By any reasonable measure, Sen. John Warner’s (R-Va.) call this week for a slight reduction in U.S. forces in Iraq was pretty weak tea. Warner “suggested” to the White House — he opposes any congressional mandates — that the president bring home 5,000 troops by Christmas. As withdrawal plans go, Warner’s recommendation was little more than a symbolic gesture — he’s talking about a 2% drawdown.
But that didn’t stop former Bush aide Bradley Blakeman, president and CEO of Freedom’s Watch (a far-right MoveOn.org knockoff), from blasting Warner last night on PBS. (Transcript, Video)
JUDY WOODRUFF: Does something like the announcement by Senator John Warner yesterday, the veteran Republican senator, urging the president to begin to pull troops out this fall, does that hurt your cause?
BRADLEY BLAKEMAN: Well, it hurts the cause of freedom and giving the Iraqis the opportunity to stand on their feet.
Blakeman went on to accuse war critics of using “scare tactics.” (Freedom Watch’s ads argue that we have to stay in Iraq because “they attacked us,” and insist withdrawal will lead to another 9/11.)
I’m curious; if Blakeman and other GOP attack dogs are going to blast Warner for “hurting the cause of freedom,” what are they going to do about Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, who are expected to urge the president to reduce the U.S. force in Iraq by almost half?
Let me guess; they’re enemies of freedom, too.
