"We must put these elections behind us" - Not so fast Mr. Bush . . .

[bigtree]

Why is Bush still claiming that Iraq is the "center" of his "war on terror?"

Here's Bush in his radio address today:

"Iraq is the central front in this war on terror," Bush said. "I look forward to listening to ideas from the new leaders of Congress on the best way to support our troops on the front lines -- and win the war on terror."

Consider the argument that Bush is still making after five years of letting bin-Laden run free; after five years of shifting justifications for diverting to Iraq, and flip-flops regarding the importance of capturing or killing the rebel leader and his band of thugs. After a historic election which repudiated every aspect of his Iraq fiasco, Bush is still arguing that the best place to wage his 'war on terror' is in Iraq. Why? "Because bin-Laden says so."

"Don't believe me," Bush told Americans in his Rose Garden news conference earlier this month. "Listen to the enemy, or listen to Mr. Zawahiri, the number two of al Qaeda, both of whom made it clear that Iraq is central in their plans."

"I take the words of the enemy very seriously,and so should the American people." Bush said in his radio address a couple of weeks ago.

Bush is mezmerized with the words of the terrorists. That's why Bush is keeping our soldiers bogged down in Iraq. He's listening to bin-Laden instead of the American people, who are telling him that they don't believe or agree with his reasons for being in Iraq; whether he's using his 'terror war' as an excuse, or any other of his lies.

"You know, there's a debate in Washington, D.C. about how to wage this war, Bush said at a republican fundraiser Oct.3. "They say that Iraq is a distraction in the war on terror. I strongly disagree," Bush declared. "I think Iraq is a central front in the war on terror, and we must defeat the enemy in Iraq if we want America to be secure."

How long are the American people going to tolerate Bush sacrificing our soldiers in Iraq to deny bin-Laden an imagined plot of land that the terrorist has no purchase or influence on without the freedom Bush has allowed him for the five years since he promised to apprehend him "dead or alive?" It was Bush who first made Iraq the 'center' of his contrived 'war on terror'. Bush's deliberate diversion of our forces from Afghanistan allowed the flames of fear he had fanned from the 9-11 attacks to catch spark in Iraq, as he stood far behind our soldiers and called for 'terrorists' to "bring it on" and attack them there.

Bin-Laden would love to keep our forces bogged down in Iraq instead of "on the hunt" for the terrorist and his accomplices as Bush promised. And oh yeah . . . the force level in Iraq went up again, from 150,000 American soldiers to 152,000 in just two weeks after leaping ahead by 3,000 in the previous week from the week before.

"The message of this week's elections is clear," Bush said today, "the American people want their leaders in Washington to set aside partisan differences.

Not on Iraq Mr.Bush. Never on Iraq.

[texpatriot2004]

1. Not so fast you lying sack of...scum (* is a LIAR) nm

[shadowknows69]

2. We'll still be in Iraq 10 years from now

There is no resolve for change in Washington.

[bigtree]

10. Democrats, Engaging Bush, Vow Early Action on Iraq

November 11, 2006
Democrats, Engaging Bush, Vow Early Action on Iraq
By CARL HULSE and THOM SHANKER

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 — Democrats sought on Friday to put their new political power to use in shaping the debate over Iraq, promising stepped-up Congressional oversight of the war and a resolution demanding a schedule for reducing the number of troops there.

“Let’s find out what’s going on with the war in Iraq, the different large federal agencies that we have,” said Mr. Reid, Democrat of Nevada. “There simply has been no oversight in recent years.”

Senator Carl Levin of Michigan has for several months advocated linking the presence of American troops to political progress in Iraq, a stance that Pentagon officials had dismissed as reckless but that is now gaining wider, even bipartisan, support. While there is no language yet for such a resolution, he indicated that it could describe the requirements for continued American military commitment to Iraq, and some specified number of months for its duration.

“At the end of this time period, we would begin the reduction of American forces,” Mr. Levin said. “I think such a resolution would have tremendous power on the president. It would not just represent a bipartisan majority of Congress, and its urgent recommendation. It would be a reflection of the people’s voice as expressed” at the polls.

Even before Election Day, Democrats were trying to focus attention both on management of the war and potential fraud and abuse by contractors. Jim Manley, an aide to Mr. Reid, said new oversight by the Democratic majority in the Senate would most likely continue those lines of inquiry. In Los Angeles, Representative Henry A. Waxman, the California Democrat who is to lead the Government Reform and Oversight Committee, said in a speech that war profiteering could also be a likely subject for his committee.

Mr. Reid is also interested in completing the long-delayed second phase of an Intelligence Committee review into prewar intelligence and the administration’s handling of it, Mr. Manley said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/11/us/politics/11elect.html?ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print

[Jawja]

3. We earned

POLITICAL CAPITAL in the election and we intend to SPEND it, you slimy thug bastard. :bounce:

[bigtree]

12. the election was almost all about Iraq

Everything Bush is doing there, all of the justifications, have been rejected by the majority of voters. They sent their Senators and Reps to Washington to stop him.

[Nite Owl]

4. He's living in a fantasyland

and making it a nightmare for the rest of us.

Setting aside partisanship to him has meant do as he says. It's over!

[SpiralHawk]

5. "We must put my cowardly AWOL record behind us..." - Commander Bush

"...and never mention again how I failed America while I was in the National Guard, when I jerked off reading 'My Pet Goat' on 9/11, and when I sucked up creamy cake and stummed my guitar during Hurricane Katrina. All these fuck ups are entirely irrelvant in the face of my sterling C average in an elite prep school."

- Your Beloved Appointee, George AWOL Bush, leader of the Corporate Crony Cabal

[robinlynne]

6. Guys, there are still uncalled congressional elecitons, and worse, elections

where repubs have called themselves winners, but votes are "missing". WE must finish these elections and make sure every vote is counted, and by WE I mean we DUers!

[SutaUvaca]

7. So, basically, Mr.Buttsh wishes to stay the course.

Sheeee-it. What a waste of skull cavity.

[bigtree]

8. escalation of forces by 2,000 in two weeks, and,

National Guard May Extend Iraq Stays

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 11, 2006(AP) The nation's citizen soldiers, already strained by long tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, could be tapped again under new plans being developed by the Pentagon.

National Guard combat brigades that have already served in Iraq may be called for a second tour, likely breaking the 24-month deployment limit initially set by the Pentagon, the Guard's top general said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/11/national/main2174340.shtml

[porphyrian]

9. Iraq is where he created the most terrorists. - n/t

[subterranean]

11. Bush is right. Iraq is central to al-qaeda's plans

But not in the way Bush would have us believe. Osama bin Laden thinks the Iraq war has been a smashing success. He doesn't want it to end. It's done more for al-qaeda's recruiting efforts than anything he could have done on his own. He also wanted Saddam gone, but we took care of that for him too.