John Kerry Post on the Dem Daily :The “Retreatican Party?”

[kerrygoddess]

The “Retreatican Party?”
Posted by John Kerry
October 3rd, 2006 @ 1:42 pm

So Bill Frist wants the Taliban to be a part of the government in Afghanistan? If we can’t beat them, join them?

Reading the coverage of Bill Frist’s trip to Afghanistan, there’s a lot to say.

I could say it’s Dr. Frist’s worst diagnosis since the public spectacle of his Terri Schiavo diagnosis on the Senate floor.

I could say that Bill Frist who once pathetically labeled Democrats who are right about Iraq the “Defeatocrat Party,” is now the Senate’s leading spokesperson for those who are dead wrong on Afghanistan – the “Retreaticans.”

But all of that would do a disservice to just how profoundly wrong Sen. Frist is about Afghanistan, and how little leadership he’s providing when he just throws his hands up in the air and suggests the only hope is to bring the Taliban into the government as if it’s the inevitable outcome of what American troops began so bravely after September 11th.

Reaching an accommodation with terrorists isn’t the answer. We know what happened when the Taliban was in power Afghanistan: one of the most repressive regimes of modern times ruthlessly brutalized its citizens and allowed the world’s worst terrorists to attack us from its territory. We know they are still receiving support and guidance from al Qaeda as they try desperately to return to the bad old days. And we know they are not part of the democratically elected government we have sacrificed so much for.

MORE - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=4355

[ProSense]

1. Excellent!

So the next time the Senate Majority Leader travels to Afghanistan, maybe rather than declare surrender and invite the Taliban into Afghanistan’s government he can instead challenge Administration policy – and insist that the only exit strategy in Afghanistan is victory.

[karynnj]

2. Kerry using a Kissinger wording???

I can't believe Frist. Kerry is right that putting the Taliban back into the governmant and giving up on Afghanistan is really not a good idea.

[TayTay]

5. That is funn y, but the sentiment is true in this case

One of the great tragedies of Afghanistan is that it keeps getting invaded and it never rebuilds. The easy money comes from the sale of narcotics. The warlords control the narcotics trafficking and some of that money funds terrorist organizations. We can't abandon Afghanistan because it is a threat to much of the world for these reasons.

Victory does not come from the barrel of a gun in that country though. There is a reason why the US had a genuine coaliton to go into Afghanistan following 9/11, and a reason why we didn't have a real coalition to go into Iraq. I think the world community recognizes that Afghanistan needs to be stabilized and the population genuinely helped, not bombed into submission.

The Taliban is the wrong faction to be given power. They have a brutal record on human rights and are repressive down the line. It is troubling that Frist seems to see an 'either/or' solution to this and can't think about other factions in Afghanistan that might be able to improve that country, moderate the influence of the radical religious movements and genuinely help the poor of that country. That is the real fault in Frist's thinking, it's too narrow.

[karynnj]

6. I know - that's what's delicious about it

Frist has things almost exactly backwards. It's also true here that if the Taliban using narco money rebuilds the country - this will be hell for years. We need to be the ones helping rebuild (or possibly build) Afghanistan

[kerrygoddess]

7. I think Frist sort of sunk himself yesterday

with the right wingnuts. He's delusional if he thinks he's viable in 08.

[karynnj]

12. They're running out of candidates fast

Think of it a year ago people spoke of Allen, Santorum, Frist, Rice (all hopefully gone). McCain, Hagel, Romney, Brownback. Huckabee seems to be running for health Czar. They've had many candidates implode.

We;ve likely only had Joe Biden implode.

[fedupinBushcountry]

3. I'm glad he is keeping up

and speaking out on all the Repug idiocy.

[kerrygoddess]

4. Frist really stepped in

with his comments yesterday. The outrage in the rightwing blogoshere was hysterical. Good for JK to speak out.

[ProSense]

8. "The Retreatican Party"

That's the perfect name for the party of Frist and Santorum!

[kerrygoddess]

11. Perfect name

for the whole crew, Bush - Cheney too!

[_dynamicdems]

9. Good for Senator Kerry, once again.

What's really scarey is that someone like Frist could get a medical degree and be elected as a United States Senator. He's in the running for the biggest idiot in the Senate. And that's in light of the fact that the Republican senators aren't exactly a brain trust to begin with (Santorum, Allen, Allard, et al).

[Clarkie1]

10. K & R. The way the administration is abandoning Afghanistan is a travesty

nt

[kerrygoddess]

13. Frist handed the keys

to the Taliban... talk about soft on terror.

[GeorgeGist]

14. Afghani's are not defenseless...

let us leave them peacefully and force them to prove it to themselves.

[Sensitivity]

15. Would Kerry dare post on DU as weill? Wonder if he would be flamed.