Vote Vet's Paul Eaton, former general, is a wonderful speaker . . . for the War Hawks. Appearing opposite the pugnacious Fred Kagan on CBS' Face the Nation today -- Kagan who made one outlandish claim after another regarding the success of the escalation -- the best Eaton could offer? Kagan may be right. He hasn't been to Iraq in sometime and apparently not following the news.
We're not keen on Vote Vets to begin with. Wesley Clark thinks it's okay to bomb TV stations. Bob Kerry desperately wants everyone to forget his admitted War Crimes. Paul Hackett had his mini-vigilante episode where he chased down and aimed a gun at some kids who'd damaged his fence.
So Vote Vets has enough problems on their own before Eaton ever opened his mouth on Face the Nation today. But we have to wonder about the mindset of someone invited on a chat & chew who has done no prep. We also have to wonder how anyone could no so little about the realities of Iraq which have even been reported in the mainstream.
Kagan offered the 'good news' that possibly US troops could begin a drawdown (not a withdrawal) in the fall of 2008. Eaton stared ahead.
If he has trouble retaining information over long periods of time, he could have simply pointed to Kirk Semple's article "Gunmane in Iraqi Army Uniforms Kill 15 in Eastern Village" in this morning's New York Times (A10) which notes:
In recent weeks, the Green Zone has suffered near-daily barrages of mortars and rockets, some from pre-dominatly Shiite neighborhoods to the east. The attacks have threatened the zone's status as the safest place in Iraq. Many officials working in the enclave have begun wearing body armor outside their offices.
In fairness, the hour was early. Maybe Eaton wasn't fully awake due to not having had the time yet to do his Yoga Booty Ballet workout?
