Back to the Undisclosed Location

ArchPundit March 20, 2006 No Comments

There’s out of touch and then there’s batshit crazy out of touch

SCHIEFFER: Mr. Vice President, all along the government has been very optimistic. You remain optimistic, but I remember when you were saying we’d be greeted as liberators. You played down the insurgency. Ten months ago you said it was in its last throes. Do you believe that these optimistic
statements may be one of the reasons people seem to be more skeptical in this
country about whether we ought to be in Iraq?

Vice Pres. CHENEY: No. I think it’s–it has less to do with statements
we’ve made–which I think were basically accurate and reflect reality–then it
does the fact that there’s a constant sort of perception, if you will, that’s
created because what’s newsworthy is the car bomb in Baghdad. It’s not all
the work that went on that day in 15 other provinces in terms of making
progress towards rebuilding Iraq.

The facts are pretty straightforward. The Iraqis met every single political
deadline that’s been set for them. They haven’t missed a single one. They
took over in terms of sovereignty 21 months ago. They held national elections
the following January. They wrote a constitution, one of the best
constitutions in that part of the world. They held a referendum on it last
October, and last December had turn out of about 78 percent in terms of the
election. And now we’re putting together a government which they’ll have
formed up here shortly on the security front.

Iyad Allawi

‘ “It is unfortunate that we are in civil war. We are losing each day as an average 50 to 60 people throughout the country, if not more.

“If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is.” . . .

Iraq is moving towards the “point of no return”, he said, when the country would fragment.

“It will not only fall apart but sectarianism will spread throughout the region, and even Europe and the US will not be spared the violence that results…,” he said.

Baghdad Bob and Dick Cheney–peas in a pod.

What’s most troubling about this is that as long as Cheney is this delusional there won’t be any effective strategy for Iraq let alone one that might eventually get us out.

1200 Times

ArchPundit March 20, 2006 No Comments

George Bush as 1200 pieces of anatomy

He’s still a bigger one than all of them put together

Just In Case Anyone Was Curious

ArchPundit March 18, 2006 No Comments

The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

It would be absurd for an administration that says Scalia is their model for Supreme Court Justices to not adopt a plain reading of the document so if the administration authorized warrantless searches and seizures of homes, one can only conclude that the administration believes the Constitution is irrelevant.

For those with even the most minimal understanding of history, the Fourth Amendment was specifically created to protect citizens after abuses by the British government and military which ignored protections under British law—hence why Edmund Burke supported the American War of Independence, he saw it as a fight by Englishmen to protect their rights as Englishmen.

To suggest an authorization of force or even declaration of war would negate the Fourth Amendment is absurd. To act on such a claim is the essence of a high crime.

At What Point is it the Tet Offensive

ArchPundit March 1, 2006 3 Comments

The Tet Offensive was a military defeat for the North Vietnamese, but a victory in getting across the point that a long war of attrition was going to continue for as long as one could imagine.

With a full civil war on the verge in Iraq and everyone besides Fox News understanding the current situation is dire, one important point is being left out.

When South Vietnam was overrun, there was no fear it would be a failed state. The Soviet Union provided it with resources and ensured it was largely a functioning state—to the point it was able to invade Cambodia.

One thought in Iraq is that we can leave and just let the situation sort itself out, but the very real problem now that we are stuck in a war that shouldn’t have happened, and more importantly , when it did happen, the Administration created new levels of FUBAR, is that leaving may well mean Iraq turns into a failed state and a potential staging ground for terrorism and all sorts of pesky situations involving Iraqi neighborhs including Iran and Turkey which both might make land grabs if the Iraqi state was never to effectively be established.

The consequences to American security are far greater than in Vietnam. There leaving meant we simply worked to contain further expansion of the Soviet Bloc by using Thailand and other allies.

In this case, Iraq could fall completely apart and be divided up by neighbors or it could become a staging area for Al Qaeda. At the same time, there appears to be no effective means bring Iraq under control.

So what do you do? I have no idea at this point. After screwing up the initial security arrangements and continuing with delusional strategies based on delusional thinking it is increasingly clear that there are no effective means to stop the spiral of violence in Iraq. Setting benchmarks for withdrawal won’t seem to work given the chaos on the ground virtually guarantees that any benchmarks won’t be met and if they can’t be met, there is no real exit strategy.

It’s Can’t Make This Up Tuesday

ArchPundit February 21, 2006 No Comments

Hilarious. Are Rahm and Schumer writing these storylines?

WASHINGTON – The Dubai firm that won Bush administration backing to run six U.S. ports has at least two ties to the White House.

One is Treasury Secretary John Snow, whose agency heads the federal panel that signed off on the $6.8 billion sale of an English company to government-owned Dubai Ports World – giving it control of Manhattan’s cruise ship terminal and Newark’s container port.

Snow was chairman of the CSX rail firm that sold its own international port operations to DP World for $1.15 billion in 2004, the year after Snow left for President Bush’s cabinet.

The other connection is David Sanborn, who runs DP World’s European and Latin American operations and was tapped by Bush last month to head the U.S. Maritime Administration.
The ties raised more concerns about the decision to give port control to a company owned by a nation linked to the 9/11 hijackers.

It’s only a matter of time until the administration backs down over this deal. If Bush wasn’t going to back down, we’d be seeing a veto override.

Huh?

ArchPundit February 21, 2006 2 Comments

I find Muslim and Arab bashing offensive on many levels. Primarily it seems to give some folks who are upset at their own lives something to point to and blame their problems.

However, I do think most of us can objectively understand there is a difference between a British Company and the UAE government running six major US ports.

Most, but not all of us

“After careful review by our government, I believe the transaction ought to go forward,” Bush told reporters who had traveled with him on Air Force One to Washington. “I want those who are questioning it to step up and explain why all of a sudden a Middle Eastern company is held to a different standard than a Great British company. I am trying to conduct foreign policy now by saying to the people of the world, `We’ll treat you fairly.'”

No one in their right mind would hold them to the same standard. Perhaps I can be convinced this isn’t a horrible idea (a rather high bar exists to do that), but claiming the same concerns exist in both places is absurd.

I Just Hope I Haven’t Caused the Driver Any Stress

ArchPundit February 17, 2006 4 Comments

When I was around 13 I was cycling down the street, turned around to check behind me and when I turned back around found a car had pulled out in front of me. I put a large dent in the hood and used my face to nicely pattern the safety glass of the windshield. I spent about 2 hours having safety glass picked out of my face at the hospital (which is a great example of government regulation at work–if it hadn’t been safety glass, I would have lost my left eye).

I just want to make sure that the driver knows I hope she didn’t go through too much that day.

Cheney Finally Gets it Right, Hume not so much

ArchPundit February 15, 2006 3 Comments

Cheney on Fox via the Hotline Blog

“Ultimately, I’m the guy who pulled the trigger who fired the round that hit Harry… That’s the bottom the line. It was not Harry’s fault. You can’t blame anybody else. I’m the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend. It’s a day I’ll never forget.

More: “The image of his falling is something I’ll never get out of my mind. I fired and there’s Harry falling. I’d have to say, it was … the worst day of my life.

Hume:

Hume to Cheney: “So I take it you missed the bird?”

Being Thrown Under the Bus is Worse than being Sprayed

ArchPundit February 14, 2006 1 Comment

Reading between the lines in this Time piece Karl is throwing the VP under the bus and to the wolves at the same time.

I’m not sure why Mike Allen felt the need to make Karl look this good in the story, but it’s pretty funny:

The Vice President was the press strategist, and Karl Rove was the investigative reporter.

I had some sympathy

ArchPundit February 14, 2006 5 Comments

For the V-P. While he produced outrageously funny headlines, he had shot a friend. That sympathy evaporated when I saw this:

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan tried to absolve Cheney of blame for shooting wealthy Austin lawyer Harry Whittington, saying that hunting “protocol was not followed by Mr. Whittington when it came to notifying others that he was there. And so, you know, unfortunately, these types of hunting accidents happen from time to time.”

I’m not a hunter, and long time readers know I don’t like guns. I don’t like them in a different way than most people who say they hate guns. I don’t mind if people own them, use them for recreation or self-defense. I’m not wild about concealed carry, but it honestly hasn’t made much of a difference in Missouri.

I don’t like them because when handling them you have to be hyperaware of your surroundings, your actions, and the firearm. It’s too much work to concentrate upon those three things and enjoy myself. I shoot everyone once in a while, but it’s only if I happen to be around when someone else happens to be planning on shooting. I’m absentminded so having a gun around the house, especially with kids, would be a horrible idea in my case.

The reason I’m like that is that before I ever layed hands on a firearm it was drilled into me that if you pull the trigger, you damn well know at what you are shooting and know that there is a backstop or no way another person could be in the way of the shot. Period.

People screw up though–and we are all human so every so often someone gets shot by accident. It happens and it’s sad, but we always know the guy who pulled the trigger is responsible.

Trying to pass it off as Whittington not following prototocol is the mark of a jackass. It doesn’t matter if Whittington did something stupid, Cheney shot him (and not sprayed–shot). This is especially true because Cheney did know Whittington was retrieving a bird and he had to be somewhere out there.

Add this to the surreal idea that they were all driving around the ranch cherry picking quail off within viewing distance of the car.

Cheney can redeem himself by going before the press (meaning the media that does not include people who have claimed Hillary had Vince Foster killed) and acknowledging his responsibility and his mistake. I’m sure he feels horrible about his mistake, but he is the Vice-President of the United States.

I crack myself up.