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Iraq’s fifth column
Newsweek offers a different perspective of Congressman John Murtha’s
calling for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq:
"… the Democratic leadership wanted Murtha to do. A close ally, Democratic
leader Nancy Pelosi, was anxious to open a second axis of attack on Iraq—and
was aware of his growing antagonism toward the war. The two met and agreed
that he would make his case in private to the party conference. After that,
on his own, he would introduce a resolution calling for withdrawal of troops
from Iraq "at the earliest practicable date." Pelosi and the other liberals
would keep their distance, while their own Marine charged up the Hill.
Framed by long rows of American flags at a press conference, he denounced
the Iraq war as a "flawed policy wrapped in an illusion."
However, Pelosi has found that her fifth column is not a united front, as
Ron Brownstein reports in the Sunday,
LA Times:
According to one Democratic source, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San
Francisco) has dropped plans to seek a vote in early December on adopting a
Democratic Conference position in support of Murtha's plan. Murtha has said
his proposal could lead to a complete withdrawal of American troops in about
six months and the establishment of a "quick-reaction force in the region."
Fearful that the proposal would generate too much opposition among moderate
Democrats, Pelosi now plans for the conference only to discuss and debate
it, the source said.
Brownstein reports that the heart of the defection within the Democrat
Congressional ranks centers on the fear that setting a withdrawal timeline
only helps the terrorists:
"… almost all centrist Democrats and much of the party's foreign policy
establishment believe that a specific timeline or deadline for removing
American troops would undermine stability in Iraq and hurt the party
politically. During last week's debate, Democratic foreign policy leaders
like Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) repeatedly insisted that the party's
proposal did not establish a timeline for removing American troops."
Murtha explains
Rep. John Murtha offered this opinion in
USA Today:
By John Murtha
Staying the course in Iraq is not an option or a policy. I believe we must
begin discussions for an immediate re-deployment of U.S. forces from Iraq. I
believe it can be accomplished in as little as six months, but it must be
consistent with the safety of U.S. troops.
The public is way ahead of Congress and is thirsting for a new direction.
Sixty-six percent of the responses I have received are in favor of my plan.
The public knows this war cannot be won with words. Most agree the
insurgency cannot be won militarily. The Iraqis themselves must be the
driving force. Yet we have lost their hearts and minds. America wants and
deserves real answers. What is the clear definition of success? Is there a
plan? How much longer and how many more lives? In short, what is the end
game?
Aside from the fact that the original plan to win the peace was flawed,
two-and-a-half years later the indices that would determine the ultimate
success of a stable Iraq have not improved. Electricity and oil production
are below pre-war levels, unemployment remains at 60% and insurgent
incidents have increased from 150 to more than 700 per week. Average monthly
death rates of U.S. service members have grown since the Abu Ghraib prison
scandal from one per day to almost four. Despite the addition of more
troops, more equipment and more money, Iraq and the region have become less
stable over time. Global terrorism has risen. What is more of the same going
to do for Iraq or the region?
Some claim the answer is to put even more troops on the ground, but many of
our troops are already on their third deployment. Our Army cannot recruit to
its current target, even as recruiting standards are lowered. We cannot do
this without a draft. My plan calls for a more rapid turnover of Iraq to the
Iraqi people. Gen. George Casey said in a September hearing that "the
perception of occupation in Iraq is a major driving force behind the
insurgency." We have become a catalyst for violence. A recent poll showed
that 80% of the Iraqi public are "strongly opposed" to the presence of
coalition troops; 45% believe attacks against Americans are justified.
The Iraqis are a smart and proud people. They must take control of their
country. My plan motivates the Iraqis to take control, sooner rather than
later.
Red vs. blue
MoveOn.org is one of the primary forces in creating a blue socialistic
America. They have gone on the appeal for more money to surrender to the
terrorists in Iraq. Here is their latest e-mail:
We will only be able to run this ad if we raise the money today because the
ad departments at TV stations close earlier for Thanksgiving week.
Even a small contribution will put the ad on the air if we all chip in. If
we beat the goal, we can expand the ad to the hometowns of Republican
members of Congress who are pushing these smears.
This is a critical moment. The Bush administration and the Republicans in
Congress are backed into a corner and trying to slash their way out by
casting war critics as cowards. We've got to stay on the offensive.
Together we can encourage voters in these representative's hometowns to let
them know they want a plan for getting out of Iraq. With the president's
approval ratings below 40 percent and the Iraq war more unpopular than ever,
we're finding that Americans are with us even in towns historically
supportive of the war.
The TV ad can make a big difference if we act quickly. MoveOn is entirely
member funded so it is up to each of us. Please take just a minute to click
on the link below and make a contribution to put the new ad on TV.
The ad, titled "Home for the Holidays," uses the backdrop of a Thanksgiving
dinner to remind viewers that their representative should support a plan to
bring the troops home. (Check out the story board in this e-mail.) The ad
closes by urging people to call their representative and ask him or her to
"Support the troops and bring them home."
If we can swamp them with thousands of calls from the ads they'll get the
message that smearing leaders who are working to get us out of Iraq is the
wrong choice.
Democrats in Congress did their part by starting a real debate about Iraq.
Now it is our turn with this new TV ad. It will help end the war and make
clear that, in 2006, we need to change course in Iraq and change course on
Election Day.
Republican scandals
While Tom DeLay is in Texas fighting off a Democrat partisan prosecutor who
wants to put him away, his former aide Michael Scanlon and business partner
Jack Abramoff are scheduled to be arraigned by Judge Ellen Huvell at the US
District Court in Washington, DC at 4:00 pm ET. There is speculation that
Scanlon has agreed to assist prosecution of Abramoff, who was a top aide to
DeLay. The cooperation also points to hard time for Representative Bob Ney
(R-OH).
Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) returns to court tomorrow at 10:00 am ET for a
pre-trial hearing. DeLay's lawyer will argue to Judge Pat Priest (D) that
the actions in question were not crimes in 2002 when they allegedly
occurred.
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