Fmr. Defense Secretary blames Obama for ignoring his advice in Iraq

[airdvr 200]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/03/politics/panetta-blames-obama/index.html

Quote

"To this day, I believe that a small U.S. troop presence in Iraq could have effectively advised the Iraqi military on how to deal with al-Qaeda's resurgence and the sectarian violence that has engulfed the country," Panetta writes in his upcoming autobiography, due out next week.

Obama's legacy will be failed opportunities and a non-existent foreign policy. Be interested to know what he has to say about the complete clusterfuck that is now Syria.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[Bolas 5]

Newsflash: There is no "right" answer for the Middle East. No good decisions.

GTFO is not a right answer either, but at least it keeps us from making more bad decisions there.

Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting
If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

[SkyDekker 1,154]

Quote

His new book, "Worthy Fights" is due out October 7th.

lol

"I agreed with Obama" probably won't sell the same amount of books.

[rushmc 18]

SkyDekker

Quote

His new book, "Worthy Fights" is due out October 7th.

lol

"I agreed with Obama" probably won't sell the same amount of books.

No one book can ever fully document the faliures that this president is known and will be known for

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[SkyDekker 1,154]

rushmc

***

Quote

His new book, "Worthy Fights" is due out October 7th.

lol

"I agreed with Obama" probably won't sell the same amount of books.

No one book can ever fully document the faliures that this president is known and will be known for

Sure it can be done. Bush will write the book, Blaze TV will comment how it is the complete version and you will have your one book to go by!

[rehmwa 2]

SkyDekker

Sure it can be done. Bush will write the book,

that must have been really difficult for you to admit he knows how to read and write--------

happy Friday

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[SkyDekker 1,154]

rehmwa

***Sure it can be done. Bush will write the book,

that must have been really difficult for you to admit he knows how to read and write--------

happy Friday

I thought it was a given that there would have to be a ghost writer

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

[billvon 2,475]

He agrees with the most interesting man in the world.

[wayneflorida 0]

Bolas

Newsflash: There is no "right" answer for the Middle East. No good decisions.

GTFO is not a right answer either, but at least it keeps us from making more bad decisions there.

Yep.

One also has to remember these guys (Iraq Army) had good equipment and good training. Yet they just folded.

Right now Iraq is just a test range for our F22's.

[Andy9o8 0]

SkyDekker

Quote

His new book, "Worthy Fights" is due out October 7th.

lol

"I agreed with Obama" probably won't sell the same amount of books.

This.
For decades, departing a President's administration, and then writing a book critical of the President, has been a Washington cottage industry. It's how they cash in after they leave public office. Well, partly how. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.

[regulator 0]

My question is...what kind of truly boring ass people are going to read a book about the memoirs of an ex president.

[Andy9o8 0]

regulator

My question is...what kind of truly boring ass people are going to read a book about the memoirs of an ex president.

Well, aside from journalists, you have to be interested in that stuff in the first place, just like sports books are generally read by... sports fans. Students, scholars and aficionados of history, politics, government, biography, etc. If you go to a Barnes & Noble, it's the people who read the stuff in the History, Politics and Biography section.

Some such memoirs are deadly boring, but that's the fault of the writing. Some, if written well, can be fascinating. (Even if self-serving, these things are autobiographical, by people who are witnesses to and participants in history.) If, you know, you like that stuff.

[regulator 0]

Well more specifically who would want to read obama's memoirs...your know the book that will be really thin with lots of pictures because he didn't succeed in anything other than going on lots of golfing trips.

[billvon 2,475]

>your know the book that will be really thin with lots of pictures because he didn't
>succeed in anything other than going on lots of golfing trips.

Exactly. He has done NOTHING.

'Cept for killing Osama bin Laden. And the recovery. But other than that . . .

"Obamacare!"

Oh, yeah, obviously Obamacare. I mean that goes without saying, has his bloody name in it, doesn't it? But apart from killiing Osama, the recovery, Obamacare . . . .

"The auto industry bailout!"

Well, OK. But . . .

"The Ebola relief effort."
"Got rid of don't-ask don't-tell!"

All right, all right, but apart from killiing Osama, the recovery, Obamacare, the auto industry bailout, Ebola relief and gay rights what has Obama ever done for anyone?

"Ended torture as a . . . "

Oh shut up!

[airdvr 200]

He had little to do with killing OBL. How many bad guys do you think we'll get in Iraq and Syria now?

The paltry recovery was bought and well, not paid for as of yet by the citizenry of the US. He is good at spending other people's money.

Obamacare?...you say that as if its a good thing

Auto industry bailout was nothing more than a payback for his union friends.

Ebola? Please. In 2010 he dismantled an anti ebola effort. The only reason he is attentive now is it rhymes with his last name.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[jakee 1,280]

regulator

My question is...what kind of truly boring ass people are going to read a book about the memoirs of an ex president.

People who are interested in how things work?

Think about it - even if you believe Obama is the devil incarnate, if he wrote an accurate, truthful account of how and why he did the things he did during his presidency then how could that be boring subject matter?

Julius Caesar wrote Conquest of Gaul and Civil War (both highly selective self serving accounts) and they were required reading in any civics related education for nearly 2,000 years. So when did curiosity about anything more complex than the Yearbook photo's of American Idol contestants become worthy of derision?

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[SkyDekker 1,154]

Quote

So when did curiosity about anything more complex than the Yearbook photo's of American Idol contestants become worthy of derision?

Sorry, can't answer that question. Need a TV or Radio personality to tell me first.

[JerryBaumchen 1,081]

Hi Andy,

Re: Fmr. Defense Secretary blames Obama

I was just up at the grocery store and there it was in blaring headlines:

OBAMA'S MAID TELLS ALL

I cannot wait for it to hit the streets.



Oh, hold on; it was The Globe.

Jerry Baumchen

[billvon 2,475]

>He had little to do with killing OBL.

Right. That was a military operation out of the country. He had almost nothing to do with it. He's not responsible for what our military does.

Now - Benghazi! He is 100% RESPONSIBLE for not stopping what those terrorists did! He's the Commander-in-Chief, and responsible for what our military does, but I guess he's too stupid to understand what that means. He might as well have pulled the trigger himself.

[kelpdiver 2]

airdvr

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/03/politics/panetta-blames-obama/index.html

Quote

"To this day, I believe that a small U.S. troop presence in Iraq could have effectively advised the Iraqi military on how to deal with al-Qaeda's resurgence and the sectarian violence that has engulfed the country," Panetta writes in his upcoming autobiography, due out next week.

Vietnam started with a small US troop presence to advise the local military. How did that work out? If you look at most of our involvements that blew up into large scale deployments, they show the same pattern. Forgive me if I ignore Panetta's claim here that things would have been different. It defies common sense - if a large military force can't solve a broken situation, how is a tiny force going to?

A strong dictator type can keep order in a nation with critical sectarian divide, generally via the use of brute force. But if he is deposed, either internally or by an outside force, that controlling force is gone and chaos ensues until there is a new balance. The most common US (or Brit or Russian or X] answer is to install a new ruthless dictator. Short of that, not fuck all we can do to make everyone in Iraq happy and to not shoot each other to try to win.

[kelpdiver 2]

jakee

***My question is...what kind of truly boring ass people are going to read a book about the memoirs of an ex president.

People who are interested in how things work?


People read these memoirs for the same reason why people are interested in declassified documents from the US/USSR during the Cold War. A lot of detail is not disclosed at the time, or in the years after. For example, Obama can't really talk about what goes on behind closed doors with Putin right now - both are still leading their countries and such disclosure could damage relations. In 20 years, we might hear a lot more.

Political wonks want to know the nitty gritty of how shit actually happens. Not the bullshit 3 branches, checks and balances nonsense you learn in grade school, but how the sausage actually gets made.

And then you have the fanboys (esp the Fox ones) who won't actually read the book, but just buy it to defend their master. Or vice versa. In this case, Panetta looks to be trying to sell to the other side, the ones that hate the current Administration.

[airdvr 200]

billvon

>He had little to do with killing OBL.

Right. That was a military operation out of the country. He had almost nothing to do with it. He's not responsible for what our military does.

Now - Benghazi! He is 100% RESPONSIBLE for not stopping what those terrorists did! He's the Commander-in-Chief, and responsible for what our military does, but I guess he's too stupid to understand what that means. He might as well have pulled the trigger himself.

You might think that's what Benghazi is about; not I.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[regulator 0]

If you think the list of 'accomplishments' you listed is an actual list of real accomplishments you are getting delusional in your old age.

Obama might have that fancy harvard degree with all the intelligence in the world but he doesn't have a spine. He cowers to terrorists and apologizes in fear of offending muslims. The fact that you still wantonly support him with with a list of failures that far exceeds that lame list you created that were supposed accomplishments.

[kelpdiver 2]

regulator

If you think the list of 'accomplishments' you listed is an actual list of real accomplishments you are getting delusional in your old age.

OK, so what did the 4 guys before him "accomplish" by whatever definition you like to use.

(hopefully the definition isn't dependent on the party membership of each)

[turtlespeed 212]

kelpdiver

***If you think the list of 'accomplishments' you listed is an actual list of real accomplishments you are getting delusional in your old age.

OK, so what did the 4 guys before him "accomplish" by whatever definition you like to use.

(hopefully the definition isn't dependent on the party membership of each)

The same as the chick pouring drinks . . .

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun