Actor and registered liberal George Clooney was right to blast Democrats recently for failing to speak out against the disastrous war in Iraq, but others within the party who have more foreign policy credentials are saying the same thing:
Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security adviser during the Carter administration, said in a recent speech that “Democrats have been silent or evasive” on Iraq and had failed to offer a clear alternative. Their reluctance to aggressively challenge the administration’s Iraq strategy, he said, amounted to “political desertion.”
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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24 Comments
does this guy not watch the news?
Almost everyday some Democrat in the House or Senate is out talking about withdrawl of the troops.
I thought that was the plan, tuck tail and run?
No Nathan, he is right in that for the most part the Democrats have only been paying lip service to Iraq.In 2003 there was enough pointer to there being something wrong with the push to invade Iraq, a feeling that something’s just did not add up. And there being some evidence to back up that being more then just a feeling. Yet everyone Republicans and Democrats played it like Politics as usual, rather then stand up and face a majority house and the majority of the unknowing public. They fell silent or just fell in line, now coming out after the feces has hit the oscillating device. “I was against it all a long!”, but during a time when it could have made a difference they were silent. During the time it could have made a difference, they knew that to come out and shout about this being wrong. The common knowledge was of course they would have been played as a traitor or a liberal. At the time it would have been political suicide to speak up, the majority of the American public getting their news from a two second sound bite, Bush still being thought of as the President that rally the country with the speech on the rubble.
Do you not just hate it when people use the death of American service men and women as a political tool to shore up their party views? As if some how their party is more important then this country as a whole. or that Politics is more important then the good of the nation? Both parties has used this invasion and 9-11 for their own means. As if it was not important and just a tool, it does a disservice to the memory of those whom have lost their life’s.
I agree with Kurt Vonnegut when he said.
“”We have no Democratic Party. It’s financed by the same millionaires and billionaires as the Republicans.
“So we have no representatives in Washington. Working people have no leverage whatsoever. ”
I’m hoping to see someone promising who is neither Democrat or Republican.
Again, Public finance of campaigns will be the only way the working people can take back government.
Brzezinski is partly right – Democrats have not delineated a plan for dealing with the horrible mess Bush has created. And no Nathan, what you claim is false. The problem is that Bush has created such an intractable mess with his monumental bungling that it is not really possible at this time to know exactly how to extricate ourselves from it.
What IS clear is that continuing the failed policies and “leaders” (sic) who created this mess is NOT the way to go. We need something we haven’t had for 5+ years – competant leadership.
The problem the Democrats have with denouncing the war in Iraq is they are afraid of offending their constituants. Votes . . . that’s all their interested in. To be kept in office is all politicians are interested in.
Our so-called leaders, both parties, have become whiny wimps. Bush & co lie to the American people, congress struts like alpha males, then when the chips are down, and there is a chance to actually do something constructive, they crawl back to their warm, toasty and safe caves.
I’ve said this time and time again: Where are the JFK’s of today? Where are the real leaders who can lead us into the 21st century on a positive note, rather than the destructive road we’re on now?
The days of looking up to our leaders are long gone, greed and power games have taken over any idea of self sacrificing public service.
Why do Democrats need to come up with a solution for a problem that they had nothing to do with making?
Did BushCo ask Democrats about anything before they went in?
Now, it’s Democrats fault they don’t have a plan.
Screw that.
Bush did it. Bush can pay for it.
BTW, Brzenzcky was the genius that armed what was to become Al Qaeda to stop the Soviets in Afghanistan. The Soviets were also reacting to “terrorism” from their point of view.
The only thing I have to say to him is “go Cheney yourself.”
Democrats voted to approve the resolution allowing Bush to declare war.
They were snookered. I think many of them believed he would not go through with actual war, but instead use the threat of war as a way of negoiating inspections with Saddam. They made a serious mis-judgement. Now they are stuck in a sense. This combined with the fact that there is not a clear way to get out of the mess.
A brilliant political move by GW Bush that has hamstrung his rivals and made a disaster out of the Middle East.
Democrats plan is to bash Bush, find anything to make him look bad, and hopefully get him impeached.
DD,
I see we are back to the evil genious Bush now…
He is supposedly a stupid rich kid who was placed in office by his handlers yet he is smart enough to “snooker” those poor Democrats into voting for war.
Joe – a disasterous quagmire is a lot better grounds for impeachment than lying about consensual sex is!
Ah, good ole dependable Joe! You oughta write that line into a automated script, Joe. Then you wouldn’t have to type much, let alone think. Oh well. At least we know it’s you.
PL, you’re right about our friend Zbeigniew (his general ineptitude on the world stage also doomed the Carter administration, incidently).
DD nailed what actually happened. Colin Powell insisted on following Poppy’s model (go to the UN) at the same time Shrub was visibly bashing them. Finally Dick and Karl, er, I mean the President sighed and said “Fine, Colin!” (gee, where did that maniacal laughter come from?). The result was a deliberately vague resolution that promised “serious consequences” but didn’t bother to mention little things like “shock and awe.”
But that doesn’t change the fact that plenty of us in the peanut gallery were saying (screaming, actually) “How could you fall for this bullshit?”
Was previewing and just saw Nathan’s post. Hahaha! Evil genius? Read what I wrote, BEFORE you posted, my friend. I don’t think DD would disagree.
Don’t worry Joe.
I just take it as a compliment when all they can do is bash you as a person instead of what you are saying.
Of all the events that could be reported, the drive-by MSM pukes not only spin leftie commentary poorly disguised as ‘news’, they conveniently ignore facts. What was the GDP of Iraq before the war vs. now? What was the death rate of Iraqi citizens under Sadam vs. now? How many sectarian clashes before the war vs. now? How many years has the US been in Kosovo? Hint: More than we have been in Iraq!
Facts, figures and perspectives are lost on the drive-by MSM, and they don’t like being challenged or held accountable.
Those who would like to see the U.S. knocked down from its Superpower status and free-market economic success feed off of the drive-by MSM, and the resulting collateral damage to naive readers/voters.
Maybe the new owners of WE will hold the writers to a higher standard and demand, of all things, facts, figures and perspectives.
Nathan:It is possible that Bush can be both. But I think you’re right, I suspect Karl Rove engineered the Iraqi war resolution gambit. Satisfied now?
My apologies. The above post should have been on the ‘Media’ blog.
ID – I think most if not all of the troops in Kosovo are European. I think we do have a token force in Bosnia.
ID–
Since you like facts so much, here are a few you’ll appreciate–
US Soldiers killed in Kosovo–0US Soldiers killed in Iraq–2,321
Cost of Iraq war per day–200 million dollars
Cost of war so far–250 billion
Cost to treat the wounded over their lifetimes–250 billion
Length of time the war would last according to Donald Rumsfeld–between six weeks and six months.
What Bush people said about WMD’s before invading Iraq–”it’s a slam dunk,” CIA Director Tenant; “we know where they are,” Donald Rumsfeld; “there is no doubt,” Dick Cheney; “tons and tons of chemical and biological weapons,” Colin Powell.
How the US troops would be seen by Iraqis according to Vice President Dick Cheney–”as liberators.”
Amount of national debt this administration has accrued–9 trillion dollars (9,000,000,000,000) or about 30,000 dollars for every man, woman, child and “unborn” baby in the country.
What Bush said he would do upon taking office about deficit spending–”establish fiscal discipline.”
But I agree with you on one thing, the mainstream media isn’t reporting the facts very well . . .
Actually, Nathan, I did not, and have not bashed Joe “as a person.” I’ve had some fun with his credentials (which, BTW, I don’t doubt). But if he keeps saying the same thing over and over, he might as well automate it. Why not? I would.
It’s like the old joke about the convicts with no NEW JOKES, so they just refer to them by number:
“45.”"Haha!”"37.”"Hehe!”"22.”(Silence).”What’s the matter, guys?”"No offense, Sal, you just don’t know how to tell a joke!”
Actually Democrats do have a strategy as to Iraq and it is quite a good one given the circumstances.
John Murtha and other Democrats favor not withdrawing but re deploying.
Now I know to Nathan and ID and the RUSH dittohead crowd anything other than “staying the course” is “cutting and running”
But redeployment makes perfect sense.
We have 3 factions living within the borders of a madeup country. There are lots of old scores to settle and until that is done there will never be peace or a cohesive government.
A sudden and drastic withdrawl of our troops combined with guaranteeing Iraq’s border with Iran….( I now it’s a stretch, bush can’t even control the border of Texas) will allow scores to be settled and let the factions shake things out.
And it will be bloody and nasty and not easy.
But if this 3faction nation is ever gonna be one people they are gonna have to WANT TO. They are gonna have to have a vested interest in peace.
Stay the course won’t work in the near future. YOu cannot FORCE people to like and live with each other. It might work after 20 or 30 years. Anyone wanna stay the course that long? Other than Halliburton I mean.
I do not know JR, after hearing how well the picinic went. There maybe even be hope for peace in the middle east! LoL
It was the potato salad that caused us all to hold hands and sing at the blog picnic.
No one can be mean in the face of good potato salad!! I wonder if I can get a no-bid subcontract from haliburton to distribute it all over the middle east.
Naw….hell, it doesnt even work in the rest of ks! Look at school finance.
Sigh. So many idiots. So little potato salad.
Another one of those damn pesky British memos has shown up . . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/27/international/europe/27memo.html?hp&ex=1143522000&en=1a8220fd45b2aca0&ei=5094&partner=homepage