I just finished reading the AP’s article on Joe Lieberman’s trip to Iraq. What was most striking to me was the difference in Sen. Lieberman’s perspective on Iraq and Sen. Biden’s. For that reason, I’ve decided to compare their perspectives in this article. Let’s get started with that comparison.

In his Washington Post op-ed, Joe Biden says

“There is a broad consensus on what must be done to preserve our interests. Recently, 79 Democratic and Republican senators told President Bush we need a detailed, public plan for Iraq, with specific goals and a timetable for achieving each one.”

In Andrew Miga’s AP article, Joe Lieberman is quoted as saying:

“The country is now in reach of going from Saddam Hussein to self-government and, I’d add, self-protection,” the Connecticut Democrat said in a conference call with reporters. “That would be a remarkable transformation…I saw real progress there.”

It seems to me that Biden hasn’t acknowledged that real progress, both militarily and politically, is being made. Lieberman, however, is full of praise for the progress being made on the military and political fronts. I’m certain that the American people wouldn’t be upset with not getting a specific plan like Sen. Biden is asking for but would be happy knowing that “real progress” is being made in Iraq.

In his op-ed, Sen. Biden says:

“Over the next six months, we must forge a sustainable political compromise between Iraqi factions, strengthen the Iraqi government and bolster reconstruction efforts, and accelerate the training of Iraqi forces.”

Sen. Lieberman says in the AP article that:

“there are signs life is returning to normal, including a profusion of cell phones and satellite TV dishes on rooftops. “About two-thirds of the country is in really pretty good shape,” and that “If Iraqi forces continue to gain the confidence the American military sees there now…We will be able to draw down our forces…”

It seems to me that Sen. Lieberman’s report on Iraq’s current condition is detailed, optimistic and based on facts on the ground while Sen. Biden’s comments are more of a recitation of policies based on perception than on actual facts on the ground. Basing one’s opinions on perception rather than on facts is shoddy business.

While Sen. Biden says:

“Second, we must build Iraq’s governing capacity and overhaul the reconstruction program. Iraq’s ministries are barely functional. Sewage in the streets, unsafe drinking water and a lack of electricity are all too common. With 40 percent unemployment in Iraq, insurgents do not lack for fresh recruits.”

Sen. Lieberman says that:

“U.S. military officials told him they hope that by next year, two-thirds of Iraq’s military will be able to carry the fight to insurgents with limited logistical support from U.S. forces. Lieberman said U.S. commanders had learned from their early mistakes and were successfully pursuing a “clear-hold-build” strategy against rebel forces. He cautioned, however, that “prematurely” pulling out U.S. forces would jeopardize the progress made thus far.”

Sen. Biden is painting an awfully gloomy picture, painting Iraq as a total mess and with insurgents having a bumper crop of new recruit. Sen. Lieberman’s impressions seem alot more believable because he’s relaying the U.S. commanders’ actions as successfully pursuing a “clear-hold-build” strategy against rebel forces. If Sen. Lieberman’s picture is correct, and I believe it is, then the U.S. commanders’ “clear-hold-build” strategy should be thwarting the insurgents rather than aiding them.

In other words, though the words might be grating, it’s time for us to “stay the course” and keep following the current policies and practices.

And that’s the moral of the story of a Tale of Two Joes.

UPDATE: I just finished reading some articles from CentCom’s most recent newsletter and found this information:

Greatte residents in the northern Baghdad district of Adhamiyah will soon be the recipients of more reliable electricity, due in part to the installation of two and a half miles of underground power cable. The cable will connect two new substations, helping bring power to approximately 2,500 to 3,000 local homes. Experts expect the power cable project, which began in July 2005, to be finished this month once testing is complete.

During its active phase, the project employed approximately 100 Iraqi workers per day. They performed power cable work by hand, from the digging of the trench and laying of cable to the sidewalk restoration above the cables. This method allowed for employing more Iraqi workers, says the PCO Electricity Sector manager for the project, thereby helping the local economy benefit by more dollars staying in the surrounding community. The Electricity Sector is one of four PCO sectors managing reconstruction projects throughout Iraq. The other sectors are Oil, Public Works and Water, and Facilities and Transportation.

This information refutes several of Sen. Biden’s op-ed points. Here’s Biden’s characterization of life in Baghdad “Sewage in the streets, unsafe drinking water and a lack of electricity are all too common. With 40 percent unemployment in Iraq, insurgents do not lack for fresh recruits.” Within a month, electricity in one of Baghdad’s suburbs will be running. That will have been accomplished using Iraqis to digging the cable trenches to the laying of cable to restoring the sidewalk that the power cable is buried under.

The more I’ve thought about this, the more outraged I am with Sen. Biden’s grandstanding. Either he isn’t aware of the progress being made under CentCom’s leadership or he’s willingly misrepresenting the progress to the American people. Neither image is very flattering to Sen. Biden.

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRing

1. Lieberman On Iraq: ‘Our Troops Must Stay’

   What a colossal mistake it would be for America’s bipartisan political leadership to choose this moment in history to lose its will and, in the famous phrase, to seize defeat from the jaws of the coming victory.

   Trackback by Hyscience — November 29, 2005 @ 12:41 pm

2. Joe Lieberman reports on his November Iraq tour

   Democratic Senator Lieberman’s Our Troops Must Stay: America can’t abandon 27 million Iraqis to 10,000 terrorists is definitely a must-read. Here he tells it like it is, the good and the bad:

   I have just returned from my fourth trip to Ir…

   Trackback by Seeker Blog — November 29, 2005 @ 5:41 pm

1. Joseph Lieberman is really stepping up to the plate. He’s the most honest Dem. I know of. Rush Limbaugh suggested a swap of Arlen Spector and McCain for Lieberman!

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