Boy, $8.5 Billion Does Not Last Long

The hefty loans the U.S. gave Turkey, loans that had nothing (wink wink) to do with the war in Iraq, are evidently insufficient to keep the Turkish government happy. It could be that U.S. air raids on a northern Iraqi city with ethnic ties to Turkey soured the deal.

Tal Afar is overrun with terrorists, the Pentagon says, hence the stern U.S. response. Turks see the hands of their enemies the Kurds at work, setting the U.S. against any and all non-Kurdish centers of power with self-serving "intelligence" reports.

In short, another fine mess.

Comments

[joe]

Big John’s speech:

“The administration told us we?d be greeted as liberators. They were wrong.
They told us not to worry about looting or the sorry state of Iraq’s infrastructure. They were wrong.
They told us we had enough troops to provide security and stability, defeat the insurgents, guard the borders and secure the arms depots. They were wrong.
They told us we could rely on exiles like Ahmed Chalabi to build political legitimacy. They were wrong.
They told us we would quickly restore an Iraqi civil service to run the country and a police force and army to secure it. They were wrong.
In Iraq, this administration has consistently over-promised and under-performed. This policy has been plagued by a lack of planning, an absence of candor, arrogance and outright incompetence. And the President has held no one accountable, including himself.
In fact, the only officials who lost their jobs over Iraq were the ones who told the truth.”

George Bush done you wrong. Have some self respect, and dump him.

[Meshuganer]

Joe,

Yes, the administration definitely did overextend itself in Iraq, put too much faith in the likes of Chalabi, basically thought the whole operation would be a cake walk and the Iraqi populace would just be singing “Happy Days Are Here Again” in 25 million part harmony as the troops entered Baghdad. But for all the screw ups Bush & Co. has made, I still can’t get myself to go for Lurch. Making nice with the Frogs & Krauts are not going to pacify the likes of Zarqawi. We are definitely in a big shit hole. Either we wrap our minds around being in a long messy war in Iraq (and possibly Iran , after the election if Bush wins) or wussing out and proving to the Islamofascists that we have the spine of an amoeba and the courage of a mole. Sure, we don’t want to see so many American servicemen & women killed and wounded…as well as civilians working in Iraq and being beheaded. But the Islamofascists only understand the heavy hand. What is the correct solution…I don’t have the answers. Yes, the neocons have bitten off more than they could chew with grand schemes of bringing democracy to the unenlightened….but hiding in a hole waiting for another terrorist attack on American shores certainly isn’t the answer.

[joe]

You make a good argument for voting against Kennis Kucinich, Messhy, but he’s not running.

Kerry has advocated neither “wussing out in Iraq” nor “hiding in a hole, waiting for another terrorist attack.”

http://www.slate.com boils down his position on Iraq pretty well today.

[Jason Bourne]

You’ve seen what I can do against my enemies. Vote for me, Jason Bourne! 🙂