REPORT: Bush Loyalist James Baker Calls Iraq ‘A Helluva Mess’
REPORT: Bush Loyalist James Baker Calls Iraq ‘A Helluva Mess’
Former Secretary of State James Baker, one of the most ardent Bush family loyalists, is heading up a commission to review our policy in Iraq. According to the BBC, Baker was “visibly upset” during a recent visit to Iraq, calling the country “a helluva mess.” Watch the BBC report:
The media has reported that Baker’s panel has “ruled out the prospect for victory” and will recommend a “change in course,” possibly including “withdrawing American troops in phases, and bringing neighboring Iran and Syria into a joint effort to stop the fighting.” Both options were proposed over a year ago by progressives in Strategic Redeployment.
Transcript:
President Bush is under increasing effort to change course in Iraq. The BBC has learned that one of the president’s most influential advisors was visibly upset on a recent visit to the country and called it a “helluva mess.” James Baker was Secretary of State to the president’s father, George Bush Sr. He’s now leading a top-level commission which is expect to suggest some significant changes in policy.
Sort Comments By: Top Rated | Date
73 Responses to “REPORT: Bush Loyalist James Baker Calls Iraq ‘A Helluva Mess’”
Register
RSSLogin
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog RollAbout Think ProgressContact Us
Donate
I don’t understand why ThinkProgress is giving so little attention to the shameful and quite frightening Military Commissions Act passed yesterday. Isn’t that more important than what someone said about Baker?
October 18th, 2006 at 11:51 am“Visibly upset.”
I’m whelmed.
Goper’s Lament
October 18th, 2006 at 11:53 amWe all know that when you do a “heckuva job” you get a “helluva mess”.
October 18th, 2006 at 11:55 amWhen the hell are these Bush family “loyalists” going to do something to straighten out Junior?
October 18th, 2006 at 11:55 amHabeas Corpses.
Quite right, SuperEdo
50 Ways To Dump The Dubya
October 18th, 2006 at 11:56 amI don’t understand why ThinkProgress is giving so little attention to the shameful and quite frightening Military Commissions Act passed yesterday. Isn’t that more important than what someone said about Baker?
Comment by SuperEdo
I agree.
October 18th, 2006 at 11:58 amBaker is no Bush loyalist now; he’s a traitor in Bush’s eyes… Bush will waterboard him and start a smear campaign against him…
October 18th, 2006 at 11:58 amNow why did he have to go and ruin a perfectly good report by getting some facts to base it on?
October 18th, 2006 at 11:59 amI agree about the Military Commissions thing, too… that’s why my blog’s focus today was on the topic… we are going down a bad road with the powers we are giving our president…
October 18th, 2006 at 11:59 amOur founding fathers are the only “experts” on building democracy and that is something everyone of us should keep in mind.
October 18th, 2006 at 12:00 pmSo, will Junior publicly oppose Baker and the committee? Or will Junior take it like a man, while privately, his head explodes from someone having the audcatity to publicly disagree with him?
Should be interesting…
October 18th, 2006 at 12:00 pmHonoray member of the Bush Crime Family. He stole the elections for Bush in 2000. He is directly responsible for the Helluva mess.
October 18th, 2006 at 12:04 pmThe cabal must be loosing its saudi support for its mission in Iraq. And so the saud calls on jimmy the baker to do a patch up job.
October 18th, 2006 at 12:04 pmOil is the driver and bush baker botts want the oil, or don’t want to loose the oil.
Follow the oil slick.
It’s like these children (Bush/Cheney) have gotten in over their heads, and an adult has to finally intervene and try to mitigate the damage these brats have wrought. Do you suppose Cheney will get an ass-chewing, too?
October 18th, 2006 at 12:07 pm(The horrible, horrible bill signed yesterday will have have to wend its way through the courts. Until then, we can’t become complacent or quiet. We can write letters to the editor, bug our congresspeople, and yes, even remind those who voted for this bill what creepy assholes they are. I’ve wrote Ben Nelson from Nebraska and chewed him out the other day, and I don’t live in Nebraska).
What are you worried about, Iraq ? Well just pull back and protect the oil. Let them kill each. Its a win win for us.
The USA is going to control the world. And Republicans will stay in power. Thats bad news for brown people and other minorities like homosexuals and the uneducated poor. But too bad. If we have our way, you wont be part of America for much longer.
But its good news for educated white wealthy christian Americans.
We started the country. We run the country. And soon we’ll have even more power.
Its time to bring Jesus back into American life.
The devils must be cast out.
October 18th, 2006 at 12:09 pmBut, but, but Darth Dick said Iraq was going “remarkably well,” just yesterday. Darth must be correct since Baker’s visit to Iraq preceded Darth’s comment. Darth is never, ever wrong. Ever.
October 18th, 2006 at 12:10 pmI don’t trust Baker…
…or this so-called “commission”…
…hell, I’m still smarting from the “9/11 Whitewash”…
October 18th, 2006 at 12:12 pmBadmoodman, BigPapam, MidwestBlue;
October 18th, 2006 at 12:22 pmAttention!
Report to your nearest police station for indefinite detention.
Yer actions have been determined (by me) to be aiding and abetting terrer.
Do not pass go, do not collect your belongings, an orange jump suit will be issued.
Stay the curse!
How soon will it be til James Baker is renditioned?
October 18th, 2006 at 12:25 pmWe are witnessing nothing less than a Baker/Rove-led effort to ’saddle’ Democrats with Iraq.
October 18th, 2006 at 12:32 pm#1
I don’t understand why ThinkProgress is giving so little attention to the shameful and quite frightening Military Commissions Act passed yesterday. Isn’t that more important than what someone said about Baker?
What do you want them to say that hasn’t already been said here and many other places? Nothing will change it until there’s a court challenge or Dems take back one or both houses of Congress.
Most likely, the court challenge will prove it unconstitutional. By then, hopefully, it won’t be able to be recycled through Congress in any shape or form.
In the meantime, what will it accomplish for ThinkProgress to shove aside all other issues to concentrate on that one? You’d be better off hammering away at the news media to give it better coverage. Olbermann’s going to do a Special Comment on it tonight on Countdown. Maybe you could find some way to draw attention to that.
But, all the stupid hand-wringing because this blog or that one is paying attention to something other than the Military Tribunals bill is just ridiculous.
October 18th, 2006 at 12:37 pmGood morning moonbats! What new conspiracy can we discuss today?
I know, Hillary Clinton is actually a man, is secretly in love with harry Reid and it’s all Bush’s fault.
Why is bush at fault you ask?
Global warming.
October 18th, 2006 at 12:42 pm#22 Stu+Pidaso
And who did you used to be?
October 18th, 2006 at 12:46 pmchimp slayer
October 18th, 2006 at 12:51 pmI signed up at Moonbat Watch, central division, to fight injustice, hearsay, and protect the ignorant from the moonbats. Only my second day on the job, but I like the work.
October 18th, 2006 at 12:53 pmApparently, Mr. Baker hasn’t heard that things are going along swimmingly.
October 18th, 2006 at 12:59 pmI’d rather be called a moonbat than an asshat. Republican asshats have all had their brains removed and had them replaced with cow terds. Hence the term asshat.
October 18th, 2006 at 1:06 pm#24
chimp slayer
Would you be planning to slay the Chimp-in-Chief? Metaphorically, of course.
October 18th, 2006 at 1:07 pmAccording to Representative Peter King “being in Baghdad is like being in Manhattan” What he meant to say was being in Baghdad was like being in New Orleans. It is scary when the Republicans are now turning to the brain trust of Baker and Kissinger.
October 18th, 2006 at 1:10 pmGeorge “boy in the bubble” is getting hammered with reality checks….
October 18th, 2006 at 1:15 pmToo bad.
Again, history repeats itself. Poppy Bush has friends who will try to bail out the errant son AGAIN. Daddy’s friends have given a leg up to Bush Jr. throughout his life; from school through the service and the business world, and now the presidency. This is a big one, though, and a solution (if there is one) will be a big pill for everyone to swallow. That is even if Baker’s proposals are effective - which, by the way he is not releasing until AFTER the election. Baker and the rest of Daddy’s chums all see the horror Jr. has created, but thousands and thousands of lives later, they are finally going to produce a possible course of action, and force Jr. to listen to them.
October 18th, 2006 at 1:19 pmBTW - did anyone also notice that the Saddam verdict will be announced on 11/5/06 — two days before the election?
I hit post too soon - James Baker was the guy RESPONSIBLE for the (s)election of GWB. What in hell was he thinking? Jr. was a loser then and a greater loser now. Baker is a little late to the scene of the crime with suggestions, but let’s hope he has something to offer that will help end this debacle.
October 18th, 2006 at 1:22 pmI’ve often heard Baker described as the consigliere of the Bush Family. So for him to be openly critical of the mess in Iraq is very interesting.
“Baker and other Bush family friends helped fund Dubya’s string of publicly failed but privately profitable energy ventures, including Bush Exploration, Harken and the legendary Arbusto.”
Considering that he is also considered the “bag man” for the Carlyle Group, he also has a personal stake in the outcome in Iraq.
Last Thursday night on the Lehrer News Hour, while being cagey in a Margaret Warner interview, he nonetheless spoke of “initiatives or advice that Congress and the president could utilize in continuing the mission in Iraq.”
October 18th, 2006 at 1:25 pmSo, will Junior publicly oppose Baker and the committee? Or will Junior take it like a man, while privately, his head explodes from someone having the audcatity to publicly disagree with him?
Comment by Kat — October 18, 2006 @ 12:00 pm
Junior won’t take it like a man because he is a cruel little momma’s boy. Trust me, this punk will pointedly reject the commissions recommendations. Just look at his extreme intransigence over dumping Rumsfeld.
October 18th, 2006 at 1:32 pmIt seems to me that just yesterday the GOP were claiming that Baghdad is just like Manhatten? No?
October 18th, 2006 at 1:37 pmUp is down and good is bad and “they’ve got ‘em”.
This administration is reaching new heights in the design and dissemination of lies.
In a democracy, maybe all messes are created equal, but some are much greater than others in both there inpact and their level of operational stupidity. Why pick on Iraq? This is a confusion of cause and effect. I vote for the recession (you think America’s poor are ‘bad off’ now? Just wait a year or so). Iraq is one of the causes of the recession, of course, but if Iraq is a “helluva mess”, the economy is a”helluva helluva mess”! Bush is already up to his neck in bull shit–when the economy goes South a little more, Bush will generate so much Bull shit expaining why the recession is the democrate’s fault that he will drown in his own bull shit. Perhaps it true that “what you don’t know dosn’t hurt you”, but if you’re the Pres, what you don’t know can really raise hell with everyone else.
October 18th, 2006 at 1:42 pm#1 I agree
October 18th, 2006 at 1:47 pmYou folks are nuts!
The economy is better than it’s been in years. Unemoloyment is at its lowest, even lower than when Clinton was in charge. Ohhhh. Business is flourishing. Taxes are down.
This economy is tanking BS is just that, BS.
You all should have your head examined! Just because you are angry that you are not in charge does not make it ok that you are insane!
October 18th, 2006 at 1:48 pmThe stock market does not race forard if the economy is tanking. LOL
You folks do not know the slightest thing about economics.
All you do is sit hear and mimic the Democratitic parties talking points to yourselves. LOL
What a buch of moonbats!
October 18th, 2006 at 1:53 pmRight on with that assessment Heywood. The economy is doing great. they just need something to make up about it so they can try and sway the American public to their viewpoint. Just watch, Holiday season sales will set a record high this year.
October 18th, 2006 at 1:56 pmAnd the economy’s bad?
Wake up!
So Heywood Jablome - I gather you agree with Cheney that things in Iraq are going “remarkably well”?
Just for fun, try to focus and keep your comments on this particular thread limited to Baker or the mess in Iraq.
October 18th, 2006 at 1:57 pmI was responding to the rediculous statement made by # 36. He moved the topic towards the economy, not I.
October 18th, 2006 at 1:59 pmToday, The Government Released New Jobs Figures 51,000 Jobs Created In September. Now you all and I both know that in order to just keep up, about 110,000 jobs need to be created each month. But look at the bright side! almost all of those jobs were minimum wage, service positions. This is real good news for my buddies in big business, meaning they can continue to do what’s best for Amurica, line their pockets!
October 18th, 2006 at 2:03 pmseems some of the bush/rove paid bloggers disagree with bushSR/baker.
funny how republicans call each other moonbats when they don’t see eye to eye.
oh well, they’ve been slanderizing and throwing mud at everyone else for so long - it’s almost funny to see them do it to themselves, if it wasn’t so pathetic.
i just wish those republicans in congress would pay attention to america’s needs more often, rather than insult everyone and molest teenage kids.
October 18th, 2006 at 2:05 pmThe stock market does not race forard if the economy is tanking. LOL
You folks do not know the slightest thing about economics.
Comment by Heywood+Jablome
Thats true, Heywood. Still, the voters realize that 1 percent of the Republicans control more wealth than the lower 90 percent of the American population. So while the corporations and execs are doing great, most of the rest of us have not shared in the economic boom and have watched as the wealth of this country continues to be redistributed to the upper classes.
By the way, are we supposed to applaud because junior’s piss-poor economic boom has FINALLY brought the stock market back to the level it reached in January 2000, just a week before he was sworn into office? I mean, it only took him SIX years!!!!!
October 18th, 2006 at 2:10 pmVictory ruled out? Change in course? Phased withdrawal?
Sounds like, oh, I don’t know, CUT AND RUN from those “Republi-featists” (doesn’t quite sound as good as “Defeat-ocrats”)
October 18th, 2006 at 2:13 pmBy the way, are we supposed to applaud because junior’s piss-poor economic boom has FINALLY brought the stock market back to the level it reached in January 2000, just a week before he was sworn into office? I mean, it only took him SIX years!!!!!
Comment by Joe Sixpack — October 18, 2006 @ 2:10 pm
Bingo. I’m also never surprised when someone comes on here to tout Junior’s economic “boom” that they always fail to mention the current US Debt, which stands at $8,540,416,953,972.01 (at 6:19PM GMT).
October 18th, 2006 at 2:18 pm# 45
Yes, six years, Hmmmm.
After entering office facing rising infaltion, after all the corporate scandals, after 911(which really hurt). I say he has done a remarkable job improvising, adapting, and overcoming all obsticles thrown in his way.
October 18th, 2006 at 2:34 pmyes, bush has done a remarkable job at adapting the logic for us to invade iraq. how many adaptations are there now? guess that really don’t matter, after all, bush is the decider - he can decide the lie that sticks for the day.
October 18th, 2006 at 2:39 pmmargaret #33
The criminal Bushite junta…
…never met a conflict-of-interest…
…it couldn’t ignore…
…courtesy of…
…the dumb ass 36% of America’s voting public…
October 18th, 2006 at 2:48 pmWell, apparently some people would rather talk about our crappy economy than the mess in Iraq. I suppose that’s understandable considering how hopeless it looks in Iraq.
Personally, perhaps because I don’t work on Wall St., I do not see the economy flourishing around me, my family or my friends. Everyone I know and work with is struggling with no salary increases and rising costs. And the fellow next door’s house has been on the market for a year and a half.
Just because a handful of guys are making a bundle on the stock market does not mean that your average citizen feels any benefits from it.
In a world where worker layoff annnouncements make a company’s stock go up….
And about those low unemployment numbers - I personally know four people who have totally given up even looking for work. Do those people even count in the unemployment figures?
October 18th, 2006 at 2:49 pm#48
an elective war - borrowing billions from mostly china to fund a fiasco.
you are lucky to doing well - MILLIONs of Americans are not.
but back to thread. W will NOT give in it is not in his nature. Some people
October 18th, 2006 at 3:03 pmare self distructive - he is one of those people - unfortunately we are in on the ride with him. The statement by one of his enablers “we make our own reality” - is terrifyingly true - given inherent power of a POTUS - and more so now that the lemings have given in to the Unitary President. W is like a cross between Rain Man and the Silence of the Lambs psycho - but who has power over quite litterally billions as opposed to the occasional poor wayward white girl.
I’m sure that mister baker will find a way to let little bushboy continue his playtime in Iraq because it’s making all of BushCo very rich, and baker is part of it.
October 18th, 2006 at 3:08 pmSo if anyone is expecting truth and help out of this stinky fish, forget it. It’s going to be another whitewash when all is said and done.
Why isn’t there more about HR6166? Bush just signed into law the right for him to determine if the people of this blog are enemy combatents and would be thrown into prison with no due process “habius Corpus†was just signed away.
October 18th, 2006 at 3:13 pm#34 RealScientist
Junior won’t take it like a man because he is a cruel little momma’s boy. Trust me, this punk will pointedly reject the commissions recommendations. Just look at his extreme intransigence over dumping Rumsfeld.
It should probably go like this: Baker announces that the Iraq war is a complete and utter botch job from beginning to end, and that drastic measures are required if we’re to have any hope of salvaging the Middle East, if not the entire world. Then Snowjob is asked about it at a press briefing and he finds bold new ways to mutilate the English language so he can point out that Baker said that they’re doing everything right and have been all along, no changes necessary. The next day, after Baker attends a meeting in the White House, he publicly retracts everything he said, claiming he was quoted out of context. Apparently, Rove, Cheney, and Gonzales are instrumental in helping Baker reword his assessment of Bush’s conduct of the war. Draw your own conclusions about the form of leverage they might apply.
October 18th, 2006 at 3:16 pm#47, my calculator doesn’t go that high, but I think the national debt correlates to a “birth” tax of something like $30,000. So for just being alive in the US, you owe $30,000 for Bush’s “economic” strategery.
The Dow may be doing nicely for the well-to-do (the Bush crowd of the “haves and the have mores”) while the rest of America is watching the parade to the bank by the rich guys. The working class of the country have no savings, little or no health care, no job security, and a bleak future for their children.
October 18th, 2006 at 3:23 pmChimpeach - have you seen their daily planner in advance? You sure are familiar with the drill.
October 18th, 2006 at 3:26 pmBaker may or may not provide a change of course but remember that Baker helped install Bush in the first place, is a member of the Carlyle group, and whatever skills he may have diplomatically, he has been part of the problem.
I hope he does make Jr. change his course, but look at the fine print if it happens.
Heywood+Jabloyurself
Those who can afford to play the stock market or who have a lot invested in 401Ks are doing fine. You probably weren’t aware that there are others out there who can’t even afford health insurance premiums, let alone retirement plans or investments. You’ve probably seen them, though. They’re the ones who got laid off from an engineering job when the company they used to work for decided to outsource offshore and score some big tax breaks. They’re now waiting on you when you shop at your favorite corporate welfare queen, WalMart. They don’t show up as unemployed anymore, because, technically, they are employed. At any rate, it’s hard for them to see the economy improving. Fromt their vantage point, it’s not. Don’t worry, though. They won’t be voting for Democrats next month. They can’t afford to take the time off to go stand in line for 10 hours on election day (if they’ve got a Republican secretary of state). They need every last cent to cover their rent. And if they get sick, they’re screwed.
October 18th, 2006 at 3:29 pm“There’s nothing more terrifying than ignorance in action.” — von Goethe
October 18th, 2006 at 3:30 pm#57 Marie
I had a feeling that things would get so bad that they’d finally have to let Uncle Jim come in to offer some assistance. But, I guarantee you that there’s no way they’ll let him look under the hood. As a ‘matter of national security’, they’re not going to let him know any of their secrets, either. He’ll give his recommendations. Bush’ll say “Great. Fine. Nice havin’ ya over. Bye.” and shove him out the door.
Snowjob: “The former Secretary of State had a lot of interesting recommendations that he passed on to the president and I assure you that the president and his staff will be looking them over carefully over the coming weeks.”
End of story. I’ve heard this one too many times before.
October 18th, 2006 at 3:41 pm[…] read more | digg story [link] […]
October 18th, 2006 at 3:56 pmYes the market is doing fine–Halliburton went up from 6 to around 82 in about a year. The military industrial complex stocks are doing well and anyone investing in overseas companies is doing well–that’s where the future lies. The Stock market does not necessarily reflect the status of the economy as everyone knows–it reflects the confidence of investors to buy into it. With the loss of manufacturing jobs, pensions, galactic national debt, current account deficits, stagnant and falling wages, GM and Ford in the tank, heavy borrowing from China, Japan etc., housing market on the decline, heavy abuse of credit cards with Americans owing astronomical amounts to banks, utilizing home equity loans to pay for living expense, social security in deep trouble as well as health care costs, outsourcing of jobs and over $330,000,000,000 billion squandered in Iraq with no end in sight and don’t forget Katrina costs that remain to be paid, this economy is headed for disaster. Always remember and never forget the prosperity decade before the crash in 1929. This economy is on shaky ground and the dolt has 2 more years to continue his mischief.
October 18th, 2006 at 4:55 pmI forgot the burgeoning trade deficit which is now the greatest detrimental factor facing this economy. Foreign businesses and companies are reaping the benefits of their exports and increasing their holdings in dollars at the expense of the American economy. Add to this the unstable energy situation and the ultimate price of gasoline and heating oil, then the problem is compounded. Don’t forget the illegal alien problem and the impact on the labor market and wages in the US. The stock market has not begun to reflect the myriad of problems this economy faces.
October 18th, 2006 at 5:36 pm[…] Brownie does a “heckuva job,” and Bushie leaves “a helluva mess“: Former Secretary of State James Baker, one of the most ardent Bush family loyalists, is heading up a commission to review our policy in Iraq. According to the BBC, Baker was “visibly upset” during a recent visit to Iraq, calling the country “a helluva mess.” […]
October 18th, 2006 at 6:00 pmBAKER FLUMMOXES HANNITY: RIPS BUSH FOREIGN POLICY
.
Oct. 5, 2006, FOX NEWS, Hannity & Colmes, 9:00 PM EST
Baker Video Part II
James Baker, the globally accomplished diplomat and former GOP Secretary of State totally flummoxed the cartoonish GOP bagman, Sean Hannity.
Point blank, Baker said that given the choice between waging a war or a foreign policy solely restricted to establishing a new democracy in the Mid-east or alternatively pursuing policies of stabilizing the region, policies of stabilization were preferable.
Hannity tried to parry this heretical bashing of Bush’s core foreign policy talking point with the usual GOP gobbledygook propaganda such as “this is “World War III” and “this is a fight against Islamo Fascists.” Baker seemed uninterested in Sean’s offer of GOP red meat talking points and he continued.
Paraphrased as best I can, Baker said, “Given the choice between engaging America’s forces based on a principle (i.e. ‘democracy’) or based on establishing stability, stability is, all things considered, the superior objective.
Not yet finished shredding the inept Bush, Rice, Cheney foreign policy, Baker continued by basically saying that engaging in talks with America’s enemies is not appeasement and not engaging in talks is sophomoric (my words). He recounted that he personally visited Syria fifteen times and on his next visit Syria abandoned their twenty-year-old policy towards Israel and agreed to sit with Israel in negotiations, de facto recognizing their existence.
This was political theater of the highest order which everyone should have the opportunity to see and hear. Not only was Hannity beautifully sandbagged, in my opinion, but Bush 41′ had to know that his son was going to get this political ass whumping.
This is an important message. It is the old guard of Bush 41′ and Reagan trashing 43’s leadership and foreign policy. Hopefully this clear message will help America return to some semblance of values, competence, professionalism and honesty in its foreign policy.
October 18th, 2006 at 7:08 pmBush will now declare Baker to be “an enemy combatant and be thrown into a secret CIA prison.
October 18th, 2006 at 7:25 pm#66 - Uncle Ho,
October 19th, 2006 at 1:29 amSeemy post #19.
Goooooooooooooooood Morning Walt the Man.
October 19th, 2006 at 7:31 am[…] Former Secretary of State James Baker, one of the most ardent Bush family loyalists, is heading up a commission to review our policy in Iraq. According to the BBC, Baker was “visibly upset” during a recent visit to Iraq, calling the country “a helluva mess.” Watch the BBC report:read more | digg story Links […]
October 19th, 2006 at 3:27 pm[…] As Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) pointed out moments later, Lieberman is missing the point. Iran and Syria will “respond in their own self-interest,” Hagel noted, pointing to Iran’s efforts to aid U.S. goals in Afghanistan in 2002. U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Secretaries of State Colin Powell and James Baker have all criticized the Bush administration’s unwillingness to talk with Iran and Syria, and the Iraq Study Group’s proposal next week will likely recommend direct talks with Iran and Syria. […]
December 3rd, 2006 at 2:21 pmhi, very nice site. thanks you! wo7qW6LWVcyvgD
January 9th, 2007 at 11:55 amHi! Very nice site! Thanks you very much! hVnZXGYOtcHa
January 10th, 2007 at 3:15 pmwecmzxr
January 23rd, 2007 at 12:16 pm