Let's parse her *points* and rip her to shreds, shall we?
Let's start with the real reason she wrote this. Reasons, actually. First, it was a generic drive-by smear against Hillary Clinton, who came back from a trip to Iraq speaking out about the ab-surge-ity that Bush is advocating; election be damned.
But the main reason is more below the surface - it's written at a the level of a 12-year old because it's the talking points for the dead-enders - and that is about their level of comprehension. If they were not uneducable, they wouldn't be continuing to ingest the spoon-fed poison dished up by this administration.
We are at war. America faces an existential threat. Really? I thought the military was at war, and America was at the mall. As to the existential threat she wants us all to set our hair on fire about - Bullshit. Any *existential threat* our nation faces is due to undermining the Constitution, suspending Habeas Corpus, the Insurrection Acts of 1807 and Posse Comitatus. The threat to America is from her president and her father and the fools who follow them. Terrorism is a tactic, it is not an entity, and fighting this tactic militarily is just, well, stupid.
Quitting helps the terrorists. Don't take my word for it. Read the plans of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Ayman Zawahiri to drive America from Iraq, establish a base for al-Qaeda and spread jihad across the Middle East. Don't worry, you miserable bitch, I wouldn't take your word that the sky is blue. if you said it, I would go outside and look up. Zarqawi is dead, so scratch him off the list-o-threats. Let's all remember, as well, that al Qa'eda is a Sunni organization, and Iraq is majority Shi'ite. That civil war in Iraq? It's between Sunni and Shia. Anyone who believes that the Shia would stand for an al Qa'eda takeover of their country should contact me immediately, because I have millions sitting in a bank in Nigeria that I need your help and $50,000 dollars to retrieve...
Beware the polls. In November the American people expressed serious concerns about Iraq (and about Republican corruption and scandals). They did not say that they want us to lose this war. They did not say that they want us to allow Iraq to become a base for al-Qaeda to conduct global terrorist operations. They did not say that they would rather we fight the terrorists here at home. Until you see a poll that asks those questions, don't use election results as an excuse to retreat. Anyone catch that whiff of desperation? A Republican snatches at the straw of Republican corruption, claiming that was more to blame for the electoral disaster the Republicans were handed than the war. Anyone remember the post-election analysis and exit polling? It was about the war!!! Here is the defining race that crystallized that point: The Kansas 02, home to Fort Leavenworth and Fort Riley, tossed Jim Ryun out on his ass and installed Democrat Nancy Boyda. Listen up, bitch. We took a poll in November - the only poll that matters - and the results weren't what you wanted, so you tell us to "beware the polls." Oh for fucks sake. Grow up and deal. The jig is up and you guys have been repudiated. As for that "fighting them there, rather than here" bullshit...Did you ever play sports? I did. Still do in fact. Homefield advantage is not to be underestimated. We fought them here at home just fine prior to the cock-up that is Iraq and the travesty that is the Bush presidency. We caught the first WTC attackers without a Patriot Act, without suspending Habeas and without launching an illegal war. Of course, we used to have a President, not some fucking idiot who dismissed the August 6 Presidential Daily Briefing with an "Okay, you've covered your ass now." And then cleared brush rather than attempting to prevent the attacks of September 11, 2001. Personally, I would rather be the one who can fade into the populace, rather than a sitting duck.
Retreat from Iraq hurts us in the broader war. We are fighting the war on terrorism with allies across the globe Allies are bailing right and left because of the incompetence and fecklessness of her Daddy's war-mongering. The War on Terror™ and the war in Iraq are two separate and distinct entities, and conflating them is the height of intellectual dishonesty.
What about Iran? There is no doubt that an American retreat from Iraq will embolden Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Read a fucking newspaper. Ahmadinejad is a figurehead, and a fading one at that. The only reason he was ever allowed to be ensconsed was to stick a thumb in Bush's eye after that Axis of Evil crap. Iranians dished up a thumpin' for him along the lines of the one Bushbaby took.
Our soldiers will win if we let them. Read their blogs. Talk to them. Fine. Here is a comment left on the 75th page of overwhelmingly negative comment to your piece on the WaPo website in response to your blathering, and I will let this soldier have the last word:
Since you decided to invoke soldiers and what we think, I will tell you: Liz Cheney, you're an idiot. You have no idea what you're talking about. I could go on and on about every point you make here, but in particular Ill address your comments about the courage those of us who have actually been to war unlike you, your father, the president, etc.. Of course terrorists cant beat us militarily, but guess what. They're beating us. Why? Its not a military victory were looking for. Its a PR fight. Its hearts and minds. If you had ever been there, or knew anyone closely who had, you'd know its a counterinsugency, and I can only assume from your column that you know nothing about counterinsurgency. Its easy to talk tough when you have no personal stake in the fight at all. You have evidenced a complete misunderstanding of this conflict, and all of us in uniform would be better served if you either educated yourself on the issue, or you just shut up. This administration has left those of us fighting this war out in the cold at every opportunity, from resources in the field to VA funding to brain injury research. How dare you try to use our collective voice to support a policy and an administration that don't support us.Jan 23, 2007 3:08:34 PM
