Spencer Ackerman discussing Dean Barnett:
Just laughably stupid. What Barnett evidently doesn’t realize is that Sarah Sewall helped write the fucking Army and Marine Corps counterinsurgency manual. Is FM 3-24 filled with “dovish idealism”? Remember what this dude wrote the next time anyone from the Weekly Standard tries to take Petraeus or Odierno into their tender mouths.
But you knew that already, didn’t you?
I like what Spencer has done here. Not only do these morons need to be pointed out as stupid, but they need to be insulted and derided and ridiculed in the process. In that vein, Glenzilla:
To commence the discussion to show us all “The Way Ahead” in Iraq, here is the very first thing that Fred Kagan said:
The first thing I want to say is that: The Civil War in Iraq is over. And until the American domestic political debate catches up with that fact, we are going to have a very hard time discussing Iraq on the basis of reality.
One has to watch the video to fully appreciate how pompously he sits there on his war throne issuing his decree about “reality” in Iraq.
Less than 24 hours after Kagan decreed the Civil War in Iraq over — and lectured Americans that we must accept this if we are to understand reality in Iraq — McClatchy News Service reported:
With Iraq’s top leaders directing the battle, Iraq’s army and national police pressed a major operation Tuesday to wrest control of the southern port city of Basra from the Shiite Mahdi Army militia. Fighting between government forces and the militia quickly spread through Iraq’s south and into Baghdad.
That is impressively wrong, even for Kagan, who, as Glenn notes, has made a lucrative career out of being catastrophically wrong, but very serious.
Crusty Dem
Kagan is truly amazing, I’ve never heard of someone being so exactly, perfectly wrong. Dude, this is exactly the start of the civil war in Iraq. I’d like to take him to las vegas, stake with $1 chips at the roulette table and force him to pick red or black. There’s no way he could be as wrong as he is about, hell, everything else. But if he were, I could use him to break the bank.
But seriously, there’s got to be an award for people this stupid. Fred Kagan, winner of the first annual STFU award. We could have a banquet and everything (he wouldn’t miss a free banquet, would he?).
joe
I’m just glad we’ve finally got a candidate who will go toe to toe with the hawks on foreign and military policy, and argue for an actual competing vision, rather than trying to change the subject (Daschle-style) or accepting their premises but critiquing their execution (Kerry-style).
Because they’re wrong, and they’re dumb, and the only reason anyone believes differently is because they’ve never been directly challenged. Fat, bloated, intellectually lazy hacks who’ve spent too long existing in a mutual-admiration society, and actually think their rhetorical flourishes are an expression of meaningful ideas.
These idiots actually think that “Listening to Osama bin Laden won’t end terrorism” is a controversial idea. They actually think that is what their opponents believe. Obama is going to eat them alive.
Zifnab
Woo! Reality based community! I kan haz some off et?
Grand Moff Texan
What do you expect? The only people left who support this war are dumb, dishonest, or both.
.
Wilfred
The Arab bloggers who lived through the Lebanese civil war were saying months ago that the lull in action was typical of what they experienced. The warring parties need time to re-arm, and recruit. The glaring lack of political reconciliation, highlighted over and over and over again as the most important objective of the surge, was always the only thing that could put a stop to factionalism. Kagan is the worst of the remaining pigs – common sense and facts are useless with Zionist, neo-con ideologues. They lied about Iraq from the beginning, they’re not likely to start telling the truth now.
Gus
They get away with it because no one calls them on it. It doesn’t matter if it’s true. Once it’s out there, people will cite it as fact. There’s too much information for the average person to keep track of, so if Joe Sixpack sees an “expert” say it on Faux, it becomes truth in his mind. Who has time to keep up with 4 all news networks, dozens of newspapers and news services and innumerable blogs? Dean Barnett isn’t saying that shit because he’s stupid (though he probably is), he’s saying it in service of his ideology. I’m sure he knows it’s not true, he just doesn’t care.
Evinfuilt
So you’re saying his Bill Kristol wrong?
Bernie
“Not only do these morons need to be pointed out as stupid, but they need to be insulted and derided and ridiculed in the process.”
I would go even further. These people need to be crushed and humilated. They need to be sent back to their think-tank cubicles crying like a 7 year old who just got his ass kicked by a 5 year old girl on the playground. It is the only way to ensure that they will never, ever, be put in a position of any kind of power ever again.
The Commander Guy
He didn’t say which Civil War war was over.
The Commander Guy
Kristol does not care if what he says is right or wrong.
If he can muddy up the waters with enough B.S. to prevent people from getting a clue about out what is really going on, he’s quite happy.
binzinerator
You mean Spencer Ackerman said that, not Dean Barnet, right?
Nitpicky, but the attribution makes it look like Barnett is tooling on his own stupidity.
Scott H
Not only do these morons need to be pointed out as stupid, but they need to be insulted and derided and ridiculed in the process.
My program for these people is Ridicule, Humiliate, Disgrace.
All verbs.
Grumpy Code Monkey
“Jail” can also be a verb, at least for some of these motherfuckers.
Andrew J. Lazarus
Sarah Sewall is a girl.
Fred Kagan, on the other hand, is a specimen of American manhood par excellence.
fishbane
John, I’m sorry, but I have to defend the honor of hammers. At least they’re good for something.