Poor Scott

[theknife]

must be hard to be Scott McClellan, White House Press Secretary, these days...you have to slog your way through exchanges like this one, with ABC correspondent Terry Moran:

Q Scott, is the insurgency in Iraq in its 'last throes'?
McCLELLAN: Terry, you have a desperate group of terrorists in Iraq that are doing everything they can to try to derail the transition to democracy. The Iraqi people have made it clear that they want a free and democratic and peaceful future. And that's why we're doing everything we can, along with other countries, to support the Iraqi people as they move forward....

Q But the insurgency is in its last throes?

McCLELLAN: The Vice President talked about that the other day -- you have a desperate group of terrorists who recognize how high the stakes are in Iraq. A free Iraq will be a significant blow to their ambitions.

Q But they're killing more Americans, they're killing more Iraqis. That's the last throes?

McCLELLAN: Innocent -- I say innocent civilians. And it doesn't take a lot of people to cause mass damage when you're willing to strap a bomb onto yourself, get in a car and go and attack innocent civilians. That's the kind of people that we're dealing with. That's what I say when we're talking about a determined enemy.

Q Right. What is the evidence that the insurgency is in its last throes?

McCLELLAN: I think I just explained to you the desperation of terrorists and their tactics.

Q What's the evidence on the ground that it's being extinguished?

McCLELLAN: Terry, we're making great progress to defeat the terrorist and regime elements. You're seeing Iraqis now playing more of a role in addressing the security threats that they face. They're working side by side with our coalition forces. They're working on their own. There are a lot of special forces in Iraq that are taking the battle to the enemy in Iraq. And so this is a period when they are in a desperate mode.

Q Well, I'm just wondering what the metric is for measuring the defeat of the insurgency.

McCLELLAN: Well, you can go back and look at the Vice President's remarks. I think he talked about it.

Q Yes. Is there any idea how long a 'last throe' lasts for?

McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Steve....

almost funny, were it not such a tragic subject.

[Sinner]

Oh, I wouldn't feel to bad for him, he was paid $157,000 in 2004 to answer questions like that, He maybe needs a raise tho - what you think?

[theknife]

Originally Posted by Sinner

Oh, I wouldn't feel to bad for him, he was paid $157,000 in 2004 to answer questions like that, He maybe needs a raise tho - what you think?

i think he's thinking, " i don't need this shit...boxed in day after day, defending these morons - i can go make twice this much in the private sector or 5 times as much on the lecture circuit"...

[Mazer]

Q: Scott, is the insurgency in Iraq in its 'last throes'?

Somewhere in the back of Scott's mind a small voice echos the words 'that depends on what the definition of "is" is' and he thinks, 'Well, the last guy got away with it, but I'd better let Cheney field this one.'

[theknife]

this reporter is asking exactly the kind of hard questions they all should be asking - challenging the rhetoric, plowing through the spin and the buzzwords, trying to get some semblance of truth out of the administration...

meanwhile, here are the insurgents continuing their "last throes":

Gunmen take over Ramadi as bomb kills five marines

Rory Carroll in Baghdad and Osama Mansour in Ramadi
Friday June 17, 2005
The Guardian

Insurgents have taken over much of the Iraqi city of Ramadi and used it to launch attacks against US forces while terrorising the population with public beheadings.
A huge bomb killed five American marines yesterday and showered body parts on to rooftops, fuelling suspicion that armour-piercing technology is being developed and tested in Ramadi.

US troops recovered the remains and withdrew to their base outside the Arab Sunni stronghold, leaving masked gunmen to erect checkpoints and carry out what residents said was the latest of many executions.

obviously, a sign of last-ditch desperation when the insugency is able to maintain checkpoints in the streets of a major Iraqi city....why, they'll probably just give up any day now, from the sheer futility of it all.

[malvachat]

Yeah,every things under control.
No worrys.
The Insurgents are being lulled into thinking they're in control.
Then we can have a big clean up operation kill lots of them,and give out lots of medals.
We might even shoot a few of our own for good measure
Cue,lots of hero music and showing of the flag.
Plus lots of "We showed them towel heads""We kick ass""We are the greatest army in the world""I just love apple pie and picket fences"

"Onward to Little Big Horn and victory"

[Sinner]

Originally Posted by malvachat

We are the greatest army in the world"

And don't you forget it --

[malvachat]

Originally Posted by Sinner

And don't you forget it --

What,your going to attack Britain next?
You won't believe how scared I would be.
Anyway it won't happen,we'd put up a fight.
We'd shut down all the fast food joints.