Fred Sneesby - Observations on Culture, Faith and Politics

Listen to the Republicans about Iraq

July 16, 2007

There are so many voices out there pulling the average person one way or another about the future role of the United States in Iraq. There are generals and ex-generals. There are families of soldiers killed in the war. There are soldiers themselves in Iraq or back home after serving a tour. There are foreign policy experts and scholars. There are Middle Eastern analysts and Middle Eastern people. There are War on Terror combatants, victims, gurus, and bureaucrats. There are government officials from Iraq and from the United States. There are foreign secretaries from England, Pakistan, Lebanon, and several other countries that have some stake in what is happening. Then, of course, there are politicians – Republican and Democrat –in office or seeking office or both.

It is very confusing.

Even when the voices are talking about the War in Iraq, they are not always talking about the same thing. Some are talking about the past; others about the present or future. Some have a reading on reality there; most do not. Some are talking about the situation in Iraq as it impacts the Middle East region; some concentrate on Iraq and Al Qaeda; some include Afghanistan and emerging conflicts in Africa, others do not. Some say there are actually four wars going on in Iraq.

It is very confusing.

Some of the voices are very concerned about how to make our present efforts successful. Others are intent on trying to correct the mistakes of the past. Still others are obsessing about the future and what may or may not happen if the US troops do or do not withdraw. Still others spend most of their energy on exactly how to withdraw and when. Other voices are most concerned with how what they say about Iraq will help them win political campaigns.

I think those are the Democrats.

My regular readers know that I am not a fan of the Democrat Party. Even when I take that bias into account, I am convinced that the Democrat Party is engaged in one of the most cynical political efforts of modern times. They are not interested in arriving at the truth about Iraq and what our policy should be. They are not interested in solving problems, long or short term. The Democrats have two main interests: to ensure that George Bush fails, and, to win more seats in Congress and the Presidency in 2008.

Of course, the Republicans are also interested in winning political races in 2008. However, you can detect in their words and actions that the greater good is still part of their calculations. The Democrats, however, threw that overboard a long time ago.

Take a look at how the Democrat Congress is spending its time and resources. They are using it to attack the President and his administration at every turn. Think of all that has been wasted on the firing of the US attorneys. Besides the fact that no one cares, it has no consequence for the country at all. Some justice purists keep trying to make the case that this issue is important because the Bush administration has politicized the Department of Justice. Huh? Is there anyone alive who ever thought that the US attorneys had nothing to do with politics and the reigning political party? Still, the Democrats are hammering away, issuing subpoena after subpoena hoping to somehow embarrass the Bush administration or raise suspicions about an impeachable offense so that they can start beating that drum as well. Can you please try to solve some real problems for the country? It’s no wonder that the Congress’ approval ratings are well below President Bush’s own low ratings.

Think of the specifics the Democrats have proposed to deal with Iraq and their supporting rationale. From Day One (when the Democrats, by the way, overwhelmingly voted to get us into the war) their recommendations (i.e., involve other countries, initiate diplomatic discussions with Iran and Syria, concentrate on training Iraqi troops, set up benchmarks with the Iraqi government) are already part of what the Bush administration is doing. What we do not know about the Bush efforts is how much pressure he has or is exerting on the Iraqi government to hit those benchmarks.

The Democrats’ words are empty. My own senator, Senator Jack Reed from Rhode Island, is a good example. He has visited Iraq ten times. He is not saying anything different now from what he was saying before his first trip. His main message is that Bush is mismanaging the war. It was interesting that after his most recent trip, he almost half admitted that the “surge” had some positive results. Coming from him, this must mean that the “surge” is a tremendous success! Reed was very quick to point out, however, that these positive signs would not last.

The Democrats’ all-consuming desire is that George Bush fails, and their plan for victory is not about Iraq but about the 2008 elections.

So, please, do not listen to the Democrats. They are not speaking the truth. I would listen to the Republicans, in particular Richard Lugar, the senator from Indiana. He has long been regarded as an expert in foreign policy. He does not speak from any political consideration: he is not running for President, he does not have to worry about losing an election in Indiana, and he is not a lackey for the Republican Party. Pay attention to what he is saying. You might not end up agreeing with him, but study what he says and why. He will be one of the more balanced voices in this very confusing time.