Damn my bad luck again! I missed another Troll and missed out on all the fun of cutting his mustard seeds OFF!!
Heh MODS, I'll just leave this TROLL TOOL here so we all can cut the Bastards when ever they show up!
»:-)
| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Politix |
| Breaking (NBC) -- Bush Announces Rumsfeld's Resignation |
| 2006-11-08 |
Update: Bush is nominating former spy-guy Robert Gates for Secretary of Defense. MSNBC finally put up a link. Bush's press conference is still running live on TV. Update: In appreciation for Rumsfeld's service to our country, here's a review of the legendary Rumsfeld Fighting Technique. |
| Posted by:Scooter McGruder |
| #80 trailing wife. I gotta go. But feel free to post your phone number for me so that I can give you a call. Too bad we missed Halloween. We could have been Ozzie and Harriet. But seriously. I just received the following: Donald Rumsfeld's resume/accomplishment text. Donald Rumsfeld 2000-2006 Secretary of Defense 2000 - Spent the first year of my duty trying to cut the number of active uniformed Marines and Soldiers. Cut the number of military bases. Told the Generals they can 'do more with less'. 2001 - Little hiccup. 9/11 thing happened. Send in grossly undermanned force to track, isolate and kill Osama Bin Laden. Let them escape from the Bora Bora Mountains. My bad. 2002 - Gotta kick some raghead ass. Lets see. The bad guy, OBL, is in Afghanistan. The pricks that hit the WTC are from Saudi Arabia. I got it. Lets f*ck Iraq. Besides that guy threatened W's daddy. 2003 - I did it. I gave those ragheads in Iraq some Shock and Awe. Boy are they going to love us now. Bet they greet our boys with some candies and flowers. Had some difficulty finding those WMD's. Oh well. Freedom and Democracy should make make them like us. 2004 - W told me to keep a low profile. He needed to get re-elected. I'm hibernating. 2005 - I'm staying the course dammit. We are going to win. Hey, those sacrifices by our young men and women are appreciated. I send letters to their families signed by a machine. What, you expect me to sign them by hand. Yeah right. What do you people want. Look at my pal DICK Chaney. He isn't backing off. He was there during the big war in the 'Nam. I don't know what he was doing but it must have been important because he told the Army, five times, he was too busy to fight in that war. Sorry, my resume is messed up. But these are the people I work for. 2006 - I'm standing firm. Stay the course. Hell I don't have any kin in this war. W says I'm doing a great job. Those bad guys are in their last gasp. The insurgency is dead. The Iraqi people love our boys. Ignore those caualties. We will be here for a long, long time. I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE. 2006 - Walmart. Hi would you like a smiley face ? |
| Posted by: Buzzsaw 2006-11-08 20:58 |
| #79 trailing wife. So glad you responded. I was getting 'whimsical', wasn't I. That 'pre-licence' teenager thing is difficult to deal with. Try scrubbing their head with a mixture of Borox and Pine Tar. That ought to kill those little buggers. Now, about this 'playing housewife' thing. That's in*798..I was try to spell intriqing but I can't. That's curious. Do you dress up like June Cleaver ? She was hot. I don't think Ward ever knew what he had there. If she had come out to Vegas and watched me strut my stuff she would have left the old boy and his sweater back in Mayfield. Tom Jones |
| Posted by: Buzzsaw 2006-11-08 20:12 |
| #78 Hello. It's lonely here. The silence is deafening. Perhaps I offended someone. I'm sorry. Dealing with this multiple personality disorder is such a bitch. I, What do you mean I!, I mean we, didn't mean to offend anyone. We were just playing. Please come back. I, ouch that hurts!, we promise to play nice. remoteman, Lol,can we talk ? trailing wife call me. Robin Williams |
| Posted by: Buzzsaw 2006-11-08 19:54 |
| #77 Hey 'remoteman'. Man am I glad that you are on this frequency. I've got my foil cap on so here goes. The other day I was in Trader Joes. And man they had this great sale on nuts. But I couldn't figure out which ones would be the best bargain. What nuts do you suggest, the 'Paki Pashtun Nuts' or the 'Iranian/Syrian Nuts' ? Oh, and dude, which ones go best with Pabst Blue Ribbon ? Keeanu Reeves |
| Posted by: Buzzsaw 2006-11-08 19:33 |
| #76 Dear 'trailing wife', where were you when I needed you (hmm..the Grass Roots). Perhaps if you had called my boss and extolled my virtues upon him I would still be with job. I especially liked the 'troubled souls' and 'primrose path' comments, although I have absolutely no idea what the hell you meant. Thanks for suggesting that I do the same thing to the CIA, FBI and State. But why did you stop there. I could do the same thing to NSA, HSA and TSA. Heck lets throw in SSA, I always wanted to fix that place. Glad you appreciated my work. Hey, if you ever get elected President, would you call me ? I'd like to work for you. You can find me at the local Walmart. I'll be the old fella sticking those little smiley faces on other old people. Don Rumsfeld |
| Posted by: Buzzsaw 2006-11-08 19:23 |
| #75 Thanks Lol. I think you get it. Don't take this setback to seriously. I was a loyal Reagonite. Dutch was 'Da Man'. Dutch had a vision and he could articulate it. I had hoped 'W' would lead us and maintain those values that we Reagonites fought so hard to bring to DC. But 'W' has lost his way. Too much bad stuff happening under his watch and he doesn't ask for accountability. So now I'm an Independent waiting for someone to reinvigorate me to come back to the GOP. And trust me, we are many. Oh by the way 'Mike'. You say Rummy liberated 50 million people. Are you sure you aren't confusing reality with some Star Trek episode? Always wondered what you guys do when there are no Star Trek Conventions going on. Just kidding about the convention thing. But please do elaborate. |
| Posted by: Buzzsaw 2006-11-08 19:01 |
| #74 Sorry 'anon', you're right. That was mean. But how do you think I feel. Yesterday I was the Gov of the state of Maryland. And a damn good one at that. I lowered taxes. I brought the budget to a surplus. All I needed was a little lift from the 'Decider'. Something to show that the party is listening to our constituents. But now I'm out of a job because I got rolled by the the slow hand of 'W'. I sure miss ole Dutch Reagan. He wouldn't have let this happen. Bob Erhlich |
| Posted by: Buzzsaw 2006-11-08 18:03 |
| #73 The 'Great Decider' fires Rummy on 8 November. If he would have made that move on 6 November he could have saved some of those Republicans from being booted out of office. Everyone knew going into this election that there were a lot of Independents (me) and many Republicans that wanted to see a change at Def Sec. Bet some of those folks that got axed are a bit pissed at the 'Great Decider'. Hey 'W', timing is everything. Enjoy the next two years as all those former loyalists take their whacks at you. But don't worry, I'm sure ole Rush will still be there to carry your water. That is if he isn't in prison for illegally obtaining prescription drugs or enjoying an extended stay at the Betty Ford Clinic. MFRAS |
| Posted by: Buzzsaw 2006-11-08 17:36 |
| #72 "Rice is the architect of our do-nothing policy" Geez, is everybody ignorant about how the fucking govt works? Unfuckingbelievable. |
| Posted by: .com 2006-11-08 23:40 |
#71 Most importantly, though, Gates wont be undermining Rice.LOL. Considering that Rice is the architect of our do-nothing policy, this is exactly the problem. |
| Posted by: JSU 2006-11-08 23:39 |
| #70 Indeed. The Independents will never do anything except play spoilers. A higher calling you can't conceive of, it appears. You seem to think that here and now is no different from any other time. I disagree. The lethality of weapons, alone, makes your position specious and asinine, but that's cool, cuz you're an Independent, a spoiler, a spoiled self-satisfied smug banal foolish child who will leave it to others to do the heavy lifting, the hard work, and yes - rebuild afterwards. Have a nice life. |
| Posted by: .com 2006-11-08 23:22 |
| #69 Our greatest threat is internal, by far. That we have a swing segment that is capable of being this selfish and, well, puerile... And thank God for what you call the internal threat, or what I call the Independents, that is, those that can think rationally. There's nothing more sickening than people who hold on to losers at the expense of the lives of others and the welfare of their country. Thank God for Independents. |
| Posted by: C 2006-11-08 23:13 |
| #68 .com, "swing segment" sums it up. Punishment by staying home or voting for'D' to make a point. The "swing segment" didn't neccesarily vote for 'D' as they voted against 'R' and we all shall pay the price in the next 2 years for their uneducated votes. But, we also have 2 years to educate and help reform the party and "swingers" (no puns please). In Ohio, I had to hold my nose and vote for Dewine. AAAGGGHHHH. But I did, regardless of his poor stance on the 2nd amendment and weak attempt at border control, etc, etc. A whole lot of the 'D's that got voted in, based themselves on a conservative platform, if they don't perform in 2 years they're gone. Let's just hope that the wedding ring on their left finger doesn't weigh them down and makes them lean that way on all of their votes. Now I know I've said to much, and must retire for the evening. Tomorrow is a new day and let's all work towards '08. Not just here on the 'Burg, but in our homes and communities. That's just my thoughts and all thought is tax exempt, for now. |
| Posted by: kilowattkid 2006-11-08 23:08 |
| #67 Sorry, been on the phone. Sure, the Pubbies are typical politicians - two agendas. One for public show - we'll vote for this stuff cuz it gets us your vote, and the private one which gets them the contributions and goodies. I held my nose and voted because it was unthinkable to me to allow the worst bunch of parasitic freakazoid scumsucking assholes yet bred in this country to take over. All the marbles. Nothing else even matters, relative to that. Our greatest threat is internal, by far. That we have a swing segment that is capable of being this selfish and, well, puerile (hate to use a word like that twice in the same day, but...) is as bad as the segment that have become pure Stalinist Tranzi tools. Since I don't want to invite undue attention and grief, I'll restate that I'll abide by the rule of law. [mumble mumble mumble] |
| Posted by: .com 2006-11-08 22:41 |
| #66 thanks for the comment kilowattkid, you've been an RBee a long time! |
| Posted by: RD 2006-11-08 22:01 |
| #65 Buzzboy is the reason why I try not to post here. Say something meaningful, then try to defend against self absorbed idiots. Rummies gone. Damn. TW's post #41 is the direction my thought is taking. Make a drastic maneuver and throw them off guard then bring the forces towards them in another direction (them being the Dems and the terrorist). Time will tell if this works. Yesterdays elections are not the end of the world, but certainly a wake up call. The R's need to lick there wounds and then start listening to what their base is asking for (like my fellow Rantburg citizens) and make the right changes for '08. More than I've ever said on the 'Burg and I shall STFU now and just read. |
| Posted by: kilowattkid 2006-11-08 21:58 |
| #64 Rantburg Emasculator™ Damn my bad luck again! I missed another Troll and missed out on all the fun of cutting his mustard seeds OFF!! Heh MODS, I'll just leave this TROLL TOOL here so we all can cut the Bastards when ever they show up! »:-) |
| Posted by: RD 2006-11-08 21:54 |
| #63 .com I think you are absolutely right about the danger that this places our nation in. But if you look at the ballot propositions across the country they were a resounding condemnation of core liberal positions. Nancy's position is actually pretty tenuous ASSUMING Bush demonstrates some backbone and pushes hard against any moonbattery legislation she and her ilk try to implement. I am highly sceptical that this will be the case as the president has not demonstrated any strength whatsoever with congress outside of WOT issues. The other difference is that the media is going to give these assholes a huge pass on, well, everything. The sleepy electorate who are watching Reese's divorce proceedings get their ill-informed opinions from these folks so they'll probably think everything is peachy until they wake up to a major attack. But when I think of the Republicans in Congress and especially the Senate, I'm reminded of the photo we use here on RB of the paki-wakis with holding the signs saying "Kick Our Asses". They really did some incredibely stupid things. |
| Posted by: Remoteman 2006-11-08 21:53 |
| #62 I completely agree with you, .com on those who voted to give the pubbies "a lesson." It's so very foreign to me too. However, (call me an optimist), it is a SLIM margin, the seats they won are in deep-red districts, a lot more moderate/conservatives, AND it all has to go through the Prez's office (Please, George, finally use that veto pen!). They do NOT have enough to overturn vetoes, and I still wonder about Lieberman (after hearing him with Hannity this afternoon). He was pretty pissed about those Donks who threw him under the bus. |
| Posted by: BA 2006-11-08 21:52 |
| #61 '70's - Vincent Price... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-11-08 21:44 |
| #60 Never hoid of 'em, Frank... |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2006-11-08 21:44 |
| #59 I hadn't thought of that, .com; what the hell am I gonna do now with 9,700 rounds of ammunition? Gonna hafta sleep on it. G'nite... |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2006-11-08 21:43 |
| #58 that was to DD |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-11-08 21:41 |
| #57 ever see "Dr Phibes" movies? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-11-08 21:39 |
| #56 I have to say, BA, that I have precisely zero confidence that the people who just placed Marin Country in charge of the House and 2 steps away from Pres will pay any attention whatsoever to anything except that they're getting theirs. The thought process that found this a good thing to do in a time of war is not just foreign to me, it's incomprehensible. And that's not even going into precisely how looney she and her supporters actually are. AC was right this morning - since they won, thanks to the self-absorbed assholes in the electorate, the loonies aren't going to take it to the streets...: "Too bad. Maybe next time." |
| Posted by: .com 2006-11-08 21:36 |
| #55 "...and it may very well rip the mask off and make her go berserk..." Oh, great. Now I'm gonna have nightmares about what might be underneath that mask... |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2006-11-08 21:34 |
| #54 The only thing I can say about the Rummy situation is that it was two months too late to help any GOP candidates. IMHO - if W really wanted to help those GOP candidates running yesterday he should've sacked Rummy about 6-8 weeks earlier. |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2006-11-08 21:33 |
| #53 Speaking of cat-herders, something hit me between the eyes this afternoon on the long, hard |
| Posted by: BA 2006-11-08 21:28 |
| #52 LOL |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2006-11-08 21:26 |
| #51 Damned Oracle - keeps dropping rows... I'm gonna go back to Access - it always worked. ;-) |
| Posted by: .com 2006-11-08 21:25 |
| #50 Proud Dad .... forgot that one... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-11-08 21:21 |
| #49 :-) I've had to upgrade to Oracle-38 to keep up, lol. And I left out cat-herder, lol. |
| Posted by: .com 2006-11-08 21:18 |
| #48 Damn, you take good notes... waddaya got, a database or somethin'??? (You forgot "Proud Philadelphian"...) |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2006-11-08 21:16 |
| #47 Lol. Dave D., Engineer, Bartender Extraordinaire, Asshole Assassin, RB Mental Health Professional, and Armorer, lol. ;-) |
| Posted by: .com 2006-11-08 21:12 |
| #46 Buh-bye.... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-11-08 21:08 |
| #45 Enough of this psycho. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2006-11-08 21:06 |
| #44 Well there's an IP to hang onto, Mods. Yo, Buzzy, fuck off. |
| Posted by: .com 2006-11-08 21:01 |
| #43 wisdom from Nigel in Spinal Tap: "It's a fine line between clever and stupid...y'know?" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-11-08 20:42 |
| #42 once was funny - twice was stretching - you're not making any fans, idjit |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-11-08 20:39 |
| #41 You are quite right, Buzzsaw. You're completely incapable of spelling intriguing; it's got two Gs and no Qs whatsoever. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-11-08 20:38 |
| #40 Posted by Buzzsaw 2006-11-08 20:12|| Front Page|| ||Comments Top Hey, I'm glad Rumsfeld is out. I couldn't stand the guy. But looking at your arguements, I have one thing to ask you...Are you drunk? You're all over the place. |
| Posted by: Thoth 2006-11-08 20:25 |
| #39 he's not whimsical - he's just an asshole. |
| Posted by: anon 2006-11-08 20:25 |
| #38 I was right where I always am, Buzzsaw dear, at home playing housewife and mother of pre-licence teenagers. Are you always such an idiot, or did the election bring out your whimsical side? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-11-08 19:51 |
| #37 While technically the Afghans and Iraqis have been liberated, it can be argued that there has been little or no liberation. In both cases we've created relative power vacuums into which Paki Pashtun nuts or Iranian/Syrian nuts are flowing respectively. So what we really did was topple the pre-existing regimes while providing some measure, and I emphasize some, of a chance for these peoples to be truly liberated under stable governments. Unfortunately that stability is hard to come by when external forces are working with internal forces to create chaos. BTW, there were other ways we could have sealed the borders, but those ways would have involved direct warning attacks via air assets on three other countries (Pakistan, Syria, Iran). Not as sure a thing as having boots on the borders, but with enough steel in the threat it might have worked. |
| Posted by: remoteman 2006-11-08 19:18 |
| #36 When organizations go through major changes there is always the guy who does all the hard stuff, and who is hated for it. Then the guy who follows on soothes all the troubled souls, continuing exactly in the path laid out by the first guy, and he is loved for it. Mr. Rumsfeld is an old hand at these games, and presumably knew what he was in for when he started down the primrose path. He has indeed done well for the department he served twice in his life, and what he has wrought will not undo itself. Now if only someone would accomplish the same at the CIA, FBI and State. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-11-08 18:54 |
| #35 Rummy took down two of the world's worst tyrranies and set ffity million people free. Well done, good and faithful servant. |
| Posted by: Mike 2006-11-08 18:34 |
| #34 Personally, I like Rumsfeld and his style. Clearly it does not work for lots of other people. The results were not happening on the ground and there were several issues that seemingly should have been anticipated that were either ignored or not addressed (I'm thinking choking off the Syrian and Iranian borders as an early priority - this would have required far more troops - also increasing the size of the military after 9/11). |
| Posted by: remoteman 2006-11-08 18:25 |
| #33 Lol. Thanx, Buzzy, I was looking for a laugh today. You served it up. |
| Posted by: .com 2006-11-08 18:09 |
| #32 Why gladly kla;je. My boss's name is ed. You can do that when you set up your own corp and chase your own contracts. But since the discussion is Rumsfeld's ditching, I am a bit lacking in knowledge. Now why don't you share with us what the folks most effected by this think. You can even pull stuff out of your ass. It's all anonymous here and folks will give your opinion the weight it deserves. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-11-08 17:59 |
| #31 Are you suggesting the CIA is part of one grand liberal conspiracy going back through the 1960s? No. I'm suggesting I don't trust anyone connected with CIA because the institutional ties are suspect. The most successful (though not perfect) part of the executive branch -- the DoD -- is getting shafted while the fuck ups at CIA and State are getting off free. Rumsfeld was trying to set up a parallel intel operation because DoD couldn't get what it needed from CIA. Wanna bet Gates tosses that out? Are you guys so far out that anyone who wants to you know, talk to anyone, is a soft lilly livered coward? WTF is the point of talking to people who have no intention of following any agreement? Why talk to people who consider "compromise" to mean they slit your throat later rather than sooner? And, Christ, what's the point in talking if the people supposedly doing the talking for you are working against you? State fucked up Turkey, fucked up Iraq, and along with the CIA pulled shit like the whole Plame farce. State's job is to make the case for US policy to other countries, to get those willing to come along to come along. Instead, they've been some of the most consistent critics and backstabbers around. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-11-08 17:55 |
| #30 one would have hoped that victory would have allowed the frothing haters to relax and enjoy knowing that the world will suddenly be a peaceful, happy place without homeless or climate change. But Buzzsaw and others shows they are just getting started with their little stone-throwing hate fests. |
| Posted by: anon 2006-11-08 17:46 |
| #29 Ed, why would anyone do that? Why don't you tell us where you work and then tell us how you really feel about your boss? What's his name? Got his phone number? I'm just curious - that's all. |
| Posted by: kla;je 2006-11-08 17:39 |
| #28 Ima zippin it on this one. |
| Posted by: Thoth 2006-11-08 17:24 |
| #27 Would active duty Rantburgers give your personal and colleagues reactions to Rumsfled's resignation? |
| Posted by: ed 2006-11-08 17:22 |
| #26 "Sorry, Iraq. Sorry, Afghanistan. We weren't up to the task" Well Rummy sure wasnt. I wouldnt give up on Gates though. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2006-11-08 16:35 |
| #25 you talking about whats been going on the last few years? Gates hasnt been in the CIA since 1992. Are you suggesting the CIA is part of one grand liberal conspiracy going back through the 1960s? I didnt say undermining State, I said undermining Rice. Which Rummy has been doing, and to all accounts shes pissed. I bet that was part of his leaving, as much as polls and election results. Are you guys so far out that anyone who wants to you know, talk to anyone, is a soft lilly livered coward? Back when i said Powell and Rummy werent in agreement, i was told here it was good cop, bad cop, the admin was all pulling together. Till Powell left, and it turned out they all did despise each other. Than I told you Rice was pulling in a diff direction from Rummy, and again, that was idiocy spread in the MSM. De Nile aint just a river in Egypt, and the fruit of that was yesterday. Too bad that didnt just empower patriotic Dems, but its put some really questionable people like Murtha in positions of influence. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2006-11-08 16:32 |
| #24 Well, hopefully, Bush will spend the next two years vetoing everything that crosses his desk. That will pretty much guarantee a Democratic President next term. Bush would be wise to work with Congress, rather than against it. If he is seen as being a barrier to change, then all I can say is hell hath no fury like an electorate scorned. |
| Posted by: C 2006-11-08 16:29 |
| #23 As we all know, the WOT is an intell war, so in that sense the choice of Gates makes sense. As we all know, the CIA has been running a war against the White House. The choice of Gates is an admission that they've won. Most importantly, though, Gates wont be undermining Rice. Who cares if State's undermined? The primary interest at State is not upsetting their post-retirement, Saudi-funded speaking tours. Sorry, Iraq. Sorry, Afghanistan. We weren't up to the task. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-11-08 16:22 |
| #22 Lieberman(I-CT) just said some pretty glowing things about Robert Gates on Hannity, for what that's worth. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2006-11-08 16:15 |
| #21 Not Baker. Please say it isn't Baker. Gates is Baker's boy. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-11-08 16:14 |
| #20 I'm going to miss him bitch-slap the reporters at his press conferences. |
| Posted by: Charles 2006-11-08 15:46 |
| #19 While the Iraq war caused some erosion, the real problem lays squarely at the feet of the Congressional leadership: they have let the republican caucus just run wild, without discipline or philosophy of any sort. Grotesque and abusive pork, ethical failure without correction until just before the elections, obstinance and disloyalty without rebuke. At their best they appeared stampeded by the White House, but for the most part the President just signed whatever bills they sent him without guidance from beginning to end. When the bill was terribly flawed, he just issued one of his ubiquitous signing statements as notice that he was less than thrilled about enforcing it. Legislatively, the last six years have just been chaotic. After the spate of 9-11 bills just gushed through Congress without serious consideration, the rest of their time was spent gouging the taxpayers for perversely large government growth. The was NO conservatism, in any sense of the word, just the mad scramble of kids in a candy store with one minute to stick as much candy in their pockets as they can carry. The public voted for democrats out of default. If the opposition party had been the Marijuana party, it would have become the new majority--not for any reason of its own, but just to STOP the republicans from continuing to misbehave. There is no other mandate for the democrats other than stalemate. Unfortunately, only the few good things the republicans would do will be what is stalemated. Otherwise, the democrats will just compound the problem. Well, hopefully, Bush will spend the next two years vetoing everything that crosses his desk. Otherwise, if he truly does believe that his job is to execute anything Congress wants, our country will be in a sorry state, indeed. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-11-08 15:08 |
| #18 Hibjobol Abjub, enjoy it while you can. |
| Posted by: anon 2006-11-08 14:42 |
| #17 Interesting: Gates had a big meeting with Bush last weekend in Crawford. I suspect Bush had a good long look at the internals and knew what was coming. Sure wish he'd gotten out on the trail more and had articulated his message more clearly the last two years but that's water under the bridge now. Rummy won't lack for legal representation; that's covered since he's an ex-Secretary (common courtesy extended to them). As to the Dhimmidonk show, getting Rumsfeld out of the way removes the most obvious lightning rod. Cheney will stay -- can't remove an elected official -- but he can fend for himself in any Congressional hearing. Putting in Gates allows Bush to say that "he's heard the message" and defangs, at least a bit, the Dhimmis. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2006-11-08 14:25 |
| #16 Dubai - the intellectual elite of teh ME - that's not saying much, a-hole |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-11-08 14:16 |
| #15 As we all know, the WOT is an intell war, so in that sense the choice of Gates makes sense. Questions about the competence of the CIA, esp during the late cold war, will be very important during confirmation. Most importantly, though, Gates wont be undermining Rice. Rummy was a drag on the WOT generally these last couple of years, and he wasnt coming up with any new ideas on Iraq. and he seems to have lost the confidence of much of the uniformed military. Kudos to Bush for having the sense to be flexible. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2006-11-08 14:01 |
| #14 Gates guy is a Baker guy. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2006-11-08 13:56 |
| #13 Did the U.S. just do a Spanish reflex election? Seems the constant drumbeat in the last month, death by one's and two's in Iraq and Afganhistan just turned the stomach's of too many american voters. (As opposed to Spain - one big boom and they hide under the bed, Americans need dozens of little stings to make them give up...nice work by the opposition and US Media - or is that redundant?) I think we'll see more trouble - and more bloodshed - than less with the loss of Rumsfeld and both houses of Congress. |
| Posted by: Rob06 2006-11-08 13:36 |
| #12 Bush is in meltdown mode. He's projecting a constant course in the WOT (this time, without funding). Please won't you be, my neighbor Pelosi for President ! Pelosi in 08 ! Long live comrade Pelosi. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-11-08 13:28 |
| #11 Yeah Sam...but is Gates that guy? No doubt there's 'Burgers with more info on him than li'l me but I'm not impressed. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2006-11-08 13:27 |
| #10 Don't get caught being a cool-aid drinker. MHW has it right - what has changed in the last 2 years in the war? Its time for new blood and a new perspective. Rummy made his mark and refurbished the military, now lets get someone in there that can use it. |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2006-11-08 13:22 |
| #9 Replacement is not Baker. Robert Gates, former CIA director. Oh great. An alumni of the biggest failed institution in the executive branch. The CIA won the war, folks. Unfortunately, their war was against the elected government of the US. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-11-08 13:12 |
| #8 Excalibur - exactly right. The confirmation hearings will be the opposite of the auto-da-fe the dems wanted to visit on Rummy. Instead, their "we hate Amerikka" show will be wide open for all to see in any confirmation soap opera. Good jiu jitsu if you ask me... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2006-11-08 13:09 |
| #7 *bleep*. Replacement is not Baker. Robert Gates, former CIA director. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2006-11-08 13:07 |
| #6 Now imagine the confirmation hearings in a Democratic Congress. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2006-11-08 13:05 |
| #5 I sure hope he's not actually resigning. He's going to be on the hook for millions in legal bills once the Democrats start hitting him with subpoenas. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2006-11-08 13:05 |
| #4 In retrospect, it does seem that Bush, Rummy & Co. were, in 2004, given 2 years to make: 1. significant progress in the security situation (say a reduction in US combat fatalities to 30 a month and a reduction of Iraqi terrorism fatalities to, say, 'only' 5 or so major suicide bombings a month) 2. the beginnings of a withdrawal (to say under 100k deployed). I think the political progress in Iraq would have been considered important if #1 and #2 would have occurred. |
| Posted by: mhw 2006-11-08 13:05 |
| #3 Not Baker. Please say it isn't Baker. |
| Posted by: Jonathan 2006-11-08 13:02 |
| #2 What the hell? |
| Posted by: The Doctor 2006-11-08 13:01 |
| #1 Drat. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-11-08 12:59 |