Quickhits
(BBC) Abu Omar, the cleric rendered from Italy to Egypt that has led to arrest warrants for almost 20 US CIA personnel, has been released by the Egyptians.
(HuffPo/CNN) Gen. Eikenberry, the commander in Afghanistan says "The intelligence has gone cold on Osama bin Laden."
And, I've said it a dozen times. If the Republicans had fought the war as hard as they've fought the politics of Iraq, we'd be hip deep in flowers and sweets.
(HuffPo/CNN) Gen. Eikenberry, the commander in Afghanistan says "The intelligence has gone cold on Osama bin Laden."
And, I've said it a dozen times. If the Republicans had fought the war as hard as they've fought the politics of Iraq, we'd be hip deep in flowers and sweets.
posted by mikevotes at
10:18 AM
8 Comments:
"We know that the explosively formed projectiles are manufactured in Iran. What I would not say is that the Iranian government, per se (specifically), knows about this," he said. "It is clear that Iranians are involved, and it's clear that materials from Iran are involved, but I would not say by what I know that the Iranian government clearly knows or is complicit."
General Peter Pace reacting to Baghdad news briefing.
By
Matteo Tomasini, at 12:30 PM
So the question is, when push comes to shove and Bush orders the military to bomb Iran, does Pace goose-step along or does he resign?
By
-epm, at 12:45 PM
Matteo, that's certainly my position.
They might be doing it, but I don't see it in their interests to do this on any large scale. Arming the militias for the civil war is definitely in their interest, but giving weapons to be used against the US carries a pretty big broader risk.
(Within the broader context there's an interesting question of what's in Iran's interests. Certainly in 2003 and 2004, it would not have been in Iran's interests to have been implicated in such an operation, however, now, with the US spent and still floundering, the risks are far smaller.)
....
EPM Pace goes along. It's in the culture, and officers are evolutionarily selected for that within the promotions. However, they also tend to develop an odd political ability to slough off blame for mistakes.
So, I would guess he goes along but finds some way to document his dissent to exculpate himself later.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 1:38 PM
I have a feeling Pace's comments were just kind of just off the cuff. Had he known about the briefing and its conclusions ahead of time, he likely would have toed the line. Was just a rare moment of honesty that he will likely pay for later. We shall see. What's the over/under on Pace issuing a "clarification" later today or tomorrow?
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And yea Mike I personally believe this is what is going as well, though I can't understand why Ahmadinejad didn't simply deny involvement in this whole weapons smuggling business in his recent interview.
By
Matteo Tomasini, at 1:58 PM
I linked you for the pointer in the post above this one.
He was in Australia, but I do find it surprising that he hadn't looked at a paper, you know?
I believe the generals who make it up the ranks are very able infighters, so, I'm not going to rule out the possibilty that this was accidental on purpose to give him something to fall back on later.
And, I think Ahmadinejad benefits politically from the ambiguity. Those who want him to be doing this, can believe he is doing it, and yet he still doesn't draw the direct flak for admitting it. You know?
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 2:08 PM
saw that, thanks for the nod.
And, I think Ahmadinejad benefits politically from the ambiguity. Those who want him to be doing this, can believe he is doing it, and yet he still doesn't draw the direct flak for admitting it. You know?
good point. Just find it funny that half the stories on the interview have headline, "Iran Rejects US Claims" while other half are "Ahmadinejad avoids arming Iraqi questions." Goes to show ya that if ambiguity was his goal, he has certainly achieved it.
By
Matteo Tomasini, at 2:34 PM
It's very similar to how he's playing his nuclear program. If you want to believe he's getting ready for weapons, there are things out there to support it.
If you want to believe he's not, he gives language supporting that position.
Alot of the "radical" quotes he says are often balanced for this effect.(with the exception of the holocaust stuff.)
He gives implications that Israel should be annihilated while also saying that his government will not attack Israel.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 4:02 PM
Oddly, this is the same m.o. used by BushCo. He overwhelmingly implies something without explicitly saying it. So while Bush says he'll protect the troops from Iranian agents and actions, and his political operatives are making hand-wringingly shrill accusations about Iranian involvement, he can nonetheless state he's never said he's planning to go to war with Iran.
By
-epm, at 7:00 PM
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