Meatstick Opinion: Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA) is Hurting

Have you heard about Brian Baird yet? He's the Democratic Congressman from Vancouver, Washington who went to Iraq for a few days and is now saying we need to continue business as usual over there. He spent most of the last few days appearing on right wing talk shows spewing his crap with Hannity and Tucker Carlson. Baird originally voted against the war in 2002, so his recent change of heart is definitely not normal among fellow Democrats. Baird wrote a lengthy editorial that appears in the Seattle Times today explaining his new position. I like to believe that this is actually his Congressional Obituary because after this flip flop I would think it might be very hard for him to get re-elected. The points he makes in his editorial are horrendous, for example:

The costs have been horrific for our soldiers, their families, the Iraqi people and the economy. If we keep our troops on the ground we will lose more lives, continue to spend billions each week, and, given the history and complex interests of the region, there is no certainty that our efforts will succeed in the long run. We must be absolutely honest about these costs and risks and I am both profoundly saddened and angry that we are where we are. Knowing all this, how can someone who opposed the war now call for continuing the new directions that have been taken in Iraq? The answer is that the people, strategies and facts on the ground have changed for the better and those changes justify changing our position on what should be done.

I'm not sure if this guy has ever taken a class in persuasive writing, but if I was going to argue that we need to keep our troops in Iraq I wouldn't be mentioning the fact that countless more soldiers will die, billions of tax dollars will be spent, and after that we still might not succeed.
He then goes on to say:

Our soldiers are reclaiming ground and capturing or killing high-priority targets on a daily basis. Sheiks and tribal groups are uniting to fight against the extremists and have virtually eliminated al-Qaida from certain areas. The Iraqi military and police are making progress in their training, taking more responsibility for bringing the fight to the insurgents and realizing important victories. Businesses and factories that were once closed are being reopened and people are working again. The infrastructure is gradually being repaired and markets are returning to life.

His statement might be true for the areas around Baghdad that he saw through binoculars from his safe haven inside the Green Zone. However, he fails to mention that during the same week that he was visiting Iraq up to 400 Yazidis (Kurdish sect) were killed in a coordinated four part suicide car bombing in Northern Iraq. Since Congressman Baird left Iraq a lot more has happened. I'll give a quick rundown of events this week in Iraq during the same time that Baird has spent giving Hannity and Tucker Carlson reach arounds:

• Suicide car bomb kills 11 Iraqis in Tikrit
• 42 injured in a car bomb in Mosul (the same city that I thought I helped 'secure' 2 years ago)
• Car bomb in Baghdad kills five Iraqis
• 4 Iraqi soldiers were killed and 11 American soldiers wounded in car bomb attack in Baghdad
• 20 Iraqis killed and 50 wounded in a car bomb attack in Baiji
• In the city where 400 were killed in the suicide attacks last week, 2 were killed and 4 wounded by drive by shootings and mortar attacks
• 14 US soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash while supporting combat operations

The timing of Mr. Baird's flip-flop could not have been worse. Three other people have released statements this week that don't help Mr. Baird's cause at all. All three of these sources are much more respected on issues regarding Iraq. First, Republican John Warner called for, "orderly and carefully planned withdrawal." He said we needed to start by bringing 5,000 troops home by Christmas. John Warner is the most respected Republican in the Senate on military affairs. Then, the National Intelligence Estimate reported, "the level of overall violence, including attacks on and casualties among civilians, reamins high; Iraq's sectarian groups remain unreconciled...Iraqi political leaders remain unable to govern effectively." And finally, General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Cheifs of Staff, is expected to urge Bush to significantly reduce troop size by next year. It is believed that keeping more than 100,000 troops in Iraq through next year would "severely strain the military and compromise its ability to respond to other threats."

So, it's Congressman Baird vs. the tag team of John Warner and Peter Pace.
Sorry Baird. I hope you can find a job with former Senator Rick Santorum on Fox Noise.