Words matter to McCain surrogate
Sun Jul 06, 2008 at 10:47:34 AM PDT
McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said Obama needs to "understand that his words matter." This is in response to Barack Obama: "I was a little puzzled by the frenzy that I set off by what I thought was a pretty innocuous statement," he said. "I am absolutely committed to ending the war."
Bounds' words were without apparent irony.
Some words that do matter:
"Mission Accomplished." (5/1/03)
"Bring 'em on" (7/2/03)
"The Army we have" (12/9/04)
"Last throes" (5/31/05)
"Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran" (4/19/07)
"I don't care if we're there 100 years." (1/4/08)
In 1998 Osama Bin Laden said that oil should cost $144.00 a barrel, which is what it now costs. He said this because he felt the west was bleeding the mideast dry without fair compensation. The Iraq war hasn't helped the west, but, it helped the Bin Ladens of the world. So, as far as Osama Bin Laden is concerned, the mission is accomplished. I understand there are many reasons for the rise in the price of oil, but you have to be naive to think Iraq isn't part of the equation.
While GWB was yelling to bring 'em on, US servicemen and women were dying at the hands of those bringing it on.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush said Wednesday that American troops under fire in Iraq aren't about to pull out, and he challenged those tempted to attack U.S. forces, "Bring them on."
Bring it on they did.
Five years later, there are over 4,000 troops dead, and 30,000 wounded.
As for Donald Rumsfeld, well, here is what he said:
Army Spc. Thomas Wilson: Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to up-armor our vehicles? And why don;t we have those resources readily available to us?
Rumsfeld: It isn't a matter of money. It isn't a matter on the part of the army of desire. It's a matter of production and capability of doing it. As you know, ah, you go to war with the army you have—not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.—You can have all the armor in the world on a tank and it can (still) be blown up
In 2005, Dick Cheney made his now infamous last throes remark.
"I think we may well have some kind of presence there over a period of time," Cheney said. "The level of activity that we see today from a military standpoint, I think, will clearly decline. I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency."
That was three years ago. Three years, lives lost, money spent. Cheney, the clairvoyant.
Remember John McCain's singing debut: bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.?
"'Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran,' he sang to the tune of Barbara Ann," the paper notes.
McCain then added, "Iran is dedicated to the destruction of Israel. That alone should concern us but now they are trying for nuclear capabilities. I totally support the President when he says we will not allow Iran to destroy Israel."
Sound familiar -- well it should. It was the same type of rhetoric we were hearing prior to Iraq. WMD anyone? Ticking time bomb? Aluminum tubes?
Now, John McCain's 100 years
Q: President Bush has talked about our staying in Iraq for 50 years — (cut off by McCain)
McCAIN: Make it a hundred.
Q: Is that ... (cut off)
McCAIN: We’ve been in South Korea ... we’ve been in Japan for 60 years. We’ve been in South Korea 50 years or so. That would be fine with me. As long as Americans ...
Q: [tries to say something]
McCAIN: As long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed. That’s fine with me, I hope that would be fine with you, if we maintain a presence in a very volatile part of the world where Al Queada is training and equipping and recruiting and motivating people every single day.
Readers, the choice of the next POTUS is ours.
There are so many issues. This is but one.
This diary is just a bit of thought about how words matter.
Media Matters has more
Let's get out there and work for the election of Barack Obama and Blue Majority candidates.
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