Breaking Political Stories and Commentary. "We're at the height of the Roman Empire for the Republican Party, but the tide slowly but surely goes out." --Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham, South Carolina
Yesterday, I mentioned that Bush inaccurately claimed that Kerry had blamed the troops for the missing explosives in Iraq. In fact, Kerry blamed George Bush, and Bush was the first person to suggest the idea of blaming the troops.

Well, this morning, after first saying the explosives were probably looted before the invasion -- this may be contradicted by an American television station that says it apparently has post-invasion video of explosives at the site -- Rudy Giuliani took the logical next step and did just that:
The president was cautious the president was prudent the president did what a commander in chief should do. No matter how you try to blame it on the president the actual responsibility for it really would be for the troops that were there. Did they search carefully enough? Didn't they search carefully enough?
You can also watch the Windows Media video.

The hypocricy here is amazing. If Kerry makes any criticism of the war, the Bush campaign says that Kerry's attacking the troops. But if war news comes out that makes Bush look bad, the Bush campaign blames the troops.

Mr. President, please tell your supporters to stop blaming our troops for your mistakes.

Comments
on Oct 28, 2004
APPALLING: Giuliani Suggests Blaming Troops for Explosives

By: blogic
Posted: Thursday, October 28, 2004 on The Tide Goes Out
Message Board: Politics
Yesterday, I mentioned that Bush inaccurately claimed that Kerry had blamed the troops for the missing explosives in Iraq. In fact, Kerry blamed George Bush, and Bush was the first person to suggest the idea of blaming the troops.

Well, this morning, Rudy Giuliani took the logical next step and did just that:
The president was cautious the president was prudent the president did what a commander in chief should do. No matter how you try to blame it on the president the actual responsibility for it really would be for the troops that were there. Did they search carefully enough? Didn't they search carefully enough?
You can also watch the Windows Media video.

The hypocricy here is amazing. If Kerry makes any criticism of the war, the Bush campaign says that Kerry's attacking the troops. But if war news comes out that makes Bush look bad, the Bush campaign blames the troops.

Mr. President, please tell your supporters to stop blaming our troops for your mistakes.


Hey blogic. Why don't you take you blinders off and see your candidate for what he really is. Kerry started this shit storm with an unsubstantiated allegation.
on Oct 28, 2004
Golly, gee!

I sure wish Rudy Giuliani would stop blaming our troops. I mean, he didn't even blame the commander in chief, he went right after the men and women in the field.

But nooooooooooooo, Giuliani's a fucking saint. It's John Kerry who is to blame for everything! Including Chernobyl, the extinction of the dinosaurs, and the splitting up of Pangaea. That BASTARD!
on Oct 28, 2004

First, taking a comment out of context is not very sporting. Taking a 2 second blurb out of a 90 second answer is just criminal. Get a better site and look at the whole answer.

Second, while Kerry may not have said it, a quote from Lockhart:

{quote]"Now we know that the commander of these troops made very clear that his unit's sole mission was to rush to Baghdad despite specific warnings about this facility

When your campaign mouthpiece says it, anyone can rightly or wrongly infer the candidate either told him to, or approved it.

Cant have it both ways. But nice smear try. Do you work for CBS?
on Oct 28, 2004
Dunno, Dr. Guy, are you a Fox News Republo-clone?

Because it seems a-ok with you and the rest when Kerry is taken out of context.

Just wondering if you ever get double vision from all your double standards.

Cheers.
on Oct 28, 2004
It is appalling. But I'm thinking America won't stand for the troops being blamed. Glad you posted this!!
on Oct 28, 2004
Funny thing, Russian Spetnaz moved the 380 tons of material out of Al Poopoo to Syria.
These Spetnaz soldiers were under the command of General who was sympathetic to Saddam's cause.

Hmm, oh well I guess we should not put blame where blame is due, right?

Whether you take the 'right' path or the 'left' path neither is the 'correct' path.

PLINKO!!
on Oct 28, 2004
What's appalling is Kerry continuing, even today, to bash the President with this absurd fabrication. While all of Kerry's apologists, here and elsewhere, keep changing the subject to diversionary ancillary stuff like this blog.

BTW, blogic, you are a partisan blindly regurgitating whatever you misread, with no interest in the truth or falsity of the crap you publish here. Bush did not "inaccurately claim" that Kerry had blamed the troops. What he said was that claiming that this material disappeared from under the noses of our troops, without knowing what actually happened, was demeaning and denigrating to our troops. That is a fair statement. You have been challenged repeatedly @ JU to substantiate your claims with facts and nearly always you can't. You repeatedly pass off rumor and bogus sources as reliable. Just like Kerry, you jump at any scrap of misinformation that you think might make Bush look bad in hopes of finding one that will gain a little traction, no matter how undeserved.

I used to think Kerry was just a garden variety spineless, finger-to-the-political-wind liberal whose only principle was winning. He's now crossed over to simple political scumbag. Shame on him. May it come back and bite his whole ass off, which will be better than he deserves.

Cheers,
Daiwa
on Oct 29, 2004
Daiwa, thanks for your comment,

I find your arguments more compelling when you don't attack me personally.

Let's think through the logic of what Bush said: that Kerry demeaned and denigrated the troops by criticizing Bush's handling of the (now missing) explosives. Kerry was very clear he held George Bush responsible for this. So why does Bush say this is demeaning to the troops? Well, because Bush implies that if the explosives were stolen after the invasion, it would necessarily be the troops who are responsible, not him. Maybe that's what Bush believes -- that he really doesn't see how he could be the one held responsible for this.

So you're right, Bush doesn't say that Kerry blames the troops, what he implies is that if the explosives were looted after the invasion, the troops are the ones who should be held responsible, which means that Kerry demeans the troops to even bring up the issue.

Of course, that logic falls apart if you think the soldiers were following their orders and serving their country well -- that it's Bush who's responsible for this.

It appears that the Bush administration bungled this. Kerry hasn't blamed the troops. So far, only Republicans have suggested the troops would be to blame, and it appears that even Bush finds it impossible to believe that he would be held responsible.
on Oct 29, 2004
Reply #8 By: blogic - 10/29/2004 9:07:29 AM
Maybe that's what Bush believes -- that he really doesn't see how he could be the one held responsible for this.

So you're right, Bush doesn't say that Kerry blames the troops, what he implies is that if the explosives were looted after the invasion, the troops are the ones who should be held responsible, which means that Kerry demeans the troops to even bring up the issue.

Of course, that logic falls apart if you think the soldiers were following their orders and serving their country well -- that it's Bush who's responsible for this.


As I stated in another post, this arguement doesn't hold water. No soldier in his right mind is going to let someone loot a munitions dump on their watch. Because none of them are stupid enough to believe that the stuff wouldn't be used on them! If they were there, they secured the site! And just a question. If you don't want to believe what I just wrote that's your opinion. But how is this Bush's fault? The orders for something like this would come from the commanders on the ground not Bush!
on Oct 29, 2004
Readers, please notice that in spite of the fact that Kerry supporters and Kerry himself hold Bush responsible, Bush supporters keep trying to shift the blame to the troops.

As Americans, we support our troops even as they protect our lives, and we see that their Commander-in-Chief has served both them and us poorly.
on Oct 29, 2004

Reply #10 By: blogic - 10/29/2004 6:52:52 PM
Readers, please notice that in spite of the fact that Kerry supporters and Kerry himself hold Bush responsible, Bush supporters keep trying to shift the blame to the troops.

As Americans, we support our troops even as they protect our lives, and we see that their Commander-in-Chief has served both them and us poorly


And pray tell where did you find this? After an hours worth of searching on the web I could find nothing to backup your accusation.
on Oct 29, 2004
Readers, please notice that in spite of the fact that Kerry supporters and Kerry himself hold Bush responsible, Bush supporters keep trying to shift the blame to the troops.


As one of the Troops, most of use don't see it that way. Just another attempt to make us think something we are not.

That's My Two Cents
on Oct 30, 2004
hmmm, this really gets more interesting by the minute, doesn't it?
on Nov 01, 2004
The International Herald Tribune is now reporting that a journalist saw the al-Qaqaa facility being looted. So much for the Pentagon's various contradictory stories.
on Nov 01, 2004

Reply #14 By: blogic - 11/1/2004 12:44:39 PM
The International Herald Tribune is now reporting that a journalist saw the al-Qaqaa facility being looted. So much for the Pentagon's various contradictory stories.


Sorry but I won't trust *anything* coming out of a Frenchman/womans mouth.