YOU THINK GEORGIE REALIZES THAT SURGE IS A FRENCH NAME?
Only a few hours remaining til we learn about The Surge. In a rare display of fairness, I'll wait until Bush actually addresses the nation before I tear him & his idiotic plan to shreds.
I won't declare that his call for 20,000 troops is tantamount to the attempted murder of those kids. I won't say that such an insignificant increase is mere symbol, in that it's not nearly enough to make a difference.
Nor will I state that any "new plan" to "win the war" is farcical in that no definition of "win" has ever been presented. Other than having been "accomplished" nearly four years ago, who even knows what the "mission" is?
Nor will I crack wise about his supposed admission this evening that "the rules of engagement" have been flawed. I would consider cracking wise, but I have no idea what he's talking about. I doubt I'll have any more sense of it tonight, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
But I'll say one thing: the Democrats better come out guns blazing after any & all calls to increase troop levels, to once again shift "the mission," or fail to define the goals in some concrete way. That's what we elected this new Congress to do, and they'd better do so. The eyes of the nation are on you, Nancy & Harry. Let's see some fireworks.
I won't declare that his call for 20,000 troops is tantamount to the attempted murder of those kids. I won't say that such an insignificant increase is mere symbol, in that it's not nearly enough to make a difference.
Nor will I state that any "new plan" to "win the war" is farcical in that no definition of "win" has ever been presented. Other than having been "accomplished" nearly four years ago, who even knows what the "mission" is?
Nor will I crack wise about his supposed admission this evening that "the rules of engagement" have been flawed. I would consider cracking wise, but I have no idea what he's talking about. I doubt I'll have any more sense of it tonight, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
But I'll say one thing: the Democrats better come out guns blazing after any & all calls to increase troop levels, to once again shift "the mission," or fail to define the goals in some concrete way. That's what we elected this new Congress to do, and they'd better do so. The eyes of the nation are on you, Nancy & Harry. Let's see some fireworks.
posted by Mike at 10:05 AM
11 Comments:
It would be nice if the escalation of fireworks was confined to the floor of the Senate, but I fear the only escalation we'll observe is in the amount of wars being waged.
It would be nice if the escalation of fireworks was confined to the floor of the Senate
I'll take the floor of the House as well.
We can only hope.
Its Smoke and Mirrors until proven otherwise.
Nancy is telling us in her own words that she backs the war. She just needs justification to support the splurge.
Once they meet her price, she'll give a speech about birpartisanship and geting to third base on the second date.
The Dems on the whole aren't telling us that they will stop the war. They are telling us that they support the idea of fighting the war smarter.
We should listen to them, and not make assumptions, based on what we want.
Its all very interesting. The second you say something about pulling the troops out, or being against more troops, you are instantly painted as being anti-America, anti-troops and every anti short of the AntiChrist (give Limbaugh time on the last). On the other side, many times, if you are in support of the war, you are labeled as a neocon, or worse.
Let me preface what is next by stating that I was never in favor of this war in the first place.
IMHO, to pull the troops out now would be foolish, since it would just leave the inmates running the asylum. We do need more boots on the ground, but at the same time, they need to be able to do what it takes to finish the damn job. That means disarming any and all insurgents, Sunni, Shia, Kurd, or whatever the fuck they are. If they won't disarm, kill them. Those guys are the ones killing our troops, and killing the Iraqi's.
Cutting the cash flow is going to do more harm than good. It gives the republicans ammo for 2008. It will galvinize their base, and draw support from the middle.
Working out a smart plan for an increase, with a timeline to exit will allow the Dems to do right by the troops, both by giving them what they need in the meantime (help, both with money and troops), and by bringing them home at some point.
Iraq is a goddamn mess. I don't have all the answers. Bush doesn't either. I want someone in the military to stand up to him and congress and say "This is what we need, and this is when we are going to leave". I want to see the Iraqi's have a police force and military that is well trained, to secure itself both internally from crime as well as insurgency, and externally, from Iran, which would love to walk in and take over.
As weasledog said, the Dems want to fight the war smarter. Bush can't tell us how. Only the military can. Not someone like McCain or Kerry, who was in the military years ago, I mean someone who is there now, knows what they have and what they can do.
Ed, I disagree because I don't believe the US and Britain can fix it, simply because we did make the mess. We don't have any currency left in the trust department. No matter what we do in Iraq we'll be treated as occupiers. Even if we managed to restore the peace for a few days, it'll end with the first kid we gun down for throwing rocks.
Add to this that our troops are tired, beat to hell and probably bordeline sane by military standards. Could they actually mange to enact a plan of peace at this late stage?
Maybe the UN can fix it if we leave and let them replace us. Different uniforms and an honest effort to put Iraqis to work rebuilding their own country, might actually help.
Maybe Iraq has to burn itself out.
But if we leave, Halliburton will have to leave. and there lies the crux of the problem. Oil production will go in the toilet. the refineries might well be destroyed.
I came to a realization a long time ago that a milestone in maturity was learning when I couldn't fix something, and walking away, rather than making it worse by contributing to the problem. I've come to realize that as a nation, we collectively have the maturity of a five year old. That's why these debates continue. That's why we're losing. That's why we constantly appear to be doing the opposite of helping.
We could do better. I wish we would. But I have no reason to believe we will.
Ed, check out my latest blog entry for more insight into where I'm coming from.
http://weaseldog.blogspot.com/2007/01/splurging-for-respect.html
OT: Be careful where you go to take a dump.
http://tinyurl.com/ylrzyg
I hear the sense in what you're saying, Ed. But after nearly 4 years of this insanity, I have to say I'm closer to where Weas stands.
I just don't know that anyone -- military included -- can fix this mess to a degree that jsutifies more Americans (to say nothing of Iraqis) dying. Which is precisely what'll happen.
All that said, I agree with you: no matter what course the Dems choose at this point, the Administration & the GOP hardliners in Congress will blame them for EVERYTHING that goes wrong from here on out. And if the public seems fed up with anything that could be tied to Congress in 2008, it'll bode poorly for the Dem candidate.
Damn, Weas! That's a crazy video. What a nightmare.
Maybe it's not OT; something about the Democrats perhaps.
Pelosi already kissed the hem of Bushco's war machine. It's on the news. She "hopes" the president can restore faith in his policies with his speech tonight. Told ya, nothing will ever change. They are all the same party.
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