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Tommy_Carcetti

(43,220 posts)
8. Bored....or distracted, perhaps.
Mon Dec 18, 2017, 03:45 PM
Dec 2017

Thinking about what Mueller's going to say to his lawyers this week.

JustABozoOnThisBus

(23,375 posts)
10. He's reading from teleprompters, without bothering to comprehend.
Mon Dec 18, 2017, 03:46 PM
Dec 2017

So it sounds detached. Like a third-grader reading Chaucer.

 

smirkymonkey

(63,221 posts)
9. Hope he strokes out.
Mon Dec 18, 2017, 03:46 PM
Dec 2017

At this point it's not enough for me just to have him out of office. I want him off the planet.

Vinnie From Indy

(10,820 posts)
12. I heard him as well...he sounded as though he were taking medication
Mon Dec 18, 2017, 04:03 PM
Dec 2017

Who knows what kind, but this was a different Trump speaking.

karynnj

(59,507 posts)
13. Not to mention he is espousing a few of history that comes from the right of Fox News
Mon Dec 18, 2017, 04:09 PM
Dec 2017

This was especially true when he spoke of how HIS coalition had taken back nearly 100% of the land that ISIS once had - and spoke of how Obama let ISIS grow and take over huge areas . That claim is a distortion of history on both sides. The coalition was put together by Obama/Kerry/Hagel and Ash Carter -- all 60 plus countries. The estimates when Obama left office were that within 6 to 9 months, ISIS would control no significant area. On the other end, ISIS started in Syria, a country we had no inference over- where there were many groups fighting Assad. There was a UN attempt that the US was involved in in 2012 to end that civil war, but like later attempts it failed. The US had no good options in Syria. We got involved against ISIS when they marched across the Iraq border and took over many Sunni areas and were threatening both the Kurdish areas and Baghdad.

The US had removed their forces from Iraq in accordance to the Bush developed timeline (adjusted to keep them about a year more). Obama would have kept some troops there, but Maliki, then the Prime Minister, would not agree to a SOFA which would have controlled how American troops would be treated if they were considered to have broken the law. Obama gave a speech in June 2014 where he told Iraq that they needed an inclusive government and pushed them to create one from the people elected in the then recent elections. Without that, it would have been almost impossible for ISIS to be defeated because we would be fighting ISIS in Sunni areas, with no local support) -- and the Iraqi army needed to be rebuilt and could not be just Shite. It was a heavy lift for both Biden and Kerry to persuade Maliki to allow Al Badi to become the new Prime Minister.

Obama/Kerry/Hagel (Carter) then led the formation of the coalition and developed a strategy of having local peoples fight on the ground with foreign air power and assistance. Importantly, after an area was won back, there was an international effort (mainly Norway and the US) to demine the area and they worked to get local people working to restore governance to the area. The idea here was to avoid what happened in both Afghanistan and Iraq where the US came in with overewhelming power and won areas -- that the jihadists won back as we left. This was intentionally a slower process than shock and awe, but one that was designed to try to avoid having to fight for the same areas multiple times.

Beyond the distortions, I have NEVER heard a US President essentially blame the previous administrtaion for "drifting from US values" and blaming the US for much is wrong in the world.

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