Two news items. One says the Pentagon, according to Bush's faithful servant General Pace's testimony to Congress, has made no plans in the event Congress votes for withdrawal. Guess they feel sure Congress ain't going to.
NPR investigated Pace’s statements and found one scenario being considered within the Pentagon would maintain a strong U.S. military presence in Iraq for several decades into the future.
The other story has it that, come this summer, US forces can expect big casualties. Not because they have hit on the brilliant strategy of getting our troops surrounded on all sides by enemies, but because Iran is teaming up with al qaeda and Sunni insurgents to hit the US hard. So as to take advantage of the opposition in Congress.
We know it's so, because "an official" said so. I'm not shittin' you.
The headline and lead paragraph:
Iran's secret plan for summer offensive to force US out of Ira
Iran is secretly forging ties with al-Qaida elements and Sunni Arab militias in Iraq in preparation for a summer showdown with coalition forces intended to tip a wavering US Congress into voting for full military withdrawal, US officials say.
...The official said US commanders were bracing for a nationwide, Iranian-orchestrated summer offensive, linking al-Qaida and Sunni insurgents to Tehran's Shia militia allies, that Iran hoped would trigger a political mutiny in Washington and a US retreat.
....Any US decision to retaliate against Iran on its own territory could be taken only at the highest political level in Washington, the official said. But he indicated that American patience was wearing thin.
...Washington analysts and commentators predict that {i.e., are setting the state for} Gen Petraeus's report to the White House and Congress in early September will be a pivotal moment ...a decision to begin a troop drawdown or continue with the surge policy will hinge on the outcome....
Notice the time line there? Here is the wisdom being imparted to us--the coming US casualties, heavier than we've ever seen will be the result of this:
The Iranians, who are in the catbird's seat in Iraq, are going to team up with al qaeda who has declared the Shia infidels worthy of extermination and who has, we are told, been bombing Iraq's Shia mosques. That's not enough though. They and al qaeda will join with the Sunni insurgents, who are currently warring against al qaeda in Sunni areas, and who themselves are killing Shia by the dozens and the gross. The Iranians are going to do this.
The stage is being set for war and more war, my fellow Americans. Regardless of the toothless noises of Congress. Regardless of bi-partisanship. Regardless of the interests of America. Whether you like it, or don't like it. Whether you accept it, or you don't accept it.
Here's something true: we have been seeing a near-doubling of casualties in Iraq. That will probably more than double soon, as it has been repeated numerous times by various generals and studies that the US military will be at breakdown point this summer. But it won't be Bush's fault. It will be the Iranians. We'll know because Bush will tell the Media, and the Media will tell us.
Now that was from the Iran story. Back to the Pentagon's plans for decades story.
The plan, the lily pad strategy, will leave 30-40,000 US troops in Iraq for decades with these three tasks
- Training Iraq forces, 2) Preserving economic interests, as “Iraq obviously {sits} on the second largest reserve of oil in the world,” and 3) Providing a U.S. military “presence” to deter Iran and Turkey from “getting involved” after withdrawal.
The story concludes with the salient point of this news:
While 60 percent of Americans are calling for a withdrawal of the U.S. from Iraq, the Pentagon is instead making preparations for an unending occupying presence.
What to say? Yes, it's old news, and it's buttressed by the recent stories (which are themselves old news.???) on the Prime Castle US Embassy. And the base building.
As Fela Anikulapo Kuti sang "Add it together, give me the answer." He was singing about Nigeria's "Army Arrangement."
When I add it together here, I get "Fuck You American People, you've got no say in what happens in America."
George Bush and those close to him are simultaneously planning to stay in Iraq for decades--long long past the time the American people have said "get out" and long past, indeed, his own Presidency. How can you make these plans--no, let's be clear--be actualizing these plans when neither Congress nor the people want us to be in Iraq.
How can we get stories that are clearly propaganda, on a par with "Saddam and bin Laden working together" at this late date?
Where is the US Congress, where are the Democrats, making it clear and irrevocable that ultimately the people will decide whether and when we will have wars? Because it certainly seems someone has made all these decisions already. Without us.