29.6.05
The Iraq war and the Democrats
The Democrats (or at least many of the leading figures) appear to be coming to a consensus on the Iraq war: pulling out and bringing US soldiers home is not an option; "accountability" and "success" are what's needed. This has been more or less the default Democratic position at least since the convention in 2004, when Kerry, Edwards and the party leadership shamefully silenced the anti-war faction (presumably as part of their desire to "make America stronger"), but now the position stressing Bush's errors and accountability, rather than the need to get the fuck out of Iraq, seems to be spreading out into the rank-and-file.
Never mind the fact that most Americans want to begin withdrawing soldiers right away. For the Democrats, swinging around a bigger dick than the Republicans is the way to go, not listening to their constituents or standing on principle.
Some recent reading on this issue:
- Raimondo at antiwar.com comes up with very good column (that is, he manages to keep the libertarian ranting to a minimum) on Biden's bogus position on the US's Iraq policy.
- Comrade Max compiles a list of Democratic and "progressive" viewpoints on the need to win, win, win.
- Not entirely related, but good for a laugh: why YOU are causing the Yankees to suck.
ADD Kerry's plea to Bush to encourage Iraq's ethnic and religious militias to become more active:
Iraq, of course, badly needs a unified national army, but until it has one - something that our generals now say could take two more years - it should make use of its tribal, religious and ethnic militias like the Kurdish pesh merga and the Shiite Badr Brigade to provide protection and help with reconstruction. Instead of single-mindedly focusing on training a national army, the administration should prod the Iraqi government to fill the current security gap by integrating these militias into a National Guard-type force that can provide security in their own areas.
This is a bad idea, for reasons I have alreay discussed. This isn't policy, this isn't even clutching at straws. This is flailing and drowning. Unfortunately, many others are going to be pulled down by these policies.
The Democrats (or at least many of the leading figures) appear to be coming to a consensus on the Iraq war: pulling out and bringing US soldiers home is not an option; "accountability" and "success" are what's needed. This has been more or less the default Democratic position at least since the convention in 2004, when Kerry, Edwards and the party leadership shamefully silenced the anti-war faction (presumably as part of their desire to "make America stronger"), but now the position stressing Bush's errors and accountability, rather than the need to get the fuck out of Iraq, seems to be spreading out into the rank-and-file.
Never mind the fact that most Americans want to begin withdrawing soldiers right away. For the Democrats, swinging around a bigger dick than the Republicans is the way to go, not listening to their constituents or standing on principle.
Some recent reading on this issue:
- Raimondo at antiwar.com comes up with very good column (that is, he manages to keep the libertarian ranting to a minimum) on Biden's bogus position on the US's Iraq policy.
- Comrade Max compiles a list of Democratic and "progressive" viewpoints on the need to win, win, win.
- Not entirely related, but good for a laugh: why YOU are causing the Yankees to suck.
ADD Kerry's plea to Bush to encourage Iraq's ethnic and religious militias to become more active:
Iraq, of course, badly needs a unified national army, but until it has one - something that our generals now say could take two more years - it should make use of its tribal, religious and ethnic militias like the Kurdish pesh merga and the Shiite Badr Brigade to provide protection and help with reconstruction. Instead of single-mindedly focusing on training a national army, the administration should prod the Iraqi government to fill the current security gap by integrating these militias into a National Guard-type force that can provide security in their own areas.
This is a bad idea, for reasons I have alreay discussed. This isn't policy, this isn't even clutching at straws. This is flailing and drowning. Unfortunately, many others are going to be pulled down by these policies.
