International
Tony Blair’s plane slipped off the runway in Miami. He has been slipping for some time so there is no news there.
Castro is still alive. Ford is not.
Castro has seen Presidents: Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, Nixon, Johnson, Reagan, and Ford die. Say what you like about Communism, but…
Gerry Ford died at 93. That is what you are supposed to do at 93. Not much real news there.
Saddam is to hang. Bush says it is dreadful, the EU says it’s wonderful. Now, that would be news.
Ethiopian, Somali troops regain Jowhar. Most everyone never noticed it was missing.
Israel to build a new settlement and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has ordered a resumption of military strikes against Palestinian militants firing rockets from Gaza into Israel. What can you say?
Business
Ford Chief Seeks Ideas From Toyota. Huh?
Microsoft unveiling its newest security flawed operating system. They call it Vista. They could have honored veterans and called it the “Frozen Chosen.”
Blogosphere
The Belmont Club does a story on Church choirs and restarts a religious war. C-4 is strangely silent.
Well, there you go, Mr Ford has passed on and the story is that he was a "great guy".
ReplyDeleteHe was quite the pardoner, that is fer sure.
Iraq, that continues apace, now even rufus has seen the light. habu knows the deal, but few care to listen. For what ever the reasons, the US stopped short. The Lesson Learned, when it is time to roll, keep on rollin', do not stop before the War is won.
The Enemy does not know he cannot win, the is little modern history to disabuse them of that idea. The US, in the last century, could have handled the Mohammedans with dispatch, but not today.
So it goes.
Surge, purge, urge.
Stay the Course.
Until the US Government denies the Mohammedan Wars are local conflicts there will be no respite. Nor Victory.
Ralph Peters, putz or not, has some sage advise.
ReplyDelete"... One thing's clear: If we can't enforce security, nothing else matters. So the wisest course of action seems obvious - except to the Washington establishment: Return to a wartime footing.
Focus exclusively on security. Concentrate on doing one thing well. Freeze all reconstruction and aid projects. Halt every program and close every office that doesn't contribute directly to pacifying Iraq.
Empty the Green Zone. Pack off the contractors. Reduce the military's overhead to those elements essential to support combat operations. Make it clear to "our" Iraqis that it's sink-or-swim time. Remove our advisers from any Iraqi unit that can operate marginally without them (and let the Iraqis do security their way without interference).
Above all, establish unity of command: Stop pretending there's a fully functional government in Baghdad, recall our ambassador until the fighting's over and make this a purely military effort until Iraq has been pacified.
Shedding extraneous programs would allow us to withdraw some military elements, increase the impact of combat units already in Iraq and use any additional forces more efficiently.
....
We tried to refashion a country and rebuild its infrastructure before we made it secure. The result has been the waste of American lives, four years and billions of taxpayer dollars.
...
We need an exclusive focus on the defeat of the foreign terrorists, uncooperative Sunni Arabs and Muqtada al-Sadr's Shia thugs. Our enemies control Iraq with fear. We need to make them fear us more than the population fears them.
And we must stop reciting insupportable platitudes about every element of government playing a role and the supreme power of negotiations. That's just nonsense. Contrary to pundit blustering, the overwhelming majority of insurgencies over the past 3,000 years have been defeated - by uncompromising military responses.
Contributions from government departments other than the Pentagon may be desirable in theory, but they've been AWOL in fact. You can't build an effective team if the players don't show up.
The worst failure has been that of the State Department. State couldn't get enough volunteers even for its 90-day stints in Iraq - every major program that it insisted on running failed.
....
You can only drive negotiations from a position of uncontested strength - which we threw away.
Our enemies don't believe we have the guts to pacify Iraq. They may be right.
It would be obscene to deploy more troops and further strain our military unless we're serious about winning. And all half-measures will fail.
The paradox is that beleaguered Iraqis would welcome a harsh security crackdown - our toughest obstacle would be a global media alliance already patting itself on the back for our defeat.
Of course, if we make security our sole focus, the Daddy Warbucks profiteers will howl to the congressmen they've bought; our self-adoring diplomats will spew more of their poisonous jealousy into the Potomac - and those military commanders who've lost focus will argue that bribing Iraqis with reconstruction efforts is essential to pacification.
But bought allies never stay bought. Diplomats don't disarm terrorists and militias or defuse roadside bombs. And the administration's cult-like belief in the power of outsourcing to bring peace created the mess we now face. ..."
The US has the Force to win, but as of late, lacks the Will.
DR-
ReplyDelete"The US has the Force to win, but as of late, lacks the Will."
The US has the will to win. We lack the leadership. We are stuck with junior varsity.
Rufus said, "We've already won the 'War,' folks; but, sending the finest fighting force on earth out to 'Patrol' streets while day-dreaming about 'Democracy' breaking out in a country that's not the least bit interested in it is Folly."
ReplyDeletePatrolling the streets is just make-work. They could be mopping the hallways in the madrasses for all Bush cares. The important thing is that they stay there for just two more so he doesn't have to be the one to say we're "cutting and running", even if it costs the lives of 10 troops and $2 billion a week.
It would be interesting to hear The President explain the Iraq campaign on a logarithmic chart where we have accomplished about 85% of what is attainable and the last 15% is not worth the cost and at any rate should be completed by the Iraqis.
ReplyDeleteWell, rufus, what make you think that Mr Bush will follow the Course you NOW propose.
ReplyDeleteHe could have declared Victory at any time he chose in the past 39 months, but has not. You have defended Mr Bush's decision making the entire trip, time after time, toeing the Party Line.
Read Mr Bush's lips, he is going to stay the course until Victory is achieved. The "Speach" will tell US that the US is going to double down, in Iraq. Not "Cut and Run", not Mr Bush, not US.
Help support the Course he charts, or help in the campaign for a better course to Victory, because we are there in Iraq for the duration of Mr Bush's term, at a mimimum.
It may well destroy the GOP in '08, but the President does not care about Polls. He has said so many, many times.
General Jack Keane, USA(ret) has a short piece in the WaPo
ReplyDeleteWe need to cut through the confusion. Bringing security to Baghdad -- the essential precondition for political compromise, national reconciliation and economic development -- is possible only with a surge of at least 30,000 combat troops lasting 18 months or so. Any other option is likely to fail.
The key to the success is to change the military mission -- instead of preparing for transition to Iraqi control, that mission should be to bring security to the Iraqi population. Surges aimed at accelerating the training of Iraqi forces will fail, because rising sectarian violence will destroy Iraq before the new forces can bring it under control. ...
...
The United States faces a dire situation in Iraq because of a history of half-measures. We have always sent "just enough" force to succeed if everything went according to plan. So far nothing has, and there's no reason to believe that it will. Sound military planning doesn't work this way. The only "surge" option that makes sense is both long and large.
I have listened closely to Mr Bush for well over six years. To think he'll be laying the groundwork for an exit in his upcoming speech is pure projection.
Mr Bush will Stay the Course, perhaps on steroids. New Generals, new Plan.
Mr Bush believes that God speaks and acts through him, he has said as much in public.
Unless one believes that Mr Bush is about to abandon God's work, there will be no Cutting and Running on his watch.
Jackie Mason on Osama Obama up next on Ingraham:
ReplyDeletehttp://www2.krla870.com/listen/
Gafney has a book called Warfooting or some such.
ReplyDelete"Of course, if we make security our sole focus, the Daddy Warbucks profiteers will howl to the congressmen they've bought; our self-adoring diplomats will spew more of their poisonous jealousy into the Potomac - and those military commanders who've lost focus will argue that bribing Iraqis with reconstruction efforts is essential to pacification."
---
Meanwhile, the Domestic Beancounter Warbucks sell our security and our country to illegals in the pursuit of the Almighty Dollar and becoming a Turd World State where their control is supreme.
July 16, 2004
ReplyDeleteQuote of the Day
"I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn’t do my job."
-- President Bush, quoted in the Lancaster New Era, during a private meeting with an Amish group.
Since it was a couple of years ago, the Lancaster New Era article is archived and behind a subscription wall. But the quote was widely distributed and commented upon at the time.
No BULLSHIT there.
The Amish are part of the Public.
Bush Quietly Meets with Amish Here; They Offer Their Prayers
ReplyDeleteLancaster New Era ^ | 7/16/04 | Jack Brubaker
Posted on 07/16/2004 3:01:21 PM PDT by Preacher777
LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - President Bush met privately with a group of Old Order Amish during his visit to Lancaster County last Friday. He discussed their farms and their hats and his religion. He asked them to vote for him in November.
The Amish told the president that not all members of the church vote but they would pray for him.
Bush had tears in his eyes when he replied. He said the president needs their prayers. He also said that having a strong belief in God is the only way he can do his job.
This story has not been reported before. You might think an observant press follows the president everywhere, especially during a re-election campaign, but no reporter attended this meeting.
Sam Stoltzfus, an Old Order historian and writer who lives in Gordonville, spoke with a number of people present at the session with the president.
He related what happened to the Scribbler, saying the Amish “caught Bush’s heart.’’
The 20-minute meeting with Bush occurred immediately after the president addressed a select audience at Lapp Electric Service in Smoketown Friday afternoon.
An Amish woman who lives on a farm across Witmer Road from Lapp Electric that morning had presented a quilt to the president with a card thanking him for his leadership of the country.
Bush said he would like to talk to the quilter and her family.
So the Secret Service invited the family to meet the president. Friends wanted to come along, and the entire assembly eventually numbered about 60. They were evenly divided between adults and children of all ages.
The group walked together across the road to Lapp Electric.
Stoltzfus reports: “It took a while to get them through the metal detectors as these were farmers and shop men, with vice grips, pocket knives, and nuts and bolts in their pockets. Some ladies had baby gear. All pockets had to be emptied.’’
When the Amish were “found not to be a serious threat to national security,’’ they were allowed inside the office area of Lapp Electric and waited about 30 minutes for the president to appear.
“Babies got restless. Children squirmed,’’ Stoltzfus reports. “Suddenly the president and five Secret Service men stepped into the room. One housewife said, ‘Are you George Bush?’’’
The president replied in the affirmative and shook hands all around, asking the names of all. He especially thanked the “quilt frau,’’ who operates her own business selling quilts and crafts.
“He seemed relaxed and just like an old neighbor,’’ says Stoltzfus.
Bush said he had never met any Amish before and was curious about why the men were wearing straw hats rather than black wool hats. The Amish explained that they wear cooler straw in summer. Bush tried on a hat.
The president commented on the appearance of Amish farms, and an Amish man spoke apologetically about how he and his friends were not expecting to see the president and were wearing soiled work clothes. Bush said he did not mind that.
Another man remarked that he has twin daughters, as does Bush. The man said one of his twins had dreamed the night before that she was shaking hands with the president and now she actually had done that.
“One of the young girls wanted to give Bush a whoopie pie cookie,’’ Stoltzfus says. “Bush declined it. The Secret Service man took it, as presidents aren’t supposed to eat untested food.’’
At the end of the session, Bush reportedly told the group, “I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn’t do my job.’’
As the president left the room, one Amish man wished him good luck in November.
“The Amish group headed back to their farms and shops,’’ reports Stoltzfus. “Mothers took their children home for a nap and went back to their sewing and gardens.’’
Bush moved along to an appearance in York County, leaving behind a group of Old Order admirers who have tales to tell for the rest of their lives.
The Scribbler column runs Tuesdays and Fridays in the New Era.
The Amish are most certainly NOT part of the American Public! Such ignorance is as baffling as the veneration of Ol' Football head as anything more than a crook! A Scoundrel! A Rapscallion! If only there was a Betty Ford Center for Ignorance!
ReplyDeleteEveryone lauds him as if he is made of Danish Kringle and his words were jelly fillings! WELL I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU: THEYRE NOT!
If you say the Amish, intellectual vandals of modernity, are the American public, how can ANYONE take that seriously? Without evidence, its merely colorful noise, like Ronnie's psychedelic alzheimers deathbed scatting.
shoo-fly-pie?
ReplyDeleteMason Hilarious on Obama Duck and Hide on the Borders, Gay Marriage, etc.
ReplyDelete...two most popular opinions:
On the one hand,
and on the other hand.
1. Do Amish Pay Taxes NO
ReplyDelete2. Do Amish serve on Juries NO
3. Do Amish volunteer at Planned Parenthood NO
4. Do Amish participate in civic culture events such as rap battles and bass guitar challenges? NO
5. Do the Amish donate to help Katrina victims NO AND THEY PROBABLY FEEL NO SHAME EITHER
6. Have Amish ever performed civil disobedience? NO
How can anyone take them seriously as Americans?
Now that Palistinian Prime Minister that the US has armed with infantry weaponry said this, after a Summitt with Mr Bush and Mr Sharon.
ReplyDeleteAbbas said that at Aqaba, Bush promised to speak with Sharon about the siege on Arafat. He said nobody can speak to or pressure Sharon except the Americans.
According to Abbas, immediately thereafter Bush said: "God told me to strike at al Qaida and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them."
Now perhaps Mr Abbas is not reliable, but if that were the case, why did we arm his troops?
Aspirin trashes still warm Ford on BC, Betty Ford, RR et al here.
ReplyDeleteClass reigns supreme.
These are not people to exaggerate much
ReplyDeleteWhy?
ReplyDeleteMr Abbas is a reliable source, the US arms him and his people and wishes to see him a Head of State.
The Amish of PA, reliable American sources. The list goes on, but rufus rejects the fact that Mr Bush is a "true" believer, doing God's work on Earth.
No telling why.
Mr Bush being "born again" was, at one time, one of Mr Bush's selling points.
Today does it seems a bit embarrassing?
With no disrespect to rufus intended, no victory parade, no victory. And I mean outside the Green Zone.
ReplyDeleteAspergersGentleman,
re: Amish
Great joke!
Asperger said, "6. Have Amish ever performed civil disobedience? NO How can anyone take them seriously as Americans?"
ReplyDeleteBut after the Electromagnetic Pulse wipes out the entire power grid, who you gonna call? Amish country sodbusters, that's who.
Ive no problem with the Amish personally. I only wish they wouldnt laugh so loud in the movie theater. I don't get why they find things funnier or something.
ReplyDeleteDeuce,
ReplyDeletere: The Belmont Club does a story on Church choirs and restarts a religious war. C-4 is strangely silent.
Why would C4 interject himself into the bashing of Christians by Jews? Oh, did I forget to mention that Christmas is not the best time for a Jew to wantonly insult Christians and the Holiday.
No fool is C4; when your enemy is in a hole, don't hand him a ladder. C4 was in veritable heaven.
Allen, you always get to the heart of the matter. A good chuckle on that one.
ReplyDeleteAllen said, "Why would C4 interject himself into the bashing of Christians by Jews? Oh, did I forget to mention that Christmas is not the best time for a Jew to wantonly insult Christians and the Holiday."
ReplyDeleteActually, it's a good time, because it gives Christians an opportunity to forgive the Jew, in the name of Jesus Christ, for making the insult.
Aspergers said, "Ive no problem with the Amish personally. I only wish they wouldnt laugh so loud in the movie theater. I don't get why they find things funnier or something."
ReplyDeletePut yourself in their wooden shoes for a moment. Imagine you're watching a movie which has somehow come back to us from the year 2099 AD, and the hero pours a pitcher of water into his gas tank, flies to his mother's living genetically-engineered house and gets her appliances to work by plugging them directly into the ground. Wouldn't you laugh?
Since I was old enough to vote, I only ever passed on one presidential election, and that was Carter vs. Ford. I never regretted not voting for Ford but did feel anguish about not having voted against Carter.
ReplyDeleteDesert Rat said, "He could have declared Victory at any time he chose in the past 39 months, but has not."
ReplyDeleteQ. How many legs does a dog have, if you count a tail as a leg?
A. Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it one.
Ms T.
ReplyDeleteIf one takes the time to read the Authorization for Use of Force in Iraq it becomes obvious that the Goals of the Authorization have been achieved. They were long ago.
The UN Resolutions have been and will be complied with and there are many ways to support the emergence of a democratic government.
Job Done.
If we stopped moving the Goal Posts.