No he's right. Dick Cheney is an expert. At exploiting American lives for personal benefit. It's precisely what our country is all about.

Out of curiosity, are the Cheney's volunteering any of their children to die for us? Didn't think so.

[Edited on June 20, 2014 at 4:12 PM. Reason : .]

6/20/2014 4:10:58 PM

Dick Cheney had 5 draft deferments during Vietnam. He is your classic Chickenhawk.

6/20/2014 6:33:00 PM

dtownral - are you blind?

My post was a mark against Obama, not a plus for Cheney. Stating the current president is inept is not a defense of a former VP. I don't doubt for one second that Cheney saw $Texas with the invasion of $Iraq.

But it still doesn't change the fact that the current POTUS is bungling foreign policy for the US. He isn't the only one to blame though. Hilary was just as incompetent, and I can't begin to describe how laughable Kerry is.

6/20/2014 9:05:12 PM

no, you see liberals are our saviors from ourselves

6/21/2014 12:03:16 AM

http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-06-20/its-heartbreaking-veteran-reflects-crisis-iraq


this is the correct opinion to have on the war in iraq, plain and simple

plus this guy was my left winger on the company soccer team

[Edited on June 21, 2014 at 3:03 AM. Reason : soccer]

6/21/2014 3:02:26 AM

https://news.vice.com/article/isis-fighters-roll-across-iraq-until-they-see-the-peshmerga?utm_source=vicenewsfb

and just a little about why we should actually trust the Kurdish, they are the only ones who were truthful to what they said. They are good soldiers, who know how to shoot move and communicate well and will fight to the death.

6/21/2014 3:15:13 AM

Hey, at least they can agree on something!

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2014/06/in-rare-consensus-sunnis-shiites-tell-cheney-to-shut-up.html

Quote :

"But it still doesn't change the fact that the current POTUS is bungling foreign policy for the US."

At least he isn't invading countries that represent absolutely no threat to the United States. I'd call that progress!

6/21/2014 3:00:21 PM

Quote :

"Kelly was actually pretty even-handed during the segment, which featured both Bolton and conservative attorney Andrew McCarthy. She suggested that both the 2003 invasion and the 2011 withdrawal are twin causes for the deteriorating situation in Iraq. But when Bolton said that past decisions are "irrelevant to the circumstances we face now," Kelly got animated. "I know, you keep saying that but it actually is relevant to a lot of people out there who are wondering, 'How did we get here?' Is it not relevant to ask, 'How did we get here?'" she asked. "

http://www.businessinsider.com/megyn-kelly-john-bolton-2014-6

6/21/2014 6:00:44 PM

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/06/19/dick-cheney-sits-stunned-as-fox-news-turns-on-him-history-has-proven-that-you-got-it-wrong/

6/23/2014 6:29:32 PM

http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/06/23/3451781/8-people-iraq/

6/24/2014 8:57:42 AM

Quote :

"But it still doesn't change the fact that the current POTUS is bungling foreign policy for the US. He isn't the only one to blame though. Hilary was just as incompetent, and I can't begin to describe how laughable Kerry is."

The reason he's bungling foreign policy because like George W. Bush he had zero job experience on the matter for the presidency, and from the results of his and G.W. Bush's presidency: it shows. Two weak presidents with no overriding strategy that can be talked into things by their subordinates because they don't know any better.

(Neither did Hillary Clinton when she got the Secretary of State not because she was qualified for the role but so it could stave off a Democratic Party civil war in 2008 and she could have a job to run on when she ran for president in 2016. Her first ever relations with Russia was to bring a restart button. How can you be so tone deaf? Hillary wanted things to go back to how they were post-Cold War in the '90s because she thought those were the good times. THE '90s ARE VIEWED AS A CATASTROPHE IN RUSSIA, EVEN BY THOSE THAT HATE PUTIN!)

I don't care if you on this board are a Republican or Democrat, I increasingly find the descriptions to be meaningless when both parties nominate morons, but when you vote in primaries and vote for president or decide who to donate money to in the 2016 cycle, give money or vote for someone that actually knows what the hell he or she is doing.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/28/p-j-o-rourke-orwell-was-right.html#

Quote :

"P.J. O’Rourke: Orwell Was Right Your telescreen doesn’t deceive you. I love Big Community Organizer. Russian Troop Buildup on the Border of Ukraine…And the “New World Order” Is Finally Taking Shape… Taking shape as the perpetual war between Eurasia, Eastasia, and (“O” for “Obama”!) Oceania in George Orwell’s 1984. It didn’t happen as soon as Orwell predicted. Probably because it took another 10 years before everyone was online with the “telescreen,” which watches you as you watch it. I Will Forego the Temptation to Write the Rest of the Column in Newspeak… Anyway, almost a quarter of a century has passed since George H.W. Bush gave his 1990 “Toward a New World Order” speech to a joint session of Congress. (No tweets, please, from truthers pointing out speech was made on 9/11 of that year.) Of Course 1984 Was Science Fiction… Greatly exaggerated for dramatic effect. There’s nothing like a “Two Minutes Hate” on your telescreen laptop, (unless you’re streaming MSNBC). President Obama, “Big Community Organizer,” favors a “Two Minutes Deeply Concerned,” typified by this… Further Dazzling Insight From the White House National Security Council… "It’s deeply concerning to see the Russian troop buildup on the border,” said aptly named Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken, key player in the Obama administration’s Wynken and Nod foreign policy. “It’s likely,” Blinken continued, “that what they’re trying to do is intimidate the Ukrainians.” Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night Sailed off in a wooden shoe-- If Russia Marches in… We know what our NATO allies would do. Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said, “I would do anything possible to avoid sanctions, because I believe everyone will suffer if we get into sanctions.” So the Netherlands will gladly provide klompen of a size to accommodate President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, and National Security Adviser Susan Rice. With Apologies to “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod” Author Eugene Field… Sailed on a river of dimbulb light, Into a sea of shit. Side Note… EU GDP: $16.5 trillion. U.S. GDP: $16.2 trillion. Percent of EU GDP spent on defense: 1.7. Percent of U.S. GDP spent on defense of, mostly, shithead EU: 4.4. Meanwhile in Eastasia… China is increasing its defense budget to $132 billion. But participants in “Two Minutes Deeply Concerned” needn’t worry. Total defense spending in the region will remain about the same because U.S. is cutting its defense budget by $133 billion. Jimmy Carter, on Meet the Press, said, ”I have felt my own communications are probably monitored.” No they’re not, Jimmy. Nobody, nobody, listens to you. Somebody must have gotten a little dizzy during his 2012 “Pivot to East Asia.” And What an Entertaining Whirl It’s Been… China in the swashbuckling Johnny Depp role hoisting the Jolly Roger and crossing swords with Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines and everybody else on the high seas in the hit feature “Pirates of the Senkaku, Spratly Islands, and Scarborough Shoal.” China in the limelight with its magic act making Uighurs, dissidents, Falun Gong and weibo blogs disappear without a trace. Our Role in This Oriental Turn Upon the Stage?… In the words of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “deepening our working relationships with emerging powers.” (Of which there is one. And our working relationship isn’t working.) And, “engaging with regional multilateral institutions.” (Of which there are none.) But Michelle Obama Is in China… Speaking truth to power at Peking University. Diplomatically, of course—the first lady feels the Chinese government’s pain. She said, “My husband and I are on the receiving end of plenty of questioning and criticism from our media and our fellow citizens. And it’s not always easy, but we wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.” [Except keeping the Senate, winning back the House, and a big, honking IRS tax audit of Fox News.] To be fair, however, Mrs. Obama did not mince words. “Time and again,” she said, “we have seen that countries are stronger and more prosperous when the voices and opinions of all their citizens can be heard.” But… A.) Are we sure we want China to be stronger? B.) One can’t help recalling how Harry Truman had Bess go to Pyongyang and talk Kim Il-sung out of a surprise attack on South Korea, how Ike put Mamie in charge of preventing the Soviets from crushing the Hungarian Revolution, how Jack assigned Jackie to provide air support at the Bay of Pigs, how LBJ commissioned Lady Bird to neutralize the Viet Cong and how George H.W. Bush sent Barbara to convince an intransigent Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait. (Actually, that might have worked. Barbara’s tough.) Fortunately There Are Elder Statesmen Who, Even in the Face of Difficulties, Continue Working Behind the Scenes… Jimmy Carter, on Meet the Press, said, ”I have felt my own communications are probably monitored.” No they’re not, Jimmy. Nobody, nobody, listens to you. Carter, though, is taking no chances, and went on to say, “When I want to communicate with a foreign leader privately, I type or write the letter myself, put it in the Post Office and mail it.” NSA technology, so far as Carter knows, does not rise to the level of tea kettles for steaming open envelopes. Carter is probably writing letters to Leonid Brezhnev, Deng Xiaoping, and Harold Wilson and wondering why the mail’s so slow. How Did We Manage It That When the Berlin Wall Fell It Fell on Us?… Didn’t help that Bill Clinton was very, very busy with private domestic matters, dodging thrown crockery. Really didn’t help that George W. Bush was too vain to wear his glasses. “I Looked the Man in the Eye… I Was Able to Get a Sense of His Soul…” According to the June 16, 2001, BBC News report on Bush and Putin’s first meeting, “They exchanged warm words.” Warm indeed if the words had anything to do with where Putin’s soul is going. (And not for the reason that the dead—praise the Lord!—Fred Phelps, vile, screeching, funeral befouling founder of anti-gay Westboro Church, might have thought. I hope Fred and Vladimir hook up in hell.) Then Came Hillary Clinton Who, as Secretary of State, Traveled to 112 Countries… Which makes for an interesting point of comparison with some of America’s other famous diplomats. William Seward… The Secretary of State under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson skinned the guy who used to have Putin’s job (Czar Alexander II—he was assassinated). Seward bought Alaska for 2 cents an acre. Plus, he crafted the Lyons-Seward Treaty, joining the U.S and Great Britain in suppressing the international slave trade. Seward never, to my knowledge, went anywhere. He stayed home and got some work done. The Same for John Hay… Secretary of State under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Without leaving town, he negotiated the end of the Spanish-American War and the treaties making the Panama Canal possible, and he authored the “Open Door Policy” that prevented China from being divvied up by Japan and the European colonial powers. (P.S. His boss Teddy won the Nobel Peace Prize for doing something—making peace between Japan and Russia.) Charles Frances Adams… Lincoln’s ambassador to the Court of St. James almost single-handedly kept Great Britain from allying with the Confederacy during the Civil War. He went to just one country, Great Britain, to do it. And Robert R. Livingston… President Thomas Jefferson’s ambassador to France traveled only to France. He came back with the Louisiana Purchase. No, No, No, Let’s Go to the Ministry of Truth and Drop All That Down the Memory Hole… O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickle down the sides of my nose. But it is all right, everything is all right, the struggle is finished. I have won the victory over myself. I love Big Community Organizer. WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE (In Oceania, if not in Eurasia and Eastasia) IS ELECTED"

[Edited on June 24, 2014 at 9:39 AM. Reason : .]

6/24/2014 9:38:26 AM

Iran is giving them jets and Putin has pledged support for Iraq

6/24/2014 12:56:11 PM

Quote :

"I don't care if you on this board are a Republican or Democrat, I increasingly find the descriptions to be meaningless when both parties nominate morons, but when you vote in primaries and vote for president or decide who to donate money to in the 2016 cycle, give money or vote for someone that actually knows what the hell he or she is doing."

i just hope there's someone worth voting for, but +1 for this.

6/24/2014 1:15:44 PM

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/09/us-turkey-iraq-kurds-idUSKBN0FE1IU20140709

Quote :

"What has long been a dream for the Middle East's Kurds, an independent state, is within reach in Iraq, but Turkey's Kurds, wearied by a 30-year conflict with Ankara, see a brighter future at home, where negotiations could deliver the rights they have fought for."

7/9/2014 12:01:31 PM

Iraq crisis: Kurdistan’s female fighters take on Isis
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28308632

7/16/2014 1:24:29 PM

Could be a real bloodbath. The synchronized periods, I mean.

7/16/2014 5:50:34 PM

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/24/isis-women-girls-fgm-mosul-un

(fgm - female genitalia mutilation )

7/24/2014 10:17:46 AM

Give me an Iron Man suit, and I will go slay all those barbarians.

Or, catch them all, and I will personally shoot all of them point blank in their temples.

7/24/2014 12:12:30 PM

http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/07/24/3463683/no-isis-isnt-ordering-female-genital-mutilation-in-iraq/

7/24/2014 12:27:12 PM

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101860481

7/24/2014 12:57:22 PM

this is interesting and sad

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/11016794/40000-Iraqis-stranded-on-Sinjar-mountain-after-Islamic-State-death-threats.html

8/7/2014 12:59:04 PM

We dont need to get involved. Ypu cant save those people without boots on the ground. Airstrikes will only make matters worse. The only solution is for them to convert. Makes no sense to die instead of pretending to believe an alternate fairy tale. If they want to die and go to heaven for their religion let them but they could easily convert, escape, and re convert months later.

8/7/2014 3:21:45 PM

we also can't make a difference with boots on the ground, boots on the ground is what caused this

8/7/2014 3:26:29 PM

Where else would the boots be? I've never heard of boots at sea or boots in the sky.

8/7/2014 7:17:14 PM

Dasani or Aquafina needs to buy a drone and help those people out. Or maybe use one of those remote control blimps they use at basketball games to drop free hamburger coupons to the fans. Actually, this is more of a Fiji water marketing opportunity.

But in all seriousness, dying of thirst on top of a mountain has got to be a shitty way to go. Shits fuckin insane.

[Edited on August 7, 2014 at 8:28 PM. Reason : ]

8/7/2014 8:23:00 PM

Should we go ahead and consider Iraq lost? I mean, think of the effort it would take at this point to get ISIS out. They seem to be pretty well entrenched. I feel really bad for those folks, but I don't want to lose another American for the Iraq cause.

8/7/2014 9:15:31 PM

Boots on the ground? Are you fucking kidding me? That's why we are in this situation (and lies to start a war and burn a whole country to the ground).

This is the only solution, as I posted earlier:

Quote :

"Give me an Iron Man suit, and I will go slay all those barbarians. Or, catch them all, and I will personally shoot all of them point blank in their temples."

8/7/2014 10:25:23 PM

obama just authorized airstrikes

should this go in his credibility thread

8/7/2014 11:03:58 PM

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/losing-iraq/

8/8/2014 12:27:42 AM

airstrikes in Iraq

8/8/2014 9:46:05 AM

Quote :

"We dont need to get involved. Ypu cant save those people without boots on the ground. Airstrikes will only make matters worse. The only solution is for them to convert. Makes no sense to die instead of pretending to believe an alternate fairy tale. If they want to die and go to heaven for their religion let them but they could easily convert, escape, and re convert months later."

Easily the dumbest comment I've read on SB in a while.

8/8/2014 9:51:27 AM

Intervening against ISIS is a fools errand, but I don't think anyone can argue against this particular action, given the circumstances surrounding it. Still though, if those were 40,000 Rwandans stranded on a mountain in Africa, Obama wouldn't have done shit.

8/8/2014 9:57:55 AM

I've got the feeling ISIS may be able to start Iraq War III or WWIII. I don't think the power nations will stand for ISIS if they do gain control of multiple areas/nations and become a stayed governing power

8/8/2014 10:05:17 AM

Quote :

"Easily the dumbest comment I've read on SB in a while."

It's Earl...ignore his posts in the future.

8/8/2014 10:31:31 AM

It's easy to say you think a post is dumb

It's much more difficult to explain why you think it's dumb.

Someone tell me how air strikes will get these people away from isis.

8/8/2014 11:18:45 AM

^ its dumb because you think people should fold in what they believe in, and have believed in their entire life in order to escape harm. This goes against everything they believe in, and I think would make them cowards.

Also they are dealing with an irrational force in ISIS.

Your "strategy" was tried by a man who converted from Christianity to Islam, and was promptly executed anyways.

http://gopthedailydose.com/2014/04/02/muslims-force-christian-convert-islam-brutally-behead/

That's why your post is dumb.

8/8/2014 12:03:34 PM

Slightly off topic, but this is interesting:

http://projects.militarytimes.com/polls/2012/results/politics/

8/8/2014 12:20:38 PM

Quote :

"Your "strategy" was tried by a man who converted from Christianity to Islam, and was promptly executed anyways."

At least he'll end up in the right Heaven, amirite?

8/8/2014 12:44:29 PM

^^i didn't need a poll to tell me that most members of the military are retarded

[Edited on August 8, 2014 at 12:44 PM. Reason : .]

8/8/2014 12:44:38 PM

^ you know what's really amazing? American approval ratings of institutions.

Congress? Single digit approval ratings.

The media? Low approval ratings

Big business? Low approval ratings.

Law enforcement? Low approval ratings.

Financial institutions? Low approval ratings.



The military? SKY HIGH approval ratings among Americans.


Americans are silly.

8/8/2014 2:17:48 PM

it's not surprising when you consider that Americans grow up with constant military propaganda through toys, TV, movies, and even news media and never have to see the consequences

8/8/2014 2:32:00 PM

Quote :

"i didn't need a poll to tell me that most members of the military are retarded"

not really. most of them 50% of guard/reserve and 42% active said invading iraq was a bad idea.

8/8/2014 2:42:23 PM

Quote :

"Do you think the war in Iraq was a success? Percent Total Yes, very successful ¦¦¦¦¦¦ 7.78% 156 Yes, somewhat successful ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦ 42.87% 860"

8/8/2014 2:53:01 PM

Maybe it's easy to have a half-informed, more-negative than reality view of the military from the ivory tower of a fairly major metropolitan area with tremendous affluence and education...

...but that's not representative of the great majority of the country. In most of the places I've lived, the military presence is the brain trust of the local area by a wide margin.

Would it be that way in RTP? No, not on average. Are there some seriously dumb motherfuckers at every level in the military. Oh yes. I've had facepalm moments due to shit that would be hard to believe if I hadn't seen it, from literally everyone from privates to colonels and generals...but I'm serious, in Pensacola, Whidbey Island WA, New Bern, Morehead City, etc...I'd argue that the military is the only thing keeping those places from collapsing under their own stupidity.

Also, regarding that survey, it would be worth controlling for SES and party affiliation and seeing how that colors the results.

8/9/2014 6:21:00 PM

I did not grow up here, I grew up in places where I got to see the results of American Imperialism first hand

8/9/2014 6:37:46 PM

Quote :

"I did not grow up here"

This explains a lot.

8/9/2014 9:04:48 PM

he was born a poor black child

8/10/2014 12:12:13 AM

Quote :

"“The US can’t just look away. That’s not who we are. We’re Americans. We act. We lead. And that’s what we’re going to do on that mountain,” Obama said."

Oh yeah, I remember those airstrikes you authorized against Israeli forces and Syrian forces.

8/10/2014 10:36:37 PM

uh oh

8/10/2014 10:39:05 PM

He tried to strike syria, putin put a stop at that.

8/10/2014 11:08:50 PM