Sen. Durbin "apologizes"

[The Laughing Man]

Source

"Some may believe that my remarks crossed the line," the Illinois Democrat said. "To them I extend my heartfelt apologies."

"And to those who believe my statement was spot on, I extend my heartfelt thanks."

His voice quaking and tears welling in his eyes, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate also apologized to any soldiers who felt insulted by his remarks.

Aww... How sweet. Reminds me of Clinton and his equally fake sadness.

"They're the best. I never, ever intended any disrespect for them," he said.

Yeah, right. Lies, lies, lies.

Thanks for the non-apology, Dick. Head back under the rock from which you crawled.

[Thomas More]

He should be pillaried, deported to North Korea and put in an Kwan-li-co labour camp, then he can officially attest that Gitmo is comparable to a day in the park. If he does not starve to death in 3 or 4 months that is.

[themuzicman]

Typical democrat "apology". All they want is for the consequences to go away.

Michael

[Rusty T]

Okay, I'm going to say something here that will probably get some upset - but it is the politics forum, so buck up. His apology may not have been heartfelt, but I have yet to hear the administration give even a poor excuse of an apology for leading us into war in Iraq on mis-information. Notice - I'm not saying they 'cooked' the data or intentionally misled, but leaders, when they make mistakes, should acknowledge they did so. It will never happen. I've come to hate politics. The shrillness of the Democrats coupled with the cornered-dog frothiness of the Republicans makes for a polluted news cycle.

[Thomas More]

Okay, I'm going to say something here that will probably get some upset - but it is the politics forum, so buck up. His apology may not have been heartfelt, but I have yet to hear the administration give even a poor excuse of an apology for leading us into war in Iraq on mis-information. Notice - I'm not saying they 'cooked' the data or intentionally misled, but leaders, when they make mistakes, should acknowledge they did so. It will never happen. I've come to hate politics. The shrillness of the Democrats coupled with the cornered-dog frothiness of the Republicans makes for a polluted news cycle.

None of which has anything to do with the issue at hand.

[Duder]

None of which has anything to do with the issue at hand.

Quite the contrary - Tizz nailed it.

[Da Blonde]

I understand he said the actions of interrogators might have been assumed to be those of Nazis, Stalinists, or Khmer Rouge which is not saying all our troops are thus.

[Captain Ochre]

Quite the contrary - Tizz nailed it.

Stuff and nonsense. The decision to move on Iraq was made in good faith (based partly) on faulty evidence as processed by the organization whose job it is to process the evidence. Durbin has no faulty evidence on which to shuffle blame. There is only his inapt comparison and the mileage that the enemies of the US will get out of his comments. Durbin is supposedly concerned about US image in the world, so he promply goes out and makes it worse.
It is the intelligence agencies that should apologize if an apology is required for the faulty intelligence. Otherwise it's apologizing for something you did not do, like the current Senate apologizing for the actions of a previous (long gone) Senate. I might as well apologize for the Spanish Inquisition. It's ridiculous.

[Captain Ochre]

I understand he said the actions of interrogators might have been assumed to be those of Nazis, Stalinists, or Khmer Rouge which is not saying all our troops are thus.

Right, only some of them.

[Rusty T]

I supported this war with the best of them. Heck, go check my previous posts. But even then, if not here on Tweb - to my family and friends, I was saying things like, "I hope they do find WMD's or this is not going to be worth it." Is Saddam gone? Yes. Are his murderous offspring dead and no longer a threat to succeed leadership? Yes. Do these things justify what has transpired in this war? I don't think so. I may get raked over the coals for what I'm about to say, but I don't mind so much. Some weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks I entered the US Army recruiting center and took the test, and seriously considered joining. I was twenty-five, married, with one child, but I wanted to do something about what I felt was happening to my country. An appendectomy, a frantic wife, a frantic mother, and the responsibility of supporting my family prevailed upon me. If it had not been for the time the Army required for me to wait after my surgery, I probably would have joined. There are still times I wish I had. I had always wanted to serve my country in some way. I'm still young enough, but now with two children, the burden the military life may put on my family is too great. But if I had joined, and if I had been mobilized to Iraq, and if I were one of those several Mississippi soldiers who have been killed in recent weeks - I would want my sons to know that I fought and died for a legitimate cause. Not faulty intelligence. Not the prevailing desire for Saddam to be out of power. . . . War is an awful, sinful, and dirty mess. It should never happen, ever. But like all things sinful - it does happen. It happens to the best of nations, to the best of people. Yet when and if it happens, we should make certain that there are no other alternatives. None. Looking back, I can be honest with myself and admit that I thought Bush was rushing things with Iraq. With my desire for Bush to be right, I neglected the truth of the situation. I can't stand the Democrats. Their kowtowing to special interests groups is just as annoying as couching every issue as a choice between black and white. I hated how they attacked anything Bush did, and yet didn't offer solutions of their own (something they continue to do) - and in my dislike of them, I was eager to see Bush successful. As the months dragged on, every day I would read the news eagerly - waiting for the discovery of WMD's. It never came.

rusty

[Captain Ochre]

Good post overall, Tizzi, but I take issue with one part of it.

Yet when and if it happens, we should make certain that there are no other alternatives. None.

There's always surrender and capitulation.
It will never be as black and white as you would like.

If you can put yourself in the President's shoes and come to a different decision than the one he reached, that's fine.
Judging the decision based on hindsight is unfair, however (and I'm not saying that you've necessarily taken that last step).

[Darth Executor]

I supported this war with the best of them. Heck, go check my previous posts. But even then, if not here on Tweb - to my family and friends, I was saying things like, "I hope they do find WMD's or this is not going to be worth it." Is Saddam gone? Yes. Are his murderous offspring dead and no longer a threat to succeed leadership? Yes. Do these things justify what has transpired in this war? I don't think so. I may get raked over the coals for what I'm about to say, but I don't mind so much. Some weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks I entered the US Army recruiting center and took the test, and seriously considered joining. I was twenty-five, married, with one child, but I wanted to do something about what I felt was happening to my country. An appendectomy, a frantic wife, a frantic mother, and the responsibility of supporting my family prevailed upon me. If it had not been for the time the Army required for me to wait after my surgery, I probably would have joined. There are still times I wish I had. I had always wanted to serve my country in some way. I'm still young enough, but now with two children, the burden the military life may put on my family is too great. But if I had joined, and if I had been mobilized to Iraq, and if I were one of those several Mississippi soldiers who have been killed in recent weeks - I would want my sons to know that I fought and died for a legitimate cause. Not faulty intelligence. Not the prevailing desire for Saddam to be out of power. . . . War is an awful, sinful, and dirty mess. It should never happen, ever. But like all things sinful - it does happen. It happens to the best of nations, to the best of people. Yet when and if it happens, we should make certain that there are no other alternatives. None. Looking back, I can be honest with myself and admit that I thought Bush was rushing things with Iraq. With my desire for Bush to be right, I neglected the truth of the situation. I can't stand the Democrats. Their kowtowing to special interests groups is just as annoying as couching every issue as a choice between black and white. I hated how they attacked anything Bush did, and yet didn't offer solutions of their own (something they continue to do) - and in my dislike of them, I was eager to see Bush successful. As the months dragged on, every day I would read the news eagerly - waiting for the discovery of WMD's. It never came.

rusty

I never cared about the WMDs to begin with. I had no idea why Bush "really" went to war and after hearing that the Dems supported it as well I stopped caring completely. I'm just happy the Iraqis get a chance at freedom now.