Iraq Parliament Bombed Along with Imus, Duke DA and Missing Intelligence

The bombing in the Iraqi Parliament, the first ever, shows a huge security breakdown that puts everything in jeopardy.

Last night I heard Joe Klein speak at the Progressive Forum – he mentioned that 2 of the 3 Iraqi units in Baghdad don’t speak Arabic (only Kurdish). Obviously our forces don’t speak Arabic (we still have too few translators).

That leaves us deaf and blind in a knife fight for control in a foreign land controlled by competing forces. Having U.S. forces with Arabic speakers should have been a priority from Day 1 (had it been planned) to our decision makers avoid stumbling around clueless in the dark without a clue of what is really going on in Iraq.

Mr. Klein spoke well of Gen. Petraeus (sp?), who is excellent at what he does. In my opinion the General has been dealt a poor set of cards leftover from the previous players who made a mess that has gotten out of control like a wildfire. Finding an intelligent exit strategy is critical – and made even harder by the legions of blunders that define this war.

I think the only people who had it right was the Baker Hamilton Study Group. If they were in charge, I think Iraq would have a chance. Without them, I see a failed state that has increased our global insecurity. It could have been avoided entirely if elder Bush’s advice had been followed from the beginning…

On the Imus matter, it’s time for people like him to be GONE. His remarks were more fo the same: a total lack of respect for struggling people, and women. That is why the U.S. has fallen from an 85% approval rating after 9 11 to 22% worldwide today.

And the DA who prosecuted based on false accusations at Duke should also be GONE. And so should frat boys who think it’s cool to get drunk and hire strippers to gawk at for “fun”…they too should be GONE. Their conduct didn’t merit false claims, but again, they weren’t acting like a Christian boys choir as they downed bottles of beer and hired minority girls to strip. ..No one looks good in that case..

What do all of these events have in common? A lack of Intelligence, and a lack of respect for others...