Posted on 11/15/2005 10:13:35 PM PST by CyberAnt
Yesterday the United States Senate adopted an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill which requires the President to report, on a quarterly basis, progress being made in Iraq.
This amendment which was introduced by Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Senate Armed Services Chairman John Warner (R-VA) was in response to a Democratic amendment which would have required a hard time-table for troop withdrawals.
Frist, according to a Bloomberg report, said that a was a "cut-and-run strategy" which would play "right into the hands" of terrorists who would wait to attack until after U.S. forces departed.
While the Popular Press is using the amendment as an example of Republican and Democratic Senatorial dissatisfaction with the President's Iraq policy - the amendment was adopted by a bipartisan vote of 79-19 - I, on the other hand, think it is an excellent idea.
Long-time readers may remember that I spent some time in Iraq from November 2003 to May 2004. My job (which I did with exceeding lack of effect) was to bring the non-combat news back to the United States.
The idea was to let folks in, say, Buffalo or Tulsa know when we had done things like opened a new school in someplace like Tikrit.
Problem was, no one in Upstate New York or Oklahoma cared much about a school in Tikrit. I'm not so sure the people in Tikrit cared all that much.
After about three weeks I realized that it wasn't what our civilian and military folks were doing in Iraq that Americans would care about; what mattered was where in the United States they were from. People IN Buffalo or Tulsa would care about that school if folks FROM Buffalo or Tulsa had been involved with it.
That became our operating theory: We taped interviews with Americans doing all sorts of things in Iraq and sent those interviews back to their home-town markets. About 500 of them, as I remember.
When I say "we taped interviews" I mean, of course, that a combat camera team from the US Air Force, a Broadcast Operations Detachment from the US Army, DoD civilian volunteer Tom Basile and a wonderful retired Master Sergeant from Missouri did the work.
I mostly sat around and ate Double Stuff Oreo cookies.
But all of their terrific product was overwhelmed by the daily reports of bombs going off outside hotels where Western press was housed; homicide bombers blowing themselves up at police stations; and the murder of dozens of Muslims who had gathered to pray on holy days.
I have no problem with those reports. They were, unfortunately, true. Also unfortunately, they were not complete.
Thus, if the US Senate DEMANDS that the President reports on:
The factories, the water, sewer and electricity plants which continue to come on line; the Iraqi police, military, and intelligence forces who are being trained to take over more and more of Iraq's security;
The millions of Iraqis who go shopping and to work every day;
The children and young adults - including girls and women - who are going to schools, colleges and universities;
The candidates running for election to the Iraqi Parliament next month …
If the Senate DEMANDS those reports and the President provides them, maybe we'll get a somewhat clearer view of the real progress being made in Iraq.
When Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld was asked about that amendment, according to the New York Times, he said, that: the "Department of Defense and the Department of State send literally dozens of Iraqi-related reports to Congress each year already" and that the Pentagon alone sends Congress "I don't know, it's something over 900 reports total every year" on an array of subjects.
The piece by Carl Hulse quoted Rumsfeld saying, "I hope someone reads them."
I hope the Senate reads them. Out loud.
On the Secret Decoder Ring page today: A link to the Bloomberg story, an oxymoronic Mullfoto and a Catchy Caption photo of a prisoner receiving "degrading treatment."
-- END --
Copyright ©2005 Richard A. Galen
I thought this was a unique perspective on the amendment we were all so upset about - at least I was - and Rich's theory that the repubs had to offer some other form of the amendment in order to get enough votes to kill the democrat version. And .. by the vote tally, I'd say a lot of dems voted for the repub version over the dems.
So .. if you're not happy with what Rich wrote - don't yell at me.
Never looked at it that way. If the adminstration is really smart, this is great. I can just see Dirty Harry responding to a story about 50 new schools in Iraq.
" Oh Please don`t throw me into that briar patch", said the rabbit
Seems simply impossible for the Republican Senators to remember they run the joint because WE put them there. And the WAR is the SINGLE reason we are keeping them there. You are screwing with the WRONG issue here Senators. You better wake up or you WILL be the minority party after 2006. We have make excuses for you on everything from Immigration to Spending Senators. We have let you shift all the blame for your own moral cowardice onto Bush. We WILL not let you betray the war effort too.
Now we will have 4 state of the union type addresses on Iraq each year. Sounds good to me.
I hadn't thought about it this way either .. but I'm still not sure it was a good move. The fact we won was good .. but I'm curious why we couldn't get a vote without having to use this method.
Maybe the old "gang of 14" reared their ugly heads again.
NO, it was not good, and if it was, it wouldn't need to be spun to show people how fantastically brilliant it was.
Read the responses from Coburn, DeMint and Burr on Hugh's show for the real scoop. It was not a brilliant tactical device, but a rushed move inspired by fear. From their own mouths, witnesses to the inner workings of the Senate.
http://www.radioblogger.com/
IMO the Republicans in the Senate should have held their ground and helped Bush define the issues. Instead they gave the Democrats grounds to claim that even the Republicans were unhappy about how the war was being run by Bush.
I can see the anti-war campaign commercials now, with Frist shown and the tagline that Bush has alienated his own party regarding the war.
Whether true or not, you know the left will run with it. Bush and this nation deserved better. It's as if the Republicans in the Senate are allowing someone whose never worked in politics, to design their strategies.
This one is going to backfire big-time. The Republican demand for reports (at least in spirit) will appear in commercials almost immediately.
Thanks for posting an alternative view.
This was reported in the evening news cycle on radio as a victory for the Rats. Harry Reid was quoted as saying "Even the Republicans now acknowledge things are not going well in Iraq.."
Unless the Republican leadership whips their own boys into place and grows a pair, they are going to have devastating losses in the next election.
If the adminstration is really smartThese days, unfortunately, that's a pretty big if. Lately this administration has not been smart in getting the word out... it's been downright stupid.
I pray to be proven wrong, but as of now, I remain a pessimist. Somehow these "reports" will be fashioned in a way to make American soldiers look bad... and Bush look evil. That seems to be the only message that gets through to the American people these days, and the administration is either somehow collaborating in that effort or is so god-awful incompetent that the leftists retain the high-ground in every debate.
It's very disheartening. This is the first time in our history one side won the election and lost the issues.
Looks to me like Galen needs to lay off the RINO Kool-Aid.
Why is there TV?
HOW about radio, newspapers, OR magazines?
They are all there to sell things to you and they are very good at it. If they weren`t. the wouldn`t get the big bucks from companies that only pay for results. They, the media, know how to sell stuff.
Now, the same type of weasel, but one that specializes in politics, is being successful with their new ad campaign, its all GWB`s fault.
No matter what it is, Bush is wrong. Then, you add the fools supposedly from our side, that can`t see past their nose, helping the Rat media, piling on Bush over Meirs and you end up with low poll numbers.
You want to win the war on terrorism? You want conservative Judges and lower taxes? How about less crime or fewer abortions? Want all those things, then SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT.
If you can`t do that,be short sighted, be respondsible for the results of your actions, and send your campaign $$ straight to Hillary
There was a whole load of hand-wringing here on FR yesterday after this Senate action. I didn't get it then, and I still won't get it if people continue that way today after looking at the big picture.
As I read it, the amendment simply states that the administration will report quarterly what the heck it going on in Iraq. Rummy's reaction to this seems very genuine: 'we're giving them oodles of reports - are they listening to what is really going on or only to the NYSlimes and the FRAUDcasters?'
He's unconcerned about this action.
He's right!
People here on FR are treated continually to items from the Pentagon about ammo capture and villages rebuilt and Iraqis trained, etc... this quarterly report will have all that type of thing consolidated in it.
Why is it that people are getting worked up about how the FRAUDcasters are treating this Senate action? Have you started to believe them and their interpretations now?
Notice who voted FOR this and who voted AGAINST it!
The "Against" crowd includes those bomb-throwers who really, really don't want America to know the reality of what is going on - Kennedy and Kerry are notable in it, but by no means alone there. Also included are some like Graham who are hypersensitive believing their "conservative base" will not see this correctly.
This quarterly report is a very good thing - I think it ought to have been done much earlier - but I would have required it 6, not 4 times per year. Perhaps everyone is distracted by the fact that its passage followed a proposal by the bomb-throwers that had a BAD, bad future TIMETABLE for Iraq. The bill passed on its heels does NOT! It is really a fine thing, not a bad one.
It will serve to mollify those Americans who want to know more, and think only what the Old Media reports (blood and bombs) is going on in Iraq now. It will EDUCATE them as to reality because the FIRST of these reports will be the MOST important, people will look eagerly to read or hear it, and discover that the liars and secretive folks are those who have been bashing Iraq, not the administration.
Consequently, the Old Media FRAUDcasters and the bomb-throwing Demodogs will attempt to bury this. The Pentagon and the administration will have to present these with great fan-fare. (gotta fly...)
Your assessment is on the whole probably correct...to Americans. However the real point is that this kind of action gives signals to our enemies that we are weakening...which is probably correct. After the congress weaseled out of Vietnam there was probably in the neighborhood of 5 million folks who died as a result. I guarantee that will be a drop in the bucket if those spineless congress critters repeat that stupid mistake.
Then, you add the fools supposedly from our side, that can`t see past their nose, helping the Rat media, piling on Bush over Meirs and you end up with low poll numbers.Actually, I supported Miers. Go back and read my posts. But now I believe I was wrong to do so. I think the Miers-critics were right and I am much happier to have Alito.
Sometimes, criticizing a president you love is not only permissible, but the right thing to do.
Complete agreement about the Vietnam parallel, as well as danger of perception that we're weakening.
It is MY take that the Republican leadership has been very good about describing this as NOT a call for a pullout timetable.
It is our job to make sure that message gets out.
I'm really looking forward to these reports. I hope the Pentagon and the administration puts their BEST people and efforts into them, especially the first one. It is an incredible opportunity to start to reverse opinions about Iraq and truly educate people as to how things are really going in Iraq. Seriously... the first one will be the MOST important, because after that one, the OldMediots are highly likely to decide that the news is too good, and will lose interest in reporting on it.
And sometimes it is the wrong thing to do (not support the President), especially in the middle of a war
/rant on......Dozens of DoD reports on war progress as well as the good things - new schools, hospitals, electrical plants, etc. come out daily. And are buried daily by the MSM and the politicians under the dome. Having additional reports to be ignored are really going to do something more!?! /rant off......
Well .. I believe the repubs can use this to their advantage. If a report is REQUIRED - why not read the report into the record on the Senate Floor ..??
A few of those sessions on C-SPAN and the dems will have slit their own throats by demanding that such an accounting be made.
I agree it was a nasty move by the repubs .. but .. I still believe we can use it to our advantage if we can find a couple of strong supporters of the President who will be willing to take those reports and read them into the congressional record - and do it on the senate floor - where all the C-SPAN viewers can hear about all the GOOD things that are going on in Iraq.
We have almost a year to do this - and if we do this could backfire on the dems once again - by telling the American public what's really going on in Iraq.
I'm quite sure the dems will use it. In fact I'm quite sure it was a set-up. Kerry was sending out emails castigating the repubs the minute the vote was over. You can't get much more "set-up" than that.
I believe this was more of the "gang of 14" monkey business. McCain and Lott seem to be glorifying in making life hell for Bush.
So .. while I'm angry at this action .. I can see where we can use it against the dems .. again! And .. I don't see where this will have any significant backfire power against repubs.
Well .. you can remain pessimist .. it seems to be serving you well. I see you are going from thread to thread spreading your doom and gloom.
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