Rumsfeld Resigns

[seckle]

Maybe I'm being naively optimistic but I think the replacement of Rumsfeld w/ Gates will herald a major policy shift in terms of Iraq, and the "war on terror" in general. In other words, the last vestige of a neocon-driven foreign policy has been wiped away w/ Rumsfeld, and replaced w/ the more pragmatic realist Gates. No, Gates is not a saint, but he's also not plagued by the stubborn idealism that handicapped Rumsfeld.

So it's back to the drawing table for the "new American Century"

agreed.

some things i've been thinking about this week.

-diebold, the number one vendor for all the electronic voting machines in our country is owned by a group of texans. lol

-less than 60% of the voting populace voted. we barely won.
as much as i'm a partisan when it comes to party politics, you have to be greatful for independent states like vermont and connectitcut. they saved our asses.

-it's just coincidental that sadaam hussein is sentenced to death on nov 5th, two days before election day. lol. nice try but we saw that for what it was, not for what the spin doctors tried to make it out to be.

-rummy stepping down was in the works for months. the press has battered the DOD for nearly a whole year. it's bush's way of extending an olive branch to the dem's, as well as making it appear that he's actually listening to the american people.

-rummy's not going very far. he's joining the stable of bush senior's cronies as an advisor(kissinger, brezinsky, meese, etcetc). these are all people that have worked with the bush family for decades. they are all people with blood on their hands, and all people that have top NSA/CIA clearance. probably the scariest group of people in the district of columbia period. rummy and cheney are best friends. they have summer houses next to each other for christ sakes.

-the only good thing that's come out of this week is new hope for getting a credible president in the office in 2008.

-everyone should try and watch this or at least see the trailer. big up to hbo.
http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/hackingdemocracy

[parson]

i didn't realize bush grew up here i should pay closer attention

that diebold hacking thing is fucked up though

as for 08, i fear we may have got the pendulum out at full swing presently and it could be headed back in the other direction as of now.

i guess we'll wait and see

[echo wanderer]

It means that the American people want some kinda of change in foreign policy. What that actually translates into we will see. I for one do not expect to see a drastic change concerning foreign policy because the military industrial complex has a stranglehold on our government in relation to foreign policy and military adventurism. Honestly, I do not think there is very much the American people can do about this- no matter how much we would like our foreign policy to change -it probably won't change that much.

The resignation of Rumsfeld was basically a cosmetic gesture- imo . Which was meant to deflect some blame from Bush for the predicament we are in, in Iraq.

Also the legislative agenda will probably swing a bit away from the neocon agenda on the foreign policy front and towards a more nuanced position that includes more compromise and a less aggressive posture militarily (hopefully).

On the domestic front the Democratic party is generally socially liberal compared to the Republican party and they lean towards programs that are "socialist" in nature. Their positions and platform are for the most part analogous to the Labor party's positions in the UK. However they are probably a bit to the right of your Labor party on domestic policy (afaik)

Well said.

Rumsfeld was but one face of many.We still have a lot more to worry about with the likes of Condi.And anyone notice Cheney has been out of the news for a LONG while?Come to think of it,so has Condi.The last I heard from her,she went to N.Korea to piss off Kim Jong II.

Whenever those two disappear,something big happens.Dub-U is right.Rumsfeld resigning is a diversionary tactic to make the American people think that the balance of power has been shifted.Meanwhile,there is a good chance there are some secret activities which may prove more harmful than good.This happens all the time in wartime.And America is notorious for it.

[echo wanderer]

-it's just coincidental that sadaam hussein is sentenced to death on nov 5th, two days before election day. lol. nice try but we saw that for what it was, not for what the spin doctors tried to make it out to be.

-rummy stepping down was in the works for months. the press has battered the DOD for nearly a whole year. it's bush's way of extending an olive branch to the dem's, as well as making it appear that he's actually listening to the american people.

Hahaha!So true...

Yeah...it's just like when the retired generals were trying to get Rumsfeld to resign the last time.Canada had busted 20 suspected Al-Qaida,then right after Britain caught 17 of them.So what hit's the news next?We apparently bombed the #2 Al-Qaida leader,Al-Zarqawi!What a way to restore faith in Rumsfeld.But also,what a joke.Al-Zarqawi was bound to get hit anyway...he was too open.The Bush admin.s' policy is basically "Nobody makes us look bad - NOBODY!!!".

[product]

BUSH 4 LIFE!!!!!!

[numaestro]

Yeah - good. But the guy is absolutely minted!!! Should be in prison

[adruu]

He's an ignorant murderer, and he lives in a house where Frederick Douglass was tortured for fucks sake...What kind of sadistic twit chooses to live in a place called Mount Misery?

Then there is the "Salvador Option" which I dont think America or anyone is ready to deal with...

[frost]

How did I miss this?