Once again, Randy Kuhl is putting his finger to the wind and waiting for President Bush to tell him what to think and say about the disaster in Iraq. Clueless Kuhl actually seems to think that Petraeus saying that US forces returning to "pre-surge" levels next summer is an indication that the "surge" is working. (In all fairness, our clueless President seems to think the same thing.)
I've got news for you, Mr. Kuhl. The "surge" was always going to end in late spring. Why? Because it was always going to be impossible to sustain. ALWAYS, idiot. Dangle a shiny "troop reduction" in front of halfwits like Kuhl and all of a sudden they can't see that the whole damn enterprise is a complete and utter disaster. Now he is apparently waiting for the White House to release its report on the 18 benchmarks that the Iraqi government has failed to meet, despite the fact that we know, as per the GAO, that they have failed to meet all but 3 of them. How some of these clowns get elected i the first place escapes me.
"General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker's testimonies yesterday represented the most accurate, credible and up-to-date assessment of the security and political realities in Iraq. I am in complete support of starting to bring our men and women home this month. However, although their testimonies were encouraging in terms of securing Iraq, I am discouraged by the advancements made in the areas of reconciliation and political progress. As I have discussed in the past, the results from the 18 benchmarks set forth by Congress will be released on Saturday, the 15th and will be an important determinate of the progress in Iraq."
Waiting for a failed President to lie to you once again isn't leadership. Dumping this flaming fiasco in the lap of the next President and the next Congress to save this President some very well deserved embarrassment isn't leadership either. At best, it's cluelessness. At worst, it's criminal.
Regardless, Eric Massa isn't buying it and neither should anyone else. Massa, someone who actually knows something about how the military actually works, just released this statement calling out the clueless, indecisive Kuhl:
Randy Kuhl waits for President Bush to tell him what to say - again
Eric Massa demands decisive, coherent and immediate action from Randy Kuhl
With the announcement of a major Presidential address set for Thursday, Randy Kuhl has delayed taking a position on Iraq - again. Late Tuesday evening, Congressman Randy Kuhl published a press release stating that he has still not made up his mind on the Petraeus-Crocker proposal as presented to the House and Senate for the past two days.
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This is not the first time Kuhl has made reference to bringing troops home as noted in an Olean Times Herald article from August 4th 2006 where he said we could be bringing troops home by last Christmas. The Petraeus testimony, however calls for an extended surge through next year.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I think that Randy Kuhl would stall and flip flop on this issue," said Congressional challenger and former aide to the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO Eric Massa. "If Randy Kuhl is in complete support of starting to bring combat troops home this month, then why won't he take a leadership position against this President's failed policy - he can't have it both ways. Yesterday, while General Petraeus reported to the House, we heard about another nine American Troops killed in Iraq. Today we heard about a mortar attack on a US headquarters installation in Baghdad killing one and wounding another 11. How many dead Americans will it take before Randy Kuhl gets it? We already know that only 3 of 18 benchmarks were met, so what is he waiting for?"
"Randy Kuhl wrote that he would like to start bringing our troops home, and that he believes the Petreaus report is the "most accurate assessment" of Iraq. These two statements directly contradict each other. Randy Kuhl is again flip flopping the facts and he can no longer have it both ways. When this surge was instituted, it was supposed to last until this September. The time for the surge has passed and now they want to continue over extending our military for yet another year. This is not new, and we saw it in Vietnam - one year at a time. The Petraeus report that Kuhl anticipated in past press releases again moves the goal posts."
"Once again, I call on Randy Kuhl to do the right thing for our soldiers. He can not ride the fence any longer while our soldiers continue to pay the price. Rubberstamping President Bush's failed policy in Iraq is not in the interest of the families of the 29th Congressional District, the soldiers on the ground, nor the United States of America. As I've always said, we need to begin leaving Iraq and we need to start right now. The Iraq quagmire calls out for leadership - not continued rubberstamping."
For most of the day Monday, as I listened to one republican Congressman after another pepper General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker with questions like "In your opinion, General, is the 'surge' totally awesome or merely very, very awesome?", I felt that the nation had been punk'd once again. September was supposed to the time when a number of dutiful republican rubber stampers, especially those in the House, were supposed to take the opportunity to distance themselves from the tragic debacle of their party's Iraq policy, lest they find themselves unemployed after January 2009. Yet all I was hearing seemed to sound like the same head in the sand, full speed ahead drivel that has propelled this bloody fiasco for five years now.
One can say many things about Walsh, but he's certainly not stupid. Not only can he see the writing on the wall (about 4 years too late, IMHO) but he can feel the breath on his neck. Jim has already found himself "disappointed" by the voters in his district. Chances are that if he had stuck with this disastrous policy for another year, the voters of New York's 25th CD would have "disappointed" him out on his ass next November.
How should a loyal supporter of the war explain his change of heart? Well, he should publish an account of his eye opening trip to the war zone in a local paper, apparently. The Syracuse Post-Standard is carrying Walsh's "Iraq Journal" this morning and it is is quite instructive of how the mind of a republican back bencher's mind works as it seeks a diplomatic way to back away from the war that threatens to end their career in public service. It's full of contradictions and reveals a typically republican obliviousness to the actual dynamics and shape of the myriad of conflicts that have turned Iraq into what he calls "one of the most dangerous places on Earth." In that sense, it also probably reflects the journey of disenchantment many Americans have traveled over the past few years. As NYCO says over at DailyKos:
Walsh, of course, is facing a second serious challenge for his seat from Dan Maffei in NY-25, so his political reasons for doing this are pretty transparent. The guy desperately wants to keep his job. However, this article is worth reading only because it shows how the mind of a rank-and-file Republican works, and also probably reflects the attitudes of many Americans who initially supported the war.
Walsh's journal is an interesting read and is excerpted extensively on the flip...
As reported last night, Rep Jim Walsh (NY-25) has indeed decided to support withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and will oppose further funding of the occupation. This change of heart is confirmed by two upstate newspapers this morning.
Rep. Jim Walsh, in a dramatic break with the White House, returned Monday from a trip to Iraq saying it's time to bring troops home and stop funding the war.
The moderate Republican from Onondaga has struggled for months with conflicting emotions about the war.
"Before I went, I was not prepared to say it's time to start bringing our troops home," Walsh said. "I am prepared to say that now. It's time."
Walsh's announcement came as Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, told House members that the troop "surge" has made progress.
But Walsh said he saw little evidence that much has changed in Iraq since he last visited four years ago. He said he hopes to meet with President Bush to convey his change of heart.
After months of wavering in his support for the war in Iraq, Rep. James Walsh said Monday he now favors a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops and will support votes in Congress to force the issue.
Walsh, R-Onondaga, said he made his decision to part ways with President Bush and other Republicans after visiting troops in Iraq over the weekend, his first trip since 2003.
"Things have not changed substantially in Iraq," Walsh said after returning to Washington Monday. "It's a very, very dangerous place, if not the most dangerous place on Earth. Governance is a serious issue. They are stumbling toward democracy."
Walsh said he saw some progress, but too little, while visiting Baghdad and an American military hospital in Balad, about 60 miles to the north. He was part of a five-member congressional delegation that visited the country Saturday and Sunday.
"What occurred to me while I was in Iraq is that it's time," Walsh said. "We've done enough. No country has done more than we have for Iraq. The question I kept coming up with is how much do we have to give Iraq to make things work? I think we have given enough."
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"I think we need to let the president know that if he doesn't start taking troops out, then Congress will use the power of the purse to do it," Walsh said Monday, adding he hoped to sign on to a bipartisan bill that would set a date for a gradual draw down.
I guess we'll see a flood of "Republicans divided over Iraq" stories now, right?
Via our friends at Rochester Turning, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle is reporting that GOP Rep Jim Walsh is bailing on the so called "surge", will support withdrawal from Iraq and will no longer support funding for the war. This is big news, folks.
This just in:
Just received an email from our Washington reporter, Erin Kelly, who just got off the phone with Rep. Jim Walsh. She's writing a story for tomorrow's paper that reports the moderate Republican is switching gears and is now calling for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
Not only that but Walsh, who visited Iraq during the weekend, says he will no longer support funding the war.
Representatives John Hall (NY-19) and Maurice Hinchey (NY-22) have released statements about the testimony of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker before a joint House Committee today. They are both fairly strong though I wish Hall's was as strong as Hinchey's.
Here's some highlights of John Hall's statement:
The hearing provided little in the way of new evidence and I believe we still need a firm timetable to wind down our involvement in Iraq.
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However, General Petraeus gave no new evidence that Iraqi forces are prepared to hold the gains American troops have made. And Ambassador Crocker seemed pessimistic that Iraqi politicians could take advantage of whatever small improvements have occurred.
When announcing his escalation, President Bush said we would see results in 6 months. Now, at the 6 month point, his two top officials in Iraq are unable to show any tangible signs of improvement and have asked for 6 more months. The American people don't want 6 more months of the same quagmire and I don't believe Congress should provide it.
And Hinchey shows the freshman how it's done:
"Well it took President Bush awhile, but he finally found a military leader who would go along with his misguided plan for Iraq and try to sell it to Congress and the American people. The call from General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker for Congress to give more time for the so-called surge to work is a recipe for disaster and completely unacceptable.
"Time and time again, President Bush has appealed to Congress and the American people to remain patient and wait for him to come through with a successful plan for Iraq. Time is up. As of today, 3,759 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq and more than 27,770 have been wounded. The violence is getting worse with 56 percent more U.S. casualties in Iraq this year than at this time in 2006. Not one more American should have to die in Iraq or lose a limb as President Bush looks for more excuses to stay in Iraq.
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"The so-called surge was designed to give the Iraqi government more time to solidify itself and strengthen security throughout the country. The surge has failed. The sad truth is that Iraq is a very volatile country; there are tragic levels of violence now and there will be tragic levels of violence whenever the United States leaves. However, the United States' presence in Iraq is not doing anything to quell the violence that already exists. For that reason, it's time to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
"President Bush misled this country into invading Iraq and he has proven to be extraordinarily incompetent at managing the subsequent occupation. When President Bush said Iraq was connected to al Qaeda and the September 11 attacks he was deliberately wrong. When President Bush declared "mission accomplished" just six weeks after the invasion of Iraq he was foolishly wrong. When President Bush asked for time to let his so-called surge work he was wrong. Now that he is asking for more time to let his so-called surge work we are wise enough to know that he will be wrong again so we must step in and end the U.S. occupation of Iraq now. It is time for our troops to come home and to be redeployed to Afghanistan and other parts of the world where al Qaeda continues to lurk as a major threat to our national security. Not another American should die in Iraq."
I'm still looking for other statements from the NY delegation. If you find anything, feel free to pass it on or post them yourself.
Like many of you, I am currently following the testimony of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker before the House Armed Services Committee. Petraeus delivered exactly the testimony expected. Rep Tom Lantos wasn't buying it.
"We can not take ANY of this Administration's assertions on Iraq at face value anymore, and no amount of charts or statistics will improve its credibility. This is not a knock on you, General Petraeus, or on you, Ambassador Crocker. But the fact remains, gentlemen, that the Administration has sent you here today to convince the members of these two Committees and the Congress that victory is at hand. With all due respect to you, I must say ... I don't buy it. And neither does the independent Government Accountability Office or the Commission headed by General Jones. Both recently issued deeply pessimistic reports... In the last few days, General Petraeus, media have reported that you are prepared to support a slow drawdown of our forces in Iraq - beginning with a brigade or two, perhaps at the end of this year. This clearly is nowhere near enough... It is time to go - and to go now."
Today is D-Day for the so called "Petraeus Report" that we've been told to wait for all year. I put it in quotes because we've known for quite some time now that the report will actually be written by the White House if there is even a written report at all. The "report" is being rolled out as it becomes increasingly obvious that the American people aren't buying the "surge is totally working" drivel we've been subjected to in recent weeks. Furthermore, we now also know that Iraqis aren't buying it either as a full 70% of them say the "surge" has failed.
The National Security Network has released an extremely well produced video this morning "pre-butting" what I think we all expect from General Petraeus' testimony before Congress later today. The clip has footage from a number of heavy hitters in the national security community such as Richard Clarke and Rand Beers.
