Ryan Crocker was grilled Thursday concerning his areas of responsibility within the 18 target areas which Congress established. In many respects, his main responsibility is tougher than that being handled by Gen. Petraeus. He's responsible for herding the Iraqi legislative cats in order to get them to start:
1) enacting and implementing legislation on de-Ba’athification reform.
2) enacting and implementing legislation to ensure the equitable distribution of hydrocarbon resources to all Iraqis.
3) establishing provincial council authorities and establishing a date for provincial elections.
There were two developments this week that will aid (hopefully) in the cat herding. Both the Sunnis and the Sadrists have returned to Parliament. My view is that both realize that the oil revenue is going to be divvied up very soon (item 2) and neither wants to miss out on getting their cut. There is a fair chance that all three items will be achieved before the end of August, although I wouldn't bet the farm on it.
The Iraqi Reconstruction Effort proceeds apace with 84% of the money spent and three of the seven major goals accomplished. It looks as if two more will be accomplished shortly. The Corps of Engineers just keeps chugging along.
Bill Roggio provides another comprehensive (and positive) roundup of surge results while Michael Yon files a dispatch containing the most positive tag line I have ever seen him use.
I would also note that the Chicken Little Congress has set a new record. Keep up the good work!
5 comments:
Pelosi's explanation for the paralysis is "we're building the record on the Bush administration".
She's right--the investigations themselves are "the record", as in "The Bush administration has been investigated over 300 times for (fill in the blank)".
No matter that no corruption ever seems to get found. No need for that detail in the sloganeering of the coming campaign.
We need a "loser pays" system in politics as well as tort law. I guess that's what the elections are, but, would love to see brighter lines of responsibility. Fake scandals never seem to have enough cost to the conspirators. Dan Rather, for example, almost any other time and place, would've instead of a pension been given an execution for Memogate. And rightly so.
Considering the ambiguity of the situation, one thing becomes clearer--the fight in the US is over the meaning and interpretation of events, rather than in whether the troops will withdraw or not. Given the nature of al Qaeda and of insurgencies, there will of course be no signing of surrender papers for the evening news.
It is infuriating that so many Dems wish to frame this as defeat/losing. Whenever we draw down troops, there will still be volatility in Iraq, but the Dems are determined to paint this as inevitable failure no matter what the situation looks like. In fact I don't think any of the so called "leaders" could describe what a situation favorable to the US would look like, except in the most impossible-to-achieve form. This has to be painted as a defeat for Bush at all costs, even to costs of our vulnerability and handing the enemy a victory, and they will have absolutely no problem interpreting it as such.
Barry,
Read this guy's top two posts. You may be infuriated now but over time you may well come to a slightly deeper feeling concerning opposition leadership.
The subornation of the Sunni sheiks tied to the signing of the revenue sharing agreement will mark the end of the beginning and the time required to get to the beginning of the end may be shorter than many believe possible.
You'll never know it from the DEMSM no more than anyone will ever know how many people were killed by the Copperheads on this pass.
Buddy,
Ken Burns talks to Dennis Miller about his WWII masterpiece.
(He thinks it's better than the Civil War work)
Dennis currently has the interview available on his front page:
http://www.dennismillerradio.com/
Once you hear the approach used, you will be sure to see it as soon as it is aired.
...all from the perspective of regular citizens who were there, or their loved ones waiting at home, from four different specific locations around the country.
No Generals, Nazis, and the usual stuff that detracts from what he is trying to portray here.
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Yon's tribute to Wayne Downing:
American Legacy: Wayne Downing
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Michael Totten in Baghdad
HT Blackfive
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Totten mentions leaving Sadr City untouched, wonder how Mookie will be dealt with?
Muqtada al-Sadr - Nationalist or last man standing?
Yuk Yuk
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