Big Effin' Mess
 

I thought he would have learned them in his hard science classes.

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Ah. If I've seen them updated constantly, and read them as they came out, I must have memorized them.

I see.

I cannot live up to your exemplary standards. I barely keep my kids' names straight.

(And, no, that doesn't mean I've named them Bruce and Elton.)

Big Effin' Mess
 

Understood, but IIRC the last number I heard was "1." I didn't know a matrix of some sort was involved.

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Over the summer, I saw predictions that there would be enough certified by December for us to start pulling back. Sounds like they are slightly behind schedule, but good news nonetheless.

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Math is hard.

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A few years ago, I saw predictions that our troops would be greeted by children with garlands of flowers, and that hostilities certainly would not last six months. Both of those are also slightly behind schedule, but would be good news nonetheless.

Big Effin' Mess
 

From More Iraqi battalions 'in the lead' against rebels

Doing the math, it looks as if 35 or so battalions have "taken the lead" in the past month. Can a Bush-hating liberal like yourself acknowledge that this fivefold improvement is a positive development?

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to who? not to these guys.

I've always thought one of the most hopeful things that does get through the MSM reports had to do with bombings.

They frequently bomb recruiting centers for the police or army, and when they do- THERE ARE LINES OF RECRUITS.

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Well, ya'all could either go to the MNF web site (which I can't get into right now), or read this timely article with the new weekly progress report.

I guess I can understand how ya'all wouldn't run into these weekly reports in your chosen venues. They're good news, after all.

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Of course. They get free weapons.



Killings Linked to Shiite Squads in Iraqi Police Force
With loyalties to banned paramilitary groups, the fighters have kidnapped, tortured and slain Sunnis, officials and witnesses say.

By Solomon Moore, Times Staff Writer


BAGHDAD — Shiite Muslim militia members have infiltrated Iraq's police force and are carrying out sectarian killings under the color of law, according to documents and scores of interviews.

The abuses raise the specter of organized retaliation to attacks by Sunni-led insurgents that have killed thousands of Shiites, who endured decades of subjugation under Saddam Hussein.

And they undermine the U.S. effort to stabilize the nation, and train and equip Iraq's security forces — the Bush administration's key prerequisites for the eventual withdrawal of American troops.

In recent months, hundreds of bodies have been discovered in rivers, garbage dumps, sewage treatment facilities and alongside roads and in desert ravines. Many of them are thought to be victims of Sunni insurgents, who are known to target Shiite civilians and Iraqi security forces, and even Sunni Arabs believed to be collaborating with U.S. forces or the Iraqi government. But increasingly, the Shiite militias operating within the national police force are also suspected of committing atrocities.

The Baghdad morgue reports that dozens of bodies arrive at the same time on a weekly basis, including scores of corpses with wrists bound by police handcuffs.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,6089453.story

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Thank you.

Kos, MNF ... You make a lot of assumptions about what "our" "chosen venues" are. If you think we do the burning pentagrams in our front yards every week, let me clear that one up right now. That's only every other Thursday.

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Thank you.

Well, HEY, muthafucka! You've come back to break the 30 post threshhold with posts of love and camaraderie! Welcome baaaaack.

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Well, I've googled (the news search gave me "Your search - "level 1 readiness" iraqi army - did not match any documents") and I can't find any definitive answer. The web search brought up the stories from late September, which talked about the number dropping from 3 to 1 (like this one from the Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...092902085.html

• The number of Iraqi army battalions that can fight insurgents without U.S. and coalition help has dropped from three to one, top U.S. generals told Congress yesterday, adding that the security situation in Iraq is too uncertain to predict large-scale American troop withdrawals anytime soon.

One might think that the website of the Multi-National Security Transition Command http://www.mnstci.iraq.centcom.mil/facts_troops.htm might have such information, but they don't.

Here's what they do have (and I checked their news releases in the press center, which have stories like "Iraqi troops discover two roadside bombs" but nothing on how many units are at level 1 readiness):

• Iraqi Army
  
  Iraqi Army soldiers negotiate a standard eight-weeks of basic training including basic soldiering skills instruction in weapons marksmanship, individual tactics, physical training, drill and ceremony, and soldier discipline.
  
  Units negotiate advanced courses in Infantry tactics, heavy weapons, land navigation, and other operational training both before and after joining units in the field. In addition, training courses focus on Iraqi noncommissioned officers, while officers receive relevant combined arms education in the new Staff College, formed with NATO advice and support.
  
  The Iraqi Army will ultimately be comprised of 113 combat battalions: 91 Infantry battalions, 12 special Iraqi Intervention Force battalions, five mechanized Infantry battalions, four tank battalions, and one special-duty security battalion. Nine Motor Transportation Regiments, three mechanized combat service support battalions, and 10 base support units will sustain the Iraqi Army forces.
  
  The bulk of the force has been in the fight since prior to the 30 January 2005 elections, with the remainder of the units coming on-line through 2005 and into 2006.

To be fair, level 1 readiness is a high standard, as noted by General Casey when he spoke to Congress.

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A simple yes or no would suffice.

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The Bush Administration house organ? That's your source? I'll start reading that when you start citing to Josh Marshall.

I did not know there was a Monday Night Football web site.

Snark, snark, snark. What are you, twelve? What's next? Nanny-nanny-boo-boo?