Category Archive

Iraq’s electoral commission said Monday it intended to audit "unusually high" numbers in results coming from most provinces in Saturday’s landmark referendum on the draft constitution. The commission’s statement came after Sunni Arab lawmaker, Meshaan al-Jubouri, claimed fraud had occurred in the vote — including instances of voting in hotly contested regions Saturday by pro-constitution Shiites from other areas — … Read More

They aren’t even trying these days. Or in the days of 2004. The chief Pentagon agency in charge of investigating and reporting fraud and waste in Defense Department spending in Iraq quietly pulled out of the war zone a year ago – leaving what experts say are gaps in the oversight of how more than $140 billion is being spent. … Read More

Gen. Abizaid, on Meet the Press, was explaining why he believes that the readiness of the Iraqi army is pretty good: "[T]here’s more people in the field fighting and participating in operations than at any time in the past and their casualty rate is double, if not triple that of which ours is, which means they’re out there fighting." So … Read More

The hits keep on comin’ for the neo-cons: Baroness Thatcher has criticised Tony Blair for taking Britain to war in Iraq on the basis of flawed evidence about Saddam Hussein’s weapons. The former prime minister’s embarrassing criticism emerged as Mr Blair was among the 670 guests who attended a party to mark her 80th birthday. Although Lady Thatcher remains a … Read More

Bush surrounds himself with people in uniform.  He shows genuine grief for the fallen and sympathy for their families, and praises those who have paid the "ultimate price for our security and freedom". Yet, here’s the price, literally, that the soldiers pay: His hand had been blown off in Iraq, his body pierced by shrapnel. He could not walk. Robert … Read More

USA Today reports: CIA review faults prewar plans By John Diamond, USA TODAY WASHINGTON — A newly released report published by the CIA rebukes the Bush administration for not paying enough attention to prewar intelligence that predicted the factional rivalries now threatening to split Iraq. Policymakers worried more about making the case for the war, particularly the claim that Iraq … Read More

This is an off-shoot from the Fitzgerald/Plame investigation, and has implications that are even bigger than the Downing Street Memos. Read this (pdf) report called "Truth from These Podia: Summary of a Study of Strategic Influence, Perception Management, Strategic Information Warfare and Strategic Psychological Operations in Gulf II," written by Colonel Sam Gardiner who identified 50 false news stories created … Read More

Sploid: Weepy Iraq Hawks Admit They Blew It It refers to this story in the Financial Times: Conservatives and exiles desert war campaign. Even among the strongest advocates in Washington of the war in Iraq there is a sense of alarm these days, with harsh criticism directed particularly at the draft constitution, which they see as a betrayal of principles … Read More

Headline: Bush Expects Violence In Iraq Bush also expects the sun to rise in the East.  Smart prez.

Six Iraqi war veterans have announced their intentions to run for Congress in 2006. How many are running as Republicans?  How many as Democrats? Answer below the fold.

The U.S. lost the Iraq War. What is not in dispute is that at the most basic level—of neighborhoods and communities—the tissue of Iraqi society is already rupturing. It’s not just Shia who are displacing themselves to be among their own kind, though they are the main victims of the Sunni-led insurgents. Many Sunnis, terrified of death squads and Shia-dominated … Read More