General Betray Us? - Start With DailyKos

The Weekly Standard rails against a MoveOn.org ad:

Tomorrow--as General David Petraeus provides his Iraq assessment to Congress--the antiwar group MoveOn.org is running a full-page advertisement in the New York Times under the headline: "General Petraeus or General Betray us? Cooking the books for the White House."

But the story doesn't begin there. There are stickers here via Zazzle. And the web site the current crop of Democrat Presidential contenders had no problem bowing down to last month also features the disgraceful meme. Commenters have been playing with the term there since July.

There are those among the troops who have nicknamed General Petraeus, General Betray us. Others call him Mr. Clean as he is very fastidious. Always looking like he is ready for a photo op and not one to rough it like his subordinates.

And the concept isn't just invoked in comments:

Petraeus: A Stab In The Back

It appears they started testing out the slur in June - and it caught on. Sad to see what is supposed to be the mainstream of the Democrat Party align itself with such a sad group. But this is precisely the type of thinking that makes up the base of support for liberal Democrats currently working to undermine General Petraeus more delicately in the mainstream media.

Democrats Already Discrediting Upcoming Petraeus Report
Senators Suggest They Don't Expect Any New Information

Comments

[MarkJ]

We can only hope General Petraeus's opening statement will start with something like this:

"Before I start, I'd like to thank the Senate for unanimously voting to confirm me this past January. I am very grateful for its expression of confidence in my abilities."

Point. Set. Match. I've got ten bucks that say the Democrats will slink out of the briefing room knowing they've just been hit with the Mother of All IED's.

[Bart]

Maybe they should read the poll numbers indicating how in how much esteem the public holds the military versus, say, the Congress. On the other hand, I hope they don't, and keep listening to the echoes that say this is a good strategy.

[Deano]

This is just Vietnam all over again. Democrats want to surrender, and say "to hell" with everyone in Iraq. They didn't want to lift a finger to help them when they were under Saddam, and they don't want to help stabilize things now.

They did it in Vietnam, and they want to do it again. So much for the party always say the want to help "the little guy". Guess that means only Democrats, because they're telling everyone else to go to hell.

[ATM]

Actually, they did want to help people in Iraq. They just didn't realize what the consequences would be. Democrats forced Bush I to create the northern no-fly zone to protect the Kurds, but at least this one could be patrolled from bases in Turkey. Then Clinton created the southern no flyzone to protect Shiites. This did two things. It gave the French an excuse to pull out of the northern no flyzone and snuggle up with Saddam a year later. Moreover, the southern no flyzone could only be patrolled from bases in Gulf states adjacent to Iraq, which meant an extended stay in Saudi Arabia. Guess who didn't like that idea.

[greyhawk]

"There are those among the troops who have nicknamed General Petraeus, General Betray us."

Uhhh, not if by "troops" they mean Americans serving in uniform in Iraq. If there are any here who are familiar with that slur it's because they read it at Kos. "The troops" mostly don't go for cutie-pie nicknames, and will state their opinion of someone in brief, clear, and precise terms.

And among themselves they'll state that opinion, but whoever originated that line is unaware of the POV of a low-ranking Joe vis their relationship to a four-star. "Betrayal" and "us" suggest a relationship that doesn't exist outside the mind of whichever life-long civilian cooked it up.

[Capitalist Infidel]

But they "support the troops."

Now can we question their patriotism?

[Fred Beloit]

Schumer, Reid, etc., are just like nowingker, BoobinBridgeport, LOL, Tom and a lot of the other "progressives" who comment here. They never accept news of "progress" in Iraq. They don't listen. They won't listen. They want out. Their only political desire in this world is to see anything connected with G. W. Bush fail. They will trash the military, whom they have always despised anyway, don't let them kid you, to thwart Bush. Hell, they will even campaign against moderate Dems. The doves in Congress will not give the Bush/Petraeus report a fair hearing. Like nowingker et al their so-called minds were made up long ago. "Invested in failure in Iraq" is and has been the correct description.

[TheSpartan]

Oh Fred, you're so cute when you're mad. You do realize you could apply the inverse of what you have said to the majority of posters here. How many of you wanted people to ease up on Harriet Miers?

[Fred Beloit]

What do you mean, Spart? Are you talking about her re Supreme Court candidacy?

[Fred Beloit]

BTW, I'm cute whether I'm mad or not.

[Fred Beloit]

I'll assume you are. Can't speak for others but I always felt she was a poor choice, mostly because of her position, even though I must admit I don't really know very much about her. Unfair of me? Suppose so.

[shunha7878]

alright, conservatives, where is our ad in the NYT? quite bitching and start fighting. time to stop playing defense and start doing a little offence.

[BobInStamford]

Sorry patriots, there is little support or interest in your lost war or your stuttering 28% leader. Lets see, if we give BILLIONS more a month we can EVENTUALLY get those 3rd world goat herders in line. Thats quite a goal!

Shoot for the moon, heroes!

[Fred Beloit]

Poor Mr christamfordmum. His reliance on the same old formula is making him seem like a tedious old maid aunt whose sole activity is to carp. Poor old sod.

[Diggs]

Three tours through OIF. Never once heard a soldier call General Petraeus "General Betray Us". Did hear a lot of troops say things that ended with "f*cking Democrats".

[red]

Thanks for your service Diggs. Good luck.

[Capitalist Infidel]

BobInStamford and the pathetic 14%'s are going to get their asses handed to them by General Petraeus.

[pattillmansmom]

"Did hear a lot of troops say things that ended with "f*cking Democrats".

Did you also hear about how Saddam was responsible for 9/11?? If so, you weren't alone.

'85% said the U.S. mission is mainly “to retaliate for Saddam’s role in the 9-11 attacks'

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1075

[Techie]

Pat Tillman's mom (what a sickening screen name), what about the 48% of Democrats that appear to be Truthers?

[Capitalist Infidel]

What a shock, a far left wing fanatical kook quoting another far left wing fanatical kook (Zogby)

[Capitalist Infidel]

Actually Techie I take heart that "only" 48% of democrats have such a vicious hatred for their country. I would have thought the number would be much higher.

[Cindi]

"'85% said the U.S. mission is mainly “to retaliate for Saddam’s role in the 9-11 attacks"

Wow that's a lot of uninformed people. Shame when you think about it. My only hope is that they practice birth control. heh

[IslamoLlama]

'Three tours through OIF. Never once heard a soldier call General Petraeus "General Betray Us". Did hear a lot of troops say things that ended with "f*cking Democrats".'

I've heard that from some friends in the armed services as well. Usually followed by "When are they going to get us the hell out of here, already?"

[seekeronos]

Statistics:

"Liars figure... and figures lie."

The truth is, soldiers, Marines, sailors, and airmen must all trust their respective chains of command, from their squad leaders and deck officers to their field commanders and skippers, all the way back up to the SECDEF and POTUS.

Loyalty and trust, there simply is no substitute.

If either loyalty or trust are lacking, then the mission will never be able to be accomplished. The success of the surge and the morale and attitudes of the soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen whom I have had the privilege of meeting in very recent years suggests that the trust and loyalty to their chain of command, and to defending the interests of freedom and liberty for all Americans, is very much intact.

[Cindi]

Indeed seek.

Nothing brings pride like seeing an American service person in uniform, knowing what they have sacrificed and the fact they would give up their life for that of another. They get what it means to be American and proud.

GOD BLESS OUR ARMED FORCES

[chris]

85%??? Wow, thems dumm.

[rwilymz]

"Did you also hear about how Saddam was responsible for 9/11?? If so, you weren't alone."

Right. Anti-US-foreign-policy neophytes invetnted that one in order to claim that the US believed it.

"'85% said the U.S. mission is mainly "to retaliate for Saddam’s role in the 9-11 attacks""

Uh-huh. "A lie will run around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes." - M Twain.

So the question then becomes: why on earth would Americans wish to make their own country seem so enfeebled as to create such a whopper for the gullible to swallow whole?

Not to mention the sheer hypocrisy involved in it. The same people who invented the "Iraq did 9-11" thing are those who whined up a storm about Bush and the Niger uranium. "Oh, Bush lied about the yellow cake!!!"

Yeah? and you were lying about "Bush claimed Iraq did 9-11". You're even.

Does it only count when "the other guy" lies? You get a mulligan?

Uh ... what's this? you're going to **continue** to spout the "Bush DID claim Iraq did 9-11"??

Nope. The Bush Administration claimed there was an al Qaida-lite in Hussein's Iraq -- which was accurate. The rest of you went into a frenzy of equivocation:

1] al Qaida-related group ... oh, that means al Qaida
2] al Qaida, they did 9-11
3] the group in Iraq helped do 9-11
4] Hussein allowed the group in Iraq to be in Iraq
5] Hussein helped do 9-11.

That was ***you***. That was not the Bush Administration.

And then the politics took over. The Bush Administration, who wanted to get public buy-in to a war in Iraq, allowed this caca to go unchallenged because they knew, with good reason, that "85%" of the American people are gullible chumps who will believe almost anything when they're scared. And the anti-Bush Administration activists actively touted the "Bush claims Hussein did 9-11" because they knew it was false, and when more than a handful of bodybags came back, that self-same "85%" of the gullible chumps will jump all over the false claim when they're no longer scared and support the anti-Bush activists.

As always, the vast, vast majority of Americans are being played as the fools they are. By both sides. Only they're too stupid to realize that the side they agree with at any given moment considers them to be fools.

[Hank]

To quote General Petraeus:

"Nonetheless, there are reasons for optimism. Today approximately 164,000 Iraqi police and soldiers (of which about 100,000 are trained and equipped) and an additional 74,000 facility protection forces are performing a wide variety of security missions. Equipment is being delivered. Training is on track and increasing in capacity. Infrastructure is being repaired. Command and control structures and institutions are being reestablished."

This is from September 2004

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49283-2004Sep25.html

The General has a track record - and it isn't the best when it comes to predictions.

[chris]

Here's another poll for you heroes

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6983841.stm

Stay strong!

[LOL]

is it any surprise that a government official would lie about how his project is doing? Any surprise that he would do so for more funding?

IF all the Iraq funding was going to health care, welfare, or something like that, the wingnuts would be screaming about government corruption. But I guess all those rules about how "the government is the problem" don't apply to the military, at least when a republican is prez.

[rwilymz]

"don't apply to the military, at least when a republican is prez."

So... are you **admitting** that Democrats don't really support the troops?

[The Sprit of Pat Tillman]

chris and his fellow traitors hate the military, always have. If they have EVER said they supported the troops, other than in a humanitarian role, they have lied. I can see into their souls, and the black soul of chris is evil. But luckily he is a small man who can accomplish nothing, a worm crawling along the evil way of hate. When he is gone, he will not be missed, but will be welcomed into the pits of Hell, which is where he belongs.

[seekeronos]

"Wach auf, wach auf, du Deutsches Reich!" or "Wake up! Wake up, you German realm!

That was a Lutheran-inspired hymn composed by Johann Walter in the early 16th century which called upon Germans to lay aside the encumbrances of their differing opinions and allegiances to the various regions and principalities of the former Holy Roman Empire, and to unite as one German people to repel the invading armies which had overrun much of the land during the Thirty Years' War.

I scarcely wonder if such a wake up call would be heeded today (as applicable to Americans to resist Islamism).

[templar knight]

Heeded, hell, the liberals would facilitate an invasion. I wouldn't trust one of them, as they would rather destroy the US than join with conservatives to do anything. They united with the rest of the nation after 9/11 for about 3 weeks.

They have done nothing but attempt to tear the nation down since then. These people are internationalists, and their allegiance is to one of the isms, i.e. communism, socialism, or anarchism.

[Supernintendo Chalmers (who isn't Islamollamabob)]

It doesn't matter if DC got the vote and they were all rethuglican bed-wetters. The rublicants are DONE. It's over for you clowns. I know, I know: WAHH WAH WAHH but,but but Hitlery and so on.

Pathetic.

See, real conservatives aren't going to trust the republics after these last 6, nay 14 years now starting with Newt's contract on america. And mouthbreathing nascar fans are getting sick of the abortion blah blah do nothing republicants. Intelligent folks understand that abortion will NEVER be outlawed, ever.

Your hero Freddie doesn't even go to church. Tsk Tsk. How the hell could he lead "god's country"???

LOL!!

[Supernintendo Chalmers (who isn't Islamollamabob)]

oops, wrong thread :(

[G.W.Bush]

I can smell Rome burning

[Larry Spencer]

Why is it OK for Republicans to run attack ads like this but the moment some non-republican group does, then it is somehow wrong. Republicans shamelessly did this to war veteran John Kerry during the 2004 presidential campaign, they currently do it by manipulating disfigured war veterans to garner support for their lie based war and they will do it again and again. In retrospect, I'm surprised that the common ordinary US citizen would even care about the Moveon.org Petraues ad. We all knew that General Petraues was going to write his own speech, in his own words, saying exactly all the things that he knew the Bush administration wanted to hear in a form that sounded acceptable to all republican politicians. If these spineless rich republican chicken hawks want their war so much, they should start funding it themselves instead of strapping the wasteful war debt on the backs of middle and lower class children for the next several generations. If these spineless republican chicken hawks really think that their illegal unconstitutional war was and is justified, then they should send their young college republican sociopath offspring to go fight their war. MoveOn.org should be commended for their willingness to present the facts and stand up for the truth.