Joe Biden: The Surge Is A Failure

WASHINGTON — A leading Democrat on Saturday declared last year's troop buildup in Iraq a failure. Sen. Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the military push didn't succeed because U.S. troops remain committed there in large numbers and political reconciliation has not been achieved. "The purpose of the surge was to bring violence in Iraq down so that its leaders could come together politically," said Biden, D-Del., in this week's Democratic radio address. "Violence has come down, but the Iraqis have not come together." He later added, "There is little evidence the Iraqis will settle their differences peacefully any time soon." Biden offered an early rebuttal to next week's testimony by Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador there. Petraeus and Crocker are expected to say the recent buildup in troops has succeeded in improving security. But they also likely will say that a period of assessment is needed this summer before officials can decide whether troop withdrawals can continue. Democrats have called this approach unacceptable and said they would pursue an alternative policy through legislation. They said their focus will be on restoring the strength of the Army and Marines and refocusing the nation's resources on fighting terrorists in Afghanistan. "I believe the president has no strategy for success in Iraq," Biden said. "His plan is to muddle through, and hand the problem off to his successor." Republicans say they are satisfied with the recent drop in violence and that more time is needed to improve the situation there.

Comments

[AdLib]

I think we should have a national referendum on the war in Iraq. The votes should be tallied and then those who voted for it should be drafted, sent over there to fight and have their assets and income garnished pro rata to fully fund the war.

It's a win-win!

[MsLiz]

No need for a vote. Those who support the war should signify aye by enlisting. If they are unfit for combat, they can continue their present occupations but donate their income to the government.

[AdLib]

I'd find it more amusing to get people to go on record first demanding a continuation of the war then watch their expressions when the draft notice arrives in the mail.

Chickenhawks are of course cowards personally, if they knew in advance there would be a price THEY would have to pay for their murderous opinions, they'd suddenly become the biggest anti-war campaigners on their block.

[mimsnpips]

Sooner or later a draft reinstatement will be suggested. If McCain becomes president it will be sooner. The dems will stay away from it for as long as possible, they may be able to stave it off for a first term. Let's face it, the military is not equal in proportion to the poor, and minorities. There will always be the dodgers with a butt boil. Still I think some day the draft will come back.

[Decipherer]

"Some say" (don't you just love that straw-man lead-in?) that the quickest way to end this gawdawful war and future wars of its ilk would be to reinstitute the draft, this time minus the student deferment.

Nothing like the prospect of having your kids in harm's way to focus the attention of voters and members of Congress so as not to grant some future president the authority we gave this one, to our everlasting regret.

For my part, I think it would be the smartest thing this country ever did -- require 18 months or so of national service for everyone between the ages of 18 and 25. No exceptions, unless you're in prison or the sole provider for dependents. There would be plenty to do even for people who would otherwise be unfit for possible front-line military duty.

Folks, we've got a helluva lot to get done at home and abroad. Fighting stupid wars is not one of them.

[SeriousBlack]

Sounds good to me. It's amazing how the modern world allows chickenhawks to sit in their easy chairs and spout off about sending other people and other people's kids off to die in a war that was sold to us on lies. Even though your post was meant to be humorous, imagine back thousands of years ago when a small clan of people would deliberate on whether they should wage war against another clan. First of all, the majority of ALL the people in the clan would in fact have to be convinced that it was necessary, and then for sure anyone who DID vote for it would indeed be subject to the type of things you raised in jest. Funny how the modern world works huh.

[AdLib]

The sad thing, it's not so amazing. The Repugs have seemed to learn only one thing from Vietnam, if you draft people's kids, the people and their kids will eventually revolt.

Instead, the Pentagon has been given obscene amounts of money to bribe people into "volunteering" or signing on again and again. So, allow a big segment of American society to fall into inescapable poverty then "allow" them to volunteer for the military to get $30k signing bonuses, paid college tuition, career training..­.all very valuable..­.if you survive.

[willo]

Biden supported and gave succor to the people who launched this phony war. He's one of the guilty ones.

[BlueStateMan]

How so?

[Decipherer]

Yeah, do you think he knows the meaning of the word "succor?"

Biden and other Democrats voted to give Bush the authority to go to war ON Iraq, but "succor" on top of that? I don't think so.

Now, in the case of Joe Lieberman, that's an entirely different matter! "Succor" is his middle name.

[winwithoutrwar]

An old Chinese saying that when a powerful tiger (Bush army) falls into a dirty ditch (Iraq), all he can do is yelled and scratch at the rats and mosquitoes.

When the enemy hit and run, it is time we should reposition to fight them. The enemy is in Afghanistan along the Pakistan border.

It is an absurdity to prolong the Iraq war on a failed policy.

General Odom was right that there is not a single historical case where power has been aggregated successfully from local strong men to a central government except through bloody violence leading to a single winner, most often a dictator. That is the history pf feudal Europe's transformation to the age of absolute monarchy.

The best policy is to win without a war. show your strength through powerful economy (The goreign countries bought us up with our gas money), education and diplomacy .

[mimsnpips]

Are you suggesting a powerful economy will flush BinLaden out of the Afghan/Pakistani tribal areas? If so that is the absurdity.

[montemalone]

A strong economy would give the people fighting each other about religion something else to do. They have no money, no business, hence nothing to do but fight over religion.
It would be the same here if the religious nuts didn't have jobs.

[Grannysue]

For those idiots still supporting this Iraq mess, and calling the Democrats cowards, unpatriotic etc., then let's pull all the DEMOCRATIC soldiers out of Iraq and just leave the Republicons! Then you can have your WAR and send over all your kids to fight for the next 100 years, in the meantime we will try and put our country back together after the GOPERS leave the premise!

[SupremeIdiot]

If that actually happened then you' see the ranks of Democrats swell to nearly 100% of the population.

[scooperss]

LOL You got that right.

[HippieChick]

"let's pull all the DEMOCRATIC soldiers out of Iraq and just leave the Republicons"

Grannysue.­..seems reasonable to me!

[AdLib]

Grannysue, your brilliant suggestion inspired me, posted a variation above.

[lainey]

Senator Biden has a keen mind and strong sense of military. I believe in his assessment and hope that the people of America will take action to bring our soldiers home. We can do this, if we all speak out--not in polls, but in calls to Congress--because when they hear from us, they MUST act. Our country is at a critical juncture once again, and WE must come to realize that the power to make things right is in our hands. Bring them home...

[BlueStateMan]

He should be our next Sec. State.

[bumpersticker]

The character missing from the storyline is the first new Iraqi military pilot. He/She does not exist and will not exist because this is conquest and not liberation. Iraq is a protectorate of the United State by design. Cheney claimed we would be welcomed AS liberators - not that we WERE liberators.

[vippy]

Cannot win a war that was based on a lie, no matter how you hard you try. And 9/11, the in-house job
was wasted on this dilemma. It only served to get the support of the people until they realized they
were had.

[PACRAT]

Surge or Purge?

The so-called surge should be a purge - of Gen Petraeus and his ilk - since Cognress refuses to do its job and initiate impeachment procedures. Any intelligent person knew that it was a failure before it was even made public - like evertyhing else this administration has done in Iraq - and on the home front as well.

Just a few more months left - then the reconstruction of America has to start in earnest. And that includes the rebuilding of a nation unjustly destroyed as well as relations that previous political leaders had developed.

Free at last, free at last. Thank God we will be free at last (again)!

[ForeignAffairs]

Instead of debating the tactical success of the surge, wouldn't it be more useful to use Petraeus' testimony to review and analyze our larger Iraq policy objectives?

Here are some basic questions for General Petraeus:

Do you support Darcy Burner's Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq?

What sort of military victory or show of resolve in Iraq could possibly be so decisive that it frightens all terrorists so badly that they would never again dare to attack us? Why can"t U.S. spending to fight terrorism in Iraq be proportional to that of China, Russia, and the EU?

If you believe that we have a moral and strategic mandate to seize control of Iraqi oil resources, why should we sacrifice our blood and treasure to stabilize Iraq for benefit of Russia, China, and France, who already have big Iraqi oil contracts and contribute little or nothing to this fight? Why should we be so generous about financing and securing their energy future? What sort of Iraqi oil contracts and stewardship have we won after five years of fighting? Why can"t U.S. spending to secure Iraqi oil be proportional to that of China, Russia, and the EU?

In 2006, Iraq produced only 10% of our OPEC oil imports. Does it make us more secure to increase our dependence on Iraqi oil " as opposed to developing more sustainable solutions closer to home?

Do you have personal knowledge of impeachable offenses or war crimes that Congress should investigate?

[SupremeIdiot]

http://members.aol.com/warlibrary/draft.htm

For anyone who cares about military draft classifications during Viet Nam.

[IngeniousGirl]

and here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Service_System

[hopelessobama]

joe biden announced today that the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki were failures, ' we're still in japan, for 60 years now, clearly the bombings were a failure' said the senator.

[BlueStateMan]

Stupid post.

[forpeace]

*

hopelessobama
.........c­learly the bombings were a failure' said the senator.
===============

Sorry but YOUR logic sucks!

*

[SupremeIdiot]

Did the "surge" end a war like the Atomic bombs did? or has it helped to prolong an occupation?

[MsLiz]

Japan was researching the atom bomb, too. Not successfully, but they wanted it.

[AdLib]

Add your education to the list of failures.

[sodakhic]

You hit it exactly. These liberals would have declared D-day a complete disaster, 5,000 dead in one day, and later would have impeached Truman(democrat) for what he did to the Japanese. Bush, a C student, runs rings around these progressive liberals. His brilliant strategory to put troops in the most important part of the world has protected us for the last seven years.Alth­ough I do feel bad for some of the liberals, having to stand in soup lines

[BlueStateMan]

Nonsense.

"D-Day" was fought during a LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC Administration, dolt.

[SupremeIdiot]

So what you're saying is that because there hasn't been a terrorist attack on American soil in seven years that invading Iraq was a great thing.

Hmmmmmmmmm­..........­..........­....

So you've ignored the almost constant bombardment of the green zone, American soil btw.

You've also ignored several terrorist attacks on the American mainland by groups like the ELF (Earth Liberation Front). These attacks could have been avoided if our concentration wasn't elsewhere.

And you've ignored things like; There are more terrorists now than before the Iraq invasion; terrorist attacks have happened in other countries, Spain and England for example; Goals for Iraq, while constantly changing, have never been met; Our military is falling apart because of our occupation of Iraq; The Taliban and al Qaeda are still going strong; Why use up valuable resources attacking mainland America when it's so much easier to attack America in Iraq and at the same time train new operatives; and you're a moron without the sense God gave a cow.

have a nice day :D xxoo SI

[shockmagog]

"His brilliant strategory to put troops in the most important part of the world has protected us for the last seven years."

Hilariously brilliant.

[hopelessobama]

democrats take the time to spit on the soliders who have driven violence down nearly 80% all across iraq. you are failures, says joe biden, leading senate clown and total joke of a human being. he continued 'and though i've never served in uniform, i can clearly tell from inside by senate office that the surge is a failure'. yea joe, i'm sure 4 star general david petreaus, phd, doesn't know what he's doing. thanks joe!

[SupremeIdiot]

Wasn't Betrayus the commander in charge of training all those Iraqi's that went AWOL during the fighting in Basra last week?

Thanks Dave!

heh...

[nick1936]

You more than likely never served why is it that all you chicken hawks are for this war but won't join up and support our troops

[BlueStateMan]

Even MORE stupid.

[vippy]

Do tell me why McCain is refusing to sign the new GI Bill. We want the soldiers to die over in
Iraq and not get wounded for we have no money for them once they are back. 1 out of 4 VETS
is homeless and I don't see the GOP such as you coming for to help them. I guess flying 2 flags
on your car with a couple of ribbons in the back is the kind of support you feel good about.

[terramartom]

Just ask the simple question: If a foreign country invaded the USA, would you fight them regardless of what they offer to you or would you just do nothing? The USA is fighting a religious, ethnic and national Irac war. The war is a failure of the USA politicians. It was designed to make money! Not to Democratise anyone. That is the B.S. fed to the public. General Petreaus works for Bush, and his next job will be related to Bush but in the private sector. He will say what is good for himself. My stepson is in the Army, already served his first tour and will go back to Irac soon, My wife is Vietnamese and lived through the American war in Vietnam. Both wars are and were failures of "Political" men, not of the soldiers. We have ruined Irac and Irac will go through civil war the next decade or two because of USA Politicians, not because of soldiers. Soldiers don't make war ,Spinless, greedy, Chickenhawk Politicans do!

[scooperss]

Hell no he wouldn't. He'd expect YOU too while he hid under his bed in the basement of his mommy's house.

[hopelessobama]

so some clown in a senate office who likes 'good clean candidates' is rebutting the testimony of a general on the ground, actually in iraq, before he gives it? biden should be waterboarded for being a total waste of flesh and an embarassment to humankind.

[CarolinaDem]

Well, okay, but let's ask some neoconservative Republicans about competition, shall we? Should there be a monopoly on the presentation of information to Congress about the evaluation of the work product of the military? Should the military be the sole source of this evaluation? What does the General's uncontested authority as a witness to his own evaluation have to do with his rightfully uncontested authority over his troops? Putting honor in the wrong place is disgraceful all by itself. What, for example, would happen to an officer who knew things were a total failure and who dared to say so? No safe place for that? Then there have to be men and women who do as Biden has done.

[JessWonderin]

Ask General Joseph P.Hoar, General Ricardo Sanchez, Major Generals C.H. Swannack and Batiste, General Eric Shinseki and so many more that found the Bush reward for "truth" to be an end to any military career . . .

Betrayus sold his integrity for 4 (and soon 5) Stars to wear on the uniform he disgraces with his political pandering. He did such a great job training Maliki's Minions for FIVE years, that in the recent battle, most of the weapons they dropped were still clean and serviceable by the Sadr Militia - never fired, just wipe some dust off and use'm.

[bikerdude]

Betrayus should be thought of as a politician, not a general. He has stepped out of his military position to become the voice of bush....Li­sten to the other generals who are on the ground and who have first hand knowledge, unfettered by Republican talking points and you will find they agree with Senator Biden.

[SeriousBlack]

So, assuming you weren't just being sarcastic, you're one of those wingnuts that believes in torture, hmm? Very revealing.

[donkee]

**********­**********­**

100 YEARS IN IRAQ!!!!!!!!

**********­**********­**

I'm John McStupid

and I approve this message

heh...

[SupremeIdiot]

"Republicans say they are satisfied with the recent drop in violence and that more time is needed to improve the situation there."

Yep, they need more time. A hundred years in fact. Bring'em home.

[Raymondf]

nORTH cAROLINA WINS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP YIP PEEEEEEEEEEEE!

[donkee]

I'm too stupid to find my

CaPsLoCk key YIPPPP

EEEEEEEE

heh...

[SupremeIdiot]

I think we've found his particular 4f service dodge. Keystroke intolerent­.....

:D