The War

The next time I hear or read someone say that we are losing the war because of the 'Liberal Traitors,' I want them to read this.

Al Franken? Michael Moore? Nooooo . . .

This man agrees with me.

"Congress abdicated its oversight responsibility," he says. "The press abdicated its responsibility, and the American people abdicated their responsibilities. Terror was on the minds of everyone, and nobody questioned anything, quite frankly."

Republican Senator Chuck Hagel agrees with me. We don't agree on much, but this is a definitely a big one.

Make sure to read this. This is fine profile of the Senator from Nebraska.

Hillary Should Have Listened

He was just a State Senator from Illinois at the time. If only some of our leaders in the Congress and the Senate had listened to his words.

Now let me be clear: I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power.... The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him. But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors...and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history.

I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda.

I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars.

Why the Anti-Hilary Venom?

Her speech explaining her vote for Senate Resolution S.J. 45 indicates to me very sound, conscientious reasoning on her part based on the information available at the time. Read it for yourself. Yes she voted for the resoultion, but she clearly calls for the use of force as a last resort and urges action through the U.N. . It now seems obvious that she, Congress, and Americans put too much faith and trust in the hands of the bumbling, semi-literate stooge that happens to be the 43rd President of the United States. She also makes the point that Saddam Hussein was a ruthless dictator that had murdered thousands of innocent people in Iraq and Iran, which I believe justified his removal from power.

As far as I can tell, she has been fairly consistent on the issue, more so than the current administration, and like most American citizens, believes it is time for the President to own up to the fiasco and focus on the War on Terror rather than pursue this dubious war in Iraq.

Iraq War Debate

It seems reasonable to me that the Iraq War Debate would be about the administration's new plan. The American people deserve to know what they plan to do differently to make this surge work. The majority of Americans believe we need to get the troops out of Iraq. They deserve a debate that explains why this surge would be a better plan.

This seems like a reasonable expectation to me. However, the Republicans believe differently. Here is a quote from a letter sent by GOP leaders to Republicans in Congress.

Democrats want to force us to focus on defending the surge, making the case that it will work and explaining why the President's new Iraq policy is different from prior efforts and therefore justified.

We urge you to instead broaden the debate to the threat posed to Americans, the world, and all "unbelievers" by radical Islamists. We would further urge you to join us in educating the American people about the views of radical Islamists and the consequences of not defeating radical Islam in Iraq.

A New Direction

Congressman Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania is one of the heroes. Read what he had to say in the Iraq debate today.

Sad State of Affairs

Torture is wrong. It is devastating to the person being tortured. And as we see here, it is devastating to the person doing the torturing.

I have never said that the Bush administration is evil. This story, though, bothers me greatly. It is despicable to treat humans beings in this manner. It is despicable to force other human beings to do the dirty work. Behind them, this administration leaves broken lives, Iraqi and American.

Whether you believe we should have invaded Iraq or not, the conduct of this war is beyond incompetent. It is a disaster. It is a festering sore on America's soul.