Oh, Let's Not Say "Right" And "Wrong"

Glenn Greenwald bemoans Dick Cheney's endorsement of Obama's adoption of the Bush/Cheney war on terror.  In the course of a good reprise of Obama's folding up like a cheap suitcase we get this:

Aside from the repressiveness of the policies themselves, there are three highly significant and enduring harms from Obama's behavior.  First, it creates the impression that Republicans were right all along in the Bush-era War on Terror debates and Democratic critics were wrong.

Well, let's not say "right" and "wrong" as though there will be a definitive answer.  This is not a controlled natural science experiment.  Sometimes (I am thinking of pro-lifers and pro-choicers here), folks with alternative views must simply co-exist, secure, perhaps, in their own self-righteousness but with no final proof of "The Truth" available.

However - Obama's total flip-flops do create the impression that he was a lying, opportunistic, unprincipled poseur during the years he positioned himself as the liberal champion of Hope and Change who would deliver America from the oppression of the Bush years.  I almost feel sorry for Greenwald (almost!), who writes this:

But Obama's impact in this area extends far beyond that.  Dick Cheney is not only free of ignominy, but can run around claiming vindication from Obama's actions because he's right.  The American Right constantly said during the Bush years that any President who knew what Bush knew and was faced with the duty of keeping the country safe would do the same thing.  Obama has provided the best possible evidence imaginable to prove those claims true.

...Obama has won the War on Terror debate -- for the American Right.  And as Dick Cheney's interview last night demonstrates, they're every bit as appreciative as they should be.

Well, we're still going to do our best to vote Obama out.

Comments

[Neo]

This is a wound ripe for plenty of salt

[Neo]

Meanwhile, it's good to see The New Republic doing a wonderful job of "compare and contrast" in the new era of cordial politics.

LUN

[Dave (in MA)]

It says "SITE PRESENTED BY ONION NEWS NETWORK" at the top of the Salon page. It all makes more sense now.

[Neo]

I can see it now.

Moderator: Please explain the Bush Obama Doctrine
Obama: ...err..aah..
Palin: Put a little lipstick on that ...

[Appalled]

TM:

You missed the best quote from Greenwald's piece:

If Obama has indeed changed his mind over the last two years as a result of all the Secret Scary Things he's seen as President, then I genuinely believe that he and the Democratic Party owe a heartfelt, public apology to Bush, Cheney and the GOP for all the harsh insults they spewed about them for years based on policies that they are now themselves aggressively continuing.

Of course, if he does that apology thing, the Great Soros Conspiracy will make Obama give his Nobel Prize back.

[Gmax]

110 % effort to send him back to build homes for Habitat in the Chicago mean streets from this righty...

[NK]

Dear Glenn--

BHO won the debate for the Right. well yeah?! the Right was well right all along .... Glenn and fellow pantywaiste AndyS. were nutz about detention, Military Commissions and interrogation all along. Glenn-- dela with it.

[Dave (in MA)]

I'll take the guy who was right all along over the guy who begrudgingly pulled a 180 when confronted with reality for the first time, any day.

[anduril]

OK, let's NOT say 'right' or 'wrong.' Let's NOT talk about Bushie/Cheney's handling of foreign policy in the ME/Central Asia. Let's NOT talking about how our policies created an Islamic state in place of a more or less secular one (Iraq), empowered Iran in Iraq and the Gulf region, have supported an Islamist state (or, sort-of-state) in Afghanistan, and have supported the biggest threat to peace perhaps in the world: Pakistan. Here's the result of 8 years (give or take) of Bushie/Cheney: Report: Pakistani spy agency rushed Mullah Omar to hospital--and then there's that other guy out there somewhere. And let's not mention the debacle in Georgia or a lot of other stuff. Where will all that silence that get us?

Let's face it: Obama doesn't inspire any confidence on the foreign policy stage, but he inherited one helluva mess. Just like the economy he inherited. OK, so you say he's doubled down on both? Well, maybe if Bushie/Cheney hadn't screwed up so badly we wouldn't have Obama.

Agree to disagree? Yes, in a sense: let's agree to disagree with the Bushie/Cheney policies. If the GOPers plan to do better, they need a plan. Based on the results of the Bushie/Cheney plan, it better be different if they want it to offer better results. Agreeing to disagree with the past is a good place to start. This is no time for complacency based on the latest polls. The voters are rightly upset over Obama's performance, but those poll results don't amount to a blank check. The voters want results, not more of the same old stuff. If Obama has adopted Bushie/Cheney policies in the GWOT and voters are unhappy with the results, promising to go back to Bushie/Cheney is a recipe for disaster.

[Extraneus]

Over a lying, opportunistic, unprincipled poseur? Where's the civility.

[lyle]

then I genuinely believe that he and the Democratic Party owe a heartfelt, public apology to Bush, Cheney and the GOP

Well, then, why don't you go first you whiny little shit? Andrew can follow suit. Then all the lying jackwagons like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. The list is endless.

[clarice]

Not only was Bush right and owed an apology, but Obama owes an apology to Hillary, too, who argued for the more grown up , pragmatic view only to have the primaries stolen by Obama in the caucus states bu ACORN and stupid college kids muscling in on Iowa farmers and such.
As for Judis' ridiculous shtick in The New Republic, was Rossitor in a safe during the lst session of Congress when the Dems rode roughshod over the undermanned Reps? If not, where was Judis then?

This crap about civility and bipartisanship comes too late from the lips of juicebox pundits like Judis to be taken seriously.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Obama's total flip-flops do create the impression that he was a lying, opportunistic, unprincipled poseur during the years he positioned himself as the liberal champion of Hope and Change

Why the limit on the scope?

[Neo]

It's interesting that the White House hasn't put out any clarification re Cheney comments. Guess they now agree.

[anduril]

Logic 101: Obama adopting Bush policies does NOT = Obama is right!

[anduril]

Here's a Neocon who--very partially--gets it, Jed Babbin: Obama Is Losing in Afghanistan.

Republicans have two urgent tasks this week. First is learning how to spell "Reince Priebus." Second, and far more important, is to begin an intensive debate on Obama's strategy on Afghanistan.

Out of a misplaced sense of loyalty to their former president, Republicans have bound themselves to President Obama's counterinsurgency-cum-withdrawal strategy. They've done so because Obama's is an extension of George W. Bush's nation-building strategy, which we have pursued in Afghanistan since 2001 and in Iraq from 2003.

That strategy has failed.

Babbin's answer is that we need a strategy to "defeat" the enemy. My question is twofold: what would "defeat" mean, and whatever it might mean, is that a realistic strategy?

[anduril]

Obama adopting Bush policies does NOT = Obama is right!

Nor, I hasten to add, does it mean that Bushie was right. Flip side.

[Danube of Thought]

What, in fact, is the deal with that "Onion News Network" stuff at the top of the page?

[Jack is Back!]

Want to feel old (other than how you feel when you read Anduril's posts)?

Tomorrow, in 1972, Sandy Koufax and Early Wynn were elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is now 75 years of age. Borough Park born who lived mostly in Rockville Center, LI.

[squaredance]

andruil: Yes let us not. It is all in passes for your "mind" in the first place, and, in the second place, your loony, loopy rantings are wholly at odds with any sane, rational and inform understanding of the world whatsoever,.

[bgates]

we're still going to do our best to vote Obama out.

That's not inconsistent with being as appreciative of him as we should be.

[peter]

Apropos of absolutely nothing, Gil Meche has a classic baseball name.

[Danube of Thought]

Saw him pitch a number of times in Dodger Stadiumn 1963-65, the highlight of my spectating career )along with Showtime games at the Forum in the 80's).

He was a fine hoops player in HS and preferred it to baseball, but when God gives you that arm He is also telling you precisely what you must do. Sandy got the message.

[Neo]

Yo. I remember seeing Sandy Koufax pitch against the Phillies at Chavez Ravine ... back when dinosaurs roamed the land.

[Jack is Back!]

Sandy Koufax went to the University of Cincinnati (same school I attended and graduated from) and in 1954 was recruited for the basketball team (I was a pup then) by coach Ed Jucker. Who is Ed Jucker? He coached the 61 and 62 teams that one the National Championship and missed out by a dubious foul in 1963 to Loyala. He recruited Sandy as a basketball player but saw his potential as a baseball pitcher since Ed went to UC himself the same fashion. Some people believe he coached The Big O but Oscar was coached by George Smith who recruited him out of Crispus Atticus high school in Indianapolis.

The O is still the greatest player I have ever seen and I have seen them all from Mikan and Cousy to Coby and LeBron and Michael. Just a different era and if he had the strategic coaching and team mates that Jucker produced he would have won one or two National championships instead of coming in 2nd and 3rd. Back then it was the top 16 teams if I remember and the NIT was almost as strong a tournament. I think it was in 62 when Cincy won the NCAA and Xavier the NIT. Cincy beat Ohio State and Jerry Lucas and I believe Xavier beat Dayton - an Ohio quadruple never to be repeated by any state. Now I could be wrong about that so someone please correct me if I am.

[maryrose]

Hell will freeze over before Obama admits he's been wrong wrong wrong about the war on terror, Gitmo and Afghanistan.His no jobs stimulus has the states crying uncle with no relief in sight. His support of budget busting unions has secured deficits in states throughout our wonderful land. Thank God this past election got some republicans in as governors. Now we proceed in Congress to undo all the damage since the dems got the majority in congress.Wasserman Schultz says healthcare debate is a waste of time. She wasted plenty of time trying to stop the extension of the Bush tax cuts. We had to sit through that faux debate.

[Marko]

Couldn't you have come up with a better example than the following:
"Sometimes (I am thinking of pro-lifers and pro-choicers here), folks with alternative views must simply co-exist, secure, perhaps, in their own self-righteousness but with no final proof of The Truth" available."

Really, the bloody baby bits are proof of something. Both sides of that argument are NOT the same.

[MarkJ]

"we're still going to do our best to vote Obama out.

That's not inconsistent with being as appreciative of him as we should be."

Some history trivia: Winston Churchill led England to victory in 1945...and the British public in turn rewarded "Winnie" by tossing him out the first chance they got.

[Ibid]

Let's not say right and wrong.

Let's say right and frivolous; right and cowardly; or even right and treasonous.

[rasqual]

Those who still imagine Bush to have left Obama with the worst imaginable mess to clean up, haven't really posed what Gore or Kerry would have done better, or differently.

"Pay no attention to those counterfactual mysteries behind the curtain!"

The seeming constant in critique of the past is that some folks imagine the alternative to actual evolved problems to have been an evolved utopia. The baseline for them is an ideal world that apparently would have existed were it not for the world that actually came to be.

So weird.

[daddy]

Instalanche!

[narciso]

Rohde's account of his tenure in Afghanistan,(including his kidnapping) is interesting showing how involved the ISI in supporting the Taliban, but it's dissapointing in other ways, there are links to many of the stories that he covered
on Afghanistan, in the last decade, about corruption and other matters, most of which were turned into Taliban propaganda. The other was the cowardly reference to the outing of the private contractor network that helped free him, 'the bell toll for thee, but not for yee' apparently

[Extraneus]

The American left was a complete disgrace ever since they reneged on the votes their leaders insisted on taking in support of the Iraq AUMF. (In which many of them, including Hillary and Kerry, cited evidence shown to them not by Bush, but by Clinton.) At times, they flirted with treason, but to a man and woman, they rooted against our country in a war. They hoped we would lose a war, damned our soldiers and 25 million innocent Iraqi civilians, and often took actions designed to hasten our defeat. These are facts.

And Greenwald is worried about the right-wing winning a debate? They're lucky they weren't targeted for real.

[anduril]

The seeming constant in critique of the past is that some folks imagine the alternative to actual evolved problems to have been an evolved utopia.

Ah, yes, the old standby for the intellectually handicapped--the strawman. Also a favorite Obama technique, btw.

"Some folks" doesn't include this poster. But the argument seems to run:

1. For some people the alternative to Bushie's "evolved problems" is an "evolved utopia;"

2. But there is no such thing as an "evolved utopia;

3. THEREFORE, pay no attention to criticisms of Bushie's policies.

Pretty lame--as lame when "conservatives" use it as when Obama uses it.

[hitnrun]

"First, it creates the impression that Republicans were right all along in the Bush-era War on Terror debates and Democratic critics were wrong."

And as we all know, there should be no higher aim to national securities, foreign policy, or any other policy for that matter, than to serve as contrary arguments to one's political opponents, current and former.

And then Democrats moan about how the public is hesitant to elect them to executive positions.

[Kathy Kinsley]

" The American Right constantly said during the Bush years that any President who knew what Bush knew and was faced with the duty of keeping the country safe would do the same thing. "

Yes, we did, and yes he did. I suspect that, like Bush, once he heard all the the stuff wikileaks never got (and hopefully never will), he found his choices a bit limited.

[MarkO]

Greatest NBA player? Easy. Bill Russell. Check the books. Beyond the stats and championships, however, is his remarkable clarity of purpose.

The other day, on the NBA network, I saw a round table with Dr. J., Bill Walton and Russ. Russell doesn't talk about himself and it took Walton asking question really to get him going. Walton asked, "Whose game did you pattern yourself after?" Russ said, "No one." Long silence. Russ explained, "To me it was not about having 'a game', it was about using any skill I had to win the game. That was the important point. Whatever I could do to win a game was how I would play."

See why he's the best and alone at the top?

[Ralph L]

but to a man and woman, they rooted against our country in a war
To be fair, many of them were only doing that to hurt Bush and regain power. Some did want us to lose, as in Vietnam (probably the same people). Surprised that Greenwald hadn't figured out the first group.

[Thomas Collins]

JiB, Dayton defeated St. John's in the 1962 NIT. Sorry for no LUN, but I haven't yet learned how to copy and paste on an iPad.

[Thomas Collins]

All right, let's see if I have done this iPad copy and paste thing correctly. At LUN should be NIT Tournament winners, runners-up and MVPs.

[Willis]

Even a communist clock is right twice a day.

[caro]

Way to go, TC.

[Danube of Thought]

I've seen all the ones discussed, and Michael Jordan tops my list.

[Thomas Collins]

Thanks, caro. So, what are you up to? Boating, painting, skiing or some combination?

[Footloose]

Regis is leaving,think he has a long form or was his dad a cia informant like Os?

[Rob Crawford]

Surprised that Greenwald hadn't figured out the first group.

Surprised you don't think Gleen is in that group.

[Cecil Turner]

Just to be clear, this (Greenwald quoting Hayden) is what we're talking about:

"You've got state secrets, targeted killings, indefinite detention, renditions, the opposition to extending the right of habeas corpus to prisoners at Bagram . . ."

The idea that, in wartime, we'd tell the enemy exactly what we plan, refuse to use lethal force, release prisoners when caught, or provide combatant detainees with a lawyer and a hearing is just laughable. But that's exactly what the bleeding hearts on the left think ought to happen. Obama may not be the brightest bulb in the deck on this subject, but even he knows he can't defend those silly policies. (Which pretty much leads us back to the "lying, opportunistic, unprincipled poseur" conclusion.)

[Thomas Collins]

Although I enjoyed Russ regularly topping Wilt the Stilt, I still marvel at Wilt's ability to shoulder the scoring load when the rest of his teammates weren't that great, and then set up teammates when he was playing with better caliber players.

[Ignatz]

I'm with MarkO on Russell. I probably enjoyed watching Oscar most but Russell was different from other players in an intangible way which decides it in his favor, IMO.
Jordan was great but thrived in an era of relative pygmies.

[Ignatz]

--Here's a Neocon who--very partially--gets it, Jed Babbin--

Jed Babbin isn't and never has been a neocon.

[Pops]

""Sometimes (I am thinking of pro-lifers and pro-choicers here), folks with alternative views must simply co-exist, secure, perhaps, in their own self-righteousness but with no final proof of The Truth" available""

Actually, A wise man once said, 'We hold these TRUTHS to be self evident....that we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are LIFE, liberty.......'

I don't need any more proof then that as to the TRUTH.

[Pops]

I to, am annoucing my retirement. I have spent the past 25 years NOT watching Regis...not a single show. He could have retired after 1 show and it would be the same for me, because I and tens of millions of others never watched him.

Sorry

[Porchlight]

And as we all know, there should be no higher aim to national securities, foreign policy, or any other policy for that matter, than to serve as contrary arguments to one's political opponents, current and former.

Didn't Obama himself say he had to oppose the surge because it was a Bush initiative?

[maryrose]

Sunnyday:
I saw your post online earlier and I am glad to see you and to enjoy your comments.

[Rob Crawford]

Jed Babbin isn't and never has been a neocon.

Not even if you use a certain definition of "neocon" popular among certain nutjobs?

[Extraneus]

"Saddam's goal ... is to achieve the lifting of U.N. sanctions while retaining and enhancing Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs. We cannot, we must not and we will not let him succeed." -- Madeline Albright, 1998

"(Saddam) will rebuild his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction and some day, some way, I am certain he will use that arsenal again, as he has 10 times since 1983" -- National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, Feb 18, 1998

"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, though there is apparently no evidence of his involvement in the terrible events of September 11, 2001. 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. Should he succeed in that endeavor, he could alter the political and security landscape of the Middle East, which as we know all too well affects American security." -- Hillary Clinton, October 10, 2002

(In case any kids who weren't around happen by.)

[Jane says obamasucks]

Speaking of retirement...To what do you guys attribute Lieberman, Conrad and Hutchinson announcing retirement at this point. Will the first two accrue to our benefit? It seems like it has to.

[Extraneus]

Insurers Dismiss Administration Claims on Pre-Existing Conditions Barrier (From today's repeal debate, which hasn't been widely reported for some reason.)

[Danube of Thought]

Conrad will. Lieberman won't.

[And the Humming Bird.]

Oohl, I'm there with Big O and Russell.
==============

[I love Joltin' Joe, the Independent Conn Man.]

Lieberman's quitting? Prawly so he won't be a daily reminder to Johny Boy of his tactical error. Or maybe housing and finance will dynamite the rest of the flock.
=========

[Porchlight]

Hutchinson will be a boon as it opens up the seat for someone more conservative, like Michael Williams.

[Russert roasts.]

Well, Bush was wrong and Cheney was right about Scooter. Re-open the case. Free the Intelligence.
==========

[b5blue]

Obama said he would be content to be a one termer. I plan to grant him his wish at the ballot box.

[anduril]

Pops:

1. I agree with your sentiment re abortion, however I don't refer to this nation's founding documents to determine existential truth. Nor do I believe the Founding Fathers would have wished me to do so.

2. Same here--wouldn't know Regis if he bit me in the leg.

Re Babbin being a Neocon, maybe he is, maybe he isn't. But anyone who thinks that's the main point, I wish they'd use their narcisolator.

[Captain Hate]

Jordan was great but thrived in an era of relative pygmies.

Not true; the median height was surely higher when Jordan was playing. For example, Magic Johnson (who rarely gets mentioned as the GOAT but I think is deserving of at least some mention) was a 6'9" point guard.

[Thomas Collins]

Caro, I just checked another thread and found out that you are on the mend. I hope whatever drugs you are taking don't preclude a refreshment or two!

[macphisto]

i'd have been more impressed with Jordan if he'd had to play within normal rules...every time i saw him play on TV (which was only a few times, since i lost interest in basketball when body-checking came in) the refs gave him more steps between dribbles than a Lynyrd Skynyrd tune.

[SunnyDay]

HI maryrose! Thank you. I would post more, but I just stay a tad behind everyone else.

[narciso]

So, Peter Bergen is out with hisAnabasis , long account, 'the Long War' the pretensious
essay that was fisked weeks ago, was just a taste, and no "War on terror" cliche is left un touched, Soufan's false statements
re Zbeydah, the Levick Group's devils advocacy of the peaceful shepherds, with
annotations from DenBeaux, the battle of Tora Bora as the turning point in the war.

[Extraneus]

In case anyone missed it,

Iowahawk: CSI: Tucson

[bunkerbuster]

``to a man and woman, they rooted against our country in a war.''

lol...to wingnuts, war is like a football game. "Rooted"? WTF? it's not just that they would view war this way but that they would flaunt their juvenality with such enthusiasm...

And what happened to the Fox/wingnutosphere cheerleading squad in Iraq? No longer needed, or?? The "things are much better than the media says in Iraq and Afghanistan" meme died a quick and telling death after Obama won, didn't it.... LMAO

[anduril]

"juvenility"

[anduril]

"juvenility"

[anduril]

"juvenility"

[anduril]

"juvenility"

[Danube of Thought]

The NBA was a hinky-dink league through mucht of Russell's career; it had only eight teams when he started. Even late in his career there were only fourteen. More important, early in his career it was mostly white-boy hoops. Seriously: Tommy Heinsohn? Mel Counts? Rudy LaRusso? Darrall Imhoff? Hank Finkel? John Rudometkin?

Those stumblebum fools couldn't play in a decent YMCA league today.

Fuhgeddaboudit.

[anduril]

strange. i was using a somewhat experimental browser, rekonq, and it caused four entries when i only did one.

[clarice]

Sunny Day!!!! You have been missed!!

[PD]

Regarding the need for a new tone of civility, have we heard anything yet from Jesse "Hymietown" Jackson, a.k.a. Jesse "I'd like to cut his nuts off" Jackson?

[Jane says obamasucks]

I agree Clarice, Sunny Day you are missed!

[MayBee]

And what happened to the Fox/wingnutosphere cheerleading squad in Iraq? No longer needed, or?? The "things are much better than the media says in Iraq and Afghanistan" meme died a quick and telling death after Obama won, didn't it.... LMAO

One thing that happened is the media stopped talking about how horrible Afghanistan and Iraq are.

I feel like you are just phoning it in, bunkerbuster.
"Frannie" on the last thread.
"Juvenality" on this thread.

You can do better. I believe in you.

[MayBee]

I mean, when was the last time we heard the term "Grim Milestone"?

[Danube of Thought]

...Bob Hogsett...Dorie Murray...Howard Komives...Terry Dischinger...Ron Kojis...

All those leadfooted oafs--they were the NBA.

[Thomas Collins]

So, bunkerbuster, what do you think about the conference championship games? Jets or Steelers? Bears or Packers?

[anduril]

Classic Iowahawk.

[clarice]

narciso, Bergen is a dishonest S.O.B. who has made an entire career out of a decades old meeting with OBL, hasn't he?

[narciso]

one thing I noticed, is State's diplomatic reporting was far more thorough than the counterparts at CIA, the PDBs and NIE's that have been provided for review, the Aardvark cable that Maguire, waved like a bloody shirt. I mean one is supposed to make any kid of decisions based on those
scraps of information

[narciso]

Btw, Newt's 'advice' to Sarah, wasn't the stupidest thing he said today, saying Obama
deserved the 54% rating in that bogus poll,

[Thomas Collins]

I think you are correct about the old style of NBA play, DOT. However, although the player pictured in the LUN couldn't keep up with the Kevin Durants of today, he'd be great off the bench in one of those player to player or player to fan scuffles.

[Jack is Back!]

Sorry, I could only make it half way with Iowa Hawk before my wife had to jump on me to keep me from rolling off the terrace into the pool:). He haw!

[bgates]

what happened to the Fox/wingnutosphere cheerleading squad in Iraq?

Biden was saying Iraq "could be one of the great achievements of this administration" a year ago.

Don't listen to MayBee, though. You can't do any better. You peaked. It just didn't feel that way because even your peak was so wretched.

[Jack is Back!]

I love Bill Russel, he is the greatest defensive player EVAH in basketball. But no one ever matched the purity of shooting and driving thecbasket like the big O! But like all of you it's my opinion!

[Thomas Collins]

Bunkerbuster's gonna come around, bgates. Bunkerbuster just needs to listen to NPR less and morning sports talk radio more.

[clarice]

Six more states have joined the Fla suit against Obamacare.
That makes 26 states suing to stop it. Another historic event

[bunkerbuster]

In between "rooting" for wars, wingnuts hallucinate:

``the media stopped talking about how horrible Afghanistan and Iraq are''

Today's NYT: Suicide Blast in Iraq Kills Police Recruits
…the Islamic State of Iraq and other insurgent groups continue to strike with regularity, if with less
severity. They have attacked Iraq’s government and security services in particular, and the latest violence prompted criticism of an apparent lapse of precaution, given that history.
Afghan Official Expects Court to Void Election
Jan. 18 (New York Times) -- KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s attorney general expressed hope on Tuesday that a special court appointed by the president to look into election fraud would throw out the results of the country’s parliamentary elections, and predicted that the court would delay this week’s planned inauguration of a new Parliament.

Iraq: Governor Cuts Power to Baghdad
Jan. 18 (New York Times) -- The governor of oil-rich Tamim Province cut the electricity to Baghdad from a power station in his province on Monday over a dispute with the central government that he said had left his residents without power in the winter.

Raids on Baghdad Alcohol Purveyors Stir Fears of Suppression of Christians
Jan. 16 (New York Times) -- BAGHDAD -- Eight men carrying handguns and steel pipes raided a Christian nongovernmental organization here on Thursday night, grabbing computers, cellphones and documents, and threatening the people inside, according to members of the group.
The episode is the latest in a recent flurry of attacks on those who sell alcohol in Baghdad. On Wednesday, two shop owner said they were raided in similar fashion, also by men dressed a civilians working with the police. The crackdown has stirred fears among some here of an accelerated movement toward strict Islamic law, especially since the return to Iraq of Moktada al-Sadr, the fiery anti-American cleric, a week ago.

No surprise, though. Wingnuts apparently see no problem with simultaneously criticizing newspapers while insisting -- and demonstrating -- that they don't read them.

Maybee: ``frannie'' refers to the combination of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

[Chubby]

((lol...to wingnuts, war is like a football game. "Rooted"? WTF? it's not just that they would view war this way but that they would flaunt their juvenality with such enthusiasm...

And what happened to the Fox/wingnutosphere cheerleading squad in Iraq? No longer needed, or?? The "things are much better than the media says in Iraq and Afghanistan" meme died a quick and telling death after Obama won, didn't it.... LMAO))

oh my, what a glowing example of civility NOT

snicker

[centralcal]

Hey, SunnyDay! So nice to see you here again!

Woo Hoo, Clarice - 26 of our 57 states is quite the landmark - I agree!

Busted bunker - I haven't put you in the Narcisolator yet, cuz you are so much fun - unlike sick puppy, who was just, well, sick.

[anduril]

Not to mention the millions of internally and externally displaced, the ethnically and religiously cleansed, etc. It's fine to "root" for war when it's other people's problem. And few if any of those other people have anything to do with terrorism that impacts us. This callousness is what has cost the US brand so much harm.

[MayBee]

bunker- there is no way you can believe Iraq and Afghanistan get the saturation coverage they used to get. There is no way you can believe they are the stories they were at the time the argument was being made that they weren't as bad as the press was making them out to be. Please be honest about that.

You can't use the argument that you took me literally (as in totally stopped), because then I would be pedantic and say there weren't literally Fox cheerleading squads in Iraq.

I hadn't realized Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae combined.