Via Tacitus, this AP report on the first day for John Bolton:
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, in his debut in the U.N. Security Council, pressed Syria and Iran on Thursday to do more to stem the flow of terrorists, arms and funding into neighboring Iraq.
His comments came as the 15-nation council unanimously adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution condemning a recent surge in violence in Iraq that has killed hundreds, including Algerian diplomats, U.S. Marines and a Sunni Arab helping to draft a new Iraqi constitution.
The report also includes some harsh words from the Syrian Ambassador.
croatoan
Most of the foreign fighters and suicide bombers in Iraq are from Saudi Arabia and weren’t terrorists until they became radicalized by the invasion.
Stormy70
I think Russia is pissed at our vaunted media.
Bolton, I just love him. Syria needs to be smacked down.
Fighting terrorists creates more terrorists!
Mustn’t fight them, must quit our Western ways of freedom to make the terrorists like us better. (eyeroll)
Remember when we invaded Afghanistan? Seems to me the Arab Street was riled up then, too. Better they radicalize and go to die in Iraq fighting our military, instead of figuring ways to get student visas and coming here to blow up our civilians.
Rick
Stormy,
You’re 100% correct, of course. But you’re casting pearls before swine, for the most part, in this blog’s comments.
Cordially…
Stormy70
That’s OK, I’ve been deemed as the site’s dominatrix in another thread, so Whip-snap, beyotches! (I kid, I kid)
neil
And now, in the post-Bolton era, Republicans think that condemnations by the UN Security Council are effective and also awesome.
Rick
I playfully alluded a couple weeks ago to Ann Coulter being my dominatrix. But I can switch, with enough visual stimu…er…persuasion.
Cordially…
BinkyBoy
No, fighting terrorists would most likely have the result of a reduction in global terrorism, unfortunately, we’re not fighting terrorism, we’re invading and occupying another nation and threatening other oil rich nations.
Oh, and I’ll take that promotion to swine, thanks.
mac Buckets
No, we still think it’s a charade. Nothing means anything without muscle behind it.
Sigivald
Oh, do tell, Binky, how should we fight terrorism without doing anything that “threatens other oil rich nations” (Saudi Arabia, Iran)?
Please, I’m sure the DoD, State Department, the President, and the Times would all like to know (the latter if only so they could beat the former up over it).
Then again, to claim that the Iraq business does not “fight terrorism” is an intersting one, to begin with.
Rome Again
I find it awfully strange that you would use the biblical term “casting pearls before swine” to describe the correctness of killing terrorists. Jesus said to love our enemies and to turn the other cheek. The God of the Bible said “thou shalt not kill” (one of the 10 Commandments your side fights for so vehemently) and yet you think the Bible says you can kill your enemies.
It seems to me your kind doesn’t truly believe in Jesus, God or the Bible, and is just using it for your hubristic purposes. Maybe when we stop being the policemen of the world, terrorists will go home and be normal people again. We need to stop interjecting our way of life (who are we to dictate to them, our crime rate is not much better?) upon the rest of the world and just let them be.
Dr. Weevil
‘Rome Again’ seems to be picking and choosing Bible passages to support his own beliefs. Jesus was not exactly a pacifist: “I come not to send peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). When he (or ‘He’ if you prefer) healed the centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10) he did not tell the centurion to quit his day job, and most Christian churches have taught that a career as a soldier or policeman is permissible for Christians, unlike (e.g.) a career as a prostitute or mugger. Also, aren’t Christians obligated to ‘interject’ their own way of life around the world by trying to convert the heathens to Christianity?
Stormy70
I am taking a pass on this one, it is just too much for me to take on at once.
Horst Graben
Rome Again:
You are correct. Most of us white boys are the spawn of Vikings. Christianity is but a thin skin over our core: the cult of Odin, chief of the gods. Odin, a god of war, was also associated with learning, wisdom, poetry, and magic. Everything that islam is not. Unfortunately, you still cling to the myths of semetic desert dwellers (whose brains are cooked to perfection by the sun).
Rome Again
Actually, they aren’t MY beliefs, I am not a Jesus freak; but if the Christian right is going to claim Jesus and start wars, perhaps they should try to live by what their Bible says (“thou shalt not kill” is the big one they should heed).
The fact that Jesus said he came to not bring peace but a sword should make Christians do a double-take on this character that they claim is their savior. He talks out of both sides of his mouth, but he talks mostly of pacifism. His sermon on the mount is not aggressive at all. For every aggressive passage spoken by Jesus, I can find many more that are pacifist. As for whether his followers are supposed to go around the world proclaiming his story and his name, notice he never told others to do that until after he died (somehow I think someone put those words in his mouth – then again, I’m not one who believes he rose from the dead either, but funny how before he died he was only there for the lost sheep of Israel, and after his supposed comeback from death, he wants everyone to take the message around the world). Personally I don’t think the message is consistent and, as much else in the Bible, I think it was written by fanciful men.
But, don’t take me for a Jesus freak, because I don’t believe he either existed, or was the son of God personally.
Rick
Maybe when we stop being the policemen of the world, terrorists will go home and be normal people again. We need to stop interjecting our way of life (who are we to dictate to them, our crime rate is not much better?) upon the rest of the world and just let them be.
Rome Again,
The anthem for “your kind.” “Your kind” being the ineffective, unrealistic sort, I guess.
Cordially…
M. Scott Eiland
Maybe when we stop being the policemen of the world, terrorists will go home and be normal people again. We need to stop interjecting our way of life (who are we to dictate to them, our crime rate is not much better?) upon the rest of the world and just let them be.
This is the kind of comment that gives sniffing glue a bad name.
Rome Again
Not my anthem, and to be quite honest, there aren’t enough people in this world who believe as I do to be called “my kind”. That’s okay, I’m not here to bring others to “my kind”, I’m just asking that Christians, who believe in a loving God but refuse to live by the tenets of their book, stop screwing around with (and torturing) people of other countries in the name of our country (which I am a citizen of).
Carry on, I never expected you to get it, I see you didn’t.
Stormy70
Ok, I can’t help myself. Seems like alot more that Christians are involved with the war, there is even some jews (gasp), atheists, agnostics, and Southpark -type conseratives in the mix. I know you have some religious “issues”, please refrain from accosting us with them. That is all.
Rome Again
I can see why you would think that, establishing the American empire around the world is so much more important than whether we are doing the right thing or not.
Stormy70
Hey, don’t leave out the white girls! I have some Viking blood in me (don’t we all? They got around!) so now I see it was Odin all along. Sneaky bastard.
Rome Again
It matters not who is “involved” in this war, what matters is who is prosecuting it. Who is at the helm of this war? A Christian fundamentalist who doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground, and who is getting his support from a bunch of Christian fundamentalists who want to see him win the world for Jesus. Give me a break.
Rome Again
Oh Stormy, isn’t it so nice to find we have something in common? Are you a member of the royal bloodline too or just some latter norsemen?
Rome Again
Actually Horst, I’m not, I study a lot about Sumer and the path of “godism” but I couldn’t use examples of those examples as it would just confuse others who are clinging “to the myths of semetic desert dwellers (whose brains are cooked to perfection by the sun)”. ;)
Rome Again
Funny hearing this from a Christian, what happened when those burned at the stake said the same thing? They died at the hands of Christian church officials. Funny stuff Stormy, really hilarious.
Rick
I never expected you to get it, I see you didn’t.
I’m one lucky, lucky guy, not to get “it.” ((((SHUDDER))))
Cordially…
Rome Again
So “cordial” you are Rick. Is this the best you can do? Why not come back with some meaningful reasons why I’m wrong and you’re right?
Stormy70
Actually, my father is a druid and we sacrifice a virgin at the Winter Soltice. Summer is just too dang hot. We toast marshmallows while burning them, too. Good times. We DO NOT torture them, though.
Jon
A more accurate translation is:
Thou shall not murder.
Rome Again
Now that Bolton is in the U.N., does this mean Christians will stop considering it the beast of Revelation? Or have they decided that the U.N. isn’t the beast anymore and moved on to another target?
Rome Again
Now THAT was funny!
Rome Again
What is the reason for the distinction, both end in death, with one person doing it to another… are you saying there is justification for killing that isn’t there for murder? Or am I misunderstanding the reason for your distinguishing between the two?
jg
So long as the wingnuts think this is what the left or the anti-Iraq war crowd is actually saying we can’t have a discussion. There’s no sense taling to you if thats what you’re hearing.
jg
Give me a break! This from the side that absolutely won’t hear of ‘interpreting’ the constitution. Strict reading only but its ok to see the bible through modern eyes.
Please.
Mike
“Sigivald Says:
Oh, do tell, Binky, how should we fight terrorism without doing anything that “threatens other oil rich nations” (Saudi Arabia, Iran)?”
We just need to surrender.
You know…like Spain?
Mike
“Rome Again Says:
It matters not who is “involved” in this war, what matters is who is prosecuting it. Who is at the helm of this war? A Christian fundamentalist who doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground, and who is getting his support from a bunch of Christian fundamentalists who want to see him win the world for Jesus. Give me a break.”
You do realize Clinton was a “Christian Fundamentalist”: right? And that he was “involved” in a war (which though I didn’t vote for him, I supported). Last I heard alot lf Christian Fundamentalists wanted to see him win too…
Oh…just so you know?
Martin Luther King was a “Christian Fundamentalist” too.
I think there were an awful lot of Christian Fundamentalists that wanted to see him win as well.
guinsPen
He’s already been fired?
CaseyL
Mike, you seem to have an odd idea of what Christian Fundamentalism is.
Neither Clinton nor MLK Jr. were fundamentalists. Neither of them believed every word of the Bible was literally true.
Mike
“CaseyL Says:
Mike, you seem to have an odd idea of what Christian Fundamentalism is.
Neither Clinton nor MLK Jr. were fundamentalists. Neither of them believed every word of the Bible was literally true.”
And you know this because?
I don’t really have the patience, nor do I particularly care enough to talk about this much more, but which one of the general beliefs of Christian Fundamentalists as shown here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamentalist_Christianity
Do you think these two gentlemen disagree with? I’d wager, not much, if anything.
Everybody thinks that being a ‘Fundamentalist Christian” means you’re also a Conservative. Does that mean there are no Liberals that believe the things shown in the article above? Of course not. The guy that founded sojourners (Jim Wallis) calls himself an Evangelical Christian.
Rome Again
Neither Jim Wallis, nor Clinton or MLK, Jr. tried to turn America into a theocracy. Bush IS trying to turn this country into a theocracy. These same people you mentioned also did their best to reach across the aisle and try to make friends on the other side of the fence, Bush doesn’t do that either.
Aaron Nafthali
Hey Rome, with all due respect –
“Bush IS trying to turn this country into a theocracy.”
Well, that is empirically untrue, and absurd on the face of it. I respect your right to state whatever you like, but you should understand that statements like this are not argument; they are hyperbole.
You detract from the already-small credibility of your position.