DarkRen

October 4, 2004

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Muse – The Facts? (2 of 5)

Asked by a noter to look into some articles by another diarist, I took a peek and decided to muse them for myself. One of the things I find the most amusing when it comes to this recent election year is the easy way in which people bandy about the word fact. As if using the word itself carries some grand weight.

Anyway, personal peeves aside, the entries are from the diary of liberals*suck. Are you feeling the impartiality yet? Links to the entries and snippets from the entries will be presented along with my commentary and, of course, links to back it up. Considering my boredom after compiling the first, I think I’ll limit myself to covering one a day at most. Unless I get bold or something.

Previous Entry: Part One

The Entry in Question for today

Question Two: Safety & Security

Kerry’s Claim: Instead Of Using U.S. Forces To Capture Osama Bin Laden, The President Outsourced The Job To Afghan Warlords, Who Let Bin Laden Slip Away.

The Facts:

Former Centcom Commander General Tommy Franks, US Army (Ret.), Said There Was No Hesitation At Tora Bora. QUESTION: “This is second-guessing Afghanistan: Do you believe Osama bin Laden may have been killed or captured had we not hesitated in Tora Bora?” GEN. FRANKS: “[I]t’s difficult for me to look back and talk about any, sort of, hesitation. I guess I would say that those people who were on the ground and involved in that operation didn’t themselves sense any hesitation and neither did I.” (Remarks by General Tommy R. Franks, West Palm Beach, FL, 11/12/02)

Tommy Franks Says It’s “Absolutely Incorrect” That Resources Were Diverted From Afghanistan. GEN. FRANKS: “I caught just a part of a news conference that [Kerry] gave wherein he talked about how bad it was that the Commander-in-Chief had taken troops away from me and put those out of Afghanistan and put those troops to work in Iraq. Sean, that’s absolutely incorrect. You know, hey, my name’s Tommy Franks, and I don’t lie. Reading my book the way you have, I would refer you to page 386 of my book where we go ahead and we talk about the fact that the President used to stress to me every day his concern that we should not distract from Afghanistan and the fight there while we were conducting Iraq. We entered Iraq with 9,500 troopers in Afghanistan. And by the time we finished major combat in Afghanistan-or in Iraq-we had 10,000 troops in Afghanistan.” (ABC Radio’s “The Sean Hannity Show,” 9/21/04)

Well, the first thing I’d point out is that we did indeed shift focus toward Iraq after Afghanistan without first finishing what we started. That is obvious.

Now, to take a look at the US Invasion of Afghanistan, as we have so lovingly put together by the hard working, unpaid folk at Wikipedia, we can get a feel for the actual war.

The initial war effort was largely the focus of heavy US aerial bombardment and reliance on the Northern Alliance for the ground work. Though even after the initial days of bombardment, the Taliban still held against the Northern Alliance. There were reports before Oct 7th(when the bombing started) of US and British special forces being covertly landed in Afghanistan some time after 9/11 as well as reports that some of these troops might have been captured. A story denied by the US military. It was after further bombardment with Hornet fighters striking at Taliban vehicles and the cluster bombing of Taliban defenses that the Northern Alliance started making headway and US Special Forces started launching raids deep within Kandahar.

It was November 16th when the US started bombing Tora Bora, where much of Afghanitan’s alQueda fighters(and perhaps Osama himself), were now fortified. Toward the end of November, as the Taliban was nearing total defeat, the US started to focus more on Tora Bora. Here is a direct quote from Wikipedia.

Local tribal militias, numbering over 2,000 strong and paid and organized by Special Forces and CIA paramilitaries, continued to mass for an attack as heavy bombing continued of suspected al-Qaeda positions.

That sounds like paying the Afghans to do the fighting to me.

On December 2, a group of 20 U.S. commandos was inserted by helicopter to support the operation. On December 5, Afghan militia wrested control of the low ground below the mountain caves from al-Qaeda fighters and set up tank positions to blast enemy forces.

A few days on(Dec 7th or so): The foreign al-Qaeda fighters were still holding out in the mountains of Tora Bora, however. Anti-Taliban tribal militia continued a steady advance through the difficult terrain, backed by withering air strikes guided in by small numbers of U.S. Special Forces. Facing defeat and reluctant to fight fellow Muslims, the al-Qaeda forces agreed to a truce to give them time to surrender their weapons. In retrospect, however, many believe that the truce was a ruse to allow important al-Qaeda figures, including Osama bin Laden, to escape. On December 12, the fighting flared again, probably initiated by a rear guard buying time for the main force’s escape through the White Mountains into the tribal areas of Pakistan. Once again, tribal forces backed by U.S. special operations troops and air support pressed ahead against fortified al-Qaeda positions in caves and bunkers scattered throughout the mountainous region. By December 17, the last cave complex had been taken and their defenders overrun. A search of the area by U.S. forces continued into January, but no sign of bin Laden or the al-Qaeda leadership emerged. It is almost unanimously believed that they had already slipped away into the tribal areas of Pakistan to the south and east.

Again, largely we focused on using Afghan tribal fighters to do the dirty work with minimal troop support and likely mostly bombing assistance. There was no mass of US troops encircling Tora Bora to entrap the alQueda fighters and make sure Bin Laden didn’t escape if he was within the cave complex. I wouldn’t define it as hesitation, but I would define it as gross incompetence in not taking more focused steps to make certain that the enemy didn’t escape. It was later in March of 2002 that a new offensive went up against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces entrenched in the mountains of Shahi-Kot southeast of Gardez.

By the look the majority of the initial war in Afghanistan was done by US bombardment, Afghan tribal soldering and a little help from some US special forces. Only later, after the prime opportunity was lost, did US forces come more into play on the ground. But even now the ultimate fruit eludes capture.

I think the above speaks for itself, I’ll leave it to you, the reader, to decide if enough was done to capture Osama and whether or not the effort was ‘outsourced to Afghan Warlords who let him slip away’.

Question Three: Safety & Security

Kerry’s Claim: The Iraq War Lacked The Sanction Of The United Nations.

The Facts:

The UN Security Council Unanimously Passed Resolution 1441, Which Mandated “Serious Consequences” Against Saddam Hussein’s Regime. DR. RICE: “Remember the clear logic of Resolution 1441 — which passed unanimously. 1441 posed a test — a final test — of Saddam Hussein’s willingness to disarm and comply with his obligations. Saddam Hussein refused to meet that test. 1441 mandated serious consequences if Iraq refused to comply. A coalition of nations ensured that these would not be empty words.” (Remarks by Dr. Condoleezza Rice, 10/8/03)

“IraqViolated More Than Seventeen United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs)” Was In “Material Breach Of Disarmament Obligations.” (“Saddam Hussein’s Defiance Of UNSCRs,” U.S. Department Of State, http://www.state.gov/p/io/rls/fs/2003/18850.htm, 3/20/03)

A Multinational Force Of Some 30 Nations Continues To Help Secure A Free Iraq. PRESIDENT BUSH: “The multinational force of some 30 nations continues to help secure a free Iraq, and we are grateful for the service and sacrifice of all.” (President’s Radio Address, 9/25/04)

In Addition to the United States, Other Coalition Members Are Providing Approximately 25,000 Troops To Assist Our Efforts In Iraq. (Robert Burns, “U.S. Offensive Hinges on Iraq Elections,” The Associated Press, 9/29/04)

Kerry Opposes Pre-Emptive Doctrine, Which Is Vital For National Security. SEN. JOHN KERRY: “[A]s long as this administration leaves a preemptive doctrine on the table, as long as our administration is proceeding down the road to develop nuclear bunker-busting weapons, and as long as we remain a country that will conduct a preemptive war, we’re inviting people to do the very thing that we don’t want them to do.” (Sen. John Kerry, CNN’s Democrat Candidate Debate, 10/9/03)

Kerry Would Leave U.S. Foreign Policy In Hands Of United Nations. “[Kerry] said that if the administration cannot gain sufficient votes within the Security Council for a second resolution authorizing military action, it should ‘take the time, for a period of time, to continue to build [support] at this particular moment.’ He said war should be a last resort, arrived at only after taking the time to build legitimacy and consent within the country and around the world.” (Glen Johnson, “Facing Antiwar Push In Calif., Kerry Is Sparing In Remarks In Key Electorate,” The Boston Globe, 3/16/03)

And Kerry Would Give French And Russians Veto Power Over Use Of Force. SEN. JOHN KERRY: “I would have done what was necessary to know that you had exhausted the available remedies with the French and the Russians.” (MSNBC’s “Hardball,” 10/20/03)

NATO Is Training Iraqi Security Forces and the United Nations is Helping Iraq Prepare for Elections. PRESIDENT BUSH: “We’re helping to transform the NATO Alliance, which isproviding training assistance for Iraqi security forces In Iraq, the U.N. is helping that newly sovereign nation to prepare for free and fair elections, and will help to draft a new constitution.” (Remarks By The President In Swearing-In Of John C. Danforth, 7/1/04)

The above is an amusing collection of largely irrelevant quotes. Only the first has anything at all to do with the war being unsanctioned by the UN. The last has to do with the UN, but has nothing at all to do with the contention.

Now, to address the first tidbit. Resolution 1441. I’ve been mocking this resolution in my head for so very long. It’s one of the most boneheaded things I’ve ever seen done. The language of the resolution was made so vague in order to gain unanimous support that anyone could have interpreted any set of qualifiers and any level of ‘Serious consequences’ and still be able to claim being within it’s mandate. In essence, the resolution is worthless in my opinion. It was stupid to pass it without a defined timeline of deadlines and specifically laid out punishments for violation.

And, as far as I know, the UN has never said it sanctioned the US’ invasion. So, by that as well, the invasion is not under UN sanction. I’ve seen nothing given to prove that it was under UN sanction, so again Kerry’s words aren’t really disproved.

Kerry’s Claim: Iraqi Reconstruction Is Too Expensive, The $200 Billion Should Be Spent In America.

The Facts:

Kerry Previously Said We Should Increase Funding To Iraq “By Whatever Number Of Billions Of Dollars It Takes To Win.” MR. RUSSERT: “Do you believe that we should reduce funding that we are now providing for the operation in Iraq?” SEN. KERRY: “No. I think we should increase it.” MR. RUSSERT: “Increase funding?” SEN. KERRY: “Yes.” MR. RUSSERT: “By how much?” SEN. KERRY: “By whatever number of billions of dollars it takes to win. It is critical that the United States of America be successful in Iraq, Tim….” (NBC’s “Meet The Press,” 8/31/03)

Yup. Kerry changed his mind. Seems the prudent thing to do after making so silly a statement as to spare any expense when it comes to reconstructing Iraq. It’s the kind og grandiose statement most politicians regret sating. I’m sure Kerry is too.

Of course, it also illustrates Kerry is capable of recognizing his mistakes.

Kerry’s Claim: Compared To Our Coalition Partners, America Is Bearing A Disproportionate Amount Of The Burden In Iraq. 90 Percent Of The Casualties Are American.

The Facts:

The U.S. Army General In Charge Of Training Effort In Iraq Says “Iraqi Security Forces Are In The Fight” And Have Made Tremendous Sacrifices. “Most important, Iraqi security forces are in the fight — so much so that they are suffering substantial casualties as they take on more and more of the burdens to achieve security in their country. Since Jan. 1 more than 700 Iraqi security force members have been killed, and hundreds of Iraqis seeking to volunteer for the police and military have been killed as well.” (Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus, US Army, “Battling for Iraq,” Washington Post, 9/26/04)

Kerry Dismissed Coalition Partners As “Window Dressing” And Claimed They’re Not Sharing Burden Of War And Reconstruction. (CNN’s “American Morning,” 3/2/04)

Kerry Mocked Coalition As “Coerced” And “Bribed.” “‘If the federal government can find billions of dollars for the “coalition of the coerced and the bribed,” why can’t it provide vital aid for schools, health care and law enforcement?’ asked Kerry.” (Herbert A. Sample, “Kerry Blasts Bush On Iraq Effort,” Sacramento Bee, 3/14/03)

In First Dem Debate, Kerry Strongly Supported President’s Action In Iraq. KERRY: “I said at the time I would have preferred if we had given diplomacy a greater opportunity, but I think it was the right decision to disarm Saddam Hussein, and when the President made the decision, I supported him, and I support the fact that we did disarm him.” (John Kerry, Remarks At Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Columbia, SC, 5/3/03)

Kerry Previously Questioned Where Russia And France’s BackboneTo Stand Up To Saddam Was. SEN. JOHN KERRY: “So clearly the allies may not like it, and I think that’s our great concern where’s the backbone of Russia, where’s the backbone of France, where are they in expressing their condemnation of such clearly illegal activity, but in a sense, they’re now climbing into a box and they will have enormous difficulty not following up on this if there is not compliance by Iraq.” (CNN’s “Crossfire,” 11/12/97)

NATO Is Training Iraqi Security Forces And The United Nations Is Helping Iraq Prepare For Elections. (President’s Radio Address, 9/25/04)

Yup. And he’s right. Among foreign troops, the US is providing 80% of the forces in Iraq and has indeed taken approximately 90% of the casualties. The above quotes, most of oblique importance to proving anything about what Kerry said, provide no clue as to what is being expressed, save for more feel good rhetoric.

I covered this in the last entry(link at the top). Check there for numbers on the forces and deaths in Iraq.

So here we have another day and another entry. Another collection of Facts analyzed. Really, it makes me wonder if this liberals*suck person has any real point with this besides providing an opportunity to spout a collection of quotes from mostly biased sources. I feel my respect for this person’s political acuity descending with each entry. Which is sad cause there wasn’t much to begin with.

Suggestion: When picking a name for an online representation of your views, try to avoid the tasteless decision of picking one that’s openly offensive and shows an obvious bias.

Until tomorrow.