pinions of buddy don: feelin lazy

i caint say why, but lately i jes aint been as innerested in bloggin as i wood lack to be. mayhap thats part of gittin the novel a'goin agin to whar i druther wurk on it than innythang, but i caint be reddy to rite a chaptur everday. so on off days lack today, i aint hardly gut no idee whut to blog bout.

but heres sum stories that ye mite wonta catch, ifn ye missed em.

furst, tiz a fack that the folks in this cuntry is gittin sick of the war, witch seems lack its gut to the same point the vietnam n korean wars gut to bout this far in, whar yer everday folks wonts to brang em home n tham that sent em over thar is arguin bout how we caint leave now.

corse, ifn we plan on brangin em home we gut to leave sumbidy in charge, witch that means gittin them iraqi forces reddy. thays a cuple articulls bout that wurth a read. furst thays this story frum the washington post name of Building Iraq's Army: Mission Improbable; Project in North Reveals Deep Divide Between U.S. and Iraqi Forces. ye orta read the hole thang, but heres four grafs that purty much splain the problem:

The reconstruction of Iraq's security forces is the prerequisite for an American withdrawal from Iraq. But as the Bush administration extols the continuing progress of the new Iraqi army, the project in Baiji, a desolate oil town at a strategic crossroads in northern Iraq, demonstrates the immense challenges of building an army from scratch in the middle of a bloody insurgency.

Charlie Company disintegrated once after its commander was killed by a car bomb in December. And members of the unit were threatening to quit en masse this week over complaints that ranged from dismal living conditions to insurgent threats. Across a vast cultural divide, language is just one impediment. Young Iraqi soldiers, ill-equipped and drawn from a disenchanted Sunni Arab minority, say they are not even sure what they are fighting for. They complain bitterly that their American mentors don't respect them.

In fact, the Americans don't: Frustrated U.S. soldiers question the Iraqis' courage, discipline and dedication and wonder whether they will ever be able to fight on their own, much less reach the U.S. military's goal of operating independently by the fall.

"I know the party line. You know, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army, five-star generals, four-star generals, President Bush, Donald Rumsfeld: The Iraqis will be ready in whatever time period," said 1st Lt. Kenrick Cato, 34, of Long Island, N.Y., the executive officer of McGovern's company, who sold his share in a database firm to join the military full time after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "But from the ground, I can say with certainty they won't be ready before I leave. And I know I'll be back in Iraq, probably in three or four years. And I don't think they'll be ready then."

corse, this is a story that made the rounds over the past few days, mayhap on a counta how folks is sick of the war. heres a articull frum the frunt page of the new york times frum yesterdy name of As Iraqi Army Trains, Word in the Field Is It May Take Years, witch its verr long n aint verr optimistick, even ifn the insurgentsy is in its last throes. heres four grafs of that story to give ye a lil taste in hopes ye wonta read the hole thang:

Despite the Bush administration's insistent optimism, Americans working with the Iraqis in the field believe that it could be several years, at least, before the new Iraqi forces will be ready to stand alone against the insurgents.

A few days before the Mahmudiya raids, Iraqi soldiers at a local checkpoint apparently fell asleep in the hours before dawn, and the checkpoint was ambushed by insurgents. They tossed a grenade into the building, then stormed in and executed those left alive, killing at least eight Iraqis, American soldiers said. Since the attack, American troops have been conducting nighttime patrols to make sure the Iraqis stay awake.

The American command has already created military transition teams of soldiers to work with Iraqi troops, and there are plans for up to 10,000 Americans to be attached to Iraqi units at every level from divisions down to battalions and companies, with up to 10 men at the battalion level, and 2 with each company.

"I just wish they'd start to pull their own weight without us having to come out and baby-sit them all the time," said Sgt. Joshua Lower, a scout in the Third Brigade of the First Armored Division who has worked with the Iraqis. "Some Iraqi special forces really know what they are doing, but there are some units that scatter like cockroaches with the lights on when there's an attack."

corse taint everbidy that thanks thangs is gone bad. we gut a cheerleader leadin us on with lots of happy talk, witch ye kin read bout im in this article frum salon name of The revenge of Baghdad Bob. heres a lil taste of thisn, witch it cums with attitood but lots of evidents as well:

Bush's ludicrous statements about Iraq are increasingly reminiscent of the propaganda spouted by the former spokesman for the Iraqi regime -- except that they're not funny.

By Juan Cole

June 9, 2005 | The sheer dishonesty of the Bush administration whenever it speaks about the situation in Iraq was on display again during Bush's Tuesday press conference with visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair. In recent weeks Bush has repeatedly expressed wild optimism, utterly unfounded in reality, about the political process in Iraq and about the ability of the new Iraqi government and army to win the guerrilla war. He has if anything been outdone in this rhetoric by Vice President Dick Cheney. This pie-in-the-sky attitude, which increasingly few believe, degrades our civic discourse, and it endangers the national security of the United States.

With Blair at his side, Bush trotted out his usual talking points on Iraq, speaking of freedom and remarking, "This is the vision chosen by Iraqis in elections in January." Bush added, "We'll support Iraqis as they take the lead in providing their own security. Our strategy is clear: We're training Iraqi forces so they can take the fight to the enemy, so they can defend their country, and then our troops will come home with the honor they have earned." He again trumpeted his alleged policy of spreading democracy in the region as a way of combating the "bitterness and hatred" that "feed the ideology of terror."

The two leaders were finally confronted by the press corps with the leaked Downing Street memo, which reported that Sir Richard Dearlove, the head of the British intelligence agency MI6, had returned from Washington in July 2002 convinced that Bush had already decided on war. The notes of his report to Blair and British Cabinet members say, "Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

i reckun folks has dun had a nuff of that, so they orta git back to breathin argon!