“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Press Aghast at Obama Pledge of Allegiance
The immediate reaction of the crowd was derision. Obama was quick on his feet. Listen to the press reaction to guy later in the clip.
I had not seen this perspective of the incident, before, but did see Obama lead the crowd in the Pledge.
He knew all the words, by heart.
It played well, for Obama on NBC, that's fer sur.
The other aspect of the day, betcha Ameros to doughnuts that more eyes saw Paris Hilton's video deriding the white haired guy then saw the original ad. The one where Maverick made Paris relevant to the election.
What should we call a man that volunteers his wife for a wet t-shirt strip tease contest. A pig's pimp?
The slow strangling death of the Olympics at the hands of the Chinese officials continues. Their Olympic motto of "One World, One Dream" is beginning to take on an ominous tone, what with the gagging of athletes, and the censorship of the press, and the basic all-around stamping out of Olympic spirit. The only vision of the world that's permitted is their own, judging by the fact that gold medalist Joey Cheek was denied admittance to these Summer Games for the following offense: He spoke.
But when his visa was suddenly revoked Tuesday -- without a reason -- Cheek spoke out boldly. "The denial of my visa is a part of a systemic effort by the Chinese government to coerce and threaten athletes who are speaking out on behalf of the innocent people of Darfur," he said.
The photog did just fine in calling for the Pledge, Obama did just fine reciting it.
In the fields of Energy and Iraq, both, the US'd be better off with the "new" Democratic Program.
Offshore drilling and alternatives, rather than just drilling. The GOP killed the Solar Tax crdeits.
On Iraq, we should haved already started to turn that country's internal security over to the Iraqi, should have years ago, 2010, if we want to by then, we certainly can, we should want to.
Taxes, 44 Senators, loyal and true can stop any new ones. Though the Bush tax cuts will be a memory, no matter the President.
The Supremes, not worthy of a Maverick Presidency, in and of themselves.
A McCain Presidency would be an abomination for any conservatives left in the US.
That Federal voucher plan, supported by Sharpton, Bloomberg and McCain just an example of how conservative Maverick will be.
jeeeeze, what twerp that guy was in the video. He squeals "its a free country" and then he moans on about how one "MUST" start a townhall meeting with a pledge of allegiance. Hypocritical twit.
Clarke and Beers in effect were drawing on a time-honored tradition of foreign policy that goes back to the Gurkhas: finding proxies to fight an enemy. It was a tradition for America that found its apotheosis in the Reagan Doctrine of the 1980s, which was defined by Charles Krauthammer as "unashamed American support for anti-Communist revolution," regardless of whether or not such support respected the sovereignty of communist states. It was a policy that manifested itself in U.S. support for the Nicaraguan Contras, Jonas Savimbi's insurgency in Angola, and the Afghan mujahedin. In a sense, the Reagan doctrine was a full-throated rejection of the Carter era. It was Kirkpatrick's Commentary essay put into practice. So here we arrive at the central irony of the charge that Obama will revive Carterism: The two most important architects of his counterterrorism policy came of age at the height of the Reagan Doctrine, and that thinking continues to inform their strategy.
Last November at a foreign policy forum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Obama said there may be "40,000 hard-core jihadists with whom we can't negotiate." He went on. "Our job is to incapacitate them, to kill them." In that spirit, he famously announced that he would strike terrorist bases in Pakistan if President Pervez Musharraf ever refuses to move on actionable intelligence against Al Qaeda--a threat that earned him the chastisement of John McCain, among others.
Of course, the opportunities for that kind of strike are rare and the diplomatic costs can be high. That's where we begin to see the interesting confluence that will likely emerge as the Obama Doctrine. His counterterrorism policy will bear the imprint of the Beers-Clarke experience in the national security apparatus. And that pedigree will be coupled with the lessons that David Petraeus has gleaned from Iraq. The result will likely be a combination of force and kindness. In the search for allies against Al Qaeda, the U.S. military will aggressively seek out allies among the tribes that co-mingle with the terrorists, as well as the police and intelligence agencies in those countries. Our military would try to pry them away from Al Qaeda by offering them money and basic infrastructure--and then send them into battle against the terrorists. But, at the same time, through that engagement, it would also attempt to instill practices that minimize the brutality and corruption of local police.
"The result will likely be a combination of force and kindness. In the search for allies against Al Qaeda, the U.S. military will aggressively seek out allies among the tribes that co-mingle with the terrorists, as well as the police and intelligence agencies in those countries. Our military would try to pry them away from Al Qaeda by offering them money and basi.c infrastructure"
Escalating Military Spending - Income Redistribution in Disguise
Critics of the recent U.S. wars of choice have long argued that they are all about oil. "No Blood for Oil" has been a rallying cry for most of the opponents of the war.
It can be demonstrated, however, that there is another (less obvious but perhaps more critical) factor behind the recent rise of U.S. military aggressions abroad: war profiteering by the Pentagon contractors. Frequently invoking dubious "threats to our national security and/or interests," these beneficiaries of war dividends, the military–industrial complex and related businesses whose interests are vested in the Pentagon's appropriation of public money, have successfully used war and military spending to justify their lion's share of tax dollars and to disguise their strategy of redistributing national income in their favor.
This cynical strategy of disguised redistribution of national resources from the bottom to the top is carried out by a combination of (a) drastic hikes in the Pentagon budget, and (b) equally drastic tax cuts for the wealthy. As this combination creates large budget deficits, it then forces cuts in non-military public spending as a way to fill the gaps that are thus created. As a result, the rich are growing considerably richer at the expense of middle– and low–income classes.
Despite its critical importance, most opponents of war seem to have given short shrift to the crucial role of the Pentagon budget and its contractors as major sources of war and militarism—a phenomenon that the late President Eisenhower warned against nearly half a century ago. Perhaps a major reason for this oversight is that critics of war and militarism tend to view the U.S. military force as primarily a means for imperialist gains—oil or otherwise.
The fact is, however, that as the U.S. military establishment has grown in size, it has also evolved in quality and character: it is no longer simply a means but, perhaps more importantly, an end in itself—an imperial force in its own right. Accordingly, the rising militarization of U.S. foreign policy in recent years is driven not so much by some general/abstract national interests as it is by the powerful special interests that are vested in the military capital, that is, war industries and war–related businesses.
But I have watched enough television during incarceration to have a few points to make about the McCain campaign's new anti-Obama "celebrity" ad.
1) Obama looks so cool, upbeat, and confident in the ad that his smiling, waving, striding presence provides a "lift" that doesn't simply contradict the admonitory tone of the voiceover text, but visually drowns it out through sheer pow of personality. It'd be like trying to warn teenagers in the fifties about the dangers of rock and roll, then showing concert footage of Elvis at his most charismatic--great way to create converts, guys!
2) Regardless of the racial-sexual subtext being purveyed, referencing Britney Spears and Paris Hilton seems a bit tired and dated, the older generation scolding the younger. Picking on Spears in a political ad seems like poor sportsmanship (she's hardly done the harm to the culture that Ann Coulter has), and in her wealth, privilege, and lathed blondness, Paris Hilton resembles a younger version of Cindy McCain--there's an almost daughterly resemblance, an enjoined twirl of ruling class DNA. So using her as an object of derision doesn't quite gel.
3) The closing profile shot of McCain, head tilted as if basking in the soft heavenly glow of Reagan above, is not only corner and kitschy but reduces the candidate to a postage stamp--this, after portraying Obama as a fully engaged energy packet.
4) America is a country based on celebrity, a country where nearly everybody wants to be a celebrity, an American Idol, and decrying the cult of celebrity is an empty exercise in moralizing. After JFK, Reagan, and Bill Clinton, the candidate as glamour figure is already wired into our collective psyches, and Fred Thompson's celebrity status didn't seem to trouble Republicans when he looked like a contender, until they realized his gravitas was indistinguishable from indigestion.
5) The real message of the McCain ad is that they're envious of Obama's elan vital, and are reduced to mocking what they covet, Envy makes a person look petty, and a petty, peevish John McCain will be indistinguishable from the Bob Dole of 1996 if he doesn't "big up." Right now his campaign is making Obama look like the mature one, which may explain why at least one longtime McCain loyalist is barking from the shadows."
I was speaking of an Obama Presidency. Though I did mention Afghanistan. Hopefully, with a more aggressive approach to proxy combatives Team Obama could make greater progress in Afghanistan than Team43 has produced.
If Iraq is still considered an anti-terrorist action then the principles followed by Clarke and Beers would be applied, there, as well.
It would be the "Exit Plan", to replace US combat troops with Iraqi ones.
All that would be left is to determine the size of the "Stay behind" contingent and their circumstances.
By MIKE MELIA, Associated Press Writer 15 minutes ago
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - A jury of six military officers at Guantanamo Bay reached a split verdict Wednesday in the war crimes trial of a former driver for Osama bin Laden, clearing him of some charges but convicting him of others that could send him to prison for life.
The Pentagon-selected jury deliberated for about eight hours over three days before convicting Salim Hamdan of supporting terrorism. He was cleared of the conspiracy charge.
Hamdan, who faces a maximum life sentence, held his head in his hands and wept at the defense table after a Navy captain presiding over the jury read the sentence in a hilltop courtroom on this U.S. Navy base.
The judge scheduled a sentencing hearing for later Wednesday.
Defense lawyers had feared a guilty verdict was inevitable, saying the tribunal system's rules seemed designed to achieve convictions, said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brian Mizer, Salim Hamdan's Pentagon-appointed attorney.
"I don't know if the panel can render fair what has already happened," Mizer told reporters as the jury deliberated.
Hamdan's attorneys said the judge allowed evidence that would not have been admitted by any civilian or military U.S. court, and that interrogations at the center of the government's case were tainted by coercive tactics, including sleep deprivation and solitary confinement.
Supporters of the tribunals said the Bush administration's system provided extraordinary due process rights for defendants.
"This military judge is to be commended for providing a fair and internationally legally sufficient trial for the accused and the government — regardless of the ultimate verdict," said Charles "Cully" Stimson, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs.
Hamdan was captured at a roadblock in southern Afghanistan in November 2001 and taken to Guantanamo in May 2002.
The military accused him of transporting missiles for al-Qaida and helping bin Laden escape U.S. retribution following the Sept. 11 attacks by driving him around Afghanistan. Defense attorneys said he was merely a low-level bin Laden employee.
Let's see...
They defense argues he was not allowed to sleep?
poor f*ckin baby....
I love to see Jihadist sons of bitches complaining that we "strong armed" them...
how about a DANIEL PEARL or NICK BERG treatment?
how about a soccer match celebrating Mr Hamdan's conviction with his head?
Dear Mr Hamdan,
You are a waste of human flesh...
rot in prison, and thank your so called god of your choice that your enemies are the Americans and Jews, not the camel humping scum that you come from...
Just sit in your cell and read how other Jihadists palestinians are BEGGING to be arrested by Israel rather than face fellow jihadist nutcases...
you make me sick....
I hope we keep your sorry ass alive for a century....
long enough for you to see your pathetic 7th century death cult consume it'sself into a pile of puss...
His military experience & patriotism are beyond reproach. As is Mavericks, they just come to different conclusions based upon their own goals and perceptions.
WiO, kinda ironic on the one hand that earlier video on how one should NEVER talk to the police and on the other you praise the use of coercive interrogation techniques. "Veee half ways of makin' you talk!"
One of the greatest difficulties there's going to be in enacting a Plan Colombia for Afghanistan is that it isn't the bad guys who are running the drug trade there.
Indeed it does seem novel, as exemplified by the size of it, after six plus years of US support.
Afghanistan to ask NATO for bigger army of its own At the NATO meeting in Romania Thursday, Afghan officials are expected to request money to expand its National Army from 86,000 to 120,000 troops. By Gordon Lubold The Christian Science Monitor from the April 2, 2008 edition
Now Iraq, with a population smaller than Afghanistan has over 350,000 in its various Security Forces, and that is not considered enough. That the Afghans have only 86,000 men in uniform, that's a disgraseful performance, by US.
Just by comparing it to our other work product, in Iraq.
Afghanistan has gotten the short end of the stick in a lot of ways.
And that started, lemme see, back when everything but the kitchen sink was being poured into Iraq - before that war even left the assembly line. And it never let up.
Sad but true.
If the Taliban had known what opportunities were available to it in resource-starved areas smack-ass against the border two years ago...
...Afghanistan would have risen back above the fold a lot sooner. And a lot worse.
Colombia has, according to Yahoo ... The colombian military has around 380000 men between the army, marines and airforce.
The Afghan 86,000
The population of Colombia 45,013,674 living in 1,138,910 sq km,Area - slightly less than twice the size of Texas compared to Afghanistan's 32,738,376 people and 647,500 sq km., slightly smaller than Texas.
8An Afghan Army of 86,000 or even 120,000 is not enough, based upon the success stories from Colombia and Iraq.
Neither of those efforts are sustainable in the current numbers and at the current operating level. That's for sure. And both transitions are going to be hairy.
Bill Roggio, he stuck with it and made a career of blogging. Of Steve at threatswatch, Richard and Roggio, have to give a tip of the hat to Roggio. Steve has a good product, the BC is what it is but Roggio, he now reaches millions of readers.
A draw down in Iraq and an escalation, another Surge, in Afghanistan. Most likely.
- Rat
I cannot think of a worse time for a surge in Afghanistan. Force protection in various guises is going to eat you up. No longer a permissive environment for those who require it.
LOC in Pakistan have to be secured.
There's only one reason to justify it now.
Wiping out the Taliban. About which I've heard Obama say nothing. And that job falls in good measure to the Canadians, who will do it simply to avoid a shit sandwich.
Last November at a foreign policy forum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Obama said there may be "40,000 hard-core jihadists with whom we can't negotiate." He went on. "Our job is to incapacitate them, to kill them." In that spirit, he famously announced that he would strike terrorist bases in Pakistan if President Pervez Musharraf ever refuses to move on actionable intelligence against Al Qaeda--
Which you've said is current policy. So maybe he'd further empower that policy and change the civilian overseers. Perhaps. Sec Gates, it is rumored, may survive the transition to an Obama adminnistration. Much as Mr Tenor did at CIA when Team43 came to town.
Gates has said more recently, however, that he'd sooner stick his head in the oven than stay on in that job. Regardless of who may be elected. Or words to that effect.
The law prof started out by reading the fifth amendment--'no person shall be compelled...to be a witness against himself'--taking the fifth doesn't imply you are trying to hided something--and then talked about Justice Robert Jackson of the Nuremberg Trials fame--'Any lawyer worth his salt should advise his client to make no statement to the police under any circumstances'--gave the example of Senator 'Wide Stance' Craig--even if you're a big shot--gave examples of the complexity of the law--no one knows all the laws--IRS, for example--gave example of transporting a dead fish from Honduras, which violated some Honduran law, because by treaty that's happens to be part of our law too--
1)No way it can ever help you to talk to the police--what you say can only be used against you--can't be used for you--prosecutor will object to that being used for you on the bssis of hearsay 2)No benefit from admitting guilt--The Innocent Project showed 25% of those admitting guilt, who were later found from DNA evidence to be innocent-got no benefit from it 3)Can get carried away when talking to the police and admit to some other matter or more minor matter you were unaware of or thought was of no consequence 4)Almost always end up giving the cops something that might be used against you--gave example of a killing and the guy says 'I didn't shoot him' and the cops say who said anything about a shooting?(was in fact a shooting) 5)Police will not always recall interviews with 100% accuracy-or, they might also lie 6)What you say might be contradicted by some witness unknown to you who is mistaken, confused, inaccurate,etc 7)Any mistake, even if true, can be used against you if the police can come up with some contrary evidence, even if false--gave the example of Martha Stewart, who got nailed not on the original charge, but on another matter she lied about; and Michael Vick, of dog fighting fame, who first told the police he had done nothing at all wrong, then got an enhanced sentence for lying to the police.
In short, best wait to fight contrary evidence at a preliminary hearing, negotiations, or trial.
About the only thing I can think of where I might agree with Obama is his bill(in Illinois legislature)to require all interviews with police to be videotaped, or they can't be used for evidence. I am for that.
In Afghanistan, a Ragtag Pursuit of the Taliban Afghan National Police Sgt. Akhibullah patrols his beat with a junior officer in Chahar Darreh, Afghanistan. U.S. efforts to train Afghans as a counterinsurgency force are far from finished.
WiO, kinda ironic on the one hand that earlier video on how one should NEVER talk to the police and on the other you praise the use of coercive interrogation techniques. "Veee half ways of makin' you talk!"
When it comes to enemy combatants that are captured without benefit of uniforms I love the idea of water boarding...
How does that compare to a john q public citizen requesting the Pledge of Allegiance at a Town Hall with the State's highest elected official and the nominee for the democrat party leading the show?
"Afghan and NATO officials agree that there has been a sharp increase in the number of foreign fighters in Afghanistan. The majority of the fighters, they say, come from Pakistan, after having received training in refugee camps or Taliban bases in the tribal areas between the two countries.
About a mile down the road, an old man picnicking with his family near a small mosque waved Obaidullah over. He complained in a cracking voice about the Taliban in the district. Everyone, he said, knows who is behind all the trouble here.
"Our enemy is obvious; it's Pakistan. Every Afghan is trying to rebuild this country. Look at this road," the man said, flinging his arm out in frustration. "Look at the clinic and the shape it's in. The only reason it remains this way is because of Pakistan. I know who my friends are and who my enemies are."
Afghanistan is kind of a stalemate right now. The Taliban aren't going to be marching into Kabul, and with what we've got over there right now, we're not going to be able to get them all out of those mountains and huts, much less out of northern Pakistan. We're in a holding pattern. But, the good news is, Obama has promised to pursue the issue, there, where the real war is.
jeeeeze, what twerp that guy was in the video. He squeals "its a free country" and then he moans on about how one "MUST" start a townhall meeting with a pledge of allegiance. Hypocritical twit.
It's traditional, Ash. We do it here, for instance. The guy said his relatives died for our country. I understand his point of view, even if you don't. Obama handled it ok.
After a tenancy dispute in 1599, the owners of The Theatre dismantled it during the night and its timbers were used to construct the Globe Theatre, by the River Thames, which became the home of Shakespeare's plays.
This has been a much remarked upon event, in Shakespearean studies.
The U.S. and India will both need each other to balance China’s power. But before then, India might help both itself and the U.S. by gradually taking over the job of securing Afghanistan. This task is primarily a campaign against Pakistan; unlike the U.S., India can squeeze Pakistan on two fronts, and could conduct such a campaign with much more flexibility and more tools than the U.S. or NATO. Perhaps most important, India has a real motivation to do so.
Israel Insider keeps hammering away at the Obama Birth Certificate story. Says it's a forgery copied with the aid of his sister's birth certificate. I put myself on the Obama Birth Certificate hot line, to see if anything comes up.
The self-helpy title of Pelosi's book suggests, accurately, that this is not a traditional autobiography -- or, at 180 pamphlet-size pages, a hefty one. Think "Oprah Goes to Washington" and you'll get the picture. "I am frequently asked what event started me on my path from homemaker to House Speaker," Pelosi writes, citing her involvement in then-California Gov. Jerry Brown's 1976 presidential campaign. "One can only see in retrospect the steps taken that got you from there to here. They will vary from person to person, but in all instances, steps were taken. By recognizing opportunities, assessing risks, and taking action, success can be achieved."
Well, there you have it.
Or this bit of concluding gravitas: "As long as we recognize the power within us, we will continue to have choices, and we will continue to lead. . . . Know your power. When you do, others will know your power, too."
--- "Pelosi regarded stopping President Bush's Social Security plan as her biggest triumph as Democratic leader," he writes -- with no assessment of the merits of Pelosi's determination not to offer an alternative to Bush's private accounts. Pelosi herself is proud of that approach, crafted with the help of marketing experts who advised downtrodden Democrats going up against President Bush: "You can't compete unless you take him down a few pegs first."
Democrats listened. "In spite of repeated criticisms from the inside-the-Beltway crowd" -- true confessions, I was one of them -- "that we should have our own plan, our strategy worked," she crows. Fifty pages later, Pelosi announces that the speaker she most admires is Democrat Tip O'Neill, because "he was able to work in a bipartisan way with President Reagan." If there's a contradiction there, it's one the speaker chooses not to see.
Yeeeeaaaaah buddy. Somebody finally came through with the proper semantics.
From Kevin Drum:
AGREEMENT IN BAGHDAD?....Via Juan Cole, al-Sabah reports that Iraq and the U.S. are close to finalizing a status-of-forces agreement:
According to a memorandum of understanding to be signed by the two parties after a summary of results is presented to political leaders, Baghdad and Washington have set a time limit for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq during the years 2010 and 2011, subject to change according to circumstances.
....The withdrawal may be completed by mid-2010, according to our sources. They also say that a consensus had been reached regarding the issue of arrests. The agreement stipulates that arrests by the American army can only be made with the advance knowledge of the Iraqi government, and that no violations of the rights of Iraqi citizens will be permitted.
There will be zero support for anything other than a minimal stay in Afghanistan. Watch as one ally after the other "redeploys". If any gains are to be made and sustained in Afghanistan, they better come soon. Forget about the decades long effort required to make anything out a the loose confederation of tribes. As in Iraq, it will be up to the Afghans to make a country. Palistan is obviously experiencing its share of problems and right now, it looks to this observer as if they lack the heart to beat back the fundamentalism. If Pakistan falls to the devil, Afghanistan will be next. If I'm right, we may as well get out now so that later we can, without remorse, bomb them to rubble.
"We've grabbed hold of that motherfucker and we're not gonna let go.
Something to be said for that."
Maybe the good guys, the one that still have stones have grabbed and won't let go, but do "the people" see the upside in being bulldogged? I don't think so.
Afghanistan has been under the radar but let all hell break loose in Pakistan and casualties mount in Afghanistan and it'll be "So long South Asia."
bobal said... "Ash thinks that just because you drive bin Laden around you're no more guilty than a New York cabbie taking a fare to the airport."
I guess you missed the line about driving him about easily being considered material support. The main thrust of that comment was to point out how the huge amount of political capital expended over Gitmo is not worth that material support outcome.
With respect to the git moaning about the pledge of allegiance - he emphatically protested how it is a FREE COUNTRY and then proceeded to complain how folks at that meeting FAILED TO START IT WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. Dude, it's a free country, people don't have to do it the same friggin way everytime. I guess he's looking for a facist free country. where everybody must where flag pins and start every public gathering with a pledge of allegiance.
Afghanistan - another quagmire with no, I repeat, no, military solution. But hey, why not surge anyway - it must be to keep the fat military mafia cats well fed, right mat?
WiO: They defense argues he was not allowed to sleep?
poor f*ckin baby....
How about we charge you with being the Amerithrax perp, and keep you up for 100 hours straight until you babble a confession, and then try you in a Kangaroo Court that admits suchlike evidence obtained under duress. No, wait, I take that back about Gitmo, I don't want to insult Kangaroos.
teresita said... WiO: They defense argues he was not allowed to sleep?
poor f*ckin baby....
How about we charge you with being the Amerithrax perp, and keep you up for 100 hours straight until you babble a confession, and then try you in a Kangaroo Court that admits suchlike evidence obtained under duress. No, wait, I take that back about Gitmo, I don't want to insult Kangaroos.
Tell you what T, if you FIND my ass driving OBL around with missiles IN MY CAR do it...
WiO: but while we are on the subject, those that HELP people like OBL are guilty of material support and in TIMES of war they can be taken out....
Great. Last TIME of war we had was Dec 8, 1941 to Sep 2, 1945. That's because the Constitution grants the Legislative, not the Executive, the power to declare war. The rest of this crap has been nothing but Police Actions. And there was a four year period in the 1980s when we ourselves were allied with bin Laden against the Soviets. I suppose if the Russians capture and try a retired CIA agent for war crimes for driving Stinger missiles into Afghanistan we can't say shit about it, even if they knock him around a bit, because all they have to do is say "Human rights? What about Gitmo?"
WiO: But i always wonder why do lesbians and gays support islamic jihadists....
Classic "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" type question. Does Tammy Bruce support jihad? What about Mary Cheney? Maybe if the fricken' GOP would stop equating lesbianism with witchcraft and vampirism and ritual human sacrifice in their political platform I could think of more examples.
Trish: now your hero, obl, had a whole network of well paid help. i would have NO problem in having the entire group offed...
When we turned Gitmo into a prison for "detainees" who would be tried under extra-constitutional rules like using classified evidence against the defendants they weren't even cleared to see, or using confessions extracted by waterboarding, our national reputation was shot so bad Lady Liberty basically laid down on the bed, hiked up her robes, and offered up any orifice. And what do we get for that sacrifice of our national honor? What's the bang for our buck? Are we getting the big guns put away? Are we putting Khalid Sheik Muhammed in a noose? No, we're saying that OBL's chauffeur is a war criminal. And the rest of the world is laughing at us.
I had not seen this perspective of the incident, before, but did see Obama lead the crowd in the Pledge.
ReplyDeleteHe knew all the words, by heart.
It played well, for Obama on NBC, that's fer sur.
The other aspect of the day, betcha Ameros to doughnuts that more eyes saw Paris Hilton's video deriding the white haired guy then saw the original ad. The one where Maverick made Paris relevant to the election.
What should we call a man that volunteers his wife for a wet t-shirt strip tease contest.
A pig's pimp?
What should we call a man that volunteers his wife for a wet t-shirt strip tease contest, at a biker bar?
ReplyDeleteMr President just does not seem apt.
ReplyDeleteWe'll be hearing references to Tailhook, soon enough. It's just part of Maverick's cultural baggage.
Fighter pilots. I'ts in the breed.
ReplyDeleteCome on, Rat.
ReplyDeleteDid McCain actually or seriously suggest that his wife enter a wet tee-shirt contest? I don't think so.
Rat, would you rather have a President Obama?
I thought you knew he is a closet Marxist.
ReplyDelete- Speak Up, and Get Shut Down -
ReplyDeleteThe slow strangling death of the Olympics at the hands of the Chinese officials continues. Their Olympic motto of "One World, One Dream" is beginning to take on an ominous tone, what with the gagging of athletes, and the censorship of the press, and the basic all-around stamping out of Olympic spirit. The only vision of the world that's permitted is their own, judging by the fact that gold medalist Joey Cheek was denied admittance to these Summer Games for the following offense:
He spoke.
But when his visa was suddenly revoked Tuesday -- without a reason -- Cheek spoke out boldly. "The denial of my visa is a part of a systemic effort by the Chinese government to coerce and threaten athletes who are speaking out on behalf of the innocent people of Darfur," he said.
---
- John Edwards - Father of the Year Award
"Children learn not only from what you say but what you do."
I am glad Texas gave the middle finger to the elites of the world and our country by euthanizing the low-life invader.
ReplyDeleteIf a treaty with other nations and globalist institutions means national suicide, I am glad states are just ignoring it.
Mass disobedience can be a good thing from time to time.
Good luck to the federals and the UN in invading Texas to "enforce the law".
They have the ports, the oil and them Texans love their guns. The only state in the union that flies its flag at the same height as the national flag.
let's see...
ReplyDeletea townhall meeting with the Gov of MY State, NOT starting with the Pledge?
Excuse me, "elected" representatives..
What the CITIZEN did was fine..
How do we start all Community events?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe photog did just fine in calling for the Pledge, Obama did just fine reciting it.
ReplyDeleteIn the fields of Energy and Iraq, both, the US'd be better off with the "new" Democratic Program.
Offshore drilling and alternatives, rather than just drilling. The GOP killed the Solar Tax crdeits.
On Iraq, we should haved already started to turn that country's internal security over to the Iraqi, should have years ago, 2010, if we want to by then, we certainly can, we should want to.
Taxes, 44 Senators, loyal and true can stop any new ones. Though the Bush tax cuts will be a memory, no matter the President.
The Supremes, not worthy of a Maverick Presidency, in and of themselves.
A McCain Presidency would be an abomination for any conservatives left in the US.
That Federal voucher plan, supported by Sharpton, Bloomberg and McCain just an example of how conservative Maverick will be.
Which candidate will drill in ANWAR?
ReplyDeleteNeither.
McCan will offer the conservative comprehensive immigration program, Obama a liberal one.
ReplyDeleteThe program will be the same, regardless. Open borders and legalization. I'd rather blame the liberal, later.
I'd rather see Boeing air tankers than Airbus tankers, in the USAF.
Blogger Brother D-Day said...
ReplyDeleteI am glad Texas gave the middle finger to the elites of the world and our country by euthanizing the low-life invader
...what if the Texans thought all that cheap mexican labor was good and they decided to leave the border open? No problemo - States right?
I'd rather see Rand Beers and Richard Clarke advising on strategy in Afghanistan than the current crop of GOP advisors.
ReplyDeletePlan Colombia worked out well.
jeeeeze, what twerp that guy was in the video. He squeals "its a free country" and then he moans on about how one "MUST" start a townhall meeting with a pledge of allegiance. Hypocritical twit.
ReplyDeleteClarke and Beers in effect were drawing on a time-honored tradition of foreign policy that goes back to the Gurkhas: finding proxies to fight an enemy. It was a tradition for America that found its apotheosis in the Reagan Doctrine of the 1980s, which was defined by Charles Krauthammer as "unashamed American support for anti-Communist revolution," regardless of whether or not such support respected the sovereignty of communist states. It was a policy that manifested itself in U.S. support for the Nicaraguan Contras, Jonas Savimbi's insurgency in Angola, and the Afghan mujahedin. In a sense, the Reagan doctrine was a full-throated rejection of the Carter era. It was Kirkpatrick's Commentary essay put into practice. So here we arrive at the central irony of the charge that Obama will revive Carterism: The two most important architects of his counterterrorism policy came of age at the height of the Reagan Doctrine, and that thinking continues to inform their strategy.
ReplyDeleteLast November at a foreign policy forum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Obama said there may be "40,000 hard-core jihadists with whom we can't negotiate." He went on. "Our job is to incapacitate them, to kill them." In that spirit, he famously announced that he would strike terrorist bases in Pakistan if President Pervez Musharraf ever refuses to move on actionable intelligence against Al Qaeda--a threat that earned him the chastisement of John McCain, among others.
Of course, the opportunities for that kind of strike are rare and the diplomatic costs can be high. That's where we begin to see the interesting confluence that will likely emerge as the Obama Doctrine. His counterterrorism policy will bear the imprint of the Beers-Clarke experience in the national security apparatus. And that pedigree will be coupled with the lessons that David Petraeus has gleaned from Iraq. The result will likely be a combination of force and kindness. In the search for allies against Al Qaeda, the U.S. military will aggressively seek out allies among the tribes that co-mingle with the terrorists, as well as the police and intelligence agencies in those countries. Our military would try to pry them away from Al Qaeda by offering them money and basic infrastructure--and then send them into battle against the terrorists. But, at the same time, through that engagement, it would also attempt to instill practices that minimize the brutality and corruption of local police.
"The result will likely be a combination of force and kindness. In the search for allies against Al Qaeda, the U.S. military will aggressively seek out allies among the tribes that co-mingle with the terrorists, as well as the police and intelligence agencies in those countries. Our military would try to pry them away from Al Qaeda by offering them money and basi.c infrastructure"
ReplyDeleteHow revolutionary!
We've only been doing it since beginning.
Unlike in the sandbox.
But the sandbox was ruled by grunts.
ReplyDeleteExactly, trish.
ReplyDeleteWho is more likely to produce a workable "Plan Iraq"?
Certainly not Maverick and Team43+1, he's ready for the US military to soldier on in a 100 year Iraqi slog.
"Who is more likely to produce a workable 'Plan Iraq?"
ReplyDeleteYou were speaking of Afghanistan. And the failure of this administration there.
But that which is described in your cut and paste...has been SOP in Afghanistan for six years. It took a completely different path than OIF.
The Taliban has resorted to a desperate and counterprodictive policy of killing tribal leaders precisely because of our success in wooing them.
ReplyDeleteIsmael Hossein-zadeh:
ReplyDeleteEscalating Military Spending -
Income Redistribution in Disguise
Critics of the recent U.S. wars of choice have long argued that they are all about oil. "No Blood for Oil" has been a rallying cry for most of the opponents of the war.
It can be demonstrated, however, that there is another (less obvious but perhaps more critical) factor behind the recent rise of U.S. military aggressions abroad: war profiteering by the Pentagon contractors. Frequently invoking dubious "threats to our national security and/or interests," these beneficiaries of war dividends, the military–industrial complex and related businesses whose interests are vested in the Pentagon's appropriation of public money, have successfully used war and military spending to justify their lion's share of tax dollars and to disguise their strategy of redistributing national income in their favor.
This cynical strategy of disguised redistribution of national resources from the bottom to the top is carried out by a combination of (a) drastic hikes in the Pentagon budget, and (b) equally drastic tax cuts for the wealthy. As this combination creates large budget deficits, it then forces cuts in non-military public spending as a way to fill the gaps that are thus created. As a result, the rich are growing considerably richer at the expense of middle– and low–income classes.
Despite its critical importance, most opponents of war seem to have given short shrift to the crucial role of the Pentagon budget and its contractors as major sources of war and militarism—a phenomenon that the late President Eisenhower warned against nearly half a century ago. Perhaps a major reason for this oversight is that critics of war and militarism tend to view the U.S. military force as primarily a means for imperialist gains—oil or otherwise.
The fact is, however, that as the U.S. military establishment has grown in size, it has also evolved in quality and character: it is no longer simply a means but, perhaps more importantly, an end in itself—an imperial force in its own right. Accordingly, the rising militarization of U.S. foreign policy in recent years is driven not so much by some general/abstract national interests as it is by the powerful special interests that are vested in the military capital, that is, war industries and war–related businesses.
.
.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17552.htm
Wolcott on the McCain/Brittany/Paris ad:
ReplyDeleteBut I have watched enough television during incarceration to have a few points to make about the McCain campaign's new anti-Obama "celebrity" ad.
1) Obama looks so cool, upbeat, and confident in the ad that his smiling, waving, striding presence provides a "lift" that doesn't simply contradict the admonitory tone of the voiceover text, but visually drowns it out through sheer pow of personality. It'd be like trying to warn teenagers in the fifties about the dangers of rock and roll, then showing concert footage of Elvis at his most charismatic--great way to create converts, guys!
2) Regardless of the racial-sexual subtext being purveyed, referencing Britney Spears and Paris Hilton seems a bit tired and dated, the older generation scolding the younger. Picking on Spears in a political ad seems like poor sportsmanship (she's hardly done the harm to the culture that Ann Coulter has), and in her wealth, privilege, and lathed blondness, Paris Hilton resembles a younger version of Cindy McCain--there's an almost daughterly resemblance, an enjoined twirl of ruling class DNA. So using her as an object of derision doesn't quite gel.
3) The closing profile shot of McCain, head tilted as if basking in the soft heavenly glow of Reagan above, is not only corner and kitschy but reduces the candidate to a postage stamp--this, after portraying Obama as a fully engaged energy packet.
4) America is a country based on celebrity, a country where nearly everybody wants to be a celebrity, an American Idol, and decrying the cult of celebrity is an empty exercise in moralizing. After JFK, Reagan, and Bill Clinton, the candidate as glamour figure is already wired into our collective psyches, and Fred Thompson's celebrity status didn't seem to trouble Republicans when he looked like a contender, until they realized his gravitas was indistinguishable from indigestion.
5) The real message of the McCain ad is that they're envious of Obama's elan vital, and are reduced to mocking what they covet, Envy makes a person look petty, and a petty, peevish John McCain will be indistinguishable from the Bob Dole of 1996 if he doesn't "big up." Right now his campaign is making Obama look like the mature one, which may explain why at least one longtime McCain loyalist is barking from the shadows."
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/wolcott/
I was speaking of an Obama Presidency. Though I did mention Afghanistan. Hopefully, with a more aggressive approach to proxy combatives Team Obama could make greater progress in Afghanistan than Team43 has produced.
ReplyDeleteIf Iraq is still considered an anti-terrorist action then the principles followed by Clarke and Beers would be applied, there, as well.
It would be the "Exit Plan", to replace US combat troops with Iraqi ones.
All that would be left is to determine the size of the "Stay behind" contingent and their circumstances.
It really really really is the economy, stupid!
ReplyDeleteI guess driving Binny about can easily be construed as "material support".
ReplyDeleteDetainee Convicted by Military Panel
Good thing we've invested so much in Gitmo, God forbid such a person could meet his fate any other way.
off topic
ReplyDeleteMilitary jury convicts bin Laden's driver
By MIKE MELIA, Associated Press Writer 15 minutes ago
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - A jury of six military officers at Guantanamo Bay reached a split verdict Wednesday in the war crimes trial of a former driver for Osama bin Laden, clearing him of some charges but convicting him of others that could send him to prison for life.
The Pentagon-selected jury deliberated for about eight hours over three days before convicting Salim Hamdan of supporting terrorism. He was cleared of the conspiracy charge.
Hamdan, who faces a maximum life sentence, held his head in his hands and wept at the defense table after a Navy captain presiding over the jury read the sentence in a hilltop courtroom on this U.S. Navy base.
The judge scheduled a sentencing hearing for later Wednesday.
Defense lawyers had feared a guilty verdict was inevitable, saying the tribunal system's rules seemed designed to achieve convictions, said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brian Mizer, Salim Hamdan's Pentagon-appointed attorney.
"I don't know if the panel can render fair what has already happened," Mizer told reporters as the jury deliberated.
Hamdan's attorneys said the judge allowed evidence that would not have been admitted by any civilian or military U.S. court, and that interrogations at the center of the government's case were tainted by coercive tactics, including sleep deprivation and solitary confinement.
Supporters of the tribunals said the Bush administration's system provided extraordinary due process rights for defendants.
"This military judge is to be commended for providing a fair and internationally legally sufficient trial for the accused and the government — regardless of the ultimate verdict," said Charles "Cully" Stimson, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs.
Hamdan was captured at a roadblock in southern Afghanistan in November 2001 and taken to Guantanamo in May 2002.
The military accused him of transporting missiles for al-Qaida and helping bin Laden escape U.S. retribution following the Sept. 11 attacks by driving him around Afghanistan. Defense attorneys said he was merely a low-level bin Laden employee.
Let's see...
They defense argues he was not allowed to sleep?
poor f*ckin baby....
I love to see Jihadist sons of bitches complaining that we "strong armed" them...
how about a DANIEL PEARL or NICK BERG treatment?
how about a soccer match celebrating Mr Hamdan's conviction with his head?
Dear Mr Hamdan,
You are a waste of human flesh...
rot in prison, and thank your so called god of your choice that your enemies are the Americans and Jews, not the camel humping scum that you come from...
Just sit in your cell and read how other Jihadists palestinians are BEGGING to be arrested by Israel rather than face fellow jihadist nutcases...
you make me sick....
I hope we keep your sorry ass alive for a century....
long enough for you to see your pathetic 7th century death cult consume it'sself into a pile of puss...
Here is a piece by an exSenator, a former Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor reciprient:
ReplyDeleteObama has the better plan in Iraq
By Bob Kerrey
His military experience & patriotism are beyond reproach.
As is Mavericks, they just come to different conclusions based upon their own goals and perceptions.
"Proxy Combatives"
ReplyDeleteThey're called the Afghan Army. They wear uniforms. It's a novel idea.
WiO, kinda ironic on the one hand that earlier video on how one should NEVER talk to the police and on the other you praise the use of coercive interrogation techniques. "Veee half ways of makin' you talk!"
ReplyDelete"Veee half ways of makin' you talk!"
ReplyDeleteWed Aug 06, 12:07:00 PM EDT
In most cases it's a lot easier than you think.
One of the greatest difficulties there's going to be in enacting a Plan Colombia for Afghanistan is that it isn't the bad guys who are running the drug trade there.
ReplyDeleteThe Taliban has kept itself clean.
So to speak.
I guess driving Binny about can easily be construed as "material support".
ReplyDeleteWell I quess!
Ash is back.
But see how fair the panel was, Ash, letting him walk on the conspiracy charge.
Indeed it does seem novel, as exemplified by the size of it, after six plus years of US support.
ReplyDeleteAfghanistan to ask NATO for bigger army of its own
At the NATO meeting in Romania Thursday, Afghan officials are expected to request money to expand its National Army from 86,000 to 120,000 troops.
By Gordon Lubold
The Christian Science Monitor
from the April 2, 2008 edition
Now Iraq, with a population smaller than Afghanistan has over 350,000 in its various Security Forces, and that is not considered enough.
That the Afghans have only 86,000 men in uniform, that's a disgraseful performance, by US.
Just by comparing it to our other work product, in Iraq.
Afghanistan has gotten the short end of the stick in a lot of ways.
ReplyDeleteAnd that started, lemme see, back when everything but the kitchen sink was being poured into Iraq - before that war even left the assembly line. And it never let up.
Sad but true.
If the Taliban had known what opportunities were available to it in resource-starved areas smack-ass against the border two years ago...
...Afghanistan would have risen back above the fold a lot sooner. And a lot worse.
We could have had a standing Army in Iraq in a week.
ReplyDeleteA Century from now, there's a good chance Afghanistan will be...
Afghanistan.
Colombia has, according to Yahoo ...
ReplyDeleteThe colombian military has around 380000 men between the army, marines and airforce.
The Afghan 86,000
The population of Colombia 45,013,674 living in 1,138,910 sq km,Area - slightly less than twice the size of Texas
compared to Afghanistan's 32,738,376 people and 647,500 sq km., slightly smaller than Texas.
8An Afghan Army of 86,000 or even 120,000 is not enough, based upon the success stories from Colombia and Iraq.
I'll also add that Europe is not jazzed about South Asia. And if it weren't for the Canadians, Aussies, and New Zealanders, I don't know what we'd do.
ReplyDeleteA Century from now, there's a good chance Afghanistan will be...
ReplyDeleteAfghanistan.
Wed Aug 06, 01:07:00 PM EDT
And that's exactly the sort of thinking that has left NATO with the booger on its finger.
We'd have done just what we're going to do, next year.
ReplyDeleteReorganize the Goals.
Reprioritize the Targets.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAnd that would be what?
ReplyDeleteCollapse from exhaustion?
Neither of those efforts are sustainable in the current numbers and at the current operating level. That's for sure. And both transitions are going to be hairy.
Why do I feel like I'm at DailyKos?
ReplyDeleteIt'll be whatever the new Decider decides it'll be.
ReplyDeleteA draw down in Iraq and an escalation, another Surge, in Afghanistan. Most likely.
But small in comparison, 10,000 grunts, tops.
Figure out a way to declare success or go to war in Pakistan.
Just to prove how tough and patriotic the new President is.
Bill Roggio, he stuck with it and made a career of blogging. Of Steve at threatswatch, Richard and Roggio, have to give a tip of the hat to Roggio. Steve has a good product, the BC is what it is but Roggio, he now reaches millions of readers.
ReplyDeleteA Dangerous Neighbor
How Pakistan's deterioration harms Afghanistan.
by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross & Bill Roggio
A draw down in Iraq and an escalation, another Surge, in Afghanistan. Most likely.
ReplyDelete- Rat
I cannot think of a worse time for a surge in Afghanistan. Force protection in various guises is going to eat you up. No longer a permissive environment for those who require it.
LOC in Pakistan have to be secured.
There's only one reason to justify it now.
Wiping out the Taliban. About which I've heard Obama say nothing. And that job falls in good measure to the Canadians, who will do it simply to avoid a shit sandwich.
Last year.
ReplyDeleteLast year woulda been good.
Last November at a foreign policy forum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Obama said there may be "40,000 hard-core jihadists with whom we can't negotiate." He went on. "Our job is to incapacitate them, to kill them." In that spirit, he famously announced that he would strike terrorist bases in Pakistan if President Pervez Musharraf ever refuses to move on actionable intelligence against Al Qaeda--
ReplyDeleteWhich you've said is current policy. So maybe he'd further empower that policy and change the civilian overseers.
Perhaps. Sec Gates, it is rumored, may survive the transition to an Obama adminnistration. Much as Mr Tenor did at CIA when Team43 came to town.
Afghanistan could become the Chosin Resevoir of the 21st century, if we're not careful.
ReplyDeleteThat's a fact.
I mean it's only a 1,000 km from Kabol to the sea.
750km or so, to India.
The Taliban's success in killing off the tribal leaders, those that came over to US, displays the fact we have not given those leaders enough support.
ReplyDeleteNot enough weapons, not enough air support, not enough security overwatch, not enough armored cars.
"Which you've said is current policy."
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Since Rumsfeld left.
Gates has said more recently, however, that he'd sooner stick his head in the oven than stay on in that job. Regardless of who may be elected. Or words to that effect.
We have so early in the day, Rat, reached that point where I realize that your sole purpose is incessant grumbling.
ReplyDeleteWhich is cool.
But you're gonna have to do it with somebody else.
Then it'll be someone new or a retread from the past, getting SecDef.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of the outcome in 90 days.
Linear--
ReplyDeleteThe law prof started out by reading the fifth amendment--'no person shall be compelled...to be a witness against himself'--taking the fifth doesn't imply you are trying to hided something--and then talked about Justice Robert Jackson of the Nuremberg Trials fame--'Any lawyer worth his salt should advise his client to make no statement to the police under any circumstances'--gave the example of Senator 'Wide Stance' Craig--even if you're a big shot--gave examples of the complexity of the law--no one knows all the laws--IRS, for example--gave example of transporting a dead fish from Honduras, which violated some Honduran law, because by treaty that's happens to be part of our law too--
1)No way it can ever help you to talk to the police--what you say can only be used against you--can't be used for you--prosecutor will object to that being used for you on the bssis of hearsay
2)No benefit from admitting guilt--The Innocent Project showed 25% of those admitting guilt, who were later found from DNA evidence to be innocent-got no benefit from it
3)Can get carried away when talking to the police and admit to some other matter or more minor matter you were unaware of or thought was of no consequence
4)Almost always end up giving the cops something that might be used against you--gave example of a killing and the guy says 'I didn't shoot him' and the cops say who said anything about a shooting?(was in fact a shooting)
5)Police will not always recall interviews with 100% accuracy-or, they might also lie
6)What you say might be contradicted by some witness unknown to you who is mistaken, confused, inaccurate,etc
7)Any mistake, even if true, can be used against you if the police can come up with some contrary evidence, even if false--gave the example of Martha Stewart, who got nailed not on the original charge, but on another matter she lied about; and Michael Vick, of dog fighting fame, who first told the police he had done nothing at all wrong, then got an enhanced sentence for lying to the police.
In short, best wait to fight contrary evidence at a preliminary hearing, negotiations, or trial.
About the only thing I can think of where I might agree with Obama is his bill(in Illinois legislature)to require all interviews with police to be videotaped, or they can't be used for evidence. I am for that.
In Afghanistan, a Ragtag Pursuit of the Taliban
ReplyDeleteAfghan National Police Sgt. Akhibullah patrols his beat with a junior officer in Chahar Darreh, Afghanistan.
U.S. efforts to train Afghans as a counterinsurgency force are far from finished.
Field Notes: New Yorkers on the Afghan Steppe
U.S. National Guard Trains Afghan Police
What should we call a man that volunteers his wife for a wet t-shirt strip tease contest, at a biker bar?
ReplyDeleteOut there in Sturgis, at the national motorcycle rally--I'd call him a guy with a fine sense of humor.
Even if his wife is a little old for such a contest, its shows he's got a lot of confidence in his wife, I'd say. My gal can compete with anyone!
ReplyDeleteash,
ReplyDeleteWiO, kinda ironic on the one hand that earlier video on how one should NEVER talk to the police and on the other you praise the use of coercive interrogation techniques. "Veee half ways of makin' you talk!"
When it comes to enemy combatants that are captured without benefit of uniforms I love the idea of water boarding...
How does that compare to a john q public citizen requesting the Pledge of Allegiance at a Town Hall with the State's highest elected official and the nominee for the democrat party leading the show?
Ash thinks that just because you drive bin Laden around you're no more guilty than a New York cabbie taking a fare to the airport.
ReplyDeleteFancy that, if you can.
"Afghan and NATO officials agree that there has been a sharp increase in the number of foreign fighters in Afghanistan. The majority of the fighters, they say, come from Pakistan, after having received training in refugee camps or Taliban bases in the tribal areas between the two countries.
ReplyDeleteAbout a mile down the road, an old man picnicking with his family near a small mosque waved Obaidullah over. He complained in a cracking voice about the Taliban in the district. Everyone, he said, knows who is behind all the trouble here.
"Our enemy is obvious; it's Pakistan. Every Afghan is trying to rebuild this country. Look at this road," the man said, flinging his arm out in frustration. "Look at the clinic and the shape it's in. The only reason it remains this way is because of Pakistan. I know who my friends are and who my enemies are."
Afghanistan is kind of a stalemate right now. The Taliban aren't going to be marching into Kabul, and with what we've got over there right now, we're not going to be able to get them all out of those mountains and huts, much less out of northern Pakistan. We're in a holding pattern. But, the good news is, Obama has promised to pursue the issue, there, where the real war is.
ReplyDeletejeeeeze, what twerp that guy was in the video. He squeals "its a free country" and then he moans on about how one "MUST" start a townhall meeting with a pledge of allegiance. Hypocritical twit.
ReplyDeleteIt's traditional, Ash. We do it here, for instance. The guy said his relatives died for our country. I understand his point of view, even if you don't. Obama handled it ok.
In other literary news--
ReplyDeleteAfter a tenancy dispute in 1599, the owners of The Theatre dismantled it during the night and its timbers were used to construct the Globe Theatre, by the River Thames, which became the home of Shakespeare's plays.
This has been a much remarked upon event, in Shakespearean studies.
Here
Mat, Introducing The New Super Sexy EV-02
ReplyDeleteA car only a Lemurian could love:)
ReplyDeleteWesthawk India’s ‘Anaconda Plan’
ReplyDeleteI have written that the by mid-century, the U.S.-India relationship will be America’s most important.
The U.S. and India will both need each other to balance China’s power. But before then, India might help both itself and the U.S. by gradually taking over the job of securing Afghanistan. This task is primarily a campaign against Pakistan; unlike the U.S., India can squeeze Pakistan on two fronts, and could conduct such a campaign with much more flexibility and more tools than the U.S. or NATO. Perhaps most important, India has a real motivation to do so.
al-Doug, what say we get together, pack up the families and kids, park grandma on the car roof, and take a vacation to Wally World in my new EV-02?
ReplyDeleteFYI: The Colombians are on their way to Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteHoo-rah.
How many?
ReplyDeleteash said...
ReplyDeleteI guess driving Binny about can easily be construed as "material support".
I missed that line ash...
Ash,
Binnie's driver, his accountant, his cook, his camel all should be flung off the top of the NEW World Trade Center's roof...
Ash, sorry to upset you but I dont listen to Cat Stevens anymore either, this guy supports Hamas...
as far as I am concerned we should BE LIKE OUR ENEMIES and issue a fatwa on ANY AND ALL SUPPORTERS of Hamas, Hezbollah & Binnie & company...
and yes the death penalty...
with pig fat coated bullets.
Meanwhile, our own southern border is becoming a War Zone
ReplyDeleteThat's a good question.
ReplyDeleteTerms are being negotiated there this week.
Trust In McCain Growing On Most Issues Rasmussen Polling
ReplyDelete"It's traditional, Ash"
ReplyDelete---
We don't need your stinking "traditions!"
Marriage is whatever we say it is,
...as is everything else.
If Nancy comes back from this vacation w/yet more surgery, she's gonna have to wear goggles to keep her eyes from popping out.
ReplyDeleteIsrael Insider keeps hammering away at the Obama Birth Certificate story. Says it's a forgery copied with the aid of his sister's birth certificate. I put myself on the Obama Birth Certificate hot line, to see if anything comes up.
ReplyDeleteNancy Pelosi, Just Scratching The Surface -
ReplyDeleteThe self-helpy title of Pelosi's book suggests, accurately, that this is not a traditional autobiography -- or, at 180 pamphlet-size pages, a hefty one. Think "Oprah Goes to Washington" and you'll get the picture. "I am frequently asked what event started me on my path from homemaker to House Speaker," Pelosi writes, citing her involvement in then-California Gov. Jerry Brown's 1976 presidential campaign. "One can only see in retrospect the steps taken that got you from there to here. They will vary from person to person, but in all instances, steps were taken. By recognizing opportunities, assessing risks, and taking action, success can be achieved."
Well, there you have it.
Or this bit of concluding gravitas: "As long as we recognize the power within us, we will continue to have choices, and we will continue to lead. . . . Know your power. When you do, others will know your power, too."
---
"Pelosi regarded stopping President Bush's Social Security plan as her biggest triumph as Democratic leader," he writes -- with no assessment of the merits of Pelosi's determination not to offer an alternative to Bush's private accounts. Pelosi herself is proud of that approach, crafted with the help of marketing experts who advised downtrodden Democrats going up against President Bush: "You can't compete unless you take him down a few pegs first."
Democrats listened. "In spite of repeated criticisms from the inside-the-Beltway crowd" -- true confessions, I was one of them -- "that we should have our own plan, our strategy worked," she crows. Fifty pages later, Pelosi announces that the speaker she most admires is Democrat Tip O'Neill, because "he was able to work in a bipartisan way with President Reagan." If there's a contradiction there, it's one the speaker chooses not to see.
The Colombians at least can sympathize with the Afghans. 40 years of war and assholes for neighbors.
ReplyDeleteBob! How dare you use 'McCain' and 'trust' in the same sentence!
Everyone admired Tip O'Neill.
ReplyDeleteThat Washington is gone.
American-trained neuroscientist charged with trying to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. -
ReplyDeleteYeeeeaaaaah buddy. Somebody finally came through with the proper semantics.
ReplyDeleteFrom Kevin Drum:
AGREEMENT IN BAGHDAD?....Via Juan Cole, al-Sabah reports that Iraq and the U.S. are close to finalizing a status-of-forces agreement:
According to a memorandum of understanding to be signed by the two parties after a summary of results is presented to political leaders, Baghdad and Washington have set a time limit for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq during the years 2010 and 2011, subject to change according to circumstances.
....The withdrawal may be completed by mid-2010, according to our sources. They also say that a consensus had been reached regarding the issue of arrests. The agreement stipulates that arrests by the American army can only be made with the advance knowledge of the Iraqi government, and that no violations of the rights of Iraqi citizens will be permitted.
Very entertaining everyone, I have enjoyed my daily readings while I lurk.
ReplyDeleteTrish--you are a riot!
Rat--Kerrey is a Democrat saying what democrats say. period.
Ash--ah, never mind.
Barkeep, can I have another? three fingers this time, please, and in a big boy glass. Thank you very much.
I dont even merit a gag?
ReplyDeleteWIO
ReplyDeletethe pig fat coated bullets definitely meril a hat tip, sorry to leave you out.
Thanks, Bob.
ReplyDeleteNice summary. I appreciate the time you spent going back there.
and yes the death penalty...
ReplyDeletewith pig fat coated bullets.
...and pigskin burial shrouds.
Trish has the uneasy feeling that her extended family has shown up at the Bar.
ReplyDeleteThere will be zero support for anything other than a minimal stay in Afghanistan. Watch as one ally after the other "redeploys". If any gains are to be made and sustained in Afghanistan, they better come soon. Forget about the decades long effort required to make anything out a the loose confederation of tribes. As in Iraq, it will be up to the Afghans to make a country. Palistan is obviously experiencing its share of problems and right now, it looks to this observer as if they lack the heart to beat back the fundamentalism. If Pakistan falls to the devil, Afghanistan will be next. If I'm right, we may as well get out now so that later we can, without remorse, bomb them to rubble.
ReplyDeleteBob,
ReplyDeleteMore Mt Shasta info.
Lemurian Lager of Weed, CA.
If I'm right, we may as well get out now so that later we can, without remorse, bomb them to rubble.
ReplyDeleteWed Aug 06, 06:51:00 PM EDT
We're not gonna.
We've grabbed hold of that motherfucker and we're not gonna let go.
Something to be said for that.
Wouldn't you say?
ReplyDeleteEspecially since we don't bomb worth a damn anymore.
ReplyDeleteBagram Airlift, 2009 to [ongoing]
ReplyDeleteA soon to be written Wiki entry.
Bagram isn't Berlin.
ReplyDeleteIt's Toon Town.
But I get your meaning.
ReplyDelete"If I'm right, we may as well get out now so that later we can, without remorse, bomb them to rubble."
ReplyDeleteBetter ok that with Trish. There's trillions to be wasted and that's not the way to do it.
"Mat, Introducing The New Super Sexy EV-02"
ReplyDeleteGM's EV-1 ad team designed that, didn't they, Bob.
Too bad you're a Canadian.
ReplyDeleteAmerica's hat.
ReplyDeleteOr what, Trish? Not good enough for you to declare your fake wars on?
ReplyDeleteThe never ending saga of thievery cronyism and corruption.
ReplyDeleteWow.
ReplyDeleteThere will be zero support for anything other than a minimal stay in Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteObama says the surge in Iraq didn't work, but he says Afghanistan is a big tire, and we need to up the pressure.
You're well read, Trish. I'm sure you can google the topic. US militarism Pentagon and CIA profiteering and wealth redistribution.
ReplyDeleteNo, not really, mat.
ReplyDeleteI thought you said youz a librarian, Trish.
ReplyDeleteI had a wonderful weekend in Melgar.
ReplyDeleteBobal: Israel Insider keeps hammering away at the Obama Birth Certificate story.
ReplyDeleteThat's a dry hole, Bobal. There's a clip from a Hawaiian newspaper that proves he was born in the States, and not Kenya.
National Lampoon's South American Vacation.
ReplyDeleteGo down to Club Militar's "Las Mercedes" resort?
ReplyDeleteNo. This was private.
ReplyDeleteWiO: I guess driving Binny about can easily be construed as "material support
ReplyDeleteMaybe we can pick up bin Laden's barber and masseuse and try them as war criminals too. Because we are such a shining example of human rights.
You know, T, you're a total jackass.
ReplyDeleteA clown, T.
ReplyDeleteAnd there are plenty of them.
"We've grabbed hold of that motherfucker and we're not gonna let go.
ReplyDeleteSomething to be said for that."
Maybe the good guys, the one that still have stones have grabbed and won't let go, but do "the people" see the upside in being bulldogged? I don't think so.
Afghanistan has been under the radar but let all hell break loose in Pakistan and casualties mount in Afghanistan and it'll be "So long South Asia."
No, whit.
ReplyDeleteWe're really not leaving.
THE OODA Loop Returns!
ReplyDeletebobal said...
ReplyDelete"Ash thinks that just because you drive bin Laden around you're no more guilty than a New York cabbie taking a fare to the airport."
I guess you missed the line about driving him about easily being considered material support. The main thrust of that comment was to point out how the huge amount of political capital expended over Gitmo is not worth that material support outcome.
With respect to the git moaning about the pledge of allegiance - he emphatically protested how it is a FREE COUNTRY and then proceeded to complain how folks at that meeting FAILED TO START IT WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. Dude, it's a free country, people don't have to do it the same friggin way everytime. I guess he's looking for a facist free country. where everybody must where flag pins and start every public gathering with a pledge of allegiance.
Afghanistan - another quagmire with no, I repeat, no, military solution. But hey, why not surge anyway - it must be to keep the fat military mafia cats well fed, right mat?
WiO:
ReplyDeleteThey defense argues he was not allowed to sleep?
poor f*ckin baby....
How about we charge you with being the Amerithrax perp, and keep you up for 100 hours straight until you babble a confession, and then try you in a Kangaroo Court that admits suchlike evidence obtained under duress. No, wait, I take that back about Gitmo, I don't want to insult Kangaroos.
teresita said...
ReplyDeleteWiO:
They defense argues he was not allowed to sleep?
poor f*ckin baby....
How about we charge you with being the Amerithrax perp, and keep you up for 100 hours straight until you babble a confession, and then try you in a Kangaroo Court that admits suchlike evidence obtained under duress. No, wait, I take that back about Gitmo, I don't want to insult Kangaroos.
Tell you what T, if you FIND my ass driving OBL around with missiles IN MY CAR do it...
Otherwise your full of shit...
teresita said...
ReplyDeleteWiO: I guess driving Binny about can easily be construed as "material support
Maybe we can pick up bin Laden's barber and masseuse and try them as war criminals too. Because we are such a shining example of human rights.
Actually T not a bad idea...
But i always wonder why do lesbians and gays support islamic jihadists....
can you explain that?
but while we are on the subject, those that HELP people like OBL are guilty of material support and in TIMES of war they can be taken out....
now your hero, obl, had a whole network of well paid help. i would have NO problem in having the entire group offed...
but sadly we dont have the balls....
now your hero, obl, had a whole network of well paid help. i would have NO problem in having the entire group offed...
ReplyDeletebut sadly we dont have the balls....
Wed Aug 06, 10:31:00 PM EDT
Splendid, what-is.
Splendid.
Wake me up when the Bar becomes something other than a PA system for the usual suspects.
WiO: but while we are on the subject, those that HELP people like OBL are guilty of material support and in TIMES of war they can be taken out....
ReplyDeleteGreat. Last TIME of war we had was Dec 8, 1941 to Sep 2, 1945. That's because the Constitution grants the Legislative, not the Executive, the power to declare war. The rest of this crap has been nothing but Police Actions. And there was a four year period in the 1980s when we ourselves were allied with bin Laden against the Soviets. I suppose if the Russians capture and try a retired CIA agent for war crimes for driving Stinger missiles into Afghanistan we can't say shit about it, even if they knock him around a bit, because all they have to do is say "Human rights? What about Gitmo?"
WiO: But i always wonder why do lesbians and gays support islamic jihadists....
ReplyDeleteClassic "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" type question. Does Tammy Bruce support jihad? What about Mary Cheney? Maybe if the fricken' GOP would stop equating lesbianism with witchcraft and vampirism and ritual human sacrifice in their political platform I could think of more examples.
"it must be to keep the fat military mafia cats well fed, right mat?"
ReplyDeleteActually, it's to keep the the stupid bankrupt and powerless.
Trish: now your hero, obl, had a whole network of well paid help. i would have NO problem in having the entire group offed...
ReplyDeleteWhen we turned Gitmo into a prison for "detainees" who would be tried under extra-constitutional rules like using classified evidence against the defendants they weren't even cleared to see, or using confessions extracted by waterboarding, our national reputation was shot so bad Lady Liberty basically laid down on the bed, hiked up her robes, and offered up any orifice. And what do we get for that sacrifice of our national honor? What's the bang for our buck? Are we getting the big guns put away? Are we putting Khalid Sheik Muhammed in a noose? No, we're saying that OBL's chauffeur is a war criminal.
And the rest of the world is laughing at us.
Actually wio said it. Trish just repeated it.
ReplyDeleteCan I second (I guess third) it?
Strikes me that Mary and Tammy don't go around spewing rants that would get them cheers from the Kossacks.
I have nothing against lesbians. We should all wear comfortable shoes and flannel shirts. The world would not suffer.
------
We don't need more examples. All we really want to know is the answer to
But i always wonder why do lesbians and gays support islamic jihadists....,
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete