Create "ANOTHER" agency? The government is already expanded as a result of the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, something that wasn't necessary but became a fever issue. Now you have an additional agency talking with those that were already there, except some of those agencies no have another channel to go through to talk with their former offices. We've also created a Director of National Intelligence office; while it may be necessary, it's still another agency for those that were already there to talk to.

Creating another office for the extremeist geopolitical issue would take away assets form organizations already there (such as State) or create redundancy.

Bush failed

... because he is arrogant, inexeperienced and incompetent. The second reason that he failed was as a result of his failure to consider a different point of view from his cabinet-members, America's allies and his daddy.

There is a saying that goes like this, 'a man surrounded by yes men will never accept no for answer. Bush is the personfication of a man who has closed himself off from anyone with a differing point of view and surrounded himself by a bunch of yes people. And look at the results, no one would argue that about 600,000 Iraqi's have either experienced displacement, murder, wounding, maiming or loss of a loved-one or neighbor!

You keep trying to justify a man that invaded a sovereign nation and turned it into a battlefield, where innocent civilians are being slaughtered on a daily basis.

Why? So that Americans can get on with enjoying their tax-cuts and spending sprees in relative safety while other innocent people 7,000 miles are being slaughtered every day in behavles of Americans.

Are you really as insensetive as you sound? What is wrong with people like you?

One of Napoleons legacies was the Napoleonic code which spread the idea of rule of law and
in latter years after Napoleans fall thru this exported the ideals of the French revolution throughout Europe, Austria , Germany and Russia. Many people in Europe saw Napolean as the embodiment of revolution and change. Napoleans legacy bought down old fragmented monarchies and introduced the idea of empowering the people.

yep Bush may have failed but thats what he was trying to do. Certainley better then the stagnant status quo which some propose.

Invading Russia in 1812, Napoleon was bringing Liberty, Equality, and Brotherhood to Russian people. But he was not aware of Russian mentality, and he failed miserably. So do we in Iraq. Our ignorant administration has no sense of history. However, we, the American people, are the guilty ones. We brought this misery upon us when we voted for Bush.

BUILD MORE JAILS:

It would seem to me that we need to build more jails in America for the criminally minded like Daniel. President Bush and company can be 'trustees!

After reading a few of the threads it would appear to me that we should release the prison population in America (we might be safer with them on the streets)

....and replace them with the criminally-minded Daniels of the world.

Or, we should make the Daniels of the world and their loved ones change places with innocent Iraqi citizens (who are dying for Americans), where they can be slaughtered, wounded or maimed. Daniel's group believes that it is okay for America to do the following:

• Invade sovereign countries that have done nothing to the U.S.A.
• Take down their President and the accompanying government
• Destroy portions of the infrastructure of that nation
• Draw, America's enemies into that country in order to minimize American deaths and permit the destruction of that nation's infrastructure
• Fight America's proxy war against its enemies in confiscated land
• Cause and engage in the slaughter of the innocent citizens of a once sovereign nation who had nothing to do with the American problem
• Attempt to force its own form of government down the throats of its inhabitants in the midst of an unwelcome military occupation
• Ignore the fact that citizens of that nation want America to get out
• To continue to militarily occupy that nation without a plan to get out

====================================

Republican and mindless fascism in America in the public arena is dead now, for the most part....!

On the other hand, what I like about Democrats is that the Democrats, by and large, attempt to represent the needs of all Americans (which former President Jimmy Carter found out can be an arduous and almost impossible task).

Republicans know just how difficult it can be to represent the interests of all Americans so the 'pubs have concluded that the interests of some Americans must simply be 'left behind'.

Republican Social Darwinism nearly brought this country to its knees; at least we almost witnessed a permanent social divide in this country that was brought on by the 'pubs.

Thank God that the Democrats share a portion of the power again. It might be a bit tougher to get things done when are you trying to meet the needs of all Americans, however, that is what the government was appointed to do!

I for one, don't care who in either party comes up with a better plan on Iraq, but it should be clear that the administration needs to be sidelined as much as possible. There is a contradiction in Arkin's assertion that "A solid majority of voting Americans . . . disapprove of the Iraq war and President Bush's job performance (and) the Democrats and the administration now need to work together to craft the safest possible withdrawal strategy." Bush is clearly the junior guy on the squad and a fool who should be told to sit down and shut up or the whole unit is going to get killed.

Now, all adults know the US is going to be downsizing its Iraq forces and putting them on bases if they stay, so the question is not who has the guns in a few years, but what is the economy, and the only serious economy Iraq and Iraqis are going to have will revolve oil and the benefit of supplying US bases. The Shiites feel left out of that future economy, and need to be put in. So, a possible solution is the big US bases get left in Shiiteland, but not in the middle of Baghdad, we scrap the mother of all embassies, and all the southern oil and some of the northern oil goes through a reconfigured pipeline network that ships it out of Shiite ports. Our security interest refocuses on the Shiites being dealt into the oil, not that the streets of Baghdad are safe. We get a base, the Iraqis have to cooperate to have an economy, and most of the boys come home.

you see someone calling for help that is being beaten to death by someone dressed as a cop, but is actually masquerading in order to do a home invasion...

then your analogy will be correct, get it?

ps. Rumsfeld sold chemical weapons that were used against the kurds to Saddam. Rumsfeld sold the nuclear reactors that were used to provide nuclear fuel for the North Koreans to North Korea.

don't make up bs, it's not good for the other citizens........it could be called treasonous....if it's for profit....

The current corrupt executive branch and former complicit congress, democrats and republicans have foisted an occupation of another country onto a trusting, albeit somewhat simple and stupid population...

and that quite simply is against the law, and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law..........crush the traitorous liars...

thanks so much.

glen, next time you see a person beating another person to death, ask yourself .."should I just watch or should I do something ?, after all I might get hurt..hmm hospital bills , lost time and wages...maybe I'll just watch...after all I cant stop all the crime in the world" There's a reason why people help each other, "sovereign nation" notwithstanding

Mr. Arkin,

Great observations on the challenges that now face the Democrats as the majority party, and therefore leaders in congress. It will be intersting to see if they can keep the far left base at home happy, while not sentencing 25 million Iraq's to a civil war sponsored by Iran's Shi'ites on one side and Syria's Sunnis and Ba'ath party on the other.

http://crazypolitics.blogspot.com/2006/11/observations.html

Mr Arkin,

Is it fair to say that this election will force Washington to focus on the real national security issues, once their politization is left behind? Can we conclude that Israel will get less support from the US in the same way as Pakistan will get less protection from the US? I mean: if we assume Israel is more a political issue than it is a national security priority, maybe this election will help seeing Israel from a different perspective. Prima facie I doubt it.

Repeal the Patriot Act!

'A Democratic Martial Plan'

'Democrats...who have promoted military solutions to everything.'

'The Iraq war ...was a product of visionless Democrats who supported it.'

Hmm. I found this view of the current and past reality regaring Democrats and power curious.

So the neocons are tree-huggers? Bush fought tooth and nail against the bloodthirsty Democrats to keep us from going to war?

As for Martial Law, Bush signed H.R.5122 On October 17, 2006. Those war-mongering Democrats were just a bit too slow.

Well, now that they've got what they want let's see what they do with it. For six years both sides have wanted bipartisanship on their terms, which of course isn't how it works. Now we will see if they keep it up or realize that the public doesn't like it. Hopefully the Dems will rise above petty vengeance and the Repubs will avoid childish sour grapes and obstructionism, but I don't think so, given the current rhetoric from both sides lately. With Rummy gone the impetus will really be on the Dems to back up their rosy language with action. We need to understand that this is not a war on 'terrorism' but rather a war with Islamic extremists. I know that using this rhetoric publicly inflames the Muslim world and makes them think it is a war against all Muslims. That reaction in itself is quite telling in that I think it shows a strange soft spot for extremists among the Muslim community, which is very troubling. If Muslims are offended because we label it "Islamic" extremism then maybe they should clean up their own community instead of looking the other way and pretending nothing is happening. If their ties to the extremist crowd are painful then they should sever them. That is what Iraq is all about, bring all the extremists out of the woodwork and make them fight their jihad in their own backyards. Put the target of the jihadis right on the back of the Muslim world and maybe they will get sick of the violence and make the changes only they can make. Ignoring it and trying to let them do it on their own time didn't work, it's what Clinton and Bush I tried on the advice of Richard Clarke. The broader Muslim community was only too happy to tolerate OBL and his ilk so long as the negative consequences were suffered by someone else. They have allowed and even encouraged Islamist fundamentalism to metasticize for decades and the "moderates" and the secular governments lacked the courage to confront it for the danger it is. Many people the world over cry about the danger this war has put the world in. That is a false and misleading description in that in an age of WMD proliferation combined with the globalization of finance, communications, and travel the spread of violent Islamism and the tacit consent of Muslim peoples is what really puts the world in danger. Just ask the people in Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia about the Tamil Tigers or Jamail Islamiyah. Ask the Chinese about the Uighurs or ask the Russians about Shamil Basayev. Go to Somalia or Sudan or Northern Nigeria. All of these places are hotbeds of violent Islamic fundamentalism and all of them predate 9/11 and the GWOT.

Trust always in Reason

Archimedes

martial (adj): of or pertaining to or appropriate to war. please, friends, buy dictionaries. even really, really cheap ones.

The Military Times papers might have pulled a patently political stunt and they might be wrong in their characterization of the "military" mind, but that does not mean that Donald Rumsfeld should survive tomorrow's vote.

Mr. Arkin,

Your counsel a few days ago with regard to Mr. Rumsfeld, was fortuitous!

Okay, I feel sorry for Mr. Rumsfeld, except for all of the disharmony, murder and carnage that he and Mr. Bush caused.

In the past I served under Bishops who were much (apparently) like him. As young men, they were visionaries and full of zeal and dedication. As they get older the world changed around them, however, for some reason they simply couldnot change!

Tragic..., because I have also seen Bishops who had to be turned out to pastor!

Perhaps Mr. Rumsfeld (ala Joe Lieberman) will carry on as an Independent Secretary of Defense (-:

how about telling people the truth?

the United States was mislead by people in the Current Executive Branch, and it's snafu time....

That doesn't stop the situation, but it puts a different slant on it. Arrest a couple of people to set the tone....

Indigenous populations are usually a lot nicer once you stop inciting them to riot...

IF we actually assist them to stablize from an honest perspective rather than that of a sex offendor talking to a teenage girl....they might treat us differently...the relationship _will_ be different, and the soldiers won't be accusing them of having leveled the WTC, falsely....

tone is important, and you don't have to support honesty with propaganda...

how did bush win the elections? electoral fraud and homophobia?

.

Time to end the victory lap and start discussing an exit stategy.

Ask yourself - what will it be? Pull out and let the Sunnis and Shiites duke it out until no one's left standing then consider going back in to pick up the pieces, or reinstitute the draft in early 2007, bring in 400,000 new grunts and do it like we should have originally. The current band-aid reactionary strategy lacks vision, bleeds us of young men and women and ain't gaining us any ground.

Either way, it's a long way from over. Let's start thinking about a solution and turn dowh the rhetoric about how badly GWB screwed up. That's a given and not particularly helpful for finding a way out.

Arkin's article reads like a warmed over "stay the course"..., "the Democrats have no Plan"..., "Republicans are always Right"..., same old crap we've been hering for 3 years.

CENTCOM and a host of 4 star Generals had it right and this President and his incompetent Secretary of Defense Fired them, or shouted them down, because they though they knew better. Well I guess they heard from the Voters, that they are not as smart as they think they are.

Iraq has three polarized populations that can not and will not live together. For Americans to think that they can prevent the inevitable Civil War is ridiculous.

I detect a touch of Sarcasm in your reference to Senator Biden. You may not think much of Senator Biden's plan but as a former US Army Soldier I believe it is the only plan that makes sense. Stay in Iraq but get out of the way, Partition Iraq into its 3 base ethnic groups by geographic areas and prevent the Shiites from overunning the Sunnis. The Kurds will pretty much take care of themselves. Place a peacekeping force on the Northen border with Turkey to keep the Turks and the Kurds from starting a cross border war and another force on the Iranian border to prevent Iranian intervention, but most importantly secure all of teh Iraqi borders.

Then we just sit back and watch what is destined to be. Iraq is going to have a civil war. It seems so ridiculous that from 1991-2003 American Politicians have been assuming that given the proper support, Iraqi's would oust Saddam Hussein. Did they think that would be done without a civil war? Of course not. It is so bizarre to think they feel somehow failed, when a civil war ensues, when we are the primary cause of it.

Yes Saddam Hussein should have been taken down, but not for threats or weapons of mass destruction, we should have taken him down pure and simple for vilating the 91 cease fire. Once we took him down we should have left Iraq and let the Iraqi's do what they gotta do. We can't do it for them, and the blood of 2,000 American Soliders and Marines is a tragic testament to the incompetence of George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld. The repurcussions of the mid term elections are a clear vindication to Generals, Zinni and Shinseki. And a clear rebuke to incompetence by PODUS and SECDEF.

Big Hint Mr. Gates the Powell Doctrine worked, the Rumsfeld Doctrine treats American Soldiers and Marines with contempt and dishonors theire blood and their lives.

If the future battle plan for Iraq ignores the Wisdom of Generals Powell, Zinni and Sinseki, we are no better off than with Rumsfeld. This isn't about cut and run its about putting enough military power on teh ground that we are not burying 2 or 3 Soldiers and Marines every day.

You can't achieve a Military strategy if you don't define one. You can't achieve a military strategy without achievable tactical missions, and you sure as hell can't buy a military victroy in the aisle of K-Mart.

What a Freeking Joke, the Most Powerful military power on the planet is rendered impetent not by an overpowering enemy but my incomptent Civilian Leadership.

I got one question that I'd love to here posed to the President..."Mr. President if your name were on the 2006 Ballot, do you think you would have been re-elected? and if not, why don't you and your Vice-President go ahead and do the honorable thing, go fall on your swords and leave serious business to serious people.

"The truth is that wars are not deviously being planned and that the Iraq war wasn't a devious conspiracy. It was as much a product of visionless Democrats who supported it."

These statements are not contradictory. Yes, "visionless Democrats" supported the war, but the proof of "visionlessness" is in not seeing the "devious conspiracy" which ensnared them.

Remember the timeline: The US draws down from Iraq after Gulf War I, UN resolutions, 'no-fly' zones, WMD inspections, criticisms of and by Saddam Hussein, etc., etc. - virtually the same stories, week-in and week-out, for 11 years.

Then, suddenly, with no real change in facts, the beginnings of Bush-led rumblings about Saddam being a threat, then a menace, then a real-and-present danger, joined in more and more frequently by a crescendo of administration toadies. Again, with NO perceptible change in facts or events.

Who, using a little objective non-political judgment, couldn't sense the deliberate manipulation of the news inherent in this tide of noise?

We were hijacked into a war a small cadre of political insiders long wanted, and very few, visionless Democrats included, had the good sense or moral fiber to oppose.

at least some of the democrats wore a uniform and served in time of war. All of your heroes hid under desks and pissed in their pants during viet nam. Ah well, there are 16 people left in the country that support bush's policy in Iraq and I guess it's inevitable that some of those clueless sheep end up here. How does it feel to be a weak minded moron that can't differentiate between reality and propaganda? Just to help you out, yes, it's true the dems just trounced the rethuglicons. Of course there are still going to be some mindless clingers on. Go worship at the altar of bush/cheney, you're not getting any support here oh clueless ones.

What's amazing is the people in this country who are brainwashed by the most transparent propaganda. Daniel you are absolutely clueless. Do you really think we should invade a country, a soveriegn nation, spend trillions of dollars, and sacrifice tens of thousands of lives to get one man? What about all of the other evil dictators in the world? Are we supposed to invade country after country? And who decides who's evil? I think george bush is evil and the biggest threat to civilzation in modern times. Oh what am i saying? I started this by saying do you really think? It's quite apparent that you don't and are incapable of doing so. Go back to Rush, he'll tell you what to think. Freakin weak minded sheep. You live for someone else to control you don't you?

well actually at YALE...with Paul Wolfowitz, Goss, George H.W. Bush, Walker and Negroponte....as well as Rumsfeld...g o o g l e that and see what comes up,

You ALL DO,
REMEMBER the current fiasco/regime STARTED DONCHOO?

probably not, it was actually more than a few years ago.

key player:
Bush George H.W. is the former head of CIA, Congressman before that, Vice President, then President...probably more than 50 years of his life making connections...in the world, not just within our government....he sits on a major corporate board in Chile...


George H.W. Bush Sr.:
sent April Glaspie to Iraq, who with a nod and a wink told Saddam that his border dispute with Kuwait was an internal matter. I think Saddam was suckered into invading because the US needed a new enemy after the collapse of the soviet union....PNAC was an idea fermented before George W. Bush took office....

At george h.w. bushes behest,
Saddam invades Kuwait, we now have an official reason to be there....
looks like we'll establish a presence in Kuwait, we already have one in Saudi...our CIA trains them...CIA trained the 9/11 pilots....CIA TRAINED AL QUEARDAS to fight the soviets in Afghanistan....think they've turned against us? where's your proof morons?

Saudi Royals was given the rights to Saudi Arabia by the Brits after WWII, the Royals were put into power...

who owns the ports on US soil? the Brits...who's supporting us in Iraq? who owns the ports today, it's been a bit quiet that, eh?!

Protecting the Kuwaiti's:
We go into Iraq with Stormin Norman....and kill a couple of 100 thousand Iraqis and

stop short of Bagdhad....you know why, WE'RE GOING BACK...that's why we stopped...


and now that we occupy, are embedded in Kuwait,
we put the country of Iraq in stasis with embargoes until we need it........or the world economy is shifting and things are ripe....China Pakistan, and India are emerging...

THEN, the family needed to intervene....in this case the international riche, which includes the Saudis, Kuwaitis, and the US Affluent that stand to make a bit of cash....mind you the Germans, English and French have their hands in this...but your buddy dubya, is the gawdfathers only visible son....unless you need the state militia called to keep Terry Schiavo from being unhooked...Jebba steps in as a grandstanding event...


so we intervene on national television...bombs going off, constant coverage, city surrounded, surveillance on every living thing that's bigger than a booger..


and somehow, miracle of miracles, like the virgin mary turning up on your french toast:
Saddam escapes from Bagdhad with three tractor trailer loads of cash, $9 BILLION$ in CASH right? Anyone in dubyas extended family gotten riche lately?

the museums were emptied right? ha ha ha...that's rich.

as far as conspiracy goes,

there never was a CIA/NORIEGA/BUSH Sr. connection right? and the Chilean president wasn't asassinated in DC with full CIA knowledge, and where'd that white up George W. Bushes nose come from? Panama?

the thing of it is,
the United States suckered, under George H.W. Bush, Saddam Hussein into attacking Kuwait, so we could be the "heroes", and become military occupiers...to lead us to this point....


walking down the road with no impetus to replacing our dependence on oil, a non-renewable resource....because it's not to the benefit of the countries leaders

this has a lot to do with _families_ working together _not related by blood_, as well as politics that don't include you as a positive recipient of thier efforts, as well as...

helping you to understand that it isn't all cowboy hats and honesty leading you...

Saddam was deliberately mislead into attacking Kuwiat, by President George H.W. Bush, we indicated that we would look the other way if Saddam wanted to reacquire some land and oil wells that he thought the Kuwiatis had taken.....so we would have an excuse to extend our influence.

did we tell Saddam Hussein the truth?

no.

it wasn't to our advantage.

the bushes intimately understand the middle eastern tribe mentality, they have trbal mentality, they protect and work with their own....they use the government to get what they want for their tribe

ps. you're not included in their tribe....

morons in charge and morons voted them in...using demagoguery as a political tool needs to be exposed....predjudice as a tool.

you want a better country quit pandering to morons and pandering to hate.....

the point of it is, the bush family, is trying to bury some information that needs to be understood

the ultimate threat to this country is people that can write but can't think or see...or don't want you to.

I would suggest that those who would use thier governmental office for personal gain at the expense of the citizens lose thier citizenship, and be charged with treason and their properties confiscated....

intimidation as control shouldn't be tolerated....
read the bill of rights, the right to bear arms was specifically inserted into the Bill of Rights to prevent the United States from being taken over from within, which is what what is happening now....

that's the point, a dictatorship and a congress that takes advantage of citizens, doesn't deserve to serve....

tom delay: violated his oath of office twice and not a single member of congress has the oats to call him on it....cowards or fellow crooks?

who needs to look for leaks when anyone with two eyes can see a pattern...of deceit and corruption.
REMEMBER the current fiasco/regime STARTED?

probably not, it was actually more than a few years ago.

key player:
Bush Sr. is the former head of CIA, Congressman before that, Vice President, then President...probably more than 30 years of his life making connections...


George H.W. Bush Sr.:
sent April Gillespie to Iraq, who with a nod and a wink told Saddam that his border dispute with Kuwait was an internal matter. I think Saddam was suckered into invading because the US needed a new enemy after the collapse of the soviet union....


Saddam invades Kuwait, we now have an official reason to be there....
looks like we'll establish a presence in Kuwait, we already have one in Saudi...our CIA trains them...CIA trained the 9/11 pilots.

Saudi Royals was given the rights to Saudi Arabia by the Brits after WWII, the Royals were put into power...

who owns the ports on US soil? the Brits...who's supporting us in Iraq?

Protecting the Kuwaiti's:
We go into Iraq with Stormin Norman....and kill a couple of 100 thousand Iraqis and

stop short of Bagdhad....you know why, WE'RE GOING BACK...that's why we stopped...


and now that we occupy, are embedded in Kuwait,
we put the country of Iraq in stasis with embargoes until we need it........or the world economy is shifting and things are ripe....China Pakistan, and India are emerging...

THEN, the family needed to intervene....in this case the international riche, which includes the Saudis, Kuwaitis, and the US Affluent that stand to make a bit of cash....mind you the Germans, English and French have their hands in this...but your buddy dubya, is the gawdfathers only visible son....unless you need the state militia called to keep Terry Schiavo from being unhooked...as a grandstanding event...


so we intervene on national television...bombs going off, constant coverage, city surrounded, surveillance on every living thing that's bigger than a booger..


and somehow, miracle of miracles, like the virgin mary turning up on your french toast:
Saddam escapes from Bagdhad with three tractor trailer loads of cash, $9 BILLION$ in CASH right? Anyone in dubyas extended family gotten riche lately?

the museums were emptied right? ha ha ha...that's rich.

as far as conspiracy goes,

there never was a CIA/NORIEGA/BUSH Sr. connection right? and the Chilean president wasn't asassinated in DC with full CIA knowledge, and where'd that white up George W. Bushes nose come from? Panama?

the thing of it is,
the United States suckered, under George H.W. Bush, Saddam Hussein into attacking Kuwait, so we could be the "heroes", and become military occupiers...to lead us to this point....


walking down the road with no impetus to replacing our dependence on oil, a non-renewable resource....because it's not to the benefit of the countries leaders

this has a lot to do with _families_ working together _not related by blood_, as well as politics that don't include you as a positive recipient of thier efforts, as well as...

helping you to understand that it isn't all cowboy hats and honesty leading you...

Saddam was deliberately mislead into attacking Kuwiat, by President George H.W. Bush, we indicated that we would look the other way if Saddam wanted to reacquire some land and oil wells that he thought the Kuwiatis had taken.....so we would have an excuse to extend our influence.

did we tell Saddam Hussein the truth?

no.

it wasn't to our advantage.

the bushes intimately understand the middle eastern tribe mentality, they have trbal mentality, they protect and work with their own....they use the government to get what they want for their tribe

ps. you're not included in their tribe....

morons in charge and morons voted them in...using demagoguery as a political tool needs to be exposed....predjudice as a tool.

you want a better country quit pandering to morons and pandering to hate.....

the point of it is, the bush family, is trying to bury some information that needs to be understood

the ultimate threat to this country is people that can write but can't think or see...or don't want you to.

I would suggest that those who would use thier governmental office for personal gain at the expense of the citizens lose thier citizenship, and be charged with treason and their properties confiscated....

intimidation as control shouldn't be tolerated....
read the bill of rights, the right to bear arms was specifically inserted into the Bill of Rights to prevent the United States from being taken over from within, which is what what is happening now....

that's the point, a dictatorship and a congress that takes advantage of citizens, doesn't deserve to serve....

tom delay: violated his oath of office twice and not a single member of congress has the oats to call him on it....cowards or fellow crooks?

who needs to look for leaks when anyone with two eyes can see a pattern...of deceit and corruption.

This is the Washington Post, right? "Martial" plan?!?!?!

war, there's an invasion to control a scarce resource.

Saddam Hussein was in EMBARGO, not a threat, Israel presents an opportunity to us to pretend to care about them as we harvest a black gold opportunity....

you are a liar.

I hope they do dump Missile Defense, and consult with the "Military" to find out what they need and want to fight the War on Terror. Hopefully, Secretary Gates will work with the military and not attempt to direct military campaigns. We need to get out of Iraq and redeploy to Afghanistan to deal with the Taliban and the branch of al-Qaida that actually attacked us on 9/11.
While I opposed the Iraq War, I supported the war against al-Qaida, and their supporters the Taliban in Afghanistan. However, the guns and caviar approach to fighting the War on Terror leaves a lot to be desired, and I would like to see methods used after Pearl Harbor applied to the War on Terror. In deed, I expected calls for sacrifice instead of tax breaks for the wealthy after 9/11.
We need lots of boots on the ground, with lots of close air support available to meet any need that may surprise us. We need a large conventional army, mostly in the states,to respond to those surprises. They would only be deployed overseas in a 9/11 or Pearl Harbor situation. Also, there would be a decent rotation schedule for troops in combat situations. Our people are being worn out in Iraq. they need a break. I don't want to see them in the Middle East except in a 9/11 or Pearl Harbor situation. Afghanistan would be a an area for deployment.

those that would sell you labels in lieu of government are also party shills for this administration...

I wonder how many bumper stickers on the back of redneck pickup trucks are pro bush, and don't realize that from the getgo, their jobs, lives and futures were being stolen from them by this administration and complicit congress?

Do you think HOMOPHOBIA is a national security issue or a tool that manipulators use on men with short ones, to make them feel "in danger,"...

I mean it's all ways about the negrahs, the liberals, the wommin, the injuns, the chinks, or some one that the little pee peed ones have to demonize isn't it....

can't have a neandertalick lynching without someone to lynch....

how about holding this administration responsible for defrauding our nation and getting us embroiled in an occupation as they fed us garbage about terrorists....

REMBEMBER BUSH IS ALL FOR AMNESTY FOR ILLEGALS.......where's the money for the ?wall?

disappeared? like the $9 Billion that Halliburton can't account for?

And why does Negroponte have the okay to excuse companies from having their books examined?

Can you say _family_ business....

anyone that is trying to smear using the term lefty, needs to have a size twelve in their rear end......oh pardon me, bush is in there ahead of me....

Blame the Iraq war where the blame should be; Saddam Hussein.
Listen: You no longer here him shouting, pounding his fist at Israel and America!
We have not lost the war in Iraq and Democrats would be wise to keep in-line with the current administrations concerted efforts to remove terrorism from the face of this world.Any blind evacuation of Iraq would inevitably strengthen terrorists the world over, don't expect it. Justice is being served when we as a world body stand up and place on trial ruthless dictators who are responsible for slaughtering innocent people in their nation or other nations, G-d is with us!

Oh goody, all the leftist rats are popping their heads up. Yes, let's run from Iraq and the war on terrorism so democrats can talk about the real issues, like giving teen agers a boost in minimum wage at mcdonalds. way to go! barf!

As far as the democrats 'finding a spine'....good luck.

I hope the Dems take what you wrote to heart, they probably have a shorter shelf life than the Neocons who helped create this mess in Iraq and borrowing and spending more money like drunken sailors on shore leave.

I am with the couple of commenter who wrote calling the architects of the Iraq war to book, these people should be tried as war criminals. At a minimum they should never be allowed to work in Government again.

I also don't have a whole lot of hope with the Dems, there's probably only a hair's breadth of difference between the two parties. I think its time for a third political party that works for all Americans instead of just the campaign donors, socially liberal, financially responsible and militarily less adventurous. Way way less adventurous.

Et tu Mr. Arkin,

Isn't it amazing the implied onus that is being placed upon the soon to be Democratic-led Congress....

and the Democratics havenin't taken office yet?

So where do we go from here, blame the Democrats for a Republican problem? I have been on the road for most of the first part of the day, yet too many commentators that I listened to over the radio seemed to imply that the debacle in Iraq is a Democratic problem.

Let's not forget that the President and his people formulated the policies that have the United States and the whole world, it would seem, reacting!

With regard to Mr. Bush:
This is not gloating or bashing....

however, after listening to the President's remarks today in the aftermath of yesterday's election results, it is clear to me that those individuals (Republicans and Democrats) who voted this man into office 6-years ago, a position that he was simply never qualified or capable of executing, owe Mr. Bush an apology. I felt compassion for him today given all of his stumblings, just as I have over the past six years!

Please don't ever do anything like this again, the nation has thousands of people, male and female, who are qualified and capable enough to assume such an arduous task!

Having said that, thank you however, for helping to vote in a Democratic House sofar that will help him to make better choices in the future!

Sounds like a bitter Republican trying to blame Democrats for Bushs' war.

It is not within USA but the entire world is waiting for a political action, the kind that only democrats are known for. As of the republicans, we shall remember you for everything you have done to the world and perhaps you will learn from your mistakes. I am not a US citizen but believe it or not, republican mistakes resulted in people of my country to live under black flag of Al-Qaida. From the cash damping in Mogadishu, to Iraq war and inactions of Darfur- these are real lessons for all of us but can the Democrats take actions? Can they lead not only America but the world? Now that you won the mid-elections, please note that the world is waiting for you.

On Africa, review the situation in Darfur and Somalia. In Somalia, insist on elections and democracy can solve the question of leadership. This would give us, the young generation, an opportunity to make deference. In the meantime, war will not solve anything. In case you might need to know, our destroyed cities are conducive enough for every type of war. Simple advice is if they drawing you to war draw them to democracy. They may win the leadership but the democratic system will win them sooner or later.

Hassan Noor, xasanor2@yahoo.com Somalia

Rumsfeld's political career just ended in disgrace.

How about a 'Plutonium Hat'. Let the Democrats open the pandora's box of true non-ploliferation. WMD, owned by any illegitimate sovereignty, must be eliminated entirely. In a new global view, they're about as usefull as a nucular Winter, or any other massive and rapid climate change.

Perhaps there is still hope for my beloved and troubled country. Amen!

jay-z must've missed the memo that european gas prices are the result of high taxes. but then agains its easy to miss memos when your busing being dillusion.

somebody get jay-z here a kabutz. or a cloud to call her own (it must be a women) and rule.

was that a poem or a comment? why do people think being cute is better than thinking hard, thinking critically and making sense? no wonder our political system is so messed up.

working for his family.

Exxon Mobil, Saudi, BP, UAE, not fighting against terrorism....

The terrorism they were fighting was someone else selling oil to China and India as their economies heat up.

IF security were an issue, and this was a ?war? time, then we would have geared up towards making sure that we could survive if our fossil fuels were interrupted.

We haven't done that, because this administration wants to corner the market, and then get top dollar. Like the Hunt Bros. from Texas, treated silver in the early 70's....drove the price in a matter of months from $5 a troy oz to $45 a troy oz. How is it that gas prices are $2.00 a gallon in the United States right now and $8.00 in Europe? Serendipity or collusion between your government and BIG OIL?

Hows the middle class doing? They were the BACKBONE OF AMERICA, looks like we don't have one now....

that's why you all been bending over and asking the president to put it in right?

oh, CIA plant.

There are no democrats or republicans. There are rich people that treat eachother like family. And they don't act in the best interests of the country.

National Security is more than about what war we're going to fight.

We're not fighting a war on terrorism, there is an internal campaign by this administration and COMPLICIT CONGRESS, that means republicans and democrats, to foist a PNAC agendae on top of the economy.

We're using the military to control world economies.

That is unnecessary. You can control world economies with cooperation, however the people in charge of oil and with interests in the military won't be making the big bucks.....the rest of the citizenry will.

You ask the wrong question, you should be asking, "What is acting in the best interests of National Security?"

I would say arresting the Execuive Branch and perusing everything put in place to date would be agood idea.

Don't want to stop the show? Keep things rolling and place appointees by congress in oversight over all of bushes people.

What's Chertoff's experience again? Harrassing Clintons? OH, that's exactly who we need in charge of a false department of homeland security.

And what happened to the monies allocated to building a wall between Mehico and the Dissapated States of America? Sent to Wisconsin to build duck blinds for the wealthy you say? What an effing surprise.

Democrats Republicans, watch what they do, not what they say....

IF THEY BREAK THE LAW HAVE THEM ARRESTED, starting with the president as an example. Destroy their monetary ability to get back in the game....sue for their properties....

That my friend is justice, anything less is a mockery....

Kids dieing in Iraq to keep them in pocket change.....take them out and put them in charge of a jail cell.

rename it Bush's war so its clear who got us into this mess? bring neo-cons in front of congressional committees and demand that they come up with a plan? right congressional democrats had NOTHING to do with the Iraq war, congressional democrats were just innocent bystanders who happened to vote for it. That idea is hypocritical coming from dems if they also think they just won a meaningful share of power by winning the House. And I'm sure all democrats (those who voted for the war and those who didnt, or werent on the record because they werent in office and now can claim they've always been against it) would like nothing better to sit back and make it all about the republican's plan in iraq for the next two years. unfortunately, controlling the house comes with responsibility (especially if its coupled with controlling the senate). democrats can't shirk their responsibility for voting for the war in the first place and they wont be able to shirk their responsibility for having a plan that works in Iraq between now. i think democrats might have simply earned themselves just enough time to show the american people their plans are not radically different from president bush's, and leave the american people with no party whose arms they can blindly and mindlessly run into. hopefully this happens, so 2008 can be about voting for a candidate and not a party.

No, Martial Plan is correct. It refers to the martial aspect of politics (i.e. war).

I voluntarily left the military in 2004 (after 15+ years) due to W/Cheney/Rumsfeld and their idiotic rule.

I also voted a straight Dem ticket for the first time ever because of the Repub incompetence and attitutde.

I will be following the Dems to make sure they investigate and hold accoutnable those who failed to plan, supply, and execute the Iraq fiasco. If they do not, I will vote them out too.

"The truth is that wars are not deviously being planned and that the Iraq war wasn't a devious conspiracy. It was as much a product of visionless Democrats who supported it."

WOW; blame the D's for the Iraq war. Can you be a bigger apologist for Bush's ineptness?

In fact, I think we should rename the Iraq War and the "Bush War" so it's clear who got us into this mess. The mindless GOP partisan revisionism is already in high gear thanks to the midterm elections.

The truth of the statement "The truth is that wars are not deviously being planned and that the Iraq war wasn't a devious conspiracy" is far from established. It's irresponsible to say these things without ANY facts in front of you.

In contrast, the truth of the statement "wars are not planned and the Iraq war wasn't" is immediately apparent.

How about a nice round of subpeonas handed to Rumsfeld, Cheney, all neocons (even those now professing utter alarm at the outcome in Iraq - think Perle). Maybe hand one to Wolfowitz hiding in a vault at the World Bank?

Afterall, these guys set themselves up as the "architects" of the war, the strategists, the tacticians, the military experts. So, sit them down in front of a House committee and demand that they come up with a plan. Sort of like, you broke it buddy, you fix it.

suck it up buttercup, you lost!

As a conservative I am very pleased with these elections. This bunch of republicans have somehow managed to screw things up more than I could ever have dreamed. Democrats, however, should not celebrate their victories. Instead they should take a long hard look at what Americans really want from our elected officials. This election cycle was in no way a validation of Democrat ideas, as I'm sure they believe. I envision the Democrats will make things worse over the next couple of years and we will see a republican elected president in 2008.

Mr. Arkin

Thanks for your ongoing efforts. Your columns are the most cogent defense-related writing one can find these days.

It is interesting that most of the folks who post here seem enamored of tin-foil chapeaux.
Perhaps I'll need a fitting myself soon.

-- stanley krute

Ipersonally believe that the war on terror will go soft if demmocrats are voted to power.It will have an adverse affect on Indo US nuclear deal.To make world a better place to live we need to ensure support a genuine candidate and party.

I think you and most political analyses miss the point . The outcome of this election wasn't about Iraq , even tho the media tried to hype it in that direction ! It was more about the arrogance of those in Washington , D.C.! This was an election of change , not a dem being better than a con . But more about the stupidity of those in power when they ignor common sence solutions to major problems !And there biggest fault was ignoring the concerns of "WE THE PEOPLE"..you know ,the first sentence of the constitution !
I trully believe in the coming year you will see alot of new faces in all forms of goverment !

I think what you meant to say was "Marshall Plan".

Don't you mean "Marshall Plan"?

we lost more than 3,000 souls on 9/11 at the trade center.we are about to match that in our war, the war with no reason,or purpose for starting.god save us from our goverment.

Sorry, you are wrong, and the war was a conspiracy by the PNAC-AIPAC cabal, organized and plotted for well before 9-11. And I hope that now we can get some real investigations going, leading to real arrests. No one with a clue, who isn't a coup supporter, who has looked at the evidence with an open mind, supports the official government armageddon-freaks tin foil hat conspiracy theory. It took decades for the truth about the "tonkin gulf" attacks to come out, let us hope that this time the time frame is a little bit shorter than that.

And it is well past time for the mainstream media to do some real investigative journalism on this subject, and if they need a starting point, I would suggest some normal web searches.

Unfortunately, Pelosi is apparently one of those "see no evil" types with blinders on and supports another nation's interests over her own, but perhaps there will be enough pressure within her own party and with the general public to force her hand. And once again, those who profess to be journalists can do their jobs better.

ELECTION ALARM!! SPREAD THE WORD!!

For uncensored news please bookmark:

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http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/
www.wsws.org
www.takingaim.info

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?messageDate=2006-11-08

LANDSLIDE! ...a big thanks from Michael Moore

November 8th, 2006

Friends,

You did it! We did it! The impossible has happened: A majority of Americans have soundly and forcefully removed Bush's party from control of the House of Representatives. And, sometime today perhaps, we may learn that the same miracle has happened in the Senate. Whatever the outcome, the American people have made two things crystal clear: End this war, and stop Mr. Bush from doing any more damage to this country we love. That is what this election was about. Nothing else. Just that. And it's a message that has sent shock waves throughout Washington -- and a note of hope around this troubled world.

Now the real work begins. Unless we stay on top of these Democrats to do the right thing, they will do what they've always done: Screw it up. Big Time. They helped Bush start this war, and now they should make amends.

But let's take a day to rejoice and revel in a rare victory for our side -- the side that doesn't believe in unprovoked invasions of other countries. This is your day, my friends. You have worked hard for it. I can't tell you how proud I am to count all of you as part of the greater American mainstream we now occupy. Thank you for all the time you gave this week to get out the vote. Some of you have been at this since the large demonstrations of February 2003 when we tried to stop the war before it started. Only 10-20% of the country agreed with us at that time. Remember how lonely that was? Some people were even booed! Now, 60% of the country agrees with our position. They are us and we are them. What a nice, strange, hopeful feeling.

A woman, for the first time in our history, will be Speaker of the House. The attempt to ban all abortion in the conservative state of South Dakota was defeated. Laws to raise the minimum wage were passed. Democrats were elected to fill Tom DeLay's and Mark Foley's seats. Detroit's John Conyers, Jr. is going to be the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. The Democratic governor of Michigan beat the CEO from Amway. The little township next to where I live in Michigan voted Democratic for the first time since... ever. And on and on and on. The good news will continue throughout today. Let's enjoy it. Savor it. And use it to get Congress to finally listen to the majority.

If you want to do one thing today, send an email or a letter to both of your senators and your member of Congress and tell them, in no uncertain terms, what this election means: End the war -- and don't let George W. Bush get away with any more of his bright ideas.

Congratulations, again! Now let's go find a spine for the Dems to do the job we've sent them there to do.

Yours in victory (for once!),

Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com
www.michaelmoore.com

P.S. Thanks for all those photos you sent me of you with your brooms at your polling places. They're still coming in and we're posting them here throughout the day. And for those of you who asked how "Sicko" is coming along, the answer is: better than we ever expected! We're hard at work in the edit room and it will be in theaters in June. Thanks again, everyone, for your support.

Step 1: remove DOD as the lead govt. agency responsible for the Islamic extremist geopolitical issue. Make DOS the lead, or create another agency with that as their sole issue.