The Feld-Blog

In January, Rep. Jeb Bradley (R-NH) visited Iraq. Upon returning, he wrote an article berating the media saying,

"the media’s predominant focus on suicide bombs and IED attacks will do precisely what the terrorists want: undermine our nation’s confidence and resolve."

So Mr. Bradley, you believe that the media is off base criticizing the state of rule-of-law in Iraq? You think their focus on the violence is unwarranted?

Well... An article in the Boston Globe yesterday disagrees. In fact, it states that Mr. Bradley's plane had to dodge a shoulder launched missile immediately upon entering Iraqi airspace. It also mentioned that

"Bradley told the New Hampshire Union Leader that shortly after takeoff from Baghdad, “the crew started taking evasive measures. They started swerving and diving the plane and sent off flares that distracted the missile.”

The C-130 was carrying Bradley, five other congressmen and four military officials.

Bradley said he kept the incident quiet because he wanted any news from his visit to focus on the troops. “The story was about them, not us,” he said."

Well the story may be about them and not about the congressmen and military officials involved in the visit, but the story certainly was not about the steady successes.

What confuses me, however, is this: How is Rep. Bradley capable of clinging to his Republican talking points while he's being shot at. I don't know about you, but if I was shot at by a shoulder-launched missile on my vacation, I think i would have included it when telling people what happened while I was gone. I suppose to some extent I am in awe. On the other hand I am appalled that Rep. Bradley's partisan loyalty extends so far as to completely ignore being shot at in what otherwise is an incredibly reasonable article. In fact, when I read the article, i was heartened to see that there are some moderate conservatives who can be pro-troops-in-Iraq, but with a reasonable understanding of the difficulty of the situation there. After reading the Boston Globe article, however, it seems much less reasonable and my once heartened opinion of such moderate conservatives has fallen back to merely hope.