Chamblee54

This content was published September 29, 2023. … One thing that I like to do is investigate “things I have always heard”. With google, you can often find the source, and a few things more. This is a repost. … The myth I was chasing was the notion that government officials said our army “will be greeted as liberators” in Iraq. On March 16, 2003, Vice President Dick Cheney was on Meet the Press. MR. RUSSERT: If your analysis is not correct, and we’re not treated as liberators, but as conquerors, and the Iraqis begin to resist, particularly in Baghdad, do you think the American people are prepared for a long, costly, and bloody battle with significant American casualties? …
… VICE PRES. CHENEY: Well, I don’t think it’s likely to unfold that way, Tim, because I really do believe that we will be greeted as liberators. I’ve talked with a lot of Iraqis in the last several months myself, had them to the White House. The president and I have met with them, various groups and individuals, people who have devoted their lives from the outside to trying to change things inside Iraq. And like Kanan Makiya who’s a professor at Brandeis, but an Iraqi, he’s written great books about the subject, knows the country intimately. The read we get on the people of Iraq is there is no question but what they want to the get rid of Saddam Hussein and they will welcome as liberators the United States when we come to do that.” …
… There are a few things to say 22 years later. Why did the Vice President have this much power? The VP is supposed to dedicate buildings and go to funerals. Dick Cheney was clearly a very powerful man, and he was not elected to that job. … Mr. Russert, rest his soul, seems to have gotten one detail wrong. The conquest of Baghdad went smoothly, with relatively few American casualties. It was the occupation that would be “long, costly, and bloody… with significant American casualties.” There probably were many Iraqis who welcomed the change, Clearly, Mr. Hussein had some enemies, and there were some who saw the invasion as liberation. There were others who did not. Players in other countries saw an opportunity to come to Iraq and make trouble. The regime that was changed had many employees, who were bumped out of jobs. “The people of Iraq” were no more a monolithic force, all acting the same way, as the people of America would be if they were invaded. …
… Even if the Americans were “greeted as liberators”, there would be many challenges. The country had no experience in dealing with democracy. The different ethnic groups did not like each other. Sunnis were seen as having been privileged, and many were looking to settle the score. It seems obvious that these problems were not anticipated. There is a debate in The United States about the use of torture. It seems apparent that “enhanced interrogation” was used extensively in Iraq and elsewhere. The use of torture would seem to be an admission that we were not greeted as liberators.
This content was published August 26, 2009. Ted Kennedy died August 25, 2009. … I was not going to talk about Ted Kennedy. The man served for many years in the Senate. There were some unfortunate incidents in his personal life. I am not a moral statistician, and shudder at the thought of judging someone with that many positives and negatives. Ted Kennedy has been in the public eye as long as I have been old enough to pay attention. For years, he was the boogey man of the right wing. If a strawman was ever needed, Ted Kennedy was trotted out. …
… I suspect that many people who were offended by John and Robert Kennedy (especially regarding their support of civil rights for African Americans) took out their anger on Ted Kennedy. The shortcomings in his personal life did not help. Peach Pundit was respectful today. There was a story about an act of kindness by Senator Kennedy to a young law student. The comments had the predictable nasty players, but most showed respect. In an interesting move, rude comments were hidden behind a link. This allows the reader to see what followup comments are talking about. …
… Another blog, JoemyGod, was admiring Senator Kennedy. In the comments, there was the anonymous “Guest” who felt the need to talk about Chappaquiddick. Numerous people took “Guest” to task for this. There were some who felt that negative comments should be deleted. I do not like having comments deleted. Of course, this is the right of a blog owner. Some have an itchy trigger finger, and will delete most of what they don’t like. When you do this, you take away the diversity needed for a lively discussion. The following is a dialog between chamblee54 and “Guest”. Thank you JoemyGod for hosting this discussion. …
… chamblee54- Joe, thank you for allowing the troll comments to remain up. You have the right to delete comments. However, your readers are capable of putting the trolls in their place. Deleting comments is like war and abortion. We should keep the option open, but only use it when absolutely necessary. As for Senator Kennedy, he has been raked over the coals for Chappaquiddick. The right wing has used that incident to great advantage. At the time of the Senators passing, we should speak well of the man.Today, 12:03:55 PM …
… “Guest”- can you speak well of someone like OJ Simpson? Right wing – left wing doesn’t matter. Ted Kennedy killed a young lady with the rest of her life a head of her so he didn’t have to take responsility for his actions. Drinking and Driving is a crime, leaving the scene of an accident is a crime, killing someone while behind the wheel of a vehicle is a crime. How much time did Ted Kennedy spend in jail for his crimes? How much time would a regular American spend in prison for these crimes? Today, 12:31:40 PM …
… chamblee54- If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. This is especially true when a person dies, and his fingernails are still growing. When OJ goes to the Hertz office in the sky, I will have nothing to say. · Today, 12:51:43 PM “Guest”- chamblee54 kennedy has been rightfully raked of the coals for his actions at chapppaquidick, it has nothing to do with right wing or your socialist attitude it has to do with what he did, how he let her die and who was bribed. We should never speak well of any of the kennedy family; bootlegger and other RICO enterprises that allowed the money to flow. Today, 12:56:21 PM … The pictures today are from Georgia State University Library. The social media picture: “Paramount Pictures War Bond Appeal” · selah ©Luther Mckinnon 2025