The House Armed Services Committee is banishing the "global war on terror" from the 2008 defense budget.
This is not because the war has been won, lost or even called off, but because the committee’s Democratic leadership doesn’t like the phrase.
Somehow, I'm not surprised. What about you?
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Comments: 90
Thanks for checking out the dog picture. My brother came to visit with his dog. Yes the dog gets a lot of comments about his ears.
It's the Iraq war, stupid.
Listening to others at times is really a problem at times also.
I for example haven't a clue what a terrorist is at all, let alone how the folks in Afghanistan think about the world or feel about those in China.
What is religion and where does it belong in this world of our's. Understanding others and listing to others needs to be a global effort, not killing others that we in the US won't even listen to, and let alone understand.
What is it 'GWOT' other than an acronym that means that the United States because George W. Bush, the decider, decided to use to define the religious folks that he is incapable of understanding and then decided to kill rather than listen to.
Maybe this would be better; Facilis descensus Averno?
But I think Horace's phrase is much better; Sedit qui timuit ne non succederet.
I invite those on the left to tell us what we should name this war, or if we should even have a war at all. Please, tell us your thoughts.
A Neocon that has the nerve to broach any of those topics? Got to be totally clueless. To appeal to the crowd- that is exactly what the game of labeling has been about from day one. Conservative think tanks came up with the technique because they couldn't get public support for their policies, or votes, by the way. It was developed after Dole lost, although Reagan did a lot of it on his own. Death tax strikes a cord with thousands that would never have any liability under it, Tax relief denotes a need for relief from oppression, not just a tax cut. It's your game, not mine. To descend to the underworld, well, let's just look at Neocon graft, corruption and moral deficiencies, selling out our country to benefit corporate wealth, shall we, I think we've already been there done that with your crowd in office. As for fear of failure, Bush had the men and equipment to do this, and pissed them away through attrition, instead of going in with enough to do the job right in the first place, as he was advised by the head of the joint chiefs, Bush IS failure is us. Now he's just praying some miracle will happen to pull his fat out of the fire. Surge does nothing, and is just an extension of what we were doing before. Unless you can go in, conquer and hold territory, you accomplish nothing. We've done it over and over. Now I have one for you- Cuiusvis hominis est errare, nullius nisi insipientis in errore perseverare.
Yes I'm still a conservative republican and remember those moments of history when the Neo-cons along with the southern Baptist folks all moved in mass into the republican party because of the prejudices they held against the blacks, which LBJ in his civil rights legislation brought forth.
The neocons are an outgrowth of the Republican Party. Some of them were former Democratic Party hacks but most of them have always been Republican.
Is that supposed to bother me? An ugly little dweeb calls my dog ugly, and then spouts a bunch of idiotic nonsense about Gore, who I never liked, just more than the consummate liar we got, quotes a bunch of oil company bought psuedo scientific garbage,and tells me I'm gonna eat it, and I'm supposed to pee my pants? You don't look rich to me, so you must be one of those the heavy hitters in Neocon circles refer to as "cheap dates" Those that spread their legs for a burger and fries. Ol' Georgy poo and friends gave you a pittence tax cut, while overflowing the coffers of the rich and corporate, and for that, you let them rape our country. You are at best a tool, and at worst really stupid, congratulations.
If that's the best you can come up with, you need a lot of practice. You couldn't raise the heart rate of anyone that's used to gather politics, that I can think of. It's a little tougher here than on My Space, Johnny boy.
Yes you mentioned that you have nothing, and can think of nothing, and now you informed us you're mentally ill, as well. I'm a hell of a lot closer to laughing out loud, than blowing a gasket, right at the moment. History will be exceedingly cruel to the smirking chimp, I'm afraid, just as public opinion is, now, but you keep on chanting that, over and over, and maybe you'll be transported magically to a world where it has a rat's ass of a chance of being true. What a tool.
You really refuse to quit while you're behind, don't you? I imagine your parents did a lot of drugs to stomach you, growing up, but I'm not your parents. I realy don't need them when if I had a need to, I could just shut the computer off, go to another article, etc. but I am more than willing to sit and watch just how big a fool you will end up making of yourself. Your turn, go ahead, call my dog ugly again, you're hurting his feelings sooo bad.
Go where you like, do what you like, pepper the world with ones, you will be following hallowed footsteps. Unfortunately, I doubt you fill even their cowardly shoes. I'm not here for the points anymore, I'm here to needle people like you.
Why would I connect to a little troll that has written nothing at all, published nothing at all, and thinks it's fun to go around insulting and down rating others in hit and run fashion? You are nothing, and have a long way to go till you'd be worth anyone on Gather connecting with, though you will undoubtedly find more of your kind on here, you seem to be multiplying like cockroaches.
ROFL. What I did, was merely give you a little good advice, and it's your own fault you weren't smart enough to take it. As for Kathleen, it seems you missed the fact she IS a rude little neocon witch, which got a rude response, just as you claim to have reacted to, with me. You seem to be under the impression that you are hurting my feelings calling my dog ugly. He's a dog, of course he's ugly. Not a problem.
Well, good for you, and that explains a lot. As for tolerances, I had a lot of them, and still do, just not for supporters of Bush and Co, as they have bankrupted our country at the behest of the rich and corporate. The proof is in, the results dismal, and the continuation of policies that take us further down in the spiral do not amuse me.
As for not being used, unless your business grants you status as one of the top two percent of the richest people in America, you still are being used to enrich others, just not without a bigger burger and fries. You are still a cheap date.
That's not an insult, or a personal attack, it's a statistical fact of the distribution of the Bush tax cuts, that's all. Besides, we cross posted and I didn't know yet we were agreeing to disagree. lol As far as utopia, yes, you are totally right, but I find it entirely disheartening that one as young as you are does not know the consequences of not always striving to improve the world. It's a constant battle between good and evil, and if good gives up because utopia is unattainable, then the predictable happens. This is precisely my problem with this pragmatic dogma. Things don't improve unless you try, and not just your own position. You may be rich, but you may find the world a lousy place, even if you're rich, if people don't continually try to improve it.
Now if you ever decide to have an intelligent dicscussion, I'm all ears, but until then...
Democrats could be putting up health care bills, earmark reform, energy bills, all the things they campaign on. Instead they want to play politics. Unfortunately it is a reflection of the American people and their tolerance to accept politics as usual and still root for their "home team".
Am I supposed to cry you don't want to talk to me? Hallelujah! Here's a flash for you, I have gone past it being a philosophical discussion, the results of Neocon rule have been disastrous for our country, and let's just not gild the lilly, plain evil. You support an evil agenda, a force for the worst in man. A force that steals resources and power from the poor and middle class, to heap riches on the already rich. If you don't talk to me, it's one less source of frustration at your inability to see the obvious. One less voice of the unreasonable, one less pain in the ***. An intelligent conversation is impossible with anyone that refuses to see, refuses to hear, what is so obvious that seventy percent of your countrymen already know it. When you ever decide to have a conversation where you don't try to impress me with your Latin, because you have nothing else, I'm all ears.
The fact is, lobbyists just jettisoned their republican personnel, hired democratic ones, and started splashing money around like it was Christmas, and the same old tired political games started all over. It's corporate bribery, and it works. If they are good people when they go to Washington, it's not long till they join the rest. The drug companies launched a concerted effort early to defeat any real reform in the prescription Drug program, and it worked, it would appear. It goes on. Politicians are all corrupt, I sometimes think, but this past congress took it to an art form. Some of their pet projects (the dems), they are also saving for election issues, I think, as well. It sucks, I agree.
Very clear thought, and what it is all about. Somebody gets it, at least.
So basically, Bush has a shadow army operating in Iraq and Afghanistan, accountable to no one. Rep. Waxman has continually asked the Pentagon for information on Blackwater and some documentation concerning the labryinth of war contracts that have been signed since 2001, and has been basically stonewalled to date.
All we can know for sure right now, is that there are over 100,000 armed "private contractors" operating in Iraq and Afghanistan right now, whose activities are being funded by the American taxpayers, but are "classified", so the numbers of deaths and casualties go unreported.
Last December, a Blackwater employee (see: mercenary) shot and killed the bodyguard of an Iraqi politician inside the "Green Zone." There have been unofficial reports that the Blackwater employee had been drinking before the incident.
After the incident (see: murder), the employee was flown out of Iraq, presumably back to the US. He has not as of yet been charged in the shooting.
With an administration as corrupt and morally bankrupt as the Bush admin., it's hard to find much good in the things they do.
The only foreign policy actions of the Bush admin. that I can say I was 100% in agreement with was the toppling of the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan -- and yet even that was screwed up because the neocons in the administration had a hard-on for Iraq.
As for the thread topic -- "terrorism" (as I'm sure you know) is a tactic, not a nation or a group of people. You cannot win a "war on terror" any more than you can win a war on violence, or a war on ignorance.
The kicker is now the President says that our civil liberties are subject to curtailing for the duration of the "war on terror" -- which is by definition an unending war.
I think it's all a bunch of totalitarian b.s. A way to do an end-around the Constitution and the rule of law. Things like warrantless spying on American citizens, government secrecy and unaccountability, indefinite imprisonment without legal representation, and government advocation of torture are all being justified because of a vaguely defined "war on terror."
Orwell couldn't of imagined a more frightening scenario.
I recently posted an article asking, basically, the same question: what has the Bush administration done (domestically or internationally) that can be considered a success? I never got an answer.
Most Americans are, indeed, hard pressed to find anything this administration has done during the last 6+ years that could be called a "success."
Medicare Plan B? No Child? The deficit? The increased national debt ceiling? Illegal immigration? Katrina? Afghanistan? Iraq?
LIBERAL talking points. Guess you got the bulletin.
No terrorist attacks on American soil since 911. That's pretty good. How could you miss that? THE POINT HERE is that your head is so far up your ass, everything looks like shit.
Osama bin Laden established the al Qaeda (base) in Afghanistan which planned the attack on the US as we all know.
Al Qaeda's stated goal is to remove all the dictators and kingdoms in the middle east and replace them with a Wahhabi Sunni Islamic based theocracy.
Therefore it was and still is al Qaeda's goal to replace the dictator (Saddam) rule in Iraq and replace that wit a Wahhabi Sunni Islamic based Theocracy in Iraq.
This is only one of the Goals of the Osama bin Laden lead al Qaeda group.
Another set of their goals is to replace the Saudi and the Jordan kingdoms in the area with a Wahhabi Sunni based Theocracy.
Soviet war in Afghanistan ended February 1989 and was also seminal in the rise of Mujahideens in central Asia.
The World Trade Center bombing February 1993
The Kenya US Embassy bombing in August 1998. Why Kenya? It borders Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda and Tanzania.
Clinton Bombs Afghanistan August 1998 after learning that al Qaeda bombed the Kenya US Embassy.
Sudan 1983 Numieri introduces the Islamic Sharia law to Sudan. He was removed in 1985 by a military coup.
Sudan 1998 Clinton attacked the chemical plant.
Somalia October 1993 Black Hawk helicopter down, Clinton took the decision to withdraw his troops which left Somalia in March of the following year.
The Islamic Union in Somalia actual name is the Joint Islamic Courts or the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts started after the collapse of the Somali government in 1991 and is a Sharia based court.
What's going on here with all this?
Sharia law. That's what is going on.
The Students in Afghanistan that are called the Taliban impose the Sharia law in their theocracy.
Take the US out of the picture is a goal of the al Qaeda. As the people in the US don't like to be killed that is a good plan as they see it.
What government and where are al Qaeda looking at? Well not Iraq as the US helped them in that effort. But still the activities in the Kingdoms and other dictators in the region are in Jeopardy of being moved into the Sharia law realm.
What is the US doing, other than helping the al Qaeda meet their goals? Why we're farting around with Iraq and Iran which are both totally out of the picture at this time.
The mother of all terrorist attacks happens on Dubya's watch and that is considered a "success"?
There were no terrorist attacks after the initial WTC bombing during the Clinton years. By your logic, I guess that's "pretty good," too. Nice.
You can't point to a single unqualified success for the entire Dubya presidency, because there is none... sorry, Don, but you lose that one.
line four attack not attact. line 6 should read they not the.
sry been ill and I am tired
The minute we destroyed his army, we unleased years of pent up hatred among various factions that Hussein had held in check with his terrroristic form of government. We basically gave carte blanch to civil war. Now the war is being fought covertly now because we are there, but the minute we leave, it will break out, and many will die. There is nothing we can do to change that using our military. These factions have hated each other going back hundreds of years, and nothing we will do can stop that hatred. The so called "cut and run" rants from the right, are simply not correct...We already did the cutting, but it does not matter if we stay, or run or walk...we have aleady doomed many to death just by invading Iraq. By the way...I'm a conservative, and not partisan..they both stink!
So called terrorist in Iraq are not the 9/11 variety, they are people who either are fighting against our occupation, or against another faction in the country, or both. There is no way to win such a conflict, since they will lay low when necessary, and attack when allowed to. You have to remember that many of Saddams armed forces tortured and killed many civilians, and those folks are still around for the most part.
I would think the most prudent form of action would be to pull out of all occupied areas, and keep a large force in place to go back in if necessary. Something we should have probably done months ago!
Don't forget...if Bush vetoes the bill...he gets no money for his so called war...which is now an occupation....The all powerful leader will be begging for money for his illegal war then...or he will have to withdraw the troops...seems like dems are not so dumb...at least at this moment in time...
You folks who ridicule the house crack me up, they control the money! Keep laughing all the way to no bank! Dems can cut all war spending in an instant, and they should....this occupation is the worst conceive foreign plan in a very long time...
That's about all one can say about winning a war.
You win the war, then you own the country.
It's up to Bush to put it back together and no one else.
And Bush's incompetence has let the US to where we are at this time.
This war is not a United States was as no one other than the military and the Bush administration is involved. There is no sacrifice to be given and the American public is not involved, only Bush and the military.
Therefore, it is only up to His Imperial Incompetence with out any help from the Democrats or the public to fix Iraq.
No faction in the middle east is really our ally any more, and we have lost the support of many countries around the world. It is really hard to say we are fighting a global war on teror, when we ourselves have become terrorists!!! Just ask the Iraqi mom's and dad's who have lost their babies, and children due to our invasion.
Highly delusional.
Are you actually GWB? I ask that because your vocabulary is about as good as his. Just answer this one question with something intelligent for once. Why are we in Iraq? The 9/11 terrorists had nothing to do with Iraq. The global war on terror needs to be fought at home first. If you don't think many Iraqis think we are terrorizing their country, then you must not watch anything but Faux News.
Obviously you are a neo-con sheep who follows his shepperd with no questions asked. I know I can't change your mind Mr. Cheney, but at least I know how to use the English language. I'm all for hunting down real terrorists, but not fake wars started for no reason at all. We have already caused the deaths of at least 30 times the number who died in 9/11, and for nothing (in Iraq). If you don't think terrorists are already here, then check your local news! Iraq is nothing more than a failed power grab by the US. We have had many of those mistakes in the past. Hmmm..let's see...we supported Saddam Hussein! And let's not forget the Shah of Iran, and Bin Laden!!!....etc...The bottom line is that the Congress and the American public were lied to about the reasons to attack Iraq...why do we call it Operation Iraqi Freedom now? The US government does not give a rat's ass about any Iraqi, and their freedom. I know, I'm so delusional!! ~laugh~ I see you looked up the correct spelling for "delusional"! I was wondering what dillusional was! ~laugh~ Maybe picklelusional?
The real non-Patriots, are the ones who fabricate lies that send our precious soldiers into conflicts with no real reason, and no winnable solution. You have to admit that Bush completely had no idea what he was doing by invading Iraq. He just recently learned there are different factions there who have hated each other for the last 1000 years! George Dubbaya...still has not mastered the English language...and you really want to trust our country to a leader who can't speak our language? Is that a crack pipe I see next to your guitar?
I'm guessing you are actually Cheney, but posing as Bush, because you are one ignorant person! Cheney is very smart...similar to Hitler in many ways.
I refuse to answer due to my distaste for repetition.
I'll restate: Highly delusional.
Now they are the true American's- Dick would be so proud -
though I doubt if Erlicman & Halderman would agree.
Happy Unbirthday and best regards,
Do want to buy a nicer guitar?