Are we supporting the troops?
This seems the defining question in the latest framing of the conversation from President Bush and his Administration and crafted by the linguistic genius, Karl Rove. The President has said if you set a timetable for the withdrawal of troops in Iraq, you are supporting the enemy and not supporting the troops. He has also said if you cut the funding for the troops, you will be denying the troops the vital equipment they need to protect and defend America and, therefore, you are siding with the terrorists.
Many over the past few weeks have cited claims that the surge is working and we need to give Gen. Petraeus and the military more time to make the "new strategy" work. So as you can see, the argument seems compelling for us not to support the Democratic attempt to link the funding to date for troop withdrawal. This has resulted in President Bush shooting across the bow of the Democrats the threat of a veto of the bill, if approved by the Senate. The battle seems to be framed for an intensive fight. If the Democrats send the President a Bill linking the funding to troop withdrawal, the President will veto it and the necessary funding will not pass. Then the President will blame the Democrats for all the casualties in Iraq, as a result of tying his hands by tightening the purse strings.
So let's see where we stand now where the President has all the funds he has needed so far and let's see what has happened regarding casualties.
March 2005 had 35 Fatalities
March 2006 had 31 Fatalities
March 2007 has 70 Fatalities SO FAR!!!
You say that is only one months data. Ok, here's the latest data for the past 3 years looking at a summary of the 4 month period of December through March:
Dec. through March 2005 had 272 Fatalities
Dec. through March 2006 had 216 Fatalities
Dec. through March 2007 has 345 Fatalities SO FAR!!! That is a 60% increase over last year!
So how are we supporting our troops? I claim that the current Bush/Cheney policy in Iraq is NOT SUPPORTING our troops and is, in fact, at their detriment!
President Bush and VP Cheney own this problem in total. However, what is bordering on treason, is how Karl Rove has shaped the arguments, which pits Americans against Americans.
It is Karl Rove who is the Divider in this Administration. The sooner Karl Rove is forced to kowtow, the better America will be. Karl Rove has done more harm to this country than Benedict Arnold or the terrorists who defiled America on 9/11 and I don't mind saying it either. He is not a true American in the real sense. He is responsible, single handedly, for the demise of real debate and bipartisanship in America.
That is why Senator Leahy must force the issue to get Karl Rove in front of the Senate to testify under oath. However, as has been written about Karl Rove in "The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power" by James Moore and Wayne Slater, he doesn't tell the truth under oath either. This is one scoundrel we all could do without. He probably is connected to everything that is wrong in Washington with this Administration from leaking Valerie Plame's name along with Scooter Libbey, to having his hands all over this U.S. Attorney firings, to the infamous Jack Abramoff scandal. It's time for Rove to go!
Many over the past few weeks have cited claims that the surge is working and we need to give Gen. Petraeus and the military more time to make the "new strategy" work. So as you can see, the argument seems compelling for us not to support the Democratic attempt to link the funding to date for troop withdrawal. This has resulted in President Bush shooting across the bow of the Democrats the threat of a veto of the bill, if approved by the Senate. The battle seems to be framed for an intensive fight. If the Democrats send the President a Bill linking the funding to troop withdrawal, the President will veto it and the necessary funding will not pass. Then the President will blame the Democrats for all the casualties in Iraq, as a result of tying his hands by tightening the purse strings.
So let's see where we stand now where the President has all the funds he has needed so far and let's see what has happened regarding casualties.
March 2005 had 35 Fatalities
March 2006 had 31 Fatalities
March 2007 has 70 Fatalities SO FAR!!!
You say that is only one months data. Ok, here's the latest data for the past 3 years looking at a summary of the 4 month period of December through March:
Dec. through March 2005 had 272 Fatalities
Dec. through March 2006 had 216 Fatalities
Dec. through March 2007 has 345 Fatalities SO FAR!!! That is a 60% increase over last year!
So how are we supporting our troops? I claim that the current Bush/Cheney policy in Iraq is NOT SUPPORTING our troops and is, in fact, at their detriment!
President Bush and VP Cheney own this problem in total. However, what is bordering on treason, is how Karl Rove has shaped the arguments, which pits Americans against Americans.
It is Karl Rove who is the Divider in this Administration. The sooner Karl Rove is forced to kowtow, the better America will be. Karl Rove has done more harm to this country than Benedict Arnold or the terrorists who defiled America on 9/11 and I don't mind saying it either. He is not a true American in the real sense. He is responsible, single handedly, for the demise of real debate and bipartisanship in America.
That is why Senator Leahy must force the issue to get Karl Rove in front of the Senate to testify under oath. However, as has been written about Karl Rove in "The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power" by James Moore and Wayne Slater, he doesn't tell the truth under oath either. This is one scoundrel we all could do without. He probably is connected to everything that is wrong in Washington with this Administration from leaking Valerie Plame's name along with Scooter Libbey, to having his hands all over this U.S. Attorney firings, to the infamous Jack Abramoff scandal. It's time for Rove to go!
posted by Charles Amico at 8:44 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home