and the RATS, take another one in the...............HA ha!!!
Posted on 01/10/2008 3:52:01 AM PST by Aristotelian
It was exactly one year ago tonight, in a televised address to the nation, that President George W. Bush announced his fateful decision to change course in Iraq, and to send five additional U.S. combat brigades there as part of a new counterinsurgency strategy and under the command of a new general, David Petraeus.
At the time of its announcement, the so-called surge was met with deep skepticism by many Americans -- and understandably so.
After years of mismanagement of the war, many people had grave doubts about whether success in Iraq was possible. In Congress, opposition to the surge from antiwar members was swift and severe. They insisted that Iraq was already "lost," and that there was nothing left to do but accept our defeat and retreat.
In fact, they could not have been more wrong. And had we heeded their calls for retreat, Iraq today would be a country in chaos: a failed state in the heart of the Middle East, overrun by al Qaeda and Iran.
Instead, conditions in that country have been utterly transformed from those of a year ago, as a consequence of the surge. Whereas, a year ago, al Qaeda in Iraq was entrenched in Anbar province and Baghdad, now the forces of Islamist extremism are facing their single greatest and most humiliating defeat since the loss of Afghanistan in 2001. Thanks to the surge, the Sunni Arabs who once constituted the insurgency's core of support in Iraq have been empowered to rise up against the suicide bombers and fanatics in their midst -- prompting Osama bin Laden to call them "traitors."
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
well Bill Richardson withdrew completely and immediately.
Oracle from 'see me, hear me, I AM... NOW elect me
McCain-Lieberman
Am I the only one who sees an ulterior motive in that phrase?
Reads like a campaign bumper sticker for 08.
Just like NH, pandering to the mushy moderates again. Is Michigan another open primary state? Are there any states where the GOP cares what Republicans think?
What's an Independent Democrat? Is that a new party or something? ;-)
Good old McCain. Of course, I see it now. Lieberman has come out and supported McCain.
McCain, the ultimate straight talk, bipartisan.
Democrat sympathizer.
Revolting.
"all that we do is done with an eye towards something else." - Aristotle
“The Surge Worked”
Good, so Juan you can stay in the senate and keep on supporting it.
Keep in mind that the authors of this article are Joe Lieberman - "Independent" from CT, and JOHN MCCAIN - "Republican" from AZ.
McCain just also happens to be a "leading Republican presidential contender", too.
It's amazing that he can lead in the polls when such banalities come from his own pen.
Yep.
“the Democrats are left without much of a campaign issue.”
That is dangerous thinking on your part. Recall that Winston Churchill won WWII for Britian and then LOST the next election.
The victory of the surge (to the extent that it is a victory- even Patreus isn’t ready to call it that yet) will mean voters will focus on the economy, health care and social issues.
Sad to say, but there will be no victory parades for George W. Bush. The memory of the people is two microseconds and they will ask the GOP: What have you done for me LATELY?
Bill Richardson served his master, er, mistress well. He siphoned just enough anti-Hillary votes away from those who could seriously damage her. Namely Obama and Edwards. With her win in New Hampshire he was no longer needed.
Your statement deserves embellishment.
Churchill's approval rating at the end of the war in Europe in May 1945 stood at 83 percent. However, the Labour Party led the Conservative Party by 18 percent in opinion polls.
Britain held a general election on July 5, 1956, two months after the end of the war in Europe. Labour won and stayed in power until 1950.
In the election campaign, Labour promised, as one analysis puts it, "a new social order that would ensure better housing, free medical services and employment for all."
Indeed, the basis for the Labour Party's victory had been formed years before. The watershed Beveridge Report, published at the end of 1942, had proposed "cradle to the grave" social insurance, including a national health service, social security-type benefits, family assistance and full employment. Labour ran on this platform and won.
Thus the 1945 election became a referendum on Beveridge's proposal for a vast welfare state.
Britain had been long segregated by a strict class system. World War II was, in a sense, emancipating and empowering. Working class Britons didn't want to return to the old ways after winning such a mammoth struggle as was WWII. Thus the 1945 election can also be viewed as a rebellion by the working class against the rich and aristocratic establishment.
Bottom line: Our current situation in the U.S. bears absolutely no likeness to Britain in 1945 and Churchill's defeat at the polls is not at all analogous.
Yeah, but our ‘victory’ in Iraq is not World War II either. In the view of most Americans, the fact that it has dragged on this long is not something to celebrate.
McCain-Lieberman moderates . They will only put it in half way . The knife , I mean .
Now that’s a ticket I could vote for. Both are strong on national security.
This does seem to be the latest mantra. I wonder if anyone repeating it can give any specifics? Was WWII "mismanaged" prior to Midway?
FYI, the battle of Midway took place from June 4, 1942 to June 7, 1942, just seven months after Pearl Harbor.
Gosh, thanks. I’d never have known that all by myself.
Your sarcasm is misplaced. Look at the juxtaposition contained in your post. First you cite “After years of mismanagement of the war...” Then you raise the question, “Was WWII “mismanaged” prior to Midway?”
Your comments leave the impression that you think a far amount of time past prior to Midway, when in fact the battle took place quite early in the war. I was merely trying to point that out.
And you were mistaken. I am perfectly aware of the chronology of WWII. The point stands and your “FYI” was both rude and irrelevant. IMHO.
I would vote for that ticket in a heartbeat.
Yes, but the rest of their program is not conservative!
But for me, John McCain will finish the fight in Iraq and Afghanistan!
I work with a National Guard Lt. who did two tours there and will be doing one in 2009. In his opinion, the violence is down because it’s winter.
McCain-Liberman, both left liberals, nothing moderate about them. If they want to defend this country, where is the wall? Why ram amnesty down our throats?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.