CAN IRAQ GET ANY MORE SCREWED UP? WELL, RUDY GIULIANI IS PROBABLY EVEN LESS CAPABLE THAN BUSH AND HE WANTS TO TRY HIS HAND AT IT

Remember the so-called "Pottery Barn Rule"-- when Colin Powell warned Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld that if they broke Iraq they'd own it? "You are going to be the proud owner of 25 million people," he told Bush. "You will own all their hopes, aspirations, and problems. You'll own it all." Bush hadn't a clue what the hell he was talking about and they ignored him. Now, 5 years later, they understand.

Yesterday Ryan Crocker, Bush's latest viceroy in Baghdad, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by video link. "If there is one word, I would use to sum up the atmosphere in Iraq-- on the streets, in the countryside, in the neighborhoods and at the national level-- that word would be fear. For Iraq to move forward at any level, that fear is going to have to be replaced with some level of trust, confidence and that is what the effort at the national level is about."

Crocker's appearance was part of a coordinated appearance by a gaggle of Bush Regime shills in Iraq appealing for Congress to give Bush more time for his failed escalation and catastrophic occupation. No one ever thought September would be enough time; they were just kidding. They need, as always, more, more, more... more time, more money, more dead Americans, more dead Iraqis, more confirmation to a billion and a half Muslims scattered throughout the world that bin Laden was actually right about U.S. intentions towards Muslims, more endless war...

And Glenn Greenwald called it even before they gave their predictable testimony. There's no need to wait for September to know what Bush's General BetrayUs is going to say. The Republicans plan on running BetrayUs against President Hillary Clinton in 2012 and his role in Iraq is all politics-- American politics-- all the time. Glenn has an account of a GOP propaganda appearance BetrayUs did with a far right Hate Talk radio host.

Gen. David Petraeus, who will descend down upon Washington in September and reveal once and for all whether we are winning in Iraq, gave a lengthy interview yesterday about the Great Progress we are making with the Surge. He chose as his interviewer the hard-hitting, non-partisan, and well-regarded war journalist, Hugh Hewitt, who wrote a book last year about how Republicans will dominate our government forever and one this year on the Towering Greatness of Mitt Romney.

The "interview" consisted of Hewitt making one adoring, pro-war statement after the next, masquerading as questions, with Petraeus eagerly agreeing and then "elaborating" with the standard White House talking points. There is obviously no need to "wait until September" to know what Gen. Petraeus is going to say.

Not that Bush gives a rat's ass, but his Regime's coordinated attempt to present a case for giving escalation and occupation more (i.e.- infinite) time, fell on deaf ears, on both sides of the aisle. Oh, there will always be the McCains and Liebermen and Grahams, but most members of Congress have started accepting reality. The fact that the purpose of the testimony-- "conveying that the administration was not planning a major strategy shift in September that would begin reducing the American troop presence, even if benchmarks set by Congress to measure Iraq’s progress were not achieved"-- was met by "stern rebukes from lawmakers of both parties" just isn't something this Regime takes into account. They only understand a rubber stamp Congress and so far, they haven't had any reason to think things have really-- substantively-- changed. Former Iraq Agenda enablers like Biden (D) and Voinovich (R) may mouth off... so what? "We're not staying; you don't have much time" (Biden) and "the American people’s patience is running out" (Voinovich) probably elicits giggles in Cheney's office.

Perhaps there was an exchange Cheney and Bush and many senators missed. They shouldn't have.

“Baghdad, can you hear the U.S. Senate?” Mr. Biden said into his microphone at one point when the communications with Mr. Crocker went silent.

An activist for the Code Pink antiwar movement shouted from the gallery, “Senate, can you hear the American people?”

Hear? Sure. Paying attention? Not so much. This morning's L.A. Times has an article about the utter failure of the puppet Iraqi government's attempt to build a credible military.

Rudy Giuliani-- who when his generation's war came was a craven coward and, like Cheney and Bush (and Flip Flop Mitt of course) and most Republican hawks, managed to wiggle out of serving-- was in Iowa yesterday... talking tough. Unfortunately his nonsensical babbling would prove to anyone but a brainwashed Republican base voter that he is just as incompetent to lead this country-- or anything else-- as was Bush.

What the hell does this mean?

“Neither one of these two wars-- the one in Afghanstan/Pakistan or the one in Iraq-- was nearly at the level of the planning we had done for the two wars we would have to fight at once. We should have organized ourselves so that we could accomplish in Iraq what we had to accomplish without taking anything away from accomplishing in Afghanistan and Pakistan what we had to accomplish.”

I was at a loss to even understand what the fast-talking bullshit artist from New York was telling those poor folks out in Iowa... who just want his autograph. Fortunately Will Bunch at Attytood was able to translate the Republican front runner (not counting "None of the Above") into English.