Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.
A tremendous amount of anti-war or, rather, anti Bush, stupidity has been going around for the past few days. Just yesterday, the Senate doors were shut by the Senate Minority Leader. Why did he do this, you ask?
"Finally, after months and months and months of begging, cajoling, writing letters, we're finally going to be able to have phase two of the investigation regarding how the intelligence was used to lead us into the intractable war in Iraq,"
The Democrats have been beaten up for the past few days.
A. They expected the entire Bush Administration to be taken out to the Navy Ship Yards and hung from the yardarms over the Valerie Plame issue and all they got was Obstruction of Justice indictments against a guy named Scooter;
B. They got a conservative SCOTUS nominee who, chances are, they have no chance of defeating; and,
C. Bush's poll numbers are finally starting to go up (albeit, just a little).
Hell, they're so beat up, even their elder statesman is getting involved:
"The Bush Administration's prewar claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction were "manipulated, at least" to mislead the American people, former President Jimmy Carter said Wednesday.
The decision to go to war was the culmination of a long-term plan to attack Iraq that resulted from the first President Bush not taking out Saddam, Carter said on NBC's "Today" show.
Carter also said he supports the move by Senate Democrats to force an update on the investigation into prewar intelligence on Iraq, and says Republicans have been dragging their feet on the investigation.
Democrats Tuesday used a rarely invoked Senate rule to force a secret session as a way to dramatize their assertions that the Bush administration misused intelligence in the run-up to the war in Iraq.
A bipartisan committee has been appointed to review the investigation. "
Once again, the Dems are going after Bush by saying that, had he not lied about WMD in Iraq, we wouldn't be in Iraq where our "children" are dying.
Hey, Lefties...let me let you in on a little secret:
WMDs WERE NOT THE SOLE REASON WE WENT TO WAR IN IRAQ.
Because of the wonders of the internet (thanks, Al!), I was able to find the resolution which authorized the war. Here's the list of seven other reasons Republicans AND DEMOCRATS voted to go to war:
1. Iraq's harboring of Al-Queda terrorists
2. Iraq's support for International Terrorism
3. Iraq's "brutal repression" of its citizens
4. Iraq's failure to repatriate or give information on non-Iraqi citizens detained and captured during Gulf War I, including an American serviceman;
5. Failing to properly return property wrongfully seized during the Kuwait invasion
6. The attempted assassination of former President Bush in 1993
7. America's national security interests in restoring peace and stability to the Persian Gulf
I'll be the first to admit that we blew it on the WMD issue, but the seven other reasons are both factual and indisputable.
What was left out of the resolution was that we had also told the UN to grow a pair and enforce their own resolutions or we'd do it for them. They didn't and we did.
A second thing I'll pass on to the Dems: Unless one of your own offspring are in uniform, don't call our soldiers "children". It's demeaning.
The last thing I'll say on this subject (for now): This country has been hit by 3 major hurricanes in the past few months. Hundreds of thousands either have a damaged house or no house at all. Jimmy Carter would be of much greater service to this country if he'd just shut up and grab a hammer.
"Finally, after months and months and months of begging, cajoling, writing letters, we're finally going to be able to have phase two of the investigation regarding how the intelligence was used to lead us into the intractable war in Iraq,"
The Democrats have been beaten up for the past few days.
A. They expected the entire Bush Administration to be taken out to the Navy Ship Yards and hung from the yardarms over the Valerie Plame issue and all they got was Obstruction of Justice indictments against a guy named Scooter;
B. They got a conservative SCOTUS nominee who, chances are, they have no chance of defeating; and,
C. Bush's poll numbers are finally starting to go up (albeit, just a little).
Hell, they're so beat up, even their elder statesman is getting involved:
"The Bush Administration's prewar claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction were "manipulated, at least" to mislead the American people, former President Jimmy Carter said Wednesday.
The decision to go to war was the culmination of a long-term plan to attack Iraq that resulted from the first President Bush not taking out Saddam, Carter said on NBC's "Today" show.
Carter also said he supports the move by Senate Democrats to force an update on the investigation into prewar intelligence on Iraq, and says Republicans have been dragging their feet on the investigation.
Democrats Tuesday used a rarely invoked Senate rule to force a secret session as a way to dramatize their assertions that the Bush administration misused intelligence in the run-up to the war in Iraq.
A bipartisan committee has been appointed to review the investigation. "
Once again, the Dems are going after Bush by saying that, had he not lied about WMD in Iraq, we wouldn't be in Iraq where our "children" are dying.
Hey, Lefties...let me let you in on a little secret:
WMDs WERE NOT THE SOLE REASON WE WENT TO WAR IN IRAQ.
Because of the wonders of the internet (thanks, Al!), I was able to find the resolution which authorized the war. Here's the list of seven other reasons Republicans AND DEMOCRATS voted to go to war:
1. Iraq's harboring of Al-Queda terrorists
2. Iraq's support for International Terrorism
3. Iraq's "brutal repression" of its citizens
4. Iraq's failure to repatriate or give information on non-Iraqi citizens detained and captured during Gulf War I, including an American serviceman;
5. Failing to properly return property wrongfully seized during the Kuwait invasion
6. The attempted assassination of former President Bush in 1993
7. America's national security interests in restoring peace and stability to the Persian Gulf
I'll be the first to admit that we blew it on the WMD issue, but the seven other reasons are both factual and indisputable.
What was left out of the resolution was that we had also told the UN to grow a pair and enforce their own resolutions or we'd do it for them. They didn't and we did.
A second thing I'll pass on to the Dems: Unless one of your own offspring are in uniform, don't call our soldiers "children". It's demeaning.
The last thing I'll say on this subject (for now): This country has been hit by 3 major hurricanes in the past few months. Hundreds of thousands either have a damaged house or no house at all. Jimmy Carter would be of much greater service to this country if he'd just shut up and grab a hammer.
posted by Big Bad Dad at 11:48 AM
6 Comments:
A friend of mine attacked the Dems today on the closed session Senate meeting asking for an investigation on the War. Well if the right can investigate Bill’s Sex life the left should be able to check out what I am often afraid the American Public sees as W’s Violent Video game called the Iraqi war. Anyway here is a response.
1. Iraq's harboring of Al-Queda terrorists – All Middle Eastern Countries other than Israel do.
2. Iraq's support for International Terrorism – See previous comment
3. Iraq's "brutal repression" of its citizens – See the following about our ally Saudi Arabia
Killings by both government security forces and armed groups occur periodically, either in attacks or shootouts. Torture and ill-treatment persist, as do incommunicado detention, prolonged detention without charge, and unfair trials. There are scores of political prisoners and possible prisoners of conscience. Saudi Arabia continues to use flogging and amputations as punishments. Executions, beheadings with a sword, occur regularly and are disproportionately carried out against foreign nationals. Foreign workers are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, particularly female domestic workers, who have virtually no protection at all. About 600 Iraqis remain stranded in Rafha refugee camp since the 1991 Gulf War, denied the opportunity to seek asylum in Saudi Arabia.
Nowhere has the discussion of political reform been more animated than on the issue of women’s rights, though there has been little real progress. Municipal elections were held in early 2005 for half the seats in the Kingdom’s municipalities, but women were excluded for participation, and proposals to allow women to drive have been shelved. Awareness of the problem of violence against women has increased as a result of the severe beating of well-known TV personality Rania al-Baz by her husband, but there have been few changes to prevent or provide redress for such violence. Suspected homosexuals have been subjected to flogging. Though there has been some improvement, freedom of expression remains extremely curtailed, and discrimination on the basis of religion is absolute. Shiites face discrimination in all walks of life, and non-Muslim foreign nationals are subjected to harassment, detention, abuse and summary deportation. Executions have been carried out for witchcraft and apostasy.
Amnesty International Website
4. Iraq's failure to repatriate or give information on non-Iraqi citizens detained and captured during Gulf War I, including an American serviceman; - probably true but who is at Guatanamo and where is their legal council
5. Failing to properly return property wrongfully seized during the Kuwait invasion – Will we now be repo men for all wars. Germany still has many assets stolen from Jews in Swiss Banks
6. The attempted assassination of former President Bush in 1993 – True. But lots of other plots have been foiled and we do not go to war over them.
7. America's national security interests in restoring peace and stability to the Persian Gulf – Not worked yet. Probably this several thousand year religious war thing.
Also the resolution from where these statements came from put diplomacy as the first effort. It’s tough to say if it was the last resort but UN inspectors we had appointed on the ground said wait Mr. President and he said nope got to get the WMD’s (the Weapons Musta Disappeared.)
SEC. 2. SUPPORT FOR UNITED STATES DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS. The Congress of the United States supports the efforts by the President to--
(1) strictly enforce through the United Nations Security Council all relevant Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq and encourages him in those efforts; and
(2) obtain prompt and decisive action by the Security Council to ensure that Iraq abandons its strategy of delay, evasion and noncompliance and promptly and strictly complies with all relevant Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq.
PS
Your wife said you liked a good quarrel.
:)
By the way. I think taking Sadaam out was good but I wonder why Special Ops couldn't go in and take him out or capture him. I think if we had not raised such an alarm it might have been possible. Of course what the hell do I know.
I guess what I wish all politicians would do is be honest."Hey Sadaam is bad. Dad should have gotten now I will." Of couse Kerry should have said I voted for it. Probably wish now I didn't but I did I goofed." Clinton should have said "yep, so whose your President..." Thats why I like Carter honest even to a fault but after Watergate it was what America had to have to renew legitamacy to the executive branch. Ok enough of my Polisci Minor BS.
I think you may have missed the fundamental point of my post.
I DID attack the closed session because I saw it as a back-handed move to, once again, perpetuate the only real platform the Democrats seem to have today: "Bush lied!"
This resolution passed both houses with OVERWHELMING support in 2002 and, as written, it contained many reasons for going to war against Hussein. I was merely pointing those reasons out because they've been conveniently forgotten.
As I acknowledged above, we blew it on the WMD issue. But to say that Bush deliberately and maliciously lied to the entire world in order to advance a war agenda just doesn't pass the smell test. You refer to it as "W's Violent Video Game"...you don't truly believe that, do you? What could he, personally, possibly gain from this war?
If Bush truly lied to justify this war, either for his personal gain or his own folly, I'd be the first one to call for him to be impeached, charged with treason and punished accordingly. However, this was a case of bad intelligence, not manufactured intelligence, not sexed-up intelligence. Also, keep in mind that this intelligence was also in the hands of Congress before the resolution was passed...which means one of three things is true:
1. They didn't look at the intelligence;
2. They didn't read the resolution before the voted on it; or,
3. The intelligence seemed to be strong enough to go in.
Regarding your responses to items 1,2,3,6 and 7, I have no quarrel. You're absolutely correct. Items 4 and 5 were listed because they were demands specifically made of Iraq in past UN resolutions which Iraq had failed to comply with. Kinda weak, perhaps, but they are what they are.
Yes, I agree that diplomacy was the first effort demanded in this resolution. Keep in mind, however, Hussein's history with diplomacy, inspections, etc.
Hussein had been required, by UN resolution, to comply with weapons inspections since the end of the Gulf War. He consistently refused to cooperate and, in fact, deliberately blocked these inspections until he finally kicked the inspectors out of Iraq (1998?). It was at that point that we should have done something. For whatever reason, we didn't.
Four years later, the inspectors are sent back in and, in typical Hussein fashion, he starts putting up obstacles. Based on past experience, should we have spun our wheels for the next several years in the name of diplomacy? Hussein had an opportunity to be forthcoming and cooperative but chose not to. The strange part of this is that he had nothing to lose (if there were no WMDs) and everything to gain (lifting of sanctions, goodwill of the world, etc.)
The intelligence (bad though it may have been) and Saddam's bull-headedness required a decisive action...which we took.
I, like over 3/4s of American's, supported this war when it started. Although we have egg on our faces over the WMD issue, I still support it...and at the same time, wish that it was over. Unfortunately, I don't foresee an end to it anytime soon.
Finally, just as an FYI, I can't stand Bill Clinton. Couldn't stand him throughout his presidency. However, I was not one of those conservatives who demanded that his sex life, reprehensible as it was, to be scrutinized and prosecuted. Quite frankly, I don't believe that he should have ever been asked the question in the first place until after his term was over. He was Commander in Chief and, quite frankly, had more important things to do than answer questions about whether he showed "Little Willy Clinton" to some skanky chick from Arkansas.
I gotta split. If I forgot to add anything, I'm sure I'll get to it tomorrow.
P.S. The wife is right. I do enjoy a good, healthy debate now and then.
Aww, hell. You left another comment.
I'll respond later.
OK...quick response to your second comment:
In my personal opinion, using Special Ops would not be a possibility, unfortunately. There are a few problems with it:
1. It would have been against international law. I know that there are some who say that the war is also against international law, but I'm not one of them.
2. It would have been a pretty significant operation because, in addition to Saddam, they'd have had to take out his sons simultaneously...as well as anyone else waiting in the wings. Getting rid of the leader would not have eliminated the regime. In fact, it probably would have pissed them off more.
3. Using Special Ops may have saved Iraqi lives initially, but it would have given those who are currently the insurgency a greater opportunity/excuse to commit acts of terrorism here in the US. Either that (or, perhaps, in addition to that) Iraq would have spiraled into chaos and we'd have ended up there anyway...in the same mess we're in right now.
By no means am I suggesting that American lives are more precious than Iraqi but, personally, I'd much rather our forces be fighting the insurgency over there than here. Probably sounds a little harsh but looking out for number one is my M.O.
I agree that it would be nice to have an honest politican out there. I'll be the first to admit that Democrats haven't cornered the market on being full of crap. Don't see it happening, though. They'd have no chance of being elected because they'd either be seen as a warmonger to the nth degree or completely inept. Kinda like you and I view Dubya and Jimmah respectively. ;-)
Next week, I'll be visiting the Carter Library. Who knows...maybe I'll learn something about him that changes my opinion of him (snicker, snicker).
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