 “The ghoul can’t help it. She just can’t help it.” — Little Richard |
Number One Suppressed Story of 2009 — Hey wait, wasn’t Obama supposed to end this war right away. “You can take it to the bank?”
Over one million Iraqis have met violent deaths as a result of the 2003 invasion, according to a study conducted by the prestigious British polling group, Opinion Research Business (ORB). These numbers suggest that the invasion and occupation of Iraq rivals the mass killings of the last century—the human toll exceeds the 800,000 to 900,000 believed killed in the Rwandan genocide in 1994, and is approaching the number (1.7 million) who died in Cambodia’s infamous “Killing Fields” during the Khmer Rouge era of the 1970s.
ORB’s research covered fifteen of Iraq’s eighteen provinces. Those not covered include two of Iraq’s more volatile regions—Kerbala and Anbar—and the northern province of Arbil, where local authorities refused them a permit to work. In face-to-face interviews with 2,414 adults, the poll found that more than one in five respondents had had at least one death in their household as a result of the conflict, as opposed to natural cause.
We’re number one! Let the International trials begin!
#20-Olo Baggins of Bywater-how often did these incursions occur pre-war? How many people would Saddam have killed between 2003 and today had we not invaded?
It would only be speculation on my part as I have no way of knowing. Since the benefit of hindsight makes us all geniuses we are able to conclude both good and bad came from invading Iraq.
Whether it was worth it or not is a question for historians since the curtain is not yet closed.
Yeah ok, but some situations are so heavily front-loaded that there’s no way for them to balance out in the future. We’ll see.
Hmmm, was it Bush himself who started the whole “I won’t look like such an idiot in 50 years” thing?
John seems to think there is a gigantic switch in the Whitehouse which Obama can flip to instantly fix the mammoth mess left by the Bush Administration.
#22-Olo Baggins of Bywater-was it Bush himself who started the whole “I won’t look like such an idiot in 50 years” thing?
Not sure who said it, but I imagine all Presidents think it.
Reagan didn’t.
Bush said a version of that himself. Likely Rove thought it for him, but whatever.
We all might be in agreement here. I totally support war crimes trials.
We should start by extraditing Cheney to europe to face war crimes. Then, he needs to charges in Vermont.
#15
Any normal search for Obama’s Iraq withdraw will invariably turn up heaps of evidence that contradict your interpretation of Obama’s position. Please note the dates the videos were submitted: mid campaign.
I might also point out that, when someone does find the youtube video you reference, they’ll discover that it’s a 15 second out-of-context clip (itself focusing on withdraw), which resulted in a misinterpretation that somehow managed to overshadow everything else he ever said about the withdraw during his over year long campaign (to say nothing about the town hall he was in at the time).
Again, this is either ignorance, or an attempt to fit Obama’s square peg into a preconceived narrative’s round hole. 16 months (hedging on on-the-ground variables) was his consistent position. Any argument against that is going to run up against *hours* of video evidence. Your 15 seconds is unimpressive.
#23 How many murder attempts would have been avoided if only the Danish cartoonist didn’t publish that cartoon about Mohamed?
And same question to you. How long do you want, 15 years before there’s any visible change? castro has that same tune in cuba, only it’s 50+ years old seasoned with “It’s the embargo” song. Still, the only change there was in that island was that into poverty and loss of freedom.
#26 Careful what you wish, blind faithful sheeple. There might be other people going to trial for continuation of Dumbya’s policies.
Dr Dodd, brilliant.
#27 You mean the guy that invented flip-flopping has a definitive position on something?
The system is in charge, not the President. Everything he gets is filtered through the NSA, CIA, and Joint Chiefs. He also has to play patty cake with Congress, making sure the pork is spread for each vote he needs. Do any of you think this is a sustainable system? Take a look at all the great civilizations over the past 3 thousand years.
I know I’m repeating what has been said countless times before, but….let’s keep saying it until the war finally stops. This was a war created for oil and military contracts – for greed and power. It was an incredibly stupid and reckless idea as it destroyed the relatively stable Iraq that Saddam controlled and destroyed the buffer that Israel and the West had with Iran, thus freeing Iran to grow more powerful and bellicose. But, hey….when there are countless billions if not trillions at stake (what happened to all that missing money in Iraq anyway????) the bottom line is that our elites only have one value – more money and more power. They don’t give two shiites about us, the Iraqis or anything else. And Obama is no better than Bush, he’s just got a better tan.
Go USA!
#31 So you’re giving Dumbya an absolution? After all, he wasn’t in charge, the system was.
#27
‘I will see your pathetic out of context 15 second clip and raise you 7 seconds.’ Irony? I would like to see it in context (sincerely). If you know where I will seek it out.
Let me be clear. You claimed he NEVER said he would end the war straight away, as you have obviously seen he did literally say it and certainly gave that impression (to those fed on sound bites). There is only one end to a war, the 16 months in between is not the end it is the continuation of said ‘war’ (unless we are using Carl Rove definitions). So what he meant was he will continue the war for at least a year and a half, send more troops if necessary and possibly, end the war then, unless he doesn’t. I knew what he was really saying. However he (i.e. his speech crafters and public manipulation advisors) clearly meant to give the impression to a populous overwhelmingly opposed to the continuation of the war that they voted the democrats in to end previously (suckers), that he would end it when elected (not begin to maybe, if possible, in a year and a half, unless…).
I understood what he was saying and nothing overshadowed it for me at least. I knew what ‘close Guantanamo’, ‘no special interests’, ‘fiscal responsibility, ‘hold financial institutions to account’ ‘end the war’ etc. meant. Elect me and shills and true believers will obfuscate on either end of the false political spectrum, defending or opposing everything I do through weasel words and propagandistic slogans, “Yes We Can” (unless we can’t) “No New Taxes” (apart from these ones), “Your President Is Not A Crook” (unless by crook you mean…). I will work for the interests of the crime bosses who got me elected (or appointed if necessary) and when it becomes obvious to all but the most ardent cult members that I work for other than the electors, there will be a new puppet installed and the shills on the other ‘side’ of the spectrum will spend their time making excuses and buying time so we can get on with the real business while most people spend there lives never working it out and bickering amongst themselves and defending their chosen overlords. So no illusions here.
That said I agree he tends to be fairly consistent, given that he is reading off a script from a tele-prompter most of the time, and I agree he did say the first thing he will do is end the war in 16 months unless he doesn’t. By the way it wasn’t even the first thing he started to maybe do (unless he doesn’t).
I am not offering an opinion on the merits of the wars. I am saying that in a democracy you are supposed to do what those that elected you want, you are a representative of the people (not their leader) and that none of them do what the people want if they can get away with it and Obama is no different. The American people wanted the troops brought home immediately, John McCain said (off the cuff) he wanted to ‘bomb, bomb, bomb Iran, and people voted for HOPE, CHANGE, PEACE and PUPPY DOGS (and did not listen to what was really being said). I blame them for being suckers, not Obama. He has (almost) completely lived up to my expectations (if not theirs).
You all are such suckers – you fall for the red herrings every time – the compared historical atrocities have/had absolutely nothing to do with foreign occupation, or war. Unless you are comparing similar things, you can’t have an opinion on this post one way or the other.
#35, LDA,
‘I will see your pathetic out of context 15 second clip and raise you 7 seconds.’ Irony? I would like to see it in context (sincerely). If you know where I will seek it out.
Let me be clear. You claimed he NEVER said he would end the war straight away, as you have obviously seen he did literally say it …
In other words, you can’t back up what you claimed. In fact, you even ask others to prove your point because you can’t. But don’t let your ignorance stop you from screaming others are wrong after they provide proof.
#37 Mr. Fusion
Nice to hear (read) from you again and Happy New Year…
“In other words, you can’t back up what you claimed.”
My claim (#15) is backed up by the 15 second clip that I and the person I was addressing have both obviously seen.
I was refuting the claim…
“Hey wait, wasn’t Obama supposed to end this war right away. No, and he never claimed he would.”
The recording clearly shows canditate Obama saying…
“I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am President, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank.”.
“In fact, you even ask others to prove your point because you can’t.”
I have provided proof of an occasion where he did say it was the ‘first thing he would do’, if that is not the same as ‘right away’ the meaning of one of those phrases has changed. I guess “It depends on what the meaning of the words ‘is’ is.” doesn’t it.
If, as is claimed, the clip is out of context I would like to see how. If “simongiln” knows where to find a larger, supposedly context changing transcript or clip I would be happy to view it. That is not asking for others to prove my point that is asking for others to prove their point so I might reconsider my opinion if they are correct.
“But don’t let your ignorance stop you from screaming others are wrong after they provide proof”
Kind of you to say. However who’s screaming? The capitals are for slogans (e.g. HOPE) and to emphasise ‘NEVER’ not for purposes of aggression, if that is what you mean. You said this once before and I couldn’t work out what you meant then either.
The ‘proof’ provided by “simongiln” shows on other occasions comments regarding a 16 month gradual pull-out plan (which I have not refuted) from 2008 (according to the upload dates), not proof that he ‘never’ said ‘right away / first thing he will do’, which is impossible because on the occasion I sited which was 2007, he did.
P.S. War is Peace. Now is in a year and a half (maybe).
#38 It still can be the first thing he’ll do. He hasn’t done a thing yet. Lefty loons say it’s still too early to feel any change.
So there’s still hope that that’ll be the first thing he’ll do.