Comments Posted By bill
Displaying 51 To 59 Of 59 Comments
ABLE DANGER GETS SOME LEGS...MAYBE
Your shredding party(s) is probably quite accurate. The political class first and foremost defends itself from attack, regardless the party affiliation. It's not hard to speculate that the DOD lawyers involved with blocking AD from talking to the FBI were also good with a shredder.
I would add to your analysis the very suspicious behavior of 9/11 Commission members to the AD revelations, they have been less than candid and their press releases usualy stand for less than a day's scrutiny, before becoming inoperative. Someone appears to be hiding something.
I think the 9/11 report fiddled the Atta timeline to discredit the reports of AQ meeting up with Iraqi agents in Prague. It also gives reason to why AD was left out of the 9/11 final report.
If the shredding party(s) were effective, it may never be possible to get to the truth -- But Congress should try by convening hearings ASAP. If you really want to fix the systemic problems, you need an absolute understanding of what failed. People's lives are in the balance.
The blogs need to run this until we know the truth, the leftist-MSM isn't going to, since doing so will inflict damage on the political class which has already signed off on the 9/11 version of the truth. As an aside is this what Dean meant when he talked about truth versioning?
Comment Posted By bill On 23.08.2005 @ 09:50
BAINBRIDGE: A THOUGHTFUL BUT FLAWED CRITIQUE OF THE WAR
Beth-- I agree that arbitrary timelines are foolish, and that is most clearly demonstrated by the Administration's counter-productive, slavish clinging to the election/constitution timetable which is today resulting in a nonviable constitution for the Islamic Republic of Iraq (aka Greater Iran).
Insisting on holding the elections before his State of the Union address (again for domestic political consumption) when even the White House admitted that large portions of the country weren't secure enough to even have a legitimate vote -- and that the entire country was so unstable that candidates couldn't even reveal their NAMES, much less campaign like an actual democracy -- assured that the Sunnis would be shut out of the government (which has, as you may have noticed, INCREASED the violence in Iraq, not lessened it).
Now the Shiites are poised to ram though their theocratic constitution, which will only fuel the Sunni insurgency and delegitimized the new government.
Yes, clinging to timetables in spite of realities IS stupid, Beth. You should write to the White House and remind them of that, because their devotion to arbitrary deadlines is going to cost a lot more American lives.
Comment Posted By Bill On 22.08.2005 @ 11:14
We have to fight this war to WIN!
Trying to win this war on the cheap ISN'T WORKING. That much is clear. The reason so many conservatives are throwing up their hands and joining the "Troops Out Now" camp is frustration at the White House's lack of resolve in doing what's necessary to win on the ground in Iraq.
Sending too few troops with inadequate equipment was the first blunder. Refusal to establish order and allowing the looting of hospitals, government ministries, public utilities and ammo dumps was the second catastrophic mistake. Cutting military benefits and veterans programs has also eroded our military capacity. And the failure to articulate any strategy, objectives or metrics for success is causing the general public to turn against what is increasingly starting to look like a PR campaign with more hollow talking points that substance.
Bush's political advisors are controling our war policy, not the military. That's a recipe for defeat.
If you support the President and the war effort, you should be pressing Bush to free himself from the political hacks and give the commanders in trhe field what they say they need -- namely more troops and better equipment.
Continued failure to do that will only increase opposition and turn ever more war supporters into fed-up Out-Nowers.
Comment Posted By Bill On 22.08.2005 @ 11:02
TJ-- "Bill said “undeniably leading to disaster†... I would argue that it is very deniable, in fact – that is most of the purpose of this post, no?"
The current "strategy" is destroying our volunteer military, establishing an Islamic Republic allied with Iran and making the US look weak, cruel and incompetent. That's pretty much a disaster in the eyes of any American patriot.
"Cutler – exactly. While in hindsight perhaps the military should not have been disbanded (retooled / screened) ... at the time, with what we knew – I agree that is was the correct action."
Disbanding the Iraqi army sent thousands of young men home with plenty of guns, lots of resentment and no jobs. That was patently stupid and directly resulted in the current insurgency that's wearing down our troops just like the mujihadeen bled the Soviets dry in Afghanistan. It's ridiculous to suggest that it ever made sense. The more excuses you make for past incompetence the more you harm the war effort going forward.
TJ, Cutler, you need to get your heads straight and support the troops. Defending failed strategies for political reasons is what's losing this war.
Comment Posted By Bill On 22.08.2005 @ 08:26
ABLE DANGER, THE WALL, AND WACO
The last hope for the Clinton spin machine to save the sinking USS Clinton Legacy is to blame it on the Pentagon, a building in Washinton.
Comment Posted By bill On 18.08.2005 @ 10:33
I want to get to the bottom of the mistakes, whoever made them.
I also have some demands . . .
1. I want Able Danger back in action.
2. I want some assurances that the Gorelick wall has been taken down.
3. I want to know when we are going to secure our borders. We don't need any walk-in nukes.
The next attack could be much bigger than the first. While the first debacle was Clinton's this time it's on all our watches -- since we now know what the terroist can do.
Comment Posted By bill On 17.08.2005 @ 17:29
To believe that all the evil that came out on 9/11 was caused by a few months of the Bush Presidency is a stretch. President Clinton didn't care a wit about fighting terror, he demonstrated it over and over again.
Stay down, here come the chickens, and they want their roost back :)
Comment Posted By bill On 17.08.2005 @ 09:47
WHY WE WILL NEVER KNOW THE WHOLE TRUTH ABOUT ABLE DANGER
I think that having a seperation of intelligence agancies and what they can do with what they find is a good thing -- to some extent. You don't want the CIA just randomly spying on citizens. But on the other hand, you don't want terrorist to be free to do what the 9/11 hijackers did.
It might be proper that Intel go to a court/judge for review before being handed to the FBI, like what happens with organized crime now.
It's a delicate balance, freedom and finding the bad guys.
Does anyone know what the Patriot Act says about this, if anything?
Comment Posted By bill On 17.08.2005 @ 17:35
The ability of the establishment press to tear Shaffer up may not succeed. The media-Party isnt what it used to be. Doesn't mean they aren't going to try, but ...
I wonder if this guy is Ollie North #2 -- that would be a good thing.
As minimum we need answers, under oath. Gorelick should be the first witness.
Comment Posted By bill On 17.08.2005 @ 09:43
