War Messages That Don't Quite Match (Bush vs. Pentagon)

[deadparrot]

WASHINGTON — Are the president and the Pentagon on the same page over the war in Iraq?

That question is percolating in Washington after President Bush twice in the last 10 days tried to clarify a message sent by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and military leaders.

After Rumsfeld and other Pentagon officials indicated their desire to shift away from discussing the struggle against terrorism as a "war" — saying it placed too much emphasis on military solutions to terrorism — Bush repeatedly used the word "war" in an Aug. 3 speech to conservative state legislators.

Then on Thursday, Bush dismissed as "rumors" and "speculation" reports that U.S. commanders were contemplating significant withdrawals of American troops from Iraq next year. His comments came after Army Gen. George W. Casey, the top U.S. military official in Iraq, and Army Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, the top ground commander, had publicly raised exactly that possibility.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/warmessagesthatdontquitematch

[leftchick]

1. someone forgot to reprogram his recorded ear piece messages

karl and karen are slipping.

[teryang]

2. They are losing it

The Vietnamization option is a fig leaf for gross failure.

[natrat]

12. failure? no way mission accomplished

billions stolen

[TahitiNut]

3. It has always been a "crime" issue, not a "war" issue.

It's totally insane to pretend that toppling a sovereign civil authority can have any impact on a criminal activity, when it's solely through the law enforcement role of that civil authority that crime can ever be fought. Law enforcement is not "war" and the military is not a law enforcement body.

There will always be crime - and even more crime when the state proliferates laws that criminalize ever-increasing kinds of human behavior. Wherever a society obsessively defines "victimless crimes" it abandons democracy in favor of a police state -- and that includes preemptive criminalization of such activities as 'planning' and 'intending.' When such an attitude goes global, fueled by property 'ownership' interests or theocratic interests, democracy is threatened on a global scale.

[arwalden]

4. If We Could Nominate Specific Posts In A Thread...

... I'd nominate *that* one! :thumbsup:

[loudsue]

5. TahitiNut, as always, you hit the nail on the head.

I wish you'd hit some of our "leaders" on the head! They seem to delight in mucking up every issue they touch.

:kick::kick::kick:

[TahitiNut]

11. Thanks, guys. It's often hard to see the obvious ...

... through the fog and snow spewed by the propagandists. One of the more serious casualties has been our language. Truly Orwellian times.

[RaleighNCDUer]

6. Problem is, while his handlers always knew it was just politics,

Chimpy actually believes all the shit he's been spewing. He is a true believer, like his freeper followers. That's why he can't be reasoned with.

[louis-t]

7. Not to mention 2 generals with conflicting statements

about # of attacks. One says attacks are down, deaths are up, other one says attacks are up, deaths are down. After all that, Pentagon still swears their message has been consistant. Sheeesh!

[NYC]

8. Rating is 4 1/2 with 99 votes.

Interesting headline.

[goforit]

9. Yep!!....They don't know if they are coming or going.

[Vickers]

10. Reconsidering them Rummy resignation offers, George?

:spank:

[Disturbed]

13. The shallow minded Silverspoon Sociopath...

insists upon being the glorified War Prez.

He is akin to a 4 year old and his mindset will not change. He will stamp his feet now until his puppet masters give in to his tantrum.