Sunday, July 29, 2007

Blunt: The surge hasn't failed


At a time when many Americans seem ready to write off any chances of the surge in Iraq leading to success, don't count Seventh District Congressman Roy Blunt as one of them.
On CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer today, Blunt said, "I don't think the surge has failed. I think the surge has, frankly, just gotten to its full strength and sustainability, and we need to wait and see what happens as a result of the surge. There's been too many people willing to decide what was going to happen in the battlefield before the battlefield occurred. Certainly, one of the big disappointments in Iraq has been the inability of the Iraqis themselves to take responsibility for their own government, their own future.
"I do think the Iraqi military is coming along quicker than the Iraqi political situation, and that's not unusual. Probably what happened in our country at the revolution, the military was strong quicker than we were ready to be fully sustainable politically. And that's what's happening there."

Given an opportunity to stand up for beleaguered Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Blunt indicated he was not thrilled with Gonzales, but everything is okay because President Bush is. "Well, in recent days, there hasn't been a lot to build confidence in the attorney general. But the president has confidence in him. That's what really matters. I know him. He's a decent guy. He's someone who has taken on a heavy responsibility. And I wish him well. But, ultimately, it's up to the president to decide who the attorney general should be. And the president shouldn't be beat into that decision by all these hyperbolic charges of whatever anybody can think of."

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