How Does Not Talking To Iran & Syria Help The US & Iraq

Or the Palestinians for that matter?

Seriously, how does the US refusal to talk with Iran & Syria with no preconditions do anything but keep up the instability threatening so much of, if not the entire, middle east region?

Let's put it another way, what are the chances the violence & carnage wreaking Iraq right now will get even worse if W were to actually deal with Iran & Syria in a non-belligerant way regarding Iraq?

It's obvious that the longer the instability and violence in Iraq goes on, the worse and more horrfic and deadly the attacks become, the more Iran's position is strengthened-as W's inability to directly lessen the violence grows more obvious to the rest of the world-as well as that of Hezbollah, both of which are seeing their influence in Lebanon grow by the hour

The longer the US military is in Iraq, the more likely it is we'll end up choosing one side over the other in terms of the ongoing civil war between the Shia & Sunnis, and when that happens, we'll be complicit in the wave of genocide and ethnic cleansing that will undoubtedly occur as a result

That genocide, that ethnic cleansing is happening right now, with over 140,000 US troops in Iraq

The US troops are having to deal with numerous groups & conflicts taking more Soldiers & Marines by the day

Death Squads, affiliated with a larger group or splintering off to kill independent of any loyalty except to their own members of each individual/freelance unit

Militias of various loyalties

Insurgents

Terrorists In Training, made up of domestic and foreign trainees

Criminal Gangs, including Kidnapping rings & oil smuggling

How does the US negotiating with Iran & Syria regarding Iraq make the above listed groups even more deadly for the US troops to deal with?

If anyone can logically show how the US dealing with Iran & Syria makes things worse for the Iraqis and US military personnel, please set me right

If anyone can logically show how the US NOT talking with Iran & Syria makes things better for the Iraqis & Us military personnel, please set me right

My Congressman, Neocon Wannabe Silvestre Reyes, Royally Sucks

First, some background about Reyes that I posted at the Court TV "Politics" forums, then other postings from a message board here in El Paso

I'm beginning to intensely dislike Silvestre Reyes, I cannot stand him for the most part-In our local elections here, he backstabbed one of the best, progressive state legislators, Elliot Shapleigh

Shapleigh's GOP opponent ran an incredibly negative campaign, and claimed he had Reyes backing-an allegation Reyes did nothing to dispute

The reason Shapleigh's so popular here is that in 1994, along with other attorneys-which was his livelihood at the time-he helped launch an investigation into how badly the state of Texas had been shortchanging El Paso of hundreds of millions of dollars over decades

At times, Reyes does the right thing, at other times, he really sticks it to the people living here, as El Paso is not a rich community, and Reyes voted for that obscenity known as the Bankruptcy Bill, one of the most blatant payoffs to one industry in our country's political history

In spite of Reyes not backing Shapleigh in the last election, and in spite of the fact that the GOP opponent outspent Shapleigh massivley, Elliot won his reelection campaign for state Senator

That's the other thing, Reyes opponent, a Libertarian, garnered a huge amount of votes, even without being able to spend much money-I voted for him, as did a large number of voters in the bluest part of Texas

And now, turns out Reyes is starting to spout the neocon party line, and like he did with Eliot Shapleigh, Reyes enjoys backstabbing Dems who have been enormously helpful to him politically

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16062351/site/newsweek/

In a surprise twist in the debate over Iraq, Rep. Silvestre Reyes, the soon-to-be chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said he wants to see an increase of 20,000 to 30,000 U.S. troops as part of a stepped up effort to “dismantle the militias.”The soft-spoken Texas Democrat was an early opponent of the Iraq war and voted against the October 2002 resolution authorizing President Bush to invade that country. That dovish record got prominently cited last week when Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi chose Reyes as the new head of the intelligence panel.

But in an interview with NEWSWEEK on Tuesday, Reyes pointedly distanced himself from many of his Democratic colleagues who have called for fixed timetables for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

Now Reyes says he was clear and upfront with Pelosi, but nowhere in his comments was there any mention of INCREASING US Troops in Iraq

But when asked what he told Pelosi about his thinking on Iraq, Reyes replied: “What I said was, we can’t afford to leave there. And anybody who says, we are going pull out our troops immediately, is being dishonest … We’re all interested in getting out of Iraq. That’s a common goal. How we do it, I think, is the tough part. There are those that say, they don’t care what Iraq looks like once we leave there. Let’s just leave there. And I argue against that. I don’t think that’s responsible. And I think it plays right into the hands of Syria and Iran.”

And yes, Reyes will now be lauded by the neocons, those who have been absolutely wrong about EVERY single aspect of occupying Iraq, as shown by this quote

Yet one prominent Iraq war supporter, Cliff May, the president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy who served on an advisory panel that worked with the Baker-Hamilton group, said he was stunned and pleasantly surprised by Reyes’s views. “Wow, that’s remarkable,” May replied when NEWSWEEK told him of Reyes’s comments. “Whenever anybody like myself suggests that we need more troops, we get told that it’s not politically feasible. But if you have a leading Democrat saying it, that strikes me as very significant … I think it’s dawning on a lot of people that the price of a U.S. defeat would be dire.”

So, why is Reyes working so hard to screw the Dems and suck up to the GOP and our ChickenHawk President?

Even better questions

Just where does Reyes expect to logically find an additional 20,000 to 30,000 troops to bolster the US deployment in Iraq?

The first response that leaps to mind would be drawing even more heavily on an already overtaxed National Guard & Reserves, but those entities are already at the breaking point as it is

And what happens if the temporary deployment does NOT succeed in quelling the carnage before they have to be withdrawn?

I think McGovern gets it dead on target with this quote

Reyes’s comments were immediately blasted by one Iraq war critic who expressed concerns that they would give new respectability to an idea that has lost considerable support in official Washington as the violence in Iraq has escalated. “I think he [Reyes] needs a course in Insurgency 101,” said Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst who has been active in an antiwar group called the Steering Group for Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. “Have they learned nothing from Vietnam? If he pushes this and gets some support for it, and with McCain in the Senate, it could become more respectable … I think Reyes has got a lot to learn.”

Reyes is becoming more conniving by the day, it appears he wants to be the House version of GOP Wannabe Lackey Joe Lieberman

Reyes was given the HIC chairmanship because he promised to be vigilant in pushing for badly needed oversight of W's warrantless spying program, and those CIA "Black Prisons", but I'm getting the feeling that Reyes words are hollow and insincere

Reyes is also the Dem who voted to really stick it to consumers with the Bankruptcy overhaul passed at the behest of the consumer credit industry, which means he's backstabbing his own constituents in the back who have to declare bankruptcy due to serious health problems or job loss

For whatever reason, Reyes now views the US troops as the same kind of cannon fodder as W does

Adding 20,000 to 30,000 troops will NOT accomplish anything, except to get more US troops killed, maimed, wounded and traumatized

Anything less than a complete pullout of US troops at this point-as quickly as possible as logistics would logically allow-means nothing but a total waste of further lives, limbs, blood, physical equipment and financial resources

Reyes knows there's not going to be a successful or face-saving way for W to exit Iraq, Reyes knows this means squandering even more lives, limbs, minds & treasure, and apparently, Reyes is just fine with such carnage, and like W, I doubt Reyes will lose any sleep over the pain, misery and anguish staying in Iraq is sure to bring the US troops, their friends & families and the Iraqi citizens themselves

We need dems with spine to hold this President accountable for lying us into a totally unnecessary war, not milquetoasts who'd rather go along to get along when it comes to strong oversight of the absolute worst President in US history

Karmic Payback Of EPIC Proportions: Anti-Clinton Hatred About To Blowback On GOP & W

And considering how hard the GOP & President Bush Jr catered to the Taliban Wannabe's making up a large part of the GOP's base, it's perfectly fitting to label their irrational hatred of Bill Clinton as a Disaster Of Truly Biblical Proportions

Found this letter from 4 Dem House Representatives the rules changes in the letter are a matter of record and fact, not conjecture in the least, especially the most interesting changes the GOP made at the time

And now, in what must be the most horrible of ironies to those who both despise Clinton and idolize Bush Jr, Henry Waxman is the beneficiary of that previous anti-Clinton hysteria & venom

Waxman will run the House Government Reform Committee, a committee that, at the height of the GOP's "Search and Destroy" mission regarding any & all things Clinton related, was run by Rep Dan Burton

And in Burton's desire to hurt President Clinton, he and the GOP changed quite a few rules for certain House Committee's and Select Committee's

In particular, and sure to absolutely PLAQUE the GOP and Bush Jr Administration, the rules as they relate to issuing of subpoenas

There are a number of unilateral authorities granted to the chairman of the Select Committee by this resolution that cause us concern. The most important concerns are the provisions of section 9(b) of the resolution which grant the chairman, `upon consultation with the ranking minority member,' the authority to authorize and issue subpoenas. This unilateral subpoena authority is problematic in that merely requiring the chairman to consult with the ranking minority member before authorizing or issuing subpoenas does not require the chairman to include the minority in the investigative process. At the Government Reform and Oversight Committee, Chairman Burton unilaterally issued over 1000 information requests, including subpoenas, depositions, and document requests with neither a vote of the committee nor the concurrence of the ranking minority member.

TRANSLATED

Thanks to the precedent set down by the GOP to hurt President Clinton, the incoming Chairman can issue any and all the subpoenas he wants of the GOP and Bush Jr Administration, and all he has to do to hold up the "consult with the minority" requirement is to tell any GOP member of the committee that he's issuing subpoenas then & there-there's NO requirement that advance notice be given when issuing subpoenas

Even more horribly ironic, the minority party does NOT have to be included in the investigation process either, that's up to the Committee's majority party membership

And in perhaps the most horribly ironic touch for those who back the President's Warrantless Spying/Information Gathering on US citizens is this-ANY databases/information developed during a Committee investigation does NOT have to be shared with the Committee's minority membership

In each and every instance above, the rights of the Committee's minority membership is COMPLETELY dependent upon the good will of the Committee's majority membership

Those 2nd Amendment groups and zealots that may have previously praised these types of actions that diminished the Democrats ability to exercise any kind of legislative branch oversight of the GOP and Current Administration should really take note here

Section 11 of the resolution grants the chairman the authority to impose a `gag rule' on individuals associated with the investigation, including witnesses and their attorneys. The numerous abuses of witnesses before the Government Reform Committee are well documented. It is extremely perilous to allow staff, in a closed session, to have virtually unlimited questioning of a witness with little or no rights given to the individual being deposed. There is ample opportunity for staff to intimidate and harass witnesses. These interrogatory sessions are not trials or courts of law and do not afford the same protections. If individuals giving depositions are deprived of the protections that are generally available to those giving statements under oath and are treated unfairly, these individuals, along with their counsels, would be prevented by these `gag rules' from coming forward to report such abuses or other inappropriate actions taken by the Select Committee or its staff.

For reasons discussed in This Post, this Means we could see the Gun Industry executives hauled in front of numerous Committees and publicly investigated over the more squalid aspects of their industry, yet at the same time, having themselves and their attorneys gagged from giving their side of the story publicly


What's this, even MORE irony?

Yep, turns out the GOP never did get around to changing those rules neutering the opposition, even when it became apparent that an electoral cataclysm was heading it's way-Stupid move, as if the GOP had changed the rules to their Pre-Clinton Witch Hunt status, they'd be able to make a smashing case of the Dems practicing petty, revenge politics if the Dems had tried to change the rules back to their benefit

Thanks to the irrational hatred of Bill Clinton, and compounded by a further desire to kill as many investigations into the Bush Jr Administration as possible, the GOP is about to realize that treating the minority opposition as shabbily and wretchedly as it did with the Dems is about to reap a Karmic Payback Of Truly Immense Proportions

And before any cries of "petty political payback", ALL taxpayers please note one other rule the GOP put into play when trying to hound President Clinton from office

Section 10 of the resolution grants the Select Committee the authority to receive and examine any tax return related to individuals and entities named by the Select Committee as possible participants, beneficiaries, or intermediaries in the transactions under investigation. Virtually unfettered access to the tax records of individuals and others is a very risky venture and must be pursued with the utmost responsibility and respect for the privacy of those individuals. We urge the Select Committee to use the greatest of care in exercising this authority. We support the inclusion of language in the report that directs the Select Committee to vote to obtain these records.

TRANSLATED:

The Chairman of the Committee can legally obtain YOUR tax records without any vote of the full Committee needed, the Chairman doesn't even need the support of a majority of the Committee's majority party membership

And how do we know that the GOP did NOT just throw names out during these investigations, names of troublesome political opponents, YOUR names?

And that's not just overwrought hysteria, how would anyone know their tax records are being looked at by politicians if the taxpayer isn't required to be aware of it?

The rules have to be changed back, so these kinds of power plays to avoid any Congressional oversight can never occur again, not considering the state our country, military and foreign policy are all in presently

BUT.....

The Dems MUST rub the GOP's nose in it, so to speak, the GOP must learn the hard way just why it shouldn't pull these stunts in the first place, and it has to leave such a revolting taste in the GOP's political mouth that it never even thinks of cutting out the opposition ever again

I say pour it on the GOP for one year, then change the rules back to a minority-inclusive procedure on the Congressional Committees

Now that the Dems will be able to practice the same policies of information gathering & distribution as the Administration does-with as few bureaucratic impediments as possible-there's absolutely no way that those backing the Administration's warrantless spying/information gathering can complain without being complete and total hypocrites of the most base, hollow and opportunistic type

We're Out Of Iraq By The End Of 2007

W has said we're not leaving Iraq until asked by the Iraqi govt

The US is going to turn over total control of the Iraq forces in 2007

Whoever's in charge of Iraq at the time will then say, "Thanks, you can leave now"

If W refuses to live up to his word-as usual-the US troops will then be essentially, armed hostages under attack from insurgents, militias, death squads, terrorists in training and outside groups-like Hezbollah-as well

There will be NO US military bases in Iraq after this

There will be no US embassy the size of the Vatican either

Iran will bolster it's Shia-majority neighbor, with further support for Iraq coming from Syria-backed Hezbollah

By backing Saddam Hussein for decades, and by unleashing all the current carnage in Iraq after deposing our former Tyrant, the US is not at the top of the Iraqis "favorite country" list, not with decades of US-inflicted misery & suffering

Of course, this is based on the scenario that doesn't take into account an all out conflagration in the middle east, with the unaligned death squads so prevalent in Iraq making their way into every other country in the region

Thanks to W's arrogance and clear incompetence as President, the possibility for a middle east full of flourishing, secular, US friendly democracies is dead, and in it's wake looks to be a region inflamed by religious tensions and competing theocracies

"Mission Accomplished" Indeed