Comments on: Douchebag of the Day

By: Mistress Cynica

Mistress Cynica — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:27:27 +0000

@Original Andrew: I know! I'm breathless with anticipation.

By: Original Andrew

Original Andrew — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:42:54 +0000

Hmm… will Obama:

a) add more troops and escalate the War

b) add more troops and escalate the War

c) add more troops and escalate the War

Tough decisions all around.

By: ManchuCandidate

ManchuCandidate — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:13:57 +0000

I’ve uttered the very words Broder has written when faced with a boss who can’t make up his/her mind so I can’t exactly fault his wording but more the “thought” process behind it.

The “thought” process known as the hand up Broder’s ass, Karl Rove, has been doing his evil work yet again.

By: nojo

nojo — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:51:51 +0000

As it happens, I finally got around to watching “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” last week — a 90-minute-long joke about a dinner party that never sits down to dinner. I suggest a Washington-set remake starring the DC chattering class.

By: al2o3cr

al2o3cr — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:51:45 +0000

Apparently his two years of stateside post-war military service (1951-1953) make him a war expert. He needs to go back to servicing Rove and STFU.

By: ManchuCandidate

ManchuCandidate — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:48:30 +0000

Who the fuck is he? Dick “Dick” Cheney?

By: nojo

nojo — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:42:20 +0000

@blogenfreude: I'd rather whine here — helps clarify my own dithering on the subject.

By: blogenfreude

blogenfreude — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:39:31 +0000

@nojo: You should leave that in the comments ... or maybe just email Broder, if he's got his email posted.

By: nojo

nojo — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:37:13 +0000

Okay, let’s get down to it…

In all this dithering, it’s easy to forget a few fundamentals. Why are we in Afghanistan? Not because of its own claim on us but because the Taliban rulers welcomed the al-Qaeda plotters who hatched the destruction of Sept. 11, 2001…

We knew that governing Afghanistan would never be easy. It had resisted outside forces through the ages, and its geography, tribal structure, absence of a democratic tradition and poverty all argued that once we went in, it would be hard to get out.

But George W. Bush said — and Obama seemed to agree — that withdrawal was not an option.

1. It wasn’t a war of necessity. The choice was between treating 9/11 as a criminal act, or an act of war.

2. Even if it was a war of necessity, that necessity seemed to vanish within eighteen months, during which the Bushies became more insistent on a war of choice.

3. From 2003 (and earlier) until 2009, Afghanistan was all but ignored by the Bushies in favor of fucking up another country. (Two others, including ours.)

4. Whatever opportunities there were to do it right seven or eight years ago, they’ve long since passed. We’ve lost what trust we had among the population. The poppies are in bloom. Our troops — doomed to multiple commitments by Bush — are exhausted. We’re not starting with a clean slate, and cannot.

5. And then there’s nuke-wielding Pakistan, another situation Bush fucked up royally.

Nobody thinks there are good alternatives — just bad and catastrophic ones. We’ve dithered for years — a few more weeks won’t make a difference.

By: blogenfreude

blogenfreude — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:23:42 +0000

One thing that gives me hope is a report that Obama is insisting the strategy include a plan for an exit. Sure, it’ll have all the usual caveats, but at least we’ll have one.