Sen. Levin on What REALLY "Emboldens the Enemy"

"I guess when you're a Republican in Washington and you've got a good, digestible smear going on your opponents, you stick with it even if the slime is now directed at the vast majority of the American people. Such is the case with the most recent use of false choices by the GOP in which they say that the only course of action to take in Iraq is to stick with whatever knuckleheaded scheme the White House picks next to salvage George W. Bush's legacy or you are, in fact, "emboldening the enemy."

Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) -- you know, the guy cosponsoring the Warner-Levin bill that the Republicans refuse to debate -- took to the Senate floor on Monday to knock back attempts by the GOP to stall debate on the war and to let everyone know he's tired of the low-rent language about "emboldening the enemy" when Congress tries to do exactly the job it's supposed to do.

"The administration says this bill emboldens the enemy," said Levin, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee. "Congressional debate over Iraq policy doesn't embolden the enemy. The enemy is already emboldened."



"What emboldens the enemy is the almost 4 years' presence of Western troops in the middle of a Muslim country's capital, which causes over 70 percent of the residents of that country to oppose our presence.

"What emboldens the enemy is the open-ended presence of Western troops, which serves as a magnet for extremists and gives a propaganda club to our enemies.

"What emboldens the enemy is invading Iraq without the support of the international community.

"What emboldens the enemy is lawlessness and looters ransacking public buildings and institutions in Iraq.

"What emboldens the enemy is invading Iraq without a plan for the aftermath of the invasion.

"What emboldens the enemy is increasing the number of American troops, which results in Iraqis taking less responsibility for providing security for all the citizens of Iraq.

"What emboldens the enemy is the creation of Green Zones protecting Iraqi political leaders, in which they pursue a winner-take-all political approach."




Full story at:
[link to bobgeiger.blogspot.com]