Republican Senator Hagel Outspoken on Iraq Troubles

[Thurston Howell IV]

Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said today that the Bush administration's request to divert more than $3 billion from reconstruction work in Iraq to security measures was a sign that the American campaign in Iraq is in serious trouble.

Mr. Hagel said the State Department request was "a clear acknowledgment that we are not holding ourselves hostage to some grand illusion that we're winning."

Mr. Hagel went on to say that the request for reprogramming the money "does not add up, in my opinion, to a pretty picture, to a picture that shows that we're winning. But it does add up to this, an acknowledgment that we are in deep trouble."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/15/international/middleeast/15CND-REBU.html

[Wright Patman]

1. I read the rest of the article

Both Democrats and Republican cite the need for establishing "security" in Iraq. I don't see how foreign invaders can or should make that happen. Foreign invaders should immediately get the hell out. Their "help" is no longer needed.

Instead we are embarking on a "solution" of slow-motion genocide. It'd be faster with nukes and I'm sure * and Rummy are upset that there are political constraints against their use.

[Carla in Ca]

9. Well, thats Hagel and McCain saying this

in the last two days...how do we get this ball rolling?

[wiggs]

2. Hagel also defended Kerry against claim Kerry weak on defense. nt

[bluedeminredstate]

3. Why does he hate

America? *Sarcasm off*
(But I kind of hear Tucker Carlson asking it on Crossfire tomorrow...)

[Leilani]

4. Some serious people are starting to tell the truth

Will enough pols come forward, & tell the truth, to counter the Admin lies?

And before the election?

[Skittles]

5. deep trouble

is 1018 dead soliders a clue too? REPUBLICAN ASSHOLES.

[AlCzervik]

13. It's 1022 now and yes they are total assholes

but i think the hagel/Lugar wing wants dim-son out.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

6. kick

[Sporadicus]

7. I Don't Support Repubs - Even Those With Whom I Agree Occasionally

but I'll take criticism of * from one any day!

[AndyTiedye]

14. If This Repub Stops Liking Boosh, ES&S Machinez Might Not Help Him Win

[wryter2000]

8. Welcome to DU, rich guy

:hi:

[AG78]

10. Maybe he could

just send a few ES&S voting machines over there.

[PurityOfEssence]

11. There's a good chance he'll be the '08 nominee

but we shall see...

[Disturbed]

12. The Colonization is not working.

Most Iraqis know what colonization is and they reject it.

Iraq is a loss. J. Kerry should admit that and say that he will pull the troops out within a few months after he is elected. Telling the truth might be refreshing.

Saudi Arabia is an Islamic Dictatorship and they sell oil to the US, so why wouldn't Iraq after the US leaves?

Here's the proof that the US Govt. is lying to the American people and the world about the notion of "democracy" for Iraq.
The Hand-Over That Wasn't: Illegal Orders give the US a Lock on Iraq's Economy
by Antonia Juhasz

Officially, the U.S. occupation of Iraq ended on June 28, 2004. But in reality, the United States is still in charge: Not only do 138,000 troops remain to control the streets, but the "100 Orders" of L. Paul Bremer III remain to control the economy.

These little noticed orders enacted by Bremer, the now-departed head of the now-defunct Coalition Provisional Authority, go to the heart of Bush administration plans in Iraq. They lock in sweeping advantages to American firms, ensuring long-term U.S. economic advantage while guaranteeing few, if any, benefits to the Iraqi people.

The Bremer orders control every aspect of Iraqi life - from the use of car horns to the privatization of state-owned enterprises. Order No. 39 alone does no less than "transition from a … centrally planned economy to a market economy" virtually overnight and by U.S. fiat.

Although many thought that the "end" of the occupation would also mean the end of the orders, on his last day in Iraq Bremer simply transferred authority for the orders to Prime Minister Iyad Allawi - a 30-year exile with close ties to the CIA and British intelligence.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0805-07.htm