billvon 3,008 #1 August 31, 2007 July GAO report: 8 out of 18 milestones in Iraq met. (7 unsatisfactory, 2 too close to call, 2 too soon.) Today's leaked GAO report: 3 out of 18 milestones in Iraq met. 101st fighting keyboarders, fire up those word processors! It is going to take an astronomical amount of spin to turn a 16% score into a passing grade, and even more to turn a 260% drop into an increase. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydyvr 0 #2 August 31, 2007 How does this indicate Iraq is getting worse -- does the report come to that conclusion? Are the milestones the same or comparable? . . =(_8^(1) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zenister 0 #3 August 31, 2007 If you move the 'milestones' they are not much use now are they?the correct word is 'benchmark' which should be more obvious.. at least if you understand what the term means... ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,030 #4 August 31, 2007 Lots of surprising posts over the last 2 days: The media shows bias - SURPRISE Politicians are venal lying scumbags - SURPRISE Iraq is getting worse - SURPRISE Hmmmphh... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gawain 0 #5 August 31, 2007 Quote 101st fighting keyboarders, fire up those word processors! It is going to take an astronomical amount of spin to turn a 16% score into a passing grade, and even more to turn a 260% drop into an increase. Who needs word processors, I have you!! Since they keep meddling with the benchmarks, the comparison could be a little lighter. We're trying to instill a new sense of self in a country that's been under a boot for thirty years, in a region that's been in a slide for centuries. All while fighting al-Qaeda elements and other Islamo-facists and Iranian insurgents. We should be measuring some of these benchmarks in terms of "decades" not "months".So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright 'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life Make light! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DZJ 0 #6 August 31, 2007 Would you be happy to see substantial numbers (as they would have to be) of US troops in Iraq for decades? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rushmc 23 #7 August 31, 2007 Quote Would you be happy to see substantial numbers (as they would have to be) of US troops in Iraq for decades? Yes,, if that is what is take to stablize that portion of the world, YES"America will never be destroyed from the outside, if we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." Abraham Lincoln Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymiles 3 #8 August 31, 2007 Quote Quote Would you be happy to see substantial numbers (as they would have to be) of US troops in Iraq for decades? Yes,, if that is what is take to stablize that portion of the world, YES True stability can only come from within. This is called democracy. Everything else is imperialism, communism or fascism. I learned that in high school. Phil Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazon 7 #9 August 31, 2007 QuoteYes,, if that is what is take to stablize that portion of the world, YES A whole lot of you should be heading down to the local recruiters then..... Hell there was a 60+ year old guy from our area.. who volunteered and is heading over. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydyvr 0 #10 August 31, 2007 Quote If you move the 'milestones' they are not much use now are they? It apprears it is you who fails to understand what a milestone is. Not surprising. . . =(_8^(1) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
idrankwhat 0 #11 August 31, 2007 QuoteJuly GAO report: 8 out of 18 milestones in Iraq met. (7 unsatisfactory, 2 too close to call, 2 too soon.) Damn libs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
idrankwhat 0 #12 August 31, 2007 Quote .... All while fighting al-Qaeda elements and other Islamo-facists and Iranian insurgents. edited to add: .....who weren't there until 2003. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DZJ 0 #13 August 31, 2007 Quote Quote Would you be happy to see substantial numbers (as they would have to be) of US troops in Iraq for decades? Yes,, if that is what is take to stablize that portion of the world, YES So you consider US troops to be a stabilising force in the Middle East? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rushmc 23 #14 August 31, 2007 Quote Quote Quote Would you be happy to see substantial numbers (as they would have to be) of US troops in Iraq for decades? Yes,, if that is what is take to stablize that portion of the world, YES So you consider US troops to be a stabilising force in the Middle East? Yes, in time"America will never be destroyed from the outside, if we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." Abraham Lincoln Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,008 #15 August 31, 2007 > How does this indicate Iraq is getting worse? If your child passed 8 out of 18 of his subjects one year in school, and the next year passed 3 out of 18, would you need a school official to tell you whether he was getting better or worse? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airkid 0 #16 August 31, 2007 well if my child was taking eighteen subjects in one year, i would definately be writing letters and having talks with many people.... ... secondly if you ask me.... i'd say that from the ground.... this place looks better than when i first got here... so we're moving one direction.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Casurf1978 0 #17 August 31, 2007 Quote Quote Would you be happy to see substantial numbers (as they would have to be) of US troops in Iraq for decades? Yes,, if that is what is take to stablize that portion of the world, YES That region of the World has been in turmoil for CENTURIES. What makes you think we can fix it. Are we going to impose American standards and democracy on them. How would you feel if a foreign nation started to impose their social, economic and political values on us. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,008 #18 August 31, 2007 More progress in Iraq! ----------------------------- WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 — An independent commission established by Congress to assess Iraq’s security forces will recommend remaking the 26,000-member national police force to purge it of corrupt officers and Shiite militants suspected of complicity in sectarian killings, administration and military officials said Thursday. The commission, headed by Gen. James L. Jones, the former top United States commander in Europe, concludes that the rampant sectarianism that has existed since the formation of the police force requires that its current units “be scrapped” and reshaped into a smaller, more elite organization, according to one senior official familiar with the findings. The recommendation is that “we should start over,” the official said. The report, which will be presented to Congress next week, is among a number of new Iraq assessments — including a national intelligence estimate and a Government Accountability Office report — that await lawmakers when they return from summer recess. But the Jones commission’s assessment is likely to receive particular attention as the work of a highly regarded team that was alone in focusing directly on the worthiness of Iraq’s army and police force. ----------------------------- Remember "we will stand down as they stand up?" Looks like they might all be sitting down again pretty soon. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,008 #19 August 31, 2007 And still more progress. ------------------- Plane with U.S. lawmakers shot at in Iraq Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:54AM EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A military airplane carrying four members of the U.S. Congress came under fire over Iraq on Thursday but the plane was not hit and no one was hurt, a spokesman for one of the lawmakers said on Friday. The C-130 cargo aircraft conducted evasive maneuvers after a nighttime takeoff from Baghdad, said Ken Lundberg, spokesman for Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, who was on the plane. In addition to Martinez, the plane was carrying fellow Republican Sens. Richard Shelby of Alabama and James Inhofe of Oklahoma, and Alabama Rep. Robert "Bud" Cramer, a Democrat. Lundberg said Martinez had been told three rocket-propelled grenades were fired at the plane. But a senior U.S. defense official in Washington said small arms fire appeared to have been responsible. "He (Martinez) had just taken his body armor off and was getting ready to snooze," Lundberg said the senator told him. "Then there was a flash of light, and the plane started banking in different directions." ---------------------- The last big delegation visited a market in Iraq; one war supporter was inspired to say "We milled around this marketplace in downtown Baghdad for more than an hour. I told reporters afterward that it was just like any open-air market in Indiana in the summertime." Except for the hovering blackhawk helicopters. And the attacks on the aircraft when leaving the market. And the body armor. And the exploding cars and stuff. But other than that - just like Indiana. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydyvr 0 #20 August 31, 2007 Quote> How does this indicate Iraq is getting worse? If your child passed 8 out of 18 of his subjects one year in school, and the next year passed 3 out of 18, would you need a school official to tell you whether he was getting better or worse? It depends on what the subjects are, so the limited info in your post isn't really proof of anything. If your kid finished 8 of 18 in the first grade, but was suddenly thrust into college, 3 of 18 would look mighty good. . . =(_8^(1) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,008 #21 August 31, 2007 >It depends on what the subjects are . . . . I figured I'd get an answer like this one. Not bad! So going from 8 passing grades to 3 might actually be a GOOD thing. It's all relative. There are no absolutes. Everyone gets a medal. And certainly no one ever fails! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
idrankwhat 0 #22 August 31, 2007 Quote More progress in Iraq! Well what do you expect for your measly $200 million/day? We've got to spend it over there so we don't have to spend it over here Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #23 August 31, 2007 Quote >It depends on what the subjects are . . . . I figured I'd get an answer like this one. Not bad! So going from 8 passing grades to 3 might actually be a GOOD thing. It's all relative. There are no absolutes. Everyone gets a medal. And certainly no one ever fails! If it's a good thing for the schools, then.... Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,030 #24 August 31, 2007 Quote Except for the hovering blackhawk helicopters. And the attacks on the aircraft when leaving the market. And the body armor. And the exploding cars and stuff. But other than that - just like Indiana. When were you last in Indiana?... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rushmc 23 #25 August 31, 2007 Quote Quote Quote Would you be happy to see substantial numbers (as they would have to be) of US troops in Iraq for decades? Yes,, if that is what is take to stablize that portion of the world, YES That region of the World has been in turmoil for CENTURIES. What makes you think we can fix it. Are we going to impose American standards and democracy on them. How would you feel if a foreign nation started to impose their social, economic and political values on us. I we want securtity then we have no choice but to try. For my children and grand children. It has nothing to do with our valuse however, if people can get a taste of a certin level of freedom they start working toward that end because they like it. We are seeing the beginnings of that today over there."America will never be destroyed from the outside, if we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." Abraham Lincoln Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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