When Politics Hijacked America

So Representative John Murtha (D-PA) is calling for a withdrawal from Iraq to be completed in six months. That puts his fellow Democrats in an uncomfortable position because he is trying to force them to take a stand on the issue of US commitment to Iraq. The problem is that the memory of their defeat in the 2004 elections is still fresh in their minds. They lost the Presidency and both houses while running on a platform criticizing US foreign policy. You can also place a sure bet on the fact that they are scared because many of them voted to remove Saddam Hussein from power. They haven’t forgotten that our intelligence agencies reached the same conclusions made by the intelligence services of France, Germany and Russia thanks to Hussein’s pointless obstruction of UN efforts to verify Iraq's elimination of WMD.

I am not saying that the Democrats should take this opportunity to shut up. My beef is that since the 2004 election campaign the Democratic Party has done everything it can to undermine US efforts to help Iraq recover from Baathist oppression. I just think they should stop lying. It is insulting to the intelligence of the American people that our leaders from the Democratic Party pretend to support our efforts in Iraq while conducting a parallel campaign of sabotage.

Let’s face it, since the election campaign of 2004 most Democrats have spent more time condemning Bush than Al Qaeda or the Baathist insurgency. Beforehand most Democrats were war hawks demanding the removal of Hussein’s regime. These days they are prone to argue that they support our troops but they believe we have made too many mistakes. In the second Presidential debate Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) said, “I would have brought our allies to our side. I would have fought to make certain our troops had everybody possible to help them win the mission.”

These are strange words from a politician who has insulted every single US ally to date. It was during the early stages of the Democratic primary, when Senator Kerry told supporters that the US led international coalition represented a “trumped-up, so-called coalition of the bribed, the coerced, the bought, and the extorted”. That really doesn’t sound like a good way to win or keep allies,... strange.

Meanwhile the Bush Administration was conducting a brilliant diplomatic campaign to win the good will and cooperation of bitter US critics like the UN, Germany, France and the Vatican. As evidence of its success, US relations with these critics have been dramatically improved.

John Kerry’s sister, Diana Kerry, headed a campaign called “Americans Overseas for Kerry” which tried with disastrous results to interfere with the Australian elections for Prime Minister. Referring to the invasion of Iraq, Diana stated that, “Australia has kept faith with the US and we are endangering the Australians now by this wanton disregard for international law and multilateral channels”. Her actions drew strong comments of indignation from many Australians. Perhaps Kerry should have taken our relationship with Australia more seriously since the country is a firm ally in Iraq and the South Pacific (where Islamist militants have strongholds in nearby Indonesia and the Southern Philippines).

It was surprising to see that visiting Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi was also attacked by the Kerry campaign. In September of 2004 former Prime Minister Allawi visited the US and praised the country for its help. He stated that, “It's a tough struggle with setbacks, but we are succeeding”. Kerry was quick to pounce on Allawi saying, “I think the Prime Minister is, obviously, contradicting his own statement of a few days ago, where he said the terrorists are pouring into the country”. Fellow Democrat, Rep. James P. Moran (D-Va), went even further to mock Allawi as a pawn of the United States. He sarcastically stated, “It sounds like the State Department wrote the speech for him”. Kerry and Moran aren’t the only Democrats to scorn the former Iraqi Prime Minister, our most reliable ally in Iraq at the time. While denying a partisan boycott, many Democrats decided to skip Allawi’s speech. Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va) said he chose to reread the then most recent National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq rather than support Allawi on a rare US visit. Of course, he preferred a report which paints a bleak outlook for Iraq rather than promoting any chance for success.

Kerry may not have been very supportive of the Iraqi Interim Government or our allies, but he did defend one Iraqi group. His infamous remarks to a National Public Radio (NPR) interview reveal how far Kerry will go to criticize US policy in Iraq. He stated, “They (the former American led Coalitional Provisional Authority) shut a newspaper that belongs to a legitimate voice in Iraq”. Kerry was referring to the closing of the “al-Mustaqila” newspaper that is aligned with militia leader Al Sadr. This was 10 days after the publication of an article entitled; “Death to all spies and those who cooperate with the U.S., killing them is religious duty”. It is bizarre that Kerry chose to support a vowed enemy of the United States while condemning our closest ally.

So why is it that Kerry went around trying to destroy every alliance we have, while claiming that Bush wasn’t doing enough to win more allies by our side? Is this man’s political ambition more important than our country’s welfare?

In any case, it is true that we need a vibrant opposition party to uphold the balance of power that Democracy can provide, but we also need leadership. So the Democratic Party must make up their minds and decide whether they want us to cut and run -or- stay the course. There have been many US victories in this war and the insurgents have failed to achieve anything of military significance. If the Democrats commit to helping Iraq then they need to show the same leadership qualities that the Bush Administration has shown.

When Vice President Cheney spoke out against the Administration’s critics, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev), called the speech “yet another missed opportunity by the Vice President to come clean with the American people and lay out a strategy for success in Iraq”. That’s interesting in light of the fact that the only new strategy that the Democrats have suggested, which the US has not already implemented, is to withdraw. I challenge the Democratic Party to level with the American people…

No more bogus legislation calling for the draft.

No more insulting our allies.

No more closed sessions in the Senate chasing revisionist allegations.

No more claims of Korans that are impossibly flushed down the toilet.

No more forged National Guard documents.

No more distorting the Bush Administration’s correct accusation that Hussein’s regime supported terrorism (they never said Hussein was responsible for 9/11).

No more blame games and outrageous claims of racism in the wake of natural disasters like Katrina.

No more lies!!!!!!!!!!

Only responsible leadership in the best interests of the people of the United States and Iraq…

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Update 11/22 9:42am

Thanks to Nanc for pointing out an appropriate article written by David Limbaugh. It's an entertaining and insightful piece that highlights the harebrained antics of the Democratic Party. You can click on the link below to check it out:

David Limbaugh