And suddenly, people are rubbernecking at Eric Cantor's calamity and getting to know some new guy, some ridiculous professor, maybe even reading his book, a book impertinent enough to contain ideas!
My book, my book, my book, people. It's my week! Meeeee! I was your Secretary of State and I am contemplating offering myself to be your President!
And now, barging into the the week's news cycle, it's Iraq, going to hell!
Insurgents inspired by al-Qaeda rapidly pressed toward Baghdad on Wednesday, confronting little resistance from Iraq’s collapsing security forces and expanding an arc of control that now includes a wide swath of the country.And here's Hillary, who thought it would her week, when everyone would look at her, as she revealed her carefully crafted stories of her time making "Hard Choices" as Secretary of State. And now the questions in these book-tour interviews — these interviews that she pictured elevating her into the grandly wise pre-President — are going to have to grill her about what is happening right now in Iraq.
By nightfall, the militants had reached the flash-point city of Samarra, just 70 miles outside Baghdad, after having first seized Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s home town, and other cities while pressing southward from Mosul.
The stunning speed with which the rout has unfolded in northern Iraq has raised deep doubts about the capacity of U.S.-trained Iraqi security forces, and it has also kindled fears about the government’s grip on the capital.
What hard choice would you have made the other way if you'd foreseen this was going to happen in Iraq? Why did you not foresee that this would happen in Iraq? Do you see an element of misogyny in the selection of this week — the week of the launch of "Hard Choices" — for al Qaeda to go on its a rampage in Iraq?
Posts
72 comments:
Don't grill me. Grill Brat!
Quite the indictment. And where is the evidence?
I was never a big fan of the Iraq war, and at this point I would much have preferred the brutal stability of Saddam in Iraq and Assad in Syria to the rolling disaster the region has become.
What hard choice would you have made the other way if you'd foreseen this was going to happen in Iraq? Why did you not foresee that this would happen in Iraq?
Ask about the pullout of US Troops?
Ask about her approval of Baghdad Embassy Evacuation and Security Plans?
I have to come to love your ability to read between the political tea leaves from the distaff point of view. You are unique Althouse.
"Whether in fulfillment of some childhood psycho-drama, in the service of some bizarre obsession or in pursuit of an imbecilic strategy, Obama has basically made every bad move it is possible to make."
Belmont Club, who called it all in 2010.
Hillary can't catch a break. She keeps Bill relatively out of trouble for years, shaming his victims etc., whatever needs to be done. Sets up shop in New York to get some quick credentials for the 08 race and then they run the black guy against her. Okay, it could happen to anybody, I guess. The country was pregnant with white guilt and it was too late for all but the latest, late term abortion. But now, when the 16 campaign is officially being rolled out, those misogynistic terrorists and the soon to be disgraced (haven't settled on what for yet) Dave Brat, rain on the ordination parade. Things keep not working out for her, somehow. Maybe it's a miracle!
Iraq's parliament couldn't even get a quorum together to vote on taking emergency measures.
The hilarious headline I read somewhere: Don't blame Obama for Iraq!
Because, you know, Bush.
It's not like Obama is President or anything.
Writing this post, I had to stop and buy the darned book so I could search it.
I felt that she'd answer my last set of questions by patiently explaining that ending the war was really not in the domain of the State Department but the Defense Department.
But that's really hard to skim-search for in a text, even with a searchable e-text. I does, I can say, refer to Iraq many times.
I also searched for "misogyny" and it's not there.
Is Dave Brat's victory a problem for Hillary? I don't see why. He's just some guy at this point, and the guy he'll replace was anti-Hillary.
Hillary and Dems may gain a tiny surge of enthusiasm from the argument that Dave Brat is proof that Republicans are insane. That'd be tiny, though, and only among political junkies who already vote, even in primaries.
phx: "Quite the indictment. And where is the evidence?"
Oh, so the "Romney hasn't paid taxes for 10 years" crew now wants evidence for assertions darnit!!
Evidence!
These evidentiary johnny-come-lately's are adorable.
We'll chalk it up to a bit of over-exuberance.
If only you white people had thought to pay reparations to the Iraqis, none of this would have happened!
Since the Iraq uprising is spillover from the Syrian Civil War, the solution must reach beyond Iraq, must be more than propping up the government.
What would Hillary as president do to contain the chaos in Syria?
I'm hoping her next book will be 'Hard Luck'.
MadisonMan said...
The hilarious headline I read somewhere: Don't blame Obama for Iraq!
Joe Biden 2010:
"I am very optimistic about -- about Iraq. I mean, this could be one of the great achievements of this administration. You're going to see 90,000 American troops come marching home by the end of the summer. You're going to see a stable government in Iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government.
I spent -- I've been there 17 times now. I go about every two months -- three months. I know every one of the major players in all the segments of that society. It's impressed me. I've been impressed how they have been deciding to use the political process rather than guns to settle their differences."
Hillary's only regret was supporting the War in Iraq. So she agrees with Peace in our time being another word for surrender in ObamaWorld.
Where hasn't Obama brought us peace by surrender:
Our southern border
Afghanistan
Iraq
Egypt
Libya
Cheap US electrical grid
Central Valley California crops
No wonder Putin is calling us out. Russia doesn't surrender.
"Misogyny" IS there, only the word is missing.
What hard choice would you have made the other way if you'd foreseen this was going to happen in Iraq?
Well, she did say she made a big mistake voting for this disastrous clusterfuck of a war. Something a Republican will never admit.
Even the pro-Hillary media is making her look foolish. From the first sentence in a WaPo article on Hillary:
"...one question she will continue to get is what big ticket diplomatic achievements she can put on her mission accomplished list"
Apparently there's no good answer to this question.
MadisonMan said...
It's not like Obama is President or anything.
NYT: "WASHINGTON — As the threat from Sunni militants in western Iraq escalated last month, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki secretly asked the Obama administration to consider carrying out airstrikes against extremist staging areas, according to Iraqi and American officials.
But Iraq’s appeals for a military response have so far been rebuffed by the White House, which has been reluctant to open a new chapter in a conflict that President Obama has insisted was over when the United States withdrew the last of its forces from Iraq in 2011."
"This is gonna be my time. Time to taste the fruits and let the juices drip down my chin. I proclaim this 'The Summer of Hillary!'"
Obama probably won't call Hillary (or Bill) or Kerry for advice. He'll call Vlad.
Next he'll go play golf.
We've ceded all influence in the Middle East except probably if the Saudis call.
"The hilarious headline I read somewhere: Don't blame Obama for Iraq!"
On Larry King Live in 2010, Joe Biden said Iraq "could be one of the great achievements of this administration. You're going to see 90,000 American troops come marching home by the end of the summer. You're going to see a stable government in Iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government."
garage mahal said...
What hard choice would you have made the other way if you'd foreseen this was going to happen in Iraq?
Well, she did say she made a big mistake voting for this disastrous clusterfuck of a war. Something a Republican will never admit.
6/12/14, 8:56 AM
What the Democrats never admit is their willingness to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.
garage mahal said...
What hard choice would you have made the other way if you'd foreseen this was going to happen in Iraq?
Well, she did say she made a big mistake voting for this disastrous clusterfuck of a war. Something a Republican will never admit.
Why can't we have a President who doesn't make Trillion Dollar mistakes?
Hey, I was against this Iraq adventure from before it started. Tank for President.
Mitt Romney said that not keeping 10,000 or so troops in Iraq was one of Obama's biggest mistakes. Mitt was right. Again.
So, Hillary should be asked if she agrees with her president or Obama on the situation.
You know, she of all people should not be able to get away with this Iraq posed no threat cockamamie. Her husband dealt with Iraq for 8 years. And she HAS to know what he did and the history involved. Did she think her husband wagged the dog?
The liberals argument was that Bush dropped the ball. They TOLD him that Al Qaeda was the biggest threat. And he ignored them and went on his little adventure.
And yet, this president thinks that because OBL is dead he doesn't have to worry about Al Qaeda in the least. here they are taking over Iraq, the very place he abandoned. I guess they aren't on the run.
If only we had a SOFA with Iraq, then there would be forces there ready to act.
But neither the Secretary of State nor the President have anything, anything at all to do with this lack of an agreement.
Don't blame Hilary! And don't blame Obama, either. Valerie Jarret is the chief shot-caller.
I don't see how there was any good alternative for us in Iraq, so I'm not too hard on Obama for that one. He pulled the troops out on schedule--previously agreed to while Bush was president--and even tried extending their stay. But unless you are in favor of our maintaining a large presence there indefinitely, there's really not much else we could do about it. That country's a mess and America doesn't have the stomach to be a long term occupier--the time, money and blood required for that is just not worth it.
Rather than point that out honestly and harshly, though, Hillary is going to try and have it both ways on Iraq. She was in favor of the war, and when things didn't go so well she was against it. It's fine to change your mind--Lincoln did on slavery after all--but there's got to be some plausible explanation for why the change in direction besides "I saw the way the political wind was blowing".
Nobody remembers when the army and the Republicans were complaining about militants coming into Iraq from Syria. Well, soon here will be no more Syria and Iraq so problem solved.
al Qeada is on the run too but they are running towards us, not away.
Do you see an element of misogyny in the selection of this week — the week of the launch of "Hard Choices" — for al Qaeda to go on its a rampage in Iraq?
Al Qaeda has always been misogynistic. And they've been resurging in Iraq for a while. The real question is why did the major U.S. news outlets wait until this week to cover it?
Her big mistake was not supporting the Iraq war. As I said she had a unique position of the wife of the president who preceded Bush to see history play out in Iraq. She knows what he knows. And so she can't get away with the "bush lied, people died" garbage that her lefty brethren were spewing. Even though she went along with it by remaining silent.
No, her biggest mistake was going along and covering for Obama when he said removing troops in Iraq was a good idea.
Hard choices. Facile Explanations. Complicit Press.....I see it more as a trilogy.
I guess they aren't on the run.
They're on the run in the very same way that the TEA Party was irrelevant.
That is, until they weren't.
Afghanistan was the REAL war on terror. Which means the war on terror was about Al Qaeda, according to dems. They thought that terrorists don't move, apparently and so they didn't need to support the war in IRaq even though Zarqawi was working with Al Qaeda and causing massive carnage because Al Qaeda was in Afghanistan.
Even though there was a group called Al Qaeda in Iraq.
But ok, Iraq was the diversion, and Afghanistan was the real war on terror. Well don't they want to win the war? clearly! since Al Qaeda is now over running cities in Baghdad the war isn't over and we haven't won.
If it were Bush, now would be the time when he called for a surge. But Obama withdraws to the golf course. Because he doesn't care. He simply doesn't care.
Worst president in my lifetime.
Obama left a lot of diplomats in a large diplomatic center behind. While premature evacuation happens, impotence is a more common condition at his age. He should be prepared for another Benghazi.
MadisonMan said...
They're on the run
Chasing Obama and the US out of the Caliphate
They're on the run in the very same way that the TEA Party was irrelevant.
Who gives a fuck if they are on the run or not? Why should I care?
Maybe you would have made the incredibly hard choice to not vote for Obama.
Hillary can't catch a break.
Does she deserve one?
Althouse seems really jealous of Hillary, a woman of her generation that the whole world talks about. Nobody talks about Althouse except her students, who are forced to care about her opinions, and wingnuts who use her amazon portal :(
Hillary didn't do anything to inspire this kind of imagining except release the fucking book. Althouse is literally a psychopath--her one-sided obsession with Hillary's mind says a lot about her.
It was clear in 2008 that there was at least a very strong potential for this to happen if he were elected. But even though in 2008 the soon-to-be Obama administration, and the people who voted for him, were apparently too dim to notice, you would think that what happened in Libya and Syria would have been enough to grab their attention. A stunning combination of some level of hubris, ineptitude, stupidity, and evil. Hard to say at this point what the breakdown into the different categories are.
#Madison Man: They're on the run in the very same way that the TEA Party was irrelevant.
#Garage: Who gives a fuck if they are on the run or not? Why should I care?
Just before Benghazi happened, Obama the Magnificent pronounced al Qaeda beaten, diminished, disorganized, finished, depressed, and moldering in its grave...all due to the brilliance of Obama and Hillary (Obama's minion).
al Qaeda now, apparently, owns Iraq. They may unite Iraq and Syria. Caliphate, anyone?
Garage's post mimics Hillary's what-difference-does-it-make-now (WDDIMN) moment. SO what if everything Obama has done internationally is messed up resulting in even more massive, idiotic chaos?
Who gives a fuck if they are on the run or not? Why should I care?
There, there. Obama will take you into his loving embrace and sing softly about halting the rise of the oceans...go to sleep...
He should be prepared for another Benghazi.
I dunno.
His foreign policy is pretty flaccid.
It may prevent insertion of forces.
Everywhere.
Hilary! wants to be the leader of the free world but she is going to cry and whine like a little baby when little things don't go her way? What kind of meltdown will happen when confronted with serious stress and problems?
These quotes provided by Althouse shows that women are simply too emotional to be trusted with the power of the presidency.
"Why did you not foresee that this would happen in Iraq?"
What makes you think that she did not foresee it? It matters not what is foreseen if the policy is to do nothing about it.
Oh, yes. Hillary isn't "poor".
"And now the questions in these book-tour interviews — these interviews that she pictured elevating her into the grandly wise pre-President — are going to have to grill her about what is happening right now in Iraq."
You're kidding, right? She ain't gonna be asking nuthin' except "what's your favorite pie?"
And I wouldn't be surprised if her answer wasn't some variant on "If Bush had done a better job in Iraq we couldn't have screwed it up so easily..."
For this result, Zero could have pulled all troops out in 2009 and saved us five years of dead and mutilated soldiers. Mighta saved a couple of innocent Iraqis too.
Ah, whatever.
Lets Go Rangers.
On the upside if Iraq and Syria ally or even unite it pretty much guarantees a new war with Iran.
This is what America voted for so shut up!
Barry has to keep his promise to the West Pointers.
Drill, baby drill.
The four stage strategy!
"Well, now, uh, Biden, Michelle, and I, wait until nightfall, and then leap out of the rabbit, taking the ISIS by surprise - not only by surprise, but totally unarmed!"
Love how the party that set fire to a house sits around and laughs at their work. You were wrong about literally every single thing. Heckuva job guys! You know who predicted everything correctly? Yes, you know.
I understand why Obama pulled the troops out.
Keeping troops in Japan, South Korea and Germany worked out so poorly. And when we pulled out of Vietnam, thinks worked out so well.
It's not like there is a historical pattern to these things.
Why those sexist bastards in Iraq! And I question their fashion sense, wearing black robes and hoods instead of the good old KKK uniform. So they're probably racist too.
Of course the good news here is that Obama will learn all about it in the newspapers--if they manage to deliver one to the golf course in Palm Springs where he'll be spending this weekend.
Garage
Because you can understand a rhyme, let me explain it thusly:
Obama fled
Many dead
Who gives a fuck if they are on the run or not? Why should I care?
Your isolationism is showing.
Q: "Why should I care?"
A: You shouldn't. Just go away and play with yourself and let the grown-ups discuss grown-up matters. You'll be happier, and we will, too.
I read that Dave Brant is anti-NSA, while Cantor was pro.
So yay.
I also have a kneejerk reaction to supporting upsets over establishment candidates no matter on which end of the political spectrum they fall - or outside of it completely.
Your isolationism is showing.
Between the Iraq war and U.S. imposed sanctions, the U.S. is responsible for over a million dead Iraqis. Before we entered the picture Iraq they had hospitals, restaurants, and colleges that rivaled Tel-Aviv. Maybe we should stop intervening?
Hey Hillary, it's called the Obama Mass Ejection. Get used to it...more to come.
While we are going about grilling Brat, does his name rhyme with "flat" or with "kumquat"? Because if it's the latter, I'm familiar with that kind of grilling.
Before we entered the picture Iraq they had hospitals, restaurants, and colleges that rivaled Tel-Aviv.
And after we arrived, we tore them all down, INCLUDING THE BURGER KNGS! We closed all the hospitals, and burned all the books owned by all the colleges and crushed all the computers and dynamited all the Iraqi colleges' Women's Studies centers, so Iraq could not have anything to rival Tel-Aviv.
And say, that sounds suspiciously like some Jewish conspiracy to make sure Iraq couldn't rival Tel-Aviv!
EGAD!
Now I'm beginning to wonder if any of our soldiers who wandered off their bases because they hated being in the military because it destroyed everything in Iraq that may have allowed Iraq to rival Tel-Aviv might have done so because they were forced to participate in attachment of telephone ringer-voltage-generators to Iraqi Republican Guard genitals and turning up the voltage?
I am compelled to say, again, EGAD!
The Terrorists who attacked the consulate in Benghazi were phoning home on the US State Department's dime during the attack and Hillary was searching youtube for an excuse.
Was that in the book?
It truly is a bad week, a very bad week, for HRC.
But at this point, what difference does it make?
garage: "Between the Iraq war and U.S. imposed sanctions, the U.S. is responsible for over a million dead Iraqis."
LOL
Sure garage sure. That Lancet study is so "accurate".
I guess if you like your BS statistics, you can keep your BS statistics.
Here's Joe Biden to put you in your place:
http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2014/06/12/biden-2010-iraq-obamas-great-achievements/
Heckuva job Barack. Heckuva job.
"Hard Choices" and every one of them wrong, including the choice of which week to roll out her book.
By the way, never mention Hillary(!) without pointing out that she reached her prominent position through marriage to a serial philanderer and abuser of women, for whose behavior she covered on a number of occasions.
A vote for Hillary(!) is a vote for the One Free Grope rule!
Great, now I'm wondering if the trade for Bergdahl was timed to take away her newsworthiness.
"Who gives a fuck if they are on the run or not? Why should I care? "
And that's exactly what Obama's policy is, and that's why you voted for him.
Post a Comment