Cut and Run
[Disclaimer: This post was first published on Coleen Rowley's campaign weblog.]
Those who support an open-ended U.S. occupation of Iraq, like John Kline, accuse those who support a responsible redeployment strategy of wanting to 'cut and run'. This phrase comes straight from Karl Rove, and Republican candidates across the country have incorporated it into their campaigns. Some of John Kline's supporters have also used it in their attacks on Coleen.
Apart from this slogan, John Kline and his supporters have offered little to defend their 'stay the course' approach to Iraq, and it's no wonder. All the facts support a responsible redeployment approach, and many folks --- including some Republicans --- are beginning to acknowledge it.
Tommy Johnson, a veteran and former candidate for Congress in Minnesota's Third Congressional District agrees with Coleen. Major General (ret.) Jerald Albrecht agrees that the Bush administration has left our troops in Iraq twisting in the wind, which is why he co-authored an op-ed with Coleen. And Congressman Jack Murtha, the member of Congress with the longest service to the military, has endorsed Coleen in part due to their agreement on responsible redeployment. Numerous military and foreign policy experts, many with prior experience serving as national security counsel, are in strong consensus on the need to change course.
Even John Warner, Republican Senator from Virginia and former Secretary of the Navy, has conceded that it may soon be time to change course in Iraq. And this is hardly surprising, considering that the situation in Iraq has been steadily deteriorating since Bush proclaimed 'Mission Accomplished'; that the occupation of Iraq has dramatically weakened our military readiness; and that according to a recent national security report, it has given rise to a new generation of terrorists bent on destroying America. This is the course John Kline believes we should stay on.
Coleen Rowley believes we should change the course, because it's in our national interest.
When it comes to sound bites like 'cut and run', there's one other thing to keep in mind. A person cuts and runs because they want to take the easy way out of a bad situation, and that's something Coleen Rowley would never do. It would have been the easy thing for her to remain silent in 2002, and go along with the administration's "there's nothing we could have done" defense for being asleep at the wheel on September 11, 2001. But she didn't. She risked her 24-year FBI career to stand up and tell the truth about the mistakes which had been made, and has paid for it by bearing the scorn of Bush administration rubber stamps like John Kline. For Coleen, there is no choice between doing the easy thing and doing the right thing; there is only the right thing. Anyone who says otherwise is playing politics.
Those who support an open-ended U.S. occupation of Iraq, like John Kline, accuse those who support a responsible redeployment strategy of wanting to 'cut and run'. This phrase comes straight from Karl Rove, and Republican candidates across the country have incorporated it into their campaigns. Some of John Kline's supporters have also used it in their attacks on Coleen.
Apart from this slogan, John Kline and his supporters have offered little to defend their 'stay the course' approach to Iraq, and it's no wonder. All the facts support a responsible redeployment approach, and many folks --- including some Republicans --- are beginning to acknowledge it.
Tommy Johnson, a veteran and former candidate for Congress in Minnesota's Third Congressional District agrees with Coleen. Major General (ret.) Jerald Albrecht agrees that the Bush administration has left our troops in Iraq twisting in the wind, which is why he co-authored an op-ed with Coleen. And Congressman Jack Murtha, the member of Congress with the longest service to the military, has endorsed Coleen in part due to their agreement on responsible redeployment. Numerous military and foreign policy experts, many with prior experience serving as national security counsel, are in strong consensus on the need to change course.
Even John Warner, Republican Senator from Virginia and former Secretary of the Navy, has conceded that it may soon be time to change course in Iraq. And this is hardly surprising, considering that the situation in Iraq has been steadily deteriorating since Bush proclaimed 'Mission Accomplished'; that the occupation of Iraq has dramatically weakened our military readiness; and that according to a recent national security report, it has given rise to a new generation of terrorists bent on destroying America. This is the course John Kline believes we should stay on.
Coleen Rowley believes we should change the course, because it's in our national interest.
When it comes to sound bites like 'cut and run', there's one other thing to keep in mind. A person cuts and runs because they want to take the easy way out of a bad situation, and that's something Coleen Rowley would never do. It would have been the easy thing for her to remain silent in 2002, and go along with the administration's "there's nothing we could have done" defense for being asleep at the wheel on September 11, 2001. But she didn't. She risked her 24-year FBI career to stand up and tell the truth about the mistakes which had been made, and has paid for it by bearing the scorn of Bush administration rubber stamps like John Kline. For Coleen, there is no choice between doing the easy thing and doing the right thing; there is only the right thing. Anyone who says otherwise is playing politics.
posted by David Bailey | 8:24 PM
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