Bush has finally managed to say something about Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a dead Iraq War vet, who is camped out in front of his critterless ranch waiting to speak to him about the futility of this war. Of course, he didn’t speak to her directly, referring to her as one of the “voices” calling for a withdrawal of troops:
CRAWFORD, Texas – President Bush, taking a break from a day of discussions with his administration’s top advisers, said Thursday he understands and respects the views of anti-war advocates like the woman camped outside his Texas ranch to mourn the loss of her son, but that it would be a mistake to bring U.S. troops home now.
Bush said he had “heard the voices of those who say pull out now, and I’ve thought about it.”
“They are crying,” he said, and they want to reduce U.S. losses in war-torn Iraq.
Bush said he understood their pain. But on the issue of withdrawing troops, he said: “I just strongly disagree. Pulling our troops out would send a terrible signal to the enemy.”
The “terrible signal” he refers to is the loonie idea that if we set a date for withdrawal, the insurgents would just wait us out and then bring their violence and hatred to bear in Iraq. As opposed to now, when the insurgents are bringing their violence and hatred to bear in Iraq. Righties have this idea that if we withdraw, we send a message that if they just kill enough of us, we’ll get weak-kneed and quit. Well, then, since we’ve set no withdrawal date, we must be sending a message that we’re going to stay no matter how many of us they kill. Funny, that doesn’t seem to be discouraging them from killing us.
You cannot outlast an insurgency in its own country. The longer we stay, the more they fight and the more recruits we bring to them. Did we learn nothing from Vietnam?
Paul Hackett, the Marine Iraq Vet who narrowly lost a congressional election in one of the most conservative districts in Ohio, spoke to that idea and the whole Iraquagmire eloquently on last night’s Hardball:
GREGORY: And American people are increasingly uneasy about the pace of events in Iraq. Do you think the world would have been better if Saddam Hussein were left in power?
HACKETT: I’m not necessarily sure if the world would be better off or worse off. My question is, is America better off or worse off?
And I take somewhat of a Machiavellian approach to it. And I’m not necessarily — I don’t necessarily believe that the United States is better off today, now that Saddam Hussein is gone. Frankly, I’m not sure, if you surveyed most Iraqis, if they would think that they are better off today with Saddam Hussein gone.
My first question is, what’s best for America? And I’m not yet a big believer in America being better off with the state of Iraq as it is today.
GREGORY: You — you — you think it’s basically a clean slate. I mean, if Saddam Hussein is still in power, the threat of terror is not any less; it’s not any more?
HACKETT: Well, stay focused; 9/11 didn’t happen in relationship to Iraq. Iraq was a contained threat. They were a regional bully. Saddam Hussein is an evil guy. And my question is, well, who appointed us to be the police force of the world?
…
HACKETT: I think right now the mission is, we pick up and we get out of there as efficiently and cleanly as possible.
GREGORY: Right away, bring troops home today?
HACKETT: I think that’s what we’re moving toward anyway.
GREGORY: Well, that by — perhaps by next spring.
…
HACKETT: Right now, I think the country is in civil war and I don’t think that we’re going to be effective in the middle of a civil war.
GREGORY: Is there any upside to cutting and running now?
HACKETT: I don’t think there is any upside in cutting and running. I don’t think there is — aside from saving billions of dollars and countless lives. But I don’t think there’s any upset—upside in staying either. I think we’re probably at that point now and I think that Americans all have to critically look at what the administration is asking the military to do there. And being beat cops on the streets of Fallujah, Ramadi and Baghdad I don’t think is the best use of the military.
We are nation-building over there. President Bush in 2000 said he didn’t want to nation-build. Well, guess what, folks? That’s what we’re doing over there. We’re nation-building and we’re painting schools. I don’t think painting schools and act — and using the military as beat cops if the best use of this military. That’s my personal opinion.
Hoo-AH! If Hackett doesn’t run for Senate, this country will be sorrier for the loss. This is the kind of balls-wielding Democrat Howard Dean needs to be cultivating. Hell, forget Senate, let’s go for a Wesley Clark / Paul Hackett 2008 ticket! Two military men, two balls-wielding Democrats, 9,524% more military experience than the entire Bush maladministration combined!
