Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - "support our troops" offensive to troops?

dc_dux · 02-05-2007, 04:00 PM

The two arguments from the "stay the course" (aka "new way forward" surge and hold) crowd here that I find have the least intellectual honesty are:

Powerclown's contention that opposing the surge is anti-troop:

"The time for dissent has passed. Congress has debated, and they have spoken. Our troops are in place and under fire. It is now (or was) the Public's job to express approval for the mission of the troops."

Dissent is at the foundation of our democracy. Is is the public's job to hold their political leaders accountable for their policies and actions, particurlarly when those policies are based on lies and their subsequent actions are managed ineptly and irresponsibly (with the the troops as their pawns). To suggest otherwise is simply a means to demonize those with whom you disagree with no basis of fact.

Greg's inference of a "pull-out now" as the only alternative:

I think that regardless of past misadventures or conquests, the US has placed itself firmly in a position where to pull out of Iraq now would cause far more harm to come to the Iraqi people and would be decidedly against our national best interests because the whole region would be likely to decay as a result of the internal strife in Iraq.

There are other options - the Biden plan, the Iraq Study Group plan, and mostly recently the Obama plan (The Iraq War De-escalation Act of 2007).

Where I fault the Dems and those who oppose the "surge" policy are not having the balls to stand behind one of these (or other) real alternatives.

The new NIE for Iraq (summary pdf) paints a pretty pestimistic assessment of current conditions and the short-term future, regardless of options.

Time for me to hop off this merry-go-round of a discussion.

02-05-2007, 04:00 PM	#136 (permalink)
dc_dux Location: Washington DC	The two arguments from the "stay the course" (aka "new way forward" surge and hold) crowd here that I find have the least intellectual honesty are: Powerclown's contention that opposing the surge is anti-troop: "The time for dissent has passed. Congress has debated, and they have spoken. Our troops are in place and under fire. It is now (or was) the Public's job to express approval for the mission of the troops." Dissent is at the foundation of our democracy. Is is the public's job to hold their political leaders accountable for their policies and actions, particurlarly when those policies are based on lies and their subsequent actions are managed ineptly and irresponsibly (with the the troops as their pawns). To suggest otherwise is simply a means to demonize those with whom you disagree with no basis of fact. Greg's inference of a "pull-out now" as the only alternative: I think that regardless of past misadventures or conquests, the US has placed itself firmly in a position where to pull out of Iraq now would cause far more harm to come to the Iraqi people and would be decidedly against our national best interests because the whole region would be likely to decay as a result of the internal strife in Iraq. There are other options - the Biden plan, the Iraq Study Group plan, and mostly recently the Obama plan (The Iraq War De-escalation Act of 2007). Where I fault the Dems and those who oppose the "surge" policy are not having the balls to stand behind one of these (or other) real alternatives. The new NIE for Iraq (summary pdf) paints a pretty pestimistic assessment of current conditions and the short-term future, regardless of options. Time for me to hop off this merry-go-round of a discussion. __________________ "The perfect is the enemy of the good." ~ Voltaire Last edited by dc_dux; 02-05-2007 at 04:42 PM..