On 12/10/12 10:32 AM, Eisboch wrote:


"ESAD" wrote in message ...

On 12/10/12 6:29 AM, Eisboch wrote:

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We also should be looking for people who don't lie for their political
advantage.

Who do you have in mind? Every politician exaggerates, and some, like
Bush and Cheney, far worse than others, and with much deadlier
consequences.

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When Susan Rice erroneously reported "spontaneous demonstrations" in
Libya, "based on the best Intel at the time", she was given a free pass.
I don't doubt her ... it was probably the only intelligence info at first.

Think what you want of Bush and Cheney, but for at least 6 months not
only did the CIA and other American intelligence agencies, but pretty
much the rest of the world's agencies were reporting weapons of mass
destruction existing in Iraq. Personally, my hunch is they *did*
exist but were hurriedly transported to Syria. If you recall, there
were many reports of truck movements from Iraq to Syria in the months
leading up to the war.

But, whatever. There were still many mistakes made, probably more by
the egotistical Donald Rumsfeld than anyone else.

Question: When the overwhelming majority of Americans favor an
immediate troop withdrawal from Iran, isn't that a mandate to our
political leadership? It's not just Republicans dragging their feet
and trying to justify more dead.







You mean Afghanistan, not Iran, I think. And I agree, we shouldn't wait
another two years to pull our troops out of Afghanistan. I would think a
schedule could be worked out for an orderly and safe withdrawal to take
place entirely within 2013. I don't know the logistics, but surely that
could be accomplished by the end of June.

I think everyone rational pretty much knows what is going to happen in
Afghanistan, whether they are willing to admit it or not. Because of
geography, lack of infrastructure, ignorance, and centuries of
vendettas, it is going to remain a mess long beyond the lifetimes of
anyone now alive. There's nothing happening there worth the life of any
other nation's men and women.

I don't much buy into the "mandate" business. We elect leaders to lead,
not to do whatever is popular at the moment. Sometimes leadership
requires taking action that may be really unpopular with large segments
of society, such as integrating the military or sending troops in to
enforce civil rights.