The following words were delivered last night by Sen. Gordon Smith (a Republican from Oregon), a 10-year veteran of the Senate:
I, for one, am at the end of my rope when it comes to supporting a policy that has our soldiers patrolling the same streets in the same way, being blown up by the same bombs day after day. That is absurd. It may even be criminal . I cannot support that anymore . I believe we need to figure out how to fight the war on terror and to do it right. So either we clear and hold and build, or let’s go home.
There are no good options, as the Iraq Study Group has mentioned in their report. I am not sure cutting and walking is any better. I have little confidence that the Syrians and the Iranians are going to be serious about helping us to build a stable and democratic Iraq. I am at a crossroads as well. I want my constituents to know what is in my heart, what has guided my votes…
So let’s cut and run, or cut and walk, or let us fight the war on terror more intelligently than we have, because we have fought this war in a very lamentable way.
Those are my feelings. I regret them. I would have never voted for this conflict had I reason to believe that the intelligence we had was not accurate. It was not accurate, but that is history. Now we must find a way to make the best of a terrible situation, at a minimum of loss of life for our brave fighting men and women. So I will be looking for every opportunity to clear, build, hold, and win or how to bring our troops home.
I wouldn't count on the Syrians to help bring peace and stability to Iraq. Syria has a regime government much like Iraq did before Bush invaded. If Iraq were to develop a stable democracy…after the violent overthrow of their regime government…the Syrian citizens might get the idea they could do the same thing in their country. That's the last thing in the world the Syrian government would want to have happen. Thus, notwithstanding the possibility of Iraqi refugees flooding into Syria to escape a civil war, the Syrian government has a vested interest in seeing the fledgling Iraq democracy crash and burn: to send a message to its own citizens that the same thing might happen in Syria if its citizens try to achieve democracy via a similar path.
Of course, Bush's branding of Syria as part of the "Axis of Evil" makes their cooperation even less likely.
James Baker (bush senior's war dog) has come out with new strategies which contradict Condoleeza Rice (baby bush's war dog) Iraq plan. Gonna be really interesting to see how (if?) GWBush handles having to change his tune.
Interesting point about Syrian motives, they are always seem to smiling, makes me nervous. In terms of the "axis of evil", I saw Leslie Stahl's report last night about North Korea. The vast majority of the population there are completely brainwashed, but they do not seem to mind (the definition of brainwashed?). Often working in sweatshops and *always* wearing badges of the deceased father of Kim Jong il, they displayed what I recognized as *religious* fanatacism/delusion toward their dictator. The North Korean library contained 2 books from the West (gone with the wind, casablanca) the rest were "guides" created by the dictatorship. Absolutely stunning tv journalism. I am trying to find some links, none yet.