A-F-G-H-A-N-I-S-T-A-N bitches!!!!

Tonight, John McCain couldn't even bring himself to say the name "George Bush" in his speech. But hey, during the entire Republican convention not a single speaker has mentioned the right and just war in Afghanistan.

From Ben Smith:

Forgotten war?
A reader points out — and a search of the speech texts on the GOP Convention site seems to confirm — a surprising fact: There hasn't been a single mention of Afghanistan at this convention.

Military Matters

Looks like the troops are voting with their wallets:

"Democrat Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions than has Republican John McCain."

Follow the Bouncing Ball

How many years did he say?

Maybe this is dementia?

Well said!

This is a great post by Jim Henley over at Unqualified Offerings:

"The practical meaning of "The Surge" has changed while the pretended meaning has stayed the same. The pretended meaning is, The US increased troop strength in Iraq for a period of time beginning in 2007. The actual meaning is, the US increased troop strength WHILE ramping up a program to pay off Sunni resistance leaders WHILE Iraq’s warring ethno-religious factions finished completely remaking Iraq’s demographic patterns, owing to tens-to-hundreds of thousands of dead and millions of exiled and internally displaced, WHILE the US turned the capital into a warren of barricades. The net result of all those changes has been a less obtrusively violent Iraq for the time being, and the whole arrangement is "The Surge" in practice, but the cheerleaders talk as if it was all due to The Surge in pretense. Meanwhile Iraq’s "calm" would count as calamity almost anywhere on earth but Darfur or Zimbabwe. That’s leaving aside the essential truth that The Surge is not The War and The War remains a massive waste and a monstrous crime."

That other war is getting bigger in our rear view mirror.

Remember Afghanistan?

ThinkProgress.org also has a post on a recent report by NBC Nightly News Anchor Brian Williams. Check it out.

On NBC Nightly News last night, anchor Brian Williams reported that on a recent trip to Afghansistan, “several U.S. commanders complained” to NBC that they lack “resources, aircraft, soldiers and support because of the war in Iraq.” Williams noted that the commanders’ complaints were echoed earlier in the day by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen, who said that the military’s resources are “constrained” because of Iraq. As Williams noted, Mullen told reporters yesterday that in Afghanistan, “violence is up this year by every single measure.” Mullen then said that “we don’t have enough forces” to deal with the challenges there because of troop commitments in Iraq.

Yes. He did say it. Repeatedly.

SHORT VERSION -- AD ONLY

LONG VERSION -- CONTEXT AND ANALYSIS THANKS TO TALKINGPOINTSMEMO.COM

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/

Bush fiddles while the Army burns ...

Why won't the media listen to and report on what the Generals are saying? From Crooks and Liars here is Army Vice Chief of Staff General Richard Cody testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee:

Army support systems ... are straining under the accumulation of stress from six years at war. Overall, our readiness is being consumed as fast as we build it.

They are breaking the Army. Remember that.

Blood on their hands.

Artist Nico Pitney created a photo mosaic using photos of the soldiers who have died in Iraq.

In remembrance of the 4,000 brave men and women who sacrificed everything for us -- and the two men who would continue this great tragedy, despite the cost to our soldiers, our military, and our nation.

Click on the image to see the larger version.

More Dick-speak

Devilstower over at DailyKos blogs:

Deaths. Injuries. Long tense days never knowing what might happen next. The Iraq Invasion sure is hard... on George W. Bush.

In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Vice President Dick Cheney was asked what effect the grim milestone of at least 4,000 U.S. deaths in the five-year Iraq war might have on the nation. Noting the burden placed on military families, the vice president said the biggest burden is carried by President George W. Bush, who made the decision to commit US troops to war, and reminded the public that U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan volunteered for duty.

If any one sentence could hold all the contempt that the Republicans feel for the military and for military families, this is the one. Who is this war hardest on? Poor ol' George. What about the 4,000+ who have died? Hey, they volunteered.

"The president carries the biggest burden, obviously," Cheney said. "He's
the one who has to make the decision to commit young Americans, but we are fortunate to have a group of men and women, the all-volunteer force, who voluntarily put on the uniform and go in harm's way for the rest of
us."

Playing Catch Up

OMG! Way too busy to blog lately. I empathize with the bloggers who do this professionally and crank out stuff hour after hour, day after day. There is too much to write about now, but here are some interesting links, go check them out!

• "Stuck in the Iraq Loop" A Newsweek article by Fareed Zakaria
  We have achieved some security in Iraq. But we have not built a sustainable security architecture.
• "Bearing Witness: Five Years of the Iraq War" A photo essay by Reuters. Warning: some graphic images.
• "A Responsible Plan to End the War"
• Various reactions to Obama's speech on Tuesday from TPM Cafe.
• From DailyKos, author David Brin (Earth, Startide Rising) pays tribute to his colleague Arthur C. Clarke (2001: A Space Odyssey) who died this week.
• Coming soon! Photos of our incredibly cute new puppy and kitten!!!!

Wounded Warriors on the Home Front

A heartbreaking story in The New York Times today.

"Town by town across the country, headlines have been telling similar stories. Lakewood, Wash.: “Family Blames Iraq After Son Kills Wife.” Pierre, S.D.: “Soldier Charged With Murder Testifies About Postwar Stress.” Colorado Springs: “Iraq War Vets Suspected in Two Slayings, Crime Ring.” Individually, these are stories of local crimes, gut-wrenching postscripts to the war for the military men, their victims and their communities. Taken together, they paint the patchwork picture of a quiet phenomenon, tracing a cross-country trail of death and heartbreak. The New York Times found 121 cases in which veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan committed a killing in this country, or were charged with one, after their return from war. In many of those cases, combat trauma and the stress of deployment — along with alcohol abuse, family discord and other attendant problems — appear to have set the stage for a tragedy that was part destruction, part self-destruction."

Whether it is a lack of proper body armor, IED-hardened vehicles, extended tours of duty, or post-deployment mental health care, the Bush/Cheney administration continues to be negligent in truly supporting the troops.