Kristol: Iraq Chaos Shows That Insurgents Are ‘Worried,’ Recent News Is ‘Slightly Optimistic’
Kristol: Iraq Chaos Shows That Insurgents Are ‘Worried,’ Recent News Is ‘Slightly Optimistic’
Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol said on Fox News this morning that the recent surge in Iraqi violence is a sign that the extremists are “worried.” Kristol said, “If I were a Sunni extremist and was worried, which I would be, about a doubling of U.S. forces in Baghdad, what would I do? I would try to convey an impression of chaos.”
He added, “On the whole over the last two weeks, some of the news for Iraq is slightly optimistic.” Watch it:
In fact, recent reports from Iraq note that the escalation is “failing to bring results.” Here are some of the deadly acts of violence that have taken place in the last week alone:
January 28: Mortar shells rained down on a girls’ secondary school in a mostly Sunni area of western Baghdad, killing at least five students and wounding 20.
January 29: A daylong battle with heavily armed Iraqi fighters witnessed the downing of a U.S. helicopter, killing two U.S. troops.
January 30: Bombings, mortar attacks, and shootings killed at least 36 people across Iraq.
January 31: Bombers struck Shiite worshipers during ceremonies marking Ashura, the holiest day of the Shiite calendar. At least 58 people were killed.
February 1: At least 24 Iraqis were killed and dozens injured in bomb blasts, gunfire and other violence.
February 2: A pair of suicide bombers detonated explosives among shoppers in a crowded outdoor market Thursday in a Shiite city south of Baghdad. The attack killed 45 people and wounded 150.
February 3: A suicide bomber killed 135 persons yesterday in the deadliest single explosion in Iraq since the 2003 war began.
February 4: For the first time, the U.S. command publicly acknowledges that four downed U.S. helicopters were lost due to enemy fire.
Transcript:
WALLACE: Terrible bombing. another terrible bombing. One of the worst single bombings of the war in Baghdad. More than 130 people killed. Bob Gates saying that these units, Iraqi units are arriving in Baghdad at 55% manpower. Same question I asked Senator Graham: can 17,000 U.S. soldiers make all that much of a difference in a city of 6 million?
KRISTOL: Yeah, doubling the U.S. troop presence in Baghdad can make a big difference. Look, if I were a Sunni extremist and was worried, which I would be, about a doubling of U.S. forces in Baghdad, what would I do? I would try to convey an impression of chaos. I would get the biggest truck bomb possible and drive it into a market in a Shiite area. If that’s going to drive us out of Iraq, that’s just ridiculous.
That would just send a message to any place we have interests, all the most ruthless group of terrorists has to do is kill a bunch of civilians and we’re going to leave. There’s no evidence they can stand up to U.S. troops and quite a bit of evidence that they’re worried. On the whole over the last two weeks, some of the news for Iraq is slightly optimistic. It’s going to be tough, but I see nothing that persuades me that the surge can’t work quite well.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
i cant believe this deathmask is on teevee every sunday.
February 4th, 2007 at 10:45 amHow can this idiot say things like this with a straight face? He can’t possibly believe his own bullshit, can he?
Insurgents are “worried”? I doubt that suicide bombers are worried about much of anything other than blowing up another market.
February 4th, 2007 at 10:45 amKristol said, “If I were a Sunni extremist and was worried, which I would be, about a doubling of U.S. forces in Baghdad, what would I do? I would try to convey an impression of chaos.â€
Let’s fix it for you Bill:
“As a Christian extremist and worried, which I am, about a doubling of Taliban forces in Baghdad, what would I do? I would try to convey an impression of chaos.â€
Mission accomplished. Chaos reached.
February 4th, 2007 at 10:46 amDidn’t Cheney say this only to see violence escalate to unimaginable levels?
Bill Kristol should stake his job on his hellacious statements so that we could see an end to his republican ass-kissing, pot-licking anti American bullshit.
February 4th, 2007 at 10:46 amYeah, Kristol- The insurgents are so desperate that they are coming over to your house and plant a WMD up inside your anal cavity. Imagine the chaos when you explode live, all over the FOX News set. Maybe then, you’ll be able to see the light, dim one.
February 4th, 2007 at 10:47 amGet the biggest truck bomb possible and drive it into a market in a Shiite area. If that sends us out of Iraq, then all they have to do is kill a bunch of civilians and we’ll leave.
If this happens, Bill needs to be arrested for aiding “the enemy”.
February 4th, 2007 at 10:48 amWe’ve got them on the run! You can tell by how they don’t run and just keep fighting.
February 4th, 2007 at 10:54 amwe must be fair, kristol sees carnage and death, starvation and destruction as the “positive aspects”
February 4th, 2007 at 10:54 amnow look at his comments
This morning I was listening to the Democrats and Republicans argue on TV about the war, what to do about ir, who was right, etc.
We cannot fix this. There is no longer any good option, no honorable option. The only things we have a responsibility to do as a nation is to (1) prevent any more of our young men and women dying, and (2) offer asylum to the hundreds of thousands of Iraqui refugees in now residing in Syria nd Jordan, and any other Iraqi who wants to leave their now destroyed country.
This debate about the war now plays into the hands of the White House. The media and both major parties are in the process of trying to make the public forget about the crimes leading up to the Iraq war. They will ignore the treasonous criminal behavior of Bush and Cheney, and we will soon be at war with Iran as a result.
We have toi keep pressure on Congress to impeach. Join a congressional impeachment committee in your area, see democrats.com.
February 4th, 2007 at 10:56 amcatastrophic success!
February 4th, 2007 at 10:59 amSound like they are in the last throes
yet again….
Support the Troops, bring them home
February 4th, 2007 at 11:06 amFrom where Kristol sits, everything looks rosy.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:08 amHe’s not getting his ass shot off.
Being an avid Chicago Cubs fan, I am used to unfulfilled expectations. I’m used to people telling me how great it’s going to be in April only to be told in May, “wait until next year”.
I find prognosticators such as Kristol amazing when it comes to their support. They are wrong time and time again, yet various media outlets keep going back to them for their predictions.
Wouldn’t it be great if these folks had their won-loss average printed on the screen every time they appeared? Let’s see, what would Kristol be .183? No problem Bill, we’ll just wait until next year.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:08 am“impression of choas”.. wow. these people are really detached from reality.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:08 amwe all know that iraq is really a paradise and that this whole “civil war” thing is just a product of our liberal media… uhhhh huuuhhh
This is just a prelude on what he is preparing to tell.
If chaos gets as big as it’s bound to be, and the US will withdraw, guess whose fault this will be. Yours! Because you didn’t see the big picture and the desperation of the enemy, you just wanted the troops to leave. When the troops are finally called home, when the enemy – out of sheer desperation and worrying, of course – has killed another and another 1000 Iraqis per week, it is going to be you who have lost this war.
It’s very necessary to shift the focus back to the rationale for this war. It is necessary to get a public investigation going now. Otherwise, they will lay the blame on your doorstep.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:12 am“a doubling of U.S. forces in Baghdad”
huh?…adding 21k to the whole of iraq will double the force in baghdad?…
February 4th, 2007 at 11:13 amis that a fact?…
# 10 gogreen:
You said it so much better than I have. You’re 100% right!
February 4th, 2007 at 11:14 amEven before it begins, The Surge is killing people.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:15 amI was under the impression that Maxwell Smart was highly successful in defeating Chaos back during the mid-60’s, Kristol. Maybe at the time, you were too busy watching “Tricky” Dick guest spots on Laugh-In. -Putz!
February 4th, 2007 at 11:17 amImpression of Chaos? Impression of Chaos? He is as delusional as Bush, who still thinks we can turn this around. Mr. Kristol, if it looks Chaos, acts like Chaos, and quacks like Chaos sir, it IS chaos.
1. Pound Truth into Head
February 4th, 2007 at 11:18 am2. Repeat
This glomb lives in a parallel universe of his own creation with the likes of Cheney and Bush and Hannity and Limbaugh. All of them deeming themselves unfit to serve in the military of the US. “Ignorance is bliss” and these courageous cowards are in “Heaven.” But this is not a heaven where God dwells or any of the good souls who have died, especially those who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afganistan so these turds can have the freedom to pollute the airwaves with this crap.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:18 amWhen I just played the video, my screen said: “opera.exe has created an error and will shut down” how appropriate.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:18 amWe’ve been over this time and again. Kristol will spit in your face and stab you in the back to defend Israel before America.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:18 amActually, I was amazed at just how panicked the right-wingers were looking today. Kristol, Hume, Brooks, Will, McClown, they are all seriously panicked and desperate. I think they may just now starting to grasp that they will lose a lot more seats in ‘08 because of the catastro___ in Iraq.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:21 amI thought of one additional moral responsibiilty we now face. We have to make sure that no major oil company is allowed to profit from their war.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:22 amWhere’s the neocon puppets on this board to spin this? Yeah, increased violence is a positive sign, hell things have been going great in Darfur.
To hell with fascist neocon thug chicken-hawks sending troops to die while they sip their morning coffee and lie to delay the inevitable admission that their simpleminded policies have utterly failed.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:24 amDid Kristol just give advice to the insurgents? In certain circles, that might be considered a bad thing.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:25 am“a doubling of U.S. forces in Baghdadâ€
Actual number of US forces will be roughly twice the number Bush said, another successful bait and switch operation by the neocons
February 4th, 2007 at 11:25 amConsidering Kristol’s failure to predict anything correctly, to retain some sense of reality, I must ignore everything he says and consider him and FOX a freak show.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:28 amNow rachel is praising her own comments. Oy!
Comment by Spudge_Boy — February 4, 2007 @ 11:24 am
I don’t know who you are, but I know who I am not. I am not rachel. What in my comment makes you believe that anything I said was not sincere or that I do not believe it? How do I know YOU aren’t rachel?
February 4th, 2007 at 11:28 amThis neocon is in the twilight zone.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:29 amGood morning all. Same old, same old. With this much bs from Fox, one could plant a garden…..
February 4th, 2007 at 11:32 amif Bill Kristol were doing color commentary on the Stupor Bowl and Indianapolis were ahead 42-0, he’d declare that it was a sign of the Colts’ desperation…
February 4th, 2007 at 11:33 amI’m not rachel either!
February 4th, 2007 at 11:33 amBill Kristol is living proof that all Neo-Conservatives and the PNAC are stupid sons of bitches with nothing but profits for the oil companies and the military industrial complex and Israel on their mind. This bastard should be shipped to Baghdad immediately for some rest and recuperation. He is an insane son of a bitch.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:34 amTo paraphrase, “We had to destroy the country to save the country.”
February 4th, 2007 at 11:35 amComment by Zooey — February 4, 2007 @ 11:08 am
Maybe Bill and Dick could go hunting?
February 4th, 2007 at 11:36 amlung cancer patient: doctor bill how does my pet scan look?
dr. bill: great news, after your radiation and chemo treatments the cancer has spread to your brain and pancreas!
lung cancer patient: but i was praying that the cancer would shrink instead of spread….
dr. bill: silly patient, the cancer is very afraid of my treatments and is trying to find a place to hide.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:36 am“i’ll have one of whatever he’s drinking.”
February 4th, 2007 at 11:37 amhuh?…adding 21k to the whole of iraq will double the force in baghdad?…
is that a fact?…
Comment by katy
As I understand, the reason for the 21k is so they can buildup forces in Baghdad. 4000 of the Buildup are going into al Anbar province and the bulk of the remander is headed into Baghdad to bildup forces there.
Remember a couple of months ago, we shifted about 18k from al Anbar into the Baghdad sector. Now we will send (my guess)12k-15k to reenforce those in Baghdad and sprinkle the rest into the outlying areas.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:37 amNow rachel is praising her own comments. Oy!
Comment by Spudge_Boy — February 4, 2007 @ 11:24 am
I can attest that doro is not rachel. She’s a German woman living in Switzerland with a great sense of humor and lots of insight. We’ve spoken in the past prior to Rachel’s insane attacks on the threads.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:38 am#10 – good point about the refugees. Syria, whom Bush is hinting at taking action against, has taken in over a million Iraqi refugees. America, which started this War, has taken in less than one thousand.
We leave it to the rest of the world to clean up our mess, while raping the profits from the land.
Maybe Kristol’s refering to the 30-year oil deal?
February 4th, 2007 at 11:39 amMaybe Bill and Dick could go hunting?
Comment by Briseadh na Faire
Excellent idea.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:40 amWilliam Kristol has yet to be correct on ONE thing he’s said since before the illegal invasion of Iraqnam. Why on earth does Faux “News” continue to have him spewing bullshit?? Oh, wait. I just answered that question with my first sentence. I’ll go to my corner now.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:42 amIf anyone can be related to Alice in Wonderland’s up-is-down view of things its kristol. I shit turds with more creditability.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:46 amI already corrected myself in post 30.
Comment by Spudge_Boy — February 4, 2007 @ 11:41 am
Didn’t know it was to her.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:51 amBill Kristol sitting inside a very comfortable studio room making such nonsense talk to American viewers as if he was a military field marshal. The guy never lived in Iraq,never fought in Iraq, never been in military, with shallow knowledge about the Middle East, except of what Israel broadcasts daily, a well known Neocons who was one of the original creators of PNAC(Project for American New Century)..He is a big supporter of wars against all enemies of Israel and wants America to keep fighting these wars for generations to come,to enable Israel to be always the dominant country of the Midde East…..by achieveing the REALM..the end game of Neocons. Bill Kristol neither mentions the suffering of US soldiers,their families in his talks and writings,nor he mentions the suffering of Iraqis …he considers himself a strategist who pushes his plans like a chess player,and people are his pieces. That is why he supports another war with Iran according to PNAC project…to be the third one in the Middle East, then we move on to Syria after that. But Neocons are not happy and restless now because we are bogged down in the two countries we have war with Afghanstan and Iraq..but that does not mean Kristol and company are going to shut up..they want us to continue pushing…to fight Iran..and they are pushing as hard as they can to achieve their Neocon goals.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:54 amWhat would you do if you were a neocon extremist, Bill?
Oh.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:56 am#37, Kristol, Pearl, Adleman and Leiberman shold all be shipped to Israel not Baghdad, for that is the nation that they are fighting for. They are not interested in the loss of American or Arab life only the stabilization of Israel. A democracy in the region = oil for US + ally for Israel.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:56 amHacker – yet this past summer there was the much ballyhooed influx of 70,000 Iraqi/U.S. troops sent to Baghdad. Why? Because many of the Iraqi units were compromised by individuals supporting sectarian causes. Now Bush proposes to insert American soldiers within the Iraqi Army.
Do you know what that means? American soldiers are going to be fighting alongside individuals whose loyalties are, shall we say, not aligned with fighting for the same cause.
How would you like to be placed in such a situation in combat?
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/13/iraq.main/index.html
February 4th, 2007 at 11:58 am..and they are pushing as hard as they can to achieve their Neocon goals.
Comment by tarazan — February 4, 2007 @ 11:54 am
The neocons never learned the first rule of holes: When you’re in one, stop digging.
February 4th, 2007 at 12:01 pmAs I understand, the reason for the 21k is so they can buildup forces in Baghdad. 4000 of the Buildup are going into al Anbar province and the bulk of the remander is headed into Baghdad to bildup forces there.
Remember a couple of months ago, we shifted about 18k from al Anbar into the Baghdad sector. Now we will send (my guess)12k-15k to reenforce those in Baghdad and sprinkle the rest into the outlying areas.
Comment by hacker bob — February 4, 2007 @ 11:37 am
thanks for that reply, though i’m still confused… …imagine that…
February 4th, 2007 at 12:05 pmbut how can 4k replace the 18k pulled from al anbar? …this is all just a game it seems…
this is not a legitimate use of our armed forces… it’s obvious they are just there to protect the oil interests… the israel connection is logical also…
just sayin’…
I actually posted it imediately, but you know the TP time machine.
Comment by Spudge_Boy — February 4, 2007 @ 12:04 pm
Oh yeah :D
February 4th, 2007 at 12:18 pmThank you, unbelievable, for your nice words. English is a foreign language for me and sometimes, what I intend to say gets quite nonsensical. By all means do point out to me if this happens, I’ll gladly correct myself. Once in a while my rage about what is happening in Iraq and my fury at people like Kristol get away with me and I am trying to say too much in not so many words, so my writing really doesn’t always make sense.
What I wanted to say above is almost exactly what gogreen said. If the pro-peace people don’t beware, the instigators of this war will make people forget how this war started and when this war ends with a shameful retreat, they will make sure everybody knows that you, and I mean the pro-peace liberal progressives, will be responsible for this shameful retreat. It’s the “stab in the back”, “cut and run”, meme in disguise.
I hope it’s not necessary to add, that I know, who really is responsible for this illegal, immoral, brutal rape of Iraq.
February 4th, 2007 at 12:19 pmClap hands Billy! Make it so.
February 4th, 2007 at 12:28 pmClap hands Billy! Make it so.
Clap hands Billy! Make it so.
Clap hands Billy! Make it so.
Clap hands Billy! Make it so.
Clap hands Billy! Make it so.
Clap hands Billy! Make it so.
Clap hands Billy! Make it so.
Clap hands Billy! Make it so……………
deadly violence over the past week….
anyone notice that the death squads
vanished?
as for kristol…i cant explain ignorance
http://www.micropoll.com/akira/MicroPoll?mode=html&id=23186
February 4th, 2007 at 12:29 pmComment by Briseadh na Faire
I personally am completely opposed to the idea of “embedding” US forces in wiht Iraqi troops. The reason is because of exactally what you said. there are factions inside the Iraqi military that are opposed to the current changes in the country and that are more loyal to their religious sect than they are to the nation of Iraq.
Just like the current movement of US/Iraqi troops into the Baghfdad sector. 2/3 of the Iraqi military force has shown up. The other third is “delivering pay” to their families. It seems that every time they do that, they either end up dead or fighting us.
February 4th, 2007 at 12:39 pmSpudge_Boy,
I was once made personally responsible for the fate of a young man in the communist part of Germany (he was imprisoned for dissenting) just because I protested against the nazi ritual that German authorities used for young recruits’ public pledge of allegiance.
I was quite young then and a rookie-protester (I’m a veteran of many demos now) it upset me badly. My intention was to point out, that the German army after the war was supposed to be different and so those rituals were to be abolished. I was making a point for democracy, or so I thought.
Some woman stepped up to me and started screaming, that due to my lack of unquestioned support for whatever the government and its army deems necessary and good, communism will rise ever faster and this young man (picture shoved into my face) will stay in prison for the rest of his life and many along with him.
There I was, blamed for the actions of a totalitarian regime, which I would never have supported.
February 4th, 2007 at 12:46 pmI personally am completely opposed to the idea of “embedding†US forces in wiht Iraqi troops. The reason is because of exactally what you said. there are factions inside the Iraqi military that are opposed to the current changes in the country and that are more loyal to their religious sect than they are to the nation of Iraq.
Is Bob admitting that “Iraqization” is working as well as “Vietnamization” did?
I personally am completely opposed to the idea of “embedding†US forces in wiht Iraqi troops.
Then how do you get good intel, if isolated from your native allies?
Got fubar?
February 4th, 2007 at 1:01 pmAsk yourself: Which is really more detrimental in a democracy?
[a] The corporate-owned mass media, having the unlimited freedom to shove these propagandists and scolds in our faces 24/7, like Big Brother instructing us on the giant screens with lies and hatred, everywhere we turn, further brainwashing the Backwash, the Marginally-Aware and the Terminally Stupid into supporting these bastards? Or;
[b] Shutting down all the corporate-owned, mass media?
Discuss.
February 4th, 2007 at 1:10 pmGive them a M16, and let them fight the war. Idiots!
February 4th, 2007 at 1:14 pmThis POS has been added as a columnist for TIME magazine. Cancel your subscription this week!
February 4th, 2007 at 1:17 pmThank you, unbelievable, for your nice words.
You’re welcome. I enjoy your posts, and didn’t want to see you get misunderstood.
English is a foreign language for me and sometimes, what I intend to say gets quite nonsensical.
Your English is far better than many of my fellow Americans…
By all means do point out to me if this happens, I’ll gladly correct myself. Once in a while my rage about what is happening in Iraq and my fury at people like Kristol get away with me and I am trying to say too much in not so many words, so my writing really doesn’t always make sense.
We definitely understand :).
There are others here who speak English as a second language, and they too are more coherent than any of the trolls. We welcome all of your input – especially since our own media has decided to isolate us from the rest of the world. Frequently, the only input we get from the world is through people like you.
What I wanted to say above is almost exactly what gogreen said. If the pro-peace people don’t beware, the instigators of this war will make people forget how this war started and when this war ends with a shameful retreat, they will make sure everybody knows that you, and I mean the pro-peace liberal progressives, will be responsible for this shameful retreat. It’s the “stab in the backâ€, “cut and runâ€, meme in disguise.
No doubt. The neocons have a way of blaming everyone else for their misdeeds. I have much faith it will happen again. Fortunately, the American people don’t seem to be as gullible this time around. I hope it lasts.
I hope it’s not necessary to add, that I know, who really is responsible for this illegal, immoral, brutal rape of Iraq.
Comment by doro — February 4, 2007 @ 12:19 pm
And you’re right…
It’s both embarrassing and disgusting to those of us who grew up in this country with the belief that it stood for freedom, integrity and humanity. We’re trying to restore that ideology. It’s just such a huge mess to clean up first…
February 4th, 2007 at 1:27 pmthe real bill kristol is found at 5 mins, 12 sec, of this clip,http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n16_v93/ai_21250130
February 4th, 2007 at 1:28 pmThis jerk shill for Israel is never seen anywhere but Fux. His goofball followers have no idea what his agenda is, or where all the $$$ comes from. Fux viewers are such featherheads that goons like Hannity and kiktol play them like a banjo. Murdock was brilliant to recognize the large number of fools in this country that he could capture as an audience. PREY
February 4th, 2007 at 1:29 pmhttp://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n16_v93/ai_21250130
February 4th, 2007 at 1:31 pmThere I was, blamed for the actions of a totalitarian regime, which I would never have supported.
Comment by doro — February 4, 2007 @ 12:46 pm
Why it is so important to have your voice heard here with those of us who have only read about things you have lived. I have walked the yards of Dachau, peered into the crematory ovens, and passed through the showers where many were gased to death, but I cannot fathom how it must have really felt to have lived under such an oppressive regime. I, like my fellow progressives, hope to never know it personally. Unfortunately, many of our countrymen seem hell bent on establishing it here.
February 4th, 2007 at 1:33 pmWilliam Kristol:
Dan Quayle’s Chief of Staff
Ran Alan Keyes’ presidential run
And we should listen to you for what reason?
Sheesh. The worst part is the Cheney like smugness.
February 4th, 2007 at 1:36 pmsorry wrong article
February 4th, 2007 at 1:39 pm“i cant believe this deathmask is on teevee every sunday.”
Don’t watch!
February 4th, 2007 at 1:42 pmThe essence of the liberal outlook lies not in what opinions are held but in how they are held: instead of being held dogmatically, they are held tentatively, and with a consciousness that new evidence may at any moment lead to their abandonment. This is the way opinions are held in science, as opposed to the way in which they are held in theology.
– Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays, “Philosophy and Politics” (1950), p. 149, quoted from James A Haught, ed., 2000 Years of Disbelief
February 4th, 2007 at 1:42 pmthis is the correct one,http://www.crooksandliars.com/index.php?s=bill+kristol+on+the+colbert+show
February 4th, 2007 at 1:42 pm“I doubt that suicide bombers are worried about much of anything other than blowing up another market.”
So, what should we do? Cut & run?
February 4th, 2007 at 1:43 pm“I, like my fellow progressives, hope to never know it personally”
You and your fellow progressives are ensuring that it will happen again as demonstrated by your incredible hatred of Israel and the United States!
February 4th, 2007 at 1:48 pmAn increase in the number of attacks and their lethality is a sign of the insurgents’ desperation and is a positive development ?
I think I’ve heard this song before, back in 2004:
[Maj. Gen. John] Batiste noted that though the number of attacks has “spiked” lately, they have actually resulted in a relatively smaller percentage of fatal casualties per attack. He said the increase in the number of attacks in recent weeks is the work of desperate insurgents.
Task Force Commander Says Insurgents ‘Desperate, Isolated’
Lawrence DiRita made a similar statement in 2005:
Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita says insurgent attacks have increased in Iraq in the last two weeks [...]
Di Rita describes insurgents as “increasingly desperate” as the Iraqi government gains more support among the people. And he says the attacks may be just the insurgents’ way to “grab headlines with more spectacular attacks.”
Pentagon admits increase in insurgent activity
So, I guess the good news have never really stopped coming out of Iraq, have they?
Ah, the spinmeisters and their alternate version of reality…
February 4th, 2007 at 1:54 pmBill Kristol is going to burn for eternity in the deepest darkest hole that hell can provide.
I’m being optomistic.
February 4th, 2007 at 1:55 pmAbu-Garib prison scandal highlights the liberal’s derisions. Ignore Al-Queda beheadings, burning of corpses in Fallujah, inuumerable innocents killed by suicide bombers from all over the region, ignore the intent to impose Sharia Law on a em>scale, and these reasonable folks detest the liberal Western lifestyles( sex ouside of marriage, homosexuality, abortion and women’s rights, pornography, criminal justice, drug use, religious faith other than Islam, music, any literature deemed objectionable to Islam, exposure of women in public, women unattended by a male relative, women driving automobiles, etc, etc…….) and have no problem seeking their 72 virgins in death, by taking your or your familiy’s lives. You appeasers will regret your apathy, inability to identify that guys like Saddam, Nassrallah, Ahmahdinijad, Bin-Laden, have and will silence your voices, and leave you pondering why you ever thought that those evil corporations, and elected leaders were criminal in trying to protect your freedom and voice. You have tied our soldiers hands behind their backs, but fail to notice that the ‘freedom fighters, insurgents(never terrorists), don’t have any rules of engagement, and intend to inflict as much carnage as possible on as many innocent people as possible. If these ‘freedom fighters’ have a weapon, they will use it if at all possible. If you won’t see, hear, or acknowledge terrorism, does it really exist?
February 4th, 2007 at 2:02 pmMichael,
I’ve got to take issue with your statement:”You and your fellow progressives are ensuring that it will happen again as demonstrated by your incredible hatred of Israel and the United States!
As a progressive I must say that I don’t hate the United States, I hate the regime in charge, there’s a difference you know. I don’t care one way or another about Israel.
“Hate the United States”, “cut and run”, wow the talking points are working for you. Ever have an original thought?
February 4th, 2007 at 2:04 pmGuy’s nuts.
February 4th, 2007 at 2:14 pmBrad,
And the current “strategy” is going to stem the tide of these zealots?
Who flew the planes into the towers? Overwhelmingly Sunni arabs from Saudi Arabia.
Who is overwhelmingly perpetrating the violence in Iraq? Sunni arabs. Why then are we not dealing with the Saudis? Did you know that when George Bush Sr. goes to Saudi Arabia he stays at a Bin Laden palace, he knows the family personally.
Do you really believe the crap you’re fed? God there is no hope for this country. This has nothing to do with arab extremists.
February 4th, 2007 at 2:14 pmThere is truly nothing new from Kristol’s mouth. We have seen this all before: every time there are a rash of sectarian or other attacks, the evil ones are “desparate”.
Well, I guess all sides have been desparate for about 4 years now.
The man is unable to think, but only promote more violence.
One other thing……
What perspective or background does Brit Hume provide at the round table discussion at the end of the FOX Sunday program?
I look forward to hearing Brit’s well rehearsed lack of knowing anything with the same enthusiasm as seeing Cokie or Sam when they appear on the ABC program. These people do not know anything and cannot introduce any useful insight about anything. They just parrot.
February 4th, 2007 at 2:23 pm#
“i cant believe this deathmask is on teevee every sunday.â€
Don’t watch!
Comment by michael — February 4, 2007 @ 1:42 pm
Michael, we watch Fox and listen to other far-right commentators because it’s important to know what the ENEMY is saying and doing. And yes, these people are the enemy. They are NOT patriotic Americans..they have no problem with this administration befouling the Constitution and Bill of Rights. They believe in POWER, and if they were born and raised in Russia or China, they would say the very same exact things and support whatever authoritarian (even totalitarian) government that had the same goals. If they had been born and raised in Germany during Hitler’s rise, they would have been his number one supporters.
February 4th, 2007 at 2:38 pmkristol is so serenely confident about Iraq because he knows we will solve all the problems once and for all by attacking Iran. More neocon madness: The march of folly is headed straight for Iran. Do the Democrats have the guts to stop it?
February 4th, 2007 at 2:48 pmSinister little bastard.
February 4th, 2007 at 2:52 pmUnbelievable,
I’m too young to have lived during the Nazi years. But my mom and dad have, and believe me, you didn’t have to be jewish to suffer. There would be many stories to tell, but that would be entirely off thread.
Just rest assured, I am deeply grateful for the role of the US as liberators in WWII. Seeing the US today is like seeing an old friend in trouble and this hurts. I have often been critical (I demonstrated against President Reagans politics many times) but never anti-american. The true Americans have spoken in November and are speaking now at the anti-war rallys. And there are many.
February 4th, 2007 at 2:53 pmDumb a**wipe Kristol sounds just like Darth Cheney in 2004. A waste of human skin.
February 4th, 2007 at 2:55 pmSo, what should we do? Cut & run?
Comment by michael — February 4, 2007 @ 1:43 pm
That’s exactly what you should do. Save Lives, get out of Iraq.
February 4th, 2007 at 3:05 pm#81..G.Samsa > You are making the point very well.
February 4th, 2007 at 3:09 pmThat’s exactly what you should do. Save Lives, get out of Iraq.
February 4th, 2007 at 3:09 pmComment by doro
That interferes with michael´s huge inferiority complex.
A Brief History of the Bush “Failure Is Victory” Doctrine
This is the behavior of desperate men. Iraqi authorities know their days are numbered. And while the Iraqi regime is on the way out, it’s important to know that it can still be brutal, particularly in the moments before it finally succumbs. This campaign could well grow more dangerous in the coming days and weeks as coalition forces close on Baghdad and the regime is faced with its certain death.
(Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, March 25, 2003)
I think these people are the last remnants of a dying cause.
(Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, on “dead-enders,” June 18, 2003)
Every sign of progress in Iraq adds to the desperation of the terrorists and the remnants of Saddam’s brutal regime.
(George W. Bush, Aug. 19, 2003)
This progress makes the remaining terrorists even more desperate and willing to lash out.
(George W. Bush, Aug. 23, 2003)
The more progress we make in Iraq, the more desperate the terrorists will become.
(George W. Bush, Aug. 26, 2003)
You have some remnants — you have remnants of a regime that we removed, that was an oppressive regime, that is desperate — more and more desperate every single day, because of the progress we are making on many fronts in Afghanistan.
(Press Secretary Scott McClellan, Sept. 17, 2003)
The more progress we make, the more desperate the holdouts of Saddam Hussein’s regime and foreign terrorists become.
(Press Secretary Scott McClellan, Oct. 14, 2003)
The more progress we make on the ground, the more free the Iraqis become, the more electricity that’s available, the more jobs are available, the more kids that are going to school, the more desperate these killers become.
(George W. Bush, Oct. 27, 2003)
The more progress we make, the more desperate they tend to become.
(Press Secretary Scott McClellan, Nov. 10, 2003)
As democracy takes hold in Iraq, the enemies of freedom will do all in their power to spread violence and fear.
(George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 20, 2004)
The closer we come to passing sovereignty, the more likely it is that foreign fighters, disgruntled Baathists or friends of the Shia cleric will try to stop progress.
February 4th, 2007 at 3:12 pm(George W. Bush, April 28, 2004)
Kristol is a shining example of a blithering idiot–the ONLY extremists that are REALLY WORRIED are in Washington DC!
February 4th, 2007 at 3:17 pmThat interferes with michael´s huge inferiority complex.
Comment by Juan C — February 4, 2007 @ 3:09 pm
He shouldn’t take things so personal. It’s not as if I told him to get a vasectomy or something ;-)
February 4th, 2007 at 3:27 pmGeneral ‘Unconditional Optimism’ Kristol.
$500 Billion / 3000 lives / 25,000 wounded gets you the ‘impression of chaos’, ‘insurgents are worried’ , and things are ’slightly optimistic’.
He and Bush are definitely in the low expectations business.
$1Trillion / 10,000 lives / 50,000 wounded gets you
February 4th, 2007 at 3:50 pm‘genuine chaos’, ‘insurgents have trouble sleeping at night’, and things are slightly more than slightly optimistic.’
Have they been worried for years and years Mr. Braindead? Let’s send little Bill Kristol over there in his nice little suit and his brain that has no grasp on reality at all and see how he does. I think Bill Kristol is as sick in the head as the terrorists.
February 4th, 2007 at 4:04 pmBoy, what sophistry – where do you even begin to address it.
By Kristol’s logic, there can be nothing but success coming from Iraq.
If there is no violence: success.
If there is violence, no matter how how horrible: success (means the “insurgents are worried”).
In other words, by Kristol’s logic, there is literally no benchmark for failure. As many others have asked on this thread: how does this guy look in the mirror / the camera? How does he sleep at night, for I refuse to believe he’s that dumb.
February 4th, 2007 at 4:12 pmHow does he sleep at night, for I refuse to believe he’s that dumb.
Comment by chuck — February 4, 2007 @ 4:12 pm
He sleeps fine. It is hard to understand, but he is not like you or me. He is amoral.
February 4th, 2007 at 4:24 pmDid I mention post #100 was in honor of Kristol & Friends?
Hey that could be a new FoxNews show.
Just like Fox & Friends.
I prefer Kristol & Co. more though. It is very assertive, like him.
February 4th, 2007 at 4:47 pmIt is hard to understand, but he is not like you or me. He is amoral.
Comment by VerbalKint — February 4, 2007 @ 4:24 pm
i understand it perfectly…
good reading at links here:
February 4th, 2007 at 5:03 pmWilliam the Bloody Kristol’s latest
By: John Amato on Saturday, February 3rd, 2007 at 5:30 PM – PST
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/02/03/william-the-bloody-kristols-latest/
.
Kristol is right! It means we’re winning. Bush has said it many times. When the violence increases, it means we’re winning. Duh!
February 4th, 2007 at 5:37 pmYou know what, maybe Kristol’s right. At this rate, no one in Iraq will be left alive and then the troops can come home.
February 4th, 2007 at 5:48 pmBill Kristol and the rest of the neocon scum like Torticola Cheney,
February 4th, 2007 at 6:18 pmDavid Addington, John Yoo, Paul Wolfowitz, Don Dumbsfailed, et cetera ad nauseum, should be packed off to Iraq, given uniforms, a rifle, and made to defend America–put their money where their mouths are–when the IEDs and shooting starts, I’ll bet these yellow-bellied skunks come high-tailin’ it back to the safe Green Zone–these toy soldiers and armchair warriors who use brave American Soldiers’ lives like chesspieces to play their insane pyschobabble war games, aided by
imbecile and doltish so-called “classicist” neocon-supporters like Victor Davis Hanson should all be forced to fight for America right in the line
of fire and see how they like it…they wouldn’t last 30 seconds in Iraq!
All MOUTH and EMPTY TALK–that’s neocons for you–cowardly scum that they are–no, that would give scum a bad name! Let us not forget
to send in The Commander-In-Thief himself, CHIMPya–he should be at the forefront, commanding the assult on the enemy–wait, CHIMPya,
which way are you going? You’re RETREATING, NOT ADVANCING, YOU COWARDLY SCUM!
Comment by Barfly
[SQUEEK! SQUEEK!]
Rachael! Come here girl! You’ve got poop on your foot, and you’re leaving tracks all over the place! Sit! Rachael! Sit! I’ve got your favorite chew toy . . .
[SQUEEK! SQUEEK!]
February 4th, 2007 at 6:20 pmThe Christian Scientists are saying that Tom Cruise will be the new Jesus Christ. Maybe he could go over to the Middle East and perform one of his famous miracles. Pat Robertson said that Mary Cheney is the second coming of the Virgin Mary. Imagine what these two could do for a real healing in Iraq. Doesn’t the above bullshit seem just a little trite considering the reality of the world situation? To sit and listen to cornball shitheads like FOX News’ Kristol spout thier visionary crap, well…, who the hell cares?
February 4th, 2007 at 6:31 pmThe only thing that the insurgents are worried about is the occupational force pulling out. That would scuttle their recruitment incentive, and just leave religious hatred as their only motivation to get more people to fight.
February 4th, 2007 at 6:54 pmKristol; the Iraqi liberation fighters are about as worried as the Indians were at the Little Big Horn. Just STFU you cowardly draft-dodger.
February 4th, 2007 at 7:04 pmBarfly,
When can I tongue your browneye?
Ooops! wrong blog.
TP PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS GO THRU
too la
February 4th, 2007 at 7:08 pmLOL. There’s really nothing funnier than a rich, preppy Manhattan Jew read the mind of a fundamentalist Sunni half a world away. Kristol doesn’t even understand the mind of the Williamsburg hipster that makes his coffee at Starbucks. What a moron.
February 4th, 2007 at 7:19 pmKristol must be deported to Israel immediately and never allowed to ever return to the United States for the rest of his disgusting Neocon life!
February 4th, 2007 at 8:02 pmJay,
What makes you think Israel wants him? :P
February 4th, 2007 at 8:04 pmcomment deleted
February 4th, 2007 at 8:07 pmWell Zooey if Israel will not take Kristol, then he can be sent into exile to Siberia, Russia. Let him farm potatoes for the rest of vile life!
February 4th, 2007 at 8:33 pmMemo to Kristol: If the news gets more “optimistic” and the Insurgents get any more “worried,” the USA will be forced out of Iraq in short order. Nice job, Billy. We need more of your commentary on FOX News.
February 4th, 2007 at 8:46 pmHe must have smoked too much reefers. He does not look too well!
February 4th, 2007 at 9:43 pmWhere is my comment?
February 4th, 2007 at 9:45 pmAnd of course, everyone knows post #120 from UB is not the real UB.
February 4th, 2007 at 9:55 pmpotatoes are too good for him, let him eat tofu the rest of his life
February 4th, 2007 at 10:17 pmLOL. There’s really nothing funnier than a rich, preppy Manhattan Jew read the mind of a fundamentalist Sunni half a world away.
Reminds me of the good old days when Dr. Frist was diagnosing brain dead patients from 20 seconds of patched together video tape shot halfway across the country.
February 4th, 2007 at 10:24 pmOf all the ridiculous characters in this great big ball of shit that is rolling down the hill, I think just about every American male can pretty much agree that Kristol, that pathetic weisel, is the second last person you would want to be partnered with in a foxhole on the battlefront if you were in that situation. The last of course would be Rush Limbaugh.
February 4th, 2007 at 10:54 pmThe last of course would be Rush Limbaugh.
Comment by Later
I don’t know how much we use foxholes anymore, but I definitely wouldn’t want to ride in the same Humvee with that gasbag. “Little Rusty” has a history of bad personal hygiene. It’s what kept him out of the service.
February 4th, 2007 at 10:59 pmwe so have to take up a collection and send bill kristol to iraq. let him walk in the shoes of an iraqi civilian as well as a military person. let him have no bodyguards–he has never even been to a war zone. when he uses the word “we” he is talking about the kids over there. are his own kids in iraq? oh, how i would love to see the bunch of them drive from the baghdad airport and on the streets with no one but themselves protecting them. they would piss their pants. ugh.
February 5th, 2007 at 1:04 amBill Kristol is a terrorist and should be treated as such
February 5th, 2007 at 8:16 amBut are the Sunni insurgents that worrying now or the militias?
February 5th, 2007 at 11:57 am“Magical thinking:” a belief that one can influence distant events or can sense connections between things that have no known physical connection (thanks to Princeton’s Emily Pronin). Keep on believin’, Wee Willie!
February 5th, 2007 at 2:58 pmI wonder if there are any Tornadoes where Kristol lives…
…just wondering out loud…
February 5th, 2007 at 3:10 pmThis is the same Bill Kristol who, during the first Clinton administration, brilliantly eliminated any hope of health care reform, no matter how watered down, by composing this talking point, to be repeated by Republicans in every public forum, ad infinitum:
There is no health care crisis in this country. We have the best health care in the entire world. People come here from all over the world to get health care. Clinton needed a national campaign issue, so he dreamed up the so-called ‘health care crisis’ to get votes.
February 6th, 2007 at 12:13 am