abu muqawama: What Maliki Said . . . And What it Means
The confusion reflects the dilemma facing Iraqi government leaders.
On the one hand, many of them - particularly among the Shia factions - face a public which regards the US presence as a problem rather than a solution.
With provincial elections coming up soon, they could be outflanked by more militant elements such as the supporters of cleric Moqtada Sadr, who wants American forces out now and opposes negotiations that would cover their continued presence.
Yet the government knows that its own forces are not yet in a position to stand on their own against the two major challenges they face - the Sunni radicals of al-Qaeda and related groups, and the militant Shia militias which were partly suppressed in fierce battles this spring in Basra and Baghdad.
Both groups could simply bide their time awaiting the American withdrawal before making a comeback drive.
Violence has fallen off considerably from the horrendous levels of 2006 and the first half of 2007, but hundreds of people are still dying violent deaths every month.
Hence the ambiguity in statements by Iraqi leaders, who know that their own survival depends on US support continuing until Iraqi forces are genuinely able to stand alone.
But hey, if McCain wins, we are out of there. How not, now that according to McCain, we’ve achieved “victory?”
Thanks, George Bush, for saving the world from the Axis of Evil, and the threat of Islamofascism! And (not incidentally) saving your Saudi buddies from the threat of Saddam Hussein!
Gosh, I’m so glad all America’s problems are solved, and we can enter the Golden Age together with John McCain. I’ll have to be sure to vote for Saint John, lest the election somehow go to Messiah Obama. Or is the other way round? I can never quite figure it out….
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In the summertime I avoid firing up the oven or standing over the grill by using the crockpot a lot. Ten minutes in the morning and supper’s ready when I get home.
Here’s a recipe for Mission Chicken that I made overnight and brought to work for lunch. The smell drove everyone crazy and I had quite a few people trying to mooch some.
3 lb chicken, cut up
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
6oz frozen concentrated orange juice, thawed
A few drops hot sauce
—
3 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp cold water
—
1 cup seedless grapes, halved*
1/4 c slivered almonds
* Someone ate the grapes overnight—with two teenagers in the house, I can’t imagine how that happened—so I used 3/4 c raisins instead of the grapes. Came out fine.
Put the chicken in the cooker. Stir up the rest of the first block of ingredients and pour them over the chicken. Cook low 5 or more hours.
Turn cooker to high. Mix up water and cornstarch and stir it into the pot. Cook on high 15-30 minutes.
Stir in the grapes just before serving. Sprinkle with the almonds.
Yay! Open cooking thread!
Back when I started my no-carb diet, I realized that I liked my protein grilled much better than fried, boiled, or baked. (Generally).
So I bought myself a George Foreman Removable-Plate Grill
. Folks, I have to tell you it has become my single most-used kitchen implement.
I throw a slab of just about anything on it - meat, chicken, fish - douse with some kind of oil, if needed, and sprinkle with whatever spices strike my fancy. Then, six to fifteen minutes later, a delicious, perfectly grilled dinner.
Or other meal. I chopped up a bunch of bacon ends a few minuted ago and dumped that onto the grill. It’s cooking now, and smells great.
I cook it crisp, and then top it with a sprinkle of Splenda. Yeah, sweet meat. I know. But I like it. Deal.
The removable plates make grill cleaning a snap, by the way. Just toss them in the dishwasher. I usually run a bit of hot water and a dish scrub brush over them before the dishwasher, to loosen anything that might have stuck a bit.
I don’t know what I’d do without the darned thing, frankly.
Bill, I hope you are getting a commission from Amazon for that grill. Based on your recommendation I am off to buy one.
Haverwilde, as long as you use either the link in my post, or the amazon link in the side bar, I do get a commission. Thanks for asking!
The dishwasher detergent doesn’t abrade the non-stick coating? I’ve had trouble with that, and now I clean non-stick items only with sponges and soft bristle brushes.
Steak Fiorentina:
equal parts rosemary, thyme, and sage (for 4 steaks plan on a tablespoon apiece)
salt
ground pepper (best pepper mills ever)
extra virgin olive oil (i use columela, don’t use on you buy in a regular market)
lemon slices
sprinkle steaks with pepper and salt.. mix chopped herbs with olive oil and spoon on steaks about a teaspoon at a time. spread evenly on steaks as much as necessary to cover meat. let sit for about 1 hour then cook on charcoal grill.
let rest for 5 minutes.. serve and drizzle with lemon juice.
if you can make a better steak, i’ll buy your steaks.
ps.. for the above recipe it’s best to use a well marbled porterhouse or tbone.
best damn fresh salsa:
i make this for all my parties
3 large, very ripe tomatoes
1/2 cup tomatoe juice
1 small jalepeno chopped
1 med red onion, diced small
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
salt to taste
I bought a Foreman grill whilst living in a high rise. Wore the thing out in 2 years. Not an indictment of the grill, but a statement of how much I used it. I since learned how to live without one (it’s easy, move to the ground floor and use the barbecue), and now you tell me they have one with removable plates? Cool.
No problems so far, Steve.