Reply #4: Another good one tonight....good to see.

[madfloridian]

This one points out that what he said about the troops be redeployed was sensible and should have been said by the Republicans.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/editorial/13446711.htm

Redeploying troops sends correct message

"What a brouhaha Howard Dean’s statement made: that it is time to bring home National Guard troops that had no business being in Iraq in the first place and we cannot win in Iraq. The Republican spin machine is up in arms asking what kind of message does this send to the troops.

In what manner has this administration acted to give the troops faith that they could lead a successful, yet all the while completely undefined, mission in Iraq? I hear the administration say we will stay until we win. Would the administration define what winning means in strategic terms and its cost?

Does anyone recall George W. Bush’s statement as far back as Aug. 31, 2004, when he said he did not think America could win the war on terror
but that it could make terrorism less acceptable around the world? This was a departure from his previous optimistic statements that the United States would eventually prevail.

Perhaps we should remember the message Republicans have sent to the troops: 1) failing to properly equip our service members with the necessary body armor to keep them as safe as possible sends the wrong message; 2) cutting veterans benefits while we are at war sends the wrong message; 3) forcing wounded veterans at Walter Reed Hospital to pay for their own meals sends the wrong message.

Talking about a strategic redeployment of National Guard troops that shouldn’t even be there in the first place sends exactly the right message to the troops – that Democratic leadership will defend our security without abusing or misusing our military."