"James Baker: Statesman or Traitor who wants the Terrorists to Win?"

I don't believe a word this guy says.

I hope they used pictures, or Bush will be lost.

The bi-partisan 9/11 Commission also had solid recommendations -- only to be ignored by the Stubborness in Chief,

We agree that Congress should study it. Only I prefer the "new" Congress which will have the guts and the teeth to get something done. Checks and balances return to Washington not a moment too soon.

War for oil. Hope soon will stop ...

From my contacts in Washington Bush has no plans for a draw down of US forces. John D ,JD, Paulo the people I have in Washington like Rick Wideman who goes in front of Congress for us Veterans say we have a huge problem coming our way from the returning troops. They will over run the broken VA

USA yet again trade its values for a quick fix. Turkey, Iran and Syria are part of the problem not solution.

This guy is nowhere near the President his old man was. I wish I had his old man back. Heck for that matter I wish I had Nixon back instead of him.

That's nice that dad's friends can help out. What a total joke.

The solution, the eventual way to win this war is to remove the politicians form the equation. When you're in a fight on the playground, you don't wait for your lawyer do you? No, you fight, you defend and you put down the bully, hopefully ensuring that the bully gets the message. We desperately need Generals like Patton and yes Commanders-In-Chief like Bush who have a SPINE!, are willing to take the heat and fight a war. War's not pretty and war can't be legislated, when Americans realize this, we can begin to resolve this. Let's let the military do what the militray is trained to do - win wars and keep America safe and free.

It seems that Bush still leads his governement and his staff still follow. Is this simply out of curiosity?

lets leave

Of course, all of this was predicted by several people before we invaded Iraq. And now we're trying to play catch-up. I was against the invasion to begin with, but now I feel like we broke it, we bought it. We owe the Iraqis the security to form an independent democratic nation, and unfortunately, the situation is nearly irretrievable, and IMHO, congress & the administration will dither until it's too late. We've only created another Afghanistan.

The biggest tragedy to come out of this war would be if the Iraqis end up with a government that is as bad or worse than Hussein's.

"We desperately need Generals like Patton and yes Commanders-In-Chief like Bush who have a SPINE!, are willing to take the heat and fight a war." - Par Guy. PG: Are you trying to put George W."ChickenHawk" into the same class as General George Patton? Are you out of your mind? IF Patton were around when George W."ChickenHawk" was pounding beer in the National Guard instead of pounding the jungles of Viet Nam like everyone else his age had to and Patton found this out - He would still be slapping George Junior silly to this day. Patton is rolling over in his grave hearing about some "Spoiled Rich Kid War Evading ChickenShit" being compared to him. Shame on You. Go back to listening to Rush on the Radio and watching Bill O'Reilly on probably your favorite network - FOX.

"Soon we will have miracle weapons that will turn the tide of war!!! Then, our thousand-year reic....er, democracy....will triumph!!!"

Of course, all of this was predicted by several people before we invaded Iraq.

Posted by: djm | Dec 6, 2006 10:56:27 AM

===============

You mean "predicted by thousands and perhaps millions of people..."

Hell, I predicted it, and I'm not a politician, academic, statesman or even a dove.

This had "bad idea" written all over it.

I was shamelessly eavesdropping on a few guys who looked old enough to be Viet Nam era vets a couple of days ago. They were all for propping Saddam back up and getting the hell out of there. It surprised me to hear regular guys talk like that.

""We desperately need Generals like Patton ..."

par guy,

Unfortunately, the Ren and Stimpy administration fired all the generals that has some resemblance to Patton.

You need to get back in the golf cart and issues some 'bring em on' rhetoric. Work some on the sub par postings.

George Bush Sr. the other day was crying his eye balls out since Jeb Bush will never make it to be president. The Bush dynasty is over, OVER!

George Bush Sr. the other day was crying his eye balls out since Jeb Bush will never make it to be president. The Bush dynasty is over, OVER!

Cheryl,

I'm not an old guy,but I understand their thinking on this.

Iraqi's and others in that area of the world thrive on dictatorships.

Sad,but true.

We need to find a dictator whom we can agree with on oil distribution ie to America also,and get out of dodge...uh I mean Iraq..

If only the W. administration had studied their history books BEFORE they pulled the trigger...

Of course, all of this was predicted by several people before we invaded Iraq.

Posted by: djm | Dec 6, 2006 10:56:27 AM

Many of us predicted it, and yet this President was re-elected to continue the fiasco. We should be asking what's wrong with our voting that we let him get re-elected.

Now for the war crime trials.

Par Guy What you say is pure lunacy.

First, who may I ask are we fighting. The Iraq PM Maliki is supported by Sadr who our military can not touch. Do you want examples? OK, We can not go into Sadr city unless pre-approved by the PM. If you have not figured it out yet Muqtada al Sadr is ANTI AMERICAN! The great Prime Ministers security forces are infiltrated to such an extent hundreds of Sunnis are executed monthly. What does this sound like to me it’s Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos al over again. Were chasing insurgences who want us out of the country also this is civil war between two religious groups.

Second a commander in chief with a SPINE, please, his military being attacked with road side explosives by people running back into Sadr city and we can’t touch them. If Miliki wants to be protected by a militia then we should say “have at it” and leave.

“Commander and chief with a SPINE” man are you drinking the cool-aid.

Nearly 3,000 dead, thousands injured or disabled and an estimated total cost of $2 trillion. And the latest reason we went to war..democracy? Let all those who want to continue this sham of a war go there and fight.

Hey Master of "Reality"! What percentage of able bodied Americans were in the jungles of Viet Nam? I don't think too many white guys who had the brains and money to be in college were fighting in that other waste of a war. Same ignorant arguments by the same ignorant people.

Previously, Bush muttered the words "Weapons of Mass Destruction" and "Osama" every chance he had. We havene heard those words in months now. I wonder why? Oh, ya this lie, like all others uttered by Bush didnt stick. He is a prime example of what a "C" student is capable of.

I WOULD CRY LIKE OLD MAN BUSH TO IF I HAD A SON LIKE GORGE W.

Pepe - You are the ignorant one. You "State of Denialer's" just cannot deal with the facts that we were led into this tragic mess of a war by your "ChickenHawk in Chief" - George W. Junior himself. If you cannot take the opinions of the intelligent people on this site then go back to your radio and listen to Rush Limbaugh.

I pray for the day the adults are back in charge. Unfortunately, this President has made such a mess of things it'll take 10, maybe 20 years to fix things. If he steers the right course.

And for Iraq? A definition of insanity is "when you keep trying the same thing over and over again, while expecting different results".

Iraq is a massive f-up. And people are getting killed over it.

Tearing down the army that existed when we got there, throwing the entire civil service out on the streets, barring former civil servants from working on reconstruction, shutting down every state-run, or state backed business in Iraq (a heavily socialist economy). Outsourcing everything to multinational companies with minimal experience operating in Iraq. Throwing all import duties and subsidies out the door and destroying what little capitalism existed when cheaper goods flooded the streets.
Setting up the American administration not with experts, but with ideologues dedicated to turning Iraq into an experiment in far-right economic ideology.

This is what happens when the far-right takes over.

Then, there's New Orleans...

I got on the Barney Cam again to see if the First-dog had weighed in on the Iraq Study Group. He said. "Wuf, Wuf, Stay the Course". Looks like 2 more years of this FIASCO.

Par Guy,

We're not in a war anymore. The "war" part ended a long time ago, when W declared "victory." We are now an imperial occupying force. And the Iraqis just want us out of their country so they can try to put it back together again.

You're right about ONE THING: Our military is trained to win wars and keep America safe. They are NOT trained to be occupiers and policemen, but that's what W has them doing now. Our forces don't need to be in the middle of sectarian violence that really reminds me of Norther Ireland.

I'm a veteran, and I'm guessing from your amazing ignorance that you are not. And neither is anybody in the current administration. That's the problem -- our forces were sent into combat by cowards like Bush and Cheney who have no clue what real combat is like. Bush doesn't mind sending Jim Webb's son into combat. He'd change his tune quickly if the Twins were forced to go to Iraq!

I agree -- let the war crimes trials begin!

George Sr. was crying because he propped up the wrong son to be President. I only hope we DON'T see the Bushes and Clintons trade the White House for years more to come, first George I, then Bill, then W....Hillary??....Jeb???...Please! Stop the madness. Let's vote for someone with some foresight...Obama '08!

It's time to start impeachment proceedings. If and when the Senate convicts and removes pinocchio, we start the same with "I had higher priorites" Cheney. Then he is convicted and removed by the Senate. Then Pelosi will have the spine to finish this farce by finding Generals who are not sycophants

"Nearly 3,000 dead . . ."
__________

This is the number of US fatalities. To further the point, please also consider the number of Iraqi casualties. Last December, President Bush accepted an estimate of over 30,000 Iraqis killed or injured. The number is just staggering. And just imagine how large that number is now since the spread of sectarian violence.

Bush says he's taking the study group's recommendations "very seriously".

Translation: "I'll consider the ideas that jive with my own opinions, and the heck with the rest."

It takes a special kind of person to admit that they're wrong in a public forum, especially when being wrong resulted in thousands of deaths. Bush is not that kind of person. Are all presidents as bloody-minded as this one, or do I simply lack perspective because George W. is the first president whose career I've been able to follow from start to (almost) finish? I've been waiting for this report for months, hoping that Bush would see that this is it, the last straw, the absolutely final hope of some kind of overarching advice on how to extricate ourselves from this mess we call a "liberation". Now that he's spoken about how he'll treat the recommendations, I hold out little hope that we'll see any kind of significant changes.

Somalia wound up as a hole in the map. If we don't start making things right, and soon, Iraq may very well suffer the same fate.

The administration better get on the phone w/ Syria and Iran very, very quickly if they want Iraq to stand any sort of a chance of being a unified country in the future. The US spent every ounce of their "Good Will" months after the war ended. Credibility is key to calming Iraq and the only form it will come in is Syria and Iran.

Wow, ultra left QUACK central in here!!

Another extremely depressing aspect of this quagmire in Iraq will be the eventual demise of stability Afganistan. If we just would've kept out of Iraq.......

Don't blame me. I voted for Kodo's (bush).

John D.,
I screwed-up. I meant to include you and Paulo when I recommended Bruce for Leno's Jaywalk All-stars on another post.

Wow, ultra left QUACK central in here!!

Posted by: John D | Dec 6, 2006 3:28:53 PM

And, uh, just what do YOU have to say, JohnD? Want to at least acknowledge the lives lost and ruined, the billions spent, and the loss of America as a respected, esteemed nation? The only "QUACK" I hear are those who do not accept the gravity of the situation. We are still waiting to hear about your enlistment...bet your anxious to go sit on some depleted uranium US shells in Baghdad.

John D.,
You still think that anyone who disagrees w/ this war and the Administration is a lefty? Pathetic. You are in the minority on your support of this mistake in Iraq.

Will George Bush take responsibility for this failed war? No. Will all those who displayed stickers and flags in support of this failed war take responsibilty for it. No. The only ones who will feel the weight of this failed war will be the soldiers who fought, died, and were injured in it and the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have died(and will die in the future) because of it. Those who supported this failed war should hang their heads in shame.

Hey Master of Reality you truly are a master of something, reality isn’t at the top of the list and certainly not being able to produce an original thought is a close second. Perhaps you should spend less time spewing left wing liberal rhetoric that you heard via the very liberal CNN and try to come up with a creative thought all on your own. Let face it, the world is a far better place without guys like Saddam in it! Bush at least took a stand, not like the cigar using, womanizing bozo guys like you probably voted for. Get over the fact that Bush will leave a legacy of having overthrown a dictator and not an intern! Your “reality” is so off kilter, you probably think Hillary would make a good president. Get over yourself!

Solving Iraq is very easy. Just put Saddam Hussain back as president of iraq. He will fix it in one or two weeks. People will die. So what? If we stay there more Iraqis and Americans will die. We used atom bomb on Japan bacause more people will die if war had continued. Same way putting Sadaam back is using atom bomb on Japan. We loose face if we do that. So what, as if we haven't lost anything!

JDL,

What was done to a single intern W is doing to the entire country. Regime change in 2008.

And yes, Hillary would do a better job as would Homer Simpson.

"Wow, ultra left QUACK central in here!!

Posted by: John D | Dec 6, 2006 3:28:53 PM"

The only quacking I hear is coming from the Repubs as they prepare to leave Washington.

Does anyone else ever read the headlines these days and think "Vietnam"?

before we condemm bush stop and think he had to make a quick decision on sept 11,he was dammed if he did dammedif he didn,t but he was man enough to think for stick up for the usa,
and thats what any country should expect from a
leader
perhaps some should ask themselves what would i
have done in his place

The only ones who will feel the weight of this failed war will be the soldiers who fought, died, and were injured in it and the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have died(and will die in the future) because of it.

Ross

Don't forget their families and friends, Ross.

I wish the guys on the ISG would just admit it's already over, we've lost this war, we need to get out people out and help other Middle Eastern countries get the factions in Iraq to the table to talk things out.

GEE I miss Bill Clinton, and his bad taste in interns

JDL,....little Johnny is this you???

You get the award for the funniest post today.

Stay the course buddy,I hope you win your war.

An Army of you,Little Johnny,and Paulo couldn't defeat my two year old niece.

BWAHAHAHAHHAHAHA, Bush being remembered for overthrowing a Dictator?

More like being remembered as getting us into this century's Vietnam. His legacy is and always will be failure. Time will be the judge.

I'm curious to hear from people what it means to "win" the war in Iraq?
I'm not sure the insurgents will ever throw down their weapons in defeat!

Actually, I think time, the American people, and his own political party has judged. QUAACCKKK, I here a LAME DUCK PRESIDENT.

From the brilliant minds of the whacked-out quacked-up left such as put Hussein back in power only shows the inability of the Left to grasp at anything close to reality.

And Jethro, no I do not believe it is just the whacked-out Left upset about Iraq. The fact remains, though, that as much as the Left wants a loss and embarrassment for the U.S. that is still far from reality. It is key that we win in Afghanistan, Iraq and with any other nutty Islamic country. It's either defeat the terrorists and have sane leaders in the Middle East or lose to the terrorists and die. Not much middle ground there, folks, and that is the reality.

Well, we can all sleep better knowing that
our soldiers will be coming home and when
they leave Iraq let us leave it,IRAN,SYRIA
AND PAKISTAN as parking lots so when the
next terroist attack hits us we won't have to
go back over there.
These terroist scum want to turn us to dust
always have and always will.
Seems to me that facing this scum in Iraq who
deny all rights to everyone is the right thing to
do with a larger force with the help of the spineless Europeans.
I weep for the future!

"JDL,....little Johnny is this you???

You get the award for the funniest post today.

Stay the course buddy,I hope you win your war.

An Army of you,Little Johnny,and Paulo couldn't defeat my two year old niece.

Posted by: John E. | Dec 6, 2006 4:34:44 PM"

This is a good time for all to post;

"Who I would rather be in a fox hole with"!
Rules, YOU have to be one of the members of a three person team' The others have to be actual people.

Here's my dream fox hole:

1. That 55 year old gal that smoked the home intruder the other day in the Chi. area. Some armed idiot entered her home and she took him down. Give her the '16.

2. That 92 year old lady in Atlanta the "went down swingin'" when the Atl. swat team went in. Imagine this old gal throwing out the rounds, and actually hitting these guys in body armor and all. Put three in the hosp before she went down hard.
Let her keep the handgun. Too old to change.

3. Me and a M-14.

Hint. Any of the above; better than GWB.

before we condemm bush stop and think he had to make a quick decision on sept 11 . . .

Posted by: r shepherd | Dec 6, 2006 4:33:35 PM
________

Please don't fall into that trap!! While this is true (and maybe even justified), it has nothing to do with the war in Iraq. Sure, George W. wants us to believe differently, but it just isn't the case. There was never a strong case linking Al Qaeda to Iraq just like there was never a strong case proving the existence of weapons of mass destructions. Al Qaeda in Iraq has only come along since the fall of Sadaamm created a power vaccuum.

ANDREW,

I'll take any French commando over GWB.

The reason "those terrorists" want to destroy us, Andrew, is due to ignorant people like you, who vote-in ignorant presidents that have a foriegn policy of "shoot first and ask questions second."

Andrew, you have helped kill 3,000 US Soldiers and 600,000 Iraq civilians and apparently you now want to commit genocide on the middle east. Congratulations on your one way ticket to hell.

John D., all I hear from you is attacks on the "whacked out quacked up left". Your Con Man-in-Chief has stuck us in a brand-new Vietnam and then says, when the rest of the country FINALLY stands up to him and says NO, that CONGRESS should take this report seriously. Apparently, he isn't.

Enough with condemnations. Start with contributions. You know the situation--what would you do?

JDL,
I agree with you totally. Bush had the guts to take a stand. Unlike Bill, who was only concerned with skirts and cigars. Kerry would have crapped in his pants if he had to make a decision on his own. When the Democrats take over, you'll see how bad things are going to be. They are already talking about raising the minimun wage, which will do a lot to make me feel safer at night. Ha ha

To the person who is afraid to leave their name.
Just remember all the folks in the World Trade
Center-ordinary people -earning a living with
familes,hopes and dreams-gone now.
All the service people who put us first-America,
her people,their dreams hopes and families.
Pick up a history book and read of all the
tyrants-Hitler,Stalin,Tojo,Mao who butchered
millions to make sure people had no rights.
Your ignorance is only matched more by your
cowardice to not leave your name!
If you do not think our country and its freedoms
and rights are not worth fighting and dying for
get the hell out and don't come back!

It's time to implement the four I's principle:
Investigation, Impeachment, Inditement, and Incarceration.

No wonder they pushed through the legislation to make themselves immune to prosecution for war crimes...

C Mo
I'll take Lewis Black and George Carlin. That way, I won't have to worry about killing anyone, cause I'll die laughing first.
My alternate would be Jim Webb, former marine and tough SOB who beat the Rove attack machine. Between burst on the 50', he could recite racy passages from his novels to keep us all entertained.

3,000 dead American soldiers in Iraq? As we hear lies about everything else, maybe those numbers have also been grossly underestated just like the number of civilian deaths.

Whatever the truth, this George W. Bush is not fit to run a hot dog stand let alone the USA.

Laughing out loud! It's nice to see all the left wing kooks have found another home, in addition to Craig's List R&R. I'm sensing you hate Bush. And I thought hate wasn't a family value!

Andrew,

Speaking of Hitler, you have a lot in common with him. You are a right wing nut job, as was Hitler. You want to commit genocide on millions of people in the Middle East as you not so elegantly stated "let us leave it,IRAN,SYRIA AND PAKISTAN as parking lots". Hitler actually did. You'd fit right in with the National Socialist Party circa 1933! (that's Nazi as I'm sure you're too stupid to know what National Socialist means). I think a law should be enacted where people who make ignorant statements (as you have on several occasions already) are sent to the very front lines of war regardless of age. Then idiots like you would realize the colossal error in judgement that you've made/are making in electing and supporting politicians like GWB. Oh, and a name means nothing in the face of truth.

LOL,
I'm not sure what you were trying to say, but you're wrong about Kate Bush. I love her with every fiber in my being. I suggest you Google up the lyrics from her song "Army Dreamers", have a cool beer, and chill. Oh, you weren't addressing me..you weren't talking about Kate?........never mind.

Unl,

Good pick with Webb. He is nearly as tough as my 92 year old (RIP) gunner from Atlanta.

"Laughing out loud! It's nice to see all the left wing kooks have found another home, in addition to Craig's List R&R. I'm sensing you hate Bush. And I thought hate wasn't a family value!

Posted by: LOL | Dec 6, 2006 5:56:21 PM"

It's nice to see the Bush regime apologists still have nothing to say.

It's widely accepted that freedom is payed for with blood. In order to protect my, and every other American's constitutional rights, I'm willing to take the risk that I might die in a terrorist attack . To trade one's rights to gain a false sense of safety is pure cowardice. Some people here seem very willing to see other people die to secure their rights to freedom, why are they so afraid to do so themselves?

Do the usual suspects think James Baker III committed treason and gave the enemy aid and comfort when he stated publicly that we currently do not have enough combat ready troops to be able to increase the number of boots on the ground in Iraq?

JD or John D.,
This means we do not have enough troops to attack Iran and Syria while we are entangled in Iraq

ANDREW, JDL and other neo-con keyboard heroes:

"The great criminals of modernity have been the tyrants who treated human beings not as ends in themselves with intrinsic value, but as means to their ends. This was the crime of Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Castro, and Pol Pot. And it is a sin against patriotism to treat a country not as an end in herslelf, a land to be loved and cherished, but as the means to an end, be it global democracy or "benevolent hegemony" or world government or Pax Americana or some New World Order. This is the sin of the Wilsonians and neoconservatives alike."