Posted on 08/12/2014 6:07:57 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Iowa Democrats and Bruce Braley’s campaign are drawing attention to comments Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joni Ernst made during an ABC interview late last week.
“What we see going on in Iraq right now, if this current administration had followed guidance from military leaders many years ago, we would not be in this situation,” Ernst said.
Jeff Zeleny, ABC’s Senior Washington correspondent, asked: “Do you support the limited airstrikes that were started this morning?”
Ernst replied: “I can say is what I would have supported is leaving additional troops in Iraq longer and perhaps we wouldn’t have this situation today.”
Ernst is a battalion commander in the Iowa National Guard who served in Iraq in 2003 with a unit that ran convoys from Kuwait into southern Iraq. Darin Adams of Marshalltown was stationed in Iraq for two and a half years and he was recruited by the Iowa Democratic Party to offer a rebuttal to Ernst’s statements on Iraq.
“I guess my first thought when I read it was just shock at the disconnect that Ms. Ernst has with the American public,” Adams said during a conference call with reporters. “The American public wanted to pull out of Iraq, you know, unless we want to create permanent bases in Iraq which is not what the people want and not what the Iraqis want.”
Adams served a year in Baqubah and a year in Mosul, two cities which are now threatened by the Islamic militants who’ve seized control of large swaths of Iraq. Critics of the Obama Administration argue if some U.S. troops had been left in Iraq they could have sounded an early warning about the so-called ISIS militants. Adams said America’s military community knew a decade ago that what’s happening now could happen.
“I mean, how big of a force would we have to put in Iraq to not have the situation go the way that it is? How many troops is enough?” Adams asked. “How many dead American soldiers is enough? When do we say, ‘Hey, we’ve given you all the resources you need to be successful, but this is an Iraqi problem that needs Iraqi solutions.’”
A spokeswoman for the Ernst campaign says Ernst believes President Obama should have worked harder to negotiate an agreement with the Iraqi government that would have kept some U.S. troops in the country. In March, Ernst criticized Obama’s approach to the Ukraine crisis.
There’s been an anti-war vein in Iowa politics over the years. In 1991, Chuck Grassley was one of just two Republican senators who voted against the Gulf War resolution. In 2002, though, Grassley voted for military action in Iraq. Former Iowa Congressman Jim Leach, a Republican, voted for the first Gulf War, but in 2002 Leach voted against sending U.S. troops back to Iraq, arguing it could weaken the fight against terrorism. Leach lost his bid for reelection in 2006. He endorsed Barack Obama’s bid for the White House in 2008.
Sorry, Dems. Most Americans are appalled at what is happening in Iraq. We could have left a contingent of peacekeepers for a few more years. I mean, we are STILL in Germany.
Astonishing dishonesty.
The Democrats (and a lot of Repubs) will ignore that the ISIS invasion of Iraq is an offshoot of the war in Syria which we, the Turks, and the Saudis, are supporting and promoting.
Translation: This President makes his political and policy decisions based on public opinion, without regard for the professional advice of military advisers.
What a President, huh?
I almost feel sorry for the Executive. The MSM anti-Republican Iraq propaganda fell right into his lap -as it was supposed to. And he was all too willing to make political hay of it. This in turn ignored the supreme efforts of a great many thousands of the most dedicated and capable Americans in government and the military. So now it’s coming back on him. His incompetence has begat his irrelevance.
Best stay on the Vineyard man-child.
Here’s the guy wearing his “Veterans for Obama Shirt” in a picture a few years ago:
http://wcfcourier.com/bp-biden-beau/image_b875a6b0-fb91-11e1-a3b9-0019bb2963f4.html
Oooh! The Iowa Democrat Party "recruits" a veteran to polish the alektorophobe's knob. I know that I really enjoyed Bruce Braley's first election ads that showed bobble-head old farts all nodding with Bruce's "pull the rug out from under the deployed" delivery- I might have enjoyed them less if my own kid had been in Iraq at the time… oh wait! He was! My bad.
Maybe the Iowa Democratic Party would like to get my son's take on this, as it isn't exactly the same as Darwin Adams'.
Mr. niteowl77
I’m betting Darin Adams was stationed in Iraq as an REMF. Any takers?
That is and has always been a absurd comparison. Germany was left decimated and surrendered in complete defeat. The main point in staying there was in reference to a threat from the USSR[convention Military].
Nor was there ever a pan German theater where Germans would recommit to a battlefield in a similar country.
Having US in countries always allows the host country to spend less on their defenses and resources. Not only that, but time is always on the side of the guerrilla or terrorist today.
That of course does not factor into the history of Iraq and the complete lack of will to create a bulwark against Islamists. We can bring out vague references of examples, but part of the fact is they have a poor condition to be good soldiers and leaders.
Anyone can go join a merry band of jihad, but it takes a culture and society to stand and die for civilization.
by O. Kay Henderson...
LOL!
Any campaign ad the Dems want her to publicize for free is “OK” with Ms Henderson.
Ernst replied: “I can say is what I would have supported is leaving additional troops in Iraq longer and perhaps we wouldn’t have this situation today.”
I agree with Ernst. However, I wouldn't have had any reticence about saying that I would support bombing every single formation we can find of these animals. If the reports are true about what they're doing, which it seems they are since they are coming from ISIS itself, they're terrorists who are guilty of the worst sort of crimes against humanity.
We have never discussed military/foreign policy. Now I am even prouder to have voted for you. God bless you and yours!
Thanks, my friend. Back at ya.
Thanks Tailgunner Joe.
Joni Ernst: I was harassed in the military
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/joni-ernst-harassment-military-iowa-110067.html
By LUCY MCCALMONT | 8/15/14 5:03 PM EDT
“I had comments, passes, things like that,” Ernst told Time, which noted she served more than 20 years in the military.
Of the harassment, Ernst said it was something she was able to say knock it off “and it simply stopped.”
“But there are other circumstances both for women and for men where they don’t stop and they may be afraid to report it,” the Iowa state senator said.
Ernst said in the interview she would support removing sex assault cases from the military chain of command, which the Pentagon and many Republicans oppose. She added that she didn’t back Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s bill on the issue but wanted to work with the New York Democrat and others to craft a new measure.
Ernst, who won the five-way Republican Senate primary battle in June, will face Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley in November to replace retiring Sen. Tom Harkin. She gained headlines after she spoke of castrating hogs in a campaign ad released earlier this year.
If Ernst wins, she will be the first female combat veteran to serve in the Senate, Time said. Ernst, currently a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard, also served a tour in Iraq.
In 1991, Chuck Grassley was one of just two Republican senators who voted against the Gulf War resolution. In 2002, though, Grassley voted for military action in Iraq. Former Iowa Congressman Jim Leach, a Republican, voted for the first Gulf War, but in 2002 Leach voted against sending U.S. troops back to Iraq, arguing it could weaken the fight against terrorism. Leach lost his bid for reelection in 2006. He endorsed Barack Obama’s bid for the White House in 2008.
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