Sooner vs. Later

Even though the mid-term elections brought us Democratic majorities in both houses of congress, the Republican talking heads and talking points repeated the same message over and over again. “The Democrats don’t have a real strategy for Iraq.” Various beltway pundits internalized the same talking points in their pronouncements on the Sunday morning chat shows. “Although Iraq is a mess and most of the blame rests with the Bush Presidency, the Democrats must step up and present a real plan for the future of Iraq.” Clearly, there were various policy camps among the Dems. Murtha wanted immediate withdrawal of the troops. Clinton, parsing her words, wanted closure but did not advance and a specific approach. Lieberman, not really a Dem anymore, pointed fingers at his compatriots and claimed his party’s lack of support for the war would lead to chaos.

With the legislation the Senate and House are submitting to President Bush, the Dems have put together a plan. We will fund the troops, but set deadlines for extricating ourselves from Iraq. As someone not invited to the Correspondent’s Dinner and never had the special opportunity to talk with Don Imus, I may not have the inherent wisdom as the Washington pundit class. Nevertheless, I think I see a strategy for Iraq that appears coherent and supported by 98% of the Dems in the House and Senate (with some Republicans thrown in!).

Now many of the same commentators are unhappy with the Dems approach. The Dems recent strategy for Iraq is too “defeatist” and they will cave when Bush vetoes their bill. Harry Reid has been excoriated for declaring that the United States has lost militarily in Iraq. Who is kidding whom? It’s obvious to anyone watching this tragedy unfold over the past fours that our soldiers and guns will not bring peace to Iraq. All the military can do is contain and control some of the violence. First, the Dems don’t have a plan. When they do put together a plan, the plan is fraught with problems.

I believe the pundits are overlooking a key element in the debate about Iraq. The goal posts have moved but in a direction that they didn’t expect. The bill that is being presented to Bush has dramatically changed the playing field. We now are discussing timetables for withdrawal, rereading the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, and developing scenarios for the future of the Middle East once the US military is no longer fighting Iraq’s civil war.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we will leave Iraq to the Iraqis sooner vs. later. Even Dick Cheney knows this. And the Dems have played a significant role in changing the nature of the debate. There will be more hysterics and gnashing of teeth. Finger pointing will ensue.

Let’s not forget who got us into this morass. And frankly, who is unwilling or unable to get us out. This is a guy whose idea of foreign travel is to visit Nebraska. He didn’t know the differences between the Shia and Sunnis and yet he was going to transform Iraq into a Texas-style democracy. Bush undoubtedly will go down as one of our worst modern Presidents.

The Dems have changed the political dynamics about the future of the American involvement in Iraq. Their efforts may be labeled sloppy, defeatist, and ill timed. It doesn’t matter. We all know this Iraq catastrophe must end. Finally, the Dems have come together and are doing what the loyal opposition is supposed to do.