In principle, I do not favor Congressional involvement in the execution of U.S. foreign and military policy. I have seen its perverse effects in many cases. The conflict in Iraq is different. Over the past couple of years, the President has let it proceed on automatic pilot, making no corrections in the face of accumulating evidence that his strategy is failing and cannot be rescued.
[...]
To put this in a simple army metaphor, the Commander-in-Chief seems to have gone AWOL, that is ‘absent without leave.’ He neither acts nor talks as though he is in charge. Rather, he engages in tit-for-tat games.
[...]
The challenge we face today is not how to win in Iraq; it is how to recover from a strategic mistake: invading Iraq in the first place. The war could never have served American interests.
But it has served Iran’s interest by revenging Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Iran in the 1980s and enhancing Iran’s influence within Iraq. It has also served al Qaeda’s interests, providing a much better training ground than did Afghanistan, allowing it to build its ranks far above the levels and competence that otherwise would have been possible.
Funny thing - a lot of people were upset when it was it was revealed that Bush was AWOL from the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. If they didn't deny it outright, they said digging up ancient history was irrelevant. Maybe not so much so.
Recommend reading the whole radio address.
3 comments:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident. . ."
that when the "commander-in-chief" posts a new government job listing for "War Czar" -
he has publicly proclaimed himself AWOL.
Let the court-martial begin.
Pretty incredible that, isn't it? But fits the profile.
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