Rumsfeld Tells U.S. Troops in Iraq They Can Win (on surprise Mosul visit)

[leftchick]

<snip>
Having flown in amid great secrecy on trip that took in four cities and wound up with commanders in Baghdad, he told them the war could be won despite what seemed a bleak outlook to some.


Under fire at home but applauded by the troops, he assured them of his "respect" and told them he was doing all he could to improve their equipment -- a sensitive topic many asked about.


His trip began in Mosul, where he pinned a Purple Heart medal on one of dozens wounded when a suicide bomber in Iraqi uniform blasted a mess tent on Tuesday, killing 22 people, 18 of them Americans. It was the costliest single incident for Americans since the start of the war.

<snip>

Conceding prospects of victory might look grim -- he spoke of times "when it looks bleak, when one worries how it's going to come out" -- Rumsfeld said in Mosul: "There is no doubt in my mind this is achievable."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041224/ts_nm/iraq_dc&cid=564&ncid=1480



Touching, isn't it?

[JohnyCanuck]

1. That guy in your pic looks just tickled pink

that he's getting his purple heart band-aid from the hands of the great one himself.(Or was that just a Christmas candy Rummy was sharing out)

[BeFree]

2. No Doubt

Oh yeah, we can completely destroy Iraq. No question.

And, we coulda made a humvee with armor. No doubt.

The writing is on the wall, however, and it says Americans at home have had had their fill. There is no doubt they should just claim victory, and bring our troops home. Now.

[radwriter0555]

3. Just "what" are they "winning"?

Who's been liberated? Freed? Taken to safety? Cared for? Given a home, food, clothing and shelter?

[jimshoes]

4. There is no doubt

in my mind Rummy, that you are a ghoul. Rummy's thinking, "Fuck, these things cost $28.00 apiece to make and I could use that money elsewhere".

[Solly Mack]

5. Win?

"Win" as in staying alive ?

"Win" how exactly?

[Deja Q]

6. Hmmm. Expressions mean a lot... Look at them threefold:

1. Chick hiding at the left is HAPPY.
2. The injured chap ain't happy one damn bit. Can't blame him. For
3. look who sent #2 to die for him? Nurse Rumdrinker personally applying a bandaid wouldn't even begin to comfort a hyperactive anteater starving in the middle of the desert, so why is it going to help a human being who's far better than Rumsfeld, or the anteater for that matter?

I love photojournalists. They can capture the correct moments. (hence my desire to become one.)

[LibDemAlways]

7. 'this is achievable"

What is "achievable" Rummy? Murdering thousands of innocent Iraqis? Destroying their infrastructure and rewarding your cronies with contracts (too dangerous to implement) to fix the mess you've created?
Killed or maimed thousands of American soldiers, many of whom signed up to be Weekend Warriors to supplement their income here at home - now blown to bits in the hellhole you created?

Rummy, you never should have gone there in the first place. The whole world warned you, but the scent of the oil was too strong, and now both sides are paying a terrible price.

What is indisputably "achievable" is that one day you will receive the "reward" you so richly deserve - a one-way ticket to hell for your crimes against humanity.

[w4rma]

8. "Win" what? What is the goal? (nt)

[OneTwentyoNine]

12. Well...umm,errr...cough......Hell I don't know either n/t

[HysteryDiagnosis]

9. Here... it's not a leg but it will have to do..... win what. Win a new

generation of people willing to strap on C-4 and take out Amurkans from a country that wouldn't have given it a second thought even though it was bombed to hell and back in '91, had thousands of fathers that never came home from their RETREAT from Kuwait, and had been sanctioned half to death.

Yeah, we are gonna win when idiots such as the one in this picture are retired and we don't hire any more. It's amazing how the actions of a few can affect the lives of millions of people for the worse.

Rummy after 911, "get everything you have on Iraq, things related and not, sweep it all up."

Rummy Before Iraq, "But Afghanistan doesn't have any good targets, Iraq has lots of targets."

What a warmongering prick.

[Solly Mack]

10. I note this "win" concept is bugging most of us

it's like it's a word I've never heard before....when used in that context...

[KlatooBNikto]

11. I think the doubts are in Rumsfeld's mind. His decline and fall are

at hand. He is transferring his own fears on to people who are incapable of having any say on their own fates.

He is the foulest.

[Ezlivin]

13. Time to call up the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth"

Fighting in Iraq should be child's play for them.

After all, they thought that getting a Purple Heart should be much harder than it is. I'm sure they'll quickly tell the guy that Rumsfeld visited that he really didn't "earn" his medal.

Oh, and make sure those SBVFT's are in the latest unarmored Humvees. They should bring their own personal body armor and radios, too.