Bolton Bristles When Challenged On Getting It Wrong On Iraq: That’s ‘An Ad Hominem Attack’
Bolton Bristles When Challenged On Getting It Wrong On Iraq: That’s ‘An Ad Hominem Attack’
Former UN Ambassador John Bolton has been intensifying his calls for a war with Iran, telling Fox News last weekend that Israel may attack Iran before the inauguration of a new U.S. President. He added that Arab states “would be delighted” if this happened.
Bolton appeared on XM radio’s Potus ’08 earlier this week to talk about an Iran war. He argued this issue “goes fundamentally to your tolerance for the risk of radical Islamists holding nuclear weapons.” Host Tim Farley interrupted and asked, “It also goes, does it not, to the credibility of those making the argument?”
Bolton bristled at the accusation:
Absolutely not! And by the way, the credibility point is an ad hominem reference. … But to address the merits of the argument requires a response on the merits, not an ad hominem attack.
Farley tried to interject, but Bolton demanded, “Let me finish my answer!” The host later followed up by noting that the credibility of the argument is lacking when war advocates like Dick Cheney and President Bush “tell you one thing and the truth turns out to be something else.” Bolton responded by complaining to the host that you’re “debating with me.” Listen here:
George Monbiot, a columnist for the Guardian, has charged that Bolton was “instrumental in preparing and initiating the Iraq war by disseminating false claims through the State Department” while he was under-secretary of state for arms control.
Before the war, Bolton orchestrated the removal of the head of a global arms-control agency, Jose Bustani, because the Brazilian was trying to send chemical weapons inspectors to Baghdad. In Feb. 2003, Bolton orchestrated the removal of State Department official Rexon Ryu because Ryu “had been instrumental in getting the most controversial allegations” out of Colin Powell’s U.N. speech.
But Bolton would prefer all these acts are washed away with history so that he can have a clean slate to make his pitch for a new war.
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Disagreeing with Bolton is verboten. Challenging Bolton to provide real evidence is verboten. Try to keep up!
June 26th, 2008 at 6:33 pmUh-oh, be careful there, Johnny B!! Your head might expl—
Oh, on second thought, never mind.
June 26th, 2008 at 6:33 pmJust another lying NeoCon sack of used scumbags.
I have to believe he has done more to ruin the whole milk advertising program than anything else I can think of.
June 26th, 2008 at 6:34 pmrogerse Says:
uh-huh……and its still going to happen.
Does that idea give you a woody, Rog?
June 26th, 2008 at 6:35 pmDr. Hussein Matt Says:
rogerse Says:
What’s creepy is that these parodies make more sense than the originals.
June 26th, 2008 at 6:40 pmI don’t think Bolt-on knows what “ad hominem” really means.
I think he’s probably just found it an effective weapon to throw around when his statements are challenged. Especially when he yells it.
June 26th, 2008 at 6:41 pmHow f***ing stupid is Bolton, anyway?
By his tortured wingnut logic, he would take his badly misfiring car to the idiot mechanic whose previous work on his vehicle caused it to burst into flames while driving down the road.
June 26th, 2008 at 6:42 pmDead soldiers give Bolton big wood–at least as big as a neocon hack can muster. The day is fast approaching when the Bolton’s of the world take their place in the irrelevant and disgraced GOP scrap heap with the likes of Newt and DeLay.
June 26th, 2008 at 6:43 pmralph the wonder llama Says:
I don’t think Bolt-on knows what “ad hominem” really means.
I think he’s probably just found it an effective weapon to throw around when his statements are challenged. Especially when he yells it.
Like that wingnut radio host and “appeasement.”
June 26th, 2008 at 6:43 pmSee, here’s the problem. You have to first be a man before you can have an ad hominem attack. Bolton being some ghastly creation of a twisted distorted mind doesn’t qualify.
June 26th, 2008 at 6:43 pmWith his Napoleon Complex, I’m guessing Bolton’s under 5′ 8″.
June 26th, 2008 at 6:43 pmAbove the Clouds says:
The day is fast approaching when the Bolton’s of the world take their place in the irrelevant and disgraced GOP scrap heap with the likes of Newt and DeLay.
In other words, Bolton will land a FOX News gig as a foreign policy “expert”?
June 26th, 2008 at 6:45 pmBolton responded by complaining to the host that you’re “debating with me.”
bolton hates debate.
dictators hate debate.
bush hates debate.
cheney hates debate.
conservatives hate debate
because they always lose.
good luck.
*
June 26th, 2008 at 6:49 pmhe looks and has the characteristics of yosemite sam.
he’s a typical repug warmonger. If they are truly at war with mobile “terrorists” they won’t stack the war against Iran.
June 26th, 2008 at 6:54 pmI heard that John is a master debater, no wait – how did my friend put it – oh yeah, he said John Bolton is a real jerk-off.
June 26th, 2008 at 6:54 pmI won’t say this very often but God I hate that lying sack of shit
June 26th, 2008 at 6:54 pm“It also goes, does it not, to the credibility of those making the argument?”
That’s what set him off isn’t it? He knows he has no credibility as a neo-conservative. People aren’t fooled as easily as they were in 2003 and it ticks off these scoundrels. It’s amusing but I hope we can hear less and less from these bozos on liberal blogs.
June 26th, 2008 at 6:55 pmWe don’t trust anybody involved in the Bush administration after the lies and Mr. Bolten gets affended by this. There was never any WMD only Sadam selling oil under market price therefore keeping oil prices down. Once Sadam was removed, look what happened. Next on the list is IRAN why….not becuase of Nuclear weapons or terrorism but becuase they have the the oil. Watch how Iran makes a deal with China to supply more oil as long as China provides security against anyone taking the oil….now what Mr. Bolton??? How many shares do you own in the CARLYLE GROUP Mr. Bolton???? How are the plans going to get oil to $250 a barrel???? Answer that MR. BOLTON….F’en ass!!
June 26th, 2008 at 6:57 pmThe Clinton policy to remove Saddam’s regime and replace with a democracy that Bolton cites in the audio, was the Iraq Liberation Act.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Liberation_Act
June 26th, 2008 at 7:05 pmbackup:
The Clinton policy to remove Saddam’s regime and replace with a democracy that Bolton cites in the audio, was the Iraq Liberation Act.
Poor little puppet…
Dance, puppet, dance!
June 26th, 2008 at 7:09 pmBolton and the rest of the war criminals should spend the rest of their lives in a VA hospital emptying bedpans (under close supervision).
June 26th, 2008 at 7:10 pmbackup Says:
Well, you’ve convinced me… if Clinton thought regime change was a good idea then I totally support this war and how it was handled and the way the administration manipulated intelligence to bolster the case for war…
I still don’t know how to feel about this Iran situation, though… any old Clinton or Carter policies that could guide me to acceptance of Bush’s crazy need to bomb another Mid-East country that didn’t attack us and poses no threat?
I’d even take a flippant remark from Tip O’Neil if you can find one of those…
Thanks, backup!
June 26th, 2008 at 7:13 pmbackup, can you point out where in the Iraq Liberation Act the “Clinton Policy” called for a military invasion of the country?
Thanks.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:13 pmback up – why didn’t you include this from your link:
“..The Act specifically refused to grant the President authority to use U.S. Military force to achieve its stated goals and purposes, except as authorized under the Act in section 4(a)(2)) in carrying out this Act.”
Or this:
“This act required the President to designate one or more qualified recipients of assistance, with the primary requirement being opposition to the present Saddam Hussein regime. Such groups should, according to the Act, include a broad spectrum of Iraqi individuals, groups, or both, who are opposed to the Saddam Hussein regime, and are committed to democratic values, respect for human rights, peaceful relations with Iraq’s neighbors, maintaining Iraq’s territorial integrity, and fostering cooperation among democratic opponents of the Saddam Hussein regime.”
Guess because it clearly demonstrates the Act is not the warmongering permission and bloodlust for war the wingnuts try and conflate it to be, while providing cover for the Bush criminal administration’s illegal actions.
Sad you have to muddy the waters to try and make an irrelevant point.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:18 pmIf backup doesn’t know, oil companies were helping Kuwait slant-drill into Iraqi oil fields, and his attack was inresponse to that theft of iraqi oil by Kuwait, and their oil company buddies. George Bush 1 passed the message that America wouldn’t get involved in the fight, through April Glapie, his representative. He left office, giving the gift of a partitioned Iraq to his follower, Clinton. Everything that subsequently happened in the region was Bush 1’s fault, along with his oil company buddies.
Dance for your oil company masters, backup!
June 26th, 2008 at 7:19 pmRendering started under Clinton. He’s an a-hole too, just not nearly as much as Bush.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:19 pmBolton- one of the most useless, uninformed, war-mongering blowhards ever to be put in a position of power in the U.S. Says a lot for Bush & Cheney that they love this guy so much. Bolton has misconstrued facts & misled Americans, while attacking peoplke who actually want a better, more peaceful world. He is loser personified. As with tomatoes & grapes, where the greenery can suck the goodness from the fruit, Bolton’s ’spendiforous’ mustache sucks any intelligence from the man.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:21 pmI can’t forget this ass and how many times his face was in pictures of the GOP assault on the vote count in Fla. Unknown then, he was everywhere, intimidating, mugging for the cameras. Now he’s a cheap thug that got promoted to places he never belonged.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:23 pmIncidentally, he’s prized in Europe for interviews, because of his belligerence and dim wit. Journalists carve him up, he gets mad, they carve some more.
If he puts a couple cans of wax on those bristles he could become very popular in prison. Such a charmer!
June 26th, 2008 at 7:24 pmHey Zed, don’t forget to pick up this GOP/rightwing staple while you’re at Wal-mart:
http://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Pretend-Play-Army-Carrying/dp/B000O2TIHK
June 26th, 2008 at 7:24 pmBolton seems to show a very limited view of logic and syllogism. Bolton has made a very simple argument: THE ONLY FACTOR DETERMINING WHETHER WE SHOULD ATTACK IRAN IS THE DEGREE OF TOLERANCE WE HAVE FOR A RADICAL ISLAMIC REGIME HOLDING NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
I will not even try to diagram this out as a syllogism for formal logic. It is impossible because there are just too many burried presumptions in the statement. To give you a small sampling:P
1. Iran has a radical islamic regime.
2. Iran has a program to develop a nuclear arsenal.
3. Iran will hold nuclear weapons if it develops the infrastructure to produce nuclear weapos.
4. The argument seems to imply that any risk whatsoever that Iran could develop such weapons demands a military strike.
5. The statement assumes that there are absolutely no other possible responses.
Bolton wants you to accept his statement as a valid syllogism. There would be only two possible answers: Attack Iran militarily or accept a radical muslim regime holding nuclear weapons. (Some will note that I have stretched my reasoning a little, and I have. This is because Bolton just as I am making an argument under informal logic. Bolton is framing his argument in a manner so as to suggest only two possible outcomes. A sane outcome, attack Iran. Or an insane blunder, allow a radical islamic nation to hold a nuclear threat over the US and the rest of the world.)
I would suggest that a more appropriate statements would be:
1. There is adequate evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons
2. There is adequate evidence that Iran will produce and hold nuclear weapons if it develops the technology.
3. Iran is a radical islamic nation.
4. Iran would pose a threat to other nations in the region and overseas if it possessed such weapons.
5. Iran is an unstable or irrational regime that would pose a significant risk of using such weapons.
6. Iran will only respond to direct military action.
One can easily see the relevane of the credibilty of the person opining that Iran falls within the six suppositions inherent in Bolton’s argument. The conclusions are all subjective and the credibility of the person providing his opinion is paramont.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:26 pmUh, when you have been lied to constantly by Bushco you tend to not take their word at anything…you know, it’s the old “boy who cried wolf” thing.
And John, the white thing on your lip looks like crap, have you no fashion sense at all?
June 26th, 2008 at 7:31 pmWhat happens when we bomb Iran and Iranian oil goes offline?
June 26th, 2008 at 7:32 pmBolton even looks like a fascist thug.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:37 pmWhat other country in the world, poses a threat as great or greater then the United States of America? Is there another country with as much power threatening to bomb third rate countries and refusing to negotiate and use diplomacy? I think not. We are in the midst of the fascist takeover of our democracy.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:43 pmpbg Says:
What happens when we bomb Iran and Iranian oil goes offline?
The oil companies speculators will make even more money.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:48 pmIt appears to me that Bolton doesn’t know the meaning of ad hominem.
No surprise there…
June 26th, 2008 at 7:54 pmMore than anyone else, this little peckerhead needs to have his kicked. Hard.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:56 pmHe added that Arab states “would be delighted” if this happened.
Oh sure, the Arab states will be delighted when Bush sets the region on fire. Bolton is just bat $hit crazy.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:58 pmIs there anyone else who thinks using the word “bristle” in conjunction with Bolton is redundant?
June 26th, 2008 at 7:58 pmHe was a lot more likable when he was always letting Tennessee Tuxedo get him in trouble.
June 26th, 2008 at 8:10 pmCuter, too.
June 26th, 2008 at 8:12 pmAnd smarter.
June 26th, 2008 at 8:13 pmHeh.
June 26th, 2008 at 8:15 pmBolton Bristles. Are you talking about his mustache again?
June 26th, 2008 at 8:35 pmWe are in the midst of the fascist takeover of our democracy.
INDEED!! 6 months gives them plenty of time for lots of shenanigans. Strap yourselves in, it’s going to be a rough ride!
June 26th, 2008 at 8:38 pmHussein McCain Says:
——————————————————————————–
He was a lot more likable when he was always letting Tennessee Tuxedo get him in trouble.
LOL … Chumley
June 26th, 2008 at 8:59 pmI imagine it doesn’t. It does seem to indicate the idea for regime change in Iraq, replaced by democracy, pre-dates the current Bush administration.
June 26th, 2008 at 9:02 pmtanq,
you’ve double up on your
meds.
call 911.
induce vomiting.
the ambulance will arrive
soon.
*
good luck
*
June 26th, 2008 at 9:48 pm.
Dear John,
Senator Joe Biden
MTP 2/22/08
“You are entitled to your opinions, just not your own set of facts”
FACT: Your set of facts have been disastrously wrong for the world at large… that merits our distrust of your set of facts in regard to Iran. You have a history and if that history is to be our guide, the world sees grave danger with your set of “fixed” facts.
xXOo
America
.
June 26th, 2008 at 10:09 pmCould somebody please take him by the mustache and march him to jail? Will any of these devils ever be prosecuted?
June 26th, 2008 at 10:25 pmBolton Admits When Challenged On Getting It Wrong On Iraq: That’s ‘True’
Greetings Earthlings,
I bring this headline from another dimension where even psychotic, bloodthirsty, wingnuts must tell the truth.
BWT, Scott McClellan learned a great deal during his vacation there.
June 26th, 2008 at 10:26 pmOh, and we have different acronyms in our dimension.
BWT is a rough translation of your “BTW”.
June 26th, 2008 at 10:36 pmCan someone send us some 1st team trolls. we are NOT getting any real competition here!
June 26th, 2008 at 10:38 pmDr. Hussein Matt Says:
Reality is an ad hominem attack? Jebus, reich-wingers are desperate.
C’mon Dr.
Cut him a break. roger doesn’t even understand English.
June 26th, 2008 at 10:44 pmTanqueray Says:
Once in a while I use the term MOONBAT, only to be told that there is no such thing, well actually there is,
The pejorative political epithet “Moonbat” is often used by various political commentators to mock Monbiot The epithet was coined in 2002 by Perry de Havilland of Samizdata.net, a libertarian weblog.
That sounds French to me. What are you, some kind of socialist elitist?
June 26th, 2008 at 10:50 pmI’m sure that there’s a legion of True Evangelicons mobilizing to make sure ad hominems never marry.
June 26th, 2008 at 10:52 pmWTF does some guy nobody seems to know of relevant to Bolt-on being a rabid warmonger?
June 26th, 2008 at 10:54 pmbackup Says:
backup, can you point out where in the Iraq Liberation Act the “Clinton Policy” called for a military invasion of the country?
Thanks.
I imagine it doesn’t. It does seem to indicate the idea for regime change in Iraq,
Brought to us by the same mentality which justified the invasion of Iraq by the discovery of “weapons of mass destruction program related documents”.
June 26th, 2008 at 10:54 pmOops! that should be:
June 26th, 2008 at 10:58 pmWhyTF is some guy nobody seems to know of relevant to Bolt-on being a rabid warmonger?
AIPAC, Likud, Israel, Lockheed, Northrup, Haliburton, GE, and Exxon Mobil are commanding Bolton, Bush, Pelosi, Reid, Feinstein, Cheney, Lieberman, Chertoff, and the rest of the NeoCons to do their bidding. Many of them are dual citizens, and have their allegiance not to America, but to Israel. Hillary and Obama to a lesser extent, but Obama has Archer Daniels Midland, The Exxon of corn, putting big bucks behind him.
June 26th, 2008 at 11:20 pmAnd if the admissions office denies me admission, saying I failed the entrance exam, I know that is an ad hominen attack also ?
June 26th, 2008 at 11:22 pmDr. Hussein Matt Says:
Reality is an ad hominem attack? Jebus, reich-wingers are desperate.
roger thinks ad hominem is a marketing campaign for grits.
June 26th, 2008 at 11:29 pmhominey grits? Oh, a dozen should be fine.
June 27th, 2008 at 12:10 amBolton was upset because they took the worst lies out of Powell’s UN speech?! Everything left in his speech was a bad known lie at the time it was said—not “found to be untrue later”. It was almost entirely from Curveball and ‘60 Minutes’ showed that it was proven false before Powell’s speech. Remember, there were 935 recorded lies taking us into this fiasco.
Conservatives get mad when an interviewer doesn’t allow them to say any kind of BS—like they normally do.
June 27th, 2008 at 12:16 amWe have long memories, Johnny Moustache.
June 27th, 2008 at 12:18 amEspecially when your participation in selling snake oil and war follows you like the stench of death.
This is the horror Bolt-on wishes for Iran. Then Syria. Then?
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=221312&Sn=WORL&IssueID=31098
June 27th, 2008 at 12:49 amI can’t find a working link, but, The News Hour reported Bolt-on said the deal with N. Korea is, “the final sign of the collapse of Bush’s foreign policy”. Isn’t it perfectly in character that a relatively successful diplomatic effort is viewed as a sign of “collapse”. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it often.
These bastards aren’t even human.
June 27th, 2008 at 1:12 amKeith Says:
hominey grits? Oh, a dozen should be fine.
A sad attempt at humor.
A good riposte would have been: “And hominy troops did your administration associates say would be sufficient to occupy Iraq?
June 27th, 2008 at 4:28 amAttacking Iran could end hominids.
June 27th, 2008 at 6:34 amGoo goo ga joob.
June 27th, 2008 at 6:53 amDon’t know about this ad hominem but this lunatic has no credibility whatsoever. Don’t know how he doesn’t choke on the word. Will someone please tell him to shut up? We’re not listening. The people out here in the real world, 75% of Americans,it seems, and probably the rest of the planet know this jerk has no credibility. But then again, he was on Focks notnews so credibility doesn’t come into it. And everybody knows that, too.
June 27th, 2008 at 8:23 amSince ad hominem means ‘to the person’, and since Bolton isn’t human, it ain’t no ad hominem attack.
June 27th, 2008 at 8:47 amCaption contest:
C’mon, call on me! I’ve had my goddamned hand raised for forty five minutes!
June 27th, 2008 at 8:49 amCaption contest:
Hands up, who wants a moustache ride?
June 27th, 2008 at 9:34 amThey are conditioning us for 7 – 10 dollars a gallon gasoline and telling us 4 a gallon ” will be the good ole days ” AND IF THEY know IT WILL HAPPEN , YOU KNOW WHO’S BEHIND IT !
Further, another story was reported in the same month that took place in Baghdad when an Iraqi driver had his license and car confiscated at a checkpoint, after which he was instructed “to report to an American military camp near Baghdad airport for interrogation and in order to retrieve his license.” After being questioned for a short while, he was told to drive his car to an Iraqi police station, where his license had been forwarded, and that he should go quickly. “The driver did leave in a hurry, but was soon alarmed with a feeling that his car was driving as if carrying a heavy load, and he also became suspicious of a low flying helicopter that kept hovering overhead, as if trailing him. He stopped the car and inspected it carefully. He found nearly 100 kilograms of explosives hidden in the back seat and along the two back doors. The only feasible explanation for this incident is that the car was indeed booby trapped by the Americans and intended for the al-Khadimiya Shiite district of Baghdad. The helicopter was monitoring his movement and witnessing the anticipated ‘hideous attack by foreign elements.”[17]
On October 4, 2005, it was reported by the Sydney Morning Herald that, “The FBI’s counterterrorism unit has launched a broad investigation of US-based theft rings after discovering some vehicles used in deadly car bombings in Iraq, including attacks that killed US troops and Iraqi civilians, were probably stolen in the United States, according to senior US Government officials.” Further, “The inquiry began after coalition troops raided a Falluja bomb factory last November and found a Texas-registered four-wheel-drive being prepared for a bombing mission. Investigators said there were several other cases where vehicles evidently stolen in the US wound up in Syria or other Middle Eastern countries and ultimately in the hands of Iraqi insurgent groups, including al-Qaeda in Iraq.
GLOBALRESEARCH.CA
June 27th, 2008 at 9:52 ambarfly Says:
“And hominy troops did your administration associates say would be sufficient to occupy Iraq?”
A brazilian.
June 27th, 2008 at 10:36 amA neocon complaining about an ad hominen attack and for not addressing the mertis of an argument? For real? Personal attacks are what neocons and Republicans specialize in because the facts are usually not in their favor.
June 27th, 2008 at 12:32 pmBolton’s statement that whether or not you want to attack Iran speaks to your tolerance for them having nuclear weapons is an ad hominem attack on those that feel there are other approaches.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:58 pmgod – when will these insane people go away.
Really – someone should have Bolten arrested for being just completely crazy and a menance to society.
June 28th, 2008 at 12:06 am