*** Senate Foreign Relations Committee Update on Iraq ***

[MiniMe]

Starting on CSPAN3

http://www.cspan.org/watch/cs_cspan3_wm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS3

With Ryan Crocker on videophone from Iraq.

[helderheid]

1. rec 1 - here with you MM - thanks!

[MiniMe]

2. Crocker said that violence in Baghdad is down??

Are we sure he is in Baghdad?

[TwilightGardener]

3. I thought he had refused to brief them? Guess he changed his mind.

[MiniMe]

4. Queestions starting, Biden up

[MiniMe]

5. Biden bringing up the regional concept of the constitution. And the tribal

factions that make up the country

[halobeam]

6. just tuned in, thanks

[MiniMe]

7. How convenient, Crocker is about to answer a question and the hookup cuts out

[halobeam]

8. what question is that? i just turned it on

[MiniMe]

17. Its been so long I don't remember

[helderheid]

9. no kidding!!

[Norquist Nemesis]

10. "Invalid conference ID' *beep* "invalid Conference ID"

Sounds like someone changed the password in mid-answer. :popcorn:

[TwilightGardener]

11. LOL! Soembody reminded Biden his mike was on! Technical problems!

[halobeam]

12. audio not good either... oh brother

[Norquist Nemesis]

14. LOL!! They can "hear"each other, but can't "talk" to each other

[MiniMe]

13. Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now?

They need the Verizon guy. :)

[halobeam]

15. HAH

:rofl:

[Norquist Nemesis]

16. Biden cutting Q-time from 10 minutes each to 5 minutes

lovely :/

[TwilightGardener]

18. Who are all those people in shorts and t-shirts--are we allowed to sit

in on committee meetings?

[TwilightGardener]

19. They're back! Now with a picture of Crocker on screen.

[MiniMe]

20. Luger: what is your greatest concern as far as a redeployment goes

[Norquist Nemesis]

21. ugh...this is getting really hard to listen/watch

'technical problems'

Funny thing that Odierno's live conference feed went swimmingly!

[MiniMe]

23. kkkkkarl's finger wasn't on the cut-off button

[MiniMe]

22. Crocker has been out in the neighborhoods

With probably a huge escort. Iraqi's tell him that they have no confidence in the Iraqi forces

[MiniMe]

24. Ding-Ding-Ding Al Queda

Al Queda will be in the neighborhoods if we leave. Well, how did they get into the green zone in the first place asshat?

[MiniMe]

25. Luger - How can the surge be successful and what happens outside Badhdad?

Good questions. Of course, Luger seems to want to get out, so that is good.

[MiniMe]

26. Kerry up

[MiniMe]

27. Kerry gets him to admit that there is no military solution, only political one

[bdamomma]

28. keep us cube rats informed.

[TayTay]

33. Goes to the heart of the Repub argument from the other night

That the 'surge' has somehow accounted for the lessening of violence in Al Anbar province. (All Repubs, I think made this argument as a sign of hope that the surge was working.)

Kerry's questioning here was designed to demolish the link. The surge is not the cause of what happened in Al Anbar.

EDIT: Amb. Crocker admits that all the provinces are unique and what is going on depends on where they are. Remember the Repub arguments from the other night? Crocker is offering testimony that does not square with the RW talking points used then.

[TwilightGardener]

29. Kerry--where do we look for political compromise when you keep

moving the goalposts?

[MiniMe]

30. So who thinks that Crocker is basically hiding out at the huge US Embassy

with a flak jacket and helmut on most of the time? He has only been there for 4 months, and it doesn't seem like he understands it fully.

[TwilightGardener]

31. Kerry--stop touting al Anbar--it's not the same dynamic as the rest

of the conflict. What does al Anbar have to do with Sadr and the other problems?

[MiniMe]

32. Kerry is doing great!

[TwilightGardener]

34. Agreed--good grilling. You're right, Crocker seems like the kind of

guy who would get "telephone" reports in the Green Zone.

[TwilightGardener]

35. Hagel up--looks TIRED!

[MiniMe]

36. Hagel up

[MiniMe]

37. Hagel - says we keep hearing "we have to buy time, we have to buy time"

Ask what we are buying time for. Hehe

[MiniMe]

39. Crocker - Well, that is complex

[TwilightGardener]

38. Hagel--what are we buying time for, and what about Maliki

saying we can all go home, the Iraqi troops can take over?

[Inuca]

45. "buying time for WHAT"?

If I remember correctly this was one of the important points in his speech the other night. Damn' good point too...

[TwilightGardener]

47. Crocker essentially said, we're buying time for Iraqis to get their shit together--

(but who the hell knows when THAT will happen?)

[Inuca]

67. And it also depends on

what his/their definition is shit is.

[TwilightGardener]

40. Crocker--Iraqi gov can't make "sweeping compromises", not the

level of trust there among constituencies, so the gov needs more time to build trust.

edit--didn't sound like he answered second question about maliki saying we can handle it, go home.

[Norquist Nemesis]

41. Go RUSS!!!!

"Urge everyone to not be so sure that Al Anbar is taken care of, like Basra was taken care of, like..."

Love that man!

[TwilightGardener]

42. Feingold--saying Anbar isn't as peachy-keen as military is making it out to be.

[TwilightGardener]

43. Norm Coleman--trying to make it sound like al Qaeda is responsible

for sectarian violence, says Hagel discounted them as a factor. I hope Hagel has words with him later.

[MiniMe]

44. Boxer up now

[TwilightGardener]

46. Boxer--brings up Hagel's points again before he has to leave--

tries to get Crocker nailed down--what are we buying time for? What about Maliki saying we can go home? Brings up the Levin-Reed vote. Also--why did you put aside the benchmarks? And electricity?

[TwilightGardener]

48. Boxer the Pitbull--not letting Crocker dance around her questions--

what happened to they stand up, we stand down?

[MiniMe]

51. Boxer was great

[MiniMe]

49. Voinovich up

[TwilightGardener]

50. Hey! Where'd everybody go? Guess nobody cares what Voinovich has to say.

I don't either.

[Norquist Nemesis]

53. LOL! "Time is running out! Time Is RUNNING OUT! TIME IS RUNNING OUT!"

Those elections sure come upon you fast!

[MiniMe]

52. Voinivich -- What are you doing to let them know that time is running out?

Good question. Now vote like you talk

[TwilightGardener]

54. Biden--international conference said they would help (UN)--would

take equal ownership. We're not staying, world needs to take ownership of problem.

[MiniMe]

55. Wow, Voinivich and Biden, We aren't staying and time is running out

If you don't have it together, you are going to have a mess on your hands.

[TwilightGardener]

56. Biden--says listen to Repubs, we're not staying. Compliments Crocker.

[malta blue]

57. We're not staying....We're not staying...

Biden really hammers that home. Whether it is now or in September, we are not staying....

[MiniMe]

58. Hmmm, they are clearing the room

Please leave the room immediately and quietly

[MiniMe]

60. Ah, they just announced there is a security issue

I didn't think it sounded normal.

[Norquist Nemesis]

61. What's up with that?

Weird!

[Inuca]

63. Security issue?

Exactly when the hearing ended?

[sabra]

59. what's going on? Everyone is being asked to leave the room immediatly...

[napi21]

62. That's what I was just going to ask! I never heard that before???? n/t

[Norquist Nemesis]

64. CSPAN: There is a "Security Issue" We'll keep out cameras on that

[Norquist Nemesis]

66. So much for "keeping their cameras on that"

*sigh*

[TwilightGardener]

68. Yeah--their promise lasted...oh...seconds.

[Norquist Nemesis]

74. The TV schedule at the site ends w/this hearing

LOL! There's nothing listed under the CSPAN 3 column now...and on air is the National Intelligence Director giving a talk on Open Sources.

:rofl:

[Inuca]

76. Their listings are awful

Can't they find/afford a better webmaster, I wonder....

[sabra]

69. BushCo: too much truth coming out of the Hearing - clear the room :-)

[TwilightGardener]

65. Well, important points: Anbar not indicative of nationwide success--

stop making such a big damn deal out of it. What are we buying time for? How important are benchmarks? We're not staying--international community needs to step in.

[MiniMe]

70. And we aren't staying, get your shit together

That was from pretty much all of the Senators, except for Coleman. Of course, Coleman doesn't have to worry, he is going to lose big time next November

[TwilightGardener]

72. Coleman tried to get Crocker to say it's all AQ's fault--trying to work the

Repub talking points in there. The puppet had a job to do, and he did it. Extra banana from the Chimp today for Coleman.

[Inuca]

71. That was an excellent point made by Kerry

with his scalpel-like analytical mind.

[TwilightGardener]

73. Agreed.

[sabra]

75. Feingold also made some great points re: Anbar

- we've seen successes before that didn't hold
- what happens when they turn on the US Military

[Inuca]

77. Also

these "successes" come and go, and are not often correlated to what we do or the "surge"