Coalition To Quit Iraq?

John, This administration is finally realizing that Iraq is a lose-lose quagmire for the next election. They first said, "stay the course," but with the latest pictures of Iraqi prisoners, the support for this war has declined to put Bush below Kerry. It's all about the next election; no principle involved in this decision.

Oh great.

Now the Iraqi people will be left to the mercy of Ahmed Chalabi and his goon squad of death merchants.

What a mess.

The following from Reuters.
A Newsweek magazine poll released on Saturday showed Bush's job approval rating sinking to a record low for his presidency, 42 percent. The poll said 57 percent of Americans disapproved of his handling of Iraq.

It isn't so cut and dried, gentlemen. Both the US Britain are seeking some means to remain in control after the turnover.

Various agreements are being composed now which will establish the status of US/Brit forces, their duration of stay, and whether or not popular sentiment/elections will influence this status and duration.

Careful what you believe.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u_pg=54&u_sid=1096294

ci:

Bush's approval ratings have sunk so low that the only way he and Cheney can possibly remain in office is with the help of the DieBold electronic voting machines.

After all, they can't run to the SCOTUS again like they did in 2000' or they risk an armed revolt.

A staged terrorist attack may be in the works to rally the voters, but at this point even that sort of theater seems unlikely.

info, The Secretary of State in California outlawed the Diebold electronic voting machines.

ci:

I've read several pieces on the California development.

If Shelley decertifies the highly suspect election of Schwartzeneggar, would this mean another election would be held with paper ballots?

info, The US government does not reverse elected officials on past mistakes in ballots - that I'm aware of.

Coalition may have to quit Afghanistan too!
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Abuse reported in Afghanistan.
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Top Stories - Reuters


U.S. Military Hit by Another Afghan Abuse Charge

Sat May 15, 4:35 PM ET Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!


By Mike Collett-White

KABUL (Reuters) - The U.S. military in Afghanistan (news - web sites) has launched its second investigation into prisoner abuse in a week, as the scandal over the treatment of Iraqi detainees threatens to spread.


U.S. spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Tucker Mansager told reporters on Saturday that fresh allegations of mistreatment were relayed to the military on Thursday, days after a former detainee said he had been sexually abused in 2003.


"Upon notification, coalition forces launched an immediate investigation into this matter," he said. "Coalition forces are committed to ensuring that all detainees are treated humanely and consistent with international law."


He added that such allegations threatened the military's interests in Afghanistan.


"Our investigation is proof that we are concerned about these things," Mansager said. "Our center of gravity is the Afghan people. When allegations like this come to light, that can affect that center of gravity and we take that very seriously."


In a tiny, remote village in the east of the country, the family and friends of one of three Afghans who have died while in U.S. custody expressed anger at American abuses.


"We ask the Americans: 'Why are you arresting and killing innocent people?' We don't know how he was killed," said Ibrahim, best friend of Dilawar who died in December, 2002, at Bagram air base, the main U.S. detention center north of Kabul.


Eighteen months later, the U.S. military has yet to conclude its investigation into the death, which according to reports was caused by "blunt force injuries" to the legs. Ibrahim said Dilawar, 22, was accused of being an al Qaeda supporter, but his brothers told Reuters in Yaqubi, 87 miles southeast of Kabul, that he was a taxi driver.


"We don't want the Americans in our country. They should leave it for us," Ibrahim added.


FEW DETAILS


There were few details of the latest complaint, except that it was made to the military via a third party and the person involved was held by Americans last year and later released.


Earlier this week, the Americans launched an investigation into allegations made by former policeman Sayed Nabi Siddiqui that he had been subjected to beating, sleep deprivation, taunts and sexual abuse during about 40 days in U.S. custody last year.


The complaints, following prisoner abuse in Iraq (news - web sites) that sparked rage across the Arab world, have led to new calls for human rights groups to be given access to Afghan detention centers.


But Mansager said that only the International Committee of the Red Cross would be allowed access to Bagram.


"There will be no change in that policy, as we view the ICRC as the sole international organization charged with looking after the rights of persons under control."


Some of the most serious allegations by detainees in Afghanistan, made since the U.S. waged a war that toppled the Taliban in 2001, concern Asadabad in the east, Kandahar in the south and Gardez, south of Kabul.


An ICRC spokeswoman in Kabul said the group visited Bagram about once every two weeks but did not go to other centers. She did not comment on an informal request by the ICRC to visit one of the other sites, which Mansager said had been made on Friday.





Human Rights Watch has complained of prisoner abuse in Afghanistan before, and this week called the problem "systemic."

Hundreds of Islamic militant suspects are in detention centers around the country. Some are sent on to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where many are kept incommunicado for months.

The U.S. military leads a force of around 20,000 soldiers in Afghanistan hunting down militants from the al Qaeda network and the ousted Taliban regime.

(Additional reporting by Samar Zwak in YAQUBI)