Think Progress

Kristol: Bush Might Bomb Iran If He ‘Thinks Senator Obama’s Going To Win’

On Fox News Sunday this morning, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol said that President Bush is more likely to attack Iran if he believes Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is going to be elected.

However, “if the president thought John McCain was going to be the next president, he would think it more appropriate to let the next president make that decision than do it on his way out,” Kristol said, reinforcing the fact that McCain is offering a third Bush term on Iran.

“I do wonder with Senator Obama, if President Bush thinks Senator Obama’s going to win, does he somehow think — does he worry that Obama won’t follow through on that policy,” Kristol added. Host Chris Wallace then asked if Kristol was suggesting that Bush might “launch a military strike” before or after the election:

WALLACE: So, you’re suggesting that he might in fact, if Obama’s going to win the election, either before or after the election, launch a military strike?

KRISTOL: I don’t know. I mean, I think he would worry about it. On the other hand, you can’t — it’s hard to make foreign policy based on guesses of election results. I think Israel is worried though. I mean, what is, what signal goes to Ahmadinejad if Obama wins on a platform of unconditional negotiations and with an obvious reluctance to even talk about using military force.

Kristol also suggested that Obama’s election would tempt Saudi Arabia and Egypt to think, “maybe we can use nuclear weapons.” Watch it:

Kristol’s belief that Bush might attack Iran before leaving office is not new. In April, he told Bill Bennett that it wasn’t “out of the question” that Bush would consider such a strike because “people are overdoing how much of a lame duck the president is.”

The claim that Obama’s potential election could force Bush’s hand also isn’t new. Earlier this month, far-right pseudo scholar Daniel Pipes told National Review Online that “President Bush will do something” if the Democratic nominee won. “Should it be Mr. McCain that wins, he’ll punt,” said Pipes.

Both Kristol and Pipes apparently agree with President Bush’s claim in March that McCain’s “not going to change” his foreign policy.




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213 Responses to “Kristol: Bush Might Bomb Iran If He ‘Thinks Senator Obama’s Going To Win’”

  1. representativepress Says:

    And look how Wallace's father pushed ugly war propaganda. Send this to everyone you can. See video: Apologize to the World Mr. Wallace and Return that Emmy


  2. stateofthedivision Says:

    Code to nation: Elect John McCain or I'll start another freaking war!

    Bush couldn't claim responsibility for his heavy handed, violent acts to safe someone's life. Oooppss! He doesn't care about that...


  3. unbelievable Says:

    The problem, dear Billy, is that once we've seen how the magic trick works (fear-mongering in your case), it no longer has the name impact.


  4. Zooey Says:

    Kristol is nucking futs, and a sleazy fearmongerer, but I have little doubt he's right about this.


  5. marwick Says:

    Why does Bush have to? Obama said he would do it.

    "I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon - everything," he said to a standing ovation.

    Obama's supporters, via their standing ovation, seem to agree with attacking Iran.


  6. scytherius Says:

    Well of course he will. Like anyone DOESN'T know that


  7. Wayne A. Schneider Says:

    Bill Kristol is one of those people who should never be quoted in public. Or seen or heard in public, for that matter.

    The only way to stop the coming war with Iran is to remove Bush and Cheney from office. The ONLY way.


  8. Zooey Says:

    Wayne A. Schneider Says:
    The only way to stop the coming war with Iran is to remove Bush and Cheney from office. The ONLY way.
    June 22nd, 2008 at 11:04 am

    Then I guess war with Iran is inevitable...


  9. Wayne A. Schneider Says:

    What I see as a problem is that despite the fact that Obama has said that he would do "everything in his power" to stop Iran from building nuclear weapons, the right wing believes that ONLY military action will stop Iran. So they reject any peaceful means that could spare lives and assume that nothing short of bombing them will persuade them. Because Obama has not proposed military action as a first step, the right wing assumes that he will acquiesce and give in to them to everything.

    Furthermore, Bush doesn't like or understand anything about diplomacy. His attitude is that he won't sit down and negotiate with Iran about their nuclear programs until they stop with their nuclear programs. You don't "negotiate" with someone by insisting that they give in to all your demands before you'll even talk about it. Some might that call that "appeasement" on the part of the ones caving in.


  10. Bartolo Says:

    Why does this make me think of the scene in "Blazing Saddles" where the black sheriff grabs himself by the neck, points a his gun at his head, and threatens to kill [himself] if the angry mob doesn't give up?


  11. stateofthedivision Says:

    Kristol's a lunatic. We give the Saudi's billions in military support and Egypt hundreds of millions.

    Note Bill never once mentioned Israel's 200 or more nuclear weapons and the impact of those WMD's in the Middle East.

    Obama pandered to AIPAC as pointed out in an earlier post by Marwick. The White House asylum is full, amped out, and ready for a melee. And, as usual, they can't claim responsibility for their own violent intentions/actions.


  12. unbelievable Says:

    That's the main problem with Neocon absolutism. No middle ground. Either it's full-blown war, or appeased capitulation.

    They can't see the middle ground of negotiation, compromise, and concessions that generally produce results. It's why they are about to have their powers stripped from them in November.


  13. tom Says:

    Little Billy, please do us all a favor. Next Sunday, stay home and play with your Erector set.


  14. upside99 Says:

    I wish Kristol Meth would start picking stocks on TV ..... I would short every pick he made. That guy is a full-out smirking NeoCon disaster.


  15. Zooey Says:

    katy posted this last night on another thread: Photo essay of life in Iran.

    Well worth a look.


  16. artmann11 Says:

    Little Billy, please do us all a favor. Next Sunday, stay home and play with your Erector set.

    No. Let him talk. That way people can see how crazy these idiots are. Keep up the screaming Willies.


  17. margerine Says:

    That's so scary. It's more scary than doing it for a good reason. I feel like everyone in the White House used to be bullies in high school that got somewhere because their parents were rich. Who does this sort of shit so lightly for such stupid reasons?


  18. Canelane4 Says:

    Why is it that none of these fools Kristol, Wallace, Bush have edumicated ( Bush speak ) on what Obamas foreign policy actually is...? When I have posted parts of it for republicans to read. They say "great plan" until I tell them that it is Obamas plan. Then all of a sudden it's a bad foreign policy plan. Heck even McCains own informal foreign policy advisor said it was a great plan. Pure J.F.K. is what he called it....Here's a link to THE PLAN.



  19. Roket Says:

    What Billie is implying is that the American People are too stupid to elect the right man. I’m sick and tired of these holier than thou “we know what’s best” ignorant ass people. This is supposed to be a democracy for Christ’s sake.


  20. NOLIESPLEASE Says:

    With every war a country goes further into debt. The Federal reserves loves war. (if you think the fed reserve is owned by the gov., you have a lot learning to do) This is a manifestation of the industrialized military complex. The United States will see poverty for the next decade following the end of Irqa war...the end to be determined. In the mean time we keep pushing up the bills. Rememeber what the US was like after Vietname??? Learn the truth that Keith Oberman is not allowed to talk about on tv.....www.zeitgeistmovie.com Your attitude towards people in power will change for good.

    Learn before it's to late...you will see why It can be late.


  21. green Says:

    Is this why George continues to look so happy while his popularity continues to plunge. The sociopath in chief needs to do everyone a favor - he needs to resign NOW! And take the Dick with him.


  22. NOLIESPLEASE Says:

    Why would anyone consider anything Fox says to be factual????


  23. upside99 Says:

    NOLIESPLEASE Says:

    Why would anyone consider anything Fox says to be factual????

    Well, there is 'factual' and then there is 'Foxual'. And they are at opposite ends of the truthiness spectrum.


  24. elvisgoat Says:

    Yawn 2


  25. Witch1 Says:

    Nap time 1.......Blessings


  26. dbadass Says:

    didn't I just post something? It seems to have disappeared...


  27. JMOHR Says:

    Actually, this is great material for the Democrats and progressives to use. Each Democrat should be using this in interviews and talk shows. The conservatives are threatening the American public with the certainty of a new war unless McCain is elected. The question should be posed by the Democrats and the press to Bush - KRISTOL HAS MADE THE STATEMENT THAT YOU ARE LIKELY TO ATTACK IRAN DURING YOUR TERM IF IT LOOKS LIKE THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE WILL BE ELECTED. IS THIS TRUE? DO YOU NOT AGREE THAT MR. KRISTOL'S STATEMENTS WOULD IMPROPERLY IMPACT THE ELECTION?

    This is the time to attack, attack and attack,


  28. flex Says:

    Kristol and all the whiny, lying, war mongering wingnuts always try to blame the Democrats. Truth is Bush is going to attack Iran anyway because he is a sick and insane. Bush believes he is the chosen one to start Armageddon.

    "Bush's Armageddon Obsession, Revisited

    by MICHAEL ORTIZ HILL

    "We are lived by forces we scarcely understand," wrote W.H. Auden. What forces live us now as America again torques toward war?

    George W. Bush is certainly the plaything of such forces as the geopolitics of oil but it seems that he is susceptible to other even darker archetypal concerns. Let me be blunt. The man is delusional and the shape of his delusion is specifically apocalyptic in belief and intent. That Bush would attack so many vital systems on so many fronts from foreign policy to the environment may seem confusing from the point of view of realpolitik but becomes transparent in terms of the apocalyptic worldview to which he subscribes. All systems are supposed to go down so the Messiah can come and Bush, seemingly, has taken on the role of the one who brings this to pass."

    http://www.counterpunch.org/hill01042003.html

    .this also explains why Bush destroys every thing he touches...


  29. Fred Says:

    marwick and stateofthedivision are both right wing tools that would have you believe that Obama is no different than bush or mccain....sorry but we know differently.

    marwick's name is linked to a right wing propaganda site that is replaying the lies that the right is telling because they can't live with the truth....it gets in the way of their warmongering agenda.

    state of the division implies on the link to his name that bush really is a uniter because he has made everyone dance to his violent game.....sorry guys....we see through the fog.

    stateofthedivision also implies that Obama will not improve the health care situation any more than bush has.....bullcrap....wait and see.

    I call this the fog of war that the repubs throw up to cloud the issues....they want us to think the democrats are the same but we know differently.

    They would have you believe that we would be in Iraq right now even if a democrat had been elected.....no way.

    they would have you believe that the sub-prime debacle would have happened if a democrat had been elected too......bullcrap.....

    they would have you believe that katrina would have been handled the same by a democrat as it was by this bunch of bunglers....in should say miscreants because it was on purpose, not because they are inept....

    ect., etc.


  30. Chuck U. Farley Says:

    This belief is not news, but it's still mind-boggling that our president's radical supporters think he will start a war in order to swing an election...and they love him for it!

    Of the Republican soldiers and their parents, the ones who believe we kill and die in Iraq "to keep America free", how many do you suppose approve of war as a campaign tool?


  31. jay_severin_has_a_small_pen1s Says:

    I can't stand the liberal media anymore. When are we going to get some republicans into the liberal NYTs?


  32. Dr. Grumpus Says:

    Hey, don't you see it's the perfect framing:

    The attack on Iran: If it goes well, it was the President's insightful and strong decision, to protect democracy throughout the universe.

    If it goes badly, it wasn't his fault: The country was about to elect a Democrat.


  33. j swift Says:

    Hey, someone give Captain Obvious a cookie.


  34. Badger Says:

    Sorry...but there is NO WAY an attack on Iran will go Well. If it doesn't touch off World War III, we'll all be very lucky.


  35. dbadass Says:

    So let's weigh the complaining about some made up vandalism by the out going Clinton team to this possibility...


  36. Alejandro Says:

    So he's basically saying:
    1. The Republican/Neocon establishment really really wants to bomb Iran.
    2. John McCain, if elected, will definitely bomb Iran.
    3. These people are desperate to bomb Iran. Damn the consequences.


  37. skeletonman Says:

    Sweet Gentle Jesus, this guy is a nut bucket.

    The chilling part of this is that he is probably not far from wrong.

    If Shrub attacks, though, I think that the American people will have had enough and finally tear down the White House gates.

    We forget Presidential National Security Directive 51 at our peril.


  38. Kira Says:

    All the neoCons are sociopaths - ignorant, short-sighted, mean-spirited, xenophobic, juvenile schooyard bullies. I fart in your general direction.

    By the way, Zooey, thanks for the link to katy's Iran pictorial.


  39. marwick Says:

    They would have you believe that we would be in Iraq right now even if a democrat had been elected…..no way.

    Oh really? Listen to the Democrats on Iraq!

    they would have you believe that the sub-prime debacle would have happened if a democrat had been elected too……bullcrap…..

    Oh really? The sub-prime debacle came from greed. Greed was fed by Clinton making gains in real estate tax free.

    they would have you believe that katrina would have been handled the same by a democrat as it was by this bunch of bunglers….in should say miscreants because it was on purpose, not because they are inept….

    I thought Mayor Ray Nagrin and Governor Kathleen Blanco were Democrats?


  40. AMcG773 Says:

    I honestly can't decide whether it would be more effective to ignore Kristol or to mock him.


  41. Badger Says:

    “After Meeting with President Bush on June 4, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said ....

    "We reached AGREEMENT on the need to take care of the Iranian threat. I left with a lot less question marks [than] I had entered with regarding the means, the timetable restrictions, and American resoluteness to deal with the problem. George Bush understands the severity of the Iranian threat and the need to vanquish it, and intends to act on that matter BEFORE THE END of his term in the White House.”

    BEFORE THE END OF HIS TERM! For once, I'm afraid Bill Kristol is correct.


  42. Fred Says:

    marwick,
    You can never convince rational people that we would have invaded iraq if a democrat had been elected.

    The sub-prime debacle was a direct result of de-regulation just as the s&l debacle was under a previous republican. It is predicatble....

    bush manages fema.....they are supposed to assist local governments when needed....did they? No.

    You just throw up false flags because that's all you got.


  43. Keith H. Says:

    Question:

    Does The Fed Reserve and international bankers own our government ?

    Abso-freakin'-lutely.


  44. lokidog Says:

    marwick says:

    Obama’s supporters, via their standing ovation, seem to agree with attacking Iran.

    AIPAC = "Obama's supporters"?

    ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!

    If Hitler were alive and said he'd bomb Iran, he'd get a standing ovation from them, too.

    You're goofier than Kristol. Lil' wingnuts can't even keep their lies and obfuscations straight.


  45. tokin librul Says:

    The Busheviks will start a war with Iran on Jan 18, 2009, and there's not a fuukin thing ANYBODY could do about it...


  46. Marie Says:

    My immediate reaction was: It's Sunday, so it's time for another stupid remark from Kristol.
    My true reaction is that I put nothing past the lying basturds in the White House, and my only hope is that enough talk like this months in advance may actually serve to preclude the boy-king and his minions from actually doing what is suggested.
    But that doesn't mean Israel won't - does it?


  47. Shayne Says:

    So what Kristol is implying is that the American people should elect the best president for Israel not the best president of ourselves. The economy and our infrastructure and our housing market are all in the toilet but we should only worry about how Israel is doing even though they have enough nuclear weapons to decimate the entire middle east.

    The French beheaded a king for less than this. Maybe we need to storm the Bastille.


  48. tokin librul Says:

    AMcG773 Says:
    I honestly can’t decide whether it would be more effective to ignore Kristol or to mock him.

    best thing: mangle his fingers so he hasta type with a stick tied to his forehead...


  49. Marie Says:

    #10 bartolo
    There has been more than one reference to Blazing Saddles in this current campaign. Yours is appropos as well.


  50. Shayne Says:

    And Fred when are we going to start discussing McCain's role in the S&L debacle as one of the Keating 5. If we have to resort to swift boating McCain to guarantee these traitors are out of power then that's what we need to do. The time for playing nice is OVER.


  51. Cal Malenky Says:

    And the Bushies whined about how when Clinton's people left they stole the W keys from all of the keyboards. It wasn't true but it was another propaganda point for the message of the day in 2001 which was "the grownups are in charge now."
    Bush isn't done screwing everything up. He's got one more flaming bag of dog poop to leave on the doorstep of President Obama.
    Bombing Iran is the biggest one yet. His oily friends make a killing when oil is over $200/barrel. His defense contractor friends make a killing. He sets up a new world of problems for the next president so that the GOP has something to attack on. The troops are further bogged down indefinitely in Iraq as Iran retaliates there, guaranteeing Halliburton, KBR and Blackwater more time to gouge the taxpayer. The AIPAC warmongers get their way.


  52. RSA Says:

    There's a famous National Lampoon magazine cover with the caption, “If you don’t buy this magazine we’ll shoot this dog”. So Bill Kristol believes that Bush is thinking, "If you don't elect John McCain, we'll bomb this country"? It's nice to have insight into the sources that inspire Bush's policy decisions.


  53. Shayne Says:

    Good to know we don't invade nations because we're worried about our own national security. We go bomb nations to meet the political agenda of the Republican. Gotcha.


  54. Marie Says:

    "Maybe we need to storm the Bastille."

    I think the anniversary of that event is July 14th.


  55. Kira Says:

    Paul Craig Roberts [former Assistant Secretary to the Treasury Reagan Admin.] says: "As Israel has several hundred nuclear weapons, and a modern air force and missiles supplied by the US, the idea that Israel needs American protection from Iran is a fantasy."

    And:

    "As a consequence of Bush’s lies, there are a million dead Iraqis, mostly women and children, and four million displaced Iraqis, 4,100 dead American soldiers and tens of thousands of seriously wounded. No one knows how many dead in Afghanistan. And there is the ongoing Israeli slaughter of Palestinians and Lebanese that has fallen under the rubric of the 'war on terror.'

    The only ones pleased with these wars are the American neoconservatives, the Israeli right-wing, the US corporate military-security complex, and Osama bin Laden.

    The Bush regime has created enormous hatred and disrespect for the United States. A recent world wide poll found that George W. Bush ranks at the bottom of world leaders as one of the least trusted along with US Pakistani puppet Musharraf and the Iranian president, Ahmadinejad, who has the disadvantage of being the victim of demonization by the US and European corporate-controlled media, which serves as ministries of propaganda for the governments that control their broadcast licenses. The American and European media lie for their living."


  56. Fred Says:

    Shayne Says:
    And Fred when are we going to start discussing McCain’s role in the S&L debacle as one of the Keating 5. If we have to resort to swift boating McCain to guarantee these traitors are out of power then that’s what we need to do. The time for playing nice is OVER.

    I agree 100% except the part about the swiftboating. The swiftboaters used lies to change reality. mccain is actually guilty and it can be proven.


  57. Shayne Says:

    By bombing Iran won't they be starting the next cold war and this time we'll be up against China and Russia. And shouldn't the man that facilitates this kind of destruction of our nation be hanged? And Ms. Pelosi wouldn't it be better to remove this kind of crazy before rather than after the damage is done? And if you don't, maybe you need to hang next to him.


  58. Kira Says:

    I like the old tradition of drawing and quartering.


  59. Shayne Says:

    I don't know Kira, on the John Adams miniseries on HBO they showed a guy getting tarred and feathered. Then again on the Tudors they boiled a guy live in oil. Decisions, decisions.


  60. Kira Says:

    Impaling on a stick?


  61. Shayne Says:

    The problems is Fred I saw Lindsay Graham and Joe Biden on Meet the Press this morning and Biden fought fairly and Graham just made stuff up and Biden was still polite. That ploy doesn't really seem to work with the low information voters in this country and there's more of them than us. That's why the swift boating style used with the facts might work better.


  62. Kira Says:

    I like tarring & feathering if it also includes going door to door to apologize to each & every American Citizen.


  63. Shayne Says:

    Kira, that's why things can get so vicious when women are in power. Hell hath no fury ...


  64. Shayne Says:

    So Kira are you suggesting somebody can actually survive tarring and feathering? I'll have to rethink this then.


  65. Del Capslock Says:

    It is depressing that week after week amoral shills like Kristol are given a platform to say anything they want and without any serious challenge. And look at Kristol's face when he's saying that crap. He absolutely knows it's bullshit, but his little Bush-like smirk says "and there ain't nothing you can do about it"
    Bastards.


  66. Kira Says:

    Hehe :) Shayne, you just said being nice gets us nowhere with the returds.


  67. tokin librul Says:

    being polite does not work, does not win elections, does not carry debating points.

    one has to beat the living shit out of 'em, drive their wives and children into the streets screaming lamentations, slaughter their livestock...

    The ol' Hebrews knew how it worked...


  68. Badger Says:

    Johm McCain can call the Keating Five S&L Scandal "Old News"...but he'll have a harder time dismissing the ENRON LOOPHOLE.
    http://www.baltimorechronicle.com/2008/051908Leopold.shtml

    John McCain's chief economic adviser Phil Gramm also wants to stop proposed regulation of energy futures trading, a market that was famously abused when Enron Corp. manipulated California’s electricity prices in 2001.

    Clearing the way for that California price gouging, Gramm, as a powerful Texas senator in 2000, slipped an Enron-backed provision into the Commodities Futures Modernization Act that exempted from regulation energy trading on electronic platforms.

    Then, over the next year, Enron – with Gramm’s wife Wendy serving on its board of directors – worked to create false electricity shortages in California, bilking consumers out of an estimated $40 billion.

    Energy Traders are doing the same thing now with oil prices. Why is energy trading on electronic platforms Deregulated??
    Ask John McCain's Chief Economic Adviser.


  69. Kira Says:

    I've got an idea ... how about a few months of waterboarding ... since it's not torture, mostly just fun & games.


  70. tokin librul Says:

    "He absolutely knows it’s bullshit, but his little Bush-like smirk says “and there ain’t nothing you can do about it”
    Bastards."

    if i lived in DC, i'd probably hang around that metro station at Columbus Circle, where they have those really long, steep escalators, and where I might happen to brush against Mr. Kristol, near the top of one, and send him careening down into the pit...


  71. headybrew.net Says:

    Has anybody noticed the underlying assumption here? They assumption that Iran has a nuclear weapons program in the first place?

    This whole story is one of those evil lies that is intended to go under the radar by talking about a subject ("what should we do about the nuclear weapons") when there is no substance to the subject in the first place.

    And it's working. Even on thinkprogress readers. Very scary. That's how we ended up in the Iraq war in the first place.


  72. kasinca Says:

    And what, pray tell, has bloody Billy ever been right about? Has he ever said anything that was true about the current quagmire in Iraq? Does the NYT have to correct his lies on a weekly basis? Bloody Billy is the world's worst person in the whole world.


  73. tokin librul Says:

    John Murtha (D-Pa.) Marines “overreacted” during the haditha incident and killed civilians “in cold blood.”
    June 22nd, 2008 at 12:54 pm

    There's no one in the world with less conscience than a 19-year-old Murkin Marine with a gun.

    The marines committed cold-blooded murder in Haditha, Falluja, and everywhere they have been stationin Iraq.

    The real tragedy is that not a single one of 'em will get the punishment they deserve...


  74. Gregor Samsa Says:

    I would like to apologise beforehand for posting a completely off-topic comments, but I don't want to let the troll's idiocy unchallenged:

    Oh really? The sub-prime debacle came from greed. Greed was fed by Clinton making gains in real estate tax free.<?i?
    ~ marwick 12:24 pm

    The current sub-prime crisis came from greed alright, but it was largely due to the relaxed lending standards: Lenders were giving credit to anyone who could breathe, regardless of their ability to re-pay the loans.

    This is a very well-known fact to anyone who has been following the news:

    Biggest Culprit: The Lenders
    Most of the blame should be pointed at the mortgage originators (lenders) for creating these problems. It was the lenders who ultimately lent funds to people with poor credit and a high risk of default.

    Who Is To Blame For The Subprime Crisis?

    The mess was compounded by unscrupulous investing firms who re-packaged these loans in hedge funds, then lied to their investors about the risks:

    The case against Mr. Cioffi and Mr. Tannin is based heavily on a series of e-mails that revealed intriguing behind-the-scenes disorder at the Bear Stearns hedge fund as its investments began to slide last year, setting off a state of panic among the defendants.
    FBI charges pair in subprime debacle

    All this information is widely available to anyone who can read. The inability of the Bush bootlickers to follow the news and deal with reality is almost pathological, and goes to their credibility to post opinion on this or any other topic.


  75. Badger Says:

    ALL 16 U.S. intelligence agencies concluded last November that Iran had stopped nuclear weapons-related work in 2003 and had not resumed it as of last year.


  76. tokin librul Says:

    @ 78, Gregor Samsa says:...The mess was compounded by unscrupulous investing firms who re-packaged these loans in hedge funds, then lied to their investors about the risks.

    these two seem to me to be likely candidates to test the theory that public executions have deterrent effect. Show trials, and live TV. Cap 'em, and see if brings down the incidence of further corporate mal- and misfeasance.


  77. upside99 Says:

    Why is it that there isn't more outrage about the US starting another illegal war? Why are the trolls here seeming to be supportive? Are they in the defense contracting business or the oil industry?


  78. Kira Says:

    headybrew.net - yes it's awful how the rw propaganda seeps into the subconscious mind. Their talking points have poisoned the well.

    Actually, TP's Amanda posted this in Dec. of last year: NIE: Iran ‘Halted’ Nuclear Weapons Program In 2003, Unlikely To Develop A Weapon In This Decade


  79. ThomasMc Says:

    I hope all those morons who voted for Bush remember it's their fault when WWIII destroys what's left of America.


  80. Kira Says:

    Don't hold yer breath, ThomasMc, you KNOW what One Trick Ponies they are doncha? "Clinton Did It" they will chant in unison.


  81. Fred Says:

    lock_box Says:

    this poster doesn't make any sense to me. He tries to compare Murtha's assesment of a nightmarish event that should never have happened to kristols war mongering???

    Are you saying we should never have discussed whether a crime was committed and how did what Murtha said lead to the death of millions.....and if kristol has his way....many more millions of human beings?

    When will you guys put your ego's aside for the good of the country?

    Al Gore will help when we retake power....heh.


  82. Marie Says:

    #83, ThomasMc

    Unfortunately by that time it will be too late. The time is now - and we are moving far too slowly.

    I keep thinking of the post-apocalyptic end-of-the-world "On the Beach."


  83. Fred Says:

    lock_box Says:
    To accuse the people that are putting their life on the line for you to score some cheep political point is beyond sick, it’s disgusting, especially for an ex-marine to do this. What a pathetic sad excuse for a human being!!

    They are not all peaches. See Abu, guantanamo, torture, white phoshorus, etc.

    Some are criminal minded, especially now that bush has had to lower standerds for recuitment to meet his heinous needs.


  84. dbadass Says:

    Hi lock_box.
    How in your mind our service people stuck in Iraq putting their lives on the line for me and mine? Iraq wasn't a threat to me. I am curious how you see this. Many of my former students are in the service and almost universally when they have dropped by while home they have expressed confusion as to what exactly the are doing there and why. Sure there have been a few exceptions but not many.


  85. Fred Says:

    lock_box Says:
    When did Kristol suggest Bush is thinking about going to war with Iran if Obama wins the election? I know its not in your little article!

    huh? guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Since the first post didn't make any sense I guess this one should follow suit....would you like to clarify why you would deny this when we all heard it?


  86. Zooey Says:

    lock_box Says:
    What a pathetic sad excuse for a human being!!
    June 22nd, 2008 at 1:22 pm

    Yes, you are.


  87. stateofthedivision Says:

    Fred was kind to point out a few of my over 1,500 posts, but he mislabelled me a right wing nut job and there are way too many already!

    My skepticism over the current Repugnicant Damnocrat plan to jettison health insurance responsibility to the employee comes from my indenpendent voter status and over 25 years in health care. Does anyone remember defined benefit pensions that went the way of the dinosaur? Just as you now provide for your own retirement (IRA's, 401k's, 403b's, etc.), corporate America and their D.C. red & blue henchmen are planning for the next big profit boost. They're salivating to ditch that pesky and expensive health insurance benefit.

    While most of the dirt I've found the last four years has been red, I come across some blue and haven't hesitated to call "a spade, a spade," or "a buy, a Bayh."

    And Fred, how many right wingers have companion blogs that focus on private equity firms (especially The Carlyle Group)and Ari Fleischer's Freedom's Watch. They're PEU Report and Aris Freedom Switch. It's nice to know I'm an equal opportunity offender.


  88. Fred Says:

    lock_box Says:

    Fred Says:

    You’re just as brain washed as the next liberal.

    Well, if you epitomize free thought then I guess I was mistaken. I thought you were preaching the same tired lines for failure that we have heard the last 7 years.


  89. upside99 Says:

    lock_box Says:
    dbadass Says:

    Why don’t you ask your senators that voted for it?

    Tell us again why you support the current occupation?


  90. midnightcat Says:

    This is so bizarre.

    If Kristol is right, and he almost never is, we ought to prophylactically impeach Bush and Cheney to protect the country from an unauthorized declaration of war.

    I never figured out why the New York Times hired this twit and I never read his op/ed piece. If I really had some respect for him, I'd use his column to line Midnight's cat litter box but I figure ignoring him is enough.


  91. dbadass Says:

    lock_box Says:
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    dbadass Says:

    Why don’t you ask your senators that voted for it?

    Because I am asking you to defend a statement you made. This looks weak.


  92. Kira Says:

    #94 lockbox - why don't you answer dbadass' question?


  93. Fred Says:

    stateofthedivision Says:
    My skepticism over the current Repugnicant Damnocrat plan to jettison health insurance responsibility to the employee comes from my indenpendent voter status and over 25 years in health care. Does anyone remember defined benefit pensions that went the way of the dinosaur? Just as you now provide for your own retirement (IRA’s, 401k’s, 403b’s, etc.), corporate America and their D.C. red & blue henchmen are planning for the next big profit boost.

    Whatever you say state. Your status as bolded tells me all I need to know. While democrats may have not stood their ground on many things it is the republicans who push for the destruction of health care and pensions, not democrats.


  94. Kira Says:

    Typical.


  95. Kira Says:

    My comment #102 should have been appended to comment #100.


  96. Kira Says:

    Absolutely, Fred #101. Michael Moore's movie SICKO documents the continual republican war on healthcare.


  97. stateofthedivision Says:

    Funny you should mention Katrina, Fred. Maybe you can get my question answered, as years of asking accountable elected officials produced not one answer:

    Why did Fran Townsend's White House Lessons Learned report omit the hospital with the highest number of patient deaths? LifeCare lost 24 patients from Katrina's sideswiping New Orleans. Guess who closed their purchase of LifeCare just weeks before landfall? It's a private equity underwriter with a Pennsylvania Avenue address. Ding, ding, ding. It's The Carlyle Group.

    As a health care leader, I endured in a dead river flooded Virginia hospital in the 1980's. Later that decade I helped evacuate a Texas Gulf Coast hospital before then record Hurricane Gilbert. I wrote the White House hourly after Katrina made landfall. What this administration did in responding was criminal. Covering for their high dollar, politically connected friends might fall into the same category.

    I realize you can't read all a blogger's posts before labelling them, so consider this a helpful summary. No, I don't believe Democrats would have botched the Katrina response like George W. and his band of thugs.


  98. Wayne A. Schneider Says:

    Being acquitted of a crime by a jury (or judge) and having charges against you dropped are not equivalent things. In both cases, it is entirely possible that you may also be guilty of the crimes. In the first case, you could not be tried again, and in the second case, you could.

    The investigations themselves into the Haditha killings were highly criticized for being inadequate which, in itself, led to some of the charges being dropped. Also, Iraqi accounts of the incident often conflicted with Americans' accounts of the incident. No surprises there. Five witnesses to the same car accident will give you five different stories about what happened.

    All in all, in the end, many entirely innocent Iraqi civilians were massacred by American forces. The Iraqis want someone to be held accountable for that.

    There is a difference between actually being in danger and simply believing yourself to be in danger. Remember that.


  99. dbadass Says:

    lock_box?


  100. stateofthedivision Says:

    Did anyone read the recent WaPo piece on health care?

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/16/AR2008061602471.html?hpid=sec-business&sid=ST2008061602912

    Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah) are sponsoring the Senate's first bipartisan proposal for universal coverage. It would encourage the demise of employer-based health insurance by creating a state-run system requiring insurance companies to offer basic coverage to all applicants and requiring individuals without employer-based coverage to buy in.

    And Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said he may offer his own plan later this year.
    This is the same Max Baucus who accepted donations from eight for profit healthcare companies with no, as in zero, facilities in his state.

    The head of the largest healthcare union, Andy Stern, called employer sponsored health insurance "dead and not coming back."

    I really don't care what you call me Fred, but these are some of the things I've found in my four years as an independent blogger.


  101. Fred Says:

    state of the division,
    Just because we agree about Katrina doesn't mean we agree about dems being just like republicans. Sorry.

    I am more than willing to discuss these issues and we will always disagree on some points but you can't blame democrats for deregulation, financial disasters resulting from them and the Iraq war.

    Also consider the many(not just fema) regulatory agencies that have been crippled by them because they can't justify getting rid of them. Food supply....who's watching it? Federal drug admin....works for pharma, etc. none of these issues are primary democrat venues......all of them are republican.

    ps...many trolls who are righties come here and claim to be independants....heh.....


  102. allmymarbles Says:

    It has been my fear that this is what Bush would do, and then he could cry, "Don't change horses in midstream." I worked for Roosevelt. However, I don't think Bush would initiate the war. He would get Israel to make the first attack and then, in support of his ally, enter the fray. The best way to avert this catastrophe is to do what you are doing - keep it in the public eye. If he knows we are wise to him, he may have second thoughts. But, then, knowing Bush, he may not.


  103. dbadass Says:

    lock_box:
    Did I or did I not ask you a simple question of your opinion?

    by posting this
    "I was taking about Rep. Murtha and stuipidass (dbadass) brings up the same argument that always gets thrown out there when someone talks about the war. When you lose an argument you just try to change the subject"

    You seem to show yourself as potentially intectually fraudulent. Whereas we where in no argument as I only engaged you with this one question, the suggestion of anything lost is impossible. Now as to your poor manners, I think that may reflect poorly as well since you have been treated with dignity. Can you not simply answer the question posed to you?


  104. upside99 Says:

    Lock-box says:
    To accuse the people that are putting their life on the line for you to score some cheep political point is beyond sick, it’s disgusting, especially for an ex-marine to do this. What a pathetic sad excuse for a human being!!

    Here is why we are asking you about the Iraq quagmire; YOU say our troops are fighting for US! They are not fighting for ALL of us, only the NeoCon BushCo scumbags getting rich off their blood.

    We want them all home and NOW! They are doing nothing to make me safer, just the opposite.

    But that isn't their fault.


  105. Fred Says:

    I'm just wondering if the rest of the world will stand by while we invade yet another country with no provocation. They didn't really like it the last time and this time we will be directly crossing both China and Russia.


  106. dbadass Says:

    Thanks lock_box but I still don't see where that answers my question. The question was how are service people deployed in Iraq, risking their lives to protect mine? Certainly they are risking their lives no doubt but how is it protecting mine? I am also a little confused by the thinking that says risking more lives in the name of already lost lives makes cognitive sense. I have heard this idea thrown about but never gotten a coherent exaplaination of the logic behind it. Is it like the idea that homosexual marriage is a threat to heterosexual marriage? Things some feel sure of but just can't explain?


  107. Fred Says:

    lock_box Says:
    Weather it was a bad idea is neither here nor there to go in, were there and 4000 troops are dead so that reason alone is enough to stay.

    There's that republican logic at work. Thanks for saying that, it all comes clear. We made a terrible mistake so we will make the old gamblers choice of chasing our losses........send more to die by god.


  108. stateofthedivision Says:

    Fred, of course Democrats aren't just like Republicans, but they took a big step in that direction the last decade and a half. Big corporate money turned alot bluer this election cycle, and believe me they expect value for their investment.

    The subprime crisis was criminal. Speculation is responsible for 60-80% of the price of a gallon of gas. Wall Street's financial "innovation" brought us both of these crises. They run a mostly fixed game where the last guy holding the bag loses big, but huge money was made in between.

    I'm sure we agree on many things. That said, I find it helpful to research questions and sometimes the blue side has skeletons in their closet. I've found nowhere near as many, but I do chronicle them. If you looked over my blogs, you've found some sarcastic pieces. In that vein, I offer a link to Mark Twain quotes on politics:

    http://www.twainquotes.com/Politics.html


  109. upside99 Says:

    Lock-box sounds just like the wackos at the end of the Vietnam Clusterfcuk. Since we lost 58,000, we have to stay to lose more.

    What is this dude smoking, anyway?


  110. punq Says:

    What exactly are "unconditional negotiations"? Isn't the purpose of negotiations to set yet undetermined terms and conditions?


  111. Fred Says:

    stateofthedivision Says:
    Fred, of course Democrats aren’t just like Republicans, but they took a big step in that direction the last decade and a half. Big corporate money turned alot bluer this election cycle, and believe me they expect value for their investment.

    I know many are frustrated with the moderate democrats.....but you have to remember that Clinton was one of those right leaning dems and he still did not capitulate to corporate America.

    Regulations remained in place and money was still made by all. Corps saw a chance to clean up with bush in office however and they have with republican help.

    We have a struggle to swing our dems back to the left I agree. That movement has begun though and the republicans cannot stop it, even with a war.....might delay it but not stop it without destroying us all. I don't think the money makers will go along with that scenario.

    We have no hope with republicans to achieve our goals.


  112. Jackie Morgan Says:

    Contrary to what we saw in the 1990s with Clinton, impeachment (and removal from office) doesn't have to take months: It can happen in ONE DAY.

    The House can take it up in the morning and send the referral to the Senate by noon. The Senate can hold the trial after lunch, finish all before dinner.

    Joe Biden said months ago that the Kyl-Lieberman amendment did NOT authorize Bush to launch a war against Iran:

    "The president has no authority to unilaterally attack Iran, and if he does, as Foreign Relations Committee chairman, I will move to impeach," Biden said, adding that, "his legacy will be marred for all time."

    Unfortunately, that would happen after the fact, if at all. Can anyone imagine that after unleashing the dogs of war (again), Congress would go forward with impeachment when the argument against it would be "You can't weaken an American President's stature once a war has begun"?

    But it might help explain Dennis Kucinich's recent introduction of articles of impeachment. The Democrats may be lining up the ducks, getting them ready, and using it all to deter Bush from attacking (or getting Israel to do it).


  113. dbadass Says:

    Any thoughts lock_box?


  114. stevmg Says:

    Of course Bush will attack Iran. Lieberman, McCain and Bush have all been talking about it. The whole idea is to split the Gulf's oil reserves amongs US, Europe, India and China. After Iran is defeated, all the oil fields will be divided up amongs the three or four major powers.


  115. dbadass Says:

    oh come now rogerse, that is so "old Europe"


  116. stateofthedivision Says:

    Clinton started two trends that Republicans wound into an obsession. First, spinning off government functions into private corporations. Bill spun off the security clearance arm as U.S.I.S. It ended up in the fold of The Carlyle Group, who later flipped it for huge profits. Sallie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac all went similar routes.

    The other is contracting out government services to the supposedly, more efficient private sector. The military contracts out virtually every function but the fighting soldier and military brass. The Bushies perfected the government money push to their corporate friends with indefinite quantity, indefinite delivery billion dollar contracts.

    The previously mentioned Carlyle Group plays into both trends. They see the blue writing on the wall and have Mack McLarty and David Marchick, both Clinton White House staffers on the payroll. David testified to Congress recently on the benefits of foreign government owned corporations buying big chuncks of American companies or U.S. infrastructure.

    Carlyle also is buying Booz, Allen & Hamilton's government services division which just got a $12 billion indefinite quantity/indefinite delivery Defense Department contract.

    The struggle is getting elected leaders to act on behalf of all Americans. While no one party has a monopoly on bad management theory, following their various mantras causes America and its citizens suffering.


  117. had enough Says:

    Kristol: Bush Might Bomb Iran If He ‘Thinks Senator Obama’s Going To Win’

    If there is any truth to this statement, and most of us tend to think so, then...

    this is ONE more IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE to add to the list.

    Get on it Congress!


  118. had enough Says:

    The fact Bush Might Attack Iran needs hearings, investigations... Where is Congress?


  119. Jackie Morgan Says:

    This needs tying to the more recent TP story about Bolton's remarks about bombing Iran.

    Bolton then concluded that Arab states would be excited if the U.S. or Israel attacked Iran:

    I don’t think you’d hear the Arab states say this publicly, but they would be delighted if the United States or Israel destroyed the Iranian nuclear weapons capability.

    I must have missed the news on the day that the Arab states became the 51st U.S. state. Who gives a @%!# about the Arab states "excitement"? If we really wanted to "excite the Arab states", we could attack Israel instead of Iran.

    If this story turns out to be true, this will be yet another sea change by the Bush administration, with regard to a President's tenure and influence beyond his term.

    Up to now, Presidents haven't embarked on "new projects" in the waning days of their administrations (particularly militarily), doing only the bare minimum (defensive only, certainly not "actions of choice") and leaving it for the next Commander-in-Chief.

    All previous Presidents have recognized this as the territory of "stewardship" within the POTUS/CIC job description (and not "ego/legacy"). They had their chance to design and shape the direction they believed the country ought to be headed in during their years of working with the Congress and from their bully pulpit talking to the American people. They may not unilaterally commit the nation to an irreversible path, such as launching another "preemptive war" in the last days of their Presidency, dumping the repercussions on the next administration.


  120. stateofthedivision Says:

    http://www.saudinf.com/main/011.htm

    THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA BELIEVES that disputes between nations should be resolved by negotiation and, if negotiation fails, by reference to international law, not by acts of aggression or violence.

    THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA BELIEVES that the best interests of all countries in the Middle East would be best served if all countries in the region obeyed the relevant United Nations Resolutions.

    THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA HAS CONSISTENTLY ARGUED that the Middle East should be free from all weapons of mass destruction.


  121. stateofthedivision Says:

    King Abdullah warned Bush that invading Iraq would destabilize the region:

    http://www.saudiembassy.net/2005News/Statements/TransDetail.asp?cIndex=560

    Other than having their sovereign wealth funds more full of cash, I can't see why the Saudi King would want George W. to undertake round #2 in the neighborhood.



  122. RUCerious Says:

    It certainly would be nice of Senator Obama to mention to the chymp & Company that an attack on Iran will not only trigger an impeachment, but all the neoclowns being sent immediately to Den Hague for war crimes trials on Jan 21, 09.


  123. Marie Says:

    Hmm,
    Comment about Cindy McCain's beer company "awaits moderation"
    what's wrong with that - TP?


  124. curmudgeon Says:

    Sounds like a plan by Bush, Cheney and the neocon crowd to give the people of this country "an offer they can't afford to refuse."

    Doesn't this look like a roadmap for one monarch to designate who their successor will be and wasn't this the same system that this country overthrew beginning in 1776?


  125. Shayne Says:

    stateofthedivision Says:

    A lot, but this thread is about the likely attack on Iran if Obama gets elected. Not about healthcare right?


  126. Shayne Says:

    Marie, I have a harmless long post that has disappeared but the trolls always get to spew bigotry and insults no problem.
    Nice job of moderating TP.


  127. RUCerious Says:

    Shayne, methinks the TP staff hired little Timmy Putz to do moderation on the weekends...


  128. Bad Eye Says:

    So Kristol suggests that Bush will politicize the issue with Iran?

    But...I didn't think that Republicans did such things.


  129. dbadass Says:

    does TP offer a list of all the halfway words? I really think that a knoll eyes is ridiculous. b*itch gets me in trouble but I never use it in any usage except in the "to complain" context. D-bag is just a fun word and also should be lightened up on.


  130. RUCerious Says:

    dbadass, look at the word I can get away with

    McIIIrd'scu*trollopybytchofastepfordcashcow!


  131. Shayne Says:

    Or else RUC there's nobody watching the site on Sunday and comments go into limbo and nobody rescues them.


  132. stateofthedivision Says:

    My apologies Shayne. I offered two comments, #2 & #11, before Fred decided I was a right wing troll. The rest has been a discussion between the two of us, which is off topic for the thread.

    I thought I was posting #131 & #132 under the Bolton "secret Saudi joy" over an Iran attack piece, but erred. Some days are rough. Will try to do better in the future.


  133. dbadass Says:

    McIIIrd’scu*trollopybytchofastepfordcashcow!
    !!!!!!
    excellent. It is all just so silly? Sort of Roberto Clemente has two balls on him type silly


  134. Agki Says:

    Why is it that people like Kristol still have jobs? I mean, these neocon jerks have been wrong about everything since 9/12/01. Gereally, people who are that bad get fired, don't they? Who could believe these wolf-criers?


  135. RUCerious Says:

    dbadass, exactamento!

    statediv ~ somedays we just get our corks screwed in either too tight, or busted up down in the bottle!


  136. Marie Says:

    Hensley & Co., one of the nation’s major beer wholesalers, has brought the family of Cindy McCain wealth, prestige and influence in Phoenix, but it could also create conflicts for her husband, Sen. John McCain, if he is elected president in November.

    Hensley, founded by Cindy McCain’s late father, holds federal and state licenses to distribute beer and lobbies regulatory agencies on alcohol issues that involve public health and safety. The company has opposed such groups as Mothers Against Drunk Driving in fighting proposed federal rules requiring alcohol content information on every package of beer, wine and liquor.

    Its executives, including John McCain’s son Andrew, have written at least 10 letters in recent years to the Treasury Department, have contributed tens of thousands of dollars to a beer industry political action committee, and hold a seat on the board of the politically powerful National Beer Wholesalers Assn.

    And what were the repugs saying about Teresa Heinz Kerry and her ketchup/pickle company?


  137. continuum Says:

    I'm confused. On the one hand, Bush is a nut lunatic who just might use his last gasps to start yet another war. But, then again Kristol has prety much been wrong on every statement he has made about the Middle East, especially Iraq. So, I'm not sure what to think. In any case, we should impeach the Boy President now before he can do any more mischief.


  138. republicanSScareme Says:

    Anything coming from Fox News has now been recognized as coming down from the Council of Zionists Traitors.

    The Zionists obviously don't want Barack Obama in office. That fact alone will make Americans vote for him.


  139. pete Says:

    continuum Says:

    I’m confused. On the one hand, Bush is a nut lunatic who just might use his last gasps to start yet another war. But, then again Kristol has prety much been wrong on every statement he has made about the Middle East, especially Iraq. So, I’m not sure what to think. In any case, we should impeach the Boy President now before he can do any more mischief.
    June 22nd, 2008 at 6:43 pm

    Actually, Kristol has often been right about what the Administration will do. He's just been wrong about the results.


  140. contrariandy Says:

    We shouldn't be surprised at what Kristol and Bolton are saying, and it's a toss-up as to whether it's just fearmongering.

    But, something I would give very high probability to is that if Obama wins, or if it seems clear that he will win, the Bushies will finally make the effort to kill or capture Bin Laden. While Bin Laden has been very useful to the Bushies fear and propaganda campaigns since 9/11/01, they will not want to leave him out there beyond his usefulness. As the Bushies will not want Bin Laden to be killed or captured under the upcoming Democratic administration, they will do everything possible to get him by Inauguration Day, 1/20/09.


  141. American Nurse Says:

    I think the Americn people should rise up and the Democrats get some back bone and try Bush and Chaney for WAR CRIMES.


  142. RememberFlorida Says:

    Bill Kristol disqualified himself from being allowed to speak in public when, in 2003, he told Terry Gross on NPR’s “Fresh Air” that it was nothing more than “pop sociology” that the Shiite and Sunnis in Iraq didn’t “get along.”

    I'm so used to listening to Kristol's lies that I've concluded that the opposite of what he says is the truth. For that reason, I am glad he is making this grotesque prediction about bombing Iran. That means it WON'T happen!

    And what's up with this condescending smile forever etched on his face? Is it botox or just part of his psychosis? Inquiring minds want to know!


  143. RUCerious Says:

    RememberFlorida ~the condescending smile forever etched on his face
    is just his little way of saying:

    I know better than you do, nanner nanner boo boo.

    In other words, he's an arrogant, ill-informed, weasel.


  144. MCMetal Says:

    RISTOL: I don’t know. I mean, I think he would worry about it. On the other hand, you can’t — it’s hard to make foreign policy based on guesses of election results.

    Even harder to make foreign policy based upon the whims of dipshits................


  145. MCMetal Says:

    lock_box Says:
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    dbadass Says:

    So badass are you suggesting we leave because we think it no longer makes any sense to finish what we have started?
    June 22nd, 2008 at 8:09 pm

    What exactly have we "started" in Iraq , besides a huge , unnecessary and needless clusterfu(k , GI Joke ?


  146. Zooey Says:

    RUCerious Says:

    McIIIrd’scu*trollopybytchofastepfordcashcow!
    June 22nd, 2008 at 5:44 pm

    **snort**


  147. MCMetal Says:

    Kristol’s belief that Bush might attack Iran before leaving office is not new. In April, he told Bill Bennett that it wasn’t “out of the question” that Bush would consider such a strike because “people are overdoing how much of a lame duck the president is.”

    The claim that Obama’s potential election could force Bush’s hand also isn’t new. Earlier this month, far-right pseudo scholar Daniel Pipes told National Review Online that “President Bush will do something” if the Democratic nominee won. “Should it be Mr. McCain that wins, he’ll punt,” said Pipes.

    The above comments/statements , truly sums up the impossibly insane view the current GOP along with the loser NeoCons , actually possess.

    Since when the hell does an outgoing/lame duck president , who simply happens to also be the worst in US history , in a position to determine direction or policy for the incoming one ?

    That is one of the craziest and most illogical things I have ever read or heard..........


  148. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    lock_box Says:

    dbadass Says:

    So badass are you suggesting we leave because we think it no longer makes any sense to finish what we have started?

    We "finished what we started" in May of 2003 when we deposed Saddam Hussein, right?

    What are you proposing we "finish" now? Securing the rights to the flow of Iraqi oil?

    To me that idea is full of problems; 1 what about the back lash of the guerrilla militias taking control of areas all over Iraq like Africa?

    But since your side was WRONG about every prediction they made in the run up to war and its immediate aftermath, you don't get to make predictions about the future and have them hold any weight. You guys talk about "backlash" as if it were a given, never considering the likelihood that the presence of a foreign occupying army gets in the way of every frickin' step the Iraqis try to take toward establishing their own functioning government.

    2.You and democrats care so much about what Europe and other liberal countries think about us, what do you think an all out collapse of Iraq make America look like? The easiest thing to do in this situation is to cut and run.

    Not really sure what Europe has to do with your question, but "an all out collapse of Iraq" would make us look pretty stupid for invading in the first place, for ignoring the multitude of voices warning against the very things we've seen come to pass over the past five years.

    Again -- YOU GUYS PREDICTED $20 A BARREL OIL, THAT WE'D BE TREATED AS LIBERATORS, THAT SHIA AND SUNNI WOULD GET ALONG FAMOUSLY. YOU DON'T GET TO PREDICT ANYTHING MORE.


  149. dbadass Says:

    lock_box:
    I am suggesting nothing. What I am doing is asking you to respond to some simple questions. So let's recap shall we?
    How are service people risking their lives in Iraq protecting mine? How is the loss of previous lives a logical basis for risking more lives.


  150. MCMetal Says:

    dbadass Says:
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    lock_box:
    I am suggesting nothing. What I am doing is asking you to respond to some simple questions. So let’s recap shall we?
    How are service people risking their lives in Iraq protecting mine? How is the loss of previous lives a logical basis for risking more lives.

    June 22nd, 2008 at 8:26 pm

    And in what cause did they lose their lives ?

    Procuring oil ?

    That isn't even worth an insect's life to me.

    And I promise not to mention Dick Cheney again........


  151. barfly Says:

    lock_box Says:

    The easiest thing to do in this situation is to cut and run.

    How the hell would you know? It hasn't been tried and your side wasn't exactly Kreskin, with the prewar predictions.

    You guys got everything wrong, if you'll remember.

    Sparkle Ponies on flying carpets with sackfuls of democracy, and freedom for all, strapped to their backs. That's what you guys promised - and all we've discovered so far, is the Iraq Black Hole.


  152. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    lock_box Says:

    The easiest thing to do in this situation is to cut and run.

    Bullsh!t.

    Accepting the troll's right-wing verbiage for the moment (where "cut-and-run" means any kind of drawdown whatsoever), the "easiest thing" for Bush to do in this situation is to "stay the course", ignore the damage he's caused and the further damage his policy is likely to cause, to lean his own sorry "legacy" on the backs of the soldiers whose sacrifice he disdains, and to leave the whole sordid mess to the next president.

    THAT would be "the easiest thing to do".


  153. MCMetal Says:

    lock_box Says:
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The easiest thing to do in this situation is to cut and run.

    June 22nd, 2008 at 8:09 pm

    No , you stupid skid mark

    The easiest thing to do is continue with this madness ; as yourself and all other members of the Chimpy Adoration Brigade continue to be chickenshit chickenhawks and/or because the chaos and destruction in Iraq doesn't directly affect you or anyone you know..


  154. dbadass Says:

    So lock_box...


  155. pete Says:

    If Iraq collapses? Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

    WTF is left to "collapse"?


  156. Kira Says:

    lockbox blockhead - here's the news you don't [or won't] read:

    Seven out of 10 Iraqis want foreign forces to leave: poll March 17, 2008

    More than two-thirds of Iraqis believe US-led coalition forces should leave, according to a poll conducted for British television ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion.

    The ORB/Channel 4 News survey suggested that 70 percent thought multinational forces should withdraw.

    Yet some 40 percent of the 4,000 people surveyed said they wanted the United States to play a bigger role in rebuilding Iraq and 36 percent wanted more British involvement.


  157. Kira Says:

    And if you want to know what the US has done to “help” the Iraqis - read this:LINK


  158. Kira Says:

    Lockbox - That might get you started.

    And by the way … it looks pretty damn obvious that this sewage-for-brains administration plus its greedy war profiteers [private corporations making a killing in Iraq; Blackwater, Halliburton/KBR, CACI, Titan etc.] aren’t interesting in rebuilding what they destroyed in Iraq.


  159. wizard2000 Says:

    Does anyone else feel the slimy hand of Karl Rove in this right-wing fear-mongering and war-mongering "talking points" attack on Barack Obama, in particular, and Democrats, in general?

    Of course, I shouldn't assume that Karl Rove is always the manipulating hand behind these slimy Republican war-mongering and fear-mongering "talking points," because it did take a concerted, coordinated effort by a whole slew of slimy Republicans, both in the Bush administration and the MSM, to talk our nation into the quagmire in Iraq, causing the deaths and horrific injuries of tens of thousands of our soldiers and the deaths and maiming of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis (if not, as per reports, over a million Iraqi casualties, including many Iraqi children killed or maimed). So, this slimy war-mongering and fear-mongering seems to be a Republican trait, from which they all suffer.

    The questions are: will Barack Obama fall for this and try to out-war-monger the slimy right-wing war-mongers/fear-mongers with their lizard brains? Will American citizens, in general, those without right-wing lizard brains, fall for this?

    Some Democrats in Congress (not the ones with proto-lizard brains) have warned Bush that they will impeach his sorry ass if he attacks Iran, perversely and insanely expanding his already disastrous war in Iraq...while at the same time some lizard-brain Democrats in Congress are bowing to Bush/slimy Republican demands that telecom companies be given retroactive immunity for any criminal acts they committed while illegally spying on U.S. citizens on orders of the slimy lizard-brain Republicans in the Bush administration. (If there was nothing illegal about what the telecoms and Bush administration have been doing for the past seven years, then WHY the retroactive immunity?)

    I, personally, will not be railroaded into believing attacking Iran is justifiable (especially before Bush and Cheney slither out of the White House), anymore than I was railroaded into believing invading Iraq was required and justifiable five years ago. Nor will I be railroaded into voting for John McCain or anyone who would continue the lizard-brained disastrous policies of the Bush/Cheney mal-administration.

    I see through the lies and deceits of these lizard-brained Republicans (as well as some of the lizard-brained Democrats who seem to always side with whatever latest lame-brained plan or policy is being promoted and propagandized by the lizard-brained Republicans). Lizard-brained? Well, lizards are cold-blooded, which perfectly describes Republicans in my view, even though lizards probably have more honesty and integrity than any of the slimy lizard-brained Republicans, or any of their cold-blooded followers.


  160. shoeless Says:

    dbadass Says:

    lock_box?

    Yeah, don't you remember the 2000 election? Al Gore said we should begin to put away the Social Security surplus for future Social Security. The Republicans laughed and laughed at his absurd idea of putting away money for the future. Then George W. Bush came into power and has been happily spending the Social Security surplus on his Iraq War ever since.

    Ha ha. Al Gore and his lock box. Now, the joke is on us. Ha ha.


  161. Kira Says:

    Stop insulting lizards! ;)

    I think they have sewage for brains.

    I have come to the conclusion that most of our "representatives" in congress are either too stupid to do fact-checking or they are too busy getting their palms greased. Either way ... they should be booted out.

    We've been shut out of their insular bubble, though. Things must change.


  162. Kira Says:

    Shoeless -- and, in 2000, Clinton’s last year, the surplus amounted to $236 billion. [The forecast ten year surplus stood at $5.6 trillion.]

    George W. Bush/Arbusto went through that money his first year. [Financial wizard he is & all ...]


  163. COProgressive Says:

    First, Kristol a frickin' moron. He's nothing more than a third rate pseudo-intellectual. He and his buddies at PNAC have been proved to be wrong on all their "World Domination" plans.

    Even their website http://www.newamericancentury.com, from which they so proudly displayed the all knowing plans for just how America should be run, now only displays "This Account Has Been Suspended. Please contact the billing/support department as soon as possible."

    They are done, but still a danger to America.

    I would love to see the lame duck shrub give the order to bomb Iran and have OUR Generals just laugh and turn away as the little dictator stomps his feet and yells "But I'm the decider, you have to listen to me!"

    “Among conservatives there's been too much pseudo-populism, almost too much concern and attention for, quote, 'the people'... After all, we conservatives are on the side of the lords and barons... We...are pulling up the drawbridge against the peasants.” - Billy Kristol

    What a warm individual Kristol is.....


  164. RememberFlorida Says:

    Let's apply Occam's Razor ("All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best."):

    Bush's War on Iraq is a colonial adventure.

    Bush is trying to force the Iraqi Parliament to accept an oil production "sharing" agreement that gives Western oil companies (mostly American and British) 70% of all Iraqi oil revenue for the next 30 years. That is what Bush means by "benchmarks toward peace." The Iraqis understandably want no part of such an old-fashioned Indian treaty.

    Meanwhile, Bush and Cheney are using the U.S. Treasury as their personal ATM to reward their murderous, thieving contractors in Iraq. The treasury has long been wiped out, so Bush and Cheney are now robbing from future generations of Americans.

    What other explanation is left? Saddam is dead, his sons are dead, and there are no WMDs to be found. There is not even any organized opposition for us to surrender to! If you find yourself in an insane asylum where the inmates have taken over, there is no shame in walking out. We should evacuate those Iraqis who risked their lives helping our troops. We can monitor Iraq from regional bases in the unlikely event that Iran tries to fill the vacuum. The Iraqis can take care of the rest, including al Qaeda and reconstruction. We should respect Iraq's sovereignty, since, as other posters noted above, 70% of Iraqis want Americans to leave their country.


  165. shoeless Says:

    Kira Says:

    Shoeless — and, in 2000, Clinton’s last year, the surplus amounted to $236 billion. [The forecast ten year surplus stood at $5.6 trillion.]

    George W. Bush/Arbusto went through that money his first year. [Financial wizard he is & all …]

    Republican economics 101. John McCain 2008. Ha ha.


  166. The Shadow Says:

    This COWARD is talking tough because he was afraid to fight when he was young enough to do so. What kills me is that people actually take this COWARD seriously. He's never worn any uniform except for maybe and I mean maybe a boy scout uniform. If he did, that doesn't make him a military or foreign policy expert. What this idiot and people who think like him don't understand is; 1)Our military is stretched to the breaking point, 2)it's costing us billions of dollars a week to fight in Iraq and Afganistan 3)we aren't winning either of the two wars we are currently fighting 4)What do they think the Iranians are going to do after they get bombed? 5)Gas prices will go up to $10.00 a gallon 6)Who is going to pay for this 3rd war? 7)We will have a three fold increase in terrorism around the world as a result of an unwise premature attack 8)Sen. Obama stated publicly that he WILL NOT allow Iran to get Nuclear Weapons 9)Fools like Kristol rush in where wise men dare not tread 10)"Those who forget the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them". Need I say more?


  167. Kira Says:

    The PNAC bunch are all LOONY. It still blows me away to think their republican base has been so totally snowed.

    Tell me -- which army is going to do the fighting? They'd have to start up the Draft. Unless they're planning to just drop a globally devastating nuclear bomb. They're dimwitted enough to do it.


  168. Shayne Says:

    Yep Shoeless, just like they ridiculed Jimmy Carter when he was president for saying we were going to run out of fossil fuel and we need to make changes. Every change Reagan made started the downward spiral of this country and the rethugs think he was a good president and Carter was bad. Unbelievable.


  169. Shayne Says:

    Lockbox, when you find yourself in a hole the first thing to do is stop digging, genius.


  170. christopher wiwi Says:

    Is Kristol a member of the SHRUB`S Cabinet? Because he sure is talking like a member (a dik that is)of the innersanctum.Lets bomb Kristol, in fact lets take all of the neocons only and drop them off in Iraq and they all can have a ROMANTIC time on the front with the SHRUB in charge.


  171. marlow Says:

    "Unconditional negotiations". What a neat-sounding term. When Ronald Reagan negotiated with the Ayatollah Khomeini in violation of U.S. policy ("The U.S. will never negotiate with terrorists") and then sold the Iranians advanced weaponry, we didn't hear this term. Why now? Ronald Reagan: unconditional capitulation to terrorists. Got Osama?


  172. Kira Says:

    Christopher wiwi, you're familiar with PNAC, aren't you? Kristol is a co-founder. PNAC members are all high-level bu*h administration movers & shakers.

    PNAC members in prominent government positions:

    Dick Cheney Vice President
    Donald Rumsfeld Secretary of Defense
    Douglas J. Feith (former) Undersecretary of Defense
    I. Lewis Libby Vice President Cheney’s former Chief of Staff and Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs.
    Aaron Friedberg Vice President Cheney’s deputy National Security advisor
    Robert Zoelick US Deputy Secretary of State
    Paula Dobriansky Undersecretary of State
    Elliott Abrams Deputy National Security Adviser
    Frank Gaffney Pentagon's Defense Policy Board
    Fred C. Ikle Pentagon's Defense Policy Board
    Eliot A. Cohen Pentagon's Defense Policy Board
    Henry S. Rowen Pentagon's Defense Policy Board
    William J. Bennett Presidential speech writer
    Jeb Bush Governor of Florida
    Paul Wolfowitz World Bank President
    John Bolton Ambassador to the U.N.
    Zalmay Khalilzad U.S. ambassador to Iraq


  173. Ditch Mitch KY Says:

    Why the hell would anyone listen to these two PNAC War Mongers? They need to be called down by Americans who are willing to stand up and call them on their bs.


  174. Kira Says:

    Remember Florida #180 - are you running for office? I'd vote for you :)


  175. Kira Says:

    Well, Ditch Mitch KY, high level people from the right and left have done so for all these years, but it never makes it into the M$M propaganda echo chamber. Only people who research & blog about it know about it - and the rest who tune in for the nightly "news" are oblivious.


  176. RUCerious Says:

    Would someone please take Krystol to Iraq, dress him up with a sandwich board saying, in arabic, 'I helped start this war, how do you like it so far?'


  177. justsayin Says:

    aren't there some hearings going on right now about the lies of this admin?
    why is anyone listening to kristol?
    tokin librul: the visual i got of kristol typing #
    with a stick on his head - not very nice, but made me lol
    and what about that old time favorite the guillotine? too messy...?
    wizard2000:(172) my moto is "ALWAYS suspect karl rove"


  178. owlbear1 Says:

    Hmm, Kristol is predicting an attack?

    Guess that means there isn't going to be one...


  179. TAGG Says:

    Check out Kristol the Klown Day at Tagg's place!! http://www.tagg-theangrygayguy.com


  180. kalpal Says:

    For months I have claimed and continue to claim that Bush/Cheney intend to leave the next Democratic president with as big a mess as they possibly can so that the GOP can scream that Dems can't be trusted to lead America when push comes to shove even if it was they who did both the pushing and shoving.

    The worse the mess, the longer it will take to fix it and the longer it gives the GOP time to recover from its losses. At no time has the GOP been for America before it was for the party. America will always stand in second or third place the GOP.


  181. GOPHater Says:

    Someone should really take Kristol out.


  182. TrevorAlan Says:

    Kristol talks out of his ass and is most famous for NEVER being right.

    But for once he may have a point. Of course, he's also saying something as surprising as predicting there will be light in the sky when the sun rises.


  183. truegritter Says:

    Attacking Iran in any way - by either Israel, the US, or both - will escalate into a wider war meant to change regimes in Iran and presumably occupy it in some fashion. The problem with talking dicks like NeoCON Kristol is that they don't finish the thought with what it'd mean for America and the world.

    Bill Kristol and his ilk are not real Americans. They are parasites using our men and women to carry out others' wishes in the Middle East. It's about time to take our country back, and by any means necessary.


  184. truegritter Says:

    P.S. Attacking Iran will mean Russia, China, Pakistan, India and other nations getting involved, and will decimate the US economy. Yet, Kristol and his ilk do not care. They'd sooner burn the village to save it....


  185. BuckHouse Says:

    >Kira Says:

    Christopher wiwi, you’re familiar with PNAC, aren’t you? Kristol is a co-founder. PNAC members are all high-level bu*h administration movers & shakers.

    PNAC members in prominent government positions:

    Dick Cheney Vice President
    Donald Rumsfeld Secretary of Defense
    Douglas J. Feith (former) Undersecretary of Defense
    I. Lewis Libby Vice President Cheney’s former Chief of Staff and Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs.
    Aaron Friedberg Vice President Cheney’s deputy National Security advisor
    Robert Zoelick US Deputy Secretary of State
    Paula Dobriansky Undersecretary of State
    Elliott Abrams Deputy National Security Adviser
    Frank Gaffney Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board
    Fred C. Ikle Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board
    Eliot A. Cohen Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board
    Henry S. Rowen Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board
    William J. Bennett Presidential speech writer
    Jeb Bush Governor of Florida
    Paul Wolfowitz World Bank President
    John Bolton Ambassador to the U.N.
    Zalmay Khalilzad U.S. ambassador to Iraq<

    May I also point out the multiple overlaps between this list and influential members and officers of JINSA, WINEP and AIPAC? From over here it's getting pretty obvious which substantial block of swingable voters directs US foreign policy.


  186. lyanez Says:

    What a sick mentality!!!
    You have to be sick, a person who suggest the possibility of another war has to be sick.
    Why this obsession with Iran and its nuclear arms? Many countries have them:Israel, Pakistan, India, USA, etc, etc.
    Leave them alone for heaven's sake.


  187. karela Says:

    Go take a look at these pictures and see the faces of young people and children that McBush want so badly to kill. They are just people like us who want to live and love and raise their families.
    http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2637
    Yes, they have a government that is unreasonable and possibly dangerous, but Bush hasn't even tried diplomacy because he made a rule never to talk to people he has trouble with. He just starts killing them. Here's a news flash, the government of the United States under Bush is also unreasonable and dangerous. If you don't think so, ask the half a million dead Iraqi men, women and children who are no longer on the earth because Bush wanted war so badly that he lied to us to get it. McCain has voted with Bush 95% of the time. He really is wanting to be the president for the Bush third term.
    I know I'm preaching to the choir here because most comments agree with me, but sometimes don't you just need to get it said?


  188. drlarrymitchell Says:

    They like war- Shrub likes war. I've been predicting this for a year.


  189. escapefrombushistan Says:

    He and his ilk have truly gone off the deep end and should be rotting in prison instead of spewing their filth on television and in the press.


  190. doktorgizemli Says:

    have hit the wall with Omega Tower Defense. I can get through to the last sesli chat -> Lida



  191. doktorgizemli Says:

    If you’re referring to Karl Schwarz’ articles, if they are true, how will we ever know unless the news media gets involved without bias? The military under orders not to speak out may never convey Karl Scharz’ expose’. If Cheney was truly involved in 9/11 and protected in some way, then he’s being protected by what may be going on in the Caspian Sea area as well. That pre-9/11 August 10, 2000 article drives the point home to me that Cheney had a vested interest in the oil at the Caspian Sea area (before 9/11). From all I’ve read in Schwarz’ articles, he claims the Taliban was working on a deal with Argentina with that pipeline in the Caspian Sea area and UNOCOL wanted the deal instead. It’s too much to get into here and I’m not able to convey in here what Schwarz has presented in his articles. Dig into Schwarz’ articles to learn more about the unnamed soldier’s experiences related to so-called Black Ops missions in the Caspian Sea area in Schwarz’ article. What Schwarz had to present in this article is an eye opener: kurtlar vadisi pusu izle Sikis Orjinal Lida Fx15 Sesli Sohbet




  192. doktorgizemli Says:

    Just like the cold war when everyone who didn’t agree with the U.S. was either a communist or a communist sympathizer. Lida This poor crazy guy spent half a decade being tortured because a bunch of stupid politicians Lida were sure the NVA was in bed with the Russians (minimal help) and/or the Chinese (ancient enemy of the vietnamese). Orjinal Lida You would think he would have learned from others’ mistakes. Guess not. Republicans need an enemy. yuda This century it apparently will be all Muslims, Elektronik Sigara all of whom must be alQaeda operatives.



  193. flash oyun Says:

    yo nunca habia visto a Eugenio Derbez haciendo el papel de malo pero esta pelicula esta muy bonita y si le cae ambos papeles pero lo disfruto mas cuando hace el papel de comedianoyunlar | Oyun | oyna | oyun sitesi




  194. dans Says:

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    motosiklete oldukça benzeyen bir ta??t gerçekle?tirmi?tir.

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  195. nickler Says:

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  196. alperyazgan83 Says:

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  197. TyChO Says:

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