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Category: Iraq War (Page 12 of 13)

Murtha blasts Lieberman

December 7, 2005 /

From Think Pogress:

Lieberman yesterday: “It is time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that he will be commander in chief for three more critical years and that in matters of war we undermine presidential credibility at our nation’s peril.” Murtha today: “Undermining his credibility? What has he said that would give him credibility?”

This sums up the entire issue, and Democrats need to pay attention. These arguments that criticism is undermining the troops needs to be addressed. The troops are being undermined not by criticism, but by the fiasco this administration has created.

Murtha is correct. Bush has no credibility. His entire team has no credibility. Rumsfeld and the rest of the war architects have made numerous miscalculations in Iraq, yet the he and the others are still in charge! How can we trust them to get us out of this mess?

Foreign Policy, Iraq War

Lindsay Graham argues for American standards

December 6, 2005 /

Lindsay Graham is becoming one of my favorite Republicans (there aren’t many). I don’t agree with him very often, but he has a knack for taking principled stands, many of which contradict GOP orthodoxy and GOP talking points. This independent streak has made him one of our most interesting and important Senators.

Graham is currently pushing two amendments that are critical to our fight against Islamist jihadists. In support of the McCain amendment agaist torture, Graham writes in the Washington Post:

Even during a time of war, we have chosen to be a nation of laws, with a different, higher set of values than the terrorists. We should always remember that we are Americans, possessing values superior to those of our enemy, and that there is a proper balance between the protection of our troops and the humane treatment of detainees. This value system is our national strength, not a weakness.

He also argues that Congress has been “AWOL on the status of enemy combatants.” He’s right,though it should also be pointed out that the Bush administration has offered no leadership whatsoever on this issue, instead arguing for virtual unlimited power on the part of the executive branch to hold these combatants. The result is a mess in the courts, so Graham is arguing for passage of the Graham-Levin-Kyl amendment.

These actions make sense and it’s time to get serious about these matters.

Foreign Policy, Iraq War, War on Terror

Soboring analysis from former Reagan advisor William Odom

December 6, 2005 /

Former Reagan advisor and Nationa Security Agency Director Lt. Gen William Odom gave a sobering assessment of the situation in Iraq last night on Hardball. Responding to a question from Chris Matthews on whether we should leave Iraq, Odom responded as follows:

The longer we stay, the bigger mess we create. Once we invaded, we set in motion a group of forces that inexplicably has taken us to this point. We can‘t change that by staying longer. We can make it worse.

We essentially invaded for other peoples‘ interests without understanding it. We made Iraq safe for al Qaeda, therefore, we really encouraged or pleased Osama bin Laden.

The Iranians detested Saddam‘s regime. He had invaded them and fought them for eight years. Therefore, seeing Saddam and his regime overthrown greatly pleased the Iranians.

It has also created a situation inside Iraq, fragmentation, that‘s leading to the creation of a regime that will almost inexplicably will be an Islamic republic much closer to Iran than to the U.S. or anyone in the Arab world.

Odom aslo challenged the administration’s claims that withdrawel would result in handing over Iraq to al Qaeda:

It may not be so bad for us. One of the things you can almost be certain would happen if we leave, al Qaeda will be thrown out. Al Qaeda does not operate in Kurdistan today. The Kurds don‘t like them and won‘t let them in.

The Shiites barely tolerate them because they are helping the Sunnis. And the minute we‘re out, you can bet the Sunnis will find al Qaeda uncomfortable bedfellows and they will be facing the Shiites in a very serious deadly confrontation.

And so when that is settled, al Qaeda has no place in Iraq. So it will be—we will get rid of al Qaeda that way. It might be a better solution than what we had with Saddam. We just don‘t know. We have to wait and see how that government works out.

Odom is not a dove and he’s not a liberal. He’s just one of many foreign policy experts, conservative and liberal, who recognize the mess that this president has created b invading Iraq. He does not have a political axe to grind. He’s simply giving his honest assessment, which is consistent with John Murtha’s argument that we have to withdraw.

Foreign Policy, Iraq War

Bob Graham blasts Bush on pre-war intelligence

November 21, 2005 /

Everyone had the same intelligence. This bogus claim has been repeated over and over again by President Bush, Vice President Cheney and the entire GOP spin machine in their defense of pre-war WMD claims by the administration. This is not true. It’s a ridiculous claim, and the fact that they are repeating it cast even more doubt on the administrations credibility about pre-war claims.

Senator Bob Graham had a front-row seat during the runup to the Iraq war given his position on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Calling Bush’s claims “outrageous,” on Sunday he made it clear that most Democrats did NOT have access to the same intelligence as the administration. This should be obvious to everyone. Legislators NEVER have the same access to information, and the Bush administration is notorious for being one of the most secretive administrations since the Nixon years.

If the administration’s main defense is so patently false, how can we trust them? Do they have any credibility left? Graham says no:

The president has undermined trust. No longer will the members of Congress be entitled to accept his veracity. Caveat emptor has become the word. Every member of Congress is on his or her own to determine the truth.

Iraq War

Jean Schmidt is a disgrace

November 18, 2005 /

In a shrill speech in the House of Representatives, GOP representative Jean Schmidt from Ohio made the following statement:

A few minutes ago I received a call from Colonel Danny Bop, Ohio Representative from the 88th district in the House of Representatives. He asked me to send Congress a message: Stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message, that cowards cut and run, Marines never do. Danny and the rest of America and the world want the assurance from this body – that we will see this through.

The House erupted as Schmidt made this ridiculous statement, and Schmidt was forced to retract it. In calling Murtha a “coward,” Schmidt demonstrated that she has no shame and she’s an embarassment to her district. Murtha spent 37 years in the military, winning two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star with a Combat “V” and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. Murtha is a war hero. Schmidt is a disgrace.

The GOP attacks were not limited to Schmidt. Yestdersay, Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY)made the following remarks in response to Rep. John Murtha’s call for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq:

Ayman Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s deputy, as well as Abu Musab Zarqawi, have made it quite clear in their internal propaganda that they cannot win unless they can drive the Americans out. And they know that they can’t do that there, so they’ve brought the battlefield to the halls of Congress.

And, frankly, the liberal leadership have put politics ahead of sound, fiscal and national security policy. And what they have done is cooperated with our enemies and are emboldening our enemies.

Yes, the old “traitor” argument is back. They can’t defend how we got into this war, how the administration botched the war or how the GOP congress abdicated its oversight responsibility. Instead, they make these pathetic attacks. Disagree with their policies, and you’re a traitor. Again, pathetic.

The political firestorm is just getting started. Democrats were beaten into submission by Bush and Rove, but now they’re fighting back, and having a hawk like Murtha challenge the war will embolden more Democrats to speak up.

As for Schmidt, her accusation against Murtha is already playing back in Ohio. Tim Russo is reporting at BuckeyePolitics.net, our affiliate site, that Senate Candidate Paul Hackett, the Iraq war veteran that Schmidt barely beat in a safe Republican district earlier this year, is asking GOP Senator Mike DeWine to join him in demanding that Schmidt apologize to Murtha for her reprehensible comments.

Iraq War, Republicans

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