John McCain's Rhetoric Not Fact Based

“Democrats argue we should redirect American resources to the ‘real’ war on terror, of which Iraq is just a sideshow.  But whether or not al Qaeda terrorists were a present danger in Iraq before the war, there is no disputing they are there now, and their leaders recognize Iraq as the main battleground in the war on terror.  Today, al Qaeda terrorists are the ones preparing the car bombs, firing the Katyusha rockets, planting the IEDs.  They maneuver in the midst of Iraq’s sectarian conflict, sparking and fueling the horrendous violence, destroying efforts at political reconciliation, killing innocents on both sides in the hope of creating a conflagration that will cause Americans to lose heart and leave, so they can return to their primary mission – planning and executing attacks on the United States, and destabilizing America’s allies.      John McCain at VMI

  Once again, Mr. McCain has failed to read his own governments reports.

U.S. military, intelligence and diplomatic experts in Bush's own government say the violence in Iraq is primarily a struggle for power between Shiite and Sunni Muslim Iraqis seeking to dominate their society, not a crusade by radical Sunni jihadists bent on carrying the battle to the United States.

Foreign-born jihadists are present in Iraq, but they're believed to number only between 4 percent and 10 percent of the estimated 30,000 insurgent fighters - 1,200 to 3,000 terrorists - according to the Defense Intelligence Agency and a recent study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a center-right research center.

"Attacks by terrorist groups account for only a fraction of insurgent violence," said a February DIA report.

While acknowledging that terrorists could commit a catastrophic act on U.S. soil at any time - whether U.S. forces are in Iraq or not - the likelihood that enemy combatants from Iraq might follow departing U.S. forces back to the United States is remote at best, experts say. McClatchy

  Mr.McCain is demonstrating the usual Republican line of bullshit and lies and why would we expect anything less? Once again, as with anything that McCain or any Republican says, the facts do not match the rhetoric that they continue to put forth.

   Apparently the man who will never be a United States president is another GOP lackey who would not  heed the will and wishes of the people of the United States.

Tags: al Qaeda John McCain DIA Democrats

Nancy Pelosi,Majority Leader Steny Hoyer Have Comments On The Extended Stay Of Troops In Iraq

   By now you all know that the Asshole in Chief that sits upon his little perch in the White House and his controllers at the Pentagon have decided that the United States military troops aren't tired enough yet so they now get extended stays in Iraq going from 12 months up to 15. This is effective immediately.

   What I would like to know if our Congress is ready to look at impeaching these imbeciles or do the states have to force the issue?

                     The Gavel

           Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel:

“What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, extending tours of duty was ‘unacceptable’ to the President. Today, it is Pentagon policy. American troops and taxpayers are paying the price for a war with no end in sight.”

The announcement comes only one day after President Bush stated:

“The bottom line is this: Congress’s failure to fund our troops will mean that some of our military families could wait longer for their loved ones to return from the front lines. Others could see their loved ones headed back to war sooner than anticipated. This is unacceptable. It’s unacceptable to me, it’s unacceptable to our veterans, it’s unacceptable to our military families, and it’s unacceptable to many in this country.”

 

Extending Tours of Duty Is an Unacceptable Price for Our Troops and Their Families

April 11th, 2007 by Speaker Pelosi

Today’s announcement just underscores the fact that the burden of the war in Iraq has fallen upon our troops and their families. The Bush Administration has failed to create a plan to fully equip and train our troops, bring them home safely and soon, and provide our veterans with the quality care they deserve.

Extending the tours of all active-duty Army personnel is an unacceptable price for our troops and their families to pay.

Democrats have offered a new direction in Iraq – one that would bring our troops home safely and soon. We encourage President Bush to sit down with us to find a solution to bring this war to an end.

   Last month USA Today ran a collection of stories entitled “Extended Iraq tours took a toll on soldiers’ families.” One of those stories came from Rose Doyle, who anxiously and happily awaited the return of her son from Iraq on February 2nd:

About to welcome son home, mother learns an awful truth
Gregg Zoroya, USA Today - March 13, 2007

He had taken online vocational training courses while in Ramadi. He was preparing for a career as a heavy machinery mechanic if he did not elect to remain in the Army.

Rose Doyle couldn’t have been happier.

Just before she left the office, a call arrived from the U.S. government. Someone was trying to contact her boss. She thought the call was odd, and it left a knot in her stomach. Then, when she rounded the corner outside her house, she saw the U.S. government sedan parked there. Inside were casualty officers.

Her only son was dead.

Hours earlier on that same day, McPeek had been finishing his last mission when the building he and other troops were using as an outpost came under attack.

When the shooting started, McPeek and one of the new soldiers — Pvt. Matthew Zeimer, 18, of Glendive, Mont. — took up positions behind a 3-foot wall on the roof.

Other soldiers later told how they could hear McPeek calmly instruct the younger GI to stay low and return fire.

Then, an explosive slammed into the wall, killing both of them.

“The first thing that came to my mind was, ‘He should have been gone’ ” from Iraq, McPeek’s stepfather, Kevin Doyle, said later.

“He shouldn’t have been there. He had already done his time.”

The next day, Rose Doyle heard from her son one last time.

Alan McPeek’s girlfriend came to the house with a letter that McPeek had sent her in October.

“We’re getting deployed for 12 months, and we’re being extended,” he wrote. “That made me pretty angry. … I could do six months standing on my head. But a 14-month deployment is just too goddamn long.”

 

Tags:Nancy Pelosi Steny Hoyer U.S. troops Bush impeachment