Tag Archives: The Surge

Why Don’t We Ask the Afghanis What THEY Want?

Posted on March 3, 2009 by RagBlog

Like it or not: These farmers near Pakistan will see more US troops.Photo: Oleg Popov/Reuters.Many in Afghanistan oppose Obama’s troop buildup plansBy Anand Gopal / March 2, 2009 Frustration and fear is sparking opposition to plans that would nearly double … Continue reading →

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Bush/Cheney : The Makeover and the Two Myths

Posted on December 30, 2008 by Thorne Dreyer

Torture saved us and the surge worked. Not.By Robert Parry As George W. Bush and Dick Cheney make their case for some positive legacy from the past eight years, two arguments are playing key roles: the notion that torturing terror … Continue reading →

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The Nonexistent Good News from Baghdad

Posted on October 24, 2008 by RagBlog

Electrical wires span the streets in Baghdad, fed by private generators that provide backup for districts without power from the central grid. Photo: Marko Georgiev for The New York Times.Wrecked Iraq: What the Good News from Iraq Really MeansBy Michael … Continue reading →

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And They Turned the Lights Off When They Left

Posted on September 20, 2008 by RagBlog

Satellite image of night lights in Baghdad. By tracking the amount of light emitted by Baghdad neighborhoods at night, a team of UCLA geographers has uncovered fresh evidence that last year’s U.S. troop surge in Iraq may not have been … Continue reading →

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Assessing the Success of the Surge

Posted on August 6, 2008 by RagBlog

The Guardian’s Ghaith Abdul-Ahad went back to Baghdad to see the effects of last year’s troop escalation (“surge”). He argues that the US military’s blast walls and forcible division of the city into isolated micro-neighborhoods are the cause of the … Continue reading →

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Who’s Really Running Iraq?

Posted on August 3, 2008 by Thorne Dreyer

Home Truths You’ll Never Read in the PressBy Patrick Cockburn / August 3, 2008 American politicians and journalists have repeatedly made the same mistake in Iraq over the past five years. This is to assume that the US is far … Continue reading →

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The Surge Has Worked? Right.

Posted on July 27, 2008 by Thorne Dreyer

In Vietnam they called it ‘escalation’ By James Abourezk / July 27, 2008 Back in the good old days of the Vietnam War General Westmoreland, Lyndon Johnson and Bob McNamara kept sending more troops into battle, calling it “escalation.” It … Continue reading →

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Surge Amnesia : The Media’s Newest Affliction

Posted on July 7, 2008 by Thorne Dreyer

Patriot Alert / The White HouseThey’re swallowing this nonsense wholeBy Arianna Huffington / July 7, 2008 John McCain, aided and abetted by his loving protectors in the media, is running a victory lap on Iraq. To hear them tell it, … Continue reading →

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