Will Bam lose Iraq?

NY Post ^ | August 3, 2010 | Ralph Peters

[Scanian]

One president gave his pre mature "Mission Accomplished" speech about Iraq on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Now another has given his own version as part of a Chicago-ward-politics sales pitch to disabled veterans.

The difference is that the first guy was sincere.

President Obama's pork-barrel speech to the Disabled Veterans of America yesterday (if you want to help our vets, shut up and do it) would have drawn a blush from those Soviet propagandists who cropped purged Politburo members from Stalin-era photographs.

Ignoring his own opposition to the liberation of Iraq, supporting our troops and the surge, Obama spoke as if all's well in Baghdad -- thanks to him.

As part of his weird victory lap, the president rightfully praised the way "our troops adapted and adjusted" to the insurgency in Iraq, then stressed that 90,000 service members have come home during his administration.

He preened that we'll meet his Aug. 31 deadline to transition "from combat to supporting and training Iraqi security forces" and reaffirmed that we'll remove the last of our troops in 2012. But the portion of yesterday's speech that focused on Iraq left out . . . Iraq.

While that country has passed its military crisis, it's now in political turmoil -- from which our government has utterly disengaged. We won that war, but we still can lose the peace. Obama shunned the fact that, almost half a year after its last national election, Iraq doesn't have a new government. Determined to abandon "Bush's war," Obama's been AWOL in Baghdad.

[samtheman]

And one of the saddest aspects of this whole affair is the way Bush and his advisers were duped by Chalabi and other nefarious Shia scum.

[Erskine Childers]

And one of the saddest aspects of this whole affair is the way Bush and his advisers were duped by Chalabi and other nefarious Shia scum.

Yeah, that was a sad moment in a long series of idiotic moves.

We went into Iraq based on intelligence that was so weak that only a willing dupe could have bought into it. I long debated with my friends whether Bush II and the Neocons conspired to bamboozle America into invading Iraq. At first I leaned toward it being an intentional fraud. But then after watching Rumsfeld (probably the worst Secretary of Defense we've ever had) go from one spastic move to the next I became convinced that the whole Bush II team were ineffective and unimaginative petty bureacrats.

I mean, a thoroughly mediocre guy like Rumsfeld would have been beyond his competency level managing a chain of Burger Kings, and yet there he was trying to manage a large military adventure and getting our boys killed in the process.

Napolean said something to the effect that one should never ascribe evil intent when stupidity is an adequate explanation. That's why I no longer even entertain the notion that Bush II knew there was no WMD, for example. They were just incompetent fools.

And I voted for them.

[NonValueAdded]

But after hearing for years about the supremacy of political over military solutions, it was odd to witness this administration's neglect of basic statesmanship (which opened the door to the Iranians).

Let's not discount the fact that a diplomatic success in Iraq would be a Hillary success and the bamster is not inclined to let that happen.

[samtheman]

I voted for Bush also. And I still look back on him fondly compared to the Anti-American Commie Muslim who rules the roost today.

But Bush made many mistakes. Number one being not connecting the importance of border security to national security.

[Erskine Childers]

But Bush made many mistakes. Number one being not connecting the importance of border security to national security.

I think you're being far too kind. Bush II wanted total amnesty. "Family values don't stop at the border." What an idiot. I used to think that it was simple elitist treason, but as I described above, I'm really convinced now it's just basic human stupidity.

Bush II gave us a guns-and-butter fiscal policy that would have made LBJ blush.

Bush gave us one pork-laden highway budget after the next.

Bush gave us the biggest increase in entitlements that we've ever had.

Bush got is into two wars that had no clearly defined exit strategies (if there was one lesson to be learned from Vietnam - a war he so assiduously avoided - it was never get into a war that you can't know you've won).

Bush appointed the HEAD OF AN INTERNATIONAL HORSE SHOW for cheap political reasons to head up our emergency response to Katrina, with disastrous results.

Bush signed the first bailouts in 2008.

The list could go on and on, but I'm already feeling naseous.

Better that Bambi? Okay, I'll give you that.

Swell.

But let's not get carried away. Bush was the most mediocre of men. He had no business managing the local pet store much less presiding over the gargantuan federal government.