Although (the US) has sunk almost $100 million into this effort, none of the units is considered combat-ready. On average, all have about 25 percent of their soldiers on leave and 20 percent AWOL at any one time.

A Vinnell trainer says: “No one wants to rate them combat-ready because this is too risky – it would mean somebody’s career slides down the tubes if one of these units got whipped. However, no one wanted to rate them not combat-ready either, because that would imply that all the money, time and effort devoted to these units had been wasted.” ...“Even though they’ve been trained, they’re a long way from being battle-ready.”

Yet our high brass has been stating that the training of the Iraqi army is already a tremendous success. Nothing is being said about most of the Kurds refusing to serve because of their feelings toward the Arabs. Nor that a lot of the men volunteering for the Iraqi army are of poor quality and seem to be signing up only for a quick buck: They join for a few weeks and then quit after they’ve picked up a few dinars. In one day alone last month, 139 NCO School candidates handed in their quit slips because they were Arabs who couldn’t get along with Kurds or visa versa, or they didn’t like the training or were just homesick and headed out the front gate.

http://www.sftt.org/cgibin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=Hacks%20Target%20Homepage.

db&command=viewone&op=t&id=61&rnd=741.7599390001175

Today on C-Span, Fred Thompson gave a speech at the American Enterprise Institute and said anyone describing Iraq as being like Vietnam is irresponsible (translated: being unpatriotic).

Warnings ignored, says retired Marine

April 16, 2004 -- Retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni said "I'm surprised that he is surprised because there was a lot of us who were telling him that it was going to be thus"..."Anyone could know the problems they were going to see. How could they not?"

For years Zinni said he cautioned U.S. officials that an Iraq without Saddam Hussein would likely be more dangerous to U.S. interests than one with him because of the ethnic and religious clashes that would be unleashed.

"I've been called a traitor and a turncoat for mentioning these things," said Zinni, 60. The problems in Iraq are being caused, he said, by poor planning and shortsightedness... the United States must now rely on the U.N. to pull its "chestnuts out of the fire in Iraq."... "I spent two years in Vietnam, and I've seen this movie before."

"We're betting on the U.N., who we blew off and ridiculed during the run-up to the war," Zinni said. "Now we're back with hat in hand. It would be funny if not for the lives lost."

Anthony Zinni was a Marine for 39 years and the former commander of the U.S. Central Command.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20040416-9999-7m16zinni.html

LIVE FROM BAGHDAD

Dave Ross stated, "I think we have a lot more to investigate than a pre-9/11 presidential briefing memo. We have a lot more to investigate than the faulty WMD intelligence. Someone needs

to investigate how anybody thought this rescue mission, as

badly planned as it was, could possibly have worked."

He posted an on-line diary of his experiences, with

entries dated April 3-12 See below:

via Prof Mark K. Jensen, PLU

http://www.ufppc.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=422&Itemid=2

"Does Iraq Matter?"

A respected diplomate Morton Abramowitz, asks "Does Iraq Matter?" He argues, "America's pre-eminent power position in the world can endure an early withdrawal from Iraq. U.S forces are so overstretched that a withdrawal might enhance our overall power position and our capacity to do more about Osama bin Laden and other terrorist groups."

Vietnam and Iraq are similar in the quagmire effect, the lack of historical experience and cultural knowledge. Did the withdrawal from Vietnam seriously undermine the U.S. position in the world?

In a democracy, elected leaders must be held accountable. The war (against) Iraq was a matter of Presidential choice, not a national necessity.

(Source Aurthur Schlesinger, Seattle PI, 16 Apr 04, page B7)

US Mining Company's Collusion with Terrorist groups Ignored by Bush and Ashcroft

An expose will appear in the May/June issue of Sierra revealing how a Denver-based mining company secretly paid off Al-Qaeda- linked terrorists under the auspices of 'international security. The story also shows how the Bush administration's Homeland Security and Justice Departments turned a blind eye when first informed that Denver-based Echo Bay Mining Co. paid millions of dollars to the international terrorist group Abu Sayaff and other terror groups in the Philippines in exchange for protection of its gold-mining operations.

To cover its tracks, when the Sierra magazine investigation was announced, the Justice Department reversed course and announced that it would open an investigation into Echo Bay's operations.

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=177-04152004

US-China trade

U.S. exports to China have soared in the past three years, Washington's bilateral trade deficit with Beijing was $124 billion last year.

AFL-CIO, which filed a petition last month with the U.S. trade

representative seeking tariffs of up to 77 percent on Chinese goods on the grounds that the nation's poor labor-rights practices depress wages andultimately cause American workers to lose their jobs.

The United States has already filed a case against China at the WTOconcerning its use of tax breaks to build up its semiconductor industry.

Beijing is keeping the exchange rate of the yuan fixed at about 8.3 yuan per dollar, a rate that U.S. manufacturers complain gives Chinese goods an unfair price advantage.

Old-line U.S. industries such as textiles and furniture view China's vast, low-cost labor pool as a threat that could wipe them out of existence, while U.S. producers of high-tech gear, movies and other such products complain that their goods are subject to rampant piracy in the Chinese market, along with unfair practices that force them to hand over their technology.

By Paul Blustein

Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, April 15, 2004; Page E01

Bush was really bad during his recent press conference

'A peculiar performance'

Chicago Tribune - Michael Tackett...The president who spoke repeatedly about being on a war footing hardly seemed sure-footed, even on questions that could scarcely be seen as overly aggressive.

Philadelphia Inquirer - Dick Polman...You can bet that President Bush would have preferred to be driving his pickup down at the Texas ranch.

New York Times - leader...[he was] grave and impressive while reading his opening remarks ... but his responses to questions were distressingly rambling and unfocused.

Washington Post - Tom Shales...[His opening 17-minute statement] was a peculiar performance; Bush would look down, read a sentence, look up, look around, pause slightly, then look down and read another sentence. He might as well have been reading letters off an eye chart.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1191881,00.html

Don't apply for a job as network scheduler after your political career ends...The speech was little more - and in fact a whole lot less - than a tired rerun. Nothing new was said, no plan was offered. Just more Bushie platitudes: "We seek an independent, free and secure Iraq"...there is no widespread conflict - it's all just a "power grab" by a few "extremists."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/13/politics/13CND-BTEX.html

Ashcroft Ignored Terrorism Before 9/11

In a desperate attempt to preserve his reputation, Ashcroft repeatedly lied about his record to a joint Congressional committee in February 2002. For example, Ashcroft said that, immediately after 9/11, the FBI "came to me with a $670 million request, and we counseled them to take that to $ 1.1 billion." But an internal Justice Department document obtained by American Progress reveals that "the FBI requested $1.5 billion in additional funds to enhance its counterterrorism efforts" which Ashcroft cut to $531 million.

http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=45502

In February 2002, the NY Times reported on Ashcroft's suddenly changed priorities after 9/11: "In his Sept. 10 submission to the budget office, Mr. Ashcroft did not endorse F.B.I. requests for $58 million for 149 new counterterrorism field agents, 200 intelligence analysts and 54 additional translators." Instead, he actually "proposed cuts in 14 programs. One proposed $65 million cut was for a program that gives state and local counterterrorism grants for equipment, including radios and decontamination suits and training to localities for counterterrorism preparedness.

http://www.rememberjohn.com/ashcroft.html

1. The Middle-class Misery Index Worsened 13 Points In the Last Three Years – the Largest Three-year Fall on Record and the Worst Record of Any President Ever. Six of the seven indicators included in the Middle-class Misery Index deteriorated between 2000 and 2003 – resulting in a 13 point deterioration in the Middle-class Misery Index. The four largest contributors to the declines in the Middle-class Misery Index from 2000 to 2003 – in order – were rising college tuition, falling private-sector jobs, rising health premiums, and declining family incomes.

2. Incomes Have Declined $1,462 Under President Bush. Under President Bush the typical family has seen its income decline by $1,462 based on the most recent data showing the change from 2000 to 2002.

3. 2003 Witnessed Record or Near-record Jumps in the Cost of Healthcare, College Tuition and Gasoline. The following are the inflation-adjusted increases for some of the major components of the Middle-class Misery Index from 2002 to 2003:

• Wages down 0.2 percent

• College tuition up 13 percent – the largest increase on record

• Health premiums up 11 percent – the largest increase since 1977

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0412.html

Most new jobs opening up are service sector, mostly part-time, benefitless positions. A high percentage of lost manufacturing and white collar jobs are gone for good. Also, increased factory productivity represents fewer workers putting in more hours and driving themselves to avoid losing their jobs. And the number of people too discouraged to keep looking for work is at an all-time high.

Kerry Leads Bush 48% to 38% among College Students

A Harvard University Institute of Politics survey has found that "Sen. Kerry leads President Bush by 48 to 38 percent. Ralph Nader draws five percent of the vote. The 'anyone but Bush' effect has taken root - even those who know little about Kerry say they will vote for him in order to remove Bush." Among students, "Support for the war in Iraq dropped from 58% six months ago to 49%t. At the same time, Bush's job approval rating fell from 61% to 47%. Two-thirds believe it will be difficult to find a job after graduation, 57% support gay marriage. Identification as a Republican has dropped from 31% to 24% just since fall 2003, while the number saying they are Democrats has risen from 27% to 32% in the same time."

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=103-04152004

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