AARRGGGHHH!! Petraeus: U.S. Has Occupied Iraq Long Enough That We Have ‘Become Liberators Again’

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/06/21/petraeus-liberators-again/

Petraeus: U.S. Has Occupied Iraq Long Enough That We Have ‘Become Liberators Again’

petraeus811.gif In an interview with the Times Online (UK), U.S. Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus was asked whether the troop escalation could mitigate the rising sectarian violence in Iraq.

Petraeus argued there was a “golden hour” of “omnipotence” in the early stages of the war where the U.S. was “viewed as a liberator.” He then claimed the U.S. is being perceived as “liberators” once again in Iraq, this time freeing them from the bloody civil war instigated as a result of the U.S. occupation:

Q: Is it not too late to halt the violence?

PETRAEUS: There is a period of omnipotence. There was a period in the beginning when there was a ‘golden hour’. Inevitably, it does not matter how much you were viewed as a liberator, over time you will be seen as an occupier. The interesting dynamic here is that we have been here long enough to become liberators again for certain sectors of the population, those that are affected by extremism.

Prior to the war, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and other administration officials claimed the U.S. would be welcomed as liberators in Iraq. Petraeus appears to be pandering to those fantasies.

In fact, the great majority of Iraqis do not perceive the U.S. as liberators. A poll taken in September 2006 revealed that seven in 10 Iraqis “want U.S-led forces to commit to withdraw within a year.” Furthermore, six in 10 approved of attacks on U.S. forces.

That was nearly four months before the escalation. Since the escalation officially began in February, violence “has increased in most provinces,” “(s)uicide attacks more than doubled across Iraq,” and civilian casualties rose to “more than 100 a day,” according to a recent Pentagon report. Recently, the Iraqi parliament passed a resolution to try to force an end to the occupation.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. Petraeus is a charicature of those inept WWI generals...

that kept march troops into machine gun fire in hopes of a breakthru.

[acmavm]

2. This clown is batshit crazy.

[hobbit709]

3. Rewind to 1938

Same propaganda BS.

[Richard Steele]

4. Yeah, that's believable.

Whatta shithead. :eyes:

[Fridays Child]

5. That crap is pathological...

...fucking pathological. :nuke:

[shain from kane]

6. "...“golden hour” of “omnipotence” in the early stages...." Did it last even one hour?

[NewJeffCT]

8. If you blinked

You missed the so-called golden hour.

[shain from kane]

17. I really think it was a golden shower that nearly drowned us.

[Hissyspit]

7. Up is down. n/t

[Larkspur]

9. PETRAEUS = Dr. Strangelove

or at least Gen. Doublespeak.

[cliss]

10. You see how they are?

"Liberators once again". They know darn well how disgusted the Americans have been by the original claim. And yet they can't help themselves; they do it again.

It's just a slap in the Americans' faces when they say stuff like this; it's beyond insulting. Now watch Tony "Snowjob" Snow say the same thing.

[NewJeffCT]

11. Did he mis-speak when he said "golden hour"

and he really meant "golden shower"?

[TwilightGardener]

12. How can we ever leave them when they NEED us so?

The "savior" complex in full gear.

[BurtWorm]

13. Stop us before we liberate again!

::banghead:

[TwilightGardener]

21. Not until we "liberate" them from control of their oil--

However, we WERE successful so far in "liberating" them from running water, electricity, jobs, homes, garbage collection, intact roads and bridges, and general physical safety, so we've got a pretty good track record.

[NNN0LHI]

14. Freeing the Iraqis from civil war that Bush instigated

How convenient.

Guess we will just have to steal their oil now. Aw, shucks.

Don

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

15. Yeah. Like all those "liberated" Sioux came to fling flowers at Custer.

Head meet rectum.

[spanone]

16. So Petreaus is a Comedian now?

[Bob3]

18. I always wondered what some one shoving his head up his own butt

sounded like. Now I know.

I have to assume that this gibberish is being spread for domestic consumption. There is no way the Iraqi people are stupid enough to swallow this horseshit.

[thereismore]

19. This is actually true. We have been hanging around while violence continued,

now if we actually pacify a neighborhood, it feels like liberation. Of course, Petraeus is still a tool.

[Disturbed]

22. The Busholini Regime is close to liberating the Oil from

the Iraqis. That is good news!

[Buns_of_Fire]

20. He's probably just on a sugar high from all that candy the Iraqis have been giving him. (n/t)

[Toots]

23. I can see it now Sept 1st Bush* lands on USS Reagan to declare "Mission Accomplished"

Big tickertape parade and Bush* declares great victory for the USA. Iraq met benchmarks and US gets 83% of the oil for 35 years. Troops receive "Heroes Welcome" and Bush* goes down in the books as the Great Liberater and Victor in the great "War on Terror". See.. how well "Republicans" protect America...Big Celebrations all over the country..Coincidentally all to coincide with Labor Day, and yet a force of seventy thousand American troops will remain in Iraq and American deaths will still occur on a daily basis..but the "war" will be declared over...Bush* will be Hero...The truly sick thing about all of this is I can actually picture it happening...:hurts:

[sniffa]

24. does that mean there's going to be more oodLes and oodLes of

expLoding candy and fLowers for the Liberators?

[Solly Mack]

25. OK. I'm officially done in by that comment. Recommended

[Supersedeas]

26. should we expect a 2nd round of parades and flowers and "Bring it on"