"What Does The Enemy Think?"

My conversation with House Republican Leader John Boehner is posted here. The audio is here.

The interview triggered a flood of angry e-mail as the impression grows that Republican leaders are not only not supporting the war, but pretending to do so even as they offer resolutions in both chambers that can only be seen as votes of no confidence in President Bush, Secretary of Defense Gates, General Petraeus and the troops.

JB: Uh, I think it helps the administration. I think it puts pressure on the Iraqi government to step up. If you look at the President’s proposal, it’s dependent upon the relatively new Iraqi government to step up and do what it has to do. And I think that having these benchmarks out there send a very clear signal to the Iraqis that we’re going to expect them to do what they have to do.

HH: But the question was what do you think the enemy thinks about your resolution?

HH: But do you think the enemy thinks it’s a bad thing that you’ve put this into place?

Minority House Leader John Boehner was just on Hugh’s show. It was obvious during the interview that smoke was pouring out of Hugh’s ears. Mine too. For the first time in my life, I actually called into a radio talk show. At least I got the chance to say to my friend Hugh, “Long time listener, first time caller.”

What did Boehner do to get us so riled up? Boehner, not wanting to be left in the dust of all this resolution hoo-ha, is proposing a benchmark measuring device that he will put forward in a congressional resolution of his very own. Boehner kept insisting that his only motive in cooking up yet another offering for the already-crowded “Meaningless Resolution Buffet” is to help the White House.

Sensing the implausibility of Boehner’s contention that he was from the Congress and was there to help, Hugh asked Boehner what effect he thought his resolution would have on the enemy. By way of an answer of sorts, Boehner spoke for a while but didn’t address the question.

If Boehner thought Hugh wouldn’t notice that he didn’t answer the question, he had another thing coming. You don’t get those degrees from Michigan Law School at the bottom of a Cracker Jack Box. Hugh asked his question a second time – what effect will the resolution have on the enemy? Again, Boehner spoke for a while without answering the question. Hugh asked a third time. Yet again, Boehner declined to directly answer the question.

SO WHAT ARE WE TO MAKE OF THIS? Two possible scenarios – one is that Boehner knows damn well what this will do for the enemy and yet he still wants to pass the resolution for political reasons. The other scenario, and frankly I find this one both more likely and more chilling, is that Boehner has never even considered, not for one second, the effect his resolution will have on the enemy. Hugh’s question caught him off guard and without an answer because to him, it seemed like a non-sequitur.

Such is the nature of the political vacuum that our politicians dwell in. While Boehner may not have considered what effect his resolution will have in the enemy, I would bet he spent extensive time figuring out what effect it will have on the political landscape. That one he no doubt calculated within an inch of its life.

I wouldn't hold my breath.
OTOH
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Rollcall Notes The Pledge
Posted by Hugh Hewitt | 8:44 AM
From RollCall's story on The Pledge (subscription required):

[ The Web site — www.thenrscpledge.com — boasted around 30,000 signers as of Monday, and that’s a cause of concern for Senate Republicans.

NRSC spokeswoman Rebecca Fisher said Monday the committee is taking Hewitt’s effort seriously, indicating the NRSC is concerned about the practical implications it might have on fundraising and grass-roots support for GOP Senate candidates.

“Of course we worry about the effect something like this has on online fundraising,” Fisher said. “As we explore different methods of fundraising, we have to be sure that we can effectively take advantage of every available avenue. And with a response like this blog has received, we take notice.” ]

The Pledge has passed 30,000 signers, but that is only one measure of disgust with Congressional double-mindedness on the war among victory Republicans. Beltway earmuffs appear to have cut off many Republicans from hearing what many of their constituents and supporters are saying, and if the next few weeks and months become attempts to me-to Democratic obstructionism and defeatism on the war, the base that turned out and kept many other Republicans from defeat in November will turn exclusively to the presidential campaign as the only place in which to invest their political energy in support of a candidate who understands the stakes and has a clear grasp of the war and the significance of Iraq within it.

There is also an opportunity for any Republican with what passes for political courage these days to stand up and repeatedly defend the idea of victory. Denouncing the various resolutions is a great place to start, but spending some time stripping the "last chance" rhetoric of its very thin appeal would be wise as well.

What, exactly, do the last chancers mean? That if this Iraqi government --less than a year old-- can't somehow defeat the Iranian funded and organized fifth column (which Israel could not do this past summer) or eradicate al Qaeda (which the Karzai government, the U.S. and NATO haven't been able to do in Afghanistan after five years), that the U.S. will pull up stakes? That the eight million purple fingered Iraqis will be left to their own devices because a half dozen Congressmen and a couple of senators fear losing their seats?

We have watched for years as Congressman after Congressman rued the abandonment of Rawanda and implied that intervention ought to have been mounted there. We watched as the Congress sprang to its feet at the mention of Darfur a week ago. Congress, it appears, is always willing to ride to the rescue when no rescue is being mounted.

But here in Iraq in the heart of the most unstable region in the world, with an expansionist and reckless Iran --led by fanatics and closing in on nukes-- on the border and funding the killing, Congressmen from both parties are declaring "last chances" for Iraq and packing the wagons. How bitter Iraqis must be when they hear six figure a year men and women declare "last chances" as they hear the sound of car bombs or bullets, and especially when they read about the dilemmas facing Republicans who had "close calls" in November or who face "tough fights" in '08.

"Benchmarks" are either deadlines after which abandonment looms or poses struck for political cover. Both are the opposite of what is needed, which is resolve and the communication to the troops, our Iraqi allies, and the enemy that we intend to help the Iraqis get the stability and freedom they deserve.

The Republican Party isn't going to split over victory, but it is going to get a lesson in who deserves to lead it. And if that lesson is accompanied by diminution or even a collapse in small and medium donors disgusted with round-heeled Republicans, that will be a warning, not an end result, of an even greater abandonment of the effort to rebuild a majority in the Congress.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee can be e-mailed at webmaster@gopsenators.com.

The National Republican Congressional Committee can be e-mailed at website@nrcc.org.

A copy of my emails to congress,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am appalled at the talk of so called conservatives within the GOP supporting the Democrat's anti war votes. What is troublesome is that there seems to be more of a fear of reelection held above the principles of freedom and Democracy our country defends and protects.

How bitter Iraqis must be when they hear six figure a year men and women declare "last chances" as they hear the sound of car bombs or bullets, and especially when they read about the dilemmas facing Republicans who had "close calls" in November or who face "tough fights" in '08.

How confusing is this signal to our troops, in harms way, that they fear being abandoned by our government before they complete their mission and obtain victory. Political correctness has tied the hands of our forces and made their jobs harder, and certainly more dangerous. Sending signals of weakness and a lack of a unified front only gives the terrorists more courage to fight the forces of freedom. I have a son who is currently in the final stages of deployment to Iraq. How dare you do anything that diminishes his mission or further endangers his life! Any support of the Democrats resolution in any form will give the terrorists more reason to step up their attacks and place our soldiers deeper in harms way.

It appears to me that the GOP is in part abandoning the principles that the voters base is clearly supporting, which is victory and a completed mission. The legasy of our military involvements over the past 50 years is nothing to be proud of. Unfinished business in North Korea is a source of concern now. Unfinished business in Viet Nam has scarred many a soldier who was abandoned by our government because it appeared to be the popular thing to do.
We left unfinished business in Desert Storm which has become Iraqi Freedom. And if we do not finish the business of Iraqi Freedom, what and where will the next related conflict be that comes back to haunt us?

I have withheld any further contributions to the Republicans since 2004 because I feel like the party is no longer representing the ideals or the platforms is has run on in the past that make the GOP desirable. I am also in communication with thousands of like minded individuals who are doing exactly the same thing. If the GOP is to survive, it will require the support of millions of Americans who feel slighted by the lack of solid leadership and unity within the party. That support is waning. Especially when serious matters of security and troop morale are being sacrificed for political points.

Listen to the conscience of America and not a loud group of obstructionists who have made our President appear to fail on all fronts, all for political gain. Stand up for something for a change and stay the course! I want to support the GOP. Give me good reason why I should continue my support.

These resolutions and desertion of the RINO's certainly fulfill the terrorist's hopes.

Aljazeera reported a recording by Iraqi al-Qaeda leader Abu Hamza al-Muhajir expressing not only comfort, but also renewed vigor from Democratic congressional victories convincing him the strategy for a victorious Caliphate will be realized sooner than anticipated. For him the events offsets Iraqi achievements and sacrifices for an elected government, constitutional referendum, and physical reconstruction.

A-Mmuhajir’s belief parallels that reported by Colonel Bui Tin of the NVA General Staff to the Wall Street Journal. The military disaster of Tet, largely inflicted by a South Vietnamese Army abandoning families during the supposed Chinese New Year truce, was offset by NVA political victories. The NVA were elated when Jane Fonda, wearing a red Vietnamese dress, proclaimed American actions shameful and pledged unity with the NVA. Her words accompanied Walter Cronkite’s “quagmire” sound bite effectively burying the Rand report verifying near NVA/VC annihilation.

As the NVA, terrorists see confirmation of a rich, irresolute people nurturing defeatist convictions with such treats as CNN video showing the killing of American soldiers. They count on a new generation of Hollywood, university, media, and political liberals to compromise the War on Terror the way a Democratic Congress sealed South Vietnam’s fate by refusing to rebuild or support its armed forces after they again destroyed General Giap’s army in 1972.

A-Muhajir’s and other terrorist’s beliefs are not misplaced, when liberals seek fulfillment in diminished U.S. status and belligerent national independence movements, notwithstanding totalitarian servitude of peoples under Wahhabi/Salafi, Communist, Bolivarian, or Islamic fundamentalist rule.

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