No Shift in Warner Iraq Stance
In an August 29th Des Moines (IA) Register article, writer Thomas Beaumont asserts that Gov. Warner's latest statements on Iraq represent a reversal of his previous position.
Writers, political pundits, and activists can agree or disagree on the significance of these two statements but they appear to be consistent. The facts on the ground are ever-changing. President Bush has made it clear he intends to leave this mess for the next president to clean up. I don't envy for a moment, the task ahead for the next president, whether it is President Mark Warner or another Democrat.
While a reasonable reaction for some who are disgusted with this mess may be a call for an immediate withdrawal, Steve Gorelick makes the case as to why we, as Democrats, should not become so impatient we inadvertently make the situation worse:
From Steve:
I live in a town almost perfectly split between Republicans and Democrats. We live in the kind of compassionate bi-partisan style that characterized Mark Warner's term as Governor.
And nobody I know wishes we had entered this morass without broad support and collaboration with allies. None of my friends -- Republican or Democrat -- feel we now live in a safer world after four years of spending more resources igniting a civil war than fighting Al Qaeda. And nobody I know is anything but disgusted that virtually our entire international structure of alliances is now in tatters, destroyed by the triumph of macho tough talk over the much harder and nuanced work of humane diplomacy.
Oh, and how could I forget that I now have to explain to my kids that they will come of age in an America more loathed around the world than at any time since World War II? Thank you President Bush. I really don't think you meant to do this, but--frankly-I'm not sure you have the kind of nuanced world view that would enable you to understand the implications of your tragic mistakes. As scary as it is to admit, I think you have done your best. Really, God help us, your best.
But having said all that, I have been haunted by the words of Colin Powell since the moment he uttered them: "You break, you own it."
Well we do own it. And while we didn't voluntarily buy a Baghdad time share in perpetuity, and while many of us would like to wish it away, we have insinuated ourselves so completely into the disaster that is Iraq that our humane obligations now outweigh our wishes. People -- good people--in Iraq have relied on the Bush administration's blustery promises and false assurances. And, as we carefully and compassionately plan how to extricate ourselves, those decent people deserve our best effort to end this in a manner that does everything possible to protect innocent civilians.
No it wasn't our mess. The mess was the creation of a President infused with arrogance and the belief that God can be invoked to make policy and justify the death of civilians. And no, we don't have to live with the aftermath of this tragic mistake forever. To continue a catastrophic failure that has been responsible for the death of thousands of civilians would be an even greater failure.
But to set a rigid timetable for exit, however desperately we might wish we could end it that abruptly, is now a vanished option. It vanished when our President brazenly unleashed forces of sectarian violence that placed hundreds of thousands of innocent lives literally in the line of fire.
To give a drop-dead date for withdrawal is not, as Vice President Cheney has said, cutting and running. It is limiting our options and tipping our hand at just the moment when President Warner (or whomever) must plan how we will leave expeditiously, yet in a way that doesn't bring even more horrors to the innocent. A specific withdrawal date may express our frustrations with a failed policy, but it does not help those who will really have to do the hard work of planning an end to this tragedy.
And that's how democracy works: An inept President may have broken it, but now we all own it. It's like when your family opens up the will and discovers that Uncle Joe left you the weed-filled vacant lot rather than the house at the lake. You own it, and you must dispose of it prudently, whether you like it or not.
And what of Cheney and Bush's whole "cutting and running" argument? Here the answer is pretty pathetic, given that we are talking about the President and Vice President of the United States. But I would suggest that they no longer even deserve a place at the debate. Their tendency to impugn the patriotism and personal character of anyone who disagrees with them is like breaking the prohibition in Robert's Rules of Order on ad hominem attacks. That's right, they are out of order. And-if we can survive the next couple years--out of office.
END------
Commentaries on this blog are the opinions of the authors and are not meant to signify Gov. Warner's position on issues.
"Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner said in Iowa Monday that the United States should begin to withdraw troops from Iraq, which represents a shift for the Democrat who is taking steps toward a run for president in 2008."To the contrary, Gov. Warner is spelling out what he said earlier this year in an April NPR interview in which he stated "I'm not one that believes we can set an arbitrary deadline. But I think if we don't see the Iraqis themselves come together in weeks, not months, in terms of forming this unity government and then if we don't see measurable progress in months, not years, after this government is formed, then I think we have to look at a way to get out. We don't need American troops simply playing referee inside a civil war in Iraq."
Writers, political pundits, and activists can agree or disagree on the significance of these two statements but they appear to be consistent. The facts on the ground are ever-changing. President Bush has made it clear he intends to leave this mess for the next president to clean up. I don't envy for a moment, the task ahead for the next president, whether it is President Mark Warner or another Democrat.
While a reasonable reaction for some who are disgusted with this mess may be a call for an immediate withdrawal, Steve Gorelick makes the case as to why we, as Democrats, should not become so impatient we inadvertently make the situation worse:
From Steve:
I live in a town almost perfectly split between Republicans and Democrats. We live in the kind of compassionate bi-partisan style that characterized Mark Warner's term as Governor.
And nobody I know wishes we had entered this morass without broad support and collaboration with allies. None of my friends -- Republican or Democrat -- feel we now live in a safer world after four years of spending more resources igniting a civil war than fighting Al Qaeda. And nobody I know is anything but disgusted that virtually our entire international structure of alliances is now in tatters, destroyed by the triumph of macho tough talk over the much harder and nuanced work of humane diplomacy.
Oh, and how could I forget that I now have to explain to my kids that they will come of age in an America more loathed around the world than at any time since World War II? Thank you President Bush. I really don't think you meant to do this, but--frankly-I'm not sure you have the kind of nuanced world view that would enable you to understand the implications of your tragic mistakes. As scary as it is to admit, I think you have done your best. Really, God help us, your best.
But having said all that, I have been haunted by the words of Colin Powell since the moment he uttered them: "You break, you own it."
Well we do own it. And while we didn't voluntarily buy a Baghdad time share in perpetuity, and while many of us would like to wish it away, we have insinuated ourselves so completely into the disaster that is Iraq that our humane obligations now outweigh our wishes. People -- good people--in Iraq have relied on the Bush administration's blustery promises and false assurances. And, as we carefully and compassionately plan how to extricate ourselves, those decent people deserve our best effort to end this in a manner that does everything possible to protect innocent civilians.
No it wasn't our mess. The mess was the creation of a President infused with arrogance and the belief that God can be invoked to make policy and justify the death of civilians. And no, we don't have to live with the aftermath of this tragic mistake forever. To continue a catastrophic failure that has been responsible for the death of thousands of civilians would be an even greater failure.
But to set a rigid timetable for exit, however desperately we might wish we could end it that abruptly, is now a vanished option. It vanished when our President brazenly unleashed forces of sectarian violence that placed hundreds of thousands of innocent lives literally in the line of fire.
To give a drop-dead date for withdrawal is not, as Vice President Cheney has said, cutting and running. It is limiting our options and tipping our hand at just the moment when President Warner (or whomever) must plan how we will leave expeditiously, yet in a way that doesn't bring even more horrors to the innocent. A specific withdrawal date may express our frustrations with a failed policy, but it does not help those who will really have to do the hard work of planning an end to this tragedy.
And that's how democracy works: An inept President may have broken it, but now we all own it. It's like when your family opens up the will and discovers that Uncle Joe left you the weed-filled vacant lot rather than the house at the lake. You own it, and you must dispose of it prudently, whether you like it or not.
And what of Cheney and Bush's whole "cutting and running" argument? Here the answer is pretty pathetic, given that we are talking about the President and Vice President of the United States. But I would suggest that they no longer even deserve a place at the debate. Their tendency to impugn the patriotism and personal character of anyone who disagrees with them is like breaking the prohibition in Robert's Rules of Order on ad hominem attacks. That's right, they are out of order. And-if we can survive the next couple years--out of office.
END------
Commentaries on this blog are the opinions of the authors and are not meant to signify Gov. Warner's position on issues.
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