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Mark Steyn: Learning the rules of an unengaged president (What do McChrystal and BP have in common?)
Steyn Online ^ | Jun 25, 2010 | Mark Steyn

Posted on 06/25/2010 2:18:48 PM PDT by xzins

If finding Obama "not engaged," as Gen. McChrystal did, is now a firing offense, who among us is safe?

What do Gen. McChrystal and British Petroleum have in common? Aside from the fact that they're both Democratic Party supporters.

Or they were. Stanley McChrystal is a liberal who voted for Obama and banned Fox News from his HQ TV. Which may at least partly explain how he became the first U.S. general to be lost in combat while giving an interview to Rolling Stone: They'll be studying that one in war colleges around the world for decades. The management of BP were unable to vote for Obama, being, as we now know, the most sinister duplicitous bunch of shifty Brits to pitch up offshore since the War of 1812. But, in their "Beyond Petroleum" marketing and beyond, they signed on to every modish nostrum of the eco-Left. Their recently retired chairman, Lord Browne, was one of the most prominent promoters of cap-and-trade. BP was the Democrats' favorite oil company. They were to Obama what Total Fina Elf was to Saddam.

But what do McChrystal's and BP's defenestration tell us about the president of the United States? Barack Obama is a thin-skinned man and, according to Britain's Daily Telegraph, White House aides indicated that what angered the president most about the Rolling Stone piece was "a McChrystal aide saying that McChrystal had thought that Obama was not engaged when they first met last year." If finding Obama "not engaged" is now a firing offense, who among us is safe?

...Well, that's certainly ugly, but is it the truth? Afghanistan, you'll recall, was supposed to be the Democrats' war, the one they allegedly supported, the one the neocons' Iraq adventure was an unnecessary distraction from.

(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: marksteyn; mcchrystal; narcissism; narcissist; obama; roe; steyn
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It's hard to fight a war without war aims, and, in the end, they can only come from the top. It took the oil spill to alert Americans to the unengaged president. From Moscow to Tehran to the caves of Waziristan, our enemies got the message a lot earlier – and long ago figured out the rules of unengagement.
1 posted on 06/25/2010 2:18:53 PM PDT by xzins
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To: xzins

Unengaged!
Guy spent 40 minutes with BP and McChrystal in the same time period spent over 31 hours golfing.


2 posted on 06/25/2010 2:23:25 PM PDT by omega4179 (www.jdforsenate.com)
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To: xzins

HTF does a career special ops guy get fooled into voting for Obama?


3 posted on 06/25/2010 2:25:26 PM PDT by ryan71 (Let's Roll!)
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To: xzins

“Stanley McChrystal is a liberal who voted for Obama and banned Fox News from his HQ TV. Which may at least partly explain how he became the first U.S. general to be lost in combat while giving an interview to Rolling Stone: They’ll be studying that one in war colleges around the world for decades.”

::::::::::

This is a classic example of Obama’s total lack of loyalty to anyone or anything other than himself and his twisted ideology. Or should I more properly say, the ideology of the Soros Stalinist class, et al, who are using him as the not-so-perfect Manchurian Candidate to serve THEIR agenda.


4 posted on 06/25/2010 2:26:21 PM PDT by EagleUSA
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To: xzins
“Afghanistan, you'll recall, was supposed to be the Democrats’ war, the one they allegedly supported, the one the neocons’ Iraq adventure was an unnecessary distraction from.”

It's now apparent that Iraq ‘distracted’ Al Qaeda and their ilk from Afghanistan. The brilliance of Bush's stratergery is now proven.

5 posted on 06/25/2010 2:28:12 PM PDT by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
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To: xzins

*


6 posted on 06/25/2010 2:29:22 PM PDT by PMAS
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To: ryan71

HTF does a career special ops guy get fooled into voting for Obama?

:::::::::

Been pondering this. There had to be something there -— power, rank, money of sorts. And maybe finally total disgust when he found out that he was fed the standard generic pile of lies. He was not a happy camper near the end for sure.


7 posted on 06/25/2010 2:29:53 PM PDT by EagleUSA
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To: xzins
The president seems to stand foursquare for nothing much.

President Obama stands for his own self interest, nothing more. Again, it's the predictable echo of narcissism.

8 posted on 06/25/2010 2:37:57 PM PDT by FourPeas (God Save America)
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To: USFRIENDINVICTORIA
“It's now apparent that Iraq ‘distracted’ Al Qaeda and their ilk from Afghanistan. The brilliance of Bush's stratergery is now proven.”

Exactly and the Dems took the bait, calling Afghanistan “the right war”. They didn't really want to fight it but they couldn't figure out how to leave it.

9 posted on 06/25/2010 2:41:25 PM PDT by ryan71 (Let's Roll!)
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To: xzins

“...the rules of unengagement.” m Delish...


10 posted on 06/25/2010 2:41:34 PM PDT by ez ("Abashed the Devil stood and felt how awful goodness is." - Milton)
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To: ryan71
HTF does a career special ops guy get fooled into voting for Obama?

McChrystal probably has a love of abortion. The ability to kill one's progeny while still in the womb is a powerful draw for many.

11 posted on 06/25/2010 2:43:01 PM PDT by Yossarian (A pro-life democrat is one who holds out for something in return for his pro-abortion vote.)
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To: EagleUSA; ryan71

Israel’s Ehud Barak suffers from the same affliction. The most reasonable explanation would seen to be that being a skilled and dedicated specops warrior does not guarantee wisdom outside of one’s area of expertise.


12 posted on 06/25/2010 2:44:35 PM PDT by Slings and Arrows (You can't have IngSoc without an Emmanuel Goldstein.)
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To: nnn0jeh

ping


13 posted on 06/25/2010 2:44:58 PM PDT by kalee (The offences we give, we write in the dust; Those we take, we engrave in marble. J Huett 1658)
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To: xzins

Classic Steyn!
“...Which may at least partly explain how he became the first U.S. general to be lost in combat while giving an interview to Rolling Stone: They’ll be studying that one in war colleges around the world for decades. “


14 posted on 06/25/2010 2:50:40 PM PDT by ransomnote
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To: USFRIENDINVICTORIA
It's now apparent that Iraq ‘distracted’ Al Qaeda and their ilk from Afghanistan. The brilliance of Bush's stratergery is now proven.

It would only be brilliant if it also led to a victory in Afghanistan. And the overriding issue remains: when you win Iraq (as we now have), the distraction for Al Qaeda ends.

Let's face it: Between the terrain, the poverty, and the sympathetic nuclear neighbor, Afghanistan is a tough place to fight. Obama is exactly the wrong guy to try to win it, but he's in office, and we have to win it. So go with God, General Petraeus!

15 posted on 06/25/2010 2:50:56 PM PDT by Yossarian (A pro-life democrat is one who holds out for something in return for his pro-abortion vote.)
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To: Slings and Arrows
“a skilled and dedicated specops warrior does not guarantee wisdom outside of one’s area of expertise.”

A guy like that can't spot a bull$hitter? lol!

Guess that explains why he likes Karzai too.

Michael Yon called McCrystal out months ago. That's why Yon was sent packing.

16 posted on 06/25/2010 2:51:53 PM PDT by ryan71 (Let's Roll!)
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To: ryan71

*shrug* It’s a very human failing.


17 posted on 06/25/2010 3:00:03 PM PDT by Slings and Arrows (You can't have IngSoc without an Emmanuel Goldstein.)
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To: Yossarian
Bush's idea was to deny Al Queda safe haven in Afghanistan. Probably figured we could not “win” it in a reasonable about of time. The brilliance was in realizing that and choosing Iraq where Al Queda were easier to find and kill.
18 posted on 06/25/2010 3:01:53 PM PDT by ryan71 (Let's Roll!)
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To: Slings and Arrows

I’ll go with Rush - mental disorder.


19 posted on 06/25/2010 3:03:24 PM PDT by ryan71 (Let's Roll!)
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To: xzins

hammer... nail... Steyn....


20 posted on 06/25/2010 3:04:24 PM PDT by Gritty (Today the future lies between the certainty of decline and the probability of catastrophe-Mark Steyn)
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