Sunday, December 11, 2005
Democratic strategy? It's Al-Qaida stupid!
Recently I've heard a lot of discussion about division within the Democratic party. So let me point out several facts that every elected Democrat that I know of agrees with. And how we should use these facts to unite our party and present America with a plan for Iraq.
Let us first agree on what we agree on. The enemy of America is Al-Qaida. Iraq had no association with Al-Qaida prior to our invasion of Iraq. America is fighting Al-Qaida in Afghanistan, and our cause in that nation is widely supported by the international community as well as the American public.
I believe that most mainstream Democrats would be in agreement with me to this point. There are a few prominent Democrats who do not support the war in Afghanistan, and while I hold a great respect for them, I believe the Democratic party as a whole must decline to forward their view on the Afghani war. (Sorry Cindy and Michael... love you guys but we just don't agree on this one.) With the possible exception of the Al-Qaida-Iraqi pre-war connection, most Americans be they Democrat or Republican agree with these positions because they are self evident truths.
To me the message of the Democratic party should be encapsulated in one simple saying. It's Al-Qaida Stupid! The myth of the Al-Qaida-Iraqi connection is still carefully fostered by this administration as we see speech after speech in which 9/11 is invoked in the name of staying the course in Iraq. I believe goal number one of our party should be to tell the truth to the American people. And the truth is that our actions in Iraq have, (let me emphasize the following word,)STRENGTHENED, not hurt Al-Qaida.
Well Mr. Frik you might say, we are where we are. What do you propose to do in Iraq that will not further strengthen our enemy. My answer to the readers who might so inquire is this. We must own our mistake, and take action to correct these errors. First of all on the domestic front, how can it make sense for any managerial position you can imagine to so horribly botch day to day operations of the endeavor they oversee, yet be the leadership needed to fix their own mistakes? Especially if that leadership is so unwilling to admit the mistake in the first place. When we as Democrats are asked for a plan in Iraq, after we tell the questioner that it's Al-Qaida stupid, our next sentence should be that we must replace the driver that drove this bus into the ditch and then get ourselves out of this situation. Never in managerial history has a leader demonstrated mistaken logic in such a repeated manner, yet without admitting mistakes been able to correct their course of action. After mistakenly assuring us that there were wmd, we would be greeted as liberators and Iraqi oil would pay for the war, we are now to believe this administration has it right regarding future developments in Iraq? That's just silly talk...
That's all well and good, but what about a plan once we are in power? Democrats should point to the several documented examples of our Iraqi allies calling for a timetable for withdrawal, and give them what THEY want. While the Republicans call that cut and run, Democrats should call that Iraqi sovereignty. Furthermore whenever cut and run is brought up, Democrats need to reflexively say... it's Al-Qaida stupid. We are fighting them in Afghanistan, and we should be reinforcing that front in the war on terror not strengthening Al-Qaida with a mistaken military adventure in Iraq. Democrats are not for cutting and running from Al-Qaida. Indeed it seems to me the case can be made that by not finishing the job in Afghanistan, it is the Bush administration who has cut and run from the first battle in the war on terror. And strengthened Al-Qaida doubly so in the process.
The only thing left to buttress this argument is to prove that the Iraqi quagmire is helping, not hurting Al-Qaida. This again is a pretty straight forward proposition. It may sound good to say we are fighting them there so we don't have to fight them here, but that logic is easily taken down, besides which "there" should be Afghanistan, not Iraq. There are several well documented examples of our intelligence, as well as allied intelligence, fretting about Al-Qaida becoming stronger as a direct result of the Iraqi quagmire. All we need to do is tell the truth of the matter. Our presence in Iraq strengthens Al-Qaida, and after all... it's Al-Qaida stupid.
The day that the Bush administration puts forth a speech about Iraq that does not invoke 9/11 is a day of victory for the truth. It quite frankly is deceptive advertising when they link the two. If 9/11 is the platform by which this administration justifies Iraq, that shames the memory of the nearly 3000 who died that day, and the over 2000 who have died in the war in Iraq. Let Democrats tell the truth and take away this shameful tactic so commonly used by this awful president. 9/11 was brought to us by Al-Qaida, and when it comes to how we should conduct the war on terror, let us not forget... it's Al-Qaida stupid.
Let us first agree on what we agree on. The enemy of America is Al-Qaida. Iraq had no association with Al-Qaida prior to our invasion of Iraq. America is fighting Al-Qaida in Afghanistan, and our cause in that nation is widely supported by the international community as well as the American public.
I believe that most mainstream Democrats would be in agreement with me to this point. There are a few prominent Democrats who do not support the war in Afghanistan, and while I hold a great respect for them, I believe the Democratic party as a whole must decline to forward their view on the Afghani war. (Sorry Cindy and Michael... love you guys but we just don't agree on this one.) With the possible exception of the Al-Qaida-Iraqi pre-war connection, most Americans be they Democrat or Republican agree with these positions because they are self evident truths.
To me the message of the Democratic party should be encapsulated in one simple saying. It's Al-Qaida Stupid! The myth of the Al-Qaida-Iraqi connection is still carefully fostered by this administration as we see speech after speech in which 9/11 is invoked in the name of staying the course in Iraq. I believe goal number one of our party should be to tell the truth to the American people. And the truth is that our actions in Iraq have, (let me emphasize the following word,)STRENGTHENED, not hurt Al-Qaida.
Well Mr. Frik you might say, we are where we are. What do you propose to do in Iraq that will not further strengthen our enemy. My answer to the readers who might so inquire is this. We must own our mistake, and take action to correct these errors. First of all on the domestic front, how can it make sense for any managerial position you can imagine to so horribly botch day to day operations of the endeavor they oversee, yet be the leadership needed to fix their own mistakes? Especially if that leadership is so unwilling to admit the mistake in the first place. When we as Democrats are asked for a plan in Iraq, after we tell the questioner that it's Al-Qaida stupid, our next sentence should be that we must replace the driver that drove this bus into the ditch and then get ourselves out of this situation. Never in managerial history has a leader demonstrated mistaken logic in such a repeated manner, yet without admitting mistakes been able to correct their course of action. After mistakenly assuring us that there were wmd, we would be greeted as liberators and Iraqi oil would pay for the war, we are now to believe this administration has it right regarding future developments in Iraq? That's just silly talk...
That's all well and good, but what about a plan once we are in power? Democrats should point to the several documented examples of our Iraqi allies calling for a timetable for withdrawal, and give them what THEY want. While the Republicans call that cut and run, Democrats should call that Iraqi sovereignty. Furthermore whenever cut and run is brought up, Democrats need to reflexively say... it's Al-Qaida stupid. We are fighting them in Afghanistan, and we should be reinforcing that front in the war on terror not strengthening Al-Qaida with a mistaken military adventure in Iraq. Democrats are not for cutting and running from Al-Qaida. Indeed it seems to me the case can be made that by not finishing the job in Afghanistan, it is the Bush administration who has cut and run from the first battle in the war on terror. And strengthened Al-Qaida doubly so in the process.
The only thing left to buttress this argument is to prove that the Iraqi quagmire is helping, not hurting Al-Qaida. This again is a pretty straight forward proposition. It may sound good to say we are fighting them there so we don't have to fight them here, but that logic is easily taken down, besides which "there" should be Afghanistan, not Iraq. There are several well documented examples of our intelligence, as well as allied intelligence, fretting about Al-Qaida becoming stronger as a direct result of the Iraqi quagmire. All we need to do is tell the truth of the matter. Our presence in Iraq strengthens Al-Qaida, and after all... it's Al-Qaida stupid.
The day that the Bush administration puts forth a speech about Iraq that does not invoke 9/11 is a day of victory for the truth. It quite frankly is deceptive advertising when they link the two. If 9/11 is the platform by which this administration justifies Iraq, that shames the memory of the nearly 3000 who died that day, and the over 2000 who have died in the war in Iraq. Let Democrats tell the truth and take away this shameful tactic so commonly used by this awful president. 9/11 was brought to us by Al-Qaida, and when it comes to how we should conduct the war on terror, let us not forget... it's Al-Qaida stupid.
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