Between Iraq and a Hard Place

The Legislature has passed a war appropriation bill that includes a mandated withdraw date for our troops in Iraq, and prohibits sending troops into combat without full training and complete supplies. The President has vowed to veto it because it would “limit the commanders on the ground.”

The Democrats know they don’t have enough votes to override the veto, so the big question becomes: What should they do?

This is a rotten question, and I fear that (just like the war itself) there are no good answers.

Perhaps the best answer I have heard came from conservative commentator Andrew Sullivan on “Countdown” last night. He suggested that the Democrats should give the President what he wants, and let him and the Republicans have full ownership of this disastrous war.

This is a rotten thing to say, but I can see the wisdom of that suggestion.

The Democrats do not have the power to end the war right now. They have put all the pressure on Bush that they can. What more can they accomplish?

If they hold up funding for this atrocity, they will be holding our troops in the field hostage. I don’t think they will be able to force Bush to sign, nor override his will on this. The bottom line is that our troops are going to be there no matter what. If the Democrats hold up funding they will only ensure that more of the troops get killed with inadequate body-armor and training.

I hate to say it, but not only would that be morally wrong, it would be politically disastrous.

I feel that the Democrats would be better served picking battles they can win, such as: Getting an inspector general to look into how war funds have been used, pushing hard to investigate and expose abuses of the Patriot Act by federal investigators and using their government oversight powers to expose criminal (and borderline criminal) activities of the executive.

We need to restrain Bush everywhere we can, but we can’t fail when we try, and we can’t let troops die in a way we can be blamed. We are on record being against the war and in favor of withdrawal. If Bush continues the war, those deaths are on his head as long as we make sure they have every piece of training and equipment they need.

I know it is lousy, but I can’t see a better plan of action.