Hillary on Iraq

Joe, why are you surprised that no truth told goes unpunished? Are you new to Washington?

It was a bone-headed mistake. I mean, the woman specializes in *genocide* fer crissake and she calls Senator Clinton a "monster"? Like comparable to Idi Amin or Saddam Hussein (booga booga) maybe? Christ! Completely inappropriate, on or off the record. Do you really want another loose cannon like that involved in foreign policy? We just got rid of John Bolton. Why blame this on Clinton?

Clinton advisor Gen. Jack Keane (Ret.) said, "I have no doubts whatsoever that if she were president in January '09 she would not act irresponsibly and issue orders to conduct an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, regardless of the consequences, and squander the gains that have been made."

Ie, withdrawing troops is a best case scenario. If Obama or Clinton were president today, they would be pursuing their policy. But they won't be president until Jan. 2009. Of course things might change by then.

Duh.

Goolsbee is a tougher case-- he is reported to have said, "pay no attention to what the candidate is saying!" But it's not clear (1) that Clinton didn't do something similar, and (2) that the Goolsbee story wasn't spread by pro-GOP Canadian conservatives. If Goolsbee said what they said he said, it's bad.

Clinton almost approaches McCain levels sometimes in her willingness to say things that she thinks will give her a political advantage.

James, Los Angeles, I can't tell whether or not you're joking.

I am not joking. Samantha Power writes about frickin *genocide.* Presumably she knows something about human monsters. To call a candidate for US president a "monster," regardless of the candidate you support, is far, far over the top and outrageous. A loose cannon like that? What, as Sec of State? Ambassador? John Bolton is a loose cannon, but *even he* didn't refer to someone as a "monster." I mean, think about it. Some of these Barackomaniacs are outright deranged.

Clinton's 3-point Samantha Power strategy -- which she repeats today -- has been to:

(1) try to belittle Obama for the utterly reasonable thing Power said, while

(2) saying precisely the same utterly reasonable thing herself, all the while

(3) pretending that she's not saying it.

Her rhetorical acrobatics continue to amaze and appall.

IN HER SPEECH THIS MORNING, CLINTON SAID (paragraphs 22 and 23):

Senator Obama tells voters that as president he'd withdraw combat brigades from Iraq within 16 months, but one of his top foreign policy advisers told a different story. She told a British television reporter, and I quote, "he will, of course, not rely on some plan that he's crafted as a presidential candidate or as a U.S. Senator"....[G]iving speeches alone won't end the war and making campaign promises you might not keep certainly won't end it....

I have concrete, detailed plans to end this war, and I have not wavered in my commitment to follow through on them....Senator Obama...has promised to bring combat troops out in 16 months, but according to his foreign policy adviser, you can't count on him to do that. In uncertain times, we cannot afford uncertain leadership.

As she has done before, Clinton was quoting Power completely out of context. (Video clip of Clinton's remarks here.)

Fortunately (for those of us who are interested in things like facts), Clinton includes -- on her own Web site -- both the transcript and the video clip of Power's full response to the BBC interviewer's question.

WHAT POWER SAID WAS:

You can't make a commitment in...March of 2008 about what circumstances are gonna be like in January 2009. We can't even tell what Bush is up to in terms of troop pauses and so forth. [Obama] will of course not rely upon some plan that he's crafted as a presidential candidate or as a US senator.

He will rely upon a plan -- an operational plan -- that he pulls together, in consultation with people who are on the ground, to whom he doesn't have daily access now as a result of not being the president.

[I]t would be the height of ideology...to...say, well, I said it therefore I'm going to impose it on whatever reality entreats me.

NOW, LOOK AT THE VERY FIRST CONCRETE ACTION CLINTON PROPOSES, IN THE IRAQ MEMO THAT SHE RELEASED TODAY IN TANDEM WITH HER SPEECH.

IMMEDIATELY UNDER ROMAN NUMERAL ONE:

As President, one of Hillary's first official actions will be to convene the Joint Chiefs of Staff, her Secretary of Defense, and her National Security Council. She will direct them to draw up a clear, comprehensive plan for withdrawal that starts removing our troops within 60 days. The plan for withdrawal will incorporate the most effective on-the-ground strategies and tactics....

But...

Why does Clinton need the joint chiefs, the defense secretary, and the NSC to draw up a withdrawal plan?

Doesn't she already have "concrete, detailed plans to end this war"?

Doesn't this just prove that Clinton is insincere -- that she actually is "wavering in her commitment to follow through" on the Iraq promises she is making now?

Of course not -- and, of course, I'm being facetious, to show how utterly disingenuous and absurd Clinton's claims against Obama are.

The fact is, Clinton is saying exactly the same thing that Samantha Power said. Indeed, as Clinton well knows, Power simply acknowledged what any responsible prospective president, Clinton included, understands and already is preparing for -- that any campaign plan for Iraq will, in whole or in part, take a back seat to the facts on the ground in January 2009.

That Power -- like the grown-up that she is -- acknowledged this explicitly, and that Clinton acknowledges it only by implication, doesn't make either Obama or Clinton any less -- or any more -- committed to the plans they now are putting forward.

So Obama says something and doesn't mean it, about one of the most important topics of the day -- a topic that is the only reason his most fervent supporters are supporters at all -- and Hillary is the bad guy (gal) for pointing it out.

Do you ever read what you write before clicking "post"?

In all serious, how on earth does a dumbf u c k like yourself get to where you are? I really, really want to know. Anyone can look at your picture and know that it ain't your good looks. How? You could make billions by sharing your secret. "How to get to and stay at the top of your profession despite being a complete fool." Imagine the book sales!

Old news.

Darcy Burner is heading up a group that is taking the ISG report, the actual situation in Iraq, and some generals seriously:

http://burner.3cdn.net/20f4382dfab715f445_qvm6ibjk6.pdf

See,at the end there where it says "pdf." That means it's a pdf.

James.

From LA.

this is why it is impossible to have a serious discussion in this country. no where have the pro-hillary naysayers commented on the content or validity of powers' overall statement. we would rather try to make it seem a serious gaffe. any reasonable minded person would have to agree with her assessment. it is no wonder obama continues to do well with the better educated and hillary continues to run the same devisive campaign that gw bush used. appeal to peoples fears and not there senses. yes, this is an elitist position, but i still remember when striving to be the best you can be was an admiral quality in this country. now it seems we crave a status quo of mediocrity. this country was founed by elitist sob's just like me, and i will throw my lot in with jefferson et al before i join the dale jr crowd. that's right i said it! now if one of those dale jr guys is willing i might need to hire a bodyguard :)

James, Hillary and Bill Clinton did sit by and watch while genocides happened in both Rwanda and East Timor on their watch. Not only did they do nothing, but in both cases did everything in their power to assure that other countries and multi-national organizations like the U.N. also could not effectively do nothing.

Certainly those undertaking genocide are monsters, but those who refuse to do anything to stop it also share a great deal of responsibility and are also being monstrous.

"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those, who in time of crisis, do nothing."

This sounds like a job for the crack headed, federally subsidized socio-economic lifer tenured staffers at Howard University, led by the way the hell left Reverend Wright.

He being the first white Clinton.

Short sales of formerly skinny media stocks rule!

jay. it's a good document. a fine, fine start.

i knew it was a pdf. because the bare link says "pdf." therefore, i expect it to open into a pdf if i click on the link. but ya know, when you have a *labeled* link, it doesn't have a "pdf" at the end. so you don't know it's a pdf until you click. and if you're only sporting 500m, ... well. you get the picture.

"Hillary and Bill Clinton did sit by and watch while genocides happened in both Rwanda and East Timor on their watch."

And Afghanistan.

Zimbabwe.

Somalia.

Nepal.

Tibet.

Waco.

Oh my yes.

Legacy well done.

I see the loonies are up from their nap.

Later.

Austan Goolsbee didn't contradict Obama on NAFTA.

Goolsbee told the Canadian officials that Obama wanted to "work with Canada and Mexico to make labour and environment more core to the agreement" (how Goolsbee's words were summarized by the Canadian who wrote the memo.)

http://www.nytimes.com/images/promos/politics/blog/20070303canmemo.pdf

Meanwhile, Joe Klein describes Obama's words about NAFTA as "overheated" without quoting a single "overheated" word Obama said on the subject.

James, kidding. Couldn't resist.

I do think this is an overdue initiative from....somewhere. And that it was very smart to incorporate ISG material, which is the only attempt we've seen to introduce a policy discussion.

yah, me too jay.

EXCELLENT ANALYSIS, JOE. I swear I made the same argument about Clinton's tendency to micromanage war in the future some time ago ... but I did not think it so eloquently, nor did I have the example of the Samantha Power situation to illustrate it. Brilliantly achieved.

Samantha Power. We should learn more about her.

Is there a Samantha Power fanclub? I'd like to join.

(p.s. I'm serious.)

John McCain continues to purposely oversimplify this situation for imagined political gain.

Just like he flip-flopped on tax cuts, on torture, on whether we need to "stay the course" in Iraq, on "agents of intolerance," etc.

Reasonable people can disagree as to whether he just has no idea what's coming out of his mouth, or if he's deliberately saying whatever he thinks he needs to say to get elected.

Fine update, Joe.

James, the original post here had little to do with the "monster" comment. And it's far from the most obvious conclusion that Power meant to compare Clinton to Idi Amin. Hyperpartisanship is as good a thesis as any as to why we invaded Iraq (the Rove-Bush dream of 1,000 years of GOP dominance). Balls-out, brain-off partisan thinking is ungood, whether it's aimed at another party or at another candidate within one's party. Power is a Pulitzer Prize-winning thinker, not a bomb-tosser like Bolton. Let's be serious.

"In all serious, how on earth does a dumbf u c k like yourself get to where you are? "

Chutzpah Joe Klein is a cheapjack hustler, a relentlessly self-promoting supersalesman of his own importance. Everything he writes advances the interests of Klein Inc. He knows how to wheedle access to the powerful by allowing himself to be used as their tool. (Ask General Petraeus.)

He is not in the least embarrassed by his admissions of lies and "stupid, stupid, stupid" statements. He displays these jagged scars to his reputation as proof of his invicibility as a self-promoting journalistic barbarian. Time did not give Chutzpah Joe his current assignment DESPITE his history of lies and mistakes; they gave him the job BECAUSE of his ability to get away with lies and mistakes.

Just for the heck of it, I'm in that kind of mood...let's recall Joe's definitive piece on the 2000 election, from the New Yorker:

No matter the eventual outcome, the next President will struggle to establish his political authority. Given the circumstances, there is only one possible governing strategy: a quiet, patient, and persistent bipartisanship. This means that almost all the extravagant promises made during the campaign just ended are now officially inoperative. There will be no $1.3 trillion tax cut...The winning coalition is likely to shift with each vote, but each coalition will be built from the center out. Building and rebuilding these coalitions will be a daunting political task, but also a potentially liberating one-political necessity will force the next President to extricate himself, on occasion, from the influence of his party's traditional interests. The bullies and extremists who have populated the congressional leadership of both parties -- not just conservative ideologues, like Tom DeLay, of Texas, but also obdurate liberals, like David Bonior, of Michigan -- could find themselves abandoned by moderate backbenchers more willing to compromise.

George Bush might seem better suited to this new political landscape than Al Gore.

"The bullies and extremists who have populated the congressional leadership of both parties -- not just conservative ideologues, like Tom DeLay, of Texas, but also obdurate liberals, like David Bonior, of Michigan -- could find themselves abandoned by moderate backbenchers more willing to compromise."

This is priceless and should be included in a dossier of Chutzpah Joe's greatest misses. I think it very valuable public service to compile a definitive collection of stupid utterances for every one of the discredited pundits still doing their zombie walk in the American media.

We could call it Bunkbusters, or some other catchy name. It would provide one-stop debunking for clowns like Chutzpah Joe, Kristol, Friedman, Limbaugh, and dozens of other reality-challenged "serious" commentators.

"Hillary Clinton--whose actual positions on trade and Iraq are probably the same as Obama's advisors"--

Wow. You mean all these months the Obama supporters have been pounding away at Hillary Clinton for wanting to keep troops in Iraq longer than Barack are now canceled?

What on earth are you talking about?

"Probably the same"? Probably? You mean you don't know? You're just making it up again?

Hillary is criticizing Obama, and rightly so, for pretending he intends to get the troops out faster than she's said she would, while all the time his plan is the same as hers.

How many more pretzels could you have twisted this subject into?

I have never understood why the MSM completely failed to understand the character of Bush. Writers like Molly Ivins, who had watched him up close and personal for years, were ignored by the boys in the press as they heaped praise on Bush for his perceived willingness to work for bipartisanship and his great quality of being someone you'd want a beer with.

I remember several reporters commenting on the fact Bush didn't seem to want to be president as much as Gore and that this was a good thing. What they failed to realize is that Bush hates to lose above all else. The "prize" doesn't matter as much as the achievement of it.

"I have never understod why the MSM completely failed to understand the character of Bush"

Laziness and manipulation. It's easier to read from the propaganda script and listen to the boss than to look for inconvenient truths.

It's deja vu all over again with Big John McCain. The script says that the war hero, straight shooter can be trusted to lead us. Lead us to what? The next petroleum war and a nuclear winter?

"I like McCain" -- Ana Marie Cox

Elvis. With all due respect. I *am* serious. I'm fed up with with the browbeating administered day in and day out from all sides. It's impossible to talk about issues that are relevant to where we all are going without over the top asshattery like Samantha Powers'. It's bad enough in the threads when insane lunatics like the ones right here parachute in and throw bombs, but jeeebus someone who supposedly has cred in foreign policy with specialization in frickin' *genocide* throwing around that kind of cr@p? "Balls-out, brain-off partisan thinking is ungood." Yeah, I'll say.

How is Power's brain-off comment any different than the f u ckwits that populate the right wingnutosphere and the Republican party?

I'm fed up with the cr@p.

It's deja vu all over again with Big John McCain. The script says that the war hero, straight shooter can be trusted to lead us. Lead us to what? The next petroleum war and a nuclear winter?

Yup, you got it. We'll be hearing about his classy wife, his straight-talking ways, and his skill with the grill right into through World War III and another Great Depression.

Meanwhile, Joe and Co. will be smearing everyone who saw this coming.

History manifests itself first as tragedy, then as comedy.

The country would be better off with Samantha Power still involved in the campaign and Hillary Clinton out

Samantha Power is a brilliant incisive woman who a new world view necessitated by a changed world

Sen Clinton is also very smart - but she has been too bruised through the years -
She is too convinced in her own mind and superiority

To me the most frightening thing about the Clintons is that they really think they are the only ones who can "save" us

Let's hops we save us from ourselves

Samantha Power was on Stephen Colbert tonight and demonstrated grace and respect - and in talking about her new book - articulated why we have to see the future differently than the past

The future world will be about learning to live together with various peoples -- the days of pure "victory" and "ticker tape parades" are behind us

We have to have a future - as a smaller world - where people and ideas can co exist

This is exactly why both John McCain and Hillary Clinton are not the right people to lead this country
Thye have served admirably
Their time has passed

Precisely what awb said. Look if certain ones of you don't like Samantha Power or choose to belittle genocide as an issue that's your business. But Samantha Power that does not make her any less right or genocide any less of an important issue.

The real crime going on on this blog, while you are all decrying George W. Bush's personal characteristics or John McCain's likeablility or what you all falsely perceive as Barack Obama somehow shifting positions, 500,000
f--king people are dying in the Sudan, and the third genocide in under 20 years is occuring in Africa. So before you get so self-righteous with Samantha Power why don't you examine her actual record, what she's said, how she's influenced the U.N. and what she's done for literally millions of people being raped and murdered in sub-Saharan Africa.

And all you care about is Samantha Power called Hillary a monster? So therefore she must be an a**bag. Get a freakin life. The a** bags are the ones who have been running this country for the past 20 years and turning a blind eye to the worst crime in human history.

Be careful history has a way of looking back and damning people more for the issues they chose to ignore than the ones they took on. If you think we're going to look on Iraq as an epic blunder, what the hell do you think history's gonna think about the Sudan, Rwanda and the Congo?

Precisely why we need a new generation of leadership from people like Power and a**bags, as you so eloquently put it, like the Bushes and the Clintons who can't even bring themselves to use the word genocide until 2007 should be permanently thrown out of office.

And oh, Joe Klein, Time and the MSM would it kill you to write a story on the greatest crime in human history happening in sub-Saharan Africa right now instead of simply raking people who have the nerve to speak out about it over the coals again. You want to avoid the next Iraq Joe? Here's an idea do a story on the Sudan.

I agree with hilzoy that Power's remark wasn't really that big a deal. Regardless, she resigned, so, that's that. And I just don't see how the fact that Power writes about genocide means that she meant to compare Clinton to Idi Amin. The "Ken Starr" remark by the Clinton campaign was silly, and so was Power's remark. People say heated things in campaigns.

This is EPUed under the (W)right topic, but I wanted to share the link.

Pastordan over at DK says stuff that I kinda wanted to say, but had no way to articulate.

I guess it helps if you do this preaching thing for a living.

The basic task of preaching is often misunderstood. It is not to pronounce the Will Of God without interpretation. If that were the case, we would simply read the scripture and be done with it. Instead, the preacher seeks to enter into a creative engagement of three interlocking but moving targets. We are responsible to our understanding of God's work in the world, the textual record of others' encounters with God, and the worshipping community.

Notice the emphasis in that last category: the worshipping community. Though the larger world is never disconnected from the church, the preacher's primary responsibility is to those souls lining her pews. The situation is complicated when outsiders listen in on the word proclaimed in its particular context. Wright, like many pastors of large churches, has been able to broadcast his services on local television, which of course increases the risk and the responsibility.

But the primary focus is the members of the church community. This is why preachers spend so little time defending their religious assumptions or translating their message into universal language: it's not meant for the wider world. It's meant for people who have already bought into the assumptions and (usually, but not always) know the jargon.

It is also why I do cut conservative pastors some slack. I don't always like what conservatives within my own denomination have to say, let alone what many Southern Baptists preach. But by and large, my colleagues understand what it is that their communities need to hear, and they give to them responsibly. The exception to this deference is in cases exactly like those of John Hagee or Rod Parsley. I think the Prosperity Gospel is a con game, and the message of judgment that often accompanies it nothing but a distraction. Perhaps I'm missing something, but there's no way I can see that preaching as being responsible to the community that hears it, and it is certainly not responsible to the scriptures it mangles to come to its conclusions.

Both sides have temporised. Candidate's make claims during campaigns that cannot be turned into practical policies when time to implement same arrives. One can fault both candidates for that. Joe seems to find it easy to fault Clinton and allow Obama to skate. His preference is obvious even if he pretends to be evenhanded. Same goes for posters.

The point: no matter who becomes President getting out of Iraq in six months is not going to be possible. Just study the logistical needs.

All Samantha Powers showed is that both sides have loud mouthed help and passions run high.
Power's apology should have ended it. But both sides are cursed with self important individuals and vengeance is cheap.

Hillary's speech only allowed Obama to hit her with extra ammo on Iraq. Why turn an anniversary only important to the left wing fringe of the party and make it into a huge policy point. Obama will always win there.

http://www.political-buzz.com/

http://burner.3cdn.net/20f4382dfab715f445_qvm6ibjk6.pdf

I'm reposing the link, because now that I've read it carefully (I even printed it out, so I could make marks on the page), I think it is more on topic than I did when I did a drive-by post.

It seems to me that Clinton and Obama should be asked where they differ from the Responsible Challengers' plan--in their analysis of the situation, in their definition of objectives and of their prescription for achieving their objectives.

This document serves as a starting point for any debate of the question of the endgame of the occupation of Iraq. If Obama and Clinton are both sincere in their plans for a withdrawal, which Clinton accuses Obama of not being, and which Joe accuses Clinton of not being, then they should be able to put their plans into the framework offered by this very clearly written, unflinching policy discussion.

Whoever is on the Straight Talk Express these days (Michael?), should be sure that McCain's staffers get a copy, and then ask him in what way the analysis of the situation is incorrect.

In particular, the Challengers say this:

Responsibly ending the U.S. military action in Iraq and returning control of the country to the Iraqis is a critical step in enhancing U.S. security. This solution requires that no residual U.S. troops remain in Iraq. The continued presence in Iraq of so-called “residual” forces beyond the minimum needed for standard embassy-protection would be a serious mistake. Any such troops would become a magnet for insurgent attacks and unless they did nothing at all would inevitably become players in Iraq’s domestic political disputes, thus forcing the United States to continue to play referee to Iraq’s civil conflicts. Soldiers tasked with training missions would, to be effective, have to be embedded in Iraqi combat formations necessarily involving them directly in combat, thus continuing to hold American strategic fortunes hostage to events in Iraq that are beyond our control.

If the Iraqi people unambiguously request peacekeeping forces, the U.S. should work with legitimate international organizations to assist in that regard.

This seems unexceptionable to me. I don't see any way that American soldiers can shoot people who are not a member of one faction or another. I don't see how they can play a role that is stabilizing. If this were an insurgency against a government with broad support, that would be one thing. But that is not the situation, and never has been.

I'd be interested in hearing in what way McCain thinks this analysis is incorrect.

jackaroyd: given the irrationality that exists on our side on "How do we get out of Iraq" I don't see St John rushing in to give us his take. Like you I am not sure what either Barack or Hillary can do, as distinct from what they want us to believe they will do, about getting us out of Iraq in an orderly fashion. The drawdown will take more than six months and the pull back will have all the defensive marks on it that will be disastrous for the US image in the ME.

Elvis,

I am saying that she is not ready for prime time. Remember Bush when he mocked Karla Faye Tucker during his campaign and people were horrified? Well, that's how I view Powers' comments. Others are happy to overlook it, but I was disgusted and horrified. Please tell me how these Barackomaniacs are any different from the Bushbots. The wackos on this thread act *exactly* like Bushbots and Obama hasn't felt it expedient to rein them in. These people are straight out nuts.

Here' what is going on in Iraq during Cheney and McCains visit. They see "phenomenal" improvement.

Cheney urges Arabs to counter Iran in Iraq

by Olivier Knox Mon Mar 17, 2:57 PM ET

BAGHDAD (AFP) - US Vice President Dick Cheney, on a surprise trip to Baghdad on Monday, strongly urged Arab states like Saudi Arabia to open full diplomatic ties with Iraq if they want to counter Iranian influence.

A series of bomb blasts greeted Cheney's high-security and secrecy-shrouded arrival, while later in the day a suicide attack near the Shiite shrine city of Karbala killed at least 41 people, officials said.

The attacks underscored the deadly violence that still grips the nation five years after US bombs began dropping on Baghdad to topple Saddam Hussein.
...
Cheney said he saw "phenomenal" and "dramatic" security improvements since his last visit, in May 2007, mid-way through a surge in US troop numbers that saw an additional 30,000 personnel deployed to Iraq.
...
The conflict has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 US troops as well as tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians and -- by the Pentagon's conservative estimate -- cost upwards of 400 billion dollars.

Another two US soldiers were killed on Monday when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle north of Baghdad, the military said.

But in a bid to highlight the improved situation in Baghdad, Cheney left the fortified Green Zone, which houses most government offices and the US embassy, to meet President Jalal Talabani, his two deputies and leading Shiite politician Abdel Aziz al-Hakim.

The US vice president travelled in a 11-vehicle convoy guarded by heavily armoured Humvees and Apache helicopters for his foray on to the capital's streets.

///

US vice president meets US soldiers at Iraq air base
by Olivier Knox

US Vice President Dick Cheney met American soldiers serving in Iraq on Tuesday after urging Arab states to open full diplomatic ties with Baghdad to counter Iran's growing influence.

...

Cheney, one of the key architects of the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime, spent the night at the Balad air base, north of Baghdad.

His visit has been marked by a series of bomb attacks. The deadliest was in the central city of Karbala where a bombing near the Shiite shrine of Imam Hussein killed at least 52 people and wounded 75.

The Balad air base also reverberated overnight with US military shelling of suspected insurgent hideouts.

Asked whether he had heard the distant thunder of US mortars and artillery, Cheney replied: "I did, I was up early," and asked whether he had been told it was American as opposed to enemy fire, Cheney quipped: "No, not at the time. Nobody came running in to wake me up."

Cheney said he saw "phenomenal" and "dramatic" security improvements since his last visit, in May 2007, mid-way through a surge in US troop numbers that saw an additional 30,000 personnel deployed to Iraq.

"I'm pleased to be able to return next week to Washington and report to the president that we are making significant progress in Iraq," said Cheney, who called the surge "a real success story".

"If you look back on those five years it has been a difficult, challenging but nonetheless successful endeavour," said Cheney. "It has been well worth the effort."

Cheney held talks with the top US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and US ambassador Ryan Crocker, who are due to make a progress report to the US Congress on April 8-9 that is expected to shape debate on the drawdown of the 158,000 or so US troops.

Cheney's visit to Iraq was the first stop on a nine-day Middle East tour which will also take him to Oman, Israel, the West Bank, and Turkey, apart from Saudi Arabia.
///

McCain said yesterday it was "safe" to walk the streets of Baghdad, except, um, he couldn't walk the streets of Baghdad because his security detail said it was too unsafe. Huh. Go figure.

James in LA,

Just a quick ? before I go run in the rain again. Bush bots Obama bots and whatever we might call McCain supporters (antichrists?). So, that leaves us with the relatively sane Clinton voters, I assume? Have you been on the road to Damascus recently--your rhetoric seems to have shifted dramatically of late against Obama, his surrogates and supporters. Not that I've memorized the leaners of all commenters here, nor would I condemn you for having a change in opinion, so correct me if I'm wrong. Suffice it to say, I'm not outraged by Powers comment, but I'm a intra-party partisan too. But is what she said any worse than what some of the Clinton surrogates have said in this campaign? Just sounds like cherry picking to me.

Oregon.

I am a non-aligned Dem, although I was a Doddite. I have no love for the Clinton campaign. But these wacked out Obamabots are truly burning the house down. They are no different from the rabid Bushies. Have a preference for one candidate? Fine. Work hard for that candidate. Advocate for their positions. Give money, do the calls, walk the street. Argue against the other guy. Fine. But it's different with these Obamabots. Note I am not talking about Obama partisans. There are partisans and there are flamethrowers.

I just see no need for a potential cabinet appointee to be calling an American citizen a "monster." In my opinion, it is qualitatively different for a potential appointee to a foreign policy position who specializes in knowing what a human monster can do, to sling an epithet like that against another candidate. If you think it's fine, so be it. I think differently.

I'm just fed up with the circular firing squad, that happens every single cycle, and we lose.

Delusional Kool Aid has become America's national beverage. The people want so desperately to believe that their support for the troops has brought a happy ending to Iraq, that nothing actually happening in Iraq is relevant any more.

McCain is wearing body armor in Iraq, and he can't even manage a market stroll, but he says things are improving - and the press does not challenge him, because McCain is America's hero.

What will it take to stop this madness?

Joe still has a number of mistakes to atone for but let's not discourage him. He is one of the few journalists calling out John McCain. The rest are too busy stuffing burgers down their throat and preparing for the first stage of his sainthood.

Give him a little credit for the baby steps.

Thanks for the clarification James. I understand your position. And I agree that certain partisans are automatons swallowing the day's meal only to shortly thereafter regurgitate 1/2 digested tripe spun as advantageous to their candidate. I don't see one side having a monopoly on this, but hey I'm a flamethrower--I say a pox on all the houses. And even though I favor Obama, I have to admit that I'm over it--I just want this particular battle to come to an end and move on to the greater war over the next hill.

In Cold Mtn, Ruby said:

"They call this war a cloud over the land. But they made the weather and then they stand in the rain and say 'Sh-t, it's raining!'"

I'd said this is not only an accurate depiction of our current wars (the rain being US foreign policy for 50 years pre 911), but of our political battles as well--the media and the politicians and yes the partisans too.

Anyway, time for work. Good to see I'm not the only PSTer posting this early.

And, yes, it's wonderful to see puritan Time disallowing my literary quote b/c of a little poopy word.

Joe still has a number of mistakes to atone for but let's not discourage him. He is one of the few journalists calling out John McCain. The rest are too busy stuffing burgers down their throat and preparing for the first stage of his sainthood.

Give him a little credit for the baby steps.

Yes and no. Pundits are like dogs. You've got to be firm when you're training them.

McCain's ignorance gets worse-- he says that al Qaeda is being trained in Iran, then backtracks after Joe Lieberman whispers in his ear. Yuck.

All McCain has to offer is Iraq.

And I expect the Bushies (and the "official" military) to do everything they can to keep offering a rosy glow to what's happening in Iraq.

A new poll shows Americans are more optimistic about Iraq at this moment and I'm sure that's largely due to the MSM's simplistic coverage.

"whose actual positions on trade and Iraq are probably the same as Obama's advisors"

But you don't really know, do you, that so its 'probably'. It could be maybe, it could be 'not', it could be a lot of things. If a journalist actually investigated these things then they might be able use more affirmative language instead of setting up some type of straw man. Hillary's advisors are strikingly different than Obama's on a number of issues. I know this because I have read about them and came to that conclusion. You might try journalism some time, since you claim to be a journalist.

HillBillary didn't stop wars and genocide while in office and no reason to believe that they will this time. She supported the war in Iraq and never said - Sorry, I was wrong. She is playing us the way she wants to play with the Republicans. Is she ready to be President? I used her "memo" to Obama to ask the same questions. http://angryafrican.net/2008/03/13/a-memo-to-hillbillary-please-dont/

whose actual positions on trade and Iraq are probably the same as Obama's advisors

PROBABLY???
If a so-called political pundit doesn't know this by now, and is unwilling to try and find out, perhaps he should not make assumptions and bloviate away like he's on Kristol meth.

You may recall that on the night McCain won the Republican nomination, he--accurately--emphasized sectarian violence as the major threat if the U.S. didn't leave Iraq carefully.

Here's how it works:
1. John McCain has consistently and repeatedly lied about Iraq. (Maybe he doesn't really believe them, maybe he does. I can't read minds.)
2. John McCain panders to the media in general; he panders to Joe Klein in particular by telling part of the truth ONCE.
3. John McCain goes back to consistently repeating his lies about Iraq.
4. Joe Klein describes John McCain as a mighty gladiator IN PRINT. (Telling the truth about John McCain is fine for the internet, but not for the Magazine!)

I think you are purporting to know what McCain thinks and or knows about Iraq. I don't believe we have ever seen evidence that he knows what he thinks, except that whatever pops into his head at any given moment is probably incorrect.

It's a freakin' nightmare.
Joe Klein is still employed.
Fresh from a nice barbeque with his bud John McCain, Joe purports to know McCain's mind on every topic under the sun, and parses Hillary Clinton's mind too.
Can we fire this guy?
Please, for the sake of intelligent discourse, and the sake of never seeing Klein's picture published anywhere again.
Thank you.

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اماراتية-شات اماراتي-دردشة
قطر-دردشة بحرينية-شات
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لبنانية-شات
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اردنية-شات اردني-شات
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سورية-شات سوري-شات
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شات
دردشة
رموز مسنجر
دردشة اغليك
شات اغليك
افلام
اغليك
قصات
تسريحات
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برامج كمبيوتر
دروس تصميم

بلوتوث - -
مقاطع بلوتوث - -
يوتيوب - -
مقاطع يوتيوب - -
فديو يوتيوب - -
فيديو يوتيوب - -
افلام - -
موقع يوتيوب - -
youtube.com - -
يوتيوب عربي - -
منتديات - -
مسنجر - -
مدونة - -
العاب بنات - -
العاب باربي - -
Mzaeen’s Weblog - -
يوتيوب - فيديو - بلوتوث - -
تحميل افلام - -
تحميل افلام
تحميل افلام
افلام
افلام
مشاهده افلام
تحميل افلام - مشاهده افلام
افلام - تحميل افلام - مشاهده افلام
مركز تحميل - -
تحميل - -
تحميل صور - -
تحميل ملفات - -
مركز التحميل - -
صور - -
العاب لعب العب - -
لعب - -
العاب - -
لعب العب - -
hguf - -
العب - -
منتديات برامج نت - 70 - ثيمات -
خلفيات - العاب الجوال - ثيم رومنسي مهند ونور -
ثيم مهند وهو حاضن نور - ثيمات رومانسية للبنوتات -
ثيمات رومانسية بنات - ثيمات حب حلوة -
ثيم مهند التركي - ثيم نور -
ثيم حب نور ومهند - ثيم مسلسل لوست -
ثيمات افلام ومشاهير - ثيم نور ومهند -ثيمات لميس -
ثيمات مسلسل نور -ثيم مهند ونور -
ثيمات رومانسيه -ثيمات E61 -
ثيمات بنات رومنسيه -ثيم سنوات الضياع -
ثيمات طبيعية -ثيمات N92 -
ثيمات للبنات2008 -ثيمات N95 -
ثيمات نوكيا -ثيمات n80 -ثيمات n93 -
ثيمات اطفال -ثيمات منوعة -تصميم ثيمات -
ثيمات بنات -ثيمات طبيعة -ثيمات كرتون -
ثيمات بنات N73 -العاب نوكيا -
ثيمات رومنسية نوكيا - ثيمات الجيل الثالث -
23 - 23-p-3 - 23-p-6 -
نغمات -برامج نوكيا -برامج جوال -
برامج نوكيا N73 -نغمات -
برامج الجيل الثالث -العاب جوال -العاب نوكيا -
ثيمات2008 -نوكيا n95 -
نغمات ماجد المهندس -ماسنجر8 للجوال -الحارس الذكي n73 -نغمات عربي -نغمات MP3 -ماسنجر للجوال -65 - 65-p-3 -
65-p-5 -65-p-7 -رسائل جوال -مسجات -
رسايل وسائط -sms -
مسجات نصية -وسائط Mms -
صور وسائط -وسائط رومنسية -صور رومانسيه -
وسائط رومانسيه -مسجات شوق -وسائط بنات -رسائل حب -
وسائط حب -رسائل غرام -
وسائط حب رومانسية -وسائط شوق -وسائط حب وعشق -
وسائط حلوة -مسجات عتاب -
رسائل عتاب -مسجات نور ومهند -
مسجات وسائط -مسجات رومانسية -
وسائط حب رومانسية -مسجات اسلامية -
مسجات حب وغرام -رسائل غرام -
رسائل حب -مسجات حب -mms -وسائط ررومنسية روعة -رسائل مقالب -رسايل جديده -وسائط mms منوعة -
مسجات رومنسية -رسائل جوال -مسجات شعرية -وسائط دينية -مسجات استهبال -
مسجات حلوه -جميلات العرب -اليسا -
صور طبيعية -صور قلوب -
صور رومنسية -بلوتوث مزايين -
البوم صور مزايين - صور ماسنجر -
وسائط - صور حب -صور بنات -
صور بنات للمسن - العاب مكياج و ميك اب -
العاب ازياء - العاب مغامرات -
العاب بنات - العاب تلبيس بنات - العاب باربي -
العاب بلياردو - العب - العاب -

طرب وفن -طرب -فن -
10 -10-p-4 -
10-p-7 -10-p-13 -
10-p-10 -10-p-15 -10-p-20 -10-p-25 -
10-p-26 -فيديو كليب -فيديو كليب عربي -
فيديو كليب انجليزي -جميلات الهند -جميلات الاجانب -
صورة ميريام فارس -صوره شيماء علي -صور من كليب مهند ورولا -
فضايح مهند -فضائح -فضيحة مهند بطل مسلسل نور -صور نور -
صور منزل نور -صور ولادة نور في مسلسل نور التركي -
نجمة مسلسل نور التركي -صور Beren Saat خطيبة يحيى -صور يحيى -مهند شاذ -
اغاني سنوات الضياع -صور مهند ونور رومنسية -صور رومانسية نور ومهند -
صور مهند بطل مسلسل نور التركي -نهاية مسلسل نور -صور اليسا -
فيديو كليب تامر حسني - هي دي -العروسة فيديو كليب ماجد 2008 -صور فاردن وكارينا -
صور مي عز الدين 2008 -نيشان مقدم العراب -صور لميس -
صور لميس ويحيى -لحن اغنيه مسلسل سنوات الضياع -نؤاس اموري ياشمعتي -
صور بنت سعودية -صور اميشا -نجمة بوليوود -
صور لميس بطلة مسلسل سنوات الضياع -صور لميس نجمة سنوات الضياع -
سنوات الضياع -صور مهند بطل مسلسل نور -
يارا صدفة -تحبني ولا تحب الدراهم -
فضايح استار اكاديمي -هيفاء وهبي -
صور كاميرون دياز -