Posted on 02/23/2008 7:54:08 AM PST by jdm
CY did a great job with this story here. I have just the following to add:
Barack Obama is, quite simply, doing at least one of three things here (and, with credit to Lileks, I fully expect the Left to shut up and reverently honor my acting out of the highest form of patriotism with regard to Mr. Obama and dissenting against him):
(1) He is lying his ArmaniGucci pants off, on purpose.
(2) He is blowing smoke out his fourth point of contact just to be able to appease his base more
(3) He is so mind-blowingly ignorant of the military and its status in the GWOT that he either heard this story and believed it, or thought that nobody less mind-numbingly vacuous and stupid than him would see through it.
Though these options are not mutually exclusive, the two parts of option (3) are the least exclusive of all.
The spinning after the fact makes all the difference in the world to this story, too.
Obama originally said:
They were actually capturing Taliban weapons, because it was easier to get Taliban weapons than it was for them to get properly equipped by our current commander in chief.
Now, in the AP factcheck (never thought I'd be stringing those two words together without a "that never happened" tacked onto the end), the story says:
The captain said, however, that the unit did not go after the Taliban for the purpose of getting their weapons, but sometimes used those weapons when some were captured.
The former -- Obama's original, so-stupid-and-false-that-it's-almost-impossible-to-respond-to story -- is absolutely ridiculous, and is (in keeping with the options listed above) either a bold-faced lie, a made-up story that the teller didn't expected to be called on (and, given that the Left's knowledge of the different types and uses of cannabis typically tends to be vastly superior to its knowledge of anything military or warfare-related, why would he ever expect to be questioned or caught?), or (and this likely goes along with the above two options) a sign of a frightening level of military ignorance on the part of a common citizen -- LET ALONE on the part of a SITTING UNITED STATES SENATOR.
The second version? Believable, for some obvious reasons. See this picture? That's me -- as a journalist, not as an operator -- firing an AK-47 on the shooting range at Patrol Base Olson in Samarra, Iraq. The AK-47 is one of several in the Company Arms Room there. They are not taken out on missions (or, if they ever are, it is because a replacement part is needed in a pinch, and a resupply convoy might not be scheduled to come until later that day or perhaps the next), but are novelty/"cool-guy" weapons taken as the spoils of battle, which are cleaned and taken care of by the Company's soldiers and are fired, for fun, familiarity, and proficiency -- on the Patrol Base firing range. This is a normal activity for combat units.
Now, can anybody here spot the difference between the Obama debate story and the revised, AP-written one? That's right -- the absolute-crap, made-up-to-get-attention, show-of-unbelivable-ignorance Obamariginal story tells of those events in the context of President Bush and SecDef Gates so underequipping soldiers that they have to go capture enemy weapons to fight (no word on how they would do that if they aren't able to be armed themselves due to a lack of supplies -- guess we really do have a force of Rambos in the conventional Army); the AP story makes clear that what this really was was units taking "war trophies" they had earned in combat, and using them for various purposes outside of their official duties, which they performed while using standard-issue, in-stock, plentifully-supplied American weapons, and occasionally using them as spot-replacements for broken gear (imagine that, gear getting broken in war!) while awaiting a regularly-scheduled resupply.
The lying has gotten beyond ridiculous here. It's time for Obama the Messiah-in-Waiting to stop breaking the 9th Commandment, or to officially declare that in the religion for which he serves as Godhead, we can all disregard fact and truth in the name of spinning a good yarn.
After all, it's "for the greater good" -- and it's all about compromise.
When I was at Ft. Ord we did OpFor training, dressing up in Russian uniforms, using Soviet vehicles and weapons. What was impressed on use about the AK 47 was how crude the thing was. It and the ammunition were also heavier than ours. I don’t like carrying heavy stuff.
He’s not stupid, he’s evil.
Just like the rest of his America hating party and the stooges who’ll vote for them.
Or course you are. So much easier to emote and scream slogans then to actually think.
“If everybody's thinking alike, somebody isn't thinking.”
Gen George S Patton.
ALL THREE PLUS MORE.
Lieutenants lead platoons; captains command companies.
“”I’m tired of talk and argument.””
“Or course you are. So much easier to emote and scream slogans then to actually think.
“If everybody’s thinking alike, somebody isn’t thinking.”
Gen George S Patton.”
What does this quote have to do with my call for swift victory? And I am certainly not thinking like most!
Why isn’t Bin Laden’s dead? F Pakistan.
Yep. And that was just the first of the most obvious warning signs that should of triggered the BS detectors
Ok, Attacking your allies, (Pakistan) while ignoring your enemies (Taliban and Iraq) is what is know in Military terms as “a really BAD idea”.
Ignorance is to blame for his and his wife’s latest statements.
He has no clue what the US military is or how is operates in combat. Since the beginning of time soldiers have gathered and sometimes implemented the spoils of war either out of necessity or simply to better understand their enemy.
She is “proud of America for the first time” in her life because on the campaign trail, this is the first time she’s SEEN the real America. Princeton University is not America. Inner-city Chicago is not America.
In their America, of course we need “change”.
“Ok, Attacking your allies, (Pakistan) while ignoring your enemies “
hardly - I want Bin Laden’s head - now!
This is common for most liberals. They are a very sequestered bunch. Their haughty opinions are their reality. Never confuse them with facts or detail.
Oh my how horrible for poor little you. Well how about you simply turn off the tv, turn off the computer and stop worrying about it? It doesn’t effect 99% of you Americans in the least.
You don’t know anyone in the military, and even most of those of you who do, don’t know a single person in combat arms.
Tried of the war? Then just quit worrying about it. Get out of the way and let the sheepdogs do their job.
I figure it's just a matter of time till ABC is out in Anbar looking for insurgents to back up a previous Obamba debate story: that the decrease in violence there is due to the RAT takeover of Congress.
You can imagine the uproar in the MSM if a Republican said something so stupid.
Yeah, and with about 1% of the casualties and property damage of WWII.
Are you trying to make a relevant point?
The Korean War has gone on since 1950. There was only a ceasefire you know.
I don't know if Hussein is stupid (although he's certainly no rocket surgeon) but he is definitely a lying ignoramus.
The Korean War has gone on since 1950. There was only a ceasefire you know.
Not to mention the fact that we're still technically at war with the Seminole indians.
I'll take Rippin' A LIB for $200 Alex...
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