Larry Johnson: Dave Petraeus and Iraq Kabuki

The die is cast with respect to Iraq and the surge. There will be no substantive change until April of 2008, when the 15 month deployment of the “surge” force of 30,000 comes to an end. General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker, attended by members of Congress and pliant members of the media, will take center stage in today’s so-called drama, Iraq Kabuki. Kabuki is a type of popular Japanese drama “in which elaborately costumed performers use stylized movements, dances, and songs in order to enact tragedies and comedies.” Today’s presentation in Washington will include heated rhetoric and self-righteous indignation but, when the day ends, the guy with an earnest face and a chest full of medals will have the high road and the Representatives who attack him will be roundly booed as troop haters who are undermining the morale of our soldiers in combat.

Truth and facts do not really matter. Disagree? Please go back and watch what happened to Lt. Colonel Oliver North when Congress tussled with him as they tried to get to the bottom of the Iran Contra scandal.

Today’s presentation ostensibly is about our alleged progress in Iraq. But this argument is not about facts. If facts and ground truth were important then there would be no argument.

The facts are clear. Attacks on civilians have continued unabated notwithstanding the surge, according to the GAO report. And there has been no significant political progress in Iraq in terms of reconciling Sunni and Shia communities in Iraq.

(snip)
Then we have the fact that Petraeus and company are cherry picking the data and deliberately painting a false, rosy picture that security in Iraq is better and the the violence is abating. Dave and his boys achieved this result by excluding car bombs and other sectarian casualties from the calculation.

http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2007/09/10/dave-petraeus-and-iraq-kabuki/

They can talk for hours about nothing. Kabuki is perfect....

they are going to support this bullshit and I am going to quit the local DEC.

We'll be occupying Iraq into the next administration for sure, there's really no way around it.

There'll be no withdrawal from Iraq; which means the next step -- bombing Iran -- will have one less impediment.

There'll be no impeachment(s).

There will only be the endless presidential campaign -- which will no doubt prove to be one of the most expensive and sophisticated advertising and pr campaigns ever yet mounted against the American public. And I do mean against.

The American public is under the largest assault of bullshit from all quarters that any people anywhere have ever been subject to in the entire history of the world. Never has the Ruling Class in any country anywhere or at any time had such far-reaching means to control the perceptions of their subjects. And that's in addition to the ever more far-reaching means to keep tab on their subjects. (Add fear and paranoia to the mounds of bullshit.)

We are living an authoritarian paradise. And among those who have clawed their way into the higher reaches of power in this paradise, their are none who are our allies.

We are merely the ants in the anthill being flattened by the steam roller of corporatist globalization -- Thomas Friedman's "Flat World". For them that dwell in the cloud cities, floating above the laboring trogs below, a flattened world makes maneuvering the pieces on the gameboard that much simpler.

(please pardon my rambling...)

sw

When I do listen to him - I think I believe that at least the intelligence professionals do understand the dire position "ol W" put us in.

Joe

Good GOD, how many lies did the bastard tell today - and add those to the ones he told in the PAST!

I don't think so.

These were his comments on our general. He is surely right.

Petraeus - has nothing to do with my comment - I don't have a very high regard for him.

I say this about Petreus too - You know he was the point to train that Iraqi army way back when - great job general - and thank god you don't train our army.

I think the 101st would do well not to follow your example of "training".

I'm so upset about this whole dog and pony show today. I should have taken the cue from "intelligence professional" to know exactly whom you were speaking of.

My apologies.

No problem at all. And you sure don't need to apologize to me.

Joe