January 07, 2014
— Ace As reviewed by Bob Woodward, so this is as insidery as it gets.
In a new memoir, former defense secretary Robert Gates unleashes harsh judgments about President Obama’s leadership and his commitment to the Afghanistan war, writing that by early 2010 he had concluded the president “doesn’t believe in his own strategy, and doesn’t consider the war to be his. For him, it’s all about getting out.”
Which is what is so galling. Men are being killed at three times the rate as they died under Bush's leadership, and Obama is not even trying to win.
Those men remain there out of political cowardice. Men are dying for Obama's political cowardice.
If he does not wish to fight the war-- then he should save those men's lives and bring them home.
It is one thing to sacrifice men's lives for an important objective. The only objective sought by Obama is avoiding the "Weak on Terrorism" attack that would be lodged by the Right. And the attack that Obama claimed, in knocking the Iraq War constantly, that he would be tough as the Devil on Afghanistan.
So men are dying, to save Obama some short-term minor political pain.
Leveling one of the more serious charges that a defense secretary could make against a commander in chief sending forces into combat, Gates asserts that Obama had more than doubts about the course he had charted in Afghanistan. The president was “skeptical if not outright convinced it would fail,” Gates writes in “Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War.”...
Gates offers a catalogue of various meetings, based in part on notes that he and his aides made at the time, including an exchange between Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that he calls “remarkable.”
He writes: “Hillary told the president that her opposition to the [2007] surge in Iraq had been political because she was facing him in the Iowa primary. . . . The president conceded vaguely that opposition to the Iraq surge had been political. To hear the two of them making these admissions, and in front of me, was as surprising as it was dismaying.”
...
Gates acknowledges forthrightly in “Duty” that he did not reveal his dismay. “I never confronted Obama directly over what I (as well as [Hillary] Clinton, [then-CIA Director Leon] Panetta, and others) saw as the president’s determination that the White House tightly control every aspect of national security policy and even operations. His White House was by far the most centralized and controlling in national security of any I had seen since Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger ruled the roost.”
...
It got so bad during internal debates over whether to intervene in Libya in 2011 that Gates says he felt compelled to deliver a “rant” because the White House staff was “talking about military options with the president without Defense being involved.”
This is interesting. You already read, above, how Gates did not express his objections to Obama. He also withheld his concerns from Congress.
If you've ever thought "Military leaders are not free to offer their real opinions to Congress or the American people," you're right.
But Gates says he did not speak his mind when the committee chairman listed the problems he would face as secretary. “I remember sitting at the witness table listening to this litany of woe and thinking, “What the hell am I doing here? I have walked right into the middle of a category-five shitstorm. It was the first of many, many times I would sit at the witness table thinking something very different from what I was saying.”
It's really a Read the Whole Thing thing. I didn't quote Gates' opinion on National Security Advisor Tom Donillon being a "disaster," for example.
Posted by: Ace at
01:54 PM
| Comments (327)
Post contains 650 words, total size 4 kb.
Posted by: Minnfidel at January 07, 2014 01:59 PM (FciyD)
Posted by: Minnfidel at January 07, 2014 02:00 PM (FciyD)
The second most frustrating thing is seeing our leadership class hold onto their sinecure until retirement rather than stand on principle. The money is just too good in Washington, D.C.
When Obama sabotaged the 'surge' into Afghanistan by simultaneously announcing a withdrawal date, Gates should have said both privately and publicly, "if you are going to withdraw, then don't surge more troops, and don't wait a year and a half, pull them out now."
Posted by: John Native at January 07, 2014 02:02 PM (apx2F)
Posted by: Bill D. Cat at January 07, 2014 02:05 PM (XWw96)
Posted by: Homornormative Lauren at January 07, 2014 02:05 PM (hFL/3)
>>Hillary told the president that her opposition to the [2007] surge in Iraq had been political because she was facing him in the Iowa primary. . . . The president conceded vaguely that opposition to the Iraq surge had been political. To hear the two of them making these admissions, and in front of me, was as surprising as it was dismaying.”
.
.
.Hillary will not run in 2016 now. She can't face any discussion what so ever about this and hope to win.
Posted by: Registered Voter at January 07, 2014 02:06 PM (xqjwP)
But then.. that would require some cleverness on Obama's part.. he is too incompetent.
Posted by: Chi-Town Jerry at January 07, 2014 02:07 PM (b/lt+)
Posted by: soothie at January 07, 2014 02:07 PM (J5lvw)
Posted by: Retread at January 07, 2014 02:07 PM (cHwk5)
Posted by: Adam Smith's Invisible Pimp Hand at January 07, 2014 02:09 PM (WdbF7)
Posted by: soothie at January 07, 2014 02:09 PM (J5lvw)
Here's my review. "No shit, Sherlock."
Posted by: pep at January 07, 2014 02:10 PM (6TB1Z)
Posted by: NCKate at January 07, 2014 02:12 PM (Auy5s)
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at January 07, 2014 02:12 PM (3Znbm)
Posted by: pep at January 07, 2014 02:13 PM (6TB1Z)
Posted by: JackStraw at January 07, 2014 02:13 PM (g1DWB)
He should have waited bringing this book out. He should have done this perhaps in August or September.
I too am just as disgusted at Gates as I am at Baraka and his regime. He's a coward for not speaking out. It might have made a difference in the last election. Maybe.
Posted by: Soona at January 07, 2014 02:13 PM (rJc6l)
Posted by: Hillary Clinton at January 07, 2014 02:14 PM (OPzNA)
Posted by: seems legit at January 07, 2014 02:15 PM (A98Xu)
>>And Chuck Hagel was chosen for exactly the same reasons.
.
.
.Hagel was hand picked to conduct the drawdown of the Military. The fact that he is nominally a Republican was an Obama smoke screen to deflect any criticism from Republicans.
Posted by: Registered Voter at January 07, 2014 02:15 PM (xqjwP)
Posted by: seems legit at January 07, 2014 02:16 PM (A98Xu)
Maybe anonymously, as a "highly-placed senior official?"
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth at January 07, 2014 02:16 PM (Q9qpj)
http://tinyurl.com/6f7kbp
March 31, 2008 was well before the surge was a success. It would have been disastrous for Iraq.
Obama either thought the bill wouldn't pass and was playing politics with the American voter, or he thought the bill would pass and was playing politics with the lives of Iraqis.
Posted by: Hepcat at January 07, 2014 02:16 PM (Q4mug)
Grim milestones only count when Republicans are in office.
When P.M. Harper saw that Obama wasn't serious about Afghanistan, he pulled our military out. Thank heaven.
Posted by: [/i]andycanuck[/b] at January 07, 2014 02:17 PM (PK+r9)
Posted by: soothie at January 07, 2014 02:17 PM (J5lvw)
-
Meanwhile people were dying.
Posted by: WalrusRex at January 07, 2014 02:17 PM (Hx5uv)
Is Gates gonna play a similar card that could be played at HHS right now with Obamacare? It wasn't me who screwed up so much. It was SCOAMF. We felt we couldn't even confront him because he was too insulated and controlling.
When is Hillary gonna start with this? It wasn't me who couldn't accomplish anything major at State... it was because of the boss. Benghazi wasn't my screw up, things that were going on there were directed from hire up, and to bring bad news about it was not something I could do... yadda yadda yadda.
Posted by: Hate Miser at January 07, 2014 02:17 PM (Oeij3)
Random question, is there anyone who isn't out and out lying when testifying before Congress?
Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD, you taunty bitch. at January 07, 2014 02:17 PM (Gk3SS)
This is what's known as bloody politics.
Oh, who am I kidding. Choom and the gang are making it a bloodsport.
Posted by: Soona at January 07, 2014 02:18 PM (rJc6l)
Posted by: seems legit at January 07, 2014 02:18 PM (A98Xu)
>>To be clear, I actually think Gates did a reasonable job in a horrible situation, and is an honorable man. Continuing to serve under these circumstances was probably an effort to head off an even worse situation. What situation? Chuck Hagel as SecDef years earlier.
.
.
.^This a hundred times. Hagel would have been confirmed and a slowly simmering disaster would have become an Epic disaster in record breaking time.
Posted by: Registered Voter at January 07, 2014 02:18 PM (xqjwP)
Posted by: --- at January 07, 2014 02:18 PM (MMC8r)
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 02:20 PM (J5lvw)
Posted by: WalrusRex at January 07, 2014 02:20 PM (Hx5uv)
Posted by: redenzo at January 07, 2014 02:20 PM (WCnJW)
Posted by: JackStraw at January 07, 2014 02:21 PM (g1DWB)
Posted by: Registered Voter at January 07, 2014 06:18 PM (xqjwP)
Yeah, and in the end we got Hagel anyways, so what's your point?
Maybe Gates actually doing the honorable thing and resigning in protest helps sink the Re-Elect JugEars McFuckstick re-election campaign, and we never get Hagel at all.
Meh, what's a few more dead G.I.s to these jackasses?
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth at January 07, 2014 02:21 PM (Q9qpj)
Posted by: Minnfidel at January 07, 2014 02:22 PM (FciyD)
Posted by: Chief Justice John Roberts at January 07, 2014 02:22 PM (OPzNA)
Posted by: MSM at January 07, 2014 02:22 PM (dfYL9)
Posted by: seems legit at January 07, 2014 06:15 PM (A98Xu)
The JEF was lying on Afghanistan, knowing fucking A well the MFM wouldn't call him on it.
Posted by: Captain Hate at January 07, 2014 02:22 PM (UkWeZ)
Newsflash: when a President from an incoming administration of either party asks a cabinet secretary from the prior administration to stay on, he stays. It's a tradition stretching back over 150 years or more and I can't think of a single example off the top of my head where someone has turned a direct request like that from The President of the United States down. It's not Gates' fault that Obama is an awful, worthless President. And having SecDef Gates around for the first two years of Obama's administration spared us having someone far worse.
The kneejerk reactions around here are getting crazier and crazier with each passing day.
Posted by: Jeff B. 2.0 - newly upgraded with fiancee! at January 07, 2014 02:23 PM (ewYO6)
There is that saying that
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"
and it has.
Posted by: willow at January 07, 2014 02:23 PM (nqBYe)
A five category shitstorm is a perfect way to describe the last 5 years.
Gates also wasn't too crazy about Slow Joe the idiot VP.
Posted by: Cheri at January 07, 2014 02:23 PM (G+Wff)
Posted by: seems legit at January 07, 2014 02:23 PM (A98Xu)
Posted by: --- at January 07, 2014 02:23 PM (MMC8r)
Posted by: Registered Voter at January 07, 2014 06:06 PM (xqjwP)
They have a couple of years to destroy Gates and others like him before she runs.
Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at January 07, 2014 02:24 PM (9W1fA)
This utter lack of seriousness, lack of substance or understanding, and vile self-serving cynicism, is exactly what the Dems have been on national security (most of them) since the 80s at least. A good friend who was a very long time aide to a moderately bad Dem in that period agreed with me when I said the Dem Party died (in terms of an honorable and serious role in national affairs) on Januay 12, 1991, when the Senate barely passed the Gulf War resolution. My friend's behind the scenes horror stories from a key Senate committee leading up to that vote made the resolution debacle no surprise. There were more than a few Dem aides for whom that 1991 vote was literally the last straw - several left to do other things, and no longer took the Dems seriously on any serious topic.
Gates? Not an idiot or a lightweight - and sorry to all those who harbor these bizarre conceptions that Obama, Hillary, Biden, Donilon, or any of these other people are anything but very very mediocre lightweights in any respect - but my dichotomous view of the CIA makes me wonder. My experience in direct dealings (primarily with the intel side, not operations) over the years struggled to get to 50/50 positive/negative. My last direct experience was jaw-dropping on the negative side. So the fact that Gates excelled in that world (and on the Soviet account, my main interest as well) is of uncertain weight to me.
But this latest - and inside, direct - recounting of how outrageously, repugnantly, ridiculously unfit all these people (not Gates, the others) are for any serious jobs, much less the top national security jobs, is a nice reminder of why my estimate of the nation has plunged beneath definable lows in the last decade. Early post-9/11 was a brief respite in that trend.
Remember: your neighbors, your family members, your softball team mates, your co-workers are the ones who have made this insane national degradation possible, by voting for such absurdly unfit people (over and over and over). It's not some "them". The despicable abuse and waste of America's best citizens (those in uniform), the insane damage to our national interests, the vile treachery against real allies, the disgraceful embrace of the worst elements in the world, the child-like ignorance and disregard of the most important tasks of national government - it's all in the end the responsibility of that brother in law who seems like a nice guy and is a sharp lawyer for the tech company.
Posted by: non-purist at January 07, 2014 02:24 PM (afQnV)
Posted by: Daybrother at January 07, 2014 02:24 PM (ApiTO)
Posted by: Jeff B. 2.0 - newly upgraded with fiancee!
Pics or it hasn't happened.
Posted by: pep at January 07, 2014 02:24 PM (6TB1Z)
Posted by: Chief Justice John Roberts at January 07, 2014 02:25 PM (OPzNA)
Posted by: seems legit at January 07, 2014 02:25 PM (A98Xu)
Posted by: redenzo at January 07, 2014 06:20 PM (WCnJW)
----------------------------------------------
I don't think so. Remember, these people are murderously ruthless. Hillary and the SCOAMT will start causing people to have untimely deaths. It's a war against America for them.
Many others not writing books will be getting that 2am knock at the front door.
Posted by: Soona at January 07, 2014 02:25 PM (rJc6l)
Posted by: ace at January 07, 2014 02:25 PM (/FnUH)
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"
and it has.
Posted by: willow at January 07, 2014 06:23 PM (nqBYe)
If ever you doubted the validity of that statement, take a look at the current political class, lead by Obama and his cohorts, but closely followed by the stalwart Republican minions (Boehner, McConnell, Ryan, et al).
Posted by: Hrothgar at January 07, 2014 02:26 PM (o3MSL)
Yeah, and maybe he should have called a press conference and accused Obama of being an nasty, stupid, incompetent Commander-in-Chief too while we're at it.
Jesus Christ. Fantasies. This isn't Hollywood, that's not what Defense Secretaries do. It's a position of the gravest responsibility and discretion. Hell, I'm actually pretty stunned that Gates is writing this memoir as it is. Do you have any idea what a big deal this is, at least in terms of an ex-SecDef is saying about the President he served while that President is still in office?. This sure as shit ain't "Scott McClellan's tell-all memoir." I'll tell you that.
Posted by: Jeff B. 2.0 - newly upgraded with fiancee! at January 07, 2014 02:26 PM (ewYO6)
Posted by: phoenixgirl @phxazgrl 50 days until spring training at January 07, 2014 02:26 PM (u8GsB)
Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at January 07, 2014 02:26 PM (HVff2)
Posted by: President Snow at January 07, 2014 02:26 PM (OPzNA)
Posted by: Cheri at January 07, 2014 02:26 PM (G+Wff)
Posted by: Margarita DeVille at January 07, 2014 02:27 PM (dfYL9)
Posted by: seems legit at January 07, 2014 02:27 PM (A98Xu)
Posted by: Truck Monkey, Gruntled New Business Owner at January 07, 2014 02:27 PM (jucos)
Posted by: GOP strategist at January 07, 2014 02:28 PM (QF8uk)
Posted by: phoenixgirl @phxazgrl 50 days until spring training at January 07, 2014 02:28 PM (u8GsB)
Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at January 07, 2014 02:28 PM (HVff2)
Posted by: Jeff B. 2.0 - newly upgraded with fiancee! at January 07, 2014 06:23 PM (ewYO6)
I missed where that was a big deal, except as a sort of "tell" that maybe the guy was suspect, an argument which his own description of his subsequent conduct seems to buttress.
newsflash: Having a GOP SecDef gave Obama more credibility when he argued for his own preferred Iraq and Afghan policies, whereas having some feckless jackass as SecDef may have undermined those arguments. Yeah, it's a reach, but Gates didn't exactly sound the alarm when it actually mattered...and outcome in Iraq and Afghanistan could hardly have been worse, could it?
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth 1.0 at January 07, 2014 02:28 PM (Q9qpj)
>>Yeah, and in the end we got Hagel anyways, so what's your point?Maybe Gates actually doing the honorable thing and resigning in protest helps sink the Re-Elect JugEars McFuckstick re-election campaign, and we never get Hagel at all.Meh, what's a few more dead G.I.s to these jackasses?
.
.
.As a Retired Navy Chief I learned early on that you sometimes have to suck it up and try to make a terrible situation for your people at least a tiny bit better. As leaders it is our duty to protect our troops as best we can without quitting because our people deserve better.
And a Secretary of Defense resigning even under protest accomplishes exactly nothing, no matter what people say on here. Gates falling on his sword would have accomplished two things.....Jack and $hit. Especially with a compliant Media shielding anything Obama does or says.
Posted by: Registered Voter at January 07, 2014 02:28 PM (xqjwP)
Posted by: wooga at January 07, 2014 02:28 PM (EWcYM)
now there's a surefire campaign slogan...
wonder if politics affected Benghazi decisions the same way?
nah, totally different.
Posted by: noone, really [/i] [/b] at January 07, 2014 02:28 PM (5ikDv)
Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at January 07, 2014 02:29 PM (oFCZn)
Posted by: The Poster Formerly Known as Mr. Barky at January 07, 2014 02:29 PM (OPzNA)
Posted by: seems legit at January 07, 2014 02:29 PM (A98Xu)
I think the attitude of far too many is simply put as "I'll only ignore all the evil for a little while, until I get my stock option, my SES slot, my corner office, my Appropriations Committee Chairmanship, etc., but then..."
Posted by: Hrothgar at January 07, 2014 02:30 PM (o3MSL)
Posted by: Rosie Odonnel at January 07, 2014 02:30 PM (FciyD)
I wonder when the American public will wise up to this?
Oh.. wait.. never!
Posted by: Chi-Town Jerry at January 07, 2014 02:30 PM (b/lt+)
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 02:31 PM (J5lvw)
Posted by: ALH at January 07, 2014 02:31 PM (btTLZ)
Posted by: The Poster Formerly Known as Mr. Barky at January 07, 2014 06:29 PM (OPzNA)
It's much more monetarily profitable.
Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at January 07, 2014 02:31 PM (9W1fA)
Posted by: Minnfidel at January 07, 2014 02:32 PM (FciyD)
Posted by: Jeff B. 2.0 - newly upgraded with fiancee! at January 07, 2014 06:23 PM (ewYO6)
----------------------
Don't let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya.
Posted by: Truck Monkey, Gruntled New Business Owner at January 07, 2014 02:33 PM (jucos)
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 02:33 PM (J5lvw)
>>Wait. I'd like to hear alternative reasons (from mine) why obama kept Gates and then picked the R Hagel.
Go ahead; I await.
.
.
.Republican Smoke screen if/when things fell apart.
Posted by: Registered Voter at January 07, 2014 02:33 PM (xqjwP)
Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 07, 2014 02:34 PM (t3UFN)
Posted by: Minnfidel at January 07, 2014 02:35 PM (FciyD)
'cuse me, but do you have any idea what Defense Secretaries do? Did I read that quoted bit wrong, or was this a guy who kept his mouth shut while our Preznit sacrificed American service members for, well, what, exactly?
Yeah, you're right, it ain't Hollywood. Except for the part where nobody has any honor.
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth 1.0 at January 07, 2014 02:35 PM (Q9qpj)
For the same reason he married Moochelle.
Posted by: pep at January 07, 2014 02:35 PM (6TB1Z)
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 02:35 PM (J5lvw)
Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at January 07, 2014 02:36 PM (HVff2)
Well, always difficult to Monday-morning a failure to resign in protest. And of course there's always the logical conundrum of "is it worse if I stay and fight them, or worse if I quit and make a scene?". Both are issues here in assessing Gates, I think.
But given that the national decline has assumed Disneyland Matterhorn speed in recent years, and one of the signal (and among the most dispiriting) aspects has been the utter lack of principled or even notable protest and opposition from any corner of a formerly serious country - yeah, I'm gonna go with "Gates should have resigned and made the biggest possible stink, with specifics". Not just Gates, of course.
Is Gates worse than, say, Gen. Casey, the modern day Lloyd Fredendall who instead of being sacked was promoted, when he reacted to the Ft Hood massacre/terrorist attack with his spectacularly stupid and offensive comments about diversity? Or the CNO who only showed any passion on one topic - that being a belligerent hostility to any serving personnel with reservations about the repeal of DADT? (this while the Navy continued its predictable and disastrous march towards bloc-obsolescence collapse!)
Posted by: non-purist at January 07, 2014 02:36 PM (afQnV)
I'm glad this is coming out, but how many more people will die before Obama is widely recognized for what he is?
Posted by: Lizzy at January 07, 2014 02:36 PM (RvyuE)
Posted by: Eton Cox at January 07, 2014 02:36 PM (q177U)
Posted by: dick jones at January 07, 2014 02:36 PM (Jsiw/)
>>You might be right. But he could have at least started feeding this shit to the media anonymously. Of course the MFM would have buried it anyways.
.
.
.Oh yeah and yet another FBI/NSA investigation would have been secretly launched when the Obama administration heard there was yet another leak. No one in Washington DC is clean that has spent more than a few years there, no one.
Posted by: Registered Voter at January 07, 2014 02:36 PM (xqjwP)
Posted by: redguy at January 07, 2014 02:36 PM (d8wEw)
You donÂ’t want to use soldiersÂ’ lives as a political tool. That wouldnÂ’t be prudent.
Posted by: GOP Strategist at January 07, 2014 06:28 PM (QF8uk)
My considered opinion and advice is that this is not a hill to die on for any Republican candidate. The centrist voters that we need don't care about foreign policy, and the military (at least the few sane ones left after Obama finished the purges) will vote Republican anyway.
Amnesty, and lots of it, will be our winning issue.
Posted by: Karl Rover at January 07, 2014 02:37 PM (o3MSL)
Posted by: The Palm Beach Agorist at January 07, 2014 02:37 PM (7AyPg)
Posted by: Havedash at January 07, 2014 02:37 PM (G1XMn)
Posted by: MTF at January 07, 2014 02:37 PM (NokrH)
Posted by: Soona at January 07, 2014 02:37 PM (rJc6l)
Posted by: Angel with a sword at January 07, 2014 02:37 PM (hpgw1)
Hagel was chosen because he was convenient ('bipartisan!' - bullshit, but it sells), had a personal relationship w/Obama (and hence 'loyal'), and was thought of as easily manipulated or shunted aside (seems largely true so far).
Gates was a different story. Gates was kept on because 1.) he had a longstanding reputation of working with both parties in genuinely nonpartisan fashion that recommended him in particular to Rahm Emmanuel, who as Obama's first Chief-of-Staff pushed to retain him; 2.) the U.S. was in the middle of two wars when Obama came into office and it made a lot of sense to minimize the upheaval at the Pentagon if at all possible.
Not all appointments or retentions are created equal.
Posted by: Jeff B. 2.0 - newly upgraded with fiancee! at January 07, 2014 02:37 PM (ewYO6)
Posted by: Carol at January 07, 2014 02:37 PM (z4WKX)
Posted by: hello, it's me also a creep-assed cracka.. at January 07, 2014 02:38 PM (9+ccr)
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 02:39 PM (J5lvw)
Posted by: The Palm Beach Agorist at January 07, 2014 02:39 PM (7AyPg)
Posted by: Havedash
It must be nice to have such moral certainty regarding the motives of others.
Posted by: pep at January 07, 2014 02:39 PM (6TB1Z)
Posted by: JackStraw at January 07, 2014 02:39 PM (g1DWB)
Posted by: Paid for by Citizens for Clyde the Orangutan at January 07, 2014 02:40 PM (QF8uk)
Hey, that makes two of us, who are Retired Chiefs. There is a difference between someone at our level protecting our people as best we can from the latest insane policy, and someone at that level. A SecDef resigning in protest would be a BFD, and in fact would be one of the few things that could actually cut through the media shield.
I'm not even arguing that's what he should have done, just that it would not have gone without notice, and made it more difficult for Obama to implement his policies in Iraq and Afghanistan, despite what Admiral Jeff B. thinks about Jesus and Hollywood.
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth 1.0 at January 07, 2014 02:40 PM (Q9qpj)
Breaking News : In "Transformers: Age of Extinction", to be released this year, Mark Wahlberg has replaced Shia LaBeouf as the male lead.
Thank God.
Posted by: Dr Spank at January 07, 2014 02:41 PM (DpEwG)
No foolin': Leon Panetta turned out to be shockingly popular among the people he led as both CIA director and SecDef. I wouldn't have predicted it myself, but I know enough very conservative (and partisan in all other respects) people from both worlds to have good reason to believe that he was well-liked all-around, sort of a Democratic George H.W. Bush. (Bush was made DCI without any real prior intel experience and people just assumed he was a political appointee...there's a reason the building is named after him now.)
Posted by: Jeff B. 2.0 - newly upgraded with fiancee! at January 07, 2014 02:41 PM (ewYO6)
Posted by: hello, it's me also a creep-assed cracka.. at January 07, 2014 02:41 PM (9+ccr)
Posted by: Lizzy at January 07, 2014 02:42 PM (RvyuE)
Hillary will not run in 2016 now. She can't face any discussion what so ever about this and hope to win.
---------------------------------------------
I think Gate's book is a planned campaign event. It directs most of the anger toward Dear Leader (who probably doesn't give a shit) and away from Hildebeast. She'll get some flak, but hey, it's still 2014. Plenty of time for the American populace to forget about it.
Posted by: Soona at January 07, 2014 02:42 PM (rJc6l)
Posted by: panzernashorn at January 07, 2014 02:45 PM (MhA4j)
Yeah, that's right. Because Bob Gates is secretly a Democrat rooting for Hillary Clinton and doing Obama's bidding. Of course. Despite the fact that he immediately founded a defense firm with Condi Rice and Steve Hadley after leaving office, he's really on the Obama payroll, taking cues from Hillary's political handlers about when to unveil certain things.
I seriously have to wonder: do people write stuff like the above because they actually think it's true, or just because it makes them feel better even though they know it's silly? Like, it scratches an itch way down in some very angry political place we all have, maybe.
Posted by: Jeff B. 2.0 - newly upgraded with fiancee! at January 07, 2014 02:45 PM (ewYO6)
Can you believe it's too fucking much to expect our media to do even that?
Posted by: RoyalOil at January 07, 2014 02:46 PM (VjL9S)
Posted by: panzernashorn at January 07, 2014 02:46 PM (MhA4j)
Posted by: Eton Cox at January 07, 2014 02:46 PM (q177U)
Well, once Obama is out of office and his cronies have been flushed out of the system.
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth 1.0 at January 07, 2014 02:46 PM (Q9qpj)
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 02:46 PM (J5lvw)
Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 07, 2014 02:47 PM (ZFqFI)
Posted by: Hrothgar at January 07, 2014 02:47 PM (o3MSL)
Posted by: Jeff B. 2.0 - newly upgraded with fiancee! at January 07, 2014 06:45 PM (ewYO6)
-----------------------------------------
So, I see the 2.0 means that you're twice as arrogant.
Posted by: Soona at January 07, 2014 02:48 PM (rJc6l)
Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 07, 2014 02:48 PM (t3UFN)
If I were to properly express my feelings, Ace would ban me for excessive pornographic references and overuse of the F word.
XO has the conn
Posted by: tangonine at January 07, 2014 02:48 PM (x3YFz)
Posted by: Eton Cox at January 07, 2014 02:48 PM (q177U)
Posted by: Hrothgar at January 07, 2014 06:47 PM (o3MSL)
I think I know where a few of them were...off somewhere getting shot at while these D.C. arsholes played slap-and-tickle with one another.
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth 1.0 at January 07, 2014 02:49 PM (Q9qpj)
http://tinyurl.com/o6wbhn3
Posted by: fred zeppelin at January 07, 2014 02:49 PM (YuUoQ)
Posted by: garrett at January 07, 2014 02:49 PM (cQ2Q9)
Posted by: panzernashorn at January 07, 2014 02:50 PM (MhA4j)
Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 07, 2014 02:50 PM (ZFqFI)
Posted by: phoenixgirl @phxazgrl 50 days until spring training at January 07, 2014 02:50 PM (u8GsB)
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 02:50 PM (J5lvw)
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 02:50 PM (J5lvw)
>>
Hey, that makes two of us, who are Retired Chiefs. There is a difference between someone at our level protecting our people as best we can from the latest insane policy, and someone at that level. A SecDef resigning in protest would be a BFD, and in fact would be one of the few things that could actually cut through the media shield.
I'm not even arguing that's what he should have done, just that it would not have gone without notice, and made it more difficult for Obama to implement his policies in Iraq and Afghanistan, despite what Admiral Jeff B. thinks about Jesus and Hollywood.
.
.
.I don't know what the answer is, but the media would have shielded Obama just like they did for Benghazi, Fast & furious, IRS Scandal, etc.
If anyone on here thinks that SecDef resigning in protest would have been somehow magically different then they are extremely naive.
All I know is never quit on your people and do your best to make sure the $hit doesn't fall too hard on them. You're the Chief you know we sometimes have to take it hard to protect our people and complete the mission....I am sure Gates felt the same way.
Posted by: Registered Voter at January 07, 2014 02:50 PM (iaNAm)
Hillary will not run in 2016 now.
I seriously don't think she has clocked faster than a nervous waddle in over a decade.
Posted by: wth at January 07, 2014 02:51 PM (wAQA5)
Posted by: hello, it's me also a creep-assed cracka.. at January 07, 2014 02:51 PM (9+ccr)
"Well, f’n duh. I don’t like Gates – I didn’t like him when he was the SecDef and I don’t like him now, and it’s mostly for exactly these reasons. Gates was in the position where he could shape policy and convince the president that he was 8TFU, instead he was Good Time Charlie, glad-handing the culprits who sent troops to their deaths, and he waits until now to speak out. Gates enabled this administration to undermine our success in Afghanistan and he was the architect of the current race for the exits.
And then on the way out the door, Gates took shots at the troopsÂ’ pay and benefits as well as those of retirees. Sorry, Gates, but you own this failure in Afghanistan right along with Obama, Panetta and Hagel. Live with it and quit making like itÂ’s not your fault. Peddle that shit elsewhere."
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth 1.0 at January 07, 2014 02:51 PM (Q9qpj)
Posted by: Hrothgar at January 07, 2014 06:47 PM (o3MSL)
It has been shocking .
I had so much trust in these people.
Petraus, Ham, etc etc.
when is worrying about your personal status more important than those soldiers under you at the whim of This fkn administrations malevolence ok?
How many that didn't have to die in Iraq or Afghansitan because THIS administrations decisions to be mthr fkn fkrs.
lets' not even address those that Knew about fast and furious or
Benghazi.
I've really been shaken by their cowardliness and lack of concern for everything about our country and it's future stability.
Posted by: willow at January 07, 2014 02:52 PM (nqBYe)
Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 07, 2014 02:52 PM (ZFqFI)
Posted by: [/i]andycanuck[/b] at January 07, 2014 02:53 PM (PK+r9)
I'd also like to mention that actions speak louder than words. Nothing is more tiring than wading through the book bullshit. Who the fuck buys all these recent travelogues. anyway? Who gives a shit what Coulter, Kraut, Buchanan, Gates Gore Garrett Bush Edwards Leibovich Dean Leiberman Woodward Halperin think.
I watch their behavior, and I despise it.
Posted by: The Palm Beach Agorist at January 07, 2014 02:53 PM (7AyPg)
He was bulletproof in his retirement pay, he would have made a line in the sand, and he would have exposed the democrat electioneering on war.
Instead he "tried to make it work" when "working" is not the political fucking goal.
I can't type what I feel about the war, or the fact the media refuses to report the increased casualty per capita rate without getting banned...
so General Gates has a REALLY REALLY nice fucking tie and so does Obama.
Posted by: Sven 10077 at January 07, 2014 02:53 PM (TE35l)
Posted by: Aviator at January 07, 2014 02:54 PM (DI+ja)
Posted by: Registered Voter at January 07, 2014 06:50 PM (iaNAm)
How did Gates take it hard, and what evidence is there that he constructively acted to protect his people? Other than his rant about Libya in 2011, which could have been about that fact he was cut out of the loop more than anything else. He sure was keen to take a shot at pay and benefits too, so I'm skeptical.
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth 1.0 at January 07, 2014 02:54 PM (Q9qpj)
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth 1.0 at January 07, 2014 06:49 PM (Q9qpj)
Of course, right you are. I should have specified more clearly that I meant men of honor and integrity in senior leadership positions.
Posted by: Hrothgar at January 07, 2014 02:55 PM (o3MSL)
Posted by: The Palm Beach Agorist at January 07, 2014 02:55 PM (7AyPg)
Posted by: phoenixgirl @phxazgrl 50 days until spring training at January 07, 2014 02:55 PM (u8GsB)
He's willing to let just the "right" amount die so it won't hurt his poll numbers, but not actually make a real decision about a war.
But where was Gates when we really needed him? Had he come out this way earlier, it might have spared the country a 2nd term of this traitor.
Posted by: McAdams at January 07, 2014 02:55 PM (BVnAx)
Posted by: Nip Sip at January 07, 2014 02:55 PM (0FSuD)
Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 07, 2014 02:56 PM (ZFqFI)
Posted by: JackStraw at January 07, 2014 02:56 PM (g1DWB)
Posted by: Robert McNamara at January 07, 2014 02:56 PM (Q9qpj)
The real issue to me is what Ace stated. Men and women were dying as these shitweasels were playing politics with our soldiers' lives. It's unforgivable.
I've played in this movie. It was called "Vietnam".
Posted by: Soona at January 07, 2014 02:57 PM (rJc6l)
Posted by: hello, it's me also a creep-assed cracka.. at January 07, 2014 02:57 PM (9+ccr)
Posted by: The Poster Formerly Known as Mr. Barky at January 07, 2014 02:57 PM (OPzNA)
Didn't it become obvious why obama kept Petraeus so close so long?
Petraeus, as you all know, turned out to be not only a cad, but somewhat of a Hollywood fanboy.
Again, a useful stooge.
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 06:50 PM (J5lvw)
Got a forwarded e-mail today from a friend. Contained Petreaus' life musings. I'll share with you what I told him:
There's a Japanese saying about judging the man before you, and not judging his past. I always jack up the quote, but you get the idea.
Petraeus is dead to me.
Posted by: tangonine at January 07, 2014 02:57 PM (x3YFz)
Posted by: maddogg at January 07, 2014 02:57 PM (xWW96)
Yeah and I took my enlisted oath as solemnly Bannion....somehwhere along the way they turned E-9 school and O-6-10 orientation into something besides Protect and Defend....
Gates isn't the worst, and he is not the last but he and McPeak and a few others are part of why I am not the hawk I once was and am less and less bothered by a reduced US military.
The forces will literally die for these fucks and they repay that dedication to duty by treating them like Historical reenactors who get up dust off after the "take" on the Political Class' "big scene."
Only problem is those empty fucking boots are not a prop, and neither is the heartache and trauma over loss.
Sorry to be acidic it ain't directed at you.
Posted by: Sven 10077 at January 07, 2014 02:58 PM (TE35l)
Posted by: Carol at January 07, 2014 02:58 PM (z4WKX)
Posted by: Thunderb at January 07, 2014 02:58 PM (zOTsN)
Willow, you have got to admit that a retired senior official or general/admiral gets a pretty nice retirement package and probably a slot on a Board of DIrectors somewhere, so when it comes down to worrying about the troops in the field...it is best to be pragmatic about your future.
Posted by: Hrothgar at January 07, 2014 02:58 PM (o3MSL)
Posted by: Chuck Hagel at January 07, 2014 02:59 PM (aDwsi)
He should have said something when there was a chance to get rid of SCOAMF.
Posted by: Carol at January 07, 2014 06:58 PM (z4WKX)
Well, we'll never know now, since he played along.
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth 1.0 at January 07, 2014 02:59 PM (Q9qpj)
Posted by: The Palm Beach Agorist at January 07, 2014 02:59 PM (7AyPg)
We drained a swamp, and got a toxic wastedump in return. I'd rather have Love Canal instead...
Posted by: fred zeppelin at January 07, 2014 02:59 PM (YuUoQ)
Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 07, 2014 03:00 PM (ZFqFI)
Posted by: Mike Hammer at January 07, 2014 03:01 PM (aDwsi)
Posted by: Thunderb at January 07, 2014 03:01 PM (zOTsN)
Posted by: rickl at January 07, 2014 03:01 PM (sdi6R)
Posted by: OG Celtic-American at January 07, 2014 03:01 PM (vHRtU)
Posted by: Mike Hammer at January 07, 2014 03:02 PM (aDwsi)
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 03:03 PM (J5lvw)
Posted by: willow at January 07, 2014 03:03 PM (nqBYe)
Posted by: The War Eagles at January 07, 2014 03:03 PM (0FSuD)
I probably would use both barrels on McPeak. But YMMV.
Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 07, 2014 06:50 PM (ZFqFI)
Very few nowadays understand the extreme hate for McPeak. Hell, most people don't even know who he is/was.
/nod
for getting it.
Posted by: tangonine at January 07, 2014 03:04 PM (x3YFz)
A SecDef resigning in protest would be a BFD, and in fact would be one of the few things that could actually cut through the media shield.
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth 1.0 at January 07, 2014 06:40 PM (Q9qpj)
Bah. Even assuming that I would mention such a thing, I'd immediately follow up with a non sequitur about Boosh and then I'd mug the camera with my stupid, pouty face. The dumbfucks who watch me regularly wouldn't even remember Gates resigning within a week of it happening--or even who Gates was, for that matter.
Bow down before my stupid, pouty face for it is all-powerful.
Posted by: Jon Stewart at January 07, 2014 03:04 PM (M5T54)
Posted by: Nip Sip at January 07, 2014 03:04 PM (0FSuD)
Posted by: OG Celtic-American at January 07, 2014 03:04 PM (vHRtU)
Is that, um, legal?
I'm guessing Gates wouldn't admit he lied under oath, but the implication seems to be that he did.
Did Gates ever testify before Congress?
Posted by: Bevel Lemelisk at January 07, 2014 03:05 PM (uhAkr)
Posted by: Mike Hammer at January 07, 2014 03:05 PM (aDwsi)
Posted by: Havedash at January 07, 2014 03:05 PM (G1XMn)
Yeah, umm, O.K.
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth 1.0 at January 07, 2014 03:05 PM (Q9qpj)
Billy Mitchell expressed his objections. So did Curtis LeMay.
When American bombers were dropping their loads early and inaccurately to avoid the flak, Curtis LeMay piloted the lead bomber in several missions and announced that anybody who dropped their bombs early would be court-martialed.
Gates didn't even have the courage to speak, much less put his life on the line the way LeMay did.
Disgusting.
Posted by: Tacky Adhesive at January 07, 2014 03:05 PM (+yhVL)
Coincidence?
Posted by: ALH at January 07, 2014 03:06 PM (btTLZ)
There is not a single person (not on board fully) 'close' to obama who has any dirt on him.
They vetted the shit out of everyone within a mile of obama. That's damn thorough.
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 07:03 PM (J5lvw)
------------------------------------------------
I'm sure the MFM had nothing to do with it.
Posted by: Soona at January 07, 2014 03:06 PM (rJc6l)
Posted by: Mike Hammer at January 07, 2014 03:06 PM (aDwsi)
Say it out loud
In a press conference
And quit in protest
Posted by: Thunderb at January 07, 2014 07:01 PM (zOTsN)
instead a tell all i want you to know book when there is no consequence to these fkrs.
they let them prosper and take us further down the hole.
Posted by: willow at January 07, 2014 03:06 PM (nqBYe)
Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 07, 2014 03:06 PM (t3UFN)
Posted by: OG Celtic-American at January 07, 2014 07:01 PM (vHRtU)
Another reason they are so interested in stamping out any vestige of religion, because (at least for me) an oath is taken before God and trumps any sleazy politician or civil servant's commands
Posted by: Hrothgar at January 07, 2014 03:07 PM (o3MSL)
Martha Stewart?
Posted by: ConcealedKerry or SubMitt at January 07, 2014 03:07 PM (uUXp6)
terms that might be used in a political endorsement. “I found her
smart, idealistic but pragmatic, tough-minded, indefatigable, funny, a
very valuable colleague, and a superb representative of the United
States all over the world,” he wrote."
Yeah, umm, O.K.
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth 1.0 at January 07, 2014 07:05 PM (Q9qpj)
-----------------------------------------------
Would you please repost this comment later in the thread. I certainly don't want JeffB to miss it.
Posted by: Soona at January 07, 2014 03:09 PM (rJc6l)
Posted by: OG Celtic-American at January 07, 2014 03:09 PM (vHRtU)
Posted by: AmishDude at January 07, 2014 03:09 PM (T0NGe)
Posted by: willow at January 07, 2014 03:09 PM (nqBYe)
Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 07, 2014 03:09 PM (t3UFN)
AND for THIS reason all there more than two terms must be voted OUT now!
Posted by: ConcealedKerry or SubMitt at January 07, 2014 03:09 PM (uUXp6)
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 03:09 PM (J5lvw)
Martha Stewart?
Posted by: ConcealedKerry or SubMitt at January 07, 2014 07:07 PM (uUXp6)
Raises hand, then cringes.
Posted by: Whistleblower, who then got audited, SWAT'ed and had her identity stolen at January 07, 2014 03:10 PM (Q9qpj)
Posted by: Mike Hammer at January 07, 2014 03:10 PM (aDwsi)
Posted by: Jason L. at January 07, 2014 03:11 PM (x2TKm)
Why would anyone express surprise or shock at what the left does to the military?
It's what they do.
Soona knows, as do I. We lived it.
I just wish they would take their "support" for our military and SHOVE IT until they CHOKE on it.
Posted by: irongrampa at January 07, 2014 03:11 PM (SAMxH)
Posted by: Mike Hammer at January 07, 2014 07:10 PM (aDwsi)
Let's nominate Christy for SecDef. He's not one to keep his mouth shut, about anything.
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth 1.0 at January 07, 2014 03:12 PM (Q9qpj)
Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at January 07, 2014 03:12 PM (oFCZn)
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 03:12 PM (J5lvw)
looks at a couple in the room.
cause you know Nothing is worth losing your personal status in DC!
Posted by: willow at January 07, 2014 03:12 PM (nqBYe)
Posted by: AmishDude at January 07, 2014 03:13 PM (T0NGe)
Posted by: OG Celtic-American at January 07, 2014 03:14 PM (vHRtU)
Posted by: irongrampa at January 07, 2014 07:11 PM (SAMxH)
-------------------------------------------
I think it's worse now. Much worse. They're pulling all the stops.
Posted by: Soona at January 07, 2014 03:14 PM (rJc6l)
Posted by: Carol at January 07, 2014 03:14 PM (z4WKX)
Posted by: Nip Sip at January 07, 2014 03:14 PM (0FSuD)
Posted by: Fritz at January 07, 2014 03:14 PM (TKFmG)
I'd sort of expect a SeCDef to express his willingness to execute a President's decision, but this comes off like something said at an OFA meeting.
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth 1.0 at January 07, 2014 03:15 PM (Q9qpj)
Posted by: willow at January 07, 2014 07:12 PM (nqBYe)
You haven't ridden on a gravy train until you ride on a Democrat gravy train!
Posted by: Hrothgar at January 07, 2014 03:15 PM (o3MSL)
Posted by: Jimah Carter at January 07, 2014 03:15 PM (0FSuD)
Jane fucking Fonda can't fuck up the ROE and the conduct of the war worse than Choom and the Gang has...
hell we have lost more KIAs and WIAs in 'ghani under Obama than Bush and Obama has a higher % of forces in theater per capita getting made casualties in both Iraq(while there) and 'ghani...
and you will NEVER hear it reported.
Fuck the US media...
Posted by: Sven 10077 at January 07, 2014 03:16 PM (TE35l)
Posted by: Fritz at January 07, 2014 07:14 PM (TKFmG)
A sense of priorities always helps in senior leadership!
Posted by: Hrothgar at January 07, 2014 03:16 PM (o3MSL)
Posted by: Zombie Curtis Le May at January 07, 2014 03:16 PM (4JkHl)
Posted by: Nip Sip at January 07, 2014 03:16 PM (0FSuD)
The USA in modern times enters wars with no will to win. Every damn mosque one terrorist war fighter sought refuge in should have been blown to pieces, every damn one and every damn terrorist stronghold in every neighborhood along with it. Bombed to smithereens!
Posted by: ConcealedKerry or SubMitt at January 07, 2014 03:16 PM (uUXp6)
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 03:17 PM (J5lvw)
It is funny that Peaches getting head under the desk is the end of the world but Beijing Billy was seen as a strong moral character for it.
Posted by: Sven 10077 at January 07, 2014 03:17 PM (TE35l)
Posted by: Revenant at January 07, 2014 03:18 PM (V5Av2)
Posted by: irongrampa at January 07, 2014 07:11 PM (SAMxH)
This is not shock, it's anger.
Posted by: [/i][/b]KG at January 07, 2014 03:18 PM (IPz9m)
Posted by: Robert Gates, who does not come off like a battered wife or anything at January 07, 2014 03:19 PM (Q9qpj)
those in both countries that helped , hoping for fkn "change" i'm sure are being slaughtered as the mths go by
yeah we are going to be trusted allies all over the world.
yeah sure.
Posted by: willow at January 07, 2014 03:19 PM (nqBYe)
When the goals of a war, and the definition of an acceptable victory, cannot by written down on a 3" x 5" card, it is probably best to reconsider starting one.
Posted by: Hrothgar at January 07, 2014 03:19 PM (o3MSL)
Posted by: 13times at January 07, 2014 03:19 PM (fGPLK)
Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 07, 2014 03:22 PM (t3UFN)
Posted by: President Choad-Load at January 07, 2014 03:22 PM (vHRtU)
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 03:22 PM (J5lvw)
Well, everyone KNEW BJ Clinton was a sleaze, but a lot of people thought Petraeus had the potential to be a leader. But today, I would only be surprised if a double standard was not invoked.
Posted by: Hrothgar at January 07, 2014 03:22 PM (o3MSL)
Posted by: Hrothgar"
Easy: Goal: Bounce the Rubble, Accepted Victory Condition: Glass
Posted by: Zombie Curtis Le May at January 07, 2014 03:22 PM (4JkHl)
Yeah, but just shut and soldier, that's my motto.
Posted by: Robert Gates, who does not come off like a battered wife or anything at January 07, 2014 03:23 PM (Q9qpj)
In order to win a war you must do 2 things.
1. Destroy the enemy's ability to wage war.
2. Defeat the enemy's will to wage war.
How you do these is tactics and strategy.
Failure to accomplish either will deny victory.
Posted by: irongrampa at January 07, 2014 03:23 PM (SAMxH)
Posted by: 13times at January 07, 2014 07:19 PM (fGPLK)
-------------------------------------------
They are the reflections of 52% of the American people. Sad.
Posted by: Soona at January 07, 2014 03:23 PM (rJc6l)
Posted by: Zombie Curtis Le May at January 07, 2014 07:22 PM (4JkHl)
Curt, you were always a man after me own black heart!
Posted by: Hrothgar at January 07, 2014 03:24 PM (o3MSL)
A bobble-head could render that sort of duty.
Posted by: Mikey NTH -Have a Querulous New Year from the Outrage Outlet at January 07, 2014 03:25 PM (gmoEG)
Posted by: Carol at January 07, 2014 03:25 PM (z4WKX)
Posted by: ThisBeingMilt at January 07, 2014 03:25 PM (7mQyC)
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 03:26 PM (J5lvw)
Posted by: rickl at January 07, 2014 03:26 PM (sdi6R)
These only work if you have the will to win.
Posted by: Hrothgar at January 07, 2014 03:26 PM (o3MSL)
Posted by: President Choad-Load at January 07, 2014 03:26 PM (vHRtU)
Posted by: rickl at January 07, 2014 07:26 PM (sdi6R)
Right, but the flip side is would Obama truly keep honest, principle people?
Posted by: [/i][/b]KG at January 07, 2014 03:27 PM (IPz9m)
obama said of Lahood the day he announced his nomination that "Ray is my kind of Republican."
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 07:22 PM (J5lvw)
-----------------------------------------------
I made up my mind back in 2009 that any repub that either works for or works with this regime is as much a traitor to America as the regime itself.
Posted by: Soona at January 07, 2014 03:27 PM (rJc6l)
Which squares really well with his reticence when it came to leaving those troops in danger for political reasons.
Posted by: Robert Gates, who does not come off like a battered wife or anything at January 07, 2014 03:28 PM (Q9qpj)
Posted by: rickl at January 07, 2014 07:26 PM (sdi6R)
But if all the honest upright principled people do exactly what the corrupt cronies, fellow
travelers, and yes-men will do, what difference do honesty and principle make?
Posted by: Hrothgar at January 07, 2014 03:28 PM (o3MSL)
Posted by: soothsayer at January 07, 2014 03:29 PM (J5lvw)
Posted by: KG at January 07, 2014 07:27 PM (IPz9m)
-------------------------------------------
Simple answer: NO!
Posted by: Soona at January 07, 2014 03:29 PM (rJc6l)
Posted by: Nip Sip at January 07, 2014 06:55 PM (0FSuD)
I'm not so sure the Lyin kINg wasn't photoshopped into that scene. If you look to his right elbow in blown up image he is sitting in a small black chair next to the great big one the guy to his right front on the computer is in and OBiden is in a big wooden armed chair with no one beside him. Someone photoshopped out next to Biden and the small litlle Lyin kINg shopped in. He's too small for the photo.
Posted by: ConcealedKerry or SubMitt at January 07, 2014 03:30 PM (uUXp6)
Posted by: Nip Sip at January 07, 2014 03:31 PM (0FSuD)
Posted by: rickl at January 07, 2014 03:31 PM (sdi6R)
There's a reason that no press photographers are allowed to take Obama photos anymore, only government staff photogs.
Posted by: Hrothgar at January 07, 2014 03:32 PM (o3MSL)
Posted by: SocietyIs2Blame at January 07, 2014 03:32 PM (il1Hy)
Posted by: davidt at January 07, 2014 03:32 PM (rn0EN)
I read the whole piece.
The man is an out and out hypocrite. Sending brave men and women to their deaths for political advantage.
"Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less." - Robert E. Lee
Where does Gates fall within Lee's parameters?
Posted by: Havildar -- Major at January 07, 2014 03:33 PM (kduZC)
Posted by: ConcealedKerry or SubMitt at January 07, 2014 07:30 PM (uUXp6)
Word.
Posted by: The Resolute Desk at January 07, 2014 03:33 PM (2DunM)
Posted by: 98ZJUSMC Rounding Error Extraordinaire at January 07, 2014 03:36 PM (inW4J)
Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/l2xbc8u
Dead tree: http://astore.amazon.com/aoshq-20/detail/0307959473
Posted by: Beth at January 07, 2014 03:37 PM (kBxk7)
Dumb as a post and grabbing his ankles?
Posted by: Bob at January 07, 2014 03:40 PM (217w5)
Posted by: Carol at January 07, 2014 03:43 PM (z4WKX)
Posted by: Ray LaHood at January 07, 2014 03:44 PM (Q9qpj)
Posted by: West at January 07, 2014 03:45 PM (gtiZk)
Posted by: Carol at January 07, 2014 03:45 PM (z4WKX)
Posted by: Bob at January 07, 2014 03:47 PM (217w5)
Posted by: Socabill at January 07, 2014 03:47 PM (N1+Xr)
Posted by: Jason L. at January 07, 2014 03:49 PM (x2TKm)
Posted by: Carol at January 07, 2014 03:54 PM (z4WKX)
yeah. it's amazing that no end game was ever envisioned.
How does that convo go.... "Okay so we kill all the Hajji's and then leave?"
Ans: "Yep. That is about it."
You need to figure this stuff out before your d___ gets twisted off.
Now, them al queda fu___ are back in Fallujah.
Posted by: Havildar -- Major at January 07, 2014 04:03 PM (kduZC)
Posted by: George Lynch at January 07, 2014 04:03 PM (h+2SD)
Posted by: D1st at January 07, 2014 04:08 PM (fIkHQ)
Posted by: Comanche Voter at January 07, 2014 04:08 PM (VAche)
Posted by: Beavis and Butt-Head at January 07, 2014 04:09 PM (X3GkB)
Posted by: Chelsea Danger at January 07, 2014 04:09 PM (mHol2)
Posted by: Baldy at January 07, 2014 04:11 PM (2bql3)
Posted by: Carol at January 07, 2014 04:18 PM (z4WKX)
Posted by: exdem13 at January 07, 2014 04:21 PM (lJaja)
Posted by: Trivial Pursuer at January 07, 2014 04:25 PM (/sohm)
Posted by: Carol at January 07, 2014 04:27 PM (z4WKX)
Stream of conciseness text follows:
Tar, feathers and rail. Waterboard. Sleep deprivation. Dark Pit. The End.
Posted by: 13times at January 07, 2014 04:30 PM (fGPLK)
Posted by: seamrog at January 07, 2014 04:31 PM (PscHk)
Posted by: Carol at January 07, 2014 04:35 PM (z4WKX)
Posted by: Topsecretk9 at January 07, 2014 04:40 PM (fBY73)
Posted by: ontherocks at January 07, 2014 04:43 PM (RSpM6)
Posted by: freaked at January 07, 2014 04:51 PM (ZKKnP)
"In order to win a war you must do 2 things.
1. Destroy the enemy's ability to wage war.
2. Defeat the enemy's will to wage war."
I say only the second is required. I offer up two examples:
1. The United States of America. Since WWI it has been obvious that our ability to wage war is unequaled. Even in our current debased position we could unleash enough wrath to make the extinction of the dinosaurs look like just a kinda bad day. Yet we lose because we don't care enough to do the hard things.
2. The Islamic Fascists. They strap bombs to their God*amned children now in their unquenchable will to wage war against their enemies while lacking all of the traditional abilities to do so. They just (thankfully) caught the ten year old SISTER of one of the thrice-damned warlords who was wired to explode. They are winning because they want to win that badly.
Posted by: John Morris at January 07, 2014 04:54 PM (sCRhB)
Late to the thread, but Gates said he knew this in 2010 and yet didn't speak out for the election in 2012? A-hole, he thought those boys dying was ok too then.
Posted by: Guy Mohawk at January 07, 2014 05:02 PM (n0DEs)
Posted by: Emily at January 07, 2014 05:04 PM (7Rn+/)
Posted by: Sven The Farmer at January 07, 2014 05:22 PM (eBupg)
Posted by: John at January 07, 2014 05:31 PM (ImOH8)
Posted by: gracepmc at January 07, 2014 05:47 PM (rznx3)
Posted by: The Farmer at January 07, 2014 05:53 PM (eBupg)
Posted by: eman at January 07, 2014 06:23 PM (ndLnK)
Is there anybody in this damn administration that has an once of intergrity willing to stand up for what is right? Pathetic bunch of "leaders" only a little better than the idiots who grinned and gloated when voting for this guy.
Posted by: RGallegos at January 07, 2014 06:32 PM (AVODN)
Posted by: Donovan Nuera at January 07, 2014 06:34 PM (kPtTL)
The imbeciles that "run" this country have never felt anything positive about America, and want to change it drastically. They're well on their way.
It amazes me that I might be becoming Anti-American.
Never thought this could happen.
Posted by: seamrog at January 07, 2014 08:31 PM (PscHk)
*******************************
I've had the same thoughts too - starting with my incredulity when Clinton was elected the first time. Too many Americans are soft. Too many Americans are takers, not makers.
But we are still the biggest economy in the world, with the 4th biggest population. It takes a lot to turn this around. We all have to start where we can - with our families, our neighbors, our churches.
I suspect the bond market is going to give us some help, sooner than anyone thinks.
Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at January 07, 2014 06:59 PM (HubSo)
Posted by: Lilly Ferdstinero at January 07, 2014 07:45 PM (iB0Q2)
Plus, um, how about actually raising some of these issues while you were SECDEF, numbnuts? Oh, and I love the inconsistencies: Hillary's awesome! No, wait, she's a coldly calculating political hack!
Plus, insider tell-alls only hurt Republican Presidents. Democrat constituencies won't know or won't care about this. I mean, how many of the MILLIONS of EBT card holders even know who Gates is?
Posted by: Commander Crunch at January 07, 2014 08:22 PM (yhJhK)
Hey, at least Petraeus was able to get his cock sucked under the desk, - so there's that.
Oh, I think he also fucked the shit out of her.
New meaning to the word, HUMMER
Posted by: drowningpuppies at January 07, 2014 11:20 PM (012vu)
Posted by: steve walsh at January 08, 2014 02:21 AM (Uz7J+)
Posted by: Rick554 at January 08, 2014 02:34 AM (97jsO)
Posted by: Wendy at January 08, 2014 08:56 AM (4uSYN)
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Posted by: Sharkman at January 07, 2014 01:59 PM (TM1p8)