Decision ‘08

The Commissar Has Had Enough

I’m not where he is, for the record; I support the continuation of the war and believe it still can be won, though I am concerned that we may not have enough troops on the ground to do it (that makes me very stubborn and foolish, perhaps, but that’s where I am).

Despite my recent criticism of both the occupation and our Iran policy, I also continue to be a supporter of, though not an apologist for, the Bush Administration.

Nevertheless, I recommend the post both for its blistering critique, and because I believe many people are feeling the same way…

11 Responses to “The Commissar Has Had Enough”

1 Army Lawyer Says:
October 2nd, 2006 at 5:29 pm
Eh, “feeling” is the operative word. That was nothing but rank emotionalism. Setting aside the “Rep vs Dem” nonsense which I don’t really care about, his “Iraq is HOPELESSSS!!!!” ‘graf was exceedingly annoying.
2 Mark Says:
October 2nd, 2006 at 6:23 pm
Well, as I said, I’m not there myself. I do continue to believe Iraq can be won…but I surely do wish there was the political will to get more boots on the ground. Perhaps after November…
3 Sticker Says:
October 2nd, 2006 at 8:41 pm
Blind leading the blind, eh?
4 The Commissar Says:
October 2nd, 2006 at 8:58 pm
Mark,

Thanks for the link and the mention. Since reading “Fiasco,” “Cobra II,” “No True Glory,” “Blind into Baghdad,” “Inside the Emerald City,” “Marines in the Garden of Eden,” over the past two months, I’ve come to accept the critical view of Iraq as in the historical record, as “fact.” I didn’t recount or summarize the issues themselves, as that has required many many posts over the past couple months.
5 mtl Says:
October 2nd, 2006 at 9:20 pm
congratulations on your reading list…but a month in Iraq is five years in any other modern country. Things remain extremely fluid, and you might find yourself reading a book in two years, which will be diometrically opposed to your current-but also dated- reading list.
6 Mark Says:
October 2nd, 2006 at 9:28 pm
Commissar, where do you find the time to read, blog, and work? I tell you, my reading has been sharply curtailed - sharply - since I started the blog…
7 mtl Says:
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:30 am
“If there is any magic formula, some way out (not that I can see one), at this point I have zero confidence in Bush’s and Rumsfeld’s ability to find it.”

part of the formula would include ‘time’. The interior ministry was filled in June 06, not March 03. They have been on the job for 4 months…yep, it must be time to give up.
8 mtl Says:
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:47 am
the chorus of critics will have a new complaint in the next three months. The new govt will be perceived as too heavy handed.

those who are not current with their critiques may still continue to describe it as a ’stay the course’ strategy.

I’m venturing a guess that less than 1% of the critics even knows the name of the Iraqi interior minister at this present time. maybe 3% of the voting population can explain the current strategy for Baghdad.

can’t even begin to express how sick I am of critics who are incapable of an independent thought.
9 mtl Says:
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:53 am
African American males(18-25) in philadelphia have a higher death rate than Iraqis.

Anytime the senate wants to pull out of PA is all right with me.
10 Allan Says:
October 3rd, 2006 at 6:27 am
If nothing else, the war in Iraq has kept the terrorists away from our shores. Even Al-Qaeda admits to 4,000 “foreigners”, i.e. Al-Qaeda fighters, killed in Iraq.

There are many good reasons to vote against Republicans, and one excellent reason to vote for them: Democrats.

More here.
11 Andy Says:
October 3rd, 2006 at 12:31 pm
I can sympathize with the feelings of frustration as expressed by the Commissar. However, bad and boneheaded the GOP may get — to even suggest that the Taliban be integrated… (Frist will never be POTUS!)

The thot of voting Democratic as a protest vote gives me the Heebie-Jeebies!!! That’s definitely letting the fox into the henhouse. No, what’s needed is a 3rd party. Perot may have been loony, but voting for him clearly sent the message to the GOP to buck up to conservative principles.

So what if Clinton won by a slim margin? He never had the mandate because he knew that out of the 15% that voted for Perot, perhaps only 10% could be counted as a defection from the Dems. The problem I see with the Commissar’s intention is that the dems will count his vote as a mandate for the DNC platform, not a defection from the GOP. But then again, if one had to hold their nose & vote, then doing so in the mid-terms would be the lesser of two evils.

Nonetheless, absent a viable 3rd choice, I’d rather NOT vote at all, so that both parties ‘get’ my message — more Reganesque conservatism and less gubmint/spending.