Dan Lyons

WAR-ROBOTS: Predators are said to work havoc among guerillas in Iraq.
Undoubtedly, robots will add tremendously to US killing power anywhere in the world—

Except that other advanced countries will have robots to retaliate against our Homeland.

As I’ve said for years,
Robots will make it easy for Pentagon to take over US openly,
instead of the covert ways it controls us now.

US soldiers wouldn’t fire on Americans;
US robots won’t hesitate.

Black humor will be when handgun enthusiasts try to ‘defend our freedom’ against a line of the tyrant’s impassive robots.

Afgh.Brits abandon anti-poppy war,
making nice to peasants.
GUARDIAN29APR

But Bushie generals want this war
Renewed.

BUSHIES WANT CANADIANS
TO USE US STRONG-ARM TACTICS
Canadians are in Kandahar,
Marines will go to Helmland province.

“They can learn there, make their mistakes there.” Says Canada honcho.
GLOBE& MAIL/29APR

Canadians spend 6 months there;
US wants them each to spend 15 months. Bloody Likely.

Iraqi honchos agree on Iranian weapons,
But criticize US sabre-rattling.
“We’re the small place caught in between.”
LATIMES/29APR

If we bomb Iran, Iraq will be destroyed by rockets aimed at GIs.

4GIs,dozens of Iraqis killed
including one senior govt. official.
ASSOC.PRESS/29APR

SADR REJECTS MALIKI’S PRECONDITIONS
For peace-talks.
BBC/28APR

$200 OIL UPCOMING, OPEC honcho,
blaming sinking $.
GUARDIAN/28APR

If Bushies bomb Iran,
this will be LOW prediction.

KARZAI REGIME CAN’T PROTECT ITSELF
let alone Afghan population.

When gunmen attacked big high-security ceremony,
The security people fled before ordinary people.

2d big attack on Kabul (1st on prominent hotel.)
REUTERS/28APR

40 lawmakers urge end to Malikite attacks
on Sadr City
SEATTLEPI/27APR

KARZAI ATTACKED from up close;
bullets hit 30 yrds away.

“Security is bad; how could they get so close?”
Int.HeraldTribune27APR

PENT.REPORTS UNRELIABLE
Says InspGen..
They’re based on unreliable data
From Iraq govt.
Bloomberg/26Apr

Nigerian attacks lower oil production.

That would make it all the more
prohibitively expensiveTo attack Iran !

UNITED PRESS 26APR

INCREASED IRAN ATTACKS ON GIS?
(say Bushie generals)

Then why such a low rate of GIs killed?
LATIMES/26APR

KARZAI CRITICIZES US,BRITS
They should be attacking hiding-places in Pakistan,
not arresting TalibanIn Afgh
(discouraging Tal.Who want to lay down arms.)
BostonGlobe26Apr

But Pak.is making NICE W/Taliban !

Before election, K. is trying to erase image
of his govt. as incompetent, corrupt puppets.

WHY NOW? Iran has been helping both sides
in Sadr/Malikite fight all along;

Why do Bushies up their war-justifying rhetoric right now?

Increased bluff, or war-preparation?
Nytimes/26apr

2 DIFFERENT STORIES:
Iraqi officials assert (US denies) airstrikes
in Sadr City (injuring civilians).

Who’ll be believed?
CNN/26APR

TOP HONCHO TALKS OF IRAN ATTACK
WashPost25April
Get straight: the issue is not whether such an attack is justified
(Bushies & Israel have long thought it is).

Issue is whether Bushies are crazy enough
to pay the awful price in Iran retaliation
(especially vs. our Iraq GIs
and skyrocketing oil prices.)

Either they are that crazy, or they’re bumping up the bluff.

OSAMA AIDE CRITICIZES SHIA;

More reason to suppose that future SHIALAND
Will be free of Quaeda power.

CBS NEWS/25APR

MERCURY & AUTISM
The RECENT spike in autism reports
can’t be ascribed to heredity.

Texas scientists have found a real relationship
Between autism and
closeness to mercury-emitting sites.
UnitedPress/25apr

Canada is at WAR in Afgh.
An analyst says govt. avoids word WAR,

And govt. tries to distract people from # of casualties.

40% to 50% of Canadians oppose this war.

Globe&Mail/25Apr

A given Canadian GI has about as much chance
to become a casualty as does a US GI in Iraq.

PAK/TALIBAN NEAR DEAL
Tal would stop attacks in Pakistan.

Pak. Govt would pull out troops in
This region NAMED AFTER TALIBAN!

No mention of Tal stopping attacks
In Afghanistan !

NYTIMES/25APR

IRAQIS NEED YEARS to handle security,
Says Inspector General.

As expected,Bushie general disagrees.
USATODAY/25APR

Pent.can't say how many Iraqi troops are actually available.
NYTIMES/25apr

INDIA, PAKISTAN DEFY BUSHIES

Pipeline from Iran will complete by 2012.
BLOOMBERG/25APR

US is trying to isolate Iran,

But instead, it is Bushies who get isolated.

The GOP myth of the ‘ownership’ society
(millions ‘owning’ homes they can’t pay for)
Has met the reality of the ‘foreclosure’ society.

WHAT IS A REPUBLICAN?
They love guns & Church, and are pro-war.
They fawn on the rich,
And despise the poor.

Luckily, they are a shrinking minority.

AFGHAN VIOLENCE WILL SPIKE
ABOVE ’07,Says US general.

And there will be few more allied troops
to counter Taliban.
Globe&Mail24apr

SEVEN HUNDRED ROCKETS INTO GREENZONE IN MONTH
REUTERS24APR

GIS TIED UP IN SADR CITY, to minimize rockets.

2 in 3 say Iraq war was MISTAKE.
UnitedPress24Apr.

But not as many say we should get out NOW.
Americans don’t want to ‘bug out’;

They suffer from neither tax nor GI casualties;
They don’t realize the connection between
Continued war and recession.

FOOD BLOCKED FROM BAGHDAD
The Sadrite/Malikite fighting has blocked food
Coming from South Iraq into Baghdad.
LATIMES/24 APR

BUSHIES OPPOSE PAK.TALKS W/TALIBAN.
Says White House.
ChinaView23apr

All Bushies can do is cut off aid to Pak.;
They can’t attack it; Pak has nukes also!

FIGHTING OUTSIDE SADR CITY & BASRA
US/MALIKITES FIGHTING SADRITES.

US NOW INVOLVED IN A REAL 2-FRONT WAR.

BUT QUAEDA SEEMS MORE INTENT ON KILLING‘TRAITOR’ SUNNIS
THAN AMERICANS !
ASSOC.PRESS23APR

ARMY DEFIES GATES:
He ordered them to stop forcibly extending
GI tours in Iraq.

Since then they have gone on anyway.

USATODAY/print version/22Apr/p.1

Gates just denounced AirForce.
Is he on the way out?

PAKISTAN RELEASES TALIBAN LEADER
…signs truce with Tal.
In one section of Pakistan.
SEATTLEPI22APR

EU HONCHO says 'No talks w/Taliban!"
pak.defies EU.
REUTERS/22APR

VIOLENCE MAY ERUPT:
Rice deliberately insulted Sadr,
seeming to want him to go back
On the warpath.

Suppose Shia AND SUNNIS decide that a so-called cease-fireWith US
does NOT protect them from Malikite attacks.
Suppose they then end the truce.

Rockets still came in on Green Zone, despite US/Malikite takeover
Of SadrCity region near the Green Zone.

Some analysts minimize influence of Iran on the conflict,
Saying it would continue if Iran disappeared off the map
(which it might, if Bushies are crazy enough).
SIGNONSANDIEGO.COM/21APR

SECURITY/CORRUPTION IN AFGH.

EU honcho states the obvious;

Observers fear Afgh. Will sink into anarchy.
REUTERS21APR

In anarchy, Taliban will flourish.

OIL SPIKE AFTER ATTACK
A tanker was rocketed in MidEast,
spiking oil prices all over world.
(Nigerian pipeline also attacked.)
nytimes21apr

This shows why we can’t afford to risk
Iran retaliation if we bomb the hell out of them.

MILLIONS FOR UPBEAT PROPAGANDA
Pent. Spending to buy military ‘analysts’
to spread optimistic word on wars.
NYTIMES21APR

That’s why Lyons emphasizes
plentifulnegative news—
for pitiable attempt at balance.

NO ARAB COMMITMENTS
Rice failed to get any firm commitments
from Arab neighbors for any more $
or diplomatic representation in Iraq.
AFP21APR

‘Allies’ offer very few extra troops
for Afghanistan,
nowhere near enough for any success-plan.

New'help' is window dressing, says RAND expert

USATODAY (print version, 21apr,p.1)

US ALLIED WITH IRAN !
Both back the Badrs in Basra region against the Sadrites.

US backs Badr because they have not shot Americans.

Iran backs them because they favor partition (Kurdland, Sunniland,Shialand)
And SADR BACKS UNIFIED IRAQ (which of course US backs,
Because Shialand would be under strong domination of Iran !)

However, Iran stridently opposes US attacks on Sadrites
In Sadr City.
InternatlHeraldTribune/21 Apr

LYONS FAVORS SADR?
Not at all; his followers are ignorant
slum-dwellers;
Badr is controlled by educated Shia.
But Sadrites can cause much trouble
If they’re fully provoked.

PAKISTAN MORE DANGEROUS THAN IRAQ?
Blogger claims US believes a 2d 9/11 attack
would come fromPak.,
not from Afghanistan or Iraq.

Pakistanis worry this means an attack
on border areasOf Pakistan—especially now that
Bushie puppet Musharref is out of power.

(Big US attack on Pak. Might trigger nuke response from Pak—
a nuke exchange would threaten the whole human race.)

STRIFE IN HOLY CITY OF NAJAF:
Writer claims that mainstream ayatollahs
Support Maliki vs. Sadr.
But Sadr has strong support there.

Ayatollahs declined to tell Sadr
To disband his Mehdi army.
LATIMES/20APR

BUSHIES/ MALIKITES NOW CONTROL BASRA
Sadrites say they ‘faded’ (as often before)
on orders from Sadr.

Iranian ambassador supported B/M attack on Basra.
NYTIMES/20APR

OBAMA LEADS BY 20 POINTS!
O.55%, Cl.35%
NEWSWEEK

MOST DUTCH OPPOSE DUTCH INVOLVEMENT IN AFGH.
REUTERS/19APR

PAK.QUAEDA HAVEN:SO WHAT?
There are plenty of places, all over world,
Where Qaeda can train.
e.g.,Indonesia, Somalia...

MOST OF SADR CITY RUN BY SADRITES
NYTIMES/19APR

Over 400 GIs have died in Afgh.
How many wounded?

VIEWERS TURN VS.ABC,
NOT VS. OBAMA.
20K COMMENTS RESENTED ANTI-OBAMA BIAS
IN DEBATE QUESTIONS.
LATIMES/19APR

Bushies/ Malikites renew attack on Basra;
ferocious airstrikes involved.
More fighting also in SadrCity.
LATIMES/19APR

Iraq Outcome in Doubt,
says ex-Rumsfeld aideIN PENTAGON REPORT !
You can read the devastating report on PDF
by typing ‘ex-Rumsfeld aide Iraq’ on Google search.

JoeKlein (in TIME21Apr)
asks Obama’s question:
if we’re doing so well,
and Quaeda is reduced in power,
why can’t we bring our GIs home now?

Kline guesses that Bushie scheme is
to fight the Sadrites,
because they are strongest opponents
of a permanent US presence in Iraq,
which is Bushies’ real plan.

‘TREATMENT’ FOR EARLY ALZHEIMERS:
Govt. should allow MD-assisted suicide for
Certainly-diagnosed Alzheimers patients
(in early stage, when patient is still competent to consent.)

Even now they can commit suicide,
but only in very messy and unpleasant ways.

This is best remedy for FLOOD of Alzheimers’ cases
when the first big wave of Boomers hit their 70s.—
beginning around 2015.

The person who knows he can voluntarily shuffle off will not in his 70s
Be terrified of facing their 80s.

Naturally the Catholic bishops will oppose this reform,
allied with the millionaire-owners of ‘Homes’,
Where Alzheimer people are helpless inmates.

But pols who are concerned with govt. solvency
Should favor this reform.

(I'm not thinking of this for myself,
because of scandal for grandchildren.)

IRAQ VICTORY NOT NECESSARY
In war on terrorism, say 2 in 3 Americans.
ABC/18APR

The awful toll on GIs (1 in 5 mentally ill)
is pointless as well as useless.

CLINTON ATTACKS DON’T WORK
To persuade superdelegates
to turn against Obama.
NYTIMES/18APR

NO COORDINATED PAKISTAN PLAN
Says a Congressional committee.
We have spent $10,000 millions,
But With few results in the border area
where Taliban is getting stronger.
NYTIMES/18APR

Hillary says she’ll start Iraq pullout
6 months after she takes office.
Obama says he’ll FINISH pullout 16 months after….

Suppose each would keep the promise;
Which would be most likely to pullout quickly?

Hillary could pull out a few GIs after 6 months,
then drag out the rest of the pullout for her 4 yrs in office.

But for Obama to keep his promise, pullout must be complete in 16 months.

Antiwar people would do well
to go with Obama.

320,000 GI BRAIN INJURIES
boston.com/17APR

Add to this the tens of thousands
suffering from psychological shell-shock.

1.6 million have served in Iraq.
1 in 5 returned vets report mental problems.

And that TILL NOW;
Tens of thousands more until we pull out.

Taliban works freely in Pakistan
(despite $10,000 millions in US Aid).
MSNBC17APR
More evidence that our war in Afghanistan
Is unwinnable.

OIL & IRAN:
--$115/barrel price could mean that speculators figure that US WILL attack Iran.

--If it doesn’t mean this, then it means that an attack on Iran would be
prohibitively expensive.

Maliki calls off anti-Sadrite strikes.
‘to give space for them to hand over weapons.’
REUTERS/17APR

Bloody likely—after top Shia clerics said
NOT to disband Sadr’s militia.

Truth is, Malikite war with Sadrites
Has failed.

72 Iraqi casualties Thursday
(other dozens Tuesday.)
UNITED PRESS/17APR

“FORGET PAST BLUNDERS;
WORRY ABOUT RECKLESS PULLOUT”
That’s the latest slant for hawks.
(See USATODAY,/16APR/ P.11a

They’re saying: “We jumped recklessly into this whirlpool;
beware of leaping recklessly out of it.”

DEMS SEE OBAMA AS MORE ELECTABLE
By two to one !

ABC/16sEPT

AFGHAN DEFEAT
A REALISTIC PROSPECT,
Says a London ThinkTank.
NEW EUROPE/16APR

http://www.neurope.eu/articles/85222.php

BUSHIES DISAGREE WITH MALIKI
on excluding Sadr from politics.
They fear this will trigger a full war with Sadrites,
with US having too fewGIs in South—
and Malikite troops are incompetent.
MSMBC16APR

MALIKITE COMPANY DESERTS in Sadr City—major leads them in flight from crucial area, when they discovered they were ahead of GIs. “We’re making no progress” complained a GI sergeant.

“Probably EVERY SADR CITY FAMILY (2 MILLIONS) HAS A SON IN SADRITE FORCES.”

Attacked Malikites fired recklessly, endangering GIs ; it was said that
Sadrites infiltrated between Malikite units to get them to fire on each other.
SeattlePI

Meanwhile devastating Quaeda bombS refuted the US claim that
the Sadrites were now the biggest threat.

Bushies have entangled themselves in a 2-front war.

CONGRESS WANTS IRAQ GOVT.TO PAY MORE from big oil $.
MSNBC/15APR

Question is, how many $ (in this corrupt country)
Actually reach govt?

We’ll see how much such posturing
Actually saves US.

500 children disabled after ’04 US attack.
UnitedPress/15april

The Pope once belonged to Hitler Youth and Hitler’s army.
He was drafted both times; but his experience in H.Y.
he should have showed him the pure evil of Hitlerism.

He should have fled Germany
before he could be drafted into army.

It’s said that he deserted from the army;
but he spent some time in an allied POW camp.

128 Iraqi casualties on Tuesday.
Assoc.Press/15apr
(Wounded must be counted as casualties also.
Sometimes they face a fate worse than death.)

This Qaeda strike show folly of Bushies claiming that
Sadrites are the biggest threat.

SEVENTY-FIVE THOUSAND GIs killed, wounded, ill
(perhaps medically evacuated from Iraq).
This figure tells the true human cost of these wars.
CBS NEW/14APR

DEATH-CONTROL WITHOUT BIRTH-CONTROL
URGENT NEED FOR BIRTH-CONTROL
Years ago I talked with NormanBorlog (inventor of Miracle Wheat)
About the danger of controlling deaths without controlling births.
He said, “We’re just buying time for you philosophers to solve the births problem.”

But of course there was never any chance that philosophers or anyone else would mitigate the excess-birth problems; so now there are more people starving than would have starved back then.

ARABS:’SURGE DIDN’T WORK’.
Only 6% of Arabs in different countries
think the SURGE worked.
Interestingly, the Sunnis are not worried about Shia Iran.
83% don’t like US.
REUTERS/14APR

Arab RULERS are the US allies.
US is foolish to advocate democracy in these
Countries.

MostAfghansPro-Allies, but…
A solid majority support foreign troops—

But it’s said that only 20% support is enough
For guerillas.
LATIMES/14APR

1300 Malikites (over 1 in 6) have been fired (some high-ranking)
for refusing to fight Sadrites or performing badly.
NYTIMES/13APR

LOONY MCCAIN, THE CHIRPY OPTIMIST
Petraeus,Crocker say ‘no light at end of tunnel.’
Whole $ burden of war has been
(unlike other wars) shifted to posterity.
MSNBC/13APR

No wonder present Americans are apathetic
about ending war. They don’t look that far ahead.

TALIBAN SNEAKING BACK INTO AFGH.
Villagers report seeing them come back
for Spring battles.
US honchos brag that Tal. Doesn’t control cities or huge areas;
But guerillas don’t fight that way.
LATIMES/13APR

AIRSTRIKES NOT ‘PRECISION’!
US copter hit US vehicle !
USATODAY/13APR

Few self-styled Catholics go to Confession;
most think they needn’t go to Mass.
USATODAY/13APR

That’s good news politically;
The best predictor of who would vote for
Awful Bush the 2d time (!)
Was WEEKLY attendance at some Church.

700 CASUALTIES PER MONTH
Over 4000 GIs killed, plus
Ovr 40,000 medically evacuated
From Iraq (seriously wounded or ill).
ICASUALTIES.ORG

That’s 700 casualties per month
For the last 5 years.
This rate (among GIs NOW HEALTHY!)
will continue for several more years.

(MEDIA CHEAT BY COUNTING ONLY DEAD AS 'CASUALTIES'.
OFFICIAL DEF. IS 'KILLED OR NOT RETURNED AT ONCE TO DUTY'.

Over 2 in 3 Americans say
pulling out of Iraq
would help the ailing US economy
‘somewhat’ or ‘a great deal’.
SEATTLEPI/13APR

1200 casualties in Sadr City ;

MDs say most were non-militants.
TIMES ONLINE/13APR

US TROOPS OUT, SAYS MALIKI
(‘as soon as possible’).

He added the 2d clause to appease Bushies;

But the more noticeable 1st clause was
to appease disenchanted Iraqis.
Associated Press/12Apr

LOWER AFGHAN HOPES,
says Canada honcho;

It will not be a thriving democracy by 2011
(when Canada says it will pull out.)

Globe&Mail/12apr

Will it even be a 'viable state' as he hopes?
Bloody likely.

BUSHIES FOCUS ON IRAN,
NOT QAEDA:
Since the Basra fiasco, they’ve said that the biggest danger in Iraq is Iranian weapons, training, and influences. (The aiming at the Green Zone has improved.)

They recently said just the opposite.

Does this show that the pro-attack faction has won?
WASHINGTON POST/12Apr

Sell your gas-guzzler.
Oil-prices will skyrocket.

GATES VS. PETRAEUS !!
Pent. Honcho leaves further troop cutbacks open,
Admits he disagrees with P.--AND BUSH !
LATIMES/12APR

FOREIGNERS SLIPPING INTO IRAQ
SUNNIS helping Qaeda.

US sending agents
into neighboring Sunni countries
To persuade them to stop flow of
Quaeda-fighters.
NYTIMES/12APR

These are NOT Iranians !

STAY OUT OF CENTRAL SADR CITY, Maliki tells GIs.
They run up to offer advice to Iraqi (bADR) troops
(lacking all but grunts)
Then GIs pull back.
Iraqi forces are sniped at from alleys;
They get calls on their cell-phones, warning about attacks on their families.
NYTIMES/12APR

TALIBAN HAVE PICKED UP STEAM;
In South & West AFGH, more violence.

US keeps troops there for 15 months;
‘allies’ only 4 to 6 months.

Many ‘allies’ refuse to send troops to
Exploding South.
SEATTLEPI/12APR

JUSTIFICATION OF IRAN ATTACK IRRELEVANT;
The only thing making Bushies hesitate to attack
Is fear of Iranian retaliation.

Bush might attack just after Nov. elections,
so the retaliation will fall on Dem. Regime !

‘PULLOUT WD.RAISE GAS PRICE’
says Petraeus, ‘by cutting Iraq oil exports.”
He has no evidence that skimpy Iraq exports
wd. Shrink further.
Saboteurs operate now on Iraq pipelines.

The biggest spiker of gas prices is rumor that
US will attack IRAN, which exports
very much MORE oil than Iraq.
Iran can also cut flow of oil
thru Strait of Hormuz.

RICE APPROVED TORTURE.
That may hurt her chances to be
McCain’s VP candidate.
ABC NEWS/9APR

“The only exit strategy Bush has planned
is for one person: himself !”
said Harry Reid.

Top Clerics say,
”Don’t disband Sadrite Militia.”
Says Sadr.
UnitedPress/10apr

WARS’ STRAIN
More suicides & mental illness/
Lower standards for recruiting/
young officers abandoning their careers/
NatlGuard short of equipment
to counter attacks on US/
inability to meet other threats worldwide
(e.g., IRAN !)..

These problems are the price of
the pointless wars in Iraq & Afgh.
SeattlePI/10Apr

17 GIs KILLED SINCE SATURDAY.
ABC NEWS/9Apr

(10 seriously ill or wounded GIs
(medically evacuated from Iraq)
have been reported for EACH GI KILLED.)

NECESSARY VS. SUFFICIENT CONDITIONS:
During Viet war, I noticed that Pentagon constantly talked of how NECESSARY our continued presence was; if we pulled out, awful ‘domino’ results would follow.
But they never even offered evidence that our fighting was SUFFICIENT condition
for prevailing. (They never even tried to show our fighting would WORK !)

And indeed, we finally had to bug out, to pull out
without any pretence of victory.

Now Petraeus/Crocker tell us how NECESSARY is our continuing to sacrifice GIs
in Iraq; but they offer almost no evidence that staying in, we will prevail to produce a stable, peaceful, democratic Iraq. Our sacrifices will not prove to be SUFFICIENT for success.

There once was a island with a rumbling volcano. Priests threw in some virgins, but with no results. But they said, “If we don’t keep throwing in virgins, it will erupt!”

True, but irrelevant.

THIRTEEN GIS DEAD IN 4 DAYS/
HOW MANY WOUNDED?
RATIO OF THOSE MEDICALLY EVACUATED (seriously ill or wounded)
TO THOSE KILLED
IS TEN TO ONE.
That would be 130 seriously ill or wounded in last 4 days.

REUTERS/9APR

WHO’S TO BLAME?
Some are blaming former FEDchiefGreenspan
For today’s econ. Troubles.

Right-wingers blame PREVIOUS presidents for mess in Iraq.

Centuries ago, Aristotle defended democracy
(control by fairly ignorant voters) by saying “You don’t have to be a baker
to know the bread is bad.”

But Plato made the counter-point: The ‘bad bread’ may be the fault
of previous pols,
not those now in office.
And the average voter can’t say which is true.

MANY GOP POLS REJECT ‘STAY ON’:
Prominent GOP Sen.&Congressmen rejected Petraeus’ plea.
SFGATE/9apr

HOW MANY WOUNDED?
Pent. Has said for months that
total number is under 30k.

But over 40,000 have been
medically evacuated out of Iraq.
(Those SLIGHTLY wounded
would NOT be evacuated.)
ICASUALTIES/8APR

Dead vets will be quickly forgotten
By most of us.

But vets blinded, maimed, shell-shocked
Will haunt us (& cost us ) for decades.

MCCAIN BEFUDDLEMENT:
While questioning Petraeus,
he mixed up Sunni with Shia AGAIN !
CBS NEWS/8April

AFGHAN WAR SPREADING
beyond South to East & West
Says RedCrossHoncho.
GLOBE & MAIL/8APR

Anti-Qaeda Sunnis Angry over no pay or recognition.
UnitedPress8Apr

WHO’S BELIEVED?
Inhabitants of Sadr City say US airstrikes kill mainly civilians;
US says mainly insurgents.
LATIMES/8APR
Will other Iraqis believe Iraqi story or the one from hated invader/airforce?

OTHER BLOCS, INCLUDING SUNNIS,
SIDE WITH MALIKI VS. SADRITES
NYTIMES/8APR

ATTACKS VS. GIs UP from 9 a day
to 23 a day
WASHINGTON POST/8APR

11 GIs killed in 2 days.

SURGE HELPING? CNN(8Apr) headline
says so, but then the story tells of other factors making for (temporary) peace.

When the 30k extra GIS are pulled out this year, what will happen?
All over the world, militias have never given up their arms until a real peace.

NO CLOSER TO GOALS than a yr ago, says think-tank.
But if we pull out abruptly, chaos & perhaps genocide.
AssocPress/7Apr

Will we be any closer at the end of ’09?

Won’t threat of genocide be just as real in 2012?

Is there no limit to the sacrifice we’re asking
Of our GIs?

TEN GIS KILLED SINCE SUNDAY
NEWS YAHOO/7APR

SURGE FAILED, says SenBiden;
It was supposed to provide a breathing-space
from violence so Sunnis & Shias could
make nice to each other.
MSNBC/7aPR
This would be providing breathing-space
Until pigs fly.

FIVE GIs KILLED SUNDAY
ABC/NEWS/7APR

STRANGE: US BACKS MALIKITES
(pro-partition, Iran puppets)
Against Sadrites (pro-unified-Iraq, wary of Iran) !
MSNBC/7APR
Point is that Malikites are right now US puppets,
Sadrites anti-US.

MORE GIs TO AFGH?
Bush pledged this for ’09.
Even tho he has no control
Over policy in ‘09/

Bushies despair of getting more ‘allied’ troops
To fight in Afgh;

Ten Thousand more said to be needed.
CBS NEWS/7APR

No.Car. VOTERS DISTRUST CLINTON!
After her flat lie about entering Bosnia
under fire.
Boston.comNews/7Apr

SADR MIGHT DISBAND militia!
If ordered to by Sistani & Iranian senior clerics.
GLOBE & MAIL/ 7APR

(He might disband long enough to win elections in South.)

IRAN BACKS MALIKITE ATTACK
VS. SADRITES!
Iran says US has asked for another talk.
REUTERS/7APR

NO VIOLENCE EBB
Shia battle Shia(& GIs),
and Quaeda steps up attacks.
LATIMES/7APR
(GreenZone attacked every day.)

More violence likely before US election…

Too bad for McCain?

US BOMBARDS AFGHAN VILLAGES,
after ‘reports’ that a Taliban honchowas there.

Villagers said up to 19 civilians were killed.

US said ‘villagers lie, to weaken NATO prestige’.
SEATTLEPI/7APR

Whom will other Afghans believe, native villagers or foreign invaders?

31 GIs WOUNDED (& 3 KILLED) on Sunday.

US attacked Sadr City to stop rocketing of GreenZone;

But it didn’t stop.

NYTIMES/7APR

PETRAEUS WILL TOUT ATTACK
ON IRAN.
Brit authorities warn that P. will likely claim
That Iran was helping Sadrites attack Malikite attackers.

LONDON TELEGRAPH/6APR

3 GIs Killed by GreenZoneRockets
ABC/NEWS/6APR
Dozens of people said to be wounded.

DOZENS OF IRAQIS KILLED IN US/MALIKITE ATTACK ON SADR CITY.

1500 MALIKITE SOLDIERS REFUSED TO FIGHT SADRITES.
TIMES ONLINE/6APR

Imagine the stupidity of Bushies' building a
$500,000-million embassy right in the middle of a
known anti-US section of Baghdad !

From Eli Pariser:
10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1

2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."2

3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3

4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4

5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5

6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6

7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7

8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.8

9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9

10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.10