By , ,
Published May 20, 2015
Bush and Kerry on Iraq.
Last night on "The David Letterman" program, Senator Kerry (search) discussed his vision for Iraq. And today at the United Nations, President Bush (search) did the same thing.
Let's start with the common ground. Both men know that if the U.S.A. cuts and runs in Iraq, disaster would befall the world, so retreat is not an option. To have Saddam Hussein (search) replaced by a new terror government would present enormous problems.
Why do you think Al Qaeda associates like al Zarqawi are operating out of Iraq right now? They want that country to become another Taliban-like state which would allow terrorists a sanctuary. That simply can't happen. The U.S.A. must prevail.
President Bush believes his administration will overcome the present chaos in Iraq and defeat the killers, using a combination of U.S. power and a growing Iraqi military. But that may not happen. It's impossible to predict the Iraqi outcome, according to the president's own intelligence
reports.
John Kerry sees it differently. He believes he can persuade other countries to help America and Britain in Iraq. But that could be wishful thinking. There is no certainty that Kerry will be able to do that.
The senator is pounding Bush for mistakes made in the campaign, but he needs to come up with more than a maybe about foreign cooperation if he wants to win the Iraq debate.
Also, it is unwise to provide any troop withdrawal timetable because anything could happen over there. Mr. Kerry is making a mistake by expecting the United Nations to help in Iraq. Kofi Annan (search) is soft on terrorism and not reliable when it comes to righting any wrongs whatsoever.
Annan's history is abysmal. On his watch as a U.N. executive, there was genocide in the Balkans and in Rwanda. Somalia degenerated into a terrorist state. North Korea violated nuclear weapons treaties. And Saddam violated 17 U.N. resolutions, as well as profiting greatly from the
corrupt U.N. oil for food program.
Even today, an honest passive in the face of Sudanese genocide and has the unmitigated gall to say the removal of Saddam was "illegal."
Kofi Annan is a terrorist enabler. And any American president who throws in with him is putting all of us in danger. John Kerry would be wise to distance himself from this weak and deceitful man.
So there you have it, a tale of two Iraqi visions. Of course, you decide which is more valid. And that's a memo.
The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day
Tomorrow morning, I will interview President Bush, and God help me. I know I'll get grief from all sides. But hey, that's part of my job description: give grief, get grief. We will run that interview in three parts next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and I hope you'll all tune in. And we appreciate the president taking the time.
On a similar subject, our billoreilly.com poll asked: Do you think John Kerry will come into the no spin zone? About 40,000 of you voted, and a whopping 82 percent say no. Just 18 percent believe he will. I, the eternal optimist, am with the 18 percent. And we shall see.
—You can watch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
https://www.foxnews.com/story/retreat-not-an-option-in-iraq