Brandon Friedman, senior advisor to VoteVets.org, spoke last week on Guy James' radio show. Brandon reiterated that the surge was not working, mentioning in particular that the July fatality rate for U.S. soldiers was the highest yet for that month. Not to mention access to electricity is down to 1-2 hours per 24-hour day, the Sunni bloc recently pulled out of the Iraqi government, and as we know the Iraqi government decided to go on vacation for all of August despite knowing full well the moment of truth is fast approaching here in the U.S. to judge the war (one month away). Apparently they could give two sh*ts.

Friedman also made clear that most politicians visiting Iraq get the "dog and pony" show (yeah, I know, surprise!). He said the military wants to look good, like true professionals, so they make sure any visitors from Washington see them at their best, see the Iraq situation at its best, and make sure the delivered message is a positive one. It's similar to business firms and clients, where everyday work occurs in a casual setting, but when a client comes to call it's on with the suit & tie (if male), the desk is cleaned up, and smiles appear all around.

This war has long ago devolved well beyond the point where fake formalities should mean anything, much less energy spent to pawn them off on our representatives. Enough. For once, let's get unvarnished truth to be the main priority conveyed.