Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Democrats, Stand Up and Resist the President
It has become obvious that G.W. Bush is not going to deviate from his position on Iraq. It is up to the newly elected Democratic Congress to act and stop him. Measures to cut off funding for the war would be a good beginning. Are the Democrats up to it? So far, few voices have been heard about meaningful measures. All we hear is blather about bipartisanship and cooperation. Face the fact: The President will not take steps toward an early withdrawl. He will have to be forced, kicking and screaming, to do so. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) talked the good talk. As the saying goes "put your money where your mouth is". Do something. Stop the blood loss. Every day our soldiers ( most of them in their twenties) are dying for the hubris of a few megalomaniacs.
The Washington Post "There hasn't been a change from the president," observed Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), the incoming House majority leader. "The president may be trapped in his own policy, sensing, 'If I don't succeed, it will be a huge blot on my record, and so therefore I have no choice but to try to succeed.' " Hoyer pointedly added: "I don't think the Democratic Congress is going to say, 'Well, that's okay.' " |
In another report, Peter Baker of the Washington Post wrote:
"President Bush acknowledged for the first time yesterday that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq and said he plans to expand the overall size of the "stressed" U.S. armed forces to meet the challenges of a long-term global struggle against terrorists."
But in a wide-ranging session in the Oval Office, the president said he interpreted the Democratic election victories six weeks ago not as a mandate to bring the U.S. involvement in Iraq to an end but as a call to find new ways to make the mission there succeed. He confirmed that he is considering a short-term surge in troops in Iraq, an option that top generals have resisted out of concern that it would not help. |
