Tuesday, November 29, 2005

So-Called Liberal Washington Post Again


The Right blogosphere is having orgasms over a short mention in the WP that Cheney's and the GOP pushback on Iraq is working.
Seventy percent of people surveyed said that criticism of the war by Democratic senators hurts troop morale -- with 44 percent saying morale is hurt "a lot," according to a poll taken by RT Strategies. Even self-identified Democrats agree: 55 percent believe criticism hurts morale, while 21 percent say it helps morale.

Just three of 10 adults accept that Democrats are leveling criticism because they believe this will help U.S. efforts in Iraq. A majority believes the motive is really to "gain a partisan political advantage."

Most surveys have shown significant majorities believe it was a mistake to go to war, as well as rising sentiment that Bush misled Americans in making the case for it.

Even so, there is still support for Bush's policy going forward. A plurality, 49 percent, believe that troops should come home only when the Iraqi government can provide for its own security, while 16 percent support immediate withdrawal, regardless of the circumstances.
Cue the orgasmic gasps from the right.

Why would they ask that question? No one should be leveling criticism because they believe it will help the war effort. Criticism is to end the invasion. Bring our men and women home now!

The whole premise of this poll is flawed. Simply believing that criticizing the war affects troop morale is not the same thing as believing that criticism shouldn't be aired.

The article as well as the poll is misleading in several ways - for example in the article did you see the result that 46% of those polled want us out either immediately or via a timetable and 49% say withdraw as the Iraqi government meets specific goals and objectives. - PDF. Wait a minute - everyone agrees we need to to get out and half don't care how the Iraqi government is doing!

The supposedly new bipartisan polling outfit seems to only do GOP polling and no one recognizes the supposed Democrat except that he worked for conservative Democratic pollsters.

Could the poll be right? Are we harming morale?

War based on a lie

Weapons of mass destruction? I'm still looking for them, and if you find any give me a call so we can justify our presence in Iraq. We started the war based on a lie, and we'll finish it based on a lie. I say this because I am currently serving with a logistics headquarters in the Anbar province, between the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi. I am not fooled by the constant fabrication of "democracy and freedom" touted by our leadership at home and overseas.

This deception is furthered by our armed forces belief that we can just enter ancient Mesopotamia and tell the locals about the benefits of a legislative assembly. While our European ancestors were hanging from trees, these ancient people were writing algebra and solving quadratic equations. Now we feel compelled to strong-arm them into accepting the spoils of capitalism and "laissez-faire" society. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching Britney Spears on MTV and driving to McDonald's, but do you honestly believe that Sunnis, Shias and Kurds want our Western ideas of entertainment and freedom imposed on them? Think again.

I'm not being negative, I'm being realistic. The reality in Iraq is that the United States created a nightmare situation where one didn't exist. Yes, Saddam Hussein was an evil man who lied, cheated and pillaged his own nation. But how was he different from dictators in Africa who commit massive crimes again humanity with little repercussion and sometimes support from the West? The bottom line up front (BLUF to use a military acronym) is that Saddam was different because we used him as an excuse to go to war to make Americans "feel good" about the "War on Terrorism." The BLUF is that our ultimate goal in 2003 was the security of Israel and the lucrative oil fields in northern and southern Iraq.

Weapons of mass destruction? Call me when you find them. In the meantime, "bring 'em on" so we can get our "mission accomplished" and get out of this mess.

Capt. Jeff Pirozzi
Camp Taqaddum, Iraq

Published in the Stars and Stripes undoubtedly due to us Democrats
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