WP, pg1: GOP Lawmakers Edge Away From Optimism on Iraq

[DeepModem Mom]

GOP Lawmakers Edge Away From Optimism on Iraq
By Jonathan Weisman and Anushka Asthana
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 20, 2006; Page A01

Faced with almost daily reports of sectarian carnage in Iraq, congressional Republicans are shifting their message on the war from speaking optimistically of progress to acknowledging the difficulty of the mission and pointing up mistakes in planning and execution.

Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) is using his House Government Reform subcommittee on national security to vent criticism of the White House's war strategy and new estimates of the monetary cost of the war. Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.), once a strong supporter of the war, returned from Iraq this week declaring that conditions in Baghdad were far worse "than we'd been led to believe" and urging that troop withdrawals begin immediately....

***

Rank-and file Republicans who once adamantly backed the administration on the war are moving to a two-stage new message, according to some lawmakers. First, Republicans are making it clear to constituents they do not agree with every decision the president has made on Iraq. Then they boil the argument down to two choices: staying and fighting or conceding defeat to a vicious enemy.

The shift is subtle, but Republican lawmakers acknowledge that it is no longer tenable to say the news media are ignoring the good news in Iraq and painting an unfair picture of the war. In the first half of this year, 4,338 Iraqi civilians died violent deaths, according to a new report by the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq. Last month alone, 3,149 civilians were killed -- an average of more than 100 a day....

***

The evolving Republican message on the war contrasts with the strong rhetoric used by House and Senate Republicans recently in opposing a deadline for withdrawal from Iraq. During a debate last month, Gutknecht intoned, "Members, now is not the time to go wobbly." This week, he conceded "I guess I didn't understand the situation," saying that a partial troop withdrawal now would "send a clear message to the Iraqis that the next step is up to you."...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071901787.html

[LeftCoast]

1. I think they owe some Democrats a few apologies

...not that we'll ever hear them of course.

[saigon68]

32. Joementum Limpmann masturbates to news of the carnage

and the Clintons help enable him

[Erika]

2. Trent Lott was saying maybe they should have asked W

more questions before the idiot invaded Iraq? You think?

The GOP is running with their tails behind their legs as fast as Newt and Livingston did.

[IndianaGreen]

3. What became to all those good news from Iraq that we were promised?

What happened to that military wife, whose husband works in public relations, that told Bush on national TV that there were a lot of good news from Iraq that were not being reported by the "liberal press?"

Said Gutknecht: "Essentially what the White House is saying is 'Stay the course, stay the course.' I don't think that course is politically sustainable."

How many Senators stayed the course by voting against the Kerry-Feingold Iraq exit resolution?

[MGKrebs]

15. "It's not politically sustainable".

Forget about "morally sustainable", or "militarily sustainable".

While I am thankful for Gutknecht's newfound perspective, I'm still unsure of his priorities and motivation.

[Carla in Ca]

29. Good questions

Let's add 'the truth tour' made by the wing nut talking heads. Whatever happened with that? And, just yesterday, the Iraqi prime minister denounced Israel. I can't wait to see how Rove tries to spin that dozy!

Tonight on Countdown, Pete Williams reported that Hezbollah is in the US. What was that all about? This WH comes out with an 'enemy of the month' so they can keep control based on fear.

OK, here is another question. I have read articles of how Lebanon has done such a good job paying down their debt and restoring Beirut back to being a very desirable city. The thousands of foreigners being evacuated seems to bear that out. Where and how does Hezbollah fit into the mix?

[MGKrebs]

31. "Truth Tour"

One could tell right away that that wasn't going the way they had hoped. The idea being that they were going to go get some of the good news that the MSM wasn't reporting. They ended up hunkered down in the green zone and interviewed a few soldiers.

Here are some excerpts from a synopsis of the trip. By the way, by this time, she had begun to refer to the trip as the "Voices of Soldiers Tour".
(emphasis mine)

"We... came away with a new and pragmatic view of the Coalitions role in the War on Terror."

"After some bad press based on incorrect information, the brass in Tampa was a little wary of us and didn’t know what to expect."

"The security was evident and the gravity of our trip began to take hold. We arrived at the air terminal, boarded the plane in full gear and landed with a combat landing in Iraq about 2 hours later. We were taken in a secure convoy to Camp Victory."

"Interestingly, they (the soldiers) said that they liked Fox News over CNN, but not for the reason you might think. Fox will allow you to view video at no charge longer than CNN will. When you’ve come back in with no access to news for 2 weeks or so, you don’t want to pay to watch the video. There may be ideological preferences, but these soldiers wanted to read and watch the news with out having to pay for it. "

"When I arrived home, I felt proud to be an American. In the soldiers that had no complaints and the soldiers that had complaints, they had in common the dedication to the mission. Warriors are the last ones to want war. None of these men and women “wanted” to be there, but they believe in the mission and they are committed to staying to the end."

http://www.accessnorthga.com/articles/afullstory.asp?ID=94277

So I give her credit for telling the truth, even though it might not have been the truth she was expecting or wanted.

[Skittles]

4. warmongering chickenhawk bastards

they can all go to hell

[Blue_Tires]

26. they are jumping like rats off a sinking ship

no way will they ever face the music and admit that this whole venture was a mistake

[pokercat999]

30. and just like rats we should club them to death

as the run down the mooring rope (figuratively of course).

[Strelnikov_]

5. "No Longer Tenable To Say The News Media Are Ignoring The Good News"

They don't care about doing the right thing. Reality is penetrating their propaganda screen, and they are adjusting tactics accordingly to minimize any political damage.

Cockroaches all.

[Purveyor]

6. Michigan's own Mike Rogers (R) indicated all is not well in

Iraq after his recent visit.

I seen some local tv interviews with him but find no print copy of his surprising (for him) assessment.

Amazing how a pending election extracts the truth and reality, eh?

[lfairban]

7. As we say in poker . . .

. . . Call, Raise or Fold.

Now I know why Annie Duke wanted to play poker against *, he is the world's biggest calling station.

[grytpype]

8. K&R! Looks like "cut and run" is becoming the mainstream position!

Rep. Gil Gutknecht (Minn.), once a strong supporter of the war, returned from Iraq this week declaring that conditions in Baghdad were far worse "than we'd been led to believe" and urging that troop withdrawals begin immediately.

The evolving Republican message on the war contrasts with the strong rhetoric used by House and Senate Republicans recently in opposing a deadline for withdrawal from Iraq. During a debate last month, Gutknecht intoned, "Members, now is not the time to go wobbly." This week, he conceded "I guess I didn't understand the situation," saying that a partial troop withdrawal now would "send a clear message to the Iraqis that the next step is up to you."

"If we don't take the training wheels off, we will be in the same place in six months that we're in today," he said.

[grytpype]

9. Kick. (And is your Recommendin' finger broken?)

[Toots]

10. far worse "than we'd been led to believe"

and who led you to believe different and isn't that the same thing as Lying to you?

[ryanmuegge]

11. It's clear that they knew exactly what conditions were like in Iraq

All of this fucking "we were led to believe something that wasn't accurate" rhetoric is bullshit. It is just no longer politically feasible to support the war in public. Of course, they still support the actual policy. In fact, I imagine they'll promise a big withdraw in January and then just keep the status-quo after the election.

Oh well...What's Paris Hilton doing this week?

[Magleetis]

12. The amount

of realism we hear from the Republicans is directly proportional to the time between now and the elections. I'm not a mathematician but I think there is a formula in there somewhere.

[unhappycamper]

13. The Iraq 'war' is NOT a war. It is an OCCUPATION.

It's all about the words, Folks.

[Zorra]

14. "I guess I didn't understand the situation," - a situation most of us

already knew would come about before the war even began. Remember all the "quagmire" predictions at DU?

Republicans are simply too short-sighted and narrowly-focused to be able to govern effectively. They never seem to be able to grasp the big picture, even after the movie is over.

They continue to make the same mistakes over and over, and then can't understand why they don't get a different result.

[rodeodance]

17. late blommers.

[yorkiemommie1]

20. Re: They continue to make the same mistakes over and over, and then can'

and we all know what that's the definition of, don't we? : :crazy:

[fishnfla]

16. treason

those of us that tried to tell them so were called traitors by this bunch

screw them

[Pryderi]

18. Will the flip-flop allow republicans to remain in power?

[yorkiemommie1]

19. they ignored everything they did not want to hear

in their arrogance and blind allegiance to the leader!

'WE' were the crazy ones. Well, everything 'we' said was going to happen, did, and MORE.


k/r

[fishnfla]

21. #3 rec nt

[BigDDem]

22. Dont cut and run now...

We're turning the corner!
Freedom's on the march!

[enough]

23. The word "carnage" in the first sentence is a change in itself.

[carolinayellowdog]

24. 3 years late and 300 billion dollars short

http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182

[VegasWolf]

25. Republicans! Put down the kool aid. Back slowly away from the stand. nt

[denverbill]

27. Can't wait to see Freeper reaction to this article.

Unfortunately, I will have to wait forever cause they'll never post it there.

[struggle4progress]

28. Republican grin at George, nod, back away slooowly ...