Think Progress

Rumsfeld Promises To Defeat The Taliban After Claiming In 2002 It Was Defeated»

Today Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld held a press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and promised that the Taliban will be defeated:

At a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Rumsfeld said militants “don’t want to see a country like Afghanistan have a successful democracy. They won’t succeed.”

Yet for the past four years, Bush administration officials — including Rumsfeld — have been insisting that the United States has already defeated the Taliban.

Rumsfeld, 12/18/02:

KING: What’s the current situation in Afghanistan?

RUMSFELD: It is encouraging. They have elected a government through the Loya Jirga process. The Taliban are gone. The al Qaeda are gone.

President Bush echoed Rumsfeld’s comments in Sept. 2004, saying the “Taliban no longer is in existence.”

– Geoff Miller




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95 Responses to “Rumsfeld Promises To Defeat The Taliban After Claiming In 2002 It Was Defeated”

  1. buzzbomb Says:

    Rumsfeld and Cheney are pretty damn good at underestimating the enemy. Any day now the Taliban will be in its “last throes”.


  2. Punchy Says:

    Let’s not forget the insurgency is in its last throes as well.


  3. Subway Serenade Says:

    The Taliban is gone, Al Qaida is gone (NOT) Now we all know that the world would be a better, safer place when BushCo is gone.

    50 Ways to Dump the Dubya


  4. Kermit the Freedom Frog Says:

    Hooray! We won! Mission Accomplished!

    What? I never said that! You must have misunderstood, and I disagree with your characterization of what I said.


  5. Quest Says:

    It’s even funnier, what Bush said, in a pathetically sad kind of way:

    Taliban no longer is in existence. And the people of Afghanistan are now free. (Applause.) In other words when you say something as President you better make it clear so everybody understands what you’re saying, and you better mean what you say. And I meant what I said. (Applause.)


  6. Doodle Bean Says:

    Typical Lib. Forgetting all about how the Taliban became reundefeated under the two year rule. Sheesh!


  7. DieNowForPeace Says:

    http://www.awolbush.com/rumsfeld_saddam.jpg

    Boy, we sure have been doing a good job of thwarting global terrorism, eh? Makes me kinda glad the Rupukes don’t turn their attention toward global warming…


  8. Seixon Says:

    There are still Nazis in existence. Does that mean the “Nazis” aren’t gone? Man this is lame.


  9. Zooey Says:

    I hate to wish it on them, but Rumsfeld needs to spend more time with his family.


  10. TerrytheTurtle Says:

    Seixon will be here shortly to defend Rummy et al as having ‘misspoke’…..like he did on the deficit thread earlier….


  11. Unholy Moses Says:

    What I find most interesting is that, on DefenseLink.mil, the stories about Afghanistan list the enemy as “extremists,” while in Iraq they’re called “terrorists.”

    Seems to me that they have that backward …


  12. the fly-man Says:

    Gone, is that like “In the last throwes”?


  13. Krazny Says:

    #

    There are still Nazis in existence. Does that mean the “Nazis” aren’t gone? Man this is lame.

    Comment by Seixon — July 11, 2006 @ 12:15 pm

    The nazi’s aren’t actively shooting at US troops. Nor are they in a position to take control of germany.

    lousy analogy.


  14. justanobserver Says:

    Seixon, why can’t you look at the words of this administration. “The Taliban are gone” and “Taliban no longer is in existence” are quotes. Direct words from this administration. Now are we to beleive them now, or then, or what? Lame? If you haven’t figured it out yet, posters at this site are fed up with being told something in plain Ol’ Texas statements that are flat out false. If the Taliban are no longer in existence then they can’t return just as the carrier pidgeon and the wooly mamouth are gone. This administration is full of feel good statements that don’t stand the test of time.


  15. Bill Gant Says:

    I wonder why we haven’t defeated the Taliban yet.

    However, I don’t think it has anything to do with:

    1) 130K troops are in Iraq

    2) CIA unit to hunt Bin Laden has been disbanded

    3) War on Terror is a great excuse for Big Brother behavior by BushCo


  16. mighty aphrodite Says:

    Krazny - If you’d crack open a book instead of using them for doorstops you might find evidence that there was an active Nazi insurgency operating for approximately four years after the Hitler regimes defeat.


  17. Leo Belldaere Says:

    Ah, yes, the Taiban. The ones that were gone. The ones we’ve defeated. So now not only are they back, but they are growing stronger and stronger.

    In another year or so, when we’ve withdrawn the vast majority of our troops from Afghanistan, they will run the country.

    And Pakistan will be next.

    ( http://belldaere.blogspot.com/ 2006/ 06/ republican-october-2008-surprise-i-buy.html )

    .



  18. Southwest Bob Says:

    Let’s change the focus of this post to “Nazi’s are bad, so stop beating up on bush/cheney.”


  19. justanobserver Says:

    Yeah, lets all talk about Nazis now because that is such a glaring problem given the statements for our leaders. Hey Mighty A. and Seixon strap on a pair and defend the current adminstration if you feel you must but drop the side street nit picking. Was The President telling the truth back when he said “TALIBAN NO LONGER IS IN EXISTENCE” back in 2004? Was he missinformed or just neglecting the evidence in front of him. Or maybe he (and this administration) took their eyes off the ball and started pushing the Iraq solution. Stick to the points and we all may learn somehting. Keep blowing smoke out your a$$ about Nazis and you’ll just reaffirm what many here believe you to be.


  20. jurassicpork Says:

    Turning another corner, are we, Donald?

    Obviously, I’m not a professional sports writer but I’ve decided to suspend political blogging for the day to write about tonight’s All Star game and baseball itself. Hopefully, I’ve managed to convey my love of the game and to offer some perspective of what to remember while watching the All Star Game tonight.


  21. Krazny Says:

    Very nice MA, but you missed that we are on year 4 of the afghan war. It doesn’t look the taliban is going away any time soon.


  22. War4Sale Says:

    This is great news!!! Now Rummy gets to declare victory all over again!


  23. TerrytheTurtle Says:

    #16 MA - reference please. .Don’t post allegations without your source. I’m interested in learning something today - even from a serial fabricator. I have an open mind see.


  24. Mr. Evil Says:

    The next comment from Rummy will probably be something like, ‘well, we enjoyed defeating and elliminating the Taliban so much that we decided to give them a rematch.’

    This administration is just one big circle jerk!


  25. Zooey Says:

    #10 - TerrytheTurtle,

    Great job handing the Norwegian Hall Monitor his ass.


  26. Yikes Says:

    What would the Taliban be if Bush had put as much into Afghanistan as he has into Iraq? Maybe Osama - remember him? - would be rotting in a jail cell. If you can’t smell the stench coming from this Admin then you must have stock in Haliburton.


  27. Southwest Bob Says:

    Failure
    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Failure (or flop) in general refers to the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective. It may be viewed as the opposite of success.

    What’s the debate? Either the USA (busy/cheney) efforts to eliminate terrorism has or is working or not. Perhaps all the military contractors have a different view of success. Certainly, any stockholders in such companies have enjoyed “success.”


  28. Seixon Says:

    We all know what Rumsfeld and Bush meant, but you won’t let up because you’re in the Gotcha Game. This is what I hate about rabid partisans, they know what someone meant but will act as if they didn’t to try and make them out to be liars.

    The Taliban is having a resurgence. We have about as many troops in Afghanistan as we did 5 years ago. Afghanistan is a UN mission. Of course, the only one to blame is, of course, Bush. Nevermind the UN. They don’t actually need to do anything.

    I assume most of you agreed with going into Afghanistan, so how do you rationalize the UN’s failure in getting control of the situation, including the US? How does this compare to the UN’s mission in Kosovo?

    Later.


  29. mighty aphrodite Says:

    Krazny - I think you might gleen from your doorstop that WWII was a four year war for the US and the insurgency problem was AFTER the surrender. Unfortunately, this World War will have far greater reach as the participants are not identifiable enemies.

    Justobserver - By 2004,The Taliban GOVERNANCE was no longer in controll of Kabul with the aggressive assistance of the Northern Alliance. Are there whack-jobs still operating and wreaking havoc in Afghanistan? Unfortunately, yes…and in American cities, violent cultural misfits are called “gang-bangers”. (Apparently facts are high on your list of priorities….)


  30. Krazny Says:

    Aphro,

    you might glean from your doorstop, that the capture of Kabul, and the defeat of the Taliban was accomplished soon after the start of the war. I realize that you need to move the goalposts to make you rather vapid point. But a complete defeat and capture of a capital city, along with the installation of a new government, generally means that a major war is over.

    If you had bothered to read the post instead of flinging feces. You would have noticed that Rummy said the Taliban was “gone” in December ‘02. You also skip over that the Taliban has regained control of parts of Afghanistan, and are mounting an aggressive campaign to reassert control. but hey why allow facts to cloud a perfectly good poo flinging?

    This isn’t isolated pockets, or small groups. It appears to be an organized and funded group.


  31. dlet Says:

    so how do you rationalize the UN’s failure in getting control of the situation, including the US?
    Comment by Seixon

    I would simply say that this administration did not have the right plan to take control of Afghanistan because they were preoccupied making up reasons and preparing for a war in Iraq. Failure of leadership from the top is how I would rationalize the US’s failure to control the situation in Afghanistan. How would you?


  32. Kermit the Freedom Frog Says:

    MA, the Taliban still control territory in Afghanistan. What part of Germany was under Nazi control in 1950?


  33. TerrytheTurtle Says:

    MA - I’m sorry, I’m still struggling with why the Afghan insurgency is like the ‘Nazi insurgency of 1945 to 1949′ (did I get that right?). How does losing 85 percent of your soldiers after ‘mission accomplished’ compare with losing, er less than 0.1 percent (i think that is an overestimate) after VE day. Come on MA - your grandpa flew over Germany every day or so back then - he must have told you something you can share with us?


  34. TerrytheTurtle Says:

    Ah I forgot - he blamed the French for him being there in the first place. I’m not sure he will have been much help. Too busy trying to take advantage of that damn commy GI Bill to notice, I expect.


  35. Christ was a liberal Says:

    Seixon,
    If you are in fact a Norwegian as many have pointed out, then as a Norwegian, you got no skin in the game as the saying goes. What is the point in make comments pro or anti government/war/politics? If you are Norwegian, your not involved so your opinion carries little if any weight here.


  36. Wayne Says:

    31

    Krazny,

    MA and Seixon never let facts get in the way of their poo slinging. They never address the real facts and always try to hijack the threads away from the subject.


  37. Phil McCavity Says:

    ben - there you are. come home all is forgiven.


  38. madashell Says:

    MA your ignorance is astounding. Do you even know the geography of Afghanistan? Do you have a clue? Where did the Taliban go??? Gee, maybe in the caves of the many, many mountains there.


  39. Zooey Says:

    If you are Norwegian, your not involved so your opinion carries little if any weight here.
    Comment by Christ was a liberal

    You must be new here! It really doesn’t matter how much or how little his opinion carries, the Norwegian Hall Monitor will opine. :)


  40. Phil Mc Crack Says:

    [Comment deleted by admin]


  41. madashell Says:

    please, let it go.


  42. Humanist Says:

    What Sexion and Mighty Aphrodite want is for you all to ignore the facts and fall back into lockstep (you should like that specifically, MA) with the administration. Be a good “bush youth” member and do not question your dear leader. Think not, for it might hurt.

    For Sexion, this is a game. Innocent people are dying and all it is concerned about is arguing semantics. Does it think that if things get bad enough that there is a “reset” button that can be activated to erase the carnage and mistakes, bringing the world back to day one? From what I can see, Sexion is not qualified to offer any insightful analysis on this subject and I really cannot imagine a subject simple enough for it’s pre-elementary level of analytical thinking. I ignore the fool accordingly and suggest you do the same.

    MA, on the other hand, just seems to buzz around you with cherry picked “facts” attempting to derail your conversation into an argument about irrelevant issues. Like an annoying insect that moves just fast enough to make it difficult to swat. I put facts in quotes because what MA presents is completely out of context. For example, in referencing the Nazi “insurgency” in post war Germany, she presents it as if it was an organized and successful effort like that which is occurring with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Rather, it is more akin to your own experience from your civil war and your southerners who refused to give up their cause. You still have confederate flags flying proudly in your south. Yet, fortunately for you, most of them aren’t smart enough to figure out which end is the business end of a weapon so they have not been successful in their effort to regain their past “glory”. Unlike the Taliban, who are experiencing great success in defeating what you all like to refer as “the greatest military the world has ever known.” Just for perspective, the Romans had the same delusions.

    But I see that the majority of you see the real issue here. You did not defeat the Taliban, you merely attempted to bomb them into extinction and then you moved on to a more heinous and egregious folly, Iraq. What you see is incompetent military planning and execution from indisputably the most incompetent commander-in-chief and administration in your brief history. You also are becoming wise to the misinformation and propaganda tactics of your government. This is promising, but I hope that it’s not too late.


  43. Krazny Says:

    Let me understand this:

    MA compares the post war nazi isurgency with the post war Afghan insurgency, and then gets upset when it is pointed out that her logic is faulty?

    As for the rest of her post, since it is totally inane, and has nothing to do with anything, I guess I will just have to laugh at her inability to post a coherant statement.


  44. TerrytheTurtle Says:

    #42 - er MA you made the ww2 comparison, not any of us. And you seem to have no facts as usual to support your position. Your contribution once again is worthless. Your absence will be appreciated.


  45. Gregor Samsa Says:

    How clever of the three Mouseketeers (Krazny, Kermit and Turtle) to compare the current fronts in our war with WWII !!
    Comment by mighty aphrodite — July 11, 2006 @ 1:12 pm

    Actually, the first person to make a reference to WWII (nazis) was Seixon in his post at 12:15. Krazny responded with “lousy analogy”. You countered that by posting:

    (…)there was an active Nazi insurgency operating for approximately four years after the Hitler regimes defeat.
    Comment by mighty aphrodite — July 11, 2006 @ 12:25 pm

    Seems to me you and Seixon were the ones comparing the current conflict in Afghanistan with WWII which -again- is a bad analogy.

    Talk about being delusional…


  46. TerrytheTurtle Says:

    Humanist speaketh sooth. Its about hiding incompetence with political posturing for pure domestic gain. And to those delusional people who want to ’support the president’ and focus on the future - would you take a cruise with the captain of the Titanic?


  47. Captain of the Titanic Says:

    The iceberg is no longer in existence.


  48. bs Says:

    wait a minute. i thought we already demolished them. did i miss something. mission accomplished, last thro’s? what’s up?


  49. Dak Says:

    There are still Nazis in existence. Does that mean the “Nazis” aren’t gone? Man this is lame.

    Comment by Seixon — July 11, 2006 @ 12:15 pm

    Yes, I agree with you that Rumsfeld is lame. After all, he claimed that the Taliban are gone while there are still Taliban in existence.


  50. Sharon Cox Says:

    Rummies a lieing rat basterd for the bush bull shit regime…

    Off topic, sorry…….Read truthout today….A great article by Jan Frel….”Could Bush be prosacuted for war crimes.”….

    Time to get away from the puters and put our actions to work….No more bush wars, here or over there…….Blessings, we need them…..Just passing through….


  51. CLUBBER WORFEUS Says:

    Fool me once, shame on …..uh….you…

    Foll me twice……uh……er…. can’t git fooled again.


  52. unbelievable Says:

    Where’s Tracy on this thread? He just got done telling me a week ago that I was delusional for thinking teh Taliban still existed. He insisted that the Taliban was done and gone, and insulted me for suggesting otherwise.

    Oh, Tracy, where’s my apology?


  53. unbelievable Says:

    I read last week that we have also given them (Afghanistan) $2 million to assist with their fight.

    Guess with that expanding budget deficit and national debt, we can afford to throw money around.


  54. Rebel With A Cause Says:

    Please everyone - just realize that MA and Seixon are doing exactly what they are getting paid for by Roveman.

    I have read all of the Seixon squibs here and must say that they are the most idiotic arguments that I have ever hard.

    The person, I assume its a person, has no sense of reality. Oh well, he is just doing what he gets paid to do. Ugh.


  55. Seixon Says:

    Humanist,

    For Sexion, this is a game. Innocent people are dying and all it is concerned about is arguing semantics.

    LOL. Yeah, because I’m the one playing games with what people said. Uh huh. That’s what Think Progress is doing.

    From what I can see, Sexion is not qualified to offer any insightful analysis on this subject and I really cannot imagine a subject simple enough for it’s pre-elementary level of analytical thinking. I ignore the fool accordingly and suggest you do the same.

    Whatever you gotta do to ignore the fact that you’re attacking Rumsfeld for essentially something so trivial and meaningless that it astounds the minds of critical thinkers.

    As I already said, everyone knows what Rumsfeld meant. Partisan whackjobs will pretend otherwise and create “issues” where there are none. The Taliban no longer controls Afghanistan, the Taliban is no longer the government of Afghanistan, the Taliban is no where close to what it was in 2001. Effectively, the Taliban is “gone”.

    A few Taliban fighters still clinging onto their meaningless existence does not a “Taliban” make.


  56. Seixon Says:

    Rebel,

    Please everyone - just realize that MA and Seixon are doing exactly what they are getting paid for by Roveman.

    Yeah, keep on lying. Shows how mindwarped you are. You can’t even conceive of anyone disagreeing with you without being paid by Rove. I marvel at how completely brainwashed some of you are. Jesus.

    I have read all of the Seixon squibs here and must say that they are the most idiotic arguments that I have ever hard.

    Translation: I disagree with Seixon but I can’t figure out how to actually show he is wrong about anything because Think Progress isn’t feeding me talking points.

    The person, I assume its a person, has no sense of reality. Oh well, he is just doing what he gets paid to do. Ugh.

    LOL. I have no sense of reality? This while you, in your convoluted mind, actually believes I am being paid to post here simply because you don’t agree with me. You’re completely delusional my friend.



  57. justanobserver Says:

    Seixon, you know what Rebel meant. Please look at the meaning and not the actual words. Just like when Rumsfield said “not only do we know they have WMD’s, we know where they are.” Of course Rummy didn’t mean that but I can’t figure out what he did mean by it. Just like “mission accomplished” wasn’t really what the presidnet meant. Just like “Slam dunk” not to be taken literally. Please guide me to the NeoCon handbook of slang so I can better understand what they really mean.


  58. TerrytheTurtle Says:

    let’s see how meaningless the taliban’s existence is:
    http://www.icasualties.org/oef/

    Casualties in 2002: 68
    Casualties in the first half of 2006: 84

    Why don’ t you put that media bias BS to the test and take a drive from kabul to kandahar. let us know how it goes. You’re a liar Seixon.


  59. Wolfdaughter Says:

    Guys, I don’t think we have any way of knowing whether or not anyone who posts to ThinkProgress or any other blog is paid. I would suggest we avoid throwing around such statements. Our position as liberals is strong and fine without that.

    I tend to believe that Seixon and MA post here because they consider themselves conservatives and because they think we are wrong. The reason I believe this is that I’ve known plenty of conservatives, my own mother and father best.

    My father is, or was, a fiscal conservative and only recently has become a social conservative also. My mother was more of a social conservative. My father’s way of dealing with disagreement is to become loud and abusive and to refuse to listen. My mother would “listen” but then as she was backed into a corner, her arguments would become increasingly irrelevant and unrelated to the original point. I used to fall for this when I was younger and engage her on the points she brought up. Later I simply would say that that wasn’t what we were discussing.

    Seixon and MA argue like my mother did. In this particular discussion, they can’t dispute that Rumsfeld and Bush claimed victory over the Taliban, so they bring up WWII again, making statements that don’t equate with anything I’ve learned about WWII in my 60 years on this planet. Or they claim that really isn’t what Rumsfeld meant, or that the Taliban no longer has power.

    I get REALLY tired of WWII comparisons which I see on this blog and others, as the analogies are almost always very poorly conceived and ignoring significant differences.

    As for the Taliban, in the Bushies’ defense, nothing we do at this point is going to get rid of them, because the forces which brought them into existence, such as extremist Islamist views, poverty, isolation, long history, views of the West as decadent oppressors, etc., haven’t even begun to be addressed. Military solutions will have little success because Afghanistan IS mountainous with lots of caves for people to hide in.


  60. Seixon Says:

    Terrytheturtle,

    Casualties in 2002: 68
    Casualties in the first half of 2006: 84

    Why don’ t you put that media bias BS to the test and take a drive from kabul to kandahar. let us know how it goes. You’re a liar Seixon.

    Huh. Rumsfeld said that in 2002. Looks like the Taliban was largely “gone” at that point. No? Bush said it in 2004. What’s the stats for that? As I said, the Taliban is having a resurgence. How that makes Rumsfeld a liar for accurately describing the situation 4 years ago is something you partisan hackjobs will have to explain.


  61. justanobserver Says:

    Wouldn’t it be nice then Seixon for Rummy to state that he grossly underated the situation back in 02 and now has to adjust. Because they are having to change focus on how the Taliban are refusing to go away.


  62. TripMaster Monkey Says:

    - Seixon:

    Rumsfeld said that in 2002. Looks like the Taliban was largely “gone” at that point.

    Nice attempt to sneak the qualifier ‘largely’ in there, Seixon, but we’re used to your distortions by now.

    Rumsfeld, 2002:

    The Taliban are gone. The al Qaeda are gone.

    Bush said it in 2004. What’s the stats for that?

    Bush, 2004:

    And the Taliban, I guess, just didn’t believe me. And as a result of the United States military, Taliban no longer is in existence.

    How that makes Rumsfeld a liar for accurately describing the situation 4 years ago is something you partisan hackjobs will have to explain.

    Consider it explained…and count yourself among the liars.


  63. TerrytheTurtle Says:

    hmm - 2004 58 american deaths

    Seems to be me the taliban never went away - coalition troops have been dying at an increasing rate since 2002. and yet rumsfeld and bush are telling us they have ‘gone’ or ‘are not in existence’. so who’s killing all those soldier boys?
    You may seem to appreciate that the taliban is resurgent but the point of the post is clearly that bush and rumsfeld have lied about afghanistan being a disneyland of peace and democracy…the public deserves better and the public should pay attention to the incompetence of their leaders.


  64. Marie Says:

    Can we just not reply to the ignorant Seixon? His goal is to highjack the thread and he succeeds when he is allowed to dominate it.
    He must be an unemployed jerk who lives in his mother’s basement because he is always here. Ignore him.


  65. Marie Says:

    Rumsfeld should have retired long ago - he has wreacked sufficient damage to last a lifetime. He has lost reality. Reminds me of grampa - he lost his power of reason also.
    When he said the Taliban were “gone” in 2002, we all knew that was wishful thinking not based on anything real - but now he promises to defeat them - again. I guess he forgot he alrady “defeated” them years ago.
    Time for the pasture, Rummy. You’re done.


  66. Zooey Says:

    Can we just not reply to the ignorant Seixon? His goal is to highjack the thread and he succeeds when he is allowed to dominate it.
    He must be an unemployed jerk who lives in his mother’s basement because he is always here. Ignore him.
    Comment by Marie

    Yay, Marie! I know others have said it, too, but really folks let’s ignore the Norwegian Hall Monitor.


  67. Solitaire Says:

    Yes, Marie, that’s what the trolls do. And some people LOVE to argue with them, far be it from me to rain on their parade. But there is always also a discussion thread, so you can ignore the trolls and talk with real people if you choose to.
    TerrytheTurtle is right. The biggest threat to our country today is the incompetence of our “leaders”. I know they aren’t incompetent at bullying their way into what they want, but they are incompetent as leaders of the country and as such they pose an enormous danger. They pose danger in almost every aspect of our lives, not just foreign policy, from the privacy that you think you enjoy to the air you breathe.
    Regarding the Taliban, I must ask where, WHERE is Osama Bin Laden? If we can’t catch this one guy, the #1 enemy on the list, what makes anyone think we can rid the Afghan backwoods of Taliban? Rummy lied. He ALWAYS lies. Surprise! He’s a cog in the lie machine. If he didn’t lie, the machine would break.
    “You might even say it’s the mother of all coalitions”. Very cute. But a Lie.


  68. Solitaire Says:

    Unbelievable, we blew our chance to really oust the Taliban. We won’t get it back.
    The Afghan people will suffer for Bush’s hubris.
    The American people will be blamed for it.
    And Bush will retire to a fabulous estate.
    But…
    the Taliban will eventually disintegrate as all totalitarian governments do.
    The Afghans will be the next India for outsourcing Russian jobs.
    The American people will purge the episode from the collective memory.
    Bush will die, hopefully of something that stem cell research could have cured.
    Global warming will kill us all.
    Karma’s a bitch.


  69. Seixon Says:

    TripMaster,

    You are insane. So for Rumsfeld’s statement to be accurate, every single person who considers themselves part of the Taliban have to be dead before you can say that the Taliban is gone? The Taliban were gone, as in gone from power. As were al Qaeda, gone from their training camps and from their comfortable client state.

    Only ridiculous hacks like yourself would contend that Rumsfeld was lying as long as there was a single person in Afghanistan claiming he was in the Taliban. As I pointed out earlier, that’s just as stupid as calling someone a liar for saying that the Nazis are gone, even though there are Nazis all over the place still.


  70. justanobserver Says:

    Seixon, you have no arguement. it has been clearly pointed out that the statements from this administration don’t hold water. Not in existence and gone are not the same as under control and on the run. The same man said we know where the weapons of mass destruction are and then was never held up by the general public when it’s been proven he (they) didn’t. You are parsing words and missing the whole of the arguement. When are they to be believed? Was it then when the Taliban was gone or now, or never again. Keep pushing your opinion but you don’t have any legitimacy.


  71. unbelievable Says:

    Bush will die, hopefully of something that stem cell research could have cured.
    Global warming will kill us all.
    Karma’s a bitch.
    Comment by Solitaire — July 11, 2006 @ 5:17 pm

    Just like his hero Reagan… That would be justice.

    Yes, I think humankind is in the winter of its existence… I feel sorry for my niece and nephews and future neice or nephew as I’m sure my sister-in-law is a baby machine… They are 5, 2 and 6 months. This is a nightmare to have to be born into…

    Yes, karma is indeed a bitch. And the problem is, we with our evolved awareness of the universe, should have known better.


  72. Solitaire Says:

    Unbelievable, I read on the another TP thread that someone else is using your name to post. If the comment above was not made by you (and I was surprised by it) then i want to apologize for addressing you in my response.


  73. Coffins draped with flags Says:

    If you don’t beat them the first time, try, try again. These liars speak on the record and act like no one documents their stupid statements.


  74. big papa Says:

    Wouldn’t it be nice then Seixon for Rummy to state that he grossly underated the situation back in 02 and now has to adjust. Because they are having to change focus on how the Taliban are refusing to go away.

    Comment by justanobserver #64

    justanobserver,

    No!

    What would be nice is to see that murderous son of a bi*ch chained next to his TREASONOUS co-conspirators in the White House, Pentagon, Halliburton, the Fox Propaganda Network, and Weekly Standard…

    …ALL frog-marching to a courtroom in the Hague…

    …and after being convicted for fraud, war crimes and crimes against humanity…

    …having their (and their families and supporters’) personal fortunes/assets confiscated and returned to the national treasury…

    …then sentenced to life in poverty, and misery in some faraway goulag…

    …or better yet…


  75. Solitaire Says:

    The lies are documented and published. The Congress and the MSM ignores them. The Administration pisses in our faces. So much for documentation.


  76. big papa Says:

    …subjected to the miserable existence they’ve foisted on the Iraqi people…


  77. Coffins draped with flags Says:

    Why does anyone argue with brainless Seixon on this blog? I know, I get caught up in responding to the trolls ignornant comments at times. The way to avoid getting hooked into arguments with someone that will take a bullet for bush/cheney/rumsfeld is to just not read their comments. I now scroll right past the trolls and don’t waste my time reading their bullshit.


  78. justanobserver Says:

    80. I tend to read most posts and really have no problem with the trolls. it only solidifies my beliefs. firing back at them in no way allows them to control the thread. They are mere pimples on the a$$ that is the bush administration. Many of the posters here stand up for their beliefs (on both sides) and as long as it’s adding to the thread that’s great, if it’s just the mental masturbation that so many of the neotrolls spout then it’s just reaffirming my belief there are more horses asses than horses.


  79. Coffins draped with flags Says:

    Sounds Rummy’s Alzheimer’s is progressing.


  80. Coffins draped with flags Says:

    #81 -more horses asses than horses… that’s funny.


  81. Coffins draped with flags Says:

    Oops… meant to write - sounds like Rummy’s Alzheimer’s is progressing.


  82. Interested Reader Says:

    The more corners we turn…the more this looks like a circle jerk….run by a stupid jerk..
    Spinning the baby down the drain with the bath water….


  83. Wyatt Earl Says:

    YOU CAN’T BELIEVE ANYTHING THEY SAY!

    This is just another fine example.

    That’s *got* to be the Dems response to this kind of thing, over and over, every time it happens: a mantra for the electorate.

    It scales really well, as in,
    ** you can’t believe them on WMD,
    ** you can’t believe them on Iran,
    ** you can’t believe them when they say “Mission Accomplished,”
    ** you can’t believe them on New Orleans,
    ** you can’t believe them on budget deficits,
    ** you can’t believe them when they say we need a flag burning amendment,
    ** you can’t believe their negative ads,
    etc., etc., etc., ad nauseum.

    They can’t tell the truth, and that needs to be the #1 THING going into November. It’s not only a great defense against negative ads and swiftboating, but it’s also, uh, true.


  84. big papa Says:

    Yo Wyatt,

    Maybe you should e-mail that post #86…

    …to Howard Dean and the DNC…

    …I’m sick and tired of all this one-sided (Democrat) fu*king civil/ gentlemanly…

    …politics…


  85. Interested Reader Says:

    Sadly tho….The DEmmies ain’t doin chit either….they collectin side money goin thru the motions ..hopin…they get their chance at the lessons learned here….IMPEACH THE WHOLE DAMN LOT!!!….Look at their retirement package…for damn sure not anything like mine or yours….but we continue to elect the dumfux…third spot on ballot…”none of the above” i thinkin….I’d vote a straight party ticket then.


  86. Hughes for America Says:

    Remember the Taliban?…

    Donald Rumsfeld does:The Taliban will be defeated in Afghanistan although cross-border movement of militants is continuing, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said in a surprise visit Tuesday. [snip] At a joint news conference with Afghan President H…


  87. Ho Chi Minh Says:

    Isn’t this kind of like Custer claiming victory at the Little Big Horn?


  88. Ho Chi Minh Says:

    Custer; “damn, where are all those Indians coming from?”


  89. Ho Chi Minh Says:

    #78; it’s enough to want to start a revolution, isn’t it?


  90. JYC » Blog Archive » Link Party #5 Says:

    […] • Donald Rimsfeld vaincra les talibans, après sa déclaration de 2002. […]


  91. trueblue Says:

    remember the good ol’ daze when the taliban were called “freedom fighters”


  92. Political News » Rumsfeld Promises To Defeat The Taliban (Claimed In 2002 It Was Defeated) Says:

    […] Today, Donald Rumsfeld held a press conference and promised that the Taliban will be defeated. This is strange because for the last 4 years, Rumsfeld has been claiming they have already defeated the Taliban.read more | digg story Digg this […]


  93. duncapone Says:

    The simple fact is that Rumsfield has always known that the troops on the ground in Afghanistan having been coming under fire from the Taliban every single day that they have been in theatre.
    Intelligence on the ground has been able to tell him that the Taliban have been omnipresent since the U.S. led invasion and yet despite being in posession of this information he feel felt content to lead people in to believing that the Taliban had been routed. Something he and all other officials in the administration knew was patently untrue.



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