Clark: Well, they didn't bring more troops out to Anbar. What they did is the Saudis, basically in 2005, gave up on the U.S. policy, and they started working directly with the tribes. I went through the region in 2004 and 2005. I went through each of the Gulf States. I talked to the leaders and they said, 'You Americans are crazy. You're ignoring the tribes.' The Saudis put money behind it. They worked the tribes, and that helped bring the condition which made the Sunni Awakening possible.

Scarborough: So, so General, you are crediting the Saudis with success in Western Iraq. You're crediting Iran with success in Eastern Iraq. I think that's giving short shrift for what the troops did.

Clark: No, I don't think so. I think the troops are a very, very important part of this, but I think you have to look at whole situation in there, Joe.

Source: http://securingamerica.com/...
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All I can say, as an educator and as one concerned with freedom of speech and belief, is yikes! This is my response to a report, in Slate, on the biased language of Saudi textbooks.

This is partially paid for by petrodollars each time we used petrolium.

As you all probably know, Al Gore challenged the United States two days ago to end our dependence on foreign oil within a decade. Whether or not we reach Gore's target, the Middle East's days as the energy breadbasket of the planet are numbered-in two or three decades, the US will probably be getting the majority of its energy from domestic renewable sources such as solar and wind. How this will happen, and its impact on US and western society, has been discussed ad nauseum both here and on other internet forums. What recieves much less attention is the impact this will have on the Middle East itself.
**Disclamer** I'm a second-year college student. Though I'm specializing in Middle Eastern history and hope to eventually be an expert in the subject, I'm not now. The material for this diary comes from what I've gathered through news sources and outside reading.**

If McCain didn't have gays and the mullahs, he couldn't get elected.  But the promise of tax cuts and constant reminders of evil-doers might get it done:

Once upon a time there was a f****d up Connecticut trust fund kid who was so f****d up that he could even f**k up getting f****d up. In fact he got so f****d up he had to stop getting f****d up, although that did not stop him from continuing to be a massive, world-class f**k up in all other respects.

Afterwards daddy’s firm got him various jobs, like it had before, but now they let him out in public, first in Texas and then in Washington. Eventually he had the Preznitcy stolen on his behalf under the cover of the robes of the Supreme Court. Good thing his handlers didn’t let him try to do it himself. He’d have f****d it up.

Hezbollah recently occupied a string of locations in the mountain chain that begins in the Lebanese town of Jezzine and extends throughout the mountainous region of Sannine.  Violent actions against residents, hikers and picnickers in the area accompanied the action.  That region of Lebanon really holds no strategic importance to the borders or in their fight with Israel, although it is in the middle southern region of the nation.  Hezbollah took a week to issue a statement on the upswing in the number of forces in those remote areas.  In the statement they claimed the forces were there to counter any Israeli airdrops into the remote regions.  It soon became clear to the Lebanese Army Intelligence Directorate that Hezbollah's claim was false, and that the group has increased fighter levels in the Oyoun al-Simane and Jbeil mountainous regions as well.

What are they really doing there?
They are preparing for a war to prevent any Lebanese resistance to aiding Iranian interests.  The perceived threats to Iran from Israel and the U.S., if carried out, will likely lead to a much larger conflict than the public anticipates.  It will be like all wars: terrible.

More after the flip.

Cross-posted at Blue Jersey.

First, I want to wish you all a Happy 4th of July. I’ve been thinking about the meaning of Independence Day, a day on which we as a people publicly declared our desire to be masters of our own destiny, to chart our own course as a free and independent society no longer under the control of others. For 232 years we Americans have done just that. We have governed ourselves, and I’d say that our record is one in which we can justly take a great deal of pride.

On this 4th of July, I’ve also been thinking about another kind of independence, namely energy independence. We are a strong country with our best days yet ahead of us. Right now, however, we face tremendous problems because we are deeply dependent on foreign oil. And we’re not just importing oil from friendly democracies like Canada, but from places like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela, countries who have very different values and interests from our own.

More after the jump.

I've been thinking about this for some time. Today I came across a fox news article that alleges that government officials from Iraq have confirmed annonymously that Hezbollah has been actively training the so called Shiite special groups loyal to Al-Sadr in Iraq. If this is indeed true, then we are engaged in a proxy war not just against Iran, but against militant Shiite ideology in the Middle East. We are also at war with militant Sunni ideology but have some Sunni allies. I don't think the same can be said of the Shiites. So essentially what we are seeing and have all but set the stage for with our disastrous invasion of Iraq is a 3 way war between the U.S. and our Sunni government allies vs the Sunni insurgency vs Iran and the Shiite Insurgency. We have a huge mess on our hands and there is no end in sight. Sorry to say.

BAGHDAD —  Hezbollah instructors trained Shiite militiamen at remote camps in southern Iraq until three months ago when they slipped across the border to Iran — presumably to continue instruction on Iranian soil, according to two Shiite lawmakers and a top army officer.

Fox News Story - Iraqi Officials: Hezbollah, Iran Training Shiites in Art of Terrorism

From the first I have had the feeling that Dubya is a puppet of Saudi Arabia.

He was a failed oilman.  Son of a President.  A good choice for a puppet.

There is the story that on 9/11 when all other planes were grounded he considered it important to get the Ben Laden relatives out of the country.  Why did he even know them?

Of all of the dictators in the world why was Sadam Hussein so important - Was it because he was perceived as a danger to Saudi Arabia, his neighbor?  The two countries have had a disputed border for decades.  Did Bush send 4000 American boys to their death to protect the Saudi throne?

And then there are the internal  policies.  Why has he opposed any form of conservation, and moves to remove America from oil dependency.  Why on earth has he defined conservation as anything other than a conservative policy?  Does his master want him to keep the U.S. dependent on Saudi oil?

This is all not particularly well articulated.  Just ideas that have been running around the back of my brain.  

What do you think?

fake news from www.richieville.com

Oil Countries Deadlocked
Should They Be Obscenely Wealthy Or Just Filthy Rich?

Richieville News Service - JIDDA, SAUDI ARABIA
Hopes for a breakthrough that would halt soaring energy prices were dashed today when oil exporters meeting here could not agree on exactly how stinking rich they should be. The emergency global energy summit ended without a hoped-for agreement to increase oil production. Instead, the representatives remained deadlocked, split between those who said that rolling in dough was sufficient for them at this time and others who maintained that they needed more money than they knew what to do with.

This is the first time in my life that I have ever agreed with the often contemptuous Dick Morris. So, just this one time, Dick Morris gets my respect. It's scary! Read down to the bottom highlighted portion of Morris' editorial for the reason that Bush is doing this. It's not at all shocking!

Why is Bush Entertaining Abu Dhabi Crown Prince?
A Commentary By Dick Morris

Saturday, June 28, 2008
Why is the president of the United States entertaining Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince, Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at Camp David when his own State Department has singled out the Sheik’s homeland, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), for its continuing violations of human rights?

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/...

An April 10 New York Times article of this year explored the apparently sudden reversal of the trend toward "democratization" in the Middle East.  With fairly recent elections in Iraq, Egypt, and the Palestinian areas, a trend toward democracy was touted.  The king of Jordan and others were also promising reform.

Now a short time later, the trend seems to have played itself out.

Like everything, the key is Iraq.  Iraq is the US model for democracy in the Middle East whether we want it to be or not.  And it's a model everyone is shying away from.

In many countries, the gusher of oil money makes it easier to focus on economic development instead.  Other countries are confronted by the fact that the people may want to vote for radical Muslims with possible terrorist sympathies.

Surprise visit yesterday from THE DUDE, the real one, not the character in The Big Lebowski....though that's who the character is based on--Jeff Dowd, the Dude. He dropped in to do KCRW's Guest DJ Project, and let me know he's a big fan of Left, Right and Center! Check the real DUDE out here: www.jeffdowd.com Meantime, today's show is: Guns and SCOTUS; North Korea and Nukes; Oil; Democratic Unity; Obamacons. Guest right is Jim Antle, Assoc. Editor of the conservative American Spectator Magazine. Here's today's show, some highlights below: KCRW's Left, Right and Centerwww.jeffdowd.com

Just when you think you've heard it all, here comes a Saudi Arabian perspective on how to have a good marriage.

Saudi marriage officiant Dr. Ahmad al-Mu’bi told Lebanese television viewers last week that it’s permissible for girls as young as 1 to marry — as long as sex is postponed.

Original article is on Fox.

The corporate media spews out a daily stream of propaganda, but so much of it is taken for granted by is readership it's rarely seen as such. A typical example from the Washington Post today discusses al-Hurra, the Arabic-language television network financed by the U.S. government. Now at first, you might think this is a wonderful example of the "free press"; after all, the basis for the article is how "the station is widely regarded as a flop in the Arab world, where it has struggled to attract viewers and overcome skepticism about its mission." But in the course of reading that, you're forced to put up with such propagandistic nuggets as how al-Hurra is "the centerpiece of a U.S. government campaign to spread democracy in the Middle East" (as if!). You also read the preposterous assertion that "propaganda has become a primary front in the war against terrorism, with the United States and al-Qaeda each investing heavily to win over hearts and minds." Yeah, "propaganda" and several hundred billion dollars worth of bombs and bullets.

Saudi Arabia has announced, once again, that it was increasing production:

Saudi Arabia confirmed it would pump 9.7m barrels a day next month, an increase of 200,000 and the highest level in nearly 30 years, as it repeated its standard offer of extra barrels if customers demanded them.

The kingdom also reiterated its promise to expand production capacity, noting that it expects to achieve 12.5m b/d next year and could add an additional 2.5m barrels – if needed – after that with a massive investment programme.

And of course, we can believe them!

Saudi Arabia's oil production reaches 10.8 mln bpd

RIYADH, July 31 [2007] (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia's crude oil production capacity has reached 10.8 million barrels per day (bpd), the country's state oil company Saudi Aramco announced Monday.

(...)

Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil producer and exporter and plans to raise its production capacity to 12.5 million bpd in 2009.

Tune in online or on air: live at 2:30 and 7 pm Pacific time 89.9 FM in SoCal, www.KCRW.com around the world. Obama announces he won’t take public funding-- is campaign finance reform dead? Is it good news or bad news when more Americans add their dollars to elections? Would offering every voter a voucher to apply to whatever they support make Goldman Sachs’ money less influential? Should we start offshore drilling to offset the increase in oil prices? Or is that just more backward thinking, promoting further environmental ruin for not much of a difference in supply or demand? And finally, does China’s Communist-party controlled economic growth prove that America’s liberal capitalism is no longer a role model for the world’s developing powers? Tony’s just back from a trip there and shares his observations.

my political cartoons