If any of you were unsure about the complete and utter failure of George W. Bush as Commander-In-Chief this will disabuse you of your doubt. Not only are we not engaging the enemy, we are now battling the very people we trained and armed to be police. If Bush had any dignity and actual love for this country, he (and Patraeus) would resign right now.
U.S. troops battle Iraqi police
BAGHDAD – U.S. troops battled Iraqi police suspected of links to Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen, killing six in a rare firefight between American soldiers and their Iraqi partners. Friday’s clash underscored the deep infiltration of militants in the country’s security forces…
In addition to the six police officers, seven gunmen were also killed in Friday’s clash in eastern Baghdad, sparked when U.S. troops arrested a police lieutenant, the American military said in a statement. It said the lieutenant was believed to be helping Iran organize Shiite militants and leading a cell involved in bomb and mortar attacks on U.S. and Iraqi troops.
And what will we do about that? Uh, nothing. But those Benchmarks! We’ve got Benchmarks to focus on!
Ok Tammy…you ask what will we do about it…here’s your answer, “In addition to the six police officers, seven gunmen were also killed…” that is what our military and hopefully Iraq’s military will do when they come across these infiltrators and militants. I know you have turned against our President, but it’s clouding your thinking. Doing nothing is doing nothing, killing these people is what was required, and it is what was done. How is GWB or Patraeus supposed to know what these people have in their minds…we have them living among us…do you know who they are, I don’t.
Granted that killing them was required and done on one hand, Kevin, but it was the troops who took the 7 plus 6 out, not GW. I see the issue as we are fighting the very people WE equipped to fight. In reality, we are also fighting with ourselves. yeah, they took those specific persons out, but our troops’ hands and feet are still pretty well tied–they can’t take the enemy out because the littlest decisions aren’t left up to the military (who could handle them if allowed) but to the head scratchers in DC. (Head scratchers ’cause they don’t know what to do with all the people pleasing they’ve taken it on themselves to perform). Or am i missing something?
The most powerful army the world has ever seen accomplished a stunning military victory overthrowing a tyrant in three weeks. Four years later we’re fighting police, Congress is mandating surrender, and the American people are fed up. Why? Because we didn’t use that mighty army to establish order in the beginning. Instead we pretended Iraq was giving birth to a democracy and we were the babysitters.
The personality of GWB is stamped all over this calamity. Faith bordering on mysticism replaces action. Sentiment (gut feelings) substitutes for cold logic. Trust overrules analysis.
Democracies are not established with one election. Good intentions don’t kill bad guys. Stubbornness doesn’t defeat cunning. A decider is not a leader.
Weeding out the poison, where ever it exists.
Its part of the job and shows our military is getting the job done, inch by inch, mile by mile, Iraqi by Iraqi, at long last.
Bush still has 18 months. Our brave warriors can change a landscape real fast if ordered to, and will.
We’ve been too careful in a sense up until now…Now, as the clock winds down, you’ll see alot of progress being made all over the place.
Our military is doing incredibly amazing job over there for the good of all humanity.
C’mon now. There’s no way to prevent this from EVER happening. It’s amazing that this is the first time this has happened. It’s not like the US army (let alone GW or Petraus) oversees every person who joins the police, so people are bound to slip through.
The benchmark thing is what gets me here. Because Congress is more interested in benchmarks not being met than in violence plummeting, Petraus should resign? That’s like shooting the work horses for the kids oversleeping.
I am not quite at the point where I think Bush should resign, although it breaks my heart to say I am considering it. This is depressing. However, the good news? President Dick Cheney for 18 months? I may think a bit harder..
Well said, PAT_S!
Rember this in 6 months when GWB tells us that “defeat is victory”. He will be giving us the line Karl and the RNC Thought Police have been putting out the last 32 months. After all “War is Peace,…”.
The Brit George whould be so proud of the American George!
Happy Bastille Day everyone! 🙂
Uh, I’m with PAT_S on all counts.
Bush is letting the military do it’s job from the ground, I don’t blame him. If anything I blame him for giving the Generals too much power. Who ever said Bush will spin it and say “defeat is victory” has not taken note that he doesn’t care about his public image or we’d have pulled out already. Very cynical comment. No if we face defeat, he will be too concerned about what’s coming to our shores to make back peddling speeches.
Why did Bush agree to those impossible benchmarks? It’s setting up the Iraqi’s as the reason for failure. Everyone knows the consequences of leaving Iraq before they’re ready to take on the Iranian-backed terrorists themselves. How insulting to suggest the Iraqi’s aren’t working hard enough. It’s their country, their children’s future, their very lives. It’s insane to set up benchmarks like these as reasons to abandon Iraq if they are not met. If they are not met, Iraq will descend into hell without help.
Note the irony of number 10: Providing Iraqi commanders with all authorities to execute this plan and to make tactical and operational decisions, in consultation with U.S commanders, without political intervention, to include the authority to pursue all extremists, including Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias.
“…killing six in a rare firefight between American soldiers and their Iraqi partners.” The key word here is “rare”, I think. Gotta disagree with you on this one, Tammy. The medieval morals of militant Islam aren’t our President’s fault. We also only get the news from Iraq that the MSM wants us to hear. They are feeding us lies, half-truths and fabrications on a daily basis. Sorry you fell for them. I don’t think taking a Chomskyesque approach of focusing on the negative things as an accurate description of the whole is beneficial to anyone, but then, it isn’t designed to be beneficial to us, is it?
Cousin just got back from a year in Iraq. Fought with Iraqi troops not against them. We’ve got Lebanese forces killing Islamic extremists in Lebanon, where last year they were buddy-buddy, the Saudi’s recently captured a couple of hundred extremists in their own country and are probably making them wish they could catch the next plane to Gitmo, and Pakistan just wiped out a den of extremists in their own capitol city. I’d have to heartily disagree on this one Tammy. This is the time to back Bush and the military and positively reinforce these governments, at least on the security front.
Just found your site, and was enjoying everything, until the first instance of President bashing. I’ll be coming back again to see how you feel after history judges this administration probably quite a bit differently than the “popular media’s” pols have.
[First, before you make snide remarks about Ms. Bruce’s opinion of the president, educate yourself about her opinion for the past seven years. Also note, the key to enjoying this site is not freaking out when you encounter something with which you disagree. If you need to read something that simply serves as an echo chamber for your own beliefs, go talk to yourself.–ed.]