sectarian violence at Brave New Films

CAIR Rep on Sunni-Shia Relations in U.S.

2008-10-28T03:29:21Z

CAIR Rep Discusses Shia-Sunni Relations in U.S. (CNN)

Christopher Hitchens - Consequences of Withdrawal from Iraq

2008-10-17T09:31:33Z

This clip is an excerpt. Complete video at: fora.tv

Christopher Hitchens, author, columnist and vocal supporter of the U.S. war in Iraq, discusses possible consequences were the U.S. to rapidly withdraw from the country.

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What is the situation on the ground in Iraq - militarily and politically? Should the United States stay or withdraw, and what would be the consequences of each? Christopher Hitchens, one of the war's most ardent supporters, analyzes the current battle taking place in America over the direction and management of this most divisive of wars and argues that it is imperative that America stand by its commitment to the people of Iraq. - Hoover Institution

This program is part of the Hoover Institution's interview series, "Uncommon Knowledge."

Christopher Hitchens is an author, journalist and literary critic. Now living in Washington, D.C., he has been a columnist at Vanity Fair, The Nation and Slate; additionally, he is an occasional contributor to many other publications. Hitchens is most recently the author of "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything."

Peter M. Robinson is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he writes about business and politics, edits Hoover's quarterly journal, the Hoover Digest, and hosts Hoover's television program, Uncommon Knowledge.

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Why MoveOn Was Right — And America Knows It

2008-07-09T16:39:39Z

The faux outrage by republicans (and way too many democrats) over MoveOn's "Petraeus Betray Us" ad is maddening for too many reasons, but let's start with the most important one: MOVEON WAS RIGHT. And America knows it.

While most people only saw the photo and headline of MoveOn's ad, I'd imagine that most people never read the text below it. Here's what it said:

General Petraeus is a military man constantly at war with the facts. In 2004, just before the election, he said there was “tangible progress” in Iraq and that “Iraqi leaders are stepping forward.” And last week Petraeus, the architect of the escalation of the troops in Iraq, said, “We say we have achieved progress, and we are obviously going to do everything we can to build on that progress.”

All of this, of course, is true. What it doesn't mention is that the claim of "tangible progress" in 2004 was from an op-ed Petraeus wrote for USA Today. For an active officer to inject himself into a presidential election by defending Bush's Iraq strategy (which was already faltering) was an extremely unusual move, and it raised concerns back then that Petraeus was allowing himself and the military to be used as political tools. Of course, Petraeus' 2004 claims of "tangible progress" and "Iraqi leaders are stepping forward" debunk themselves. Bush has claimed "progress" every day since the war began. Bush also said the US was definitely "winning" right up until he said we weren't, which precipitated the ~~surge~~ escalation.

Every independent report on the ground situation in Iraq shows that the surge strategy has failed. Yet the General claims a reduction in violence. That’s because, according to the New York Times, the Pentagon has adopted a bizarre formula for keeping tabs on violence. For example, deaths by car bombs don’t count. The Washington Post reported that assassinations only count if you’re shot in the back of the head — not the front.

The whole point of the ~~surge~~ escalation was to provide "breathing room" for the Iraqi government to magically abandon centuries of ethnic division and work together, and that has not happened. The Iraqi government is more divided than ever, with both Sunni and Shia blocs quitting the government in protest. The fact that violence can be temporarily reduced in small areas by flooding them with soldiers is not a new strategy. The US has successfully done that for every Iraqi election, but the ~~surge~~ escalation is not even accomplishing that — the number of Iraqi civilian, Iraqi security, and US military deaths this summer are higher than they were last summer, and the Pentagon casualty count directly contradicts the count given by Petraeus. Political reconciliation is the key, and it isn't happening.

The Surge in Baghdad

2008-10-15T21:30:15Z

http://tomhayden.com/

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