"Dedicated to exposing the lies and impeachable offenses of George W. Bush"


HE'S HOWARD THE COWARD
New York Post
By DEBORAH ORIN
December 7, 2005

December 7, 2005 --  WASHINGTON — Democratic Party chief Howard Dean has sparked a firestorm by claiming America can't win the Iraq war — taking flak from families of fallen soldiers, the White House, Republicans and even some fellow Democrats.

Republicans said Dean's remark — coupled with 2004 nominee John Kerry's weekend claim that U.S. troops are "terrorizing" Iraqis — shows Democrats have "a retreat and defeat strategy."

Dean touched off the furor by telling San Antonio radio station WOAI-AM: "The idea that we're going to win this war is an idea that, unfortunately, is just plain wrong."

He predicted Democrats will unite on a strategy to withdraw all National Guard and Reserve troops from Iraq "now" and all U.S. forces within two years, moving them to an unnamed "friendly neighboring country" to hunt terrorists.

President Bush quickly rejected Dean's remarks, saying: "I know we're going to win . . . Oh, there's pessimists, you know, and politicians who try to score points. But our strategy is one that is — will lead us to victory."

Vice President Dick Cheney also rejected calls — like Dean's — for "sudden withdrawal" from Iraq in a speech to cheering Army troops at upstate Fort Drum, including 3,500 who just came back from a tour in Iraq.

"This would be unwise in the extreme — a victory for terrorists, bad for the Iraqi people and bad for the United States. To leave that country before the job is done," Cheney said.

He also quoted a Democrat who disagrees with Dean — Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), who ran against Cheney for vice president in 2000 on the Al Gore ticket and just came back from Iraq reporting progress.

"We stand together in this war," Cheney said, noting Lieberman says "almost all of the progress in Iraq and throughout the Middle East will be lost if [U.S.] forces are withdrawn faster than the Iraqi military is capable."

Around the country, Republican leaders sought to use Dean as a weapon to bludgeon local Democrats, demanding that they say if they agree that Iraq can't be won.

Dean's remarks upset Robert Arciola. His son, Army Pfc. Michael Arciola, 20, of Elmsford, Westchester, was killed by a Ramadi sniper on Feb. 15.

"It makes me angry to hear people talk like this. It seems that the people who do all the yelling about the war don't have kids in the Army," he told The Post.

"My son believed in what he was doing. He told me he wanted to join right after 9/11 when he was in his junior year in high school. He was going to get even with them. If we pull out, we won't win."

Edwin Cuming of White Plains, whose nephew, Army Spc. Kevin Cuming, died in Iraq, said: "I think we should stay until it's finished. I don't want to see him die in vain."

Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman said: "It's fairly extraordinary. I can't remember any time in history where the leader of a national party . . . predicted America would lose a war we were engaged in."

Mehlman told the same San Antonio radio station, "Imagine if we had said to Hitler in 1942 that in two years we're going to pull out of Europe . . . Hitler would not have surrendered."

He blasted Kerry for telling CBS on Sunday, "There is no reason that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night terrorizing kids and children, you know, women."

deborah.orin@nypost.com

Commentary:
Howard Dean was right about Iraq not having WMD when everyone else in the media was pushing known liess. Can the NY Post say they were right too? When republicans say we've destabilized the Middle East etc. why doesn't the Post go after them?

The reality is pretty simple, the war is over. It's been over for a very long time. Now all we're waiting for is an excuse to bring out troops home (which shouldn't be too hard, since an excuse took us to war in the first place). Historians will probably say the turning point was when Murtha introduced a resolution saying troops should be withdrawn "at the earliest practicable date."

The debate is over, the war is lost. Now we wait.

Btw, what does Lieberman know about truth and integrity. He supports a war based on lies and believes we're winning this war when every informed person in the world knows the war is over.