I'm glad you're putting this so succintly Patrick. It's so obvious this is the work of 'plants' within our own army. To see Bush get so upset about this and not the massacred soldiers burned and tortured - they didn't show THOSE pictures much.
It would help if he got his facts sraight. Fallujia had NOTHING to do with Sadr.
We worry too much about world opinion and won't do what is necessary. There are still those who think that we can negotiate with these people. They only negotiate long enough to save their butts from being annihilated, regroup and come at us again.
Nuke the Arab street.
Eugene McCarthy said -- just prior to his 1968 presidential campaign -- that the war (in Vietnam) would not become unpopular on the grass roots level until the body bags starting coming home in massive numbers to small midwestern towns of 5,000 or less.
He was right. It didn't. And the same holds true for Iraq. This could be one reason we won't see more boots on the ground, or a draft for that matter.
The more troops in-country, the greater the casualty lists. And if we go back to a selective service system -- and start throwing these sniveling, whiney, four-eyed, liberal deadbeats out of the universities and into the Army -- you'll see the kind of massive demonstrations we saw during Vietnam. Until that happens, don't expect to see a return to the days of rage.
Cowards only throw a s**tstorm when it's their own @sses on the line.
Well said.
Sometimes the truth hurts some, however I have no sympathy for these politically deceitful, anti-American, I.Q. challenged, "daddy's boys and girls", who's greatest challenge in life is to earn the respect of the people they represent, and their greatest personal gratification is created by how much money and power they can soak out the people of our great country,...I had better stop while there is bandwidth left, however you get the gist of it.
Rummy holds much to be desired by them in his little finger!
The failure cannot be blamed on liberals. After all, they’re not failing—they’re succeeding. It is the decent people of America who are suffering the failure of will.
The implication that "liberals" and "decent people" are mutually exclusive categories demonstrates the moral compass of a six-year-old. Obviously, many liberals are decent people, much as many conservatives are. Are you suggesting that "America is a decent nation," with the exception of the approx. 50% of its population that votes Democrat?
Are we naïve enough to think that if we walk away from Iraq, we won’t be followed home?
That's the problem when you start a war without a clearly-defined objective. It becomes a prism that allows you to see in it the justifications you want to see. Do you think halting the insurgency in Iraq will make a dent in global terrorism? If anything, the continuing occupation increases a sense of hatred against Americans. Whether we "walk away" or not (the eventual outcome is likely a bit more complex), terrorism continues to be a threat.
I assume Mr. Rooney is talking about "My Lai."
Teapot Dome, Watergate, Whitewater and Chinagate were "scandals." My Lai was a massacre. There was a subsequent cover-up. The cover-up took place at the highest level of the Americal Division Hq. The Division CG, Asst. CG, and, I believe, the Chief of Staff, all were demoted one grade and retired. McNamara should have had the courage to resign at the time of the Peers Investigation.
The American Jury is still out on Secretary Rumsfeld. I don't believe the American voter will stand for the full responsibility of what happened at the Iraqi prison to be shouldered by a few Enlisted men and women.
I agree.
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IronJack posted an excellent article that I think is somewhat related to this one, in that 'it's time to get tough and get on with the business at hand'.
There's Plenty of Shame To Go Around
(Reposted due to incorrect spelling in the title of the link.)
I wonder what the masses will do when they realize they've been lied to by "the most trusted voice(s) in America"?
In November he will be roadkill.
BUMP
Armchair generals should at least be expected to get their facts straight. al-Sadr had nothing to do with Fallujah.
To be honest, I kind of get sick of these "Oh, because this war isn't going so well, it's the fault of all those naysayers." So do we blame the Republicans who bashed Clinton after Mogadishu for letting Somalia go to pieces (esp. since it was a Bush Sr. operation to begin with)? We can't disallow the possibility that our leadership has been lacking. I can't help but think that if Rumsfeld had/Bush had planned for a longer occupation (and thus allocating more troops and equipment), we'd be in better position after our remarkably quick takedown of Baghdad. Unity in popular opinion is nice, but accountability of our failures is even better, so we don't keep going down the wrong road.