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Monday, September 03, 2007

The American Exit from Iraq

No, I don't know when this will happen. I am pretty sure it can't happen under Bush. He is too vain to admit defeat. And Republicans have created an impossible situation for him should he wish to orchestrate a graceful exit because they have referred to this to a "surrender."

The Republicans seem to have perfected the the art of biting oneself in the butt. The poor Senator from Utah, who apparently somewhat successfully managed to stay in the closet for some years, is being bitten in the butt by the Republican prejudice against gays, a prejudice he himself adopted when "being a Republican" as opposed to "being a human" was required. Of course, the party has bitten itself in the butt as well. Democrats don't blink when a Democrat is outed or outs himself since they do not practice discrimination toward gays. In fact, the hypocrisy of the Republican Party in regard to gays is heightened because the Utah senator's proclivities were known to the leadership, just as were those of Sen. Foley.

In referring to Democratic proposals to end the war in Iraq, some Republicans have referred to this as a "surrender." They have also referred to this policy as a "cut and run" policy. Of course, for a withdrawal from Iraq to be a surrender, there would have to be someone to surrender to. Would it be the head of the government? Some Shiite cleric like Sadr? The head of the insurgency whomever he might be? Or would it be the top Al Queda guy if there is one? Without someone to hand your sword too, you can't surrender.

Cutting and running might be more relevant. I am guessing that what these Republicans have in mind is a case in which one might go crab fishing using a pretty big hunk of meat and one catches an alligator instead One might want to cut the line and run though it would be smarter, if one were really afraid, to leave the alligator attached to the line and run.

I am tired of two cowards like Bush and Cheney continuing to demand that our soldiers submit to extended stays in Iraq thereby increasing their chances of being killed or maimed or, should they survive, being psychologically damaged by the continued stress of combat against an enemy who hides in the shadows, a kind of stress neither Bush, flying around in National Guard planes when he wasn't AWOL, nor Cheney, studying at Wisconsin with his student deferments, during the Vietnam War could possibly understand.

Of course, if the Democrats can get their act together and defeat the Republican candidate for President and take both houses, then they must find some way to leave that doesn't expose them to Republican ridicule of a sort that might stick. If I knew how to do that I would tell you. We could, of course, adopt Sen. Aiken's proposal during the Vietnam War and declare victory and leave with our heads held high. A verbal declaration of victory is as close as we will come to victory, whatever that means.

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9 Comments:

Blogger concerned citizen said...

This morning I was inadvertently listening to Rush Limbaugh (I'd never listen to him by choice) & heard him bring blather on about "We must never surrender. Republicans never surrender but Democrats do".
I first thought to my self what an incongruous choice of words, in the sense that the word "surrender" didn't seem to fit with how in my mind our part in the conflict in Iraq could end. & Like you, I next thought "surrender to what?" Because so far I've always thought in terms of withdrawing, period. But that can't happen can it? Just withdrawing would be admitting defeat & nobody seems to be willing to do that.

So the president makes his surprise visit & they all stand around & talk about how wonderfully the war is going...

12:44 AM

 
Blogger Stephan Clark said...

The vanity of old men is something to behold. As your beloved Prez heads for our shores here in Australia, we have our own 68 year old Prime Minister, who finds it impossible to say 'sorry' about anything ...other than to the rich and famous that is!

3:39 AM

 
Blogger The Language Guy said...

We did it in Vietnam in a rather inelegant manner, with Vietnamese holding on to the sleds of helicopters taking off from the tops of buildings evacuating our people -- Americans and sympathetic Vietnamese. They fell off.

7:11 AM

 
Blogger The Language Guy said...

Does "vanity of old men" apply to me? Bush isn't 68 but I am. I could have said all the stuff I said when 28. In fact, I did since I was a anti-war person. He is not my beloved anything.

7:13 AM

 
Blogger concerned citizen said...

Yeah & those images are so horrible to look at... real realities of war.

War & politics is not something I find pleasant to think about, I really struggle to find some way to comes to terms with that aspect of our humanity. In my involvement so far with local politics...we can hardly have a debate that doesn't turn into mud-slinging & finger pointing. It seems to be the only tactics people know & it's so damn annoying because it doesn't advance anyones ideas & obviously it's new ideas that solve old problems. But if we aren't willing examine what is going on honestly & with an open mind, how can we rise above it? If we continually resort to propaganda tactics & continually react to propaganda tactics, we will just stay mired in our own mess.

Right now I'm listening to a series of audio courses on freedom, called "The Philosophy of Liberation" It's about how the idea of freedom has advanced throughout the ages. It's a wonderful & uplifting course & one of the most uplifting things about it is the people who have advanced the ideas of freedom[liberation] by first liberating their own self from oppression (lifting their own self out of the mess) & using those creative ideas to help liberate others. The funny thing is none of these people were politicians in the conventional sense although they understood politics.

1:11 PM

 
Blogger The Language Guy said...

War brings out passion in those who oppose it since it involves life and death.

5:10 PM

 
Blogger concerned citizen said...

What do you call what war brings out in those who revel in it?

11:34 AM

 
Blogger Pam Robinson said...

Craig's from Idaho. But you're right about everything else.

10:48 AM

 
Blogger The Language Guy said...

concerned, they are testosterone junkies. Thanks from pointing out that the offending Senator is from Idaho, pam.

12:26 PM

 

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