The Iraq War Is Now Longer Than World War II

I recently lived in a middle class neighborhood in Riyadh for six years and I traveled extensively in Saudi and a bit in the Middle East. I don’t pretend to be an expert. But I knew quite a bit about the Sunni/Shia animosity. I had a rudimentary knowledge of the centuries old unresolved conflicts in the region. I had traveled in 22 countries.

But my experience here is more than our “C” grade president. Reports indicate that before the Iraqi war George Bush was not even familiar with Sunni and Shia divisions. He had never traveled outside the states. He had an appallingly scant worldview.

And now this “compassionate conservative”, this “I’m a uniter; not a divider” president is going around the country telling audiences that Democrats are “cut and run”, and implying ludicrously that a vote for Democrats is a vote for terrorists. Shame on him and shame on those who continue to support his policy in Iraq.

Democratic Senator Joe Biden has for some time argued a rational and pragmatic plan to extricate us from this mess and focus on real threats. And Jim Webb, with his extensive military experience and worldview has proposed a plan that follows Biden’s logic. The Baker commission almost certainly will come out after the election, with recommendations to significantly change course. Perhaps rather than “cut and run”, the slogan might better be “cut our losses”.

We have had six years of Republican control of all three branches of government and the legislatures in most states. What has been their legacy? It’s time to throw the bums out. Its time for the good common sense of Americans to take over, and to return to solving the major problems facing our country – domestically and internationally.

And George Allen is as close to the Bush policy and the Bush legacy as anyone in Congress. Virginia deserves better – the problems require better.

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