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Was George W Bush a good president?[W:439:621]

Was George W Bush a good president?


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Re: Was George W Bush a good president?

I'm not an American so I don't know. But did Bush have the integrity to thank the weapon inspectors who effiectivly got rid of the WMD before the invasion and therby help to stop the Iraq war from becoming an even bigger mess? Because invasion of Iraq totally failed at securing weapon sites So if Iraq had WMD those most likely would have ended up in the hands of terrorist.

Also how much criticism did Bush get from starting a war that would most likely have lead to WMD in the hands of terrorist if he would have been right about the WMD?
 
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Re: Was George W Bush a good president?

I'm not an American so I don't know. But did Bush have the integrity to thank the weapon inspectors who effiectivly got rid of the WMD before the invasion and therby help to stop the Iraq war from becoming an even bigger mess? Because invasion of Iraq totally failed at securing weapon sites So if Iraq had WMD those most likely would have ended up in the hands of terrorist.

Also how much criticism did Bush get from starting a war that would most likely have lead to WMD in the hands of terrorist if he would have been right about the WMD?

Iraq never had WMDs in the first place. And there was more than enough evidence before 2003 to demonstrate that. Plenty of people in government were aware of this; the American-century types at the top just didn't care.
 
Re: Was George W Bush a good president?

Iraq never had WMDs in the first place. And there was more than enough evidence before 2003 to demonstrate that. Plenty of people in government were aware of this; the American-century types at the top just didn't care.

That is entirely false! They had WMD and we knew about it. This is why we demanded accountability for it. They may not have had any viable WMD left when we invaded, but they did have it before.

Again, it was their lack of cooperation in following through with the agreements from the first Gulf war.
 
Re: Was George W Bush a good president?

That is entirely false! They had WMD and we knew about it. This is why we demanded accountability for it. They may not have had any viable WMD left when we invaded, but they did have it before.

Again, it was their lack of cooperation in following through with the agreements from the first Gulf war.

I hate to tell you this, but the "Liar, liar, pants on fire" argument loses its power as you age. (Unless you're a turtle, apparently.)
 
Iraq never had WMDs in the first place. And there was more than enough evidence before 2003 to demonstrate that. Plenty of people in government were aware of this; the American-century types at the top just didn't care.


Absolute nonsense.

Of-course Saddam had WMD.

A long list of Democratic politicians going back to the late 90s even agreed that he had WMD and something needed to be done about it.

Of-course they turned on him when they needed to construct a false narrative about his " lies ".

Unfortunately, our Country is filled with easilly influenced and easilly manipulated people, who bought their BS hook line and sinker

You're a great example of that
 
Absolute nonsense.

Of-course Saddam had WMD.

A long list of Democratic politicians going back to the late 90s even agreed that he had WMD and something needed to be done about it.

Of-course they turned on him when they needed to construct a false narrative about his " lies ".

Unfortunately, our Country is filled with easilly influenced and easilly manipulated people, who bought their BS hook line and sinker

You're a great example of that

Saddam had chemical weapons at one time.
Fact is, none were found during the invasion.

Saddam had no nukes. The story of his buying yellocake from Africa turned out to be false.

Now, instead of (admittedly brutal dictator) Saddam Hussain, Iraq is being taken over by the Islamic nutters who are determined to build a caliphate in Iraq and Syria. Any guesses as to whether they have chemical weapons?
 
Saddam had chemical weapons at one time.
Fact is, none were found during the invasion.

Saddam had no nukes. The story of his buying yellocake from Africa turned out to be false.

Now, instead of (admittedly brutal dictator) Saddam Hussain, Iraq is being taken over by the Islamic nutters who are determined to build a caliphate in Iraq and Syria. Any guesses as to whether they have chemical weapons?

You miss the point with that argument.

He kept us from verifying his compliance with UN resolution. After 9/11 it was a big concern to see disposition of the WMD we knew he had previously. Any intelligent person would not discount the possibility he didn't allow verification because maybe he gave it to terrorists, or wanted to keep it himself.
 
You miss the point with that argument.

He kept us from verifying his compliance with UN resolution. After 9/11 it was a big concern to see disposition of the WMD we knew he had previously. Any intelligent person would not discount the possibility he didn't allow verification because maybe he gave it to terrorists, or wanted to keep it himself.
Iraq was crawling with UN inspectors before the invasion. What any intelligent person should have seen was that taking him out would lead to a power vacuum, which is exactly what has happened. What any intelligent person could have seen was that attempting to create a democracy in Iraq was a far, far more difficult proposition than it was being promoted as being. Unfortunately, the intelligent people didn't prevail in the decision to invade Iraq.
 
Iraq was crawling with UN inspectors before the invasion. What any intelligent person should have seen was that taking him out would lead to a power vacuum, which is exactly what has happened. What any intelligent person could have seen was that attempting to create a democracy in Iraq was a far, far more difficult proposition than it was being promoted as being. Unfortunately, the intelligent people didn't prevail in the decision to invade Iraq.
They were not able to do their job properly. I'm sorry if you don't understand their lack of accomplishing their job, because of Saddam's noncompliance.
 
They were not able to do their job properly. I'm sorry if you don't understand their lack of accomplishing their job, because of Saddam's noncompliance.

and therefore, the proper response was to take out Saddam Hussain and create a power vacuum with the predictable result we're seeing now.
 
and therefore, the proper response was to take out Saddam Hussain and create a power vacuum with the predictable result we're seeing now.
As undesirable as that is, yes. It was the best option.

Remember,

Hindsight is 20-20.
 
Intelligent people are supposed to have foresight.
Foresight includes seeing probable and improbable outcomes. To know with certainty what the outcome is going to be would requre time travel, or to be an accurate psychic.

Do you really expect that?
 
Absolute nonsense.

Of-course Saddam had WMD.

A long list of Democratic politicians going back to the late 90s even agreed that he had WMD and something needed to be done about it.

Of-course they turned on him when they needed to construct a false narrative about his " lies ".

Unfortunately, our Country is filled with easilly influenced and easilly manipulated people, who bought their BS hook line and sinker

You're a great example of that
I said 'before 2003.' You just proved exactly nothing.

Other than that our country is filled with easily influenced and easily manipulated people who bought the New American Century BS hook line and sinker. And provided a great example.
 
I said 'before 2003.' You just proved exactly nothing.

Other than that our country is filled with easily influenced and easily manipulated people who bought the New American Century BS hook line and sinker. And provided a great example.


"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."
--President Bill Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
--President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face."
--Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
--Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998

"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
Letter to President Clinton, signed by:
-- Democratic Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others, Oct. 9, 1998

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."
-Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."
-- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies."
Letter to President Bush, Signed by:
-- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), and others, Dec 5, 2001

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e means of delivering them."
-- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
-- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
-- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
-- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
-- Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force -- if necessary -- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
-- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."
-- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002

"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do"
-- Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002

"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 ... 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."
-- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."
-- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..."
-- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003


Sometimes I wonder how so many people could have been so easily manipulated and influenced by Democrat talking points.

To the point where they allowed themselves to be so influenced by Democrat talking points that they traded away any semblance of objectivity for a bunch of false narratives.

And then I remembered this....

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/us/politics/05campaign.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

And this.........

Election 2012: Obama re-elected to second term - NY Daily News

And realize Millions and millions of Americans just aren't that bright.
 
Foresight includes seeing probable and improbable outcomes. To know with certainty what the outcome is going to be would requre time travel, or to be an accurate psychic.

Do you really expect that?
I expect them to foresee the probable outcomes. What we've seen in Iraq was a probable outcome. Baghdad becoming the center of a democratic nation and friendly to the US, which was to have been greeted as liberators, was a pipe dream of the most unlikely sort.
 
Foresight includes seeing probable and improbable outcomes. To know with certainty what the outcome is going to be would requre time travel, or to be an accurate psychic.

Do you really expect that?
No, but I expect plans and implementation of said plans, for both the probable and the improbable outcomes.

Which is impossible when conflicting political positions of politicians who don't really give a damn are the actual guiding force behind the implementation.
 
No, but I expect plans and implementation of said plans, for both the probable and the improbable outcomes.

Which is impossible when conflicting political positions of politicians who don't really give a damn are the actual guiding force behind the implementation.

OK, who do you blame them?

The politicians who held course on going to war, or those who flipped on the issue?
 
OK, who do you blame them?

The politicians who held course on going to war, or those who flipped on the issue?
Both.

The course was wrong, and flipping was wrong.
 
"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."
--President Bill Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

... (other silly quotes deleted)

Again, none of which proves that Iraq had WMDs during the 2002-2003 propaganda blitz. Because, in fact, it did not.

Not surprisingly, you failed to demonstrate anything but your ability to post URLs.
 
Re: Was George W Bush a good president?

Iraq never had WMDs in the first place. And there was more than enough evidence before 2003 to demonstrate that. Plenty of people in government were aware of this; the American-century types at the top just didn't care.

Yes to the question if Iraq had WMD before the invasion the answer is no.

I also think it can be a intersting question if invading a country is a good way of getting rid of WMD:s? Because Iraq din't have WMD, we knewer know, still the answer seems to be no. Because of all the weapon depots raided and all the conventional weapons ending up in the hands of criminals and terrorists after the invasion.
 
Re: Was George W Bush a good president?

"Neocons Are Liberals Who Have Been Mugged by Reality"


>" The terms neo-conservatism and conservatism are often used interchangeably, but the two have very different meanings. It may help to distinguish other forms of political ideology to explain what neo-conservative means. For example, the term “paleo” conservative represents the “Old Right” or traditional conservatives, while “neo” conservative refers to new or modern conservatives.


The latter appears oxymoronic in that conservative means to conserve, or preserve, traditional ways or views. The terms new and traditional simply do not gel. What many find surprising is the fact that the man known as “the godfather of neo-conservatism” was politically left of center, although this fact does help clarify the issue. Using the term neo-conservative is rather like saying liberal-conservative.


The man dubbed the godfather of neo-conservatism, Irving Kristol, was liberal but apparently couldn’t find what he was looking for on the left. He didn’t find it on the right either, so he essentially molded an ideology that combined various philosophies. He wrote more than one book of note on the topic of neo-conservatism and was extremely influential in advancing the neo-conservative movement. "<
continue -> What is Neo-Conservatism?




Neoconservatism is the worldview developed by the journalist Irving Kristol and a small coterie of liberal intellectuals – including a number of university professors and literary figures – who had spent their formative years as Democrats but had grown disenchanted with President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society projects of the 1960s and felt “mugged” by the Democratic Party's leftward drift on defense issues in the 1970s. Initially, neoconservatives placed their hopes in Democratic Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson as a Presidential candidate in 1976. But this centrist liberal -- “soft” on domestic policy, but a hardline opponent of the Soviet Union -- was rejected by his party, which had been taken over by the New Left in 1972. These intellectuals subsequently aligned themselves with Ronald Reagan and the Republicans, who pledged unapologetically to confront Soviet expansionism..."<
Neo-Conservatism - Discover the Networks




Neoconservative
>" A political liberal was just a liberal in the 1930s and 1940s, but the reaction to Stalinism prompted a new type of liberal to surface on the political scene, and those liberals supported the Cold War. The term neoconservative was used to describe this group, and many of them were Jewish and emerging intellectuals that lived in New York City. Most of them considered themselves liberal democrats in the 1960s when the New Left or hippie movement in the US became a voice in the movement for American reform.

The first intellectual to embrace neoconservative principles was Irving Kristol, who is considered the godfather of neoconservatives. He wrote about his beliefs in his 1979 book, Confessions of a True, Self-Confessed Neoconservative.

Kristol's son, William, and Robert Kagan founded the Project for the New American Century in 1997, a think tank based in Washington D.C. which promotes the notion that American leadership is good for the world, and moral, as well. Such leadership, in fact, requires diplomatic energy, military strength and commitment to moral principle.

The other important figure in the early neoconservative movement was Norman Podhoretz, the editor of Commentary Magazine from 1960 to 1965. Podhoretz wrote an article for the New York Times in 1982 titled "The Neoconservative Anguish over Reagan's Foreign Policy." That article left no doubt in anyone's mind; Podhoretz was a staunch member of the neoconservative movement..."<

>" In the beginning, neoconservatives were more concerned with domestic policy than foreign policy thus strongly opposed the counterculture movement of the 1960s, which they blatantly called anti-Americanism. The Vietnam War served as the catalyst that separated the Democratic Party into two factions: the anti-war faction and the war-supporting neoconservatives.

Today, neoconservatives advocate the use of American economic and military power to destroy enemies they perceive as threatening to American liberal democracy as well as liberal democracy in other countries. The change of focus initially occurred when the anti-war faction of the Democratic Party took control in 1972 by nominating George McGovern. The neoconservative faction rallied around Senator Henry Jackson and the "second age" of neoconservatism was born from the revolt. The focus was now on the Cold War.

President Lyndon Johnson's New Left policies pushed the Democratic Party to the left, so the intellectuals in the neoconservative faction became disillusioned with his domestic agenda. Ben Wattenberg's 1970 book, The Real Majority brought out the point that the majority in the party actually supported social conservatism. The book also warned the party that liberal stances on crime and social issues could be disastrous.

During the 1990s the neoconservative faction opposed the foreign policy decisions made by George H. W. Bush as well as Bill Clinton. Both presidents were criticized for lacking a sense of idealism and reducing military expenditures. Neocons berated both administrations for the lack of moral clarity and the lack of conviction to pursue American strategic interests on the world stage, issuing strategy papers meant to influence these presidents (and others), many of which are posted on the website of the Project for the New American Century..."<

Definitions - The Daily Bell

BTW.... I have taken you to task on some other things, but I failed to thank you for this post. I had meant to do so, I just got busy and did not post much near the end of June. In this case, I learned something and stand corrected. Good post. I debate politics to learn; I did learn something here where my impressions were in error.

So I am clear, you did teach me the roots of the NeoCon movement... how it played out in practice, is a completely different discussion for a later day.
 
Again, none of which proves that Iraq had WMDs during the 2002-2003 propaganda blitz. Because, in fact, it did not.

Not surprisingly, you failed to demonstrate anything but your ability to post URLs.

It proves that the left manufactured the narrative that " Bush lied " AND it proves that this Country is loaded with easilly manipulated sheeple.

People actually believed that nonsense.
 
It proves that the left manufactured the narrative that " Bush lied " AND it proves that this Country is loaded with easilly manipulated sheeple.

People actually believed that nonsense.

"It"

What is this "it"?

Wasn't that a horror movie from the 1950s?
 
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