Democracy Now! American Massacre in Iraq

Important discussion on the American massacre in Iraq.

Video Reveals US Air Crew Gunning Down Civilians, Journalists and Children

This is a sickening display of cowardice. The video shows American soldiers high above hovering in a helicopter shooting and killing civilians and journalists. The story was that they encountered a firefight and engaged. As you can see by this video they shot unnarmed journalists and civilians and then laughed about, joking about dead children. This chilling video needs to be seen by everyone so we can bring this war and the Afghanistan war to a speedy end.

Iraq: Five Years

Ron Suskind in a new book claims the CIA forged intelligence to get us into war (duh!), but this seems to be a confirmation of this. Suskind writes in "The Way of the World," to be published Tuesday, that the alleged forgery - adamantly denied by the White House - was designed to portray a false link between Hussein's regime and al Qaeda as a justification for the Iraq war.

The author also claims that the Bush administration had information from a top Iraqi intelligence official "that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq - intelligence they received in plenty of time to stop an invasion."

These three videos below of Iraq are disconcerting to say the least. The reporter, an Arabic reporter that appears to be British asks what has the surge accomplished and displays what life in Iraq is really like. It is unnerving to say the least. We should be embarrassed we lied our way into war and we have left human beings living like this and left with the memories of terror. We will be paying for this as long as I will be alive.


The Iraq dead and the toll on the Iraqis.


Iraqi children and the consequences of our war. When will this end?

Let the Iraqis Eat Cake

Ted Koppel voiced the opinion of the American imperialists yesterday. We need to be in Iraq so we can steal the oil and then gave the Republicans a talking point: If we pull the troops out of Iraq "precipitously" imagine what would happen to the price of oil. There is no doubt that Iraq is not as violent as it once was, but this of course is as fragile as it could possibly be so let us find another reason to stay and that is oil. Ahah! At least the imperialists are not making up reasons anymore. Also, the Pentagon said ah fungoo to the Iraqi Prime Minster today who said he wanted a time table. The Pentagon said I don't think so.


KOPPEL: "U.S. troops are in a part of the world that produces a huge amount of oil and natural gas. We will have U.S. troops in that region for years to come, whether we want to or not. … And with the price of oil going up to a 4.5 dollars a gallon, imagine what would happen to the price of oil if we precipitously pull troops out of the Persian Gulf. It’s not going to happen."

The Shock Doctrine and Iraq: No Bid Contracts for Oil Companies

Four western oil companies have been slated to steal Iraqi oil through no bid contracts (a la Halliburton). These companies were summarily thrown out of Iraq in 1972 after Saddam Hussein came to power. It is called protecting natural resources instead of handing them over to companies who have no interest in that part of the world outside of profiting from it. I am not defending Saddam Hussein's policies of genocide and his own brand of imperialism, but the transparency with which this move comes is unconscionable.

In 1972 Hussein nationalized the oil much like Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia, two men and two countries maligned by the west for no other reason than stopping the mindboggling profits of oil companies. Wonder why there are high oil prices? Because privatization is in jeopardy, pure and simple.

Now Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company — along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields, according to ministry officials, oil company officials and an American diplomat. The deals, expected to be announced on June 30, will lay the foundation for the first commercial work for the major companies in Iraq since the American invasion, and open a new and potentially lucrative country for their operations.

What is the Shock Doctrine? In short the theory goes as such: Corporations wait for a disaster (or orchestrate one like a coup), like Katrina, September 11th or say a preemptive war so that the economy tanks and the sharks move in. The shock of the crisis in Iraq to push through a further privatization agenda. But, the biggest crime is that politicians are in bed with the corporations and allow them to steal our oil. A case in point, the democrats, not the Republicans just passed a bill to fund the continuation of the Iraq war with no withdrawal date whatsoever. It is not just Republicans in bed with these corporations. After all the Iraq oil law was one of the benchmarks of the surge for which most democrats agreed and signed on to the Oil Law that said we should hand over Iraqi oil to western corporations.

This is not new, but a key benchmark of the surge seems to have succeeded, steal the Iraqi oil. The problem is Iraq is still a very divided country and if the people of Iraq are united on one issue it is this one. Keep the imperialists out. I cannot see this selling well with the Iraqi people and with Muqtadr Al Sadr beginning a new offensive and pulling from the elections this fall, this is not going to be pretty.

But, here is to the multinationalists and the fascists and your lack of transparency. Not only do they think we are dumb, they know it. All of us, Americans and Europeans alike. Who cares? It isn't our country. Maybe we will have $2 a gallon gas again. That is worth the price of a million dead Iraqis, huh?

What For?

Mia Farrow blogged about her nephew who died in Iraq on or near Memorial Day. If you don't check out Mia's blog, you should. It is dedicated to peace and justice, especially in Darfur and Palestine. On or near Memorial Day her nephew died in Iraq. This is what she wrote:

What for?

We have just learned that my nephew, Sgt. Jason Dene, died in Iraq yesterday His mother is my sister, Tisa Farrow. His dad is Terry Deane. Jason loved and was loved by his parents, his sister, Bridget, his brother, Mitchell, his wife Judi and their three small children. He was my God-son and cherished by all of us in this large family.

He also loved his country and he was proud to serve. But I don't know what Jason died for. There was never no evidence of weapons of mass destruction. That was a lie. So people speculate -- was it the oil? Or the old grudges of an old man -- Cheney and his Halliburton? Or the unfinished business of the father -- a haunting of the son? Saddam was bad -- but by then a sleeping dog. Not making threats. The world is full of brutal leaders, some are worse than Saddam Hussein.

This war is as incomprehensible as it is unacceptable. In a cloud of confusion, politicians, generals and ordinary people have come to see that it is a disaster. Exit plans are being discussed while Iraqi citizens and young Americans like our Jason are being killed.

My sister is a nurse. For long years has lived in fear of the day when the two uniformed men came to her door to deliver the most terrible news a mother could hear.

I hope I never see George W Bush. I could not shake his hand. He and his cabal have killed my beautiful nephew. May God, if there is one, forgive them. I cannot. Today Tisa and Terry, Bridget and Mitchell, Judi, and the three little ones - have been given a life sentence of grief. How many more must die before this atrocity is ended?

Here are photos of her nephew's division.

Seven Month High for U.S. Troop Deaths in Iraq

Not that you would know it. All we hear is Jeremiah Wright, Jeremiah Wright. We don't hear about the violence in Iraq or that we moved a new carrier into the Persian gulf to scare Iran. But, on Wednesday, 50 Americans were reported killed in Iraq for the first time in seven months (it is actually 51). The casualties are rising, no doubt. And of course the Iraqi casualties are always on the rise. In one battle alone 32 people were killed and 107 were wounded. A new report says that in the month of April alone at least 1,073 Iraqis were killed in fighting. These are astounding numbers when you can't even turn the T.V. on and get a report. And all we can talk about is things that do not matter to our lives. I know I am preaching, but it is shocking to me. What is that Steely Dan song? The things that pass for knowledge I can't understand..."

The Feds cut interest rates one more time to try and keep the recession or maybe even a depression at bay. I mean what the f***? If we spend 12 billion a month in Iraq (and of course the new forgotten war, Afghanistan) is there any wonder our finances are in a shambles? All this government cares about is keeping the dollar low for a high trade value and keep the oil prices sky rocketed so they can bilk us for the last seven months of this corporatocracy. Ughhhhh!!

CBC on the rising violence in Iraq: A Three Day Deadline

See a real news report from the Canadian Broadcasting Network. These are not terrorists or extremists, they are Iraqis. It is sad when you can get better news on your own country's foreign policy outside these borders.

Five Years in Iraq: By the Numbers

The Iraq war is five years old, far longer than we spent in World War II. Below I found on the Huffington Post and is numbers released by Harry Reid's office. I remember sitting in my living room watching the war begin. I remember watching the media cheerlead us all the way in, the Republicans and yes, the democrats. Lest we forget this incompetence:

The Cost to Our Forces in Iraq

3,990: American troops who have died in Iraq since the start of the war. [icasualties.org, 3/17/08]

29,395: Number of U.S. service members that have been wounded in hostile action since the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq. [AP, 3/11/08]

60,000: Number of troops that have been subjected to controversial stop-loss measures--meaning those who have completed service commitments but are forbidden to leave the military until their units return from war. [US News and World Report, 2/25/08]

5: Number of times the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment has been sent to Iraq. They are the first Marine Corps unit to be sent to Iraq for a fifth time. [San Francisco Chronicle, 2/27/08]

2,100: Number of troops who tried to commit suicide or injure themselves increased from 350 in 2002 to 2,100 last year. [US News and World Report, 2/25/08]

11.9: Percent of noncommissioned Army officers who reported mental health problems during their first Iraq tour [Los Angeles Times, 3/7/08]

27.2: Percent of noncommissioned Army officers who reported mental health problems during their third or fourth Iraq tour [Los Angeles Times, 3/7/08]

The Cost to Our Military Readiness
88: Percent of current and former U.S. military officers surveyed in a recent independent study who believe that the demands of the war in Iraq have "stretched the U.S. military dangerously thin" [Foreign Policy/Center for New American Security, 2/19/08]

94: Percent of Army recruits who had high school diplomas in Fiscal Year 2003 [Larry Korb, The Guardian, 10/12/07]

79: Percent of Army recruits who had high school diplomas in Fiscal Year 2007 [Larry Korb, The Guardian, 10/12/07]

4,644: Number of new Army recruits who were granted moral waivers in Fiscal Year 2003. [Houston Chronicle, 10/14/07]

12,057: Number of new Army recruits who were granted moral waivers in Fiscal Year 2007. [Houston Chronicle, 10/14/07]

67: Percent of captains the Army managed to retain this year, short of its goal of 80 percent, and in spite of cash bonus incentives of up to $35,000 [Armed Services Committee Hearing, 2/26/08]

The Cost to Our National Security
1,188: Number of global terrorist incidents from January - September 11th, 2001. [American Security Project, "Are We Winning?," September 2007]

5,188: Number of global terrorist incidents in from January- September 11th, 2006. [American Security Project, "Are We Winning?," September 2007]

30: Percent increase in violence in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2007. [Reuters, 10/15/07]
21: Number of suicide bombings in Afghanistan in 2001. [Center for American Progress, "The Forgotten Front," 11/07]

139: Number of suicide bombings in Afghanistan in 2006, with an additional increase of 69 percent as of November 2007. [Center for American Progress, "The Forgotten Front," 11/07]

30: Percent of Afghanistan controlled by the Afghan Government according to DNI Mike McConnell. [Associated Press, 2/27/08]

2,380: Days since September 11th, 2001 that Osama Bin Laden has been at-large.
The Cost of Funding the War in Iraq

$50-60 Billion: Bush Administration's pre-war estimates of the cost of the war. [New York Times, 12/31/02]

$12 Billion: Direct cost per month of the Iraq War. [Washington Post, Bilmes and Stiglitz Op-Ed, 3/9/08]

$526 Billion: Amount of money already appropriated by Congress for the War in Iraq. [CRS, 2/22/08]

$3 Trillion: Total estimated cost of the Iraq War. [Washington Post, Bilmes and Stiglitz Op-Ed, 3/9/08]

$5 Trillion - $7 Trillion: Total cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan accounting for continued military operations, growing debt and interest payments and continuing health care and counseling costs for veterans. [McClatchy, 2/27/08]

160: Percent that the cost of the Iraq War has increased from 2004 to 2008. [CRS Report, 2/22/08]

The Cost to Iraqis and Journalists
8,000: Number of Iraqi military and police killed since June 2003. [Brookings Institute, Iraq Index, March 13, 2008]

82,000-89,000: Estimate of Iraqi civilians casualties from violence since the beginning of the Iraq War. [Iraq Body Count]

4.5 Million: Number of Iraqi refugees both inside and outside the country. [Washington Post, 3/17/08]

61: Percent of Iraqis that believe the U.S. military presence makes the security situation in Iraq worse. [Agence France-Presse, 3/17/08]

127: Number of journalists killed in Iraq since March 2003. [Committee to Protect Journalists]
Economic Costs of War in Iraq

$33.51: Cost of a barrel of oil in March 2003. [Energy Information Administration]

$105.68: Cost of a barrel of oil on March 17, 2008. [NYMEX]

U.S. Troops and Contractors in Iraq
132,000: Number of U.S. troops in Iraq in January 2007, before President Bush's escalation. [Brookings Institution, Iraq Index, 3/13/08]

155,000: Number of U.S. troops currently in Iraq. [Brookings Institution, Iraq Index, 3/13/08]

140,000: Number of U.S. troops projected to be in Iraq in July 2008. [Associated Press, 2/26/08]

35,000: Number of private security contractors operating in Iraq. [Human Rights First, Private Security Contractors at War]

180,000: Number of private contractors operating in Iraq. [Human Rights First, Private Security Contractors at War]

Progress Towards Political Reconciliation Made By Iraqis
3: Number out of 18 Bush Administration Benchmarks Met by Iraqi Government As of January 24, 2008. [Center for American Progress, 1/24/08]

18: Number of provinces President Bush said would be secured by Iraqis as of November 2007. [President Bush Speech, 1/10/07]

8: Number of provinces actually secured by Iraqis as of January 2008. [NPR, 1/7/08]

Bush-Republican Intransigence on Staying the Course in Iraq
8: Number of times a majority of the Senate has voted to change course in Iraq.

7: Number of times Bush Republicans in Congress have blocked changing course in Iraq.

1: Number of vetoes issued by the White House over changing course in Iraq.

More Violence in Iraq

Three more U.S. soldiers were reported killed today in Iraq. Another soldier died from wounds suffered from an IED. This brings the total to twelve soldiers in the past two days. Additionally, the violence in Iraq seems to be escalating seriously with reports of a mass grave, beheadings and an associate of Muqtadr Al Sadr being killed among other developments.

Even more upsetting is this fucking government we have. The Pentagon issued a study (that we as tax payers paid for) that definitively concludes no link between Sadaam Hussein and Al Qaeda. Except now the Bush administration wants to squelch the report:

The Bush Administration apparently does not want a U.S. military study that found no direct connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda to get any attention. This morning, the Pentagon cancelled plans to send out a press release announcing the report's release and will no longer make the report available online.

The report was to be posted on the Joint Forces Command website this afternoon, followed by a background briefing with the authors. No more. The report will be made available only to those who ask for it, and it will be sent via U.S. mail from Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia. It won't be emailed to reporters and it won't be posted online.

Army Ink

As the Iraq war is whitewashed by the mainstream media, and the major candidates for president rarely discuss the reality in the Middle East and make only vague promises about the removal of troops, I thought I would do a little advertising for a photojournalist that my brother turned me onto: Zoriah. His work, which can be seen at http://zoriah.com/ is an amazing collection of photojournalism from some of the world's most oppressed and troubled places: The West Bank, China, and Iraq.

I was particularly struck by a short series of photos entitled Army Ink. Here is the description from the collection:

A member of the United States Army shows off a tattoo. The US Army has recently lifted a ban on certain kinds of tattoos in order to address one of the worst recruiting crisis in US military history. Tattoos have long been a source of pride, tradition and a rite of passage for soldiers as well as a way for them to express their individual personalities in a world of conformity.

The tattoo in the above picture reads:

Walk peacefully in heavens streets, you've done your time in hell

Cease Fire By Muqtada Al Sadr in Serious Jeopardy

Al-Sadr's Shiite Mahdi Army is among the most powerful militias in Iraq, and the cease-fire he ordered last August has been credited with helping reduce violence around Iraq by 60 percent or more in the past six months.

The cease fire is the violence reduction, not the surge. Evidence in point. The surge was announced in January, that moronic state of the union speech. Still, violence continued and intensified over the summer including three months in April, May and June where deaths of American soldiers ranged above 100 + deaths. In August there was 85 American deaths and then the casualties dramatically drop off down to 65 in September and 38 in October. Recently, the deaths have been ticking back up. This says nothing of the violence that has occurred to and by the Iraqis on their own people. 60 percent violence reduction is credited since June. The violence is still occurring, but at much less violent levels, although recent events have sparked a bit of an uptick in the violence.

In a separate attack, three American troops were killed by a roadside bomb Tuesday night in northwestern Baghdad, the U.S. military said. Their names were not released.

Sheik Salah al-Obeidi, a spokesman for al-Sadr in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, said that if the cleric failed to issue a statement by Saturday saying that the cease-fire was extended, "then that means the freeze is over." Al-Sadr's followers would be free to resume attacks.

Influential members of al-Sadr's movement said earlier this month they had urged the radical cleric to call off the cease-fire, which initially was set to expire at the end of the month.
Al-Sadr's followers have claimed the U.S.-Iraqi raids, particularly in the southern Shiite cities of Diwaniyah, Basra and Karbala, are a pretext to crack down on the wider movement, which has pulled its support for the Washington-backed government.

"Resuming their activities, whether against the government or civilians, will lead to a new confrontation with them," she said. And the reconciliation of the political process will seriously be damaged, though this isn't occuring anyway. No one has claimed responsibility for Tuesday's rocket attack, the second in as many days. But in both cases the explosives apparently were launched from Shiite militia strongholds in the capital, underscoring the fragility of the truce. Smith, at a news conference later Wednesday, blamed Iranian-backed Shiite militias for the attacks but said the rationale behind the timing of the attacks was unclear.

If the cease fire is called off you can no doubt expect a serious increase in violence, therefore cementing the need for us to get the hell out of there and let the Iraqis decide their own future. We can help, but we cannot do it with rockets, bombs and soldiers. It is completely counterproductive.

A Fragile Peace in Iraq

From Think Progress:

As “members of a messianic cult and Iraqi troops” continued fighting for a second day, the death toll “in two predominantly Shiite southern cities rose from 50 to at least 68“

Iraqi authorities said at least 36 people were reported killed in Basra, Iraq’s second largest city, and at least 32 in Nasiriyah, including Iraqi security forces, civilians and gunmen. At least 10 people were reported slain in Nasiriyah Friday.

Another bombing in Northern Iraq is also threatening to shred the fragile security situation in Iraq. Meanwhile, Muqtadah Al Sadr is threatening to not extend the cease fire he declared six months ago that U.S. officials agree has curbed much of the violence. Tensions are rising.

In other Iraq news, the winter is becoming troubling. Discontent across the country is "surging" to do lack of heat and no electricity. That there is no electricity in this country for the people of Iraq is a failure of epic proportions by America. Who else is to blame?

The Top Ten Myths About Iraq

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Top Ten Myths about Iraq 2007: From Juan Cole of Informed Consent

10. Myth: The US public no longer sees Iraq as a central issue in the 2008 presidential campaign.

In a recent ABC News/ Washington Post poll, Iraq and the economy were virtually tied among voters nationally, with nearly a quarter of voters in each case saying it was their number one issue. The economy had become more important to them than in previous months (in November only 14% said it was their most pressing concern), but Iraq still rivals it as an issue!

9. Myth: There have been steps toward religious and political reconciliation in Iraq in 2007.

Fact: The government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has for the moment lost the support of the Sunni Arabs in parliament. The Sunnis in his cabinet have resigned. Even some Shiite parties have abandoned the government. Sunni Arabs, who are aware that under his government Sunnis have largely been ethnically cleansed from Baghdad, see al-Maliki as a sectarian politician uninterested in the welfare of Sunnis.

8. Myth: The US troop surge stopped the civil war that had been raging between Sunni Arabs and Shiites in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

Fact: The civil war in Baghdad escalated during the US troop escalation. Between January, 2007, and July, 2007, Baghdad went from 65% Shiite to 75% Shiite. UN polling among Iraqi refugees in Syria suggests that 78% are from Baghdad and that nearly a million refugees relocated to Syria from Iraq in 2007 alone. This data suggests that over 700,000 residents of Baghdad have fled this city of 6 million during the US 'surge,' or more than 10 percent of the capital's population. Among the primary effects of the 'surge' has been to turn Baghdad into an overwhelmingly Shiite city and to displace hundreds of thousands of Iraqis from the capital.

7. Myth: Iran was supplying explosively formed projectiles (a deadly form of roadside bomb) to Salafi Jihadi (radical Sunni) guerrilla groups in Iraq.

Fact: Iran has not been proved to have sent weapons to any Iraqi guerrillas at all. It certainly would not send weapons to those who have a raging hostility toward Shiites. (Iran may have supplied war materiel to its client, the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq (ISCI), which was then sold off from warehouses because of graft, going on the arms market and being bought by guerrillas and militiamen.

6. Myth: The US overthrow of the Baath regime and military occupation of Iraq has helped liberate Iraqi women.

Fact: Iraqi women have suffered significant reversals of status, ability to circulate freely, and economic situation under the Bush administration.

5. Myth: Some progress has been made by the Iraqi government in meeting the "benchmarks" worked out with the Bush administration.

Fact: in the words of Democratic Senator Carl Levin, "Those legislative benchmarks include approving a hydrocarbon law, approving a debaathification law, completing the work of a constitutional review committee, and holding provincial elections. Those commitments, made 1 1/2 years ago, which were to have been completed by January of 2007, have not yet been kept by the Iraqi political leaders despite the breathing space the surge has provided."

4. Myth: The Sunni Arab "Awakening Councils," who are on the US payroll, are reconciling with the Shiite government of PM Nuri al-Maliki even as they take on al-Qaeda remnants.

Fact: In interviews with the Western press, Awakening Council tribesmen often speak of attacking the Shiites after they have polished off al-Qaeda. A major pollster working in Iraq observed, ' Most of the recent survey results he has seen about political reconciliation, Warshaw said, are "more about [Iraqis] reconciling with the United States within their own particular territory, like in Anbar. . . . But it doesn't say anything about how Sunni groups feel about Shiite groups in Baghdad." Warshaw added: "In Iraq, I just don't hear statements that come from any of the Sunni, Shiite or Kurdish groups that say 'We recognize that we need to share power with the others, that we can't truly dominate.' " ' 'The polling shows that "the Iraqi government has still made no significant progress toward its fundamental goal of national reconciliation."

3. Myth: The Iraqi north is relatively quiet and a site of economic growth.

Fact: The subterranean battle among Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs for control of the oil-rich Kirkuk province makes the Iraqi north a political mine field. Kurdistan now also hosts the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas that sneak over the border and kill Turkish troops. The north is so unstable that the Iraqi north is now undergoing regular bombing raids from Turkey.

2. Myth: Iraq has been "calm" in fall of 2007 and the Iraqi public, despite some grumbling, is not eager for the US to depart.

Fact: in the past 6 weeks, there have been an average of 600 attacks a month, or 20 a day, which has held steady since the beginning of November. About 600 civilians are being killed in direct political violence per month, but that number excludes deaths of soldiers and police. Across the board, Iraqis believe that their conflicts are mainly caused by the US military presence and they are eager for it to end.

1. Myth: The reduction in violence in Iraq is mostly because of the escalation in the number of US troops, or "surge."

Fact: Although violence has been reduced in Iraq, much of the reduction did not take place because of US troop activity. Guerrilla attacks in al-Anbar Province were reduced from 400 a week to 100 a week between July, 2006 and July, 2007. But there was no significant US troop escalation in al-Anbar. Likewise, attacks on British troops in Basra have declined precipitously since they were moved out to the airport away from population centers. But this change had nothing to do with US troops.

Grace is Gone

This film looks very powerful and word is Cusack gives his best performance to date. That is a good thing since he has done crap after crap over the last few years. The story is about a father and two daughters who lose their mom and wife in Iraq. And the film goes from there.

Iraqi women: An Unreported Story

Violence is certainly down in Iraq, but it is most likely temporary. And the report that the "political solution" in Iraq is now not being pursued (the entire reason for the surge) highlights the still deteriorating situation. See below though a report of the consequences of this war for Iraqi women. It is not surprising that the Bush administration is not reporting on it; or that it is not on the American agenda at all. Judging by its lack of condemnation for the Saudi governments prosecution of a woman who has been gang raped the Bush administration can not go much lower. Iraqi women were the most western in the Arab world before the war.

Americans to Congress: Get Tougher on Iraq

Greg Sargent at TPM Election Central tips us off to a key passage in a new Pew poll, titled "More Favor Dems Getting Tougher on Iraq" More at the Huffington Post:

The proportion of Americans saying Democratic leaders in Congress are not going far enough in challenging President Bush's Iraq policies has been increasing fairly steadily since March, when 40% expressed this view; the October figure is 47%. The remainder of the public is divided over whether Democratic leaders have gone too far (21%) or have taken an approach that is about right (23%).

The poll notes that while just 31% approve of Congress' job performance (down 10 points since February), "most Americans (54%) say that they are happy that the Democrats won control of Congress in last year's elections. That represents a modest decline since last November, but positive views of the Democratic congressional victory have remained stable since March. At least in part, this reflects the fact that Republican leaders are blamed about as often as Democratic leaders for Congress' lack of productivity."

2007 is the deadliest year for U.S. Troop Casualties

The report of five more U.S. soldiers in Iraq brings 2007 as the deadliest year for U.S. troop casualties. At least 853 American military personnel have died in Iraq so far this year -- the highest annual toll since the war began in March 2003, according to AP figures.

Also Tuesday, the U.S. military said Iraqi troops had discovered 22 bodies in a mass grave northwest of Baghdad over the weekend. The bodies were found during a joint operation Saturday. It was the second mass grave found in the area in less than a month.

While casualty rates for U.S. troops have recently dropped Americans still disapprove of the war. Fifty-nine percent still don't think the United States is making significant progress restoring civil order there, and a record six in 10 want the level of U.S. forces reduced. All told, 63 percent say the war was not worth fighting, almost exactly its average this year, and a majority, steadily since December 2004. Intensity against the war continues to run high, with 51 percent saying they feel "strongly" that it was not worth fighting, more than double its strong supporters.

The question is how has the violence affected civilian casualties of ordinary Iraqis? The answer is complicated, but some evidence can be gleaned form the Iraq body count web page. There is no doubt an improvement has occurred in the last couple of months both in U.S. casualties, but also in civilian casualties. It is important to place the events of 2007 in context, [however]. Levels of violence reached an all-time high in the last six months of 2006. Only in comparison to that could the first half of 2007 be regarded as an improvement. Despite any efforts put into the surge, the first six months of 2007 was still the most deadly first six months for civilians of any year since the invasion. Therefore, when comparing the violence to the most deadly time period in Iraq, today there is a decrease in the violence, however when compared to any other time during the war this time period would be seen as deadly violent. Go here for more information on civilian deaths in Iraq. The number ranges anywhere from 76,000 to 83,000 +

For example, on the Iraq body count page it gives the previous day's violence. Twenty-eight people were reported killed. Baghdad: 5 killed in Baladiyat, Ghadeer, Zafaraniya, Jamia; 3 bodies. Balad Ruz: 2 policemen killed in clashes with gunmen; 5 bodies found in river. Mosul: gunmen kill government employee; 7 bodies. Tikrit-Dour: 2 bodies found on highway...the list continues.

A Blank Check for W

The Democrats are preparing to give George W. Bush a blank check on Iraq. In 2006 Nancy Pelosi stood before us and said the days of a "do nothing" Congress are over along with her counterpart Harry Reid. The Democratic Congress has failed to stop the war effort by the Rethuglicans, but have at least promised no more blank check. Yet, Roll Call reports a blank check is exactly what may be given. Despite their rhetoric about not wanting to hand President Bush another “blank check” for the Iraq War, Democrats appear poised to give him exactly that — enough cash to keep the war going full steam for as long as six months, no strings attached.

Democratic leaders continue to fear GOP attacks that cutting off or slowing funds would hurt the troops, despite anger among the Democratic base over the party’s failure to use Congress’ power of the purse to end the war," reports the Capitol Hill newspaper's Steven T. Dennis.

As adamant as they say they are about tying war funding to deescalation timetables, Democratic leaders appear even more firmly against an overall cut-off of war funds, which critics say may be their only recourse to actually effect a draw-down of troops from Iraq.

"Sure we have the power on anything to stop the money ... but the thing we have to do is make sure we do it the right way," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on a liberal radio show last month. "It's not a question of all or nothing; it's a question of making sure we do the right thing."

Congress approved billions in extra funding and stopgap spending resolutions after Gen. David Petraeus' testimony on Capitol Hill in September. Next up is the regular Defense spending bill, which Democrats are crafting to allow funding to be diverted from regular Pentagon accounts to fund the war, according to Roll Call. Appropriations Chairman John Murtha (D-PA) told the paper that the Defense Department would be able to maintain the war "until May or June" with the extra flexibility.

This says it best: "As long as leadership is not willing to challenge the way the president is hiding behind the troops," the aide said, "they're going to continue to get rolled." We were hoodwinked in November. There is no other way to say it. If we want this war to end the Democrats have proven they are not the messenger.

No End in Sight

This is the devastating documentary just released on DVD - No End in Sight. It is an expose' on how not to run a war and it should be a message to anyone even contemplating war with Iran.

Organize a house party and watch this film. Here is a review from the New York Times. A.O. Scott says of the film: If failure, as the saying goes, is an orphan, then “No End in Sight” can be thought of as a brief in a paternity suit, offering an emphatic, well- supported answer to a question that has already begun to be mooted on television talk shows and in journals of opinion: Who lost Iraq? On Mr. Ferguson’s short list are Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz and L. Paul Bremer III. None of them agreed to be interviewed for the film. Perhaps they will watch it.