Why Coleman Is Voting Nay

Just check this December 19 blog entry out:

A beautiful Baghdad morning. Bright morning sun, slight chill in the air. Standing by a palace pool, surrounded by palm trees. Talking to my daughter Sarah, back home in Minnesota, where it's just 10 pm on Monday night. The sound of mortar fire breaks the stillness of the morning air. Insurgent fire or Sadr City fire? Perhaps a gift from the Iranians to al-Sadr. I'm told the impact is close to the embassy grounds. One of the staff said it woke him up. Probably aimed at the area where workers gather to enter the Green Zone. In the far distance there is some smoke on the horizon. Car bomb I'm told by embassy staff.

Yesterday was a full day of meetings accompanied by Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL). Starting with the Iraqi National Security Advisor, Dr. Rubaie, and concluding with Deputy Prime Minister Bahram Salah. In speaking with Iraqis, the assessment we are given of the path we should take is heavily influenced by whether we are talking to Shiites, Sunnis, or Kurds.

Maliki's National Security Advisor, Dr. Rubaie, maintains that the major challenge facing Iraq is not a sectarian conflict, but rather al-Qaeda and disgruntled Baathists seeking to regain power. Both Senator Nelson and I react with incredulity to that assessment. Rubaie cautions against more troops in Baghdad.

Coleman learned one thing in Baghdad. The Maliki government is lying through its teeth. Somehow president Bush never understood this, and still doesn't. But then he still believes Vladimir Putin is a man of God.