The President just gave a speech in Cleveland, Ohio. God help me, I listened to the whole thing, including the questions and answers segment. I’ll have more to say about the speech after I get a transcript.
But, after slogging through an hour and a half of Bush three things come to mind. First, he framed the issue of troop withdrawal as tantamount to surrender to Usama bin-Laden. Second, he said that we should expect the President to listen to the objectives of the enemy (again bin-Laden) and third he held up the city of Tall Afar as an example of a success story in Iraq.
On the first two points, Bush has never mentioned bin-Laden’s objectives in an honest way, and he didn’t do so today. Bin Laden intends to force us out of the Middle East by bankrupting us. He is not so stupid as to think he can force us out by force of arms. Bush thinks that his strategy is to force us out by killing enough Americans that we will cut and run. That has never been bin-Laden’s stated strategy. But, yes, the Americans do have a right to expect the President to understand our enemies. It’s too bad that he doesn’t.
On the third point, Tall Afar is not a good example of what is going on in Iraq. Tall Afar is in the northwest corner of Iraq, forty miles from the Syrian border. It’s primarily populated by ethnic Turkmen. The Turkmen are split among adherents of the Sunni and Shi’a sects. They reside in the north and northwest areas of Iraq, and they make up a significant portion of the population of disputed city of Kirkuk.
The Turkmen are an not insignificant presence in Iraq, but they do not represent one of the main factions that are spiraling the country into civil war. The real fault lines remain those that divide Sunni Arab from Shi’a Arab, the Arabs from the Kurds, the Arabs from the Persians, and the areas that demarcate the boundaries of the Sunnni Triangle (north and northwest of Baghdad) and the borders of Kurdistan and the ultimate control of the city of Kirkuk and its surrounding oilfields.
Whatever happens in Tall Afar, it will have little, if any, effect on whether Iraq’s central government can form a unity government and an effective civil service that can protect its citizens and provide economic growth.
The President is still smoking crack.
I don’t see that it makes any difference in the slightest what bin Laden’s objectives or strategies might be regarding the US in Iraq or the broader Middle East.
None of this warmongering and aggresion has ever really been about bin Laden or his objectives.
Invading Iraq was about destabilizing the region; ditto saber rattling Iran and Syria; ditto Hamas, Hezbollah, Muslim Brotherhood; Shiite politics/clerics ascendency in Iraq; Ahmadinejad electoral victory.
Bin Laden is the biggest “straw man”/boogeyman of all that BushCo has erected.
IMHO
While he was smoking crack he also had some people snorting crack. Those were the brown-nosers back slapping & telling him how great he was. I thought of Jeff Gannon when I heard some of these people.
Excellent analysis. You might also add that every time Bush appears on TV at this point saying the words War, Iraq, Terror, he’s driving his low numbers down.
Also, he stated something today about how America would never retreat from a band of thugs and assassins. He’s begging the question: After 3 years and hundreds of thousands of military cycled thru Iraq and after $$$400 billion (Billion) we can’t defeat a group of thugs?
Is it possible we’ve been on the wrong path the whole time? Of course, this from the same guy who lickened buying prescription drugs on the Part D plan as to buying a car: ‘The price is right on the window.’
Did Bush include the word “war” in his remarks today, or is the strategy like it was with his speech over the weekend where the word wasn’t spoken at all?
How contemptuous the rhetoriticians of BushCo must be of the public mind, as if they believe that not using the word “war” in a speech is sufficient to trick people into forgetting there is one.
in Tall Afar does not a success make. Let’s see how Tall Afar is doing next year at this time. I’m so tired of having the Phillips Academy head cheerleader in my face day in and day out I just wish he would go DO something constructive, like the football team……and leave me alone!
Great reviving of the word “smegma” MT. Bush sure is “cheesy”, after all!
This is why 34% of the responses in a recent Pew poll applied one or more of the following adjectives to describe Bush: Incompetent; idiot; liar; ass; jerk; stupid; and dumb.
Another 20% of the resposes applied the adjectives: arrogant; selfish; untrustworthy; bad; egotistical; stubborn; disappointment; or dishonest.
you listened to the whole thing and now you’re waiting for the transcript? You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din – after a half-hour I thought my head was gonna explode.
it made me want to have anal sex…a little stingy pain to take my mind off the other pain in my ass.
i dont go on the internet all weekend to give myself a break so mondays are my catch up on politics day
im beginning to think i need 3 day weekends.
Osama’s first goal was to drag the US into a war against Islam. He sought to unify muslims around the globe in a war against the West and the US. By entering Iraq in the first place, we played along. Now, if we withdraw in defeat we play into step two. We have to withdraw–for SO many reasons, and doing so justs casts a bigger shadow over our President. What a fool.
You watched the WHOLE THING?
I’m worried about you, Boo.
I listened to about 10 minutes, flipped him the bird and took a bath-
He just makes me ill and dirty-feeling.
It’s all BS. I don’t think he really has a clue about what the people in both countries want, nor does he give a shit-
The recent Pew Rsearch poll showed a considerable drop in Bush’s popularity. In addition, as has been written here and elsewhere, the one word description of Bush has changed. In the past, more people used the word “honest” to describe Bush than any other choice. Now the one word description of Bush as “incompetent” is chosen most by those surveyed.
But the real news may be that fewer people are using the word “sucks”. Back in February 2005, 7% of those surveyed chose “sucks” as their one word description. This description has been replaced by “ass” — used by 8% of those surveyed.
Also increasing was the use of the word “liar” “idiot” and “Christian” — interpret that as you may. The word “honorable”, however, has dropped completely off the results.
Tall Afar is a PERFECT metaphor, what are you talking about?
Pax
.
Tal Afar and U.S. destruction of cities, villages and bridges
near Syrian border in Euphrates river valley.
“But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”
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