Slick DNC/Murtha

[Annie]

http://www.donaldsensing.com/index.php/2005/11/23/what-the-dems-are-really-up-to/

What the Dems are really up to
by Donald Sensing

The attacks on the administration by the Democrats have consisted of two prongs. First the accusations that the president lied about the prewar intelligence in order to game the country into war. I wrote about that here.

The other prong is to demand that the troops be brought home immediately. Rep. John Murtha was not the first Democrat to demand it, but he has gotten the most attention.

Both factions insist that “staying the course” is unacceptable. Murtha, incredibly for someone of his experience, insists we are actually losing in Iraq and that there is no recourse but to skedaddle.

But Murtha isn’t that stupid. He’s talked to too many senior military officers not to know what staying the course really means. More and more I see Murtha’s impassioned speech as less passion and more stage acting, part of a deliberate effort to promote his party in the coming year leading to the mid-term elections.

Because staying the course means withdrawing the troops.

Barring any major surprises in Iraq, the Pentagon tentatively plans to reduce the number of U.S. forces there early next year by as many as three combat brigades, from 18 now, but to keep at least one brigade “on call” in Kuwait in case more troops are needed quickly, several senior military officers said.

Pentagon authorities also have set a series of “decision points” during 2006 to consider further force cuts that, under a “moderately optimistic” scenario, would drop the total number of troops from more than 150,000 now to fewer than 100,000, including 10 combat brigades, by the end of the year, the officers said.​

Folks, you are dreaming if you think this plan was a midnight-oil project since Murtha or his fellow attacks dogs began biting. As I have said since at least 2003, the administration’s management of post-conquered Iraq can be fairly criticized. But the idea that this administration ever envisioned a permanent, or ven enduring, presence in Iraq of 150,000 or so troops in Iraq is simply hysterical. (I personally doubt that Bush & Co. ever thought there would be this many troops still there today, which is another fair point of criticism.)

Its no coincidence that the Democrats have raised their voices so loudly just before the Pentagon was ready to announce these withdrawals. (Whether DOD actually wanted to announce this soon is open to conjecture.) All members of the Congress who are on the concerned committees receive detailed, classified briefings and information about the progress of the war and the overall strategy, of which this is a pretty good summary:

The war plan, for good or ill has never been to occupy the country. It’s always been the plan for the Iraqis to provide security in their own country. ...

Instead of installing a puppet government, we’ve spent 2.5 years building up an Iraqi one. ... In other words, instead of going into Iraq and trying to run the country … we’ve done the minimal amount of work to keep Iraq in a holding pattern until the Iraqis could run it.

[Quoting a DOD source:] We can confirm that the plan is, in fact, to reduce the size of Coalition Forces in country in 2006. It’s big news inasmuch as the Iraqis are increasing the size and strength of their footprint and, by the same token, we’re reducing ours.
​

So, knowing that the plan was to redeploy troops beginning next year, the Democrats decided to get in front of the wave: Demand the troops be sent home NOW and then when the Pentagon announces the plan to redeploy, take credit for it.

The two prongs of the attack serve two purposes. The “Bush lied us into war” wing satisfies the huge numbers of the party’s base suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome. The “declare victory and go home” attack preserves, however weakly, the party’s appeal to traditionally patriotic Democratic voters, of which there are also huge numbers. Doubtless the Dem leadership sees the attacks as a two-fer.

The appeals to both wings are intended to garner huge dividends in November 2006.

With any president but George W. Bush, they’d be wrong. But GWB is the easiest president to blind side that I have seen in my life. The fact is, the Dem plan is working like a dream for them. GWB has been simply flattened by this one-two punch. For someone whose allies say can play rope-a-dope politically better than M. Ali could in the ring, he and his advisors have been amazingly inept in meeting this strategy.

In fact, I wonder whether the “Bush lied” attacks were intended simply to be diversionary all along. While the White House was ducking and weaving that powerful left-hand punch, then trying to hit back, it got caught flat-footed by the roundhouse right, led by Murtha. (I guess I’m into boxing analogies tonight.) The Republicans were left sputtering about how an immediate withdrawal as Murtha called for would be disastrous for Iraq and the war on terror, which is true enough on both counts – but the apotheosis of Republican ridiculousness was reached when a Congresswoman Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio)

... told the House she had a message from a Marine Corps reservist in her district. “He… asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message: that cowards cut and run. Marines never do.”​

Murtha, of course, is a Vietnam vet with two Purple hearts, the V for valor, the whole nine yards. Massachusetts Democrat Martin Meehan yelled at the Republicans, “You guys are pathetic!”

And in this case Meehan was right.

Be prepared next year for the Democrats to take credit for and campaign on rescuing the country from the Iraq quagmire as US troop levels are reduced. And if the security situation in Iraq does not permit significant reductions, well, that will work fine, too. It’ll be back to the charges of mismangement of a manipulated war.

So we have the Bush administration lying supinely about while the opposing party steals its military strategy and makes it their own. Bush is being co-opted and he seems not even to be aware of it because he seems not to know what the main threat really is..

 

[ProudVet]

Murtha, of course, is a Vietnam vet with two Purple hearts, the V for valor, the whole nine yards. Massachusetts Democrat Martin Meehan yelled at the Republicans, “You guys are pathetic!”

Although I do appreciate and respect the 37 years this man served in the Marines I do have some problems with his Bronze Star W/V and the two Purple Hearts from Viet Nam. When he was assigned to Viet Nam he was a senior intelligence officer and I do know for a fact I have never heard of a senior intelligence officer being anywhere near a combat situation which is what the "V" for valor represents. I also question his Purple Hearts in Viet Nam the same as I questioned John Kerry's "Purple Hearts" from his "heroism".

I am sure you all know I have all the respect in the world for their service but I have also seen records pumped up with these kind of awards to further some other agenda such as politics.

When I arrived in Viet Nam in August of 1966 and was assigned to an infantry company in the 1st Cav our company clerk was a PFC as I was. When the clerk rotated out of the country he was a Staff Sergeant with a Silver Star, a Bronze Star W/V, and a Purple heart. Funny thing was he never saw a minute outside the base camp at An Khe, a very secure area.

I am not cynical, I just know these things happen and the people like Murtha and Kerry are the first people to throw these awards in people's faces in an effort to give them credibility.

I'm sure many other veterans have seen the same thing.

 

[Gunny]

http://www.donaldsensing.com/index.php/2005/11/23/what-the-dems-are-really-up-to/

The problem I have with this whole thing is just WHAT does Murtha's service in the Corps have to do with his statements on the Senate floor as an alected official? I know plenty of damned-good combat vets I wouldn't hesitate to serve with again, but at the same time wouldn't vote for them to be CEO of Chrysler.

The second he was criticized for his political statement, the Dems pulled the "you're attacking a Marine who served honorably yada, yada, yada.

I don't recall ANYONE attacking his service as a Marine.

This not-even-good subterfuge is just getting s-o-o-o old.

 

[Annie]

The problem I have with this whole thing is just WHAT does Murtha's service in the Corps have to do with his statements on the Senate floor as an alected official? I know plenty of damned-good combat vets I wouldn't hesitate to serve with again, but at the same time wouldn't vote for them to be CEO of Chrysler.

The second he was criticized for his political statement, the Dems pulled the "you're attacking a Marine who served honorably yada, yada, yada.

I don't recall ANYONE attacking his service as a Marine.

This not-even-good subterfuge is just getting s-o-o-o old.

Exactly! They are trying to make it impossible to refute anything said, that's why he was put out there with the message. It's also demonstrates that while the Dems may lack ideas, they sure know politics.

 

[ProudVet]

The problem I have with this whole thing is just WHAT does Murtha's service in the Corps have to do with his statements on the Senate floor as an alected official? I know plenty of damned-good combat vets I wouldn't hesitate to serve with again, but at the same time wouldn't vote for them to be CEO of Chrysler.

The second he was criticized for his political statement, the Dems pulled the "you're attacking a Marine who served honorably yada, yada, yada.

I don't recall ANYONE attacking his service as a Marine.

This not-even-good subterfuge is just getting s-o-o-o old.

I agree Gunny, I probably didn't say it as well as you did. I am just so sick of this "look at my record as a veteran" crap like that is supposed to make him a God of sorts that has all the right answers.

I only spent my three years in as Army Airborne Infantry but the year with the Cav was enough to be able to tell a leader from someone flaunting his record like Murtha and Kerry.

Personally I think Bush is a great leader of this country and he only spent time in the reserves but at least he didn't lie about it or throw something false in our faces. I didn't say he was a great president but I do give him high marks in that catagory also, but I do believe he is a natural leader and I would follow the man in an instant.

 

[manu1959]

in 45 years whenever i have met someone that leads with their credentials as justifiction of their opinion 9 times out of 10 they are full of shit

 

[ProudVet]

in 45 years whenever i have met someone that leads with their credentials as justifiction of their opinion 9 times out of 10 they are full of shit

Now that is as true a statement as I've heard in a long time but you can bump that up to 58 years my friend because I've seen the same.

 

[manu1959]

Now that is as true a statement as I've heard in a long time but you can bump that up to 58 years my friend because I've seen the same.

I thought the hypocrisy of my post covered all the bases but you sure topped me...

 

[Gunny]

I agree Gunny, I probably didn't say it as well as you did. I am just so sick of this "look at my record as a veteran" crap like that is supposed to make him a God of sorts that has all the right answers.

I only spent my three years in as Army Airborne Infantry but the year with the Cav was enough to be able to tell a leader from someone flaunting his record like Murtha and Kerry.

Personally I think Bush is a great leader of this country and he only spent time in the reserves but at least he didn't lie about it or throw something false in our faces. I didn't say he was a great president but I do give him high marks in that catagory also, but I do believe he is a natural leader and I would follow the man in an instant.

Well, y'all just vote for me in 2008. I'm going to run on my powerlifting accomplshments in 83-84. You can see the correlation. right? President of the US -- the ability lift an inanimate object off the floor?

 

[ScreamingEagle]

In fact, I wonder whether the “Bush lied” attacks were intended simply to be diversionary all along. While the White House was ducking and weaving that powerful left-hand punch, then trying to hit back, it got caught flat-footed by the roundhouse right, led by Murtha. (I guess I’m into boxing analogies tonight.) The Republicans were left sputtering about how an immediate withdrawal as Murtha called for would be disastrous for Iraq and the war on terror, which is true enough on both counts – but the apotheosis of Republican ridiculousness was reached when a Congresswoman Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio)

... told the House she had a message from a Marine Corps reservist in her district. “He… asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message: that cowards cut and run. Marines never do.”

I wish Schmidt had NOT retracted her statement. Here was a great accusation from a Republican that framed the argument the way it should have been framed and to hell with Murtha. (stupid kowtowing imo) The Dems are basically nothing but cowards who want to run from a problem. They shout for pullout but then are too cowardly to even vote for it. All they are doing is aiding and abetting the enemy with their gutless and incessant complaining.

If the R's went on attack (like Schmidt) and maintained the attack (unlike Schmidt) they could then explain that instead of cutting and running they had plans to pull out incrementally as warranted. This way they would not have allowed the Dems to co-opt their already laid plans. Now it looks like the incremental pullout is a result of the Dems pushing for it.

What a bunch of weenie Rs. They can't seem to get it together and are letting the Dems walk all over them when this should have been a huge political victory for them. It seems like they are setting up Hillary to take over the reins in '08.

 

[Avatar4321]

Well, y'all just vote for me in 2008. I'm going to run on my powerlifting accomplshments in 83-84. You can see the correlation. right? President of the US -- the ability lift an inanimate object off the floor?

You can powerlift?!? That means you should be President of the World not just the US.

 

[Gunny]

You can powerlift?!? That means you should be President of the World not just the US.

One step at a time ....... no sense putting too many plates on the bar.