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Me#1You#10
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Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 6503
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 Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 7:12 pm Post subject: NY Sun Editorial: "Running From Petraeus" |
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"What is shaping up may be the most astounding act of perfidy in the history of the Congress."
NY Sun, July 9, 2007
| Quote: | Running From Petraeus
New York Sun Editorial
July 9, 2007
Congress, without waiting for General Petraeus to send back the progress report it asked him to write when it sent him to Baghdad in January, will launch phase two of the campaign to declare defeat in the Battle of Iraq. The majority leader in the Senate, Harry Reid, the Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and their Democratic Party are maneuvering to set a date for withdrawal of troops even as General Petraeus is preparing for delivery in September two reports that will conclude that it is possible to bring enough security to Iraq for political reconciliation.
What is shaping up may be the most astounding act of perfidy in the history of the Congress. The senate voted 82 to zero to confirm General Petraeus. The Congress underwrote his surge in a bipartisan show of support for a campaign to get control of Baghdad. It put only one basic condition on the expedition, which is that General Petraeus would have to come back in the fall with a thorough report. Our troops are now in the field, fighting heroically in one of the deadliest phases of the Battle to do just what the Congress ratified and is making real progress.
That turns out to be just what the Democrats are afraid of. One of the things we hear the general is preparing to report concerns the success of the efforts of his officers to turn many of Iraq's sheikhs in Anbar into an anti-terrorist front, with prospects for going national. He will compare the levels of violence in Iraq today to the ghastly reality of Iraq when he arrived. Violent though the battle has been these past few weeks, the level of violence is actually declining though it's so much lower than, say, the U.S. Civil War or the European wars, or even Iraq's war with Iran, that single car bombs can sharply affect monthly casualty statistics.
One of the things that concerns General Petraeus is the morale and the stamina of his troops in the pincer between the enemy in Iraq and the politicians on the Hill. The general is expected to warn that the army and marines need more incentives, like pay raises, to signal a priority of re-enlisting and volunteering to deploy to the theater. He will also make the case, we hear, for more political support in Washington for what he is doing in Baghdad.
The commander has his work cut out for him with the Democrats. It seems that the Democratic Party, which only a year ago demanded that Mr. Bush listen to his generals, is uninterested in what the general in command of forces in Iraq will have to say. So the next phase of the maneuvering to force a retreat will begin at a hearing on the 2008 Defense Authorization bill. The majority party in Congress will offer a series of amendments aimed at fixing a date to begin a rearward march.
One of these amendments from Senator Webb, who had a great record in Vietnam and in the Reagan administration but who is now in the anti-war camp would make it impossible to relieve the GIs on the ground come January and March, by which point most would have to redeploy home. Other amendments, like one offered by Senator Feingold, would fix a date in April for the full retreat.
The Democrats are counting on a growing number of Republicans who, in respect of the war, are now opposing the president from their own party. Senators Domenici and Lugar, of Arizona and Indiana, have in the last two weeks added their voice to the caucus of waverers. It would not be surprising were the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, Senator Warner, to go overboard on Monday.
* * *
The right move for President Bush is to fight this thing all the way through, the way Washington did at Valley Forge, another moment when the summer soldiers were abandoning the fight. He could go into the Valley and address the nation from the spot where it found its courage and won the right to exist. He could talk, as he has so eloquently, about what's at stake in this battle. He could go over the heads of the Democratic Congress and the quailing editorial writers to talk to the nation about the importance of what General Petraeus is getting ready to report to them. And of how the fight is not yet lost and of how we need to keep our troops in the battle, well-supplied and paid, so that a year hence the American people themselves will be in a position to choose between the counsels of defeat and the prospect of victory.
NY Sun |
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Bob51
Seaman
Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 156
Location: Belfast
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| Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 7:49 pm Post subject: Acts of perfidy |
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| Me#1You#10 wrote: | "...act of perfidy ..."
| Quote: | Running From Petraeus
New York Sun Editorial
... maneuvering to set a date for withdrawal of troops ...
... fixing a date to begin a rearward march.
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and here is an interesting historical comparison I was reading earlier today:
| Quote: | | an Economist survey indicated that 28% of the mainland population wanted the troops withdrawn immediately, and a further 29% within a pre-set period: |
http://www.patfinucanecentre.org/misc/opbanner.pdf
Paragraph 318 of this previously classified military document may be interesting with its statement:
| Quote: | | The events of 11 September 2001 in New York and Washington largely removed American sympathy for terrorism world-wide |
The quote and its significance needs to be understood in the context of the military analysis. Chapter 8 is worth careful study in light of new Iraq strategy. |
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shawa
CNO
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 2004
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 2:45 am Post subject: |
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Ralph Peters lays it out:
THE 'QUIT IRAQ' CAUCUS - RECIPE FOR MASSACRE
| Quote: | ~SNIP~
But if Republicans are rushing to desert our troops and spit on the graves of heroes, the Democratic Party at least has been consistent - they've supported our enemies from the start, undercutting our troops and refusing to explain in detail what happens if we flee Iraq.
So I'll tell you what happens: massacres. And while I have nothing against Shia militiamen and Sunni insurgents killing each other 24/7, the overwhelming number of victims will be innocent women, children and the elderly.
Bosnia? That was just rough-necking at recess compared to what Islamist fanatics and ethnic beasts will do. Given that Senate Majority Misleader Harry Reid and Commissar of the House Nancy Pelosi won't tell us what they foresee af- ter we quit, let me lay it out:
* After suffering a strategic defeat, al-Qaeda-in-Iraq comes back from the dead (those zombies again . . .) and gets to declare a strategic victory over the Great Satan.
* Iran establishes hegemony over Iraq's southern oil fields and menaces the other Persian Gulf producers. (Sorry, Comrade Gore, even that Toyota Prius needs some gasoline . . . )
* Our troops will have died in vain. Of course, that doesn't really matter to much of anyone in Washington, Democrat or Republican. So we'll just write off those young Americans stupid enough to join the military when they could've ducked out the way most members of Congress did.
* A slaughter of the innocents - so many dead, the bodies will never be counted.
But I hope somebody tries to count the dead after our Congress kills them. As for those on the left who sanctimoniously set out rows of shabby combat boots to "teach" the rest of us the cost of war, I fully expect them to put out displays of women's slippers and children's shoes to show the world how many innocents died when they "brought our troops home now." (Note to the demonstrators - better start bulk-ordering those slippers and booties now.)
I hate the long-mismanaged mess in Iraq. I wish there were a sensible, decent way to get out that wouldn't undercut our security and produce massive innocent casualties. But there isn't. Not now. And, like it or not, we have a moral responsibility as well as practical interests in refusing to surrender to the butchers in Iraq.
This has been the Bush-Cheney War. But it will only be fair to call the carnage after we run away the "Reid-Pelosi Massacres." |
AND:
'LIFTING THE PALL' - Ralph Peters Interviews Gen. Petraeus
| Quote: | ~SNIP~
Q: Now that the surge is fully in place, what's your sense of the positives and negatives thus far? If you could have more of any one item, what would it be? Troops? Time? Iraqi unity?
A: I can think of few commanders in history who wouldn't have wanted more troops, more time or more unity among their partners; however, if I could only have one at this point in Iraq, it would be more time. This is an exceedingly tough endeavor that faces countless challenges.
None of us, Iraqi or American, are anything but impatient and frustrated at where we are. But there are no shortcuts. Success in an endeavor like this is the result of steady, unremitting pressure over the long haul. It's a test of wills, demanding patience, determination and stamina from all involved. |
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I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death. (Thomas Paine, 1776) |
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LewWaters
Admin
Joined: 18 May 2004
Posts: 4042
Location: Washington State
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 3:46 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | As for those on the left who sanctimoniously set out rows of shabby combat boots to "teach" the rest of us the cost of war, I fully expect them to put out displays of women's slippers and children's shoes to show the world how many innocents died when they "brought our troops home now." |
They turned a blind eye to the untold millions that died in Cambodia, South Viet Nam and Laos after they succeeded in having us abandon them, don't expect any different this time.
To this day they won't acknowledge their wrongs back then or the part they played in the carnage that followed.
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dusty
Admiral
Joined: 27 Aug 2004
Posts: 1264
Location: East Texas
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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Lew, that's part of the liberal mindset. To them...it's always someone else's fault. A liberal will never accept that he/she made a mistake.
Dusty
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Left and Wrong are the opposite of Right! |
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