Bush'stradamus

[GostHacked]

And if anyone thinks Afghanistan will be any better, they're kidding themselves.

And some of us said that a long time ago. Documented here on this very forum.

[GostHacked]

Holy freek someone is actually interested in a good thing that may happen in the future!

I have to admit you have taken me off guard here GH?!

A rescindingly non aggressive NATO policy would be a good start.

I'm sure there's lots more if someone gave it some thought.

WWWTT

It's not so much of an interest as a challenge for anyone to explain what good will come of this.

[sharkman]

Shady, yep Bush Jr nailed it which is why the left is in a tizzy about it. BTW, Romney nailed the nature of the threat that Russia was while Barry was proclaiming peace in our time. Too bad we can't learn from history.

[BubberMiley]

Shady, yep Bush Jr nailed it which is why the left is in a tizzy about it.

Was the exact quote: "I screwed things up so bad it will take a generation to fix it."?

[On Guard for Thee]

That and "Mission Accomplished" Two of his most famous I'm sure.

[GostHacked]

That and "Mission Accomplished" Two of his most famous I'm sure.

We can also talk 'golf'. 'Now, watch this drive!'

[jbg]

Looks like Bush completely nailed the future of Iraq with a precipitous and irresponsible withdrawal of American troops from the region, and the failure to leave behind a residual force.

Obama ran on a platform of "change." Indeed he has become a worldwide wrecking ball.

[eyeball]

He's just one more link added to the chain the ball's hanging from and there'll be another along in awhile.

[PIK]

it had to be done! Sadam, all those Iraqi plane hijackers and the Iraqi Al Qaeda cells needed payback for 9/11...

But it was to late to save the Iraqi soccer team.

[Shady]

Even Dexter Filkins, a huge Bush and Iraq war critic, says that it's hard not to conclude that Obama's irresponsible withdrawal from Iraq is the worst strategic mistake of them all.

Filkins: It’s hard to conclude otherwise, you know, because that little, that quote from that deserter that I talked to in Kirkuk, I mean, you can almost say the same thing for all of Iraq. We left, the United States left in 2011. We went to zero, and we left. I mean, we packed up and left. So when you drive around Baghdad now, there is not a trace that the United States was ever there, and I mean apart from the American weapons, but in terms of like American presence and projects and guidance, gone. And I think that we spent almost a decade there. We paid with a lot of lives and a lot of blood, and building, essentially, rebuilding the Iraqi state that we destroyed. And I don’t think it was ready. I mean, it just wasn’t ready to function on its own. And it couldn’t function without us. And actually, Ambassador Crocker, who was on your show, had a really good description of it. He said you know, we build ourselves into the hard drive of the place, and so we, the United States, were the honest broker. We were the only people that could sort of bring all the Iraqi factions together, and then we left. You know, and so the thing doesn’t work without us. And you can see that in Iraq at a micro level, like when I talked to that deserter, who said as soon as the Americans left, the commanders started stealing all the money and everybody left, and everything fell apart. Or you can see it at the macro level. I mean, that’s what’s happened to the Iraqi state.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Shady

[Shady]

Even former Obama's Defence Secretary agrees with Bush.

Our side viewed the White House as so eager to rid itself of Iraq that it was willing to withdraw rather than lock in arrangements that would preserve our influence and interests

...

Now that the deadline was upon us, however, it was clear to me–and many others–that withdrawing all our forces would endanger the fragile stability then barely holding Iraq together.

Privately, the various leadership factions in Iraq all confided that they wanted some U.S. forces to remain as a bulwark against sectarian violence. But none was willing to take that position publicly, and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki concluded that any Status of Forces Agreement, which would give legal protection to those forces, would have to be submitted to the Iraqi parliament for approval.

That made reaching agreement very difficult given the internal politics of Iraq, but representatives of the Defense and State departments, with scrutiny from the White House, tried to reach a deal. We had leverage. We could, for instance, have threatened to withdraw reconstruction aid to Iraq if al-Maliki would not support some sort of continued U.S. military presence. My fear, as I voiced to the President and others, was that if the country split apart or slid back into the violence that we’d seen in the years immediately following the U.S. invasion, it could become a new haven for terrorists to plot attacks

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/panetta-obama-white-house-responsible-for-chaos-in-iraq/

Panetta-stadamus! Seems like the only person that didn't understand the ramifications of an irresponsible and precipitous withdrawal, was Barry himself. Even his own Secretary of Defence is linking the current situation with his terrible short-sighted policy. But hey, for Barry, having the election talking point was worth it. It helped him get another term! And that's all that matters.

[On Guard for Thee]

Speaking of terrible short sighted policies, who got them in there in the first place?

'Nuther facepalm on top of 3 pinnochios. U going for the record?

[Shady]

Speaking of terrible short sighted policies, who got them in there in the first place?

'Nuther facepalm on top of 3 pinnochios. U going for the record?

Yes, we know what initially happened in Iraq. Then there was the surge, and a significant security improvement, as well as an overall improvement. Then Obama trashed it all for political talking points and an election campaign. Even his own Secretary of Defence pins the blame for it on his dumb policy.

[On Guard for Thee]

Yes, we know what initially happened in Iraq. Then there was the surge, and a significant security improvement, as well as an overall improvement. Then Obama trashed it all for political talking points and an election campaign. Even his own Secretary of Defence pins the blame for it on his dumb policy.

This thing was doomed to failure the day Bush pushed the button (You do recall the whole thing was based on lies about WMD)? Of course the border drawing the Brits and French did decades prior didn't help, not to bore you with history. But leaving the place alone would have been the smartest idea in the first place, Obama is just bringing that back in the picture.

[Shady]

This thing was doomed to failure the day Bush pushed the button (You do recall the whole thing was based on lies about WMD)? Of course the border drawing the Brits and French did decades prior didn't help, not to bore you with history. But leaving the place alone would have been the smartest idea in the first place, Obama is just bringing that back in the picture.

No, it was really doomed to failure when Obama instituted his irresponsible and precipitous withdrawal. Completely nullifying the hard fought gains from 2007 to 2010. His former Defence Secretary makes that same assertion. Barry snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. All for politics.

[On Guard for Thee]

No, it was really doomed to failure when Obama instituted his irresponsible and precipitous withdrawal. Completely nullifying the hard fought gains from 2007 to 2010. His former Defence Secretary makes that same assertion. Barry snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. All for politics.

So bombing a country for no apparent reason is sort of irrelevant to you?

[Shady]

So bombing a country for no apparent reason is sort of irrelevant to you?

I'm not sure what you're talking about. Your premise is deeply flawed.

[On Guard for Thee]

I'm not sure what you're talking about. Your premise is deeply flawed.

Point out my flaws to my premise then.

[On Guard for Thee]

I'm not sure what you're talking about. Your premise is deeply flawed.

What I'm talking about is that Bush had no valiid reason for invading Iraq. That's why he and Cheney are considered war criminals by the ICC.

[Shady]

What I'm talking about is that Bush had no valiid reason for invading Iraq. That's why he and Cheney are considered war criminals by the ICC.

Complete nonsense. Iraq was in violation of multiple UN resolutions. They had refused mandated inspections for 4 years. Force could have been used legally that very second. They also violated the no fly zones, committing acts of war by firing on coalition planes patrolling the northern and southern zones.

[Shady]

Regardless you're purposely changing the subject. Relative peace and security was finally established, and Obama threw it all away for political reasons. Even his former defence secretary makes that point.

[BubberMiley]

Relative peace and security was finally established, and Obama threw it all away for political reasons.

If peace and security are relative, how can you say it isn't peaceful and secure?

[Smallc]

Regardless you're purposely changing the subject. Relative peace and security was finally established, and Obama threw it all away for political reasons. Even his former defence secretary makes that point.

Relative peace and security existed before the US entered Iraq too.

[GostHacked]

No, it was really doomed to failure when Obama instituted his irresponsible and precipitous withdrawal. Completely nullifying the hard fought gains from 2007 to 2010. His former Defence Secretary makes that same assertion. Barry snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. All for politics.

Mission Accomplished. Right?

[On Guard for Thee]

Complete nonsense. Iraq was in violation of multiple UN resolutions. They had refused mandated inspections for 4 years. Force could have been used legally that very second. They also violated the no fly zones, committing acts of war by firing on coalition planes patrolling the northern and southern zones.

Hmm, that's not what I seem to recall and I was there up until 2 days before the bombs started to fall and was in and out of those no fly zones daiily. The start of the war was in fact delayed because, since it was not a UN sanctioned action, Turkey refused to let US planes fly through it's airspace so some aircraft carriers had to be repositioned.