Tenuous though it may be, the Obama Administration maintains that it still intends to complete the Iraq military pullout by the end of December 2011. Even that won’t be the end of combat operations, however.
Now the US State Department is looking to get into the war fighting business in its own right, saying it needs its own combat force to meet the “extreme security challenges in Iraq.”
Not only is the State Department looking for a combat force, they insist they need to “duplicate the capabilities of the US military,” seeking to acquire 24 Black Hawk helicopters, and a number of other combat vehicles.
The State Department says the creation of the new force is necessary for a “smooth transition,” but it leaves open the question: transition from what to what?
For over seven years now, the US Defense Department has dominated Iraq, and with its time presumably coming to an end, will Iraqis simply stand by and watch as the US State Department takes its place?
"The State Department says the creation of the new force is necessary for a 'smooth transition,'but it leaves open the question: transition from what to what?"
Dear boy, silly query, it is obvious–joke 3455 again–Hillary as Brunhildr.
You really don' t think these people are sane, do you?
Spitting image,don't you think, especially if she runs against or in place of
Obama:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5…
May one also suggest the addition of the title "Generalissima" or "Field Marshalless" and an appropriate uniform, with lots of gold braid, modeled on, say, that of Jock Stirrup.
You know the whole Petraeus thing may be misconstrued–is he in fact worming his way into a position to replace Biden?
What an inaugural waltz that would make–the General and the Generalissima get their jewelry inextricably engaged and require surgery to separate them.
Biden bows out and Petraeus becomes Democrat VP.
At the inaugural ball the General and the Generalissima waltz and get their medals inextricably interwined, requiring emergency surgery.
Gates is running around conducting diplomacy, so why shouldn't the diplomats run their own army.
Just wait until the Agriculture department gets their own army and starts conducting foreign policy as well. And look out for the fierce forest service ranger commandos start taking out terrorists in the deserts of saudi arabia.
Most Federal agencies have groups of armed employees. Hell even the Department of Education is buying short barreled shotguns. If we could restrict them to working overseas, we would be safer.
Why not out source our school children and students to foreign schools – no schools = no violence.
There are lot of decent schools in India. But the new history textbooks mention the freedom fighters in India's struggle for independence as terrorists. Looks like the leaders are gearing up the country for another round of enslavement.
What the hell…!!! So now our individual "departments" are seeking their own legions? Are we to see a repeat of the SA and SS fighting for dominion? Many agencies are armed to the teeth already, and the militarization of the nations police departments moves ever onward in order to skirt posse-comitatus, for what exactly?
FYI, good comments. Also,the police have been armed with stun greanades which uses phosphorus and killed a 7 year old girl in Detroit a few weeks back. Just to make sure this dangerous 7 year old was dead she received further execution with bullets by the police. While phosphorus is not considered to be illegal, it is a WMD and routinely used by domestic police. Israel was condemned for its use in Gaza in 2008/9 which it did deny using at first, of course. Israel was condemed world wide for its use,but no American citizens have complained about it. Believe me this is just the start of domestic atrocities.It will get worse, government atrocities domestically.
Well the Waffen SS turned out to be a pretty good military unit. Maybe the State Department will be equally professional…;)
Of course, the State Dept has had an army in Iraq for a long time. They had just 'privatized' those operations under a contract with Blackwater. But now Blackwater's politically toxic both here and in Iraq, they are just having to reconfigure. That's all this is, just putting old ops under a new format.
The "Defense" War Department keep its army, the State department will have its own little private army.. Will it be commanded by General Hillary? .who else is in line?
We are here…the punch-drunk tax-payer in our corners waiting for the next round…you want heliocopters, just ask and we fork up.
Has anyone ever seen Congress say no to "pay to kill?" But the so-called out of control Social Security and Medicare coffers that makes Wall St. salivate – THAT is too expensive.
Herbert Marcuse in his essay "Aggressiveness in Advanced Industrial Society" quotes the following from Senator Russell of Georgia, then Chairman of the Armed Services Committee:
"There is something about preparing for destruction that causes men to be more careless in spending money than they would be if they were building for constructive purposes. Why that is, I do not know; but I have observed, over a period of almost thirty years in the Senate, that there is something about buying arms with which to kill, to destroy, to wipe out cities, and to obliterate great transportation systems which causes men not to reckon the dollar cost as closely as they do when they think about proper housing and the care of the health of human beingsll, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee:"
Marcuse's essay repays close reading indeed.
"
Marcuse's essay is available online here:
http://www.wbenjamin.org/marcuse.html
EAC
Please get a intensedebate membership so your comments are easier to follow. And thanks for the link.
Yes. Our imperial Congress-critters love doling out the dollars for death. Almost as if by reflex. Just like bailing out the banks or lining their own pockets.
hey if hillary wants her own army i say give it to her…. i mean its not like she is rash or aggressive
They will never leave Irak once a golden bird still very rich to take the Irak resources away to US but it will remain a set back for them. No doubt in Irak there is only persons or children left rest have been killed and there is no intellectual as the americans have selectively killed them.
I am not Iraki but they tell me.
The goal of the US Neo-Con policy makers was not to overthrow Hussein.
That was incidental and a pretext.
The goal was to destroy the country and the people.
"Gates is running around conducting diplomacy, so why shouldn't the diplomats run their own army."
Holy crap! Who's running Microsoft.
"Tenuous though it may be, the Obama Administration maintains that it still intends to complete the Iraq military pullout by the end of December 2011. Even that won’t be the end of combat operations, however."
I don't military pullout means what you think it means.
Are the going to ship oil out under armed guard?
Win the hearts and minds of Mesopotamia with Walt Disney?
The State Department will rein from its massive fortress in Baghdad. Of course it will need a special force and all these black hawks to fly its thousands of employees out of the roof of the embassy, when time comes.
Too bad Einsatzgruppen is taken. 🙁
Oooh! We could anglicize it! 'Special Action Group'
'S.A.G's mission is to prop up, er, I mean reinforce the stability of the new Iraqi government from threats to it's democratic um, foundations.'
Am I doing it right? 🙂
How about a praetorian guard? Or an SS division?
How about an entire NKVD army?