Error, I guess: Re: [Vision2020] Republicans Jump From Sinking Ship

[tbertruss at aol.com]

All:
 
I am not sure if this is a formatting error, a Freudian slip, or just a slip of my fingers.  But upon re-reading this post from yesterday, I find it says "internationalize the efforts to bring PEACH [caps added now]and stability to Iraq" in the second paragraph below.  
 
I nearly fell of my chair laughing.  Sorry, it is not a funny subject, but maybe a few thousand shipping containers of Georgia peaches would help stabilize Iraq.  
 
Ted Moffett
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Tbertruss
To: deco at moscow.com; vision2020 at moscow.com
Sent: Mon, 13 Jun 2005 18:57:17 -0400
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Republicans Jump From Sinking Ship


 
Wayne:
 
I only posted an article with other opinions (some of which I agree with, some of which I don't), from US CongressPeople showing an increasing fracture in the unity of the Republican party on the Iraq mess.  No doubt in part this is just because they want to be re-elected, and there is increasing evidence the American people are growing very tired of what looks like an endless occupation and war that will result in an endless stream of dead US soldiers.  Military recruitment problems alone are a major problem, and bringing back the draft has serious political consequences.
 
Iraq was already a colossal and complex problem before we invaded and occupied the county.  There may be no solution which can avoid a lot of bloodshed and chaos, but our presence is now fueling an insurgency that no doubt is causing bloodshed and chaos.  The best option may be to attempt to internationalize the efforts to bring peach and stability to Iraq, taking the focus off what many Iraqis view as a U. S. takeover of their country.  This option is now very problematic given that many of our strongest allies do not want to help us out of the mess they tried to stop us from getting into, allies who were politically and economically attacked by the US for not invading Iraq along with the U.S.
 
Since the Bush supporters in the audience implicitly supported Bush's policies in dragging the U.S. into this ill advised war in Iraq by giving him a second term with their vote, perhaps they can find the solution.
 
Any Bush supporters want to offer their wisdom regarding this issue, I mean besides just killing more Iraqis and U. S. soldiers on and on with no end in sight?
 
Ted Moffett
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Art Deco <deco at moscow.com>
To: Vision 2020 <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Mon, 13 Jun 2005 15:13:28 -0700
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Republicans Jump From Sinking Ship


Ted,
 
Now that we have really screwed up Iraq based on a pack of lies, killed and maimed more people than Saddam could have done in his wildest fantasies, lost the trust of a passel of people worldwide, and destroyed a great deal of infrastructure -- what is the ethical thing for us to do?
 
I am not disagreeing with the post you made necessarily, but I think we might have a problem of colossal magnitude/complexity here.
 
Anyone with suggestions?

Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
deco at moscow.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Tbertruss at aol.com 
To: vision2020 at moscow.com 
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2005 12:01 PM
Subject: [Vision2020] Republicans Jump From Sinking Ship



All:

I'll let the words of Republican conservative Rep. Walter Jones, known for the renaming of "french fries" to "freedom fries," express some of my views on the Bush administration's cruel and senseless Iraq policy.  Ah, it's wonderful to feel such a bond of common ideas with a North Carolina conservative Republican:  

Rep. Walter Jones, a North Carolina conservative, said on ABC's "This Week" that he would offer legislation this week setting a timetable for the withdrawal from Iraq.

"I voted for the resolution to commit the troops, and I feel that we've done about as much as we can do," said Jones, who coined the phrase "freedom fries" to lash out at the French for opposing the Iraq invasion.

Jones, a member of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, said "primarily the neoconservatives" in the administration were to blame for flawed war planning.

"The reason of going in for weapons of mass destruction, the ability of the Iraqis to make a nuclear weapon, that's all been proven that it was never there," he said.  Jones joins some of Congress' most liberal Democrats in demanding a deadline to withdraw troops from a conflict they said has been too costly in U.S. lives and money.

Entire article at this link and also below:

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id 050613000009990004

Updated: 11:35 AM EDT
Republican Lawmakers Urge Shift in Iraq Plans
By Vicki Allen, Reuters

WASHINGTON (June 13) - A Republican congressman called for a deadline to pull U.S. troops from Iraq, while some other members of President Bush's party urged on Sunday that his administration come to grips with a persistent insurgency and revamp Iraq policy.

Rep. Walter Jones, a North Carolina conservative, said on ABC's "This Week" that he would offer legislation this week setting a timetable for the withdrawal from Iraq.

"I voted for the resolution to commit the troops, and I feel that we've done about as much as we can do," said Jones, who coined the phrase "freedom fries" to lash out at the French for opposing the Iraq invasion.

Other Republicans on television talk shows joined Democrats in criticizing the administration for playing down the insurgency, while overestimating the ability of Iraq's fledgling forces to fight without U.S. soldiers in the lead and failing to plan for the post-invasion occupation.

"The insurgency is alive and well. We underestimated the viability of the insurgency," Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said on CBS' Face the Nation. He said the administration has "been slow to adjust when it comes to troop strength and supporting our troops."

Graham said the Army is contending with a serious shortfall in recruiting "because this war is going sour in terms of word of mouth from parents and grandparents." He said "if we don't adjust, public opinion is going to keep slipping away."

Jones, a member of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, said "primarily the neoconservatives" in the administration were to blame for flawed war planning.

"The reason of going in for weapons of mass destruction, the ability of the Iraqis to make a nuclear weapon, that's all been proven that it was never there," he said.

Jones joins some of Congress' most liberal Democrats in demanding a deadline to withdraw troops from a conflict they said has been too costly in U.S. lives and money.

According to a new Gallup Poll, nearly six in 10 Americans say the United States should withdraw some or all of its troops from Iraq, up from 49 percent who held that view in February, USA Today reported in its Monday edition.

The Bush administration contends that setting a withdrawal date would fuel an insurgency that Vice President Dick Cheney recently said was in "the last throes."

Graham opposed setting a date. "If the insurgents drive us out ... we've lost a big battle in the war on terror," he said.

Jones said he was pushing the legislation because his "heart aches" at the nearly 1,700 U.S. soldiers killed and 12,000 seriously wounded in Iraq. He said Iraqis should defend themselves once their forces are trained.

Rep. Curt Weldon, a Pennsylvania Republican who just returned from Iraq, joined several Democrats saying the administration must be more candid and acknowledge that it could take about two years to train Iraqi forces to replace U.S. soldiers and allow a significant pullout."

We can't come back to America and have our people being convinced that the Iraqi troops are prepared to take over, when they're not," he said on NBC's Meet the Press.

Weldon also said the administration must "come to grips" with a rising insurgency, boosted by fighters from Syria and Iran, "which for some reason our intelligence community does not want to acknowledge or deal with."

Weldon said he heard "a common theme" in Iraq that the largest number of foreign insurgents may be coming from Syria, but that "Iran overwhelmingly has the quality behind the insurgency."Sen. 

Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, said on CNN's Late Edition, that "many of us warned this administration before we ever put a boot on the ground" that it would face a long-term conflict. "We didn't have plans for it. And we are now where we are," he said.06-13-05 06:07 EDT 
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V2020 Post by Ted Moffett 



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_____________________________________________________
 List services made available by First Step Internet, 
 serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.   
               http://www.fsr.net                       
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