Why Lieberman Has It Right

Joe Lieberman gave a speech today to the VFW in Connecticut. It was both a campaign speech and a call for unity. Whether you agree with the war in Iraq or how, why or when it occurred, it is important, I think to read his words on a couple of issues.

EAST HAMPTON, Conn. — Sen. Joe Lieberman argued on Monday that anti-war rival Ned Lamont's call for a troop withdrawal timeline in Iraq is "doomed to fail" and could leave the U.S. more vulnerable to terrorism.

"The clear choice before Connecticut's voters in this campaign is Ned Lamont's plan for giving up on Iraq and my plan for getting the job done there," Lieberman said in a speech at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post.

….

"The Lamont plan for immediate withdrawal and an arbitrary deadline is doomed to fail and weaken our security," Lieberman said. "It will leave our troops more vulnerable to attack while they remain, and will leave Iraq to become a failed state and a terrorist breeding ground when were gone."

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The senator also urged both sides to find common ground on the war.

"We have to realize that reasonable people can disagree on this difficult question, and that does not make you a terrorist sympathizer, on the one hand, or a warmonger, on the other," the senator said.

Lieberman has been a staunch defender of the war, but he has criticized Bush officials for lacking an effective plan to win the peace, for not putting enough troops on the ground and for failing to win allied support before the war.

A long time ago (in blog time) I wrote about "The Last Helicopter". There is a strategy at work here. The terrorists have a plan. Make the war just costly enough that America pulls out precipitously. This will give them enormous clout for recruiting and a major propaganda victory. Much has been made about the leaked portions of the National Intelligence Estimate. What is not being said by supporters of an immediate pullout is what the consequences of such a move would be. They would be a disaster for this country, pure and simple. I have been warning that the continued - continuous - attacks on the administration not only damage Bush. They damage America.

I do not agree with everything Lieberman proposes as new directions, but I agree wholeheartedly with this:

"We have to realize that reasonable people can disagree on this difficult question, and that does not make you a terrorist sympathizer, on the one hand, or a warmonger, on the other".

What you cannot be is a supporter of a precipitous pullout without recognizing the incredible amount of damage you would do to the country in the long run.