Selective memory by Marsha Blackburn

Aug 31 2010
The President's Speech
Marsha Blackburn

President Obama has announced the transition of our military from a combat operation to an “advise and assist” operation. Iraq now will determine its own future, free of a murderous dictator, with all the rights and risks inherent in any nation engaged in changing their form of government. It is now up to the Iraqi people to chart their course.

All Americans are grateful to our magnificent military. Their courage and dedication to duty make all of us proud every minute of every day. We do not forget the sacrifices of so many Tennesseans in service to our nation. We will be forever grateful and remember them with our prayers.

It was the surge strategy developed by General David Petraeus and ordered by President Bush that enabled us to reach the point that we can now relinquish combat operations to the Iraqi armed forces. It was interesting to me to hear Robert Gibbs say that the Obama Administration is not interested in looking back in Iraq, instead they want to look ahead.

I can’t help but wonder if that might be because candidate Obama was opposed to the surge. In fact, he said “I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence there. In fact, I think it will do the reverse.”

Tonight it would be nice to hear the President acknowledge the success of President Bush’s surge and thank the military leaders who he and so many liberals have called liars and traitors.
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Seems to me that the "liars" and "traitors" name-calling was about them starting the war in the first place? So, really, President Obama should've thanked George Bush for beginning a war, then trying a new strategy after a few years of no progress.