Bush "set to go out with a bang"; ready to do exact opposite of Baker-Hamilton

[Bluebear]

As the Christmas season gives way to the new year, die-hard believers in George W. Bush's dream of reshaping the Middle East and the Arab world are eagerly awaiting the second coming of the commander in chief's vision for Iraq, now that his war has failed. Even his own generals don't seem to know what to do, but Bush has promised to announce a "new way forward" in the war zone.

It better be soon, and it better be effective - that's the message political analysts appear to be issuing as the killing in Iraq goes on, and the world waits to learn the president's newfangled "strategy" for "getting the job done" once and for all. Will he call for a much-discussed "surge" in U.S. troops and send some 20,000 more soldiers to the battlefields? Will he cook up a rebuild-Iraq scheme that will once again (in violation of U.S. government procurement rules) give no-bid contracts worth billions of taxpayer dollars to corporations like Halliburton?...

Commentator Claude Salhani, in the Cyprus-based Middle East Times, noted that Bush had rejected the Iraq Study Group's recommendations. As a result, as he counts down the months till the end of his presidency, Bush "wants to go out with a bang," a "big bang." So if he goes ahead with a plan "to 'flood' Iraq with U.S. troops," there "would be American fighting troops every which way you turn. The logic is that the superior numbers of American troops will have a better handle on the situation...while stepping up the training...of Iraqi forces" so that, as soon as possible, they might be able to take over all security operations, allowing U.S. soldiers to go home.

Salhani added: "That at least is the theory...," but "the plan comes three years too late." "An overwhelming military force at the beginning of the invasion would have...guaranteed law and order......prevented a breakdown of authority....It is quite possible that the chain of events would have unfolded in a very different manner."

Now, Bush runs the risk that "committing several tens of thousands of American troops to Iraq who are more likely than not to engage in heavy combat operations, causing more damage and casualties among Iraqi civilians, will only serve to further infuriate Iraqi, Arab, and Muslim public opinion, and to build more hatred towards the . In short, it would be counter to everything the Baker-Hamilton report recommended."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=15&entry_id=12096

[MethuenProgressive]

1. He's going to bomb Iran - you can bet on it.

[Faygo Kid]

13. Absolutely. Whatever is the worst, that's what he does. Always.

The SOB (and in this case that epithet is true) always does the lowest and worst. And he will explode the Middle East before he is done. By doing so - doubling at least the $2 billion per week he is pouring into Iraq already - he will also crush our ability to pay for social programs - thereby destroying the social safety net, as well - achieving the last of his three top goals as president. Let's not forget another point: There is nothing "strategic" about this man. He and his cabal are warmongers. That is not an accusation to throw about lightly. So let me say it again: He is a warmonger. And so is the whole neocon crowd, still in charge, still deadly.

[greenman3610]

2. at every concievable step, he's made the wrong choice

why stop now?

His narcissism compels him
to.

He's acting out of his drunken
16 year old midbrain, "Fuck you, dad, and all the
rest of you fucking fuckers. Fuckers!"

[Bluebear]

4. "Fuck you, dad, and all the rest of you fucking fuckers. Fuckers!"

I think you have elegantly hit on his mentality in a phrase there.

[AlienAvatar]

14. You're right on with that image.

I can actually see and hear him saying those exact words. Petulant, juvenile, and cruel.

[Joanne98]

3. Bush is selfish. He doesn't care about anything but himself...

His LEGACY is on the line. Hang on to your wallet. He'll bankrupt the country if he feels it will help HIM!

[necso]

5. Firing rummy-dummy

and (largely) scorning the Iraq Study Group's recommendations are two points on a line -- the line of escalation in Iraq (other escalation aside).

Plus, it's in character.

[justgamma]

6. nobody, but nobody

is going to tell the little boy king what to do. He's like a rebellious teenager. I would be willing to bet that if all the Dems called for more troops, Shrub would have pulled some out.

[seemslikeadream]

7. WAR

Bush's Inconceivable Interest in Iran Sat Apr-01-06

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=819437

Senior U.S. Officials “Want to Hit Iran”Tue Apr-04-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=844418
Larisa Alexandrovna: CHENEY TAPS IRANIAN ARMS DEALER FOR IRAN TALKS Thu Apr-20-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=977234
Seymour Hersh said something startling about Rumsfeld on Democracy Now Fri Aug-18-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1936421
So former DLC, PNAC member Abram Shulsky feeding Cheney info on Iran?Sat Aug-19-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1944614

Fuck. Iran has started "war games." Escalation may only be expected.Sun Aug-20-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1949812

Attack on Iran is ComingSun Aug-27-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1993284

"Grave threat". Yes, it's deja vu all over again.Thu Aug-31-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2022620

UN attacks US nuclear report on Iran erroneous misleading unsubstantiatedSun Sep-17-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2159951

We Are Conducting Military Operations Inside Iran Right NowTue Sep-19-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2168218

Navy told: Prepare to blockade Iran by Oct 1Mon Sep-18-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2161779

Pentagon Iran Office Mimics Former Iraq OfficeWed Sep-20-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2179484

“This is the largest massing of military power in the region, and it is gathering for a reason.”Sat Nov-18-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2753952

Seymour Hersh: Cheney Says 'Whether Or Not Dems Win-NO STOPPING Military Option With Iran'Sun Nov-19-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2757350

Does anyone still believe the US will launch a full scale invasion of Iran?Mon Dec-04-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2856177

Saudi clerics rally support for Sunnis and Saudi ambassador Abruptly ResignsTue Dec-12-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2902643

Act III in a Tragedy of Many Parts - The US Occupation of IraqSun Dec-17-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2935498

Century Foundation Iran White Paper Series Fundamentalists, Pragmatists and the Rights of the NationTue Dec-19-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2948146

Oh shitTue Dec-19-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2944423


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC4N99Mzyh4

I've been waiting for something to happen
For a week or a month or a year
With the blood in the ink of the headlines
And the sound of the crowd in my ear
You might ask what it takes to remember
When you know that youve seen it before
Where a government lies to a people
And a country is drifting to war

And theres a shadow on the faces
Of the men who send the guns
To the wars that are fought in places
Where their business interest runs

On the radio talk shows and the t.v.
You hear one thing again and again
How the u.s.a. stands for freedom
And we come to the aid of a friend
But who are the ones that we call our friends--
These governments killing their own?
Or the people who finally can't take any more
And they pick up a gun or a brick or a stone
There are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire

Theres a shadow on the faces
Of the men who fan the flames
Of the wars that are fought in places
Where we cant even say the names

They sell us the president the same way
They sell us our clothes and our cars
They sell us every thing from youth to religion
The same time they sell us our wars
I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they're never the ones to fight or to die
And there are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire

[BuelahWitch]

8. "Everything go BOOM!" Especially us

:nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :cry:

[bullimiami]

9. its foolish to believe that 250.000 or 500.000 troops would have made a difference

the problem is not the number of troops. its the greedy disdain that bushco has had for the iraqi population.
he invaded them, he killed them, he tortured them and he has continued to make them suffer and pay for it every day.
no jobs, no food, no electricity, no security and whos responsibility was all that as soon as he invaded? george w bushs.

all that we are there for is to make money and take what we want and we have ground the iraqis under our bootheels relentlessly.

[partylessinOhio]

10. One nut

(I refuse to call it a man)

can't be stopped?

[Bucky]

11. Translation: the child, when finally forced to eat his vegetables, threw a temper tantrum

of course, instead of breaking his toys, he's getting more Americans and Iraqis killed.

[ewagner]

12. Precisely Bucky

exactly the problem....he was told to "eat his veggies" by the adults and not only is he going to ignore them, he's going to "trash the house" in retaliation..... I've made the same analogy before...


The job to be done in Afghanistan was a dirty, difficult, time-consuming task....and Bush had the foreign policy equivalent of Attention Deficit disorder and invaded Iraq because it looked like fun to make things go BOOM!...he didn't take care of his chores....he went out to play instead...and now that he's been called on it he wants to throw another tantrum....maybe "go out with a bang in Iraq" or possibly make some more things go "boom" in Iran....

:shrug:

how do we get this guy out of office?

[lib2DaBone]

15. the emperor is naked....ABC NEWS compliments Wardrobe

Just watched ABC Evening News. Two bobble-head news ladies gushing over the Chimp-in-Chief and how hard he is working during his 18 day vacation. With smiles on their face and joy in their voice, they explained how Junior is going to the Pig Farm tomorrow to finalize his plans for 30,000 additional troops in Iraq. (Yep..he's going for it and no one can stop him) Meanwhile, The Chimpster and V.P. Darth are setting up the war with Iran... full speed ahead. WTF? Is anyone in this country awake? I got a real bad feeling about this.......


:nuke:

[Imagevision]

16. Like Bush can really bomb Iran without the approval of the house & senate!!! (not!)

[Bluebear]

17. Well this is about Iraq actually nt

[quinnox]

18. I'd be surprised if he didn't

send more troops. He has been challenged by the people of America (because of election results) in his mind, so he has to show just how big a bully he really is. In a way it is good because if he continues on this course he will all but ensure a Democratic super majority after the elections of 2008, including the presidency. He just might take the republican party down to the bottom with him.

[Jimmy52]

19. bush has no conscious...

He thinks whatever he comes up with, being the "Decider", is a call from God. People laugh at me saying bush thinks he he the second coming of Moses. He actually does! I have read it in numerous places.

He will increase the number of troops in Iraq 20000 to 30000. It will be the last ditch effort that "his" war is not seen as the biggest blunder in US History. More troops will die and we will end up leaving with our tales tucked between our legs...just like Vietnam.

The day this guy leaves office will be the best day we have had in eight years. Between he and DICK, the country may never be able to recover. If his war turns out badly as we think it will, the GOP will lose more seats in 2008 and the White House.

[annabanana]

20. Does this damn fool have any idea the sheer numbers

of people over there? Does he have the slightest notion that if each and every one of them is out gunning for our soldiers that it doesn't matter how many he sends?

I honestly think that he has no notion whatsoever.

[Poiuyt]

21. It's too bad that Baker/Hamilton didn't recommend escalating the war

Then Bush would be forced to pull out of Iraq just to show that he's in control