'The occupation of Iraq, still illegal and immoral by any sense of human understanding, has now run into its fourth bloody and horrific year, becoming a quagmire for America and a vast killing field for Iraqis. Indeed, for Iraqis, America’s invasion and subsequent occupation has been and will continue to be one massive war crime, an onslaught of criminality against humanity not seen since World War Two. It is they, the Iraqi people, who have undergone tremendous hardship, and it is they who will continue to suffer in horrific ways, due to the lunacy and delusions of America’s miscreant leaders. Indeed, hell on Earth has been imported into Iraq without so much as a care, concern or bother from the American people, without so much as a protest or two by the world entire.

For America and her people, on the other hand, to say that the Iraq debacle is the greatest strategic disaster in American foreign policy history is an understatement, for the implications of America’s defeat at the hands of Iraqis have only now begun to be seen, with its reverberations to be felt for years to come. What was once considered a cakewalk by an arrogant nation, basking in the glory of exceptionalism and ignorance, blinded to reality by addictions to materialism and televised charades, instead turned into an inextricable sand trap that threatens to turn a New American Century into the Last American Decade.

Operation Iraq Forever By Manuel Valenzuela

meanwhile, the "troop surge" by American soldiers in Iraq is not working, one of Britain's senior military officials in Baghdad has said.

In a pessimistic assessment of the strategy designed to pull Iraq back from all-out civil war, Alastair Campbell, the outgoing defence attaché at the British Embassy in Baghdad, claimed that extra US forces were not achieving the desired drop in violence.

Mr Campbell, whose remarks may cause embarrassment to Downing Street & anger in Washington, said that the casualty figures for April - in which 1,500 civilians are believed to have been killed - provided no "encouraging" evidence.

Speaking on the record last week to a public audience at Chatham House, the London-based foreign-policy research institute, he said: "The evidence does not suggest that the surge is actually working, if reduction in casualties is a criterion. The figures in April were not encouraging."

In unusually candid comments, Mr Campbell also disclosed that American commanders had decided that the criteria for the "success" of the troop surge would be nothing more than a reduction in violence to the level prior to last year's al-Qaeda bombing of the al-Askari Mosque in Samarra, which destroyed its golden dome.

But, of course, the real truth is that the bushit administration never has & never will take steps to leave Iraq ….. not as long as there is a drop of oil left to steal.

The Pentagon would maintain a strong U.S. military presence in Iraq for several decades into the future.

This so-called “lily pad” strategy entails keeping a “series of military installations around Iraq,” with tens of thousands of US troops remaining in the country for as long as a few decades.

What it essentially envisions is a series of military installations around Iraq, maybe five or six of them, a total of maybe 30-40 thousand US troops in Iraq for a long period of time, lasting, maybe a few decades. And the idea is that these bases will be somewhat hermetically sealed, that US military forces won’t be leaving them, they won’t be conducting presence patrols & the patrols they conduct now. Ground convoys won’t be driving into them.

Airplanes will be essentially landing in to deliver supplies & these sort of lily pads will be in various strategic areas in Iraq … & that will enable the US military to maintain a presence in the country, perhaps…for a few decades.

The Pentagon’s goal with the lily pads is to preserve US interests in Iraq for years to come “in the event that Congress or the administration pushes this [withdrawal plan] forward.” Those interests are at least three-fold:

1) Training Iraq forces,

2) Preserving economic interests, as “Iraq obviously sits on the second largest reserve of oil in the world,” &

3) Providing a US military “presence” to deter Iran & Turkey from “getting involved” after withdrawal.

While 60 percent of Americans are calling for a withdrawal of the U.S. from Iraq, the Pentagon is instead making preparations for an unending occupying presence.

And not satisfied with their criminal warmongering in Iraq, bushit & his band are still planning to do over Iran …..

‘The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert "black" operation to destabilize the Iranian government, current and former officials in the intelligence community tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject, say President Bush has signed a "non-lethal presidential finding" that puts into motion a CIA plan that reportedly includes a coordinated campaign of propaganda, disinformation and manipulation of Iran's currency and international financial transactions.

"I can't confirm or deny whether such a program exists or whether the president signed it, but it would be consistent with an overall American approach trying to find ways to put pressure on the regime," said Bruce Riedel, a recently retired CIA senior official who dealt with Iran and other countries in the region.

A National Security Council spokesperson, Gordon Johndroe, said: "The White House does not comment on intelligence matters." A CIA spokesperson said, "As a matter of course, we do not comment on allegations of covert activity."

The sources say the CIA developed the covert plan over the last year and received approval from White House officials and other officials in the intelligence community.

Officials say the covert plan is designed to pressure Iran to stop its nuclear enrichment program and end aid to insurgents in Iraq.’

Bush Authorizes New Covert Action Against Iran

No surprises here …..

Yes John  but the most disturbing aspects of the report (Bush authorizes new Covert Action Against Iran) are the resulting comments condemning ABC (US) for letting the "secret" facts out in the open... inferring  the ABC (US) should be charged with treason.

But these commentators have no clue that the Iranians don't need the ABC (US) to tell them about this. First they would be mad not to suspect such interferences and second, the Iranians would have to weight the possibility that this "secret" being divulged by the ABC (US) may be a trick to occupy their minds away from Iraq.

But all in all the ABC (US) has the guts to tell Americans that their Administration is doing unsavoury things, contrary to proper international relations... Whether one can "justify" these covert actions or not, is irrelevant. First the Iraqi would know about the stints and second these covert actions won't make a hoot of difference to the price of fish. More dissemination of info (true or false) via the secret channel then on to the full-blown media is good way to stir the possum, without doing anything much...

more bushit here Gus ....

‘In a report sifting the evidence produced by US authorities against Iran, the independent think-tank Basic cast doubt on the strength of the intelligence, saying that proved links between the Tehran regime and militia inside Iraq remained "sketchy".

Given the close ties between Shia Muslim Iran and Iraq, which has a dominant Shia population in the south, the report warned of the dangers of conflating "legitimate acts of foreign relations and cross-border movements of people" with the alleged Iranian involvement in violence.

The UK and US governments have frequently accused Iran of aiding militant groups in Iraq who are attacking coalition forces. However, the report said that "despite efforts by the Bush administration to confirm the strength of evidence presented, doubt still surrounds the case against Iran, particularly with regard to the degree of direct involvement of the Iranian leadership.’

British Think Tank: To Bolster His Policy, Bush Falsifying Claims of Iran's Involvement in Iraq