This blog was originally developed to start a conversation about Security Democrats and to assist Fightin' Dems to develop policy positions for their campaigns. It's hard to tell if we had any impact on the races - many Fightin' Dems did not succeed in obtaining political positions solely based on military careers and military issues, but a few military vets did, and we wish them the best of luck. If all we did was to help spread the word that Security Democrats exist and to articulate support for military vets running for office, then I think I speak for the community here that we're happy campers.

The Republican leadership is going into full "Bart Simpson" defense, now blaming the "Mess-O-Potamia" on the military's generals. While Billmon wrongly attributed the "Bart Simpson" defense tactics to the generals, it's clear who's pinning the blame on whom:

BLITZER: You said "he's the best thing that's happened to the Pentagon in 25 years." You know, a lot of people strongly disagree with you, including an increasing chorus of fellow Republicans.

BOEHNER: Well, there are a lot of people who want to blame what is happening in Iraq on Donald Rumsfeld, but when you look at the transformation that our military has been through, it's nothing short of remarkable.

And I think there's only one person in America who could have brought about that transformation, and that is Donald Rumsfeld. He's smart, he's been through the Pentagon, knows how it works. And now we have a lighter, more flexible force, a quicker force. It would not have happened without him.

That's the only thing that can explain President Bush's attitude at the end of a month of nearly unparalleled failures. What does he say to the public?

"I know many Americans are not satisfied with the situation in Iraq," he said in a lengthy statement before taking questions. "I'm not satisfied either." October has been the deadliest month this year for American forces, and the war soon will have lasted longer than U.S. involvement in World War II.

"The events of the past month have been a serious concern to me and a serious concern to the American people," the president said.

Finally, we hear that rare breed of animal, the moderate Republican, coming out to suggest that the Bush administration's policy of "lieing and dieing" may not be the correct one to pursue. In the news:

Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and John Warner of Virginia are part of the growing list of Republicans who are speaking out against President Bush's current plan for Iraq as U.S. casualties rise.

"The American people are not going to continue to support, sustain a policy that puts American troops in the middle of a civil war," Hagel said on CNN's "Late Edition."

Hagel said he agreed with Warner, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who said after a recent visit to Iraq that Iraq was "drifting sideways." Warner has urged consideration of a change of course if the Iraq government fails to restore order over the next two months or three months.

The United States increasingly relies private military companies to carry out its foreign policy. This is a statement of fact and yet it is a bit dodgy to say. In "contested" spaces such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan (inside Pakistan actually), Philippines, Colombia (don't forget the American contractors still held there), Africa (West, East, you name it), the Balkans, etc., private military companies and their contractors carry out the will of the President. Perhaps more importantly and clearly less recognized is the direct and lasting impact these contractor have on the local populations they interact with. 

I want to apologize to any visitors of this site for the lack of updates over the past month or so. I have been transitioning between jobs and cities and time has simply not allowed me to even look at this site very often. But that's what I get for wanting to be an activist, and besides, if I wasn't out in the field working my ass off to beat that embarrassment of a Senator, Man-on-Dog, then I'd be tormented with a feeling of powerlessness each and every waking moment. We may not win this race (it will be a LOT closer than any poll says), but I have to try and help however I can.

For my new job, I proposed to a group called PA PAC for Progress that I go to concerts and campuses in Philly and get the under-30 set registered and out to vote. I am out in the field all of the time, during the day on campuses (mainly Temple University, with it's 20,000-some-odd students) and at night at all of R5 Productions concerts. My goal is to, along with all of the volunteers I can locate and train, register 5,000 new voters and turn out 20,000 to vote.

If you want updates on what I am up to please visit Future Majority, the youth voting blog I help to run. I'll be updating both this and that site as time permits.

If you're in or around Philly and you want to help me to push the nation in a new direction, please send me an e-mail (located on the contact page)

The BBC reports today that UK and Italian forces have handed control of Dhi Qar province over to Iraqi security forces. This marks the second province British forces have successfully pacified and relinquished. They also successfully withdrew from Muthanna province on July 13, 2006.

It took the Multi-National Force three and a half years to secure two provinces. Iraq has eighteen total provinces. At this rate, it will only take us another twenty eight years to secure the country and bring our troops home. Stay the course indeed.

What about casualties? 2,692 Americans have died in Iraq so far. If we continue our present counterinsurgency operations without increasing troop levels, redeploying soldiers, or pursuing a political partition, we will sustain 21,536 American losses before we leave Iraq for good.

This is simple math which adds up to a simple conclusion: our current Iraq policy is unsustainable and irrational. I don

It's unreal. I mean, explain it to me. The election's creeping closer, and Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Rice go to NEVADA - the sweet spot of the Republican west - and talk to military personnel and veterans about the grand work they've been doing in their fight against Islamofascism. Don't they know that they don't have to grease up the undying faithful for applause from an adoring crowd? Or are they counting on it?

Rumsfeld in Reno:

"You not only have lived history, you have made history," he told the audience. "You not only understand the nature of warfare, but many of you helped to transform the way wars are fought. And you know the price of freedom, because you risked your lives, shed blood, and lost friends in freedom's defense."

Today's episode of Rocketboom features my interview with Paul Rieckhoff of IAVA, in which he discusses private contractors. I think Rocketboom's producer, Andrew Michael Baron, did an excellent job of cutting this clip with a damning Bush Q&A.

Paul Rieckhoff lays out some of the most important aspects of private contractors in Iraq, including the fact that they are the second largest military force in Iraq and can recruit our best soldiers by paying them four times as much as the military. In the second clip, from CNN, Bush chuckles about his own ignorance regarding the legal status of private contractors in Iraq. There is no clear legal action to take when private contractors disobey the instruction of the U.S. military. We have no control over them because we have no clear system of consequences for their actions. Even those who are less concerned with protecting Iraqis must recognize that the disobedience of private contractors has killed U.S. troops.

I've talked a lot about IAVA on this site before, but here's what I said over at my youth voting blog, Future Majority, about them, in response to a question of what groups are doing effective online/offline outreach and organizing:

I first heard of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) when they started blogging at MFA (they were known as Operation Truth back then). I was extremely excited to find a military organization reaching out to young people, and I have been beyond impressed at the amazing work that Paul Rieckhoff and his crew (who are all over the nation) do-- from advocating for the safety of our troops, to reaching out to Vets with PTSD and advocating on their behalf, to starting a PAC (which has since been spun off) which supports vets of OEF and OIF who run for office. The thing that impressed me the most about IAVA was Paul's extremely strong managerial skills, and his unreal ability to connect people and make things happen (I have my own selfish reasons for enjoying Paul's connecting skills- my current job- but if you want to see just how amazing IAVA is then you really need to see When I Came Home, which is about a homeless Iraq vet- Harold Noel- in NYC, who IAVA helps to get housing). I also highly suggest watching their new promo video. Anyway, I think that Paul has not only an org that can reach out to two communities that Democrats need to reach very, very badly- young people and the military (many of who are in their youth)- but he has the no-nonsense, results oriented, and battle tested managerial skills that the leaders of almost every other left wing groups lack (and I believe they could learn from Paul). IAVA, like Cosmopolity, also does a lot of work with relatively little funding, but I am sure that both of these groups would be able to have even larger, and longer-lasting, effects if they were given the resources to expand.

As I noted in the quoted passage, IAVA recently came out with a new promotional video. Give it a look and, if you're looking for a deserving organization doing some really important and impressive work, throw a few bucks their way. Also, check out my review of Paul Rieckhoff's book here.