Via BuzzFlash:
With President Bush kicking back at his ranch, the task of nipping a nascent antiwar movement in the bud fell to Vice President Cheney yesterday, and he went at it with his typical gusto.
To the extent that Cindy Sheehan and other supporters of an Iraqi pullout aim to start a national conversation about American options in Iraq, Cheney made it very clear that as far as he's concerned, that conversation only extends this far: Are you with us or are you against us?
The text of Cheney's speech at a convention of veterans in Springfield, Mo., was distributed to the White House press corps in Crawford, lest anyone overlook it.
Casting the war in Iraq as a battle in the same great tradition as the Revolutionary War -- and as a natural response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -- Cheney likened any retreat from the administration's current policies to "turn[ing] over the future of mankind to tiny groups of fanatics committing indiscriminate murder, enslaving whole populations, oppressing women, imposing an ideology of hatred on an entire region, and arming to create death and destruction on an unbelievable scale."
And the only thinkable way to honor the wounded and the dead in Iraq is to fight to the end, he said. "Every man and woman who fights and sacrifices in this war is serving a just and noble cause. This nation will always be grateful to them, and we will honor their sacrifice by completing our mission."
It was not, in a nutshell, a detailed, reasoned response to the increasingly forceful call for troop withdrawal...
Hmmm... peace with honor. Where have I heard that one before?
Even the usual Bu$h sycophants are questioning this behavior- for example, Mrs. Alan Greenspan:
Andrea Mitchell reports for NBC News: "As anti-war criticism grows, Vice President Dick Cheney addressed Purple Heart winners Thursday and strongly defended the conflict. 'We are hunting down the terrorists and training Iraqi security forces so they can take over responsibility for defending their own country,' said Cheney. 'Over time, as Iraqi forces stand up, American forces will stand down.' "
Says Mitchell: "All of this is becoming a political problem, as even some Bush supporters worry about finding an exit strategy from Iraq while the death toll mounts -- both for Iraqis and Americans."
The cheerleaders are starting to question the gameplan:
The Springfield News-Leader points out this morning that Iraq had nothing to do with Sept. 11.
"The blunder into Iraq and the rising toll there is stealing American resolve. It has blurred the focus on the global war on terror.
"Cheney's speech was a step toward reminding Americans that this is a worldwide conflict. We must extract ourselves, at the proper time, from Iraq and leave it in the hands of a democratically elected government. And we must go after al-Qaida everywhere it is and destroy it.
"When the White House truly regains that vision, Americans will rally behind it."
They aren't quite ready to discuss the possibility that the vision is a mirage.
And, of course, the republican peanut gallery wants a real warlord, not some silly police action. What's a guy gotta do for a good wargasm?
CNN reports: "Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska on Thursday said the United States is 'getting more and more bogged down' in Iraq and stood by his comments that the White House is disconnected from reality and losing the war.
That tends to make the DINOcrats want to respond with attacks of their own on their own (thanks to Atrios for the link).
Heavens, you wouldn't want somebody not owned by Carlyle to become Codpiece-in-Chief, would you? What would happen to the War on Terra?
Meanwhile Hillary and McCain notice the Alaskan permafrost has turned to mud this summer and the water's rising on the Artic shore, each trying to convince America and the Company they would provide more competent leadership than Cheneyburton's heir designate in '08.
Who ever that turns out to be will doubtless install Big Time Dick somewhere cushy where he doesn't have to go to the trouble of re$election in order to keep the cash flow running.
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