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All that we hear from John McCain is that we are winning in Iraq and that the " surge " is working. So what is it that is making the " surge " work?
Bush: Appeasement, Capitulation, Cowardice
by BenGoshi Tue Jul 15, 2008
In today's Abbreviated Pundit Roundup, my attention was called to Michael Barone's jingoistic, bullshit fluff piece on "the surge" in the Moonie Times. What neither Barone, nor McCain, nor Bush, nor Hannity, nor Limbaugh, nor Lindsey Graham, nor Lieberman, nor McConnell, et mal mention is Bush's program to bribe insurgents to stop killing U.S. Troops.
Bottom line: paying former "insurgents" to switch sides and stop killing our troops is, it seems, working. I am troubled by the amnesty given to many (dozens, hundreds, thousands?) who were just a year or two ago killing Americans, or damn-sure trying to. However, if it ends up saving American Soldiers' and Marines' lives, and getting us the hell out of Iraq, then I suppose it's the lessor of Bush-initiated evils.
What infuriates me is that this (it seems) "successful" program is RARELY brought up by the media and NEVER brought up by McCain or the Republicans because they KNOW that (a) it undercuts their "the surge is working" meme, and (b) makes families of KIA American troops wonder, "You're paying/-off/bribing whom to lay-down arms and join our side?!!!"
"The deals were mediated by tribal leaders and consisted of payments of $360 per month per combatant in exchange for allegiance and cooperation. Initially referred to by the United States as "concerned local citizens," the former insurgents are now known as the Sons of Iraq. The total number across Iraq is estimated at over 90,000. Although the insurgents turned allies generally come well armed, at least one unit leader, Abu al-Abd, commander of the Islamic Army in Iraq, who controls Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad, has said that he receives weapons as well as logistical support from U.S. units. His arrangement is probably typical. In November 2007, he agreed to a three-month pact, open to extension.
"This strategy has combined with other developments -- especially the fact that so much ethnic cleansing has already occurred and that violence in civil wars tends to ebb and flow, as the contending sides work to consolidate gains and replenish losses -- to bring about the current drop in violence. The Sunni sheiks, meanwhile, are getting rich from the surge. The United States has budgeted $150 million to pay Sunni tribal groups this year, and the sheiks take as much as 20 percent of every payment to a former insurgent -- which means that commanding 200 fighters can be worth well over a hundred thousand dollars a year for a tribal chief. Although Washington hopes that Baghdad will eventually integrate most former insurgents into the Iraqi state security services, there are reasons to worry that the Sunni chiefs will not willingly give up what has become an extremely lucrative arrangement."
SourceBush's Cave Bigger than Bin Laden's
What, pray tell, was at the top of the list of Osama bin Laden's gripes with the U.S.? How about this:
"The son of a Saudi Arabian businessman, bin Laden has called for a Muslim jihad, or holy war, against the United States. He has encouraged Muslims to kill all the Americans -- civilian or military -- they can.
"His rage stems from the decision by Saudi Arabia to allow the United States to use the country as a staging area for attacks on Iraqi forces in Kuwait and Iraq. After the victory, the U.S. military presence became permanent.
"To fundamentalists like bin Laden, the U.S. presence is anathema because Saudi Arabia is home to "the two most holy places" in Islam -- Mecca and Medina. Mecca is the birthplace of Mohammed and the location of the Great Mosque of Mecca, considered by Muslims to be the most sacred spot on Earth."
So, what did Bush do in 2003? He caved to bin Laden, while invading a country (that would be Iraq) that had nothing to do with the horrors perpetrated on 9/11.
Was caving to bin Laden's call to rid Saudi Arabia of U.S. Troops the right thing to do? I'll not make that call. However, that Bush (and his dumbass and/or chickenhawk apologists) would "talk tough" while, in fact, appeasing and caving to this mass murderer of Americans is, well, ironic. Or not.
So, the point of this diary? Next time you read or hear of some McCain or Bush supporter or apologist talking the talk about how bad-ass these they and the GOP are, remind them of who the appeasers REALLY are.
