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Chrishayden
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 2959
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 08, 2006 - 04:28 pm: | 
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I wonder if he's going to apply for asylum to Guatemala or someplace so he won't prosecuted. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 6786
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 08, 2006 - 05:12 pm: |
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Why don't Bush make it a trifecta and can Cheney's and Rice's no-account a$$es too? |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 1117
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 08, 2006 - 05:16 pm: |
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Chris, ya just beat me to it. I was about to post the story. But I think I'll do it anyway......
Rumsfeld resigns as secretary of defense
By ROBERT BURNS and KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press Writers 21 minutes ago
After years of defending his secretary of defense, President Bush on Wednesday announced Donald H. Rumsfeld's resignation within hours of the Democrats' triumph in congressional elections. Bush reached back to his father's administration to tap a former CIA director to run the Pentagon.
The Iraq war was the central issue of Rumsfeld's nearly six-year tenure, and unhappiness with the war was a major element of voter dissatisfaction Tuesday — and the main impetus for his departure. Even some GOP lawmakers in Congress became critical of the war's management, and growing numbers of politicians were urging Bush to replace Rumsfeld.
Bush said Robert M. Gates, 63, who has served in a variety of national security jobs under six previous presidents, would be nominated to replace Rumsfeld. Gates, currently the president of Texas A&M University, is a Bush family friend and a member of an independent group studying the way ahead in Iraq.
"Secretary Rumsfeld and I agreed that sometimes it's necessary to have a fresh perspective," Bush said in the abrupt announcement during a postelection news conference.
In a later appearance at the White House with Rumsfeld and Gates at his side, Bush praised both men, thanked Rumsfeld for his service and predicted that Gates would bring fresh ideas.
"The secretary of defense must be a man of vision who can see threats still over the horizon and prepare our nation to meet them. Bob Gates is the right man to meet both of these critical challenges," Bush said.
In brief remarks, Rumsfeld described the Iraq conflict as a "little understood, unfamiliar war" that is "complex for people to comprehend."
Asked whether Rumsfeld's departure signaled a new direction in a war that has claimed the lives of more than 2,800 U.S. troops and cost more than $300 billion, Bush said, "Well, there's certainly going to be new leadership at the Pentagon."
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Rumsfeld was not leaving immediately. Rumsfeld planned to deliver a speech on the global war on terrorism at Kansas State University on Thursday.
Just last week Bush told reporters that he expected Rumsfeld, 74, to remain until the end of the administration's term. And although Bush said Wednesday that his decision to replace Rumsfeld was not based on politics, the announcement of a Pentagon shake-up came on the heels of Tuesday's voting, in which Democrats captured control of the House and could win control of the Senate if the remaining undecided race in Virginia goes their way.
With his often-combative defense of the war in Iraq, Rumsfeld had been the administration's face of the conflict. He became more of a target — and more politically vulnerable — as the war grew increasingly unpopular at home amid rising violence and with no end in sight.
Gates ran the CIA under the first President Bush during the first Gulf war. He retired from government in 1993.
He joined the CIA in 1966 and is the only agency employee to rise from an entry level job to become director. A native of Kansas, he made a name for himself as an analyst specializing in the former Soviet Union and he served in the intelligence community for more than a quarter century, under six presidents.
Numerous Democrats in Congress had been calling for Rumsfeld's resignation for many months, asserting that his management of the war and of the military had been a resounding failure. Critics also accused Rumsfeld of not fully considering the advice of his generals and of refusing to consider alternative courses of action.
Sen. Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record) of Michigan and Rep. Ike Skelton (news, bio, voting record) of Missouri — the top Democrats on the Armed Services committees — said the resignation would only be a positive step if accompanied by a change in policy.
"I think it is critical that this change be more than just a different face on the old policy," Skelton said.
Rumsfeld, 74, has served in the job longer than anyone except Robert McNamara, who became secretary of defense during the Kennedy administration and remained until 1968. Rumsfeld is the only person to have served in the job twice; his previous tour was during the Ford administration.
Rumsfeld had twice previously offered his resignation to Bush — once during the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in spring 2004 and again shortly after that. Both times the president refused to let him leave.
Gates took over the CIA as acting director in 1987, when William Casey was terminally ill with cancer. Questions were raised about Gates' knowledge of the Iran-Contra scandal, so he withdrew from consideration to take over the CIA permanently. Yet he stayed on as deputy director.
Then-National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, who has been a critic of the younger Bush's policies, asked Gates to be his deputy in 1989 during the administration of Bush's father. President Bush, a former CIA director himself, asked him to run the CIA two years later. The scandal had faded and Gates won confirmation.
After leaving government, Gates joined corporate boards and wrote a memoir, "From The Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War." It was published in 1996.
Gates is a close friend of the Bush family, and particularly the first President Bush. He became the president
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Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 1118
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 08, 2006 - 05:17 pm: |
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"Why don't Bush make it a trifecta and can Cheney's and Rice's no-account a$$es too?"
High five bro....bap! |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 6788
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 08, 2006 - 05:25 pm: |
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Ntfs,
Firing them would actually be a smart move, actually. Because he could blame all the shyt on them and send a signal that, perhaps, he's ready to cut the shyt.
Of course he WON'T do that. But, hell...may as well enjoy the fantasy. |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 2097
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 08, 2006 - 05:25 pm: |
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I was up all last night and didn't go to sleep until around 10:00 a.m. this morning. I have a TV in my boudoir and it usually stays on. So I woke up a couple of hours later, rolled over and saw POTUS talking about something and had to do a double take and damn near fell out my bed! Why the fuck do they wait until AFTER the election to do what should have been done years ago? This has got to be one of the stupidest moves I've ever witnessed!
So do y'all think that they are going to bring our soldiers home??? Any time soon??? |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 5744
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 08, 2006 - 06:18 pm: |
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Don and Saddam sittin in a tree,
Rumsfeld says,
"man, you, ain't got nothin on me.
Not only did I kill the kids of my enemy,
but I told their dumb parents that this would set them free."
Saddam opened his mouth,
his lips in a sneer,
and snarled, "motha fucka get the hell outta here.
I lost 2 sons at the hands your men,
you ain't lost nothin but your crooked-assed grin."
Don winked and nodded his head
and I'll be enjoying retirement while your ass
will be dead. |
Chrishayden
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 2962
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, November 09, 2006 - 09:56 am: |
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Cynique:
You is another Rudy Ray Moore. I think you need a manager--me.
All:
What I can't understand is why that fool didn't do it months ago. If he had, his party might have still retained power in Congress.
Last December, it would have been courageous and farsighted. After the election, it was pusillanimous.
Bush got more to worry about from burned Republicans than he does from Democrats this morning. |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 2103
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, November 09, 2006 - 10:15 am: |
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Ditto on Cynique's writing abilities. I don't think she knows how brilliant and talented she is  But you'll never get a cut of her riches.
Really - what was he thinking? The good news is that POTUS has to face reality now, he'll stop dictating to us about what we really want and he'll start doing some common sense things. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 5748
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, November 09, 2006 - 11:27 am: |
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I have dabbled in writing my entire adult life, Mzuri, and have even, on occasion, gotten paid for my work. And when it comes to this profession, my greatest asset is that I know my limitations. And I might add that both you and chrishayden are also good at expressing yourselves in writing. |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 2104
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, November 09, 2006 - 12:48 pm: |
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You weren't paid nearly enough |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 1131
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 10, 2006 - 09:51 pm: |
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"Ditto on Cynique's writing abilities. I don't think she knows how brilliant and talented she is."
I agree. This is very true.... |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 2118
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: 
Votes: 2 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 10, 2006 - 10:10 pm: |
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Right on  |
Yvettep
Veteran Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 1405
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 11, 2006 - 10:12 pm: |
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I agree about Cynique's dozens poem.
And bonus points to Chris for using pusillanimous in a sentence. LOL |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 5760
Registered: 01-2004
Rating:
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 12, 2006 - 01:31 pm: |
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That was the "dozens", wasn't it, Yvette. Thanks for refreshing my memory about that genre. I composed that little rap in about 15 minutes, and reading it later I realized it wasn't really on point. Being the compulsive editor that I am, what follows is a revised version.
Don and Saddam sittin in a tree,
Rumsfeld says,
"man, you, ain't got nothin on me.
Not only did I kill civilians of another country,
but I told their mourners this was what it meant to be free."
Saddam opened his mouth,
his lips in a sneer,
and snarled, "motha fucka get the hell outta here.
I lost 2 sons at the hands your men,
you ain't lost nothin but your crooked-assed grin."
Don winked, nodding his head as he said,
"And I'll be enjoying retirement while you'll be better off dead." |
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