Obama may not have been as dumb as we thought when he picked Biden as his VP. Any possible assassin would have to think about who is next in line to the “throne.” Joe Biden being one of the biggest idiots I’ve seen in Washington in recent memory would be terrifying as President. Obama seems to be evil, but Biden seems to be just plain stupid. Both are undesirable characteristics in a president.
Biden says the “U.S. might disengage from their country (Iraq) if it reverts to sustained violence.” Why does he think the violence level is increasing? Could it be that the Iraqis aren’t ready to take care of themselves, and our precipitous withdrawal is simply giving the terrorists courage to reassert themselves? Could it be that the policies that he and his president espouse are at the root of the resurgence in violence? I spent a year over there, and can tell you for a FACT that the Iraqis are not ready to take care of themselves. There isn’t anyone there older than about 8 years old that can remember life without Saddam Hussein. They don’t yet understand freedom. It will take a generation to achieve what we said we were there to do. How long did it take us to stabilize Japan and Germany after WWII? How long did it take to get them to the point they could defend themselves? Oh, that’s right. They still can’t, and we’re still there.
What Biden is saying exemplifies what our enemies have come to expect of America when liberals are in charge. They expect that if they can just out last us, that if they can bloody our nose, we will cut and run. Sadly we have set that precedent all too often in the last half century. Vietnam, Somalia, Lebanon, and now Iraq soon to be followed by Afghanistan.
Wouldn’t it be nice if Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi decided to runaway together and disappear? Then if Obama were removed from office, we MIGHT be able to find a replacement who wouldn’t try so hard to sell us out.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&sid=aj7jNln6Lo4c
Biden Says Violence May Cause Disengagement From Iraq (Update1)
By Roger Runningen
July 4 (Bloomberg) — Vice President Joseph Biden told Iraqi leaders that the path to a secure peace lies in uniting ethnic and sectarian groups and said the U.S. might disengage from their country if it reverts to sustained violence.
Biden said he and President Barack Obama “appreciate that Iraq has traveled a great distance over the past year, but there is a hard road ahead if Iraq is going to find lasting peace and stability,” according to a press pool report of the vice president’s visit to Iraq.
Biden was concluding a two-day visit in Baghdad yesterday, where he held talks with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other leaders. Obama sent Biden to Iraq to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to help the country maintain its security while the U.S. military pullout proceeds there.
“Your future, successful future, is very much in our interest,” Biden said he told Maliki during private talks, according to the pool report.
He also told Maliki that if Iraq fell into a period of sectarian violence or engaged in ethnic fighting, such a step would change the nature of U.S. engagement, a senior administration official said, according to the report. The aide did not offer specifics about the change, it said.
Earlier this year, Obama put the U.S. on a path toward a complete withdrawal of troops by 2011.
‘Important Milestone’
The U.S. withdrew combat forces from Iraqi cities on June 30, a step that Biden said “marked a very important milestone on the road to a stable, secure and self-reliant Iraq,” according to the pool report.
Biden participated in a naturalization ceremony in which 237 U.S. troops from 59 countries, including 12 from Iraq, were sworn in as American citizens.
“As corny as it sounds, damn, I’m proud to be an American,” Biden said, according to the pool report. “Thanks for choosing us; you are the reason why America is strong.”
Heavy sandstorms canceled plans for a trip to Iraq’s semi- autonomous northern region of Kurdistan to meet with Iraq President Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdish regional government, the pool report said.
Car Bombing
In Iraq, a wave of attacks that may be intended to challenge the security transfer included a car bombing in the northern city of Kirkuk earlier this week that killed at least 41 people and wounded 120. Tensions between the Iraqi Arabs and Turkmen of the area on one side and Kurds on the other have simmered for the past six years over control of land and Kirkuk’s surrounding oil fields. (The Kurdish region of Iraq is the only semi-normal region of the country. Let them have Kirkuk, become an autonomous region, or even their own country and we would have a stable, reasonably sane ally in the region who actually likes us to some degree. The only trouble in that part of the country is caused by the Arabs.)
Over a two-week period leading up to June 30, about 250 Iraqis were killed by bomb blasts in several cities.
Maliki told reporters after his meeting with Biden that the June 30 pullout “confirms the credibility of the agreements in place” between the U.S. and Iraq, and that the accords are “being faithfully committed.”
Even as U.S. forces withdraw, the administration is committed to maintaining a program of training and equipping Iraqi security against insurgent attacks. The accord also promises a building of commercial, cultural and education ties. (This will likely be a death sentence for many U.S. troops and airmen left behind as advisers. Up until now, U.S. troops have been in charge of security. The Army began to draw down when I was there, and you could already see the up tick in violence as the bases were attacked much more frequently when the Iraqis where in charge of security.)
Biden, 67, earlier in the day met with General Ray Odierno, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, and Christopher Hill, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq. The vice president also had breakfast with his son Beau, 40, who is serving in Iraq as a captain in the Delaware Army National Guard.
Maliki said he discussed with Biden a future visit by Iraqi leaders to the U.S. “to meet with businessmen and representatives of universities,” according to the pool report.
It was Biden’s second trip to Iraq this year, but his first as vice president. He made several trips to Iraq as former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Obama plans to reduce U.S. troop strength in Iraq to no more than 50,000 by August 2010 from 131,000 now.
To contact the reporter on this story: Roger Runningen in Washington at rrunningen@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: July 4, 2009 10:55 EDT
Filed under: Iraq, War on Terror | Tagged: impeach, Iraq, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Obama, security, succession, terrorist, violence
