Tell President Bush: Stop the Surge and change the strategy!
Submitted by Wes Clark on January 8, 2007 - 5:40pm.
Surge | Call to Action | Iraq | Middle East
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We must stop George Bush's Iraq surge. Without changing the strategy, this is simply a continuation of "stay the course."
We cannot support the increase in troops unless George Bush disavows the NeoCon strategy and presents a new strategy. George Bush has been using the troops for the past four years trying to divide the country between those who support the war and those who do not.
President Bush is trying to divide us again with his expected call this week for a "surge" of up to 20,000 additional U.S. troops into Iraq. Will this deliver a "win?" Probably not. But this military stop-gap will certainly distract us from facing the deep-seated regional issues that must be resolved politically and diplomatically.
What President Bush's Iraq surge would do is put more American troops in harm's way, further undercut the morale of U.S. forces, and risk further alienating elements of the Iraqi populace -- all while reducing the urgency of reaching the ultimate political solution we need.
Don't let George Bush divide us. Please join me in urging President Bush to stop the "surge," and instead change the strategy -- forward an email to the White House now!
http://securingamerica.com/stopthesurge
Below are excerpts from the op-ed I wrote that was published in the Washington Post today, January 8, 2007, summarizing my thoughts about Bush's Iraq "surge" plan:
The Smart Surge: Diplomacy
...The administration views a troop surge of modest size as virtually the only remaining action in Iraq that would be a visible signal of determination. More economic assistance is likely to be touted, but absent a change in the pattern of violence, infrastructure enhancement simply isn't practical.
...What the surge would do is put more American troops in harm's way, further undercut the morale of U.S. forces and risk further alienating elements of the Iraqi populace. American casualties would probably rise, at least temporarily, as more troops appear on the streets -- as happened in the summer when a brigade from Alaska was extended and sent into Baghdad. And even if the increased troop presence initially frustrated the militias, it wouldn't be long before they found ways to work around the neighborhood searches and other obstacles, if they chose to continue the conflict.
...The truth is that the underlying problems are political, not military. Vicious ethnic cleansing is underway, as various factions fight for power and survival. In this environment, security is unlikely to come from smothering the struggle with a blanket of forces -- and increasing U.S. efforts is likely to generate additional resistance, especially from Iraq's neighbors. More effective action is needed to resolve the struggle at the political level. A new U.S. ambassador might help, but the administration needs to recognize that the NeoCon vision has failed.
...Dealing with [Syria and Iran] is an essential element of resolving the conflict in Iraq. But this requires more than border posts and threatening statements. The administration needs a new strategy for the region, before Iran gains nuclear capabilities. While the military option must remain on the table, America should take the lead with direct diplomacy to resolve the interrelated problems of Iran's push for regional hegemony and nuclear power, the struggle for control of Lebanon and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Isolating our adversaries hasn't worked.
Absent such fundamental change in Washington's approach, there is little hope that a troop surge and accompanying rhetoric will be anything other than "staying the course" more. That wastes lives and time, bolsters the terrorists and avoids facing up to the interrelated challenges posed by a region in crisis.
Tell President Bush to stop the "surge" in Iraq, and instead change the strategy -- forward an email to the White House now!
http://securingamerica.com/stopthesurge
The bottom line: more of the same is not a winning strategy for the US.
Sincerely,
Wes Clark
P.S. President Bush is expected to announce his "new strategy" for Iraq this week, so please make your voice heard soon.
just plain common sense in my opinion:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16456248/
MTP Transcript for Jan. 7, 2007
MR. RUSSERT: "Senator Graham, Robert Novak, the conservative columnist, who’s a pretty good head counter when it comes to the Republicans, he wrote this on Monday. “President Bush ... will have trouble finding support from more than 12 out of 49 Republican senators. ‘It’s Alice in Wonderland,’ Sen. Chuck Hagel, second-ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, told me in describing the proposed surge. ‘I’m absolutely opposed to sending more troops to Iraq. It is folly.’” How politically uphill is this for the president?..."
MR. RUSSERT: "I think Senator Graham has confused a lot of people. Is the opinion of military generals—John Abizaid, general, US Central Command, came before you, your committee in November, and this is what he said: “I’ve met with every divisional commander, General Casey, the core commander, General Dempsey. We all talked together. And I said, in your professional opinion, if we were to bring in more American troops now, does it add considerably to our ability to achieve success in Iraq? And they all said no. And the reason is, because we want the Iraqis to do more. It’s easy for the Iraqis to rely upon us to do this work. I believe that more American forces prevent Iraqis from doing more, from taking more responsibility for their own future.” And remember the president, repeatedly during the midterm elections, said over and over again, “I listen to the generals.” Here he is, President Bush.
(Videotape, July 7, 2006):
PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH: General Casey will make the decisions as to how, as to, as to how many troops we have there. He’ll decide how best to achieve victory and the troop levels necessary to do so. I spent a lot of time talking to him about troop levels, and I told him this, I said, “You decide, general.”
(End videotape)
MR. RUSSERT: So General Casey said, as recently as Friday, “We don’t need more American troops.” So General Abizaid and General Casey are removed. So if you give advice to the president and he doesn’t like it, rather than listen to the generals on troop levels, you remove the generals?..."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16456248/page/5/
MR. RUSSERT: "Here’s an interesting national poll, what new—what the new Congress should concentrate on. Look at these numbers, the war in Iraq 45 percent, economy/jobs 7, health care 7, immigration 6. Focus on the war by the American people. And Harry Reid, the leader of the, the Democrats in the Senate, joined with Nancy Pelosi, as was discussed in this last segment, urging the president not to go forward with a surge.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16385321/
'Hardball with Chris Matthews' for Dec. 28
Read the transcript to the Thursday show
Updated: 6:45 p.m. CT Dec 28, 2006
Guests: Barry Werth, David Gergen, John McCaslin, Karen Hanretty, John Harwood
MATTHEWS: I don‘t think it‘s left/right anymore. I think when you hear people like President Ford, as you‘ve pointed, chime in posthumously, and people like Bill Buckley—William F. Buckley and George Will, I don‘t hear a lot of traditional conservative support for the war.
HANRETTY: Chris, I totally agree that Republicans are starting...
MATTHEWS: No, traditional Republicans would never have brought us into this war. This a neoconservative war.
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: Karen, this is a neoconservative war fought by strange ideologues with their own strange objectives. This is not a party, a Republican Party that would have supported this war traditionally. Ronald Reagan would not have taken us over there. Gerry Ford would not have taken us over there. I don‘t know which Republican president would have led us into the desert, put the American Army stuck in Iraq. Only one president did that with the help of Dick Cheney and the neocons.
We‘ll be right back with Ron Regan—Ron Reagan and Karen Hanretty.
You‘re watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
do NOT as this poll suggests:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16456248/page/2/
MTP Transcript for Jan. 7, 2007
MR. RUSSERT: "I’m going to talk about the Democrats and give you a chance to respond to that. There was a national poll done asking a simple question: Did the Democrats have a clear plan for Iraq? And this is what people all across the country said. Yes was 8 percent, no was 82 percent."
If Gen. Clark was the 2008 Democratic nominee, I think that he would clearly have the best chances of winning in the general election by having a clear plan to inherit what Bush leaves behind in Iraq on 1/20/09 and also by running AGAINST partisanship and ideology!
That is what the vast majority of Americans are looking for now. Most people want to see a sound plan about how to get out of Iraq, they are tired of partisanship, and they have had enough of extreme ideology!
Gen. Clark would easily beat ANY "stay the course" ideological GOP candidate in a landslide in my opinion with the wrong way that things are going now in Iraq and all over the world!
Thank you for your critically-important leadership on this issue, sir.
I just hope the White House is still accepting my email address.. ;P
Thank You Sir!
the message and distributed it - done sigh - emailing WH since 1993 though I really like emailing journalists and radio hosts more
Our country -- and the international community -- needs you. Please tell us you will run for President in 2008. The Republicans (the PNAC'ers) have lost credibility around the world. There is rising anti-american sentiments round the world. http://tinyurl.com/y4njkh
Your credibility would help so much in the international community.
I am so worried about my -- OUR -- kids' future.
Given NATO's experience in Kosovo as you've so ably reported, and the UK's experience in Northern Ireland, it is difficult to understand how President Bush and his advisors ever expected to secure Iraq with anything less than 500,000 troops in the occupation force. You are absolutely right that adding another 20,000 troops to our current forces there will not solve the problem, but it will almost certainly increase our casualties. As another great Democrat would probably say if he were still with us today, "That's just not acceptable. It's not acceptable." So, thank you for laying out the reasoning and making it so easy for all of us to tell George Bush that we will not accept a surge in troop strength as any sort of solution at all. We just will not accept it.
"Withdrawal without a plan is no better than invasion without a plan." (Dan Juma)
I always obey orders. Done.
JB
If not the first. I remember your encouragement then and I sincerely thank you now. I am just a newbee at this and I really appreciate the Clark Community Network Family, the salt of the earth.
Yours is the only alert on this that I have responded to because, quite frankly you are the only person whose analysis on this I trust.
I know that your recommendation is based on your best judgement of what's best for our troops and for stability in the region.
Others may mean well but I do not have confidence that what they suggest for Iraq would work to resolve the crisis.
Thanks, again.
No Problem Sir I am in. There is no one I trust more then Wesley Clark on all foreign policy Ideas and There is no one else I believe that has more knowledge on Iraq and this war then our General.
Y envie el mensaje a todas las personas en mi lista de direcciones. Gracias por articular tan claramente la situacion en Iraq.
Writing to the WHouse is nothing that I do with a smile, but when duty calls, one must do what needs doing. Done.
Your Op Ed gave us plenty of rebuttals to use in those everyday conversations. Thank you for your leadership.
You have not converted a man because you have silenced him.--J. V. Marley
it was done. You've brought us this far General Clark, we're with you. Come hell or high water.
"Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants."
Gen. Omar Bradley
Thank you for continuing to stand up and speak out!
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right. - Hunter/Garcia
I respect your judgment and admire your commitment to our nation and the men and women of our armed forces.
"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism" - Thomas Jefferson
Thank you General- I very much hope your wisdom is heeded this time.
Now, how can we get this into wider circulation? Can you have a video greeting added to your petition request so we can get it up on Youtube & take advantage of viral video?
Draco Malfoy: Scared, Potter? Harry Potter: You wish.
Politicians rarely listen to people, and if they were, YouTube would not be the vessel by which they listen.
Wes has an account & various supporters have stuff up all over Youtube- I'm asking our tech folk to consider asking Wes to consider adding a video greeting to round out his petition if the goal of the peition is wide circultion, this may be an easy step to take that just hasn't been taken.
Did you notice Wes has a myspace page, facebook, blogs at Kos & TPM , etc. etc? Did you miss the Votevets ads? There's tons of political material up at YouTube regarding not just Wes of course but many other offerings that break through the MSM- Time may have copped out with selecting YOU as the Person of the Year but there is a slight truth to it
Not to mention- most of us are here because we are convinced Wes does listen
Draco Malfoy: Scared, Potter? Harry Potter: You wish.
But Bush and his won't/don't. I misunderstood you before because I was in a rush and I just skimmed over. I thought you meant to use the power of YouTube to stop Bush's decision on the surge, now I understand you were requesting that they put another Clark video up. Sorry!
Not only did I sign the pledge to the WH, but I also emailed the same to my 110th Congress-critters:
LaTourette (R-OH14)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
with links to THIS page, the link to sign and
the link to the EXCELLENT WaPo Item
( http://tinyurl.com/t6nxq )
Thank you General Clark!
Anything about this over at dKos. So I started my very first diary there. Be gentle. ;)
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/1/9/133454/7086
"Never underestimate what a determined soldier can accomplish when he's fighting for his country."
-- General Wesley Clark
Thank you, Sir, for sending this valuable message. One can only hope it will be heard and heeded.
The General gets it right.
Competence--What a concept!
I've posted this to DU and was able to have my communication chair distribute this via our local party's list-serv... This went out to the 2nd largest Dem party in Iowa.
Let's keep those signatures coming!
At The Nation (yeah, I know, not the most-loved here)
The Urge to Surge
28 Dec 2006
The Democrats must remember that their midterm victory was a clear mandate from the American people not to waffle or to dawdle but to immediately reverse Bush's war policy. When the latest polls show three out of four Americans wanting troops out of Iraq, when former Secretary of State Colin Powell says more troops won't work, when our current military commanders, from John Abizaid and George Casey to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have clearly signaled they're opposed to the surge, when Republican Senator Gordon Smith suggests the Iraq policy is "criminal," the Democrats have no choice but to be on the front line of calls for disengagement and withdrawal.
~ ~ ~ ~
The Surge to Nowhere
Traveling the Planet Neocon Road to Baghdad (Again)
By Robert Dreyfuss at TomDispatch.com
4 Jan 2007
Like some neocon Wizard of Oz, in building expectations for the 2007 version of his "Strategy for Victory" in Iraq, President Bush is promising far more than he can deliver. It is now nearly two months since he fired Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, installing Robert Gates in his place, and the White House revealed that a full-scale review of America's failed policy in Iraq was underway. Last week, having spent months -- if, in fact, the New York Times is correct that the review began late in the summer -- consulting with generals, politicians, State Department and CIA bureaucrats, and Pentagon planners, Bush emerged from yet another powwow to tell waiting reporters: "We've got more consultation to do until I talk to the country about the plan."
As John Lennon sang in Revolution: "We'd all love to see the plan."
Unfortunately for Bush, most of the American public may have already checked out. By and large, Americans have given up on the war in Iraq. The November election, largely a referendum on the war, was a repudiation of the entire effort, and the vote itself was a marker along a continuing path of rapidly declining approval ratings both for President Bush personally and for his handling of the war. It's entirely possible that when Bush does present us with "the plan" next week, few will be listening. Until he makes it clear that he has returned from Planet Neocon by announcing concrete steps to end the war in Iraq, it's unlikely that American voters will tune in. As of January 1, every American could find at least 3,000 reasons not to believe that President Bush has suddenly found a way to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
(much more at link...)
It reads:
On behalf of President Bush, thank you for your correspondence. We appreciate hearing your views and welcome your suggestions. The President is committed to continuing our economic progress, defending our freedom, and upholding our Nation's deepest values.
Due to the large volume of e-mail received, the White House
cannot respond to every message. Please visit the White House website for the most up-to-date information on Presidential initiatives, current events, and topics of interest to you.
In order to better receive comments from the public, a new system has been implemented. In the future please send your comments to
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Thank you again for taking the time to write.
This is just another bad attempt at a broken policy. "Spend And Pretend" Spend more lives and money and pretend there is a military solution. Please Wesley Clark keep speaking out against it!!!!
Don't forget your state and local party news. Especially if your party's website has a blog, message boards, newsletter, or even just someone you can talk into putting up a temporary announcement. We can reach a lot more Democrats this way. Also consider other Democratic organizations not formally affiliated with the party, like a local DFA chapter.
The KS Democratic party redid their website, so we no longer have a special section for national level issues. To tell the truth, I'm not sure many people visit anymore. But I posted it anyway, at http://www.ksdp.org/node/3021
"Never underestimate what a determined soldier can accomplish when he's fighting for his country."
many of you might know Jack Keane who shared an interview with Wes but I didn't know his neocon resume; some info
http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2007/01/10/condi_rice/print.html
Sidney Blumenthal
EXCERPT
Just as they used the Iraq Study Group as their instrument, Cheney galvanized his neoconservative allies inside and outside the administration to counter it. In order to have their own proposal they put Jack Keane, a former Army vice chief of staff and longtime neocon fellow traveler, in touch with Frederick Kagan, an analyst at the
neocon American Enterprise Institute, who urged a massive "surge" of troops into Iraq.
Keane's presence lent a patina of military credibility. Encouraged by Cheney's office, Kagan and Keane and a team of neocons at AEI whipped up a PowerPoint presentation, and one week after the ISG report release, on Dec. 11, they were ushered into Bush's presence.
Done.