We got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. So I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from have the knowledge necessary to make a nukyular weapon.
-- Dubya once again proving he's never afraid to escalate the war rhetoric. And yes, he actually said "have" rather than "having" in the last sentence. White House, Oct. 17, 2007

REPORTER: How do you think you will be remembered as a President?
DUBYA: I think I'll be remembered as a guy who, you know, was dealt some pretty tough issues to deal with and I dealt with them head-on and I didn't try to shy away. I didn't, you know, I didn't sacrifice -- I was firm and that I made decisions based upon principles, not based upon the latest Gallup Poll. And that I helped this country protect itself, and at the same time was unashamed, unabashed at spreading certain values to others -- the main one being liberty, whether it be the freedom from forms of government or the freedom from disease and hunger. And that we had a very robust foreign policy in the name of peace. And at home, that the cornerstone of my policy is to trust the individual American to make the best decisions for his or her family. And that I dealt with not only a tax, but recession and a lot of other challenges to our economy, and yet our economy is very strong. We've had 50 consecutive months of uninterrupted job growth, which is the longest in American history. So, you know something? But I'll be dead before they finally figure out my administration because history, it takes a while to get the true history of an administration.
-- Dubya summarizes the history of his administration as only he can. White House, Nov. 6, 2007

"I would say that we would always try to try diplomacy first. In other words, I -- I've committed our troops into harm's way twice, and it's not a pleasant experience because I understand the consequences firsthand."
-- Really? From inside the White House, Dubya can claim firsthand understanding of the experience of war? That's quite a feat. White House, Nov. 6, 2007

REPORTER: So what about Iraq? Can France, for instance, help to get out of the Iraqi quagmire? And President Bush, where do you stand on Iraq and your domestic debate on Iraq? Do you have a timetable for withdrawing troops?
DUBYA: I don't -- you know, quagmire is an interesting word. If you lived in Iraq and had lived under a tyranny, you'd be saying, God, I love freedom -- because that's what's happened.
-- I wonder if the Iraqis would also praise God for the random killings, kidnappings, political instability, power outages, dismal standards of living and rampant unemployment? Quagmire is an interesting word. Mount Vernon, Virginia, Nov. 7, 2007

"I spoke to President Musharraf right before I came over here to visit with President Sarkozy. And my message was that we believe strongly in elections, and that you ought to have elections soon, and you need to take off your uniform. You can't be the President and the head of the military at the same time."
-- Wait a second. Isn't that exactly what Dubya is? Mount Vernon, Virginia, Nov. 7, 2007

From IBD:
***

There's an eery silence out there about what's going on in Iraq. It's almost as if the silence is, well, intentional. Here are just a few examples of what we're talking about, pulled from last week's developments:

¢ In Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, British Major Gen. Graham Binns said that attacks against British and American forces have plunged 90% since the start of September.

¢ Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki reported that terrorist attacks of all kinds are down almost 80% from last year's peak " thanks directly to the U.S. surge of 30,000 new troops.

¢ Amid growing signs that even Iraq extremists have tired of terrorism and killing, a Sunni religious group closed down the high-profile Muslim Scholars Association because of its ties to terrorists.

¢ U.S. Major Gen. James Simmons, speaking in Baghdad, said Iran's pledges to stop sending weapons and explosives into Iraq "appear to be holding up." Roadside bombs, the leading killer of U.S. troops, have plunged 52% since March, he added.

¢ Perhaps most touching, according to a report from Michael Yon, who deserves to be the first blogger to win a Pulitzer Prize, Muslims are asking Iraqi Christians to return to help build Iraq.

Iraqi Muslims recently crammed into St. John's Catholic church in Baghdad to attend a Christian service. According to Yon, "Muslims keep telling me to get it on the news. 'Tell the Christians to come home to their country Iraq.' "

¢ Finally, there's this from Douglas Halaspaska, a reporter on the Web site U.S. Cavalry ON Point: "I came to Ramadi expecting a war and what I found was a city that has grown from the carnage, and all its inhabitants " both Iraqi and American " healing. I was not expecting what I found in Iraq . . . it was better than all of that."

Again, all this has taken place just in recent days, weeks and months. The positive news has become simply overwhelming.

***
Read the whole thing at:
http://ibdeditorial.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=280108621532510

Has the Senate finally grown a set of balls?

Our presence in Iraq is not about democracy, order or bringing a better life to the citizens of that country. It's about our own greed, and determination to dominate, control and profit from their oil. That the current Bush administration is putting pressure upon the Iraqi government to adopt and accept its plan for oil revenues (with no specified amount to benefit that nation, and ubiquitous generous incentives to American and British oil magnates) is the very core foundation of our interest in that country. We have many national leaders world-wide who are dictators, tyrants, and diabolical with whom we disagree, and would like to see gone. Many of them have WMD's and nuclear capabilities as well. The administration's preoccupation with Iraq and Iran is based upon OUR greed and coveting their oil reserves, as well as our political ties to Israel. The AIPAC and other pro-Israeli groups and defenders in our government view Israel as the only democracy in the Middle East, which is far from truth. Their government and system is one of apartheid. Jews are given free or subsidized housing, while Palestinians' homes are seized. Jews are given benefits such as education and healthcare, while Palestinian schools are closed, and many languish in camps. Palestinians cannot travel about the country, and their movements and places of residence are restricted. We give 1/3 of our total foreign aid solely to Israel, which has helped finance that repressive regime, enabled that country to acquire its own WMD's and nuclear weapons, and continue to put strangleholds on our elected leaders and representatives.

and another thing, why isnt anyone,ANYONE paying any attention to CHINA? Lou Dobbs can't do it all, and unfortunatly ( for those of us that work for a living) he has said repeatedly that he is not running

Why isn't any one listening to Joe Biden? Am I the only person here who saw at that debate that he was the ONLY one who had his shit together?

Dear air2air,
That Saddam Hussein was a sadist, tyrant, mean-spirited dictator is not in question. Good riddance!
However, it is the means and purpose by which he was deposed that is equally as tyrannical and dictatorial. It is unlawful for one nation to invade another to depose or take out a leader whom they don't like (for whatever reason). It is also unlawful for one nation to invade and occupy another to control its natural resources.
Cheney had oil company executives in the White House weeks after taking office, reviewing maps of Iraqi oil drilling sites and geological surveys of oil fields. Let's not forget that many of our administration who promoted this war: Rumesfeld, Baker, Poppy Bush, officials in Congress continued to see him as a useful, if distasteful, regional strongman. 'It is becoming increasingly clear,' said Ted Koppel, 'that George Bush, operating largely behind the scenes throughout the 1980s, initiated and supported much of the financing, intelligence, and military help that built Saddam's Iraq into the aggressive power that the United States ultimately had to destroy.'" "While many have thought that Saddam first became involved with U.S. intelligence agencies at the start of the September 1980 Iran-Iraq war, his first contacts with U.S. officials date back to 1959, when he was part of a CIA-authorized six-man squad tasked with assassinating then Iraqi Prime Minister Gen. Abd al-Karim Qasim," reported United Press International. "U.S. intelligence services ... used him as their instrument for more than 40 years."

on 1905 peace conference: "Every time we scuttle a
battleship the Japanese tear up a blueprint, and they are complaining because those blueprints are getting expensive" said Will Rogers.

I don't want a plan, I want the withdrawal. NOW!
Bush will wipe his butt with the plan.

Bush will tear up a plan every time Reid gives him another 50 billion. Who is the winner?

CUT OFF ALL FUNDS FOR THE PENTAGON NOW.

The Democrats have my support on this!

Maybe the Dems are finally listening???

Slow witted congressional Democrat leadership hand Republicans a political gift. QUESTION FOR HARRY REID AND NANCY PELOSI: "As the situation on the ground in Iraq continues to brighten, and a light begins to appear at the end of the war tunnel, is it the brightest thing in the world to starve the military at this juncture?" If, as seems likely, Iraq succeeds, Republicans will be able to say it was in spite of the Democrats' efforts. If, as remains possible, it fails, Republicans will be able to say it was because of the Democrats' efforts.