All that's needed is for something to happen to rile the 'mahdi' army and the ceasefire will end, as well as some Iraqi leader to demand "America tear down these Walls!" and the Real Purposes for the 'surge', i.e. Escalation, will be no more!

As the world turns and seasons come and go, the Afghanistan adventure remains a disastrous quagmire.

Except, of course, in the feverish minds of those (neocon) cheerleading supporters of this FUBAR and dedicated Bush supporters/emulators/followers, such as Canada's very own Defense Minister Peter McKay (emphasis mine):

Americans are capable of building and leading a strategy to change the character of America’s public policy to one that successfully wages peace via pushing People’s Lobby’s citizen-initiated American World Service Corps (AWSC) Congressional Proposals.  For a nation founded on "We the people..." having citizen-initiated legislation change the world should not be considered too far "out of the box."

Ima Notherhoare slipped into her Manolo Blahniks, looked in the mirror and smiled.  Admiring herself in the mirror was the closest she got to self-reflection.  Self-reflection was an occupational hazard in her line of work.  That way led madness...

It is now official: every single justification behind the Afghanistan War and its seeming never ending occupation have been disavowed - by the very politicos that have been not only responsible for the lauching and conduct of this war, but likewise by those who have been staunchly supporting this conflict.

In other words: the Afghanistan war was absolutely for nothing.

Seven veterans under VA's care commit suicide

They served their country honorably but after risking their life in combat abroad, coping with coming home was too much. In the last three months seven servicemen being treated by Spokane's VA Hospital have committed suicide.

Iraq

Contractors operate equipment under the crackle of automatic weapon fire and with the protection of M-1 tanks, Stryker vehicles and Apache helicopters. The workers in this case are constructing a series of walls to block certain areas of Sadr City, the vast Shi'ite slum in Baghdad.

Dozens of walls have already been built around Baghdad, the southern city of Basra and other Iraqi cities, creating segregated ethnic Sunni and Shi'ite neighborhoods ringed with checkpoints and command posts. The latest flurry of construction activity has little to do with nation building, but rather is more related to a deteriorating security environment.

Conn Hallinan who is a Foreign Policy In Focus  columnist has a writeup over at Foreign Policy in Focus, go figure.

It's titled Basra: Echoes of Vietnam, and while some is about the recent cheney debacle in Basra, and yep he had to have requested the Iraqi action in his resent visit, looks too much like what he's done these past 7plus years, in short it shows the ignorance and failed policy decisions, once again, that this Nation has been subject to as we destroy others.

MAKE MAYDAY A "NO PEACE, NO WORK HOLIDAY"!

The following was written by Jack Heyman a longshoreman who works on the Oakland docks

Longshoremen to close ports on West Coast to protest war

What are your plans for Saturday, April 12th, 2008?  Lazy day watching hockey?  Going out to enjoy the Spring weather?  Perhaps working the second job you need to afford food and fuel in Bush's America?

Well, whatever you do, take a few moments to ridicule Mark Steyn.  In case you are blissfully unaware of this internationally-famous wanker, he's a Canadian, living in Britain who writes godawful neo-conservative opinion columns that make Ann Coulter look like the Oracle at Delphi.

Five years ago, Saturday, Steyn's column was entitled, "Movers and shakers have moved on to the next 'disaster'."  It contained 10 cautionary predictions made by various knowledgeable anti-war analysts and addressed each one with a breezy, "That's not going to happen" contradiction.  Here's an example:

3. "Iraqis Now Waiting for Americans to Leave" (AP, April 10). MBITRW: There will be terrible acts of suicide-bomber depravity in the months ahead, but no widespread resentment at or resistance of the Western military presence.

and the cease-fire may be called off as well.

Via AP writer SINAN SALAHEDDIN

Iraqi government forces and Shiite militia fighters clashed anew Tuesday despite a government ultimatum to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to either disband his Mahdi Army or give up politics.
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Meanwhile, security forces were reported to be blocking al-Sadr's supporters from traveling to Baghdad from outlying areas to attend an anti-U.S. rally scheduled for Wednesday.

and via AP writer ABDUL-HUSSEIN AL-OBEIDI

Two aides in al-Sadr's office in the holy city of Najaf told The Associated Press that the rally had been canceled. They spoke on condition of anonymity pending an official announcement.

Al-Sadr had called for a "million-strong" protest to mark the fifth anniversary of the capture of Baghdad by U.S. troops. It was seen by many observers as a show of force in his confrontation with the government over calls to disband his Mahdi Army militia.

Via the BBC

Nouri Maliki told CNN that the cleric's movement would not be allowed to take part in elections unless it disbanded its militia, the Mehdi Army.

This looks to be a "what I can't do by force of arms, I will do by force of state power" situation to me.  The quote from al Maliki:

"We have opened the door for confrontation, a real confrontation with these gangs, and we will not stop until we are in full control of these areas," he said.

I'm not sure if Sadr will plan to split the movement into a political / unarmed one and an armed branch (IRA/Sinn Fein).

Rep. Wexler - I'd like you to ask Gen. Petrateus about this!!

A few days ago we get this:

U.S. Wants British 'Surge' In S. Iraq: Paper

And why, because:

It quoted an unnamed senior U.S .military source saying: "Three big militias are currently engaged in a particularly bloody battle in southern Iraq.

Sen. Robert Byrd has a request posted over at Huffington Post, the title is his.

He hasn't Waivered as apparently many in this Country have!

So, we have been in Iraq for 5 years now.  When does our presence there, with all of the death and destruction, become a crime against humanity?  When do our actions there become too heinous for the world, as a community, to ignore?  When do our previous allies in this war turn to us and say "Not only am I not going to support you in what you're doing in Iraq, but I now vehemently oppose it."?  When does America, you and I, lose its right to claim innocence and naivete in this matter?  We're 5 years into this quagmire, and we're up to our elbows in the blood of Iraqi citizens.

On this day, 3-19-08, the 5th anniversary of the Occupation of Iraq, some may attend the thousands of candlelight vigils around the country.

Some may have other vigils of remembrance planned.

Some may write of their feelings.

Some may have other ways to observe and remember the Fallen and Maimed of our Military and the Tens of Thousands of the Innocent Killed and Maimed and Millions thrust into refugee status due to our countries Failed Policies.

Some may do nothing.

Dick Cheney is at it again. He is trying to force the intel brain trust into doing to Iran what he managed to do to Iraq. In September of 2002, Cheney assigned the newly created Office of Special Plans to Doug Feith, a man accurately described as the stupidest fucker on the face of this planet.

Feith stove-piped intel, removing anything contrary to Cheney's wishes. By mangling, changing and ignoring all data that did not fit the desired goal, along with the help of the criminal Ahmad Chalabi and a nutcase code-named "Curveball",  a sense of fear and insecurity was created by the White House. Condi Rice, then Nat. Sec. Chair, Cheney, and others beat the pavement, leaked false intel, and used and abused  the media harder than an overworked hooker at a frat-based bachelor party.

What Bush and Cheney don't like to talk about is how Iran offered to help eradicate the Taliban and Al Qaida, to recognize Israel,  and to open up diplomatic dialogues on every issue that was causing strife between Iran and the US.

One month later, Bush called Iran part of the Axis of Evil. History is about to repeat itself.

Some collections of letters that ought to be words.

Kosiness (n): the reality that is empirically observed and understood with liberal tools such as logic and reason.  Usage example:  "Kosiness cannot be denied by those who think they can create their own reality or make a falsehood into truth by loud, obnoxious repetition."  Antonym: truthiness.  

Kosality (n): The relationship between cause and effect, epsecially as it related to the lies of the administration bringing about disastrous outcomes in every walk of life.

Antikos (n): A mythical Kosophobic fantasy creature (also known as the Seventh Succubus of the Apocalypse) with the hideous head of Paul Wolfowitz, the cold heart of Grover Norquist, the devious brain of Karl Rove, all in the wraith-like body of Ann Coulter.  Carries the shotgun and aiming ability of Dick Cheney.  Legend has it that the Antikos will arise when the Rapture Index breaks 222.

there's more?  Over the fold to the punitentiary...