So, today Bush is pimping his war to celebrate their 3rd anniversary

[Lone_Star_Dem]

He just can't give up and admit he's a failure and his legacy will reflect that fact.

Bush: Iraq center of war on terror

CLEVELAND, Ohio (CNN) -- In the face of flagging support for the Iraq war, President Bush said Monday that the country is the central front in the war on terror.

Before an audience at the City Club of Cleveland, Bush cited the northern city of Tal Afar, once an insurgent stronghold. The president said Iraqi troops took the lead in the retaking and rebuilding of the city.

"In this city, we see the outlines of the Iraq that we and the Iraqi people have been fighting for," Bush said. "A free and secure people are getting back on their feet ... are participating in government and civic life."

The president was making the second of a series of speeches to highlight what he says is progress in Iraq.

A prominent Democrat said Monday that Bush, instead of making speeches, should concentrate on putting more pressure on Iraqi officials to form a government.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/20/bush.iraq/





All the PR in the White House can't cover up what's actually taking place in Iraq.

Civil war fears on Iraq 3rd anniversary

by Ross Colvin

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A major Shi'ite religious ritual unfolded amid heavy security in the sacred city of Kerbala on Monday as the spectre of a sectarian civil war stalked Iraq on the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion.

Nearly 10,000 troops and police guarded hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims gathered for Arbain, an annual mourning ritual banned under Saddam Hussein and which Sunni Arab suicide bombers have targeted in the past.

The fear of fresh communal bloodshed and the failure of Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni Arab leaders to form a national unity government that could avert civil war underlined Iraq's instability three years after Saddam's overthrow.

Despite calls from Washington for urgency in agreeing a cabinet, senior leaders will not now meet for the rest of the week due to public holidays and travel, officials said.

Instead of celebrating the success of their Iraq venture, Washington and its allies have been on the defensive, insisting that Operation Iraqi Freedom launched three years ago to the day will end in victory, although when is less certain than ever.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-03-20T161239Z_01_L16759169_RTRUKOC_0_UK-IRAQ.xml



More Deaths As Iraq War Enters Fourth Year


Monday March 20, 2006 4:46 PM

AP Photo BAG103

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN

Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Roadside bombings killed at least seven Iraqi policemen on Monday's third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion, and authorities said they found 14 bullet-riddled bodies dumped in the capital.

South of Baghdad, millions of Shiite pilgrims poured into Karbala to complete 40 days of symbolic mourning for Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson.

The Shiite Muslims carried flags and performed rituals of self-flagellation with chains and machetes to display grief over Hussein's death. Some 4 million pilgrims had arrived at the city, said Karbala Gov. Akeel al-Khuzai, who expected more through Tuesday.

The commemoration has been marked by deadly insurgent attacks in the past. In 2004, coordinated blasts at Shiite shrines in Karbala and in Baghdad killed at least 181 people.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5698836,00.html



Let's not forget the 2318 American soldiers who are being swept under their rug by our government.

Robert Weitzel: Iraq war victims not to be seen, heard or mentioned
By Robert Weitzel

"The greatest dignity and respect you can give (victims of war) is to show the horror they suffered, the absolute gruesome horror."
- war photographer David Lesson

Joseph Bonham was an American soldier. He lost both of his arms and legs and all of his face to an artillery shell. He could not see or hear or speak. Other than that he was healthy and lucid. That was Joe's nightmare. He could be kept alive a long time.

Joe remained an anonymous torso until his head tapping was recognized as Morse code. When his message was finally understood, it was assumed he'd gone insane. Joe asked to be put on exhibit so that children and parents and teachers and politicians and preachers and patriots of every stripe could have a close-up look at war's leavings. It was the only way he could give his nightmare meaning.

Joseph Bonham's request was denied. It was not in the best interest of the country to foist him on an unsuspecting public. He died an "unknown soldier."

On March 18, 2003, two days before her son launched the invasion of Iraq, Barbara Bush appeared on "Good Morning America." Our nation's "first mother" asked Diane Sawyer, "Why should we hear about body bags and death and how many? ... Oh, I mean, it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that."
http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/column/index.php?ntid=76894&ntpid=2



Iraq has become a killing field

Killing Children: the “My Lai” phase of the Iraq War

by Mike Whitney

http://www.opednews.com

What goes through George Bush’s mind when he sees the dead bodies of Iraqi women and children loaded on the back of a pickup truck like garbage?

Is there ever a flicker of remorse; a split-second when he fully grasps the magnitude of the horror he has created?

March 15 was another defining moment in America’s downward moral-spiral in Iraq. Eleven members of an Iraqi family were killed in a wanton act of slaughter executed by the American occupiers. Photos taken at the scene show the lifeless bodies of young children, barely old enough to walk, lying motionless in the back of a flatbed truck while their fathers moan inconsolably at their side.

What parent can look at these photographs and not be consumed with rage?

The US military openly admits it attacked the house in Ishaqi where the incident took place. Reuters reports that, “Major Ali Ahmed of the Ishaqi police said US forces landed on the roof of the house in the early hours and shot the 11 occupants, including five children.”
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mike_whi_060320_killing_children_3a_th.htm




This is what bush will be remembered for, he will go down in history as the president who lead the US into the disastrous war in Iraq.

[ScreamingMeemie]

1. Recommended! This is why I am thankful for the blogs.

Excellent snapshot of the "Trouble with Bush". How much longer can we handle the mismanagement? He has already caused irreversible damage to our reputation throughout the world, been responsible for (I am guessing) nearly as many, if not more, deaths of innocent people than the "Butcher of the Balkans"...how much longer are people going to be okay with this?

Thanks you Lone Star.

[frazzledmom]

2. And Cheney's out there backing him up.

From Crooks and Liars:

SCHIEFFER: Mr. Vice President, all along the government has been very optimistic. You remain optimistic. But I remember when you were saying we'd be greeted as liberators, you played down the insurgency ten months ago. You said it was in its last throes. Do you believe that these optimistic statements may be one of the reasons that people seem to be more skeptical in this country about whether we ought to be in Iraq?

CHENEY: No, I think it has less to do with the statements we've made, which I think were basically accurate and reflect reality, than it does the fact that there is a constant sort of perception if you will that's created because what is newsworthy is the carbomb in Baghdad, it’s not all the work that went on that day in 15 other provinces in terms of making progress in rebuilding Iraq.

There is video of it on their front page...

[Marnieworld]

3. K & R

[Midlodemocrat]

4. Great post! And now I get to add this to my journal.

Thanks!