Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

via McClatchy

UPDATE: John McCain’s (embargoed) speech

The latest on Iraq, which has the Mahdi Army’s seven-month-long cease-fire ending, follows this from McClatchy:

A cease-fire critical to the improved security situation in Iraq appeared to unravel Monday when a militia loyal to radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al Sadr began shutting down neighborhoods in west Baghdad and issuing demands of the central government. Simultaneously, in the strategic southern port city of Basra, where Sadr’s Mahdi militia is in control, the Iraqi government launched a crackdown in the face of warnings by Sadr’s followers that they’ll fight government forces if any Sadrists are detained. By 1 a.m. Arab satellite news channels reported clashes between the Mahdi Army and police in Basra. … .. As Shiite violence rises, U.S. troop deaths also appear to be rising in places such as Baghdad, where the American military is thinning out its presence as part of its drawdown of five brigades. Attacks against civilians in the capital are rising, according to statistics compiled by McClatchy. Next week, the U.S. will finish pulling out the second of five surge brigades. As part of the drawdown, the military has moved battalions out of Baghdad toward more violent areas such as the northern city of Mosul and Iraq’s northeastern Diyala province. As the troop presence has shifted, so has the violence. For the first time since January, a majority of U.S. troops were killed in Baghdad, not in outlying northern provinces. Indeed, the U.S. military reached the death of its 4,000th soldier in Iraq on Sunday, when four U.S. soldiers were killed in southern Baghdad. … .. Is ’success’ of U.S. surge in Iraq about to unravel?

This is not good news for Cranky McCain. Foreshadowing of worse to come, or
just a minor blip on the road to “success?” Wonder if he’ll address this reality in his speech today, which is being billed as a “major” address on Iraq?

Hopefully the teleprompter won’t fail. Yesterday’s economic, er, speech-thing was embarrassing. Republicans are going to start holding their collective breath every time he stands up to the microphone. He might even be worse than Dubya.

I know many on both Clinton and Obama sides are saying they’ll either sit out the election or vote for John McCain if their candidate doesn’t win, maybe even Nadar or a write in. But seriously, can this country afford a third term of George W. Bush, which has, as Patrick J. Buchanan put it, John McCain, a president that makes “Cheney look like Ghandi,” as commander-in-chief? I don’t think so. Do you really? I ask this seriously, because believe me, I know how many of you feel; I’ve got emails as evidence. But McCain as president will keep us in Iraq indefinitely, though I don’t believe either Democrat intends to pull all of our troops out, which I’ve said many times before. However, our economy, our military and our country simply can’t afford John McCain. That said, it is your vote and I respect the right you have to do with it what you want. Every one of you reading this post are committed, whether you are for Senator Clinton or Senator Obama; so don’t think I don’t respect your protest or fury at what you are dreading might unfold.

What’s at stake is deadly serious.