:: NEWS COCKTAIL aka BlahBlahBlog ::
"Everything is being compressed into tiny tablets. You take a little pill of news every day - 23 minutes - and that's supposed to be enough." -Walter Cronkite, RE TV news. The Web has changed that for many, however, and here is an extra dose for your daily news cocktail. This prescription tends to include surveillance and now war-related links, along with the occasional pop culture junk and whatever else seizes my attention as I scan online news sites.:: 6.30.2005 ::
:: "We needed an exit plan, not another pep talk" ::
From The San Jose Mercury News
On the one-year anniversary of when the Iraqis took back control of their government, Americans deserved to hear a plan for getting out of Iraq. Not a firm deadline, mind you, but at least a clear strategy for a phased withdrawal.
Instead, on Tuesday, President Bush gave a plea for patience and a pep talk based on an underlying deception. It was a frustrating speech to listen to.
Bush had nothing new to offer. He went on prime time because support for the war is waning, and skepticism within his party is rising.
The president soberly acknowledged the ongoing chaos in Baghdad. He did not repeat the lie of his vice president, who characterized the insurgency last week as in its ``last throes.''
But Bush once again offered a false justification for the war by tying it to Sept. 11. Iraq, he said, is the latest battleground in the war against Al-Qaida, from which there can be no retreat.
There are thousands of foreign jihadists wreaking havoc in Iraq, which is why American troops are stuck there for now.
There was no Al-Qaida link to prewar Iraq, just as there were no weapons of mass destruction. The American occupation has become a magnet for Islamic terrorists. They've infiltrated borders that U.S. troops failed to seal and have been armed with weapons that the coalition failed to seize.
Iraq must be stable and safe, under Iraqis' control, before all can leave. But the administration is to blame for jihadists' presence.
``And we fight today because terrorists want to attack our country,'' Bush said, ``and kill our citizens, and Iraq is where they are making their stand.''
His statement implies that the jihadists are a finite number that can be wiped out, ignoring the possibility that it's a growing movement the war in Iraq has inspired. It's too early to know whether Iraq will become a graveyard or a vast training ground for foreign insurgents.
Read more here.
posted by me
:: 7:48:00 AM [+] ::
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