Republican takes strong stand against war, Bush

[SquireJons]

This is what the RNC is really worried about: a strong but quiet under current of opposition to shrub administration policy within the Republican party faithful. The article also shows that many Republican are not without integrity, and may not even be completely heartless.

<snip>
"Is the Iraq war, if it is to be judged a wrongful war, a product of flawed intelligence or flawed policy?"

<snip>
"If you want to hear the fiery rhetoric of a crusading, anti-war true believer, call in a Republican. That's right. And a heartlander from Illinois.

When former Rep. Paul Findley openly broke with Bush over his Iraqi war policy, he didn't leave any asterisks in the text or wriggle room in the position.

"I believe President George W. Bush's decision to initiate war in Iraq will be the greatest and most costly blunder in American history," Findley wrote in a recent paper prepared for the Council for the National Interest, a Washington organization advocating a new direction for U.S. Middle East policy. "He has set America on the wrong course."

Findley's quarrel is with the policy of this administration, not just intelligence"

And this gets even better... remember, this commentary is from a conservative columnist John Hall, of the Richmond Times Dispatch, a newspaper that occasionally makes the Washington Times look objective.

<snip>

"Findley said he is "fully prepared" to join in urging Bush's defeat this fall unless there is a change in Bush's policy in the Middle East.

The change Findley recommends - an immediate ultimatum to Israel to withdraw from all Arab lands seized in 1967"

Unbeleivable... go Paul, go! And he does...

<snip>

"There has already been "grave damage" to the United States, he warned, and there would be "still greater harm if Bush continues his present course during a second term in the White House."

Many Iraqis still believe Bush "harbors dreams of an American empire," said Findley, whose Muslim contacts are extensive. And he is convinced Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's "high fences that contain Palestinians like cattle" are directly related to the troubles in Iraq and throughout the Muslim world.

Findley, in a telephone interview last week, said he could no longer be silent about what he considers to be a neoconservative, as well as a fundamentalist religious, takeover of the Bush administration."

Bush "seems oblivious to war's horror," Findley wrote in his recent paper. "The rockets and 1-ton bombs may kill a few Iraqi guerrillas and cause others to pull back and pause, but they kill and maim innocent civilians, level homes, turn neighborhoods into rubble and permanently blight many lives. They create deep-seated outrage, not cooperation."

... and lastly:

<snip>

"Findley said he knows of "many" other Republicans ready to urge Bush's defeat."

It's stuff like this that really makes me optimistic. In truth, we Dems need a little help from or enemies in order to win. For instance, without Ross Perot, we likely never would have found out how good a President Bill Clinton could be. Personally, I don't care what breaks apart the Republican/Robber Barron Juggernaut - personal animosity, jealousy, ideological splits, or even a resurgent conscience... as long as it happens.

Here's the link to the full article.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031773418644&path=%21news%21columnists&s=1045855935174


Comments welcomed.

[Sinistrous]

1. Just remember, it wasn't the Democrats who finally brought down Nixon,

It was the Repubs, when they realized he was no longer an asset to them.

The drip, drip, drip is getting faster, and the drops are getting bigger.

[indepat]

2. If only a few more good men would come to the aid of their country,

maybe a groundswell would follow.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Findley is a hero

for standing up for what's right. He's spot on as to what needs to be done in the Middle East. Too bad Shrub will ignore him.

[SquireJons]

4. Shrub probably doesn't even know

... he's losing support from within his own party. He never reads anything but 'Family Circus' and instead of protester, he sees parked buses. I thought Reagan was the ultimate figure head; I was wrong. R.R. was an iron fisted genius compared to shrub. But we all know that when he lost the election in 2000.