Bush Goes to Iraq!

[alaric]

Okay, I've never taken pains to hide my dislike of Bush in the past, but I've really gotta hand it to the guy this time. He flew into Iraq to visit the troops for thanksgiving, even served some of them dinner.

You can find the story here.

I know it's going to get him major PR, but this time he deserves it. Going into Iraq took balls.

***golf claps for the president

[Toxic::Joka]

errr. lol what, took balls?
Not really

[Geauleaux]

this is the dumbest most obvious PR bullshit i have ever seen

[kami]

It takes balls to go into a country occupied by 100,000 of your own soldiers?

[ak-47]

I agree he's great with the PR, even though his polices have destroyed U.S. world relations, opened the door for big business to pollute(Clear Skies, which rolls back the clean air act), shits on basic rights of privacy(Patriot Act), destroyed medicare and engulfed us into a war that cannot be won. Not to mention his less than honest ploy to go to war for nonexistent weapons of mass destruction. Also I find it interesting that the vice president is the former CEO of Halliberton which scored a $1.5 billion noncompetitive contract to rebuild what we destroyed. You have to love him if you're one of the top 10% of the economic spectrum, but I unfortunately am not. Perhaps, instead of dishing out turkey dinner he should have made sure that all troops in Iraq were equipped with body armor. I fear for the future well being of this country.  

[kos.viper]

lol, what the hell.  He flew in unannounced, soldiers were standing around not knowing why and the plane had all of it's lights off, not to mention he flew in during the middle of the night.  Then after a short period of time he got the hell out of there.

[Blitz]

I still think it took guts to go to Iraq, to spend some time with some troops, who were suprised about his visit.  I think that made those soldier's thanksgiving day even more special.

Blitz

[Cutter]

it took big fucking balls, there's still a war going on. helicopters and recently planes have become targets in iraq. he flew in on air-force one, not some undercover jet. and if the president has ever been in your town then you know what kind of security and secrecy always comes with him. i remember somebody here saying how he was a pussy for not going there. now he goes (while there's still a war going on) and still ppl shit on him. lol's how long did it take for churchill and the president to visit berlin after WWII?
was it a publicity stunt?....possibly. did it take big ones?...i think so.
think we'll ever see the day that saddam flies into reagan national airport in washington?....how bout usama flying into j.f.k. in new york? doubt it.

[ak-47]

Dear god cutter did you just compare George W. Bush to Winston Churchill? Yeah he has balls and knows how to smile for the cameras, but when it comes to making choices that will effect this country in drastic ways, he's a corporate pawn. This is the most dangerous President within any of our lifetimes. To me there is nothing more alarming than a theocratic corporate pawn, that knows how to work the voting population. This country needs a leader that will work in the best interest of the people and not the best interest of big business. There is no man more of a coward than a man who will gladly send the sons and daughters of others to die for a false cause.

[Typhy]

Cutter, I'm pretty damn sure that if Usama had as much control of the US as we do of Iraq, he wouldn't hesitate to fly into J.F.K International Airport.

I'm impressed that Bush did this. However, do I think it was some heroic act? No. Do I think he showed a lot of guts in doing so? No, not really.

No one was aware of his trip there. Not only did his plane look like a normal cargo plane coming into Baghdad, it was blacked out.

If Bush wanted to really show some guts, he'd have announced his trip there. Why didn't he do this? Because he's not a fucking idiot ( some may beg to differ ). There would've been no point other than to make himself a target.

But did Bush show anymore guts than anyone else flying into Baghdad? I don't think so.

[macuser1984]

Why can't it just be something nice he did for the troops?  Just leave it at that and STFU.  You people are worse than the fucking media that has to "spin" everything to make it into something it isn't!

[Cutter]

ak-47...it was in no way a comparison between the two men.

let me make this very clear...in my opinion churchill was THE greatest leader any country could ever hope to have. when it comes to balls at a time of crisis and war NO MAN compares to sir winston churchill. check the military quotes post, all of the quotes i chose to post were churchills. he also happens to be the leader that all leaders (including bush) choose to study in times of crisis.

my churchill reference was a question on how long after the war did he and the president visit berlin. thats all. hardly a comparison.

ok now i see my typo. in my first post i said "churchill the president" i meant to type "churchill and the president"
-fixed

[tasty]

It was a nice gesture. Now all he has to do is attend the funerals of some of the soldiers killed.

[Cossack]

Bush visits Baghdad and Gorby visited Kabul. It is a publicity stunt and a good one too. Did he have balls to fly into Baghdad? Apparently he did. Did he have balls to stay more than 2 hours? No. My main point (as I am trying to illustrate under the influence of too much turkey and wine) is that he isnt there fighting with the troops. He does not know the horrors of war and in my eyes he will always be a little spoiled frat boy thats isnt worth the hair on my Russian ass.
I like Tasty's suggestion. Bush should visit the funerals of a few dead soldiers. Maybe it will expose him to a reality of the world that he has failed to grasp.

[Fridge!]

Gah, bush is a complete retard, I can't justify ever praising him for anything.  The point of the trip wasn't to make his troop's thanksgiving special, it was to elevate the public opinion of him.  He shouldn't have hundreds of thousands of troops in Iraq in the first place, he goes into a country for what, they couldn't even make up their minds, first it was a war against weapons of mass destruction and terrorism, which were non existant.  Then it was suddenly a war about Iraqi freedom, that is complete bs, it was a neo colonialistic movement.  He used September 11th, used it as an excuse to go into Iraq with his axis of evil theory stating that because terrorism came from afghanistan, and afghanistan didn't like the USA, and Iraq also doesn't like the USA, that is a direct connection linking Al-Qaida to Iraq.  How ignorant for the bush administration to think that their view of a perfect american world can be applied to everywhere, where they will overthrow governments and build a new democratic government, and turn the country into an America Jr. where everybody praises and supports America.  What a tool that bush guy is, gah! Don't buy into his propoganda.

[jn.loudnotes]

As commander in chief, how come he wasn't in Iraq before "mission accomplished"?

I'm not above complementing him when he deserves it, but I don't see why this trip to Iraq is even newsworthy. . .

I find it incredible that he went all the way to Iraq and didn't even take a look around. . .maybe see how the peace keeping effort is going?  If I were a soldier, my Thanksgiving would be a whole lot more pleasant to see my president doing something actually worthwhile instead of cutting up my turkey for me. . .

And please, if a standing army of 100,000 can't keep one man reasonably safe long enough for him to see what he's ordered done to another sovereign nation, we have no business calling ourselves a "superpower".

Finally. . .as long as he's attending funerals, how about one of the Iraqi civilians' whose death he insured?

[Cossack]

Lord and Mother Mary forgive my soul for what I am about to do. I thought I would be the last person on this board to defend Bush, but here I am. Yes Bush did this as a pr gain. Guess what, its less than a year away from re-election and it is time to start acting like it. Anyone with any political sense would start to campaign and make a positive image for himself. So yes this is PR (no shit). This gesture was positive overall even though it was for political means. When the leader visits his men on the front line it boosts morale and make the soldiers think that the administration is watching over them. Even if this is false it gives the soldiers relative peace of mind in a naiton that holds them in contempt.

[Fridge!]

Front lines that shouldn't even exist.  Gah!

[crypt]

I think that it took guts, President Bush did a wonderful thing for his troops, and I'm honored as an american citizen.

[ak-47]

I think its odd that the Pentagon won't allow cameras present at the return of the dead to the United States, I wonder why...Iraq is a bullshit war just as Vietnam was and yet again another generation of people my age will carry forever the horrors of war and never be the same. Ask your parents about what Vietnam did to this country and how it was never the same. And at the same time they are cutting veteran benefits, not to mention the tens of thousands of troops who have been horribly wounded and get the shaft when it comes to basic medical care. This war is impossible to win. It is a burden we will all carry for a very long time. I am the most patriotic American you'll ever meet, but when it comes to the Bush regime I am ashamed to be an American. It so sad and frustrating to see this country tricked into a war and bilked for billions of dollars that could be going to things that actually need it(Education). Bush appeals to the mass electorate simply because most Americans are morbidly obese lumps of shit that understand the simple words Bush uses. Just the other day the Pentagon mobilized 17,000 reservist for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan, how many more will it take? How many more people needlessly have to die and become scarred by the horrors of war? I find it funny that the best funded intelligence machine of the United States could not even catch the 9-11 hijackers when their names appeared on the international terrorism watch list and the San Diego phone book at the same time. The question we as Americans need to ask ourselves is are we really anymore safe than we were before Bush went into Iraq and Afghanistan? Fuck no, we pissed them(Islamic radicals) off more than ever and they will counter...this war will come again to the U.S. in a catastrophic event, its inevitable...I will tell you one thing, if King Bush again steals the 04' election i'm packing up and heading for the Canadian border.