Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

I have tried to resist politics lately, but with the latests Presidential comments, "I cant stands it no more."

rantMode = true;

Today W gave a speech about al Qaeda being the main threat to US troops in Iraq and how "flawed logic that terror is caused by American actions" is really cramping his style. Rather than actually dealing with the problem, what is the tack this administration takes?

Yeah, repeat the words "al Qaeda" and "Iraq" in as many sentences as you can, as often as you can. Bush said al Qaeda 93 times in his 29 minute speech (hell boys, over 3 al Qaeda's a minute is good even for W).

This completely stupid President (description well earned, come on), and his entire entourage of religio-political clowns need to get a goddamn clue. Let's face it, whether or not you want to pull out troops, which itself is something to actually debate, pro and con, the reasons for or against are NOT terrorism as a threat to the US from Iraq? Al Qaeda in Iraq was IN POINT OF FACT formed after the invasion. It's a convenient place for religious nutjobs from a different religion with a better God (per them) to take pot shots at US troops and other US resources. It's close to Pakistan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, etc - where the fuckers are really from. Yet we don't really pursue them in those places? "Al Qaeda in Iraq" is "in . . . Iraq" as W puts it, he just doesn't give himself the deserved credit of putting them there AT ALL.

He has the balls to invoke "flawed logic"? He has been as wrong as it is possible to be about every foreign policy move he has made, period. Pakistan is our big ally? We move many of the troops from Afghanistan to Iraq? Then we lie about evidence for WMD (whether or not the weapons were ever there, we lied about having evidence for their existence, and HELL NO, it was not faulty intelligence, it was faulty political appointees parsing intelligence they way they wanted it to turn out - see Greg Theilman case), then we deny military benefits, can't get equipment, etc, and "Mission Accomplished?".

Even some stupid blogger could have predicted before the war that invading Iraq would reduce the US standing all over the world, weaken the US position when it comes to TRULY fighting terrorism (or dealing with other situations) in innumerable ways (the 2006 NIE report stated in no uncertain terms "the American invasion and occupation of Iraq has helped spawn a new generation of Islamic radicalism and that the overall terrorist threat has grown").

Every single drop of actual rational thought and analysis about Iraq has resulted in the same conclusion, MORE TERRORISM, and more of a motive. Now the President wants to talk about flawed logic . . . oh fuck it, we all seem to say, we all have "fuck up fatigue" (as Bill Maher puts it) with this guy. We all throw up our hands and say what the hell did you expect, it's BUSH?

Remember this shit the next time you vote, please. We can't afford anymore of this politicized cowboy "repeat it till they buy it regardless of the facts" based foreign policy (actually we are beyond not being able to afford it, we are now in debt for another 50 years or more I fear - in terms of motives and will in the Arab and Muslim world at our actions and statements, not "flawed logic" at all). The Republicans want to sell you fear, well hell, now there actually IS SOMETHING to sell. Get some outrage. It doesn't matter what party, lets bring back real discussions, rationale, reasoning, in short, actual thinking - over slogans and just repeating shit until people are so tired of pointing out it's nonsense that they give up. (And no, the current Democratic Congress is not much better, but that's the point, let's really look for issues and ideas, and even NUANCED ideas, rather than any party line.)