Barack Obama...News alert! No "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq! Prez's Vietnam?

In preparing a speech to the Nation to be broadcast tonight - the President admitted to his handlers (according to insiders) - that a formal announcement about the end of the War in Iraq - would fall short of being one that touted a "Mission" accomplished.

After all, that simply was not the case.

Critics are still grumbling that although there has been a "stand down" - and the conflict is considered at a close pending tonight's acknowledgement formally by the President - that troops have basically been re-assigned (so-to-speak).

The truth of the matter is, the U.S. armed forces will remain in Iraq until next year when they are expeced to withdraw lock, stock, and barrel.

But, one official let it slip this morning that - if a conflict arose while the troops were still stationed overseas in Iraq - they would be given their marching orders once again.

In a nutshell, isn't the President playing fast-and-loose with this war - one that has become his own historical Vietnam (in spite of the fact he inherited the U.S. Imperialist invasion from Bush) - in a bold-faced effort to hoodwink the American people?

I think so, when the voter considers his political posturing, just now.

Tonight, for instance, in a preamble to the body of his speech, Obama starts off by "praising the courage and resolve of the American troops in Iraq" and saying "the human and financial price showed selfless sacrifice."

And, he'll facilitate an old familiar cliche to signal it's time to move on.

"It's time to turn the page", he'll utter up tonight, as if he coined the phrase.

And, he'll follow up with a startling (!) reason why.

"There are pressing problems at home."

You don't say!

And, he'll hand it to the Americans for allowing the President to do it "his way"

"The United States has paid a huge price to put the future of Iraq in the hands of its people," he said in an excerpt released just before the speech commenced on the East Coast in the Oval Office at 8 p.m.

"We have persevered because of a belief we share with the Iraqi people - a belief that out of the ashes of war - a new beginning could be born in this cradle of civilization."

Ah, the Phoenix has risen!

News at 11!

http://www.julian1st.wordpress.com

Green Zone...Iraq War about oil. Matt Damon excels in big-budget feature!

When Baghdad fell, and Saddam's statue was symbolically yanked down as the world gazed on, I speculated at the time that the Iraq War was all about oil and power and posturing in the Middle East.

After all, no weapons of mass destruction were ever found within the borders of the troubled Nation.

In fact, I theorized at the time, that the Intel was falsified to justify the night of "awe" and bootstrap Bush's bold-faced ploy to oust Saddam Hussein.

Through various sources, I was able to rustle up information on a number of curious clandestine events, which took place after-the-fact which lent credibility to my arguments.

For example, I was able to determine that one of the Hunt brothers (Ray L. Hunt) - who was later installed on  President Bush's National Security Council - took an overseas trip on a Government jet to Northern Iraq to allegedly start up negotations for oil leases with warring tribes in the region.

Post:  11/13/07

http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2007/11/bush-cronyray-l-hunt-signs-secret-pact.html

In a nutshell, that is the basic plotline of Matt Damon's new flick - Green Zone - which was released this past week around the country.

Damon portrays a Chief Marshall in charge of - tracking, locating, and defusing - weapons of mass destruction (referred to here as WMD) based on Intel that has been reviewed and dispatched from headquarters for appropriate military action.

Like "Hurt Locker", the film wastes no time in getting down to the nitty-gritty in the dramatic opening scenes.

Immmediately, filmgoers are confronted with highly-charged explosive attacks on enemy camps in Iraq, which keep 'em rivetted on the edge of their seats.

The dialogue resonates, too; after all, the speculation about WMD and the U.S. Imperalist invasion of Iraq, at times appeared to be lifted from the nightly news.

Where were the weapons?

Damon's character (Chief Miller) - although a man of action - is not inclined to just carry out orders.

When the Intel doesn't pass the smell taste, he's ballsy enough to go beyond the perimeters of his specific mission, and try to make sense of the baffling intrigues that point to a conspiracy and bald-faced cover-up fabricated to hoodwink the American people.

Damon's acting is pretty darn good in this big-budget thriller; in fact, in the role of Miller the popular charistmatic actor rises to the occasion well and underscores that  he's at the height of his creative powers.

The characterization he has fleshed out - is not only credible - but downright convincing.

In sum, the acting stint is an intelligent stand-out performance, that won't be long forgotten (by actors or critics, at least).

As to the elements that give thrust to the movie - the plotline, story devices, crafting of scenes - well, they're pretty much mainstream Hollywood.

Green Zone is entertaining, but nothing earth-shattering this late in the game.

3 stars!

http://www.thetattler.biz/

Barack Obama...torture bill signed. Human Rights advocates applaud move...

Human Rights advocates are applauding three executive orders Barack Obama's signed into Law the first day in office.

On their face, the orders seek to close down the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, end the CIA's use of interrogation techniques that many in the civilized world regard as outright torture - and ultimately - shut down a network of shadowy overseas prisons where the dirty work of the intelligence agency has been carried out since the war in Iraq began.

Many Americans may recall viewing a shocking expose about the issues on Sixty Minutes last year which established wrongdoing on the part of the CIA.

The in-depth probe established that sly government agents registered a plane to a P.O. Box under a fictitious business name - and under the guise of being a private enterprise - flew alleged terrorists overseas to allies of the U.S. who were ready able and willing to torture the suspects to extract information.

The feature film, Rendition (a thinly-veiled account of the scandal) stirred up a lot of controversy, too, when it was released in theatres nationwide and pointed an accusing finger at the wrongful (and potentially illegal) activities of the CIA.

In that feature, Meryl Streep's character - a U.S. Official - uttered a line that resonated with hundreds of thousands of filmgoers here and abroad.

"Americans do not torture people."

No, they just farm the work out, to keep their hands clean.

Post: 10/11/07

http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2007/10/renditionamericans-dont-torture-people.html

Although the executive orders ensure that the U.S. will break free from a Bush administration policy that has been highly criticized - and likewise brought a lot of scorn upon Americans - the new President has not addressed any of the particulars.

For example, no decisions have been made about what to do with the detainees when Guantanamo is shuttered for good.

In addition, sources note that in spite of the executive orders signed this week, the CIA appears to still have a bit of "wiggle room" in respect to methods used to extract highly-sensitive information from terrorists.

The surprisingly quick move on the part of Obama was based on his position that the "executive orders" reflected an understanding that dates back to the Founding Fathers.

"We are willing to observe core standards of conduct not just when it's easy, but also when it's hard."

As John Adams astutely noted:

"People and Nations are forged in the fires of adversity."

http://www.julianayrs.com

Berkeley...gets "marine issue" right, amid protest!

When the City Council voted two weeks ago to draft a letter to the Marines denouncing their presence in the Berkeley area, no one could possibly anticipate what an uproar it would cause.

As the City Council sat in chambers on Tuesday arguing the issue, a swirl of controversy wafted about in the streets, where protesters - both for and against the measure - clamored to be heard about their stance on the matter.

Ironically, the "troops" were called in, to hold the peace.

The vigil lasted throughout the night, until the early dawn, when it appeared City Council would finally see the "light".

Their answer to the dilemma?

Support the troops, but denounce the war in Iraq.

Ah, looks like the elected officials got it right.

Peace.

In Berkeley, at least.