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The next meeting will be on Wednesday, May 14 at 7:30pm at the Community High School District 99 Administration Building, 6301 Springside in Downers Grove.
Welcome everyone to our new site! Thanks for visiting!
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Join Online
You may join the Downers Grove Democratic Organization, or just make a contribution, online. Visit our contribution page. |
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| Posted by Kim Savage at 11:12 AM on 05/11/08
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Condi Rice puts her foot in her mouth twice in one news conference and US soldiers pay the price
Secretary of State Condi Rice snuck into Baghdad Sunday April 20th as a show of support for embattled Prime Minister Al Maliki. Besides trying to goad nationalist Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr into further violence against the Iraqi Army and US troops by taunting him as a "coward" - a rash act on a par with President Bush's "bring 'em on" declaration back in July 2003 - she had this to say:
"But clearly, the prime minister has laid down some ground rules which any functioning democratic state would insist upon, having to do with, you know, arms belonging to the state, not to -- not in private hands," she said. "The current circumstances come out of what I think is a very important and indeed appropriate action that the Iraqi government has taken."
She's kidding right? In this country it's legal for private citizens to own assault rifles. If one of the ground rules of a functioning democratic state is arms belong in the hands of the state not in private hands then what does that make the USA? Speaking without thinking is not a quality we should have in a Secretary of State.
All snark aside there's a larger point. So far Sadr has held to the ceasefire he declared last August and renewed in February despite armed assault against his militia by Maliki's government. He said last Saturday if the attacks didn't stop he'd call for all out "war until liberation". Secretary Rice lives in Washington DC. She won't be fighting Sadr's men if he takes her bait. A "war until liberation" won't mean US soldiers will be caught in the crossfire they'll be the main targets.
Maybe there's a method to her madness. She may think Maliki's forces are strong enough to take on and defeat Sadr's militia. The recent battle in Basra where at least a thousand of Maliki's men defected or deserted doesn't engender much confidence. Sending Iraqi soldiers to attack their own neighborhoods like he did last week in the Sadr City section of Baghdad doesn't either. That's just stupid. In any of the videos you see of Iraqi soldiers they cover their faces with scarves. That's another very bad sign. Iraqis overwhelmingly favor an end to the occupation. It's understandable no Iraqi wants to be seen as fighting for those who want it to continue. A good rule of thumb is if a government is so unpopular among it's own people that it's soldiers won't even show their faces publicly then you have a very weak government.
No matter what you think of the occupation of Iraq, Rice's bravado is misplaced. Washington politicians shouldn't be goading insurgents to attack our troops. She may think a return to the disastrous chaos of a year ago (or worse) is in somebody's interest but it's certainly not good for the US military or the Iraqi people. At least 12 US soldiers have died in Iraq since Rice's comments.
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| Posted by Mark Garrity at 08:50 AM on 04/25/08
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TAGS: Rice, Iraq, Bush, NRA,
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Letter to the Editor in The Doings
A special thanks to The Doings for publishing our letter to the editor! Click the link below to read it.
Democratic Organization Thankful for Feb. 5 Voters |
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| Posted by Kim Savage at 10:26 PM on 03/20/08
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April Speaker to Focus on Darfur
Lisle resident, Gene Tenner, and two local Sudanese residents, Wilson Luol and John Enakal, will give a power point presentation and question and answer session on the genocide in Darfur, the western region of Sudan, at the 7:30 pm Wednesday, April 9 meeting of the Downers Grove Township Democratic Organization at the Community High School District 99 Administration Building, 6301 Springside in Downers Grove. For more information, visit the "News" section of the website. |
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| Posted by Kim Savage at 06:53 AM on 03/16/08
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St. Pats Day Parade
Thanks to all of you who came out and marched with Scott Harper in the St. Patrick's Day Parade.
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| Posted by Kim Savage at 06:37 AM on 03/16/08
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TAGS: DG, Scott Harper
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