Bush: Is the fight in Iraq 'worth it?... Absolutely.'

"SAME TIME SAME CHANNEL SAME SAME SAME SAME"

6:30 AM CALIFORNIA TIME, ANOTHER EARTHQUAKE HITS AND LONG AND BEHOLD ITS JUST GEORGE BUSH GIVING HIS I'M GOING ON VACATION SPEECH TO THE NATION. WELL THE PART OF THE NATION THAT IS AWAKE OR NOT IN THE SHOWER. JUST ANOTHER GREAT SAME GAME, SAME BLAME, SAME DO NOTHING ADMINISTRATION AUGMENTATION OF OUR OCCUPATION OF IRAQ.

"ITS HARD WORK" "WORK IN IRAQ IS HARD" JUST MORE OF THE SAME INGNORED REALITY FROM THE OVAL GYM IN THE WHITE HOUSE. I CAN'T RECALL TALKING POINTS WERE HIGH. LIKE LITTLE HINTS TO, WHILE I'M ON VACATION, NO ONE TALKS TO THE MEDIA WARNING.

ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME!

NEXT WEEK I AM GOING TO HAVE MY SECRETARY, I MEAN DECIDER #2 SPEAK TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ABOUT MY NEW NORTHERN BORDER PROSECUTION REIMBURSEMENT ACT. IT SHOULD BE A REAL ECONOMY PLEASER.

BY THE WAY, HALLIBURTON HAS COME TO ME AND SAID THEY WILL BUY ALL THE HOMES IN THE UNITED STATES THAT WERE FORECLOSED ON THIS YEAR. NOT A PROBLEM MR. PRESIDENT, DICK CHENEY HAS ALREADY ORDERED IT TO BE NAMED "CHENEY RANCH AMERICA." JUST LIKE IN ARIZONA.

Bush: "Is The Fight In Iraq Worth It?...Absolutely"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26506376@N00/479329569/

Where is the Iraqi Government political reconcilliation that all parties, even President Petraeus, agrees is necessary before Iraqi security is possible?

Beginning of solution..

Thu Aug 2, 2007 6:01PM EDT

Iraqi leaders hope for breakthrough in standoff

"BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi politicians said on Thursday they hoped for a breakthrough to restore a unity government after a Sunni Arab bloc quit, but the slaying of five brothers underlined the scale of the sectarian conflict...But a senior member of parliament from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite bloc said of efforts to resolve the standoff that a "breakthrough is possible". Rida Jawad al-Takki told Reuters: "Talks are continuing among the heads of the political blocs. The prime minister and the (Shi'ite) Alliance are ready to find a solution along with the Accordance Front. Things are not that difficult."...Politicians from leading groups are due to have a summit in coming days in the hopes of restoring the power-sharing system..."Now there are daily meetings and committees are working to prepare for the summit, in which we hope the leaders will avoid any escalations and agree on common issues," Salim al-Jubouri, a leading Accordance Front member of parliament told Reuters. Maliki's office said the prime minister would remain in "permanent contact" with the Front despite their decision to quit the government."

They are working on it Dough. This was going to happen. All along Iraqis has voiced their concern over the politics in Baghdad. Until someone started to make the politicians accountable the comfort of politicians was diminished and forced them to put themselves into less waiting around for others to concede to their ideas, but to cooperate and commit. So the the fall outs happened. They are working on it Dough.

The only thing the the fight has "accomplished" is to show the rest of the world the terrible consequences of bad choices. We could've turned to a safer and more effective alternative to fighting global poverty. Over 78% of americans and the top corporate leaders of the country agree that fighting global poverty is a good way to fight terrorism [Borgen Project]. Bush must be out of his wits now. Not like he had them to begin with.

If the War in Iraq is so important why aren't the Bush twins serving in the military? Why aren’t any of Bush’s 10 nieces and nephews who are of age serving?

They are young, healthy, well educated. They would seem to be prime recruitment candidates. Even if they never made it in-country they could show a commitment to the country and to public service. They could demonstrate how important they and their father believe this is.

But the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and we shouldn’t expect them to behave any differently then their roll models have – “Commander Guy” George (battling Migs over the skies of Texas) and his sidekick “5-deferment Dick” Cheney.

It is easy to call for sacrifice when you are sacrificing the lives of other people’s children. They die while yours get to lead full privileged lives writing children’s books.

Answer your own question Mr. President…”Is it worth it?” Would it still be worth it if it were your children in danger?

“The threshold question -- does it matter? Does it matter to our security here at home? And the answer is, absolutely it does. It does.''

Did he substantiate that? I see nothing here. And sounds like no one in the press tried to make him. How has it made us safer? What exact value, in terms of safety here at home, can we assign to the billions of dollars and thousands of lives spent. Has the war led definitively to less terror activity here? Have plots been directly foiled due to specific events in Iraq? These are questions the press needs to ask when he makes a blanket statement that is purely based on his "beliefs" and his overall agenda. Which the public does not buy anymore, btw.

“Before we raise taxes, which could affect economic growth, I would strongly urge the Congress to examine how they set priorities..."

How many bridges would the $140 Billion recently approved for the war build?

And we are absolutely not the slightest bit safer because of Bush's excursion into and occupation of Iraq.
Iraq had nothing at all to due with Sept 11th, 2001.
Anyone who is open minded and objective knows this.

Can we stop the comments about "what if they were your children"?

Honestly, the decisions need to be made with without emotions getting in the way. That is actually a quality I would look for in a President, can he make the tough decision. If we played the child card everytime on every issue, this country would not last long.

I can hear it now, "President Washington, would you still be fighting the British if your children were in the army?"

Carl L-

Answer your own question Mr. President…”Is it worth it?” Would it still be worth it if it were your children in danger?

Do you really want the president to base his decisions on the impacts it will have on his family?

Let's think that through logically- what if Bush did not remove Hussein from Iraq because his family would have to serve or be at risk. Now- he would be accused of ignoring national security, Iraqi children at risk, other countries threatened by Iraq etc.. all because he wanted to protect his family..

It doesn't work that way Carl L. sorry.

The Bush administration has always been in favor of "user fees" that directly tax us for the gov't svcs we consume.

And now, the gas tax, the nation's main tool for financing highways is in crisis...This is one of the hottest topics in transportation and the subject of a federal commission due in to congress before the years out.

So what now? Well Portland Oregon started a pilot program ending this spring, which taxes drivers 1.2 cents for every mile they drive and all being tracked by gps systems. In Texas, they let the private sector build new roads and charge tolls on them. And now some of the new 95 loops being constructed in and around Maryland will most likely be paid for by toll roads as well.

So, there are always other ways of replacing or piggy backing on the gas tax to help pay for road maintenance and repairs. Either way, we will be paying to get around town as long as we are driving a gas dependant vehicle.

All great ideas...here's another. Stop all wasteful spending and take all the money that ends up in politicians pockets by lobbyists.

Hey Carl L,
I agree with you and here's what I'd like to see:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45936529@N00/524589871/

Anon & heartburn... you just don't get it.

i'm not asking that the president make his decisions based on his emotion. i am asking him (and his family) to make the same sacrifice and commitment that he is asking others to make.

John Mc Cain's son is serving, so are Jim Webb's and Rich Daley's. These are individuals who I believe stand behind their beliefs.

But the President and vice president avoided military service themselves. what do they know about commitment and sacrifice?

Go on believing what the administration tells you. Victory is just over the next hill (as it has been for four years). In January of 2009 we will swear in a new President and they will be the one who will have to clean this up and heal the country.

One final note... I can't believe you would try to make any reference to George Washington when talking about Bush. With the exception of their first name and their job title they have NOTHING in common. Why not compare Cheney and Ghandi?

Let's think that through logically- what if Bush did not remove Hussein from Iraq because his family would have to serve or be at risk. Now- he would be accused of ignoring national security, Iraqi children at risk, other countries threatened by Iraq etc.. all because he wanted to protect his family..

-----------

HB: Both you and anon have twisted the point so deftly that it's meaningless in your description. The underlying question always was that Iraq were such an important cause for others to die in, why is not important enough for his own family to die in? Instead of answering the question, you folks write another question that's easier to answer. Which is dishonest.

What would have happened if Bush had left Saddam in power? Well: 1) he'd be the same threat the U.S. he ever was, i.e., not at all; 2) there'd be hundreds of thousands fewer corpses to deal with; 3) we'd owe China several hundred billion dolars less.

Same old song and dance. Fiasco!!!

a blinkin and Carl L

I get it- you are attempting to create a circumstance that does not have a reasonable solution- that is dishonest.

When carl L asked -
" Answer your own question Mr. President…”Is it worth it?” Would it still be worth it if it were your children in danger?"

and when a blinkin says
"The underlying question always was that Iraq were such an important cause for others to die in, why is not important enough for his own family to die in? "

You are asking the president to make a decision that his based on his own personal interest - a completely valid one as a father- but a completely invalid one as a president. When in either case you would be critical of him for his motivation.

If he makes a decsion to NOT go to Wwar to save his children from service- he is self serving.

If he makes the decision to go to war because his children are not serving- you are critical of him for being brave with other peoples children.

My example of leaving Saddam in power was only to highlight what the likley result would be from OUR country if the president makes presidential decisions based on impacts to his own family.

carl L got caught in his own trap -so did you for defending him..

sorry

Carl, no, I get it.

Get this, President Bush has no control over what is daughters do, they are adults. Just as is John McCains son and Jim Webbs and Rich Daleys. I am sure that these people did not force their adult children to volunteer.

The fact is that we now have an all volunteer military. Military, by definition, includes the possibility that you are going to be putting your body at risk. Nobody stuck a gun to anybody's head and made them enlist.

Did I compare Bush to Washington ...no.

Just applied your logic to a historical point of view.

Heartburn:

Keep dancing. There is an obvious incongruity between Bush making the relentless pitch that this war is vitally important, while at the same his family refuses to contribute to the success of the war. It is perfectly fair and reasonable to suggest that his family's failure to volunteer tends to undermine the argument that the war is really all that important. Dance all night if you want, but this one walks, talks and quacks like a duck.

The "is it worth it/was it worth it" question can't be answered simplistically, per Commander Dunce's wont. There were foreseeable costs and benefits associated with invading and with not invading. Hindsight today tells us exactly what foresight told us 5 1/2 years ago: that thousands of people would die, billions of dollars would burn, and the result would be to replace a dictator who posed no real threat to the U.S. with sectarian violence. This is not mere hindsight -- this is exactly what was predicted by war critics at the time.

Turning back to the Bush criminals, neither in 2003 nor now, when we're desperately short on troops, did any member of that privileged cabal sustain so much as a scratch pursuing this "vital cause." Talk is cheap.

--

Anon's comments about parental control are just a pathetic cop out. I'm certainly not speaking from experience when I say this, but I believe it stands to reason that when you're a college kid/new grad, and your daddy is President of the U.S. and a multimillionaire, what Daddy tells you do to is, um, persuasive.

Alternate caption:
"Dick made me do it".

a blinkin said: "Anon's comments about parental control are just a pathetic cop out. I'm certainly not speaking from experience when I say this, but I believe it stands to reason that when you're a college kid/new grad, and your daddy is President of the U.S. and a multimillionaire, what Daddy tells you do to is, um, persuasive."

And the fact that he did not do that in order to please people such as yourself and instead let his girls live their own lives is even more to his credit.

Integrity is doing what is right even though you know people will hate you for it and how unpopular you will be. Presidential candidates should take notes.

Shorter Anonymous:

"The sky is green and Musharef is a a@# kicker, so we had better let presnit Shrubby continue with his most vegetable excellence."

Sadly, even Cheech & Chong have more coherent arguments. We'll f/u with Anon's continuing mental adventures another day, however. Keep 'shruumin' Anon. We love 'ya dude!

It is perfectly fair and reasonable to suggest that his family's failure to volunteer tends to undermine the argument that the war is really all that important.

Posted by: a blinkin | August 9, 2007 7:19 PM

Blinkin makes a valid point. One that drew a very lame answer from Mitt Romney. Look to Pat Tillman as an example of a privileged person who made the ultimate sacrifice. He could have kept making big bank off football but chose service instead.

I know all to well about this stuff. I lost my father to war. It's easy to fight from an arm chair.

I love Roger Ebert. (sorry Tribune)

Everyone should see this film. I know I'm going to.

Read Ebert's review here:

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070809/REVIEWS/708090301

Posted by: a blinkin | August 9, 2007 7:19 PM

Well it is abvious that all of the "logical" arguments you have run through the " I Hate Bush" filter- so the point is lost on you..

Hope you catch up soon-

I tried- Adios

weinerdog43

Snarky comments without substance. You should be on the Democrat ticket for president.

AR,

Sorry it took me "Dough" to realize what a witty genius you are!

4 1/2 years later and they're working on it. Get your candy ass over there and then tell me all about being patient.

Sorry DouG. I do sincerely apologize I didn't mean to butcher anybody's name or "name." Look Doug you always ask where is the political solution, right? Did I attack you then no. But, this time you asked where is the beginning of that political solution and all I mean to reference was that (talks) as a beginning considering a rather predictable and way over due fall out... that is all. I'm not asking you to be patient or anyone else am I? No. Merely took you up on your question that is all. Relax. As far as patient I have been impatient following that gov in Iraq from its conceptualization to it formation; I'm right here with you today. But, don't take my initiative to bring something into dialog as a mission on my part to discredit you, or justify or mitigate the ineptness of this administration.

And just in case. Although I'm not going to post anymore, I should also let anyone else know that I didn't and don't post as anon or anonymous. Any time I did I went back and claimed my post, or it followed my post continuing my thought on the same subject. Just in case any of you want to jump me.

Ok.

and I am sorry Doug I wasn't trying to be snub you.