So that people can savor Alain’s grape jelly.
The Orange-in-Chief announced that US Special Operations forces killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He also announced that he knew that Osama bin Laden would attack the World Trade Center on 9/11 and that strong men had called him “sir” and praised him.
I’ll write some more later, and I suspect Adam will too. But for me, there’s breakfast and taking the kitties for a walk first.
— Cheryl Rofer (@CherylRofer) October 27, 2019
Patricia Kayden
Zzyzx
Pasting from the grape jelly thread:
My “favorite” bits were the ones where he said that he would broker a deal with Exxon to take Libya’s oil and the really scary part where he literally defended ethnic cleansing of Syria.
The Turkish invasion was good because before that, the Kurds didn’t want to leave their homes but it was so bloody that they agreed to “move 7 miles away.” He threw it in the middle of other scary comments so people missed it.
Jerzy Russian
Wait, he knew bin Laden would attack the World Trade Center on 9/11 but did not say anything until now? A lot of lives would have been saved if he had spoken up sooner.
ErikTheRed
janesays
@Jerzy Russian: I think that was snark.
But it says something that it seemed exactly like the sort of this thing asswipe would actually say.
[I]EDIT:[/I] So apparently he really did say that. Good Lord. What adipshit.
Another Scott
Thanks, Cheryl.
@Jerzy Russian: ddale8 debunked that, again. See Twitter.
Donnie is a horrible, horrible, stupid, brain-damaged man.
The blowback on this stunt today has the potential to be much, much worse than it would have been with a sensible person involved.
Grr…
Cheers,
Scott.
Procopius
Is this the fourth or the fifth time that they’ve killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi?
janesays
Oh Good Lord. Now he’s got his favorite little toadie Lindsey Graham doing a press briefing from the WH Press Briefing room.
debbie
I’ll move my questions from the other threads over to here:
To Cheryl’s tweet of side-by-sides of the Obama and Trump situation rooms:
@Cheryl Rofer:
Hope someone can figure out why that laptop’s keyboard is covered with pages from what seems to be a PowerPoint presentation.
And to Another Scott’s comment about Trump taking Syrian oil:
Trump also lied about oil with the Iraq invasion, implying that Bush/Cheney totally ignored it. As I recall, after tearing down the status of Saddam, soldiers flocked to protect the Ministry of Oil and stayed in place despite news that people were breaking into and stealing weapons from the armories.
debbie
@Jerzy Russian:
Yeah, he had to keep quiet so his building could be the tallest again. //
mrmoshpotato
Obama has a serious, focused look on his face, and someone needs to punch that scowl off Dump’s face.
Another Scott
@debbie: If you zoom in on the image of HRC’s laptop, you see that the color image on the paper has been obscured. It might have been something classified, so the people in charge of the release did their job and made sure that it was safe to do so.
Cheers,
Scott.
Jerzy Russian
@Another Scott: Well yes, I had assumed Trump had no such knowledge, but I attempted to make a funny nonetheless.
Another Scott
@Jerzy Russian: D’oh! Sorry.
:-)
Cheers,
Scott.
germy
Did he warn Rudy? Did he say “Get your command center out of there!” ?
Did he warn W ?
JWR
Another thing, Trump said was that he’s been after this guy for three whole years, that he was always asking those around him, “where’s al-Baghdadi?” I don’t think so.
Oh God, CBS brought on Mike Pence to show us his steely-eyed gaze. Now he’s busily not saying much at all.
Margaret Brennan’s asking Pence about the quid pro quo. God for her! He refuses to answer.
chris
I’ve watched just enough to make me sick.
This seems appropriate.
ThresherK
Nice to know our military can accomplish things without a functioning Commander in Chief.
Eric
What was the nonsense about whimpering and crying? I caught it my accident.
PPCLI
@debbie:
And looting the national museum of irreplaceable artifacts.
The Dangerman
@JWR:
Bullshit but phonetically close. It was “whose your Daddy” while he was getting it polished.
Calouste
@Procopius: Yeah, it’s not like it really matters because he will just be replaced. It’s not like this is the War of the Roses where killing the other pretender to the throne wins you the war, because that was the whole purpose of the war.
Amir Khalid
@janesays:
Asswipe is as asswipe does.
@mrmoshpotato:
Notice also that Obama is not making himself the centre of attention in the photo. No making oneself the centre of attention is an alien concept to Trump, except when his boss from Moscow in in the room.
Spanky
Pouring down rain here in the DC area, with occasional claps of thunder, so no golf for Cheeto today.
Sadly, I doubt he’s going to re-enact the scene with the bishop in Caddyshack.
mrmoshpotato
@The Dangerman:
Must’ve looked weird with Melanie wearing one of those jeweler’s magnifying glasses.
PPCLI
It’s good to see that Twitter is alive retweeting the many Trump tweets from 2012 saying over and over again obsessively that Obama deserved no credit for the killing of Bin Laden.
Zzyzx
@Jerzy Russian: https://twitter.com/tictoc/status/1188461574245244928?s=21
Not the worst moment but still bad.
Another Scott
Reuters:
Donnie’s reality distortion field remains broken.
Cheers,
Scott.
mrmoshpotato
@Spanky: Mwhaha. We had that yesterday, but no thunder.
Heidi Mom
@Jerzy Russian: Even worse than McCain saying in a debate in 2008 that he “knew how to get Bin Laden.” That’s the kind of knowledge that you really ought to share, if you really have it.
Dorothy A. Winsor
It’s a cold but beautiful morning and Trump was on my TV, so I went out for a walk. I feel much better now. I recommend it.
janesays
As fully expected, Cheetolini of course tried to insinuate that the killing of Baghdadi was a bigger deal than the killing of bin Laden, because the man really is just that astonishingly insecure.
https://twitter.com/DavidMDrucker/status/1188454019850801153?s=19
Ladyraxterinok
@debbie:
ANNNNND priceless ancient historical artifacts from famous museums! Totally sickening!
Supposedly ended up with super wealthy Western Civilized HAH! collectors,
mrmoshpotato
@Amir Khalid: That too. Obama, Biden, Clinton, etal are focused on the mission. Dump’s all “Look at my presidential scowl!”
JWR
@The Dangerman:
Crude, but I can’t wait for the up-vote buttons in the new site!
germy
https://www.wonkette.com/meme-famous-anti-immigrant-lady-arrested-for-stealing-an-elderly-persons-hotel-points
trollhattan
My takeaway: “Russia and dogs. I’m so great. Really great.”
MattF
Sometimes, I idly make a list of the various Trump-personas we see— liar, asshole, bully, criminal, stooge, cray-cray, hater. And, sometimes, we see them all, vying for attention.
JWR
Trey Gowdy is trying his best not to understand what a quid pro quo is. He’s flabbergasted!
trollhattan
@Another Scott:
The French know better and have the focus of a nation directly attacked–Nice, Paris, et al.
JPL
@germy: And the man in the green shirt is still laughing.
trollhattan
@JWR:
Does he have a flowchart? Flowchart Gowdy is the best Gowdy.
debbie
@Another Scott:
No, I meant in Trump’s.
trollhattan
BBC has an extensive backgrounder on al-Bhaghdadi. I think he and Donny share the same stylist for beard and haircare, respectively.
We’re in the middle of the yuge Calif windstorm that hit last night. Stuff broken, stuff knocked over, ginormous mess. No fire here.
debbie
@PPCLI:
Yes, also horrible. But letting the weapons go was what fueled the rebellion against the U.S.
Jerzy Russian
@trollhattan: Are you sure it was “dogs”? I thought it was “canines”.
Another Scott
Twitter:
“Today is Opposite Day! … I never said today is Opposite Day. On the contrary!”
Can impeachment and conviction come too quickly? It’s hard to see how.
(sigh)
Cheers,
Scott.
Mike in DC
Trump steps on his own good news by engaging in his usual puffery, which compels reporters to point out that it’s bullshit.
Another Scott
@debbie: Dunno. Nothing much is visible here, but it doesn’t look like anyone tried to obscure anything either – apparently they’re just relying on the poor image quality.
Dunno.
Cheers,
Scott.
J R in WV
You guys make me feel glad that I don’t watch the Sunday morning talk shows!
Really you do!!
Sam
I bet Gina Haspell is on her way out. Not in the photos, minimal credit to IC accompanied by admonition. He will want a lickspittle in that job soon. Barr’s shenanigans seem designed to let him fire anyone he wants in law enforcement or IC “with prejudice”.
Patricia Kayden
Trump is a bad liar.
Anya
A dead terrorist or not our national nightmare will continue. I can’t believe this insecure ignoramus is our president because white America had a collective tantrum over the election of the first AA president.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I thought it would take a couple of days for trump to start saying that killing ABB was a bigger deal than getting OBL, as he saw he wasn’t getting the praise he thinks he deserves. Apparently, he (and Lindsey) already knew, and they’re already whining. I saw poor sad Lindsey say something about even trump’s worst critics should take a moment to say well done, or some such. I’m sure somebody’s combing LG’s comments on the Abbotbad raid for the “Well done”s he sent Obama’s way.
The contrast in those pictures is just amazing, also the extent to which Obama lives in trump’s head. “We need a picture, better than their picture. Everybody look serious. Mike, you can be in this one. Where are my generals? Do we have any more uniforms? How long would it take them to get here. Never mind. Somebody raise my chair up so I’m the tallest. Mike, scooch back a little. Okay, Churchill faces, guys, look tough. But not tougher than me.”
Another Scott
Twitter:
But of course! Grrr…
(via nycsouthpaw)
Cheers,
Scott.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Patricia Kayden: I love Pete Souza.
Another Scott
@Patricia Kayden: Interesting.
But I would be careful about treating this as a smoking gun. It’s easy to not have camera time stamps be correct.
Still…
Cheers,
Scott.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Another Scott: I heard someone say it was an hours-long operation, and the explosion that killed ABB took place at about 17h00 DC time. But that is clearly a staged photo. Trump’s looking at the camera, as is the officer (general?) second from right, and maybe I’m being too generous to think he also has a “What the fuck is this shit?” look on his face.
JWR
@trollhattan:
Sadly, no, but he is wearing some funky-ass rectangular spectacles!
trollhattan
@Another Scott:
Yeah, I was gonna say that’s not definitive unless the camera model self-sets its clock via GPS.
I guarantee come next Sunday morning most cameras in the US will have incorrect clocks.
BobS
@PPCLI: I like how John Cole’s redecorated the place, but there were quite a few years Balloon Juice was a shithole full of apologists (including Cole) for that debacle and the lying scumbags responsible for it.
Another Scott
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yeah, it’s staged.
It’s from here – https://twitter.com/Scavino45/status/1188451497421561856
Twitter:
Pete’s right that people need to slow down.
Cheers,
Scott.
JWR
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I noted earlier that he was like the proud liddle’ kiddie riding a bike. He sounded as if he’d never seen this sort of stuff before and it was so exciting, like it was made for TV, which he does understand. A bit.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
another angle on timing:
Mike in NC
Fat Bastard takes full credit for everything other people accomplish yet accepts no responsibility at all when shit happens.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’m tempted to read James Poniewozik’s book Audience of One, cause I really think it’s fascinating (horrific, pathetic, dangerous, but fascinating) to contemplate the role TeeVee plays in the mind of the only president we’ve got.
mrmoshpotato
@JWR: Squid Go Pro? Why does a squid need a camera?
clay
Seems weird that the photographer would be standing right in front of the screen that these guys would be looking at. Oh well I’m sure that there’s a good reason for that other than “it was staged”.
mrmoshpotato
@Another Scott: “And I have no idea how Opposite Day actually works because I had such a fucked up childhood.”
(Was going to use “upbringing” but let’s not kid ourselves.)
BobS
@clay: It would be nice to think that the photographer purposely left the timestamp knowing that clever people would quickly figure out the photo was more Trumpian bullshit.
Chris
@janesays:
In fairness, I’d be surprised if there are one-tenth as many Americans of any political persuasion who know who the fuck Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was, as there were Americans who knew who Osama Bin Laden was. Trump needs to hammer it into a lot more people why this is as big a deal as getting Bin Laden.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
@Chris: by next week half of all Republicans will say Osama bin Baghdadi did 9/11, kidnapped the Lindbergh baby and shot JR
mrmoshpotato
@Another Scott: Enhance
Anya
@JWR: Remember when Gowdy had his “I am only a country lawyer and this town is too mean” tour after he resigned from congress? I know he was selling a book and trying to separate himself from the failed Benghazi investigations but he should honour his pledge to leave and be a regular lawyer. He actually said in one of those interviews that we won’t see him on tv pontificating on politics so why is he on our screens?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: not only was he playing golf when the raid began, he was playing golf with Field Marshal Lindsey (from late yesterday)
trollhattan
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Okay, that’s ultimate Trump right there. “I supervised the raid from the
seventh fairwaySituation Room.”donnah
One thing I hate about this event is that it would have been laudable for our special ops team to have accomplished it, but because Trump has squatted all over it, it’s now a political grandstand about him. I hate that Trump co-ops everything for his own glory. Everything is compared to Obama, who always did it first and did it better. And did it honestly.
And also, it’s another big distraction from impeachment, which I’m sure makes Trump happy.
Ugh
Mary G
Didn’t see it. Not going to see it. My congratulations and thanks to the Special Ops people who did the actual work.
The two generals in the Trump photo look pissed. “We’ve got things to do besides listening to this clown spurt bullshit.” That tangle of cables is ridiculous.
You know the next claim Twitler will make is that moving the Kurds and letting ISIS prisoners escape was necessary to do this, so all the haters and losers who yelled about genocide need to apologize to him.
J R in WV
@BobS:
You must be in Portland.
Chris
@Ladyraxterinok:
I remember reading about it at the time as a naive teenager and thinking that, while surely it sucks, it’s understandable that safeguarding the museums would be pretty low on the priority list – compared to more essential things like, you know, safeguarding vital utilities like water and electricity, not to mention the ordinary people in the city…
Of course, it came out pretty much immediately that none of that shit was being safeguarded either. The oil, though…
Also, while this is surely the least important conclusion from any of this, the 2010s would really be an amazing decade to set an Indiana Jones rip-off in (specifically with a “that belongs in a musem!” type main character). Bonus points if the main character is actually Iraqi or Afghan. And each movie opens with him/her robbing a different super-wealthy collector.
mrmoshpotato
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
And this makes it art.
sukabi
Apparently he told Vlad, but failed to inform Pelosi and the Gang of Eight.
Funny that Russia killed him “100%” in 2017…
Just Chuck
@Mary G:
Reasonable to assume that room wouldn’t have wi-fi. Still, nothing says “on top of the situation” like posing for a photo with nobody looking at anything in particular.
Chris
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Oh, Osama Bin Baghdadi definitely did 9/11. Yeah, 9/11, remember that? It was at the beginning of the Obama years…
BobS
@J R in WV: I wish.
JWR
@Anya: Oh wow, I’d forgotten that Trey Gowdy had left Congress. (Can’t say as I’ve missed him.) So yeah, why is he on our TVs?
mrmoshpotato
@Chris: I thought it was Osama Bakr Hussein who 9/11’ed us, and that’s why we had to go bomb the shit out of Iraq.
germy
JWR
@Mary G:
A reporter asked him if this was part of some grand plan, and he said that no, it wasn’t. So yeah, he’ll be making that claim before you know it.
sukabi
@Just Chuck: half the tangled cables aren’t even plugged into anything, plugs are sitting near not touching laptops ect. Also General is looking AT camera with a disgusted look…”get this embarrassing spectacle over with, I need to retire.”
Chris
@mrmoshpotato:
Didn’t Obama get us into Iraq? I forget exactly how it was his fault.
West of the Rockies
@Procopius:
Hopefully they got all his horcruxes.
This being Sunday during football season, Trump’s big reveal will have very mild impact.
Mai naem mobile
Trumpov is such an asshole pig. Worst president ever. Miles ahead of anybody else. Obama looks like FDR in comparison. Trumpov just can’t handle that Obama is younger, smarter, better looking, has smarter and better looking kids, has one good looking wife and has a bigger well… you know what. What a fucking asshole to let the fucking Russians know and not Pelosi. Seriously WTF? This is who the GOPigs are defending? Seriously?
PeakVT
I might feel a wee little bit sorry for Trumpolini for being so utterly hollow if he wasn’t a traitorous, racist shit-midas who insisted he be president of my country. But as things stand, he can DIAF at his earliest convenience.
Citizen_X
@Sam:
Yes, and the thought just tortures me.
Too soon?
JWR
NBC has some of the highlights:
And he doesn’t want to talk about it…
mrmoshpotato
@Chris: How can you forget that it was Killary and Kerry who decided to start bombing the shit out of Iraq in 2003?
Sloane Peterson's knee therapist
al-Baghdadi down to getcha in a taxi honey….
Irritable Bastard
https://twitter.com/KagroX/status/1188477134446190593
Turns out he couldn’t bother to be present for the actual raid (out playing golf), but could be bothered to stage a photo-op after the fact. Perfectly in character.
BobS
@mrmoshpotato: They did vote for the resolution that authorized the use of force.
Brachiator
Trump is desperate to try to match Obama’s achievements. It’s just pathetic.
Aleta
The careless confidence of saying that.
If he were not a Republican, the RW would already be making ads and web paranoia. Aligning that clip with his statements about troop removal and how Saudis will pay costs for US troops sent there, as though our military is for hire as SA security mercenaries.
If he were treated normally (instead of like a cross between a delusional person whose rants are tolerated and a powerful white man the FBI can’t interrogate) he might be investigated for it and his Saudi connections. (I don’t believe him either. But I remember how Palestinians and my Muslim acquaintances in NYC were treated, in NYC and by the media and FBI, after 9-11. I’m sure Trump loved casting blame on them too.)
Patricia Kayden
Of course he didn’t tell Democrats since he now wants to use our military success for personal, partisan purposes.
Chyron HR
@BobS:
But Messiah Bernie recently decreed that the Iraq war was “protecting our country”. How can you suggest that voting for the AUMF was wrong?
SiubhanDuinne
I’m in the theatre waiting for the ballet to start.
Glazunov, Raymonda. Bolshoi, live* in cinemas.
*Or nearly so.
Aleta
Nice to think about that.
patrick II
@debbie:
Because Rumsfeld wanted to show off his new strategy of war — Shock and Awe — we didn’t have enough troops to cover both the oil fields and munition dumps, so we chose the oil fields and the ministry building that controlled them. We were supposed to be treated as liberators — so they liberated the munition dumps themselves and treated us as invaders instead.
trollhattan
@Aleta:
He must have been on the phone to the Bush admin daily, insisting they not close the Bin Laden desk and take that August memo seriously. Daily, or several times/day.
BobS
@Chyron HR: The comment I was responding to was regarding HRC & Kerry fucking up by supporting the Bush debacle (whether out of conviction or more cynically, with an eye to a candidacy in 2004 or 2008 I can’t say, but they fucked up regardless)- but who mentioned Bernie Sanders, and why your obsession?
sukabi
Dumbass got played by Vlad. https://www.rawstory.com/2019/10/russian-military-undercuts-trump-by-expressing-valid-doubts-about-the-reality-and-success-of-isis-raid/
BobS
sorry, double post
Jim, Foolish Literalist
a little palate cleanser…
I provided a link, but that’s the best of it.
Bobby Thomson
@Procopius:
Almost as many times as Al Qaeda No. 3. But at least he ostensibly was different people at times.
mrmoshpotato
@BobS: @Chyron HR: Hot damn Bob. You are totally missing my point.
Immanentize
@Citizen_X:
I am beginning to think Gina Haspel is the one person in the administration actually trying to save our government. She’s not in the picture because their is a big sign on the door of the situation room that says,
” No Gurls Aloud.”
Immanentize
@JWR:
Headline:. “Really scared guy detonates suicide vest.”
Another Scott
@BobS: It looks like you were here in March. The L&F of the place hasn’t changed much at all since then.
A shiny, new Balloon-Juice is coming soon (within a couple of weeks or so).
Cheers,
Scott.
Immanentize
@BobS:
Bernie voted for the AUMF you dipshit. Where is his name on your list of evil Democrats who supported Bush?
Another Scott
Twitter:
It’s kinda scary if Donnie’s picture was the “best” one… :-/
Cheers,
Scott.
Immanentize
@sukabi:
Among my valid doubts — Trump said DNA tests verify it was Baghdadi. I really try to stay up on DNA science advances. And make no mistake, the FBI and the Armed Forces labs have the best tech in the world re: DNA. But I did not know we had insta-DNA check tech yet. Maybe we do, and maybe….
MattF
@sukabi: So, the Ruskies say Trump might not be entirely honest here. I’m aghast.
And, btw, whose side are they on, anyhoo? Just asking.
mrmoshpotato
eric
@Immanentize: how did we get the sample to compare it too?
Ruckus
@MattF:
I thought all of them were there all the time.
Also you left out bigot and asshole deserves two mentions, he’s that big of an asshole.
Immanentize
@eric:
I suspect that is not too hard to do. We know of his relatives and close family members. His DNA profile could have been deduced from those.
Or, we just sent away for the Baghdadi leadership package that included hair and skin from the man himself?
Immanentize
@eric:
And PS, how goes the fight?
Another Scott
@Immanentize: What is Rapid DNA?:
It was approved by the FBI in 2018.
Dunno if it’s improved enough to give results in 15 minutes though.
(I’m no expert on this stuff – it’s just something that came up in a quick search.)
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.
James E Powell
@BobS:
And you’re here, I suppose, to hold them all accountable.
Immanentize
@MattF:
Russia is tirelessly on its own side alone.
Marcopolo
I’ve skimmed the comments & don’t think I have seen this mentioned. What’s the likelihood that the Russians or the Turks or Syrians have been monitoring the whereabouts of this guy for a while now (with ISIS on the run there wouldn’t be an immediate need to deal with him) and just passed the information along to Trump now because Trump desperately needs a political win and their giving it to him just gives them more leverage over him? That is how cynical I am nowadays.
Though I will assume we did kill the guy we said we did and that he was the person running ISIS.
BobS
@mrmoshpotato: No, I didn’t. The Bush gang would have proceeded with their illegal war regardless of how Clinton or Kerry voted. But those two did their part in selling it to people who trusted their judgement.
@Another Scott: @Another Scott: Actually, while it wasn’t one of my go-to blogs, I started reading BJ in 2003, back when John Cole was for the guys who brought us torture and the destruction of a country (it was helpful to be able to anticipate some of the bullshit excuses I’d hear from acquaintances who were also trying to defend those crimes). I remember one spirited discussion in particular, where the use of white phosphorus in Fallujah was defended.
Robert Harvey
@Another Scott:
You’d think it would be an important thing for an archival photographer, taking picture of history as it happens.
eric
@Immanentize: it has been very hard….the side effects have been rough…this weekend, however, Jimmy Fund has taken about 20 girls for an overnight weekend extravaganza. Yesterday, the took them shopping and then to see Lion King at the theater…the stayed at the W….and today they are at the salon getting pampered….we made some medication adjustments so that she could possibly enjoy the weekend…and she is. treatment continues this week, so it will be a brief reprieve….but we are all so grateful for the weekend….and you??
Immanentize
@Another Scott: Thanks. ok, that means a good clean sample which is then compared to codis where all our samples are stored. It is probably a prelim analysis (only a few alleles that are usually differentiated) which then has to be followed up with more complete testing.
Thinking “probable cause” not proof certain.
clay
@Immanentize: It’s astonishing that, for what would likely be an unalloyed Good Thing for his administration, Trump still manages to fuck it up by making so many obvious lies, questionable claims, and staged fakery.
Now his opponents—such as us—can talk about the bullshit he’s spewing instead of being forced to say, well yeah I guess they did something right. I believe the phrase is “stepping on his own dick.”
Enhanced Voting Techniques
From the conservatives I know ISIS is supposed to be the bigger than the Soviet Union, the Empire of Japan and Nazi Germany combined and not just some ragged collection of jerks with machetes.in wingnut land. I am sure they are dancing in the streets in Lockjaw, Kentucky right now.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Marcopolo: I’ve seen a few people ask, essentially, what did Erdogan know and when did he know it?
Immanentize
@eric:
I was thinking reading that what a gift it was for the parents and caregivers as well. Hang in there. It is so tough, I know.
We are getting by here. Slow, tough, relearning with added retching! But progress all the time.
eric
@Immanentize: thanks…..i wish you both the best…one day at a time is as far as i go….
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@trollhattan: From the BBC article
That G W Bush, Donald Trump, who sucks more question again.
Immanentize
@Marcopolo:
Russians say Trump may be wrong.
Trump says Russians were really helpful.
Asked about the Turks, Trump was very vague.
Asked about the Kurds (twice) he grudgingly said they were helpful.
Immanentize
@eric:
Sometimes, one must split days into hours to get along. My son had it easy compared to your daughter. Cut it out and get on with it! No radiation, no chemo, no transfusions, etc. Know that I send positive vibes your way often, even when we don’t bump into each other here.
Immanentize
@clay:
This is a really good point. If it happened, it’s good. Maybe even really good, although I do not much believe in the key man theory of movements.
Captain C
@Chris: Give ‘em a month and it’ll be Obama bin Baghdadi who did 9/11 during his own presidency.
Marcopolo
@Immanentize: Thanks. I did not actually see the press conference as I had no desire to. But as for what the Russians are saying post operation–I just think they are trying to muddy the water/sow chaos as much as they can.
Very likely I’ve just watched too many bad movies but I truly believe that there are times when country X knows information regarding bad actor Y and instead of bringing Y to justice the folks in country X think “oh, this is valuable information” and stow it away to be used to greatest possible effect later on.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
WTF from the NBC high lights of the press breifing
Trump having a flash back to a Micheal Bay movie with this nonsense?
Mai naem mobile
@Marcopolo: that was my first thought that the Russians/Syrians knew where he was and told Trumpov. I mentioned the killing yesterday to my sister and her immediate response was it’s just propaganda to make Trumpov look better. She doesn’t even believe the guy has been killed. That is just sad that your immediate response is not to believe regular news and my sister is not some conspiracy nutjob.
BobS
@Immanentize: Who’s talking about Sanders, dumbfuck?
@James E Powell: A couple of comments mentioned the Iraq debacle- I was merely pointing out some of the contemporaneous ‘reporting’ on this very sight.
Ruckus
My take is that when numbnuts got back from the golf course he was told about it and decided that they had to shout this at the world, so he could be “bigger” than President Obama. This looks exactly like something a demented mind like trump would put together off the bottom of his ass. (Most anyone else would be off the top of their heads, but his head is an ass……) I’ve seen small kids playing make believe and being more believable. But then those kids were smarter.
Mary G
Twitter thread – Iraqi Security Service claims they actually found him:
It’s from a blog, not a news organization, but interesting.
MattF
@Captain C: Wikipedia has a comprehensive summary of the reaction to OBL’s death.
Immanentize
@BobS:
Not you, but it’s cool for you to go against Hitlery and Kerry, because no one is talking about Sanders! They suck, don’t they! and are bad for supporting Bush, but Sanders is unmentioned who also voted for the AUMF. Because no one (meaning you) is talking about him.
Or did you pick those two actual Democratic Presidential candidates out of a frigging special purity “Democrats Suck” hat? Dumbdipshitass
Immanentize
@Mary G:
Which could help explain the DNA profile. Or, we just took his DNA when we had him in custody in Iraq? I’d actually like to find out if we routinely took DNA from captives then. I’ll report back if I learn anything.
BobS
@Immanentize: Because those were the two who were specified (by someone else) in the comment I was responding to. Sanders fucked up, too- feel better?
By the way, it might be time to stop showing your ass.
Ruckus
@mrmoshpotato:
Those bone spurs seem to all be in his head.
No, I’m serious, his skull has bone spurs, sticking into his brain, and they’ve grown to such depth that it’s amazing that he can still be so, what’s that word I’m looking for, hmmm, I want to use stupid but that hasn’t changed, asshole? No he’s the same sized asshole he’s always been, just the light and cameras are better. I know it’s living. See how exceptional he is, living with skull-bone spurs so big that it would kill a normal person, but he’s so exceptionally stupid he just doesn’t know the bone spurs that got him 5 deferments are still there. He did say once that he couldn’t remember which foot had the bone spurs, but it’s because it wasn’t his foot that caused the issues.
Another Scott
@BobS: Actually, you’re being disingenuous. And you’re trolling. As you are wont to do.
Give my regards to your colleagues at the IRA.
(groucho-roll-eyes.gif)
Cheers,
Scott.
Aleta
From what I’ve read on the internet up til now, it looks like the only person who’s directly said there is DNA confirmation is DJT. Even the Wash. Times’s headline is “DNA confirms al-Baghdadi’s death, Trump says.” Elsewhere this morning I saw one anonymous DoD official quoted saying it’s not confirmed. In the last hour at CNN, the same:
Put together with the GOP ‘technique’ of using false information to get out in front of a story, and permanent suspicion of anything Trump, it sure seems like “not sure.”
Has there been there any other anonymously official DoD statement such as, ‘We can confirm the location is where he often stayed/…where his family/fighter-entourage was at the time/…our sources in the area were reasonably sure …?’ No matter how properly cautious the DoD must be, it seems like pressure from Trump would result in some further statement.
Aleta
Wa Post story
Jacel
@debbie: Few seem to remember that these words were part of George W. Bush’s announcement of the invasion of Iraq.
“And all Iraqi military and civilian personnel should listen carefully to this warning. In any conflict, your fate will depend on your action. Do not destroy oil wells, a source of wealth that belongs to the Iraqi people.”
BobS
@Another Scott: Sorry- I forgot the rule about forgetting about John Cole’s ‘checkered’ past. As well as the one that failing to offer equal criticism to Sanders in any comment about any Democrat, alive or dead, automatically makes one a Sanders sycophant- or a ‘troll’.
By the way, there was a lot of defense for Ukranian fascists- past and present- in some of the threads here several years ago. Kind of how Cole defended the use of torture and white phosphorus a few years ago. Thanks for the reminder.
PST
There is a new article in the Times that cites military sources saying that Trump’s shenanigans in Syria came close to ruining the al-Baghdadi mission. I apologize if this is already up, but I haven’t read the whole thread. Key graph:
Mary G
@Immanentize: Reuters confirmed:
Captain C
@MattF: The older I get, the more I find that Noam’s whataboutism detracts from any cogent analysis he gives.
trollhattan
@BobS:
Butthurt–it’s not just for breakfast!
Monday is Straighten Out the Locals Day. Regulars know this.
Matt
The only thing that makes me doubt this is that he *didn’t* get crazy-rich right afterwards. I have no doubt he’d have kept it a secret – what’s the lives of a few thousand New Yorkers when there’s PROFIT to be made?
Steve in the ATL
@Marcopolo: I thought I had reached peak cynicism during the reign of Bush the Lesser, but the trump kakistocracy has taught me that I can never be cynical enough when it comes to conservatives.
Sam
@Citizen_X: inevitable. He is going to neuter and politicize IC and law enforcement to survive politically.
BobS
@trollhattan: @trollhattan: It does seem to cause some consternation when Sanders name is brought up (even if they only imagine it) or when it’s mentioned John Cole was once a Bush-Cheney cheerleader.
Sam
@Immanentize: @Citizen_X: inevitable. He is going to neuter and politicize IC and law enforcement to survive politically.
Zinsky
@janesays: Well, those gerbil photos Trump has of Lindsey are pretty disgusting and perverted. That’s why Donald keeps them in his private porn collection.
Marcopolo
@BobS: I don’t really care about the meaningfulness (or lack thereof) of this back & forth but man you sound like BiP here. I vaguely remember Ukrainian fascists were one of his special peeves, and honestly who else would mention something like that?
Another Scott
@Marcopolo: He fell right into my trap, as I knew he would.
Muahahahaaaa!
;-)
Cheers,
Scott.
BobS
@Marcopolo: It was a subject alluded to in the thread that was linked to by AS (from several years ago). Gin & Tonic was a pretty robust defender for some of the current (and past) proponents.
You do understand Bob is not an uncommon name, right? I remember the guy you’re referring to, I agreed with him on some things (for instance “something like” fascism in Ukraine), disagreed on others. But frankly, BJ was more tolerant of dissent from the orthodoxy when JC was still an apologist for war criminals.
Another Scott
@BobS: You do realize, I trust, that Cheryl Rofer is not John Cole, right?
Cheers,
Scott.
WhatsMyNym
@BobS:
No one deleted your comment did they. Somebody disagreeing is what open discussion is all about.
BobS
@Another Scott: I do realize you think you’re smarter than you actually are.
BobS
@WhatsMyNym: Nope- no one did. Called a variety of expletives, and accused of “trolling” by several different people- I guess what passes for argument here- but not deleted.
trollhattan
@Marcopolo:
That and always trying to have the last word, which makes this one completely different.
StringOnAStick
I got a bit of an idea how the non political junkies are seeing our current state at a party we attended Friday night of some of my husband ‘s coworkers. Granted, they lean D because it’s an industry that leans D, but people are pissed and paying attention, and these aren’t people who I’ve ever seen talk politics before. Usually these 30 person get togethers have everyone keeping the conversation light to avoid any surprises with people you’ll still have to work with, but no more. Its not just us political junkies who are pissed, the normies are too. One couple told me how they were going to a Halloween party the next night dressed as the whistleblower and TRump’s Twitter feed, and I know those two well; they usually never talk politics. He’s becoming a big orange object of universal ridicule.
mrmoshpotato
@BobS: *sigh* Here’s the plot at 91.
As for convincing the American people, hahahahahahaha. “Fuck you libtard! We’re at war! Why do you hate the troops?!” and “Fuck you Frenchy! We’re gonna buy a bunch of mustard and champagne to destroy it!”
mrmoshpotato
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
There’s also an epic hoedown going on in Sisterfuck, Arkansas. (h/t Mr_Electrico)
J R in WV
@Immanentize:
Come on, Immanentize, you KNOW Bernie isn’t a Democrat ~!!~ He would be on some other list… ;-)
mrmoshpotato
@Ruckus: Paul’s Twitter account is satire. But I could see Dump crowing about how tremendous bigly he is like that.
BobS
@mrmoshpotato: Sure it is.
And Clinton and Kerry (and Sanders! Everybody happy?), arguably for what were cynical political calculations looking forward to 2004 & 2008, bear absolutely no responsibility for giving cover to (what they should have known was) the bullshit Bush-Cheney were selling (and, ironically, it may have cost Kerry the election in 2004 and Clinton the nomination in 2008).
I understand the (bad) joke- sorry I didn’t pretend to laugh- you think you were making, but it is in fact what happened.
With respect to the rest of your clowning, it might have been lifted verbatim from what John Cole was writing in 2003. And 2004. And 2005, when Terry Schiavo came into his life.
Another Scott
@BobS: You forgot warmonger and recipient of a half a million in jewels from the House of Saud.
Tut, tut. You need to step up your game, Bob.
Cheers,
Scott.
J R in WV
Also, pretty sure BobS is the replacement sub for Bob in Portland, the staunch union worker organizer guy who hates Obama, Killary, and everyone who posts at Balloon-Juice, including Bob in Portland… Style is the same aggresive BS in short sentences.
mrmoshpotato
@Another Scott: Damn. Some of you are bringing out the deep cuts.
BobS
@Another Scott: @J R in WV: @mrmoshpotato: You’re going to continue missing if you insist at aiming at the wrong target. But until you get that right, play some oldies but goodies, like John Cole defending the use of white phosphorus on civilians.
J R in WV
@BobS:
You must not have heard about the new pie filter — you won’t speak of anything but pie and its related glories for ever more.
Another Scott
@BobS: Nice misdirection, Bob-who-no-longer-lives-InPortland.
Cheers,
Scott.
BobS
@J R in WV: @Another Scott: I think I know what anyone in the same room with Trump and Giuliani at the same time must feel like.
Keep sleuthing, detectives.