Posted on 07/08/2007 12:59:06 PM PDT by bnelson44
The Republican rebellion against the war in Iraq widened over the weekend as more of the party’s senators voiced dissent against President George W. Bush’s strategy.
Republican unity on Iraq has shattered in recent weeks, amid mounting pessimism about the ability of US forces to bring stability to the country.
Weakening Republican support for the war has left Mr Bush looking increasingly isolated as Congressional Democrats prepare for a fresh barrage of votes aimed at forcing a US withdrawal from Iraq.
Three Republican senators have joined the calls for a change of course in Iraq in recent days, adding to a steady trickle of defections.
“It should be clear to the president that there needs to be a new strategy,” Lamar Alexander, Republican senator for Tennessee, told the Los Angeles Times on Saturday.
Speaking to the same newspaper, Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire said efforts to quell the violence in Iraq by increasing US troop numbers “don’t seem to be making a lot of progress”.
In common with most Republicans, Mr Alexander and Mr Gregg stopped short of backing Democratic calls for legislation to force an immediate withdrawal. But Mr Gregg said it was vital to have “a clear blueprint” aimed at reducing troop numbers.
(Excerpt) Read more at ft.com ...
What alternative did he offer? And why should we announce any new plans to our enemies?
After Lugar, I knew more would follow. There will be more joining Lugar over the next two weeks too.
The GOP continues its meltdown. Revolting.
Guess someone better point out to the PC Media their is much more to the US Govt then the US Senate. The Cut and Run RINO Senators still leaves them about 12 votes short of over riding a Presidential veto.
Then there is the little problem of being 60 votes short in the US House.
More wishful thinking from the Politically Corrupt Media.
I agree we need a new strategy. We need to stop pussyfooting around with Iran and hit them from the air with Shock and Awe. Stop Iran from sending in teams to kill and stir trouble. Stop Al Sadr by planting him wherever the body is found and Pull the troops back to the part of Iraq where the Kurds are to protect them and let the Iraqui’s deal with it themselves. Time to crap or get up off the pot.
Wishful thinking from the Neo Isolationists. You will lose this vote too. Your are about 60 votes short in the House and 12 in the Senate.
New day, same old ignorance from the Dinocons.
Yeah I am sure leaving will help. Bwahahahaha...These folks have one goal in 1400 years...take over the world for Allah. So it wont matter who is President. Or, what we do...they will keep coming at us till we militarily defeat them. Period!
Old school counter-insurgency works, and is working in Iraq.
Old school counter-insurgency does not involve carpet bombing.
Petraeus is doing fine. Focus on fighting the RINOs and traitors.
I should point out that both of these senators have already co-sponsored a bill that they are going to push next week:
S.1545 It is the same bill that Sen. Demenichi signed on to.
Sponsor: Sen Salazar, Ken
COSPONSORS: (date they signed on):
Sen Alexander, Lamar [TN] - 6/5/2007
Sen Bennett, Robert F. [UT] - 6/5/2007
Sen Casey, Robert P., Jr. [PA] - 6/5/2007
Sen Collins, Susan M. [ME] - 6/5/2007
Sen Domenici, Pete V. [NM] - 6/27/2007
Sen Gregg, Judd [NH] - 6/5/2007
Sen Lincoln, Blanche L. [AR] - 6/5/2007
Sen Nelson, Bill [FL] - 6/28/2007
Sen Pryor, Mark L. [AR] - 6/5/2007
Sen Sununu, John E. [NH] - 6/5/2007
Bill is here:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&docid=f:s1545is.txt.pdf
You may be right; but, I question the timing. Didn’t they agree to hold fire until a date certain when Patreus (sp) is to report?
The question we have to ask ourselves. Are we going to stand by and have our soldiers and our country drug down to defeat and leave Iraq knowing Al Qaeda and Iranian agents (not much difference between the two) are operating in the country and is receiving weapons from Iran. A person that can not see how this strategy is one that will lead to more horrors here at home must be a better optimist than I.
If Republicans and conservatives retreat now, we are taking responsibility for future attacks on our country. Anyone who thinks a perceived victory for Al Qaeda against the only Superpower in the world is a good thing is delusional. All of our enemies will be stronger and bolder. What we should be doing is taking the war to Iran. If the President has any self respect left for himself and any love for his country that is what he will do.
I fear that we are going to face another attack and it will tear this country apart at the seams. Let a nuke go off in one of our cities and the civil war will be in our streets not in the middle east before the response is done.
Domenici
Pathetic.
The DemoncRats almost NEVER break ranks.
I can’t remember the last time they did.
For the Repuglicans, it’s a way of life.
Since NH has become a commie enclave, Judd Greg wants to align himself with the left.
What a moron.
Repuglicans NEVER get it.
The Left will NEVER vote for them, no matter HOW much to the Left they move.
By doing this, Gregg is alienating his base.
Unless a really, REALLY strong Republican arises to challenge Gregg, his seat in the Senate will go to the DemoncRats the next time it’s up for sale ... uh .. reelection.
When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade. It's time to start thinking about how to make the best of the public's determination to get the US military out of Iraq. Although leaving is wrong at this point in time, it's not worth losing the next election over it. That would be a far worse disaster.
Mr. Alexander....what do we do with these scenarios should they play out? I am bumfuzzled also. The damn Iraqis don't seem to be moving as quickly as we would like. I just do not reasonably see the alternative to our staying and killing muslims who are trying to destroy the west.
People can put their hands over their ears, blame the media, and call anyone who disagrees with them a rino or "traitor", but that doesn't change the fact that it's time to declare our mission accomplished, and start pulling our troops out.
Oh Yeah its doing just great.
Lamar! is at it again
Yeah, it's really sad how Al Qaida owns Anbar Province...oh wait...
Some of these rather hyper individuals are quick to call for “new strategy”, but are remarkably short on making some sort of declaration of just what the “new strategy” should be.
Either stay in and get the job done, or cut and run. If these “armchair gernerals” are so all-fired good at creating and conducting a better strategy, then by all means, let us hear what that strategy is.
All the competent staff officers with potential to become the good or even great generals today, skipped out and took retirement during the decade of the ‘90’s. Bush inherited a hollow shell of a military establishment in 2001, in which the positions were filled, but with officers of little or no combat experience, and with only the shakiest of resumes. But they had survived the “screening” process to bring them up to “politically correct” standards.
People cursed and blamed Donald Rumsfeld for seeming to not be able to get a handle on the problem in the early days after 9/11, but as Rumsfeld remarked at the time, you never go to war with the army you want, you go to war with the army you have. It took a long time to ramp up the readiness of the military to the state that they only now can perform the way that was so desperately needed in 2002 and 2003. And even now, they are forced to go into battle with one arm tied behind their backs, to satisfy all the criticism, just and unjust, that gets hurled their way.
One of these days, that fence he keeps trying to perch upon is going to impale him like he deserves.
We never should have put a single soldier on the ground in the Middle East post 9-11.
We should have instead at random picked two Muslim cities and killed every living thing in them by whatever means we chose, be it carpet bombing or nukes.
The we could have warned the goons, hit us again, and we take out millions more of you.
This is the only way that will work with these "religious" animals.
Sorry for insulting all animals, these muslim turds are beneath them.
I am coming back to what I figured was our best option from the get go. That is a 3 way split.
Thats because the Clintons have the FBI files to blackmail them if they show the slightest sign of breaking ranks. The DNC is like the CCCP in that regard. Fear is a powerful weapon.
ping
Calling them traitors or cut-and-runners is disingenous. I know you like to live in your little FR bubble where you can beat your chest all day long, but there are folks out in the real world who are letting these Senators hear it, and they have a right to do so just like we did when we stopped the amnesty immigration bill.
“It should be clear to the president that there needs to be a new strategy,”
A new strategy was just implemented a couple of weeks ago, hold your horses opinion poll chaser.
They're being killed now, albeit at a slower pace than if we weren't there at all. Please tell me how long would we have to remain there to kill an inexhaustible supply of terrorists that regenerate like the ghosts from the Gauntlet video game.
It's obvious that Iraq can't handle democracy. I say secure our borders, deport radical Muslims in our country, and put Iran and other terrorist states/nations on notice that they'll be a smoking hole in the ground if they dare try anything funny. Bush has refused to take off the gloves and he let the MSM/Dims dictate the war strategy.
And that, mes ami, is why you never, ever believe ANYTHING that the MSM says about this war. "The surge isn't working" would be MSM lie #1...not chronologically, but you get my point.
Yeah, great plan. Are you for machine gunning muslims here in the U.S.?
Well, what the hell. The surge has barely been fully implemented, and these jackballs are already giving in.
I am damn sick and tired of spineless weasels in my party.
Never expect honor from a U.S. Senator.
> I’m from NH, and am sort of in agreement with Gregg on
> this.
>
> We never should have put a single soldier on the ground
> in the Middle East post 9-11.
>
> We should have instead at random picked two Muslim cities
> and killed every living thing in them by whatever means
> we chose, be it carpet bombing or nukes.
>
> Then we could have warned the goons, hit us again, and we
> take out millions more of you.
I’m from NH, too, and I’m with you 100%.
I didn’t think putting boots on the ground in Iraq was a good idea in the first place.
But now that we have American soldiers in harm’s way, we need to do EVERYTHING we can to support their mission to pacify that steaming dog pile.
The change in strategy that’s needed is to untie the hands of the American soldiers and start the bombing of Iranian military installations and positions along the Iraqui border.
Every Iranian military installation should be shelled to powder.
Every Iraqui “insurgent” should be treated the same as the Nazi “insurgents” were in the first five years after the “end” of WWII.
Summarily executed on the spot.
That's the question. Too many here at FR are answering it like this:
"BUG OUT!"
Friggen moron. More troops engaging the enemy more often and in greater numbers = more "violence"
VOTE THESE SCHMUCKS OUT IN '08!
I think when Bush said, "I believe in the heart of every human being is the desire to be free", that this sentiment has been proven wrong. I think muslims want to follow their radical ideology to either our destruction or their destruction. Our nations inability to understand this one fact could be the undoing of the west. Great Britain, France, GErmany will someday in the next 20-30 years me dominated by islamofascists. It is past time to stop pussyfooting. America (Washinton leadership) does not have the resolve or desire to see things as they are, only they way they want it to be....witness John Edwards...bumper sticker comment.
So in my mind it leaves me with the conclusion we either assault them with force which they have not yet experienced..mercilessly..or we will, by slow indiffernce meet a demise of the western way of life. That seems overstated, but that is where I am.
2. The surge will work. Stop trying to figure out the fastest way out of the locker room in the third quarter and back the surge. Once the surge works, the weasels will be undercut and the pullout train will derail.
We have to do as much for this generation of troops as Rosie the Riveter did for hers. Anything else, including the "lemonade" you're offering, is just choosing failure.
The enemy hangs on precisely because people like you give them hope. This war is about will. If you haven't got any, take up fishing.
Thanks Don...
“It should be clear to the president that there needs to be a new strategy,” Lamar Alexander, Republican senator for Tennessee, told the Los Angeles Times on Saturday”
First big glaring problem is the fact that Lamar is suppose to have told this to someone at the LA Times...Why go to them?..was he talking to several different MSMs?
Yes there does need to be a new strategy...Our guys need to be allowed to do the work we pay them for...wage war...offensively and successfully..
Is that what Lamar had in mind? or is he of the we cant win, give up and come home crowd?..He was for the war before he was against it etc...
Would be necessary to know what he means...
There is nothing in his web-site about his updated opinion on the WOT etc...
As one of his favorite constituents I’ll call his office in Washington tomorrow and ask...and the next day and ask..it takes about 6 weeks before I get any type of generic answer from Lamar..so sometime at the end of August, I should get back to you ....
Thanks for this ping don-o, he’ll hear from me tomorrow.
They are not Republicans, they are cowards! Remove them all from office (preferably in the primary).
How about fighting the war to win, not as a political deal or a deal just about oil?
We let puke like al sadr live so as to not piss off whomever. Crap like him should have been drilled long ago.
AND the antidote?
ans: DUNCAN HUNTER and all like him.
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