-
Did Virginia Republicans Just Elect Terry McAuliffe?
May 21, 2013 | 15 comments
-
Lois Lerner Will Take the Fifth
May 21, 2013 | 3 comments
-
Impeachment Talk is a Mistake
May 21, 2013 | 1 comment
-
Open letter to Anré Dárel Washington
May 20, 2013 | 0 comments
-
Laughing to Keep From Crying
May 17, 2013 | 1 comment
The Spectacle Blog
In Saturday’s Republican debate in New Hampshire, Texas Governor Rick Perry said, as he has in the past, that he would “send troops back into Iraq” to prevent Iranian dominance in Iraq from effectively wasting the blood and treasure which America sacrificed to topple Saddam Hussein and try to guide that country toward some sort of sustainable democracy.
But when even John McCain opposes sending troops into Iraq, you know Perry has made a serious mistake. McCain said that “the moment and window of opportunity [to keep troops in Iraq] has now been closed.”
Perry is undoubtedly right that President Obama’s precipitous pulling of all U.S. troops from Iraq was an effort to “kowtow to his liberal leftist base,” but the idea that Americans would tolerate sending troops back into that sandy quagmire shows a remarkably out-of-touch politician, or someone so desperate that he’s willing to say almost anything to get attention and differentiate himself from the rest of the GOP field.
The other day when Rick Perry’s betting odds of being the Republican nominee were trading around 2 percent, I said that that was about 2 percent too high. Now that the odds are down to one percent, allow me to repeat myself: his odds are 2 percent too high.
View all comments (10) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Ross Kaminsky
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/01/09/perrys-iraq-blunder
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
Nite| 1.9.12 @ 12:14PM
You have taken his comments out of context. He was referring to a security force, which should have been left. You obviously don't like Perry, but lay off the constant trashing. Typical liberal media trying to portray yourself as conservative.
Ross Kaminsky | 1.9.12 @ 12:43PM
Your comment is untrue as for the facts. Of course he said a force should have been left. But he also said that because it wasn't, he would send troops back in. As for "constant trashing", when's the last time I wrote anything about Perry?
Pretty funny to call me "liberal media".
Dan| 1.9.12 @ 12:21PM
He was trying to pander to SC Hawks.
The guy is really, really bad once he gets beyond the Texas frontier.
Just go away Rick, take Paul with ya'.
JGwen| 1.9.12 @ 4:36PM
In Re Your Addendum 1/9/12 @ 12:43 , in my review of reporting on this issue I haven't found your second sentence referenced. Is this from a transcript of the debate and if so, what is the full selection?
What I did find is:
There are a couple versions as to what Governor Perry had in mind. Politico’ s BURNS |
1/7/12 10:03 PM EST expanded on his “Rick Perry endorsed deploying American forces to Iraq again in Saturday night’s GOP debate, saying that the United States cannot afford to “allow the Iranians to come back into Iraq and take over that country.” with “* Perry strategist Nelson Warfield emails to take issue with the original headline of this post, “Perry: Re-invade Iraq,” explaining: “Rick Perry wants to establish a strategic presence in Iraq like we have in hot spots around the world. That's not an invasion, that's common sense.” Burns allows "That’s Fair Pushback on a Title That Was Intended to Be Tongue-in-Cheek.”
Another source interprets the intent as : The big news on the liberal blogosphere is that Perry vowed to invade Iraq again, and that's stupid. "Invasion" not what Perry meant at all. He was suggesting that there is a way to renegotiate the status of forces in Iraq to allow a more orderly transition there, and to defend the oil fields from Iran. As to the comment that Iran is headed into Iraq at the "speed of light," well, the Iranians are already there. Even John McCain said so.
While I appreciate the GOP Establishment Elite don't want Governor Perry as the Republican nominee, there are plenty of us out here that don't want and will not vote for any candidate we identify as being championed and supported by the establishment elite. No more nose holding!
Joe Hyde | 1.10.12 @ 1:58AM
JGwen, thanks for taking the time to be a voice of reason. There is way too much trashing of the conservative candidates (Newt and Perry) for my conservative-reading self to handle.
If Ross Kamisky had been more thoughtful, he would have probably come to the same conclusion BY DIGGING DEEPER. Good grief. The Houston Chronicle, Statesman and DallasNews are bad enough. Now we have bloggers at the Spectator taking cheap shots!
Joe @ Rick Perry Report http://rickperryreport.com
(Where we got the Perry stance right)
bill| 1.9.12 @ 10:06PM
As Obama abandoned Iraq, Al Qaida and Iran have invaded Iraq.
Sac a main Prada | 1.10.12 @ 4:25AM
Sac a main Prada Pas Cher
Sac a main Prada Soldes
Kenneth Spell| 1.10.12 @ 9:13AM
Last time I heard a comment like this was in 1973, when one of the Rostow brothers was explaining why we should send troops back to South Vietnam in the event things went bad. (Insert Danny Thomas show spit-take here...)
bobmontgomery| 1.10.12 @ 10:48AM
Mr. Kaminsky: Have you hit the Donate button to the Ron Paul campaign? You realize, of course, that Paul is a surrogate for Obama? Why yes, retreat, fall back, non-intervention, those evil neo-cons, that imperialist America is all the rage, isn't it? You are nit-picking, Mr. Kaminsky. You grabbed two or three second sound bite because it fits the so-called conservative Establishment meme about Texas swagger and unthoughtful shoot-em-up diplomacy. Go ahead and start tut-tutting about cowboys, Mr. Kaminsky. We expect no less.
kf451| 1.10.12 @ 6:43PM
Kaminsky, you are being willfully ignorant in how you're portraying Perry's statement. Agenda much?