NBC’s Engel: Petraeus keeps changing the ‘rules of the game’ in Iraq.
NBC’s Engel: Petraeus keeps changing the ‘rules of the game’ in Iraq.
Yesterday on NBC Nightly News, Middle East Correspondent Richard Engel sharply criticized the testimony of Amb. Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus. He said that the Bush administration originally promised that troops could “pull back” once “conditions on the ground improve[d],” but nevertheless, the troops still “have to stay.” He added that if he were a parent of a U.S. soldier, he would be “upset”:
Overwhelmingly, I came away with the impression that it was somewhat frustrating and disheartening that the rules of the game have changed. For years, military commanders have said that once conditions on the ground improve then troops can start to pull back.
Today, Gen. Petraeus said conditions on the ground have improved, but you know what? The troops have to stay. I think if I was the mother or father of the one of the soldiers serving in Iraq, I would be proud because he said they’ve achieved tremendous successes; I would also be upset that if I listened to him would say they have to stay will in order to maintain that success.
Watch it:
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Don’t worry, Rich, the Bush administration doesn’t really care about the troops or their families. They’re just a means to an end – and the end is corporate profit.
April 9th, 2008 at 8:24 pmI guess the failure of this strategy has finally sunk in on the right-wing TP posters of last year. They have all deserted their ideological positions, and refuse to show their sorry faces around here, now that the surge has failed. Where’s Exley, and Michael, and the rest of the Bush-o-phants, now that everything’s falling apart? Missing in action, just like the cowards would be if they’d actually enlisted, instead of masturbating the dogs of war.
April 9th, 2008 at 8:29 pmThat’s because there never were any rules or goal. It’s all a game to him and his war profiteers.
April 9th, 2008 at 8:33 pm#1 Absolutely right. The true patriots do care about the unnecessary deaths of our troops and the hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis we’re responsible for killing in one form or another. The true patriots have nothing to do with the military war profiteering complex. The “true patriots” are the american people – that overwhelming majority who have more common sense and true morality than anyone in the GOP or this administration.
The only ones who are trumpeting the continuation of this amoral, highly illegal war are those profiting from it financially…..follow the money…..even John McSame’s tied to the military war complex profiteering.
April 9th, 2008 at 8:35 pmLeave Iraq? Never a choice of the neocons. That they intimated that was a lie. Want the real truth? Listen to McBush. He is saying what BushCo won’t. We are never leaving. 100 years (or 10,000). And then there is this spot on conclusion stated in the New Yorker:
“McCain wants to stay in Iraq until no more Americans are getting killed, no matter how long it takes and how many Americans get killed achieving that goal – that is, the goal of not getting any more Americans killed. And once that goal is achieved, we’ll stay.”
Makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it???
April 9th, 2008 at 8:36 pmBush knew last year this wouldn’t work, but they were following super–secret plan #7:Operation Shitburger Handoff.
April 9th, 2008 at 8:38 pmBut we know that they didn’t mean it when they made those promises!
April 9th, 2008 at 8:45 pmGood for Richard Engel for speaking out. Thank goodness he is over there reporting the real truth of the conditions of Iraq, the Iraqi civilians, and the soldiers. Fox News, Grampa McCain, Cheerleader Rep. Graham, Joe Zelllieberman, many of the talking heads, and other nimrod media make Iraq sound like Disneyworld.
April 9th, 2008 at 8:45 pmno sh*t, billy olsen!? here’s another one for ya, turnip truck boy – Republicans lie about everything, all the time.
now grab a towel – you’re still wet behind the ears.
April 9th, 2008 at 8:49 pmor was it jimmy olsen….
you get the point…
April 9th, 2008 at 8:50 pmRichard has been the only reporter to tell the truth to the American people. He doesn’t talk to the Generals but to the soldiers and the Iraq people. What he has reported I heard from the troops in Iraq. The White House uses the media and Generals as mouth pieces for the fake stories. General Petraeus is lying just like the Generals before him. If Petraeus was to tell the truth he’d be replaced by the White House. Iraq is doing well getting 12 billion taxpayers dollars a month. This will end and Iraq will charge the US for the damage done to the Iraq country. The New President of Iraq will work with Iran, Saudi, Pakistan and other Middle East Leaders. Now the US might have to borrow money from Iraq next year. Iraq will get rich with their oil and the American people will be paying a very his price.
Americans wouldn’t let Dubai buy a port in New York. Dubai is now one of the riches countries thanks to the Bush Administration. In Oct. Dubai will have a plane to fly visitors from San Francisco to Dubai and then they will open more flights around the US. Now that’s success in a short time. We wouldn’t allow Dubai to have ports for fear of what they would ship in this country, but now they can fly what ever they want in. I must say the Middle East Leaders waited for two pigeons and they found them in Bush/Cheney. Careful study of these two idiots weaknesses. George W. a drunk druggie who wanted to be a man and beat his Father. Cheney is only greed and power. The Saudis let Bandar Bush keep on eye on George for 4 years so the plan would go off as planned. They fed Dick Cheney power and greed. Now the Mission is completed. The Middle East was about to bring down the once Great USA by breaking the Economy, weakening the Military and making sure no other World Leader could trust the word of the United State. They didn’t even need to shut off one shot to bring the US down.
April 9th, 2008 at 8:52 pmWhere the hell is Seixon?
April 9th, 2008 at 9:38 pmWhen I watched that, Engel appeared livid to the point of being almost tongue-tied. It was as if he wanted to spill his guts about some suppressed truth, but was held in check by the NBC mucky mucks?
April 10th, 2008 at 10:11 amLet’s face it, the lipstick is finally coming off the pig. The endless rationales for the war, the ‘another six months will tell us’ bullshit, is finally wearing so thin that the neocons are sweating bullets. They can spin all they want, but now even the lapdogs in PR (or as we used to call it…The News!) are starting to bite that hand. Sorry for the mixed metaphors, but you get my drift…(oops…sorry again!).
April 10th, 2008 at 10:53 amI fear for Richard Engel’s life, if he returns to Iraq. How many reporters and photographers have been killed, so far?
BTW – has it been forgotten that the reason al-Sadr is fighting us (with guns) is because we insisted that he be stopped from criticizing us (verbally)? And, that was back in the days when we were still claiming our intention of bringing democracy to Iraq (sans freedom of speech, of course).
April 10th, 2008 at 1:12 pmIf only Condi saved her dressessohbet instead of cleaning them. But in today’s twisted America, I don’t believe anything would happen if George Bush was cetcaught in bed with a dead girl AND a live boy. And it all procedes with a cheeky grin and a sickening smugness that is as arrogant as it is insultingBedava mp3 indir.
April 11th, 2009 at 1:10 pm