Idea of Rapid Withdrawal From Iraq Seems to FadeThis is so wonderful. The Democrats aren't even making me wait until they take office to watch them sell out their most devoted, and perennially betrayed, supporters.
By DAVID E. SANGER...[D]espite the Democrats' victory this month in an election viewed as a referendum on the war, the idea of a rapid American troop withdrawal is fast receding as a viable option.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff are signaling that too rapid an American pullout would open the way to all-out civil war. The bipartisan Iraq Study Group has shied away from recommending explicit timelines in favor of a vaguely timed pullback. The report that the panel will deliver to President Bush next week would, at a minimum, leave a force of 70,000 or more troops in the country for a long time to come.... Even the Democrats, with an eye toward 2008, have dropped talk of a race for the exits....
The group never seriously considered the position that Representative John P. Murtha... took more than a year ago, that withdrawal should begin immediately. The group did debate timetables.... But explicit mention of such a schedule was dropped.
In statements on Thursday, Democrats from former President Bill Clinton to Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, the incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, seemed to agree that hard timelines could invite trouble....
I foresee that dedicated Kosniks et sim., who have spent the last few years making anti-war noises and selling the Democrats as the only hope for peace, will emerge as actual apologists for continued war, now that "their" party, with its legislative majorities, has undeniable buy-in and responsibility. This is another subtle effect of the two-party machine and the lesser evil mentality -- they pull the internal Left back into line. People just can't stand the cognitive dissonance, and if they can't give up the institution, they have to give up their convictions instead.
Comments (4)
You seem surprised that the Democrats aren't making you wait until they officially take office to roll over. I distinctly remember President-Elect Bubba rolling over on the rights of gays and lesbians in the military before his hand even came close to slapping Bible leather for the first time.
Oh, and I love that comment from the Joint Chiefs -- who, if you ask me, could use just that right about now: a friggin' joint -- about how withdrawing too soon could cause a civil war. Where have these guys been, living in a goddamn' cave for the past year, year and a half? Hell, everybody and their goddamn' cat had it figured out way back, and I suspect that my cats had it figured out before I did. Hell, even NBC -- in its own imperious, self-important fashion, put Matt Lauer and his puppy-dog eyes on the air at an ungodly hour of the morning to tell us "alright already, it's a goddamn' civil war, now leave us alone about it."
You know, it's at times like these, when I see these kinds of pronouncements by the Joint Chiefs in the news, that I can't help thinking of General Jack Ripper and (whoever George C. Scott's character was) in Doctor Strangelove.
Oh, and btw, while we're on the subject of xPresident Bubba and the Iraq "Study" Group, here's the much-vaunted Clinton Legacy, in wheat paste:
http://www.sinkers.org/posters/clintonlegacy
...oh, and ps: happy Seattle/WTO anniversary, everybody.
Posted by Mike Flugennock | December 1, 2006 2:12 PM
Posted on December 1, 2006 14:12
In the believe-it-or-not catagory - democratic party front group Voters For Peace just sent me a lame-o alert of the 'call your congressperson' strip over this blindingly predictable JCS / Iraq (Non)Study Group kerfluffle. Nothing like trying to make demands after you've given your local representative everything they want.
Posted by AlanSmithee | December 1, 2006 2:57 PM
Posted on December 1, 2006 14:57
mf
jack d ripper
and
buck turgeson
prez malcolm muffly
god bless terry southern
Posted by js paine | December 1, 2006 3:57 PM
Posted on December 1, 2006 15:57
as i suspect many would agree:
we need a nice compact cheat sheet
on all these various
goo goo masks
that are in reality
plain old jack ass cut outs
they're into the zillions by now
and headed higher
groups
like that " goo goo gropers travesty"
voters for peace
you high lined above
not all blue bellied sap sucker pwogs
know their
cuts of hee haw bologne
i'd pay in roman silver
to see you plaster up an expose for us
of some of the most egregious frauds
Posted by js paine | December 1, 2006 9:56 PM
Posted on December 1, 2006 21:56