Two views of the war in Iraq — one from a general and one from a guy wearing rose-colored glasses
April 9th, 2008 at 08:01am Pat Cunningham
Of all the remarks made at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearings Tuesday on the war in Iraq, these two struck me as especially incompatible:
John McCain said this:
“Today it is possible to talk with real hope and optimism about the future of Iraq and the outcome of our efforts there. We are no longer staring into the abyss of defeat, and we can now look ahead to the genuine prospect of success.”
Gen David Petraeus said this:
“We haven’t turned any corners, we haven’t seen any lights at the end of the tunnel. The champagne bottle has been pushed to the back of the refrigerator. And the progress, while real, is fragile and is reversible.”
Entry Filed under: Gen. David Petraeus, War in Iraq, John McCain
5 Comments Add your own
1. Chuck | April 9th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Not sure why you dislike McCain so much beyond the fact that he’s a Republican. Perhaps that’s enough. I mean the North Vietnamese, upon finding their new POW was the son of a US admiral, offered to release him, but not having it within him to leave his fellow POWs, McCain refused their offer, spending another 6 years as a POW. How many others would have done that? We don’t know, but we do know about McCain, because he did it.
Furthermore, here’s an amazing article from the Sunday NY Times regarding McCain’s son’s recent military service (anyone interested, just cut and paste it into your browser to view):
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/us/politics/06mccain.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Most people don’t know that McCain’s son enlisted in the US Marines at age 17 (parents had to sign papers), and just finished a 7 month tour fo duty in Iraq (learned about his dad’s NH primary win while trying to get a truck unstuck).
All in all, a pretty amazing family it seems.
2. Chuck | April 9th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Whoa! No need to cut and past the link, I guess. All you need to do is click on it. You’re running a first class blog, Pat!
3. Pat Cunningham | April 9th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Yeah, this is the Lamborghini of blogs. As for McCain’s service in Vietnam and his son’s in Iraq, both are exemplary.
4. Chuck | April 10th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Pat,
My guess is that you and McCain probably have a lot of similar political beliefs. I’ve read stories since 2000 describing McCain as sitting alone at many Republican functions, because his fellow Republicans were angry at him over his propensity to often part ways with his party.
I have no idea whether he’ll win in November or not, and I think he’s an unlikely representative for the Republican party (too moderate by their standards), however, this time around, I honestly believe he’s their best shot.
5. Pat Cunningham | April 10th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
You’re right, Chuck. Just like McCain, I sit alone at Republican functions, because the other GOPers don’t like me. Screw ‘em.
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