EckerNet.Com

Vice President Biden is well known for his verbal gaffes and he has provided no shortage of fodder for critics of this administration.

Some are amusing, like \”Look, John\’s last-minute economic plan does nothing to tackle the number-one job facing the middle class, and it happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: jobs. J-O-B-S, jobs.\”

The others are potentially dangerous, like “I wouldn’t go anywhere in confined places now. It’s not that it’s going to Mexico in a confined aircraft where one person sneezes, that goes all the way through the aircraft. That’s me. I would not be, at this point, if they had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway.”

The latest is just bizarre in the apparently contradictory assertions he\’s made on a single topic.  Back when he was a mere Senator, Vice President Biden was widely criticized for his position on Iraq, indicating that basically we should split the country into three parts.  Despite that position, and his bosses position that the \”surge\” would actually make Iraq worse, and therefore we should pull out of Iraq, Biden was only a couple days ago claiming credit for Iraq.

I am very optimistic about — about Iraq. I mean, this could be one of the great achievements of this administration. You\’re going to see 90,000 American troops come marching home by the end of the summer. You\’re going to see a stable government in Iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government.

I spent — I\’ve been there 17 times now. I go about every two months — three months. I know every one of the major players in all the segments of that society. It\’s impressed me. I\’ve been impressed how they have been deciding to use the political process rather than guns to settle their differences.

True Iraq is a great accomplishment.  We\’ve done a lot there, although there is a lot more to do, and be done, not necessarily all by us.  But it\’s rather arrogant to claim credit for an accomplishment that both you and your boss would have bailed on before even trying to win.

Now Biden appears to be not so enamored of Iraq…

Vice President Joe Biden says the Iraq war hasn\’t been worth its \”horrible price.\”

He says the war was mishandled from the outset and that the U.S. took its eye off the ball. As a result, he says the U.S. was left in a more dangerous position in Afghanistan, where al-Qaida hatched the Sept 11 attacks.

Biden tells NBC\’s \”Meet the Press\” that the war also has cost the United States support from other nations.

There\’s no dispute that the US paid a very very large price for Iraq.  But to one day claim credit for a great accomplishment, and then days later trivialize it as unworthy is quite a two-faced maneuver that only the most slimy of politicians can pull off.

Congrats Biden for being that slimy.

And it\’s probably the most positive news we could hope for….

The overall level of violence in the country continues to decline, despite the occasional terrorist bombing. This has led to continued economic growth, and more Iraqis are using their freedom of movement, and action, to protest government incompetence. The inept performance of elected and appointed officials is more stark in Iraq, where economic freedom has created many spectacularly successful entrepreneurs, and a growing middle class. Thus it is obvious that Iraqis can get things done, and more Iraqis are openly upset at the poor performance of their elected officials.

Just look at this from a hierarchy of needs perspective.  For awhile, Iraqis were mostly concerned with relatively minor things….like not dying.  Then it was having luxry items like power, food, water, clothes, etc.  Then of course there was the whole need for a job, a job that preferably didn\’t dying or blowing other people up.  Now they\’ve moved on to roughly the stage most Americans are at….realizing their politicians are incompetent boobs and being pissed off about it.

Eventually they\’ll realize that\’s how all politicians are.  At best, they aren\’t worth a damn and they spend most of their time leeching on the productivity of the populace, at worst they completely screw up your higher needs.  So if you\’ve reached the stage where you have the time/energy to worry about that, you\’re doing good.  Enjoy your future.

Plan a Tea Party, they hate those.

Finally we\’re pulling out.

Three and a half years later, the National Guard is pulling the last of its troops out this weekend, leaving behind a city still desperate and dangerous.

Residents long distrustful of the city\’s police force are worried they will have to fend for themselves.

\”One of the biggest things we did was keep those places safe so people could rebuild,\” said Sgt. Wayne Lewis, who has been patrolling the streets since January 2007. \”People would put the things to rebuild in their houses and thieves would come along and take them right out again. We stopped a lot of that.\”

No this isn\’t Baghdad.  No it\’s not Kabul.  No it\’s not even a foreign nation.  It\’s New Orleans.  It took three and a half YEARS for us to rebuild the city to the point that we\’re comfortable pulling out our troops.  This is a city already familiar with democracy (at least a corrupt form of it).  This is a city that already possessed semi-modern infrastructure.  This is a city that possessed at least a basic literacy rate.

Yet it still took three and a half years to rebuild a CITY.  We\’re currently in a hurry to pull out of a COUNTRY after six years.

Sometime I have to wonder if Reid just assumes nobody actually listens to him, because he sure takes every opportunity to prove himself clueless.

In a conversation on Meet The Press on January 4th, Reid futiley tried to explain away his declaration last year that the surge was a failure.  Apparently his tactic is that he was only referring to a very small part of the plan otherwise known as \”The Surge\” and it\’s our fault for not divining what he meant.  Besides, the war itself is the failure…or so says Reid…

SEN. REID: David, listen, someone else will have to determine that as the years go on.  What has the war done?  It\’s brought about–it\’s destabilized the Middle East.  We have a civil war going on in Israel.  We have a civil war in Iraq, as indicated today, more than 50 people killed with a bomb in Iraq today.  We have Lebanon, a civil war there.  We have Iran thumbing their nose with every, everyone.  And if that weren\’t bad enough, our standing in the world community is so far down as a result of this war, so–and that doesn\’t take into consideration the tens of thousands who have been injured…

Huh, that\’s quite a list of supposed effects of the Iraq War…surely they stand up to the barest of historical fact-checking right??

Iraq War begun on March 20th, 2003.
The Middle East hasn\’t been stable since the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, or at the very least shortly after World War II. Coincidentally around that same time Muhammad Jed was shooting at some food, and up through the ground came a bubbling crude. Well the next thing you know, ol\’ Jed is living in a farking hell hole.

Iraq War begun on March 20th, 2003.
There has been constant conflict in and around Israel since literally the day after it was created in 1948, starting with the Arab-Israeli War. Ever since that day, Israel has been the unofficial proving grounds for terrorists to test their weapons and tactics. Apparently, on Sundays the first 200 suicide bombers get an extra virgin in heaven.

Iraq War begun on March 20th, 2003.
Ok the Iraq civil war has started since the Iraq War, but that surge you repeatedly claim has failed has gone a long way in making that civil war less violent than your average day in Chicago, Washington DC, Detroit, LA, or New York.

Iraq War begun on March 20th, 2003.
Lebanon has been in a state of virtual conflict since the Lebanese Civil War, which began in 1975. The conflict was rather complex, but was fought mostly over which type of tree would be displayed on the flag. General Cedar eventually led his forces to victory in 1990.

Iraq War begun on March 20th, 2003.
Iran…well you may remember this tiny thing called the Islamic Revolution in 1978 during which some Americans decided to vacation there. The Iranians have been thumbing their nose at the world ever since….apparently the Americans stole some towels or something.

Iraq War begun on March 20th, 2003.
Our world standing has been down since….well the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Seems we were never really liked, it\’s just that after World War I and World War II, the world had learned that the only country worth a damn at doing anything was the Americans and therefore they\’d just follow us around for awhile. When the Soviet Union fell and Europeans stopped ritualistically crapping their drawers, the world decided those warmongering Americans were no good.

Iraq War begun on March 20th, 2003.
Well, not including the Iran-Iraq war, anywhere from 300,000 to 1 million Iraqis were killed in Saddam\’s reign of terror starting in 1979. Saddam\’s reign of terror mysteriously stopped shortly after March 20th, 2003, for reasons unknown to Senator Reid and other Democrats.

Ok so I owe an apology to Senator Reid, he\’s clearly got his grasp of the facts well in hand. Now if only we knew what realities he lives in, we\’d know where those \”facts\” apply.

Earlier this year things were looking pretty bad for Republicans. Their base didn\’t like them. The general public didn\’t like them. Even on issues like national security, the public trusted the Democrats more than Republicans…..until the surge.

When Bush proposed the Surge, even Democrats from miles around sprinted to the nearest microphone to declare that it was never gonna work. Then reality set in and Democrats had to eat crow. What\’s worse, now polls indicate that the public no longer trusts the Democrats on national security. And things were going so well!!!

Well apparently the Democrats can be taught new tricks, because they are making it clear they aren\’t going to make the same mistake on the \”quiet surge\”.

Bush said the battalion, roughly 1,000 Marines, now headed to Afghanistan in November will be followed in January by an Army combat brigade. A brigade is 3,500-4,000 troops.

The move answers in part calls from Democrats to shift troops out of Iraq to a more sizable force in Afghanistan. Still, Democrats quickly shot back that Bush isn\’t doing enough to get troops out of Iraq, and into Afghanistan, where violence is rising.

\”The president\’s plan to reduce force levels in Iraq may seem to signal movement in the right direction, but it really defers troop reductions until the next administration,\” said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo. \”More significant troop reductions in Iraq are needed so that we can start to rebuild U.S. military readiness and provide the additional forces needed to finish the fight in Afghanistan.\”

Said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: \”I am stunned that President Bush has decided to bring so few troops home from Iraq and send so few resources to Afghanistan.\”

Even \”The One\” is getting in on the act…

Bush\’s \”plan comes up short,\” Obama said. \”It is not enough troops, and not enough resources, with not enough urgency.

\”I am convinced that it is time to change our foreign policy,\” he said, noting that he will withdraw troops from Iraq and create a \”comprehensive strategy to finish the job in Afghanistan.\”

Not enough troops for the Democrats?? Although I\’m a little disappointed that Obama didn\’t miracle a few thousands troops over there. Given his powers, it doesn\’t seem like a daunting task.

But at least it shows that Democrats can learn. Previously they had everything going their way and 2008 was going to be a great year for them. Now they\’ve slowly f-ed it up and watched it fade away. But at least they are attempting to salvage something of their reputation, if not their integrity.

Yes, I have returned.  Myself and several other members of the MN Militia just got back from several days of hinting in the NoDak badlands/desert.  We figured it necessary to stage this trip since one of our members is preparing for another deployment (currently to Iraq) and he\’ll probably miss next year\’s trip.  He demonstrated his shooting skills were definitely up to the task.  However, I sincerely hope, and I\’m sure both him and his wife/family agree, that he never has use for them.

But even in it\’s own right it was an enjoyable trip.  Middle of what is essentially a desert shooting at prairie dogs from 300 to 600 yards away with a 30+ mph crosswind.  It seems they\’ve gotten a bit skittish from being shot at all summer so combined with the conditions I won\’t pretend we put much of a dent in their population but it was good fun anyway.  Except for the rattlesnake.

Having returned and finally gotten cleaned up, it\’s time to catch up with the world.

New Orleans is under water again?? You don\’t say.  Who could have seen that coming?  I\’m so glad we spent millions of tax dollars rebuilding a city that was guaranteed to be destroyed again soon and which contributes virtually nothing to the nation with the notable exceptions of copious amounts of most of the seven deadly sins, and a few sins that haven\’t even been invented yet.

GOP convention is going on, albeit in a very abbreviated format.  I\’ll be participating, so to speak, for the rest of it.  I hope to relate my experiences here but we\’ll see what I have time for.

Palin has been picked as VP.  I think I\’m damn near required to comment on that but it\’s now old news having been announced as I was on my way out the door.  But we\’ll see.

Other than that the world is pretty much as I left it.  Which is nice that it can survive without me.

I wrote previously that we had sent two aircraft carriers and their battle groups to join two battlegroups already in the Persian Gulf, and about the significance of this move. At the time I theorized that the move was related to a move against Iran, but then later thought that perhaps we have advance knowledge of the strike on Georgia. Turns out, not only was I right on both counts, but what I then termed as \”not a trivial chess piece in a global chessboard\” is just the tip of the iceberg.

There is a massive naval fleet heading for the gulf, most of which just completed Operation Brimstone, a joint US/UK/French/Brazil naval wargame. From descriptions of Operation Brimstone, it appears it concentrated on international cooperation to conduct military operations in littoral waters. All handy skills to have if one is planning a international naval blockade of another country.

Previously, I was aware of only the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the USS Ronald Reagan and their battle groups heading for the Gulf. Now it appears they are joined by the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship (similar to the Peleliu), the UK Royal Navy HMS Ark Royal aircraft carrier, and her battle group, along with assorted French naval assets including the nuclear attack submarine Amethyste and French Naval Rafale fighter jets on-board the USS Theodore Roosevelt. By virtually any measure, that is a massive amount of firepower, especially combined with the forces already in the Gulf. Forces which include the USS Abraham Lincoln and her battlegroup, the USS Peleliu and her battle group, at least one US nuclear attack sub and miscellaneous other forces. This is the largest buildup of US allied naval forces in the Gulf since the invasion of Iraq.

There are several possible reasons for this buildup of forces:
1) The US and several allies have decided to enforce at least a partial naval blockade of Iran
2) The US and several allies are preparing for an Israeli and/or US strike on Iranian nuclear facilities
3) The US and several allies are preparing for an invasion of Iran.

Option #3 is the least likely, as this buildup is happening absent any major redeployment of air and ground forces. Both of these would be necessary for an invasion. Also with it\’s easily deployed ground forces already committed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and with the potential of action in Georgia. The timing of this, make option #3 severely unlikely.

Option #2 while possible, has become increasingly unlikely. Israel certainly has the capability. And if they feel the US isn\’t gonna do it, then they may feel the need to step up. And they may very well be at that stage. However, the US just rejected a request from Israel for military equipment necessary to make a strike on Iran. So clearly the Israelis lack some equipment necessary to make a strike. Even if they could manufacture it themselves, they are clearly not at a stage were a strike on Iran is imminent hence no need for a force buildup.

Which leaves us option #3, which I think it increasingly likely, especially considering that a majority of the forces involved just participated in a training exercise practicing precisely this. Plus a naval blockade would be a likely next step in the escalation of force to get Iran to comply with UN demands. While Iran is rich in oil, it has limited domestic refining capability. Which means while it exports lots of oil, it also has to import benzene in massive quantities. So a naval blockade would cripple their economy and that tends to draw attention.

Now certainly a much smaller force would certainly be capable of a naval blockade. The fact that such a large force is being arrayed also says quite a bit about the operational planning that went into this, and tends to imply two different possibilities.

First that it was considered possible that such a blockade would be resisted either by Iran or others (i.e. Russia). In the latter case, this formidable force would likely be intended to make intervention seem futile, or at least impractical. While Russia does have forces in the area, most notably the carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, in the Mediterranean, it\’s aircraft would have to pass over Iraq, and the US forces deployed there, in order to reach this flotilla.

Almost certainly the Iranians would attempt to resist as well, through quite a few different methods. Air attacks from land based aircraft would seemingly be met by aircraft from the four different carriers. Helicopters from the amphibious assault ships would likely be tasked to anti-sub detail. And the numerous warships in the battlegroups would fend of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard high-speed boats, functioning as suicide boats, similar to the attack on the USS Cole.

Almost certainly there would be an attempt by Iran to close the oil route chokepoint (only 21 miles wide) of the Strait of Hormuz, since one side is controlled by Iran, and the other by US allies United Arab Emirates and Oman. With the forces currently being positioned in the Gulf, it seems very likely that the US would be able to keep this route open, and prevent any attempts by Iran to break through the blockade.

Of course, a naval blockade is generally considered an act of war. So it\’s unlikely that everything will be just this simple. The board is set, the chess pieces are moving. This game is about to get interesting.

Quite a bit.

Many were disturbed and a bit miffed recently to find out that Iraq currently has a $79 billion dollar budget surplus. To be fair, that budget surplus mostly exists because the process to approve spending is unbelievable difficult, in order to prevent corruption. And to be perfectly frank, a government that has problems spending money sounds pretty good to me (Congress are you listening??)!!

Also the United States hasn\’t begun any new construction projects since 2004 and the Iraqi government is getting better and better at spending their money. Obama was just over there, perhaps he offered some pointers.

However, it looks like perhaps we don\’t have to be too concerned with the Iraqi budget surplus because it appears that a very large chunk of it will be coming to the United States in the form of military equipment purchases. In the last two weeks alone, Iraq has made purchase requests totaling $10.9 billion.

And now comes a purchase request coming in at $2.16 billion. So just what does $2.16 billion buy us theses days?? Well according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency:

• 140 M1A1 Abrams tanks modified and upgraded to the M1A1M Abrams configuration
• 8 M88A2 Tank Recovery Vehicles
• 64 M1151A1B1 Armored High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV)
• 92 M1152 Shelter Carriers
• 12 M577A2 Command Post Carriers
• 16 M548A1 Tracked Logistics Vehicles
• 8 M113A2 Armored Ambulances
• 420 AN/VRC-92 Vehicular Receiver Transmitters
• 35 M1070 Heavy Equipment Transporter (HET) Truck Tractors
• 40 M978A2 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) Tankers
• 36 M985A2 HEMTT Cargo Trucks
• 4 M984A2 HEMTT Wrecker Trucks
• 140 M1085A1 5-ton Cargo Trucks
• 8 HMMWV Ambulances w/ Shelter
• 8 Contact Maintenance Trucks
• 32 500 gal Water Tank Trailers
• 16 2500 gal Water Tank Trucks
• 16 Motorcycles
• 80 8 ton Heavy/Medium Trailers
• 16 Sedans
• 92 M1102 Light Tactical trailers
• 92 635NL Semi-Trailers
• 4 5,500 lb Rough Terrain Forklifts
• 20 M1A1 engines
• 20 M1A1 Full Up Power Packs
• 3 spare M88A2 engines
• 10 M1070 engines
• 20 HEMTT engines
• 4 M577A2 spare engines
• 2 5-ton truck engines
• 20 spare HMMWV engines
• ammunition, spare and repair parts, maintenance, support equipment, publications and documentation, personnel training and equipment, U.S. Government and contractor engineering and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics support

Wow….that\’s a lot of bang for your buck (pun intended).

Let\’s also consider that Iraq purchasing American made weapons means that not only are they likely to purchase the next generation from us. But the United States also gets the added benefit of the sale of ongoing maintenance parts/equipment.

Not exactly a bad added side benefit to having a stable US-allied democracy in the Middle East, that sells oil.

It often falls on bloggers and non-traditional media to get out the word that Iraq isn\’t all just death and violence.  Sure it\’s not rainbows and puppies either, but there are good things happening.  And lately the good news has been a fairly constant stream of events.

Captain Ed, of Hot Air, shares some of the most recent good news.

Suddenly, the oil companies want to invest in Iraq, and the Iraqis welcome them.  The enthusiasm for Iraqi investment comes as the US has mostly pacified the west and Iraq has taken control of its south for the first time since the British began retreating there.  The south is significant, as not only does it contain massive oil fields but it also has the ports through which Iraq exports its crude.  Basra and Umm Qasr are now in the hands of the Baghdad government, not Moqtada al-Sadr, and the companies can conduct business on a normal basis.

These companies would not put their money and personnel where the investments could not be secured.  Having 120 companies apply for prequalification shows confidence in the stability of Iraq that seems to have escaped the media and some of our own politicians here in the US, who seem more interested in portraying Iraq as a continuing disaster.  Contributing to that stability is an upcoming revenue-sharing agreement, which Maliki promised would soon gain approval at a conference in Belgium, which would give all Iraqis a stake in maintaining security.

Ok he\’s right, that is good news and it\’s worth hearing.  However, I think Capt Ed is trying too hard.  He doesn\’t really have to go through all this just to demonstrate that the country is rapidly moving towards a peaceful existence.

We can skip all this debate about oil production and private investment, and skip right to this story.

Iraqis often complain about the problems in their country and the government\’s lack of obvious progress in solving them.

But as drivers in traffic-clogged Baghdad learned this week, Iraqi officials are taking action in one area: strict enforcement of a seat belt law.

Later this month, traffic police officers all over Iraq will start issuing tickets to any scofflaw who drives without buckling up. Violators will be fined 15,000 dinars — about $12.50.

Yeah, you read that right.  Iraqi police are giving out tickets for seat belt violations.  If they have time to mess around with trivial crap like that, what does that say about the state of the country??

The media has gone into orgasmic convulsions over the news that the Iraqi military is battling Shi\’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr\’s Mehdi Army militia, with articles titled \”Is \’success\’ of U.S. surge in Iraq about to unravel?\”. Seemingly every news service is running a similar story.

This strikes me as a bit odd. Why is the fact that the Iraqi government finally has the political will and military resources to enforce the rule of law, and assert it\’s authority, in outlying regions of the country, a bad thing??? To me that\’s the sign of progress, not that the country is ready to unravel.

The Iraqi army finally has the ability to take the fight to the enemy and that is a bad thing??

Now only that, but consider the other forces/variables at work here. You have a Shiite dominated government actually willing to put down a Shiite militia. In other words secretarian allegiances take a back seat to government authority and the rule of law. How again is that a bad thing?!??

Instead of declaring defeat yet again, and incorrectly, for the 100th time, perhaps the media should recognize progress when it sees it. Because this kneejerk reaction to anything that happens in Iraq is getting a little ridiculous.

Besides, the Mahdi army has never been a military threat in the full sense of the word.  It\’s been a nuisance which could make life hell for the population.  It was able to pose a challenge for green Iraqi Army units in their infancy. It has never been something which could stand up to the might of the US military.  Now the Iraqi Army is in a position that they are more than a match for the Sadr loyalists.

This showdown has been a long time in coming.  It would have been preferable if the Mahdi Army had just faded into the background, as even Al-Sadr believes it should.  But in the end this provides an opportunity for the Iraqi Army to demonstrate they are in control and that the militias are no longer welcome. Once again, that is a good thing.