7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked Out About If Bush Had Done Them
Obama’s national security policy has continued some of the most controversial moves of the Bush administration. Silence from much of the left.
Democrats were overjoyed when George W. Bush left office in January of 2009.
Obama had promised to end Bush’s hawkish foreign policy and the “war on terror’s” detention and interrogation regime.
But in the beginning of his fifth year as president, Obama’s record has been surprisingly similar to his predecessor’s in those areas.
1. Democrats fought George W. Bush’s troop surge in Iraq in 2006.
You would think Democrats would react the same way they did to Bush’s surge policy:
2. American deaths in Afghanistan have skyrocketed since Obama took office.
Actually, the death tolls in Afghanistan under each administration look like this:
3. President Obama’s drones and special operators are working down “kill lists” of suspected terrorists.
Obama even put Anwar al-Awlaki — an American citizen — on such a list.
Al-Awlaki was killed under secret authorization from the justice department in 2011.
In 2011, a teenage American citizen, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, was taken out in a drone strike without a trial.
If Bush did this, Democrats would literally hyperventilate.
5. In Pakistan alone, the administration has launched more than 300 drone strikes.
Pakistani civilian casualties due to these strikes are as high as 800 according to international estimates.
6. Obama promised to end the Bush-era torture interrogation practices.
But last year the U.N. released three damning reports detailing torture in Afghan facilities under Obama’s security watch.
7. Obama was unable to deliver on his pledge to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, which Bush had also said he would close.
“We may not be so different, you and I.”
HOT ON
More Buzz
-
Eric Holder Voiced Support For Media Protection, But With Exceptions That Would Not Protect The AP
- Republicans In Congress Killed A Media Shield Law That Would Have Protected The Associated Press
- Top Romney Strategist: Hillary Clinton Will Lose A Democratic Primary
- New Poll Shows Good News For Democrats In Massachusetts Senate Race
Facebook Conversations
70 Responses So Far
- Contributions
- (Page 2 of 4)
-
buddersmoosh 3 months agoOh puhlease! Seriously so you’re now lumping everyone under on category so lame!
-
-
radiosinmotion 3 months agoThey’re not ‘meh’ nor are they silent—they just know it could be infinitely worse. I am very much against excessive military action, and express that anger, but I don’t expect the president to enact my ideals because I know we live in a large society with a lot of opinions different than mine. There’s a big political machine full of violence-hungry people out there, and they’re more powerful & influential than nonviolent people. I notice and am angry about a lot of the policies listed, most of which were not initiated by Obama, but I also know that under a republican president things would be much much much worse than they are now.
-
- sblbashley 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... and thinks it’s Win & LOL
- yelenaz 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked...
- roxannev 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... and thinks it’s Win & LOL
- ebfebf328 thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Win
- xsmall thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Trashy, Fail & WTF
- kylies4 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... and thinks it’s WTF, LOL & Win
- stephenh12 thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Fail
- firstread.nbcnews.com readers just made 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... hotter
- digg.com readers just made 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... hotter
-
EricTheRead 3 months ago
Pathetic analysis. And perfect timing, considering the Obama Administration will announce today the withdrawal of 34,000 troops from Afghanistan. Like Bush? the chicken hawk who flushed a trillion down the toy toy and couldn’t close on any marginal progress, much less deliver on Bin Laden. And re Afghanistan casualty numbers, ah, that’s because the war was refocused where it actually needed to be fought. You might have missed the memo that Iraq was the Bush Administration’s global cluster f*ck. Compare those numbers. Better yet, find a new hobby, geo-politics ain’t it…
-
- Brian H. thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Win
- zhioval1 thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Win & OMG
- britl2 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked...
- christinel19 thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Win
- itsthecolleenlife thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is WTF
- ximena 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked...
- JeanAnne thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Ew
- therightscoop.com readers just made 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... hotter
- laraemichellet thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is LOL
- kirkwood thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Fail
- brendanmoore thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Trashy
- leonardn thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Trashy
- scottk15 thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Trashy
- laurentaylora thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Win
- lesleyh5 thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Fail
-
Web Sta 3 months ago
I have wondered about this. Perhaps Obama was really a warmonger in disguise (Bush was a warmonger and said so). But I wonder if the military (and their corporate backers) simply refused to take orders from their black, democrat, intellectual leader. So Obama could allow them to continue, or he could face a coup d’etat. And he apparently chose the former.
-
- introvert thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Fail
- lah8e 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked...
- johnchristianbullittl thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Win
- bobstemm 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked...
- CBer 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... and thinks it’s LOL & Win
- stephena15 thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Win
- deborahj2 thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Fail
- christy scarvelli 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... and thinks it’s Win
- newu1121 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked...
- mail.yahoo.com readers just made 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... hotter
- maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com readers just made 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... hotter
- BANNOCK thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is WTF
-
-
- Benny Johnson thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Win
-
raymonlopeza 3 months agoYou need to rethink the picture that concludes this pictorial essay. It’s ridiculous rude and it’s a racist gesture, regardless of how you intended it (or rather, how you intend to explain it away). I’m not even going to sit here and tell you why it’s rude. Figure it the fuck out yourself.
-
-
raymonlopeza 3 months ago
I’m completely for calling Obama/Democrats out for their two-facedness, and you had done that well until you ruined it.
-
-
xxDavis89xx 3 months agoI think what is most appalling about this article is the fact that there is relatively no sources to support these claims. While these may be true, adding no sources suggest an issue of credibility.
-
- amandal11 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked...
- nathanj3 thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Fail
- Imokurok thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Fail
- MissyMeow thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Win
- tigerdroppings.com readers just made 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... hotter
- dailypaul.com readers just made 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... hotter
-
- norms2 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked...
- ashleighb14 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked...
- Emma 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked...
- billm26 thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Fail
- spookm thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Win
- LauraDonovanNY 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked...
- futurest 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked...
- linkiest.com readers just made 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... hotter
- memeorandum.com readers just made 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... hotter
-
- rickp9 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... and thinks it’s Win
-
- coastalexchange 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... and thinks it’s Fail
- Erik Tietz thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is LOL
- Evija Ģ. thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Win
- elizabethw25 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... and thinks it’s LOL & Win
- mattg47 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked...
- terrysapples thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is WTF
-
coastalexchange 3 months ago
This is really cherry picking. Comparing the troop surge in a country that had nothing to do with 911 to a troop surge in the actual country that we should have been in first??? Most Americans supported the war in Afghanistan… Iraq was totally unrelated. Fail.
-
- Nattyvanilla thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Fail
- TayTayTwits 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... and thinks it’s Win
- jwreichle thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Fail
- Xinhful 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked...
- anthemhunter1 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... and thinks it’s LOL & Fail
- thefrow thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Win
- hotair.com readers just made 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... hotter
- twitchy.com readers just made 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... hotter
- marinark thinks 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked... is Fail
- amandag9 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked...
- AbbyRCobb 7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked...
-
Shanerator 3 months ago
Hey Beckysaurus-Rex. Technically, the terrorists started the war on terror. If they had not attacked on 9/11 the war on terror might be much different. But that’s besides the point. I’m smiling because Buzzfeed leans heavily to the left on their postings. It’s nice to see the other side of opinion for a change.
-
-
Beckysaurus-Rex 3 months agoAlso, you can’t ignore the fact that Bush started his moronic “WAR ON TERROR” (because that made sense). If he hadn’t done that in the first place there would be no troop deaths, no civilian casualties, no drones, no bullshit.
-
-
brendanmoore 3 months agoYea, cuz Republicans are totally willing to work with Obama and would never purposely try to make him look bad by tanking bills and stopping things from getting done. Oh wait, they DID do that and even publicly admitted it. It’s like working with a child throwing a temper tantrum - you can only get SO much done.
-
-
Beckysaurus-Rex 3 months ago
I’m from England so I don’t even have a strong opinion on this, but it’s really easy to state such simplified facts like this in this easy to read format without sourcing/referencing on many items for fact verification; but put them into context with the full story and it paints a whole different picture about who is ‘the bad guy’. Eg. Drone strikes are higher under Obama administratiom… Advances in technology in the last decade mean drones are more commonly available.
-
-
-
DontBeAFool 3 months agoVoting for what you believe in never useless, that mindset is dangerous. Even votes that “accomplish nothing” have value, in that they don’t blindly assume they are worthless. Ultimately, the only way to move away from a flawed system is to voice your opinion, even against seemingly insurmountable odds. Indifference is not how a country thrives. In a few years’ time, your vote might be worth more than a mere fart in a voting booth.
-
-
-
ImALoserBaby 3 months agoyeah…i love Obama’s domestic policies, but in all honesty, if international courts are charging Bush for war crimes, then they should do the same to Obama.
-
Special Reactions
Your Reaction?
React with an animated GIF!
READY. SET. REACT!
GET STARTED