So the Last honest man's strategy is to hope and pray and then think of something else while our men and women are dying and countless of Iraqis are being slaughtered in Iraq. Plan B is non existent just like the BushCO. approach to the Iraq war after we won the initial military conflict. You are a very sad man indeed.
Lieberman: Let's hope it works, pray it works, and if it doesn't, then we'll figure out what we're gonna do then."
Imus: "Well what happens when this doesn't work which is what is going to happen."
Sen. Joe Lieberman: "Well, let's hope and pray it works."
Imus: "No, I know but it's not going to."
Sen. Joe Lieberman: "No..."
Imus: "Well you have to face reality Senator. It's not going to work. Maliki is not going to jump ugly with Al Sadr, he owes his seat to his support. Everybody knows that. He's already dragging his feet. He's contemptuous of, it's like loaning money to relatives, he's contemptuous of U.S. support anyway, Maliki is, so what happens next when none of this works?"
Sen. Joe Lieberman: "Yeah in fairness some of the stuff he says I think is said for local, domestic consumption but there is no question that he and most of them involved in politics and frankly most of the people, know that they want us out but not now, that's the story. Not everybody can understand they don't want an occupying force but they know that the place really would fall apart. There would be open armed civil war and the Iranians would come in and dominate a good part of the country, so let's hope and pray it works."
Moments later ...
Imus: "With all do respect, though, Senator."
Sen. Joe Lieberman: "Yes, sir."
Imus: "You really haven't answered, well not really, you haven't answered my question, and my question is what happens, what's plan B? What happens--"
Sen. Joe Lieberman: "Yeah."
Imus: "...When this doesn't work?"
Sen. Joe Lieberman: "Yeah."
Imus: "I know we hope and pray it does work. Of course we do."
Sen. Joe Lieberman: "Yeah"
Imus: "I hope and pray I win the lottery."
Sen. Joe Lieberman: "Yeah you do. And I hope and pray you win the lottery, too, cause you'd probably give a lot of it away."
Imus: "Give all of it away. I'd have to."
Sen. Joe Lieberman: "You probably would."
Imus: "Well, anyway, what happens when it doesn't work?"
Sen. Joe Lieberman: "Yeah, well, you know, we will then look at the situation and decide what we can do, and the alternatives are limited here. The other alternatives--the main alternative that the opponents of what the President has done are offering is to simply begin to withdraw. And the theory there is that somehow if you with-- I mean some people want to withdraw because they just want to get out. They think the thing--They want to give up. They think the thing is not winnable. I'm afraid they don't agree with me that the consequences of pulling out would be a disaster for everybody, including most important, us. But some say if you begin to withdraw, then Maliki and the other Iraqis will say 'Oh, my God, they're leaving. We got to get our act together. I don't think so. I think what is more likely is that the Iraqi politicians will begin to hedge their bets, and the militias and the Al Qaeda terrorists will just hold back until the day we're gone, and then chaos will break out, and unfortunately as McCain says, we'll probably be back there in a larger war, you know, two, three, four, five years from now. I think this is our chance, so I'd guess I'd say to you in war--There's a famous old saying that war is a series of catastrophes that ends up in victory for one side, and right now I'd say this plan is the best next step we've got. Let's hope it works, pray it works, and if it doesn't, then we'll figure out what we're gonna do then."
(Sorry, I wasn't up to making the video today.)
