Bush: Iraq’s Resurging Violence ‘A Very Positive Moment’
Bush: Iraq’s Resurging Violence ‘A Very Positive Moment’
Violence continues across southern Iraq today, as radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is threatening to end his crucial cease-fire by calling for the “downfall of the U.S.-backed government.”
In response, the administration has gone on a desperate PR blitz to label renewed violence in Iraq as “byproduct of the success of the surge.” “It’s “what critics have wanted to see,” said White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, calling it a struggle led by Iraqi security forces.
Today — as rockets rain down on the Green Zone and two American soldiers died — Bush cast the activity as a “very positive moment” in an interview with the Times of U.K.:
[Bush] backed the Iraqi Government’s decision to “respond forcefully” to the spiralling violence by “criminal elements” and Shia extremists in Basra. “It was a very positive moment in the development of a sovereign nation that is willing to take on elements that believe they are beyond the law,” the President said.
It’s hard to see what Bush sees as positive. The explosion that burst an oil pipeline in Basra today? Tens of thousands of Shiite protesters in Baghad? A kidnapped “civilian spokesman for the Baghdad security operation?”
In reality, the violence is undoing the very goals of Bush’s surge. Iraqi forces aren’t trying to restore “the law,” as Bush thinks, but are trying to do the opposite — suppress its political enemies before the October elections, historian Reidar Vissar noted. Most ironically, if U.S.-backed efforts “succeed,” Iran’s hand in Iraq will be strengthened. IPS’ Gareth Porter explains:
The Badr Organisation and the ISCI had always been and remained the most pro-Iranian political-military forces in Iraq, having been established, trained and funded by the [Iranian Revolutionary Guard] from Shiite exiles in Iran during the Iran-Iraq war.
Bush’s comments are reminiscent of former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow’s remarks last June, casting skyrocketing violence across Iraq as “things moving towards success…signs of success.”
UPDATE: Bush today: “It also shows the progress the Iraqi security forces have made during the surge.”
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Very positive indeed…
March 27th, 2008 at 11:11 amThe weapons and security industrialists are gleefully rubbing their hands together.
Yep, that’s like saying death to American soldiers is an effective way of trimming DOD expenditures.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:12 amWhat a dolt. Sometimes, words just fail me.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:13 amNot only this but he said that it’s imperative that the Iraqi retirees get the benefits they have coming to them.
Hmmm, first healthcare and now this? Good to know that all of the benefits Americans once counted on are also being exported, along with our jobs.
I hate this man more and more everytime I see his smirking, lying face.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:15 amViolence is DOWN = the surge is working.
Violence is UP = the surge is working.
Whatthefluckever, Chimpy. *eyeroll*
March 27th, 2008 at 11:16 amThe surge was and is a strategic farce. The lull in violence was clearly caused by the al Sadr cease fire. Now that elements are splintering away, the violence is once again sprialling up and out of control, regardless of the increased troop presence.
Farce, deadly farce.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:16 amI cannot believe so much as ONE person will buy this latest crock of sh**. I never cease to be amazed by the stupidity of 20-something percent of the population.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:20 amWow, And I thought we had gone through the looking glass before but this is the absolute proof that every day is opposite day with this criminal administration.
“this is exactly what we wanted to see…”
UNPHUCKING BELIEVABLE?!?!?
March 27th, 2008 at 11:24 amFirst Bushco play into the hand of Al Quaida by invading Iraq. Now they play into the hand of Iran with their feeble attempt to control the political landscape in Iraq. Really, is there anything we can actually do for the poor abused Iraqi people other than leave and buy their oil in the free market? Can we, the USA, afford to do anything else?
March 27th, 2008 at 11:24 amI’m so f_cking sick of this demented president.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:25 amThe surge of rage I feel every time this war criminal opens his suck is maddening.The tiny part of me that once clung to the hope that one day he would be held accountable has long since been murdered and I find it hard to believe we will ever be taken seriously as a nation again if we just let him slink away from what he has done to our country and the world.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:25 amI long ago stopped taking what GWB says as worthy. The latest violence is the first real test for the Iraqi forces and will show if we can exit with any dignity or have to remain so we can continue to attempt and hold this fragile country from completely falling apart.
This can also fall into McCain’s platform of more troops being sent. I don’t know if the American people can stomach it, or if the military can support it but the increased violence plays into both the warped view that Bush has now and the glorified battle mentality of McCain.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:27 amPeople die, Bush plays with words.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:27 amMa’am, the fact that your baby is do damn ugly means she’ll be beautiful in 20 years!
March 27th, 2008 at 11:28 am“I think they’re in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency.”- Dick Cheney June 20, 2005
March 27th, 2008 at 11:28 amI’m sure this is a positive development too - the official spokesman for the Baghdad Security Plan was killed. Bodyguards killed, house burned, weapons and cars stolen. All the details I know so far are here.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:30 am“I reckon the Boy King is boozing it up again, Pa.”
March 27th, 2008 at 11:31 amAn increase in violence is always a success to a neocon. A decrease in violence, en route to a massive increase in violence, is considered a greater success to a neocon.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:32 amIn case you folks missed it, Frontline did a pretty good two-part program entitled “Bush’s War.” You can watch it online here:
http://www.pbs.org/ wgbh/ pages/ frontline/ bushswar/
Illustrates just what a miserable and ineffective leader Bush and others in his administration are.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:35 amCorrection to me at 16 - the Security Plan spokesman was KIDNAPPED - his bodyguards were killed.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:36 amWatched most of it Fritz and want to buy it when it comes out.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:37 amEveryday is opposite day to these jackasses.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:37 amIt is this type of stuff that makes me want to break out the bottle of vodka at 9 in the morning.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:39 amI wish we could take on elements that think they are beyond the law HERE!
March 27th, 2008 at 11:39 am“Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people.”
-T. ROOSEVELT
“All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting”
“War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it.”
-George Orwell
“So long as men worship the Caesars and Napoleons, Caesars and Napoleons will duly arise and make them miserable.”
-Aldous Huxley
March 27th, 2008 at 11:42 amFormer Bush adviser and CPA spokesman Dan Senor in The Wall Street Journal just last week:
March 27th, 2008 at 11:43 am“Whatever Happened to Moqtada?”
“Heads we win, tails you lose.”
Cheers,
March 27th, 2008 at 11:43 amWith Bush, anything that happens in this war is just what we expected and/or wanted to see, and they will say it proves what they did was exactly the right thing to do. Give me a break.
Words to the musical group Abba’s ‘Waterloo’ seem to be the Bush motto in so many things: “I feel like I win when I lose.”
What a friggin’ idiot. The Idiot-in-Chief.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:45 amFrosty Cupcake Says:
March 27th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Everyday is opposite day to these jackasses.
Hey, great minds do think alike… see #8 ;)
March 27th, 2008 at 11:48 am“Only a fool or a fraud sentimentalizes the merciless reality of war…”
-John McIdiot 3/26/2008(on his BFF George Bush?)
March 27th, 2008 at 11:50 amOnce again the CHIMP speaks and spews forth positive news about the upsurge in violence.The head cheerleader is a moroon!!!!
March 27th, 2008 at 11:51 amThis guy has got to go(to hell).
“It was a very positive moment in the development of a sovereign nation that is willing to take on elements that they believe are beyond the law,” the President said.
Riiight junior.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:53 amThe element that we in the United States are willing to ‘take on’, that we know damn good and well is beyond the law, is . . . . YOU .
Obviously the White House scored some serious acid. You can’t get these kinds of hallucinations from dementia alone.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:54 amI hate to change the subject, but I need to know where I can find Pat Buchanan`s article on Blacks not showing enough gratitide to whites, sorry it`s kind of important.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:56 am“willing to take on elements that believe they are beyond the law”
So the Iraqi Government is fighting Bush and Cheney?
Bush/Cheney
March 27th, 2008 at 11:56 amHague Trials ‘09
I one finger salute the moronic troll who tries to pretend to be a progressive, but has the mentally regressive gene.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:59 amPlease don’t procreate, troll.
Buckie, nice…!
March 27th, 2008 at 12:00 pm“I think they’re in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency.”- Dick Cheney June 20, 2005
Maybe Dickhead Cheney is his last thrombosis
March 27th, 2008 at 12:00 pmSo much nonsense. I have a post at swimming freestyle about this (Counterintuitive Logic). Excerpt:
“After six months of a self imposed cease fire by the Mahdi Army, all hell is breaking loose in Baghdad and Basra as the Mahdi Army is battling U.S. and Iraqi Army forces and the relative stability brought about by the “surge” of U.S. forces is now threatened.
Today, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino delivered what may be the most stunning counter perspective in ages. This, in fact, may well rank in the Hall of Fame for counterintuitive logic. Ms. Perino asserts the new violence in Iraq is not a setback but, in fact, really a positive sign.” (http://swimmingfreestyle.typepad.com)
March 27th, 2008 at 12:00 pmMaybe Dickhead Cheney is in his last thrombosis
March 27th, 2008 at 12:00 pmFritz Says:
March 27th, 2008 at 11:35 am
In case you folks missed it, Frontline did a pretty good two-part program entitled “Bush’s War.
I agree. It was a well packaged review of Cheney’s ‘Unitary Vice President’ theory, as well. It summed up the entire history of why we got where we are today & who ‘drove’ the process.
Jerry Bremer came across as the idiot he was & is.
Gen. Casey was portrayed as the rookie he was.
Gen. Sanchez was shown to not have a clue as to what to do.
Rummy’s belligerence & arrogance was on full display.
The show clearly exposed how ‘truth’ was fixed around policy.
I recorded it as a reference. Who knows, my yet unborn Grandchildren may benefit from watching it.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:01 pm>I salute the Brave Mahdi Army
>resisting the Occupation and
> Puppet regime.
Christ will someone who runs this board please band every IP within a 50 mile radius of Mr. P’s moms basement..
March 27th, 2008 at 12:02 pm> Gen. Sanchez was shown to not
> have a clue as to what to do.
Hey, he may not have known what to do, but he sure as heck knew how to label the surge….”desparate ploy” is sounding pretty accurate right now.. i think they were hoping they could bribe everyone to play nice until 2009 when this war could be handed off to a new president..
March 27th, 2008 at 12:04 pm“It was a very positive moment in the development of a sovereign nation that is willing to take on elements that believe they are beyond the law,”
think bush would still believe that if americans stormed dc and yanked him and the other war criminals/traitors out?
for some reason i dont think so.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:05 pmchristopher wiwi Says:
March 27th, 2008 at 11:56 am
O/T for christopher - is this what you’re talking about?
“Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.
Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans.”
etc.
http://buchanan.org/blog/?p=969
March 27th, 2008 at 12:06 pmSUCCESS!!! - No reason to continue the occupation!! Bring ‘em home….
March 27th, 2008 at 12:06 pmWatch “Iraq for Sale,” and you’ll understand why that no matter what happens, it’s always deemed a “success.”
March 27th, 2008 at 12:07 pmAnd from another War…
“Adolph, the reason the Russians are fighting so hard in Leningrad is because they are about to give up.”
March 27th, 2008 at 12:10 pmimpeachcheneythenbush Says:
March 27th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Watch “Iraq for Sale,” and you’ll understand why that no matter what happens, it’s always deemed a “success.”
—
It’s true. No matter what happens it’s always a sign that things are just going great.
Did we win yet?
March 27th, 2008 at 12:11 pmthank you, Mary I really appreciate it.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:13 pmProgressive Thinker,
Please knock this shit off. You aren’t the first dumbfck troll to post nonsense to make the site look bad, and I hope everyone joins me in flagging your ass.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:18 pm>If you don’t support Sadr, you aren’t a progressive.
Is Sadr running for dogcatcher? Why do you think we support sadr just because we want to let the iraqis handle thier own business? Sadr is a right wing islamic fundamentalist, I really dont think “progessive” is a very good word for him.
Isnt it about the time where you start saying ” I dont know who this Mr. P person you’re talking about is?
March 27th, 2008 at 12:18 pmAt the Little Big Horn:
sir; where are all those Indians coming from.
Custer: This resurging violence is ‘a very positive moment’.
Famous last words.
snark.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:18 pmProgressive Thinker Says:
March 27th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
RUCerious,
What is it with the website? If some states something that is true, They get labelled a troll? There are many supporters of Moqtada Al-Sadr on this website He’s fighting for his people’s Freedoms. As a Progressive I support the rights and self-determination of all oppressed people.
If you don’t support Sadr, you aren’t a progressive.
Ok…after watching him/her for a few days, I’m personally done with “Progressive Thinker.” Progressive…there is NO ONE who supports Al-Sadr on this website…that is a lie. Are you some plant from O’Reilly or someone/somewhere trying to deep-six TP? Here’s the bottom line. We are progressive liberals but we are NOT America-haters. Got it? We disagree strongly with this administration, who we DO consider anti-American in acts and values. Some of us believe the U.S. has been imperalistic and increasingly so, and want it stopped. It endangers the citizens of this country when other countries see us as the “enemy.” So…please go away. As for me, I intend to flag you everytime you show up on this site.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:19 pmimpeachcheneythenbush Says:
I’m with ya impeachcheneythenbush! I’m embarrassed to say that I got suckered in a couple of days ago when this jerk said something that sounded somewhat reasonable. But by now it’s obvious that “Progressive Thinker” is here just to give us a bad name.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:23 pm“We are winning. The Eastern Front will be the Fatherland’s greatest victory. Our troops are advancing daily, and soon we will take Moscow.”
March 27th, 2008 at 12:24 pmBlack is white; up is down; in is our; we are better off than under Clinton.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:25 pmWe’d be better off under any given Taco Bell Shift Manager.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:30 pmFlagging worked. ;)
March 27th, 2008 at 12:35 pm–Blue Girl Says:
March 27th, 2008 at 11:30 am
I’m sure this is a positive development too - the official spokesman for the Baghdad Security Plan was killed. Bodyguards killed, house burned, weapons and cars stolen.
Sure. Think of it this way. His house is no longer a target for the violent extremists.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:35 pm@49 - Robert - I missed your eastern front reference when i posted mine - great minds and all, right? Seems there are an awful lot of Seattle-area poster ’round here - we should have a TP edition of Drinking Liberally some time.
Gotta find some humor in this one - it’s too damned depressing not to.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:39 pmit’s back
March 27th, 2008 at 12:40 pmCan we we please get it banned?
60 - not yet, it hasn’t.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:40 pmisnt it Sadr, not Badr?
March 27th, 2008 at 12:42 pm>what about others who agree with my opinion?
Wow, verbatim from another one of your incarnations as Ali Hassam Abdul or whoever you were pretending to be. Go masturbate and die aleady, will you? This is a forum that allows freedom of opinion, and some of those opinions can be downright idiotic. YOur a perfect example of that.
What about all the KKK who agree with your opinion that Obama shoudlnt be president?
March 27th, 2008 at 12:43 pmWould you buy a used car from George? I think that came up on Real Time.
No, the brakes aren’t shot, that’s enhanced acceleration. Reverse works great on hills. The bald tires make it easier to steer. Look, it only has 5000 miles on it. Rust color is in. We have great financing.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:45 pm“Mr. Bush, in particular, is eager to end his presidency with the appearance that things are getting better in Iraq.”
http://www.nytimes.com/ 2008/ 03/ 25/ washington/ 25policy.html
So I guess that means it’ll be happy talk until at least November.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:45 pmenhanced acceleration - lol. Thanks for the laugh Bob!
March 27th, 2008 at 12:48 pmWhy is “Progressive Thinker” still pretending that he’s not what everyone knows him to be?
Maybe he thinks real progressives are a s stupid as all of his troll buddies are?
This isn’t Troll Central anymore, Mr. Pee. Time to wrap this one up, move on to the next character in your one-troll show.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:49 pmBlack is white, up is down. The surge is working so we need to keep our troops there. And now the resurgence of violence is a good thing. Only in the Republican bizzaro world.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:53 pm“Bush: Iraq’s Resurging Violence ‘A Very Positive Moment’”
So the Surge is short for “Resurge of violence”? This was the plan from the start?
March 27th, 2008 at 12:55 pmGood one Evil Spaniard!
Maybe this is why Bush is smiling today?
‘Crude oil rose after a pipeline explosion in southern Iraq cut supplies to the country’s main export terminal.’
http://www.bloomberg.com/ apps/ news?pid=20601082&sid=aTB5BMISUxvg&refer=canada
March 27th, 2008 at 1:03 pm4003 dead Americans as of today.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:03 pmProgressive Thinker Says:
March 27th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Troll center? What are you talking about? Is that why you guys are a bit paranoid at new posters? If so, I apologize for anything that might be confused as trollish. I will watch my comments.
Backing down so quickly? Bill O’Reilly is going to be so disappointed. No falafel for you, buddy!
March 27th, 2008 at 1:05 pmJust flag the punk and forget it, don’t waste time on shit stirrers.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:07 pmwwew Says:
March 27th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
isnt it Sadr, not Badr?
Depends what you’re referring to. The Sadr organization is the Shi’ite political party that controls the Mahdi Army. The Badr Brigades are the militia of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council - the Iranian-backed political party in Iraq that’s usually allied with Noori al-Maliki’s Dawa party.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:09 pmThis isn’t Troll Central anymore, Mr. Pee. Time to wrap this one up, move on to the next character in your one-troll show.
How about we all ignore it since TP doesn’t seem inclined to do something about it. TP will regret their decision when its ramblings show up on O’Reilly or Hannity.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:15 pmThis is screaming for a K.O. special comment…
Does Bush TRY to sound as Orwellian as possible at every moment? War is peace! Doubleplusgood!
March 27th, 2008 at 1:20 pmVote McBomb and that will seal the deal:
1.Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy
2. Create a gulag
3. Develop a thug caste
4. Set up an internal surveillance system
5. Harass citizens’ groups
6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release
7. Target key individuals
8. Control the press
9. Dissent equals treason
10. Suspend the rule of law
March 27th, 2008 at 1:33 pmSomebody remind me — which throe is this, and how many to go?
March 27th, 2008 at 1:34 pm*79 - Kay - Electing McCain will only continue this, because it has already happened.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:37 pm#81 :
You are absolutely right. I guess McSenile will just continue with a vengeance the neoCONs wet dream of hegemony, domination, ever exploding military, and control.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:51 pmFool Zero Says:
March 27th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Somebody remind me — which throe is this, and how many to go?
It’s not absolutely the last throe, but the Vice-President assures me that it is one of the last throes.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:55 pmIs Dickhead Cheney in his last throes?
March 27th, 2008 at 1:57 pmWell, George just had to start his little vendetta war….
March 27th, 2008 at 3:43 pmWhen it comes to Iraq, in Bushworld, there are no sow’s ears, only silk purses.
March 27th, 2008 at 3:51 pmNot just Iraq, but everything else too.
March 27th, 2008 at 3:56 pmOh, please. This is the assclown who didn’t even know what “sovereign” meant not too long ago.
March 27th, 2008 at 5:00 pmWhy am I not surprised? Bush has his head where the sun don’t shine but that doesn’t matter because it’s full of poison and sawdust anyway.
Four thousand young and not-so-young Americans have died in the past five years. I forgot the latest figure of the seriously wounded. I’m not sure how many kids are without a parent because of this. We are, if McCain is elected, headed for a three trillion dollar war. For what? What have we gained?
We have got to take our country back so that we can withdraw from this horror in a way that doesn’t leave the Iraqis up the creek without a paddle.
March 27th, 2008 at 5:35 pmI watched almost all Mr. Bush’s speech. One of the two of us was on drugs. I drove around running errands today, so I hope it wasn’t me.
March 27th, 2008 at 5:58 pmThis is it, folks — we are living in Orwell’s 1984.
March 27th, 2008 at 7:02 pm“The economy will come roaring back after the checks have been received”. “Things are getting better in Iraq”.
This idiots bubble is getting larger. His attempts at escaping from reality are met with stoic wonder by the Electorate!!!
March 28th, 2008 at 12:56 pmAfter all that’s happened do people actually still harbour hopes of hearing anything other than lame drivel and lies from this administration? Quite why anyone pays any attention to what that plum says now is totally beyond me.
As I said in my post 203 (re Cheney ’so’) only a person with the brains of a rocking horse would believe the 2000 Presidential election was above board. For these shenanigans alone JAIL SENTENCES FOR ALL INVOLVED WOULD HAVE BEEN APPROPRIATE! Instead the proverbial blind eye is turned.
Then when glaring inconsistencies stare everyone smack bang in the middle of the face with the whole debacle of 9/11 - I mean this wasn’t a case of having to dig out bones of contention - clear examples of skullduggery on a massive scale literally queued up one after another. It was almost as if these crooks did their level best to show everyone that they couldn’t organise a piss-up in a brewery! So far the fact they’ve got away with such heinous crimes for me qualifies as a wonder of the world!
So we’ve long since past the point where anything that’s said now is of any relevance at all. In fact I believe the best response would be to completely ignore anything this evil wretch says.
Bush and his cohorts deserve nothing less than a firing squad.
METAL MICKEY
March 28th, 2008 at 10:26 pm