Florida's lone Democratic senator, who recently won re-election in this purple state, has clearly stated his feelings about President Bush's latest statements favoring a "surge" in troops as a new Iraq policy:
A buildup of U.S. troops won't solve Iraq's problems unless political leaders there can get the warring Sunni and Shiite militias to lay down their arms, Florida Sen. Bill Nelson of said Wednesday from Kuwait.
Nelson, who has spent most of the last two weeks in Iraq and other Middle East locations, was reacting to statements that President Bush is considering sending more U.S. troops to Iraq.
Hey, that's my senator, and I'm proud of him. And I'm gonna tell him! What about yours? Let's talk about it below.
The only way we are going to have some effect is if we can persuade enough of our political leaders to speak up. That means we have to needle them when they weasel around about Iraq (a la Hillary and Reid), and let them know we're behind them when they do us proud.
Here's the link to the U.S. Senate. And here's the one to the U.S. House. Let's start letting them know how we feel about the "surge" so they can also speak up like Sen. Nelson.
BTW, what was Nelson doing in the Middle East?
''I was requested to go by Gen. Michael Hayden, head of the CIA,'' Nelson said. ''He felt like since we hadn't had many senators go into Saudi Arabia in the last two or three years, it would be helpful.''
What did the Administration think of his trip?
Nelson's freelance diplomacy to Syria, Saudi Arabia and other nations in the region drew criticism last week from White House spokesman Tony Snow.
''We don't think that members of Congress ought to be going there,'' Snow said after Nelson met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus.
What more do you need to know? Let's get to work on this before it's too late.