Brilliant, in a Machiavellian kind of way

[rhiannon55]

Here's why Gates as Secretary of Defense is a really BAD idea and is just more of BushCo's political game playing. This can't be allowed to happen.

Walking Through the Gates of a Well-Laid Trap
by Sean Gonsalves

Stay the course: a played-out phrase that’s become synonymous with the Bush administration bungling of Iraq. Bogged down in a guerrilla war to which there is no military solution short of genocide, the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld was supposed to be a signal from President Bush that he’s finally listening – that the thumpin’ the Grand Ol’ Party took in the mid-term elections was supposed to signal an end to stay-the-course-ness.

Then he goes and nominates Robert Gates to be the new Defense Secretary. It’s a pretty clever desperation move – a trap really. Rumsfeld is gone. Bush comes off as a lot more humble in his press conference. He’s talking bipartisanship.

<snip>

Gates and Rummy sip from the same ideological Kool-Aid jug. And if the Dems shoot down the nomination, Bush and wounded Republicans can accuse Democrats of not acting in a spirit of “bipartisanship.” Even worse, should the Democrats not confirm Gates, they would be – are you ready for this – “playing politics” with the all-important position of Secretary of Defense during a war! Voila – the stage for the 2008 presidential race is set.

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1110-21.htm

[Richard D]

1. Perhaps it's a good thing I'm not a politician, cause . . .

. . . all I can think about saying after these meetings is

FUCK BIPARTISANSHIP AND GET SOME BACKBONE!

[orpupilofnature57]

4. Al Gore!!

[enuffs_enuffs]

2. But... it couldn't be more transparent.

I would like to hope to think that the recent election has sent a message in relation to the MSM. Their memes didn't hold sway. Period. None of the bluster and bullshit had and real or lasting effect on the brass tax at the end of the day. SWEEP. Handed that ass handily.

The fact is that Gates has his hands dirty as hell in pre-war intel fabrication.

This stinks as another Meyers for Supreme Court seat ploy, where they got the person they really wanted in the end. Playbook is rather obvious IMO.

[orpupilofnature57]

3. First question ,where were you 11/22/63 ? And Don't say, you don't remember

http://tomflocco.com/Docs/63/BushJfkBookDepo.htm

[bloom]

5. Yeah - I'm seeing it as gamesmanship

I think Gates would probably be worse than Rumsfeld, actually. And BushCo will try to make the Dems seem unreasonable.

Krisof in the NYTimes today was saying how Gates is a good man for the job, blah, blah, blah. His quote:

"And Bob Gates, the former C.I.A. director who is taking his place, is an excellent choice. Gates is very smart, an excellent listener, and he plays well with Democrats. If he had been at the Pentagon all along, we wouldn’t be in this mess. He will also be able to heal the rupture between the Pentagon and the intelligence community."

http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/


If more people got their news from Democracy Now - things would be different. As it is - the media will act like Gates is wonderful. So the Democrats will look more unreasonable.

[niallmac]

6. I don't think the message of this election was

"Hey Dems, be sure to roll over and support the blood lust
nominations of the White House no ifs ands or buts."

In fact, I think the message was precisely the opposite.

"Stop this senseless hemorrhage of lives and resources."

[vixengrl]

7. This is a real slice of what we *do not need*--

"Again, I ask my colleagues,” Daschle continued, “if Robert Gates cooked the books to advocate the ideological position of the administration while serving as deputy director for intelligence and deputy director of Central Intelligence, is it possible that U.S. intelligence under his guidance will continue to politicize intelligence? My answer is, ‘We cannot afford to take that chance’.”

Politicizing intelligence is definitely what got us in this quagmire, and what has kept us there. Politicizing intelligence is what makes this War on Terror more about show than substance. If Gates is going to be another Rumsfeld in the sense of playing to the White House's desires (*cough* Cheney *cough*)then any difference in *strategery* is pointless--we're still *over there* not really fighting the same people who attacked us *over here*. The job is to fight smarter, not harder, see terrorism as a criminal strategy, and *not* encourage the kind of destabilization abroad that creates terrorist havens. I don't think that kind of thinking is what I read into his "resume".