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Originally Posted by aceventura3
I see the Iraqi war the same way. Democrats gave Bush the authority to use force. As soon as he did, they started bitching and complaining. The difference is that the bitching and complaining gives comfort to the enemy making things more difficult. At this point Democrats need to shut the f*** up and help row.
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I wonder how many Republicans will not shut the f*** up and will join with the majority of the country and stop "rowing".
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Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
I think what the president said last night — and I listened carefully and read through it again this morning — is all about a broadened American involvement — escalation — in Iraq and the Middle East. I do not agree with that escalation.
And I would further note that when you say, as you have here this morning, that we need to address and help the Iraqis and pay attention to the fact that Iraqis are being killed, Madam Secretary, Iraqis are killing Iraqis. We are in a civil war. This is sectarian violence out of control; Iraqi on Iraqi.
Worst, it is inner-sectarian violence; Shia killing Shia.
To ask our young men and women to sacrifice their lives to be put in the middle of a civil war is wrong.
It’s, first of all, in my opinion, morally wrong. It’s tactically, strategically, militarily wrong.
So, Madam Secretary, when you set in motion the kind of policy that the president is talking about here, it’s very, very dangerous. As a matter of fact, I have to say, Madam Secretary, that I think this speech given last night by this president represents the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam — if it’s carried out.
I will resist it.
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Sen. Norm Coleman (R, MN)
“[Coleman] said today after a two-day trip to Iraq that he would not support an increase in the number of soldiers in Baghdad. He said he would ’stand against’ any effort to send a surge of more troops to Baghdad unless there’s a clear vision that it will help end sectarian violence in the city. ‘I think it would create more targets. I think we would put more life at risk,’ he said.”
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Sen. Kit Bond (R, MO)
“What good is that going to do? I have seen nothing so far that would push me to think a surge is a good idea.”
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Sen. Susan Collins (R, ME)
“‘I don’t think the addition of new American troops in a situation plagued by sectarian strife is the answer,’ Collins said. ‘I think more American troops will present more American targets.’
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Sen. Gordon Smith (R, OR)
“I, for one, am at the end of my rope when it comes to supporting a policy that has our soldiers patrolling the same streets in the same way being blown up by the same bombs day after day. That is absurd. It may even be criminal. I cannot support that any more. I believe we need to figure out not just how to leave Iraq but how to fight the War on Terror and to do it right.”
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Sen. Olympia Snowe (R, ME)
“After almost a year, the Iraqi government has yet to disarm the militias, establish oil revenue sharing or conduct provincial elections,” said Sen. Olympia Snowe, a Republican, in an e-mailed statement.
Snowe added: “We should not place more American servicemen and women in harm’s way to instill a peace that the Iraqis are not willing to seek for themselves.”
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Sen. George Voinovich (R, OH)
“At this point I am skeptical that a surge in troops alone will bring an end to sectarian violence and the insurgency that is fomenting instability in Iraq,” Voinovich said. “The generals who have served there do not believe additional troops alone will help. And my faith in Prime Minister al-Maliki’s political will to make the hard choices necessary to bring about a political solution is fragile at best.
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Sen. John Warner (R, VA)
“An ‘undefined surge concept is one that I would have to see a lot of strong rationale before I could support it,’ said Sen. John Warner, R-Va., the former Senate Armed Services Committee chairman. ...the former chairman also paraphrased the testimony of Army Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of all U.S. forces in the region, before the committee last November, stating that the general did not believe that additional U.S. troops in Iraq would necessarily help the situation on the ground.”
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Perhaps the "rowing" should be more aptly described as "flapping their arms in the wind", risking more American lives and getting nowhere
"The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind"
__________________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire
Last edited by dc_dux; 01-11-2007 at 04:03 PM..
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