the talking dog

During their mutual visit to address the UN General Assembly, evidently President Bush and German Chancellor Schroeder have reached common cause on issues Iraq and Afghanistan. If so, this is a welcome development. Germany is a powerful voice in Europe, and even French President Chirac, though he has his own ideas on Iraq, has more or less said he would "not stand in the way" if the UN Security Council passed a resolution regarding Iraq. I'm not aware of firm commitments of money or personnel, but if the rapprochement is for real, give at a little time.

This comes as events in Iraq continue to show that things still suck there; the same story notes explosions in Baghdad of some buses, killing and wounding more locals. I think the situation there demonstrates that... we need some help.

And now, on to the bigger questions. As Bush watches his approval ratings start to swoon (and polls show most Democrats could take him right now), the question is, will a Democrat-- ANY Democrat, step forward with a reason why they should be elected, other than they're not Bush (which, I admit, is a good enough reason for me, but I daresay many Americans want a better reason). The fact is, this strategy by Democrats was a fucking disaster in the '02 mid-terms, and I promise that Bush-- really has a clear vision of how he wants to fight the "War on Terror TM" (even if its a loopy vision), while most Democrats do not. The Democrats are all waffling on Iraq. So let me write the script for them (at least one possible script):

"Prior opposition to the war in Iraq is now irrelevant; whoever is sworn in on 20 January, 2005 (be it Bush or a Democrat) must face reality as it is now. The question is, what can we do about it? Entreating the UN and allies for help is nice, but that will be slow going, and we may lose some degree of control of the situation there. Ultimately, this is the world's problem, though principally Iraq is an American responsibility now. We need more troops there--period. Generals Shinseki and Franks thought so-- Rumsfeld's "lean and mean" plan, while politically expeditious, is not resulting in the necessary security and other conditions to enable us to have a smooth transition back to Iraqi authorities. Too many of our troops, not to mention Iraqis, are dying needlessly. We need to just admit that, and adjust strategy.

Unfortunately, because of President Bush's choices, whether justified or not, we will have to reevaluate other priorities, including possibly deferring or repealing tax cuts, deferring medicaid prescription benefits, and deferring other priorities. No choice: Iraq for better or worse has become a matter of domestic national safety, and we must recognize it as such. If President Bush is given 4 more years, we can expect more choices like that-- without any thought as to long term consequences or how to pay for them. By simultaneously preaching national sacrifice while massively cutting taxes to multi-millionaires (and not really cutting them for anyone else), Bush has put us in this position. I'm sorry about that.

As to prosecuting the war on terror, it is critical that we maintain good relations with our allies-- something sorely lacking in the Bush agenda. Some tightening of security standards may be necessary-- albeit geared toward preventing terrorism. Some people may not like it; I think Bush's proposals have gone too far, though some measures wiill be necessary.

All of this-- Iraq, the War on Terror, should be part of integrated national energy policies and policies on the entire Middle East. In our spirit of "non-sacrifice sacrifice", other tough choices haven't been made by the Bush Administration that need to be: we need to move toward maximum energy independence. We need to toughen up gas mileage requirements, especially on SUV's; we need to explore and develop all domestic energy sources, including wind farms and oil drilling in some places some people may find objectionable. In the Middle East, we need to be a firm and honest broker in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, including as necessary, threatening and carrying through on financial aid withholding if Israel refuses to roll back some of its settlements.

We're in tough times. We need a President who recognizes that, and isn't intent on telling us we can have everything for no cost. President Bush and the GOP Congress have been hellbent on write checks for this nation that this nation can't cash. We have to stop that. Hopefully, we can spread the pain to all Americans. But denying our responsibility is no longer an option."

Any thoughts will be welcome.

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LLD,
Did you bring your dog, Toto, with you.
See yesterday's comments.

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See yesterday's comments.

Posted by F. E. O'G at September 24, 2003 03:19 PM

Dog-

I love the Beatles theme, but "Just the Two of Us" is a Bill Withers tune, later covered by Will Smith, Dr. Evil, and others. The "Let It Be" track you're thinking of is "Two of Us."

Posted by Stephen Silver at September 25, 2003 10:13 AM

Ssteve--
You are correct, sir. IThe Beatles song is in fact Two of Us. Proving why I shouldn't blog at 1 in the morning with dysphasia (a condition of being unable to swallow, which later resulted in a short hospital visit). Good catch!

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