Thompson Downplays Iraq Insurgency: ‘A Bunch Of Kids With Improvised Explosive Devices’
Thompson Downplays Iraq Insurgency: ‘A Bunch Of Kids With Improvised Explosive Devices’
Speaking during a stop in South Carolina today, former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN) downplayed the Iraq insurgency as child’s play. The insurgency is made up of “a bunch of kids with improvised explosive devices,” Thompson said:
We will not be a safer country, we will not be a safer America if the whole world watches us being defeated by a bunch of kids with improvised explosive devices.
CNN has video of his remarks.
The core of Thompson’s machismo argument for remaining in Iraq appears to be that we can’t lose to “a bunch of kids.” His “analysis” is detached from the reality of what troops face in Iraq. A 2006 report by the International Crisis Group noted that the Iraqi insurgency is “no longer is a scattered, erratic, chaotic phenomenon,” but rather had developed into a sophisticated, coordinated operation:
“Groups are well organized, produce regular publications, react rapidly to political developments and appear surprisingly centralized,” the report said.
It noted the insurgency, a predominately Sunni Arab movement, has grown “more confident, better organized, coordinated, information-savvy.”
This past June, a senior military official told the Washington Post, “We are starting to see more sophistication and training” in the insurgents’ attacks.
Earlier this month, Thompson said Iraq had WMDs prior to the U.S. invasion. Steven Benen notes an alarming pattern of Thompson’s cluelessness on issues of substance.
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74 Responses to “Thompson Downplays Iraq Insurgency: ‘A Bunch Of Kids With Improvised Explosive Devices’”
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Way to insult the troops, Freddie! That should get you a lot of military votes.
October 25th, 2007 at 3:54 pmWe should get out of Iraq now. There is very little incremental benefit to national security because of our continued presence in that country right now. We should hang back and retain the right to strike as and when appropriate within that country
October 25th, 2007 at 3:55 pm…but he played the President in a movie, so I feel safer.
October 25th, 2007 at 3:55 pmMy thoughts exactly. I know I am insulted.
October 25th, 2007 at 3:55 pmif the Iraq war were a docudrama and the War on Terror a miniseries, I’d say, “you go, Fred.” But it’s not. And he’s not a leader, he’s an actor.
I think he forgot he was auditioning for real life role, not a bit part in “24.”
October 25th, 2007 at 3:56 pmThis guy is a total freakin IDIOT!
I think of myself as a moderate conservative, but I would vote for several of the Democratic candidates before this Huckleberry Hound BUFFOON!
His very prescence in the Repbulican race is like fingers on a chalk board!!!
There….I feel better now.
October 25th, 2007 at 3:57 pmThe insurgency is meaningless to the US. We should have nothing to do with that war of attrition. That’s not our strength, and we should not get bogged down in it.
October 25th, 2007 at 3:58 pmThat description sounds more like one describing the GOP presidential field!
October 25th, 2007 at 3:59 pmThe insurgency is meaningless to the US. We should have nothing to do with that war of attrition. That’s not our strength, and we should not get bogged down in it.
Comment by hits — October 25, 2007 @ 3:58 pm
What, you and Keltoi are saying that the 24%ers are ALL WRONG?
BAHAHA, now THAT’S FUNNY!
October 25th, 2007 at 4:00 pmthompson is an example of a foxite:he who believes in what fox is shovelling.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:00 pmWe should get out of Iraq now. There is very little incremental benefit to national security because of our continued presence in that country right now. We should hang back and retain the right to strike as and when appropriate within that country
Comment by hits — October 25, 2007 @ 3:55 pm
Ok, I thought you were Jake, but he’s a 100% cheerleader! This is ALMOST a sane statement from you! So you aren’t one of the 24%ers, you’re one of the 32%ers - at least we’re clear now!
October 25th, 2007 at 4:00 pmThe insurgency is meaningless to the US. We should have nothing to do with that war of attrition. That’s not our strength, and we should not get bogged down in it.
Comment by hits — October 25, 2007 @ 3:58 pm
great…so you agree we should withdraw from the civil war. insurgency is a word used by the administration to draw attention away from the fact that iraq is in civil war.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:02 pmIf we didn’t illegally invade and occupy their country, there would not be any argument about who the insurgents were. Get out now. Let Iraqis ask UN and Arab League for security help if needed.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:02 pmWhat, you and Keltoi are saying that the 24%ers are ALL WRONG?
BAHAHA, now THAT’S FUNNY!
Comment by republicans hate facts — October 25, 2007 @ 4:00 pm
No, read carefully: Fred Thompson is a damn buffoon. That is what I am saying.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:02 pm#11: He thinks we need to leave Iraq so that we can bomb Iran.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:02 pmrepublicans hate facts,
My opinions are based on my own observations, and optimized for me
Hits
October 25th, 2007 at 4:02 pmWe should get out of Iraq now. There is very little incremental benefit to national security because of our continued presence in that country right now. We should hang back and retain the right to strike as and when appropriate within that country
Comment by hits — October 25, 2007 @ 3:55 pm
bush ws four years too late in realizing this too. he can stick it in but he just can pullout in time.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:02 pmEh — old Fred just adjusts his rhetoric to fit whatever the GOP talking point du jour is. And today, the talking point is “we can’t be seen being beaten by wusses, so we have to stay in Iraq.”
Because we have not been able to disarm this “bunch of kids” playing with explosive devices for over four years now, this suggests that either we are a bunch of flaming incompetents ourselves (and I refuse to believe that about our soldiers) or these “kids” are a more formidable opponent than Fred admits.
At the same time, Fred may have a (small) point. The GOP talking point not too long ago was “big, big, BIG boogeyman!” By reducing combatants in Iraq to children, at least Fred isn’t perpetuating that myth. Perhaps he will agree that the people we are fighting in Iraq are no doubt dangerous on a local level, but they don’t exactly have the firepower to wage war on a global scale if we were to leave.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:03 pmI may not be an intelligent man,
October 25th, 2007 at 4:04 pmbut I play one on TV
gosh just imagine if we were in a war with adults…might go badly for us eh?
October 25th, 2007 at 4:04 pmdim wit downplays Thompson’s candidacy: “an old man with enough money to buy a TV ad”
October 25th, 2007 at 4:06 pmThey hardly equal the Red Army and their 10,000 nuclear warheads and Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Carter weren’t afraid of them.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:07 pmEnough of kids with explosives. Time to join the real insurgency.
http://www.tshirtinsurgency.com
October 25th, 2007 at 4:08 pmMany of the members of the National Liberation Front in Vietnam were in their late teens or early twenties. Kids with bombs, indeed. This man is running for President of the United States?
October 25th, 2007 at 4:09 pmFred Thompson - Clueless IS as clueless DOES!
October 25th, 2007 at 4:13 pmThank you L. Paul Bremmer. disbanding the entire military created this.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:16 pmAnd the beat goes on.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:16 pmDoes this actor-senator-lobbyist-candidate MORON even realize that he has insulted the military with that stupid remark?
Yep, that’s what the nation needs; another ignoramus in the White House.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:21 pmPlease wake me up from this bad dream. The repukes running for president scare me. What is more scary is that they have supporters.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:23 pmSteven Benen’s list of truly clueless things Thompson has said (which was written on Oct. 4..so certainly there are more, including this recent one) makes me wonder about his campaign. Or rather, suspicious. Doesn’t all this makes Guiliani look more knowledgeable and credible in comparison? Of course, he’s not. But to conservatives, he probably looks like a genius next to Thompson.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:28 pmBunch Of Kids…!!
then why Bush is requesting another extra 190 billion dollars for this war and so far we spent over 600 billion dollars and an estimated final cost of this war can top 2 trillion dollars? Is all this money going to fight kids..!!
Is this man for real.!!, and he wants to be a president..!!
October 25th, 2007 at 4:28 pmrepublicans hate facts,
My opinions are based on my own observations, and optimized for me
Hits
Comment by hits — October 25, 2007 @ 4:02 pm
In other words they’re selfish, self absorbed, all about me Republican values! Yep, you’re a REPUBLICAN all right! It’s ALL ABOUT ME!
When you GROW UP, and want to join a CIVIL SOCIETY, maybe you’ll adopt a more CIVILIZED ADULT view of the world. Until then, you’re just another self absorbed GOP twit!
October 25th, 2007 at 4:29 pmNo, read carefully: Fred Thompson is a damn buffoon. That is what I am saying.
Comment by Keltoi — October 25, 2007 @ 4:02 pm
Yet he represents your 24% core Republican Voter! I read carefully, you’re just afraid to admit that the MAJORITY of your party is filled with IDIOTS that are completely GUNG HO about a FAILED OCCUPATION!
October 25th, 2007 at 4:30 pmA bunch of kids… w/ improvised explosives…
Whattafreakinmaroon…
Please, GOOPers, PLEASE… run Freddy Flintstone fer Prez…
Try THAT line of the families of the nearing 4,000 dead and 25,000 wounded American soldiers, and then decide to stand yer ground and call them unpatriotic, Fred. PLEASE!!
And what will Mittens have to say about this???
“Improvised explosives… of some sort”???
October 25th, 2007 at 4:31 pmThe Republican presidential candidates are like characatures of themselves. It would really be comical if they weren’t so dangerous to our nation and our world.
The really, really sad part is that one of them will defeat Hillary, in the end. Well…they’ll at least make it close enough to allow another FL or OH to steal the election.
Hillary will be the Dem nominee, and then the Repukes will pull out the dirt they have on her.
Care to place a bet?
October 25th, 2007 at 4:34 pm>>Yet he represents your 24% core Republican Voter!
He hasn’t won the nomination yet, thank the gods, and I strongly doubt he will.
>>I read carefully, you’re just afraid to admit that the MAJORITY of your party is filled with IDIOTS that are completely GUNG HO about a FAILED OCCUPATION!
Comment by republicans hate facts — October 25, 2007 @ 4:30 pm
My party? And the Dems are your party then, I assume?
October 25th, 2007 at 4:34 pmHillary will be the Dem nominee, and then the Repukes will pull out the dirt they have on her.
Care to place a bet?
Comment by Vet — October 25, 2007 @ 4:34 pm
Only a fool would take that bet, it is a given. I hope, hope, hope the Dem primary voters can see this and Hillary goes the way of Dean on the eve of the actual voting.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:36 pmI don’t think I will hold my breath waiting for the conservatives to bash him and demand an apology for insulting the troops.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:37 pmHypocrisy reigns in the party.
Idiocy is rampant among their candidates.
I wonder if Mr Thompson has seen this film?
http://www.meetingresistance.com
Showing in DC and NY
October 25th, 2007 at 4:45 pmrepublicans hate facts,
I love my survival. I do not believe it is generally inconsistent with civility. If they come into conflict, my existence is more important to me. If you don’t believe that to hold true for yourself, you delude yourself
Hits
October 25th, 2007 at 4:50 pma lot of US soldiers lost limbs or lives from IEDs…
btw, that little girl looks like she’s putting up her dukes…
October 25th, 2007 at 4:50 pmWell, Thompson does have a point - the median age in Iraq is 19.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:50 pmOnly a fool would take that bet, it is a given. I hope, hope, hope the Dem primary voters can see this and Hillary goes the way of Dean on the eve of the actual voting.
Comment by Keltoi — October 25, 2007 @ 4:36 pm
I am not voting for Hilarity in the primaries, nor am I voting for any incumbents in the primaries. The final vote, will be straight Democrat, because the Republicans are mostly responsible for the mess we are in, with the help of Lap Dog Democrats.
If Hilary wins the Dem presidential slot, I may vote for Colbert in protest.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:51 pmthat little girl looks like she’s putting up her dukes…
Comment by Pete Bogs — October 25, 2007 @ 4:50 pm
October 25th, 2007 at 4:54 pm————————-
The smell of sulfer is especially strong to little tikes like that.
Well, Thompson does have a point - the median age in Iraq is 19.
Comment by toasterhead
Precisely that.
This is a well known phenomenon, in that the adolescents and young adults who watch their parents and relatives be assaulted, imprisoned and murdered tend to pick up arms at a very early age.
October 25th, 2007 at 5:08 pmThey also catch on pretty quickly as to who the targets are.
Some may remember in our youth, experimenting with stuff we found in the garage. We called it chemistry.
Imagine what youngsters in a war zone with weapons and ordnance everywhere they look will start experimenting with.
1 trillion dollars and 3500 troops later and those “kids” are still killing our troops and draining our economy.
October 25th, 2007 at 5:17 pmthose kooky kids.
October 25th, 2007 at 5:21 pmSomeone needs to catch lazy up on the talking points - it’s al qaeda we’re fighting there so we don’t have to fight here.
October 25th, 2007 at 5:38 pmOooh, I just love that picture of Fred with his THIRD wife!!
Oh…
That’s NOT his wife…?
Ooops. Sorry. My bad.
October 25th, 2007 at 5:47 pmWow — it takes a lot of hard slogging to read all these comments by you ignorant boobs. But I am encouraged when I realize that you left-wingers and Dumocrats do serve one useful purpose, i.e., that on those occasions when you gain control of Congress and/or the White House, you immediately set about demonstrating why you should never be allowed to gain control again! So, on behalf of the rest of America, I wish to thank Reid, and Pelosi, and Hillary, and Durbin, and you sheep that follow them so blindly — I thank you all because your actions have guaranteed that after the election in 2008, you will no longer control either house of Congress and your precious Bill-baby will certainly NOT become First Husband. I came across this site by accident and I will not be stopping by again — mainly because I enjoy the scent of clean, fresh air and that is certainly not found here.
October 25th, 2007 at 5:48 pmThis guy is a total freakin IDIOT!
I think of myself as a moderate conservative, but I would vote for several of the Democratic candidates before this Huckleberry Hound BUFFOON!
His very prescence in the Repbulican race is like fingers on a chalk board!!!
There….I feel better now.
Comment by Keltoi — October 25, 2007 @ 3:57 pm
UH-OH!!! Kool-aid transfusion on aisle 6 - STAT!!!!!
October 25th, 2007 at 5:50 pmYeah, kids who have kept the US “coalition of the willing” at bay for 4.5 years.
While we have WASTED 2.4 TRILLION.
FKVC YOU, Fred!!
October 25th, 2007 at 5:57 pmthat on those occasions when you gain control of Congress and/or the White House, you immediately set about demonstrating why you should never be allowed to gain control again!Mich Al
Kind of what your party has been doing for the last 6 years?
Hey folks, the RNC is putting in the second string. This should be fun.
October 25th, 2007 at 5:59 pmHey, Mich Al, we probably wouldn’t like you hanging around anyway.
October 25th, 2007 at 6:04 pmYou come in once, you thrown up a paragraph of insults.
So long. Have a nice day watching Faux News.
Fred:
“As President, I promise to murder ALL Iraqi children”
*crowd cheers*
October 25th, 2007 at 6:12 pm#50 Comment by Mich Al — October 25, 2007 @ 5:48 pm
I came across this site by accident and I will not be stopping by again…
May I suggest LG Footfungus or Redslime? They would suit you to a tee. Oh, and please don’t wait for the links. The door might hit you on the way out.
October 25th, 2007 at 6:14 pmWell, since anyone under 60 is a kid to Fred…
Oh, and Hi Mich Al, thanks for stopping by. Please take your pointless verbal diahrrea with you when you go.
October 25th, 2007 at 6:16 pmComment by Mich Al — October 25, 2007 @ 5:48 pm
Sorry to see you go. Your superior opinion and insight will be sorely missed. You have added much to the discussion already, what… with all of your facts and proof and all.
October 25th, 2007 at 6:19 pmWhen 19th Century Fred first indicated he might run, I thought that he might be a formidable challenge. After all, I reasoned, He vetted the job and knew what he was doing. And his “advisors” in his inner circle had vetted him and no doubt found him to be a really credible candidate. I kind of figured that the republics had finally found someone who would be a credible replacement for the pitiful mob of creeps that had decided to run. I mean, Romney? Brownback?? Rudy???
Then I thought he was kind of playing it cool by holding on to his hat for a while. Whew, I thought he might really have something going! The pukes have saved themselves.
Then he opened his mouth! All I can say now is RUN, FRED, RUN!
October 25th, 2007 at 6:27 pmThis guy is a total freakin IDIOT!
I think of myself as a moderate conservative, but I would vote for several of the Democratic candidates before this Huckleberry Hound BUFFOON!
His very prescence in the Repbulican race is like fingers on a chalk board!!!
There….I feel better now.
Comment by Keltoi — October 25, 2007 @ 3:57 pm
UH-OH!!! Kool-aid transfusion on aisle 6 - STAT!!!!!
Comment by Leftside Annie — October 25, 2007 @ 5:50 pm
Okay, Annie, that was funny, thanks for the chuckle.
October 25th, 2007 at 6:35 pmRUN, FRED, RUN!
Comment by Merlin — October 25, 2007 @ 6:27 pm
-Bumperstickers seen on both the front and back car bumpers.
October 25th, 2007 at 6:36 pmwhy are we having to give these kids 75 million dollar bribes to agree not to attack us?
October 25th, 2007 at 6:41 pm#61 Comment by J — October 25, 2007 @ 6:36 pm
Bumperstickers seen on… the front…
That’s really funny!
October 25th, 2007 at 6:45 pmI saw a bumper sticker that read:
Run, Hillary, Run
in large letters,
in smaller lettering it said:
Democrats affix to rear bumper,
October 25th, 2007 at 6:50 pmRepublicans affix to front bumper.
Wayne: “If Hilary wins the Dem presidential slot, I may vote for Colbert in protest.”
So, tell us Wayne. Which republican would you rather have in the Oval Office than Hillary Clinton and why?
October 25th, 2007 at 6:53 pmIt’s hard to believe that repubs looked at Fred as a savior just a couple months ago. What a joke.
October 25th, 2007 at 6:54 pmComment by Nevar — October 25, 2007 @ 6:50 pm
Run, Hillary, Run
in large letters,
in smaller lettering it said:
Democrats affix to rear bumper,
Republicans affix to front bumper.
Thats even better. Of course the rethugs can’t get their car started…
October 25th, 2007 at 6:54 pmOh, and Mitch Al - Recent polls show Democrats are more trusted on every domestic and foreign policy issue: education, health care, environment, economic growth, fiscal discipline, even terrorism. The number of Americans who self-identify as Republican is at a seven year low. While Americans believing the country is “on the wrong tack” was 50 percent in 2002 and 2004, it’s now 67 percent. National Democratic committees and presidential candidates are outraising their Republican counterparts better than 2 to 1. And then there’s the fact that Republicans are defending 22 Senate seats in 2008 compared to 12 for the Democrats. Nine Republican Senate seats are now considered vulnerable (Alaska, Colorado, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Maine, Minnesota, Oregon and Virginia).
Again, Mitch, have a nice day!
October 25th, 2007 at 7:04 pmThompson is a nobody…the Ross Perot of 2007.
October 25th, 2007 at 7:05 pmThats even better. Of course the rethugs can’t get their car started…
Comment by Merlin
(Well, that one started, but couldn’t go anywhere due to the absence of air in (all 4 of) it’s tires…)
October 25th, 2007 at 7:48 pmWell, when you are as old as Abraham Lincoln everyone else can be considered a “kid”.
October 25th, 2007 at 7:59 pmKeltoi AN - I thought my crack about Frankenfreddy’s third wife was funnier, but hey, I’ll take it. ;o)
October 25th, 2007 at 8:51 pm69 - Nevar - nah, the damn car is in the yard in front of that there doublewide - you know, up on blocks.
October 25th, 2007 at 8:54 pm“Hezbollah and Hamas have been killing our people all over the world…” - Fred Thompson
Yet another of his “misconceptions”? That is, cluelessness? Let’s hear of one instance of Hamas killing Americans anywhere anytime, or killing anyone outside of Israel/Palestine. And Hezbollah? Maybe in 1983, in Beirut but Fred considers that ancient history.
October 25th, 2007 at 8:56 pm