Give truth a try
Chuck Hagel is a conservative Republican senator from the thoroughly red state of Nebraska.
He is also apparently sick and tired of White House efforts to mislead the American people about the Bush administration's reckless and inept handling of the war in Iraq.
The latest egregious example was Vice President Dick Cheney's recent assertion that the Iraqi insurgency is in its "last throes."
The facts, of course, are that Iraq is racked by daily bombings and terrorist mayhem. More than 1,700 American military personnel have been killed, and almost 13,000 have been wounded. The cost of the war is nearing $250 billion.
"Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse," Sen. Hagel told U.S. News and World Report magazine. "The White House is completely disconnected from reality. It's like they're just making it up as they go along. The reality is that we're losing in Iraq."
Sen. Hagel isn't the only disillusioned Bush supporter. Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island have expressed concern. Two GOP House members co-sponsored a bill calling for a quick withdrawal plan. And polls show public support for Mr. Bush's handling of the war sliding toward 40 percent.
This is dangerous. Even those who think the war was a mistake should realize that a precipitous U.S. departure would be a disaster -- plunging Iraq into civil war and creating a chaotic haven for terrorists.
Yet, this could happen if political and public support for a U.S. role in Iraq collapses.
The President is said to be preparing a public relations blitz on Iraq.
But if he wants Americans to understand the urgency of staying the course, he must level with them about the mistakes of the past and the perils of the present.
It will be hard for the President to tell the truth. But he has already tried everything else.
Chuck Hagel is a conservative Republican senator from the thoroughly red state of Nebraska.
He is also apparently sick and tired of White House efforts to mislead the American people about the Bush administration's reckless and inept handling of the war in Iraq.
The latest egregious example was Vice President Dick Cheney's recent assertion that the Iraqi insurgency is in its "last throes."
The facts, of course, are that Iraq is racked by daily bombings and terrorist mayhem. More than 1,700 American military personnel have been killed, and almost 13,000 have been wounded. The cost of the war is nearing $250 billion.
"Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse," Sen. Hagel told U.S. News and World Report magazine. "The White House is completely disconnected from reality. It's like they're just making it up as they go along. The reality is that we're losing in Iraq."
Sen. Hagel isn't the only disillusioned Bush supporter. Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island have expressed concern. Two GOP House members co-sponsored a bill calling for a quick withdrawal plan. And polls show public support for Mr. Bush's handling of the war sliding toward 40 percent.
This is dangerous. Even those who think the war was a mistake should realize that a precipitous U.S. departure would be a disaster -- plunging Iraq into civil war and creating a chaotic haven for terrorists.
Yet, this could happen if political and public support for a U.S. role in Iraq collapses.
The President is said to be preparing a public relations blitz on Iraq.
But if he wants Americans to understand the urgency of staying the course, he must level with them about the mistakes of the past and the perils of the present.
It will be hard for the President to tell the truth. But he has already tried everything else.
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