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| 7/15 |
| 2005/4/15-17 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:37201 Activity:high |
4/15 This is Bush's idea of a diplomat:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/4/15/101542/050
\_ Why dont you just put a link to the DUmmies while you are at it?
\_ Do you actually think sending a guy like this as UN ambassador
is good?
\_ "let alone such a critical posting to the UN". What?
\_ eh?
\_ Those DemocRATS, at it again!
[freerepublic.com channeling is now complete]
\_ So what? Personally I think that Bolton chasing a bunch of
UN losers around and hounding them b/c they are complete
jackasses would be a good thing. The UN is a complete sham
even being involved in it is a waste of US time and resources.
\_ Didn't the UN help us get a coalition together for Gulf War 1?
\_ Yeah, but they tried to stop us once, so now we must
all hate them forever.
\_ So what? Once in nearly 50 yrs they were remotely
useful for America. Our involvement in the UN is
a complete and utter waste of time and money.
\_ Didn't the UN have inspectors in Iraq before Gulf War 2?
Didn't the inspectors say they haven't found anything yet,
and we went ahead and attacked anyway -- asking the
inspectors to leave because we didn't think they were doing
a good job?
Didn't we already know there was a big oil-for-food scandal
before we attacked, but cited "no doubt" of Saddam having
WMDs as the #1 reason for attacking?
Didn't the U.S. inspectors sent after the invasion say that
it was their judgment that Saddam destroyed his existing
WMDs and put to sleep all his arms programs?
WMDs and put to sleep all his WMD programs?
Didn't we spend MUCH LESS on Gulf War 1 than on Gulf War 2
because of direct contributions of cash, equipment, and
personnel from our partners, both Arab and Western?
\_ So what? Yes, there were UN inspectors in Iraq before
we invaded. Big Deal. They were doing a lousy job and
wasting US time and money.
Yes we knew about the oil-for-food scandal, but w/o
the UN diplo-nuts there would never have been a stupid
oil-for-food program in the first place.
Yes OUR investigators think that Saddam destroyed his
WMDs prior to the invasion, but if we had waited for
the UN to get its act together who knows what might
have happened? Clearly OUR investigators wouldn't be
there and the UN inspectors would have kept up their
keystone cops routine.
So what if we spent less for Gulf War 1? We didn't
finish the job. The UN was part of the problem, Bush
I was the other part. Bush I should have sacked
Saddam back then and not left it for his son to
complete the job.
BTW, how come pretty much ever UN operation is a
unmitigated failure (Sudan, Sierra Leone, Rwanda,
E. Timor, Angola, Bosnia, &c.)? The reason is
simple, the UN is filled w/ a bunch of jackassess
who are all about lining their own pockets and
don't give a damn about what actually happens.
\_ The UN does a great job all the time all over
the world. I am not going to bother trying to
explain it to you because your mind is already
made up. Just google for UNICEF and World Food
Program for dozens of hits and you will see
what I mean. Just because they don't grind
your ideological axe doesn't mean they don't keep
millions from starving every year. Most people
think this is useful. I guess you would rather
see these people starve.
\_ Even these so called "successful" programs
are so grossly mismanaged that hardly any
of the money actually reaches the people
who need it. When UN money reaches a 3d
world country it goes straight into the
pockets the local politicians and their
families and not into the hands of the
poor starving people who need it. Don't
tell me this is red-state non-sense.
My family is from one of those poor 3d
world countries and I've seen how the
programs are implemented first hand.
If the goal was to keep millions of ppl
from starving, then the UN would have
worked w/ local gov to implement self
sufficiency programs decades ago. The
UN bureaucrats don't give a damn about
ppl, they just care about themselves
and the nice new benzs they can buy w/
the money.
\_ We went into Iraq because we had "no doubt" Saddam
had WMDs. I don't remember Dubya saying on the eve
of the invasion that we attacked because we weren't
sure.
If you really think Bush Sr. should have went into
Iraq, well, it's a nice thought, but the conversation
would have gone like this:
"Help us, we'll only do Kuwait." [half a year later]
"Oh, y'know, we did so well, fuck you all, I'm going
in for the kill. BTW, thanks for the dough, Bush1
p0wnZ U 4ll!1!"
\_ The conversation would have gone like this:
Saddamn is out of Kuwait. He is on the
run. The Iraqi ppl are rising against
him. There will never be a better time
to deal with him. Either we go in now,
or you fools let him regroup, rearm and
attack on a larger scale.
As for the other UN missions, I don't think you've
thought through these either, which is clear after
your Bush Sr. comment.
Whether you like it or not, and as much as you see
it as a failure and I do not -- the UN is here to
stay, especially now that the U.S. is overstretched
militarily and financially. Bush Sr. knew HOW to
use the UN, and Bush Jr., not knowing how to use the
UN and seeing it in the same way you did, fucked it
up. Thank God Condi is there now to resume Powell's
goal of international cooperation -- except this
time, Dubya really trusts Condi (to Dubya, Powell was
just daddy's good friend there to make sure Dubya
didn't fuck things up too bad). We need
international cooperation for Iran and North Korea,
because we don't have the guns, the money, the proof,
or the people to do it ourselves.
\_ Not to mention the fact that Bush I didn't go into
Iraq because he didn't want to deal with all the
shit we're dealing with now.
\_ Saddam also actually HAD the WMDs at that
point, too.
\_ Just FYI, there are much more sane and reasonable liberal blogs out
there than the mixed nuts at Kos. Try Josh Marshall or something.
The Kossacks are just as bad as the Powerline nutjobs, but less
influential. --lib
\_ Uh, Marshall will refer to Kos all the time. If they're putting
out verifiable, factual information, what's the problem? Is it
because they allow comments and Marshall doesn't?
\_ They don't just allow comments. They promote rabid comment
nuts into full time contributors to the blog.
\_ Is anyone else coving this specific story from this woman?
Kos was breaking this one this morning when I posted it, so
they had the best info. I would post (have posted in fact)
Drudge when they were breaking news. Let the Right Wing Nutjobs
blow it off because they don't like the source. They will just
be that much more surprised when it blindsides them. |
| 7/15 |
|
| www.dailykos.com/story/2005/4/15/101542/050 amyindallas Fri Apr 15th, 2005 at 07:15:42 PDT My best friend since college, Melody Townsel, was stationed in Kyrgyzstan on a US AID project. During her stay there, she became embroiled in a c ontroversy in which the oh-so-diplomatic John Bolton was a key player. S he described the incident in a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Co mmittee members (who have thus far responded with a yawn), and I wanted to share it with a larger audience. Here's a small taste: "Mr Bolton proceeded to chase me through the halls of a Russian hotel -- throwing things at me, shoving threatening letters under my door and, g enerally, behaving like a madman." Trackback :: Here's the entire text of her letter: Dear Sir: I'm writing to urge you to consider blocking in committee the nomination of John Bolton as ambassador to the UN. In the late summer of 1994, I worked as the subcontracted leader of a US AID project in Kyrgyzstan officially awarded to a HUB primary contractor . My own employer was Black, Manafort, Stone & Kelly, and I reported dir ectly to Republican leader Charlie Black. After months of incompetence, poor contract performance, inadequate in-co untry funding, and a general lack of interest or support in our work fro m the prime contractor, I was forced to make US AID officials aware of t he prime contractor's poor performance. I flew from Kyrgyzstan to Moscow to meet with other Black Manafort employ ees who were leading or subcontracted to other US AID projects. While th ere, I met with US AID officials and expressed my concerns about the pro ject -- chief among them, the prime contractor's inability to keep enoug h cash in country to allow us to pay bills, which directly resulted in a rmed threats by Kyrgyz contractors to me and my staff. Within hours of sending a letter to US AID officials outlining my concern s, I met John Bolton, whom the prime contractor hired as legal counsel t o represent them to US AID. And, so, within hours of dispatching that le tter, my hell began. Mr Bolton proceeded to chase me through the halls of a Russian hotel -- throwing things at me, shoving threatening letters under my door and, ge nerally, behaving like a madman. For nearly two weeks, while I awaited f resh direction from my company and from US AID, John Bolton hounded me i n such an appalling way that I eventually retreated to my hotel room and stayed there. Mr Bolton, of course, then routinely visited me there to pound on the door and shout threats. When US AID asked me to return to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in advance of assum ing leadership of a project in Kazakstan, I returned to my project to fi nd that John Bolton had proceeded me by two days. To meet with ever y other AID team leader as well as US foreign-service officials in Bishk ek, claiming that I was under investigation for misuse of funds and like ly was facing jail time. As US AID can confirm, nothing was further from the truth. He indicated to key employees of or contractors to State that, based on h is discussions with investigatory officials, I was headed for federal pr ison and, if they refused to cooperate with either him or the prime cont ractor's replacement team leader, they, too, would find themselves the s ubjects of federal investigation. As a further aside, he made unconscion able comments about my weight, my wardrobe and, with a couple of team le aders, my sexuality, hinting that I was a lesbian (for the record, I'm n ot). When I resurfaced in Kyrgyzstan, I learned that he had done such a convin cing job of smearing me that it took me weeks -- with the direct interve ntion of US AID officials -- to limit the damage. In fact, it was only U S AID's appoinment of me as a project leader in Almaty, Kazakstan that l argely put paid to the rumors Mr Bolton maliciously circulated. As a maligned whistleblower, I've learned firsthand the lengths Mr Bolto n will go to accomplish any goal he sets for himself. In his bid to smear me and promote the interests of his client, he went straight for the low road and stay ed there. John Bolton put me through hell -- and he did everything he could to inti midate, malign and threaten not just me, but anybody unwilling to go alo ng with his version of events. His behavior back in 1994 wasn't just unf orgivable, it was pathological. I cannot believe that this is a man being seriously considered for any di plomatic position, let alone such a critical posting to the UN. Others y ou may call before your committee will be able to speak better to his st ated dislike for and objection to stated UN goals. I write you to speak about the very character of the man. It took me years to get over Mr Bolton's actions in that Moscow hotel in 1994, his intensely personal attacks and his shocking attempts to malig n my character. I urge you from the bottom of my heart to use your ability to block Mr B olton's nomination in committee. I tell you, if I had been in her position and he threw things at me, I'd have dropped him where he stood, damn the consequences. But then again, at 6', 200#, it's unlikely he would have had the sack to try to physically intimidate me. Just like every petty bully out there, he'll physically intimidate those whom he deems no threat and will back stab those who are. I hope that in the gr and scheme, these jack-asses that have hijacked our country get their du e.. staffer who was similarly hounded and threatened by B olton. John Bolton is mentally ill and -- quite frankly -- a danger to o thers. People are in danger of mental and physical assault by this man. Fri Apr 15th, 2005 at 07:19:02 PDT You know, it's wrong to judge by appearances ( 400 / 3) by this is one guy whose entire presence says "I am a freakin' lunatic !" none / 0) Would you want this guy anywhere near your children? We the undersigned urge you to support Federal funding for research using human pluripotent stem cells. Parent one guy got along with Bolton ( 400 / 4) In fairness to Bolton, I'm gonna mention a former Navy shipmate that work ed with Bolton in Korea. Charles works for the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer. Charles was assigned to the US embassy there at the time. But that was noteworthy becau se he was about the only one that did. Charles also said that getting al ong with Bolton was, if anything, a negative with his supervisors in the State Department. So, there is at least one person in the State Department Bolton didn't ab use. Parent salmo ( 400 / 5) Let's just hazard a guess that the State Department guy that got along wi th Bolton was bigger and fitter than Bolton, and so throwing things or m aking threats would have lead to unpleasant consequences. With a smalle r man, or a woman, the bullying bastard chooses different tactics. He m ay also be a mysoginist, I don't know, but the record is pretty clear on the bullying pattern. Jesse Helms may have found that personality trai t to be useful, but the United States is not well served by such an empl oyee at any level, let alone at the UN. none / 0) Like all bullies, Bolton is ultimately a coward. Melody should have carri ed around a tape recorder with her and played back the tapes to her supe rvisors. none / 0) no, no crude jokes here - just the mention that I'm sure proper military respect and deference to a 'superior' was an important aspect. Power-tripping psychotic misogynist It's not hypocrisy - it's unadulterated evil. none / 0) Stupid bitch, and I asked for skim milk not half-n-half. Get it right nex t time or I'll have you shipped off to Tashkent to spit-polish some very nasty dictator's boots. We the undersigned urge you to support Federal funding for research using human pluripotent stem cells. and everything about the last few years reminds m e of dangerous, abusive, violent, dysfunctional men I've known. Their backgrounds have prevented them from killing some 'bitch' in a drun ken, self-loathing rage, but the psychology is the same. none / 1) Last night someone was kind enough to provide me with this german word fo r "Making Good Again" Every week of this administration adds decades to the job of reconciliati on that the world will face. Let's just hope we'll have the opportunity to begin ... |
| freerepublic.com -> www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/browse Republic Log In | Register News/Activism Latest | Search | Topics | Home | Help News/Activism Threads Threads | Messages Search (by title: enter all relevant words or partial title) Search Austrians Praise Schwarzenegger in US Posted by Ernest_at_the_Beach On 05/13/2004 9:28:13 PM PDT with 1 comment The Las Vegas Sun ^ | May 13, 2004 at 11:56:36 PDT | GEORGE JAHN GRAZ, Austria (AP) - America, nein. Arnie, ja! When Austrians vent about the United States, the key word nowadays is "no" to things American, with only a few exceptions - including praise of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnie, that country has a real problem," says Robert Biber, echoing sentiments across Austria roused by images of US soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners. Outrage as KISS player mouths off on Muslims Posted by veronica On 05/13/2004 9:25:48 PM PDT with 3 comments Sydney Morning Herald ^ | May 14, 2004 KISS bass player Gene Simmons has caused an uproar among Australia's Muslim community by launching an attack on Islamic culture while in Melbourne. The lizard-tongued rock god who is touring Australia with the world's most enduring glam rock band launched an attack on Muslim extremists during an interview on Melbourne's 3AW radio - including comments which were labelled inaccurate. Cold Turkey Posted by Rennes Templar On 05/13/2004 9:23:01 PM PDT In These Times ^ | May 10, 2004 | Kurt Vonnegut Many years ago, I was so innocent I still considered it possible that we could become the humane and reasonable America so many members of my generation used to dream of. We dreamed of such an America during the Great Depression, when there were no jobs. And then we fought and often died for that dream during the Second World War, when there was no peace. But I know now that there is not a chance in hell of Americas becoming humane and reasonable. Because power corrupts us, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. May, 2004 10amET | Fintan Dunne The family firm of beheaded American Nick Berg, was named by a conservative website in a list of 'enemies' of the Iraq occupation. That could explain his arrest by Iraqi police --a detention which fatally delayed his planned return from Iraq and may have led directly to his death. Nick Berg, 26 disappeared into incommunicado detention after his arrest by Iraqi police in March, 2004. He vanished again after his release 13 days later. Science & Space ^ | Thursday, May 13, 2004 Posted: 10:13 PM EDT (0213 GMT) | From Dave Santucci, CNN Firm is competing for the $10 million X Prize Aircraft designer Burt Rutan and his firm Scaled Composites took a giant leap early Thursday toward becoming the first private company to send a person into space. Scaled Composites, funded by Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Paul Allen, set a new civilian altitude record of 40 miles in a craft called SpaceShipOne during a test flight above California's Mojave Desert. Turning Shame Into Outrage Posted by neverdem On 05/13/2004 9:18:08 PM PDT with 1 comment LA Times ^ | May 13, 2004 | Charles Paul Freund Charles Paul Freund is a senior editor at Reason magazine. It's a tough call whether Abu Musab al-Zarqawi the Jordanian militant who is reportedly responsible for the videotaped butchery of Nicholas Berg is more stupid than he is brutal, or whether he is a bigger monster than he is a fool. Zarqawi's own nauseating videotape makes the case for his indescribable brutality and may have inadvertently delivered his enemy from its own demoralization. Official Says War Budget to Exceed $50B Posted by Ernest_at_the_Beach On 05/13/2004 9:14:08 PM PDT with 3 comments Yahoo via AP ^ | Thu May 13, 6:29 PM ET | ALAN FRAM, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - Wars in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites) will cost more than $50 billion next year, a top Defense Department official told Congress Thursday in the Bush administration's clearest description yet of the conflicts' price tags. Berg's Father Demands Answers From Bush (Free Republic mentioned) Posted by kristinn On 05/13/2004 9:13:32 PM PDT with 25 comments Duluth News Tribune ^ | Thursday, May 13, 2004 | Nicole Weisensee Egan Posted on Thu, May 13, 2004 Berg's father demands answers from Bush BY NICOLE WEISENSEE EGAN Knight Ridder Newspapers PHILADELPHIA - (KRT) - The day he buried his son, Nick Berg's father angrily lashed out at President Bush - and said he had a question for him: "I would like to ask him if it's true that al-Qaeda offered to trade my son's life for another person," Michael Berg told a small group of reporters early Thursday morning outside his West Chester home. One Last Card to Play Posted by Russian Sage On 05/13/2004 9:10:54 PM PDT Claremont Review of Books ^ | Posted March 18, 2004 | By Peter W Schramm One Last Card to Play A review of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America, by Allen C Guelzo. Since 1865, the new york state library has been the proud owner of the original Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. Media Maelstrom Posted by hope On 05/13/2004 9:06:15 PM PDT with 3 comments News Max ^ | 5-11-04 | John L Perry Media MaelstromJohn L PerryTuesday, May 11, 2004 This presidential election is in peril of being swallowed in a perfect media storm, more terrifying than Edgar Allen Poes A Descent Into the Maelstrom. With the inexorable force of the novelists oerpowering whirlpool that funnels nearly every object in its clutches down, down, down into certain doom, the perfect storm of television is sucking American democracy into oblivion. The way things are headed, television mass communications with print media puppy-trotting alongside its ankles are what will determine the outcome of the 2004 presidential election. Not the candidates. Bush Team to Rework Iraq Funding After Senate Balks Posted by Ernest_at_the_Beach On 05/13/2004 8:59:04 PM PDT with 7 comments Yahoo via AFP ^ | Thu May 13, 4:11 PM ET | Vicki Allen WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bush administration officials said they would rework a plan for a $25 billion reserve fund for Iraq (news - web sites) operations after Republican and Democratic senators on Thursday deplored it as an effort to get "a blank check" without congressional oversight. STRATFOR: Geopolitical Diary: Friday, May 14, 2004 Posted by Axion On 05/13/2004 8:57:27 PM PDT STRATFOR ^ | May 14, 2004 0305 GMT Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard Myers went to Iraq on May 13. Three things are clear from this trip. First, the administration is committed to retaining Rumsfeld, or at least is committed to doing everything it can to salvage him. An open letter-- Berg dies while the Senate preens Posted by hatfieldmccoy On 05/13/2004 8:54:43 PM PDT with 16 comments vanity | 5-13-04 | hatfieldmccoy Senator Hagel, Senator Nelson, It has taken two days for me to have regained my composure to the point I could actually write you. You see, I've seen the unedited video of the Berg (an American) murder. Yes I watched the horrors of 9-11. I saw the Pearl (an American) murder video and the burning and gleeful dismemberment of the four security personnel (Americans). But the Berg video was staring straight into Hell. These things took their time. They used a dull knife and took 30 seconds to saw off this man's head. AM ET LONDON, May 13 (Reuters) - Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper suspended the weekly column of Barbara Amiel-Black after its parent, Hollinger International, filed a lawsuit accusing her and her husband Conrad Black of looting the company. Martin Newland, the editor of Britain's top-selling broadsheet, "has decided to suspend the column until legal proceedings are completed," the paper said in a statement on Thursday. What Led Nick Berg to Iraq? Posted by dyno35 On 05/13/2004 8:48:10 PM PDT with 20 comments The Philadelphia Daily News ^ | May 13, 2004 | By William Bunch BERG'S JOURNEY SPARKED FBI PROBE AND OTHER STRANGE DETAILS HE WAS not like anyone else his friends from West Chester had ever known - an adventurous dreamer, a driven idealist, part philosopher and part inventor who was bored with college Record 26m divorce win 'a pyrrhic victory' (More Saudi kidnapping) Posted by Lan... |