Fisking Ted Kennedy

No, I did NOT say frisking! This will probably be looked at as more of a rant than a fisk but so be it.

I could only stomach so much of this interview he did with Chris Matthews so the entire piece isn’t fisked. But enough of it is for you to get the picture. Why on EARTH does this man continue to get elected to Congress?

Must be a Massachusetts liberal thing. On to the fisking:

Kennedy: No. There were two justifications. One, there was an imminent security threat to the United States.

ST: No, the President never stated Iraq was an imminent threat. Why do you and other Democrats continue to repeat this, Senator? Here’s what the President actually said:

(1-28-03) “Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option.”

TK: And this is just turned into a quagmire. This is George Bush’s Vietnam. This is a quagmire. The idea that you are going to have a military solution to a political problem.

ST: When will you stop comparing this war to Vietnam, Senator? This is 2005, not 1969. Stop living in the past!

TK: And I think it was a mistake in reason, mistake in rationale. And they thought that this was going to be a cakewalk. Remember when we had, look, this is going to be a cakewalk. They’ll welcome us with open arms. We expect to have the military out in six weeks.

ST: No one in the admin ever said this would be a cakewalk. No one. Ken Adelman said it would be a cakewalk but since when was Ken Adelman a part of this administration? The bottom of the linked piece reads:

The writer was assistant to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld from 1975 to 1977, and arms control director under President Ronald Reagan.

Re: the military being out in “six weeks” – what in the world? I’m guessing he made that up, because the President has repeatedly claimed that the war in Iraq and the aftermath would not be easy and that we faced many tough challenges ahead. Do I really need to post a link to that? Oh, and they did welcome us with open arms:

Re: flowers for the troops (obtained from the State Dept website a while back):

LINK  LINK   LINK  LINK   LINK  LINK

How our troops were greeted:

U.S. troops’ arrival drives home reality that Saddam gone 4/23/03 -MOSUL, Iraq — Expecting headaches and maybe worse from unruly factions of Kurds and Saddam Hussein loyalists, American soldiers began a campaign Wednesday to stabilize and administer this northern Iraq city. Instead, they were met with flowers and friendly greetings

Baghdad not the last battlefield 4/9/03 – U.S. forces are suddenly being greeted warmly in places like Najaf. Iraqis are offering more intelligence on the location of their leaders and are apparently suggesting where caches of weapons might be found. In many cities, if allied troops are not greeted with roses, they are at least not hindered.

Karbala ‘Like a Carnival’ As Troops Take Control 4/6/03 (link no longer available for free) – A gathering of senior Army officers on Highway 9 in the city late this afternoon drew an upbeat crowd of more than 100, who alternated expressions of appreciation with petitions for help. Among the shouts from the crowd:”Thank you very much, Mr. Boss.” “We love you United States.” “Saddam donkey.” “Night and day, no water.” “Hospital. No electricity, no food, no medicine.” “Very happy. I love you George Bush.”

Does Ted Kennedy need a factchecker, too?