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NYT Magazine article on Bush: "I don't know why your talkin about Sweden"

P

polm

Diamond Member
In the Oval Office in December 2002, the president met with a few ranking senators and members of the House, both Republicans and Democrats. In those days, there were high hopes that the United States-sponsored ''road map'' for the Israelis and Palestinians would be a pathway to peace, and the discussion that wintry day was, in part, about countries providing peacekeeping forces in the region. The problem, everyone agreed, was that a number of European countries, like France and Germany, had armies that were not trusted by either the Israelis or Palestinians. One congressman -- the Hungarian-born Tom Lantos, a Democrat from California and the only Holocaust survivor in Congress -- mentioned that the Scandinavian countries were viewed more positively. Lantos went on to describe for the president how the Swedish Army might be an ideal candidate to anchor a small peacekeeping force on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Sweden has a well-trained force of about 25,000. The president looked at him appraisingly, several people in the room recall.''I don't know why you're talking about Sweden,'' Bush said. ''They're the neutral one. They don't have an army.''

Lantos paused, a little shocked, and offered a gentlemanly reply: ''Mr. President, you may have thought that I said Switzerland. They're the ones that are historically neutral, without an army.'' Then Lantos mentioned, in a gracious aside, that the Swiss do have a tough national guard to protect the country in the event of invasion.

Bush held to his view. ''No, no, it's Sweden that has no army.''

The room went silent, until someone changed the subject.

A few weeks later, members of Congress and their spouses gathered with administration officials and other dignitaries for the White House Christmas party. The president saw Lantos and grabbed him by the shoulder. ''You were right,'' he said, with bonhomie. ''Sweden does have an army.''
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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10...ed=print&position=
 
On a sidenote, i believe the Swedish-Norwegian-Finnish-Danish peacekeeping army is a good idea. Since they're (we are 😀) at all costs avoid casualties. The training is simply different compared to other armies in the world.

But i'm still lead to wonder why some fools still vote for him!

[Edit]
I do not understand how i was able to amke that little sense!
 
can you even imagine being in that position? having to correct the president in the first place.
then doing so (i, for one, would be so uncomfortable) and having him persist in being wrong.
is this real?!
this cant be true!
 
Originally posted by: Infohawk
Originally posted by: biostud666
Well actually Sweden was neutral under WWII and has never joined NATO, but they do have an army....
Click to expand...


...and supplied steel to the Nazis? Right?
Click to expand...

Please, stay on topic, stay on topic...
 
That's right sheep, keep telling yourselves Bush is intelligent and just can't speak well. :roll:


Ol Dubya proving yet again he hasn't got a fraction of the intellect required for his job, this makes me sick.
 
Sweden was the place where most of the jews went through denmark. Thousands sailed from denmark to sweden. About the steel, i know nothing. But it sounds plausible!
 
Gee, does he know about Swedish blondes? 🙂

Good grief.... Just more of the same Bush stupidity about the world we live in.

-Robert
 
Originally posted by: kage69
That's right sheep, keep telling yourselves Bush is intelligent and just can't speak well. :roll:


Ol Dubya proving yet again he hasn't got a fraction of the intellect required for his job, this makes me sick.
Click to expand...

Yeah, honestly. I keep giving him the benefit of the doubt, because there are some people who are plenty smart but come off like idiots when speaking to a crowd. But not knowing the difference between Sweeden and Switzerland? That is totally unacceptable in our maximum leader. How can Bush engage in meaningful foreign policy if he can't even tell major countries apart?

Honestly, I'm not kidding at all when I say I have no idea how anyone could look at this and still vote for Bush. Someone please explain it to me, because I really don't get how you could vote for someone with such and obvious lack of knowledge about the world.
 
Originally posted by: Infohawk
Originally posted by: biostud666
Well actually Sweden was neutral under WWII and has never joined NATO, but they do have an army....
Click to expand...


...and supplied steel to the Nazis? Right?
Click to expand...
Who said they were neutral towards profit? 😉

 
Bush is smart but his complete lack of intellect* simply boggles the mind.

*Intellect: 1 a : the power of knowing as distinguished from the power to feel and to will : the capacity for knowledge b : the capacity for rational or intelligent thought especially when highly developed
2 : a person with great intellectual powers

Bush operates completely on gut instinct (his ability "to feel and to will"). He is hard but brittle, he will not break as much as shatter. That is why he cannot tolerate dissent. Create doubt, take away his certainty and it all falls apart.

 
Originally posted by: Rainsford
Originally posted by: kage69
That's right sheep, keep telling yourselves Bush is intelligent and just can't speak well. :roll:


Ol Dubya proving yet again he hasn't got a fraction of the intellect required for his job, this makes me sick.
Click to expand...

Yeah, honestly. I keep giving him the benefit of the doubt, because there are some people who are plenty smart but come off like idiots when speaking to a crowd. But not knowing the difference between Sweeden and Switzerland? That is totally unacceptable in our maximum leader. How can Bush engage in meaningful foreign policy if he can't even tell major countries apart?

Honestly, I'm not kidding at all when I say I have no idea how anyone could look at this and still vote for Bush. Someone please explain it to me, because I really don't get how you could vote for someone with such and obvious lack of knowledge about the world.
Click to expand...

Well maybe you should find out how high a percentage of Americans does know anything about Sweden or Switzerland or even where they are located on a world map. My guess is something around 50 😉
 
Originally posted by: biostud666
Well actually Sweden was neutral under WWII and has never joined NATO, but they do have an army....
Click to expand...


Sweden has had in the past a severely badass army. They nearly kicked Russia's ass. Peter hte Great spent nearly all of Russia's resources pushing them back and nearly lost it all. They have a long history of being one of the best Armies in the World.
 
Originally posted by: GrGr
Bush is smart but his complete lack of intellect* simply boggles the mind.

*Intellect: 1 a : the power of knowing as distinguished from the power to feel and to will : the capacity for knowledge b : the capacity for rational or intelligent thought especially when highly developed
2 : a person with great intellectual powers

Bush operates completely on gut instinct (his ability "to feel and to will"). He is hard but brittle, he will not break as much as shatter. That is why he cannot tolerate dissent. Create doubt, take away his certainty and it all falls apart.
Click to expand...

Good post :thumbsup:

Considering the average Americans knowledge of history, geopolitics and geography, it's not suprising that someone marginally above the norm (as Bush is) in intelligence would screw up Sweden and Switzerland. Considering that America is the center of Bush's universe makes it even less suprising. When Bush said the UN would be irrelevant, he really meant that the entire world was in the most basic sense. Sweden not Switzerland? Who cares? Not like they are Texas or anything important like that.
 
Originally posted by: B00ne
Originally posted by: Rainsford
Originally posted by: kage69
That's right sheep, keep telling yourselves Bush is intelligent and just can't speak well. :roll:


Ol Dubya proving yet again he hasn't got a fraction of the intellect required for his job, this makes me sick.
Click to expand...

Yeah, honestly. I keep giving him the benefit of the doubt, because there are some people who are plenty smart but come off like idiots when speaking to a crowd. But not knowing the difference between Sweeden and Switzerland? That is totally unacceptable in our maximum leader. How can Bush engage in meaningful foreign policy if he can't even tell major countries apart?

Honestly, I'm not kidding at all when I say I have no idea how anyone could look at this and still vote for Bush. Someone please explain it to me, because I really don't get how you could vote for someone with such and obvious lack of knowledge about the world.
Click to expand...

Well maybe you should find out how high a percentage of Americans does know anything about Sweden or Switzerland or even where they are located on a world map. My guess is something around 50 😉
Click to expand...

Heh, good point. I would just assume that for our #1 leader who can be anyone at all in the country, at least in theory, we should be able to find someone smarter than the average Joe Sixpack. I suppose that's his appeal to so many people, but for our President I personally can't see the appeal of a guy "just like me and my buddies"...and I'm SMART 😀
 
I wouldn't have known about Sweden either, but the difference is I wouldn't argue the point and insist I'm right. When I don't know something, I admit it. (well, sometimes 🙂 )
 
Originally posted by: Todd33
I wouldn't have known about Sweden either, but the difference is I wouldn't argue the point and insist I'm right. When I don't know something, I admit it. (well, sometimes 🙂 )
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You've hit the nail right on the head with my dislike of Bush. It's not that he makes mistakes, it's that he never admits when he's wrong, he feels that leadership is about simply plunging ahead with the first idea that pops into your head without even considering that you might be wrong.
 
Yes, of course Sweden has an army...
Why do anyone think a neutral country has no army? It´s the other way around, neutral countries have to defend them selfs alone, we are not part of NATO.
Sweden had a very big army in the 80´s becouse of that (Soviet threat). We even have our own fighter jet (Saab 39 Gripen) and big weapon industries.
Today the swedish army is small but high-tech.
 
Originally posted by: Todd33
I wouldn't have known about Sweden either, but the difference is I wouldn't argue the point and insist I'm right. When I don't know something, I admit it. (well, sometimes 🙂 )
Click to expand...

well, i certainly wouldnt have known about their military. im pretty sure id know who they werent.
but i argee: there is no way i would continue to argue a point when i have no clue.
its one thing to argue an opinion...
 
Originally posted by: PatboyX
Originally posted by: Todd33
I wouldn't have known about Sweden either, but the difference is I wouldn't argue the point and insist I'm right. When I don't know something, I admit it. (well, sometimes 🙂 )
Click to expand...

well, i certainly wouldnt have known about their military. im pretty sure id know who they werent.
but i argee: there is no way i would continue to argue a point when i have no clue.
its one thing to argue an opinion...
Click to expand...

Every country in the world has an army of some kind, except Costa Rica i think....
 
Originally posted by: B00ne
Well maybe you should find out how high a percentage of Americans does know anything about Sweden or Switzerland or even where they are located on a world map. My guess is something around 50 😉
Click to expand...

Perhaps. But that hardly excuses the president of the United States from being that ill informed as well.
 
Originally posted by: arsbanned
Originally posted by: biostud666
Well actually Sweden was neutral under WWII and has never joined NATO, but they do have an army....
Click to expand...


Sweden has had in the past a severely badass army. They nearly kicked Russia's ass. Peter hte Great spent nearly all of Russia's resources pushing them back and nearly lost it all. They have a long history of being one of the best Armies in the World.
Click to expand...

Aren't you thinking about Finland??? They're the ones who kicked russia's as afaik!

 
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