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Advice to Kerry on Exiting Iraq
The New York Times ^ | February 18, 2004 | GEORGE McGOVERN

Posted on 02/18/2004 5:39:36 AM PST by Brilliant

To the Editor:

I am a longtime admirer of Thomas L. Friedman. I disagree, however, with his advice to Senator John Kerry relative to our Army in Iraq, which is summarized in his final line: "We will not run" (column, Feb. 15).

This determination to stand and fight is tempting to political leaders. The trouble with this appeal is that brave young Americans do the bleeding and dying — not the political leaders who committed them to a mistaken war. Terrorists are killing American soldiers in Iraq because our Army is in Iraq. I hope that President Bush, with the help of the United Nations, will find a way to return Iraq to the Iraqis and bring our Army home.

Paradoxically, on the same page as Mr. Friedman's column is a column by Maureen Dowd detailing how Ahmad Chalabi, the convicted criminal Iraqi exile, snowed the neoconservatives in the Bush administration into believing that the American Army could walk into Iraq unopposed and that he would be an ideal replacement for Saddam Hussein.

Replacing Saddam Hussein with Ahmad Chalabi would be comparable to replacing Jack the Ripper with Al Capone. Such a development is not worth risking the death of one additional American.

Thousands of young Americans bled and died in Vietnam to keep a series of political frauds in power in Saigon. Let's not go down that road again, claiming all the while, "We will not run." How about a compromise? Let's walk out of Iraq.

GEORGE MCGOVERN Marco Island, Fla., Feb. 16, 2004 The writer was the Democratic candidate for president in 1972.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2004; election; georgemcgovern; iraq; kerry; mcgovern; war
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To: Brilliant
Let's see ... terrorists in Iraq kill American soldiers in an attempt to get the US government to pull them out, McGovern says pull them out, we do and the terrorists win, saying "Hmmm, this works." That is supposed to stop terrorism??? George McGovern, are you insane?
21 posted on 02/18/2004 6:14:12 AM PST by NonValueAdded ("America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our people." GWB 1/20/04)
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To: Doc_Farmer_Redux
President Bush is working towards a free, stable middle east. The big picture!
22 posted on 02/18/2004 6:16:21 AM PST by tkathy
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To: Doc_Farmer_Redux; Admin Moderator
Clean-up needed in aisles 19 and 20.
23 posted on 02/18/2004 6:17:52 AM PST by NonValueAdded ("America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our people." GWB 1/20/04)
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To: Brilliant
Damn. That SOB McGovern is still alive?
24 posted on 02/18/2004 6:18:16 AM PST by ohioman
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To: Brilliant
Brilliant screen name! :)
25 posted on 02/18/2004 6:18:19 AM PST by MaryFromMichigan ("The Passion" If you loved the Book, you'll love the movie)
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To: Brilliant
McGovern is only qualified to give advice on exiting, period.
26 posted on 02/18/2004 6:24:49 AM PST by SpinyNorman
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To: cripplecreek
re #9

"We removed the Taliban from power, removed Saddam from power,
got Lybian cooperation, Pakistani cooperation,
some ammends from iran and North Korea.
I'm overlooking a lot here, but we did
this in under three years with less than 2,000 men lost.
Thats a pretty spectacular accomplishment.
" cripplecreek


And then some.


"Thanks to Kerry in his Hanoi Jane period,
Vietnam was a disaster for America
that gave the establishment a wholly irrational fear
of almost every ramshackle Third World basket case on the planet.
"
Mark Steyn

27 posted on 02/18/2004 6:25:42 AM PST by Diogenesis (If you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us)
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To: Brilliant
The problem with the "new" George McGovern is he sounds just like the "old" George McGovern!
28 posted on 02/18/2004 6:45:20 AM PST by Gritty ("Liberals only aversion to the use of force is it's use in the national interest-Charles Krauthammer)
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To: Brilliant
It seems appropriate for Kerry to be taking his advice from George McGovern.
29 posted on 02/18/2004 6:53:04 AM PST by Brilliant
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To: Brilliant
After Senator Kerry became a Benedict Arnold his antiwar group supported a plan called RAW. This stood for rapid American withdrawal. Would he do it again?
30 posted on 02/18/2004 6:58:45 AM PST by wilmington2
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To: wilmington2
He says he'll stay the course, but you can't square that with the rest of what he says. Because the enemy knows his weaknesses, you can bet they will put pressure on him to fold.
31 posted on 02/18/2004 7:00:45 AM PST by Brilliant
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To: Brilliant
McGovern has forgotten the lesson taught to him by the Khmer Rouge. Or perhaps, like most liberals, he just doesn't care about the massacre of millions.
32 posted on 02/18/2004 7:02:55 AM PST by jwalsh07
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To: Redcoat LI
Tedward is history.

CG
33 posted on 02/18/2004 4:08:05 PM PST by Conspiracy Guy (I'm not stupid. I just act that way.)
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