Bush: Americans will blame Congress for failure to fund troops

"It makes no sense for politicians in Washington DC to be dictating arbitrary timelines for military commanders in a war zone 6,000 miles away."

Well, Bush himself certainly seems to have no problem with dictating other policies to "military commanders in a war zone 6,000 miles away". Failing to provide adequate troop levels to secure Iraq as indicated by military leaders, disbanding the Iraqi army over the objections of military commanders....

Boy, this guy really takes on the tough crowds. Next stop, the Texas Society for Brush-Clearing dopes.

Bush loves death. Every day of this war means (at least) another dead U.S. soldier. Every day he keeps this war going, Bush signs another death warrant. Most of the country has figured that out by now, but Murderer Boy just can't get enough.

Disgusted.

ITMFA

More of the same Bush propaganda & spin. I'm endlessly amazed at his inability to work with Democrats. Mr Bush is vetoing accountability. Megalomania runs rampant in the White House!!!

Dumbocratic Party = The Party of Defeat. Where oh where did leaders like FDR and Truman go that wanted to win wars?

The Democrats and its supporters are just as much a world threat as is Al Qaeda. What a joke!

Bush's strategy is a strategy of defeat Johnny D. The last 4 years have proven that pretty clearly to everyone but blind Republican partisans like you.

Thank goodness the Democrats are standing up to President Queeg and putting the Ship of State back on a rational course.

Did anyone explain to Wonder Boy that the adults are in charge now?

If Bush vetoes the funding bill, he is to blame for not funding the military. Mr. President “READ MY LIPS” no more free lunch, the American people have spoken and we’re not going to throw more lives and money into a never ending farce of a war. You made a big joke about congress trying to pass a non-binding resolution, so now they have passed a binding one the balls in your court. I’m really starting to think the only way to get this numb-skull to listen to the people is to impeach him along with the rest of those idiots in his administration. He’s back to the old bull about 9/11 that had nothing to do with Iraq, like the poster here just the other day said something about liberals repeating a lie until people begin to believe it, which I'm sure they got from Fox noise channel or Rush Limpwhatever. The republic propaganda machine has been putting out these lies and repeating them over and over, but you know we’re not as stupid as they think we are, at least not the majority of us.

John D, explain "victory" as it pertains to this situation. Explain when America and the world can celebrate victory over terrorism. You can't and neither can your hero, because it has never been laid out in plain English. All we get is, "insurgent attacks have decreased since last month" or the British withdrawl as "a sign of progress". I support our troops and I support America. There is no tangible, measureable objective, and do you know why? Because this is not a war! Your comparisons to Truman and FDR are idiotic. They were engaged in a traditional war where the enemy wore a uniform. There was no ambiguity to the objective. Everyone new the difference between victory and defeat, and EVERYONE knew when victory was obtained. So you or one of the other supporters needs to finish this equation:

If defeat = withdrawl, victory = ?

If you do not have a tangible answer to that equation, you are simply a warmonger.

Republicant's the joke's on you. You elected a guy who wasn't going to nation build etc, etc. Unfortunately there's nothing funny about Mr Bush's misguided excursion to remold the Middle East in his vision. If anyone is to blame for this defeat John D it's your boy. Then again if your such a tuff guy sign up. Chicken hawk!!!

We have pursued a failing tactic in Iraq for four years. I repeat four years. Conditions are worse now than four years ago. Our civilian leadership has failed. George Bush has failed for four years. Our senior generals have failed. Now Bush wants to blame the Democrats. Our generals that followed Rumsfeld with never a complaint, are more to blame than anyone. Not one would risk challenging the failing effort by saying "stop! This is not working". They lacked either judgement or courage.

Stand up to the liberal defeatists Bush.

Never give an inch to them in a bill that will weaken our security.

Democrats: stop playing politics with our security and the future of the world. This is too important to set abritrary deadlines and put restrictions on the troops. Yes it's hard, but we must stick it out. Don't give in to cowardice and defeatism.

Bush warned us on 9/20/01 that many would grow tired of the fight and waiver, and he was right.

Bush, don't waiver, even though we have to fight the enemy overseas AND the naysayeres at home.

Welcome back to Vietnam. The parallels are so frighteningly sad and apt. Machismo runs our policy now, with every breath uttered by this failed President being "We shouldn't surrender!" There is no end in sight. We continue to maim and kill our own people and others for a war that was built on false intelligence and, as is increasingly apparent, misleading information supplied by this administration. That Bush still talks about the threat Saddam posed to us and the world speaks to those 15% of people who still believe in Weapons of Mass Destruction, and form half of his popular support.

All of our allies are withdrawing from Iraq. It is now going to become the United States, going it alone, trying to prove we aren't "wussies." Welcome back to Vietnam.

David Shankbone

The way to support our troops is to bring them home! We need to stop putting them in harms way for a conflict that absolutely cannot be fought with the military. It's assymetrical. 3,100 American lives not to mention the countless civilian deaths is enough!

It's time to bring this American led war to an end and start looking for an international political solution. Clearly War is NOT WORKING!

Funny, Bush promotes enforced democracy 6,000 miles away but condemns it when it occurs just down the street from Pennsylvania Avenue. He does not understand that the mantra of fear, which he has hmmmmm...ed since September 11, 2001, is no longer having an effect on the American public. Yet, he continues to drone on with the same, stale threats, fears and bravado. If only he had served in war, I might think he means some of it. He never made the sacrifice then, is not making it now, and has not asked the country to make it. If anyone has put our military in unnecessary danger it is he.

When are we ever going to learn the lessons of Vietnam? Politicians are p----poor at running wars. That is the reason we have the military. Pelosi and her gang ought to stop playing politics with our men and women in uniform. Fund them and do it generously. They are generously giving their lives for our freedom to argue. As a veteran and an involved and educated citizen, I support our military and believe that when patriotic hearts prevail, we win. Stop being panzies and uninformed people. The more educated you become, the more conservative you become. Hooya!

You lebirals don't you have a job. I see you just on the internet. Go do someting productive. This the difference between a liberal and a conservative. A conservative is busy working and producing and an asset to the society. Libral by a definition is a parasite living on others. If its not for the consevative working and paying taxes, you will be with no food, no shelter for you that you get from the goverment. Instead of hating Bush, love your country and support the troops in defeating the enemies. You are a disgrace.

It will be interesting to see Mr. Bush veto a bill that fully funds the war (in fact funds it above the levels of his request) under the guise of somehow "not supporting the troops." You got your money, Mr. Bush. The Democrats ARE NOT "failing to fund the troops." If you veto the bill, YOU will be the one who is not funding the troops. Reality bites.

It will be interesting to see Mr. Bush veto a bill that fully funds the war (in fact funds it above the levels of his request) under the guise of somehow "not supporting the troops." You got your money, Mr. Bush. The Democrats ARE NOT "failing to fund the troops." If you veto the bill, YOU will be the one who is not funding the troops. Reality bites.

Its funny that Bush is now agrees that oil consumption indirectly funds Terrorrism. Hmmm 9/11............It has been discussed that the Bush oil empire funded the terrorists. Now Bush wants to reduce oil consumption, he was told many years ago that he needed to implement a change. Now that the Democrats control the House he has to face the consequences of his actions.

Bush=Terrorism

Impeach!!!!

Well, sorry bush, I still blame you. You brought us into the war unilaterally, declared victory, then kept us there. You lied to us about it all, didn't listen to anyone, stated that you "don't read the news," and basically looked the country straight in the eye and said, "screw you guys, I'm goin alone." Just because congress is doing its job and checking your unfettered power doesn't mean it is their fault. They have provided funding for the troops, just with conditions, conditions that represent the american publics sentiment. contrary to your belief, we are not all blubbering idiots, and we are fortunate to have a congress willing to represent our viewpoints rather than the single minded opinion of your evil cabinet. Sorry bush, you are the douchebag in all this, and nothing congress does can change that.

"For me, allowing the world to run its natural course, which can lead to more violence and hatred, will end up reducing the security of the United States."

Welcome to the unnatural course. We hope you enjoy your stay. Smile. Dick Cheney loves you. Fill 'er up with high test please...

Bush is so mislead that he has become totally unrealistic in his opinion of the American public. It's shocking that the man hasn't been impeached. Not only his "war efforts" are misguided but his entire outlook on government policy is ludicrous.

Democrats STILL have not provided an ALTERNATIVE PLAN. Why? Because whining about current situations is easier. They will always want what is easy.

Elsewhere on the web, I read a column asking what the Dems should do when Bush vetoes the bill. The author seemed to think that the Dems should give in and pass a "clean" funding bill. Otherwise BushCo would accuse Dems of not supporting troops in the field.

I sure disagree with that idea. My solution? The Dems should pass a separate bill right now appropriating the money to bring the troops home - whenever that might occur. Then when BushCo complains about Dems not protecting the troops in Iraq, there's a very simple solution.

BTW, a blinkin, what does ITMFA mean?

Congress basically wants us to lose the war on terror. If we pull out early , it is only a matter of time before the front line in this war moves from Iraq to America. President Bush is the best man for this country right now. All you liberals can whine all you want, youll be crying some more after we get attacked again.

One more thing, Stephen Colbert got it right when he called the congress a bunch of pussies for not impeaching bush. Impeach the man, he has lied over and over, lied about connections to the DOJ firings, I think he might have lied about being a human, lied about WMD's, let poor Scooter take the fall for his actions, what hasnt the man done besides lie about getting a blowjob? Congress needs to get off thier asses and impeach him for his crimes, lies, and flagrant disrespect for the american people (although that isnt quite against the law, string him up anyways...)

I am sorry that standing for freedom and liberty is so painful for some. It is appauling that the democrats are placing polictical victory over a peoples human rights victory. Were is all that strong talk they were full of before the war? This will back fire against them. The world will know we have no real convictions and unable to finish anything.This new congress is useless and dangerous.

RE: Bush love Death
The reports from the middle east constantly show how many Americans were killed or maimed.
Dear Sir,
Have you looked at our own statistics? How many citizens and non-citizens were killed on our highways each day. Do you know that in WWII we lost 5000 men in one day at Iwo Jima? Your response is only a "hate Bush" bashing - your president as well as mine. Get off on someone else, like Pelosi - Murtha - Reid, etc. They are the cut-and-run experts. Are you one also?

American's are going to blame Congress for not funding the war? Excuse me Mr. President?!? This war has been unjustified right from the start. Where are all those WMD that they were hiding?

America is unsafe unless we impeach Bush. The we can renew our relationship internationally.

hey edward - this is the alternate plan. set a timetable for withdrawal. what, you want to be in iraq forever? is that bush's plan? I dont get it, everyone keeps saying there is no plan - that was the argument four months ago - the plan has been made, and bush refuses to accept it.

Why are we there in the first place? The middle east was more stable when Saddam was there. Bush has no one to blame for this debacle but himself.

Stop making this about elections, furthering of careers, and petty power plays. The Democratic Party perpetuates the idea that Americans are too stupid to make the right decision and too lazy to do for themselves. Their existence and future depend upon the American people buying into the notion that Government should be "BIG" and programs with social funding should be "BIGGER."

The Military Commanders were approved to the right people for the job. Let them execute their plan and strategy and do what the Military does best. Provide them with what they need to succeed and get out of their way. Stop being crybabies and become part of the solution. Not the problem. Geez - enough already.

defeat = withdrawl, victory = occupation

1. the commander in chief has direct contact and information from military commanders 6,000 miles away. these are the tried and true men who have seen the effects of war and are capable of making sound decisions in commanding our troops. why do you think bush met with them to determine if reinforcements were necessary? they didn't get there by not making wise decisions, they are smart.

2. bush loves death? what about every other disease that kills millions per year?

3. we need to positively support our troops even if the war is not "right" as some say. less troops = less capability of controlling radicals who see the u.s. as western inferiors.

Bush plan = Pursue victory, stability and democratic freedom for Iraq.

Democrates plan = Let's quit and go home...

Which plan better confronts the real and ever growing threats of terrorism?

Which plan do the terrorist hope we take?

Who's side are you really on (please just admit it instead of trying to mask it behind other excuses)?

this article is borderline yellow journalism

The situation in Iraq sucks because of what the GOP congress, the GOP senate, and the GOP president have done for the last 4+ years.

How can it possibly be the Democrats fault if things go wrongly? Bush built this ship, now he refuses to sail on the thing afraid it will sink.

Bottom line... If things aren't working after 4 years, let's change what we're doing. It's like the mouse in the maze ... Even the mouse figures out after awhile that you can't keep doing the same thing over and over, after a little while, he'd just want to get outta there.

The President needs to be more concrete about commitment to Iraq. We were in Vietnam for 10 years with a draft and 500K men at peak. Would these fit within his vision of commitment? I think the public has spoken about its limits. Time for the President to flesh out his definition of commitment.

Bush handed the victory to Osama Bin Laden the day he decided to go to "war" in Iraq by galvanizing a new cohort of terrorists.

Bush can find comfort that his war will last well past his lifetime and probably his daughters, as well, so that future hawks can use it for political gain just as he did.

Fear is the object of terrorism and Bush PLAYED UP the fear factor after 911 and has at every politically expedient moment in the last 4 years.

Hubris is W's fatal flaw and maybe someday he'll make a fine tragic hero (from what I understand he is a likable guy)...

For everyone who is dismayed or worse about the current state of affairs, know that a new generation of liberals has also been galvanized against his ideology. Progress marches on.

We were supposed to have learned during the Vietnam war that wars need to have clear cut exit strategies. In Iraq, like Vietnam before it, we find ourselves fighting an unidentifiable enemy that will never quit until we leave. We shouldn't have gone in the first place, the whole pretext for the war was a lie, but once we went in we needed to satisfy ourselves that the WMD threat wasn't real, get rid of Saddam and his "evil doers", and then get the hell out.

Every day we stay in Iraq we loose more and more of what little good will we have left in the world. Every time Bush repeats his justifications for the war it hurts our standing in the world by reminding everyone how little he cares about the truth.

THINKING PEOPLE IN THE WORLD WILL ALWAYS BLAME BUSH FOR THE WAR AND THE MESS IN IRAQ.

You lebirals don't you have a job. I see you just on the internet. Go do someting productive. This the difference between a liberal and a conservative. A conservative is busy working and producing and an asset to the society.
Posted by: wantony | Mar 28, 2007 11:26:20 AM

I have already made my fortune and retired at age 52. My taxes on investments last year was
62K and paid them with pride. I suggest you get off your office computer and get busy. You're slacking off!

Polosi and the Dems are already self-destructing!

Despite what the far left Wacko's think, main-steam america will be very very upset if our troops are not properly funded in a way that is totally non-political.

If a surrender timeline is such a good idea, why not write it up as a stand along bill and see how many votes they can get on it?

The real problem: Republicans won't sign up to fight! Republicans are great for calling names and waving the flag, but when it comes time to GO TO IRAQ - They are absent from the recruitment offices.

All Bush lovers: Go sign-up TODAY and ship out to Iraq! Then the rest of us will have no problem letting YOU fight in iraq as long as you want.

Problem solved. SIGN-UP or SHUT-UP, bush lovers.

In response to John:

"If defeat = withdrawl, victory = ?"

I think the answer is victory = freedom. Do you not believe that the various terrorist organizations are planning another 9/11 attack on the US? Do you not believe that they want this attack to be more devastating than 9/11 and kill even more Americans? Do you think that if we pull out of Iraq, the terrorists will say "Wow, the US pulled out of Iraq and stopped shooting at us. Why don't we just leave them alone now and stop bothering them"?? Of course they won't!! Now, I don't have a clue what the answer is, but I'm also not in a position that gives me access to Top Secret intel and some of the best war commanders in the world leading the strongest military in the world, so my ideas of what the answer would be are somewhat misinformed, don't you think?

All I'm saying is that as long as the fight is for freedom, I support it. I don't know what Bush's true agenda is, but you can't say that taking out Saddam Hussein hasn't made Iraq, the Middle East, and even the world a little bit safer? And don't you think the Iraqi people have a right to live in a free country? If the US doesn't free them, who will? It seems to me the Democrats and people who agree with them feel that it's ok to leave a murderous dictator who kills his own people in power as long as we mind our own business. It makes me laugh when the same people who fight for people's civil rights in the US say that we shouldn't be in Iraq fighting for their civil rights. The Iraqi people don't deserve the same civil rights that much of the rest of the world enjoy?

Last I heard, Nancy Polosy was not elected the Commander in Chief and her power grab is Unconstitutional. Unfortunatly the lunatics have taken over the asylum (congress). I wish they would just pull the plug instead of playing these stupid games. But they won't because they are cowards

How can a President be so out of touch with reality? So many lives lost, so many more awaiting the final breath. America has gone from admired to hated in 6 years and we are more divided than at any time in my life. Rome is burning and Ceasar is playing the fiddle!

We are occupying a country that has begun their own civil war. There is no "winning" an occupation. We need to stop calling it a war; it is not. There is no victory to be won. Both the majority of Americans and Iraqis want us out. We did not rebuild their country when we had the chance, the game is over. The best we can do is help them rebuild once they settle their own issues.

The Democrats should simply send the bills back to the President "as is" if he veto's them. It will be a lot tougher a few months down the road for him to veto them again, especially when Congress has given more money for the occupation effort then Bush had asked for. All the other appropriations in the bill are there because the Republicans didn't finish their budget last year while they worked two days a week and campaigned the rest of the time.

Lastly, as the investigations continue into the corrupt Bush administration more and more Americans will be convinced that this bunch has no leg to stand on. If the Republican party intends to not be driven into the ground in '08, they'll convince Bush / Cheney to play ball or they'll get rid of them themselves if only to save their own skins once the investigations start focusing on the 109th rubber stamp Republican congress.

Congratulations all elected members of government, you have fired the opening salvos in the second Civil War in the United State. In the halls of Congress and the Administration you have let the irrational hatred for each other overcome any hope for intelligent dialogue.We, as a collective group, have deposed the government of Iraq and destabilized the country, creating chaos and anarchy. This has opened the door for a repeat of the Cambodian Killing Fields or Rawanda. Like it or not we as a nation will have the blood that is sure to be shed on our hands because we have the bravery to engage but lack the willpower to win. Congress sleep well at night and be proud. You have only reinforced the worlds opinion of us as a PAPER TIGER!

Edward,if your looking for a plan,call Juanito,he's home hiding under his bed!

The far liberal left, masters of the Democratic Party leadership, will never be satisfied until we all speak arabic and the U.S. Constitution is rewritten to implement sharia law.

Dems if you hate your country so much, move to France. They will welcome you with open arms and can to teach you even more about defeatism.

Has Bush read, "Night Draws Near" - Anthony Sadid?
I don't think so.
The people of Iraq fear occupation by America more than anything.

Edward notes:

Democrats STILL have not provided an ALTERNATIVE PLAN.

---

Eddie:

Please, please: let's play poker sometime. I know from your post that you're going to raise every time no matter what kind of junk you're holding. Credit to Kenny Rogers: you got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run.

Getting out is a plan. In this instance, it happens to be the only rational plan.

As for you macho types, e.g., Doug "panzies" F: man up. If you're masculinity is threatened by the notion that we need to bail out of a losing cause, you've got some deep-seeded issues to deal with.

The buck stops here Congress has arrived, and no more blank checks available for a war mongering and profiteering president! We very clearly see that this president wants to spend the whole term of his administration making war and without an end in sight. He has refused to listen to the people's voice, but if he uses his veto power on the latest legislation coming from congress he would definately be to blame. He like clear cuts, no pork and no conditions and that is all bull...

The far liberal left, masters of the Democratic Party leadership, will never be satisfied until we all speak arabic and the U.S. Constitution is rewritten to implement sharia law.

Dems if you hate your country so much, move to France. They will welcome you with open arms and can to teach you even more about defeatism.

“The best way to protect this country is to defeat the enemy overseas, so that we don’t have to face them at home,’’ Bush said.

Isn't that exactly what the war hawks screamed during Vietnam. They all said that communism would ripple through Asia and consume the entire world and before we knew it we'd be fighting at our door step. History has a funny way of repeating itself.

Withdraw the Democrats from Congress in 2008 and win the Victory in Iraq.

If we don't stop them in Iraq, we will not stop them at home, in our own backyards.

Of course Murtha and Pelosi and Reid and Schlumer and Hilary and Obama Hussien Barack and all the other Democrats will simply convert to Islam to make it easy for themsevles and sit back and say to Bin Laden: "yes sir Mr. Bin, we agree with you, we doing our part to help you win a Victory in Iraq and we are not interested if Iran takes over Iraq and Lebanon to confront Isreal. We Democrats helped you with our defeatest bills, remember us? Only thing we wanted out of this was a defeat for President Bush, the american public will back us up, we got 'em fooled as to what is important and what is not. Just give us a place in the history books that we sold out the Iraqi people and the American people just to blacken the name of the President of the United States of America and we not concerned that every american is condemned with him by our actions. We want to go down in the history books as defeating America by the democratic process, even if the future american history books are all written in Arabic or Farsi. We want our place in the sun that we democrats allowed the destruction of an entire country just so we could blacken the name of the President of the United States of America."

70% of Americans want you to end your war, sir.
The blame for Iraq is always going to be on you,the Dems just took away your unlimited credit card that the lockstep Republican Congress had given you.

Before this uncalled for war in Iraq started W. was boasting about "going it alone" if he had to.....now he is alone.....karma baby, karma.

If the Democrats get blamed for getting us out of Iraq, I think the Republicans should accept the blame for getting us into it and keeping that meat grinder running for over four years.

The Bush Administration has killed and injured more Americans than Al-Qaeda.

I see a few Republicans commenting here; and when they do it is just to attack other people and talk about how Democrats are ignorant and all that, how stupid can the Republicans be???

"Libral by a definition is a parasite living on others. If its not for the consevative working and paying taxes, you will be with no food, no shelter for you that you get from the goverment. Instead of hating Bush, love your country and support the troops in defeating the enemies. You are a disgrace." Posted by: wantony

Congratulations wantony your usurpation of Mr Bush is complete.

You are todays WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD! p.s. that is perhaps the single most ingnorant post ever displayed in the swamp. Surely there is a job waiting for you in the Bush White House. You ignoramus!

My fellow citizens,

There are some of us who have followed this since the days of the Iranian Islamic Revolution and then there are some of us who got on this train yesterday and even some who have just joined us this morning.

I am one who has been following this since I researched the history of the middle east from the time of the Persian Empire until this morning.

Tribalism is the issue here. In answer to a question in this section, it is neither withdrawl nor perseverance that shall "win" in the Middle East. Only diplomacy backed by enforcement will win the day. Even in that case, violence will continue in the Middle East for the forseeable future. Tribalism is that way of thinking that excludes the thoughts of outsiders for the survival of the tribe. The tribe is made up of several clans who have banded together to form a loose coalition usually along family or religious lines, but never political. The coalition is only as strong as the "evidence of benefit". So what we are "fighting" here is a way of life that we got our noses into in the name of a better world.

Is America the leader of the free world or is freedom the leader of the free world? One thing has been distinctly proven by this "war" and that is that America has the most feared and vaunted shock and awe quick destruction force on the planet and is literally unstoppable within the first 30 days. What has also been unquestionable shown in this "war" is that unless this 30 day "blitzkrieg" has in its objectives "complete annihilation to the stone age" of any capacity to make war where it is happening it is only and simply destruction that will sow the seeds of further destruction supported by the destroyed lives of those who have to live in the detritus of that destruction.

Is this a "war" about ideologies? Are ideas the fault here? Again, this is not the case. Ideas and ideologies are things that men do. So is government and sitting in the midst of this is choice. A man or woman can choose to follow their ideology and seek peace as well.

Is this a "war" about civilizations? Is this the ideal clash of civilizations? History has shown us that this is not the case. The Crusades were about more land and more money for a tapped out Byzantine Empire, in a word, expansion. The Jihad was a governmental response to this encroachment. Civilization is a form of living and not a way of life. Therefor the forms of civilization will be as many as the living forms that call themselves by it in the name of "civility". In its root this means "to get along in spite of our differences".

There are some hard lessons to be learned here. These lessons include the evidence that ideologies, religions and ways of living and NOT reasons to hate. These lessons include the evidence that skin color and genetic makeup are NOT reasons to hate. These lessons include the truth that all killing leads only to more killing unless you kill everything. These lessons include also the lesson that we are learning lessons and are no match for the precarious position that civilization hangs in.

We go about, all of us, from those who have been with this from the time of the Great Empires until just this morning, as if civilization was some God given right of the human being. That we can trample upon it and it will always come back. So there is one lesson that we have NOT learned in all our wars and all our killing. This lesson is that civilization is a graceful lady who courts only those who understand her delicacy and fight for her honor with honorable means and transparent motives.

Civilization is about to divorce us. In its place comes the unruly whore known as Barbarism. Take some time today to imagine having your infant son or daughter of grandson or grandaughter smashed head first while being swung from its feet into a stone wall and understand something: the barbarians are us all. Civilization has graced us with her presence for the past few thousand years. Is this because we were worthy of it? Or is this because of mercy or perhaps pity for all the innocent souls murdered in her name unjustly?

When will it be time for humanity to wake up? When will it be time to stop squabbling over who own what and realize that as a world we produce everything that is needed by everyone? Unfortunately I think that the goal of civilization is not truly civilization at this time but tyranny and barbarism. Where is the inspiration in conformity? There is none. Inspiration involves challenge and accomplishment and vision. When the vision of what we can accomplish together against the challenge set before us meets the vision of the victory of humanity over our differences then we will have INSPIRATION!

So I leave you with this. Think on this and begin to act gracefully toward civilization and the fellow citizens you have all over this world. We are ONE WORLD, ONE PEOPLE and ONE LIFE. We respect this or we die and nature will start over with some other form and try this again. After all, this planet has almost 4 billion years left to its lifespan until the sun gets so big it fries it. So don't think yourself too important but don't lose site of how important you are. It is a fine line that we are drawing right now. A little trust and a little cooperation would do wonders right now. At the same time, transparent criminals must be brought to transparent justice. If there is any muddiness to the waters then criminal is circumstantial and so is justice. There is a bigger fish to fry.

Benjamin Alexander De Mers
Tucson, Arizona

May God have Grace upon these children of Earth.

Impeach them Already -- per Dan Savage

Tammy: You're quite precious. Certainly the Republicans would never make war an issue to advance their own political agendas, would they? Your comment about social programs is about as relevant to this discussion as a grilled cheese sandwich.

Enough already! Bring our troops home now.

We went into Iraq, WE WON,we made sure there were no WMDs, and we got Saddam out. Now it's up to the Iraqis to get their act together. If they want to kill each other, that's up to them.

Mr Bush needs to wake up, and realize we don't support the war anymore, and we are tired of his lies to keep his war mentality going. If he's such a decider, just figure out a way to wrap things up in a year, and he can get back on his air craft carrier and claim mission accomplished!

I support the troops, I want them home, out of harms way.

compromise (compromises)

1.Settlement of differences by arbitration or by consent reached by mutual concessions.

No compromise no end D.C. or Iraq.

George you are almost batting a thousand in public opinion. You have alienated the entire world to the point where we have no support from any countries left, even good old england has started its troop withdrawals. We have only one friend left in the middle east (Israel), and that is purely a self protective measure on their part. South America almost booed you out of their continent a short time ago. It's a forgone conclusion that Russia and China are laughing up their sleeves at your inept administration they would love to see you stay in office and destroy what's left of our creditability. If there is a God in heaven and he does in fact have any love for this country then it's time for him to take action against you and your ilk.

Apparently, Wantony, the other difference between liberals and conservatives is that liberals are intelligent, well-spoken, articulate, and LITERATE individuals. I guess the coveted conservative jobs don't require such trivial traits. Well, see you later. I have to get back to work now, taxpayer.

Americans must be the dumbest race of humans on the planet! We have absolutely the shortest attention span possible. Hello! Does anyone remember that the Islamic terrorists attacked us several times in the last 15 or so years both at home and abroad?

Democrats appear to have an even lower IQ than the average American if they think setting a deadline for retreat from the middle east is a good idea. They are simply telling the Islamic murderers how long they have to wait to take over the region, the oil revenues and the power that comes from "licking the USA". Did we learn nothing from our previous withdrawals? Look at what happened in Southeast Asia when we withdrew!

It is way better to fight on their soil than on ours.

I pray that President Bush will veto any and all legislation calling for a withdrawal deadline for our troops from the middle east. God help us if he doesn't.

^ Edward, lets here your plan then. You have three factions fighting within the country: the Sunni (backed by Al'Quieda), the Shia (backed by Iran) and the former military personal (who feel dishonored because they were removed from their position). The bottom line is there is no right faction to help on a moral basis. If we can't support one of these and help them gain control we cannot win. As for the elected government over there, they have no ability to stand up for themselves and the organization itself is corrupt (not to mention contolled by the Shia to a large extent). Our options are A: stay in a war we can't win. B: Support an immoral faction. C: Destroy the country. D: Withdrawl. Which would you prefer? WWI and WWII could have a clear outcome because it was not civil war. Not house to house fighting. These are the circumstances that we have now. In WWI and WWII there was a government to beat into submission by defeating a regular military. There is no government or military to defeat now (we removed those and never should have). Hussein, evil though he may be, was really a strong control over the country and we need someone just as powerful to put it back in check. Take your pick.

Would it be wrong to pull our troops out of Iraq and strategically place them around the USA in military bases so that we have a firm defense ring around the USA? The $120 billion that is up in the air could be used to reinforce our COUNTRIES DEFENSES. We could have amazing missile tracking and destruction technology if some of that money was diverted to programs such as that. We could be taking a much more active role in homeland security technology but our "Brightest President" of all time would rather spend lives than dollars to protect our country. If any threat even got close to our national borders Air Sea OR Land, we could just blow it up. That is pretty simple. I think its about time that we curve G Dubyah's hunger for oil, and bring our troops home. Cheney's Haliburton will fix a well and it gets blown up! Not only that but his workers get slaghtered by the muslims because they are unarmed! Forgotten lives right there. Let the middle east superpowers such as Saudi Arabia and Israel deal with the evolutionary stagnant Iraq and Palestinians. NATIONAL SECURITY SHOULD BE HANDLED AT HOME, NOT IN ANOTHER COUNTRY, IF THEY WANT TO CHALLENGE US ON OUR OWN TURF, OBLITERATE THEM WHERE THEY STAND. WE NEED MORE HOME SECURITY! NOT MORE WAR. WHEN WE PULLED OUT OF VIETNAM OUR COUNTRY RECOVERED. WE ARE BLINDED BY REPUBLICAN PROPAGANDA FROM THE TRUTH AND THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRIES WARS. WE CAN PULL OUT! AND STOP CHINA FROM OWNING HALF OF THE USA, AFTER ALL THEY ARE WORKING TO BLIND SIDE US FOR OUR ENERGY.

After nearly 140 years, the Democrat "Copperheads" have again raised their poisonous heads in an attempt to interfere with efforts to free others. It didn`t work to end the Civil War and it won`t work now once the constituency realizes their duplicity.

To whomever post only conservatives work, why blue states have generate more money/tax than red states?

To all you bush lovers, war supporters or whatever, why don't you go hug a tree & rot. you backwater leaching trash...

Admit it Chimp.

You lost two wars.

Oh, and wantony, liberals hold the majority of the jobs in congress...

I'll tell ya what. All those war lovers and supporters who want to keep this one going ad infinitum, get out there and raise your taxes to actually pay for the war instead of robbing the next three generations in advance, and then sign up for your guns and uniforms, and get your butts over there to fight for your beliefs. If you ain't willing to put your money AND your life where your mouth is, then you're just a another hot-air Bush balloon of no substance at all. The rest of us, however, are not going to be fooled again. We KNOW a losing proposition when our loved ones are dying for nothing and we're going to bring the troops home, with or without your consent.

Not surprisingly the Loony Lefters are in full force there with their nonsense and defeatism.

Terrorism cannot be defeated, we're told. Nice attitude. But a free, democratic, sound government in Iraq and peoples of that country can breed nonterror. It won't happen overnight, it will take time, but it can happen. It's happened before and it will happen again.

Now, Loony Lefters, tell me, do all of you lose when playing "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" You do! I thought so!

"If the US doesn't free them, who will?"

Posted by: Michael | Mar 28, 2007 11:47:50 AM

Is this a sick, racist joke?? Do you think Iraqis and Arabs are inferior? If Iraqis want to live in freedom they are perfectly capable of fighting and dieing for it. It is not our fight.

Please remind me why, after 4 years, we are still funding our troops and this war through emergency spending bills?

You would need to have your head in the sand to blame the Iraq mess on anyone other than Bush.

This war was doomed to failure as soon as the Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz troika convinced Bush that they knew more about military operations than seasoned veterans like General Shinseki.

Put a child behind the wheel of a Ferrari and the results are predictable. That is the best analogy I have for Bush being Commander-in-Chief of what was once the world's finest military machine.

In the Muslim world, this conflict has many associations in an almost 2,000 year history of religious conflict and aggression. In other words, the passions run deep. Deeper than most westerners can fathom or are prepared to deal with. As soon as we placed troops in that part of the world, we became just another infidel to drive out of their homeland. I imagine 9/11 has long been forgotten in the mind of the typical Iraqi. The struggle now is to drive out the infidels and I don't see them giving up on that... ever. Just check your history books.

We had a brief window of opportunity to accomplish our objectives. We blew it. We're not going to get the oil. It's time to move on.

Support for the Bush-Cheney doctrine in Iraq is just support for more dead soldiers.

The Congress should vote a "clean" bill for money for the troops in Afghanistan only and see if he signs that. This is not a monarchy, Mr. Bush's party lost the last elections for control of Congress. Maybe they should allocate some money for the neo-cons to buy a clue, but I wouldn't put it past Bush to do something horrid to the troops and blame the Dema.

In the mean time, the Republicans should stop standing on the graves of the fallen and get a backbone of their own. Hagel has, so has Gordon from Oregon. Freedom isn't free. It takes a strong military, and a population who isn't afraid of shadows. "Land of the free, home of the brave" is who we are, not just the words to a song.

I love the name calling.

The "liberal left" this, or "Dumbocrats that"...

Spoken by individuals who have their heads in the sand about what is really going on.

When you have both Republicans and senior military officials criticizing this administration, it isn't "just politics" anymore.

Bush constantly tries to cater to the "simpler" American by using dumbed-down concepts like "winning" and "losing". Only an idiot wouldn't recognize that there is far more to it than that.

This conflict has never been a traditional military-style one, and if Bush was ever serious about "winning" he would have committed far more troops initially (as recommended by some military officials), collaborated (as opposed to stong-armed) the neighboring countries, while ramping up the PR/goodwill component.

Bush/Cheney have made it quite clear that they have no desire to withdraw troops from Iraq EVER.

If there is blame to be doled-out, it should fall squarely on the shoulders of the President and Vice President.

How many of you ass clowns have ever worn the uniform or been to Iraq or Afghanistan? Understand that this is the norm these days people, and it's all in how we deal w/ it. You bunch of damn liberals are the reason we can't actually FIGHT a war anymore. You're the reason for the change in warfighting doctrine. It's that change that ACTUALLY KILLS our troops. I'm sure most of you don't get it. That in itself will assure our demise EVENTUALLY. I'll be heading back to Iraq for the second time this Monday to continue our mission. I'm not afforded the opportunity to bitch like you pansy asses. Must be nice. Do us all a favor and keep paying your damn taxes. We'll spend it as we see fit one way or the other. How many of you drive alternative or flex fuel vehicles? How many of ya recycle?I bet you all enjoy your way of life and standards of living, huh? Bunch of damn hypocrites. I think most of you bitch just for the sake of it. Weak minded idiots. There's always a bigger picture you selfish assholes. That liberal train of thought will break us soon enough. God be with us.

The USA should not be protecting the interests of Halliburton, plain and simple, why I agree we can not just leave it is time to wake up and realize why we are in occupation, it is for the interests of Halliburton and not terror is just our masks...

The truth is that the "War on Terror" is really a war on "Militant Islam." Terrorists could care less whether we are united as a country or not. They would like to see every American Dead and every American home burned to the ground. They may just get there wish if we keep this finger pointing game on going. We (Americans) have been ignoring the signs from Terrorist for over 30 years. It took Sept. 11 to finally wake us up, but we are still napping on the issue.

Placing a deadline for withdrawal in Iraq is a disaster scenario. Don't think for a minute that Iran won't instantly invade Iraq and setup a Middle East Superpower ( with backing from Russia) and dictate to us. We think gas is expensive now just wait! Iran is at the heart of Terrorism and Iraq is a walk in the park compared to the conflict we face in Iran.

In the end we are going to either win or lose. I don't want to tell my kids and grandkids what it was like to live in a free country.

Support for the Bush-Cheney doctrine in Iraq is just support for more dead soldiers.

The Congress should vote a "clean" bill for money for the troops in Afghanistan only and see if he signs that. This is not a monarchy, Mr. Bush's party lost the last elections for control of Congress. Maybe they should allocate some money for the neo-cons to buy a clue, but I wouldn't put it past Bush to do something horrid to the troops and blame the Dema.

In the mean time, the Republicans should stop standing on the graves of the fallen and get a backbone of their own. Hagel has, so has Gordon from Oregon. Freedom isn't free. It takes a strong military, and a population who isn't afraid of shadows. "Land of the free, home of the brave" is who we are, not just the words to a song.

Will someone please explain to me how the enemy would follow us home if we left Iraq. Iraqis want us to go home, not follow us home. I can't think of a more stupid and naive rationale for us staying in Iraq than the whole "they'll follow us home" crap...

Seriously...how would they follow us home? By duct-taping themselves to the planes taking our troops home? By swimming the ocean??? By crossing our porous borders....oh crap, maybe we shoulda done something about our borders...

OK let me get this straight if the bill with over 20 BILLION, that is Billion with a "B", in pork for and a deadline for surrender gets veto'ed it's who fault? You people are so blind is anything in the world that the Dems aren' going to blame the president for? My god give the president what he asked for take out the pork and the deadlines. He was right in the begining when he said alot of American aren't going to have the stomach to complete this task. Anyone with even the smallest of military experence know that if we set a date for leaving is the date that the terrorist will parade in the street and claim victory. Also it will be the same date every year after that other building in the US blows up. It is simple the terrorist have said they are going to kill us all and it doesnt matter to them where. frankly i feel alot better that a soldier with the skills and equipment do it in some far away land than my 4 year old at school. if we leave they will follow and if that happens of course ya'll will blame President Bush for it becuase he pulled out of Iraq to soon. Believe me no soldier wants to die for his country he wants to make that stupid terrorist die for his. NO one hates war more than a soldier. Let them do their job stay out of their way and thank god that everyone of those young men and women have had the courage to raise their hand and say they are willing to defend those of you that have only the shield they provide for you. Spew your hate to yourself but get off the president. Not one Dem. has come up with another way to handle it.

DEFINITION OF LIBERAL FROM DICTIONARY.COM:

1. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.
2. (often initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.
3. of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism.
4. favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.
5. favoring or permitting freedom of action, esp. with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
6. of or pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies.
7. free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant: a liberal attitude toward foreigners.
8. open-minded or tolerant, esp. free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.
9. characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts: a liberal donor.
10. given freely or abundantly; generous: a liberal donation.
11. not strict or rigorous; free; not literal: a liberal interpretation of a rule.
12. of, pertaining to, or based on the liberal arts.
13. of, pertaining to, or befitting a freeman.
–noun
14. a person of liberal principles or views, esp. in politics or religion.
15. (often initial capital letter) a member of a liberal party in politics, esp. of the Liberal party in Great Britain.
_________________________________________________________

If "Conservative Republicans" fancy themselves as the opposite of liberal, that would imply that they are:

NOT favorable to progress or reform, as in
NOT favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.
NOT favoring or permitting freedom of action, esp. with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
NOT of or pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies.
NOT free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant: a liberal attitude toward foreigners.
NOT open-minded or tolerant, esp. free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.
NOT characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts: a liberal donor.
NOT not strict or rigorous; free; not literal: a liberal interpretation of a rule.
NOT of, pertaining to, or befitting a freeman.

"You lebirals don't you have a job. I see you just on the internet. Go do someting productive. This the difference between a liberal and a conservative. A conservative is busy working and producing and an asset to the society. Libral by a definition is a parasite living on others. If its not for the consevative working and paying taxes, you will be with no food, no shelter for you that you get from the goverment. Instead of hating Bush, love your country and support the troops in defeating the enemies. You are a disgrace."

Well, How does one respond?
To begin, how old are you? You sound like an angry teenager repeating the unintelligent, drunken and slurred politics of his ne'er employed abusive father. To clarify, while you are hard at work misspelling liberal,conservative AND government, some of us are out making positive change in the world and getting paid for it. I am sure that many conservatives are intelligent and well informed. You, however, are not one of these. I work, pay taxes, own my home and a car. I pay into a social security system that will never give any of it back to me , simply hoping that the baby boomers who fought for this country, in necessary wars, might see some of it. I love my country and my dissent is a perfect way of showing it. As an American, I am offended at the suggestion that I should quietly sit by and watch YOUR president destroy years of improving foreign relations with blind, unintelligent and poorly informed religious doctrine. And to prevent starting a religious argument; I am a Christian and his "indoctrination" both scares and offends me.
The disgrace here is not me, it is your inability to give an intelligent response to a viewpoint that you do not agree with.

In simple words:
Go back to the kiddie pool the water is too deep for you here.

"The more educated you become, the more conservative you become. Hooya!"
Please read above

-Josh

ALTERNATIVE PLAN is to redeploy the troops and quit bleeding them dry in iraq. Have you been listening at all? How many times it must be repeated before it get through that brainless skull. It is like talking to a wall.

If you think the war is sooo important why don't you enlist... Silence? hmm Then you should keep your mouth shut, whining little whore.

Anyway if iraq is soo essential to the war on terrorism or bring democracy why is that it was done half a$$? No preparation, no contingency, no idea of the different factions, no foresight, and the list goes on like the list of dead American troops.

Why are we there anyway?
Fighting for democracy & freedom sounds sooo hypocritically especially when you are removing it from your own country.
Fighting against terrorist? Hardly since it Cia stated that Saddam didn't like terrorists like bin ladin and the war itself is potentially creating more terrorist but then again the Cia has been wrong before.

We can never win in Iraq through brute force (especially if you don't wage a total war & constantly go half a$$ while selling out your troops) the best that we can hope for is a truce of some kind because like the Korean war the insurgent troops are being supplied by an outside force. Unless the outside influences is eliminated the war of attrition would never end with a desirable outcome.

"You lebirals don't you have a job. I see you just on the internet. Go do someting productive. This the difference between a liberal and a conservative. A conservative is busy working and producing and an asset to the society."
Posted by: wantony | Mar 28, 2007 11:26:20 AM

What asset to our country are you providing with this poorly written, mispelled and offbase comment? Is your job to continue to make conservatives look stupid. If so, you are doing a "heckuva job".

We shouldn't be in this war to begin with. It's already lost. And every death connected with this war is the personal responsibility of George Bush.

Carlos, I think whenever a subject comes up here that the republics want to make noise about, they flood the blogs with their propaganda. They probably have people they pay to use fictitious names, because I’ve noticed a lot of new names here with a name calling agenda and no real opinion of their own just partisan talking points.

"70% of Americans want you to end your war, sir."

John E.

You are missing the point- I support us staying in Iraq. I guess I am to use your pretty won out term "lockstep" .

I want the war to end- any sane person, Dem or Rep would. - (I know, get ready for the comedians on that one)

Doesn't it worry you that the only way the Bill got passed by congress was by either bribing some Dems with earmarks (using our money) or even better by coercing others with taking away some earmarks? ( come to think of it - I like that one)

Carlos said-
"I see a few Republicans commenting here; and when they do it is just to attack other people and talk about how Democrats are ignorant and all that, how stupid can the Republicans be???"

me thinks thou protests too much.

Americans wins the heart of the world when they lead multi-national forces against the Germans and Japanesse oppresion and threats, who took liberty and freedom away from many countries.

At present state the Americans is the one who took the liberty and freedom of other nations whom they deem as threat to their security although they are the one who have created this threat. To make matter worse, innocent lives are the victims of their many self justified actions.

Its is clear and simple issue, was there really a threat or actually other issues which drive this actions. America is a military supreme power, how could any other country be a threat.

Through their accumulated actions over the past decades, like a new virus, they have created an invinsible army known as the terrorist. Attacking sovereignity of other countries and imposing sanctions which affect millions of innocents lives have not eliminated this virus but spreading it even more.

Terrorist are initially just normal human being like us. They are not specially trained forces but just another soul who have severely sufferred the losses of loves one, been living in pain and was made to see their action as patriotic. You don't need a well equip military base to train them, you just have to manipulate their minds. As long as Americans create sufferers, the real culprit will have abundance of volunteers.

America need to win the heart of the world once againt to win this war not causing more hatred.
People of America can see the truth but the only problem is that elected political leaders set the rules of the game. If players quits, the game is over.

Withdraw the military and use the 120 billion to restore the lives of many sufferers. You will win the heart again and the virus will be eliminated.

Posted by: wantony | Mar 28, 2007 11:26:20 AM

Apparently, YOU don't work very hard. And your sense of irony sucks, too.

Congress basically wants us to lose the war on terror. If we pull out early , it is only a matter of time before the front line in this war moves from Iraq to America. President Bush is the best man for this country right now. All you liberals can whine all you want, youll be crying some more after we get attacked again.

Posted by: Boondock | Mar 28, 2007 11:34:37 AM

We were attacked on your guy's watch....and he continued to read a children's book for 7 minutes after being told we were under attack. That's pathetic not reassuring. Why exactly is Bush the right man for the job? How do you figure the front lines are going to move from Iraq to America? Is alqeada going to setup barracks on the border? Do you really believe that? Seriously? Why do you hate logical thinking?

Noh- what liberty did we take from the Iraqis?

As someone who has been dismayed all along by this administration's ineptitude and neo-con fantasies with regards to the Middle East, I must say that setting a deadline misses the point. What is the solution to the region? The Iraq Study Group had some good ideas. Biden and Kerry have talked about regional diplomacy. If pulling the troops out initiates a blood bath, can the USA really wash its hands of it all? I don't think so. I, for one, would rather that we fix the tragic mess that we have created. We need sound policy, not sound bites. I am also for impeaching the president and the vice-president.

The President of this Country is a War-Mongerer, his family's principal assets are invested in the Carlyle Group which in turn invests heavily in WEAPONS AND MILITARY TECHNOLOGY which means more cash to line the pockets of his and his own.

dan-

So your the president-
you are reading a book to school children.

you are informed that there appears to be a coordinated attack on US targets.

Your security people may a judgement call that as the president- oh my god, you could be target.

lets see-
should I;
1. Run ! - because we know that the president is personnally involved in defending the country and we need to get him into a fighter jet- STAT

or

2. Make sure that we can secure him before we move him.

Al queda on the border? Front lines have already been here - unless you believe Rosie O.

Logic is not your friend - my friend.

My history knowledge is not so good. When the USSR withdrew from Afghanistan DID THEY FOLLOW THEM BACK TO MOSCOW????

As an educated non-American, I am burdened with a perspective undistorted by partisan politics. I must say that the view isn't pretty.

Around the world, people are looking at the US and seeing that the most remarkable aspect of this "war on terror" is the amount of domestic fear it seems to produce. This is the fear that John F. Kennedy talked about -- the fear that keeps American civilians from seeing the commonalities between themselves and other civilians around the world. The fear that keeps American people from assuming the essentially American action of fighting tyranny.

Maybe I'm ignorant, but it seems that the tyranny that Americans should be worried about is the tyranny perpetrated on their own soil, the tyranny perpetrated on common Americans by their leaders. Around the world, common citizens gawk at the billions of dollars spent on this manufactured conflict, and wonder aloud if Americans couldn't do something more constructive with their wealth. Feeding the American poor, perhaps? How about establishing a minimum standard of health care for American citizens? Maybe improving access to education?

Poor Americans fight poor Iraqis, while a small group of Dubya's rich friends collect a tidy percentage of the profits. Hopefully the American public will soon realize that the most destructive difference in the world is rich/poor, not America/Iraq, Muslim/Christian, or black/white.

When Americans realize this, we'll have the troops for a war worth fighting.

George you are almost batting a thousand in public opinion. You have alienated the entire world to the point where we have no support from any countries left, even good old england has started its troop withdrawals. We have only one friend left in the middle east (Israel), and that is purely a self protective measure on their part. South America almost booed you out of their continent a short time ago. It's a forgone conclusion that Russia and China are laughing up their sleeves at your inept administration they would love to see you stay in office and destroy what's left of our creditability. If there is a God in heaven and he does in fact have any love for this country then it's time for him to take action against you and your ilk.

All of our allies are withdrawing from Iraq. It is now going to become the United States, going it alone, trying to prove we aren't "wussies." Welcome back to Vietnam.

David Shankbone

That's seems to be what this is all about, Dave. When Bush and the neocons came into power they were bent on creating their "own reality", void of diplomacy, accountability, responsibility, messy things like that.

Iraq was their big chance to show the world what being a superpower really means. See, in the neocon mind, Johnson had the right idea, he just couldn't get it done. Now, Bush was going to show the world, what the other failed Texan couldn't, who's boss.

Sadly Dave, the only lesson the warmongers learned from Vietnam was the "end game". Get 50,000 more Americans killed in a hopeless, misguided war, declare "Peace with honor", then get the hell out (and blame someone else).

What we are seeing in Iraq right now was going to happen, when Sadam fell, no matter what anybody did. What George Bush did was to put America's name on it.
My biggest concern is the next election. What I am reading here is a name calling contest between Democrats and Republicans, "Liberal" vs "Conservative" if you will. Come on people, this is not the next "American Idol" we're electing, this is the leader of the most powerful nation on earth. This person will hold the fate of millions of people, all around the world, in his/her hands. I don't see one candidate, liberal or conservative, who has the diplomatic skills to move the world towards peace. Perhaps Bill Richardson, of New Mexico, at least we've seen him talk to people we have disagreements with. Where are the scholars? Where is the candidate who really understands the world of Islam? Are we afraid to elect someone who might make us look less than tough? Are we afraid to elect a diplomat who believes in talk first and shoot later? World peace will never be won on the battlefield. If you're saying, "Oh here we go, another bleeding heart liberal", you're wrong. I am actually pretty conservative. That's why I think it's important to cultivate respect for our country, as a peace maker, not a war maker. I would like for the American Military to be respected, around the world, for what they really are. They are honest freedom loving humans who want to do their best for our country and the world. I know I have a grandson in Iraq right now. He's great! Unfortunately, if our leaders send them off willy-nilly just to make people respect/fear our "Shock and Awe" potential, they will only be respected by a small patriotic contingent of Americans. Our military people deserve the respect of the world, because they really are good people, because we really are a good country. I think the current administration is like a street gang. They don't understand the difference between fear and respect. Unfortunately, I think many previous administrations have displayed similar traits.
People! Please! Let go of the Democrat, Republican, Liberal, Conservative junk. You don't have to vote for someone with an R or D beside their name. You could seek-out a real scholar/diplomat. They do exist! We need a leader who will build respect for America. Not just in America, everywhere. It can be done. We are good people. Let's choose a good leader. Let's show the world what we Americans really are. Not Liberals, not Conservatives, not Republicans, not Democrats, but people who care about and respect our fellow humans.

Hello to all conservicons:

When you all show up at the gates of hell, you will still be repeating your tired old quotes of
might makes right, and we are Americans, how can we be wrong?

Wake up while there is still time to save your deteriating souls. There are over six billion of us on this earth and we all have a right to live in the peace of our own making.

There is nothing unique about the American constitution and it's bill of rights. All countries profess a love of some kind of God and that He is there to protect only us because we are such a fine lovable group. Most of the other countries on this earth have been here with their established governments much longer than we have, and were it not for religious wars, would in fact be living in some kind of self imposed peace.

The problem lies in the heart of all war-supporting Americans. While some of you believe that Iraqis are terrorists and must be stopped, the rest believe that the American military is fighting for the freedom of Iraqi.

When was the last time the American government did something that for another nation that wasn't beneficial? Anything you can think of has a hidden agenda behind it.

The only reason the army is in Iraq is because of OIL. Iraq was in much better shape with Saddam in power than it is currently. I do not support Saddam in any way, but the simple fact is that the country wasn't in total disarray.

Another point, does killing millions of civilians justify what a few terrorists did on 9/11??

How about when Saddam invaded Kuwait.. what did the US do? Why didn't they do the same when Israel invaded Lebanon and demolished the entire nation??

The Bush administration is corrupted. He should (and must) me impeached. Bill Clinton got in trouble for lying about getting some action, while Bush has lied about everything had no one has even hinted at the idea of impeachment? I don't get it.

Noh,

Very insightful piece. I think your's is the message the director of the movie 'Syrianna' was trying to impart.

Unfortunately, "patriotic" Americans can't be bothered with such "drivel". It's much easier to slap a yellow ribbon on our Ford Expedition, turn the radio on to Rush Limpbaugh, and scurry off to the mall.

Oh, there's the consevative mouthpiece now;

"Compassion is no substitute for justice", Rush Limbaugh.

Atta boy Rush, your da man! Way to tell those 'bleeding heart' liberals where to stick their compassion. Now back to business, 100,000 Islamo-fascist down, 1.2 billion more to go. Hey, no one ever said it would be easy, ok maybe a few people, but dammit, war is hard!

I think A-H are facts. I is an opinion.
A-Saddam had WMDs. He used them on his own people.
B-Nineteen Islamic terrorist flew hijacked plains into buildings killing nearly 3000 Americans
C-Congress gave the President permission to go after the terrorist…wherever they might be.
D-The administration made plenty of mistakes in the prosecution of all three wars and the planning for the peace. The biggest of these was not recognizing that it is impossible to live side by side with a culture that has at its heart a religion that has been corrupted by evil. Note: Islam is not evil in itself. It has been corrupted as the Christian religion was in the middle ages.
E-Our presence is minor compared to the hatred between the Sunni and Shiites.
F-The national media has a liberal mindset and is willing to print, show or tell any story that will discredit the administration in any way possible. The only thing more important is sensationalism: RATINGS…it’s all about RATINGS. Watch out Democrats, you’re next. Sensational stories and ratings will trump truth, discretion and party politics every time.
G-The terrorists love the American media. They’re easier to play than a DVD showing an IED killing our soldiers.
H- George and Dick, Nancy and Harry, Mitch and John and the rest of your 531 friends. You are all a national embarrassment. I was in DC last week with my kids on spring break and did the usual tour of the national monuments. It is absolutely depressing to see where we have come in 231 years.
I-We should throw all he bums out!

Hey Heartburn,

In the era of nuclear weapons if I was president and was just told that the country was under attack I damn sure wouldn't sit there for 7 minutes staring blankly. As a real leader I would have gotten my butt off the seat and started making phone calls, checking the "internets", turn on fox news.....anything at all to start figuring out what the hell was going on. Did you see him doing anything at all like that???

Any president who hesitates for even a minute after told that their country is under attack is not a leader.

As for this clusterfu$k of a statement:

"Al queda on the border? Front lines have already been here - unless you believe Rosie O."

I don't even know what you are getting at here?

Are you claiming that 9/11 was when the front lines "have already been here" as you so ineloquently put it? If that's your claim then why haven't we protected our "front lines" by securing the borders and improving our port/airline/cargo/nuclear facility security? And why is al queda just chilling out in Pakistan with no credible threat to them whatsoever? Perhaps, we're all still waiting for W to finish My Pet Goat?

I know this is a lot for you to digest. I'll give you 7 minutes to come up with a talking point or two to refute my posting....

And please...incoporate logic (and spellchecker) into your answer.....

Sharjeel-

I agree with you- you do not get it.

It's just broken that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, a major ally and oil supplier, has described the Iraqi invasion as an "illegitimate foreign occupation" in the opening of the Arab Summit.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=20163

The world is fed up with Bush.

John D your just a chicken hawk D-Bag who can't even come up with something more entertaining than your mantra of Loony Lefter. Look knuckle dragger, it's stupid and lacks any imagination. Then again maybe that's all you guys bring to the table. Uninspiring dreck. You may now return to your 5th grade class along with wantony, Paulo and all the other learning impaired GOP fanatics. Rot losers. You run up the white flag every time you post, just like the murdering monkey did when he picked the wrong fight. All hail the commander in chimp! http://www.bushorchimp.com/

Bush should sign the bill if he wants the money, then as he has done 100's of times already, attach a signing statement saying how the pull-out date is unconstitutional and he will not abide by that part of the law.

Bush is grandstanding every bit as much as he claims the Democrats are. He is a joke and the majority of Americans, Military, and people in the world know he is. I actually feel sorry for the 20% who still revere him.

Heartburn,

Pardon my logic, but wouldn't a perspicacious incisive, leader, upon hearing of an unfolding disaster, promptly excuse himself from reading a children's book, huddle with his aids, and focus on accessing the crisis (while others arranged for his security?).

Every second counts in these situations, the president should have immediately turned his undivided attention to assessing the current situation and formulating the appropriate response. You shouldn't be ridiculing any one's logic, your "logic" on this matter is lame.

Noh- what liberty did we take from the Iraqis?

Posted by: heartburn | Mar 28, 2007 1:17:44 PM

Their country's wealth, turning the country into a tribal war zone, destabilize it and kills thousands of innocents. You've just open-up the lid which the late Saddam been guarding for decades. He is a tyranny and dictator, I agreed but you've make the matter worse. Was it worth it?

Let’s face reality.

No WMA’s, no 9/11-Iraq link, & Sadam is gone. Osama Bin Laden can thank Bush for Al Qaida’s continued existence while he safely hides-out in Pakistan.

4 years into this mess, the US can’t leave because we know Iraq will really fall apart because Bush was dumb enough to invade a country that had nothing to do with terrorism. Let me repeat this to all the right-winged dunderheads out there still supporting Bush – there was no link between terrorism & Iraq. This is what you get when you listen to Faux News & Rush Bimbo.

Now, Bush finally got his scapegoat for when things continue to go from bad to worse in Iraq; the Democrats.

The other reality is that the US is going to be in Iraq for many years because Shiites & Sunnis will continue to shoot bullets into the back of each others’ heads & suicide-bomb themselves to Allah. US soldiers will be stuck in the middle, wasting military resources & soldiers doing nothing more then refereeing this mess Bush helped create. Who is the US going to go to war against? Shiites? Sunnis? When is democracy going to spread across the middle east when no one wants it?

By the way; Where is Al Qaida right now, planning their next attack? Who wants to bet they’re making plans while in Iraq, or are they somewhere else entirely?

Don’t you just feel safer from terrorism with Bush in office right now?

Hate to spoil the conservative party willing to follow Bush off a cliff, but Al Qaida & terrorists are laughing at the US & you want to know why?

They are not in Iraq.

They are no longer in Afghanistan.

Everyone knows Osama Bin Laden is not in either country.

Remember the nationalities of the 19 9/11 hijackers, including the 20th, & where a lot of the planning took place, not to mention all the training that took place in the USA.

Since the US will be stuck in Iraq for years to come, we should all feel better now that Bush gets it right in the fight against terrorism. Hey, I’ll bet Bush believes Jack Bauer is helping protect our country right now.

As outsiderlookingin mentions:

...it seems that the tyranny that Americans should be worried about is the tyranny perpetrated on their own soil...

This is, indeed, the most troubling outcome of the "war on terror."

Hawks universally know right-minded (not politically right) Americans will sacrifice freedom during the prosecution of a war, and rightly so, with the TRUST that those freedoms will be returned in due course. What could be more patriotic?

Bush and the neocons, however, have leveraged this patriotism to consolidate their position of power and with no intention of giving it back.

How revealing was Tom DeLay's comment on NPR (Morning Addition, Steve Inskeep interviewing) recently that his explicit goal is to create a "permanent republican majority."

This is at odds with what our Constitution, runs counter to the very notion of patriotism, smacks of fascism, and reveals the true goal of bitter neo-cons. Power.

Mr. Bush should remember, as 2006 elections proved, the American people are the Decider in this country.

At least one party politics wouldn't be riddled with all this nasty partisanship. But I jest.

"Noh- what liberty did we take from the Iraqis?"

Posted by: heartburn | Mar 28, 2007 1:17:44 PM

Come on heartburn.

lib·er·ty /ˈlɪbərti/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[lib-er-tee] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -ties.
1. freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control. (this one cuts both ways. Sadam was a despot and the sectarian government that we installed is certainly guilty of governing "arbitrarily.)
2. freedom from external or foreign rule; independence. (did you catch that one, its a doozy?)
4. freedom from captivity, confinement, or physical restraint (we rounded up thousands of Iraqis and placed them in captivity without due process and with orders from above to be "very aggressive" in interrogation techniques.)

A foreign occupying army, by definition, does not bring liberty. In fact, by definition as noted above, it is a violation of liberty. And no, just because America does it and tries to justify our aggressive invasion as "spreading freedom" as if one can do so against a hostile nation at the barrel of a gun does not make it so.

Though Sadam was a brutal dictator, at least it was clear how to avoid his wrath. Now with a civil war raging, no one is safe at any time whatsoever. We broke Iraq and are incapable of fixing it. I believe that is the reason Mr. Bush campaigned against "nation-building" way back in 1999.

To the idiotic Fox News question: "well isn't the world better off without Sadam??" The answer is NO NO NO NO! I'm not going to shed a tear for Sadam, but that doesn't mean that removing the counter-weight to Iran and strenghtening the Shiites hand at the expense of the Sunnis was wise or in the national best interest. Iraq War II was the wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time, and at some point in their lives most people here will come to accept that fact.

I don't pretend to know the answer now that we've destroyed the infrastructure of a foreign nation, toppled its bureaucracy and displaced the bulk of its most productive citizens. I do know one thing: pretty much everything that has been asserted by the Bush Admnistration about Iraq has been proven completely wrong. Therefore, the best people to get us out of this mess are: anyone but the Bush Administration. They blew this idiotic invasion years ago, its time to reign them in and let the adults with the vision to see the world as it is as opposed to how it should be take charge.

Finally, people, the Democrats ARE NOT cutting funding for the war, despite Mr. Bush's whining to the contrary. Give Bush the bill with $120 billion in funding and make him veto it if he feels he has to. He will then have to spin his way out of the fact that it is his petulance that is keeping the troops from being funded to the level that the Democrats have offered.

dt - good post....

I only see one problem with your comment...words like "perspicacious" and "incisive" may be a bit too big for heartburn. After all, finishing up My Pet Goat was the best option he could come up with when presented with the "country is under attack" scenario. By his logic we should all be thankful W wasn't reading a Dr. Suess book. Some of those can be pretty long....

I think A-H are facts. I is an opinion.
A-Saddam had WMDs. He used them on his own people.
B-Nineteen Islamic terrorist flew hijacked plains into buildings killing nearly 3000 Americans
C-Congress gave the President permission to go after the terrorist…wherever they might be.
D-The administration made plenty of mistakes in the prosecution of all three wars and the planning for the peace. The biggest of these was not recognizing that it is impossible to live side by side with a culture that has at its heart a religion that has been corrupted by evil. Note: Islam is not evil in itself. It has been corrupted as the Christian religion was in the middle ages.
E-Our presence is minor compared to the hatred between the Sunni and Shiites.
F-The national media has a liberal mindset and is willing to print, show or tell any story that will discredit the administration in any way possible. The only thing more important is sensationalism: RATINGS…it’s all about RATINGS. Watch out Democrats, you’re next. Sensational stories and ratings will trump truth, discretion and party politics every time.
G-The terrorists love the American media. They’re easier to play than a DVD showing an IED killing our soldiers.
H- George and Dick, Nancy and Harry, Mitch and John and the rest of your 531 friends. You are all a national embarrassment. I was in DC last week with my kids on spring break and did the usual tour of the national monuments. It is absolutely depressing to see where we have come in 231 years.
I-We should throw all he bums out!

Posted by: Chuck | Mar 28, 2007 2:36:00 PM

Chuck:

You surely fancy your self as a calm, levelheaded, principled conservative. I beg to differ.

a. The WMDs you refer to were used many, many years before we attacked in 1991, let alone in 2003. By your logic, we should have attacked Germany in 2003, because it committed genocide in the 1930s-40s. You know better of course -- you're disingenuous, which is another word for liar.

b. Yes. And most of them were Saudis. We did not attack Saudi Arabia, though.

c. That's a bit of a stretch. Regardless, with power comes responsibility to use that power judiciously. 'Nuff said?

d. Islam is not inherently evil or violent, as you suggest. Indonesia has some 200 million muslims. Should we attack it too? And I think you're grossly erroneous in describing W's mistakes in prosecuting the war. Perhaps a better way to analyze the issue would be to have you knuckledraggers describe all the things W did properly. That won't take long.

e. Our presence is not minor to the people who are getting killed and maimed there, or to their families. I note that you're too much a coward to be among them. Hope you had a swell time on vacation, while your beloved war was killing your countrymen. If you genuinely think this war is important, get over there and fight. We both know it's not, which is why we're not there.

f. The notion of a liberal media is a long-debunked myth. Individual reporters/personalities tend to be liberal, but their bosses are corporate Republicans, and the bosses dictate content.

g. No one is easier to play than a right wing nutjob. When OBL came out and "endorsed" Kerry, do you really think it was because he wanted Kerry to win? You clowns bit that hook, line and sinker, and we got a nitwit murderer re-elected (loosely speaking) as a consequence.

H-I -- at last we find common ground.

ITMFA

You liberal. I am so happy to make so mad for calling all liberals parasites.There is a saying that says "truth make liberal mad". All of you liberals are from the school of ignorance and the land of misled. America is the land of the free and the brave. You are as cowards as your leaders Reid and Polosi.

a blinkin,

For the sake of clarity, please confirm that the acronym ITMFA stands for words that begin with "impeach the" and may or may not end with the word "already," but I'm guessing from the context that it ends with something much stronger and descriptive. And don't worry about MF. context is a powerful thing.

Sly (at 12:17:40 PM) uses a bunch of profanity in describing at least half his fellow citizens and then has the nerve to call down God's blessings.

Sly, thinking of you and your intemperate self in Iraq, fighting a war that isn't a "war", is going to give me nightmares tonight. If you really feel about me (I'm a way far left liberal) the way you wrote in your post, I wish you wouldn't go back. You can't make a very good representation of democracy, after all, and I can't imagine that you are winning many hearts and minds with your toxic attitude.

Thanks, but no thanks, Sly. You seem to be better suited to calling names on a blog than wearing a uniform of the United States of America.

ITMFA,
You must be a very educated liberal. Your retorts were well written and concise. That being said, I don’t take kindly to being called a liar. I guess my skin hasn’t been “blog hardened” yet. Where did all the WMDs go? Syria? And “knuckledraggers”? One of the things I most dislike about a lot of the talk radio – and yes my job allows me to listen to talk radio – is the way the hosts name call. Come on, I thought you libs were more considerate than that. There is lots of good information on those shows, it gives NPR a nice balance. (Comment E came right from a Morning Edition report.) It’s very enlightening to hear many sides to the same story. Try it, you might learn something. Don’t just drink the kool-aid, expand your sources and you will see all the bias that exist.
Of W’s mistakes, I’m sure there are many. One of his biggest may be trying to give them one last chance as they are doing now. I want our troops home too. I also want Iraq to be as stable as possible when we leave. History will tell. They have big problems over there, mostly with leadership. However it turns out, it is not good policy for Congress to set a time line. It reminds me of the press during the First Golf War asking General Swartzkoff (sp?) “How many troops do you have, where are the located and when will they begin operations?”
As to my military service I have to report I was a post Vietnam and choose not to enlist. I regret that decision today.
And FYI, the worst part of my week happens every Sunday when “This Week with George Strep…..”gives the war casualties at the end of the show. It’s very appropriate to see that right before I leave for church.

Remember what Pres. Kennedy told the Russians during the Cuban crisis? I see these current Democrats are not as gutsy as Pres. Kennedy. These current Democrats are a bunch of sissies. Pres. Kennedy may be a Democrat but a Republican by guts and actions... Who was the president or vice-president when Oliver North testified in congress about the Al-Queda and Osama bin laden and didn't take any actions, and even scoff oliver North?

And every death connected with this war is the personal responsibility of George Bush.

Remember the Lancet Report?

"The British government was advised against publicly criticising a report estimating that 655,000 Iraqis had died due to the war, the BBC has learnt."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6495753.stm

I really enjoy all these "fight them over there" quotes, particularly the last one which assumes we would lose and all end up speaking Arabic:

"The best way to protect this country is to defeat the enemy overseas, so that we don’t have to face them at home" - Bush

"It is way better to fight on their soil than on ours." - G Mac

"If we don't stop them in Iraq, we will not stop them at home, in our own backyards." - Bob

But wouldn't it really be a whole heck of a lot easier to fight them over here? Most of our military forces are based here, after all. And recruiting is a heck of a lot easier when we are defending our country instead of attacking some random foreign country to boost a candidates poll ratings. Plus, it would cut our transportation costs and force "them" to ship their men and weapons across the ocean. Or swim if our navy caught them en route.

I suppose "they" could still fly over on commercial airliners since we don't really know who they are, but airlines have all those pesky restrictions on bagage these days. No pocket knives, no box cutters, no large fluid containers...no RPGs, no AK47s, no IEDs. That's definitely going to cut into their combat effectiveness in my backyard. Assuming they make it past my neighbor's dog.

I do understand there is a drawback to the "fight them here" plan. If our government is stupid and "no one imagines" how they might try to hit us again, we'll suffer another attack and lose more lives and property here.

But I think it's ridiculously pessimistic to assume that any number of Arabic language instructors would defeat us on our own ground. Besides most of us probably aren't smart enough to learn Arabic.

Chuck:

Thank you for confirming my point re WMDs. You asserted as "fact" that SH has used WMDs on his own people. We both know that this use occurred in the early 80s (and was assisted by the U.S. (Reagan Admin) who allowed Bell to sell helicopters to SH). In contrast, by 2003, we had absolutely no evidence that there existed any WMDs. Quite the contrary, we had evidence that most -- perhaps all -- had been destroyed after the '91 war.

In short, it was utterly and completely disingenuous for you to suggest, as you did, that this past use justified the 2003 invasion. You've been "caught" in a lie, and the responsible way to deal with that is to acknowledge that you were wrong.

This war sux. It is lousy for our country and we all know it. It's time for the right wing to ease off the pyschological defense mechanisms that cause them to create arguments -- like yours -- based on dishonesty in order to justify support for a complete disaster. You are not GWB; America is not GWB. He made horrific "mistakes," but that does not make us a bad country. It's time to acknowledge this mess for what it is, take away some "lessons learned," and move forward.

---

a blinkin,

Nicely put.

dt - good post....

I only see one problem with your comment...words like "perspicacious" and "incisive" may be a bit too big for heartburn. After all, finishing up My Pet Goat was the best option he could come up with when presented with the "country is under attack" scenario. By his logic we should all be thankful W wasn't reading a Dr. Suess book. Some of those can be pretty long....

Posted by: dan | Mar 28, 2007 4:21:57 PM

Dan- thanks for taking it slow for me- so I understand, to you, "big words" equal intelligence. ( ?)
You say way more about yourself than me with your comments.

What are you compensating for with your big words?

With Dems history of struggling with such difficult concepts as the definition of the word "is" - I would be careful of what you are critical of.

Again - take it slow, we wouldn't want to actually clearly make a point, with foreign concepts like logic, reason or even wit. Let's just use big words and make ourselves feel smart.

Blinkin, who is always incapable of thinkin, Hussein not only used WMDs in early 1980s, but in late 1980s, during the Gulf War in 1991, on Shi'ites in 1992. It also was the reason Clintoon kept bombing Iraq throughout 1990s.

Sorry, to have facts get in the way of your delerium, but. . . .

We should be fully aware from strong historical evidence, that these people in the middle east are passionate and believe strongly in their religion. When Islamic clerics say "jihad", thousands fight and thoudands more die, for years. Isreal alone has been fighting since the dawn of its creation. THe middle east has thousands of years of violent history and wars. Tensions run deep.

Do you think some foreign power is to quell all that and bring "peace and stability" anytime soon? You (most idological republicans) have your head up your ass.

So how long are you willing to stay? How long? 5 more years? 10? 20? 50? "Until the job is done"? Be prepared for a long battle, longer than any we've fought in history.

Unless you are prepared to stay 50 to 100 years, I REPEAT, 50 TO 100 YEARS, then shut the hell up. In 50 to 100 years of expensive warfare, the US will be broke and china will own us. In fact, at this rate, it shouldn't take more than 20.

That's the future you advocate. Spend us to oblivion. blank checks to fight a war, spend and fight until we're all slaves because we've gone bust.

You repubs are short-sighted fools.

An alternative answer is intensive, skillfull (and far less expensive) dipolomocy. Get the world involved again. Get the UN involved. We've made a mess and we can no longer fix it ourselves without help. Its the ultimate sign of strength to admit your mistakes. It's not a sign of weakness. Time to admit our mistakes, get the world behind us again.

You are not GWB; America is not GWB. He made horrific "mistakes," but that does not make us a bad country. It's time to acknowledge this mess for what it is, take away some "lessons learned," and move forward.

Good blinkin point!!!

John D:

Nothing that happened in 1992 -- chem. weapons attacks -- constituted a threat to the U.S. in 2003, when we were told to worry about a "smoking gun in the form of a mushroom cloud," i.e., "nookular" weapons. My basic point remains valid: bad acts in the past were not the proferred justification for the 2003 -- imminent threats of the day were the justification. And that was a lie.

Sorry John D -- I posted over your pseudonym, not mine.