Post #83

Subject: A secret unauthorized leak of the advance copy of Gen. Petraues‘ September report

No, not really. I do not have friends in high places or low places. But I do know what Gen. David Petraues will say: “The surge is working. We have made progress. We have not made enough progress to leave, but we have made enough progress to justify staying.”

Bill Bennett would not bet against my tea leave reading! :p

Of course, Petraues will hit all the high spots in defending George W. Bush’s folly – Bush said, “Our goal is a democratic Iraq that upholds the rule of law, respects the rights of its people, provides them security, and is an ally in the war on terror.” But Petraues will duck the crucial question: Of Bush’s stated goals, which one(s) is/are an appropriate use of our military?

Bush just wants to leave office with troops in Iraq. The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, “The President said in his comments that he did not believe in timelines, and he spoke out very forcefully against them. Yet in 1999, on June 5, then-Governor Bush said about President Clinton, I think it‘s important for the President to lay out a timetable as to how long [the troops] will be involved, and when they would be withdrawn. Despite his past statements, President Bush refuses to apply the same standard to his own activity.” And he’s relying on Petraues to give him cover.

Bush wants to prolong the war – he can’t admit that he made a mistake. And our military is paying the price. He took us to war unnecessarily – Iraq did not attack us, did not threaten us and did not want war with us. He took us to war without a plan to stabilize Iraq – Bush did not plan to fail; he failed to plan. He took us to war without enough troops and without the right equipment for the troops we did send or the proper care for those who came home wounded.

Now, by continuing this war indefinitely, he is sending soldiers back on third and fourth tours; extending the time they spend in Iraq; abolishing the practice of keeping them home for a year between tours; and diverting the National Guard and Reserve from critical missions here at home. Can ya say Greensburg, Kansas?

Bush has declared war against his own – our – Army. And he claims that those who criticize his conduct of the war are undermining our troops and emboldening the enemy. Doesn’t Bush realize that emboldening the enemy is the one mission his failed policy has accomplished?

Aaahhh – but we are fighting them “over there” so we don’t have to fight them “over here.” Six foreign-born Muslims were arrested and accused Tuesday of plotting to attack the Army's Fort Dix and massacre scores of U.S. soldiers – a plot the FBI says was foiled when the men took a video of themselves firing assault weapons to a store to have the footage put onto a DVD. A New Jersey store clerk noticed the suspicious video. Um, what does Bush’s criminal crime-fighting powers have to do with this? More importantly, why didn’t the surge in Baghdad stop this?

Petraues knows….