Clark: "It's time to withdraw."

[calteacherguy]

General Clark: "It's time to withdraw, we need politics and diplomacy."
Corriere della Sera | 9/11/2007

<snip>

What do you think of Petraeus' report?

I know Petraeus, he is a good general and some military progress may have occurred in Iraq. But it is tactical progress, and I don't think it's enough because you can't win just by fighting and silencing the opposition. We need to stop discussing tactics and soldiers and shift the debate on to President Bush's strategies and policies, not just in Iraq but in the whole region.

Whose job is that?

Congress. They need to tell President Bush clearly that it's not Petraeus who is under scrutiny, but him. They have to ask him to forge a strategic regional plan and warn him that if he doesn't they will cut funding for the war in Iraq and will adopt other measures. The administration doesn't want to hear it but even moderate Republicans are beginning to protest.

But the president can block congress with a veto. He's also preparing an appeal to the nation.

I assume that he will continue talking about troops, because when we criticize the conflict in Iraq he responds by saying we are abandoning the soldiers. There's a coalition called "Americans against the escalation," that urges citizens to pressure congress. The time has come for withdrawal.

Do you think the latest offensive worked?

I don't think so and now the administration wants it to continue another six to nine months. My sense is that this is not the real issue. You cannot achieve difficult objectives like Iraqi national reconciliation with troop increase. You need politics and diplomacy, the involvement of other countries.

Bush admonishes that if the United States withdraws from Iraq it would become another Vietnam.

The comparison doesn't hold. If we leave Iraq, or rather, when we leave Iraq, we'll still have important interests in the region. Just think of Iran's nuclear ambitions, of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, of the need to guarantee the security of oil routes. Withdrawal from Baghdad doesn't imply withdrawing from our responsibilities.

Why did this war damage the image of the United States?

Because we made too many mistakes and there have been too many scandals. And because of the war we neglected other problems. We didn't exercise the leadership that is required of us. We need to go back to being the country people look to for leadership.

http://securingamerica.com/node/2660

[Breeze54]

1. Even he says congress should cut the funding!

"Congress. They need to tell President Bush clearly that it's not Petraeus who is under scrutiny, but him. They have to ask him to forge a strategic regional plan and warn him that if he doesn't they will cut funding for the war in Iraq and will adopt other measures. The administration doesn't want to hear it but even moderate Republicans are beginning to protest."

Good article, thanks for posting it!

:kick: & Recommended

[in_cog_ni_to]

5. Go figure! A 4 STAR General says they should cut the funding!

Why does Wes Clark hate America and our troops?:eyes:

WTG, Wes!

[Breeze54]

7. lol

:hi:

:toast:

[Megahurtz]

2. END THE OCCUPATION!!!!

:bounce:

[high density]

3. That's good

I knew he would come around. He was being far too optimistic in regards to Bushco changing their policy.

[Tom Rinaldo]

4. Clark didn't come around. He didn't expect Bush to change policy

He just advocated for what made sense for America while he laid the groundwork for Democrats to aggressively attack George Bush for the massive strategic failure his entire Middle East policy has and continues to be. This is about more than Iraq, most immediately it is also about how the Bush Administration is laying the groundwork to militarily attack Iran. It is about pointing out the entire neocon fallicy of the entire Bush Agenda in the Middle East because attacking Iraq is not the end of it. Unless the United States backs away from the neocon ideological fixation on Iran being part of an Axis of Evil, the next war is ordained. Most Democrats other than Clark refuse to discuss overall middle east policy, they just call for troop withdrawals from Iraq and then go through the motions of saying we should talk to Iran, while playing along with the emphasis on saber rattling toward Iran.

[Sparkly]

6. He doesn't have to "come around" -- he's always way ahead of the curve. nt

[TacticalPeek]

8. K & R

:kick:

[Kolesar]

9. kick and recommend eom