Fred explains Anbar.
Fred Thompson “puzzled Iowans yesterday” by insisting an Al Qaeda smoking ban was one reason Sunni tribes have broken with al Qaeda:
“They said, ‘You gotta quit smoking,’” Thompson explained to a questioner asking about progress in Iraq during a town hall-style meeting. […]
Thompson’s tale of a smokers’ revolt baffled some in the audience of about 150 who came to decide whether the former Tennessee senator is ready for prime time.
“I don’t know what that was about,” said Jim Moran, 72, who had driven from nearby McCook Lake, S.D.
Earlier, ThinkProgress offered another rationale: The prospect of a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq in late 2006 may have been responsible for spurring Sunni efforts against al Qaeda.
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Isn’t Freddy the guy with the fondness for Cuban cigars….?
September 8th, 2007 at 1:50 pmOh, this is awesome stuff. Keep ‘em coming, Freddie! You are a Democrat’s dream candidate.
September 8th, 2007 at 1:51 pm“Thompson’s tale of a smokers’ revolt baffled some in the audience of about 150 who came to decide whether the former Tennessee senator is ready for prime time.”
*******What do you expect from a Party(Repuke) that uses racism,sexism,corruption & thievery to win elections.
September 8th, 2007 at 1:53 pmSomeone else will remember this better than I, but early on, didn’t one of the Republicans in the CPA in charge of health in Iraq deem that eliminating smoking was a high priority in improving the health of Iraqis?
I dont know where I read or heard that.
Fred Thompson is a joke as a candidate, but unfortunately, he will be certain to gain a fair percentage of support simply because he is a familiar face - unqualified, but familiar.
September 8th, 2007 at 1:53 pmthen why were 4 US troops killed by an IED yesterday in ANBAR
September 8th, 2007 at 1:56 pmwhy were 20 US troops killed in Anbar in July
September 8th, 2007 at 1:56 pmwhy were 20 US troops killed in Anbar in July
Comment by Tobey Tall — September 8, 2007 @ 1:56 pm
How many insurgents do you expect us to bribe? We can’t bribe everybody, you know. That just wouldn’t be fair!
September 8th, 2007 at 2:10 pmOnly if you’re dumb as a doornail and intellectually impaired could you not understand the stunningly simple thesis of one Fred Thompson. If Toilet Paper and all its hate-site adherents here brainlessly concur that Thompson’s phrase about quitting smoking was awkward, then they’re even more hopelessly unenlightened than 72-year-old Jim Moran. The difference is that event-attendee Moran has an excuse for his slow pickup: he’s probably senile and deteriorating in his old age. What Thompson meant, clearly enough, is that Al-Qaeda imposed bans on smoking (including bans on every other freedom and personal-choice issue like drinking, clothing, etc.) to the point where Sunnis realized that Al-Qaeda was an Islamofascist outfit, nothing else. Thompson’s smoking reference–misconceived by brain dead libtards–was a brilliant comparison of the anti-freedeom ideology of Al-Qaeda, an ideology which seeks to dictate people. The Sunnis finally realized this, and that’s why they’re joining the US in Anbar.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:16 pmComment by Marie — September 8, 2007 @ 1:53 pm
James K. Haveman, who had served as Michigan’s community-health director under a GOP governor, was put in charge of rehabilitating Iraq’s health-care system and decided that what this war-ravaged, malnourished, sanitation-deficient country most urgently needed was . . . an anti-smoking campaign.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:16 pmdont embolden smokers! oh wait…..
September 8th, 2007 at 2:17 pmwhy were 20 US troops killed in Anbar in July
Comment by Tobey Tall — September 8, 2007 @ 1:56 pm
they were smoking. ask Fred.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:18 pmit’s fredd I E , by the way… IE, not Y…
so, maybe freddie is appealing to the tennessee tobacco farmers…
September 8th, 2007 at 2:20 pmnot sure why, except to piss ‘em off, as if that could help iraq…
…
Dear Lord, I beseech Thee, let Fred Thompson be the GOP nominee.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:21 pmComment by Whyareprogressivessodense?? — September 8, 2007 @ 2:16 pm
so, the USA-imposed anti-smoking campaign was an Al Qaeda campaign? So the USA is Al Qaeda? Is that the latest rightard taking point? That’s pretty good, but seems to run somewhat counter to your previous claims. i mean, I’m not uncomfortable with the knowledge that Bushco has funded and armed al Qaeda all along, but I didn’t realize that you righties knew it too! so, are you voting for Kucinich or Richardson?
September 8th, 2007 at 2:21 pmthat’s correct marie and badger…
September 8th, 2007 at 2:22 pmso, freddie is trying to undermine the righty policy…
hoo boy…
…
The Sunnis finally realized this, and that’s why they’re joining the US in Anbar.
Comment by Whyareprogressivessodense?? — September 8, 2007 @ 2:16 pm
That , and the duffle bags full of ca$h. The Sunni’s of Iraq were among the MOST SECULAR of all arabs in the middle east. That’s why toppling Sadaam was so well received by the Mullahs in Iran.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:24 pmComment by Whyareprogressivessodense?? — September 8, 2007
Man, you guys can spin anything, can’t you? More likely Moran is just fine and Thompson is the senile one, my friend. Are you sure you didn’t hear the collective groan of his campaign staff when he made that stupid comment?
September 8th, 2007 at 2:33 pmIs Freddie’s message that if we let Sunnis smoke they will be our friends? Then, perhaps, the military should buy a couple hundred million dollars worth of American made smokes for our soldiers to give away.
I’m sure that would make his former lobbying clients happy and replenish his coffers too.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:36 pmAren’t cigarettes chemical weapons of mass destruction??
September 8th, 2007 at 2:38 pmFor Granpa Freddie, it’s all about the Cuban cigars.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:52 pm4 people showed up - that’s right, 4 - at Utah GOP headquarters in SLC to kick off Fred’s campaign on Thursday. Lots of cookies went uneaten.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:53 pmI though for sure that Fred was gonna be a real contender for the Republican nomination.
Now it’s slowly becoming painfully apparent that he’s a complete moron, which means my initial assesment was right… he’s a real contender for the Republican nomination.
September 8th, 2007 at 2:53 pmHaven’t I read that Bush’s Health Care person in Iraq is a 24 year old who started an anti-smoking campaign? Sounds like Bush’s people are just as coordinated on smoking as they are on gathering statistics.
September 8th, 2007 at 3:02 pmIf that were the case, then Freddie should concede that Al Qaeda has won. For example, here in IL, try and smoke a cigarette in a bar after 1/1/08 and see what happens. I hear the punishment will be the severing of a finger for each violation. What?
September 8th, 2007 at 3:11 pm4 people showed up - that’s right, 4 - at Utah GOP headquarters in SLC to kick off Fred’s campaign on Thursday. Lots of cookies went uneaten.
Comment by troqua — September 8, 2007 @ 2:53 pm
weren’t those 4 returned to the home at the end of the day, by a short bus?
September 8th, 2007 at 3:12 pm#9 badger
September 8th, 2007 at 3:32 pmThanks! I knew a smart person here would help me out!!
Here’s the deal with the smoking ban. It was an attempt by Al Qaida to further their creation of an Islamic State ruled under Shari Law. Shari Law bans things like smoking dancing, music etc. The fact that this was rejected by the people of Al Anbar is a great thing.
A little history, one of the reasosn why AQ was so comfortable in Afghanistan in the late 90’s and early 200’s is because the Taliban thought along the same lines when it came to establishing a strict fundamentalist Islamic society.
September 8th, 2007 at 3:39 pmOk, so grampa fred is a little slow, but i got to admit, he smells great. Stale cigar smoke and aqua velva. yep that’s what I want my president to smell like.
September 8th, 2007 at 4:17 pmVote for me, because I played a president on TV.
September 8th, 2007 at 4:26 pmComment by Marie — September 8, 2007 @ 3:32 pm
Thanks Marie, but I lifted that information from an article in Rolling Stone Magazine. I just remembered where I read it, amazingly. I would provide a link, but I’m not smart enough to figure how to do it. The article is online, and definitely worth reading. Just google “The great Iraq Swindle” .
September 8th, 2007 at 4:33 pmComment by Whyareprogressivessodense?? — September 8, 2007
I am SOOOO glad we have all these Fred -I -E supporters here, he will be like shooting fish in a barrel if he gets the nomination. His lack of the ability to grasp reality is only behind that of ronnie raygunz.
But he could make a good guest host for Jay Leno.
Good Luck with this guy, Repugs!
September 8th, 2007 at 5:26 pmWhen I read the initials of the state where the last person interviewed in the story was from, SD, and then saw the L in the “Lake” before the SD…it made me think that was perhaps what TV tough guy Thompson maybe had been using….
September 8th, 2007 at 5:56 pm*
Not All Would Put a Heroic Sheen on Thompson’s Watergate Role
by Michael Kranish
WASHINGTON — The day before Senate Watergate Committee minority counsel Fred Thompson made the inquiry that launched him into the national spotlight — asking an aide to President Nixon whether there was a White House taping system — he telephoned Nixon’s lawyer.
Thompson tipped off the White House that the committee knew about the taping system and would be making the information public. In his all-but-forgotten Watergate memoir, “At That Point in Time,†Thompson said he acted with “no authority†in divulging the committee’s knowledge of the tapes, which provided the evidence that led to Nixon’s resignation. It was one of many Thompson leaks to the Nixon team, according to a former investigator for Democrats on the committee, Scott Armstrong , who remains upset at Thompson’s actions.
“Thompson was a mole for the White House,†Armstrong said in an interview. “Fred was working hammer and tong to defeat the investigation of finding out what happened to authorize Watergate and find out what the role of the president was.â€
[…]
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/04/2286/
via the Boston Globe
…
the righty’s hero… no surprise…
September 8th, 2007 at 6:01 pm…
It’s typical Fred…lazy, lacklusterand intellectually dim. One wonders if all this crazy talk are early signs of senile dementia.
September 8th, 2007 at 6:40 pmIt’s typical Fred…lazy, lacklusterand intellectually dim. One wonders if all this crazy talk are early signs of senile dementia.
Comment by carolinablue — September 8, 2007 @ 6:40 pm
Too bad he won’t even get his own party’s nomination. The returns would be SOOO fun to watch. The only bet would be, how far into double digits would he lose by!
And probably would have been asleep by the time the polls closed anyway.
September 8th, 2007 at 7:07 pmHis is definitely the most ridiculous campaign. Even before it was launched it was a sinking ship, people were leaving as fast as possible and the person at the helm was his trophy wife. I mean the man shows up at the Iowa fair wearing Gucci shoes…how completely out of touch can he be? Then his persistent refusal to participate in debates, which further points to the fact that either he just intellectually lazy to face hard questions or he is afraid that in his senility he will blabber something. I do not like any of McCain’s positions but compared to Fred he comes out as sharp and quick witted, which just shows how pathetic this guy is.
September 8th, 2007 at 7:42 pmSmoking? As in what in the world is Freddie smoking?
September 8th, 2007 at 8:47 pmPhysical geography instructors are correct…
September 8th, 2007 at 8:53 pm“Put red fred in the shed”
Comment by Badger #9
…you gotta love those right wing GOOBERS…
…so much compassion for the least of these…
September 8th, 2007 at 11:49 pmthe Fred trolls are silent :))
September 9th, 2007 at 12:32 amyou’re off just a little bit, Freddie.
They don’t want to smoke… they want to smoke Americans…
September 9th, 2007 at 12:36 amha!! - poor old tobacco lobbyists missing out here while halliburton makes squillions….what a shame :(
September 9th, 2007 at 6:29 amI think Fred brings the best buxom trophy wife to the contest. We want to see much more of that one.
September 9th, 2007 at 8:57 amKeep on ‘yapping, fred, you’re doing fine.
September 9th, 2007 at 10:11 amWhat Fred said about smoking and Al Qaeda happened to be true. Among the news media reporting it: Embedded blogger Michael Yon, and the Washington Post:
http://www.elephantbiz.com/ 2007/ 09/ whats_fred_smoking_1.html
September 10th, 2007 at 12:36 pm