~Flash Back ~

Washington Snubbed Iran Offer

Iran offered the US a package of concessions in 2003, but it was rejected, a senior former US official has told the BBC's Newsnight programme. Tehran proposed ending support for Lebanese and Palestinian militant groups and helping to stabilise Iraq following the US-led invasion.
Offers, including making its nuclear programme more transparent, were conditional on the US ending hostility.
But Vice-President Dick Cheney's office rejected the plan, the official said.
The offers came in a letter, seen by Newsnight, which was unsigned but which the US state department apparently believed to have been approved by the highest authorities.
In return for its concessions, Tehran asked Washington to end its hostility, to end sanctions, and to disband the Iranian rebel group the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq and repatriate its members. Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had allowed the rebel group to base itself in Iraq, putting it under US power after the invasion. One of the then Secretary of State Colin Powell's top aides told the BBC the state department was keen on the plan - but was over-ruled. "We thought it was a very propitious moment to do that," Lawrence Wilkerson told Newsnight.
"But as soon as it got to the White House, and as soon as it got to the Vice-President's office, the old mantra of 'We don't talk to evil'... reasserted itself." Observers say the Iranian offer as outlined nearly four years ago corresponds pretty closely to what Washington is demanding from Tehran now. Since that time, Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah inflicted significant military losses on the major US ally in the region, Israel, in the 2006 conflict and is now claiming increased political power in Lebanon.
Palestinian militant group Hamas won power in parliamentary elections a year ago, opening a new chapter of conflict in Gaza and the West Bank.
The UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on Iran following its refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment programme.
Iran denies US accusations that its nuclear programme is designed to produce weapons.
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6274147.stm
Published: 2007/01/18 10:55:31 GMT

Gonzales should step down.

U.S. Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales has so politicized the Justice Department that he should step down for the sake of the nation,said Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York — citing recent disclosures about the FBI's improper use of administrative subpoenas to obtain private records and the controversy over the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys in December — told CBS' "Face the Nation" that Gonzales, who previously served as White House counsel, was "no longer just the president's lawyer, but has a higher obligation to the rule of law and the Constitution."
Schumer, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, charged that under Gonzales the Justice Department had become even more politicized than it was under President Bush's first attorney general, John Ashcroft.
"And so," Schumer said, "I think for the sake of the nation, Atty. Gen. Gonzales should step down."
Appearing on the same program, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, did not go so far as to suggest that Gonzales step down.
But he said that a report released Friday by the Justice Department's inspector general raised questions about the investigatory powers given to federal agents under the Patriot Act, which Congress reauthorized last year.
Specter said the inspector general's report showed widespread violations of Patriot Act requirements designed to protect privacy rights of U.S. citizens.
Stating that the act has been "very badly abused," Specter said Judiciary Committee hearings planned for this month — including one with FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III — not only should look at the failures but should include "very active consideration about withdrawing some of those powers."
As for the alleged firing of U.S. attorneys for political reasons, Specter said he was concerned about the removal of the U.S. attorney in New Mexico, David C. Iglesias, who has said he received calls last year from two GOP members of Congress from New Mexico, Sen. Pete V. Domenici and Rep. Heather A. Wilson. The legislators, he told Congress last week, were asking about the progress of a corruption investigation against Democrats in the state, and he said he interpreted the calls as pressure to bring indictments before the 2006 midterm elections.At the same time "The White House acknowledged on Sunday that presidential adviser Karl Rove served as a conduit for complaints to the Justice Department about federal prosecutors who were later fired for what critics charge were partisan political reasons. "White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Rove had relayed complaints from Republican officials and others to the Justice Department and the White House counsel's office. She said Rove, the chief White House political operative, specifically recalled passing along complaints about former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias and may have mentioned the grumblings about Iglesias to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.After initially citing 'performance-related' reasons, the Justice Department later acknowledged that policy differences played a role but denied acting at the request of the White House. Justice Department spokesman, Brian Roehrkasse, said in a written statement that Gonzales had demonstrated "decisive leadership by demanding a new level of accountability." And during a question-and-answer session with reporters in Montevideo, Uruguay, Bush expressed continued confidence in both Gonzales and Mueller.
contains eliments of:Gonzales is urged to quit 'for the nation'By Walter F. Roche Jr., Times Staff Writerand Dan Froomkin Special contributor to the washingtonpost.com
Attorney David Iglesias. Associated Press photo by Jake Schoellkopf

Never Reported On "Fox"

Flash Back
THE MITCHELL REPORT 9-27-06 THE MITCHELL REPORT
Rumsfeld bungling the war in Iraq

Retired senior military officers told a Democratic Policy Committee's ((DPC) panel yesterday that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's failure to plan adequately for postwar Iraq has fostered the rise of insurgents and that the administration is not focusing enough on training and equipping Iraqi security forces.
The forum was the first of what Democrats say will be a series of five or six hearings intended to shed light on the administration's conduct of the Iraq war.And were held despite heavy Republican objection.

Democrats were insistant that Republicans, who hold majorities in both chambers, have not been vigorous in their role as overseers of the executive branch.Democrats also expressed frustration that Republican chairmen have been reluctant to call witnesses who do not share White House views.

(Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) is threatening to punish Democrats for using an Appropriations Committee room for an unofficial hearing on Iraq oversight if it happens again."They better stop this," the Mississippi Republican said. "This will be the last one or there will be retribution." Lott suggested that Republicans could hold GOP-only hearings or seek other forms of payback.)

Retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste told several senior Democratic senators and Republican Rep. Walter B. Jones who attended the hearing.

" Secretary Rumsfeld ignored 12 years of U.S. Central Command deliberate planning and strategy, dismissed honest dissent, and browbeat subordinates to build 'his plan,'" "Bottom line: his plan allowed the insurgency to take root and metastasize to where it is today," Batiste said.
Batiste also said "I believe that Secretary Rumsfeld and others in the administration did not tell the American people the truth for fear of losing support for the war in Iraq," He said Rumsfeld at one point threatened to fire the next person who mentioned the need for a postwar plan in Iraq.Batiste said if full consideration had been given to the requirements for war, it's likely the U.S. would have kept its focus on Afghanistan,"not fueled Islamic fundamentalism across the globe,and not created more enemies than there were insurgents." Gen. Batiste, also blamed Congress for failing to ask "the tough questions."

Retired Major Gen. Paul Eaton,responsible for training the Iraqi military and later for rebuilding the Iraqi police force.
Assessed Rumsfeld as "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically.""Mr. Rumsfeld and his immediate team must be replaced or we will see two more years of extraordinarily bad decision-making.Eaton also indicated "planning for the postwar period was "amateurish at best,incompetent a better descriptor."

Retired Col. Thomas X. Hammes,who was responsible for establishing bases for the Iraqi armed forces,and is now Marine Senior Military Fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, National Defense University.
Said that not providing the best equipment was a "serious moral failure on the part of our leadership." The United States "did not ask our soldiers to invade France in 1944 with the same armor they trained on in 1941. Why are we asking our soldiers and Marines to use the same armor we found was insufficient in 2003?"

* One Republican, Rep. Walter "Freedom Fries" Jones of North Carolina, participated In The forum conducted by Senate Democrats. In his opening statement, Jones quoted Rudyard Kipling: "If any question why we died, tell them, because our fathers lied."

** The conflict, now in its fourth year, has claimed the lives of more than 2,600 American troops and cost more than $300 billion.

SOURCE - DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent

**The conflict,has NOW claimed the lives of more than

3,100 American troops

Remember Our Service Men & Women
Die when our Military leaders make mistakes

This Isn't Chess ~ Troops Are Not pawns

Are Republicans Willing to Sacrifice
"every Pawn" possible to "delay" admitting Failure?
House Democratic leaders vowed Thursday to pass legislation setting a deadline of Sept. 1, 2008, for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq, a challenge to President Bush's war policy that drew a blunt veto threat in return.

House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio led the GOP counterattack saying repeatedly to the crowd of reporters,
There plan equals failure..There Time tables and goals (as opposed to ours) equals failure...

While White House spokesman Dan Bartlett, from his seat on air force one said "It would unnecessarily handcuff our generals on the ground, and it's safe to say it's a nonstarter for the president,"

So... just what did the general have to say?
Speaking publicly Thursday for the first time since taking charge in Baghdad last month, Gen. David Petraeus said military action was necessary to improve security in Iraq but "not sufficient" to end violence altogether.

"There is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq, to the insurgency of Iraq," Petraeus told a news conference, adding that political negotiations were crucial to forging any lasting peace...

First , I'll say ask any Iraqi "who" won This war ?

3100+ U.S. troops have given the Ultimate sacrifice ... Some estimate as many as 600,000 Iraqi's have perished...

Sadam is dead, along with his sons.Those that were repressed the(shia) are now in Power.The Oppressors the(Sunny), now removed from There positions of wealthand privlidge.

Iraqs Infastructure is destroyed.We Know ,There are, no wmd that can be given to Terrorists by Iraqi's. And mere ..days ago, we inched closer to"securing" the brass ring..which i'll leave unstated. ...

We won, We won The Iraq war

however...

If our goal was to institute democratic reform in Iraq,We Failed...

If the goal was to set off a "democray" based chain reaction within the middle~east with Iraq as the first of many.. We Failed

Both of those agendas are political .. thus should be looked upon as Political Failures of The White house.

As Political Failures of The Republicans and there policies.

And Thus my question...
Are Republicans Willing to Sacrifice"every Pawn" possible to "delay" admitting Failure?

Ever play chess? your queen gets taken .. your knights, Biships,castles and your opponet has his full compliment. And he knows... you cant win

And You know ... you cant win/have failed,but your pride ..has you determined to win .. win with those pawns...

And as the pawns get Picked Off one by one ... and the reality of failure begins to loom larger...you begin to put the "taken" pawns back onto The Board .And you hear people around you saying it's of no use ...but

You find that You.."Must" play it out..Because"Theres always.... a chance"

But You see Our Troops Are Not pawns...
And Iraq is no game... Is It?


Louis "Mack" Mitchell Jr
Editor:EroticIntellectuals.Blogspot.com