Patriot Games

The GOP, led by Smearer-in-Chief Dick Cheney, has once again played the 'treason card.' Only this time they're getting called out on it.

In an interview with ABC News earlier today, Mr. Cheney made the following unfortunate comment:

"I think (Rep. John Murtha's) dead wrong. I think if we were to do what Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Murtha are suggesting, all we'll do is validate the al Qaeda strategy.

"The al Qaeda strategy is to break the will of the American people. In fact, knowing they can't win in a stand-up fight, try to convince us to throw in the towel and come home and then they win because we quit."

In other words, if one does not support the misguided war-mongering policy of the Bush Administration, one is aiding and abetting the enemy. His comments cannot be taken any other way.

Cheney just following Bush's lead

One can hardly blame Mr. Cheney for feeling he was safe to make such brazen remarks, because he knows the GOP has gotten away with it every single time. In fact, Cheney's comments are in lockstep with the following remark that that other great war hero, George W. Bush, told an audience at Georgia Southern University, shortly before Election Day:

"However they put it, the Democrat approach in Iraq comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses."

The 'scare America' strategy failed miserably for the neo-cons in the last election, but they continue the mantra today.

Fighting back

What I find refreshing is the Democratic response and the fact that the media is choosing to cover it. Amazing what majority status will do in effecting news coverage.

Nancy Pelosi, responding to Cheney's comments, said

"You cannot say as the president of the United States, 'I welcome disagreement in a time of war,' and then have the vice president of the United States go out of the country and mischaracterize a position of the speaker of the House and in a manner that says that person in that position of authority is acting against the national security of our country."

I first feared that Pelosi was giving Bush too much credit. Surely she remembered his comments as well.

However, what is really going on here is that the Dems are finally shining a light on the dangerous un-American comments by the neo-cons and calling attention to how truly unpatriotic those comments are. Additionally, those comments are finally resonating.

Considering that the vast majority of Americans disapprove of the Bush war games, they will be even less pleased when they are told opposition to the Bush escalation makes them cheerleaders for al Qaeda.

When pulling out is a good thing

To add to the unreality of Dick "the insurgency is in its last throes" Cheney, are his comments regarding Great Britain.

This is what Cheney told ABC newsman Jonathan Karl, regarding British plans to reduce troops by 1600 over the next few months, to a level which could be as low as 5,000 troops come summer:

"Well, I look at it and see it is actually an affirmation that there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well.

"In fact, I talked to a friend just the other day who had driven to Baghdad down to Basra, seven hours, found the situation dramatically improved from a year or so ago, sort of validated the British view they had made progress in southern Iraq and that they can therefore reduce their force levels."

What I am still waiting for journalists to challenge Cheney on is the question of why those troops would not be redeployed to other parts of Iraq, where increased troops are allegedly so badly needed.

The fact that British troops will soon be down to an even more miniscule presence should really cause us to examine the utter lunacy of the Bush 'surge.'

Maybe we should retire the phrase 'coalition of the willing.'

How about the 'dissolution that is chilling?'

Trying to prevent the next invasion

The neo-cons will continue to run our country straight into the ground, unless we take a stand at every turn and put up some roadblocks.

In that respect, what Speaker Pelosi did was dead-on.

We have to make sure, in this case, that the media will continue to report on challenges to such horrendous comments by the Bush/Cheney cabal.

Maybe they will even have the spine to make some challenges of their own.

Before Bush attacks Iran.