Washblog

I had assumed that something tangible--such as an Op-Ed piece--would come out of the meeting Sen. Cantwell held with antiwar protesters on May 6th.

King 5 television coverage came first. Josh Feit's Stranger article followed.

Today came a 1-2 from the P-I, with Robert L. Jamieson's column on the meeting and Dr. Howard Gale's Op-Ed rebuttal of Sen. Cantwell's Iraq positions.

In the meantime, the situation in Iraq isn't improving. Here and here are recent articles on the plight of Iraqi children.

Here is an NY Times article on the problems we're supposedly having with training Iraqi troops. My favorite quote:

One of the most detailed assessments available in the public domain came in a report filed by Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, a retired Army commander, who teaches international affairs at West Point and spent a week in the region last month interviewing senior American and Iraqi officers.

"We need at least two to five more years of U.S. partnership and combat backup to get the Iraqi Army ready to stand on its own," General McCaffrey wrote in a seven-page memorandum that circulated widely within the military after his return.

"The Iraqi Army is real, growing, and willing to fight," he said. But he cautioned that "they are very badly equipped, with only a few light vehicles, small arms, most with body armor and one or two uniforms. They have almost no mortars, heavy machine guns, decent communications equipment, artillery, armor" or any air cargo transport, helicopter troop carriers or strike aircraft in their own inventory.

And then there is the situation in Basra, as reported today by Prof. Juan Cole:

Al-Sari said that for the last month, Basra has been afflicted by a mass of assassinations, equalling one each hour of the day. (That would be 24 a day, and 720 for the month). Sources in the city allege that the police are helpless to intervene, and indeed refuse to go out to the crime scene to attempt to capture the assassins, since they would take fire from tribesmen supporting the assassins, who belong to their tribe.

Two organizations, Rebels of the Uprising and the Revenge of God (Tha'r Allah, a branch of the Badr Corps) staged demonstrations Sunday and Monday against Governor Muhammad Misbah al-Wa'ili in protest against the collapse of security in the city.

Al-Zaman's sources told it that Basra is in chaos and dominated by militias and lawless gangs. Automobiles with darkened windows cruise the streets, armed militiamen within, who impose their law on the city. These sources blamed Kuwait and Iran for the situation, alleging that their intelligence services are funding and arming the Iraqi militias for their own purposes. Tribal firefights between the Marsh Arab Al-Bait Sa'idah tribe and the Bani Mansur are common-- as is fighting between Bani Ammar and Al-`Ashur. The sources say that Basra is without authority save that of the militiamen. The major political parties are unable to dampen down the violence because they are so divided against one another.

Basra is boiling these days and tempers run hot, with highs of 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41 C.). It gets no electricity for most of the day, especially in the al-Hayaniyah and Abu al-Khasib districts, where there are demonstrations every evening against the lack of services.

Anyone who is predicating his or her Iraq position on things actually getting better this summer is in La-la Land. It's hot. People are hungry and thirsty. Children are dying. And hundreds, if not thousands, of people are getting shot or blown up each month.

If Shakti or any other hardworking Cantwell staffer is reading this: the Iraq issue could well dog the senator throughout the summer. It might go away for her, but I wouldn't count on it.

All I can do is recommend what I recommended before:

• Senator Cantwell should admit that it was a mistake to trust President Bush when she voted to authorize the use of military force against Iraq.

• The senator should acknowledge the terrible conditions the Iraqi people are living under and express compassion for them.

• The senator should express compassion for the sacrifices of our servicemembers and their families.

• The senator should commit to an accelerated timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

by DWE on Tue May 16, 2006 at 01:07:46 PM PST

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an end to war.  Not only for the children in Iraq and their mothers and fathers -- but also for the 17 and 18-year-old children on all sides of the conflict who are being sent into violence, who are being mentally and emotionally corrupted as well as physically harmed.

And the children everywhere, of any country, whether they are in the path of physical harm or not, who are learning hatred, fear, and ideology over authentic inquiry and compassion and even self-preservation.  Safety for the children and happiness for them and those who love them.  An end to war.  A lasting peace.

by noemie maxwell on Sun May 14, 2006 at 01:38:58 PM PST

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