Comments Posted By Richard Bottoms
Displaying 101 To 110 Of 362 Comments
The “good war” didn’t look so good with a change in Administrations, eh?
What is this, World of Warcraft?
The dead soldiers are still dead, the billions still spent and surprise, the Democrats are reluctant to give an open ended commitment to continue a war in a country headed by a corrupt, sockpuppet leader whose brother is one of the largest opium dealer in the world.
Color me shocked.
Damn straight they are going demand details and assurances that this is worth the new dead this "surge" will produce among our troops and the Afghan people too. That's their job.
Meanwhile the Republicans will paint this as weakness on Obama part for not immediately saying yes and actually asking for metrics, options, and explanations.
How is it that president Bush, who got exactly everything he asked for, virtually no questions asked for eight years, FAILED to move the needle even a little bit on this war? And, how do we avoid asking exactly those same questions two years from now.
Good on Obama for his measured response and thoughtful approach.
Comment Posted By Richard bottoms On 2.12.2009 @ 16:10
Most Democrats, of course, being world class liars and hypocrites (”Afghanistan is the good war”, ad nauseum) want a withdrawal.
You must be quoting from EIGHT years ago. Because that's when this fiasco began and not too soon after Shrub started screwing it up by diverting resources to Iraq.
What they are sleptical about is "Victory", which as anyone who really knows something about the region understands it won;t be anything like VE or VJ day.
Victory will be successfully containing the Taliban because we sure as shooting won't ever score a pure military defeat short of sending several million troops over there to do it.
The least worst option is degrade the Taliban, setup containment and leave. Hopefully turn their farmers to producing wheat instead of poppies in greater numbers and make Kabul and a few other urban areas safe. That's it.
Even that limited amount of work needed to overcome Bush's ADD was too much so we skipped out less than two years into the war and made in much harder and very much more expensive to accomplish to little we can do even in the best of scenarios.
These people live there, they have lived there for 1,000 years and will still be there centuries after we've gone. Time is most certainly on their side.
Comment Posted By Richard bottoms On 2.12.2009 @ 14:52
THE GRAHAM-DeMINT AXIS OF THE GOP
Destination DeMint: Over a cliff.
And judging by Palin's book sales, they are more than willing to buy an anvil to take along for the ride.
I am certainly quite politically content these days.
Comment Posted By Richard bottoms On 29.11.2009 @ 12:01
IT'S STILL A GOOD IDEA TO REDUCE CO2 EMISSIONS
The previous two comments answer your question. Anti-science is now a legitimate conservative position for some. Resistance to logic and reason is part of it but beyond that, it is suspicion and paranoia about those who choose to think beyond talking points. They simply don’t trust people who aren’t as ignorant as they are.
ed.
So what is your answer to this problem?
Mine is to not vote for Republicans based on a belief that this is the true face of the party, it's juts now becoming apparent to others who have supported the GOP.
No snark intended when I say, sounds like you're in a bit of a jam.
I won't pretend I'm heartbroken over the turn of events as to how it relates to presidential politics.
So while I may not want the loyal opposition to win, I would want the opposition party to be sane.
Everything is a binary choice. Either Global Warming is a complete made up hoax and thus no efforts to deal with C02 pollution need be undertaken, or liberals destroy capitalism to fix it.
The choices themselves in the GOP parlance are no choices at all.
Good luck. Seriously. It will help the country for you and others to fix the insanity that has gripped your party.
Comment Posted By Richard bottoms On 28.11.2009 @ 15:45
ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE SCIENCE ISN'T 'SETTLED?'
The Dems have no clue what’s coming. I honestly believe there will be a primary challenge to Obama. And hopefully we can get our country back from these liars.
I hear you. But, I've heard the Easter Bunny lives on the Island of Misfit Toys as well, but I doubt that's true either.
Primary challenge to a sitting president who brought the party back from the wilderness?
Yeah right.
How's the search for that birth certificate going?
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
Comment Posted By Richard bottoms On 26.11.2009 @ 14:15
THE ABSOLUTE MORAL AUTHORITY TO ACT LIKE AN ASS
I wish thank patriotic veterans (especially Richard with whom I often disagree) for having defended our country. (I am also very proud of my son currently serving in the USMC.)
I'm honored and like most vets all we want is for this still in the service to be treated well. Better pay, sufficient support for their families and medical care their doesn't worry about the bottom line for the maimed & injured.
And of course that we leaders making decisions with care and deliberation o that every battle is one that absolutely had to happen.
There is no military solution in Afghanistan.
The only least worst outcome is buying time to get Karzai to lessen the corruption, move the agricultural base away from opium a little bit and set the stage for Special Forces to carry on the main fighting as we prepare to draw down the force.
That means an increase now. It is politically and militarily unavoidable.
Comment Posted By Richard bottoms On 26.11.2009 @ 00:45
Our enemies are not in the deserts of Iraq of the mountains of Afghanistan -
No, they are in the mountains of Afghanistan, but it may be two or three years before politically Obama can orient the United States into living with them.
Containment isn't possible until he gives the Republicans their "surge". They blew Afghanistan and will fight to the death no to have to admit it.
There is the tin sliver of a possibility that things might get better, but by giving the military exactly what they say they want right now he will be in a position to make other arrangements down the road.
Comment Posted By Richard bottoms On 25.11.2009 @ 20:46
Its a tremendously slippery slope, and I don’t have the discipline to resist that “No, fu@k YOU” behavior. My hat’s off to anybody that can.
I see no contradiction between enjoying Dirty Harry, Jack Bauer, or even Vic Mackey taking a phone book to a molester's head in the interrogation room of his fictional station-house. The operative word being fictional.
Mai Lai, the Bhagram death of Dilawar, Abu Gharib, all come from the same place. Each poisons the soul of the fighting men and women involved and tarnishes that which so many have died for, the ideals of honor and freedom.
We should neither want, nor do we need such behavior, our honor and the reputation of the American Fighting Man are mighty weapons against the extremists.
Comment Posted By Richard bottoms On 25.11.2009 @ 15:47
I know many GIs enjoyed their service in Germany, all the good food, beer and women in a safe, clean environment (smile).
Reasonably safe. We had the Bader-Meinhof gang kidnapping soldiers and blowing up cars for quite a while. I am still am quite leery of unattended packages in public places.
Comment Posted By Richard bottoms On 25.11.2009 @ 14:30
Anyway, I didn’t like service much, that was the Cold War and you pretty much sat around doing nothing but luckily I worked in a hospital.
Coolest place we ever deployed in Germany was Vogelsang. I got to setup my satellite terminal right by the big stone slab with the heroic German youth on it. His genitalia were shot off long ago by Allied Troops.
Comment Posted By Richard bottoms On 25.11.2009 @ 14:07
