Comments on: Petraeus: Iraqi "Mafia" Is Latest Danger

U.S. Commander Says As Al Qaeda In Iraq's Presence Is Reduced, Focus Is On Crime

[kaelinda]

Does it make a lot of difference whether they''re called "insurgents" or "mafia?" The fact is that Iraq is beginning to sound more and more like America! An ineffective government, a corrupt police force, organized crime... what more does Bush want in Iraq? I know the majority of Iraqis would like to have homes, water, electricity, fuel, food, clothing, and such things, but aren''t many Americans in the same situation?

[skyk-2009]

So now our troops are being used to clean up crime huh? American Tax Payers have been ripped off enough in this mess... Talk about a mistake, this one takes the prize for the all time best.

[tbweb]

Petraeus: Iraqi "Mafia" Is Latest Danger

When the U.S. exports its brand of Democracy to other nations it must advise them to read the "Fine Print", which is "only copy the good stuff". Who knows what other bad things the Iraqis have copied? We already know they picked up on the Congressional vacations!

[alphaa10-2009]

Simply moving Bush and the GOP back to Crawford should be enough.

Ron Paul boosters plead his positive points, but Paul is basically a Republican who never endorsed all the neocon globalist thinking and money driving Bush.

On the domestic level, however, the distinctions between Bush and Paul get murkier.

For example, both Paul and Bush follow the Grover Norquist view that government is the problem, not the solution. Unfortunately, like most slogans, that doesn''t describe America or the problem.

For example, it is a private, not governmental health insurance system which left America behind Cuba in infant mortality and with 47 million of us uninsured as "subprime" risks.

Still believe government is a villain? A private, not public sector mortgage fiasco dropped the DOW 250 points and left 500,000 Americans foreclosed out of their own homes-- all due to fine print and the "wisdom" of the market.

And corruption? So many topics, so little space, but here-- a huge glut of no-bid taxpayer dollars shoved at the private sector has left New Orleans reconstruction woefully behind schedule, with widespread waste and corruption and the city still exposed to the next Katrina.

[alphaa10-2009]

"Petraeus" has been spelled a number of different ways. In the AP, for example, it was "Patraeus" for a while, lately replaced by "Petraeus"-- the current spelling in the Washington Post. The dual spellings should force the general to spell his name correctly from now on.

[usaprophet]

I want to report a major fire, my friends. Our Constitution is on fire. And it''s currently being burned in Congress. See H.R. 1955, a.k.a., Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007. I couldn''t believe it. Apparently, activists with Web sites are really begining to anger the elite insofar as they are publically holding officials accountable for their evil. The bill passed the house on Oct 23, in spite of Congressman, Ron Paul''s opposition thereto. The right to free speech on the Internet is gone, my friends. Look it up for yourself, and weep for your country as I have that our rights have eroded this far. Here''s a short excerpt from the bill''s DEFINITIONS statement: "The development and implementation of methods and processes that can be utilized to prevent violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence in the United States is critical to combating domestic terrorism." Here''s another excerpt from the bill''s FINDINGS statement: "The Internet has aided in facilitating violent radicalization, ideologically based violence, and the homegrown terrorism process in the United States by providing access to broad and constant streams of terrorist-related propaganda to United States citizens." And guess who get''s to decide what is "terrorist-related propaganda?" You got it! The Department of Homeland Insecurity, an agency that''s answerable ONLY to The President. If Ron Paul isn''t elected, our country is doomed!

[alphaa10-2009]

Gen. Petraeus and the Surge
With heavy influence on the Faux News Network and other media outlets, the GOP and all Bush troops will bark the same party line, in unison, as the next election approaches. Recently, the GOP gave all its troops marching orders to stress Gen. Petraeus is making headway in Iraq, if only we will be patient-- supposing few of us remember Petraeus also insisted victory in Iraq was just around the corner, back in 2004. Some three years later, Petraeus still makes the same tired claim, a point even Patraeus-- not to mention Bush-- was increasingly desperate to justify

Not surprisingly, a much-heralded "troop surge" was contrived to provide Petraeus at least a figleaf of credibility. As expected, when US troops moved away from areas where they were needed to rush toward Baghdad, insurgents moved elsewhere. Combat encounters naturally fell off, and so did US battle casualties. Clearly enough, the exercise was pure public relations for only a small area of the Iraq theater, and proved nothing militarily for the conflict.

As if to stress the entirely political purpose of the surge, the drop in US casualties was heavily spun by Bush and the GOP through its media outlets and Bushbots in every public forum. Yet, even the GOP spin factory must admit (1) US commanders are still unable to prevent the insurgency from picking its battles and timetable (2) US commanders know insurgents simply melted away from
(see Petraeus and the Surge-- 2)

[thebomb475]

USAyesterday that is funny you mess

[cfin5]

Don''t know anything about mafia dudes, but go with it in hiring them. Sick''em on those un-Iraqi traitors!!!

[usayesterday]

HAIL TO THE GREAT EMPEROR BUSH II, THE NEW "ELIOT NESS" OF IRAQ!!!
Posted by walt1944 at 05:34 PM : Oct 28, 2007
...............

Bush would be more like "Eliot MESS!"

(since he created one big mess in the Middle East).

[alphaa10-2009]

Petraeus and the Surge-- 2
surge-targeted neighborhoods, only to return later when US troops redeployed to original locations (3) US commanders are expert enough to recognize a suspension or reduction in combat is explained by many factors, and cannot be spun into political points.

All parties-- even Bush and the GOP-- also understand the fallacy of looking at a small set of statistics, and home-brewing whatever interpretation they like. Any advisor of stature who pulled such a stunt would get his walking papers-- outside the world of politics.

But this is politics, not a quest for truth, so Bush continues to insist his debacle in Iraq is merely the changing face of the enemy. Accordingly, CBS reports, "Petraeus said the reduced threat from al Qaeda had given way to nonsectarian crimes - kidnapping, corruption in the oil industry, and extortion." In other words, Patraeus claims we are winning, simply because we have other and bigger threats now.

What Patraeus doesn''t admit or perhaps even realize is the "criminal element" is the least of his worries. Iraq''s Shia majority is fast becoming most uncooperative on oil and a number of other issues, most recently police training and distribution of Sunnis through the national regime. The Shia majority is an Iranian proxy, one which not only owns the government, but is ready and able to attack the flanks of US troops in any confrontation with Iran.

[nearl4511]

CBSOliver....

Spot on.

The game has always been to label the "enemy" with the tag that effects the most illicit support.

Whatever boogeyman scares us the most.

[micma-2009]

Iraq is a disaster that will drain this country of money and blood for the next decade. Thanks Bu$h. Thanks Repbulicons.

[cdfoxtrot]

A much bigger danger is the WH Mafia led by Don Cheney Corleone

[walt1944-2009]

The Great Emperor Bush II is dismayed that, while he is being told that the Al Qeada "terrrrorists" influence in parts of Iraq has diminished, he now has a new threat, Iraqi Gangsters! It appears that the Emperor''s previous statements about bringing "democracy" to Iraq, also meant bringing an Iraqi version of the Mafia along with it!!!

To handle this threat, the Emperor has ordered his military commanders to watch every blasted episode of the vintage TV program "The Untouchables" to better acquaint them with what they are dealing with and how to combat it! The Emperor is also ordering thousands of fire axes from Halliburton (at thousands of dollars EACH) to hand to the Emperor''s troops in Iraq in the event they run into barrels of bootleg liquor!

HAIL TO THE GREAT EMPEROR BUSH II, THE NEW "ELIOT NESS" OF IRAQ!!!

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!

[adian1-2009]

Honestly, I find that General Petraeus talks too much for a member of the military. General Eisenhower did not talk so much, at least not until he became OPENLY a politician.

[usayesterday]

Posted by cyberDJs4 at 04:01 PM : Oct 28, 2007
........

It just proves that some people in some places are better off with a strong-arm dictator. It may not be the preferred choice, but it is clear that Saddam Hussein was the "lesser of two evils".


...the other "evil"...


Absolute chaos extending beyond Iraq''s borders. And that is what the Bush Administration has set up.

[cyberdjs4]

As long as one al_Qaeda operative is alive, the whole organization is a threat. There is no "reduction of presence" with this group of monsters.

This whole "mafia" thing proves just how wrong Bush, his supporters and the GOP were in starting this war.

When we finally leave Iraq, what will fill that void?

We spent the last 4 or 5 years building an atomic bomb in the Middle East.
When we leave, the Arabs will set it off.

[cbs_oliver]

""Its presence has been significantly reduced and its activity and freedom of action have been degraded," Petraeus told a small group of reporters at a U.S. base near Saddam Hussein''s hometown of Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad."

What Petraeus might have said if he were more honest is that the "al Qaeda" branding program for insurgents had outlived its usefulness and that a new insurgent branding program will be brought forward to replace it.