Big Republican war cheerleader now says U.S. mission in Iraq could fail

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/115451055632571.xml&coll=3

Bonner suggests U.S. mission in Iraq could fail
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
By SEAN REILLY

Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- In December 2003, U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner had just wound up his first trip to Iraq when news broke of the capture of deposed President Saddam Hussein. It was surely, Bonner said at the time, a turning point in a conflict that had already claimed some 450 American lives.

"The reality is different from the hope," Bonner, R-Mobile, said in a phone interview Monday from Amman, Jordan, where he had arrived several hours earlier from Baghdad.

While still hopeful that Americans would one day be able to look back on their foray into Iraq as "a courageous decision that made a positive difference," he also alluded to the possibility of failure in the goal of creating a stable, democratic nation.

"We may look back and say we gave it our best shot and we did everything we could do to make it a success. And at the end of the day we could not make people accept the gift of freedom." snip

Although unease over the Iraqi enterprise is growing among GOP lawmakers, there still "aren't very many" willing to voice those misgivings publicly, said Norman Ornstein, a congressional expert at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank.

[sgxnk]

1. fwiw

even a cursory glance at various rightwing/republican and/or pro-war sites have LONG conceded this. FROM THE BEGINNING

i am not aware of any serious iraq war debate, even among its most ardent supporters that does not concede there is a reasonable chance it could fail

heck, bill kristol has conceded this in several interviews i have seen

[NNN0LHI]

3. I don't know? After Mission Accomplished every Republican I knew...

...was damned near orgasmic after Bush declared he had "won" the "Iraq War."

Same thing happened after they killed Saddam's sons and then again after Saddam was caught.

At least thats how I remember things.

Don

[sgxnk]

16. fair enough

i am talking about what the 'architects' and pundits were saying at places like National Review, the Weekly Standard, etc., not so much what the average joe republican was saying

[sgxnk]

17. fair enough

i am talking about what the 'architects' and pundits were saying at places like National Review, the Weekly Standard, etc., not so much what the average joe republican was saying

[warrens]

2. Well, Repukes, you broke it, you bought it

Don't EVER try to say we didn't warn you, like Condi the Liar says every five minutes. You were warned that the war made no sense, was based on a pack of lies, and would be a total disaster. We were right, you were incredibly fucking wrong. And don't try to weasel out this fall. You broke it, you bought it, you own it, it's yours.

[azurnoir]

4. Could fail?!?!?

Better to ask what not failing would look like.
edited for spelling

[Cleita]

8. No kidding!

A successful mission IMHO is when the defeated side lays down it's weapons and surrenders. I haven't seen anything like that either in Afghanistan or Iraq.

[Skidmore]

5. Is he up for re-election?

Hang it on his door. If they supported this travesty, they will be held accountable.

[lumpy]

11. Up for re-election?

My first thought. Could fail? Duh. An appropriate amendment to the Constitution should be one requiring a candidate for Congress to pass a competency and IQ test.

[enuffs_enuffs]

6. Unless you think the REAL goal was...

to break Iraq into easily manageable ethnic nation states. That seems to be going along pretty well. Never mind the lessons of colonialism...

I imagine all the continued reports of "sectarian" violence brings a smile to *'s/Cheneys face. :banghead:

[Mountainman]

7. "we could not make people accept the gift of freedom"

We invaded their country, shot up their people, destroyed their infrastructure, ruined their lives and the ungrateful imps won't not accept our gift of freedom.


I just love the way the repukes distance themselves from their actions.

[NNN0LHI]

12. I sure hope no one ever brings us any gifts of freedom like that n/t

[NewJeffCT]

15. I noticed that too "make" them accept freedom

He seemed surprised that we could not make them accept freedom.

Sorry, but making somebody accept invasion, tens of thousands of dead and long-term occupation is not exactly like Angelina Jolie "making" me accept a blowjob from her.

[SpiralHawk]

9. ..A courageous decision... based on lies.

If commander AWOL and his chickehawk cronies had not deliberately lied to the American people about the WMD and their intent to reap massive oil profits for republicon corporate "elite" then no patriotic American ever would have supported their failed plan to begin ANOTHER UNHOLY CRUSADE with the intent of initiating ARMAGEDDON.

[acmavm]

10. I cannot believe that anyone still believes that we are stupid

enough to believe there were any motives except control of the Middle Eastern oil fields behind this invasion.

<snip>

And at the end of the day we could not make people accept the gift of freedom.

<snip>

How does someone this stupid not hang himself tying his shoes or his tie? And I mean stupid in more ways than one. 1) If he really believes we were trying to give these people the 'gift of freedom' he didn't see the maps of the Iraqi oil fields that I saw in regard to Cheney's secret energy commission meetings; or 2) he's ignorant enough to believe that most people haven't caught on by now.

Either way, this guy is too stupid to deserve to use up good oxygen.

[NNN0LHI]

13. He is hoping we are that stupid n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. Should be "has failed" in all respects.

[Solly Mack]

18. He's just writing the "not our fault" spin for history books

- We tried. The Iraqis wouldn't accept our gift - so it's not our fault we failed. And it really isn't a failure since some positives came from it. So you see, America did the right thing in invading Iraq and why we invaded just doesn't matter to the overall picture. -

Bonner is spinning a yarn for the history books that seeks to spin crimes into failure and mistakes, and his support of those crimes into a case of missed chances.

He's getting his defense in before the crash. That's all he's doing.