Farewell. The Flying Pig Has Left The Building.

Steve Hynd, August 16, 2012

After four years on the Typepad site, eight years total blogging, Newshoggers is closing it's doors today. We've been coasting the last year or so, with many of us moving on to bigger projects (Hey, Eric!) or simply running out of blogging enthusiasm, and it's time to give the old flying pig a rest.

We've done okay over those eight years, although never being quite PC enough to gain wider acceptance from the partisan "party right or wrong" crowds. We like to think we moved political conversations a little, on the ever-present wish to rush to war with Iran, on the need for a real Left that isn't licking corporatist Dem boots every cycle, on America's foreign misadventures in Afghanistan and Iraq. We like to think we made a small difference while writing under that flying pig banner. We did pretty good for a bunch with no ties to big-party apparatuses or think tanks.

Those eight years of blogging will still exist. Because we're ending this typepad account, we've been archiving the typepad blog here. And the original blogger archive is still here. There will still be new content from the old 'hoggers crew too. Ron writes for The Moderate Voice, I post at The Agonist and Eric Martin's lucid foreign policy thoughts can be read at Democracy Arsenal.

I'd like to thank all our regular commenters, readers and the other bloggers who regularly linked to our posts over the years to agree or disagree. You all made writing for 'hoggers an amazingly fun and stimulating experience.

Thank you very much.

Note: This is an archive copy of Newshoggers. Most of the pictures are gone but the words are all here. There may be some occasional new content, John may do some posts and Ron will cross post some of his contributions to The Moderate Voice so check back.


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Tuesday, September 22, 2009

GOP Talking Points or a Strategy?

Commentary By Ron Beasley



Steve suggested here that Obama was being set up by McChrystal and Petraeus.  Spencer Ackerman picks up on that and adds the Kagans to the mix.  As he points out McChrystal is going to request 40 to 50 thousand troops that simply aren't available.

It�s difficult to understand how the Kagans think there are 40,000 �
45,000 U.S. troops available for deployment � the Pentagon doesn�t
think the Army can deploy a single additional combat brigade to
Afghanistan in the next six months
� and the report is silent on whether to increase the pace of
withdrawal from Iraq (formerly a Kagan no-no); whether to decrease the
time in between deployments, which the Army and the Secretary of
Defense will resist after having to do it to sustain the 2007 Iraq
troop surge; or whether to � I don�t know.





So does that mean that McChrystal and the Kagans are insisting on a strategy that requires troops that aren't available and they know it.  If so why?



....so it calls into question whether the Kagans have provided a good-faith effort or a set of GOP talking points.

So far this attempt by the neocons and their Generals has not been met with favor by the administration.

The Obama administration is not reacting kindly to the leak�s attempted
trap. �The impact may be the opposite of the leakers� intent,� said an
official in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. �This will increase
the determination of the civilian leadership not to be rushed or
pressured.�

The one to watch here will be Gates - how will he react.



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2 comments:

  1. HootsbuddySeptember 22, 2009 at 10:43 PM

    The solution is a military draft. Think about it.
    Conscription would reduce unemployment, satisfy the generals and shift public attention away from the troublesome, politically divisive health care arguments. Patriotic, saber rattling Americans putting their children where their mouths are would then understand what "supporting the troops" really means. Public opinion would almost certainly bring about a quicker end to the Af-Pak Adventure. And if the country fails again to adopt universal health care, a few more young adults will benefit by getting their medical needs met by the VA. Here's an idea: what about welcoming illegal aliens into the armed forces in return for US citizenship?
    I was thinking about using the phrase killing two birds with one stone but decided it would not be a suitable metaphor in this case.

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  2. oh hell yesSeptember 23, 2009 at 4:55 AM

    As he points out McChrystal is going to request 40 to 50 thousand troops that simply aren't available.
    oh hell yes there are 40,000 - 45,000 troops available !! they are currently Occupying Iraq as i type this, keeping Iraqi OIL safe and sound .... for Red Communist Chinese extraction.
    the usa just cannot let go of Iraq and all of that lovely lovely sweet jeebus OIL underneath the Iraqi sand.

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