Sunday, February 14, 2010
The war was NOT worth it.
From Think Progress:
Vice President Biden, appearing on Larry King earlier this week, stated, “I am very optimistic about Iraq. I think it’s going to be one of the great achievements of this administration.” This statement has been widely distorted, with claims from conservatives that the Obama administration is trying to take credit for the surge.
Biden’s comments do no such thing; instead they note that the withdrawal of American troops — something that conservatives for years have said would be a disaster — has gone very well. In February, President Obama announced a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq — an issue that he campaigned on and was vigorously opposed by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who advocated keeping U.S. troops in Iraq indefinitely. Biden was pointing out that conservatives were wrong that withdrawal would, as Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol argued, “likely lead to carnage on a scale that would dwarf what is now occurring in Iraq.”
On ABC’s This Week today, former Vice President Cheney further distorted Biden’s comments and took credit for a withdrawal plan he opposed, saying that Biden should be “thanking George Bush.” Biden, however, pushed back against Cheney’s distortions on Meet the Press and Face the Nation, maintaining that the Iraq war “wasn’t worth it.” Biden argued that the Obama administration has managed the drawdown “very very well,” noting that the administration has acted as a “catalyst” for political reconciliation, which was the source of violence and the primary obstacle to a successful withdrawal. He also pointed out that in January 2009, the Bush administration had no political plan for Iraq.
Cheney’s attempt to take credit for the withdrawal represents a total turnaround. Just last summer, Cheney worried that Iraq withdrawal will “waste all the tremendous sacrifice” of US troops. Cheney has long fear-mongered on the implication of U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. During the 2008 campaign, he even called the demands from Democrats in Congress for a timetable for withdrawal an act of “betrayal.”
When the troops start returning home and Iraq is able to stand on her own, what then will the conservatives say? They won't tell you they didn't want the troops to come home, or that they like playing army and treating our troops like little plastic GI Joes. Its all a game, a pathetic game of war and NO peace, ever. Cheney says how unfair for Obama to take credit for this war coming to an end. How pathetic. He does not praise this president and his efforts to end this war of CheneyChoice, he's a scumbag....
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24 comments:
Are you surprised by the comments of Dickless Cheney? I sure as hell ain't Especially from someone who has "dithered" his whole damn life. How he can come on TV time and time again to spout that load of shit is BEYOND me.
Talk about being bowled over by the weight of your own balls....
In my opinion, the only goof thing to say about this Bush/GOP war for oil and conquest will be when we can finally say, "It's over."
No I'm not surprised C. Time after time, same old bastard and the same old words. They dithered for 8 years and now we have a president who is ending the war and they are furious. Instead of thinking about the troops coming home finally they are thinking about their own reputations and who gets to take credit, Pathetic!
TC, "IT's OVER FINALLY" will be a world day of celebration!
One has to wonder why the press and the media give so much time to the likes of Cheney and Palin. They are Has-Beens and Going-Nowheres.
And just bad people.
Obama always talks a good game. The troops are still there.The DU is still there. One million innocent people are still dead.
The surge was ethnic cleansing and bribery of the Sunni resistance.
Biden can go to hell with his optimism. He and Obama are as guilty as Bush and Cheney. All of them supported the war. Obama spoke of Iraqis stepping up. They did step up, and we killed them for it. We fueled the Sunni-Shia divide then exploited it.
Fuck Biden.
I was so proud of VP Biden this morning on MTP He was forceful and masterful with scumbag Gregory. DG was in full force pushing the GOP talking points and VP was in full force pushing back with the truth.. it was wonderful.
He flat out said that Dickless was telling lies.. he didn't say lies, but he did say he was misstating the facts of the matter and was rewriting history. It was great.
Not only that but Rachel was on this morning and she called out Aaron Schock from IL for his hypocrisy in voting against the Recovery Act and the Omnibus bill and then taking credit for it and the money in his district.... I loved it... It was so good.. She is a powerful voice for the people. I mean right to his face she called him out.
I normally don't watch it.. but with Joe Biden and Rachel both on there.. 2 of my favorite people.. I made an exception.
I confess I didn't watrch the video Sue. It's Valentines Day and I don't want to allow that clown to piss me off as he usually does.
When the troops start returning home and Iraq is able to stand on her own, what then will the conservatives say?
We'll say thank God. And those of us who were there will be proud to have been a part of it.
Bush will say , "See? My plan worked."
Success is success regardless of who is in the White House. Let the partisans bicker, but we've got to keep our eye on the ball.
The Iraqis are standing up as we stand down. Hmmm... Where have we heard that before???
Annette,
I have MTP tivo'd. I will watch it tonight based on your recommendation. Thanks for the plug.
I saw VP Biden on Meet The Press this morning.
I agree, the war was not worth it. That's not to say it's a bad idea to be rid of a Saddam.
It is to say, the war was not worth it.
Saddam was impotent to do much at the time we invaded Iraq.
He was not involved with Bin Laden, the 9/11 attack, nor did he have WMDs to attack with.
VP Cheney is full of shit and always has been. It goes beyond dithering, he earned the nickname of "Darth Vader." He is evil.
If President Bush had been making his own decisions, he would not have been as bad as he turned out, listening to guys like Cheney and Rumsfeld.
silver let me say I never clump conservatives into one bunch. I believe the warmonger conservatives like Cheney and Rumsfeld will be sad to see the end of a war they started. They never look at the dead, thats not their concern. What plan of Bushes worked? Thats a joke. A war that should never have been.
Oso I don't feel as full of rage as you, but I do understand your feelings. I believe Obama had to have a plan to end the war and he is doing it in a timely manner. Maybe there are things I don't understand, but I still have to trust him.
Annette MTP was a good show today, I wish I had the time and quiet to fully watch it, tooooo much going on here today!
Tom I sometimes wonder too if Bush would have been different without Cheney. Cheney definitly was the evil force behind the curtain, Bush was his puppet.
I have to say that I'm with Tom in that I'm glad Saddam is gone however at what expense? I want the terrorists obliterated as much as the next person, but will we ever attain such a feat? I go back and forth with these wars and want so much for our troops to come home. My brother has been deployed 3 times and my brother-in-law has been out on the USS Nimitz for the last 6 months leaving my sister and her 3 little boys alone. It's tough on the Military families and our finances but especially it's taken its toll at the expense of lives. I don't know the answer, but I sure wish it were done already.
Sue,
I've got a theory about that. I think Daddy Bush tried to pave the way for Junior not to fuck up by plugging in Powell and James Baker.
Cheney had been Daddy Bush's Secdef and was pretty much seen as a company man/team player type.At least from the point of view of the guy who was his boss. So Dickless was seen as a steadying influence.
I suspect Dickless used his position to manipulate Junior into "rebelling" against his dad and instead choose himself and Rumsfeld to direct foreign policy.
Pam thats what makes these wars so hard to swallow, the dead and the troops still there while loved ones are home waiting. I don't believe for a minute we did the right thing going to war in Iraq. There is an inconvenient truth behind this farce of a war. And I don't believe Cheney thinks about the sacrifices either. That man makes me ill.
All I want to know is this:
Are the wars over?
I mean I thought we were supposed to support and respect our Commander in Chief in times of war...
Since Obama is the Commander in Chief and since he gets absolutely no respect or support from the right I can only assume the wars are over!
If its over then bring the troops home...had a democrat got on television and said what Cheney did he would have been crucified by the right...
Terrorism cannot be obliterated. Wars, in fact, increase terrorism. It is one way that non-governmental entities have to fight back against what they perceive to be wrong.
Terrorism has been with us since the beginning. Combating terrorism is a police/intelligence action. It is not an action that required armies.
Armies take down governments. Police actions take down terrorists. When the two get confused, terrorism wins.
“thanking George Bush.”....
Word has it that Cheney will throw Bush under a bus when he publishes his memoirs - for growing a pair toward the end of 'his' administration and defying Cheney.
And perhaps Cheney should be thanking Barack Obama for seeing to it that Cheney gets extended secret service protection.
That's true Magpie. I guess that's why we see the evil one and his lizard out but not the shrub.
Jerry why is it you are smarter then all of Washington? That is a perfect point! Bravo!!
Tao, What Cheney is doing to Obama, the right claims emboldens the terrorists, so is he doing it on purpose. Ya know "they" do say the evil ones are praying there is an attack under Obamas watch.
Oso I'm not sure what you mean, rebelling against his dad. Bush sr. didn't want jr to go to war but Cheney insisted?
In his must read book "Invasion of the Party Snatchers; How The Neocons and Holy Rollers Destroyed The GOP" Republican speech writer (for Barry Goldwater and George H.W. Bush) Victor Gold told the story of how Cheney became the VP.
When Dubya's nomination became a certainty in 2000,he appointed an old ally of his dad's, Dick Cheney, to head a search committee to find an appropriate VP candidate. Cheney didn't do much of a search- he almost immediately suggested himself for the job, and George bit.
It was probably the most fateful decision to impact his presidency, and the election was still months away.
BTW...that book by Vic Gold is a must read for anyone who follows politics, but especially for Republicans....kind of a cautionary tale that is still being played out
Pamela D. Hart summed up my sentiments pretty good.
I did not think Bush made the case for invading Iraq, but everybody was so scared of challenging him. Political cowardice.
We need to wrap these wars up and do it right for the sake of the nation. I don't give a damn who takes credit.
I also hope we learn a lesson to to not go so easily in the future. If more conservatives besides Bob Barr has asked more questions, maybe more cowardly dems would have grown a spine, dug in their heel and the whole project would have been off.
The Iraq invasion was approved by a bipartisan vote, which goes to show that bipartisan is not always synonymous with good.
I think it's time we look at who was truly brave and stood against the tragic Bush/Cheney war for empire which claimed more than 5000 american lives and tens of thousands of Iraqis and who championed war and death with no regard for the damage war would cause because Republicans are Chicken Hawk Cowards.
So before we damn the Democrats as spineless let us remember that of the 223 House Redupelicans 215 (96%) voted Aye. For the Democrats 61% voted against 126 of 208. Bernie Sanders voted against.
And only 1 of 49 REMFpublicans Senators voted against while 21 of 50 Democrats were against.
Hi Sue,
I think GHWB (daddy bush)left Powell and James Baker around to guide GWB in foreign policy. And assumed Cheney would go along with the program. Not that Powell and James Baker were dovish, more like they wouldn't do anything really stupid.
Because both Baker and Powell were marginalized with Cheney and Rumsfeld giving most of the foreign policy direction, I suspect Cheney was behind the change. It wouldn't surprise me if he pushed the buttons which caused GWB to rebel against his fathers plans and "go his own way" which was really Cheney's way. There had been father/son clashes all of GWB's life. Just a theory though.
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