The Blood of American Soldiers: “A Small Price,” Says GOP Leader

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TPM grabbed this from CNN, and C&L reposted the video. This isn’t some minor guy speaking. This is the leader of the Republicans in the House of Representatives, John Boehner, telling us how he really feels about the very soldiers his ilk are constantly instructing us to "support:"*

Here’s the transcript — Boehner is quite pointedly asked not just about the financial cost, but about "the loss in blood, the Americans who are killed every month."

BLITZER: How much longer will U.S. taxpayers have to shell out $2 billion a week or $3 billion a week as some now are suggesting the cost is going to endure? The loss in blood, the Americans who are killed every month, how much longer do you think this commitment, this military commitment is going to require?

BOEHNER: I think General Petraeus outlined it pretty clearly. We’re making success. We need to firm up those successes. We need to continue our effort here because, Wolf, long term, the investment that we’re making today will be a small price if we’re able to stop al Qaeda here, if we’re able to stabilize the Middle East, it’s not only going to be a small price for the near future, but think about the future for our kids and their kids.

I suppose maybe Boehner may claim that he wasn’t paying attention to the second part of the question, that all he heard were the dollar figures. That would be simply restating the problem. Rather precisely.

There are so many other falsehoods packed into that one brief response that it’s almost like one of those Highlights for Children puzzles where you have to find two dozen things hidden in a cartoon tree. No, we’re not "making success." No, General Petraeus didn’t really outline anything "pretty clearly;" the Pentagon itself reportedly disagrees with a great deal of the what was ultimately just a rehash of longstanding Bush administration talking points. No, the war isn’t going to "stop Al-Qaeda" (which isn’t centered in Iraq, of course, had no connection to Saddam before the war, but which now uses the war itself as a major recruiting tool). No, we’re not going to unilaterally "stabilize the Middle East," no matter what happens in Iraq. And so on. How many ways can the GOP House Minority Leader disconnect from reality in one paragraph? Find ’em all!

And the blood of American soldiers, not to mention countless Iraqi civilians, continuing to be spilled so allow this nonsense can continue? It’s "a small price."

* "Support," remember, means "allow to die and be maimed in large number for no clearly attainable objective other than preventing a massive loss of face for the war’s supporters."