Wednesday Open Thread: Napoleon Edition
by PubliusToday, in 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of France (also, today, in 1805, Napoleon won a decisive victory at the Battle of Austerlitz, leaving an indelible mark on battlefield tactics):
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This is what a real Commander-in-Chief would've said last night:
"We're not just gonna shoot the bastards…"
Memo to Obama: There's never been a war where the winner announced beforehand when they would stop fighting. And wars aren't just over- they're either won or lost.
Blame America First-in Chief! I would have rather watched Charlie Brown, instead I watched DVR of Food Network!
Memo to Chris Matthews:
You like your front teeth?
Too bad…
I cannot find the ceremonial "CROWNING OF THE FIRST AMERICAN PRESIDENT" anywhere in the upcoming TV listings. Did I miss something ??
Oh to be in the minds of those West Point Cadets…. Barack Hussein Obama…. MMM MMM MMM (puke)….
Ah… To return to the days of McArthur and Patton….when men were men versus the metrosexual effeminate boy child who sadly is this country's CIC.
Just more of our boy-king (like Tut) trying to 'lose with dignity'.
and you noticed, there were times he stopped for appaluse and ther was none! He was flummoxed! The one thing our boy-king needs most of all, and those cadets had a hard time giving it up.
It was a preemptive Chamberlain "Peace for our time" – type speech.
Do they teach history at Harvard?
Mr. Obama:
Please stop using the sentence "Let me be clear!" It doesn't work anymore. You use it too much. It has lost all meaning.
Well, that makes Napoleon better than Obama. Napoleon actually won a war!
BHO hasn't McArthur's intellect or Patton's balls.
He demonstrates the thought processes of a confused, ageing hippie and the courage of REMF.
He strikes me as someone who would scream his own name during sex.
Obama also uses 'unprecedented' a lot too…
Or is it 'unpresidented'?
You make the call!
Imagine this: You are a member of an NFL team. Your team is down 17-14 at the half. You enter the locker room expecting chastisement, a second half game plan, and encouragement to victory. Instead, the coach blames the officiating and talks about exit strategies. Really makes you want to go out and give it your all.
Despite all his faults, at least George Bush was rock solid in the war on Islamic terror. Taking out Iraq was strategically the right move in my humble opinion. We scared Khadafy into surrendering his nuclear program. "Calmed" Syria to some degree. Actually scared Iran for a little while, though Bush allowed Britain and France the lead in dealing with them regarding the nuclear issue; that was a gross mistake.
Can you imagine Barry dealing with Saddam? With Khadafy? We already know he can't deal with the Iranians. Ever notice that the Afghan conflict went south AFTER the successful surge in Iraq?
As for Barry's speech: Very boring. You could tell his heart wasn't really in it. He is incompetent. A living example of the Peter principle.
Super REMF, that is who he is!
Dear God,
Is BHO's Waterloo coming soon???
Please make it so.
Can you please help the rest of us survive his Waterloo as well?
Then please send us a REAL President to pick up the pieces of America and reassemble them.
Amen.
OH GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Afghanistan.
Yes, Obama was out of his league there. You could tell he was intimidated as hell. His usual audience interrupts him with the applause of drunks and derelicts, not the sober, intelligent, stern faces he got last night at West Point.
Barry Hussein Obama has won some descisive victories. He won a Noble Piece Prize.
God I hope so…
I just hope he does not waste US Lives…
LOL!
Did you see where he said that West Point was the "enemy camp"?
It's too bad Presidents don't lead their armies into battle today.
http://www.thefoxnation.com/chris-matthews/2009/1...
video – Chris Mathews calls West Point the "enemy camp".
What happened in Monroe County, Tennessee yesterday with the Grand Jury for Obama case for Treason?
I can't find it on line what happened?
How about over 40 times using the word "I"…….
Matthews is a POS.
Random thoughts about the speech last night.
Much is being made of Obama not using the word "victory". I am not sure if this President has even considered what he would define as victory in Afghanistan. Does anyone know if he has laid out his expectations anywhere? Oh he has a general goal: Afghanistan should be strong enough to fight the Taliban/insurgents on its own. But that is very general. I would think, as a Commander in Chief, he would want a list of specific and well thought out criteria for successfully completing the mission (See? I too can mince words!) I am certain that the military men and women want that criteria spelled out. Speech after speech during the campaign derided President Bush for "not having a clear exit strategy" but it sounded like all this President has IS an exit strategy–not a strategy to WIN.
I have also heard that the initial request for troops was 60,000 but the General indicated he could probably win with 40,000. If that is the case then President Obama only authorized 50% of what was requested, not 75% as is being reported. Can anyone confirm?
Initially, when the Afghan election was exposed as fraudulent I wanted the President to call them on the corruption and refuse to recognize the results. Last night one of the Fox pundits explained that Afghanistan is not really of strategic interest to the US. I believe she called it a "bunch of rocks". But Pakistan IS very much of strategic interest. Not only do they have nuclear weapons, so they should be carefully monitored, but they are in the right region of the world for the US to "put the squeeze on" Iran (with our troops in Iraq and our support/pressure on the Pakistani government). I am all for putting pressure on Iran. Before hearing that opinion I had not considered that we would have to pull out of Afghanistan if we refused to recognize the election results. Pulling out would just allow the Taliban to further entrench, which is never a good thing.
The idea that the 9/11 terrorists killed Americans with out regard for their religion, etc is just totally bogus and dangerously naive. The ENTIRE reason tthey want to kill Americans is because we are considered religious heathens by Islam. Someone needs to give this President a lesson in understanding jihad motivation.
If I understood correctly, one of the reasons that the President agreed to up the troop numbers was so they could go teach the Afghan troops how to fight the insurgency. Well we learned from Iraq that you can't do that in 18 months. Period. So part of this speech either was intentionally smoke screen or he failed to consider a reasonable time line.
Oh yes, I heard him assure the Pakistani people that we will continue to financially support their democracy even "after the shooting has stopped". Uh huh…just one little piece of advice sir: Don't let anyone breathe the words "war tax" if you plan to use that money to support another government while your country is floundering financially. That is just bad, bad, bad PR.
http://americangrandjury.org/
That is the only info I can find.
Quick question: Doesn't the President enter a room after "Hail to the Chief" is played anymore? I was watching the West Point speech and Obama enetered the room with no music. Just curious.
I don't know. I do know that he failed to salute the personnel there last night. That is bad protocol, and disheartening too.
Interesting view of how Der Spiegel saw Obammy's speech at West Point: "nauseating".
People are beginning to see through the sham.
Obama being packaged and marketed to the world is no different than Cap and Trade being packaged and matketed to the world. Fraud of the highest and first order.
Here's Bush's last speech at West Point in Dec 2008. I miss Bush…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TgLYLuDjlY
Thanks for the laugh. Too funny.
For being so big on Protocol, it doesn't seem like this Pres has a clue about protocol.
I think West Point does also!
Who, Chrissy "I got some tinkle on my leg" Mathews? Stallwart veteran of the Peace Corps? Worked for that other great president, Jimmuh Carter? THAT Chris Mathews? I'm shocked!
He was expecting a mass genuflection by the cadets and didn't have time to salute!
My wife and I were studying at faces in the audience. We didn't see a lot of warmth in the crowd either.
Gee . . . I wonder why
Once thought of as the first International President (See Emperor), it appears his, and our, stature is diminishing around the world. In their words, not mine:
Der Speigel, 2009
“Obama's Half-Hearted Surge”
“Never before has a speech by President Barack Obama felt as false as his Tuesday address announcing America's new strategy for Afghanistan.”
“One didn't have to be a cadet on Tuesday to feel a bit of nausea upon hearing Obama's speech. It was the least truthful address that he has ever held.”
Daily Telegraph 2009
“A “period of hiatus” in Washington – and a lack of clear direction – had made it harder for ministers to persuade the British public to go on backing the Afghan mission in the face of a rising death toll, he said.”
Senior British Government sources have become increasingly frustrated with Mr Obama’s “dithering” on Afghanistan.”
Lazy Jack
An oldie but a goodie about the Democrats and their century of leadership:
http://thanksforthelaughs.wordpress.com/2008/10/2...
A few more:
Irish Times, 2009: The sentencing of Huang Qi is a clear sign that China is not willing to cede any ground on granting greater personal freedoms, despite Mr Obama’s statements about universal human rights. It’s the second high-profile dissident trial since Mr Obama’s visit.”
Pravda, 2009: In the giant, unread "democratic" bills that the American parliament loves to pass, some with literally up to ten thousand pages of unread and undebated laws. (and the Americans were only ranked 19th on the list of the most corrupt nations?)
Times of India, 2009; “Many felt Obama went to China "as a profligate spender going to see his banker."
I heard on the radio this morning that Dick Cheney's interview rant on Politico yesterday was in poor taste because it occurred on the eve of the President's speech on Afghanistan. Seems the old boy has been reading the paper's in the rest of the world, and they all agree that our leadership, and CINC, project indecision and weakness. Do you suppose Napoleon ever fell into that trap?
Lazy Jack
http://www.thanksforthelaughs.wordpress.com
Remember when Obama said this to the Iranians protesting the fraudulent election there :
" And we must make it clear to every man, woman and child around the world who lives under the dark cloud of tyranny that America will speak out on behalf of their human rights and tend for the light of freedom and justice and opportunity and respect for the dignity of all peoples. That is who we are; that is the source, the moral source of America's authority."
Oh wait, that's right . . he didn't say that. What he said then was:
" We do not interfere in Iran's internal affairs."
I I I I I I, ME ME ME ME ME ME, MY MY MY MY MY MY MY MY, I I I I I I I I am pandering to my base and trying to appease those to whom I am beholden and from whom I take my orders but it's like, you know, really, really hard.
Sure they do, its begining America sucks and advanced America sucks.
" Let me be clear" Oh your clear alright in fact your unprecedentedly clear, your in over your head and these young warriors could smell your fear.
That would be great, of course his body would be riddled from behind.
this was the one time he should have bowed.
Isn't the news of the "surge" in Afghanistan rather timely? Makes for good fodder for cover pages when we should be focusing on defeating the health care bill.
Several passages about Bonaparte from Tolstoy's War and Peace are astonishingly transferrable to an analysis of how Barack Obama became president in the U.S. It's longer than the usual homework assignment, but I highly recommend the read.
Unfortunately, carrying forward with this comparison, I doubt health care reform will prove to be President Obama's "Waterloo." After all, Europe had to exile Bonaparte more than once…
Was’nt Napoleon another Narcissist?
Let me be clear: The Constitution trumps you.
LOL.
Thank God Obama stopped dithering:
OBAMA ANNOUNCES SURGE….IN PARTIES!
http://naturalfake.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/obama...
Wouldnt it be Nice to have Honest Adults in the WH. They are there because a large segment voted for a promise of " Something for Nothing ". The King of Appeasers gave half measures to everyone. Lets give the military an 18 month shot. Then, Forget It !! 9/11 those men knocked down our towers, What, Oh, cant say Terrorists, Those men have distorted and defiled one of the Greatest Religions in the World. Boy, am I glad that was in the speech. Dont forget we are not a Christian Nation, our population is only 75-80% Christion, Are we one of the greatest Religions in the World
The answer is so simple–SEND ACORN TO AFGHANISTAN.
OHH EMM EFF GEE
Lol
That was on back in January.
Don't forget AP Socialism is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better.
Here here!
Napoleon was an outstanding military tactician, no doubt about that. He ran circles around the old school generals of Europe.
But his real success was being able to keep French society humming along productively, in order to outfit and support such a huge standing army.
Who knows what Europe would look like if he didn't have such a big Napoleonic complex.
Agreed. I had a whole lot of problems with a lot of things Bush did over his eight years, but Iraq and Afghanistan we're not one of them.
You tell your fellow American citizen to pick up a weapon and go do battle, then you back them up 110%. We owe them that much.
A couple of weeks ago the local paper was doing it's yearly tradition of asking readers to send in short notes on what they are thankful for. One letter caught me eye. A Vietnam vet was thanking the local restaurants who offered free meals to vets.
And he said when he came back from Vietnam, there was no one waiting at the airport. No parades. He said he couldn't say he was never honored because they mentioned his name once in Church. Which is why he was so thankful.
I blew my cork over that one. No one ever thanked him for his service. So I decided to do so. I sent a short paragraph to the paper telling hm thanks for his service. A couple of days later I got a very nice thank you card in the mail from him, he was tickled pink. I even got a picture of him with his son at the traveling Vietnam VEt's Wall.
I don't ever want to hear of a vet being treated like that again. And I'm very pleased to see so many fellow Americans are doing just that with vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
America will survive, I have no doubt on that. We are an independent people for the most part (yeah, I know, plenty of slackers, but I'm not talking about them).
Raise taxes, the economy simply moves underground. Start limiting our choices, we find ways around them, we always do.
Something this socialistic idiotic politicians and activists never get – we don't need them, we will move around them as we move forward.
Add to that he's won my scorn!
Battle is hard enough, they don't need the worry of Obama leading them.
Ironically, it seems to work better the other way around, Washington, Grant, Eisenhower.
My money is on West Point.
He'll feel a tingle running down his legs, and it'll be yellow and warm.
He was walking on pins while he was there. Chris Matthews summed it up perfectly, the left considered the military the enemy.
We're also the enemy too. Some times I think republicans don't quite understand just how much the left views them as the enemy. Trust me, I used to be one. To them, it's not outside forces, they only hate the US because of conservatives, and once the modern liberals defeat them once and for all, they'll all love America again.
Its conservatives who are the enemy of the left.
Well now, Obama is being equated to Nappy, he of the millions killed. What's always brothered me is why the French got away with building a memorial to Nappy whereas if the Germans were stupid enough to build one to AH, there'd be hell to pay. Of course, the difference is that Nappy didn't commit genocide per se while AH did on a massive scale. Both killed in the name of their own glory seeking self and both tried to enslave Europe and it's a toss up as to which one did the most damage to his own country.
Now we've got Obama trying to commit suicide of his own country, which AH also tried to do.
Bad PR?….That is amusing…The smoke screen analogy is closer to the truth…His poll numbers indicated that he needed to do something about Afganistan , so he cooks up a pile of everybody elses ideas…..stamps his name on it….makes a grand speech…TADA!…He can now use all his time enslaving the American people and proclaiming himself as "Chief Executive of the World"…fiction was never this unbelievable..
Is it going to be 30,000 combat troops plus support units? Or more like 10,000 combat troops plus 20,000 support?
It’s being reported that Barry has turned the oval office into a throne room…ala…Napoleon. He insist on being called Barry the Magnificent. When you enter the office, he has used the Resolution Desk as a landing for his throne, lifting Barry — leaving all before him to cower. Always present behind the throne are his three advisors, Andy Stern whispering in his left ear Rahm Emanuel in his right, David Axelrod back and forth. When guest enter the room they all have an ah…ha moment, when BBBB…Biden is there dressed as the court jester, everyone without exception shakes their heads in understanding, now it all makes sense. The Lewinsky closet, the door has been removed, and replaced with two-way glass. Everyone is left to wonder…whose behind that glass? Soros perhaps admiring his work? Reverend Wright, Bombing Billy Ayers, The Wookie? Weird!
Thanks Cowboy! I've marked the page, it said that Grand Jury will probably take a few days. Let's cross our fingers the good people of Tennessee do the right thing and come back with an indictment.
More like 10 to 1. Support to combat. My son, an SSG will be among them going in combat. He's been in full time Afghan language school the past couple of months. But he's coming home for Christmas for 2 weeks!!!!
Obama just learned a hard lesson last night. It was harder than loosing the Olympics for Chicagoland. He just learned that the Military, that which he is Commander in Chief of, despises him.
General McCrystal asked for a minimum of 40,000 troops months ago, a number he said would work. Obama gave 30,000, a slap in the face to his General, and a receipe for failure. General McChrystal should resign his commission immediately in protest, rather than be hung out to dry as Obungers scapegoat.
Liberals think Americans and American soldiers are afraid of war. That, unless it's an easy victory, without casualties, we don't have the stomach for it and will begin looking for a negotiated exit when it becomes difficult. It's safer, easier, to make concessions to a bully than it is to kick his ass.
Frankly, they project their own cowardice onto our forces. That's fine until they're in power. Then they regulate war with those same values.
My experience with the military, however, taught me they get more determined when things get difficult. They don't have the stomach for failure and will avoid it at all cost. That's how they win wars.
We become disillusioned with conflicts because we see politicians putting conditions on how to win, when they start looking for "exit strategies" instead of trusting the military leaders to do what they're trained to do. Bring the enemy to his knees and make him seek a negotiated settlement first. We used to call that surrender.
I don't believe America is capable of losing a war. We are only capable of refusing to win.
Obama only used " I " 36 times in this speech.
A local grand jury cannot indict for federal crimes, and treason is a federal crime. So don't hold your breath, Mom. On second thought, why don't you.
Last night at West Point, President Obama had a golden opportunity to demonstrate that the world’s only superpower is lead by a tough, determined, world leader, able to make difficult decisions. Instead, President Obama chose to take a hedged, triangulated position between those in America that support the war in Afghanistan and those that oppose it. There was more nuance in the President’s address than there was determination and resolve, which is unfortunate for America and for international security around the globe.
There really are no good options for America and the situation in Afghanistan. Looking backwards into the rearview mirror does us no good; we are where we are and fair or not, the President is forced to look ahead and play the hand he has been dealt. As evidenced by the delay and lengthy deliberation regarding additional troop commitments, President Obama is learning that it is more difficult to actually lead a nation than it is to merely campaign to lead a nation.
Whether the best course of action is committing more troops or withdrawing could be debated by reasonable people, but it is less important than commitment and dedication to one or the other, with resolve. The President needed to get it right last night—either we’re all-in or we’re out—and he failed, choosing conditional commitment and putting his weakness and equivocation on full display for the world.
Rather than attempting to placate his left flank by holding back 25% of the 40,000 troops requested by General McChrystal, the President could have demonstrated he was in it to win it, giving the general the 40,000 troops he requested. Why hold back 10,000 troops? If ever an ounce of prevention were better than a pound of cure, this would be it—give the general what he is requesting and “get ‘er done.” The left is not placated by his gesture to send 30,000 more troops and hold back 10,000, and history informs us well that underwhelming the enemy or relying on the pathetic troop commitments of our allies is a recipe for disaster and defeat.
Clearly, the ultimate pusillanimous act last night was announcing a troop draw-down in 18 months. This was not leadership, but a cowardly act that undermined any attempt by the President to even feign commitment, again serving only one purpose, to unsuccessfully attempt to appease the left.
The left and right are not happy with the President, nor is Middle America, which wants us out of Afghanistan, best achieved by either a total commitment to get out or bucking-up and committing overwhelming force. Giving General McChrystal less troops than he requested and announcing a draw-down in 18 months are jellyfish maneuvers, difficult to rationalize other than through a purely political prism. Middle America deserves leadership from President Obama and knows all too well that the only thing in the middle of the road is a dead possum on a dotted white line.
http://americanmuser.wordpress.com
LOL!
Amen.
No uniform for Teleprompter.
Camouflage duct tape.
And I can't stand his pronunciation of "TALI…………..BON", for Taliban. I always hear "HEY MR. TALLYMON TALLY MY BANNANAS……………." in my head, when he says that.
And that "POK……..E……..STON" , for Pakistan, also makes my teeth ache.
What's the difference between Obama and God?
God doesn't think he's Obama!
Sorry, but that would be Hitler. After Napoleon, France was diminished but sovereign and (for the most part) unoccupied.
After Hitler, Germany was torn to pieces, partitioned, and stripped of ties independence for years, if not decades.
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