&uotFirst reported by The Politico, denied by the Kossacks, and now confirmed by Harry Pelosi- but he supports the troops! http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,282632,00.html [rquoter]Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Calls Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace 'Incompetent' Thursday , June 14, 2007 WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid confirmed Thursday that he told liberal bloggers last week that he thinks outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Peter Pace is "incompetent." Reid also disparaged Army Gen. David Petraeus, head of Multinational Forces in Iraq. But Reid, whose comments to bloggers first appeared in The Politico, also told reporters: "I think we should just drop it." Reid's admission came as reporters peppered him with questions about Pace and Petraeus, overshadowing a Capitol Hill press conference designed to highlight Democratic attempts to improve fuel economy and energy efficiency. Reid said he told Pace face-to-face recently that he had performed poorly as an adviser on the conduct of the Iraq war. "I believe that General Pace would not be if he had come forward to be reappointed the chairman of the Joints Chiefs. It wouldn't have happened and I'm not going to get into what I said or didn't say. There is a long list of people including Senators (Carl) Levin and (Jack) Reed and others who have talked about General Pace long before I did. I think we should just drop it. The fact is, he's not going to be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, for which I'm happy," Reid said. Asked if Reid considered Petraeus incompetent, Reid responded, "Not as far as I'm concerned." Reid ripped Petraeus for an interview published in Thursday's USA Today describing progress in Iraq. "I have high regard for General Petraeus. When I was in Iraq, he was responsible for training the Iraqi troops. He told us it was going great. As we've looked back, it didn't go so well," Reid said. "I was a little disappointed, to say the least, today reading USA Today newspaper, where he's saying things are going fine, kids are playing soccer. The truth is, you look at another newspaper and look at a different page of USA Today, the bloodiest three months of the war has been since the surge took place," Reid said. Prior to Reid's remarks, White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters that he hoped what he had read about Reid is "not true, because in a time of war, for a leader of a party that says its supports the military, it seems outrageous to be issuing slanders toward the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and also the man that is responsible for the bulk of military operations in Iraq. "Indeed, Senator Reid has at some point declared the war lost and also has declared the surge a failure, even though it has not yet been fully enacted," Snow said, adding that Reid should apologize. Snow said Bush had decided not to reappoint Pace, not because of mistrust over the handling of the war, but so as to avoid a ;spectacle" on Capitol Hill. "What they decided to do was to spare the general and also the American public the kind of spectacle that I think in some ways explains the low esteem with which people regard the entire political class in Washington, especially Congress," Snow said. "I think the president has constantly stood up for General Pace, and has also made it clear that he values his 40 years of service to this country," Snow added. The decision not to reappoint Pace to a second term was based not only on Democratic objections to the chairman but to Republican desires to avoid a fight on Capitol Hill, FOX News learned Thursday. Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member John Warner, R-Va., revealed that he and fellow committee Republicans had conveyed to Defense Secretary Robert Gates that Pace would be too easy a target for Democrats to rehash past mistakes and issues regarding the Iraq war. "I made it clear that it was the president's decision. I had worked successfully with Pace," Warner said. "But I supported the secretary's conclusion that we have to look forward and not go back over and over the issues of the past, like WMD and the like," Warner said of the fight over the weapons of mass destruction. "The secretary made a tough but wise decision," Warner said. Bush has nominated Adm. Mike Mullen to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Gen. James E. Cartwright, currently the commander of the Strategic Command, was nominated as vice chairman. Cartwright would succeed Adm. Ed Giambastiani, who is retiring in part because the chairman and vice chairman generally come from different branches of the Armed Services.[/rquoter]
Now baghdad basso is resorting to bald-faced lies in his headlines. It must be soul-crushing to have been so utterly wrong with regard to everything he has ever stated or believed about the Iraq quagmire. I guess when those lacking in character and integrity are faced with such failure they must resort to total fabrications in order to sway the two-thirds of the country that now oppose them and their failed policies. Then again, when you value party over country, this is what you get. They'll hop on-board any anti-"liberal" bandwagon they can find going sofar as to rush into the blood-soaked arms of an avowed friend of the Mahdi Army like former INC POS, Nibras Kazimi. For the record, according to the article, Reid never calls Patreaus (for whom he declares he has "high regard") incompetent. This is a vile lie straight from baghdad basso's small, misshappen head. Further, there is no denial of the statements by anybody. Another total fabrication by verifiable plagiarist, baghdad basso. As far as Pace is concerned, Reid simply refuses to be as PC as the president and GOP leadership whose actions speak louder than Reid's words ever could. If they believe he's competent, he wouldn't be on his way out the door, especially during a time of war. The fact that both the president and GOP leadership cling to a zero like Gonzo while they sell out Pace speaks VOLUMES as to their opinion of him especially when, as baghdad basso constantly reminds us, we are at war.
Yet another sad attempt at comedy by baghdad basso. If he were half as funny as he thinks he is, he'd be twice as funny as he actually is. Remember when he thought iRaq was the absolute height of comedy? "Like iPod!!! Get it?!!" [edit] BTW if Pace isn't incompetent, why is he being replaced?[/QUOTE] Exactly.
There are two possible answers to that question. 1. Either the Republicans are big p*****s, who are caving to political pressure from the Democrats and replacing a General that they think is competent. 2. Or the Republicans are lying through their teeth and also consider Pace incompetent. Either is possible, but I lean towards #2.
Translation: We don't want any more congressional hearings about how we ****ed up Iraq and how much the American people want the war to end.
Hum.... Gen. Pace says he was forced out. “In his first public comments on the Bush administration’s surprise decision to replace him as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Peter Pace disclosed that he had turned down an offer to voluntarily retire rather than be forced out.” To quit in wartime, he said, would be letting down the troops. “One thing that was discussed was whether or not I should just voluntarily retire and take the issue off the table,” Pace said, according to a transcript released Friday by his office at the Pentagon. “I said I could not do that for one very fundamental reason,” which is that no soldier or Marine in Iraq should “think — ever — that his chairman, whoever that person is, could have stayed in the battle and voluntarily walked off the battlefield. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070615/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq_63;_ylt=AoG9c7bF521CdEG4O40ZMIsE1vAI Sounds like Chimpy, once again, is the one who doesn't support the troops.
it is ugly how some of these career military people get treated by the Civilians in charge. Both sides do it and we all should be ashamed of it.
Baghdad Basso, time to man up and explain the difference between Reid saying Pace is incompetent and Bush saying the same thing with his actions.
I'm with Fred: [rquoter]Well, you've heard by now that Senate leader Harry Reid insulted one of this country's brightest military minds, Marine Corps General Peter Pace -- calling him "incompetent." Let me take a few moments to put this in context. First, Harry Reid voted for the war, like a majority of our legislators. America decided as a nation to free Iraq and the region from Saddam Hussein's tyranny. I have friends, both Democrat and Republican, who questioned the decision at the time, but the Republic made a commitment based on constitutional and democratic procedures. So they are now a hundred percent committed to moving forward in a way that’s best for our country. None of them, by the way, believe surrendering to the forces of terror in Iraq is what's best for our country. Harry Reid, though, has taken a different route. He made his statement about General Pace on a conference call with fringe elements of the blogosphere who think we're the bad guys. This is a place where even those who think the 9/11 attacks were an inside job find a home. And why shouldn't they think that? Reid has led the attack on the administration, with Nancy Pelosi, charging it lied and tricked America into supporting the war. Ignoring multiple hearings and investigations into pre-war intelligence findings that have debunked this paranoid myth, they accuse an entire administration of conspiracy to trick us into a war. I suppose that's easier for some than admitting that they've flip flopped -- but the fact that Reid says this sinister Republican plot is going to help him elect more Democrats ought to be raising a few flags. Saying General Pace is incompetent doesn't even rank near the top of his bizarre statements. How could anyone possibly believe, as Reid charges, that our commanding general in Iraq, David Petraeus, is out of touch with what's going on. Surely someone in Reid's position would know that Petraeus is briefed daily on all aspects of Iraq -- from civil to military. Surely he has to know that Petraeus is a true warrior scholar who literally wrote the Army's book on counterinsurgency warfare. But Reid's comments are not meant for logical analysis. He proclaimed the war lost some time ago, and the surge as a failure even before the additional troops were on the ground. The problem is that every one of Reid's comments I've noted here has also been reported gleefully by Al Jazeera and other anti-American media. Whether he means to or not, he’s encouraging our enemies to believe that they are winning the critical war of will.[/rquoter]
I hope you aren't as ignorant as Fred is though. Al Jazeera is from an Arab perspective, but not necessarily anti-American. Reid's words surely didn't speak as loudly as Bush's forcing him out of the job. Which says louder than anything Reid has spoken about the feeling of Pace's competence. As far as Reid calling the surge a failure, it turns out he was right. Maybe the guy has some real foresight that this administration is lacking.
Here's How Fringe I Am, Fred Thompson Did you know that former Senator and maybe, kinda, sorta Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson has his own column on the ABC Radio Network's web site? Neither did I until someone pointed out to me that he had written a piece bashing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) for calling incompetent people in the Bush administration, well, incompetent. And while it's standard fare for Republicans who have nothing whatsoever to offer America to attack Democrats for voicing loud opposition to their destructive policies, a little passage by Thompson describing a recent Reid conference call with Progressive bloggers really struck a chord with me. Here's Fred: Well, I was on that conference call, and based on what I know of the other participants, I suspect they lead much the same kind of life that I do. I never knew I was a "fringe element" in American society, but when I look at a snapshot of my nefarious activities over the last week or so, I know in my heart that Freddie must be right. Here's just a taste of what this middle-aged, suburban husband and father did to undermine our national values over the past seven days: Attended my son's middle-school orientation. He's "graduating" from elementary school this Thursday -- though, oddly enough, exhibiting few signs of being a "fringe element" despite having me for a father -- and on that day, our lunatic activities will center around taking many pictures of him and his friends and going for ice cream afterwards. I personally plan on ordering the Cookies and Communist Crunch. Volunteered at a local community clean-up effort to rid our town of the trash spawned by a predominantly-Democratic community that clearly hates America. Went to weenie roast afterwards… Put catsup on my hotdog to show how much I despise American values. Went to son's Cub Scout meeting. My wife is the town's Cub Master and spends hours of her time on volunteer activities and team-building with the kids. She's another of the "fringe element" of which Fred Thompson speaks. Mowed the lawn. Drank two beers while I did it -- my favorite, Tree-Hugger Pale Ale. Took my son to the driving range with me. While we whacked golf balls, we discussed our lack of family values and my little boy stunned me with this question: "Dad, why haven't you been divorced a bunch of times like Fred Thompson and the other Republican presidential candidates?" "Now son," I said. "Senator Thompson's only been divorced once. You're thinking of Rudy Giuliani or Newt Gingrich." Celebrated Shabbat on Friday night with wife, son and in-laws. Had nice dinner while planning family vacation and plotting overthrow of Federal government. Had family movie night at home and watched the always-subversive 'Karate Kid' with my son. Went shopping for son's birthday presents. Had a hard time deciding between memberships in the ACLU and the Sierra Club or a SpongeBob SquarePants alarm clock. So that's about it. I only regret that we didn’t have time to burn an American flag this week. But I feel better having spilled all of that and I urge the other people who were on the Reid conference call last week to do the same. The only way we can truly confront being the wacko, zany, "fringe elements" that we are is to admit the lives we lead that so undermine Fred Thompson's vision of America. Oh, by the way, I'm also a military Veteran who served my country when called. And Fred Thompson? Well, he did do hard time at sea in The Hunt For Red October. http://bobgeiger.blogspot.com/2007/06/heres-how-fringe-i-am-fred-thompson.html
how can it already be a failure if the full complement of troops only arrived last week? sounds like a pre-emptive failure strike on the part of our nancy boy.
It can already be a failure because every assessment of it up to this point has deemed it unsuccessful, and Bush himself has already backed off of knowing about it by September, which is another sign leading to it being a failure. In addition we can look at the past few times this administration tried nearly identical surges, and that none of those were successful either.
