A Message From Dr. Dean
Former Governor Howard Dean sent me a letter! It was entitled: "4 Years Down, 46 to Go," which I thought was just brilliant:
He asked for us/me/the reader to write letters, but I cut that part out to make his message flow better. And the message is: Democrats were not voted in to extend the debacle known as "the Iraq War," and they certainly didn't intend on President Bush to propose staying there for half of a century.
According to the White House, Iraq isn't George W. Bush's Vietnam -- it's his Korea.
Last week, Reuters reported that "President George W. Bush would like to see a lengthy U.S. troop presence in Iraq like the one in South Korea to provide stability but not in a frontline combat role. The United States has had thousands of U.S. troops in South Korea to guard against a North Korean invasion for 50 years."
The American people voted last November to end the war in Iraq -- not occupy a country engulfed in civil war for decades. A 50-year plan for Iraq is not a strategy and it's certainly not acceptable. But tonight, as the Republicans square off in their third big presidential debate, you can be sure you'll hear the Republican candidates fall in line with their Commander-in-Chief.
The 2008 presidential hopefuls are already offering their support for the "Korea plan." On Friday, John McCain said:
"We have had troops in South Korea for 60 years and nobody minds...If you stay a long, long time, but have the Iraqis doing the fighting, and your people are back in the bases and away from the firing line, I think Americans would be satisfied."
In the most recent CBS News/New York Times poll, 72 percent of Americans disapproved of President Bush's handling of Iraq. Looking back, 61 percent of Americans believe that the U.S. never should have taken military action against Iraq in the first place.
The American people opposed the escalation. They opposed President Bush's timetable veto. And they oppose a 50-year war.
Now the dozen or so Republican presidential candidates vying for his job want to continue this same failed strategy. We can't let that happen.
The Democratic Party agrees: it's time to end the war and refocus on fighting terrorism and strengthening our national security.
Those are our values, and those are America's values.
Sincerely,
Gov. Howard Dean, M.D.
He asked for us/me/the reader to write letters, but I cut that part out to make his message flow better. And the message is: Democrats were not voted in to extend the debacle known as "the Iraq War," and they certainly didn't intend on President Bush to propose staying there for half of a century.
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