...he blew his mind out in a car....

Dammit. Read the news again. Oh boy. I should have known that I shouldn't have looked - but I did.

Seems the terrorists/resistance/bathists/foreginers/evildoers are quite deadly this month,

This is despite (or due to) "Operation Iron Promise" and the slew of other show of force operations last month.

Iraq becomes Mogadishu. Americans working for the CPA, "foreign contractors" (why doesn't the US media call them mercenaries?),
are being dragged through the street and hung from bridges. Yassims assassination (aka: quadraplegic vs. missile) also contributed
to recent increased violence directed at U.S. Troops. This situation is F.U.B.A.R.

(Update: _hellion comments: "Stephen Hawking being shot by up by the IDF would be "qudraplegic vs. missle." Yassin is easily more defined and identified as a terrorist than he is as a cripple...")

I don't care what Scott McClellan says, democracy will not root in soil made of violence and suppression.

They (terrorists/resistance/bathists/foreginers/evildoers) claimed they would kill one soldier per day during the occupation.
At this rate, they should take the next months off. Unlikely, since an order of magnitude more Iraqis are dying.

We resemble the French in Algiers, with similar results.

(no subject)

From codepink

Tonight at 8:00 pm (check your local listings for the time in your area) on CBS, 60 Minutes II will be airing a segment on Camilo Mejia, a 28-year-old Florida National Guard Staff Sargeant who did not return to Iraq from R&R leave. Camilo has taken a public stand of conscience against what he calls an illegal and immoral war, and has filed an application for conscientious objector status.

We recently received a call from Camilo’s mother, Maritza Castillo. She told us that Camilo is now being held at Ft. Stewart in Georgia, where he is charged by the Army with desertion. He will be tried by a Special Court Martial, and can receive one year in prison and a Bad Conduct Discharge.

Maritza is asking you to write two letters: one to Camilo expressing your support and another to the Commanding General asking that the Army accept Camilo’s conscientious objection application.

Camilo’s Address:
Ssg. Mejia Camilo
A Company USAG MED-HOLD 865
Hase Road
Ft. Stewart, GA 31315

The Commanding General’s address:
Major General William G. Webster, Jr.
Commanding General, Fort Stewart
42 Wayne Place
Ft Stewart, GA 31314

Thank you for helping this brave soldier and his courageous mother.

In peace,
Andrea, Bonnie, Carol, Claire, Jodie, Gael, Medea

I ride tandem with the random...

Irony is slain - demons in our oily hearts.

Q The incidents in Iraq today -- five Marines killed in one incident, four civilians killed in another -- first of all, has it been confirmed that an American was killed in the civilian incident?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think the coalition and the military in Iraq can give you that information. In terms of these attacks, these are horrific, despicable attacks. We condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms. The stakes are high in Iraq, and this is a time of testing. The enemies of freedom, the enemies of the Iraqi people are trying to shake our will, but they cannot. We will not be intimidated. Our will and our resolve are firm. Democracy is taking root and there's no turning back. And the Iraqi people want us to stay and finish the job, and we will.

Q Now, getting back to the oil problem, gasoline problem. Even if you were to use the Strategic Reserve, would this not be a short-term fix?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that's why I just pointed out, the independent analysts have looked at this and they talked about how it would have a negligible effect. And, in fact, if you go back to some recent action that was taken, it showed that it had a negligible effect on gas prices.