Posts with the tag Kristol

Shiver Me Neocons

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:05:12 EST

Shiver Me Neocons

by Jeff Huber @ military.com | December 09, 2008

It was only a matter of time before Long Bill Kristol and his scurvy dogs of war used piracy as an excuse to goad young Mr. Bush into invading one last country before the door hits him. In the December 8 gurgitation of the Weekly Standard, Bill suggests that the best thing young Mr. Bush can do in his final days as commander in chief is send the Marines into Somalia to deep six those pesky buccaneers. Now: if we can't identify and capture pirates while they're plundering ships on the bounding main, I'd like to know how the yo-ho-ho Bill thinks the Marines can tell the pirates from the rest of the poor starving Somalis once they go ashore.

Bill also remarks how Bush can do the nation a service "by reminding Americans of our successes fighting the war on terror." One wonders if Bill is no fooling unaware that terrorists are on the verge of a sparking war between two nuclear powers, or that a congressionally mandated task force has reported that "it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013," or that, according to the respected analysts at the Rand Corporation, Mr. Bush's pursuit of a military-centric counter-terror strategy "has not undermined al Qaeda" and that the terrorist group "has remained a strong and competent organization."

One would hope that given the enormous influence he wields, Bill is at least partially cognizant of the world around him, that he just talks that way because he's a master of Socratic dialectic* who recites gibberish until people agree with him so he shuts up...........

ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,180858,00.html

Kristol Calls On Bush To Pardon Torturers And Wiretappers, Reward Them With Medal Of Freedom

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:20:13 EST

Kristol Calls On Bush To Pardon Torturers And Wiretappers, Reward Them With Medal Of Freedom»

By Faiz Shakir @ thinkprogress.org

In his new Weekly Standard column, right-wing pundit Bill Kristol lays out a to-do list for President Bush before he leaves office. He urges Bush to deliver speeches “reminding Americans of our successes fighting the war on terror.” Kristol dreams, “Over time, Bush might even get deserved credit for effective conduct of the war on terror.”

After urging Bush to fight the incoming administration’s desire to close Guantanamo, Kristol concludes with this:

One last thing: Bush should consider pardoning–and should at least be vociferously praising–everyone who served in good faith in the war on terror, but whose deeds may now be susceptible to demagogic or politically inspired prosecution by some seeking to score political points. The lawyers can work out if such general or specific preemptive pardons are possible; it may be that the best Bush can or should do is to warn publicly against any such harassment or prosecution. But the idea is this: The CIA agents who waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and the NSA officials who listened in on phone calls from Pakistan, should not have to worry about legal bills or public defamation. In fact, Bush might want to give some of these public servants the Medal of Freedom at the same time he bestows the honor on Generals Petraeus and Odierno. They deserve it.

In the Bush era, the Medal of Freedom has come to absurdly represent a reward for those who carried out policy failures at the urging of the Bush administration.............

ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://thinkprogress.org/2008/11/29/kristol-medal-torture/

Bill Kristol says Bush might bomb Iran if he thinks Obama will win

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:05:08 EDT

VIDEO- http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/06/22/draft-kristol-says-bush-might-bomb-iran-if-he-thinks-obama-will-win/

Kristol: I think honestly, if the president felt John McCain were going to be the next president he would think it more appropriate to let the next president make that decision than do it on his way out. I do wonder with Sen. Obama, if president Bush thinks Sen, Obama win does he somehow think that, does he worry that Obama won’t follow through on the policy…

Wallace: So, you’re suggesting that he might in fact, if Obama’s going to win the election, either before or after the election—launch a military strike?

Kristol: I don’t know. I think he would worry about it. On the other hand, you can’t, it’s hard to make foreign policy based on guesses about election results…