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So President Bush said a timetable for troop withdrawal would only embolden the enemy and put our troops at risk, except on the eve of the Democratic Convention, in which Barack Obama has made withdrawal one of his signature issues, it is announced that all US forces will be gone from Iraq in 2011.? “We think this is a very good agreement,” Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice said, adding that “the United States has gone very far” in accommodating Iraqi issues. She then noted that some obstacles remain, saying it would be an “excellent agreement when we finally have agreement.”? Oh.? Huh.? Still, you’ve got to wonder about the timing of this “agreement” especially since this President has been so against it for the past five years.? [Washington Post]

KBR recently announced a decision to ban employees from using cellphones in Iraq.? At the time of the announcement there was no reason given other than for “safety and security.” But now one potential reason has surfaced and it’s sick.? I don’t think the defense contracting company, which split for Halliburton in 2007 will cop to this being the reason, but there is ample evidence to suggest it’s directly related to employee Jamie Lee Jones and numerous rape allegations by female employees.

Jones was working in Iraq when she was gang-raped by her co-workers at KBR and held prisoner in a shipping container for several days.? She finally convinced one of her guards to loan her his cellphone so that she could call her father in Texas and get help.? KBR told her she would lose her job if she sought help in this matter.? Jones testified back in Dec. of 2007 about the affair.? Since then 11 different women have stepped forward to say they too had been raped by KBR co-workers.

I’m glad Jones had the courage to come forward, since that is difficult to do, but also it’s one of the only ways to put pressure on the company to prevent atrocities like this from happening in the future.? And though there is no direct evidence tying the cellphone ban to these incidents, one has to be curious about who’s security and safety KBR is trying to protect.? [Think Progress]

Found this of the HuffPo yesterday. It’s a collage of the 4,000 soldiers that have lost their lives since the start of Bush’s War in Iraq. Click the photo for a larger look.

Interesting map of the world, reshaped to resemble the world where the largest countries in land mass are the largest countries for exporting oil.? Of course, the Middle East is the largest and only relevant area on the map.? What’s also interesting is countries are shaded based upon how much oil they use and according to this map, at least, the United States is using double the oil that any other country in the world uses.

Some interesting commentary as well if you follow the linkage.

There really isn’t much to say after seeing this video. I’m sure the soldiers were just having a right good time. But still, it’s pretty cruel what they do to the Iraqi kids. Anyone who isn’t outraged just ain’t paying attention. But I’m torn ya know. It doesn’t surprise me, and I feel bad for posting this video that depicts two soldiers at their most childish, especially when so many of them are doing so much good. And especially cause I have a good friend leaving for Afghanistan and I know that he would never personally conduct himself in this manner. Makes you wonder why some Iraqi’s don’t want our soldiers there anymore.

Senate Democrats pulled a rabbit out of their hate yesterday, passing the War Funding Bill by the slimmest of margins, 50-48. Though the bill still has to pass a final vote before going to the President for his eventual veto, it marks a clear sign that their is a pulse inside the other branches of government. Seriously.

According to the Washington Post, the bill maintained language to determine a timetable pullout of March 31, 2008. The pullout provision, which neither President Bush nor Tom Brady seem capable of doing, is tied directly to the $122 billion dollar funding for troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In other words if Bush vetos the bill it looks like he doesn’t want to pullout or he doesn’t support the troops. I’d still give Karl Rove the upper hand in shaping which one, but kudos to Democrats for finally drawing a line in the sand. And kudos to Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) for crossing the aisle and doing the right thing.

Speaking to reporters, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) was conciliatory, but only to a point: “We ought to reach out to the president and say, ‘Mr. President, this is not a unilateral government. It is a separation of powers, and the Congress of the United States . . . has taken some action. You obviously disagree with that. Where are the areas of compromise?’ ”

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) said he was skeptical about proceeding too quickly. “Of course, we should reach out to the White House, and I’m happy to do that,” he said. But, he added: “They have been very uncooperative to this point. Hopefully, they will cooperate with us.” Referring to the president, he said, “I would like to have a bill that he wouldn’t veto.”

Some republicans are convinced the Democrats will eventually cave and give the President exactly what he wants. If they do that then they are merely stabbing all the voters from the last election in the back. Remember those voters who sent a signal that they didn’t approve of the direction of this administration? Yeah, those voters. If the blinders haven’t come off yet, they certainly should. President Bush and his cronies are going down with the Titanic, since after all they created the iceberg and then blamed it on other people.

Under the Senate bill, which is slated for a vote on final passage as early as today, certain U.S. troops would remain in Iraq after the March 31, 2008, target date in order to conduct counterterrorism training and security operations. But troop withdrawals would begin within four months of enactment.

The White House has strongly protested both the House and Senate bills, issuing a series of veto threats. “This bill assumes and forces the failure of the new strategy even before American commanders in the field are able to fully implement their plans,” the administration said in a statement yesterday, referring to the Senate measure.

They just don’t get it do they? Their entire strategy has failed from the beginning and the only ones who are paying for it are 3,240 soldiers with their lives and another 25,000 or so with severe injuries. More than anything though we hope this gets our government talking about how best to proceed in Iraq. Maybe a pullout isn’t the best strategy, I dunno. I just know something has to change. Maybe this will be the catalyst.