The Democratic leadership gave Joe Wilson one minute on the floor this morning, which he used to criticize their fecklessness on funding for our troops in Iraq:
Mr. Speaker, for weeks the House has debated our strategy in Iraq and continued funding for the war. In the midst of this debate the democratic leadership adjourned for a two-week spring break. Even today we appear no closer to a solution that will support our mission and troops and sustain an effective foreign policy. The democrat leadership of both chambers has indicated their desire to move their message of defeat. Fortunately President Bush is standing by his commitment to veto the bill and promote our mission for victory in Iraq to protect American families. Al Qaeda has stated Iraq is the central front in the war on terrorism. Osama bin laden has characterized Iraq as the third world war. Withdrawing from Iraq will not end the global war on terrorism. I have confidence in our military leaders who should not be micromanaged by congress. Yesterday Admiral William Fallen testified effectively that the new reinforcement course in Baghdad is producing results. We’ll face the terrorists overseas or again in the streets of America. In conclusion God bless our troops and we will never forget September 11.
I got that text, and the video file, in a press release generated by the office of Rep. Kay Granger, vice chair of the House Republican Conference. It was headlined, "Best One Minute of the Day."
I bet it was for Joe. He likes being on camera, however briefly.
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How about a little balance? What did Clyburn and Spratt have to say about Iraq?
Did he really say “democrat leadership”? That’s getting really old.
What would you expect from a Rethuglican water boy, Wally?
What would you expect from a Rethuglican water boy, Wally?
“The democrat leadership of both chambers has indicated their desire to move their message of defeat.”
Pull your head out of the sand, Joe! We lost the Iraq war a few months after our brave soldiers were not given the reinforcements they needed in 2003. Where were you when this was going on?
“We’ll face the terrorists overseas or again in the streets of America.”
Joe, you now sound like Dick Cheney trying to associate Iraq with Al Qaeda. Let’s remember Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 or Al Qaeda, though I don’t doubt Al Qaeda is there now. We’ve helped their recruiting efforts ten-fold, created a living hell for Iraqi citizens, and placed our soldiers in an un-winnable and dangerous situation.
By the way Joe, please tell us again why and how you got a deferment from serving in Vietnam. And why now you act as if you are on the front lines. Does the term chicken-hawk have any meaning to you?
Wilson: “Al Qaeda has stated Iraq is the central front in the war on terrorism. Osama bin laden has characterized Iraq as the third world war.”
Good to know that Rep. Wilson, Al Qaeda, and Osama bin Laden are in agreement there.
The constant references by the war-mongers to 9-11 in order to support the quagmire in Iraq has grown very, very old. This is a fear based policy on the order of the hysteria associated with the millineum computer bug or the Vietnam dominos. Do people have nothing better to do than spread fear about phony threats? Wilson, Lieberman, Graham and McCain all live in a world of fantasy. In the real world people are dying from cancer, heart disease, aids, traffic accidents and domestic gun violence. Terrorist killings from abroad will never amount to more than a tiny fraction of the total deaths among the U.S. population. Only in the fantasy world of the neo-con do large numbers of people die from Muslim terrorists.
Even in conservative South Carolina the pragmatist, bring the troops home, faction on the Brad Blog is overwhelmingly starting to outnumber the war-mongers. That is certainly reason for optimism. Yet the war drags on and on. What possible reason do we have for staying.
While no partisan insult is intended (I’m an independent), Joe Wilson parroting the Bush line on everything is as predictable as a jackass braying. Does the man ever think for himself?
This administration is determined to drive the country over the cliff and never look back. Failure in Iraq isn’t an option– it’s this administration’s forte.
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Training Iraqi troops no longer driving force in U.S. policy
By Nancy A. Youssef,McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON – Military planners have abandoned the idea that standing up Iraqi troops will enable American soldiers to start coming home soon and now believe that U.S. troops will have to defeat the insurgents and secure control of troubled provinces.
Training Iraqi troops, which had been the cornerstone of the Bush administration’s Iraq policy since 2005, has dropped in priority, officials in Baghdad and Washington said.
No change has been announced, and a Pentagon spokesman, Col. Gary Keck, said training Iraqis remains important. “We are just adding another leg to our mission,” Keck said, referring to the greater U.S. role in establishing security that new troops arriving in Iraq will undertake.
But evidence has been building for months that training Iraqi troops is no longer the focus of U.S. policy. Pentagon officials said they know of no new training resources that have been included in U.S. plans to dispatch 28,000 additional troops to Iraq. The officials spoke only on the condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to discuss the policy shift publicly. Defense Secretary Robert Gates made no public mention of training Iraqi troops on Thursday during a visit to Iraq.
In a reflection of the need for more U.S. troops, the Pentagon decided earlier this month to increase the length of U.S. Army tours in Iraq from 12 to 15 months. The extension came amid speculation that the U.S. commander there, Army Gen. David Petraeus, will ask that the troop increase be maintained well into 2008.
U.S. officials don’t say that the training formula – championed by Gen. John Abizaid when he was the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East and by Gen. George Casey when he was the top U.S. general in Iraq – was doomed from the start. But they said that rising sectarian violence and the inability of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki to unite the country changed the conditions. They say they now must establish security while training Iraqi forces because ultimately, “they are our ticket out of Iraq,” as one senior Pentagon official put it.
Casey’s “mandate was transition. General Petraeus’ mandate is security. It is a change based on conditions. Certain conditions have to be met for the transition to be successful. Security is part of that. And General Petraeus recognizes that,” said Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard, commander of the Iraq Assistance Group in charge of supporting trained Iraqi forces.
“I think it is too much to expect that we were going to start from scratch … in an environment that featured a rising sectarian struggle and lack of progress with the government,” said a senior Pentagon official. “The conditions had sufficiently changed that the Abizaid/Casey approach alone wasn’t going to be sufficient.”