Bush's Own NIE Gives Democrats The Fuel To Beat The GOP This Fall

by Steve

Bush, Cheney, and the GOP are obligated to defend their failing occupation in Iraq by tying it to the larger war on terror in an attempt to reject calls for a withdrawal timeline. Public opinion polls show that an increasing number of Americans reject this GOP attempt at connecting the two, signaling that they would not associate a drawdown of our forces in Iraq as a surrender in the war on terror. This allows Democrats in the final month of the midterms to argue that:

1. The only way that the failing occupation is connected to the war on terror is in how Iraq has made the war against terrorists worse, as confirmed by Bush’s own intelligence estimate;

2. The longer Bush continues without a plan to redirect our energies from Iraq to the larger war on terrorists, the closer Bush takes this country towards losing both;

3. Until Bush changes course and takes steps to reduce the sectarian violence in the country, through unity-building measures like a withdrawal timeline, a "no permanent bases, no permanent troops" commitment, and a regional security and economic development conference with neighboring countries, the more Bush and the GOP aids and assists the terrorists. Denigrating the loss of over 2700 American lives and thousands of American casualties as "just a comma" demonstrates how cheaply Bush views the sacrifices made already for his gross negligence.

It’s that simple. Recent polls have shown that voters by a 2-1 margin think that national security is more of an issue this fall than economic issues, so Democratic candidates must resist the advice of Beltway consultants to play up economic issues and give short shrift to discussing security and Iraq. It was this hesitancy to take on Bush directly over Iraq and his choices in fighting the war against terrorists that led to Democratic losses in the last two elections. Democrats can show voters that they understand the importance of strengthening our hand in Iraq and in the war against terrorists by changing course on both, and they can highlight how more rubber-stamping by GOP incumbents in the next Congress will assist the terrorists and endanger our troops unnecessarily.