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August 21, 2005
An Honest Republican
As often as I excoriate Republicans around here, it would be unfair of me to not acknowledge when one displays some integrity and honesty.
Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) came out with the strongest Republican statement yet about the result of George W. Bush's Halliburton war. On ABC's "This Week" this morning, Hagel said what we've all realized about Iraq - but until now, no Republican has said.
"We should start figuring out how we get out of there," Hagel said on "This Week" on ABC. "But with this understanding, we cannot leave a vacuum that further destabilizes the Middle East. I think our involvement there has destabilized the Middle East. And the longer we stay there, I think the further destabilization will occur."Hagel said "stay the course" is not a policy. "By any standard, when you analyze 2 1/2 years in Iraq ... we're not winning," he said.
Hagel knows something about what a fruitless war led by people who mislead the American people looks like; he won two Purple Hearts in Vietnam (you know, that war that Bush and Cheney were too cowardly to serve in?). And he's no longer afraid to draw the connection that many of us have seen for years now.
"What I think the White House does not yet understand — and some of my colleagues — the dam has broke on this policy," Hagel said. "The longer we stay there, the more similarities (to Vietnam) are going to come together."
Now it's true that Hagel is considering a run at the Presidency in 2008 (a race that, given current skepticism about Iraq reflected in the polls, may well cost anyone associated with its prosecution), so he may be trying to position himself for that candidacy. But it's highly ironic that a Republican has finally determined that honesty about Iraq just might be the best positioning. Sadly for our nation, none of his party-mates seem to have come to that realization yet.
Comments
ANTI-AMERICAN!!! Chuck Hagel is nothing more than a traitor. Either you are with us or you're not buying into our bullshit!!..
Posted by: Corey at August 22, 2005 02:13 PM
He'll be deemed unpatriotic by his own people.
Good for him, Im glad he spoke his mind. Wheher or not it is what he belives remains to be seen.
Posted by: Cuzin Jose at August 22, 2005 05:16 PM
Is this the same guy who pushed for Freedom Fries way back in the good 'ol days when everyone wanted to invade Iraq? If not, then he is also not the first Republican to speak out against this war on national television. The dude who did the Freedom Fries thing spoke out a couple months ago -- also on "This Week," coincidentally.
Posted by: Brent at August 22, 2005 07:45 PM
That was a Representative from North Carolina whose name I don't remember at the moment. This was the first *Senator* -- I should have made the distinction.
Posted by: Curmudgeon at August 22, 2005 07:47 PM
