Our Ambassador to Iraq apologizes for the detention of the son of the largest Shi’a political party, on his way back from Iran with weapons. The President of Iraq demands that the soldiers be punished. Our military spokesman says the troops were just doing their job.
Would it be too much to ask for our Ambassador in Iraq and our military spokespeople there to get their stories straight? And would it be unreasonable to ask the President of Iraq, on behalf of whose government we are currently sending another 20,000 people into harm’s way, to help calm things down rather than stirring them up?
Note to President Talabani Really and truly, if we’ve overstayed our welcome, please let us know. If you want complete assurance that our troops will never again molest the children of your political colleagues as they come back from Iran to Iraq bringing weapons, we can absolutely guarantee that, either by bringing them home or by sending them to Afghanistan, where it looks as if they’re desperately needed. Somehow I doubt that the President of Afghanistan will demand that they be punished for doing their job.
Note to Democrats In the debate over the “surge,” why isn’t the need for troops in Afghanistan among the best arguments against?