Notes on the Iraq Column
It's been a long time since I've written about Iraq and just felt the stars had aligned for me to do that. I don't write about it to bash George Bush. But I do take issue with where
we are in this whole mess.
In the last month and a half, 150 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq. That's 150 U.S. families in mourning. Right now we have missing soldiers. We have soldiers being maimed.
Of course, its expected. It's war. And it would be the price we pay if we were achieving something. I don't see what we're achieving.
I watched Sen. John McCain on "Meet the Press" say that he would go back to Baghdad and walk the same market he walked earlier this year but without military protection.
Oh really? I double dog dare you, McCain. Sen. Lindsay Graham said he would walk through downtown Ramadi. What are they waiting for? Get your asses on a plane. Show us this amazing feat. The Democrats better get ready because there's about to be two open seats in the Senate.
And what I'm tired of seeing and hearing is anyone who defends the Iraq war by mentioning 9/11. Can we put that to bed now? Iraq was in no way behind 9/11. It's like the Bush Administration has spun this mythology that has taken hold that has blotted out the truth.
Witness this exchange during the last GOP debate in South Carolina:
Candidate Ron Paul: "Have you ever read about the reasons they attacked us? They attack us because we've been over there. We've been bombing Iraq for 10 years,"
Candidate Rudy Giuliani:
It's frightening that we would be at war in an area and with people we so little understand. None of us can predict the ramifications of this conflict.
So anyway, I wanted to write a column lamenting the fact that Bush takes no counsel on Iraq. He just blindly moves forward, no matter what the cost. Maybe there's a better way.
Maybe we should give Rep. John Murtha's plan a shot. Pull out most of our troops but leave some forming a perimeter to take out terrorist camps. As for there being a bloody civil war should we leave, hey, there's a bloody civil war right now. We're just caught in the middle of it. Will it get worse? Maybe so. Maybe that's the course it has to run for Iraqis to stand up. Will the terrorists follow us home? What the hell kind of nonsense is that? They know our address. They've been here before. They don't have to "follow us home." Perhaps we can use some of those billions we're pouring into Iraq to harden our targets over here. It's time to think end game.
we are in this whole mess.
In the last month and a half, 150 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq. That's 150 U.S. families in mourning. Right now we have missing soldiers. We have soldiers being maimed.
Of course, its expected. It's war. And it would be the price we pay if we were achieving something. I don't see what we're achieving.
I watched Sen. John McCain on "Meet the Press" say that he would go back to Baghdad and walk the same market he walked earlier this year but without military protection.
Oh really? I double dog dare you, McCain. Sen. Lindsay Graham said he would walk through downtown Ramadi. What are they waiting for? Get your asses on a plane. Show us this amazing feat. The Democrats better get ready because there's about to be two open seats in the Senate.
And what I'm tired of seeing and hearing is anyone who defends the Iraq war by mentioning 9/11. Can we put that to bed now? Iraq was in no way behind 9/11. It's like the Bush Administration has spun this mythology that has taken hold that has blotted out the truth.
Witness this exchange during the last GOP debate in South Carolina:
Candidate Ron Paul: "Have you ever read about the reasons they attacked us? They attack us because we've been over there. We've been bombing Iraq for 10 years,"
Candidate Rudy Giuliani:
"That's an extraordinary statement, as someone who lived through the attack of September 11, that we invited the attack because we were attacking Iraq...I don't think I've ever heard that before, and I've heard some pretty absurd explanations for September 11th," Giuliani said to wild applause, asking Paul to withdraw the comment.
Well, in 1998 Osama Bin Laden issued a fatwa telling Muslims to kill Americans and one of the main reasons he cited was that we had based our infidel troops in Saudi Arabia. This was anathema to him. This was confirmed in the 9/11 Commission report. Ron Paul was right. Giuliani, "America's Mayor", doesn't even know what the 9/11 Commission report says and he wants to be president? And of course the crowd applauded wildly because they're idiots. They've drank the Bush Administration Kool-Aid on this. "They hate us because of our freedom."It's frightening that we would be at war in an area and with people we so little understand. None of us can predict the ramifications of this conflict.
So anyway, I wanted to write a column lamenting the fact that Bush takes no counsel on Iraq. He just blindly moves forward, no matter what the cost. Maybe there's a better way.
Maybe we should give Rep. John Murtha's plan a shot. Pull out most of our troops but leave some forming a perimeter to take out terrorist camps. As for there being a bloody civil war should we leave, hey, there's a bloody civil war right now. We're just caught in the middle of it. Will it get worse? Maybe so. Maybe that's the course it has to run for Iraqis to stand up. Will the terrorists follow us home? What the hell kind of nonsense is that? They know our address. They've been here before. They don't have to "follow us home." Perhaps we can use some of those billions we're pouring into Iraq to harden our targets over here. It's time to think end game.
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