Showing posts with label War in Iraq. Show all posts
Showing posts with label War in Iraq. Show all posts
Everyone Has an Opinion on the Iraq War
Everyone seems to have an opinion--and a quote--on the War in Iraq: pro-War, anti-War, prognosticators, Hollywood stars and late night talk show hosts. We have sifted through hundreds of quotes, some as early as 1999, made on the War in Iraq and boiled them down to sixty.
Sixty Quotes on the War in Iraq
"Never in the history of the world has any soldier sacrificed more for the freedom and liberty of total strangers than the American soldier."
--Zell Miller (D) Georgia 2004
"I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency."
--Vice President Dick Cheney, on the Iraq insurgency, June 20, 2005
“We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country.”
--Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
"Iraq is a manufactured conflict for the sake of geopolitical dominance in the area."
--Actress/radio host Janeane Garofalo
"There's a lot of peer pressure to not do positive stories out of Iraq... I think there's a sense that the administration got a pass during the hot days of war and now that the war is over it's time to even out the deck somewhat."
--Jerry Nachman
"Our enemies around the globe gain great advantage by having the United States mired in an Iraqi civil war. Clearly, continuing to pursue the president's flawed escalation policy until at least July 2008 is not in the national interest of the United States."
--Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
"Iraq began destroying those missiles they don't have over the weekend. See, President Bush may be the smartest military president in history. First, he gets Iraq to destroy all of their own weapons. Then he declares war."
--Jay Leno
"Freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things."
-–Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on looting in Iraq after the U.S. invasion, adding "stuff happens," April 11, 2003
"There's no connection between al-Qaeda and Iraq."
--Actor George Clooney
"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."
–-President Bush, standing under a "Mission Accomplished" banner on the USS Lincoln aircraft carrier, May 2, 2003
"I opposed going to war in Iraq. Sen. McCain was one of Washington's biggest supporters of the war."
--Presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama D-IL
“I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force– if necessary– to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security.”
--Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002
"The Canadian government continues to say they will not help us if we go to war with Iraq. However, the prime minister of Canada said he'd like to help, but he's pretty sure that last time he checked, Canada had no army."
--Late night show host Conan O'Brien
“I believe myself that the secretary of state, secretary of defense and — you have to make your own decisions as to what the president knows — that this war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq.”
--Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., April 19, 2007
“The president said, “Let’s send some more troops over there, and that will give the Iraqis the time to take care of themselves.” We sent other troops over there, and there are a lot of reasons the surge certainly hasn’t hurt. It’s helped. I recognize that.”
--Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., December 21, 2007
"There are American officials who consider Iraq as if it were one of their villages, for example Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin. I ask them to come back to their senses,"
--Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki after Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton and other U.S. critics who have called for him to be replaced; Aug 26 07
"The former dictator of Iraq will face the justice he denied to millions... It marks the end of the road for him and all who bullied and killed in his name... In the history of Iraq, a dark and painful era is over. A hopeful day has arrived."
--George W. Bush after the capture of Saddam Hussein, December 15, 2003
"We are ready to sacrifice our souls, our children and our families so as not to give up Iraq. We say this so no one will think that America is capable of breaking the will of the Iraqis with its weapons."
--Saddam Hussein, before fighting started
"The latest rumor is the United States is working behind the scenes to try to find a 'safe haven' for Saddam Hussein. See if he agrees to step down and leave Iraq, we will relocate him. What a nightmare, where are you going to send a guy who thinks America is a nest of greedy imperialists intent on bleeding the third world of all their resources? I mean, besides Berkeley?"
--Jay Leno
"For it has been said so truthfully that it is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who gives that protester the freedom to abuse and burn that flag."
--Zell Miller (D) Georgia 2004
"As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time."
-—Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, responding to a U.S. soldier serving in Iraq who asked him why troops had to dig through scrap metal to armor vehicles, Dec. 8, 2004
“One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line.”
--President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998
"Why do the President and Vice-President constantly change the subject when asked to explain why things are going so badly in Iraq? The answer is simple. They have been consistently wrong about Iraq, and the results speak for themselves."
--Sen. Patrick Leahy
"With the regime's feared security forces nowhere to be seen, Iraqis dared to cheer U.S. troops and attack the symbols of Saddam's rule. They danced in the streets, waving rifles, palm fronds and flags, and defaced posters of the longtime Iraqi president..."
--CBS News report, as U.S. forces entered the city of Bagdad; April 9, 2003
"Experts say that Iraq may have nuclear weapons. That's bad news - they may have a nuclear bomb. Now the good news is that they have to drop it with a camel."
--David Letterman
"We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."
–-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, on Iraq's nuclear capabilities and the Bush administration's case for war, Sept. 8, 2002
"This is a great day for the new Iraq. These two particular people were at the head of a regime, there wasn't just a security threat because of its weapons programme, but was responsible, as we can see from the mass graves, for the torture and killing of thousands and thousands of innocent Iraqis. And the celebrations that are taking place are an indication of just how evil they were. And I think what is so important is that people understand that if we are able to make the progress that we want to make in Iraq, that is going to open up not just new opportunities for Iraqi people, it is going to increase the stability of that country, of the region, and therefore the security of the whole of the world. So I think it is a very, very important move forward and I think it is great news."
--Tony Blair on the killing of Saddam Hussein's sons, July 23, 2003
“Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process.”
-- Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998
"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
--Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002.
"Saddam Hussein has a long history of harboring terrorists. Carlos the Jackal, Abu Nidal, Abu Abbas, the most notorious terrorists of their era, all found shelter and support at one time in Baghdad. Intelligence sources say bin Laden's long relationship with the Iraqis began as he helped Sudan's fundamentalist government in their efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction."
--ABC News report, January 14, 1999
"A lot of folks are still demanding more evidence before they actually consider Iraq a threat. For example, France wants more evidence. And you know I'm thinking, the last time France wanted more evidence they rolled right through Paris with the German flag."
--David Letterman
"I can think of a lot of words to describe Senator Kerry's position on Iraq; "consistent" is not one of them."
--Vice President Dick Cheney
“If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program.”
--President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998
'The fact is that we wouldn't be in Iraq if it weren't for Democrats like Senator Kerry."
--DNC head Howard Dean
“Iraq’s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power.”
--Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
“In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program.
He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons.”
--Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002
"More coming out about Saddam Hussein. We now know he takes Viagra and he has as many as six mistresses. No wonder Congress is reluctant to take action against this guy - he's one of their own."
-- Jay Leno
"We've got to recognize that when we march into Iraq, we're setting up the card tables in front of every university in the Arab world, the Islamic world, to recruit for al-Qaida."
--MSNBC's Chris Matthews
The motivation for war is simple. The U.S. government started the war with Iraq in order to make it easy for U.S. corporations to do business in other countries. They intend to use cheap labor in those countries, which will make Americans rich.
--Film producer Michael Moore
"I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today will last five days, five weeks or five months, but it won't last any longer than that."
--Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
"Saddam Hussein has raised the amount going to suicide bombers from $10 thousand dollars to $25 thousand. What's next, a health care plan?"
--Jay Leno
"Bombing the Murrah Federal Building was morally and strategically equivalent to the U.S. hitting a government building in Serbia, Iraq, or other nations."
--Executed OK City bomber Timothy McVeigh
"The president led us into the Iraq war on the basis of unproven assertions without evidence; he embraced a radical doctrine of pre-emptive war unprecedented in our history; and he failed to build a true international coalition."
--House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
"No country in history ever sent mothers of toddlers off to fight enemy soldiers until the United States did this in the Iraq war."
--Activist Phyllis Schlafly
"Before our kids start coming home from Iraq in body bags and women and children start dying in Baghdad, I need to know, what did Iraq do to us?"
--Actress Susan Sarandon
"Iraq's elite Republican Guard is doing so badly they're changing their name to the Democratic Guard."
--David Letterman
"A devastating commentary on the war in Iraq is that we have been unable to spend money on infrastructure."
--Sen. Charles Schumer
"Now, it isn't gong to be over in 24 hours, but it isn't going to be months either."
--Richard Perle, Chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board, 7/11/02
The war in Iraq will end, our troops will come home, Bush will be impeached and he will be brought to justice.
--Cindy Sheehan
"Our military superiority is so great -- it's far greater than it was in the Gulf War, and the Gulf War was over in 100 hours after we bombed for 43 days... Now they can bomb for a couple of days and then just roll into Baghdad... The odds are there's going to be a war and it's going to be not for very long."
--Former President Bill Clinton, 3/6/03
'The only way the French are going in is if we tell them we found truffles in Iraq."
--Radio host/comic Dennis Miller
"Cliches about supporting the troops are designed to distract from failed policies, policies promoted by powerful special interests that benefit from war, anything to steer the discussion away from the real reasons the war in Iraq will not end anytime soon."
--Rep. Ron Paul, R-TX
"My name is Saddam Hussein. I am the president of Iraq, and I want to negotiate."
- Saddam to U.S. troops who captured him; Dec. 13, 2003
"We got him."
--Then U.S. governor of Iraq Paul Bremer announcing the capture of Saddam; Dec. 14, 2003
"Vietnam was a lie but at least there was a political agenda. It was the domino theory. Iraq is about nothing but George Bush's ego laced with imperialist ambitions. And it was helped by your government."
--Actor Donald Sutherland
"I think we should take Iraq and Iran and combine them into one country and call it Irate. All the pissed off people live in one place and get it over with."
--Comic Denis Leary
"The criminal little Bush has committed a crime against humanity."
- Saddam, on first day of invasion; March 20, 2003
"Bush's war in Iraq has done untold damage to the United States. It has impaired our military power and undermined the morale of our armed forces. Our troops were trained to project overwhelming power. They were not trained for occupation duties."
--Financier George Soros
"What happened today is unbelievable, it's a great joy that I can't even express. I can't believe what I'm seeing on television--Saddam led to the gallows where he hanged tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis by the same method."
--Mohammad Kadhim, a journalist in Basra; Dec 30, 2006
"As fighting in Iraq intensifies, President Bush delivered his supplemental war budget to Congress. The money will cover 30 days of fighting, then we'll be sent one war every other month until we cancel our subscription."
--Craig Kilborn
by Mondoreb
images: NYTimes
Sources:
* Iraq War Veterans.org
* Dumb Quotes about the Iraq War
* Iraq War Quotes
* Iraqi War Late Night Show Quotes
* Iraq Quotes
* Iraq Retrospective: Read The Quotes That Sent Us To War
* FACTBOX-Iraq war, the notable quotes
* Reasons for War with Iraq
* Obama, McCain Clash on What to do About Iraq
* Two Harry Reid Quotes
* Quotes on the House Hearing on Iraq
Do you think a liberal Democrat would understand this?
The other day, my nine year old son wanted to know why we were at war. My husband looked at our son and then looked at me. My husband and I were in the Army during the Gulf War and we would be honored to serve and defend our Country again today. I knew that my husband would give him a good explanation.
My husband thought for a few minutes and then told my son to go stand in our front living room window.
He said 'Son, stand there and tell me what you see?'
'I see trees and cars and our neighbor's houses,' he replied.
'OK, now I want you to pretend that our house and our yard is the United States of America and you are President Bush.'
Our son giggled and said 'OK.'
'Now son, I want you to look out the window and pretend that every house and yard on this block is a different country' my husband said.
'OK Dad, I'm pretending.'
'Now I want you to stand there and look out the window and pretend you see Saddam come out of his house with his wife, he has her by the hair and is hitting her. You see her bleeding and crying. He hits her in the face, he throws her on the ground, and then he starts to kick her to death. Their children run out and are afraid to stop him, they are screaming and crying, they are watching this but do nothing because they are kids and they are afraid of their father.
You see all of this, son. What do you do?'
'Dad?'
'What do you do son?'
'I'd call the police, Dad.'
'OK. Pretend that the police are the United Nations. They take your call. They listen to what you know and saw but they refuse to help. What do you do then son?'
'Dad... But the police are supposed to help!'
My son starts to whine.
'They don't want to, son, because they say that it is not their place or your place to get involved and that you should stay out of it,' my husband says.
'But Dad...he killed her!!' my son exclaims.
'I know he did...but the police tell you to stay out of it. Now I want you to look out that window and pretend you see our neighbor who you're pretending is Saddam turn around and do the same thing to his children''Daddy...he kills them?'
'Yes, son, he does. What do you do?'
'Well, if the police don't want to help, I will go and ask my next door neighbor to help me stop him,' our son says.
'Son, our next door neighbor sees what is happening and refuses to get involved as well. He refuses to open the door and help you stop him,' my husband says.
'But Dad, I NEED help!!! I can't stop him by myself!!'
'WHAT DO YOU DO SON?' Our son starts to cry.
'OK, no one wants to help you, the man across the street saw you ask for help and saw that no one would help you stop him. He stands taller and puffs out his chest. Guess what he does next, son?'
'What Daddy?'
'He walks across the street to the old ladies house and breaks down her door and drags her out, steals all her stuff and sets her house on fire and then...he kills her. He turns around and sees you standing in the window and laughs at you. WHAT DO YOU DO?'
'Daddy...'
'WHAT DO YOU DO?' Our son is crying and he looks down and he whispers, 'I'd close the blinds, Daddy.'
My husband looks at our son with tears in his eyes and asks him, 'Why?'
'Because, Daddy.....the police are supposed to help people who need them...and they won't help..... You always say that neighbors are supposed to HELP neighbors, but they won't help either...they won't help me stop him...I'm afraid....I can't do it by myself, Daddy.....I can't look out my window and just watch him do all these terrible things and, and, do nothing...so....I'm just going to close the blinds.... So I can't see what he's doing........and I'm going to pretend that it is not happening.'
I start to cry. My husband looks at our nine year old son standing in the window, looking pitiful and ashamed at his answers to my husband's questions and he says... 'Son'?
'Yes, Daddy.'
'Open the blinds because that man.... He's at your front door...'WHAT DO YOU DO?'
My son looks at hi s father, anger and defiance in his eyes. He balls up his tiny fists and looks his father square in the eyes, without hesitation he says:'I DEFEND MY FAMILY, DAD!! I'M NOT GONNA LET HIM HURT MOMMY OR MY SISTER, DAD!!! I'M GONNA FIGHT HIM, DAD, I'M GONNA FIGHT HIM!!!!!'
I see a tear roll down my husband's cheek and he grabs our son to his chest and hugs him tight, and says... 'It's too late to fight him, he's too strong and he's already at YOUR front door son.....you should have stopped him BEFORE he killed his wife, and his children and the old lady across the way. You have to do what's right, even if you have to do it alone, before it's too late,' my husband whispers.
THAT scenario I just gave you is WHY we are at war with Iraq When good men stand by and let evil happen, son, THAT is the greatest atrocity in the world.
* 'YOU MUST NEVER BE AFRAID TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO DO IT ALONE!'
* BE PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! BE PROUD OF OUR TROOPS!
* SUPPORT THEM!
* SUPPORT AMERICA SO THAT IN THE FUTURE OUR CHILDREN WILL NEVER HAVE TO CLOSE THEIR BLINDS...'
This should be printed in every newspaper and posted in every school in America.
Of course that won't happen so we'll use the Internet. If your blinds are closed, do nothing with this email. If they are open I do not need to tell you what to do.
by RidesAPaleHorse
Sources/images:
* feldmanfamilyny
* voiceofcanada
* War Story
* Iraq: When you see evil, What do you Do
As if car bombs and IEDs weren't enough to worry about, terrorists have a new tool in their arsenal of destruction: the bike bomb. 24 Iraqi police officers killed and others were wounded. More on this deadly new threat from CNN:
At least 24 Iraqi police officers and police recruits were killed when a suicide bomber riding on a bicycle exploded at an Iraqi police base in central Baquba Monday morning, an Interior Ministry official said.The direction terrorists seem to be taking is a backward one, technology-wise. Where explosive artists are concerned, low-tech is the way to go. As detection methods get more sophisticated, the ways of blowing up things will turn retro.
The blast also wounded 17 people, the official said.
Local health officials put the death toll at 27. They also said a woman and child were among the wounded.
Baquba is the capital of the Diyala province northeast of Baghdad.
There was the shoe bomber, then a video of using a radio-controlled toy car, now a bike bomber. Reductionist-minded terrorists are probably somewhere working on the next blasting platform: the amoeba bomb.
by Mondoreb
[image:CNN]
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The start of a new war? Or just guerrilla maneuvers against previous guerrilla maneuvers?
Bombs were dropped and the Turkish military crossed into Iraq. Tensions between Turkey and Iraq are heating up now. More from Big News Network:
Turkish warplanes and helicopters struck Kurdish rebel positions in northern Iraq as diplomatic efforts began Friday to defuse tensions about separatist bases in the region.
Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency reports that Turkish aircraft attacked suspected rebel positions detected during reconnaissance missions.
Turkey has threatened to launch cross-border military operations against rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, who have intensified attacks inside Turkey.
An Iraqi spokesman says the initial results of the talks in Ankara between an Iraqi delegation and senior Turkish officials were positive.
Turkey wanted nothing to do with Iraq when the target was Sadaam Hussein. Now that it's PKK rebels, tensions are near the breaking point on the Turkish side. This is not a condemnation of the Turks and the thorny PKK problem. Just an observation.
by Mondoreb & Little Baby Ginn
[image:bigplay]
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by Mondoreb
Time for a True Confession Story: The Bobby Calvan Assclown Show, as told by Little Green Footballs:
An almost unbelievable example of media arrogance, as a reporter for the Sacramento Bee complains about an ID check at the Green Zone, belittles the soldier for not knowing who “Knight Ridder” is, then brags about his bravery at his blog: Simply Simpatico | The GALLIVANT.When attempting to access this linked post, now one gets a 404 "Not Found" message. So apparently, the whole deal's off. Fortunately, the forces of history have prevailed at LGF.
Since the little weasel has edited his post to remove some of his creepy comments after being mercilessly criticized by commenters, here’s the original; compare to what you now see at the link above:An excerpt from the LGF post:
That’s when trouble started.LGF then has this update: "Calvan hasn’t just removed one post — he pulled down his whole site! And it’s no surprise, because what it reveals about the “reporting” he’s been doing from Iraq confirms everyone’s worst suspicions about media corruption."
At the first check point, a pair of Ugandan soldiers asked for identification. We showed our military-issued badges. Unbeknownst to us, we were supposed to be carrying an additional form of ID.
He asked for a passport. I told him I didn’t have it on me. (The advice is to lock up your passport once in Baghdad and never take it out until departing.) He asked for another form of ID, and I replied that I didn’t have anything else.
The American soldier assigned by the U.S. military to oversee this particular checkpoint came over to investigate the problem.
He asked if I had a driver’s license on me. I told him I didn’t have one. He looked incredulous. Why would I need a driver’s license in Baghdad; I wouldn’t be driving, I told him.
He took offense at my response.
Then he looked at the second ID of my companion. It was a badge issued by our newspaper. He said it wouldn’t do. Besides, he asked, what is Knight Ridder?
“I never heard of it,” he said. He probably would have never heard of McClatchy, either. (We use Knight Ridder because it already had a bureau in Baghdad before the chain was bought by the McClatchy Co.)
I explained that it’s one of the largest newspaper companies in the United States. It owns the Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee, the Kansas City Star.
“I know the Miami Herald, he said. I used to live there. But I never heard of Knight Ridder.” He began to chuckle, pronouncing the company as Knight Rider. Perhaps his chuckles stemmed from memories of the 1980s television show “Night Rider.” He then seemed to mock us.
For a political class as smug, self-assured and all-knowing as the Fourth Estate, they do seem to have an uncanny aim for their feet while shooting these days. Bobby Calvan thought "Lima was beautiful in the spring".
Bet about now he's thinking Baghdad in October sucks.
NOTE: For the complete low-down, from the blog that broke this whole thing open (along with a blow-by-blow of the aftermath that will be familiar to anyone who chugs along with a blog of their own), go see the Doc.
Doc Weasel that is. Office hours at: Doc Weasel.
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