Kerry, Democrats still struggling with Iraq

[The Crazy Canadian]

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/040727/1/3m06g.html

Kerry, Democrats still struggling with Iraq

Although John Kerry's Democrats are doing their utmost to forge a united front in their drive to retake the White House, Iraq is still proving a tricky and potentially divisive issue.

The invasion and 15-month occupation has never been an easy question for Kerry, who voted for military action before coming out against President George W. Bush's handling of the operation.

But Kerry now finds himself trying to navigate cross-currents within his own party, with left-wing Democrats grumbling loudly about his call for US troops to "stay the course" until Iraq is stable.

"Having a failed Iraqi state is dangerous not just in the context of the war on terror, it would be dangerous to the Middle East, it would be dangerous to Arab countries, dangerous to Europe," Kerry said last week.

Groups such as the United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) coalition, one of the main organisers of the massive anti-war demonstration in New York before last year's invasion, see such language as a cop-out.

In an open letter to Kerry distributed at the Democratic convention, the UFPJ condemned what it called his "politically calibrated platitudes" that amounted to "caution, not courage; calculation, not leadership."

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[pocket]

1. so in other words...

40,000 more troops into the meat grinder.

[bluestateguy]

2. He has to win the election first

And if does he will not be cut much slack by the anti-war wing of the party. They will expect to see a steady stream of troops coming home and quickly. If not, I fear Kerry could be stuck with an LBJ problem: defection from the anti-war Left, all while the Right pisses and moans that the war is not fought being agressively enough.

My own feeling is that this will always be Bush's war, even if he is no longer in office next year and the war is still going on. I would suggest that anybody with a problem with the war (and that includes me) blame Bush and only Bush.

[montanacowboy]

3. The Iraq and Afgan wars are not

going to go away or get better - only worse - therefore if Kerry is elected that albatross gets hung around his neck and what is he going to do about it? There is nothing to be done except get out. He wants to send 40,000 more to war - this is exactly the same mind set he was against when he returned from Viet Nam.

Iraq and Afgahistan will be to Kerry what Viet Nam was to Johnson. Jeesus, can't he see that? What does he think he is gaining by this "I am for the war, but not the way it was waged?" bullshit. If these wars get stuck on him and go the way I think they will, the Dems will be out of office until hell freezes over by 2008. A big mistake by Kerry to keep up this ambiguous stance. He is playing it safe, and does not have the guts to say he was wrong.

[The Crazy Canadian]

4. Bring the troops home.

There is this bullshit idea out there that if we send in more troops, more foreign troops and more money, we can "stabalize" Iraq. Not going to happen.