A message to the MSM

[ProSense]

Kerry was right!



"The Path Forward"

It is true that our soldiers increasingly fight side by side with Iraqis willing to put their lives on the line for a better future. But history shows that guns alone do not end an insurgency. The real struggle in Iraq -Sunni versus Shiia - will only be settled by a political solution, and no political solution can be achieved when the antagonists can rely on the indefinite large scale presence of occupying American combat troops.

Snip...

We must move aggressively to reduce popular support for the insurgency fed by the perception of American occupation. An open-ended declaration to stay ‘as long as it takes’ lets Iraqi factions maneuver for their own political advantage by making us stay as long as they want, and it becomes an excuse for billions of American tax dollars to be sent to Iraq and siphoned off into the coffers of cronyism and corruption.


Snip...

It will be hard for this Administration, but it is essential to acknowledge that the insurgency will not be defeated unless our troop levels are drawn down, starting immediately after successful elections in December. The draw down of troops should be tied not to an arbitrary timetable, but to a specific timetable for transfer of political and security responsibility to Iraqis and realignment of our troop deployment. That timetable must be real and strict. The goal should be to withdraw the bulk of American combat forces by the end of next year. If the Administration does its work correctly, that is achievable.

Our strategy must achieve a political solution that deprives the Sunni-dominated insurgency of support by giving the Sunnis a stake in the future of their country. The Constitution, opposed by more than two thirds of Sunnis, has postponed and even exacerbated the fundamental crisis of Iraq. The Sunnis want a strong secular national government that fairly distributes oil revenues. Shiites want to control their own region and resources in a loosely united Islamic state. And Kurds simply want to be left alone. Until sufficient compromise is hammered out, a Sunni base can not be created that isolates the hard core Baathists and jihaadists and defuses the insurgency.


http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=247764&

The Iraqis may have been listening to the American debate more closely than the American media!

[Peace Patriot]

1. We are not going to get anywhere until we stop VALIDATING the

war profiteering corporate news monpolies with phrase "mainstream media" (MSM). That are NOT mainstream. They are far rightwing fascists, with all news and opinion controlled by 5 billionaire CEOs. Please see my longer post on this--and break the habit! MSM they are NOT!

(Post #2)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1504613

[ProSense]

2. They still are

piped into the majority of homes in America. As long as they have the ability to clog the airwaves with spin, they can distort perception. Nobody said mainstream means good! Conventional wisdom doesn't mean it's wise.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

4. Not Mainstream in the sense that they reflect the mainstream thinking

of most Americans, but mainstream because they are the major conduit of information, news, etc. So, I think it's okay to continue calling them MSM but we have to keep at our point that they are for the most part corporate flacks and shills who parrot whatever partyline their masters dictate.

This is one battle I'm just willing to walk away from at this point. I tried for a long time to popularize calling them CRAP (Corporate Republican American Press) Didn't catch on.

[blm]

3. Kerry said this LAST OCTOBER - more Dems should have moved on this

back then - BEFORE civil war became a factor.

[Clark2008]

5. Actually, he got that from Wes Clark - who wrote that

a long, long time ago.

Finally, after training our forces on Iraq, the Administration essentially declared - we're going it alone. Instead of using diplomacy backed by force - as we did so effectively in the Balkans - this Administration's diplomacy was only a fig leaf. The United States was going to war no matter what. The Administration went to the UN with a "take it or leave it offer," which reflected a combination of indifference and disdain. It did not explore every diplomatic option; it did not do everything possible to bring allies with us. ~ November 6, 2003


http://clark04.com/speeches/009/

Clark met privately with the members of the Out of Iraq Caucus to give them his perspective on the ongoing conflict and offer advice on how Democrats should frame their arguments for bringing troops home. His call: Avoid specific timelines for withdrawal and focus instead on calling for and developing strategies for success that rely not on the military, but on diplomacy. ~ September 2005

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/22/173146/341

[wisteria]

6. Senator Kerry listened to many people and came to his own conclusions,

I sure General Clark may have been one of those who Kerry consulted with.However, Kerry's plan is Kerry's plan not Clark's.