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Wednesday, March 22, 2006

War in Iraq

Tone Deaf Iraq Policy?

Leon Panetta, former Clinton Chief of Staff, discusses the President's Iraq policy.

"Additional killings are going on, additional bombs are going off, and the President's saying progress is being made."

What should the President do about the situation in Iraq?

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Leon Panetta: [The president's] gotta be willing to make the changes that are necessary. I don't think, frankly, all of the speeches he's giving now, all of the press conferences he's doing - I don't think he's getting anywhere.


And the reason he's not getting anywhere is because, (A) he's low in the polls. But secondly, he's used all of these arguments over and over again, and I think the public's getting a little tired of it. And thirdly, there's a contradiction between what is being said and what people see on television. Even today, we're reading that there are additional bodies that are being found, additional killings that are going on, additional bombs that are going off, at the same time the president's saying progress is being made.

That's a contradiction, and people understand that contradiction. And until the words start to be matched by what's actually happening in Iraq, I don't think the mood of the public is going to change very much on this war.

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What should the President do about the situation in Iraq?

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Posted March 22, 2006
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