From the International Herald Tribune 
BEIRUT, Lebanon: A Lebanese man was killed on Sunday in clashes that broke out between Shiite and Sunni Muslims in a predominantly Sunni neighborhood in West Beirut, police officials said.
Ahmed Ali Mahmoud, a 20…

So, have you got anything else? Or are fairy tales the sum and substance of this particular moonbat calumny?

Athanasius on December 4, 2006 at 9:38 PM

I cite an ambassabdor and a respected author. You counter he’s and everyone he knows is a big liar. Well okay then.

PS: you may want to consider, just for a moment, that someone writes Bush’s speeches for him. Just a wild guess, but I think those folks whose titles are “White House speech writers” might have something to do with this. (Take a gander at the WH website).

Honestly, how naive can you be?

Report: Weapons flooding in from Syria

But no chance WMDs were smuggled out through Syria, right? Especially not after Rockefeller went to the region and told all leaders that war was coming OVER A YEAR before the war, right?

January 2003 the President invited three members of the Iraqi opposition to join him to watch the Super Bowl. In the course of the conversation the Iraqis realized that the President was not aware that there was a difference between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. He looked at them and said, “You mean…they’re not, you know, there, there’s this difference. What is it about?”

Galbraith cites this story in his book The End of Iraq, and claims to source it, which take it means he cites some liar who told it to him. But in a speech in Cincinnati on October 8, 2002, Bush said:

Our demands are directed only at the regime that enslaves them and threatens us. When these demands are met, the first and greatest benefit will come to Iraqi men, women and children. The oppression of Kurds, Assyrians, Turkomans, Shi’a, Sunnis and others will be lifted. The long captivity of Iraq will end, and an era of new hope will begin.

I didn’t bother to find any prior references, because that one blows Galbraith’s story out of the water.

So, have you got anything else? Or are fairy tales the sum and substance of this particular moonbat calumny?

they aren’t “pro-” anything.

People committing suicide are seldom that optimistic.

Puritan1648 on December 4, 2006 at 12:15 AM

Agreed.

Prediction: The entire region looks a whole lot different a year from now, and Bush comes out looking like a freaking prophet. Not that you’d think it was even possible, given that he’s such an idiot.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’d still like for civilization to win this one.

Pablo on December 3, 2006 at 4:10 PM

Love the optimism, Pablo; oh, for it to be true!

Proof, please. Got a link?

Athanasius on December 4, 2006 at 4:19 PM

Peter Galbraith, ambassador to Croatia. There are some links but require fees for full article, just type in his name and Sunni/Shiite.

This would be the same George Bush who didn’t know the difference between a Sunni and Shiite–or indeed that there were these hostile sects–before the war?

Proof, please. Got a link?

Maybe in the long run it’s better that we sit back and let the sunni/shiite divide become a full blown civil war. Both will be weaker when it’s over. Pablo’s right, Bush comes out of it lookin’ like a freakin’ GENIUS!

This would be the same George Bush who didn’t know the difference between a Sunni and Shiite–or indeed that there were these hostile sects–before the war? I’m gonna need some more explanation on that one.

Those big guns, turned 90 degrees, Iraqi troops posted on the beaches of Kuwait … that makes for a nice combination.

Silly Saddam, he thought the Marines were landing there. The only thing landing on those beaches were (as you’ve described them) Volkwagons (or Splodybugs). Ol’ Stormin’ Norman used the media to make Saddam think this and CNN didn’t like being used for that purpose, although today they don’t seem to mind being used by the terrorists for THEIR propaganda.

We need to broadcast live pictures of the Missouri and the Iowa pounding jihadis from just offshore. Hey achmed, try to shoot RPGs at THIS! Roadside bombs? Yeah, that oughta sink her.

YES! Bring back the Iowa class battleships!!! Just like we did for every OTHER war since their retirement. I wanna see those big 16 inch guns pounding away at jihadis! Imagine their horror as the shells from the guns of the New Jersey and Wisconsin come crashing down upon them! YOU WANNA F&*# WITH AMERICA, BITCH??? — Tony737

…there’s something just and satisfying about lobbing exploding Volkswagens at villains. That’s what we poor teamies on my team in the Army used to call 16-inch shells.

We sent some of our teamies over to Lebanon about the time those animals blew up the barracks, back in the ’80′s. They had the Iowa there then, too…and sent the waddies in the hills a few cast-iron love-notes.

“Excuse me, Ibrahim…do you hear a freight train?”

“Why, yes I do, Abd-el-Rahman-al-Shahid-ibn-Joe-Camel! What on Allah’s green earth do you think it could *BOOOOOOOOM*….”

There’s something satisfying about actually expending ordnance once it’s all paid for. It sort of lets the citizens know that the military isn’t just for parading and battleships aren’t all just museums not permitted to dock in San Francisco.

Prediction: The entire region looks a whole lot different a year from now, and Bush comes out looking like a freaking prophet. Not that you’d think it was even possible, given that he’s such an idiot. — Pablo

…don’t think I’ll take that bet.

Mind you, I’d have to agree…he hasn’t fought wars badly, but he’s sold ‘em badly…and, as commander-in-chief, selling a war is a key skill set. He hasn’t got it.

…and, it would seem that he’s a few Pollyana’s on his team, not only concerning the Middle East and the honor of his “loyal” opponents in the Party of Treason, but about some of the people either on or formerly on his own team. That can be fatal. Presidents only have friends on the golf course…and, if they’re smart, they lie to *THEM*….

The Levant will be an interesting place in the short term.

I like how CNN loves to describe the Lebanese government as “American backed” or “Pro-American”. What’s next the “Pro-Israel Lebanese government?” — theworldisnotenough

…this only shows the naivete of CNN…stay-at-home journalism, relying on stringers and ideology, is eating at their braincells, just as it’s eaten at their testicle cells….

There *ARE* not “pro-” anything parties in the Middle East. There are only “anti-” factions. One faction may be “Iranian-via-Syrian-backed” or “American-via-Israel-backed”, but they aren’t “pro-” anything.

People commiting suicide are seldom that optimistic.

I understand that 35 years ago Lebanon was over 50% Christian. It is now less than 25% Christian. This is in 35 years folks… You figure it out.

The Syrians and Iranians want to expand their sphere of influence. They are playing the time tested game of power politics and realpolitik. They’ve seen the weakness of the West to stand up to a constant onslaught of terrorism and subterfuge. They’ve…

I first saw it on The Heritage Foundation’s web site, but lucked into finding a broadcast on CSPAN last month and I DVR’d it and burned it off to DVD. Just an excellent appraisal and history of the situation in Lebanon, and with radical islam in general.

Man, there’s just something so sexy about that class of battleship. It’s like a beautiful woman, those curves, those lines, that fire power!

We brought them back for Desert Storm, we need ‘em now more than ever…

“Islamic Court of Mogadishu” – See ya!

“Abu Sayyef” – GONE!

“Janjaweed” – Later gator!

“Hezbollah” – BUH bye!

“Hamas” – Goodnight!

Any other terrosist group within 20 miles of the coast – DEAD!

I almost joined the Navy ’cause of those bad ass ships, but they were retired, so I joined the Air Force.

Perfect timing for this story, I’m half way through “Because They Hate” by Brigitte Gabriel. It’s about her childhood during the late 70s and early 80s in Lebanon. She’s a Christian, the muslims are trying to wipe them all out of her country. The commies take sides with the muzzies, the media takes sides with the muzzies and when Israel tries to save the Christians, they are blamed for being the aggressors. Wow, sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Brigitte grew up in an Arab society, and was told that Jews are eeeevil, but when she was in an Israeli hospital she saw how kind the Israelis were … to her AND to any muslims that were there with injuries. The muslim patients whose lives were saved by Jewish doctors wished those very same doctors dead. Amazing.

She also talks about how libs in the West don’t see the truth and don’t *wanna* see it. She has a great qoute for them – “When you bury your head in the sand, you make a great big fat target out of your ass.” Exactly.

Scroll down to Show #18 from Nov. 22.

It’s hard out here on a hyperpower.

HEHE.

“Hyperpower.” Hmm that just reminded me of the current military spending debate. Unmothball battleships or build new weapons platforms ie the new class of destroyers?

My small goverment antifederalist urges say “Bring back the Missouri!” Why spend billions to defeat a technologically advanced enemy that doesn’t exist? I’m not saying do not spend the R&D dollars, just wait until production is neccesary, then produce. I am weary of spending unneccesarily. Our methods of warfare have changed, we must adapt, but that does not mean we should be spending money on technology that is no more effective than our current war fighting capacity. Smart munitions can be fired by battleships from over the horizon and be guided to a target via laser or gps, which is significant because the proponents of these new ships are shopping the ground support angle, so why spend billions on ships that we really do not need?

One huge advantage is that new ships use far less people, demographically speaking that is to our advantage,but the cost is gargantuan. That money is better spent on technology we can use more immediately. An unintended (I hope) benefit of the war is the rapid deployment and development of new weapons and tactics let us spend our money there for the benefit of the nation and our troops.

Christian cover? I don’t get it either.

Theworldisnotenough on December 3, 2006 at 5:12 PM

Christain shite. It might sound weird. That is what it is.

I like how CNN loves to describe the Lebanese government as “American backed” or “Pro-American”.

Right, like Saddam. Unless we’re actively working against them, we’re entirely responsible for them. We might as well have made them from whole cloth, so that we can be fully responsible for everything they do or fail to do.

It’s hard out here on a hyperpower.