YOUR COMMENTS

Or, to look at it from Kyle's point of view, my stock broker is better than your stock broker. There are no stock brokers serving in Iraq. The privileged just want to sit back with their no bid contracts at the government trough and keep everything the same. War profiteering is the game now, but there will be another one soon. The game is fixed by the wealthy and will continue to be fixed till there are publicly funded elections. The Supreme Court said that money is free speech but what they meant is that it is okay to control the government with money.
- Robert, Deerfield

My party is better than your party, na na na naaaa...I swear, all I hear from the party loyalists are the same things. This president is corrupt and lied to us, oh yeah, well were the democrats who saw the evidence and voted lock step with Bush? Then the republicrats claim the dems are going to spend us into oblivion. Oh yeah, where were the republicrats when they held the senate, congress and the presidency, and spent us into the same oblivion. Stop kidding yourselves. The two parties work together to make sure nothing changes. Thats why Shaheen is running again and why Jeb is throwing his hat in the ring again. How much do you want to bet that if Sununo gets defeated, he runs again in 2012. If you are going to continue to re-elect the same bozos, then why do you expect anything differently. Here are a few suggestions. Lets impose term limits so that the political posturing can be somewhat negated and vote for a third party candidate. I don't care if the 3rd party candidate is your next door neighbor. If enough voters write in someone, Washington will notice and realize they need the minority of independents and will stop pandering to their fringe constituents. Otherwise, go back to your playground mentality and nothing will change...
- Kyle, Bedford

Strategic defeat of al-qaeda in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. What about Afghanistan and Pakistan where the real problem is? While it is good that they are unsuccesful in expanding, a major attack in the West having it's origin in Afghanistan or Pakistan could have have dire consequences for the world. We are bogged down in Iraq and have not adequately addressed the real threat.
- Dan, Brooklyn, NY

Peter,

People would address him as “President” if he acted like one. No one has discussed appeasement in any way shape or form that was just a false statement intended to mislead the American People yet again.

You are correct every president makes mistakes but there comes a point where you must realize that if everything they do is a mistake then it’s time to get rid of them. He’s done far more damage than good.

The economy is in the toilet and there is no faith in government because the open corruption has made it obvious that these people can’t be trusted.

We are in more danger now that we’ve destabilized the region leaving Pakistan’s and numerous other areas Nuclear weapons open to theft. We had them contained and on the run in Afghanistan. Now they are better manned, and better funded than before because we let the drug trade run freely thus funding the terrorist.

And lastly there is no Londonderry County in NH.
- Jim, Raymond NH

After President Bush (yes that is what people in control of themselves address the President of the United States as) spoke out in Israel against the "false comfort of appeasement" I felt my first pang of I'm going to miss this President.
Enough already about the mistakes he has made. Every President makes some mistakes. This one has done some things very well. Against the terrorists, and in restoring the economy and the confidence of the American People he has Excelled. As far as finding WMD in Iraq, we didn't, but we did find it in Libya and we did shut down the AQ Quan nuclear network. This wouldn't have happened if we were not in the neighborhood.
And in regards to Jim the first poster, My ancestors were from Londonderry County NI. We lent you names and people to fill your state so I think I have a right to post here.
- Peter, Seattle, WA

The ultimate measure of victory in Iraq will be when we can remove our troops. If you say we have won there or are close, then lets begin withdrawing troops in a phased withdrawal.

But that equates to surrender, you say.

Well then we haven't won anything I reply, so stop writing such misleading articles. When we are able to develop a timeline for withdrawal without having the neo-cons bust a gasket then I'll believe that we have almost won.
- DK, Alexandria VA

I find it amusing that so many of you “message multipliers” from out of state are here making accusations. What is it about the fact that we’ve heard this all before that you don’t understand? It’s a fact we’ve seen this dog and pony show multiple times in the past and each time it was all bunk. No one here wants Al-Quaida to win and it’s insulting that you would insinuate such nonsense. I suppose that’s just the conservative way, if you can’t win question their patriotism. The truth of the matter is that we all want to win however many of us understand that as long as profit is the number one goal of this administration and corruption is allowed to run rampant both here and there odds are we will never see victory. We want the truth, and we want the corruption to end. Until that happens there is no way these people can be trusted because there’s a long track record of deceit behind them. You’re suggesting that after all the lies we’ve been told that we should suddenly believe them because “now” they’re really telling the truth and in the same breath insinuating that if we don’t buy it that we want Al-Quaida to win. You’re handing us a double-edged sword blade first. Bin Laden wanted to bankrupt America and he did with the help of this administration, it’s almost as if they had the exact same goals and were working together. I will not blindly follow anyone who has lied to me so many times but this is America so you are free to follow whomever you chose. The up side is that come November the Republican party will be all but wiped out. The down side is that you did it to yourselves.
- Jim, Raymond NH

Armed helmeted foreign troops in heavy trucks and personnel carriers roaming your streets is not "under control," it is out of control. It is amazing how much suffering of others Americans are willing to tolerate to save face. You'll believe anything that assuages your guilt, it seems.
- L Abbott, Manchester

Tom of Candia, do you really suppose that after 9/11 our freedom to travel in our own country would remain "unhampered" regardless of whether or not we invaded Iraq?

Bush will be given a much more admirable write up in historical accounts of the "War on Terrorism" than he gets from the MSM and those who believe war is never justified, and that any collateral damage during a war is morally equivalent to the targeting of civilians by terrorists.

Bush's strategy of fighting and killing them over there so we don't have to fight them over here has proved to be sound doctrine. The truth of his often repeated statement that Iraq was but one of many battles in the war is demonstrated by the points in this article.

I can only marvel at the insipid moral vapidness of the rock throwers when the USA FINALLY takes the fight to an enemy that has been killing Americans with impunity for the last 38 years.

Too many people ignore history, and say war is never the answer. Sometimes it is the only answer. I hope the majority of American voters understand the defeat of Islamofacism is a fight worth fighting, while continuing to insist on more efficient strategies for winning that fight.
- John, Birmingham

There was also a long article in the New Yorker Magazine that bolsters this argument. One of the main protagonists of the Jihadist theology has now changed his tune...

Very interesting article
- JR, Seattle, WA

REAGAN Diaries Hoax -- there was no such entry..

"'A moment I've been dreading. George brought his n'er-do-well son .... That looks like easy work."

This is actually from a column by Michael Kinsley himself, imagining that Reagan wrote a diary entry about himself.

(Editor's note: An earlier comment relying on this quote has been removed.)
- P. Flanagan, Denver, CO

It is sad to see people refusing to believe any good news about Iraq and Afghanistan. Since Obama's chances depend heavily on his opposition to the war, and those chances would be severly damaged if the success stories are true, it grieves me to think that any Americans are actually hoping against our success. Most won't admit to it, but I can read between the lines, and it breaks my heart.
- JC, Moline, Il

McCain is a man that has served and will continue to serve America, unlike Bush and Obama.

McCain is a man that will listen to all sides of view, from tax-cut, to war, to climate change, to domestic policies and make a decision based on principle which will meet as many NEEDS (not necessarily wants) of both parties.

McCain is like no other candidate! Like Ragen (69 years old), FDR, Abe Lincon and other great candidates, he leads with the heart, he leads with character, he leads with wisdom, and he leads while getting support from both sides. As a result, he gets hit on the head by both ultra liberal Democrats, and ultra Conservative Republicans. It is a sad example of poor character on both sides.

While McCain is surely not perfect, the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. He is the superior candidate and I hope enough Americans realize that.

You are not voting for a Republican, and to the Republicans, you are not voting for a libera/Democrat!!

You are voting for a man that has qualities which all great presidents and historical leaders have had.
- Paul, Seattle, WA

A couple more undeniable facts and sure wins, and defeatest attitudes and obvious conclusions and I won't have to notice that Iraq isn't ruled by anyone without a gun to his head and the opium production is up four fold in Afganistan and Karsai can't leave the city of Kabul. It turns out McCain couldn't go to the market without 300 soldiers and six helicopter gunships though he said it was perfectly safe. Now that we have McClellan to tell us that we can believe nothing that this current crew of mindless chickenhawks say it is time to turn off Fox Noise and find some facts that are both reported and true for a change. Greed is king. Beligerence is our foreign policy. Like Freidman says every few years we need to kick the crap out of some little country or else they won't think we mean it.
- Robert, Deerfield

Most of you hate Bush so much (like many of my countrymen) that you deny the obvious. The USA took down a barbaric dictator in Iraq and gave millions of men, women and children the opportunity and gift of Feedom. The al-Qaida bombers of thousands of innocents are dying like the flies they are. The US has troops and bases on two of Iran's borders in case their nuclear program develops weapons. Without Bush this would not be so.
- Ja Mais, Paris, FR

Deb from Webster, NC says it all with a clarity completely absent from those who need a flash light and a map. Before 9/11, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan all housed tyrants and terrorists with ascending ambitions agains the U.S. Then, the 9/11 attacks emboldened them to kill even more "Infidels." Now, Iraq and Afghanistan are governed by allies whose own troops are fighting anti-American terrorists. Libya changed its pro terrorism ways almost as soon as we targeted Iraq, and Syria is now wondering aloud whether or not to get out of the terrorism business. Anti-terrorism is spreading among Islamic fundamentalists who realistically assess what can be gained or lost when siding with Al-Qaeda or the U.S.

General Petraeus is now implementing counter-insurgency and building alliances on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border with direct links to bin-Laden's cave. The anti-American terrorist trend is already diving, but it can go up again, depending on who we elect in November.
- Casey, Chicago

"I hate Bush. Therefore we MUST be losing Iraq." And these people constantly congratulate themselves for being so smart.
- Dave H, Culver City

LOL: Tom from Candia:

[We've lost] most of the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments.

Please.
- John II, Manchester

We've been so plied w/BS for so long, it's hard to get beyond the heading of the article w/o feeling queazy. Isn't it January yet?
- jill shackford, Sunapee

I'll bet Carol Shea-Porter hasn't changed her mind one bit.

She opposed the surge and painted herself into a corner. She's not the type to admit she's ever wrong.

http://nhcitizen.org/csp/
- Rowland, Fremont

There are two types of peace: the peace of standing over your enemy's dead body, knowing he will never kill again, or the peace among loved ones. We are winning the first peace in Islam, they now hate the fundamentalists more than they hate us. The second has never existed among disparate nations on this planet. In ten months we will have a new President, and Bin Laden may still hold power. Like Saddam Hussein; a US soldier, in time, will stand over his dead body. He will never kill Americans again.
I pray for real peace with Islam.
- R. L. Hails Sr. P. E., Olney MD

That dull thud you just heard is the sound of the Democrats' defeatist narrative of the past four years hitting the floor. As much as the moonbat liberals and their allies in the media hate it, the undeniable fact is that we are now winning the global war against islamic extremism and winning it convincingly. I guess maybe Bush isn't such an idiot after all. For all his faults, he recognizes evil for what it is and realizes that the only way to defeat it is to attack and destroy it.

Had the decisions on Iraq been left up to the likes of Barack Obama and the Democrats, we would have withdrawn from Iraq in a humiliating defeat, Al-Qaeda would now be riding high on the wave of a huge propaganda victory against the West, our credibility among our Middle Easten allies would now be zilch, and Iraq would be a failed state dominated by Al-Qaeda and Iran.

But thanks to courageous leaders like John McCain, who recognized the disasterous consequences of defeat and would not accept them, instead we are now crushing Al-Qaeda and muslims everywhere are turning away from them in droves. That's called WINNING, guys!

The Democratic Party simply cannot be trusted with the security of our country. They are cynics and wimps.

Vote Republican in November. Please.
- Dan R., San Diego, CA

I hope that I am not seeing posters here that are rooting for US failure in Iraq for political advantage. While healthy skepticism of reports from the Bush administration are warranted, when those reports are validated by non-partisan sources or, as in this case, sources that would typically be antagonisitic to the administration, like TNR, I have to question the motives of those skeptics. The facts are indisputable that we have not had a terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11 and that Al Queda has been strategically, tactically, and financially crippled. While it is tragic that over 4000 of our brave servicemen and women have lost their lives in Iraq, it is to be celebrated that 10 to 20 times that number of violent Jihadists have been sent to hell by our brave military and the ability of the violent Jihadists to take more innocent lives has been severely damaged or destroyed. If you cannot acknowledge these facts, then you should sincerely question your motives.
- Veritas, Austin, Texas

Remember Cheney's classic line that Iraq had "turned a corner" and the insurgency was in its "death throes"? (John in Memphis, feel free to Google it for confirmation) That was in 2005, just before the 2006 elections. Now, just before an election that the Republicans expect to lose, we're told that Al-qaida is near defeat. Sorry, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Just 4 more years of incompetence and we should be able to say that we're even closer to victory.

Al-qaida is losing support, but it's despite our foreign policy, not because of it. We are still as unpopular as ever. It's just that Muslims are now starting to realize that Al-qaida is a criminal organization masquerading as religious warriors. If anything, our foreign policy has delayed this awakening.
- Jason, Londonderry

re: Robert's comments....
so sorry you are "dizzy" following the changes on the battlefields of Iraq.
Luckily, we have many thousands of focused & disciplined men and women serving who can see their way forward clearly. Soon, the US will have a strong ally, a new democracy of freed peoples, in a volatile and important region of the world, adjacent to Iran & Syria, thus strengthening our national security here.

No apologies are needed or due; sorry if you think that battles and liberties can be won against tyranny without the blood of brave souls. al Qaeda swarmed to Iraq to battle us there, not here, and is now clearly being defeated. Bush will be vindicated in this strategy. And I hope you will be ready soon, after your dizzy spell, to celebrate the victory our military is winning for us all.
- Deb, Webster, NC

Al Qaeda says we have won, the Iraqi people say we have won, Sadar says we have won.
What the Roberts of the left think doesn't matter. I have heard the story about false claims of victory before, but when pressed NONE of those claims can be quoted or linked to. Must be something everybody in their neighborhoo knows.
It doesn't matter anyway.
Iraq is NOT a war, but a campaign within a war. Win, lose or draw in Iraq and the war goes on. Until one side quits. I want it to be the other side that quits. The Roberts of the left don't care who wins. Useful fools.
- john samford, Memphis, TN

Bin Laden said his strategy was to drag us into an endless war in the desert and bankrupt us. Federal debt is at an all-time high, the dollar is at an all-time low, and though not everything coming out of Iraq is bad, of course, there still seems to be no end in sight.
- Rich, Derry

Well said Robert,

We’ve heard this song and dance before and each time it’s bee a load of BS. Are we supposed to buy it now that they are desperate to get re-elected? Ever hear about the boy who cried wolf? We’ve been fed these lines so many times that even if it was the truth (I doubt it) no one would buy it. “We’ll be greeted as liberators” “The insurgency is in its last throws” “mission accomplished” and on and on and on….. Add to that the endless stream of articles just like this one over the last five years and you can understand our skepticism especially when it comes from a crony like Hayden. These people have screwed up every aspect of this war from the start, that’s what happens when you put corruption and profitability before success. Sorry I’m not buying anything these guys are selling, they’ve proven time and time again that they can’t be trusted.
- Jim, Raymond NH

"near strategic defeat" of Al Qaeda? Good news, but does that mean 40% still undefeated? 30%? Not to worry, we'll find victory soon. We know where it is. It's in the area around Baghdad, and east, west, south and north somewhat.

Surely now, just in time for November's 'selection', we will have a grand ceremony with John & George proudly proclaiming Mission Accomplished.

We've spent (and sometimes just mysteriously 'lost') hundreds of billions of dollars, 4000+ GIs lives, 10's of thousands of Iraqi lives (just counting the ones we've killed, not including the victims of Al Qaeda). We've given up our freedom to travel unhampered in our own country, habeas corpus, most of the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments, broken international treaties. We've destabilized Pakistan enough that their nuclear arsenal is no longer secure. We continue to support Israel's occupations and assaults; Saudi Arabia's fine human rights record; secret concentration camps and torture are now part of our established foreign policy. The end of the $12 billion dollar a month occupation of Iraq is nowhere in sight.

I wonder how much victory America can take.
- tom, candia

Democrat Jane Harmon(D-CA), one of the most respected Democrats in the House regarding foreign affairs told CNN that she too had seen huge progress in Iraq, both militarily and politically.

If only John McCain had been in charge from the beginning we'd not only been better off against Al-Quaida, we'd be much better off in Iraq.
- Bob Jean, Northwood, NH 03261

I am already so dizzy from all the times that we have turned the corner in Iraq I think I'll just sit this one out. Such strong evidence as suicide bombs go off, people are kidnapped and utilities don't work. Six years now of unnecessary killing and destruction and not one appology yet. Some four thousand of our best aren't coming back. Trillions of dollars not available for education and health care. Chickenhawks rule as usual.
- Robert, Deerfield

You really have to wonder if Bin Laden is still alive. There hasn't been a decent photo of him since 2001. Those "grainy videos" and fake beard are just plain weird.On the other hand the videos with Al Zawahiri are clear, current and are definitely him.
Al-Qaida cannot afford to lose their Icon because of what he means to their fund raising and recruiting efforts. After reading this article I guess others aren't buying the fake beard either.

Of course according to the "bush derangement types" Bin laden is being kept alive and is being "waterboarded"by Cheney "in his secret bunker"
- Chris, Merrimack