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Post by stonefruit on Jan 13, 2005 20:04:20 GMT -5
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Post by Moses on Jan 14, 2005 1:29:16 GMT -5
Note that most of the article is devoted to neocon propaganda. The neocons he uses as sources (without identifying them as such) are some of the worst, and this is because the San Francisco Chronicle is a neocon paper:
Back from a weekend trip to Jordan, where she met with women running for the Iraqi assembly, Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Walnut Creek, said she opposed starting an immediate withdrawal because of the side effects it would cause.
"This is a mess, but it's our mess,'' Tauscher, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said of the situation in Iraq. "I'm not just for tossing a hot potato on Jan. 30 and leaving town.
"The last thing we can do is extricate ourselves and leave a failed state in the region ... that will come back to bite us in the short, medium and long term,'' added Tauscher, saying the country could fall apart in a civil war and become a haven for anti-U.S. terrorists.
Military analyst Michael O'Hanlon said the Democrats' call for an immediate withdrawal wouldn't influence the administration.
"The (complete) withdrawal option is a loser," O'Hanlon said. "Realistically speaking, you'll see a debate over a more gradual reduction strategy.''
He said such a nuanced strategy might include a public announcement after the new Iraqi government is in place that a large portion of the U.S. and coalition force would leave Iraq within a set period, perhaps 18 months. "That could show we aren't really occupiers," he said. "We'll start to hear more about such options.''
Cliff May of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies said talk of a withdrawal without completing the job in Iraq would be dangerous for U.S. forces and for Americans at home.
"It says we're defeated, and we expect to be defeated. If anyone expects this to be our last defeat, they would be mistaken,'' said May, saying a sudden withdrawal would embolden the al Qaeda terrorist network and its allies to again attack the United States.
"If we don't want to fight them in Iraq, we should decide what is the proper battlefield,'' he added.
In Baghdad on Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said there was no timetable for withdrawal.
"I'm not going to speak for the president of the United States, but we represent the legislative body, and there will be no pulling back until the job is done,'' Frist said.
E-mail Edward Epstein at eepstein@sfchronicle.com.
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Post by Moses on Jan 14, 2005 1:31:13 GMT -5
I would like to see this letter and who signed it. Those who have not should be ashamed, and their constituents should start wondering just who they represent:
The anti-war Democrats' letter was sent as more voices are being raised across the political spectrum in Washington discussing how the United States can begin to remove its 150,000 troops from a country where almost 1,400 Americans have been killed.
Woolsey and the other House Democrats, including Reps. Sam Farr of Carmel, Pete Stark of Fremont and Barbara Lee of Oakland, urged the administration to move swiftly.
"While it may be logistically difficult to immediately remove every American soldier, we urge you to take immediate action to begin the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. This is the only way to truly support our troops,'' said the letter signed by Woolsey and her colleagues.
The House Democrats, all of them longtime critics of Bush's Iraq policies, said the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 had stirred anti-American sentiments among Iraqis and other Arabs, made Iraqis and foreigners in the country less safe and "intensified the rage of the extremist Muslim terrorists.''
"By removing our troops from the country, we will remove the main focus of the insurgents' rage,'' the letter added.
Woolsey spokeswoman Susannah Cernojevich said only logistical factors prevented Woolsey from calling on Bush to immediately withdraw all the force.
"If she had her way, they would leave now,'' she said of Woolsey.
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Post by stonefruit on Jan 14, 2005 15:05:25 GMT -5
Danny Davis (IL-07)
Lane Evans (IL-17)
Sam Farr (CA-17)
Raul Grijalva (AZ-07)
Alcee Hastings (FL-23)
Maurice Hinchey (NY-22)
Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-02)
Dennis Kucinich (OH-10)
Barbara Lee (CA-09)
John Lewis (GA-05)
Jim McDermott (WA-07)
Grace Napolitano (CA-3
Major Owens (NY-11)
Jose Serrano (NY-16)
Pete Stark (CA-13)
Lynn Woolsey (CA-6)
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Post by Moses on Jan 14, 2005 22:26:39 GMT -5
Thanks. I note the absense of my rep and will send this letter around asking why our rep didn't sign it.
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