War Profiteering:Iraq Pays A Heavy Price

And that price Iraq pays is in the form of lost oil revenue, in this case to the tune of almost $15 Billion, in addition to endangering the safety of the water supply and creating an environmental hazard at the same time the US is turning off the money spigot in spite of numerous failed reconstruction projects with limited, if any, financial oversight

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Iraq Oil Pipeline Behind Schedule

A project to build a critical oil pipeline in northern Iraq has fallen more than two years behind schedule, costing the Iraqi government $14.8 billion in revenue and jeopardizing the safety of local water supplies, according to a report by U.S. government auditors released yesterday.

The 31-mile pipeline, designed to connect Iraq's northern oil fields with a major refinery, is intended to replace an old, decrepit line that has been leaking oil for years. But because contractors were unable to finish construction of the new pipeline by March 2004 as scheduled, oil is pooling in the open air rather than being sped to market, auditors with the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction say.

Even when the project is complete, the auditors conclude, there is no way of knowing whether it will actually be an improvement because reconstruction officials have not been monitoring its progress.

"There is no reasonable assurance that project construction will meet the standards of the design because the U.S. government's processes to independently verify project completeness and quality were ineffective," the report's authors wrote.

An in-depth review of the Iraq invasion and occupation will show blatant examples of war profiteering, especially regarding no bid, no oversight contracts

What will be shown is greed fulfilled at such a rapacious rate that previous examples will be overshadowed in an obscenely dramatic fashion

The project, managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, is just the latest in a series of projects that have gone awry. The U.S.-funded reconstruction program in Iraq has been plagued by cost overruns and schedule setbacks, in large part because of security concerns, but also because of flawed management and poor planning. Projects to build medical centers, prisons and power stations have all fallen short of projections. Now, the U.S.-directed portion of the reconstruction is wrapping up, and control is being transferred to the Iraqis.

And in touches both ironic and outrageous, the one natural resource Iraq does possess, Oil, isn't even coming close to bearing out to the optimistic pre-war estimates of post-invasion Iraq, and the fact that the pipelines are old and easily sabotaged & damaged isn't helping the situation much

But as that happens, Iraq will need oil revenue to fund the work. The new pipeline -- intended to stretch from Kirkuk to Baiji -- was supposed to increase the flow of oil from 500,000 barrels a day to 800,000. An Iraqi firm was contracted to do the bulk of the work.

Reconstruction officials initially hired the Halliburton Co., a subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root, to monitor the project. But auditors found that KBR did not perform daily reviews of the project's progress; instead company officials saw their role as advisers to the Iraqi firm doing the work. In June 2004, U.S. reconstruction officials cancelled the limited oversight KBR was doing in order to save money, even though KBR had found problems with the Iraqi contractor's performance.

A KBR spokeswoman released a statement defending the firm's work and saying KBR is "proud of the difficult and dangerous work performed by its employees and subcontractors."

The question of oversight is borne out by the next example, and if this happened more than once, then the outrage should be at those who were in charge of financial disbursements

Since KBR was removed, the report says, the government has had little insight into whether the work was actually being done. Auditors from the inspector general's office were not permitted to inspect one work site because a subcontractor on the project "would only agree to perform the work on the agreement that no American presence ever visit."

Based on a flyover of that site, auditors saw "little evidence of progress." Auditors did see extensive oil spills, and reported that "oil fumes in the spill areas were significant and easily detected from the helicopter."

I want to know just who thought a contractor with a "no American Presence" at the site was worth hiring, and if it means the contractor had to clear the US visits in advance, then the anger should be at full boil for such careless or malignly neglectful financial oversight that's costing both the US taxpayers and the Iraqis themselves in terms of lost or cheated revenues

That missing money could do so much good, and that it's missing because of nothing more complicated than simple, basic greed is both heartbreaking and anger-inducing, and all those involved are no ethicall better than those who peddle false cures to terminally ill people desperate for hope

There's real suffering going on because of missing funds, and those involved in prolonging that suffering because of their thievery deserve steep social sanctions, including long prison terms for anyone involved in such loathsome behavior

No one knows when the project will be completed. A recent assessment by the Pentagon-led Project and Contracting Office, which oversees reconstruction, said one segment of the project was 80 percent complete. The Army Corps of Engineers said the same segment was only 10 percent finished.According to the report, reconstruction officials say they hope to have the project completed by September, but that intimidation of pipeline workers and sabotage remain a challenge.

Maj. Gen. William H. McCoy, a corps official, said in a written response to the inspector general's report that it "did not fully take into account the effect security and insurgent activity had on the success of this project."

Passing the buck-literally-doesn't help out the right people either

Karl Rove: Still Short On Logic, Still Stuck On Stupid

Yep, Karl Rove's at it again, and of anyone in the entire Bush Jr Administration,
I despise this smarmy bastard the most

Apparently, Rove's twin strategies of "Bash Anyone Not Agreeing To W's Agenda Of National Security" and gay bashing aren't getting Rove the desired results this time around

Rove's learning the hard way that the few political illusions he's capable of are getting so old that the audience can see how the trick is done, which would account for his lashing out at the media for it's overinflated sense of self importance

Rove Blasts Journalists'Role in Politics

Presidential adviser Karl Rove said Saturday that journalists often criticize political professionals because they want to draw attention away from the"corrosive role"their own coverage plays in politics and government.

"Some decry the professional role of politics, they would like to see it disappear,"Rove told graduating students at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management."Some argue political professionals are ruining American politics _ trapping candidates in daily competition for the news cycle instead of long-term strategic thinking in the best interest of the country."

But Rove turned that criticism on journalists.

"It's odd to me that most of these critics are journalists and columnists,"he said."Perhaps they don't like sharing the field of play. Perhaps they want to draw attention away from the corrosive role their coverage has played focusing attention on process and not substance."

Hey, fucktard, maybe if you and W had gotten tough enough questions from the press to dissuade you from your disastrous Iraq policy, you wouldn't be in this mess today

In fact, that earlier media obsequiousness just makes your continuing problems that much worse, as events in Iraq put to lie the Administration's constant braying that "staying the course" is the best hope for Iraq

Rove told about 100 graduates trained to be political operatives that they should respect the instincts of the American voter.

"There are some in politics who hold that voters are dumb, ill informed and easily misled, that voters can be manipulated by a clever ad or a smart line,"said Rove, who is credited with President Bush's victories in the 2000 and 2004 elections."I've seen this cynicism over the years from political professionals and journalists. American people are not policy wonks, but they have great instincts and try to do the right thing."

Okay Karl, name some names here, after all, you would NEVER outright lie in any way, shape or form to further your political agenda of a permanent *snicker* one party political state

Oh yeah, the absolute hypocrisy of Rove bashing "cynicism" when the Administration constantly uses the 9-11 mantra is nothing short of Greek Tragedy Worthy Hubris

Let's look at this line again, and put it in proper context with the portion below

"There are some in politics who hold that voters are dumb, ill informed and easily misled, that voters can be manipulated by a clever ad or a smart line,"

Rove said it is"wrong to underestimate the intelligence of the American voter, but easy to overestimate their interest. Much tugs at their attention."

But he said voters are able to watch campaigns and candidates closely and "this messy and imperfect process has produced great leaders."

So, according to Rove, voters are smart, but rather easily distracted-a political trump card Rove has played over and again

And while he uses the words "great leaders", it's obvious even he doesn't believe they apply to Dear Leader W

In fact, Karl Rove's doing SUCH a bangup job since not being indicted that the GOP and it's various officeholders are distancing themselves from W and the Iraq occupation

Wasn't Rove supposed to right the listing USS GOP after not being indicted, seeing as how he could focus all his attention on making his rapidly-growing number of critics rue the day they said anything bad about Rove?

Now W's got the GOP base tearing into itself, leading into an election with a public overwhelmingly convinced this country is on the wrong track

And that's before there's any asking of the public if they'd approve military actions against Iran and Syria, in addition to being bogged down in Iraq while watching Afghanistan slide back towards Taliban rule at the same time

Rove's alleged "genius" is showing itself to be pretty well useless with all the current legal problems and ethical scandals now breaking against the GOP at the state and national levels

And even worse for Rove, he avoided indictment for outing Valerie Plame, but he's a good buddy of Jack Abramoff, especially as how Rove's main assistant, Susan Ralston, used to be Abramoff's assistant

Rove's on top of his A-Game so much that we're now hearing about no-bid, no oversight contracts regarding Contractors and occupation-era Iraq suddenly being suspended and let for rebid

What W's learning is that the success of his Iraq MeatGrinder Crusade is now out of his hands to influence in any kind of a face-saving way for this most whiney of Presidents

China & Russia are allying themselves pursuing the same objective-business-and as such, are busy making energy deals with countries either fearful of a future assault courtesy of the Bush Jr Administration, or completely pissed off at it for W's Rove-approved Go It Alone style of empty headed Cowboy diplomacy

That list of countries tying their business fortunes to China & Russia includes India and Iran, and if anyone thinks China's going to let all Iran's oil be controlled by the US, they're more naive than Pollyanna ever was

China & Russia have the ability to instantly inflict the same kind of nuclear agony on the US that W can drop on anyone else, and that trumps all the neocons blood-fueled fever pushing US military actions against Iran & Syria

Hezbollah's still standing, and their definition of Victory is the one most acknowledged by so many of those condemning Israel's targeting of Lebanese civilians

It doesn't appear Israel's enamored enough of Neocon strategy to go into Lebanon with a heavy ground presence for an undetermined time

Which kind of undercuts the Neocons strategy of ignore unpleasant realities in Iraq to focus on invading and occupying Syria and Iran

And all this is before we can even measure the Administration's next rescue & relief operations courtesy of the next big Hurricane to hit anywhere on the US Coast, an atmospheric event not likely to be intimidated by the likes of Karl Rove, but if Katrina rebuilding is any accurate indicator, then W and Rove will once again go for the style over the substance

"Stay The Course" as a policy when the overwhelming majority of the US public think we're going in the wrong direction means Rove's "National Security" electoral strategy is officially dead & buried in terms of cost-free victories

Face it, even Diebold ain't saving the GOP come November, and things are only going to get worse politically for Rove and W leading into the November Elections

Hell, W has no military cards to play at all, which would make this a perfect time for all those anti US interests to start acting in concert against any further extension of the US neocons deranged visions

Here's a very long article about just how badly China & Iran could really hurt the US financially and militarily

"If it comes to a shooting war ..."

Not the cheeriest of reading, but especially gloomy for the neocons, radicals who never have represented any political or social mainstream values in the least

Yep, that Rove sure put things right for the GOP since not being indicted for outing Valerie Plame in a hissy fit of political pique

Here's some questions I'd love to hear Rove answer-say, under oath

Valerie Plame's job was to track and disrupt the transfer of WsMD to rogue regimes, groups and individuals, with Iran the focus of her attempts at the time of her outing

In the course of her efforts, she used a CIA front operation called Brewster Jennings, which meant that she had various dealings with undercover operatives, and double agents in other govts, around the world

So.....

How did outing Plame make this country safer as a result?

How did outing Plame make it easier to recruit the best and the brightest to help keep WsMD out of the hands of rogue regimes, groups and individuals?

When Plame was outed, it was inevitable that her CIA front of Brewster Jennings would be disclosed as well, thereby exposing all those undercover operatives and double agents in other Govts

How did outing Plame, and then Brewster Jennings make it easier to recruit the foreign operatives and double agents needed to keep WsMD out of the hands of rogue regimes, groups and individuals?

How did the Administration's DELIBERATE outing of Plame increase the trust level between the White House and the CIA's intelligence analysts?

That Karl Rove, he's sure going to put the libs in our proper place all right

That effort should be starting sometime before the election if Rove is the genius he claims to be

And even more depressing, Rove's buddy Ralph Reed got trashed in the Georgia primary

Where's all that "political capital" again?

Countering Homophobia

If I was gay, I'd be off on a major tirade about the ruling against gay citizens in Washington state, but Pam sure gives the issue a hard turn

I just heard about the Washington State Court ruling, and I think it's about time to try a few other tactics

First off, the ruling was an outrage, and I can see how lots of people will be feeling gutshot and disheartened, even asking themselves if the struggle's really over

I would suggest this-Being discouraged is EXACTLY what Karl Rove wants, it' anger thrown back at him that he can't handle

Find out what ties Karl Rove has to the business world in terms of "consultant" status, and then pressure has to be brought to bear on those employers to cut their financial ties with Rove and his firms

Microsoft had to cut it's ties with Ralph Reed just last year to mollify the anger of it's employees and a large number of consumers, it's time to start hitting back at these bastards in the area that matters more to them than any other-Their wallets

Secondly, the arguments for laws allowing Same Sex Unions (SSU's) have to be framed the right way in order to bring the Corporate world into this issue more than it already is

If the business lobbies start putting pressure on state and local govts, but only to kill political support for outlawing SSU's, that could be an enormous blow for the backers of these state constitutional amendments to have to deal with

To do this, the business world would have to see that being progressive on this issue could pay off for them financially, and moreso when considering that homophobic groups & individuals will undoubtedly try and launch boycotts of businesses that cross their most morally-relativistic of elitist, ivory-tower boundries

Find a way for the issue of SSU's to put money in corporate coffers, and the balance of power suddenly shrinks for those against civil rights for gays

And which industries should be targeted, which businesses could be brought to bear in favor of SSU's?

The obvious, the same businesses and industries that serve married couples

Financial Services and Life/Homeowner's insurance, mortgage lenders all spring to mind

Time for an unpleasant bit of reality the homophobes need to have rubbed in their faces

This appeal to the above industries is a no win proposition for the gay haters. The businesses have a chance to open up an untapped market here in the US, and while the already homophobic would be ready to boycott, just how many people-in the course of their everyday lives of providing for themselves and their families-are going to be motivated enough to change banks, insurance, without being personally shafted by that same business targeted for religiously based boycott?

I submit that the harder a person or family is working to provide for themselves or others, the less likely they are to worry about the issue of SSU's, especially when the following questions are asked

How does banning SSU's put money in the pockets & bank accounts of anyone trying to provide for themselves and/or their families?

For those struggling to feed, house and clothe their kids, how does banning SSU's put food on the table, a roof over the kids heads' or clothes on their backs?

How is it right for gays to be denied their fair share of civil rights, yet still be required to pay their fair share of social responsibilities, taxes?

Which would be a better way to correct that hypocrisy?

Let SSU's proceed, ensuring those taxes?

OR

Keep SSU's banned, and drop the tax burden on homosexuals to Zero, so as not to engage in the most base of social hypocrisy otherwise?

One other idea

It's time to start throwing so much homophobic, exterminationist rhetoric back in the faces of those so quick to try and ban SSU's

Pam's House Blend does a great job of cataloging vile homophobia, including black preachers and clerics

And a way to counter that hatred is to use rhetoric that not only shows homophobia at it's ugliest, but often racist as well, as is the case with KKK Homophobe Doug Sadler

This type of homophobic extremism must be lodged as vociferously and often as possible against any and all who push to ban SSU's, the larger public has to be made aware of the hate the far-right theological thugs who fly under the public radar express so willingly and longingly

The message needs to be pounded over and over again-These evil-minded homophobes do NOT represent the political or social mainstream in the US, not by a long shot. We saw what the public thinks of an extremist agenda regarding Terri Schiavo, those who argued against her husband were actually pushing for Fla. Gov Bush to have the state seize physical custody of Schiavo and reinsert the withdrawn feeding tubes

The overwhelming majority of the public vehemently disagreed with the radicals pushing their extremist agenda, and as a result, the politicians backed off immediately

I have no patience for willfully ignorant jackasses & theological thugs who try and use God or Country as a cover for their psychological flaws and shortcomings of the soul, and homophobes possessed of enough hatred to try and socially opress their victims deserve nothing but public condemnation that's just as scathing as that which the gay baiters spew on such a constant basis

These homophobic parasites who try and ensure social inequality to line their pockets must be challenged on their every point, they must be called to account at every opportunity

Show the US citizens and voters exactly what's in the minds and hearts of so many politically powerful homophobes-like James Dobson and Sun Myung Moon-and that can't help but hurt the 'phobes cause

And if it hurts the homophobes, it helps humanity and makes us a better, more fair and more just society at the same time

For other homophobe-bashings, go HERE, HERE, and HERE

Oh yeah, it's always fun to throw Mathew 23 in the faces of those who would use their weak & willfully ignorant faith as a basis to oppress all nonbelieving others

W Panders To The "Have & Have Mores", All Other Taxpayers Get ROYALLY Shafted

Perhaps no other term perfectly sums up W's sense of unjustified entitlement than "Financial Parasite"

And nothing, absolutely nothing, shows W's true sense of Blueblooded priorities and "screw the peasants" mentality than the following article

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I.R.S. to Cut Tax Auditors

The federal government is moving to eliminate the jobs of nearly half of the lawyers at the Internal Revenue Service who audit tax returns of some of the wealthiest Americans, specifically those who are subject to gift and estate taxes when they transfer parts of their fortunes to their children and others.

The administration plans to cut the jobs of 157 of the agency’s 345 estate tax lawyers, plus 17 support personnel, in less than 70 days. Kevin Brown, an I.R.S. deputy commissioner, confirmed the cuts after The New York Times was given internal documents by people inside the I.R.S. who oppose them.

The Bush administration has passed measures that reduce the number of Americans who are subject to the estate tax — which opponents refer to as the “death tax” — but has failed in its efforts to eliminate the tax entirely. Mr. Brown said in a telephone interview Friday that he had ordered the staff cuts because far fewer people were obliged to pay estate taxes under President Bush’s legislation.

I see, so, using that same "logic", when violent crime rates go down, we should get rid of laws against violent crimes, that's what Brown seems to be postulating here

And let's use proper terminology, refer to it instead as the "Paris Hilton/Grateful Heirs" Tax, as proper terminology is something the W lackeys hate dealing with on a constant basis

But six I.R.S. estate tax lawyers whose jobs are likely to be eliminated said in interviews that the cuts were just the latest moves behind the scenes at the I.R.S. to shield people with political connections and complex tax-avoidance devices from thorough audits.

Sharyn Phillips, a veteran I.R.S. estate tax lawyer in Manhattan, called the cuts a “back-door way for the Bush administration to achieve what it cannot get from Congress, which is repeal of the estate tax.”

Mr. Brown dismissed as preposterous any suggestion that the I.R.S. was soft on rich tax cheats. He said that the money saved by eliminating the estate tax lawyers would be used to hire revenue agents to audit income tax returns, especially those from people making over $1 million.

Interestingly, this idea is contradicted by the very next paragraph

Mr. Brown said that civil service rules barred the estate tax lawyers from moving over to audit income taxes. An I.R.S. spokesman said that the agency had asked for permission to allow such transfers twice, but that the Office of Personnel Management had not responded.

So, the obvious solution is to hire those estate tax lawyers as auditors then, but somehow, I'm guessing that's NOT going to be the policy or practice that actually comes about

Estate tax lawyers are the most productive tax law enforcement personnel at the I.R.S., according to Mr. Brown. For each hour they work, they find an average of $2,200 of taxes that people owe the government.

Mr. Brown said that careful analysis showed that the I.R.S. was auditing enough returns to catch cheats and that 10 percent of the estate audits brought in 80 percent of the additional taxes. He said that auditing a greater percentage of gift and estate tax returns would not be worthwhile because “the next case is not a lucrative case” and likely to be of relatively little value.

And once again, Brown flat-out lies or tries to ignore the following inconveninet truths

That is a change from six years ago, when the I.R.S. said that 85 percent of large taxable gifts it audited shortchanged the government. The I.R.S. said then that it would hire three more lawyers just to audit taxable gifts of $1 million or more.

Over the last five years, officials at both the I.R.S. and the Treasury have told Congress that cheating among the highest-income Americans is a major and growing problem.

These slugs and parasites who got rich in this society did NOT do so courtesy of their talents alone, they had societal help in builiding up their wealth, and they should be more than happy to give back to the same society that enabled them their riches in the first place

The six I.R.S. tax lawyers, some of whom were willing to be named, all said that clear evidence of fraud was pursued vigorously by the agency, but that when audits showed the use of complicated schemes to understate the value of assets, the I.R.S. had become increasingly reluctant to pursue cases.

The lawyers said that the risk analysis system the I.R.S. used to evaluate whether to pursue such cases gave higher-level officials cover to not pursue tax cheats and, in the process, emboldened the most aggressive tax advisers to prepare gift and estate tax returns that shortchanged the government.

“This is not a game the poor will win, but the rich will,” said John Hruska, another I.R.S. estate tax lawyer in New York who, like Ms. Phillips, is active in the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents I.R.S. workers.

Colleen M. Kelley, the national union president, said: “If these lawyers are not there to audit the gift and estate tax returns, then a lot of taxes that should be paid will go uncollected, and that impacts every taxpayer who is paying their fair share.”

This President and Administration are pushing our country into 3rd World status as quickly as possible, in the absurd belief that no one will get more irate than disheartened

Unfortunately for them, the vast majority of citizens are onto what an Imperial Presidency is actually costing their pocketbooks

This Administration has bankrupted this country while making us less safe from another terrorist attack on US soil

This Administration has treated those under the helmet and behind the trigger as nothing more than the most easily disposable and quickly forgotten of resources while financially rewarding those who supplied our troops with contaminated water, spoiled food and inefficient body & vehicle armor

This Administration has tried to paint ANY dissent or protests of it's pro-death policies as unpatriotic while at the same time raping the US Constitutional guarantees of executive-branch oversight

This Administration has been so quick to saber rattle regarding nuclear capabilities of nations not to it's liking, while at the same time, proposing new non-proliferation treaties with NO mechanisms for verification because, in the Administration's view, "that could take years to negotiate and that U.S. officials thought it better just to sign the treaty and rely on countries to abide by it."

There's has NEVER, in US history, been a more spectacularly incompetent crew of spoiled brats running this country into the ground, and it's far past time they were held legally accountable for their absolutely unconscionable & brutal policies, for their view that losing an entire US city, on W's watch, is no big deal, worthy only of the most hollow, base rhetoric, but NO real Administrative action or muscle to not only rebuild New Orleans, but also ensure that all it's evacuees can come back to their now-abandoned homes

The US political system can ill afford the already bloated ticks in the White House drawing even more blood from an already weakened body politic for much longer

The sooner these thugs and criminals in this Administration, starting with the President, are locked up for long, harsh prison sentences, the better off our country, and Constitution will be

Permanent Public Disgracement along the lines of that which attaches itself to slimy scumbag Sen Joe McCarthy is the ONLY appropriate punishment for these freedom-hating, terrorist loving radicals running this country into the ground

Karmic Payback Just BitchSlapped Ralph Reed

And it doesn't taste very good does it bitchboi?

Reed got his ass handed to him in the Republican Primary for Georgia's Lt Gov spot, and besides Dems registering as Republicans to vote against him in the primary, what really did the number on Reed's political career is a stain that's currently the cause of much of the GOP's legal woes and ethical scandals

Jack Abramoff, specifically Abramoff's wretched ripping off of numerous Indian tribes

Reed got petard-hoisted because of his love of the money Abramoff was sucking in from these tribes, and since Reed and Abramoff go way back to their days as College Republicans, Reed could not logically claim he had no idea what Jackie boy was all about

And yes, I hate Reed for a personal reason

Here in El Paso, Reed, along With Abramoff, Michael Scanlon and then Texas AG-and current Jr Senator-John Cornyn helped get the Tigua Tribe's full-gaming casino shut down. And then, Abramoff's audacity really kicked in

He sweet-talked the Tiguas out of millions of dollars in an attempt to get their casino-which Abramoff helped get shut down in the first place-up and running again, and it's that part of the scandal that's coming back to bite every money-grubbing parasite and leech in legal and ethical trouble now

And the damage that stunt caused hurt the Tribe AND the city as well

The original 2005 article is now located behind a Paid-Archive wall at the NY Times, but luckily, an exact copy was printed on another blog

For a Tribe in Texas, an Era of Prosperity Undone by Politics

EL PASO - There are no customers at the Speaking Rock Casino now. Inside the adobe building, built by the Tigua Indians to look like a large pueblo-style home, it is eerily silent and dark, no clinking coins, no 24-hour-a-day bright lights.

The 1,500 slot machines that attracted 100,000 visitors a month to the casino, earning the small Tigua tribe $60 million a year, are gone, taken away after the State of Texas won a federal lawsuit three years ago declaring that the tribe did not have the right to run a casino here on their ancestral land, the oldest settlement in Texas.

The Tiguas' efforts to get their casino reopened and their dealings with Washington insiders promising access and influence got them caught up in the spreading investigations involving the lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Republican political figures, including the House majority leader, Tom DeLay, and Ralph Reed, the former director of the Christian Coalition who is running for lieutenant governor in Georgia.

But here on the dusty east side of El Paso, where the casino overlooks the Rio Grande and Juárez, Mexico, this is less a story about machinations in Washington than about how a tribe lifted itself out of centuries of poverty into sudden prosperity, complete with good wages, health insurance and college scholarships for its 1,300 members, only to see its fortunes plummet.

"In two or three years it will be back to the way it was before we had gaming," said Arturo Senclair, the tribal governor. "Then we'll be dependent on whatever federal money we can get, after we tried so hard to be self-sufficient."

All but 82 of the 1,000 casino employees have been laid off. Those remaining have had their wages cut and have lost their free medical insurance, 401(k) retirement plans and paid vacations.

Also gone are the $15,000 annual distributions to each member of the tribe from casino profits, almost equal to the median per capita income in El Paso of $17,000.

How the Tiguas got their casino, lost it and have tried to get it back is a complex tale of gambling and politics involving newcomers to the political arena with money to burn and Washington lobbyists seeking profit. It took several steps and several years for the Tiguas to open their casino. In 1987 they won federal recognition as a tribe with their own reservation, as long as they followed the law of Texas.

The next year, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which authorizes tribes to open casinos on their reservations if their state permits gambling. In 1991, by constitutional referendum, Texas voters approved several forms of gambling, including a state lottery and horse and dog racing.

The Tiguas seized on the referendum as the legal rationale for opening their casino. In 1993 they tried to sign a gaming compact with Gov. Ann W. Richards making clear their legal authority to run the casino. When she declined, they won a ruling by a federal district judge ordering Texas to negotiate the compact, and went into business.

The casino had been open five years when Gov. George W. Bush campaigned for re-election in 1998. One of his main themes was his opposition to gambling and, in particular, to the Tigua casino, which by then was one of the biggest businesses in El Paso.

"There ought not to be casino gambling in the state of Texas, any shape or form of it," Governor Bush said then, taking a stance that put him in line with Christian conservatives and that he repeated in his presidential campaign. Mr. Bush said the casino violated the law, since Texas did not permit casinos. To the Tiguas, the 1988 law allowing Indians to open casinos and the 1991 referendum permitting gambling gave them legal authority.

Profits from the casino made the Tiguas political players, giving them money to make contributions. In 1998 they gave $100,000 to Mr. Bush's Democratic opponent, Gary Mauro. It was the logical choice, since El Paso was the last Democratic stronghold in Texas, and the Tiguas enjoyed a close relationship with President Bill Clinton, said Tom Diamond, the tribe's lawyer.

After his re-election as governor, Mr. Bush got the Legislature to appropriate $100,000 for the state's attorney general, John Cornyn, now a Republican senator, to take legal action against the tribe. Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman, said there was no connection between the Tiguas' campaign contribution and Mr. Bush's stance.

"The president long supported closing the casino because it was operating illegally," Ms. Perino said. "While the voters of Texas had approved a state lottery, they had not approved casino gambling."

Mr. Cornyn sued in federal court in 1999 and ultimately won in 2002.

By 1999, Mr. Abramoff, the lobbyist, had hired Mr. Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition, on behalf of the Coushatta tribe of Louisiana, which had a casino in Louisiana near the Texas border and wanted to block competition in Texas. Mr. Reed was to drum up support among conservative Christians for Mr. Cornyn's legal attack on the Tigua casino.

Mr. Senclair has a file folder with 250 e-mail messages from Mr. Abramoff; his partner, Michael Scanlon; Mr. Reed; and others that he says outlines tactics for closing the Tigua casino and, after it was closed, for getting money from the Tiguas to win its reopening.

The messages were provided by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, which has been investigating whether Mr. Abramoff and others defrauded Indian tribes. The committee plans to hold hearings this month on its findings, said Andrea Jones, a spokeswoman for the committee chairman, Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona.

In one message dated Feb. 11, 2002, the day of the court ruling against the Tiguas, Mr. Abramoff wrote to Mr. Scanlon: "I wish those moronic Tiguas were smarter in their political contributions. I'd love us to get our mitts on that moolah!! Oh well, stupid folks get wiped out."

Four days later, the Tigua leaders say, Mr. Abramoff arrived in El Paso with a plan to reopen the casino by getting a powerful Republican congressman to insert an amendment in an unrelated bill.

The cost was $4.2 million paid to Mr. Scanlon, $2 million of which he sent to Mr. Abramoff, according to the Senate investigation. The Tiguas were also told to make $300,000 in political contributions to Republicans in Washington or to their political action committees, which they did, Mr. Senclair said.

To Mr. Diamond, the tribe's lawyer, the Tiguas were not naïve. Everything Mr. Abramoff promised to do he had done for other tribes, and his plan was the same as one their previous advisers had proposed.

But, Mr. Senclair said, "We were betrayed."

Earlier this year the Tiguas got back about half the $4.2 million in a settlement with Mr. Abramoff's former law firm over his role in working to close and then reopen the casino.

Andrew Blum, a spokesman for Mr. Abramoff's lawyer, said it was a lie to suggest that Mr. Abramoff had a conflict of interest. Mr. Abramoff was not trying to get the Tigua casino closed, Mr. Blum said. Instead, he was taking aim at another Indian casino near Houston, and when the Tigua casino closed, "Mr. Abramoff then sought to help the Tiguas where he could," Mr. Blum said in an e-mail message.

But the slot machines are still gone, replaced by "entertainment machines" that dispense only credits for consumer goods. And the years of prosperity are slipping away. Lori Rivera, 40, once the supervisor in the casino's cashier's office, is in many ways the embodiment of the tale. She grew up in a one-room mud shack without running water or electricity. She got a job in the casino, and as the profits rolled in, she became eligible for a new house on a reservation of 300 acres of former pecan orchards that the Tiguas had bought.

The new reservation looks like an upscale subdivision of two-story homes. At its entrance is a large fitness center with a weight room, a basketball court and an Olympic-size swimming pool.

But on a recent afternoon, the pool was empty. Too many people have had to leave El Paso to find work, said Carlos Hisa, the tribal lieutenant governor.

Ms. Rivera is worried about what will happen to her two grandchildren, as the tribal leaders have begun cutting stipends for school.

"Before the casino, most Tigua kids didn't stay in school because they were so poor they couldn't afford shoes, and they were embarrassed," Ms. Rivera said. "Everything was going really well.

Now we're going backwards."

This state and this country have been going backwards ever since Imperial Scumbag Extraordinaire Bush Jr decided to get into politics

But now, it's appears Karma is getting payback on all those who fucked the Tiguas and the city

All those parasites and lice who loved ripping others off of their money are now getting their true just rewards

Abramoff, Scanlon, Reed and Bush are getting the payback for their lives of cronyism, religious hypocrisy and leaving others to clean up their own messes, misdeeds and wrongdoings

More than anything else, I'm hoping John Cornyn, one of the absolute dimmest bulbs in the GOP's chandelier, gets the same karmic gang-bang his other anti-Tigua conspirators are currently experiencing

My sense of Schadenfreude went into overdrive when Tom DeLay-Abramoff's main GOP lackey-got his worthless ass indicted as a result of his most audacious political stunt ever, the redistricting fiasco. It's truly ironic and appropriate that his greatest triumph ended up being DeLay's downfall and disgracement

That Schadenfreude went back into hyperdrive last night with news that Reed got his hypocritical holy-rolling ass kicked in the Georgia primary yesterday

Serves you right Ralph, hope your life gets MUCH worse, in terms of indictments, imprisonment and permanent public disgracement

W Fails At The Most Basic Job-US Citizens Screwed Yet Again

This is starting to become a disturbing routine for the Imperial Presidency of King George W Bush, an individual far more at home playing dress up SuperDuperHero than actually working to protect the US citizenry and Constitution from attacks both foreign and domestic

W's Administration failed to protect almost 3000 people killed on September 11

The same thing happened when W decided that air-playing a guitar-complete with Presidential seal-continuing on a fundraising vacation, as opposed to showing strong, decisive leadership, was more important than vigorously leading a federal rescue & relief operation after Katrina hit, New Orleans Drowned and People Died


Add the US citizens stuck in Lebanon to the ever-increasing list of people harmed by the Bush Jr cabal

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U.S. Rescue Bogs Down in Lebanon

And

Hundreds of Americans Evacuate Lebanon

Thousands of Americans whose vacations and business trips to Lebanon have degenerated with sickening speed into stints in a battle zone remained stranded here under Israeli bombardment Monday, their frustration and anger mounting because the U.S. government hasn't gotten them out faster.

Waiting around Beirut with bags packed and fingers crossed, U.S. citizens derided the embassy for busy phone lines, a lack of information and gnawing uncertainty over when and whether they will get out. Hundreds were expected to be shipped to Cyprus today, but how long the full evacuation will take remains uncertain.

"I had heard it might take a week, two weeks. You hear so many things," said Pamela Pattie, a 65-year-old professor. "Why in the world aren't we getting it together?"(LAT)

Excellent Question, just why is this Administration so slow when it comes to helping out the public, why doesn't the Administration put any value on any lives that aren't connected with corrupt cronies and heavy-hitting campaign contributors?

At least 320 Americans left Lebanon by sea and air Tuesday, but hundreds more waited in frustration for a cruise ship hired by the U.S. to take them to Cyprus. The U.S. Embassy tried to calm their fears, saying everyone who wanted to leave will eventually get out.

The move out did not start until a team of U.S. security experts arrived in Lebanon over the weekend to plan the operation, which will bill the evacuees.(Forbes)

This Administration had to know that Lebanon would be targeted with Israeli bombs when Hezbollah launched an attack on Israel that killed 3 soldiers and took 2 more captive, yet didn't start planning to evacuate thousands of US citizens in Lebanon until this past weekend

Once again, the Administration shows it's malign & willful neglect of US citizens for all but photo-ops to push a radical, war-based agenda that profits no one but it's campaign-contributing supporters

The frustration has been intensified by news that other countries have already pulled many of their citizens out of Lebanon, efficiently and free of cost. A ferry chartered by the French government carried about 800 of its citizens and several dozen Americans to Cyprus on Monday. The U.S. military evacuated about 60 Americans by helicopter Sunday and Monday.

***********************

Americans have been told to wait for a telephone call that could come in hours — or days. They've also been told they can't board a ship unless they've signed a contract agreeing to repay the U.S. government for the price of their evacuation.(LAT)

Yes, you read that correctly, the US is REQUIRING it's citizens to pay for their evacuation from a country W's lauded for it's democratically elected Govt

Lebanon Situation Update - July 15, 2006

The Department of State reminds American citizens that the U.S. government does not provide no-cost transportation but does have the authority to provide repatriation loans to those in financial need. For the portion of your trip directly handled by the U.S. Government we will ask you to sign a promissory note and we will bill you at a later date. In a subsequent message, when we have specific details about the transporation arrangments, we will inform you about the costs you will incur. We will also work with commercial aircraft to ensure that they have adequate flights to help you depart Cyprus and connect to your final destination.

NO other country rescuing it's citizens is charging for their evacuation.

To get on the ship, Americans must sign a note pledging to reimburse the U.S. government. They will be charged the cost of a single commercial flight from Beirut to Cyprus - usually about $150 or $200, although officials refused to specify. If they have no way to fly onward, they also will be asked to reimburse the cost of an airline ticket from Cyprus to the United States.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi objected to billing evacuees.

"A nation that can provide more than $300 billion for a war in Iraq can provide the money to get its people out of Lebanon," Pelosi said.(Forbes)

And considering how this Administration tries to punish those who criticize it publicly, the person quoted next is playing it smart by not being identified

The rules have angered Americans who are already fatigued and nervous after days of explosions. "I'm freaked out that our government is treating us this way," snapped a Rutgers University student who had been studying Arabic at the American University of Beirut. She declined to give her name for fear she would be taken off the passenger list in retribution for criticizing the evacuation effort.

"Are we a Third World country or what?" she said.(LAT)

No

The US is a First World Country which happens to be governed by a Third World Wannabe Dictatorship

And which US citizens are in Lebanon?

Officials estimate that 25,000 Americans have poured into Lebanon this summer. They include tourists, business travelers and students. There are Lebanese who fled the torments of the civil war decades ago and had finally dared take their families back for a visit. There are Lebanese Americans and American Jews, young and old, chasing down lost memories or looking for adventure in this sun-dappled country of pine-studded mountains and pristine beaches.

Now they are all stuck in place, trembling when the bombs shake the ground, sweating because of the broken air conditioners, listening to the roar of Israeli jets — and waiting to be rescued.(LAT)

And lets put a real name to one of those US citizens once again left, by this Administration, to fend for themselves in a crisis not of that person's own making

Jonathan Chakhtoura, a 19-year-old Lebanese-American student, said he registered electronically with the U.S. Embassy to be evacuated, but he has not heard back for three days, except for an e-mail acknowledging his registration.

Chakhtoura, who wants to be back in Boston before school resumes Sept. 6, said he was disappointed with the way the embassy has handled the evacuation.

"Every time I call to see what's going on the lines are busy. When they answer, they say they don't know," he said. "There is so much confusion. If it's security they are worried about, then I think we will be more secure if we know what is going on."(Forbes)

Here's another face to put on the problem

Among the stranded is a 9-year old boy, Noureddine Issa, who received a liver transplant at UCLA Medical Center as an infant. His family, which lives in Los Angeles, was visiting relatives in Beirut when the fighting broke out.

Surgeons at UCLA have been urgently trying to get Noureddine out of the country, fearing he is running out of critical medications.(LAT)

Read the rest of the LA Times piece, see how many others have been abandoned by the Tender Mercies of the Bush Jr Administration

Just what is it with vigorously trying to protect US Citizens that rankles the Administration and rubs this Imperial President the wrong way?

UPDATED: Amnesty, Murder, & Revoking Battlefield Immunity

Updated from earlier today

One thing I was unaware of when making the previous post was that the decision to grant immunity to US Troops is NOT up to the Administration OR Congress to decide

Nope, in a move sure to set off howls from the dwindling number of starry-eyed True W Believers, that determination is up to the UN Security Council

And Jr's problems just got MUCH worse now, as Iraqi PM Maliki is now asking the UN to withdraw the battlefield immunity that protects US Troops and civilian contractors from being tried or held accountable in the Iraq legal system

Iraq says to ask U.N. to end US immunity

Iraq's Government says it will ask the United Nations to end immunity from local law for United States troops, as the US military named five soldiers charged in a rape-murder case that has outraged Iraqis.

Human Rights Minister Wigdan Michael said work on a review of foreign troops' immunity was now under way and a request could be ready by next month to go to the United Nations Security Council, under whose mandate US-led forces operate in Iraq.

"We're very serious about this," she said, adding a lack of enforcement of US military law in the past had encouraged soldiers to commit crimes against Iraqi civilians.

"We formed a committee last week to prepare reports and put it before the Cabinet in three weeks," she said.

"After that, [Prime Minister] Maliki will present it to the Security Council. We will ask them to lift the immunity.

"If we don't get that, then we'll ask for an effective role in the investigations that are going on. The Iraqi government must have a role."

Analysts say it is improbable the United States would ever make its troops answerable to Iraq's chaotic judicial system.

Asked to respond to Ms Michael's remarks, White House spokesman Tony Snow dismissed that as a "hypothetical game".

But Mr Snow says the US understands Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's concerns.

"We want to make sure he's fully informed and also that he is satisfied, regardless of what the treaty situation may be on these issues, that justice truly is being done, and that he can make that demonstration to his people as well," he said.

Immunity decree

The day before handing formal sovereignty back to Iraqis in June 2004, the US occupation authority issued a decree giving its troops immunity from Iraqi law.

That remains in force and is confirmed by UN Security Council Resolution 1546 on Iraq.

Many Iraqis have complained for the past three years about hundreds of civilians killed by US troops and abuses such as those highlighted in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal of 2004.

But a handful of new US investigations into incidents, including the killing of 24 people at Haditha and the quadruple murder and rape case at Mahmudiya, have caused an outcry that prompted the newly formed national unity Government to speak out.

Ms Michael said commanders' failure to hold soldiers to account had fostered a climate of impunity.

"One of the reasons for this is the UN resolution, which gives the multinational force soldiers immunity," she said.

"Without punishment, you get violations."

US commanders say troops are not immune from justice and must answer to US military law.

But officials concede a flurry of cases reflect a crackdown aimed at restoring credibility with Iraqis.
Murder charges

Sixteen troops were charged with murder in Iraq in recent weeks, as many as in the previous three years.

Four soldiers were charged on Saturday with rape and murder in the Mahmudiya case, dating from March.

A military official named them on Monday as Privates First Class Jesse Spielman and Bryan Howard, Sergeant James Barker and Specialist Paul Cortez.

All are accused of conspiring with Steven Green, then a private in the 502nd Infantry Regiment, who was charged as a civilian with rape and murder in a US court last week.

Prosecutors say four soldiers went to the home after drinking, intending to rape 14-year-old Abeer al-Janabi, and left a fifth soldier manning their nearby checkpoint.

They say Green shot Ms Janabi's parents and 6-year-old sister, before he and one other raped the teenager and Green also then shot her dead.

Sergeant Anthony Yribe was charged with dereliction of duty for failing to report what he knew of the case.

US official documents say Ms Janabi was raped.

US officials have said Ms Janabi was aged 20 or 25, but documents obtained by Reuters put her age at 14.

If the Administration REALLY thinks revoking battlefield immunity is a "hypothetical game", then it truly has no idea just how badly damaging these incidents are to both Administrative policies and the US long-term interests as a whole

The whole thing must be galling from the POV of so many Iraqis, especially seeing as how that immunity wasn't granted until the day before the US turned over formal sovereignty of Iraq to the newly-formed Government

This insistence on being exempt from the same laws, treaties and legal obligations expected from the rest of the world is a big part of why the US is so hated around the globe, it's an attitude that states the only lives worth noting or protecting are those of US citizens, all others are either immediately forgotten or ignored entirely

And while this immunity policy did exist under Bill Clinton, it's more than appropriate that it's going to give W more political heartburn than he's ever experienced before, a bit of karmic payback for Dear Leader's blowing of that treasury surplus left by the Slick One before leaving office in 2001

Regarding the Abeer al-Janabi horror, and the slaughter of 24 civilians in Haditha, there can and must NEVER be any legitimacy attached to such atrocities, executing, slaughtering and raping children is a crime there can be no diminishing, no trivializing, no attempting to ease punishment for those involved in the most evil of acts, violence against children

Expect this demand to revoke military and civilian contractor immunity to grow with the various Iraqi factions vying for political power, taking a hard-line against the US occupiers is a cause that can only unite, not divide, most of the armed groups currently operating and killing in Iraq

And there is definitely a way for things to get worse in regards to revoking battlefield immunity for the us military and civilian contractors, and that's if Afghanistan Leader Hamid Karzai has to play the same anti-US card to stay alive politically, and that's an option I submit is more likely with the Taliban resurgent in areas of Afghanistan outside of Kabul

And to further add damage to the political cost W's paying now, expect the amnesty proposal in Iraq to definitely cover those who say they only target US troops

When incidents involving women in labor getting killed by troops , or allegations of massacres in which a child survivor of only 9 wishes the US troops involved to be executed, or the victims listed in this roll call of the Iraqi Dead, when any of these incidents goes uncorrected/unatoned for, is it any surprise that amnesty proposals giving immunity to Iraqis who targeted US troops will now be given much more serious thought than before?

And if both Iraq and Afghanistan decide that they need to offer amnesty/immunity to their own people, how can the Administration possibly either attack the idea-for fear of undermining the very Governments installed by the US, OR support the proposal, which will be a staggering bodily blow to W's political fortunes especially leading into the November elections?

Does anyone think an amnesty will go over well with the families of those US Troops killed, maimed, or traumatized in duty to their Commander in Chief?

The misery the dueling amnesty/immunity proposals are going to inflict on the President and his retinue is going to be painful indeed, and as stated at the end of the previous post, a group more deserving of the same pain and anguish it's policies have dished out to so many innocent, unwilling civilians cannot be found outside of 1600 Pennsylvania and Capitol Hill

Both the Administration AND the GOP need to Crash & Burn as hard, bright and completely as possible

Amnesty, Murder, & Revoking Battlefield Immunity

The "good news" from Iraq didn't last long after the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, as the insurgents and militias ratchet up their attacks, the death squads ratcheted up the number of dead & tortured, and the number of Iraqis wrongly or deliberately killed by US forces only continues to increase, which in turn makes it much easier for the insurgents to validly claim the US is out only for Iraq's natural resources as opposed to actually spreading "Peace & Prosperity"

But, as I blogged about HERE and HERE, W's heading for a very nasty Iraq rebuke before the November elections, and no matter what the decider chooses, there is NO way for the Administration to save any kind of face with regards to W's meatgrinder crusade to enrich the corporate campaign contributing cronies profiting so handsomely from Iraq's woes, misery and rage

Both choices Jr has to make, regarding immunity for US troops & Civilian Contractors, and granting an amnesty for Iraqis who attack, wound and kill US troops are going to rip into not only W's political capital, but also that of the dwindling number of supporters still backing the President and the Iraq mission

Immunity for troops fosters crime, Iraqi says

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said Wednesday that Iraq would conduct an inquiry into the recently disclosed rape-and-killing case involving U.S. soldiers and contended that the immunity from Iraqi prosecution granted to foreign troops encouraged them to commit crimes.

"We do not accept the violation of Iraqi people's honor, as happened in this case," al-Maliki said, according to wire service reports, during a news conference in Kuwait, where he stopped on a diplomatic tour of gulf states. "We believe that the immunity granted to international forces has emboldened them to commit such crimes in cold blood," he said, adding "there must be a review of this immunity."

A U.S. military spokesman said such immunity was provided in a legal order that protects the members of the multinational forces, as well as their funds, assets and property, from the Iraqi legal process.

This is nothing more than a "Get Out Of Jail Free" trump card that's let many US Troops off the hook for their malfeasance

Does anyone really doubt if a member of an occupying army on US soil killed and raped innocent civilians that we wouldn't be screaming about trying the accused in our justice system, and if not, then how can such a deliberate effort to excuse wrongdoing be condoned on behalf of the Administration?

U.S. military officials scrambled Wednesday to control repercussions from the case, one of at least five current investigations into accusations that U.S. troops in Iraq have killed unarmed civilians. Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, a top American military spokesman in Baghdad, said during a news conference that these cases represented isolated instances of possible wrongdoing, not common occurrences among the U.S. troops in Iraq.

"While we must not rush to judgment," he said, "we must remember the acts of a few should not outweigh the deeds of the many."

He promised thorough and open investigations into all accusations of criminal activity involving U.S. troops.

"We will face every situation honestly and we will leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of the facts," he said. "And hold our service members accountable if and when found guilty of misconduct in a court of law."

And if anyone was prosecuted or held accountable for these incidents, those words might fall on the ears of a willing audience

But how can the Iraqis take any such claims seriously when there's very rarely punishment, especially hard-time prison sentences, whenever it's the Iraqi lives that are being lost due to deliberate or accidental US military actions?

The latest horror show involves the rape and murder of a 14 year old Iraqi girl, and her parents and toddler-sister before the rape took place

Lets give this some very unpleasant perspective

Abeer Rasheed was overpowered, she watched her parents and sister marched off into another room, and heard the shots that took their lives

She HAD to know exactly what happened to her family at that point, and worse, she had to know she'd be following them soon

Abeer Rasheed is raped, knowing she's going to die when her vile degradation is over from her attackers

Her last hour or so of life must have been absolute hell on earth, and a brutal end to one's life, especially that of a child, makes the crime even more appalling than it would have been otherwise

We know one thing for sure, if the Administration hadn't decided that deposing Saddam Hussein was far more important personally than achieving justice for the victims of the September 11 attacks by catching/killing Usama bin Laden, those soldiers now accused of Abeer Rasheed's Rape & Murder, and the killing of her family, would never have had the chance to inflict their horrific carnage on an innocent group of civilians in Iraq

And as a result of so many unrighted/uncorrected incidents in which innocent Iraqis have been killed, maimed and traumatized by the US forces, the Iraqi call for not only revoking the immunity currently granted US Troops and civilian contractors grows louder, but so does the call for amnesty for those insurgents willing to state they ONLY attacked US troops and civilian contractors

So, as if President Jr didn't have enough problems to worry about, his decision to invade and occupy Iraq is going to haunt him for the rest of his miserable life regarding both immunity to cover US troops for deliberate maliciousness, and amnesty-for those targeting US troops-to help bring the violence to an end

No matter how the Decider chooses, his choices regarding amnesty and immunity will do nothing to help the Administration find a "face-saving" way to withdraw from Iraq

In fact, just how likely is it that the US can actually establish permanent military bases if the Iraqis say it's time to go now?

This President thought he'd put past ghosts from the US failure in Vietnam, and self-doubts regarding personal bravery, to rest permanently, while at the same time claiming to militarily counter the growing influence of Islamic extremism all across the Middle East

Instead, the numerous failures on multiple levels of W's Iraq policies are only going to inflict further psychic wounds on a US populace that remembers how badly the US effort failed in Vietnam, while at the same time ensuring deeper and closer ties between the Mullahs and Clerics in both Iraq and Iran

One other thing

There's no way W's going to be able to placate those in the military forced to carry out his policies, and the decision's regarding immunity for US troops and civilian contractors, and especially regarding any amnesty for Iraqi insurgents who targeted US troops will NOT be helping him keep the House of Reps in Republican hands come the November elections

The Connecticut Cowboy, the Draft-Dodging, Budget-Busting ChickenHawk with Delusions of Grandeur, President Bush Jr may not clean up his mess in this case-as he's never yet done even once in his life-but he WON'T escape having to suffer for his Iraq MeatGrinder Crusade

And if there's ANYONE who deserves to suffer for the President's Iraq policy, it's the President himself, his Cabinet, the GOP, it's media whores and lackeys

Usama bin Who?

So was supposed political "genius" Karl Rove even aware of this CIA strategy, and how does it affect his now-discredited "national security" political strategy?

Seriously, what does this say about Rove's attempts to make National Security one of the defining GOP issues for the November elections, and how does he come off as any kind of a "genius" by playing the personal security card when the CIA is shutting down it's bin Laden operation at the same time?

And now, it's official, the Administration shows it's really not that worried about Usama bin Laden's ability to okay another strike against the US anywhere in the world

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C.I.A. Closes Unit Focused on Capture of bin Laden

The Central Intelligence Agency has closed a unit that for a decade had the mission of hunting Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants, intelligence officials confirmed Monday.

The unit, known as Alec Station, was disbanded late last year and its analysts reassigned within the C.I.A. Counterterrorist Center, the officials said.

Yep, nothing says "Taking The Fight To The Terrorists" like closing down the CIA's bin Laden group

The decision is a milestone for the agency, which formed the unit before Osama bin Laden became a household name and bolstered its ranks after the Sept. 11 attacks, when President Bush pledged to bring Mr. bin Laden to justice "dead or alive."

The realignment reflects a view that Al Qaeda is no longer as hierarchical as it once was, intelligence officials said, and a growing concern about Qaeda-inspired groups that have begun carrying out attacks independent of Mr. bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

No matter how "non-hierarchical" al-Qaeda might be, it seems the height of foolishness to not have "Catch/Kill Usama bin Laden" at the top of the US "To Do" List as it relates to Administrative counter-terrorism efforts

Does bin Laden have to okay another large-scale successful terrorist attack on US Soil before the Administration decides bin Laden's demise is worth another whirl?

All the flowery rhetoric can't whitewash the fact that this Administration is now saying bin Laden isn't worthy of the past efforts this Administration also didn't fully engage in when it had the chance

Agency officials said that tracking Mr. bin Laden and his deputies remained a high priority, and that the decision to disband the unit was not a sign that the effort had slackened. Instead, the officials said, it reflects a belief that the agency can better deal with high-level threats by focusing on regional trends rather than on specific organizations or individuals.

"The efforts to find Osama bin Laden are as strong as ever," said Jennifer Millerwise Dyck, a C.I.A. spokeswoman. "This is an agile agency, and the decision was made to ensure greater reach and focus."

So "greater reach and focus" is best achieved by cutting back on the personnel needed to capture or kill bin Laden

Well, as long as that makes sense to somebody it's obviously not a reality-challenged policy on the part of this Administration

And what a surprise to learn it’s the same final factor that killed off the search for bin Laden that's now killing off the CIA operation as well, the diverting of badly needed resources to the black hole known as the ongoing Iraq Occupation

In recent years, the war in Iraq has stretched the resources of the intelligence agencies and the Pentagon, generating new priorities for American officials. For instance, much of the military's counterterrorism units, like the Army's Delta Force, had been redirected from the hunt for Mr. bin Laden to the search for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed last month in Iraq.

Of course that makes perfect sense, after all, how is it not a better policy to break off the search for Mr Big to build up the formerly unknown thug called Abu Musab al-Zarqawi into the next best thing to the actual guy who gave the go ahead for the worst terrorist strike in history

And this is also a recurring action with this Administration-it's quick to discredit CIA intelligence analysts who insist on focusing on bin Laden and his proven ability to stage large-scale terrorist attacks on US soil

Established in 1996, when Mr. bin Laden's calls for global jihad were a source of increasing concern for officials in Washington, Alec Station operated in a similar fashion to that of other agency stations around the globe.

The two dozen staff members who worked at the station, which was named after Mr. Scheuer's son and was housed in leased offices near agency headquarters in northern Virginia, issued regular cables to the agency about Mr. bin Laden's growing abilities and his desire to strike American targets throughout the world.

In his book "Ghost Wars," which chronicles the agency's efforts to hunt Mr. bin Laden in the years before the Sept. 11 attacks, Steve Coll wrote that some inside the agency likened Alec Station to a cult that became obsessed with Al Qaeda.

"The bin Laden unit's analysts were so intense about their work that they made some of their C.I.A. colleagues uncomfortable," Mr. Coll wrote. Members of Alec Station "called themselves 'the Manson Family' because they had acquired a reputation for crazed alarmism about the rising Al Qaeda threat."

On September 11, that alarmism about al-Qaeda suddenly didn't seem quite so "crazed", and calling those analysts "The Manson Family" seems to have done little to prevent the attacks in the first place

If anything, casting aspersions on those intelligence analysts who knew just how serious a threat to the US bin Laden and al-Qaeda were just reinforces the validity of their concern after it was borne out by the September 11 attacks

But of course, this Administration sees successful anti-al Qaeda efforts somewhat differently than logic and reality would suggest

Intelligence officials said Alec Station was disbanded after Robert Grenier, who until February was in charge of the Counterterrorist Center, decided the agency needed to reorganize to better address constant changes in terrorist organizations.

Yeah, wouldn't want those "reorganizations" addressing the one constant for years with al-Qaeda, and that's who's at the very top of the terrorist food chain in that group

Usama bin Laden

Even more's the pity that Comic Book Conservatives-unlike our real comic book President Jr-are the only ones capable of saving New York from a nuclear attack presided over by Usama bin Laden

That Pause In The Lyric

I just picked up some new tunes, one of which was a Leonard Cohen tune as covered by Nirvana on their MTV Unplugged Show, "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?"

There's something unsettling that takes place during Kurt Cobain's performance during that song

We all know that Kurt Cobain shot himself in the head with a shotgun

If you've seen the Unplugged show, and the Cohen song in particular, there's a short pause in the last line of the lyrics at the end

"I'll Shiver..........The Whole............(Takes audible breath
Night.....through"

Now, in the video, Cobain's expression changes in the lyric between "The Whole.................Night..Through."

When Cobain breathes, his expression suddenly looks like someone's face would when they've put the gun in their mouths and then pull the trigger

But with Cobain, it also looked like he wanted to change his mind, but knew it was too late to pull the bullet back in the gun

It's always the most compelling part of Cobain's Unplugged performance that night, that pause in the lyric