Say it ain't so. Some of President Bush's key allies in the Senate think the war in Iraq is unwinnable. Three key senators -- Richard Lugar of Indiana, George Voinovich of Ohio and Pete Domenici of New Mexico -- now say they don't support the president's war strategy, and want our troop strength reduced.

I thought it was tantamount to treason to suggest a cut-and-run strategy while our troops are in harm's way. I can't wait to hear what Rush Limbaugh has to say about the lack of patriotism of Lugar, Voinovich and Domenici, not to mention other Republicans who are questioning the president during a time of war. We expect that of Democrats, but members of the president's own party?

Don't they see the big picture? The president and his advisers know about war better than anyone else. Maybe we should Swift-boat Lugar, Voinovich and Domenici.

Here's a story about the Republicans who are backing away from the war.

Posted by Jim Boren at 8:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Vice President Dick Cheney must have been playing with his shotgun that doesn't shoot straight again. He is charging that the Democrats' attempt to stop President Bush's troop surge in Iraq will "validate the al-Qaida strategy."

Talk about an Alice-In-Wonderland view of the Iraq war. The Veep has it upside down. What's validating al-Qaida is the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld strategy of mismanaging the war. They jettisoned Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld after the voter backlash in November, but they kept a tired old war policy that's not working.

So instead of figuring out how to develop a winning strategy, the Bush/Cheney machine does the same old thing, and we get the same old results. Maybe the Democrats don't have a better idea about the war, but you can't blame them for the Iraq debacle. That came from the Bush/Cheney brain trust.

Now Cheney wants to divert attention from the mess by questioning the Democrats' patriotism. It's an old strategy by the Republicans. The public will see through it.

Bush and Cheney are right about one thing. We must fight terrorists on their soil, not ours. But the Taliban is reasserting itself in Afghanistan and now Iraq is a haven for terrorists. How are Bush and Cheney going to turn this around?

Posted by Jim Boren at 8:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

The Bee's editorial page has laid out its objections to President Bush's commitment last night to increase Iraq troop levels by 21,000. Here's our editorial on what's being called a "surge" in troop strength in Iraq.

This is the first time we have called for a "phased withdrawl" in Iraq. It took a great deal of discussion before our editorial board finally concluded that the Iraq strategy is a failed one. The almost four-year campaign in Iraq has not worked, and there is no indication that adding troops -- at least the number we are adding -- will control the situation or stop the violence. The president said this is a new strategy. Sounds like just more of the same with different packaging.

The Bee's editorial positions are developed by a five-member editorial board made up by Publisher and President Ray Steele; Deputy Editorial Page Editor Russ Minick; Associate Editors Gail Marshall and Lisa Maria Boyles. As editorial page editor, I chair the editorial board.

So what do you think about the president's latest Iraq strategy?

Posted by Jim Boren at 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)

The news came quickly through a bulletin on Fresnobee.com: Saddam Hussein was executed about 7 p.m. California time on Friday. (It was Saturday morning in Iraq). Defiant as usual, Saddam refused to wear a hood as the rope was put around his neck, according to news reports.

I'm still a bit stunned that this murderous dictator is gone. After getting away with killing so many people for so long, I almost thought he'd never see justice. Here's a New York Times' story about the execution. Saddam's last words were: "Down with the traitors, the Americans, the spies and the Persians."

I say good riddance.

Posted by Jim Boren at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

On Tuesday, two local Republican congressmen -- George Radanovich of Mariposa and Devin Nunes of Visalia -- met separately with The Bee's Editorial Board as part of our recommendations process for the Nov. 7 election. Both said they back President Bush on his Iraq war policy, as well as the president's judgment about keeping Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the job.

Rumsfeld, the controversial defense secretary, is again a target of criticism. According to journalist Bob Woodward's new book, Andrew Card, who was then White House chief of staff, twice tried to get the president to fire Rumsfeld. Bush refused.

Radanovich and Nunes said the United States has no choice but to continue the current effort in Iraq, which both acknowledged would be a lengthy engagement before victory can be won. Radanovich said the United States will be in Iraq for many years, and he could see American presence in the country for 30 years or more.

On another matter, both congressmen also expressed "full confidence" in House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who is under fire by some in his own party over the way he handled the e-mail case involving Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned Friday. Foley was disgraced after it was revealed that he sent sexually explicit e-mails to former House pages.

Some have called for Hastert's resignation, but Radanovich and Nunes said the speaker acted properly in the Foley matter. Nunes also said the timing of the release of the Foley information was suspicious, and he believed the Democrats leaked the details of the Foley e-mails to help with their election efforts to win back the House.

So the Democrats knew about this, but the Republicans didn't?

Posted by Jim Boren at 9:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)