Re:Lebanon "Bush doesn't have the slightest idea what he is talking about"

[leftchick]

I LOVE Juan....

http://www.juancole.com/

<snip>

Bush came out and said that Hizbullah had been defeated, and tried to link Hizbullah to the Sunni Arab guerrillas who make his life hell in Iraq. But, George, Hizbullah is Shiite. It was your Shiite allies in Iraq who supported it. Bush underscored his permanent deer-in-the-headlights cluelessness when at a press conference he said this:


' QUESTION: How can the international force, or the United States if necessary, prevent Iran from resupplying Hezbollah?

BUSH: The first step is -- and part of the mandate in the U.N. resolution was to secure Syria's borders. Iran is able to ship weapons to Hezbollah through Syria.

Secondly is to deal -- is to help seal off the ports around Lebanon.

BUSH: In other words, part of the mandate and part of the mission of the troops, the UNIFIL troops, will be to seal off the Syrian border. '




Note that I can't even understand what he means by "the ports around Lebanon" being sealed. Does he mean Lebanon's ports? Note that you wouldn't want to seal off Lebanon's ports, since Lebanon will need to import things through them. That you could have such good port security in Lebanon that you could altogether screen out missile shipments is unlikely. Does he mean that Turkish, Syrian, and Israeli ports around Lebanon should be sealed. Just Syrian? Impractical.

Note also that the little blue strip at the bottom of Lebanon is generally where the UN peacekeeping troops will be. They aren't in a position to "seal off" the Syrian border, which stretches far to their northeast, and can't be "sealed off" by anyone at all, being rugged and long. The blue helmets of the UN, being a land force, are not in a position to seal off Lebanon's ports, such as Tyre, Sidon, Beirut, Jounieh or Tripoli. Nor could they seal off the Syrian port of Latakiya, if that is what Bush meant.

In other words, Bush doesn't have the slightest idea what he is talking about and nothing he said on this subject makes any sense at all. Why does the US press always let him get away with this?

[peekaloo]

1. Proof positive: Boo$h don't know Shiite!

:-)

[Mr_Spock]

11. ...and neither does the US press corps

We truly are a nation of ignorant ass holes.

[halobeam]

12. Perfect! LOL

:rofl:

[Virginia Dare]

2. Same shit different day...

he never knows what he's talking about. He never gives a damn about anything but himself. Half the time he appears to be either drunk or high or both. Yes, why does the US press always let him get away with this?

Hmmmm, it wouldn't be a conspiracy would it?

[gratuitous]

3. Why does the US press let him get away with this?

Because they know even less than Bush. That's the short, obvious answer. You'd think that the folks covering the White House, many of them well-advanced in their journalistic careers and making nice six-figure salaries, could be bothered to look at a map or have some actual knowledge about the stories they're assigned to cover.

But you'd be incorrect.

[WinkyDink]

5. Let them challenge or correct one iota of what Bush says, and it's

Good-night, Irene, for that journalist.

[gratuitous]

13. That's the only explanation I can think of

Because it's not like they're enjoying any real "access" to folks in the White House, so it's not like they'd be missing anything if Rove decided to freeze someone or their paper or network out.

I'm so old, I can remember when reporters afflicted the comfortable and comforted the afflicted.

[tocqueville]

4. Syria ? I thought they bordered to Venezuela....

sarcasm aside, there is a port issue but it's actually the contrary. One of the UNIFIL's mission will be to guarantee Lebanon's territorial integrity. So it's question of BREAKING the Israeli blockade so that humanitarian and other help can reach Lebanon. Of course there will be a check against illegal arm shipments. The French Navy has already 6 ships patrolling or delivering aid. One of the ships is a higtech stealth frigate with very high fire power. There are two helicopter carriers too with both attack and patrol helicopters. It is thought that the German Navy could assist too. There is nothing saying that the mission will only be a land based one. Probably Europe will base fighter jets on Cyprus, the text of the resolution indicates a no-fly zone in Southern Lebanon. F-16s are no match for Rafales or Eurofighters (class F22 Raptor).

So Bush has it COMPLETELY backwards. He thinks that the Europeans are there to do Israel's job. No, they will be there to avoid a restart of the hostilities from WHOEVER it might come from.

and the Syrian issue is a completely separate issue.

[leftchick]

6. I wish you could interview bush

that would be fun to watch! :)

[tocqueville]

7. don't want to end in Guantanamo n/t

[Cha]

8. Why Does the "US press" let him

get away with this? Do they not know enough to ask the tough questions? Do they think he knows what he's talkin' about because they are too lazy and low IQ to know any better?

[warrens]

9. The whole Bushie thing is "you can't PROVE I'm lying"

I might be wrong or uninformed or really stupid or whatever, but you can never prove I am lying.

I think this is pure incompetence. Everyone knows Hezbollah won this war. Israel is in shock and its leaders are toast. And Bush was egging them on all the way. Well, Hezbollah now OWNS Lebanon, and the Shiite militants have gained a huge amount of street cred, which the Sunnis already have.

Nice going, you smirking moron.

[BurtWorm]

10. Here's the permalink

http://www.juancole.com/2006/08/battle-of-speeches-breaks-out-in-wake.html