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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: unclewest who wrote (18074)	11/29/2003 10:52:37 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793622

Zeyad on the "Iraqi man on the street" reaction, Note what he has to say about "Al Jazeera." Friday, November 28, 2003 Bush in Iraq You know this was really weird. Just yesterday morning I was reflecting whether Bush would visit Iraq some time in the future and I turned it over in my mind expecting it to be a surprise visit in the same manner of Rumsfeld's. I knew it was going to happen, but I didn't imagine it to be so close, especially after the attacks on the DHL cargo plane leaving Baghdad Airport. Anyway, I was at the cafe chatting with my cousin in London, and I was checking my blog's comments section at the same time when a reader asked me what I thought about Bush's visit to Iraq. I stared in disbelief at the screen for some time, then I went to Yahoo news and there it was: Bush landed in Baghdad Airport, spent a couple of hours with American troops, met Talabani and Chalabi, and left. He didn't leave the Airport area as far as I know. I did hear American fighters flying over Baghdad though during the day, and I was wondering what was going on. After leaving the cafe I asked some people in the neighbourhood what they thought of it. Everyone I talked to stared blankly at me as if I was crazy or something. It seems that nobody thought it was possible for Bush to visit Iraq at this time. I went to buy dinner from a nearby restaurant and IMN was displaying Bush's speech to his troops. Everyone stopped eating and stared at the tv. It was quite a scene, I just wished I had a camera at that time. It was so comical. I watched it all on Al-Jazeera later, and as usual, they described it as a cheap attempt by Bush & Co. to boost American public opinion in his favour for the upcoming election campaign. You could easily detect the anguish in their anaylsis to the fact that Bush didn't go down to the streets or meet everyday Iraqis, or that Air Force 1 wasn't hit by an anti-aircraft missile fired by Iraqi militants. They were really frustrated. Their news have become so predictable. My father was peculiarly furious with one of these 'analysts', he almost kicked the tv. The guy was saying that this visit would practically achieve nothing, or to be more accurate "would trick nobody". He also said that it would have no effect whatsoever on morals of American troops...etc. I have mixed feelings myself. The fact that he is the first American president to set foot on Iraqi soil is a huge event in itself, and a three hour visit to Baghdad Airport definitely wouldn't be the same as a tour in the country and most importantly meeting Iraqi citizens, Iraqis who would be grateful for this visit. But I understand the security considerations and this gesture alone would be sufficient to send a message to whoever it may concern that Iraq is safe enough for an American president to visit. To tell the truth I'm still shocked to this moment that he took the risk to come here. I used to like him before, but now I admire the guy. healingiraq.blogspot.com

To: unclewest who wrote (18074)	11/29/2003 2:56:43 PM
From: John Carragher	Respond to of 793622

Catholic... a very lose term these days.. same guys most likely support late term abortion. Kerry and Kennedy voted for late term abortion. clark goes to mean: Presbyterian church most Sundays according to a recent release i read. Kucinich doesn't shy away from these spiritual connections. Instead he weaves them into his remarks wherever he goes. Asked at one point if he is still a practicing Catholic after changing his position to support a woman's right to abortion, Kucinich stopped dead in his tracks. "Yes," he said. "But I practice all religions." Kucinich did vote against late term abortion.

To: unclewest who wrote (18074)	11/29/2003 3:25:03 PM
From: KLP	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 793622

Could Hillary REALLY have implied this?: Hillary to Troops: Support for War Fading Saturday Nov. 29, 2003; 10:18 a.m. EST [Note: Does anyone else wonder what the cost of Hillary's trip to Iraq for the American taxpayer is? And why she is there? Do all Jr Senators go to any war zone? Can all Senators, Congressmen and women go? Any budget for them?] In a demoralizing message to U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq, visiting New York Sen. Hillary Clinton told them that Americans back home are growing increasingly skeptical of President Bush's decision to send them into battle. Describing two meetings with G.I.s over turkey dinners in Baghdad, Sen. Clinton told reporters later that soldiers wanted to know "how the people at home feel about what we are doing." Clinton said she told the troops, "Americans are wholeheartedly proud of what you are doing but there are many questions at home about the (Bush) administration's policies." She also suggested that the U.S. could eventually lose the war in Iraq, contending, "We have to exert all of our efforts militarily, but the outcome is not assured." Despite her sour pronouncements, the former first lady insisted that the soldiers were just as glad to see her as they were President Bush, whose surprise visit less than 24-hours earlier was greeted with standing ovations. "It's a positive for the commander-in-chief to visit troops in the field," Clinton told reporters, adding, "the troops [also] seemed to appreciate seeing myself." Speaking from a secure location just over the Kuwaiti border, Mrs. Clinton launched one verbal salvo after another at the White House, arguing that Bush officials had been "obsessed" with getting Saddam Hussein and saying the perception blinded them to the difficulties of deposing his regime. "The Pentagon tried to make do with as few troops as possible, as light a footprint as they could get away with," Clinton said. "Now, we're playing catchup . . . Unfortunately, I don't think they fully appreciated the conditions we would encounter." The top Democrat also reprised her charge that the White House is being less than candid when it comes to apprising the American people of the costs of the war. "The obstacles and problems here are much greater than the administration usually admits to," she said, adding, "Everybody has to be honest." newsmax.com