C. GATSBY'S Weblog: "you will learn the truth and the truth will make you free. John 8:32

Vice President Cheney's daughter, Liz, charged Sen. Clinton of lacking "spine" on Iraq. My question to Liz is, “Where was your father’s spine during the Vietnam War?” Her father, Dick Cheney, who was a coward when America needed him during the Vietnam War, had five draft deferments.

This same draft dodger, Dick Cheney, is not so scared to commit others, American soldiers, to fight in his trumped-up Iraq war.

My second question to Liz is, “How have Bush and Cheney supported the troops?”

Bush and Cheney failed to adequately plan for the aftermath of his invasion; failed to define America's mission in Iraq; failed to provide an adequate number of troops to quell violence and looting; failed to provide body armor and armored vehicles to American soldiers; failed to recruit, train and equip Iraqis in their police and army; failed to be honest with the America public and military; and failed to develop an exit strategy.

White House failures have resulted in the deaths of more than 3,000 Americans and thousands of innocent Iraqis.

The Democrats, however, are trying to support our soldiers by making Bush define his mission in Iraq, pressing for an exit strategy that will take our soldiers out of harm's way, and finally honoring the wishes of the majority in our democracy who want Bush's open-ended commitment in Iraq ended.

BY CHRISTIAN GATSBY

The Democrats have drafted a resolution opposing the 21,500-troop escalation in Iraq and calling for greater commitment by other countries. President Bush's press secretary, Tony Snow, responded, "And the question people who support this resolution will have to ask is, how does this support the troops?"

Well, how have Bush and his staff supported the troops?

Bush failed to adequately plan for the aftermath of his invasion; failed to define America's mission in Iraq; failed to provide an adequate number of troops to quell violence and looting; failed to provide body armor and armored vehicles to American soldiers; failed to recruit, train and equip Iraqis in their police and army; failed to be honest with the America public and military; and failed to develop an exit strategy.

Bush's failures have resulted in the deaths of more than 3,000 Americans and thousands of innocent Iraqis.

The Democrats in Congress, however, are trying to support our soldiers by making Bush define his mission in Iraq, pressing for an exit strategy that will take our soldiers out of harm's way, and finally honoring the wishes of the majority in our democracy who want the resolution passed and Bush's open-ended commitment in Iraq ended.

BY Christian Gatsby

Bush has made one folly after another on Iraq. Consequently, Bush has no credibility at home or abroad.

He was WRONG about weapons of mass destruction, WRONG about Hussein’s involvement in 9/11, WRONG about Iraq’s ties to al Qaeda, WRONG about that the U.S. would be greeted as liberators, WRONG about “Mission Accomplished,“ WRONG about the insurgency and civil war, WRONG about the cost of the war, WRONG about the number of American troops, WRONG that Iraq’s oil profits would cover the cost of the war, and WRONG that the insurgency was in its last throes.

Now in his latest Iraq plan, we are supposed to believe and trust Bush, who has misled and lied to the American public so many times. This reminds one of the old America Indian adage, “Don’t trust man that speaks with forked tongue.”

BY Christian Gatsby

Since Iraq became synonymous with Bush’s terror campaign, Americans have been besieged with WMDs, words of mass deception. Bush claimed “mission accomplished,” that we are “winning,” it’s a “sectarian conflict" (not a civil war), that you’re “unpatriotic” if you don’t support his war. His latest deceptive words are troop “surge.”

Bush’s solution to his Iraqi debacle is to escalate the number of troops in Iraq. The Joint Chiefs of Staff are opposed to troop increases as well as Gen. Abizaid, the outgoing head of Central Command, who stated recently that increasing U.S. troops was not the answer for Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki did not ask for additional American troops in his new Baghdad security plan presented to Bush. His design was to decrease the U.S. profile, not boost it.

With over 3,000 Americans dead, nearly 25,000 wounded, almost $34 billion in reconstruction money, Bush has little to show in Iraq. Instead, Iraq is in a civil war between Sunnis and Shiites, with thousands dying every month. Stubborn Bush has embedded America into another quagmire.

Bush has damaged America’s credibility abroad for years to come, eroded America’s morality, and demoralized our military. Time for change in America is long overdue. Congress needs to apply pressure on Bush to stop him from continuing his open-ended and careless Iraq war and implement an exit strategy.

BY Christian Gatsby