Taking stock:
OBAMA: You know, I’ve heard from an Army captain who was the head of a rifle platoon  supposed to have 39 men in a rifle platoon. Ended up being sent to Afghanistan with 24 because 15 of those soldiers had been sent to Iraq. ÂÂ
And as a consequence, they didn’t have enough ammunition, they didn’t have enough humvees. They were actually capturing Taliban weapons, because it was easier to get Taliban weapons than it was for them to get properly equipped by our current commander in chief.ÂÂ
Just to clarify and recap, it seems that the platoon wasn’t up to strength because they were later to deploy, that the reduced numbers of the platoon had nothing to do with with availability of ammunition or weapons, and that they weren’t capturing Taliban weapons in order to arm themselves, and that none of this had to do with Bush’s efforts to make sure they were properly supplied in the field.
Other than that, Obama’s right. I’m not saying that he was lying, though he could have made it clearer that he hadn’t spoken personally with the Captain, and probably shouldn’t have made it seem as though he was in command of the facts, or have leapt to the conclusion that it was Bush’s fault.
So, you know . . . he should apologize, I think.
How do you like them apples, Karl?
Impeach Obama !
Obama Lied, and shiny sparkly things died !
Fluffy bunnies weep when Obama stretches the truth.
That is what Obama’s staffer was purportedly told, anyway. Appparently the size of a platoon can vary. And whether the captain is correct in his claim that the platoon was split due to Iraq is another question. Much of the military-type e-mail that Spuriell reprinted is skeptical that this was accurate. Like you, I am not accusing either Obama or the captain of lying about it, but it may not be entirely accurate.
Of course, you will be accused of claiming they are lying, anyway, which is the reason for my contemporaneous post.
Well, I revised that part, Karl, because of this.
So, my apologies, Obama.
I don’t think Jesus ever lied, did he? Oh well, even if he didn’t lie (he could just be repeating what a liar told him), given that he is so great, he probably shouldn’t have repeated a story told to him without verification, no? Dumbass. Yeah, I went there. I called the messiah a dumbass.
Incidents like this are insightful. Leftists assume these things to be true, it raises no questions amongst them. They just know that President Bush sent people to war without equipment, hoping they would die. So, when their Messiah says something along those lines, they just nod their heads and move right along.
So far, just about nothing from that anecdote (read – made shit up) has been shown to be accurate. At best, some of the basic facts have been shown to be kind of how he represented them several years ago. It reminds me of the Beauchamp burnt face lady in the DFac. There may have a lady with a burnt face somewhere, but she wasn’t there with Beauchamp, and it was probably in a different fucking country, and most likely before he ever got to war and encountered the fog of war that forced him and his friends to be insensitive cocks to someone that had been injured. The Left – just making shit up.
Based on a true story.
“Inspired by real events.”
Pentagon and Obamalot off to rocky start?
The important thing is nobody is paying attention to this:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/02/speaker_pelosi_and_the_new_yor.html
Although I suppose the NYT may be interested if any of Pelosi’s staff worry about the appearance of impropriety. In a decade or so.
Based on a story that would have been true if it had ever actually happened.
Hillary is on the Senate Armed Services committee. Why didn’t he use the story to attack her?
and that they weren’t capturing Taliban weapons in order to arm themselves,
one of Spruiell’s emailer:
“There’s also the obvious question of, if they’re so short of U.S. ammunition, how are they managing to capture Taliban ammunition.”
it’s fair point i think.
You jump it with your checker, and then yell, “KING ME!”
The Left – just making shit up.
It’s really so true. They also reconstitute hero status or reissue credentials to people previous thought of Nazi-like war criminals and visa versa.
If said person says what they want to hear or agrees with their pet “outrage” du jour or you know doesn’t agree with Bush on some aspect – POOF (heh) their creds are instantly restored.
If reliably progressive goes off the reservation ever so slightly? POOF (heh) they’re an evil neo-con JOOOOO lover Bush Hitler never to be trusted – until they fall in line on the pet cause again and then again instant expert status to be quoted wildly is restored.
Yeah McGehee
I was going to say they were able to do all that without ammunition then DANG! they don’t seem to need ammunition. Them some badasses. Taliban weirdos saw off heads and shit.
TSK9 – That description is spot on. Just look at how they go after Rockefeller for being a lapdog of the administration when all along, he has used his role to politicize intelligence. Mendacity is a feature, not a bug.
Dan,
Reading that Weekly Standard link, Stuart Koehl at least entertains the possibility that a lot of the other military-types are dubious about. Koehl may be right, and that may be what happened with the captain’s unit. If so, it would remain the case that: (a) the platoon size was still within Army guidelines; (b) the ammo and equipment issues had nothing to do with it; and (c) it would be “typical of Army practice in most conflicts, including World War II.” In short, it would be like most of the captain’s complaints — typical of a junior-class officer who is unaware of just how typical his complaint are in a major war. We can and should expect those aspiring to be CinC to know better — which has been my point all day.
Another Obambadistortion from the debate. One of them, don’t recall which one cited the oft used (and wrong) statistic of Iraq costing $8bn a month. Some time later, Obama repharses that to $2bn/week. That’s at least consistent, but in the same question he then says $12bn/month.
Now that’s some fast movin’ inflation.
Behold the website gem JMHanes has found!
Are there any troops from Zimbabwe in the coalition?
RTO – I think there is an old sayinf that sums that up nicely. There are lies, statistics, and damn lies, which generally tend to be the talking points du juor.
It turns out that the captain has also talked to NBC News and says something unintentionally revealing:
That’s a nice political line, but even the Obama-fiendly Phil Carter is honest enough to say shortages and logistical glitches are not uncommon in wartime. It underscores the problem with Obama taking this captain seriously… or pretending to do so.
Forgot the NBC link.
Obama-fiendly? I like it!
Dear Obama,
I hope we all have a good sense of humor, because the breezes tell me that Obama will be our next president. “Hope, baby! Gimme your money! I know how to spend it better than you do!”
I have to say that Jimmuh Carter to the tenth power(Obama) can’t be anything but laughsble. Unfortunately, the leftist’s patience with our children in public schools is about to pay off big time.
I talked to a young kid (well, about mid-thirties – which is a young kid to me) tonight from South Africa. Global warming? “Totally!” I asked him for some empirical evidence, and he started babbling about the sun, and then said that was empirical evidence. Because he said so….AlGor to the microphone, please.
All the kids that I talk to are convinced that giving money away will make America the perfect world. They think that people who bust their nuts every day don’t deserve the money they make. The people that REALLY deserve that money are those that won’t lift a finger to help themselves. Poor babies! – but scary.
Welcome to the new millenium! Are we F—-d, or what?
By the way, does Mister Savage have a web site? I have always thought that I was a reasonable person, but lately, I just don’t know. When you are heavily invested in the US (stock market, bonds, etc…), why should you not be pissed at people who not only call you a greedy M-F, but threaten to take MORE money from money that have ALREADY been taxed for?
“I AM HILLARY/OBAMA AND ALL YOUR BUCKS BELONG TO ME! TEH!”
Obama Osama. Osama Obama. The Swimmer may have been drunk, but he just happened to let slip one of the most honest statements of his life. The one good thing about being drunk all the time, is that sometimers you can’t remember your lies, and the truth slips out – like a mouse with an inch of Vaseline on it’s hide. Hmmmm…Interesting.
Maybe I’ll be better tomorrow. But don’t count on it.
Sorry, Jeff. I have spent many years trying to secure my future, and here comes these idiots who call me “rich” and “greedy”.
Hillary has about 50 million dollars more than I do and has the stinkin’ hair to call me greedy! Anger is not really my thing, but I won’t go to any Hillary/Obama rally because I really would hate going to jail because I whacked a lying, greedy, low piece of s–t moron in the face. (except in Monopoly, where Jail can be cool, and my target of violence would probably be a shoe, or some such thing made of pewter).
But it is good to see you posting again…
Happy!~ Happy! Happy! I’m trying. The stars are just not aligned for me at this juncture in time.
I swear – I can be funny…Ho Ho Ho
See?
Lost Dog, you might find this article interesting. punks.
Hillary has about 50 million dollars more than I do
You have $250 mil Lost Dog?
You know I was just kidding when I made fun of you that one time.
Anybody with any knowledge of weapons would take an AK over an M-16 anytime.
In a just war, when the country is forced to retaliate , all kind of things may happen. When Germans attacked Russia, Soviets at first had only 1 rifle per 2 or 3 soldiers, seriously.
If the Iraq war was not a war of choice, i would have personally said to Obama and his friend captain to shut the fuck up.
But even my cat knows by now, that Iraq adventure screwed up our efforts in Afghanistan.
Your cat’s a moron. I advise not going to it for political/military advice.
I thought so too, Rob. Especially when it refuses to eat 9lives delicatessen.
But then it never voted for the current moron in the WH….
Why is Nancy Pelosi staying in the White House. Did she stiff her landlord?
There’s no moron in the White House.
Unless you’re visiting.
The AK-47 is very inaccurate compared to a M-16. As a former Marine Infantryman, I’ll take the M-16 and cap you at 500 yards, Thank-you very much. Stick to something you know about.
Looks like Obama won this round.
He was prepared for everything. He had the Captain’s contact info ready for the MSM fact-checkers and stepped on the milbloggers before they could even catch their breath.
This all took place within the tornado of a 24 hour campaign news cycle.
Meanwhile, John McCombover is reeling from a lobbyist/sex/campaign finance scandal trifecta that has brought his campaign to a grinding halt. It all-hands-on-deck damage control for The Mac.
You keep telling yourself that Jason. It will make it sting more in the end, but since you seem invested in your self delusion it will likely help you get through the day.
Yeah, sashal, well, my cat says we should bomb the hell out of Tehran before Ahadinnerjacket makes his move. My cat’s tougher than your cat!
to prove that Obama goofed some facts… oh yeah, that’s a stompin.
Fact checkers don’t go to the same source to hear the same story. they…um…check the facts. Corroborate, independently verify, stuff like that.
Heh.
Obama controlled this story from the moment he planted it. The headlines are “Obama’s Story Checks Out” and “Captain Confirms Obama’s Story” etc. So now the only right-wing hope is for the soldier to be a liar, and in the meantime we’re all talking about military readiness and the wisdom of invading Iraq.
Which happens to be EXACTLY what Obama wants.
Notice McStain has kept his head down and his mouth shut during all of this? He knows better than to step in this mess.
You all can get mad at Obama, but you’d better appreciate what just happened here. He just controlled the media narrative on a national security story and spun the MSM in his favor, while keeping his GOP opponent silent. That’s huge, and it didn’t happen by accident.
riiiiight, it couldn’t be a case of Obama, once again, showing his ignorance of the military. look out Pakistan!
Wow. Such baldly ignorant statemtens like this just don’t come along all the time. I spent some time just reareading it before I replied. Kind of in awe here. I mean that blows Actus and Dimb out of the water for chutzpah.
No. Those of us who have a knowledge of firearms would only favor the AK-47 in very particular situations and they’d all have to require no need for accuracy.
And where are you seeing those headlines? Major papers? Network news? And do you really think he can outmaneuver McCain in matters military? Can you possibly be that naive?
It’s possible that they had enough ammunition but ran out cause they were mostly just killing civilians, which is causing enormous problems there.
The AK 47 is a wonderfully simple and rugged weapon. Except for the bolt and breach, a very easy weapon to manufacture. it can withstand a tremendous amount of abuse and neglect. Communism, not so much.