Sen. Joe Biden, a democratic presidential contender and the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, has just returned home from a visit to Iraq and appeared on NBC's Meet the Press to give us his take on the situation:
"The reality is that although there's been some mild security progress, there is in fact no security in Baghdad or Anbar province where I was dealing with the most serious problem, sectarian violence...This president has no plan — how to win and how to leave...I will insist on a firm beginning to withdraw the troops and I will insist on a target date to get American combat forces out."
When asked about the upcoming questioning of Gen. David Petraeus, Biden stated:
"I really respect him, but I think he's dead flat wrong."
Biden stressed what I and many others have been saying, "there is no military solution." He said that while Petraeus is not going to directly lie in his report, he, as the President, will miss the point. Biden stressed that the only way to get a handle on the chaos in Iraq is to focus on a political solution by creating more local control.
Former presidential candidate and Massachusetts Senator, John Kerry, made an appearance on ABC's This Week and gave us his assessment of the Iraq War:
"The problem is, if you don't have a deadline and you don't require something of the Iraqis, they're simply going to use our presence as cover for their willingness to delay, which is what they have done month after month after month...I think the general will present the facts with respect to the statistics and the tactical successes or situations as he sees them, but none of us should be fooled — not the American people, not you in the media, not us in Congress — we should not be fooled into this tactical success debate."
I agree with what both men said, this war can not be won militarily. We've seen it for the past 5 years, the military secures an area by force, but 30 minutes after they move on to another area, that area is back to the way it was before the military intervened. We can't keep our troops there forever and its foolish to put our troops in harm's way just so a small section of Iraq can be safe for a half an hour. There must be a long term solution. There is a civil war in Iraq, between the Sunnis, the Shiites, and to some extent, the Kurds. Reconciliation between the three warring factions is the only answer to the situation. I hope Democrats in Congress are able to persuade enough Republicans to jump ship, so this war can be brought to a SAFE end. Cutting off the money for the troops is not the answer, as it would just cause more unnecessary deaths. Congress needs 67 votes, that is the only way to end this war until 2008, when hopefully, a Democrat will win the White House.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
CHARACTER: George W. Bush's Achilles Heel(a special editorial by John Lucia)
During the 2000 Presidential election, Mr. Bush and the people who ran his campaign made a determined effort to question the character of V.P. Al Gore. During one of the debates, even moderator Jim Lehrer promoted the republican talking point and questioned Mr. Gore about his character. Mr. Lehrer never asked Mr. Bush about his own character however.
President Bush has been described by his political operatives as a strong leader. That is the image they try to project. Others say Mr. Bush is stubborn and sticks to his word. The facts say neither of those descriptions are accurate. Lets examine the facts because it is the President who has the character problem.
After the tragic events of 9-11 the President tried to plant the seed in the American peoples mind that Saddam and Iraq played a hand in that attack even though he knew that was false. A President with character would never have done that, but Mr. Bush was trying to lay the ground work for the invasion and occupation of Iraq over WMD that did not exist.
During the debates of the 2004 election, Mr. Bush was asked by one of the people in attendance to name 3 mistakes he made as President. In fact he could not think of any mistakes. He could not and still can not bring himself to admit his many mistakes. He has yet to admit to any mistakes concerning the war in Iraq. Instead he says "we" made mistakes but never "I" made mistakes. This is a trait of a small person who can't accept responsibility. The buck stops at the desk of a strong leader who has character, but not on this President's desk.
A strong leader with character would never have committed our nation and our men and women in uniform to a war and occupation in Iraq over WMD that did not exist; a strong leader with character would never have changed his reasons for going to war in Iraq after WMD were not found; a strong leader with character would never have told the American people that Iraq was the center of the war on terror when Bin Laden and Al Queda were in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
A strong leader with character would not change the reasons over and over about why we are still in Iraq well into the fifth year of war and occupation; a strong leader with character would not try to brand Veterans who served their country as not supporting our troops when they disagreed with how Bush has conducted the war; A strong leader with character would never say the war in Iraq was justified when the reasons given for starting the war proved to be false. The war itself has proved to be an unnecessary war; a strong leader with character would not have misled the people over and over again throughout his presidency.
A strong leader with character would never tell our enemies to "bring it on" against America and put our men and women in uniform at risk; a strong leader with character would not be reckless in his foreign policy decisions; a strong leader with character would not make self serving statements to justify his decisions that have be proven wrong; a strong leader with character would not walk away from a war he started to leave it to his successor to finish. (The President has already told the people at a news conference over a year ago that the next President would have to deal with the war.)
A strong leader with character would pursue policies that bring our people and nation together instead of division. The President not only fails the character test of a strong leader, but he fails the test of being able to carry the moral mantle of world leadership.
The spin machine of this administration and Karl Rove can not change the facts. Now Mr. Rove has left the administration to write a book and rewrite the history of Mr. Bush's presidency but it will never wash.
I wonder if Jim Lehrer has learned a lesson about "character" in the last several years. Journalist who push politician's talking points would do their profession a favor if they stick to reporting the facts.
President Bush has been described by his political operatives as a strong leader. That is the image they try to project. Others say Mr. Bush is stubborn and sticks to his word. The facts say neither of those descriptions are accurate. Lets examine the facts because it is the President who has the character problem.
After the tragic events of 9-11 the President tried to plant the seed in the American peoples mind that Saddam and Iraq played a hand in that attack even though he knew that was false. A President with character would never have done that, but Mr. Bush was trying to lay the ground work for the invasion and occupation of Iraq over WMD that did not exist.
During the debates of the 2004 election, Mr. Bush was asked by one of the people in attendance to name 3 mistakes he made as President. In fact he could not think of any mistakes. He could not and still can not bring himself to admit his many mistakes. He has yet to admit to any mistakes concerning the war in Iraq. Instead he says "we" made mistakes but never "I" made mistakes. This is a trait of a small person who can't accept responsibility. The buck stops at the desk of a strong leader who has character, but not on this President's desk.
A strong leader with character would never have committed our nation and our men and women in uniform to a war and occupation in Iraq over WMD that did not exist; a strong leader with character would never have changed his reasons for going to war in Iraq after WMD were not found; a strong leader with character would never have told the American people that Iraq was the center of the war on terror when Bin Laden and Al Queda were in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
A strong leader with character would not change the reasons over and over about why we are still in Iraq well into the fifth year of war and occupation; a strong leader with character would not try to brand Veterans who served their country as not supporting our troops when they disagreed with how Bush has conducted the war; A strong leader with character would never say the war in Iraq was justified when the reasons given for starting the war proved to be false. The war itself has proved to be an unnecessary war; a strong leader with character would not have misled the people over and over again throughout his presidency.
A strong leader with character would never tell our enemies to "bring it on" against America and put our men and women in uniform at risk; a strong leader with character would not be reckless in his foreign policy decisions; a strong leader with character would not make self serving statements to justify his decisions that have be proven wrong; a strong leader with character would not walk away from a war he started to leave it to his successor to finish. (The President has already told the people at a news conference over a year ago that the next President would have to deal with the war.)
A strong leader with character would pursue policies that bring our people and nation together instead of division. The President not only fails the character test of a strong leader, but he fails the test of being able to carry the moral mantle of world leadership.
The spin machine of this administration and Karl Rove can not change the facts. Now Mr. Rove has left the administration to write a book and rewrite the history of Mr. Bush's presidency but it will never wash.
I wonder if Jim Lehrer has learned a lesson about "character" in the last several years. Journalist who push politician's talking points would do their profession a favor if they stick to reporting the facts.
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