Monday, January 15, 2007

Fox News Sunday Roundtable   [NRO Staff]

From Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace :

—On the Surge—

BRIT HUME: The question is what the Iraqis will do and whether they will hold up their end of the bargain . . . these politicians here in this country who are fretting about the infusion of troops, it seems to me, are looking at the wrong thing. The real question is how well the Iraqis will perform.

BILL KRISTOL: The key is the urgency, the speed and the full bore commitment that the U.S. government, across the board, puts on implementing this. Don't slow-walk the troops in. Front-load the surge. Get Petraeus over there. He's the commander who has to execute it. It's crazy to have Casey execute the first month of the plan and then have a transition then.

JUAN WILLIAMS: Why don't we deal with the fact that these people are having a civil war and help them to settle their civil war as best we can? But putting American troops in the way of a civil war I just think is — you know, it's like — the analogy around town is you're doubling down on a bad bet. That's what it looks like.

KRISTOL: It's not a poker game. You know, it's a serious war. And it's not doubling down on a bad bet. It's sending enough troops to win the war and to provide the time for the Iraqi army to continue moving ahead to progress. Ultimately, of course, the Iraqis will take over. But for now, this is our commitment, our national interest, and we need to win it.

To actually pass a resolution criticizing it, which has no practical policy effects — they can't change the strategy. They're not trying to. It purely weakens the U.S. as it implements the strategy. It gives comfort to those who oppose us in Iraq. It really does. I mean, that's just a practical fact.

This is a gratuitous measure to weaken the chance, to lessen the chances of this strategy working. And I really think it's deplorable.

01/15 09:53 AMShare