War? What war?

The Contra Costa Times editorial that so mistakenly endorsed Pombo mentions this:

Pombo ... does not want to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq until the government there is able to operate on its own.

I see, we should "stay the course", right Pombo? But what about all the soliders getting killed? From a news article today:

Escalating violence could make October the most deadly month for US forces since the beginning of the war. And the total number of American soldiers killed in Iraq will soon surpass the toll of victims from the attacks of September 11, 2001.

But here is what is odd -- I could not find the word "Iraq" mentioned even once on any of Pombo's campaign websites. It is as if the war does not exist. Pombo has erased it from memory, just like the "Ministry of Truth" in 1984. "War? What war?"

Under Issues on his official site, there is just one scrawny "Defense" page with a link to some blather about George Washington and Ronald Reagan. Iraq is NOT mentioned at all. At his official campaign site, this is all it says (under "Issues"):

American Security: I am very protective of our constitutional rights as American citizens, but I find it outrageous to suggest that foreign terrorists deserve the same rights as the American citizens they seek to destroy.

Wow, you can see what a powerful statement that is on Iraq, foreign policy, military buildup, North Korea, Iran, and Bush's Mid-east policy!

However, we out here in the "reality-based" community realize there is still a war going on, and that the US is losing soldiers at an alarming rate. Already this month -- this month, October 2006 -- over 70 US soldiers have been killed. Get that Pombo? Over seventy!

From Boston Globe article today:

Eleven American military personnel were killed in several clashes across Iraq, military officials said yesterday [Oct. 18], bringing the total number of US troop deaths this month to at least 70 and putting October on track to be the deadliest month of the war in nearly two years.

How are the Republicans in Congress reacting? "Pessimism", since it could affect their chances for re-election. From the same news article mentioned above:

Pessimism has taken hold among the ranks of President George W. Bush's Republican party as new opinion polls show declining public approval for the majority party and the US leader amid a stream of bad news from Iraq.

Stream of bad news? How about stream of dead bodies?

But nothing on Pombo's websites. Nothing, but there is some election-year pandering to "mothers":

Congressman Richard W. Pombo (CA-11) issued the following statement honoring mothers who have lost a son or daughter in service of our country:

'Mothers who have lost children in war know best of all the sacrifice we make as a Nation to defend the freedoms we hold dear,' said Congressman Pombo.

I guess this month, over 70 more mothers "know best of all" the sacrifice -- their precious sons and daughters killed in a war that Pombo was gung-ho to support when it won him votes, but now is too chicken or too embarrassed -- or maybe too "pessimistic" -- to mention EVEN ONCE on his campaign sites.

Tags: CA-11, Richard Pombo, Iraq, Iraq War, national security, foreign policy, Jerry McNerney