Tom Hayden Sets the Record Straight on Kerry’s Iraq Plan

[kerrygoddess]

Tom Hayden Sets the Record Straight on Kerry’s Iraq Plan
May 4th, 2006 @ 4:17 pm

Tom Hayden sets the record straight on recent distortions of John Kerry’s Iraq plan in the Huffington Post. Hayden issues a virtual smack down of columnist George packer, who Hayden says, “fixes the facts to suit the policy he favors.”

In this case, he cleverly alters Kerry’s proposal by leaving out the international summit Kerry has proposed to address peacekeeping, reconstruction and other issues concerning the transition to a post-war period. Kerry thus is categorized as an uncaring advocate of “out now”, unlike Packer who at least cares about the killing he seems to support forever.

Why would replacing US troops, clearly the primary cause of Iraqi nationalist attacks, with an international peacekeeping force from neutral countries increase the violence? There is no answer.

Packer sees the US troops not as occupiers, not the cause of violence, but as “buffers” between violent Iraqis. The same civilizing role was claimed by the British when they sent troops to Northern Ireland in 1969; thirty years later they signed the Good Friday Agreement but still haven’t permitted free elections. Baghdad is simply the next Belfast, in this view.

While distorting and dismissing Kerry for “finding his voice”, Packer applauds the recent op-ed by Leslie Gelb and Sen. Joe Biden calling for a devolved, tripartite Iraq - Kurdish, Sunni, and Shiite - with a weakened central government to assure the fair share of oil revenues and other matters. This is the longstanding preference of numerous neo-conservatives, and Israeli officials, to put an end to Arab nationalism. By redefining Iraqis along tribal, not national lines, by weakening the central state apparatus, a threat to stability would be removed from the Middle East.

{snip}

I had an email discussion with someone today about the various plans on the table for withdrawal from Iraq. I pointed out that to date, in my opinion, no plan is as strong as Kerry’s plan. Tom Hayden, who has never failed to mince his words about the war, totally gets that Kerry’s plan is the most sound plan on the table. Something Scott Ritter also told me last week.

David Broder mentioned Biden’s plan in the WaPo today, yet he failed to note that while Biden mentioned the idea of a Dayton accords like summit, that concept was first brought to the table by John Kerry in his OP/ED in the NY Times well ahead of Biden’s. Not to be picky here, but as Tom Hayden points out, it really would be great if journalists and columnists stopped fixing the facts to suit the policies they favor.

LINKS & MORE - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=2877

[blm]

1. Biden is using journalists to LIE about Kerry's Iraq withdrawal plan.

He keeps saying that Kerry has no diplomacy in his plan, yet we all heard JK say specifically that a Dayton Accord type summit must be convened and he said it on every show he's been on since he submitted the plan.

Murtha even talked about Kerry's withdrawal and summit plan in a speech he made a few weeks ago - how did Biden MISS IT?

I doubt he did, he is purposely distorting Kerry's plan to help sell his own, and that is BULLSHIT!!!!

[LittleClarkie]

2. He likes to pretend he knows more about foreign policy than Kerry

even taking credit for Kerry's response to the Bin laden tape during the campaign, even though it was well documented that Kerry came out with his response way before Biden claims to have spoken to him.

Kerry must be between Biden and a camera. Dangerous place to be.

[kerrygoddess]

4. Biden chose the wrong career path

maybe he should have been an actor.

[karynnj]

6. As an actor, he wouldn't get the roles he would want

Would you cast him as hero or President? I doubt he would even get the role of Senator, which he is in real life. He doesn't exactly signal trustwothiness.

But at least his lines would be written for him, so we could avoid hearing for the millionth time that he is Irish Catholic.

[blm]

7. Biden would audition for the hero roles and get cast as a wiseguy goon

or assistant to the villain.

[karynnj]

8. Then he would blame it on the hair plugs

when it's not the lack of hair that makes him seem more the wiseguy goon.

[kerrygoddess]

3. I guess he is

sucks that's he's doing this.

[blm]

5. He'll get away with it if the media has their way.

Damn, Joe - write your own plans and submit them without LYING about Kerry's.