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11/20/2005: Dopple-Gang Universes over IRAQ...
I saw good ole Babbling Brooks in his weekly spot on the Friday edition of The News Hour spouting the same tired and pathetic lines (cited to the best of my recollection) that BushCO *has been cleared by commission after commission on pre-war intelligence and shown to have never distorted that information*...yada, yada, yada. To which Mr. Oliphant merely replied, *All the more reason to move on to Phase 2 of the investigation and see a complete review of Administration statements and whether there was any underlying intelligence to support them.*
But today, in the NY Times, we have battling Op-Ed pieces from ole Babbles and Frank Rich. And it brings up the question of:
Take these opposite end of the spectrum set of quotes:
Brooks:
"...It is true that some in the American military have concluded that the war in Iraq is unwinnable.
...
As a survey by the Pew Research Center suggests, most journalists and most academics think the war is unwinnable, but 64 percent of military officers believe the U.S. can prevail. Re-enlistment rates are high because most American troops believe they can create a better Iraq.
When you talk to serious, nonpartisan experts with experience on the ground, you find that most think the war is at least a 50-50 proposition.
...
Furthermore, almost all the experts believe that after 18 months of incompetence, the U.S. is getting its act together.
...
Most important, the training of Iraqi troops has been going well. Authoritative investigators like Jack Keane, the retired Army general, report that the Iraqi troops are becoming effective fighters and their morale is high.
Compared to this:
Rich:
"...A USA Today/CNN/Gallup survey last week found that the percentage (52) of Americans who want to get out of Iraq fast, in 12 months or less, is even larger than the percentage (48) that favored a quick withdrawal from Vietnam when that war's casualty toll neared 54,000 in the apocalyptic year of 1970.
...
Mr. Bush may disdain timetables for our pullout, but, hello, there already is one, set by the Santorums of his own party: the expiration date for a sizable American presence in Iraq is Election Day 2006. As Mr. Mueller says, the decline in support for the war won't reverse itself. The public knows progress is not being made, no matter how many times it is told that Iraqis will soon stand up so we can stand down.
On the same day the Senate passed the resolution rebuking Mr. Bush on the war, Martha Raddatz of ABC News reported that "only about 700 Iraqi troops" could operate independently of the U.S. military, 27,000 more could take a lead role in combat "only with strong support" from our forces and the rest of the 200,000-odd trainees suffered from a variety of problems, from equipment shortages to an inability "to wake up when told" or follow orders.
...
THAT'S the alternative that has already been chosen, brought on not just by the public's irreversible rejection of the war, but also by the depleted state of our own broken military forces; they are falling short of recruitment goals across the board by as much as two-thirds, the Government Accountability Office reported last week."
The main distinction of these diametrically polar opposites in not only a complete Disconnect in the view of what IS the REALITY of the situation and sentiment on Iraq - but that Rich provides background and citations to support his contentions - Babbles merely babbles from a discredited GOP play book of tired phrases and lame assertions ONLY backed up by a Dopple-Ganger version of the REALITY in Iraq.
Or compare this statement:
Brooks:
"...Murtha's policy is incomprehensible and it is incomprehensible that so many Democrats are shifting toward accelerated withdrawal...."
With this:
Rich:
"...One hideous consequence of the White House's Big Lie - fusing the war of choice in Iraq with the war of necessity that began on 9/11 - is that the public, having rejected one, automatically rejects the other. That's already happening. The percentage of Americans who now regard fighting terrorism as a top national priority is either in the single or low double digits in every poll...."
To Babbles and the GOPHUCKer's it's All those *Democrats.* Again, in their Dopple-Gang Universe there exist only the single party of strawmen to Stackup and Knock-down: Democrats. But this is a view crossing the entire swath of the American Electorate: Democrats, Independents and even members of the GOP party.
Ah, But we FINALLY get to something Babbles and Rich CAN Agree on:
Brooks:
"...Since the president doesn't give out credible information, it's no wonder Republicans are measuring success by how quickly we can get out; it's no wonder many Democrats are turning the war into a political tool to bash the president..."
Rich:
"... But even if anyone was still listening to this president, it would be too little and too late. The only hope for getting Americans to focus on the war we can't escape is to clear the decks by telling the truth about the war of choice in Iraq: that it is making us less safe, not more, and that we have to learn from its mistakes and calculate the damage it has caused as we reboot and move on.
Mr. Bush is incapable of such candor..."
Despite these other disputes over Dopple-Ganger Iraq - One of the main problems is having a President who is Lacking in "Candor" and giving out "Less than Credible Information" and "not telling the truth" over Iraq.
That our Child-In-Chief is not being straight with the American public is apparently a POINT on which we ALL can Agree ON!!
Thanks Mr. Rich; Thanks Babbling Brooks: For clearing that up for me.
;-)
Karen on 11.20.05 @ 08:30 AM CST
