Month: September 2007

Let’s Rollout

by digby

You’ve got to be kidding me:

Bush slipped out of a side door of the White House for the furtive trip that was aimed at bolstering his position for not drawing down troops from Iraq. During six hours on the ground here, the president was to meet with Army Gen. David Petreaus and other military commanders and Ryan C. Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, before holding a session with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and members of his central government.

Afterward, Bush was to meet with Sunni tribal leaders whose cooperation has made Anbar Province, a former al-Qaeda stronghold, significantly safer during the past year.

Aides said Bush would prod Maliki and other Shiite national leaders to support the local Sunni officials, whom the White House has praised for fostering political reconciliation that has proved elusive in most other parts of Iraq. Later, Bush was to make short remarks to about 750 U.S. troops and other guests.

“The president felt this is something he had to do in order to put himself in a position to make some important decisions,” National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said of the visit.”This will be the last big gathering of the president’s advisers and Iraqi leaders before the president makes his decisions on the way forward,” said Geoff Morrell, Pentagon spokesperson. “He’s assembled his war council, and they are all convening with Iraqi leaders to discuss the way forward.”

Very, very, very bad idea. Bush should not be allowed to meet with the locals:

Several of Bush’s top advisers believe that the president’s view of postwar Iraq was significantly affected by his meeting with three Iraqi exiles in the Oval Office several months before the 2003 invasion, Draper reports.

He writes that all three exiles agreed without qualification that “Iraq would greet American forces with enthusiasm. Ethnic and religious tensions would dissolve with the collapse of Saddam’s regime. And democracy would spring forth with little effort — particularly in light of Bush’s commitment to rebuild the country.”

Bush has strapped on his codpiece and he’s strutting around the desert “makin’ assessments.” Not good. As we’ve seen he has a comic book mentality and when he meets with “tribal leaders” he’s liable to make some serious mistakes in judgment. But hey, what’s the difference? It’s the new fall line in warmongering. The surge part two is already in production.

I’m sure that in rarefied Big Money Republican circles there is a lot of soul searching going on about what went wrong. They are looking at Karl Rove and Dick Cheney and others and they are wondering which decisions and wrong turns were the ones that made the difference. But if they really want to know what the truly worst decision was they need look no further than the mirror. They foisted this fool on the world when they all went down to Texas and decided that it didn’t matter that he was completely unqualified by experience, temperament or intelligence — he could be president anyway.

I think most people believed until recently that Republicans were pretty good at running things. They are the captains of industry, after all. But that they could meet this man-child and think it was a good idea for him to be president of the United States is such an epic error in judgment that they have destroyed their reputation for a generation.

.

Saturday Night At The Movies

Double Fantasy

By Dennis Hartley

Sometimes, for the sake of your own sanity, you’ve just gotta tear yourself away from watching the Apocalypse unfold on CNN and hitch a ride on trolley trolley (and since I don’t drink or shoot up, my tendency is to reach for a movie at such times). This week I thought we’d run for the shelter of two new fantasy films, one currently in theatres and the other just out on DVD.

First up is a film that slipped into theaters with surprisingly little fanfare. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, cross-dressing pirates return to your multiplex in Matthew Vaughn’s new fantasy-adventure-comedy-romance, “Stardust”.

Vaughn has tackled something completely different here for his second directorial effort (the follow-up to his auspicious 2004 debut, the Tarantino-influenced Brit Noir Layer Cake ). The result is a pleasant (albeit fluffy) surprise.

Co-scripted by the director along with Jane Goldman, and based on the Neil Gaiman novel, “Stardust” is a tale set in a mythical, sleepy little hamlet called Wall, which lies at the border between England and a “magic kingdom” called Stormhold, demarcated only by a stone wall. Just one solitary, wheezing relic of a man stands guard over a gaping, woefully under-maintained breach (hmmm, border security issues, crumbling infrastructure, people working well past retirement age…are we sure this is a ‘fantasy’?).

Enter our hero, Tristan (Charlie Cox), a bumbling “shop boy” who is hopelessly smitten by a shallow but popular local beauty named Victoria (Sienna Miller). After the couple witness a falling star one evening, Tristan vows to cross over the wall into the “forbidden” Stormhold to retrieve it for her, in order to prove his undying devotion (I’ll bet he says that to all the girls). Victoria gives him her bemused blessing and sends him on his merry way. Needless to say, he handily breezes past the “border patrol”.

Much to his chagrin, Tristan discovers he isn’t the only one lusting after that star power. Michelle Pfeiffer has a grand old time chomping scenery as an evil witch (there always has to be an evil witch, it’s a rule) who is racing the squabbling sons of a dying king (Peter O’Toole) to retrieve the star, each for their own nefarious reasons. Complicating things further is the fact that the “star” (an appropriately luminescent Clare Danes) has taken corporeal form, and would prefer not to take part in anyone’s “plans” for her, thank you very much. Madcap adventures (and the tricky travails of True Love) ensue.

“Enough with all the icky hugging and kissing stuff-what about the cross-dressing pirates that you promised to tell us about in the lead paragraph, Uncle Dennis?” I hear you saying. Actually, technically speaking, that would be ‘pirate’, singular, in the form of one Robert De Niro, who threatens to steal the show in his relatively limited screen time as the barely closeted Captain Shakespeare. Ricky Gervais (“Extras”) is another highlight, making the most of his cameo as the slippery wheeler-dealer, Ferdy the Fence.

The film may not boast the sharpest script, but the gags that do work, work quite well. For instance, the king of Stormhold’s numerous sons are named according to birth order-Primus, Secundus, Tertius, Quartus, etc.; for some inexplicable reason I couldn’t stop laughing at that (perhaps it recalls the classic “Biccus Diccus” gag from “Life of Brian”.)

If there is one potentially fatal flaw in the film, it lies in the casting of its leading man, Charlie Cox. While he appears to be an earnest young actor, the poor boy just doesn’t ooze much charisma (perhaps young women would beg to differ with me; or maybe he just tests well with focus groups?). Let’s just say, he’s no Errol Flynn. Luckily, his lackluster presence is somewhat compensated by the star power on hand (O’Toole, Pfeiffer and De Niro) and the genuinely winning turn from Clare Danes.

There seems to be a number of reviewers out there slagging this off as a “Princess Bride” wannabe, but you know what? That’s just lazy criticism. I went into the theatre, determined NOT to have that expectation rolling around in my head, and I found this to be quite charming and entertaining on its own terms, in a wantonly goofy “…forget your troubles c’mon get happy” kind of way. Sometimes, that’s all you require from a movie.

There’s more escapist fantasy awaiting you in the latest offering from the Japanese animation wizards at Studio Ghibli. “Tales From Earthsea” is the directing debut for Goro Miyazaki, son of the renowned anime master Hayao Miyazaki (“Uh-Dad? Can I have the keys to the studio?”)

The film is adapted from a fantasy series by Ursula K. Le Guin. I will admit I have not read the books, so I was a bit lost on the storyline at times. I can tell you that it involves a sudden, mysterious reappearance of dragons in the skies over the mythical Earthsea, an evil witch (See?! I told you!) who is (near as I can tell) depleting Earthsea of its life essence and hoarding it in an attempt to achieve immortality; a young hero (with a dark side) and a warrior/wizard/mentor who accompanies him on a quest into the kingdom’s heart of darkness to, er, terminate the witch’s command (with extreme prejudice).

The film definitely benefits from the Ghibli “look”-bringing trees, mountains, sea and sky vividly to life in typically stunning fashion. Unfortunately, however, it looks like the younger Miyazaki will need more work on breathing life into his characters; they come off rather flat (especially when contrasted against the expertly crafted backgrounds).

The story revels more in gloom and doom territory than the typical Studio Ghibli offering (not many moments of levity or soaring flights of fancy). There is a nod to the ecology theme that runs through many of the studio’s films, but it feels a bit “tacked on”. Still, even “lesser” Ghibli is better than most animated features out there, and worth a look.

Note: “Tales from Earthsea” is currently available only on Region 2 and 3 DVD editions; the version I rented and based this review on was a 2-disc Region 3 (South Asian) edition. I believe the Region 2 offers a dubbed English language soundtrack option; the version I viewed did not. No word yet on a U.S. release.

.

Coup De Village

by digby

Does any of this remotely seem like a good idea? The mere fact that the US is so obviously running this thing automatically makes it an enormous mistake. And it’s not just because it’s so transparent that there can be no doubt that Allawi will be seen as a puppet. It’s a huge mistake because aside from looting the treasury and stealing elections, everything the Bush administration touches turns to shit. Aside from the embarrassingly blatant hypocrisy, does anyone believe they could pull this off and make it work?

Some see ‘coup’ as Iraq’s best hope

In the lobbies of luxury hotels and the apartments of exiles, an assortment of Iraqi politicians has been spending the summer vacation plotting a new Iraqi coup — a non-violent, parliamentary coup to be sure, but a coup nonetheless, that would oust Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, declare a state of emergency and install a new government.

At the forefront of these efforts is former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite who was Washington’s first choice to lead Iraq after the U.S. occupation authority ended. He now is being presented by his followers as the best hope of saving Iraq from what they say is certain catastrophe.

But Allawi’s is by no means the only name in circulation. Another former prime minister, two current vice presidents, a former planning minister, an Iraqi general from the old regime and an independent Sunni parliamentarian are among those being mentioned as potential alternatives.

“Everyone is desperate to be prime minister,” said Saleh al-Mutlaq, a Sunni politician who has thrown his support behind Allawi but who has also been mentioned as a potential candidate. “Iraq is producing prime ministers.”

The dream of dislodging the Shiite-led government by forming a coalition from a disparate assortment of disgruntled Sunnis, Shiites and secularists dates to the beginning of the year, when the plotting to replace al-Maliki began in earnest in the relative safety of Amman. But the effort was given new momentum by a statement from President Bush last week, in which he hinted for the first time that U.S. support for al-Maliki was waning.

“If the government doesn’t … respond to the demands of the people, they will replace the government,” Bush said at a news conference in Quebec. “That’s up to the Iraqis to make that decision, not American politicians.”

[…]

“There’s been a definite change in tone from Washington, and the momentum and drive to support Allawi will increase,” said Jaafar al-Taie, a political analyst involved in the new coalition’s campaign. “It’s not only that Maliki must go, but that the whole system must go.”

According to Allawi’s published program, the parliamentarians would not only appoint a new government but also suspend the new constitution, declare a state of emergency and make the restoration of security its priority.

Whether the U.S. would countenance what amounts effectively to the unraveling of the entire political process built since its March 2003 invasion is unclear. The day after he seemed to endorse al-Maliki’s removal, Bush backtracked, reiterating his support for the prime minister and calling him a “good guy.”

But Allawi’s supporters are heartened by signs that Washington is coming round to the view that al-Maliki might not be a permanent figure.

Two days before Bush spoke, Allawi signed a $300,000 contract with the Washington lobbying firm of Barbour, Griffiths and Rogers to represent his interests, according to a copy of the contract obtained by the Web site Iraqslogger.com and confirmed by Allawi on CNN. The head of the firm’s international relations department is Robert Blackwill, a longtime adviser to Bush who served as his special envoy to Iraq.

“Even when Bush tried to modify what he said, he did not go so far,” said Izzat Shabandar, a strategist with the Allawi bloc. “We know that Bush from inside would like to replace Maliki, but he did not say it clearly. He chose to say it in a diplomatic way.”

Do read the rest to get an idea of how absurdly complicated this whole thing is. Just the fact that we all know about this and that American newspapers are printing this stuff is bizarre in itself. It’s a public coup — Americans and Iraqis alike are all reading about it and talking about it like it’s a TV show and we’re all waiting to see the finale.

The country needs to face what “pulling it off” means. They are planning to: “suspend the new constitution, declare a state of emergency and make the restoration of security its priority.” Too bad Saddam isn’t around to give them some pointers. Of course, they are allowing former Baathists in on this and Allawi knows his way around an execution, so his legacy will live on.

I just keep writing this every day and it just keeps unfolding. We are clearly attempting to stage a coup and put a strongman/puppet in charge of Iraq to “restore security.” For some reason nobody seems worried that this will fuel more terrorism and hatred against America around the world since we will be seen as pulling the strings. In fact, the administration seems to want the world to see that we are pulling the strings. Apparently, they still believe, even after throwing away all the good will built up over 50 years and proving themselves to be abject failures at occupying and reconstructing the country we invaded for no good reason, that it is a good idea for the United States to be throwing its weight around even more in the middle east.

Yesterday I heard David Frum saying we had to win to preserve American “prestige.” I was in the car and almost wrecked it I was laughing so hard. Prestige? These people threw out our prestige the minute that moron and his Robespierre in the White House decided to attack the wrong country and then screwed it up so royally that the United States of America now looks like a bumbling, useless giant who couldn’t hit the side of a barn with a daisy cutter. “Prestige” is completely beside the point. We have so much work to do to build back our reputation for even baseline competence and ability to reason that we are now actually in some danger that even more none too bright fanatics will decide that taking us on isn’t all that dangerous anymore.

So Bush is planning a coup to install our own totalitarian dictator. Fantastic. You’ll find this especially amusing: he’s given a bunch of interviews to a biographer telling him that his post presidency plans are to make a lot of money and run something he calls “‘a fantastic Freedom Institute’ promoting democracy around the world.”

You cannot make this stuff up.

Oh, and then there’s this. Seems they may very well be planning to shoot the moon:

They [the source’s institution] have “instructions” (yes, that was the word used) from the Office of the Vice-President to roll out a campaign for war with Iran in the week after Labor Day; it will be coordinated with the American Enterprise Institute, the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, Commentary, Fox, and the usual suspects. It will be heavy sustained assault on the airwaves, designed to knock public sentiment into a position from which a war can be maintained. Evidently they don’t think they’ll ever get majority support for this–they want something like 35-40 percent support, which in their book is “plenty.”

.