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Disclaimer: The author of this site maintained the campaign weblog of John Kline's opponent in the 2006 election, which made Congressman Kline a bit testy.

As with all blogs, review the facts carefully and draw your own conclusions.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Pixie Dust

Today the Iraq Study Group --- a group led by John Kline's hero and mentor, James Baker, and facilitated by The United States Institute of Peace, an organization Kline openly disdains --- released its recommendations for dealing with the quagmire in Iraq.

In an interview with ABC, Baker made two statements which stand in direct opposition to Kline's stated policy positions on Iraq. Kline believes we must send additional troops to Iraq, although he has never explained where these troops will come from. Baker says that beefing up forces is not a realistic option. Furthermore, when Coleen Rowley stated, in a televised debate during the campaign, that we need to engage Iran and Syria in working toward a diplomatic solution, Kline cut her off and denounced the idea, saying "You cannot solve these world problems with pixie dust." Baker disagrees:

Baker clearly said that those against talking with Syria and Iran are wrong. He said that what the report calls for with respect to Iran is, "nothing different than what this very administration did in Afghanistan when it asked the Iranians to help us in Afghanistan and they did." He said Iran's nuclear ambitions should be treated as a separate issue and that, "those should be left to be dealt with in the U.N. Security Council."

Baker, who has negotiated with the Syrian government in the past, referenced his previous diplomatic trips there. "We have an embassy there, we have ambassadors here," and that "notwithstanding their state sponsorship of terrorism" the United States has always been talking with Syria.

Since Kline prides himself on placing "principle above partisanship," I'm sure he will be issuing a statement tomorrow criticizing his hero and mentor Baker every bit as harshly as he criticized Rowley during the campaign.

Update: Apparently I was wrong about Kline wanting to send more troops to Iraq. I was thinking of this interview Kline gave three months ago in which he stated that he wants a bigger Army. He wants this so that we won't need to send so many reserve troops to Iraq.

But he has still never explained where these new recruits will come from.

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