Democrats Remain Unconvinced On Iraq, Pelosi Calls For Immediate Withdrawal
No surprises here...
Pelosi is endorsing Murtha and his call for immediate withdrawal. Murtha is saying that we cannot win in Iraq. Pelosi is saying that what Murtha is saying is "great wisdom." Pelosi also voted against immediate withdrawal from Iraq.
All these Democrats keep saying that they're against immediate withdrawal but behind Murtha. Yet Murtha says we can't win, and his resolution called for withdrawal "as soon as practicable" with nothing set out for what must be achieved in Iraq before that can happen. It was, in essence, a call for withdrawal as soon as possible with provisions for victory.
Now the President comes out with an in-depth plan that sets out, explicitly, what must be achieved and how we're going to achieve it, something which should satisfy their demands for a "detailed strategy" for Iraq, and they're still not happy.
Is it just me, or is the Democrat position on Iraq hard to define outside of "Bush's policies are horrible?" They vote against immediate withdrawal, yet they back a man who calls for immediate withdrawal and says we can't win. They demand details on the plan for Iraq, yet when presented with details they dismiss them as "nothing new."
My question is: What exactly is the Democrat plan for Iraq? Because this mindless opposition to Bush isn't getting us anywhere.
Update:
More from Sen. Flipper:
So when is a withdrawal date not a withdrawal date? When its an estimated timetable for success, apparently.
That's about as clear as mud. I beginning to think that the Democrats don't know what they want with Iraq. In fact, I think the only thing they do know is that they want George Bush out of power. All this pap about Iraq is just a means to an end.
Video at the link.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush's Iraq speech failed to allay opposition concerns, as the top Democrat in the US House of Representatives added her name to a short list of lawmakers calling for a quick withdrawal of US troops.
Bush gave a speech on his strategy forward in Iraq at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, making the case for staying the course there.
But the top House Democrat, Nancy Pelosi, not only remained unconvinced, but she endorsed Wednesday a controversial proposal by a senior member of her party, calling for an quick pullout of US troops from Iraq.
Pelosi backed the withdrawal resolution proposed by Representative John Murtha (news, bio, voting record), a staunchly pro-military former marine who shocked the Washington political establishment with his troop pullout resolution nearly two weeks ago.
"I'm endorsing what Mr. Murtha is saying, which is that the status quo is not working and that we need to have a plan that makes us safer and our military stronger and makes Iraq more stable," Pelosi said at a press conference.
"I believe that what he has said has great wisdom. While the president is digging a hole, Mr. Murtha is speaking from the light of day about the realities in Iraq," she said.
In his speech, Bush defiantly refused to set a date for a US pullout and warning that victory requires "time and patience." But leading Democrats hammered the address speech as rehashed remains of a failed administration policy.
Pelosi is endorsing Murtha and his call for immediate withdrawal. Murtha is saying that we cannot win in Iraq. Pelosi is saying that what Murtha is saying is "great wisdom." Pelosi also voted against immediate withdrawal from Iraq.
All these Democrats keep saying that they're against immediate withdrawal but behind Murtha. Yet Murtha says we can't win, and his resolution called for withdrawal "as soon as practicable" with nothing set out for what must be achieved in Iraq before that can happen. It was, in essence, a call for withdrawal as soon as possible with provisions for victory.
Now the President comes out with an in-depth plan that sets out, explicitly, what must be achieved and how we're going to achieve it, something which should satisfy their demands for a "detailed strategy" for Iraq, and they're still not happy.
Is it just me, or is the Democrat position on Iraq hard to define outside of "Bush's policies are horrible?" They vote against immediate withdrawal, yet they back a man who calls for immediate withdrawal and says we can't win. They demand details on the plan for Iraq, yet when presented with details they dismiss them as "nothing new."
My question is: What exactly is the Democrat plan for Iraq? Because this mindless opposition to Bush isn't getting us anywhere.
Update:
More from Sen. Flipper:
Secondly, this debate is note about an artificial date for withdrawal. Several times in his speech today, the president set up this straw man and then knocks it down. That's not what this debate is about.
The United States Senate had a vote — a Republican resolution and a Democrat resolution — and neither sought to seek an artificial date for withdrawal.
What it did on the Democratic side seek to do was set an estimated timetable for success which will permit the withdrawal of our troops. Everything that we have presented has been presented on the basis of how you succeed.
So when is a withdrawal date not a withdrawal date? When its an estimated timetable for success, apparently.
That's about as clear as mud. I beginning to think that the Democrats don't know what they want with Iraq. In fact, I think the only thing they do know is that they want George Bush out of power. All this pap about Iraq is just a means to an end.
Video at the link.
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