Alden Pyle

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

I haven’t read Graham Greene’s "The Quiet American" (nor seen the relatively recent Michael Caine movie), but from what I gather, the main character is named Alden Pyle.  He’s a government agent, living and working in Saigon, with a lot of idealistic patriotism, which manifests itself as naivete.  While not a villian, Alden Pyle (played by Brandon Fraser in the … Read More

Historians/Experts Weigh In On The Iraq-Vietnam Analogy

Ken AshfordHistory, IraqLeave a Comment

Continuing from this below, in which Bush uses the Vietnam-was-a-mistake model to promote his Iraq strategy, the experts weigh in: Not surprisingly, they’re not impressed. Historian Robert Dallek, who has written about the comparisons of Iraq to Vietnam, accused Bush of twisting history. “It just boggles my mind, the distortions I feel are perpetrated here by the president,” he said … Read More

Bush By The Numbers

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Aside from his pathetic Vietnam analogy, Bush’s Iraq speech today contained this little tidbit: “In Iraq, our troops are taking the fight to the extremists and radicals and murderers all throughout the country. Our troops have killed or captured an average of more than 1,500 al Qaeda terrorists and other extremists every month since January of this year.” (Applause.) Let’s … Read More

The Vietnam Lesson

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

The White House is mounting a new PR ploy to bolster support for Bush’s Iraq war policy. Speaking to various veterans’ groups today and tomorrow, the new PR ploy will draw comparisons between the wars in Iraq and Vietnam. It’s a bit odd, seeing as how in the past Bush has argued against the comparison on numerous occassions, saying it’s … Read More

Soldiers Write: Are We Winning?

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

In a fascinating and extremely well-written piece in the NY Times, a bunch of grunts get together and discuss the situation on the ground. Some selected excerpts: To believe that Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency is far-fetched. As responsible infantrymen and noncommissioned … Read More

Better Off

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Susie at Suburban Guerilla: Iraqi moms are prostituting themselves to feed their children. But hey, at least they don’t have to live under Saddam Hussein! Meanwhile, the “number of coalition military deaths in the war in Iraq has reached 4,000,” with the majority of the fatalities — 3,702 — suffered by U.S. soldiers. Forty-four U.S. troops have died this month.

The Surge Report Card

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

President Bush — July 12, 2007: This September, as Congress has required, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker will return to Washington to provide a more comprehensive assessment. By that time, we hope to see further improvement in the positive areas, the beginning of improvement in the negative areas. We’ll also have a clearer picture of how the new strategy is … Read More

Dick Cheney ’94: Invading Baghdad Would Create Quagmire

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Hmmmmm….. The response, of course is that "9/11 changed everything".  Except, you know, the consequences of invading Iraq. Here’s the transcript of the key moments: Q: Do you think the U.S., or U.N. forces, should have moved into Baghdad? A: No. Q: Why not? A: Because if we’d gone to Baghdad we would have been all alone. There wouldn’t have … Read More

Lost Guns

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

I mentioned it briefly last week; today it leads the Washington Post: The Pentagon has lost track of about 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005, according to a new government report, raising fears that some of those weapons have fallen into the hands of insurgents fighting U.S. forces in Iraq. The … Read More

We Can’t Account For Weapons?

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

At least 190,000 weapons issued to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005 cannot be accounted for, the Government Accountability Office concludes in a new report. The Pentagon "cannot fully account for about 110,000 AK-47 assault rifles, 80,000 pistols, 135,000 items of body armor and 115,000 helmets reported as issued to Iraqi forces." The weapons vanished from the ledgers as … Read More

Duh, Ya Think?

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Too little, too late: WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney acknowledged on Tuesday he was wrong in 2005 when he insisted the insurgency in Iraq was in its "last throes." It was Cheney’s most direct public admission of how badly the administration had underestimated the strength of America’s enemies in the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq.

Roughly 70% of Soldiers Still Support Bush

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Sampling size: two The other 30% of the soldiers got blown off in Afghanistan and Iraq. More from the White House photo-op: THE PRESIDENT: I’ve been running with Max and Allen — I mean, Neil. I met these guys at Walter Reed. Neil lost both legs, and he told me he’s going to run with me on the South Lawn … Read More

Saving Private Beauchamp

Ken AshfordIraq, Right Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

The blogosphere is abuzz over Scott Thomas Beauchamp’s Iraq blogging. Mr. Beauchamp blogged some controversial posts about his military unit for The New Republic, under the pseudonym of Scott Thomas. The posts were deeply disturbing.  In one, an Iraqi boy who calls himself James Bond has his tongue cut out for talking to Americans; in the other, dogs feast on … Read More

The Imperial Presidency And War Powers

Ken AshfordBush & Co., Constitution, IraqLeave a Comment

This op-ed in the New York Times gets it right, both morally and historically: The nation is heading toward a constitutional showdown over the Iraq war. Congress is moving closer to passing a bill to limit or end the war, but President Bush insists Congress doesn’t have the power to do it. “I don’t think Congress ought to be running … Read More

A Movie That Won’t Play Around Here

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Too bad, because it looks good: It’s no wonder that we can’t succeed in Iraq.  Our war administrators get fooled by actors: In March, he was declared captured. In May, he was declared killed, and his purported corpse was displayed on state-run TV. But on Wednesday, Abu Omar Baghdadi, the supposed leader of an Al Qaeda-affiliated group in Iraq, was … Read More