Bush insults allies, heartens enemies

William Kristol:

John Kerry has decided to pursue a scorched-earth strategy in this campaign. He is prepared to insult allies, hearten enemies, and denigrate efforts to succeed in Iraq. His behavior is deeply irresponsible...

Glenn Reynolds:

That doesn't make it any less disgraceful to be going around uttering comments that might as well be designed to undermine America's alliances, of course. This sort of stuff is appalling

President Bush, Sept 22nd:

You cannot expect the Iraqi people to stand up and do the hard work of democracy if you're pessimistic about their ability to govern themselves. You cannot expect our troops to continue to do the hard work if they hear mixed messages from Washington, D.C.

President Bush, Dec 20, 2004:

Now, I would call the results mixed, in terms of standing up Iraqi units who are willing to fight. There have been some cases where when the heat got on, they left the battlefield. That's unacceptable. Iraq will never secure itself if they have troops that when the heat gets on, they leave the battlefield. I fully understand that.

(snip)

The bombers are having an effect. You know, these people are targeting innocent Iraqis. They're trying to shake the will of the Iraqi people and, frankly, trying to shake the will of the American people.

And car bombs that destroy young children or car bombs that indiscriminately bomb in religious sites are effective propaganda tools.

Heck of a message to send, isn't it? Suicide bombers are having an effect and intimidating people, our President says. The suicide bombers are effective, he says, giving aid and comfort to our enemies.

And the Iraqi soldiers? Cowards. They run from the middle of a battle that we thrust them into. Iraqi troops will flee the battlefield before they fight.

Disgraceful, indeed. Right, Glenn?