Think Progress

Hadley fails to sway senators on Iraq.

Robert Novak writes in today’s Washington Post:

National security adviser Stephen J. Hadley visited Capitol Hill just before Congress adjourned for the Fourth of July. Meetings with a half-dozen senior Republican senators were clearly intended to extinguish fires set by Sen. Richard Lugar’s unexpected break from President Bush’s Iraq policy. They failed. [...]

Based on what Hadley said, one senator concluded that “they just do not recognize the depth of the difficulty they are in.”



73 Responses to “Hadley fails to sway senators on Iraq.”

  1. Badmoodman says:

    “they just do not recognize the depth of the difficulty they are in.” Course not, things are fine in Gloccamora.


  2. Clyde the Ripper says:

    Youth is overcome by age,
    Immaturity be majority,
    Drunkenness by sobriety,
    Ignorance by Education,
    But STUPID is forever.


  3. SilverDev says:

    The Times did a good piece on this that you can link to from huffingtonpost.com.

    (Times link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/09/washington/09prexy.html?hp )

    It’s good to hear that a few more repubs are realizing that this mess needs to clean up sooner, rather than later. It’s still boggles the mind that their plan apparently revolves around giving the military an impossible mission and then blaming them when it fails.

    Wake me in November of ‘08.


  4. VerbalKint says:

    “they just do not recognize the depth of the difficulty they are in.”

    This doesn’t just apply to
    ” it applies to the entire GOP.


  5. Jay Randal says:

    Well GOPers in DC are you ready to impeach Bush and Cheney yet?


  6. veritas says:

    #

    That’s nice, Rahm, except as an American Democrat the right thing for you to have done for your nation merely to accurately represent both our genuine interests and sentiments according to every poll and every other measure would have been to state that both Cheney and Bush must be impeached immediately.

    The definition of Fascism is when money corrupts government to the degree that they essentially become one, such that democracy and the rule of law itself are negated by collusion between business and governmental tyrants, and this is exactly what we now have in our formerly free and democratic America.

    Thus, Rahm now bleating that he wants to take away Cheney’s money, instead of standing up like a self-repecting American to demand Impeachment. If George Washington had stood up to King George in the same half-hearted half-assed way that the Democratic leadership has confronted the GOP election theives since 2000, America herself would never have been born let alone existed since 1776.

    To the regret and detriment of every American and to the world itself, every aspect of our nation has been warped so far rightward that the Democratic party, led by Emmanuel, Pelosi, Reid and others of their ilk have become nothing more than GOP Lite. There is no more loyal opposition because all democratic interest has been subsumed by considerations of money, power and control.

    If Rahm, Nancy, Harry, John Conyers and the rest will not stand up behind Dennis Kuchinich to Impeach both Cheney and Bush immediately, then they must somehow be overruled by the will of We, the People of the United States of America, who never actually did vote for Cheney or Bush either in 2000 or in 2004, or American democracy as it has existed since the inception of our nation will have come to an end not with a bang but with a whimper, to be replaced by an explicitly fascist and thus entirely unamerican, illegitimate and unacceptable regime, which if history is any teacher will not be any government at all; merely a tyrannical fascism, a brief prelude to dictatorship, a preface to anarchy and an invitation to disaster.

    Comment by Section 4 Article 2 — June 25, 2007 @ 9:16 pm

    I couldn’t have said this better and it bears repeating!! Let’s get with the program, Dems, or you will be swept from office by the People as well. Perhaps that’s what we really need anyway???? A “CLEAN SWEEP” and rid ourselves of ALL incumbents who are participating in the Fascist takeover of our democracy??

    Cindy Sheehan’s threat to Nancy Pelosi is as real as it gets, folks! Cindy is holding Nancy’s feet to the fire….something we should all be thinking of doing right now.

    The time for congressional chicanery to stop is NOW! And it extends to both sides of the aisle.

    They are ALL failing us miserably!


  7. roger says:

    From the article: “Worse yet, they see the president running out the clock until April, when a depleted U.S. military can be blamed for the fiasco.”

    Good Lord. Where is the outrage from the US citizens? Sure, Mr. 26% is as popular as a cold sore, but there is no anger from the American public for what this man has done. Why? Apathy? Are people still just unaware at the level of destrution this man has done to his own nation?

    Or is it denial? Are people as reluctant to admit Iraq was a huge mistake, like the president? Is it easier to go on with life pretending it doesn’t exist? And that we won’t have to deal with it at some point?

    At times, I simply cannot believe this has been allowed to happen.


  8. veritas says:

    DEMOCRATS TODAY = GOP ‘LITE’


  9. margaret says:

    “Based on what Hadley said, one senator concluded that “they just do not recognize the depth of the difficulty they are in.” That difficulty entails running out of troops in nine months. Hadley increased latent fears of the U.S. military being made the fall guy — a concern shared by many retired and some active senior officers, including a current infantry division commander.”

    I just can’t see even this administration making the military the “fall guy”. They’ve staked their positions all around the mantra “support the troops” and this just doesn’t sound plausible to me.

    This is the last paragraph of Novak’s article:
    “As the first in a succession of Republican senators to be critical of Bush’s Iraq policy, Hagel feared the worst when he returned home to conservative Nebraska for Fourth of July parades. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised by cheers and calls for the troops to be brought home. Perhaps a White House scouting trip into the American heartland might be worthwhile.”

    Kind of interesting coming from Novak…


  10. RUCerious says:

    Waist deep in shit, this administration keeps trying on knee boots.


  11. veritas says:

    #9 Maybe Novak’s having a “spiritual conversion”?? Doubt it! Evil contaminates every cell of this guy’s physical body.


  12. veritas says:

    #7 Roger: I suspect it’s fear which is the motivating factor. The sheer fear that the real enemy is our “enemy within” is mind-boggling for most americans….that, coupled with the knowledge of what they’ve done to contaminate this democracy leaves people feeling helpless.


  13. Blackacre says:

    What was Hadley supposed to do? Put the senators in a headlock one by one until they agreed to support Bush? What a joke.


  14. willyloman says:

    Kind of interesting coming from Novak…

    Comment by margaret

    I agree. The entire article is a rather blistering view of this administration’s efforts to advance the cause for the Iraq occupation in spite of 5 Repub. Sen.’s refusal to drink the Kool-Aid.

    To bad they didn’t notice this in Mar. 2003 when 140 + Representative led by Dennis Kucinich tried to tell them the very same thing.


  15. veritas says:

    #13 Of course, they’ll blame the troops after all is said and done. Since Bush has never once taken responsibility for making a single error (in judgment or in his actions), who else is left to blame?


  16. Roket says:

    “Perhaps a White House scouting trip into the American heartland might be worthwhile.” Like that’s ever going to happen. The American heartland is outside the bubble, stupid, and therefore off limits. Get your head out of your ass Novak.


  17. veritas says:

    It’s time for the people to draw a line in the sand with the Democratic elite: Pelosi, Reid, and Conyers to demand them to do their constitutional job and act on articles of impeachment now. If they continue to drag their feet, then it’s time for each state to draw up their own impeachment articles and overrule this union. States have seceeded from the union before – look, more states are drafting up their own commitment to the global warming issue and they can, individually, draft up articles of impeachment and make this congress look like a bunch of sycophantic pussies if they do.


  18. Kay says:

    I keep thinking : what is it finally going to take? What will be the “sticking point”, “the straw that will break the camel’s back”, if you will. I wonder when is this country going to wake up from this most miserable hangover that has lasted 6.5 years.

    Where is the outrage? Where are the voices of dissent?

    In the back of mind I keep thinking we’re in for some Cannibalism Political Theatre as a leading Republican emerges as a voice of truth and brings this administration down.

    With his approval ratings below his knees and his mind most likely mired in booze, there is no where for Chimpy to go except a starring role in the great new fall TV series “The Impeachment of George W. Bush and Richard Cheney”


  19. Jay Randal says:

    veritas > Vermont wants to secede from the Union, and join Canada, but Bush might put the entire population of that state to the sword, if they did. Dubya would not care about killing up to one million people in Vermont.


  20. TripMaster Monkey says:

    Kay sez:

    I keep thinking : what is it finally going to take? What will be the “sticking point”, “the straw that will break the camel’s back”, if you will.

    What was the “sticking point” in Nazi Germany?


  21. veritas says:

    Let’s face the facts: Fascism exists now where corporate control has infiltrated and contaminated our political process. We know that two elections have been stolen; we know that this problem will not be fixed by 2008. We cannot sit back and wait for it to occur again so we can all smugly say: “we told you so” and move on. The future of this democracy is NOW – not in 2008. Just imagine if Pelosi and the Dem. elite began impeachment proceedings immediately….backtrack for just a moment….and see how much destruction has occurred (not to mention the lives of our soldiers and innocent Iraqis) over the past 6 months!!

    We simply cannot sit back and allow another year and a half’s destruction to occur while we do nothing. If the democrats in this congress continue to fail the will of the people, they, as a messenger of hope which they portrayed themselves to be during the midterms, will receive the wrath of the people even more than the Rethugs whom we know are overtly and sadistically corrupt.

    We need to begin a “full court press” today on these weakling Democrats!! The People need to take back their government today.


  22. Texas Democrat says:

    Off topic somewhat,
    But can anyone point me in the direction of the videos where Cheney and Rumsfeld appear on a Sunday program and offer their opinions that “we’ll be greeted as liberators”?

    One such interview occurred March 16, 2003 wherein Cheney is interviewed by Tim Russert :

    Russert: “do you think the American people are prepared for a long, costly, and bloody battle with significant American casualties?”

    Vice President Cheney: “Well, I don’t think it’s likely to unfold that way, Tim…”

    I’ve seen the videos before but am having trouble finding them. I’ve gotts wonder why they are so hard to find.

    I have found this jem though:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGIe1gPaTXY


  23. tarazan says:

    [...They just do not recognize the depth of the difficulty they are in...],

    Wars cannot be run by ‘Trial & Error” becasue the cost will be very high.

    These people who planned this war, thought in few months after it started, all will be over. They simply miscalculated , they never listened to the people who live in that part of the world,and the friendly leaders who cautioned them about starting this war,like President Mubarak,King Abdulla of Jordan, Prince Faisal( foreign minister of Saudi arabia) and many others. They are now depleting all the support they have,specially now among their own party.
    Bush plan is to keep things as they are until he leaves office,and whoever wins after him ..it will be his problem.

    But until Bush leaves,and keeping things the way they are…cost is rising at all fronts…

    The trust of Al Maliki government in Iraq is getting lesser everyday ,a recipe for disaster.
    Republican politicians saw last November elections and they don’t want to see a repeat…in 2008.
    Spending will continue in the billions if this same continues until Bush
    leaves office,and most important of all more lives will be lost.


  24. unbelievable says:

    Every election, we need to keep firing the people who are NOT representing us, and replace them with someone who will. And fire that person subsequently if they don’t either. To some degree it hardly matters what party they represent as long as they are representing US.

    We need to remind them every 2 years who the real boss is. It works for France who has the best healthcare system in the world, 5 weeks minimum vacation, and a host of other humane benefits. Perfect? No, but certainly better than this fear-mongering oligarchy that’s currently running the show on behalf of Corporate America.


  25. Texas Democrat says:

    Oops, supposed to read “gotta wonder why…”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGIe1gPaTXY


  26. willyloman says:

    We need to remind them every 2 years who the real boss is. It works for France who has the best healthcare system in the world, 5 weeks minimum vacation, and a host of other humane benefits. Perfect? No, but certainly better than this fear-mongering oligarchy that’s currently running the show on behalf of Corporate America.

    Comment by unbelievable

    How did you like the film?


  27. veritas says:

    Kay: I hear you and I feel that some of the apathy may simply be the fact that most americans are overwhelmed by the continuing litany of deceit and wrongdoing in every crevice of this administration. Where does one begin? In all fairness, the tenacles of corruption are woven now so deeply within this fascist machine that it will take decades to undo all of the destruction within this democracy.

    However, having said that, this certainly does NOT make the case for apathy and I sense that the masses are beginning to see the futility of going after every wrongdoing – every impeachable offense. All we need is one strong impeachable offense (take your pick from about a dozen on both Bush and Cheney) and we can proceed from there. The impeachable offenses have been well documented and are simply waiting for this congress to develop some personal integrity (and balls) to move forward with it.

    The people will be behind this movement wholeheartedly (except for the 26% of idiots still hanging in there with the most incompetent president ever in the history of this country) because of their level of personal greed….

    Now let’s see who is up to the challenge!! Will it be Nancy Pelosi?? Will it be Harry Reid?? Or will it be an overwhelming number of representatives who “purport” (operative word here) to represent us?

    Now is the time to separate the wheat from the chaff in congress. Now is the time for them to put their money where their mouths are….to show the people if they deserve to remain in office or to be expelled by the seat of their pants when their term expires.

    Now is the time…


  28. veritas says:

    Unbelievable: We are so often saying the same thing that I’m wondering if you are my twin??


  29. veritas says:

    Unbelievable: Remind them, we shall. After all, it’s the american people who pay them their salaries! Actually, we pay Dumb and Dumber’s salaries as well. Time to either cut them off totally or keep reminding them that they work for us!


  30. unbelievable says:

    What was the “sticking point” in Nazi Germany?
    Comment by TripMaster Monkey — July 9, 2007 @ 10:19 am

    When he started running out of Jews to gas and started going after them?

    I once read that people in history have demonstrated that they will not be incited to revolution until enough of them are dying.

    I think it’s why long-term dictators keep their people oppressed and starving, but makes sure they stay alive… Hitler’s mistake. And, becoming Bush’s as he’s now responsible for the deaths of more Americans than Osama bin Laden.


  31. willyloman says:

    Unbelievable; you know what’s funny? Obama is supposed to be the big “new government” candidate, but I went on his website and read his health care plan.

    It calls for more money by the fed to be given to the insurance industry. Keeping the for-profit system in place, and actually making it bigger. There will still be people who slip thru the cracks, and there will still be HMO’s to help sweep them there.


  32. quagmire says:

    these old coots in DC lost touch with reality a long time ago….its understandable, seeing as most were born with a silver spoon (ie the commander in chimp GW Botch)….we are trusting our future in a bunch of rich old men who have lost touch with reality!..its madness……someone needs to make a loosechange/sicko type movie to get the people off their butts and create change on our own…………..they have all lost touch and the fog of war will only get thicker.


  33. Chris L says:

    Comment by willyloman — July 9, 2007 @ 10:28 am

    I honestly thought there was something to Obama when he first got started. Now, reading his policies on health care, as well as his policies towards Iran, he comes across as just another republican bby a different name. Ron Paul is more a dem than Osama.


  34. unbelievable says:

    How did you like the film?
    Comment by willyloman — July 9, 2007 @ 10:25 am

    As an anti-authoritarian liberal, I can’t help but applaud people who fight for the little guy against oppression :D. I’ve been a fan of Michael Moore since I saw Bowling for Columbine. I just hate that it takes 3 years for him to make a film. We need a lot more of them to wake up the masses…

    SiCKO was very well done. I like how he takes all the information and neatly packages it together by letting the average insured Americans tell their horror stories. He’s a film-making genius.

    I take it you’ve seen it? What’d you think?


  35. Jay Randal says:

    Obama was trained under LIEberman, so he picked up stupidity from old Traitor Joe.


  36. TripMaster Monkey says:

    unbelievable sez:

    When he started running out of Jews to gas and started going after them?

    Well, yes…my point was that there wasn’t a “sticking point” in Nazi Germany, after which enraged citizens took to the streets. The changes were all done so incrementally, and always in the “best interests” of the German citizenry, that many of them didn’t even realize how bad things had gotten until it was far too late to repair the situation.

    Here’s a heartbreakingly eloquent explanation of just how the situation developed in Nazi Germany. The historic parallels are horrifying.

    They Thought They Were Free

    Required reading for anyone unfortunate enough to be a citizen of this burgeoning fascist state.


  37. unbelievable says:

    We are so often saying the same thing that I’m wondering if you are my twin??
    Comment by veritas — July 9, 2007 @ 10:26 am

    Maybe… :D

    I do find it interesting how I’ll read something and see someone say exactly the same thing I’ve said. I believe it’s because reality has a liberal bias, and if you are willing to see that reality, it’s hard not to come to the same conclusions as others who are also willing to see reality.

    Kinda like two reality based people looking at a Japanese maple tree in the Fall and saying “That’s a beautiful shade of red”. The non-reality based person next to them says “Where?” You know…


  38. unbelievable says:

    After all, it’s the american people who pay them their salaries! Actually, we pay Dumb and Dumber’s salaries as well. Time to either cut them off totally or keep reminding them that they work for us!
    Comment by veritas — July 9, 2007 @ 10:27 am

    Now that’s funny, I was just thinking about that angle… About telling the apathetic in terms they might understand – that they are PAYING these people to represent us. And what would happen to them if they defied their bosses orders? Yep, fired…


  39. willyloman says:

    I take it you’ve seen it? What’d you think?

    Comment by unbelievable

    During the security camera video of that woman wandering around on the street after they “dumped” her…I cried like a child.

    No music, no voice over. just her, lost.

    I thought “how did we become this”.

    After the film, my sole thought was that, this had been the war of my generation. The war for the very soul of this nation. And I had failed to answer the call. I allowed this to happen.

    Needless to say, it was a profound film. Because this time, Moore doesn’t only shine a light upon some dark and sinister machine, he shines it back on us. On me.

    And he does by simply letting these people tell them stories. And little else. it is the essence of what film making should be.

    I hope that answers your question.


  40. unbelievable says:

    Obama is supposed to be the big “new government” candidate, but I went on his website and read his health care plan.
    It calls for more money by the fed to be given to the insurance industry. Keeping the for-profit system in place, and actually making it bigger. There will still be people who slip thru the cracks, and there will still be HMO’s to help sweep them there.
    Comment by willyloman — July 9, 2007 @ 10:28 am

    What’s odd is that I didn’t think they donated to his cause…? That Hillary was their candidate of choice. Hmmm… I thought he was smarter than that… Sigh.

    Kucinich really is the best option so far. I wish Gore would change his mind though. I don’t think Kucinich would get the nomination…


  41. willyloman says:

    I honestly thought there was something to Obama when he first got started. Now, reading his policies on health care, as well as his policies towards Iran, he comes across as just another republican bby a different name. Ron Paul is more a dem than Osama.

    Comment by Chris L

    Same thing here. At first I thought this guy ws different. But then, when no-one raised their hand with Kucinich 2 months ago to affirm that Cheney should be impeached, I started looking into why.
    That’s when his health care policy and voting record came into focus.
    He is the same coinage as the rest. Just a different side.

    We have to be very careful about our one vote. it’s ramifications will be felt for a long time.


  42. willyloman says:

    Kucinich really is the best option so far. I wish Gore would change his mind though. I don’t think Kucinich would get the nomination…

    Comment by unbelievable

    In my perfect little world—- Gore/Kucinich ‘08


  43. unbelievable says:

    Well, yes…my point was that there wasn’t a “sticking point” in Nazi Germany, after which enraged citizens took to the streets.

    I knew that was your point, I was just being sarcastic, to point to the fact that the average German was just as self-absorbed as the average American, only worrying about his stake in the claim before fighting against tyranny – hence nothing changing until allied forces changed it.

    The changes were all done so incrementally, and always in the “best interests” of the German citizenry, that many of them didn’t even realize how bad things had gotten until it was far too late to repair the situation.

    To a degree, absolutely. But when he began concentration camps and killing people – they should have realized.

    Here’s a heartbreakingly eloquent explanation of just how the situation developed in Nazi Germany. The historic parallels are horrifying.

    They most definitely are. I’ve posted, in the past, an article on how Hitler took over, and then replaced Hilter with Bush, Reichstag fire with 9/11, etc. and it reads exactly the same… Hitler was just more efficient than Bush so it happened faster there.

    They Thought They Were Free
    Required reading for anyone unfortunate enough to be a citizen of this burgeoning fascist state.
    Comment by TripMaster Monkey — July 9, 2007 @ 10:36 am

    Thanks


  44. quagmire says:

    we the people could also pull a football type strategy on them in 08…. we could all go along and argue our faces off about who is the best candidate for the permanent government (thats what it really is, not dem or con)….then we all vote for the most unexpected person they could ever imagine……….


  45. willyloman says:

    then we all vote for the most unexpected person they could ever imagine……….

    Comment by quagmire

    That would be Paris Hilton


  46. Chris L says:

    #

    In my perfect little world—- Gore/Kucinich ‘08

    Comment by willyloman — July 9, 2007 @ 10:48 am
    #

    Agreed! However, the pessimist in me says that our choice will come down to Hillary vs. Romney. I don’t want either.


  47. unbelievable says:

    During the security camera video of that woman wandering around on the street after they “dumped” her…I cried like a child.

    Wasn’t that just awful? I cried most of the film, except for the moments where you can’t help but laugh.

    No music, no voice over. just her, lost.
    I thought “how did we become this”.

    Richard Nixon.

    After the film, my sole thought was that, this had been the war of my generation. The war for the very soul of this nation. And I had failed to answer the call. I allowed this to happen.

    The American people, after the 60’s and 70’s became very complacent and stopped paying attention to politics… Most of us are complicit…

    Needless to say, it was a profound film. Because this time, Moore doesn’t only shine a light upon some dark and sinister machine, he shines it back on us. On me.
    And he does by simply letting these people tell them stories. And little else. it is the essence of what film making should be.

    Yeah, it was powerful… If a stone-hearted greedy pig of the insurance company (VP at BCBS) was moved by it, that really says a lot…

    I hope that answers your question.
    Comment by willyloman — July 9, 2007 @ 10:41 am

    :)


  48. Jay Randal says:

    Chris > Hillary versus Romney means I move to Sweden.


  49. willyloman says:

    Chris > Hillary versus Romney means I move to Sweden.

    Comment by Jay Randal

    i say it means we should move on Washington


  50. Chris L says:

    #

    Chris > Hillary versus Romney means I move to Sweden.

    Comment by Jay Randal — July 9, 2007 @ 10:59 am

    #

    Ahhh! Swedish women…. Do we have to wait until the elections?


  51. unbelievable says:

    Hillary versus Romney means I move to Sweden.
    Comment by Jay Randal — July 9, 2007 @ 10:59 am

    Amsterdam for me if I learn Dutch in time, otherwise France.

    My time as an American is definitely limited if this is the choice.

    I just wish someone could convince Al Gore that he needs to run.


  52. unbelievable says:

    i say it means we should move on Washington
    Comment by willyloman — July 9, 2007 @ 11:02 am

    All four of us? :D

    Until we have swells of angry people in the streets, they will laugh at us.


  53. willyloman says:

    Unbelievable;

    That was an insightful piece of audio tape from the Nixon Tapes, wasn’t it?

    But I think you are right. We did become complicit. We are beggers to our own demise.

    The most damning part came when he asked the man “what changed their system to a National Health Care system” and he responded….”democracy”.


  54. TripMaster Monkey says:

    unbelievable sez:

    I knew that was your point, I was just being sarcastic, to point to the fact that the average German was just as self-absorbed as the average American, only worrying about his stake in the claim before fighting against tyranny – hence nothing changing until allied forces changed it.

    What concerns me is: who are going to be the “Allies” in this case?

    To a degree, absolutely. But when he began concentration camps and killing people – they should have realized.

    Guantanamo Bay
    Abu Ghraib
    Assorted “black site” prisons around the world, populated via “extraordinary rendition”.

    We should have realized, too. Strangely, we don’t seem to have…

    They most definitely are. I’ve posted, in the past, an article on how Hitler took over, and then replaced Hilter with Bush, Reichstag fire with 9/11, etc. and it reads exactly the same… Hitler was just more efficient than Bush so it happened faster there.

    Indeed…also, it seems that Rove has learned from the Nazi regime’s mistakes, and is avoiding them in implementing their new Fourth Reich. False-flag attacks are not the exception in the history of warfare…in fact, they are all too common. And as this quote from Lt.-Col. Doug Delaney, chair of the war studies program at the Royal Military College in Kingston [Ontario] suggests:

    It may well be that the key to bolstering Western resolve is another terrorist attack like 9/11 or the London transit bombings of two years ago

    …we’re due for another. Just in time for the 2008 election theft.


  55. Chris L says:

    Amsterdam for me if I learn Dutch in time, otherwise France.

    My time as an American is definitely limited if this is the choice.

    I just wish someone could convince Al Gore that he needs to run.

    Comment by unbelievable — July 9, 2007 @ 11:05 am
    #

    I used to live in Bordeaux, France, back in ‘93 – ‘94, it was beautiful. Have you visited Amsterdam? Dutch isn’t really paramount. I have been able to get around in most of Europe with English and French. I would still choose Sweden though (at least out of Europe. My top pick would be Niceragua).


  56. willyloman says:

    All four of us? :D

    Until we have swells of angry people in the streets, they will laugh at us.

    Comment by unbelievable

    I this point I would go alone. This is not the country I grew up in. Either I run away into the hills, or I do something.


  57. unbelievable says:

    The most damning part came when he asked the man “what changed their system to a National Health Care system” and he responded….”democracy”.
    Comment by willyloman — July 9, 2007 @ 11:08 am

    Most definitely.

    Tony Benn. Brilliant mind. The kind of person you imagine being a Prime Minister. I don’t understand how we got this mentality that our leader should be some beer-drinking redneck who fishes from a stocked lake and doesn’t know the meaning of the word sovereign…

    I favor adding a minimum IQ requirement for the President after Bush…


  58. willyloman says:

    I favor adding a minimum IQ requirement for the President after Bush…

    Comment by unbelievable

    and for those who vote as well.

    Have you noticed there are no trolls here? I guess they couldn’t argue any points and ran off somewhere where the fishing was easier.


  59. unbelievable says:

    What concerns me is: who are going to be the “Allies” in this case?

    I think it depends on whether the mission is to save the American people, as was WWII, or to stop the evil dictator (which would be ironic)…

    Russia and China are already buddy-buddy. That should worry the Decider, if he’d dober up long enough to notice…

    Guantanamo Bay
    Abu Ghraib
    Assorted “black site” prisons around the world, populated via “extraordinary rendition”.

    Are they killing them there? If so, we need that news to spread like wildfire.

    I don’t think it excuses them, or us. Until we accept the responsibility in allowing this to happen, we and the Germans during Nazi Reign are equally complicit.

    Maybe now the Michael Moore has pointed out the additional 100,000 people dying each year from lack of adequate medical care, it will incite more Americans to wake up and take notice? I’m not sure how many they need to be motivated…

    Indeed…also, it seems that Rove has learned from the Nazi regime’s mistakes, and is avoiding them in implementing their new Fourth Reich.

    He was close with that proclaimation that he was something outside the Executive Branch… I’m glad that was nipped in the bud.

    False-flag attacks are not the exception in the history of warfare…in fact, they are all too common. And as this quote from Lt.-Col. Doug Delaney, chair of the war studies program at the Royal Military College in Kingston [Ontario] suggests:
    It may well be that the key to bolstering Western resolve is another terrorist attack like 9/11 or the London transit bombings of two years ago
    …we’re due for another. Just in time for the 2008 election theft.
    Comment by TripMaster Monkey — July 9, 2007 @ 11:09 am

    You think they will have finished The Wall Part II by then as well? I see that they are building it. Behind schedule, of course, but chugging along none-the-less. Interesting coincidence….


  60. unbelievable says:

    I used to live in Bordeaux, France, back in ‘93 – ‘94, it was beautiful.

    How cool… I learned French in 8th grade and have always loved the culture. Ithink it’sthe country I have visisted the most, actually…

    How’d you wind up living there?

    Have you visited Amsterdam? Dutch isn’t really paramount.

    Yeah, in 1998. It was monumental in my converstion from conservative to liberal. I read this English paper in a pizza place that was so liberating because I didn’t know it was possible to live that way. It opened my eyes, and made me see that is was better to be a party of the ‘we’ culture than the ‘me’ culture.

    I think it is necessary to speak Dutch to have a job though. I’d want to anyway.

    I have been able to get around in most of Europe with English and French. I would still choose Sweden though (at least out of Europe. My top pick would be Niceragua).
    Comment by Chris L — July 9, 2007 @ 11:09 am

    Sweden is too cold for me… But I would visit a lot, Scandinavia is stunningly beautiful LOL

    Why Sweden, besides the women? :D


  61. unbelievable says:

    I this point I would go alone. This is not the country I grew up in. Either I run away into the hills, or I do something.
    Comment by willyloman — July 9, 2007 @ 11:11 am

    In part, we’ve done a lot here. We’ve been able to know that we’re the majority, share ideas, build solutions, gain support, and actually influence some of the news programs because they fear that our trend to get news from the internet will hurt their ratings and ultimately their profits. We shouldn’t minimize that (I’ve seen people say we’re wasting our time here).

    I agree with you though. Although I like change, I prefer it be for the better… I’m with ya! :D


  62. Wretched Refuse says:

    When you live amongst shit, it is hard to smell it.
    http://www.theaugeanstables.com/


  63. Wretched Refuse says:

    How is this for a retirement epiphany?
    http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070608/news_lz1e8boston.html

    Time for the truth about the Liberty


    By Ward Boston Jr.
    June 8, 2007

    Forty years ago this week, I was asked to investigate the heaviest attack on an American ship since World War II. As senior legal counsel to the Navy Court of Inquiry, it was my job to help uncover the truth regarding Israel’s June 8, 1967, bombing of the Navy intelligence ship Liberty.

    On that sunny, clear day 40 years ago, Israel’s combined air and naval forces attacked the Liberty for two hours, inflicting 70 percent casualties. Thirty-four American sailors died, and 172 were injured. The Liberty remained afloat only by the crew’s heroic efforts.

    Israel claimed it was an accident. Yet I know from personal conversations with the late Adm. Isaac C. Kidd – president of the Court of Inquiry – that President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered him to conclude that the attack was a case of “mistaken identity.”

    The ensuing cover-up has haunted us for 40 years. What does it imply for our national security, not to mention our ability to honestly broker peace in the Middle East, when we cannot question Israel’s actions – even when they kill Americans?

    Today, survivors of Israel’s cruel attack will gather in Washington, D.C., to honor their dead shipmates as well as the mothers, sisters, widows and children they left behind. They will continue to ask for a fair and impartial congressional inquiry that, for the first time, would allow the survivors themselves to testify publicly.

    For decades, I have remained silent. I am a military man, and when orders come in from the secretary of defense and president of the United States, I follow them. However, attempts to rewrite history and concern for my country compel me to share the truth.

    Adm. Kidd and I were given only one week to gather evidence for the Navy’s official investigation, though we both estimated that a proper Court of Inquiry would take at least six months.

    We boarded the crippled ship at sea and interviewed survivors. The evidence was clear. We both believed with certainty that this attack was a deliberate effort to sink an American ship and murder its entire crew.

    I am certain the Israeli pilots and commanders who had ordered the attack knew the ship was American. I saw the bullet-riddled American flag that had been raised by the crew after their first flag had been shot down completely. I heard testimony that made it clear the Israelis intended there be no survivors. Not only did they attack with napalm, gunfire and missiles, Israeli torpedo boats machine-gunned at close range three life rafts that had been launched in an attempt to save the most seriously wounded.

    I am outraged at the efforts of Israel’s apologists to claim this attack was a case of “mistaken identity.”

    Adm. Kidd told me that after receiving the president’s cover-up orders, he was instructed to sit down with two civilians from either the White House or the Department of Defense and rewrite portions of the court’s findings. He said, “Ward, they’re not interested in the facts. It’s a political matter, and we cannot talk about it.” We were to “put a lid on it” and caution everyone involved never to speak of it again.

    I know that the Court of Inquiry transcript that has been released to the public is not the same one that I certified and sent to Washington. I know this because it was necessary, due to the exigencies of time, to hand-correct and initial a substantial number of pages. I have examined the released version of the transcript and did not see any pages that bore my hand corrections and initials. Also, the original did not have any deliberately blank pages, as the released version does. In addition, the testimony of Lt. Lloyd Painter concerning the deliberate machine-gunning of the life rafts by the Israeli torpedo boat crews, which I distinctly recall being given at the Court of Inquiry and including in the original transcript, is now missing.

    I join the survivors in their call for an honest inquiry. Why is there no room to question Israel – even when it kills Americans – in the halls of Congress?

    Let the survivors testify. Let me testify. Let former intelligence officers testify that they received real-time Hebrew translations of Israeli commanders instructing their pilots to sink “the American ship.”

    Surely uncovering the truth about what happened to American servicemen in a bloody attack is more important than protecting Israel. And surely 40 years is long enough to wait.

    Boston served as chief counsel to the Navy’s Court of Inquiry into the attack on the U.S. Navy intelligence ship Liberty. He also served as a naval aviator in World War II on the carrier Yorktown and as an FBI agent prior to his assignment to the Navy’s Judge Advocates General Corps. He is a graduate of the the College of William and Mary School of Law and a resident of Coronado.


  64. unbelievable says:

    Have you noticed there are no trolls here? I guess they couldn’t argue any points and ran off somewhere where the fishing was easier.
    Comment by willyloman — July 9, 2007 @ 11:16 am

    I think Faiz managed to ban them for now… They’ll be back though… They always are. But it’s nice to have the ability to have mature conversations today :D


  65. Chris L says:

    How’d you wind up living there?

    *** Long story. I was a culinary arts student :)

    Why Sweden, besides the women? :D

    *** Health care, foreign policy, labor laws, education, but mostly … the women.

    Comment by unbelievable — July 9, 2007 @ 11:26 am


  66. willyloman says:

    I think Faiz managed to ban them for now… They’ll be back though… They always are. But it’s nice to have the ability to have mature conversations today :D

    Comment by unbelievable

    They are swarming in the Huckabee thread. one just said “you go ahead and mock our war”

    heeheehee


  67. unbelievable says:

    but mostly … the women.
    Comment by Chris L — July 9, 2007 @ 11:37 am

    :D


  68. unbelievable says:

    one just said “you go ahead and mock our war”
    Comment by willyloman — July 9, 2007 @ 11:46 am

    LOL… That is funny.

    Well, as long as they are contained and we can have a decent conversation for now :D


  69. ForTruth says:

    Wow not many trolls around. What happened?

    Fantasy has a conservative bias.


  70. ForTruth says:

    Looks like another Monday in Bushy land. I can’t wait for the day when “bushy land” is a good thing. Or shaved bushy land. LOL


  71. ForTruth says:

    Isn’t Hadley a Bush Sr. love child? Looks like em’


  72. Mr.Murder says:

    He whispered in their ears.

    “Mr.Senator, the Constitution is under attack.”


  73. Probus says:

    When democrats question the president’s failed policy in Iraq they are ignored and scorned. Now that republicans are questioning it openly the White House will have to defend its policy. They will have to explain how many more soldiers have to die before this president admits his failure? This president is answerable to the American people and Congress. He will have to explain why he pushing a policy that puts more and more lives in harm’s way? He owes it to the troops to tell the truth.



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