Gen. Peter Pace on Meet the Press

GOI: Gen. Peter Pace Chairman, Joing Chiefs of Staff was on Meet the Press this morning and was saying that we are on the right pace in Iraq. However, they have been saying that for the last 4 years!! If we are on such a good pace and the Iraqi's are indeed stepping up as much as they say they are then why are we still there or at the very least why aren't we scaling back our forces more then we are?

Tim Russert then went on to quote conservative William F. Buckley:

One can't doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed. ... Our mission has failed because Iraqi animosities have proved uncontainable by an invading army of 130,000 Americans. ... One of these postulates, from the beginning, was that the Iraqi people, whatever their tribal differences, would suspend internal divisions in order to get on with life in a political structure that guaranteed them religious freedom. The accompanying postulate was that the invading American army would succeed in training Iraqi soldiers and policymakers to cope with insurgents bent on violence. This last did not happen. And the administration has, now, to cope with failure.

-William F. Buckley
National Review column
February 24, 2006

GOI: The general then went on to say that:

Pace: Mr. Buckley would probably do well to take a trip over to Iraq and walk the streets and talk to Iraqi's, talk to Iraqi government, talk to Iraqi army, talk to Iraqi police. I belive that what is happening there is very, very positive with regard to the training of the army, the training of the police. The loyalty of that army and police who were, performed exceptionally well during this most, most recent crisis. Uh, this is not, uh a failure. This is a very, very difficult situation putting together a democracy inside of a country that for the last multiple decades has known nothing but nothing but tyrany. This is not going to be easy to do but it is coming along and it is coming along with good progress.

Russert: Do you really believe that it would be safe for William F. Buckley to walk the streets of Baghdad?

Pace: (smiling and laughing) I think not all the places in Baghdad, no but, but I do believe that if he had a chance to get over there propelly escorted, I would want to be escorted myself but probably escorted, uh that he would have the chance to talk to folks and see, see that, um the Iraqi people are postive about their future and that the Iraqi armed forces and the Iraqi police are loyal to the government (GOI: Of course though general with the huge caviot of the militias operating on their own and sometimes within the Iraqi forces) and are getting much, much better each day.

GOI: Soooo, if this is not a failure and if things are going as well as the general says, then why wouldn't he [Buckley] be able to walk the streets of Baghdad without out an armed forces escort after four years of "things getting better?" The Iraqi's have to walk those same streets without an escort so why don't you ask those Iraqi's if they are positive about their future and if things are going swimmingly? Things aren't going well if they are afraid to walk down to the corner store, take their kids to the local school or walk/drive to their job (if they are so lucky to have a job)??

If things are going so well I'd hate to hear/see the general's idea of "things going badly!"

Jack Kemp was on later saying that we had to get the Iraqi' economy going more. So how are we going to do that Jack? Out source American jobs to Iraq? I wonder if we've already invested more in Iraq then our own country during these past four years. I think it's safe to say that at least we've spent more money rebuilding Iraq then rebuilding New Orleans and the Mississippi gulf coast!

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