Filed at 8:20 pm, Friday February 23rd 2007
by Arlen Parsa
According to an Associated Press investigation, almost 800 civilian contractors have been killed in Iraq since the war’s beginning in March 2003. In addition to that, well over 3,000 have been wounded in Iraq.
The 2006 documentary “Iraq For Sale” examined the contracting industry and really exposed in my mind how dangerous it is for civilian […]
Filed under: Video, Iraq Related, Z-TDB Blog
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Filed at 3:01 pm, Friday February 23rd 2007
by Arlen Parsa
One of the memes that some in the media love to push is the “Democrats are divided on Iraq, unlike Republicans” storyline. Real quick, let’s look at a simple, non-controversial meter of division: opposition to or support of the President’s escalation strategy, with positions according to this New York Times chart. 08ers:
DEMOCRATS
Hillary Clinton: opposes escalation
Barack […]
Filed under: Iraq Related, Z-TDB Blog
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Filed at 12:59 pm, Friday February 23rd 2007
by Arlen Parsa
“The point I made and I’ll make it again is that al-Qaeda functions on the basis that they think they can break our will. . . . That if they can kill enough Americans or cause enough havoc, create enough chaos in Iraq, then we’ll quit and go home. . . . If we adopt […]
Filed under: Iraq Related, Z-TDB Blog
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Filed at 12:32 pm, Thursday February 22nd 2007
by Arlen Parsa
CBS News has the following rumor burried in the middle of a CBS/AP report from Iraq today:
CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan reports the U.S. military is looking into unconfirmed reports from Arabic media channels that another American helicopter has been shot down north of Baghdad. If confirmed, it would be the ninth helicopter […]
Filed under: Iraq Related, Z-TDB Blog
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Filed at 11:14 am, Thursday February 22nd 2007
by Arlen Parsa
“I think it is disappointing that Great Britain has decided to pull back on its troop strength at the very time that we are increasing our troop strength… It sends an unfortunate signal to some who are watching what is happening in Iraq… The symbolism of Great Britain going down while we are bringing troops […]
Filed under: Iraq Related, Z-TDB Blog
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Filed at 2:45 pm, Wednesday February 21st 2007
by Arlen Parsa
According to military statements and news reports, all 9 people aboard a Black Hawk helicopter shot down north of Baghdad today are reportedly safe and evacuated after their aircraft was hit by small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire today and forced to do a “hard landing.”
Seven US helicopters, including military aircraft and that belonging […]
Filed under: Iraq Related, Z-TDB Blog
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Filed at 4:39 pm, Tuesday February 20th 2007
by Arlen Parsa
BBC, breaking:
Tony Blair is expected to announce a timetable for the withdrawal of UK troops from Iraq.
The prime minister is due to make an announcement in the House of Commons on Wednesday in which he is expected clarify the details.
Mr Blair is expected to say hundreds of troops will return from Basra within weeks with […]
Filed under: Iraq Related, Z-TDB Blog
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Filed at 8:30 am, Monday February 19th 2007
by Arlen Parsa
Those watching Tony Snow dodge Tim Russert’s questions on Meet The Press yesterday might have noticed something that looked suspiciously like a flip flop. Russert asked Snow twice about Congressman Mutha’s resolution which would stop troops from being deployed to Iraq if they weren’t trained or equipped enough.
The first time, Snow seems to say that […]
Filed under: Iraq Related, Z-TDB Blog
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Filed at 7:28 pm, Sunday February 18th 2007
by Arlen Parsa
Well this is supremely stupid. Imagine if a privileged soldier in Iraq had their own security guards while they’re over there. Imagine if you were a security guard and you had to go to Iraq because the person you’re protecting enlisted in the military and was deployed there.
That’s what might happen to Prince Harry, the […]
Filed under: Iraq Related, Z-TDB Blog
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Filed at 2:07 pm, Sunday February 18th 2007
by Arlen Parsa
On Thursday, the Army’s soon-to-be-former Chief of Staff General Peter Schoomaker gave much-ignored but damning testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The testimony was so sharp that it prompted the Washington Post to run with the unambiguous headline “Iraq Troop Boost Erodes Readiness, General Says” instead of the more nuanced headlines that ran in other […]
Filed under: Iraq Related, Z-TDB Blog
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Filed at 6:43 pm, Saturday February 17th 2007
by Arlen Parsa
McClatchy reports on the heels of the Senate debate on whether to debate Iraq today that Democrats “plan drop efforts to pass a non-binding resolution opposing President Bush’s troop buildup in Iraq and instead will offer a flurry of anti-war legislation.”
McClatchy quotes Senator Chuck Schumer promising “There will be resolution after resolution, amendment after amendment… […]
Filed under: Iraq Related, Z-TDB Blog
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Filed at 3:09 pm, Saturday February 17th 2007
by Arlen Parsa
Republicans once again blocked a Senate debate on President Bush’s escalation plan, in a vote of 56-34, with Democrats gaining just four votes less than was needed to avoid a filibuster by Republicans.
The vote was on whether or not to proceed with debate on the same measure the House of Representatives passed overwhelmingly Friday afternoon, […]
Filed under: Iraq Related, Z-TDB Blog
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Filed at 9:04 pm, Friday February 16th 2007
by Arlen Parsa
A former official high up in the command for the Coalition Provisional Authority in charge of rebuilding Iraq is alleging that the Pentagon chose only Republicans to work with the Iraqi reconstruction. Reports ABC News:
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is now investigating the role of O’Beirne and allegations of what Chairman Henry […]
Filed under: Iraq Related, Z-TDB Blog
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Filed at 12:58 pm, Friday February 16th 2007
by Arlen Parsa
Hey remember that time when John McCain, the man who claims he has the most credibility on Iraq didn’t even bother to show up at the Senate debate over whether or not his own resolution which he claimed was the best course for Iraq would be debated? That was February 5th.
Now he’s set to skip […]
Filed under: Iraq Related, Z-TDB Blog
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Filed at 5:04 pm, Thursday February 15th 2007
by Arlen Parsa
In a highly unusual move today after moderate Republicans complained that there wasn’t an Iraq debate after they themselves participated in blocking the debate, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid scheduled a new Iraq debate for this Saturday.
It is highly unusual for Congress to do anything on weekends, but the House of Representatives is likely to […]
Filed under: Iraq Related, Z-TDB Blog
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