The Two Faces of Chuck Schumer

A week ago, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), self-described member of the Democratic leadership, insulted the U. S. Marines who have fought, killed and died to make Anbar Province a showcase of the road to victory and relative peace in Iraq.

According to the video, Schumer said

Let me be clear. The violence in Anbar has gone down despite the surge, not because of the surge. The inability of American soldiers to protect these tribes from al-Qaeda said to these tribes, "We have to fight al-Qaeda ourselves."

It wasn't that the surge brought peace here, it was that the warlords took peace here, created a temporary peace here and that was because there was no one else there protecting. (Emphasis in the original.)

Now, though, after a week of derision in the blogosphere, though without any significant coverage by the legacy media, Senator Schumer has brought out his magic eraser and re-written history.

According the the official statement from his office, what Senator Schumer actually said was this

And let me be clear: the violence in Anbar has gone down despite the surge, not because of the surge.

The lack of protection for these tribes from al Qaeda made it clear to these tribes, “We have to fight al Qaeda ourselves.” It wasn’t that the surge brought peace here. It was that the warlords had to create a temporary peace here on their own. And that is because there was no one else there protecting them. (Emphasis added.)

RELATED LINK: Chuck Schumer Addresses Troops in Anbar: You Failed

Chuck needs to learn to think before he speaks, as the rules are different now and The New York Times can no longer provide protection against stupidity.