A New Direction for Iraq
Posted by on October 20, 2006 at 02:05 PM
Because we have all known that "Stay the Course" is not a strategy for success:
The growing doubts among GOP lawmakers about the administration's Iraq strategy, coupled with the prospect of Democratic wins in next month's midterm elections, will soon force the Bush administration to abandon its open-ended commitment to the war, according to lawmakers in both parties, foreign policy experts and others involved in policymaking.
Senior figures in both parties are coming to the conclusion that the Bush administration will be unable to achieve its goal of a stable, democratic Iraq within a politically feasible time frame. Agitation is growing in Congress for alternatives to the administration's strategy of keeping Iraq in one piece and getting its security forces up and running while 140,000 U.S. troops try to keep a lid on rapidly spreading sectarian violence.
On the campaign trail, Democratic candidates are hammering Republican candidates for backing a failed Iraq policy, and GOP defense of the war is growing muted. A new NBC-Wall Street Journal poll released this week showed that voters are more confident in Democrats' ability to handle the Iraq war than the Republicans' -- a reversal from the last election.
Public opinion has clearly shifted far away from the President as his "strategy" of "Stay the Course" has failed to win the peace and has continued to put our troops in harms way.
Richard N. Haass, a former Bush administration foreign policy official, told reporters yesterday that the situation is reaching a "tipping point" both in Iraq and in U.S. politics. "More of essentially the same is going to be a policy that very few people are going to be able to support," said Haass, now the president of the Council on Foreign Relations. He added that the administration's current Iraq strategy "has virtually no chance of succeeding" and predicted that "change will come."
Furthermore, the people who the Administration counted on in the past to keep the public on their side - from Party leaders to security experts - continue to offer dim forecasts for the future of the country.
Along with the political debate, there also is growing frustration inside the U.S. military over Iraq, with some officers debating privately whether the situation there is salvageable. In recent weeks, senior military officers have offered a torrent of negative comments, a sharp contrast to the official optimism of the past three years.
"We're obviously very concerned about what we're seeing" in Baghdad, Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said yesterday. He indicated that changes to a plan to restore security to the capital are being considered. "We find the insurgent elements, the extremists, are in fact punching back hard," Caldwell said.
In recent days, the demand for change on Iraq has been especially notable from inside the president's party: Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, returned from a trip to Iraq saying that country was adrift and all options should be considered. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a conservative Republican from Texas, said this week that she is willing to consider the wisdom of somehow breaking up Iraq.
Read the full article, here.
Comments (8) «
If we "stay the course", there will be a DRAFT!
Dems need to prepare for a counter attack of the bin Laden ad that’s suppose to air over this weekend. They should create an ad using the footage in which …
Q But don't you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won't truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive?
THE PREZ: Well, as I say, we haven't heard much from him. And I wouldn't necessarily say he's at the center of any command structure. And, again, I don't know where he is. I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him.
I apologize for attaching to this issue. I have never blogged before and I am hoping someone with some savvy can push this message forward.
Mr. Bush has called the Democratic party the party of "Cut and Run". A large portion of the populace responds to this rhyming catchphrase with delight not necessarily because they agree with it but because it's easy to understand. We have to reach the people out there who don't like this administration but can't identify with the democrats for the lack of a catch phrase. I recommend referring to Republicans as the party of "Snooze and Lose". When the President received a daily briefing titled "Bin Laden determined to Attack in America" He was relaxing in Crawford. September 11th happened. He Snoozed we lost. There have to be archival photos of Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld if not sleeping then certainly with their eyes closed. When Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans and parts of Mississippi this administration was asleep at the wheel. They Snoozed, we lose. The time is now for change in America. There is no guarantee that Diebold and other e-voting manufacturers won't try again to sway the election. We have to have an overwhlming majority voice chanting "They Snooze, We lose", before the coming election. The destructive power of this administration will only grow worse if unchecked. For the good of our nation and world please if you read this pass it on. We need CNN and MSNBC to comment on the snooze and lose republicans. It needs to be said anytime they say "cut and run". The middle of the road will see clearly, possibly for the first time, that this administration doesn't care at all about them.
I remain your humble servant,
CRoman
From the Chimp:
WASHINGTON -
President Bush conceded Friday that "right now it's tough" for American forces in
Iraq, but the White House said he would not change U.S. strategy in the face of pre-election polls that show voters are upset. ADVERTISEMENT
With Republicans anxious about the potential loss of Congress — and with conditions seemingly deteriorating in Iraq — Bush addressed the question of whether he would alter his policies.
The Baker bi-partisan, self-appointed study group on new ideas for Iraq is leaking strategies like "containment." I suppose it's possible to contain the violence, but wouldn't it be better to just end it?
The best way to end it is to end it. If we leave, the Iraqis will have to come to grips with the fact that violence is getting them no where. Our staying gives them an excuse not to do anything but fight.
We must leave. The compassionate conservative thing to do in any situation is to do nothing. So I say to the President who loves that philosophy...do nothing. Leave.
If you don't like what they come up with for a solution, you can always torture them again till they tell you what you want.
Time is running out for our beloved lame duck. He's not going to get another chance. Either he ends the experiement in democracy now or the ever increasing violence it's creating will boil over into the laps of one of our "allies" in the region.
Does Bush want to see the oil stop flowing in Saudi Arabia or Kwaiit, too.
Now we know who really wants to "cut and run". It's Republican politicians worried about losing their jobs. Faced with the prospect of being held accountable by the American people they are cutting and running from George Bush as fast as their tongues can go.
It would be funny if it weren't so sad. Tens of thousands of dead latter they've finally demonstrated what really matters to them - saving their own sorry ...
As someone who supported involvemnet in the war in Afghanistan and was dumfounded at the manipulation of the Republican party on the domestic population's anger at 9/11 to invade Iraq and exert more military force over the middle easts oil reserves and hence the world economy.
I am very surprised by the current advert put out by the republican party showing Osama bin Laden's face, quotes and the count down.
Surely this is a gift to the Democrat party in showing how 'off the ball' the president has been.
Can i suggest you grin and bear the advert for a week and then play your own for the run up to the election along the same theme.
Show the footage of George bush sitting in the classroom in silence after his aid has informed him of the september 11 attacks.
Then show the exact footage of Bin Laden from the republicans advert and the evil quotes he makes.
Follow this up with the footage of George Bush responding to a question regarding Bin laden after the Iraq invasion when he stated 'I dont think much about Al'Qaeda/Bin Laden anymore', and a senior white house official announcing or commenting on the disbanding of the CIA unit responsible for catching Osama Bin Laden.
Surely this advertisement would show the republican parties commitment to catching Osama vs fighting for someone elses oil??
Might i suggest the democrat advertisement finishes with the same tick of the clock turning to a heart beat.
Eugene
I just heard Dick Cheney say Hillary would be a better democratic candidate than Barak Obama in 2008. You know why he's saying this: Hillary can't beat John McCain but Barak Obama can. Barak would be the best president in our lifetime. Cheney knows that alot of democrats actually listen to what he says and are persuaded by it. Don't trust what the other side says they don't have our best interests at heart. Don't fall for this BS.
Cheers,
Randy
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