Was the “Overwhelming and Decisive Response” just an April Fools Joke?

opinion | 01-02-2004 | brianbaldwin

[Brian_Baldwin]

Was the “Overwhelming and Decisive Response” just an April Fools Joke?

The economic news is great, and I see Bush gloating, as he should. In fact, it’s such good news, and especially good news for the Bush Administration with over 300,000 jobs added last month, well I guess what happened in Fallujah is already an “old news cycle”? It doesn’t seem to me that Bush is very upset about what happened in Fallujah. Yes, he called it brutal, and all. And there was a general who told us, on April 1 st, that the response is going to be overwhelming and decisive. But Bush doesn’t sound like he’s been overwhelmingly and decisively pissed off or nothing about it. Hmmm... Some reports are saying that US troops have sealed off Fallujah, and that US troops are cordoning off the city, and need about 48 hours.

And then ... the overwhelming and decisive response is going to happen.

Well, I hope so. I mean, I hope this “response” talk of April 1st doesn’t all turn out to be an April Fools Joke.

Because there is nothing funny about it.

Because, I agree with what a lot of conservative commentators are saying. What just happened in Fallujah, and what we do about it in the next 48 hours, was the line in the sand, the defining moment, and will BE the defining panorama of what the closing chapter of the entire Iraq war will be and the consequences it will have for the safety and future of our entire nation, and probably the Western world.

If we don’t do jack in the next 48 hours, then we may as well just leave Iraq right now, of which the left will have their glory day, their hopes of the eradication of what is good in America a very real prospect now more closer than ever in their wildest dreams.

I’m not the only one saying it. Turn on the radio and listen to some of our conservative talk hosts. Give it another couple days, either we do something, or we may as well just leave. Either way, staying around while doing nothing about it, or just leaving, either way, we have lost. The true impact of the loss to America will not be immediate. No. It may take a few years. But that will be the impact.

Do something. Or just leave.

They better do something.

And it better be overwhelming and decisive.

I know – we are told, there won’t be any T.V. crews allowed, if, when it happens.

But if, when it happens, we will know. And somehow, we will get to watch, and hear.

So, we are all waiting. To watch it. And hear it.

We are told, to be patient.

I am being patient.

No one, except maybe Michael Savage, is yelling. Yet.

Very patient.

And, it better be decisive. And overwhelming. And, it better not be food rationing. Or two hours a night of no electricity. The overwhelming and decisive response, well, it better not be that. Because, that isn’t overwhelming, and it sure isn’t decisive. It better be that those who did this are dead.

This is a war, and everyone is saying it’s a war - the Bush Administration is saying it’s a war, the conservatives are saying it’s a war, and more than a few are saying it’s really a world war, WWIII, against them, the Muslim fanatics et all whatever their flavor.

So we have to kill them. Because they started to kill us first.

This little backward, freakish, town of maybe 500,000, called Fallujah, they said they were the “Graveyard of America”. And, like so many backward, freakish, towns in history, a town which should have been just a footnote in history, they somehow become, in fact, the place, the decisive moment, the line in the sand, that freakish place of ghouls. The place, or even the turning point, of some great historical significance. Usually, the little town, or village, invite it upon themselves. Ghouls have a way of doing that.

This is very likely one of those places. This is very likely the defining moment. And place.

So it better be what they said it’s going to be.

We are all waiting.

[Rokke]

Hmmm. I remember similar impatience before we went into Afghanistan. And then we cleaned house like no other nation in history. So be patient and let the military run its operation. Believe me, no one is more ticked off or fired up then the men on the frontlines. But they are professionals. Not WWF showmen. When they make their move, it won't be for ratings. It will be for real.

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[AZLiberty]

To quote Bugs Bunny, "Of course, you realize this means war!".

But on our own terms. We took a month or so to gear up for Afghanistan, and then we hit 'em hard. We took several months to gear up for Iraq, and then we hit 'em very hard. Be patient. When we know what we want to do, we'll do it, and they'll know we did it.

I like the way they say they're going to "pacify" Fallujah.

[I still care]

Remember Bush on Afghanistan. It took a while, and I remember people were quite impatient. And I seem to remember Bush saying it would be a time of our choosing, and in our way. But we weren't ready to go right away. So I don't think he is going to let Fallujah slide.

If there is one thing Bush isn't, its a wimp.

[Libertina]

No one, except maybe Michael Savage, is yelling.
No maybe about it. And I think he made some good points.

[Jeff Head]

It's coming.

[Kirkwood]

We will act. Not react.

[cartoonistx]

[BigWaveBetty]

You find it difficult to wait 4 minutes for microwave popcorn don't you?

[lewislynn]

The economic news is great, and I see Bush gloating, as he should. In fact, it’s such good news, and especially good news for the Bush Administration with over 300,000 jobs added last month, well I guess what happened in Fallujah is already an “old news cycle”? It doesn’t seem to me that Bush is very upset about what happened in Fallujah.

"The economy" is our new god. It's what we all live for. "Free trade", "creating jobs", "outsourcing" to make your life better, WTO. Nothing else matters.

[paul51]

I'm glad the military doesn't let the dipsh** journalists decide the timing of military action. I think the DOD knows what needs to be done here. Let the journalists continue sitting at their desks picking their noses and spouting off about things they know nothing of.

[Jeff Head]

Here's another thread you may be interested in with a report from a friend on the ground...HERE

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

More detail on the attack:

Ambushed American Contractors in Wrong Place at Wrong Time

The attack was a planned for TV event!

More detail on the attack:

Ambushed American Contractors in Wrong Place at Wrong Time

The attack was a planned for TV event!

[Texasforever]

Tell me. What in the past 3 years gives you the impression that this president will not act on this? Has he "wimped" out so far? Has he not killed more enemy combatants than any president since the Viet Nam War? What exactly is the basis for this article?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The terrorists certainly did a good job setting this up didn't they!

[mikegi]

Maybe I'm the only one who doesn't expect a huge response. No realistic response will satisfy the "nuke Fallujah" crowd. Also, I don't think this is a "defining" moment in the Iraq war or the WOT in general.

I don't want a huge, overt military response anyway. It won't be successful. Only a few people participated in the gruesome attack and they'll simply hide in the background while others get killed. We could drive tanks up and down Muhammed Ave all day and nothing would happen. If you recall, the gruesome attack occured the day after Marines ended their show of force in Fallujah.

I think it would be far more effective if the Fallujahans woke up one morning and found many of the perps laying out in the street with their throats cut. No glorious death in a battle with the "infidels", no martyrdom, nothing. Just dead.

[Mentos]

Are you posting to the right site? GWB is not going to petulantly lob cruise missiles into $10 tents. He'll bring these animals to justice on his terms, in his time frame. He says what he means, and he means what he says. Has he ever done otherwise?

[Izzy Dunne]

So it better be what they said it’s going to be.

Or else what?

[Izzy Dunne]

no one is more ticked off or fired up then the men on the frontlines. But they are professionals. Not WWF showmen. When they make their move, it won't be for ratings. It will be for real.

Well said.