Politics Gregoire: North Korea Missile Launch Threat = Pull Out of Iraq
Postman has an interesting quote from Gov. Christine Gregoire regarding the threatened long-range missile test by North Korea. Check out this map of the North Pacific and you’ll see why our governor is now speaking out on U.S. foreign policy. Or check out this sentence from today’s New York Times:
U.S. officials have said the missile, believed to be a Taepodong-2, has a firing range of 9,300 miles and could reach as far as the U.S. West Coast.
Think Tim Eyman is scary, Washingtonians? Meet Kim Jong Il. Here’s what Gregoire said at the end of her regular media availability yesterday:
“I’ve wanted to respond to the very disturbing news this morning of North Korea and a three-stage rocket that literally could reach Seattle. And I wanted to do so by saying to people of the state of Washington, this reinforces me and the state that our security is going to have to be at the forefront of our thinking and our attention — that in fact out there remains considerable risk around the world. Not just to Washington state but to the entire country. And I think that also tells me very clearly, in talking to General Lowenberg, that it is very important that we, as timely as we possibly can, ensure that we are turning Iraq over to the Iraqi people and bringing our troops home so they are ready and prepared to do whatever is necessary to defend this country.“I’m disturbed by what we’re hearing. It is not the news that I think any of us should have to hear from North Korea and I want Washingtonians to understand the security risks to the nation and to us, but to understand that we’ve got to remain ever diligent and I ask every Washingtonian to be smart about their own personal security, and again any time they see something that raises a concern they get to law enforcement right away.”
I don’t know that the Washington National Guard, even with all its troops home from Iraq, has the capability to stop (or clean up after) a direct intercontinental ballistic missile strike on Seattle. But it’s interesting to hear how the governor is connecting the dots on this issue.
The reality is that the National Guard, back home, can do a lot of good - putting out forest fires, rebuilding roads damaged in floods, that sort of thing.
But in Iraq they can't do squat. Except dig us deeper and deeper into the Quagmire that even the US Embassy admits is turning into Vietnam each and every day, as evidenced by cables sent in mid May and mid June.
It's time to pull the plug, like Italy and Japan just did, and call it a day.