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By Mark Kilmer Posted in Special Features — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Sunday, September 16, 2007

On MTP, John Kerry averred that General Petraeus had said that he called Iraq the "central front in the war on terror" only because he had heard it from two other guys. John McCain argued that if we pull out of Iraq, Maliki will adjust to survive, aligning himself with al Qaeda.

On FNS, Secretary of Defense Bob Gates argued that we can best take on the Iranian threat not by invading, but by dealing with them from within the border or Iraq. Taking nothing off the table, he argued that Iran is best dealt with now using "diplomatic, economic means."

On FNS, Joe Biden continued to push Leslie Gelb's partitioning plan for Iraq, although this time with a twist: he insisted that it was not a partitioning scheme.

On TW, SecDef Bob Gates mentioned that even though there was nothing in code, the Iraqis were achieving oil revenue sharing, de-Ba'athification reform, and provincial empowerment. He said that we should eventually be able to draw down to an enduring presence in Iraq. Jack Reed came on next and said that he wanted to withdraw to that point now, without concern for the "vagaries" of what is happening on the ground in Iraq. He added that "MoveOn.com," in their NYT-published ad, reflected the attitudes of the American people.

On FTN, Carl Levin said the Democrat's goal was 60 votes to break a filibuster on their "change in strategy," not the 67 to override a Presidential veto. Jon Kyl came on next, saying that our military mission should be determined by our military, by General Petraeus, not by some Senators searching for 60 votes.

On LE, Evan Bayh said that MoveOn.org erred by questioning General Petraeus's integrity rather than his judgment. He criticized another morning show for spending 5 minutes on Iraq and 15 on Hillary. Wolf went to a commercial and came back discuss Al Greenspan's book, which evidently says that the Iraq War was about oil. Cornyn didn't believe that the Senators would have voted for the war if it were about oil, and Bayh agreed. It was about oil, he argued, only to Dick Cheney.

Cornyn expressed no confidence in Prime Minister Maliki.

The show-by-show review is below the fold...

MCCAIN AND KERRY ON MTP. On NBC's Meet the Press, host Tim Russert had on Senators John McCain and John Kerry to argue about Iraq. McCain blamed former SecDef Don Rumsfeld for the failures of the past but held that "we are succeeding" under the new strategy.

McCain said that if we leave Iraq, Prime Minister Maliki will adjust to survive, allying himself with al Qaeda. Giving a date certain for troop withdrawal, he said, will create a "severe" national security situation.

Kerry argued that the Democrats are "not talking about abandoning Iraq." He added that the mission has nothing to do with al Qaeda because they were not there before we arrived. We're dealing with a civil war, he argued, and because he won't set a timetable/date certain, we have no "leverage" with the Iraqis.

Kerry argued that al Qaeda won't work with Shi'a because they do not consider Shi'a to be "legitimate Moslems." He argued that the Shi'a would thus not allow al Qaeda to take over Iraq, ergo we are the only attraction in Iraq for al Qaeda.

Kerry argued that General Petraeus had said that he has been calling Iraq "the central front in the war on terror" only because he heard two other guys say it first. McCain called him on this, but Kerry didn't back down. Kerry declared that our strategy in Iraq has reverted to "stay the course."

Russert interjected that the President would veto the legislation which Kerry was trying to sell, and Kerry replied that 67 votes override a veto. He said that he needs "a change of attitude for some Republicans," getting them to admit all is lost and we need timetable/date certain.

But Kerry insisted that the Democrats were not arguing for a withdrawal.

Russert argued to McCain that a majority of Senators and a majority of the American people wanted us out of Iraq. McCain countered that most wanted us out of Korea, but President Harry Truman kept fighting and now, South Korea is free.

They argued about training the troops. McCain argued that this training was a "colossal failure under Donald Rumsfeld," and Kerry argued that this was General Petraeus's fault. (Still others will blame Paul Bremer.)

BOB GATES ON FNS. Secretary of Defense Bob Gates was host Chris Wallace's first guest on FOX News Sunday. Gates argued that though Iraq hasn't passed benchmarks laws on de-Ba'athification reform or oil revenue sharing, such things were happening in reality [despite the national government –m]. He explained that the "consequences of getting this wrong are enormous." He said that impact would be bigger than that of the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan [the al Qaeda training ground once the Soviets left].

Asked about invading Iran, Gates offered that we can best manage the threat from Iran from within the borders of Iraq. The Administration favors a "diplomatic, economic approach."

JOE BIDEN ON FNS. Democrat Presidential candidate Joe Biden, appearing tired and with a head cold – was next for Wallace of FOX News Sunday. He was again pushing the Leslie Gelb plan for partitioning Iraq into three areas, though he now insists that it is not a partition scheme; rather, it would be autonomous regions with a central government assuming such duties as distributing oil revenue, etc. (In other words, a partitioning scheme.)

The Democrats do not seek to pull out of Iraq, he insisted; rather, they want a "fundamental change in tactics."

Wallace brought up a poll which said that most Iraqis reject the plan Biden pushes, preferring a strong regional government. Biden ridiculed polls, saying that another poll shows that most Iraqis think it is acceptable to kill Americans. He is skeptical, he said, "of any poll taken in the middle of a war."

Wallace asked Biden what he thought of Michael Mukasey as an Attorney General nominee, and Biden shot back that he didn't know anything about him. He said that he cannot support Mukasey if he wants to be the President's personal attorney rather than the "people's attorney."

BOB GATES ON TW. Host George Stephanopoulos opened ABC's This Week by conversing with SecDef Gates. Steph first offered Nancy Pelosi's definition of an "enduring presence in Iraq" -- over 100,000 troops for more than a decade, costing $700-billion – and allowed Gates to comment. The SecDef replied that it was a "mischaracterization." What they're talking about is, provided success continues, a more limited, stabilizing presence in Iraq. Their "limited" role, in the future, would be protecting the border, going after al Qaeda, and training Iraqis as necessary [which sounds like what some Dems say they want now].

Gates could not commit to a number, but he said that it would be a "small fraction" of what we have there now. He added that we would be doing these tasks in a "support role," helping the Iraqis.

Steph played a clip of Jack Reed screeching that the surge was supposed to give the Iraqi government room to pass vital laws, but the Iraqis are bums. Steph asked what the Iraq government must do and by when. Gates responded that we're seeing "a different kind of reconciliation, or a different kind of progress, perhaps, than we had anticipated." He mentioned the unexpected turn in Anbar, oil revenue sharing, de-Ba'athification reform, and provincial empowerment.

Steph argued that this was not substitute for national laws on such matters, and Gates replied that difficult issues, including in the United States, are achieved in "small bites" before they reach a point at which they can be codified.

Steph pointed out that Democrats, such as Hillary, were arguing that the proposed troop withdrawal was more about what the military could handle than it is about any success. Gates countered that General Pace and other military leaders have characterized this as "resource informed, not resource driven."

Steph asked Gates from where the troops would come if General Petraeus came back in March and announced that he could not send more troops home. Gates said that this would not happen.

Gates will recommend a veto of Webb's 15-months deployed/15 at home bill. It's a way of accelerating withdrawal, he argued, which must be determined by the situation on the ground. Gates said that it's difficult to keep even to his own policy of 15-months deployed/12 at home.

Steph asked Gates about Greenspan's assertion that the Iraq war was about oil. Conceding he was not in the White House when the decision was made, Gates insisted that he doesn't believe the allegation. The war, he said, is about stability in the Gulf, rogue regimes trying to develop WMD, and aggressive dictators.

JACK REED ON TW. After the Gates interview but before the break, Steph teased: "Former army ranger Jack Reed is up next." In his bit 'o tripe following the President's Thursday address, Reed stressed his service as a means of lending artificial cred to nonsense.

Steph asked Reed if he thinks it possible, as Gates suggests, eventually to guard Iraq's borders, fight al Qaeda, and train Iraqi troops with a force which is a "small fraction" of what we have in Iraq now. Reed said it's possible and he wants to do it now – "and make that withdrawal consistent and not subject to the vagaries" of the situation on the ground in Iraq.

He said that Republicans were starting to see things his way.

He asked Reid about the MoveOn.org and Freedom Watch ads. Reid argued that "MoveOn.com" was taking an active role in changing our Iraq strategy and thus spoke for a majority of Americans, but the ad itself was "not the most effective way to [unintelligible] their message."

CARL LEVIN ON FTN. On CBS, Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer first chatted with Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, live from Detroit. Levin said he does not know if he has enough angry Republicans to support his mission change policy. A half dozen Republicans or so. He said that going back to the pre-surge level is "an illusion of change."

Schieffer asked him if he had any wavering Republicans "in your pocket." He wanted Levin to name names. Levin said he had no one in his pocket but some Republicans want to change course.

Levin said that the Iraqi government is in more disarray now than before the surge.

Levin said that the surge was intended to give the Iraqi government more "breathing space" to pass vital legislation, and they've failed.

Schieffer asked Levin about Jim Webb's extended leave amendment, and Levin thinks it can pass. It's getting close to the 60 votes needed, he said, to prevent a filibuster. Levin said that they will fight for what they believe in despite a threatened Presidential veto. He hopes to get to 60 votes "in the next couple of weeks."

Levin argued that the factions in Iraq are killing each other now, so it doesn't matter if we leave. The current course, he said, is not working.

Schieffer pointed out that a withdrawal would tell Iran that America quit, ran away. Levin countered that the Iranians are benefitting from our stay in Iraq. He promised that the withdrawal would be "well thought out."

Schieffer pointed out that a line was crossed when MoveOn.org attacked General Petraeus. Levin replied that the ad was "off-the-wall" and "inappropriate." He argued that it had backfired, "as it should have."

KYL ON FTN. Schieffer's next guest was Senator John Kyl, live from Phoenix. Schieffer pointed out that Petraeus had said that he did not know if we were safer because we were in Iraq. What did Kyl think? Kyl said that those were the first words from Petraeus, who later made clear that success in Iraq would make us safer.

Schieffer said that the President said that we can withdraw some troops because or our success, while most experts agree that we have to get out anyway. He's "wrapping a vocabulary of success" around his failure. Kyl argued that he could have requested an extension of the surge if needed.

Kyl said talk of change in mission ignores key facts. The mission, he said, should be determined by our military, not by Senators looking to achieve 60 votes.

EVAN BAYH AND JOHN CORNYN ON LE. Wolf Blitzer opened CNN's Late Edition by talking to Senators John Cornyn and Evan Bayh. He tried to play the clip but ended up quoting the President talking about withdrawing troops and "coming together" to solve problems in Iraq. Bayh sees no room for compromise with the President. He demanded that the Iraqi leaders do what they had to do or else we'd get out.

Blitzer brought up Jim Webb's extended leave legislation and explained that it would cut troop levels in Iraq. Cornyn said that the solution for lengthy community was to strengthen the military. He said that Webb's amendment would tie the hands of the commanders "in what is an improving security situation in Iraq."

Cornyn express that he had no confidence in Maliki, but that is the choice of the Iraqis. He's surprised that the Dems are not welcoming the troops who were coming home. Bayh sneered that they would have had to come home anyway.

Blitzer played a clip of Chuck Hagel on the Bill Maher Show on Friday, condemning the policy expressed by General Petraeus as a dishonest "dirty trick," and he said that it was really the President's policy. Cornyn said that we should be following the recommendations of our commanders, not calling them traitors.

Blitzer mentioned that MovOn.org ad, and Bayh thinks it was legitimate to question the general's judgment but not his integrity.

Bayh criticized a Sunday Morning Talk Show he had seen earlier for spending five minutes on what we should do in Iraq and fifteen on Hillary's campaign.

A commercial break.

Wolf came back and talked about Alan Greenspan's latest novel. He asked if Greenspan were right, was this war about oil? Cornyn said it wasn't about oil, the Senators would never have accepted it. Bayh said that it was about WMD, even though Cheney might have thought about oil.

Wolf asked Cornyn about the Greenspan's words concerning the GOP squandering the Clinton surpluses, leaving their principles. Cornyn agreed insofar as spending and pointed out that the President would now veto. Wolf mentioned the President not vetoing things sent to him from the Republican Congress, and Cornyn agreed that he should have.

Bayh said that he had to veto budgets as Indiana governor, and he added, with Greenspan, that "deficits to matter." Cornyn also agreed and pointed out that the deficit is coming down because of the Administrations "pro-growth policies."

Bayh suggested that Iran fears an "Islamic Civil War," which the Sunnis would win. Our presence in Iraq, he said, is preventing this Islamic Civil War which Iran would lose. [Al Qaeda is a Sunni organization.]
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That's that. Have at it!