"The pursuit of perfection, then, is the pursuit of Sweetness and Light. He who works for Sweetness and Light united, works to make reason and the will of God prevail." - Matthew Arnold

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Biden: Petraeus ‘Dead Flat Wrong’ on Iraq

A flashback to less than a year ago from NBC’s Meet The Press, September 9, 2007:

MR. RUSSERT:  Joe Biden, welcome back.  Welcome back from Iraq.  What did you see, hear, learn?

SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D-DE):  Well, what I saw, heard, learned is a little bit what you heard from a general just a moment ago.  There was a big disconnect between the truth of the matter and the reality.  I mean, the truth of the matter is that, that the—America’s—this administration’s policy and the surge are a failure, and that the surge, which was supposed to stop sectarian violence and—long enough to give political reconciliation, there’s been no political reconciliation.  The reality is that we’re supposed to, as you said, stand up American—or stand up the Iraqis so the Americans could stand down. We’ve been hearing that for five years.  We’re nowhere near being able to do that.

The reality is that, although there has been some mild progress on the security front, there is, in fact, no, no real security in Baghdad and/or in Anbar province, where I was, dealing with the most serious problem, sectarian violence.  Sectarian violence is as strong and as solid and as serious a problem as it was before the surge started…

MR. RUSSERT:  Let me show you what you said in Iowa last week.  “If we do not change course in Iraq soon, you’re going to see, two years from now, helicopters hovering over our embassy in the Green Zone in Baghdad with people hanging” onto “the ladders just like Vietnam.  Mark my words.”

SEN. BIDEN:  Absolutely, positively, unequivocally, I believe that.  Look, let me tell you, Tim, there is no possibility—no possibility—of a central government governing Iraq in any near term…

MR. RUSSERT:  General Petraeus said in a letter to his troops that we have not had the political reconciliation we thought we would have at this time. It’s been much slower, but there is some hope.  And then he added this:  “My sense is that we have achieved tactical momentum and wrested the initiative from our enemies in a number areas of Iraq.  We are, in short, a long way from the goal line, but we do have the ball and we are driving down the field.” Is that what you expect him to say tomorrow?

SEN. BIDEN:  I expect him to say that.  And I really respect him.  And I think he’s dead flat wrong.  The fact of the matter is that there is—that this idea of these security gains we’ve made have had no impact on the underlying sectarian dynamic.  None.  None whatsoever…  And can anybody envision a central government made up of Sunni, Shia and Kurds that’s going to gain the trust and respect of 27 million Iraqis?  It’s not going to happen.

MR. RUSSERT:  This hearing tomorrow with General Petraeus is very highly charged politically.  Moveon.org, a liberal Democratic group, is taking an ad in The New York Times, and this is what it’s going to be:  “General Petraeus or General Betray Us?  Cooking the Books for the White House.” What’s your reaction to that?

SEN. BIDEN:  I don’t buy into that.  This is an honorable guy.  He’s telling the truth.  I have his letter here like you just quoted from.  He acknowledges—look, by its own measure, the surge has failed.  What was the reason for the surge?  To provide breathing room.  For what purpose?  To allow the sectarian warring factions to work out a political compromise.  He acknowledges that’s not there.  He’s telling the truth.  There’ve been some tactical gains, but they have no ultimate bearing, at this point, on the prospect of there being a political settlement in Iraq that would allow American troops to come home without leaving chaos behind…  There’s been some limited tactical success, but quite frankly, it’s irrelevant to this central problem. The central problem is a sectarian war.  If every jihadist in Iraq was killed tomorrow, we’d still have a major civil war killing thousands—wounding thousands of Americans and killing hundreds of Americans just since the surge began.

MR. RUSSERT:  Your presidential campaign is on the air with a political ad about Iraq.  Let’s watch it for a second.

(Videotape)

NARRATOR:  (From Biden political ad) In a world this dangerous, with a crisis as tough as Iraq, hard truths need to be told.  Joe Biden says this war must end now.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT:  This war must end now.  In, in ‘05, this is what Joe Biden was saying:  “We can call it quits and withdraw from Iraq.  I think that would be a gigantic mistake.  Or we can set a deadline for pulling out, which I fear will only encourage our enemies to wait us out—equally a mistake.” You’ve changed your mind.

SEN. BIDEN:  Well, I have changed my mind, but I haven’t changed my mind in any fundamental way…

You see, Mr. Biden was picked because of brilliant foreign policy expertise.

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This article was posted by Steve Gilbert on Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 at 8:23 am. You can leave a response.

16 Responses to “Biden: Petraeus ‘Dead Flat Wrong’ on Iraq”

  1. RightWinger
    August 23rd, 2008 at 12:34 pm

    The moonbats from DailyKossack are excited about the Osama Bin Laden, err I mean the Obama -n- Biden ticket. It seems they are salivating at the mouth of Biden and his big mouth putting the smackdown on whomever McLame picks for his VP in the VP debate. I for one would love to see Biden melt down and put his foot in his mouth during the debate. He can hang his hat all day about balancing Obama with his foreign experience, but he’s been nothing more than a 30 year veteran of being a political hack of partisan politics. If I was a lefty, I would be praying that McLame comes up with an equally as bad if not worse choice for VP to save the day.

    Though seeing how this contest is shaping up to see who can screw up their campaigns the most, I have very little confidence that McLame will make a decent VP pick.

  2. wardmama4
    August 23rd, 2008 at 12:44 pm

    OMG - Nobama picked the ‘08 version of McGovern!

    McAmnesty is sure to pick Liberman now -

    Turn ‘08 election into the choice between sure fast death and slow lingering death.

    What a choice.

    I want a recount!

  3. notsoyoungjim
    August 23rd, 2008 at 12:50 pm

    I’m guessing Obambi picked Biden as he was the only politician he could find more condescending than him. Here’s a dusty from 1988 with Plugs charmingly offering to compare IQ’s with a supporter who had the temerity to ask about Senator Slave State’s law school pedigree. (Syracuse, Class of 1968)

    http://tinyurl.com/3kj8az

  4. CKO1986
    August 23rd, 2008 at 2:24 pm

    I know this is off-topic, but have any of you seen Michael (I Can’t Take Him Any)Moore’s latest rant?

    http://www.nypost.com/seven/08.....125646.htm

  5. U NO HOO
    August 23rd, 2008 at 3:08 pm

    As Providence would have it, Biden Tripps up Clinton for the dying Scranton veepship. And that aint no Bullshead. Hillary tried to Court Obama but he had a Clearview of who he wanted.

  6. bill
    August 23rd, 2008 at 3:21 pm

    I guess we can say, Biden was dead flat wrong about Iraq. Some judgment — Both feet sticking out his mouth. Obviously he may have been tested for AIDS, but sure has a terminal case of BDS.

  7. SG
    August 23rd, 2008 at 5:57 pm

    Some more of Mr. Biden’s pensees on Iraq:

    Biden on Meet the Press in 2002, discussing Saddam Hussein: “He’s a long term threat and a short term threat to our national security… “We have no choice but to eliminate the threat. This is a guy who is an extreme danger to the world.”

    Biden on Meet the Press in 2002: “Saddam must be dislodged from his weapons or dislodged from power.”

    Biden in October of 2002: “We must be clear with the American people that we are committing to Iraq for the long haul; not just the day after, but the decade after.”

    Biden to the Brookings Institution in 2005:“We can call it quits and withdraw from Iraq. I think that would be a gigantic mistake. Or we can set a deadline for pulling out, which I fear will only encourage our enemies to wait us out — equally a mistake.”

    On Meet the Press, November 27, 2005: “Unless we fundamentally change the rotation dates and fundamentally change how many members of the National Guard we’re calling up, it’ll be virtually impossible to maintain 150,000 folks this year.” (The number of troops in Iraq peaked at 162,000 in August 2007, during the surge.)

    On Meet the Press, January 7, 2007, assessing the proposal of a surge of troops to Iraq: “If he surges another 20, 30, or whatever number he’s going to, into Baghdad, it’ll be a tragic mistake, in my view, but, as a practical matter, there’s no way to say, ‘Mr. President, stop.’”

    Biden on Meet the Press in 2007, on Hussein’s WMDs: “Well, the point is, it turned out they didn’t, but everyone in the world thought he had them. The weapons inspectors said he had them. He catalogued — they catalogued them. This was not some, some Cheney, you know, pipe dream. This was, in fact, catalogued.”

    Biden on Meet the Press, April 29, 2007: “The threat [Saddam Hussein] presented was that, if Saddam was left unfettered, which I said during that period, for the next five years with sanctions lifted and billions of dollars into his coffers, then I believed he had the ability to acquire a tactical nuclear weapon — not by building it, by purchasing it. I also believed he was a threat in that he was — every single solitary U.N. resolution which he agreed to abide by, which was the equivalent of a peace agreement at the United Nations, after he got out of — after we kicked him out of Kuwait, he was violating. Now, the rules of the road either mean something or they don’t. The international community says “We’re going to enforce the sanctions we placed” or not. And what was the international community doing? The international community was weakening. They were pulling away.”

    Biden, on Obama’s Iraq plan in August 2007: “I don’t want [my son] going [to Iraq],” Delaware Sen. Joe Biden said from the campaign trail Wednesday, according to a report on Radio Iowa. “But I tell you what, I don’t want my grandson or my granddaughters going back in 15 years and so how we leave makes a big difference.” Biden criticized Democratic rivals such as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama who have voted against Iraq funding bills to try to pressure President Bush to end the war. “There’s no political point worth my son’s life,” Biden said, according to Radio Iowa. “There’s no political point worth anybody’s life out there. None.”

  8. Sharps Rifle
    August 23rd, 2008 at 6:00 pm

    McCain’s choices…SERIOUS choices have just narrowed: Sarah Palin or Mitt Romney. Sure, he may still try to cajole Bobby Jindal into taking the veep slot, but even McCain’s advisors have to have enough active brain cells (okay, they probably don’t, but humor me for the sake of argument) to realize that Jindal has work to do in Louisiana yet.

    Palin brings executive experience and the advantage of being female to an otherwise conventional ticket. She seems to have done a pretty good job as governor in Alaska, is Conservative, pro-life and sharp on issues. Also, she seems to be fast on her feet in a non-scripted situation, and that is a good contrast to Obama’s “uh’s” and “ah’s,” as well as when Biden doesn’t have his copy of The Collected Speeches of Neil Kinnock.

    Romney’s already shown what he’s capable of as a campaigner…and has a store of good will left over from the primaries. His economic and business sense seems to be good; he may not be dyed in the wool pro-life, but he’s come over from the Dark Side…and he could net some electoral votes that otherwise wouldn’t be in play.

    Now all McCain has to do is make the smart choice…he can still screw this up. Let’s hope he doesn’t.

  9. A Mad Pole
    August 23rd, 2008 at 7:12 pm

    Biden is just one letter away from Bidet, sorry for a scatological comparison, could not help it.

  10. ajmalkov
    August 23rd, 2008 at 10:35 pm

    This guy is a freakin’ GIFT FROM GOD!!!!!

    He’s wrong about EVERYTHING!!!!!

    Wow. I think Obama’s Oppo research team is high on hope&change. Could they not see this coming? Hillary would have been Petraeus compared to this freak!

  11. retire05
    August 23rd, 2008 at 11:27 pm

    Obama picked Biden for one reason, and one reason only; Biden is an attack dog and he doesn’t care what he says or who he insults. This campaign just got covered in mud, and Biden is Chief Mud Slinger.

    This way, Obama can stay above the fray and show that his hands are clean of any insults. But my guess is Biden, who seems to suffer from terminal “hoof in mouth” disease, will be causing the Annointed One some sleepless night. You can’t short leash a man who has been in Washington, D.C. for the last 36 years.

    I imagine the problem that the McCain has now is due to some many gaffes by Biden they really don’t know where to start.

    McCain needs to pick someone that Biden can’t attack in the debates, like a woman, or Michael Steele. Americans don’t like it when women and minorities are attacked.

  12. platypus
    August 24th, 2008 at 1:50 am

    Rush says it best: “This is more fun than a human being should be allowed to have.”

    Other than the cost of internet access, this fun is free. So is this a great country, or what?

  13. Liberals Make Great Speedbumps
    August 24th, 2008 at 8:34 am

    “are excited about the Osama Bin Laden, err I mean the Obama -n- Biden ticket”

    Hereafter referred to as the Obama bin Biden ticket. If McCain can’t defeat these 2 loons, he is just plain sorry.

  14. Reality Bytes
    August 24th, 2008 at 11:20 am

    Huggy Bear Meets The Joker.

    Somebody get Tim Robbins on the phone.

  15. 11ten1775
    August 26th, 2008 at 9:13 am

    Just have to say that it brings a big grin to my face to hear a Democrat talking about a strictly limited federal government. (He actually
    said “federalism.”) Too much to hope that they’d think of applying that to their own country… Here’s thinking of you, T.J. - not all of us
    have forgotten.

  16. Helena
    August 26th, 2008 at 12:54 pm

    I’m so with ajmalkov. Biden is a gift from God. Not only is he stupid, he’s also nuts.


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