Aid and Comfort to The ENEMY, suds.

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(01-10) 20:09 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) --


President Bush warned Democratic critics of his Iraq policy on Tuesday to
watch what they say or risk giving "comfort to our adversaries" and
suffering at the ballot box in November. Democrats said Bush should take his
own advice.


There are still 10 months left before congressional elections in which the
president's Republican Party could lose its dominance of Capitol Hill; a
recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll found Americans prefer Democratic control
over a continued GOP majority by 49 percent to 36 percent. But Bush is
wasting no time engaging the battle. In his first speech of 2006 on the
road, last week in Chicago, he aggressively challenged Democrats on the
economy.


Tuesday's equally sharp message represented an attempt by the president to
neutralize Democrats' ability to use Iraq — where violence is surging in the
wake of December parliamentary elections and messy negotiations to form a
new coalition government — as an election-year cudgel against Republicans.


Bush acknowledged deep differences over Iraq among casualty-weary Americans,
just 39 percent of whom approve of his handling of the war, according to
AP-Ipsos. Without specifically mentioning Democrats, the president urged
campaigning politicians to "conduct this debate responsibly."


He said he welcomed "honest critics" who question the way the war is being
conducted and the "loyal opposition" that points out what is wrong with his
administration's approach.


But he termed irresponsible the "partisan critics who claim that we acted in
Iraq because of oil or because of Israel or because we misled the American
people," as well as "defeatists who refuse to see that anything is right."
With that description, Bush lumped the many Democrats who have accused him
of twisting prewar intelligence with the few people, mostly outside the
mainstream, who have raised the issues of oil and Israel.


Bush argued that irresponsible discussion harms the morale of troops
overseas, emboldens the insurgents they are fighting and sets a bad example
for Iraqis trying to establish a democratic government.


"In a free society, there's only one check on political speech and that's
the judgment of the American people," the president said to sustained
applause from a friendly audience, a gathering of Veterans of Foreign Wars.
"So I ask all Americans to hold their elected leaders to account and demand
a debate that brings credit to our democracy, not comfort to our
adversaries."


White House press secretary Scott McClellan would not say who Bush believes
has been irresponsible, other than Democratic Party chief Howard Dean, who
said last month that "the idea that we're going to win this war ... is just
plain wrong." In the past, the White House has also singled out, among
others, Rep. John Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who became a leading
advocate for a quick troop pullout, and other Democrats who say Bush has no
strategy.


Democrats said Bush has no business trying to define what sort of talk is
acceptable.


"Patriotic Americans will continue to ask the tough questions because our
brave men and women in Iraq, their families and the American people deserve
to know that their leaders are being held accountable," said Senate Minority
Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.


House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said loyalty demands that Democrats
differ with Bush on the lack of sufficient body armor for troops and other
issues. "From its inception and continuing to this moment, the absence of
open and honest debate has been one of the hallmarks of this war," the
California Democrat said.


And Democratic National Committee communications director Karen Finney said:
"The Bush administration's attack, distract and distort tactics reflect a
Nixonian paranoia that is un-American. It's shameful that once again the
Bush administration resorted to attacking the patriotism of fellow Americans
rather than answering legitimate questions surrounding the president's
failures in Iraq."


Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who met with Bush recently at the White House,
praised the president's recent efforts to gather differing viewpoints and
welcomed the call for a more civil dialogue. But Schiff said the process
must begin at the White House, which he said "brought the debate down a
significant notch" when it attacked Murtha, a respected veteran and longtime
hawk.


"Some of the worst culprits in worsening the dialogue on Iraq have come from
the White House," said Schiff, who attended Bush's speech. "It's got to be a
two-way street."


It was the latest in a series of speeches by Bush aimed at giving Americans
more detail and more candor. He predicted more sacrifice and more progress
in 2006 in Iraq.


Over the next year, Bush said, "we will continue handing more territory to
Iraqi forces, with the goal of having the Iraqis in control of more
territory than the coalition by the end of 2006."


The still-unannounced results of Iraq's Dec. 15 elections are expected to
show the religious Shiite United Iraqi Alliance with a strong lead. The
Shiites will, however, will need to form a coalition government with support
from Kurdish and Sunni Arab political groups.


Bush said Iraqis must put aside political, religious and sectarian
differences to be successful.


Sunnis, he said, "need to learn how to use their influence constructively in
a democratic system," while Shiites and Kurds must "protect the rights of
minorities against the tyranny of the majority."


___

> Bush said Iraqis must put aside political, religious and sectarian
> differences to be successful.
>

Like that is going to happen any time this century. No matter when the US
pulls out, there will be a full-blown civil war in Iraq within 6 months. As
I've been saying for three years - split the country into Kurdistan,
Shiitstan, and Sunnistan, and get the fuck out. No American is worth even
100 arab lives.

Iraq is a 20th century construct - it made no sense in 1920, and it makes
even less sense for American soldiers to be dying there.

The simple fact is, Bush fucked up by invading Iraq in the first place, and
he lied to the world about his reasons for invading. One more or 1000 more
American dead will not change that fact.

Oh wait...there's a shitload of oil under Iraq...my bad.

"Popeye" <Popeye@Finalprotectivefire.com> wrote in message
news:11sdjd8l9aqp0f9@news.supernews.com...
>


You don't watch "The Daily Show," do you? They covered this one last night

ILMAO

That was funny!


http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/t...nt/index.jhtml


Click under "Liberators or Freedom Givers."