Pelosi on Shinseki in 2005: President Bush Should 'Listen to His Commanders in the Field'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's on the hot seat this morning for her disparaging comments on General Stanley McChrystal. The Republcan National Campaign Committee reports, "General Pelosi Knows Better, Slams McChrystal":

After making pleas for action in Afghanistan, one would think Pelosi would be General McChrystal’s strongest ally:

“President Bush's failed Iraq policies have handed the terrorists a useful recruiting tool and limited our ability to respond to security challenges elsewhere in the region and the world.”

"Fighting the wrong war in Iraq has not ended the threat posed by al-Qaeda and its Taliban allies in Afghanistan, nor has it brought Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to justice.” (Pelosi Statement, 9/05/2006)

Now, Pelosi is backpedaling on Afghanistan amidst increasing criticism from the radical left:

"I've also made it clear it's a very difficult vote to get from the members," she added. "Their constituents don't like an escalated war in Afghanistan. They'd like to see a different approach. But let's see what the president has to say." (Glenn Thrush, “Pelosi skeptical about Afghan surge, McChrystal,” Politico, 10/05/2009)

“General Pelosi has no problem sacrificing her own credibility as the Obama administration and liberals in Congress attempt to walk back a strategy they strongly advocated just months ago,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “Nancy Pelosi continues to make party politics a higher priority than our national security. Rather than listening to a four-star general’s assessments on Afghanistan, General Pelosi somehow believes she is better suited to craft our country’s military policy.”

Also, here's Nancy Pelosi's 2005 statement on how President's Bush should defer to General Eric Shinseki:

I remind you the president – when General Shinseki said that you need 300,000 troops in order to get the job done and come home safely and soon, he was fired. So this president saying that he listens to the commanders in the field, I don’t know about that.

And here's Nancy Pelosi on Charlie Rose last night, from Ruby Slippers, "Pelosi Opines on Afghanistan and McChrystal on Charlie Rose":

See also, Weasel Zippers, "RNC Urges Gen. McCrystal to Put Pelosi "in her Place"...Dems Respond by Saying The GOP is "80% Male, 100% White"... Wait, What Was Their Response? ...." Also, Greg Sargent, "Pelosi Rips McChrystal For Publicly Airing His Views On Afghanistan."