I am sorry to all the folks out there that are in fact retarded, I mean this figuratively, not literally, well maybe a little literally. The Pentagon has decided almost 5 years after the war in Iraq started that they should start tracking weapons sent to Iraq. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office tens of thousands of rifles, pistols, helmets, body armor, and other weaponry has vanished into thin air, and the Pentagon can not account for them.

Now this is where I wonder just how stupid the people at the top are in the US. We are suppose to be fighting a bunch of people that do not have uniforms, are civilians, what the hell are we doing arming them? You are telling me that 5 years after this Charlie Foxtrot started you are just now starting to track guns? How many of these unaccounted guns have killed our soldiers?

The Times (UK) is reporting that the numbers are staggering

• 110,000 rifles
• 80,000 pistols
• 135,000 pieces of body armor
• 115,000 helmets

This just shows the level of incompetance within the leadership of this nation. It saddens me that the military is run by …

VOANews.com

A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office says tens of thousands of rifles, pistols and other items sent to Iraq are unaccounted for. As VOA’s Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon, officials are promising to keep closer track of weapons sent to Iraq.

The report does not say the missing weapons have gone astray, into the hands of insurgents or onto the open market. Rather, it says that in its haste to provide the material to Iraqi forces in the midst of a war, the U.S. military command in Iraq did not keep close enough track of rifles, pistols, body armor and helmets intended for the Iraqi army and police forces.

Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman spoke about the report on Monday.

“One should not assume that just because you cannot provide a strict audit paper trail that those weapons are necessarily not being used for their intended purposes which is for the Iraqi security forces,” he said.

Whitman says he is not aware of any of the U.S. weapons or other equipment being found in the possession of insurgents or in any of the thousands of insurgent weapons caches coalition and Iraqi forces have found around the country. But Whitman acknowledges, as the department does in a letter at the end of the GAO report, that it needs to improve its inventory system in Iraq.

The Republicans today filibuster an Amendment offered by Jim Webb of Virginia (Former Marine, son is Active Duty as we speak) that would make it a requirement that the troops get as much time at home as they do in Iraq. Right now Bush is killing our troops by keeping them in Iraq for 18 months, and them giving them only 12 or less back home… This amendment would have given them as much time home.

Data point 2932 that the Republicans don’t give a shit about the troops. They also do not give a shit about family values, because how can you expect our troops spouses to remain happy in the marriage when they are gone 60% of the time.

The vote was 56-41, Webb, and the troops, needed 60 for it to pass.

The troops should think twice before they vote Republican, because Republicans HATE YOU!

So much for supporting the troops. up a while back and the U.S. Army mental health experts concluded that the troops are becoming very damaged goods in Iraq. In order to preserve their mental sanity it was recommended that the US troops be given one month away from theater for every three months in the year. This is not a novel idea, it is not some kooky crazy shrinks sitting in air-conditioned rooms pulling stuff out of their asses, it is the same formula we used in World War II (by the way, we won that one). Never in recent US military history have troops been forced to stay in theater for so long.

The response of US command was, “no.” The Army Times is reporting

Instead, commanders are trying to give troops to 2 to3 days inside the heavily fortified bases after eight days in the field, said Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson, chief aide to the ground forces commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno.

The general isn’t talking about the same fortified areas that are being shelled by the insurgents and a far greater frequency than ever before and the level of accuracy never attained. The troops get to spend eight days on the front line, and in return they get three days as sitting ducks. WOW sign me up.

At the same time the commanders on the ground are showing they don’t give a crap about the ground troops in other morale booster hits the newspapers. Although the Secretary of Defense recently announced that all troops would be spending 15 months in theater, that is not enough, and extensions will soon be announced.

So let’s recap, highly trained and skilled army physicians have made a recommendation in order to preserve our troop strengths, the U.S. Army command brass has told on the show their plan up their ass, and if they think they’re stressed now on the current 15 months deployment, they ain’t seen nothing yet

This war has decimated our military, 30% of our soldiers and Marines are coming back mentally damaged, and unable to cope with life. The U.S. Army has shoved them into dark corners and denied them the medical care they so desperately need, this is life in the military under George Bush. As someone who served I can honestly say I would take 50 Bill Clinton’s over one George Bush.

So it is being reported that it is unlikely that any of the stated goals for the surge will be meet. I guess that leave only the unstated goals, but those are secret. I suspect they are something like: bilk a billion dollars from US Treasury Department, Create more chaos so that [fill in contractor name here] can steal, and also give Republicans more ammo to scare Americans into voting for them… So my thought is this, if the military is saying that we CAN NOT win, and the goals laid out by Bush when he jammed this surge down our collective gullets, will not be meet. The Democrats have have failed us, they have shown that will take it in the most dirty of ways, then why are we there? I think every life lost from this point out is murder. Why wait for the report, bring them home NOW!!!!!

The LA Times Has More.

U.S. military leaders in Iraq are increasingly convinced that most of the broad political goals President Bush laid out early this year in his announcement of a troop buildup will not be met this summer and are seeking ways to redefine success.

In September, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, is scheduled to present Congress with an assessment of progress in Iraq. Military officers in Baghdad and outside advisors working with Petraeus doubt that the three major goals set by U.S. officials for the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki will be achieved by then.

Enactment of a new law to share Iraq’s oil revenue among Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish regions is the only goal they think might be achieved in time, and even that is considered a long shot. The two other key benchmarks are provincial elections and a deal to allow more Sunni Arabs into government jobs.

With overhauls by the central government stalled and with security in Baghdad still a distant goal, Petraeus’ advisors hope to focus on smaller achievements that they see as signs of progress, including local deals among Iraq’s rival factions to establish areas of peace in some provincial cities.

Why are we there again? Why are the Democrats going to hand Bush a blank check on this failed cluster fuck? Nine are dead in the past 48 hours, over 80 troops dead this month so far.

Rendering themselves utterly irrelevant after only a few months in power in Congress, the Democrats have handed Bush a stunning victory over the Iraq. They folded like a $2 chair. Democrats will fund the war with no benchmarks, no timetables, nothing… just a blank check! I am ashamed at the Democrats, it is a total failure of the American people.

From the Retuers

President George W. Bush won a battle over funding the Iraq war as congressional Democrats on Tuesday abandoned troop withdrawal efforts for now but pledged to fight with new legislation in July.

Senior congressional aides said a $100 billion war funding bill the U.S. Congress is trying to finish this week will not contain timetables for withdrawing most of the 147,000 U.S. troops from Iraq, as anti-war Democrats had hoped.

On May 1, Bush vetoed Congress’ first version of this year’s emergency war funds bill because it set an October 1 deadline for starting to pull out soldiers.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (news, bio, voting record), a Maryland Democrat, said that finishing touches on a new bill were still being worked on with the White House.

But acknowledging the political realities of the Democrats’ narrow control of Congress and a White House occupied by a Republican, Hoyer told reporters, “The president has made it very clear he’s not going to sign timelines (for withdrawing troops). We can’t pass timelines over his veto.”

That will be a disappointment for many Democrats who think they won control of Congress in last November’s elections largely because voters wanted to see an end to the four-year-old war in Iraq.

Hoyer said Democrats will continue pushing for a “change in direction” in Iraq, where at least 3,420 U.S. soldiers have been killed and more than 34,000 wounded.

What a major kick in the teeth, You failed us Dems…

Reason number 2,394 on how Bush and his Republican backers don’t give a rats-ass about the troops. According to the ArmyTimes the White House Budget Office is balking at the Democrats attempt to give the troops a 3.5% raise for 2008. They said it“strongly opposes” the effort by Democrats and said the raises were “unnecessary.” In other words, according to Bush, nothing is to good for our troops, and nothing is what they are going to get. They are already fighting an illegal war for you George, and they are providing cover for your rich buddies to bilk billions from out coffers, can you not spare an extra .5%?

If that did not chap your ass, the Bush administration is threatening a veto of the budget if the “Buy American” prevision is left in the bill. The White House says, “[it] would impose unrealistically arduous requirements.” Your kidding right, the White House, the “President” of the United States of America is against a policy that required a government office to fist seek the items they desire from an AMERICAN source before going overseas?Can we impeach yet?

Long ago there was an event, it happened sometime around Sept 11th, and it was real tragic. Some guy went to war with the US, and we went to war with him. Then Bush wanted to go to war with Iraq, and we did not care anymore. The tragic event went unpunished…

From Reuters via Yahoo (bolds are mine)

An anti-U.S. Afghan rebel leader said he had information that Osama bin Laden is alive but keeping a low profile by not issuing statements, according to a video aired on Sunday.

The al Qaeda leader’s long silence has fuelled speculation that the world’s most-wanted fugitive may have died.

“Based on information I have, I believe Osama is alive,” said Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, whose forces operate in southeastern Afghanistan near Pakistan, in the undated video broadcast on Al Arabiya television. His remarks were dubbed into Arabic.

“I also believe that it is good that he … does not appear in the media, and that it is wise that no statements or tapes are issued even after a long while,” said Hekmatyar, without elaborating.

Hekmatyar, a former Afghan prime minister, is on a U.S. wanted list and leads an insurgency separate from the Taliban Islamist movement against the Afghan government and foreign troops under the command of NATO and the U.S. military.

From ThinkProgress 

On April 11, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that tours of duty for the Army would be extended from 12 months to 15 months, effective immediately. In exchange for the extensions, soldiers would receive at least a year home between deployments. This rest time was intended to “provide some long-term predictability for the soldiers and their families…particularly guaranteeing that they will be at home for a full 12 months,” Gates added. Watch it…

But Gates has not kept his promise. Stars and Stripes reports:

The Army is sending a company of Europe-based soldiers back to Iraq before the unit has had a full 12 months of “dwell time,” or at-home rest.

Members of the 1st Armored Division’s 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry, Company A, learned Tuesday that they are scheduled to head back to Iraq in November, just nine months after the 150-soldier company left the combat zone in February after a 13-month deployment.

A recent Pentagon report concluded that soldiers on extended and repeated deployments “were more likely to suffer acute stress, and that mental health problems correlated with higher rates of battlefield misconduct.”

When asked yesterday about this nine-month deployment, Gates simply replied, “I’ll be very interested in finding out more about that.” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman’s response was that “there are some people, just by the nature of transferring units and things like that may not end up with the full 12 months.”

According to Whitman, the 12-month rest period between deployments “is a goal,” not a guarantee.

Bush said he would veto the still forming Iraq war funding bill if it is not exactly what he wants, period. The Democrats, who are in control of the House and Senate are crafting a bill that would fund the troops for a very short time, and then leave open the door for them to choose not to continue funding beyond a set point.  Bush said he will veto it, even if it means that the troops will be in harms way.

You see people are missing the point, Bush’s point. This funding has NOTHING to do with the troops, their equipment, their welfare, or anything. If that were the point, Bush would have made sure years ago that those things were taken care of. They are not, so this is not about that, what this is about is Bush’s desire to keep the doors to the treasury wide open for the countless contractors that are stealing billions. This is why he will choose to HURT the troops by vetoing the funding the Congress has passed for him, because he had NO DESIRE at all for this quagmire to end. He will resist ANY effort to end it because he has no feelings towards death, and his buddies are getting rich beyond belief.

Bush has chosen again to use the troops as pawns for his game, HE will allow, not the democrats, to go without because he can not let this war end. He would rather YOUR children die on the streets of Baghdad because they mean nothing to him, they are just fodder that take the fire as contractors rape the nation dry. Bush will not leave Iraq until they pass the “Oil Revenue Sharing” bill that he is forcing on them, that will give US Oil companies exclusive rights to their oil for the next 30 years, our troops are just a thorn in the side, and as far as Bush, and the Republicans are concerned, if they do without, so be it.

it has been a rather deadly weekend for our troops in Iraq, this weekend 12 of our brave men will not be coming home in the same manner in which they were sent. Eight soldiers were killed today, 4 yesterday, and 28 this month, keeping in mind the month is only six days old.  According to Bret Hume of Fox News this Sunday morning this is to be expected, that sending more troops into a civil war means more will die, and to point out the increase in troops deaths is un-American and the terrorist when, you know the same crap Fox News than spouting for the last five years.

As much as I believe they will fold under the nonexistent pressure of rhetoric, I wish the Democrats would keep sending President Bush the same bill they sent him last week.

Interestingly, House minority leader John Boehner said on Fox news Sunday that the GOP’s patient with the president’s war plan is not unlimited, and if things don’t change by this fall they will think about maybe doing something to save our troops from the nightmare that Bush has sent them to.  You know the bill that Bush just vetoed requested the troops are pulling out at October, and if I recall Octobers in the fall.  Little does Boehner know key in the Democrats are on the same page.

I often wonder how insulated from the rest of the world do you have to be, to be as out of touch with Americans as John McCain is. He is one of the last people in the whole freaking world who thinks the Iraq war is not only a good idea, but a great idea, and should be expanded to neighboring countries. This opinion is shared by virtually no one who has any credibility to speak on the issue.

Now the old bastard that's running for president has given us his opinion on gays in the military, and his quote, “intolerable risk”. Again John McCain's opinion runs contrary to just about anyone who has any credibility to speak on the subject. This tottering idiot thinks is okay that the US military has discharged Arabic speaking intelligence officers in a time of war in which the enemy speaks Arabic. Even among John McCain's own party, Republican, there is agreement that the “don't ask, don't tell” is a huge mistake and is costing our military far more than it is gaining.

You know before the Bush administration rally saw America as a beacon of freedom and light, a place that sets the standards for human rights. A place that other countries looked up to as the gold standard for what they would someday become. As your grandmother would say, “you are the Company you keep” John McCain is happy that we are in the same club as Cuba, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela, Yemen, Syria, and Brazil. John McCain's opinions are the same as some of the most hated nations in American foreign policy. Countries like the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Ireland, Germany, France, Hungary, Canada, Belgium, Australia, Norway, and even South Africa all allow gays to serve in their military, but that will never be the case in John McCain's America, we will continue to follow in the footsteps of Iran, Cuba, and the other repressive nations.

For the record I do not think that the Democratic Party is really friends of the gay and lesbian community. Most in the Democratic Party talked the talk are rarely have they ever walked the walk, one needs to look no further than the fact that the two the most discriminatory bills on record were signed by Bill Clinton. I believe that the Democratic Party uses the gay and lesbian community for activism and votes, but really could care less.

ThinkProgress Points this out

George W. Bush was governor of Texas. Then, Bush criticized President Clinton for not setting a timetable for exiting Kosovo.

George W. Bush, 4/9/99:

“Victory means exit strategy, and it’s important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is.”

And on the specific need for a timetable:

George W. Bush, 6/5/99, Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

“I think it’s also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn.”

Despite his past statements, Bush now refuses to apply the same standard to his war and smears those who want a similar timetable for Iraq.

Well so much for that great “War on Terror” we were fighting, because a new report released this evening has shown that terrorist attacks are up 25% over last year, and 40% more people are dead in those attacks. Solid proof that Bush is “War on Terror” really was nothing more than an excuse for him to go into Iraq. If you’ll recall Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 (no matter what Cheney says), it had nothing to do with Osama bin Laden (Saddam Hussein was a secular leader, he feared Islam because it would not allow him to do what he wanted), and up until just a few years ago were friends of the US.

So I can only assume that we have lost the war on terror, or we never went to go fight it anyway. given that Bush has squandered the resolve of the American people, we are gaining nothing from the war in Iraq, and our President and his cultlike followers has forgotten all about Afghanistan, I say we just bring everybody home, arrest George Bush for war crimes, and go in and clean up the mess after those countries that we so screwed up get done imploding. As bleak as this sounds it is my opinion is the only option the “President” has given us.