We're Pulling Out of Iraq????

Today's blog is pretty serious, so let's start with a butterfly so that there is something positive in this entry.

Robert Novak wrote a column a couple of days ago suggesting that regardless of how the election turns out, Bush might pull our troops out of Iraq. In fact it went on to suggest that even if the country was in danger of becoming Al-Queda home state, we might do that.

You’ll notice I did not provide a link. Ever since Robert Novak published the name of CIA agent Valerie Plame, exposing her to danger, I do not read his columns. Valerie Plame was outed as a CIA agent to punish her husband, Joseph Wilson, who revealed that our un-elected president was lying about Iraq having attempted to get Nigerian yellowcake uranium in order to manufacture a nuclear weapon. In my eyes Robert Novak is a traitor to the United States of America who should be in federal prison. I will not link to Robert Novak’s column because I do not want to do anything that might help him.

So, Novak asserts that we might pull out of Iraq, even if that means a complete collapse of the country. The column is based on anonymous administration sources.

What the hell is going on?

First, we will not pull out of Iraq. That is a simple lie. In fact, my prediction is that we can look towards Iran to be the next target of our military if Bush wins a second term. Bush appears to have bought the party line of the neoconservatives hook, line and sinker, that we should use our military to dominate the Middle East. In addition to that, the Bush defense department contains many who are tied to Isreal’s hard liners and it would suit their agenda to stay there. I don’t believe that the pro-business, Halliburton faction would be willing to pull out. Finally, the evangelical Christianity that Bush embraces demands that we be a presence in the region to protect Isreal, which must be in the hands of the Jews for the Second Coming to take place.

We will not pull out of Iraq. That is another lie. This administration appears incapable of opening their mouths without lying.

If that won’t happen, what the hell is Novak writing about?

There are a couple of possibilities which tend to overlap each other and are not mutually exclusive.

Josh Marshall’s Talking Points Memo explains the first of these possibilities, which is that it allows the Bush campaign to pander to those with doubts about the war. Those who support the war are going to vote Bush no matter what. Bush needs those who are ambivalent about the war to support him. One way to do that is to hint that we will be leaving. Again, he is lying.

The second reason is that I think this is a blatantly cynical way of insuring Bush gets the military vote. Right now, the enlisted military are close to a state of rebellion. They are angry at the stop-loss backdoor draft and at the complete lack of concern for their lives. Enlisted men are not as solidly Republican as thought and the current situation is not helping Bush.

Bush has to make his play for their vote right now, because they vote early. Hinting that there is a quick trip home with a vote for Bush is a disgusting tactic, but it may be effective.

Two final notes on this: soldiers don’t read Novak, so if my thoughts are true the rumor needs to start circulating at the level of the Drudge Report if that is the target.

Lastly, once more this administration plays our soldiers for chumps. They treat veterans with contempt, they cut benefits and combat pay, they mock those who won purple hearts. Now, they lie and promise a quick trip home in return for a Bush vote. Let me be clear here: the Republican party does not value or respect the American soldier.