May 12th, 2009
8:15 am

Is Cheney trying to influence the potential jury pool?

May 12th, 2009
8:05 am

Pakistan has a strong standing army. It had just been deployed to the border with India. They’ve finally realized the threat and are responding.

[[It’s not a partisan issue.

Well, yeah, actually it is.]]

You’re right, I suppose it is. My idealism is that it shouldn’t be, that we should all be thinking about what’s best for the country. Not realistic for Washington, I suppose.

What do you think about this regarding VP Cheney and stonewalling? He was consistent: he didn’t want anything out. But the Obama Administration is inconsistent: they release that which supports their point (we didn’t get anything worthwhile from waterboarding) but stonewall releasing that which might weaken their case.

I do see your point about how we are perceived. Moral beacon and all. And I do think there’s a lot to that. But I also see the point, borrowing from the book I just read about the Delta ground commander at Tora Bora, that what we put forth as a strength is viewed as weakness by our enemies….

Something I’ve been wondering about, gets back to my “black/white/grey” comment to Susan: are there some things that are not torture, that rise above normalcy, that really should be in a separate category – maybe the one Spkr Pelosi calls “enhanced interrogation techniques”?

See, I wonder if we’d have this conversation if waterboarding had never happened. Suppose it was interruption of sleep cycles only? Or that combined with really irritating loud music? Would we still be so firm in our delineations as we are now? Or would we say “there are some things we wouldn’t do under Geneva that we will do in certain circumstances with certain people.” Wouldn’t include waterboarding or maiming or stuff like that – but it sure goes beyond what we can do now (it occurs that the interrogations we see on Law and Order would be grounds for prosecution of the interrogators if done by the military or CIA).

Ask me in eight years.

May 12th, 2009
7:59 am

You’re right. It’s his mess and he’ll get it cleaned up. Something Bush was unable to do in 7 1/4 years.

The Taliban and al Qaeda need to be able to lay down their arms and leave the battlefield before they are slaughtered. Enough American blood and treasure has been wasted, and enough Afghan women and children have suffered the horrors of war.

May 12th, 2009
7:46 am

It just wasn’t being reported before. The emphasis had been on Iraq. Also Pakistan has finally taken the Taliban threat seriously and has become more aggressive, at U.S. insistance, as has the U.S.

May 12th, 2009
7:43 am

The clown is still trying to clean up the court jester’s bad jokes. You’ll see a new and improved version next year, and it’s already happening, as indicated by today’s topic.

May 12th, 2009
6:12 am

Bush owns a good part of this and you know it. Some of it will be repaid by the companies receiving the investments and some of it that is invested in America will reap dividends for decades.

May 12th, 2009
5:37 am

The one to blame has resigned under pressure from Gates. And they were saying that before because it was happening then too.