"But in an unwelcome development for the White House, even some right-leaning commentators and political leaders appeared uncomfortable with Mr. Bush's Iraq policy. Bill O'Reilly, the Fox News commentator who had been one of the most vocal supporters of the war, warned that the situation in Iraq might cost Mr. Bush re-election if he did not deal with it promptly. Mr. O'Reilly compared the Iraqis to the South Vietnamese in their lack of support for the United States.
"If these people won't help us, we need to get out in an orderly matter," Mr. O'Reilly said on his show Monday evening, repeating the sentiment again on Tuesday.
Newt Gingrich, the Georgia Republican and former House speaker, also said he was concerned that Iraq could hurt the administration unless it made a forceful case to stay there. "The administration has to win the argument that this is an unavoidable fight," Mr. Gingrich said. "This is painful and this is difficult, but we have no choice."
Patrick J. Buchanan, the conservative columnist who ran a spirited challenge to Mr. Bush's father in the 1992 Republican primaries, renewed his criticism of Mr. Bush's war policy. Mr. Buchanan opposed the decision to go to war but toned down his criticism after the war began.
"We have gotten ourselves bogged down in what is clearly a quagmire," Mr. Buchanan said in an interview. In a column published on Wednesday, he wrote, "What Falluja and the Shiite attacks Sunday tell us is that failure is now an option.""
nytimes.com |
