A reader of this site named Greg Cox just sent me the following…
If Hagel wants to see us succeed in Iraq, he'll support the commander in chief, rather than say things like, "Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse. The White House is completely disconnected from reality…" How could anyone take him seriously?
Well, let's see. If a Democrat says things aren't going great in Iraq, he's dismissed as being partisan. Now, if a Republican says it, we can't take him seriously. That certainly makes for useful political discussions. From what I can tell, the Independents in Congress all seem to be siding with the Democrats so I guess we can't listen to them, either.
Is the premise here really that once we go to war, it's the duty of every American to waive his right to criticize our elected officials? That if you feel our leaders are erring and taking things in the wrong direction, you should just shut up and "support" them? (I never quite know what "support" means in that context? Almost half of America voted to remove George W. Bush from office. Was that not a lack of "support?" If so, shouldn't we have cancelled that election?)
We're starting to see a number of people who formerly endorsed the current actions in Iraq express doubts and pessimism, and I suspect their ranks will swell in the months to come. Is the primary response going to be that those folks don't want to see us succeed over there? If so, it could be a long, divisive summer…