Senate Republicans tell veterans ‘fight for a job on your own’

Jobless veterans suffer some more as Senate Republicans offer a blatantly political election-year snub to President Obama. While five GOP senators sided with the Democrats on the bill, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who was a captain in the 1970s in the U.S. Army reserves, was key to blocking the vote. Sen. Tom ‘Dr. No’ Coburn, of Oklahoma, stayed true to his nickname, preferring to talk about the abstract idea of bringing down the debt rather than address the plight of jobless in the here and now.

Desert Oil Survivor: Iraq

What if an oil-rich country held a development auction and nobody came? That's what happened this week in Iraq. Iraq's televised oil field development auction turned out to be a ratings loser. It was also a revenue loser for the government. By 5 p.m. Baghdad time, Monday, of more than three dozen oil firms, only BP and its fuel hungry partner, the China National Petroleum Corporation, acquired an immunity idol. Big Oil was looking for a price that was just right ... for them. Barriers to entry remain higher than what oil companies are prepared to pay. Experts are acknowledging that there is a Grand Canyon-sized chasm between the Iraqi government and the Big Oil. The Iraqis are not ruling out the possibility of further negotiations because the country needs the money to rebuild its shattered economy. Governmental infighting is partly to blame along with some right-guided paranoia about being taken for a ride by the oil companies. That there will be a television sequel is a given. Whether it will benefit the viewers in the long run remains to be seen.

A recipe for an Iraqi turnover

Iraqis and Americans agree on something: Pulling out of Iraq's cities is a good thing. The Iraqi government is recognizing the event with a new national holiday called National Sovereignty Day. Iraqi's celebrated by staying at home. The run-up to the holiday has been messy, with more than 200 people killed in terrorist attacks in June. Despite the spasms of violence, many Iraqis remain optimistic about the handoff. As the new Iraqi democracy matures, we'll see if the new holiday remains as Iraqi as oil, sand and U.S. turnovers.

These shoes were made for throwin'

There was an Iraqi journalist who threw a shoe. T'was no ordinary shoe mind you, but a very special shoe. Two of them in a size 10. And away to the Lame Duck President they flew. But that's only where the story began for poor Muntader al-Zaidi. While he hasn't been seen publicly since the incident, it seems he is seeking the forgiveness of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki for his "ugly action." The correspondent for the TV channel in Cairo, Al-Baghdadiya, has become the talk of the government and the pride of Baghdad. He's even been offered a new job with a Lebanese television station "from the second he threw the shoe." Unless pardoned, as Maliki is under pressure to do, al-Zaidi could face up to 15 years in prison for the charge of "aggression against a president." That's a hefty penalty for the man who had to live with those shoes.

If the shoe hits

It's only the highest insult in the Arab world.

Oh Blackwater, keep on rollin'

Five former members of Blackwater Worldwide are facing a blizzard of charges in connection with a Sept. 16, 2007 incident in Nisour Square, Baghdad, that left 17 Iraqis dead. The suspects surrendered to federal authorities in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Monday. A sixth man pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter last week. Blackwater itself is not facing charges. Even so, it constitutes yet another black eye for the security firm.

Iraqi Legal

The Iraqi cabinet finally passed a pact regarding U.S. troops deployed there. The agreement provides a continued legal means for U.S. forces to operate in Iraq after the U.N. resolution expires at the the end of 2008 and includes the following terms:

* calls for troops to be out of all cities and towns by June 30, 2009;

* calls for all troops to be out of the country all together by Dec. 31, 2011;

* U.S. soldiers will be granted continued legal immunity except in cases of serious felonies committed while off duty and off the base; and

* American soldiers will have to get court-issued warrants to make arrests, and they will have to hand over suspects to Iraqi authorities.

The Brits are waiting for the U.S. pact to go through before negotiating their own pact with the Iraqis. But the Iraqi parliament will get the U.S. agreement and will have to pass it before going on their Thanksgiving break. Gee, thanks.

Remembering their sacrifices

The world remembered the war that made Veteran's Day necessary in the first place. A handful of WWI veterans are still around and ceremonies in France marked the occasion. While people were revisiting the ghosts of wars past, some were grappling with the ghosts of wars present. The incoming administration is considering a new approach to the Afghan war that would include a more regional effort and more boots on the ground. That could be dicy as Pakistan's army, in it's efforts to deal with the Taliban, has discovered the tunnels the insurgents have been digging to give them access to and from Afghanistan. But for most, today will be a day of remembering the loss of loved ones and praying that we will not have to one day confront the ghosts of future wars.

Back to our scheduled program already in progress

Before there was Election 2008 there was the War in Iraq. During the campaign there was the economic meltdown. There were also a number of other international issues bubbling in the crisis cauldron. Non of these ended simply because Americans went to the polls. But reality is beginning to reassert itself.

Iraq is demanding a fixed date of withdrawal of U.S. troops regardless of the situation on the ground and wants a different status of forces agreement. Bad economic news sent the Dow down another 486 points. The market tanked on bad retail, automotive and labor news. The economic landscape looks so bleak in the U.K. that the Bank of England slashed interest rates. And Russia, still miffed over the planned U.S. deployment of antimissile batteries in Poland, is deploying missiles of its own along with signal jammers near the Polish border. Oh, and did we mention that the IMF just approved a bailout for Ukraine even as it is undergoing both a political and economic meltdown? All of that just for starters.

While Capt. Hope pulls his Action Rangers together, it would seem that their World of Tomorrow will come with much assembly required.

Obama's magical world tour

Barack Obama's trip to Afghanistan, as part of a Congressional junket, had a rather inauspicious start. In what has been called a "misunderstanding", between nine and 13 Afghan police officers were killed in an airstrike in Afghanistan's Farah province. This is just the latest in a string of recent incidents that have resulted in dead Afghan civilians. Obama's call for a 16 month timetable for a withdrawal from Iraq has met with approval by Iraqi leader Nouri al-Maliki, though Maliki says his comments are no endorsement of Obama. Not that it mattered. The Obama camp jumped on Maliki's comments anyway. Obama is set to stand under the angel in the middle of Berlin's Teirgarten next week. While Europeans seem to have great affection for Obama, Europe's leaders are sniffing warily at his policy proposals and inexperience. And so Obama had lunch with the troops and Afghan President Hamid Karzai Sunday morning. And while the exchange seemed pleasant enough, one hopes that there'll be fewer "misunderstandings" in the days ahead.

Oil wells that ends well

Iraq has opened six major oil fields to oil firms for development. The Iraqi oil ministry has opened the fields for bids by 41 foreign companies. It's a big deal because most Middle Eastern oil development is nationally run. However, any firm that wants a piece of the action first has to open an office in Baghdad. It seems, though, that five companies from the U.S. and the U.K. -- Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, Total and Chevron -- got no-bid contracts to work in those fields. The U.S. State Department claims it only provided advisors to an understaffed ministry. And, of course, no one believes them. Just like no believes it when Team Bush claims it's not preparing for a war with Iran.

Devil Dogs yank Corp's chain

Apparently the medications being deployed to the U.S. Army haven't found their way into the ranks of the Marine Corps. It seems a pair of Devil Dogs were involved in the tossing of a puppy over a cliff. The Corps didn't take too kindly to that and one of the marines in question has been shown the door. The other has probably gotten 45/45, 350 for 2, and a reduction in rate, or some version thereof. It goes without saying that Iraq is a high stress environment. With prolonged deployments and less time back in the states, this is a visible sign of how great a toll the war is taking on our troops. Links have been shown between animal abuse and worse crimes. God forbid that this stressed behavior among our marines should be found to be only the tip of the iceberg. More needs to be done for the emotional and psychological support of our troops in theater, lest we discover that worse things than puppies have been thrown over a cliff.

Taking a moment to remember

As gas grills light up around the country and Danica Patrick takes center stage at the Brickyard, approximately 150,000 U.S. service personnel are standing the watch in Iraq and another approximately 40,500 in Afghanistan. Casualties in Iraq since March 2008 are 4,081 Americans dead. Casualties in Afghanistan are 432.

Just be sure to offer a moment silence before passing that cheeseburger.

Conflicts of interest

The New York Times has run a story about military analysts and put forward a damning case that they have manipulated the coverage of the war on behalf of the Pentagon and Team Bush. On the one hand, this has brought on the usual shock and outrage by the media and denials by the analysts (former military generals) themselves. And on the other, the response may just as easily "well duh." They're still former generals. Those apples don't fall very far from the tree.

But what hasn't been noted is the real disconnect between these two cultures, how they are trained to see the world and how their values fit into that world. What they share in common is a desire to support and defend the republic. They sharply diverge after that. The Pentagon sees the media as an extension of its battlespace. It's fighting the new wars on what it perceives to be the new front: 24-hour media and the Internet. This is referred to as Information Operations. It includes strategically deployed mis- and disinformation to ensure that the enemy only has the information the Pentagon wants it to have in order to possess strategic and tactical advantage. And like many other industries in the U.S., it perceives that its enemies have an advantage because the media industries in foreign countries are government run and information can be more strictly controlled. China is a case in point. Edwin L. Armistead gives a good overview of the mindset of military strategists in this field. Even one of the analysts interviewed in the Times story noted that this has "amounted to a sophisticated information operation."

Journalists, on the other hand, are in the business of liberating information. For journalists the phrase "all information wants to be free" is a bit more than just a cliche. While journalists are not in the business of hazarding the republic in time of war, there are truths that have to be reported that may not exactly help our cause, like reporting on conditions at GITMO. Journalists open up information so citizens can make informed decisions on the war. The Pentagon constricts, regulates and monitors information flows to fight the war. These are almost mutually exclusive points of view.

It's easy to be "shocked, shocked" that the administration has been manipulating the public on the subject of the war. It is doubtful that anything Team Bush does could surprise anyone anymore. But there are other issues to consider in a case like this as well. The conflicts between these two highly defensive cultures and the extent to which they misunderstand and mistrust each other's methods and motives will always remain in the equation.

Pause and consider

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus went before the Senate Armed Services Committee today and told them that when military forces in Iraq drop to pre-surge levels in July, that he'll need a 45 day pause in the withdrawal. Describing progress as "significant but uneven" Petraeus outlined the ongoing challenges in Iraq. U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan C. Crocker went about the business of stating the blindingly obvious, that we'll still be in Iraq into next year. Petraeus pointed a finger at Syria and Iran for supporting insurgents and special groups even as he had to joust with presidential candidates John McCain and Hillary Clinton. On Thursday, President Bush is expected to make a speech about the war. With this being the end of his presidency and after Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr cancelled his million man march on Baghdad neither Petraeus nor America should expect much from the commander-in-chief.