Retreating from Extremism is an Option

[vixengrl]

A counter to Liz Cheney: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/22/AR2007012201103.html

Liz Cheney declared, obliquely, through a Washington Post column this week, that she is "in to win" on the Republican war on reality. Anyone who has listened to her remarkable trajectory vomit of right wing talking points can have no doubt she will do whatever it takes to hold on to her place in the conservative hot air chamber. I wish she felt that way about her humanity.

In fairness, with her distaff side disapproving and sniping about the unfortunate bipartisan support the former First Lady has for her proposal on troop caps, she succeeded in spewing her venom equally on both parties, who vehemently disagree with, most of all, her Papa, the Vice President.

She has pointed out certain things that suggest she occasionally looks at the objective, fact-based world--acknowledging:

We are at war: in Afghanistan, still, because I think they kind of forgot we were there. Uh--what is our plan there. I thought we were supposed to get somebody--his name began like...Osama? Oh, yeah, and we're in the Halliburton/Blackwater War of Aggression against the eventually Democratic People's Republic of Iraq. Wishing does not make people into the kind of democracy you want, or even into the kind of enemy you want--especially not both at the same time. If we quit Iraq now--well, we fucked their infrastructure to little pieces and they will be at war amongst themselves, I guess. Not sure where our future stake is--unless Ms. Cheney really believes they--sans regular electricity and with sectarian violence a constant, are a bigger threat as a failed state to us for any reason other than our having failed them--ahem--Money doesn't fix everything. Please get a tattoo, just once, Ms. Cheney, just like us Gen-X-ers do, to recognize a milestone in your learning process--tattoo this ON YOURSELF--Money, like, contractors and no-bid monkey business and what I shall term Bremerism and hope it is understood and passed on--Does Not fix Everything. The nine billion Bremer lost did not fix the corruption, for example. It didn't even change a frigging lightbulb. Our money, and our soldiers, will not "fix" the mindset of millions of people who recognize that US foreign policy did not really have shit to do with their needs, ran counter to their interest--damnit--invaded their damn country and killed a few hundred thousand folks--celebrated the purplefinger-fricking elections--and then--get this, did not trust in the authority of the duly elected prime minister of the country who really just wants more authority--SINCE HE LIVES THERE AND PROBABLY KNOWS AND CARES ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING.

We are also at war--though we don't really say so--with: Somalia (there) Iran (Probably there) North Korea (not talking?), Syria (god, you people)...tell me when I hit somebody you think this administration has been diplomatically appropriate to!

Quitting helps the terrorists: Oh wow. Everyone we're fighting right this minute is a terrorist. You know what? Everybody in Gitmo is a terrorist. Everyone ever wiretapped is maybe a terrorist. Greenpeace? Terrorist? Potsmoker? Man, I think you're a terrorist. You probably got your bud from damn Communist sympathizing Canadians or something. I think Liz is so correct--the terrorists would look at our redeploying our troops and having them flexible to respond to anywhere on the globe where a real issue could crop up, would be so terrible. Damn. We'd be so playing into their hands by removing ourselves from a quagmire and maybe concentrating on, I dunno, intelligence reports in re: Islamicists in Somalia which may be legitimate harborers of terror, or like, really not letting the Taliban come back in Afganistan-hell, just having some more National Guard back stateside for the next Hurricane. Really helping the terrorists to free our soldiers up to combat them--gotcha.

Beware the polls: Especially the ones that say your Dad is only marginally more pleasant than a mouthful of marmoset feces. No reason to believe that there may be any number of people who would rather have a small mammal defecate in their mouths than continue to have Dick Cheney as Vice President. If you don't see a poll that actually addresses what is in marmoset poo--don't believe it--Dick Cheney is still a hell of a guy. A somewhat removed from reality guy who gets a Haliburton residual--but who's counting? UH--does your momma still get one from Lockheed Martin, or do all those Lockheed Martin checks look alike?

Retreat from Iraq hurts us in the broader war--OoooH! OooooH! Arnold Horshak-like, I know the answer to this one--you mean, if we pull out here, there will be a harder time justifying invading anywhere else? Pre-emptive war is bad and we shouldn't think we can just invade anywhere--broader war means any country! I get it. Everyone should! Iran is next on the list--wow--let's just enumerate the ways in which the American public will hate this one--

What--you don't think they should think about it? Wow--sorry, consent of the governed, crucial to democracy, let's carry on--the people won't buy it if separated from Iraq--you know it. They hate Iraq--you can't repackage it now--forget it. The broader war on terror means a broader war--more money, more people, and the consensus is--SCREW YOU!

Our soldiers want to win: Good--give them something they can win at. Straight up--define the goals. Tell us what success is. Tell them, at three, four, five tours of duty, when they can see their families, their *kids*. They want to win and go HOME. They want to know they did something MEANINGFUL. They see people sick, tired, stressed, shot, blown-up, angry, every damn day. Timetable. And not a trick timetable, either--mean it.

America needs better than connected shills like you still pimping for a war we all hate. We need to know our government is ours and responds to our needs and tells us the truth. If we can't get it from the current Administration, we will try to elect it in the next go-'round. Hillary Clinton is part of that process, and she has been more honest, I believe, than this administration