a capella on February 28, 2008 at 6:07 PM

Passion is great but it has to be anchored in reality. McCain is a divisive candidate who essentially wants to kick a good portion of the party to the curb so that he can woo the liberals who are dissatisfied with how far left the Dems have drifted. It’s a different strategy but fickle Democrats aren’t the ones that got out the vote for the GOP these last few decades. I seriously doubt that McCain’s “f**k off” strategy will ultimately work. He’ll either need to mend fences or we get President Obama. I’m currently betting on the latter since McCain seems incapable of anything but his arrogant “screw you” mentality and I don’t know why we should be expected to trust him with foreign affairs when he refuses to even talk to his own party members.

highhopes on February 28, 2008 at 5:53 PM

It won’t be long before she slips up and refers to McCain as a deity figure. It’s right there on her keyboard wanting to come out.:) Can’t fault her for the devotion, though.

funky chicken on February 28, 2008 at 5:18 PM

Call it what you want but I’m not a Democrat, but a lifelong Republican/conservative. You can demean and dismiss my comments if you like but what does it say that you’re already coining MDS to insult conservatives? You think the Democrats/liberals are going to embrace Triceratops and you can just tell the rest of us to f**k off?

Well back at you!

Because sometimes you need a smile.

JOHN MCCAIN GOING OUT AFTER RUMSFELD IS VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL TO MURTHA GOING OUT AFTER THOSE MARINES. Both situations are politicians doing and saying stuff that undermines the military and it is just as evil when McCain does it as it is when Murtha or Durbin does it.

highhopes on February 28, 2008 at 2:42 PM

That, my friends, is the face of MDS.

Although problems do occur in combat situations to be sure, none of what Obama related makes any sense and is, according to people with whom I spoke, untrue. Units the size of platoons are not sent to separate theaters, ammunition has been plentiful, and an investigation indicates that the unit in question was missing only one of its Humvees, all to no peril of the unit.

While this may be true of a typical infantry unit, it is a generalized statement which, as I understood it, states that units are not deployed as platoons to separate theaters.
OUT

tony the tiger on February 28, 2008 at 2:12 PM

Obama’s quote was, “You know, I’ve heard from an Army captain who was the head of a rifle platoon — supposed to have 39 men in a rifle platoon.”

This wasn’t a CSS platoon, but an infantry unit.

He was too opinionated to realize we need to drastically change our strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan until it was alomst too late.

BohicaTwentyTwo on February 28, 2008 at 1:55 PM

Agreed, but once again, you are just avoiding the point in an effort to keep from criticizing Tricepratops for things that he should be criticized over. McCain’s vendetta was too public and too personal for it just being a policy difference. JOHN MCCAIN GOING OUT AFTER RUMSFELD IS VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL TO MURTHA GOING OUT AFTER THOSE MARINES. Both situations are politicians doing and saying stuff that undermines the military and it is just as evil when McCain does it as it is when Murtha or Durbin does it.

That would be Army Chief of Staff General George Casey.

But then what does he know?

Maybe he is just a phony soldier like General Ricardo Sanchez.

MB4 on February 28, 2008 at 2:01 PM

The captain in question said he was referring to a specific training supply shortage 5 years ago. Obama said they had to capture Taliban weapons for use in combat.

He lied, or at least intentionally distorted, to politicize it. Whichever term you like less.

Here is a surefire (pardon the pun) way to see just how much B.O. really knows about warfare.

Take him out to any local firing range.

Give him an M16 and a clip (loaded with blanks, of course)

Tell him to load the clip into the M16, then aim at the target and fire.

Just don’t tell him about the safety. See if he can figure that out for himself.

pilamaye on February 28, 2008 at 1:44 PM

Even better… Tell him about the safety, and wait-n-see what he does when he goes “clickety-click” on the second round.
***’course, you knew that’d happen anyways, right?
I wouldn’t let anybody on a range without basic PMI… just don’t make sense.

Units the size of platoons are not sent to separate theaters, ammunition has been plentiful, and an investigation indicates that the unit in question was missing only one of its Humvees, all to no peril of the unit. ….

Not to be contriversal on my first post here, but… My company deployed as designed, SEPARATE PLATOONS in support of GWOT to three different, geographically separate countries. Technically still in-theater (if separated by time alone) but that’s the way it went.
24MAR02 I arrived in Bagram with one other soldier. Yes, there were lots of other folks there way before us.
The rest of the platoon followed-on about two weeks later.
Around June another platoon arrived in K2, Uzbekistan.
A third platoon flew into Kuwait around July.
Modular Ammunition Support troops, that was the way we were designed to work.
Oh, and when we arrived in Bagram, we had no ammunition or vehicles. No biggie, as we were able to procure ammo within 24 hours of arrival, and a vehicle within a week.

Thanks Cap’n. Enjoyed your site; hope it works out for ya’ here.

CW2, OD (Ret)

Didn’t the chairman of the Joint Chief of Staffs say they had no reason to disbelieve Obama’s comments regarding weapon and ammo shortages during the early phase?

a capella on February 28, 2008 at 12:06 PM

That would be Army Chief of Staff General George Casey.

But then what does he know?

Maybe he is just a phony soldier like General Ricardo Sanchez.

highhopes on February 28, 2008 at 1:25 PM

As for Rummy, meh. There was a point in time when the DoD needed Rumsfeld, and he did very well in helping transform the military from a cold war army trained to face the Warsaw Pact, to one more ready for the asynchronous battlefield. However, he stayed on about two years too long. He was too opinionated to realize we need to drastically change our strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan until it was alomst too late.

I’m becoming more and more confident that McCain is going to win in a landslide.

noelgallagher2k on February 28, 2008 at 11:55 AM

I am becoming more and more confident that either you or I are insane.

Time well tell.

Take him out to any local firing range.

Give him an M16 and a clip (loaded with blanks, of course)

Tell him to load the clip into the M16, then aim at the target and fire.

Just don’t tell him about the safety. See if he can figure that out for himself.

funky chicken on February 28, 2008 at 1:30 PM

**eyeroll**

Hey Funky… ask your husband if he works at all with any U.N. Forces in Afgahnistan. LOL Might be surprised what you hear.

But then I won’t be wearing a U.N. Patch when I go over either. **eyeroll over**

John McCain should focus on this gap, and based on his rapid-fire engagement with Obama on al-Qaeda in Iraq yesterday, he looks ready to do so.

I really don’t think that McCain would be well advised to focus on Iraq. Last poll I saw, 70% of Americans want the U.S. out of Iraq within a year. He would probably have a better chance of beating Obama if he just let Iraq stay on the back burner as much as possible and focused on other issues like say the economy. But since I washed my hands of Juan Plantation McVano some time ago, if he wants to ignore my advise and focus on Iraq, go right ahead Juan. Mucha suerte.

McCain may have served as a naval aviator, but he has also served on the Armed Services Committee for years. He knows a platoon from a battalion, and he knows the structure, purpose, and strategy for the American military better than most of the people in and out of Washington. Wartime is not the moment for apprenticeship at the highest level of command, and McCain needs to remind America of that truth.

If Juan knew the structure and purpose of the U.S. military he would know that it is not for “Nation Building”. That would be the State Department and the Peace Corp.

P.S. Most Americans do not consider this to be “War time”, they consider it to be “Shopping time”.

Hi ho, hi ho it’s of to war shop we go.

…well, that’s a short list

DEFINITELY needs to start getting some serious advisors together asap! The schpeel about Al Queda not being in Iraq until the US invaded is a nice distraction from the forward-thinking of what to do in 2009, but it’s not a plan for the future. It’s a look back 5yrs into the past. Yeah, it sells well with the nutroots, but a sans a timemachine…ya better get a plan soon your holiness.

QUESTION: Didn’t the Democrats run on the idea that they would get the US out of Iraq and that they had a plan for a New Direction in Iraq? Wasn’t that 2yrs ago? What happened? Was it a problem not having unchecked power on The Hill?

Get a staff and get a plan O

I promise you that when my husband flies over Afghanistan he doesn’t change his uniform or put on a special “UN Mission” patch. eyeroll

It ain’t “Multinational Force Afghanistan” like it is in Kosovo

highhopes, that is pure, unadulterated bullshit.

Think so? Would a President Tricepratops put up with a Senator who was trying to run the DOD and fire the SECDEF? We already know that McCain has uncontrollable anger management problems and is a complete SOB to work for.

As I just posted, you’ve essentially ignored the bulk of the points I was making to find one grain of sand to prop up McCain.

But I’m with you, there are tons of good reasons to support McCain along with some reasons not to. But the good far outweighs the bad. It’s not even close. The people who won’t vote for McCain aren’t conservatives. They’re fanatics in search of a Messiah. They want a Republican Obama, someone who will allow them to believe that finally the government is going to do the right things to make their lives work well, instead of doing what is necessary on their own.

The Apologist on February 28, 2008 at 11:57 AM

bye!

BohicaTwentyTwo on February 28, 2008 at 1:08 PM

Fine you don’t like that example but what about McCain’s very personal vendetta against Rumsfeld? What about the comparison of time in Congress to having special insight. You’ve essentially ignored the bulk of the points I was making to find one grain of sand just to prop up Tricepratops.

What’s “Tricepratops”?

Califemme on February 28, 2008 at 1:02 PM

The rhino-looking dinosaur. Perfect nickname for the RINO dinosaur running for President.

gotta go, volunteer shift time