Home > Thinking Right > Archives > 2008 > June > 30 > Entry
The U.S. is powerless…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The brutality of Zimbawbe’s Robert Mugabe is shocking. He stays in power because defeat in a reasonably fair election means that the army leaders who have carried out his atrocities would be at risk of arrest for crimes against humanity. So instead he threatens civil war and intimidates the opposition so that no genuine election is possible. The world tolerates it.
As horrendous as Mugabe’s conduct is, this is an instance where the United States can do nothing, even if it did not have its hands full in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Great Britain, as the former colonial power, can do nothing either, nor can the rest of Europe. Too much bad history. The United Nations, likewise, is limited. It’s peace-keeping role is essentially to stand between warring factions willing to pretend they intend to stop the slaughter. That’s not the case with Mugabge.
U.S. intervention is not a prospect. Participation in any kind of military force, even if that were an option, is off the table. The U.S. military is stretched much too thin already.
But with a presidential election looming here, Zimbawbe does present an example of what should be American security policy. The Bush policy of premption is a sound one. No nation that threatens us and no nation that harbors the terrorists who plot our destruction should ever sleep a wink with the certainty that the U.S. won’t strike.
There should be a delineation, however, between specific threats targeting the United States and other threats. Iran’s development of nuclear weapons threatens the world in general, and the destruction of Israel in particular. The world should act, but probably won’t. Israel, however, cannot allow it to happen. There’s some speculation that Israel could act before President Bush leaves office if Barack Obama is elected and signals a foreign policy that might tempt aggressors to test him.
The world, through the United Nations, has a moral obligation to intervene to protect human rights. The first responsiblity, however, is with regional players.
With Mugabe, that’s regional players in Africa. An opportunity will come this week at the African Union summit. There’s no hope or desire to attempt military intervention. But they could be bolder in denouncing his regime and in attempting to persuade him that it’s time to find peace in exile. In the custom of dictators who’ve stayed too long, Africa — and the world’s financial powers, including Saudi Arabia, Japan and now China — could buy him into luxurious exile. There’s not much of an alternative.
For the U.S., first concern is our national security. Second is threats to world peace, in partnership with other powers and possibly the United Nations. For Zimbawbe, the solution rests with those who are actually in a position of influence — and that’s other heads of state in Africa.
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DEL.ICIO.US
Comments
By Tim
June 30, 2008 9:55 AM | Link to this
Its really funny that we had no choice but to Rid the world of such evil as Saddam, but since the evil is in Africa, we have to leave it to his neighbors. The implication is obvious, so I won’t take it there, but at least be man enough to admit what it is. COWARD!!!
By Dean Vernon Wormer
June 30, 2008 10:01 AM | Link to this
In Alaska a teen bicycle racer is mauled by a grizzly.
In Atlanta a teen is decapitated by Batman The Ride.
Lesson for teens: No more fun of any kind!
By TW
June 30, 2008 10:05 AM | Link to this
Tim - we’ve lost 4100+ and spent close to a $Trillion in Iraq for no other reason than to line the pockets of big oil.
BTW - it will next to nothing about the gas prices. Big oil will roll in the spoils of the move. Think it’s a coincidence that Condi Rice used to serve on the board of dirctors at Chevron.
This administration was only concerned with their tight little circle making as much coin as possible. Slowly, the long, back end of the ‘republican party’ is beginning to see that they weren’t invited to the real party.
Morons.
By RCH
June 30, 2008 10:05 AM | Link to this
Maybe Jesse and Al and all the rest of those so called African- American civil rights leaders should travel to Zimbabwe and broker a peace agreement. Right.There is no money to be made.
By getalife
June 30, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this
Ignored but if they had oil like Iraq and Iran, w would invade.
By BS Aplenty
June 30, 2008 10:14 AM | Link to this
Nelson Mandela shows who has the ‘nads by urging leaders at the African Union summit to ignore the “faux” election results in Zimbabwe - the real leader of Arica speaks. Hopefully, the universally-admired Mandela can convince Mugabe to quit drinking the Kool-aid.
But, more importantly, where’s the outrage by PoFo and his thousands of personalities? Where’s the love for the oppressed of Zimbabwe?
By Tim
June 30, 2008 10:15 AM | Link to this
RCH @ 10:05
I am no fan of Jessie or AL, But this is not about them and their con. This is about how we flex in the name of protecting democracy when there is none, but fail to stand up for it in a place that already has our type of government. By doing nothing now, we become the empire building liars that so much of the world sees us as.
By Redneck Convert
June 30, 2008 10:17 AM | Link to this
Well, it looks like that Mudwabe fellow is a mighty mean one. But it seems like all of Those People over there are always hacking each other to death with machetes. If that opposition fellow had a bunch of oil to give us for knocking off Mudwabe we’d be in there in a second. We could just take all our Iraq troops over there for a weekend and then send them right back. It’s just Zimbabwe after all. But since that other fellow ain’t got no oil to give us, we might as well them them sort it all out. Don’t forget to buy beer early and often this week, because it’s a long holiday weekend coming up. Have a good day everybody.
By Political Foreskin
June 30, 2008 10:27 AM | Link to this
Yay, Tsangerai and the Zimbabweanians!
Boo, Mugabe and his thugs!
There, how was that?
By RCH
June 30, 2008 10:30 AM | Link to this
Tim
Even if we do intervene,especially militarily,we will again become to blame throughout the world. I can hear it now;this war is all about racism the subjugation by the white power elite over people of color.Let Africa handle them.They do have the ability.
On a side note. Do they have any oil there? LOL
By ray
June 30, 2008 10:34 AM | Link to this
good day to skip the job hunt, lay back with my brittany spears tabloid and play with my…gun…
By Bill Howdyshell
June 30, 2008 10:42 AM | Link to this
According to the CIA, Zimbabwe’s natural resources include: coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals.
By Tim
June 30, 2008 10:47 AM | Link to this
RCH
This is where you are wrong…. We give the world the impression that we do not care because they as black. If we are going to hang our hat on being the defenders of freedom and democracy, then we need to be prepared to deliver whenever there is a real call, and this is every bit as real as what was going on in pre war Iraq.
By Ga. Values
June 30, 2008 10:54 AM | Link to this
“There should be a delineation, however, between specific threats targeting the United States and other threats. Iran’s development of nuclear weapons threatens the world in general, and the destruction of Israel in particular. The world should act, but probably won’t. Israel, however, cannot allow it to happen. There’s some speculation that Israel could act before President Bush leaves office if Barack Obama is elected and signals a foreign policy that might tempt aggressors to test him.”
Maybe Obama will take control of our foreign policy away from Isreal & get back to America first.
By Get Real
June 30, 2008 10:54 AM | Link to this
Democracy matters only where theres oil. The Hypocrite neocons only want to fight for ‘freedom’, ‘democracy’, or whatever else they call it when there is a buck to be made.
By truth
June 30, 2008 10:56 AM | Link to this
The US is powerless against a known corrupt dictator, who blatantly spat on democracy. Whereas we were quick to “liberate” Iraq, who wasn’t even a democracy. As prior posters have stated…if we are supposedly champions of democracy and freedom, why not overthrow a government that is truly oppressing the people?
By truth
June 30, 2008 10:57 AM | Link to this
The US is powerless against a known corrupt dictator, who blatantly spat on democracy. Whereas we were quick to “liberate” Iraq, who wasn’t even a democracy. As prior posters have stated…if we are supposedly champions of democracy and freedom, why not overthrow a government that is truly oppressing the people?
By The Anti-Wooten
June 30, 2008 11:01 AM | Link to this
LETTER TO JIM WOOTEN’S WIFE:
Dear Mrs. Wooten,
It appears now that Jim’s slide into some form of dementia has become accelerated. As such, I’d like to suggest that you learn about the steps needed to keep him safe. You’ll want to employ some of the more complicated interior door locks to make sure that he’s unable to get loose and wander aimlessly about the neighborhood(as he’s currently doing in his columns), secure all medications so that he can’t harm himself that way and try to prevent him from contact with anything political. The last suggestion is to assist you in keeping him from becoming agitated, it’s obvious that when he comes in contact with topics that he can’t comprehend that it makes his mind mushy, slushy and generally, well not to put too fine a point on it, delirious. I hope these suggestions help you with keeping Jim safe until such time as you decide you’ve had enough and lock him into a secure facility for those in his state.
By Peter
June 30, 2008 11:12 AM | Link to this
We won’t go to Africa, unless they find OIL…then we will become the liberator….
“Mission Accomplished”… Find OIL then Invade!
Of course it will be spun a different way….. “Faulty Intelligence’!
By Meg
June 30, 2008 11:13 AM | Link to this
We don’t invade because this administration does not truly care about the plight of opressed people. We invaded Iraq for oil, but some nuts in this administration actually thought Saddam posed a threat. Mugabe does not pose a threat to the US, as his nation is poor and he is not capable of WMD’s, nuclear war-heads, etc. Also, he has nothing we want.
It’s funny that in this case, when the US could really make a difference in oppressed people’s lives, we sit back and turn a blind eye. So much for fighting for freedom and democracy.
By steve
June 30, 2008 11:13 AM | Link to this
we have a large stockpile of good necular weapons just lying around collection dust, why not use them on all these ruthless dictators and dangerous muslum thugs, lets show the world what a really bad a* we can be, make em fear us more than they hate us, makes about as much sense as what the liberals say. kiss their a* and beg them not to hate us.
By Devastator
June 30, 2008 11:17 AM | Link to this
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By Dennis
June 30, 2008 11:19 AM | Link to this
Mr. Wooten writes, “The world, through the United Nations, has a moral obligation to intervene to protect human rights.”
Ah, Mr. Wooten, you didn’t finish your sentence.
What you mean, Mr. Wooten, but don’t have the nerve to say is, “The world, through the United Nations, has a moral obligation to intervene to protect human rights [unless it’s the U.S. government violating those human rights].”
Too many Americans are too aware, Mr. Wooten, of our U.S. corporate governments takeovers of small nations and our installation and military backing of dictators in those countries.
And the American citizens knowledge of that “secret” scares the hell out of you corporate righties.
You don’t have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.
By Peter
June 30, 2008 11:19 AM | Link to this
Hey Steve, global warming is real, so you want to heat up the globe and pollute more with nukes?
Great job of reasoning by a Right Winger!
Hey let’s kill ourselves while blowing up the rest of the world!
Talk about “Faulty Intelligence”!
By Fun Facts
June 30, 2008 11:21 AM | Link to this
“Iran’s development of nuclear weapons threatens the world in general, and the destruction of Israel in particular.”
Nuke Count: Israel: 200 (est.) Iran: 0
In addition, Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned of the consequences if the Bush Administration staged a preemptive strike on Iran: “We’ll create generations of jihadists, and our grandchildren will be battling our enemies here in America.”
By RCH
June 30, 2008 11:24 AM | Link to this
Tim,Meg
Have we already forgotten about Somalia. It was a noble cause that ended in disaster.The African unity council has the power and ability to put more pressure on this dictator than we can.
Again we must have forgotten that Iraq invaded a sovereign country and after repeated attempts to enforce a peace agreement was finally brought to its knees by the U.S military. No other nation or organization could have accomplished this.
By How Funny.....
June 30, 2008 11:25 AM | Link to this
For years now, I’ve been noting the following item on the short list of answers to “Why haven’t we been attacked since 9-11?”
Bush made a deal with his long-time Saudi business acquaintances and Osama bin Laden: “Have your people stand down and NOT attack us during my administration, and we won’t capture you.”
Suggesting this possibility garnered me a plethora of pejorative accusations and unflattering pronouns. Now we have evidence to suggest this theory is at least viable. (Note Mr. Wooten does not report on it.)
Items we can scratch off the list include: “Bin Laden was captured and brought to justice,” and “Our ports and borders have been secured.”
By Chris
June 30, 2008 11:28 AM | Link to this
Wooten wrote: “1) U.S. intervention [in Zimbabwe] is not a prospect. The U.S. military is stretched much too thin already. 2)Iran’s development of nuclear weapons threatens the world in general, and the destruction of Israel in particular. The world should act,…”
If, in the second sentence, Mr. Wooten means the U.S. when he says the “world” should act, doesn’t his second comment above contradict his first comment above?
By Tim
June 30, 2008 11:36 AM | Link to this
RCH @ 11:24
We are currently involved in two conflicts that are leaning towards disaster, but we constantly hear that ” Freedom is not Free”. If we claim to defend Freedom, then we can’t do it only when we are sure to win ( or think we wil win i.e. Iraq). If we are going to selectively defend Freedom, then we are what we procaim to hate.
By Peter
June 30, 2008 11:37 AM | Link to this
Jim,
The USA is Powerless because we don’t have a real leader!
A real leader would have gotten Bin Laden, and made America safer for ALL Americans.
A real leader would have seen the energy crises, and created a more independent America.
A real leader would make America stronger, by holding up our DOLLAR.
A real leader would not have given Open ended contracts to those companies like Halliburton.
A real leader would protect our Environment.
A real leader would NOT give American FEMA trailers that cause cancer!
Jim we don’t have a real leader in America…..
Hopefully we will have one soon!
By getalife
June 30, 2008 11:39 AM | Link to this
“Thugs hunt down Zimbabweans who did not vote for Mugabe.”
Well, when you ride Marta now, the passengers can carry guns legally.
Try that here and you will get a clip unloaded on your thug a-ss.
God bless America.
“Out of my cold dead hand”.
By SaveOurRepublic
June 30, 2008 11:43 AM | Link to this
The U.S. policy in Zimbabwe should be as with all other foreign countries…non-interventionalist. We needn’t waste U.S. soldiers lives & taxpayer (fiat) dollars on any further empire-building agenda of the Globalist Elite. As for the U.N., we should have withdrawn our memberships (& promptly booted them off U.S. soil) years ago! The U.N. is a crooked front organization for the Globalist Elite. This business of doing the Internationalist’s bidding needs to end…first in Iraq & Afghanistan and then in all other foreign nations. For those of you deceived lemmings who bemoan the “terror” threat…do some research on false-flag operations & stop buying into the spoon-feed Neocon propaganda from Faux News!
http://www.jbs.org
By Chicago
June 30, 2008 11:45 AM | Link to this
DARFUR
By Dennis
June 30, 2008 11:52 AM | Link to this
By Chris June 30, 2008 11:28 AM Wooten wrote: “1) U.S. intervention [in Zimbabwe] is not a prospect. The U.S. military is stretched much too thin already. 2)Iran’s development of nuclear weapons threatens the world in general, and the destruction of Israel in particular. The world should act,…” If, in the second sentence, Mr. Wooten means the U.S. when he says the “world” should act, doesn’t his second comment above contradict his first comment above?”
Mr. Wooten is just like George W. Bush; even if/when he contradicts himself, he’s right.
Mr. Wooten probably thinks George W. Bush is somebody all of us ought to admire.
You don’t have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.
By ron
June 30, 2008 11:54 AM | Link to this
Mugabe will take his place at the African Union Summit and little will be said by the attendees.Some of them may question as to how he accomplished his attrocities so they can try it if there’s anything new afoot.This is humanity in it’s finest hour.
By Fun Facts
June 30, 2008 11:57 AM | Link to this
The New Yorker: “Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran,…[These operations] are designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran’s suspected nuclear-weapons program.”
By LIBERALS ARE VILE HUMAN SCUM
June 30, 2008 12:10 PM | Link to this
The same old worthless should have been aborted leftist pukes slither on here DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY and puke up their tired twisted old psychotic treasonous lies and unremitting Bush Derangement Syndrome.
That big eared racist half-black half-wit nonentity corrupt scumbag from IL and its sullenbitchofawife are gleefully riding into a McGovernesque like electoral lynching. GOOD BLOODY RIDDANCE (for November)!!
The execrable simpleton peter peKKKer as ever has all the wit and wisdom of an anorexic special needs reject crystal meth abusing semi-literate possum.
What Comrade Mugabe needs is a good old uber swift lynching, along with all of his virulently racist tribal/genocidal killers. But the cold hard UNDENIABLE awkward truth is that most of black AfriKa was/is and will remain overwhelmingly like Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. So NOTHING new there!!
But lets not forget folks that the hypocritical hand wringing racist leftist vermin in the US have made it impossible for the likes of the CIA to rid the world of murderous human scum like Mugabe, as they gloriously did in the case of Comrade Allende. Maybe we can send the worthless vilePelosibitch over there to noisily screech at Mugabe that he’s a senile racist Idi Amin type killer. Now that’d be great footage for Fox News!!
Now here’s a post to cheer us all up no end:
“Out of my cold dead hand”.
hopefully getaturd that will be tomorrow, unless we’re lucky and later today rewards us all. … smirk
I might just go ride on MARTA with my Glock tomorrow, just to watch the fun. Should be a fabulous WSBTV news cast at 11pm.
By ron
June 30, 2008 12:10 PM | Link to this
Excuse me,Jim,but I stand corrected,sort of.I just read where Mugabe was hailed as a hero at the African Union Summit.
By spence
June 30, 2008 12:13 PM | Link to this
How much whey could a Zimbabwe if a Zimbab could weigh whey?
By GOPs got to go
June 30, 2008 12:14 PM | Link to this
I have to agree with the above posters.
Although I am still in shock about Anti-Wooten’s letter.
Something married Jim?????
Now I will have nightmares…
By Political Foreskin
June 30, 2008 12:23 PM | Link to this
A zimbab would weigh as much whey as a zimbab would if the filthy Kurds dont steal it, the dirty rats. What’s in the bowl, beach?
By Utter Connection
June 30, 2008 12:26 PM | Link to this
spence
How much whey could a Zimbab-we, if a Zimbab could weigh whey?
Reads easier.
-Editor.
By Meg
June 30, 2008 12:27 PM | Link to this
Ok, so Somalia ended badly. What about our current situation in Iraq. Or do you brain-washed masses still think we are “winning” that one?
By ron
June 30, 2008 12:34 PM | Link to this
How far away and in just which way would a Zimbab-we weigh whey,granted of course,that a Zimbab-we even weighs whey?
By RCH
June 30, 2008 12:36 PM | Link to this
Meg
Win is a nebulous word.There will be a stable govt.,there will always be some type of strife. The U.S will be a major presence with military bases in the region.The U.S will use the bases to flex its muscle when it needs to;and when the oil runs out so will we.
By Zimbabwe
June 30, 2008 12:40 PM | Link to this
We don’t weight whey you pack of brain-dead, unfunny, childish, moronic jackals.
By Meg
June 30, 2008 12:42 PM | Link to this
Here’s one that’s not so nebulous, RCH: Bite me.
By Chris B
June 30, 2008 12:44 PM | Link to this
Why are we eveyrwhere we are never wanted or needed but never where we are wanted and needed.
By RCH
June 30, 2008 12:46 PM | Link to this
Meg
Win is a nebulous word.There will be a stable govt.,there will always be some type of strife. The U.S will be a major presence with military bases in the region.The U.S will use the bases to flex its muscle when it needs to;and when the oil runs out so will we.
By RCH
June 30, 2008 12:47 PM | Link to this
Meg
Win is a nebulous word.There will be a stable govt.,there will always be some type of strife. The U.S will be a major presence with military bases in the region.The U.S will use the bases to flex its muscle when it needs to;and when the oil runs out so will we.
By African Descent
June 30, 2008 12:55 PM | Link to this
And into this richly complicated picture we Westerners suppose we can charge and, by precipitating the removal of one old madman, conjure into existence a transformed national political consciousness. Do you think that when Mugabe asked last week “how can a pen fight a gun?” he was simply issuing a threat? He was not. It was a populist remark. He was making an observation about the business of politics across much of his continent: an observation that will not have outraged, but amused, his intended audience.
Leave them the hell alone.
By liberal moonbat troglodyte
June 30, 2008 12:57 PM | Link to this
Once again a liberal green idea harms those it is supposed to help. Someones one has to wonder if the kooks on the left do things like this on purpose. Surely those brilliant folks representative of the left [snicker snicker] were intelligent enough to think about future ramifications of biofuels, specifically, corn-based biofuels. Nah, liberals only think and react to the here and the now..full speed ahead now and damn the future consequences. Watch these incompetent buffoons blame this on Republicans. Brilliant lib thinking as always, morons.
The replacement of traditional fuels with biofuels has dragged more than 30 million people worldwide into poverty, an aid agency report says.
Oxfam says so-called green policies in developed countries are contributing to the world’s soaring food prices, which hit the poor hardest.
By RCH
June 30, 2008 1:03 PM | Link to this
Meg
Did you learn that retort at a Clayton County school? I thought better of you. My mistake.
By Meg
June 30, 2008 1:05 PM | Link to this
To RCH:
Just to clarify, the “Meg” posting at 12:42 was not the real “Meg”. Someone mugged the Meg name.
By findog
June 30, 2008 1:08 PM | Link to this
Do I understand that the new economic powers of the world: “Saudi Arabia, Japan and now China,” should fund a dictator protection program? Well, I did not see the location in Jim’s essay.
How about the Green Zone?
By findog
June 30, 2008 1:11 PM | Link to this
Do I understand that the new economic powers of the world: “Saudi Arabia, Japan and now China,” should fund a dictator protection program? Well, I did not see the location in Jim’s essay.
How about the Green Zone?
By Peter
June 30, 2008 1:13 PM | Link to this
Gee I am surprised McCain has not used the same guys for his campaign, that Mugabe would use to make his regime seem credible.
By RCH
June 30, 2008 1:13 PM | Link to this
Meg
To the real Meg , I humbly apologize. To the Meg thief my comment stands..
By Road Scholar
June 30, 2008 1:15 PM | Link to this
Ga Values: So why don’t we stir up “The World” and get a UN or multinational force together to adress the problem with this leader….Oh that’s right…Bush doesn’t talk to others…Plus he has put a bad taste in everyone’s mouth concerning Muli-national forces, hasn’t he? In Iraq we are down to the British, and some Australian support (units greater than 100). Teamwork, isn’t it wonderful, until the leader destroys it!
By No they can't!
June 30, 2008 1:15 PM | Link to this
How much more sick can the low-life pathetic liberal left get than to go after Wooten’s wife? Lock that 11:01AM piece of garbage up and toss the keys into the garbage.
By getalife
June 30, 2008 1:19 PM | Link to this
Nice Twain quote in Obama ‘s speech.
“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”
Our government does not deserve it. Our country and our troops do.
Too bad he is for spying on you illegally and for corporate amnesty.
Makes his speech bs.
Here are some real Americans unlike Obama:
“In matters of Power, let no more be heard of confidence in men, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.”
— Thomas Jefferson
“Any time we deny any citizen the full exercise of his constitutional rights, we are weakening our own claim to them”.
— Dwight D. Eisenhower
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves”.
— Abraham Lincoln
“Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety”.
— Benjamin Franklin
Patriotism.
By The Anti-Wooten
June 30, 2008 1:25 PM | Link to this
Let’s start by examining just a few of Jim’s statements and assertions:
“The Bush policy of premption is a sound one. No nation that threatens us and no nation that harbors the terrorists who plot our destruction should ever sleep a wink with the certainty that the U.S. won’t strike.”
First of all, the word is preemption. The Bush policy of preemption has caused us to become embroiled in his war of choice against a soveriegn nation that had no WMD’s, harbored few, if any, Al Quaeda members and had a deep distrust and dislike for Osama Bin Laden. We find ourselves five years into a situation that’s bankrupting our treasury, damaging our military and has created far more terrorists than existed prior to the start of this “war”.
No nation is particularly sleepless about whether there are terrorists within their borders or not because of one of the very few accurate statements that Jim has made in this piece in the sentence preceding, “The U.S. military is stretched much too thin already.”
“The U.S. military is stretched much too thin already.”
Ok, just why do you think this is the case Jim? Perhaps due to the fact that we’ve now lost in excess of 4100 of our finest service members to avoidable deaths in this Bush Iraq Folly? Should I mention that there are tens of thousands more unfit or barely fit for combat due to injuries of all manner? How about all of the equipment that’s been damaged, destroyed or just plain worn out while we’ve ignored Afghanistan and Osama Bin Laden?
“Israel, however, cannot allow it to happen. There’s some speculation that Israel could act before President Bush leaves office if Barack Obama is elected and signals a foreign policy that might tempt aggressors to test him.”
While I understand that the extremists of the right such as you and Bill Kristol really, really have a trouser tingle for a third war front and will say anything at all to try to provoke it, most of us Americans don’t share this sentiment. It’s editorial irresponsibility for those of you that posit this to do so because you inflame and enable those both here and abroad that want this. You’d help drag us into a situation that will break this country’s back militarily and financially and that’s criminal. Bush and his words to the Knessett last month were the basis from which this talking point has been derived and you just keep parroting. Your attempts to enable Bush to commit us to another war during his few remaining month in office should be grounds for your dismissal from the ranks of Americans and though I’m certain you’re not, you should be ashamed. This is exactly the sort of hubris from Bush that’s given us an endless war, an economy on crutches and global loss of esteem. Machiavelli’s Little Prince could not be more proud.
By The Anti-Wooten
June 30, 2008 1:37 PM | Link to this
No they can’t!
June 30, 2008 1:15 PM | Link to this
How much more sick can the low-life pathetic liberal left get than to go after Wooten’s wife? Lock that 11:01AM piece of garbage up and toss the keys into the garbage.
You must have been educated in Georgia. I didn’t go after Jim’s wife, it’s called satire. Had I chosen to do so I could have addressed it to her using her first name. That’s tacky and I won’t do it.
I’m sure you’re one of the very first rightards on here that would go after Michelle Obama with a noose in your hand, right after one of your special church meetin’s. So to you I say, go back to whatever redneck, rightard, hillbilly enclave you and your cousin/husband or wife live and turn of the electricity so you don’t have to read anything that offends your delicate sensibilities. Things like the US Constitution that your Bush hero despises so much.
By Pee'er Pressure
June 30, 2008 1:52 PM | Link to this
How could Mccain be ahead in any state? I dont believe it. He’s not. It’s how the media will sell soap till November, but reporting skewed #s.
By ThinkingWrong
June 30, 2008 1:58 PM | Link to this
I worked hard all my life and did everything real conservative. I paid for the house early by doubling up on the payments. I paid cash for my cars. I put money aside in a 401k and in IRAs. I tried to plan ahead and be prepared like the Boy Scout motto said I should. Now that I’m in retirement, I’m finding out that no planning could have prepared me for this. I thought my house and land would be worth more but it’s less. I thought my retirement funds would increase in value but they have decreased. I thought that a worst-case inflation would be no more than 8% per year. I thought a dollar bill would be worth holding on to. I thought I could trust a Republican who claimed to be a compassionate conservative. I have never been so wrong in all my life. I feel like I’ve been preempted by the Bush administration.
By The Anti-Wooten
June 30, 2008 1:58 PM | Link to this
Pee’er Pressure, it’s like this. Somone once said that you’d never go broke underestimating the stupidity of Americans. And that’s precisely why Bush won an election and why McBush has a lead in quite a few states(including GA).
By Miss Congeniality
June 30, 2008 2:04 PM | Link to this
Getalife,
Thank you for those. I think my personal favorite is Benjamin Franklin’s quote. That is one that most conservatives need to be reminded of in today’s society.
By Dusty
June 30, 2008 2:06 PM | Link to this
Well, let’s see.
Today has shown that SOME liberals can sink to even lower levels than usual. I agree with No they can’t @1:25. Someone was never taught common decency.
As to Zimbabwe, we have not attacked because the CIA has not said they threaten the USA and have wmds. Machetes maybe, but no wmd.
As to the USUAL lib propaganda,neither President Bush (nor Cheney nor Rove) attacked Iraq for oil. It was wmds; exactly what our Congress believed just like the President, the UN and UK. That was the *CIAs information. (I have to remind those of short memories.)
Besides Zimbabwe, we also do not attack Darfur/Sudan(oil but no wmds), Somalia (total anarchy), Congo (constant internecine warfare).
This disputes the fallacy of ‘war for oil’ and also the accusation that we wish to rule countries worldwide. WE WISH TO PROTECT OUR OWN COUNTRY. That’s it.
Hillary once said that there was a ‘vast conspiracy’. The libs have been looking for ‘vast conspiracies’ ever since. Too bad they ‘see’ them everywhere but still can’t find a real one.
By Meg
June 30, 2008 2:06 PM | Link to this
Your comment stands, alright, just like a dog turd on the pavement. You must be so proud.
By Really?
June 30, 2008 2:15 PM | Link to this
The UN believed their were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq at the time of our invasion? Really? Even after their very own Hans Blix said he wasn’t finding any? Huh. Whaddayaknow.
By The Anti-Wooten
June 30, 2008 2:17 PM | Link to this
Ah, there’s poor ol’ Dusty, another one (un)educated in Georgia. Dusty when that cropduster flies over your citrus orchard you should go back inside, I’m afraid the pesticide fumes are affecting your ability to reason.
By fairy god mother
June 30, 2008 2:18 PM | Link to this
By Dusty
June 30, 2008 2:06 PM | Link to this
Do you actually believe any of this tripe you write??
Good Grief!
You sound like Ann Coulter after exiting her opium den!
By The Anti-Wooten
June 30, 2008 2:19 PM | Link to this
Not just the UN that didn’t believe that there were NO WMDs in Iraq, much of the intel from our own US intelligence services knew that it was fallacious and tried diligently to tell the Bush White House, noone there was buying anything that didn’t fit the Neocon dream.
By Tim
June 30, 2008 2:23 PM | Link to this
Dusty@2:06
Catch up!! So many supporters of Bush policy have gotten off of the WMD train ( it was wrong,) and moved to ridding the world of dictators, liberating millions of freedom loving citizens in Iraq, ect. My question remains: Why not fight for democracy in Africa the same way we fight for it in the Middle East. I have refrained from name calling and talking points. Now let me see if you can give an answer that does the same.
By ghost rider
June 30, 2008 2:29 PM | Link to this
By The Anti-Wooten
June 30, 2008 2:19 PM | Link to this
ANTI..If a liberal told this air head the sun rose in the east..She would argue the point. Same with 2 + 2 = 4! But, If Bush or one of the nut jobs on the far right were to say exactly the same thing Dusty would be there exalting over how smart they are.
With her it’s a no win proposition.
Republicans = Always right Democrates = Always wrong
The pesticide over her “orchards” have clearly dimmed any brain cells she once possessed.
By The Anti-Wooten
June 30, 2008 2:31 PM | Link to this
Tim, you have wildly over-optimistic expectations from those on the right.
By Common Sense
June 30, 2008 2:35 PM | Link to this
Wow some interesting posts!
Can any Republican supporter please tell me what the Republican party has done to combat rising oil prices.
You had control of the White House, Senate and the House.
Their is no new energy policy.
We invaded Iraq and now will share the oil with 6 different oil companies who will get thrown out once the Iraq Government is strong.
Can someone please tell me why we think we can survive at using 25 millions barrels of oil per day.
Our country is getting suckered!
By Meg
June 30, 2008 2:37 PM | Link to this
Ya know,
the name Meg is not that special. So you all that are stealing it can find another.
By The Anti-Wooten
June 30, 2008 2:40 PM | Link to this
Democrates Hey, I really like that!
I’m Democrates and I’m here to impart wisdom to the unwashed masses from the right wing.
By Dusty
June 30, 2008 2:41 PM | Link to this
My goodness what a bunch of loony libs! Osama bin Laden himself was set to travel to Iraq to meet with Saddam Hussein himself to pass the dictator $10.5 million U.S. currency for 5 metric tons of Sarin gas. Denial is not just a river in Eqypt you nutty liberal traitors.
Tra la la, be gone you unAmerican filth.
By Dusty
June 30, 2008 2:42 PM | Link to this
Whew..the sickos are out today.
Anti-Wooten@1:37 is anti-sane. Thinks insults against a journalist’s wife are satire. It isn’t satire,anti. It’s called IGNORANCE.
Peter@1:13 says that he is surprised that McCain has not used the same guys that Mugabe would use to make his campaign seem credible. Yes, Peter, sharpen your machete so you can use it on American war heroes.
11:25 How Funny says the USA has not been attacked again because Bush made a deal with Saudis and Osama not to bother the USA during his administration. Yes, Funny, and Bush also made a deal with the flying saucers not to attack while he was president. Woohoo…
As the famous circus man Barnum once said:There’s a fool born every minute. Strange, they all seem to be liberals.
By Blind Homer
June 30, 2008 2:45 PM | Link to this
We invade countries on the whim of our commander in chief. The traitor Reagan was itching to fight someone so he invaded superpower Grenada because they had the audacity to build an airport. Personally, I’d like to see what Michelle Obama decides to do about Zimbabwe.
By Dusty
June 30, 2008 2:46 PM | Link to this
As usualDusty @ 2:41 is ID thief. Poor losers. Can’t use their own IDs.
By Tim
June 30, 2008 2:50 PM | Link to this
Dusty,
Since the level of discussion has exceeded your degree of understanding, we will allow you to wallow in the filth with which that you spew. I posed a simple question and you either refused or can’t answer. That seems to be par for the course… When the facts are not on your side, get mean, nasty and start calling names. But alas, one day, maybe you to will be able to handle discussions like an adult.
By Get Real
June 30, 2008 2:51 PM | Link to this
To Dusty and all the other Republicans that are so outraged about the anti-Wooten writing ‘Dear Mrs. Wooten’ in one of his posts: Get over yourselves. 1.) That is basically the only reference to Jim’s wife. 2.) To me it seems as if it was meant to be funny. 3.) I’m sure you all have the same outrage of the ‘right’ going after Michelle Obama, right?
You all are a bunch of brainwashed lemmings, and I would really like to see Dusty’s response to Tim’s post @ 2:23 which is free of namecalling and sticks to the facts.
Had a Democrat been in office, you would be crowing about how screwed up the country is. But since its W in office, everything is A- ok. Forget about $4 gas, $2 Trillion debacle called Iraq, the stock market is tanking, consumer confidence at its lowest point in 28 years, and Bush ‘appeasing’ N. Korea. Hey, we’re safe right? Losers. Catch bin Laden before you say we’re safe.
By Miss Congeniality
June 30, 2008 2:51 PM | Link to this
Dusty,
Actually the quote is “There’s a sucker born every minute.” And to be completely factual, PT Barnum never actually said that, it has just been attributed to him.
Think of it like this, Saddam never had WMD’s, they were just attributed to him.
By Pee'er Pressure
June 30, 2008 2:53 PM | Link to this
A bear mauled some poor girl on a bicycle in Alaska. The bear, escaped from the circus, must have felt that she was stealing his unicycle act. You cant blame that bear, people. Everyone hates a hack, like the lunatic fringe conservatives on this blog who only hack rushannity all day long every day after day ad nauseum.
Pointed heads and flat minds: the Right.
Obama 08: America takes over.
By Peter
June 30, 2008 2:54 PM | Link to this
Hey Dusty…….You may believe this. but Fed Chairman Greenspan didn’t and said it was a WAR for OIL!
“As to the USUAL lib propaganda,neither President Bush (nor Cheney nor Rove) attacked Iraq for oil. It was wmds; exactly what our Congress believed just like the President, the UN and UK. That was the *CIAs information. (I have to remind those of short memories.)”
Apparently you don’t follow the current News…. Read what Greenspan wrote and said then try to really figure it out!
You must also believe “Mission Accomplished”….!
By Correction
June 30, 2008 2:54 PM | Link to this
Dusty, apparently “poor losers,” can use “their own IDs,” because you used the one you typically do.
By The Anti-Wooten
June 30, 2008 2:57 PM | Link to this
Dusty, I Democrates, will explain it to you very slowly so that you may be able to understand it.
I gave Jim’s wife some useful tips and information so that she could try to keep Jim safe now that he’s so obviously losing his grip on reality.
If I were a Republican, like John McBush, I’d have called his wife a trollop or something worse. I did not since that would be in bad taste.
Saddam Hussien’s own notes and memoranda have since proved that prior to the invasion of Iraq that he didn’t like or trust Osama Bin Laden and wanted nothing to do with him. Bin Laden was more of a threat to Saddam Hussien than he was an ally. All of your talking points have been discounted, disproved and shown to be false. Do you read much or just listen to talk radio?
By Dusty
June 30, 2008 3:00 PM | Link to this
ghost rider @2:29
I see you are still suffering from war fatigue. Well,some kind of ‘mental fatigue’. Sorry about that.
As you well know by now, I do not have any fruit trees. And you can tell your “anti” my educational credentials ‘happened’ in South Carolina and Boston, Mass.
If anti has a GED I’d be surprised. He has MORE than ‘mental fatigue’..but I have already mentioned his problem.
Why don’t you guys get it together? Skip the outhouse language, the stolen IDs, the family attacks, the obvious fallacy of conspiracies, the anti-American propaganda. Act normal for a change. Try it. You’ll like it.
By Dusty
June 30, 2008 3:02 PM | Link to this
Rush, Hannity and O’Reilly all say, or said at one time, that what I wrote was true. They said it. I believe it. End of conversation. Loony libs.
By hillbilly ragger
June 30, 2008 3:06 PM | Link to this
Dusty @ 2.06: Hillary once said that there was a ‘vast conspiracy’.
You seriously suggesting there wasn’t?
I guess the Arkansas Project never happened? That was just a figment of everone’s imagination, was it?
By The Anti-Wooten
June 30, 2008 3:08 PM | Link to this
Ok, even I don’t believe that Dusty @3:02 was the real Dusty.
By The Anti-Wooten
June 30, 2008 3:11 PM | Link to this
And you’d be right.
By Get Real
June 30, 2008 3:13 PM | Link to this
“Dear Mrs. Wooten” is a family attack, LOL!!! Pardon me while I laugh at that. At least he didn’t use the term McCain called his own wife, now THATS a family attack. And if ‘insulting’ a “journalist’s” wife is ignorance, what do you call outing a CIA agent to get back at her husband who said correctly, in retrospect, that the Iraq War was a sham.
Hopefully one day you will be able to see the truth for what it is; Bushco robbing this country of its treasure and its moral authority in the world for his corporate cronies to make billions. You can’t say we’re addicted to oil, but only want to drill for more oil!
Look at the record deficit the country will be in come January 19, 2009. How can you be patriotic AND for the troops, and threaten to veto the new GI Bill because its too generous for the people who’ve sacrificed everything?? Please Dusty or any other conservative, answer these questions that were presented with no ‘outhouse language, stolen ID, family attack, or obvious fallacy.”
Answer that!
By Peter
June 30, 2008 3:14 PM | Link to this
Hey Dusty…..
“Peter@1:13 says that he is surprised that McCain has not used the same guys that Mugabe would use to make his campaign seem credible. Yes, Peter, sharpen your machete so you can use it on American war heroes.”
Gee Dusty has zero idea what I am talking about….. more real news she knows zero about….
Dusty…. McCain is a WAR Hero sure, he got shot down and was captured……..
BUT he is not a leader, and his military record stinks of mistakes, bad judgment and lost jets and lost American lives.
What about the Propaganda film he made for the Viet Cong?
I continue to use my machete for yard work thank you!
Are you up for attacking African nations to assure the citizens there have freedom?
By The Anti-Wooten
June 30, 2008 3:14 PM | Link to this
Good one. Clever.
By Whatever
June 30, 2008 3:22 PM | Link to this
Look where the free market has taken this country; corporate welfare for banks, paid for by the same people they duped into bad loans. “I love this country!”
By Pee'er Pressure
June 30, 2008 3:24 PM | Link to this
Conservatism’s child was aborted to protect the life of the mother, Lady Liberty.
Sen Craig, a stallwart GOP stall wort, has sounded taps for the dead conservatism, with his flag at half mast, dressed as Betsy Ross.
Cheney has shotgunned another human being while serving as our Vice President. We all know that. Cheney was the driving force behind the million tank march to baghdad that opened the Iraq War, left the borders open, and confounded our occupation, making a six month foray into Iraq a six year nightmare.
If Iraq becomes a self sustaining, self governing, democratic republic able to defend and police itself, then Bush is one of our top three Presidents. The problem with Iraq is that it keeps morphing into something we couldn’t predict. That’s why we can never leave. So, victory in Iraq becomes a self sustained, self governed, democratic Iraq able to defend and police itself under a US security umbrella.
By getalife
June 30, 2008 3:26 PM | Link to this
Funny how the liars w and McTorured claimed credit for the GI bill. The ultimate cowards were against it.
Webb and the dems kicked their as-s on that bill and got it passed for the troops.
BTW, dusty is Mrs. wooten.
By Blind Homer
June 30, 2008 3:31 PM | Link to this
Don’t be ridiculous. Obviously, the freedom and making the world safe for democracy was just a spin once it started looking like they wouldn’t find any wmd’s. The real question is whether we went in originally because they believed there were wmd’s or some combination of finishing daddy’s fight and making zillions for the Saudis and oil companies. That hasn’t been proven one way or the other. BTW, please tell me how the war led to huge oil profits?
By Copyleft
June 30, 2008 3:32 PM | Link to this
Always nice to see Wooten acting as apologist for torturing tyrants.
This time, it’s not an American!
Vote Republican: Cheerleading for torturers since 1980.
By Dusty
June 30, 2008 3:33 PM | Link to this
Tim, baby, I answered your question @ 2:06. Remember or do you ever read? Zimbabwe does not have wmds or threaten our country.
There. Got it?
Peter,
Greenspan is RETIRED. Who cares what he says about oil? You maybe. Nobody else.
Miss Congeniality,
May I attribute to you the fact that you are not Miss Congeniality but Miss Fuddy Duddy?
Anti-Wooten,
You are just one little jellyfish in a sea of liberal propaganda. Please, is there no explanation for your pitiful personality and enormous ignorance of the finer things in life? You are totally lacking in all attributes of civil society. When you get to middle school next year, I hope you learn something.
Fairy God Mother…it is after twelve o’clock. Hasn’t your carriage turned into a pumpkin, little bumpkin?
Corrections@2:54
Are you ready to post using my ID again? Poor ol libs..pitiful…
By Bob Emmons
June 30, 2008 3:34 PM | Link to this
Jim: How long are we going to have to look at the Zimbabe exhibit at the airport? It is a disgrace considering what the leaders of that country have done. Why do we glorify them? It went up under Bill Campbell (I wonder what that was all about). Can’t we find something better for the traveling public to see? How about something about the south, or even Atlanta?
I think these questions would make a great column.
Bob Emmons
By TW
June 30, 2008 3:37 PM | Link to this
Was there ever an investigation after McCain’s plane killed 134 of his fellow soldiers aboard the Forrestal?
By "Charles", The Original
June 30, 2008 3:38 PM | Link to this
South African voters elected Nelson Mandela to the presidency in 1994. He had served for twenty-seven years in prison, Robben Island, for conviction of crimes by fighting against Apartheid. It’s reasonable to suggest that if any person is incarcerated for a lengthy period of time, upon release, only a shell of the person should be expected. And the voters elected the shell of Nelson Mandela president of South Africa.
The land of South Africa belongs to the black South Africans correct? Well, according to the New World Order Crowd, it belongs to everybody. The New World Order Crowd thinks that the United States belongs to everyone, legal citizens or not; Mexicans, Cubans, Arabs, Chinese, Japanese, Native Americans, and even some white people. But here is the deal. Nelson Mandela like the underachieving educated integrationist leaders in the United States, decided to prostitute the masses of black South Africans for money, fame, status, jobs, personal security etc. Black people in South Africa are not owners of major businesses, banks, farms, industries, i.e., the wealth of the nation. Many of them simply have jobs like African Americans. The wealth of the country belongs to the same people that owned the wealth during the years of Apartheid. As in the United States, the resources are shared with underachieving black minions who willfully participate in the conspiracy against the masses of all people; and against God.
Robert Mugabe is a symbol of freedom for Zimbabweans and the masses of people everywhere. Because of his decision and belief that the people of Zimbabwe should hold real power, farms, arable land, industries, institutions, etc., and has acted upon it, the integrationist leaders in the United States, South Afri