In the course of a rambling speech yesterday at the Center for American Progress about why the United States should embrace the anti-American terrorists who run Iran, while abandoning the pro-American moderates who run Iraq, Joe "Malarkey!" Biden attempted to take a couple swings at John McCain's vision for Iraq.
Senator McCain, you'll recall, spoke last week about his vision for victory in Iraq, in which he predicted, among other things, that--provided we continue to follow the advice of General Petraeus and General Odierno--the Iraqi government will increasingly be capable of securing its own country, with only minimal help from the United States.
Senator Biden attempted to challenge this prediction, sneering: "John's crystal ball also reveals a 'government of Iraq capable of imposing its authority in every province of Iraq.' Right now, it can't even impose its authority in Baghdad."
Ha! What a wit, that Joe Biden! Alas for the senior Senator from Delaware, he might have wanted to pick up a newspaper before trotting over to CAP. As the lead story in the New York Times yesterday blared:
Iraqi troops pushed deep into Sadr City Tuesday as the Iraqi government sought to establish control over the densely populated Shia enclave in the Iraqi capital.
The long-awaited military operation, which took place without the involvement of American ground forces, was the first determined effort by the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to assert control over the sprawling Baghdad neighborhood, which has been a bastion of support for Moktada al-Sadr, the rebel cleric….
Numerous Iraqi tanks and armored personnel carriers were parked on street corners, relaxed-looking soldiers sleeping in their vehicles or looking out onto the street through steel hatches.The Iraqi flag was flying from the army vehicles in many areas of Sadr City that had been under the control of the Shia militias.
Other soldiers manned checkpoints, some chatting with children. There were no visible signs of the Mahdi Army, although many walls bore posters of Mr. Sadr, and they seemed to have been put up in the last few days.
When it comes to foreign policy, could Democrats be any more divorced from the reality-based community?
