Lifeofthemind:

What did Gates say?

NO military action. Of any kind for any reason.
Those were not his exact words, but the gist of his message.
Why does America have a military budget if we won’t use military force?
Meanwhile, about 2 hours after his words, the Russians resumed their advance.

“That was George Washington and the Whiskey Rebellion. And if he had not done all these evil and nefarious things, no USA today.”

I think you misunderstood me, which means I made a mistake. It is the person communicating that has the responsibility to make sure the point is made.
What I was saying is that when the Republic is trgheatend, the President will take what actions he deems necessary to save it, and dam the law. This was in response to another posters comment (about 77665654432234567886 posts ago) about the President not being able to change the law. If ignoring it isn’t ‘change’, What is?
I am not as optimistic as most. Even if the US manages to pull a diplomatic rabbit out of a hat, nothing will repair the damage done by allowing the Russians to overrun Georgia. Even if we repave the streets with gold.
Paying the Danegeld DOES not get rid of the Dane.

“You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war.”
Churchill’s remark after Chamberlain returned from signing the Munich pact with Hitler