| 3rd November 2006 05:34 AM |
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| Ronnie Richards |
Iraq a 'work of art in progress' says US general after 49 die
Julian Borger in Washington
Friday November 3, 2006
Guardian
An American general in Baghdad called Iraq a "work of art" in progress yesterday in one of the most extraordinary attempts by the US military leadership to put a positive spin on the worsening violence.
On a day in which 49 people were killed or found dead around the country, Major General William Caldwell, the chief military spokesman, argued that Iraq was in transition, a process that was "not always a pleasant thing to watch.
"Every great work of art goes through messy phases while it is in transition. A lump of clay can become a sculpture. Blobs of paint become paintings which inspire," Maj Gen Caldwell told journalists in Baghdad's fortified green zone.
"The final test of our efforts will not be the isolated incidents that you report daily, but the country that the Iraqis build." Perceptions of how the war is going have become a central factor in next Tuesday's congressional elections, which could determine President George Bush's freedom of manoeuvre in his last two years in office.
Maj Gen Caldwell was speaking after a series of public disagreements between Washington and the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, over proposed benchmarks for his government's performance, and over a recent US raid on a Shia district of Baghdad.
Mr Maliki had also ordered the removal of some US military checkpoints in the capital set up in the hunt for a missing US soldier, who was identified yesterday as Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie, an Iraqi-American working as an interpreter who was seized by gunmen last month while visiting his Iraqi wife in Baghdad.
Maj Gen Caldwell described friction between the Baghdad government and Washington as "misunderstandings". He said that the death toll in the conflict had dropped by nearly a quarter in the past week, but conceded that October as a whole had been worse than earlier months. The Associated Press counted 1,272 reported Iraqi deaths in that month alone.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006 |
| 3rd November 2006 05:41 AM |
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| Ronnie Richards |
"Every great work of art goes through messy phases while it is in transition"
Yes!
Kinda like, I don't know, the Holocaust?
Or... Gulag?
Or.. Sept 11?
Or Hiroshima?
"You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in a work of art in progress." |
| 3rd November 2006 06:44 AM |
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| lotsajizz |
gee, Dresden must've been a fuckin' masterpice!!!
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| 3rd November 2006 08:57 AM |
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| rasputin56 |
Never rub another man's rhubarb.
[Edited by rasputin56] |
| 3rd November 2006 10:48 AM |
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| Lazy Bones |
quote:
rasputin56 wrote:
Never rub another man's rhubarb.
[Edited by rasputin56]
Classic! |
| 3rd November 2006 12:12 PM |
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| glencar |
Poor terms of choice but you get his general drift, no? |
| 3rd November 2006 08:00 PM |
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| MrPleasant |
A work in progress. Like Michael Jackson's face. |
| 3rd November 2006 08:30 PM |
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| robpop |
Casualties in Iraq
The Human Cost of Occupation
Edited by Michael Ewens :: Contact American Military Casualties in Iraq
Date: Total/In Combat
American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 2825/2315
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03) (the list) 2688/2216
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 2359/2008
Since Handover (6/29/04): 1959/1683
Since Election (1/31/05): 1389/1198
American Wounded Official Estimated
Total Wounded: 21077 22000 - 100000
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| 3rd November 2006 08:38 PM |
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| lotsajizz |
the real totals are higher...the friggin' liars and Shrub apologists in the Pentagon just 'fessed up to giving out totals several weeks old...take the official total and add about 300....they won't tell you that 'till AFTER the election |
| 3rd November 2006 08:45 PM |
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| robpop |
quote:
lotsajizz wrote:
the real totals are higher...the friggin' liars and Shrub apologists in the Pentagon just 'fessed up to giving out totals several weeks old...take the official total and add about 300....they won't tell you that 'till AFTER the election
What is the reason for the war this week? |
| 3rd November 2006 10:00 PM |
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| mojoman |
it was a work of art in nebuchadnezzars day |
| 3rd November 2006 10:15 PM |
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| pdog |
Nothing ever good comes from a lie, even if it is called bad intelligence, anything done for good, with the wrong justification ends badly!
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| 4th November 2006 01:01 AM |
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| MrPleasant |
quote:
robpop wrote:
http://web.lemoyne.edu/~hevern/weblog/photos/mission_accomplished.jpg
The biggest asshole in the world. (The worst asshole.)
And I've had much better turn-ons in my short life. |
| 4th November 2006 12:17 PM |
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| robpop |
Its ironic how so many w supporters are bitching about the dems going to raise taxes. Who the fuck spent the loot? This bullshit war in not for free. Who is going to pay for it? I better not hear one whining shrub ass kisser cry about the Democrats rasing taxes. Times have changed. The Democrats are now the finically responsible party. Funny how they must keep listening to rush, since they cannot think for themselves. FOLKS!!!!!
[Edited by robpop] |
| 4th November 2006 02:10 PM |
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| pdog |
After the elections, when Bush Inc. knows it's safe, troop withdraw will be announced. Bush Geeks will justify this, by some new tag line, even though for the past year it's been called cutting and running and frowned upon. I can't wait to see how they pull it off. Maybe they'll announce mass Xmas at home leaves, and just never send the untis back...
We've spent billions and billions to rebuild Iraq, most of the money isn't even accountable and is just "LOST". Iraqis stil ldon't have clean water, electricity, hospitals or schools...
Bechtel, Halliburton ect... are all leaving Iraq... Troops soon to follow...
The money was well spent, no? |
