“The Lieberman whisper could have been “that’s classified” re: AQI getting trips inside Iran….”

funky chicken on March 19, 2008 at 9:12 PM

“He is lulling all his opponents into a false sense of security by feigning senility. Then when they least expect it, he will pounce.”

MB4 on March 19, 2008 at 9:31 PM

Question[s] then still remain, folks…
Which faux pas should concern us more, stating and implausible relationship three times after being reminded he was inaccurate or revealing classified information he should have kept under his hat?

MB4, I tend to lean toward your explanation.

He will end the war in Iraq

That’s my favorite Obama conceit of them all. He will not “end the war.” He will just cease our participation in it. The undefeated New England Patriots could have ended the Super Bowl before the Giants ultimately won by walking off the field before the end of regulation, but it wouldn’t have meant the game was over, just that they stopped participating.

“Ending the war” the way Obama wants will make the airlift off the embassy roof in Saigon (of which my wife was a participant) look like piling the family into the car for a Sunday drive.

Barack Obama will offer a clean break from the failed policies of the past. He will end the war in Iraq, finish the job in Afghanistan, and focus on the threats of the 21st century.”

If Obama does this, the break will be anything but clean, which will leave us to live with the guilt of abandoning Iraq at this juncture and the new threats from Iran and probably Iraq too after it’s taken over by Al-queda or “extremists” or whoever. This will be what we focus on in the 21st century as we watch our new president hand us over to these thugs.

Question now is; how do we define Senator McCain’s foreign policy faux pas…?

Any suggestions…?

J_Gocht on March 19, 2008 at 7:15 PM

He is lulling all his opponents into a false sense of security by feigning senility. Then when they least expect it, he will pounce.

mjk on March 19, 2008 at 6:32 PM

OMG, I think that you got a little carried away there.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are training hundreds of Al Qaeda fighters to carry out attacks against coalition forces throughout the Middle East.

The Iranian government has been providing a safe haven for fighters loyal to Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda terror group since they were forced to flee Afghanistan in late 2001.

But Western intelligence agencies now report that the Iranians are training Al Qaeda fighters at centers that were previously used by other Islamic militant groups, such as the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

The decision to allow Al Qaeda fighters to train in Iran was made by President Ahmadinejad as part of his policy of attempting to forge closer links with Mr. bin Laden’s organization…

nice

CSPAN had a show about on Book TV.

The author says the National Security Agency was BEGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGING the Commission to come read their intellegece data on Iran – Al Qaeda links but the Commissioners and the Staff showed no interest in going to the NSA offices to look at it.. until one staffer , very late in the Comission’s term, decided to check it out.

S/He was in total shock about the quality of connections between Iran and AQ and that the Commision , with the very little time it had left, tried to do its best to write into the report as much as it could about those connections.

So in other words.. what was published in the final report is the tip of the iceburg.

I haven’t read the book… this is what the author said in his interview.

Here’s some info that I got from here… I think the writer is a little to conspiracy-prone, but his comments jive with what I saw on CSPAN:

http://www.911blogger.com/node/13710

“Also revealed in Shenon’s book is the fact that the Commission’s staff never ventured to the National Security Agency (NSA), the chief collector of intelligence information, in order to review their “voluminous treasure trove of documents”. At NSA Headquarters, 27 miles from the Commission’s offices, there was a “gold mine” of information detailing terrorist’s threats and connections, including those of al Qaeda. General Michael Hayden, who headed the NSA at the time, was eager to cooperate and share what his organization had with the 9/11 Commission, but Executive Director Zelikow was not interested.

A lone staffer, who understood the importance of these archives, had the information moved to a reading room within walking distance of the Commission’s offices. Even then, she was the only member of the Commission to take the time to read these documents. By her own admission, this insightful staffer had concerns as to how much she, on her own, would be able to glean from these jargon filled documents. Why didn’t Phil Zelikow make reviewing these vital NSA documents a Commission priority? It seems clear that not every fact and lead was followed in this investigation compromising the validity of the Commission’s final report and its findings.”

It would appear to me President Bush only allows being made foolish once…?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKgPY1adc0A

From the posts on this board Senator McCain appears to have been accorded multiple “do-over’s”, by this board?

I believe President Clinton used to call them “Mulligan’s”…?

Question now is; how do we define Senator McCain’s foreign policy faux pas…?

Any suggestions…?

He gets all the most top secret al qaeda plans directly from his cousin Raila Odinga(who’s in direct communication with al qaeda BTW).

Poor Juan Mccain….if only he had direct ties to al qaeda and Hezzbollah like Hussein O, he might be able to win the presidency.

Obama didn’t read read the 9/11 Commission report

Chakra Hammer on March 19, 2008 at 5:53 PM

That’s because all White people refused to let blacks learn to read in the South. You racist! You should know that!

And you have to ask yourself this – If Iran is Al Q’s big supporter why is Bush diddling around then? I can see why he doesn’t go after Saudi Arabia, but not go after Iran if he believes that?

OMG, let’s just bomb every bloody country over there!!!!! Pakistan has lots of extremist groups, let’s go after them. Saudi Arabia sponsors terrorism, let’s nuke ‘em. Kuwait has sharia law and helps to glorify terrorists who ruthlessly murder Israelis, them too.

I don’t know where you learned diplomacy, but sometimes you have to make allies with some pretty despicable people to defeat a larger evil. Yes, Saudi Arabia is a disgusting place, but is the leader of SA willing to “play ball”? Then you take them. Just like WW2 and the ally of the Soviet Union even though we all know what a loverly dude Stalin was (and they knew it too).
Diplomacy is a dirty dirty game.

Joe Liberman knows that, so I think I’ll remain optimistic since he and not you is a senior person on McCain’s campaign.

freevillage on March 19, 2008 at 5:55 PM

Yeah, Juan Hernandez is a senior person on McCain’s campaign, too.

And you have to ask yourself this – If Iran is Al Q’s big supporter why is Bush diddling around then? I can see why he doesn’t go after Saudi Arabia, but not go after Iran if he believes that?

MB4 on March 19, 2008 at 5:58 PM

I don’t know why Bush is diddling around. Even McCain sings, “Bomb bomb bomb Iran”. Bush hasn’t exactly been a genius.

There’s no question that small groups of rebels could enter Iran and get their hand on some equipment etc. To imply that it means Iran is in any way aligned with Al Quaeda is insane. Joe Liberman knows that, so I think I’ll remain optimistic since he and not you is a senior person on McCain’s campaign.

freevillage on March 19, 2008 at 5:55 PM

Oh, right. Insane.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are training hundreds of Al Qaeda fighters to carry out attacks against coalition forces throughout the Middle East.

The Iranian government has been providing a safe haven for fighters loyal to Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda terror group since they were forced to flee Afghanistan in late 2001.

But Western intelligence agencies now report that the Iranians are training Al Qaeda fighters at centers that were previously used by other Islamic militant groups, such as the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

The decision to allow Al Qaeda fighters to train in Iran was made by President Ahmadinejad as part of his policy of attempting to forge closer links with Mr. bin Laden’s organization…

and the Revolutionary Guard itself is training Al Qaeda fighters who get sent back to Iraq and Afghanistan.

amerpundit on March 19, 2008 at 5:48 PM

You keep saying that and I don’t see much evidence for much of it. I don’t exclude some of it on a case-by-case tactical basis, but Saudi Arabians are Al Q’s big supporters. Iran mainly supports the Shiites in Iraq.

And you have to ask yourself this – If Iran is Al Q’s big supporter why is Bush diddling around then? I can see why he doesn’t go after Saudi Arabia, but not go after Iran if he believes that?

That hardly means that Sunni Al Q’s main supporter is Shiite Iran, as opposed to say Sunni Saudi Arabi, nor that Shiite Iran supports mostly Sunnis rather than Shiites in Iran.

Joe, and now apparently John, for whatever that is worth, agree with me.

MB4 on March 19, 2008 at 5:53 PM

I’m not saying Iran is Al Qaeda’s main supporter. But Iran’s own R.G. is training fighters inside of Iran, then sending them back to Iraq and Afghanistan. No matter how that’s twisted, that’s support. The baseline argument for Obama and the media was that the two wouldn’t work together because they’re different sects.

freevillage on March 19, 2008 at 5:55 PM

That is what you have advisers and generals for.

What is the difference? LOL

I didn’t phrase the sentence to your liking. Apologies.

No, I am in no position to criticize other people’s use of the English language. It’s not about that. It’s about not knowing what’s going on in the Middle East geopolitically and by implication still not having a plan for Iraq. This is what concerns me.

There’s no question that small groups of rebels could enter Iran and get their hand on some equipment etc. To imply that it means Iran is in any way aligned with Al Quaeda is insane. Joe Liberman knows that, so I think I’ll remain optimistic since he and not you is a senior person on McCain’s campaign.

amerpundit on March 19, 2008 at 5:48 PM

Obama didn’t read read the 9/11 Commission report

How about the fact that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are themselves training Al Qaeda? If you see the 9/11 Commission report, you’ll note that it concludes the divisions between the two are apparently not enough to get in the way of terror.

amerpundit on March 19, 2008 at 5:43 PM

Yes I saw that you posted that quote.

“The relationship between al Qaeda and Iran demonstrated that Sunni-Shia divisions did not necessarily pose an insurmountable barrier to cooperation in terrorist operations.”

That hardly means that Sunni Al Q’s main supporter is Shiite Iran, as opposed to say Sunni Saudi Arabi, nor that Shiite Iran supports mostly Sunnis rather than Shiites in Iran.

Joe, and now apparently John, for whatever that is worth, agree with me.