Reach out and "touch" someone.

Is this the State Department of the United States, of the Al-Qaeda State Department? because they're certainly acting like the latter.

It's almost as if the State Department wants to be friends with everyone but the American people.

of the = OR the

PIMF

Wow,talk about a bunch of revisionists. Do their blinders also come with rose coloured glasses?

Will Colin Powell be called as a character witness for IIIT?

I feel sick....

Stateless and without redeeming features.

If the State Department was a doctor, this how they would treat you:

"Well, I'm happy to report that you're healthy as a horse!"

"Really? How can that be? Just yesterday the other doctor told me I had a life-threatening brain tumor. How did you cure it?"

"Simple. I just changed its name from 'tumor' to 'Happy Head Friend' and voila -- you no longer have a tumor!"

re: #1 zombie

Reach out and "touch" someone.

I'd rather reach out and touch Faith.

[Link: www.youtube.com...]

Kind of seems like a no-brainer. Don't allow exchange students through an organization suspected of terrorist ties. But obviously I'm giving the State Department too much credit in assuming they have brains.

Was this Condi's idea?

{probably}

The only good spin on this is if they are using the IIIT as a lure to get the dope on these motherf-ers, which will later lead to arrest and/or execution of terrorists.

But wait. This is the State Department we're talking about. No chance that they'd be actually working to eliminate terrorists. That would be so un-politically correct.

re: #3 Sharmuta

The American people are already paying them. They can make even more from everyone else.

I wish the Department of Defense could reach out and touch them - hard, fast and continuously!

Anyone else see this as an example of a federal government that is a bit too big with too much money? Or am I starting to sound like Bob Barr?

AAAAHHH, what is that growing out of my head?

Or, is this a venus flytrap operation - to collect, infiltrate, and then disseminate - think about it.

I keep waiting for aliens to come down from the sky and tell us that earth has been a scientific experiment to raise drones (kids who play video games) to fight a proxy war with another group of aliens.

Yeah, makes about as much sense as this.

re: #18 Racer X

I keep waiting for aliens to come down from the sky and tell us that earth has been a scientific experiment to raise drones (kids who play video games) to fight a proxy war with another group of aliens.

Yeah, makes about as much sense as this.

I think you just nailed down Ron Paul in 40 words or less.

re: #12 really grumpy big dog Johnson Hey my friend - good to see you again!
But this may have been Condi's idea, but trust me on this, it didn't happen without President Bush's ok.

State takes orders from the House of Saud, IMHO.

re: #15 realwest

I wish the Department of Defense could reach out and touch them - hard, fast and continuously!

nah, that's the military's job. Them I trust.

re: #22 BlueCanuck Um, the US Military is run by the Department of Defense.

re: #23 realwest

Gah Must get my eyes checked. Sorry.

re: #17 zinowl

Or, is this a venus flytrap operation - to collect, infiltrate, and then disseminate - think about it.

That would be clever. But since we are talking about the State Department, we can rule that out.

re: #24 BlueCanuck

Gah Must get my eyes checked. Sorry.

Hey, if Obama is our Prez, we can expect that the DoD will be as effective as "a catflap in an elephant house". Don't think he can mangle the DoD?

YES HE CAN!

What I don't understand is how the the president and the State Department seem to be saying completely different things. Bush is saying that we will fight terrorist no matter where they hid while State is basically kissing terrorist butt. Isn't State's job to follow the directions of the President? Is anybody in this government actually serious about fighting this war, or is it all just BS?

re: #24 BlueCanuck
No problem - it's late (well on the East Coast anyway) but I somehow managed to avoid most of the prior thread so perhaps my eyes, though tired, are not as tired of reading as are yours!

re: #25 Syrah

That would be clever. But since we are talking about the State Department, we can rule that out.

Last clever thing they did at Department of State was stop using terms like islamofascist and jihadist...

re: #28 realwest

heh heh, yeah. I was just speed reading and made a fatal assumption.

re: #19 brainwizard73

I think you just nailed down Ron Paul in 40 words or less.

I hope they do nail him down...Ron Paul, Still a Candidate, Heads to GOP Convention Showdown.

The Paulites need to take their medication as prescribed, or Dr. Paul is secretly injecting them with something.

re: #20 realwest

Hey my friend - good to see you again!
But this may have been Condi's idea, but trust me on this, it didn't happen without President Bush's ok.

Gee, thanks for reminding me. I say we get rid of State. If Shirley Temple has retired, the party should be over.

Here's how we should handle state matters in the future:

You talkin' about me? You talkin' about me?

re: #27 paradox42

You are going under the assumption that the State Dept. is subject to the whim of the temporary occupant of the White House. In fact, they are an enduring bureaucracy. They watch Presidents come and go and operate pretty much the same. Bush tried to reform it, remember how that went?

[paraphrasing DeNiro in some dumb movie...]

Actual dialog from the movie: You talkin' to me?

Given the modern political and international climate, I like something more confrontational.

re: #25 Syrah

Thanks- I needed a laugh.

re: #7 Maximu§

I feel sick....

So do I, and it is not just the virus I have. And with this insanity? Condi has outdone herself.

Have they already forgotten 9/11? I think that I answered my own question.

John Bolton for Sec. of State in 2009!

re: #31 NY Nana

I hope they do nail him down...Ron Paul, Still a Candidate, Heads to GOP Convention Showdown.

The Paulites need to take their medication as prescribed, or Dr. Paul is secretly injecting them with something.

Can we put Ron Paul and Bob Barr in a steel cage and just lock it...

no fight...

no match...

we just walk away?

And don't come back?

State Dept quislings outreach to terrorist Jihadis - while the Navy positions its ships.

May 7. Fleet Response Plan was designed to insure the Navy has 6 aircraft carriers available within 30 days to anywhere in the world, with 2 more available by 90 days. The theory is that beyond 90 days, the other 2 carriers not conducting a nuclear refueling would be available within 180 days. 6+2 is theory though, it usually involves several of those 6 carriers returning from deployment, thus the 30 day metric.

6 & 30 Days:
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) - Deployed to Gulf
USS George Washington (CVN 73) - Deployed on way to Japan
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) - Next Atlantic Fleet Carrier to Deploy
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) - Next Pacific Fleet Carrier to Deploy
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) - Surge Atlantic Carrier Behind Roosevelt
USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) - Surge Pacific Carrier Behind Reagan

2 & 90 Days:
USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) - Rotating from Japan to San Diego (Currently Deployed)
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) - Currently Deployed, Returning Home

2 & 180 Days:
USS Enterprise (CVN 65) - 16-month Extended Docking Availability Began April 11th
USS Nimitz (CVN 68) - Currently Deployed, Extended Drydock Availability Begins After Deployment

Nuclear Refueling:
USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) - Unavailable until end of 2008

Check closely, we list both carriers for 60 days as deployed today, plus a 180 day carrier as deployed today. In other words, they won't be unavailable until the Navy decides them to be.

re: #33 rawmuse

Bush tried to reform it, remember how that went?

Yes, State has always been the enemy, but he has let Condi stay on...if he truly wanted reform? That would not have happened.

How clever, with the stroke of a pen, State eliminates the terms jihadist, radical islamist, mujahadeen, or islamofascists. Thus, by definition, they don't exist. By further extension, since they don't exist, any islamic adherent is acceptable for admission to the US, after all there aren't any jihadists, mujahadeen, or islamofascists, so it's all good, right?

We are so screwed

Pimf - this is quoted as well

Nuclear Refueling:
USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) - Unavailable until end of 2008

Check closely, we list both carriers for 60 days as deployed today, plus a 180 day carrier as deployed today. In other words, they won't be unavailable until the Navy decides them to be.

re: #37 brainwizard73

Is there room in that cage for Condi and her jihad loving cronies?

re: #27 paradox42 You're not the only person who's asked that question!
I thought President Bush, immediately post 9/11, was as strong on the War on Terror as any president I could hope for. That thinking continued through Afghanistan.
It started to fade some with Iraq - I understood and still understand, how much a functioning Islamic Democracy in Iraq could mean. But during the run up to the Iraqi War, I was much more in favor of Iran, not Iraq; there were just too many connections - or dots worth connecting - to the danger Iran posed to us in the GWoT, plus I still think we're at war with Iran since the 1979 invasion and take over of the US Embassy - and the holding hostage of the Embassy workers. However, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton and Bush II didn't agree with me and into Iraq we went. Had we just stopped with effecting "regime change" AND then took care of Iran, I think that would have been more productive.
And then Republicans stayed home in droves in 2006 and I sincerely believe that President Bush's GWOT suffered enormously because of that and his resulting drop in public popularity.
All of which leads me to state that I don't think that anyone , outside of the Military, is truly fighting the WoT.

re: #37 brainwizard73

Can we put Ron Paul and Bob Barr in a steel cage and just lock it...

no fight...

no match...

we just walk away?

And don't come back?

Where should the Lizard Army meet you? Would we be able to bring popcorn, etc., and watch?

re: #30 BlueCanuck Good Lord! I hope you don't mean fatal, just false!

re: #40 AZfederalist

Are we any better than the UK and the rest of Eurabia now, with this insanity?

re: #39 NY Nana

Yes, State has always been the enemy, but he has let Condi stay on...if he truly wanted reform? That would not have happened.

Bush could lop the Condi-head, but the hydra would still be alive and well.

I say demote state to a bureau. No cabinet presence at all. That'll shrink all those dickheads over there.

re: #42 paradox42

Is there room in that cage for Condi and her jihad loving cronies?

As long as I can still cram Al Franken and his massive swollen head in the cage, feel free to populate as needed.

re: #37 brainwizard73

Bob Barr stated flatly today that he would be honored to have Ron Paul as a running mate. If he changed to Libertarian.

(John Gibson interview)

Mind you, this is the very agency that has outsourced the very printing of passports to Thailand.

re: #33 rawmuse Yup and the same could be said of virtually every Federal Agency, including the CIA.

re: #50 rawmuse

Say what!?

re: #37 brainwizard73
I'm sorry to have to reveal my ignorance out here, but who the hell is Bob Barr?!

re: #44 NY Nana

Where should the Lizard Army meet you? Would we be able to bring popcorn, etc., and watch?

Gee whiz I can go two ways on that:

(1) We don't watch. I mean the whole point was to walk away.

(2) We watch. We put on PPV and we make a ton of money (toss in a few more people--go battle royal on the bit) and we all retire to Barbados.

My heart says #1 but my head says #2.

And yet the U.S. military killed a whole bunch of Jihadis today. And yesterday. And will kill more tomorrow.

One can only hope this is our way of twisting logic to confuse our enemy.

It seems a natural progression. First deny that Muslims are evil savages who want to destroy your country and make you a slave (with the big TV going to the local Muslim headman), then kill your dog, give up pork, cover your wife in a veil, offer your daughter for sex, your son for castration and slavery, and live in fear. Oh Joy!

Your US Passport is not printed in the US.

re: #53 realwest

I'm sorry to have to reveal my ignorance out here, but who the hell is Bob Barr?!

Hey RW. Bob Barr is the Libertarian candidate for president. He used to be a Republican congressman from Georgia.

re: #53 realwest

I'm sorry to have to reveal my ignorance out here, but who the hell is Bob Barr?!

Former GOP Congressman who running on the Libertarian ticket.

re: #50 rawmuse

Mind you, this is the very agency that has outsourced the very printing of passports to Thailand.

More about that story:
[Link: www.washingtontimes.com...]

re: #53 realwest

I'm sorry to have to reveal my ignorance out here, but who the hell is Bob Barr?!

Newly self-ordained Libertarian candidate for president. Don't you just love it?

Some say he's a Republican. Some people are jackasses, too.

re: #49 RTLM

Bob Barr stated flatly today that he would be honored to have Ron Paul as a running mate. If he changed to Libertarian.

(John Gibson interview)

Oops. Was too busy working being a winner in lifes lottery to notice. Barr reminds me of Gomez Adams.

Duh Duh Duh Duh
Snap Snap.

I think he might be related to Roseanne Barr.

It costs less to print them in Thailand. They should have outsourced to Indonesia or East Timor instead.

re: #52 AZfederalist

This true. We also outsourced the security imprints. Idiots. To save more than these guys misspend on credit cards in a month. And if you do not think China, India, Russia, and Malaysia do not know have the imprints, then you are a Democrat.

re: #57 rawmuse

Nope, no possibility for compromise or abuse there. Nosirree.

Nope, no Vikings here, we're just simple farmers. The village was burning and the cows running loose when we got here.

We are so screwed. [but then, I repeat myself]

re: #53 realwest

I'm sorry to have to reveal my ignorance out here, but who the hell is Bob Barr?!

Former GOP congressman from Georgia that was part of (I think) the GOP take over of congress in 1994. Since he left (might have had some issues, can't recall) he has flirted with libertarian-ish-esque stuff. He is running on the losertarian ticket...apparently...this fall.

Surprisingly, that might not be the most even and accurate description, but it is what I know.

Gaaaah!

OK - who has the crack pipe?

re: #62 brainwizard73

Bob Barr reminds me of a completely self involved/impervious to reality, sheltered political hack who wants matching funds.

re: #58 DesertSage
Hey Sage! Now, really, who is Bob Barr?
;')

re: #61 really grumpy big dog Johnson

Newly self-ordained Libertarian candidate for president. Don't you just love it?

Some say he's a Republican. Some people are jackasses, too.

In this case, Barr might be both...or just one.

re: #50 rawmuse

So that's why my overpriced passport took 3 months to get. Thank you State Department.

re: #69 RTLM

I agree. He also hates McCain. (well, that does not make him bad. lol)

re: #61 really grumpy big dog Johnson LOL! "Some say he's a Republican. Some people are jackasses, too." Why do I think the latter group of some people are virtual idententical to the first group of some people?!

re: #66 AZfederalist

Nope, no possibility for compromise or abuse there. Nosirree.

Nope, no Vikings here, we're just simple farmers. The village was burning and the cows running loose when we got here.

We are so screwed. [but then, I repeat myself]

It takes a Viking to raze a village.

The governments of the West have decided that the problem is a "small, minority" of Islam, and they are determined to stick to that view no matter what. If the old definitions of "jihadist supporter" or "terrorist enabler" include more than handful of Muslims, they will change the definitions until the number of the enemy is comfortably small once again. To them, the truth is less important than the process, and the process needs the total amount of Islamofascists to remain in the low single digits... hence the constant redefinition of terms.

re: #69 RTLM

Bob Barr reminds me of a completely self involved/impervious to reality, sheltered political hack who wants matching funds.

Almost like he can't get a real job, so he needs to open a think tank...best way to raise money...get matching funds and then when you get your ass handed to you by about 50 million votes, take all the cash from the "Bob Look Onward Barr (BLOB) Campaign" and donate it to a new non-profit.

Oh, name your self a director...I almost forgot.

re: #75 The Other Les

It takes a Viking to raze a village.

Um Ya Ya!
Um Ya Ya!