The Speech the President Should Give, by John F. Kerry

[Paul Dlugokencky]

In today's NY Times:

The Speech the President Should Give
by John F. Kerry

Full text at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/opinion/28kerry.html?hp

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Published: June 28, 2005
Boston

TONIGHT President Bush will discuss the situation in Iraq. It's long past time to get it right in Iraq. The Bush administration is courting disaster with its current course - a course with no realistic strategy for reducing the risks to our soldiers and increasing the odds for success.

The reality is that the Bush administration's choices have made Iraq into what it wasn't before the war - a breeding ground for jihadists. Today there are 16,000 to 20,000 jihadists and the number is growing. The administration has put itself - and, tragically, our troops, who pay the price every day - in a box of its own making. Getting out of this box won't be easy, but we owe it to our soldiers to make our best effort.

Our mission in Iraq is harder because the administration ignored the advice of others, went in largely alone, underestimated the likelihood and power of the insurgency, sent in too few troops to secure the country, destroyed the Iraqi army through de-Baathification, failed to secure ammunition dumps, refused to recognize the urgency of training Iraqi security forces and did no postwar planning. A little humility would go a long way - coupled with a strategy to succeed.

So what should the president say tonight? The first thing he should do is tell the truth to the American people. Happy talk about the insurgency being in "the last throes" leads to frustrated expectations at home. It also encourages reluctant, sidelined nations that know better to turn their backs on their common interest in keeping Iraq from becoming a failed state.

The president must also announce immediately that the United States will not have a permanent military presence in Iraq. Erasing suspicions that the occupation is indefinite is critical to eroding support for the insurgency.

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The next months are critical to Iraq's future and our security. If Mr. Bush fails to take these steps, we will stumble along, our troops at greater risk, casualties rising, costs rising, the patience of the American people wearing thin, and the specter of quagmire staring us in the face. Our troops deserve better: they deserve leadership equal to their sacrifice.

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http://www.cafepress.com/kickindemocrats

[IndianaGreen]

1. "The first thing he should do is tell the truth to the American people."

Well, this is an excellent letter by Senator Kerry, which unfortunately our Great Leader won't read because it doesn't have pictures of pet goats.

The next months are critical to Iraq's future and our security. If Mr. Bush fails to take these steps, we will stumble along, our troops at greater risk, casualties rising, costs rising, the patience of the American people wearing thin, and the specter of quagmire staring us in the face. Our troops deserve better: they deserve leadership equal to their sacrifice.

Bush has yet to tell the truth about anything since he was put in the White House by the Supreme Court. It is not possible for Bush to break free from the delusional universe in which his mind wanders.

Kudos to Kerry!

[thefloyd]

5. Fox and friends

enlighens us all and declares Kerry has said nothing new AND Bush has been saying the same things all along. I was speechless

[Oversea Visitor]

2. They do not deserve to die for a lie

To fight an illegal war
To become the soldiers of corporations so that they can profit

[Nothing Without Hope]

3. Here is a graphic that we can substitute for the blivet**'s lying speech:

War Paint photo found at today's issue of AllHatNoCattle.net - may take a few seconds to load.

http://www.allhatnocattle.net.nyud.net:8090/war%20paint.jpg

[Nothing Without Hope]

4. Another DU thread on this NYT story is here in GD-P:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1890164
Thread title (NYT) John Kerry: The Speech the President Should Give

[Demeter]

6. The First Thing He Should Do Is Leave

Leave the country, resign, and hide for a while. Take that extended vacation he's earned, before he gets one in the Hague.

[BridgeTheGap]

7. Where do the Iraqi people figure in all this?

I agree with most of Kerry's assessment of the situation in Iraq. However, any proposal to keep U.S. troops there flies in the face of what the Iraqi people want. A recent poll there indicated 87% want the U.S. (& British) military out of their country.
I think Kerry is concerned about how it would look if we "cut and run," (now there's a piece of political "framing!") but the will of the Iraqi people has to be considered in this matter. They know better than anyone the risks of handling their own security and they also know how much the U.S. presence fuels the resistance. We are imposing our will on them. It is arrogant of us to draw the conclusion that they need us to protect them from themselves.
Hold a referendum and let the Iraqi people vote on this (drawing the Sunnis into the electoral process) and select new leaders who are not seen as U.S. lackeys. If the Iraqi people ask us to leave, we can do so with honor.

[IndianaGreen]

9. Americans have convinced themselves that they are always in the right!

Somehow we cannot conceive of a nation going their own way and ignoring our advice as to how to run things. The British Colonial Office used to suffer from this "white man's burden." It is time for us to realize that Iraq had a thriving civilization long before Europeans figured out that there were more ways to have sex than from behind (from the film "Quest for Fire").

[Bread and Circus]

8. John Kerry, STFU. If you wanted to be Pres, you shouldn't have

let them steal it.