John McCain committed a howler on today’s Face the Nation when he said “I’m not that knowledgeable” about the number of troops necessary to win the war in Iraq.
The howler came when he called for the escalation of the Iraq War in the face of increasing violence. When asked how many more troops were necessary by Bob Schieffer, he said, “About 20,000 more; I’m not that knowledgeable.” Then, if John McCain is not that knowledgeable about what must be done in the Iraq Conflict, then what the heck is he doing considering a run for President in 2008? And what the heck is he doing going on all the talk shows shilling for the administration?
Now shilling for the administration: Lara Logan?
The report on Iraq led off with a report from Lara Logan from Iraq. In it, she said that a no vote from the Sunnis meant a vote against stability. Then, what is the purpose of democracy, if not to give the Iraqi people an independent voice in the elections? Is she suggesting we have a ballot that says on the instructions, “Vote yes for this Constitution?”
By way of mitigation, she said that the word violence does not do justice to the level of suffering of the Iraqi people and that our troops are not welcome there anymore. But, if she is a shill for the administration, then this could be an administration plan to blame the Sunnis for the plight of the Iraqi people and take the side of the Shiites and Kurds in any civil war.
If so, this is just an excuse by the administration to cover up their own failures. The Sunni proposals that I saw were quite reasonable. It is the Shiites who are being unreasonable by sending gangs of thugs to enforce Iranian-style Islamic law on the streets of Basra.
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McCain and the Left Behind series.
McCain led off his case by calling for more troops and using apocalyptic language warning against withdrawal from Iraq. He used such key words and phrases as “We can’t afford to lose,” “cataclysmic,” “factionalization,” “Muslim extremism and terrorist breeding grounds,” and “cut-and-run.”
But the problem is that this has already happened. Just read Al-Jazeera, the Iraq bloggers, the generals Russ Feingold talked to, Dahr Jamal, or even the media if you don’t believe me. The question is, how does it help the situation by keeping our troops there? And what is the noble goal our troops are dying for, since it is becoming increasingly clear that Iraq is in the process of becoming an Islamic dictatorship?
And furthermore, what McCain is calling for is impossible. As Hagel pointed out, our military is already stretched to its limits. And McCain failed to answer Hagel’s assessment that our military will not be able to sustain its current levels beyond 12 months. After all, he is not knowledgeable about that topic. The only alternative is a draft. Is John McCain next going to call for a draft?
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Is singing songs to Saddam progress?
McCain next says that we are making progress in training. But other than his own admission that he is not knowedgeable about this, here, from my old blog, is my summary of an AP article contradicting McCain:
–Iraqi Soldiers singing songs to Saddam;
–Iraqi Soldiers equipped with guns of so poor quality, they jam after 10 shots;
–Dozens of Iraqi soldiers go without pay for three months;
–Our military is giving them unequal treatment; our soldiers have air conditioning, while Iraqi soldiers don’t; the Iraqi soldiers in some cases must sleep on concrete floors;
–Iraqi Soldiers on patrol selling weapons and hailing taxis;
–An Iraqi commander cowering in his truck and insisting they were surrounded by insurgents even after the Americans arrived.
This AP article which I wrote about was from a reporter who was on the ground and who was with such a unit. I would take the report of someone on the ground any day over the report of a Bush administration shill who, by his own admission, is not knowedgeable about the topic.
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You and I are tools for the far left!
McCain next talked about Cindy Sheehan and accused her of being used by the far left. But anybody can accuse someone of being used by the far left when they can’t explain what the noble cause is that our men in uniform are dying for.
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When others doubt, Bush has steady resolve.
McCain went on to talk about how progress was being made and how steadfast the President was when his own generals were doubting him. But first of all, McCain failed to state any kind of progress that was being made besides what I mentioned. If you want to report progress, then at some point you have to show me progress, not just say there is to try to calm people down.
He then went to talk about the steadfastness of the President in the face of others’ doubts. McCain is trying to frame the President as a heroic figure who carries on in the face of adversity, even as others worry and doubt.
But if the President wishes to be such a model, he can’t go on sounding like a broken record and not offering us anything new. Bush is like an automation which you give to a kid for Christmas. The kid pushes a certain button, and the automation will say the same thing over and over again without saying anything new. Bush is almost exactly like such an automation.
If Bush wishes to show us progress, then let him tell us something we have not already heard.
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Another McCain howler: “That’s not the right message!”
McCain then committed another howler when asked about the Pentagon officials who have questioned the President’s policy. He dodged the question by praising the performance of the troops in the field. Then, he weakly said, “That’s not the right message,” after being pinned down by Schiffer.
So, what is more important: Getting the right message out, or telling the truth? I suggest from this howler that John McCain values getting the right message out more than telling the truth. The problem is that there are still people in the Pentagon who work hard, play by the rules, and are disgusted by what is going on there. But they can’t take their concerns up the ladder, because their superiors won’t listen. So, they go to Russ Feingold or the media instead. That is a clear sign that the Bush administration is divided and that he is out of touch with his own generals.
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The GOP piefight: Frist holds entire defense bill up over Abu Girhab.
Bill Frist has held up the entire defense bill up over the Bush administration’s refusal to support a McCain bill which would set clear rules over what the Abu Girhab and Guantanamo interragators can and can’t do. McCain opposes the hold, but this creates a huge dilemma for the Bush administration — if they wish to stay the course in Iraq, then where is the money going to come from?
So, not only are Bush’s own generals divided, the GOP is divided as well. Not only is Iraq imploding before our very eyes, the GOP is about to implode with it.