Tuesday, November 22, 2005
"Grow up America"
Even if the Democrats ride an anti-war wave back into power, our troops will remain in Iraq. This is not because the Democrats are incapable of doing anything as monumentally stupid as abandoning Iraq. The Democrat Party was, after all, largely responsible for our abandonment of Vietnam. No American government will abandon Iraq because doing so would be to take ownership of the next terrorist attack on our homeland.
Exactly.
10 Comments:
By 
Purple Avenger, at
Tue Nov 22, 05:01:00 AM:
...Everybody with a firing synapse recognizes...
The problem with this whole thesis is that modern democrats truly are stupid enough to bolt.
A JFK, Truman or even (gasp) an LBJ would have recognized what the geoplitical situation is right now.
This current crew is a very pale shadow of what democrats were in the past.
By Catchy Pseudonym, at
Tue Nov 22, 09:23:00 AM:
"This current crew is a very pale shadow of what democrats were in the past."
I think the same can be said about current republicans.
I personally, as a "stupid" democrat, don't think leaving is a good idea. But I do want a plan, and if the pressure of threatening to leave is the only thing that makes this administration get its act together then so be it. The current lame-ass "When Iraq stands up, we'll stand down" talking point isn't cutting it.
By Gordon Smith, at
Tue Nov 22, 09:40:00 AM:
Catchy Pseudonym speaks for me as well.
And what if all the right-wing great thinkers have got it all wrong, and our presence in the maelstrom we created only serves to make America less safe.
The way I see it, no matter when it happens, the Bush administration takes the fall for the next terrorist attack. Congressional democrats are second in line followed by the religious right.
By TigerHawk, at
Tue Nov 22, 09:49:00 AM:
I certainly think that the next terrorist attack is "on" the Bush administration. We are, however, moving the goal posts in saying this. On September 12, 2001, there was a virtual consensus on the left and the right that subsequent mass casualty attacks on the American homeland were inevitable. That we have gone this long without them is nothing less than miraculous by the expectations of four years ago.
I also agree that Congressional Democrats are "second" in their responsibility, as you suggest Screwy. They are not making it any easier on this president, and much of the opposition is dissenting in fundamentally illegitimate ways for political advantage, rather than to advance legitimate policy discussion (you both know my views on this, which I have articulated at length).
But Screwy, the religious right? I'm no fan of the social conservatives (as you know), but it is a bit of a stretch to hold them responsible for the next terrorist attack (except, I suppose, that you might hold them responsible for re-elected George Bush -- but by that logic you should blame the next terrorist attack on Howard Dean and John Kerry).
By 
, at
Tue Nov 22, 10:17:00 AM:
The Dems will withdraw our troops. They have repeatedly done this since Vietnam. Remember, after the marine barracks were bombed in Lebanon the dems denied funding for the mission. Remember also that Murtha suggested to Clinton that he pull out the troops from Somalia before even the Black Hawk down incident.
Murtha uses extactly the same wording now that he used then.
Remember also that Kerry was asking all Iraqi parties to come to the negotiating table last year. Sounds great but he wanted the terrorists and Saadamites to get a spot at the table. He was actually trying to downplay the legitimacy of the interim Iraqi government and the coalition.
Kerry did the same thing during the Vietnam war.
Same old tactics.
By Cardinalpark, at
Tue Nov 22, 04:31:00 PM:
Catchy and Screwy:
Glad you hear you want to stay in Iraq. That is both prudent and responsible. We CAN agree. I am delighted. So since we agree on this...
Now..as for a plan...what on God's green earth are you talking about? Of course the military has a plan. They don't have a responsibility to articulate it perfectly to all of us.
This is the part of the discussion that invariably makes me chuckle --when I see the exceptional military experts in Congress (of both parties) talking about a plan. A plan! Most of these knuckleheads ( a bipartisan characterization) can't plan their kid's birthday party. The Biden Plan? How about the Hagel Plan? Better still...the Teddy Kennedy Plan?!
Please. These are politicians. Boobs. Fools. TV actors. One step above pigeons in their warplanning capacity. Retract that. Pigeons can drop bombs from the air with remarkable accuracy.
Plans for activity like that in Iraq are developed years in advance, and modified continuously by military planners, and adapted daily by field operators. They are not publicly announced, for pretty obvious reasons. Politicians shouldn't be allowed within a country mile of a serious military plan - LBJ, McNamara and Carter all demonstrated their spectacular incompetence at "planning."
So please, let's move on. We have other serious threats and issues to discuss...
By Catchy Pseudonym, at
Tue Nov 22, 05:23:00 PM:
Maybe "plan" wasn't the word. How about a "clue." Maybe if they could demonstrate that they have a clue as to how to win this war. This administration seems clueless, lost in a wilderness of catch phrases and talking points. So if an actual plan is asking too much, how about demonstrating that they at least have a clue. I think that's still asking too much.
By , at
Thu Nov 24, 09:25:00 AM:
A Clue? How about when the Iraqi's are strong enough to protect their country from outside attack? That's your clue. And quite frankly, that is all the clue you need. The military is the professional in this, they are on the ground, they see the enemy and they see the strength of the Iraqi force. Which by the way is making terrific headway. How about you get a clue!!
By , at
Thu Nov 24, 05:34:00 PM:
The demacrats have become clueless and irresponsible why dont the save face by keeping the pieholes shut
By , at
Sun Nov 27, 10:00:00 AM:
We're supposed to take seriously the military advice of someone who still thinks we should be fighting in Vietnam? Way to make yourself irrelevant.
