March 26, 2007

Dem War Silliness May Not Always Be So Harmless

And here I was concerned about the course of the war if Democrats took control of Congress. That was silly. The new Democratic majority is giving us some of the most innovative war strategies imaginable.

Just check out the new war funding bill, which passed the House last week by a mere six votes. Among the items to be funded is $74 million for peanut storage. Now that’s a form of ammo the enemy won’t see coming! Shoot them with peanut guns!

The bill also contains $25 million for spinach growers. Brilliant! Because the troops need to eat their spinach! That will make it easier for them to kick some serious Al Qaeda butt.

How could President Bush possibly consider vetoing this bill?

Oh. On further review, it would now appear that the peanut-storage money and the spinach-growing money actually have nothing to do with the war – except to the extent that it makes it easier for congressional Democrats to buy votes to ensure that America lose the war. The real point of this bill, of course, is not the funding. It’s the mandatory September 2008 pullout date, which is the reason it has no chance of ever becoming law.

But the bill was never intended to become law. It was intended to generate headlines – at any price.

Here’s how it is in Washington: When a vote is close, and you need to find ways to put your side over the top, you look around for fence-sitters whose votes you can buy. Congressman from the peanut district just can’t decide? Amazing what $74 million for peanut storage can do for a guy’s attitude. Gentlelady from the spinach district isn’t quite sure? Oh look! 25 million smackeroos to keep Popeye’s biceps bulging!

The New York Times, the Democrats’ best friend in the world, reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was able to convince enough other Dems by posing the question: “Did they want a headline saying, ‘Congress is standing up to President Bush,’ or ‘Congress gives President Bush free rein?’”

So, national security policy is determined by the headlines it will generate, and the Speaker has managed to pull off the closest and emptiest legislative victory in recent memory. No bill containing a mandatory pullout date will ever survive a Bush veto. The Democrats have always known this. Perhaps that is the reason they pass such silly bills.

It was only a few years ago that Democratic stalwarts of no less standing than Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden were proclaiming publicly that a pullout date would play right into the hands of the enemy. Now these same two Democrats are prepared to vote for a pullout date. What changed? Their reading of polls. Presidential politics. But most importantly, their absolute confidence that they can vote for this irresponsible course of action without risking the consequences of it actually taking place. They know full well that Bush will veto any pullout bill, which means that instead of having to explain why they let terrorists take over Iraq, they can continue to pound Bush for prosecuting a war that is polling badly.

This is not to say their actions have no consequences at all. The recent troop surge, against which House Democrats passed a similarly meaningless resolution, has coincided with a new strategy at the behest of new commander Gen. David Petraeus. At least some reports are indicating that Petraeus’s new strategy is yielding early success.

So what a perfect time to telegraph the date when America will quit!

The commanders and troops in the field surely understand that their mission will continue at least until January 20, 2009, because the Bush administration is not going to undercut them. The rhetorical opposition they face from the Democratic majority in Congress can’t be helping morale, but it could also become a strategic concern. Are they under a hard and fast deadline to complete their work before a new administration takes office? September 2008 will never become a mandatory pullout date, but what of January 2009?

If a Democrat is elected, the chance for success in Iraq may indeed be artificially and arbitrarily cut short. Everything the Democrats do now is rhetorical bluster. George W. Bush still runs this war. But it shouldn’t be hard for the enemy to figure out its window of opportunity.

A Democratic victory in 2008 means that, 10 weeks later, silly bills like the one that passed the House this week can actually become U.S. policy. If the enemy is smart, it will be running out the clock and trying to figure out a way to get some cash to the Obama, Clinton, Edwards and Biden campaigns. It would be crazy not to.