Gates Marginalized By White House, Not Informed Of New $50 Billion Iraq Funding Request
Gates Marginalized By White House, Not Informed Of New $50 Billion Iraq Funding Request
Yesterday, the Washington Post reported that President Bush will soon request an additional $50 billion from Congress for the war in Iraq. The request, which is expected to be made after Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker testify to Congress about Iraq, “appears to reflect the view in the administration” that Bush’s escalation strategy “will last into the spring of 2008 and will not be shortened by Congress.”
On Fox News’ Special Report last night, host Brit Hume revealed that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was unaware of the White House’s plans. “A Pentagon spokesman said Defense Secretary Gates saw the published report this morning and said, quote, ‘this is news to me,’” reported Hume. Watch it:
Gates’ admission of being out of the loop on the funding request coincides with a report by McClatchy that military brass are trying to “distance themselves” from the President on Iraq strategy:
The Pentagon said Wednesday that it won’t make a single, unified recommendation to President Bush during next month’s strategy assessment, but instead will allow top commanders to make individual presentations. […]
Military analysts called the move unusual for an institution that ordinarily does not air its differences in public, especially while its troops are deployed in combat.
“The professional military guys are going to the non-professional military guys and saying ‘Resolve this,’” said Jeffrey White, a military analyst for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “That’s what it sounds like.”
White said it suggests that the military commanders want to be able to distance themselves from Iraq strategy by making it clear that whatever course is followed is the president’s decision, not what commanders agreed on.
The White House’s marginalization of the Pentagon comes on the heels of a report that Gen. Peter Pace, the outgoing Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff, will recommend reducing “the U.S. force in Iraq next year by almost half.” Gates’ position on continuing the escalation “is not known, but he was a member of the Iraq Study Group, which advocated a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.”
Additionally, the marginalization of the Pentagon on Iraq by the administration is not a new development. In December, when the White House was first discussing an escalation, the Joint Chiefs of Staff were in “unanimous disagreement” with the administration, arguing that “any short-term mission” would create “bigger problems when it ends.”
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79 Responses to “Gates Marginalized By White House, Not Informed Of New $50 Billion Iraq Funding Request”
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Cheney doesn’t give a damn…he’s got an agenda to run.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:28 pmThe Deciderer doesn’t need any help from Gates or anyone else, so why bother to keep anyone but Barney in the loop.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:30 pmHave they allocated a certain percentage of the 50B to “go missing”?
August 30th, 2007 at 12:31 pmAs long as they don’t “distance themselves” like the Pakistani military distanced itself from elected leaders — I’m ok with this.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:33 pmWe’re never going to have a coup in this country, but this is getting darned close to something. These generals have got to be getting weary of being ignored and played by Cheney.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:33 pmBush orders 10 no longer existent Panzer Divisions to go on the attack and gives a direct order to General Paulus to break out of the Stalingrad encirclement. No need to worry, as the Decider has taken over personal command of the defense of the Homeland. Ein Volk. Ein Reich. Ein Schimpansefuhrer!
August 30th, 2007 at 12:35 pmWhat percent of the $50,000,000,000.00 goes to Haliburton and other crony contractor type organizations? My guess is about 90%.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:37 pm“appears to reflect the view in the administration†that Bush’s escalation strategy “will last into the spring of 2008 and will not be shortened by Congress.â€
Where is the mighty dem Congress? Feckless, pathetic, useless. Pelosi and Reid make good doorstops for their resident earmarkers, thats about it.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:37 pmBush has marginalized America, so don’t feel left out, Mr. Gates.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:38 pm“Hi, We are the 43rd 1600-Penn. We will give you a try and nominate you, but if you demonstrate any independence or purposes of not constantly toeing the south lawn line, we will throw you so far even the divine daughters of lillith will be at a complete loss where the heck you are.”
Would be awesome to know exactly why Negroponte opted-out for a desk job at State instead of the DNI spot, wouldn’t it?
August 30th, 2007 at 12:39 pmStarve-A-Bush_Feed-A-Beaver sez:
Priceless.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:39 pmMy guess is about 90%.
Hard to say. Perhaps Bush could find out what percentage Clinton gave to Halliburton for their no-bid work in the Balkans and simply follow his lead.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:40 pmGates will change his story soon or he will be replaced.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:40 pmOf course Congress isn’t going to do anything.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:41 pmI think the chronology is clear… but basically El Deciderino has not even been presented with his military options, and he already knows he’s gonna need another 50bn to mess up Iraq some more.
I guess that’s the MBA President at work.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:41 pmbut what does it mean that HUME is reporting this?!?!?!!
August 30th, 2007 at 12:41 pmGate does not need to know…
August 30th, 2007 at 12:42 pmIf Cheney knows that’s what counts.
Halliburton. HalliBURTON. HALLIBURTON. HALLIBURTON!! FOX NEWS!!!….err…sorry….HALLIIIIIIBUURRRRRRTTTOOOOOONNNNN!
August 30th, 2007 at 12:42 pmAnd there will be no coup or anything close.. The generals won’t do anything. Bush is in charge and nobody can or will do anything to stop him.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:43 pmIs George Bush losing Brit Hume like Lyndon Johnson losing Walter Cronkite?
August 30th, 2007 at 12:44 pmLibTeenie sez:
Shorter LibTeenie:
“Clinton Did It! (â„¢)”
For Pete’s sake, LibTeenie, find a new song to sing. That one’s getting old, and wasn’t all that great when it was new.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:44 pmbut what does it mean that HUME is reporting this?!?!?!!
It means Cheney needs to get his Mind Control device repaired.
Hopefully he can get a twofer and have his Weather Machine fixed at the same time; where the hell are all the hurricanes this year?
August 30th, 2007 at 12:45 pmSeptember 21st, 2007…
First day of Fall or first day of the Fall of America?
August 30th, 2007 at 12:45 pmIs George Bush losing Brit Hume like Lyndon Johnson losing Walter Cronkite?
Comment by Badmoodman — August 30, 2007 @ 12:44 pm
More like Saddam losing Baghdad Bob.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:45 pm#12 – Nice try Einstein. The war in the Balkans in no way resembled an attempt to make Clinton’s cronies rich.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:47 pmPilboxian Gravelite sez:
I don’t know, PG, but in Michigan we just had six tornadoes in one day.
That’s kind of unusual for us.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:49 pmFor Pete’s sake, LibTeenie, find a new song to sing. That one’s getting old, and wasn’t all that great when it was new.
I know what you mea, but Im just trying to help you dudes out. It doesnt reflect well on your character that you salivate about Halliburton when a past democrat POTUS authorized no-bid contracts to the same company.
I just want to make sure you “think progress”ively and shower your disgust about such practices on every pol who does such a thing. I would be shocked and taken aback to think you would accept this conduct based merely on which party a particular politician represents.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:50 pmAnd there will be no coup or anything close.. The generals won’t do anything. Bush is in charge and nobody can or will do anything to stop him.
Comment by François — August 30, 2007
Certainly not a coup. But when the joint chiefs break with policy, or people within the Pentagon start leaking reports and details, that’s a soft “coup” for lack of a better word.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:50 pm“Comment by TripMaster Monkey — August 30, 2007 @ 12:49 pm”
Where in MI are you?????
I live in Troy……
August 30th, 2007 at 12:51 pmSo the Secretary of DOD is out of the loop and the generals are distancing themselves from GDumbya’s dirty little avoidable invasion of Iraq.
Good.
What if GDumbya threw a war and nobody came?
Hmmmm. Interesting idea.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:52 pmI don’t know, PG, but in Michigan we just had six tornadoes in one day.
Perhaps I was wrong, Cheney must be concentrating on other areas.
Were the tornados in Detroit because there are a lot of black folks in the motor city and Cheney targets his Weather Machine against minorities in an attempt to create a caucasian world.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:53 pmIran is almost ready to move in to Iraq with the support of Maliki. The Bush Administration needs the 50 billion for favors and pocket money for those to keep their mouths shut. Notice how Fox News is changing it’s tune. The US Treasury and it’s department head Paulson is in place to put as much debt as possible before Bush leaves or gets kicked out of office. This is out right robbery by the White House.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:55 pmWhen Americans see the bill Bush leaves on his way out it will be a shock. We are in debt of Trillions of dollars and no way of replacing it but by raising the taxes. Look for the up coming recession and thank Bush and Cheney. I know some idiot will say Bill Clinton but for those with a brain Bill left office with the US Treasury in the plus yes we did have a savings account until Bush stole the Oval Office.
Gates is just in the job so the White House can use his good name and do things behind his back.
“I just want to make sure you “think progressâ€ively and shower your disgust about such practices on every pol who does such a thing. I would be shocked and taken aback to think you would accept this conduct based merely on which party a particular politician represents.
Comment by LibTeenie — August 30, 2007 @ 12:50 pm”
There is a difference between doing ONCE in a great while and doing it EVERYTIME!!!!!
Look at Katrina!!!!! All those No Bid contracts there, and in Iraq!!!!!!
What happened to letting the MARKET decide, that you Republicans like to scream about??????
You guys screamed at the $1000 ATM cards handed out to the Katrina Survivors, yet didn’t say a word at the $250,000 A DAY that was paid to Blackwater for MERCERNARIES to keep people “in lline” during the crisis.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:55 pmWow, is this guy serious?
August 30th, 2007 at 12:55 pmBush stole the Oval Office
Pssst, I know where it is. The OvOffice is hidden in the White House meat freezer, right next to the corpse of Bin Laden.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:57 pmLibTeenie sez:
Oh yes, do help us.
It doesn’t reflect well on your intelligence to constantly make the assumption that all non-trolls here loved, or even liked, Clinton…but you keep right on doing it, don’t you?
Point out an instance where I let a non-Repub slide on such an issue. Then
August 30th, 2007 at 12:58 pmWow! What a wildcat!
Mini-Me, stop playing around and rein the oil in.
Okay Daddy. I am working condit!
Mini-me, if’n you don’t rein the oil in, I will take you to Minnesota and have LLarryy play footsie with you for an hour.
D*mn that Leahy! Doesn’t he know we all win if I succeed. Hey Carl, what do we have on the old geezer? Karl? Hey Karl! Gonzo? Al!
Mommy, they have all gone up and left me!
I am so distraught I think I am going to push that button that says: ‘Lunch’.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:59 pmPillboxian Gravelite sez:
Actually, PG, no, they weren’t. They were in Mid-Michigan, where most of the Michigan Republicans live.
Looks like that ‘Weather Machine’ theory of yours needs some work.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:00 pm(Continued from my earlier post, on account of a malformed HTML tag eating the rest of my message:
Point out an instance where I let a non-Repub slide on such an issue. Then you can take me to task on it. Until then, however, keep your idiotic generalizations to yourself.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:02 pmLook at Katrina!!!!! All those No Bid contracts there, and in Iraq!!!!!!
What happened to letting the MARKET decide, that you Republicans like to scream about??????
And were you liberals not screaming that we need to do something NOW, RIGHT NOW, IN FACT YESTERDAY! after Katrina hit?
Well I have some news for you, there is a reason that both Clinton and Bush chose Halliburton: because it is the best in the business doing what it does and doing what needed to be done. Sure, we could have put out a lengthy bid process, but meanwhile nothing would be getting done.
Halli was chosen because they have the infrastructure and the expertise and the ability to move quickly, set up quickly and get operations going quickly. You dont get big and successful by being incompetent in your field.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:03 pmRemoveBush sez:
Birch Run. The tornadoes passed close enough to my house to part my hair. I actually saw one to the left of I75 (the one that went through Flint).
August 30th, 2007 at 1:03 pmActually, PG, no, they weren’t. They were in Mid-Michigan, where most of the Michigan Republicans live.
Looks like that ‘Weather Machine’ theory of yours needs some work.
Hmmm…wait, I got it! Did Kerry win Michigan last presidential election? That must be it, Cheney is using his Weather Machine to punish everyone in the state for going blue in 2004.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:05 pmIt’s raining and flooding outside.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:06 pmIt’s Bush’s fault!
LibTeenie sez:
You’re absolutely right…and because Chimpy awarded those no-bid contracts, instead of waiting around to “let the market decide”, New Orleans has been completely rebuilt, with new, stronger levees…visitors today might not even know that a hurricane even hit New Orleans.
Oh, wait…that’s not what happened, is it?
August 30th, 2007 at 1:06 pmYou dont get big and successful by being incompetent in your field.
GDumbya would then be the exception that proves your rule, skid-mark?
BTW, the key reason that Halliburton had to be engaged in the Katrina calamity is because FEMA had been stripped of its effective management and response resources. This is just one more example of GDumbya and the Keystone Kops outsourcing traditional functions of government so that they can enrich their cronies (that is, the ones that they didn’t give cushy FEMA jobs to).
August 30th, 2007 at 1:08 pmHave they allocated a certain percentage of the 50B to “go missing�
Comment by Menehune
Yes, but that is classified.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:08 pmPoint out an instance where I let a non-Repub slide on such an issue.
Sorry, I was using “you” to address any members of the left who raise the Halliburton ghost as an insult, as if the company isnt utilized by democrats.
No insult toward you personally was intended. Glass of water now?
Cheers :-)
August 30th, 2007 at 1:11 pm40 cents goes to private contractors
August 30th, 2007 at 1:11 pmIt’s raining and flooding outside.
It’s Bush’s fault!
Wrong. The weather is controlled by Cheney. Bush is in charge of carrying-out terrorist attacks against tall American buildings.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:13 pm“And were you liberals not screaming that we need to do something NOW, RIGHT NOW, IN FACT YESTERDAY! after Katrina hit?”
Considering that Bush was WARNED several DAYS before it hit, YES!!!!
This would have allowed for the process to be started….. Oh, and by the way…..
Katrina is absolute PROOF why the govt. can perform jobs better than letting contractors do the job. The contractor will sit there until the last minute, because if they make those busses roll to soon then they will have to pay for them and that will take money out of their pockets….. So instead of having the busses roll a day or two before the event, they sat there till the last minute and then they were of no help!
“Well I have some news for you, there is a reason that both Clinton and Bush chose Halliburton: because it is the best in the business doing what it does and doing what needed to be done. Sure, we could have put out a lengthy bid process, but meanwhile nothing would be getting done.”
So you telling me that there are NO OTHER people who know how to rescue or build????? WRONG!
They could have allowed the LOCAL people to do the work. This would have started the growth of the economy, but YOU people are too DENSE to understand simple things like that!!!!
“Halli was chosen because they have the infrastructure and the expertise and the ability to move quickly, set up quickly and get operations going quickly. You dont get big and successful by being incompetent in your field.
Comment by LibTeenie — August 30, 2007 @ 1:03 pm”
Sure…… They can do that because the RIP OFF the tax payers in the process…..
As I said above….. If you think Haliburton is the only organization that can do the work, your insane!
August 30th, 2007 at 1:15 pmLibTeenie sez:
Bullshit. You went trolling, and got your jig snagged on a rock, and now you’re trying to pretend that you didn’t want that jig anyway.
Nice try.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:16 pmSo, is this Cheneys last visit to the “ATM” machine before leaving office?
So how is it that Bush is requesting money for the pentagon, when the pentagon doesn’t even know it needs it yet??????????
August 30th, 2007 at 1:17 pmGDumbya would then be the exception that proves your rule, skid-mark?
I was referencing business entities which is the gist of this particular conversation, something you would have known had you taken the time to understand.
As to your adolscent slur why did you feel it necessary when the rest of us were having a spirited and polite debate?
August 30th, 2007 at 1:19 pmHolly crap!!!! This president is showing the world how stupid and uncaring he is.
This is inefficeincy at it’s finest.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:24 pmSure…… They can do that because the RIP OFF the tax payers in the process…..
As I said above….. If you think Haliburton is the only organization that can do the work, your insane!
Then as I said earlier, I would assume you are ready to excoriate democrats who utilize Halliburton as well as Republicans.
Now read closer, you know, the part you put in italics in your post: other organizations can do the work but Halliburton can do it quicker and better. Its the nature of successful businesses; they dont keep customers if theyre slow, incompetent or dont deliver the service they pledge to provide.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:24 pmThat’s ok if Gates didn’t know. Rumsfeld was well aware of it from his off-site office. All is well.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:26 pmHalli was chosen because they have the infrastructure and the expertise and the ability to move quickly, set up quickly and get operations going quickly. You dont get big and successful by being incompetent in your field.
Comment by LibTeenie — August 30, 2007 @ 1:03 pm
And how did they get to be the best in the business at doing what they do? By being politically-connected and thus always getting those no-bid contracts. What’s dangerous is that the Halliburtons and Bechtels and others like them are so completely intertwined with elected officials and the bureaucracy that they support each other, and these companies then get to dictate policy.
I hold Democrats and Republicans equally responsible. And I understand the need, in certain situations, for no-bid or limited-bidding contracts. However, infrastructure reconstruction is NOT one of those situations.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:27 pm50 million, is that what it takes to fly long range bombers for surgical strikes against hardened targets in Tehran?
August 30th, 2007 at 1:31 pmBullshit. You went trolling, and got your jig snagged on a rock, and now you’re trying to pretend that you didn’t want that jig anyway.
Whatever you want to believe; however, even if that were true you failed to address the post we are currently debating, the one that references Halliburton as some sort of evil tool of the Republicans.
You failed in your stated goal of not letting a “non-Repub slide on such an issue”; if you were the serious bipartisan critiquer you claim to be, one would think you would have jumped at the chance to correct the claim.
Oh, and by “one” I mean ME….just to make sure I dont have to spend any more time explaining colloquial terms.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:32 pm“other organizations can do the work but Halliburton can do it quicker and better. Its the nature of successful businesses; they dont keep customers if theyre slow, incompetent or dont deliver the service they pledge to provide.
Comment by LibTeenie — August 30, 2007 @ 1:24 pm”
So hows that NO rebuilding going?????
Oh wait!!!!! IT’s NOT!!!!
You mean like that SPEED and COMPETENCE?????
August 30th, 2007 at 1:32 pmAs to your adolscent slur why did you feel it necessary when the rest of us were having a spirited and polite debate?
My comments were exactly on-point, pantload. The relationship between Halliburton, Bechtel, Blackwater, et. al. and the government as crafted by GDumbya and the Keystone Kops has institutionalized graft, greed and political misconduct to an unprecedented level. It makes political contribution scandals, senators trolling for sex in airport bathrooms and earmarks pale in comparison.
As usual, you are not really “having a spirited and polite debate”, skidmark. You are just setting up straw-man arguments to distract from the real issue at hand.
But you just go ahead and keep on kidding yourself if it makes you feel better and keeps you from having to admit that you drank the kool-aid.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:34 pmSo hows that NO rebuilding going?????
Oh wait!!!!! IT’s NOT!!!!
You mean like that SPEED and COMPETENCE?????
Its not rebuilding alone, its also general services. Halliburton wasnt contracted to rebuild private homes, its not their purview, they are utilized to provide services and expertise on infrastructure and general foundational issues.
Thats a lot of question marks…do you need a glass of water?
August 30th, 2007 at 1:36 pmLibTeenie,
Prove to us that Halliburton can do anything it’s currently doing in Iraq quicker and better than others.
Tom, you are spot on. This has been a profiteers campaign.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:42 pm“Its not rebuilding alone, its also general services. Halliburton wasnt contracted to rebuild private homes, its not their purview, they are utilized to provide services and expertise on infrastructure and general foundational issues.
Thats a lot of question marks…do you need a glass of water?
Comment by LibTeenie — August 30, 2007 @ 1:36 pm”
Correct, but that “infrastructure” means WATER, ELECTRICITY, and other essentials that are REQUIRED before houses can be built. The “infrastructure” still needs to be fixed in order to build……
So if the “infrastructure” still needs to be fixed, I would say that the job was NOT done and that it was a MONEY grab!!!!!
Oh… and by the way….. Most of the companies providing the service to work on Katrina rebuilding, have been using ILLEGALS.
Do you think that if LOCAL companies were doing the job that they would CUT CORNERS like that???
August 30th, 2007 at 1:42 pmare utilized to provide services and expertise on infrastructure and general foundational issues.
Comment by LibTeenie
Didn’t the armed services used to provide this for themselves not too long ago? Wonder why that changed?
August 30th, 2007 at 1:45 pmAs usual, you are not really “having a spirited and polite debateâ€, skidmark. You are just setting up straw-man arguments to distract from the real issue at hand.
Wow, Im really having to do a lot of work today. “Pantload” and “skidmark”? Is that your method of trying to distract from any rational input, do you believe such peurile additions to your posts add real substance or are you incapable of cogent discussion?
I wasnt the person to first reference Halliburton, it was one of your liberal brethren (hint: see the early posts), so perhaps your righteous indignation should be pointed elsewhere.
Halliburton was mentioned, I went after it and others decided to retort; its normally why these sites exist, for discussing and debating, though you seem intent on turning it into the DU. I suppose I could call you names too but then it would simply regress into something more like…well…more like what you have been posting. Dull.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:46 pmDidn’t the armed services used to provide this for themselves not too long ago? Wonder why that changed?
Probably because it was realized that the military should concentrate on combat prowess rather than creating its own beauracracy focused on providing for the daily non-combat needs of the troops. The military isnt necessarily all that good at such things; witness how the Army assigns nomenclature to something as simple as a candy bar. Just my guess.
Its a sign of the wealth and power of America that we have the money and the ability to provide more than a pup-tent and a c-rat for our soldiers in the field.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:52 pm50 million, is that what it takes to fly long range bombers for surgical strikes against hardened targets in Tehran?
Comment by John — August 30, 2007 @ 1:31 pm
I think you meant 50 billion. Easy mistake to make since these bastards have been spending BILLIONS as though is was millions.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:57 pmProve to us that Halliburton can do anything it’s currently doing in Iraq quicker and better than others.
The size of the company, its ability to provide a large range of services, its ability to get up and running very quickly, the fact that it does its work all over the world and not just for the U.S. government, the age and success of the company itself. All of these are grades better than other similar companies, not to mention that many smaller such companies are unwilling or too inexperienced to work in a warzone.
Like I said, companies dont get as big and successful as Halliburton has by being useless and incompetent.
Ive had my say and now Im just repeating everything. Im sure you will continue to ‘prove’ that Halliburton is a tool of Bush because they didnt provide a new car and house to every last Katrina refugee, but you cant escape the fact that both dems and Repubs have utilized the company. If you want to whine about Bush then you have to whine about Clinton, unless you wish to be intellectually dishonest.
Ok tom, this is your cue to insult me now.
August 30th, 2007 at 2:03 pmFirst of all, Congress should only allow enough funding to bring the troops home. Second of all, there had better be strong rules that this money is not to be spent on invading/attacking Iran! The Bush administration needs to be severely contained regarding any invasion of Iran. They are going to make up some more lies like they did in Iraq. All reasonable people know that invading Iran would be another Pandora’s Box for America. They need to understand that in the Arab world the leaders tend to be very beligerent in their speeches as well as full of hot air. Sort of like our Texas cowboy that shoots from the hip!
August 30th, 2007 at 2:03 pmIts a sign of the wealth and power of America that we have the money and the ability to provide more than a pup-tent and a c-rat for our soldiers in the field.
And it’s a sign of stupidity when we send them to fight an unnecessary and avoidable war.
And it’s a sign of incompetence when those who sent them can’t (or don’t) follow up with collateral efforts (diplomatic, economic and other) needed to enable an exit strategy.
And it’s a sign of irresponsibility when they are left without a viable or achievable mission in the midst of a sectarian civil war.
Meanwhile, our wealth and the lives of our soldiers and Iraqi citizens continues to be squandered.
August 30th, 2007 at 2:03 pmSec’y Gates should resign. No agency or department head can function properly when the president keeps him out of the loop, especially on a matter so vital and so public as major funding requests to Congress. It is a clear signal that Gates is not the decisionmaker, Cheney is, and that the “program”, whatever it is, is being driven out of the White House, not the Pentagon.
Gates should resign. He ought not to do a Powell and pretend that staying longer will protect the troops or limit this administration’s excesses. It won’t. It will only make committing those excesses easier, which would make him an aider and abettor of them.
August 30th, 2007 at 2:07 pmTrip & RemoveBush; I live in Port Huron
August 30th, 2007 at 2:20 pmLearning that Gates was left out of discussions confirms my suspicion that this $50 billion isn’t going for any surge in Iraq, but is intended in some way for Bush and Cheney’s planned air assault on IRAN.
Primarily, this $50 billion would pay not only for the cost of launching air strikes against IRAN, but would also pay for U.S. Navy expenses in the Persian Gulf after any air strikes as the U.S. Navy tried to keep the Iranians from closing down oil tanker traffic in that area.
Remember, this $50 billion is in the range of what the Bush administration claimed back in 2002 that their planned invasion of Iraq would cost.
This time around, they say that no ground forces would be required in any assault on IRAN, but there would be huge expenses racked up by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, respectively, in the air campaign and the Persian Gulf/Strait of Hormuz campaign.
Gates was kept out of the loop because the White House (Cheney and Bush) have primarily been talking with all the U.S. Navy admirals who’ve been put in place at top positions at the Pentagon, admirals who will carry out any attack against IRAN and defense of vital seaways afterward.
If this is the case, then Gates should immediately resign and go public…for the sake of our nation. Because any attack against IRAN will have a disastrous effect on the U.S. economy due to disruptions in the oil markets following any such attack.
August 30th, 2007 at 2:50 pmSo does Halliburton show “best practices” by the results? Boy, are you 5 years behind in your understanding of managment leadership skills.
Truth is, 2 years later, and I do not see a completion on projects. Quicker and better is only laudable if their is measurable progress on the task completed. To see NOLA today, it is the shortcomings of Halliburton or/FEMA. Pick your poison, Lib Teenie.
Hence, ladies and gentlemen, Lib Teenie’s defense for hiring illegals in NOLA–w/Bush in charge, no pesky regulations.
August 30th, 2007 at 4:46 pmRepublicans–taking a dangerous and tragic situation to FUBAR.
Sorry, I was responding to Lib Teenie in #75 post.
One more thing; if an organization is better by being “big and successful as Halliburton” and “providing a large range of services” why do conservatives hate large government (which is a democratic/republic they can take part in) but love large corporations (which is essencially an oligarchy)?
Why do conservatives hate our form of government?
August 30th, 2007 at 4:58 pmWhy do conservatives hate our freedoms?
Actually, I think that $50Bn is being allocated to pay trolls to defend the Bushies 24/7/365 on progressive/liberal sites like this.
That would explain an awful lot, wouldn’t it….?
/sarc off
August 30th, 2007 at 6:41 pmMNDem: “why do conservatives hate large government (which is a democratic/republic they can take part in) but love large corporations (which is essencially an oligarchy)? ”
Because they don’t believe in democracy and as authoritarian sociopaths, they worship power.
If Robert Gates had any self-respect and was anything other than a pathetic Bush yes-man, he’d immediately resign in protest.
August 30th, 2007 at 6:45 pmYes, $50 billion to boot. Well, what self-respecting PIRATE doesn’t ask for more… “Say, why don’t you give me your belt buckles and your shoes, too.”
August 30th, 2007 at 10:01 pm