link to full article
Smear campaign
Attacking the patriotism of those who call for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq is an unethical effort to prop up an increasingly unpopular policy
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
President Bush says Americans should feel comfortable expressing themselves in an open and honest debate about the continuing U.S. presence in Iraq and should not have their patriotism questioned. The debate, however, reached a low point Friday when freshman Congresswoman Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, took the floor and applied the term "coward" to Rep. Jack Murtha, D-Pa. Murtha had called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops over six months, with some units remaining in Kuwait in case they were urgently needed.
In her brief speech, Schmidt, a conservative who won a special election against an Iraq war veteran who opposed the conflict, insulted a decorated Vietnam veteran who had served 37 years in the Marine Corps and the reserve. She was rightly and roundly booed by colleagues across the aisle.
Schmidt claimed she was delivering the sentiments of state Rep. Danny Bubp, R-Ohio, colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve. "He asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message," Schmidt said, "that cowards cut and run, but Marines never do."
Bubp, a supporter of the Bush administration's "stay the course" policy in Iraq, denied that he had said anything about Murtha or anyone else being a coward.
Schmidt's outrageous comments, which she quickly withdrew and later apologized for, not only violated House of Representative rules banning members from directly addressing colleagues by name, but also made her the target of an acidic skit on Saturday Night Live. Perhaps Schmidt, who had served little more than 100 days in the House, took her cue from Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney has repeatedly called critics who accuse the administration of exaggerating pre-war intelligence on weapons of mass destruction "dishonest and reprehensible ... corrupt and shameless."
The administration's campaign seeks to buoy sinking support for a bloody conflict with no defined exit. Both Bush's and Cheney's approval ratings have fallen to new lows, as well. As a public backlash built, the president and Cheney cooled their rhetoric, conceding that Murtha is a patriot and Americans have a legitimate right to dissent.
The U.S. Senate has already voted to require the administration to produce quarterly reports on progress toward shifting the burden of the fighting to Iraqi forces. Calling people cowards or labeling them as pro-terrorist will not build support for indefinite U.S. deployment in Iraq.
Rep. Murtha, a respected military affairs expert, explained on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday why he had come to make his dramatic break with current U.S. policy:
"There's no progress at all. When I went to Iraq about two months ago, I talked to the commanders. ... I can tell how discouraged they are. And this all started from the illusion it was going to be easy. ... Now is the time to start to redeploy our troops to the periphery and let the Iraqis take over."
While the administration continues to oppose a firm schedule for disengagement, Iraqi political factions meeting in Cairo reached a rare agreement. Sunni, Shiite and Kurd leaders, including candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections, signed a joint statement calling for a withdrawal of foreign troops on a specified timetable, along with a national program for rebuilding security forces. This is basically what domestic opponents of the war have advocated, only to be attacked by administration officials.
Public opinion in the United States has turned against the administration's policy of occupying Iraq until it has a stable government and capable security forces because it isn't working. The deaths of more Americans at the hands of an insurgency that can't be defeated by military might do not equate to progress. Insulting those who in good conscience call for a speedy end to U.S. military involvement is spitting into the wind of a growing national consensus.
No comments:
Post a Comment