Ok, background briefings bother me enough, but having an official White House transcript of a background briefing is beyond the pale. This is just ridiculous!

now we're letting Bartlett and Snow tell us what the troops on the ground need in terms of training, logistics, and support. These are the same chicken-hawks who shit their pants on a military chopper, dressed in full armor, while flying over the ostensibly safe green zone. Google the image, and then tell me why anyone should be listening to these two characters. Heaven help us!

that we can't believe one word of what this adminstration says then we have what we deserve

If they sent 21,000 or 51,000 or 81,000. How would you know?

"When the information conveyed turns out to be not true, it's a little harder to identify the person who was doing the lying."

Why, goddamit, why is it harder?

When will the press start acting as if they were accountable to their readers, and burn anonymous sources that lie to them and the country?

"The Marines hunger for training? Then let them train in the desert!"

Of course everyone but the administration is wrong about this, and wrong for suggesting otherwise. Just like we're wrong for questioning the logic of having the budget balanced by not having to spend any money on Iraq or Afghanistan after 2009.

The administration knows more about these things then generals, economists, or anyone with common sense, after all.

I still don't understand... How are we talking about "to surge or not to surge?" The question, as I understood it in November, was how quickly to pull out.

Obviously we need better sexual phraseology.

Instead of "pull out," we should say, "seek release." We're RELEASING the troops. The troops are not pulling out, their *finally* getting release. See? Better?

Instead of "surge," we should say that that "Iraq's security forces are having trouble finishing (their training)" and so we have to "go in there and work with them until they can finish."

I think that framing leaving Iraq as sexually satisfying while staying as being chore-sex, we might be able to see some "political will" magically appear to get the troops home already.

have never been in the same room. It must get pretty crowded under that rock where they slither and hide at undisclosed locations...

I'm curious to know how much of the war chest goes to Haliburton, etc? and how much actually goes to soldiers and weaponry? If Cheney, Wolfy, Bushes and other "investors" stand to earn more through infrastucture and re-building (as we blow it up), this age-old greed for more profits would help clarify their passion for escalation it would seem. Is anyone aware of these numbers?