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In a recent article the Washington Post Reports that Iraqi citizens want the U.S. forces out of Iraq and by vast majorities. Tom Davis has voted with President Bush 90% of the time, including 100% of the time in regards to Iraq, when will Representative Davis listen to his constituents and Iraqi citizens. Andrew Hurst, Democratic Candidate for Congress opposing Tom Davis has a Comprehensive Plan to withdraw our troops from Iraq.
According to the article...
In Baghdad, for example, nearly three-quarters of residents polled said they would feel safer if U.S. and other foreign forces left Iraq, with 65 percent of those asked favoring an immediate pullout, according to State Department polling results obtained by The Washington Post.
The director of another Iraqi polling firm, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared being killed, said public opinion surveys he conducted last month showed that 80 percent of Iraqis who were questioned favored an immediate withdrawal. Eight-five percent of Sunnis in that poll supported an immediate withdrawal...
Better yet
"The very fact that there is such a low support for American forces has to do with the American failure to do basically anything for Iraqis," said Mansoor Moaddel, a professor of sociology at Eastern Michigan University, who commissioned a poll earlier this year that also found widespread support for a withdrawal.
When is the U.S. Congress specifically Tom Davis going to realize this reality and fix the Iraqi situation? I propose, never, we need to switch out the leadership and elect new people to Congress, people like Andrew Hurst who has opposed the Iraqi war since the beginning, and has an Iraq War Plan to bring home our troops from Iraq.
Specifically, I propose:
1. An immediate redeployment of troops. The 46,000 National Guard and Reserve troops should immediately return to the United States. The remaining forces should withdraw from urban areas and be redeployed to neighboring countries like Kuwait and Afghanistan;
2. A renewal of diplomatic efforts in the region. Once the redeployment of troops begins, the United States should begin working with nations like Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and others to discuss cooperation in the rebuilding of Iraq, improving border security and dismantling terrorist networks;
3. A renewed focus upon the reconstruction of Iraq. The United States should be involved in the rebuilding of Iraq, but we must stop trying to impose our own vision of democracy on unwilling Iraqis; and
4. Increased involvement of the international community. After showing our good faith by redeploying our troops, we can make a stronger case to responsible members of the United Nations that they should have a substantial role in helping to rebuild Iraq.
By withdrawing our troops from the most dangerous portions of Iraq, we will remove the impetus for the insurgency. Most importantly, we can create a more stable Middle East, which will further strengthen our national security.
Here's a fun graph for your viewing pleasure.
Nate de la Piedra is the Online Outreach Coordinator for the Andrew Hurst for Congress 2006 Campaign. The ideas expressed herein belong to Nate de la Piedra and do not necessarily represent those of Andrew Hurst, his advisors, staff, or "The Campaign".
"Get the f**k out of Iraq" doesn't seem to "play" into this Sadministration's game-plan. It's only *ordinary people* who want it, not the "elected representatives". And that's true -- both for the people and their selected representatives -- in both US and Iraq.
Is there a broken link on the home page that is taking me to old blog entries?
Second, will Andy have any volunteers at the Fall for Fairfax? It's not listed as an upcoming event but from what I've read (weather permitting) something like 20k attendees are expected at the govt center this weekend. Was a bit disappointing to see Tom Davis folks at back to school night and no Hurst folks, and Tom Davis folks at Burke Centre Festival but no Hurst folks.
-Fred
Say what you will about Bob Woodward -- and we've said a lot -- his books on the Bush administration inevitably contain a series of insider revelations worth noting. Woodward's latest, "State of Denial," isn't due out until Monday, but a New York Times reporter somehow managed to buy a copy in advance. The highlights so far:Terrorism warnings: On July 10, 2001, Woodward says, CIA Director George Tenet and his counterterrorism chief met with Condoleezza Rice to try to "impress upon her the seriousness of the intelligence the agency was collecting about an impending attack," the Times says. They left the meeting with the feeling that Rice didn't appreciate the gravity of the situation, Woodward says. As 9/11 drew nearer, he says, Tenet came to believe that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was impeding plans to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. Rumsfeld suggested that the intelligence the CIA was collecting about an impeding attack might actually be part of some sort of misdirection by al-Qaida.
Iraq warnings: Woodward says that Robert Blackwill, who served as the top Iraq advisor on the National Security Council, told Rice in September 2003 that the U.S. was in desperate need of more troops in Iraq. Woodward says that Blackwill and Paul Bremer subsequently briefed Rice and Stephen Hadley about the need for troops but that the White House took no action in response.
Rumsfeld's detachment: Woodward says that Rumsfeld didn't involve himself much in the reconstruction of Iraq, such as it was, and that he fell into such a spat with Rice that Bush had to order him to start returning her phone calls. Woodward quotes Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of U.S. military forces in the Middle East, as saying in 2005 that Rumsfeld "doesn't have any credibility anymore" with the public. Woodward says that Colin Powell suggested that Rumsfeld be sent packing from the administration with him after the 2004 elections, and that former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card tried to dump Rumsfeld in 2005 but failed when Bush objected.
Cheney's obsession: Woodward says the vice president was so fixated on finding WMD in Iraq that his aides were phoning David Kay -- once at 3 o'clock in the morning -- with the satellite coordinates of suspected weapons sites. When Kay began to believe that Saddam Hussein might have had the capability to build WMD but no WMD yet, Woodward says CIA Deputy Director John McLaughlin warned him not to say anything: "Don't tell anyone this. This could be upsetting. Be very careful. We can't let this out until we're sure."
-- Tim Grieve