Harry Reid Tries to Reinvent His ‘War Is Lost’ Statement

(Matt Lewis/Politics Daily) – Back in April 2007, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) famously said the Iraq War “is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything, as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday.”

Now, Sharron Angle’s team is pointing out that Reid is engaged in a bit of historical revisionism.

Angle’s argument is based on what Zac Petkanas, a Reid spokesman, said this past weekend:

“Senator Reid’s comment was in agreement with General Petraeus’ assessment that the Iraq War could not be won by military force alone and that a political solution was also needed as part of a two-part strategy — which President Bush refused to pursue.”

This, of course, seems contrived. Four months earlier, when President Bush announced the surge in a Jan. 10 address to the nation, he stressed that:

“Our troops will have a well-defined mission: to help Iraqis clear and secure neighborhoods, to help them protect the local population, and to help ensure that the Iraqi forces left behind are capable of providing the security that Baghdad needs.”

Furthermore, Bush referred to the Iraqi government more than a dozen times, stressing that when daily life improves,

“Iraqis will gain confidence in their leaders, and the government will have the breathing space it needs to make progress in other critical areas.”

But the attempts at revisionist history do not end there. Reid is also attempting to argue that he and Petraeus were in agreement — while the bellicose Bush just didn’t “get it.” In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, Reid was not in agreement with Petraeus, nor was he inclined to believe anything he might say about the surge.

Just days after declaring “the war is lost,” Reid appeared on CNN’s “The Situation Room” and was informed that Petraeus would come to the Hill and say the surge is working. When asked, “Will you believe him when he says that?” Reid responded, “No, I don’t believe him, because it’s not happening. All you have to do is look at the facts.”

Reid also voted against condemning MoveOn.org’s attacks on Petraeus, which called him “General Betray Us.”