Pentagon Official: Surge Has No More Than A ‘50-50′ Chance Of Success
Pentagon Official: Surge Has No More Than A ‘50-50′ Chance Of Success
In a news conference today, President Bush said that he now sees political progress in Iraq that is “matching” the security gains achieved last year:
It was clear from my discussions [with Prime Minister Maliki] that there’s great hope in Iraq, that the Iraqis are beginning to see political progress that is matching the dramatic security gains for the past year.
But Pentagon officials are wary of sounding such an optimistic note, particularly on “political progress.” In fact, they say more difficult times are ahead.
Today at the Heritage Foundation, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle Eastern Affairs Mark Kimmitt said 2008 will be “far more difficult” than 2007 for the U.S. strategy because “it depends far more on the Iraqis themselves to show progress on key legislation, on their economy, and reconciliation.” Kimmitt predicted only a mild chance that “surge” security gains will last:
2008 and beyond will be a success, the surge will be a success, if the gains in security can be translated into gains in stability…if I had to put a number to it, maybe it’s three in 10, maybe it’s 50-50, if we play our cards right.
Watch it:
Kimmitt added that seeing “such significant progress in security with only the foundations of progress in reconciliation is a bit disheartening, not to mention sobering.”
In an interview with Newsweek, Gen. David Petraeus hesitated to be “optimistic” as of yet, saying, “[We] should be realistic at this point, and the reality of Iraq is that it’s very hard.”
The tenuous nature of Iraq’s lull in violence hasn’t stopped hawks like Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) from already declaring success.
UPDATE: Kevin Drum adds that “Kimmitt was reading a prepared statement, so this was presumably a considered and vetted position.”
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127 Responses to “Pentagon Official: Surge Has No More Than A ‘50-50′ Chance Of Success”
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huh? The anti-American fools on faux told us that “we won”, “the surge has worked”, and “mission accomplished”?!
There is no way they lied……say it isn’t so!
January 8th, 2008 at 5:02 pmWhat? This fabulous “surge” has already been going on for MONTHS — and the wingnuts are still claiming it has a 50% chance of success…?
Jebus. Total Orwellian doublespeak - the surge is doubleplusgood.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:06 pmMaybe the surge is working… after all it is keeping the war hype going as Bush does not want this to end until HE is out of office, making more and more money for the MIC, Halliburton and such, this so called war is used as a tool for the RNC and isn’t our present economy run on this so called war?
January 8th, 2008 at 5:07 pmIn 1968 the VC launched their Tet offensive, discrediting the administration’s claim about making real progress in Vietnam.
40 years later. Can history repeat itself in Iraq? A Ramadan offensive in scale, breadth, and scope similar to Tet would unleash a tsunami of antiwar sentiment not yet seen.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:08 pm.
Kicking the ball… A G A I N!
What’s next?
“SIX MORE MONTHS?”
.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:11 pm“Pentagon Official: Surge Has No More Than A ‘50-50′ Chance Of Success”
Ah, let’s see.
1. The Mangler-in-chief said “Mission Accomplished.”
2. Mangler-in-chief said that “we are kicking ass.”
3. Mangler-in-chief said that the “surge is working.”
4. Now, Pentagon official says that we have 50-50 chance of success like we are betting on a horse in a racetrack.
Nothing from nothing means nothing. Heckakva job, Georgie!
January 8th, 2008 at 5:11 pmIn an interview with Newsweek, Gen. David Petraeus hesitated to be “optimistic†as of yet, saying, “[We] should be realistic at this point, and the reality of Iraq is that it’s very hard.â€
Read: Imposing democracy at the barrel of a gun is pretty much impossible work.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:12 pmHow many FUs is 10,000 years?
January 8th, 2008 at 5:13 pmBush doesn’t care whether the surge works on not. He’s worried about his legacy, which will be preserved through Bush’s writings, observations, and memoirs, the ones he creates every day in the bathroom on tissue paper.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:16 pm.
2007, highest US Troop death toll.
2007, highest Iraqi civilian death toll.
A SUCCESS?
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED?
I guess another million civilian deaths and four thousand more troops dead will be seen as a milestone?
Reckless decision making skills, still at play…
AND AMERICA BOWS THEIR HEAD TO PRAY FOR SUCCESS?
Know what you ask for, America. This success comes at a price.
OTHER governments who’ve created genocidal activities go down in flames. Et tue, America? Is this what She wishes?
.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:16 pmAnd yet the conservatives in these discussions have been braying and honking about it being an “unqualified success.” What gives? Could they have possibly been wrong???!!!
January 8th, 2008 at 5:17 pmDidn’t the surge start 12 months ago? Don’t you think there has been enough time to estimate it’s effectiveness?
January 8th, 2008 at 5:18 pmThis is all going to work out just fine.
When the Sunni Awakening Councils have finished with Al Qaeda, they’ll turn those guns we gave them on us and our puppets.
We’re 5.56 mm away from reconciliation.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:19 pmSince everybody who talks about the surge sees the goalposts in a different location, all we get are different answers.
Supposedly the surge was ordered to give the Iraq government some breathing room to make some political progress. Many people agree on that, at least. We came, we surged, we created some breathing room (how much is open to debate) — so some argue that the surge has been a “success” because we successfully did our part.
But how much political progress is Iraq supposed to make for the results to be considered a success? Tough call — everybody has a different answer.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:19 pmEverybody here at TP knows bush is simply keeping the balloon in the air until he leaves for Paraguay. Bush is a coward who will not clean up the mess he alone created. If he leaves the situation as it is, he can always trumpet how ‘right’ he has been about Iraq and terrorism.
A failed business man, politician, & human. He has all the qualities the right side likes.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:23 pmThe surge
January 8th, 2008 at 5:24 pm¼½¾worked!?50% It’s the new A…
January 8th, 2008 at 5:25 pmre 14 missmolly,
January 8th, 2008 at 5:25 pmBut we always have the coalition to fall back on to help us fix what we broke …..sarcasm
All I have to say is thank god Stewart and Colbert are back. This kind of crap has gone UNMOCKED for 2 months!!!
January 8th, 2008 at 5:26 pmoff topic….16 how did you stack those fractions?
January 8th, 2008 at 5:27 pmWhat gets me is that Bush Sr., Cheney, Scowcroft all knew that this would undermine the war on terror and that Iraq would become destabilized, along with other countries, yet Oedipus Tex still listened to the pseudo liberals mugged by reality.
Why? Why? Why?
January 8th, 2008 at 5:27 pmoff topic….16 how did you stack those fractions?
Comment by Fred
If your using winblows =) click start, click run, type charmap, hit enter, select characters, copy and paste them, [not all will characters will show up, depending on the blog/webpage] =P
January 8th, 2008 at 5:29 pmBut we always have the coalition to fall back on to help us fix what we broke …..sarcasm
Comment by Fred — January 8, 2008 @ 5:25 pm
LOL — like your sandlot teammates when it was YOUR pop fly that broke the neighbor’s window?
Hey, guys? Guys? Where’d they go?
(of course, with sandlot baseball, nobody was deliberately aiming for the windows…)
January 8th, 2008 at 5:30 pm¦©Ã
January 8th, 2008 at 5:30 pm“Pentagon Official: Surge Has No More Than A ‘50-50′ Chance Of Success”
WTF??? The Surge has already proved it’s working. There has already been a Surge of US troop deaths (2007 was a new record) and there has been a Surge in Iraqi deaths (2007 was a new record).
Maybe they mean it’s going to be difficult to keep setting new records in 2008?
January 8th, 2008 at 5:31 pmWhat gets me is that Bush Sr., Cheney, Scowcroft all knew that this would undermine the war on terror and that Iraq would become destabilized, along with other countries, yet Oedipus Tex still listened to the pseudo liberals mugged by reality.
Why? Why? Why?
Comment by Xisithrus
I know it’s crazy isn’t it? This isn’t like V though as in “for vendetta” The pres in this case is not the crazed tyrant…..just a shill or is that shell
January 8th, 2008 at 5:31 pm22 Xisithrus
January 8th, 2008 at 5:35 pmthanks
Comment by Manslagt — January 8, 2008 @ 5:33 pm
More racist bullshit here I see.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:36 pmI know it’s crazy isn’t it? This isn’t like V though as in “for vendetta†-F®ΞÄ
Perhaps.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:36 pmIf the TP research team sat in front of you moonbats on an airliner, I guarantee you that you would start sweating bullets.
http://thinkprogress.org/about
Comment by Manslagt — January 8, 2008 @ 5:33 pm
Why? What are you afraid of, coward? How telling….
January 8th, 2008 at 5:36 pmLowered Expectations…this is the residency of lowered-expectations…what did you expect? 50% is good for them! It’s the new measure of success!
January 8th, 2008 at 5:37 pmComment by Manslagt — January 8, 2008 @ 5:33 pm
But Bush holding hands with a Saudi Sheik is okay?
Grow up.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:39 pmHey, Manslagt, maybe you can get a job with Halliburton after they move to Dubai.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:40 pmWhat strikes me with this item and the responses is that this little anti-American faggot Satyam and his fellow moonbats want us to lose in Iraq.
If the TP research team sat in front of you moonbats on an airliner, I guarantee you that you would start sweating bullets.
http://thinkprogress.org/about
Comment by Manslagt
faggot is such an ugly but typical repub word. Especially when so many of them are gay.
you really need to get off the kool aid for a day or two mansloth
January 8th, 2008 at 5:42 pm22 Xisithrus
thanks -Fred
YW Fred
January 8th, 2008 at 5:42 pmHey, Manslagt, maybe you can get a job with Halliburton after they move to Dubai.
Comment by Xisithrus
I think he gets to keep his job with the rnc…..
January 8th, 2008 at 5:43 pmWhat strikes me with this item and the responses is that this little anti-American faggot Satyam and his fellow moonbats want us to lose in Iraq.
Comment by Manslagt — January 8, 2008 @ 5:31 pm
This comment is really “American” of you Manslag. If the people of the world think all Americans are like you no wonder we’re so unpopular.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:43 pmfaggot is such an ugly but typical repub word. Especially when so many of them are gay.
AMEN TO THAT! Go back in the stall, Manfagt! LOL!
January 8th, 2008 at 5:44 pmIf the TP research team sat in front of you moonbats on an airliner, I guarantee you that you would start sweating bullets.
http://thinkprogress.org/about
Comment by Manslagt
Nope. The right side is scared of their own shadows, not us. We have nothing to fear except fear itself - and a republican president.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:44 pmWhat strikes me with this item and the responses is that this little anti-American faggot Satyam and his fellow moonbats want us to lose in Iraq. -Manslagt
Its a freedom operation Manslagt and the way you win freedom operations is by winning the hearts and minds of the people. The war on terror is being exacerbated by the Iraq fiasco.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:44 pmmansloth thinks we are unpatiotic because we think there should be a trial and bush/cheny should be hanged for war crimes. He called us traitors.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:44 pmI apologize for even using part of the word it just seems like the last thing Manslagt would want to be called. Peace!
January 8th, 2008 at 5:45 pmAt least Manmeat became honest.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:45 pmUnfortunatly ManFag does represent much of our culture. Ask John Wayne.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:47 pmIt appears that manmeat is afraid of minorities, women, and white men with beards.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:47 pmI think it’s like the n word for blacks. It’s ok for a gay person to call another one a faggot but not if your not both gay. Is’t that how it works mansloth?
It’s the hypocricy of the repubs about gays that gets craig etc in so much trouble.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:49 pmSo the Pentagon says we have a 50% chance of victory and you still want to leave know killing any chance of it?
January 8th, 2008 at 5:50 pmWhat strikes me with this item and the responses is that this little anti-American faggot Satyam and his fellow moonbats want us to lose in Iraq.
Comment by Manslagt — January 8, 2008 @ 5:31 pm
Too late, slag, you little cross-dressing wuss, we’ve already lost.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:50 pmSo the Pentagon says we have a 50% chance of victory and you still want to leave know killing any chance of it?
Comment by Roger_Roger — January 8, 2008 @ 5:50 pm
The Pentagon lies as often as Bush, which is to say hourly. There is no chance of victory for a terrorist state like the USA. We have lost.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:51 pmThis time let’s try to elect a president and thus bring forth an administration that does not treat us as fools. Bush says one thing, the people ‘in charge’ say another: this foolishness on so many crucial subjects yet. They are so tiresome in their incompetence, those Bushies.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:51 pmf the TP research team sat in front of you moonbats on an airliner, I guarantee you that you would start sweating bullets.
http://thinkprogress.org/about
Comment by Manslagt — January 8, 2008 @ 5:33 pm
We’re not the racist cowards you are so proud of being, man handler. change your diapers, you stink of piss and fear.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:52 pmSo the Pentagon says we have a 50% chance of victory and you still want to leave know killing any chance of it?
Comment by Roger_Roger — January 8, 2008 @ 5:50 pm
This is exactly the thinking that casinos thrive on
January 8th, 2008 at 5:52 pmSo, we have been Iraq for almost 5 years and we now only have a 50% chance of victory? Jebus, are you reich-wingers really that dense?
January 8th, 2008 at 5:52 pmthe pentagon said we have a 3 in 10 chance, maybe a 50-50 if we play our cards right. Too bad we aren’t playing cards and the chips being used have heartbeats.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:52 pmSo the Pentagon says we have a 50% chance of victory and you still want to leave know killing any chance of it?
Comment by Roger_Roger
Silly rabbit…..tricks are for kids…..there is no victory to be had silly rabbit.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:53 pmSo the Pentagon says we have a 50% chance of victory and you still want to leave know killing any chance of it?
Comment by Roger_Roger — January 8, 2008 @ 5:50 pm
Too bad, rr, your cowardly college republicans killed any chance by running and hiding like little kids instead of fighting for their country. you have only yourself to blame.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:54 pmComment by Manslagt — January 8, 2008 @ 5:33 pm
We’re not the racist cowards you are so proud of being, man handler. change your diapers, you stink of piss and fear.
Comment by Lefty Patriot
to the point and vicious……I like it.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:56 pmSo the Pentagon says we have a 50% chance of victory and you still want to leave know killing any chance of it?
Comment by Roger_Roger — January 8, 2008 @ 5:50 pm
At what level of chance do you agree it’s a lost cause, Roger2? When it drops below 50%? 25%? Pick a number.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:56 pmSo the Pentagon says we have a 50% chance of victory and you still want to leave know killing any chance of it?
Comment by Roger_Roger
Rx2, have you been away? I haven’t seen your posts around here for a while. Hope your holidays were safe and joyful.
Anyway, since we have offered the Iraqis many, many Friedman Units to get their act together maybe we should allow them the chance to carry the burden. As you know, the whole point of the surge was temporary. It was meant to provide room for the government to build coalitions and cooperation - but they have not done that. My point is simply when do we say when? When our treasury is bankrupt? When 5000 brave American soldiers have died? When halliburton has too much money? When Cheney can fit into his man-safe? I mean, when? 50% of nothing is still nothing.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:56 pmFrom Scott Ritter”s excellent analysis of the situation in Iraq:
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/12/31/6087/
nothing the surge has accomplished so far remotely approaches a solution to these enormously destabilizing realities: a largely disaffected Sunni population which finds the current Shiite-dominated government of Iraq fundamentally unacceptable; a decisively fractured Shiite population torn between an Iranian-dominated government on the one hand (controlled by the political proxies of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, SCIRI, itself an Iranian proxy) or an indigenous firebrand, Muqtada al-Sadr; and a false paradise in Kurdistan, where the dream of an independent Kurdish homeland corrupts a viable Kurdish autonomy and threatens regional instability by provoking Turkish military intervention.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:57 pmThere are, in fact, five Iraqs that must be dealt with by a singular American policy
So the Pentagon says we have a 50% chance of victory and you still want to leave know killing any chance of it? Comment by Roger_Roger
5 years and no real progress? We had a 50-50 chance back in 2003 as well.
This war is starting to harm our economy Roger, its unsustainable at its current rate and undermines the war on terror.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:59 pmSo the Pentagon says we have a 50% chance of victory and you still want to leave know killing any chance of it?
Comment by Roger_Roger
Oh come on….this was lost when it started. There was no way to win this type of war. Nam has shown us what the end result will be…..the sooner the better, for everyone.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:00 pmBut a new analysis published last month by experts at West Point shows that most of these individuals come from Saudi Arabia and Libya, as well as other North African countries such as Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. The analysis suggests that the bulk of foreign fighters originate from countries with whom the United States is allied – Saudi Arabia, for one – and also offers clues as to how American officials can stem the flow of these terrorists.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0107/p02s01-usmi.html
Unless these countries decide to DO something, Roger, Iraq wont change much.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:02 pmWonder where 3 fingers went(mansloth). He don’t hang around when he’s outnumbered and out gunned.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:02 pmI sent a copy of Mansloth’s “faggot” comment directly to the “contact us” link and also by email to Faiz. I see no reason to tolerate slander like that or the racist comment about the airplane.
And, no, Keltoi et al, this has nothing to do with repressing dissent or not being willing to hear differing opinions. I hope you can see the difference.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:07 pmLooks like the slag got whacked back under his bridge like the troll deserved.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:11 pmUS surge may look somewhat different if insurgent countersurge happens in spring…wouldn’t want to be in Iraq at anytime but especially when insurgents counterattack if they do.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:11 pmand you still want to leave know killing any chance of it?
Comment by Roger_Roger — January 8, 2008 @ 5:50 pm
WTF? to many k’s somewhere?
January 8th, 2008 at 6:12 pmWTF kind of “surge” lasts over a year?
January 8th, 2008 at 6:13 pmWTF kind of “surge†lasts over a year?
Comment by Alejandro — January 8, 2008 @ 6:13 pm
The ‘Phony Commander Guy’ type of surge…
January 8th, 2008 at 6:17 pmI sent a copy of Mansloth’s “faggot†comment directly to the “contact us†link and also by email to Faiz. I see no reason to tolerate slander like that or the racist comment about the airplane.
And, no, Keltoi et al, this has nothing to do with repressing dissent or not being willing to hear differing opinions. I hope you can see the difference.
Comment by gummitch
I have done likewise. Glad to see that others here think the trolls are out of control. There is a difference between differing opinions and what the trolls do…
January 8th, 2008 at 6:20 pmYou’re on my short list of trolls too Bigfoot. You are not here for discussion. just to disrupt.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:21 pmLesson: Don’t give up on the United States like Harry Reid did.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — January 8, 2008 @ 6:19 pm
Herr dubyah and herr dubyah’s war does not equate to the United States. We know you’ll fail to understand this fact.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:21 pmHistory will recall this war as bush’s blunder….no matter the outcome….it can not have a positive outcome. Too many people dead already for no reason.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:23 pmReich-wingers are excited at the notion that 5 years and 1 trillion dollars later that there is a 50% chance at “winning”.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:23 pmI saw preznit a$$hat on tv today; OMG. He talks about the most serious of matters with a smirk on his face. He - the one with a 5th grade mentality and abilities - talks down to his audience, no matter how much more educated and intelligent they are than he.
The surge cannot work without a political solution - everyone agrees to that, but he continues to spin the facts to favor himself and then for good measure, he throws in his recommendation for additional tax cuts.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:33 pmHe is irrelevant, along with being irresponsible.
I stand with my country.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — January 8, 2008 @ 6:29 pm
No. You don’t.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Teddy Roosevelt 1918
January 8th, 2008 at 6:35 pmbigfoot….why do you hate America? Everything you say you stand for is destructive to it.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:35 pmDidn’t the surge start 12 months ago? Don’t you think
there has been enough time to estimate it’s effectiveness?
Comment by ForTruth — January 8, 2008 @ 5:18 pm
The powers that be would have us believe the surge is merely 6 months old rather than 12. Even so, at 6 months, that was the outer limit of when they predicted they would be able to estimate success.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:38 pmThe non-ass-kissers at the Pentagon are offering their estimations, but the WH will see to it that they are sidelined. Nothing except rosy predictions allowed.
77 bigfoot didn’t say that? Not after the patriotic way they hammered our duly elected President Mr. Willliam Jefferson Clinton for something that was none of their business.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:38 pmI agree that type of language should not be a part of civilized discussion on political blogs such as this. However, I hope you also flagged your fellow leftys who threw similar terms around as a response to the original post.
Comment by O. Bigfoot
No we didn’t because the responses were to point out the insensitivity of the post. You will just look petty if you do that so go ahead.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:40 pmComment by Marie
January 8th, 2008 at 6:43 pmDon’t let them get you down Marie. They won’t be in power much longer and for a long time after that. There was a good reason that the dems ruled the country for 40 years before the repubs lied and cheated their way into power….think about how things have changed for the worse since they first gained a little power ….Nixon was the beginning of the evil concervatives.
Don’t let them get you down Marie. They won’t be in power much longer and for a long time after that. There was a good reason that the dems ruled the country for 40 years before the repubs lied and cheated their way into power….think about how things have changed for the worse since they first gained a little power ….Nixon was the beginning of the evil concervatives.
Comment by Fred — January 8, 2008 @ 6:43 pm
Good point, fred. The republicans have proven themselves incapable of governing, defending or improving the USA is any way at all. We will destroy their party and bury it deep, and scatter them to the winds.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:48 pm‘MISSION ACCOMPLISHED II’……Stop the presses.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:48 pmI stand with my country.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — January 8, 2008 @ 6:29 pm
Demanding that troops stay in harms way = standing with the country?
LOL
Reich-wing “logic” is always worth a chuckle.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:49 pmThe “surge” is just the justification for vulgar war profits by members of the Bush Cabal.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:50 pmThe fact is, the Petraeus surge is currently working.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — January 8, 2008 @ 6:49 pm
Now, that “does not equal honest criticism”.
Actually, is isn’t working. That is a fact. The surge was suppose to allow for political stability and increased Iraqi security. Neither have taken place. Fact. The surge has failed thus far. Fact.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:51 pmBush believes it’s a fair trade-off: American lives for dollars in his war profiteering coffers and other members of his administration. Bush’s idea of “success” - blood for money - works for him every time.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:51 pmThen you are a hypocrite, Fred.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — January 8, 2008 @ 6:52 pm
No he’s not. You are a simple-minded fool who doesn’t understand English.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:53 pmI’m certainly not here to parrot the standard liberal “Blame the U.S. first†line– “does not equal honest criticismâ€.
Lesson: Don’t give up on the United States like Harry Reid did. –“does not equal honest criticismâ€.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:53 pmDr. Matt: Attempting to educate the local yeti (bigfoot-in-mouth) is like swimming upstream - paddle your ass off and get nowhere! Don’t even bother. Nothing he utters is based on truth; in fact, he prefers to delude himself into total personal denial and fiction….just like someone else we know, his wetdream idol, The Chump.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:54 pmThe fact is, the Petraeus surge is currently working.
Comment by O. Bigfoot
It was actually doomed to failure before it started….history will say that the iraq war was bushs blunder. There is no victory….this is not ww2. Too many people dead for nothing. This was a mistake of historic proportions.
by the way….any democrat will do more for Americans by accident than any republican will do for them on purpose.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:54 pmThe betrayus surge is another republican failure of monumental, expensive and murderous proportions. betrayus should be cout-martialed and imprisoned for treason.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:54 pmComment by O. Bigfoot — January 8, 2008 @ 6:49 pm
That’s all quite pleasant. Thing is a never see you make this point when Rush uses derogatory phrases like El Diablo, femi nazi, etc or when readers here are subjected to endless intentional mispellings of Ms. Clinton’s name, or the liberal use of such moronic terms as libtards. I would find it easier to buy what you are trying to sell if that was indeed the case. Now with regards to us all needing to agree that this war has to be won, are you speaking of the nonsense in Iraq or the allegedly larger somewhat nebulous “War on Terror” since vaque theoretical wars on ideas can never be won
January 8th, 2008 at 6:55 pmSorry it’s not happening fast enough for you, but this is real life, Matt, not a Hollywood movie or television episode.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — January 8, 2008 @ 6:54 pm
and yet the criminal-in-chief and all his minions declared this a cakewalk that would be over in 6 months. Too bad your lies are so easy to expose, bigass. your treason is readily apparent.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:56 pmSorry, but even your liberal standard-bearers in Congress don’t agree with you, Matt. The surge is indeed working, and allowing for the exact type of political stability we have hoped for. Sorry it’s not happening fast enough for you, but this is real life, Matt, not a Hollywood movie or television episode.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — January 8, 2008 @ 6:54 pm
Sorry, but the facts are not on your side: Again, The surge was suppose to allow for political stability and increased Iraqi security. Neither have taken place. Neither have taken place. Fact. The surge has failed thus far. Fact. Sorry that you cannot accept reality and facts, but this is real life, bigfoot, not a Hollywood movie or television episode.
BTW, by you stating “not happening fast enough for you”, you just conceded the surge has failed this far. Thanks for admitting that.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:57 pmBigfoot, please detail for all us the political gains that have resulted because of the thus far failed surge.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:58 pm“but this is real life, Matt, not a Hollywood movie or television episode” — Does not equal honest criticism
January 8th, 2008 at 6:59 pmAre you ready to be flagged bigfoot….you are derailing this thread.
January 8th, 2008 at 7:01 pmComment by O. Bigfoot — January 8, 2008 @ 6:49 pm
Win which war? The “war” on terror, or the war in Iraq? What does victory look like? If we win in Iraq, do we declare victory in the “war” on terror and bring our troops home, or do we go after the next country that is a gathering threat, might attack us in the future, and is led by a dictator that kills his own people while America once looked away?
January 8th, 2008 at 7:02 pmI’ve never said there should not be honest criticism of any President.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — January 8, 2008 @ 6:49 pm
Honest criticism like, “Bush invaded a country which didn’t attack us, or pose a credible threat, and compounded his error by arming both sides of a civil conflict while American troops were placed between the hostile factions”?
Is that “honest criticism”?
How about, “during the Bush administration oil has reached record highs, the dollar has reached record lows, and more foreign debt has been incurred than in our country’s entire history before him”.
or
“The failed foreign policy of the Bush administration has resulted in an unprecedented loss of prestige and will, probably, result in permanent diplomatic failures and the marginalization of his party at home”.
January 8th, 2008 at 7:04 pmIt was actually doomed to failure before it started….history will say that the iraq war was bushs blunder. There is no victory….this is not ww2. Too many people dead for nothing. This was a mistake of historic proportions.
by the way….any democrat will do more for Americans by accident than any republican will do for them on purpose.
January 8th, 2008 at 7:04 pmI’m glad to say I don’t know this type of fear.
Comment by O. Bigfoot
(boo!)
January 8th, 2008 at 7:05 pmI’m glad to say I don’t know this type of fear.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — January 8, 2008 @ 6:59 pm
you certainly do, you know nothing but fear. you know nothing of facts or truth, and live in fear of whatever bogeyman your masters manipulate you into fearing. it’s sad that such a weak, spineless creature as you isn’t in the service, learning to be a man.
January 8th, 2008 at 7:05 pmit’s sad that such a weak, spineless creature as you isn’t in the service, learning to be a man.
Comment by Lefty Patriot — January 8, 2008 @ 7:05 pm
He thinks he makes a more valuable contribution selling his meat.
January 8th, 2008 at 7:09 pm110 There is nothing to win It was doomed to failure before it started….history will say that the iraq war was bushs blunder. There is no victory….this is not ww2. Too many people dead for nothing. This was a mistake of historic proportions
January 8th, 2008 at 7:12 pm113 There is nothing to win It was doomed to failure before it started….history will say that the iraq war was bushs blunder. There is no victory….this is not ww2. Too many people dead for nothing. This was a mistake of historic proportions
Why do you hate America. Why do you not want to end this mistake and make it right?
January 8th, 2008 at 7:14 pm113 sounds personal. Pretty much considered an attack by me…..why do you want to disrupt so much? Are you on a payroll or just a sick fu**
January 8th, 2008 at 7:17 pmIt’s called mob mentality, and you illustrate it very well.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — January 8, 2008 @ 7:13 pm
I think the crazy nonsense that occurred prior to the run up to this ill advised adventure in Iraq is a much better example of mob think. Remember all those idiots in your workplace saying dumb shit like “let’s just turn the whole middle east into a sheet of glass” and such other inane stuff?
January 8th, 2008 at 7:18 pm116 Ok I understand now….do you have health insurance? Does it cover mental problems?
January 8th, 2008 at 7:20 pmfoot, do you have someone you can call. You know about your problem…
January 8th, 2008 at 7:23 pm#83 and #84
January 8th, 2008 at 7:23 pmThanks for the encouragement. I hope you are right. We need to keep these guys out of power for a lo-o-ng time. Hopefully, that won’t be too hard as they have widely exhibited their incompetence and corruption.
and it will be continued by our next President, whomever that may be. Sorry to bust you folks bubble, but those are the facts.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — January 8, 2008 @ 7:17 pm
I assume you recognize that future events can not by definition be called facts
January 8th, 2008 at 7:24 pm122 god that’s funny.
January 8th, 2008 at 7:25 pm#83 and #84
Thanks for the encouragement. I hope you are right. We need to keep these guys out of power for a lo-o-ng time. Hopefully, that won’t be too hard as they have widely exhibited their incompetence and corruption.
Comment by Marie
Don’t let them scare you Marie. It will end soon. Remember, fear is really all they have so they use it freely.
January 8th, 2008 at 7:27 pmYou fear your own government, you fear Republicans, you fear conservatives, you fear George Bush and Dick Cheney, you fear me, you fear everyone who doesn’t think like you. Every word you type drips of that fear. Maybe if I knew you personally, I could feel sorry for you. But sorry, I don’t.
Comment by O. Bigfoot
Folks, O. Bigfoot just went off the deep end. I looked in my psychiatry book under the term “projection” and there was a picture of O. bigfoot.
An ugly soul, to be sure. His future is bleak and will be full of disappointment. We should thank God we don’t live his life. He honors and reveres a failed human being. He wants an imperial presidency with W at the helm. Imagine that for a second: Of all the Americans Bigfoot would choose to be king for life is Bush. That says all we need to know about bigfoot.
January 8th, 2008 at 7:28 pmI’m gone for today…..someone keep foot’s lying to a minimum for me…cause you know if his lips are movin that he’s lying.
January 8th, 2008 at 7:31 pmlet’s try this again.
I’ve never said there should not be honest criticism of any President.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — January 8, 2008 @ 6:49 pm
Honest criticism like, “Bush invaded a country which didn’t attack us, or pose a credible threat, and compounded his error by arming both sides of a civil conflict while American troops were placed between the hostile factions�
Is that “honest criticism�
How about, “during the Bush administration oil has reached record highs, the dollar has reached record lows, and more foreign debt has been incurred than in our country’s entire history before himâ€.
or
“The failed foreign policy of the Bush administration has resulted in an unprecedented loss of prestige and will, probably, result in permanent diplomatic failures and the marginalization of his party at homeâ€.
Comment by Impolitics — January 8, 2008 @ 7:04 pm
January 8th, 2008 at 7:34 pmYou fear your own government, you fear Republicans, you fear conservatives, you fear George Bush and Dick Cheney, you fear me, you fear everyone who doesn’t think like you. Every word you type drips of that fear. Maybe if I knew you personally, I could feel sorry for you. But sorry, I don’t.
Comment by O. Bigfoot
Yes, I fear my own government when the President invokes Executive Privilege at every opportunity to prevent Congress and other entities from practicing oversight as directed by the Constitution and the law.
I fear my own government when the Vice President refuses to allow the National Archives to conduct oversight to ensure that classified information is being properly secured, and then the VP personally goes after the department in the N.A. and tries to dismantle it. I especially fear this when the VP had no problem with the oversight in question in 2003, prior to the Valerie Plame affair.
I fear my own government when it is revealed that decades ago, a plan was hatched that involved the American military attacking its own people, and then blaming the attack on a foreign country so that we could attack said country.
I fear my own government when the President can’t get his sh*t straight and tell the American people when he first learned of an NIE on Iraq.
I fear my own government when it is allegedly supposed to be protecting us from further attacks, yet approaches Qwest Communications and proceeds to walk away when the company requests warrants before turning over calling records of millions of Americans.
I fear my own government when a former member drops a bullsh*t bombshell and claims that Congress rushed to the President and pressured him to invade Iraq, when just the opposite is true.
I fear my own government when the White House Press Secretary, obviously drunk, declares that Congress does not have any authority to provide oversight over the Executive Branch.
I fear my own government when an individual linked to it tells me that terrorist attacks on our allies aren’t important.
As for Republicans and Conservatives, I certainly don’t fear the likes of one of the Senators from my State, Bob Corker, with his whiny, pansy-ass voice. The same goes for crybabies (Boehner).
Hmmm…Bush and Cheney…see above.
That brings us to you and those who don’t think like I do. The last person I would fear is you and the “others.” Don’t flatter yourself.
January 8th, 2008 at 7:58 pmOoops. Correction: “I especially fear this when the VP had no problem with the oversight in question prior to 2003, the year of the Valerie Plame affair.
January 8th, 2008 at 8:25 pmDamn. I need to proofread better. Correction: I fear my own government when the President can’t get his sh*t straight and tell the American people when he first learned of an NIE on Iran.
January 8th, 2008 at 8:26 pm“It’s what will keep the far-left marginalized. Right where they should be.”
Comment by O. Bigfoot —
Says the already-marginalized far-right stooge.
How that minority status working for ‘ya?
January 8th, 2008 at 8:39 pm“The offensive against radical Islam, begun by President George W. Bush, will be seen as one of the boldest and most productive military moves of the early 21st century. ”
So if Bush leaves office with Osama still free, will his administration be considered a failure fighting the war on terror?
In fact, when GW came into office, Osama was living in a cave complex in Afghanistan. Now he’s believed to be living in relative security in northwest Pakistan. How is that succeeding in the war on terror?
January 8th, 2008 at 10:26 pmHere’s what Melanie Morgan’s buddy said 2.5 years ago:
from July 6, 2005:
“The war is being won, if not already won, I think,” Patterson, who is retired from the U.S. Air Force, said. “[Iraq] is stabilized and we want the soldiers themselves to tell the story.”
January 8th, 2008 at 11:23 pmComment by O. Bigfoot — January 9, 2008 @ 12:09 am
You don’t agree with Impolitics’ second statement about oil prices, etc? Damn…maybe Bush isn’t the real president after all. That, or you really do live outside of reality.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:17 amComment by O. Bigfoot — January 9, 2008 @ 10:19 am
Impolitics didn’t say that high gas prices are crushing the economy. He simply said that we are seeing record prices under the Bush administration, to which you replied “I don’t agree.” I suppose one could argue that we haven’t seen economic disaster YET because of high oil prices, but what about the increase in prices of everything that relies on the price of oil?
But as usual, people like you don’t give a damn about how others are affected. Like folks on a fixed income. Or companies that have to start charging delivery fees for items and then face the possibility of losing business because of it. Companies like that can absorb higher operational costs only for so long. And then there are the companies that provide an unnecessary service, such as cable TV. Just this week our local company announced price increases, some of which are up to $10 per month depending on the package. One of the reasons given by the manager for the increase is higher fuel costs to keep their repair trucks on the road. Since their services are not a necessity for life, anyone who complains can just drop their service, right? Yeah, but most people whine about the prices but end up keeping the service anyway. But let’s say that some of their customers finally say enough is enough, and they follow through with their threats. So they lose, say, 25% of their customers nationwide. They can’t make money if they lose customers, so the stockholders get nervous and the company starts cutting jobs and closing offices to cut losses. Nah…that’s not going to hurt the economy at all.
I suppose everybody can just shop at Wal Mart because, after all, they lower prices every day. Bullshit. They lower prices on some things, but raise them on others. Otherwise, if they kept lowering prices, everything in the store would eventually be free. That 5 bar pack of Dial soap may be $2.99 today and $2.79 tomorrow, but in two to three weeks it will be back to $2.99 again, perhaps even higher.
Yes, I know about people predicting doom and gloom. I recall the time that Pres. Clinton raising the federal tax on gasoline 4 cents, and the naysayers were screaming bloody murder, telling us that the price of a can of soup was going to go through the roof. A week later, gas prices had dropped 6 cents, making it 2 cents LOWER than before the tax was hiked.
High debt is not a problem? An increase of $1.49 billion per day is “not a problem?” What amount do we have to reach before it becomes a problem for you? $2 billion a day? 3? FY 2006 showed $2.41 trillion in federal tax collections, but spending was $2.65 trillion. Nope, couldn’t start paying on the debt that year. I believe the fiscal year ends in September, a time during which Republicans were still in charge.
Yes, the old “drill oil ourselves” solution. Again, bullshit. If tomorrow all resistance to drilling in all areas of America were dropped, how many years would it be before the oil companies were beginning to pump oil out of the ground and ship it to refineries? You think the oil companies are going to sell most of that oil in America? Bull SHIT. If oil supplied from other countries is going for $125 a barrel on the world market, you think that Exxon and Shell and all the other producers are going to sell theirs for under that, even for $100? Hell no. They are going to sell it to the highest bidder. One country going up against 11 members of OPEC. How much of an effect do you think that any contribution of our oil is going to have on the overall prices?
January 9th, 2008 at 1:11 pmDid Surge and Withdraw in Iraq Work?
By Coonsey
I think Democrats, should go back to discussing the war in Iraq.
The media and the White House are hoping American’s forget about it even though Iraq’s political environment is still as it was a year ago.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s great news to know we aren’t losing the number of soldiers that we ‘were’ losing. Even one soldier’s life was worth it.
American’s need to be reminded that it was the Democratic Party’s constant pressuring and threatening to stop the funding for the war and demanding a date for withdraw, that finally forced President Bush to change course.
President Bush and his Party’s failure to admit their strategy wasn’t working — allowed several hundreds of our soldiers to be killed or injured.
Continued on http://www.freewebs.com/coonsey/
January 11th, 2008 at 11:08 am