Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "incompetent" during an interview Tuesday with a group of liberal bloggers, a comment that was never reported.| Wonder why? |
| I wouldn't call this 'treason', but Senator Reid is a cowardly, disloyal son of a bitch. |
Reid, who was bashed by Republicans for suggesting earlier this year that the Iraq war was "lost," is lashing out at top commanders while putting the finishing touches on a plan to force a series of votes on Iraq designed exclusively to make Republicans up for reelection in 2008 go on record in favor of continuing an unpopular war.
Reid, the senators and aides said, does not expect any of the Iraq measures to pass but hopes the effort will drive a deep enough wedge between wavering Republicans and Bush that, by September, Republican senators will break with the president and help end the war. "We want them to vote and vote and vote again" on Iraq, said a senior Democratic senator, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss party strategy. "They are going to have to vote on Iraq until they are sick of it."
| Mr. Reid doesn't understand, of course, that the world won't consider it a 'Republican loss' should we lose this war, it will be an American loss. Or perhaps he does understand and doesn't mind. |
Besides his comments about Pace and Petraeus, the Nevada Democrat also announced that he wants to hold more votes on ending or scaling back the U.S. military presence in Iraq. He said Democrats would use an upcoming Defense authorization bill to continue the struggle with Bush over the conduct of the war, especially Bush's "surge" plan to send more U.S. forces to Baghdad and surrounding regions in order to quell growing sectarian violence.
On Wednesday, Reid went to the White House with other congressional leaders to "consult" with Bush on a range of Middle East issues, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran's nuclear program. Reid again told Bush that it was "time to transition the mission in Iraq" in order to refocus attention on Iran and, more specifically, Afghanistan, which both Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have called the real central battlefront in the war on global terror.
| Not that he'd stand tough on Iran. And he'd bail on Afghanistan if he thought he could get away with it. |
These are goals consistent with both the national security of the United States and the will of the American people. We respectfully request that you reconsider your previous opposition to proposals that would accomplish these goals and work with us to give our troops a strategy worthy of their sacrifice."
Reid's latest efforts, according to Democratic senators and aides, are meant to lay the groundwork for an expected September showdown with Bush and GOP leaders over Iraq. September is when Petraeus is required to report back to Congress on the progress of Bush's "surge" policy, and numerous Republicans, including House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), have suggested there could be dramatic erosion in support within the GOP for the president and the war unless the political and military situation there shows dramatic improvement.
But Reid and Pelosi are also wrestling with the political fallout from their confrontation with Bush over wartime funding, which saw Democrats in the end back away from their plan to set a firm withdrawal date for pulling U.S. combat forces out of Iraq. That final result infuriated the Democratic base, which had used the sense of national unease about the war to motivate voters to support Democratic candidates and incumbents in the November midterm elections.