Iraq Insanity

The Government Accountability Office issued a report that the Pentagon lost track of 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and 80,000 pistols given to Iraq security forces.

The report from the Government Accountability Office indicates that U.S. military officials do not know what happened to 30 percent of the weapons the United States distributed to Iraqi forces from 2004 through early this year as part of an effort to train and equip the troops. The highest previous estimate of unaccounted-for weapons was 14,000, in a report issued last year by the inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.

The Pentagon isn't even going to attempt to dispute the report. They have started an investigation into the missing rifles. The question is how many of these weapons were sold to insurgents and terrorists. "It likely means that the United States is unintentionally providing weapons to bad actors," said Rachel Stohl of Center for Defense Information.

In a galaxy far, far away known as the Republican presidential debate...

“They are making progress, and we are winning on the ground,” said Senator John McCain of Arizona. “We must win. And we will not set a date for surrender, as the Democrats want us to do.”

Senator McCain's track record is less-than-steller on Iraq. His appearance on The Situation Room was the moment that sank his campaign and credibility.

SEN. JOHN McCAIN (R-AZ): I mean that there are neighborhoods safe in Iraq and he does go out into Baghdad and the fact is there has been significant progress and people are stuck in a time warp of three months ago. Of course, it’s still dangerous. Of course it’s still very dangerous. We only have two of the five brigades there and we are already seeing significant progress.

Rudy Giuliani does his usual tough guy spiel.

But over all, the candidates were adamant about continuing the fight. “The reality is that you do not achieve peace through weakness and appeasement,” said Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York.

Guiliani is doing a combination of Bill Kristol and professional wrestler trash talk. I have yet to hear him talk seriously about policy. Healthcare wonk Ezra Klein breaks down Giuliani's healthcare plan.

I'm supposed to be writing about Rudy Giuliani's health care plan today. And I would, if Rudy Giuliani had a health care plan. But Rudy Giuliani doesn't have a health care plan. What he has is a pretext with which to attack the Democrats. Indeed, just about all you need to know about Giuliani's thoughtfulness on the issue can be summed up by the following: In the speech introducing and detailing his new health care proposal, Giuliani refers to the "Democrats" six times. "Single-payer" is said eight times. "Socialized medicine," or some variant thereof, makes nine appearances. "Uninsured" is never uttered -- not once.

I was amazed by how horrible Giuliani was on Larry King Live. He advocates staying in Iraq, but will not go on-the-record to guarantee success.

KING: Let's get to some issues.

A leading industrialist, a friend of mine, said if the United States were a corporation, based on the Iraq War, everyone at the top would be fired.

How would you comment on that? And that -- in other words meaning it ain't going right.

GIULIANI: Yes, but that would have been true -- he would have said the same thing about the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln would have been fired. And he might have said the same thing at the Battle of the Bulge and Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Marshall -- all would have been fired. And...

KING: So you're confident this is all going to turn around?

GIULIANI: Oh, no. No.

Giuliani makes McCain look credible on Iraq. The former is posturing. The latter knows he is sinking his presidential aspirations. I certainly don't want John McCain to be President, but he is sticking to his guns. Partly, because he has a delusional idea about the ground situation in Iraq. GOP candidates either back Bush's policy cynically or foolishly. Hardly reassuring.

There are now 3,669 U.S. military casualies from the Iraq war.