The real problem with any non-binding Iraq-surge resolution is that it is a political stunt -- a non-binding vote -- that purports to determine military strategy and tactics rather than a military objective. A vote on partial or complete withdrawal, or a vote setting a timetable for withdrawal, which many on both sides could agree to, would have the virtue of determining policy instead of military tactics. To subject the tactical affairs of the military to the political process is probably in no one's best interests.
Congress, whose power it is to declare and fund war, is much better off mandating an objective than a strategy. Setting aside all the Republican rhetoric about "the troops," this resolution puts Congress in an improper role and at best mildly interferes with the running of the war.
Yes. And, as Rudy Giuliani said last night on Larry King Live, the resolution absolves anyone from having to make any actual decisions, which is why we pay these guys to go to Washington, right? Speaking of Giuliani, have you voted in SDP's Presidential Straw Poll?
In a related topic, former Al Gore adviser Lawrence Haas says it's a bad idea for Democrats to align with the anti-war left:
Leading Democrats, none more so than their presidential candidates, are disavowing their previous votes or statements for the war and competing for anti-Bush purity. They are demanding that Bush end the war in Iraq before the next (presumably Democratic) president takes office in 2009. Momentum is building to block funding later this year.
But, in playing to their anti-war political base, congressional Democrats are pushing party orthodoxy on foreign policy further to the left. After a two-year campaign, any successful Democratic candidate for president may wind up with little leeway to project U.S. power abroad.
Unfortunately, the world will not likely cooperate with a hemmed-in president. Just as Soviet expansionism in the late 1970s reminded America that the Cold War was still on, so may the aftermath of Iraq remind Americans of the larger struggle at hand. Just as our withdrawal from Vietnam emboldened the Soviets, a withdrawal from Iraq may do likewise for today’s enemies.
UPDATE: The Wall Street Journal, in an editorial entitled "Awaiting the Dishonor Roll," says: "History is likely to remember the roll as well. A newly confirmed commander is about to lead 20,000 American soldiers on a dangerous and difficult mission to secure Baghdad, risking their lives for their country. And the message their elected Representatives will send them off to battle with is a vote declaring their inevitable defeat." Indeed.
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