McCain Strolls Through Baghdad Market, Accompanied By 100 Soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, 2 Apache Gunships
McCain Strolls Through Baghdad Market, Accompanied By 100 Soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, 2 Apache Gunships
Sen. John McCain strolled briefly through an open-air market in Baghdad today in an effort to prove that Americans are “not getting the full picture” of what’s going on in Iraq.
NBC’s Nightly News provided further details about McCain’s one-hour guided tour. He was accompanied by “100 American soldiers, with three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships overhead.” Still photographs provided by the military to NBC News seemed to show McCain wearing a bulletproof vest during his visit. Watch it:
McCain recently claimed that there “are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods, today.” In a press conference after his Baghdad tour, McCain told a reporter that his visit to the market today was proof that you could indeed “walk freely” in some areas of Baghdad.
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Walk free, Pork Chop, walk small...........
April 1st, 2007 at 7:39 pmBut he was walking freely!
In the sense that he did not require the use of robotic limbs or levitation boots.
April 1st, 2007 at 7:43 pmLooking at McCain's comments again, I think this shows once again his ignorance. Of course there are neighborhoods where McCain could "walk freely." And, yes, despite his armored escort, he still was able to "walk freely" in that no one stopped him from, er, walking freely.
I'd say short of the U.S. or Iraqi military stopping him due to security issues, there's probably no area in the entire country of Iraq where he couldn't hop out of an armored Humvee and hit the streets and "walk freely."
The issue, however, is this: how many areas could he "walk freely" and not be shot at, injured, or killed?
Another question is this: by "walking freely" did McCain mean without armed escort? I'd say yes, but watch him waffle on this small detail in the days to come.
April 1st, 2007 at 7:48 pmOT-FROM Buzzflash.com
"As the Western media turns its attention to the fate of 15 Britons detained for allegedly trespassing into Iranian waters over the weekend, the status of five Iranian officials captured in a U.S. military raid on a liaison office in northern Iraq on Jan. 11 remains a mystery."
Even though high-level Iraqi officials have publicly called for their release, for all practical purposes, the Iranians have disappeared into the U.S.-sanctioned “coalition detention†system that has been criticized as arbitrary and even illegal by many experts on international law.
The five men remain in U.S. custody and have not been formally charged with a crime.
“They have disappeared. I don’t know if they’ve gone into the enemy combatant system,†said Gary Sick, an Iran expert at Columbia University. “Nobody on the outside knows.â€
A spokesman for the Multinational Forces Iraq (MFI), Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, told IPS this week “They are still in ‘coalition detention’ in accordance with the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1546, 1637 and 1723.†He provided no further information regarding their status or treatment.
April 1st, 2007 at 7:48 pmYeah McCain, I'm getting the full picture now.
Prick.
April 1st, 2007 at 7:49 pmFaiz - Apparently you didn't get the memo - Amanda and your trusty minions pretty much beat this news to death. (Was this a different venture than the previous "$5 rug special" with Lindsey Graham??)
April 1st, 2007 at 7:49 pmMcCain must resign from the Senate immediately, because his bogus stunt has cost American taxpayers millions of dollars for his trip over to Iraq and all the military protection provided to keep him safe. Without all the protection, he would have been captured by insurgents, tortured, and then beheaded or had a drill bit bored into his skull.
April 1st, 2007 at 7:49 pmSen. John McCain strolled briefly through an open-air market in Baghdad today in an effort to prove that Americans are “not getting the full picture†of what’s going on in Iraq.
Thanks for giving us the 'full picture', John...all 100 soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, and 2 Apache gunships worth of it.
April 1st, 2007 at 7:50 pmIs that supposed to be Straight Talk ?
April 1st, 2007 at 7:52 pmWC sez:
Heck...I wish I had 100 soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, and 2 Apache gunships to cover my narrow ass...I'd be the freest-walking muther-fscker you ever did see! ^_^
April 1st, 2007 at 7:53 pmSen. Graham must resign as well. Their concocted trip to Iraq, with the help of Karl Rove, has gone beyond contemptable and is outrageous!
April 1st, 2007 at 7:55 pmMcCain is the sort of fellow who, while claiming to be safe in Iraq, wouldn't set foot in Detroit without a full security team. Then again, who would?
April 1st, 2007 at 7:55 pm"McCain Strolls Through Baghdad Market, Accompanied By 100 Soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, 2 Apache Gunships"
They forgot to mention the under the shirt kevlar Mr puffy sleeves has on, and the the flack vest. Put'um in humvee with some troops to tour the al-Anbar province. Maybe he could get 10 rugs for 5 bucks. Shop till you drop McCain!
April 1st, 2007 at 7:55 pmI wonder how much that cost our tax dollars.
April 1st, 2007 at 7:57 pmHow long did McCain take his stroll for the photo-op? 15 minutes or just 5 minutes? He is lucky the Baghdad sniper was not around, because he likes to shoot our soldiers in the head. John boy wanted to look tough without a military helmet on for 5 minutes.
April 1st, 2007 at 7:58 pmThink about it...100 soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, and 2 Apache gunships. Those rugs actually cost the American public about $40,000 with McCain's little entourage in tow. Doesn't sound like a good shopping day? Is this the way he would run our country if elected? He would have been better off staying home, going to Wal-Mart and getting those same rugs for about 25 bucks a piece.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:00 pmI'd like to see how brave he is by 'freely walking' around Baghdad without all that protection, we will then see how safe he feels. Motherf*cking a$$hole.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:01 pmFaiz - Apparently you didn’t get the memo - Amanda and your trusty minions pretty much beat this news to death. (Was this a different venture than the previous “$5 rug special†with Lindsey Graham??)
Comment by valiant venus
No worries, Faiz, Haggie is easily bored by Republican idiocy.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:01 pmShe likes to be the idiot...
How much money did this cost me as an American taxpayer for McCain to make a campaign stop in Iraq? Will his campaign be reimbursing the expense? This shit must stop! Those soldiers are not over there to provide cover for political grandstanding (and if they are it is past time to get them home!)
April 1st, 2007 at 8:02 pmI'll lay odds Rove urged McCain to go to Baghdad and walk around as a moving target to give Bush his Gulf Of Tonkin moment. Ya know, unless those damn Brits upstaged him.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:02 pmIt's perfectly safe... just look at that bulletproof vest he's wearing.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:02 pmAnother day in paradise.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:03 pm[...] He also wore a bulletproof vest. [...]
April 1st, 2007 at 8:03 pmJust because he strolls down the streets wearing body armor and accompanied by an armed body guard doesn't mean it's not safe. I live in a very safe town and yet I always make sure to wear body armor and bring an armed guard whenever I go for a stroll. The weight of the body armor makes the stroll a better workout, and the armed guard gives me someone to talk to, since my iPod broke. You got a problem with that?
April 1st, 2007 at 8:04 pm#17 - Uncle Ho
Please don't hold back, tell us how you REALLY feel. :D
April 1st, 2007 at 8:05 pmJTitor > more like a few million bucks. Factor in the special trip, special lodging, and all that military hardware too to protect the Senators.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:07 pm"Freely"
April 1st, 2007 at 8:07 pm-What Sen. McCain meant to say was that he wasn't wearing any underwear. Yuk
#117 Uncle Ho:
I want to see McCain freely walking around Baghdad without protection, too.
DEAD MAN WALKING! {:-)
April 1st, 2007 at 8:09 pmWe can always tell when Mighty Aphrodite is out on probation....
April 1st, 2007 at 8:09 pmThinkProgress, can you put in a FOI request to find out just how much it cost the American Taxpayer so Presidential Candidate John McCain could "walk freely" in Baghdad?
April 1st, 2007 at 8:11 pmI gather from the tenor of the comments here that nobody is over the age of 15.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:13 pmThose North Vietnamese captors of his must have banged his head often enough to trigger senile dementia in McCain.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:13 pmHey, even I could walk down the most dangerous streets in Baghdad in an IRONMAN suit!
What a joke.
Maybe it's an April Fool joke only, who's the fool?
...
April 1st, 2007 at 8:14 pmWell, I'm left with the observation that famous Philadelphia resident, Duncan Black, recently made..."Baghdad couldn't possibly be any more dangerous than Philadelphia these days!" Apparently he was referring to the fact that Philadelphia now has way more murders thus far in 2007 than the far larger cities of New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:15 pmWhat would McCain know about war? He was a pilot. He never stood in the mud or rain or desert dust and saw the eyes and anguish of the people he killed. He sat in a plane and dropped bombs. What a pussy. I'm glad no one got killed while he did his little sissy dance. I can only imagine what the soldiers and pilots, et al had to say about him behind his back.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:16 pmMaybe McCain when he retires he could open a little coffee shop and sell those same rugs for 10 bucks each to all the American tourist flocking to this Mecca of good prices. They may even change the name from Iraq to Waq-Mart! It could be like one big store. Maybe McCain has something here. Maybe the Repugnents have the better idea? If only the world could be more like Wal-Mart, then life would be good?
April 1st, 2007 at 8:16 pmThat will be nice to go on a date like that with an army behind you....
See things looking good...!!
April 1st, 2007 at 8:18 pmPresident Bush Is The April Fool!
Sunday 1st of April 2007
by Jay Randal
April Fool's Day has arrived and the number one fool in America is President George W. Bush the imbecile!
George is officially the worst president in US history and most Americans cannot wait to see him leave DC!
His entire presidency has been a unmitigated disaster for our nation and a disgrace for the entire world too!
He has completely destroyed the country of Iraq and caused its population to disintegrate into ethnic mobs!
The horrific violence in Iraq has exploded into out of control carnage and savage mayhem that never ends!
American soldiers are caught in the crossfire between Sunni extremist insurgents and Shiite Islamic fanatics!
While the orgy of death incenerates Iraq: Dubya and his loyal dummies in Pentagon plot new war on Iran!
The US Congress goes on Easter holiday vacation and the start of global nuclear WWIII looms on horizon?
( Jay Randal, political activist and writer in Georgia, USA.)
PS: Sen. McCain is also an April Fool today in Baghdad, Iraq!
April 1st, 2007 at 8:18 pmI gather from the tenor of the comments here that nobody is over the age of 15.
Comment by Douglas Watts
Oh no did we offend your sensibilities Mr Watts. We are so sorry! You are right we are being juvenile. Please...please let me go shoot myself now....oh wait I have a better idea. Get the fu@k out here if you don't like whats being said!
April 1st, 2007 at 8:19 pmWhat would have been funny, is while McCain was walking down the street talking, the gunships and armoured vehicles and soldiers, all quietly turned off onto side streets and disappeared.
When McCain stopped talking (a few hours later) and looked around, and saw nothing but smiling Iraqi's, well...... theres a Kodak moment.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:23 pm# 32 Comment by Andrew — April 1, 2007 @ 8:15 pm
"…â€Baghdad couldn’t possibly be any more dangerous than Philadelphia these days!†"
That is pure bull.
I walked around in Philadelphia last September, without being accompanied by 100 soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, 2 Apache Gunships, without a kevlar vest, and without an NRA cap. I felt perfectly safe. Doing that in Baghdad outside (and on some days, INSIDE) the Green Zone would be SUICIDE!
As I said, too bad McCain didn't walk around outside the Green Zone the way I walked in Philadelphia. That would be one less lying NeoCon to pollute our land.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:25 pmwouldn’t set foot in Detroit without a full security team. Then again, who would?
I visit my folks in Mich every year, and make a point of goign to downtown Detroit. I always get off the freeway and drive on the surface streets.
Is it surreal? Certainly sometimes it is. Is it sad? Invariably yes. Are there things to see and do in the city? Most definitely. Not that 98% of those living in the suburbs could tell you.
This guy from Maine ventures into downtown Detroit more often than the scared little suburbanites that live there do. Too bad for them.
BTW - check out detroitblog.org. It is of interest.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:25 pmmcpain is a coward. sorry, has to be said. claiming free walking conditions while supported by a cast of hundreds is a lie. Liar liar, chimpmunk cheeks on fire. lying coward; what a long ways from what he seemed to be some years ago. maybe he should go on walkabout, just him and no one else. then we'd be done with his ugly ass. lying cowards seem to be the rupugnant cast these days.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:26 pmCan Iraqis walk freely? Just askin'.
http://homersworld.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/bush-mccain-733960.jpg
April 1st, 2007 at 8:28 pmWhen McCain stopped talking (a few hours later) and looked around, and saw nothing but smiling Iraqi’s, well…… theres a Kodak moment.
Comment by I WORFEUS
Don't tease....I was soooo hoping...
April 1st, 2007 at 8:29 pmPerhaps there are neighborhoods in Baghdad that one can freely walk through, but McCain simply chose a different one? It's possible... ;)
April 1st, 2007 at 8:31 pmWORFEUS > withen about 5 to 10 minutes after McCain was alone walking in Baghdad, then he would either have been shot to death or taken hostage. He never had the full torture treatment in Vietnam, nor the drill bit bored into his brain. John wins the second place award for the biggest dunce fool of this year, after Dubya who won first place title.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:31 pmI concur that we should know WHY the US military is working in support of a presidential campaign photo op, and HOW MUCH it cost.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:32 pmIt all depends on who your definition of you is and how much freely costs. Any terrist named You can walk for nothing. QED and not BS.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:32 pmThe sad thing is, if we had just spent the money we've put into this war from the get go on 100 guards, three blackhawks and two appachies for each citizen of Iraq so they could walk around safely, we still would come out ahead.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:33 pmPerhaps McCain's extended stay at at the 'Hanoi Hilton" unhinged him. If so, perhaps he should look into the "baghdad Hilton" for a nice padded room.
Hiya Zooey; have you heard this one?
'there was a valiant from venus, whose body was shaped like a penis.......
snark : D
April 1st, 2007 at 8:35 pmJohn McCain could walk around without any shortage of security, just as George W Bush could succeed in life without any hint of intelligence, hard work or competence. So they assume the same environment (a hundred troops and five choppers diverted for McCain's protection, Daddy Bush and friend's insuring George would fail ever upward) applies to everyone.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:36 pmHey I've got it, he's doing some advance publicity work for his campaign plank, the "100 soldiers and 5 choppers for every Iraqi" strategy plan.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:40 pm(To the tune of "The 12 Days of Christmas")
McCain strolls through
April 1st, 2007 at 8:40 pmBaghdad Market,
With 100 Soldiers,
3 Blackhawk Choppers,
2 Apache Gunships,
And a kev-lar bullet-proof vest...
Obviously republican senators believe that staying the course on the "war" is critical . . . to perhaps becoming president. McCain obviously doesn't have a clue about the reality of what Americans think about the continuation and failure of bush's war. I'm sure the loved ones of American soldiers who have been killed or wounded appreciate the senators efforts to justify the expense and lives in lost in Iraq due to the bush/cheney/bush plan to make the president the king of the USA.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:41 pmWhat ever happened to John McCain?
April 1st, 2007 at 8:42 pmPathetic beyond belief... Iraq was a quiet brutal dictatorship under Saddam. People had jobs, electricity, running water, health care, food.
After the idiot Bush intervened and occupied Iraq, it has been turned into a vile hellhole... Heck of a job, Bushie...
If Bush is so stupid as to bomb Iran, the Iranians will close off the Straits of Hormuz, thus choking off much oil to the West. American gasoline prices will double and Bush will be Impeached in short order... Americans seem to be willing to take a lot of shit from Bush, but recklessness that immediately leads to a doubling of gasoline prices will be too much for us to stomach.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:44 pmThat's all she wrote...
And another little side-bar to Aspell's report" DOD announced the deaths of SIX more American service personnel in Iraq over the week-end".
I'd like to ask John McCain, "What in the hell did these six additional Americans die for?"
SeeDee
April 1st, 2007 at 8:45 pmIt appears that "walking freely" is defined as 100 soldiers, 3 Blackhawk helicoptors, 2 Apache Gunships and 1 bulletproof vest. I guess he didn't need a helmet because he has poop for brains.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:45 pmWhy not go to the John McCain for President website and send him a direct comment. McCain has lost his way.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:46 pm[...] McCain is walking, and John McCain is talking, just as with nary a care John McCain has walked and talked before in Anytown, USA. Posted by Mona @ 7:52 pm, Filed under: [...]
April 1st, 2007 at 8:48 pmBAGHDAD - After a heavily guarded trip to a Baghdad market, Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) insisted Sunday that a U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown in the capital was working and said Americans lacked a "full picture" of the progress. The U.S. military later reported six soldiers were killed in roadside bombings southwest of Baghdad.
"Working" is relative if you're the one who has died.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:49 pmPerhaps there are neighborhoods in Baghdad that one can freely walk through, but McCain simply chose a different one? It’s possible… ;)
Comment by Mark — April 1, 2007 @ 8:31 pm
Lets see, his goal was to demonstrate on camera to the American people that he could walk safely through some streets in Iraq to support his earlier ridiculous statement that he could.
And you think to accomplish this, he would for some reason choose an unsafe street?
:|
That makes a lot of sense.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:50 pm#55 C. Davie
“What in the hell did these six additional Americans die for?â€
So Graham could steal five rugs.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:56 pmYou mean, this isn't some sort of sick April Fool's joke?? My god, we are truly through the Looking Glass.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:57 pmOr am I being slow, and the wink was supposed to indicate you were being sarcastic?
April 1st, 2007 at 8:57 pmAs for the 5 cheap Iraqi prayer rugs for 5 bucks: Perhaps the Iraqis put Anthrax on them, like we did to American Indians with smallpox infested blankets? If Graham breaks out with sores, then 5 bucks was NOT a deal.
Did Sen. Lindsey Graham notice the crab-lice crawling on the rugs? Oh well he will know by the time he getsthem back home to his wife > lol.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:57 pm#57
There is no McCain for President website I could find with Google.
However, there is his Senate website, which I used today to point out his dissembling assertions about "walking freely" in Baghdad. I ended my webform email to him with, "Keep up your cowardly lying senator, you only prove once more what the whole world now knows about NeoCons."
The URL is: http://mccain.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm?ID=64
April 1st, 2007 at 9:01 pmHey, that worked so well, maybe we should considering sending the entire cabinet over there on a shopping trip. Antiques Roadshow finally hits Baghdad! Mission accomplished.
April 1st, 2007 at 9:02 pmEveryone walks freely down a Baghdad street. Right before your head gets blown off.
April 1st, 2007 at 9:06 pmMethinks McCain's extended stay in the "Hanoi Hilton" has unhinged him. He should check into the "Baghdad Hilton" in a nice padded room.
Hiya Zooey, have you heard this one?
There once was a valiant from venus, who had a body shaped like a ......
snark. : D
April 1st, 2007 at 9:06 pmThe story of the rugs makes me remember a trip to Haiti many years ago. I was alone, without military guards like McCain fool, in the Iron Market in Port-au-Prince. I picked up a small oil painting and the artist was desperate to make a sell. He said 20 bucks, but I said not interested, so he said 10 bucks so I bought it. I could have offered him 5 bucks for it, but I knew he needed the money badly. The painting hangs near my PC at this very moment. Graham should have given that Iraqi way more money than 5 bucks at one dollar per rug. He is a vile disgusting Senator and shame on him and McCain too.
April 1st, 2007 at 9:09 pmHiya Zooey, have you heard this one?
There once was a valiant from venus, who had a body shaped like a ……
snark. : D
Comment by Uncle Ho
Heh. Nice one, Uncle Ho.
I expect VV is used to jokes at her expense. If she's not, she better catch up. :-D
April 1st, 2007 at 9:11 pmThis is f*cking laughable. McCain is now nothing more than an exercise in self-parody...
Have some fun with that one, Jon and Stephen!
April 1st, 2007 at 9:12 pmHow much money did this PR stunt cost our military and other government agencies?
Does Pelosi need 100 soldiers and 5 combat helicopters for her trip to Syria about which the Republicans are complaining so vehemently?
April 1st, 2007 at 9:15 pm[...] bit at Think Progress reveals more truth than perhaps McCain intended. NBC’s Nightly News provided further details [...]
April 1st, 2007 at 9:16 pmemaldinak, McCain's "chipmunk cheeks" are caused by the broken jaw that the North Vietnamese gave him during the war.
April 1st, 2007 at 9:18 pm[...] over at ThinkProgress. [...]
April 1st, 2007 at 9:22 pmhere is the sad part about McCains attempt to prove to everyone he can "walk freely". He wanted to prove his point so he decided to risk the lives of more american soldiers to help him demonstrate how he can walk freely in his bullet proof vest and surounded by soldiers. Way to go, risk the lives of our soldiers to make a point which he didn't make. The only point he made was it requires a 100 military soldiers, armed and miltary equipment to make a simple walk. What a FOOL!
April 1st, 2007 at 9:23 pmDoesn't McCain have grandkids he could be spending his golden years with, instead of continuously looking like a damned fool?
April 1st, 2007 at 9:24 pmI think we found a new justification for the war. We will spend a billion dollars so Lindsy can buy 5 rugs at a buck apiece. Sounds like a good deal to me.
April 1st, 2007 at 9:26 pmIn a press conference after his Baghdad tour, McCain told a reporter that his visit to the market today was proof that you could indeed “walk freely†in some areas of Baghdad.
Everyone knows that when I leave my crib I have 100+ armed to the teeth "friends" watchin' my back. That's just the way I roll. Apparently so does McCain.
April 1st, 2007 at 9:29 pm[...] (via ThinkProgress.org) McCain Strolls Through Baghdad Market, Accompanied By 100 Soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, 2 Apache Gunships [...]
April 1st, 2007 at 9:33 pmWoven Rugs? I'd check that wool or cotton for traces of depleted uranium if I were Graham. The Iraqi countryside is strewn with it.
April 1st, 2007 at 9:33 pmemaldinak, McCain’s “chipmunk cheeks†are caused by the broken jaw that the North Vietnamese gave him during the war.
Comment by Heraldblog — April 1, 2007 @ 9:18 pm
not a horrible price for an anonymous, jet-powered killer to pay at the hands of the relatives of his victims...
April 1st, 2007 at 9:37 pm.
He can "walk freely" in Baghdad.
Is that anything like being able to "talk freely" on the phone in America?
April 1st, 2007 at 9:41 pm[...] Progess has video of an NBC News report on Senator McCain’s visit to Baghdad. McCain went for a walk in an open air market in Baghdad to prove the point he made last weekabout [...]
April 1st, 2007 at 9:42 pmThat's a great way to get a good deal. Take 100 American heavily armed soldiers, with three Blackhawk helicopters and two Apache gunships overhead, and I'm sure I can get 5 rugs for 5 bucks anywhere in the world.
April 1st, 2007 at 9:46 pm"Walked Freely" WHILE WEARING A BULLET-PROOF VEST(SEE ACCOMPANYING PHOTO TO THIS POST), GUARDED BY TROOPS ARMED TO THE TEETH, McPAIN FURTIVELY LOOKING EVERY WHICH WAY IN FEAR OF HIS MISERABLE LIFE WHILE TAKING CAUTIOUS STEPS IN TREPIDATION AND CRAPPING IN HIS PANTS----YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE SPREADING STINKING BROWN STAIN ON HIS PANTS FROM THE REAR---PITY THE POOR TROOPS WHO HAD TO SMELL HIS FOETID STOOL!!!!! JUST AN EVERYDAY WALK THAT HE TOOK, ACCOMPANIED BY 100 TROOPS ARMED TO THE TEETH, 3 BLACKHAWKS AND 2 APACHE GUNSHIPS----AND EVEN THEN McPAIN HAD TO ASSURED THAT NOTHING WOULD HAPPEN TO HIM(IF HE WERE LUCKY, THAT IS)----WHAT A LYING HYPOCRITE, FLIP-FLOPPING PASTY-FACED SCHIZOID PSYCHO MADMAN AND SELL-OUT McPAIN IS!!!!!!!
April 1st, 2007 at 9:47 pmDid he find any magic ponies yet?
April 1st, 2007 at 9:50 pmTrying to look presidential...but with a vest !!
MCcain claims he is just getting some fresh air outside...in Baghdad streets.
April 1st, 2007 at 9:57 pmMy God. He's right. Since it's clearly such a wild success, we should be out of there ina few weeks.
Seriously, McCain is such a desperate old man.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:00 pmMy guess is the only "surge" McCain observed was the surge of blood pressure he felt as he walked the streets of Baghdad, knowing he looked absolutely inviting in a sniper's crosshairs!
Imagine if Dick Cheney feels inspired to "walk freely" in the streets of Baghdad after McCain's little visit. After all, according to the Dick, the insurgency was in it's last throes a couple of years ago. It's got to be safe! I'm sure he'll feel confident enough to only need an entire division of heavily armed troops around him, and entire squadron of attack helicopters and F-15's above him. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he even borrowed the Pope-Mobile for a little sight-seeing tour around the city.
You know, not much cover at all.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:04 pmWhat a crock. I just called his Senate office and left a message about his "safe" walk....
Sad sad sad...
April 1st, 2007 at 10:05 pmThis is just a f*cking disgrace and a grave insult to Iraqis. After 650,000 civilians killed this stupid a-hole, walks on the street to prove everything is fine in Iraq?
Furthermore, this is beyod racist. This incredibly stunt show was made to make US citizens believe that there is progress in Iraq, but it has nothing to do with providing Iraqis with the necessary services in order to live their lives once the US bombed their lives away.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:10 pm#87 - Juan
Wow. Well said.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:14 pmVery powerful.
These clowns McCain and McAbel (Graham) are almost too funny for words.
Can't they even do a photo op right? Surrounded by Soldiers and wearing flak jackets?
By golly, no we are not getting the full story about the success of the surge. It's much worse than you two pretend.
For crying out load, they wouldn't need this kind of protection as guests of Kim Jung Ill.
Meanwhile the Republican causus recognizes that there will be waning support for the war after August....no matter if the surge seems to temporarily work or not. At least that is waht they told Patreus.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:14 pmI'm thinking that with that much protection, I could walk onto Normandy Beach in the D-Day attack and feel safe.
What a clown.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:17 pmThe strategy of those plotting against America was successful in that their coordinated effort to avoid placing a bullet through McCain's empty skull or to avoid blowing up this scarecrow politico was delivered with alarming accuracy. They determined it would be more harmful to America to allow McCain to remain a viable candidate for the US presidency in 2008 than to do him harm.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:23 pmMore properly, what McCain was wearing was a ballistic panel, or what the US military calls Small Arms Protective Insert (SAPI) plates. Standard-issue body armor includes what you probably commonly think of as a "bullet-proof vest," a woven Kevlar-fiber garment. This is kevlar vest is then augmented with ballistic panels made from metal, ceramic, or polyethylene which slide into pockets in the front and back of the vest and protect the heart and lungs. What McCain had on is a set of these panels, without the Kevlar vest underneath.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:28 pmThere is something decidedly and persistently magical about the U. S. Senate. It is truly alarming. Take for example, an Army lawyer and a Navy pilot are elected to the senate and suddenly they are military tactical experts. In reality, an Army lawyer knows less about military tactics, techniques, and procedures then a private first class in an infantry fire team. It does not matter that the lawyer may have spent thirty years in the military. He probably never cleaned a rifle except during "summer camp."
A navy pilot, on the other hand, has just slightly more qualifications in military tactics, techniques, and procedures then that of the lawyer. This is because of his survival, escape, evasion, resistance, and military firearms qualification training.
Be all that as it may, militarily, trying to explain the difference between walking freely and walking securely is a fool’s errand. Who gives a rat’s behind if one can walk “free?†In the context of war, what could it possibly mean? Free, in the sense that McCain used it, is nothing more then a catchy phrase that has absolutely no standard of measurement in military success or failure. What it demonstrates most is that he will say anything to get you to listen and do anything to make his point. Even to the extent that it endangers those around him. President?
I never thought I would see the day, but I guess it has finally happened. The patients are running the asylum. Their bungling continues to cost lives. The one thing that I cherished most in my thirty years of service to my country is the value we, as Americans, placed on life, our own and others. I do not get that feeling anymore. Now it is all so surreal. It is a weird kind of chess where there is just one color and only kings and pawns.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:29 pm[...] military to NBC News seemed to show McCain wearing a bulletproof vest during his visit. Watch it: Think Progress » McCain Strolls Through Baghdad Market, Accompanied By 100 Soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, 2... McCain recently claimed that there “are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk [...]
April 1st, 2007 at 10:33 pmAfter seeing the picture I am reminded of the clip of Michael Dukakis looking ridiculous riding around in a tank during the 88 presidential campaign. You can only hope that the press took some good wide angle pictures to show the "show", and that this is McCain's "Michael Dukakis'" moment. It's only too bad in happened during the run up to the presidential primary and not the run up to the general election.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:38 pmI do have one question, what the hell happened to John McCain? Does he have an evil twin? (I guess that makes two questions)
any word on whether mccain saw zarqawi?
April 1st, 2007 at 10:38 pm[...] Here’s the video: http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/01/mccain-iraq-stroll [...]
April 1st, 2007 at 10:41 pmWell, I guess that settles it--we can come home now. Mission accomplished, right?
April 1st, 2007 at 10:45 pmWith a guard contingent like these two senators had, I could burn a cross in front of the Martin Luther King, Jr memorial in Atlanta at Easter Sunrise while lynching Jesse Jackson (I in full KKK regalia) and escape harm. Without the guards, there would be a slightly different ending.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:46 pmHe was walking freely. they blew the fuck out of anything else that moved.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:47 pm#95 - pgw,
April 1st, 2007 at 10:48 pmMcCain did not even see the light.
6 soldiers were killed today just south of where McCain was staging his heavily fortified photo-op.
Did these soldiers die because their support detail was taken away and sent to protect McCain's sorry ass?
April 1st, 2007 at 10:48 pmSen. John McCain strolled briefly through an open-air market in Baghdad today in an effort to prove that Americans are “not getting the full picture†of what’s going on in Iraq.
There hasn't been a potential presidential candidate this divorced from political reality since Ross Perot self-destructed in a raging fit of paranoia. Can anyone be so hard up that they would hitch themselves to a McCain run? I picture a McCain running mate to be cut from the same confused cloth as Perot's Adm. Stockdale; no one of real political heft would gamble on his mercurial nature.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:49 pmPlease tell me this walking freely stunt is an April Fool's Day joke.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:49 pmOn second thought don't tell me. It's only funny if it really happened, and I need a laugh right now.
#101 - Barbara,
April 1st, 2007 at 10:53 pmIt was not a joke. It was a travesty. I can tell you once more in about an hourand three minutes.
So is McCain's election campaign going to pay for this photo op?
April 1st, 2007 at 10:53 pmDid we just pay for a PR stump? We put our soldiers in danger and days behind the important work they are doing just to help McCain run his Presidential campaign and save face from Wolf Blitzer???? Fuck me in the ass now and make give you all of my money for the bad lay. MOST.EXPENSIVE.CAMPAIGN.STOP.EVER!
April 1st, 2007 at 10:56 pmTwo consecutive posts of his disappeared into the ether. Meanwhile, trolls were allowed to continue without hindrance. His emails to the TP team were both unanswered and unacknowledged.
Not for the first time, he wondered, "why bother"?
April 1st, 2007 at 10:57 pmThe Denver Atomic Clock is off by 4 minutes. My response in #102 s/b one hour and 7 minutes
April 1st, 2007 at 10:58 pmWhen was last time one of us walked outside with a bullet proof vest? what a joke! Who is this guy kidding?
April 1st, 2007 at 11:03 pmIt's great that St. John is taking himself out of the 2008 race with all this jibberjabber, but when are we going to get St. Rudy talking about Iraq? We have to get rid of him too you know!
April 1st, 2007 at 11:03 pmDenver s/b Boulder in my #105.
April 1st, 2007 at 11:04 pmthat remark was somewhat reminescent of Rumsfeld's famous "if you fly over Iraq you can see that parts of it are not blown to bits" remark.
and yet the MSM can't get enough.
April 1st, 2007 at 11:12 pmThese are but a few examples of the commonly applied techniques used by this administration and people like McCain. This is what they know -- intimidation and misinformation. The intention is to alter media coverage of the Iraq catastrophy so as to create a false impression of favorability and righteousness. It is unfortunate that to some degree they succeed.
Peace!
April 1st, 2007 at 11:13 pmOn the bright side of this disgraceful behavior by a U.S. senator: If this little walk in the marketplace would have happened even a year ago, I doubt if the MSM would have the cojones to report the context of the walk. It's progress when the reporter tell us how many soldiers and helicopters it took to assure the safety of McCain and his "free walk." We're making progress, one phony story at a time.
April 1st, 2007 at 11:13 pmGraham paid $5.00 for his five rugs, but they cost McCain his chance to be President. Don't worry taxpayers, Karl Rove paid for this trip out of his own pocket to be done with McCain for good.
April 1st, 2007 at 11:18 pm#107 - grytpype,
April 1st, 2007 at 11:20 pmLately, Rudy has been most effective in that area. Three wives is not a statement of family values, first one was a second cousin. Mob associations. Not vetting his appointees. If he gets the Republic nomination, the Democrats could win with the Taco Bell Chihuahua.
[...] ThinkProgress has it, McCain “recently claimed that there “are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could [...]
April 1st, 2007 at 11:28 pmFreely he says?
Hmmm... lemme see... 100 troops (including vehicles), 3 Blackhawks, a couple Apaches (probably a drone or two, too)... okay, so that's tick-tick-tick, tick-tick-tick-tic, tick-tick-tick,... ka-chunk, ka-chunk, whirrrrrr.
Okay, so it looks like Johnnie and Company's little shopping spree probably cost the taxpayers only a few hundred grand.
But Lindsay got a really good deal on those rugs, right?
Right!
April 1st, 2007 at 11:28 pmJosh Marshall called this McCain's Dukakis-in-a-tank moment. I couldn't agree more. The meta message of this photo op is, "I think the American voters are stupid!"
April 1st, 2007 at 11:30 pmIf you didn't catch 60 Minutes this week you have to watch the lead story on how the drug companies co-opted our government to get the ultimate deal in the new Medicaid bill. They made a mockery of the Congressional procedure. The Republicans threatened a government official not to reveal before the vote in the House that the bill would cost $500 billion, not substantially less as originally projected. And now the drug companies are charging seniors and our government a ton more than they should because our government agreed that it cannot negotiate - drug companies name their price. By the way, the leading politicians and bureaucrats promptly took fat cat jobs with the drug industry right after they passed the bill. What a pay off, in addition to the hundred million in campaign donations by drug companies that year. Bush says if Democrats overturn the provision which ties the government's hands from negotiating with the drug companies he will veto the bill. (This from the President who actually campaigned on untying our government's hands from negotiating with the drug companies).
We've got greed and corruption galore with our taxpayer dollars. It's a disgrace. And it's emblematic of everything that's wrong with Republicans these days. Please read it if you care. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/29/60minutes/main2625305.shtml
""They're suppose to have 15 minutes to leave the voting machines open and it was open for almost three hours," Burton explains. "The votes were there to defeat the bill for two hours and 45 minutes and we had leaders going around and gathering around individuals, trying to twist their arms to get them to change their votes."
Jones says the arm-twisting was horrible.
"We had a good friend from Michigan, Nick Smith, and they threatened to work against his son who wanted to run for his seat when he retired," he recalls. "I saw a woman, a member of the House, a lady, crying when they came around her, trying to get her to change her votes. It was —it was ugly."
When the prescription drug bill finally passed shortly before dawn, in the longest roll call in the history of the House of Representatives, much of the credit went to former Congressman Billy Tauzin, R-La., who steered it through the house.
"It's just a messy process," Tauzin says. "I mean, the old adage about if you like sausage or laws, you should not watch either one of them being made is true. It's a messy process."
Tauzin says that the voting machines were open for three hours "because the vote wasn't finished."
As for arms being twisted? "People were being talked to," he says."
April 1st, 2007 at 11:34 pmThnak you, Zoo. :)
April 1st, 2007 at 11:39 pmI think their all smoking somethng now.
April 1st, 2007 at 11:40 pmI hear the military gave a name to this little grocery expedition:
Operation Walk Freely
April 1st, 2007 at 11:43 pmThere were many areas of Michigan in which you could walk freely in 1863. This whole "Civil War" thing was just dreamed up by the media of the day in order to sell newspapers.
April 1st, 2007 at 11:50 pmHow much did McCain's charade cost, and to what end? Was anybody convinced by this hoax? All this demonstrates is that if he gets elected, he will put on the same show as the Chimp. Man, the patients are running the asylum.
April 1st, 2007 at 11:55 pmTime to update your talking points, DEFEAT-O-CRATS! Three months ago a photo op like this would have taken over 200 troops, 6 Blackhawks, 4 Apaches and a half dozen members of G-Unit. Tell me now we're not making progress on the ground, bitches!
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:00 amWalk freely and carry a company of combat troops.
Will we hear McCain tell us the insurgents are a bunch of dead-enders in their last throes? Perhaps he could find the deck of a carrier, there are a couple out in the Gulf right now
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:04 amTell me now we’re not making progress on the ground
Comment by Cmdr. Codpiece — April 2, 2007 @ 12:00 am
We're not making progress on the ground.
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:06 amOk lets look at this republican slot of Candidates. This week we have one connected with mob ties, one who speaks of hate for the spanish language, and now McCain strolling through the streets of Bagdad looking like a fool. Geez.
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:10 amDamn, the Straight Talk Express has completely jumped the tracks and is heading down into No Credibility Creek under a full boiler. Look out below!
Really sad to see this guy end his career in such a spectacular flame-out.
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:13 am[...] complete picture? McCain says the American people aren’t seeing it in Iraq even as “three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships overhead” him. McCain said this all wearing a bulletproof vest. It’s safe in Baghdad. [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:16 am[...] 1st, 2007 · No Comments John McCain is such a whiny little bitch.  I can’t believe he’s actually pretending to run for President again. Nobody [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:17 amTell me now we’re not making progress on the ground
Comment by Cmdr. Codpiece — April 2, 2007 @ 12:00 am
We’re not making progress on the ground.
Comment by I WORFEUS
That was hilarious!!
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:23 amJust my thoughts here. The truth is we are not seeing the truth of what is happening there, unfortunately the video and media captured here does nothing to show us the truth.
Do I think it is good he went you bet, those men and women that sit in D.C. and decide yes and no on military spending and war funding should see it first hand. That way when they vote yes or no they can actually have a little insight.
Dem. Rep. or Ind. I think that we would all agree this is a mess. At this point how and why we ended up there is pointless. We need to show up at the polls over the coming years and make sure we vote in those that are going to help get us out of this situation as quickly and safely as we can. They need to be talking to the troops living it everyday, find out their thoughts and experiences. We are going to be there for years to come we need to do the best we can to protect our men and women over there dying.
Get up, get involved, and make a difference.
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:27 amTruly a defining moment in bizarre. It's like Nixon ranting about the Domino Theory and "peace with honor." The image of a U.S. Senator -- surrounded by choppers, grunts, and kevlar -- picking his way through a Baghdad market just so he can make happy-talk later is as hilarious as it is offensive.
We've found our April Fool.
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:27 amI want to personally thank Senators McCain and Graham for demonstrating to the Iraqi rug makers that if they could afford an escort of 100 American Soldiers, 3 blackhawks, and 2 Apaches...they to can travel freely to and from in the market, seling their wares for poverty wages.
Things are going so well that I can't stop smiling.
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:29 amProbably bode well not to walk around with your fly down.
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:31 amWell, Johnny....you didn't really want to be President anyway, did you?
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:36 am[...] gunships. Oh, and he was wearing a bulletproof vest. In an uncharacteristic bout of journalism, NBC News has the video. If this is one of Baghdad’s safer neighborhoods, I can only wonder what the unsafe ones are [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:41 am[...] By 100, 3 Blackhawks, and More Filed under: Uncategorized — recar @ 4:44 am McCain Strolls Through Baghdad, Accompanied By 100, 3 Blackhawks, and More Sen. John McCain strolled briefly through an open-air market in Baghdad today in an effort to prove [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:42 am[...] Strolls Through Baghdad, Accompanied By 100, 3 Blackhawks, and More McCain Strolls Through Baghdad, Accompanied By 100, 3 Blackhawks, and More Sen. John McCain strolled briefly through an open-air market in Baghdad today in an effort to prove [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:45 amOur Native Americans must be proud of the job we're doing, with all the Apaches, Blackhawks and Tomahawks we sent over there.
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:48 amWe are going to be there for years to come we need to do the best we can to protect our men and women over there dying.
Comment by Dirt
Not a word about Iraqis and their sovereignity in your whole post.
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:51 amBad John, bad John watcha gonna do, watcha gonna do when da press come fo’ you?
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:55 amWhen they sudedongdong come for you?
Let me go! Whatcha wanna do when they come for you?
Bad John, bad John whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do?
Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?
Bad John bad John whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do when da press come for you?
When you were seventy and you had bad dreams when you went to Iraq!
You had apache helicopters cover your back!
If you thinks that’s hot, then you must be cool.
Bad John, bad John whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do?
Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when da press come for you?
You chuck it down thas one,
You chuck it down thit one,
You chuck it down ya mother,
And ya chuck it down ya father,
Ya chuck it down a brother,
And ya chuck it down ya siter,
You chuck it down that one and you chuck it down Me!
Bad John, bad John whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when da truth come lookin’ fo’ you?
Nobody hit ya in Bagdad
Pleas stop acting like ya wer’ safe in Baghdad,
No soldier man will now ever give ya a break,
Then ya eyes will explain their shake.
Bad John, bad John, whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do?
Whatcha gonna do now that the public will see right thru!
Why did you have to act the lie?
Don’t you know you’ll one day die?
Born of a mother with the love of a father,
Reflexion comes and reflexion goes,
I know sometime you wanna let go
We all know sometime you wanna let go…
Bad John, bad John whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do?
whatcha gonna do if ya soul is thru?
Your too bad,
your too rude,
your too bad,
your too rude,
Bad John, bad John, whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do?
When they come for you?
Whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do when they come for you?
You chuck it down that one,
you chuck it down this one,
you chuck it down ya mother,
and you chuck it down your brother
and you chuck it down your sister
AND YOU CHUCK IT DOWN ON ALL OF US!
– Bob Marley (rip), revised
http://www.anklebitingpundits.com/content/?p=1976#comments
Bad John, bad John watcha gonna do, watcha gonna do when da press come fo’ you?
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:55 amWhen they sudedongdong come for you?
Let me go! Whatcha wanna do when they come for you?
Bad John, bad John whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do?
Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?
Bad John bad John whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do when da press come for you?
When you were seventy and you had bad dreams when you went to Iraq!
You had apache helicopters cover your back!
If you thinks that’s hot, then you must be cool.
Bad John, bad John whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do?
Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when da press come for you?
You chuck it down thas one,
You chuck it down thit one,
You chuck it down ya mother,
And ya chuck it down ya father,
Ya chuck it down a brother,
And ya chuck it down ya siter,
You chuck it down that one and you chuck it down Me!
Bad John, bad John whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when da truth come lookin’ fo’ you?
Nobody hit ya in Bagdad
Pleas stop acting like ya wer’ safe in Baghdad,
No soldier man will now ever give ya a break,
Then ya eyes will explain their shake.
Bad John, bad John, whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do?
Whatcha gonna do now that the public will see right thru!
Why did you have to act the lie?
Don’t you know you’ll one day die?
Born of a mother with the love of a father,
Reflexion comes and reflexion goes,
I know sometime you wanna let go
We all know sometime you wanna let go…
Bad John, bad John whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do?
whatcha gonna do if ya soul is thru?
Your too bad,
your too rude,
your too bad,
your too rude,
Bad John, bad John, whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do?
When they come for you?
Whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do when they come for you?
You chuck it down that one,
you chuck it down this one,
you chuck it down ya mother,
and you chuck it down your brother
and you chuck it down your sister
AND YOU CHUCK IT DOWN ON ALL OF US!
– Bob Marley (rip), revised
http://www.anklebitingpundits.com/content/?p=1976#comments
No, the Arizona senator has not been drinking Kool Aid.
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:56 amIt seems as though he's been on his knees, playing water sports with Dubya. There's just no other explanation to the most absurd start to a presidential campaign in recent American history.
By McCain taking 100 military guys off the surge to protect him so he can prove his point of how safe it is. He has sacraficed another 7 of our brave men. All you have to do is read the statisics for this last month and see it is not SAFE. Where do we get these guys. Who in their right mind would want him for a president. What, how stupid. Shopping? idiot.
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:56 amWm
No he didn't take any troops from regular patrols... 100 poor saps just lost a few hours of sack time. BTW,how many troops are in Baghdad , 40,000? How many are on pipeline patrol, 60,000? I just pulled these #"s out of my ass, but who really knows? let's not forget the real purpose here. Its the the oil, stupid.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:08 am[...] Senator John McCain (R-AZ) visited his local 7-eleven on Sunday, in an effort to show that Americans are “not getting the full picture” on the [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:19 amMcCain is probably directly responsible for the surge in US troops killed yesterday. Those helicopters guarding him were needed to protect the soldiers in the field. His personal stunt in Baghdad killed 6 soldiers. I hope the parents of the dead sue him personally for what he did. Shame on you McCain and tell Lindsey Graham to resign in disgrace too.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:22 amI'm sure that none of you ever thought that any U.S. Senator that is going to take a "tour" of Baghdad is going to have a rather large security force.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:24 amLike McCain and Graham, I also went to the flea market Sunday. I found an even better bargain: 25 books for $5.00! I too walked freely through the flea market, strolling carefree among the many stalls. I only needed 100 dollars, 3 good friends, 2 decent walking shoes, and a tight blouse!
What p*ssies these macho Repugs be!
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:26 amIf we would just 2,600,000,000 more troops to Iraq we could keep the entire population safe.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:42 am[...] walk freely through the streets of Baghdad because of the recent troop surge. To prove his point, McCain strolled through the streets of Baghdad, freely but guarded by 100 soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, an.... Well I suppose he proved his point, too bad not every Iraqi or American can get that kind of [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:46 amDon't forget,McCain was just 3 minutes from the Green Zone.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:49 amAlso; pity the poor guy that sold Sen. Graham the rugs-that transaction was probably a death sentence.
[...] their lives to protect the man while he strolls through Baghdad as if everything’s all “hunky dory” in the capitol city of the Iraq Civil [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:49 amwho cares about iraq i could care less if they are alive or dead free or slaves . What about america ?? were not free anymore but i suppose thats all good as long as you can safely walk the streets in iraq . WTF wake up america!
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:50 am#141 Comment by Jason Troll — April 2, 2007 @ 1:24 am
If McCain hadn't bragged that the head of the U.S. Command in Iraq could go "...out there [in Baghdad] almost every day in an unarmed humvee,†and if little Lindsey (scared of my shadow, but I talk a big brave NeoCon line) Graham hadn't bragged about buying rugs, while BOTH of them were protected by 100 soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, 2 Apache Gunships, and kelvar vests, someone may have noticed that real Senators who visited Iraq needed protection too! That is why so many of us want to protect our troops and BRING THEM HOME, NOW!!
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:58 amwho cares about iraq i could care less if they are alive or dead free or slaves .
Comment by The Sleepless Pr0phet
Neither did George.
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:00 amGet some sleep.
"100 American soldiers, with three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships overhead." He needs two apache gunships to walk freely? That's about as big a contradiction as you can get. Check out the apache's armament
M230 30mm Gun
70mm (2.75 inch) Hydra-70 Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets
AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missiles
AGM-122 Sidearm anti-radar missile
AIM-9 Sidewinder Air-to-Air missiles
http://www.globalaircraft.org/planes/ah-64_apache.pl
Free, my ass. With one of those over each shoulder anyone could walk anywhere they weren't wanted.
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:02 amSwash-Buckling Butt Pirate!!!
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:14 am"let’s not forget the real purpose here. Its the the oil, stupid."
Who said sumin' 'bout oil bitch? It's about power. The US pumps more oil than Iran and Iraq combined. Iran about 4 million barrels a day and Iraq pumps about 2 million barrels a day. The US pumps 8.5 million barrels a day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum
Iraq is no more important to the USA for oil than Angola.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/09/business/worldbusiness/09pemex.html?ex=1331096400&en=cf6df1aa7e9756d5&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:28 amGuys, the money for this stunt came out of your pockets. I'd go ballistic, asking for raw flesh, if I were an American taxpayer. Even as I'm not paying any US taxes I'm livid for being considered that stupid.
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:44 amI never thought it was about the oil. I always thought it was the MONEY (the LOVE of which is the ROOT - as in Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Haliburton - of ALL EVIL!)
And EVIL is what has been done to Iraq, the Constitution, our troops, and our beleagured country by a pompous, self-absorbed, money-grubbing little jerk of a president and his corrupt sychophants.
It is time for a CHANGE! IMPEACH CHENEY FIRST!
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:46 amI’m sure that none of you ever thought that any U.S. Senator that is going to take a “tour†of Baghdad is going to have a rather large security force.
Comment by Jason — April 2, 2007 @ 1:24 am
Jason, you are a master at missing the point.
April 2nd, 2007 at 3:01 amHey #29: We are ALL over 15----that's how we remember the Tonkin Gulf.
This "incident" with the kidnapped British soldiers stinks to high heaven, Tony and Georgie are gonna get their little war with Iran no matter WHAT we think.
As for McCain, what a tool! An HOUR in a Baghdad marketplace surrounded by 100 heavily armed soldiers and hovered over by Blackhawks and he proclaims it "safe"? Does he think we're all in kindergarten?
April 2nd, 2007 at 3:04 amDid McCain visit during one of the few hours in the day when the electricity was on in that block? How convenient for him.
April 2nd, 2007 at 3:06 amI'm just wondering...how much Saint McCain's little jaunt to save face from his moronic comments last week has cost the American taxpayer? And at what expense to the troops on the ground that should be doing much more important things related to their mission? What a total assbag fuck McCain is...any respect I ever had for this clown due to being a war hero has been total lost on me in this past week...what a senile, diaper wearing tool!!
April 2nd, 2007 at 3:16 amI wonder, does it "embolden the enemy" to see how vacuous and stupid our senators are? And to see us put up with it?
April 2nd, 2007 at 3:25 amMcCain is a bonehead in any culture.
At least, all the coloratura sopranos, sopranos, sopranists, mezzo-sopranos, contraltos, altos, baritones and basses are well over that age. Of course, only a castrato could have made the shrill remark you posted.
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:11 am[...] On the first of April, Senator McCain visited a Baghdad market accompanied by 100 U.S. forces, 3 Blackhawk helicopter and 2 Apache gunships. [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:18 am[...] post by Faiz and software by Elliott Back Bookmark [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:25 amThis link doesn't work:
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/01/graham-mccain-rugs/
April 2nd, 2007 at 5:31 amMcCain making those 'walk freely' statements to the press, IMHO, could have been forgiven as innocent ignorance IF he hadn't gone ahead and WENT THERE and then made himself look like a complete IDIOT for saying that stuff.
Did he really think that the American public would construe the huge military entourage that accompanied him (not to mention the bulletproof vest) as being "safe enough to 'walk freely?'" Just how stupid and/or gullible does he think we Americans are??
We don't have to do a thing to discredit people like John McCain...they do it all by themselves.
April 2nd, 2007 at 6:08 am[...] And what about that recent leisurely stroll McCain took in Iraq to demonstrate his point that some parts of Iraq are no different than Main Street, USA ? Oh, along with reporters obviously, he was also accompanied by: 100 American soldiers, with three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships overhead. [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 6:19 amHere we have a man
, who has been reduced to a shill for crooks and liars. Psychology is a powerful tool my friend
April 2nd, 2007 at 6:38 am[...] McCain in Baghdad: here. [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 6:42 amlol what an idiot sure....walk down there ...right next to the green zone no duh.....
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:02 amTruly, this man seems to be stuck on stupid
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:29 amMcCain can get a leisurely campaign tour around the town, but the military is wayyyy too busy to accommodate accountants who could try to make some semblance of sense of the trillions of hemorrhaging U.S. taxpayers dollars being spent and stolen day in and day out. Meanwhile here in the United States rotted human flesh still hangs on fencing in what used to be residences yards, in what used to be neighborhoods in New Orleans, and Congressional representatives such as Jack Kingston (Shitheel-Racist-Georgia) are making remarks such as 'Youin's honeymoon is a fixin' tah explode like a IED!' regarding the rest of the government not involved in the brutal punch fest being given to the Statue of Liberty from dirty racketeering dogs who've pulled out all stops to control themselves when it comes to tearing at the flesh and gnawing the bones of america's economy, by way of opportunistic thievery, and political skull and bones meets KKK cronyism. Tom Cole (Asswipe-Oklahoma) warns the very individuals we've hired and assigned to shovel the shit left by the breathtaking criminality of the current administration, that unless they want more chaos (domestic attacks) they "bess not mess" with the twisted, volumous Patriot Act which removes rule of law in every way and gives a free hand to anyone, who disguised as national security in all it's morphed forms, can appoint themselves as this country's bodyguards in a slush fund type protection racket. Rep. Duncan Hunter (Embezzler-California) feels a Fair trial to an accused terror suspect would be so UnFair, besides, he's just getting started at directing the traffic of earmarks for phoney black ops defense contracts because he doesnt believe in the american system of justice until all the federal prosecutors are deemed loyal "bushies". Then there's that naggling possibility he and his co-conspirators facility for ill gotten gains might disappear if this phoney illegal war on terror, centered around the Iraq deception, were to be brought to an end.
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:30 am[...] He had Blackhawks to guard his head, [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:34 amMonday morning, 4/2: There is nothing on the NYTimes or WashPost front pages, or on CNN, MSNBC, etc. about this incident. Please contact all media to find out why McCain's comments about safety in Baghdad and his expensive photo-op stunt yesterday are not in the news today.
At the bare minimum, Lindsay Graham's 5 rugs for 5 bucks cost us taxpayers 100 soldiers, 2 Blackhawks, and 3 Apache gunships. Call Graham and McCain's offices today, 1-800-828-0498.
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:49 am[...] THINKPROGRESS.ORG: MCCAIN TAKES A STROLL [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:00 amJane Stillwater asked Mc Cain a question when he was in Baghdad recently. His answer "No Comment" Jane's article Report From Baghdad; Jane Stillwater Talks To McCain at OpEd News
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:14 am[...] This story would be funny if it weren’t so pathetic; John McCain hasn’t just jumped the shark, he’s jumped every other sentient lifeform at this point, including his own (former) integrity. Ugh. [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:17 am[...] by the military to NBC News seemed to show McCain wearing a bulletproof vest during his visit. Vir (Å e brez glasov) Loading [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:18 am[...] read more | digg story April 02nd 2007 Posted to Site Updates [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:19 am[...] are neighborhoods in Baghdad where Americans can go for a stroll? Well, he decided to put his money where his mouth is: he “strolled briefly through an open-air market in Baghdad”, after which he claimed [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:25 am[...] are neighborhoods in Baghdad where Americans can go for a stroll? Well, he decided to put his money where his mouth is: he “strolled briefly through an open-air market in Baghdad”, after which he claimed [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:25 amThe crazy part is that there are solders over there fighting that can't get bullet proof vests!
What a jerk! And I used to like him. :-(
The only reason we are still there (Besides the oil) is because some people think that the people who hate us (Americans) will focus more on getting us out of Iraq then on coming here to do harm to us.
But eventually we will have to leave! So I hope they spend as much money here on security as they wasted over there on this mess!
And I don't mean running poor Mexicans from their jobs at the nations ports and calling that security. Or taking water from us as we go through security to get on a plane, yet sell us water on the other side of the security check point??
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:31 amMcCain is NUTS. Seriously. I suspect he flipped out right around the time of his famous "I wuv you, Daddy" Bush hug. His personality changed--drastically--and he's never recovered. Personally, I think he's ready for the loony bin.
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:35 am"Jane Stillwater asked Mc Cain a question when he was in Baghdad recently. His answer “No Commentâ€"
It was an obviously stupid question. If she'd have asked me the same question, I would have told her to shut the f*ck up and get f*cking real.
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:38 amA family member and/or friend should help Sen. McCain. He appears to be
suffering from "Bush Brain Disease." This is a sad end to once brave soldier!
GO HOME, McCAIN!
RETIRE!
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:39 amYeah, but I'm McCain, that's how I roll with my apache gunships and my entourage and my toast.
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:39 amIt's almost worth the tax dollars to see this gut-bustingly silly performance art.
But I hope the guy is still conscious enough to have felt like a jackass while he was doing it.
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:45 amYou guys have got it all wrong. When McCain said he would walk around in a Baghdad neighbordhood unprotected he simply meant that he could walk around without wearing a condom.
Of course it's sort of hard to tell from the photos if he is or he isn't.
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:47 amMcCain reportedly haggled with merchants at the Bagdad market.
He haggled!
Perfect metaphor for the fiasco. Rich American Republican goes to Bagdad to secure something valuable on the cheap.
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:48 amJOHN JOHN JOHN tHIS IS YOUR DUKAKIS MOMENT. hANG IT UP.DON"T EMBARASS YOUSELF OR YOUR FAMILY ANYMORE.oH AND BY THE WAY WHO IS YOUR CAMPAGNE MANAGER?
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:54 amJHICKEY
Obviously it's safe.
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:58 amOne day we are told we have to keep the troops there because it's such a violent mess; the next we are told, hey, you can walk the streets -it's so NICE here (yeah, with the army walking beside you). The next day we are back to, oh dear, Iraq is so bloody, we will be here for 20 more years. Give me a fcking break. I no longer CARE.
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:03 am[...] Raheem, a merchant at the Shorja market visited by Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), disagreed with the senators’ claims that the market is [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:09 amnow if all Iraqis could be accompanied by 100 soldiers and 5 helicopters everywhere they go, they'd be safe, too!
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:13 amHas Lindsay Graham had a sex change operation? Or does he need one?
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:14 amIt's sad to see the one Republican politician who used to be known for integrity blowing it so badly.
Back in 2000 after Rove and his pit bulls slimed and smeared him out of the race, he seems to have reached some kind of deal with Bush:
I'll support your piece of sh*t campaign and your crappy presidency puppy-dog style as long as you guys don't oppose me the next time around.
Unfortunately the message McCain seems to have taken away from that last campaign is that the way to get elected is to act like a Bush clone. Notwithstanding that Bush's poll numbers are now abysmal and he's widely considered among the worst presidents in American history.
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:21 amI think he did more harm than good with this stupid little stunt. He has removed all doubt in my mind about the conditions in Iraq.
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:26 am[...] Raheem, a merchant at the Shorja market visited by Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), disagreed with the senators’ claims that the market is [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:27 amMcCain has self-destructed by lip locking with Bush and his incomprehensible continuous support of the failed policies in Iraq and doomsday predictions re. a withdrawal . He is toast. From a so called "maverick" he has become a pathetic figure on the political landscape. Give it up John, the presidency ain't gonna happen for you.
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:31 amWho said sumin’ ’bout oil bitch? It’s about power. The US pumps more oil than Iran and Iraq combined. Iran about 4 million barrels a day and Iraq pumps about 2 million barrels a day. The US pumps 8.5 million barrels a day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum
Iraq is no more important to the USA for oil than Angola.
http://www.nytimes.com/ 2007/ 03/ 09/ business/ worldbusiness/ 09pemex.html?ex=1331096400&en=cf6df1aa7e9756d5&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Comment by Enzo — April 2, 2007 @ 2:28 am
Power = The amount of energy one is willing to expend to achieve dominance is greater than the amount of energy needed to stay still.
So, you contend that all the bodies and expense are simply about being top dog? You do know that projecting POWER is “what we are doing†in order to achieve some goal? Since Iraq is between Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Iran the GOAL is to ensure energy availability by sacrificing the US’s available human energy in an attempt to CONTROL the RESOURCES of the Middle East.
Hence all wars fought and un-fought are about only one thing, RESOURCES! Land, fuel, passage, food, slaves, gold, etc. are all RESOURCES. The Middle East is a prime location for OIL and NG so that is a REASON why we would wage a war not simply to be dominant. Your idea simply holds no water given the facts.
You base your claim on daily production from various countries and it precludes RESOURCES as the prime reason for being at war. The fact is that the entire world pumps about 85 MILLION barrels of oil a day. Over the past 4 years overall oil production has gone FLAT and when mitigated has fallen by 2 to 8%. In that same period global oil demand has increased 4% so the net result is a 6-12% shortfall depending on what numbers are used.
Even if it were 1% of shortfall the consequence is that a portion of the global population will feel PAIN and the US is doing everything possible to prevent oil producing nations like Iraq, SA and Iran from switching to the Euro by using its military POWER and that is the same as using FORCE. US and UK oil companies are now going to divide CONTROL of IRAQ’s oil to provide for their own usage and to stop the EURO.
If the US supply falls demand destruction is the result and that is done with PRICE. If the US is not able to take the Middle East we will face physical shortages and our ECONOMY (oil driven) will collapse. So, the whole thing is about OIL after all!
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:40 am[...] you would’ve thought he’d have more self respect than to do it with 100 soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, 2 Apaches, and then have the balls – well, I guess here is where his mighty balls do their job – [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:45 amEr, from one who was in there, the same has been provided when democrats have been there.
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:47 amAnd we're paying for this campaign stunt?
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:58 amThis is a late response to the Philadelphia vrs. Baghdad post, but that the idea that any US city is safer than Baghdad is ludicrous. The man who started it all never calculated in lost limbs and mental disabilities. As far as I'm concerned its a greater slap in the face to our troops than anything Kerry ever said.
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:02 amYes, and not a single one of those Democrats who took the Bagdhad tour gushed about how safe and cuddly everything was.
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:03 amThings just get madder and madder. Are we living in a great big
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:04 amnut house ??
#183 - Jack Moss, how many Democrats have made the claim that you can walk around outside of the Green Zone with absolutely no fear of being attacked?
Sen. McCain has consistently lost credibility with his many claims about how things have been "getting better" in Iraq.
Sen. McCain has lost all credibility since 2000 when he let then-Gov. Bush attack him for having a "black child" and being mentally unstable from his time as a POW. When Sen. McCain refused to defend himself, he showed how much of a partisan lackey he truly has become.
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:04 amAt some point I had to step back and realize that while I know nothing of it, McCain actually knows all about war, he's lived through the worst of it.
I understand your points about wasting money, and political stunts, but let's just take a moment here: How many of us can honestly sit-back and say that we know better then McCain how politics, war, money, and the media all work? Therefore, how can you not place at least some trust in the man who knows this world better than these hot-headed internet flamers?
I'll be happy to flane Bush any day of the week, but will not sully McCain: This man has struggled, worked, and earned what he's got, he's _earned_ my respect; George W has not.
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:06 amI have often thought that JM was an awful person who should not be representing the good people of AZ. He's a callous murderer of defenless people and goes along with the B philosophy of murdering people for their oil. Perhaps the torturing he received at the hands of the VC taught him nothing but hatred. Good people of this once respected country should reject persons of his ilk summarily.
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:16 am[...] that, Michael Ware! Or maybe not. NBC Nightly News reports that McCain, wearing body armor, made his shopping trip escorted by 100 soldiers, three Blackhawk [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:16 amI have often thought that JM was an awful person who should not be representing the good people of AZ. He's a callous murderer of defenless people and goes along with the B philosophy of murdering people for their oil. Perhaps the torturing he received at the hands of the VC taught him nothing but hatred. Good people of this once respected country should reject persons of his ilk summarily.
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:16 am[...] of course, he fails to mention the flak jacket, the helicopters, and the troop escort that got him through that walk a few miles from the green zone unmolested. Personally, I will be [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:20 amAll they have to do is get along. Why is that so hard to understand?
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:26 am[...] his theories about strolling through Baghdad. Unfortunately for his campaign, the news actually reported on the facts surrounding the entire event. NBC’s Nightly News provided further details about McCain’s [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:30 am[...] support of his claim that Baghdad was now much safer, Senator McCain took a little stroll in a market after a lengthy 3 minute drive from the Green Zone. McCain was so anxious for everyone [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:33 amWhy are you complaining about John Mcpain. It's safe there in the streets. Just ask papa W. Bush. He spends money that will take your childrens children to pay back maybe in 200 years.
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:35 amQuit complaining this is what the New World Order is. Take away everything from everyone else and as long as they are making a profit ( so much that they can spens 350,000 for a stupid watch
or put real gold on there choco cakes) No I am not talking about gold flake either but real gold and then have the media broadcast it so you can see how poor they are. or all the other lies that have been told ( since you have eaten them and swallowed them also) why not believe the lie that McCain is living now lol You know the one about how safe it is in the streets. Well tell the lie long enough and you'll believe it sooner or later, if they don't ram it down your throats lol
"Woven Rugs? I’d check that wool or cotton for traces of depleted uranium if I were Graham. The Iraqi countryside is strewn with it."
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:35 am.
Good Call! Of course, they won't publicly test them and if they have them privately tested, we'll never hear about it. Officially, there is no DU problem. The Pentagon admits to owning the stuff and is buying replacement rounds, but won't admit to using them and won't, therefore, map where they have been used for clean-up.
DU IS a battlefield nuclear weapon. It is banned(not by name, but by class) under treaties that we signed and ratified(making them the Law of this Land, too).
The Thugs claim that it's use is legal but they hide it very carefully anyway. That alone is fishy.
Over one and a half million Americans have rotated through Iraq. All of them sustained some exposure to DU dust. The entire population of Iraq has also been exposed, some of them as long ago as Poppy Bush's turkey shoot, Gulf War1. With the aerosol nature of the fine dust and the prevailing winds out of the west, we've likely already Nuke Iran, subtly.
The wave of birth defects washing over Iraq and lapping at military families here is just starting and it's receiving just-not-zero coverage. When large numbers of veterans and their spice start developing radiation-caused health problems, the already beleaguered VA and Military healthcare networks will be overrun. We need to start gearing up now. Repair the (I can't call it neglect, they shredded the system intentionally) damage to the VA and the military Medical (Walter Reed is the headliner of that system, along with Bethesda). Build up a fund for DU exposed vets and families (ovarian cancer among the wives of exposed Vets, carried in their semen!).
Since we have so little information with treating DU exposure, we will need a team of people studying what is happening and developing methods of treatment.
This is one of the long term costs of the war that we must bear,(and it's estimated at a Trillion dollars over the next thirty years!) as wrong as the war is, we can not allow the Veterans of that war to be treated as poorly by the Government as the VietNam vets were.
DU is this war's Agent Orange.
Sorry for stepping so far off topic but this issue is way bigger than most people realize and I had to amplify the comment made.
McCain ought to go back without the escort and try that stunt again, or STFU,A
Honey, cancel the Disneyworld trip and make reservations for Iraq. Our man McCain says its safe to go out in Baghdad.
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:47 amTypical "doublespeak"!
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:48 amDU? No thats just sandfly bites. See, if our troops were provided with the necessities of war (OFF spray, bug zappers, and fly paper) all the vets wives would be able to avoid this hysterectomy business.
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:57 amMcCain, just one of the few who doesn't realize the war in Iraq is over.
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:01 amNot sure if he's slow, or just dumb.
[...] beweist, wie sicher man in Bagdad herumspazieren kann… (was er nicht erwähnt, aber von freundlichen Reporten darauf hingewiesen wird, eine [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:04 amThis is simultaneously one of the most funniest and one of the most tragic things I've ever seen.
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:05 amProblem is that McCain sent too many years as a POW so he has a distorted view of reality.
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:06 am"....See, if our troops were provided with the necessities of war (OFF spray, bug zappers, and fly paper)...."
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:08 amFOC,ROF,LMAO!
McCain Doesn't Even Stroll Through Neighborhoods in PHOENIX
McCain and Kyl are two of the biggest LIARS in the Government today. McCain wrote in 2003 that the United States had to Invade Iraq because "Saddam was bad".
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:12 amSaddam is dead and gone and McCain is using tax-dollars for photo-ops.
McCain will tell anyone listening whatever they WANT to hear at any given moment. Someone is probably going to start a McCain Lies page just like the BUSHLIESpage.
[...] really did think that John McCain was a decent guy (or at least decent for a politician). no more. Mr. “I can walk freely through Iraq [coughcoughwhenIhaveanescortof100soldiers] so it [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:14 amGeorge Bush and Dick Chaney must have some compromising photos of Mr. McCain........otherwise why would someone deliberately want to sound and look as stupid and clueless as he does?
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:18 amFor people susceptable to powermaddness, to be so close to the ultimate military/political power chair is like pure smack to a junkie. He'll do anything, take any indignity, change any belief, reverse any statement to suck up to the powerbrokers to get his turn in the chair. Joe Lie berman has the same disease.
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:30 amMcCain's carefully crafted "maverick" personna and "straight talk" have always been buIlsh!+. 'Bout time people noticed.
Look how BizzaroWorld his approach is: While 75% (and growing) want the war to end, he is trying to sell the war as a success. As if that makes it OK. That Escalation is doing the trick. He's surfing on the front of Bush/Cheney policy.
Not a good election strategy.
He's got trouble on the Jeeebus front too. Dobson and Falwell still dissed him after he came and made suck up to them last month, suggesting they'd rather Thompson or Gingrich(!?!). If he's the Best that the GOP can muster, they in big trouble.
*,}
It is truly amazing how much the Americans get for their tax dollars these days!
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:41 amAmerica is finished!
The Democrats have sold out!
SUNSARA TAYLOR wrote in Counterpunch March 26, 2007…
“House, 218 to 212, Votes to Set Date for Iraq Pullout" reads the New York Times. "Democrats Tout Plan for Troop Pullout," headlines the Washington Post. "Pelosi's Gamble on Iraq Pays Off," beams the Los Angeles Times. The reader is to believe that the Democrats have "employ[ed] their new Congressional majority to create the most forceful challenge yet to President Bush's war policy."
Today's headlines are parroting the lies of pro-war politicians -- AGAIN!â€
So, what are the implications of this, for America, Europe, Russia, China; for Iran?
Never mind about the absolute carnage and 1 million Iraqi refugees fleeing Iraq with more to follow.
Don’t trouble yourself about the 600,000 deaths of Iraqi citizens and rising.
Never mind about the 3000 American dead soldiers and the thousands of wounded, amputees and devastated lives.
Never mind about the Congress not having the cojones to stop Bush in Iraq, or the inability of Congress to prevent Bush from attacking Iran.
Don’t look at the war games being played out with Russia, Kazakhstan and others.
Don’t bother about the military war exercises China is carrying out.
Ignore the treaties between Russia and Iran, China and Iran and all the investment in Iran of both of these countries.
Bush and his handlers of less than a dozen men will carry out their long ago conceived plans.
They do not require permission of Congress; they think that they have it already.
In any case they will ignore or veto any bill that even hints at stopping them.
So, with all of the above; America is finished.
The war/strike on Iran will inevitably lead to a wider conflict, which will include China, Russia, Pakistan, Syria and many other countries in the
Middle East.
Millions will die, even if the Pentagon doesn’t use nukes, in the first pre-emptive strike on Iran.
So, you Americans, isolated and separated by two great oceans from most of the rest of the world; how will all this effect you?
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:42 amWill you still be isolated and separated from the wrath of the rest of the world?
Will you be able to live in peace in your own homeland?
With the Patriot Act II, with Halliburton building prisons for American or foreign ‘combatants?
Will anti-war protesters be arrested in their thousands?
Will you be taken in the dead of night in the coming police state, the coming suspension of further elections and Martial Law being declared?
Will you act when you see your neighbour being taken away, even though you have known him for years and he is in no way a terrorist?
How do you know that you are not next on the list?
You have nothing to hide right?
So your mail can be opened, your telephone can be tapped and your emails collected, right?
With the Democrats selling you down the river for the Industrial-Military- Complex that Eisenhower warned you about; you are powerless, divided, bamboozled by the media and kept quiet by all the lies and half-truths masquerading as news.
So, America is finished.
But first a large part of the world will suffer terrible devastation and millions of deaths – and then it will be your turn. Do you think you can escape the consequences of all this? Really?
He needs to strap on his balls and walk freely to make a real point. That way, either he actually would make a decent statement, or he'd get killed, and that would make a REAL statement.
As it is this is a pulled punch and proves nothing.
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:45 amHey, even I could walk down the most dangerous streets in Baghdad in an IRONMAN suit!
What a joke.
Maybe it’s an April Fool joke only, who’s the fool?
…
Comment by James — April 1, 2007 @ 8:14 pm
The near 70% repub who still support Bushy and the war. They will eat it up>
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:58 amC'mon, who doesn't wear a bullet proof vest when going to market?
What utter bullsh*t.
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:59 amSome of you people need to seriously ask yourselves this question:
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:05 pm"Is my attempt to make the Bush administration and the Republicans look bad truly worth placing this nation more at risk?" BJ Clinton gave missile secrets to the Chinese who in turn gave them to North Korea and to Iran, but heck he WAS A DEMOCRAT right? So that makes it ok I guess. Unless you idiots start playing chess instead of tic tac toe, and begin looking at the repercussions your actions are having, then this country is doomed to fail, but heck look at the good side, when a terrible virus comes and wipes out half of LA, or perhaps when NYC is permanently polluted by a dirty bomb, let Michael Moore, Sean Penn, Charlie Sheen, or Rosie O'Donnell tell us it was all only a Bush administration conspiracy. Clinton was not the 1st black American president as he claimed, he was the WORST American president of all time. His idiotic actions and inattentive moments harmed this country. He never considered the repercussions of his actions. And then comes Sandy Berger who stole classified documents to try and cover up BJ's inattentive mistakes. Actions have consequences. Until we as a country start to understand that we have a bleak future.
When will America wake up???
How long must this "Bullshit" go on!?!
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:13 pmSince no improvement is being made on the Iraq War, we need to spend our resources on other issues such as global poverty in order to discourage more terrorism and wars. According to the Borgen Project, in reality only .16% of our federal budget is spent on poverty reduction, the least among wealthy nations. We should let our representatives know that we want change.
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:33 pm[...] Bortset fra følgende små ligegyldigheder: [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:46 pm# 251 - Comment by Gerald D Troll and NeoCon BoyToy— April 2, 2007 @ 12:05 pm
Ask yourself, Nasty Troll:
“Is my attempt to make the current corrupt administration and the Republicans look something less than and affront to humanity truly worth placing this nation more at risk?â€
And stop talking about Clinton, doofus. Clinton supported the current pompous, self-absorbed, money-grubbing little jerk of a president and his corrupt sychophants in their lies to try to justify their invasion, occupation, and destruction of Iraq. Clinton is as guilty of mass murder as the current occupier and perverter of the White House.
IMPEACH CHENEY FIRST!
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:53 pmJust to prove the evil, lying, liberal media wrong, I think John, George, Dick, and Peter should rent an apartment in Baghdad. Of course, being the bias of the liberal media, you wouldnt see the endless sea of accolades and praise showered upon them from the Iraqi poplace thanking them for their new found freedom!
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:23 pmMcCain looks pathetically old, tired, and confused. Every time he opens his mouth he spouts nonsense. It's time for him to just shut up and go home.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:23 pmCheap publicity stunt. McCain is a disgrace. Soldiers should never be used as props in a political photo op. Doesn't McCain understand this? The man has no moral compass. Then again, he IS a Republican.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:30 pmI am suprised he did not take his 2008 Vice Presidential Running-Mate, Tim Pawlentyon the road with him for his McCain tour through unreality.
It has not been OFFICIALLY announced that McCain will be running with Tim Pawlenty in 2008, YET.
I am guessing that since Tim Pawlenty promised Minnesotans he was not planning on running for higher office during the last Gubernatorial race, they have to come up with a big lie to feed to Minnneotans when they announce the McCain Pawlenty 2008 plan.
I do not think McCain has a chance in heck of winning anything, but McCain Pawlenty running together in 08 is a sure loss... at least in my opinion.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:34 pm[...] leading to “utter abandonment of principles” mccain. now the maverick is just a sad, ridiculous [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:38 pmNext stroll, McCain strolls into an ice cream shop and shares a banana-split with Sunni's and Shia's as the children gather sining Kum-bye-Ya.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:44 pmTom Aspell. Be prepared to be swift boated for reporting the troops. This is how they operate and it's what they are now trying to do to the CNN reporter.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:48 pmYes Mccain is Free to do what he wants in Iraq, Just like Mick Jagger sings, I'm free to do what I want"
What does Mccain and Mick Jagger have in common? They are both Neocons with plenty of money and backing.
As we see here Mccains backing would be the 100 soldiers, 2 helicopters and two war machines, This makes him free!!
John Mccain is one of the biggest sell outs of America and I understand after being duped by the govt and being a prisoner of War himself, He probably has disdain for America.
However, John, I love Arizona, but your little Military Parade did not persuade me to vote for you as President. sorry
Although I did find your stunt quite Amusing.....
Hey John talk to the people of Iraq , don't just walk through. Let them Thank you for all you have done for their country and bringing them Democracy..
See I know they have Democracy because always in a ruling Democracy top leaders have to walk through with their Entourage/Privatized Army
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:01 pmI propose sending all of BushCo along with McCain and Graham on a permanent trip to Iraq, unprotected so they can get what they deserve.
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:09 pmActually Tomas, that is what is being planned, Bush is building a huge base over there larger then the Mall of America with 15 foot thick walls, everyone being removed from Bush's administration are being moved over there. They are building up Iraq and Middle East to come back on the US. It is Hitler's Fire and Ice Theory.
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:17 pmI used to have respect for McCain. Even though he was a Republican, and I'm a Democrat. I gave him credit for actually serving in the military, unlike Bush, who's biggest military adventure was appearing in a flight suit on the deck of an aircraft carrier, safely in US waters, and proclaiming MISSION ACCOMPLISHED to a war that has been going on for years since his lame photo op! McCain is no longer someone I respect. He has sold his soul to a failed ideology. Why? Do the neocons have something on him that they are holding over his head? Not impossible by any means. I think he is doomed as far as his future political ambitions. His latest publicity stunt in Iraq has backfired! He lied to the American people, plain and simple! If he is to regain my respect, he would have to return to that peacefull marketplace in Iraq, without the benifit of being surrounded by a small army! Then, if he came out of there alive, and and wanted to make comments on what great progress there was in Iraq, I still wouldn't believe a word he said, but I'd have to give him credit for having BALLS
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:36 pmProof that John McCain is just about as enlightened as George W. Bush. He can't seem to see that existing in a bubble of security provided by guys that have to put their lives on the line and paid for by US tax dollars in order to do so is NOT walking "Freely". What if the Baghdad sniper happened to be there , what if decided to take a shot despite the coverage and missed? He could hit one of our soldiers. Now that would be a disaster. Mc Cain, this is one of the worst stunts yet. Someone should submit this one to JACKASS numero tres the movie.
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:54 pmI use to think highly of mr macain..Did his duty... prisoner of war...Someone with his military back ground knows the difference..Only 3 things make sence..He has given in to the New World Order....He is being blackmailed.....Or he has been brainwashed.....If there is a god..He better stop the insanity real soon
April 2nd, 2007 at 3:02 pmIt really is just stone cold crazy that a person who has lived through what he has, been a POW, seen war up close - can go around talking this crap. What happens to these maniacs once they get to Washington D.C. - is it the lead in the water??
April 2nd, 2007 at 3:02 pmMcCain shows the arrogant BS of all the republicans. Their words are nothing but a bunch of BS , but the losers are the soldiers that they has sent to die for the deal to steal Iraq's Oil for the oil companies....
April 2nd, 2007 at 3:08 pmhey john, how many iraqi's walked ahead of you throwing rose petals? did any of them grovel at your feet and tell you how much they owe our country for liberating them and their oil?
April 2nd, 2007 at 3:12 pmI AM SAD TO SAY, THAT AT ONE POINT I WAS TRICKED INTO LIKING MCCAIN A LITTLE. AFTER THE TORTURE FIASCO I CANT EVEN SAY THAT.
April 2nd, 2007 at 3:14 pmOnce the republicans tell a lie it stays in the minds of idiots.......
In 1999, Libby, a China expert, served on a special Republican-controlled House committee that laid the blame for the compromise of U.S. secrets almost exclusively on Democrats, despite evidence that the worst rupture of nuclear secrets actually occurred during the Reagan-Bush administration in the mid-1980s.
The committee’s findings served as an important backdrop for Election 2000 when George W. Bush’s backers juxtaposed images of Democrat Al Gore attending a political event at a Buddhist temple with references to the so-called “Chinagate†scandal.
The American public was led to believe that $30,000 in illegal “soft-money†donations from Chinese operatives to Democrats in 1996 were somehow linked to China’s access to U.S. nuclear secrets. Millions of Americans may have been influenced to vote against Gore and for Bush because they wanted to rid the U.S. government of people who had failed to protect national security secrets.
But the reality was that the principal exposure of U.S. nuclear secrets to China appears to have occurred when Beijing obtained U.S. blueprints for the W-88 miniaturized hydrogen bomb, a Chinese intelligence coup in the mid-1980s on the watch of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
The intelligence loss came at a time when the Reagan-Bush administration was secretly collaborating with communist China on arms shipments to the Nicaraguan contra rebels, an operation so sensitive that Congress and the American people were kept in the dark, even as White House aide Oliver North colluded with Chinese agents.
April 2nd, 2007 at 3:17 pm[...] who were trying to put the best face on what is still a very dicey situation in Baghdad. NBC aired a report that McCain’s claims of being able to walk freely through a Baghdad market – about 3 [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 3:17 pmWith all due respect, McCain has lost his mind. I am a nam vet as well and had all the admiration and respect for this man; eventhough I disagree with his political policies etc.
Normally a liesurely stroll does not cost anything. Taking into account the real cost of 100 soldeirs, 3 blackhawks and 2 apaches, I think that McCain's sidekick got screwed in the market for the 5 bucks he paid for the five rugs. j messer
April 2nd, 2007 at 3:27 pmSay dear John, since when is invading Iraq's country , killing 650,000 Iraqis , and stealing their oil for the giant oil companies, liberating them and their oil?
April 2nd, 2007 at 3:29 pmBush and Cheney are cowboys as long as it someone else doing the stunts and getting killed for... They showed the balls by their cut and run in the Vet Nan war.......
Man, this is sad. You hear the term "sell-out" bandied around all the time, but this is what one really looks like. A guy who USED to walk the walk, who USED to be a "straight-talker", who USED to be independent minded...the whole "Maverick" thing... and in the last couple years we've seen him sink lower and lower. He's circling the drain now...
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:00 pmClinton used to walk free in Baghdad markets too.
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:08 pmWe in Sonora haven't taken our Senator seriously for decades.
It feels good to me that this imported Carpetbagger from the Eastern Establishment and the University Military Industrial Congressional Complex is getting the attention that he so richly deserves here, Despite his love affair with the Main stream media. He is a nice guy. He should be managing a bar "Boosting" some college team. He is not Leadership material. Not the kind of Leadership material one can trust.
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:43 pmAll of you whining commie liberals can stop peeing your panties about McCain. Even conservatives don't care for him. There's no way he'll be prez or even receive the Republican nonimation.
April 2nd, 2007 at 5:05 pmAnd The Dixie Chicks got banned from the air waves for saying they were embarrassed to be from the same state as W ? What is happening to our country? Impeach the current administration and vote in somebody real like Edwards or Obama.
April 2nd, 2007 at 5:33 pmOf course there are neighborhoods where McCain could “walk freely.†So Says WC
Yeah. He could maybe "walk freely" in certain neighborhoods of Phoenix Arizona.
April 2nd, 2007 at 6:18 pmwhining commie liberals
That from a whining fascist prevert
April 2nd, 2007 at 6:20 pm[...] l’occurence, plutôt un gilet pare-balles : Mc Cain donc a visité Bagdad ce dimanche. Pour apporter la preuve irréfutable au bon peuple que [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 6:23 pm[...] Think Progress paints a slightly different picture than John McCain would like: Sen. John McCain strolled briefly through an open-air market in Baghdad today in an effort to prove that Americans are “not getting the full picture†of what’s going on in Iraq. [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 6:30 pmfree? with that escort you can hardly call it free.
April 2nd, 2007 at 6:55 pmNow, why's he wearing a vest if things are so awesome over there.
Well considering hes a candiate for president, it would be pretty stupid to walk through somewhere without protection wouldnt it? And as for 'tax dollars it cost us" it didnt cost us anything, we already had those troops and helicoptors, moron. Democrats make me more sick with their lack of knowledge of things and their ignorance.
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:08 pmHe looks so tired. I feel sorry for him.
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:14 pmhe better not be elected the next president if he saying "today was proof that you could indeed “walk freely†in some areas of Baghdad. "
i like to see him do it without the army beside him
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:18 pmWho in their right mind would take McCain's word for anything over Michael Ware who has been there for four plus years? Photo-op McCain can't even tell the truth when it is evident he's flat wrong and had to have realized he was wrong as he spoke. A presidential candidate who can't speak the truth? Sounds like the one who already has the job!!! America can't afford to elect another mistake. We desperately need a leader who can tell the truth AND is intelligent. He's out of step with what the American people demanded leading up to last November's election. McCain doesn't fit the bill.
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:30 pmMetropolitan:
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:32 pmGet out your calculator and figure the cost of flying McCain and his entourage over there and back plus how much gas 3 loaded blackhawks and 2 cobras burn in 2 hours (hour in position and atleast 30 minutes flight time on either side) and you'll have a better sense. I know there was no additional cost for the 100 soldiers fanned out around mcCain to act as human flypaper in case someone really did want to take a crack at him. But then, they're volunteers, right.
PS: Helicopters get shitty milage
[...] 2 Apr 2007 John McCain Epitimizes Irony Posted by halona under Politics From Think Progress: Sen. John McCain strolled briefly through an open-air market in Baghdad today in an effort to [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:38 pmShould have withdrew, dropped McCain in the middle of that crap, then nuked the whole place....about 3 years ago...
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:57 pm[...] do so when, a few days after his rosy remarks, he showed up in Baghdad wearing a Kevlar vest, with an entourage of 100 soldiers, three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships. That would make me feel a [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:00 pmGod Bless Senator John McCain. This American hero served his country beyond ways that most American servicemen and servicewomen could only dream of doing. He spent 5 1/2 years in a Vietnamese prison camp, being tortured and brutialized so that the American people could "walk freely" on their own streets. How dare so many of you ignore those facts. This man actually walked the streets of Iraq. How many of you can say the same as you write your scathing, hateful, demeaning comments? America needs to take a step back and realize the magnitude of the U.S. Military's accomplishments, not only for the Iraqi people but for the entire world, so that they too, may "walk freely" on their own streets. Terrorism did not begin on 9/11. It has been around long before that date and will continue until someone like John McCain becomes our trusted leader and begins to put a dent in it. As a side note, thank Senator John McCain for protecting your freedom, allowing you to express your ideas as you have do so here! Again, God Bless John McCain and the good ole' U.S. of A!!!
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:06 pmnow seriously i will walk the streets of bagdhad if i have 100 American soldiers, with three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships overhead...ohhhh...and throw in a predator too just in case...
*************************************
How dare so many of you ignore those facts. This man actually walked the streets of Iraq. How many of you can say the same as you write your scathing, hateful, demeaning comments?
Comment by Patricia Moulton — April 2, 2007 @ 8:06 pm
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:32 pm[...] Think Progress » McCain Strolls Through Baghdad Market, Accompanied By 100 Soldiers, 3 Blackhaw.... clearly, it’s safe to walk the streets of Baghdad. via ram. [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:11 pm[...] McCain recently claimed that there “are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods, today.” In a press conference after his Baghdad tour, McCain told a reporter that his visit to the market today was proof that you could indeed “walk freely” in some areas of Baghdad. http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/01/mccain-iraq-stroll/ [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:19 pmComment by Patricia Moulton — April 2, 2007 @ 8:06 pm
Hey, Pat, I'll be impressed when McCain can walk the streets of one of Baghdad's neigborhoods with only a handful of security guys, something like you'd find when he campaigns here in the U.S., and not 100 American soldiers, with three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships overhead, and a stylish bulletproof vest.
Reminds me of the time Rummy and Rice flew into Baghdad at night, unannounced, under heavy guard. A reporter asked them the next day why, if things are going so swell in Iraq and security is so good, did they have to be so secretive? Rummy and Rice just looked at each other and had no answer.
What the hell is McCain afraid of? After all, according to McCain, "Gen. Petraeus goes out there [in Baghdad] almost every day in an unarmed humvee.â€
Any of us could walk the streets and come away unscathed with all the protection McCain had.
As I said before in this thread, of course he could walk freely, just the way he bragged days before when he told us of the great improvement in Baghdad. Maybe you can define "freely" as he meant it on TV before going to Iraq. Do you think he meant it in the context of walking without a bulletproof vest and without a heavily armed escort? Or did he mean just the opposite?
Good thing the insurgents held off long enough for McCain and Graham to hold their press conference, eh? According to reports, “In any case, it didn’t take the insurgents long to send their reply. Less then 30 minutes after McCain wrapped up, a barrage of half a dozen mortars peppered the boundaries of the Green Zone, where the senators held their press conference.â€
Safe neighborhood indeed.
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:20 pmJohn McCain proving that the surge is working. There are now enogh troops to escort useless vip's
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:21 pmHey Pat!
Maybe you can tell us why McCain said Petraeus travels outside the Green Zone in an unarmored Humvee when CNN's John Roberts said just the opposite:
Roberts: I checked with General Petraeus' people overnight and they said he never goes out in anything less than an up armored Humvee.
Show us, Pat, where McCain gets his information from.
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:58 pmMc Cain is an Open Borders Douchbag and is all ready sold out to the New World oder, er, Order.
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:30 pmMcCain sold out, a long time a ago.
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:42 pm[...] US presidential candidate Sen. John McCain recently proved that Baghdad is a happy, safe place by taking a one-hour stroll through an open-air [...]
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:13 pmI just couldn't pass up the opportunity to be # 300.
April 3rd, 2007 at 1:51 amKevlar under the shirt and Depends under the pants. McCain is a senile old goat who probably thought he was in Detroit or Juarez. He has been insane for years, and I am much surprised that he does not cluck like a chicken when he talks.
April 3rd, 2007 at 4:22 amApart from the fact that the daft old bastard is pissing away thousands perhaps hundreds of thousands of tax payer bucks, he is a pathetic figure, out of touch and used.
[...] Went Wrong? John McCain gone insane? He ventured 3 miles from the green zone accompanied by an armada yet he's claiming some neighborhoods in Iraq are safe? I want to smoke whatever he's smoking. [...]
April 3rd, 2007 at 4:42 amAnd how much did this photo/illusion/stunt cost us???
What a load of crap!
I sure hope he's in the first round of hangings, for treasonous acts...
His lies are as treasonous as any bush, cheney or rummy et al, have made...
April 3rd, 2007 at 5:22 am[...] Press reports: Iraqi merchant: McCain visit [...]
April 3rd, 2007 at 8:35 amThis looks like McCain's "macaca" moment. There's no way anyone could take him seriously after this crap attempt. It's such a shame that he threw away all the cred he had about six years ago, and the fact that he was a POW.
April 3rd, 2007 at 10:51 amGuess if being GW's lapdog prepares you to be President he's ready to take the helm.
April 3rd, 2007 at 11:33 amThe bar for the office of President has been dropped to it's lowest level. What's worse than being the worst President in history?
Being the worst President's groupy.
It is nothing less than obscene that, “100 soldiers, three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships,†were needed for Senator McCain to walk 'freely' about in Baghdad. Surely, their time would be better served protecting their fellow soldiers!
April 3rd, 2007 at 11:33 amHey this sure beats watching "the Deer Hunter" and hiding under the bed.
I gave those rugs as gifts, they sure were a hit over at the AIPAC debreifing (I ran right over as soon as I was back).
Love
John
April 3rd, 2007 at 2:19 pmWell, John McCain just took any chance I had of voting for him in the next election and let it walk freely out the door. If McCain was unarmed and driving around in a car, I'll bet he wouldn't last an hour in Baghdad.
An article I read this morning interviewed the merchants in the market he visited. They knew it to be a photo op - period. That particular market has been bombed six times in the last year. The guy from Indiana who accompanied McCain on the visit said it looked pretty much like any open air market in Indiana, his home state.
Maybe he thought the blast containment walls were just a decoration.
April 3rd, 2007 at 4:54 pmWalking free in Iraq my ass. McCain can't walk freely anywhere, not even in the U.S. without being hounded by protesters. Come on McCain, come and take a stroll though Eugene Oregon. Let me know if you like to visit and I'll prepare a welcoming committee for you.
April 3rd, 2007 at 5:58 pm[...] McCain wanted to prove it, so he decided to take a stroll. However, in order to do so, He was accompanied by “100 American soldiers, with three Blackhawk [...]
April 3rd, 2007 at 6:08 pmi'd like to see him walk thru a field where uranium depleted ammunition was discharged and remains today, without an escort...
April 3rd, 2007 at 7:13 pm[...] now that you can walk around without any problems or fear of getting blown up. Sure, if I had 100 Special Forces troops, 2 Blackhawk choppers and 2 Apache Gunships protecting me whilst I took that leisurely walk around Baghdad, Id feel safe too! What a douchebag. [...]
April 3rd, 2007 at 7:20 pm[...] Oh, don’t forget about McCain’s trip to that marketplace in Iraq. Remember those comments he made about it being safe to walk around, outside the green zone? (link) Apparently his definition of “safe” involves 100+ soldiers, 3 Apache helicopters, and 2 Apache gunships (not to mention that cumbersome bullet-proof vest he wore). (link) [...]
April 3rd, 2007 at 8:47 pm[...] Oh, I’m so glad that Bush stayed with this bullshit charade, See? I’m not afraid…I’m elected so I’m protected! [...]
April 3rd, 2007 at 9:28 pmdoes walking freely with a bullet proof vest on really count as walking freely?
April 4th, 2007 at 10:17 am"McCain Strolls Through Baghdad Market, Accompanied By 100 Soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, 2 Apache Gunships"
He did this little stunt to prove he can walk the streets because there are neighborhoods you can stroll through? NOT without $500,000 worth of security provided by the US TAX PAYERS!
We need to demand McCain pay the American Tax Payors back for this stunt!
April 4th, 2007 at 3:09 pmTo Patricia:
You have the right to your opinion, but the facts are that Joihn McCain went to Iraq strolled the streets for an hour or less with TREMENDOUS US TAX PAYER supplied security!
To quote him he did it to prove you can walk "Freely in some neighborhood."
He made a fool of himself and or he is nuts. Being "Accompanied By 100 Soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, 2 Apache Gunships" is not walking freely! Its being heavily protected wasting tax payers money!
April 4th, 2007 at 3:23 pmBaghdad's is a city of 5 or whatever millions. You know how big that is?
The insurgent problems are in extremely few areas and of course you could walk around without problems in many areas.
The press wont show that as it will not sell papers.
I wouldn't walk around in certain areas of any major city in any country.
Let's be realistic and fair!
oz
April 4th, 2007 at 7:00 pmThings really ARE improving over there! Now all the US needs to do is provide 100 soldiers, three helicopters, and two gunships for every Irai who wants to go shopping!
April 4th, 2007 at 11:13 pm[...] How could anyone not feel safe surrounded by this? [...]
April 5th, 2007 at 1:55 pm[...] a picture of Sen. McCain on his safe walk through [...]
April 5th, 2007 at 2:22 pm[...] (R-AZ) much-aligned visit to Baghdad’s Shorja market: “He was not protected by a cocoon of security. Yep, there was security there, but he out — actually he helped the Iraqi economy quite a [...]
April 5th, 2007 at 4:29 pmLets face it - we don't want it to work over there. Who are we kidding?
April 5th, 2007 at 5:37 pmI have read many of the comments here and despair for the future of our country. Whether you are liberal or conservative, republican or democrat, you MUST have a modicum of INTELLIGENCE in order to have a meaningful debate. It is sad to see how many people cannot put two words together in a clear, concise way. I guess most of you think that vulgarity, name-calling and insults are the new way to gain ground in any controversy. By the way, I do NOT support McCain, the War in Iraq, or even GW for that matter. I do appreciate an intelligent debate however, and have not found it here. (My apologies to the few who did post thoughtful, readable posts...you know who you are...you are just a small minority on this site!)
April 6th, 2007 at 2:25 amMcCain Strolls Through Baghdad Market...
Sen. John McCain strolled briefly through an open-air market in Baghdad today in an effort to prove that Americans are "not getting the full picture" of what’s going on in Iraq.
In case you're wondering, the full picture included "100 American s...
April 6th, 2007 at 6:49 am[...] McCain now says he misspoke in Baghdad after he strolled through a Baghdad Market, Accompanied By 100 Soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, 2 Apache Gunships. [...]
April 7th, 2007 at 11:53 pm[...] also previously claimed that there are neighborhoods that you can walk around freely, claiming his heavily-armed stroll through a Baghdad market was an example. Tonight, McCain said he can “understand why they [...]
April 8th, 2007 at 8:14 pm[...] hvis du er presidentkandidat og får med deg “100 American soldiers, with three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships overhead.†McCain valgte allikevel å ha på seg skuddsikker vest. Var Dick Cheney også i [...]
April 9th, 2007 at 11:48 pm[...] who to much fanfare, embarrassed himself last week by walking through a “thoroughly surged” Baghdad market flanked by a small [...]
April 10th, 2007 at 1:02 am[...] new cartoon on US Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s hollow Iraq war propaganda is from Internet Weekly. Comments [...]
April 10th, 2007 at 6:19 am[...] Tom Aspell has a kick-butt report tonight on John McCain’s trip to [...]
April 11th, 2007 at 4:36 am[...] desperate attempts to find a pony in Iraq, or fabricate ponies when necessary, explain why people don’t trust what he says about the [...]
April 12th, 2007 at 10:31 amThere are streets here in America where a Senator wouldn't walk down without a bodyguard or 100! Goes to show you that safe isn't "safe" it's the illusion of safe that matters! I should know! Sgt. Higingbotham United States Marine Corps!
April 12th, 2007 at 8:48 pm[...] speech delivered by Senator John McCain Wednesday at the Virginia Military Institute sheds light on the deepening crisis of the entire US [...]
April 13th, 2007 at 5:09 am[...] that he could “walk freely” in the city. That is, if “walk freely” means being escorted by some 100 U.S. soldiers, 3 Blackhawk helicopters, and 2 Apache gunships, plus weari.... McCain saw his unimpressive poll numbers matched by disappointing fundraising. He finished [...]
April 13th, 2007 at 4:09 pmHow dissapointing to find that Senator Mcain is just another political manipulator annd declarer of untruths.
April 13th, 2007 at 8:12 pmDo you know that the election is over? You are all going to vote for the progressive ticket Hillary/Obmama. You have your marching oreders.
April 14th, 2007 at 4:14 pm[...] “are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods, today.â€read more | digg [...]
April 15th, 2007 at 10:53 amWalk free? Take off your damn bullet proof vest, walk around w/out military.. We'll see how he'd feel
April 15th, 2007 at 9:28 pmWhen you're accompanied by 100 Marines and 5 armed helicopters, you walk wherever you want. If you're hitler and you're accompainied by that parade, you could walk through Jerusalem without being so much as breathed on. Yes, Johnny, it is safe to walk around. As for going to the 7/11 (as said by the congressman from Indiana), does anyone here go to 7/11 accompnied by 100 Marines and 5 Helicopters, while wearing shades, a nice shirt and slacks, and a Flak Jacket?
April 17th, 2007 at 11:02 amThere was no such uranium in Iraq. Here's the funny story of all time. An italian reporter intercepted a fake letter from Sudan attempting to sell Uranium to Iraq. She reported it to to U.S. embassy to the U.S. military about the uranium trade. U.S. took the bait. Suddenly President Bush used that uranium trade in his 2003 State of the Union speech the next day. European Intelligence Agency was too late to warn Bush that the letter was a fake. Bush had to stay the course no matter what. Even if there is no WMD or uraniums. Just stay the course...blindly. There's a book out "The Italian Letter" very interesting to see how Bush Administration and CIA screwed up badly. It caused domino effect through out the government that you won't believe. Interesting read. That letter is a FAKE! U.S. based it on to attack IRAQ is unbelievable. Even more unbelievable is that Bush is not even impeached for his rash actions. I guess Americans doesn't take this seriously as they did with Nixon or Clinton. Thousands of U.S. soldiers is dying every day and you all are sitting on your butts yapping on the internet not doing anything about it. Maybe you are waiting for 2008 president changeover hoping a new president would do something for you to bring troops home. Let's wait one more year. 365 more days and a few hundreds or thousands of U.S. soldiers will die needlessly over a fake letter. Go figures! It must be the "American way" I keep hearing in Canada. We wonder if President Bush should shoulder the brunt of the responsibly for the screw up or the American people for doing nothing to remove Bush from power. Canada had opportunities to remove PM from office recently. Our democracy is working. It seems not working in the U.S. American people are probably feeling "stuck" with their U.S. president in the office. 70% are dissatisfied with President Bush's performance as president. Well what are you waiting for ? U.S. soldiers depends on you to bring them home and to end the silly war. Bush is thinking of bombing Iran... are you getting the hint ?
Get moving before it gets out of hand.
May 2nd, 2007 at 6:22 pm[...] he “strolled” in Baghdad he was surrounded by protection in the form of 100 American soldiers, 3 Blackhawk helicopters, 2 Apache gunships, AND a bullet [...]
March 16th, 2008 at 7:25 am[...] On April 1, 2007, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) strolled through the open-air Shorja market in Baghdad in an effort to prove that Americans are “not getting the full picture” of what’s going on in Iraq. In a press conference after his Baghdad tour, McCain told a reporter that his visit to the market was proof that people could “walk freely” in parts of Baghdad. [...]
March 16th, 2008 at 3:47 pm[...] a stroll through a bustling Baghdad market be far [...]
March 17th, 2008 at 4:41 pm[...] a stroll through a bustling Baghdad market be far [...]
March 17th, 2008 at 6:21 pm[...] Five years ago today President Bush launched the invasion of Iraq. To mark the anniversary, ThinkProgress has updated its timeline chronicling major events over the course of the past five years. Some highlights from the last year: APRIL 1, 2007: McCain strolls through Baghdad market, accompanied by 100 soldiers, 3 blackhawks, 2 Apache gunships. [NBC News, 4/1/07] [...]
March 19th, 2008 at 3:34 pm[...] toured Baghdad with an armed military escort, air support, and body armor, proclaimed there “are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods today,” to prove that Americans are not getting the full picture of what’s going on in [...]
March 21st, 2008 at 10:36 pm[...] On April 1, 2007, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) strolled through the open-air Shorja market in Baghdad in an effort to prove that Americans are “not getting the full picture” of what’s going on in Iraq. In a press conference after his Baghdad tour, McCain told a reporter that his visit to the market was proof that people could “walk freely” in parts of Baghdad. [...]
March 24th, 2008 at 11:56 am[...] market, which he declared proof that one could “walk freely” around Baghdad — while being guarded by three Blackhawk helicopters, two Apache gunships, and 100 armed [...]
March 25th, 2008 at 3:11 pm[...] market, which he declared proof that one could “walk freely” around Baghdad — while being guarded by three Blackhawk helicopters, two Apache gunships, and 100 armed [...]
March 25th, 2008 at 3:24 pm[...] market, which he declared proof that one could “walk freely” around Baghdad — while being guarded by three Blackhawk helicopters, two Apache gunships, and 100 armed [...]
March 25th, 2008 at 3:39 pm[...] “a normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summertime,” reported Pence. Take away the 100 soldiers in armored Humvees and the three Blackhawk helicopters and two Apache gunships circling... and his comparison was spot [...]
March 28th, 2008 at 11:01 am[...] of which, if McCain is so tough, why’d he need all that protection when he took his famous stroll in Baghdad last year? NBC’s Nightly News provided further details about McCain’s [...]
April 4th, 2008 at 7:33 pm