JK on the blogs - 3
There are three blogs which all identified the same item which we thought we’d highlight here.
Steve Benen, a writer and political consultant, had some interesting points to make about some of the current discussion of what to do in Iraq at his blog, The Carpetbagger Report.
In a piece titled “If this isn’t ‘chaos,’ what is it?” he mentioned McCain’s rejection of a troop redeployment plan for Iraq on MTP where he (McCain) used “the word “chaos” four times during the interview”.
Steve went on to recount the horrible stats that we’ve all heard and asked, “I’m curious, if this isn’t chaos, what is?”
But what we found most interesting was the following analysis:
<!As far as the other side of the aisle, a growing number of people are taking a second look at John Kerry’s approach to the war and coming to the conclusion, “Maybe that Kerry guy knew what he was talking about.”
Some U.S. military officers say they sense a growing consensus in Washington for imposing firmer deadlines and reducing U.S. troop presence. Some said they believed that would be the right move.
“The John Kerry position of timetables as a forcing mechanism for the Iraqis to get their act together is not that far off from what other people [involved in the U.S. effort in Iraq] are saying,” said one officer, referring to a proposal by the Democratic Massachusetts senator.
Indeed, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Peter Pace, explained that the Bush administration is basically currently pursuing the same strategy of containing terrorism that Kerry advocated in 2004.
Bush’s Iraq Study Group, meanwhile, also seems to believe a Kerry-esque approach may be the way to go.
A commission backed by President Bush that is exploring U.S. options in Iraq intends to propose significant changes in the administration’s strategy by early next year, members say.
Two options under consideration would represent reversals of U.S. policy: withdrawing American troops in phases, and bringing neighboring Iran and Syria into a joint effort to stop the fighting.
My hunch is the Bush White House has just been looking for an excuse to give up on its foolish and disastrous policy, and the ISG may give the Bush gang the chance to change course. The administration has already failed, but now it has the chance to stop digging deeper into the hole.
And, somewhere, John Kerry will whisper, “I told them so….”
The editor at truthdig picked out the same point .
Does Gen. Pace Agree with John Kerry on Iraq?
Posted on Nov 13, 2006
From MSNBC
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, told MSNBC that “winning” in Iraq would mean reducing the violence to a level that permitted the relatively stable functioning of government—in other words: the exact “policing of terrorism” model that Bush and Cheney mocked in 2004.
and directed their readers to this item:
the Thinkprogress piece which highlighted the same thing.
Joint Chiefs Chairman: Administration Is Pursuing Same Terrorism Policy Bush Trashed In 2004
During the 2004 election, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) likened the war against terrorist networks to fighting crime, suggesting that both could never be fully defeated but their impact on our lives could be drastically reduced:
“We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they’re a nuisance,” Kerry said. “As a former law-enforcement person, I know we’re never going to end prostitution. We’re never going to end illegal gambling. But we’re going to reduce it, organized crime, to a level where it isn’t on the rise. It isn’t threatening people’s lives every day, and fundamentally, it’s something that you continue to fight, but it’s not threatening the fabric of your life.”
Kerry was mercilessly attacked for his suggestion that we attempt to reduce terrorism to level where it is a “nuisance.”
[...]
In an interview with MSNBC, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Peter Pace, explained that the Bush administration is currently pursuing the same strategy that Kerry advocated in 2004.
[...]
PACE: Winning to me is simply having each of the nations that we’re trying to help have a secure environment inside of which their government and their people can function. Example: Here in Washington, D.C., there’s crime, but there’s a police force. And the police force keeps the level of crime below the level at which the government can function. That’s really what winning in the war on terrorism is.
Precisely.
Here’s a real plan by someone who understood what we needed in 2004 and has continued to speak out.
-- Prepared by the JK Blog team
21 Comments
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I am really glad to see this. I really believe that the 110th Congress has a moral imperative to adopt the best plan to end the war in Iraq, and I think Kerry-Feingold is thebest plan we’ve seen.
It’s great to see Kerry getting some credit for being so far ahead of the curve. I’m sure he’d trade that credit in a nanosecond for some actual progress in Iraq and the sight of American soldiers returning home. But given the brutally unfair world of politics, it’s gratifying to witness a moment of justice.
Yet another ‘Kerry was right’ moment. How unfortunate for the troops, Iraq, and our country that it took them so long to arrive at the only viable option - John Kerry’s plan. Lets hope that it will finally be implemented now.
Good press about Kerry in the Lamont race as well.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/14/122820/27
Since old Joe is likely to have a huge chip on his shoulder I advise Senator Kerry to buy some protective gear and maybe since Senator Lieberman wants to escalate the war, Senator Lieberman can send some of these to the troops, now rather than later!
Nice to see.
go kerry!
Don’t you just hate it when someone is always right?
Me neither.
Hey, looks like Sen Kerry’s amendment for Veterans Centers passed today. That’s such great news!
I missed the floor speech, although I read the press release. Sounds like a great way to support our returning troops!
Nice work, Senator.
Excellent post!
Enough of the people who believe withdrawal should be predicated on the complete annihilation of Iraq.
Time to withdraw our troops.
GV, that’s wonderful news!
Also, congratulations to Senator Kerry, Chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship for the 110th Congress.
Tekkie help.
I’m not savvy with videos. To view You Tube, I have to load forever, and do not have DSL. My computer is new and appropriate for entertainment, whatever that means.
How can I enjoy the streamlininbg on this site?
Seems to me we should work on some kind of quick comment or phrase that gets across the “Kerry was right” meme that we can keep repeating. We will have plenty of opportunity to add to what we already have.
“Who’s getting ideas from John Kerry’s ‘04 campaign speeches?”
“Another Voter’s Remorse Moment?”
“John Kerry, the guy who delivers who delivers the truth, with jokes, that Americans finally get when mugged by reality.”
Crow recipe # 3: How to deal with the situation in Iraq.
“Drives me nuts wondering if 59,001 Ohio voters, who knew that Kerry was right in ‘04, weren’t able to cast a ballot.”
Other ideas?
I wish they had listened before this. We had 1,000 dead in Iraq in Oct of 2004, 2,000 in Oct of 2005 and 2,500 in June of this year. Sen. Kerry is correct when he says that it is immoral that we are still there and still unable to change course in this pointless war. We need to get out. The more we delay, the more coffins will come home with our kids in them.
I went to my Northern Massachusetts’ town’s local Memorial Day Parade in 2004. There was a woman there showing off pictures of her husband’s time in Baghdad during the initial invasion of that city. This attracted a steady stream of people who came over to ask questions and look at actual photos taken by Americans there. There was a table of things that families at the local VFW had made to sell to support the families here at home as well. I got this teddy bear with the tag on it that reads: Thank you for supporting our troops! 167th/ 821st / 888th Family Readiness Group out of Londonderry, NH. There was no table there and no one showing off photos at the end of the parade in 2005 and again in 2006. There are no good photos to show of Iraq now, only sad ones now.
I want to thank Sen. Kerry for getting that Amendment on the Veteran’s Centers passed. It is beyond sad that we have bake sales and yard sales and such to support our troops and their families back home while war profiteers and politically connected corporations make billions off this war. I await the day when we don’t have to have these bake sales “for our troops” because they have what is rightfully theirs, the support of the government that sent them to war in the first place. It will be thanks to good people like John Kerry when this happens, I know that.
Seems to me we should work on some kind of quick comment or phrase that gets across the “Kerry was right” meme that we can keep repeating. We will have plenty of opportunity to add to what we already have.
Posted by Ginny in CO | November 14, 2006 9:02 PM
Ginny,
How about, “We told you so.”
Very interesting thread. Is there any solace in knowing that we were right? To me not really. I will feel some sense of vindication if Senator Kerry’s proposals become accepted and enacted.
Senator Kerry is too magnanimous an individual to brag that those who are offering “new solutions” are actually bringing suggestions that we have heard years ago. Me, I am not, and will be all too glad to get in people’s faces and remind them that they had a choice in 2004 to elect the man who proposed these ground breaking plans.
GV:
It was really great to see that the veteran’s centers bill passed. It’s sad the Republicans held it up so long. This is how you really support the troops - that and trying to keep them from fighting a losing battle.
Seeing this pass reminded me of the Harvard Kennedy Center premiere of the NECN film “Hidden Wounds” that spoke of PTSD. In addition to Senator Kerry, Senator Cleland was incredible. The Kerry crew member, Del ‘s comments were brutal. Anyway, here’s a link to it:
http://ksgaccman.harvard.edu/iop/events_forum_video.asp?ID=2973
(The MA and NH vet organizations involved clearly value the Senator’s committment.
It will be thanks to good people like John Kerry when this happens, I know that.
The “stay the course” crowd has launched an full court offensive against the growing anti-war sentiment that is also an attempt to neuter the new Dem majority. Swiftboat attacks against Murtha has been followed up by a NY Times article this morning of the Judith Miller variety.
Any help form the Kerry community to defend Murtha and get him over the top in the secret ballot is vital to keeping the hopes of the American people alive to end this war.
If Hoyer wins, I fear this will lead to discouragement and disillusionment. The Dems will be viewed as lacking the will to end this war, and, it will also project powerlessness.
It’s sad that today’s media is based on one liners and bs rather than substance. Kerry was one of the first to call for a phased withdrawl but he’ll never get credit for it, they’d rather focus on a joke about Bush being a moron!
That’s why the chances of us getting a great President like John Kerry gets lower and lower, because it’s not about substance, it’s about who can fool the public the most to get in the WH!
Thank god John Kerry will keep fighting
While others are still jockeying for leadership positions inside the senate, Kerry has shown why he is a true leader for the American people:
1 - proposed an amendment which provides $18 million in critical funding to the nation’s Veteran’s Administration (VA) Centers, amendment that was passed.
2 - Called on Administration to Comply with U.S. Climate Change Law (http://www.johnkerry.com/news/releases/release.html?id=45)/
3 - With his colleagues on the SBC, written to the SBA concerning New Orleans.
http://sbc.senate.gov/democrat/lettersout/061113-SBAstaffdelegationtogulfcoast.pdf
So, senator, please continue to fight for us and do not let these jokers stop you.
Great post. And I don’t imagine that when they adopt a plan similar to JKs that it will be very hard to get the blogosphere word out that this is what JK has been saying all along.
Senator - your record speaks volumes. You make us proud.
On C-SPAN 2 now: Senator Lautenberg is adding the names of the 157 Americans who died in Iraq during the Congressional recess to the Congressional Record. This should be online tomorrow for anyone who is interested.
Kerry was excoriated for flubbing a joke and now Murtha is attacked for refusing to take a bribe in the Abscam sting 26 years ago. Murtha was the one Congressmen never indicted and no findings were made against him, yet the media jumped on the bandwageon to swiftboat him.
His interview with Chris Matthews is at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15737141
He says he has the votes for majority leader.
The war mongers are pulling out all the stops.
Whitehouse and Reed need to articulate loudly as Jack Murtha has that a withdrawal should commence forthwith.
Kerry has too much class to say ‘I told you so’... but I don’t (I have a lot of class - all third).
So if the sheeples had listened to the only candidates (twice) who knew how to govern and had the ability to govern, we would not be in the horrible state we are in.
When I see those with ‘W’ stickers, it is all I can do to not walk up to them as ask if they are happy their votes gave us the mess we are in.