Last week, Harry Reid was widely criticized for saying that the Iraq war "is lost." On
Power Line, I explained why I thought Reid's comment was both incorrect and politically misguided. Today, Reid
backed off his claim, and, almost as though he were taking my advice, couched his criticisms in terms of a "failed policy" rather than a "lost war:"
The Senate majority leader drew criticism from Bush and others last week when he said the war in Iraq had been lost. He did not repeat the assertion in his prepared speech, saying that "The military mission has long since been accomplished. The failure has been political. It has been policy. It has been presidential."
There is an irony here; Reid is echoing the "mission accomplished" banner for which President Bush has long been abused. But news accounts haven't focused on this point, instead, they have emphasized Reid's claim that the President is in "denial" on Iraq:
Reid noted disapprovingly that in a speech last week, Bush repeatedly said there were signs of progress in Iraq in the wake of a troop increase he ordered last winter. "The White House transcript says the president made those remarks in the state of Michigan. I believe he made them in the state of denial," said Reid.
In fact, though, there are signs of progress in Iraq, both as
measured statistically and as reported by many observers. It is Reid, not Bush, who doesn't want to address the evidence, but rather seeks to achieve his objective by bullying. There is an interesting parallel here to the Democrats' tactic on global warming. There, too, they refuse to engage the evidence offered by skeptics, and instead insist that the debate is over and anyone who disagrees with them is "in denial." This is, in general, not an approach that is followed by people who have strong arguments and evidence on their side. So it shouldn't be surprising that many people conclude that what Reid fears in Iraq is not failure but success, as suggested eloquently by
Chip Bok:
Reader Comments ( Page 6 of 16)
76. I served in combat. Harry Reid is a traitor. In WW II, the first year was spent losing one battle after another. Even the Democratic President never said the war was lost or we were losing. It was always
fight on oh ship of state,
fight on oh nation great,
posterity with all its fears,
and all its hopes for future years,
hangs breathless on your fate.
What shall I tell this great man,
GIVE US THE TOOLS AND WE SHALL FINISH THE JOB.
He didn't say, on goodness we lost that battle. I think we are finished. Lets surrender. Gutless Democratic traitors like Kerry, Fonda, Sheehan, Reid, Pelosi.
Appeasing the enemy makes him stronger not weaker. If you run from him, you empower him and if you empower him MR CHAMERLAIN, HE WILL COME AFTER YOU.
God save America. Because Democrats won't. They are quitters and traitors to the men in the field.
And when the payback comes, they will be hit just like the rest of us. Only then it will be too late. Beause once you let them thing we are paper tigers, those suicide bombers will be in America. And we are wide open for attack. God help us for putting fools into Washington.
Wars are fought to WIN and you fight until you win. Surrender never ends up with glory. It ends up with horror. Wait and see.
Joey at 11:42PM on Apr 23rd 2007
77. Reid... About as worthless as they come. Can you imagine making such a statement during WW2 or the Korean War? These liberal left wingers all got onboard right about the time Vietnam showed up. They claim a LOSS before the fight even begins. What a bunch of idiots.
John Harris at 11:42PM on Apr 23rd 2007
78. DUBYA spelled idiot-boy is in real deep doo doo; and his base is gone, what to do? Now even FAGGOT Karl Rovian is sayyyyin hey we lost and this is fuckin mess...oops!
Sen.Harry Reid is just telling the story from the end of the story......LOST!
Get it ? LOST
-Love Pastor Jimmy
John Cameron Sweezy at 11:57PM on Apr 23rd 2007
79. JOEY writes: MR CHAMERLAIN,
1) It's Chamberlain
2) Chamberlain was a CONSERVATIVE
Steve J. at 11:49PM on Apr 23rd 2007
80. JOHN HARRIS writes: These liberal left wingers all got onboard right about the time Vietnam showed up.
------------------------------
The Republicans turned against Vietnam well before the Democrats did.
http://radamisto.blogspot.com/2006/05/vietnam-iraq-partisanship-study.html
Steve J. at 12:03AM on Apr 24th 2007
81. The source for the "success" of the troop surge is AEI. What a joke. For God's sake, would someone please drive a stake into the heart of these bloodsuckers please?
Didn't we learn anything from Vietnam and the lies and deceit that came from the same positions of power then? (PEntagon, White House, Media?).
In February 2007, The Guardian reported that AEI was offering scientists and economists $10,000 each, "to undermine a major climate change report" from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). AEI asked for "articles that emphasise the shortcomings" of the IPCC report, which "is widely regarded as the most comprehensive review yet of climate change science." AEI visiting scholar Kenneth Green made the $10,000 offer "to scientists in Britain, the US and elsewhere," in a letter describing the IPCC as "resistant to reasonable criticism and dissent." [6]
The Guardian reported further that AEI "has received more than $1.6m from ExxonMobil, and more than 20 of its staff have worked as consultants to the Bush administration. Lee Raymond, a former head of ExxonMobil, is the vice-chairman of AEI's board of trustees,"
Bob at 12:49AM on Apr 24th 2007
82. DAVE M -
Can you prove that most of Nevada disagrees with Sen. Reid?
Steve J. at 12:25AM on Apr 24th 2007
83. Harry Reid and all the other "support or troops" Liberals are doing anything but. It is one thing to utter this phrase, quite another to mean it. How would you feel if you were one of "our troops" busting your ass in Iraq, making progress unnoticed or at least unacknowledged in your own countries press and then had to listen to theses idiotic comments from Reid, Pelosi, Clinton etc.. all for political gain. They truly want us to lose this conflict. Wise up voters.
Tony Linder at 12:48AM on Apr 24th 2007
84. Whether he is or he is not, aren't you tired of so many people saying Bush is retarded? If indeed he is, it would explain a lot, but I don't think it is nice to talk about our president that way. He can't help it. Besides, there are an awful lot of like-minded people in America who voted for him, so in effect when you say Bush is retarded you are saying the same about a large segment of the population. So cut it out, it's not nice!
Dan at 1:08AM on Apr 24th 2007
85. STEVE T. writes: we have to leave them with a strong government.
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We cannot do that for them and the Iraqis do not seem willing to.
TIME TO LEAVE
Steve J. at 12:51AM on Apr 24th 2007
86. TONY LINDER writes: They truly want us to lose this conflict.
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We lost the post-war in the summer of 2003 when Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld refused to send more troops to deal with the rising insurgency.
Steve J. at 12:52AM on Apr 24th 2007
87. First why do the Demos support the concept of Global Change? What's in it for them? Can the Republicans only relate to the Iraqi Occupation, and the reason to convert all parks to facories ?
Second, can we stop comparing Bush #2 war to WWII?
We were at war with 2 countries that were occupying every country from France to Russia, from China to the rest of Asia/. Read your history. We had a dictator that murdered 6 million German civilians, and millions in occupied countries.
Hussein was hanged on the premise of killing 148 Kurds in 1988.
Iraq was exonerated from any involvement with 911.
As for “Mission Accomplished” , the Democrats HAVE to be politically correct. And there is some truth to that statement No one is allowed to be critical of a war that lasting longer than WWII. . We are now in the middle of a civil war. Lets teach Iraq PEACE ,NOT WAR. Our job has been finished a long time ago.
Support your troops. Get them out of Bagdad.Get out of the way of the suicide bombers.
toughgoing at 12:58AM on Apr 24th 2007
88. Steve J. wrote : "We lost the post war"
Steve, my man, we havent lost anything yet, and wont!
Tony Linder at 12:58AM on Apr 24th 2007
89. And for the wingnuts that compare admitting defeat in this war to WW2 or Korea? We didn't get into those wars on a lie of false pretenses. We need to prove that we learned something from Vietnam and let them settle their own differences. All we have done in Iraq is create more terrorists, kill our own soldiers unnecessarily for a lie and spend a boatload of money that could have been spent better and that debt will come back to bite us in the ass sooner than later. But hey, it has made a lot of the friends of the Bush Administation and anyone with oil reserves very rich (that would be the Saudi's and the Texans who own the oil leases in the gulf). Add that up with the tax cuts where 70% of them went to the already super rich and as P.T. Barnum once said "There's a sucker born every minute". And guess what, anyone who can quote this administrations rhetoric chapter in verse such as "the terrorists will follow us home", Stay the course, or cut and run are people that PT would have loved to have met. Wake up, read the facts for yourself and think for yourselves for once in your follow the leader lives.
Bob at 1:04AM on Apr 24th 2007
90. Steve J writes "Time to leave"
You mean "Run Away" Steve, Quit? Good thing he wasnt in charge in charge in WW2, we would be lampshades or soap right now.
Tony Linder at 1:02AM on Apr 24th 2007