Blogcritics Comments on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Comment by Dr Dreadful on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:15:47 EDT

Didn't know he thought that It comes under the 'MCH Exception'. Chris (and by extension, I) ruthlessly deletes those comments as soon as he spots them.

Comment by Clavos on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:38:37 EDT

Then where did Emmy get the notion that you're only 5'6"? Beats me, Doc. Didn't know he thought that; I don't pay much attention to his comments.

Comment by Dr Dreadful on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:43:58 EDT

Clav: my prodigious height (72")... Then where did Emmy get the notion that you're only 5'6"? I'm glad Chris left my comment up, because even the results of the five minutes' research I did were so deliciously poetic that it would have been a damn shame not to share them. And to pre-empt any anti-Anglic griping from Emmy, I should point out here that I'm descended from Vikings myself.

Comment by bliffle on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:41:26 EDT

Petraeus was a flop. He simply has no answers for our crisis in Iraq. What next for President Gump? Who will be the next military victime to step up for failure just to get another star? I didn't catch the first part of the hearings. Did they actually swear Petraeus in this time? Last time they didn't. And Ray McGovern was ejected from chambers for trying to direct the congressmens attention to that fact. But who cares whether Petraeus is sworn in to tell the truth? Nobody, I suspect.

Comment by Clavos on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:43:02 EDT

Re # 83: According to your two links, Doc, both halves contribute to my prodigious height (72"), as the material you cited shows the Swedes to have been the tallest among the Scandahoovians, while the Irish are also shown in the second citation to be above the average height of the rest of the cohort to which they are compared. What can I say? I have good genes... So, why ain't I rich???

Comment by Dan Miller on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:28:02 EDT

Dave, I done speaked me some Amurrican! I am distressed to learn that you are one of Senator Clinton's speech writers. You hurrible secret jes can't be hid no mo. Shame on you. Dan

Comment by Dr Dreadful on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:56:57 EDT

Ah, the comment I was responding to has gone. Without expanding on the obvious reasons why, REMF was boasting about the stature of his Viking ancestors.

Comment by Dr Dreadful on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:55:28 EDT

Astonishingly, REMF, you're right. Average height for a Viking male was more like 5'7". However, before you get too excited about this, you might want to take a peek at this, which reports that the average height for northern Europeans as a whole during the 9th to 11th centuries (the Vikings' heyday) was about 5'8" - making the Norsemen shorter than most. Oops... As for Clav - must be the Irish half...

Comment by Christopher Rose on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:27:00 EDT

Responding to your first point, bliffle, the BC "staff" can't and don't shape or limit the content here, so there's an easy solution if you've not seen something covered, sign up and write it yourself. Easy, huh?

Comment by bliffle on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:20:43 EDT

Looks like the BC staff has instituted a blackout on the political front, probably to spare the tender ears of Iraq Invasion supporters from more discomfiting news and observations from alarmed US citizens. Just in case no one noticed, General Petraeus testified to the Senate and the House on the progress of The Escalation. Oh, we can call it an escalation now, not a surge, because it is to continue, not diminish, because it failed to result in Iraqi Political improvement so we've got to keep doing it (by the perverse logic of the current Administration). Oh well, another failure that will be rewarded by continuation instead of being ended. Just like all the previous failed plans and the very people who pushed for them, including Maximum Leader himself. But we have learned one thing from the exercise: why Petraeus (presuming he's as good as the PR which preceded him) wasn't made El Jeffe years ago so (since he's so good) we could have ended the war/occupation years ago? Why would President God deprive us of this General Moses who could deliver us from the Iraq desert? I asked this question of everyone I could find and no one volunteered an answer. Now we know the answer: Petraeus is not a strategist and has no strategy. All he's got is his same old short term tactics, namely, seize-and-hold (oh, and hold some more). Petraeus doesn't have the intellectual tools to win this thing. He got the military tools he said he needed, but he has no strategy to push this thing over the top. We're back to the same old War Of Attrition. Looks like we've Vietnamized the Iraq Invasion.

Comment by Clavos on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 13:47:48 EDT

But, as you said, that one's gonna need new blood to get going again. Even monkeys learn not to touch the hot stove after a couple of repetitions.

Comment by Dr Dreadful on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 13:30:19 EDT

Well, BC's fairly quiet at the moment, especially the Politics section, and particularly now that Arch seems to have sipped from the poisoned chalice and will be voting for McCain after all. We just need to get some really acrimonious debate going, and Stan's idea about the colonies returning to the imperial fold strikes me as the perfect kindling.

Comment by Clavos on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 13:24:07 EDT

Doc, you agitator, you! Wassamatah, bored?

Comment by Dr Dreadful on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 11:59:13 EDT

Ah, now see, Stan, they're all wise to you now and ain't gonna take the bait. I think it's high time you wrote an article expanding on your leitmotif. That way, maybe a few BC newbies will read it in outraged innocence and the fun can start all over again.

Comment by STM on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 05:37:28 EDT

I love how this has veered completely off topic from the Dominion of British West Florida and back to Iraq. Come on guys, get your priorities right. You won't have any of these problems once the US returns to the Commonwealth, with Liz at the helm again and guided by those good and loyal folk who are setting the pace down there on the Gulf coast. And imagine how good the Stars and Stripes would look with a Union Jack in the corner. For a rough idea, google the State flag of Hawaii - the best-looking one in the Union :)

Comment by wildnfree on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Tue, 8 Apr 2008 22:05:16 EDT

I agree that a strongman running a semi brutal dictatorship is probably what will end up ruling Iraq... and may be the best solution. You just can't force democracy, it has to come from an uprising from within.

Comment by RJR on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Tue, 8 Apr 2008 02:21:50 EDT

Well, the Uncle of the present King of Jordan in charge in Iraq for now would be a good start. The Saudis Kings aren't the worlds nicest rulers, (no need for a parliamentarian in their Government :) ...) but they are at present staying pretty much in their own sand-box....

Comment by Dave Nalle on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Mon, 7 Apr 2008 23:10:53 EDT

Imman is a retired model married to David Bowie. The word you're looking for is Imam. As for the Jordanian monarchy, they're actually supposed to be ruling Saudi Arabia, which might be more productive than putting them in charge of Iraq. Dave

Comment by RJR on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Mon, 7 Apr 2008 22:57:56 EDT

Actually, there is the 'appoint a strong man', arm him to the teeth, and then leave option. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan might serve as an example (they have a functional parliamentary system, with an Executive (not figure-head) King. The former Crown-Prince of Jordan, Prince Hassan bin Talal, (who has a distant claim to the Throne of the old Kingdom of Iraq), might be a 'good man' for the Job, He isn't a US Puppet, but he's also not a blood thirsty Imman....

Comment by wildnfree on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Sun, 6 Apr 2008 02:41:21 EDT

While I believe that we shouldn't have gotten into this war. I don't think that we could get out very easily now. Turkey would attack the Kurds, Iran would lead a Shia uprising and take half the country. Then lets not forget the Sunni sects whom would probably align with the Gulf Arab states. Of course they would all massacre the Iraqi Christians as they were mostly left alone before we invaded and stirred up a fresh batch of mad mullahs and killed the common enemy that kept them from attacking each other. Continued support of this war will eventually drain our economy and leave us vulnerable to attacks on the actual home land (unless we fully restore the 2nd amendment and legitimize our militia movement). We are stuck now. There is only one way to get out of this without turning the entire middle east into a giant battleground. A scorched earth withdrawal. Destroy every building, all infrastructure, confiscate every weapon and kill as many people as possible on the way out. Then go home and figure out how to run your car without gas (need to do that anyway). Given the reality of the situation even those of us who oppose this war need to realize that there is no way to just march out of Iraq with our heads up and let the chips fall where they may. At the same time our leaders need to stop planning for a permanent presence there, and focus on a way to exit safely, even if it means breaking Iraq into smaller nations. Or some other reasonable solution.

Comment by RJR on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Sun, 6 Apr 2008 01:22:42 EDT

The Dominion's Constitution gives the G-G approximately the same powers as the US Constitution gives the President. (After all the US Constitution is basically just a codification of the British Constitution of the time with the President replacing the Monarch, the Senate the House of Lords, and the House of 'Representative' the House of Commons)

Comment by Dr Dreadful on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 13:40:34 EDT

By the way, what's happening up in Central California, Doc?? Are YOU making any headway up there with the rebels? Piece of cake, mate. They're a bunch of airheads over here. All I have to do is utter a few syllables of the Queen's English and they're putty in my hands (especially the women). After that, it's a simple matter to press a few propaganda pamphlets into their hands and they can't wait to salute the Union Jack.

Comment by Dr Dreadful on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 13:36:33 EDT

Come now, Clavos. As everyone knows, 'Remember the Alamo' is simply a memory strategy to help you figure out where you parked your rental car in downtown San Antonio.

Comment by Clavos on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 08:45:09 EDT

"Remember the Alamo!" Funny how you gringos keep saying that. You lost... �Viva Santa Anna! �Viva México!

Comment by Ruvy in Jerusalem on A Sober Plea for Ending the War in Iraq

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 07:24:02 EDT

The other thing I wanted to mention before some unfortunate business called me away to the not so wholly Holy City. I found the site on the "Dominion of West Florida" extremely amusing. I read through the constitution of this "entity" with great interest, looking for some hint of a parliamentary regime, and found none. The Governor-General of this bunch or crackers with the Union Jack and Queen Lizzy on the brain would have all the powers of a Louisiana tyrant from Baton Rouge (which would be on the border of this little shteitl (pun intended). Fascism rolled in bread crumbs fried up in chicken fat and served up with grits and ham hocks! Yup! Definitely an improvement on the good old U.S. of A. Have fun, guys! Remember the Alamo!