Political Ruminations

Romney Inserts Scary Foot in Foreign Policy

Yesterday, 4 Americans were killed in the attack on the American embassy in Libya. The GOP’s presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, released a statement in which he implied that the president is a terrorist sympathizer:

“ I'm outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. It's disgraceful that the Obama Administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks. ”

Of course, it isn’t true and Mitt Romney, the Lying Liar, should never have said such a thing, emphasis mine:

The assertion that the administration sympathized with attackers was derived from a statement by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo — before the compound was breached — criticizing an anti-Muslim film that "hurt the religious feelings" of others. Even after coming under attack, the Embassy spent much of the day defending and reasserting the statement on Twitter.

Bob Cesca on the event and the  aftermath:

Romney, in his haste, attacked the president and a U.S. Embassy in Cairo statement about a crappy anti-Islamic movie released in the United States. Romney said the embassy statement apologized for America and implied that it was issued following the deadly attack and killing of four U.S. diplomats in Libya, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. In fact, the statement was released before the killings and the statement didn’t apologize for America or American values and, instead, literally defended American values.

Worse, Romney rushed to score political points on the attack before having all of the facts.

Romney said, “The embassy in Cairo put out a statement after their grounds had been breached, protesters were inside the grounds. They reiterated that statement after the breach. I think it’s a — a terrible course for America to stand in apology for our values.” [….]

That’s simply not the case. And this kind of response it utterly baffling, especially given the lack of information regarding why the Libya attack occurred. Officials believe the Libya attack, unlike the movie-related attacks in Cairo, were motivated by revenge for the killing of a member of al-Qaeda.

“It’s bad,” said a former aide to Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. “Just on a factual level that the statement was not a response but preceding, or one could make the case precipitating. And just calling it a ‘disgrace’ doesn’t really cut it. Not ready for prime time.”

A third Republican, a former Bush State Department official, told BuzzFeed, “It wasn’t presidential of Romney to go political immediately — a tragedy of this magnitude should be something the nation collectively grieves before politics enters the conversation.”

Continue reading Cesca’s post….

UPDATE: 

A Timeline Of The Attacks In Libya And Egypt — And The Responses

How George W. Bush Failed to Prevent 9/11

Via Bob Cesca, The New York Times has a new report out which details the failures of the George W. Bush Administration to take action which could have prevented the al Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001, emphasis mine:

The direct warnings to Mr. Bush about the possibility of a Qaeda attack began in the spring of 2001. By May 1, the Central Intelligence Agency told the White House of a report that “a group presently in the United States” was planning a terrorist operation. Weeks later, on June 22, the daily brief reported that Qaeda strikes could be “imminent,” although intelligence suggested the time frame was flexible.

But some in the administration considered the warning to be just bluster. An intelligence official and a member of the Bush administration both told me in interviews that the neoconservative leaders who had recently assumed power at the Pentagon were warning the White House that the C.I.A. had been fooled; according to this theory, Bin Laden was merely pretending to be planning an attack to distract the administration from Saddam Hussein, whom the neoconservatives saw as a greater threat. Intelligence officials, these sources said, protested that the idea of Bin Laden, an Islamic fundamentalist, conspiring with Mr. Hussein, an Iraqi secularist, was ridiculous, but the neoconservatives’ suspicions were nevertheless carrying the day.

In response, the C.I.A. prepared an analysis that all but pleaded with the White House to accept that the danger from Bin Laden was real. [...]

And the C.I.A. repeated the warnings in the briefs that followed. Operatives connected to Bin Laden, one reported on June 29, expected the planned near-term attacks to have “dramatic consequences,” including major casualties. On July 1, the brief stated that the operation had been delayed, but “will occur soon.” Some of the briefs again reminded Mr. Bush that the attack timing was flexible, and that, despite any perceived delay, the planned assault was on track.

Yet, the White House failed to take significant action. Officials at the Counterterrorism Center of the C.I.A. grew apoplectic. On July 9, at a meeting of the counterterrorism group, one official suggested that the staff put in for a transfer so that somebody else would be responsible when the attack took place, two people who were there told me in interviews. The suggestion was batted down, they said, because there would be no time to train anyone else. […..]

Documents From bin Laden Compound Released

According to the Washington Post, a series of documents recovered from the bin Laden compound  has been released to the public:

Newly released documents recovered from the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed show that al-Qaeda’s leaders were frustrated in their efforts to manage an emerging group of distant affiliates that showed little discipline or willingness to take direction.

The letters include chilling admonitions to remain focused on killing Americans, cast doubt on suspicions that the governments of Pakistan and Iran collaborated with the terrorist group, and reveal bin Laden’s suspicions about a U.S.-born cleric who was rising through the ranks of al-Qaeda’s group in Yemen.

The documents declassified by the Obama administration represent only a small fraction of the trove of material recovered in the bin Laden raid, a sample that could sow discord within the terrorist network. But the files also provide an intriguing, up-close glimpse into the aging al-Qaeda founder’s thoughts as his life neared its end.

“Our strength is limited,” bin Laden wrote in a 2010 letter that compares the United States to a tree with branches that project across the world. “So our best way to cut the tree is to concentrate on sawing the trunk.”

You can view the documents here.

Morning Quote: Mitt Romney in 2008

“If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and frankly I’d be making it easier for Senator Clinton or Obama to win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.”

- Mitt Romney at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 2008, as he discontinued his presidential campaign, and suggested that a vote for a Democrat is a “surrender to terror”.

Via Bob Cesca

Quote of the Day

“We are not fighting a war on terrorism. Terrorism is a tactic. We're fighting a war against radical Islam.”

- Rick Santorum calls the war on terrorism, the war against “radical Islam” during the November 22, 2011 GOP debate in Washington D.C..

Morning Quote: Barack Obama

“Waterboarding is torture. It’s contrary to America’s traditions. It’s contrary to our ideals. That’s not who we are. That’s not how we operate. We don’t need it in order to prosecute the war on terrorism. And we did the right thing by ending that practice. If we want to lead around the world, part of our leadership is setting a good example. And anybody who has actually read about and understands the practice of waterboarding would say that that is torture. And that's not something we do -- period.”

- President Barack Obama, again speaks out against waterboarding at a press conference in Hawaii on Nov. 14, 2011.

A Matter of Disunity

My rambling thoughts this morning, on the ten-year anniversary of September 11, 2001.

The events of  that day changed my life forever, and not in a good way. For me, it was the beginning of an unraveling.

On that day in 2001, my son stayed home from school with a bad cold. As we watched Good Morning America, Charlie Gibson announced the events as the first and second planes hit the WTC. My most vibrant memories from that time were my shock when the second plane hit,  realizing then that we were under attack, and later, the images of people jumping from the towers.

I stayed glued to the television for days, the voices of Peter Jennings, and Ted Koppel both informing and soothing me during that time. I grieved not only for the people who died, but for an entire way of life that I knew had been lost.

On September 12, I, a life-long Democrat, a bleeding heart Liberal, in the spirit of unity that was so prevalent in those days, swore fealty to the man I had become fond of mocking, and hated for his theft of the presidency, George W. Bush. That lasted until Iraq.

Today, I sit with the memories of that time, and I know, deep in my heart, that if it were to happen today, there would be no unity in America.

Stupid Quote of the Week

And unsurprisingly, it comes from Fox News’ Eric Bolling, emphasis mine:

“Whether [the Bush administration] did or didn’t [find the WMDs], America was certainly safe between 2000 and 2008. I don’t remember any terrorist attacks on American soil during that period of time.”

Morning Quote: Leon Panetta

Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta:

“I was convinced in my capacity, and I’m convinced in this capacity, that we’re within reach of strategically defeating Al Qaeda.”

Via

Morning Quote: George W. Bush

Quotes by former President George W. Bush from Sept. 13, 2001 through March 13, 2002 regarding his intent toward Osama bin Laden:

Two days after the 9/11 attacks, on Sept. 13, 2001, George W. Bush said:

 “The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him.” source

Five days after the 9/11 attacks, on Sept. 16, 2001, George W. Bush said:

“My administration has a job to do and we're going to do it. We will rid the world of the evil-doers.” source

Three months after the 9/11 attacks, on Dec. 14, 2001, George W. Bush said:

Al Qaeda Confirms bin Laden Death & More bin Laden Death Updates

According to CNN, Al Qaeda confirmed bin Laden’s death today via a statement on jihadist forums. The content of the statement, which predictably included a threat against Americans, via CNN:

"We will not deviate from that or change until Allah judges between us and between our enemy with truth. Indeed, He is the best of all judges. Nothing will harm us after that, until we see either victory and success and conquest and empowerment, or we die trying."

It said that Americans "will never enjoy security until our people in Palestine enjoy it."

"The soldiers of Islam, groups and individuals, will continue planning without tiredness or boredom, and without despair or surrender, and without weakness or stagnancy, until they cause the disaster that makes children look like the elderly!"

It urged Pakistanis "to cleanse this shame that has been attached to them by a clique of traitors and thieves" and "from the filth of the Americans who spread corruption in it."

Debunking Right-Wing Memes Regarding the Death of Osama bin Laden - Act 1

Since yesterday, the most ubiquitous right-wing meme on the web regarding the death of Osama bin Laden has been the one were, in a nutshell, “Bush deserves the credit. The information came from a Guantanamo detainee who was tortured. This is Bush’s achievement.” (Please also note how unashamed they are to claim the “credit” for the use of torture.) Think Progress:

Bush loyalists have been “irked” over the past 24 hours that they are not getting credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden, arguing that their torture program helped bring about intelligence that led to the mission. Karl Rove said “the tools that President Bush put into place –- GITMO, rendition, enhanced interrogation” led to the successful operation. Similarly, former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said the mission “rested heavily on some of those controversial policies” from the Bush era.

In large part, this came up due to a report by The New York Times yesterday that the information came from a Guantanamo detainee:

Morning Quote: Barack Obama

Quotes from President Barack Obama ranging from 2008 to 2011 on his intent to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden:

Obama in 2008: "And if we have Osama bin Laden in our sights and the Pakistani government is unable or unwilling to take them out, then I think that we have to act and we will take them out. We will kill bin Laden; we will crush Al Qaeda. That has to be our biggest national security priority."

Obama in 2009: "My preference, obviously, will be to capture or kill him."

Obama in 2010: "Capturing or killing bin Laden and Zawahri would be extremely important to our national security."

Obama in 2011: "I authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice."

Obama in 2011: "Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children."

Adding…..the links for the 2 2011 quotes lead to the same article.

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RELATED POSTS:

~ Video & Text Transcript: President Obama Announces Death of Bin Laden

~ Video and Text Transcript: Obama’s Promise to Kill Bin Laden in 2008

Video and Text Transcript: Obama’s Promise to Kill Bin Laden in 2008

Then Sen. Obama nails McCain in this debate on October 7, 2008. The relevant portion is bolded in the text below.

Watch:

BROKAW: Sen. McCain, thank you very much.

Next question for Sen. Obama, it comes from the F section and is from Katie Hamm (ph). Katie?

QUESTION: Should the United States respect Pakistani sovereignty and not pursue al Qaeda terrorists who maintain bases there, or should we ignore their borders and pursue our enemies like we did in Cambodia during the Vietnam War?

Video & Text Transcript: President Obama Announces Death of Bin Laden

In 2008 during a debate with John McCain, President Obama said he would find Bin Laden and kill him. Now, he has done just that.

Watch:

Justice at last. Well done, sir, well done.

TRANSCRIPT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S REMARKS ON THE DEATH OF BIN LADEN