"Well, it must be bad news - because our liberals and the MSM have stated again and again that Iraq is a quagmire, debacle and criminal failure..."

Umm, Mark - that first article is an AP story; the second, from the Washington Post. So much for your paranoid "evil-MSM" theory, huh?

Hopefully that new government can help stop this, from the same article:

"In other violence Tuesday, according to police:

• Two drive-by shootings killed four Iraqis in Baghdad, including Raad Mohammed al-Dulaimi, a member of the Iraqi Islamic Party, a major Sunni Arab political party.

• A roadside bomb hit a police car in Baghdad, killing one officer and wounding two.

_The bodies of 17 Iraqis were found: five in the capital; one in northern Iraq; eight, including a 10-year-old boy, in a river 30 miles south of Baghdad; and three Interior Ministry police commandos in Mahawil, 45 miles south of the capital.

They all appeared to be victims of sectarian death squads that have kidnapped and killed hundreds of Shiites and Sunnis in the last few months and dumped their bodies on city streets or in remote areas. Insurgents sometimes carry out such killings to punish Iraqis who are working for Iraq's military, police forces or government."

We shall see.

Mark, One would be crazy to believe anything that is said about Iraq. That includes quagmire accusations or statements that Iraqis are stepping up their involvement or that we are bringing troops home.

It seems to me modern wars are more wars of words and spin than actual fighting. So fine, let's declare victory and get out now. Call it a victory for the neocons. Call it what you want. Just bring the troops home.

Ash,

Check out the Stewart clip about Hayden/Goss/Bush. Classic:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/05/09.html#a8220

If you think a new government in Iraq is a good thing. Let me tell you this. Iam not a leftist and do not know about your american left. I am an Iraqi, and as such let me tell you what Iraqi people believe:

This is a puppet government managed by the Occupiers. It is composed by the same old CIA agents who came to Iraq on the US tanks. The same old faces, ofcourse they are of different factions, but they all work for the same Master. They do not represent Iraqi people. They are traitors to the homeland. moreover, they live and work in a US base , i.e. the green zone. They dare not go out of it to meet real Iraqis. Imagine that if a minister of this puppet government want to make a deal or meet business men, he has to go out of the country, to Amman or other places. The do not dare drive their cars outside the US base. If they did, and wanted to go back , any US soldier has the right to self-search the (Iraqi Minister) , and if he refused the soldier would be entitled to kick him, push him to the ground and cuff him. So how could they be a progress bla bla bla ?! It is just another act of the bad american play "let's pretend"

Car bombings, similar to the one in Tal Afar today are, at a minimum, a weekly occurrence. I think we're past whatever consitutes the "start up" phase of an Iraqi civil war.

I'd say we're already in about chest deep.

None of this really has anything to do with my personal politics either.

As you suspected we on the Left, give-up(hands thrust into the air). The Republicans have won bush's war in Iraq. Now, get out of there! Peace

maf,

Priceless. I think they need (at the very least) a thesarus.

Priceless. I think they need (at the very least) a thesarus.

This is priceless, coming from a 50-year-old moron who rarely gets through a post without making about ten errors.

You two should start e-mailing each other, and not using this blog as a chat room. Better yet, get a room. You know you want to. Just don't let Barney find out--he'll get jealous...

Keefer, you are one of a kind.

Ash,

No, one is crazy to watch TV coverage and think he knows what is going on in Iraq...one is even crazier to listen to stories about Iraq that had their original genesis in 50 year-old anti-American propaganda (the stories of torture, war crimes and chemical weapons use? First brought forward during the Korean war, and just refurbished every time we get involved in a conflict).

Additionally, I never say that the MSM doesn't report true events - I only say that they highlight the negative and, sometimes, do make up stuff just because it makes their meme sound plausible. What you should do, when in doubt, is go over to Centcom and check the press releases...as an former military man, I can assert with 100% confidence that anything the military reports is 100% accurate as far as such accuracy is humanly possible...they are ordered not to lie, so they don't lie.

U.S. military pays Iraqis for positive news stories on war

Members of the Press Club are paid as much as $ 200 a month, depending on how many positive pieces they produce.

Under military rules, information operations are restricted to influencing the attitudes and behavior of foreign governments and people. One form of information operations -- psychological warfare -- can use doctored or false information to deceive or damage the enemy or to bolster support for American efforts.

(did ya get that "doctored" part?)

"We are teaching them (Iraqi journalists) the wrong things," one military officer said.

Moreover, the defense and military officials said, the U.S. public is at risk of being influenced by the information operations because what's planted in the Iraqi media can be picked up by international news organizations and Internet bloggers.

(Nah..they wouldn't do THAT!) would they?

"The Iraqis learned that if they reported stuff we liked, they'd get paid, and our guys learned that if they paid the Iraqis, they'd report stuff we liked," the former senior defense official said.

(wait...are they insinuating that the news was "made up?" That the military doesn't lie? Nah...I just can't believe that!)

While the Pentagon's media campaign in Iraq harks back to CIA efforts in Italy, Greece and elsewhere after World War II to discredit communism and promote pro-Western ideas, it also reflects a widespread belief by some Bush administration officials that the news media are merely another interest group to be spun, influenced, bullied or, if necessary, bought or rented.

(but..but...it just can't be. There. So it isn't and I gonna tell you so.)

If you right wing, kool aid drinking, war mongering, bootjacking zealots weren't serious this would be funny. But it's not funny. Your ruining the world. Please stop.

I can assert with 100% confidence that anything the military reports is 100% accurate as far as such accuracy is humanly possible...they are ordered not to lie, so they don't lie.

Boy Rube, I've got some beach front property in eastern Colorado I can sell you. The Easter bunny would be your neighbor.

raker,

That story was debunked ages ago...

Ash,

Yes, I trust the military - I was one of them, once upon a time.

Mark, al queda and their political wing, the dem party, are gonna have to try harder. If howard dean stepped down and zarkawi became the head of the DNC, they could coordinate their efforts even better. Then when zarkawi faxed the dem talking points every morning to msnbc, cnn, abc, cbs and nbc, the lib media would also have the names of the suicide bomber freedom fighters.

So was I. That's why I'll never trust them again!