From left: Gen. Jack Kean, Lt. Gen. William Odom,Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, and Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey
testifying today before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Photo by Michael Temchine for The New York Times
Four old warriors appeared in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today to give testimony about the presidents proposed escalation of troops in
These men, trained in warfare and tested by fire, had precious little positive to say about the proposed escalation of forces:
- “A fool’s errand,”
- “Too little, too late.”
- “There is no way to win a war that is not in your interests,”
- “We will be shot at as we are going out.”
While the Generals were testifying before the Foreign Relations Committee, the White House was trying to spin the remarks of Iraqi president Nouri al-Maliki who is bristling at remarks made by both Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice (In her Senate testimony last week she said Maliki's administration was on "borrowed time") and George W. Bush (the execution of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein "looked like it was kind of a revenge killing") said today that Iraq would be able to handle it's own issues, if the United States would just give them the guns and get out. Not in those exact words, but he conveyed his meaning with little difficulty at all.
What a mess. To paraphrase that great philosopher of people my age, Joe Strummer, "If we go there will be trouble. If we stay it will be double."
Does anyone still think it was a good idea to Rock the Casbah?
