Congress Should ‘Stay the Course’

04/24/2007

Paul Munnis


Democrats are facing a tough choice in the form of a veto from Mr. Bush over the Iraqi War Spending Bill yet we encourage them to continue anyhow for at least three reasons:

First, it’s always preferable to end war than to create one or to continue one. The results save lives, eliminate further casualties, and bring about long-term domestic tranquility.

Second: this war is immoral because it is illegal and poorly managed. We are losing lives for specious reasons and the reasons for our being there and the mission that we are to accomplish is flip-flopping all over the place. The rationale for or being in Iraq and invading it has ranged from: Violation of the UN Resolution 1442, to WMD, to Biological Warfare, to Involvement in the 9/11 Attack, to Democratization of Iraq, and whatever other story that the Bushies could invent. All reasons given have proven false. The war has been mismanaged and allowed to become a sectarian civil war dividing their nation, its people, its government, and ruining the future for Iraq. What’s more, they refuse to act to bring peace to their land. Continuing to permit Americans to be killed and maimed in these circumstances is highly immoral.

Third, all Generals who have been asked have stated flatly that the war is not winnable using military force alone. A significant diplomatic offensive is needed and Mr. Bush has not launched one. The Baker Commission, Congress, and the Generals concur that a diplomatic offensive is needed. Mr. Bush and al Maliki have not put forward a peace initiative or made any attempt to reconcile the war between the warring parties. Furthermore with the withdrawal of al Sadr from the Iraqi government the rift is widening and worsening.

So for these three key reasons it is necessary to end U.S. involvement in Iraq. Whether it should be a total pull-out or a partial pullout is mere rhetoric. Once the funding is stopped the military will decide the rest. Congress will not micro-manage the withdrawal not inhibit redeployment.

Bush will veto the measure then launch a campaign to the effect that Congress does not support our troops. This is expected to backfire for a number of reasons. The first is that they did support the troops but Bush’s veto killed that support. Second, the timetable provided gives Mr. Bush ample opportunity to prove that his surge works and to appeal the funding decision should he prove correct. Third, the time element is critical since by the end of May Bush needs fresh money. Lacking it the withdrawal will then happen on a de-facto basis. There is not a lot of calendar time left for veto, new legislation, negotiation, and passage of added funding. Lacking such funding the war will wind down and the U.S. will then be forced to withdraw.

With about half of the troops deployed, the deaths of American soldiers has climbed, the situation for the Iraqi’s has worsened, the deaths of Iraqis has increased, and the al Maliki government has repudiated measures designed to stop the killing. The Iraqi Army is not loyal and the Iraqi police are infiltrated with insurgents. Six weeks into the surge the situation is much worse and it is hard to see how it can improve in coming months.

Refugees are now at four million and the situation is worsening as insurgents seek to destroy homes of Iraqi’s who do not cooperate. The Red Cross points out the misery of Iraqi citizens and the lack of adequate water, food, clothing, shelter, medicine, and sanitation for Iraqi citizens. There is nothing in the surge plan to fix any of this yet the U.S. as an occupying power is responsible for these matters under international law.

The biggest risk of all for Bush though is that when he brings false charges of non-support of our troops then he is telling the American people and their Representatives that they are wrong and that he will not represent them. That is the sort of thing that causes governments to fall. The GOP will then have reached a point wherein they cannot afford Mr. Bush on the political scene any longer and he could then be asked by his Party to resign.

In my opinion Congress should stay the course.