NationStates Jolt Archive

Look at Bush's quote at the bottom of this story.

(CNN) -- Early in the Iraq conflict, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissed insurgents as "dead-enders." In 2004, President Bush said the battle against these fighters was "turning a corner." In 2005, he described a "turning point," and Vice President Dick Cheney said the insurgency was in its "last throes."

Now, those descriptions lie buried beneath thousands of bodies -- U.S. troops, Iraqi police, and everyday citizens tortured and killed simply because of their religious sect.

The U.S. death toll is well above 2,700, and the coalition death toll just passed 3,000. Last month 776 U.S. troops were wounded -- the highest number in nearly two years. There is no sign the insurgency is waning, and no evidence to suggest it will any time soon.

"In September, we did see a rise in sensational attacks," Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said October 4. "Last week we also saw the highest number of vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices this year that were both found and cleared, and those that were detonated. The number of IEDs, or improvised explosive devices, is also at an all-time high."

A report published last week in the British medical journal The Lancet suggested the Iraqi death toll due to the war could be in the hundreds of thousands. The White House disputed that figure but provided no figure of its own.

Gen. George Casey, head of U.S. troops in Iraq, said, "I've not seen a number higher than 50,000," though he said he could not recall where he saw that figure. "It's either from the Iraqi government or from us. But I don't remember it precisely."

The United Nations has reported a spike in Iraqi deaths this year, saying more than 3,000 Iraqi civilians died each month in July and August alone.

The violence in Iraq has "spiraled totally out of control," Jan Egeland, the top U.N. humanitarian official, said last week. He estimated 1.5 million internally displaced people who had to flee their homes amid the violence, and another 1.2 million to 1.5 million Iraqis who fled to neighboring countries.

Some universities and hospitals in Baghdad have lost up to 80 percent of their professional staff, Egeland said, and at least a third of Iraqi professionals are estimated to have left their country in recent years.

At a news conference last week, Bush noted that attacks rise each year during the month of Ramadan. And he argued the violence can be seen as a sign U.S. efforts are making headway. "Attacks and casualties have also increased recently because our forces are confronting the enemy in Baghdad and in other parts of Iraq," he said.I'm so sick and fucking tired of this! Look at the shit He's gotten us into and there's no way out and he's still spouting this stupid shit? How fucking stupid does he think we are!?! What's it gonna take for this moron to take responsibility for the mess he made!?! I get so fucking angry everytime I read anything this guy says! You're goddamn right I hate this piece of shit! He's destroying my country! We're gonna be paying for his arrogance and stupidity for the rest of our lives! This is the most collosal blunder in teh history of the US![/rant]

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/WORLD/meast/10/17/iraq.reality.check.1/story.iraq.tears.gi.jpg
http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/WORLD/meast/10/18/iraq.main/newt1.girls.afp.gi.jpg
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/world/0610/gallery.iraq.violence/01.gal.car.afp.gi.jpg
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/world/0610/gallery.iraq.violence/04.gal.child.afp.gi.jpg
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/world/0610/gallery.iraq.violence/09.gal.suv2.ap.jpg

The Vietnam War took a while to start really boiling too. I'd say this is about on track, both in America and in Iraq.

Look at Bush's quote at the bottom of this story.

I'm so sick and fucking tired of this! Look at the shit He's gotten us into and there's no way out and he's still spouting this stupid shit? How fucking stupid does he think we are!?! What's it gonna take for this moron to take responsibility for the mess he made!?! I get so fucking angry everytime I read anything this guy says! You're goddamn right I hate this piece of shit! He's destroying my country! We're gonna be paying for his arrogance and stupidity for the rst of our lives! This is the most collosal blunder in teh history of the US![/rant]

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/WORLD/meast/10/17/iraq.reality.check.1/story.iraq.tears.gi.jpg
http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/WORLD/meast/10/18/iraq.main/newt1.girls.afp.gi.jpg
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/world/0610/gallery.iraq.violence/01.gal.car.afp.gi.jpg
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/world/0610/gallery.iraq.violence/04.gal.child.afp.gi.jpg
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/world/0610/gallery.iraq.violence/09.gal.suv2.ap.jpg

Easy, lad, easy. Deep breaths. ;) Go buy a big calendar and start crossing off the days until January of 2009.

Easy, lad, easy. Deep breaths. ;) Go buy a big calendar and start crossing off the days until January of 2009.

It doesn't matter! When Bush is gone we'll still either be stuck there or licking our wounds. This isn't like it's some policy decision or legislation that can be rescinded when he's out of office. The mess he's made will take decades to repair if it ever can at all.

I knew he was a dumbass when he was governor of Texas. Too bad it's taken so long for the rest of the country to catch on.

It doesn't matter! When Bush is gone we'll still either be stuck there or licking our wounds. This isn't like it's some policy decision or legislation that can be rescinded when he's out of office. The mess he's made will take decades to repair if it ever can at all.

I know, I know, I was just offering some short-term relief. You could start drinking heavily, too. ;) And you know, wasn't this the one thing he's been honest about? He said something not long ago about Iraqbeing something for future Presidents to resolve. Typical frat-boy attitude, "Oh, the new guys will clean that up, I have to go now."

I knew he was a dumbass when he was governor of Texas. Too bad it's taken so long for the rest of the country to catch on.

It's not that they don't know it! It's that the dumbasses came out in droves to vote for one of their own! It's realy, really, really fuckin' bad! We've got this population of very stupid people and they vote! The whole rap on Bush in the first election for people who voted against him was that he was too stupid! Everyone knew it! The people who voted for him were just part of an anti-intellectual backlash! As if being educated and smart were some sort of character flaw! It's very bad here. I know it may read like I'm joking when I post this but we really need to stop stupid people from being able to vote! I don't care about the whole ethic of "in a democracy everyone gets counted." This is what you end up with. People get swayed by stupid attack ads! Politician's can lie and they know they can get away with it because they know the voting public is stupid! Fuck! We're in so much trouble and we have no leaders here or anywhere else in the world that can help to stear us away from the iceberg we're approaching. America has lost all credibility and good will from the West, rightfully because we elected a dangerous, arrogant moron not once, but twice! What we're left with is an everyman for himself world. There is no cohesive world strategy to deal with teh absolutely mammoth problems we face because the only country that could lead the efforts necessary to face the challenges of the next century is crippled by an arrogant moron and a public stupid enough to vote for him twice! :mad:

The Vietnam War took a while to start really boiling too. I'd say this is about on track, both in America and in Iraq.

Yeah, the first severe casulties we took were in the Ia Drang Valley in November of 1965....(somewhere around 150-250 dead over the course of three days)

Wow! A Rant baby.:headbang:

You can do some research, and find a country with a perfect leader, and go move there.
Or......
Just get the f##k out.:upyours:

Have a nice day, and see you tomorrow.

Wow! A Rant baby.:headbang:

You can do some research, and find a country with a perfect leader, and go move there.
Or......
Just get the f##k out.:upyours:

Have a nice day, and see you tomorrow.

I prefer option C.

Exercise my constitutional right to free speech and criticize the current administration as much as I choose.

I knew he was a dumbass when he was governor of Texas. Too bad it's taken so long for the rest of the country to catch on.

I couldn't stand him from the start.

I prefer option C.

Exercise my constitutional right to free speech and criticize the current administration as much as I choose.

Why do you hate freedom?

Wow! A Rant baby.:headbang:

You can do some research, and find a country with a perfect leader, and go move there.
Or......
Just get the f##k out.:upyours:

Have a nice day, and see you tomorrow.

Wow. One extreme of the black and white picture of what to do when you don't like a country's leadership.

On one hand, the "Love it or leave it" crowd. Don't like America? Can't stomach Dubya? Fail to bellyfeel the neoconservative movement? Leave. Go back to France with all the other pinko, terrorist-loving, cheese-eating surrender monkeys.

On the other hand, the "You must stay and right the ship" crowd. Don't like the current administration? Well, take steps in an ultimately futile battle to rid your country of Dubya/Blair/Nixon/Hitler/that shifty guy with a mole on his left cheek. But don't go seeking residence in Canada, or else everyone will do the same and America will be nothing but a bastion of neocons.

On the third hand, I seem to have Godwinned this thread, and I am calling myself out on it.

On yet another hand, there are only two hands, so I think I'm counting on feet right now.

It's not that they don't know it! It's that the dumbasses came out in droves to vote for one of their own! It's realy, really, really fuckin' bad! We've got this population of very stupid people and they vote! The whole rap on Bush in the first election for people who voted against him was that he was too stupid! Everyone knew it! The people who voted for him were just part of an anti-intellectual backlash! As if being educated and smart were some sort of character flaw! It's very bad here. I know it may read like I'm joking when I post this but we really need to stop stupid people from being able to vote! I don't care about the whole ethic of "in a democracy everyone gets counted." This is what you end up with. People get swayed by stupid attack ads! Politician's can lie and they know they can get away with it because they know the voting public is stupid! Fuck! We're in so much trouble and we have no leaders here or anywhere else in the world that can help to stear us away from the iceberg we're approaching. America has lost all credibility and good will from the West, rightfully because we elected a dangerous, arrogant moron not once, but twice! What we're left with is an everyman for himself world. There is no cohesive world strategy to deal with teh absolutely mammoth problems we face because the only country that could lead the efforts necessary to face the challenges of the next century is crippled by an arrogant moron and a public stupid enough to vote for him twice! :mad:

I saw a play a couple weeks ago that you would probably like.

It was entitled ‘Enemy of the people’. It was pretty good.

It is set in this small town in Sweden in the early 20th century I think.
Anyway, this poor doctor comes home to be the medical advisor to this huge bath/health spa thing that was built to try to revitalize the economy.

He discovered that the water was highly contaminated with all sorts of bacteria and would be a major vector for the spread of disease. The water pipes feeding the baths were dug through some swampland and had to be completely redone.

Initially, the people hailed him as a hero. Then the politicians and those who owned the baths figured that it would cost a small fortune and take maybe 2 years to complete, so they started telling people that he was just sensationalizing everything and trying to ruin the town’s economy. The people, we afraid of change, and easily swayed, so they ended up turning on him and declaring him an enemy of the people.

He finally went on a rant saying how the ignorant people were the real enemies of the public good, and that the decisions should be made by educated men who are knowledgeable about the subjects at hand. The people obviously were angry at his ‘aristocratic’ comments and refused to listen any more.

I highly recommend it. Though to be fair it did sort of fall apart at the end, the playwright could have handled the last 15 min much better, but all in all worth seeing.

What he says is true. We are stepping up our anti-terrorism offensives in places such as Baghdad and other terrorist strongholds throughout Iraq. In retaliation, they are slaughtering innocent civilians by the truckload -- it is an act of fear and despair. We are winning. We must not be deterred by the frantic attempts of the enemy to push us off our course. The militant barbarity is in its last throes. Now, more than ever, we have to stay the course. The US army is increasingly successful in attacks against these Iranian-funded terrorists, and we are on the verge of sweeping them out of Iraq. Now is not the time of hesitation; it is a time of peril for Iraq, and strong and decisive action must be taken. As public support for the war dwindles, the enemy gains in strength -- this must not be allowed to happen, especially when we are so close to restoring Iraq to a peaceful democracy. We must not allow ourselves to be blackmailed by these monsters. We must recognize that these horrible killings are acts of desperation by a foe who has no other recourse; a foe who is being comprehensively defeated in every sector of Iraq; a foe is cannot withstand our merciless bombardments any longer; a foe who is about to cave in and allow freedom and propserity to flood back into Iraq.

Iraq. Never. Was. A. Terrorist. Stronghold. (At least, not before our invasion)

*repeats until head explodes*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7oSbKSwVBc

:)

Wow! A Rant baby.:headbang:

You can do some research, and find a country with a perfect leader, and go move there.
Or......
Just get the f##k out.:upyours:

Have a nice day, and see you tomorrow.

You'rte a fuckin' stupid moron. It's idiots like you that are destroying oru country.

Perfect leader...

What a fuckin' dipshit stupid ass you are.

I'd settle for a competent leader. You're obviously too stupid, uneducated and moronic to know the difference.

You'rte a fuckin' stupid moron. It's idiots like you that are destroying oru country.

Perfect leader...

What a fuckin' dipshit stupid ass you are.

I'd settle for a competent leader. You're obviously too stupid, uneducated and moronic to know the difference.

Careful. No need to flame. Even if what you say is true.

I would hereby like to apologise on behalf of the United Kingdom.

The "Coallition of the Willing" would have been an even greater joke than it already is if we hadn't joined in. Just look at the figures in Dan's first post - 2700 Americans, 3000 total. That means there were 9 Americans killed for every one from any other country in the coallition.

The USA put over 141,000 troops in Iraq. Britain put the second biggest group in - about 9,000. Only two other countries sent more than one thousand troops - Australia and South Korea. Can you imagine Bush standing up and saying "Our closest partners - South Korea!" America put in more than six times as many soldiers as the rest of the coalition put together, and most of countries sent military policemen and technical specialists, not troops on the group - this wasn't a coalition, it was America vs Iraq, with a few hangers on.

Maybe the United states would have invaded regardless. However, we made it significantly easier for him to do so.

Incidently, despite our media services and anti war protestors hammering away at him, we still haven't got a proper answer from Blair about WMD's. It's reached the stage where nearly everyone agrees that they were never there, and the majority of people think we were mislead about it.

Careful. No need to flame. Even if what you say is true.

It's difficult sometimes. I kinda paused a little before I hit the Sbmit button but I'm so angry right now. We're really in a lot of trouble and it's people like him that led us here. He's right, though. I am gonna leave. I'm gonne get my Master's and bail and let the morons destroy themselves. Hopefully they won't take the world with them.

You'rte a fuckin' stupid moron. It's idiots like you that are destroying oru country.

Perfect leader...

What a fuckin' dipshit stupid ass you are.

I'd settle for a competent leader. You're obviously too stupid, uneducated and moronic to know the difference.

Seriously, mate, calm down. I agree with you, but personal insults undermine the argument

What he says is true. We are stepping up our anti-terrorism offensives in places such as Baghdad and other terrorist strongholds throughout Iraq. In retaliation, they are slaughtering innocent civilians by the truckload -- it is an act of fear and despair. We are winning. We must not be deterred by the frantic attempts of the enemy to push us off our course. The militant barbarity is in its last throes. Now, more than ever, we have to stay the course. The US army is increasingly successful in attacks against these Iranian-funded terrorists, and we are on the verge of sweeping them out of Iraq. Now is not the time of hesitation; it is a time of peril for Iraq, and strong and decisive action must be taken. As public support for the war dwindles, the enemy gains in strength -- this must not be allowed to happen, especially when we are so close to restoring Iraq to a peaceful democracy. We must not allow ourselves to be blackmailed by these monsters. We must recognize that these horrible killings are acts of desperation by a foe who has no other recourse; a foe who is being comprehensively defeated in every sector of Iraq; a foe is cannot withstand our merciless bombardments any longer; a foe who is about to cave in and allow freedom and propserity to flood back into Iraq.

What else is Bush or his supporters going to say? The violence is as strong as it ever was and they are killing each other as well as our soldiers. People can squawk "Stay the course! Stay the course!" but only a moron can't see that that strategy does not work. The country still does't have the infanstructure that it should and people are hardly any safer or more free then they were when Saddam was in power. All we have done is create more terrorists and general chaos that is not getting better. Bush and his cronies can say it is but simply saying it doesn't make it true. The resisters in Iraq are hardly desperate, they've been doing it for over three years. They are determined. Hardly someone to cave in. No matter what weak government we put in or whatever weak Iraqi army units we bring back, the violence will continue. "Stay the course" is a slogan for people who are in so deep and don't want to admit they were stupid and wrong.

It's difficult sometimes. I kinda paused a little before I hit the Sbmit button but I'm so angry right now. We're really in a lot of trouble and it's people like him that led us here. He's right, though. I am gonna leave. I'm gonne get my Master's and bail and let the morons destroy themselves. Hopefully they won't take the world with them.

There's always the Edit button...

And I'm with you all the way. I, too, plan to leave. Just curious, but where do you plan to go?

As a rule responding to MeansToAnEnd is counter productive, he's a troll.

As a rule responding to MeansToAnEnd is counter productive, he's a troll.

One of the biggest trolls I've seen

Hmm... damn...

*edits*

Not that this wasn't quite obvious anyway, mind.

There's always the Edit button...

And I'm with you all the way. I, too, plan to leave. Just curious, but where do you plan to go?

It depends. The easiest would be Canada because my degree will be in Petroleum Geology and that's gonna be North America's energy frontier. The problem is that I'm not really sure the northern hemisphere is gonna be all that safe anywhere so I also thought Argentina or New Zealand.

As a rule responding to MeansToAnEnd is counter productive, he's a troll.

Can't help it. His blind support of Bush and his buddies is incredibly irritating.

I'm so sick and fucking tired of this! Look at the shit He's gotten us into and there's no way out and he's still spouting this stupid shit? How fucking stupid does he think we are!?! What's it gonna take for this moron to take responsibility for the mess he made!?! I get so fucking angry everytime I read anything this guy says! You're goddamn right I hate this piece of shit! He's destroying my country! We're gonna be paying for his arrogance and stupidity for the rest of our lives! This is the most collosal blunder in teh history of the US!

Dude, you're right.

[ghostly voice]
Remember Vietnam...
Remember Vietnam...
[/ghostly voice]

The government is following the old doctrine of "If something doesn't work, keep doing it till it does work." That works with computers. NOT WITH HUMAN LIVES. :mad:

The dilemma in Iraq is not owing to President Bush's flawed foreign policy. Nor is is due to either overt or clandestine scheming by the Neo-Cons.

The dilemma in Iraq is a direct consequence of the failure on our part as Americans to elect a truly qualified person for president in 2000. George Bush was a one and one-half term governor of Texas with what could be fairly be characterized as a mediocre track record. He had absolutely no substantial foreign policy experience, and of course had a dismal laundry list of failures in the private sector. We all knew this, but did very little in the way of motivating the voting public to actually take the time to consider the consequence of the votes being cast.

We engaged in finger-pointing, name-calling and ideology baiting. Talking heads lined up on either side of the aisle to fan the flames of rhetoric, and all substance was lost in the meaningless volley of insults and accusations. We began to question the patriotism and loyalty of proven war heroes, accused experienced statesmen and statewomen of political incompetency, and ignored blatant efforts to inject superfluous issues like "same sex marriage" and "flag burning" into what turned out to be one of the most important elections in American history. And the beat goes on, of course, as we march steadily toward the midterm elections in November.

So we can hardly complain about our present dilemma in the US, folx. We earned it, and know it's ours. All I can hope for is that the ideological blinders that so villified those critical of the Bush machine have no been lifted enough to offer a true glimpse of the man who's leading our nation toward the precapice.

I'm not holding my breath, though. See you at the polls.

Plato said that democracy would never work since the masses are ignorant and unintelligent. I happen to believe that with how you Yanks have been handling the 'Bush' issue. He is stupid, and he can't even put a sentence together without a script so do you think its really him in power? NO, his advisors and his prejudices and assumptions are what control him, not his power to reason like any intelligent or even middle line person. I am very glad that I don't live in your country. Though it is nice to visit. Personally, us Canadians aren't perfectly safe, but we don't have to worry too much as long as the United States is still active and willing to make enemies as fast as it racks up its national debt.

The dilemma in Iraq is not owing to President Bush's flawed foreign policy. Nor is is due to either overt or clandestine scheming by the Neo-Cons.

The dilemma in Iraq is a direct consequence of the failure on our part as Americans to elect a truly qualified person for president in 2000. George Bush was a one and one-half term governor of Texas with what could be fairly be characterized as a mediocre track record. He had absolutely no substantial foreign policy experience, and of course had a dismal laundry list of failures in the private sector. We all knew this, but did very little in the way of motivating the voting public to actually take the time to consider the consequence of the votes being cast.

We engaged in finger-pointing, name-calling and ideology baiting. Talking heads lined up on either side of the aisle to fan the flames of rhetoric, and all substance was lost in the meaningless volley of insults and accusations. We began to question the patriotism and loyalty of proven war heroes, accused experienced statesmen and statewomen of political incompetency, and ignored blatant efforts to inject superfluous issues like "same sex marriage" and "flag burning" into what turned out to be one of the most important elections in American history. And the beat goes on, of course, as we march steadily toward the midterm elections in November.

So we can hardly complain about our present dilemma in the US, folx. We earned it, and know it's ours. All I can hope for is that the ideological blinders that so villified those critical of the Bush machine have no been lifted enough to offer a true glimpse of the man who's leading our nation toward the precapice.

I'm not holding my breath, though. See you at the polls.

Yep.