Told’ja So
Somewhere from one to five brigades over the next five months. And apparently we’re going to pay Iraqis to repaint the schools and do really menial work too.
President Bush’s new Iraq strategy calls for a rapid influx of forces that could add as many as 20,000 American combat troops to Baghdad, supplemented with a jobs program costing as much as $1 billion intended to employ Iraqis in projects including painting schools and cleaning streets, according to American officials who are piecing together the last parts of the initiative.
Not to sound all America-hating and post-colonialist, but how much frustration and fractiousness would you slough off if the best deal you had on offer was “Armed foreigners will pay you to sweep your own streets while they watch?”
Comment by Jay C —
January 6, 2007 @ 7:40 pm
“Painting schools????”
WTF????
Are there any schools in Iraq left that need painting? I thought that painting schools over there was, and has been all along, one of the major mission statements of our entire occupation? After all, haven’t rightwing blogs and sundry war apologists been whining about the lack of recognition of all our school-painting endeavors since early ‘03? So if all these Iraqi schools still need to be painted, what have we been doing for the last 3-1/2 years?
Comment by Jennifer —
January 6, 2007 @ 8:24 pm
Paint fades fast in the harsh Iraqi sun, Jay. And polls show that most Iraqis rate “unpainted schools” as their number-one quality-of-life concern.
Comment by Kevin Hayden —
January 6, 2007 @ 8:47 pm
Real paint might survive longer, but apparently, we’ve been using whitewash.
Comment by Hesiod —
January 6, 2007 @ 10:19 pm
And all the Conservatrians who oppose Gvt. funded jobs and welfare programs in the United States will crow about the wisdom of this new strategery.
I finally understand things now. George W. Bush never forgave the Republican party for abandoning his dad in 1992 and has decided he is going to utterly destroy their ability to win elections for at least a generation.
Well…Mission Accomplished.
Comment by Hesiod —
January 6, 2007 @ 10:20 pm
Are there any schools in Iraq left that need painting? I thought that painting schools over there was, and has been all along, one of the major mission statements of our entire occupation?
Apparently, all the schools were being painted by Sysyphus.
Comment by Jim Henley —
January 6, 2007 @ 11:30 pm
Kevin wins the thread.
Comment by Alex at Inactivist —
January 6, 2007 @ 11:44 pm
I’m sorry, Jim, but I have to disagree.
Hesiod wins the thread with his Sysyphus comment.
Comment by Jim Henley —
January 6, 2007 @ 11:48 pm
Can you win a thread that was already won?
Comment by Nell —
January 7, 2007 @ 12:38 am
Real paint might survive longer, but apparently, we’ve been using whitewash.
But we’ve been paying Parsons and KB&R for Duron ultra premium exterior… at $56 a gallon.
Comment by Alex at Inactivist —
January 7, 2007 @ 8:42 am
You know, I bet that if George Bush proposed Hillary-style health care for Iraq (funded by the US), the warblogger dead-enders would applaud Bush’s concern for conditions in Iraq.