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Stinky The Clown

(67,790 posts)
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 05:53 PM Aug 2013

So . . . . weren't we told Al Kaida was "decimated"? Now we need to worry cuz Al is about to blow?

No travel to Pakistan.

Close a lot of embassies.

Warn traveling Americans to be afraid; be VERY afraid.

So which is it?

Al is strong? Al is decimated?

Al is a threat? Al ain't shit?

We were right when we said he was decimated but that was then and this is now?

This is all sorta fucking with the messaging.

Maybe the NSA is fucking with the messaging for their own purposes?

Maybe our Chatter Detector is broken?







85 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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So . . . . weren't we told Al Kaida was "decimated"? Now we need to worry cuz Al is about to blow? (Original Post) Stinky The Clown Aug 2013 OP
Al grows and shrinks as needed Hydra Aug 2013 #1
We've ALWAYS been at WAR with....... bvar22 Aug 2013 #2
there's a handy map here MisterP Aug 2013 #28
This message was self-deleted by its author MisterP Aug 2013 #31
Well, is Al Quadia an organization with the means to knock down buildings hedgehog Aug 2013 #3
Which AQ? Igel Aug 2013 #4
al Q is muddled very much by design DisgustipatedinCA Aug 2013 #7
And right here we see people giving history lessons and org charts and subsidiary rosters. Stinky The Clown Aug 2013 #52
Theoretically, something is 'decimated' when you kill one tenth of the people in it (nt) muriel_volestrangler Aug 2013 #5
Somethings fucking broken and I don't think it's the damn chatter detector. Autumn Aug 2013 #6
Interesting. Conservative Pundits have been saying very similar things for the last few days. stevenleser Aug 2013 #8
Yes Steven, we know you've been on Fox Fumesucker Aug 2013 #14
I was waiting for my turn last Wednesday and noted several folks making the same point as Stinky stevenleser Aug 2013 #30
You mean like when Skinner approvingly quotes and links to Andrew Sullivan? Fumesucker Aug 2013 #39
Except Sullivan is known for crossing over to our side regularly. stevenleser Aug 2013 #43
Sullivan "crosses over" when an issue effects him personally as a gay man Fumesucker Aug 2013 #48
Really? Is that the issue that Skinner posted about? Was Sullivan talking about LGBT rights? Nope stevenleser Aug 2013 #51
You are the one helping Fox News catapault their propaganda Fumesucker Aug 2013 #53
"Fair & Balanced": bvar22 Aug 2013 #56
Wow, not just moving the goalposts, deciding to play tennis instead of football in the middle of the stevenleser Aug 2013 #58
My first comment was about you being on Fox Fumesucker Aug 2013 #69
With all the 3rd Way, DLC'ers, DINOs, Blue Dogs, and other Right of Center denizens around here, RC Aug 2013 #74
You seem to track them pretty close, don't you? Stinky The Clown Aug 2013 #17
I do stand by my implication. The President's critics on both sides like to take cheap shots. stevenleser Aug 2013 #27
Wait a sec. YOU'RE on Fox News??? And you have the temerity to post what you posted???????? Stinky The Clown Aug 2013 #32
Yep, I notice when you take the same cheap shots as conservatives. And I proved it with video. stevenleser Aug 2013 #37
i appreciate you wading into the waters of shit that is faux news and speaking truth to feces.... spanone Aug 2013 #79
You Just Rock! HangOnKids Aug 2013 #33
it's the meme of the day, doncha know? grasswire Aug 2013 #46
A lot of folks are making this point - TBF Aug 2013 #21
Republicans used this talking point about Benghazi. And the election. DevonRex Aug 2013 #26
Even a broken clock is correct twice a day - TBF Aug 2013 #34
Come on TBF, that shouldn't allow for the same cheap shots to be made by DUers as are made by stevenleser Aug 2013 #40
We've got 2 threads going so TBF Aug 2013 #45
The OP wasn't somewhat inflamatory in nature. The OP was a man pissed off at the bullshit Stinky The Clown Aug 2013 #55
I am pissed off about the NSA spying too - TBF Aug 2013 #61
I know you're not like them, TBF. I've read too much of your DevonRex Aug 2013 #71
Thanks for the links - TBF Aug 2013 #76
I think people should learn from history. The same kinds of accusations were made against Clinton. stevenleser Aug 2013 #36
Sure that is possible - TBF Aug 2013 #42
That was as obvious to me as the other parlor tricks we've seen. like binLaden conveniently . . . . Stinky The Clown Aug 2013 #57
IT STARTED WITH CONS!! BULLSHIT RIGHT WING MEME!! uponit7771 Aug 2013 #67
Facts mean nothing to some people. bluestate10 Aug 2013 #23
Ahh you haz a sad? n/t HangOnKids Aug 2013 #35
Yep, well, at least this one was obvious. Stinky went too far to the point that he could have stevenleser Aug 2013 #41
That's enuff, Stevie. We all know you're a teevee star of the brightness of a haffacolmes Stinky The Clown Aug 2013 #60
Yes, I know, whenever you have nothing else to say, you fall back on that. What you lack in stevenleser Aug 2013 #62
Steve, here's the thing. Stinky The Clown Aug 2013 #65
***************THANK YOU*************** uponit7771 Aug 2013 #66
Decimated means reduced by 1/10th. AtheistCrusader Aug 2013 #9
That's kind of a Hail Mary parse, isn't it? Stinky The Clown Aug 2013 #10
Acutally, I figure it means whatever they want it to mean on a given day. AtheistCrusader Aug 2013 #12
Right both times. Egalitarian Thug Aug 2013 #15
That's an incredible point :) BlueStreak Aug 2013 #19
that is curious. It wasn't that long ago that we were being told that Al Queda was crippled. Now all liberal_at_heart Aug 2013 #11
Well, let's think this through BlueStreak Aug 2013 #25
They really were, but it ain't over yet. AverageJoe90 Aug 2013 #13
Give NSA another $100,000,000,000 in unmarked bills and they will go away for awhile BlueStreak Aug 2013 #16
And therein lies the nut of it all. Stinky The Clown Aug 2013 #20
That's the beauty of Al. He exists or not and is a terrible yet impotent vague threat. Egalitarian Thug Aug 2013 #18
Obama was asked about this in today's press conference. Qutzupalotl Aug 2013 #22
And we haven't already protected our embassies against truck bombs? BlueStreak Aug 2013 #29
Good question. Which means it will not be followed up with a good answer. Stinky The Clown Aug 2013 #50
They remain a threat. Qutzupalotl Aug 2013 #77
That may all be true, but one thing we learned through all that Benghazi discussion BlueStreak Aug 2013 #85
If by Al Quaeda,you mean the house of Saud. Rain Mcloud Aug 2013 #24
No, I mean Al. Al Kaida. They pay him to make false 911 calls. Stinky The Clown Aug 2013 #47
Wherever Al is from,he sure has a lot of power to control the weak minded. Rain Mcloud Aug 2013 #75
They'll be a threat until we find another to justify all this BULLSHIT. n/t DirkGently Aug 2013 #38
Sounds like a post on Free Republic... George II Aug 2013 #44
George, geeze. Lighten up. Stinky The Clown Aug 2013 #49
It's not the style, it's the content. George II Aug 2013 #72
Decimated means one in ten were killed. tabasco Aug 2013 #54
No question. You're the third one to make that very same point. I call it a Hail Mary Parse. Stinky The Clown Aug 2013 #63
Let's remember for a moment... derby378 Aug 2013 #59
Alqeada Decimated = right wing meme, same thing they're sayin on FR....great, this place is the suck uponit7771 Aug 2013 #64
Helluva world, huh, up? Stinky The Clown Aug 2013 #68
Okay, the Clown is Done Funnin'. Y'all can stick around and play if ya like. Stinky The Clown Aug 2013 #70
Oh, come on! Are you deaf or somethin? jazzimov Aug 2013 #73
When did the President say we should stop worrying about Al Qaeda? JoePhilly Aug 2013 #78
Who mentioned the president in the OP? Stinky The Clown Aug 2013 #81
That's why they call AQ the American Express + VISA Card of Terror: kenny blankenship Aug 2013 #80
Both can be true quaker bill Aug 2013 #82
You sound like RW radio. Yes, AQ is decimated.. however.. DCBob Aug 2013 #83
Several Times..I think. It's had a "Lazarus Moment" ...RISIN from Dead..it seems.. KoKo Aug 2013 #84

Response to bvar22 (Reply #2)

hedgehog

(36,286 posts)
3. Well, is Al Quadia an organization with the means to knock down buildings
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 06:09 PM
Aug 2013

or terrorize an entire city as in Mumbai (although that attack was carried out by a different group -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Mumbai_attacks

Or is Al Quadia limited to tossing a bomb at an embassy?

The second Al Qudia is much smaller than the first, but still capable of causing harm, so it makes sense to move people out of harm's way.

Igel

(35,300 posts)
4. Which AQ?
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 06:39 PM
Aug 2013

The original, main AQ that Zawahri's heading after bin Ladin bit the big one?

AQ in the Arabian Peninsula, which is a different organization with its own hierarchy and coordinates with the main AQ when it suits them?

AQ in the Maghreb, which is the one over in Tunisia and Morocco and (yes) Mali, which is a different organization with its own hierarchy and also coordinates with the main AQ when it suits them?

Notice that the Maghreb isn't the same as Cyrenaica, which would be Libya and W. Egypt.

Remember AQ in Iraq? The guy from Zarqaa (a town in Jordan) was in charge--al-Zarqawi.

How about AQ in al-Shur? (Syria, that is.)

Lots of AQs. Think of them as franchises. If you don't keep them straight, you'll keep yourself muddled.

 

DisgustipatedinCA

(12,530 posts)
7. al Q is muddled very much by design
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 07:36 PM
Aug 2013

It's hard to think of an organization as shadowy and sinister if you know they're headed by a guy named Phil. Or Abdul, for that matter. We're constantly led to believe that it takes everything we've got to try keeping up with these shadowy characters who are part of a massive underground network of evildoers who can strike at the US whenever and wherever they'd like. We need an oversized, scary bogeyman to justify the trillions we're spending, ostensibly because 3000 died on 9/11. At this point in history, this is just a line fed to the rubes. That's not to say some extremists don't want to hurt the US, but we've lied about their capabilities and size and scariness for a long time.

Stinky The Clown

(67,790 posts)
52. And right here we see people giving history lessons and org charts and subsidiary rosters.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:49 PM
Aug 2013

It *IS* a guy named Phil. And a few crazies hellbent on destruction. Anybody can believe that. Its the constant bullshit that causes us to mock TPTB and their Tales of Bad Guys In Arabee.

When nutters like Frank Gaffney try to to make the case, we can do nothing but laugh out loud at him. But when I hear the same shit from guys who are *supposed* to be on my side, I just get pissed.

 

stevenleser

(32,886 posts)
30. I was waiting for my turn last Wednesday and noted several folks making the same point as Stinky
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:20 PM
Aug 2013

I'm always surprised when I see the same points in Conservative media repeated on DU.

 

stevenleser

(32,886 posts)
43. Except Sullivan is known for crossing over to our side regularly.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:37 PM
Aug 2013

Can you say the same for Laura Ingraham?

Fumesucker

(45,851 posts)
48. Sullivan "crosses over" when an issue effects him personally as a gay man
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:39 PM
Aug 2013

Is Laura Ingraham a gay man?

 

stevenleser

(32,886 posts)
51. Really? Is that the issue that Skinner posted about? Was Sullivan talking about LGBT rights? Nope
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:43 PM
Aug 2013

From your link, its clear Sullivan crosses over regarding much more than gay rights...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10167854?com=search

All these decisions deserve scrutiny. And in retrospect, they were far more successful than anyone has yet fully given Obama the credit for. The job collapse bottomed out at the beginning of 2010, as the stimulus took effect. Since then, the U.S. has added 2.4 million jobs. That’s not enough, but it’s far better than what Romney would have you believe, and more than the net jobs created under the entire Bush administration. In 2011 alone, 1.9 million private-sector jobs were created, while a net 280,000 government jobs were lost. Overall government employment has declined 2.6 percent over the past 3 years. (That compares with a drop of 2.2 percent during the early years of the Reagan administration.) To listen to current Republican rhetoric about Obama’s big-government socialist ways, you would imagine that the reverse was true. It isn’t.

...

The great conservative bugaboo, Obamacare, is also far more moderate than its critics have claimed. The Congressional Budget Office has projected it will reduce the deficit, not increase it dramatically, as Bush’s unfunded Medicare Prescription Drug benefit did. It is based on the individual mandate, an idea pioneered by the archconservative Heritage Foundation, Newt Gingrich, and, of course, Mitt Romney, in the past. It does not have a public option; it gives a huge new client base to the drug and insurance companies; its health-insurance exchanges were also pioneered by the right. It’s to the right of the Clintons’ monstrosity in 1993, and remarkably similar to Nixon’s 1974 proposal. Its passage did not preempt recovery efforts; it followed them. It needs improvement in many ways, but the administration is open to further reform and has agreed to allow states to experiment in different ways to achieve the same result. It is not, as Romney insists, a one-model, top-down prescription. Like Obama’s Race to the Top education initiative, it sets standards, grants incentives, and then allows individual states to experiment. Embedded in it are also a slew of cost-reduction pilot schemes to slow health-care spending. Yes, it crosses the Rubicon of universal access to private health care. But since federal law mandates that hospitals accept all emergency-room cases requiring treatment anyway, we already obey that socialist principle—but in the most inefficient way possible. Making 44 million current free-riders pay into the system is not fiscally reckless; it is fiscally prudent. It is, dare I say it, conservative.

...

On foreign policy, the right-wing critiques have been the most unhinged. Romney accuses the president of apologizing for America, and others all but accuse him of treason and appeasement. Instead, Obama reversed Bush’s policy of ignoring Osama bin Laden, immediately setting a course that eventually led to his capture and death. And when the moment for decision came, the president overruled both his secretary of state and vice president in ordering the riskiest—but most ambitious—plan on the table. He even personally ordered the extra helicopters that saved the mission. It was a triumph, not only in killing America’s primary global enemy, but in getting a massive trove of intelligence to undermine al Qaeda even further. If George Bush had taken out bin Laden, wiped out al Qaeda’s leadership, and gathered a treasure trove of real intelligence by a daring raid, he’d be on Mount Rushmore by now. But where Bush talked tough and acted counterproductively, Obama has simply, quietly, relentlessly decimated our real enemies, while winning the broader propaganda war. Since he took office, al Qaeda’s popularity in the Muslim world has plummeted.

...

If I sound biased, that’s because I am. Biased toward the actual record, not the spin; biased toward a president who has conducted himself with grace and calm under incredible pressure, who has had to manage crises not seen since the Second World War and the Depression, and who as yet has not had a single significant scandal to his name. “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle,” George Orwell once wrote. What I see in front of my nose is a president whose character, record, and promise remain as grotesquely underappreciated now as they were absurdly hyped in 2008. And I feel confident that sooner rather than later, the American people will come to see his first term from the same calm, sane perspective. And decide to finish what they started.

Fumesucker

(45,851 posts)
53. You are the one helping Fox News catapault their propaganda
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:50 PM
Aug 2013

No one here believes for a minute that if you weren't helping Fox News that would be on there more than once.

You help give Fox that "fair and balanced" credibility, stop coming on DU and slamming people that won't even listen to that garbage.

bvar22

(39,909 posts)
56. "Fair & Balanced":
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:55 PM
Aug 2013

The Hard Right Wing & a "Centrist" Democrat.


WhatEVER is In-the-Middle of THOSE Two,
Is Good Enough for ME!!!

 

stevenleser

(32,886 posts)
58. Wow, not just moving the goalposts, deciding to play tennis instead of football in the middle of the
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:59 PM
Aug 2013

game.

Interesting tactic. I have no idea what point you are trying to make, but it's clear you have no rebuttal to my last statement.

Fumesucker

(45,851 posts)
69. My first comment was about you being on Fox
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 09:15 PM
Aug 2013

I was just coming back to my original point, that has nothing to do with moving the goalposts. Fox News at least thinks you help them catapult their propaganda, you would not be on there the second time if they didn't let alone multiple times thereafter.

If it weren't for your ceaseless self promotion I wouldn't even know you are a regular on Fox, I don't own a TV and wouldn't watch Fox on a bet, I value my sanity more than that.

Lie down with dogs and get up with fleas.

ETA: Also your comment about Sullivan was interesting, "He's with us *some* of the time".

So anyone who is "with us" "some of the time" is OK in your book?

Or is lockstep agreement with the administration only necessary for those on the left?


 

RC

(25,592 posts)
74. With all the 3rd Way, DLC'ers, DINOs, Blue Dogs, and other Right of Center denizens around here,
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 10:38 PM
Aug 2013
you are surprised?
Why?

Stinky The Clown

(67,790 posts)
17. You seem to track them pretty close, don't you?
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:06 PM
Aug 2013

I'm impressed. I haven't watched Fox in years. I haven't watched MSNBC in weeks. I have no clue what the windbags are saying, but obviously you do. Take your beef up with them, not me.

By the way. I stand by my implication. Do you stand by yours?




 

stevenleser

(32,886 posts)
27. I do stand by my implication. The President's critics on both sides like to take cheap shots.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:19 PM
Aug 2013

And yes, I try to keep close watch on them.

Stinky The Clown

(67,790 posts)
32. Wait a sec. YOU'RE on Fox News??? And you have the temerity to post what you posted????????
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:22 PM
Aug 2013

Hahahahahahahaha

Hahahahahhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahaha

:snort:

Oh Mi Gawd.

Hahahahahahahaaha

Alan, izzat you?


Hahahahahahaha




AAAAAAAhahahaha

Fox Nooz.

Oh.

Oh me.





Bye Steve.



Hahahaha




 

stevenleser

(32,886 posts)
37. Yep, I notice when you take the same cheap shots as conservatives. And I proved it with video.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:27 PM
Aug 2013

All your flailing about and attempts to change the subject won't change that.

spanone

(135,827 posts)
79. i appreciate you wading into the waters of shit that is faux news and speaking truth to feces....
Mon Aug 12, 2013, 02:42 PM
Aug 2013

ignoring them will not make them go away.

TBF

(32,050 posts)
21. A lot of folks are making this point -
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:12 PM
Aug 2013

not just conservatives.

It's pretty suspicious that as soon as people start seriously questioning the NSA funding that all of a sudden there's tons of chatter. I'd say it under either administration ... and I would hope most folks here know my political philosophy (if you don't come visit the socialist progressives group).

DevonRex

(22,541 posts)
26. Republicans used this talking point about Benghazi. And the election.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:18 PM
Aug 2013

They said it was part of the "cover-up."

Yes, it started as a Republican talking point. And it shouldn't become a DU one. Although a helluva lot of RW talking points are on DU these days. But they try to call them "libertarian" and supposedly that's OK.

TBF

(32,050 posts)
34. Even a broken clock is correct twice a day -
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:25 PM
Aug 2013

Look I know the repugs and libertarians will complain up & down about any and everything the President does. But others of us who generally support the president are allowed to ask questions as well. And believe me I mocked GWB's fucking color-coded "terra" system and Dick Cheney (who I am quite convinced made most of those Al Queda tapes in some PR room somewhere).

 

stevenleser

(32,886 posts)
40. Come on TBF, that shouldn't allow for the same cheap shots to be made by DUers as are made by
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:31 PM
Aug 2013

RW pundits.

It's actually really simple. The "MAIN" Al Qaeda is pretty much done. There are affiliates now who are causing the problem.

I expect deliberate obtuseness to be used to make cheap shots against the President from the right, not from DUers.

TBF

(32,050 posts)
45. We've got 2 threads going so
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:38 PM
Aug 2013

I don't want to repeat myself, but I can see your point as well in terms of the OP being somewhat inflammatory in nature.

Stinky The Clown

(67,790 posts)
55. The OP wasn't somewhat inflamatory in nature. The OP was a man pissed off at the bullshit
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:53 PM
Aug 2013

Bullshit being fed by people whop are supposed to be on the same side as the OP.

TBF

(32,050 posts)
61. I am pissed off about the NSA spying too -
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 09:04 PM
Aug 2013

but I can see both sides of the argument.

It is very hard to sort out the Middle East and terrorist issues. While I believe both political parties have used terror issues to manipulate folks in the US, I can also understand why folks in that region hate our country so much.

And you have every right to be pissed off - no argument there.

DevonRex

(22,541 posts)
71. I know you're not like them, TBF. I've read too much of your
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 09:33 PM
Aug 2013

stuff.

So, I'm going to just discuss what I know and ignore Stinky's snark. Because on the basic question I can see there could be some confusion.

AQ never was tightly organized to begin with. What org there was centered around Bin Laden who started it in Pakistan and later moved mostly to Afghanistan. Lots of followers started their own operations in different places around the world. When Bin Laden was killed and since American troops are still in Afghanistan, AQ Arabian Peninsula became probably the strongest group.

The intercepted communication between Ayman al-Zawahiri and Nasir al-Wuhayshi (Bin Laden's successor and the head of AQAP, respectively) probably means that al-Zawahiri intends to strengthen the organization again and attempt to centralize control. It remains to be seen whether he can do this. AQAP is a force in its own right and may not welcome playing second fiddle.

That's how I see it. Here's a good article about recent events.

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-09/al-qaeda-militants-die-in-yemen-drone-strike-sahwa-says.html

In this Wikipedia entry, note on the left side the number of AQ in Syria.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda

TBF

(32,050 posts)
76. Thanks for the links -
Sat Aug 10, 2013, 07:09 AM
Aug 2013

I will read them and get myself more up to date on the current details.

 

stevenleser

(32,886 posts)
36. I think people should learn from history. The same kinds of accusations were made against Clinton.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:26 PM
Aug 2013

Those accusations turned out to be mistakes, and while we will never know for sure because no one would admit it either way, I wonder if those constant accusations of "Wag the dog" in some way caused Clinton to not press as hard against Al Qaeda and somehow contributed to 9/11 happening.

TBF

(32,050 posts)
42. Sure that is possible -
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:35 PM
Aug 2013

but I think it's just as likely that Al Qeada has been a convenient bogey-man. I don't care much for conspiracy theories, as there is plenty to complain about without even going there, but I did note that Benazir Bhutto was killed not long after telling news sources that Bin Laden was already dead (that was 2007 - under Bush). That has always made me suspicious of terror "chatter" that happens conveniently as other news needs to be drowned out.

Stinky The Clown

(67,790 posts)
57. That was as obvious to me as the other parlor tricks we've seen. like binLaden conveniently . . . .
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:57 PM
Aug 2013

. . . . releasing a tape at election time that allowed the right wing vote tampering to keep smaller and therefor more easily hidden.

What bothers me is that a guy who is ostensibly on our side is in power, the same people who got righteously pissed about Idiot Son's people doing it are all just A-okay Hunky Dory about the same sort of shit happening now.

bluestate10

(10,942 posts)
23. Facts mean nothing to some people.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:15 PM
Aug 2013

The OP wants the uninformed or the amen chorus to ignore that the Administration made a distinction between terrorists in Yemen and Pakistan and terrorism Inc. The alerts covered a wide region initially because that was prudent, the shutdowns now only cover Yemen and one city in the most terrorist region of Pakistan. The OP won't mention any of that because that counters the fallacy that is being pushed.

 

stevenleser

(32,886 posts)
41. Yep, well, at least this one was obvious. Stinky went too far to the point that he could have
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:34 PM
Aug 2013

been one of those folks I face off against on Fox and no one would have noticed the difference. He is literally making the same point.

Stinky The Clown

(67,790 posts)
60. That's enuff, Stevie. We all know you're a teevee star of the brightness of a haffacolmes
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 09:02 PM
Aug 2013

By the way, that's a new, modern unit of measure, a haffacolmes.

See, here's the thing. read the OP. It isn't factual. It isn't intended to be factual. It is hyperbolic. It is intended to get all you guys atwitter, parsing and historizing and listing and pointing outing and all the other things you do in the face of abject bullshit.

 

stevenleser

(32,886 posts)
62. Yes, I know, whenever you have nothing else to say, you fall back on that. What you lack in
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 09:04 PM
Aug 2013

originality and cleverness, you make up in predictability. That's something in your favor, at least, I suppose.

Stinky The Clown

(67,790 posts)
65. Steve, here's the thing.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 09:10 PM
Aug 2013

You're the one doing the defending.

I'm not going to argue this on arcane facts. I am going to point out the obvious source of the smell of bullshit. You keep taking a lick at me, but the fact is, you have nothing to say. Same as me. This is pixel masturbation.

You trust the guy. I do not. It really is that simple. I think the country is being lied to. You don't Nothing I say willc hange your mind and nothing you say will change mine.

So why not have some fun? This ain't serious, man. You know why? Cus we have less impact than a fart in a summer breeze. Think about that next time you and Laura make words.

Bye.

AtheistCrusader

(33,982 posts)
9. Decimated means reduced by 1/10th.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 07:57 PM
Aug 2013

Possible they meant it literally, rather than the American figurative 'practically destroyed'.

 

Egalitarian Thug

(12,448 posts)
15. Right both times.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:04 PM
Aug 2013

Decimating a Legion was a (fucking harsh) punishment, and today it is vaguely defined as being something really bad.

 

BlueStreak

(8,377 posts)
19. That's an incredible point :)
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:08 PM
Aug 2013

As long as we're flogging the language. Incredible means "not credible". It doesn't mean amazing or wonderful.

As you point out, perhaps we were deceived by somebody actually using the language correctly. Serves us right.

liberal_at_heart

(12,081 posts)
11. that is curious. It wasn't that long ago that we were being told that Al Queda was crippled. Now all
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 07:59 PM
Aug 2013

of a sudden they are a huge threat again. Definitely curious.

 

BlueStreak

(8,377 posts)
25. Well, let's think this through
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:17 PM
Aug 2013

How hard is it to become a terrorist, really? It isn't as if you have to get a doctorate in terrorism. You really only need:

1) A clear sense of who is the enemy
2) To be really pissed off; and
3) Will to do anything, including sacrificing your life.

And do you know what can do all three at the same time?



That's right. Now let's do the math. How many missiles have predators fired since we killed Osama?

 

AverageJoe90

(10,745 posts)
13. They really were, but it ain't over yet.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:02 PM
Aug 2013

And with the BushCo factions of the military still giving arms to AQ & buddies.....I'm afraid it won't be over for a long time.
We NEED to get the neocons and other crooks outta there. Period.

Stinky The Clown

(67,790 posts)
20. And therein lies the nut of it all.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:08 PM
Aug 2013

They get caught with their hand in the cookie jar and now they hold our cookies in their hands.

 

Egalitarian Thug

(12,448 posts)
18. That's the beauty of Al. He exists or not and is a terrible yet impotent vague threat.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:08 PM
Aug 2013

The perfect bogey-man for the 21st century, he's whatever they need whenever they need it to get the flock bleating.

Qutzupalotl

(14,302 posts)
22. Obama was asked about this in today's press conference.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:13 PM
Aug 2013

He referred to his earlier statements that said the AQ *leadership* was indeed decimated and severely limited in their ability to attack the US, but there remain affiliated groups such as AQAP with the capability to, for instance, drive a truck bomb into an embassy. That is what they are responding to.

 

BlueStreak

(8,377 posts)
29. And we haven't already protected our embassies against truck bombs?
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:20 PM
Aug 2013

We have hundreds of billions in secret slush fund money to give the NSA, but we can spend a few million on concrete barriers?

Qutzupalotl

(14,302 posts)
77. They remain a threat.
Mon Aug 12, 2013, 02:29 PM
Aug 2013

That's the nature of asymmetric warfare. They either exploit the weakness of, say, trust via delivery vehicles, or they superload the truck with explosives so that a concrete barrier is ineffective.

 

BlueStreak

(8,377 posts)
85. That may all be true, but one thing we learned through all that Benghazi discussion
Mon Aug 12, 2013, 08:30 PM
Aug 2013

is that Congress has systematically underfunded the basic security operations at embassies all around the world. But they have no problem looking the other way when literally 1000 times that amount of money is tacitly "authorized" for these secret programs run amok.

 

Rain Mcloud

(812 posts)
24. If by Al Quaeda,you mean the house of Saud.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:16 PM
Aug 2013

Follow the trail backwards of the 9-11 hi-jackers and guess where those bread crumbs lead.
The Saudi's had to do something,Saddam was threatening to accept only the Euro as currency for his oil which would have weakened
the OPEC stranglehold.

Think back to election cycles after the Reagan disaster presidency,did Al not show up repeatedly during these times?
Mr.Quaeda has been a very good friend to the republicans and they are in each others debt.

[link:http://www.counterpunch.org/2002/01/10/bush-enron-unocal-and-the-taliban/|

Stinky The Clown

(67,790 posts)
47. No, I mean Al. Al Kaida. They pay him to make false 911 calls.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:39 PM
Aug 2013

He's bullet proof, though.

I *think* he's from Parsippiny. Or Nutley. Totowa? Not sure.

 

Rain Mcloud

(812 posts)
75. Wherever Al is from,he sure has a lot of power to control the weak minded.
Sat Aug 10, 2013, 12:48 AM
Aug 2013

Either way Stinky,you sure made the pot boil here at DU.
We love you anyway.
You Sir,are the tits!

George II

(67,782 posts)
44. Sounds like a post on Free Republic...
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:38 PM
Aug 2013

...maybe you should hit the history books. Just because al Qaeda is decimated doesn't mean that some of their operatives can't launch isolated attacks.

Shit, there were Japanese soldiers hiding out and killing Americans as many as fifteen years or more after Japan was "decimated" in 1945.

Stinky The Clown

(67,790 posts)
49. George, geeze. Lighten up.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:41 PM
Aug 2013

Free Republic posters aren't nearly as articulate as me.

They can't even spell articulate, let alone define.

Stinky The Clown

(67,790 posts)
63. No question. You're the third one to make that very same point. I call it a Hail Mary Parse.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 09:06 PM
Aug 2013

We *all* what they meant when they first said it, so spare me the dictionaritudenousness . . . . mmmmkay?

derby378

(30,252 posts)
59. Let's remember for a moment...
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 08:59 PM
Aug 2013

...that these were the same people who freaked out over the Underwear Bomber, despite the fact that the bomb was one of the dumbest and glitchiest things al-Qaeda ever devised. If a Fruit Of The Boom is all they can come up with, bring it the fuck on. This "War On Terror" is over.

uponit7771

(90,335 posts)
64. Alqeada Decimated = right wing meme, same thing they're sayin on FR....great, this place is the suck
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 09:09 PM
Aug 2013

...and gets stankier by the day

Stinky The Clown

(67,790 posts)
70. Okay, the Clown is Done Funnin'. Y'all can stick around and play if ya like.
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 09:22 PM
Aug 2013

Here's the bottom line:

Some of you trust in all this shit and some of us don't. The rest is just cannon fodder for word games.

Have a swell weekend.

jazzimov

(1,456 posts)
73. Oh, come on! Are you deaf or somethin?
Fri Aug 9, 2013, 09:54 PM
Aug 2013

We've been told for years that al Qaeda was decimated, BUT we were also warned at the same time that al Qaeda was adjusting and was beginning to act as individual cells. We've also been warned that the al Qaeda independent cell based i Yemen was particularly active.

Remember the shoe bomber and the underwear bomber? Both failed attempts, but attempts nevertheless.

JoePhilly

(27,787 posts)
78. When did the President say we should stop worrying about Al Qaeda?
Mon Aug 12, 2013, 02:37 PM
Aug 2013

Its bad enough that the RW acts this dumb. Worse to see it on DU.

Its actually possible for us to (a) significantly degrade their ability to attack us, and (b) for them to still be a danger.

You pretend as if the only message has been "Al Qaeda has been decimated", when it has always in fact included "but they are still a danger that we can not ignore."

Almost exactly 13 years ago to the day we had a President ignore a terrorist threat.

I guess that's what we want the Obama administration to do now.

kenny blankenship

(15,689 posts)
80. That's why they call AQ the American Express + VISA Card of Terror:
Mon Aug 12, 2013, 02:44 PM
Aug 2013

It's everywhere Uncle Sam wants to be.

He'll figure out how to pay for it all later.

DCBob

(24,689 posts)
83. You sound like RW radio. Yes, AQ is decimated.. however..
Mon Aug 12, 2013, 07:19 PM
Aug 2013

there are still scattered remnants capable of vicious attacks. Is too complicated to understand?

KoKo

(84,711 posts)
84. Several Times..I think. It's had a "Lazarus Moment" ...RISIN from Dead..it seems..
Mon Aug 12, 2013, 07:20 PM
Aug 2013

Like the "One Legged or Two Legged Al Zawarhi..... They just keep on "Keepin' On"...

We can't rest until they ALL ARE DEAD! ZOMBIES .....ALL OF 'EM!

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