What's The Answer In Iraq, David?
On Real Time last night, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin asked prominent neoconservative David Frum a straightforward question that he had a hard time
Update: John Amato: A close friend of David's told me that he had to talk him off the cliff after he had visited Iraq and watched the horror that he helped create...
It's important to note who David Frum is and the responsibility he bears for creating the problem he now has no idea how to solve. Frum, who was President Bush's former speechwriter, is a resident fellow of the radical neoconservative American Enterprise Institute that has cheered on from the beginning (and continues to cheer on) not only America's involvement in Iraq, but also military intervention in Iran and Syria. His 2005 book The Right Man: An Inside Account of the Bush White House sycophantically gushes over the leadership qualities of George Bush, and his latest screed, An End to Evil, co-written with fellow neoconservative Richard Perle, defends the Iraq War and advocates a hard military line against Iran and Syria. David Frum and his neoconservative comrades bear as much responsibility for this war as anyone else. His nonsensical, stuttering answer to how we solve the problem he helped create is revealing and downright infuriating.
These follow-ups should have been asked: "What happens if/when the glorious 'surge' fails? What then? Another Freidman unit? Another surge? Where does it end?"
ThinkProgress cuts through the "surge is succeeding" spin:
President Bush: “General Petraeus recently arrived in the Iraqi capital, and the plan he is executing is in its early stages. … Yet even at this early hour, there are some encouraging signs.”
FACT: “Sectarian attacks in Baghdad are down at the moment, but the deaths of Iraqi civilians and U.S. troops have increased outside the capital. … If violence is down in Baghdad, analysts said, it is likely because the Shiite militias operating there are waiting out the buildup in U.S. troops, nearly all of whom are being deployed in the capital. At the same time, Sunni insurgents have escalated their operations elsewhere.” Read more...