IRAQ: Nobody has a Clue

One thing is clear. Nobody seems to know what’s going on in Iraq.

Now see the Republicans scramble. After General Casey’s withdrawal plan, to say they’ve been caught on their heels is like saying Duncan Hunter is smarmy. Tell us something we don’t know.

Back here, there’s a debate going on about whether amnesty should be offered to the murderous,
slaughtering thugs fighting against our soldiers in Iraq. It would be part of
a peace deal.

Some people believe we should all play nice in order to get peace, no matter
the cost.

Others believe that any talk of amnesty from the U.S. government to the insurgents in Iraq who who are killing and maiming our soldiers is a disgrace to every soldier who has served, been wounded or maimed, no matter the war or conflict.

But let’s get one thing straight. Amnesty is going to come and it likely won’t
be pretty, but it should not be at our suggestions or capitulation, due to Republican
cowardice of policy. And it sure as hell should not be offered while our U.S.
forces are still fighting in the field. I mean, seriously, what genius came
up with this one? There’s only one party that could suggest such a thing and
that’s Republicans, because it serves their purposes and gets them out of a
jam.

We shouldn’t buy yet another spineless anti-troop policy from Bush and his
rubber stampers in Congress.

After all, General Casey proved Democrats right, which Russ Feingold laid out
beautifully on “Meet the Press”
just yesterday.

MR. RUSSERT: The Iraqi prime minister today, Senator, unveiled a national reconciliation plan. He calls on the Iraqi legislature to set a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, but also urges the granting of amnesty for some insurgents. What’s your reaction? SEN. FEINGOLD: Well, first, on the timeline, it appears to me that the American people understand it’s time for a timeline to withdraw the troops from Iraq. The Iraqi people and the Iraqi government understand it. It seems like it’s only here in Washington that people don’t understand it’s time to end this mistake, to end our military involvement there. And the votes in Washington don’t show it, but the people in this country and the people of Iraq want us to stop it. As to the amnesty, I’m very troubled by it. The idea of amnesty for people that have either attacked or even killed American troops, I think that’s unacceptable and something that we have to make very clear to the Iraqis that we can’t accept. MR. RUSSERT: If it was used as a vehicle to, however, accelerate the withdrawal of American troops, would you consider it? SEN. FEINGOLD: I don’t think there should be amnesty for people who have killed or are trying to kill American troops, and I don’t think that has to be a part of the process. I understand that there might have to be amnesty for certain individuals have—who have committed some kind of criminal acts. It may be a different story for those who have done something to other Iraqis. I understand that. That’s a decision the Iraqis should be able to make. But we, as Americans, cannot tolerate the idea that people who have murdered American soldiers should get off scot-free. I don’t think any of us can support that. MR. RUSSERT: As you know, General George Casey, the U.S. commander of ground troops in Iraq, met with President Bush and Pentagon leaders this week, and this is one of the news reports about his meetings. “The top U.S. commander in Iraq has drawn up plans that could lead to sharp reductions in American forces there as early as September and cut the number of combat brigades by nearly two-thirds by late 2007. “Army General George Casey presented his plan to Pentagon leaders and President Bush in confidential briefings during a visit to Washington last week, an administration official said. … “Under Casey’s plan, the number of combat brigades could shrink to seven or eight by the middle of next year, and to five or six by the end of 2007. One military official said the reductions could leave the U.S. with 40,000 to 50,000 troops in the country by the end of next year, far below any previous estimates.” Make sense? SEN. FEINGOLD: Not only does it make sense, but it short—sort of shows that all this talk about a timetable being unreasonable or ridiculous is just wrong. Even General Casey is talking about how realistic it is to bring the troops home, and our timetable that we proposed last week had to do with bringing the troops home within one year. I mean, how is this different? And of course, the claim is, if you tell the terrorists that you’re going to leave, that somehow they’re going to be able to wait us out. Well, apparently General Casey and the administration is allowing us to tell them this. The fact is it is a public timetable, just of the kind that General Casey here is basically talking about, where everybody’s going to know about it, is the best way to transition so that the Iraqis know what’s going to happen, we know what’s going to happen, the American people knows what’s going to happen—know what’s going to happen. That is the way to have confidence in the process in Iraq and get us refocused on the broader fight against terrorism in those places in the world, Tim, where we’re losing ground. We’re losing ground in Afghanistan. We don’t have enough resources in Indonesia and Malaysia area in this regard. We have lost ground in Somalia. And the fact is that Iraq is draining our strength. I think General Casey knows that. And this plan is very similar to the type of thing that Senator Kerry and I actually proposed in the United States Senate this week. MR. RUSSERT: What General Casey and others would say about your plan is that it limited his flexibility. You wanted a time certain for all troops out. What he says is, “I need flexibility. I need to be able to have a withdrawal plan on my terms, based on what’s happening on the ground.” And he would have 40,000 to 50,000 troops on the ground at the end of next year. You would be completely out. SEN. FEINGOLD: When he gives—we give total flexibility to the Pentagon and to General Casey in terms of what order he wants to do this, what time frame within the year that we have proposed. And the fact is our amendment does not call for the complete elimination of all troops. We allow exceptions to protect American facilities, to conduct anti-terrorist activities, and to help in a limited way in terms of training the Iraqi military and the Iraqi police. So the fact is, we do provide the flexibility that General Casey needs. Our plan is so similar to what he’s talking about it makes me wonder what the Republicans of the United States Senate and others were talking about when they said a timetable was a sort of a crazy idea. It’s a perfectly reasonable idea. … “Meet the Press”

Evidently, Maliki woke up and felt the heat, because there’s a new “olive
branch” from him that plays right into Bush’s pocket. I know you’re shocked.

Wake up and smell the election withdrawal plan. It might not be the W. two-step,
but it’s close.

Under intense pressure from leaders of the Shia-dominated United Iraqi Alliance, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki offered a greatly softened national reconciliation plan when his National Assembly met Sunday. The UIA, which includes Maliki’s own Dawa Party, met in an emergency session late Saturday night to hammer out the changes, removing any explicit mention of amnesty for insurgents, or of a timetable for withdrawal of coalition forces. (snip) At a press conference after the session, U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said, “I urge the insurgents to lay down their arms and join the democratic process.” Without some form of amnesty, it’s difficult to see how they would ever do that. ‘Olive Branch’ The Iraqi government has toned down the latest version of its plan for a U.S. troop withdrawal and amnesty for insurgents, but still plans to revisit the deleted clauses.

Oh, and by the way, a reporter on “Lou Dobbs” today contradicted the above story from Newsweek, without specifically mentioning the story. In fact, today, insurgents were let out of prison by the dozen.

Frankly, it’s bedlam and desperation time and Bush and the Republicans in charge
don’t know what’s going on in Iraq. You may not see a helicopter on the roof, but you can see Maliki’s mind spinning every time he steps out to speak.