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POPSA ray of fight. "If the ray gun works, it will have joined the self-driving car in the ranks of fulfilled sci-fi." and maybe other things as well from the Sci-Fi will come true, like space travel, life time extension, different stage for humanity... and so on.
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POPSZinn: 9/11 Truth Has "No Practical Political Significance" Without 9/11 there would be no "War on Terror". Without 9/11 there would be no "clash of civilizations" Without 9/11 there would be no war in Afghanistan. Without 9/11 there would be no war in Iraq. Without 9/11 thousands of U.S. troops would not have been sent to their deaths. Without 9/11 hundreds of thousands of citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan would not have been sentenced to their deaths. Without 9/11 there would be no inaction on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Without 9/11 there would be no civilian contractors in Iraq and the scandal that has followed. Without 9/11 there would be no false military reporting (Pat Tillman, Jessica Lynch), and no crack down on the freedom of the press (banning photos of the returning coffins.)
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POPSHow Many Troops Can We Support In Afghanistan? This is one of those deals where 'surging' troops isn't the problem: keeping them supplied *is*. In Iraq we had shipping via Kuwait, KSA and some through Turkey, so we had at least four total ports, counting Iraq, to go through and multiple supply points. Are there any other ways to keep our troops supplied in Afghanistan? Lets start to the west and look at the countries: -Iran? Heh. No. -Pakistan... these are the folks that we are maximizing our shipments through. -India? No road there, really, except stuff that makes Kotai look like a superhighway. No. -China? Same problem as India plus likely to be problematical and shut things down on whimsy. No. -Tajikistan? Landlocked, so you would be looking at Khazakhstan and then Russia. Probably not, plus you would be shipping via some part of the trans-siberian railroad. -Uzbekistan? Same problem as Tajikistan.
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POPSUnofficial Translation of U.S.-Iraq Troop Agreement from the Arabic Text Iraq owns all the buildings and installations, the nontransferable structures on the ground that are located in the areas and installations agreed upon, including those the U.S. utilizes, constructs, changes or improves. At withdrawal, the U.S. will return all the installations and the agreed upon areas allocated for the use of the U.S. combat forces according to two lists (of inventory) to the Iraqi government. The first of these is to be submitted covering the installations and agreed upon areas as soon as the agreement is implemented. And the other list is to be submitted no later than June 30, 2009, the appointed date for U.S. Forces withdrawal from cities, towns and villages. And the Iraqi government has the right to permit the U.S. Forces to use some necessary installations for this agreement's purposes at withdrawal.
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POPSReport: Military Should Use Less Private Security Government Executive story, by Robert Brodsky, points to more pressure on President-elect Obama to scale back on use of private contractors. Pair this story with another interesting one from the Washington Post today: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/16/AR2008111601841.html
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POPSIraqi Cabinet Approves Security Agreement Keeping Our Troops In Iraq Until 2011
In a crucial development, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most influential Shiite cleric in Iraq, indicated on Saturday that he would support whatever decision is arrived at in Parliament as representative of the will of the Iraqi people. Shiite officials who met with the ayatollah said he found the latest draft acceptable, if not perfect; Ayatollah Sistani also made clear that he did not side with politicians who refused any agreement with the United States out of hand. Now, what will happen to Obama’s claim that his plans for a quick drawdown of troops was in agreement with the Iraqi leadership? AMMAN (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Tuesday he was committed to a 16-month timetable for a U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq, after a trip in which he met Iraqi leaders and U.S. officials. http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL0236543520080722?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
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POPSBlackwater Busted, Prince Has "Compliance Challenges" Makes one smile. The arrogant Prince of Blackwater just got nailed with a big fine from the same corrupt Federal government they contracted with. The "war on terrorism" is so profitable. What happened to all the hardware that ended up on the black market in Iraq? (Someone knows). "Compliance challenges", he says. More like rogue operations. This is the same company that shoots whoever is in the area and quickly leaves, whose crimes even U.S. military personnel have reported. Dirty mercenaries are never held accountable for war crimes because they are independent contractors. This is the least the State Dept has on them, just the tip of the proverbial ice berg. Iraq wants to try them there.
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POPSThe Answer Terrifies Them Foreign terrorism against Americans would disappear along with the need for a "war on terror." Civil liberties that were suspended could be restored. A sense of balance and harmony could return to our lives. Ending interventionism would mean that the era of big government in foreign affairs could be brought to an end.
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POPSFrom The Department of "As If" Uncanny. Maybe I should go back and look through that victory speech for other tea leaves. And back in Iraq: Some military leaders remain wary of Obama's pledge to order a steady withdrawal of combat forces from Iraq, to be completed within 16 months -- an order advisers say Obama is likely to give in his first weeks in office. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has called a withdrawal timeline "dangerous." Others are distrustful of a new administration they see as unschooled in the counterinsurgency wars that have consumed the military for the past seven years. Gosh - a very public order to commence withdrawals followed by very quiet back-pedaling as conditions are evaluated and re-evaluated would be awfully cynical and manipulative, wouldn't it? On the other hand, Obama has said a million times that we must be as responsible in leaving Iraq as we were careless in entering, . .
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POPSMWD Lex and Corporal Lee The Bond between a dog and his handler is very strong, they become your best friend and partner. It's a bond that last a lifetime.
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POPSLogic? Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools. A president lying about an extramarital affair is a impeachable offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet. The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery. Supporting "Executive Privilege" for every Republican ever born, who will be born or who might be born( in perpetuity.)
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POPSHope for Change? Bush may speak of al Qaeda, perhaps of "Islamofascism," and others he'll accuse of brutality, while contrasting their ideology with a vision he claims to have of peace, liberty, prosperity. But the U.S. government differs not from those extremist groups who use violence to further their causes, for ours is a government which also uses unjustified violence or the intimidating threat thereof to advance its own agenda. The US... has become like the rogue states it takes pride in condemning. Our military is not used to defend our freedom any longer, it is used to enforce an evil interventionist foreign policy. I do believe this empire will eventually end. The choice is between ending it voluntarily by choosing peace and bringing our troops home from all over the world, or its demise out of necessity from economic and human suffering in America. To save lives, rather than a "liberation" of Iraq, the world needs liberation from American imperialism.
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