If diplomatic attacks are a sign of weakness.....

[nygirl7]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/12/1130950/-If-diplomatic-attacks-are-a-sign-of-weakness-Bush-was-the-weakest-of-all#

If diplomatic attacks are a sign of weakness, Bush was the weakest of all by kosFollow .

134 Comments / 134 New.
Destruction caused by car bomber targeting the U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, in March 2, 2006
An idiot speaks:
The attacks on our embassies & diplomats are a result of perceived American weakness. Mitt Romney is right to point that out.
— @RumsfeldOffice via Twitter for iPhone Donald Rumsfeld was Secretary of War Defense between 2001 and 2006, so none of this should be news to him:


June 14, 2002, U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan
Suicide bomber kills 12 and injures 51.
February 20, 2003, international diplomatic compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Truck bomb kills 17.

February 28, 2003, U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan
Gunmen on motorcycles killed two consulate guards.

July 30, 2004, U.S. embassy in Taskkent, Uzbekistan
Suicide bomber kills two.

December 6, 2004, U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Militants stormed and occupied perimeter wall. Five killed, 10 wounded.

March 2, 2006, U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan
Suicide car bomber killed four, including a U.S. diplomate directly targeted by the assailants.

September 12, 2006, U.S. embassy in Damascus, Syria
Gunmen attacked embassy with grenades, automatic weapons, and a car bomb (though second truck bomb failed to detonate). One killed and 13 wounded.

January 12, 2007, U.S. embassy in Athens, Greece
A rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the embassy building. No one was injured.

July 9, 2008, U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey
Armed men attacked consulate with pistols and shotguns. Three policemen killed.

March 18, 2008, U.S. embassy in Sana'a, Yemen
Mortar attack misses embassy, hits nearby girls' school instead.

September 17, 2008, U.S. embassy in Sana'a, Yemen
Militants dressed as policemen attacked the embassy with RPGs, rifles, grenades and car bombs. Six Yemeni soldiers and seven civilians were killed. Sixteen more were injured.

So did those attacks (and the 9/11 ones, for that matter) happen because of "perceived American weakness"? Is that what Rumsfeld wants to argue—that our country's diplomatic missions were targeted because George Bush's America was perceived as weak?
As for Obama, the attacks in Cairo and Benghazi are the first two attacks on a U.S. diplomatic mission in an ostensibly peaceful country during his entire presidency—and they were sparked by that idiot wingnut Islamophobe Terri Jones. The embassy in Afghanistan was targeted by the Taliban last Sept. 13, but that's a country at war.

If you buy Rumsfeld's nonsense, you can tally the numbers to determine which administration was "perceived weaker."

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[rivll]

I don't think Benghazi was a cover up. It was a tragedy and there were mistakes made but there is no more of a conspiracy there than there was over what happened to the Twin Towers.(There is compelling evidence pointing to a conspiracy, but imo not enough) Let it go and move on.

It *is* fair to talk about failed diplomatic missions during the Bush Presidency if Obama is suddenly being criticized for his diplomatic missions.

I really don't know where I stand on diplomacy with some of these countries. There is a very real mentality among some cultures that sees diplomacy as a weakness to be exploited. However, carpet bombing is not an appropriate response either.
Somehow, negotiations have to take place where the parties see clearly how it is in their interest to abide by the rules and somehow save face in accepting the rules.

[gene53]

Regarding Benghazi,
Its to bad the left and right can't be held accountable by the peeps of America.
Cover Up??? who knows??? Going on 6 months now and even the survivors of the Benghazi attack haven't been allowed to be questioned.
IMO the Left and Right peeps of America are the loosers...
Transparency???

[Vance2335]

No real relation from anything the dailynuts sited and what happened. And what people are asking about.

[nygirl7]

No not obsession just an interesting article that popped up on my facebook since everyone has been screaming Benghazi at the President and ex-Secretary of State for months.

[el_em_en_oh]

One would think that we'd try and spend more time looking FORWARD, than pointing backwards.

Blaming Bush, in a preemptive attempt to explain away & exonerate Obama for HIS failed presidency... that's what this is about.

"Well, Obama failed because of the mess that Bush left behind, and we didn't have enough time to clean up the mess!!!" (Headline, in 2016 when Obama steps down from his pulpit)

[Vance2335]

Now we have seen it all the dailycrazy as been used as a source.

So you site Bush again...OBSESSION.

Maybe Bengahazi was a little bit different because the American people were lied to about the attack. Troops who could have helped American citizens were told not to engage. Maybe because Obama slept while this went on. Maybe because the white house is not giving out any information on the attack and what they did/did not do.

Has nothing to do about the attack but it has to do with the COVERUP.