Some time back a journalist (Hamid Mir –Pakistan,) in an interview asked Osama bin Laden;… Don’t you know, every time you come out with your statement or video.  That helps George W Bush in his war on terror and he grows stronger?

Hamid Mir says his reply was: Yes He knows; but George Bush is the only one who can destroy America’s might!

Seems to me:

There are two hurtles here, the second being nearly insurmountable. Number one is Bush negotiating with the Iranians. I can see that happening just to get everyone off his back for not doing so. The tougher hurtle for Bush (and our gov.) is facing up to what is required to get Iranian cooperation in securing a stable Iraq—a guarantee of Iran’s security (without restriction to their possible violations of the non proliferation treaty) as our Get Out of Iraq Card.

Reality says foregoing our option to bomb Iran is not a problem here (except for people in denial.) First of all, any bombing of Iran would mobilize the Shia in Iraq against us and thus further destabilize that situation, as well as inflame the rest of the Arab world. For these reasons in the context of the general instability in the region, the rest of the world will not stand by and let Bush proceed with any such insanity. 

The question is: How many more lives and how much more money and prestige are going to have to be spent before we face up to this ignominious defeat. Since Bush and almost no one else in our government want to own up to our having made Iran the major player in the region, the status quo seems the best option for a President concerned with his legacy, and a country not wanting to lose it strategic position in this most important part of the world.

Of course, while we dilly dally, it may evolve into a regional war.

Maybe, just maybe, this disaster will lead to a rethinking of who we are, and how we want to relate to the rest of the world. 

Jon  
StudentsForTheEarth.org

It seems we are in the rather odd situation of having to ask the rest of the world not to hate us Americans because of our challenged, so-called leaders.  Yes, we Americans elected them, maybe, hard to tell with the voting machine fiasco, but maybe the world leaders and the terrorists will be patient and not allow the world to blow up while we Americans get our act together and get rid of these rather vile and apparently stupid, perhaps just greedy, men from their offices.  Of course we then have a globalist agenda to turn our attention to, another group of bad, greedy, zealots more concerned with their bank accounts than the health of the world.  Indeed, God help us!

RE:  “Rumor in Washington indicates that the Baker-Hamilton commission will urge the president to end his aversion to talks with Iran and Syria as part of a broader strategy to negotiate our way out of Iraq. The question is whether he will remain deaf to such sane advice.”

>>>>> As if

he ever had any say in any of it. The Baker-Hamilton commission is more smoke and mirrors. Essentially it’s to rein in the Strange-Love faction whose push toward WWIII (e.g. bombing Iran) is scaring even old cynics like Kissinger; and to do it as off the record as possible. The suffering of the Iraqis won’t weigh in the balance; not much chance of shutting down Negroponte’s Death Squads before they kill off most of the intellectuals in Iraq like they did in Latin America. Moreover, it’s unlikely the new Dem. Congress will show any mettle. Look for little fight on Gates confirmation.

As for Joe Conason, just expect him to keep on being cute with his buddy Al Franken. Man alive, are these guys just self-styled onanists or “rich assets” placed to divert serious analysis? Yeah, yeah, they need a break — a little levity…Gulé, gulé, AL; Gulé, gulé, Joe — Go Smiling.

This reminds me of all the other ventures that W involved himself in.  That is, involved himself in running those projects into the ground and depending on his father’s friends to pull him out of the quagmires.  The only difference I see this time is that he seems to be avoiding the advice of the Baker-Hamilton Commission whenever it conflicts with his own position.

Poor little man, still pretending to be competent while rejecting the lifeline offered, and not realizing that if he is ever going to leave a legacy his best chance is to start listening and admit his mistakes.

Will he remain deaf to such sane advice?  Count on it!  No problem though, provided we see to it that Congress passes the Kucinich bill to cut off all funding for the Iraq war, because after Congress does that our president is sure to be impeached,  following which he’s off to the International Court of Criminal Justice for his trial on the charge of crimes against humanity.  And it couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy.     
 

    .

Hold King Georg’s feet to the fire!!!!!

Go thru this bill with a fine tooth comb.

Iraq Spending Bill to Test Democrats

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/01/AR2006120100344.html

Quagmire. Arghhh!