Where to begin, where to begin? The latest evidence of the Mickey Mouse Administration we have running the country into the ground is once again brimming over. Todays apocalyptic events alone include the final wave of US troops withdrawing from a still unstable Iraq, a war that cost us nearly 4,500 US Troops and a Trillion dollars.
Ironically this comes within a day of the bumbler declaring victory for the passage of the ONE TRILLION DOLLAR bill that would temporarily delay a federal government shut down until September. Let’s see here:
9 YEAR WAR=9 MONTH FEDERAL SPENDING BUDGET???
Huh?? Is this that “new” math, or was I just absent the day they reviewed under what article in the Constitution our fore-fathers imbued the right of extortion to our “elected” officials. And all of this skirted in one week before Christmas. Remarkable timing, that bumbler, huh?
All this as Cairo, Syria and Libya continue to erupt and further threaten the phantom flicker of tenuous “peace” in the region.
Lets get to it.
The last convoy of US troops to leave Iraq has entered Kuwait, nearly nine years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The final column of about 100 armored vehicles carrying 500 soldiers crossed the southern Iraqi desert overnight.
At the peak of the operation there were 170,000 US troops and more than 500 bases in Iraq.
Nearly 4,500 US soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis have died since the US-led campaign began in 2003. The operation has cost Washington nearly $1 trillion dollars.
US troops have trained Iraqi security forces which, if they somehow manage to stick together, can arguably contain the internal security situation, still stubbornly jammed at a level of violence which kills on average around 350 people every month.
But security has to be rooted in political stability, and that's only one of many challenges immediately facing Iraq.
Even as the final US troops were heading for the border, a political crisis was erupting in Baghdad, with deputies from Ayyad Allawi's Iraqiyya block pulling out of parliament.
There is turmoil in two mainly Sunni provinces, which want to declare themselves autonomous regions like the Kurds in the north. There's also a widespread conviction that with the Americans gone, Iranian influence will spread.
While most Iraqis believe it was high time for the Americans to go, many are deeply worried about the challenges that lie ahead.
I can not, for the life of me recall a time when American forces liberated a nation and didn’t maintain a some presence in the country. Typically this is done through the use of peace operations or a stay-behind-force. These arrangements are negotiated under a status-of-forces agreement or SOFA. A SOFA is an agreement that defines the legal position of a visiting military force deployed in the territory of a friendly state. Agreements delineating the status of visiting military forces may be bilateral or multilateral. Provisions pertaining to the status of visiting forces may be set forth in a separate agreement, or they may form a part of a more comprehensive agreement. These provisions describe how the authorities of a visiting force may control members of that force and the amenability of the force or its members to the local law or to the authority of local officials.
"Nobody here wants occupation. This withdrawal marks a new stage in Iraq's history," said Karim al-Rubaie, a Shiite shop owner in the southern city of Basra. But, he said, "the politicians who are running this country are just a group of thieves. These politicians will lead the country into sedition and civil war. Iraq now is like a weak prey among neighboring beasts."
In the morning, a bomb hidden under a pile of trash exploded on a street of spare car parts stores in a mainly Shiite district of eastern Baghdad, killing two people and wounding four others. It was the latest in the near daily shootings and bombings — low-level but still deadly — that continue to bleed the country and that many fear will increase with the Americans gone.
Equally worrying, the resentments and bitterness between the Shiite majority and Sunni minority in the country of 31 million remain unhealed. The fear is that without the hand of American forces, the fragile attempts to get the two sides to work together could collapse and even turn to greater violence.
In an escalation of the rivalry, the main Sunni-backed political bloc on Sunday announced it was boycotting parliament to protest what they called Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's attempts to monopolize government positions — particularly those overseeing the powerful security forces. The bloc has complained of security forces' recent arrests of Sunnis that it says are "unjustified."
The Iraqiya bloc warned that it could take the further step of pulling its seven ministers out of al-Maliki's coalition government. "We are against the concentration of security powers in the hands of one person, that is the prime minister," said Sunni lawmaker Hamid al-Mutlaq, a member of the bloc.
In particular, the bloc was angered by the arrest of several bodyguards of Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashimi several days ago on suspicion of involvement in terrorist acts. On Sunday, a senior security official said that judges investigating the bodyguards banned al-Hashimi from traveling outside of Iraq — a step that is likely to further anger the Iraqiya bloc, to which al-Hashimi belongs. The security official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.
Sunnis have long feared domination by the country's Shiites, who vaulted to power after the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein at the hands of the Americans. The rivalry was exacerbated by the years of sectarian killing.
The Iraqiya bloc narrowly won the most seats in last year's parliamentary election. But its leader Ayad Allawi was unable to become prime minister, outmaneuvered by al-Maliki, who kept the premier's post after cobbling together key support from Shiite parties.
That has left al-Maliki beholden to Shiite factions, including those led by radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose militiamen were blamed for sectarian killings during the worst of Iraq's violence. Since forming his new government, al-Maliki has effectively controlled the Interior and Defense Ministries, which oversee the police and military, while conflicts between Sunni and Shiite politicians have delayed the appointment of permanent ministers.
Many on both sides of the sectarian divide also worry that neighboring Shiite-led powerhouse Iran will now increase its influence in their country. Al-Maliki's party and other Shiite blocs have close ties to Tehran. But even some in the Shiite public resent the idea of Iranian domination.
"I am afraid that this occupation will be replaced by indirect occupation by some neighboring countries," said Ali Rahim, a 40-year-old Shiite who works for the Electricity Ministry.
Omar Waadalla Younis, a senior at Mosul University, said at first he was happy to hear the last Americans were gone and thought the city government should hold celebrations in the streets. Then he thought of the possible threat from Iran. "Now that the Americans have left, Iraq is more vulnerable than before."
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And stateside, it’s fiscal déjà vu à la democrats, de novo. The Senate voted Saturday to, once again temporarily avert a Jan. 1 payroll tax increase and benefit cutoff for the long-time unemployed, forcing a reluctant President Bozo to make an election-year choice between unions and environmentalists over whether to build an oil pipeline through the heart of the country.
With the still-reeling economy serving as a backdrop, the Senate’s 89-10 vote belied a tortuous battle between Democrats and Republicans that produced the compromise two-month extension of the expiring tax breaks and jobless benefits and forestalled cuts in doctors’ Medicare reimbursements.
It also capped a year of divided government marked by raucous partisan fights that tumbled to the brink of a first-ever U.S. default and three federal shutdowns, only to see eleventh-hour deals emerge. It also put the two sides on track to revisit the payroll tax cut early next year as the fights for control of the White House and Congress heat up.
However, House GOP leaders held a conference call Saturday with rank-and-file lawmakers in which participants said strong anger was expressed at the Senate for approving a bill that lasted just two months. No specific date was set for bringing the House back to town or for a vote, they said, injecting uncertainty into the next step. ****(Author’s Side Note) WHAT??? Didn’t we just go through this THREE TIMES already THIS YEAR??? Are they burning this money???
“You can’t have an economic recovery with this,” said Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., of the uncertainty he said the temporary bill would create. “If the Senate is incapable of doing that, we don’t have to accept it.”
A House GOP aide said afterward, “Members are overwhelmingly disappointed in the Senate’s decision to just ‘kick the can down the road’ for two months. No announcement was made regarding the schedule or plans.”
By 67-32, senators gave final congressional approval to a separate $1 trillion bill financing the Pentagon and scores of other federal agencies through next September. That measure avoided a shuttering of government offices that otherwise would have occurred this weekend when temporary financing expired. ****1 TRILLION DOLLARS forestalls the current crisis for ONLY 9 MONTHS!!
The tax legislation delivers tax cuts and jobless benefits that some Republicans opposed. It also represents a rebuff of Obama’s original demands for a yearlong payroll tax reduction for 160 million workers that was to be even deeper than this year’s cut, extended to employers and paid for by boosting taxes on the highest-earning Americans.
The measure’s $33 billion price tag will be paid for instead by raising fees that government-funded Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will charge to back new mortgages and/or refinancing, beginning next year. When fully phased in, those increases could cost a person with a $200,000 mortgage about $17 a month. BRILLIANT STRATEGY, continue to finance the USELESS federal government at the cost of further CRIPPLING THE ALREADY DOA HOUSING MARKET.
Despite the changes, Obama praised the Senate for passing the bill and prodded the Republican-run House to give it final approval in a vote, which has been expected early next week. He exhorted lawmakers to extend the tax cuts and jobless aid for the entire year, saying it would be “inexcusable” not to.
“It should be a formality, and hopefully it’s done with as little drama as possible when they get back in January” from their holiday recess, he said.
The Senate adjourned for the year after its votes Saturday.
While Obama and Democrats used the fight to portray themselves as defenders of beleaguered middle- and lower-income people, ****The LARGEST subset of our population since OBO has taken office****Republicans used it to cast themselves as champions of job creation.
Headlining that was a provision they inserted forcing Obama to make a decision within two months on whether to allow construction of the proposed 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline, which is to deliver up to 700,000 barrels of oil daily from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas. The language requires him to issue the needed permit unless he declares the pipeline would not serve the national interest.
Unions have clamored for the thousands of jobs the project could create. Environmentalists have decried the huge amounts of energy it would take to extract the oil. Obama originally announced he was delaying a decision until 2013, which would have allowed him to avoid choosing between two Democratic constituencies before Election Day next November.
When the House inserted the language into its version of the payroll tax bill this month, Obama said he would “reject” the legislation if it retained the Keystone provision. He abandoned that stance this past week as GOP leaders said they would insist on keeping the Keystone language and the final deal jelled.
“The only thing standing between thousands of American workers and the good jobs this project will provide is a presidential decision,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
An administration official said Friday that Obama would almost surely refuse to grant the permit, a stance echoed Saturday by congressional Democrats.
“We feel we’re giving them the sleeves off a vest,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY. . REALLY, Chuck?? WHOSE VEST?
Democrats said when Congress revisits the issue of renewing the tax cuts and jobless benefits early next year, they would win the political battle because they would be viewed as protecting peoples’ household budgets.
Republicans, though, said they would once again focus the fight on jobs, with some predicting they would try adding provisions to repeal pollution curbs and other government regulations that they say make it harder for companies to hire people.
“There are lots of issues Republicans are interested in as job creators that will still be alive in March,” said Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.
The tax bill would renew this year’s 4.2 percent payroll tax through February, preventing the rate from bouncing back to its normal 6.2 percent on New Year’s Day. Obama pushed that cut through Congress a year ago as a way to help spark the economy by leaving more money in people’s pockets.
A $50,000-a-year wage earner would save about $170 during next year’s first two months under the bill the Senate approved Saturday. But if you account for the new taxes levied to off-set the governments revenue loss on that $170/year; it will cost the average citizen more than 4x’s as much.
Obama had proposed reducing the payroll tax employees pay to 3.1 percent next year. The levy is the chief source of revenue for Social Security.
For two more months, the tax measure would also continue current jobless benefits that provide a maximum 99 weeks of coverage for people who have been out of work the longest. Without any extension, the White House said, 2.5 million people would have lost coverage by the end of February.
The bill also prevents a 27 percent cut in Medicare reimbursements for doctors that might have induced some to stop treating the program’s elderly beneficiaries.
The spending legislation carries out budget cuts across government that Republicans won earlier this year and includes GOP provisions blocking energy efficiency and coal dust requirements. Democrats fought off Republican language that would have blocked limits on greenhouse gases and hazardous emissions from utility plants and other sources.
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Previous to this train-wreck of an administration, the last time the federal government shut down, a Democratic president tangled with a Republican Congress and movie lovers were praising the wonders of a film called Toy Story. Guess the year and the party.
Other things have also changed since November 1995. Back then, President Clinton had to deal with a completely Republican Congress; The bumbler still has a Democratic Senate. The number of federal employees has also dropped over the past 15 years, though overall pay is much higher. Here are the numbers:
Federal civilian employees (not including uniformed military)
1995: 2,943,000
2011: 2,780,220
Percentage of workforce employed by federal government
1995: 2.4%
2009: 2% (latest available)
Federal civilian payroll
1995: $118 billion
2009: $175 billion (latest available)
Federal spending
FY 1996: $1.6 trillion
FY 2011: $3.8 trillion
Budget deficit:
FY 1996: $107.4 billion
FY 2011: $1.6 trillion
Gross federal debt (end of fiscal year)
FY 1996: $5.2 trillion
FY 2011: $15.5 trillion
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nov. 14, 1995: 4,871.81
Feb. 25, 2011: 12,130.45 (Sources: Census Bureau; White House Office of Management and Budget)
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The Mid-East
Cairo: Further unrest is seen in Cairo where Protesters have been stoning security forces in Cairo on the third day of unrest in the Egyptian capital over the military government. Ten people are now known to have been killed and hundreds injured since the trouble began on Friday. It has emerged that precious national archives were burnt when the Institute of Egypt was set alight.
The violence has overshadowed the first parliamentary elections since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February. The latest unrest has highlighted divisions in Egyptian society, the BBC's Yolande Knell reported from the city. While some activists are angry at the army's reluctance to give up power, there are many people who support it as a stabilizing force during this difficult period of political transition, according to Knell.
The latest round of voting in the election for a new parliament passed off peacefully, with more gains for Islamist parties. Hundreds of protesters have camped out in the cold on the city's Tahrir Square. Shortly before dawn, soldiers advanced from the barriers they had erected on streets adjoining the square and the confrontations restarted. But this was not a repeat of the violence seen earlier when some protesters were beaten to the ground with sticks and shots were fired at them.
The Institute of Egypt was set on fire two days ago and the building is still smoldering.
It had housed national archives going back over two centuries and its paper archives have now been largely been destroyed. Some burnt papers can be seen on the streets
.
Egyptian television talk shows have focused on the loss of national heritage. In another development, an Egyptian natural gas pipeline to Israel and Jordan was attacked again on Sunday morning. Luckily, the line through North Sinai was already disabled so no fire broke out, a security source was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
Syria: The Syrian authorities have responded to widespread anti-government protests with overwhelming military force. The protests pose the greatest challenge to four decades of Assad family rule in the country.
The protests have so far left 1,600 people dead, sent 10,000 fleeing to Turkey, and seen tens of thousands more injured or arrested.
Inspired by the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, the Syrian protests began in March with rallies calling for freedom in the southern border town of Deraa. But several people were killed when security forces opened fire on unarmed crowds. The unrest in Deraa quickly spiraled out of control, and then spread to other towns and cities. President Bashar al-Assad sent in tanks and troops to restore order, blaming "armed gangs and terrorists" for the unrest. Towns like Deraa, Homs and Douma were besieged for days. Hundreds were killed when snipers and tanks fired on unarmed protesters. Men were rounded up in night-time raids and electricity and communication lines were cut.
As the unrest spread to the north of the country, troops besieged the town of Jisr al-Shughour, where the government said 120 security personnel were killed. Fearing a military onslaught, more than 10,000 people fled to Turkey, where they remain in refugee camps.
However, the protests have not yet taken hold in the capital Damascus or the second largest city Aleppo, which are under heavy security guard. For months, protesters have been calling for democracy and freedom in what is one of the most repressive countries in the Arab world. Mr Assad has made some concessions and promised further reform, but has not once mentioned the word "democracy" in his public statements. Activists say that as long as people continue to be killed in the streets his promises count for very little.
Syria is a major player in the Middle East and any chaos here could cause domino effects in countries such as Lebanon and Israel, where it can mobilize powerful proxy groups, such as the militant Hezbollah and Hamas movements. It also has close ties with Shia power Iran - an arch-foe of the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia - which could potentially draw those powers into a dangerous Middle Eastern conflict.
Perhaps tellingly, the Arab League has remained silent on the issue of Syria - although it backed the Nato-led bombing campaign against Libya's Col Muammar Gaddafi in a bid to protect civilian lives there. The league has called for an end to the violence, but cited hesitation over any action because of "strategic and political considerations."
Russia, which has significant economic and military ties with Syria, has refused to back a Western-drafted UN Security Council resolution condemning the violence, concerned that it would pave the way for military intervention At the United Nations Security Council, Russia has repeatedly argued that its opposition to UN sanctions against Syria is consistent with a broader refusal to back outside interference in sovereign states, and an insistence that diplomacy is always preferable to coercion. That position has hardened in the last decade or so, following the West's interventions in Kosovo, Iraq and Libya.
Indeed, Nato's action in Libya is regularly cited by Russia as the main reason it blocked the UN resolution on Syria in October - precisely because, Moscow said, it feared the start of a slippery slope towards military action.
Libya: After four decades in power, Col Muammar Gaddafi was ousted when rebels took the capital Tripoli in August. Col Gaddafi and his family went on the run. On 31 October the former leader was captured and killed on the outskirts of Sirte. Eight months of civil war - and Nato's operation - had come to an end.
Three weeks later, his son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and Libya's intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Sanussi, were captured trying to flee the country and now face trial in Libya. The National Transitional Council (NTC) led the revolt and is now recognized by the UN as Libya's legitimate ruling body.
Libya's uprising began in mid-February when, inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, hundreds came out onto the streets of several towns and cities demanding the end of Col Gaddafi's rule. The authorities responded with violence, opening fire on protesters, as the rallies grew and spread across the country. The revolt soon evolved into an armed conflict pitting forces loyal to Col Gaddafi - based in Tripoli in the west - against rebel forces based in the eastern port city of Benghazi.
In March, the UN Security Council passed a resolution that authorized "all necessary measures" except troops on the ground in order to protect civilians.
Coalition operations were largely confined to air attacks, initially aimed at imposing a no-fly zone and later widened to include government targets. Following six months of fighting, rebel forces took Tripoli in late August, after gaining pockets of territory in the west.
Thousands of people poured out of their homes in celebration at the ousting of Col Gaddafi.
Several thousand people have been killed and many more have been injured in the conflict and Amnesty International has reported extensive human rights abuses by both sides. The UN believes at least 335,000 people have fled Libya since the beginning of the conflict, including at least 200,000 foreign nationals.
In the midst of all this, our “president” decided to escape to Hawaii where his family began their 17-day vacation ahead of him, last week. If WE THE PEOPLE don’t come together to vote him out this November, the next nation torn apart by revolution may very well be our own.
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