The President who cried Wolf

The intention to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq, as announced by President Bush, prompted Keith Olbermann of MSNBC to make the following comments criticizing the President's strategy in Iraq and insinuated that he was preparing for a war against Iran. He called him:

"The President who cried Wolf"

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=uqpqhjezEt4&mode=related&search=]

Click this link for a text transcript of the video

Fidel Castro Dying?

Cuban leader Fidel Castro has been in poor health since summer 2006 and has not appeared in public. He relinquished power (temporarily?) to his younger brother Raul Castro, because of intestinal problems. He is suffering from Diverticulitis. A Spanish newspaper El Pais has reported that his condition is now "very grave". He has already undergone three operations related to his illness:

In the first operation to remove part of Castro's large intestine, Cuban surgeons decided to connect the colon to the rectum to avoid a colostomy or opening in the abdomen to get rid of stool, the newspaper said.

But the short-cut failed, releasing faeces into the abdomen that caused another peritonitis, the report said.

A second operation to clean and drain the infected area and perform a colostomy was also a failure, the paper said.

Castro underwent a third operation to implant a Korean-made prothesis, but it did not work and was replaced by one brought from Spain, according to El Pais.

Castro, who is now 80 years old, has ruled the Caribbean nation of Cuba since seizing power in a communist coup in 1959. Concerns about his health began shortly after he tripped and fell in public about a year ago as seen in the video below.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=lFwKJfil1o4]

Remember GO DADDY

Just for laughs, remember the Go Daddy commercials? Here are a few:

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=4503542146793702190&q=go+daddy]
[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=9080549434398080906&q=go+daddy]
[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=1253882271585860506&q=go+daddy]
[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=1764622154071433822&q=go+daddy]

Bush Explains

President Bush in an interview with CBS NEWS reporter Scott Pelley attempted to
explain his decision to send another 21,500 troops to Iraq, against Public Opinion and Congressional outrage. In the 20 minute interview he answers many questions regarding his feelings about the hanging of Saddam Hussein, the meetings with families who have lost loved ones in the war, past mistakes in conducting the war and other related topics:

“Most Americans at this point in time don’t believe in this war in Iraq. They want you to get us out of there,” Pelley says.

“I would hope they’d want us to succeed before we get out there. That’s the decision I had to make. I mean, there is, you know, Scott, there… I thought a lot about different options. One was doing nothing, just kind of the status quo. And I didn't think that was acceptable, and I think most Americans don't think it's acceptable......

Asked if the war has caused more instability in Iraq than under Saddam Bush replies:

"Our administration took care of a source of instability in Iraq. Envision a world in which Saddam Hussein was rushing for a nuclear weapon to compete against Iran. My decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the correct decision in my judgment. He was a significant source of instability."

When Pelley remarks that it is more unstable now than under Saddam Bush continues:

"Well, no question, decisions have made things unstable. But the question is can we succeed. And I believe we can. Listen, I’d like to see stability, a unified Iraq. A young democracy will provide the stability we look for,”

Asked whether he saw the video of Saddam's hanging, Bush admitted to seeing some of it:

“You know, obviously could have handled this thing a lot better. It’s important that that chapter of Iraqi history be closed. They could have handled it a lot better,” he says.

See below for the complete interview:

[youtube="http://youtube.com/watch?v=kYkHJ7JgxAU"]

Bush is not Listening

Contrary to public opinion but widely expected, President Bush announced that he will be sending more troops to Iraq......17,500 US combat troops to Baghdad and 4,000 marines to Anbar Province. With American soldier deaths now at more than 3,000, there doesn't seem to be any change in strategy. Shortly before this announcement TV commentator Keith Olbermann made the following comments about sacrifice:

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-3364541690580102636&q=olbermann]

As if this new plan was not enough American troops stormed an Iranian consulate in Iraq and detained at least six people believed to be Iranians. This has prompted an angry response from Iran. In his speech Bush seemed to be indicating a tougher stance against both Syria and Iran, going against the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group to solicit help from both nations in finding a solution in Iraq:

"We will disrupt the attacks on our forces," Bush said. "We will interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria."

He seems to be indicating that there will be adverse consequences to both countries from the US. It now looks like the Iraq war will spill over into those countries as well. Hopefully this will not happen but it does seem like tensions will be escalating in and around Iraq. When will this "war" be over? It looks like it will get worse before it gets better!