Excerpts of an interview with Rep. Thelma Drake are on the PilotOnline website. The topic of discussion is her recent trip to Iraq. Drake says that the surge is working. Questioned about Sen. John Warner’s statement on the drawdown of troops, she said “I don’t disagree.” The accompanying story is also available.
11 thoughts on “Drake: “I don’t disagree with John Warner””
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VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Rep Drake did not show up at the “out of Iraq” meeting last nite with over 200 of her Va Beach constituants. Does she represent all of Va Beach or just her friends?
I find this insulting.
She also made robo calls to many of those attending, saying “outsiders” were causing trouble.
Funny most of those “outsiders” were Va Beach residents. Many who came hadn’t planned to but did after getting the insulting call from Thelma.
Time to hold this lady accountable to the people that pay her salary.
She is bad news. Not like my representative is any better though. Just another strike against her, not like she cares. She knows who she serves and she serves them well.
Does what happens in Iraq actually matter anymore in D.C.? Aren’t both sides going to spin the Petraeus report to suit their own ends rather than read it and let it influence policy?
There is no such thing as the Petraeus report. It’s the White House Report, pre-spun by one side, Brian.
Brad I think most military people would be offended by your statement. This report isn’t some intel report where the writers are on super secret lockdown without real accountability.This report will indeed be the Generals. Whether we like the results or not it will be through his eyes and his involvement and his assessment not merely the White Houses. Do not confuse the General with the Washingtonian like the likes of Gonzales. If Petraeus’s career is any indication he does not “dance”.
Really now, J. Scott? I don’t know about you, but all the military folks in my life are pretty well aware of the politics that permeate the upper ranks of the military these days. Combine the general winnowing (pun intended) of the leadership with the reports on the WH efforts to tightly manage the presentation of the report, and I think most reasonable folks would agree that it will bear the heavy imprint of the White House.
The report will be written by the White House-not Petraeus. Petraeus is supposed to appear before Congress-do you this they will be able to ask him where all the guns the U.S. supplied to the Iraqi’s have gone? Are they now being used on American troops?
I think it’s tremendously unfortunate that the Bush administration has given us cause to doubt the credibility of our military’s leading officers by using them as window dressing for their own designs. The Surge, for instance, was not ‘the Petreus plan’ like the Bush administration is selling it now; the plan was devised after the Iraq Study Group published it’s report (when the administration scoffed at it and said diplomacy wasn’t realistically part of any solution). General Petreus relieved Gen. Abizzaid several weeks after the plan was proposed, but he was used shortly thereafter to sell it on the Hill and to the American people.
So while it’s tragic with respect to the state of the politicization of the US Military, it’s understandable that some people now would question the integrity of officers like Daivd Petreus now. Just as Gen. Powell’s credibility was abused by the Bush administration in pushing bad intelligence in a globally-televised briefing of UN member states, Gen. Petreus is finding himself with his credibility on the line while it’s the Bush administration that’s really calling the shots.
And it bothers me that for such a smart officer, he’s not aware enough to realize that he’s being set up to take the fall in case things don’t work out.
Patreus is the last man standing.
He was the one who for the last three years was supposed to train the Iraqie military. Did not happen.
He was the one who was in charge of the 190000 AK 47’s and other guns gone missing.
The others have been retired because they would not endorse bush’s plans for Iraq.
It is quite sad that our military officers have been used and abused by this failed admin.
Thelma Drake and Ken Stolle should both be sent home this November by Hampton Roads’ voters. It is time for a change. We need to shift away from those who use government as a tool to harm the People, as Stolle and Drake try so often to do.
We need a new generation of political leader to emerge from both parties. Leaders who will defend our LIBERTY first and foremost and who will also ensure that government serves the People and not try to manipulate our laws so that we all end up enslaved to Big Brother.
Thelma and Ken love the RTA, “abuser fees” and more surveillance cameras. Thelma even approved of Bush’s use of government spies against the American People. This November: THROW THE BUMS OUT!!
win one battle on one front move on to the next battle, and win the war on terror. Kill them before they kill us bottom line.