Donald Rumsfeld is a war criminal (he authorized torture) and knew next to nothing about "democratization," but sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don't. In his favor, Rummy continually advocated fewer troops and "taking the training wheels off" the Iraqis.
Here's a quote:--
And what's going to -- what it's going to take is a recognition that it is not simply security forces, it is not going to be won militarily -- it can't be lost militarily, but it's going to be won by the Iraqi people, over time, as they are able to move forward on all three fronts -- the political front and the governance front and assurance of people that in fact it's a fair system, it's a fair constitution; they're going to get a fair break when they amend the constitution; they're going to get a fair break in the federalism debate; they're going to get a fair break in the oil legislation that has to pass; and the economic progress -- when people say, "Okay, it's going to make it," and they start nodding their heads, and they vote with their feet, and the economic circumstance improves.
Now Rummy is gone and what do we have--an endless, deeper US military commitment in Iraq. I'm not shedding any tears--just sayin'. (I stole that from someone).
Posted by Don Bacon at March 18, 2007 05:17 PMMr. Bush is a politician, therefore everything he does is a pander. Stop looking at the storyteller and look at the audience.
Posted by Frank Wilhoit at March 18, 2007 06:01 PMTh d f wr n trrr s t mnly sll sm wpns, nd, lss mprtntly, trn sm dth sqds whn n nd f qck nd drty ctn.
gss w cn ls dd tht th rwlln Cntns Wr nt nly mks mny, bt kps th dcl msss ndr cntrl. Th nly thng tht r vtng rhds cn d s mrch lk pltn f lmmngs, whl vdng clffs, mk trfl spchs, hg fw trs n th bff, nd g hm t ctch th dl shw.
mn, fr m, thnkng s hrd wrk, s lwys hv t qstn my ssmptns, whch my nt mk m xctly th mst pplr. Jdgng frm r rhd vtrs, thy dn't nd n thnkng-fl sht, fr sr.
[Editor: ignore=off]We're hated because we, through our commercial and national security elites, assault and murder other people to exploit their resources and enforce our hegemony. We're no longer feared because these other people have effective self-defense and can retaliate in kind.
No amount of hard or soft power can erase these facts.
Our empire, a feckless anachronism, no longer creates its own reality.
We should be grateful to the SW Asian resistance for demonstrating this
and get on with divesting our imperial assets and manners.
What Pvt. Keepout said. And paradox, I love you.
Posted by Sharkbabe at March 18, 2007 08:14 PMwinning hearts and minds
http://www.michellemalkin.com/
;)
Posted by muckdog at March 18, 2007 09:16 PMWhen Cheney said during the 2004 election, in effect, "elect Kerry and the terrorists will attack again" * perhaps he had more reason to know how true this might be than we have ever thought. Perhaps he knew precisely the conditions under which such attacks would occur and knew, therefore, that all those plans would be a waste of money. There is only one reason I can think of why he might be certain of it. And it would explain both why he might accidently assert what he did and why he would backpedal so quickly.
If this unspeakable condition were true, then it would cast into a different light not only the lack of spending on anti-terrorism measures, but also the war in Afghanistan. We know already that Iraq had nothing to do with terrorism, Maybe the same is true of Afghanistan? Maybe it also explains why Cheney would have need of a living, breathing, free bin Laden but not an incarcerated or dead one.
Why is it that the acts of the Bush administration only make sense if one thinks the unthinkable? The assumption of incompetence just doesn't quite cover all the ground..
----
*
Two weeks ago Mr Cheney sparked outrage when he suggested that to elect Mr Kerry would be to invite a terrorist attack. "If we make the wrong choice, the danger is that we will get hit again, that we'll be hit in a way that is devastating," he said.
pvt. yh, thnks.
stv, y'r n t smthng; mn, crp, jmp bck t th 60's, w hv Jhnsn n chrg, h plngd s nt Vtnm (Tnkn); st p th srls (nt qt, SS Lbrty, thrws w wld hv bmbd th gyptns); hd smthng t d wth ch f th fllwng dths: JFK, RFK, Ml X, nd Lthr, nd whl n hs wtch. RFK prbbly wld hv tkn th prmry frm th bstrd.
Bg Bsh pprs t hv wrkd wth Jhnsn n ll th bv (C).
nd y'r jst nw mkng th rq/fghn nn-trrr cnnctn? Y knw tht w hv bnch f dmn gngstrs rnnng th cntry? Rght t wth Nxn nd BB Rbnz r Rbz r whtvr. Th C hs LWYS wrkd clsly wth gngstrs, mch t th ngr f Hvr, whn h ws lv.
Bt 'm snsng tht y'r qstnng yr dlgcl cnvctns: gd, thn w r pprchng th pnt whr w cn ctlly gt NR th wrk st, nstd f srchng fr nswrs whr th crp lrds drct s, f y knw wht mn. Bt thnks.
[Editor: ignore=off]stv, lt m tln my bv lst pnt ths wy; sy y'r bg mny hndlr r crp lrd f 100 yrs g, nd y gt cght rcktrng r mrdr f rvl r whtvr ls mjr.
Wht's y gnn d? ftr hrng vry gngstr lwyr, y'r gnn fgr t wy t cntrl th cntrllrs, ftr ll, whn th gnts hkd y p, wll, tht ws rl pwr, y flt pwrlss, smthng tht y thght wld nvr hppn t y.
nc y bt th rp, y bgn t mv mny nt plcs whr th pwr ccrs. Y by ppl, y dct yngstrs, y py th bll fr pltcl cmpgns, y hv yr cngrssmn wrt blls tht prtct th rch nd mntn lrg pr bs; nc y s hw mch th pr lv yr bght nd pd fr pltcl, y bgn t by th md, pmp mny nt Hllywd, ll t sbtly cltvt th msss t s rlty TH WY NLY Y WNT THM T S RLTY.
Th nxt thng y knw, s y pss th kys f cntrl t th nxt gy, vn th p nd cmng kds, tht y dn't trght wn, n trms f pyng t, hv bght nt yr vw f rlty bcs thy lrnd thrgh yr Hllywd nnsns. Y'v bcm th prnt f mllns f rhds, bt thy dn't knw wht y'v dn, nd y r bt s srprsd s thy r, bt y snr t thr stpdty jst th sm.
pn yr dth, th bv rlty smply bcms slf flfllng prphcy tht snwblls bcs nrly n n rlly knws wht's gng n, xcpt fr vry fw f yr ld frnds.
Th rlty f th bv s rl; th Wst s ld by vry smll grp f ppl s pwrfl tht thr fllwrs (msss) r dldd nt blvng tht th nly pssbl rlty s thrs nd, gt ths, th nly pssbl nmy t thr rlty s xctly wht thy r tld.
Wh r ths ppl? Jst fllw th mny. Fr th mny trl shws wh mks t, wht vl t hs, th crprt hrrchy, th crprt hstry, th crprt vw f cnsmrs (mrkt), nd pnts t ftr trnds (l rsrvs, gld, tc.); fr t ths gys, mny s pwr nd pwr s thr rlgn: pr prpht/prft f Mchvll.
Th trth f th bv hs mny mr lyrs f bstrctn, bt bynd th bndwdth hr, bt th frmwrk s ccrt, nd fr, fr mr trrbl, th clsr y gt t th trth.
[Editor: ignore=off]pr, ls, th rwlln trrr crd s trly smpl t s whn w lk t th srfc cntrdctns: thy rn vryn thrgh th scrty rngr t th rprts, bt lt llgls ldd wth gns nd drgs t crss th brdrs BY TH MLLNS.
vn f y r prty ln, rgrdng llgl lns, y cn stll nt th scl cntrdctn nvlvd. Y sy, wll, thy cld blw p pln, ys, bt, thy cld rn crss th brdr wth nk.
Th trrr crd s pr rwlln, dsgnd t mntn prptl wr. Th C hdn't cl tht th Svts wld crsh, s, thy nvntd sm s cht crd. nd th msss f rhds lv t.
[Editor: ignore=off]