Borosage Plays Hardball On Iraq

Campaign for America's Future co-director Robert L. Borosage debated staunch Iraq war defender Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., on the MSNBC news talk show "Hardball with Chris Matthews."

Borosage offered a realistic assessment of the reality of the war and the truth about how the majority of the public wants their elected representatives to respond. Gingrey, more articulate than President Bush in presenting the White House talking points but equally mindless, presented an argument that amounted to the United States continuing to slam its head against a brick wall.

Matthews asked both Borosage and Gingrey about whether the Bush administration should be held to statements made at the beginning of the so-called troop surge that it would be clear by September whether the injection of additional troops into the civil war would quell the violence. Administration officials have backed away from that timeline, and Gen. David Petraeus, the chief U.S. commander in Iraq, has said that the U.S. is now looking at a years-long commitment of U.S. troops, not unlike the commitment of U.S. troops in South Korea.

Gingrey, endorsing the strategy of endless war, took the opportunity to put a twist on the old "defeatocrat" label Republicans love to brandish. "I will listen to Mr. Petraeus before listening to Mr. Betray-us, those Democratic politicians who are more interested in in making political hay out of this than solving the problem."

"This isn't political hay," Borosage said. "You can't keep American troops in the middle of an endless civil war. Petraeus is just telling us the truth. The truth is this thing is going to go on for 10 years, maybe 20 years. This is a civil war that we've got our troops enmeshed in and there is no way out."

Democrats are right, Borosage went one to say: Congress and the White House "have got to bring the troops home and this is the best thing that they can do for American security."

Gingrey said that 58,000 lives were lost in Vietnam before "the civilians list the war" by withdrawing U.S. troops. Borosage asked, "Do you want to lose another 58,000 in Iraq? You can stay there another 10 years and you will."

Gingrey wrapped up by bringing up the unpopularity of the immigration bill in his district, a reach for the Karl Rovian bumber sticker slogan for 2008: "Secure the borders and win the war in Iraq." But there was no refuting Borosage's point that as far as the American people are concerned, after more than 3,500 American deaths in Iraq since 2003, a possible "victory" 10 years from now "is not good enough."