I'MMA LET YOU FINISH
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The sociopath fratboy coward's bloodlust must be slaked.
This is why a soldier a day must die on the banks of the Euphrates.
Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo has the backstory on this alleged Iraqi surrender offer, which got naiotnal airtime. Warning: it involves hearing more about both Perle AND Chalabi.
Hussein could have offered to walk into the Hague court with all his trusted lieutenants, appoint his most critical alive opponent as the next President of Iraq, gave maps to where all the WMD were(if there were any), and Bush still would have invaded.
Gary-
bloodlust indeed. Look at what he did in Texas re: capital punishment. He took real pleasure in snuffing out one life after another to advance his political career. He even mocked Karla Faye Tucker, one of his fundamentalist cult "brethren", when she pled for her life. When the war started he pumped his arm and said, "Feels good."
"Bloodlust" is no exaggeration nor hyperbole.
One of my favorite Tom Burka pieces recently: Hussein Made Pre-War Offer to Sack Iraq, Kill Two Sons, And Go Into Hiding.
This is why a soldier a day must die on the banks of the Euphrates.
Gary Frazier
You may have to up that average to two a day, at least so far this month. If you discount the 21 killed in two helicopter shoot-downs, there have been 13 reported US combatdeaths in Iraq in November.
And the US response to the latest Blackhawk shot down over Tikrit is not likely to make things better:
Following the crash, Lt. Col. Steven Russell, commander of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, also said U.S. forces had reimposed the 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew on Tikrit, which had been lifted at the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan last month.
``This is to remind the town that we have teeth and claws and we will use them,'' Russell said after his troops blasted two abandoned houses and a warehouse with machine gun and heavy weapons fire.
U.S. troops late Friday also fired mortars and jets dropped at least three 500-pound bombs around the crash site, rattling windows over a wide area. Other U.S. jets streaked over Tikrit after sundown. At least three mortars were also fired onto the U.S. compound but caused no damage.
Dropped three 500-pound bombs around the crash site????? How does that help???
Whoa, Atrios (and to Josh Marshall)!
Let's not lose the point of this. It means, as Atrios pointed out, as does the BusyBusyBusy blog, that there were clear statements from Iraqis in the know BEFORE THE WAR TO ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS that there were no known WMD and the Bush people pushed the war nonetheless--saying, as the BusyBusyBusy blog reminds us, that the Bushies had secret information and knew better than what the Iraqis are saying.
The NY Times and others are right to be outraged. The only thing that is off is that this too was known before the war. The only thing that is now fully known is that the WMD rationale was itself a lie.
This essentially completes the circle and supports another theory: that the correct name for this war is Operation Iagio (?) Montoya--Princess Bride movie reference. Except it is also becoming clear that Daddy Bush didn't want vengence on his behalf.
Bush Jr stands accused and convicted here. Let impeachment begin.
maloof, maloof, maloof is on fire!
we dont' need no offer let the muthafucka burn!
About the 500 pound bombs: it's called frustration. And it doesn't help at all.
um. just curious, but what is the ratioale for "discounting the 21 (actually 22) killed in the helicopter shootdowns?
This is why a soldier a day must die on the banks of the Euphrates.
Not to nitpick, but according to Lunaville, it's 4.5 a day this month. 1.93 a month for the duration of Operation Clusterfuck.
When you google "fuck Saddam" some pretty creepy things come up....
Whatever you do, don't do a google image search on "fuck saddam".
(goatse)
The bombing of the crash site may have been to destroy US Military hardware left at the site, rather than let someone else take it and use/sell to other people. Of course, what that then tells us is that the situation on the ground isn't secure or friendly enough to remove the wreckage by hand...
The NYT reported that the Bush transition team was meeting with generals prior even to the coronation, apparently to "discuss Iraq". The NYT reporters could'nt get any further question.
The story was important, Atrios, because it can expose Bush in yet another lie - that he did'nt want a war.
Titler - I seem to recall such things happening in Afghanistan, and it appears to be SOP. Heckuva lot easier to bomb the crap out of the wreckage. But I defer the the military types here.
I will note that I saw heds that indicated bombing of suspected bad guy targets in Tikrit, so maybe there's more to the story...
Jumping clusterfuck! 34 dead soldiers in a week? I hadn't been keeping that close a tally but bloody hell! Any wingnut (such as president Whistleass) who poopoos the comparison to Vietnam just isn't paying attention.
I hope someone's collecting the lies and evidence about Bush's little adventure. A nice fat dossier full of this stuff lobbed onto the desk of the new Attorney General (in '09 or whenever we get this prick and his PNAC posse out of office) will help make the case for Bush's war crimes trial.
Bush Jr stands accused and convicted here. Let impeachment begin.
mitchell freedman
In a normal world, maybe, with checks and balances, an opposition party, and a free press ...
(I'm not military, so your guess is as good as mine... another reason may be that crash investigators would clearly be able to tell if the helicopter was downed by hostile fire; blowing up the wreckage on site will prevent any investigation of that theory...)
Here are a few graphs which reveal the viscious side of Bush from the not-liberal "National Review Online." I wonder who hurt Bush so badly that he's now a frequently vindictive, viscious person. Bush is a hurtin' puppy, as bullies usually are.
Updated 8/6/99 9:40 PM
THE OTHER TALK STORY
In the week before [Karla Faye Tucker's] execution, Bush says, Bianca Jagger and a number of other protesters came to Austin to demand clemency for Tucker. "Did you meet with any of them?" I ask.
Bush whips around and stares at me. "No, I didn't meet with any of them," he snaps, as though I've just asked the dumbest, most offensive question ever posed. "I didn't meet with Larry King either when he came down for it. I watched his interview with [Tucker], though. He asked her real difficult questions, like 'What would you say to Governor Bush?' "
"What was her answer?" I wonder.
"Please," Bush whimpers, his lips pursed in mock desperation, "don't kill me."
This charming little vignette comes from Tucker Carlson's profile of George W. Bush in the premiere issue of Talk. Carlson's attitude toward Bush is clearly positive. But the profile is nonetheless devastating, because Carlson is a good reporter who's captured his subject's unattractive aspects as well as his appealing ones.
Carlson's major theme is that Bush is "comfortable with himself" and "doesn't give a damn what you think of him." (Message: I don't care.) He has risen above the obsession with what other people think that marks most politicians. Yet the Bush who emerges from the profile is remarkably thin-skinned. Carlson notes that while "the Larry King–Karla Faye Tucker exchange Bush recounted never took place" on television, "Tucker did imply that Bush was succumbing to election-year pressure from pro-death penalty voters. Apparently Bush never forgot it. He has a long memory for slights." If this is what Bush considers payback, remind us to stay on his compassionate side.
Sure, the administration wasn't about to not go to war, but this is important stuff. It's important to have these links handy -- esp. the December one, since it was so long before the war started -- to point out to people that Bush had several opportunities to go in and check for WMDs using our people and our info and he said "No way, I'd rather go in shooting and getting our kids killed".
A lot of service families are getting aoured on Bush, and anyone who reflexively cries "support the troops" and actually means it will be sickened by the Bush administration response to these attempts at preventing the war.
Remember, when cops point their guns at people, they're supposed to be trying to get the person to do what they want, and when the guy lays down on the ground with his hands over his head, the cops are not supposed to shoot him anyway -- in fact, they can get in trouble for that. This is one more brick in the wall that is surrounding Bush... a few more bricks, some bars, and he's where he belongs.
Aw c'mon. America is injoin its hotdog and peanut butter prezidint. When we start gittin around 600 bodybags a month, like back in the 60's then mebby we kin reconsider W's excellent adventure in Messopotamia.
I don't know if anyone has used this phrase, but a good suucinct way to describe the rationale is to call it a "vanity war". Unfortunately, unlike vanity publishing, they got everyone else to pay.
um. just curious, but what is the ratioale for "discounting the 21 (actually 22) killed in the helicopter shootdowns?
Olaf glad and big | Email | 11.08.03 - 10:40 am | #
I would include them in my count, actually. Some (Atrios) have suggested that they be excluded as the helicopter deaths may be unusual outliers. I can respect that position, I feel otherwise. I think the helicopter shootdowns are a sign of escalting sophistication on the part of the Iraqi resistance.
The bombing of the crash site may have been to destroy US Military hardware left at the site, rather than let someone else take it and use/sell to other people. Of course, what that then tells us is that the situation on the ground isn't secure or friendly enough to remove the wreckage by hand...
Titler | 11.08.03 - 11:28 am | #
Could be, I hope they searched for suriviros first. I'm of the opinion that frustration/revenge is the strongest motivating force here. Akin to the habit of shooting blindly in 360 degrees when convoys are attacked.
I think this latest example of many chances to avoid the war is important, because it brings us back to an important issue -- why we were sold the "pre-emptive" bill of goods, that this was unavoidable.
Lick Bush in 2004!
Yeah, anon, that's exactly what came up when I googled "fuck saddam." 
A.
It wouldn't be his arm.
The idea of getting rid of Saddam Hussein was in Bush's mind (*snicker*) during the GOP primary debates too:
Republican Presidential Debate
Manchester, New Hampshire
December 2, 1999
MR. HUME: Governor Bush, Saddam Hussein is still there.
What would you do about that, if anything, that is different from what President Clinton has done?
GOV. BUSH: I wouldn't ease the sanctions, and I wouldn't try to negotiate with him.
I'd make darn sure that he lived up to the agreements that he signed back in the early '90s. I'd be helping the opposition groups. And if I found in any way, shape or form that he was developing weapons of mass destruction, I'd take 'em out. I'm surprised he's still there. I think a lot of other people are as well.
MR. HUME: Take him out?
GOV. BUSH: Take out the weapons of mass destruction.
An early example of the "take 'im out" / "take 'em out" not-quite-slip...
He meant "take him out for an ice cream with his old bacterial-warfare buddy, Donald Rumball."
In the Spring of 2002 a guy started working part time in our company (he shared my office). He was a 20 year veteran of the Navy and was lining up a job to do after his retirement at the end of 02. Late in the Spring he told us he wouldn't be able to join as a full time employee until much later than he planned because all the upcoming retirements of experienced officers (he was in logistics, movement of materials and people) were cancelled because we were going to war with Iraq in late 02 or early 03. This was a surprise to us civilians at work to say the least, but it got me started working against the invasion in the Fall of 02 as the drums started beating. I think most Americans still didn't think that this was all a done deal until February or March of 03. The military knew LONG before that. It was totally a premeditated invasion for no legal reasons. Guilty, First Degree Murder.
I googled fuck saddam and learned that "we're taking him out" in dutch is "We schakelen hem uit"
To further SteveO's comments I know an officer in the reserve and he went to a meeting soon after 9-11. I don't know the date but it was before hostilities w/ Afghanistan had commenced (October 2001?). When we spoke of a US military response to 9-11 he said, "We may not be going after Afghanistan, we may be attacking Iraq." His source was the meeting. I still remember my reply was Iraq would be a real war. If they want to do something right away it'll be Afghanistan, Iraq can come later.
So let's be clear--this was decided within days or weeks of 9-11.
the point is, the sheeple have to understand that Bush is NOT a patient OR compassionate.
The Google search even gives you a big CNN story from March. What, CNN use the 'F-word'?
No, but the page *linking to* the CNN article obviously knew what they were doing... like this: Fuck Saddam.
Thank googness for Google.
This should be a big story for the left. Cannistraro has reported that beginning in December the CIA was forwarding peace feelers to the WH and "they were all turned down by the president and vice-president".
The closest analogy here is Hitler's behavior in the Munich crisis. He was repeatedly baffled by the willingness of Benes, the Czech leader, to accept and carry out Hitler's demands, so Hitler kept adding more requirements in the hopes of a reason for war.
This is really a big story but the Bush people have hidden it in plain sight by the use of a clever spoiler attack.
It's the story of a Bush administration desperately avoiding Iraqi willingness to be searched like a suspect in a drug deal, and Iraqi willingness to reform their politics and open oil-dealings to foreign firms.
If the Bush people get away with this hide-it-in-plain-sight approach it will show a major fog settled on the blogosphere.
And I'm really really sorry that Bush acts like Hitler. Really, I am. If it makes you feel any better, the situation also resembles our invasion of Cuba AFTER the Spanish had agreed to all the demands of the Cuban revolutionaries.
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