|
Banned
|
 |
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: incoherant
|
|
Jan 11th, 2007, 09:21 PM
George Boob
Quote:
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Democrats and Republicans slammed the new US plan to surge troops into Iraq as a tragedy and the worst blunder since Vietnam, as the Bush administration admitted it had no idea how long the forces would stay.
President George W. Bush and top aides faced fierce criticism as they launched a hard sell to convince a nation weary of a war which has claimed 3,000 US lives that the last-ditch bid to step up the battle can work.
They warned the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was on "borrowed time" and promised to hold his government to its end of the bargain to tackle sectarian violence before US troops pour into Baghdad.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice faced a fearsome grilling by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, over the plan to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq, and Bush's warning US soldiers would tackle Iranian and Syrian elements there.
"I think this speech given last night by this president represents the most dangerous foreign policy blunder since Vietnam, if it is carried out," Republican Senator Chuck Hagel said.
Senator Joseph Biden, who presided over the committee's first inquisition of a senior administration figure since Democrats took over the reins of Congress last week, said American's prayers for a workable strategy had not been answered.
"I believe the president's strategy is not a solution, Secretary Rice. I believe it's a tragic mistake," Biden said.
"The result will be the loss of more American lives and our military stretched to the breaking point with little prospect of success."
Democrats said Wednesday they plan to hold votes on the Bush plan, but stopped short of vowing to cut off war funding.
The president, whose political legacy is riding on the long-odds bid to pacify Iraq, headed to an appearance with US troops in Fort Benning, Georgia, in his own personal sales pitch.
Rice defended the reliance of the Bush administration on the much derided Maliki government, which has failed to satisfy past US demands for robust action.
"I think he knows that his government is, in a sense, on borrowed time," she said.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said no one could predict how long the US troop surge in Iraq would last, and Iraqi actions would be assessed before most new soldiers arrived.
"We'll have to see in terms of the length of time. It's really hard to say at this point," Gates said, adding the United States would closely monitor Iraqi compliance before its troops pour into Baghdad.
"It's viewed as a temporary surge, but I think no one has a really clear idea of how long that might be."
But he warned US forces in Baghdad would be "prisoners of anyone who wants to strap on a bomb and blow themselves up," adding that all districts would be targeted, including the stronghold of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Rice warned the United States would not let Tehran disrupt the US plan to stabilize Iraq, after Bush said US forces would hunt down Iranian and Syrian agents in the country.
"I don't want to speculate on what operations the United States may be engaged in, but you will see that the United States is not going to simply stand idly by and let these activities continue," she said in one interview.
Rice spoke hours after US troops captured six people accused of plotting attacks on US and Iraqi forces, in a raid in the Iraqi city of Arbil. Iran said five Iranians were seized from its consulate. The Pentagon denied it was a government post.
Retired diplomat, Timothy Carney, was meanwhile nominated by Rice, to head a new US reconstruction push in Iraq.
But Rice, who leaves for a tour of the Middle East on Friday, to sell the new US plan to moderate Arab allies, failed to placate Senators.
Democrat Christopher Dodd, a 2008 presidential candidate, described the US Iraq policy as a "fool's paradise." Party colleague Russ Feingold branded it a "true nightmare," and even staunch Republican Senator Norm Coleman said "the cost is too great" in terms of US lives to support the Bush plan.
Gates announced he would recommend an increase of 92,000 men in US armed forces, made up of 65,000 soldiers and 27,000 marines over five years to boost "combat capability."
Bush said in Wednesday's speech his new push was aimed at crushing terrorists, insurgents and rogue militias, and helping Iraq's security forces take control of the entire country by November.
In a rare specific admission of failure, Bush pointed to past efforts to secure Baghdad and said that not enough US and Iraqi troops had been deployed.
|
And now he's sending guy's into Somalia and I've mentioned that Somalia is the worst pit hole on the planet and it's really sad...I hate to say it but I think he's dumb enough to use Nuclear if he keeps stepping in it over and over again. | |
| |
|
|
Linear Mode
