Some Thoughts for Veteran's Day

First of all, let's take a moment to remember the heroes who've voluntarily (and some not-so-voluntarily) chosen to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. My grandpa fought in the Pacific Theatre during WWII, and my brother-in-law serves today in Afghanistan. Regardless of how I feel about the current war, past wars, or war in general, I cannot deny that a free country requires a ready military and volunteering to follow orders without question in defense of that country is still one of the most selfless sacrifices a citizen can make.

Now, with that in mind, here are some very thoughtful quotes from political leaders regarding the seriousness of a president committing those volunteers to war. (Hat tip to Ms. Julien's List) Try and guess which politican or pundit said the following:

1) "You can support the troops but not the president."

2) "Well, I just think it's a bad idea. What's going to happen is they're going to be over there for 10, 15, maybe 20 years."

3) "Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?"

4) "[The] President...is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation's armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy."

5) "American foreign policy is now one huge big mystery. Simply put, the administration is trying to lead the world with a feel-good foreign policy."

6) "If we are going to commit American troops, we must be certain they have a clear mission, an achievable goal and an exit strategy."

7) "I had doubts about the bombing campaign from the beginning...I didn't think we had done enough in the diplomatic area."

8) "I cannot support a failed foreign policy. History teaches us that it is often easier to make war than peace. This administration is just learning that lesson right now. The President began this mission with very vague objectives and lots of unanswered questions. A month later, these questions are still unanswered. There are no clarified rules of engagement. There is no timetable. There is no legitimate definition of victory. There is no contingency plan for mission creep. There is no clear funding program. There is no agenda to bolster our over-extended military. There is no explanation defining what vital national interests are at stake. There was no strategic plan for war when the President started this thing, and there still is no plan today"

9) "Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is."

10) "I think it's also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn."

Wow! Where's the mainstream media on these quotes? You'd think that Democrats and cable news talking heads uttering such quotes would be making huge headlines...

...except that all those quotes come from Republican leaders and FOX talking heads from back in the 1990s when President Clinton was committing troops to Bosnia. (1=Tom Delay, 2=Joe Scarborough, 3=Sean Hannity, 4=Rick Santorum, 5=Tom Delay, 6=Karen Hughes [on behalf of George W. Bush], 7=Trent Lott, 8=Tom Delay, 9 & 10=George W. Bush.)

[The original source for this tasty dish of Republican hypocrisy comes from Barbra Streisand's blog. Did you know Babs had a blog?]