tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post5341512877753102147..comments2024-03-29T08:22:56.911-05:00Comments on Althouse: What if the Iraqis held elections and nobody died -- or even got hurt?Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-7344477257852206492009-02-01T13:39:00.000-06:002009-02-01T13:39:00.000-06:00Mr Obama praised the technical assistance by the U...<I><A HREF="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/01/2479310.htm" REL="nofollow">Mr Obama praised the technical assistance by the <B>United Nations</B></A> and other organisations to Iraq's electoral commission, which he said "performed professionally under difficult circumstances."</I><BR/><BR/>But not a single word of praise or even acknowledgment for our men and women in uniform who made these elections possible.<BR/><BR/>If memory serves, the cowards at the UN fled in the face of the terrorists in Iraq and deserve nothing but derision and scorn.<BR/><BR/>Mr. Obama, get your head on straight.Bart DePalmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07059093309718767384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-63445658007051158782009-01-31T21:53:00.000-06:002009-01-31T21:53:00.000-06:00My long distance and filtered view of the recent ...My long distance and filtered view of the recent Iraq campaign reminded me of the Guadalcanal campaign from 8/1942 thru 12/1942. The American invasion was virtually unchallenged, but thereafter the overconfident Japanese forces began bombing daily and battleship or cruiser shelling nightly while landing their 40,000 troops for 3 major attacks and 1 smaller one over the next 3 months expecting to easily drive out the cowardly, soft Marines. The American leaders in DC also expected our defeat, and only the Marines saw things differently. Their continued victories finally convinced FDR, who then sent in a surge lead by Halsey, who had replaced the Admirals who had only tried to avoid losing their ships to the all powerful Japanese. Then in 8 weeks, the Japanese were beaten, evacuated the Islandand thereafter referred to Gualdalcanal the Island of the death of the Japanese Army.Do you see the similarities that I see?traditionalguyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05706120413005530014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-71629059708236182102009-01-31T21:16:00.000-06:002009-01-31T21:16:00.000-06:00I agree, TRungren, the unintended consequence of t...I agree, TRungren, the unintended consequence of the badly managed war that allowed the insurgency is that ME people now realize that Islamic or nationalist strong men really suck at governance. You never see big anti-US marches anywhere except in Iran, where I suspect they're stage-managed. I really think the theocratic movement is collapsing; Iran will be the last to go but it will go.<BR/><BR/>Yes, it was a game changer. It threw the plot in a whole different direction.PatCAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08920623662477828662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-59088629428480441432009-01-31T18:32:00.000-06:002009-01-31T18:32:00.000-06:00Can the mixture of Iraqi people groups become a fr...<I>Can the mixture of Iraqi people groups become a free people?</I><BR/><BR/>I wish people would stop phrasing it that way. They're human beings. Of course they can become a free people.<BR/><BR/>The question is how long it'll take, and whether we think it is worth the effort to help them.Revenanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11374515200055384226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-76346433889885461722009-01-31T16:53:00.000-06:002009-01-31T16:53:00.000-06:00The Arab world needed a game changer.May Bush's Ha...The Arab world needed a game changer.<BR/><BR/>May Bush's Hail Mary instincts after 9/11 were the answer for what ails the ME in the long slog?<BR/><BR/>History will write itself, in spite of the leftist Bush smearfest.TRundgrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09499974459674965090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-14233094133714361212009-01-31T15:52:00.000-06:002009-01-31T15:52:00.000-06:00President Obama congratulated the iraqis on succes...President Obama congratulated the iraqis on successful elections today. I will not hold my breath expecting him to congratulate the US troops that made elections possible.Bart DePalmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07059093309718767384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-70592235371151008642009-01-31T13:12:00.000-06:002009-01-31T13:12:00.000-06:00daredevil-66 said... Maybe this is one of those...<I>daredevil-66 said...<BR/><BR/> Maybe this is one of those rare occassions where success really is an orphan and failure has a thousand fathers? I'm disappointed the liberals in this country can't take satisfaction in a successful and peacefull Iraq. I don't think they will ever forgive Bush for winning.</I><BR/><BR/>Oh come on now. How do you not know by now that leftists and liberals are the most miserable people on earth. Ever. They wallow in misery. It's their best friend, anger is a close cousin that comes to visit more often than not. What would a leftist or a liberal do if they had nothing to rally, rail, or a contradict against? Well, then they would either become welfare frauds or heaven forbid actually productive. They need misery, otherwise how could they ever project it onto everyone else they claim needs their help and from government no less. Optimism and good news just isn't part of their world view otherwise they would most often than not be conservatives. Stunner.Methadrashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07828014989470539375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-56841363941885960152009-01-31T13:02:00.000-06:002009-01-31T13:02:00.000-06:00Hey, Major John, thanks to you and your comrades i...Hey, Major John, thanks to you and your comrades in arms. Hope your "miserable donut" is going well.PatCAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08920623662477828662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-20881962993711311902009-01-31T12:48:00.000-06:002009-01-31T12:48:00.000-06:00It was nice coming home from fighting the Persian ...It was nice coming home from fighting the Persian Gulf War to recognition of our victory by our government and folks in hundreds of towns across America.<BR/><BR/>In contrast, my younger brother who served in the second round Iraq War is being given the cold shoulder by the government who sent him to war. I suppose he can be thankful that the anti war crowd is not spitting on and throwing feces at him as he comes back home in uniform.Bart DePalmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07059093309718767384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-87159016782639701462009-01-31T12:18:00.000-06:002009-01-31T12:18:00.000-06:00"I don't think they will ever forgive Bush for win..."I don't think they will ever forgive Bush for winning."<BR/><BR/>Wow. That's probably very true.Patmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17884455503379229264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-7277515675137929352009-01-31T11:50:00.000-06:002009-01-31T11:50:00.000-06:00Maybe this is one of those rare occassions where s...Maybe this is one of those rare occassions where success really is an orphan and failure has a thousand fathers? I'm disappointed the liberals in this country can't take satisfaction in a successful and peacefull Iraq. I don't think they will ever forgive Bush for winning.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-25884418158458924772009-01-31T11:37:00.000-06:002009-01-31T11:37:00.000-06:00Not much of a surprise to me - at least around al-...Not much of a surprise to me - at least around al-Basrah.<BR/><BR/>Folks I met there were more than happy to go back to being residents of an interesting and lively city than victims of the quasi-Talib JAM/Iranian proxies.<BR/><BR/>Good for them.<BR/><BR/>And I don't care about "credit" for this being given to whomever as much as I wish the Iraqis would get their due.LTC Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06423057539370247167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-64580049904796498302009-01-31T11:26:00.000-06:002009-01-31T11:26:00.000-06:00Thanks to Bush.And too bad Obama couldn't give the...Thanks to Bush.<BR/><BR/>And too bad Obama couldn't give the troops their due. That doesn't speak well of him as their CIC.Patmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17884455503379229264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-23313286280980018502009-01-31T11:22:00.000-06:002009-01-31T11:22:00.000-06:00I'm thinking back to when discussion of supporting...I'm thinking back to when discussion of supporting the surge was brough up and the NYT suggested that a genocide very well may occur but we still needed to withdraw and people like Obama (who Althouse still voted for) and Clinton were calling Patreus a shill or a liar and damning any potential for hope over there and in fact hoping for failure to consign Iraqis to a fate worse than death. All to get themselves elected and to zing Bush.<BR/><BR/>The jokes on them though. Elections proceed apace, they didn't get the genocide they were looking for. Obama says he's all about hope and change, but in fact he and nearly all the democrats were in fact rooting for hopelessness and the status quo in Iraq. <BR/><BR/>For all the talk about how the election isn't perfect by western standards by the various antiwar lefties, I'll simply note that if they had their way, there wouldn't be any elections at this point, because Iraq would have been too busy being engaged in mass genocide rather than orderly elections, or if you want to go back even further they'd have perfect elections where 100% of the population voted for Sadaam Hussein.jr565https://www.blogger.com/profile/07630491937904835553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-50794423484823356492009-01-31T11:05:00.000-06:002009-01-31T11:05:00.000-06:00It makes me cry.Thank you, W, and all the people w...<A HREF="http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,6408,00.html/" REL="nofollow">It makes me cry.</A><BR/><BR/>Thank you, W, and all the people who served in this noble cause.PatCAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08920623662477828662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-51839349461333658352009-01-31T11:03:00.000-06:002009-01-31T11:03:00.000-06:00Don’t you see the contrast with the simplistic the...Don’t you see the contrast with the simplistic the previous BushHitlerMcChimpy Administration, which was stained ab initio, having taken office in a stolen election? <BR/><BR/>Wait, this just in: <BR/><BR/>“The winning candidate in the election was found to have had undeclared income in his tax returns”. <BR/><BR/>Nevermind. He used the “Rangel Rule” & paid up after audit, without interest & penalties.From Inwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00555545963289759013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1006815598458916792009-01-31T10:46:00.000-06:002009-01-31T10:46:00.000-06:00It's too soon to take notice of positive events in...It's too soon to take notice of positive events in Iraq, because Pres Bush will get the credit. Wait about 6 months, and then it will be in headlines everywhere, claiming it was due to Hopenchange.exhelodrvr1https://www.blogger.com/profile/15874052265934108903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-73644205056986514082009-01-31T09:44:00.000-06:002009-01-31T09:44:00.000-06:00Obama's priorities seem to be based solely on main...Obama's priorities seem to be based solely on maintaining liberal power.<BR/><BR/>Iraq gets all of three paragraphs of concern on the official Whitehouse website. And Iraqi elections?<BR/><BR/>Amazingly, <A HREF="http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog_post/moving_forward/" REL="nofollow">Obama can't even mention them in his weekly address</A>. Go figure. Even more amazing, is that more attention is paid to simply <A HREF="http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/women/" REL="nofollow">"women"</A> on the Obama administrations website than <A HREF="http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/iraq/" REL="nofollow">Iraq</A>,<A HREF="http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/economy/" REL="nofollow">economy</A>, <A HREF="http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/immigration/" REL="nofollow">Immigration</A>, <A HREF="http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/defense/" REL="nofollow">Defense</A>, <A HREF="http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/energy_and_environment/" REL="nofollow">Energy/Environment</A>, and even <A HREF="http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/fiscal/" REL="nofollow">Fiscal Matters</A> Nice priorities.thegreatsatanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17014619635413757614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-79748263637594124822009-01-31T09:39:00.000-06:002009-01-31T09:39:00.000-06:00A successful and peaceful democratic election in I...A successful and peaceful democratic election in Iraq?<BR/><BR/>I blame Bush.Michael Hazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261384414481528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-22916478772913633542009-01-31T09:15:00.000-06:002009-01-31T09:15:00.000-06:00"Liberals are joyless. They are only comfortable w..."Liberals are joyless. They are only comfortable when they are miserable and naturally they want to drag everyone else into it."<BR/><BR/>What do you think the "Stimulus" bill is about? Inflicting misery, because misery is good for Democrats.Palladianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01105490715666718993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-62572798426703925432009-01-31T09:12:00.000-06:002009-01-31T09:12:00.000-06:00"We won the war. It's fascinating to watch so many..."We won the war. It's fascinating to watch so many people take so little joy in victory."<BR/><BR/>Liberals are joyless. They are only comfortable when they are miserable and naturally they want to drag everyone else into it.TWMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06114010593299066911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-14879265517745012022009-01-31T09:09:00.000-06:002009-01-31T09:09:00.000-06:00Johnny B. D. said... BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Attackers...Johnny B. D. said...<BR/><BR/> BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Attackers in Iraq killed three Sunni Arab provincial election candidates and two election workers Thursday in violence that has startled an eager electorate in the run-up to the polls Saturday.<BR/><BR/> Althouse's definiton of a quiet election!<BR/><BR/><BR/>So, Johnny B. you're getting self righteous about this attack. Well, let's see, statistically there were 45 murders in the US on November 4th, 2008. Where was the sanctimony then?<BR/><BR/>source: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_murders_committed_per_day_in_USBruce Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18219521422369695620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-70621638035009969572009-01-31T09:01:00.000-06:002009-01-31T09:01:00.000-06:00Althouse's definiton of a quiet election!in that p...Althouse's definiton of a quiet election!<BR/><BR/>in that part of the world I would say yes for sure. India has been a demcoracy for most of 50-60 years. Poltical violence driven by ethnic and religious grievances has been a regular occurrance the whole time.buck smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10165817144159425547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-4495949897022510772009-01-31T09:00:00.000-06:002009-01-31T09:00:00.000-06:00I have always knwon this is possible since I was t...I have always knwon this is possible since I was there in 2003. Lots of critics underestimated the Iraqi sense of nationalism, which was especially present in the Shia majority south region. The locals there always thought of Mookie Sadr as Irans creature and didn't listen to him or respect him the way the folks in Baghdads Sadr City did. Mookies respect was also tied to his father, an actual Grand Ayatollah who was murdered by Saddam. Sadr was never that, but the press latched onto him as a foil to the US in order to advance their 'quagmire' narrative. Other than Mookie, there never was a broad native insurgency outside of Saddams Revolutionary Guards divisions who went underground to be guerillas. Their mistake was turning to AlQueda for arms and support thinking that their fellow Sunnis would actually help, when AQ was only interested in imposing Islamic totalitarianism ala Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan by fomenting a civil war. If we had left in 2005, the surge wouldn't have happened.<BR/><BR/>Good for Iraq.SGT Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00184808889760136366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-44372382727868594542009-01-31T08:47:00.000-06:002009-01-31T08:47:00.000-06:00BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Attackers in Iraq killed three Su...BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Attackers in Iraq killed three Sunni Arab provincial election candidates and two election workers Thursday in violence that has startled an eager electorate in the run-up to the polls Saturday.<BR/><BR/><I>Althouse's definiton of a quiet election!</I>J. Crickethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02407299546060974148noreply@blogger.com