Politics: J'accuse!

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Antiquity
And he just flat-out didn't answer the question about why he was going to appear in front of the commission with Cheney.

I don't blame him. This whole Iraq thing was for Cheney's oil $$$.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Antiquity
And he just flat-out didn't answer the question about why he was going to appear in front of the commission with Cheney.

that's not the "no anwer" I've been hearing about. and its my hypo. and the question you're bugged about is an absurd question to be bothered by. the answer is what Ty "i'm too dumb to go by myself," right? were you huddled in some Haight street coffee shop waiting for those words? The old Ty, the one I love wouldn't have posted this dreck.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
I had no idea that you'd ever held the position of head of state of arguably (or perhaps inarguably) the most powerful country in the known universe. That is so cool that you can get it just by interviewing!!! Where do I sign up for the interview? Is there like a screening phone interview first, and then the interview where they ask "hard" questions?

You have to a boy to be president fringe, sorry. unless you're ready to admit to fooling us all along.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Antiquity
And he just flat-out didn't answer the question about why he was going to appear in front of the commission with Cheney.

I know. I'm still bothered by that. Clinton showed up with TWO advisors at his side, and I think Bush just shows disrespect for his office by letting Billy outstaff him on this.

[Antiquity]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
that's not the "no anwer" I've been hearing about. and its my hypo. and the question you're bugged about is an absurd question to be bothered by. the answer is what Ty "i'm too dumb to go by myself," right? were you huddled in some Haight street coffee shop waiting for those words? The old Ty, the one I love wouldn't have posted this dreck.

Look, you're the one who made a federal case out of this. I just posted something light from Wonkette. I'm not clear why you took us to DefCon 1 over this. Boring.

[Antiquity]

Originally posted by bilmore
I know. I'm still bothered by that. Clinton showed up with TWO advisors at his side, and I think Bush just shows disrespect for his office by letting Billy outstaff him on this.

Don't worry -- Bush also had Gonzalez and two (unnamed) staffers from the White House Counsel's office with him. But they weren't going to be helping him answer questions.

[Bad_Rich_Chic]

Originally posted by The Larry Davis Experience
I guess I would separate tactics from strategy. I don't think the "why" of our pre-emptive strike has much value in a counterintel situation.

It's a good distinction, and basically the one that leads me closest to considering my lack of concern cynical rather than pragmatic. I may yet so conclude, in fact.

The amount of pressure we can really bring to bear from our Iraq base is limited by the amount of resources we have to spend in Iraq. If we occupied Afgh with what would presumably only need to be a smaller force and retained some reserve capacity for a strike elsewhere, I would argue that we would be better situated to influence these other nations with our muscle.

My only comment is that I think you hugely underestimate the troop committment that would be required to actually occupy Afghanistan so as to make it an adequate base from which to project ourselves as the primary military power throughout the middle east. I think trying to do that would make Iraq look like an afternoon policing Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

[Antiquity]

Originally posted by Bad_Rich_Chic
My only comment is that I think you hugely underestimate the troop committment that would be required to actually occupy Afghanistan so as to make it an adequate base from which to project ourselves as the primary military power throughout the middle east. I think trying to do that would make Iraq look like an afternoon policing Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Afghanistan is a poor base in that regard because of what and where it is. Our bases in Qatar and Kuwait were a sufficient springboard for the invasion of Saudi Arabia, and they're much smaller than Afghanistan. As Powell keeps pointing out in the Woodward book, the effort in Kuwait was reliant on one port. Afghanistan, however, has no ports, and poor roads. And natural barriers stand between it and its neighbors.

Apropos of hardly anything, this reminds of Kissinger's observation that, strategically speaking, Chile is a dagger pointed at the heart of Antartica.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Antiquity
Afghanistan is a poor base in that regard because of what and where it is. Our bases in Qatar and Kuwait were a sufficient springboard for the invasion of Saudi Arabia, and they're much smaller than Afghanistan. As Powell keeps pointing out in the Woodward book, the effort in Kuwait was reliant on one port. Afghanistan, however, has no ports, and poor roads. And natural barriers stand between it and its neighbors.

Apropos of hardly anything, this reminds of Kissinger's observation that, strategically speaking, Chile is a dagger pointed at the heart of Antartica.

Once global warming kicks in Antartica will be the new Catalina

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by bilmore
Bush just shows disrespect for his office by letting Billy outstaff him on this.

I don't think it's reaching to say that ol' Billy Jeff outstaffs any president ever, with the possible exception of the (other) JFK.

[Antiquity]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
I don't think it's reaching to say that ol' Billy Jeff outstaffs any president ever, with the possible exception of the (other) JFK.

That's an Inside-the-Beltway nugget I'm glad I'm not privy to.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Antiquity
Afghanistan is a poor base in that regard because of what and where it is.

Don't worry. We're still looking at Syria and Iran.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by Antiquity
That's an Inside-the-Beltway nugget I'm glad I'm not privy to.

It wasn't inside the beltway enough for billy jeff, as the Starr report made quite clear.

[Antiquity]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
It wasn't inside the beltway enough for billy jeff, as the Starr report made quite clear.

Hey, that was my joke.

[Antiquity]

Originally posted by bilmore
Don't worry. We're still looking at Syria and Iran.

With our military over-employed in Iraq and Afghanistan, we're going to just be looking unless we invade with Boy Scouts. OTOH, that might be enough to do the job in Syria.