giro d'Italia, in 2002 and 2005.
Treason: In the Eye of the Beholder
With an ever shrinking ethical standard for employment with the W, Rove and Co. (from no leaks tolerated, to people who leak being fired, to only convicted criminals let go), let's refresh our memories of the definition of Treason (Stipulated in Article Three of the US Constitution - Section 3):
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.Or by law:
In law, treason is the crime of disloyalty to one's nation. A person who reneges on an oath of loyalty or a pledge of allegiance, and in some way willfully cooperates with an enemy, is considered to be a traitor. Oran's Dictionary of the Law (1983) defines treason as: "...[a]...citizen's actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the [parent nation]."Now with Scott (McMessage) McClellon (click on the 18 July 2005 press briefing audio) obfuscating and setting the stage to blame the press - or anyone else besides Rove - for the leaking of Plame's name ( you can view text of the briefing as well), who's to say if Rove committed treason? In the end, the results of the Grand Jury investigation should be interesting to review.
Perhaps determining whether a person has committed treason is as gray an area as finding an activist judge you can get behind for the supreme court. Shouldn't the Whitehouse have a higher, rather than lower, moral and ethical standard for employment than simply not employing criminals?
Incidentally, with a great number of very well qualified women sitting on benches today, why didn't GWB have the courage to nominate a woman to replace Justice O'Connor.
Back in the Game
Let's start off on a light hearted note with a nice spam induced joke brought to me via another friend who thought it was quite funny - Enjoy:
How many members of the Bush Administration does it take to change a light bulb?
1. One to deny that a light bulb needs to be changed.
2. One to attack the patriotism of anyone who says the light bulb needs to be changed.
3. One to blame Clinton for burning out the light bulb.
4. One to tell the nations of the world that they are either responsible for changing the light bulb or for darkness.
5. One to give a billion dollar no-bid contract to Haliburton for the new light bulb.
6. One to arrange a photograph of Bush, dressed as a janitor, standing on a stepladder under the banner: Lightbulb Change Accomplished.
7. One administration insider to resign and write a book documenting in detail how Bush was literally in the dark.
8. One to viciously smear #7.
9. One surrogate to campaign on TV and at rallies on how George Bush has had a strong light bulb changing policy all along.
10. And finally one to confuse Americans about the difference between screwing a light bulb and screwing the country.
Friday, July 08, 2005
Stuck?
As a stay-at-home parent, sometimes you are in the right place at the right time for a fun snap shot. This is my son, being a silly goose as usual. So, I thought I would leave you for the next couple of weeks with a bit of humor and a nice look at the Kid's three year old feet.
Five Questions
1 - Are the current batch of "Conservatives" in elected office truly conservative?
2 - Is Karl Rove a National hero or some brand of evil?
3 - If Karl Rove is truly behind dirty politics and unethical (and some would consider illegal) activities sprung from the Whitehouse, why is it that he has never been caught with his hand in the cookie jar?
4 - How are we going to extricate our troops from Iraq without screwing the Iraqis doing it?
5 - What is it about W that cause ordinarily smart thinking people to fall in line and support him, still?
Don't Stare Too Long Into the Fire
"I have sat before the dense coal fire and watched it all aglow, full of its tormented flaming life; and I have seen it wane at last, down, down to the dumbest dust. Old man of oceans! of all this fiery life of thine; what will at length remain but one little heap of ashes!"For regular readers, know that I will be with out internet access for a couple of weeks. Fear not, for I will return to regular posts when the faucets get turned back on. Until then, delve deep into the archive, or read some of the folks on the blogroll, but remember, don't stare too long into the fire.
'Aye," cried Stubb, "but sea-coal ashes - mind ye that, Mr. Starbuck - sea-coal, not your common charcoal. Well, well! I heard Ahab mutter, 'Here some one thrusts these cards into these old hands of mine; swears that I must play them, and no others.' And damn me, Ahab, but thou actest right; live in the game, and die in it!"
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Terrorism & Terrorists
Beyond that, these thugs are unable to move beyond ejaculating all over themselves to produce another or die doing it. There is an infinite number of ways to perpetrate some kind of terrorist act, and the very act of trying to prevent one kind of terrorist act only begets something you were not prepared for at all. These buggers are as creative as they are malicious.
Even incarcerated, terrorists work to emotionally threaten by any means necessary. It is readily apparent they respect no one, not even their own lives. Perhaps the best end to a terrorist is a dead end, but the question then turns: Does the killing of people to prove that killing people is wrong lead only to more killing of people?
Indeed, we control our own response to such acts and standing together with great purpose and resolve is the best reply. The people of England and, more specifically, London rise together in the face of great tragedy and serve as roll models to all. Those things that do not kill us make us stronger. Those things that kill people we know, hurt & hurt hard, but strengthen our resolve to put those who would perpetrate terrorism asunder.
Anyway, I thought folks in the blogisphere might like to see a different perspective on the detainees at Guantanamo, possibliy giving us a look at the mentality of these so called terrorists:
Last week, I was privileged to be part of a Department of Defense trip to the Joint Task Force - Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I got to see the operations of this “controversial” facility up-close – something particularly important after Sen. Richard Durbin’s comparison of its guard to Nazi stormtroopers and calls of leftists to shut the center down. Our group went to GITMO to check out tales that the military was being too tough on these terrorist detainees. We left convinced that America is being extraordinarily lenient – far too lenient. After speaking with soldiers, sailors, and civilians who collectively staff Gitmo, I left convinced that abuse definitely exists at the detention facilities, and it typically fails to receive the press attention it deserves: it’s the relentless, merciless attacks on American servicemen and women by these terrorist thugs. Many of the orange jumpsuit-clad detainees fight their captors at every opportunity, openly bragging of their desire to kill Americans. One has promised that, if released, he would find MPs in their homes through the internet, break into their houses at night, and “cut the throats of them and their families like sheep.” Others claim authority and vindication to kill women, children, and other innocents who oppose their jihadist mission authorized by the Koran (the same one that hangs in every cell from a specially-designed holder intended to protect it from a touching the cell floor – all provided at U.S. taxpayer expense). One detainee was heard to tell another: “One day I will enjoy sucking American blood, although their blood is bitter, undrinkable….” These recalcitrant detainees are known euphemistically as being “non-compliant.” They attack guards whenever the soldiers enter their cells, trying to reach up under protective facemasks to gouge eyes and tear mouths. They make weapons and try to stab the guards or grab and break limbs as the guards pass them food.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
You Know you have a Problem When Your Liver is Turning into Pate
You have got to know that there is a problem with your food when the salad you are eating has more calories than the Big Mac and the french fries don't grow mold - even after thirty days in a jar (see suggestion 1, above).
Incidentially, Morgan Spurlock - the guy who ate McDonald's for thirty days and made the movie - blogs. Check him out.
W used Calvin College as a Political Pawn
As it turns out, Calvin was not necessarily going to invite the President to give the talk. They, in fact, had someone else already lined up to give the address. W's "handlers" picked Calvin and only then did Calvin issue and invitation formalizing the deal (at the great expense mandated by the W, Rove and Co. of 50K for upgrades to handle the extra security and press).
If you ask me, every venue that the President uses to promulgate his agenda is suspect - and that is a sad statement. If everything a person does is for political gain, in front of audiences that are supposed to agree with the positions, that tarnishes his actions and discredits his mission.
The Article is longer, but I thought I would give you the the whole segment from the Chronicle of Higher Education, since you need to pay for a subscription to get the full article:
It's not so much that Calvin College chose President Bush to speak at its graduation ceremony this year. It was more that the White House chose Calvin College.The evangelical, 4,300-student college in Michigan has played host to a few White House officials over the years at its Paul B. Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics. Through those relationships, Calvin earned a positive reputation among members of the Bush administration, says Phil de Haan, director of media relations at the college.
"Some White House officials thought our campus was the kind of place that would be a good fit for President Bush," he says.
The president traditionally gives two graduation speeches each year, rotating one of the addresses among the military academies, and choosing one other college.
Although colleges extend formal invitations to the president, it is his handlers who choose the politically strategic locations where he will speak -- a process usually amplified during an election year. For example, when Democrats took aim at the Republicans' stronghold in the South during the presidential campaign last year, Mr. Bush gave the address at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge.
This year the White House made it known through Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers, a Michigan Republican, that the president was interested in giving a commencement address at Calvin.
"After that, we extended an invitation to him," Mr. de Haan says, adding that the college spent an estimated $50,000 to meet White House demands for better lighting, a new backdrop behind the podium, and extra telephone and Internet connections for a temporary media center.
Before the president formally accepted the invitation to speak in late April, the college had already asked Nicholas P. Wolterstorff, a former Calvin professor and alumnus of the institution, to give the address.
Mr. Wolterstorff, who recently retired as a professor of philosophy at Yale University, told The New York Times that he was "a Yale professor being bumped by a Yale graduate with a very average college record," adding that he planned to stay home and garden instead of attending the ceremony. (Calvin officials say that Mr. Wolterstorff has accepted an invitation to speak at next year's ceremony.)
Mr. Wolterstorff wasn't the only one who was annoyed. On graduation day The Grand Rapids Press published a letter signed by 120 Calvin professors criticizing President Bush for, among other things, the war in Iraq, and arguing that some of his policies "favor the wealthy of our society and burden the poor."
A speech that would have probably amounted to a brief mention on the nightly news generated national buzz about the tiny college for days. Mr. de Haan, for one, didn't mind.
"The attention of the national media gave people a chance to better understand who we are because I think most people only knew us as a fundamentalist Christian college," he says. "We received a lot of e-mail saying that it was refreshing to see this kind of discussion taking place here. Honestly, this kind of dialogue happens all the time, because we have room for a variety of viewpoints."
Conservative
I was thinking about this on my AM run. Usually, I like those in favor of conservation - land, open space, green space, energy, money, water, etc... But the dissonence for me has been in the actions taken by self proclaimed conservatives that is anything but related to conservation of any kind. As the President of the USA ratchets up the National Debt after being left with fiscal surplus under Clinton, isn't the label conservative really a misnomer for persons in the W, Rove and Co?
What is wrong with the so called Conservatives in America and why are the real ones letting their leadership go so far astray of the Conservative Agenda?
Which One of the SCOTUS Justicies is an Activist?
Slice:
We found that justices vary widely in their inclination to strike down Congressional laws. Justice Clarence Thomas, appointed by President George H. W. Bush, was the most inclined, voting to invalidate 65.63 percent of those laws; Justice Stephen Breyer, appointed by President Bill Clinton, was the least, voting to invalidate 28.13 percent. The tally for all the justices appears below.Thomas 65.63 %
Kennedy 64.06 %
Scalia 56.25 %
Rehnquist 46.88 %
O’Connor 46.77 %
Souter 42.19 %
Stevens 39.34 %
Ginsburg 39.06 %
Breyer 28.13 %One conclusion our data suggests is that those justices often considered more "liberal" - Justices Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter and John Paul Stevens - vote least frequently to overturn Congressional statutes, while those often labeled "conservative" vote more frequently to do so. At least by this measure (others are possible, of course), the latter group is the most activist.
To say that a justice is activist under this definition is not itself negative. Because striking down Congressional legislation is sometimes justified, some activism is necessary and proper. We can decide whether a particular degree of activism is appropriate only by assessing the merits of a judge's particular decisions and the judge's underlying constitutional views, which may inspire more or fewer invalidations...
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
W in Drag?
W, doing his best Scarlett O'Hara drag, or is he giving yet another ridiculous speech? No one likes a heterosexual in drag, let alone a "conservative"...but I digress.
Let's see, we invade Iraq, and that is simililar to the American Revolution, how?
Slice:
The challenges that America faces in Iraq, President Bush said at an outdoor rally here on Monday, are like those that confronted the country on its first Independence Day."On July 4, 1776, more than five years of the Revolutionary War still lay ahead," Mr. Bush said.
"From the battle of New York, to the winter at Valley Forge, to the victory at Yorktown, our forefathers faced terrible losses and hardships. Yet they kept their resolve," he said. "They kept their faith in a future of liberty, and with their hard-won victory, we guaranteed a home for the Declaration's proposition that all are created equal.
End Slice:
If you ask me, this man is working to denegrate our forefathers and severly under represents the work that true Patriots did to build this great nation.
Brits plan to Leave Iraq, Why Can't We?
The Ministry of Defence has drafted plans for a significant withdrawal of British troops from Iraq over the next 18 months and a big deployment to Afghanistan, the Financial Times has learnt.This sounds like a decent plan, and more bad news for the US - meaning, we won't be getting our troops home or out of Iraq, at least, any time soon.
In what would represent the biggest operational shake-up involving the armed forces since the Iraq war, the first stage of a run-down in military operations is likely to take place this autumn with a handover of security to Iraqis in at least two southern provinces.
Defence officials emphasised that all plans for Iraqi deployments were contingent on the ability of domestic security forces to assume peacekeeping duties from UK troops. Iraqi forces have so far proven unable to take over such roles in areas where the insurgency is most intense, and progress has disappointed coalition officials.
But senior UK officers believe the four south-east provinces under UK command, which are largely Shia and have not seen the same violence as more Sunni-dominated areas north of Baghdad, may be ready for a handover earlier than those under US command.