Iraq

Iraq PM: Troops out 'as soon as possible'

Posted by Jeff from MSNBC

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says U.S. troops should leave Iraq "as soon as possible," according to a magazine report in which he also called presidential candidate Barack Obama's suggestion of 16 months "the right timeframe for a withdrawal."

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US seeks 'time horizon' on Iraq

Posted by Jeff from BBC News

Iraq and the US call for an agreement on a "general time horizon" for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.

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Americans Say No to War with Iran: Will Washington Listen? by Sarah van Gelder

Posted by islander07 from Yes! Magazine

Public opposition to Resolution 362, which encourages what amounts to an act of war against Iran, is growing.

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Losing Private Dwyer, War Hero

Posted by Shemuses from New York Times

The photo below captures everything that Americans wanted to believe about the Iraq war in the earliest days of the invasion in 2003. Pfc. Joseph Dwyer, an Army medic whose unit was fighting its way up the Euphrates to Baghdad, cradles a wounded boy. The child is half-naked and helpless, but trusting. Private Dwyer's face is strained but calm. That story turned bitter years ago, of course. And the mountain of sorrows keeps growing: Mr. Dwyer died last month in North Carolina. He was 31 and very sick. For years he had been in and out of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction.

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U.S. Soldiers No Longer Find Haven in Canada

Posted by Jeff from New York Times

The Canadian government's effort to remove Mr. Glass contrasts with the warm reception given to deserters and draft avoiders from the United States during the war in Vietnam. And although the war in Iraq has very little support among Canadians, the situation of Mr. Glass and others who abandoned their military positions provokes a wide range of responses. For American soldiers seeking an escape, Canada is no longer a guaranteed haven.

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Jon Soltz: The Flip Flopper on Iraq? McCain

Posted by Damianmann from Huffington Post

You'd think with all the media consternation with the non-existent "flip flop" of Obama on Iraq (you know, the one where he didn't change his position at all), reporters would be blowing their stack at the true flip flop from John McCain on Iraq.

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McCain Blasts Obama For FISA 'Flip-Flop'

Posted by Jeff from Feeds.huffingtonpost

Never one to miss an opportunity for a lunge to the jugular, the McCain campaign's rapid response man is going after Barack Obama's failure to support a filibuster on the FISA compromise bill in the Senate.

Quoth Tucker Bounds:

"A few short months ago, Barack Obama outwardly opposed terrorist surveillance legislation, saying that he would filibuster any bill that includes immunity for American telecommunications companies that had been asked by the government to participate in the program. Today, the U.S. Senate will approve legislation providing the immunity Barack Obama supposedly opposed, and despite his promise, he will not support a filibuster. What Barack Obama will do is show that he's willing to change positions, break campaign commitments and undermine his own words in his quest for higher office.

But of course if Obama were supporting a filibuster today, Bounds would likely be at the Illinois Democrat's throat for blindly putting the liberal "party line" ahead of the national security risks purportedly addressed by the FISA legislation, which McCain also supports. The reason we can say this with confidence is because that's precisely the line Bounds used against Obama two weeks ago to attack him, at that particular second, for inflexibility on the matter of national security when it comes to Iraq:

"The Obama campaign's ideological determination for withdrawal at any cost has blinded them to the facts on the ground even as they avoid the advice of our commanders. America is looking for a leader who will put country before the party line, and on issues from Iraq to energy, Barack Obama has offered nothing but the same old partisan positions." (Emphasis mine)

So if Obama shows flexibility on a national security matter, he's an untrustworthy hack -- and if he stands his ground, he's a rigid partisan. That's a neat game of three card monte, as far as it goes, but as TIME's Michael Scherer has noted, this kind of rapid response inanity hastens along the already precipitous pace of the dumbing-down of American politics. Especially since the McCain campaign would like to have flexibility be the province of noble statesmen when it comes to the issue of, say, offshore drilling.

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