The Middle East Erupts - Is This The End For Romney?

Huh? The Middle East erupts in the sort of rioting that in earlier days Obma would reflexively blame on that hateful cowboy Bush, thereby prompting Molly Ball of The Atlantic to wonder whether this signals the collapse of the Romney campaign. Hmm, a bit more good news - maybe a Euro collapse and an Iraian missile launch towards Israel - might signal the return of the House to Nancy Pelosi. Keep hope alive, Ms. Ball!

Or maybe not - Clive Crook, also of the Atlantic, restrains his mirth manfully but has a few questions, after first excerpting Ms. Ball:

But his comments struck a sour note in light of the fact that the Egyptian embassy's statement condemning those who would attempt "to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims" had long since been disavowed by the administration.

The disavowal makes Romney looks worse? I agree that in his press conference Romney should have acknowledged it--failing to do that was another fumble. But the more important fact, surely, is that the administration did actually disavow the statement. In other words, Romney's criticism had some merit!

Indeed - how dare Romney criticize something Obama was about to criticize. Ms. Ball does conclude her piece with a possily prescient "on the other hand":

Romney's Libya blunder might be just a blip, a single news cycle lost in a campaign that still has nearly two months to go and will surely refocus on the economy before long. There's also the possibility that further developments overseas reflect badly on the administration and somehow make Romney's critique look prescient rather than crass.

Could "further developments" encompass turmoil in Yemen, Iran, Tunisia, Morocco, and Sudan, as well as continued agitation in Egypt?

I do agree that Romney missed a good opportunity to shut up and let the situation develop and the facts emerge. It will be difficult for some to face but what we are seeing is an administration with an empty Middle East policy and no preparation or appropriate security in Libya. As the public contemplates that over the next few days or weeks it will probably not hurt Romney.

REMEMBERING ANDREW SULLIVAN: Let's reprise his full facial from 2007:

Consider this hypothetical. It’s November 2008. A young Pakistani Muslim is watching television and sees that this man—Barack Hussein Obama—is the new face of America. In one simple image, America’s soft power has been ratcheted up not a notch, but a logarithm. A brown-skinned man whose father was an African, who grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii, who attended a majority-Muslim school as a boy, is now the alleged enemy. If you wanted the crudest but most effective weapon against the demonization of America that fuels Islamist ideology, Obama’s face gets close. It proves them wrong about what America is in ways no words can.

Anyone who voted for Obma on that basis may be feeling shortchanged. Or is blaming Bush.

Let's note that the current protestors and rioters aren't focused on the median American, or even the views of 80% or 90% of Americans. One or two, or a handfull of folks denouncing Mohammed is enough to set them off against our entire country. Why this is news to Andrew we do not know, since he seemed well aware of the challenges faced in Europe by Muslim intolerance.

Comments

[DrJ]

Glad we have a new topic!

[Bru]

Heh, heh, you said "facial" while talking about Andrew Sullivan. Heh, heh.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. It was just too damn easy. Sorta like scaling the Egyptian embassy's walls after the Ambassador has banned the Marines from using live ammo.

[NK]

There you go TM picking on the poor prescription drug addled Andy Pandy Sullivan. Fish in a barrel,just fish in a barrel.

Dr.J@1:37-- heh.

[Barbar.]

Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead.
==================

[Captain Hate]

When did The Atlantic become such a hive of dimwits? I know it's been that way for a while but it seemed like in the late 90s and even later it was worth reading.

[Dave (in MA)]

Oh, my.

CH, I think your commenting style is rubbing off on T-Mag.

[NK]

"Do not laugh at the Raisuli!!"

[James D.]

But if today's events turn into a bigger problem for Romney, it will be because they fit neatly into a damning narrative that was already under construction: that Romney's inexperience and incoherence on foreign affairs make him unfit for the office he is seeking. Like Dukakis before him, who looked so implausible posed in a helmet and tank that the believability of his whole campaign was deflated, the peril for Romney is that voters may decide he doesn't pass the commander-in-chief test.

Anyone who can write the above with a straight face, or who believes it (especially considering the current occupant of the White House), is - you know what? I'm lost. I can't think of a description to adequately express how utterly, irredemiably, monumentally stuipid such a person is.

[bgates]

America’s soft power has been ratcheted up not a notch, but a logarithm

Is that some kind of slang among Britons, or gays, or pretend conservatives, or is it an ill-advised attempt to appear erudite in the eyes of people who enjoy misusing the term "exponential" by misusing a term that pops up in proper discussion of exponents?

[Jim Eagle]

This is making the rounds of a email aggregator USNA-at-Large. Don't know if DoT gets them but this one is at a boil:

"Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Not your job, sir

This is not the position of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to engage with a civilian INCONUS.

Full stop.

General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke with Pastor Terry Jones by phone on Wednesday and asked him to withdraw his support for a film whose portrayal of the Prophet Mohammad has sparked violent protests - including one that ended with the death of America's envoy to Libya. "In the brief call, Gen. Dempsey expressed his concerns over the nature of the film, the tensions it will inflame and the violence it will cause," Dempsey's spokesman, Colonel Dave Lapan, told Reuters.

Do we really want active duty officers to encourage citizens to surrender or withdraw their Constitutional rights because foreign nationals (who are our enemy) don't like them?

Is that in the spirit of "... support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic?"

I have no use for Terry Jones - but having an Army General, in his official capacity, in uniform, pressuring a tax payer to surrender Constitutional rights, is not a nation I think I live in."

[fdcol63]

Remember the Ottoman Turks? The "Sick Man of Europe"?

Behold! The United States of Obama: The Sick Man of America.

[Captain Hate]

Logarithm is Andi slang for safe anal for Catholics.

[Danube of Thought]

Foreign Policy on Obama's latest gaffe:

"President Barack Obama didn't intend to signal any change in the U.S.-Egypt relationship last night when he said Egypt is not an 'ally'" the White House told The Cable today.

"In an interview with Telemundo Wednesday night, Obama said that the U.S. relationship with the new Egyptian government was a 'work in progress,'and emphasized that the United States is counting on the government of Egypt to better protect the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, which was attacked by protesters on Sept. 11.

"'I don't think that we would consider them an ally, but we don't consider them an enemy,' Obama said. 'They're a new government that is trying to find its way. They were democratically elected. I think that we are going to have to see how they respond to this incident.'

"That comment had Egypt watchers scratching their heads, especially since technically, Egypt was designated as a Major Non-NATO Ally in 1989 when Congress first passed the law creating that status, which gives them special privileges in cooperating with the United States, especially in the security and technology areanas."

[Jim Eagle]

Now for a little levity:)

I had this forwarded to me by a friend in my neighborhood who didn't know that this particular news website was one of complete satire and parody. But its still funny and you can see it could entrap some people.

Read and laugh - you deserve it after reading the previous thread.

[narciso]

Molly is like Krystal Ball's dimmer sister, isn't she, well in relative terms any ways.
The criticisms have 'gotten just too silly indeed'

[Rob Crawford]

DoT -- perhaps Obama shouldn't fire off his mouth so quickly?

[Captain Hate]

NK, continuing our discussion from the other thread, another reason for the JEF to say that Egypt isn't an ally is that Egypt warned us that something was coming on 9/11 and this could be a way of the Indonesian to cover his bony ass in this whole deplorable event. This whole episode should sink him in November if everything came to light but not everybody votes for the same things as I do.

[Danube of Thought]

I got off their mailing list a few years ago when things got very contentious over an inside-baseball issue, JiB. But they're spot on this time. Very unseemly.

I think I recall discussing Andrew's bizarre use of "logarithm" back in 2007.

[Cecil Turner]

I find myself in rare disagreement with this:

I do agree that Romney missed a good opportunity to shut up and let the situation develop and the facts emerge.

There is little doubt that the response from Cairo was feckless. Moreover, the failure of the Administration to take the Egyptian and Libyan governments (such as they are) to task for failure to protect our embassies sent a strong signal (that we'd do nothing about it). Just as the Egyptian Army's failure to protect the embassy (along with the recent suspended sentences for embassy attacks last year) send the same signal: US embassies are free game. The ongoing result was hardly unpredictable.

Romney's criticism was if anything too mild. The focus should not have been on disavowing US freedom (e.g., to say something bad about Muhammad), but that we expect our embassies to be protected, regardless. Somebody needs to say it.

[Ranger]

When the president does it, it's not a gaff (Via Drudge):

White House clarifies Obama’s statement that Egypt is not an ‘ally’

"I think folks are reading way too much into this," Vietor said. "‘Ally' is a legal term of art. We don't have a mutual defense treaty with Egypt like we do with our NATO allies. But as the president has said, Egypt is longstanding and close partner of the United States, and we have built on that foundation by supporting Egypt's transition to democracy and working with the new government."

Can't wait for the next great moment in presidential speechifying... I have a feeling it will go something like this:

The people of this country deserve to know if their president is a moron or not. Well, I'm not a moron.

[Abadman]

Actually the rioters are focused on the median American. It is a dangerous conceit to believe otherwise. Our culture and way of life is an anathema to them and that includes all the individuals that make up our culture.

Terry Jones did not make them riot, did not set them off and they should not be allowed to use him as an excuse. They want the riots, they want the confrontation, and they choose to produce them.

They are committed to our destruction and the riots are part and parcel of that comitment. Taking the blame for their actions weakens us and we should be steadfast in calling them the rat bastards they are.

[Dave (in MA)]

JiB, I tend to enjoy the Onion headlines more than the articles beneath them.

For example: "New Roomba Blender Makes Smoothie Out Of Everything In Its Path"

[rse]

Does this feel a bit like the Frankfurt School media project from the 30s where something gets believed as true if it's heard like 5 times or so? If you repeat Romney messed up often enough it cancels out the accurate perception that bo did. And has. And calls it in except when asking for $$.

Watching the news last night there were a few damning details that were getting through in a way that wouldn't happen if they did not know they were jiggering the polling. If they really thought bo had the lead.

Anybody want to hum "Momma don't let your babies grow up to be journalists?"

[MarkO]

Obama's just not that smart.

Wow. The MSM is showing its true colors like never before. I hope this destroys it.

[Captain Hate]

Moreover, the failure of the Administration to take the Egyptian and Libyan governments (such as they are) to task for failure to protect our embassies sent a strong signal (that we'd do nothing about it).

And Muffer's continual apologizes for a youtube clip make it appear as if rioting and murdering people are justified responses.

[Captain Hate]

apologizes == apologies

[James D.]

The administration's posture of calm, cool confidence on foreign policy is going to need, let's say, tweaking. The power of leading from behind, quietly delivering such excellent results in Egypt and Libya, is no longer an achievement in the bank.

Who outside of the MSM and the Kool-aid drinkers EVER thought that Zero and his lackeys ever displayed "calm, cool confidence" in foreign policy, or credited them with "excellent results"?

I swear, if I was given the power of God for one day, like in that Jim Carrey movie, I would smite with fire and brimstone and Almighty wrath every single person who wroks for/at the NYT, WAPO, Politicl, the Atlantic, the Hill, ABC, NBC, CBS News, CNN, MSNBC, NPR...

And then, without doing anything else, I'd be able to call it a day knowing I'd made the world an infinitely better place.

[Rob Crawford]

For example: "New Roomba Blender Makes Smoothie Out Of Everything In Its Path"

LUN

[narciso]

Yes, it's very Frankfurt in design, I learned a new word from Luke Harding's x ray of neo czarist Russia, zertzung (sic)
that is a deliberate attack pioneered by the Stasi, of alienating critics, through
direct attacks upon them, and anyone in their social circle.

[Cecil Turner]

America’s soft power has been ratcheted up not a notch, but a logarithm.

E. Andy also fairly obviously doesn't understand the difference between a logarithm and an exponent:

But then, considering context, it might be a feature: statistically, it's about as hard to be wrong all the time as it is to be right.

[MarkO]

Can this be true? No ammo?

http://freebeacon.com/reports-marines-not-permitted-live-ammo/

[matt]

We're off on the Road to Morocco,
We're leading the world from behind
Our Foreign Policy's a mushed bullshit crock-o
our goals are quite well undefined

Berrrrnanke is easing our dollar
Iran is now building a nuke
It all makes me want to just holler
I think I'll just go home and puke.

[Ranger]

And from the same story, this is a damning admission by the White House:

Administration sources told The Cable that Obama's "ally" comment was not pre-arranged or prepared by staff and that the question was not anticipated.

In other words, Obama has no idea what the actual policy of the United States is, nor does he thing through the impact of his statements before he makes them.

The official White House position is now "The President is a lose cannon off the Teleprompter."

[Captain Hate]

Also the JEF has a substandard vocabulary because he doesn't know what any of the words he uses mean.

[matt]

We have been holding joint exercises with the Egyptian military for 20 years and have coordinated our policy and actions with Egypt as well. After just a few teens of billions of aid that's pretty much an ally.

I love Obama's Newspeak. Half the country is trying to say he's not doing what he is actually doing and half the country is calling bullshit. Will the truth out is the question?

[narciso]

The character of the Administration's response did not measurably change, in the
ensuing 12 hours, te breach of the Embassy compounds, the hoisting of the AQ black banner, and ancknowledgement, in time, has led to further incursions all along the Mediterranean, to North Africa, and as far west as Yemen,

Also shouldn't the attack on the US consulate in Pakistan's last week, have put them on notice, 'something wicked, this way comes'

[fdcol63]

Washington, DC - In an unexpected move, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denounced the famed Jewish-American comedian, actor, screenwriter and producer Mel Brooks for his 1981 comedy film "The History of the World, Part 1".

In remarks Thursday morning at the opening of the U.S.-Morocco Dialogue at the State Department, Mrs. Clinton said that she personally found the video “disgusting and reprehensible. It appears to have a deeply cynical purpose to denigrate a great religion and to provoke rage.” She emphasized that the U.S. had no role in the video, adding: “We absolutely reject its content and message.”

She blamed the movie for angering Christians and Jews in the Middle East, which resulted in the storming of the American embassy in Cairo and the American consulate in Benghazi, and the deaths of an American ambassador and 3 other consulate officials.

"It's unfortunate, but in America, we have this pesky thing called the 'US Constitution' which guarantees certain civil liberties like 'the freedom of speech' and 'the freedom of religion', which luckily you enlightened people in Morocco don't have to worry about. It's entirely understandable why all those Christians and Jews in Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Tunisia are now so angry, considering the hate speech in that movie. Please, please, please ... don't think ALL Americans are like that. We'll do anything to make you love us."

[narciso]

He's President Otto, riffing on Aristotle's Belgian ancestry, and the London Underground political movement.

[daddy]

Per Rush: Our Marine Corp Embassy Guards in Egypt were not allowed to have ammunition in their rifles.

The incompetence of our leaders is unbelievable.

[NK]

CaptH-- I'm not disagreeing with anything you say. It's just that the 'not an ally' thing just makes no sense (see DoT's quote above) I guess JEF is just an effin' idiot, and doesn't know what he's talking about. The whole thing is a disgraceful absurdity -- with 4 dead americans.

[Janet - Why does Johnny Depp hate the poor? pourquoi?]

I support Terry Jones's right to make/support any damn movie he wants. We are drowning in porn. We have countless movies & TV shows that mock Christianity. There is a Mormon bashing hit play in New York. My tax dollars go to "art" that glorifies deviant sex & mocks my religion.
I don't care what the nutcases in the ME think or feel....if they touch our Embassy or our people we should kill them. If they keep it up...we shut the Embassy, move out, & never give them a dime. Bye now.

[Captain Hate]

Well NK, it is difficult trying to figure out what's going on in that empty head of his other than infinite self-love.

[James D.]

Administration sources told The Cable that Obama's "ally" comment was not pre-arranged or prepared by staff and that the question was not anticipated.

"The question was not anticipated?"

The President of the United States gives an interview the day after a massive protest in Cairo sets fire to our embassy, and questions about the status of our relationship are "not anticipated?"

Jesus mfing Christ, that statement by itself is more damning than anything the worst critic of Zero or his administration could possibly say about him and his policy and his performance in office.

"not anticipated." That's simply unbelievable.

[narciso]

Btw, at that Las Vegas fundraiser, he compared the sacrifices of his volunteers, to that our troops and diplomats abroad. What a clueless git.

[NK]

Ah-- thanks Ranger@2:09-- the White House agrees with my 2:16, JEF is an effin' idiot. Unbelievable.

PS: Dear Ranger, your Student Loan proposal on an earlier thread was just brilliant. It will never happen of course, makes too much sense.

[bgates]

I think folks are reading way too much into this," Vietor said. "‘Ally' is a legal term of art

As one of only two Arab states to sign a peace treaty with Israel, Egypt has been a powerful ally for a two-state solution and a comprehensive Middle East peace agreement. - Anne Patterson, Ambassador-Designate to Egypt, remarks before Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, June 21 2011.

Q: You’ve mentioned Egypt as a friend and as an ally....
Secretary Clinton: We are friends, but even friends don’t agree on everything. We have a very constructive relationship. I had wonderful meetings today with President Mubarak....
-interview w Egyptian TV, March 2 2009

The following countries have been designated as major non-NATO allies:
Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Egypt....
-70 FR 50959, Aug. 29, 2005, which designation appears to be a legal term of art.

[Extraneus]

One or two, or a handfull of folks denouncing Mohammed is enough to set them off against our entire country.

Either that or the DNC forcing Jerusalem back into the platform at Obama's behest and clearly contrary to the floor vote.

Which is a much more believable provocation, btw.

[Captain Hate]

@ByronYork Sen. Inhofe just stated categorically that the statement released by the Embassy had been approved by POTUS. Not mistaken or informal.

[Captain Hate]

@DennisDMZ I really wish the Muslim Brotherhood would spawn a Tea Party splinter group so the President would fully engage.

[narciso]

It's intersting that Tom Holland's BBC series, based on his book, has drawn so much flack, since he deploys his skepticism to all three faiths, of the People of the Book, however, as the great philosopher Han Solo put it, people worry when Wookies lose, because they have a tendency to pull arms out of their sockets

[Porchlight]

One or two, or a handfull of folks denouncing Mohammed is enough to set them off against our entire country.

If that's even what happened. CBS and others have reported that the YouTube video was merely a pretense and that these were coordinated attacks planned for 9/11.

Shocker, I know, that any US outposts might be in danger on the anniversary of 9/11.

[lyle]

Brava, Janet!!

[daddy]

Well if Romney "Shot first and aimed later" (Which he didn't) at least he had some ammunition, unlike our Marine Corp Guards.

[lyle]

Mid East world erupts. Republican presidential nominee hardest hit.

Might as well just drop out now, Mitt. When you've lost the media you just don't stand a chance. Maybe in Obama's second term you won't be prosecuted for whatever.

[narciso]

Ace, brings up the fact, that there was an IED attack against that same facility back in June, yet no further security was added.

[Danube of Thought]

You folks are missing the point: if the question wasn't anticipated, the answer doesn't count.

[Zero]

See, they're just not an ally ally. Is all's I was saying.

Hope that helps.

[TOTUS]

if the question wasn't anticipated, the answer doesn't count.

That is correct.

[bgates]

the question was not anticipated

Unexpected.

[Communism is evil~~Communists are the enemy. Sandy]

Have been reading these JOM threads and other sites completely. But, I think much of the response to JEF's actions & statements, errr paucity of action & statements regarding Cairo and Behghazi attacks widely miss the mark.

In my view, the JEF doesn't really care if the US is attacked and isn't particularly bothered that we lost one of the most skilled middle-east U.S. Ambassadors, two Marines and a former SEAL now contractor. Hell, the losses could have been twice as high, three times as high. . . and it would not have provoked a response any different than what we have already observed.

The JEF does not want the USA to be a major player int he middle east. And, if 2016, Obama's America is to be credited--and I do credit its hypothesis--the JEF views the attacks as an appropriate "pay back" and equalization for American post-colonial colonialism.

If America had not been so strong, America would not need to be knocked down. The JEF wants/WANTS America knocked down to size, on its knees. Not the most important country in the world, not the most powerful country in the world, not "exceptional."

The JEF would be happy if America were somewhere in the top 50, I guess, but even that high is a WAG on my part. The JEF hasn't finished redistributing America's wealth to the third world yet, so there is still work to be done.

Most of the comments--those that I believe miss the mark--still come from a frame of reference, with which I agree, that views America as the indispensable nation, the shining light on the hill, the tide that raises all ships, the Hope and Encouragement for peoples in dark corners around the world.

The JEF HATES America, and if I have not said this yet today,

I hate the JEF.

[Barbara]

"We have a very constructive relationship." Hillary Clinton

Don't you just hate diplo-speak?

[NK]

Can you imagine the field day the Legacy Media would be having if GWB made these kind of moronic statements in September 2004 about rioting and murder at the Iraq Embassy? The shitstorm in the media would have been a massive supernova. It would have been 24/7: GWB is clueless, he's neglient, he's an idiot-- you know all the things we say about JEF, but on every cable news show and newspaper 24/7. I loathe the media with an unbridled passion. Lying slags.

[Thomas Collins]

It's amazing how a meme spreads without a whole lot of questioning. It is quite possible that the recent violence against and murders of Americans and in the Middle East has nothing to do with the film. The Libyan attack, for example, may have been planned in retaliation for the US sending al-Libi to his virgins. We just don't know, yet the media keeps repeating the film meme, and keeps quoting folks who accept the film meme without question. In addition, that so few media types and so-called public intellectuals are willing to state firmly that no apology is appropriate shows that the support for freedom of speech in the West is diminishing. In this regard, see the LUNed book review by Claire Berlinski.

[Ranger]

Instupundit actually out headlines Drudge on this one:

Obama Shoots First, Aims Later: White House clarifies Obama’s statement that Egypt is not an ‘ally.’

Someone get that to the Romney campaign, stat.

[daddy]

Rare comon sense from Kirsten Powers:

Even Kirsten on Megyn's Show thought Romney should have spoken up like he did, and that the narrative being pushed by the MSM reacting to Romney's comments is, in her words, "insane."

Sensing Kirsten is lucid and correct today, Megyn then makes the sensible point of mentioning to her "Can you imagine where the Media's narrative would be focused if George Bush was President while this was going on" and Kirsten laughs and agrees.

Kirsten says we could not have had a weaker initial response to this if we had actually sat around and tried to come up with the weakest possible statement we could put out there.

Rare sense from Kirsten Powers today.

[NK]

I agree with the anticommunist @2:40. The simple truth is that JEF hates american wealth and power, JEF's an alien anti-american, who works every day to undermine american power.

[Gus]

Lets cut to the fuxing chase.

OBAMA'S AMBASSADOR TO LIBYA WAS MURDERED ALONG WITH 3 OTHERS ON 9-11, BECAUSE THEY WERE UNPROTECTED.

And the motherfuxing MEDIA blames ROMNEY.

[NK]

DADDY-- please see my 2:42. You watch cable news, can you imagine the media shit storm if GWB was this moronic in September 2012 about Iraq. GWB would have lost by 10pts.

[cathyf]

Our media keeps repeating that the rioters were protesting some obscure YouTube video -- do we really have any reason to believe that? Or is this just the same-shit-different-day where whatever happens it's the fault of the Tea Partiers, Christianists, Sarah Palin, etc.

Daddy told us in real time that Al Jazeera was playing the video of the DNC platform vote fraud 24/7 last week. Whatever story Al Jazeera is flogging is far more plausible as a provocation in the Arab world just on general principle. What EVIDENCE has the LSM* provided that their YouTube Christianist matters AT ALL to anyone on the Arab Street?

---
* LSM can be a TLA for LameStream Media, or Lying Shit Media, take your choice.

[NK]

GWB in September 2004 about Iraq...(before his re-election)

[daddy]

"Ally is a Legal Term of Art"

"Ally is a Legal Term of Art"

"Ally is a Legal Term of Art"

"Ally is a Legal Term of Art"

"Ally is a Legal Term of Art"

"Ally is a Legal Term of Art"

"Ally is a Legal Term of Art"

"Ally is a Legal Term of Art"

"Ally is a Legal Term of Art"

"Ally is a Legal Term of Art"

[NK]

Evidence? the LSM doesn't need no stinkin' evidence, OBAMA 2012 told them the narrative and they're going along like good little c$#@suckers (apologies for the vulgarity, I'm in that kinda mood about the LSM)

[Extraneus]

Exactly, Cathy. But then how could we blame the FL preacher?

[Rob Crawford]

Our media keeps repeating that the rioters were protesting some obscure YouTube video -- do we really have any reason to believe that?

That's what the press release they got said.

(half snark, half speculation)

[Enlightened]

I hope that Romney and his team are paying attention and participating in the meetings instead of just reading the minutes.

Romney needs to stomp this shit down Obama's throat repeatedly. If he cannot play the game the way the liberals do then he does not deserve to win.

Thanks to Bambi and the dreck clinging to his coattails, the US cannot play the war games that these animals do. Now we see the result of kowtowing to these mindless f-cks.

Romney better wise up but quick.

[Evil commies are the enemy. Sandy]

Gus,

having the Ambassador murdered is not a fault, it is a feature of the JEF's plan to diminish America.

(The shorter version of my 1440 comment.)

[NK]

I see the LSM have stirred up up a fair bit of vulgarity at JOM. I admire the commenters who can keep it clean, that takes discipline.

[Gus]

Sandy ,my brother is State Dept Diplomatic Security. Of the last three years he spent 2 in Jordan, and this past year in Iraq. He came home in late July. This shit is serious.

[lyle]

Don't you just hate diplo-speak?

Yes. Particularly when it's delivered by a pantsuited incompetent.

[centralcal]

Rare sense from Kirsten Powers today.

As the events (in Cairo and Bengazhi) unfolded, her twitter feed was full of indignation about the Administration and its handling, etc. I think she has seen all the events of the past couple of days quite clearly.

Alas, if she only stay clear eyed all the time, she would no longer be a liberal! :)

[NK]

Gus-- do the USMC units at every Embassy/Mission/Consulate have to secure ammo and carry unloaded weapons, or does it depend on the facility? Can you find that out?

[narciso]

Of course, he would never say anything so stupid, but the outrage is always dialed up to Eleven, when Republicans are concerned,
as when Rumsfeld remarked about the initial round of rioting in post 'major operations'
Iraq, or when he made that very reasonable statement about the army you go to war with.

Now it just so happens that this is fully Obama's intervention, against the authority of Congress, one of the set pices of Lewis's
slavering profile in Vanity Fair, where among other gems, he compares the GOP to the Russians, who were opposed to the Libyan operation, but he doesn't make the point that their long standing military ties to the regime, or the concerns about Salafis are involved, it has to be out of spite.

[jimmyk]

For some reason, "Ally is a Legal Term of Art," reminds me of "That depends on the definition of 'is,'" and "I did not have 'sex' with that woman."

[Evil commies are the enemy. Sandy]

Trust my instinct on this: The attacks on 11 September in Cairo and Benghazi would have happened, no matter what. The video provided a pretext, but just as easily the trope of a coran being flushed down a shitter could have been used.

Stop focussing on the purported reason for the instigation. This was a premeditated, coordinate attack attack on America, only smaller in scope but not different than what happened 11 years earlier. Everything else is window dressing.

[Extraneus]

BIDEN: "I'm supposedly an expert on foreign policy. Well, you know, an expert from where I come from is anyone from out of town with a briefcase. I do not have a briefcase."

[daddy]

Which attack was better coordinated?

Coordinated attack on the Consulate in Libya.

Coordinated attack on Mitt Romney.

[Danube of Thought]

My understanding is that in Libya, Al Qaeda militants planned a military attack to occur on 9/11. The "proesters"--whether they were protesting a movie or something else--were merely used as cover. This from a Libyan security official.

Reports of explosions in Cairo now.

[Evil commies are the enemy. Sandy]

Gus,

I know a number of DoS Security and have worked with them repeatedly over my near six year in Iraq. Superb professionals. Thank your brother for his service and please understand, in no way am I suggesting that this is not serious.

But, there is a big difference between being a DoS Security Officer, charged with protecting assets, and being the JEF who wants to fundamentally transform America.

Transforming America is bring America off its pedestal and down in the dirt of has-beens.

[daddy]

"can you imagine the media shit storm if GWB was this moronic "

NK,

Can you imagine the Media shit storm if George Bush was to put out the statement, "Ally Is a Legal Term of Art."

[Enlightened]

Biden seriously said that? AYFKM? This administration is really.so.funny. Snce they seem to learn all their smarts from the Onion I have a suggestion.

How about we send Michael Moore over there to soothe hurt feelings and tell the real story of Mohammed? He's fat so he is a bigger danger to America than those murderers anyway - let's get the fat out of America!

Let's start a petition to appoint Michael Moore as the new Ambassador to Libya.

[narciso]

Yes, to be blunt as we had HVT in Abu Yahya Al Libi, they had their own. I don't know if they specifically targeted Stevens,

[Jim,MtnViewCA,USA]

An email circulating, which echoes sentiments I've seen in recent threads

"This quote came from the Czech Republic. Someone over there has it figured out. It was translated into English from an article in the Prague newspaper Prager Zeitungon"

"The danger to America is not Barack Obama, but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America. Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools, such as those who made him their president."

[NK]

Here's a report that cites Repub security sources as saying Amb Patterson would have the final say on the USMC weapons/ammo staus at her embassy. http://freebeacon.com/reports-marines-not-permitted-live-ammo/

[daddy]

"Our media keeps repeating that the rioters were protesting some obscure YouTube video -- do we really have any reason to believe that?"

No, but it is the only narrative the MSM can latch on to that helps re-elect Obama. Every other plausible and real reason reveals the failure of Obama, so cannot be mentioned.

[The JEF is an evil enemy. Sandy]

Daddy,

the real question of coordination is the matter of whether or how the instigators of the

Coordinated attack on the Consulate in Libya.

were able to assist in the

Coordinated attack on Mitt Romney.

[Gus]

I spoke with my brother today. He said the small cadre of Marines job is to make sure they stave off the heathens as long as possible so as to destroy all intel, then their job is to defend the Ambassador, and in most likely scenarios. Die.
The job of EVERY SOVEREIGN NATION on earth is to protect the embassies that they have invited into their country. My brother leaves for New York Monday to personally protect the Afghani foreign minister at the U.N.. We had 2 State dept. units,(slang term swat teams) that had LEFT Libya. Usually 7 man teams of Diplomatic Security agents, very similar to Secret Service. They are armed to the teeth and most are former military (as is my brother). It seems The Jug eared dimwit and Rodham have dispatched these teams BACK to Libya.
Yes, the Marines would only be locked and loaded as an incident unfolds. The embassy has PLENTY of guns and ammo.
Clearly this SNAFU is Romneys fault.

[NK]

Daddy-- at Weekly Standard Blog, Dept of State spokesgal says JEF doesn't know what he's talking about regarding 'ally'. This is beyond a joke.

[matt]

your vocabulary, Mr. Obama...I do not think it means what you think it means....LUN

[fdcol63]

As if we can believe that all these angry Muslims in the ME have access to YouTube.

[lyle]

The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools, such as those who made him their president."

Gee, thanks, media. You're swell.