...and Jonathon Landay... what the %$#@ was it? Partisanship? They weren't suckers for the GWoT blanket/blank check, but they didn't mind when it's branded as 'saving' the most affluent & educated population on the continent from it's 'oppressor' ...

They couldn't sell Iran, so far, within 9 years of Iraq --what losers! For the Iraq-sale, US intelligence professionals were scapegoated during the flagwaver hangover. They'll remember this. They've since held fast with more reasonable assessments on Iran and Mossad has apparently hedged by distancing themselves from the weapons fiction which network TV had tenaciously pushed. Iraq is unlikely to support it, so one side of the sandwitch is weakened. There may be many points to list suggesting that war with Iran is preventable. But even stalling an attack could increase damage to the reputation of the sales department. Now don't they seem to be in an awful rush?

Oh. So that's why they're there. Same reason they're here.

Well, so apart from cameras for everyone in case they get to witness occupiers p--sing on daddy, a nice humanitarian aid package should make ubiquitous some heavy duty desktop publishing.

Any detail on how they were attacked? On ground, in air, with what, etc.? Might be a lead for someone reading here? Lowballing US wounded seems consistent with the Colonel's portrayal.

It doesn't seem intended as a flattering self-description either way. Might he be signalling something like helplessness wrt the lobby --like that's as close to striking at them as he can get? E.g., Andrew Adler is presumably still roaming free...

Not sure if you're just asking rhetorically... One reason might be controllability; e.g. someone really prefers loose screws in their candidates as insurance against independent thought. Another might be that this is really what they think appeals to --or further corrupts --some target audience; it would be weird if that audience hadn't developed by now...given what network TV has put out for years.

Gareth Porter challenged the assertion that IED's were the biggest killer of Afghan civillians: antiwar.com/radio/2011/11/06/gareth-porter-135/ , ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=105704 "ISAF Data Show Night Raids Killed over 1,500 Afghan Civilians".

His funding is showing.

"[...]precision strikes against against al-Qaeda and their affiliates.” So if you like dismembering people, be sure to call them 'affiliates' firs-- -er- --when you get the time.

Reminds me of the third grade. Jason no-balls me that I can't prove The Moon ain't made of Green Cheese. So I get my shovel and I get on the next shuttle. I sure showed him... ...Mom, please get me down from here. I promise I won't try this again.

Hey, s'ppose 'inspectors' can 'prove' the Moon is less then -say -20% green cheese? If not, seems like they're wasting your time and playing along with the war foreplay. Get a refund.