Ummm.... What are the Patriot missiles for?
In the midst of the section on Iran and Syria, Bush spoke of sending another aircraft carrier to the region and the deployment of Patriot missiles to our allies.
Do the insurgents have fighter support? Do the Shia militias have mid-range ground to ground missiles?
Why would we be "assuring" nations in the region against missile and air attacks if we weren't about to seriously provoke Iran?
Gotta protect those oilfields. Just noticing.
Later: ThinkProgress has the video clip.
Thur AM: NYTimes: "American officials maintain that the latest moves should not be seen as preparations for a military strike against Iran. But they also said that Mr. Bush’s top deputies... had decided that, barring some major conciliatory move from Tehran, American moves to engage Iran had run their course."
Do the insurgents have fighter support? Do the Shia militias have mid-range ground to ground missiles?
Why would we be "assuring" nations in the region against missile and air attacks if we weren't about to seriously provoke Iran?
Gotta protect those oilfields. Just noticing.
Later: ThinkProgress has the video clip.
Thur AM: NYTimes: "American officials maintain that the latest moves should not be seen as preparations for a military strike against Iran. But they also said that Mr. Bush’s top deputies... had decided that, barring some major conciliatory move from Tehran, American moves to engage Iran had run their course."
posted by mikevotes at
9:11 PM
6 Comments:
Everyone will take differently, what they thought was important, in the Presidents speech tonight.
Here's what I heard:
The President threatened Iran and Syria.
He's counting on Iraq to lead the fight for Bagdad, with Americans helping out. (That's a loser)
He's adding just over 20,000 troops. That's not enough to expect to reach the goals he set down, and will only add to the body count.
He admitted mistakes. Clearly one of the biggest understatements in American History! Is he acknowledgeing criminal negligence?
Joe Lieberman is going to be his legislative front man. That will end his political career, just when he had saved himself from the elections.
He says, his plan locks us into a bloody and deadly 2007, Happy New Year.
Even after the public, the military, and the Congress have spoken; He has not changed his neo-con geopolitical ideology at all. These nations (the whole world for that matter)will be free and democratic, even if we have to force them into it, at the point of a gun.
This is so sad and sick, all I can do is pray for my fellow Americans who are about to die for this disturbed, confused, misguided President.
By
Unknown, at 9:52 PM
Setting the stage for a larger war?
I honestly thought Bush wouldn't dare go beyond Iraq after the disaster there. Now I'm not so sure.
Good recap, time.
By
Anonymous, at 10:40 PM
I think you got almost everything that caught me except for the recurring feeling of the abyss this guy has put us in.
He didn't admit the original mistake that led to this horrible failure. This was a war of choice.
(Also: He rhetorically tried to imply that our primary conflict was against Al Qaeda.)
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 10:41 PM
abi, I never know. This could be posturing, but even so, it would be incredibly dangerous brinksmanship.
With the incompetence of this administration so completely illustrated, I'm terrified at the prospects of them trying to navigate in a tight space.
Imagine if this group had been in charge of the Cuban missile crisis.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 10:57 PM
That's what I took from the speech too - he's going to provoke and/or attack Iran and perhaps Syria.
Howard Fineman says he won't go to the negotiating table w/ Iran or Syria UNTIL he has the Iraq war won. Fineman says the reason is Bush wants to be seen as "strong" when he sits down at the negotiating table w/ them. I took that to mean he needs to be able to say to them "Look, we fucked up Saddam and we'll fuck up you guys too if you don't do what we want."
Unfortunately, it's all b.s. He's managed to lose the Iraq war, he's going to lose the Afghanistan war, and now he wants to start a third losing proposition in Iran?
By
Reality-Based Educator, at 6:33 AM
I certainly believe in the Iraq as an example theory. (They really did believe it would be a cakewalk.)
I never can quite get a handle on how much of the Iran stufff is simply negotiating posturing, but everytime you point a gun at someone, there's a risk of a mistake.
It presumes total control of the situation.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 7:12 AM
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