Robert M. Gates: One Word From the Truth
The new Secretary of Defense came so close to saying the truth on his first day in office. It was as if he was trying to communicate the real deal, but in an acceptable format for his new boss. The brain is so good at sending secret signals of what we really believe. Here's how he put it: “All of us want to find a way to bring America’s sons and daughters home again. But as the president has made clear, we simply cannot afford to fail in the Middle East. Failure in Iraq would be a calamity that would haunt our nation, impair our credibility and endanger Americans for decades to come.” If he just replaced "would" with "will", you have a devastatingly accurate picture of reality:
“Failure in Iraq will be a calamity that will haunt our nation, impair our credibility and endanger Americans for decades to come.”
After all, that's what has really happened, and I'm sure Robert Gates knows it. He certainly didn't try the administration's tired old line that we are marching to victory on this. Nobody tries shoveling that anymore. Gates is quite aware that he didn't get the job because the plan was working so well with Donald Rumsfeld. Of course supporters of the administration will insist this isn't how the new Secretary of Defense feels at all. It's wrong to read into his words. He may even believe in this mission as much as the President is pretending to - that things will eventually turn out great.
Maybe so, but I was amused to see the Yahoo News headline about the comment. Apparently, I wasn't alone in hearing a slightly different message. Here's the headline from early this morning: "Gates: Failure in Iraq will haunt U.S."
And so it goes.
Gates: Failure in Iraq will haunt U.S. - Yahoo! News
posted by Bill McDonald @ 7:09 AM
11 comments
11 Comments:
how about:
“Failure in Iraq * IS * a calamity that * IS * haunt(ing) our nation, impair(ing) our credibility and endanger(ing) Americans ......”
I believe it MAY be the trigger for the economic free-fall ..everyone is waiting for (worrying about)..
US housing meltdown and OPEC price-fixing have prepared things.. in the U.S. ..so IRAQ / increased chaos in the middle east... may be enough...
TommyLee
We have already failed in Iraq. The Christmas miracle Bush & Co. are hoping for is a way to make it look like we've succeeded. If only the damn media would stop reporting the bad news! And start reporting some of the good things that are happening! Like...uh...
We hate Gates in Oregon since by his lies (1981-?) he condemned into prison his worker, an Oregonian who was the salesman for Wah Chang's personnel mines and cluster bombs manufactured in Albany for delivery to Saddam Hussein.
At his birth September 25, 1943, we see Mercury afflicted at birth, and the Moon ill-aspecting Mercury; Mercury ill-dignified at Birth; Mercury square the Moon; Mercury ill-aspecting Mars by direction, and Mars weak; Saturn and Mars afflicting Mercury; Saturn significator square Mercury; Mars ill-aspecting Mercury; Mars significator square Mercury, his most solem protestations are not to be believed.
This total entry appears in the astrological encyclopedia as the entry for Liars -- Lying -- Falsifiers.
Directions from the Nativity turn toward the worse, and this year exact his progressing new Moon in Sagittarius where we see the Sun and Moon significators opposing Mars, and Mars ill-dignified; Mars significator conjunct Saturn, and Mars ill-dignified. This partial entry appears in the astrology case studies in the entry for Murder -- Murderers -- Murdered -- Murderous -- Mars and his afflicting aspects are the principal causes of murder, and of causing people to do things under sudden, exciting, and rash impulses.
In my professional opinion, the planet patterns in Gates' life, especially Mars and Saturn, confer in him a degenerate ethical sense, violence resort, and an amoral anti-social barbarity. A second opinion may confirm or refute my own.
I. Howard Teicher, hereby state that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the facts presented herein are true, correct and complete.
7. ... the United States actively supported the Iraqi war effort by supplying the Iraqis with billions of dollars of credits, by providing U.S. military intelligence and advice to the Iraqis, and by closely monitoring third country arms sales to Iraq to make sure that Iraq had the military weaponry required. The United States also provided strategic operational advice to the Iraqis to better use their assets in combat. For example, in 1986, President Reagan sent a secret message to Saddam Hussein telling him that Iraq should step up its air war and bombing of Iran. This message was delivered by Vice President Bush who communicated it to Egyptian President Mubarak, who in turn passed the message to Saddam Hussein.
8. I personally attended meetings in which CIA Director Casey or CIA Deputy Director Gates noted the need for Iraq to have certain weapons such as cluster bombs and anti-armor penetrators in order to stave off the Iranian attacks. When I joined the NSC staff in early 1982, CIA Director Casey was adamant that cluster bombs were a perfect "force multiplier" that would allow the Iraqis to defend against the "human waves" of Iranian attackers.
16. Under CIA Director Casey and Deputy Director Gates, the CIA authorized, approved and assisted Cardoen in the manufacture and sale of cluster bombs and other munitions to Iraq.
Bill,
I didn't know you were such a foreign policy wonk with more knowledge than those inside the Pentagon actually prosecuting the war. I'm really impressed.
Hey, while you're at it, can you give me some stock tips?
Apparently Butch can type and breathe at the same time. But it looks like he can't read. Fodder for Iraq?
The stock tip is buy Cheney. His company is raking in the (unexamined) bucks.
A foreign policy wonk? Maybe not, but at least I visited a bunch of countries, unlike our President before he took office. He had all the resources in the world to go explore as a young man, but he had no curiosity. That's a sign of a dull mind - you're living in a world this fascinating, and you're not interested.
So everyone who has not visited a foreign country has a "dull mind"? That makes us a pretty dull population as a whole seeing as how the estimated number of US Citizens with a passport is said to be somewhere between 7%-21%. That's a LOT of "dull minds".
How did that "dull mind" manage to get a bechelor's degree from Yale and an MBA from Harvard? "Dull mind" indeed.
No, Butch, many people don't have the means to visit foreign countries, but if you're a rich kid like President Bush you should have at least been more places than our President. Even Paris Hilton knows that. Start by visiting your own Dad when he was stationed in China.
Butch,
This can't be the first time you've heard of President Bush's lack of curiosity in the world. Or can it?
Not the first time I've heard of his 'lack of curiosity', no. I've heard that many times before. Those claims have something very much in common with the claims that Bush is lacking in the IQ department: they're both made only by liberals that don't know the man and are basing it on nothing objective.
It's just a stupid claim to make....PERIOD. The fact is you cannot measure one's "curiosity in the world" based upon his travel habits. If he had decided to use his "resources" to galivant around Europe or Asia when he was young, then you Bush-haters would be throwing around the "playboy" word.
No, Bush didn't travel around the world to satisfy his curiosity (that he doesn't have per you). He actually got an education and worked. Strange concept.
You were fortunate that you chose to and were able to see other parts of the World....as was I. But I don't look down upon those that choose not to. I suspect you didn't either until dubya came along.
I don't look down on people who aren't naturally curious and interested in the world - I just don't want them to be President.
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