W E D N E S D A Y , J U L Y 2 7 , 2 0 0 5Rumsfeld Pops Up In Iraqby Michael in New York on 7/27/2005 11:12:00 AMRumsfeld went to Iraq to stiffen the spine of its leaders.</p><p> Don'tdelay on that Constitution, said Rumsfeld.</p><p> Oh and by the way,do something about Iran and Syria, get some more troopsready to take over the over-crowded prisons and make sureyou thank everyone.Right, even Baghdad is unsafe, people don't have regularpower or water, and going to the airport means taking your lifeinto your hands.</p><p> This is the government that's supposed toclamp down on Iran and Syria? I think they have more pressingconcerns than reinforcing US foreign policy.But what about this paragraph in the New York Times:Mr.</p><p> Rumsfeld also called on the Iraqi government to assumegreater responsibility over time for the 15,000 detaineesnow in American custody in Iraq; to allocate enough moneyin future Iraqi budgets to field security forces that arecapable of replacing many of the 22,000 foreign alliedforces that plan to leave Iraq by year's end; and to improvecooperation between the Iraqi defense and interiorministries to enhance the combat readiness of Iraq's170,000 military and paramilitary police forces.Iraq does NOT have 170,000 forces.</p><p> How can the NYT blithely repeatthe figures of the Bush administration when we KNOW they are a lie?Iraq does not have 170,000 military and paramilitary police forces byany reasonable standard of measurement.</p><p> As of a few weeks ago,this figure included about 2000 Iraqi troops capable of fighting ontheir own and some 9000 troops who can fight with US assistance.That leaves about 160,000 troops THAT CAN'T FIGHT AT ALL.Scattered reports by the MSM also indicate that properly equippingthem is proving nigh on impossible -- can you really pretend to have170,000 troops when even if they could fight they don't have theweapons to do it with? How can the NYT justify repeating this liewithout breaking it down? Even Bush felt compelled to make clear inhis national address that not all were combat ready. "Not all" combatready as in "virtually none." Uh, not even close.</p><p> Iraq is barely halfwayto replacing the measly 22,000 troops fro other countries that will beleaving in five months.</p><p> And at this rate it is years away from beingable to replace our troops -- unless we pull out and don't worry aboutIraq sinking into chaos.What's the impact of this story if it's made clear that Rumsfeld ispushing Iraq to accomplish all these goals when in fact it only hasabout 12,000 troops who can fight EVEN WITH OUR ASSISTANCE andonly 2000 who can stand on their own? Two thousand troops aftermore than two years of our occupation and hundreds of billions ofdollars spent.And how did Rumsfeld travel around Iraq? What sort of armoredvehicle did he use? Shouldn't that bring up the chance to do anupdate on armored vehicles for our soldiers, who remain poorlyequipped after more than two years at war? How did Rumsfeld getaround in a country he wants to pretend is almost ready to stand onits own? Wanna bet it was surrounded by men and women armed tothe teeth?And what about the scandal that endangered national security?Rummy apparently took questions from reporters.</p><p> Didn't anyone askhim about Rove? EschatonPretty Much - I think this encapsulates nicely ourmodern media environment.1 hour ago HuffPost PoliticsHuckabee's Huck Pac In Turmoil With StaffTurnover, Mounting Debts - Former Arkansas Gov.Mike Huckabee's political action committee, HuckPac, is undergoing a "restructuring," ExecutiveDirector Sarah Huckabee said Wednesday....2 hours ago Ben SmithGoing small - My story tonight: President BarackObama came alive about 50 minutes intoWednesday night’s news conference – whensomebo2 hours ago FiredoglakeLate Late Night FDL: What Eclipse? - A new videofrom Fatoumata Diawara, and and oldie from Bob.2 hours ago Daily KosOpen Thread and Diary Rescue - *Today, srkp23(pulling a double shift), ybruti, taylormattd,ItsJessMe and vcmvo2 combed through hundredsof diaries to find this powerful list.</p><p> Today's...3 hours agoJ O H N ' S P H OT O S Show AllA M E R I C A B L O G T V Next100.comFeedback - Ads by Google The Taco Bell dog hasdied In honor of SenatorDeMintNext 6AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Rumsfe...http://www.americablog.com/2005/07/rumsfeld-pops-up-in-iraq... 1 of 57/23/09 3:50 AMVisit our AMERICAblog TV site.see all 322 videos >I collect with vodpod For the GOPers, healthcare is politics.</p><p> They just Traditional media has todebunk the birthers One small step...</p><p> The right-wing media, thevoices of the GOP, inAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Rumsfe...http://www.americablog.com/2005/07/rumsfeld-pops-up-in-iraq... 2 of 57/23/09 3:50 AMThe TreatmentObama Has a Grown-UpTalk With America(Gulp)3 hours agoEzra KleinTab Dump8 hours agoWonk RoomSen.</p><p> Byron Dorgan:The ‘Trade’ InCap-And-Trade ‘MakesNo Sense To Me’9 hours agoHealth BeatTruth Squad: WallStreet Journal HealthCare Editorial Wrong onthe Facts . . .10 hours agoDaily DoseProviders Endorse 'Payfor Value' ProposalsG AY P O L I T I C S Visit our new gay politicssection, AMERICAblog Gay.F E E D S Blog RSS AMERICAblog TV RSS Twitter RSSTwitter Feed Get the blog by email: Subscribe me! 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