so what is the use of the military then? it is their job to be in harm’s way so that other people will be safe at home.

the military’s place is never at home…they should be out of the country so that the enemy cannot come here..

Comment by just me — July 21, 2007 @ 10:59 pm

So… soldiers should expect to become human fodder? Shouldn’t we expect more competence from our leaders in the Pentagon who pushed this war, failed to plan for it, totally screwed things up, and now refuse to acknowledge their culpability for any of it?

And, by the way, our leaders ARE forcing our soldiers to fight in longer and longer tours of duty with little rest. Bush, et al. covering their a**es for their poor planning by extending soldiers’ tours of duty. How utterly incompetent!! Yet, weary as they must be, our soldiers continue to respond… and your response to our soldiers is “Tough sh*t! You signed up for it!”

I’m glad you aren’t a complainer, just me. It’s easy not to complain when you aren’t doing the fighting. And to those fighting on your behalf, you say, “Yeah, let them suffer, they’re soldiers after all.”

Our soldiers deserve better.

americans please stop being complainers!

Mucknut, political speech is contextual — especially when it relates to diplomacy. Leave out the context — textual or political — and you are in danger of misinterpretation.

“Spin” is when words are deliberately taken out of context and interpreted to suggest another meaning than that which was originally intended… in other words, exactly what you did in your post.

Your spinning, however, leaves a little to be desired. In the Gore quote, for example, you should have included everything I did except for the last sentence. That way you’d have Gore saying that the option of war is viable. Just leave out the last line in which Gore makes it crystal clear he does not advocate going to war because he doesn’t think the situation warrants such drastic measures. Tsk, tsk. Your more accomplished wingnuts would not have missed that opportunity.

Stil your clumsy little attempt at “good ol’ cherry-pickin’” and spin is duly noted. You’ll have to do better, however. For a primer from the masters of spin, perhaps you could google “last throes” or “mission accomplished” for example.

And it was based on CIA intel.

Unbelievable. You people really are sucking down the koolaid.

You think Hillary would stop the war? LMAO.

Oh please, that’s the biggest load of shit I’ve ever read. You don’t even know how long the war’s been going on — 4 years, 4 months.

Dismissed.

they are soldiers right?there are no drafts in place in america right?
no one is holding a gun to their head forcing them tostay in iraq right?

the war is more than 6 years old. therefore most soldiers are on their 2nd or 3rd term there. and any new soldiers who signed up after 911 knows that they will be sent there so why all the fuss to get them out???

americans…the soldiers are soldiers. they knew what they were getting into!!!

For those not convinced that Saddam was complying (when it became clear to him that Bush was crazier than he), here is Mohamed El Baradei’s report to the U.N.

http://www.un.org/News/dh/iraq/elbaradei27jan03.htm

And for those still not convinced that Bush lied about Iraq, please see:

http://www.buzzflash.com/ contributors/ 03/ 07/ 22_lies.html

Well said!

The subsequent quotes from Hillary and Edwards were made well after Bush and his minions had been asserting all over the place that Saddam was a threat, had we WMD, and was threatening to use them against the US. Bush, et al., asserted that we had the hard intelligence to back up all those claims… In that context, of course, all anyone could do was assume that the Bush was telling the truth, take the threat seriously and say the things they said. BUT Bush was LYING.

The Al Gore quote is from a speech made on September 23, 2002 — again, BEFORE Saddam had complied with UN demands for inspections — and simply asserts that Saddam was a leader who should always be considered to be a threat. In fact, here’s what Gore actually said that day:

Nevertheless, all Americans should acknowledge that Iraq does indeed pose a serious threat to the stability of the Persian Gulf region, and we should be about the business of organizing an international coalition to eliminate his access to weapons of mass destruction. Iraq’s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to completely deter, and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power. Now, let’s be clear, there’s no international law that can prevent the United States from taking action to protect our vital interests when it is manifestly clear that there is a choice to be made between law and our survival. Indeed, international law itself recognizes that such choices stay within the purview of all nations. I believe, however, that such a choice is not presented in the case of Iraq.

Your post reconfirms that leading Democrats have always taken the threat of Saddam seriously and offered a sensible response to the threat. Bush, on the other hand, skewed the facts, LIED to us, and took advantage of the well-meaning patriotism of the citizens of this nation and its politicians to move us into an unnecessary war that has cost us dearly and will for decades to come.

Thanks for clarifying that, Mucknut.

Hillary, John Edwards and Kerry for example. And Al Gore. These four were among the nation’s biggest war hawks at the time.

“We urge you, after consulting with Congress, and
consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to
take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air
and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond
effectively to the threat posed by Iraq’s refusal to
end its weapons of mass destruction programs.” — From
a letter signed by Joe Lieberman (D), Dianne Feinstein
(D), Barbara A. Milulski (D), Tom Daschle (D), & John
Kerry (D) October 9, 1998.

“In the four years since the inspectors left,
intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has
worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons
stock, his missile delivery capability, and his
nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and
sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members,
though there is apparently no evidence of his
involvement in the terrible events of September 11,
2001. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked,
Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity
to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep
trying to develop nuclear weapons. Should he succeed
in that endeavor, he could alter the political and
security landscape of the Middle East, which as we
know all too well affects American security.” Hillary
Clinton (D) October 10, 2002.

“Iraq does pose a serious threat to the stability of
the Persian Gulf and we should organize an
international coalition to eliminate his access to
weapons of mass destruction. Iraq’s search for weapons
of mass destruction has proven impossible to
completely deter and we should assume that it will
continue for as long as Saddam is in power.” Al Gore
(D) 2002.

“Saddam Hussein’s regime represents a grave threat to
America and our allies, including our vital ally,
Israel. For more than two decades, Saddam Hussein has
sought weapons of mass destruction through every
available means. We know that he has chemical and
biological weapons. He has already used them against
his neighbors and his own people, and is trying to
build more. We know that he is doing everything he can
to build nuclear weapons, and we know that each day he
gets closer to achieving that goal.” John Edwards (D)
Oct 10, 2002

War hawks!!!

You do that, and don’t come back until I do!

Meanwhile, Sean Hannity is waiting in bed for you.

Comment by michael — July 21, 2007 @ 2:41 am

Hey1 Wayne needs to sleep too!

Comment by Wayne A. Schneider — July 21, 2007″

wayne, what were those lies? Be specific and PROVE it! I can’t wait for your response but I will have to pick it up tomorrow because I’m going to bed. This will give you plenty of time to INVENT things!

Comment by Egreggious — July 21, 2007″

So you can help wayne in explaining why it took kerry 5 times longer to get his Honorable Discharge than me?