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Cheney: Insurgency in Last Throes
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| Lebezniatnikov |
So Dick Cheney made the well-publicized comment last week that he believes the insurgency in Iraq to be in its last throes. Now, either the Vice President isn't very intelligent or is lying to the American people, because he has been contradicted every step of the way by Administration officials and intelligence data.
Cheney noted on Larry King that "I think we may well have some kind of [US military] presence there over a period of time," Cheney said. "The level of activity that we see today from a military standpoint, I think, will clearly decline. I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency."
Those two lines of thought don't seem to entirely line up. We need to stay over there for a longer period of time... but they're about to capitulate.
So fast forward to today. There were 8 car bombings in Iraq today alone, killing over 40 people. Zarqawi is still elusive as ever. Rumsfeld was subpoenaed to Capital Hill today to testify before the House Armed Services Committee in order to convince Congress that the US isn't losing the war in Iraq. He says it is impossible to suggest a timetable for withdrawal because it is impossible to foresee an end to the war. "Success will not be easy and it will require patience...," said Rumsfeld (CNN). This seems to throw into sharp contrast what Cheney said last week.
Ok, so what do our Armed Forces think about all of this. General John Abizaid, the man in command of US forces in the Persian Gulf region, testified in front of the same committee that he believes "'there are more foreign fighters coming into Iraq than there were six months ago,' General Abizaid told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
He said suicide bombers from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco were entering Iraq via Syria, joining others from Saudi Arabia and Jordan." (BBC)
Doesn't sound like an insurgency in its last throes to me.
I'm sorry, but even giving the Administration the benefit of the doubt, it's hard not to call this blatant deception what it is. But America isn't falling for it anymore. A record 51% of Americans believe the war in Iraq was a "mistake" (BBC). The Administration's approval rating has fallen to its second-lowest since his first term began (the only lower month being May of '04) (www.pollingreport.com).
I don't know why it's taken this long for the lies to be revealed. But as much as Americans make fun of Schroeder for having to undergo a no-confidence vote, I'm pretty sure many Americans would leap at the chance to cast a no-vote for our very own Administration. |
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| hardcore trancer |
Good post man.
you see to this administration and some people this is all a great victory and that Iraqis are free and Saddam is gone,and they think this is all a pathway to democracy.:rolleyes:
I think it is only matter of time before they leave,soldiers there are all fedup and tired with the current situation,and are confused about the real reasons that they are there.
Bush can lie all he wants and pretend everyting is fine but as you can see more and more people are begining to ask questions and want to know why the hell are their men fighting there and for what exactly? |
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| Lebezniatnikov |
I think whenever the mainstream media gets around to giving the Downing Street Memo some credibility, Bush's world will begin to start crashing down. Unfortunately, that seems fairly far off, as the major media sources (other than the NYTimes) have failed to give any attention to it or similar allegations.
But with the Downing Street Memo we have what seems to be the only publicly available primary source about this whole thing. There are no primary sources available regarding solid information giving reasons to go to war. There is only one primary document saying that there are none.
When historians look back, which side is likely to receive more credibility? The side with a primary source to back the argument, or the side with a history of exaggerrating, distorting, and blatantly lying in order to conceal the truth? |
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| ogvh5150 |
Impeach Bush and who do you have?
Cheney. |
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| Lebezniatnikov |
| quote: | Originally posted by ogvh5150
Impeach Bush and who do you have?
Cheney. |
Ok, so I read all the above posts once again, and there were no mentions of impeachment. For those of you unfamiliar with parliamentary systems, a no-confidence vote, which was mentioned, is a vote whereby the entire political party in power is ousted, and new elections are scheduled. |
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| ogvh5150 |
People that have read about Downing st. are calling for impeachment of Bush.
Which you mentioned. |
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| _Ocean_Drive_ |
What's he on about? Has he actually been on the front line??
I HATE the Bush administration. How could America vote him back in, especially when polls show the war in Iraq is less and less supported.:whip: :whip: :whip: :whip: |
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| Lebezniatnikov |
| quote: | Donald Rumsfeld: US officials have said that the Iraq insurgency is growing, and Mr Rumsfeld admitted the revolt could last up to a dozen years.
"Insurgencies tend to go on five, six, eight, 10, 12 years. Foreign forces are not going to repress that insurgency," Mr Rumsfeld said. |
Ok, Mr. Cheney, so how is this insurgency in its last throes? |
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| BigManwithaPlan |
Lebezniatnikov:
Just read the article which the quote in your last post. War for 5, 6, 8, 10, 12 years like this? With 30 people being killed a day? Man... almost makes me wish we could go back to being lied to about "last throes"...
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Rumsfeld: Iraq Insurgency Could Last Years By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 27 minutes ago
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday he is bracing for even more violence in Iraq and acknowledged that the insurgency "could go on for any number of years."
Defeating the insurgency may take as long as 12 years, he said, with Iraqi security forces, not U.S. and foreign troops, taking the lead and finishing the job.
The assessment comes on the heels of the latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll showing public doubts about the war reaching a high point — with more than half saying that invading Iraq was a mistake.
The top U.S. commander in the Middle East appealed for public support of the soldiers and their mission. "We don't need to fight this war looking over our shoulder worrying about the support back home," Gen. John Abizaid told CNN's "Late Edition."
In a deadly week for U.S. forces, an ambush on a convoy carrying female troops killed four Marines, including at least one woman. At least 1,735 members of the U.S. military have died since the war started in March 2003, according to an AP count.
On Sunday, bombings in Mosul and elsewhere in Iraq killed at least 38 people.
Rumsfeld, making the rounds of the Sunday talk shows, said insurgents want to disrupt the democratic transformation as Iraqi leaders draft a constitution and plan for elections in December to choose a full-term government.
"I would anticipate you're going to see an escalation of violence between now and the December elections," the Pentagon chief told NBC's "Meet the Press." And after then, it will take a long time to drive out insurgents.
"Insurgencies tend to go on five, six, eight, 10, 12 years," Rumsfeld said on "Fox News Sunday."
"Coalition forces, foreign forces are not going to repress that insurgency. We're going to create an environment that the Iraqi people and the Iraqi security forces can win against that insurgency," he said.
A British newspaper reported Sunday that American officials recently met secretly with Iraqi insurgent commanders north of Baghdad to try to negotiate an end to the bloodshed.
Speaking generally, Rumsfeld said those kind of meetings "go on all the time" and that Iraqis "will decide what their relationships with various elements of insurgents will be. We facilitate those from time to time."
Three militant groups — al-Qaida in Iraq, the Ansar al-Sunnah Army and the Islamic Army in Iraq — issued statements on their Web sites denying they had ever negotiated with U.S. or Iraqi officials to end the insurgency.
Abizaid said U.S. and Iraqi officials "are looking for the right people in the Sunni community to talk to ... and clearly we know that the vast majority of the insurgents are from the Sunni Arab community. It makes sense to talk to them."
Echoing Rumsfeld, Abizaid made clear that "we're not going to compromise" with Iraq's most-wanted terrorist, Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
The contacts, the Pentagon leaders said, were intended to make it easier for the Shiite-led government to reach out to minority Sunnis.
The strength of the violent opposition to the U.S.-led coalition since the invasion in March 2003 has raised questions about whether the Bush administration understood that such a sustained reaction was possible.
Sen. Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record), D-Mich., stressed that he and other critics of Bush's Iraq policy are determined to show their support for American soldiers in Iraq. At the same time, "we're also determined to be constructive critics of the policies which not only sent them there, as unequipped, and without international support, and without plans for the aftermath," he said.
Before the war, Vice President Dick Cheney predicted that Iraqis freed from Saddam Hussein's rule would greet American troops as liberators. Rumsfeld said Sunday he gave President Bush a list of about 15 things "that could go terribly, terribly wrong before the war started."
He said they included Iraq's oil wells being set on fire; mass refugees and relocations; blown-up bridges; and a moat of oil around Baghdad, the capital.
"So a great many of the bad things that could have happened did not happen," Rumsfeld said.
Asked if his list included the possibility of such a strong insurgency, Rumsfeld said: "I don't remember whether that was on there, but certainly it was discussed."
Rumsfeld said Iraq's security forces have gained respect among Iraqis. He suggested insurgents' ability to kill in large numbers did not indicate a decline in public support for efforts by the U.S. and Iraqi governments, or that political, economic and security progress has been lacking.
"It doesn't take a genius to go blow up a restaurant or attack a police station, a suicide bomber. You can kill — a kid with a suicide vest can kill a lot of people," Rumsfeld said.
"Does that mean that the population is 'going south' and there's no plan and no progress? No, it doesn't mean that at all," he said.
Rumsfeld defended Cheney's recent statement that the insurgents are in their "last throes," saying there are many ways to measure their strength.
"If you look up 'last throes,' it can mean a violent last throe," Rumsfeld said on ABC's "This Week." Violence may escalate, he said, because insurgents "have so much to lose between now and December." he said.
With some lawmakers urging the president to set a timetable for bringing U.S. troops home, Abizaid said Americans "need to be patient."
In both Afghanistan and Iraq, Abizaid said, each country's security forces will take on more of the burden as they become more capable. He predicted that Iraqi security forces would take the lead in fighting insurgents by next spring or summer.
"That doesn't mean that I'm saying we'll come home by then," Abizaid told CBS' "Face the Nation."
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| dubblies |
EVERY MEMBER ON THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION HAS DONE NOTHING BUT LIE SINCE BEFORE THEY CAME TO WASHINGTON!
THE WORLD REALIZES THIS, BUT IT WILL TAKE MIDDLE AMERICA ANOTHER GENERATION BEFORE THEY WILL EVEN CONSIDER IT!
THE ENTIRE G.O.P. BELONGS IN GUANTANAMO! |
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| Dupz |
America is finally defeating the insurgency???
I thought America won the war, like, two years ago...... George "top gun rip-off" Bush told me so.. :D |
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| squirrelly |
| quote: | Originally posted by dubblies
EVERY MEMBER ON THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION HAS DONE NOTHING BUT LIE SINCE BEFORE THEY CAME TO WASHINGTON!
THE WORLD REALIZES THIS, BUT IT WILL TAKE MIDDLE AMERICA ANOTHER GENERATION BEFORE THEY WILL EVEN CONSIDER IT!
THE ENTIRE G.O.P. BELONGS IN GUANTANAMO! |
OH MY GOODNESS KEEP TYPING IN CAPS TO PROVE YOUR POINT!
Every politician lies. Get used to it. It's what America wants. |
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