July 31, 2007
Jul 31 03:18 "Duties to Discharge...Responsibilities to Keep" Jul 31 11:30 Miracles Do Happen
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Prior Years: 2006
"Duties to Discharge...Responsibilities to Keep"
That's what British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said during his initial news conference with President Bush. They're also words that must've made Harry Reid's and Nancy Pelosi's crest fall.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told President Bush Monday he shares the U.S. view that there are "duties to discharge and responsibilities to keep" in Iraq. "Our aim, like the United States is, step-by-step, to move control to the Iraqi authorities," Brown said, joining Bush at a news conference at the president's Maryland mountaintop ranch.This isn't a good start to the week for anti-war Democrats. In fact, it's the worst possible start imaginable for anti-war Democrats. Democrats were hoping that Brown would pull British troops from Iraq. Now that that didn't happen, they're left holding a very empty bag.
Brown said that decisions about troops would only be made "on the military advice of our commanders on the ground ," echoing language often heard from Bush.
That isn't to say that Brown and Bush will have the same friendly relationship that Bush and Blair had. They clearly won't. In the end, though, Brown's promised steadfastness will provide a smooth transition into the next chapter of US-British relations.
Posted Tuesday, July 31, 2007 3:20 AM
Comment 1 by The Lady Logician at 31-Jul-07 07:27 AM
And now Hakim is seeing progress in Iraq....what are the Dems gonna do?????
LL
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 31-Jul-07 03:12 PM
LL, If the liberal's name is John Ellenbecker, he'll deny it by citing Colin Powell.
Miracles Do Happen
(H/T: Captain Ed)
This USA Today article is proof that miracles happen. When Keith Ellison starts talking about what a great job the US military is doing in Iraq, you know that divine intervention played a part in the transformation. Here's what I'm talking about:
Ellison said that local leaders in Ramadi told him of how they partnered with U.S. and Iraqi military officials to virtually rid al-Qaeda from the city. Although the lawmakers had to travel in flak vests and helmets, "we did see people walking around the streets of Ramadi, going back and forth to the market."Obviously, Keith Ellison isn't a big fan of the Bush administration. If he's now saying that we're making progress, that anti-American fervor in the mosques is dropping, that he was able to walk the peaceful streets of Ramadi, that's proof that something dramatic has happened.
There have been fewer anti-U.S. sermons as the violence has been reduced, Ellison said, and religious leaders meet regularly with U.S. military officials.
"The success in Ramadi is not just because of bombs and bullets, but because the U.S. and Iraqi military and the Iraqi police are partnering with the tribal leadership and the religious leadership," he said. "So they're not trying to just bomb people into submission. What they're doing is respecting the people, giving the people some control over their own lives."
Ellison said he was particularly impressed watching Maj. Gen. Walter Gaskin, U.S. commander in the Anbar province, greeting people with "as-salama aleikum," meaning peace be upon you.
Coming a day after the NY Times published an op-ed by Michael O'Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack stating that progress is being made, this is a big blow against the credibility of the Democrats' anti-war crowd. Isn't it time for these anti-war crowds to admit that it's worth giving Gen. Petraeus' plan enough time to work?
It's getting to be almost impossible for them to argue against giving him the time. Thank God for divine intervention.
Posted Tuesday, July 31, 2007 11:31 AM
Comment 1 by Douglas at 02-Aug-07 03:57 PM
We know we're making progress in Operation Iraqi Freedom when the Strib is striving mightily to protect Keith Ellison's left flank. The Strib article about Ellison's trip says "Keith Ellison is still the same raving, anti-war nutjob we love and voted for, he only saw a tiny smidgen of progress in Iraq, and besides, he didn't really mean what he said about seeing progress in Iraq."
I wrote about this at Dump Keith Ellison