Reid: Military Papers Are Right; Bush Must Face the Truth and Rumsfeld Must Go

[cal04]

The following is a statement by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid on calls by the Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times for Rumsfeld to resign.

"George Bush and his Republican Congress don't get it, but the military papers do. If we want to succeed in Iraq, we need a better policy than stay the course and we need better civilian leadership at the Pentagon.

"America's troops have done their part. President Bush and Congressional republicans have not done theirs. Where they have failed, democrats will force the White House to change course from chaos and get on the path to victory. It's the new direction America needs to keep our country safe."

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=75715

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20061104/pl_usnw/reid__military_papers_are_right__bush_must_face_the_truth_and_rumsfeld_must_go106_xml

[mike_c]

1. aarrgghh! we cannot "succeed in Iraq..."

Reid needs to get THAT. WTF does he mean by "the path to victory?!"

[gfnrob]

2. Yes we can,DECLARE VICTORY AND GET OUT>

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[babylonsister]

3. I don't believe he even said that. Who's Reid listening to? nt

[NOLADEM]

4. Yep.

The sad fact is that we have too many folks in our party that voted for the fucking war, so they are politically unable to say it was a lie, a mistake and we need to leave because no one can even define what a victory would look like or how in the hell we would get there.

We need to purge our party of the DLC, DINO Pro-war Repuke Lights. Until then, we will continue to suffer with corporate tools like Biden, LIEberman, Zell Miller and others.

Right now, it is a race to see who can seem the toughest, and who can out-macho the other on how tough they will be on the 'terrorists'. It is a pathetic, uninformed, childish display doing no one any good at all.

I am so goddamned sick of the DINO's I could just scream sometimes.

And Reid is from the same mold as Daschle, a spineless DLC shill. He does NOT go for the kill EVER, does not represent the party strongly, and has the charisma of wet noodles.

Can we PLEASE throw these bums out, and get more men like Feingold, Dean and other real Democrats?

[mike_c]

5. that is PRECISELY the problem, IMO....

Too many dems were willingly complicit in this crime against humanity, now they find themselves unable to do anything but play pathetic political games with the lives of Iraqis and Americans.

[dos pelos]

6. Exactly right on.....

Big business owned quisling Democrats in name only.Most voted for the war,voted for the bankruptcy bill,voted for the Military Commisions Act.If you want a Democratic Party of principle then these folks must go.Right now you've got a spineless quisling party of collaboration.It is important to vote this party into power,but then it must be cleaned up.Until then its just part of a jingoist corporatocracy with a republican and democratic arm playing good cop-bad cop with the american public.

[ShortnFiery]

11. Well put dos pelos!

:applause: :thumbsup:

[chill_wind]

20. Exactly exactly

and add to that
- passed the Patriot Act without reading it and keep renewing key provisions
- helped give Bush unlimited war powers in the nebulous TWOT, as however he wants to keep defining it
- refused to even *censure* Bush on the illegal spying- (future impeachment inquiries- har!)
- rubberstamped every frigging RW cabinet and SC appointee he ever demanded
- rubberstamped the resolution to support Israel's bombing of Lebanon
- rubberstamped Santorum's bill for IFSA (sanctions and regime change- Iran)

Let serious clean-up talk commence as early as November 8.

[Zensea]

8. He cannot say that we cannot succeed - don't you get that?

At least not until after November 7th.
If he said it now, it would undoubtedly hurt the Democrat's chances in the election.
Also, I'd bet money that if he said we cannot succeed there would be a whole bunch of people right here on DU whining about him saying it.
I'm glad I'm not a member of Congress, I don't think I could handle the circular firing squad I'd be setting myself up for no matter what position I took.

[mike_c]

10. so you accept lies, knowing that they're lies, for political expediency...?

We-- Americans-- are so screwed if it has come to that.

[Zensea]

14. I didn't say I accepted lies

I just stated the way things are.
Doesn't mean I accept them.
Get off your high horse.
On the other hand, maybe you should stay on it since I'm about to get on one myself ---

I am so so tired of the holier than thou leftists who intentionally distort comments which is how I'm reading the attitude here.
Especially since I am fairly radical myself. My radicalism doesn't stop me from understanding how the system works though.

If it has come to that?
It's been like that all along, nothing new about it at all.
These past few years are not any particular aberration, but part and parcel of an American imperialism that has a very long history.
It's gotten a little more entrenched recently that's all.
No major American politician stands a chance if they don't put forth the rhetoric of toughness and victory and militarism and Reid is a major American politician.
We are still very much in the age of nationalism.

And somehow we're still managing to muddle through.

[mike_c]

17. well, political triangulation aside, we can either succeed or we can't...

...and all the jingoism in the world won't change the outcome, IMO. There is no way to "succeed" in Iraq-- no one has even done a credible job of defining what constitutes success. American leadership is simply flailing away, hoping for some good outcome but with no real notion of what that might be. Reid is blowing smoke just like Rumsfeld if he thinks there is a "path to victory." If he doesn't, then he's still blowing smoke, just more cynically. I don't have much respect for that. High horse? I've been on this same horse since before the invasion, and so far my assessments have proven pretty correct. Sorry if that chaps you.

[babylonsister]

15. I don't understand why Reid can't say we cannot succeed when a

clear majority of Americans think that. How would that hurt Dems when that's the platform the Dems are supposedly winning on? Il Dunce is the one who's in denial, but Reid?

[Zensea]

16. Is it clear?

I'd be interested in any polls on the subject where that precise question is asked.
I think a lot and probably a majority of Americans are still in denial about our chances of success.
I don't have any polls to prove my opinion though. it's more a gut instinct.
Plus to hedge my bets, I'm also inclined to think that even if a majority of Americans think that we can't succeed in Iraq, they certainly don't want their fearless leaders saying so openly.
Few people like to have their weaknesses brought into the light of day. It's human nature.

[Tigress DEM]

12. Here's the thing. Failure is coming in the form of Iraq kicking our ass out.

Now we can strategically leave and bring most of our guys out alive or we can wait until Iraqis throw suicide bombers at us by the 100's until all our troops are gone or someone nukes our ass to make us leave.

Success will be getting our people home alive and beginning the slow process of diplomacy again.

Maybe DEMs will actually turn the force of the military back to the origional objective of getting Osama.

[Tigress DEM]

Here's the thing. Failure is coming in the form of Iraq kicking our ass out.

Now we can strategically leave and bring most of our guys out alive or we can wait until Iraqis throw suicide bombers at us by the 100's until all our troops are gone or someone nukes our ass to make us leave.

Success will be getting our people home alive and beginning the slow process of diplomacy again.

Maybe DEMs will actually turn the force of the military back to the origional objective of getting Osama.

[Tigress DEM]

13. Here's the thing. Failure is coming in the form of Iraq kicking our ass out.

Now we can strategically leave and bring most of our guys out alive or we can wait until Iraqis throw suicide bombers at us by the 100's until all our troops are gone or someone nukes our ass to make us leave.

Success will be getting our people home alive and beginning the slow process of diplomacy again.

Maybe DEMs will actually turn the force of the military back to the origional objective of getting Osama.

[Demeter]

7. Even If The Army Gets Rumsfeld Out, They Are Still Screwed

They have to get the whole Mafia, or GOPIA, out of the government, from Bush and his enablers and cronies to the lowest State representative.

[goforit]

9. The best thing the military should do is ...DON'T FOLLOW ORDERS!!!!!

[texpatriot2004]

18. Give 'em hell Harry! Harry Reid has a posse. nm

[Tom Joad]

19. Why arent they calling for Bush's resignation??