Ah ha! More news and views from inside the “Green Zone” … This guy reminds me of the Mel Gibson character in “Conspiracy Theory” … Meanwhile there is a real sectarian civil war going on out there, and a bunch of jerks - in Baghdad AND D.C. - who regard American soldiers as “cannon fodder” for their pseudo-colonialist pipedreams …

Conspiracy nut? Me?

If the shoe fits?

Oh yeah, Puddle Guy - Just saw Freddy Thompson’s announcement on Leno … Is warmed-over Bush rhetoric and ersatz Reagan posing supposed to scare Hillary or any of the other Democrats? … OOO! SCARY!!! as Michael Moore would say!

How exactly am I a conspiracy nut?

I may be mistaken, but it seems you’re implying that some unnamed “liberal media” forces are at work to prevent Centcom’s more optimistic spi - er “news” reports from coming out of Iraq … This is “conspiracy theorizing” at best - and, at worst, outright collusion with the Orwellian ideologues and war profiteers to get more $ and troops for Iraq … Getting a few Sunni “former insurgents” and ex-Saddamites to kick Al Qaeda out of Anbar province is not a bad deal - BUT it’s a long way from “Mission Accomplished” … The best thing - and I admit I’ve changed my tune on this a bit, since I once thought we should “stay the course” to prevent a bloodbath - is to get our own out of the crossfire of what it going to be a loooonnngggg sectarian war in Iraq … If that prevents Halliburton from making more $ or gets Chalabi or Malaki strung up from a lamppost, so be it!

Just checked out your bio at your home page … I rest my case! … I drink Sam Adams myself, but I don’t see “socialist plotters” under the rug!

Charming, Fred. Some challenges for you:

1) Explain how my bio has anything to do with seeing socialist plotters under the rug.

2) Google News’ bias sure looks documented to me.

3) If Google News accepts The Huffington Post and Media Matters for America as legitimate news sources, then bulletins from the politically non-partisan CENTCOM deserve to be included too.

4) What is it about positive news from Iraq that bothers you so much?

Here’s a conspiracy right up your alley, Fred.

Puddle Guy - 1. your admitted rightwing sympathies (you think being a rightwingnut is “cool”; I don’t, so there might be a difference of opinion) … 2. The “News Busters” site is rightwing troglodyte blather - OF COURSE they think presenting other opinions is “biased” - they should take a hint from Dave, who may be partisan, but doesn’t seem to mind other views … 3. Centcom is NOT representative of most of the troops out in the streets in Iraq … It presents views that are only in-sync with the Petraeus High Command in the “Green Zone” … There is a lot of documented evidence from Congressional oversight committees, independent reporters, etc. that what they’re putting out is pure propaganda, vetted by Bush folks at the White House before it is given out for U.S. public consumption … 4. I have no problem with “good news” about Iraq if it’s TRUE! Yes, there may be some positive things going on, but these are often overshadowed, not by “liberal” media types, but by the blunders of the incompetent leaders in Baghdad and Washington, D.C. AND propaganda folks like yourself who keep spreading manure to make your alleged “Commander in Chief” look better than he is …

Ha! I didn’t catch # 9 … Ya got me pal! Faith an’ begorrah, we’re all plottin’ to overthrow the BBC! … “Erin go braless!”

Fred, you said:

Centcom is NOT representative of most of the troops out in the streets in Iraq … It presents views that are only in-sync with the Petraeus High Command in the “Green Zone”

1) Please document your assertion that the CENTCOM news feeds don’t represent the views of the troops in Iraq. Did you come to that conclusion based on what you’ve heard from a third party, or have you been to Iraq recently?

2) Since you appear to value the opinion of the troops in Iraq, would you accept the information they report on their own blogs and in their own e-mails as representative of their views?

I got my views first-hand from former troops who - no longer obligated to parrot the views of Bush, Gates, Petraeus and other “official” sources - are coming home to an indifferent V.A. which considers their needs in the same way that the Bush “Homeland Security” and FEMA people considered the needs of poor blacks in New Orleans … Nuff said! … When did YOU get back from Anbar Province?

Oh yeah, Puddle guy - It is a documented fact that blogs and e-mails from those currently serving in Iraq are heavily edited by CENTCOM (is that part of YOUR “job”?) so that all comments will conform with the most recent Bush “spin” on the war … CENTCOM learned its lesson after the disastrous confrontation between the arrogant Mr. Rumsfeld and an “in country” soldier who dared criticize policy and equipment … Here’s some “homework” for you, pal (since you seem to have an abundance of time on your hands) … If you can refrain from parsing words and making silly cracks about those who, rightfully, saw this war as a debacle from the beginning, try to find out what happened to that soldier afterwards!

I haven’t been to Iraq, much as I wish I could deploy to the war zone and chip in; my uniformed days are behind me.

Now as for the folks you spoke to, I have to ask how representative their views are. When did you talk to them? How recently were they in Iraq, and were they front-line troops?

In other words, could their experiences be different from those of the front-line troops serving in Iraq right now (who are best situated to report what’s happening)?

CENTCOM certainly watches for OPSEC violations, as well they ought. What documentation can you offer to support your accusation that CENTCOM edits milblogs and e-mails for compliance with “official spin”?

I’m a nutty conspirator…

NixGuy commenter Fred O’Neill has blown the whistle on me. Drat. My Zionist overlords at Halliburton are going to be very displeased with my ineptitude…….

Puddle guy - You think I’m going to name names so you can rat them out to CENTCOM and get their benefits stalled? … In your dreams, pal! … You should be thankful you avoided Iraq … Despite CENTCOM spin, I hear the situation there is FUBAR! …

Shavings guy - How do you figure Halliburton is part of a “Zionist” conspiracy? … Sounds like you’ve been talking with Osama again!

Folks, don’t take Fred seriously. When it comes to the war in Iraq he’s either a joker or a true-blue nutter. Any NixGuy readers who’d like to hear from the front-line troops in Iraq should browse the listings at MilBlogging.com and decide for yourselves what’s going on over there. Also, read the work of independent journalists embedded with the guys out on the bleeding edge: Michael Yon, Bill Roggio, Michael J. Totten, Bill Ardolino, Austin Bay, JD Johannes, and Pat Dollard. These guys are out in the thick of it, and they’re not beholden to the Bush administration or to anybody else but the thousands of donors who fund their work.

Fred, you’re so committed to your pessimism that you see evil neocon schemes and threats everywhere you look. I’m just a retired veteran, nothing more. You know darn well that my latest post pokes fun at you. I’m sure you also know that CENTCOM can’t stall the disability benefits of any veteran (I am one, and I know the system.). I call B.S., troll. If you had the documentation you claimed, you’d have provided it by now. You don’t have the goods and you know it.