Richardson Stuck on Stupid with Iraq Talking Points

Bottom Line Up Front:  Bill Richardson like many anti-war politicians is sticking to outdated sound bites to avoid being wrong on Iraq.

Democratic Governor and presidential candidate Bill Richardson is sticking to his talking points on Iraq no matter how wrong or outdated they are. This is a very sad, pathetic portrait of the anti-war crowd mindlessly pushing an agenda for purposes they cannot admit to.

Last week Ron Paul insisted the surge was "a complete failure" and this week Democratic Governor and presidential candidate Bill Richardson appeared with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, who hammered Richardson with the facts. It was awkward and embarrassing.  

Richardson dismissed low death rates due to the surge by asserting “You don’t measure progress by body counts” but minutes later quipped “This is a quagmire. There is no military solution. When 3800 troops are dead….”

So… then… you can only mention body counts in terms of measuring progress or defeat if you’re against the war.

He also said the surge is a failure because "the troops have become targets." He apparently has no clue what current statistical trends are on the ground, including not only casualty rates but sectarian unity throughout Iraq.

Then there’s the GEN Sanchez issue. GEN Sanchez served as the commander of coalition forces in Iraq from June 2003 to June 2004 and the Abu Ghraib scandal essentially ended his career. He recently criticized the current war strategy and anti-war activists embraced his assessment, although they discredited him in 2003-2007 for being commander during the Abu Ghraib scandal.

Richardson called GEN Sanchez’ "our Iraqi commander", using his criticism of the current war strategy to justify his own, saying: “He’s a military leader, he was on the ground”, leaving the viewer to ask, "And GEN Petraeus isn’t?"

Pretty embarrassing.

Trackback URL:  
http://amyproctor.squarespace.com/blog/trackback/1364538

Comments

[red s tater]

Hi Amy, great job as usual, Bill Richardson is about 6 months behind (at least) I wanted to turn you on to a great resource.
Check out the BACK TALK Blog by Engram. He is a research professor that has crunched the numbers on Iraq from the get-go and provides great analysis...up to the second! Great info on AQI and al Sadr and the not-so big 'ol civil war... and the mains stream media. Terrific stuff that I'm pretty sure you can use effectively.
Here is the link BACK TALK

thanks for all you do,
red stater

[Stephen Kruiser]

"Embarrassing" is the best description I've heard of this drivel yet-fantastic! Wonderful dissection of the absurdity of Richardson's stance.

Red...the Democrats are about 30 years behind regarding the war-they're still stuck in a Viet Nam mentality. They're recycling a message that led to disaster then and will again if they get control of Congress and the White House.

[STEPHEN FOX]

You guys are way off. Richardson has been hammering the Iraq War since January. His major piece in the Harvard International Review back in March is worth your reading; his opposition op/ed in the Washington Post September 8, his speech to the New Hampshire Democrats in the spring: he is not six months behind anyone.

Anyone who cannot see what a debacle we are in with corporate manipulated policies at all levels, especially the collusion with Blackwater and other mercenaries, Brown and Root, and Halliburton, is either blind or just bestially ignorant and oblivious. What a mess! It will take a diplomatist with vast international experience to dig the US out of such a hole internationally, and I also mean economically: that is the real crux of the coming election.

Anyone disagree?