US generals say Iraq outlook 'bleak'

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0520/dailyUpdate.html

<snip>

In an analysis piece for the The Washington Times, Martin Seiff, United Press International senior news analyst, says that it was a "bad week" for US policy in Iraq. Not only did you have the US military saying that troops would be in the region for years, but the new government of Iraq gave a warm welcome to the Iranian foreign minister.

... the strongest sign yet that Iraq won't stay in Washington's pocket. This also signals the danger of a huge Iraqi Shiite reaction against US forces if the United States ever clashes with Iran over its nuclear program.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that the visit by the Iranian foreign minister "underscored a US policy dilemma in Iraq."
'You've got two different trajectories, and I don't think the Americans have come to this realization,' says Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran analyst with the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, contacted in Tehran. 'The Americans have hard power in Iraq, but the Iranians have soft power, and they are able to do things. It is a much more subtle influence than the Americans.'

The Washington Times also notes that the "somber public acknowledgement by senior Army officers this week is likely to come as a cold shock to the US public and to hawkish media commentators" who had assumed that the recent election of an Iraqi government would declaw the insurency.

[uppityperson]

1. WA Times? aren't they conservative?

good.

[Tux]

5. Yes

And it is the official newspaper of Rev. Moon, our new god.

[napi21]

2. I really hate to hear this, but it's very bad for the GOP in 06 & 08!

I don't want to politicize the war, but all wars are political. I don't want to lose any more lives either, but I can't control that.

I have a little control over who calls the shots though, and the best we all can do is get rid of hte asshats in 06 & 08!

[jojo54]

3. Iraq outlook "bleak"

Well, no shit. eom

[phantom power]

4. Some "senior officers" have been pointing this out since Day 1.

I'm not holding my breath for it to start sinking in now.

[barb162]

9. and a lot of them got fired a few yrs. ago for not agreeing with

Rummy and the Monkey King. Now watch these current guys get fired.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. "Bleak!" Do ya think?

Jeebers. Some of us had that "bleak" thing figured out *before* the invasion.

[VegasWolf]

11. Thank gawd that marriage is still safe though! n/t

[katty]

7. Shock?!Hard Shock to over 50%ofU.S.-the other half knows

how bad it is-and so do the plantation media whores who refuse to report it.

[Jacobin]

15. I'm SHOCKED, Shocked, I tell you!!!

I believed everything that the Chimporer said about Iraq, the flowers, the WMDs, the dancing in the streets, the people yearing to be 'free', and now I'm told its all going to hell????

Why its that damned liberal media making up lies about what the generals are saying, I tell you. It's not true. The Chimporer would NEVER lie to us. He's a good ole boy,

and on and on and on......

[ckramer]

8. Apparently the general is lying

hehe

[Deja Q]

10. Move 'em out then move them on...

To Iran, Syria, N Korea, China, Clinton's bedroom one day too... * will find a place, or two.

[ausiedownunderground]

12. General Shenseki must be laughing loud and long!

"Told you suckers"!!!! Now lets see how you get out of this one!!!!!
The US military is being run by "rank amateur's", which must be a real worry for the GI's actually on the ground.
Has anyone heard any further news of how Mark Kimmett is going lately? Has anyone heard how Iyad Allawi's been going lately?

[NNN0LHI]

13. Does that mean Shock And Awe no worky? n/t

[Jacobin]

16. Damn, I'd forgotten about Shock'NAwe (tm)

Guess history will re-name that strategy "Piss Em Off".

[Zhade]

14. This is going to hurt...

DUH! You think???

Ow, my head hurts. I rolled my eyes back so far I'm staring at my brain!

[Mountainman]

17. I mentioned to a conservative woman at work today that we were not winning

the war in Iraq for many of the same reasons we didn't win in Vietnam. She suddenly got this look of fear and confusion on her face then completely dismissed what I was saying.

[Jacobin]

19. LOL. I know EXACTLY what you mean!

I've had a couple of those same confrontations. They just deny reality. Which is why they support the junta to begin with. They are not connected with reality.

[leftchick]

24. It is very easy in this country to deny reality

When is the last time anyone talked about the number of dead in Iraq on TV? I truly believe half of the population has moved on from Iraq in their own little minds.

[yellowcanine]

18. Does that mean the untidiness has degenerated into squalor?

Just asking.

[killbotfactory]

20. Reporters can't leave the green zone without being embedded with troops

Gee, you think it might be bad?

[Chicago Democrat]

21. shocking honesty

wow good to have an honest man or two left.

[LynnTheDem]

22. No "cold shock" for THIS US public person.

No "cold shock" for most the US public on this board.

1. We've been saying Iraq is a bloody hell in a bloody handbasket for 2 years now.

2. We were warning that Iraq would be a bloody hell in a bloody handbasket before the invasion.

3. ANYONE with any damn COMMON SENSE could have, should have KNOWN this would turn out exactly as it has turned out because NO ONE wants or likes their nation being INVADED by armed foreign armies that can't even speak their language.

It is NOT POSSIBLE for good to come out of an INVASION that makes up for the BAD. It NEVER has been, it NEVER will be.

"Good" and "Invasion" are NOT compatable.

[Massachusetts]

23. "US generals say Iraq outlook 'bleak'"

Blame Newsweek.