Previous Related Posts:
Berghazi: Flip-Flopping Wingnuts Trash Bergdahl
Armchair Chickenhawks say Obama is "Weak" and "Feckless" on Russia
Obama Wins on Syria, With Media Derp
Donald Rumsfeld: Blood-Gargling Psychopath
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As Iraq crumbles into chaos, the Neocons are losing their minds again. They don't want Obama to get credit for ending the wars, and they hate him for the Benghazi flop, so they are blaming him for the new chaos in the Middle East. And they seem to want our country to get dragged into ALL the conflicts there, no matter what the consequences. Why exactly? Perhaps they love death and destruction? Senility? Brain Damage? They want another war so they can blame Hillary when she runs for President? The possibilities are endless.
And for some reason the media is dragging up the whole W. Bush administration to talk about it as if anyone cares what they think! Plus Mitt Romneyshambles, the Horses and Bayonets Guy.
Our peace-loving President is trying to be the voice of reason. Here is what he said last Friday:
We will not be sending U.S. troops back into combat in Iraq, but I have asked my national security team to prepare a range of other options that could help support Iraqi security forces, and I’ll be reviewing those options in the days ahead.
. . . We’re also going to pursue intensive diplomacy throughout this period both inside of Iraq and across the region, because there’s never going to be stability in Iraq or the broader region unless there are political outcomes that allow people to resolve their differences peacefully without resorting to war or relying on the United States military.
Another peace-lover is Shepard Smith of Fox News, who had this reaction to his colleagues sounding the alarm for yet another war:
Are we about to be drawn back into a conflict in Iraq?" Smith asked. "The same people who 12 years ago told us this will be quick, this will be easy, this will be inexpensive, they will see us as liberators, it's the right thing to do, are now telling us, 'It's the right thing to do.' What's the endgame? Who's thought this through?
Shep Smith: The same people who were wrong about Iraq now want us to go back (VIDEO) http://t.co/rLYX8eZkGm pic.twitter.com/p3dgbwBsvA
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) June 13, 2014
Who has thought this through? Apparently no one, but that won't keep them from speaking their minds. And in fact the media is inviting them to do it. Rachel Maddow had this to say:
It is very frustrating to see that this is the way we handle debates about foreign policy in this country. We take people who were so provably, terribly wrong and bring them back and treat them like experts on the very subject they have been so wrong about. It is maddening. It is frustrating.
If you have been frustrated by seeing all these Iraq War architects and cheerleaders back out there doing it again with no accountability you are not alone in your frustration.
. . . Hey Sunday shows! Hey op-ed pages! Hey cable news! Hey everybody! We know you are tempted to keep booking these yahoos on these subjects, but if you keep turning to the people who were famously wrong about Iraq to ask them about what to do about Iraq, you at least will be laughed at. And you will be embarrassed that you did this. And you will eventually have to apologize or at least explain yourself for why you thought Bill Kristol should be explaining what to do now. We can see what you’re doing, and it’s funny, but not in a good way.
John McCain
Everybody in his national security team, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, ought to be replaced. It's a colossal failure of American security policy.
. . . Lindsey Graham and John McCain were right. Our failure to leave forces on Iraq is why Sen. Graham and I predicted this would happen.
~ Senator John McCain R-AZ, so excited he is talking in third person about himself
The John McCain military plan for America is the same as the John McCain media strategy. Be everywhere — forever.
~ Jon Stewart on The Daily Show
With Iraq falling apart so rapidly, Jon Stewart was forced to bring back the old "MESS O'POTAMIA" segment http://t.co/amGPYVofj4
— HuffPostComedy (@HuffPostComedy) June 13, 2014
John McCain has made some really bad Predictions on Iraq
~ Via Chris Hayes on MSNBC
- They Sent Us The Anthrax
- The Iraqi People will treat us as Liberators
- Iraqis will pay for post-Saddam Era
- There's No history of violence between Sunnis and Shias
- War will be Brief
- There will be Evidence of Weapons of Mass Destruction
- President Bush will be Justified
REMINDER: MAP of All The Countries Republican Leader John McCain Has Said The United States Should Attack: pic.twitter.com/aodVwDO24Z
— The Baxter Bean (@TheBaxterBean) June 12, 2014
If buffoon @SenJohnMcCain says "Petraeus won Iraq war" , why is he asking us to go back now? http://t.co/xBlPY9R9yN #warhaslimits #GOP
— Howling Blue (@CryinAllTheTime) June 13, 2014
John McCain, do you think we are dumb? by @zizii2 -> http://t.co/ppB7uyA9sh pic.twitter.com/c663T4Xhoy
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) June 13, 2014
RT @JoyAnnReid Has there ever been a war John McCain is willing to see end? pic.twitter.com/WvswZ5WJ4X
— Kennett Area Dems (@KennettDems) June 13, 2014
Irony: McCain lauds Bush for troops out of Iraq & victory, bashes Obama for troops out of Iraq & loss. @TheDailyShow pic.twitter.com/1O7xKztryP
— Col. Morris Davis (@ColMorrisDavis) June 17, 2014
"Why does media run to #JohnMcCain? - You know he'll say 'Go to #War." #Iraq #inners @GregoryMeeks pic.twitter.com/yWiinE6DDX
— Jeanne K. (@SnarkAmendment) June 17, 2014
Says the guy who picked Palin RT @Mediaite: McCain to Obama: Fire Your Entire National Security Staff http://t.co/qXDbycLXqK (VIDEO)
— Rita A (@ritaag) June 12, 2014
Lindsey Graham:
We’ve got another Benghazi in the making here. What I heard in there scared the hell out of me.
~ Senator Lindsey Graham, R-SC
Lindsey, #Benghazi isn't in Iraq. Get a map, dude. @GrahamBlog #tcot
— Pedantic Paul Ryan (@PedanticPaul) June 13, 2014
Sen. Lindsey Graham believes the Empire built the Death Star and destroyed Alderaan because of Benghazi. #Fact #StarWars
— MATTY ICE (@MattyIceAZ) June 15, 2014
Lindsey Graham, the other Mrs John McCain, also can't wait to start bombing Iraq, Syria, Fort Sumter, whatever. #inners
— Harold Itzkowitz (@HaroldItz) June 17, 2014
I was waiting for Lindsey Graham to say, "The only thing that can stop an Islamic extremist with a gun is an American with a gun" #inners
— Patrice Gonzalez (@SoclyXceptional) June 17, 2014
Sen Lindsey Graham to the American people: ‘I know you’re war-weary, but ..MORE SHOULD GO DIE! #veterans... http://t.co/XCnR0jJZCi
— LOrion (@LOrion) June 14, 2014
Tony Blair
The reality is that the whole of the Middle East and beyond is going through a huge, agonising and protracted transition. We have to liberate ourselves from the notion that ‘we’ have caused this. We haven't. We can argue as to whether our policies at points have helped or not; and whether action or inaction is the best policy and there is a lot to be said on both sides. But the fundamental cause of the crisis lies within the region not outside it.
~ Tony Blair, Former British Prime Minister
I have come to the conclusion that Tony Blair has finally gone mad. He wrote an essay published last week that struck me as unhinged in its refusal to face facts. In discussing the disaster of modern Iraq he made assertions that are so jaw-droppingly and breathtakingly at variance with reality that he surely needs professional psychiatric help.
. . . Somebody needs to get on to Tony Blair and tell him to put a sock in it - or at least to accept the reality of the disaster he helped to engender. Then he might be worth hearing. The truth shall set you free, Tony.
~ Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/tony-blair-is-mad-to-deny-iraq-was-a-tragic-error-20140616-zs97h.html#ixzz34tlUalWm
Tony Blair Loved Invading Iraq, Is History's Politest Greatest Monster http://t.co/8AasKjqr0y
— Wonkette (@Wonkette) June 16, 2014
Well, being this stupid explains a lot of dead soldiers: Tony Blair: 'We didn't cause Iraq crisis' http://t.co/GbkLCkBsKV #tcot #p2
— RiskyLiberal (@RiskyLiberal) June 15, 2014
At least Tony Blair seems somewhat disturbed by current events. Dubya is probably painting puppies #inners @allinwithchris
— irene haralabatos (@rini6) June 17, 2014
bush's top enabler, tony blair, tries to play "not it" with the invasion of iraq http://t.co/KCG82fMAaI aint working, blair
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) June 15, 2014
In Daily Mail: Blair "is said to live in dread of people trying to perform a citizen's arrest on him". #ArrestBlair http://t.co/9mDmmmHLpR.
— GeorgeMonbiot (@GeorgeMonbiot) June 17, 2014
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Mitt Romney
Tragically, all we’ve fought for in Iraq, all that 4,500 American lives were shed to gain, is on the cusp, potentially, of vanishing.
. . . I lost the election. We lost the election. But I and we will continue to fight.”
~ Mittster Romney at his Mormon "Summit" in Park City, Utah
So Daddy Warbucks @MittRomney is saying if he was President he would have sent American troops to Russia and Iraq?
— Political Nerd (@Sttbs73) June 15, 2014
No @MittRomney. YOU didn't fight in Iraq & your 5 able-bodied sons didn't either. You said they "served" your #FAILED campaigns. So #STFU!
— Only4RM (@Only4RM) June 15, 2014
#Mitt's back on the sidelines, a kibitzing pain His #Iraq solution? Let's send over #Bain! pic.twitter.com/aDMxZvJ79U
— cassandracarolina (@cassandra17lina) June 16, 2014
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Bill Kristol:
It's a disaster made possibly by our ridiculous and total withdrawal from Iraq in 2011.
. . . President Obama said two days before election day, in 2012, Iraq is on the path of defeat, the war in Iraq is over. That was enough to get him re-elected. Iraq is on the path of defeat. Neither is true. It's a disaster for our country.
~ Conservative Bill Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard
Kristol has been wrong about literally everything — most of all, Iraq.
I’d give him credit for tenacity if he wasn’t so tenaciously clinging to an idea that led to one of the most horrifying foreign policy blunders in modern history.
~ Bob Cesca on The Daily Banter
Update: Kristol vs. Heileman on Morning Joe
If [Obama] goes on TV and says, ‘This is a strategic crisis for the reasons I’m going to lay out here. We have to do something no one wants to do, which is to go back in with a lot of air power and special forces and maybe a few conventional troops to help stabilize the situation. We cannot allow an al Qaeda-backed group to dominate one part of the Middle East and Iran and Iranian-backed groups to dominate another part of the Middle East. It’s an unacceptable threat to us.’ He would have support.
~ Bill Kristol on Morning Joe, 6-17-2014
Bill’s notion, with all due respect, is fantastical. As in, absurd.
I think it's ridiculous. This is American blood you're talking about! You want to send people into another intervention in which most people in the country believe that this is a centuries-old sectarian violence that we have no place and no ability to solve!
. . . There is war weariness in this country, whether you like it or not. I know you don’t have the weariness for war, but the country does.
~ John Heileman on Morning Joe
"[The Iraq war] is going to be a two-month war not an eight-year war." -- William Kristol, Super Genius
— Gus (@Gus_802) June 16, 2014
William Kristol must be wetting his pants with excitement over the opportunity to be completely wrong about Iraq all over again.
— Jeff Tiedrich (@jefftiedrich) June 16, 2014
I see Paul Bremmer and William Kristol have now weighed in with their advice for Iraq. Can we dig up Christopher Hitchens’ corpse?
— Joshua Holland (@JoshuaHol) June 17, 2014
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Paul Wolfowitz
This is more than just the obscure Shia/Sunni conflict. This is al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda is not on the road of defeat, al-Qaeda is on the march. Not just in Iraq and Syria and we have real enemies in the US and what we should be looking for friends. I think when we stick with our friends and those friends are not always perfect, but we stuck with the Kurds for twenty years. Northern Iraq, Kurdistan is a success story. We stuck with them South Korea for sixty years. South Korea is a miracle story if we walked away from that country in 1953, that country was a basket case.
~ Paul Wolfowitz on Meet the Press
(HUH?)
The “obscure Shia/Sunni conflict”? There is no hell hot enough for these people.
~ Scholars and Rogues Blog
"The truth is that for reasons that have a lot to do with the U.S. government bureaucracy, we settled on the one issue that everyone could agree on, which was weapons of mass destruction, as the core reason." – Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, during a "Vanity Fair" interview, May 28, 2003
~ Via IBTimes
Mother Jones: FLASHBACK: Remember When Paul Wolfowitz Said Not to Worry About Sectarian Violence in Iraq? http://t.co/TRmhm1UwYR #Iraq
— Iraq Monitor (@IraqMonitor) June 17, 2014
WHY IS PAUL WOLFOWITZ ON MY TV DOING ANYTHING OTHER THAT APOLOGIZING TO THE UNITED STATES MILITARY AND THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ?!
— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) June 17, 2014
Ari Fleischer:
Summary: We did nothing in Syria. We'll do next to nothing in Iraq.
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) June 13, 2014
Regardless of what anyone thinks of going into Iraq in 2002, it's a tragedy that the successes of the 2007 surge have been lost & abandoned.
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) June 13, 2014
(Ahem, the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003.)
@TPM Thanks for pointing it out. Didn't forget, but did hit wrong key.
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) June 13, 2014
Those who forget history are doomed to become US press secretary: http://t.co/gQsNjTTmWs
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) June 13, 2014
.@TPM nah I think @AriFleischer's mistake was more along the lines of a Freudian slip. They wanted to invade from day one.
— A.J. Carrillo (@ajcarrillo) June 13, 2014
@P0TUS @vlramirez12 My column: WHY I HOPE ARI FLEISCHER IS KIDNAPPED BY A SUNNI MILITANT: http://t.co/BTAct2onoi #iraq #tcot
— Mike Caccioppoli (@CaccioppoliMike) June 17, 2014
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