Echoing GOP talking point, MSNBC's Morales claimed many would call Kucinich's Iraq plan "retreat and defeat"
On the February 13 edition of MSNBC Live, during an interview with Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) about his plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq, host Natalie Morales told Kucinich: "[M]any would say that what you're calling for is the policy of retreat and defeat." "Retreat and defeat" is a well-documented GOP talking point, often used by the Republican National Committee (RNC) to attack Democratic plans that call for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. On December 9, 2005, the RNC released an Internet ad titled "Retreat and Defeat," which attacked Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) for statements they had made about the Iraq war.
From the noon ET hour of MSNBC Live on February 13:
MORALES: Yeah. And let's go through some of your plan right now, because you do lay out the specifics. And as you said, you first say that the U.S. should end its occupation, close military bases, and withdraw, and you believe that that will then help to dampen the insurgency. But many would say that what you're calling for is the policy of retreat and defeat. How do you respond?
KUCINICH: Well, the war can't be won militarily. Everyone knows that our soldiers are trapped in an untenable situation. If we support the troops, let's use resources we have now to bring them home. And we can do that creating a parallel process of building an international peacekeeping force. We will not get help doing that until we say we're going to end the occupation and close the bases. So the 12-point plan that I've laid out is the next step. It takes us in the right direction of a Congress assuming its full authority. Because Congress is a co-equal branch of government, and Congress does have the power to end this war.
—B.A.
