June 25th, 2006 4:58 pm
It’s getting harder and harder to distinguish between the propaganda of our terrorist enemies and the rantings of U.S. Democrats.
American presence in Iraq is more dangerous to world peace than nuclear threats from North Korea or Iran…
…the war cannot be won militarily…
…the more than 100,000 troops in Iraq should be pulled out immediately…
…the shooting of 24 Iraqis in November at Haditha, a city in the Anbar province of western Iraq that has been plagued by insurgents, was wrongfully covered up…
No, these weren’t from the latest Osama bin Laden videotape. These were from Rep. John Murtha at a town hall meeting organized at Florida International University’s Biscayne Bay Campus.
With Congressmen like this… who needs enemies?
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[Editor’s Note: Ghost Dansing lifted this entire article (without attribution) from a lefty website and tried to pass it off as his own comment. Just thought my readers would like to know.]
“Rallied by Bush, Skittish G.O.P Now Embraces War as an Issue,” is the front page story in the NY Times today.
That’s a story that the White House wants us to know.
How do we know they want us to know it? For one thing, it was written by Jim Rutenberg of the Washington Bureau of the NY Times. Thanks to the miracles of modern internet technology you can go to nytimes.com, put rutenberg in their search box, and find out that he’s one of the administrations go to guys when they want to the world to know that the President is in ‘high spirits,’ that he took time out to call the US soccer team and wish them well, or that they’re honing ‘strategy for the post-Zarqawi era.’
The administration is famous for the tactic of turning weakness into strength and attacking their opponent’s strength as if it was weakness. The classic example was to make Bush, the guy who pulled strings to stay out of Vietnam, then went AWOL, into a strutting fighter jock warrior, while using surrogates to tear apart John Kerry, the guy who actually went to war and won actual medals in the face of actual hostile fire.
Dubya wants the war. He wants it to be his issue.
Let him have it. Let it be all his.
It’s his ineptitude and his disaster.
When the Democrats call for a date to end the war, they’re trying to solve Dubya’s problems for him. They can’t. On a realistic level, simply because he won’t listen.
On a political level because it puts things on Bush’s terms…why is it the Democrats problem that Dubya botched the war?
Dubya needs to march further forward: explain why we’re in Iraq, what the goals are, and how we’ll achieve them.
This means going through chapter and verse the reasons that were offered.
The first set - that there were connections to 9/11, al Qaeda and possession of WMD – were false. That should be formally established, certified and reiterated.
The second story was that Saddam Hussein was a bad guy. It is necessary to clarify why that is insufficient reason to have a war.
The United States worked very hard to establish that any war that didn’t have Security Council approval or was not actual self-defense would be an illegal war. The costs are vast – as we are beginning to see – and the consequences unpredictable.
The third reason was that the war in Iraq is somehow part of the ‘war on terror.’ Finding bin Laden and putting him on trial in New York City would clearly have been an attack on the terrorists who attacked us and could be called a war on terror.
Organizing an international police and military effort to round up al Qaeda members would also have fit. So would following the money until we caught the people who funded him. Why didn’t we do those things? Why did we invade one country in order to get bin Laden and the man who harbored him, Mullah Omar, but let them both get away? Why did we invade a second country, Iraq, instead of doing the simple things listed above?
That takes it back to George Bush and why he, personally, wanted this war.
The most generous explanation is that the president was pursuing a visionary policy, that he saw himself cutting the Gordian knot of the Middle East, that he believed that after Saddam was removed Iraq would become a western style, secular democracy with a total free market economy - a real neo-con paradise - and it would become, in turn, a center of stability and a beacon for change.
If that’s why we’re in Iraq, is that still our goal?
At the moment there seems to be two separate narratives.
George Bush was there for five hours and was mighty impressed.
At the same time there is a secret embassy memo that says no Iraqi dares admit that he works for the Americans or he’ll be murdered. That no one can go outside the Green Zone without an armed escort. That militias and gangs are actually in control of most parts of the country…in control of most parts of Baghdad.
Reconstruction has not taken place. By most material measures – hours of electricity, education, clean water, working sewers, available fuel, garbage collection, security, the rights of women – the country was significantly better off under Hussein.
The Republicans will try, as they have in the past, to claim that it’s everyone’s war. That the Senate and House voted for it.
Fact #1 is that’s not literally true. The war powers bill voted to allow the president to go to war without coming back to them if he determined that Saddam was an actual threat and there was no way short of invasion to deter that threat. There were ways. He didn’t employ them. He avoided them. And went to war instead.
Fact #2 is they did so under false pretenses.
It’s George Bush’s war. It’s not America’s.
If he can win it, great. So far, Dubya has been losing it.
That’s right, so far George Bush has been losing George Bush’s war. Not the army, not the liberals, not the media. Like Frank Sinatra, he got to do it his way…and he screwed it up.
It is his war – he lost it – America, led by someone better, can step forward and fix it.
That’s not cutting and running. That’s America, taking the high road, to make up for someone else’s mistake.
That’s American taking a gang of smirking, chickenhawk incompetents and making them accountable for their fairlure…that is the Right thing to do.
Comment by Ghost Dansing — 6:17 pm
Satan? Is that you???
Comment by newFan — 6:29 pm
Nice try, GD, but did you think nobody would notice you passing off content from lefty websites as your own?
Comment by Texas Rainmaker — 10:02 pm
passing this around, hope it is ok Jason?
Right For the Job
Thirty two years is a long time to spend in Washington. For decades, western Pennsylvania looked to John Murtha to stand up for our values. But as the years have drifted by, John Murtha has drifted further and further from the ideals that made this country great. He has become part of the problem in Washington.
While John Murtha is calling for an immediate withdrawal from the war against terror, Diana Irey has been standing steadfastly by our fighting men and women and is committed to finishing the job. And while John Murtha is voting to tax our social security benefits, Diana Irey has been holding the line on taxes and government spending.
This election is about bringing common sense principles back to Congress. Join the fight!
http://www.irey.com/
Comment by Pamela — 10:20 pm
Good call, New Fan! #1 A message from the brain washed dead (a longggggggggg message)
Comment by judith — 10:58 pm
So, what…we’re doing High School essays for a grade? And anyway…it’s not against the rules if I do it…I’m kinda like a Republican in that way…maybe I can get my “yes man” Attorney General to write a memorandum saying it’s OK…or was that on the matter of disregard for the Geneva Convention.
Just wanted to point out that Dubya’s war, the one he’s doing “his way”…as opposed to the competent way, like his Daddy did, is going so well that Saddam thinks he can be part of the solution:
“Saddam Hussein believes the United States will have to seek his help to quell the bloody insurgency in Iraq and open the way for U.S. forces to withdraw, his chief lawyer said Sunday.”
If he can win it, great. So far, Dubya has been losing it.
That’s right, so far George Bush has been losing George Bush’s war. Not the army, not the liberals, not the media. Like Frank Sinatra, he got to do it his way…and he screwed it up.
It is his war – he lost it – America, led by someone better, can step forward and fix it.
That’s not cutting and running. That’s America, taking the high road, to make up for someone else’s mistake.
That’s American taking a gang of smirking, chickenhawk incompetents and making them accountable for their fairlure…that is the Right thing to do.
Comment by Ghost Dansing — 2:47 am
Murtha says U.S. poses top threat to world peace
MIAMI — American presence in Iraq is more dangerous to world peace than nuclear threats from North Korea or Iran, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said to an audience of more than 200 in North Miami Saturday afternoon.
Full Story Here
I guess John Cut-N-…
Trackback by Morning Coffee — 5:16 am
“So, what…we’re doing High School essays for a grade?”
No, we’re posting our commentary on current events and social issues. The operative word being “OUR”…
“Just wanted to point out…”
Again, you tried to “point out” by passing off someone else’s comments as your own. Next time, try to have an original thought. It’s the least you can do to advance “your” cause.
Comment by Texas Rainmaker — 6:45 am
“…or was that on the matter of disregard for the Geneva Convention.”
GD you are an arrogant ass. Yes, that is unquestionably ad hominom. Let me say it again for clarity; Ghost Dancing, you’re an ass. Anyone who would bring up the Geneva Convention in regards to what we (US) have done in view of what was recently done to PFCs Tucker and Menchaca is unequivocally an arrogant ass! You have no understanding of who the enemy is or what his intentions are, or for political expediency you just don’t care… pathetic either way.
Comment by Old Soldier — 8:42 am
Is that GD…or Joe Biden (Plagiarist-DE)?
Comment by Jonathan — 9:08 am
Anti-war leftists like Ghost Dancing are having a difficult time in these days, none of their predictions or wishful thinking have become reality. They face the spectre of not only a successful outcome to the Iraq war, but one in which it will be realized by the American people that they alone prolonged its completion, by giving the enemy what it had hoped for every step of the way. Nit-picking, back-seat driving, nay-saying, outright dissembling, and delusional evaluations of events there have revealed a deep, troubling psychosis, not unlike a drowning man grasping for something in the water that isn’t there.
The flailing about that is the call for withdrawal demonstrates conclusively that Democrats, after all, DO believe in pre-emptive warfare.
Comment by corndog — 9:14 am
Let Ghost post other peoples thoughts. His real problems begin when he posts his OWN thoughts–that’s when things really come off the rails for him.
Comment by CalFed — 9:55 am
Speaking the truth is never popular with this administration or its blind followers, who are frustrated because no one on the radical right has Murtha’s standing as a soldier, a statesman and a hero to speak on these issues.
This military action was not initiated to combat terror, which is why Cheney, Bush and Rumsfeld had to lie and lie again in order to get it.
A person would have to be pretty twisted to think that not believing the lie equals loving the terrorists.
Comment by Constantine — 10:57 am
Constantine, I’m twisted and you’re ignorant. I gues we just became equals.
Comment by Old Soldier — 12:45 pm
“…Murtha’s standing as a soldier, a statesman and a hero to speak on these issues.”
Benedict Arnold had such standing at one point, too.
Comment by Texas Rainmaker — 12:59 pm
I can see by the anti-Murtha postings that I’ve totally misjudged the readership here. I see some guys that want to be in the driver’s seat…really want to get things done.
Here are some phone numbers…I’ll bet a bunch of sharpies like you can best guys like Murtha and Kerry any day of the week…show ‘em how it’s done!
Marine Corp Recruiting
1150 Empire Central Place - Dallas, TX
214-767-7001
Us Marine Corps Recruiting
3720 Walnut Hill Ln - Dallas, TX
214-351-1871
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/homepage?readform
Oh, by the way…the Geneva Convention comment wasn’t meant to reflect the nature of the enemy…it referred to yet another area of general incompetence demonstrated by this Republican administration.
White House’s top lawyer warned in 2002 that U.S. officials could be prosecuted for “war crimes” as a result of new and unorthodox measures used by the Bush administration in the war on terrorism, according to an internal White House memo and interviews with participants in the debate over the issue.
In one memo, the White House lawyer focused on a little known 1996 law passed by Congress, known as the War Crimes Act, that banned any Americans from committing war crimes—defined in part as “grave breaches” of the Geneva Conventions. Noting that the law applies to “U.S. officials” and that punishments for violators “include the death penalty,” Gonzales told Bush that “it was difficult to predict with confidence” how Justice Department prosecutors might apply the law in the future. This was especially the case given that some of the language in the Geneva Conventions—such as that outlawing “outrages upon personal dignity” and “inhuman treatment” of prisoners—was “undefined.”
The memo—and strong dissents by Secretary of State Colin Powell and his chief legal advisor, William Howard Taft IV—are among hundreds of pages of internal administration documents on the Geneva Convention and related issues that had been obtained by NEWSWEEK.
By May 2003, even the Village Idiots in this Republican administration saw the light:
MR. FLEISCHER: “I have an announcement to make. Today President Bush affirms our enduring commitment to the important principles of the Geneva Convention. Consistent with American values and the principles of the Geneva Convention, the United States has treated and will continue to treat all Taliban and al Qaeda detainees in Guantanamo Bay humanely and consistent with the principles of the Geneva Convention.
Unfortunately, all kinds of damage had already been done, including crossed-channel instructions down echelon to the troops, and the creation of confusion among our finest Military Forces, who had been taught rules of engagement under the Geneva convention.
Dubya and his clan of Republican buffoons are ineffective in the war on terror…the enemy is bad enough…we don’t need incompetent leadership.
It might interfere with your blogging, but give my favorite guys a call…I think there are a few wars going on and I suspect we have some troopers here of just the right age group.
Maybe they might even learn the value of competent political leadership, and stop worshipping Republican chickenhawks.
Comment by Ghost Dansing — 2:36 pm
Ghost, read my comment to Constantine; it applies to you as well.
Comment by Old Soldier — 5:59 pm
[…] UPDATE: I missed this earlier, but Texas Rainmaker asks, “Osama bin Murtha?” (Via Expose the Left): It’s getting harder and harder to distinguish between the propaganda of our terrorist enemies and the rantings of U.S. Democrats. […]
Pingback by Go Pundit Go » Blog Archive » Is Murtha The Next Dean? — 10:23 pm
That’s OK Old Soldier, the military has changed the age requirements…you can join too.
Comment by Ghost Dansing — 2:32 am
Okay, Ghost, will you swear me back in?
Comment by Old Soldier — 7:31 am
Even more telling, I think, is this comment from OBM (Osama Bin-Murtha)….
..Haditha could undermine U.S. efforts in Iraq more than the prison abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib…
So here, OBM has been condemning and convicting our military in public forums for the “supposed” massacre in Haditha before there has even been a trial. Even before both sides of the story had been told he accused our troops of murder.
So, based upon his own comments, OBM absolutely wants to UNDERMINE the U.S. efforts in Iraq.
Comment by Jerry — 7:34 am
GD, when you resort to epithets, you destroy any chance of anybody actually listening to your arguments. Of course, it would also help if you had intelligent arguments, but I don’t want to ask for too much all at once.
RH
Comment by RobertHuntingdon — 8:02 am
you destroy any chance of anybody actually listening to your arguments
Robert, you must be new. No one hear listens to GD’s moonbat arguments.
Comment by Jonathan — 10:36 am
Wasn’t actually arguing as much as posting facts and inviting folks to join the military. Heck, Old Soldier wants me to swear him back in! What a guy!
You bet Old Soldier…it would be an honor. However, I don’t think you can say that Political Analysis is your forte if you don’t know the difference between Socialism (radical or otherwise) and Liberalism.
Once upon a time, it was difficult to know the political partisanship of a military officer…
In 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower’s popularity was so high that both the Democrats and the Republicans wanted him for a presidential candidate; he chose the Republicans. Most if any didn’t know what the choice would be.
So it was with most in the military profession…if they had a partisan affiliation, it was low key…many intentionally did not feeling that it would hinder service to their Nation.
Unfortunately for you, you served in a time when the Republican Party, hijacked by the military industrial complex that Eisenhower warned of, actively targeted for partisan conversion the military ranks, especially the Corp of Officers.
It is not your fault that with all your honorable service, you ended up one day…maybe two days, voting for a privileged ninny draft dodger that sat out the Vietnam War in the Texas Air National Guard, rather than meet the call…while others volunteered, and still others were drafted into service.
It’s not your fault that Republican Veterans, like yourself, back-stabbed one who actually suited-up and showed up for the war of his generation…because he was a Democrat, and because he was a man of conviction that saw wrong and spoke up about it.
You were a victim of Republican brainwashing…your peers constantly repeated the Republican mythology, and far from partisan positions being seldom mentioned, it was quite known what political affiliation you should choose, should you choose to comfortably and effectively continue your career.
It’s OK…it wasn’t your fault. I admire your fine service, and congratulate you on your ability to continue to help with your extensive knowledge and experience.
However, political analysis is probably not your forte.
Comment by Ghost Dansing — 4:54 pm
“It is not your fault that with all your honorable service, you ended up one day…maybe two days, voting for a privileged ninny draft dodger that sat out the Vietnam War in the Texas Air National Guard, rather than meet the call…while others volunteered, and still others were drafted into service.”
Interesting interpretation of the “facts”. It was actually Bush that volunteered for Vietnam while John Kerry admitted, “I didn’t really want to get involved in the war. When I signed up for the swift boats, they had very little to do with the war. They were engaged in coastal patrolling and that’s what I thought I was going to be doing.”
Apparently, facts are not your forte.
Comment by Texas Rainmaker — 5:27 pm
You were a victim of Republican brainwashing
Any wonder why normal Americans see the left as condescending and arrogant? I mean, according to GD, Old Soldier is a mental midget who just doesn’t know any better. Thankfully, we’ve got that moonbat GD to “enlighten” those of us in proper-thinking America…what a guy.
the difference between Socialism (radical or otherwise) and Liberalism.
There’s a difference? I wouldn’t know it by a cursory glance at the left today.
Comment by Jonathan — 5:31 am
Two weeks before he was to graduate from Yale, George Walker Bush stepped into the offices of the Texas Air National Guard at Ellington Field outside Houston and announced that he wanted to sign up for pilot training.
It was May 27, 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War. Bush was 12 days away from losing his student deferment from the draft at a time when Americans were dying in combat at the rate of 350 a week.
The unit Bush wanted to join offered him the chance to fulfill his military commitment at a base in Texas. It was seen as an escape route from Vietnam by many men his age, and had a long waiting list. Bush jumped to the top of a list of over 500 applicants.
Bush had scored only 25 percent on a “pilot aptitude” test, the lowest acceptable grade.
Bush was sworn in as an airman the same day he applied. His commander, Col. Walter B. “Buck” Staudt, was apparently so pleased to have a VIP’s son in his unit that he later staged a special ceremony so he could have his picture taken administering the oath, instead of the captain who actually had sworn Bush in.
He was a son of privilege, his father was a man of means, political means, and if he was a regular Johnny trying to get into the Guard … it wasn’t going to happen.
The former Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives and Lieutenant Governor of Texas, stated under oath that he had called the head of the Texas Air National Guard, Brig. Gen. James Rose, to recommend Bush for a pilot spot at the request of Bush family friend Sidney Adger.
Later, Barnes repeated these claims in an interview with CBS News on 8 September 2004. Barnes’s daughter said that her father was lying about President Bush.
Former Texas legislator Jake Johnson has stated that before General Rose died, Rose told him that he had been responsible for Bush’s acceptance into the Guard.
Yoshihiro Tsurumi, one of Bush’s Harvard professors, claims that Bush told him that his “Dad’s friends” got him into the Guard.
The unit in which Bush served was known as a “Champagne unit,” where the scions of the Texas aristocracy could avoid combat duty with relatively few demands on their time. Serving in that unit with Bush were the sons of three prominent men: Democratic Governor John Connally, Democratic Senator and future Vice-Presidential nominee Lloyd Bentsen, and Republican Senator John Tower, as well as seven members of the Dallas Cowboys professional football club, and a man named James R. Bath, who would become a longtime friend of Bush’s.
General Colin Powell wrote in his autobiography, “I am angry that so many sons of the powerful and well placed and many professional athletes (who were probably healthier than any of us) managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units. Of the many tragedies of Vietnam, this raw class discrimination strikes me as the most damaging to the ideal that all Americans are created equal and owe equal allegiance to our country.”
Comment by Ghost Dansing — 2:35 pm
Ghost, maybe you could regale us with some stories of your own military exploits
Comment by CalFed — 5:50 pm