WP: 'We're on the Brink of Success,' General Says of Iraq Situation

[diamond14]

'We're on the Brink of Success,' General Says of Iraq Situation

By Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 22, 2004; Page A22


The nation's top military officer yesterday gave a strongly optimistic assessment of the military, political and economic situation in Iraq, citing "great progress on all fronts" there.

But the day's hearing was dominated by Myers's upbeat account of trends in Iraq, which contrasted somewhat with the previous Capitol Hill appearance of a senior Pentagon official. When Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz testified earlier this week, he conceded that several major miscalculations had marred the U.S. occupation effort over the past year.

Myers accentuated the positive, usually in fairly vague terms. Talking about the restoration of power, water and sanitation services, he said: "There's lots of that kind of thing that is going on in the country that I think give us great, great hope."

The general especially expressed great expectations of Iraqi support for the planned turnover of limited authority to an interim Iraqi government at the end of next month. "I think there is reason for great hope that the Iraqi people will take this and run with it," he said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46399-2004May21.html

[okieinpain]

1. let me translate this for everyone, what this general means is Kerry is

going to be the next president. you're welcome.

[saigon68]

15. CRACK SMOKING IN UNIFORM



This man doesn’t think you are smart enough to handle the truth. He wants and likes censorship
so His Master R. Cheney can achieve re-Selection and you can exist as a robot in this wonderful
DEMOCRATIC (tm) country

HE IS A VERY EVIL MAN

[diamond14]

17. re-SELECTION, not re-Election.......

just a small grammatical error....I am certain that it was accidental...


BTW....thanks saigon68 for your service and continued input to DU...these young draftable people should pay attention....and STAND UP and express some real RAGE...

[saigon68]

18. "RE-SELECTION" it is

HOODLUM IN UNIFORM

APOLOGIST EXTRAORDINAIRE

[Bluebear]

2. Insert 1950's sitcom laugh track here!

HHhahhahahaahahhhhaaaaaHHHaaaaa brink of success hahhhhhAAAAA

[nofurylike]

3. he listened to Bob Woodward on Charlie Rose last night.

i flipped hearing woodward say that's all * has to do:
paraphrase: they got Saddam out. proved no WMD. just say they've done what they went for.

screamed at the tv, at him.

grrrr.


peace

[LittleApple81]

5. I semi-watched this. Woodward is the best sleeping aid I have almost

seen in my life. But I DID HEAR YOUR QUOTE. It is amazing, isn't it? And Woodward does not want to call a spade a spade. he wants to maintain his "line of access" I guess but he causes great harm to our country.

[Piperay]

7. Yeah, do like Viet Nam

just declare victory and then get out. :eyes:

[yelladawg]

40. Idiots protecting their job

This has become Nam, all over again.

[PfcHammer]

4. "We're on the Brink of Success." Tell that to the man smeared in feces. nt

[Tellurian]

6. Your suggestions for tossing crumbs to the Iraqis General...

after you killed and tortured so many civilians and allowed this behavior to go on unfettered for a year speaks volumes about what your idea of "SUCCESS" really is..

And General...no one has had the opportunity to ascertain your guilt or innocence of complicity in allowing these events to transpire under your leadership. So, STFU!

[hedda_foil]

8. Ah yes. Just as the Generals in Vietnam always swore

They could see "the light at the end of the tunnel." Unfortunately, what they saw was the headlight of a freight train coming right at them.

[bobbieinok]

23. 'light at the end of the tunnel' - Vietnam redux

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

31. I clearly remember reading an article in Reader's Digest titled

"In Vietnam, the Enemy is Defeated". The magazine was dated, I believe, 1970 or 1971, and I happened about it years later.

It repeats itself as farce, indeed.

[Spazito]

9. I knew "We are on the brink of success" sounded familiar and...

lo and behold, "We have them surrounded in their tanks" stated by Baghdad Bob has the same certainty in it.

[Just Me]

10. Gotta' pour out that PMA, eh?!?!?!

Were they better off than they were six months before the neocons waged their "shock and awe"?

*sigh*

I really, really, REALLY want all matters to dramatically improve in Iraq. But, "the course" chosen by this administration, maintaining the death and torture squads (I'm sorry but that is what our military is suppose to be in order to defend our country),...has proven to be worse than merely a failure: it has created a climate that dramatically endangers our national security. I mean, the whole freakin' world hates our country now!!! How does that fact not prove that this administration's unilateralism increases the danger to our nation?

Damnit!!

[Spinzonner]

11. You need to understand

that the military will define success as getting their asses out of there reasonably intact.

What comes afterward is 'not our fault' and what it cost in human lives and national treasure is just so much 'collateral damage'.

[Flagg]

12. LOL

[Snellius]

13. Myers may be the biggest kiss-ass, pantie-waste general in US History

Every time I see him I can't believe he's chief of staff. He looks like a corporate toady in a life-insurance company. They fired all the competent generals like Shinseki so that only the boot-lickers are left.

[saigon68]

16. MEYERS AS OFFENSIVE LINEMAN FOR NEOCON CORPORATIONS

MEYERS AS OFFENSIVE LINEMAN FOR NEOCON CORPORATIONS



WITHOUT A STRONG LAPDOG RUNNING INTERFERENCE
THERE WOULD BE NO BROWN AND ROOT RECEIVING BILLIONS
Of TAXPAYER $$$$$ TO “RECONSTRUCT IRAQ”




There would be no BLACKWATER USA to have its private MERCENARY ARMY flying its
own PRIVATE MERCENARY AIR FORCE




to do WHATEVER under the sun it does..




THERE WOULD BE NO MERCENARY THUGS ACTING LIKE RAMBO WITHOUT THIS
PATHETIC LITTLE MAN

[Tellurian]

19. Myers has to realize, WE KNOW he is the 4th or 5th string Joint Chief

all the others before him were fired or quit because they knew it was a mistake and refused to go to War! A General or a President worth his salt, doesn't take his troops anywhere without an exit strategy!

[saigon68]

21. So Right-- its like he cares squat about the men under him

The little people ---in shitty housing ---on food stamps. The ones who do most of the fighting and dying.

[Old and In the Way]

25. And let's not forget that with his peculiar incompetence on 9/11,

he became JCS. How.....convenient.

[MsMagnificent]

33. Hi Tellurian! Personal question...

...about your screen name.

It's SO familiar but I can't place it.
Is it from Sci-Fi maybe?
Otherwise I want to say it's the name of a star... still, pretty sure that's wrong.

Love your posts,btw! *vns*

Take care!

[tabasco]

28. The Bush cabal appointed him because he's a Star Wars expert

- The cabal's #1 priority is stealing as much taxpayer money as possible, not national security. They planned on going full-speed ahead with Star Wars, which would give billions to corporations, but actually detract from national security. Myers is just one example of a completely incompetent key leader appointed by the Bush cabal.
- Myers has gone beyond justt incompetence and proven himself a liar with loyalty to the cabal, not the Nation. No one believes his bald lies about Iraq except the retarded, brainwashed, and brain-dead.
- If the people of this country had any intelligence, the actions of this regime would destroy the republican party.
- I agree, Myers is a pussy. A traitor too.

[saigon68]

34. retarded, brainwashed, and brain-dead

The key Idiots who voted for a CHIMPANZEE.

scum like myers---THUGS WHO STOLE THE ELECTION.

[crossroads]

14. Hmmm and I thought the mission was accomplished already!

:kick:

[bemildred]

20. We have turned the corner, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

:puke:

[daleo]

22. Light at the end of the tunnel

Turned out to be an oncoming train.
A killer with a flashlight.
A forest fire on the other side.
etc.

[bobbieinok]

24. reminds me of the popular rewrite of Kipling's poem If

'If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you'.........
THEN MAYBE YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION

[homelandpunk]

26. Myers, you asshole, that's an abyss.

You know it, too, General. Otherwise you would not have freudian-slipped the word "brink" into your "strongly optimistic assessment".

[Jacobin]

27. Please tell Gen Myers that he should say "light at the end of the tunnel"

That is the correct vernacular.

[progressivebydesign]

29. Define "success" General Numbnutz!

Success?? Success?? He's out of his mind... they all are. It's too late for talk of success, there is no success possible. We could have cooperated with the UN Inspectors, and then the UN, if there was proof of WMD. But.. the oil/military complex and the PNAC had to have their way. The only thing we can hope for is withdrawal with the smallest amount of shame. Because.. really, we did JACK SHIT over there. The removal of Saddam was not worth what we did to those people.. do you think the relatives of the 10k Iraqi civilians were really willing to sacrifice their loved ones lives to see Saddam in prison? No. There is no success possible.

[MsMagnificent]

30. Baghdad Bob would be proud of Myer's!

LMAO Well there's (at least)one in every country!!

But, upon thinking about it... we've had Ari Fleisher
so maybe not so unique in this country!

[Zynx]

32. *Throws up hands in disgust*

I will never trust the military for reasons like this.

[saigon68]

35. Myer's couldn't lead himself out of a pig pen without a gate.

If Saddam had done this to OUR POWs the DEATH PENALTY would be in play

Pray tell, How could Saddam top this ???

When the POW had a PLASTIC FLASHLIGHT RAMMED UP HIS RECTUM ???

When a GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG BIT HIM IN THE TESTICLES ???

When the POW had a 220 Volt wire attached to the TIP OF HIS PENIS ???

When Lynndie England was encouraged to help the POWs obtain erections so they could perform ORAL SEX ACTS ON EACH OTHER and the PERKY PRINCESS OF ABU GHRAIB PRISON COULD SHOUT "HE'S GETTING HARD"???

When a POW was beaten to death, HIS BODY PACKED IN ICE and TAKEN OUT IN THE DESERT AND DUMPED Or the Photos of Graner and Lynndie’s sidekick the Lovely Sabrina Harman smiling over the dead corpse.

When Lynndie apparently on Orders collected a number of Dirty Used KOTEX MAXI-PADS to be worn and tied to the Heads of POWs-- Or when Graner made POW’s eat food thrown in Toilets and then commented that the Prison Guard part of him said he loved to see them “PISS
THEMSELVES”

How about interrogators torturing children and the presenting them to the parents to get them to reveal WHATEVER?

When photos show a Naked man covered in Feces beaten in the head by a THUG holding a police Baton?



When a Civilian Interrogator ANALLY RAPED A 16 YEAR OLD BOY IN FRONT OF GI WITNESSES ( who apparently used a camcorder to memorialize the childs screams as his ANUS was savagely attacked) and the RAPIST is going to get a free pass because he was under NO ONES JURISDICTION ???

PIG MYER'S IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF THIS !!!!!!!!!!!!

[dudeness]

36. lol..

what a dickhead..

[psychopomp]

37. "Light at the End of the Tunnel"

What happened soon after LBJ made the PR push to convince the public that the U.S. was making great progress in the prosecution of the war in Vietnam?

TET.

[trof]

38. Gen. Zinni says "brink of failure".

On 60 Minutes tonight.
Myers says "brink of success".
Interesting choice of terms.

[Forkboy]

39. We're on the brink of something

and it sure as shit isn't success.

[sofa king]

41. We're on the brink of second base...

I can almost feel it. Get a palm on that C-cup, and soon the oil's gonna be flowin, baby!

(Take a look at that picture to the right on the originally posted page. I can't link it, unfortunately.)

[Media_Lies_Daily]

42. Delusional. Demented. Whacked-out.