(Harry) Reid defends calling Iraq war 'lost,' calling Bush 'a liar'

[sabra]

Source: CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid defended calling the war in Iraq "lost" in an interview with CNN's Dana Bash Monday.

"General Petreaus has said the war cannot be won militarily, he's said that," Reid said. "And President Bush is doing nothing economically, he's doing nothing diplomatically, he's not doing anything even the minimal requested by the Iraq Study Group, so I stick with General Petreaus. I have no doubt the war cannot be won militarily and that's what I said last Thursday and I stick with that."

...

"I do what I think is right, and I think this war is headed in the wrong direction," Reid said. "And I'm going to speak out as often and as regularly as I can."

Reid has been an outspoken critic of the president, calling him a loser and a liar in the past.

"I don't back off that at all," he said. "So if you say something that is untrue to me and in the right circumstances, I will call you a liar. I have no regret having called him a liar, because he lied."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/2007/04/reid-defends-calling-iraq-war-lost.html

[panader0]

1. His comment was taken out of context

Didn't he say "If" things aren't done didfferent, then "The war is lost"?

[VegasWolf]

2. I don't see any "ifs" that could save this debacle. nt

[paparush]

4. Of Course! He also said the way to WIN the war is politically, diplomatically, and econonmically..

the focking MSM NEVER reports the whole quote...

[endarkenment]

6. The war is lost. We lost the war. The war was unwinnable.

There doesn't need to be any parsing, backpeddling, or restatements. Senator Reid spoke the truth and he is sticking to it, good for him.

[habitual]

3. BOOOM, i love a well executed smackdown! n/t

[arewenotdemo]

5. I'm liking Reid more. He ain't caving!

:kick:

[The Wielding Truth]

7. It takes a gusty -in your face- statement to make the point of failure!

[Bravo Zulu]

8. bu$h is a lying liar!

"We are entitled to ask - we are required to ask - how many more men, how many more lives, how much more destruction will be asked, to provide the military victory that is always just around the corner, to pour into this bottomless pit of our dreams?"
-- Bobby Kennedy, March 18, 1968

[Canuckistanian]

20. He's never apologized for anything

Despite what David Broder said:
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/23/broder-reid/

Asked if Harry Reid is “an embarrassment,” Broder said, “I think so,” since “every six weeks or so there’s another episode where he has to apologize for the way in which he has bungled the Democratic case.

UPDATE: Greg Sargent: “I just checked with Reid’s office, and they told me in no uncertain terms that Reid has not apologized for any of his remarks during his first four months as majority leader.”

Digg It!

[rcdean]

9. Give 'Em Hell, Harry !

He's exactly right!

[bemildred]

11. I just tell them the truth, and they think it is Hell. nt

[Heathen57]

10. I'm glad to see someone

that has the backbone to stand up to the Idiot in Charge and call him the liar he is.

The GOP and the WH have had too long of a run twisting things their way and it is about time that the Dems stood up to the little puke and taught him just what is really going on.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

12. At last- a Democrat who doesn't back down

Such a rare thing, that. Something to be cherished and showcased.

I love the smell of truth and honesty in the morning. It smells like... DEMOCRACY. :yourock:

[calimary]

13. FINALLY! Somebody of great political-insider import FINALLY using the

"L-word" (Liar, and Lied).

Now... if only he'd start using the "I-word (IMPEACHMENT), or, since he's a Senator, I suppose it would more accurately be the "C-word" - as in CONVICT.

[EVDebs]

14. The WAR was won in 2003; the OCCUPATION is a complete disaster

Starting with the war plans from '73 that Rummy and Cheney would approve

Document reveals Nixon plan to seize Arab oil fields
'70s embargo sparked 'last resort' measure, says British memo
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/01/02/MNG8G427D61.DTL

just change Saudi Arabia to Iraq,

and moving on to the Permanent Bases, that Quakers posted to their website, causing them to be spied on by the NSA,

If the U.S. is ultimately leaving Iraq, why is the military building 'permanent' bases?
http://www.fcnl.org/iraq/bases.htm

and Bush's lie to leave if Iraqis 'stand up', June 2005

'As Iraqis Stand Up, We Will Stand Down,' Bush Tells Nation
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=16277

said lie now being used as an insurgency recruiting tool,

"A September 2006 poll of both Sunnis and Shias found that 71% of Iraqis wanted the U.S. to leave within a year, with 65% favoring an immediate pullout and 77% voicing suspicion that the U.S. wanted to keep permanent bases in Iraq.<35> 61% approved of attacks on U.S. forces.<36>"---
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_insurgency#Analysis_and_polls

We see that Sen Reid is correct and the Republicans, supporting the current occupant of the White House who shall remain nameless, need to seek professional help or else start smelling the coffee. A 'surge' of a permanent force in Iraq ? Who's kidding who ?

It was ALWAYS about the OIL. Operation Iraqi Liberation.

[Toots]

15. I am sick of us calling the murder of civilians (women and children) a "war"

America used to be a good if not great country. Now we prance and kill women and children and say we are at "war". There is no way in hell America could ever "win" anything from our behavior..

[EVDebs]

16. The American people are honorable; their leaders are now in disgrace

The world knows this and now even the GOP's hardcore is slooowwwwly discovering the facts for themselves. The self-evident truth is, like a disinfectant, accompanying the light of day.

[TwilightGardener]

17. It puzzles me that there are Democrats on this forum who think

Harry is making mistakes here--why the HELL should he tiptoe around what he believes? He has a duty as a Senator to speak his mind, NOT to be diplomatic to this discredited joke of a president, especially if his speaking out helps bring an end to this war.

[Miss Chybil]

18. Yes! nt

[goforit]

19. Chuztpah!!! At Last!!!