Iraq Generals to President: You've Failed Us

[ProSense]

(h/tThink Progress)

Iraq Generals to President: You've Failed Us

05.01.2007

Washington, DC

Today, two retired Generals who led troops in Iraq expressed outrage at the President's veto of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act.


The President vetoed our troops and the American people. His stubborn commitment to a failed strategy in Iraq is incomprehensible. He committed our great military to a failed strategy in violation of basic principles of war. His failure to mobilize the nation to defeat world wide Islamic extremism is tragic. We deserve more from our commander-in-chief and his administration.
--Maj. Gen. John Batiste, USA, Ret.

This administration and the previously Republican controlled legislature have been the most caustic agents against America's Armed Forces in memory. Less than a year ago, the Republicans imposed great hardship on the Army and Marine Corps by their failure to pass a necessary funding language. This time, the President of the United States is holding our Soldiers hostage to his ego. More than ever apparent, only the Army and the Marine Corps are at war - alone, without their President's support.
--Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, USA, Ret.

[speedoo]

1. K&R nt

nt

[Fiendish Thingy]

2. On to the greatest page! k&r! Hope the MSM picks it up! n/t

[Postman]

3. Cry me a river.

It was okay before, when you clowns were still active duty, to invade and occupy Iraq based on BS.

Now you're concerned about your precious Army and Marine Corps.

Boo friggin hoo.

How much more of the national budget should we throw down the black hole of the Pentagon?

I say not one more cent for the Carlyle Groups of the world.

I guess you'll just have to pull back all those troops from the gazillion bases they occupy around the globe.

[tabasco]

18. Way to piss on some important allies.

These generals are trying to get the troops home.

Your holier-than-thou attitude shows that you don't give a shit.

[Postman]

36. Bullshit.

http://lincmad.blogspot.com/2006/11/general-batiste-on-iraq-war.html

[Alcibiades]

24. Back when they were still active duty

they were directly accountable to "elected" civilian leadership. I'm glad we have general officers who defer to the authority of the President. The alternative would make Iraq look peaceful.

[Az_lefty]

4. K&R....

:kick:

[Roland99]

5. Plenty of egos still supporting the Chimp's jockstrap at the Pentagon, too.

[jazzjunkysue]

6. Here's 12. Thanks. n/t.

[Ino]

7. "HIs failure to mobilize the nation..."

"His failure to mobilize the nation to defeat world wide Islamic extremism is tragic."

I'm not sure what that means. He's condemning George for not doing enough then, and not getting out now? Sounds like he's still drunk on the idea that we COULD have defeated world-wide Islamic extremism by invading Iraq, if only George had the right strategy.

[Roland99]

9. That "failure" was pulling out the special ops from Afghanistan and inserting them in Iraq

and then leaving bin Laden and al-Zawahiri to roam the countryside as free men.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

14. Let me translate for you:

"If you're going to lie us into a war and occupy a country, then you could at least put enough troops on the ground to maintain order in the occupied nation after military victory was achieved."

[mwb970]

49. Bush stood on the brink of greatness, but ran away from it.

If we had a president who was a uniter, not a divider, he could have marshalled the will and spirit of the American people behind him to put up a united front for sensible actions against this new threat. We had the whole world with us. We were prepared to sacrifice.

But the stupid fool blew it, big time. He told us to go shopping. He cut taxes on the rich. He sent an inadequate number of inadequately equipped troops into an expensive, unnecessary, illegal war on a fool's errand based on pure fantasies that had nothing to do with the problem we faced. He ignored expert advice from all quarters. Now he says that if you don't like him and his disastrously failed war you are "emboldening the enemy".

Is it not time to impeach this arrogant, incompetent criminal? If not now, when?

[tomp]

50. sorry, bush was NEVER anywhere near the brink of greatness.

EVER. every president has opportunities. bush's entire life is glaring evidence that he never missed an opportunity to do the wrong thing. EVER.

[mike_c]

52. Bush is living proof that a human being can screw up EVERYTHING...

...he attempts in life and still pass the shit on to others to bear.

[Maven]

57. Wait, you're serious?

Really?

[druidity33]

8. K&R nt

[Major Hogwash]

10. Looks like Bush has forgotten about Osama altogether. And the Taliban is stronger now.

Great job, Brownie!

[porphyrian]

11. The only thing bush can't fail at is failure. - n/t

[Tekla West]

12. a few bucks

more or less, close to half a trillion dollars. mindblowing.

[gillamonster]

13. K&R nt

[SammyWinstonJack]

15. K&R!

[bdamomma]

16. seems like everyone is catching on how we have a very psychotic

man running/ruining this government.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

17. Happy Loyalty Day chimp boy!

[mnmoderatedem]

19. in the words of *

We need to listen to our generals on the ground.

[antiimperialist]

20. What a coincidence that Al Qaeda leader's "death" came out the day of the veto

Doesn't it seem a bit coincidencial to you?
Is this similar to the recent London terror case, when Republicans wanted distorted details to surface right before the senate elections?

[wiggs]

21. This will be on the evening news for sure. nt

[rodeodance]

26. For sure---NOT

[Imagevision]

22. Some Iraqi's actually believe Bush is giving them freedom and democracy

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

40. Some people say....n/t

MKJ

[whistle]

23. Bush is not listening and he will fall as a result

[Stand and Fight]

25. I MUST kick and recommend this...

It's about freaking time!

[Zywiec]

27. Republican controlled legislature...

Republican controlled legislature have been the most caustic agents against America's Armed Forces in memory. Anyone with current knowledge of the Army can testify how true this is.

[maine_raptor]

28. K&R Great sound bite in Eaton's quote too.

"This time, the President of the United States is holding our Soldiers hostage to his ego."

If that don't just say it all, I don't know what does.

This should be picked up and repeated by every Dem/left/anti-war talking head over the next few days. Drive this point home!

[symbolman]

29. Yep

there it is, Little Green Army men..

Man, now that we have such grea potential for special effects it would be SO COOL to use them - like the Show I saw recently, a special effects award ceremony, where they had a film about a guy battling little green army men in his home, it looked SO REAL.. (Not Toy Story)

Now, if we could have a short film created the same way, with the LGAM battling BUSH IN THE WHITE HOUSE, trying to SAVE there Brothers in ARMS :)

Come On, Hollywood, live up to that Liberal nametag you've been graced with!

As a Vet I think that would be totally appropriate, and the General thinks so too, obviously :)

Remember folks, when they were IN the Military they were UNDER ORDERS TO NOT Bash the CIC.. you get a court martial for that, it's just that simple..

[maine_raptor]

32. Not just Hollywood.

I want to see all them "Democratic Strategists" on the cable news shows (CNN, MSNBC, FOX) repeating this quote as much as possible.

EGO!

That's what this (the veto) is about.

Ego in a commanding officer gets grunts killed; be it a freshly minted 2nd Louie his first time out, or the CIC.

[symbolman]

34. If this asshole had been in Nam

as a Butterbars, and pulled this kind of ego shit, they would have been lucky to have found more than one complete sock, and it wouldn't have been the enemy's fault.

I'm actually surprised we haven't heard of any Fragging going on this war, tho maybe it's because the upper echelon are just as screwed as the Unwashed enlisted heathens :)

[maine_raptor]

37. LOL (one sock).

Ya, that is interesting, Hmmmm, no fragging reports.

The only one I can remember hearing about was prior to the invasion and that involved an Islamic Marine, IIRC. But there again, stories about fragging didn't really come out in WWII until after the troops came home.

Still, I wonder, 'cause you know that there is ALWAYS some gung-ho, REMF'ng asshole willing to show his "guts" by spilling your blood. I remember another guy named George that got a rep that way.

[symbolman]

39. Yeah, there he was

Leading the CHARGE, when he hit the top of the hill, turned to us and said, "Let's go get those bastards, boys!" and BANG, the 'enemy' shot him RIGHT in the BACK of the Head.. with no leader, we had no choice but to return to the base..

If ONLY he hadn't turned around on that hill.. :)

Reminds me of some comedian talking about a general once, "Men, nothing would please me more than to lead you into this battle.. however, I am much too important to the overall battle plans to do such a thing, but I WILL be watching with VERY HIGH POWERED BINOCULARS, 25 miles from the SHORE.." :)

[maine_raptor]

43. "Old Yellowstain"

Remeber that one?

Let me put it this way, we used to read "The Caine Mutiny" just to figure out what would happen next.

[symbolman]

46. Yeppers

just waiting with baited breath for Bush to have his "Queeg" moment..

It was the Strawberries, he figured it out with Fuzzy Math :)

What a waste of food that guy is.. His whole family is born with a congential Yellow Stripe running down their back. His father (and I did the USAF so this pissed me of considerably) DITCHED his MEN, let them DIE, killed them basically.. at least according to a pilot following.

Old YellowStain of the SKY probably wasn't TOLD that you get your men out FIRST, before YOU DITCH.. See, you have to TELL Bushies what is WRONG, other wise mistakes were made, and someone oughtta pass a law so that stuff doesn't happen anymore..

While they walk away with YOUR WALLET, and piss running out of their pants leg. Worked for generations, no reason to stop now.

I hate that chickenshit SOB, and I weep for my country. The one I took my Oath for doesn't exist anymore....

[iamahaingttta]

44. No fragging?

From what I've gathered, it sounds like Pat Tillman was a black ops fragging of the first order...

[symbolman]

47. No way to tell

but since they've told one WHOPPER, I would never expect that anything they said was TRUE, ever..

What a way to HONOR this guy, who really wasn't even into the war per his Bro.. but his Bro could be playing PR as well for the antiwar crowd, of which I've always been one..

If these Right wingers, and Shit for brains generals (not the ones that disagree with BushCo), told me to look UP, I'd be checking my SHOELACES, to see if they'd tied them together to steal my wallet. :)

Never have I seen such rampant hypocrisy, and between THOSE THAT FIGHT for our country on top of it, though it's all misguided, and run by Little Boots for his Money Changers...

There hasn't been any honor in wars since maybe the Revolutionary one, and if you read about that one, plenty of guys wanted to GO HOME and ditch the war. The term "turncoats" came from Washington trying to discipline the troops, he had no MONEY to offer, or leave, so he could only force those who wanted OUT to turn their coats inside OUT as a mark of shame..

Honor, HA!

[cqo_000]

35. Let's have a reality check

The troops will get their stinkin' war money soon enough.

As soon as this latest fanfare has died down Pelosi and Reid will see to it that chimpy gets a bill the way he wants it.

[symbolman]

42. Got to play the game

and he's hemorraging more each day in the polls.

They've FRAMED the issue, and that's a good thing for the DEMS.. there's no way to beat these guys, they've got all the gun, all the Media, all the Fake Laws on their side..

BUT, at some point there's a tipping point, and the world DOES turn, having been veteran who enlisted during nam, and lived through many corrupt scenarios, esp NIXXON, I've seen it happen.

And as Mark Twain once said, "History does not necessarily Repeat itself, But it RHYMES."

Watch for Bush to get it somehow in the end, the Hague, or whatever, even if he ends up being the most hated excuse for a man in modern History, he still will have to look over his shoulder for the rest of his life, what with a BILLION muslims in the world.

I wouldn't want to be in his shoes for all the money in the world. he'll need an army and live behind 16 inch glass for the rest of his life.

Something like THIS:

[wicket]

30. Batiste??!!!

Holy shit! :popcorn:

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

31. They are not peaceniks ...

Batiste is disappointed that Bush didn't mobilize the nation to defeat extreme Islam. He wants a crusader in the mold of Vlad the Impaler.

If you want WW3 (or 4 or 5, depending on how you count), vote Batiste for President.

[KG]

33. thank you for put those quotes in context.

[paparush]

38. Bush Vetoed Stopping the War

Could it be an clearer?

[Olney Blue]

41. Wonder what Patreus really thinks.

[bdamomma]

45. I think he is Bush's lapdog too, bush is screaming out his

orders to Petreaus and bush wants his way.

[cooolandrew]

48. They should keep sending bills that expose him.....

... like iraq accountability and katrina relief bill. Next time, the iraq accoutablity, katrina relief, solar investment bill. And just keep adding from there.

[progressoid]

51. Lets go media, report this!! Oh, wait...was American Idol on last night?

Never mind.

[Consequences]

53. I can't wait to see how FOX news spins this into something Bushie-positive. (n/t)

[me b zola]

54. k&r

:kick:

[Diane R]

55. One hundredth recommend.

[Mr. Ected]

56. I've Listened To Media Reports From Several Different Outlets

And EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM has framed this as the Democrats showing a lack of support of the troops, and hoping for failure in Iraq.

I am SO sick of the MSM.

[cassiepriam]

58. And the generals failed their troops.