Video: Joementum on arsonists, fire departments, and Iran
posted at 7:14 pm on December 3, 2006 by Allahpundit
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Can Hagel really be as naive as he sounds talking about Iran’s motives in helping us out in Afghanistan? They had a wounded superpower fielding the world’s greatest military right next door and a president with an approval rating in the 80s talking about remaking the Middle East by force. The only failed state they were worried about at the time was their own. Plus, remember this? The lefties bludgeoned Bush with it this summer, not entirely unjustifiably:
Just after the lightning takeover of Baghdad by U.S. forces three years ago, an unusual two-page document spewed out of a fax machine at the Near East bureau of the State Department. It was a proposal from Iran for a broad dialogue with the United States, and the fax suggested everything was on the table — including full cooperation on nuclear programs, acceptance of Israel and the termination of Iranian support for Palestinian militant groups…
But top Bush administration officials, convinced the Iranian government was on the verge of collapse, belittled the initiative…
Trita Parsi, a Middle East expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, … said the U.S. victory in Iraq frightened the Iranians because U.S. forces had routed in three weeks an army that Iran had failed to defeat during a bloody eight-year war.
They were compliant because they were afraid. They’re not afraid now. On the contrary, a failed state is only a problem if someone else owns it. Lebanon was a failed state for 15 years and Iran’s on the cusp of seizing it; the Palestinian territories have failed and Iran’s making inroads there too. They’ve got a knack for this sort of thing, so why wouldn’t they welcome a failed state next door where the Shiite population already outnumbers everyone else 2 to 1?
And this is the Republican on the panel. Meanwhile, Joe Biden has a super-brilliant new direction for U.S. foreign policy: restarting the Cold War via “direct confrontation” with Putin.
Liebs looks good with that “Independent” under his name, though, doesn’t he?
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In a word, yes.
BTW, whatever happened to Ned Lament?
JammieWearingFool on December 3, 2006 at 7:31 PM
Look on the bright side – if we restart the Cold War with Russia, maybe they’ll keep AllofMp3 open out of spite.
Slublog on December 3, 2006 at 7:34 PM
Liberman sounds like a real man since he won the election. Can anybody prove Hagel theory of Iran’s help in Afganistan? It sounds supicious to me.
Ouabam on December 3, 2006 at 7:47 PM
I think it’s correct that Iran was not all that happy with an extremist Sunni group, the Taliban, next door to them. Thus, they didn’t have much problems with the US taking them out, although they probably didn’t like the idea of the US next door, either.
Yet Hagel tries to apply that nexus of US and Iranian goals to Iraq – where it doesn’t work. Iran and the US do not have the same goal in Iraq, a fact that seems to escape Hagel. Iran wants another client-state like they are gunning for in Lebanon with Hezbollah. Just change it to Iraq and al-Sadr and the Madhi militia, it’s the same strategy.
Seixon on December 3, 2006 at 8:04 PM
The world is upside down indeed. Here on this panel we have the repub, my party, sounding like an absolute idiot. I’ve known for awhile that Hagel is a cup and saucer short of a full place setting but this takes the cake. How does he think Islamic govts. come to power? Through chaos, through the lack of a strong central govt. Afghanistan anyone? The Taliban took control after the vacuum created after a decade of Soviet control. Lebanon? Syria, even today, has used this as a military base to strike Israel. Hagel, please shut up. The newly independent Leibs is dead on accurate. Biden, the plagarist, is right. What the hell is going on here? Is there any wonder the GOP lost? Hey Chuckie, remember Libya? Fear works………
ritethinker on December 3, 2006 at 9:57 PM
Hagel is an idiot. I don’t care who he flew for, he’s stupid. Get back on the American team, Chuck. Quit playing for jihadis.
Subsunk
Subsunk on December 3, 2006 at 11:02 PM
If it were not for the fact that it would only be a two year appointment, I would have given the nod to Liebs for Sec Def (Well I would have kept Rummy (anyone know who’s call it was to play police and not soldiers?)).
- The Cat
MirCat on December 3, 2006 at 11:14 PM
Ole Joe Lieberman may be the only liberal that “gets it” with regards to the threat Islam is to our nation. I’m still proud of him coming back fighting after the DEMS tried to run him out of the party. He looks mighty good with Independant under his name and he makes much more sense than Hagel on these issues.
Buzzy on December 3, 2006 at 11:34 PM
Yes, Hegel is naive, and Joe Biden is monumentally, amazingly, stupendously stupid.
And transparently dishonest. Doens’t anyone remember when he took Neil Kinnock’s ( British Labour Party leader at the time ) speech about events of his youth and plagiarized it, almost word-for-word? And got caught, but showed no shame? The media gave him a pass, of course, but he took another man’s PERSONAL recollections of his boyhood and stole them. How can anyone do sh*t like that and have the chutzpah to show his sallow face in public? I can understand Delaware voters seeking Pork, but Biden as anything more than a run-of-the-mill dishonest hack? As a foreign policy expert?
…almost as bad as Hastings on the House Intell Committee
Janos Hunyadi on December 3, 2006 at 11:44 PM
…you go, Joe.
There’s somebody who’s actually looking at the problem….
…anyone who doesn’t the threat of Islam — not “militant” Islam, but demographically out-of-control, orthodox Islam — doesn’t know the *FIRST* thing about Islam.
“…they can’t do without security, and they can’t achieve security if we begin to withdraw….”
…hit it outta the park, Joe. Outta the park.
Puritan1648 on December 4, 2006 at 12:09 AM
The Democrats’ talk about withdrawl suits their political agenda to pave their way into the White House in 2008. [/stating the obvious]
Black Adam on December 4, 2006 at 12:31 AM
The nutroots are the best thing that happened to J. Lieberman.
He looks/acts/talks liberated. He did that before but the (I) now gives him carte blanche. He now can be unemcumbered from both parties. Nice! We need more!
Entelechy on December 4, 2006 at 1:14 AM
Correction – s/b unincumbered, of course :(
Entelechy on December 4, 2006 at 1:15 AM
Way to go, Joe. JL really understands the nature of the Middle East mentality. Just like Libya, these people are tough minded negotiators and have no respect for appeasement policies. If you allow them, they’ll step all over you and give you a thrashing. Hagel; fowgetaboutit!
Jimmy Carter was the poster boy for playing limp-wristed appeaser with the Iran-o-nuts back in his administration. Jimmy and his empty threats that never came through. Those Iranians laughed at Jimmy and a limp, do nothing, impotent USA. No wonder the Islam-o-nuts today were happy to see the Dems take the elections. They know now they can slap the US around cause Congress will just hide in the boys room in a stall and soil their pants.
USN6872 on December 4, 2006 at 12:50 PM
Sure. Rumsfeld’s.
honora on December 4, 2006 at 3:32 PM
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