The legacy of President George W. Bush

[corianderstem]

Originally Posted by HyperU2

Welcome aboard. I don't really hate Liberals as much as I dislike Interference but it's sure fun to mess with both at once.

So ... you don't like the site and you're only really here to mess with liberals?

Okay then.

[BVS]

Originally Posted by HyperU2

Welcome aboard. I don't really hate Liberals as much as I dislike Interference but it's sure fun to mess with both at once.

Did you just admit to being a troll?

[HyperU2]

Originally Posted by Irvine511

no. i want you to tell me about how awesome oil and guns and SUVs are.

They speak for themselves.

[deep]

Bush says he misses seeing servicemembers, WH food
May 29, 2:46 AM (ET)

By JAMES PRICHARD

BENTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Flying on Air Force One, eating meals prepared by the White House kitchen staff and drawing inspiration from his encounters with U.S. military personnel were among things former President George W. Bush missed since leaving office, he said Thursday.

The often-tearful meetings he had with relatives of fallen soldiers were "in some ways, it was very uplifting," the Texas Republican said in a speech to The Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan at Lake Michigan College.

About eight people protested Bush's appearance outside the venue, carrying signs that called him a murderer and a traitor. The speech Thursday was one of the first made by the former president since leaving office in January.

Bush, the nation's 43rd president, spoke to 2,500 people about "the fog of war" that followed the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the economic downturn and his return to life as a regular citizen.

"It was a roller coaster of emotions, it really was," Bush said of the terror attacks. "I think about it now at times but I definitely thought about it every day as president."

He talked about the economy, blaming "a lack of responsible regulation" in the lending industry for the recession and said that the Federal National Mortgage Association, known as Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., or Freddie Mac, shouldn't have engaged in certain financial practices.

"I don't want to sound like a self-serving guy, but we did try to rein them in," Bush said.

.

[AliEnvy]

Both Bush and Clinton are speaking together in Toronto today...had a chance at a ticket but they were pricey. Would love to be there. I'm sure there will be plenty of protesters.

[zooropop40]

Originally Posted by AliEnvy

Both Bush and Clinton are speaking together in Toronto today...had a chance at a ticket but they were pricey. Would love to be there. I'm sure there will be plenty of protesters.

couldn't W. Bush technically be arrested for war crimes in Canada?

[AliEnvy]

It's my secret wish that this speaking engagement is really a sting operation for just that.

It's too bad it's closed to media.

[VintagePunk]

This made me laugh:

Bush-Clinton tickets not that hot - The Globe and Mail

[VintagePunk]

Wow, these guys really were batshit insane.

TheStar.com | World | Was Bush on a mission from God?


Was Bush on a mission from God?

May 29, 2009 04:30 AM
Mitch Potter
WASHINGTON BUREAU


WASHINGTON–George W. Bush comes to Toronto today bedevilled by fresh questions about whether the former U.S. president felt the hand of God driving his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bush, a born-again Christian since age 40, arrives for today's paid speaking engagement at Metro Toronto Convention Centre with fellow former president Bill Clinton amid a series of stranger-than-fiction disclosures, one of which suggests that apocalyptic fervour may have held sway within the walls of his White House.

Bush, who turns 63 in July and was 54 when first sworn into office in 2001, has yet to comment on the reports. They include last week's GQ magazine exposé into the hawkish use of scripture in 2003, when then-defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld forwarded secret intelligence memos to Bush embroidered with biblical passages.

"Therefore, put on the full armour of God," a verse from Ephesians, and "Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter," from Isaiah, are among the messages that adorn reports prepared for Bush by Rumsfeld's Pentagon.

Stranger still are new accounts emerging from France describing how former president Jacques Chirac was utterly baffled by a 2003 telephone conversation in which Bush reportedly invoked fanatical Old Testament prophecy – including the Earth-ending battle with forces of evil, Gog and Magog – in his arguments to enlist France in the Coalition of the Willing.

"This confrontation is willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase his people's enemies before a New Age begins," Bush said to Chirac, according to Thomas Romer, a University of Lausanne theology professor who was later approached by French officials anxious to understand the biblical reference. Romer first revealed his account in a 2007 article for the university review, Allez savoir, which passed largely unnoticed.

Chirac, in a new book by French journalist Jean-Claude Maurice, is quoted as confirming the surreal conversation, saying he was stupefied by Bush's reference to biblical prophecy and "wondered how someone could be so superficial and fanatical in their beliefs."

It remains unclear whether Bush will be asked to shed light on the matter in Toronto today, where civil tongues are likely to prevail in what is billed as "a conversation" between political heavyweights.

But in the absence of comment from Bush himself, disturbing questions about the extent to which his administration blurred the lines of religion and war loom large.

"Speculating on what goes on inside George Bush's head is always a bold endeavour. But the sense one gets from this is that biblical prophecy somehow factored in the thinking," said Clive Hamilton, a visiting scholar at Yale University in a recent article for counterpunch.org.

"The most striking thing for me is in the real world, trying to get France to go to war on that basis is crazy. It is hard to imagine a better way to scare off a potential friend."

Indeed, parts of these disclosures don't square with previous reports of Bush's religious motivations. In 2003, Bush reportedly told Palestinian delegates he felt the hand of God pushing him to establish a Palestinian state – an outcome opposed by hardcore U.S. evangelicals who support Israel, and campaign against Palestinian statehood on the basis of biblical prophecy.

But for many, including officials from America's Muslim communities, one need not go deep into biblical verse to be troubled.

"Just the fact that Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon would overlay briefings to the president with biblical verses confirms eight years of suspicions," said Salam al-Marayati, of the Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council.

"What is so disturbing is that it is similar to the way Al Qaeda uses sacred text to support their ambitions. As a Muslim who loves America, who wants my children and my grandchildren to feel this is their home, it is the last thing we want to see in a president."





The GQ article referred to in this one can be found here: AND HE SHALL BE JUDGED: GQ Features on men.style.com

[Irvine511]

you know, my theory is this: Cheney and Rummy knew that Bush was dumb enough to fall for apocalyptic hoo-hah, so this seems like a few bad men manipulating a dumb man.

[VintagePunk]

A while back I read this Time article about tension between Bush and Cheney at the end of Bush's presidency, because Bush refused Cheney's request to pardon Scooter Libby. Now there are even more reports of Cheney's disdain for Bush's supposed weakening in his second term.

Cheney Uncloaks His Frustration With Bush
'Statute of Limitations Has Expired' on Many Secrets, Former Vice President Says

By Barton Gellman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 13, 2009

In his first few months after leaving office, former vice president Richard B. Cheney threw himself into public combat against the "far left" agenda of the new commander in chief. More private reflections, as his memoir takes shape in slashing longhand on legal pads, have opened a second front against Cheney's White House partner of eight years, George W. Bush.

Cheney's disappointment with the former president surfaced recently in one of the informal conversations he is holding to discuss the book with authors, diplomats, policy experts and past colleagues. By habit, he listens more than he talks, but Cheney broke form when asked about his regrets.

"In the second term, he felt Bush was moving away from him," said a participant in the recent gathering, describing Cheney's reply. "He said Bush was shackled by the public reaction and the criticism he took. Bush was more malleable to that. The implication was that Bush had gone soft on him, or rather Bush had hardened against Cheney's advice. He'd showed an independence that Cheney didn't see coming. It was clear that Cheney's doctrine was cast-iron strength at all times -- never apologize, never explain -- and Bush moved toward the conciliatory."

...

The rest of the article can be found here: Cheney Uncloaks His Frustration With Bush

[elevated_u2_fan]

I like that they use the term "Uncloak" like he trully is some sort of creature of the darkness...

[VintagePunk]

Originally Posted by elevated_u2_fan

I like that they use the term "Uncloak" like he trully is some sort of creature of the darkness...

The whole post-mortem of the administration is just beginning, and I think it's going to get good.

[U2isthebest]

It's kind of hard to get along with anyone when you don't have a soul. I heard Dick keeps his in his man-sized safe.

[financeguy]

Originally Posted by VintagePunk

A while back I read this Time article about tension between Bush and Cheney at the end of Bush's presidency, because Bush refused Cheney's request to pardon Scooter Libby. Now there are even more reports of Cheney's disdain for Bush's supposed weakening in his second term.



The rest of the article can be found here: Cheney Uncloaks His Frustration With Bush

I reckon the partially sane wing (I operate on the presumption that neocons are insane until proved otherwise) influenced and lobbied Bush and prevented an attack on Iran. There was a lot of briefing going on and curious stories appearing around 2006/2007 which hinted at disagreement in the administration over this issue. For example, some negative stories regarding the Cheney wing were appearing in the Murdoch press.

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by financeguy

I reckon the partially sane wing (I operate on the presumption that neocons are insane until proved otherwise) influenced and lobbied Bush

i think this is true post-Katrina and post-2006 electoral drubbing where Rumsfeld was (finally!) fired.

it's hilarious for some to say that Obama is just following Bush's plan for Iraq, when Bush's plan for Iraq had changed dramatically after 2006, but ignoring this helps some people pretend like this had been the plan all along in 2003 and that everything has gone so smashingly.

[Strongbow]

Originally Posted by Irvine511

i think this is true post-Katrina and post-2006 electoral drubbing where Rumsfeld was (finally!) fired.

it's hilarious for some to say that Obama is just following Bush's plan for Iraq, when Bush's plan for Iraq had changed dramatically after 2006, but ignoring this helps some people pretend like this had been the plan all along in 2003 and that everything has gone so smashingly.

Well, lets see what happened after the 2006 elections in which the Democrats re-took the House and Senate.

Did-

A. Bush do what the Democrats wanted which was to withdraw ALL US Combat brigades from Iraq in less than 16 months regardless of conditions on the ground.

B. Give a watered down version of what the Democrats wanted.


C. The exact opposite of what the Democrats wanted and increase the the number of US combat brigades on the ground in Iraq by 33%, sending US force levels in Iraq to their highest levels ever.


The answer is C.

Although there was distance between the Bush administration and Democratic members of congress before the 2006 elections, that distance actually got greater in early 2007 as Bush initiated the Surge, and the Democraticly controlled congress and Barack Obama spent most of 2007 trying to force Bush to do the exact opposite.

The Democrats failed, and further attempts amounted to nothing as the the success of the surge blew away any steam the Democrats had left on that front.

Since 2003, Bush has consistently stayed on the course of "as they stand up, will stand down". Standing up the Iraqi military and government has taken several years, but as it was stated llong ago, provided the United States does not withdraw prematurely from the effort, it will succeed, and as Iraqi military and security forces grow in size and ability, and conditions on the ground improve, US forces can start to be withdrawn.


In January 2007, Barack Obama stated that he would withdraw all 15 US combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008 regardless of conditions on the ground.

Whats funny about that statement is now that he is President starting in January 2009, he is actually KEEPING 14 brigades on the ground in Iraq at least until March of 2010!!!!!

Sorry, but this has never been and will never be, the Obama plan. It couldn't be further from it as shown above. Its the Bush plan and Obama is following it, because it is working!

We don't hear anymore crap about Iraq being a Civil War, not being a country, not having a government, that the "Surge Won't Work" or the "Surge Has Failed", and since becoming President Obama has never used his campaign statement that Iraq was a war that should have never of been fought.

On top of it all, Obama keeps Bush's Secretary Of State, a person who supported the war that he was so opposed to before becoming President. Its the first time in the history of the United States that a new President from the opposing party has kept the previous President's Secretary Of State on the job. Another endorsement that Obama has made on Bush defense and Iraq policy since being elected.

There may still be some people out there that want to defend the idea of leaving Saddam in power in Iraq, but their numbers are getting smaller every day.


Admiral Mike Mullen VS Obama on the Surge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJbsQ7oUQWw

Here Obama says that the Surge will make things worse in Iraq:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_igp...eature=related

In 2009, its rather clear that Obama is following Bush on Iraq policy.

[financeguy]

Make it stop. Please. Someone.

[Diemen]

You can always use the Ignore list.

[HyperU2]

Event on Abu Ghraib soldier canceled over threats - Yahoo! News

It's nice to see those that abhor torture embrace violence to get their way.