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The Escalation Didn't Work
The escalation failed to do the one and only thing it was supposed to do. The entire Iraq policy of George W. Bush has failed since the fall of Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad. No amount of parsing or spinning can change those simple facts: the escalation is and was the wrong answer.
I chaired a hearing on the GAO Report yesterday, the report that stated that Iraqi civilians overall aren't any safer, that the political benchmarks aren't being met in Iraq, that, in short, none of the rationales for the escalation in Iraq have come to pass. It unfolds with maddening, enraging regularity: the Administration claims goals for their policy, they gradually back off of those goals and substitute smaller, less easily measured goals, and then muddy the waters hopelessly on whether even those modest new goals have been met. Time and again we've been through this.
That's why the Congress set up some clear benchmarks to measure what's happening in Iraq. Mitch McConnell praised the "clarity" those benchmarks brought to the debate. "Just wait until September," they all said. "We put in these meaningful benchmarks, we can judge in September."
Well, how do they judge those benchmarks now? Only three of 18 have been met. Another four were "partially met," which sounds like a "Gentleman's C" if I've ever heard of one (and, for anyone who saw my college transcript, I have).
Judgment time is here, and the only verdict is the same one we had in January, the same one we've had for a long time in Iraq: the Bush policy is a tragic failure. It's a policy that not only isn't working; it can't work. A political solution in Iraq cannot come about without a clear deadline on where our troops will be pulling out. Only Iraqis can end this civil war, and they aren't - and won't be - making any progress with an open-ended, massive presence by our military in their country.
The White House has tried, with some success, to focus everyone's attention in the media on the report they are writing, the report they used to call the Petraeus Report. But, at least judging from press reports, unfortunately, this report already seems to be controversial and solely focused on military measures. (No surprise - now, thanks in large measure to some good old fashioned muckraking out here in the blogosphere, we know that even the so-called Petraeus Report will be written not by the General, not by our Ambassador in Baghdad, but by the White House-- the White House which has again and again avoided the kind of plain, unadorned facts discussed in the GAO report.)
Look, I know from experience that there's no such thing as a military solution to a situation like this, and no amount of "metrics" can create one. Our own generals have always confirmed this about Iraq. And by the way -- go read all of the statements at the time about the "reason" for the escalation - it was to buy political breathing room for Iraqis to compromise. Period. It hasn't happened. So it all boils down to the same thing: these are more "steps" that don't get you any closer to your real goals, "successes" that don't lead to any resolution.
This White House ran out of credibility on Iraq a long long time ago. This is not the first time we've been told one thing only to learn another (Weapons of mass destruction? Greeted as liberators? Saddam's oil revenue to pay for the war and reconstruction?), so, predictably, instead of an honest appraisal of the escalation, this White House is again moving the goalposts and shifting criteria-- and they are doing it as the moment of accountability arrives. Their response to bad news has been and continues to be: simply change the story. What they can't change is the fact that time is not on our side. It's wrong to sacrifice over 100 American lives each month for a policy we know is not working.
So here's where we stand: Republicans asked for clarity in this debate and swore up and down that, this time, they were serious. When September came around, they'd look at the facts and make a sober assessment on the merits of the policy in Iraq. Well, those facts are in. We need to keep up the pressure on them.
I'll be working continuously this month trying to set a deadline to force a new policy in Iraq. I'll try to stop by as often as I can this month with ways you can, if you choose, put the pressure on the Roadblock Republicans to force them to take a new tack. In the end, it's been sustained action by millions of activists that have gotten us this far, and it's only through the loud voices of those activists that we can get what's right - an end to the Bush doctrine in Iraq, and a policy worthy of our soldiers' sacrifice.
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According to the Bush Administration and THE GENERALS ON THE GROUND:
June 24, 2003, President Bush declared al-Qaeda's leadership largely defunct
2003 Mission Accomplished
2004 We are making PROGRESS
2005 We are in the LAST THROES
2006 We should be able to draw down troops starting in Sept 2006
2007 January: A Surge of 22,500 will show significant results by July 2007
2007 July: We are making progress, wait until September
2007 September: We are making progress, wait until September 2008. We have only had the "SURGE" for 3 months.
If we STAY THE COURSE for one more year only 1000 more American Troops will die, 6000 more American Troops will be Wounded, 2500 Iraqi Security Forces will be killed, 10,000 Iraqi Security Forces will be Wounded, 15,000 more Iraqi Civilians will be KILLED, 40,000 more Iraqi Civilians will be wounded, 750,000 more Iraqis will be displaced from their homes, the Iraqi Parliament will meet 3 more of the 2007 benchmarks, still less than 50% of the 18 benchmarks and The GENERALS on the GROUND will report they are making progress and ask for 1 more year. The Bush Administration will ask for anther $200 Billion for 2009.
WAKE UP AMERICA! We should not have our Military trying to referee a CIVIL WAR in a country where democracy is a FOREIGN WORD and may NEVER be achieved.
According to the Bush Administration and THE GENERALS ON THE GROUND:
June 24, 2003, President Bush declared al-Qaeda's leadership largely defunct
2003 Mission Accomplished
2004 We are making PROGRESS
2005 We are in the LAST THROES
2006 We should be able to draw down troops starting in Sept 2006
2007 January: A Surge of 22,500 will show significant results by July 2007
2007 July: We are making progress, wait until September
2007 September: We are making progress, wait until September 2008. We have only had the "SURGE" for 3 months.
If we STAY THE COURSE for one more year only 1000 more American Troops will die, 6000 more American Troops will be Wounded, 2500 Iraqi Security Forces will be killed, 10,000 Iraqi Security Forces will be Wounded, 15,000 more Iraqi Civilians will be KILLED, 40,000 more Iraqi Civilians will be wounded, 750,000 more Iraqis will be displaced from their homes, the Iraqi Parliament will meet 3 more of the 2007 benchmarks, still less than 50% of the 18 benchmarks and The GENERALS on the GROUND will report they are making progress and ask for 1 more year. The Bush Administration will ask for anther $200 Billion for 2009.
WAKE UP AMERICA! We should not have our Military trying to referee a CIVIL WAR in a country where democracy is a FOREIGN WORD and may NEVER be achieved.
Right message, Senator, wrong target.
80% of Senate Democrats voted just a few months ago to give Bush every penny he wanted for Iraq. The Democrats could have stopped it then, or at least slowed it down. I know you voted against the supplemental, and thank you for that, but the vast majority of Democrats supported Bush. Please get your own party's house in order before you go after the Republicans.
Dear Senator Kerry,
This congress, your congress, has been judged by the public and found to be an abject failure. If you don't believe that, look at the polls.
Now I'm going to PLEAD with you. Moderator? I'm not going to attack, demean, etc. I'd like a chance to PLEAD with him.
Please, please, Senator Kerry. Do something about balancing the budget and out of control democratic party spending. Stop it. Fix it. Start a movement to balance the budget. HELP US, don't TAX US, Help us!
Please, please, form a BI-Partisan committee to FIX SOCIAL SECURITY. WE all aren't as rich as you and our social security program is moving toward utter collapse...PLEASE WORK TO REALLY FIX IT. Don't "protect" it...FIX IT. This is what America wants, you know it, help us.
Please, move congress to FIX MEDICARE. Not a patch, not more benifits, it's broken, it's promised too much, we need it, fix it.
Please, please, we need a national health care plan for America. ONe that makes sense. Not a massive take over, not another huge, broken, socialist welfare program. Just health care for those without. Basic, in line with our capitalist market system, in line with what works, lets avoid what is failing overseas. We need your help.
Please senator Kerry....start a movement to fix the hard things, to do the hard domestic things both parties have been avoiding for years.
It's time to end propaganda and to get to work.
"Roadblock Republicans?" Really?
Who is putting up more of a roadblock? "Impeachment is off the table Pelosi" for example.
Voters gave the Dems a green light. Right? But what did they do?
They (Dems, and ostensibly you Kerry) put up a roadblock to constitutional justice. And only when we reinstate that (constitutional justice) will the roadblocks you speak of be removed.
It's time (past time actually) for this administration to be held accountable for its crimes and misdemeanors. Not doing so is a major roadblock. Republican, Democrat, or otherwise.
Respectfully speaking,
Debi
While the Washington political class runs around blaming Iraq for not pacifying itself, has anyone stopped to wonder if the people of Iraq haven't figured out that if the do pacify themselves, the US troops will never leave?
When that happy day arrives, the US will withdraw to your 14 permanent bases and the world's largest embassy, and settle in for the long haul.
The only hope Iraq has of ever being free of US occupation is to stay unruly until you get tired of spending the billion a day and 80 lives a month, and pull out completely.
I think a couple of my posts were lost. One was the observation that eventually every empire spends more of its resources in its efforts to dominate others than it gains from that domination. Thus, while a few grow wealthi(er), the nation hollows out and the strain becomes too great to maintain. That is how all empires fall. America will be no exception.
The other asked why American taxpayers keep sending Billions to Israel each year, regardless of the party in power, and in spite of the facts that (1) we get nothing in return, (2) unconditioned support for a regime that is constantly aggressive, practices human rights violations, and refuses to make peace, can only make us hated by its victims, and (3) this is against American law due to Israel's nuclear weaponry.
You say potato and I say potahto ... and so it goes on and on and on. It's time you people in Congress got on the stick and cut the funding for this horrible war. It's never been made clear why the US invaded Iraq. It's never been made clear why the President decided to disband the entire Iraqi army instead of putting it to work for its country. It's never been made clear just who we're supposed to be fighting in this War on Terror. It always seemed to me that war is between nations. Terror is not a nation. I have never been able to locate it on a map. So why are we so busy inflaming the entire Middle East when we know full well that the more we do that, the worse things will get? Come on, folks, let's get real here and stop all BS.
Kerry is right to say that we need a "new policy," but we want to make sure that the new policy is not a compromise that results in a worthless non-binding vote. We must let the members of Congress know we are serious when we say we want them to stand up to the Administration Madness. A group of older women in the Bay Area formed a group called Grandmothers Against the War, and our activities have energized our community-- and ourselves. Start an activist group in your area. We will help with advice and free materials. Check us out at www.gawba.org and contact us at 510-845-3915 or info@gawba.org
It's all stalling, to keep the scam going. Has been from the beginning.
It's been and is a con game, plain and simple. They are raking in all kinds of taxpayer's dollars that are being squirreled away somewhere else out of the country.
I live in a state with two recalcitrant Republican Senators. My district has a Republican representative. If anything is going to happen it is going to happen because Democrats find their backbone, refuse to be frightened into caving to the will of an unpopular and unwise president.
Nothing I can do here in Kansas will be as vital to our republic as what the Democratic members of the house and senate can do by finally standing strong and standing up to the bully. Don't give in. Fight to end the war!
Senator, granted that the escalation didn't work, what has this taught you and your colleagues about the next escalation, this time against Iran?
There are strong indications of an impending nuclear attack on Iran, including the "accidental" movement of nuclear weapons from Minot AFB to the HQ of our nuclear strike force at Barksdale AFB, as reported in most media, and the sudden movement of 250 Air Force logistics and air control personnel from Japan and Okinawa to the Mideast, as reported by Stars and Stripes today.
A strike against Iran, particularly one involving tactical nuclear weapons, may well start a cascading series of events that turns most of the planet against the US, with serious consequences for our future security and national well-being. If leaders in Congress aren't prepared to stand against what appears to be a done-deal in the Administration, what good are they? Why should anyone in the country pay any attention to or provide any support for what you or your colleagues say or do?
Senator, granted that the escalation didn't work, what has this taught you and your colleagues about the next escalation, this time against Iran?
There are strong indications of an impending nuclear attack on Iran, including the "accidental" movement of nuclear weapons from Minot AFB to the HQ of our nuclear strike force at Barksdale AFB, as reported in most media, and the sudden movement of 250 Air Force logistics and air control personnel from Japan and Okinawa to the Mideast, as reported by Stars and Stripes today.
A strike against Iran, particularly one involving tactical nuclear weapons, may well start a cascading series of events that turns most of the planet against the US, with serious consequences for our future security and national well-being. If leaders in Congress aren't prepared to stand against what appears to be a done-deal in the Administration, what good are they? Why should anyone in the country pay any attention to or provide any support for what you or your colleagues say or do?
In 1991 the country went into Iraq to maintain control of oil, and in this Iraq conflict its the same issue. We as a country are addicted to oil. The Iraqi people were promised that water, electricity, and buildings would be rebuilt, instead contracts were awarded to companies with no intention of follow through. The new elected goverment in Iraq was supposed to settle disputes and begin to bring all the groups toward a common goal. Now the President thinks a new PM might be in order, to take direction from the President. The surge could have worked if troups had been re-deployed to problem areas and put everything the military had into it. We will be in Iraq for a minimum of 10 years, and have a military force there in some capacity forever, in order to keep control on that oil reserve. What happens after an attack on Iran will change the dynamics in Iraq and the Middle East. We don't have the military strength (numbers), the equipment, or the money to sustain 3 wars running at the same time. But it just may be what the future holds.
Senator, Iraq aside for a moment, what is it you and your colleagues are prepared to do -- or are doing -- to prevent the President from launching another war, this one against Iran?
There are strong indications of an impending nuclear attack on Iran, including the "accidental" movement of nuclear weapons from Minot AFB to the HQ of our nuclear strike force at Barksdale AFB, as reported in most media, and the sudden movement of 250 Air Force logistics and air control personnel from Japan and Okinawa to the Mideast, as reported by Stars and Stripes today.
A strike against Iran, particularly one involving tactical nuclear weapons, may well start a cascading series of events that turns most of the planet against the US, with serious consequences for our future security and national well-being. If leaders in Congress aren't prepared to stand against what appears to be a done-deal in the Administration, what good are they? Why should anyone in the country pay any attention to or provide any support for what you or your colleagues say or do?
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