Gates: Iraq resolution 'emboldens' enemy

[sabra]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/4502595.html

Gates: Iraq resolution 'emboldens' enemy

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Roberts Gates said Friday that a congressional resolution opposing President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq amounts to undercutting U.S. commanders in a way that "emboldens the enemy."

At his first Pentagon news conference since taking office, Gates was asked his reaction to the debate in Congress over the effect of such a nonbinding resolution. "It's pretty clear that a resolution that in effect says that the general going out to take command of the arena shouldn't have the resources he thinks he needs to be successful certainly emboldens the enemy and our adversaries," he said.

...

"I think it's hard to measure that with any precision, but it seems pretty straightforward that any indication of flagging will in the United States gives encouragement to those folks," Gates said, referring to the anti-government forces in Baghdad. He added that he was certain this was not the intent of those who support the congressional resolution.

"But that's the effect," he said.

[iconoclastic cat]

What next, charging Congress with treason? nt

[liberal N proud]

24. I wouldn't put anything past the regime.

The only thing that is emboldening the enemy is bu$h's SURGE!

[atreides1]

1. Look it's Howdy Doody Gates

And Cowboy Rummy is making his lips move.

[Fresh_Start]

2. nothing emboldens enemy more than incompently running war

Gates, why don't you admit that?

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Hell, our enemies (whoever they may be) must be the most emboldened people on

earth by now. I'm so sick of that stupid statement every time someone does anything this POS administration doesn't like!

[tridim]

9. BushCo is enemy #1

and from what I gather they are indeed inexplicably emboldened by the resolution. It makes no sense.

[Amonester]

4. Gates has ear-plugs and Rumsferatu's telling him what to say...

from his "new" bureau.

[saigon68]

5. Another Bootlick

When the next young man is blown to bits

I dare this Bootlick to face his mother and tell her her son died for more than Corporate Profits

The Bootlick won't have to wait long either, maybe 10-12 hours, give or take

[Tempest]

6. What about the generals in Iraq Bush recently fired?

They didn't support the escalation.

Is Gates willing to come out and accuse the generals who were conducting the Iraq war for the last 4 years of emboldening the enemy?

[BlueStater]

23. Good point

The majority of the country opposes this dumbass "plan".

So according to these nuts, most Americans are now helping the terrorists.

[bdamomma]

7. this is such BS, bush has embolden the enemies, he should

know they learned from him.

[LonelyLRLiberal]

8. I am so sick of this idiotic line.

It is so ridiculous and so OLD.

[DavidDvorkin]

10. Impeach and remove the motherfucker

God damn it, Parliamentary power over the King's ministers was long in coming, and it was a hard battle. America's Founding Fathers deliberately included the result of that battle in our Constitution so that we wouldn't have fight for it all over again on this side of the ocean.

If Congress doesn't start exercising that power now, then it will be lost.

[coalition_unwilling]

11. Here's what really emboldens the enemy . . . an illegal invasion

predicated on lies followed by a brutal occupation designed to enrich U.S. corporations at the expense of the resources and welfare of Iraq.

[Buzz Clik]

12. The "enemy" watches C-SPAN. Hell, I don't watch C-SPAN.

The "enemy" seem pretty bold anyway.

[gratuitous]

13. No, knocking down helicopters emboldens the enemy

As does taking soldiers hostage and killing them at leisure and then hearing the military peddle some nonsense about a firefight. The enemy is also emboldened by random cliches spouted by know-nothing administration officials, because they know that their actions aren't being analyzed or plotted against. The enemy also gets better when the "surge" turns out to be a mere trickle of new arrivals, easy to absorb into the plans already laid.

And then the next shipment of arms arrives, "obsolete" weapons dumped on the market by good old Uncle Sam, so that some arms dealer can make another cool million. That emboldens the enemy, too.

[VWolf]

14. ... oh yeah, and "bring 'em on" sorta emboldens them too nt

[gratuitous]

16. Yeah, it's just a partial list

After I posted, I thought of several other things that embolden the enemy, and taunts from the Commander in Chief was one of them.

[truthisfreedom]

15. More targets emboldens the enemy. Watching us continue to screw up emboldens the enemy.

Watching bushco remain in charge, making the once-great United States look like foolish bullies emboldens the enemy.

The phrase blew a fuse the first time cheney used it against any and all people who oppose his march towards more death and destruction.

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. No Mr Gates

It's bull crap like this that emboldens the enemy.

[frylock]

18. get some new material..

yawn.

[Raydawg1234]

19. Let Him talk..............he can't change a fucking thing...........asshat

[ShortnFiery]

20. Gates is Bush's STOOGE. Please tell me you're you surprised? n/t

[Kagemusha]

21. Did he HAVE to use the word "flagging"?...

Is everything a penis metaphor to these people?

...Wait, don't answer that.

[BlueStater]

22. Looks like Gates is another moron

EVERYTHING emboldens the "enemy" to these people. And how the hell do they know what the "enemy" thinks anyway?

[ShortnFiery]

25. Don't forget these warmongers in the Executive Branch despise

all things peace or diplomacy oriented because they interpret such behavior as FEMININE. :scared:

I get an impression of profoundly homophobic men who think that by always using sports or sex related terminology, it boosts their testosterone and virility, i.e., yeah <snort> I'm one bad a** MF because I talk tough.

If they only knew that their blustering rhetoric comes across as uncivilized and uncouth with homo-erotic undertones in "war glory" posturing. That is, they come across as opposite of what they are so damn fearful of ... it makes no sense, but is no less deadly for America's enemies (as defined by "The Decider" - King George).

[samsingh]

26. i think an inept Commander in Chief emboldens

them more than anything any of us could ever do.

[modrepub]

27. No Mr. Gates

Your incompetence emboldens the enemy. Despite having the greatest army in the world, spending half a trillion dollars, and having almost four years to do it Iraq has yet to become a "beacon of democracy" we've all been assured that it would become. The only beacon Iraq has become as a beacon for terrorists.

Now you've upped the ante. I for one have no confidence given your track record. If my pointing out these facts sticks in your craw bad enough for you to denigrate me by accusing me a "comfort to the enemy" so be it. I'm not in control, you are. Go ahead Mr. Gates, in the spirit of "Bring 'em on" I say to you, "Prove me wrong". Prove to me your man enough to meet the challenge. If you can't get things straightened out in six months, resign. And when I say "straightened out" I mean stabilized enough so you can make an official state visit (to Iraq) without have to sneak around unannounced and hidden like a rat in an alley.

What say you? Do we have a deal?

[pinniped]

28. They were 'emboldened' when asshole's war first started....

and it will continue, regardless.

[mariema]

29. How much more emboldened can they get?

They seem to be doing just about what they want, when they want, where they want. And because this administration has screwed up so badly, there isn't much we can do about it.

I get so tired of hearing this crap!

[MGKrebs]

30. You mean the 80% of Iraqis who want us out? That enemy?

Just askin'.

[sakabatou]

31. Thinking with a conscience emboldens the enemy

Yeesh -_-

[LynnTheDem]

32. Gates is a TRAITOR.

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
-Theodore Roosevelt

And a MFing lying asshole.

Just like his boss.

[fujiyama]

33. So much for being in touch with reality

He's just another fucking hack.

[DeepModem Mom]

34. WP: Defense Secretary Gates Working to Accelerate Deployment to Iraq

Gates Working to Accelerate Deployment
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 27, 2007; Page A14

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday that he was working to accelerate the deployment of 21,500 additional U.S. troops to Iraq, suggesting that the influx of American troops is no longer contingent upon the Iraqi government fulfilling its commitments for Baghdad security operations.

Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus, confirmed yesterday by the Senate as the senior U.S. commander in Iraq, testified this week that he needs all of the troops -- and possibly more -- for the mission to quell sectarian violence in Baghdad. "As long as he feels he needs them, they're all going to flow," Gates told reporters at his first Pentagon news conference.

"We are going to see if the timetable for the dispatch of the brigades can be accelerated," Gates said, although he added that logistical hurdles may prevent speeding up the movement for all or some of the troops.

The U.S. troop increases now underway in both Iraq and Afghanistan reflect a deliberate effort to "create an environment in which the commanders feel open to requesting what they think they need," Gates said, suggesting that in the past U.S. commanders have not felt comfortable asking for reinforcements. Still, he said, "there is no blank check," and requests for more troops will be vetted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff before being presented to him and President Bush for a decision....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012601208.html

[Merrill]

35. Bush secret surge

“Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army.”

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/26/1559232

"A second task we can take on together is to design and establish a volunteer civilian reserve corps. Such a corps would function much like our military reserve. It would ease the burden on the Armed Forces by allowing us to hire civilians with critical skills to serve on missions abroad when America needs them." Pres. Bush

The Bush constant surge runs through the labor department?

[DeepModem Mom]

36. Thanks for your post, Merrill -- and welcome to DU!

[IndianaGreen]

37. Gates was a willing lapdog for the Reagan ideologues when he was at CIA

I see that our old boy hasn't changed one iota. I expect him to be an enthusiastic cheerleader for Bush's delusional war games.

Who voted to confirm this turkey, and why didn't the Senate consider his track record at CIA?

[Fovea]

38. I have a question Mr. Gates

Does the resolution encourage the insurgents more, or less than the deciderer's so called stratergery?

It seems to me that once the enemy starts blowing the muktuk out of you, not changing tactics and strategy when you are painted into that sort of corner is EXACTLY when stay the course warms the hearts of the enemy most.

But even better than that is when your enemy replaces a tactic that is merely stupid with one that is suicidal. If you are an insurgent, you smile all day long.

[confludemocrat]

39. Another thread title here is about Bush calling D SOTU response "reflexive" and

out of the other side of their collective mouths is this gem of a Bush admin knee jerk: the Iraq war resolution "emboldens the enemy" Now that's so original.