House Conservatives Attempt To Revive Iraq Study Group To Help McCain Campaign
House Conservatives Attempt To Revive Iraq Study Group To Help McCain Campaign
In 2006, the Iraq Study Group (ISG) recommended a gradual troop withdrawal from Iraq, reporting that “sustained increases in U.S. troop levels would not solve the fundamental cause of violence in Iraq.”
Bush ignored the Group’s recommendations. Conservative lawmakers Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Chris Shays (R-CT) are now attempting to revive the ISG for the GOP’s political gain. The Hill reported recently that the duo placed “a little-noticed provision in the fiscal 2008 omnibus spending bill calling for the rebirth of the Iraq Study Group.”
The ISG was supposed to be an independent, bipartisan assessment of the situation in Iraq. This time, however, Wolf wants to infuse the ISG with a right-wing agenda, seeking to “validate” the claim that the military surge is working. His motivation? To help mobilize public opinion in favor of Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) view of the Iraq war:
Wolf said in an interview that he believed a second investigation would validate the Bush administration’s claims that the situation in Iraq has improved dramatically. He also said that he has pressed for the group to publish its findings well before the election, which could help diminish voters’ desire to see the withdrawal of U.S. forces.
That would help the likely Republican nominee, McCain, who supports maintaining a strong troop presence. “They would validate there’s been tremendous improvement,” said Wolf, predicting what the study group would conclude.
Wolf is pressing hard for the new ISG. “They ought to do it sooner and not later,” he said in December. In addition to helping McCain, Wolf appears to be reviving the ISG to aid Gen. Petraeus when he testifies Congress this spring:
The legislative language that could reconstitute the ISG became law at the end of December and gives the new group 90 days to report back, which would fall toward the end of March. That month could shape up to be a highly Iraq-focused time.
Curiously, Wolf didn’t even tell the co-author of the original ISG, Lee Hamilton, about the legislation. “There’s been no contact of me by anyone associated with the Congress that I have not initiated myself,” said Hamilton. “That’s my puzzle. Nobody’s been in touch with me.”
Wolf’s idea is futile and disingenuous. Public opinion is still strongly against the war, even as violence has decreased. Over a year later, the “fundamental causes” — in the ISG’s words — of violence in Iraq remain. But Wolf seems more concerned about bolstering his party than providing real facts about the situation in Iraq.
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I’m not so sure it’s a bad idea. I think a second study would prove that the surge is NOT working and would end up hurting McCain’s campaign.
Bring it on!
News Corpse, The Internet’s Chronicle Of Media Decay.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:05 pmahhhhh yes…the repuglicans are trying to move the goal posts for their only hope McCain
all these tactics are old and used….thank goodness progressives know all these tricks
February 20th, 2008 at 7:06 pmAll the War Profiteers will be lined up soon, parroting this kind of crap. McMaverick symbolizes their one and only hope of maintaining their corrupt cashflows.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:10 pmAny propaganda under this table? Not here, how about that table?
February 20th, 2008 at 7:10 pmNope, no propaganda to catapult to be found anywhere!
Masturbating over war for political gain.
I hear hell is nothing but toilet draining into the toilet below for miles. It is also the cafeteria,
February 20th, 2008 at 7:11 pmAnd yet the msm, russert, the bearded wonder, et al will ignore the political spinning and pretend that this is bi-partisan. How about some non-partisan study groups?
February 20th, 2008 at 7:27 pmUh, these bastards do not control Congress anymore. Good luck with that.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:30 pmwell, it will be interesting (there’s that word) to see how the
February 20th, 2008 at 7:32 pmSADR cease fire pans out when/if it expires on 2/29, huh…
Which is that violence is down since the surge began.
Comment by Tracy2
Tracy2, tell that to the families of our dead soldiers.
Wolf demonstrates the desperation of the GOP to justify that which is not justifiable by baiting the public to take more notice on a report that never addresses the illegal manner in which this ‘war’ started. We continue to debate withdrawal when we should be debating impeachment.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:38 pmWhich is that violence is down since the surge began.
Comment by Tracy2
The purpose of the surge was political reconciliation which has not happened, the purple finger, the carrier landing, mission accomplished banner, Iraq is soverign [condi to bush] are all reasons to extend a quagmire. And you keep falling for it.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:38 pmThe surge will be proven a phony anti soldier farce if Muqtada Al Sadr decides to end his voluntary cease fire.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:40 pmApparently you dont Tracy
February 20th, 2008 at 7:40 pmA second study would conclude that the surge temporarily gauzed the massive wounds, and that the bleeding has not stopped.
The public knows that Iraq remains a disasterous use of U.S. manpower and to millions of Iraqis and their children. The U.S. is in great debt with other nations — morally, strategically and monetarily.
People will not care about Republicans finding a needle in a bloody haystack. It’s irrelevant and petty.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:41 pmDickLess Tracy, try page 30 once you learn how to read.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:44 pmfrom page 30. Any other questions, troll?
Sustained increases in U.S. troop levels would not solve the fundamental cause of violence in
February 20th, 2008 at 7:45 pmIraq, which is the absence of national reconciliation. A senior American general told us that
adding U.S. troops might temporarily help limit violence in a highly localized area. However,
past experience indicates that the violence would simply rekindle as soon as U.S. forces are
moved to another area. As another American general told us, if the Iraqi government does not
make political progress, “all the troops in the world will not provide security.†Meanwhile,
America’s military capacity is stretched thin: we do not have the troops or equipment to make a
substantial, sustained increase in our troop presence. Increased deployments to Iraq would also
necessarily hamper our ability to provide adequate resources for our efforts in Afghanistan or
respond to crises around the world.
Tracy’s not going to deal in legitimate cause-effect relationships, or put any of this information in its proper context, so don’t anyone wear themselves out on the particulars. It’s a block we’ve all been around too many times before. Sheesh.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:45 pmHow come everytime T2 posts it smells like a fresh cowpie around around here? Please do not respond to this over zealous miserable turd of a troll.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:46 pmOK, OK, I stepped in it. I’ll go use the WTF-TrollshitDemoleculifier and then shower.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:47 pmLOL, good retort RUC. I noticed the other night that the troll T2 was firing off 6 or 7 post at a time and took the thread over 300. What a waste of bandwidth, not to mention my computer’s memory!
February 20th, 2008 at 7:50 pmSaint Auggie, I’ve got computer memory bleach in railcar lots for you!
February 20th, 2008 at 7:53 pmJohn McCain has a new, much bigger problem:
http://www.nytimes.com/ 2008/ 02/ 21/ us/ politics/ 21mccain.html?hp
February 20th, 2008 at 7:55 pmThe only thing that could possibly help McCain now or ever is if Obama is caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:56 pmI do find it amusing that the trolls never post a link and when they do it’s pitiful. They always say “prove it” though when the shoe is on the other foot and they like to get you to do their legwork for them……..typical of the breed huh?
February 20th, 2008 at 7:57 pmIn the third Bush term, President McCain would listen to the ISG this time. At least while it served his political purposes.
February 20th, 2008 at 8:05 pm“I’m not so sure it’s a bad idea. I think a second study would prove that the surge is NOT working and would end up hurting McCain’s campaign.
Bring it on!”
Agree100%!
Nice that Vuulfie is telling the ISG what their findings should be.
February 20th, 2008 at 8:08 pmI just read it on the website…It is on MSNBC now…
February 20th, 2008 at 8:10 pmThe old man is not only knows how to bomb…but also how to be romantic with lobbisys.
I wonder what Huckabee army of evangelicals will say about this…?
I can just hear McCain’s response to any questions about this: PHUCK YOU, you as*hole. I’ll have you drafted and sent to Iraq.
Such intergity these republicans have, NOT. LOL
February 20th, 2008 at 8:11 pmMcCain using Clinton’s words: “I never had sexual relationship with that woman…”
February 20th, 2008 at 8:11 pmFamily Values…surfacing again…!!
February 20th, 2008 at 8:13 pmOh, but using public money for Republican partisan ends is their MO!!! They’ve been doing it for years…
Cheers,
February 20th, 2008 at 8:14 pmWill McCain sue the Times as he threatened months ago if they ran this story?
February 20th, 2008 at 8:17 pmThe Keating Five was enough, but this looks pretty bad “my friend”.
Wonder why this stoy which has been rumored for a while now has made the news today? Are the right wing nuts so rabid in their hatred for McCain and this gives them validation that McCain is not their man?
The religious wackos will have even more wring their hands over.
Is this the “miracle” that Huckleberry prayed for?
Why did the NYT release this now? This may turn out to be nothing; in fact it happened 8 years ago.
February 20th, 2008 at 8:34 pmRemember McCain nearly lost his career over the Keating scandal in the 90’s.
Now the Limbughs, the Coulters,the evangelicals will say: ” We told so”.
The best political show on earth;it will be unmatched specially when you add Huckabee’s Squirrels’ eating & cooking adventures while playing his guitar.
February 20th, 2008 at 8:41 pmGood grief, with no “real” proof of anything McBush certainly has a lot of skeletons in his closet. Like Fibber McGee’s closet (from the old radio show) the scandals just keep tumbling out… and out… and again, over many years. Well the door is open and I don’t think that any thing needs to be pursued by the Dem campain. This is a plague like those internet letters of lies and slander that can’t be stopped. They assume a momentum all of their own. Kerry was subjected to this about his heroism. The Dems do nothing while McBush flails wildly to downplay or stop the damage.
Fantastic!
February 20th, 2008 at 8:42 pmdear ISG,
remember when we paraded you guys around and then embarassed you by ignoring the most important part of your report? yeah, we need to do that again.
boomshanka,
February 20th, 2008 at 8:51 pmreps. wolf and shays
21 BREAKING NEWS!!
Looks like they’re going to have to a lot more than resurrect a study group to help McTorture on this one! This affair speaks directly to not only his purported integrity but the fact that she was a lobbyist as well and how that has compromised his personal “judgmentâ€.
THIS IS HUGE AND THE NEW YORK TIMES HAS IT ON THEIR FRONT PAGE!
http://www.nytimes.com/ 2008/ 02/ 21/ us/ politics/ 21mccain.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
And I thought “being in bed with the lobbyists” was just a figure of speech.
February 20th, 2008 at 9:54 pmAnd I thought “being in bed with the lobbyists†was just a figure of speech.
Comment by flavorino — February 20, 2008 @ 9:54 pm
Harumph! Shows how much you know ; It depends on how high the figure is and what shape it is in.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:21 pmlike i said…
Al-Sadr threatens to end cease-fire in Iraq
By: John Amato @ 7:15 PM - PST
Al-Sadr’s cease-fire has been a huge key to the decline in violence in Iraq and this would be a major blow:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/ 2008/ 02/ 20/ al-sadr-threatens-to-end-cease-fire-in-iraq/
February 20th, 2008 at 10:42 pm