CRANKed

Oh the Irony

And people say Irony is dead?

Tony Snow was on some morning show Friday, July 21, 2006 defending the Bush efforts to find a peaceful solution to the latest Israel/Hezbollah/Hamas dust up. Tony claims George & the Gang are working hard on finding some kind of diplomatic solution, really they are. Think Progress has the details,

TONY SNOW: The critics got it wrong. The United States has been very actively engaged on the diplomatic front ever since the beginning of this. Secretary Rice has spoken repeatedly with leaders throughout the region. The President has been picking leaders and speaking with leaders who are not only in the neighborhood, but in the position to provide leverage and influence over the governments who are chiefly responsible for supporting Hezbollah, that would be Iran and Syria. He’s spoken with the King of Saudi Arabia, he’s spoken with the King of Jordan, he’s spoken with the President of Egypt, he’s spoken with the prime minister of Turkey. Every day the departments of state and defense are on the phone with colleagues throughout the region, every day the national security advisor.

So what I’m saying here is that people are talking about too little too late in diplomacy, they may not be keeping the scorecard. But the fact is, nobody has been more diplomatically active than we have.

Of course, when Condi Rice visits the area she won't be going to Cairo or Amman or any other Arab capital. And here's where the Irony kicks in, the NYT reports,

[t]he Bush administration is rushing a delivery of precision-guided bombs to Israel, which requested the expedited shipment last week after beginning its air campaign against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

So which is it Tony? Are George & the Gang working hard to find a diplomatic solution or are they pouring gasoline on the situation?

posted by Idle Crank at 7/22/2006 12:45:00 AM

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Friday, July 21, 2006

Are We There Yet?

The most senior British military commander in Afghanistan today described the situation in the country as "close to anarchy."

Just asking. Cause we've been turning so many corners that I'm starting to get a bit dizzy.

A coordinated attack Monday in Mahmoudiya south of Baghdad killed at least 40 people and wounded dozens, and small-arms fire killed a U.S. soldier in the capital.

The incidents took place as Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence festers in and near Baghdad.

And I think I have to pee.

More than 14,000 civilians have been killed in Iraq in the first half of this year, an ominous figure reflecting the fact that "killings, kidnappings and torture remain widespread" in the war-torn country, a United Nations report says.

Killings of civilians are on "an upward trend," with more than 5,800 deaths and more than 5,700 injuries reported in May and June alone, it says.

So, I'm just wondering, are we there yet? Or did Big Daddy Cheney load us into the car with no firm idea where he was going, no map, and a stack of 8-tracks from the 70s?

posted by Idle Crank at 7/21/2006 04:14:00 PM

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