July 11 Comes and Goes: No Iraq Indicators (violates laws)

[BR_Parkway]

http://thinkprogress.org/2005/07/12/iraq-indicators/trackback/

Two weeks ago, David Broder pointed out that the Bush administration would soon face a congressionally mandated make-or-break moment regarding its Iraq policy:

Under a little-noticed provision of the defense spending bill passed by Congress in May, Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld has until July 11 to send Capitol Hill a “comprehensive set of performance indicators and measures of stability and security” two years after the fall of Saddam Hussein <…>

The information required is specific and detailed. It includes measures of the security environment, including the number of engagements per day, the count of trained Iraqi forces and more. It orders up indicators of economic activity. It directs Rumsfeld to provide — either in public or in classified annexes — an estimate of U.S. military forces needed in Iraq through the end of calendar 2006 and the criteria the administration will use to determine when it is safe to begin withdrawing forces.

The deadline came and went yesterday without a peep from DoD. Today, a Pentagon spokesperson told me that those Iraq indicators have indeed been “delayed” and that there is currently no specific date set for their release. Apparently the administration is willing to do just about anything — including violate the law — to avoid giving Americans a detailed assessment of our progress (or lack thereof) in Iraq.

[punpirate]

1. Hope someone's keeping that in their reminder program...

... because this one sounds as if they're trying to make it go away, something like the "Phase II" congressional investigation on White House involvement in intelligence failures....

Quantifying failure is such a chore.

[Disturbed]

2. The DOD and the Bush Regime...

are experts at violating laws. Hell, even when the SD admitts to it nothing happens.

Rumsfailed Admitted to Violating Geneva Convention

Rumsfailed admitted in public on TV that when CIA Director Tenet requested that an Iraqi prisoner be sent to a secret Afghan/US Prison that Rumsfailed did so. After four months a DOD Attorney stated that this was an illegal act. Rumsfailed then ordered that this prisoner be sent back to Abu Graihib but the prisoner was purposefully not listed at that location, also an illegal act. Rumsfeld also admitted to signing orders for tougher interogation methods which violated the Geneva Conventions.

Rumfailed has commited at least three violations of the Geneva Convention thereby also violations of The Constitution of the USA. Recently it has been found out that even more detainees were "ghost detainees". The fact that Rumsfailed and Tenet have not been charged speaks volumes. If Congress wishes to garner any respect they should move forward with Rep. Rangle's Impeachment Declaration of Rumsfailed and also proscecute Ex. CIA Tenet.

[KharmaTrain]

3. As If This Report Would Be Reality-Based?

Letsee...Broder makes a stink, the next day a truck pulls up at the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) with 5,000 boxes of documents and other crap. There, Congressman, is your "indicators". Bon appetite.

After all this time do you expect this compromised and corrupt DOD to come anywhere near tell us what's really going on. Guaranteed they set their own barometers that show things aren't as bad...just need to keep those stop losses going and maybe do a special needs draft...sneak in what we need without calling it what it is.

So what's the worse that happens here? Rumsfeld held in contempt of Congress and is forced to stay after school with Bugman Delay? They take away his toys and he can't play war for the next couple days? They force a full withdrawl (yeah, right).

It's sad how many trees have given their lives for the toilet paper remnants Broder calls articles. This guy's so old, they modeled the term "political hack" after him.

[cestpaspossible]

4. kick