The Hollywood Liberal

NATO, US forces ‘deadliest month’
June worst for foreign troops in Afghanistan since 2001 fall of Taliban.

Barr: Another GOP Sen. wants me to quit
Barr: Another GOP Sen. wants me to quit

McCain Adviser Absurdly Claims President Bush Opposed The Surge
Appearing on MSNBC today, Nancy Pfotenhauer, senior adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), touted McCain’s national security credentials, citing his support of increasing troops in Iraq while the war was unpopular. Pfotenhauer claimed that even President Bush did not support the idea: When Senator McCain challenged the current strategy on the ground in Iraq, and was […]

Appearing on MSNBC today, Nancy Pfotenhauer, senior adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), touted McCain’s national security credentials, citing his support of increasing troops in Iraq while the war was unpopular. Pfotenhauer claimed that even President Bush did not support the idea:

When Senator McCain challenged the current strategy on the ground in Iraq, and was pushing for the surge, alongside Gen. Petraeus, this was incredibly unpopular here in Washington. It was particularly unpopular with President Bush. And he did it because that’s what he felt was right on the ground and he put the interests of the country first.

Watch it:

But the facts show that Bush clearly did support a surge of troops in Iraq. In 2006, then-Multinational Force Commander George Casey, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Iraq Study Group all argued against sending more troops to Iraq. Bush ignored this advice, however, and went as far as to replace Casey with Gen. Petraeus, who was open to a troop increase.

Furthermore, at the time, 68 percent of Americans opposed Bush’s call for a surge. Despite the military and public clearly rejecting the plan, Bush expressed little doubt about the surge and ordered 30,000 additional troops to Iraq.

Pfotenhauer’s claim that the surge was “particularly unpopular” with Bush is particularly laughable.

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McCain Stressing Trade On Latin American Trip
CARTAGENA, Colombia, July 1 — Sen. John McCain arrived here Tuesday night on his third foreign trip since clinching the Republican presidential nomination, the latest attempt to embellish his international credentials at a time when the electorate is increasingly focused on domestic issues.

Obama Proposes Expanding Faith-Based Program
ZANESVILLE, Ohio, July 1 — Sen. Barack Obama, seeking to reach out to religious voters, proposed strengthening the White House program assisting faith-based social service organization Tuesday, while insisting that those groups not discriminate against aid recipients or aid workers.

A Ray of Hope in Baghdad
Whenever I am trying to get a glimpse of what’s happening at street level in Baghdad, I call my friend Abbas. He is a driver and businessman, and a member of a large Shiite clan from a Baghdad neighborhood called Hay Salaam. A man of wide girth and robust laugh, he comes from a family in which Shiites have intermarried with Sunnis. He is shrewd and tough, with a sharp sense of humor that has survived events Americans can’t even imagine. His uncle was hanged by Saddam Hussein, and a close relative was killed by militiamen after Hussein fell. He has been receiving written death threats. When I asked if he was scared, he replied: “When I get through every day I say al-hamdulillah [thanks to God], I am OK.”