Why the desire to pull the troops out of Iraq in the first place?

*posted first on Friday Feb. 10, here*

In the Australian today:

NO sooner did President Barack Obama welcome home American troops from Iraq and laud that country’s stability and democracy than an unprecedented wave of violence across Baghdad and elsewhere revealed the severity of Iraq’s political crisis.

Unfortunate, yet hardly surprising, even to the most casual of observers.

And whilst I can understand (yet not agree with) the Left’s position not to send troops into Iraq in the first place – an argument, largely moot, for another day – what I don’t understand is their fervish desire to pull the troops out.

It always smacked of idealism, ideology, rather than hard-nosed practicality.

After all, what was so bad with having a US troop presence there to help maintain Iraq’s fragile democratic stability?

One could argue that I am biased because a) I am centre-right politically and b) because I live in South Korea, a nation that has had a US troop presence – some 37,000  28,000 or so currently – since the armistice between North and South Korea and have seen what a permanent US troop presence looks like.

I am happy to accept those labels and can gladly tell you that such a presence ain’t that bad.

By and large,  US bases in Korea – and Japan for that matter – haven’t been a problem.

Sure, issues pop up from time to time, but if one looks at the big picture, then a strong US presence here can only be seen as a good thing, a safe option, a pretty darn good insurance policy against North Korea trying anything major on.

Almost 60 years we’ve had US troops over here without any major problems. In fact, many major problems (a full-scale Nork attack comes to mind) have arguably been averted thanks to this presence.

So, why the rush to leave Iraq essentially free of any US military  before even a decade is up and before, as is clear now, the job is done?

OK, so perhaps it’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges. US troops in Korea, aside from those stationed at the DMZ, aren’t on active duty as they were in Iraq.

However, it’s not a completely dissimilar situation. Perhaps a good analogy would be to compare mandarins and oranges.

US troops not only provided safety and stability in the fledgling democracy that is Iraq – a country still steeped with sectarian and tribal rivalries – but surely they also provided a deterrence to anybody or any groups who want to destabilise the nation.

What takes years to build can take mere seconds to destroy, and I fear a lot of hard work is being undone on the whim of a flawed, feel-good, ideology.

So why?

The only practical reason that I can see for Obama pulling his troops out of Iraq is that with an Iranian confrontation looming which includes action needed in Syria, Iraq frankly isn’t important enough any more or at best, an impractical option for a potentially over-stretched military.

Of course, Obama – a man of the progressive Left – can’t actually come out and say that but it is reasonably well-known to those who don’t just get their news from the MSM that Obama is actually more of a war-time president than Bush was, having committed more troops to both Iraq and Afghanistan, and for a longer period of time.

So whilst the MSM might play along with the “bringing the troops home” narrative, the evidence indicates this simply isn’t the case.

Some 20,000 marines, seamen and air crews from half a dozen countries, a US nuclear aircraft carrier strike group and three US Marine gunship carriers are practicing an attack on a fictitious mechanized enemy division which has invaded its neighbor. It is the largest amphibian exercise seen in the West for a decade, staged to simulate a potential Iranian invasion of an allied Persian Gulf country and a marine landing on the Iranian coast. Based largely on US personnel and hardware, French, British, Italian, Dutch, Australian* and New Zealand military elements are integrated in the drill.
Bold Alligator went into its operational phase Monday, Feb. 6, the same day as a large-scale exercise began in southern Iran opposite the Strait of Hormuz. This simultaneity attests to the preparations for a US-Iranian showdown involving Israel behind the words on Feb. 5 of US President Barack Obama (“I don’t think Israel has decided whether to attack Iran”) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 3 (“The war itself will be ten times as detrimental to the US.”).

(*BTW, I don’t recall Aussie PM Gillard highlighting that one.)

And this:

As the US and Israel carried on bickering over the right time to strike Iran’s nuclear sites, their war preparations continued apace. debkafile’s military sources report that flight after flight of US warplanes and transports were to be seen this week cutting eastward through the skies of Sinai on their way to Gulf destinations, presumably Saudi Arabia, at a frequency not seen in the Middle East for many years.

Add into this mix reports that China will reportedly help Saudi Arabia build a nuclear bomb, and that both China and India have started paying Iran for its oil in gold thus helping thwart current US/UN sanctions (more of which were recently thwarted by Russia and China), then we see a stage set for a showdown and we see the reality that rhetoric aside, Obama won’t be bringing many troops home at all.

To someone who doesn’t know any better, it’s as if Russia, India, and China – all wannabe first chickens to the trough – are ganging up on America.**

PS Who wouldn’t love to be a fly on the wall listening in to what the US is really saying about China? Their ever-expanding use of soft power is in many ways, stuffing it all up for America. China must surely be becoming an ever-increasing pain in the neck.

This leaves Australia in an interesting position. Our main export partner is China. Our main ally is the US. We send China our goodies to help them get rich and rival America. We practice shooting our guns with America to help keep America on top.

And yet China and America are also so deep in each other’s pockets. America buys China’s goods. China buys America’s debt.

Fun times.

** I highly recommend reading The Lucifer Principle by Howard Bloom. Part of the book talks about the pecking order of nations.

So which one?

Which Republican presidential nominee?

Having just spent an hour or so watching the New Hampshire GOP Republican debate, having gleaned various tidbits over the internet since a while back, I can honestly say I don’t know.

Yet.

In comments at that link, Ron Paul’s supporters come across as a tad too fervent, as does Paul himself. He just comes across as a bit whiney. Quick to complain about a problem but a bit wishy washy with any solutions.

Romney arguably won, but he comes off as Obama-lite+religion. He’s big government but I will say he’s tending to own his opponents. He does look presidential and has the establishment’s backing… not necessarily a good thing when up against Obama who REALLY has the Establishment’s backing and REALLY (at least) talks presidential (except here where he sounds about as formidable as Julia Gillard).

Tea party Vs the Teat party?

Caught a classic comment over on Samizdata that needs a good airing.

“By the way, while typing in this posting (on an unfamiliar computer) I noticed that I had at one point put the “Teat” Party. But actually, I quite like that phrase, to describe all the kind of people who think that Tea Partiers really are terrorists.”

If people against government spending and tax increases are disparagingly called “Tea baggers” (a derisory sexual term), then surely they cant object to us referring to those suckling on the governments largesse as “Teat Partiers”.

 

After all fair is fair, right?

So which are you?

Or

Lefties, please note, black pig used as it was the first one in google search, not Raaaaacim!!!

Congressman(‘s) Weiner

Some guys just never learn. Sean Salisbury. Brett Favre. And now aptly-named Congress-critter Anthony “wanna see my” Weiner.

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Our debt ceiling is yet to be raised as the healthcare debate looms large, yet the most important political news of the moment revolves around a Brooklyn representative’s penis.

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As Weiner himself noted, “The jokes write themselves.”

I thought Weiner was a little stiff at his news converence.

What’s the difference between a Democrat and a Republican? About 6 inches.

An inch more he’d be a king; an inch less he’d be a queen.

The police investigated whether a penis picture was displayed. The case was thrown out due to lack of evidence.

(Insert the “wiener” joke of your choice here)

Self Defence: Are You a Democrat or a Republican?

Are you a Democrat or a Republican?  Here’s a little test to help you decide:

You’re walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children.  Suddenly, a man with a huge knife comes around the corner, locks eyes with you, screams obscenities, praises Allah, raises the knife, and charges at you.  You are carrying a Glock .40 cal, and you are an expert shot.  You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family.

What do you do?

Democrat’s Answer

Well, that’s not enough information to answer the question!  Does the man look poor?  Or oppressed?  Have I ever done anything to him that would inspire him to attack?  Could we run away?  What does my wife think?  What about the kids?

Could I possibly swing the gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand?  What does the law say about this situation?  Does the Glock have appropriate safety built into it?  Why am I carrying a loaded gun anyway, and what kind of message does this send to society and to my children?

Is it possible he’d be happy with just killing me?  Does he definitely want to kill me, or would he be content just to wound me?  If I were to grab his knees and hold on, could my family get away while he was stabbing me?  Should I call 9-1-1?  Why is this street so deserted?

We need to raise taxes, have a paint and weed day and make this happier, healthier street that would discourage such behavior.

This is all so confusing!  I need to debate this with some friends for few days and try to come to a consensus.

Republican’s Answer

BANG! BANG!

Extra Credit: Southern Republican’s Answer:

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! click…..(sounds of reloading).

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! click

Daughter: “Nice grouping, Daddy! Were those the Winchester Silvertips or Federal Hydra-Shoks?”

via Paco in comments here

UPDATE:  A typical rational Australian Lefty replies –

Finally, Obama addresses the nation about America’s Kinetic Military Action in Libya

And via the magic of Twitter, his entire 7-page single-spaced speech can be distilled down into fewer than 140 characters:

“I authorized this war that is not a war, which is narrowly focused but broad in scope, so we could lead. As helpers.”

And this critique:

“Eerily like a Bush speech, but without the conviction.”

Hey, here’s a word cloud!

If you’d like a little more detail, see PJTV‘s account of the speech.  If you’d like the time-limited, vermouth-limited overserved kinetic martini-action version, see VodkaPundit’s drunkblog account.

And if you’d like to see how this speech SHOULD have been done, see Reagan.

UPDATE: More on Obama’s War from James Board, and a great post at RedState which includes some of the top Twitter reactions.

 

via twitterers @MelissaTweets, @EWErickson, @KamaainaInOC, @GayPatriot, @instapundit, @CalebHowe & @VodkaPundit.

I Want Your Money

It’s a new film coming out that takes a look at recent US government spending.

H/T RWB

cross-posted

Lobely Lefties

I posted this at my own personal site yesterday, but since no one else is posting here, I thought it’d be worth a run.

Hyar she blows…

This was first brought to general attention yesterday. It’s about halfway down the page. LOBES!!! After further research, it is clear there definitely IS something between Leftards and their ears. It is clear that there IS more to it than the well-known Lefty head tilt. Photo analysis proves this to be true. That’s NSW Green Party would-be senator Lee Rhiannon. Her parents were commies. However, Reds under the beds with lobes like robes is not by any means a one-off phenomenon. More photographic evidence under the fold.

The Desperate Left

A bunch of Lefties at the California State University have sifted through Sarah Palin’s trash to find out the details of her speaking engagements contract, handed it to a local Democrat pollie, who dutifully handed it to their propaganda department the media. And now Democrat California Attorney General, Jerry Brown is investigating.

Gee, nothing desperate going on there.

And as for Palin’s speeches, shock horror, she makes some decent coin from them – and with a few perks thrown in. We’re talking $100,000 bucks a speech.

OMG, it’s “embarrassing” writes Tim Reid at The Times and reprinted in The Australian.

Yes, it is. Even I’m embarrassed that the Left is getting so desperate nowadays. Noteable also is that the Australian places Reid’s article in the “news” section.

Bollocks his article is “news”.

SARAH Palin faced embarrassing revelations yesterday about lavish demands that she makes before speaking engagements, including first-class air travel or large private jets, suites in hotels and even bendable straws in her water bottles.

…

The latest revelation will do little to damage her reputation among the party’s grassroots activists, who view her as a straight-talking hero, but it undercuts her claim to be a down-to-earth “hockey mom” who is fighting for ordinary working Americans.

Sounds more like Leftist opinion to me, and a media beat-up, Chris Mitchell.

Anyway, let’s just have a look at who earns the big bucks for speaking engagements. There’s Al Gore who gets over $250,000 to peddle speculation. Australia’s Tim Flannery get’s $50,000 to do the same.

And here’s a tidy list from the website whose company drew up Palin’s contract.

The following receive upwards of $40,000 per engagement. Is Palin’s deal out of the ordinary?

Stop global warming. Who cares if Africa’s poor?

And stays poor.

Certainly not “concerned” ecotards.

The World Bank on Thursday approved a controversial $3 billion loan for the development of a coal-fired power plant by the South African state utility Eskom despite lack of support from major shareholder countries.

…

The U.S. Treasury said it abstained because of “concerns about the climate impact of the project and its incompatibility with the World Bank’s commitment to be a leader in climate change mitigation and adaptation.” …

Apart from banning DDT, isn’t it obvious that by, under the pretences of compassion, keeping third world countries poor, will literally kill millions of people?

Folks, despite what you may have heard, the planet doesn’t have an over-population problem.

If we get everyone rich, population growth will stabilize, anyway. It’s an historically demonstrated fact that “rich” people have one or two kids, and that “poor” people have many.

The Al Gores of this world are pimping man-made global warming. It’s a front for a very nasty agenda.

It’s got nothing to do with environmentalism and everything to do with power and control.

UPDATE

I’m not against a one-world government. Time will dictate its necessity. But an un-elected one-world communist government? Fuck no.

Yes, some TEA Party members are black

So who are the real racists?

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – They’ve been called Oreos, traitors and Uncle Toms, and are used to having to defend their values. Now black conservatives are really taking heat for their involvement in the mostly white tea party movement—and for having the audacity to oppose the policies of the nation’s first black president.

“I’ve been told I hate myself. I’ve been called an Uncle Tom. I’ve been told I’m a spook at the door,” said Timothy F. Johnson, chairman of the Frederick Douglass Foundation, a group of black conservatives who support free market principles and limited government.

“Black Republicans find themselves always having to prove who they are. Because the assumption is the Republican Party is for whites and the Democratic Party is for blacks,” he said.

Johnson and other black conservatives say they were drawn to the tea party movement because of what they consider its commonsense fiscal values of controlled spending, less taxes and smaller government. The fact that they’re black—or that most tea partyers are white—should have nothing to do with it, they say.

Not taking any bets though that the Left will stop their lies and slander.

What’s good to see however, is that there’s a good chance more black Americans could run for office on the GOP ticket. And they won’t be pulling any racial crap, either, because any decent Right-winger worth his salt goes on policies, not any kind of childish racism nonsense.

And let’s face it it, how could Obama have possibly been a post-racial president when 96% of blacks voted for him?

*cross-posted at bing’s cubby house

The US’ political merry-go-round

Fun times.

Here’s a round-up. It includes naked Dems arguing in the shower and Glenn Beck apologising.

Call Chavez a dictator and Sean Penn will have you thrown in jail

It’s the tolerance of the Left I most admire.

Good News: US Justice Department Seeks Mentally Retarded Lawyers!

Personally, I think this is really for positions in The Department of Redundancy Department. Aren’t all lawyers retarded?

“The Civil Rights Division encourages qualified applicants with targeted disabilities to apply. Targeted disabilities are deafness, blindness, missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis, convulsive disorder, mental retardation, mental illness, severe distortion of limbs and/or spine…

The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities.”

In any event, I think all of the profoundly retarded lawyers are in the US Senate.

MoveOn.disorg: “Bush Deficits BAD! Obama Deficits HOPE! CHANGE!”

Just how fucking retarded are the fucktards over at MoveOn.disorganization? Welp, back in 2004 they made up an ad to “speak dipshitese to power” and protest W’s $1 trillion debt. It was supposed to air during the Superbowl, but it was rejected. Thanks to the modern miracle that is YouTube, though, it lives on.

The obvious question is, how will MoveOn.shitforbrains react to Obama’s much larger deficits?

“After building a true budget baseline, the sobering result shows ten-year deficits of $13 trillion. The annual budget deficit never falls below $1 trillion. By 2019, the debt is projected at $22 trillion, or 98 percent of GDP.”

If they haven’t already made the ad up, well, then they are scum-sucking, maggot-out-of-hell, lying hypocrites… but we knew that already, didn’t we?

Thanks to DF over at The Corner for this gem.

Hi-fucking-larious.

Lefty vs Lefty

No wonder it ended so lamely…

Leftist Talk Radio Crashes/Burns: Air America Augers In

EPIC, Epic, epic… FAIL, Fail, fail.

I did a screen cap of the entire letter in case the site goes black.

This is the only thing on their site anymore.

Remember a few short years ago when Air America with Al Franken and a cast of millions was going to take on Rush Limbaugh, tap into the great leftist discontent in the US, and insure Democrat rule for a generation?

BWAAAHAAHAAHAAHAAHAAaa!

More here.

What Does Scott Brown’s Win Really Mean?

As always, Adolph sums up the liberal mood best.

These never get old… so long as you don’t understand German, of course.

H/T Glenn Reynolds

Brown/Coakley round up

Some awesome blogger did this bloody good post on the whole shebang. Check it out!

Obama Chooses to be Overshadowed by Apple Tablet Computer

OK, see if you can discern the logic here. This morning, Apple sent out invitations for an unveiling event of a new product on January 27th, which is almost certainly going to be the long rumored tablet; the most anticipated Apple product since the iPhone. More anticipated than the iPhone, in fact.

Then, this afternoon, President Obama announces that he’s going to give his State of the Union Address, also on January 27th.

Now, the Apple event is scheduled for 10AM California time, which is 1PM Washington D.C. time, while Obama’s SotU speech will be at 9PM Washington time – eight hours after the Apple event begins.

Now, I had to ask myself, “Self, why would Obama announce, on the same day Apple announced, an event eight hours later, on the same date, January 27th?” Could he and his handlers be so stupid as to not know that the intertubes will be cooking with Apple Tablet talk when Obama and his Teleprompter take the stage?

mmmmmmmmNo. Probably not.

Then I had to ask myself, “Self, why does Obama want his SotU speech to be buried beneath an avalanche of Apple buzz?”

Could it be that, Obama’s Approval Index sucks, and he wants his SotU event to be off the radar?

Could it also be that, Scott Brown’s polling rocks, and he seems poised to pull the upset of the century by pulling, “Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat” out from under the DNC-anointed Martha Coakley, and that would be a slap-in-the-face referendum on the Obama administration?

mmmmmmYeah, that’s what I suspect.

Unbelievable.

Dems now saying they won’t even need Coakley to pass Obamacare

The US Senate needs 60 votes to pass Obamacare. But on Tuesday, they may well lose an election most thought was in the bag. Thus, Obamacare would be lost, too.

But now they’re saying they’ll only need 51 votes using a special process called reconciliation.

Scumbags.

Leftist Shyster Martha Coakley: No Catholics in Emergency Rooms

I’m thinking of starting a solo blog called, “People Who Are Excrement” or “People Who Are Shit.” I can’t decide which I like better. In any event, leftard shyster-politician Martha Coakley would easily make it onto my as yet fictional blog, because she is certainly a person who is shit by every measure of a human being. In a radio interview t’other day, she actually said, “You can have your religious freedom, but you probably shouldn’t work in an emergency room.” This in response to a birth control/induced abortion question.

Take a listen to this amoral mutt.

This POS – Hey, “POS People” might be a good title! – is, running for “Ted Kennedy’s seat” in Massachusetts. Yeah, yeah, I’m a Texan, but I went to college in Boston, so I am watching this race with some interest, and besides, it really does have national implications. Massachusetts is so blue that red blood corpuscles are practically illegal there, so this should be a cake walk for any Phlegmocrap candidate, but Coakley is so shit-suckingly bad a candidate that her Republican challenger, Scott Brown, actually has a snowball’s chance in hell of winning.

Coakley is no newcomer to my Shit List either; she’s been a scum-sucking, maggot-out-of-hell shyster for her entire shitastic career. The article is impossible to exerpt, so you’ll have to read the whole enchilada, but it concludes thusly:

“If the sound of ghostly laughter is heard in Massachusetts these days as this campaign rolls on, with Martha Coakley self-portrayed as the guardian of justice and civil liberties, there is good reason.”

Martha Coakley is a person who is shit, and has been shit all of her life by all accounts. Will she win? Probably, because I’ve met hundreds of “the voters of Massachusetts,” and they ain’t any too smart.

They could be scared into voting for the bitch by her goon squad though. Watch as Coakley operative and Obama appointee Michael Meehan shoves reporter John McCormack to the ground for asking Coakley an inconvenient question.

Here’s the still:

The whore is supposed to be an Attorney General. She witnessed a crime. Will she testify against this Meehan Piece Of Shit? Don’t bet on it, because he’s a leftard fellow traveller.

Is this really the kind of shit you want representing you in the United States Senate, Massachusetts? I must sadly admit that I think it is, because I lived for several years in a condo in the 100 block of Beacon Street, and I’ve never met so many head-up-ass leftards as during that time.

Surprise me, Massachusetts: Elect Scott Brown instead of this Coakley turd.

Cocaine at the White House?

Preposterous, you might think. But maybe not. The GPS coordinates seem to be matching up.

Read on.

US Citizen? Sign the petition against cap n’ trade

If you’re a man-made global warming sceptic, or if you think the science perhaps isn’t settled, or if you are worried about a potential communist world government, or if you are worried about giant non-sovereign world taxes being imposed on all of us, or if you think the governments of this world already have too much power, or even if you’re not convinced yet either way, and don’t want a road paved that there’s no turning back on in just two short weeks, then sign this petition.

SIGN HERE

People literally right now are speaking at Copenhagen presenting the other side to this man-made CO2-driven man-made climate change/global warming argument. They will also be speaking tomorrow. Time is of the essence.

UPDATE

This post differs from the original. It came from watching the latest Monckton videos (the end of Part 4 of which part 1 was posted by 1.6 below), about a GLOBAL problem – but unfortunately only US citizens can sign that petition. Hence, first update removed, replaced with this.

Obama OKs more cash for ACORN

Via the Drudge Report, this is unbelievable stuff. Perhaps I was too quick when I said good-bye to ACORN after the scandal emerged that they were helping to facilitate child prostitution, a travesty even the Left could not ingore. Well, it turns out the Obama administration is still going to give them more stacks of cash (yeah, I know, hadn’t they cut the funding?), in a deal announced by the so-called Justice Department. Naturally, Republicans are outraged by this – who wouldn’t be – and no wonder. Interesting when you consider how much funding Obama received during his election campaign. And let’s not forget the $5.2 BILLION bailout of US taxpayer money Obama has already given them. Child-prostitution, voter registration fraud, dumping of important yet damaging documents in the trash…

This organization reeks. Has Obama no shame?

UPDATE

Did ACORN actually get that $5.2 billion that the Democrats intened for them? Regardless, the intention was there.