Infinite Monkeys

Anti-war nuts crying in their herbal tea

That faint and out-of-tune bugle call you hear is being blown by anti-war activists, who are now sulking back in retreat from their efforts to get the Democratic Congress to surrender Iraq to the terrorists.

It must be so disappointing, after Democrats swept into power, to have watched bill after bill ordering an immediate withdrawal of troops in Iraq get absolutely nowhere.

So the Democratic leadership went to Plan B: trying to micromanage the war and affect a retreat by way of the funding bills for Iraq. And those, too, fizzled, with even a majority of Democrats in the Senate sending Bush fighting money for the war with no strings attached.

Now the tie-dye and patchouli set are shifting strategies and lowering expectations yet again:

In recognition of hard political reality, the groups instead will lower their sights and push for legislation to prevent President Bush from entering into a long-term agreement with the Iraqi government that could keep significant numbers of troops in Iraq for years to come.

That's pretty small beer compared to the heady anti-war goals of one year ago – especially after the anti-war coalition, led by MoveOn.org, spent $12 million for their cause.

I wonder, though: Why the resistance to a long-term military agreement with Iraq, a rare ally in the Middle East? We've been in Japan and Germany for 60 years, and Korea for 50. And those commitments have paid off handsomely in trade alone. If Iraq settles down, and their government requests that we stay, why should we not weigh the strategic pros and cons and give it serious consideration?

A group of Democratic senators has sent a letter to the White House demanding that any "post-war" agreement with Iraq go through Congress first (and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., has introduced a bill to that effect, too).

I would not have a problem with this for two reasons: (1) While the commander-in-chief needs to have a pretty free hand in war management, such long-term military commitments should have more direct consent of the people through their representatives in Congress; and (2) I'm confident, given the anti-war crowd's dismal record, that a military agreement with a peaceful Iraq would pass.

And the future stories about the crushed spirits of the irresponsible anti-war left? A nice bonus.

Posted by Dr. Zaius at January 17, 2008 08:06 PM | TrackBack