U.S. Soldiers Posing with the Enemy

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Well….dead enemy.

Like Joe Darby (of Abu Ghraib fame), an anonymous soldier took 18 sensitive photos and “leaked” them to the press. Specifically, to the LA Times.

The photos have emerged at a particularly sensitive moment for U.S.-Afghan relations. In January, a video appeared on the Internet showing four U.S. Marines urinating on Afghan corpses. In February, the inadvertent burning of copies of the Koran at a U.S. base triggered riots that left 30 dead and led to the deaths of six Americans. In March, a U.S. Army sergeant went on a nighttime shooting rampage in two Afghan villages, killing 17.

The soldier who provided The Times with a series of 18 photos of soldiers posing with corpses did so on condition of anonymity. He served in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne’s 4th Brigade Combat Team from Ft. Bragg, N.C. He said the photos point to a breakdown in leadership and discipline that he believed compromised the safety of the troops.

The only comment I want to make here is to question whether or not this anonymous “whistleblower” bothered to bring attention to these photos by first going through the proper chain of command. What compelled him to give these 2-yr old photos over to the Los Angeles Times? And why now?

Actually, it doesn’t seem that the soldier was offended by these photos having been taken (which violates Army standards). He wasn’t motivated by a belief that these photos were wrong to take. Apparently he’s using them to draw attention to something else.

It would seem that personal security concerns are allegedly his motive, 2010 being a tough year for his brigade:

He expressed the hope that publication would help ensure that alleged security shortcomings at two U.S. bases in Afghanistan in 2010 were not repeated. The brigade, under new command but with some of the same paratroopers who served in 2010, began another tour in Afghanistan in February.

U.S. military officials asked The Times not to publish any of the pictures.

~~~

The soldier who provided the photos, and two other former members of the battalion, said in separate interviews that they and others had complained of inadequate security at the two bases.

And so by making these photos public, security for his brigade will improve…how?! How does that correlate? The photos are 2 yrs old and the brigade itself is under new leadership. Yet he feels that these photos will expose “a breakdown in leadership and discipline that he believed compromised the safety of the troops.” Unless what results is our immediate withdrawal and surrender from Afghanistan, does anyone believe public attention to this will increase the security of our troops?

Times Editor Davan Maharaj explains why he denied the request of the military not to publish any of the photos:

“After careful consideration, we decided that publishing a small but representative selection of the photos would fulfill our obligation to readers to report vigorously and impartially on all aspects of the American mission in Afghanistan, including the allegation that the images reflect a breakdown in unit discipline that was endangering U.S. troops.”

And I’m sure they weighed in the potential consequences of whether or not publishing these photos might not be used for propaganda purposes, potentially further endangering U.S. and NATO troops. Surely it wasn’t for macabre sensationalism to sell papers.

Why not simply tell the soldiers’ stories about security inadequacies and personal losses without the publishing of these photos?

Photo: Soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, along with Afghan police, pose with the mangled corpse of a suicide bomber. The Army says such photos are a violation of military standards and has launched a criminal investigation.

Soldiers have always done macabre things, along with displaying gallows humor to cope: Trophy body-part collecting, photos with the gruesome, etc. And given that these guys lost about 35 in their brigade in 2010 with 23 from suicide bombers, taking a photo with a failed suicide bomber is a rather tame reaction. Should we demand a higher standard of our soldiers? Certainly, the rest of the world always seems to be holding our soldiers to a tighter microscope.

The soldiers might have used bad judgment in defying Army standards by taking the photos; really poor judgment in circulating them around. The soldier who wanted to make a statement exercised even worse judgment in handing the photos over to the LATimes. But worse than all this? The LATimes going ahead and publishing a couple of them.

WaPo:

The 18 photographs were taken in 2010 in Zabul province by soldiers from the 82nd Airborne’s 4th Brigade Combat Team, the newspaper reported. Although the pictures were dated, the fresh disclosure of misbehavior extends a string of recent incidents in which U.S. troops have disrespected the dead, allegedly killed Afghan civilians and desecrated the Koran.

U.S. officials, concerned that the cumulative impact will further alienate an Afghan public already weary of foreign military occupation,

The Afghan public aren’t the only ones that are growing war weary…

“Our presence by its very nature creates tension between us and the local population,” Smith said in an interview Wednesday. “Past a certain point, a foreign presence is as destabilizing as it is stabilizing, and that’s what these incidents are pointing out.”

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Nobody does the splits like this guy!!!

I have a patient who lost an arm and part of a hand to the enemy and I am not bothered much by this. It’s freaking war. I agree it was not a great choice to have your picture taken by someone who could disseminate it but I really don’t care. And neither does my brother in law who did two tours in Nam, pushing Agent Orange out of choppers and trolling rivers for mines.

I have photo of my father when he was with a US Navy occupation team on Okinawa in 1945…he is smiling and holding his Thompson .45 submachine gun and he and his buddy each have a foot on the bodies of 2 Japanese snipers they blasted out of a couple of trees ..caption on the back of the pic: “A couple of good Japs”

B.F.D. – I see just as bad photos on the Military Channel almost weekly. It’s too bad for our troops that have to be led by the likes of Penetta who everyone knows squats to pee.

beside, who is that MAHAJA, A MUSLIM? I WOULD NOT EXPECT LESS FROM HIM,
HE MUST HAVE BEEN SMILING WHEN HE GOT THOSE PICTURES TO FORSEE ANOTHER MOB ASSEMBLY IN HIS BROTHERS AFGHANISTAN FUCK THE MILITARY, FUCK AMERICA….
L.A PRINT THAT AND NO MATTER WHAT THE PENTAGONE REQUEST TO NOT DO IT….
I SAY TO L.A PAPER
CLOSE THAT LA PAPER MAKE THEM PAY FOR LIVES LOST OF AMERICAN PROUD BRAVES,
THE IDIOTS ARE NOT THE BRAVES, THEY ARE THOSE MAHAJAS ALL OVER USA, GET THEM OUT OF THIS TOO TOLERANT COUNTRY, THEY DON’T DESERVE TO LIVE HERE.
WHEN DO WE HEAR OF THE PAIN THE TROOPS ENDURE INSTEAD OF THAT CRAP,
ARE THE NEWS SO SELF CENTER NOW, THEY CANNOT FIND A GOOD WORD FOR THE MILITARY OF THIS AMERICA, THOSE WHO CAME BACK WOUNDED TO PROTECT THE AMERICANS ASS, THOSE WHO ARE DEAD BEING IN MEMORY OF THEIR LOVE ONE, NOT AMERICANS, NOT IN THE NEWS, WHICH ARE TO DUMB TO FIND A POSITIVE STORY TO TELL FAMILY THEY ARE NOT FORGOTTEN BY THE MAIN STREAM MEDIA,
DID EVERY ONE FORGOT THAT THE PRECIOUS MILITARY HAVE FEELING, HAVE A SOUL, HAVE A BRAIN AND CAN FEEL PAIN DEEPLY IF THEY KNOW THEY ARE FORGOTTEN BY THEIR BELOVED AMERICA.
MAHAJA GO GET A LIFE SOMEWHERE IN YOUR BROTHER’S COUNTRIES,. WE ARE NOT INTERESTED IN YOUR GLEE, IN YOUR INTENT TO PUNISH OUR MILITARY FOR FIGHTING YOUR BROTHERS .

he blew himself up not them their proud he didnt get them. News media vampires fuck em

MITT ROMNEY,
YOU WILL FIX THOSE MEDIAS WHO SPIT OVER AMERICANS, I KNOW YOU WILL NOW,
AND YOU WILL BE A GOOD PRESIDENT, BECAUSE YOU LOVE THIS AMERICA,
YOU WILL PROTECT THE MILITARY WHO HURT AND ARE TIRED IN HELL. I KNOW YOU WILL,

“After careful consideration, we decided that publishing a small but representative selection of facts would fulfill our obligation to readers to report vigorously and impartially, even when it exposes the Left, because it greatly effects Americans.”

I tweaked the Times quote some.

Does anyone think the Dems will be calling on Panetta to resign over this?

@ilovebeeswarzone: Damn lose the Cap Lock will YOU! It’s hard to read and personally, I tend to ignore your posts when your do that. Quite often you make some great comments but with the Caps, not so much so.

@another vet: Maybe the CIC should resign, after all the ‘buck stops here’ oh wait, that was a President that took responsibility, unlike the ‘president’ currently residing in our public housing with his ….. what is Moochelle anyway?

UpChuck.Liberals
nicely said, it’s not me, it’s the caps which have to loose me,
how’s that, better?
bye

You know, if these bomb and hide cowards, had killed some of my pals, and I had the opportunity, to Whiz on one of their dead corpses…I’d do it in a second. It’s a way, of saying FU, to the enemy. An Enemy, that just killed MY friends. That’s WAR…. nasty, ugly, and deadly.. don’t like it? DON’T PLAY!!!
These Islomnuts, think hiding bombs is great fun, beating and stoning and killing women and kids,is ok, but then they get hacked off, over THIS? There is a serious, mental defect, in those Middle Eastern people. They want war, to bomb, to kill, to behead…but, want RELIGIOUS CONSIDERATION, while DOING SO??? W T H ??

This is a sensless war which could have been ended years ago. We fought religious suicide bombers in WW II………they were called “kamikazis” and we KNEW then what to do. Either fight or leave! Obama is no leader!

You right wing nuts drive me crazy! Did you complain when the LA Slimes ran Danish cartoon pictures of the great Mo-hamid. Of course you didn’t. …..Oh, um , sorry! The slimes didn’t run those pictures for fear of offending the Satan whorshipers. How do our troops fair at the hands of the enemy? Or for that matter by thier brothers in arms that happen to be Muslim? Hassan anyone? The Muslim that fragged fellow soldiers in Iraq? His name escapes me. God help us.

chicken thief
hi,
they are putting the TROOPS in danger by showing those pictures,
remember the 6 AMERICANS KILLED FOR THE BOOK,
the mob is prop by the TALIBANS, and each little thing will get them on the street,
even the afghan soldiers turn on the AMERICANS AND SHOOT THEM IN THE BACK,
THAT LA is the most stupid MAHAJA whoever he is to have thought about it and decide to help the TALIBANS MUSLIMS, it mean that he could not care less of our MILITARY IN HELL,AND THEIR LIVES,
MAHAJA IS NOT TAKING INTEREST IN AMERICA, HE IS NOT FOR AMERICA, MEANING HE IS AGAINST HER, GET RID OF HIM,
THE RIGHT WING ER ARE ALWAYS RIGHT

They were just trying to get a leg up on the situation

Dc
they where not leg al

could not resist that

THE GENERAL PETER said he was tired to see that we don’t take the sides of the MILITARY
AND COMMANDER ALLENN to start protecting our troops instead of talking of punishment ,

@David Brickner, #14:

Obama is no leader!

He certainly didn’t lead us into this situation.

@Greg20…. not the point. He told you, FOUR YEARS ago, he’d have us out of there.. FOUR YEARS later.. still there. The list, of Obama PROMISES, is as long as you are TALL Greg…. the list of those, he has FAILED TO FULFILL, is equally long, minus ONE line…. and gays in the military, a topic that doesn’t mean diddly, to the 330 million REST of us dealing with America in distress!
Obama, has lead, NOTHING. Greg, he even said, if he didn’t get things right, in 3 years, he’d be a ONE TERM PRESIDENT…. looks like THAT, was a falsehood as well, he’s RUNNING… on WHAT???

The only thing missing is the soldiers cutting the throat of a pig and dribbling the blood on the dead coward suicide bombers.

@UpChuck.Liberals: We can blame Bush. That’s the ‘in’ thing to do with him and his supporters.

@Hankster58, #21:

Does nailing Osama bin Laden before Obama’s first term in office was completed not count as an accomplishment? What about saving GM and 50,000 GM jobs, along with who knows how many jobs in directly related supply and support industries? How about keeping hundreds of thousands of unemployed American families from destitution, with extensions of unemployment compensation that were resisted by the republican opposition every step of the way? Does corporate America count quarter after quarter of record profits since mid-2009 as economic failure? How many thousands of communities across America would have laid off essential firefighters, police, and teachers without stimulus dollars at the height of the recession? How many state governments–a lot of them red–would have sunk beneath their own mounting deficits without federal dollars? Their republican leaders happily took credit for bagging the funds, and then turned around and attacked the man whose policies provided them. How many more illegal aliens have been deported under the Obama administration than during the Bush years? Keeping track of that, are we?

Did the economic disaster at the end of the Bush administration turn into another Great Depression? Did the skyrocketing rise in unemployment that was launched during the final year of Bush’s term not slow and reverse before Obama had completed his first year? Has the stock market not largely recovered from the crash through the floorboards we witnessed in 2008? Have we seen another large-scale terrorist attack on U.S. territory? Did Obama’s aggressive drone program in Afghanistan and Pakistan not utterly destroy al Qaeda’s entire leadership structure?

And regarding all of these “insignificant” accomplishments . . . How, exactly, did the GOP assist the President in getting them done?

You want to replace the guy who accomplished all of this with the guy who ran Bain capital?

Why? What were his accomplishments as governor? Did you like his state health care program?

Comrade greg, spare us your debunked obama propaganda.

Songs the pic brings to mind.

STP– Creep (Half the man I used to be)
http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%

Patsy Cline– I fall to pieces
http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%

Moby– Extreme Ways (Then it fell apart, fell apart / Oh baby, oh baby / Then it fell apart, it fell apart )
http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%

@Greg: Please provide proof that Obama nailed/killed OBL. A photo of him pulling the trigger or eye witness accounts will do, provided they are not frauds of course. I could have sworn it was SEAL Team 6 that did the deed based on the hard work and dedication of others in our military and intelligence communities. If you can’t provide that proof, then you are taking credit from where it belongs, which is our military, and giving to a politician. A big time slap in the face to those in uniform.

I agree, taking pictures of suicide bombers isn’t the best thing to do with them. What we should do with them is use DNA and other forensic techniques to identify them and then kill all of their direct family members. Do that for a while and see how many mamas want their babies to grow up to be bombs.

GREG
nailing BIN LADEN, CONTRIBUTED TO 30 SPECIAL OP TO BE KILL BY ROCKET BOMBED IN A HELICOPTER,
ANSWERING A FALSE CALL ALL FIX UP TO GET THEM KILLED,
any body can see that, they got taken in a snare, because they where told that there was their own soldiers in trouble
which they always came to rescue their brothers pin down by the enemies,
the regular tactic of the enemies, they have use that same tactic of luring the military in spot they choose to kill them, it work a few time, but even that was too much, for even one lost of one soldier is a disaster,

@JustAl: They would think twice about killing “infidels”. I believe in the early ’80’s when we couldn’t get our hostages released from Lebanon, the Soviets had theirs released in a matter of weeks if not days because the KGB hunted down the family members of the hostage takers and took care of them.

Just AL
GREAT THING TO DO,
with radicalism, we got to use the same way to unlock their mind,
that is the way they are bred by their own,
so it would make them understand their foolishness to send their children to be exploded,
if some of them get the same treatment.
can you imagine them with OBAMA WIN 4 MORE YEARS,
THEY WOULD SOLIDIFY THEIR LOGIC IN THIS USA,
OBAMA HAS SHOWN ALL HE CAN SPEND AND DESTROY IN ALMOST 4 YEARS, IT’S SCARY TO GIVE HIM 4 MORE WITH HIS
DESTRUCTIVE POWER IN CHARGE AND HIS LEANING TOWARD MUSLIM
bye

Hard Right
they are all not available
thank you just the same

Greg,
I do not consider “saving” GM an accomplishment especially when it was done with taxpayers dollars…The company was run extremely poorly and both management / union watched it all happen from the sides lines and did nothing to save it….You run your business that poorly you don’t deserve to be in business…You can rattle on about the good union jobs that were saved but they were partially responsible for putting the big 3 in the position they were in.

Rewarding bad behavior only encourages more bad behavior…I personally would have let them fail. There are plenty of successful auto plants in the US that pay a very nice wage…Amazing they didn’t need a bailout isn’t it.

@ Greg, the Obama Drone… Do tell us, I’m really curios, why are you guys so Die hard fanatical, about covering for this do nothing know nothing no record guy?? Amazing, so many, were duped to vote for a guy, with NO RECORD, and that no one knows, who he really is. Pathetic. Anyway, as to your questions

Does nailing Osama bin Laden before Obama’s first term in office was completed not count as an accomplishment?

Um, you mean the job the Intel network, left over from the Bush administration, that Obama said during his Campaign he’d close down, but ended up EXTENDING?? You mean SEAL team 6, who went IN and did it??
Obama, sat safe in a bunker, in DC, and watched in on the Telly! LOL!

What about saving GM and 50,000 GM jobs, along with who knows how many jobs in directly related supply and support industries?

Oh, you mean the DEAL, where the UAW got RICH, and PAD BACK, for helping elect him??? And, the STOCKHOLDERS, meaning regular folks, GM WORKERS, Retired people and their pension investments, got THE SHAFT?? THAT RIP OFF DEAL?? The one, GM built it’s NEXT, NEWEST PLANT, out of the Country on??? right…

How about keeping hundreds of thousands of unemployed American families from destitution, with extensions of unemployment compensation that were resisted by the republican opposition every step of the way?

Oh, you mean, a sort of Non-Welfare Welfare deal?? My sister got some of that, but, we did not HAVE it, to PAY OUT really… Greg, that ws done, to keep folks from getting mad at Obama. All it did, was INCREASE the NATIONAL DEBT.. something YOU don;’t get, but some of the Republicans did. Fact is Greg, when you are DEAD BROKE, some are going to suffer, FACT! That’s life. You Liberals, and your “it’s all Sunshine Bullschite, are in DENIAL.. life is NOT Disneyland.. when you FK UP.. SOMEONE GETS hurt!! The WORST part of this is, the Democrats, will see the US BANKRUPT, and DESTROYED, before they admit, THEY BLEW IT!! Not a MAN, of INTEGRITY, amongst them.

Does corporate America count quarter after quarter of record profits since mid-2009 as economic failure?

Depends on the business,, OIL for instance.. when you sell your item, in the MILLIONS of units,such as GAS… you’re going to make money, no matter what. Basic math.

How many thousands of communities across America would have laid off essential firefighters, police, and teachers without stimulus dollars at the height of the recession? How many state governments–a lot of them red–would have sunk beneath their own mounting deficits without federal dollars?

Well, if the GSA wasn’t pissing away our hard earned $$$.. if Leon Pannetta, wasn’t costing us a million bucks, to fly home every other weekend, to play with his walnut tress.. etc etc etc… the budget, could be used, to help out, WITHOUT increasing our debt to the Moon. And, I don’t want to here you blame BUSH either! Ok, so maybe under Bush, some of this happened. SO WHAT? You cannot, undo the PAST…..BUT… OBAMA, ran as the man who was going to CHANGE ALL THAT! Remember, GREG?? HOPE, and CHANGE?? Only CHANGE, your PERSONAL MESSIAH has MADE, is to INCREASE THE ERRORS of the PAST, EXPONENTIALLY!! UBER DEBT increase…

Their republican leaders happily took credit for bagging the funds, and then turned around and attacked the man whose policies provided them.

BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH… Bush stinks, Obama is holy.. yadda yadda yadda….

How many more illegal aliens have been deported under the Obama administration than during the Bush years? Keeping track of that, are we?

Not nearly enough, and Obamacare, WILL INSURE THEM ALL!! We’re bankrupt ALREADY, and this IDIOT, is adding on 20 million MORE, who pay NO TAXES??? Gee greg, what does THAT math tell you, is COMING???

Did the economic disaster at the end of the Bush administration turn into another Great Depression?

Read this Greg, we’re IN a DEPRESSION, NOW.. read the “qualifications, of a “Depression” sorry, Obama didn’t save anything. believe what you will, but you live a lie. sad.

http://www.tnr.com/article/economy/94055/posner-recession-depressions-entitlements

Did the skyrocketing rise in unemployment that was launched during the final year of Bush’s term not slow and reverse before Obama had completed his first year?

No. And, the HONEST figure, is FAR higher, than the Number he gives out. Sorry, wrong again.
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/01/06/why-the-real-unemployment-rate-is-15-6/
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/real-unemployment-rises-162-june-253-million-people
http://www.cnbc.com/id/45521793/Economy_Creates_120_000_Jobs_Rate_Tumbles_to_8_6

“The measure some refer to as the “real” unemployment rate, which counts discouraged workers, also took a fall to 15.6 percent from 16.2 percent”…..
8%?? Stop doing Drugs, Greg… they make you STUPID! Sorry!

Has the stock market not largely recovered from the crash through the floorboards we witnessed in 2008?
The Stock Market.. is disconnected, from the Economy of the ” average street people”… Example.. Dow RISES, when GE lays off 1000 workers… that GOOD news?? Only on paper, for paper investors, for YOU and ME..and Joe next door?? BAD Economic news!

Have we seen another large-scale terrorist attack on U.S. territory? Did Obama’s aggressive drone program in Afghanistan and Pakistan not utterly destroy al Qaeda’s entire leadership structure?

Since all Obama did, was KEEP IN PLACE, the defensive structure BUSH built, NO! Thank George Bush, for that. Obama , did NOTHING, except EXTEND, the BUSH military plans, he CAMPAIGNED AGAINST!! LOL!!

And regarding all of these “insignificant” accomplishments . . . How, exactly, did the GOP assist the President in getting them done?

Well, Since Harry Reid, at Obama’s behest, has STALLED Every useful bill the House has sent over, all the Problems we have, can ALL be placed, Squarely on Obama and his FOLLOWERS backs. By the way.. the LAST TWO YEARS of Bush’s Administration, were DEMOCRAT CONTROLLED… BOTH Houses. CONGRESS SPENDS.. so all FISCAL FAILURES, were DONE, via DEMOCRAT Congress….Of which OBAMA TOOK an active part! Now, add coming up to FOUR years of Obama, and Democrats.. we’ve had SIX YEARS, of YOUR PALS… so Greg, HOW MANY YEARS, have to pass, before you MAN UP, and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for YOUR PARTIES actions?? SIX isn’t enough???? GEEZUS H KEE RIST!

Have a nice day, ,and bath real well,and disinfect, after you remove your cranium, from Obama derriere.
Apologies to others, for my coarseness.. been a long day….

@ another vet 26…. I’ll bet Obie, has never shot so much as a BB gun!! LOL! This posted, after getting back in from a quick fun trip to my backyard range… set up three scopes new mounted for basic shooting, will dial em in later with their fav ammo. Got to try, my newest toy, a .17HMR….. AWESOME!! this one almost hits center, all by itself!
Life is good down on the farm…

@Hankster58, #33:

The GOP had 12 consecutive years of congressional majorities, remember? And for the last 6 of them they also had a republican in the White House.

A democratic President has so far had 3 1/2 years to try to clean up the mess, with a democratic congressional majority for only 2 of those years.

We might also remember that Bush walked into the White House with a growing budget surplus. Republicans like to deny that these days, but the Bush administration’s own financial adviser, Mitch Daniels, openly acknowledged that at the time.

Obama walked in on a new wave of federal deficits, a stock market in ruins, banks still in danger of systemic failure, unemployment skyrocketing, two long and unfunded foreign wars already underway, and the worst recession since the Great Depression already in progress.

Hankster 58
GREG did not get it, he only get what he says ,and he think it’s the truth, just like the others liberals,
now OBAMA is jealous of the achievement of MITT ROMNEY, and he can’t stand the rich people,
all he want is their money, he’s fix on money, and you think he want to distribute it? think again,
OBAMA is a big spender and he will never have enough money, and for himself alone, but he has to say it’s for someone else to cover his greed,
MITT ROMNEY DON’T WANT THE PEOPLE’S MONEY, AND HE KNOW HOW TO GET JOBS, HE WILL BE A CAREFUL
SPENDER, AND WILL BE MORALLY INCLINE TO PAY FOR THE DEBT, BECAUSE HE KNOW THE IN AND OUT OF BUSYNESS,
HE KNOW TO SAVE AND TO SPEND,HE KNOWS THE MONEY IS FROM THE PEOPLE, HE WILL RESPECT THE PEOPLE’S MONEY,
NOT WHAT IS IN THE WHITE HOUSE NOW, THEY HAVE A MONEY SIGN ON THEIR FOREHEAD, ALL OF THEM DEMOCRATS

@Greg:
Actually greg, he personaly helped play a role in all of it. The crash and current state of the economy is almost entirely due to the dems and their interference/greed in the lending side of things. The intelligence to kill BL came from the what the Bush admin had done. Deportations increased (possibly) because of what the Bush admin put in place. I say possibly because I recently saw something about how the math used by obama and co. to calculate deportations was very questionable. Not only were some deportations not actual deportations, some of what they claimed actually belonged to the Bush administration.
As for GM, they have only postponed the inevitable, wasted billions in taxpayer dollars, and violated the rights of shareholders in the process.
obama and the dems have made things worse economically, foreign affairs wise, and militarily.
Unsurprisingly, you deliberately ignore the explosion in spending by the dems/obama that dwarfs what Bush and the GOP did over 8 years.
Lastly, you have been shown that everything I have said above to be fact beyond a shadow of a doubt by Mata, Aye, Word, and others. Thus, you are a liar doing nothing more than spreading propaganda. So spare us your marxist, slobbering stupidity.

@Hard Right: You mean the math they use for the deportations comes from the same mathematical formula that they use to calculate the unemployment rate?

@Hankster58: You mean he didn’t test fire any of the illegal weapons his Justice Dept. gave to the Mexican drug lords? Congrats on the new toy. Demand and prices have certainly been skyrocketing of late.

@another vet:

It’s that Chicago math.

Greg, here’s the deal. Bush is Not around anymore, Ok?? What he did, is IRRELEVANT (well relatively speaking) to WHAT IS BEING DONE TODAY. that’s.. T O D A Y . You CANNOT undo the past, so, FORGET ABOUT IT. What we need to be CONCERNED with, is what we are DOING NOW. Obama , and the Dems, are Blowing it, from every direction. The “Hope and Change”.. where did it go?? It NEVER arrived. THAT, is what we are talking about. That, is why we are pissed. That, is why, we are in deep trouble, and Sinking DEEPER BY THE DAY.

You were sold a bill of goods. You got TOOK, by Obama. He promised you a lot, and delivered none of it.
WHY, are YOU not PISSED ABOUT IT???

By they way.. GM??? A Chapter 11.. would have saved them to, and Cost the TAXPAYERS, ZILCH, by Comparison. so, you got SNOOKERED again.. while Obama paid off his Union Vote debt, with YOUR DOLLAR… A Chapter 11, would have protected the CITIZEN investors, and ZAPPED the UNIONS.. NOW, you know WHY Obama did it, and now, you know WHO, he chose, to THROW UNDER THE BUS, to do it!! JOE AVERAGE CITIZEN….. the UNIONS. got theirs… Typical Chicago politics.

Now, look at the News, a NEW, SPENDING Scandal, is showing up every day now…. CHANGE??? New day in Washington? Open Transparency? REALLY???
this is YOUR guy, you fall all over yourself, supporting him?? WHY? The guy has LIED to you, from DAY ONE Greg… WAKE UP, and Join the INFORMED!!

It’s never too late.. to “get it”….

@ Another vet…. YES THEY HAVE!! The only Industry, Obama seems to have helped, is GUNS and AMMO!! Did you know, Ruger, has STOPPED taking orders?? They cannot KEEP UP with them!! The .17 hmr came from Bro in law…. said it was grouping like 3+ inches at 50 yds…didn’t like it etc…. I just shot it at 25 to have a look see…. 3 into a dime at 25, with no real “effort” (Bench rests etc)… thing shoots like a LASER! A KEEPER! Don’t have a clue, what he was doing wrong… don’t think I’ll tell him how good it really is, he’ll be ticked! LOL!!

Same guy.. Swapped doing their taxes…for his old Nissan 97 hardbody from him a few weeks back.. he said it had “issues”…. a few days of wrenching, a few trips to “the yard” for grill, mirrors, and odd parts…… lookin Great, runs like a top, repaired all the “problems” (all superficial, or oddball stuff, I figured out, from Internet forum sites).. Now he eyeballs it every time we go over there…. Glad My old man taught me, to learn how to do everything myself! LOL!! I feel bad for him.. he tries, but is all thumbs,,,

OBAMA BOUGHT THE ARAB SPRING WITH THE MONEY FROM THE AMERICANS,
HE went on a spending spree for them to succeed, the debt ceiling was the beginning,
he repay the money they send him to be elected in 2008. with the AMERICAN’S MONEY,
AND THE DEMOCRATS KNOW IT AND ARE TOO SCARE TO COME OUT IN FRONT OF THE PEOPLE TO ADMIT IT.

@Hankster58, #41:

Unsurprisingly, you deliberately ignore the explosion in spending by the dems/obama that dwarfs what Bush and the GOP did over 8 years.

Maintaining a high level of federal spending in 2009 and 2010 was absolutely essential to keep the U.S. economy from total collapse. There are no widely recognized economist who will tell you otherwise. A drastic reduction in federal spending at the same time that consumer credit was tapped out and millions were losing their jobs would have resulted in an economic catastrophe.

The primary contributor to the increased deficits, however, was the fact that federal revenues fell through the floorboards as a direct result of the 2008 recession. Have a look at the chart included in the linked Business Insider article to see just how enormous that drop was. The figures along the chart’s vertical axis must be multiplied by one million to get the actual numbers:

The Truth About Who’s Responsible For Our Massive Budget Deficit

If you want to ignore the primary cause entirely and obsess with increased spending, consider something else that the article points out: President Bush actually increased federal spending by more than twice as much as Obama has done, and he didn’t have the worst recession in the better part of a century to contend with. That is a simple straightforward fact.

It’s perfectly understandable why republicans don’t want to consider or talk about the recent past, and want to divert all attention from it by making the claim that any reference to what happened and why it happened is just a case of “Bush blaming”. Personally, I’d be happy enough to forget all about W–were it not for the fact that republicans are presently wanting to do the same things all over again, only this time with a vengeance.

That’s the wrong chart in #44, of course.

Try this one instead.

There’s decline in the annual revenue level of nearly half a trillion dollars. It took more than 2 years for federal receipts to get back to the level they were at before the recession began.

Probably everybody likes a good Heritage Foundation chart. Look at this one.

When you consider the total increase in the federal spending level from 2000 through present, how much of increase that total actually occurred while Obama was in the White House?

I guess I just did not get it. The pics seemed fine to me; just a little grisley. I think it is called war.

Actualy it’s the wrong chart in #45 greg. The HF chart undermines your claims about who is mostly to blame for the deficit.
http://www.heritage.org/budgetchartbook/growth-federal-spending-revenue

See, 9/11 happened which hurt the economy and revenues. Then it recovered only to crash again when the CRA and other free market tinkering by the dems came home to roost.
The chart clearly shows the dem controled congress took the deficit and spending to a level that eclipsed even what the GOP had done in half the time. See greg, the dems controlled Congress as of 2006. Your “author” ignores that. Big shock.
The Business Insider link plays a little game with percentages. They say Bush doubled the defit 2x more than obama. It’s also rather clear he’s a partisan dem with the way he manipulates the data. The proof of his disingenousness is in the link below.
The dems ran up spending and the deficit to insane levels. The dems are more responsible for the economy, spending, and the deficit than the GOP. That is a fact.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/government-spending-2011-7#ixzz1sbCC73o0
http://www.businessinsider.com/government-spending-2011-7

Of course commrade greg picks his articles to try and bolster his lies.

Greg, if YOU are right, California, a PRIME EXAMPLE of Democrat economics in action should FLOURISHING…..

IS IT?? Case closed, just like your mind.

You cannot spend more than you make, you cannot give everything, to everybody. Some people, will always be poor. Some peoples lives will always suck. Life is tough. Life is what YOU make of it. If you depend upon the GOV for everything, you deserve NOTHING, you’re a lazy good for nothing BUM. Most Democrat Social Programs, BREED BUMS. You align yourself, with the Democrats. Hmmmm

@Hard Right: The public school system there does leave a lot to be desired.

@Hard Right, #47:

See, 9/11 happened which hurt the economy and revenues.

The 9/11 attacks did around $178 billion dollars worth of direct physical economic damage to the United States.

What runs the estimated total damages up to an astonishing $3.3 thousand billion is how the United States responded to that attack. Refer to 9/11 : The Reckoning, published last September in the New York Times.

The lion’s share of war costs relate to Iraq, which didn’t really have anything to do with 9/11 in the first place. Perhaps it would have been better to have left Iraq as Iran’s biggest worry, and to have put our total focus on Afghanistan and the expeditious destruction of bin Laden and al Qaeda. Maybe then we wouldn’t have had to spend the next 10 years hunting them down.

In 2004, when he was arguably still capable of initiating another devastating attack on the United States, Osama bin Laden released a video gloating about his plan of “bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy.”

That was the plan all along. And they suckered us in. We went along with it. As a result, al Qaeda was ultimately able to do the United States $7 million dollars in economic damages for every $1 they spent planning and executing the attacks.

Let that sink in for a minute.

Do you blame Obama for it?

Personally, I don’t want another republican anywhere near the oval office until they show some sign that they’ve finally recognized the error. Otherwise. . . Well, they’ve had a gleam in their eye about Iran and North Korea for a long time now.