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August 21st, 2007 - Time Warp: Then & Now
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: “One senator said U.S. troops are routing out al-Qaida in parts of Iraq. Another insisted President Bush’s plan to increase troops has caused tactical momentum. One even went so far on Wednesday as to say the argument could be made that U.S. troops are winning. These Are Not Bush-Backing GOP Die-Hards, But Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin, Bob Casey And Jack Reed. Even Sen. Carl Levin, Chairman Of The Senate Armed Services Committee, Said Progress Was Being Made By Soldiers.” (Kimberly Hefling, “Democrats Praise Military Progress,” The Associated Press, 08/08/07)
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D-MI): “…The Military Aspects Of President Bush’s New Strategy In Iraq, As Articulated By Him On January 10, 2007, Appear To Have Produced Some Credible And Positive Results. (Sen. Levin And Sen. Warner, “Sens. Warner, Levin Issue Statement On Their Trip To Iraq, Jordan,” Press Release, 08/20/07)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY): “We’ve Begun To Change Tactics Iraq, And In Some Areas, Particularly In Al Anbar Province, It’s Working.” (Sen. Hillary Clinton, Remarks At The Veterans Of Foreign Wars Convention, Kansas City, MO, 08/20/07)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): “More American Troops Have Brought More Peace To More Parts Of Iraq. I Think That's A Fact.” (Philip Dine, “Durbin Cites Promising Military Progress In Iraq,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 08/09/07)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): “The Surge Has Resulted In A Reduction Of Violence In Many Parts Of Iraq … And It Is, I Think, A Product Of More American Soldiers Bringing Peace To Areas Of Iraq That Have Been Ignored In The Past.” (Bernard Schoenburg, “Durbin: Surge Helping, But Iraqi Government Must Do More,” The State Journal-Register [IL], 08/09/07)
CNN’S JOHN ROBERTS: “Everybody in the Democratic Party is saying the surge has failed. Senator Casey, do you agree with your colleague there are some signs of military progress here?” SEN. BOB CASEY (D-PA): “Sure, There Are, John.” (CNN’s “American Morning,” 08/08/07)
SEN. JACK REED (D-RI): “There Has Been Increased Tactical Momentum With The Increase In Forces. … In [Anbar Province], There's Been Tangible Success In Terms Of The Security Situation.” “There has been increased tactical momentum with the increase in forces. As I've suggested, it's been focused on trying to disrupt the movement of insurgents in and out of Baghdad. It's also been aimed at displacing insurgents in areas like Baqubah and other cities where they are presence was becoming more not only noticeable, but more decisive. We have seen also, complementary to the augmentation of our forces, a positive development in Anbar. And that’s principally the result of a political shift by the Sunni tribal leaders, who have recognized that al Qaeda is a threat to them as much as it is to the Shi’a majority. They have been very effective in working with our military personnel. And in that area, there’s been tangible success in terms of the security situation.” (Sen. Jack Reed, Press Conference, 07/09/07)
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D-DE): “My Take Is Parts Of The Surge Are Working.” (CNBC’s “Kudlow & Company,” 08/08/07)
FLASHBACK: Democrats Said Surge Was A “Bad Idea” That “Will Not Work” And “Do Nothing.”
JANUARY, 2007: Democrats On A Surge: “A Bad Idea,” “Will Do Nothing,” “Asking For A Disaster.”
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “The Surge Is A Bad Idea.” (Sen. Harry Reid, Press Conference, 01/05/07)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “I Am Totally Opposed To The Escalation.” (Tony Batt, “Reid: Democrats Might Try To Deny Funding For Troop Surge,” Las Vegas Review-Journal, 01/09/07)
SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL): “The Proposed Surge In Troops ‘Is A Sad, Ominous Echo Of Something We've Lived Through In This Country,’ Said Durbin.” (Dori Meinert, “Durbin, Obama Oppose Proposed Surge In Troops To Iraq,” Copley News Service, 01/05/07)
SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL): “I Don’t Believe That’s [A Surge] The Answer To Our Challenge In Iraq.” “The word surge has been carefully chosen. It has a temporary quality to it. I don't know what the president will propose in specific terms, but if it means sending 20,000, 30,000 more American troops, I don't believe that's the answer to our challenge in Iraq.” (Sen. Richard Durbin, Press Conference, 01/05/07)
SEN. CHRIS DODD (D-CT): “A ‘Surge’ Of American Troops Will Do Nothing.” “The proposal being considered by the administration to add between 15,000 and 30,000 soldiers in a ‘surge’ of American troops will do nothing to address this issue.” (Sen. Dodd, “Begin Withdrawing, Redeploying Troops Now,” The Des Moines Register, 12/24/06)
SEN. CHRIS DODD (D-CT): “Adding 20,000 More People … Is Asking For A Disaster, In My View.” “Adding 20,000 more people, 17,000 of whom would be in Baghdad, a city of six million people where 23 militias are operating today, I think, is, is asking for a disaster, in my view.” (NBC’s “Meet The Press,” 01/15/07)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA): “I Tell You What: I’m Confident It Will Not Work.” (Foreign Relations Committee, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 01/24/07)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL): “…The President’s Strategy Will Not Work.” “What was striking to me in listening to all the testimony that was provided, was the almost near unanimity that the president's strategy will not work.” (Foreign Relations Committee, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 01/24/07)
FEBRUARY, 2007: Democrats Vote Twice To Oppose The Surge
46 DEMOCRATS VOTED FOR THE LEVIN RESOLUTION, S. 470: “A Bill To Express The Sense Of Congress On Iraq” Opposing The Surge. S:470: “(b) Sense of Congress- It is the sense of Congress that-- (1) The Senate Disagrees With The ‘Plan’ To Augment Our Forces By 21,500, and urges the President instead to consider all options and alternatives for achieving the strategic goals set forth below;” (S.470, Roll Call Vote #44, Cloture Motion Rejected 49-47, R 2-45; D 46-1; I 1-1, 02/05/07)
48 DEMOCRATS VOTED FOR THE REID RESOLUTION, S. 574: “A Bill To Express The Sense Of Congress On Iraq” Opposing The Surge. S.574: “It is the sense of Congress that-- …(2) Congress Disapproves Of The Decision Of President George W. Bush Announced On January 10, 2007, To Deploy More Than 20,000 Additional United States Combat Troops To Iraq.” (S.574, Roll Call Vote #51, Cloture Motion Rejected 56-34, R 7-33; D 48-0; I 1-1, 02/17/07)
Democrats Declared The Surge A “Failure” Months Before It Was Fully Implemented
APRIL, 2007: Democrats: “The Surge Is Not Accomplishing Anything.”
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “This War Is Lost And That The Surge Is Not Accomplishing Anything.” “Now, I believe, myself, that the secretary of state, the secretary of defense -- and you have to make your own decision as to what the president knows -- that this war is lost and that the surge is not accomplishing anything…” (Sen. Harry Reid, Press Conference, 04/19/07)
MAY, 2007: Democrats: “The Surge Was Supposed To Bring Stability… It Has Not And It Will Not.”
SEN. TED KENNEDY (D-MA): “The Surge Was Supposed To Bring Stability, Essential To Political Reconciliation And Economic Reconstruction. It Has Not And It Will Not.” (Sen. Kennedy, Congressional Record, S.5367, 05/01/07)
SEN. CHRIS DODD (D-CT): “I Think The Evidence Is Clear,” The Surge Is Not Working. “It Is Not Happening, And It Will Not Happen.” “As much as I wish we were able to secure Iraq ourselves, that the surge would work, or that our military presence in Iraq would bring about the compromises necessary, I think the evidence is clear it is not happening, and it will not happen.” (Sen. Dodd, Congressional Record, S.6097, 05/15/07)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): “…This Senate Knows That The Administration's Policy In Iraq Has Failed.” (Sen. Durbin, Congressional Record, S.6162, 05/16/07)
JUNE, 2007: Democrats: “The Increase In U.S. Forces Has Had Little Impact In Curbing The Violence.”
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D-DE): “The Surge Has Not Worked And Will Not Work.” “The surge has not worked and will not work because its basic premise – to give time for a strong central government to take hold – is fatally flawed.” (Sen. Biden, Press Release, 06/01/07)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV) & REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): “As Many Had Foreseen, The Escalation Has Failed To Produce The Intended Results. The Increase In U.S. Forces Has Had Little Impact In Curbing The Violence Or Fostering Political Reconciliation.” (Sen. Harry Reid And Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Letter To President George W. Bush, 06/13/07)
Just Last Month Democrats Said The Surge “Has Not Worked”
JULY, 2007: Democrats “Know The President’s Surge Policy Has Not Worked,” “Is Not Working.”
SEN. BEN CARDIN (D-MD): “We Know The President’s Surge Policy Has Not Worked. … President Bush's strategy has put this Nation at greater risk, a risk that metastasizes each day that we sit by and wait. Wait for what? For new evidence of failure to accumulate, for news that more American soldiers have died and Iraqi civilians have been killed?” (Sen. Cardin, Congressional Record, S.9342-3, 07/17/07)
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA): “Today, A Majority Of The Senate Sees That The Surge Is Not Working, and a majority believes there has been no progress on political reconciliation. The question I hear repeated is: Do we change course now or do we wait until September? I have heard distinguished Members of this body say: Why not wait until September? I believe the answer is clear. When you know things are moving in the wrong direction, why wait to act?” (Sen. Feinstein, Congressional Record, S.9351, 07/17/07)
SEN. JIM WEBB (D-VA): “I Don't Care What The Report Says In September.” Q: “And is this amendment prospective in the sense that it would apply only to future deployments?” SEN. WEBB: “No, it applies as of now. It applies as of date of an enactment, and just to emphasize from all the other questions that have been taking place here, I don't care what the report says next week. I don't care what the report says in September. This is an amendment that needs to pass regardless of what we're doing in the future in Iraq.” (Sen. Webb, Press Conference, 07/09/07)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “The President’s Current Strategy Is Not Working And We Cannot Wait Until September To Act.” “Democrats and military experts and the American people know the president's current strategy is not working and we cannot wait until September to act.” (Sen. Reid, Press Conference, 07/09/07)
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