RK ARCHIVE - John Warner Prepares to Do What Right Wingers Call "Cut and Run"

In other words, according to Senator Warner, the situation in Iraqis dire. And, according to Warner - a man of more integrity and courage in his pinky than George "Bush" Allen has in his whole body - if we don't make progress within 60-90 days (a "timetable," by the way), we need to look at all options (translation: strongly consider getting the hell out of there!).

Now, I think this makes a great deal of sense, certainly far more sense than the mindless, parrot-like squawkings of Bush and Allen and their dittoheads on talk radio and in the crazed "A-Team" blogosphere ("stay the course! squawk! stay the course! squawk! Polly wants a cracker! squawk!!!").

Look, we've been at Bush's (not-so) Excellent Adventure in Iraq now for over 3 1/2 years. What has it gotten us? Aside from hundreds of billions of dollars flushed down the toilet, thousands of brave American lives squandered, and an INCREASED risk of terrorist attack on America (according to the National Intelligence Estimate - NIE), the answer is this: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

Thank goodness Senator John Warner is starting to think of getting the hell out of there. Or, as right wingers love to say, in their mindlessly parrot-like and bullying way, "cut and run! cut and run!" Yeah, tell that to John Warner and see what he has to say about it.

Lowell Feld is Netroots Coordinator for the Jim Webb for US Senate Campaign. The ideas expressed here belong to Lowell Feld alone, and do not represent those of Jim Webb, his advisors, staff, or supporters.

Comments

Whittle and Shuffle on Home? (Bubby - 10/6/2006 8:11:01 AM)

I disagree strongly with those who suggest that we should leave [Iraq] precipitously.
George Allen

What kind of mealy mouth half baked comment is that? George Allen has been working the campaign trail this week saying that Jim Webb want to 'cut and run' from Iraq. Go to George Allen's web site and see if you can find a coherent Iraq Policy. Hint; you just read the entire Allen Iraq policy.

The statement above could have been made by James Webb but it would be followed by this indepth and detailed plan for dealing with the disaster called Iraq.

George Allen doesn't have a plan for Iraq. Why, because his boss, George Bush doesn't have a plan for Iraq, thats why.

It is worse than that Lowell (Bubby - 10/6/2006 9:06:48 AM)

Allen is traveling about Virginia, having his handlers bring out Gold Star mothers - mom's that have lost a child in the war, and pimping them. He lectures them that their sacrifice will be rewarded with "victory" in Iraq. What nonsense. George Allen has no plan for Iraq beyond a continued under-manned 'occupation' of a destroyed country in the midst of civil war. There is no victory for Iraq; George Allen owes Virginia's Gold Star mothers the truth, and an acknowledgement of his failure to lead. He owes Virginia an apology for his stubborn loyalty a failed war plan.

Thelma Drake is about the same as Allen on Iraq (beachmom - 10/6/2006 1:46:42 PM)

She has been making absurd remarks about Iraq "making progress" and how the Iraqis don't want us to leave. People like her and Allen need to be kicked out of Congress so that thinking people can be allowed to ask questions and help get this country out of this mess.

My view of John Warner is less charitable. (Bubby - 10/6/2006 8:40:01 AM)

Warner acknowledged that, before the invasion of Iraq, there was a lack of understanding among members of Congress about how much it would take to give Iraq full sovereignty. He blamed himself for not aggressively asking such questions before the war.

You didn't need to ask Senator Warner, all you had to do was listen to James Webb in September of 2002.

and warner had the utter gall to say (grrtigger - 10/6/2006 1:53:02 PM)

that Congress has conducted itself with a "high degree of vigilance" in its oversight of the Executive.

Give me a freakin' break. I'm writing some LTE this weekend to remind Senator Warner of specific instances where Congress has been a monumental failure in conducting that oversight.

Waffling Warner (K - 10/6/2006 9:52:35 AM)

Warner's been doing this sort of thing off and on through the Bush years: Sounding tough one day and acting like he really gives a shit about America, and then falling back into Bush bootlicker mode the next day.

If you believe his latest, then think back just a few weeks when he, McCain, and Graham acted like they gave a shit about America's honor and the Geneva Conventions.

And, if you still believe his shit, note how he says we may have to do something if nothing improves within the next "two or three months." Do you really think his "deadline" falling after the election has no significance?

I've been around long enough to remember when John Warner actually was a fairly honorable man, back when at least some Republicans, including Warner, cared about this country. Those days are long gone, buried beneath the rubble of the GOP war against America.

I think that's the point -- the election (beachmom - 10/6/2006 1:51:52 PM)

As soon as Nov. 7th has rolled by, look for Warner to call for a withdrawal of American troops. He's not going to be seen as torpedoing his party's electoral chances for '06, but I don't see him staying mum on this subject once Bush is a complete lame duck, and Republicans can officially distance themselves from him.

I think Warner has been against this war for a long time. He had a colloquy with Kerry back in June, and they debated and discussed all aspects of the Kerry/Feingold amendment that set a date of 7/1/07 for troops to be withdrawn. I had the distinct feeling that Warner was playing devil's advocate and really agreed with Kerry. His remarks today make me more sure of that.

The problem with honor lies with the Republican party. Warner is loyal to his party, and that's what limits him.

What Leaders Inside Iraq Are Saying (PM - 10/6/2006 10:11:15 AM)

It's a complicated article that I cannot do justice to. It's worth reading -- my take: our presence there is part of the problem---

BAGHDAD, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Political paralysis and in-fighting is impeding the ability of Iraq's Shi'ite-led national unity government to tackle rampant violence and economic woes, an Iraqi Shi'ite leader said.
Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi agreed with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's assertion on Thursday that factional wrangling had led to a dangerous stalemate inside the ruling coalition.
But Mahdi, one of two vice presidents and a senior Shi'ite Islamist, said U.S. involvement in Iraq was an important contributor to the problem.

http://www.alertnet....

how we can use it (Arlington Mike - 10/6/2006 11:42:15 AM)

Whether I like John Warner or not, I think the Webb campaign should use this.

The Iraq War is one of the campaign's central issues, and amidst the macaca, n-word, etc. nonsense, I would like to see the campaign get back to that.

There's an opportunity here for Webb's team to say, pretty strongly, something like:

"Jim Webb has called for a new direction in Iraq, because we have weakened our ability to fight terrorism and protect our country. The National Intelligence Estimate agreed, saying that the Iraq War has made us more vulnerable. Senator John Warner now says our government needs to determine if we need a change of course. George Allen? He supports the President's failed strategy and strongly disagrees with Jim Webb, who wants a new plan in Iraq. George Allen doesn't understand that American lives are at risk and that our country's security should be our priority. Jim Webb does."

It's time to nail these guys on this myth that "staying the course" is the best approach. And it's time to do it with aggressive language that shows that when something is a failure, you only make it worse by refusing to adapt, try new strategies and solve problems rather than pretend they don't exist.

Kellam campaign (Arlington Mike - 10/6/2006 12:16:56 PM)

I've been thinking even more about this, and I think the Kellam campaign should really use Warner’s comments after his trip to Iraq to their advantage. Warner is well-liked in Virginia, and his expertise and reputation makes him a powerful voice that people in the Tidewater’s military community will listen to. If Kellam’s team gets out there and frames this right, they can position Drake on the opposite side of Warner very effectively.

I’d really like to see someone ask Thelma on the record, “do you believe Senator Warner is wrong on Iraq?” If it’s done right, it will appeal to some swing voters who see Warner as having credibility. And it will force Drake either to state that Warner is wrong or that maybe we do need a change – meaning she’s either going against a popular Senator with real expertise, or she’s flip-flopping and not being honest.

Irag is going so well. . . (PM - 10/6/2006 2:45:08 PM)

http://www.nytimes.c...

BAGHDAD, Oct. 5 — Wearing a helmet and a flak jacket and flanked by machine-gun-toting bodyguards to defend against insurgents, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came here Thursday, insisting that there were new signs of progress in Iraq and that the Bush administration had never sugarcoated its news about the American occupation.***
Yet signs of progress were not much in evidence in the first hours of her visit.
It began inauspiciously when the military transport plane that brought her to Baghdad was forced to circle the city for about 40 minutes because of what a State Department spokesman later said was either mortar fire or rockets at the airport.
On Thursday evening, during her meeting with President Jalal Talabani, the lights went out, forcing Ms. Rice to continue the discussion in the dark. It was a reminder of the city’s erratic — and sometimes nonexistent — electrical service.

The Cost in Peoples' Lives (Catzmaw - 10/7/2006 5:46:21 PM)

Want an idea of the cost of this war? Look at this article from the Washington Post:

http://www.washingto...

It's easy for Allen to talk about victory or death. He's not there and neither are any of his loved ones.