Lieberman, Crazed Warmonger

Joe Lieberman is living in a different universe. He is demanding that everyone recognize his progress pony at a time when violence is actually up. And to the extent that he admits that Iraq is not Shangri-La, it's all the fault of those Iranian "special groups" who are just ruining everything. You can almost see Crocker and Petraeus backing away from their chairs and trying to get out of the room with the crazy guy.

Lieberman is finished as a candidate for office in Connecticut. His re-elect number is 38. He has no future in the Democratic Party and the clock is ticking on his time in the Senate. His only chance for a future political career is to hitch himself to John W. McCain's wagon and ride it into a potential Cabinet position. That, and he's a confused and small armchair warrior. So his rhetoric has to be even bolder and further to the right than even McCain's, who actually ran out of time to warmonger on Iran and had to throw it in at the end as a footnote.

Lieberman's lies and omissions disgrace our soldiers and put them at unnecessary risk. His hard-on for war in Iran, which is beloved by the Iraqi government that we're defending, undermines the security of our troops and the entire world.

...Jack Reed is extremely pointed: "Do you think the Mahdi Army would disband?" Of course the answer is no, and Petraeus was forced to stammer. Maliki's demand that JAM disband is going to lead to extreme violence if he doesn't back down. "This is less an employment problem than an existential problem for one or the other." Reed is actually very knowledgeable and not letting Petraeus get away with his spin. "Basra illustrated the ultimate conflict between Sadr, Maiki and the government... they tried to solve it militarily but they failed. That conflict, the existential conflict, still exists, and we'll be caught up on it, either on the sidelines on in the thick of things."

...Matt Yglesias flags Lieberman's lowest moment, when he claims that the Iraqi government's progress is more sustained that the American government's progress. This is completely absurd, unless there are daily mortar attacks inside the Capitol Dome that I'm not aware of.