Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich blasted the State Department Tuesday for a series of what he described as diplomatic failures leading up to the war with Iraq and said that pattern was poised to repeat itself.
"The last seven months have involved six months of diplomatic failure and one month of military success," said Gingrich, who sits on a Pentagon advisory committee. "The first days after military victory indicate the pattern of diplomatic failure is beginning once again and threatens to undo the effects of military victory."
The concept of the American secretary of state going to Damascus to meet with a terrorist-supporting, secret-police-wielding dictator is ludicrous," said Gingrich
"I think Secretary Powell is an extraordinary figure and I think he's a very effective advocate, but I think he is currently presiding over an institution that's broken," Gingrich said.
To me, Newt Gingrich is one of the few adults in politics. He's a guy who just tells you the way things are. Most politicians and especially ones that run for President, tell you what you want to hear. Gingrich just lays it out front of you.
He was a political idol of mine in 1994 when the Republicans took control of Congress. I loved the government shutdown of 1995, unlike most everyone else. Back then, I thought we would get meaningful tax reform, and a smaller government. Ten years later, I realize that I was just young and the Republicans could offer anything since they were out of power. Their refusal to raise taxes certainly was responsible for the stock market boom in the 1990s, but their failure to make Clinton veto a tax cut, irked me no little. Of the two choices, the Republicans certainly slowed the growth of government, but they’ve done much less than I would have hoped.
Having said that, Newt Gingrich has more to say than any other politician in America, and I still enjoy listening. If he ran, he’d have my primary vote before he went down in defeat.
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