Don’t Think of a U.S. Soldier, Unarmed, Abandoned in Iraq’s Civil War!

[helderheid]

Published on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 by CommonDreams.org
Don’t Think of a U.S. Soldier, Unarmed, Abandoned in Iraq’s Civil War!
by Jeff Cohen

One need not be a linguist like George Lakoff to know that it’s hard to win a debate on the other guy’s assumptions. Or worse, the other guy’s lies.

For years Team Bush has sought to shroud their devastating and deepening Iraq occupation in the myth of troop protection. When they doled out contracts to Halliburton and Blackwater, it was about “funding the troops.” Even as VA health services were threatened, it was about “funding the troops.” Every yearly extension of the Iraq occupation is about “funding the troops.”

As Democratic leaders in Congress moved to hoist the white flag of surrender this week - giving Bush/Cheney billions more for Iraq without any timeline for withdrawal - we heard Speaker Nancy Pelosi repeatedly assuring the media that before Memorial Day, “We will have legislation to fund the troops!”

The shared pretense of the White House and Democratic leaders is that funding the Iraq occupation is somehow a program on behalf of the troops. Like a subsidy for family farmers.

Instead of challenging this misleading rhetoric by saying “The only way to support the troops is by ending an unwinnable occupation and fully funding a safe withdrawal,” Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid proclaims, “We will never abandon our troops in a time of war.” Along with the utterly confused: “No one wants us to succeed in Iraq more than the Democrats.”

What Democrats need to be saying, repeatedly, is that it’s Bush/Cheney who abandoned several thousand U.S. troops to avoidable deaths in a disastrous occupation, and tens of thousands to horrible injuries. And that they’re willing to abandon still more troops to unnecessary death and injury. Democrats also need to talk about polls that consistently show most U.S. troops in Iraq support withdrawal, as do most Iraqis.

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http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/05/23/1407/

Jeff Cohen http://www.jeffcohen.org/ is consultant for Progressive Democrats of America http://pdamerica.org/, former TV pundit/producer, and author of “Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media.”

[Selatius]

1. I wonder how many votes the Democratic Party just lost for 2008 congressional races

I wonder...

[ShortnFiery]

2. All the gutless Democrats - I'm voting for their Opposition in their next Primary.

We need Democratic Representatives who support their constituents FIRST. :grr:

[helderheid]

3. Not sure that would help. I encourage you to join PDA

www.pdamerica.org

[ShortnFiery]

4. Likewise, I encourage you to join VOID (Vote Out Incumbents Democracy)

http://voidnow.org