Northern Valley Beacon

Anytime people express opposition to the war on Iraq, the right wing says they are encouraging terrorism and ignoring Saddam Hussein's acts of oppression and genocide. They call this defining the opposition. Of course, their definition of the anti-war people is straight out of George Orwell's studies of how oppressive regimes get the cowardly and less-than-sentient to believe so fervently that the lies told them and the dishonesty they are asked to overlook are in their best interests. Such regimes label any criticism and opposition to a war prepared by the Lord of the Dings as unpatriotic and encouraging to terrorists and athlete's foot.

Then they like to chant that those in opposition to the war have no policy. They do have a policy. It is phrased in the question, "Do we really have to be this stupid?" Of course, the answer is a resounding, "Yes. If you want to be patriotic."

Retired Gen. Wesley Clark is among the critics of the war who has laid out the framework of a policy.

President Bush and his team are repeating the failure of Vietnam: failing to craft a realistic and effective policy and instead simply demanding that the American people show resolve. Resolve isn't enough to mend a flawed approach --
or to save the lives of our troops. If the administration won't adopt a winning strategy, then the American people will be justified in demanding that it bring our troops home.

Clark's entire statement is available at the Washington Post.

He will be hosting a round table at the TPM Cafe beginning today.