Bush and Lieberman agree on Iraq

This is quite ironic. Both have changed their tone, and they each are singing the same song.

The New York Times:

HARTFORD, Aug. 23 — When Senator Joseph I. Lieberman battled Ned Lamont in the Democratic primary earlier this month, he frequently tried to avoid speaking about the war in Iraq. And when he did discuss it, his remarks were typically limited to defending his steadfast support for the war against Mr. Lamont, who derided him as a cheerleader for Bush administration policies.

But since losing the primary, Mr. Lieberman has said that he allowed Mr. Lamont to distort his record. Now, as he builds his campaign as an independent candidate, Mr. Lieberman is speaking more forcefully and in starker detail about why he believes the United States must remain militarily engaged in Iraq.

And he is painting a dire picture of what will happen if American forces are withdrawn too quickly: civil war in Iraq, skyrocketing oil prices, an emboldened Iran and expanding Islamic terrorism.

In an interview with Don Imus on Wednesday, for instance, Mr. Lieberman said that setting a timeline for troop withdrawal — a position favored by Mr. Lamont and several other Democrats — would create a situation “infinitely worse.”

“It will be an all-out civil war,” Mr. Lieberman said. “The Iranians will rush in and control probably at least the southern part of Iraq. The terrorists will establish safe havens there from which they will attack other Arab countries and us and that’s worse than where we are now.”

The Washington Post:

Using such terms as "havoc" at Monday's news conference, Bush made no effort to suggest the situation in Iraq is improving. Instead, he argued: "If you think it's bad now, imagine what Iraq would look like if the United States leaves before this government can defend itself."

Christopher F. Gelpi, a Duke University scholar whose research on public opinion in wartime has been influential in the White House, said Bush has little choice.

"He looks foolish and not credible if he says, 'We're making progress in Iraq,' " Gelpi said. "I think he probably would like to make that argument, but because that's not credible given the facts on the ground, this is the fallback. . . . If the only thing you can say is 'Yes, it's bad, but it could be worse,' that really is a last-ditch argument."