Nelson's Blog
Senator Salazar's persistent doublespeak on the war in Iraq is an insult to the intelligence of his constituents. In his response to my latest letter urging Congress to refuse approving any more funds for the war except for the safe and orderly withdrawal of US forces, he repeats his tired refrain:
" I have strongly disagreed with the way this war has been managed strategically, and I am likewise disappointed in the manner the President has requested funding from Congress... however, as long as our troops are in harm's way, I will do everything I can to provide the funding for their equipment and other needs. They are taking great personal risks on behalf of our nation, and they deserve our support."
The Catch-22: how to end funding for this disastrous war without putting the troops at risk. The solution: THE TROOPS ARE ALREADY AT RISK! Get them OUT of harm's way. Fund withdrawal, not war.
This is only a dilemma for Democrats who are too scared to exercise the leadership for which they were elected. My response: yesterday I changed my voter registration from Democrat to Green. We have to have an alternative to failed two-party politics.
" I have strongly disagreed with the way this war has been managed strategically, and I am likewise disappointed in the manner the President has requested funding from Congress... however, as long as our troops are in harm's way, I will do everything I can to provide the funding for their equipment and other needs. They are taking great personal risks on behalf of our nation, and they deserve our support."
The Catch-22: how to end funding for this disastrous war without putting the troops at risk. The solution: THE TROOPS ARE ALREADY AT RISK! Get them OUT of harm's way. Fund withdrawal, not war.
This is only a dilemma for Democrats who are too scared to exercise the leadership for which they were elected. My response: yesterday I changed my voter registration from Democrat to Green. We have to have an alternative to failed two-party politics.
Appropos my previous post, below are excerpts from a column in today's (Sept 14 New York Times) by Paul Kruger. Can you connect the dots to determine Bush's real "strategy"? I've included the entire text of the column in the "Extended Post".
Back in January, announcing his plan to send more troops to Iraq,
President Bush declared that "America will hold the Iraqi government
to the benchmarks it has announced."
Near the top of his list was the promise that "to give every Iraqi
citizen a stake in the country's economy, Iraq will pass legislation
to share oil revenues among all Iraqis."
Last month the provincial government in Kurdistan, defying the central
government, passed its own oil law; last week a Kurdish Web site
announced that the provincial government had signed a
production-sharing deal with the Hunt Oil Company of Dallas, and that
seems to have been the last straw.
Now here's the thing: Ray L. Hunt, the chief executive and president
of Hunt Oil, is a close political ally of Mr. Bush. More than that,
Mr. Hunt is a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory
Board, a key oversight body. Read More »
Back in January, announcing his plan to send more troops to Iraq,
President Bush declared that "America will hold the Iraqi government
to the benchmarks it has announced."
Near the top of his list was the promise that "to give every Iraqi
citizen a stake in the country's economy, Iraq will pass legislation
to share oil revenues among all Iraqis."
Last month the provincial government in Kurdistan, defying the central
government, passed its own oil law; last week a Kurdish Web site
announced that the provincial government had signed a
production-sharing deal with the Hunt Oil Company of Dallas, and that
seems to have been the last straw.
Now here's the thing: Ray L. Hunt, the chief executive and president
of Hunt Oil, is a close political ally of Mr. Bush. More than that,
Mr. Hunt is a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory
Board, a key oversight body. Read More »
Whether the President's strategy in Iraq is a failure is all a matter of perspective. From his point of view, it is accomplishing exactly what he intends-- an indefinite occupation of Iraq for the purposes of securing the country's oil and creating a permanent, strategic military presence in the Middle East, regardless of the cost in American and Iraqi lives.
From another perspective, which I share, the President's "strategy" is not just a failure, not just irresponsible, not just foolish, but is immoral and bordering on criminal.
The cynical machinations of the Democratic leadership have hardly been any better. They have no strategy either, except to avoid taking the responsibility that the voters gave them in the last election.
Is it going to take mass protest in the streets before our elected leaders get the point and end this war? Bush & Co. are betting that won't happen.
Can we really afford to wait until 2009 in hopes that a new administration will take a different course? Don't hold your breath!
From another perspective, which I share, the President's "strategy" is not just a failure, not just irresponsible, not just foolish, but is immoral and bordering on criminal.
The cynical machinations of the Democratic leadership have hardly been any better. They have no strategy either, except to avoid taking the responsibility that the voters gave them in the last election.
Is it going to take mass protest in the streets before our elected leaders get the point and end this war? Bush & Co. are betting that won't happen.
Can we really afford to wait until 2009 in hopes that a new administration will take a different course? Don't hold your breath!
So I called Rep. DeGette's office the other day to ask when the Congresswoman would be holding public meetings while Congress is in recess until after Labor Day. The response: THERE ARE AND WILL BE NO PUBLIC MEETINGS. When I asked how this could be, I was told, "Her calendar is too backed up with other meeting requests" to hold even one public meeting in a month-long recess. What's up with that? Is Rep. DeGette afraid of public meetings? Or is this just one more indication that the government has become inaccessible to ordinary citizens? I think we should inundate her office asking for public meetings.
I'm heartened by some of Sen Salazar's recent actions, such as introducing the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act, his work on immigration reform, and his efforts to get the Iraq Study Group Recommendations through Congress. He even called for the resignation of AG Gonzales. Maybe he is educable, after all, even if his political instincts tend toward gutless. We need to make sure to keep monitoring his work closely, and make sure he gets sufficient feedback-- both positive and negative-- when needed.
As the late, great Kurt Vonnegut would say.
April 16, 2007 Washington - In the great showdown between the White House and congressional Democrats over war funding, it may be all over but the shouting.
Key Democrats - such as Senate Armed Services chair Carl Levin (D) of Michigan - have already made clear that President Bush will get his $100 billion-plus to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year.
Well, Senator Salazar, here is the result of your gutless approach to ending the carnage in Iraq attributable to this administration's heartless and idiotic policies, which you have consistently supported when push comes to shove. Congratulations, we have lost the opportunity to begin to reign in our rogue president. It will now be a year, and how much more slaughter, before we have another opportunity. I am sick and tired of hearing about needing to "support the troups", as if that is accomplished by leaving them hanging out to dry in a hopeless situation. Read More »
April 16, 2007 Washington - In the great showdown between the White House and congressional Democrats over war funding, it may be all over but the shouting.
Key Democrats - such as Senate Armed Services chair Carl Levin (D) of Michigan - have already made clear that President Bush will get his $100 billion-plus to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year.
Well, Senator Salazar, here is the result of your gutless approach to ending the carnage in Iraq attributable to this administration's heartless and idiotic policies, which you have consistently supported when push comes to shove. Congratulations, we have lost the opportunity to begin to reign in our rogue president. It will now be a year, and how much more slaughter, before we have another opportunity. I am sick and tired of hearing about needing to "support the troups", as if that is accomplished by leaving them hanging out to dry in a hopeless situation. Read More »
Thanks to Ralph T. for pointing out to me something important: I/we need to change our language about what is happening in Iraq. To call it a "war" is to imply that there is a possibility it can be won. But this is not a war, it is an occupation, and history shows that an occupation cannot be won. From now on, that is the way I will refer to the situation. We need to end the US occupation of Iraq. Even if you believe in the "war on terrorism", Iraq is a distraction and a quagmire. The longer we stay in Iraq, the worse it is for us and the better it is for our adversaries. I bet they can't believe their good fortune that we have someone like Dubya to play right into their hands, which has don since the day after 9/11, if not before.
WASHINGTON, April 11 -- The military announced Wednesday that most active duty Army units now in Iraq and Afghanistan and those sent in the future would serve 15-month tours, three months longer than the standard one-year tour.
OK, so NOW can we talk about what it REALLY means to "support the troops"? I can't imagine how the poor slobs must feel. How about we ask Senator Salazar about this. Meanwhile, today a bomb goes off in the Iraqi Parliament building inside the Green Zone. Anyone see a "light at the end of the tunnel"? Deja vu all over again.
OK, so NOW can we talk about what it REALLY means to "support the troops"? I can't imagine how the poor slobs must feel. How about we ask Senator Salazar about this. Meanwhile, today a bomb goes off in the Iraqi Parliament building inside the Green Zone. Anyone see a "light at the end of the tunnel"? Deja vu all over again.
I did a little math this week to get a sense of what the $100 billion dollars that the President is asking for in the Supplemental Appropriations Request for the war amounts to. What could we actually get for $100 billion? Well, Read More »
I'm "troubled" by Senator Salazar's record in office as a Democrat Senator. After just two years in office, he has already compiled a record that leaves many progressives who voted for him shaking their heads. Military commissions, habeus corpus, funding for the war, Alberto Gonzales-- thouh he's confessed to being "troubled" by all these issues, that hasn't caused him to act courageously on any of them. I realize anyone elected to statewide office in Colorado has to be mindful of the huge number of independent voters in our state, but Senator Salazar seems intent on alienating his base in order not to alienate those to the right of mainstream Democrats. Seems like maybe he needs a strong primary challenge in order to remind him that those who elected him can un-elect him; too bad that's several years off.
Here's the statement I released yesterday as part of the occupation of Senator Salazar's office which resulted in the arrests of seven people, including myself. Oddly, the police did not seem to be able to get us out of the building until after all the media had left, about two hours after the office closing time.
EVERYONE needs to call the Senator's office to say that we need a commitment from him to vote AGAINST any further funding for combat operations in Iraq.
I am privileged be part of a group of people participating in the Occupation Project by choosing to occupy Senator Salazar's Denver office while we wait for the senator to make a commitment to ending funding for US participation in the Iraq war-- a war that was deceitfully conceived, Read More »
EVERYONE needs to call the Senator's office to say that we need a commitment from him to vote AGAINST any further funding for combat operations in Iraq.
I am privileged be part of a group of people participating in the Occupation Project by choosing to occupy Senator Salazar's Denver office while we wait for the senator to make a commitment to ending funding for US participation in the Iraq war-- a war that was deceitfully conceived, Read More »
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